 |
| Feb 28, 1976 |
Monday, July 31, 2017
"Scaramucci Removed as White House Communications Director at Kelly’s Urging"
Via Drudge: Anthony Scaramucci was removed from his position as White House communications director, just 10 days after his appointment to the post.
Mr. Scaramucci, who is nicknamed “The Mooch,” was removed at the urging of former Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly, who was sworn in as White House chief of staff Monday morning. Mr. Kelly is seeking to impose more discipline in the White House, two administration officials said.
After the swearing-in ceremony—which Mr. Scaramucci attended—Mr. Kelly returned to his office, where he informed Mr. Scaramucci in a one-on-one meeting that he was being forced to resign, a White House official said.
The ouster signaled Mr. Kelly’s authority over a White House that has been plagued by competing factions in the first six months of the Trump administration. President Donald Trump has told Mr. Kelly that all White House officials—including longtime advisers such as chief strategist Steve Bannon and family members such as son-in-law Jared Kushner —will report directly to the chief of staff, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at Monday’s news briefing.
Mr. Scaramucci asked to keep his position at the U.S. Export-Import Bank when he gave his resignation, a White House official said. But Ms. Sanders said in the briefing that Mr. Scaramucci now holds no administration role.
Mr. Scaramucci, who is nicknamed “The Mooch,” was removed at the urging of former Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly, who was sworn in as White House chief of staff Monday morning. Mr. Kelly is seeking to impose more discipline in the White House, two administration officials said.
After the swearing-in ceremony—which Mr. Scaramucci attended—Mr. Kelly returned to his office, where he informed Mr. Scaramucci in a one-on-one meeting that he was being forced to resign, a White House official said.
The ouster signaled Mr. Kelly’s authority over a White House that has been plagued by competing factions in the first six months of the Trump administration. President Donald Trump has told Mr. Kelly that all White House officials—including longtime advisers such as chief strategist Steve Bannon and family members such as son-in-law Jared Kushner —will report directly to the chief of staff, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at Monday’s news briefing.
Mr. Scaramucci asked to keep his position at the U.S. Export-Import Bank when he gave his resignation, a White House official said. But Ms. Sanders said in the briefing that Mr. Scaramucci now holds no administration role.
What is the thing that causes you to lose your temper almost instantly?
Reddit top voted answers...
The fatal combination of stupid AND rude.
When someone blames me for something I clearly did not do.
People who aren't interested in listening to your side of an argument.
Hitting my head on something.
When people start saying their problems are worse than yours and that yours don't matter as a result. Everyone has problems, they don't cancel out, asshole.
The moron that stops in a roundabout.
Wet socks.
The moment you go to click on a link or story and an ad loads right as you touch it, sending you to a page full of virtual AIDS.
The fatal combination of stupid AND rude.
When someone blames me for something I clearly did not do.
People who aren't interested in listening to your side of an argument.
Hitting my head on something.
When people start saying their problems are worse than yours and that yours don't matter as a result. Everyone has problems, they don't cancel out, asshole.
The moron that stops in a roundabout.
Wet socks.
The moment you go to click on a link or story and an ad loads right as you touch it, sending you to a page full of virtual AIDS.
"HBO on #NoConfederate Campaign: ‘We Hope People Will Reserve Judgment’"
Via MSN: HBO’s new slavery-themed project “Confederate” has been the subject of controversy since the moment it was announced.
A grassroots campaign on Sunday got the hashtag #NoConfederate trending on Twitter. The campaign was organized by April Reign, the activist behind #OscarsSoWhite, to coordinate with the airing of “Game of Thrones.” By speaking out now, she said she hoped to prevent the production of the show before it gets written or cast.
The show reached the top of Twitter’s trending list in the U.S. and landed at No. 2 worldwide.
HBO responded to the latest outcry with a statement: “We have great respect for the dialogue and concern being expressed around ‘Confederate.’ We have faith that Nichelle, Dan, David and Malcolm will approach the subject with care and sensitivity. The project is currently in its infancy so we hope that people will reserve judgment until there is something to see.”
A grassroots campaign on Sunday got the hashtag #NoConfederate trending on Twitter. The campaign was organized by April Reign, the activist behind #OscarsSoWhite, to coordinate with the airing of “Game of Thrones.” By speaking out now, she said she hoped to prevent the production of the show before it gets written or cast.
The show reached the top of Twitter’s trending list in the U.S. and landed at No. 2 worldwide.
HBO responded to the latest outcry with a statement: “We have great respect for the dialogue and concern being expressed around ‘Confederate.’ We have faith that Nichelle, Dan, David and Malcolm will approach the subject with care and sensitivity. The project is currently in its infancy so we hope that people will reserve judgment until there is something to see.”
(Link to more)
Sunday, July 30, 2017
"When Surgeons Operate On Two Patients At Once"
Via Drudge: Indiana orthopedic surgeon James Rickert regards double-booking as a form of bait-and-switch. “The only reason it has continued is that patients are asleep,” said Rickert, president of the Society for Patient-Centered Orthopedics, a doctor group.
“Having a fellow so you can run two rooms helps augment your income,” he added. “You can bill for six procedures: You do three and the fellow does three.” The critical portion of the operation required by Medicare and designated by the surgeon can mean “running in and checking two screws for 10 seconds.”
Defenders of the practice, which has been the subject of a handful of studies with mixed results, say it can be done safely and allows more patients to receive care.
“It’s extremely important for us to make sure [all surgeries are] done with the highest quality,” said Peter Dunn, Mass General’s executive medical director of perioperative administration. Officials at his hospital, Dunn said in a recent interview, have “never traced back a quality issue” to concurrent surgery, which involves a minority of procedures.
“Having a fellow so you can run two rooms helps augment your income,” he added. “You can bill for six procedures: You do three and the fellow does three.” The critical portion of the operation required by Medicare and designated by the surgeon can mean “running in and checking two screws for 10 seconds.”
Defenders of the practice, which has been the subject of a handful of studies with mixed results, say it can be done safely and allows more patients to receive care.
“It’s extremely important for us to make sure [all surgeries are] done with the highest quality,” said Peter Dunn, Mass General’s executive medical director of perioperative administration. Officials at his hospital, Dunn said in a recent interview, have “never traced back a quality issue” to concurrent surgery, which involves a minority of procedures.
(Link to the whole article)
"Wasserman Schultz Seemingly Planned To Pay Suspect Even While He Lived In Pakistan"
Via Instapundit: Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz seemingly planned to pay cyber-probe suspect and IT aide Imran Awan even while he was living in Pakistan, if the FBI hadn’t stopped him from leaving the U.S. Monday. Public statements and congressional payroll records suggest she also appears to have known that his wife, a fellow IT staffer, left the country for good months ago — while she was also a criminal suspect.
