Tom Faranda's Folly

CNN legal analyst congratulates Amy Coney Barrett of overcoming the impediment of being from a large family!

Very weird. Only 19 seconds long - right at the end. "She has a remarkable personal story, particularly given the size of her family."

"Libertarian Voters Flock To Trump After Learning He Avoided Paying Taxes"

From the BB!

U.S.—Trump is polling high among an unexpected group: libertarians, who were energized and drawn to Trump's cause after the New York Times revealed that he paid as little as $750 in federal taxes some years

"Only paying a few hundred in federal theft? This guy is my hero!" said libertarian man Murray Mickelson of New Hampshire. "If only all of us could be that smart with our taxes."

"The less theft, the better!"

Libertarians across the country paid tribute to Trump's accomplishment by firing their AR-15s into the air and doing hard drugs, though this is what they were already planning on doing anyway.

Jo Jorgenson's poll numbers have plummeted as a result of the revelation, with both of her supporters saying they're switching to Trump.

Debate tonight! I won't be watching.

Why bother? I probably will watch some highlights on youtube. I expect Trump to be competent reeling off his talking points while Biden stumbles and bumbles through the ninety minutes.

We'll see if I'm about right...

Feast of St. Michael the Archangel today

The traditional head of the angels - "defend us in battle" - the full text below.  The prayer was written by Pope Leo XIII.

No Pope in my memory has spoken and written more about Satan and demonic activity than the current Pope Francis. Maybe he likes the St. Michael prayer?

Here's an image (one of many, many in art, of course) with his nemesis in another image below - gives snakes a bad name....

Saint Michael Archangel,
defend us in battle,
be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil;
may God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God, cast into hell
Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.

Comedian David Angelo and low life Bill Maher - some comments on the Supreme Court nominee.

Comedian David Angelo's comments on her introductory talk after Trump nominated her:

Coney Barrett: "I love the United States"

David Angelo: "I wish she wouldn't antagonize the Democrats right out of the gate like that."

And here's Bill Maher (being a low life pays; he's worth $140 million)

 

Senator Schumer remarks about the SC nominee Amy Coney Barrett

He throws everything but the kitchen sink at her. Outlandish. Interesting that this is a "Bloomberg quick take", normally one minute long. But this is four minutes; I wonder why? And Schumer probably not the best front man for the Democrat party.

 

Predictable: the suggestion that the SC nominee is a racist and adopting two Haitian children just a cover-up

This doesn't surprise me at all. I expected it. And I'm sure the media or Democrats will find some people who claim they were manipulated and used  by her "cult" charismatic prayer group People of Praise.

This guy - Ibram Kendi - is the author of a book titled "How to be an Anti-Racist"

author suggests Amy Coney Barrett adopted Haitian children to shield herself from accusations of racism

Kendi responded to a purported picture of Barrett with her two adopted Haitian children. The photo, however, was not of Barrett.

Some White colonizers "adopted" Black children. They "civilized" these "savage" children in the "superior" ways of White people, while using them as props in their lifelong pictures of denial, while cutting the biological parents of these children out of the picture of humanity.

And whether this is Barrett or not is not the point. It is a belief too many White people have: if they have or adopt a child of color, then they can't be racist.

I'm challenging the idea that White parents of kids of color are inherently "not racist" and the bots completely change what I'm saying to "White parents of kids of color are inherently racist." These live and fake bots are good at their propaganda. Let's not argue with them.

Amy Coney Barrett's remarks after Trump's announcement and introduction of her as the SC nominee

She's pretty poised and the kind of remarks you'd expect. She does point out that she is an "originalist" in the Justice Antonin Scalia mold.

 

Essay: "The Death Of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Pushed Me To Join The Satanic Temple". Not satire or parody

From the "you can't make this up" department.

“I am a 40-something attorney and mother who lives in a quiet neighborhood with a yard and a garage full of scooters and soccer balls. I am not the type of person who would normally consider becoming a Satanist, but these are not normal times.”

