Sunday, September 30, 2018

What Is Hogweed, the Invading Plant the Burns and Blinds?

How to Fight Back the Doom in the Age of Kavanaugh

Top 10 Horror Movies that Tried to Make you Afraid of Stupid Things

'Night of the Living Dead': Zombie classic is relevant as ever at 50

Willie Nelson debuts new song, 'Vote ‘Em Out,' at Beto O'Rourke rally | TheHill

Nuclear Abolition: The Road from Armageddon to Transformation

Tiny Armadillo Is Obsessed With Taking Baths | The Dodo Little But Fierce

Memories Of Trauma Are Unique Because Of How Brains And Bodies Respond To Threat | Crooks and Liars

I REALLY HAD TO CUT YOU OFF - Parody of Somebody That I Used to Know | D...

ARE YOU BETTER OFF TODAY? - Have You Ever Seen the Rain - Creedence Clea...

WHERE HAVE ALL THE STATESMEN GONE? (parody of) Where Have All the Flower...

Pretty day ✌🏻❤️

WATCH: Kavanaugh Supporter Melts Down on CNN - The Daily Banter

WATCH: Kavanaugh Supporter Melts Down on CNN - The Daily Banter


https://thedailybanter.com/2018/09/27/michael-caputo-melts-down-on-cnn/

Actually, Republicans Are Worse Than Your Four-Year-Old - The Daily Banter

Actually, Republicans Are Worse Than Your Four-Year-Old - The Daily Banter


https://thedailybanter.com/2018/09/28/actually-republicans-are-worse-than-your-four-year-old/

Appalling audio catches D.C. school official mocking ninth grader who'd just reported sexual assault

Appalling audio catches D.C. school official mocking ninth grader who'd just reported sexual assault


https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/9/27/1799391/-Appalling-audio-catches-D-C-school-official-mocking-ninth-grader-who-d-just-reported-sexual-assault

Kavanaugh lied about getting into Yale by merit. His grandfather was an alumn.

S.N.L.: Could Matt Damon’s Crazed Impression Hurt Brett Kavanaugh? | Vanity Fair

S.N.L.: Could Matt Damon's Crazed Impression Hurt Brett Kavanaugh? | Vanity Fair


https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/09/snl-matt-damon-brett-kavanaugh-impression-trump

Non Sequitur 9/30/2018 | Non Sequitur | Comics | ArcaMax Publishing

Casey’s horrible week

Alibi Calendar Boy - Parody of "Calendar Girl" by Neil Sedaka

Reuben the Bulldog: Reuben's 1st Donation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBqi9Hv6dIo&feature=share

The Unbearable Dishonesty of Brett Kavanaugh

'Night Of The Living Dead': Pittsburgh Zombie Classic Turns 50 | Pittsburgh, PA Patch

'Night Of The Living Dead': Pittsburgh Zombie Classic Turns 50 | Pittsburgh, PA Patch


https://patch.com/pennsylvania/pittsburgh/night-living-dead-pittsburgh-zombie-classic-turns-50

Rolling Stone

peace history september

Saturday, September 29, 2018

I Went To Kavanaugh’s Alma Mater, Georgetown Prep, And It Was A Case Study In Misogyny – The Establishment

I Went To Kavanaugh's Alma Mater, Georgetown Prep, And It Was A Case Study In Misogyny – The Establishment


https://theestablishment.co/i-went-to-kavanaughs-alma-mater-georgetown-prep-and-it-was-a-case-study-in-misogyny/

"In my younger days women reported such crimes immediately"... no, they didn't.

It Was Reported. The Girls Never Should Have Been There. Case Dismissed.

The Proper Response to Trump's UN Speech Isn't Laughter, It's Terror

The Proper Response to Trump's UN Speech Isn't Laughter, It's Terror


https://truthout.org/articles/the-proper-response-to-trumps-un-speech-isnt-laughter-its-terror/

Congress Reluctant to Pass Civil Rights Bill for People With Disabilities

Congress Reluctant to Pass Civil Rights Bill for People With Disabilities


https://truthout.org/articles/congress-reluctant-to-pass-civil-rights-bill-for-people-with-disabilities/

Brett Kavanaugh Now A 'Folk Hero' To America's Worst Humans. - Wonkette

Brett Kavanaugh Now A 'Folk Hero' To America's Worst Humans. - Wonkette


https://www.wonkette.com/americas-worst-humans-are-swooning-over-kavanaugh

What Gandhi’s Wife Taught Him About Nonviolent Resistance | Flashback | OZY

What Gandhi's Wife Taught Him About Nonviolent Resistance | Flashback | OZY


https://www.ozy.com/flashback/what-gandhis-wife-taught-him-about-nonviolent-resistance/89370

Another 'Incendiary' Book on Trump Hits Shelves

Stephen Colbert got angry last night. It was Amazing.

