1/ Andrew Sullivan takes most of us [including all of the media] to task for leaping to conclusions about on the Covington MAGA boys and the Tribal elder.....I also leapt to jump on the teen in our last DDD, mainly because of the anti-abortion angle, the MAGA hat and his behavior reming me of a younger Brett Kavanaugh.....
But having read this column, I stand corrected....a little....
Photo: John Duncan via YouTube
One of the advantages of taking Saturdays off the web entirely is that I wasn’t aware of L’Affaire Covington until it was almost over. It’s one of those occasions I’m deeply glad I quit blogging 24/7 four years ago and disengaged from Twitter last month. I’m not going to dunk on the multitudes who badly misjudged a moment in time. We’re all fallible. But I did make time to watch the full 100 minutes of YouTube footage that covered the scene in front of the Lincoln Memorial long before, during, and after the smirk that was seen across the world.
What I saw was extraordinary bigotry, threats of violence, hideous misogyny, disgusting racism, foul homophobia, and anti-Catholicism — not by the demonized schoolboys, but by grown men with a bullhorn, a small group of self-styled Black Hebrew Israelites.
2/ If there's one person in public life that stands by his comments, and doesn't cave at the slightest pushback it's Bill Maher.....love this five minute riff on adults and comics.....funny too!
3/ Matt Taibbi on why and how AOC [Alevandria Ocasio-Cortez] terrifies the elites and the establishment of both parties.....an excellent article....
You go girl!
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Crusher of Sacred Cows
With its silly swipes at AOC, the American political establishment is once again revealing its blindness to its own unpopularity
One of the first things you learn covering American politicians is that they’re not terribly bright.
The notion that Hill denizens are brilliant 4-D chess players is pure myth, the product of too many press hagiographies of the Game Change variety and too many Hollywood fantasies like House of Cards and West Wing.
The average American politician would lose at checkers to a zoo gorilla. They’re usually in office for one reason: someone with money sent them there, often to vote yes on a key appropriation bill or two. On the other 364 days of the year, their job is to shut their yaps and approximate gravitas anytime they’re in range of C-SPAN cameras.
4/ SNL's "Weekend Update" on the Buzzfeed story from last week....90 seconds
Weekend Update’s Michael Che suggested BuzzFeed sticks to what it is used to from now on.
This week, Special Counsel Robert Mueller issued a rare statementdisputing the accuracy of at least part of BuzzFeed’s explosive report claiming President Donald Trump told his former fixer Michael Cohento lie in front of Congress.
5/ Think average people are angry and unhappy now? Wait 10 years.....
This is a report in the Times of what the giant corporations and money boys are going towards at full speed - automation of your job....
DAVOS, Switzerland — They’ll never admit it in public, but many of your bosses want machines to replace you as soon as possible.
I know this because, for the past week, I’ve been mingling with corporate executives at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos. And I’ve noticed that their answers to questions about automation depend very much on who is listening.
In public, many executives wring their hands over the negative consequences that artificial intelligence and automation could have for workers. They take part in panel discussions about building “human-centered A.I.” for the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” — Davos-speak for the corporate adoption of machine learning and other advanced technology — and talk about the need to provide a safety net for people who lose their jobs as a result of automation.
But in private settings, including meetings with the leaders of the many consulting and technology firms whose pop-up storefronts line the Davos Promenade, these executives tell a different story: They are racing to automate their own work forces to stay ahead of the competition, with little regard for the impact on workers.
6/ If you like wry humour this guy does photoshopping on request....
7/ Some background on how Trump gets his way....good article about this awful man....
Interesting that it took our airports close to shutting down to get this chaos ended...
Three decades ago, Donald J. Trump waged a public battle with the talk show host Merv Griffin to take control of what would become Mr. Trump’s third Atlantic City casino. Executives at Mr. Trump’s company warned that the casino would siphon revenue from the others. Analysts predicted the associated debt would crush him.
The naysayers would be proved right, but throughout the turmoil Mr. Trump fixated on just one outcome: declaring himself a winner and Mr. Griffin a loser.
As president, Mr. Trump has displayed a similar fixation in his standoff with Congress over leveraging a government shutdown to gain funding for a wall on the Mexican border. As he did during decades in business, Mr. Trump has insulted adversaries, undermined his aides, repeatedly changed course, extolled his primacy as a negotiator and induced chaos.
8/ Bill Maher with his opener....one of his better ones, very funny and topical [shutdown, MAGA boy, Roger Stone] with
some LOL moments.... six minutes....
9/ If you have low blood pressure, read this - guaranteed to make you pissed at our disgusting medical industry....
