Friday, May 31, 2019

#4 of 5 Albums that Influenced Me: Cliff Richard: I'm No Hero

Earlier this month my friend Bill asked me to post 5 albums that influenced me or changed my life in
some way. Here's #4. It's by Cliff Richard, the English superstar, and it's called "I'm No Hero."
   Unfortunately, people in the U.S. never got to experience Cliff Richard like people in the United Kingdom. Cliff has been singing since the late 1950s and has had more hits than anyone else in the entire U.K. He's still releasing albums in his early 70s and sounds and looks fantastic.
     I fell in love with Cliff's velvety voice when I heard "We Don't Talk Anymore" in 1979. That's all it took. I bought the follow up album, I'm No Hero and loved every single song on it, including the hits "Dreamin" and "A Little in Love." - but the song "Give a Little Bit More" became my favorite, and I remember being so irritated that it stopped at #41 on the Billboard Charts.I thought "What is wrong with radio stations, not playing that?"
   I continue to buy all of his CDs, and think he has the best voice of a male recording artist, as I do in the female category with Dolly Parton. 
FUN FACT -    I had a HUGE poster of this album over my bed (I was 16), and thought then that Cliff was handsome and hot, as he still is!
FUN FACT 2- In 2013, We planned our trip to England around a Cliff Richard Concert in Hampton Court Palace and it was AWESOME!
   Listen to "Dreamin'" below and read more about the album>>>>

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

ABOUT THE ALBUM: success, generating two top 20 singles, while the album itself made the top five in the UK.
With the lead single "Dreamin'" released in August 1980, the album came out a few weeks later. "Dreamin'" became a top 10 hit in both the UK and US, while follow-up "A Little in Love", released belatedly in January 1981 reached No.15 in the UK and No.17 in the US.[4][5][6] The album itself made No.4 in the UK album charts, but due to the lack of singles, failed to sustain as lengthy a run in the Top 75 as his previous album.[4] The delayed release of the second single was most likely due to the release of "Suddenly", a duet with Olivia Newton-John, which had been featured on the Xanadu soundtrack. This was also a top 20 hit in the UK and US - making this the most successful period for Cliff Richard in the American market.
The album received positive reviews and kept Richard high in the charts during this, his revival period.[7] It was also the last time he would appear in the US top 20. Album track "Give a Little Bit More", which was co-written by Andy Hill, who was about to become famous as writer and producer for Bucks Fizz, was released in some countries as a single, as was "In the Night" - although this wasn't the same as the Barbara Dickson song which was released around the time (and was also produced by Tarney).[8][9] "Give a Little Bit More" gave Richard a third hit from the album in the US, peaking at No.41
VIDEO:https://youtu.be/_thFKjQOZt4

Thursday, May 30, 2019

Book Review: Masie Dobbs

Yesterday I reviewed a paperback about the superhero, the Flash, whom I love, but the book didn't catch me. Today, I'm going to tell you about a multiple award winning mystery series I couldn't get through. However, if you want to read them, I'll mail them to you!


   On vacation, I started reading the British Mystery series called "Masie Dobbs"  by Jacqueline Winspear. (I also have the second novel, "Birds of a Feather" but won't read it).
   Usually I give a novel about 100-120 pages to get into it. I stopped at 120 in this book. I will say that the mystery solved in the first 75 pages or so, was enjoyable. I like the main character, and the mystery was intriguing about a mystery figure buried in a grave and a woman who was visiting the gravesite without telling her husband.
  Then, the novel flashed back to when Masie was a child, and became somewhat tedious to read about her day to day learning, working, living at someone else's house (her dad sent her to a well-to-do family to live and do housework, after Masie's mother died). That part of the story continued for the 50+ pages and I couldn't get into it. -
  I think there was another mystery at the end, but didn't want to continue through the story of a young girl's school years. I think that women may find this more interesting than men, because they could related to Masie's childhood as a young girl trying to get a great education.

BTW- I NEVER leave bad reviews on Amazon.com, because everyone is different. Obviously, this series appealed to a lot of people and won awards. I think that if you like something, tell people why. If you didn't like something, don't post a bad review.
 Like moms always say "If you have nothing good to say, say nothing."