In all, six months of actions reveal a decision to continue paying a man who seemingly could not have been providing services to her, and who a mountain of evidence suggests was a liability. The man long had access to all of Wasserman Schultz’s computer files, work emails and personal emails, and he was recently accused by a relative in court documents of wiretapping and extortion.
Records also raise questions about whether the Florida Democrat permitted Awan to continue to access computers after House-wide authorities banned him from the network Feb. 2. Not only did she keep him on staff after the ban, but she also did not have any other IT person to perform necessary work that presumably would have arisen during a months-long period, according to payroll records.
In all, six months of actions reveal a decision to continue paying a man who seemingly could not have been providing services to her, and who a mountain of evidence suggests was a liability. The man long had access to all of Wasserman Schultz’s computer files, work emails and personal emails, and he was recently accused by a relative in court documents of wiretapping and extortion.
Records also raise questions about whether the Florida Democrat permitted Awan to continue to access computers after House-wide authorities banned him from the network Feb. 2. Not only did she keep him on staff after the ban, but she also did not have any other IT person to perform necessary work that presumably would have arisen during a months-long period, according to payroll records.
(Link to more)
"The Proper Names of 17 Bodily Functions"
Via Instapundit: Ask an anatomist, and they’ll be able to tell you that your kneecap is really your patella. Your armpit is your axilla and the little groove above your top lip is your philtrum. The little flap of cartilage the covers the hole in your ear? That’s your tragus, named after the Greek word for a billy goat—because the tuft of hair that grows on it resembles a goat’s beard (apparently).
But if that’s what’s on the outside, what about what happens on the inside? Well, it turns out the English language has quite a rich collection of formal, medical, and old fashioned words for all of the reflexes and reactions that our bodies naturally carry out without a second thought from us. So the next time you’re stretching as you get out of bed, or you interrupt an important meeting with a ructus or a borborygmus, you’ll at least have the perfect word for it.
But if that’s what’s on the outside, what about what happens on the inside? Well, it turns out the English language has quite a rich collection of formal, medical, and old fashioned words for all of the reflexes and reactions that our bodies naturally carry out without a second thought from us. So the next time you’re stretching as you get out of bed, or you interrupt an important meeting with a ructus or a borborygmus, you’ll at least have the perfect word for it.
1. BORBORYGMI
Derived originally from an onomatopoeic Greek word, a borborygmus is a rumbling in the stomach or bowels. Borborygmi are produced as the contents of the intestines are pushed along by waves of muscle contractions called peristalsis, although trapped gas from digested food or swallowed air can also cause your borborygmi to become noisier than normal. Bonus fact: Queasy stomach rumbles were called wambles in Tudor English, and you’d be wamble-cropped if you weren’t feeling well.
Derived originally from an onomatopoeic Greek word, a borborygmus is a rumbling in the stomach or bowels. Borborygmi are produced as the contents of the intestines are pushed along by waves of muscle contractions called peristalsis, although trapped gas from digested food or swallowed air can also cause your borborygmi to become noisier than normal. Bonus fact: Queasy stomach rumbles were called wambles in Tudor English, and you’d be wamble-cropped if you weren’t feeling well.
2. CACHINNATION
A study in 2013 found that when people laugh, it's only because they've found something funny about 20 percent of the time. The rest of the time, we use laughter as a means of signaling things like agreement, affection, ease, and nostalgia that we evolved long before communication through language was possible. And a fit of spontaneous, uproarious, unrestrained laughter is called cachinnation.
A study in 2013 found that when people laugh, it's only because they've found something funny about 20 percent of the time. The rest of the time, we use laughter as a means of signaling things like agreement, affection, ease, and nostalgia that we evolved long before communication through language was possible. And a fit of spontaneous, uproarious, unrestrained laughter is called cachinnation.
3. CICATRIZATION
Cicatrization is the formation of a cicatrix, or a scar. More generally, it refers to any of the healing and sealing processes that help a wound to mend, including the formation of a scab.
Cicatrization is the formation of a cicatrix, or a scar. More generally, it refers to any of the healing and sealing processes that help a wound to mend, including the formation of a scab.
(Link to the rest)
ice cream cones
Why?
Because. That's why.
Maybe you're thinking this is all well and good but you must have waffled homemade cones for your ice cream. And that's certainly possible. The waffle irons for this are only $50.00 for a million dollars of joy and that's a very good deal. But then you'd have two waffle irons in your appliance closet and that's going a little overboard with the unitask appliances. Don't you think? Plus, this way is just so rustic.
If your cones fail maybe you could make fortune cookies instead. And write ridiculous fortunes to stick inside them and blow everyone's mind.
* Don't listen to that other fortune cookie.
* Maybe you should try Tarot cards.
* With a diet like this you'll never lose weight.
* Beware men with ponytails that offer you a ride in their van.
* Those shoes look terrible on you.
* Buying a house isn't always a great idea.
* The next selfie you take could be your last.
* Consider cactus for house plants.
* In the Garden of Delight, you're what we call a fouled bird bath.
* They put MSG all up in here.
* The next solar eclipse really does mean something terrible.
* The bad thing about Uber is literally just anyone can be a driver.
* No matter what I say you're going to try to mess it up.
* Your personality type is resistant to common sense advice.
* If you wen't so easily addicted to things you'd be satisfied with one cookie.
* Gazing at star constellations never did anyone any good.
* Try working on your interpersonal skills for once.
* You avoided the more difficult STEM classes and now look at you.
* So you're the boss of everyone. Scared a' you.
Saturday, July 29, 2017
"Shock Poll Shows Kid Rock WIth A Huge Lead In The Michigan GOP Senate Primary"
Via Drudge: Popular musician Kid Rock, real name Robert Ritchie, has been flirting with a Senate run in Michigan and a poll out Friday shows him far ahead in the Republican primary and within the margin of error in the general election.
Ritchie has yet to decide whether to run for office, and released a statement on Wednesday about all the speculation in which he announced he is starting a non-profit group to encourage voter registration.
“One thing is for sure though…The democrats are ‘shattin’ in their pantaloons’ right now…and rightfully so!,” Richie said in the statement. “We will be scheduling a press conference in the next 6 weeks or so to address this issue amongst others, and if I decide to throw my hat in the ring for US Senate, believe me… it’s game on mthrfkers.”
Ritchie has yet to decide whether to run for office, and released a statement on Wednesday about all the speculation in which he announced he is starting a non-profit group to encourage voter registration.
“One thing is for sure though…The democrats are ‘shattin’ in their pantaloons’ right now…and rightfully so!,” Richie said in the statement. “We will be scheduling a press conference in the next 6 weeks or so to address this issue amongst others, and if I decide to throw my hat in the ring for US Senate, believe me… it’s game on mthrfkers.”
