@ScarJo called out Seacrest for Asking a Stupid Question about her High Heels #AskHerMore

I agree with this assessment.

While the E! host was chatting with the 32-year-old about the night, he asked if the star wore the same heels to the Oscars rehearsal as she was wearing tonight.

"What a ridiculous question!" she responded. And she's not wrong. Not only is it a perfect example of why #AskHerMore (a Twitter campaign that was started to push Hollywood to ask women more substantial questions on the red carpet) was created, it's also...not interesting? Was there really nothing else the host wanted to know about the successful actress, and how she felt going into the ceremony?

Yes Seacrest she is more than some high heels, a beautiful body, and a dress even though he probably doesn't think so. Maybe ask her about an upcoming movie or maybe some light banter about Kim Jong Nam being assassinated or whatever. Just don't ask about her shoes.  

"Tolerant" Leftist Leaves OB/GYN over Trump Vote

I agree with some of the comments. She needs a psychiatrist more than an OB/GYN right now.

"Can you believe Trump is going to be our president?" I asked her, assuming she would commiserate.

"I'm excited for what he'll be able to do for our economy," she replied. "He's going to do great things for us."

I felt a wave of anxiety, and my blood began to boil. I couldn't wait to get out of there. I kept my mouth shut, because I didn't want to get into a confrontation while she had a speculum inside me. It was hell. I had to lay there and be polite and, as soon as she was finished, I left as quickly as I could.

She had this doctor for 15 years and with one vote that all ended. Maybe asking why the doctor supported Trump would have led to some understanding. Instead the doctor is labeled as "enemy in violation of thought-crime." This part is especially rich.

My doctor seemed more impressed with President Trump's plan to reduce taxes, and I care more about human rights. I'm a small business owner in California, and the majority of my team is made up of immigrants. I love my employees and consider them family. Without them and their dedication and skill, I wouldn't be operating a successful company. Trump's executive order banning travel from majority-Muslim countries and aggressive enforcement of immigration laws are heartbreaking - I believe in unity, not division.

That is why she cleaves to division? Unity is just word to liberals who really want diversity of everything except for thought. Also how is not letting someone into our country violating their human rights? I think the Muslim ban is feel-good lunacy that does nothing to protect us but it doesn't violate their human rights if they cannot enter the country for 90 days. If that were true then every country that has immigration laws is a human rights violator. In any case this woman needs to do some serious self reflection.

Udall's Supreme Court Plan to Put on Gorsuch and Garland at the Same Time is Genius #DoubleCourtSwitch

Now this is thinking outside of the box.

His proposal is for Trump to meet privately with Supreme Court justices who are interested in retirement. If one of those justices decided they would be willing to retire, and if Trump promises to nominate Garland, President Barack Obama's unconfirmed former SCOTUS pick, in their place, then the retiring justice would submit a letter of resignation contingent on that promise.

Then, both Garland and Gorsuch would be voted on simultaneously. 

The best thing about this is there won't be a war over which way the Court will lean when Ruth Bader Ginsburg retires. Also it blunts the Dem attack that is valid that Garland didn't get a fair shake when Obama nominated him. That decision to not even meet with Garland will come back to haunt the GOP in the future. This move also feels like a very bi-partisan and might even heal some of the division in Washington.

@Apple Jerks its Customers Around: Dumps Lightning connector

I think they just change things at random down in Cupertino sometimes. First the wireless earbuds that everyone is probably going to lose to going back to the regular USB connector.

Apple will ditch the Lightning connector on the iPhone 8 in favor of the industry's standard USB Type-C connector, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
The new charging cable — expected to make an appearance at Apple's 10th-anniversary release of the iconic device in September — will come with a curved iPhone that lacks a physical home button, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

CNN, New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and Politico Kept out of Media Gaggle

I guess they are being put on notice.

A handful of news organizations were blocked from an off-camera White House press briefing on Friday. CNN reports that it was kept out, as well as the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and Politico. Conservative organizations Breitbart News, the Washington Times and One America News Network were allowed in.

I wonder if they feel like Fox News did during the Obama years. Although I don't think Fox News got kept out of gaggles.

Wait: People are Parsing Trumps use of the Words Military Operation? #TrumpDerangementDisorder

This is really getting out of hand.

Earlier on Thursday, Trump described his efforts to remove unauthorized immigrants from the US as "a military operation," a phrase that seemed to contradict efforts from White House officials who said the military would not be involved with the deportation plans.

Okay, you know he means military-like operation or an operation done with a lot of precision. But the MSM decides to do this.

Belying Spicer's comment is data from the Corpus of Contemporary American English, which has 450 million words spoken on television and written in books and print media over the past three decades. Out of the hundreds of documented uses of the term "military operation," none of them seem to specifically suggest a level of precision.

I have always heard a military operation as one being precise and efficient. An operation by the military to round up "bad hombres" would have been actually pretty scary but Trump and Spicer didn't say that. It was almost like if Trump used "like clockwork" the MSM would have thought he was using the inside of clocks to round up these aforementioned "bad hombres."

