Monday, December 31, 2018

Analysis | John Kelly paints yet another dim portrait of Trump - The Washington Post

In an exit interview with the Los Angeles Times, the departing White House chief of staff echoes what other top Trump administration officials have said both publicly and privately: Trump is someone who needs containing. ....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/12/30/john-kelly-paints-yet-another-dim-portrait-trump/

Trump staff ‘terrified’ because ‘mentally incapacitated’ president thinks he's winning wall fight: Howard Dean - Raw Story

Former physician Howard Dean --who went on to become the governor of Vermont and a Democratic presidential candidate -- said on MSNBC on Sunday that Donald Trump is delusional and has convinced himself that he can win the battle for his border wall. ....
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/12/trump-staff-terrified-mentally-incapacitated-president-thinks-hes-winning-wall-fight-howard-dean/

Impeach Donald Trump Effort Gained More Than 3 Million Supporters in 2018 - Newsweek

The campaign has more than 6.5 million signatures to date. ....
https://www.newsweek.com/impeach-donald-trump-supporters-2018-1274833

Three women experts rain holy hell on Rick Santorum for lying about Trump's border wall on CNN - Raw Story - WATCH

CNN Republican strategist Rick Santorum met his match on Sunday when he tried to tell three women experts that President Donald Trump is not to blame for the government shutdown over funding for the president's border wall. ....
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/12/watch-three-women-experts-rain-holy-hell-rick-santorum-lying-trumps-border-wall-cnn/

Michigan Republicans’ lame-duck drive to hobble Democrats fails – mostly - the guardian

Bills to strip power from incoming officials failed or were vetoed, but the GOP still made changes that will affect liberal voters ....
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/dec/30/michigan-republicans-lame-duck-democrats-rick-snyder-veto

A Holiday Mystery: Why Did John Roberts Intervene in the Mueller Probe? - POLITICO

We're about to find out why the chief justice of the Supreme Court decided to get involved in the special counsel's investigation. ....
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/12/30/supreme-court-john-roberts-robert-mueller-investigation-223569


How Russian money helped save Trump's business - Business Insider

After his financial disasters two decades ago, no U.S. bank would touch him. Then foreign money began flowing in.....
https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/12/21/how-russian-money-helped-save-trumps-business/

Trump is right: Hundreds of companies have announced they are returning the US. But not because of his policies. - Business Insider

President Donald Trump likes to say that foreign jobs are coming back to the United States. But is this another instance of his elocution style, "truthful hyperbole", or are hundreds of companies actually coming back to the US? ....
https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-12-26/trump-hypes-jobs-relocating-back-us-are-they

Bernie Sanders Slams 'Wall Street Democrats,' Hints at 2020: 'Our Agenda Terrifies the Political and Financial Establishment' - Newsweek

"Our agenda terrifies the political and financial establishment of this country," read a Sanders fundraising email. "But the truth is, their agenda should terrify all of us." ....
https://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-2020-wall-street-democrats-agenda-1273803

There's Almost No Data About What Happens When Catholic Hospitals Deny Reproductive Care - Rewire.News

That's partly because Catholic institutions may not want it known.....
https://rewire.news/article/2018/12/06/theres-almost-no-data-about-what-happens-when-catholic-hospitals-deny-reproductive-care/

Catholic Rules Forced This Doctor to Watch Her Patient Sicken—Now, She’s Speaking Out - Rewire.News

“I teach all of my residents, I teach all of the medical students, this is not the standard of care."...
https://rewire.news/article/2017/09/07/catholic-rules-forced-doctor-watch-patient-sicken-now-shes-speaking/

GOP voter unloads on Trump supporters angry about not getting a wall: 'Don’t blame the left because he's a screw-up' - Raw Story

A Republican voter from New Hampshire this week wrote his local newspaper to slam supporters of President Donald Trump who always complain about everyone else's failings, but who never hold the president to any account. ....
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/12/gop-voter-unloads-trump-supporters-angry-not-getting-wall-dont-blame-left-hes-screw/

How religion turned American politics into a bizarre anti-science spectacle

In the last 30 years, religion has radicalized American politics and seriously harmed the perception of science, says journalist and author Kurt Andersen. This can be directly tied to the rise of the Christian Right in the 20th century...
Interview:
https://youtu.be/FYX7Y8uj-H0


District of Despair: On a Montana Reservation, Schools Favor Whites Over Native Americans - ProPublica

Tribes say that discrimination by the Wolf Point School District contributes to some of their youth dropping out, harming themselves or even committing suicide. But the Trump administration hasn't acted on their complaint. ....
https://www.propublica.org/article/education-discrimination-montana-reservation-schools-favor-whites-over-native-americans

