Even Conservative Women are Fleeing Trump

I have to agree with this woman's view.

“To switch from actively anti-Hillary to supporting Hillary Clinton has been an interesting 360 and an interesting experiment in what it means to split from a party,” says Stuebe, who describes herself as a small-government libertarian. She’s still grappling with what her relationship to the GOP might be in the future. Does she feel betrayed by the men in her party who support Trump? “Absolutely. I think it’s embarrassing not only to the Republican Party but to the electoral system in America that we were unable to mount a candidate equally qualified to be president as Hillary is.”

Yeah I agree. There is something wrong when a sex abuser and the most crooked person to ever run for office are the only choices we have. There is something wrong with the GOP when they nominated him in the first place. Also a loss of people like this is going to be very bad for the GOP going forward.

Culturally, McAlpin seems about as Republican as they come. “I learned to shoot when I was 7,” she tells me proudly. She’d been in a sorority at Florida Southern College; in D.C., where she moved for graduate school, she’d interned for Republican congressmen and worked for a right-leaning digital strategy firm. But three months ago, in despair over the direction of the Trump-era GOP, McAlpin went to work for a flower-delivery startup. “I’m so tired of politics, and I felt totally abandoned by my party,” she says.

You might see quite a few young conservatives leave the party en-mass over Trump and his stupidity. If the GOP can find a decent center-right female candidate in the next election maybe they can right to ship. But until then its going to be a long 4 years and its only going to get worse.

Looks Like AT&T is Buying Time Warner for $85 Billion: Some Analysts Don't Like it But I Think They are Wrong

It seems that AT&T is buying content to go along with distribution. It seems like an interesting idea but I have to disagree with this guy.

Cowen and Co analyst Doug Creutz questioned the strategy of buying content instead of licensing it. 

"What does it get them that they can't get by licensing Time Warner content and at a much cheaper price than buying the whole company?" Creutz asked, noting it was unclear what savings could be gained "from stapling distribution and content together. It's been tried. It never works."  

Um, Mr. Creutz you get to hold onto that content forever because you own it. You don't have to worry about the content company charging you more for it in the future. Or having them restrict you in some way. if you own it you can then license said content out to others or simply revive the revenue stream like Disney did for Star Wars and Marvel. 

Think Game of Thrones movies or new TV shows set in that world. Maybe a political thriller set in Bravos or a prequel of some sort about Rhaegar Targaryen? Hell just take some of the HBO back-catalog and revive it for a new generation. Think a new Sorpanos told from Tony's 20-something son point of view that can be binged on Hulu. Or a new generation of the Wire or Deadwood with a whole new group and some of the old actors thrown in. I would sign up for Hulu in a minute if they made a new Rome or Band of Brothers with different actors. IP is one of the few things that is very hard to make more of. Netflix is good at it but HBO is probably the best of the best. 

It just boils down to owning the building instead of paying rent on your offices. It is way cheaper to pay rent but if you own the building you get money from every office in the place for as long as you own the building. Or if you want you can take another floor to expand R&D or whatever. But think of this office building as one that is nearly unique and it will cost billions to make another one. I think AT&T is getting a steal and I know why Apple also came after Time Warner a few months ago. AT&T is following the Disney model. 

250,000 Year Old UFO Part Found in Romania: No It has to be from Die Glocke!

Hmm people are saying that this item is from a UFO.

Gheorghe Cohal, the Deputy Director of the Romanian Ufologists Association, told local media: "Lab tests concluded it is an old UFO fragment given that the substances it comprises cannot be combined with technology available on Earth."

Builders working on the shores of the Mures River not far from the central Romanian town of Aiud found the objects about 33 feet under the ground, where it was buried alongside two bones.

However, this part caught my eye:

However, local historian Mihai Wittenberger said the object is actually a metal piece from a World War II German aircraft, although this does not explain the age of the artifact.

How can that aircraft part be 250,000 years old? My explanation it is from Die Glocke which was a Nazi experiment to warp space-time that resulted in the device being sent back in time. This must be a part of that device. Now what became of the Nazi scientists sent back 250,000 years ago?

Philippines' President Duterte Moves Toward Red China and Away from US: Might be a Big Mistake

I guess the Red Chinese have moved the Philippines into their sphere of influence.

Duterte is in China for a four-day trip seen as confirming his tilt away from Washington and towards Beijing's sphere of influence -- and its deep pockets.

"I announce my separation from the United States," he said to applause at a meeting in the Chinese capital.

"America does not control our lives. Enough bullshit," he added in a rambling speech that flipped between languages.

"How can you be the most powerful industrial country when you owe China and you are not paying it?"

Yeah we are paying China for buying our bonds. Its called interest and we are paying the Red Chinese billions in those payments. The problem is that Duterte is cleaving to a power that really doesn't care very much about the Philippines. The Red Chinese are masters at taking what they want are an extremely canny player of the Great Game. Just watch how they will exploit that South China Sea area between their two countries.

In any case here is the sweetener the Chinese provided. It seems that $15 million will be more than enough to kill off the rest of the drug problem in the Philippines.

They oversaw the signing of 13 bilateral cooperation documents on business, infrastructure, and agriculture, among other fields, he added.

Beijing also has offered the Philippines a $9 billion soft loan for development projects, a statement from the Philippine presidential press office said.

About $15 million of the promised loans will be earmarked for drug rehabilitation programmes amid Duterte's anti-drug campaign, which has killed thousands of people and raised concern abroad of human rights violations.

China will also lift bans on 27 Philippine tropical fruit export companies. Previous sanctions on fruit were intended to punish Manila for its South China Sea stance.

Here is Something New: Shinrin-Yoku AKA Forest Bathing Might Fight Stess,Cancer, and Boost Brain Function

Hmm might be worth a try.

For the Japanese, of course, communing with nature is a major element of their culture and belief system--think Cherry Blossom Festival. So it's not surprising that they've devoted the time and funding to thoroughly study the effects of nature on the human system, resulting in their practice of shinrin-yoku, which translates roughly as "forest bathing."

First popularized in Japan in 1982, forest bathing is now a widespread pastime in Japan and is growing in popularity here too. Some American certified forest therapy guides (yup, that's a thing) believe shinrin-yoku is poised to become as big an element of American wellness as yoga and meditation are--two other Eastern practices scientifically proven to promote brain function and health.

It is supposed to improve brain function, reduce stress, and create cancer causing Killer T cells. Not sure about that last one but being in nature certainly relaxes me.

NFL Viewership Down: People Citing Krapernick Protests

I guess the Star-Spangled Kneel is hurting the shield.

Response to the protests continues to break down along age lines. More than half, 53 percent, of respondents 55 and over who said they are watching fewer games cited Kaepernick as the reason, while only 13 percent of respondents aged 18 to 34 pointed to the protests as their reason for watching less football.

