With Thanksgiving next week, I think I'm going to have the two older grandsons (almost-5 and 3) over for a little baking session with Grammy this weekend.  I found a recipe for Snickerdoodle muffins that sound delicious and easy enough for the boys to feel like they made them!  Depending on how things go, we might also make some leaf-shaped shortbread cookies that we can decorate (it's like Play-doh, only actually edible!).

I predict a lot of flour flying and sugar crunching underfoot, but what the heck: these will be happy memories and the start of some new traditions.

With the final vote totals reported after 9 p.m., Keller secured 62 percent of the vote (60,219) while Lewis has 38 percent (36,594).

"purchased a plot of vacant land on the border and retained a law firm specializing in eminent domain to make it as time-consuming and expensive as possible for the wall to get built."

Link

Fresh off the nightcap of the Dead & Co. two night run at MSG...dog tired from the wear and tear, yet spiritually rejuvenated. Specifically asked the Grateful Gods for a Ship of Fools and a St. Stephen and got both, praise be unto them.  Band will be on Colbert tomorrow night if anybody wants a taste, though there is no substitute for going to church my brethren.

11/12 Set

Shakedown Street
Greatest Story Ever Told
Bertha
Cassidy
Beat It On Down the Line
They Love Each Other
Cumberland Blues

China Cat Sunflower
I Know You Rider
Ship of Fools
Terrapin Station
Drums  
Space
Standing on the Moon
The Other One
Casey Jones

Samson and Delilah
Werewolves of London

11/14 Set

Hell in a Bucket
Cold Rain and Snow
Me and My Uncle
Brown-Eyed Women
Tennessee Jed
Bird Song
Man Smart, Woman Smarter

Help on the Way
Slipknot!
Franklin's Tower
China Doll
Estimated Prophet
Drums
Space
A Love Supreme
Stella Blue
St. Stephen
Not Fade Away

Here we have a story from Minnesota that is very similar to the court case in Mass that led to the whole golf-tournament thing.  Link.

"Attorneys for a Wisconsin boy who wants to compete with his high school dance team have filed a federal civil rights complaint after the Minnesota State High School League barred him from a championship competition."

"The school allows him to dance with the team. The Minnesota league told Johnson in December that he couldn't compete with his team in competitions in Minnesota because that state doesn't allow boys on high school dance teams."

FWIW, I am of the opinion that the boy should absolutely be allowed on the dance team.  Which is similar to what the MA court found, that if a team sport is not available for boys only, you have to let the boys play with the girls (and vice versa).

UCLA coach Steve Alford says that freshmen LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill are indefinitely suspended from the team. "These young men will remain suspended indefinitely from the team." They cannot travel or join them at games. "They will have to earn their way back."

A couple things here.  Did they ever admit to the crime or has there been sufficient evidence to prove it?  If so, they should be expelled.  If not, let them play.  

The upcoming film titled "I Am Elizabeth Smart" follows the nine months after Smart, then 14, was kidnapped by Brian Mitchell from her bedroom in her Salt Lake City home in 2002 and was raped daily by her captor, the Deseret News reported .

Police finally found her in Sandy with the help of two couples who recognized Mitchell from media reports as a suspect in Smart's kidnapping.

An absolutely absurd tax bill passed the House; the senate bill is awful, including an attack on the Affordable Care Act, the manages to throw millions off health insurance and increase premiums for those who remain.  

While there is everything to dissect in this bill, the largest question is why are we even talking about a tax cut bill?  We have deficits, not surpluses; an increasing debt to service; vast unmet domestic needs, infrastructure, affordable health care, job re-/training, CHIP renewal; expanding military expenditures, and a useless, but incredibly expensive beautiful wall to build.

And why? to stimulate the economy?  The economy is humming along, with low unemployment and high stock prices.  What is missing, of course, is wage increases and stagnation; economic equity.  If the argument is to generate growth so that its benefits will trickle down, where is the historic or predictive evidence, especially in the present global circumstances?  When the Secretary of Treasury asked how many CEO's plan to invest and to help workers if the cut, cut plan was enacted, the roomful conjured up a couple of hands of agreement.  

The aerial view is a cut of $1.5 trillion over ten years, with $1 trillion for corporate interests (a permanent cut), $200 billion to eliminate the inheritance tax, and $300 billion for the rest, or about $100 dollars on average per person.

 The pay for's come out of middle class hides, from big ticket items (elimination of state/local taxes, property taxes, mortgage interest) to the petty (elimination of the $250 maximum deduction for teacher's out-of-pocket expenses for school supplies.

 Social Security, Medicare are sure targets; and, the money from repeal of a critical part of the Affordable Care Act, fund the tax bonanza for corporations and the very rich. And, a special kind of rich...those who do not work for their money, the kind of money that works for them.

Pay/benefits have declined and retention has suffered, especially in rural areas - hitting those who, one suspects, helped put the creepy Walker into office in the first place.

Co-writer with brother Angus of every one of the group's records between 1975 and 2014, Malcolm Young had retired from AC/DC three years ago following his dementia diagnosis. Unlike so many of his more flamboyant brethren in the hard rock / heavy metal genre, he basically eschewed the limelight once he was offstage and preferred to fly under the radar, humbly describing his musical career as "a nine-to-five sort of gig."