From the comments: ‘Big bet on a dying industry.’ Readers respond to CN Rail’s plan to ship bitumen in hockey-like pucks - The Globe and Mail

CN railway and InnoTech reveal their new technology that turns heavy oil (bitumen) into tablets the size of a bar of soap that can be shipped by train with less risk of explosion or water contamination during an interview in Toronto on February 11, 2017.....
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-from-the-comments-big-bet-on-a-dying-industry-readers-respond-to/

Following donations, private prison group is getting a say in Trump administration matters - Daily Kos

Following GEO Group's generous donations to the Trump campaign (the company "gave $225,000 to a pro-Trump super PAC before the election," per OpenSecrets), the private prison profiteer is getting plenty of say in administration matters. ....
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1818265

Cartoon: The age of reason - Daily Kos

Does Alcoholics Anonymous work? (The Phil Ferguson Show podcast #281)

Interview with Lance Dodes. He is one of the authors of "The Sober Truth". Have you wondered if AA works? This book will provide the information you need.

Investing Skeptically: Dividends

Interview:
https://www.spreaker.com/user/8084919/281-SRWPvc

Sunday, December 30, 2018

A Few Things I've Learned About Creationists - PZ Myers -Skepticon 2 Redux

How creationists run away from real science with all their might, as told by evolutionary biologist PZ Meyers.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/0MoY5o__Vis

The Reddit detectives are hard at work decoding Black Mirror: Bandersnatch - The Verge

Here are the story maps, Easter egg guides, and endings lists that will help you save hours of replay ....
https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/28/18159516/black-mirror-bandersnatch-interactive-choice-maps-endings-easter-eggs-netflix-charlie-brooker

'Part of Putin's plan': Retired general explains how Trump is doing Russia's bidding in Syria - Raw Story

On Friday, Retired Rear Admiral John Kirby explained to CNN host Jim Acosta that there are "serious repercussions" to President Donald Trump's decision to abruptly withdraw American troops out of Syria. ....
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/12/part-of-putins-plan-retired-general-reveals-how-trump-is-aiding-russia/

Team Trump Gleeful That Shutdown Will Hijack Pelosi’s Big Moment - The Daily Beast

The president's aides see a debate being waged on his issues, not hers, and they couldn't be happier. ...
https://www.thedailybeast.com/team-trump-gleeful-that-shutdown-will-hijack-pelosis-big-moment

Cartoon: Steve Mnuchin's 2019 economic forecast - Daily Kos

I predict Mnuchin will leave the administration this year. Don't praise him for it, though. Dude signed on before, and stayed after the baby jails. Same for John "Adult in the Room" Kelly. ....
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1822045.

Amid Shutdown, Trump Freezes Pay of 2 Million Federal Workers - Truthdig

The president's order comes as hundreds of thousands of government employees worry about being able to make rent and pay their bills.....
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/amid-shutdown-trump-to-freeze-pay-of-roughly-2-million-federal-workers/

Trump claims he shut down the government to have a 2020 campaign talking point - Raw Story

President Donald Trump on Thursday linked his shutdown of the government to his already started 2020 reelection campaign. Trump seemed to admit that Democrats had the votes in the Republican-controlled Senate to reopen government once Democrats control the House of Representatives in January, but said he had "the issue" of the wall for his 2020 campaign....
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/12/trump-claims-shut-government-2020-campaign-talking-point/

As more information leaks out, the 'nothing' Trump Tower meeting looks like it was really something - Daily Kos

If there is one thing that every member of the Trump team can agree on, it's that the meeting that took place in Trump Tower on June 9, 2016 "didn't lead to anything." Jared Kushner called the get-together between Trump's top campaign officials and Russian operatives "a waste of time." Paul Manafort was so uninterested that he "got on the phone." Donald Trump Jr. said it was "such a nothing" and that it was "sort of nonsensical, inane and garbled." ....
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1820209

A Biblical Foundation for American Freedoms? | Bob Seidensticker

The Ten Commandments and biblical governance in general are at odds with the things that Americans value about America.....
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/crossexamined/2013/05/a-biblical-foundation-for-american-freedoms/

Think corporate welfare isn’t a waste? Read these studies - The Hill

Studies from 2018 alone on state and local programs are clear: incentive programs are ineffective for 'economic development.' ...
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/421991-think-corporate-welfare-isnt-a-waste-read-these-studies

Migrants detained at the border are kept in freezing cells nicknamed 'iceboxes' — here's what we know about them - Business Insider