Like so many other women in the United States, when I learned of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing, my first reaction was not grief but fear. ...

When Justice Ginsburg died, I knew immediately that action was needed on a scale we have not seen before. Our democracy has become so fragile that the loss of one of the last guardians of common sense and decency in government less than two months before a pivotal election has put our civil and reproductive rights in danger like never before. And, so, I have turned to Satanism.

Members of the Satanic Temple do not believe in the supernatural or superstition. In the same way that some Unitarians and some Jews do not believe in God, Satanic Temple members do not worship Satan and most are atheists. They are not affiliated in any way with the Church of Satan. Instead, the Satanic Temple uses the devil as a symbol of rebellion.

She goes on - hit the link here or above for the full story. And it mostly - of course - comes down to abortion.

... I realized, happily, that these were my people and that I had been a Satanist for several years without even knowing it. When Justice Ginsburg’s death suddenly made combating the threats to reproductive rights and a government free from religious interference more urgent, I knew it was time to join them and support their conceptual and legal battles.

Even before Ginsburg’s death, the Supreme Court was unwilling to provide adequate protection for a woman’s right to choose and to control her body. The court was unwilling to keep church and state separate. Now, without her voice of reason on the court ― let alone her vote ― Roe v. Wade is in imminent danger of being overturned not based on legal arguments or scientific reasoning, but because of religious objections to what is a safe and necessary procedure for the women who seek it out after discussion with their physician. Ginsburg’s replacement is all but certain to be vehemently anti-choice, with one of the top contenders belonging to a sect that actually used the term “handmaid” to refer to some women until the popularity of the TV series “The Handmaid’s Tale” gave the term negative connotations.

 

"Trump Orders Schools To Replace Anti-American Curriculum With Daily Viewings Of 'Top Gun'"

And it has a great sound track... See the other great movies in the curricula below.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—In what many are calling the most popular Executive Order of all time, President Trump has ordered public schools to stop teaching anti-American history classes, replacing them all with daily viewings of Top Gun, among other classic pro-America movies where the Russians and other foes get crushed by the greatest country in the world.

"Schools brainwashing our kids with anti-American propaganda? Not on my watch," Trump told reporters. "Kids will now have a much more accurate picture of America and will grow up with a great image of how awesome our kick-[FLOWERBED] country is."

"Plus, frankly, the movie is just rad." Trump then started imitating the opening guitar licks while he played an air guitar.

Other movies included in the new curriculum include these classics, each of which Trump called a "fine, historically accurate, pro-America movie":

• • Rocky IV
  • Red Dawn
  • The Patriot
  • Independence Day
  • Team America: World Police
  • Air Force One
  • Home Alone 2
  • The Apprentice Season 1

Democrats were forced to condemn Top Gun after the announcement, saying they much prefer better '80s movies like Superman IV and Grease 2.

Here's the Mom tasered, handcuffed and arrested for not wearing a mask at middle school football game.

Yes, I would say this was mishandled. She's outdoors and practicing social distancing. Also said she couldn't wear a mask because of asthma - although there's a mask (with the American flag on it, so you know she's suspect...) in her back pocket. So give her a summons if you must. There was no danger to anyone - that's the science. And she had at least two children with her. The fact that she was pretty dumb about this herself - OK I get it.

On the video the people speculate that the policeman wasn't a real cop, but he was.

 

CDC updated statistics on COVID death/survival rates by age

But first here's another interesting stat: a study of 37 colleges had 48,000 students testing positive for COVID. Only two needed hospitalization and none died.

The CDC raw data is here - Weekly Updates by Select Demographic and Geographic Characteristics

And here it's simplified. Virtually no death rate if you are young (3 in 100,000) but death rate over 5% if you are over 70. I wonder what the death rate is for pneumonia in people over 70? (Never mind - I looked it up and huge variety in statistics and what studies are based on. As low as 261 per 100,000 or as high as 20%!) My age group (which I'm just barely still in...) stats say a 1 in 200 chance of dying if I get COVID.

