NOVEMBER 3 AND 4, 2018


NEWS AND VIEWS


TRUMP AND FRIENDS – DIVERSE ARTICLES


THIS IS TODAY’S MULTIPLE MURDER. IT’S NOT MASS MURDER BECAUSE ONLY TWO PEOPLE WERE SACRIFICED TO THE GOD OF PSEUDO-PATRIOTIC ANTI-EVERYBODY ZEAL. UNFORTUNATELY, IN THIS COUNTRY WE DO NOT ARREST AND HOSPITALIZE INDIVIDUALS BECAUSE THEY ARE KNOWN TO BE COMPLETELY OR NEARLY PSYCHOTIC. WE HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THEY DO START TO KILL. I THINK IF WE WOULD REPLACE CERTAIN KINDS OF IMPRISONMENT WITH HOSPITALIZATION, IT WOULD BE A GOOD THING, AND SHOULDN’T BE CONTRARY TO THEIR HUMAN RIGHTS. FOR A DANGEROUS PERSON, TO BE ALLOWED OUT ON HIS OWN RECOGNIZANCE SHOULD NOT BE COVERED AS ONE OF THE “INALIENABLE RIGHTS.” THE ALT-RIGHT HAS MORE THAN A FEW SUPERMACHISMO FREAKS IN IT, AND I IMAGINE THAT IS THE GROUP THIS GUY FITS INTO.

ABOUT BEIERLE’S “INVOLUNTARY CELIBACY” DEFENSE, THIS IS PURE IDIOCY. WE ARE ALLOWED LIFE, AS MUCH HEALTH AS POSSIBLE, FOOD AND WATER, SOME WORK AND SOME REST, ETC., BUT WE ARE NOT GUARANTEED FREEDOM FROM “CELIBACY.” BOTH MEN AND WOMEN ARE SOMETIMES SO PHYSICALLY UNATTRACTIVE, THAT MEMBERS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX WILL NOT BE ATTRACTED TO THEM. THAT’S SAD, BUT IT’S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD. PEOPLE NEED MORE SOURCES OF PLEASURE IN THEIR BASKETS THAN JUST ONE THING. WOMEN, ESPECIALLY, ARE ENCOURAGED TO GET INTO SCHOLARLY PURSUITS TO EXPAND THEIR LIVES, AND IT CERTAINLY OFTEN WORKS. SOME NEED A JOB TO DO THAT IS USEFUL AND/OR SPECIAL, LIKE TEACHING. THROWING OURSELVES INTO WORK IS COMMONLY DONE BY THE INTROVERTED OR DEPRESSIVE INDIVIDUALS, ALONG WITH ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUGS. STILL OTHERS DO CHURCH WORK OR VOLUNTEER FOR CHARITIES.

SEVERAL TIMES IN MURDER CASES OVER MY LIFETIME (NOT MANY, THANK GOODNESS) MEN HAVE USED THE UNKINDNESS OF WOMEN TOWARD THEM AS GROUNDS FOR MURDER. I BELIEVE IN “THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS,” BUT WITH LIMITATIONS. BEING KIND TO A MAN DOESN’T HAVE TO INVOLVE HAVING A SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM. AS AN EXCUSE FOR VIOLENCE, THIS IS ONE OF THE SILLIEST, IN MY VIEW. I HAVE NOTICED IN THESE STORIES THAT MOST OF THEM HAVE A NOTABLE MENTAL “TWIST” IN THE WAY THEY SEE THE WORLD IF NOT AN OUTRIGHT PSYCHOSIS, AND IN THIS CASE IT’S A PROBLEM WITH HIS MOTHER, MOST LIKELY. IT’S TOO BAD THAT A COUPLE OF TOTALLY INNOCENT WOMEN HAD TO BE THE TARGET OF HIS HATE. NOTE, "INCEL" IS A MODERN TERM FOR "INVOLUNTARILY CELIBATE." IT'S TOO BAD, BUT SOMETIMES WE JUST HAVE TO ACCEPT THINGS IN LIFE THAT ARE EXTREMELY PAINFUL. AS A CAUSE OF SEXUAL DISLOYALTY, I THINK IT IS IN FACT A REASONABLE EXCUSE, IF IT IS A REAL AND ONGOING SITUATION; BUT NOT FOR PHYSICAL OR MENTAL ABUSE. IF IT'S A PROBLEM, PICK A GOOD PSYCHOLOGIST AND GO WITH YOUR PARTNER FOR THERAPY.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/davidmack/tallahassee-yoga-shooter-incel-far-right-misogyny-video
Tallahassee Yoga Shooter Was A Far-Right Misogynist Who Railed Against Women And Minorities Online
Scott Beierle killed two women at a Florida yoga studio on Friday night. He had posted a series of misogynistic videos and songs online, and appeared to identify as an “involuntary celibate.” This is the second deadly attack by an “involuntary celibate” in 2018.