Migrants detained at the border by Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection agents are often held in freezing, cramped facilities often referred to as "hieleras" or "iceboxes" by migrants, advocates and even their detainers. ....
https://www.businessinsider.com/migrants-detained-at-border-kept-in-freezing-cells-nicknamed-iceboxes-2018-12

Climate change denial is killing the GOP’s future - The Hill

Young Republicans stand to inherit a party crippled by unpalatable positions on the seminal issue of our time. ...
https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/422930-climate-change-denial-is-killing-the-gops-future

Rocket launcher returned as part of Baltimore gun buyback - The Hill

A rocket launcher was one of over a thousand weapons that have been collected as part of Baltimore's gun buyback program. ...
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/422839-rocket-launcher-returned-as-part-of-baltimore-gun-buyback

We Should Be Appalled by What Happened This Christmas at the Border - Truthdig

Trump tweets incessantly about the border, but he's never mentioned the two young victims of his administration's immigration policies. ....
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/we-should-be-appalled-by-what-happened-this-christmas-at-the-border/

More than 4 million students participated in lockdowns over 2017-18 school year: report - The Hill

More than 4 million school students in the United States participated in lockdowns during the 2017-2018 school year, according to a new Washington Post analysis on school safety....
https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/422937-more-than-4-million-students-participated-in-lockdowns-over-2017-18

Dem political reform bill could 'transform political economy,’ says Intercept’s Washington Bureau chief - The Hill

The Intercept's White House Bureau chief Ryan Grim says that a Democratic political reform bill could help "transform the political economy," and have a "cleansing effect" on the role of money in politics, citing the bill’s aim to overhaul the U.S. campaign finance system....
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/422890-intercepts-washington-bureau-chief-says-dems-political-reform-bill-would

How to screen share with iPhone, iPad, and Mac to remotely help friends and family with new devices - 9to5Mac

Your friends and family have likely purchased or been gifted a range of new devices over the last few days and weeks, and odds are probably good that you're the go-to for tech support. Sometimes it's easy enough to troubleshoot with a call or text when you aren't nearby, but it's usually helpful to see...
https://9to5mac.com/2018/12/26/screen-share-iphone-ipad-mac/

Leighann Lord - Senior care ( The Phil Ferguson Show podcast #286)

Interview with Leighann Lord. We discuss aging parents and possible solutions.

Investing Skeptically: Vanguard Reduced minimums on Admiral shares and my thoughts on Robinhood investing app.

Interview:
https://www.spreaker.com/user/8084919/286-VY8Fm7

Saturday, December 29, 2018

The Real War on Christmas on Vimeo - vimeo.com

The phony “War on Christmas” seems to be about forcing Christianity down people’s throats. I’m all for Santa and, more importantly, Jesus, but it seems that the same people defending Christmas from some phony war are the same ones who would bar Jesus, Mary and Joseph from coming into the US. See more at MarkFiore.com.
https://youtu.be/k5DaB6a8ltY

Year In The News: Mueller Investigation, Kavanaugh Hearings, Parkland Shooting And More (David Folkenflik, On Point)

We look back at a big year in the news. The top stories and where they’re heading next.
Interview:
https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2018/12/28/mueller-rusia-kavanaugh-blasey-ford-parkland-shooting

Friday News Roundup – Domestic (Joshua Johnson, 1A) 2018-12-29

On Saturday, President Donald Trump made good on his promise to shut down the government over funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. When asked how long the partial shutdown might last, he responded, “Whatever it takes.”

Congress has since returned to session, but a resolution seems distant.

Politico reports:

Aides in both parties say they see little reason to believe anyone is budging over the funding of President Donald Trump’s border wall. Party leaders are now gaming out how the new Democratic House will react to a shutdown affecting a quarter of the government, and there are increasing worries that the funding lapse will persist for weeks, potentially deep into January.

Both the Senate and House are scheduled to be in on Thursday afternoon, but no votes are expected and it’s unclear how many lawmakers will be back in town during a holiday week. It’s possible that neither chamber will vote again until Jan. 3, when Democrats assume the House majority.

This is the third shutdown of President Trump’s presidency. Who’s affected this time?

According to the president, “most of the people not getting paid are Democrats.” But many federal workers have set the record straight about the impact of shutdowns across the aisle and throughout the different branches of government.

But this dispute isn’t the only immigration-related issue making headlines. On Christmas Eve, 8-year-old Felipe Gómez Alonzo, a detained migrant child from Guatemala, died after doctors had diagnosed him with a common cold. He’s the second minor to die in the custody of Border Patrol this month — once again raising questions about the care of undocumented immigrants at the border.