BB: "NBA Players Wear Special Lace Collars To Honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg"

When I first saw this in my email, I believed it... my bad

LOS ANGELES, CA—NBA players are honoring the life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg this week by wearing pretty lace collars just like Notorious RBG used to wear. In a touching show of respect for the late Justice Ginsburg, and in solidarity with her progressive cause, Lebron James and the LA Lakers took to the court yesterday wearing a stunning variety of delicate white collars inspired by RBG's wardrobe.

"Yeah, RBG was an amazing person," said LeBron James after the game. ... "She believed in Black Lives Matter and being on the right side of history and stuff."

Power forward Anthony Davis also expressed his happiness with the collars. "It's good to honor her today with these lacey things. Commissioner Adam Silver and President Xi Jinping told us to wear them so we did. I just took this little doily thing from under a table lamp at my mom's house and cut a hole in the middle. Easy."

NBA players are vowing to wear the collars until Trump is removed from office, or until angry rioters burn their basketball arenas down, whichever comes first.

Classic, three drops in a row.... major league outfielders - not out there for their fielding ...

Pretty entertaining - reminds me of my first game in right field playing for OFD (Ossining Fire Department) in the Ossining Babe Ruth league ... long ago.

 

Archbishop of San Francisco op ed: "Americans' Right to Worship Is Being Denied by Governments. I Won't Be Silent Anymore."

"The archbishop of San Francisco penned an op-ed in the Washington Post citing the First Amendment as he called for city officials to relax the current restrictions on public worship, which are some of the strictest in the country. Rather than asking for special treatment, “all we are seeking is access to worship in our own churches, following reasonable safety protocols — the same freedoms now extended to customers of nail salons, massage services and gyms,” Cordileone wrote in the Sept. 16, 2020 op-ed."

I never expected that the most basic religious freedom, the right to worship — protected so robustly in our Constitution’s First Amendment — would be unjustly repressed by an American government. But that is exactly what is happening in San Francisco. For months now, the city has limited worship services to just 12 people outdoors. Worship inside our own churches is banned. The city recently announced it will now allow 50 for outdoor worship, with a goal of permitting indoor services up to a maximum of 25 people by Oct. 1 — less than 1 percent of the capacity of San Francisco’s St. Mary’s Cathedral.

Hit the link for the entire op ed.

Las Vegas Raiders locker room celebration as they go 2-0.

Only the fourth time in 25 years the formerly Oakland Raiders have started their season with two wins. That's their coach -

 

Are they trying to model the Haka of the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team?

In major surprise, Trump nominates Biden to the Supreme Court.

Stunning...

Genius Trump Nominates Joe Biden To Supreme Court Forcing Dems To Accuse Him Of Sexual Assault

Trump has announced his pick for Supreme Court justice: Joe Biden. By nominating Biden, Trump has forced the Dems' hands, making them believe the sexual assault claims and allegations of inappropriate, creepy behavior against the former vice president.

*************

"We now believe Tara Reade," said a somber Kamala Harris, "and we will do everything in our power to destroy this man's life."

In addition to believing current claims against Joe Biden, Democrats also immediately dug up 417 new accusers against Joe Biden. He has been accused of participating in wild frat parties, drunken keggers, and something called the "Devil's Triangle," which Dems say is either a Satanic ritual or code for a sexual practice or "maybe both."

"It's clear this man is dangerous and cannot be trusted," said Nancy Pelosi. "We call on the Senate to turn down his nomination and run him out of public life."

Biden released a statement, saying, "I just want to go home and see my grandkids again." His mic was cut off and he was pulled off the stage with a shepherd's crook.

Amy Coney Barrett, Trump's probable pick for the Supreme Court

These are her opening remarks in the confirmation process when she was put forward to be on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2017. People with good memories who follow this stuff will recall that Senators Feinstein and Durbin took some issue with her religious faith. She was eventually confirmed for the Court by a 55-43 Senate vote. The other woman in the running is the Cuban-American, Barbara Lagoa.

