1/. Paul Krugman has come to the conclusion the Republicans despise poor people, and want policies that inflict pain on them.....and I think Krugman is right.
They despise poor people and want to hurt them for being poor....think that's a little excessive? Read this excellent column....
Democrats want to strengthen the social safety net; Republicans want to weaken it. But why?
G.O.P. opposition to programs helping the less fortunate, from food stamps to Medicaid, is usually framed in monetary terms. For example, Senator Orrin Hatch, challenged about Congress’s failure to take action on the Children’s Health Insurance Program, a part of Medicaid that covers nearly nine million children — and whose federal funding expired back in September — declared that “the reason CHIP’s having trouble is that we don’t have money anymore.”
But is it really about the money? No, it’s about the cruelty. Over the past few years it has become increasingly clear that the suffering imposed by Republican opposition to safety-net programs isn’t a bug, it’s a feature. Inflicting pain is the point.
2/. Trump's map of the world....
3/. Stephen Colbert on the porn star who was paid by Trump....an amusing three minutes....
“According to a juicy report this weekend, Donald Trump paid a porn star $130,000 to stay silent over an alleged affair. That is truly shocking: that Donald Trump paid one of his contractors.” — STEPHEN COLBERT
4/. And a second insightful column from the Times last week - Charles Blow with the white supremacist belief that the lowest white man is superior to any black man......and that's what drives Trump's policies.....
I guess Donald Trump was eager to counter the impression in Michael Wolff’s book that he is irascible, mentally small and possibly insane. On Tuesday, he allowed a bipartisan session in the White House about immigration to be televised for nearly an hour.
Surely, he thought that he would be able to demonstrate to the world his lucidity and acumen, his grasp of the issues and his relish for rapprochement with his political adversaries.
But instead what came through was the image of a man who had absolutely no idea what he was talking about; a man who says things that are 180 degrees from the things he has said before; a man who has no clear line of reasoning; a man who is clearly out of his depth and willing to do and say anything to please the people in front of him.
5/. The SNL cold open, with the legendary Bill Murray and Fred Armisen featured on a hilarious "Morning Joe".....a very funny seven minutes....
This week’s “Saturday Night Live” took aim at MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” with Bill Murray playing the former Trump adviser
Stephen K. Bannon and Fred Armisen as the author Michael Wolff.
Bill Murray returned to his old “Saturday Night Live” stomping grounds to do Steve Bannon in the program’s cold open the way Bannon has never been done before.
The sketch scorched Bannon, “shithole” diplomacy and even journalist Michael Wolff in an “SNL” take on “Joe In The Morning.”
Before Bannon pops up and pulls off his grim reaper hood to reveal Murray’s old familiar face, Wolff (played by Fred Armisen, another show alum) gets a grilling on Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House. Mika Brzezinski (Kate McKinnon) wants to know what Wolff didn’t put in the book.
“There were baby races,” says Armisen. “Trump would ask to have two babies placed in his office, usually of different ethnicities. Someone would put a bowl of Goldfish crackers on the other side of the room. Trump would say, ‘A thousand bucks on the black one.’”
When he’s asked if that’s really true, Armisen shrugs, “Yeah.”
6/. SNL - Weekend Update on "Fire and Fury" and other stories.....an amusing seven minutes....
Host Sam Rockwell was not the only one who got to curse on SNL tonight.
"The book Fire and Fury, a salacious expose of the Trump White House, was released last week, and this week the sequel wrote itself," Colin Jost joked to open the Weekend Update segment of the show. "During an Oval Office meeting, Trump attacked protections for immigrants from African countries that he called 's-holes,'" Jost explained. "That's what NBC asked us to say, by the way, 's-hole' even though the president can say 'shithole.' Oops."
7/. You may remember some of these murder cases, but according to this article from Rolling Stone they may all be innocent.......we report, you decide....
Plenty of murder trials inspire heated debate over guilt versus innocence, both in the jury room and in the court of public opinion. Over 20 years later, folks are still fighting over whether O.J. Simpson "did it." But then there are all the other high-profile cases that, by the time the alleged killer is brought to trial, everyone seems to be in agreement on – the question isn't if they did it, but how they'll try to wiggle their way out of it and, when they fail, how serious their punishment will be.
In recent years, true crime has seen a resurgence in popularity, particularly with a focus on wrongful convictions, illuminating various failures of the justice system along the way. Ignored witnesses, faulty timelines, tunnel vision, a reliance on subjective circumstantial evidence and psychological profiling and plain old sloppy investigating – so when these same wrongful conviction hallmarks are also present in high-profile cases long perceived to be a slam dunk? Well, maybe they're worth giving a second look too.