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Book Review: The Flash: Climate Changeling

Those of you whom read this blog know that I'm an avid reader of various genres. As a superhero
fan, though, I recently read the paperback novel "The Flash: Climate Changeling" by Richard Knaack.
  I have not read anything else by Richard, and although I like how familiar he was with the CW Network Television network show characters, the book presented run-ins with the Flash and Weather Wizard over and over and over again, with the Flash begging Weather Wizard to stop the severe weather, and then Flash winds up being defeated again and again. So, it got repetitious and I think the story could have been told in 250 pages  instead of 430 pages.
   I'm certainly not someone who ranks books poorly on Amazon (because everyone's taste is different, and hey, I have 5 books on there.. and I hate it when people have the nerve to write "I bought this for a friend and didn't read it, but it sucks."). In fact, I've read award winning books that I couldn't finish. Several of them. 
   This one I finished, and it was about a "C" to me, as a Flash fan.
(As a side note, I noticed "Goodreads.com" ranked it 3.7 out of 5 stars. )

ABOUT THE BOOK: One of the Flash's deadliest foes--the Weather Wizard--returns to kill Joe West and the Scarlet Speedster. Will he unleash a far greater evil?

Months ago, Joe West's timely intervention saved the Flash from being murdered by meta-human Clyde Mardon. Clyde was killed and his elder brother Mark, the Weather Wizard, was incarcerated in Iron Heights prison, furious, bitter, and desperate for revenge... As storms gather over Central City, a mysterious spectre who looks just like the deceased Clyde quickens his brother's escape. With one of Central City's most feared villains on the loose, Barry Allen and the team at S.T.A.R. Labs race to track him down before he can take catastrophic vengeance on the entire metropolis.

Tuesday, May 28, 2019

IN THE NEWS: It was 84 degrees near the Arctic Ocean in May as carbon dioxide hit its highest level in human history

The world is warming and Carbon dioxide emissions from mankind have driven global annual temperatures to new heights, and even short-term weather events reflect the change. The IDIOTS that we are currently being governed with deny science. We need intelligent people in charge to combat climate change.

SOME QUICK TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE:
  • 1) In Greenland the ice sheet’s melt season began about a month early. In Alaska, several rivers saw winter ice break up on their earliest dates on record.
  • 2) Across the Arctic overall, the extent of sea ice has hovered near a record low for weeks.
  • 3) Data from the Japan Meteorological Agency show April was the second warmest on record for the entire planet.

It was 84 degrees near the Arctic Ocean in May as carbon dioxide hit its highest level in human history


Carbon Dioxide levels from approximately 1750 to present. (Scripps Institute of Oceanography)
By Jason Samenow
May 14 at 9:53 AM Washington Post

Over the weekend, the climate system sounded simultaneous alarms. Near the entrance to the Arctic Ocean in northwest Russia, the temperature surged to 84 degrees Fahrenheit (29 Celsius). Meanwhile, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere eclipsed 415 parts per million for the first time in human history.

By themselves, these are just data points. But taken together with so many indicators of an altered atmosphere and rising temperatures, they blend into the unmistakable portrait of human-induced climate change.

Saturday’s (May 11, 2019) steamy 84-degree reading was posted in Arkhangelsk, Russia, where the average high temperature is around 54 this time of year. The city of 350,000 people sits next to the White Sea, which feeds into the Arctic Ocean’s Barents Sea.

In Koynas, a rural area to the east of Arkhangelsk, it was even hotter on Sunday, soaring to 87 degrees (31 Celsius). Many locations in Russia, from the Kazakhstan border to the White Sea, set record-high temperatures over the weekend, some 30 to 40 degrees (around 20 Celsius) above average. The warmth also bled west into Finland, which hit 77 degrees (25 Celsius) Saturday, May 11, 2019, the country’s warmest temperature of the season so far.

The abnormally warm conditions in this region stemmed from a bulging zone of high pressure centered over western Russia. This particular heat wave, while a manifestation of the arrangement of weather systems and fluctuations in the jet stream, fits into what has been an unusually warm year across the Arctic and most of the mid-latitudes.


A range of less than one degree Fahrenheit (or half a degree Celsius) of climate warming over the next century could make all the difference when it comes to the probability of future ice-free summers in the Arctic, new CU Boulder research shows.



In Greenland, for example, the ice sheet’s melt season began about a month early. In Alaska, several rivers saw winter ice break up on their earliest dates on record.

Across the Arctic overall, the extent of sea ice has hovered near a record low for weeks.

Data from the Japan Meteorological Agency show April was the second warmest on record for the entire planet.

These changes all have occurred against the backdrop of unremitting increases in carbon dioxide, which has now crossed another symbolic threshold.

Saturday’s carbon dioxide measurement of 415 parts per million at Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory is the highest in at least 800,000 years and probably over 3 million years. Carbon dioxide levels have risen by nearly 50 percent since the Industrial Revolution.