 

Brigid, exhibiting at the virtual "Croton Arts Live" this weekend - Friday evening to Sunday

The annual exhibit held at Croton's Senasqua Park is being done virtually. I had a look and it's very interesting (especially Brigid's stuff - but I am biased).

Note that it's a completely free event - but you do have to register. Go to Croton Live Arts online to register and here is a short video explaining it all. Beside the link I've embedded this video below.

 

WSJ: "The Ginsburg Vacancy"

I can echo Trump's initial response that she "was an amazing woman who led an amazing life".

Here's the Journal editorial. It more or less reflects my thinking - as Wall Street Journal editorials frequently do.

Justice Ginsburg, who was 87, leaves an enormous legacy, and not only as the second female Justice who became a feminist hero. She was a legal force long before she became a judge, as the first tenured female professor at Columbia Law School who founded the Women’s Rights Project at the ACLU. She developed a strategy to promote gender equity through the law, which she did with remarkable success even before she joined the High Court in 1993.

The Justices’s legal views on most issues were not ours, though we cheered when she was among those who looked skeptically in recent years on abusive political prosecutions. As the Court moved modestly to the right in the last 15 years, the Justice became more vocal in her progressive views on and off the bench. She became known as the Notorious RBG for speaking more bluntly than most Justices do about both the Court and politics. Four years ago she apologized for making critical remarks about then candidate Donald Trump.

Her death leaves three solid liberals on the nine-member Court, and Justice Ginsburg understood the stakes in the decision of who will take her place. National Public Radio reported Friday that the Justice dictated this statement to her granddaughter Clara Spera only days before her death: “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”

But her wish is not the Constitution’s command. The President has the power to nominate a successor as soon as he desires, and the Senate then has the power to confirm or not. The timing of that vote is a matter for the Senate to decide, and the current Senate can hold a confirmation vote even on the last day it is in session if it chooses.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement Friday evening that “President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.” He is right to hold such a vote. The GOP retained its Senate majority in 2018 in large part because of the political backlash from the smearing of Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Whether Mr. McConnell holds a vote before or after the election is a prudential political decision based on the likelihood of getting the votes for confirmation.

Democrats are sure to raise as a precedent Mr. McConnell’s refusal, in 2016, to allow a Senate vote on Barack Obama’s nominee after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. But that was a constitutional use of the Senate majority that Democrats would also have employed, as no less than New York Democrat and now Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had declared toward the end of George W. Bush’s second term.

*****************

The Ginsburg vacancy, and the future of the Supreme Court, will now move front and center in the election. How that plays out is anyone’s guess. Mr. Trump this month added names to his public list of potential nominees, though the press barely paid attention. Joe Biden has declined to release a similar list, perhaps because his campaign feels it would betray liberal choices that would motivate conservative voters for whom the Court has become a dominant issue.

It’s a shame that the Court and the judiciary have become so central to American politics, but that is the legacy of decades of judicial activism. Even as we honor Justice Ginsburg, there is no escaping that political reality this year.

"Vikings may not be who we thought they were, DNA study finds"

A new and very interesting finding.

In the largest genetic study of Viking DNA ever, scientists have found that Vikings — and their diaspora — are actually much more genetically diverse than we may have thought and were not necessarily all part of a homogenous background. Sequencing the genomes of over 400 Viking men, women, and children from ancient burial sites, researchers found evidence of genetic influence from Southern Europe and Asia in Viking DNA dating back to before the Viking Age (750 - 1050 A.D.).

The authors also note that individuals not related to Vikings genetically, such as native Pictish people of Scotland and Ireland, sometimes received traditional Viking burials — suggesting that being a Viking was not so much about specific family roots but about a sense of internal identity.

In the study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, an international team of researchers reports findings from their six-year-long study of 442 human remains from burial sites that date back between the Bronze Age (2400 B.C.) to the Early Modern period (1600 A.D.)