Tell these Senators to vote "no" on Supreme Court nomination | Southern Poverty Law Center

Tell these Senators to vote "no" on Supreme Court nomination | Southern Poverty Law Center


https://www.splcenter.org/tell-these-senators-vote-no-supreme-court-nomination

peace history september

Moose Cheese - Gastro Obscura

This Fall on FRONTLINE: Trump vs. Mueller, Facebook, and More

When Police Use Disappearing-Message Apps, It’s Not Just Bad for Accountability — It’s Illegal | American Civil Liberties Union

When Police Use Disappearing-Message Apps, It's Not Just Bad for Accountability — It's Illegal | American Civil Liberties Union


https://www.aclu.org/blog/criminal-law-reform/reforming-police-practices/when-police-use-disappearing-message-apps-its

Facebook Was Hacked. Here Are 3 Things You Should Do.

Friday, September 28, 2018


I'm just going to leave this post here....I copied it from another post...I am not the author.... "Suzette Sommer O.B. : I was a dude who went to parties in the eighties, and worked on the yearbook staff, so let me shed some light on a few things: "Boofing" doesn't refer to farts or flatulence. Boofing is a very specific category of anal insertion. He lied about that. Under oath. "The devil's triangle" is not and has never been a drinking game. It's a euphemism for a threesome involving two men and one woman. He lied about that too. Under oath. Yearbook editors do not doctor or change copy provided by students for their dedication page without their permission. Whatever he wrote in his yearbook is 100% his own words. He lied about that as well. Under oath. Just like he lied about his drinking, just like he lied about never having assaulted anyone, just like he lied about the reasons why he won't agree to an FBI investigation to prove his innocence, just like he lied about not having tried to rape Dr. Ford at that party. The boy who tried to rape Dr. Ford at that party was exactly the same entitled, binge-drinking jock douchebag who got away with the same exact crap at your school in the eighties and nineties. That's who Brett Kavanaugh is. I don't even have to believe Dr. Ford. I do, but I don't have to. I just don't believe him. None of what he said today was true, and it was obvious. His lies were absurd and easy to debunk. He isn't even a good liar. Here's a photo of the real Brett Kavanaugh. Not the sniveling gaslighting jackass in a cheap suit who barked at Senators today and whined about not being handed a job he feels entitled to. Here's the guy who shoved an innocent girl into a room with his friend, locked the door, tried to rape her, and then went on about his day. That's his true face. He lied under oath for the better part of an hour today, and every man who grew up in the same era fucking knows it."

Every time Ford and Kavanaugh dodged a question, in one chart - Vox

The Rude Pundit: Random Observations on a Raging, Privileged, Alcoholic Rapist's Testimony

The Rude Pundit: Random Observations on a Raging, Privileged, Alcoholic Rapist's Testimony


http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2018/09/random-observations-on-raging.html

Sen. Whitehouse Points Out The Importance Of The Witness Who Didn't Testify | Crooks and Liars

March To Save Democracy

March To Save Democracy


http://savingdemocracymarch.com/

American Bar Association: Delay Kavanaugh Confirmation Vote Until FBI Investigates | HuffPost

American Bar Association: Delay Kavanaugh Confirmation Vote Until FBI Investigates | HuffPost


https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/american-bar-association-brett-kavanaugh_us_5bada932e4b09d41eba011c7

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-tInZ8O1Q0&feature=share

Daily Skimm for September 28th — theSkimm

Daily Skimm for September 28th — theSkimm


https://www.theskimm.com/archive/2018-09-28

Kim Malthe-Bruun

peace history september

This is from my friend Bruce:

Man, I didn’t sleep at ALL last night. My mind couldn’t stop reeling from all the sturm und drang at the Senate Judiciary hearing yesterday. The contrast between Dr. Ford’s demeanor and Brett Kavanaugh’s couldn’t have been more stark. So I decided to compile a potpourri of facts, figures and foolishness. Some of this stuff you already know about, some of it you might not, as the stories continued to break late into the night. . • Kavanaugh’s own calendar confirmed one very important part of Ford's story: Ford recalled that Kavanaugh was at the party with a few guys, two of whom were named PJ and Mark Judge. On July 1st 1982, Kavanaugh wrote that he hung out with PJ and Judge. How could Ford have POSSIBLY known that if she wasn’t telling the truth? . • Kavanaugh clearly lied (under oath) about the entries in his yearbook. All the coded jargon (ffff, boof, etc.) has been discredited by multiple fact checkers. The best I’ve seen was by CBS News (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/boofed-devils-triangle-ffffffourth-of-july-how-brett-kavanaugh-explained-yearbook-jokes/). Lying under oath is a felony. . • The Jesuit Magazine “America,” which had previously endorsed Kavanaugh, retracted their endorsement last night: “While we previously endorsed the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh on the basis of his legal credentials and reputation as a committed textualist, it is now clear the nomination should be withdrawn.” . • The American Bar Association has called upon the Senate to delay the vote until after a thorough FBI investigation has been completed. No modern Supreme Court Justice has ever been seated without the endorsement of the ABA. . • Even Alan Dershowitz has called upon an FBI investigation before the vote. Yes, THAT Alan Dershowitz. Fox News’ favorite liberal-turned-Trumper. He’s now saying no vote until the FBI has published a report. . • The betting sites, which had previously been calling Kavanaugh’s confirmation a slam dunk, have flipped. They’re now predicting he won’t be confirmed. . So the gamblers have ditched him. . The Jesuits have abandoned ship. . So has the ABA. . So has Dershowitz. . So has CBS News, who did a complete rundown on his yearbook lies. . But here’s my favorite part about yesterday’s events, albeit peripherally related... . You know the “Violence Against Women Act?” It was originally drafted by Joe Biden and the late Louise Slaughter back in 1994, and signed into law by Bill Clinton. But then had to be reauthorized in 2000, 2005 and again in 2013. . Welllll, this last go-round five years ago, it passed in the Senate with a vote of 78 in favor, 22 opposed. Of those 22 who voted AGAINST reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act were: . Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas . Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah . Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa . Sen. Mike Lee of Utah . Sen. John Cornyn of Texas . Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina . ☝🏼 These are 6 of the 11 men who defended Brett Kavanaugh yesterday. ☝🏼 . I don’t know if Kavanaugh will get confirmed or not and neither do you. But I do know this: No matter the outcome of this OUTRAGE, you’re going to see an exodus of otherwise conservative women voters parting political ways with their husbands in November. 2018 *WILL BE* the year. . Of those 52% of white women who voted for Trump two years ago, they had no inkling of just how misogynistic... how corrupt... how CRUEL a Trump/GOP coalition would be. But they saw what we all saw yesterday: A brave, fragile, terrified woman with an utterly credible story of attempted rape—and a panel of old, white, Republican men shunning her in favor of a man with the temperament of a spoiled thirteen year old. . And these VERY SAME Republican men turned their thumbs down at the Violence Against Women Act of 2013. . Now those conservative women know. EVERYONE should know, but I have less faith in my fellow men. But I bet a few of these women might drag their husbands along with them. This debacle sealed it. #BlueWave #YearOfTheWoman

