1/ Another powerful Andrew Sullivan column in New York Magazine.....his lead is the horrors of the Catholic church, and his two other topics are also excellent....
There are several cases where Cardinal Donald Wuerl, now archbishop of Washington, clearly protected and enabled child rapists. Photo: Franco Origlia/Getty Images
After a while, I couldn’t continue reading the Pennsylvania grand jury report on sexual abuse in six dioceses in the Catholic Church. Apart from the rising nausea, I realized the horror of each incident had begun to numb my conscience, and the sheer number of cases had numbed it still further. One case is a tragedy; thousands of cases can too easily become a statistic. Like dealing with Trump’s lies, you can get dizzy following the specific horrors committed against children, and the excuses and prevarications and silence of so many in the hierarchy. Which is why specifics matter. They reveal the core nature of the evil involved.
2/ Seth Meyers on Trump and Omarosa....a good five minutes....
Toward the end of a “Closer Look” segment that took on the fallout from Omarosa Manigault Newman’s tell-all book Unhinged, Seth Meyers came to this conclusion: “This is how Trumpism works. Everyone is conning everyone else. And in the process they’re conning the rest of us too.”
This led the Late Night host to note a “rare moment of honesty” on Fox & Friends this week, when the hosts “basically admitted as much.”
3/ Thomas Friedman with a very good column - putting climate change on the ballot in 2020.....
Which leads me to ask why Florida's Bill Nelson, our comatose Democratic Senator, isn't running ads featuring the unspeakable Rick Scott's refusal to let Florida's government even discuss what is happening to our environment....or is he?
Flames reached the backyard of a home in Lake Elsinore, Calif., last week
What if this time is different?
There is an assumption that the 2020 presidential election will be business as usual: Donald Trump will run on the economy, social issues and immigration, and the Democratic candidate will run on income inequality, Democratic socialism and Trump’s character — the 2020 version of right-left U.S. politics.
But I believe there’s a sleeper issue out there that could force its way into the election. What if Mother Nature is on the ballot?
What if all the extreme weather this year — linked to climate change — gets even worse and more costly? What if the big 2020 issue is not left-right — but hot-cold or wet-dry? What if the big 2020 issue is not “Who lost Russia?” or “Who lost North Korea?” but “Who lost planet Earth?”
4/ Trump has divided the country, and family, friends and workplaces......the partisan rancor has affected us all.....
Really interesting story from the Times....
While his case and the resulting backlash were extreme, Mr. Storey, 34, instigated the kind of zero-sum political confrontation that breaks out every day all across the country as politics seeps into and disrupts everyday life. To a degree that is unique to this period and this president, disputes over politics have divided Americans’ homes, strained marriages, ruined friendships and invaded the workplace.
A couple in Georgia, married two decades, won’t speak when the husband leaves his unwashed mug supporting President Trump in the sink; his wife refuses to touch it. A teenager eating at a Texas fast food restaurant had his “Make America Great Again” hat ripped off his head and a drink thrown in his face. A mother in New England sought the help of professional conflict mediators during the holidays because her two daughters — one who was pro-Trump, the other anti-Trump — had stopped speaking to each other.
5/ Stephen Colbert and Andrew Cuomo's big mistake......an amusing two minutes....
Stephen Colbert blasted New York Governor Andrew Cuomo over his “America was never that great” remarks.
At an event in New York City, Cuomo mocked President Donald Trump for his 2016 slogan “Make America Great Again.”
“We’re not going to make America great again… it was never that great,” Cuomo told the crowd.
Before playing the clip, Colbert asked his audience “spot” the “stupid” thing he said, jokingly warning them that it “subtle to pick out.
6/ Michael Tomasky with some thoughts on why Republicans continue to cheat.....it's now their MO, and Trump is the embodiment of their shameless philosophy....
OPINION
Some friends and I were musing in this post-Omarosa moment about what Republicans would do if a tape in fact emerged of Donald Trump saying the n-word. They’d denounce him, of course. And I’m sure that on some level, most of them would find it genuinely offensive.
But what would they, you know, do? One assumes that Tim Scott and Mia Love, the two African American Republicans on Capitol Hill, would be awfully worked up. Among the remaining 285 white ones, a couple would give thundering floor speeches, probably the same old suspects, Flake and Corker, who are retiring. Ben Sasse would hit social media, as is his ineffectual custom. Then, if recent history is any guide, they’d do… nothing. Another controversy would erupt, the n-word story would move out of the cable-news cycle, and the Republicans would skate away.
The question is why. The conventional wisdom answer, one I’ve believed myself, is “they’re afraid of Trump’s base.” That’s kind of true, but I have come to believe that isn’t the reason.
7/ The Colbert show with Trump's greatest hits.....pretty good, two minutes....
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” has compiled President Donald Trump’s “classic bigoted hits” into one (spoof) EDM album.
Introducing… “NOW That’s What I Call Racist.”
According to the fake promo that aired Thursday, the record contains Trump’s “hottest derogatory tracks” that will “have you grabbing your torch” in no time.
Songs include “Muslim Ban,” “Build A Wall” and “Obama’s Birth Certificate” — and there’s a special offer.
8/ Paul Krugman with another good column - here he defends Nancy Pelosi as the most accomplished House Speaker for decades.....
Interesting - there was a recent poll that said Pelosi-hate didn't work that well with Republicans.....
