I just returned from an expedition into the heart of MAGA darkness.  Spent the afternoon with my sisters bat shi+ family.

The ground is shifting.  I really think it might be.  Russia, China, recession, being called a fascist racist,  I think it's starting to take its toll.

They might totally crawl back but if the economy goes into the toilet Trump is on the verge of being deader `un Elvis.

The fringe (my family) has pretty much had it.

Her mobility is limited, so I pick the apples, cut them and put them in the big pot, she boils them down and then we use her applesauce tool to finish up.  

No sugar added, totally sweet, very red from the color in the peels.

 Trump has blatantly abused presidential power by demanding that an ally (dependent on presidential good will) deny entry to its country by elected members of the US Congress.

 The president has abused the power of his office in an attempt at political gain and partisan strategy.  And, to diminish, punish, and make an example of, US Representatives, by using presidential influence so as to demean their office and deny fact-finding capabilities necessary to their legislative role.

Trump tweeted:  "It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Representatives Omar and Tlaib to visit.  They hate Israel and all Jewish people and there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds.  MN and MI will have a hard time putting them back in office.  They are a disgrace."

Shortly after the tweet, the Israel government announced it would deny the US Congresswomen entry during an upcoming trip.

Anyone who is hurting financially and needs a free copy, email me at david adler at earthlink dot net, and I'll send you a free copy. I'd just ask that you put a review up. Even if you think it's a surreal mess. I swear to you.

President Donald Trump is calling off an upcoming trip to Denmark after its prime minister rebuffed his interest in buying Greenland, a Danish territory, the White House announced on Tuesday.

Senator Tom Cotton (R. Ak..aka Tom of Greenland) is now claiming credit for being among those who put the idea in Trump's "very large brain." And, Trump claims he has been thinking about this for a long time.

Now, the Republican National Congressional Committee has, if you act now, a limited number of T-Shirts for sale depicting Greenland as a part of the US. And, "support Trump and his effort to help America grow."

 Of course,  cartography is out of the Republicans wheelhouse, showing the island to be out of proportion to Alaska, which is only slightly smaller than Greenland in land mass. Maybe, just another grifting opportunity, but maybe not.

"It's axiomatic that a prosecutor's function is not merely to seek convictions, but also to honor truth. Here, that did not happen."
- Judge Daniel Lowenthal

Citing "gross prosecutorial misconduct," and over the vociferous objection of L.A. Deputy Dist. Atty. Evelis De Garmo, Superior Court Judge Daniel Lowenthal vacated Bonner's 1982 murder and robbery conviction and ordered him immediately released from state custody.

Ironically, Judge Lowenthal had denied two earlier motions filed by Bonner for review of his case. But thanks to California's new felony murder law, which went into effect this year and retroactively limits who can be charged with murder to those accused of actually killing or intending to kill, Bonner was able to repetition Lowenthal, thus setting the stage for yesterday's dramatic reversal of fortune in court.

The article includes pictures of several immigration judges with "Kritarch" before their names. After an article in BuzzFeed about this newsletter, the EOIR responded by saying it was not their fault, the news briefings are compiled by a contractor and the VDAre blog should not have been included, because the DOJ condemns Anti-Semitism in the strongest terms.

It just happened. DOJ does not review the newsletter. Chalk it up to basic Trump/Barr incompetence.

 But, the union leader, Ashley Tabaddor, is not having any of it, writing to EOIR that an apology is in order for all immigration judges, including those mentioned in the referenced blog article.  And, separately, EOIR should take safety and security measures for all judges given the tone and tenor of the newsletter.

The heavyweight champion, and our apex predator in perpetuity, is the mosquito. Since 2000, the annual average number of human deaths caused by the mosquito has hovered around 2 million. We come in a distant second at 475,000, followed by snakes (50,000), dogs and sand flies (25,000 each), the tsetse fly, and the assassin or kissing bug (10,000 each). The fierce killers of lore and Hollywood celebrity appear much further down our list. The crocodile is ranked #10 with 1,000 annual deaths. Next on the list are hippos with 500, and elephants and lions with 100 fatalities each. The much-slandered shark and wolf share the #15 position, killing an average of ten people per annum.

