Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
yallerdawg
yallerdawg's Journal
yallerdawg's Journal
August 24, 2016
Something brewing on the horizon?
Hurricane Hermine Doesn’t Exist Yet, But Experts Are Starting To WorryIt’s late August, which means it’s the peak of hurricane season. Not surprisingly, weather models have begun to key in on a particularly interesting area of disturbed weather near the Eastern Caribbean islands that shows potential for growing into a tropical storm or hurricane that may track toward the U.S. coast. If it gets a name, it’ll be called Hermine. (The National Hurricane Center has unfortunately turned down a request to rename it Harambe.)
But this area of disturbed weather — officially designated “invest 99L,” as in, “we should investigate it further” — is at the edge of predictability when it comes to forecasting what its location and strength will be in about six days, when some weather models show that it could be approaching Florida. (Errors for predicted five-day paths issued by the National Hurricane Center, which uses weather models as guidance, averaged 222 miles in 2011-15.)
August 23, 2016
New York Times, by Jackie Calmes
*****
Although the administration’s push will begin in September, no vote on the accord will occur before the election. Just as the White House and congressional Republican leaders mostly agree on the economic benefits of trade, they have parallel political interests in delaying debate.
Republicans do not want to provoke attacks from their presidential nominee, Donald J. Trump, who called the trade accord “a rape of our country,” or hurt other Republican candidates. Mr. Obama does not want to make trouble for the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, who has struggled to persuade voters of her sincerity in switching from support of the pact to opposition. This month, during an economic address in Michigan, she declared, “I oppose it now, I’ll oppose it after the election and I’ll oppose it as president.”
*****
While administration officials and bipartisan surrogates will counter opponents’ economic arguments, a big focus will be on national security. Mr. Obama has emphasized that the pact would expand American influence in the Asia-Pacific region as a counterweight to China, which is not part of the pact.
*****
Many Republicans and the tobacco industry object that the tobacco companies would be barred from using international trade tribunals to sue countries that restrict smoking. More problematic is the complaint of Republicans, led by Mr. Hatch, and the pharmaceutical industry that the agreement would undercut drug makers’ intellectual property protections on the advanced drugs known as biologics. The issue was the last to be settled among the T.P.P. countries in October; other nations demanded fewer years of protection, to hasten the production of less costly generics.
*****
Read it all at: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/22/business/international/trans-pacific-partnership-obama.html
Obama Readies One Last Push for Trans-Pacific Partnership
Tough row to hoe for President Obama - but if it's the right thing to do, it's worth fighting for.New York Times, by Jackie Calmes
*****
Although the administration’s push will begin in September, no vote on the accord will occur before the election. Just as the White House and congressional Republican leaders mostly agree on the economic benefits of trade, they have parallel political interests in delaying debate.
Republicans do not want to provoke attacks from their presidential nominee, Donald J. Trump, who called the trade accord “a rape of our country,” or hurt other Republican candidates. Mr. Obama does not want to make trouble for the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, who has struggled to persuade voters of her sincerity in switching from support of the pact to opposition. This month, during an economic address in Michigan, she declared, “I oppose it now, I’ll oppose it after the election and I’ll oppose it as president.”
*****
While administration officials and bipartisan surrogates will counter opponents’ economic arguments, a big focus will be on national security. Mr. Obama has emphasized that the pact would expand American influence in the Asia-Pacific region as a counterweight to China, which is not part of the pact.
*****
Many Republicans and the tobacco industry object that the tobacco companies would be barred from using international trade tribunals to sue countries that restrict smoking. More problematic is the complaint of Republicans, led by Mr. Hatch, and the pharmaceutical industry that the agreement would undercut drug makers’ intellectual property protections on the advanced drugs known as biologics. The issue was the last to be settled among the T.P.P. countries in October; other nations demanded fewer years of protection, to hasten the production of less costly generics.
*****
Read it all at: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/22/business/international/trans-pacific-partnership-obama.html
August 23, 2016
Read it all at: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CAMPAIGN_2016_TRUMP_GENDER?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-08-23-08-20-56
Trump's stamina attack on Clinton stirs talk of gender bias
AP, Jill Colvin
He has repeatedly called attention to Clinton's voice, saying listening to her gives him a headache. Last December, he mocked her wardrobe. "She puts on her pantsuit in the morning," he told a Las Vegas audience. At rallies and in speeches, the billionaire mogul has also used stereotypes about women to demean Clinton, who stands to become America's first female president if she wins in November.
Trump's allies have piled on. Running mate Mike Pence often uses the word "broad-shouldered" to describe Trump's leadership and foreign policy style, a tacit swipe at Clinton. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani argued that all of the miles Clinton logged during as secretary of state resulted in more harm than benefit.