(Link to more)
"Conference teaches K-12 educators how to combat ‘whiteness in schools’"
Via Drudge: A recent conference hosted by an Ivy League university focused on integration and inclusion in K-12 education and included workshops on how educators should face white privilege in their classrooms, challenge microaggressions and address “Eurocentric pedagogical approaches.”
The “Reimagining Education Summer Institute” conference, organized by Columbia University’s Teachers College, was held in mid-July and concentrated on “opportunities and challenges of creating and sustaining racially, ethnically and socio-economically integrated schools,” according to its website.
The event, in its second year, drew 300 participants that mostly consisted of K-12 teachers and principals, the institute’s director Amy Wells said in a phone interview with The College Fix. The four-day conference included plenary sessions, dozens of workshops and dialogue sessions.
One presentation, called “Whiteness in schools,” provided “a history of Whiteness, and will invite participants into a discussion of how Whiteness and White culture shapes what happens in schools,” according to a description.
The “Reimagining Education Summer Institute” conference, organized by Columbia University’s Teachers College, was held in mid-July and concentrated on “opportunities and challenges of creating and sustaining racially, ethnically and socio-economically integrated schools,” according to its website.
The event, in its second year, drew 300 participants that mostly consisted of K-12 teachers and principals, the institute’s director Amy Wells said in a phone interview with The College Fix. The four-day conference included plenary sessions, dozens of workshops and dialogue sessions.
One presentation, called “Whiteness in schools,” provided “a history of Whiteness, and will invite participants into a discussion of how Whiteness and White culture shapes what happens in schools,” according to a description.
(Link to more)
"Doctors Slam New Recommendation That We Should Stop Antibiotic Treatments Early"
Via Instapundit: Scientists from the UK caused quite a stir this week, when they announced that we don’t necessarily need to complete a full course of antibiotics in order to treat infections properly. It’s a provocative message, but skeptics say their advice is grossly premature—and even reckless.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is not caused by putting an early stop to a prescribed course of antibiotics, but by antibiotic overuse, argue a team of infectious disease experts in The British Medical Journal. The team, led by Martin Llewelyn of the Brighton and Sussex Medical School, is asking doctors, educators, and policy makers to “stop advocating ‘complete the course’ when communicating with the public.”
Which, wow. This is a complete turn-around from what we’ve been told for years—that we need to finish our bottles right down to the last pill in order to properly treat our infections and prevent the proliferation of microbial resistant bacteria. According to these experts, we’ve been wrong about this, and what’s more, the “complete the course” culture may be responsible for the rapid decline in antibiotic effectiveness.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is not caused by putting an early stop to a prescribed course of antibiotics, but by antibiotic overuse, argue a team of infectious disease experts in The British Medical Journal. The team, led by Martin Llewelyn of the Brighton and Sussex Medical School, is asking doctors, educators, and policy makers to “stop advocating ‘complete the course’ when communicating with the public.”
Which, wow. This is a complete turn-around from what we’ve been told for years—that we need to finish our bottles right down to the last pill in order to properly treat our infections and prevent the proliferation of microbial resistant bacteria. According to these experts, we’ve been wrong about this, and what’s more, the “complete the course” culture may be responsible for the rapid decline in antibiotic effectiveness.
(Link to more)
"Why people are getting the hell out of the Northeast"
Via Instapundit: Last year, three states in the Northeast — New Jersey, New York and Connecticut — landed in the top five places people were moving out of fastest, according to 2017 data from United Van Lines. (The other two states on the list were Illinois and Kansas.) And data from Pew Charitable Trusts found that while people are all about moving to the South (their population grew by nearly 1.4 million people from 2014 to 2015) and the West (866,000 more people), the population growth in the Northeast is “sluggish.”
The Northeastern exodus is particularly acute in many big cities like New York City. Since 2010, more than 1 million people have moved from the New York area — which includes parts of New Jersey, Connecticut and Long Island — to other parts of the country.
So why are so many Northerners packing their bags?
The Northeastern exodus is particularly acute in many big cities like New York City. Since 2010, more than 1 million people have moved from the New York area — which includes parts of New Jersey, Connecticut and Long Island — to other parts of the country.
So why are so many Northerners packing their bags?
(Link to more)
Friday, July 28, 2017
Rolling Stones "Honky Tonk Women" 1969
link to video
Thematically, a "honky tonk woman" refers to a dancing girl in a western bar who may work as a prostitute[citation needed]; the setting for the narrative in the first verse of the blues version is Memphis, Tennessee: "I met a gin soaked bar-room queen in Memphis", while "Country Honk" sets the first verse in Jackson, Mississippi: "I'm sittin' in a bar, tippin' a jar in Jackson".
The band initially recorded the track called "Country Honk", in London in early March 1969. Brian Jones was present during these sessions and may have played on the first handful of takes and demos. It was his last recording session with the band. The song was transformed into the familiar electric, riff-based hit single "Honky Tonk Women" sometime in the spring of 1969, prior to Mick Taylor's joining the group. In an interview in the magazine Crawdaddy!, Richards credits Taylor for influencing the track: "... the song was originally written as a real Hank Williams/Jimmie Rodgers/1930s country song. And it got turned around to this other thing by Mick Taylor, who got into a completely different feel, throwing it off the wall another way." However, in 1979 Taylor recalled it this way: "I definitely added something to Honky Tonk Women, but it was more or less complete by the time I arrived and did my overdubs."
At the time of its release Rolling Stone magazine hailed "Honky Tonk Women" as "likely the strongest three minutes of rock and roll yet released in 1969". It was ranked number 116 on the list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in April 2010. The song was later put into the track listing for the video game Band Hero.
"Anthem protests led poll of reasons viewers tuned out"
Via Instapundit: National anthem protests were the top reason that NFL fans watched fewer games last season, according to a new survey released by J.D. Power.
The pollster said it asked more than 9,200 people who attended either one football, basketball or hockey game whether they tuned into fewer games and why. Twenty-six percent of those who watched fewer games last season said that national anthem protests, some of which were led by Colin Kaepernick, were the reason.
After that, 24 percent of those surveyed who said they watched fewer games said they did so either because of the league's off-the-field image issues with domestic violence or with game delays, including penalties.
(Link)
"State broadcaster claims North Korea has 'fired missile that has landed in Japanese waters'"
Via Drudge: Japanese broadcaster have claimed rogue state North Korea have fired yet another missile which has landed in the country's waters.
It comes after claims the state will be able to launch a nuclear-capable an intercontinental ballistic missile as early as next year, US officials say.
The warning about the nation being able to hit cities in North America came from the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency, The Washington Post reports.
It cuts two years off the previous forecast and comes because of the success of recent tests by North Korea, the paper reported.
