1/ Frank Rich on the news of the week.....
Attorney General William Barr. Photo: Win McNamee/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, why the Mueller investigation wasn’t Watergate, the role of the press in investigating Trump, and if Washington will return to normal.
Before Robert Mueller submitted his report to Attorney General William Barr, many people thought of Mueller’s work as a kind of Watergate investigation, with everything that means about presidential accountability. Now that his investigation, at least according to Barr, has ended inconclusively, were we wrong to think of it that way?
No one thought Mueller’s work was more of a Watergate investigation than Donald Trump, who outdid the Nixon template in trying to derail it, to the point of vilifying his own attorney general, Jeff Sessions, because he didn’t prevent it.
http://nymag.com/
2/ Cecily Strong as the manic Janine Pirro on SNL's Weekend Update....a very funny four minutes....
“Saturday Night Live’s” version of Jeanine Pirro, played by Cecily Strong, was so excited about what we know so far about special counsel Robert Mueller’s report that she got positively turned on.
“This Mueller report completely exonerated the president and therefore everybody on the Trump train. Woo woo!” Strong’s Pirro whooped on the “Weekend Update” segment.
It’s “crystal clear!” she nearly screamed. “No collusion, no obstruction.
3/ Bill Maher with an excellent suggestion for the Democrats.....five good minutes...
During his latest show, HBO’s Bill Maher called for Republicans to explain why “if socialism is such a one-way ticket to becoming the nightmare of Venezuela, then why do all the happiest countries in the world embrace it?”
After noting that socialist leaning countries — like Norway, Denmark, and Iceland — are among the happiest in the world according to a United Nations study, Maher said the right just doesn’t seem to get it https://www.mediaite.com/tv/
4/ Matt Taibbi with a scathing review of the media's role in Trump's rise to power.....excellent commentary....
Last weekend, I published a book chapter criticizing the Russiagate narrative, claiming it was a years-long press error on the scale of the WMD affair heading into the Iraq war.
Obviously (and I said this in detail), the WMD fiasco had a far greater real-world impact, with hundreds of thousands of lives lost and trillions in treasure wasted. Still, I thought Russiagate would do more to damage the reputation of the national news media in the end.
A day after publishing that excerpt, a Attorney General William Barr sent his summary of the report to Congress, containing a quote filed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller: “[T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.”
5/ Sandra Oh and Kate McKinnon with "Kiss"....a strangely amusing five minute sketch from SNL...
Kate McKinnon disappeared for a long, long stretch last night after the cold open, but made her reappearance count here as Louise, an 85-year old horn dog trying to get her co-workers to check off items on her sexual bucket list. Without McKinnon unlocking the magic way to say the word “kiss,” this sketch would be an interminable slog. Instead, thanks to her Indiana Jones-esque archeological dig into her own vocal chords, a journey that the scientific community would have deemed as egotistical folly, we get to enjoy another sublime McKinnon creation.
6/ In contrast to last week's column Andrew Sullivan sees some hope coming from the Mueller report......even though we haven't seen it!
Three cheers for this guy. Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
Why do I find the summary of the Mueller report by Attorney General William Barr to be something of a relief?
Firstly, I’m relieved as an American that a serious and dogged prosecutor deemed it impossible to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the president of the United States had knowingly conspired with a foreign government to undermine the integrity of the 2016 presidential election. It’s not exactly a high bar, I know, but we have been failing to reach the lowest bars lately, so count me a happy person. I’m glad, simply, that the worst doesn’t appear to be true. I prefer my presidents not to be traitors.
Second, we were able to hold an independent inquiry into a serious question of electoral malfeasance and see it to a conclusion, without Mueller being fired, or the inquiry blocked, or stymied.
http://nymag.com/
7/ Remember the Black Knight scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Here is SNL's version of that premise - "The Duel".....five surreal minutes....
What on the surface feels like an ode to the classic Black Knight sequence of Monty Python And The Holy Grail ultimately turns into one of the more subversive sketches of the season. On one level, there’s the dark comedy of seeing Sandra Oh’s bystander get shot in new and progressively violent ways. By underneath that, there’s a potent message about those that truly suffer when moronic men decide to wage petty war against one another.
8/ Adam Schiff is having none of the Barr version of the Mueller Report - he intends to get it all, and for that is the target of Trump and the right wing Fox machine.....
No lawmaker has been more critical of President Trump’s relationship with Russia than Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA). The House Intelligence Committee chairman has long claimed that plenty of evidence of collusion exists in plain sight, making him a frequent target of Trump’s Twitter tirades. So when Attorney General William Barr wrote on Sunday that the Mueller report “did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities,” the president and his allies came down hard on Schiff. During a phone interview with Sean Hannity Wednesday night, Trump even implied that Schiff’s repeated exhortations about collusion could be considered criminal. “You can say it’s a crime,” Trump said.
This is his wonderful and passioned two minute response to the Republicans....
9/ This is true!
10/ Michelle Goldberg in the Times with a worrisome column for women.....the abortion issue is getting ugly....
This week, a Georgia state representative, Ed Setzler, the sponsor of a bill that would ban most abortions as soon as a fetal heartbeat could be detected, spoke to a conservative group in the Atlanta suburbs about the legal fight he’d embarked on. “We need to maximize our influence over the next couple of weeks and then close this deal,” he said. Then, he continued, conservatives must mobilize behind Georgia’s Republican governor, Brian Kemp, as “he recruits the best legal team in the nation to take this to the highest court in the land.”https://www.nytimes.com/
11/ The excellent Samantha Bee on "collusion delusion.....six very funny minutes....