It seems that Trump should have used "military-like" instead and we won't have press idiots looking at whatever the Corpus of Contemporary American English for something of a fairly common phrase. In any case this is Trump Derangement Disorder at its finest.

Now This #DeVos criticism is just Out of Hand: Attacks her over a Free Lunch Line

This is just grasping at straws.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos made a seemingly innocuous joke Thursday about no one getting a free lunch. But the comment came as DeVos, a staunch opponent of public schools, is taking over the nation's free lunch program that provides nutrition to low-income students and is under attack from Republicans, raising questions about whether the administration of President Donald Trump will protect food aid programs for children, NPR reported.

I wonder if she said "throw the baby out with the bathwater" these idiots from the MSM would have thought about throwing out an actual baby. She said an inelegant thing about a Montana school needing a rifle in case of bear attacks (in other words states should figure things out and not the Feds) and she will never live it down.

Captain America's Shield could be Made out this Bulletproof Foam

This is some tough foam.

Sound impossible that foam-based armor could stop armor piercing rounds? Testing has proved it is indeed possible.
In tests conducted by the development team, the foam body armor was able to defeat an armor-piercing bullet. And on impact, their foam smashed the bullet into powder.

They actually made a shield out of the foam to shoot at.

To challenge the foam material with bullets, the team built a shield. The strike face - the side facing the weapon - was made with the new composite metal foam together with boron carbide ceramics. The backplates – the side that would face the user - were made of Kevlar. 

I wonder how much this shield weighs? Also it would be interesting to see if you can make clothes out of this foam Kevlar mixed.

Silicon Valley Grandee Sam Altman Talks to a 100 Trump Supporters: Finds out they are Not Bigoted, Racist, Idiots

I would be willing to bet that you can repeat his experiment over and over.

This was a surprisingly interesting and helpful experience — I highly recommend it. With three exceptions, I found something to like about everyone I talked to (though I strongly disagreed with many of the things they said). Although it shouldn't have surprised me given the voting data, I was definitely surprised by the diversity of the people I spoke to — I did not expect to talk to so many Muslims, Mexicans, Black people, and women in the course of this project. 

What they are is afraid of the so-called "tolerance" of the open-minded leftists.

Almost everyone I asked was willing to talk to me, but almost none of them wanted me to use their names — even people from very red states were worried about getting "targeted by those people in Silicon Valley if they knew I voted for him." One person in Silicon Valley even asked me to sign a confidentiality agreement before she would talk to me, as she worried she'd lose her job if people at her company knew she was a strong Trump supporter.  

Yes the left goes out of their way to be inclusive of everyone but people that don't think the way they do. Ideological thought-crime is everywhere these days.

#TheMnuch Says Tax Reform by August Recess: @Congress you have your Orders

Now stop screwing around and get to work.

“We want to get [tax reform] done by the August recess,” Mnuchin added.

Currently, Congress is scheduled to leave Washington D.C. on July 28 and return to Capitol Hill on September 5.

As for the particulars of a plan, Mnuchin said that the border-adjustment tax that has been called “too complicated” by President Trump has some “very interesting aspects.” Mnuchin added that while the administration is “looking closely” at the issue, “there is a consensus on the majority of where we are on tax reform.”

Forget that border adjustment BS and pass a clean corporate and personal tax cut and pay for it in some other way. Or just use the dynamic scoring hand-wave to get past that hurdle. Or maybe introduce a VAT of some-sort like the Europeans do. In any case this is the only thing I want Congress to do so they need to hurry up and get it done.

I Guess Trump Watches Special Report on Fox: Tweets Right after Story on Faked Angry Town Hall Meetings

It is always interesting to see Trump tweet right after some show that he just watched.

Fox News aired a segment on its 6 p.m. show Special Report — just before the president's tweet — in which Peter Doocy reported that “some of the chaos from GOP town hall meetings is very well-choreographed by the liberal activists that helped get Barack Obama elected president.”
Specifically, Doocy said the non-profit group Organizing for Action is "giving liberals turn-by-turn directions for disrupting Republican lawmakers who want to repeal Obamacare."

I watched that report as well. It is strange that the most powerful man in the world watches the same Fox stuff that I do. Maybe he should turn off the TV and dig into those intelligence briefings instead.

@NASA finds three planets in the Goldilocks zone: Now Train Radio Telescopes that Way

Some potential earth-like planets have been found 40 Light Years away.

The new worlds are less than 40 light-years away – a cosmic hop of about 235 trillion miles – and could yield clues about extraterrestrial life, astronomers said.
Three of them are in the “Goldilocks zone,” the sweet spot in the space where conditions are just right for water – and possibly life — to exist, according to NASA and a Belgian-led research team.
The smallest is about 75 percent as massive as Earth, while the largest is just 10 percent heftier than our planet. All seven occupy tight orbits, lying closer to TRAPPIST-1 than Mercury does to our sun. The orbital periods of the innermost six worlds range from 1.5 days to 12.4 days, Space.com reported.