The clip at which carbon dioxide has built up in the atmosphere has risen in recent years. Ralph Keeling, director of the program that monitors the gas at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, tweeted that its accumulation in the last year is “on the high end.”

Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that, along with the rise of several other such heat-trapping gases, is the primary cause of climate warming in recent decades, scientists have concluded.

Eighteen of the 19 warmest years on record for the planet have occurred since 2000, and we keep observing these highly unusual and often record-breaking high temperatures.

They won’t stop soon, but cuts to greenhouse emissions would eventually slow them down.

Read more:

Vietnam just observed its highest temperature ever recorded: 110 degrees, in April

Red-hot planet: Last summer’s punishing and historic heat in 7 maps and charts

Monday, May 27, 2019

A-hole of the week Award Winner: Trump Administration: "LGBTQ Couples’Kids Aren't Citizens"

Just when you think they can't POSSIBLY hurt anyone else... it started with migrant children at the
border of Mexico-ripping them from their parents for weeks and months. Now, they're attacking children of LGBTQ married couples. DISGRACEFUL!!!
Here's the story:

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: LGBTQ COUPLES’ KIDS AREN’T CITIZENS

A government policy that de-recognizes parents’ marriage means that some immigrant children can lose automatic rights to American birthright citizenship, despite the fact that their parents are U.S. citizens. That policy poses a unique threat to LGBTQ families, and could change the decades-old legal understanding of what the word “family” even means.

No parent can ever be fully prepared for the arrival of a new baby. But when Roee and Adiel Kiviti brought home their newborn daughter Kessem two months ago, they figured that they were as ready as they could be. After all, they’d gone through the same process two years earlier with their son Lev, who, like Kessem, was born with the help of an egg donor and a gestational surrogate in Canada.

“It was as straightforward as one can imagine,” Roee told The Daily Beast, recalling the ease of bringing Lev home in late 2016, the infant’s newly printed Canadian passport in hand, soon to be supplanted by an American one. But this February, when Kessem’s fathers contacted the U.S. consulate in Calgary to obtain a Consular Report of Birth Abroad for their daughter—the legal equivalent of a birth certificate for Americans born outside of the United States—something was different this time.

“They first indicated that they needed proof of our marriage, which I found quite odd,” Roee said. “They needed the original marriage certificate, which we didn’t have with us, but I didn’t actually think anything more about it. I thought, ‘We don’t have time for this, we’ll just deal with it in the U.S.’”

Trump Says Immigrant children of Gay couples are NO longer citizens
Roee and Adiel obtained Kessem’s Canadian passport—a stopgap, they figured, until they could get her U.S. passport back home—and traveled back to their home in the United States.

But Kessem was about to become the latest victim of a government policy that effectively de-recognizes her parents’ marriage, granting her no automatic rights to American birthright citizenship despite the fact that both her fathers are U.S. citizens. That policy, Kessem’s fathers told The Daily Beast, poses a unique threat to LGBT families, and could change the decades-old legal understanding of what the word “family” even means.

“This is a very clear attack on families, on American families,” Roee, who married Adiel in California in 2013, told The Daily Beast. “Denying American married couples their rights to pass their citizenship, that is flat-out discrimination, and everyone should be concerned about this.”

For years, President Donald Trump has called for the elimination of birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants who are born on American soil. Those children, slurred as “anchor babies,” are accused of being birthed with the sole purpose of tethering their non-citizen parents to the United States. The Trump administration’s promised executive orders ending this “loophole” have not materialized, but the president’s war on birthright citizenship has many fronts—and one little-noticed State Department policy has now resulted in a reverse version of Trump’s “anchor baby” scenario, where the children of U.S. citizens born abroad are effectively being stopped at the border.

In June 2017, the State Department issued new rules unilaterally changing the department’s interpretation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), a 1952 law that, along with the 14th Amendment, codifies eligibility for U.S. birthright citizenship.

“The U.S. Department of State interprets the INA to mean that a child born abroad must be biologically related to a U.S. citizen parent,” the State Department’s website says. “Even if local law recognizes a surrogacy agreement and finds that U.S. parents are the legal parents of a child conceived and born abroad… if the child does not have a biological connection to a U.S. citizen parent, the child will not be a U.S. citizen at birth.”

The Kivitis are each biologically related to their children. Under the policy, however, children born via gestational surrogacy and other forms of assisted reproductive technology (ART) are considered to be born “out of wedlock,” in the State Department’s words—even if their parents, like Roee and Adiel, are legally married.

