1/ This writer chose to ignore Trump news for a week......needless to say it wasn't easy. Interesting story from the "failing" NYT.....
I spent last week ignoring President Trump. Although I am ordinarily a politics junkie, I didn’t read, watch or listen to a single story about anything having to do with our 45th president.
What I missed, by many accounts, was one of the strangest and most unpredictable weeks of news in modern political history. Among other things, there was the resignation of the national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, and an “Oprah Winfrey Show” tape that led to the downfall of the nominee for secretary of labor, Andrew F. Puzder.
It wasn’t my aim to stick my head in the sand. I did not quit the news. Instead, I spent as much time as I normally do online (all my waking hours), but shifted most of my energy to looking for Trump-free zones.
My point: I wanted to see what I could learn about the modern news media by looking at how thoroughly Mr. Trump had subsumed it. In one way, my experiment failed: I could find almost no Trump-free part of the press.
2/ A wonderful John Oliver [20 minutes] piece of comedic reporting on Trump and Vladimir Putin.....
John Oliver has got a song for President Trump.
“Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver knows that President Donald Trump can bend the truth to fit some falsehoods, but he also noted Sunday that there’s one truth Trump can’t see: Russia, and its president, Vladimir Putin, are not exactly people you want to be trying to get too close to.
“It’s a bit weird that you’ve been objectively nicer to Vladimir Putin than you have been to Meryl Streep,” Oliver said.
Oliver skewered Trump for being willing to surrender a laundry list of things “against American interests and values” in exchange for “getting along better, or whatever the fuck that means.”
But dealing with Vladimir Putin isn’t easy, Oliver noted, as someone doesn’t rise to power the way Putin has without having a strong grasp on authoritarianism. Oliver pointed to a number of Putin critics who died under mysterious circumstances.
3/ A story you make have seen in the media around the edges of the Trumpstorm was the DNC chair election, and Tom Perez beat Keith Ellison for the post.
Benjamin Studebaker explains why the Democratic party has shot itself in the foot again......depressing.....
Tom Perez Was the Wrong Choice for DNC Chair
by Benjamin Studebaker
Former Labor Secretary Tom Perez has defeated Keith Ellison to become the new chairman of the DNC. It took two rounds of voting, with Perez eventually prevailing, 235-200. This is a deeply concerning development–Perez has a long history of taking positions which accommodate and contribute to declining living standards for poor and working Americans. He does support minimum wage increases, but a closer look reveals an untrustworthy record.
We’ll go through a few issues where Perez has been on the wrong side of things.
4/ Frank Rich on the week's politics.....insightful as always.....
Most weeks, New York Magazine writer-at-large Frank Rich speaks with contributor Alex Carp about the biggest stories in politics and culture. Today: Trump’s rollback of the rights of transgender students, a feckless Rex Tillerson, and the CPAC conference.
The Trump administration’s rollback on the bathroom rules for transgender students this week was reportedly driven by Jeff Sessions, over the reservations of Betsy DeVos, with the final decision made in an Oval Office meeting. What do we learn by where Trump’s support came down? It’s not news that America now has a president who will roll back civil rights and endorse bigotry. This is a White House, let us not forget, that refused to either remember or condemn anti-Semitism when purporting to honor Holocaust Remembrance Day. But nonetheless we did learn a little bit more about both Trump and his administration from this chilling decree.
We received confirmation (if there were any doubt) that Attorney General Sessions was lying when he made a big show of denying (or at least trying to cover up) his record as a foe of civil-rights enforcement during his Senate hearings.
5/ Seth Meyers on Trump's golf and many other amusing events of the week.....nine good minutes....
Seth Meyers
As the Republicans in Congress are dealing with town halls — facing constituents who are voicing their concerns — Meyers pointed to town halls in Kentucky, Louisiana and Iowa, which are deep red states.
“Look, it’s not easy being a member of Congress these days, facing down angry voters at rowdy town halls, standing under those hot lights, getting yelled at by your constituents,” Meyers said, noting that constituents have grown angry over Republicans’ plans to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. “Trump and Republicans in Congress are facing a massive backlash over their plan to repeal Obamacare because they have nothing better to offer.”
He pointed out Sen. Tom Cotton’s town hall, conjuring up the image of “a kid in the school play whose performance was so bad they called him back out on stage by himself so everyone could boo him.”
Meyers said, “GOP town halls have gotten so rowdy that even just mentioning the name of the vice president will earn you a defining round of boos.” He noted, “You have to give it to Mike Pence. He’s the only guy who can get booed at a Broadway musical in Manhattan, a town hall in Utah and a minor league baseball game in his home state of Indiana.”
6/ More golf!
7/ For all of you Brits out there......
The Internet Is Going Mental For This American Man’s Hilarious Description Of Life In The UK
The internet cannot stop talking about one American tourist’s random observations about England. Although you guys across the pond may share our language, watch similar shows and listen to the same music, there are also a shit load of differences between us (besides our deep affiliation with tea and love of a ‘cheeky Nando’s’).