Don't look now but there's a skull-shaped 'Halloween asteroid' approaching Earth | MNN - Mother Nature Network

Don't look now but there's a skull-shaped 'Halloween asteroid' approaching Earth | MNN - Mother Nature Network


https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/space/blogs/skull-shaped-halloween-asteroid-approaching-earth

FACT CHECK: Is This a Video of Bikers on Their Way to Washington to Support Brett Kavanaugh?

FACT CHECK: Is This a Video of Bikers on Their Way to Washington to Support Brett Kavanaugh?


https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/bikers-kavanaugh-support-video/

80,000 People Died of the Flu Last Winter in the U.S.

80,000 People Died of the Flu Last Winter in the U.S.


https://www.snopes.com/ap/2018/09/26/80000-people-died-flu-last-winter-u-s/

September 2018 in Photos: Kavanaugh, Serena Williams, Hurricane Florence, Bill Cosby | The Civic Report | US News

September 2018 in Photos: Kavanaugh, Serena Williams, Hurricane Florence, Bill Cosby | The Civic Report | US News


https://www.usnews.com/news/the-report/photos/2018/09/27/september-2018-in-photos-kavanaugh-serena-williams-hurricane-florence-bill-cosby

Thursday, September 27, 2018

In Stark Contrast to Ford's Measured Appearance, Kavanaugh Falls Apart With 'Rage, Terror, and Fear' on National TV

In Stark Contrast to Ford's Measured Appearance, Kavanaugh Falls Apart With 'Rage, Terror, and Fear' on National TV


https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/09/27/stark-contrast-fords-measured-appearance-kavanaugh-falls-apart-rage-terror-and-fear

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGDr7xCz1rY&feature=share

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_zM9IafC7A&feature=share

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H46yXW4qR_M&feature=share

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PBRziOARfY&feature=share

OMG

Here's What Yale Was Like For Women When Brett Kavanaugh Was There | HuffPost

Here's What Yale Was Like For Women When Brett Kavanaugh Was There | HuffPost


https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/brett-kavanaugh-yale-women_us_5bac5776e4b082030e78204d

Republican Senators' Silence for Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's Testimony About Brett Kavanaugh

Republican Senators' Silence for Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's Testimony About Brett Kavanaugh


https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a23494430/republican-senators-christine-blasey-ford-testimony-brett-kavanaugh/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug0xTVRE9MQ&feature=share

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ-0TMfX4FY&feature=share

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNITHuYIqoA&feature=share

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ1hTRwg6Lg&feature=share

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aholap2zFS8&feature=share

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SZnc8_OiTY&feature=share

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zloMeuJjjGg&feature=share

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL-BHqG3plk&feature=share

Dr. Ford is '100 percent' certain about her Kavanaugh allegation | MSNBC

Dr. Ford is '100 percent' certain about her Kavanaugh allegation | MSNBC


http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/dr-ford-100-percent-certain-about-her-kavanaugh-allegation
Dr. Ford is '100 percent' certain about her Kavanaugh allegation | MSNBC


http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/dr-ford-100-percent-certain-about-her-kavanaugh-allegation

Christian Leader Uses Bible To Defend Kavanaugh: ‘No Scream, No Rape’ | Michael Stone

Women Huddled Over Their Phones Crying, Watching Christine Blasey Ford Testify Against Brett Kavanaugh