I too am watching fewer games but it is a combination of the 49ers being awful and not playing fantasy football this year. I used to watch meaningless games because my running back was playing but now there really isn't any reason to watch.

However, I am watching more college because the matchups are compelling. Like this weekend is Texas A&M vs Alabama which should be a great game but there really aren't any NFL games I am looking forward to. Maybe Seattle vs Arizona but its just because I don't like Seattle. The rest of the games looks pretty ho-hum.

In any case college football just seems like more fun and you get the pageantry, bands and such thrown in. There is still some Star-Spangled Kneeling but it seems fairly rare and there seems to be actual pushback and consequences.

Kind of a Sad Sentiment by a College Student on Trump Support on a College Campus

I have to agree with this unfortunate person.

Kristiana Kershaw, a student at Loyola University in Chicago, plans to vote for Trump because she likes his business expertise and his conservative policies. But she keeps quiet about it. "My only concern is that as an 18-year-old supporting Trump, I can't say that I support him because it's not safe for me to say that," she says. "On a college campus, people feel very strongly and social-media bias says Hillary is the only candidate."

So this young woman cannot even voice support for a candidate for fear of social media attacks. Whenever the left preach tolerance and understanding it is just empty words. It is just tolerance and understanding if you see things exactly as they do. 

My Conspiracy Theory is True: Trump has the Son-In-Law Shopping for Trump News Network After he Loses Election

Well it seems that we have an understanding of a what a post election landslide loss by Trump will look like.

Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, informally approached LionTree Advisors Chief Executive Aryeh Bourkoff about setting up a Trump TV network after the U.S. presidential election, but the investment bank does not want to be involved, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Kushner contacted Bourkoff, one of the media industry's top dealmakers, in the past few months, but there have been no further conversations, the source said on Monday. The source asked not to be identified because the discussions were private.

I think the entire Trump candidacy has been an elaborate con-job on the GOP and the American people. That is why he didn't prepare for the debate or hasn't been ready for the Access Hollywood tape or the aftermath. 

There is more money to be made in losing an election than winning one. The Trump News Network will allow him to create a media empire and make billions more. He will be able to monetize the 30% of the populace that are die-hard Trumpites. If he wants he can have a nightly TV show and interview people to spout-off or whatever. It would be fairly highly rated and would pull in good ad revenue. Kind of the angry white guy version of the O-Network  

Singer Refuses to Sing National Anthem: Says "We Need a New Song"

Now this is really getting out of hand.

There are still plenty of singers singing the national anthem at major events. But Hamilton is among those who are reconsidering whether they'd do so.

"I'm gonna take a little time away from the anthem until it starts feeling like it's for me," said Hamilton, who is black. "We need a new song, one that really speaks for all of us, or bring some new life to the one that we have."

Now that really has to be a low ebb to this entire affair. Whoever this singer is he can move to some other country and he can sing their anthem. Or I guess in not doing anything at all he will cause lots of "change" or something. 

The Boomers Have Wrecked the Economy and they Have no Solutions to Fix It

I have to agree with this sentiment.

That’s the whole problem. Clinton relates to the middle class of the past, not the middle class or middle-class aspirants of today. No wonder her entire economic plan comes straight from a stale 20th-century playbook: raise taxes, spend more building roads and bridges, provide more government subsidies for college students and a bunch of other worthies. Completely missing from her plan: any ideas about how to more broadly spread the massive wealth being created by digital innovation. Clinton is a candidate who probably doesn’t know how most of the apps on her smartphone work.

Yeah the Clinton plan is to tax more and build some roads and bridges and hope for the best. Then you rope more kids into the college assembly line that starts them off deep in debt without the skills to compete with the Red Chinese and the Indians. The so-called college industrial complex. Then we have Trump:

Those jobs Trump wants to bring back are for lower-skilled workers once able to earn a decent living from manual labor alone. The economy doesn’t work like that anymore. Instead of “bringing back” jobs that are at the bottom of the economic food chain, what we need is a whole new training paradigm that prepares high school grads for advanced manufacturing, skilled trades and technical jobs likely to require specialized knowledge. Kids need to learn math from the first day they step into a classroom instead of taking remedial courses in community college because they suddenly realize it might be important. By promising that new unskilled manufacturing jobs will somehow materialize and help rebuild the middle class, Trump is basically saying he can return American to some kind of pre-digital paradise that must be the way he imagines the old manufacturing economy of the 1980s. It will never happen. Trump obviously knows how to use Twitter, but his understanding of the broader economy is analog, not digital.

The problem with the manufacturing economy is robots will eventually do almost all of it. Those low-skilled jobs will come back to America and Siri and Alexa and the robots will be ready to do them. The idea that we can go back to a bunch of blue collar workers on an assembly-line by raising tariffs is idiotic. The only jobs available will be the guy that programs the robots and repairs them when they break. Both are very high skill jobs that the present paradigm is unable to train properly. Then we have this fact.

The last two boomer presidents, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, contributed to the current malaise by adding roughly $14 trillion to the national debt ($6.1 trillion under Bush and $8.3 trillion under Obama). Bush tried to stimulate the economy with tax cuts, an old supply-side scheme popularized under President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. Bush left office in 2009 amid the worst recession since the 1930s. Obama dealt with that recession through traditional stimulus spending first prescribed by economist John Maynard Keynes in the 1930s. Many of Obama’s other ideas are similar to those of Clinton’s—spend taxpayer money on new programs to help the disenfranchised. Hey, it worked in the 1960s.

Then we have trillions in unfunded liabilities that will only go higher as more and more Boomers start to get on the Social Security and Medicare rolls. So they stuck future generations with $14 trillion in extra debt (who knows what Hillary will add to this number) and we get to pay like crazy for all of this. I am counting the days until calf raises, collagen injections, and face lifts are covered by Medicare.   


  

Imperial College London Might have Found a Gene that Prevents Alzheimer’s disease

Hmm it looks like one group after another is advancing the ball down the field.

Early-stage clinical trials have shown that the antibody aducanumab is effective in destroying the beta amyloid deposits that serve as the gathering place for the defective tau proteins. The new research carried out by a team at Imperial College London describes a gene therapy treatment that prevents the beta amyloid deposits from being formed.
The researchers identified a gene called PGC-1α that interferes with the production of beta amyloid peptides. They directly tested the effect of PGC-1α on the development of Alzheimer’s disease with transgenic mice that are genetically engineered to produce elevated levels of amyloid beta peptides.

I wonder if this can be moved to humans or not? The idea that there is a gene that interferes with the creation of these beta amyloid plaques is quite a breakthrough though.

Terrible News for Financial Literacy in America: Only 20% of Teachers feel competent to even teach it

Now these are some scary statistics.

Financial education has not been a priority in the U.S. Only 17 states require students to take a high school course in personal finance, and fewer than 20 percent of teachers feel competent to even teach personal finance topics, according to the Council for Economic Education's Survey of the States.