8/. Jimmy Kimmel is outraged at the way Republicans are lying to protect Trump.....good commentary, and quite funny too....a good six minutes...
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel blasted two Republican senators who "brazenly lied" to defend and deny the racist remarks made by President Donald Trump in a bipartisan meeting on immigration reform.
Kimmel said Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and David Perdue, R-Ga., "have a totally different version of what happened."
After rolling a clip of a recent interview where Perdue grew frustrated over having to repeatedly deny that Trump had used the word "s**thole" to describe countries — but not denying that Trump said he'd rather have Norwegian immigrants — Kimmel said, "Just keep saying it until something true comes out of your mouth and we'll be happy."
9/. A cleverly done reelection of White House adviser Stephen Miller's disastrous interview with CNN's Jake Tapper. Miller is played by Pauly Shore.....two interesting minutes....
Ever since Stephen Miller has entered the public arena on behalf of the Trump administration, many have mocked the top White House advisor for looking like comedian Pauly Shore.
That observation turned out to be spot on — as the comedian resurfaced to perform an remarkable impersonation of Miller, reenacting the heated CNN interview he did last weekend with Jake Tapper.
“This will not go well,” Shore’s Miller told Tapper at the top of the interview.
“Miller” accused Tapper of “fake news” for only reporting one of President Trump‘s nicknames for Steve Bannon.
“He’s not just ‘Sloppy Steve.’ The president also calls him Rumpy Ralph, Splotchy Sam, Louie Anderson from the show Baskets,” he told Tapper. “There’s several names the president calls him, but you at CNN just report one name because you’re fake news! We all know that! You’re lucky I don’t punch you in the f**king face!”
10/. Since this sh*thole country is in the news, I found this mini-doc from Vox News to be quite interesting.....a 14 minute history of why Haiti is so poor, and what it faces today.....
Think of this the next time you go to Labadee, Royal Caribbean's private island on the north coast.....
11/. There is a really nasty flu going around, and if you are unfortunate enough to get it read this story from the Times - to summarize, hydrate, stay vertical and try to AVOID DRUGS....
According to the misery map of influenza activity in the United States, there’s a good chance that you or someone you know has experienced, or will experience, the agony of this year’s strain, H3N2.
The map, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shows that it is a particularly wicked and widespread virus. And the current flu vaccine seems to be mismatched to the virus — in Australia, where flu season comes earlier, it was estimated to be only 10 percent effective.
Hospitals nationwide report clogged emergency rooms, and pharmacies are experiencing shortages of over-the-counter and prescription flu remedies. And we’re just at the start of the flu season, which doesn’t end until May.
12/. Teacher has a classroom rule that if a student's phone rings, the student has to answer it and put it on speaker....one minute....
13/. Carl Hiaasen on our beyond disgusting Governor Voldemort and the blatant BS he and the evil Zinke just pulled on offshore drilling....
Florida is so darn special that we don’t have to let BP or ExxonMobil drill oil wells offshore. That’s what the Trump administration now says.
So quit your whining, both Carolinas.
Put a sock in it, Maryland. Chill out, California.
Zip your lip, Virginia.
Last week, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke unexpectedly exempted only Florida from Trump’s sweeping new plan to open once-protected coastal waters to oil and gas exploration.
“Unique” is how Zinke described the Sunshine State, and, by golly, we are. Here’s one thing that makes us different from the other seaboard states whose economies would be walloped by a major oil spill:
Rick Scott, our Republican governor, needed a favor.
14/. Seth Meyers on what is happening in Puerto Rico....this is excellent comedic reporting....five minutes....
Seth Meyers checked in on how the White House was dealing with the hurricane relief effort in Puerto Rico on Tuesday’s broadcast of “Late Night.”
After Hurricane Maria pounded the U.S. territory in September, President Donald Trumpgave himself a 10 out of 10 for his handling of the aftermath.
“I bet young Donald Trump wasn’t one of those kids you’d let grade his own homework,” said Meyers.
Almost four months later, the island is still suffering from major power outages, and experts say more than 1,000 people may have died as a result of the disaster.
15/. Good TV - the X-Files is back for ten episodes, and this review says it's excellent.....
Now that we’re well and deeply marinating in the post-truth era, a smidgen of a tinfoil hat fanatic exists in all of us. He’s been there all along, mind you, that little voice that spins impossible explanations and alternative facts to what we see and hear. Facts and studies be damned — what we really want, what we’ve always wanted, is to believe in the unbelievable.
Chris Carter has long played with this idea in the mythology driving “The X-Files,” a series that seemed like it would have enough content to ensure it would never run out of weirdness of explore, until it did. The presumed series finale in 2002 was a disappointing mess, as was the 2016 revival’s final episode, which lazily presented a world-ending scenario comparable to the worst episodes of “24” (As if you need reminding, bad episodes of that series were absolute stinkers by any standard).