I Taught At Holton Arms School When Christine Blasey Ford Was A Student

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gG0-6Ntx7w&feature=share

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWMh2Txkq3s&feature=share

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Rz2i45crTI&feature=share

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAEZHpAg_24&feature=share

Trump Repeats Lie That Women Who Accused Him Of Sexual Misconduct Were 'Paid A Lot Of Money'

Stephen Colbert Just Hit Donald Trump With A Bonkers New 2020 Campaign Slogan

Queen Elizabeth’s cousin holds first same-sex royal ‘wedding’

Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) makes direwolf bread, and other cast member news

Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) makes direwolf bread, and other cast member news


https://winteriscoming.net/2018/09/26/maisie-williams-learns-make-direwolf-bread-game-thrones-celeb-news/

Cause of deer deaths in southeastern Pennsylvania confirmed

Cause of deer deaths in southeastern Pennsylvania confirmed


http://www.pennlive.com/wildaboutpa/2018/09/cause_of_deer_deaths_in_southe.html

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Day 615 | What The Fuck Just Happened Today?

Day 615 | What The Fuck Just Happened Today?


https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2018/09/26/day-615/
From my buddy Mike Finnigan

Preznit Pinocchio held an extremely rare, in-person press conference today. Here's Canadian journalist, Daniel Dale's summary: Trump begins by talking about how big the crowd of media is. Gets down to business by lying that Japan was not "willing to talk trade" for "years" until he came along. In fact, Japan negotiated the Trans-Pacific Partnership with the Obama administration. Trump lies that China "put out an announcement today" that they want him to lose the election. That did not happen. Referring to his tariffs on China, says he has imposed "25% interest." It is NOT interest, it is A TAX on Americans. Trump again upgrades his U.S. Steel lie, which started at "six plants," went to "seven plants," and then "eight plants." "U.S. Steel is opening up a minimum of eight plants." This will be news to US Steel. Says it's a "rare exception" that the U.S. doesn't have a trade deficit with a country. As of last year, the US had a trade surplus with more than half of all countries. Asked why he won't ask the FBI to investigate even though H.W. Bush asked FBI to investigate the Anita Hill allegations, he says: 1) They already investigated him. 2) "There was nothing to investigate." "It's a big, fat, con job. And they (Democrats) go into a room, and I guarantee you: they laugh like hell." Complains that the accusations against Kavanaugh were brought up too late "after the hearings." Asked if he's saying all three accusers are liars, he says, "I won't get into that game. I only tell you this: this is one of the highest-quality people that I've ever met...and these are all false, to me." Warns of a chilling effect on other men: "People are going to be scared, because we could say it about you." Democrats would vote against George Washington -- "and he may have had a bad past, who knows?...Didn't he have a couple of things in his past?" A male reporter says it would be great if a female reporter could ask a question about the Kavanaugh saga. Trump says, "What does he mean by that?...What does it mean? What does it mean?" Asked why he always sides with the accused man over the accuser, and whether it's because he's been accused, Trump says, "I wasn't happy with Roy Moore, let's get that straight. But Roy Moore was a Republican candidate, and I would have rather had a Republican candidate win." "If I have to find a replacement nominee, and it's a woman, people could accuse her of sexual assault also. Allegations can go the other way also, you understand that," he says. Asked again if he thinks all three women are liars, Trump says, "I can't tell you, I have to watch tomorrow." He adds of attorney Michael Avenatti, "Her lawyer is a low-life." Asked about sexual assault accusations against him, Trump says, "I've been accused. I've been accused. FALSE accusations." Trump says it's "four women." Then says "maybe more." Then says "four or five." (It's 20). Trump says a top expert on China, Michael Pillsbury, went on a "good show" he won't name - it was Tucker Carlson on Fox News - and said China has total respect for "Donald Trump's very, very large brain." Trump lies for the 8th time that Andrew McCabe got money from Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe. McAuliffe's PAC donated to his wife's Virginia election campaign. Trump lies again that he has spent $3.2 billion on the wall. He has received only $1.6 billion, none of it for what he has proposed. Trump says Kim's letters are "magnificent" in that they convey a desire to get things done. Trump lies again that Obama said he was "ready to go to war" with North Korea, this time adding for the first time, "You know how close he was to pressing the trigger for war?" There is no indication anything like this ever happened. Trump continues ranting about North Korea as if he were at one of his rallies, not taking a question for many minutes. Asked if he's concerned about the message he's sending to women watching by using the phrase "con job," Trump interrupts and says, "I've used much worse language in my life than con job. That's like probably the nicest phrase I've ever used."

Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court Nomination Rocked by New Sexual Assault Allegations, Merkley Lawsuit

Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court Nomination Rocked by New Sexual Assault Allegations, Merkley Lawsuit


https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a23476573/brett-kavanaugh-sexaul-assault-allegation-lawsuit-jeff-merkley/

Facebook Has Removed More Than A Dozen Big Conservative And Liberal Political Pages

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/craigsilverman/facebook-removed-conservative-liberal-pages-laura-ingraham?utm_source=dynamic&utm_campaign=bfsharefacebook&utm_term=.rwggkKkBkw&ref=mobile_share


Sent from my iPad



Sent from my iPad

David Brock on NBC: “I used to know Brett Kavanaugh pretty well. And, when I think of Brett now, in the midst of his hearings for a lifetime appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court, all I can think of is the old "Aesop's Fables" adage: "A man is known by the company he keeps." And that's why I want to tell any senator who cares about our democracy: Vote no. Twenty years ago, when I was a conservative movement stalwart, I got to know Brett Kavanaugh both professionally and personally. Brett actually makes a cameo appearance in my memoir of my time in the GOP, "Blinded By The Right." I describe him at a party full of zealous young conservatives gathered to watch President Bill Clinton's 1998 State of the Union address — just weeks after the story of his affair with a White House intern had broken. When the TV camera panned to Hillary Clinton, I saw Brett — at the time a key lieutenant of Ken Starr, the independent counsel investigating various Clinton scandals — mouth the word "bitch." But there's a lot more to know about Kavanaugh than just his Pavlovian response to Hillary's image. Brett and I were part of a close circle of cold, cynical and ambitious hard-right operatives being groomed by GOP elders for much bigger roles in politics, government and media. And it’s those controversial associations that should give members of the Senate and the American public serious pause. Call it Kavanaugh's cabal: There was his colleague on the Starr investigation, Alex Azar, now the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Mark Paoletta is now chief counsel to Vice President Mike Pence; House anti-Clinton gumshoe Barbara Comstock is now a Republican member of Congress. Future Fox News personalities Laura Ingraham and Tucker Carlson were there with Ann Coulter, now a best-selling author, and internet provocateur Matt Drudge. At one time or another, each of them partied at my Georgetown townhouse amid much booze and a thick air of cigar smoke. In a rough division of labor, Kavanaugh played the role of lawyer — one of the sharp young minds recruited by the Federalist Society to infiltrate the federal judiciary with true believers. Through that network, Kavanaugh was mentored by D.C. Appeals Court Judge Laurence Silberman, known among his colleagues for planting leaks in the press for partisan advantage. When, as I came to know, Kavanaugh took on the role of designated leaker to the press of sensitive information from Starr's operation, we all laughed that Larry had taught him well. (Of course, that sort of political opportunism by a prosecutor is at best unethical, if not illegal.) Another compatriot was George Conway (now Kellyanne's husband), who led a secretive group of right-wing lawyers — we called them "the elves" — who worked behind the scenes directing the litigation team of Paula Jones, who had sued Clinton for sexual harassment. I knew then that information was flowing quietly from the Jones team via Conway to Starr's office — and also that Conway's go-to man was none other than Brett Kavanaugh. That critical flow of inside information allowed Starr, in effect, to set a perjury trap for Clinton, laying the foundation for a crazed national political crisis and an unjust impeachment over a consensual affair. But the cabal's godfather was Ted Olson, the then-future solicitor general for George W. Bush and now a sainted figure of the GOP establishment (and of some liberals for his role in legalizing same-sex marriage). Olson had a largely hidden role as a consigliere to the "Arkansas Project" — a multi-million dollar dirt-digging operation on the Clintons, funded by the eccentric right-wing billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife and run through The American Spectator magazine, where I worked at the time. Both Ted and Brett had what one could only be called an unhealthy obsession with the Clintons — especially Hillary. While Ted was pushing through the Arkansas Project conspiracy theories claiming that Clinton White House lawyer and Hillary friend Vincent Foster was murdered (he committed suicide), Brett was costing taxpayers millions by pedaling the same garbage at Starr's office. A detailed analysis of Kavanaugh's own notes from the Starr Investigation reveals he was cherry-picking random bits of information from the Starr investigation — as well as the multiple previous investigations — attempting vainly to legitimize wild right-wing conspiracies. For years he chased down each one of them without regard to the emotional cost to Foster’s family and friends, or even common decency. Kavanaugh was not a dispassionate finder of fact but rather an engineer of a political smear campaign. And after decades of that, he expects people to believe he's changed his stripes. Like millions of Americans this week, I tuned into Kavanaugh's hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee with great interest. In his opening statement and subsequent testimony, Kavanaugh presented himself as a "neutral and impartial arbiter" of the law. Judges, he said, were not players but akin to umpires — objectively calling balls and strikes. Again and again, he stressed his "independence" from partisan political influences. But I don't need to see any documents to tell you who Kavanaugh is — because I've known him for years. And I'll leave it to all the lawyers to parse Kavanaugh's views on everything from privacy rights to gun rights. But I can promise you that any pretense of simply being a fair arbiter of the constitutionality of any policy regardless of politics is simply a pretense. He made up his mind nearly a generation ago — and, if he's confirmed, he'll have nearly two generations to impose it upon the rest of us."

Here Is the Full Text of the Declaration by Julie Swetnick, the Third Women to Accuse Kavanaugh of Sexual Misconduct

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/09/26/here-full-text-declaration-julie-swetnick-third-women-accuse-kavanaugh-sexual


Sent from my iPad

Monarch Butterfly Population Drops from 1 Billion to 93 Million Due to Pesticides, Climate Change

Monarch Butterfly Population Drops from 1 Billion to 93 Million Due to Pesticides, Climate Change

There Were 1 Billion Monarch Butterflies. Now There Are 93 Million.

