1/. This is a frightening story from Jonathan Chait - how Republicans all over the country are targeting education and
gutting it, right out of the Viktor orban playbook. And yet the media is passive, and so are we cos we
think it's not going to get worse.
Folks, the Republican lunatics are on a mission, and won't stop.
Republicans have begun saying things about American schools that not long ago would have struck them as peculiar, even insane. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida has called schools “a cesspool of Marxist indoctrination.” Former secretary of State Mike Pompeo predicts that “teachers’ unions, and the filth that they’re teaching our kids,” will “take this republic down.” Against the backdrop of his party, Donald Trump, complaining about “pink-haired communists teaching our kids” and “Marxist maniacs and lunatics” running our universities, sounds practically calm.
2/. Private Equity saves the day.....
3/. Bob Lefsetz with a challenging post.....interesting.....
Joe Biden will not be the Democratic nominee.
We’re seeing a repeat of 2016, when the Democratic establishment told us to trust them, that they were the experts, and the numbers said that Hillary was going to win. She didn’t. Now these same experts are telling us Biden is the safe bet, when the numbers indicate otherwise.
You may have caught the Post-ABC poll that indicated if the election were held today, Trump would beat Biden by six points.
4/. George Santos still has some solid support.....here are some endorsements.....
5/. Andrew Sullivan with two interesting stories - the first about Trump and how he is more dangerous than you might
imagine especially if he is running against Biden, the second uses statistics about gun violence and murders
that say something you might call racist.....
The reason so many are freaking out about CNN’s astonishing ad for the Trump re-election campaign this week is that he was on tip-top form. Donald Trump is, as a performer, in a class of his own. From the second the show began, he was in command: withering, funny, sharp, powerful. He may be one of the most effective and pathological demagogues I’ve ever encountered: capable of lying with staggering sincerity, of making up stories with panache: shameless, and indefatigable.
6/. Oohhhh goodie - there is an Equalizer 3 coming.....Denzel rocks....
7/. Insurers are waking up - your homeowners insurance bill now has global warming baked into it.....
If you don’t think you’ve been affected by global warming, take a closer look at your last homeowners’ insurance bill: The average cost of coverage has reached $1,900 a year nationwide, but it’s $4,000 a year in New Orleans and about $5,000 a year in Miami, according to Policygenius, an online insurance marketplace. And that is pocket change compared with the impact climate change may ultimately have on the value of your home.
We have reached a turning point: Climate risk is driving insurer decisions like never before.
8/. Liz Chaney narrates a brutal new ad on Trump....but does the base care? They probably love this ad, shows he's "strong"....
9/. Michelle Goldberg with a depressing column - Timothy McVeigh has won......
Timothy McVeigh, the right-wing terrorist who killed 168 people in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, cared about one issue above all others: guns. To him, guns were synonymous with freedom, and any government attempt to regulate them meant incipient tyranny.
“When it came to guns,” writes Jeffrey Toobin in “Homegrown,” his compelling new book about the Oklahoma City attack, “McVeigh did more than simply advocate for his own right to own and use firearms; he joined an ascendant political crusade, which grew more extreme over the course of his lifetime and beyond.”
10/. Maybe one of the best music videos ever.....Above and Beyond with "We're All We Need".
Beautiful music and an ultimately tragic story.......
11/. Ever heard of Temu? Me neither, but this Chinese company is coming to replace Amazon.....
In March, TikTok user scotty..pimpin posted from inside an anonymous run-down shipping facility. In the video, packages fall from a conveyor belt down metal slides, like a luggage carousel in reverse. Things are getting backed up. There are Amazon packages, generic cardboard boxes, and a variety of polyethylene packets. Mostly, there are the orange bags. “I’m gonna need y’all to stop ordering Temu shit,” the poster says. “Because what the fuck is all this? This is all work!”
12/. Bob Lefsetz is on a roll - here he vilifies Democrats for ignoring social media to the point where the right wing owns it....
He’s got no online strategy. No identity. Joe seems to be hiding from the country.
