Tom Faranda's Folly

Five question quiz on the US Constitution

Hmm, I got one wrong.

Here's the quiz -

you have a chance to test your knowledge on how well you know the founding document: https://secure.hillsdale.edu/constitution-quiz/ .

Human's earliest ancestor discovered? ... and it's mighty small

And 540 million years old. A one minute video with an amusing ending on what the creature lacked.

 

Depression, anxiety, and cancer

From the NY Times health section; more evidence of the tie-in.

After controlling for age, smoking, physical activity and other factors, they found that compared with those with the lowest scores on depression and anxiety, those with the highest had higher rates of cancer death. The associations were particularly strong for colon and rectal, prostate, pancreatic and esophageal cancers, and for leukemia. In instances of colorectal and prostate cancer, they found a “dose-response” effect: the greater the distress, the greater the likelihood of death from those cancers.

From America magazine, a story of love and foregiveness

 

America, the Jesuit publication. Years ago - it has to be well over 20 - I did some financial planning for an older couple in somewhat the same situation. That child was brought up by the couple while this little girl spends most of her time with her (biological) mother.

How I learned to love and raise the child from my husband’s affair

I knew I was one of the sinners so beloved by the Lamb of God that he had lived, submitted to an excruciating death and risen again for our sakes. Like my remorseful husband, like the baby’s mother, like every person past the age of reason, I had through malice, negligence or weakness done things to harm my relationships with God and other people. And I believed the forgiveness God offers all penitents, and the grace of God’s presence, make it possible for new life and love to grow out of the destruction human beings wreak. My sense of solidarity with other sinners, and my trust in divine grace, guided me to renew my marriage and to seek some kind of relationship with the baby’s mother, whose complicated feelings about her future I could only imagine. And it motivated me to protect and care for the baby who, unlike the adults in her life, had done no wrong. I knew Jesus Christ had loved and welcomed children and continues to call and empower his disciples to do the same. That night, I responded to the fraction anthem by praying—and starting to trust—that by God’s mercy, with God’s help, I could love my husband’s daughter as my own.

Providing Sanctuary ... for ducklings!

My friend and office manager Judy sent me this video - it's taken at her grandson Mason's school in Massachusetts. Great!

The Glover Elementary School in Milton, Massachusetts has a special tradition of providing sanctuary to nesting ducks inside the school's interior courtyard. Each time ducklings hatch the entire school helps guide them safely to a neighboring pond.

 

Trump + May = Reagan & Thatcher?

Off Yahoo! News - of interest to our British and Aussie friends & family

Evoking the closeness of U.S. President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Theresa May and Donald Trump shared a "warm conversation" at lunch on Friday to cement their own "special relationship", a source in May's team said. May's visit to the United States, the first by a foreign leader since Trump was inaugurated as president, has been hailed by her aides as a resounding success, one, they say, that has strengthened her hand in divorce negotiations with the EU.

VP Mike Pence and Kellyanne Conway remarks at the March for Life

Here's Conway

And Pence

NatGeo: "Surviving the Night When You're Stuck on the Trail"

Amusing and I suppose makes sense. I like the spooning idea (depending on who I'm with ...).

 

Washington Post, fascinating interview with Kellyanne Conway

Takes ten+ minutes to read. Trump wouldn't have won without her taking over as campaign manager. Really great in-depth interview with Conway. Love the last paragraph as she talks about one of her daughters not wanting to go to Washington. 

 

When Kellyanne Conway took over as Donald Trump’s presidential campaign manager in August — his third in under a year — there were few signs that Trump would emerge victorious on election night just three months later. He was trailing Hillary Clinton in some polls by 10 points nationally, and the gap was widening in battleground states. Twitter attacks by Trump on Khizr Khan, the father of an American Muslim Army captain killed in Iraq, and his metastasizing list of other Twitter and campaign rally barbs weren’t helping his favorability ratings, particularly among women.

"The Netherlands welcomes Trump in his own words"

Pretty good. From my friend Damian, whose wife is his best feature.

