It’s Tuesday, May 28, 2019, the day after Memorial Day. And the news never stops at Liberal Minded Ladies of Substance.
I hope your Memorial Day was spent in the company of those you care about. We went and visited family, ate food, and then hunkered down for a bit playing cards while storms moved through. We got lucky. We were far enough to the west that the storms that ravaged Ohio hadn’t yet picked up enough steam to do real damage to us.
After this, it’s back out to the garden for me. Part of it is saving my own sanity in these troubling times, but the other part is wanting to produce food in case things get difficult. It doesn’t even have to be part of a Nationwide breakdown. Right now (as one of the stories below states) almost half of American households have trouble making ends meet.
I’m sure that’s just fake news, though. Because I’ve been told we have a strong economy. I’d sure like it if it trickled our way a bit.
In any case, I have beans, peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, pumpkins, cucumbers, kale, and more growing. And I have more to plant besides. Once the season gets underway, we can hopefully offset some of the grocery bills by eating and selling what we have.
If you like having your news gathered for you from various sources, please continue to recommend these Round-Ups and consider buying me a coffee on Ko-fi.com. It helps me continue to write, homeschool, and run the political news aggregate page.
As always, there will be a thread below for new or breaking news. And please, share any thoughts you have below.
NEWS STORIES
Weekend
The Insults Trump Has Hurled at 2020 Democrats -- (NY Times) Trump doesn't deviate much from his established patterns. It may be too hard with his dementia to come up with new insults.
Thousands turn out for funeral of Korean War veteran -- (Fox Local) The veteran had no family in town able to make the funeral... So the Funeral Home put out a call for people to attend the service. And people responded.
Artist banned from Facebook for turning 'MAGA' hats into symbols of hate speech -- (The Hill) Really, the hat should be banned for BEING hate speech.
Baby Anacondas Born At New England Aquarium — Without Any Male Snakes Involved -- (WGBH) This is a fascinating story. It's apparently the second recorded case of this happening, the baby snakes (snakelings?) appear to be direct clones of their mother, and the mother snake has had NO INTERACTION with male snakes.
‘They’re Trying To Kill Us In Here’ -- (The Appeal) Over 15 years, 68 people died in jail. It's not just the problem with incarceration, it's that no one takes the plight of people in need of mental health services seriously. This jail is no different than the "asylums" of their day -- Lock the mentally and physically ill in cells and then forget about them.
Measles erases the immune system’s memory (Science News) When I hear anti-vaxxers say that we survived before there were Measles vaccines, that it's just a rash, I get furious. There are plenty of children who did not survive the measles, and it's not the rash that kills. It's the accompanying illnesses. Just ask Roald Dahl who lost his eldest daughter to Measles. Plus, when I think of how much worse it is for immunocompromised individuals who cannot get the vaccine, babies and adults in a fragile medical state, I don't understand how people can be so cruel.
MEASLES: A Dangerous Illness -- Dahl's letter on his daughter, Olivia's death from a measles related illness at age 7. He explains why it is so important to get the vaccine.
KKK group heavily outnumbered by counterprotesters at their own rally in Dayton -- (The Hill) It's time to make Nazi's afraid again. There is no reason they should feel bold enough to openly recruit and rally. Popper's Paradox of Tolerance states that in order for a society to be truly tolerant, it must NOT allow bigotry and hatred to take root. We do not have to give them a platform. They provide nothing of value to the discussion.
Beer Archaeologists Are Reviving Ancient Ales — With Some Strange Results -- (NPR) I would try any one of these beers... For science, of course.
Today
Trump Wishes ‘Happy’ Memorial Day to U.S. and Japanese Troops -- (The Daily Beast) Memorial Day is an American holiday, one where we remember the troops who died in war. And, if you're wishing Japanese troops a Happy Memorial Day as the American president, it's kind of like telling them to celebrate your country killing a lot of their soldiers. Yikes.
