August 30, 2017

What's your favorite song with grammatically incorrect lyrics?

(From the great Gene Chandler song, Duke of Earl)

"We'll walk through my dukedom"


(It's still a great song, imo)

August 28, 2017

Top Democrat fears House Intelligence Committee may split on Russia probe findings

The Hill
August 28, 2017


WASHINGTON - The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said he fears the panel's Russia investigation could end up producing two separate, partisan reports offering contradictory conclusions to Americans.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) said he will work with other committee members "to do everything we can to prevent two separate reports" on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.

"The ideal would be a comprehensive report with bipartisan support," Schiff said in a phone interview from California.

However, he noted that past investigations by congressional committees have often resulted in separate findings by Republicans and Democrats.

More:
http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/348291-top-intel-dem-russia-probe-could-produce-two-partisan-reports

August 27, 2017

Rep. Joe Kennedy lll on Potential 2020 Campaign & Un-Glamorous Hyannis Port Holidays

Boston Herald
July 6, 2017


For Joe Kennedy lll, growing up within one of America's most famous families has moments of profound meaning - and then there are the everyday realities of life in a big clan that are anything but profound.

In a new interview for the August issue of Town and Country, on newsstands now, the red-headed grandson of Robert F. Kennedy and current U.S. Representative for Massachusetts' 4th Congressional District talked about how he's sometimes forced to keep it very, very real during hectic family gatherings that often occur on the family's Hyanins Port compound.

"For Thanksgiving it's so many people that you're just trying to find a shred of space. You're sitting on a little corner of a stair, eating next to a dog that's trying to eat off your plate," said the 36-year-old Kennedy.
"Almost everybody is there. And it's great. It's a big family, and people are off doing their own thing, at this point now in almost every corner of the world. But they come back for these holidays, and it keeps the family together."

With the Kennedy name and a role in politics, it's no surprise that he's been asked the question: "Will you run for president?"

For now, he says he's focused on his current position and likely won't be trading in his congressional office - filled with Boston sports teams memorabilia - for the White House in 2020.
However, he hasn't ruled out the possibility completely - and neither have others.

More + photos + link to interview:
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/us_politics/2017/07/rep_joe_kennedy_iii_on_potential_2020_campaign_and_un_glamorous_hyannis

August 24, 2017

What's your favorite song (or songs) from 1966?

There are many great songs from 1966 - here are but a few:

Monday, Monday - The Mamas & The Papas
You Can't Hurry Love - The Supremes
California Dreamin' - The Mamas & The Papas
Good Lovin' - The Young Rascals
When a Man Loves a Woman - Percy Sledge
Paint It Black - The Rolling Stones
Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys
Sloop John B - The Beach Boys
Walk Away Renee - The Left Banke
Daydream - The Lovin' Spoonfull
Time Won't Let me - The Outsiders
I Fought the Law - Bobby Fuller
Homeward Bound - Simon & Garfunkel
Sunny Afternoon - The Kinks

August 23, 2017

Armed Militias Face Off With The "Antifa" In The New Landscape Of Political Protest

Fresh Air (NPR)
August 23, 2017


Mark Pitcavage of the Anti-Defamation League says the militia movement has created a conspiracy theory about the anti-fascist protesters, saying they're domestic terrorists backed by George Soros.


(From transcript)

DAVE DAVIES, HOST:

This is Dave Davies, in for Terry Gross, who is off this week.
The Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va. 12 days ago that turned deadly attracted white supremacists and neo-Nazis along with a large crowd of counter-protesters.
Also among the crowd were men in camouflage, heavily armed, some carrying assault-style rifles.
These were members of the American militia movement, who say they were there not to support white supremacists but as a third force to keep the peace between opposing sides and ensure the right of free speech.

Our guest, Mark Pitcavage, has been studying militia groups for decades.
He's a senior researcher at the Center for Extremism at the Anti-Defamation League.
He says these groups strongly supported Donald Trump for president and many prepared for armed confrontation in anticipation of a Hillary Clinton win.
But Trump's victory surprised the anti-government troops and sent them in search of a new target for their anger.
We turn to Mark Pitcavage for some background on militia groups and how they're changing in the era of President Trump.
Mark Pitcavage, welcome to Fresh Air.

Let's talk about militias.
I guess by definition, they are armed groups.
How long have the current active militia groups been around?


MARK PITCAVAGE:
Well, the militia movement arose in 1994 in opposition to federal gun laws, the election of Bill Clinton, NAFTA, and particularly deadly standoffs with federal law enforcement at Ruby Ridge, Idaho and Waco, Texas in the early 1990s.
So it's been around over 20 years now.

