1/ Why defund the police is such a terrible idea, and why this issue is especially sensitive for Democrats.....
Officers arresting a protester. Photo: Nathan Howard/Getty Images
Despite their open disputation, Democrats and Republicans agree on at least one aspect of the unrest that’s roiled the summer: The party in charge matters for maintaining public order. But for all their blame-laying, it’s become clear that neither side has a compelling answer to a thornier dilemma: the disorderly behavior of the police.
2/ The Lincoln Project with a hard hitting Lindsey Graham ad - "Parasite"....
3/ Occasionally we find a story which we call an epiphany - it clarifies and/or summarises a situation or problem clearly and truly opens one's eyes. This is one of those articles - in Rolling Stone anthropologist Wade Davis writes about the slow motion collapse of America as the leader of the free world. All Empires have a sell by date, and he persuasively explains how our era is coming to its end.
I wish I could think of flaws in his arguments and conclusions, but I can't. I also think that some of you [as well as I] are feeling a sense of unease about the future, but I'd rather have the truth than continuing to live in a bubble where everything seems to be normal. It isn't, and it isn't sustainable.
Davis has looked at America as a society and drawn his conclusions, that basically we aren't a very nice country. - nice to each other, and indeed the rest of the world. We used to be, but not any more.....
And note Davis doesn't factor in economic and financial pressure from the effects of climate change.
Anyway we report, you decide - but forewarned is forearmed....
4/ Remember the Vice-Presidential debate in 2008 between then Senator Joe Biden and Sarah Palin? Of course not, but you may remember SNL's version......still funny, about 12 minutes....
5/ Oh yes you do!
6/ The historian Michael Bechloss has been trolling Trump for days with pictures of Presidents with veterans.....
Some wonderful images....
Jimmy Carter and Max Cleland....
7/ Fun story from Huffington Post about a book titled "Trump - The Useful Idiot"
8/ Ever heard of a corporation called Palantir? You should be aware of it - it's the company behind the big brother technology being used by police and security forces around the world.....nasty stuff....
In 2017, the Trump administration first set its sights on a target it would return to repeatedly in the coming years: immigrant children.
Thousands of kids were crossing the border alone, often seeking to reunify with families living in the United States.
9/ I'm there....with a full bladder.....
10/ Rolling Stone compiles a list of "enemies of the environment"....the usual suspects, and a few new ones....
https://www.rollingstone.com/
11/ Tom Tomorrow....
12/ You may have seen Trump's science adviser say Covid-19 is no danger to young people.
This of course has a tiny grain of truth in it, but the reality is much more complicated and far more dangerous.
Here are some facts.....good, informative story from The Atlantic....
the new philosophy of COVID-19 is circulating through the Republican Party and conservative media. If you look closely, you might notice that it resembles an early philosophy of COVID-19 that circulated through the Republican Party and conservative media: If young people get this disease, it won’t be so bad—and it might even be good.
Scott Atlas, the new White House science adviser and Trump-whisperer, seems to be the ringleader of this emergent corona-stoicism.
13/ David Wallace-Wells on the California fires, why they are happening and what we need to do to prevent or mitigate the damage.
But we won't, of course.....
A concise and informative summary of California's dilemma....
The view from the hills above Berkeley, California, at 9 a.m. on September 9. Photo: Clara Mokri
What can be done? On the eve of Labor Day weekend, three of the four largest fires in state history were still burning, a Bay Area ring of fire, with none of them yet entirely “contained.”
14/ A most interesting story about Trump, and how he's smarter than we think and he's playing a well thought out long game.....not sure I agree, but Trump is definitely more cunning than we think....
It was all an act. Back in February, when everyone was trying to warn him about an impending pandemic, Donald Trump under-reacted. He didn’t seem to get it. He dismissed the experts. He called it a democratic hoax. In response, democrats mocked him as a fool. Now we’re finding out the truth.
15/ Would like to see this visit....
16/ Terrible story on how smuggled cellphones in Alabama prisons are used to extort money from prisoners' families....
remind me to never, ever go to Alabama....
If a single inmate could reflect Alabama’s dysfunctional prison system, it might be a tall man with a walled right eye and a drug-addled past, trying to survive at a violent penitentiary with a thriving shadow market in contraband.
His name was Joseph Michael Wood, and he was doing life at the St. Clair maximum-security prison for a couple of inept armed robberies. But he made the best of it, taking courses in everything from anger management to engine repair and proudly sending each certificate of completion to his mother.
17/ The highly anticipated remake of "Dune" will be here in months, so here is the trailer......directed by Denis Villeneuve,
starring Timothee Chalumet....
18/ If you follow me on FB you will notice for a couple of weeks now I have been posting the daily news report from Heather Cox Richardson, a historian who thoughtfully collates the important news of the day, and always includes stories you have never heard of. It's a five minute read, and I liken her to the written version of Rachel Maddow....not just reporting news, but also intelligent comment.
Anyway she has written a new book 'How The South Won The Civil War", and here is the review from the Guardian.
H
eather Cox Richardson’s How the South Won the Civil War is not principally about that war. Instead, it is a broad sweep of American history on the theme of the struggle between democracy and oligarchy – between the vision that “all men are created equal” and the frequency with which power has accumulated in the hands of a few, who have then sought to thwart equality.