66-year-old Scott Walters graced old Blighty with his presence for the fourth time this summer and took to Facebook to post about all the cultural differences he spotted whilst he was here
8/ Bill Maher in journalist mode - one of his more serious ones where he tells the press thy have to earn their respect back.....a very good six minutes....a few jokes too....
Bill Maher "New Rules" on the media The media has had a rough year or so. After following around then-candidate Donald Trump, and giving him one of the largest platforms one could possibly imagine, the media finds itself made the enemy of the president, and untrusted by the public, according to some polls.
“Now that polls show that the public finds the news media less trustworthy than Donald Trump, they have to fight to get their reputation back,” Bill Maher said during Friday night’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.”
“For the press to be effective, these numbers have to change,” Maher said. “Can you imagine how this must make a reporter feel? To be losing a truthfulness contest to Donald Trump? It’s like losing a rap battle to Mitt Romney. You can be made at me to ‘giving a platform‘ to Milo, But Donald Trump is the apotheosis of the alt-right and the media gave him the biggest platform ever.
9/ Life in Palm Beach has become a little more expensive....
10/ Paul Krugman on the Republicans drive to repeal Obamacare......
Across the country, Republicans have been facing crowds demanding to know how they will protect the 20 million Americans who gained health insurance thanks to the Affordable Care Act, and will lose it if the act is repealed. And after all that inveighing against the evils of Obamacare, it turns out that they’ve got nothing.
Instead, they’re talking about freedom — which these days is the real refuge of scoundrels.
Actually, many prominent Republicans haven’t even gotten to the point of trying to respond to criticism; they’re just whining about how mean their constituents are being, and invoking conspiracy theories.
11/ Seth Meyers with a cliche ridden trailer for a movie designed to win an Oscar......pretty good satire especially for movie buffs, five minutes....
"Late Night with Seth Meyers"
Some say there is a formula to ensure a movie is worthy of consideration for the Oscars’ best picture. There are certain elements of a story — redemption or racial tension — that always win over the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. So the crew from “Late Night with Seth Meyers” set out to make a trailer for a film that would encompass every Oscar cliché in cinematography.
The fake movie, conspicuously titled “Oscar Bait,” checks off all the boxes and features host Seth Meyers in scenes that could be in any good drama. The narrator of the trailer alerts the audience right away that this movie means business. He describes it as “a film not afraid to pander to your emotions, a film shamelessly timed for award season.”
12/ Michael Moore......I love this guy......read these things all of us can do! Especially #1.....
Do These 10 Things, And Trump Will Be Toast
EDUARDO MUNOZ / REUTERS
Arriving at Trump Tower in New York, November 12, 2016.
Friends, I welcome you to “The Michael Moore Easy-to-Follow 10-Point Plan to Stop Trump.”
First, let’s acknowledge what we all know to be true: Trump is in deep, deep trouble ― in the pocket of Russians, surrounded by alt.right idiots, alone in his bathrobe in a mostly-empty White House ― and caught inside a disgusting “shit-sandwich”, so said his supporter who turned down the NSA job.
Only one month into his So-Called Presidency ― and yet there is good news, as this is what the American landscape looks like:
- Tens of thousands of citizens across the country have stormed Congressional district offices and town hall meetings to express their rage at the Trump agenda (a dejected Republican congressman, after a 3-hour verbal assault from his angry constituents, said on TV last night, “let’s face it - they [the Obamacare supporters] have won.”).
13/ Stephen Colbert is excellent in this clip of him giving us a taste of Trump's main source of crazy. - Alex Jones from Infowars....a really good four minutes.....
Photo Credit: The Late Show/
President Donald Trump has declared the media to be an enemy of the American people. So on Wednesday night’s “Late Night with Stephen Colbert,” host Stephen Colbert took a look at one of the president’s more eccentric information sources: Infowars’ Alex Jones. The far-right commentator has bona fide influence over Trump’s base and perhaps even the West Wing.
Jones has become a household name since Trump became president, but Colbert wanted to make sure his audience knew who this “conspiracy theorist” is.
“If you’ve been living underground for the last few years, you’ve probably been listening to Alex Jones,” Colbert joked. “But for the rest of you, he runs a conspiracy website called Infowars. The name is easy to remember. Just imagine info and then imagine someone that is at war with it.”
14/ A lovely ad from Canada......get the hankie out.....one minute....
The 56-second advertisement opens on a group of young boys playing basketball. When one of the boys chases down an errant shot, he encounters a boy confined to a wheelchair.
The wheelchair-bound boy later finds a basketball sitting on his porch, and wheels himself over to where the boys are playing – only to find them playing in their own makeshift “wheelchairs.” The ad ends with the voiceover, “When the best of us steps us, our nation stands a little taller.”