The Dow Jones hit 20.000 today. It's Huge. Huge.

The environment is positive for stocks. Also worth knowing two adages: "Money follows earnings" and "Money has no morals."

U.S. equities closed at all-time highs on Wednesday after a series of executive orders from President Donald Trump increased bullish sentiment on Wall Street, while financials outperformed. The Dow Jones industrial average broke above 20,000 for the first time, rising about 150 points as Boeing, Goldman Sachs and IBM contributed the most gains. "People are seeing that the administration is carrying through with some of the things they promised," said John Stadtler, head of U.S. Financial Services Industry Practice at PwC. "It looks like long-term capital gains are here to stay."

Cat introduces her kittens to a friend

This is cute. Been on youtube a year with about 8 million views.

NY Yankee stuff - they think they have a "sleeper" potential star pitcher

This is from the NY Daily News. Yes it's a total rag but they occasionally have good stuff on the Yankees. The picture is of him pitching in college.

It's way too early to say Chance Adams can deliver that dream scenario for the Yankees, a No. 1 starter that nobody saw coming. But he's at least taken a few steps along that path, an unheralded college reliever who put up eye-popping numbers last year as a starter in the minors.

 

Short read: Building strength; high reps with low weight v. actually building strength

Below is a link to a great short article by Mark Rippetoe, the author of this excellent book, which I think I've posted about and also given many copies out.

Here is the article which takes five minutes to read. Funny, his comment about getting off the toilet - that's why I'm lifting weights three times a week.

Bad Advice About Higher Reps

Lighter weights and higher reps. Same effect, less risk, lighter is safer and more reps make up for the lighter weight, right?

Wrong. Hit the link.

 

Trump's meeting yesterday with union leaders and workers

A short video as he announces the end of Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and says negotiations will commence with individual countries.

"Passengers cheer as women berating Trump supporter removed from Plane"

UPDATE: More video from another angle  -   https://youtu.be/fb-hAxlGNZU

Amazing. And more and more of this is going to happen. The link below has two short videos in it. And below the link I've excerpted some text from the short article.

flight from Baltimore to Seattle -  & here is the guy's facebook url - https://www.facebook.com/scott.koteskey/videos/10155758661609922/

Her: “You put a crazed man in charge of the nuclear codes! You should be ashamed!”

Me: ‘Well we’re all entitled to our opinions here ma’am.”

Her: “And I’m entitled to get drunk and puke in your lap! I’m going to throw up right in your lap! You make me sick! Don’t talk to me! Don’t look at me! Don’t you dare even put your arm on that rest. You disgust me! You should be ashamed of yourself! You put a maniac’s finger on the button” (assuming she’s means nukes). You are a bigot. You should get off this plane!”

Me: “ma’am, by definition, bigotry is disparaging someone prior to knowing them simply by their beliefs and opinions. Thank you for being the very thing you preach against.”

Super Bowl: Atlanta Falcons v. New England Patriots - my pick

I think the Falcons will win in a high scoring game. Links to highlights from yesterday's NFC and AFC championships are below.

Packers get crushed by Atlanta - https://youtu.be/4uiEGZx9Wxs

And ditto with New England over the Pittsburgh Steelers - https://youtu.be/TLFX6zKUcPo

Tucker Carlson's show - aptly named "Tucker Carlson Tonight" - is pulling big ratings for FOX Cable News

He's ahead of the woman he replaced, Megyn Kelly.

Carlson averaged just under 3 million viewers for his first week of shows in Fox's prime-time lineup, or 10 percent more than the 2.72 million viewers that Kelly averaged all of last year, the Nielsen company said.l

Kimmel: His pledge re: the new President

This is pretty good. I also posted this "Jimmy Kimmel on Donald Trump's Inauguration"

"Jimmy Kimmel on Donald Trump's Inauguration"

80 seconds; VERY funny especially the last few seconds ...

 

Trump's gracious comments about Hillary Clinton at Inaugural luncheon

The Clintons showed class in attending the whole Inaugural event.