WRITERS
David Mack, BuzzFeed News Reporter
Amber Jamieson, BuzzFeed News Reporter
Julia Reinstein, BuzzFeed News Reporter
Last updated on November 3, 2018, at 7:41 p.m. ET
Posted on November 3, 2018, at 3:27 p.m. ET


HERE IS THAT LINK BETWEEN RELIGION, POLITICS, AND VIOLENCE. WE TEND IN THIS COUNTRY TO THINK THAT BECAUSE A PERSON IS “RELIGIOUS,” HE IS GOOD. VERY OFTEN, THE MORE HIGHLY “RELIGIOUS” HE IS, THE MORE LIKELY HE IS TO BE DANGEROUSLY INSANE. I THINK THAT IS BECAUSE OUR RELIGIONS GO BACK THOUSANDS OF YEARS TO A TIME OF UNSCIENTIFIC AND "MAGICAL" THINKING. IF THEY DO REQUIRE "COMPLETE BELIEF" IN EVERY BIT OF THE DOCTRINE, THE MORE LIKELY THEY ARE TO DESTROY THE BASIC INTELLIGENCE AND NATURAL EMOTIONS WITH WHICH THE PERSON WAS BORN. I KNOW THAT STATEMENT IS GOING TO OFFEND ABOUT 1/4 OF MY READERSHIP, AND FOR THAT I APOLOGIZE; 3/4 OF YOU PROBABLY BASICALLY AGREE WITH ME, BECAUSE FEW OF US WILL READ DAILY SOMETHING WHICH WE CONSIDER TO BE UNTRUE. AS FOR RELIGIONS, I VALUE MOST HIGHLY THOSE WHICH DO SPECIFIC GOOD FOR SOCIETY -- FEEDING THE HUNGRY, FOR INSTANCE -- AND ELEVATE OUR THINKING FROM ANY KIND OF MUNDANE THING TO THE POSITIVE POSSIBILITIES. I AM HIGHLY SKEPTICAL OF THOSE WHICH INDUCE AN HYPEREMOTIONAL CONDITION. I THINK THOSE ARE DANGEROUS. I DISTINGUISH BETWEEN RELIGIONS “BY THEIR FRUITS,” AS JESUS TOLD HIS APOSTLES TO DO. WHEN, UNDER ITS’ INFLUENCE, MEMBERS GO OUT AND SHOOT ABORTION DOCTORS OR BOMB CLINICS OR MURDER JEWS IN THEIR SYNAGOGUE, THAT ISN’T GOOD RELIGION. HERE IS A CASE OF ONE OF OUR US CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES ACTIVELY PROPAGATING A POTENTIALLY VIOLENT RELIGION OUT OF HIS ALT-RIGHT LEANINGS. CAN’T THE CONGRESS EJECT MEMBERS WHO ARE CRIMINAL OR PSYCHOTIC? I’M SURE IT CAN. I WANT TO SEE THAT HAPPEN WITH THIS MAN.


http://www.msnbc.com/maddowblog
THE GOD MACHINE
THIS WEEK IN GOD, 11.03.18
By Steve Benen 11/03/18 07:58AM

