1/. The always insightful Frank Rich with his thoughts on the week's news, which of course includes Trump's mental illness....
Trump’s Tweets Are Not a Distraction: They Demonstrate a New Level of Instability
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 tweets, the Senate health care bill and Trump’s upcoming meeting with Vladimir Putin.
At the end of a week when the head of the EPA openly questioned climate science, the Muslim travel ban came back to life, Senate Republicans floated new strategies to repeal Obamacare, and a White House “voter fraud” commission requested the personal data of every voter in the country, many people were most shocked by Trump’s tweets – especially insults directed at Mika Brzezinski and a video depicting the President literally bodyslamming CNN – and the damage they might do to the legacy of the Oval Office. Are Trump’s tweets worth the press and public attention, or are they a useful ploy for a White House eager to distract from bad news?
I don’t buy the periodic refrain that the media must minimize (or even stop) coverage of Trump’s tweets because they distract from the even greater horror stories of his White House. First, the tweets are news in themselves. Second, the media (and this includes non-Fox cable news) are covering the other stories. Third, it’s a condescending conceit of some liberals to assume that while they can follow Trump’s tweets and the other news threads at the same time, the great unwashed public can’t.
I don’t buy the periodic refrain that the media must minimize (or even stop) coverage of Trump’s tweets because they distract from the even greater horror stories of his White House. First, the tweets are news in themselves. Second, the media (and this includes non-Fox cable news) are covering the other stories. Third, it’s a condescending conceit of some liberals to assume that while they can follow Trump’s tweets and the other news threads at the same time, the great unwashed public can’t.
2/. The wonderful George Lakoff with the answers to two questions you have.....
Two Questions About Trump and Republicans that Stump Progressives
Progressives are stumped. They are asking these questions over and over again on social media, TV, and radio:
1) Why don’t Trump supporters turn against Trump even though he is doing things that hurt them? (like taking away their healthcare)
2) Why do Republicans hate the Affordable Care Act, and why are they so transparently acting to give wealthy people a tax break by making healthcare unaffordable?
Here is the short answer: All politics is moral. Supporting Trump – and gutting public healthcare resources in order to provide tax cuts for the wealthy – fits perfectly within the strict conservative moral worldview, which is hierarchical in nature. Voters don’t vote their self-interest. They vote their values.
The longer answer requires a deeper explanation.
3/. John Oliver with a comedic reporting segment on Sinclair Broadcasting, which has taken over local news markets in 200 cities across America.....and they make all their stations air nasty right wing spots.....19 very good minutes...
John Oliver began the latest episode of “Last Week Tonight” on Sunday by pointing a gun at the audience so they would pay attention to the “potential problems in corporate consolidation of local news.”
The late-night comedian focused on the dangers presented by Sinclair Broadcast Group, a corporation that owns various local television stations across the country and often injects them with right-wing political viewpoints. Oliver said Sinclair “may be the most influential media company you’ve never heard of.”
He then went on to discuss an alarming potential merger: Sinclair is expected to pay about $4 billion for Tribune Media, which would mean the combined companies will create the largest single group of television stations in the nation. While the deal still needs regulatory approval, Oliver said it’s “widely assumed that that will happen.” Sinclair’s reach would expand drastically, and hold an average total viewership of 2.2 million households, which as Oliver pointed out is more than any current primetime show on Fox News.
4/. Trump has appointed some real dodos to Cabinet positions, but Scott Pruitt at the EPA is not one of them - he has done more harm to the environment and will poison more Americans than any of the others.....
What an evil, corrupt bastard....
WASHINGTON — In the four months since he took office as the Environmental Protection Agency’s administrator, Scott Pruitt has moved to undo, delay or otherwise block more than 30 environmental rules, a regulatory rollback larger in scope than any other over so short a time in the agency’s 47-year history, according to experts in environmental law.
Mr. Pruitt’s supporters, including President Trump, have hailed his moves as an uprooting of the administrative state and a clearing of onerous regulations that have stymied American business. Environmental advocates have watched in horror as Mr. Pruitt has worked to disable the authority of the agency charged with protecting the nation’s air, water and public health.
But both sides agree: While much of Mr. Trump’s policy agenda is mired in legal and legislative delays, hampered by poor execution and overshadowed by the Russia investigations, the E.P.A. is acting.
5/. Tom Tomorrow on the Trump apologists....
6/. A one minute video of a Canadian Border post.....some surprising refugees are caught.....amusing....
In one popular segment, a Canadian border guard catches a “runner” who is revealed to be Melania Trump, played by Ms. Kent.
“Mrs. Trump, this is the third time this week,” the officer tells her. After next catching Hillary Clinton, he tells the camera, “I feel bad sending them back there.”
7/. The right wing Christians are salivating with Trump and Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court.....get ready....