Without pollinators, there is no agriculture—and without that, there is no food.

WASHINGTON—On Tuesday evening, outside of what we veteran Beltway newshounds call the Gohmert Side of the Capitol, the Congressional Pollinator Protection Caucus, which is an actual thing, held a bipartisan twilight event that involved the release of 50 monarch butterflies into the darkening sky. One of them alighted on a little boy's shoulder and stayed there for quite a long time. The little boy got his picture taken by everyone. This was a nice moment. As Rep. Marcy Kaptur, Democrat of Ohio, said, "We should all be able to agree on butterflies."

The CPPC is serious business. Between the destruction of monarch habitats through pesticides, most notably milkweed, and the ongoing mystery of colony collapse among the bees, American agriculture is endangered. At Tuesday night's event, it was made plain that without agriculture, there is no food, and with pollinators, there is no agriculture. In 2017, according to the Center For Biological Diversity, the overwintering population of monarchs dropped by a third.

The butterfly's dramatic decline has been driven in large part by the widespread planting of genetically engineered crops. The vast majority of U.S. corn and soybeans are genetically engineered for resistance to Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, a potent killer of milkweed, the monarch caterpillar's only food. The dramatic surge in the use of Roundup and other herbicides with the same active ingredient (glyphosate) on Roundup Ready crops has virtually wiped out milkweed plants in the Midwest's corn and soybean fields.
Congressional Pollinator Protection Caucus Releases Monarch Butterflies To Raise Awareness About Their Declining Population

Getty ImagesDrew Angerer

In the past 20 years, scientists estimate, these once-common, iconic orange-and-black butterflies may have lost more than 165 million acres of habitat — an area about the size of Texas — including nearly a third of their summer breeding grounds. Logging on the monarch's Mexican wintering grounds is also an ongoing concern. Scientists have also identified threats to the monarch during the fall migration including lack of nectaring habitat and insecticides.

And, as the CBD points out, the problem has been getting worse.

Overall monarchs have declined by more than 80 percent over the past two decades.
"We could lose the monarch butterfly if we don't take immediate action to rein in pesticide use and curb global climate change," said Tierra Curry, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity and co-author of the 2014 petition to protect monarchs under the Endangered Species Act. Roughly 99 percent of all North American monarchs migrate each winter to oyamel fir forests on 12 mountaintops in central Mexico. Scientists estimate the population size by measuring the area of trees turned orange by the clustering butterflies. That population has been dangerously low since 2008. In the mid-1990s the population was estimated at nearly one billion butterflies, but this year's population is down to approximately 93 million butterflies. This year's drop is attributed in part to unseasonal weather last year including late spring freezes that killed milkweed and caterpillars, and an unseasonably warm fall that kept late-season monarchs from migrating.
Monarch butterflies

Getty ImagesNurPhoto

"Another year, another reminder: Our government must do what the law and science demands, and protect monarchs under the ESA, before it's too late," said George Kimbrell, legal director at the Center for Food Safety. "The remaining question is whether the Trump administration wants to do Monsanto's bidding or protect monarchs for future generations."

And thereby hangs the problem. The administration* is determined to defang the Endangered Species Act while a review of the monarch's status under the ESA is pending. Meanwhile, there is, ahem, grassroots action being undertaken out in the country to help stabilize the monarch population. A plan is in place to plant a billion milkweed stems in the agricultural regions of the midwest, including 100 million in Indiana alone.

The monarch's primary role in pollination involves wildflowers and, as we often remind folks, Joseph Wood Krutch's warned us years ago that, if we don't allow the earth to produce beauty, it will in the end not produce food, either. And we can all agree on butterflies, right?



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Republicans Hire Woman to Question Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Brett Kavanaugh in Transparent Political Strategy

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Check out this video on YouTube:

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Poetry Foundation Newsletter

Poetry Foundation Newsletter

Poetry Foundation Appoints New Trustees

CHICAGO – The Poetry Foundation, an independent literary organization and publisher of Poetry magazine, appoints two new board members, Blythe McGarvie, board member of Sonoco, LKQ Corp., Apple Hospitality REIT, and Wawa, and Brian Provost, vice president of search at CBS Interactive.

"Blythe and Brian bring incredible business acumen and experience in leadership, and audience growth, along with deep roots in Chicago," said Henry Bienen, Poetry Foundation president. "We're excited to have them join us to further our mission of continuing to increase and influence the presence of poetry here in Chicago, and across the country."

McGarvie, 61, serves as a commissioner for the NACD's Blue Ribbon Commission initiative. She recently completed two years of teaching and research in the accounting and management unit at the Harvard Business School (HBS). Prior to teaching at HBS, Ms. McGarvie served as chief executive officer and founder of Leadership for International Finance (LIF Group), offering a global perspective for clients seeking profitable growth. She earned an MBA from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management and was the chief financial officer for two major corporations, one based in the US and one in Paris. She is a member of the Lyric Opera of Chicago board of directors and the Chicago Network. Ms. McGarvie is the author of two books: Shaking the Globe: Courageous Decision-Making in a Changing World (John Wiley & Sons, 2009) and Fit In, Stand Out: Mastering the FISO Factor: The Key to Leadership Effectiveness in Business and Life (McGraw-Hill, 2005).