From The Washington Post:

The deaths have shaken Border Patrol agents, migrants and advocates and ignited fresh concerns that a political impasse over border security is endangering children. Federal officials called the deaths a tragedy, noting that until this month no child had died in border custody for more than a decade, and said the Department of Homeland Security is investigating. Six adults died in CBP custody in 2018, officials said.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen called Felipe’s death “deeply concerning and heartbreaking.” She said the agency will adopt a “series of extraordinary protective measures,” including having the CDC investigate the surge in “sick children” crossing the border.

Will conditions at the border actually improve?

We’ll get to all that and more on the last Friday News Roundup of 2018.
Interview:
https://the1a.org/shows/2018-12-28/friday-news-roundup-domestic

Friday News Roundup – International (Joshua Johnson, 1A) 2018-12-29

President Donald Trump made a surprise visit to U.S. troops in Iraq and Germany on Wednesday.

During the visit, he defended his decision to withdraw about 2,000 American troops from Syria, a move that spurred the resignation of Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and was widely criticized by national security experts.

From The Associated Press:

[Trump] said the decision to leave Syria showed America’s renewed stature on the world stage and his quest to put “America first.”

“We’re no longer the suckers, folks,” Trump told U.S. servicemen and women at al-Asad Airbase in western Iraq, about 100 miles or 60 kilometers west of Baghdad. “We’re respected again as a nation.”

A White House official said the trip had been in the works for more than six weeks.

Brett McGurk, the president’s special envoy to coalition forces combating ISIS, also resigned over the troop withdrawal from Syria. But the president suggested he wasn’t familiar with McGurk.

Anti-government protests have also gained more traction around the globe recently.

Police used tear gas and fired upon thousands of protesters in Sudan on Christmas Day. The protesters were attempting to march on the presidential palace of Omar al-Bashir, who has been Sudan’s president for 29 years. The Associated Press reported that Tuesday’s march came after “a week of protests initially sparked by rising prices and shortages of food and fuel, but which later escalated into calls for Bashir to go.”

And in Tunisia, photojournalist Abderazzak Zergui set himself on fire to protest social conditions in the country. Reuters reported that Zerguri posted a Facebook video before his death that “appeared to say that whenever the unemployed in his town prepare to protest, militant attacks are launched to silence them.”

A devastating tsunami in Indonesia killed more than 430 people on Saturday. The island is still on high alert as volcanic activity continues. Officials are still looking for survivors.

From NBC:

A tsunami hit the coast Saturday after a 158-acre section of rock from Anak Krakatau’s southwest side — the size of nearly 120 football fields — collapsed into the ocean. The shock, equivalent to a 3.4-magnitude earthquake, triggered the wave that hit land 24 minutes later.

Saturday’s disaster struck without warning, taking people by surprise in a country that regularly suffers landslides, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. No big earthquake shook the ground beforehand, and the waves surged inland at night on a holiday weekend while people were enjoying concerts and other beach and resort activities.

And a small city in Minnesota is fighting back against a report by a Der Spiegel reporter. Journalist Claas Relotius “invented a condescending fiction” about Fergus Falls.

After two citizens published a lengthy fact-check of Relotius’ work called “Der Spiegel journalist messed with the wrong small town”, the magazine retracted the piece and investigated the reporter’s other work — a process which revealed fabrication in many of his other stories.

The venerated German magazine plans to press charges against Relotius.

We’re headed into the last weekend of 2018 with the global news that made headlines this week.
Interview:
https://the1a.org/shows/2018-12-28/friday-news-roundup-international

Top U.S. & World Headlines — December 28, 2018

Interview:
https://youtu.be/HNBvY0TGWoY

Senate Republicans feel 'burned' by Trump and won't do 'anything' on shutdown: CNN report - Raw Story

On Friday, CNN reporter Phil Mattingly revealed that Senate Republicans felt "burned" by President Donald Trump after he backtracked on signing a bill that would have prevented the government shut down. ....
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/12/republicans-feel-burned-by-trump-after-he-backtracked-on-stopping-the-government-shut-down-cnn/

Technical analyst Ralph Acampora sees 'vacuum rally' and bear market for stocks - CNBC

The market will probably rally, but that doesn't necessarily mean the bottom is in, says "the godfather of technical analysis," Ralph Acampora. ....
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/28/ralph-acampora-sees-a-vacuum-rally-and-a-bear-market-for-stocks.html

Liberal groups push Dem leaders to take harder line in shutdown talks - POLITICO

A coalition of left-leaning advocates is urging Schumer and Pelosi to provide Trump with no new money for border fencing.....
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/28/democrats-border-wall-government-shutdown-2018-1076866