Some Republicans seem to be telling voters that their biggest selling point is simply that they aren’t Nancy Pelosi
Normally, a party that gives away $2 trillion without worrying about where the money will come from can buy itself at least a few votes. But Donald Trump’s tax cut remains remarkably unpopular, and Republicans barely mention it on the campaign trail — in fact, Democrats are running against the tax cut more than Republicans are running on it.
Nor are Republicans talking much about Trump’s trade war, which also remains unpopular.
What, then, does the G.O.P. have to run on? It can hype the supposed menace from illegal immigrants — but that hasn’t been gaining much traction, either. Instead, Republicans’ attack ads have increasingly focused on one of their usual boogeymen — or, rather, a boogeywoman: Nancy Pelosi, the former and possibly future speaker of the House.
9/ John Oliver with one of his deep dives into the world of "Astroturfing", making advocacy groups sound the opposite of their mission.....18 minutes....
John Oliver of “Last Week Tonight” wants to make sure Americans aren’t fooled by “astroturfing,” which he said is the “fake grassroots” practice of “corporations or political groups disguising themselves as spontaneous, authentic popular movements.”
These groups have names that can be “deliberately misleading,” Oliver said on Sunday’s broadcast of his HBO show.
The group “Save Our Tips,” for example, sounds like an advocacy group for wait staff, but is actually financed by restaurant owners to oppose efforts to raise the minimum wage. “The National Wetlands Coalition worked on behalf of oil companies and real estate developers,” Oliver added. And the American Council on Science and Health is financed by chemical manufacturers, among others.
“It’s pure, straight-up opposite world,” he said.
10/ I know we put our a lot of stories about climate change, but no apologies - it's the biggest issue we are facing nationally and globally and it's being ignored. But whatever......
I didn't emphasize this point below from "Goodbye Miami" because living in Mount Dora [which is 160 feet above sea level] helps you look at the disaster that is coming to South Florida perhaps a little smugly, but if the State goes bankrupt it will affect everyone....
After Hurricane Andrew hit in 1992, many large insurers stopped offering property coverage in the state, citing the high risks of hurricane insurance. That left Florida in a dangerous position, with only small regional insurers to underwrite storm coverage for homeowners. But in the event of a large storm, the small insurers don’t have sufficient capital to cover the claims they would receive. To remedy the situation, the state began offering its own low-cost insurance under the name Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, which has become the largest insurer in the state. By subsidizing insurance, lawmakers hoped to keep costs down and development booming. The problem is, Florida is now on the hook for billions of dollars. “A single big storm could bankrupt the state,” says Eli Lehrer, an insurance expert and president of the R Street Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C.
11/ Glacier National Park is on fire....
Now, another milestone: Saturday was the hottest day in the history of Glacier National Park, and its first recorded time reaching 100 degrees F.
On the same day, lightning started three fires in the Montana park, which has since been partly evacuated and closed.
On Sunday, hot and dry winds helped the biggest fire expand rapidly. Authorities have taken extreme measures, including deploying smokejumpers and dispatching firefighters by foot to reach the parts of the fire in rough terrain. So far, according to the National Park Service, these efforts have not been effective to slow the fire’s spread.
12/ We need to worry about the quiet ones - like the troll Stephen Miller.....great story from Vanity Fair....
Stephen Miller in New York.
“THERE WON’T EVEN BE A PAPER TRAIL”: HAS STEPHEN MILLER BECOME A SHADOW MASTER AT THE STATE DEPARTMENT?
For the past year, Miller has been quietly gutting the U.S. refugee program, slashing the number of people allowed into the country to the lowest level in decades. “His name hasn’t been on anything,” says a former U.S. official who worked on refugee issues. “He is working behind the scenes, he has planted all of his people in all of these positions, he is on the phone with them all of the time, and he is creating a side operation that will circumvent the normal, transparent policy process.” And he is succeeding.
13/ Sam Bee with seven minutes of "Fascists to Watch 2018"......amusing....
https://www.huffingtonpost.com
14/ Go on, take the test.....
But an interesting new quiz claims to be 98 percent effective at determining people’s political affiliations by asking questions that have zero to do with politics.
15/ A story that will disgust you......but when you read it, read the comments too.....
Police Defend Using Taser on 87-Year-Old Syrian Immigrant Picking Dandelions
olice are defending an officer's decision to use his Taser against an 87-year-old woman in Georgia after she allegedly stepped toward them with a knife she was using to cut dandelions.
“Looks like she's walking around looking for some vegetation to cut down or something,” a 911 caller reported.
olice are defending an officer's decision to use his Taser against an 87-year-old woman in Georgia after she allegedly stepped toward them with a knife she was using to cut dandelions.
On Friday afternoon, Martha Al-Bishara, an American citizen originally from Syria, walked into a wooded lot behind a Boys and Girls Club in Chatsworth, near her house, to snip a few plants for a salad to help her cholesterol, her nephew Solomon Douhne told Oxygen.com.
16/ One for our DDD audience.....a great SNL skit "Amazon Echo Silver", Alexa for older folks! Yes you....
17/ Interesting story on the Porsche Design Tower in Sunny Isles Beach just north of Miami.....how each condo has a garage for your car. What the article also says is that the developer built all seven of Trump's Florida condos, and that this Porsche Tower is almost sold out - to Russian mafia and oligarchs.....
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