“Doctor, could you please redo my insulin prescription? The one you gave me is wrong.” My patient’s frustration was obvious over the phone. She was standing at the pharmacy, unable to get her diabetes medication.
We had gone through this just the week before. I’d prescribed her the insulin she’d been on, at the correct dosage, but when she showed up at her pharmacy she learned that her insurance company no longer covered that brand. After a series of phone messages back and forth, I’d redone the prescription with what I’d thought was the correct insulin, but I was apparently wrong. Again.
Between 2002 and 2013, prices tripled for some insulins. Many cost around $300 a vial, without any viable generic alternative.
10/ Seth Meyers with the amusing story of a guy who was accidentally invited to a strangers bachelor party, but went anyway. An amusing
and strangely heartening three minutes....
11/ Rolling Stone with the 50 most anticipated movies of 2019....
Superheroes, sequels and Martin Scorsese reteaming with Robert De Niro. Live-action Disney redos, Stephen King adaptations, franchise kick-offs and the end of a galaxy-far-far-away trilogy. Horror movies, heist flicks and an imaginary Hitler. Contemporary literary dramas butt up against legendary Broadway musicals getting the big-screen treatment. Tarantino goes old Hollywood, Joaquin goes full Joker, Greta Gerwig goes Alcott and Godzilla goes to town on his fellow giant monsters. Celebrities solve murder mysteries and Pikachu investigates crimes. At a glance, the next 12 months of movies looks like it’s going to be a wild, wild ride.
Todays music video - the excellent Above and Beyond with "Can't Sleep", live at Dorchester Hall....
Todays toilet joke
I was in a public toilet and had just sat down, when I heard a voice from the next cubicle, he said “Hi!, how are you?”
Embarrassed, I said, “I’m doing fine”.
The voice said “So what are you up to?”.
I said, “Just doing the same as you, sitting here!”.
From next door, “Can I come over?”.
Embarrassed, I said, “I’m doing fine”.
The voice said “So what are you up to?”.
I said, “Just doing the same as you, sitting here!”.
From next door, “Can I come over?”.
Annoyed, I said, "rather busy right now”.
The voice said, “Listen, I will have to call you back, there’s an idiot next door answering all my questions"
The voice said, “Listen, I will have to call you back, there’s an idiot next door answering all my questions"
Todays Southern jokes
THE TOP 3O THINGS THAT YOU’LL NEVER HEAR A SOUTHERNER SAY:3O . When I retire, I'm movin' north.29. I'll take Shakespeare for 1000, Alex.28. Duct tape won't fix that.27. Come to think of it, I'll have a Heineken26. We don't keep firearms in this house.25. You can't feed that to the dog.24. No kids in the back of the pickup, it's just not safe.23. Wrestling is fake.22. We're vegetarians.21. Do you think my gut is too big?20. I'll have grapefruit and lettuce instead of biscuits and gravy.19. Honey, we don't need another dog.18. Who cares who won the Civil War?
16. Too many mounted deer heads detract from the decor.15. I just couldn't find a thing at Wal-Mart today.14. Trim the fat off that steak.13. Cappuccino tastes better than espresso.12. The tires on that truck are too big.11. I've got it all on the C: DRIVE.10. Unsweetened tea tastes better.9. My fiancee, Bobbie Jo, is registered at Tiffany's.8. I've got two cases of Bottled Water for the Super Bowl.7. Checkmate.6. She's too young to be wearing a bikini.5. Hey! Here's an episode of "Hee Haw" that we haven't seen.4. I don't have a favorite college team.3. You Guys.2. Those shorts ought to be a little longer, Betty Mae.
1. We have too many guns now, why do I need another one?
Todays old dog joke
An old Doberman starts chasing rabbits and before long, discovers that he's lost. Wandering about, he notices a panther heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch.The old Doberman thinks, "Oh, oh! I'm in deep trouble now!" Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the panther is about to leap, the old Doberman exclaims loudly,"Boy, that was one delicious panther! I wonder, if there are any more around here?"Hearing this, the young panther halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees."Whew!," says the panther, "That was close! That old Doberman nearly had me!"Meanwhile, a squirrel who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the panther. So, off he goes.The squirrel soon catches up with the panther, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the panther.The young panther is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Here, squirrel, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine!"Now, the old Doberman sees the panther coming with the squirrel on his back and thinks, "What am I going to do now?," but instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old Doberman says ......"Where's that squirrel? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another panther!"Moral of this story...Don't mess with the old dogs... Age and skill will always overcome youth and treachery! BS and brilliance only come with age and experience.
