1/ Bill McKibben on the fight to mitigate climate change, and he makes the excellent point that winning slowly is the same as losing....
A Houston interstate after Hurricane Harvey in August.
If we don't win very quickly on climate change, then we will never win. That's the core truth about global warming. It's what makes it different from every other problem our political systems have faced. I wrote the first book for a general audience about climate change in 1989 – back when one had to search for examples to help people understand what the "greenhouse effect" would feel like. We knew it was coming, but not how fast or how hard. And because no one wanted to overestimate – because scientists by their nature are conservative – each of the changes we've observed has taken us somewhat by surprise. The surreal keeps becoming the commonplace: For instance, after Hurricane Harvey set a record for American rainstorms, and Hurricane Irma set a record for sustained wind speeds, and Hurricane Maria knocked Puerto Rico back a quarter-century, something even weirder happened. Hurricane Ophelia formed much farther to the east than any hurricane on record, and proceeded to blow past Southern Europe (whipping up winds that fanned record forest fires in Portugal) before crashing into Ireland.
2/ SNL's cold open this week - Trump imagines he sees a Christmas Carol....six funny minutes, with Alec Baldwin as the idiot....
Saturday Night Live got political in their cold open tonight, so naturally, they focused on President Trump and the news that Michael Flynn has pleaded guilty for lying to the FBI.
In a sketch inspired by Charles Dickens‘ A Christmas Carol, Trump (played by Alec Baldwin again) ditches a holiday party at the White House so he can think about what he’s done during his first year as president. However, Trump’s reflections are interrupted when Flynn appears before him as the chained “Ghost of Witness Flipped.”
True to form, Flynn warns the president that three ghosts will appear and show him his past, present and future. Trump’s Ghost of Christmas Past turns out to be Billy Bush, who ironically notes how differently their lives turned out after the infamous Access Hollywood tape came to light.
3/ Really, really interesting article from Reza Azlan in the LA Times about how Trump's followers [the base] act just like cult members - impervious to facts, logic and persuasion and their hero can do no wrong.....scary stuff.....
I
am not the first person to point this out: There’s been a cultish quality to President Trump’s most ardent supporters. He seemed to acknowledge the phenomenon when he boasted that he could “stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody” and not lose voters.
Throughout the campaign, and in personal appearances since then, Trump has harnessed the kind of emotional intensity from his base that is more typical of a religious revival meeting than a political rally, complete with ritualized communal chants (“Lock her up!”).
As we approach the one-year anniversary of Trump’s election victory, the zeal of some of his followers seems increasingly akin to a full-fledged cult.
I use the word “cult” in its pejorative sense, meaning a deeply insular social group bound together by extreme devotion to a charismatic leader. Such groups tend to exhibit a few common characteristics.
They are usually formed around an individual whom they’ve elevated to prophetic and near divine status.
4/ Stephen Colbert with a riff on how Theresa May responded to Trump.....three minutes, amusing....
5/ Lucien Truscott on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's end game.......a great summary of Mueller's techniques and why Trump has become completely unhinged.....
It was a fine, sunny morning in Washington, D.C., yesterday. Over at the White House, the president was up early rage-tweeting about the acquittal in San Francisco of an illegal immigrant charged with killing Kate Steinle, charging that the verdict proved that “The Schumer/Pelosi Democrats are so weak on Crime that they will pay a big price in the 2018 and 2020 Elections.” A few minutes later, he was tweeting that the Senate tax bill, which had just been shown to add more than a trillion dollars to the deficit, was “getting better and better.”
A couple of hours later, downtown at the federal courthouse, federal marshals measured former White House national security advisor Michael Flynn for an ankle bracelet and put liens on his houses after he pled guilty to the federal crime of lying to an FBI agent. Flynn thus joined former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos on the Mueller cooperation train, making the jump onto the caboose just as it was leaving the station.
6/ A hilarious six minute Stephen Colbert interview with "Melania", played by Italian actress Laura Benanti.....very funny indeed....
7/ And a most interesting story in Rolling Stone detailing why Mueller has subpoenaed Deutsche Bank's records.....corruption indeed.....
Trump's case, of course, was thrown out. But that's where this story gets interesting: After a judge ordered Trump to repay the money he owed Deutsche Bank, Trump did it using money he borrowed from... Deutsche Bank. He paid the bank's real estate division back with money borrowed from its personal wealth division.
8/ SNL with a skit on how employees at the return desk of any store hear BS every day.....painfully amusing, about three minutes....
9/ Amen to this.....
10/ Weekend update from SNL......always amusing....
Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, including the New York Giants starting Geno Smith over Eli Manning at quarterback. The Duncans (Leslie Jones, Mikey Day) stop by to discuss trying the Kama Sutra.
11/ Rolling Stone with their top 20 TV shows of the year.....if you are like me, you will see this and think "what have I missed".....
What a great year for TV – as opposed to pretty much any other aspect of life in America during 2017. Peak TV kept peaking all year, pushing to new creative heights. There was the heroic return of David Lynch, and the not-so-heroic return of Larry David. The screen was full of ground-breaking dramas – as well as stoner comedies, high-school bitchfests, zombie dragons, porn hustlers, thugs, con artists, hackers, psychedelic superheroes, cartoon time travelers and life-during-wartime documentaries. In a rotten year to be an American, the creative audacity of these shows (and one stand-up special) was a sign of hope. Here's to next year.
Todays video - a Christmas commercial that's guaranteed to bring a tear or two......German with subtitles....90 seconds
And another video - the Scottish husband - 30 seconds....
Todays potpourri of jokes
.............................. .............................. .............................. ........................... A distraught senior citizen phoned her doctor's office."Is it true," she wanted to know,"that the medicationyou prescribed has to be taken for the rest of my life?""'Yes, I'm afraid so,"' the doctor told her.There was a moment of silence before the senior lady replied,"I'm wondering, then,just how serious is my conditionbecause this prescription is marked'NO REFILLS'."...........................An older gentleman was on the operating tableawaiting surgery and he insisted that his son,a renowned surgeon, perform the operation.As he was about to get the anesthesia,he asked to speak to his son."Yes, Dad, what is it?""Don't be nervous, son; do your best,and just remember, if it doesn't go well,if something happens to me,your mother is going to come andlive with you and your wife...."
Todays Snowbird joke
I was on Ft. Myers Beach, Florida the other day and I saw a bumper sticker on a parked car that read, "I miss Detroit."
So I broke the window, stole the GPS, shot out two of the tires and left a note that read, "I hope this helps!"
Todays Trump joke
Donald Trump was invited to address a major gathering of the American Indian Nation two weeks ago in upstate New York.
He spoke for almost an hour about his plans for increasing every Native American's present standard of living. He referred to how he had supported every Native American issue that came to the news media.
Although Mr Trump was vague about the details of his plans, he seemed most enthusiastic and spoke eloquently about his ideas for helping his "red sisters and brothers."
At the conclusion of his speech, the Tribes presented him with a plaque inscribed with his new Indian name, "Walking Eagle."
The proud Mr Trump accepted the plaque and then departed in his motorcade to a fundraiser, waving to the crowds.
A news reporter later asked the group of chiefs how they came to select the new name they had given to the "want-to-be" Presidential Candidate.
They explained that "Walking Eagle" is the name given to a bird so full of shit it can no longer fly.
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