“They basically take our marriage, and they say ‘it doesn’t mean anything. Your child was born out of wedlock,’” Adiel said. “We were there when she was born, she took her first breaths in our arms. Make no mistake: we are her parents—we are her only parents on her only birth certificate.”

Children born out of wedlock face higher legal and logistical hurdles to obtaining birthright citizenship: in addition to submission of DNA tests proving genetic links to U.S. citizen parents, their parents must be able to testify that they can support their children financially, and must prove that they have been present in the United States for at least five years prior to the child’s birth. Adiel, who was born in Israel, only recently became a naturalized U.S. citizen. He had lived in the United States since May 2015, and for one year in law school, but still fell short of five years.

“We are now in a very, very strange scenario,” Adiel said. “We are both American citizens; we live in the U.S.; I have a business here, Roee has his job here; we file our taxes as a married couple here... and the State Department is saying that our daughter isn’t entitled to U.S. citizenship because she was born ‘out of wedlock.’”

For parents of non-traditional families, the policy change has been a disaster, leaving them to navigate the labyrinthine immigration legal system with little guidance from the State Department and, at the moment, little recourse for appeal. Children of U.S. citizens are put at risk of deportation or even statelessness—despite no textual legal basis for the policy. The INA, signed into law when gestational surrogacy was science fiction and same-sex marriage was a fantasy, makes no reference to biological relationships in determining the citizenship of the child of a U.S. citizen born abroad to married U.S. citizens.

When the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013, lifting a ban on federal recognition of same-sex marriages, the Department of Homeland Security issued a guidance declaring that “just as [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] applies all relevant laws to determine the validity of an opposite-sex marriage, we will apply all relevant laws to determine the validity of a same-sex marriage.” On its face, immigration attorneys told The Daily Beast, that would include the INA.

That “assumption of parentage,” as the State Department calls it, now seems to LGBT parents to be reserved solely for heterosexual married couples. Only same-sex couples, whose non-traditional family structure sticks out like a sore thumb, end up facing scrutiny over how their children came into the world, parents told The Daily Beast—and as a result, whether they are eligible for birthright citizenship.

“State says children born through ART require extra paperwork for proof of citizenship, but there are no boxes on any citizenship forms which indicate ART is used,” one woman, a former U.S. military intelligence officer who is married to a senior U.S. military officer, told The Daily Beast. When their son was born on an American military base abroad last fall, it took months for their application for his U.S. passport to be processed—and only after they submitted reams of paperwork proving that one of the two women was the gestational mother, confirming whether or not the former officer had a “genetic relationship” with her son, and “physical evidence” that they had used an anonymous sperm donor.

“If we did [in-vitro fertilization] and were hetero, we could have a different egg and sperm that were not genetically related to us, but due to… the ‘assumption of parentage’ which exists for married couples, they would not question the birth,” said the former officer, who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of her wife’s position in the military.

“It was so dumb, regardless—we were both American citizens, so it should have been a non-issue,” the former officer added, noting that many LGBT service members having children overseas are facing similar pushback from the State Department, but the random nature of the problems, and their resolution, makes her believe that “it all depends on the individual who is handling your case and their personal feelings.”

“I went back and forth with State and finally ended up receiving a call from the chief of the office who handles the citizenship paperwork,” the former officer said. “She ended up landing on, ‘you can just send me an ultrasound with your wife's name on it, that's good enough.’ So, obviously, this is not real policy if they can pick and choose how to handle it.”

That slapdash approach to the department’s policy, and a remark made by personnel at the Army Passport Office noting that this was the first case they’d heard of the State Department pushing back, “makes me concerned for the Trumpitization of our government offices,” the former officer said.

In response to a detailed list of questions regarding the policy, its disproportionate effects on same-sex couples, and whether all parents seeking a CRBA are asked if their children were the result of surrogacy, a State Department spokesperson told The Daily Beast that “the Department of State does not comment on pending litigation or arbitration.”

For other parents, hoping to squeeze through the cracks in a broken system isn’t an option—which means taking the federal government to court to defend their family.

Sunday, May 26, 2019

Idiot of the Week: Anti-Gay Arizona Preacher now Banned from Ireland!

The IDIOT: Steven Anderson gets BANNED from Ireland for hate speech

Ireland recognizes IDIOTS, and  Steven Anderson a "preacher" from Arizona who preaches hatred against so many groups of people, is BANNED from the country. GO, IRELAND!  If only the U.S. would throw these idiots out.
Here's the story from BBC News: 

ANTI-GAY U.S. PREACHER STEVEN ANDERSON BANNED FROM IRELAND
A controversial US preacher has become the first person to be banned from Ireland under a 20-year-old power.  Steven Anderson, a pastor from Arizona, runs the Faithful Word Baptist church and openly expresses anti-gay and anti-Semitic views.  Steven Anderson has previously called for the death of Barack Obama and praised the gunman who killed 49 people in a gay night club attack in Florida.