Don’t tell me otherwise, that just means you’re in the bubble. You’re operating under the old paradigm, you devour the words of the mainstream media and talk politics with similarly minded people. Which is why you were flummoxed when Trump won in 2016. You didn’t know anybody voting for Trump!
I knew plenty. Because my inbox was inundated with the words of Trump supporters. Still is. These people are relentless.
The Democrats used to control the internet. They took a victory lap after Obama’s victory in the 2008 election. But everything evolves faster on the internet. Those days are history. Today the right owns the internet, furthermore, they’re constantly pushing back, saying they’re getting a raw deal! Yes, the most shared stories on Facebook are right wing stories. But don’t let the facts get in the way of a good narrative.
13/. Jeff Sharlets goes deep inside the base, and lets us know what they're thinking....and it's not pleasant...
Maybe it’s hard to believe now, but liberalism once seemed ascendant. In 2008, the nation elected Barack Obama, its first Black president, a man who ran on hope and transformative change. Millennials were secularizing and liberalizing on issues like LGBTQ+ rights. Obama passed health-care reform. Toward the end of his second term, the Supreme Court would rule in favor of marriage equality, and joyful singing crowds swallowed up the bigots who stalked the grounds with their signs and their shofars. The America I knew as a child of the Christian right was far removed from the America I had come to inhabit, or so I thought.
14/. Umair looks at current events, and comes to the logical conclusion - our society is collapsing into fascism....
By now, America’s approaching what can only really be described as a state of free-fall. Massacres are now regular events. One side of politics is openly authoritarian, and incites them. Social bonds have collapsed. Neighbor kills neighbor. The existence of social groups isn’t to be tolerated, and books are to be banned. The other side opposes this — but all too weakly. And in between them sits a majority, bewildered, in shock, traumatized, confused. What’s happening to our country?
15/. Jason Garcia lists what the scum in the Florida Legislature got done this year.....you just can't believe the corruption.....
Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature gaveled its 60-day session to a close on Friday, ending two months of lawmaking dominated by Gov. Ron DeSantis and his presidential ambitions.
Florida lawmakers devoted an inordinate amount of attention to propping up DeSantis’ impending campaign for president. They delivered a series of conservative cultural policy wins meant to boost DeSantis’ standing with Republican primary voters, including a six-week abortion ban, universal private school vouchers, and restrictions on the public lives and healthcare of LGBTQ+ Floridians. They also removed potential obstacles standing in DeSantis’ way, changing the law so DeSantis can run for president without resigning as governor and can host political donors at the governor’s mansion without the public ever finding out.
But that’s not all they did.
16/. Republican hypocrisy....
17/. One for the guys.....be careful, there's a lot of BS around prostate cancer and how "dangerous" it is.....
Last summer, Joe Loree made an appointment to see his urologist. He’d occasionally noticed blood in his urine and wanted to have that checked out. His doctor ordered a prostate-specific antigen, or P.S.A., test to measure a protein in his blood that might indicate prostate cancer — or a number of more benign conditions.
“It came back somewhat elevated,” said Mr. Loree, 68, an instructional designer who lives in Berkeley, Calif. A biopsy found a few cancer cells, “a minuscule amount,” he recalled.
Mr. Loree was at very low risk, but nobody likes hearing the c-word. “It’s unsettling to think there’s cancer growing within me,” he said.
But because his brother and a friend had both been diagnosed with prostate cancer and had undergone aggressive treatment that he preferred to avoid, Mr. Loree felt comfortable with a more conservative approach called active surveillance https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/08/health/prostate-cancer-screening.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
18/. The best shows on Hulu....
The Disney-owned Hulu streaming service is still, more than 15 years into its existence, thought of first as a repository for new television (and, for many cord-cutters, the “live TV” option of choice) and second as a library of indisputable TV classics, usually in their entirety. But savvy viewers can also find a rotating library of movies, both new releases and recent classics, rivaling the collections of many of its competitors — if they know where to look. We’re here to help.
19/. Some summer TV to look forward to.....