If you want her daily newsletter sign up at her website.....and of course like her on FB. I highly recommend it....
19/ The 100 best movies on HBO Max...
Jodie Foster in Contact. Photo: Warner Bros.
This article is updated frequently as titles leave and enter HBO and HBO Max. *New additions are indicated with an asterisk.
The moment HBO Max launched, it instantly boasted one of the best streaming libraries of films in the world. It’s certainly the deepest.
20/ The 50 best action movies on Netflix....
The Old Guard. Photo: Aimee Spinks/Netflix
This piece is frequently updated as titles leave and join Netflix. *New additions are indicated with an asterisk.
Sometimes you just need to escape. You just want to watch things blow up or crash into each other, but it seems like Netflix is always trying to push a serious drama or docuseries on you. Just give me something that goes boom!
Today's love story joke
A man and a woman who had never met before, but who were both married to other people,
found themselves assigned to the same sleeping room on a transcontinental train.
Though initially embarrassed and uneasy over sharing a room, they were both
very tired and fell asleep quickly, he in the upper berth and she in the lower.
At 1:00 AM, the man leaned down and gently woke the woman saying, 'Ma'am,
I'm sorry to bother you, but would you be willing to reach into the closet to get me a second
found themselves assigned to the same sleeping room on a transcontinental train.
Though initially embarrassed and uneasy over sharing a room, they were both
very tired and fell asleep quickly, he in the upper berth and she in the lower.
At 1:00 AM, the man leaned down and gently woke the woman saying, 'Ma'am,
I'm sorry to bother you, but would you be willing to reach into the closet to get me a second
blanket? I'm awfully cold.'
'I have a better idea,' she replied, 'Just for tonight, let's pretend that we're married.'
'Wow! That's a great idea!' he exclaimed.
'Good,' she replied, 'Get your own fucking blanket.'
After a moment of silence, he farted.
The End.
'I have a better idea,' she replied, 'Just for tonight, let's pretend that we're married.'
'Wow! That's a great idea!' he exclaimed.
'Good,' she replied, 'Get your own fucking blanket.'
After a moment of silence, he farted.
The End.
Today's oldie joke
Morris and his wife Esther went to the state fair every year,
And every year Morris would say, "Esther, I'd like to ride in that helicopter."
And every year Morris would say, "Esther, I'd like to ride in that helicopter."
Esther always replied, "I know Morris, but that helicopter ride is fifty dollars, And fifty dollars is fifty dollars."
One year Esther and Morris went to the fair, and Morris said, "Esther, I'm 85 years old. If I don't ride that helicopter, I might never get another chance."
One year Esther and Morris went to the fair, and Morris said, "Esther, I'm 85 years old. If I don't ride that helicopter, I might never get another chance."
To this, Esther replied, "Morris that helicopter ride is fifty dollars, and fifty dollars is fifty dollars."
The pilot overheard the couple and said, "Folks I'll make you a deal. I'll take the both of you for a ride. If you can stay quiet for the entire ride and don't say a word
I won't charge you a penny!
The pilot overheard the couple and said, "Folks I'll make you a deal. I'll take the both of you for a ride. If you can stay quiet for the entire ride and don't say a word
I won't charge you a penny!
But if you say one word it's fifty dollars."
Morris and Esther agreed and up they went. The pilot did all kinds of fancy maneuvers, but not a word was heard. He did his daredevil tricks over and over again, but still not a word.
Morris and Esther agreed and up they went. The pilot did all kinds of fancy maneuvers, but not a word was heard. He did his daredevil tricks over and over again, but still not a word.
When they landed, the pilot turned to Morris and said, "By golly, I did everything I
could to get you to yell out so I'd get paid, but you didn't. I'm impressed!'
Morris replied, "Well, to tell you the truth, I almost said something when Esther fell out, but you know, fifty dollars is fifty dollars!"
Today's redneck joke
An extraordinarily handsome man decided he had the responsibility to marry the perfect woman so they could produce beautiful children beyond compare.
With that as his mission he began to search for the perfect woman.
Shortly thereafter he met a Redneck who had three stunning, gorgeous daughters that positively took his breath away. So he explained his mission to the Redneck and asked for permission to marry one of them.
The Redneck simply replied, " They're lookin' to getmarried, so you came to the right place. Look 'emover and pick the one you want."
The man dated the first daughter. The next day theRedneck asked for the man's opinion.
"Well," said the man, "she's just a weeeeee bit, notthat you can hardly notice ... pigeon-toed."
The Redneck nodded and suggested the man date one of the other girls; so the man went out with the second daughter.
The next day, the Redneck again asked how things went.
"Well, "the man replied, "she's just a weeeee bit, not that you can hardly tell,...... cross-eyed."
The Redneck nodded and suggested he date the third girl to see if things might be better. So he did.
The next morning the man rushed in exclaiming,
"She's perfect, just perfect. She's the one I want to marry."
So they were wed right away.Months later the baby was born.When the man visited the nursery he was horrified: the baby was the ugliest, most pathetic human you can imagine.He rushed to his father-in-law and asked how such a thing could happen considering the beauty of the parents.
"Well," explained the Redneck, "she was just a weeeee bit, not that you could hardly tella weeeeeee bit......pregnant when you met her."