Before joining CBS Interactive, Provost, 41, was vice president of Digital Strategy at Define Media Group and vice president of Audience Development at Focus Research. He founded the personal consulting firm Scoreboard Media Group, where he developed strategy, trained personnel, and executed complex internet marketing solutions across nearly every major vertical. Provost remains an advisor to a handful of startups, lending his experience in user acquisition and audience development.

McGarvie and Provost join the 16-member Poetry Foundation Board of Trustees which ensures the Poetry Foundation is managed as a well-run organization that supports poetry in our culture.

About the Poetry Foundation
The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, is an independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in American culture. It exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience. The Poetry Foundation seeks to be a leader in shaping a receptive climate for poetry by developing new audiences, creating new avenues for delivery, and encouraging new kinds of poetry through innovative literary prizes and programs. 

Follow the Poetry Foundation and Poetry on Facebook at facebook.com/poetryfoundation,  Twitter @PoetryFound and Instagram @PoetryFoundation.



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Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Republicans Hire Woman to Question Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Brett Kavanaugh in Transparent Political Strategy

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a23462162/republicans-hire-woman-question-christine-blasey-ford-brett-kavanaugh/


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Admiral Craig Faller Faces Questions from Congress About 'Fat Leonard' Navy Corruption Scandal

Admiral Craig Faller Faces Questions from Congress About 'Fat Leonard' Navy Corruption Scandal

This Is Quite a Week to Face Congress When You've Been Implicated in a Prostitution Scandal

Answer the question, Admiral.

WASHINGTON—In May of 2016, The Washington Post published an astonishing account into corruption in the United States Seventh Fleet in Asia. At the scandal's center was a Malaysian business-slash-bag man named Leonard Glenn Francis—"Fat Leonard" was his nom de scandale—who apparently had been feeding a staggering array of goodies to various high-ranking Naval officers, and who also had placed moles within the Navy's hierarchy to cover up for him.

Leonard Glenn Francis was legendary on the high seas for his charm and his appetite for excess. For years, the Singapore-based businessman had showered Navy officers with gifts, epicurean dinners, prostitutes and, if necessary, cash bribes so they would look the other way while he swindled the Navy to refuel and resupply its ships. In the end, federal agents settled on a risky sting operation to try to nab Fat Leonard.
They would lure him to California, dangling a meeting with admirals who hinted they had lucrative contracts to offer. He took the bait. On Sept. 16, 2013, Francis was arrested in his hotel suite overlooking San Diego's harbor. It was the opening strike in a sweep covering three states and seven countries, as hundreds of law enforcement agents arrested other suspects and seized incriminating files from Francis's business empire.
NO NEWS SERVICE--Leonard Glenn Francis (left) with Admiral Patr
"Fat Leonard"

Getty ImagesThe Washington Post

A 51-year-old Malaysian citizen, Francis has since pleaded guilty to fraud and bribery charges. His firm, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, is financially ruined. But his arrest exposed something else that is still emerging three years later: a staggering degree of corruption within the Navy itself. Much more than a contracting scandal, the investigation has revealed how Francis seduced the Navy's storied 7th Fleet, long a proving ground for admirals given its strategic role in patrolling the Pacific and Indian oceans. In perhaps the worst national-security breach of its kind to hit the Navy since the end of the Cold War, Francis doled out sex and money to a shocking number of people in uniform who fed him classified material about U.S. warship and submarine movements.

The whole story is an epic of mendacity and malfeasance in office, and all kinds of conduct unbecoming a Gambino underboss, let alone an officer in the United States Navy. Fat Leonard apparently knew everyone from flag rank down to the orderlies in the Seventh Fleet. He bribed everything but the barnacles.

All this suddenly reappeared this week when Vice Admiral Craig Faller, an aide to Defense Secretary James Mattis, appeared before the Senate to be confirmed as chief of the U.S. Southern Command (SoCom). On Monday, the Post published an account of Faller's attendance at one of Fat Leonard's sybaritic Christmas parties.

The evening after Christmas 2004 was a night to remember for more than 50 U.S. Navy officers from the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group. During a port visit to Hong Kong, they were invited to a free feast on the 56th floor of a luxury hotel, where they savored cocktails, cigars and courses of Oscietra caviar, black truffles and lobster thermidor.
Mingling with the guests were attractive young women dressed as Santa's little helpers, wearing red hats, black boots and skimpy yuletide costumes. Smiling at the center of the party was the host, Leonard Glenn Francis, a defense contractor who has since confessed to bribing scores of Navy officers in the worst corruption scandal in Navy history. Among those in attendance, records show, was Craig S. Faller, a Navy officer who has climbed the ranks at the Pentagon to become a vice admiral and the senior military assistant to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

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The Post reported that Faller had been under investigation for his involvement with Fat Leonard for three years before finally being cleared, and the newspaper also reported that Fat Leonard had provided Faller the services of a prostitute. Both the Justice Department and the Navy cleared Faller of any wrongdoing, the Navy concluding that there was insufficient evidence.