 

George H W Bush letter to Trump and his response

Here's the text of Bush's short letter - A Class Act: Read George H.W. Bush’s Letter to Donald Trump

Dear Donald

Barbara and I are so sorry we can’t be there for your Inauguration on January 20th. My doctor says if I sit outside in January, it likely will put me six feet under. Same with Barbara. So I guess we’re stuck in Texas.

But we will be with you and the country in spirit. I want you to know that I wish you the very best as you begin this incredible journey of leading our great country. If I can ever be of help, please let me know.

Trump responded with a tweet:

Looking forward to a speedy recovery for George and Barbara Bush, both hospitalized. Thank you for your wonderful letter!

 

 

 

 

Decision made: Won't be going to the Inauguration (why start now)

Of course I've never been to an Inauguration (I once went to the swearing in of a town judge though). I can't think of anything more tedious.

But good luck to President Trump - who I do believe will listen to his advisors. His selections so far have been top notch.

Getting my second "gel shot" for my knee today

The second of four - one a week. I had this regimen back in April and May - go here -  Sore knee update and it really helped my left knee, where I have bone on bone due to my meniscus surgery 12 years ago and just general arthritic joint deterioration.

Here's some information about this therapy - the gel is made from chicken combs(!) with the active agent Hyaluronic acid which is also used in certain cosmetics.

What Are Hyaluronic Acid Joint Injections?

CNN: Kristi the "one foot wanderer" is a social media sensation.

Haha. A good sport who after losing her foot to cancer asked if she could have it. I'm surprised they gave it to her since technically it's medical waste. When I asked for my chemotherapy port  after it was removed from under the skin below my clavicle (wanted it as a souvenir - I'd had it over two years)  I was told in no uncertain terms that the answer was NO.

This is cool. Glad the young lady is doing well.

Gallup: Americans assess progress under Presidant Obama

An interesting analysis with the second part comparing him with President Bush at the end of his Presidency. Hit the link - I have excerpted the survey method under the link.

Asked about the state of the nation over the past eight years, Americans say the U.S. gained ground in four of 19 policy domains, and they say it lost ground on 14 and held steady on one. More Americans see progress than decline on the situation for gays and lesbians, energy, climate change and the economy. They see the biggest setbacks on the federal debt, crime, the gap between the rich and the poor, and race relations. They are divided on whether the nation has made progress or lost ground on healthcare.

Results are based on telephone interviews with a random sample of 1,021 national adults, aged 18+, living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, conducted Jan. 2-3, 2017. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. The economy item was asked of the full sample. All other items were asked of a randomly selected half-sample of between 482 to 539 national adults and have a margin of error of ±5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

Interviews are conducted with respondents on landline telephones and cellular phones, with interviews conducted in Spanish for respondents who are primarily Spanish-speaking. Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 70% cellphone respondents and 30% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline and cellphone numbers are selected using random digit dial methods.

More on guardian angels - possible picture of mine.

After posting this " ... how Jesuits (and Pope Francis) spread devotion to angels"   a friend of mine sent me this.

Beware of polls

As I read that the recent poll with Trump's approval at 40% was only 24% Republican in it's sampling.  I've taken the following off Ann Althouse blog.

Hillary is going to be very busy as President the next 4-8 years. Donald Trump is going to be very bitter. And the Republicans are just going to be gone. Good riddence."

 

A comment written 2 months ago on an ABC News article, "2016 Race Stays at 47-43 Through Sunday (POLL)."

Rolling forward to interviews conducted Thursday through Sunday, the ABC News/Washington Post tracking poll shows the same results as its previous estimate of 47 percent for Hillary Clinton and 43 percent for Donald Trump, with Gary Johnson still at 4 percent and Jill Stein now at 1 percent.

I'm reading that today after this brand new article from ABC News, "Trump to Enter Office as Most Unpopular President for at Least 40 Years, Poll Finds":

Donald Trump enters office as the most unpopular of at least the last seven newly elected presidents, a new ABC News/Washington Post poll finds, with ratings for handling the transition that are also vastly below those of his predecessors.

