Not so sure.  Watching Israel and the UK have political spasms.  And really they are not facing the kind of existential threat we are with Trump.

We are all dealing with some version of toxic nationalism.

Canada just squeaked by.

On this subject, I am finding myself becoming increasing agitated by this message being put out by orange jesus and his minions that if you are anti-trump, you are somehow anti-American. The increase in calling into question someone's loyalty to country because of disloyalty to this abomination in the White House is really ticking me off. A lot!

If you're going to teach rats to drive, first you need to build them a car (or Rat Operated Vehicle). The chassis and powertrain came from a robot car kit, and a transparent plastic food container provided the body. Explaining the idea of a steering wheel and pedals to rats was probably too difficult, so the controls were three copper wires stretched across an opening cut out of the front of the bodywork and an aluminum plate on the floor. When a rat stood on the plate and gripped a copper bar, a circuit was completed and the motors engaged; one bar made the car turn to the left, one made it turn to the right, and the third made it go straight ahead.

And, an early Happy Birthday to you, CaptHowdy and you, KeysDan.

"We're going to review every witness' background.

Robert Evans, the Paramount executive who produced "Chinatown" and "Urban Cowboy" and whose life became as melodramatic and jaw-dropping as any of his films, died on Saturday night. He was 89.

(CNN) Judge Richard Leon wants to hear from lawyers for the Trump White House, the House of Representatives and from impeachment witness Charles Kupperman on Thursday after Kupperman filed a lawsuit asking the federal court to decide whether he would need to testify.

Kupperman's House testimony had been set for Monday, but Kupperman didn't show up, citing White House and Justice Department reasoning that he was immune from testifying because of his previous work on the National Security Council.

Leon will meet the parties in court at 3 p.m. on Thursday, "due to the time-sensitive nature of the issues raised in this case," the DC District judge wrote Monday night.

The DC Circuit Court of Appeals issued an emergency order on Tuesday blocking Congress from obtaining grand jury materials from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.

The order was issued by a three-judge panel.

A federal judge had ordered the release of the material to the House Judiciary Committee, but the stay from the Appeals Court will block that order pending appeal from the Department of Justice.

Rudy who is involved in two federal criminal investigations we know of and who's straight up Russian Mafia helpers have already been grabbed was in charge of the WHOLE thing.

If by chance Rudy is charged with crimes related to Ukraine or not it could have some serious effects on the impeachment show.

TIME cover story on Rudy

Watching the hearing on CSPAN and it took about 5 minutes to clarify for anyone wondering why they have been hearing closed hearings.

The lawsuit can move forward but the focus is much more specific. In the lawsuit, Nick Sandmann accuses The Washington Post of libel, saying stories written about the January incident in Washington, D.C., shed a negative light on him, which led to him being disgraced on social media.

Attorneys Lin Wood and Todd McMurtry filed the lawsuit on behalf of Sandmann and his family. It was the first in a series of lawsuits filed against several media outlets...

...On Monday, McMurtry tweeted: "NEWSFLASH: Federal Judge William O. Bertelsman partially reversed his ruling to dismiss #nicksandmann's claims against the @washingtonpost. Nick's case may now proceed into discovery. The ruling bodes well for the NBC and CNN cases, as well."

Senators have the option of "absenting themselves"

Dr. Paul Krugman's review describes the Warren plan as a serious one whose numbers, though you can argue with them, add up. Moreover, he opines that no proposal to remake American Health Care will be the final one, but it is surely a plan to discuss and work with.

Warren's consultants include Don Berwick, former Director of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, Simon Johnson, former chief economist of World Bank; Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's; and Betsy Stevenson, former economist at the US Department of Labor(the quality of the consultants, itself, augurs well for the type of people America might expect in a Warren Administration). Of course, not as terrific as Trump's "best people", e.g., Betsy DeVos.

In my view, Senator Warren's plan is a vision and more--a concretized idea that demonstrates that America can have a much better health care system than it has.  Coverage for all for, essentially, with no net change (adjusting for an increased expenditure owing to expansion of coverage for all).

The Warren plan, of course, is subject to fair analysis, questions and criticisms. It does, as all plans,  especially a ten-year plan of this magnitude, rest on presumptions that may be overly ambitious or optimistic.  They may be seen as idealistic, but not realistic.  But, it is a plan, and like the best laid ones, it may not come to pass as set forth.  But, for me, it is better than proposing an incremental and incomplete solution for the stepping stone of the ACA, being chipped away at, since outright repeal did not work,  so far. No need to propose a plan of compromise right out of the starting gate.

A growing number of Senate Republicans are ready to acknowledge that President Trump used U.S. military aid as leverage to force Ukraine to investigate former vice president Joe Biden

these Republicans are insisting that the president's action was not illegal and does not rise to the level of an impeachable offense

A series of events at work convinced me it was time to go. But wait! I have enough through retirement accounts and savings to live for more than a couple of years. EXCEPT for health care costs. My prescriptions (that literally keep me alive) would run about $2500 a month retail. Insurance for me and my wife through an exchange would run about $1700 a month, with a $15,000 deductible. And one of my injections is not covered by nearly any plan. None of these options is affordable. I can file for Social Security for another year and half.

Los Angeles Times | Nov. 6, 2019
Whitney Houston's best friend reveals a lesbian affair with the singer - "Seven years after the death of Whitney Houston, and well into a time of consciousness about gender and sexuality, one of the most sensational story lines in the late singer's life has remained: What was the deal between the singer and her best friend, Robyn Crawford?"

Speaking for myself only, I'm certainly not interested in pursuing this particular story line. Just my opinion, of course, but I believe a true best friend would realize that some matters are inherently personal and best left unsaid in public, especially when the other party can no longer speak on her own behalf. Let's please allow Ms. Houston to rest in peace.

Announcing the find on Wednesday, researchers from Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History said the two pits contained about 824 bones from at least 14 mammoths.

Hunters may have used torches to scare the mammals into the area with the traps, which are about 6ft (1.70m) deep and 25 yards in diameter, but one of the skulls found also had marks of a spear wound on the front.

The Guardian | November 8, 2019
Secret chats involving Republican lawmaker reveal fresh evidence of plots and paranoia - "Leaked Signal messages from an online chat network around six-term Washington state Republican representative Matt Shea show new evidence of violent fantasies, surveillance of perceived adversaries, conspiracy thinking, Islamophobia, and support for white nationalists. [...] They also show participants, including Shea, preparing for economic and societal collapse even as they campaign for the secession of eastern Washington from the remainder of the state."

"Yaah-HOOOOOO!! I'm cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs - cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs - cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs ..."