The Council for Economic Education study also found that 72 percent of parents experience at least some reluctance to talk to their kids about financial matters.

All of this is a boon to pay-day lenders, banksters, fraud artists, Congress-critters and other people who make their living on the fact that people don't know crap about money management. 

Player Trolls the NFL with his Robot Touchdown Celebration

He will probably get fined anyway.

I just caught up on the anti-celebration by Andrew Hawkins. I hope the NFL’s TD dance crackdown leads to more avant-garde stuff. pic.twitter.com/4M4XZIW1fI

— Dan McQuade (@dhm) October 9, 2016

Russia Leaps to Trumps Defence in Row with UN

I think the Russians have a man in this race.

Three diplomats familiar with the conversation said the complaint occurred in a private meeting Sept. 13. Churkin angrily protested a pair of speeches by Zeid that denounced "demagogues" and specifically targeted Trump and several populist leaders in Europe, even likening their tactics to Islamic State propaganda.

"Prince Zeid is overstepping his limits from time to time and we're unhappy about it," Churkin said Friday. "He criticized a number of heads of state, government. He should stick to his file, which is important enough."

I wonder when the Russians are going to drop the Hillary's emails? My guess is after the 2nd debate but before the 3rd on a slow news day so everyone can go wall-to-wall. Then Hillary would have to wade through a 100 questions in the 3rd debate from Fox News's Chris Wallace on the dirt those emails contain. Maybe we would get a resignation from the FBI director thrown in as well.

Mylan Agrees to Pay $465 Million in BlutGelt to the Feds over EpiPen

Well the Feds got their pound of flesh out of Mylan over the EpiPen price hikes.

Mylan, the embattled maker of allergy treatment EpiPen, lowered its 2016 earnings guidance Friday after it agreed to pay $465 million in a settlement with federal regulators over its pricing practices.
“The terms of the settlement do not provide for any finding of wrongdoing on the part of Mylan Inc. or any of its affiliated entities or personnel,” the Canonsburg, Pa.-based company said.

This should be a warning to the drug industry. Hike prices at your own peril. Or do it slowly over a period of months so the FEDs won't catch wind of it. Be subtle going forward.

Cooperman's View of Automation in the Next Generation is Chilling: 45% of Jobs Lost?

If this is true we will be looking at huge disruptions in the coming decade.

According to Cooperman, the futurist was “very provocative” and said the biggest problem the economy faces in the next decade is automation.

“He said the biggest problem in his opinion the economy was facing in the next decade was 45% of all jobs being performed in the economy will be replaced by automation. And there’s no alternative employment for displaced workers.”

Cooperman drew the parallel to the fund industry where auto-investing in index funds and ETFs is taking the place of hedge fund managers. 

But think about that 45% number for a minute. That would be a Great Depression style disruption to the work force. Many of these jobs killed by automation will probably be the ones where you don't need tons of schooling at first. Driver-less cars will get rid of the taxi as well as the Uber and Lyft industries and drain most of the jobs from the Rental Car industry as well. Automatic chefs and payment kiosks will get rid of many fast food workers. Drones or automated trucks would take care of many deliveries. Even smart home sensors of the Internet of Things might be able to get rid of many handyman style jobs. Imagine if your dishwasher phoned home and ordered the part you need to fix it and it was designed for you to do it yourself.

Also some robots or algorithms could do the job of many white color workers as well. Cooperman talks about hedge fund managers being replaced but I can see much of middle management going as well. You don't need so many layers of people between a "CEO dashboard" and widget sales and production that is being run by algorithms in the cloud. If you think about it, many customer service jobs will come back from India and go to Siri-like AI instead. Instead of paying peanuts to Indians you pay nothing to Siri. 

If you get down to it, AI would even disrupt the sciences. Imagine an AI that combs through 1000s of research papers gleaning information from each of them. It if was smart enough it could even reach conclusions from these papers and publish its work. Also image this AI being connected to reams of data coming out of telescopes or sensors around the world and also making conclusions and writing papers from this as well. Skynet aside but you can replace quite a few scientists and their funding with very smart AIs. The IBM commercial with Watson writ large.

Academia might be greatly affected because much of the knowledge needed for automation, AI, and smart devices will need code to be written and maintained. So Khan Academy style code boot camps could take the place of 4 year college degrees in many cases. Why do you need to go into debt for tens of thousands learning a job that an algorithm could do for free? Even K-12 would be disrupted as many of the skills you need to get a job in this new economy can be taught online. Teachers Unions would be on the warpath as kids stay home and learn how to maintain and write for AIs.

Finally, content creation for TV, movies, and video games could get disrupted as well. Imagine an AI taking in reams of viewer data fed by Amazon, Google or Netflix and cross referencing it with your preferences. Imagine if that AI could then write a document on demand using a language algorithm. You go to Amazon and a book will be generated to your preferences and you would love it because it was basically written by a machine for you. 

Imagine if that AI could also write a script and have it produced for you using amazingly lifelike CGI actors. Suddenly you could pay x-dollars and you have a 22 episode action series set in the Forgotten Realms starring Natalie Dormer and Tom Hanks as elves fighting in the Crown Wars. Revenue streams would be generated to use Dormer and Hanks likenesses and for the IP for the Forgotten Realms and no one would have to physically do anything. Hell, you could throw in the estates of deceased persons and you can replace Tom Hanks with Jimmy Stewart with a few clicks. The time it would take to recast your Crown Wars epic would be the time it would take to respawn the movie on the Amazon Content Creation Server.

One of the only things I can think of that won't be automated is the Government Industrial Complex which would fight to stay backward for job security purposes. Senators and Congressmen and their courtiers would still have jobs. Even though a Siri-like interface for government would save tons of money and be light-years more efficient. But if an AI can write a script or a book it can certainly be made to lobby Congress.

The Womens Soccer National Team Dumps the "Anthem Kneeler" Rapinoe

It seems to be a new sheriff in town  at the USWNT headquarters.

But at the outset of that process, that has meant excising several stars and stalwarts, not least of them striker Alex Morgan and attacking midfielder Megan Rapinoe. Also left out of the team were defenders Ali Krieger, Julie Johnston and Megan Klingenberg and 18-year old prodigy forward Mallory Pugh. Goalkeeper Hope Solo, of course, remains suspended and is unlikely to ever return to the fold.

I guess Rapinoe will need to kneel on her own time.

Wow Obamacare is a Worse Rip-Off then Even I Thought: Up to $9Gs for Deductible Plus Premium for a Bronze Plan!

The funny part is the Bronze Plan is actually supposed to be "affordable."