His website claimed that he was due to preach in Dublin on 26 May.


ABOUT THE IDIOT:  Steven Anderson is one of America's most controversial preachers.
He was born and raised in Sacramento, California, and started the Faithful Word Baptist Church in December 2005 from his Arizona living room.
According to the church's website, he met his wife Zsuzsanna "while soul-winning" as an 18-year-old on the streets of Munich in Germany.  The couple have been married for more than 17 years and have 10 children.
The church's website says Mr Anderson has memorised "well over 140 chapters of the Bible".
The website describes the church as an "old-fashioned, independent, fundamental, King James Bible only, soul-winning Baptist church".  Mr Anderson claims to have his materials translated into more than 115 languages.
BANNED! 
Irish Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan signed an exclusion order for Mr Anderson with immediate effect on 10 May under the Immigration Act 1999.
It is the first time an exclusion order has been granted since the creation of the act 20 years ago.
Mr Anderson has been banned from a number of countries, including the UK.
Mr Flanagan said he had signed the order "under my executive powers in the interests of public policy".

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48252527


Saturday, May 25, 2019

British Slang Word of the Day: Cheeky Nando's

Because Tom loves British television and there's a lot of slang we don't understand, we thought we'd teach you.
Today's word: Cheeky Nando's


Having a cheeky Nando's means popping in for a bite at the popular chicken restaurant, Nando's, perhaps with your mates after you've had a couple of pints and are having a good time.

Based on earlier meanings of “rash” or “impudent,” cheeky is slang for “indulgent” or “impulsive,” especially with food and drink. The term is seen in the late 1980s and is often used when talking about adult beverages (e.g., I really have to get home, but what the hell, one drink won’t hurt. Let’s grab a cheeky pint.).


Founded in South Africa in 1987, Nando’s is a popular restaurant chain specializing in spicy grilled chicken with locations around the world—and it's especially popular in the UK.

Friday, May 24, 2019

British Slang Word of the Day: Gutted

Tom watches LOTS of British Television and we usually wonder what some of the slang terms mean. So, today, we'll teach you another one (See yesterday's blog for "chuffed.")

Today's word is gutted
 
If something greatly displeases you in British English, you might say you're gutted. To American English ears, gutted calls to mind something many may indeed find displeasing: when the guts of an animal, like a fish, have been removed for cooking.
But, in the UK, gutted isn't so fishy. It means "very upset" or "disappointed." The slang, found in the 1970s, is thought to originate from the notion of being sick to one's guts.
If your partner dumps you or your bestie doesn't get that new job? You're absolutely gutted.

Thursday, May 23, 2019

British Slang Word of the Day: "Chuffed"

Tom watches LOTS of British Television and we usually wonder what some of the slang terms mean. So, today, we'll teach you about one of them.

Today's word, chuffed is British slang for "very pleased."

Chuffed may come from an old word, chuff, meaning "puffed up with fat," apparently taken up in slang as early as the 1860s to imply a sense of satisfaction. Who doesn't want to be well-fed and happy? Some synonyms for chuffed are delighted or happy.

But, readers of Victorian literature, beware: In the 1800s, chuffed also meant the exact opposite: "displeased."

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Avengers 3 Movie Much Darker than Superman Vs. Batman

Avengers 3
  We just saw Avengers 3: Infinity War, airing on Netflix. What a depressing movie. Darkest Superhero movie, EVER.
     Anyone who reads this blog knows that I'm a huge superhero fan, and favor the DC comics heroes like Superman,  Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Arrow, etc. So, when Avengers 4 "Endgame" just came out in the movie theaters, I realized that we had not seen Avengers 3, which MUST be seen before you see the fourth movie. So, recently, we watched Avengers 3 on Netflix.   
    Here's my Rant; People have complained that Superman Vs. Batman was "Way too dark and too depressing." - Avengers 3; Infinity War is MUCH MORE dark and depressing than any other superhero film I've ever seen.

WHY? The film opens with the total annihilation of an entire civilization  - Thor's homeworld of Asgard. The film closes with the half of the Earth's population being wiped out, including heroes like Spiderman and Black Panther. People who are Marvel fans that tell me this film is not more DARK or depressing than Batman Vs. Supermann are not being honest.

BY THE END OF THE FILM - Tom and I were just disgusted. The villain won. The Earth's population was half wiped out, and heroes were made into ashes.