The mosquito has killed more people than any other cause of death in human history. Statistical extrapolation situates mosquito-inflicted deaths approaching half of all humans that have ever lived. In plain numbers, the mosquito has dispatched an estimated 52 billion people from a total of 108 billion throughout our relatively brief 200,000-year existence.

The Deadliest Hunter of Humans on the Planet
In this introduction to his book "The Mosquito,"

You know what?  Its f'ing awsum.   I do not say that as a comic book movie fan boy but as a movie addict.

It's really something.  If you have never seen a Marvel movie and you have a slow afternoon, try it.

It's a bunch of hella great actors who sell a story about a giant purple guy with a nu+sack for a chin that has one goal in life - eliminating half of it.  In the entire universe.

James Browlin alone should get some praise for making a cartoon into a character you actually felt for.

Not to mention how it perfectly ended one of the most successful movie franchises ever.

I know I'm in the minority but I don't think there's a huge difference in quality between Marvel and DC comic book movies.

This statement betrays an ignorance of both movies and the comic universe.

Let's start with reception.  Justice League made 650 odd million.  Endgame (alone) was 2.8 billion.  Making it btw the top movie in history passing Avatar.

This is not, dear reader, a function of marketing.

It's the story, stupid.

Similarities between the two:  we have super hero's battling a giant CG bad guy for the fate of the universe.

Um, that's it.  That the only similarity.  

The bad guy, like the heros, in Justice League were straight up one dimensional cartoon characters.  Assuming movie goers would be happy with the basic comic universe.  

THIS is also why DC comics are snickered at by comic fans of the Marvel universe.  Which is made up of "heros" AND "villains" who are complex interesting characters.  Not one dimensional "black/white/good/bad" characters like Superman.

This is beautifully illustrated by the DC attempt to be grownup by killing Superman a couple of movies back.  The laughable thing was everyone knew he was coming back.  They could not even finish that movie without "clues" he was coming back.

Ironman is not coming back.  Black Widow and Vision are not coming back.  Captain America is not coming back.

This might not impress you but what is relevant here is NONE of the DC universe will ever really die.  It's impossible.

So, there's that.  Then there is just the fact of moviemaking.  Justice League was crap.  Movie wise.  The whole digitally removing Superman's f'ing mustache alone makes it, as an effects person, almost unwatchable.  It was a crappy movie.

Endgame is so layered with personal story it's amazing. Hulk reconciling his bi polar life, Thor slipping into depression and alcohol gaining 50 pounds (and proving even chubby Chris Hemsworth is hot), the whole thing between Hawkeye and Black Widow about who dies to save the mission.  It's a great story.  Then there is the performance of Josh Brolin as the bad guy which is so different and better that the bad guy in Justice League who could hardly be called a character at all.

America's elections need a revolution: Democrats offer drastic new plan to save our democracy

What makes Beyer's plan so bold, and so necessary, is that it dares to tackle one of the root causes of our broken politics in this era of polarization: Single-member, winner-takes-all districts.

Our winner-take-all system, in which only one person is elected to represent each district, simply accelerates dysfunction and extremism in this era of hardened partisanship. It locks most voters into congressional districts where the outcomes are predetermined and leaves too many voters voiceless and unrepresented. So Beyer simply wipes out today's map of safe red and blue seats and replaces them with larger, multimember districts (drawn by nonpartisan commissions) of three, four or five representatives. Smaller states would elect all members at large. Everyone would be elected with ranked-choice voting, which would ensure that as many voters as possible elect a representative who reflects their views.

This is the very best way to repair Congress.

And now, a word from the foreign minister of Greenland:

Police near Chicago say six teenagers were trying to break into a house when the elderly homeowner told them to leave and fired a gun after they refused.
The youngest of the group, 14, was shot and killed.
Now the other five, including four under 18, have been charged with first-degree murder as adults, the Lake County Sheriff's Office said in a statement on Facebook.

Nerheim explained the rationale behind the law that holds felons accountable for deaths that occur during their crime. When felons are armed, "the possibility of death or great harm increases dramatically," Nerheim stated.