It comes after claims the state will be able to launch a nuclear-capable an intercontinental ballistic missile as early as next year, US officials say.
The warning about the nation being able to hit cities in North America came from the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency, The Washington Post reports.
It cuts two years off the previous forecast and comes because of the success of recent tests by North Korea, the paper reported.
(Link to story)
Study: A culture of "competitive victimhood" makes people less, not more, empathetic to others.
Via Instapundit: "Competition over collective victimhood recognition: When perceived lack of recognition for past victimization is associated with negative attitudes towards another victimized group"
Abstract
Abstract
Groups that perceive themselves as victims can engage in “competitive victimhood.” We propose that, in some societal circumstances, this competition bears on the recognition of past sufferings—rather than on their relative severity—fostering negative intergroup attitudes. Three studies are presented. Study 1, a survey among Sub-Saharan African immigrants in Belgium (N = 127), showed that a sense of collective victimhood was associated with more secondary anti-Semitism. This effect was mediated by a sense of lack of victimhood recognition, then by the belief that this lack of recognition was due to that of Jews' victimhood, but not by competition over the severity of the sufferings. Study 2 replicated this mediation model among Muslim immigrants (N = 125). Study 3 experimentally demonstrated the negative effect of the unequal recognition of groups' victimhood on intergroup attitudes in a fictional situation involving psychology students (N = 183). Overall, these studies provide evidence that struggle for victimhood recognition can foster intergroup conflict.
In the last decades, Western societies have witnessed a growing tendency of minority groups to profile themselves as victims in order to obtain more societal recognition (Moscovici & Pérez, 2009). Members of these minorities have publicly expressed negative attitudes towards other minorities, although the latter were not responsible for their past victimization. For example, Khalid Muhammad, from the Nation of Islam, stated that “The black Holocaust was 100 times worse than the so-called Jew Holocaust” (Muhammad, 1994, cited by Benn Michaels, 2006, p. 290), and “I say you call yourself Goldstein, Silverstein, and Rubinstein because you're stealing all the gold and silver and rubies all over the earth” (Baltimore, 1994, cited by Anti-Defamation League, 2013). Dieudonné, a French humorist of African descent, declared that the recognition devoted to Jews for the Holocaust prevented him from denouncing the victimization of Blacks during slavery and colonialism (2005, February 17). He was recently convicted for anti-Semitism in Belgium (Wauters, 2015). This phenomenon was described and analyzed by sociologists (e.g., Chaumont, 1997), philosophers (Ricoeur, 2007), and philologists (Rothberg, 2009; Todorov, 1996, 1998), who framed it in terms of competition over symbolic recognition. So far, this phenomenon has not been systematically researched by social psychologists.
Social psychological research (e.g., Bar-Tal & Antebi, 1992; Wohl & Branscombe, 2008) has shown that sharing a sense of collective victimhood can negatively impact intergroup relations. Moreover, group members can experience competitive victimhood, defined as “a belief in having suffered more than the out-group” (Noor, Brown, & Prentice, 2008, p. 481), which impedes post-conflict intergroup forgiveness. However, so far, this research has mainly focused on relations between former enemies, or between former victims and their perpetrators. And competitive victimhood has mainly been understood as bearing on the severity of their respective sufferings. The situation described earlier does not fit this description. In this paper, we argue that groups can compete over their respective victimhood even when they are not held responsible for each other's victimization. However, in such situations, the competition bears on the recognition of their victim status, over and above the severity of their respective sufferings. In turn, this competition over collective victimhood recognition can be associated with negative intergroup attitudes. Finally, in order to understand these societal situations, they should be framed as involving at least three entities: the two groups that compete over the recognition of their victimhood, and a third entity—for example, “society,” the government, or the international community—that has the power of granting or denying recognition.
Social psychological research (e.g., Bar-Tal & Antebi, 1992; Wohl & Branscombe, 2008) has shown that sharing a sense of collective victimhood can negatively impact intergroup relations. Moreover, group members can experience competitive victimhood, defined as “a belief in having suffered more than the out-group” (Noor, Brown, & Prentice, 2008, p. 481), which impedes post-conflict intergroup forgiveness. However, so far, this research has mainly focused on relations between former enemies, or between former victims and their perpetrators. And competitive victimhood has mainly been understood as bearing on the severity of their respective sufferings. The situation described earlier does not fit this description. In this paper, we argue that groups can compete over their respective victimhood even when they are not held responsible for each other's victimization. However, in such situations, the competition bears on the recognition of their victim status, over and above the severity of their respective sufferings. In turn, this competition over collective victimhood recognition can be associated with negative intergroup attitudes. Finally, in order to understand these societal situations, they should be framed as involving at least three entities: the two groups that compete over the recognition of their victimhood, and a third entity—for example, “society,” the government, or the international community—that has the power of granting or denying recognition.
(Link to more)
Republican healthcare bill fails
High drama.
And American Senate is nothing if not purely drama. This national ordeal demonstrates United States Senate exists for show. Presently, Americans do not have a disputative governing body, rather, Americans have another Era of Good Feelings, of the sort that Senators like John McCain can abide. They see themselves ensconced in their own exclusive club, and not gladiators sent up to do battle.
And American Senate is nothing if not purely drama. This national ordeal demonstrates United States Senate exists for show. Presently, Americans do not have a disputative governing body, rather, Americans have another Era of Good Feelings, of the sort that Senators like John McCain can abide. They see themselves ensconced in their own exclusive club, and not gladiators sent up to do battle.
They have no intention of allowing Obamacare to collapse. Against voter's wishes they intend to buttress the Affordable Healthcare Act with whatever it takes to seal their own expansion.
Observation: Our exalted ruling class is terribly slow on the uptake.
Prediction: They're going to be made to pay for failure of representation.
The force that overturned nearly a thousand seats across the United States, that turned both houses and the executive branch against all predictions, is not going anywhere. The long march by alarmed voters to turn back the growth of government has been ineluctable and each slight delivered has rebounded to make that force stronger.
Senators like John McCain rebuff the people who sent him to Washington and those voters will return the snub. The Senate honestly believes that it rules the country while voters know otherwise. Anger among voters will increase even more when the ballooning cost of Affordable Healthcare takes effect that's built into it by its disingenuous design. This is not the usual voting pendulum swing that's been understood for so long, rather, this is a new voting force long derided and termed populist that grows with each affront delivered by their arrogant elected representatives.
McCain specifically exemplifies this. Everything to be read through his recent condition and his return, all the articles and all of the hundreds of comments to them are exceedingly negative withouit a single bright spot. One way or another he's out. Along with others who imagine they've fooled their own voters with high drama while lacking results. This abject failure to represent voters is seen by voters as crime.
