It’s no longer science fiction. We now live in a time where a rocket can blast off, separate, and than land! And not only land, but land right on the x of a pad on a drone ship in the middle of the Pacific. I am soooooo geeking out right now.
This is the live feed. But I’m sure you can find the launch. Oh, and for the record, the first stage took off and landed all under 10 minutes.
Max Boot: “There is only one way to get to the bottom of this tawdry affair: Appoint a bipartisan, 9/11-style commission to investigate all of the allegations and issue a public report. The former C.I.A. directors Leon E. Panetta and Michael V. Hayden, among other possible choices, would provide instant credibility if they were appointed to lead such a panel.”
Has there ever been a more inept person slated to fill the Presidency than Trump? If what Max Boot recommends comes to pass, this will be the first President to enter office under investigation.
Oh, and there’s this from Fortune:
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, the law firm advising President-elect Donald Trump on handling his business conflicts, won the Russia Law Firm of the Year award in 2016.
The law firm announced the award in a press release last May, noting it was recognized in the Chambers & Partners’ 2016 Chambers Europe guide. According to Morgan Lewis’ website, the firm’s Moscow office staffs more than 40 lawyers who are well known in the Russian market and “have deep familiarity with the local legislation, practices and key players.”
Trump tweeted on Wednesday morning that he had no ties to Russia and repeated the sentiment during a press conference later in the day.
Is he truly that ignorant to believe he can get away with claiming no connection when his law firm won the Russia Law Firm of the Year award in 2016? What the hell? In what world is it okay to lie like this? And don’t get me started on the fact he has been cozy with Putin, the ex-KGB and now ruler of Russia.
And the GOP is okay with all this?
I swear, a Russian sleeper cell must have finally managed to drop acid into ever single water supply for the whole damn nation.
(BuzzFeed)
Now BuzzFeed News is publishing the full document so that Americans can make up their own minds about allegations about the president-elect that have circulated at the highest levels of the US government.
The document was prepared for political opponents of Trump by a person who is understood to be a former British intelligence agent. It is not just unconfirmed: It includes some clear errors. The report misspells the name of one company, “Alpha Group,” throughout. It is Alfa Group. The report says the settlement of Barvikha, outside Moscow, is “reserved for the residences of the top leadership and their close associates.” It is not reserved for anyone, and it is also populated by the very wealthy.
The Trump administration’s transition team did not immediately respond to BuzzFeed News’ request for comment. However, the president-elect’s attorney, Michael Cohen, told Mic that the allegations were absolutely false.
At this point posted without comment except that maybe this will develop along further lines.
One, seems there’s some kind of brute attack going on against WordPress sites so a pop-up is saying to use WordPress for both the user and password. If you have a user name for this site and plan on commenting, or such, go ahead and do as it says. If you’re just here to read, hit cancel.
Two, my classes for Spring 2017 have shown up on Moodle. Moodle is the program used to organize and control online classes at the U of M. It looks like I’m up for a lot of writing this semester as both classes are writing intensive. Unfortunately I was a bit late in getting around to registering for classes, so I didn’t have much of a choice. And that’s alright. I need to bone up on academic writing anyway. I am going to be much busier this semester than last. And last semester kicked my ass! Thankfully I don’t have any lectures I need to be watching 3 times a week like I did with Intro to Psychology. That was brutal. However, I believe there will be a weekly presentation in the Pharmacy class. Oh, and only one class has a text book, which is History of Psychology.
Technically both classes start on the 17th. However, I am planning on getting a jump on them this weekend. Actually, I already got a jump on both by watching the introduction videos. My hope is that though I’m taking 6 credits this semester, they will be less work overall than the 4 credit Intro to Psychology class of last semester.
Denouement: the final clarification or resolution of a plot in a play or other work
In case anyone is wondering; no, Two Thousand Sixteen did not give us any type of denouement.
Because, quite frankly, I have to admit that though Two Thousand Sixteen may have had some great moments (and all years have their share) Two Thousand Sixteen has had way too many bad things happen. I’m not saying that we all ought just look at the negative things that occurred under the watch of Two Thousand Sixteen, but I sure as hell don’t advise ignoring them either.
I’m a pragmatic. I believe in seeing what is right in front of me. I also believe in taking ownership of the experience occurring to me in the moment. And whether good, bad, or indifferent, my experience in the moment is the result of the passage of time. Memory is the lingering of time.
I’ve been through tough times a plenty. And truth be told Two Thousand Sixteen doesn’t come close to the challenges I’ve faced in the past. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. Just not as bad. But it still hurts. My icons, my role models, and even my hopes have been seriously impacted by Two Thousand Sixteen. I’m not going to recap them all here and now – possibly not ever – but suffice it to say Two Thousand Sixteen feels more like a harbinger of things to come than an ending of hardships.
I hope I am wrong.
Then I remember: This too shall pass.
So I am hoping the best for Two Thousand Seventeen, while keeping an eye out for the worst.
Megan Carpentier says that liberals should stop asking whether Donald Trump is a Nazi—not because the comparison is meaningless, but because the question misses the point in an extraordinarily American way. The Nazis gained power in Germany through democratic elections and maintained it through maintaining the support of a plurality, if not a true majority,…
I have to say; I can’t argue with her premise. The voters are responsible for being educated about for whom they vote. Even worse? Some people voted for Trump because of his fascist leanings. It reminds me of a story told by David Neiwert about the German population that lived near a concentration camp during WW2:
When he was a young man, he told us, he served in the U.S.
Army as part of the occupation forces in Germany after World
War II. He was put to work gathering information for the military
tribunal, which was preparing to prosecute Nazi war criminals
at Nuremberg. His job was to spend time in the villages
adjacent to one concentration camp and talk to the residents
about what they knew.
The villagers, he said, knew about the camp, and watched
daily as thousands of prisoners would arrive by rail car, herded
like cattle into the camp. Even though the camp never could
have held the vast numbers of prisoners who were brought in,
the villagers knew that no one ever left. They also knew that the
smokestack of the camp’s crematorium belched a near-steady
stream of smoke and ash. Yet the villagers chose to remain ignorant
about what went on inside the camp. No one inquired, because
no one wanted to know.
“But every day,” he said, “these people, in their neat Germanic
way, would get out their feather dusters and go outside.
And, never thinking about what it meant, they would sweep off
the layer of ash that would settle on their windowsills overnight.
Then they would return to their neat, clean lives and pretend
not to notice what was happening next door.”
“When the camps were liberated and their contents were
revealed, they all expressed surprise and horror at what had
gone on inside,” he said. “But they all had ash in their feather
dusters.”
What will those who voted for Trump say should some atrocity occur during his term?
In any case, if we are a government of the people, by the people, for the people it is then the people who are ultimately responsible for the leaders they elect.
via WhatWouldJackDo
Okay, I finished my last essay for Intro to Psychology. Now I just have a lecture or two to listen to and some last minute review before the Big Final Exam on Saturday.
I decided to attempt homemade hash browns. I shredded them, then soaked and rinsed them in cold water twice. Next I boiled and rinsed them twice. Now I am going to see if they actually fry up without being soggy and starchy. Hope the best. Not for me, but for Tina, as I am using her as my guinea pig.