So I got hooked on the final season of GOT.  running on HBO2.

The previous work from the team of Danny McBride and Jody Hill is perhaps best known for just how divisive it is. The comedy, pitch-black with no punches pulled, attempts a tonal high-wire act; balancing the anger and cruelty of its characters with more purposefully human moments, which isn't for everyone. Eastbound & Down and Vice Principals are difficult to watch, and they're meant to be, and that means where some see pointless aggression and male chauvinism--McBride has called this trio of shows, which now includes The Righteous Gemstones, his "misunderstood angry man trilogy"--others see comedy acting as an escape valve for a toxic culture, a parody of outsized behavior masquerading as strength and power.

"The Righteous Gemstones" is a near-perfect setup for the series. It establishes the uneasy relationships at the heart of the family while also teeing up a couple mysteries for later on. It dabbles in a critique of the empty religious despotism that's corroding communities in parts of America while leaving room for something more scathing in future episodes. It's clear, concise, and funny as hell, and worth a trip to the altar every Sunday

The New York Police Department announced on Monday that it was firing Daniel Pantaleo, the police officer who killed Eric Garner by placing him in a choke hold in 2014.

The shooting video remains a riveting part of the case. Jurors will see multiple versions, including a slowed-down clip that Drejka's defense team tried to keep out of the courtroom. Prosecutors will argue it shows McGlockton starting to turn away before Drejka pulls the trigger.

 The editor, Judith Regan, says she believes in forgiveness and redemption (and,apparently, monetary opportunities). Curious in that forgiveness is usually a gift offered by those harmed, and she was not among accusers.

The focus of this "How to" book is on interviews with "dozens of political strategists, including Donna Brazile, James Carville, David Axelrod, Tad Devine, Mike McCurry, Bob Shrum, Jennifer Granholm, and Kathleen Sebelius."  

 While unsurprising that Halperin would attempt a come back, as we have seen in cases such as Louis CK, it is unseemly that so many Democrats would be willing to lend a hand in the resuscitation of what, in my view, should be a media corpse.

 It appears that David Axelrod now has second thoughts, minimizing his contribution and wishing he had not even done that much. It would be interesting to know which, if any, Democrats were asked to contribute, but refused.

Moreover, it seems from the lineup, that the answer to the "How to" will be how to become Republican-lite so as to capture those never-Trumpers and the proverbial economically anxious. And, of course, not to become too progressive. If this is the thrust, this could be a handbook for the Biden campaign.

Renee Jensen and her boyfriend were relaxing on a sunny Saturday afternoon when an unidentified object landed in their backyard.

As Jensen approached the object to inspect it, she came face to face with Pennywise, the murderous clown that lives off fear.

The plush toy, with its frayed-off tag and mysterious markings on its forehead, was enough to spook Jensen and her boyfriend.

"I turned it over and I jumped back and dropped the thing and yelled for Alex," said Jensen. "He picked it up and I was freaking out. It was creepy and it had weird...I don't even know what the writing was. It looked culty."

So when officers left, Jensen, who owns a reiki and intuitive healing business, did not want to take any chances.

"They left and then I burned the thing," she said. "I tried to burn it with a lighter. The stupid thing would not light because it has the flame retardant. Then I put olive oil on it. Still wouldn't light. Then I put newspaper on it and light it up on fire."

After burning the doll, Jensen burned sage and walked around her property, trying to cleanse the area. And at night - still scared - she slept with a knife. Just in case.

Animal welfare is becoming increasingly important among many voters.  In any case, it says something good about Castro's soul.

Yes, we are rich. No more whining. Unload some of that cash.

But seriously

Episode 4 - "Good Old Boys" covers, among other things, Lester Maddox, a 1970s Georgia governor and his appearance on the Dick Cavett show.  Maddox was a sort of Trump like  populist figure who liked to play the victim.

"I helped create Trump.  And George, that's not an easy thing to say.  -- I got personal.  I got hateful. I said some ugly things about President Obama that I regret. -- the beauty of what Trump has done is he's made me reflect on some things I've said in the past."