Thursday, January 25, 2018

"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" No Good Reason (TV Episode 2017) - IMDb

Everyone should watch this episode, especially the last 10 minutes.

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Save the Children Is Attacked in Afghanistan; ISIS Claims Responsibility - The New York Times

What a grotesque distortion of humanity. These people are sub-human or an entirely different form of life, such as it is.

Saturday, January 20, 2018

The Post

After watching The Post today, I began to wonder whether reporters today - and their organizations (or lack thereof) - are working hard enough to dig out facts for us. Take Donald TRUMP's tax returns. Why has no one been able to turn up copies of these? I am sure Special Counsel MUELLER has had no trouble getting them. I think too many reporters, and their paymasters, have gotten really lazy. God forbid they might burn some shoe leather, non?

Our Mission | Urban Sketchers

This would be fun if I could draw!

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Rule

I keep thinking of something I heard Jon MEACHAM say not to long ago - something to the effect that we are in the midst of a national experiment in narcissistic rule. Wow. 

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Merit

The more I think about it, the more it seems to me that the idea of allowing in only the best and brightest is an awful idea. It is veiled racism and as I have written elsewhere at least elitism in a place where it should not be. 

Sens. Cotton and Perdue are outed for lying on Trump’s behalf - The Washington Post

They ought to resign. There is no place for people like this in the US Senate.

Jimmy Fallon Sings James Taylor-Inspired Trump Parody - Rolling Stone

Love it!

Sunday, January 14, 2018

Donald Trump & Immigration: Merit-Based System Is the Solution | National Review

The more I think about merit-based immigration, the more discriminatory it seems. The only fair system is one that does as we are supposed to do in the US treat everyone equally and put all the names in hat. For those who like the merit idea, how would you feel about limiting tourists and other visitors from overseas using the same test? This is its own form of racism or at least elitism.

Dutch Reporters Show How to Keep American Officials Honest - The New York Times

This ought to be on the front page. And reporters need to stick with important questions, and no others, until they get answers.

To: CNN Re: Apples, Bananas and TRUMP

The wonderful CNN promotion on an apple always remaining an apple and can never be a banana ought to be justification for them to do this: Announce publicly that CNN will create an arbitration process to get closer to the truth of who is lying about what President TRUMP may have said at the meeting last week about Haiti, Africa, and elsewhere. The people in the meeting have taken irreconcilable positions on what happened. There was an apple there and other cannot turn it into a banana. So, CNN, announce that you will commission a rapid process to get to the truth. Imagine that. To get there, CNN will name one highly regarded person to be their member of the arbitration panel. Republicans present at the meeting and Democrats present can each nominate two more arbitrators, and the President can nominate a fourth. Each entity can do so, or decline by a deadline of three days. At that point, whoever has been named can meet and select together one more arbitrator. That means a maximum of 5 on the panel. They will be given a week to carry out the arbitration process and to render an opinion on what the President said or did not say. Imagine actually coming as close to the truth as anyone could hope to come on this matter.
With that decision in hand, the rest of us can then turn to convincing the respective houses of Congress to censure and remove whomever turns out to be a liar on this matter, trying to transform fruits and screw with our democratic process.  

Friday, January 12, 2018

To the editor of Le Soleil in Dakar, Senegal

"Cher Monsieur,
Je suis americain. J’habite aux Etats-Unis dans l’etat du Caroline du Nord.
Il y a Presque cinquante ans, j’ai fait ma premiere visite en Afrique et c’etait le Senegal ou je suis arrive premierement.
J’etais immediatement accepte par tous les Senegelais, et j’ai trouve le pays et surtout le people comme les gens spectaculaire dans tous les aspects.
Pendant ma visite, j’ai visite les bureau de Le Soleil parce que en commencant ma carriere a cet epoque, j’avais decide de poursuivre la presse avec la loi. J’ai devenu avocat americain pour la presse americaine et international.
Mais, je vous ecrit a ce moment ma tristesse, parce j’ai un niveau de la honte plus grand que je peux jamais imaginer.
Le President des Etats-Unis a dit aujourd’hui qu’un grand morceau de la population mondiale est simplement les gens au plus bas imaginable.
Je vous ecrit pour dire qu’a ce moment, nous sommes tous Senegelais, Africain, Centre-Americain.
Pour moi, je partage les mauvais mots de notre President avec tous et toutes la-bas, parce que pour moi, c’etait vous ET moi qui etait le cible de ces mots.
Je suis avec vous et pas de tout avec lui.
Nous allons trouver dans notre pays democratique le moyens legaux de remplacer ce President avec quelqu’un d’autre. Nous chercherons les autres qui sont avec vous, avec moi, dans cet effort.
Le moment va revenir quand je peux visiter le Senegal avec un souris sur ma face et fiere de se presenter mon passeport americain a l’entrée.
A ce moment, j’ai seulement ma honte a vous presenter.
Sincerement,
Terry MAGUIRE
Chapel Hill, NC Etats-Unis"

TerryMaguire (@TerryMaguire) | Twitter

Will try to get better at this!

Trump provoque un tollé mondial après ses propos sur les "pays de merde" - Le Point

It really is a tragedy for everyone.

Maybe Trump Is Not Mentally Ill. Maybe He’s Just a Jerk. - The New York Times

So let us get him tested!

Whether Trump used crude language at meeting depends on who is talking

The US is indeed so much better than TRUMP and we need to focus on a really US plan to deprive him of power and the Presidency in the shortest amount of time. Let's all redouble our efforts to show the world than our President serves at the pleasure of the people and compliance with the law. We must make the political process work its will to reduce his power base, seek psychiatric analysis and diagnosis, and move as fast as we possibly can to the next President.

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Is Mr. Trump Nuts? - The New York Times

An extremely poorly-reasoned editorial. The point of many psychiatrists is not an assertion that the President is crazy, but rather that he appears unstable enough to cause real harm to us and to him. What I want to know is what a psychiatrist would recommend as a next step if presented with a patient exhibiting all of the actions noted in this editorial. Do a poll of psychiatrists, commissioned byThe New York Times, and then tell us what you learn. Let's get that one done and move wherever THAT might lead us.

Monday, January 08, 2018

Oprah, Don’t Do It - The New York Times

He has been out of the country too long.

Sunday, January 07, 2018

Paroles France Gall - Résiste - Paroles.net (clip, musique, traduction)

We lost her today, but not these words that surely need to be sung a lot today in the US.

5 things you need to know to stay healthy and fit

This sounded like good advice.

FRANKEN

I agree with her.

Monday, January 01, 2018

North Carolina Symphony - Meet a Musician

This looks like a nice feature. But where are the ones that have been posted already? Do these musicians simply go away after their moments of fame on the home page of the orchestra?

North Carolina Symphony

We attended the New Year's Eve concert. Why is it that the orchestra removes any trace of that event the next day, except for a promo video, now of no use? Is there no history? What happened to Aundi Marie MOORE who was featured to sing as recently at 23 November 2017? No explanation. Does no one care?

Taking Out the Trash? That’s Still a Man’s Job, Even for the Liberal Coastal Elite - The New York Times

Sure rings true for me!