While you're busy talking about who's the most unpopular President, can you spare a few moments to tell us which news organization has the least accurate polling?

Yogi Berra explains the intersection of theory and practice

And it's true!

 

“In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.”

Yogi Berra

Think about it - it's true!

MLK's niece Alveda King: "I voted for Trump"

This is off the "American Thinker" website. And Martin Luther King Jr. met and prayed with Trump.

I asked Evangelist Alveda C. King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and a pro-life leader (she serves as director of Civil Rights for the Unborn, the African-American outreach for Priests for Life, and Gospel of Life Ministries), if she hopes Mr. Trump will be a pro-life president.

Evangelist King graciously responded as follows:

I pray that all polar opposites learn to Agape Love, live and work together as brothers and sisters—or perish as fools. While I voted for Mr. Trump, my confidence remains in God, for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Prayers for President-elect Trump, Congressman Lewis, and everyone including leaders.

Obviously, Evangelist King believes that Mr. Trump will be a legitimate president.

Pittsburgh Steeler James Harrison (oldest defensive player in the NFL) went straight to the gym this morning after arriving back in Pittsburgh

Harrison had a great game in the Steelers narrow win over the KC Chiefs. Here he is in the gym at 6AM - his flight arrived back in Pittsburgh at 4AM.

James Harrison After Steelers Win: From Airport To The Gym

The linebacker is 38 years old, and continues to be an absolute terror for opposing offenses.

It was Harrison who forced Kansas City left tackle Eric Fisher into a holding penalty which wiped out a game-tying two-point conversion during the Steelers 18-16 win.

Harrison sacked Alex Smith earlier in the game and provided tons of pressure all night long.

Martin Luther King Nobel Peace prize - from his acceptance speech

1964. Hit the link for the whole thing. He would have been 88 years old yesterday.

"I believe that what self-centered men have torn down men other-centered can build up. I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive good will proclaim the rule of the land."

" ... how Jesuits (and Pope Francis) spread devotion to angels"

A topic not often thought of these days.

 

Ringling Bros. Circus - ending after 146 years

I guess a sign of the times - people - especially kids - have other interests.  We never took Joe and Tim to the Circus. The poster is from 1899. The article from the NY Post.

The show stoppers included high operating costs, declining attendance and changing public tastes. Not to mention a long and costly legal battle with animal rights advocates, which ended with its hugest stars — the elephants — being pink slipped. Elephants had been the symbol of the circus since an Asian pachyderm named Jumbo joined the show in 1882. Employes were told the sad news Saturday night in Orlando.

“The competitor in many ways is time,” said circus owner Kenneth Feld, adding that transporting the show by rail and other circus quirks — such as providing a traveling school for performers’ children — are throwbacks to another era.

When the Feld family bought the circus in 1967, the show was just under three hours. Today, it’s 2 hours and 7 minutes, with the longest segment — a tiger act — clocking in at 12 minutes. “Try getting a 3- or 4-year-old today to sit for 12 minutes,” Feld said.

Feld and his daughter Juliette Feld, the company’s chief operating officer, acknowledged another reality that led to the closing, and it was the one thing that initially drew millions to the show: the animals.

In May of 2016 the company removed the elephants from the shows and sent them to live on a conservation farm in Central Florida.

In 2014, Feld Entertainment won $25.2 million in settlements from groups including the Humane Society, ending a 14-year fight over allegations that circus employees mistreated elephants.

Attendance has been dropping for 10 years, said Juliette Feld, but when the elephants left, there was a “dramatic drop” in ticket sales. While many said they didn’t want big animals to perform in circuses, many others refused to attend a circus without them.

SNL: Alec Baldwin/Trump Press Conference

Moderately amusing; not as good as some of the other recent ones -

 

NatGeo: "Tips From an Ultramarathoner for Common Trail Injuries"

This is part of a series of short videos from National Geographic.

SciAm: "New White House Strategy Preps Earth for Asteroid Hit Scenarios"

Bang!