DAVIES:
And what do they stand for?

PITCAVAGE:
The militia movement is an anti-government extremist movement.
It's part of a broader movement called the patriot movement, which also includes the sovereign citizen movement and the tax protest movement.
The foundational belief of the militia movement is a conspiracy theory, an anti-government conspiracy theory that posits that the rest of the world has essentially been taken over by a globalist tyrannical government.


Read more of transcript, or Listen to entire interview:
http://www.npr.org/2017/08/23/545509627/armed-militias-face-off-with-the-antifa-in-the-new-landscape-of-political-protest

August 23, 2017

What is "Antifa"? Meet the Fascist-Fighting Coalition Dubbed the "Alt-Left" by Trump

NBC News
August 16, 2017


They relish in punching Nazis.
They protest in all black.
And they've vowed to physically confront racists and extremists across the country.

During a combative press conference (last week), President Donald Trump dubbed the anti-racist protest groups the "alt-left" and blamed both sides for the violent clashes that resulted in the death of Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old peaceful demonstrator, and injured more than a dozen others.

Trump's remarks have received widespread condemnation on the left and the right, and his critics have accused the president of appeasing white nationalists and bigots.

But they've also brought renewed attention to the so-called anti-fascist protesters that have often violently clashed with white nationalists in the aftermath of President Trump's election.

WHAT IS "ANTIFA"?

Antifa is short for "anti-fascist."
It is a loosely organized coalition of protesters, left-wing activists, and self-described anarchists who vow to physically confront "fascists" - meaning anyone who espouses bigoted or totalitarian views.

Dana R. Fisher, a sociologist who has studied protest movements in the United States for decades, said she's come to view Antifa protesters as a militant response to the rise in visibility of the white nationalist organizations since Trump's election.

"Violence begets violence," she said.
"One of these groups is coming out with this violent message of hate, and the other has responded with a violent, reactive message."

Photos + links:
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/who-antifa-meet-radical-neo-nazi-fighting-militia-n793241

August 21, 2017

Nothing to do with the solar eclipse, but a great website that has updated solar info & photos

http://www.solarham.net

They're on vacation this week, so no regular updates until August 25.
However, current space-weather data and imagery are available in real time

The current solar wind speed is 559.7 mph
Sunspot activity is low right now
Check out Lasco C2 real time photo of the sun taken from SOHO
(Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) satellite orbiting the sun 24/7

August 20, 2017

What's your favorite song or songs from 1965?

Help Me, Rhonda - The Beach Boys
King of the Road - Roger Miller
Unchained Melody - The Righteous Brothers
Mr Tambourine Man - The Byrds
Eve of Destruction - Barry McGuire
Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan
We Gotta' Get out of This Place - The Animals
All Day and All of the Night - The Kinks

August 20, 2017

Senate Republicans getting fed up with Trump

The Hill
August 20, 2017


President Trump's relationship with Senate Republicans is deteriorating every day.

Senate Republicans are getting fed up with what they see as Trump's lack of discipline and chaotic leadership style.
Several are criticizing him more openly than ever before.

The sharpest critique came from Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) who told constituents in Chattanooga that Trump "has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability, nor some of the competence, that he needs to demonstrate in order for him to be successful."

GOP strategists say Corker was likely unhappy with Trump's improvised line a week and a half ago about how threats from North Korea "will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen."

Trump's comment was one of the latest examples of an unscripted moments undermining his administration's or his party's more carefully crafted strategy.
"I suspect the fire and fury business got Corker's attention because that came out of nowhere," said Rich Galen, a Republican strategist, who called Corker "a truly decent man" who has "just had enough."

Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) on Friday criticized Trump for not unequivocally condemning the white supremacists who clashed with liberal protesters in Charlottesville, Va., last weekend.

Meanwhile, senators have rallied behind Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), one of Trump's most outspoken critics, after the president tweeted Thursday morning that he was glad to see that conservative candidate Kelli Ward is running against him in the GOP primary.
Trump called Flake "toxic."

More:
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/347183-senate-republicans-getting-fed-up-with-trump

August 18, 2017

What's your favorite song or songs from 1961?

There are many great songs from 1961, including the following:

Runaway - Del Shannon
Will You Love Me Tomorrow - The Shirelles
Hit The Road Jack - Ray Charles
Bristol Stomp - The Dovells
Travelin' Man - Ricky Nelson
Quarter to Three - Gary U.S. Bonds
Who Put The Bomp - Barry Mann
Blue Moon - The Marcels