"Maybe it would've been better if she had stayed home," said Giuliani, who more recently questioned Clinton's health, suggesting an internet search of the words "Hillary Clinton illness."
"Maybe it would've been better if she had stayed home," said Giuliani, who more recently questioned Clinton's health, suggesting an internet search of the words "Hillary Clinton illness."
Kelly Dittmar, a scholar at the Rutgers University's Eagleton Institute of Politics' Center for American Women and Politics, who has been tracking the gender dynamics in the race, said that even during the primaries when Trump was competing mostly against men, he took on the role of strong man, demeaning rivals.
"His message has been: I'm the manliest candidate, I'm the strongest, I know how to protect women - which is a pretty paternalistic take on it - I'm going to destroy ISIS and be very tough, to the point where he's talking about the size of his own manhood," she said of the candidate. "If you're trying to prove you're the manliest, then you're trying to emasculate your opponent."
Read it all at: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CAMPAIGN_2016_TRUMP_GENDER?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-08-23-08-20-56
August 23, 2016
White House: This Thursday, August 25, the National Park Service turns 100 years old.
Email from Cheyenne: Find your park this week!My name is Cheyenne and I am a rising 5th grader at an elementary school in Maryland.
This Thursday, August 25, the National Park Service turns 100 years old.
To celebrate this anniversary, all national parks will be free to visit from August 25 -- 28, and I wanted to tell you why I hope you will go to FindYourPark.com and plan a visit to some of these amazing places.
Parks are very important to me. When you go to parks, you are able to see just how beautiful and awesome the outdoors can be and how we must be good stewards of our planet.
*****
You too can find a park to visit -- just go to FindYourPark.com
I hope that everyone will join in the celebration of the National Park Service’s 100 years of existence and have the chance to get outside and explore the great outdoors!
Thank you!
Cheyenne
August 22, 2016
"BrainDead" Michael Moore Guest Appearance *spoiler*
When you like your satire full-frontal... 
Rightwing nightmare - homage to "Eyes Wide Shut." 
August 20, 2016
http://thehill.com/media/292024-npr-to-close-websites-comments-section
NPR to close website's comments section
The Hill, by Joe Concha
"In July, NPR.org recorded nearly 33 million unique users, and 491,000 comments. But those comments came from just 19,400 commenters," Montgomery wrote. "That’s 0.06 percent of users who are commenting, a number that has stayed steady through 2016."
Jensen also concluded that NPR's commenting system "is serving a very, very small slice of its overall audience."
The Guardian, The Daily Beast and The Verge have all closed their comment sections relatively recently, with the Guardian citing “unacceptable levels of toxic commentary.”
The Huffington Post requires its users "to verify their identities by linking to a verified Facebook account," in order to "allow people to express their ideas in a civil and responsible manner."
Jensen also concluded that NPR's commenting system "is serving a very, very small slice of its overall audience."
The Guardian, The Daily Beast and The Verge have all closed their comment sections relatively recently, with the Guardian citing “unacceptable levels of toxic commentary.”
The Huffington Post requires its users "to verify their identities by linking to a verified Facebook account," in order to "allow people to express their ideas in a civil and responsible manner."
http://thehill.com/media/292024-npr-to-close-websites-comments-section
August 20, 2016
Read it at: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/08/donald-trump-manufacturing-jobs-hope/496541/
Hope Is What Separates Trump Voters From Clinton Voters
The Atlantic, by Andrew McGill
It’s pretty clear who Donald Trump wants to help, because he names them at every rally. Miners. Steelworkers. Guys on the assembly line, whose jobs are either being stolen by the Chinese or strangled to death by Obama’s regulations. If globalization has put your livelihood in jeopardy, Trump wants you on his side. And given his sky-high popularity among white men without a college degree, I’d argue this pitch is gaining traction.
I’d argue the real dividing line is optimism. Consider this: Two-thirds of Hillary Clinton’s supporters think the next generation will be in better shape than we are today, or least the same, according to Pew Research. The reverse is true for Trump’s camp. Sixty-eight percent of his supporters think the next generation will be worse off. What’s more, the vast majority of Trump voters say life is worse today for people like them than it was 50 years ago. Only two percent —two!— think life is better now and that their children will also see improvement.
What we’re seeing is a hope gap. And it turns out that hope isn’t necessarily linked to a person’s current circumstances. Folks living in a poor community can still believe their children’s lives will be better, and people working in a reasonably secure local economy can still despair for the future. Rothwell’s work suggests it’s the communities that have seen the least societal change that are most likely to support the New York billionaire—by and large, they have fewer immigrants, fewer lost jobs, fewer impacts from global trade. People who have lost something aren’t voting for Trump, at least not uniformly. It’s the people who think they’re about to lose something.