In the waning days of Pres. Barack Obama’s administration, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a “National Near-Earth Object Preparedness Strategy” last week. The strategy outlines major goals the country will have to tackle to prepare to meet the NEO threat, signaling that some leaders are taking the danger more seriously. ...The White House report shows that there is high-level interest in the NEO threat, and that even if incoming NEOs are not among the most likely threats we face, the consequences of an impact could be dire. “It’s a good thing to keep your eye on,” Ailor says, and the new report “brings reality home.”

If indeed there is a NEO strike, the strategy also seeks to develop coherent national and international emergency procedures for different impact scenarios, be it an object hitting deep ocean, a coastal region or a major landmass. We must be prepared to respond as well as recover from such a blow in an orderly and timely manner, the report finds.

Baseball can't come soon enough; Five great Yankee nicknames

Of course there are lots of them - here are five pretty good ones - the last three classic.

 

Cable News race - the latest

Rachel Maddow the top draw among non- FOX shows? I suppose in a way that makes sense. ... MSNBC does have a decent show on at 11PM (I tape it) -    http://www.msnbc.com/11th-hour-with-Brian-Williams . Otherwise the only time I actually watch much of this is when I'm in the gym in the early evening - or off the different networks youtube channels, which is the most time- efficient way to catch up.

CABLE NEWS RACE

THU JAN 12, 2017
FOXNEWS O'REILLY 4,109,000
FOXNEWS CARLSON 3,313,000
FOXNEWS BAIER 3,067,000
FOXNEWS THE FIVE 2,982,000
FOXNEWS HANNITY 2,822,000
FOXNEWS FOX & FRIENDS 2,023,000
MSNBC MADDOW 2,004,000
MSNBC ODONNELL 1,593,000
CNN TOWNHALL/PAUL RYAN 1,514,000
MSNBC HAYES 1,416,000
CNN COOPER 1,404,000
CNN TAPPER 1,224,000
MSNBC GRETA 799,000
CMDY DAILY SHOW 787,000
MSNBC MORNING JOE 700,000
HBO VICE 277,000

Anti-Trump people call for a boycott of LL Bean

I think it's perfectly legitimate to boycott a Company you disagree with. But this was a private person who made a donation; anyway it's likely to fizzle out. Planned Parenthood tried to organize a boycott of LL Bean (not sure why) years ago but it went nowhere. Farandaville is a big supporter of LL Bean - I'm wearing their pants now.

 

Poll: what the Military thinks of Obama

Not much evidently.

Here's USA Today -

In a new Military Times survey of nearly 2,300 active-duty service members, only 15% approve of Obama's performance, way down from an already low rating of 35% in 2009. The president's disapproval rating, meanwhile, has increased from 40% to 55% over the past five years.

Here's AOL's posting -

Nearly 49 percent of service members who voted in the November election cast their ballots for Republican Donald Trump, who was very critical of Obama, while 29 percent voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton, who was Obama's secretary of state. Seventy-one percent said the military needs more personnel than authorized under Obama in conjunction with Congress. Fifty-nine percent said Obama's withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq has made America less safe, and 54 percent said moves to draw down U.S. forces from Afghanistan have made America less safe.

On the other hand, 69 percent supported Obama's advocacy of building strong alliances with other countries to project U.S. influence. Sixty-four percent backed the use of special forces instead of large-scale military operations to bolster U.S. national security, and 60 percent approved of Obama's use of drones.

The survey found that 29.1 percent of military personnel rated the president very unfavorably and 22.4 percent rated him somewhat unfavorably – 51.5 percent negative. Eighteen percent rated him very favorably and 18.4 percent somewhat favorably – 36.4 percent positive. About 12.1 percent were neutral.

About 60 percent of women and 57 percent of minorities in the military approved of the job performance of Obama, the first African-American president.

 

 

George Soros lost $1 billion in assets assuming Trump would lose

Couldn't happen to a bigger bastard nicer guy. Must have sold short the USA markets. Of course Soros net worth is still around $25 billion.