That means a year would equal from 1.5 to 12.4 days on these worlds. You would also think the sun would take up much of the sky as well. I think the next step is to train radio telescopes toward this solar system and see if we get any radio waves coming from them. This is a pretty cool discovery.

Wait, the US is the Only Country to Slash Greenhouse Gas Emissions?

It seems to be the case.

This continues a long-term trend for the U.S. of lower greenhouse gas emissions. Ironically, while the U.S. was pilloried for not ratifying the Tokyo Accord (though then-Vice President Al Gore ostentatiously signed it, despite knowing that the Senate wouldn't ratify it) to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, it is the only major industrial nation actually slashing its output.
Since the Kyoto Accord was struck in 1997, Energy Department data show, U.S. output of greenhouse gases plunged 7.3%, even though real U.S. GDP over that time has grown a whopping 52%. We're greener today than we have been in decades.

So our GDP growth went up 52% while our emissions went down by 7.3%? I think it might be time to swtich over to the Natural Gas economy and push China in that direction as well.

Day Without Immigrants Ended up Costing a Bunch of People Their Jobs

I wonder if whatever group that pushed this thing is going to give these people some resume help to find a new job?

One would think that in our nation’s current political climate a place of employment would be supportive of their subordinates exercising their first amendment rights against blatant government discrimination. Unfortunately, that’s not our reality.

When the “Day Without Immigrants” protests transpired last week, over one hundred employees were fired for participating in their “right to peaceably assemble” per the Constitution. The national movement was ignited by Donald Trump’s executive order regarding the immigrant ban.

They can peaceably assemble all they want but you have to watch the consequences. Maybe they can get some of that professional protestor money from Soros.

American Muslims Raise Money to Repair Vandalized Jewish Cemetary

Now this is something that needs to be the first story on the News instead of some I-Hate-Trump crap.

Two Muslim-Americans activists launched a crowdfunding campaign Tuesday to raise money to repair a historic Jewish cemetery in St. Louis that was vandalized over the weekend. Within two hours, the fundraising campaign started by Linda Sarsour and Tarek El-Messidi had already surpassed its goal of $20,000. "Through this campaign, we hope to send a united message from the Jewish and Muslim communities that there is no place for this type of hate, desecration, and violence in America," the crowdfunding webpage read.

Here Come the Germans: #Lidl is Coming to the US in a Big Way

Hopefully they would get out here eventually.

The German supermarket chain Lidl is gearing up to open 100 stores along the East Coast by mid-2018, with the first 20 stores opening this summer in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
The chain plans to eventually open as many as 600 stores in the US, according to a copy of a company presentation obtained by Business Insider. Lidl currently has 10,000 stores in 27 European countries. 

Hopefully, they bring some German chocolate to go up against that terribly over-sweet Hershey crap that they sell in the stores today.

Can we Promote General Mattis to President? He Gives the Bottom Line to Reporters about Flynn Resigning

I like his no-nonsense style.

"Here's the bottom line, ladies and gentlemen. I'm brought in to be the secretary of defense. I give the president advice on the use of military force," he said, according to Yahoo News Washington correspondent Olivier Knox.

"I maintain good relations, strong relations ... and so military-to-military relations with other ministries of defense around the world," he added.

"And frankly, this has no impact. Obviously, I haven't changed what I'm heading there for. It doesn't change my message at all. And who's on the president's staff is who I will work with."

At it really doesn't. I'm sure the General can work with some other woman or man as National Security adviser just as well as he could have worked with Flynn. I would love to see this guy swatting down CNN and MSNBC blow-hards all day long but we are stuck with Trump for 4 years at least.

Dems Notch First Cabinet Win: Andy Puzder Out for Labor Secretary

It seems like they finally got one with Puzder backing out.

Andy Puzder, President Trump’s nominee for secretary of labor, is expected to withdraw his name from consideration, NBC News, Fox News and CNN reported Wednesday afternoon.

Puzder’s reported withdrawal comes a day after his Senate confirmation hearing was set to begin.

Earlier Wednesday, multiple reports surfaced that GOP officials had advised the White House that Puzder — chief executive of CKE Restaurants, the parent company of Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. fast-food chains — lacked the votes needed for confirmation.

I didn't think he was a great fit for Labor anyway. He was a CEO of fast food restaurants and not one of the top ones by sales. He had that "not paying taxes for an undocumented worker" problem that seems to dog to very rich when they try to get into public service. I would think one of those anti-NAFTA union guys would be an interesting pick and more align with what Trump is trying to do.    

Buffett Cashes out of @Wal-Mart Stock: I Guess Traditional Retail is Nearly Dead

It seems that Buffett has sold nearly all his Wal-Mart stock.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has sold off $900 million of Walmart stock, choosing instead to invest billions in airlines.
The sale, which leaves Buffett with nearly no shares in Walmart, comes as the US's largest traditional retailer has been rushing to catch up to Amazon and other online competitors.

