WaPo: A teacher stepped on an American flag during a free speech lesson.
Interesting. In fifth grade, during a school play, I tripped over a cast iron prop and fell on my face, taking the American Flag with me. My schoolmates continued to badger me for ‘ruining’ a flag for about a month. “You’re going to JAIL!” I remember the earnest fifth grade conversations over whether floorboards were ‘ground.’ Teacher was an ex-Marine, Guadalcanal. He didn’t bat an eye, so I didn’t.
Science: Surface uplift and time-dependent seismic hazard due to fluid injection in eastern Texas.
Reuters: U.S. lawmakers blast Mylan CEO over ‘sickening’ EpiPen price hikes.
Even a Republican’s pissed. Nice to know there’s still only so far down they’ll go.
Guardian.UK: The Trump Foundation - what’s known is shocking. We need to know more.
So, be above board and fair. Investigate both Foundations. Let’s see what’s going on.
NM Political Report: Audit - NM didn’t collect $193 million in taxes from insurance companies.
“It will take us a year to finish this. We haven’t lost any of this money. If it’s there, we will collect it.” Um ... if it’s there?
UN Dispatch: Why Angelina Jolie Means So Much to the United Nations.
A reminder for us all to keep out of others’ personal lives, and to stay focused on what’s important.
Guardian.UK: 375 top scientists warn of ‘real, serious, immediate’ climate threat.
“These facts are incontrovertible. No reputable scientist disputes them. It is the truth.”
The Atlantic: The Vexing Economics of Obamacare.
“Single-payer health care ... [snip] ... would be the clearest way of solving the access-affordability conundrum.” Their ‘con’, that people ‘don’t want to give up their plans or physicians’ - they’ve already had to multiple times now, due to the ACA. That’s not a valid argument.
Political Wire: Young Voters Force Clinton Campaign Reset.
Both campaigns are missing opportunities, letting others slip away. By the time it starts to affect the polls (poll-driven policy, a Clinton weakness from the ‘90’s), it’s often too late.
NY Times: Concern Over Colin Powell’s Hacked Emails Becomes a Fear of Being Next.
“Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, shrugged off the news. ‘I haven’t worried about an email being hacked since I’ve never sent one,’ Mr. Graham said. ‘I’m, like, ahead of my time.’” Yeah well. We have his quotes and video from the Contract with America and Clinton impeachment days. That’s plenty.
Slate: Gary Johnson is not worth any liberal’s protest vote.
Yet young folk view Trump and Clinton as surefire war-creators, unworthy guardians of young lives. I suppose it’s all about where your priorities lie.
In These Times: On the Clinton Foundation, Why Are Journalists Telling Us to Look the Other Way?
ITT is a left-leaning organization, and they’re printing this. Take note. Some will feel, with Clinton’s recent health issue, turning a blind eye is the best strategy to ensure a win in November. The Foundation is a serious problem now, and will be a problem after election. It’s not a disqualifying one, but it needs addressing beyond PR talking points.
Just like the ACA. And I’ll mention again, the ACA’s new rates hit on November 1. Election is November 8. There are going to be a LOT of upset people.
I don’t see the Democrats doing a damned thing about it. And yet, the Republicans haven’t even made a feint at this sitting duck.
It’s a season of political idiocy all the way around.
Guardian.UK: Trump and the Republican Party are doing Big Oil’s bidding.
They’re bankrupting NM, and one can see how they’re ... shaking up ... Oklahoma. This is not good at all. And if you confront them, you’ll either be answered “because jobs” or “because war”.
The Atlantic: Trump Unveils Plan to Boost Support for Child Care.
Youtube: Eagles away! Dutch police unveil latest recruits against drones.
Hmmm. As I’ve mentioned before, drone operators (after many crashes) tend to upgrade the propellers to lighter, stronger carbon fiber. Those CF blades are sharper than a conventional steak knife. The eagles, unless they have stronger feet than I imagine, could end up severely injured.
Guardian.UK: Household incomes rose in 2015 for first time in eight years, US Census says.