15/ Carl Hiaasen on the conflict between Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran and our slimy piece of cockroach feces Rick Scott....good reporting.....
You don’t often see two conservative Republicans in a sloppy cage fight, but Gov. Rick Scott and House Speaker Richard Corcoran are swinging at each other even before the Legislature convenes in Tallahassee.
The big issue is Enterprise Florida, the agency tasked with luring new companies to the state. Traditionally this is accomplished by wildly throwing buckets of money, most which comes from public funds.
Corcoran calls it “corporate welfare.” Scott says it’s a swell program that is essential to bringing new jobs, and he is asking lawmakers for $85 million.
The governor wanted the same thing last year and got roasted. His new strategy is staging doomsday press conferences in the home districts of GOP legislators who oppose Enterprise Florida.
Corcoran is fighting back with a slick video highlighting — actually, lowlighting — some of the infamous corporate backfires that have cost taxpayers dearly.
16/ This looks interesting for movie aficionados....."Toni Erdmann".....
What’s the one great movie in this year’s Oscar race? It has a hairy Bulgarian monster, and you haven’t seen it
I swear, I'm not trolling: The bizarre and hilarious "Toni Erdmann" is a comic odyssey through late capitalism.
Toni Erdmann (Credit: Sony Pictures)
All the movies nominated for Oscars this year were made before You Know Who became president of the United States, but in that curious cultural kismet that so often pertains, many of them seem to speak to the present moment. There’s no shortage of social relevance to be found among this year’s roster of nominees, starting with the fact that Oscar is #notsodoggonewhite this time around.
Toni Erdmann trailer.....
Todays video....Honest Trailers with "The Matrix"......an amusing two minutes, especially if you like sarcasm.....
Todays wedding night joke
On their honeymoon, the new husband told his bride, "I have a confession to make that I should have made before, but I was concerned that it might affect our relationship.
"What is it?" his new bride asked lovingly.
"I'm a golf fanatic," he said. "I think about golf constantly. I'll be out on the golf course every weekend, every holiday, and every chance I get. If it comes to a choice between your wishes and golf, golf will always win."
His new bride pondered this for a moment and said, "I thank you for your honesty. Now in the same spirit of honesty, I should tell you that I've concealed something about my own past that you should know about. The truth is, "I'm a hooker."
"No problem," said her husband, "just widen your stance a little, and overlap your grip, and that should clear it right up."
"What is it?" his new bride asked lovingly.
"I'm a golf fanatic," he said. "I think about golf constantly. I'll be out on the golf course every weekend, every holiday, and every chance I get. If it comes to a choice between your wishes and golf, golf will always win."
His new bride pondered this for a moment and said, "I thank you for your honesty. Now in the same spirit of honesty, I should tell you that I've concealed something about my own past that you should know about. The truth is, "I'm a hooker."
"No problem," said her husband, "just widen your stance a little, and overlap your grip, and that should clear it right up."
Todays brunette joke
A brunette who really hated blondes was walking through the desert when she came across a magic lamp.
After rubbing the lamp the genie told her that she got three wishes with one catch: All the blondes in the world would get twice whatever she asked for.
So the brunette thought a while and then wished for a million dollars.
"Every blonde in the world will get two million."
The brunette said that was fine and then she asked for an incredibly handsome man.
Every blonde in the world will get two incredibly handsome men.
The brunette said that was fine too and the genie granted her wishes.
"Now for your third wish." said the genie.
"See that stick over there?", asked the brunette, "I want you to beat me half to death with it."
Todays seniors jokes....
Just sharing some thoughts meandering in a senior mind:
*The location of your mailbox shows you how far away from your house you can be in a robe before you start looking like a mental patient.
*My therapist said that my narcissism causes me to misread social situations. I'm pretty sure she was hitting on me.
*My 60 year kindergarten reunion is coming up soon and I'm worried about the 175 pounds I've gained since then.
*I always wondered what the job application is like at Hooters. Do they just give you a bra and say, "Here, fill this out?"
*Denny's has a slogan, "If it's your birthday, the meal is on us." If you're in Denny's and it's your birthday, your life sucks!
*The pharmacist asked me my birth date again today. I'm pretty sure she's going to get me something.
*On average, an American man will have sex two to three times a week. Whereas, a Japanese man will have sex only one or two times a year. This is very upsetting news to me. I had no idea I was Japanese.
*I can't understand why women are okay that JC Penney has an older women's clothing line named, "Sag Harbor."
*I think it’s pretty cool how Chinese people made a language entirely out of tattoos.
*What is it about a car that makes people think we can't see them pick their noses?
*Money can't buy happiness, but it keeps the kids in touch!
The best for last!
*The reason Mayberry was so peaceful and quiet was because nobody was married. Andy, Aunt Bea, Barney, Floyd, Howard, Goober, Gomer, Sam, Earnest T Bass, Helen, Thelma Lou, Clara and, of course, Opie were all single. The only person married was Otis, and he stayed drunk.