16/. Good movies - 50 films to watch for in 2018, most with trailers!
The ink is barely dry on 2017, but we’ll still be watching and talking about its movies for months — the Oscars don’t even happen until March.
Still, a new crop of movies is rolling out. Many of the best films won’t emerge until later in the year, only showing up on critics’ lists and in theaters after they debut at events like the Sundance, Cannes, and Toronto film festivals. But I’ve compiled 50 buzzy movies already scheduled for release in 2018, from superhero films to animated comedies and a lot more.
Here’s to a new year at the cinema.
Todays video - a Kate McKinnon compilation of her funniest moments on SNL....what a talent she is....
Todays Marketing joke
People often ask for a simple explanation of "Marketing."
Well, here it is:
* You're a woman and you see a handsome guy at a party. You go up to him
and say, "I'm fantastic in bed."
That's Direct Marketing.
______________________________ ______________________________
* You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a handsome guy. One
of your friends goes up to him and, pointing at you, says, "She's fantastic
in bed."
That's Advertising.
______________________________ ______________________________
* You see a handsome guy at a party. You go up to him and get his
telephone number. The next day you call and say, "Hi, I'm fantastic in bed."
That's Telemarketing.
______________________________ ______________________________
* You see a guy at a party; you straighten your dress. You walk up to him
and pour him a drink. You say, "May I?" and reach up to straighten his tie,
brushing your breast lightly against his arm, and then say,
Well, here it is:
* You're a woman and you see a handsome guy at a party. You go up to him
and say, "I'm fantastic in bed."
That's Direct Marketing.
______________________________ ______________________________
* You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a handsome guy. One
of your friends goes up to him and, pointing at you, says, "She's fantastic
in bed."
That's Advertising.
______________________________ ______________________________
* You see a handsome guy at a party. You go up to him and get his
telephone number. The next day you call and say, "Hi, I'm fantastic in bed."
That's Telemarketing.
______________________________ ______________________________
* You see a guy at a party; you straighten your dress. You walk up to him
and pour him a drink. You say, "May I?" and reach up to straighten his tie,
brushing your breast lightly against his arm, and then say,
"By the way, I'm fantastic in bed."
That's Public Relations.
______________________________ ______________________________
* You're at a party and see a handsome guy. He walks up to you and says,
"I hear you're fantastic in bed."
That's Brand Recognition.
______________________________ ______________________________
*You're at a party and see a handsome guy. He fancies you, but you talk
him into going home with your friend.
That's a Sales Rep.
______________________________ ______________________________
* Your friend can't satisfy him so he calls you.
That's Tech Support.
______________________________ ______________________________
* You're on your way to a party when you realize that there could be
handsome men in all these houses you're passing, so you climb onto the roof of
one situated towards the center and shout at the top of your lungs, "I'm
fantastic in bed!"
That's Facebook.
______________________________ ______________________________
That's Public Relations.
______________________________ ______________________________
* You're at a party and see a handsome guy. He walks up to you and says,
"I hear you're fantastic in bed."
That's Brand Recognition.
______________________________ ______________________________
*You're at a party and see a handsome guy. He fancies you, but you talk
him into going home with your friend.
That's a Sales Rep.
______________________________ ______________________________
* Your friend can't satisfy him so he calls you.
That's Tech Support.
______________________________ ______________________________
* You're on your way to a party when you realize that there could be
handsome men in all these houses you're passing, so you climb onto the roof of
one situated towards the center and shout at the top of your lungs, "I'm
fantastic in bed!"
That's Facebook.
______________________________ ______________________________
Todays beaver joke
The doctor asked the man how he was feeling, and the 86-year-old said, "things are great, and I've never felt better! I now have a 20-year-old bride who is pregnant with my child. What do you think about that, doc?"
The doctor considered the question for a minute, and then began to tell a story.
"I have an older friend, much like you, who is an avid hunter and never misses a season. One day he was setting off to go hunting. In a bit of a hurry, he accidentally picked up his walking cane instead of his gun."
"As he neared a lake, he came across a very large male beaver sitting at the water's edge. He realized he left his gun at home, and so, he couldn't shoot the magnificent creature. Out of habit he raised his cane, aimed it at the animal as if it was his favorite hunting rifle, and yelled 'bang bang'. Miraculously, two shots rang out and the beaver fell dead."
"Now, what do you think of that?" asked the doctor.
The 86-year-old replied, "logic would strongly suggest that somebody else pumped a few rounds into that beaver."
The doctor replied, "my point exactly."
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