The weird thing is Amazon is moving into the brick-and-mortar retail space. So both freight trains seem to be passing each other going separate ways. I would love to have an Amazon store where I can pick up things I ordered instead of having it delivered all the time.

#MorningJoe is on the Banned List: I'm Not a Fan of Kellyanne Conway but It's Terrible For Them to Shun Her

Their ratings are in the toilet anyway But this is beyond the pale.

MSNBC anchor Mika Brzezinski said on Wednesday that she won't allow President Donald Trump's top counselor, Kellyanne Conway, to appear on "Morning Joe."

The show's host slammed Conway for spinning on behalf of the administration without being accurate.

"She books herself on these shows. We know for a fact that she tries to book herself on this show," Brzezinski said. "I won't do it because I don't believe in fake news or information that is not true, and every time I see her on television something is askew, off, or incorrect."

I think it's time for the Trump Administration to "do an Obama" and simply ignore these losers like Morning Joe. Obama barely acknowledged Fox News for years and only went on sporadically if at all. I think Trump needs to do this to MSNBC and CNN. They will be criticized by the MSM but apparently it doesn't matter either way. They are openly hostile to the White House so why put themselves in the firing line like this?

What is sad though is instead of challenging her so-called "lies" they just want to plug their ears. I actually watched Morning Joe from time to time when Squawk Box was boring or had boring guests on. Instead I think I'll just switch over to a sitcom on Netflix or something because these people are not worth it anymore. They just want to invalidate Trump's communication people and that is just wrong. 

Wait a #NewYorkTimes Reporter Called the First Lady a "Hooker" and He Still Keeps his Job?

If any reporter called Michele Obama a "hooker" they would be fired so fast it would make your head spin. It seems that the double standard still stands.

"I want to take ownership of a mistake I made," New York Times features writer Jacob Bernstein said on Twitter. "Speaking at a party in what I thought was a personal conversation, I nevertheless made a stupid remark about the first lady."
He continued, "My editors have made it clear my behavior was not in keeping with the standards of the Times, and I agree. My mistake, referring to unfounded rumors, shouldn’t reflect on anyone else and I apologize profusely."

You wonder why Trump hates the Times so much when this kind of scumbag works there.

Good Idea @Microsoft: A “digital Geneva Convention” Is Just what we Need

I'm not sure how many countries would sign it but it is a great idea to pose for the UN.

The speech was echoed in a blog post on Microsoft's site that went up Tuesday morning.
The world’s governments need to pledge that “they will not engage in cyberattacks that target civilian infrastructure, whether it’s the electric grid or the political system,” Smith said.
This digital Geneva Convention would establish protocols, norms and international processes for how tech companies would deal with cyber aggression and attacks of nations aimed at civilian targets, which appears to effectively mean anything but military servers.

So no more Russia trying to hack the DNC email, or the Red Chinese hacking our companies, or even the USA going after our emails. It would hopefully prevent countries going after private businesses and regular people. Here is an extra idea as well. Make "Neutral Server Host countries" where data can be stored and hosted and if they are hacked it will be just like if Switzerland is invaded.  

Robert S. "Bob" Harward Jr. Frontrunner for National Security Adviser is an Impressive Dude

It seems a few names have been floated after Mattis was out.

Vice Adm. Bob Harward is one name that has come up to replace Flynn as national security adviser, and the leading candidate to get the job, a senior official told Fox News.
Harward is a U.S. Navy SEAL, but also has a previous relationship with Secretary of Defense James Mattis. Harward was the deputy commander of the U.S. Central Command under Mattis and was also the deputy commander of U.S. Joint Forces Command.
He also served on the National Security Council for President George W. Bush and commissioned the National Counter Terrorism Center.

This guy seems to have been nearly everywhere in Iraq and Afghanistan. He looks like the kind of guy that could fight the War on Terror and put the fear of God into the Jihadis. Hopefully he has good standing with the Intelligence Community and doesn't lie to the Veep.

Office of Government Ethics has Nothing Better to Do Than go After Kellyanne Conway yukking it up on Fox and Friends?

I watched the clip in question in and Conway just seemed to be having fun.

In a letter dated Monday, and released by the Democrats on the House Oversight committee's Twitter account Tuesday, the office found that Conway committed a “clear violation” when she urged viewers to buy from Ivanka’s clothing line after it had been dropped by Nordstrom.
 “Go buy Ivanka’s stuff … It’s a wonderful line, I own some of it … I’m going to give a free commercial here. Go buy it today, everybody. You can find it online,” Conway said on "Fox & Friends" Thursday, standing in front of the podium in the White House briefing room.

Hopefully Trump would just give her a slap-on-the-wrist so we can move on. 

Who is #SamRonan and Why I Think He should be Chair of the DNC?

I am not a Dem but their party has certainly been run into the ground by their so-called leadership. I think this fellow might be someone to bring the party into the next century.