For a 40-year-old individual in 2016, the cost of this care would be $3,479 in premiums plus the deductible before the first benefit could be covered – a total of $9,210 out of pocket. Even if subsidies pared premiums all the way down to Barack Obama’s promised $75 per month, it would still require the consumer to spend over $6600 for anything but a basic wellness check, a service that would cost a few hundred dollars at most, before having the first benefit covered. And that situation will only get worse in 2017, as insurers use increases in deductibles to buffer the premium hikes that have already been signaled.

The Bronze Plan is a strait rip-off because almost no person that has to buy that plan can afford it. It is $200 a month (which is a car payment) and then they have drop up to another $6Gs for doing anything other than a wellness check. Most people do not even have nearly that amount saved up if you go by nationwide statistics. I guess that is why young people are choosing a kind of insurance I have never heard of called fixed-benefit indemnity plans. Although the White House wants to kill even that dead.

The White House hasn’t quite gotten that memo. HHS has floated a new attempt to drive fixed-benefit plans out of the market, this time by forcing insurers to pay the exact same dollar amount for any payable event. In other words, whatever payment the insurer provides for a day in the hospital would have to equal what they pay for a doctor visit, and vice-versa.

In other words they want to turn these plans into the equivalent of that crappy Bronze Plan mentioned above. I agree with Bill Clinton that this really is the "craziest system."

Therenos Fires 340 Employees and Will Actually Try to Make Their MiniLab Work

I think they should have done this from the very start.

"We will return our undivided attention to our miniLab platform," Holmes wrote. "Our ultimate goal is to commercialize miniaturized, automated laboratories capable of small-volume sample testing, with an emphasis on vulnerable patient populations, including oncology, pediatrics, and intensive care."
The layoffs affect Theranos personnel at its centers in Arizona, Pennsylvania and California.
Holmes' open letter also notes that Theranos has a "new executive team leading our work toward obtaining FDA clearances, building commercial partnerships, and pursuing publications in scientific journals."

If they got that machine right years ago and worked with the FDA from the start they might have had something revolutionary by now. Instead they tried to sell the sizzle with no steak in sight. However, if any venture capitalists give her another dime they are crazy. 

Can't Believe I'm Agreeing with Rachel Maddow: I Avoided this Debate After I Hearing it Was Crosstalk-Fest

I was planning to watch the debate later on but I'm glad I missed it after hearing this kind of thing.

“A lot of the time, I think those of us watching on television had no idea what was being said because not only were both men speaking over one another, the moderator was speaking over both of the candidates, and nobody was yielding to anybody else,” the MSNBC host said after the debate. “So there were long stretches of time when there were three voices at once and I don’t think you could pick out any intelligible words from any of them.”

That sounds like hell on earth and I have to give credit to the pundits who had to endure this kind of thing. Whenever I hear cross-talk on Fox News or any other thing I immediately change the channel. I just can't stand the incivility that comes from that kind of behavior. Listening politely seems to be a lost art nowadays. Hopefully Sunday's debate will not be like this.

ECU Radio Affiliate Blacks Out Game in Response to Band "Taking the National Anthem Knee"

Well I guess people are finally drawing the line at this form of protest.

“Several members of the band refused to play the national anthem and others ‘took a knee’ during the performance, with the result that roughly a dozen band members disgraced themselves on the football field this past weekend, Colonial Media and Entertainment CEO Jeff Andrulonis said in a statement. “I’m proud of our country and I’m proud of our soldiers — especially our soldiers from Fort Bragg — fighting for our country so I’ve decided that ESPN Fayetteville will ‘protest the protest.’ I talked with some of our East Carolina football sponsors yesterday and will be talking with more of them today. So far, it has been unanimous. Every sponsor I’ve talked to agrees that last weekend’s spectacle at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium was shameful and a message needs to be sent.”

The station owner is perfectly within his rights to stop broadcast of the ECU football team but it seems to be punishing others for the sins of protestors. In any case it is interesting to see some push back on the whole National Anthem knee/fist thing.

Someone Poisoned the Leader of ISIS: My Money is on Iranian Guild of Assassins

Maybe the Guild of Assassins is up and running again.

ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is at death’s door after being poisoned by a mystery assassin in Iraq, it has been reported.
Three other senior jihadis were also afflicted by the toxin in Al-Ba’aj, southwest of Mosul – Islamic State’s biggest city in Iraq. The four have reportedly been rushed for treatment at a secret location.
FARS, an Iranian news agency, say that ISIS is now arresting several suspects to find out who has struck a blow at the terror group’s self-proclaimed ‘Caliph’.

The original Guild of Assassins was headquartered in Alamut Castle in Iran. After all the Assassins were an offshoot of Shia Islam. Maybe they were waiting in the wings until Iran got their cash and oil reserves back online and now they are being employed against ISIS. I know Iran is heavily involved in the Syrian Civil War so anything is technically possible.

Whiny Donald Complains "the Debate was Rigged" Cries like Tiny-Handed child

Now that knock about his temperament keeps coming back.

“During the debate the other night, I had to put up with the anchor and fight the anchor all the time on everything I said,” Trump said at a campaign rally in New Hampshire. “What a rigged deal. I tell you we’re in such a rigged system. It is terrible. What’s going on in this country is so sad.”

This whiny little bitch wants to be the most powerful man in the world? All he can do is complain about fairness and such. The moderator doesn't treat him fairly? Its a tough world baby-man. Maybe he needs to drop the teen-aged girl act because it got old months ago.

Foolish 9 Year Old going to Attend College: Thus Sacrificing Childhood

Oh well, I guess he will sacrifice his childhood for reasons unknown.

He’s currently taking a full slate of classes at Community College of Allegheny County as a way to ease into life as a college student and plans to enroll next fall at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, according to his father, Peter Maillis, a Greek Orthodox priest. 
I guess he wants to be an astrophysicist.

William, who wants to study the physics and chemistry of space, earn a doctorate degree and work as an astrophysicist, is at ease tossing around concepts like “displacement of space-time” “singularity” and “pure gravity” as he patiently attempts to explain why black holes aren’t “super massive” as theorized by such other brilliant minds as Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking.

So I guess he will have a Doctorate by 14 if he skips grad school? Then he gets to wait for a number of years because who is going to publish a teenagers research papers? Maybe for the novelty factor. Would he be able to get a teaching job at a university teaching kids 5 years older than him?

I would love to hear more about this kids story a decade from now. Will he have dropped out of school to pursue something more age appropriate? Will he get burnt out trying to get a Doctorate and navigate puberty at the same time? I mean he won't be able to attend a college party with drinking until 7 years after he is done with school. In any case jumping the line might cost him later on. Sacrificing childhood for celebrity comes with real consequences sometimes.  

The Reliance on Experts and the Theranos Debacle

Very interesting article on how we rely on experts in a fake meritocracy.