Nevertheless, the accolades pouring in today from across the music world underscore the Young brothers' formidable reputation as two of the most prolific and creative guys in the business, whose overall body of work speaks for itself, and Malcolm will be dearly missed. And suddenly and once again, our generation feels a little bit older.

U.S. President Donald Trump has begun paying his own legal bills related to the Russia investigation and will no longer cover the costs using political donations to his re-election campaign or the Republican Party, his attorneys confirmed on Friday.

In August, Reuters first reported that the RNC was paying Trump's legal bills, which amounted to more than $230,000 that month

Cuz?

We're bored so poke Trump like he does us?

Yay!
The majority leader (et al) are taking the high road in sexual assault!
Wow, so cool.
That's the same "others" who roll over and present their soft parts to Donald J. Trump.  He of 17 on the record accusers of sexual assault!!

Irony is dead.  We will not see her like again.

That said, there is no more deserving of random brutal Karmic justice than Roy Moore.

Former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who had been sacked last week by Mugabe in favor of his own wife Grace, has now returned to Harare from South Africa, where he had fled last week. Mugabe himself is presently under house arrest, while wife Grace remains in Namibia, where she had gone on a state visit.

The coup apparently enjoys the support of Zimbabwe's powerful neighbor South Africa, which has long complained about the massive influx of refugees from that country as its economy collapsed in 2010.

We were in Zimbabwe in Nov. 2010 when the country's currency underwent a massive devaluation, to the point where the government was printing $5-$10 million notes and merchants would only accept South African rand or U.S. dollars. The people's desperation was readily in view, and it was sad to see and not be able to do anything to help.

For all his heroics in the struggle against white-minority rule, Mugabe has long since worn out his popularity amongst Zimbabweans, black and white alike, and enjoyed a dubious reputation as arguably Africa's most corrupt ruler. Hopefully, the new regime can do something to alleviate the country's plight.

What nonsense.  How often do Judges interact with parties before the Court prior to trial?  Not very often.....

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority obtained the warrant on February 1, 2017 after authorities allegedly found traces of narcotics in her personal belongings that were left behind on a United flight in January to Washington D.C....

A source who worked at the Weinstein Company told Farrow that Weinstein in September enlisted the help of private investigators to get McGowan arrested before the existence of the warrant was made public. On October 30, McGowan first publicly responded to the existence of the warrant on Twitter.

That is what a District Court does--preside over trials.....

Allred responds.... "we're not denying, we're not admitting, we're not addressing, we will not be distracted..."

She goes on and on about getting Moore to testify under oath but doesn't seem to want the yearbook to be examined by experts...at least not until there's some kind of hearing.

Merkel is under pressure from her own conservative bloc, in particular her Bavarian allies, the Christian Social Union (CSU), not to compromise too much to secure a coalition deal - in particular on immigration.

At stake is a conservative plan to cap the number of people Germany will accept per year on humanitarian grounds at 200,000 - a limit the environmentalist Greens reject.

I am not religious.  This is known.  A couple of things about that, I was dragged to enough Sunday school to know THOSE people are not Christians.  I don't know what they are but they are not fu@king Christians.
Also, I never believed in the Sunday school heaven and hell.  All I can say is they better hope I'm right and they are wrong.  Be cause if they are right, they are fu@ked.  They got some big surprises in their future.

You Have A Masters Degree!
CONGRATULATIONS!! You ACED this quiz! WOAH!! Did you know that only 3% of Americans can get a perfect score on this grammar test? You must have a masters degree from an Ivy League. No grammar question that can fool you... Have you considered becoming an editor? Well done on your score!!

this is just one minor example of why undemocratic EU ersatz-federalism is bad.

RIGA - In order to comply with the European Union's (EU) requirements, the Justice Ministry earlier this year drew up amendments to the Criminal Law that would criminalize glorification of terrorism and travel to foreign countries with the aim to engage in terrorist activities

At present the Criminal Law does not criminalize:

• glorification of terrorism
  
• receiving terrorist training
  
• travel to foreign countries with the aim to engage in terrorist activities
  
• financing, organizing and aiding such travel

Under the proposed amendments:

• travel to foreign countries with the aim to engage in terrorist activities would carry a jail term of up to eight years
  
• receiving terrorist training would carry a jail term of up to seven years
  
• criminal liability for glorification of terrorism would carry a jail term of up to five years

Kayla Moore also said, apparently ironically, that she believes President Donald Trump owes her and her husband a thank you for diverting public attention from the federal investigation into Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 presidential campaign and possible collusion with Trump associates.

"So the liberal press, Washington Post, who endorsed Hillary Clinton, who also endorsed our opponent gets involved in this race, along with the Human Rights Campaign, the DNC and the Washington establishment, all of the very same people who were attacking President Trump are also attacking us," Kayla Moore said, "I personally think he owes us a thank you. Have you noticed you're not hearing too much about Russia?"              

its good, really good.

but then i am a card carring Zack Snyder fan boy.

the reason the MARVEL movies have been so much better is simple.  the characters were better from the start.  they were never black/white/good/evil characters.  they had weaknesses and failings and demons.