So, large protests nationwide over the weekend, and mentions of it don't even float to the top of the mentions in my news feeds.
"Kenichiro Okamoto, a Japanese blogger and cybercrime consultant, was murdered in a restroom following a lecture he gave in Fukuoka on how to deal with Internet trolls." Which side is being uncivil? (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
"A 12-year-old black child had the police called on him simply for mowing the lawn as part of his summer business." One, having done this job myself (at his age), good on ya, kid. Two, WTF, mowing "at least one strip" over the properly line (unless there's a fence or some kind of barrier) is (or was) considered "good manners." And three, it's a crime to abuse 911. (Grokked from Joy Reid)
"It is a moment of birth that has previously proved elusive, but astronomers say they now have the first confirmed image of the formation of a planet." (Grokked from Warren Ellis)
"A man who repeatedly said he wanted to be part of a foreign terrorist organization conducted reconnaissance in downtown Cleveland in recent days, planning to pack a van with explosives in a July 4 attack."
Not related, "LeBron James is leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers for a 4-year, $154 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers."
"Federal safety regulators have known for years that SUVs, with their higher front-end profile, are at least twice as likely as cars to kill the walkers, joggers and children they hit, yet have done little to reduce deaths or publicize the danger." (Grokked from Patrick Nielsen Hayden)
"A Spanish rescue ship patrolling the Mediterranean Sea said Friday that Italian officials told it to let the Libyan coast guard respond to a distress call from a smuggling boat carrying scores of migrants, only to hear reports shortly afterward that 100 migrants were missing and feared dead in the same area." Um, IANAL but I believe that violates a few international and maritime laws.
How goes the Trade Wars? "Canada announced Sunday that it has moved forward with retaliatory measures against U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs, slapping $13 billion in its own tariffs on American exports." (Grokked from Michele)
"The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s largest business group and customarily a close ally of President Donald Trump’s Republican Party, is launching a campaign on Monday to oppose Trump’s trade tariff policies." Hey, guess who also supported Trump from early on.
"During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump warned that immigrants were costing jobs and protectionist trade policies would lead to more jobs in America. Eighteen months into his presidency, the evidence shows the opposite – new tariffs are costing jobs and economic research continues to demonstrate immigrants do not harm the job prospects of U.S. workers." Who would have known (except everybody)? This is my shocked face. (Grokked from Michele)
You may be asking as we approach the year's halfway mark, any other signs of a recession on the horizon? "U.S consumers increased their spending just 0.2 percent in May, a disappointing result after two months of much stronger gains. Meanwhile, inflation… rose at the fastest pace in six years… Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity, and economists are counting on solid gains to propel growth after a slow start to the year. But the weak May reading on spending may call that forecast into question." Sure we'll hit 4% GDP growth, sure.
"Two Ohio legislators are pushing a bill that would make teachers inform parents that their children may be transgender… Republican state Reps. Tom Brinkman and Paul Zeltwanger’s legislation would require any 'government agents,' teachers included, to immediately report to a child’s parent or guardian if they demonstrate 'a desire to be treated in a manner opposite the child's biological sex.'" And that's not all it does. Basically, a boy went to live with his grandparents because they supported his choice, while the parents didn't. So "uproar, consternation, and brimstone" went our legislature. The party of "small government" and "get the government out of our lives" which supports new constructs and duties to socially police children to conform to their ideas. Apparently Ohio GOP legislatures don't think the bullies are stepping up to the plate and doing their job. (Grokked from Jim Wright)
"The government was separating migrant parents from their kids for months prior to the official introduction of zero tolerance, running what a U.S. official called a "pilot program" for widespread prosecutions in Texas, but apparently did not create a clear system for parents to track or reunite with their kids." Hey, it was just a test, an experiment. We couldn't be expected to, you know, run it properly (note, they still don't have a system in place).
"A former Huntsville City Schools teacher is in custody after police said he pulled out a gun at a protest in Big Spring Park." Yeah, giving teachers guns is a good idea. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
"Germany's interior minister has offered his resignation to Chancellor Angela Merkel over the government's policy on accepting migrants." After he got Merkel to get the assurances from the EU that he asked for (and was his condition for "staying in").
"Riding a wave of populist anger fueled by rampant corruption and violence, the leftist Andrés Manuel López Obrador was elected president of Mexico on Sunday, in a landslide victory that upended the nation’s political establishment and handed him a sweeping mandate to reshape the country."
Or "Michael Avenatti on Cohen interview: 'This is Michael Cohen trying to send a message to the president that he wants the president to pay his legal bills or he’s going to flip. He’s playing games with the American people.'" (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)
"President Trump’s nominee to run the IRS did not initially disclose that he owns property at Trump’s International Hotel Waikiki and Tower." (Grokked form Joy Reid)
"North Korea is reportedly expanding a facility to build solid-fuel ballistic missiles — a further sign that despite last month's summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un, Pyongyang is pressing ahead with its nuclear programs." Best negotiator ever.
"With little more than a week before President Trump announces his nominee to the highest court in the land, Trump sought to downplay some of his past comments about making opposition to legalized abortion a litmus test for his Supreme Court picks." He doesn't have to ask them, the Federalist Society has already groomed these candidates to be ideologically pure. The answer was already there when he developed (or received) the lists.
A "Come to Jesus" moment for Michael Cohen? "President Donald Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, who once said he would do anything to protect the president, told ABC News in an interview released Monday that he now puts 'family and country first.'" Yeah, I'll wait till the end of the investigation to know if it's true. "'I will not be a punching bag as part of anyone’s defense strategy,' Cohen said. 'I am not a villain of this story, and I will not allow others to try to depict me that way.'" Villains never see themselves as the villains of the story. (Grokked from Laura J. Mixon)
"As a whole, the Steele dossier now appears to be a murky mixture of authentic revelations and repurposed history, likely interspersed with snippets of fiction or disinformation, an Associated Press review finds."
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