Thus we arrive at Holmes. We must not view her as a mistake; she is exactly what this system is designed to create. Theranos’ blood-testing machine was not a failure at all. A fake meritocracy produces a fake resume with a fake Steve Jobs presenting a fake device doing a fake job. Expecting otherwise is like complaining the actor playing Hamlet doesn’t really stab the actor playing Polonius: what do you expect? We built the set ourselves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Did this apple really fall far from the tree?

Plus this is all part of the "Scary World" Doctrine. The idea behind Theranos was that a single drop of blood can screen you for 100s of "very bad things" using some magic machine. The idea that you actually need to be screened was a result of this "Scary World" Doctrine. So what if you have a 30% chance of having such- and-such genetic disease? I'm sure some pharama company will make lots of money trying to mitigate that risk maybe if you take their drug for 30 years.

My favorite "SWD" was a commercial from some drug company that had a bunch of kids spouting scare statistics like "I am 30% likely to develop clinical depression" etc. It was such a manipulative ad. Using kids to scare people into the "mommy-bear" response has to be the height of dirty tricks. That all falls into this idea that people rely on experts to save us from this "Scary World."

The Saudis Blink: Going to Cut Production After all

Well time for those oil stocks to head higher.

The decision at this week’s meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in Algiers to cut production was necessitated by Saudi Arabia’s tattered finances. The kingdom has the highest budget deficit among the world’s 20 biggest economies, it’s enduring a delay in its first international bond issue and now faces fresh legal uncertainty as the U.S. Congress voted Wednesday to allow Americans to sue the country for its involvement in 9/11.

I think they are tired of running a deficit to try to put those US shale companies out of business. Market share is worthless if it leads you to financial ruin in the meantime.

Okay Saudi's: Advice for a Major Play in the "Great Game" Buy Out American Shale Companies

I think the Saudi's should seriously consider dipping into ARAMCO and start buying out big shale players in Oklahoma and Texas. Since they couldn't put them out of business to hold onto market share they can simply buy them out instead.

There are a few companies that should be on their shopping list. First of all the Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund is about $2 Trillion so they have a huge war chest. They can first buy EOG which has a $51 billion market cap. That is 10% of Texas output right away. Then buy Devon which has a market cap of $21 billion which will give them 5% more oil and 8.8% of the natural gas. Then buy Chesapeake for a song at $300 million which given them access to the Utica shale in Ohio. Finally buy Whiting which is worth $2.2 billion and you have access to the Bakken shale.

So for about $90 to $100 billion when you add a 30% markup they would control quite a bit of the shale production in the US. Even if they just bought out just one of these companies, and aggressively bought shale assets around their headquarters, it would go a long way to controlling the market share that they don't have access to.

You would think this would never pass muster with the White House. But remember Hillary can be bought. If she wins they can peel off $1 billion of those investment assets and send it right to the Clinton Foundation. Suddenly Treasury and the EPA will look the other way on any Saudi buyouts. Then they can protect their main assets by slowing down shale production in the US. A Saudi owned EOG will suddenly find that "some of their projections on shale were greatly exaggerated" so there must be production cuts. That is how they need to play the "Great Game." Exploit the greedy Clinton's to protect your major assets. Its a no brainier play.

Traditionally Republican Arizona Republic Chooses Hillary #DumpTrump

Well it seems that quite a few people are on that #NeverTrump bandwagon.

In a passionate editorial, the largest newspaper in Arizona argued that Republican Donald Trump was fundamentally unfit for the presidency. It was the first time the Republic had endorsed a Democrat.

“Trump’s inability to control himself or be controlled by others represents a real threat to our national security. His recent efforts to stay on script are not reassuring. They are phony. The president commands our nuclear arsenal. Trump can’t command his own rhetoric,” the paper opined.

The "controlled by others" part sounds a bit ominous but other than that I agree 100%. He cannot control himself and tries to wing everything. This is not an era of "winging it" with threats from ISIS, Russia, China, North Korea etc. Add this to a global sea change in the world economy and we need smart steady people in charge and not "shoot-from-the-hip" types.

Gigi Hadid Elbows Some Prankster Scumbag in the Face: Good for Her

Lucky thing she wasn't packing or that guy might have gotten more than an elbow in the face.

Luckily, it turned out to be an obnoxious prank, and Hadid acknowledges the fact that it could have been worse. “I know people are put in much worse situations every day and don’t have the cameras around that provoke social-media support,” she wrote.

But there was no way for her to have known that. “I remember taking the time, as it all felt slo-mo, to look at him, a stranger, and my first reaction was: ‘Get me out of this situation.’” Her gut instincts kicked in, and we are glad they did because it proved any member of that squad — Hadid included — will always be safe with those reflexes around. But, more important, it sent a powerful message to young women that, famous or not, prank or not, no one has a right to touch your body without your permission. 

She is 100% right about this. No one should put their hands on you and not expect some kind of violent response in return. I know this Vitalii Sediuk asshole thought she is just some little model so he can do whatever he wanted. Just lift her up and carry her around like a mannequin. Instead he got more than he bargained for.

The Debate looks Like a Record Setter at 80.9 million but Doesn't Beat Super Bowl's 100 Million

I guess people thought it would beat the Super Bowl but I guess they were wrong.

Some 80.9 million Americans watched the first, raucous, U.S. presidential debate between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump on television, smashing a decades old record for such events, CNN said on Tuesday.

The figure includes the approximately 45 million who watched the 90-minute debate on the four main TV networks, as well as millions more who watched cable channels, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and other smaller outlets, CNN said.

If confirmed, the audience, due to be finalised later on Tuesday, beat the 80.6 million record set by the Jimmy Carter-Ronald Reagan TV presidential debate in 1980 but fell short of the 100 million viewers some analysts had predicted for the face-off.

That 80 election was a sea change as well. The malaise of the Carter years (with Islamic terror/race riots) vs. the optimism of the Regan decade. I guess we have the malaise of the Obama years (with Islamic terror/race riots) vs. the optimism/fear-mongering of Trump. History sure rhymes sometimes.

Kite Blasts Higher After Great Non-Hodgkin lymphoma Data Released #CAR-T

Now this is some great data.

Some 76 percent of patients taking the drug, called KTE-C19, showed significant tumor shrinkage, including 47 percent who had no remaining signs of cancer at least three months after receiving the treatment, Kite said.

So that is a 50-50 chance of complete remission after three months of treatment? That is an incredibly good deal. I am convinced CAR-T and immunotherapy are going to lead to a cure for cancer in the next decade or so.

I'm Sorry Lester Holt Was a Terrible Debate Moderator

I like Lester Holt the newsman but Lester Holt the debate moderator was awful.

In the early going, it looked like it was going to be an ideal, Jim Lehrer-style performance from Lester Holt, the “NBC Nightly News” anchor. Lehrer was so boringly nonpartisan, so unwilling to play gotcha that he was always hotly in demand to moderate debates. For the first half or so, Holt gave simple, broad, open-ended questions and let the candidates go at it. He didn’t venture into live fact-checking, didn’t much quarrel with the nominees, didn’t ask persnickety questions.