Batman Vs. Superman
Batman Vs. Superman-  Granted Superman died at the end of this film, but that's EXACTLY what happened to him in the comics in the 1990s, and at the end of the film,it gave a hint he would return (as he did in Justice League). At least there was a hint of hope AND the villain was destroyed.

So, tell me how Avengers 3 is a better film? It isn't.

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Interesting to Watch: Nancy Pelosi: The 2019 60 Minutes interview

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi with correspondent Lesley Stahl
I've been back and forth about Nancy Pelosi, honestly, but this interview provides insight into this really intelligent, fiery
woman. Worth the watch.

Nancy Pelosi: The 2019 60 Minutes interview

WATCH: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/speaker-of-the-house-nancy-pelosi-the-2019-60-minutes-interview-2019-04-14/

The speaker of the House tells Lesley Stahl what she thinks of the Mueller report, how she deals with President Trump and the current state of the Democratic Party.

Nancy Pelosi is the most powerful woman in American political history. She's been speaker of the House not once, but twice. And President George W. Bush's nickname for her was "3" because of her place in line for the presidency.

Under her leadership last year, the Democrats won back control of the House. The San Francisco liberal is now the voice of her party and chief critic of President Trump; she's also keeping close tabs on at least six House committees investigating the president. And she's pressing for release of the full, unredacted Mueller report.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi: The Mueller report is about an attack on our elections by a foreign government. And we want to know about that. We wanna know about that in terms of being able to prevent it from happening again. So it's bigger even than Donald Trump.

She says she doesn't trust Attorney General William Barr.

Lesley Stahl: Do you think that the attorney general is covering anything up?

Speaker Nancy Pelosi: I have no idea. I have no idea. He may be whitewashing, but I don't know if he's covering anything up. There's no use having that discussion. All we need to do is see the Mueller report.

Lesley Stahl: And asking for the president's tax returns?

Speaker Nancy Pelosi: It should not have taken this long for the president-- he said he was under audit. When I was in a-- I was going to a Martin Luther King breakfast in San Francisco and one of the waiters there said to me, "Madame Speaker, when the president says the Mueller report's going on too long just tell him not as long as your audit." (LAUGHTER) Everybody has released their returns and we will have legislation to say that everyone should-- must, but for the moment he's been hi-- so what's he hiding?

She's just hit her 100th day as speaker. She recently called the president to ask for a meeting on infrastructure, but there's no sign that the gridlock that has plagued Congress for years is easing.

Lesley Stahl: One of the complaints we've heard is that you don't reach across the aisle because it seems like right now nothing is getting done. You pass things-- whatever it is dies in the Senate.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi: Nothing died. Nothing's died. We already put together 100 days, the fact that we even passed them in the House is a victory. Let's figure out the places-- figure out where we can find common ground. There's always been bipartisan support for Dreamers, bipartisan support for gun safety, bipartisan support for infrastructure.

Lesley Stahl: But why doesn't anything get done--

Speaker Nancy Pelosi: We just started.

Lesley Stahl: --with the Dreamers?

Speaker Nancy Pelosi: We just started. We're three months since we were in-- in office.

Lesley Stahl: But you're talking about 100 days. This president's been in office for two years plus.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi: And we've been here three months. Hey, may I introduce you to the idea of the spout-- power of the speaker is to set the agenda. We didn't have a speaker who would bring a gun bill to the floor. We didn't have a speaker who would bring a Dreamers issue to the floor. We do now. And that's a very big difference. The power of the speaker is awesome. Awesome.

But her becoming speaker was in doubt last December when a group in her caucus agitated for a change to someone younger. It was the president, of all people, who rescued her, in that now famous Oval Office meeting.

President Trump in Oval Office meeting: You know, Nancy's in a situation where it's not easy for her to talk right now.
That did not sit well with her.

Speaker Pelsoi in Oval Office meeting: Mr. President, please don't characterize the strength I bring to this meeting as a leader of the House Democrats who just won a big victory…

Right after the meeting, she walked to the mics in her orange coat, with a whole new image, her ascendance to the speakership no longer in jeopardy.

Lesley Stahl: You seem to be one of the very, very few people who have stood up to him and won.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi: No, people do. People do. It-- it is--

Lesley Stahl: Maybe not so much in public the way-- this was televised.

Monday, May 20, 2019

Bronze Age find 'could be canoe' in Wales

BBC News reported earlier in May 2019 that the earliest canoe ever may have been discovered in part of Wales. Here's the story!