Thursday, July 27, 2017
KLEM FM
Seems like ages since I've posted anything here. We're in the midst of moving -- leaving Oceanside for Irvine.
I heard this song today and it reminded me of so many regrets. I've always admired that band, and what they overcame and how they kept plugging.
@Sixty: Here are the stairs. I lovingly restored the rails, but I haven't put them back up. We love the open look too much.
Added: Lyrics for "Regret" after the jump
A good question!
Father Martin Fox asks:
"Exit question:
Can a people live together in harmony if they do not agree on fundamental reality?"
That seems something that a lot of people are asking these days. Fake news. MSNBC. CNN. Brietbart. Maddow. Hannity.
Each side has it sources. Each side has it's facts. A fact is a fact but how it is interpreted determines what you believe. Take this trans-gendered nonsense.
President Trump has announced that it is his policy to not allow trans-gendered members of the armed forces. As usual with Trump it all comes down to money. He doesn't want to pay for some psycho to enlist and then demand a addadicktome. I doubt he cares all that much about trans-gendered. I doubt that most "normals" care either. Live and let live. We think about them about as much as we think about paranoid schizophrenics. Which is not at all unless you put them in our face on the subway screaming at us for loose change. That is the fundamental reality.
"Utah man says he killed wife because she laughed at him"
AP: Kenneth Manzanares was charged with murder after he was found with blood on his hands and clothes and blood spread throughout the cabin on the Princess Cruises ship Tuesday night, according to a criminal complaint by FBI Special Agent Michael L. Watson.
Kristy Manzanares, 39, had a severe head wound, but authorities have declined to release other details in the case, including how many people were traveling with the couple on the 3,400-passenger Emerald Princess that left Sunday from Seattle.
A man and others went into the room before medical workers and security officers had arrived and saw the woman on the floor covered in blood, according to court documents. The man asked Manzanares what happened, and the suspect said, "She would not stop laughing at me."
Manzanares then grabbed his wife's body and tried to drag her to the balcony, but the man stopped him, Watson wrote. A ship security officer handcuffed Manzanares in a nearby cabin.
While the FBI searched him, he spontaneously said, "My life is over."
Kristy Manzanares, 39, had a severe head wound, but authorities have declined to release other details in the case, including how many people were traveling with the couple on the 3,400-passenger Emerald Princess that left Sunday from Seattle.
A man and others went into the room before medical workers and security officers had arrived and saw the woman on the floor covered in blood, according to court documents. The man asked Manzanares what happened, and the suspect said, "She would not stop laughing at me."
Manzanares then grabbed his wife's body and tried to drag her to the balcony, but the man stopped him, Watson wrote. A ship security officer handcuffed Manzanares in a nearby cabin.
While the FBI searched him, he spontaneously said, "My life is over."
(Link to story)
"Wasserman Schultz kept paying tech expert suspected of stealing House computers"
Via Instapundit: When a computer expert who worked for congressional Democrats was accused of stealing computers and data systems in February, members of Congress cut him loose within days, leaving Imran Awan with no supporters five months later.
Except for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
The Weston Democrat has not explained in detail why she continued to employ Awan until Tuesday when she fired him — after he was arrested on bank-fraud charges at Dulles International Airport in Virginia attempting to board a flight to Pakistan.
And she has not elaborated on what work Awan did for her after he lost access to the House computer network.
She declined to answer questions about Awan in Washington on Wednesday, and her spokesman, David Damron, accompanied her to the House floor while instructing a reporter that Wasserman Schultz would not take questions about her former employee.
Except for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
The Weston Democrat has not explained in detail why she continued to employ Awan until Tuesday when she fired him — after he was arrested on bank-fraud charges at Dulles International Airport in Virginia attempting to board a flight to Pakistan.
And she has not elaborated on what work Awan did for her after he lost access to the House computer network.
She declined to answer questions about Awan in Washington on Wednesday, and her spokesman, David Damron, accompanied her to the House floor while instructing a reporter that Wasserman Schultz would not take questions about her former employee.
(Link to more)
"Scientists dim sunlight, suck up carbon dioxide to cool planet"
Via Instapundit: Scientists are sucking carbon dioxide from the air with giant fans and preparing to release chemicals from a balloon to dim the sun's rays as part of a climate engineering push to cool the planet.
Backers say the risky, often expensive projects are urgently needed to find ways of meeting the goals of the Paris climate deal to curb global warming that researchers blame for causing more heatwaves, downpours and rising sea levels.
The United Nations says the targets are way off track and will not be met simply by reducing emissions for example from factories or cars - particularly after U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the 2015 pact.
They are pushing for other ways to keep temperatures down.
(Link to more)
Backers say the risky, often expensive projects are urgently needed to find ways of meeting the goals of the Paris climate deal to curb global warming that researchers blame for causing more heatwaves, downpours and rising sea levels.
The United Nations says the targets are way off track and will not be met simply by reducing emissions for example from factories or cars - particularly after U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the 2015 pact.
They are pushing for other ways to keep temperatures down.
(Link to more)
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Beware the Walking Dead Part 2
John McCain Backs Transgender Ideology, Slams Donald Trump’s Policy
by Neil Munro Brietbart News July 26, 2017
GOP Senators John McCain and Orrin Hatch are objecting to President Donald Trump’s forceful rejection of the progressives’ demand that the Pentagon help some service members live as members of the opposite sex.
“Any American who meets current medical and readiness standards should be allowed to continue serving,” said a morning statement by Sen. McCain, who appears to accept the claim that a person”s gender identity” should be respected by the Pentagon and enforced on other soldiers.
There is no reason to force service members who are able to fight, train, and deploy to leave the military—regardless of their gender identity. We should all be guided by the principle that any American who wants to serve our country and is able to meet the standards should have the opportunity to do so—and should be treated as the patriots they are.
"Newly declassified memos detail extent of improper Obama-era NSA spying"
Via Instapundit: The National Security Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation violated specific civil liberty protections during the Obama years by improperly searching and disseminating raw intelligence on Americans or failing to promptly delete unauthorized intercepts, according to newly declassified memos that provide some of the richest detail to date on the spy agencies’ ability to obey their own rules.
The memos reviewed by The Hill were publicly released on July 11 through Freedom of Information Act litigation by the American Civil Liberties Union.
They detail specific violations that the NSA or FBI disclosed to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court or the Justice Department's national security division during President Obama’s tenure between 2009 and 2016. The intelligence community isn't due to report on compliance issues for 2017, the first year under the Trump administration, until next spring.
The NSA says that the missteps amount to a small number — less than 1 percent — when compared to the hundreds of thousands of specific phone numbers and email addresses the agencies intercepted through the so-called Section 702 warrantless spying program created by Congress in late 2008.