I do not agree with this at all. He lost control in the beginning and Trump and Hillary just talked over each other without any moderation at all. Holt said you have 2 minutes on such-and-such topic and Hillary or Trump went way past the time. I really hate when people talk over one another so-much-so I usually change the channel when it happens on Fox News. I should have done it for the debate because the beginning was just the candidates talking at the same time with Holt sitting there and letting it happen.

As to the debate, it looked like Trump was flustered and unready while Hillary was smug and smarmy. The whole time I was thinking I wish it was Jeb Bush against Joe Biden. That would have been a decent choice instead of these two train wrecks. Also Trump kept sniffing so much I thought he did a little cocaine before things got going. In any case I'm going to watch the next debate but I really hope Martha Raddatz and the Town Meeting Format does a much better job on Oct. 9th.

Well I Guess Im on the Same Side as a Lot of Hollywood Actor Types: The Avengers are Officially Anti-Trump

Well the people that play the Avengers anyway:

I Guess I'm on the Same Side as Clooney on Hating Trump #DumpTrump

I guess welcome to the #DumpTrump wing of the political debate.

“It’s a very funny thing, odd for me to be on the same side of an issue as Bill Kristol and Charles Krauthammer and George Will and people like that,” Clooney said in an interview with Chris Wallace for “Fox News Sunday” set to air this weekend. Clooney’s understatement about the conservative commentators: “Usually we’re not on the same side.”

This is the reason why I think Trump is going to lose in a landslide. We have the mainstream GOP allied with a Hollywood liberal like Clooney to make sure Trump loses. Very strange company indeed.

I Have to Agree: Hillary Needs to Aim her Economic Plan at the Middle Class

I think these are great ideas for an economic plan.

What could Clinton do differently? Plenty. She could join a majority of economists in defending free trade, as she did not so long ago. Instead of flip-flopping on deals such as the Trans Pacific Partnership, which she used to support but no longer does, she could explain with authority why such deals are in our interest and back it up with new ways to help those disenfranchised by trade and present a small number of big ideas for making America the world’s most desirable economy (again). She could steal Trump’s good idea about growth: Set a target of 4% annually and declare it a national priority akin to winning a war. And then demand that we change the rules so every talented émigré in the world wants to come to America, and can.

The first part will probably be problematic because Unions hate free trade because it makes their jobs go to other countries and thus depresses their revenue from dues. If Hillary gets back to how she was before people "Felt the Burn" Unions would jump all over her. It's not like they would suddenly back Trump so maybe she could get away with it.

The second thing would be a great idea. The "4% GDP Moonshot" would be a great economic slogan and if America achieved it there would be prosperity all over the country. Hell, if she got 4% GDP growth anytime in her 4 years she would easily be remembered as one of the best economic Presidents we could have hoped for. Also if she got away from the rhetoric that 4% GDP growth only helps the wealthy since it would go a long way toward the idea that high growth will lift all boats.

Entitlement Alert: Time to Avoid Ashly a Freshman at UCLA #ToxicPeople

Wow, I guess people like this is what safe-spaces and such are made for.

“Okay so I’m not sure why neither of you responded back to my emails, but I don’t really care as long as you both know this and understand that I’m not going to settle for anything less than what I’m gonna tell you that I’m gonna get once I arrive in the dorm. I’ll take the top bunk. I DO NOT want the single bunk where it has a desk underneath the top bunk so don’t try to leave me that. I’m also taking one of the white closets. There should be two white closes and I’m taking one of them. I don’t care which one it is, just know I’m taking one of them.

“I want the desk that’s near the window. Plain and simple. I don’t care about who gets the bottom bunk but just know that what I stated above is what I’m expecting once I arrive at the dorm and I won’t be in the mood for any arguing or other nonsense because one of you two decided to deliberately disregard this email. IF needed be I’ll turn it into a bigger situation so don’t try me.

“Sorry but not that sorry for the attitude. I don’t like being ignored because that’s just rude but that’s what you both decided to do so I decided to make it clear now on the kind of person I am and what I will and will not take.

“So as a final reminder: I am getting the top bunk of the bunk bed with the bed on the bottom, I am getting one of the white closes and I’m getting the desk near the window. That’s fair enough to ask considering that I’m giving up fighting for the top bunk.”

That last paragraph is something a sociopath would write. No arguing or compromise just taking or it will "turn it into a bigger situation so don't try her." I would move out on this monster so fast it would make your head spin.

Here is a Deal: Trump Should Release Tax Returns in Exchange for the Clinton Foundation's Returns

I think it is idiotic the whole idea that anyone needs to release their tax returns and I agree with this assumption by Donald Trump Jr.

When asked why his father has not released his tax returns as presidential candidates have traditionally done, Trump Jr. said, “Because he’s got a 12,000-page tax return that would create … financial auditors out of every person in the country asking questions that would detract from (his father’s) main message.”

Yeah pretty much. People will comb through the thing for anything funky and make that a big deal. So this same scrutiny should be paid to the Clinton Foundation. Have everything right out in the open so both sides can look for discrepancies. Hillary's personal tax return is nearly worthless compared to the Foundation's which will probably have a ton of scary stuff in it. It could conceivably exonerate her if it doesn't contain anything but that is not very likely.

Obama Relaxes Hatred of Israel with $38 Billion Military Aid

I wonder if there will be Iranian military aid to keep a detente in the region?

The United States agreed Wednesday to provide Israel a record $38 billion in new military aid over the next decade. The pact is a sign of the two nations' close alliance despite major differences over Iran's nuclear program and other policies.

Although like all Obama White House plans there are strings attached

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a critic of the memorandum of understanding between the two allies, called it important but slammed a provision that would limit Israel from seeking additional U.S. funds except in times of war.

Oprah is $117 Million Poorer as Weight Watchers Stock Down 66%

She must feel like Bill Ackman and his Herbalife shares. She should have sold a while back when the stock was at $28 in November of last year. (I know she cannot since selling such a large position would have moved the stock downward right away) In any case she is still up from when she bought it.

The media mogul and 10% owner of Weight Watchers has seen $117 million in wealth vanish as shares of the company have crashed 66% from their high notched November 2015 on enthusiasm over her involvement with the company. Shares of Weight Watchers are down another 68 cents, or 6.6%, to $9.68 Tuesday after the company said it is replacing its CEO. The value of the company has dropped $1.2 billion in value since the peak hit after Winfrey came on board.

At Last: Economic Good News: People have More Money in Their Paychecks

At last some good news.

After eight lean years, Americans finally got fatter paychecks in 2015 — their first significant hike since 2007 and the biggest since record keeping began in 1968. The U.S. median household income rose 5.2% to $56,516, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday.

Hopefully, they put some of that money in a rainy day fund so they can get through the next recession.