Samantha Bee analyzed the fallout this week from the release of Attorney General William P. Barr’s letter summarizing the Mueller report.
She was particularly bothered by a letter sent by President Trump’s 2020 campaign to TV producers, suggesting that they should refuse to bring on their shows certain Democrats who endorsed the idea that Trump had colluded with Russia’s election interference.
“Wow. Usually when he writes to TV producers it’s to ask them to hide footage of him saying the N-word.” — SAMANTHA BEE
12/ Stephen Colbert looks at the extraordinary speech Senator Mike lee gave this week......extraordinarily stupid that is....five minutes...
Senator Mike Lee of Utah on Wednesday gave a speech on the Senate floor that was sarcastic to the point of absurdity. In a sendup of the Green New Deal, a sweeping climate proposal put forward by left-wing Democrats, Lee used an image of Luke Skywalker riding a Tauntaun in a “Star Wars” film, as well as a painting of President Ronald Reagan on a dinosaur.
Stephen Colbert mimicked his technique, breaking out an easel, pictures and his own “Star Wars” reference.
“Senator Lee, you’re the most embarrassing part of a storied American institution. You, sir, are the Jar Jar Binks of the
Senate,” he said, unveiling a picture of the reviled character.
13/ I know you might think DDD is all doom and gloom about our way of life, politics and the fabric of life here in the old USofA, but watch
this one minute video from the BBC on China's roads.....and weep....
14/ This is interesting - how your emails are tracked! And a couple of ways to block them....
When I became a freelance writer after a job layoff a few years ago, I realized that waiting had become a second unpaid occupation. “It’s been
more than five days since I emailed a story pitch. Is my recipient just busy, ill, on vacation or totally disinterested?” I worried.
The not-knowing was the worst part
It was under this mounting frustration and anxiety that, on the recommendation of a fellow freelancer, I downloaded a tool originally meant for marketers but increasingly used by people who want to know if and when someone had actually seen their casually desperate “just following up” message: an email tracker.
15/ This is one of the wickedest Weekend Updates I have seen for a while.....the lads are doing groaners.....a very funny three minutes....
16/ Everyone has a weather app, but here are five recommended ones.....I just bought Dark Sky....
Bad weather is going to happen, whether you’re dressed for it or not. From unexpected heat waves and cold snaps to
sudden rainfall, having the foresight to look at a weather app is often the difference between a good day and a bad one.
Of course, not all weather apps are equal. Some are better designed than others, and a handful cost a few dollars to download, or have in-app purchases for certain features. And the one that came with your phone is often too basic to be super helpful. So what should you look for when picking the best weather app?http://time.com/5559691/
Todays Jewish joke
A widowed Jewish lady, still in good shape, was sunbathing on a totally deserted beach at Ft. Myers.
She looked up and noticed that a man her age, also in good shape, had walked up, placed his blanket on the sand near hers and began reading a book. Smiling, she attempted to strike up a conversation with him. "How are you today?" "Fine, thank you," he responded, and turned back to his book. "I love the beach. Do you come here often?" she asked. "First time since my wife passed away 2 years ago," he replied and turned back to his book. "I'm sorry to hear that. My husband passed away three years ago and it is very lonely," she countered.
"Do you live around here?" She asked.
Yes, I live over in Cape Coral ", he answered, and again he resumed reading. Trying to find a topic of common interest, she persisted, "Do you like pussy cats?" With that, the man dropped his book, came over to her blanket, tore off her swimsuit and gave her the most passionate lovemaking of her life. When the cloud of sand began to settle, she gasped and asked the man, "How did you know that was what I wanted?" The man replied, "How did you know my name was Katz?" |
Todays drunk joke
A guy was in a bar about as drunk as its possible to get.
A group of guys notice his condition and decide to be good Samaritans and take him home.
First they stand him up to get to his wallet so they can find out where he lives, but he keeps falling down.
He fell down eight more times on the way to the car, each time with a real thud.
After they get to his house, he falls down another four times getting him to the door.
His wife comes to the door, and one guy says, "We brought your husband home."
The wife asks, "Where's his wheelchair?"
Todays British joke
I was in a Pub on Saturday night. Had a few drinks.
I noticed two very large women by the bar.
Both had strong accents, so I asked "Hey, are you two ladies from
Scotland?"
One of them screamed, "It's Wales you friggin Idiot!"
So I immediately apologized and said, "Sorry, are you 2 whales from
Scotland?"
That's all I remember
Todays bonus married life joke
What is Celibacy?
Celibacy can be a choice in life, or a condition imposed by circumstances.
While attending a Marriage Weekend, Frank and his wife Ann listened to the instructor declare, "It is essential that husbands
While attending a Marriage Weekend, Frank and his wife Ann listened to the instructor declare, "It is essential that husbands
and wives know the things that are important to each other. "
He then addressed the men.
"Can you name and describe your wife's favorite flower?"
"Can you name and describe your wife's favorite flower?"
Frank leaned over, touched Ann’s arm gently, and whispered,
"Gold Medal-All-Purpose, Isn't it?"And thus began Frank's life of celibacy.
"Gold Medal-All-Purpose, Isn't it?"And thus began Frank's life of celibacy.