When comparing the genetic material of these ancient samples with 3,855 present-day individuals from regions like the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Sweden, and data from 1,118 ancient individuals, they discovered more intermixing of genetic material than they'd originally imagined, lead author and director of The Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Centre at the University of Copenhagen, Eske Willerslev, said in a statement.

"We have this image of well-connected Vikings mixing with each other, trading and going on raiding parties to fight Kings across Europe because this is what we see on television and read in books — but genetically we have shown for the first time that it wasn't that kind of world," explains Willerslev.

"This study changes the perception of who a Viking actually was — no one could have predicted these significant gene flows into Scandinavia from Southern Europe and Asia happened before and during the Viking Age."

There's more if you hit the link above.

North Korea has pirated some Bee Gees music!

Turned it into military parade music.

 

Fordham Prof Charles Camosy on "High Dementia Death Toll This Summer Amid Lock-down"

I love this guy. I have to get his book. That's Farandaville - the consistent ethic of life. Camosy had been the vice president of the group Democrats for Life of America - but resigned last year when he realized there was no hope... Too bad, he should have hung in there and kept up the fight.

How the italian police deal with Antifa - very short video

This was two years ago - I think in Bologna.

"Democrat lies about cops spawned sickening shooting"

Thanks to Maria for sending me this.

Miranda Devine's column in the NYP about the shooting of the two deputies in LA - and the follow up at the hospital.  What other reason could it be? A Trump supporter pretending to be Antifa?

The targeted attack on two LA cops last weekend is the inevitable result of the despicable lie Joe Biden and his party have been pushing all summer for political advantage — that police are “systemically” racist murderers of black people. That lie has driven violent anti-cop BLM-Antifa riots in Democratic cities from New York to ­Seattle. Police are demoralized, and resigning in droves, leaving the poorest, most crime-ridden communities less safe. Violent criminals are emboldened. Crime rates are surging. As of Friday, 37 law enforcement officers have been “feloniously killed” — a k a murdered — this year, according to the FBI. That’s 25 percent more than the same period last year. In New York, police response times are delayed. Who is surprised?

 

Yankees set home run records for last three games - including five consecutive in the 4th inning last night

Truly the BRONX BOMBERS.

Sánchez added another long ball in the seventh inning off T.J. Zeuch as the Yankees established a new Major League record with 19 home runs over a three-game span. Over their eight-game win streak, the Yankees have hit more homers (27) than their opponents have runs scored (19).

Five consecutive homers; I don't think that's ever been done before.

Bad judgement: In Mt. Pleasant HS lesson compares police to slaveowners and the KKK

I would call that beyond stupid and the teacher should resign. Why would anyone want to join any police department? In LOHUD -

The cartoon in question depicted a slave owner, a KKK member and a police officer with their knees on the necks of black men. It was included in a three-page lesson about the Black Lives Matter protests that are ongoing across the country. The lesson was in a common format known as "document based question" or DBQ, which asks students to draw conclusions based on several documents and points of view.

The Board of Ed. meeting was filled with angry parents - they couldn't all fit in the gym.

More than 20 parents addressed the Board of Education at Westlake High School on Wednesday night during a public comment period that lasted nearly two hours. Several choked up as they explained how they were hurt by the cartoon.

******************

The teacher, who has not been named by school district officials, apologized in a district statement Tuesday for using the cartoon, saying "I recognize that it can be seen as disrespectful to law enforcement."

Excess police force - in Australia

First they hit him with a squad car and then stomp him on the head!?

Yanks win another as their back-up catcher Kyle Higashioka hits three homers!

Awesome. Kyle Higashioka joins Bill Dickey (in 1939) and Mike Stanley (1995) as only Yankee catchers to hit three homers in one game. And the only other at bat - he hit a long out to the warning track.