What we’re seeing is a hope gap. And it turns out that hope isn’t necessarily linked to a person’s current circumstances. Folks living in a poor community can still believe their children’s lives will be better, and people working in a reasonably secure local economy can still despair for the future. Rothwell’s work suggests it’s the communities that have seen the least societal change that are most likely to support the New York billionaire—by and large, they have fewer immigrants, fewer lost jobs, fewer impacts from global trade. People who have lost something aren’t voting for Trump, at least not uniformly. It’s the people who think they’re about to lose something.
So maybe it isn’t about education, or poverty, or jobs. A voter’s choice may instead be more closely linked to how optimistic they feel about the future. Trump’s supporters view the global economic policies of the modern world as a Pandora’s Box: bright and shiny on the outside, disastrous when uncorked. But Clinton’s voters might better remember the end of the Greek myth. Once all the demons had escaped into the sky, the story goes, only one thing remained behind. It was hope, fluttering and fragile.
Read it at: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/08/donald-trump-manufacturing-jobs-hope/496541/
August 20, 2016
In 2012, the VA released a Suicide Data Report that an average of 22 veterans are “KILLED By Suicide” (KBS) everyday. The name “22KILL” is meant to grab people’s attention, because our primary mission begins with raising awareness to the issue. Suicide prevention is a very difficult task to undertake, especially when the general public is unaware of the issue in the first place. In order to prevent or “fix” a problem, one must first learn and understand the problem itself and its causes. By educating ourselves, we’ll be able to identify the triggers that can lead someone to thoughts of suicide, and confront those issues as they come, rather than letting them accumulate into something much worse.
#22Pushups To Honor Those Who Serve
https://www.facebook.com/22Kill/videos/580198772115235/
22KILL
In 2012, the VA released a Suicide Data Report that an average of 22 veterans are “KILLED By Suicide” (KBS) everyday. The name “22KILL” is meant to grab people’s attention, because our primary mission begins with raising awareness to the issue. Suicide prevention is a very difficult task to undertake, especially when the general public is unaware of the issue in the first place. In order to prevent or “fix” a problem, one must first learn and understand the problem itself and its causes. By educating ourselves, we’ll be able to identify the triggers that can lead someone to thoughts of suicide, and confront those issues as they come, rather than letting them accumulate into something much worse.
#22Pushups To Honor Those Who Serve
https://www.facebook.com/22Kill/videos/580198772115235/
August 19, 2016
Read the essay at: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/tom-arnold-gun-control-essay-nephew-suicide-919835?utm_source=twitter
Tom Arnold Pens Passionate Essay Arguing for Gun Control After Losing Nephew to Suicide
By Tom Arnold
Every day, 20 veterans commit suicide. (It's not just veterans; 44,000 Americans committed suicide in 2015.) I'm involved with several groups (including Got Your 6) that help get vets working or serving their communities as soon as they can. No group of people gets more out of being of service to their communities than these folks, and work and service keep them out of their head and out of their basement. That's how it works for me, too.
On May 2, Spencer said good night to his roommate, said he was excited about going back to college and getting his future going, finally. Then he called a woman he'd been seeing for a couple of months, and they had a little disagreement, so my handsome 24-year-old nephew reached over and grabbed one of the five loaded guns on his nightstand and shot himself in the head.
I took all my feelings, and I reached out to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. I wanted to honor my nephew and the other vets and people with mental illness who can legally purchase guns. I want to protect them and my 3-year-old boy and 7-month-old girl when they grow up and I'm not here. Spencer having five loaded guns next to his bed every night is like me sleeping next to a dresser made out of chocolate cake and filled with cocaine. I will probably be totally cool forever, unless someone says something that kinda hurts my feelings and … f— it.
I wish I could wave a wand and make Congress fearless. Then they wouldn't kowtow to the NRA so easily. Same for a lot of my fellow Americans. The NRA has convinced people that a home with a gun is safer than one without a gun. That is a lie. Not even close, and the odds are about 8-to-1 that if someone does get hurt with that gun, it's not going to be a bad guy. It's going to be the owner or a friend or family member. The NRA has all the politicians scared and doesn't "let" Congress research gun violence anymore, but fortunately scientists do it anyway, and these are the facts.
Read the essay at: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/tom-arnold-gun-control-essay-nephew-suicide-919835?utm_source=twitter
August 19, 2016
?6
Profile Information
Gender: Do not displayMember since: Fri Apr 4, 2014, 04:21 PM
Number of posts: 16,104