“Household incomes in the US finally broke free of the recession in 2015, rising for the first time since the Obama election, the Census Bureau announced on Tuesday, but they still remained below levels before the recession.” As I’ve been saying repeatedly ... the Administration and the media have been hooting and hollering about ‘recoveries’ for years now. We’re still NOT back. Hurts worse in the poorer states (NM being one).
Bill Moyers: We, the Plutocrats vs. We, the People.
“So what brought on that spasm of rebellion? They simply couldn’t see beyond their own prerogatives. Fiercely loyal to their families, their clubs, their charities and their congregations — fiercely loyal, that is, to their own kind — they narrowly defined membership in democracy to include only people like themselves.” So many parallels to the privileged classes vs. the third estate in the French Revolution. History repeats.
DeSmogBlog: Obama Again Sounds Climate Change Alarm But Continues Supporting Fossil Fuel Industry.
Wishy-washy, but worth a perusal.
naked capitalism: Warrant Issued for Amy Goodman’s Arrest for DAPL Reporting.
“Some strange things going down in North Dakota, however, and they don’t augur well for those who are peacefully engaging in constitutionally protected activity, including peaceful protest and press coverage. I noticed, for example, that the state recently became the first to authorize the use of armed drones by police.” You think it can’t happen here, and then ...
Open Culture: Doonesbury Imagines a Trump Candidacy Back in 1999. And Nails It!
Omigod. Share this around.
Hillary almost collapsed.
Looks like Hillary’s suffering from a familiar A/V malady. We would go from venue to venue, hyper-air-conditioned (super-cold in anticipation of thousands of hot bodies), then travelling out in the heat between venues. Or cold ballroom - hot city - cold airport - temperate airplane - cold airport - hot city ... you get the idea. The sharp temp changes really tax your immune system. And planes are petri dishes.
I fell ill of this in Baltimore, years ago ... noone to spare from the crew. I had to haul my butt to the emergency room in a taxi, alone. They freaked out - I was dehydrated enough to start heart rhythm problems. They pumped me full of saline for hours. When I walked out eight hours later to catch a cab back to the hotel, I felt like the Stay-Puft Marshmallow man. Thought my eyes would pop out of my head. I couldn’t drive myself back home to Princeton, I sat in a hotel room alone, hallucinating for three days until the fever broke.
I give Hillary a big ‘pass’ on this one. Been there, been through that ... it’s really horrible. And I was late 20’s, 30’s ... in tip-top physical shape. It *hurt*.
[I’m an ethical guy - I would give Trump or Johnson a ‘pass’ on this one, too.]
Get well soon, Hill. And don’t do too much too fast. It’ll come back on ya.
Day later: Note that Donald Trump behaved better on this (so far) than the media.
WaPo: Democrats wonder and worry - Why isn’t Clinton far ahead of Trump?
It’s going to be the craziest 60 days we’ve ever seen in politics. I’ll say it again. Obamacare’s cost increases go live on November 1. One week before election. Hillary better have a fix long before, or else she could lose this with her current slim margins. Back-pocket election. Many things can happen in between, but that could end up being the nail in the coffin.
Guardian.UK: Former EPA head admits she was wrong to tell New Yorkers post-9/11 air was safe.
If you were around in 2001, we bloggers called ‘bullshit’ on this at the time. It defied all logic.
naked cap: Dakota Pipeline Will Proceed As Feds Undertake Smoke and Mirrors Policy Reconsideration.
Woof. Always read the actual case first. This doesn’t look great.
NY Times: The Partisan Winds Aimed at Kansas’ Court.
“Upon taking office in 2011, Mr. Brownback promised to succeed with “a red-state model” of the trickle-down myth that big upper-bracket tax cuts somehow promote economic growth. Instead, revenues plummeted, resulting in an education funding crisis that threatened schools with closings.” This cause-and-effect has been known since 1984. That it still gets rolled out every election - and voted for - boggles anyone with a shred of common sense. Trickle-down has never worked. Not once. Remember this quote? “If you feed the horse enough oats, some will pass through to the road for the sparrows.” No sh-t.