Trump administration suggests broke workers pay rent with manual labor during the shutdown - VICE

The shutdown is intractable because Trump’s wall is ridiculous and Republicans know it - Vox

Conservatives won't trade the wall for anything good because they know it's a bad idea. ....
https://www.vox.com/2018/12/28/18158873/wall-shutdown-trump-dreamers-deal

US withdrawal from Syria will endanger Kurds, Arabs, Christians - The Hill

Four years of partnership should not be tossed aside because of an impetuous presidential tweet. ....
https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/422990-us-withdrawal-from-syria-will-endanger-kurds-arabs-christians

What would Cohen's Prague trip show? Conspiracy against the United States on behalf of Donald Trump - Daily Kos

Like pieces of an intricate puzzle, key elements of the infamous Steele dossier (a series of raw intelligence reports compiled by former British MI6 agent Christopher Steele) and court filings from Special Counsel Robert Mueller have been slowly coming together to reveal a potentially extremely serious criminal conspiracy, perhaps even treason, between the Trump campaign and Russia. ...
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1821938

More evidence piles up in North Carolina GOP election fraud scandal - Vox

The Republican candidate who won in November likely won't be seated before an official hearing in January. ....
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/12/26/18156326/north-carolina-9th-district-election-voter-fraud-hearing

Sorry, Trump: Most ISIS Recruits in America Aren’t Immigrants, a New Study Suggests - The Intercept

The average "jihadi" in the United States is starting to look less like the type of person President Donald Trump wants to ban from the country. ....
https://theintercept.com/2018/12/24/isis-recruitment-us-terrorism/

Measles outbreaks in U.S. and Europe should be a wake-up call for states with loose immunization rules - Los Angeles Times

Public health officials in New York and New Jersey are fighting a measles outbreak that has sickened dozens of people since November, most of them unvaccinated members of orthodox Jewish communities. The virus was traced to travelers from Israel, which is dealing with its own measles outbreak at the moment....
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-measles-outbreak-20181226-story.html

With support from Steve Bannon, a medieval monastery could become a populist training ground - The Washington Post

The Biggest Religious Liberty Cases of 2019 Revolve Around Christian Bigotry | Hemant Mehta | Friendly Atheist | Patheos

Christian website The Gospel Coalition just posted a list of “10 Critical Religious Liberty Cases” to watch next year. Editor Joe Carter says there are “continual threats to the religious freedom of Christians in America” and these cases will be the battlegrounds in 2019....

Dennis Prager: People Who Say “Happy Holidays” Are Unpatriotic Radicals | Sarahbeth Caplin | Friendly Atheist | Patheos

Conservative radio host Dennis Prager says saying “Merry Christmas” over “Happy Holidays” is a form of patriotism, then compared the faux-controversy to heathen kids letting people drown. It’s quite an odd pronouncement coming from a Jewish man....

Yes, Ben Carson is Still in Trump's Cabinet. And Congressional Probes Could Be Coming His Way. - Mother Jones

After his 2016 presidential bid failed, Ben Carson acknowledged he didn't have enough experience to run a federal agency.  Nonetheless, after he became president, Donald Trump tweeted that the famous retired neurosurgeon might be his nominee to run HUD, the $41 billion agency with more than 9,000 employees that oversees housing and urban issues, including maintaining public housing, insuring mortgages, and enforcing fair housing laws...
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/12/yes-ben-carson-is-still-in-trumps-cabinet-and-congressional-probes-could-be-coming-his-way/

Merry Christmas! (With Matt Donnelly) (Opening Arguments podcast OA238)

Today’s special holiday episode features a long interview with Matt Donnelly of the Ice Cream Social podcast! Matt talks with the guys about growing up the son of a lawyer and the grandson of a judge… and along the way the guys talk about the Supreme Court, the state of the law, and have a ton of fun.

Integrated in the episode is an “Are You A Cop?”-style segment in which Andrew explains that no, Brett Kavanaugh did not “vote with the liberals” in an abortion case. You’ll figure out all you need to know about the Supreme Court’s denial of certiorari in Gee v. Planned Parenthood and Andersen v. Planned Parenthood… and maybe you’ll learn something about newly-minted “swing” justice John Roberts along the way.

After the lengthy interview with Matt, it’s time for the answer to Thomas (and Matt) Take The Bar Exam #106 regarding judicial notice of the difference between Kansas City and Chicago. As always, remember to follow our Twitter feed (@Openargs) and like our Facebook Page so that you too can play along with #TTTBE!
Interview:
https://openargs.com/oa238-merry-christmas-with-matt-donnelly/







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