JAPAN-US-DIPLOMACY-DEFENCE

Getty ImagesTORU YAMANAKA

Needless to say, if you've lived under the shadow of this kind of thing, this is the worst possible week to have to explain yourself to a Senate committee sitting in judgment of your fitness for a better job. It fell to Senator Professor Warren to ask Faller about the party and about Fat Leonard. The two of them promptly talked past each other.

WARREN: I'M ASKING THIS QUESTION BECAUSE THIS COMMITTEE IS LOOKING AT A POSITION TO CONFIRM YOU TO THAT REQUIRES GOOD JUDGMENT. AND I KNOW THAT THIS WAS MANY YEARS AGO, BUT IT SEEMS TO ME YOU DIDN'T DISPLAY GOOD JUDGMENT AT THE TIME AND IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE YOU SEE ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE DECISION YOU MADE BACK THEN. THE OTHER THING THAT STRIKES ME ABOUT THE SPECIFIC DINNER AND OTHERS THAT HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN THE MEDIA, IS THE DETAIL ABOUT THE SCANTILY CLAD WOMEN AND PROSTITUTES AT THESE PARTIES. YOU KNOW, THERE'S EVEN A PICTURE IN "THE WASHINGTON POST" STORY TO GO ALONG WITH THIS. IS IT NOW OR WAS IT THEN COMMON FOR SENIOR NAVY OFFICERS TO ATTEND EVENTS AT WHICH PROSTITUTES AND WOMEN IN SCANTILY CLAD OUTFITS WERE EXPECTED TO PROVIDE ENTERTAINMENT?
FALLER: SENATOR, EVERY DECISION I MADE IN MY NEARLY FOUR DECADES OF SERVICE HAS BEEN -- TRIED TO BE THROUGH THE BEST ETHICAL LENS WITH ETHICS COUNSELORS. ONE OF THE BENCHMARKS I USE IS WITH MY WIFE OF 34 YEARS OR TWO GROWN DAUGHTERS. IF THEY WERE PRESENT OR WATCHING ME OR SAW IT ON VIDEO, WOULD THEY BE EMBARRASSED OR WOULD I HAVE DISCREDITED THEM AND I CAN LOOK YOU IN THE EYE AND THE COMMITTEE AND I SAY I BELIEVE I PASSED THAT BENCHMARK.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren

Getty ImagesBill Clark

WARREN: IF I CAN ASK YOU TO ANSWER MY QUESTION, WHICH IS, IS IT NOW OR WAS IT THEN COMMON FOR SENIOR NAVY OFFICERS TO ATTEND EVENTS AT WHICH PROSTITUTES AND WOMEN IN SCANTILY CLAD OUTFITS WERE EXPECTED TO PROVIDE ENTERTAINMENT?
FALLER: NO.

(Ed. Note: It certainly was common at Fat Leonard's parties.)

WARREN: NOW, YOU UNDERSTAND WHY I'M ASKING THIS, ADMIRAL FALLER, EVENTS THAT FEATURE WOMEN AS OBJECTS OF ENTERTAINMENT CONTRIBUTE TO A CULTURE THAT DOES NOT RESPECT WOMEN, GIVEN THE PERSISTENTLY HIGH RATES OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND ASSAULT IN THE NAVY, ACROSS THE MILITARY SERVICES AND FRANKLY AROUND THIS COUNTRY, IT IS LONG PAST TIME THAT WE HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT EXACTLY THESE KINDS OF EVENTS. YOU HAVE BEEN NOMINATED TO SERVE AS THE FOUR-STAR COMBATANT COMMANDER TO THE U.S. SOUTHERN COMMAND AND YOU WILL HAVE MANY WOMEN OFFICERS UNDER YOUR COMMAND. WHAT DO YOU SAY TO WOMEN OFFICERS WHEN THEY SEE THAT THIS IS THE KIND OF EVENT YOU HAVE ATTENDED?
FALLER: SENATOR, I HAVE ALWAYS HAD THE UTMOST RESPECT FOR ALL SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN. THAT PARTICULAR EVENT REFERENCED IN "THE WASHINGTON POST" THERE WERE FEMALE OFFICERS PRESENT AND ONE FROM MY SHIP WOULD SAY AS I HAVE ALWAYS SAID, THAT VERY MUCH RESPECT AND THAT'S HOW I'VE TRIED TO OPERATE AND I BELIEVE THAT WOULD BEAR OUT AND I'M APPRECIATIVE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE HAS -- AND HUMBLED THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE IS SUPPORTING MY NOMINATION.

Damned if the admiral didn't sound just like Brett Kavanaugh, talking about his law clerks and the girls on his basketball team. Maybe everybody sounds like that this week. #MeToo isn't going anywhere, either.



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President Trump's U.N. Speech Prompts Laughter from Audience - Takes on Saudi Arabia, Poland, Globalism Are Worrying

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