1/ Frank Rich on the weeks news....
Mueller is under his skin. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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 panic over Mueller, Mike Espy’s loss in Mississippi, and the deal Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta negotiated for multimillionaire and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The flurry of Mueller-related headlines this week have led some observers to speculate that the investigation’s “endgame may be in sight,” but news of Paul Manafort’s continued communications with the White House, Jerome Corsi’s leak of a Mueller draft document, and changes to Roger Stone’s story have muddied the waters. If Mueller is close to issuing a report, how will he cut through the noise?
The whole point of the incessant lying by Donald Trump and Manafort — and the apparent lying of Stone and Corsi as well — is exactly that: to muddy as many waters as possible so any Mueller report will be drowned out by what Kellyanne Conway once labeled “alternative facts.” Right now we only know bits and pieces of Mueller’s findings. (Nor do we know whether he is close to issuing a report or not.) But the thing about stories built on actual facts, as Mueller’s will be, is that they tend to be powerful and command attention because they add up.
2/ What going on with Bernie? This story tells us......
Bernie Sanders was gratified, if a bit amused, to hear Barack Obama call Medicare for All a “good new idea” in September. The idea has recently become very popular among Democratic politicians, even middle-of-the-road ones with presidential aspirations. In recent polling, 70 percent of Americans say they support it. But of course Medicare for All isn’t a new idea. It was one of the pillars of Sanders’s 2016 campaign for president. He’s been talking about a version of it for over 30 years.
3/ Trevor Noah with four amusing minutes on Trump and the climate report......
The federal government’s latest report on climate change and President Donald Trump’s reaction to it have “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah very upset.
“This is big news,” Noah said. “Thirteen agencies, all part of the Trump administration, have released an official report saying that manmade climate change is not only real but its effects are already here.”
In response to the report, Trump said it was “fine” and added, “I don’t believe it.”
A flabbergasted Noah said: “You don’t? How? ‘Fine’? How? How can one man possess all the stupidity of mankind?”
4/ Matt Taibbi on the 2020 election cycle, which starts right now.....and how Trump's chances are better than you think. Read this, it's scary....
When I first heard Donald Trump on the campaign trail, I thought, “What a joke!”
When I last heard Donald Trump on the campaign trail, I thought, “How long will it take for my children to learn Icelandic?”
I underestimated Donald Trump once. I’ll never do it again.
Don’t think Democrats regaining the House has any bearing on the 2020 presidential run, which horrifyingly is beginning right about now. Campaign-trail reporters like myself (at least, those of us who don’t do the smart thing and off ourselves before the race starts) would do well to remember the mistake we made in 2015-2016.
5/ Maureen Dowd with a moving column about how her family is split in this world of partisan politics.....it's specially relevant about Kavanaugh.....most interesting and a little painful....worth reading!
Monument Valley, Utah, last month.
My older brother Michael taught me many things.
He taught me to hold vinyl records gingerly at the edges, so I wouldn’t smudge them, and how to wipe them down with a soft cloth before returning them to their sleeves.
He taught me to love classical music, to conjure 1001 Arabian Nights tales while listening to Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade.” And he taught me about jazz and the wondrous Fats Waller.
He took me to the American Film Institute to see “Shane” and “An American in Paris,” sparking a lifelong love affair with vintage movies. And he gave me “Dracula,” written by the Dublin-born Bram Stoker, sparking a lifelong love affair with vampires.
6/ A one minute comparison on how Fox News treated Hillary vs. Ivanka's current Email scandal....
a good one from Stephen Colbert...
7/ And a follow-up....irony indeed...
8/ The excellent Benjamin Studebaker on why we are stuck with Nancy Pelosi.....this should be required reading for Democrats....
There are three main tasks for the Speaker:
- Pass compelling pieces of legislation through the House to demonstrate to voters that the Democratic Party has bold new ideas for 2020. The Senate and the President will not support this legislation, but in passing it the Democratic Party can shape the public discourse heading into a presidential race, in much the same way that the House Republicans shaped the discourse in the 2011-2016 part of Obama’s presidency.
- Extract meaningful concessions from the President and the Senate in the next budget showdown.
- Campaign for the party effectively through public appearances and rhetoric so that in 2020 Democrats win even more seats.
9/ Some of you may remember Rodney Dangerfield [whose act was definitely an acquired taste] and here he is on the Carson show, 10 minutes of [in my opinion] some of the best [and the fastest] delivery of jokes by any comedian ever. He even has Carson on the floor....
10/ Some of you may think the stories of how we are destroying our environment are overblown, but read this in-depth article from the Times and despair anew....frankly we don't deserve this planet....
How corporate desire for palm oil has ruined a country.....
Sludge settles on low-grade cooking oil extracted from palm fruit at a mill in Sintang.
The fields outside Kotawaringin village in Central Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo, looked as if they had just been cleared by armies. None of the old growth remained — only charred stumps poking up from murky, dark pools of water. In places, smoke still curled from land that days ago had been covered with lush jungle. Villagers had burned it all down, clearing the way for a lucrative crop whose cultivation now dominates the entire island: the oil-palm tree.
11/ Every year the British department store John Lewis does a Christmas commercial, and this year is Elton John and his life....it's wonderful.....