Donald Trump and Neil Gorsuch have the right wing
thinking big — really big
Under Trump, religious right leaders plan a big comeback: "We are in a war for the future of this republic"
The entire Trump presidency has been pretty much a nonstop horror show for progressive Americans, but the month of June made it clear that if you are worried about President Trump and the Republican Congress rolling back advances made during the Obama administration, you aren’t worried nearly enough. Right-wing strategists seeking to undo what they see as federal overreach are looking back as far as the New Deal, and some even further, to the Progressive era at the turn of the 20th Century. With Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court and hundreds of Gorsuch-like judicial nominations in the pipeline, they’re making big plans.
Earlier in the month, the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s “Road to Majority” conference brought Religious Right activists to Washington, D.C. The atmosphere was triumphalist, almost giddy, in sharp contrast to previous years’ complaints about Barack Obama and dire warnings about a potential Hillary Clinton presidency. Religious Right leaders had hitched the movement’s wagon to the Trump train, and they had already begun reaping the rewards.
8/. Oh the internet - a couple posted a photo on Facebook and asked if anyone could photoshop out a shirtless guy in the background.....
with very amusing results.....oh the internet....
9/. Dr. Andrew Weil [he of the mighty beard] says we have way to much faith in prescription drugs, and there are alternatives to all medications.....amen!
A very good article to read if you still have faith in a medical system that sees your body as an ATM.....
Dr. Andrew Weil, still sporting his trademark white whiskers at age 75, says that we are taking too many medications. Dr. Weil is perhaps best known for popularizing the concept of integrative medicine, which melds traditional medicine with “alternative” healing techniques.
In his new book, “Mind Over Meds: Know When Drugs Are Necessary, When Alternatives Are Better — and When to Let Your Body Heal on Its Own,” Dr. Weil talks about how doctors are contributing to the overuse of drugs, why many of us should not be taking statins to lower cholesterol, and why many of the medicines and herbs we buy at pharmacies and supermarkets may be harming our health. Here is an edited version of our conversation.
Q. You say in your book, “We have a problem.” What exactly is that problem?
10/. Men - is your urologist trying to attack your prostate? Before you agree to a biopsy, and definitely before you have surgery, read this....
It can be hard for physicians to follow current thinking of experts on medical care. It must be exponentially harder for the public to make sense of it. Recently, the United States Preventive Services Task Force changed its recommendationon prostate cancer screening from a D (that is, don’t do it) to a C (discuss it with your doctor).
Although there seemed to be a lot of coverage of this announcement in the news media, and a fair amount of excitement, there are two things men should know. First, it’s a good thing that recommendations change over time; second, this change isn’t as big a deal as you might think.
The task force is made up of volunteerswho are experts in primary care and preventive medicine. They are charged with evaluating the benefits and harms of preventive services (like prostate cancer screenings) to determine whether they should be widely performed. An “A” recommendation from the panel can be interpreted as an endorsement that everyone get a service because there’s a high certainty of a substantial benefit. A “B” recommendation is similar, but means that there’s only a high certainty of a moderate net benefit.
11/. Above and Beyond with "Love Is Not Enough" featuring Zoe Johnston.....I love watching world class musicians [including violins and a harp!] play live....this is from the BBC concert at Porchester Hall.....
12/. Carl Hiaasen with another very good column.....almost makes you feel sorry for the wealthy....not....
One of the main gripes about the Senate’s plan to replace and repeal Obamacare is that it gives a humongous tax break to the wealthy.
This is true. The Senate bill would slash healthcare spending on the poor and elderly to finance a hefty tax cut that primarily would benefit rich folks in the top brackets.
Admittedly, it sounds sort of cruel — “mean,” in the president’s own words — but some of this talk is coming from marshmallow liberals who believe that nursing-home patients deserve more compassion than hedge-fund managers.
Hey, the rich suffer, too. Their voices should be heard.
People who don’t make millions of dollars can’t relate to the agonizing experience of writing a big fat check to the IRS every three months. That’s right — the dreaded quarterlies.
And while the pain of making those payments is mostly emotional — a bilious mix of resentment and dismay — the long-term effects can cause real medical problems for the chronically wealthy.
13/. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone on the 12 best movies of 2017 so far......can't wait to see some of these on video....seen two in the cinema so far - Baby Driver and Wonder Woman...
The movie year is half over, so it's time to swim past the multiplex sewage (there has been plenty already) and locate a few golden nuggets that we'll still be thinking about at the end of the year. So here's my list (in preferential order) of the 12 best movies of 2017 so far. I'm marking on a curve, giving points for originality and go-for-broke style that flies in the cowardly face of the usual play-it-safe Hollywood formula. So read, discuss and challenge when ready.
Todays video - "The Black Hole".....a two minute lesson on greed.....
Todays philosophy jokes....
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