I Agree with Tim Gunn: The Fashion Industry Needs to Design for Size 12 and Up Women

I have to agree with this assessment.

Gunn, one of the biggest names in fashion, wrote in a Washington Post essay that designers “refuse to make clothes to fit American women,” calling it not just a poor business decision, but also “a disgrace.”

“Actually I’ve been saying this for a very long time,” Gunn, 63, said today on “Good Morning America”. “Christian Siriano and his work for Leslie Jones for the premiere of ‘Ghost Busters’ was really the catalyst for this Washington Post article. I’ve been an advocate for women who are larger than a size 12 for many, many, many years. And there are 100 million of them, so why doesn’t this industry wake up?”

I think it might just be easier to design for human coat-hangers because designers have been doing it for decades. It takes the skill of someone like Siriano to design for a bigger woman. I think there is just too many Karl Lagerfelds with his fat shaming.

Brainard Walks Back Rate Hike: Can't they Speak with One Voice?

Well I guess it is "No Rate Hike" in September.

Fed Governor Lael Brainard — a voting member of the central bank's policymaking committee — said in a speech that, while economic progress continues, it would be wise for the Fed to keep monetary policy loose.
"She resurrected some of the concerns for why the Fed shouldn't raise rates," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial. "We now go back to a thesis where the Fed wants to raise rates for other reasons," She also said "it's hard to see Janet Yellen come out and raise rates" next week. 

I guess peace will reign until some other governor opens his/her big yapper and the market will head lower again.

SAS Sniper Pulls off God-shot out of an Action Movie to Slay ISIS Executioner

Now this guy is a bad-ass that needs to have a movie made after him.

A sharpshooter killed a top ISIS executioner and three other jihadists with a single bullet from nearly a mile away — just seconds before the fiend was set to burn 12 hostages alive with a flamethrower, according to a new report.
The British Special Air Service marksman turned one of the most hated terrorists in Syria into a fireball by using a Barett .50-caliber rifle to strike a fuel tank affixed to the jihadi’s back, the UK’s Daily Star reported Sunday.
The pack exploded, killing the sadistic terrorist and three of his flunkies, who were supposed to film the execution, last month, the paper said.

Now that is an awesome shot. One shot 3 targets eliminated and 12 people saved. This guy needs to be put up for the Victoria Cross.

The FED Governors Need to STFU: Market Slides 394 Points on Their Loose Lips

I'm tired of these un-elected officials roiling the market on their loose talk.

The speculation has been driven by divergent Fed speak over recent days despite the disappointing economic reports. Most recently, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren, another usually reliable dove, said the the central bank risks financial instability if it keeps rates anchored so low. San Francisco Fed President John Williams, a policy kindred spirit for Yellen, called for hiking "sooner rater than later."

I'm so tired of this game of "raising rates in September or December or both or neither" that markets keep playing. Can't the FED speak with one voice? I don't remember a time when they would pop off like this under Ben Bernanke or Alan Greenspan. Maybe Yellen just runs a loose ship where everyone can just say whatever they want when ever they want without consequences.

The problem is the FED is so mealy mouthed. Just say we will raise rates in September and December. Or just come out with some sort of game plan so the markets can adjust. Just say they want rates at 4% by 2020 or something. Or come out with a statement at the beginning of the year saying "we will raise rates 4 times by 1/4 point" in 2017. Take away all this idiotic uncertainty so people can make decisions.

The "Never Date a Feminist Guy" Dave Hon Will Probably Not Be Dating Anyone Soon #TeethCleaning

Well this article is raising some hackles.

If you look for a reason to hate men, chances are you’re going to find it.

The truth is, I don’t blame women, (especially in my generation) for hating men. They’ve been told there’s a wage gap (I disagree). That there’s a culture of rape on college campuses (I also disagree). And the patriarchy is keeping them oppressed in almost every facet of their lives (I really, really disagree.)

I don't think this guy needs to worry about feminists because he is not a good looking fellow. I wonder if he thinks that women who won't date him hate all men or just hate the particular man they see before them? In any case maybe some teeth whitening would be a good start. 

Richard Sherman is A Very Intelligent Fellow but This Statement is Just Ignorant

This has got to take the cake for just spouting uninformed statements about the US.

“But I think there is also things in this nation that people need to remember and need to take heed of and also acknowledge. This country is the same country that had ‘Whites’ and ‘Colored’ signs on the bathroom. We are still in that country. We are still in that nation. And that needs to be acknowledged and that needs to be changed; that mentality still exists. And that needs to change…

Um no this is not the same country that had segregation it is a totally different one. Just like China of today should not be colored by the millions and millions of people that died under Mao. Or Germany of today has to be colored by the Holocaust. The people that did those atrocities are almost all dead. They will eventually join them on the ash heap of history.

I agree that our racist past should be acknowledged but the great strives we have done in the present should not be diminished my them. That's why saying we are still in a nation of segregationists is ignorant. There is still might be that mentality somewhere in America but it is no longer in a position of power.

The most powerful man in America and the attorney general are both black. There are many black governors, mayors, and police chiefs etc. Saying we are still the same nation as the one in the past discounts everything we have done to change that situation. There are no longer "White" and "Colored" signs up over any bathroom in this country and there hasn't been for 30 years.

Now the Seahawks want to Join Colin Craper-nick in Kneeling/Sitting Protest Against the National Anthem?

I guess it is contagious.

Not only is Baldwin considering a protest during the anthem, it sounds like others on the Seahawks might be as well.

“Our locker room has discussed it so we’ll see,” Baldwin said, according to Condotta.

Baldwin’s teammate, cornerback Jeremy Lane, sat down during the national anthem in Seattle’s final preseason game and said he’ll continue to do so. Kaepernick was also joined in his protest by 49ers safety Eric Reid. Kaepernick’s protest has drawn a ton of attention, both positive and negative.

What exactly is the end-game to this protest? If all racism in America is eradicated. That means Craper-nick and the Seahawks will be sitting for decades. Do they want police to stop carrying guns? I guess that would get lots of cops killed just to make them feel better. 

Do they want black people in power? I mean the President and the Attorney General are both black. Also nearly every Police Chief that I have seen where there were riots were black. So institutional racism in the police department does not seem to be happening at the top cop level. 

In any case I guess these protestors will be sitting/kneeling for a very long time. Just like the Occupy Wall Street crowd they do not have a list of things that need to happen to end the protest. It's just airy ideas that do not get down to concrete solutions at all.

Hillary Just Can't Stop Lying Even when it Comes to Whether she Follows Polls of Not

I think her reflex action is to lie.

Speaking to reporters aboard her campaign plane Tuesday, Clinton shrugged off a question about the CNN/ORC survey.

"I really pay no attention to polls. When they are good for me -- and there have been a lot of them that have been good for me recently -- I don't pay attention," Clinton said. "When they are not so good, I don't pay attention. We are on a course that we are sticking with."