Trump Is Horrible But Mitch McConnell Is Really Destroying America -- (Advocate) Trump is only one part of the decimation of America. Mitch McConnell holds a special place as well. Remember that Congress is supposed to act as a co-equal branch of power, and Mitch McConnell has abused that power. He used that power to stymie Obama, and continues to enable the destruction of our nation in the form of Trump. This was what his ultimate goal has always been.
U.N. panel says Israeli troops "intentionally shot children" in Gaza border protests -- (CBS) The bulk of the Democratic candidates this cycle refuse to speak out against the atrocities committed by Israel against the Palestinian people. In fact, only 4 candidates have decried the genocide perpetrated on Palestinians by the Israeli government: Sanders, Warren, Gabbard, and Gravel. The others are held in line by lobbyist funding from AIPAC and fears of being called anti-Semitic. In the meantime, Isreali soldiers shoot children, journalists, medics, and the disabled.
Senate GOP vows to quickly quash any impeachment charges -- (The Hill) The GOP is quickly rallying around Trump and abdicating their responsibility as a co-equal branch of government. It's interesting how quickly they wish to dismiss impeachment for obstruction and collusion, but were extremely interested in cross-examining a 20 year old intern in a blue dress. Democrats need to stand and push forward, even if it seems like a losing proposition.
'Blatant Attempt to Politicize the Science': Trump Reportedly Moving to End Long-Term Studies of Climate Crisis -- (Common Dreams) In an effort to avoid discussing the impacts of the climate crisis and allow gas and oil companies to continue to make money as well as avoid making any decisions on how to protect the people in areas vulnerable to the effects of climate change, Trump has decided we just need to stop looking into it.
Donald Trump’s Wikipedia Entry Is a War Zone -- (Slate) How does the world's largest online encyclopedia maintain a neutral look at Donald Trump? Well, a lot of hard work and discussion goes into it. Even so, it can get contentious and difficult.
A Trump official admitted she ‘doesn’t care’ about following the law -- (Think Progress) After HUD Secretary Ben Carson's Oreo debacle, you'd think HUD officials would be a little more circumspect for a while. Apparently, no. Lynne Patton "doesn't give a shit" that she's violated the Hatch Act by using her official HUD twitter account to comment on political activities. Not that this is new for the Trump Administration. And not like the government will do anything to stop it.
Almost half of US families can't afford basics like rent and food -- (CNN) Trump likes to brag about low unemployment and a "strong economy." Can he explain, then, how 43% of households in the United States can't afford the basics of housing, food, child care, health care, transportation, and cell phone? These are categorized as the "basic middle class life," but shouldn't that be what we strive for with all families? It doesn't include things like "vacations" or "savings", these are just the very basics. Is your family an ALICE family?
How Bernie Sanders Accidentally Built a Groundbreaking Organizing Movement -- (The Intercept) In 2016, the Sanders campaign faced what would become the official policy of the DCCC, blackballing of his campaign staff. That meant appealing to activists and volunteers to fill those ranks, and he did. And it also, inadvertently, created a completely new, completely amazing organizing strategy. Like any movement, it's had its growing pains, but it has also spawned several other groups and become a force to be reckoned with.
Robert Mueller's silence has become a problem -- (The Week) Mueller doesn't want his work to become spectacle, and that is understandable. He was engaged with serious questions and troubling answers. However, this Administration only does "spectacle." And they will use his reticence against him. The American public, by and large, is unaware of what the report says and are left to take Trump's and Barr's word that "NO COLLUSION" and "COMPLETE EXONERATION" are the truth. The public needs to hear from Mueller. And it needs to happen soon.
‘My Rudy’: Trump’s lawyer wants to be the campaign’s No. 1 hatchet man -- (Politico) In Giuliani, Trump has found a bosom companion. And Giuliani wants to take that act on the road for the 2020 campaign. Trump insiders think that is a great idea, but probably not the way Giuliani envisions.