“So many of those people who are disenfranchised thought the primaries were rigged against them and their candidates. The fact of the matter is, it’s true. The Democratic Party has not been open to outsiders and new members in our entire history, and if we want to bring those people back, we need to prove to them that we are willing to open the doors,” said Ronan during a DNC chair candidate forum on February 5. “The hard part, the truth, the reality is that we messed up as a party. We need to own that and hold our fellow Democrats accountable.”

I'm sure some of the ancien regime (and I do mean ancien) that are in charge do not want to hear this but it needs to be said. The party leadership rigged the election against Bernie and then simply held a coronation for a terrible candidate. Then the terrible candidate loses to a neophyte that has never run for office before. I think it is time that they listen to guys like Ronan who will try to lead the next generation of Dems forward. Whatever apparatus that forced Hillary on them should be dismantled and maybe we would get a half-way decent choice in 2020.

Wait what? It would Cost $100 Trillion to Reduce Global Warming Three Tenths of One Degree in 100 Years!

I think the ship has sailed on this whole thing.

The calculation comes from Danish statistician Bjorn Lomborg, the head of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, reports Climate Depot.
Lomborg states: “We will spend at least one hundred trillion dollars in order to reduce the temperature by the end of the century by a grand total of three tenths of one degree – the equivalent of postponing warming by less than four years.”
He explained the calculation is based on the U.N.’s own climate prediction model.
The total is bigger than the world’s gross domestic product.

Those are mind-boggling numbers. Imagine how many people could be helped or fed with that amount? We could probably wipe out global poverty with a tenth of that huge figure.

Fashion Joins Endless Anti-Trump Movement #TrumpDerangementDisorder

I figured that they would get in on the act eventually.

If you’ve longed for relief from what feels like a never-ending deluge of political commentary, do not look to New York Fashion Week for comfort in escapism. Unsurprisingly, this year’s event has been the most politically charged fashion week in recent history.

Everyone from emerging designers to industry stalwarts has participated in their own versions of political activism, featuring slogan T-shirts on runways and providing Planned Parenthood support pins to showgoers. And much of the commentary has come in the form of strong rebukes against President Trump, both directly and indirectly.

I guess there is currently no place to hide from the Trump Derangement Disorder.

#TrumplessThursday: It's time to Make this a Thing

Well I'm going to try something new after reading a CNN article about Trump in the news and seeing the "Suggested Article" section have 5 other Anti-Trump Articles. Then you see the same thing in one news source after another. Conway is lying, Spicer is lying, liberals are making up fake news, his bathrobe is now a meme, and on and on. Even GQ which I thought was a mens fashion and lifestyle magazine is virulently anti-Trump. I don't agree with lots of his agenda but this hate is bordering on insanity.

So what I am suggesting is that on Thursdays you put your news feed on a Trump-free diet. If you see his orange mug and weird hair move on. If you see click-bait about Conway being Goebbels (just wait CNN is just getting started) or Bannon being the fourth horseman of the apocalypse then pass it by. Turn off Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN. If you see John Harwood on CNBC mute him. He will probably say something anti-Trump and smarmy.

This has to go for social media too. You might need to ignore your Facebook for the day (or better yet delete it) because it has become a cesspool of anti-Trump hatred. I mean it is now just full of people making things up. I mean putting his Dad in Photo-shopped KKK robes is just grotesque. What is worse is the amount of people who believe it and share it again.

Also while you are at it ignore Trumps tweets. They are just him popping off about one thing or another. It makes him feel better so ignore them and move on. And if he tweets about your company don't do anything because its just his unfiltered opinion and it will pass. He doesn't have to power to lean on Nordstrom because they dropped his daughters clothing line. Congress has that power and they are too busy talking trash about one another to actually do anything.

In any case, if you see a picture of Trump, Conway, Bannon, or Spicer and its Thursday then simply do not click the article. If you see them on TV then change the channel. If you find yourself on CNN for any reason then change the channel. The problem is Trump-hate follows you into sports with some Patriots skipping a White House visit and, of course entertainment news, with aged pop stars wanting to blow up that selfsame White House. So I guess you just have to go radio-silent on Thursdays and just read a good book. I suggest this one about Prussia. I think this might be only way to keep things sane for 4 more years.   

Fake News Tacks Leftward Again from a Rightist Slant Before the Election

Well it looks like it is liberal fake news that dominates again.

There was the fake photo of Mr. Trump, purportedly showing him standing with his parents, both dressed in the white robes and symbols of the Ku Klux Klan. There was the misleading story of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, who was said to have founded a group in high school called the “Fascism Forever Club.” There was the viral photo of a boy handcuffed at Dulles airport near Washington after the president’s immigration ban last week – it was a fake, taken in 2015.

What is interesting is the reason they site for fake news dominating during this election cycle.

The confusion and misinformation creates and environment where it is increasingly normal to accept facts only if they conform to one's own worldview. But something else is at work, as well, many observers say. The penchant to believe fake news is often rooted in a deep-seated feeling of alarm and powerlessness. 