Billionaire George Soros Lost Nearly $1 Billion in Weeks After Trump Election

Billionaire hedge-fund manager George Soros lost nearly $1 billion as a result of the stock-market rally spurred by Donald Trump's surprise presidential election.

But Stanley Druckenmiller, Mr. Soros's former deputy who helped Mr. Soros score $1 billion of profits betting against the British pound in 1992, anticipated the market's recent climb and racked up sizable gains, according to people close to the matter.

The divergent bets of the two traders are a stark reminder of the challenges even acclaimed investors have faced following Mr. Trump's unexpected victory. Many experts had predicted a tumble for stocks in the wake of the election, but instead the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 9.3%.

Michael Moore's first 100 days of Resistance to Trump

As per yesterday's post by Robert Reich Robert Reich and his 12 point resistance plan for Trump's first 100 days  here is Big Michael's contribution to progress. Actually a bit tedious.

 

NY Times Tom Friedman discusses his tech book with Tucker Carlson

Pretty good discussion.

 

CNN's Anderson Cooper and Kellyanne Conway - great back & forth on fake news/phony allegations

I saw part of this while I was in the gym tonight - two pretty smart people going at it - but with respect for each other. Even if you can't watch the whole thing - worth even a few minutes.

 

CNN defends itself against Trump allegation it was spreading "fake news"

Maybe. But the NY Times and Washington Post did not run with the story at all. NY Times refused to publish the unsubstantiated allegations from BuzzFeed against Trump. And CNN did.

 

NY Times refused to publish the unsubstantiated allegations from BuzzFeed against Trump

That's good - maintaining journalistic standards.

In a brief interview in the Times newsroom on Tuesday evening, Dean Baquet, the executive editor of The Times, said the paper would not publish the document because the allegations were “totally unsubstantiated.” “We, like others, investigated the allegations and haven’t corroborated them, and we felt we’re not in the business of publishing things we can’t stand by,” Mr. Baquet said.

Robert Reich and his 12 point resistance plan for Trump's first 100 days

Oh please. But anyway here it is from Bill Clinton's former Secretary of Labor. Tomorrow I'll post Michael Moore's first 100 day resistance plan. I Report, you Decide. Or whatever.

 

Bloomberg: Small business optimism index with big rise.

TrumpWorld dividend. The highest it's been since 1980 (When that fellow Reagan got into the White House ... What a coincidence ...).

Optimism among America’s small businesses soared in December by the most since 1980 as expectations about the economy’s prospects improved dramatically in the aftermath of the presidential election. The National Federation of Independent Business’s index jumped 7.4 points last month to 105.8, the highest since the end of 2004, from 98.4. While seven of the 10 components increased in December, 73 percent of the monthly advance was due to more upbeat views about the outlook for sales and the economy, the Washington-based group said.

But - no surprise - most small business owners are Republicans. FULL DISCLOSURE: I'm a small business owner but don't belong to any political party.

“Rising confidence adds to the economy’s upward momentum,” Jim O’Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, New York, said in a note. At the same time, the “NFIB membership appears to be disproportionately Republican, so it is possible that the data will start overstating strength, opposite the pattern during the Obama administration.”

The NFIB report was based on a survey of 619 small-business owners through Dec. 28. Small companies represent more than 99 percent of all U.S employers, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. A small business is defined as an independent enterprise with no more than 500 employees.

Fifty percent of respondents, the biggest share since March 2002, said they expect better business conditions in the next six months. That was 38 percentage points higher than in November. The net share of firms projecting higher sales jumped by 20 points to 31 percent. Some 29 percent say they will boost capital outlays within six months.

Steven McDonald

Gone at 59. A great, inspirational man and a sad loss. I met him very briefly twice. The NY Post article below the picture is a beautiful portrayal of him.

Hero NYPD cop Steven McDonald — who famously forgave the cowardly teenage gunman who left him paralyzed from the neck down 30 years ago — died Tuesday at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, Long Island. He was 59. McDonald had been on life support since mucus clogged his respirator, sending him into cardiac arrest, on Friday. Family members and fellow cops, including former NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, kept vigil by his side.

Hit the link. Read it all.