Bronze Age Caernarfon bypass find 'could be canoe'






Image copyright Welsh Government. 
Image caption If proven to be a canoe the timber would be a "rare find", according to experts

Work on a bypass in Gwynedd has revealed the site of a Bronze Age mound which could contain an ancient canoe.
Archaeological excavation on the site of the Caernarfon-Bontnewydd bypass uncovered three troughs underneath a burnt mound dating back about 3,500 years.

Experts think one of the troughs may have been originally used as a dug-out canoe hollowed from an oak tree.
It would be the first prehistoric canoe ever found in north Wales if proven.

The timber has now been lifted from its discovery site and is being examined in more detail.

A section of Roman road has also been excavated and has confirmed the route of the road between the Roman forts of Segontium (Caernarfon) and Canovium (Caerhun in the Conwy valley), which was previously uncertain.
Jenny Emmett, a senior planning archaeologist from Gwynedd Archaeological Planning Service, said the results had added considerably to knowledge of the area.

She said: "We are pleased with both the significance of the discoveries and the positive working relationships that have been established between all parties that have enabled the programme to proceed smoothly, and look forward to both continuing as the scheme progresses."

An early medieval industrial site dating back to the 8th Century has also been identified during the work.
Work is continuing on the construction of the bypass, which due to finish in April 2021 and is not affected by the findings.
On Saturday, campaigners expressed fears work on the bypass could mean a 15th century medieval well could be lost.

Sunday, May 19, 2019

Idiot of the Week: Jerry Falwell Jr's. "Racy pictures"

The Disgusting Jerry Falwell Jr. Th
The biggest homophobe, Jerry Falwell Jr. idiot from Liberty University in Virginia, has apparently been sending naked pictures out... and Trump's former Attorney (now in prison), Michael Cohen prevented the photos from being made public. 
 Interesting Timing, too:  Months before evangelical leader Jerry Falwell Jr.’s game-changing presidential endorsement of Donald Trump in 2016, Falwell asked Trump fixer Michael Cohen for a personal favor regarding some “personal” photographs.
  As a gay guy,  I have ZERO interest in seeing this hypocritical ugly bigot's naked pictures. He's disgusting on so many levels and very unattractive. My personal feelings aside, here's the story of this week's IDIOT:


Cohen claimed he helped bury personal photographs for Jerry Falwell Jr. before the evangelical leader backed Trump


Washington Post
By Felicia Sonmez and
Sarah Pulliam Bailey
May 7 at 11:33 PM

Michael Cohen, President Trump’s longtime personal attorney, claimed to have helped prevent the release of personal photographs embarrassing to Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. shortly before the influential evangelical leader endorsed Trump’s insurgent presidential bid in 2016.

Cohen made the assertion, which was first reported by Reuters, in a phone call in March with actor Tom Arnold. Arnold provided The Washington Post with a recording of the call Tuesday night.

“There’s a bunch of photographs — you know, personal photographs — that somehow, the guy ended up getting,” Cohen said on the call. The person who had the photos, who is not identified on the call, was demanding money from the Falwells, and Cohen threatened to report the person to legal authorities, according to Reuters.

Reuters reported that the alleged episode took place months before Falwell’s endorsement of Trump. Arnold told The Post that Cohen told him it occurred during the presidential race.

A statement released by an attorney for the Falwells called the account “not accurate.”

“While the Falwells have a long-standing friendship with Michael Cohen, they never engaged or paid Cohen to represent them in any legal or other professional capacity, and Cohen did not ever resolve any legal matter on their behalf,” the statement said.

The attorney, who declined to be named, said in a follow-up text message that “there are no compromising or embarrassing photos of Falwell, period!”

Lanny Davis, a spokesman for Cohen, declined to comment. Cohen began serving a three-year prison sentence on Monday for tax evasion and campaign-finance violations.

Arnold, a staunch critic of the president’s, said he became friends with Cohen last summer, adding that the longtime Trump confidant sees him as an ally.

Arnold said Cohen did not know that he was recording their March conversation at the time, but Arnold said that he subsequently told Cohen that he had recorded it. He said he indicated to Cohen that he would release details about the Falwell portion of their conversation after Cohen went to prison.

“He knows I’m going to help him,” Arnold said, adding: “I said, ‘As soon as you go in: Jerry Falwell Jr.’ ”

Last month, Arnold shared with the Wall Street Journal his March 25 phone call with Cohen. The Journal reported on other portions of the 36-minute conversation, including Cohen denying responsibility for some of his crimes.

The longtime Trump fixer said he kept a copy of one of the Falwell photos on his phone, Cohen told Arnold on their March 25 call.