12/ The Times has put together answers to climate change questions....an interactive, clear and simple primer on our climate.....
13/ John Oliver with his final episode tackled Trump's authoritarian streak.....one of his better ones, comedic reporting defined.....
John Oliver took a look at the rise of authoritarian leaders around the world on Sunday and examined just how close President Donald Trump has come to joining their ranks.
The host of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” said authoritarians from Brazil to Russia tend to share three traits: They like to project strength, demonize their enemies and dismantle institutions, particularly the ones that could act as a check on their power.
“As we’ve gone through each of these traits, you may have found yourself thinking, ‘Uh-oh! Some of these are ringing a bell,’” Oliver said.
14/ This should be interesting for a few of our readers....
The muscles of older men and women who have exercised for decades are indistinguishable in many ways from those of healthy 25-year-olds, according to an uplifting new study of a group of active septuagenarians.
These men and women also had much higher aerobic capacities than most people their age, the study showed, making them biologically about 30 years younger than their chronological ages, the study’s authors concluded
15/ Rolling Stone's TV critic with the 20 best shows for streaming......I'll bet you [like me] are missing some good ones....
In the nearly six years since Netflix released the first season of House of Cards, the Big Three streaming networks (Netflix, Amazon, Hulu) have produced and premiered close to 150 original scripted series for adults. If you add in kids’ programming, foreign acquisitions and the occasional continuation of a show canceled by a more traditional American network (The Mindy Project, The Killing), that total skyrockets to a number frankly too high to calculate without bursting into tears.
That quantity has not always been matched by quality. For the most part, the streamers seem content with shows that will creatively grade out at best anywhere between a B- and a B+. And the way that so many streaming drama seasons are structured as really long movies means that even the better ones tend to suffer from bad pacing and repetition.
16/ Mary and I just watched two episodes of one of the best comedies ever....."Sally4Ever", a British 1/2 hour comedy on HBO.....it's exceptionallyraunchy, but hysterically funny as only the best British comedies can be....the trailer doesn't do it justice, but you'll get the idea....
Todays video - a black bear chews on a kayak, while the girl who owns it implores the bear to stop....sad but funny viral video...
Todays puns....
1. A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The stewardess looks at him and says,
"I'm sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger."
2. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other and says: "Dam!".
3. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Not surprisingly, it sank,
proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.
4. Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says "I've lost my electron." The other says "Are you sure?"
The first replies "Yes, I'm positive."
5. Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal?
His goal:transcend dental medication.
6. A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing
their recent tournament victories.After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and
asked them to disperse. "But why?" they asked, as they moved off.
"Because", he said, "I can't stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer."
"Because", he said, "I can't stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer."
7. A woman has twins and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt
and is named "Ahmal." The other goes to a family in Spain; they name him "Juan." Years later,
Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture,she tells her
husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal.
Her husband responds, "They're twins! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal."
Her husband responds, "They're twins! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal."
8. Friars behind on their belfry payments opened a small florist shop to raise funds. Since
everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town thought the
competition was unfair.
He asked the good fathers to close down, but they would not. So,the rival florist hired Hugh
He asked the good fathers to close down, but they would not. So,the rival florist hired Hugh
MacTaggart, a thug in town to "persuade"them to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed
their store, saying he'd be back if they didn't close up shop. Terrified, they did so, thereby
proving that: Only Hugh, can prevent florist friars.
9. Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an
impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail
and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him .(Oh, man, this is so bad,
it's good).....A super calloused fragile mystic vexed by halitosis.
10. And finally, there was the person who sent ten different
puns to friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make
puns to friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make
them laugh. No pun in ten did!
Todays restaurant joke
Last week, we took some friends to a new restaurant, 'Steve's Place,' and noticed that the waiter who took our order carried a spoon in his shirt pocket. It seemed a little strange.
When the busboy brought our water and utensils, I observed that he also had a spoon in his shirt pocket. Then I looked around and saw that all the staff had spoons in their pockets. When the waiter came back to serve our soup I inquired, 'Why the spoon?'
'Well,' he explained, 'the restaurant's owner hired Andersen Consulting to revamp all of our processes. After several months of analysis, they concluded that the spoon was the most frequently dropped utensil. It represents a drop frequency of approximately 3 spoons per table per hour.
'If our personnel are better prepared, we can reduce the number of trips back to the kitchen and save 15 man-hours per shift.'
As luck would have it, I dropped my spoon and he replaced it with his spare. 'I'll get another spoon next time I go to the kitchen instead of making an extra trip to get it right now.' I was impressed.
I also noticed that there was a string hanging out of the waiter's fly.
Looking around, I saw that all of the waiters had the same string hanging from their flies. So, before he walked off, I asked the waiter, 'Excuse me, but can you tell me why you have that string right there?'
'Oh, certainly!' Then he lowered his voice. 'Not everyone is so observant. That consulting firm I mentioned also learned that we can save time in the restroom. By tying this string to the tip of our you-know-what, we can pull it out without touching it and eliminate the need to wash our hands, shortening the time spent in the restroom by 76.39%.
I asked quietly, 'After you get it out, how do you put it back?'
'Well,' he whispered, 'I don't know about the others, but I use the spoon.