Recent results:Yankees (baseball) outscore both the Jets and Giants (football)

The Jets scored 17 points (lost to Buffalo) and the Giants scored 16 points (lost to Pittsburgh) on Sunday. Yankees scored 20 runs (best Toronto) Tuesday night. Here are the Yankee highlights - especailly enjoyable if you like home runs.And the Yankees have their injured players returning to the lineup.

CNN: "Jarded Kusher Highlights The Effectiveness Of President Trump's Unconventional Diplomacy"

He's right! Getting the UAE and Bahrain to recognize Israel is a tremendous diplomatic accomplishment. Even the Trump-hating NY Times thinks so. The media has derided Kushner for years (CNN even misspelled his name in the caption, which is in the title above!) and Wolf Blitzer doesn't exactly look thrilled in this brief video.

 

New York Sports Club - my gym - files for bankruptcy

No surprise. They have hundreds of branches on the east coast. Killed by the pandemic. The Croton branch is open and perhaps will continue (hopefully!) to operate during bankruptcy.

Town Sports International, which owns hundreds of gyms along the East Coast, says revenue loss during the coronavirus pandemic is to blame.

 

Fr. Rutler on truth, lies, politics and protests

Fr. Rutler - noted author and speaker, convert to Catholicism - past weekend email -

In our city accustomed to protest demonstrations of all sorts, a recent one was particularly dismaying and even frightening. The anarchistic chants were bad enough, but the frightfulness was in the glazed eyes of the expressionless marchers, like the “pod people” in the 1956 cult film “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” Carrying signs supplied for them, they chanted refrains called out by a leader as they moved through one of our pricier neighborhoods. As a boy, the black-and-white film was scary, though in later years it was amusing to watch again, but now it has taken on an unsettling reality in the living color of live people.

Mind control is a signature of corrupt politics, and George Orwell said that “Political language . . . is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” It is easy to appropriate the brains of people who are disturbed or idealistic or both. In the eighteenth century, the physicist and satirist George Lichtenberg volunteered that “The most dangerous untruths are truths moderately distorted.” That is the essential psychology of heresies in religion, and it is also true of platforms in politics.

In any election season, when information is twisted by “disinformation,” one can learn with profit the experience of the Church as she has confronted distorters of the Gospel. A vital instance is the way Saint Paul detected the errors among the first Greek Christians on the island of Crete. Being a man of erudition, which his true humility allowed him to remark without affectation, Paul quotes a minor poet of about 600 BC, Epimenides: “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”

Epimenides is the same sage that Paul cites when he speaks to the philosophers of the Areopagus in Athens. The verse sent to Titus is paraphrased by the Apostle in Acts 17, when he speaks of the One “in whom we live and move and have our being.” A discovery of the full text of Epimenides’s poem “Cretica” in the early 1900’s by the formidable English scholar J. Rendel Harris, makes clear that the lying was a specific lie—namely about a tomb built in contradiction to the supposed immortality of Zeus. This resolves what has been called the “Epimenides Paradox:” If Epimenides said that all Cretans are liars, how can we trust Epimenides who was himself a Cretan? But in fact, the deceitfulness of the Cretans was only about trying to entomb immortality.

Saint Paul invoked the gift of “diakrisis,” which is the discernment of truth from falsehood (1 Corinthians 12:10). Never, and especially not in times of political propaganda, should lies intimidate, so long as one has that discerning gift to know the difference between what comes from Christ, the Head of the Church (Colossians 1:18), and the talking heads on television.
Faithfully yours in Christ,

Inflation on the way? Yup

I agree with this. May be a year or two, but it's coming. in fact moderate inflation is the best outcome for Wall Street and Main Street. Other outcomes are too painful to consider...

"If you look at the supply side, it is unambiguously inflationary," Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic advisor at Allianz, told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Monday. "What we need for inflation is for the demand side to come back. That is where the uncertainty is right now."

CNN on the LA attack on the two sheriffs

Pretty appalling commentary from bystanders. The term Brownshirts comes to mind.

 

NY Mets shortstop should be in the starting pitching rotation - throws a 1 2 3 inning on nine pitches!