When things are crazy and your party does all kinds of stunts to stay relevant I can see liberals finding some insane things like a Supreme Court nominee forming a fascist high school club very believable. It fits their narrative so there is much less scrutiny than normal. It does seem good that the regular news media is starting to get some kind of uptick in readership.

The recent spike in fake news stories on the left can be attributed to the enormous increase in the number of liberals now seeking information from all sources, says Professor Donath, also the former director of the Sociable Media Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab. That trend has also bolstered mainstream newspapers including The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, which have each seen their circulations surge after the election.

Hopefully they are reading more Wall Street Journal and less New York Times though. That way liberals can get a little more information from the other side and get a fuller picture of things.

If This is True then Steve Bannon Needs to be Shown the Door because he is an Apocalyptic Madman

The worst part is this guy talks to the President all day long every day of the week.

In Bannon’s view, we are in the midst of an existential war, and everything is a part of that conflict. Treaties must be torn up, enemies named, culture changed. Global conflagration, should it occur, would only prove the theory correct. For Bannon, the Fourth Turning has arrived. The Grey Champion, a messianic strongman figure, may have already emerged. The apocalypse is now.

What the what? I guess the Grey Champion is actually the Orange Champion but this type of talk is disturbing.  He sounds a lot like a Twelver. I guess he thinks war with Islam and China seem inevitable.

The “Judeo-Christian West is collapsing,” he went on. “It’s imploding. And it’s imploding on our watch. And the blowback of that is going to be tremendous.”

War is coming, Bannon has warned. In fact, it’s already here.

“You have an expansionist Islam and you have an expansionist China,” he said during a 2016 radio appearance. “They are motivated. They’re arrogant. They’re on the march. And they think the Judeo-Christian West is on the retreat.”

“Against radical Islam, we’re in a 100-year war,” he told Political Vindication Radio in 2011.

“We’re going to war in the South China Seas in the next five to 10 years, aren’t we?” Bannon asked during a 2016 interview with Reagan biographer Lee Edwards.

The problem is the West is quite a bit more powerful than radical Islam. You can say what you want about Iran moving into power in the Middle East but they are still checked by the Saudis. Syria is a mess because of non-action by the US. It seems that Raqqa will fall eventually and ISIS will be blown to the winds. We will be fighting radical Islam for years but the Israelis have done so for 40 years and they seem to be doing pretty well. They know terrorism is a threat, and they fight it everyday, but it doesn't seem like Israel is on the verge of some implosion. Western ideals are just too strong and I don't think younger Muslims want to live under some ISIS-like control especially when they see their abuses coming to light.

Do we really want to have a massive war over the South China Sea? That doesn't make sense at all. Are we going to fight over some uninhabited islands and China moving their sphere of influence outward? If they threaten Japan or Taiwan or something I can see us doing something drastic but our economies are too intertwined. They hold trillions of dollars of our debt and could ruin our economy. Maybe reducing our debt would be a good idea but fighting over some islands which we have no actual vested interest in is crazy-talk. In any case, I think Bannon needs to go back to Breitbart News and leave the geo-politicing to the calmer folks.  

GOP Slows Repeal and Replace of Obamacare Pivots to Fixing it Instead

I guess once you are in the governing seat you have to actually think about things before you vote on them.

"I think it is more accurate to say repair Obamacare because, for example, in the reconciliation procedure that we have in the Senate, we can't repeal all of Obamacare," Sen. Lamar Alexander, the chair of the Senate Health Committee, said last week.

Also last week, Sen. Orrin Hatch, the head of the Senate Finance Committee, told CNN that the GOP wanted to "try and repair the law."

There may also be a source for the change. Bloomberg reported that conservative pollster Frank Luntz told Republicans at a summit in Philadelphia that the "repair" language was more amenable to Americans and to use it instead of "repeal and replace."

They should have used repair from the beginning so they didn't have a weird 2 stage process to have to contend with. Repeal and then Replace needs to be almost at the same time or people will be left without coverage because of Congressional shortsightedness. Fixing means just tackling the bad stuff while leaving what Americans like behind.  

I Think Trump Should Just Stop Interacting with CNN

It is obvious that CNN is the enemy camp judging from this kind of thing.

CNN’s relationship with the president’s counselor was first called into question by a New York Times report that claimed the network declined to have her as a guest on Sunday, in part due to “serious questions about her credibility.” Conway disputed that account in a Monday tweet in which she said family commitments kept her out of the studios for the Sunday shows. CNN’s communications team fired back with a tweet of its own that said the network’s premier Sunday show, “State of the Union,” “passed” after the White House “offered” Conway as a guest.

I am told that Trump is supposed to be loyal to his people. If CNN doesn't want Conway on their network then they should be ignored. Just cease all communications and avoid all interviews. Don't call on them in press briefings and ignore their tweets and such. They obviously want to do harm to his Presidency so simply ignore them for the time being. Kind of like Obama and Fox News back in the day.

Well At Least Trump is Learning from the so-called "Muslim Ban" Debacle

I decided to read this NY Times article that Trump hit back against and look for grains of truth. I am seriously hoping that this is one of them.