If you don't pay attention how would you know if they were good or bad? She should have said "whether the polls are good or bad we really don't care." That would mean she sees the polls and they are "still on the course that they are sticking with." 

Maybe this is old school Clinton-speak. It matters what "I don't pay attention" means. Hillary doesn't pay attention at all but her body-person Huma or her similar Clinton-istas whole job revolves around it. Get ready for 4 years of this kind of thing. Maybe the old Kremlin-oligists can teach the new people following the Clintons.  

Can th 49ers trade Colin Craper-nick for the Ravens Ben Watson?

Now this is sentiment that I can believe in.

Before competition, as I stand in shoulder pads and cleats, my helmet in my left hand, adrenaline flowing and my heart raging under my right, I never forget the ills of America but for a moment I envision its potential, remember its prosperity and give thanks to God for the land He has placed me in and the people I love who live in it.

I stand, because this mixed bag of evil and good is MY home. And because it's MY home my standing is a pledge to continue the fight against all injustice and preserve the greatest attributes of the country, including Colin Kaepernick's right to kneel.

The whole thing should be read. Hell, I would vote for Ben Watson for President over the Crazy Person and the the Crooked One if he were old enough to run.

Great! Another thing to be Afraid of: The Dreaded Carrington Event #Disaster

Add this to the pile of scare tactics people seem to throw at us daily.

The best available estimates suggest a modern Carrington Event would cost humanity $1 trillion to $2 trillion in the first year and take another four to 10 years to achieve full recovery. A 2007 NASA estimate found that the damage to the satellite fleet would cost between $30 billion and $70 billion. 

What this is is a massive solar flare that would take out nearly every power grid, satellite, and cellphone and GPS device all at once. We would only have a few hours to a day of warning as well before everything gets fried by energetic particles. Time to buy that emergency food that Right-wing talk radio keeps touting.

Interesting Vanity Fair Article on Theranos Strangely Injects Race and Sex into Issue.

I love these postmortem articles on "where it all went wrong" with various companies. This one by Vanity Fair was on Theranos. It was a great article full of the kind of behind the scenes stuff I like. But this part I found strange.

It generally works like this: the venture capitalists (who are mostly white men) don’t really know what they’re doing with any certainty—it’s impossible, after all, to truly predict the next big thing—so they bet a little bit on every company that they can with the hope that one of them hits it big. The entrepreneurs (also mostly white men) often work on a lot of meaningless stuff, like using code to deliver frozen yogurt more expeditiously or apps that let you say “Yo!” (and only “Yo!”) to your friends. The entrepreneurs generally glorify their efforts by saying that their innovation could change the world, which tends to appease the venture capitalists, because they can also pretend they’re not there only to make money. And this also helps seduce the tech press (also largely comprised of white men), which is often ready to play a game of access in exchange for a few more page views of their story about the company that is trying to change the world by getting frozen yogurt to customers more expeditiously. The financial rewards speak for themselves. Silicon Valley, which is 50 square miles, has created more wealth than any place in human history. In the end, it isn’t in anyone’s interest to call bullshit.

So in this paragraph he adds white men over and over to imply some sort of bias I guess. Since the CEO was a white woman the white men were supposed to be enchanted with her or something? I have no idea why this little bit was injected into the article over and over. Does he imply that if the tech press was comprised mostly of Asian women they would have caught her? Or if the venture capitalists were all Uighur men they would not have invested a cent with her?

It is almost as if an article about a Hip-Hop music company kept adding black male over and over to imply something. I guess this guy is implying that race had something to do with this issue when it clearly does not. It was the case of a person who was overly secretive heading a company that made crazy "Silicon Valley claims." The person was then found out by a white male named John Carreyrou. I guess white male Nick Bilton the author of the article has some problem with white males. Or maybe it was a Vanity Fair editorial decision to race-bait like this.

Trump Continues Fight: Not Against ISIS, High Taxes, or Terrorists but Mika Brzezinski

This is really getting old. You hate her we got it. Why does this take up so much of his thought process?

Just heard that crazy and very dumb @morningmika had a mental breakdown while talking about me on the low ratings @Morning_Joe. Joe a mess!

Yeah low ratings and she is crazy and dumb. Does he keep tuning in over and over just to keep saying this? What a moron.

Burning Man Live Stream is Mesmerizing

I have been watching this thing off and on and it is just fascinating. Lots of people on bicycles driving around aimlessly. Every now and again a car shaped like a fish or a Mad Max style vehicle tools by. It is all under a pall of dust covering everything.

Foot Locker Doing Great While Nearly Everyone Else Struggles

It seems like they have the secret sauce they need to beat Amazon at the retail game.

In the past year, CitySports and Sports Authority both filed for bankruptcy and began the process to liquidate all their stores. Vestis Retail Group, which owned the chains EMS, Bob’s Stores and Sport Chalet, filed for bankruptcy. Quiksilver filed for bankruptcy; Aeropostale is bankrupt; Finish Line will close 150 stores.

Foot Locker has bucked the trend. This month it beat expectations with its Q2 earnings of 94 cents per share and revenue of $1.78 billion, both figures up from the year before. The company forecasts a profit in 2017 while many of its longtime competitors are gasping for air. The stock (FL) is up 15% in the last two years, and 235% in the last five.

They seem to be listening to their demographics quite well.

It’s all because the chain keeps “listening to the kid,” says Jacobs. “The kid is different today than they were in the past… it’s more of a storytelling game.” The new flagship store isn’t as obvious an example of that—it only has one modest area for children’s footwear, because there is a Kids Foot Locker just one block away—but the average Foot Locker brick-and-mortar visitor is between ages 14 and 25.

I guess they just don't want to buy shoes online and like the idea of waiting in lines for exclusive sneakers. 

I have bought sneakers from Foot Locker for a while and never really thought about buying them from anywhere else. The problem is that I rarely wear non-work sneakers so my Nikes last a very long time. 

One thing is interesting is as more players like Sports Authority are swept off the board companies like Foot Locker and Dick's Sporting Goods become more and more valuable. People like athletic wear and sneaker culture is a billion dollar business and there are just fewer places to buy them. Also millennials as a group seem much more health conscious then other age cohorts. Foot Locker seems to be aiming right at them in their strategy going forward.     

Strange Signal Sent from HD 164595 a Sun 94 Light Years Away

I wonder what this signal is supposed to mean?

"The signal from HD 164595 is intriguing, because it comes from the vicinity of a sun-like star, and if it's artificial, its strength is great enough that it was clearly made by a civilization with capabilities beyond those of humankind," astronomer Douglas Vakoch, president of METI International, which searches for life beyond Earth, tells CNN. 

You add this to the potentially Dyson Sphere-covered sun and we are getting some interesting readings from just outside our solar system. Time to make that solar sailed powered space probe.