Haha. More baseball laughs. He went in to pitch when the Mets were out of the game, behind by 13 runs. Never heard of a gravity sinker before. Maybe the Mets have discovered something?

Two deputies ambushed, shot in LA - on tape - plus "protestors" at the hospital!

And then some "protestors" went to the hospital and tried to block the emergency entrance ... and on this video you can hear what they are shouting.

 

Theranos Founder (and fraudster) Elizabeth Holmes may plead mental illness

I posted about her as exposed in the great book Latest Read: "Bad Blood" about the great Theranos/Elizabeth Holmes fraud, a posting back in October, 2018. The post is well worth reading and following the links - if I do say so myself. Holmes did everything she could to mimic Steve Jobs, down to his clothing and voice!  Here's the pending defense:

Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes may claim she was suffering from “mental disease” during her upcoming criminal trial over whether she scammed investors out of millions with her fake blood-testing technology. Holmes, whose failed biotech company was once valued at $9 billion, was indicted on federal wire fraud charges in June 2018,alongside with Theranos' former COO, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani.

She raised/conned over $900 million - pretty good con for somenone with a mental illness.

Holmes’ legal team said they intend to use expert testimony from Mindy Mechanic, a clinical psychologist at California State University at Fullerton, to bolster their claims, according to the filing.

According to her faculty profile on the school’s website, Mechanic specializes in “trauma and victimization with an emphasis on violence against women and other forms of interpersonal violence."

The mostly-redacted court documents do not make clear what mental illness or condition Holmes' attorney will attempt to cite in one of the most closely watched cases in Silicon Valley.

Another big con.

 

 

167 business leaders warn de Blasio of NYC's decline

"The leaders banded together through the partnership for New York City, which represents over 1.5 million workers in the area."

Never heard of this gu being interviewed but he's right, "We don't have the leadership..."

MSNBC 90 second video: "Trump talked about Bin Laden before 9/11 - predicted attack in his book from 2000"

Prescient. Interesting that MSNBC - they despise Trump - would mention this.

 

Medal of Honor, Sgt. Thomas Payne

The link is to the excellent Washington Post article. One of his teammates, Sgt. Josh Wheeler, lost his life in the rescue. The article contains an embedded video from one of the kurdish soldier's helmet cam.

Soldier to receive Medal of Honor after helping save 70 captives from execution by Islamic State

Here is an interview with Payne -

 

9/11 - nineteen years

I hate today. Below is a posting I first put up in 2006. Tommy should be 49. The comments on his Legacy Tribute page have now gone to 100+ pages. 

I knew seven people killed on 9/11. But I only knew one of them real well.

I knew Tom Knox ("Tommy") because I coached him for five years at the North Jersey Rugby Club. He was a great kid. Funny, quick witted, really sparkling personality. The sort of fellow you enjoy hanging around with; you're glad he's your friend.

He was an intense rugby player and wonderfully coachable guy.

  Tom was married to Nancy for less than a year. He was thirty years old. The youngest of six children. He worked at Cantor Fitzgerald. No trace of him has been found. 1,000 people attended his funeral Mass. It is still painful to even write about this.

If you have time, go here  Guest Book - Thomas Patrick Knox and read some of the 21 pages of tributes Tommy's friends wrote.

Coronavirus Relief Bill Blocked in Senate

$500 billion; too much according to Rand Paul, not enough according to Democrats. Seemed like a good start to me.

In a 52-to-47 procedural vote, the bill failed to garner the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster by Democrats. Senator Rand Paul was the only Republican who voted against the measure. No Democrats voted for the bill.

The bill included school aid, expanded unemployment benefits of $300 more per week, and authorized new loans for small businesses. Democrats opposed the bill because it did not include state and local government relief, food aid, or rental and mortgage assistance. The bill also did not include a second $1,200 direct payment to individual Americans.