It is unclear what the photos allegedly depicted. Cohen described the images as “photos between husband, wife, and the whole bit.”

“I actually have one of the photos,” he said on the recording. “It’s terrible.”

Falwell’s early support of Trump was seen as crucial, giving the candidate a key stage in front of evangelicals, an important group of voters for Trump.

He delivered a glowing welcome to Trump during a campaign visit by Trump to Liberty University in 2016 and formally endorsed him. His continued support for Trump after the “Access Hollywood” video was released was seen as critical to the Trump campaign, although some graduates returned their diplomas over Falwell’s support.

“Jesus said ‘Judge not, lest ye be judged,’ ” Falwell wrote in an essay for The Washington Post in 2016. “Let’s stop trying to choose the political leaders who we believe are the most godly because, in reality, only God knows people’s hearts. You and I don’t, and we are all sinners.”

As recently as this week, Falwell made headlines for his lavish praise of Trump. The president shared a tweet over the weekend in which Falwell declared, “Trump should have 2 yrs added to his 1st term as pay back for time stolen by this corrupt failed coup.”

According to the Reuters report, the Falwells asked Cohen for help with the photographs around the time Cohen was working with Liberty University to promote Trump’s candidacy in 2015.

Cohen flew to Florida, met with a lawyer for the person with the photos and informed him that his client was breaking the law, Reuters reported. Arnold said that Cohen described the Florida trip to him.

Ultimately, the lawyer told Cohen that all of the photos were destroyed, Reuters reported.

“I was going to pay him and I was going to get the negatives and do an agreement where they turn over all technology that has the photographs or anything like that, any copies,” Cohen told Arnold on the call. “And it never happened. The guy just either deleted them on his own or what have you.”

In January 2016, days before the Iowa caucuses, Falwell formally announced his backing of Trump, calling him “a successful executive and entrepreneur, a wonderful father and a man who I believe can lead our country to greatness again.”

Along with religious leaders such as evangelist Franklin Graham and Florida megachurch pastor Paula White, Falwell is seen as one of Trump’s most prominent religious supporters.

He is the son of the late televangelist Jerry Falwell Sr., a megachurch pastor who helped to organize religious conservatives especially in the 1970s and ’80s. Falwell has taken the school his father started in 1971 in Lynchburg, Va., and expanded it into one of the largest Christian universities in the world, with more than 100,000 students. Last year, the university released a film suggesting Trump had fulfilled a divine prophecy.

One of the largest universities in the country, Liberty is seen as an innovator in online education and has become a prominent platform for politicians to visit. Trump gave a commencement address there in 2017, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) spoke there in 2015.

Falwell is expected to welcome Vice President Pence to deliver the university’s commencement address on Saturday.

Rosalind S. Helderman and Shawn Boburg contributed to this report.

Saturday, May 18, 2019

#3 of 5 Albums that Influenced me: Love Tracks by Gloria Gaynor

Earlier this month my friend Bill asked me to post 5 albums that influenced me or changed my life in some way. Here's #3:Love Tracks by Gloria Gaynor because of the number 1 song it contained.
   In 1979, when this came out with "I Will Survive" (which hit number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 2 non-sequential weeks, yeah, I'm a geek), I could relate to it. I was 16 and a geeky teenager with no friends. But, I was optimistic. I read comic books and admired Superheroes so I began working out to build muscle and self confidence. I discovered Dolly Parton and modeled my personality after her optimism. Above all, I thought "I Will Survive" and that song became very important to me. - Rob

ABOUT THE ALBUM: Love Tracks is the sixth studio album by Gloria Gaynor, released in 1978 on Polydor Records.
Love Tracks includes her million-selling #1 hit single "I Will Survive" which originally started out as the b-side to the album's first single, a cover of Clout's "Substitute" before it was flipped. (The 12" single was quickly deleted and the 4:56 album version was replaced with the 8:01 12" version in order to sell more albums).
The song "Anybody Wanna Party" also became a hit, becoming a top 20 hit on the club/dance chart, as well as peaking at #16 on the R&B chart.


Who I am

I'm a simple guy who enjoys the simple things in life, especially our dogs. I volunteer for dog rescues, enjoy exercising, blogging, politics, helping friends and neighbors, participating in ghost investigations, coffee, weather, superheroes, comic books, mystery novels, traveling, 70s and 80s music, classic country music,writing books on ghosts and spirits, cooking simply and keeping in shape. You'll find tidbits of all of these things on this blog and more. EMAIL me at Rgutro@gmail.com - Rob

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