“Quite simply, a compliance program that never finds an incident is not a robust compliance program,” said Michael T. Halbig, the NSA’s chief spokesman. “…The National Security Agency has in place a strong compliance program that identifies incidents, reports them to external overseers, and then develops appropriate solutions to remedy any incidents.”
The memos reviewed by The Hill were publicly released on July 11 through Freedom of Information Act litigation by the American Civil Liberties Union.
They detail specific violations that the NSA or FBI disclosed to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court or the Justice Department's national security division during President Obama’s tenure between 2009 and 2016. The intelligence community isn't due to report on compliance issues for 2017, the first year under the Trump administration, until next spring.
The NSA says that the missteps amount to a small number — less than 1 percent — when compared to the hundreds of thousands of specific phone numbers and email addresses the agencies intercepted through the so-called Section 702 warrantless spying program created by Congress in late 2008.
“Quite simply, a compliance program that never finds an incident is not a robust compliance program,” said Michael T. Halbig, the NSA’s chief spokesman. “…The National Security Agency has in place a strong compliance program that identifies incidents, reports them to external overseers, and then develops appropriate solutions to remedy any incidents.”
(Link to more)
"Ex-House staffer busted for bank fraud while trying to leave U.S. for Pakistan"
Via Instapundit: A fired House staffer was arrested on a bank fraud charge while trying to leave the U.S. for Pakistan, according to reports Tuesday.
Imran Awan, who most recently worked for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), was busted Monday at Dulles International Airport, Politico reported.flashback: Wasserman Schultz Threatened Capitol Police Chief For Gathering Evidence On Her IT Staffer’s Alleged Crimes.
Awan and his wife, Hina Alvi, were accused of lying about a housing equity loan to pilfer $165,000 from the Congressional Federal Credit Union, according to documents filed in the District of Columbia. The couple obtained the loan for a rental property — rather than a primary residence. That money was then wired to Pakistan, documents allege.
Prior to the FBI probe, the couple worked under several House Democrats.
Journalism today
Calling the Boy Scouts the "Hitler Youth" is really gonna help the press earn back the trust of the American voter.— EducatédHillbilly™ (@RobProvince) July 25, 2017
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Beware the Walking Dead!
He wants to start one more war before he shuffles off of this mortal coil.
Maybe Russia. Between him and Lady Graham and the media and the Democrats they will have us in a shooting war before you know it.
balcony garden inside views
This garden is at its teenage stage.
The fountain isn't even filled with water yet.
The largest containers at both ends had the most planning to them and they are the two with the most mistakes and they are doing the worst. They've both been corrected three times and all three corrections did poorly. They look terrible.
This largest container shown first tucked into a corner I tried to protect because last year elephant ear plants burned in the afternoon sun. This year the elephant ears defy their protection by growing wildly around it. On both sides of the balcony. Back to drawing board, back to square one. More plants in this container are obscured by caladiums than show. Vines are growing a lot more poorly here than in full sun.
I can rightly call this garden The Garden of Stupid Mistakes.
Then hanging vines growing well in full sun are seized by rapidly growing morning glories climbing upward and the morning glories obscure the hanging vine foliage with their larger morning glory leaves. So after all that it looks like the downward vines are not even there. I directed things away from each other at first to have distinct layers so the morning glories will climb the railing instead to form a wall of leaves to shade delicate shade flowers, but the plants have their own imperatives and I lost that battle. Morning glories are rampant and they'll do what they do. These all grew from a tiny portion of the seeds that were collected from blooms last year after the plants died and dried out. The seeds drop like black rain.
The rest of the morning glory seeds collected were given away, a small amount scooped into sandwich bags. The same amount as I planted here. The women who accept them and planted them love them. They give me enthusiastic updates as they grow. For they are horticultural dummkopfs like me.
But that still left 3/4 of seeds collected and those were tossed around the neighborhood randomly in cracks, near fences and poles, and in other people's window boxes, planters and side gardens. It was a mischievous activity to take up. I'm a grown man for Christ's sake. I see them here and there throughout the neighborhood growing to varying degrees of success. If those manage to bloom, die, dry out and drop, then the plants will run rampantly on their own. They're an invasive species.
Is that fun or what?
I'm figuring this out as I go.
I learned several important things this year through fairly stupid mistakes. How not to plant caladiums, for example, right side up and not too deeply, not to leave a box of bulbs out there in the dryness and hot sun for a week unattended, not to buy live plants online again, not ever.
There's something about buying live plants online that clues the delivery service to be sure to mess up. How they manage to single out live plants to go completely out of character is beyond me. It's all quite remarkable. It's happened with aquarium plants before too, always the same kind of mess up involving a weekend, and this year it happened with an expensive shipment of unique petunias with hearts in the center, and a variety of hosta plants. This one single time UPS bizarrely delivered to a locker that is not so near to me instead of directly to my home. An experiment of theirs to service customers whose working hours conflict. They made no effort to deliver to my home. I was at home waiting. On a Friday. So the plants would be in the dark locker somewhere I've never been for an extra three days. I had to find the locker, another bizarre location in a cafe inside a maze of hallways, and then drive there and get them myself. I paid for delivery but did not get it. And that only happened once. With live plants. That was the day I blew a gasket in my mind. UPS assumes I can find them, they assume I have transportation, they assume I can walk. They were correct in all that, but still, they assumed all of that. So that's it. New rule. No more live plants online.
Except I'm still considering buying starter clones for the aquarium. The plan to have plants without snails.
The blue ceramic container has an unbelievable number of caladium bulbs in it that did not grow. It's a major disappointment. My fault. If only I knew what I'm doing.
Immigration update....these are the people who the Democrats want to protect in Sanctuary Cities!
Read this story and understand what they mean when they say that local governments will not inform ICE of illegal immigrants they arrest for crimes. Why isn't this the lead story on every TV station.
Illegal Alien Arrested for Allegedly Raping 12-Year-Old Girl ‘Multiple Times’ over a Year
By Warner Todd Hustson Brietbart News July 25,2017
An illegal alien was arrested in New York and charged with the serial rape of a 12-year-old girl, allegedly even committing one attack in front of another child.
Police in Geneseo, New York, arrested Fernando Alvarado-Perez, 37, after accusations were made that he repeatedly raped the girl over at least a year’s time, the Livingston County News reported.
The paper reported that Alvarado-Perez was “was charged with first-degree rape, a class B felony, rape in the second degree, a D felony, criminal sex act in the second degree, a D felony, and four counts of endangering the welfare of a child.”
Authorities said that during interrogations Alvarado-Perez told them he even raped the child once in front of an infant.
The suspect is being held without bail at the Livingston County Jail.
During the investigation, the suspect also reportedly told authorities that he came to the U.S. illegally about a decade ago. The department then alerted Homeland Security (DHS) about their investigation.