“This emaciated bill is only intended to help vulnerable Republican Senators by giving them a ‘check-the-box’ vote to maintain the appearance that they’re not held hostage by their extreme right-wing that doesn’t want to spend a nickel to help people,” read a joint statement from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. “Democrats want to work on bipartisan legislation that will meet the urgent needs of the American people but Republicans continue to move in the wrong direction.”

"Trump nominated for Nobel Peace Prize following Israel-UAE accord"

Why not? They gave Obama the Peace Prize a couple of months into his presidency, and  even Obama said he didn't do anything.

Christian Tybring-Gjedde, a member of the Norwegian Parliament and chairman of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, submitted the nomination, Fox News reported.

“For his merit, I think he has done more trying to create peace between nations than most other Peace Prize nominees,” Tybring-Gjedde told Fox News.

In his letter to the Nobel Committee, Tybring-Gjedde wrote that the Trump administration has played a key role in the establishment of relations between the two nations.

“As it is expected other Middle Eastern countries will follow in the footsteps of the UAE, this agreement could be a game-changer that will turn the Middle East into a region of cooperation and prosperity,” he wrote, Fox News reported.

And he lauded the president for withdrawing a large number of forces from the Middle East.

“Indeed, Trump has broken a 39-year-old streak of American Presidents either starting a war or bringing the United States into an international armed conflict. The last president to avoid doing so was Peace Prize laureate Jimmy Carter,” he wrote.

The president last month made the announcement of the historic peace agreement that would pave the way for full normalization of relations between Israel and the UAE.

Amusing & revealing: CNN head guy Jeff Zucker has a conversation with Trump's (ex) lawyer Michael Cohen

I think this is very funny. I always felt I was an unsurpassable AK* but this takes it to another level. And see the very end sneak peak on CNN coaching guests - questions and answers ahead of time... I wonder who's leaking this stuff to FOX?

 

*Ass Kisser

Kamala Harris reverses herself on fracking ban

She makes more sense now then when she was running for president. Actually takes the sensible (Republican) position. But see the second video, where Biden promises to end fossil fuels. But now that he's got the nomination...

“look into my eyes, I guarantee you… we’re going to end fossil fuel.”

 

NBC News: Jacob Blake speaks from his hospital bed

Sensible. Not really defending himself or criticizing anyone ... Hoping there can be some improvement of his paralysis.

 

Day 100 of Portland riots: Protestor catches fire from molotov cocktail...

This is America?

Guardian (UK): 93% of demonstrations have not been violent

This is an absurd article in the "far left" British newspaper. Of course the vast majority are  peaceful! I've been to two BLM rallies and they were fine.

The Guardian: In stark contrast to rightwing claims, 93% of demonstrations have involved no serious harm to people or property

So what about the other 7%? I guess they have involved "serious harm to people or property." That's the point isn't it? In the last over thirty years, Brigid and I have been to at least 400 demonstrations, and 100% of them have not involved "serious harm to people or property."

On at least four occasions ANTIFA (they've been around a long time, back to the 90's.) was participating on the other side. And they are scary. Even the people who they support are very careful around them.

Good news department: economy added 1.4 million jobs; unemployment down to 8.4%

Last week marks a decrease of 130,000 new claims from the prior week’s 1.011 million initial claims. Continuing claims also fell dramatically by 1.24 million, sinking to 13.254 million. During the week ending Aug. 22, the total number of people receiving state unemployment benefits also fell by 1.24 million to about 13.3 million.

Meanwhile, however, those receiving benefits from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program ticked up to more than 759,000 last week, a rise of more than 151,000.

The number of unemployment claims being filed weekly, while decreased from their level during the height of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak in April, is still far higher than the roughly 200,000 claims filed weekly in February, before lockdown and stay at home measures caused businesses to shutter, many permanently.

Interesting that the stock market took a big hit for the last two days. I think the big move in tech stocks and stocks (Like Zoom)  which benefited from the lockdown and people working at home is over. But companies like Apple and Microsoft will continue to do well despite big drops the last two days.