Mr. Priebus has told Mr. Trump and Mr. Bannon that the administration needs to rethink its policy and communications operation in the wake of embarrassing revelations that key details of the orders were withheld from agencies, White House staff and Republican congressional leaders like Speaker Paul D. Ryan.

Mr. Priebus has also created a 10-point checklist for the release of any new initiatives that includes signoff from the communications department and the White House staff secretary, Robert Porter, according to several aides familiar with the process.

This checklist will slow things down a bit and have other eyes look at these things before they leave the White House. It would have been nice to have nearly anyone from Homeland Security, the Congress, or nearly anyone else look at the "Muslim ban" before they rolled it out.

It went from protecting people from terrorists to stopping Interpreters that fought alongside our soldiers in Iraq, people with green-cards, and old women and sick children from traveling with valid visas that took them years to obtain. It was such a stupid own goal that I really hope Trump wakes up, slows things down, and listens to more people than just Bannon. This was the big early screw-up and it is now time to do things better.

Red Chinese Make Ties to Ivanka and Kushner: Smart Plan Indeed

I guess this is the back-channel for Sino-American diplomacy.

Ivanka’s public meeting -- lauded in China’s press -- came after behind-the-scenes meetings between Cui and Jared Kushner, her husband and a presidential adviser. Kushner and Cui have had an extensive ongoing dialogue that has been positive, according to a White House official who asked not to be identified because the meetings were private.
As countries around the world figure out how to influence the new U.S. administration, China is going straight to the top: Trump’s immediate family. In bypassing more traditional diplomatic channels such as the State Department, China is looking to open a more direct link to help avoid a trade war or military confrontation after Trump signaled a willingness to challenge Beijing’s red lines on Taiwan and the South China Sea.

Very canny Great Game move by both America and Red China. You bypass the leakers at State and the idiots in the press and make a back-channel right from the start. I guess it will be up to Ivanka to stop a war over the South China Sea or prevent some kind of trade problem between us. Maybe she will be able to do a bi-lateral deal that helps us get more American products sold in China and get our trade deficit back under control. In return we will probably see a few more Huawei phones and such at the local Sprint store.

DeVos in at Department of Education Maybe we can get out of 36th Place in Math; 18th Place in Science, and 14th Place in reading

I'm not sure how it can be done but obviously it hasn't worked so far.

Average scores in math have been on the decline since 2009, and scores in reading and science have been flat during that same time period.

Across the globe, American students were outperformed by their counterparts in 36 countries in math; 18 countries in science and 14 countries in reading.

I blame stupid Common Core but whatever the Obama people were doing it was not good enough. America should be at least in the top 10 in all of these scores and hopefully DeVos can get us there. If she can somehow scoop the top 10% out of these failing schools and give them the same choice that the Obama's gave their kids then it would be mission accomplished.

 

The Press Has Officially Lost Their Minds: Dug Up 1970s Pic of Trump to Say that He Wore a Bathrobe

I think it might be time to avoid all political news and read only entertainment stuff because this is just ridiculous.

The telltale sign, according to Spicer, was just three paragraphs into the article, in this line about how Trump spends his evenings in the White House: “When Mr. Trump is not watching television in his bathrobe or on his phone reaching out to old campaign hands and advisers, he will sometimes set off to explore the unfamiliar surroundings of his new home.”

“I don’t think the president owns a bathrobe,” Spicer informed reporters during a press gaggle aboard Air Force One on Monday. “He definitely doesn’t wear one.”

Although it’s still unclear whether the president currently owns or wears a bathrobe, a photo obtained by DailyMail.com reveals that he once lounged in a white robe in the 1970s.

I hope that last sentence was humorous because if some staffer had to search through old pictures of Trump in order to "disprove" Spicer then we have a huge problem here. The Press is too caught up with minutiae and day-to-day crap in some feud to look at the bigger picture. We have actual dangers here and they are quibbling about a bathrobe? The was supposed to speak truth to power and they failed for 8 years under Obama but this is just getting pathetic.

Is the So-Called "Muslim Ban" Unconstitutional? Might Be

Hmm maybe the SCOTUS will toss the ban on constitutional grounds.

Following initial victories won in court by tireless lawyers working at our nation’s airports, in the coming days a new phase of litigation will begin. Lawsuits will turn to the constitutionality of the entire order, and not just how it affects the scores of individuals unconstitutionally detained in the U.S., but all of those affected abroad. Many wonder whether early victories will last. After all, the president has substantial power to oversee immigration. But this order violates not just one but a gamut of mutually reinforcing constitutional rights—and that is why it should not last in the courts.

The one that I think it violates is the 14th Amendment.

1. Equal Protection. This order raises discrimination concerns surrounding the Equal Protection Clause of the 14^th Amendment, singling out individuals for their religion and nationality by focusing on seven predominantly Muslim countries. Additionally, our immigration laws already forbid such discrimination in issuing visas.