But news of the referral to DHS brought Geneseo Police Chief Eric Osganian to the defense of his officers and department. Chief Osganian made pains to note that turning Alvarado-Perez into federal immigration authorities is not his department’s general policy.
Osganian insisted that the suspect’s immigration status “wasn’t a priority to us” as they investigated the crime.
"The meaning of Dunkirk"
Via Instapundit: The release of Christopher Nolan’s film “Dunkirk” provides a welcome reminder that there have been bigger disasters in British history than last year’s referendum vote to leave the European Union. We have made the best of worse jobs.
May 1940 was, as Winston Churchill said at the beginning of his peerless “finest hour” speech, a “colossal military disaster.” Nolan’s film is a powerful and moving work, but it still understates the magnitude of the calamity. The German newsreels of the time are more chilling for their black and white sobriety. For once, Joseph Goebbels had no need to exaggerate for propaganda purposes: Hitler’s forces really had inflicted a crushing defeat on Britain, not to mention France and Belgium. So chaotic was the retreat of the British Expeditionary Force that the shattered survivors had to be quarantined on their return for the sake of civilian morale.
The key point about “Dunkirk,” however, is that it could have been much, much worse. In a fateful decision often wrongly attributed to Hitler himself, Field Marshals Gerd von Rundstedt and Günther von Kluge recommended that the German forces around Dunkirk should halt, at a moment when their marauding panzers might well have finished off the encircled BEF. The killing or capture of around 338,226 Allied troops — the total number evacuated in Operation Dynamo, of whom roughly a third were in fact French — would have been a devastating blow from which British morale might never have recovered.
May 1940 was, as Winston Churchill said at the beginning of his peerless “finest hour” speech, a “colossal military disaster.” Nolan’s film is a powerful and moving work, but it still understates the magnitude of the calamity. The German newsreels of the time are more chilling for their black and white sobriety. For once, Joseph Goebbels had no need to exaggerate for propaganda purposes: Hitler’s forces really had inflicted a crushing defeat on Britain, not to mention France and Belgium. So chaotic was the retreat of the British Expeditionary Force that the shattered survivors had to be quarantined on their return for the sake of civilian morale.
The key point about “Dunkirk,” however, is that it could have been much, much worse. In a fateful decision often wrongly attributed to Hitler himself, Field Marshals Gerd von Rundstedt and Günther von Kluge recommended that the German forces around Dunkirk should halt, at a moment when their marauding panzers might well have finished off the encircled BEF. The killing or capture of around 338,226 Allied troops — the total number evacuated in Operation Dynamo, of whom roughly a third were in fact French — would have been a devastating blow from which British morale might never have recovered.
(Link to the whole thing)
"'Don't get shot by police'"
"....is goal of new advice in Arizona driver's manual."
Via Reddit: The provisions tell motorists what to do if they’re pulled over by a police officer. They also provide specific warnings about what not to do, like reaching around in the vehicle or getting out.
The goal is pretty simple, said state Rep. Reginald Bolding, a Laveen Democrat who helped write the section.
It’s designed to keep drivers from getting shot by police.
Bolding, who is black, said the record shows that victims of police shootings during traffic stops are more likely to be black or Hispanic.
“When you look at what’s taken place across the country, you have seen a majority of individuals who are people of color that have had higher incidence of interactions with law-enforcement officers, particularly in shootings,” he said. “Hopefully we can get to a place where that’s not the reality.”
It was one such shooting of a black man — the 2016 killing of Philando Castile by a Minnesota police officer — that prompted Bolding to seek a rewrite of Arizona’s driving manual.
Via Reddit: The provisions tell motorists what to do if they’re pulled over by a police officer. They also provide specific warnings about what not to do, like reaching around in the vehicle or getting out.
The goal is pretty simple, said state Rep. Reginald Bolding, a Laveen Democrat who helped write the section.
It’s designed to keep drivers from getting shot by police.
Bolding, who is black, said the record shows that victims of police shootings during traffic stops are more likely to be black or Hispanic.
“When you look at what’s taken place across the country, you have seen a majority of individuals who are people of color that have had higher incidence of interactions with law-enforcement officers, particularly in shootings,” he said. “Hopefully we can get to a place where that’s not the reality.”
It was one such shooting of a black man — the 2016 killing of Philando Castile by a Minnesota police officer — that prompted Bolding to seek a rewrite of Arizona’s driving manual.
A tip from Ed.
Did Former CIA Director Call For A Coup If Trump Fires Mueller?
Via Drudge: In the most vocal opposition to president Donald Trump yet, former CIA Director John Brennan said that if the White House tries to fire special counsel Robert Mueller, government officials should refuse to follow the president orders, as they would be - in his view - “inconsistent” with the duties of the executive branch.
"I think it's the obligation of some executive branch officials to refuse to carry that out. I would just hope that this is not going to be a partisan issue. That Republicans, Democrats are going to see that the future of this government is at stake and something needs to be done for the good of the future," Brennan told CNN's Wolf Blitzer at the Aspen Security Forum, effectively calling for a coup against the president should Trump give the order to fire Mueller.
The exchange is 43 minutes into the clip below:
"I think it's the obligation of some executive branch officials to refuse to carry that out. I would just hope that this is not going to be a partisan issue. That Republicans, Democrats are going to see that the future of this government is at stake and something needs to be done for the good of the future," Brennan told CNN's Wolf Blitzer at the Aspen Security Forum, effectively calling for a coup against the president should Trump give the order to fire Mueller.
The exchange is 43 minutes into the clip below:
"The Era of Tort Lawsuits Is Waning"
Via Drudge: Lisa Rickard, president of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, an arm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, says that while state measures have “weeded out some frivolous lawsuits,” litigation abuse remains a problem. “The American public wholeheartedly agrees there are too many lawsuits in the country,” she says.
At the same time, the falling number of tort filings, coupled with the broader decline in civil jury trials, has some judges concerned that Americans with garden-variety cases no longer see courts as an affordable way to seek redress for their injuries.
“People are just not filing cases like they used to. They are not seeking trials like they used to,” says Senior Judge Gregory Mize of the District of Columbia Superior Court, a local trial court. “It’s so expensive and time-consuming.”
At the same time, the falling number of tort filings, coupled with the broader decline in civil jury trials, has some judges concerned that Americans with garden-variety cases no longer see courts as an affordable way to seek redress for their injuries.
“People are just not filing cases like they used to. They are not seeking trials like they used to,” says Senior Judge Gregory Mize of the District of Columbia Superior Court, a local trial court. “It’s so expensive and time-consuming.”
(Link to the entire WSJ article)
balcony plants
Would you like to see my balcony plants from the outside? I took down a cart full of empty boxes to toss directly into the dumpster on the first level and took my camera with me. It's an odd thing to do and not such a great idea to aim a zoom lens at the balconies. When that's noticed people wonder who's privacy I'm invading.