No list of summer TV shows 2023 can truly capture everything. Even years after the network TV concept of “summer hiatus” went away, summer is still a time for experimenting on television and when an unlikely reality smash or dark comedy can suddenly take off. Maybe that’s why this year’s summer TV shows lineup feels especially intriguing, with prestige dramas, beloved comedies, reality revamps, and a strong handful of rom-coms all competing to be the indoor kid equivalent of a beach read. When you‘re not headed to the theater to catch one of the summer movies we can’t wait to see, there’s plenty to watch back at home.
Ahead we've collected a list of 26 shows we’re excited to spend our summers with, including plenty of old favorites and, hopefully, a few new ones. Pick your shows for the summer now, no SPF required.
Today's farmer joke....
A farmer went to a local bar and ordered a glass of champagne.
The woman sitting next to him said, 'How about that?
I just ordered champagne, too!'
'What a coincidence' the farmer said.
'This is a special day for me.
This is a special day for me too, I am also celebrating,' said the woman.'
'What a coincidence!' said the farmer.
As they clinked glasses he added: 'What are you celebrating?'
'My husband and I have been trying to have a child and today my gynecologist told me that I am pregnant!'
'What a coincidence!' said the man.
'I'm a chicken farmer and all last year my hens were infertile, but today they are all laying eggs again.'
'That's great!' said the woman, 'How did your chickens become fertile?'
'I used a different cock,' he replied.
The woman smiled, clinked his glass and said 'what a coincidence'!
Today's redneck hooker joke
A redneck was walking home late at night and sees a woman in the Shadows.
“Twenty dollars”, she whispers.
Bubba had never been with a hooker before, but decides what the heck, it's only twenty bucks, so they hide in the bushes.
They're in there for only a minute when all of a sudden a light flashes on them. It’s a police officer.
“What's going on here, people? asks the officer.
“I'm making love to my wife!”, Bubba answers sounding annoyed.
“Oh, I'm sorry”, says the cop, “I didn't know.”
Bubba says, “Well, neither did I, til ya shined that light in her face!
Today's British jokes
These are classified ads, which were actually placed in U.K. newspapers:
FREE YORKSHIRE TERRIER.
8 years old.
Hateful little bastard.
Bites!
FREE PUPPIES.
1/2 Cocker Spaniel, 1/2 sneaky neighbour's dog.
FREE PUPPIES.
Mother is a Kennel Club registered German Shepherd.
Father is a Super Dog, able to leap tall fences in a single bound.
COWS, CALVES: NEVER BRED.
Also 1 gay bull for sale.
JOINING NUDIST COLONY !
Must sell washer and dryer £100.
WEDDING DRESS FOR SALE ...
Worn once by mistake.
Call Stephanie.
**** And the WINNER is... ****
FOR SALE BY OWNER.
Complete set of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 45 volumes.
Excellent condition, £200 or best offer. No longer needed, got married, wife knows everything.
Statement of the Century
Thought from the Greatest Living Scottish Thinker--Billy Connolly.
"If women are so bloody perfect at multitasking, how come they can't have a headache and sex at the same time.
Today's Confucius jokes
CONFUCIUS DID NOT SAY....
Man who wants pretty nurse must be patient.
Passionate kiss, like spider web, leads to undoing of fly.
Lady who goes camping must beware of evil intent.
Squirrel who runs up woman’s' leg will not find nuts.
Man who leaps off cliff jumps to conclusion.
Man who runs in front of car gets tired, man who runs behind car gets exhausted.
Man who eats many prunes get good run for money.
War does not determine who is right; it determines who is left.
Man who fight with wife all day get no piece at night.
It takes many nails to build a crib, but one screw to fill it.
Man who drives like hell is bound to get there.
Man who stands on toilet is high on pot.
Man who live in glass house should change clothes in basement.
Man who fish in other man's well often catch crabs.
Finally CONFUCIUS DID NOT SAY. . .
LAST, BUT NOT LEAST:
“A lion will not cheat on his wife, but a Tiger Wood!!!”
cs.