It just doesn't seem like America to be singling out people by nationality or religion when we have not declared war on anyone. The whole 14th Amendment concern is about the idea of who a person is.

All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

If a person is a visa holder even though they are a citizens of the so-called "Dirty Seven Countries" they should have equal protection under the laws. Could such a hasty ban be withdrawing "due process of law" from these persons? Can we say we are in an emergency situation right now? Trump may think so but I certainly do not. In any case I think this should be reviewed by the SCOTUS and maybe put some checks and balances back into the system. 

Wait Obama had a Plan to Attack Raqqa for 7 Months and Didn't Pull the Trigger?

Now that is moving at an absolute glacial pace.

Planning for the final assault on Raqqa, the capital of the Islamic State’s caliphate, had been grinding on for more than seven months. There had been dozens of meetings of President Barack Obama’s top national security team, scores of draft battle plans and hundreds of hours of anguished, late-night debates.
There were no good options, but Obama’s top foreign policy advisers were convinced that they had finally settled on an approach that could work — arming Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, current and former U.S. officials said. There was just one problem: The Obama team had deliberated for so long that there was little time left to pull the trigger. Trump’s advisers had also sent word that they wanted to make the decision.

Turkey would have lost their minds over this option but 7 months sounds crazy. This is the capital of the enemy nation full of people that would love to kill us. We should have attacked Raqqa a year ago. Instead Obama hemmed-and-hawed for more than half the year and then he ran out of time? It's almost like he wanted to simply hand that pretty important mission off to the next guy or girl. In any case, I'm glad his dithering brand of "deliberation" won't be in the Oval Office anymore.

Seattle Federal Judge to the Rescue: Grants a Stay on Trump Immigration Ban

Well it seems that the Courts are on the ball in this case.

U.S. District Court Judge James L. Robart, a Seattle native who is an appointee of President George W. Bush, said the state proved that local economy and citizens have suffered irreparable harm and an injunction should be applied.
“What the judge ruled today is that the president’s executive order does not apply — does not apply,” Ferguson said after the hearing.

He happened to be appointed by Bush so he wasn't some liberal bomb-thrower. In any case this whole thing seems to smack of un-equal protection under the law. Hopefully, Trump learns from this swat-down and doesn't half-ass things late on a Friday when everyone just wants to go home.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson is Not Much of a Historian: 12th Century Baghdad Was Sacked by the Mongols

I think he needs to stick to physics and not dabble in history as much.

"The consequence of that is that you breed a generation of people who do not know what science is nor how and why it works," he reportedly said. "You have mortgaged the future financial security of your nation. Innovations in science and technology are the [basis] of tomorrow’s economy."

Tyson compared the modern United States to 12th Century Baghdadi society in present-day Iraq, which led the world in science and mathematics before a series of cataclysms led to its decline.

Baghdad flourished as a center of science but in 1258 it was sacked by the Mongols who killed most of the cities inhabitants, their Caliph, and destroyed vast amounts of the city. Unless someone does that to the US I think we would be good when it comes to science. Maybe not Climate Science anymore but what can you say? I figure Tyson can put Trump into the role of the Mongols but we are certainly stretching things there. 

Idiot Insults Patton Oswalt's Wife and Gets Fired

Here we go again with people using social media stupidly getting axed over saying some terrible thing on Twitter.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Brust was fired from his job the same day that he sparred with the comedian. It appears that it wasn’t over his political views, but rather was because of the low blow he delivered regarding Oswalt’s late wife. Owner Michael Maloof told the Tribune Wednesday, “We were made aware that this had gone on and we parted company.”

I don't agree with Oswalt's political leanings but going after his wife who recently died is a low blow. Especially if you have a high visibility job like realtor. In any case Twitter wars with celebrities is not the thing to do.

Lena Dunham Says to Not Make Fun of Trumps Appearance: I Tend to Agree

Yeah it is passe to make fun of how Trump is orange and such.

Dunham, 30, continued, “We have enough cogent, thoughtful, philosophical [arguments] to fill a bible, so why not use those instead of, like, ‘That orange piece of s***.” The Girls star explained she tries “to talk to people the way I would want to be talked to and to hear them.”

A liberal actually saying what she said that makes her rarer that ever. It seems that most liberals would rather just throw fire-bombs than listen to someone with a differing opinion speak. Maybe if more people listened than screamed we would get some understanding in America.

Matthew McConaughey says Trump is "Our President" Just Wait for the Backlash

I would guess stating the facts is not a good idea.

During an interview on BBC One, Andrew Marr asked about whether it’s time for Hollywood or cultural elite to give Trump “a break.” McConaughey, the star of Gold, departed from the oppositional views many other actors or celebrities have taken to Trump.

“Well, they don’t have a choice now,” McConaughey told Marr. “He’s our president. And it’s very dynamic and as divisive of an inauguration and time as we’ve had. At the same time, it’s time for us to embrace and shake hands with this fact and be constructive with him over the next four years.”

Trump thrives on enemies. I don't think he would know what to do if people didn't go after him.