The inside is beginning to look like a real mess. Just what I want. Plants are invading each other's space, vines are criss-crossing over each other so that they grow up the stems of plants in nearby containers, upwards, outwards and inwards so that soon the railing won't be available to hold onto for balance while watering.
The vines are morning glories and they haven't yet begun to bloom.
Maybe it doesn't seem like much but the other balconies are starkly bare. Except for two people to one side who are imitating what I have done. In my way, copying what I saw at an acquaintance's home, and not knowing anything at all, nothing, I at least showed a few things that can be done by a horticultural dummkopf in a challenging spot. More plants died than lived.
The inside is beginning to look like a real mess. Just what I want. Plants are invading each other's space, vines are criss-crossing over each other so that they grow up the stems of plants in nearby containers, upwards, outwards and inwards so that soon the railing won't be available to hold onto for balance while watering.
The vines are morning glories and they haven't yet begun to bloom.
Maybe it doesn't seem like much but the other balconies are starkly bare. Except for two people to one side who are imitating what I have done. In my way, copying what I saw at an acquaintance's home, and not knowing anything at all, nothing, I at least showed a few things that can be done by a horticultural dummkopf in a challenging spot. More plants died than lived.
Remembering Japanese wood carver Susumo Ito
Let's get ourselves culturefied for a few minutes. Thirty minutes, if you have that many to spare.
David Bull reminds Americans viewers of Bob Ross who are nevertheless impressed with his engaging story telling. I saw this video on a British site where they have no such comparison to make. My favorite part is his laughter at the end. It's cute, the things that strike him as wrongly funny. While portions I honestly wondered how he managed continuing dredging up details without breaking down in tears.
He describes these Japanese craftsmen as particularly unique kind of jerks. When the carver refused a ride in the rain I was wondering first if he was having some physical difficulty and didn't care to stink up the cab. And secondly if he sensed his time limited and wanted to be in the pouring rain.
Sometimes it feels really good to be in the wind and the rain, to feel the wind raise the hair on your arms sending chill through your bones and feel the drops hitting your skin, wish for a lightning strike to connect you directly to God.
Less so when you imagine a thousand more of them to you and would rather be warm and dry. Like everyone else in the van. Go away, go away, grumph, get out, just go already. Leave me alone.
Lastly, what a shame the old man bequeaths a few of his tools to another aging man. How long can the new guy have them to appreciate? He chanced on the perfect and persistent man to give them. Still, a bit of a shame that special someone isn't a lot younger. To have the objects longer. I guess it doesn't make any difference one way or another.
If you decide to stick with this, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do, the British site where this video is a favorite, and YouTube viewers to whom it was suggested, and against their own instincts actually liked it, and me.
David Bull reminds Americans viewers of Bob Ross who are nevertheless impressed with his engaging story telling. I saw this video on a British site where they have no such comparison to make. My favorite part is his laughter at the end. It's cute, the things that strike him as wrongly funny. While portions I honestly wondered how he managed continuing dredging up details without breaking down in tears.
He describes these Japanese craftsmen as particularly unique kind of jerks. When the carver refused a ride in the rain I was wondering first if he was having some physical difficulty and didn't care to stink up the cab. And secondly if he sensed his time limited and wanted to be in the pouring rain.
Sometimes it feels really good to be in the wind and the rain, to feel the wind raise the hair on your arms sending chill through your bones and feel the drops hitting your skin, wish for a lightning strike to connect you directly to God.
Less so when you imagine a thousand more of them to you and would rather be warm and dry. Like everyone else in the van. Go away, go away, grumph, get out, just go already. Leave me alone.
Lastly, what a shame the old man bequeaths a few of his tools to another aging man. How long can the new guy have them to appreciate? He chanced on the perfect and persistent man to give them. Still, a bit of a shame that special someone isn't a lot younger. To have the objects longer. I guess it doesn't make any difference one way or another.
If you decide to stick with this, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do, the British site where this video is a favorite, and YouTube viewers to whom it was suggested, and against their own instincts actually liked it, and me.
Monday, July 24, 2017
Whose that author?
HE CALLED the place Pappas and Sons Coffee Shop. His boys were only eight and six when he opened in 1964, but he was thinking that one of them would take over when he got old. Like any father who wasn't a malaka, he wanted his sons to do better than he had done. He wanted them to go to college. But what the hell, you never knew how things would go. One of them might be cut out for college, the other one might not. Or maybe they'd both go to college and decide to take over the business together. Anyway, he hedged his bet and added them to the sign. It let the customers know what kind of man he was. It said, This is a guy who is devoted to his family. John Pappas is thinking about the future of his boys.
The sign was nice: black images against a pearly gray, with "Pappas" twice as big as "and Sons," in big block letters, along with a drawing of a cup of coffee in a saucer, steam rising off its surface. The guy who'd made the sign put a fancy P on the side of the cup, in script, and John liked it so much that he had the real coffee cups for the shop made the same way. Like snappy dressers got their initials sewn on the cuffs of a nice shirt. John Pappas owned no such shirts. He had a couple of blue cotton oxfords for church, but most of his shirts were white button- downs. All were wash- and- wear, to avoid the drycleaning expense. Also, his wife, Calliope, didn't care to iron.
Five short- sleeves for spring and summer and five long- sleeves for fall and winter, hanging in rows on the clothesline he had strung in the basement of their split- level. He didn't know why he bothered with the variety. It was always warm in the store, especially standing over the grill, and even in winter he wore his sleeves rolled up above the elbow. White shirt, khaki pants, black oilskin work shoes from Montgomery Ward. An apron over the pants, a pen holder in the breast pocket of the shirt. His uniform.
When you hire orcs.....you get about what you would expect.
Fake street signs warn of ‘easily startled’ Twin Cities cops
New York Post By Chris Perez July 24, 2017
Fake street signs have been popping up in the Twin Cities — warning people of “easily started” cops — following the fatal shooting of an Australian bride-to-be by a Minneapolis police officer.
At least two signs were spotted over the weekend, one of which was still standing on Sunday night, according to the Star-Tribune.
To drive the point even further, they each featured an image of a cop — wildly shooting a pair of pistols in each direction.
One of the signs was photographed in St. Paul and the other was reported in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis, the Star-Tribune reports.
The sign in St. Paul was later removed after pictures of it began circulating on social media.
“There’s a side of truth to the sign,” local resident Joe Morino explained after taking a picture of the one in Minneapolis.
“That tells you there is something wrong with the system.”
The signs appear to be a direct reference to the July 15 killing of Justine Damond at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor.
The cop’s partner, Matthew Harrity, told investigators that they were both “startled” by a loud sound just before the shooting occurred.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)