PHOTOGRAPH -- The sun rises behind the steeple of a church, Aug. 23, 2015, in Plains, Ga. Photo by David Goldman/AP

First up from the God Machine this week is a look at a Republican state lawmaker in Washington, who shared some rather extraordinary thoughts on what he described as the “Biblical Basis for War.” The Spokesman-Review in Spokane reported this week:

Washington state Rep. Matt Shea acknowledged Wednesday he had distributed a four-page manifesto titled “Biblical Basis for War,” which describes the Christian God as a “warrior,” details the composition and strategies of a “Holy Army” and condemns abortion and same-sex marriage.

The document is organized in 14 sections with multiple tiers of bullet points and a smattering of biblical citations. Under one heading, “Rules of War,” it makes a chilling prescription for enemies who flout “biblical law.” It states, “If they do not yield – kill all males.”

I happened to write a post on Shea back in 2013 when he urged like-minded folks to stock up on thousands of rounds of ammunition. (He also warned at the time of government-imposed FEMA concentration camps*.)

When the GOP lawmaker’s “manifesto” generated attention this week, Shea appeared in a Facebook Live video in which he defended his work as “a series of sermons on biblical war in the Old Testament as part of a larger discussion on the history of warfare.”

In the same video, however, the Washington official described the United States as “a Christian nation,” while dismissing his critics as “Marxists” and “Islamists.”

My friend Rob Boston explained yesterday, “Many people active in the Religious Right long to use their religion to tell the rest of us what to do, although they deny that when pressed. The Reconstructionists are at least honest enough to say it upfront. Shea’s manifesto is more of the same. It’s an insistence that the Bible (as interpreted by a small band of far-right fundamentalists) provides justification for whatever these folks want to do – and that usually involves them running everyone else’s lives.”

As for what’s next for Shea, the local NBC affiliates reported that his “manifesto” came to the attention of Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich, “who says he immediately alerted the FBI saying he felt the author, Shea, was dangerous.”

Also from the God Machine this week:

* The kind of story that gives me hope: “A Muslim American group has raised more than $200,000 through an online crowdfunding campaign to help families affected by the Oct. 27 mass shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, which killed at least 11. CelebrateMercy, one of the organizers of the campaign, told NBC News that the money will assist families with medical bills, funeral expenses and other immediate and short-term needs.”

* A striking editorial move: “As funeral services for those killed in the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting continued into a third day Friday, the city’s newspaper paid tribute to the victims with a Jewish prayer on its front page, spoken in ancient Aramaic and written in Hebrew script. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s headline, a portion of a Jewish mourner’s prayer, read: ‘Magnified and sanctified be Your name,’ according to the paper.”

* This may seem a little obscure, but the dispute over the “Peace Cross” is going to be a big church-state case: “The Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide whether a 40-foot cross in the median of a busy suburban Maryland highway is a secular memorial to those who died during World War I or an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion.”

* And speaking of interesting legal fights: “A lawyer for religious groups on Wednesday defended in federal court a 64-year-old tax break that grants priests, rabbis and imams tax-free housing allowances – costing the Treasury of hundreds of millions of dollars a year.”

* The New York Times asked young evangelical readers “about the relationship between their faith and their politics.” The request generated some interesting responses.

* The latest in a series of setbacks: “The Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC says five of its most valuable artifacts – once thought to be part of the historic Dead Sea Scrolls – are fake and will not be displayed anymore. German-based scholars tested the fragments and found that five ‘show characteristics inconsistent with ancient origin and therefore will no longer be displayed at the museum.’”

Explore:
The MaddowBlog, Religion, Society and This Week in God


ON THOSE “FEMA CONCENTRATION CAMPS*”, THAT IS YET ANOTHER FAR RIGHT CONSPIRACY THEORY. FOR A GREAT ARTICLE ON THE SUBJECT, GO TO: https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/FEMA_concentration_camps#Believers.


MSNBC AND THE UPCOMING ELECTION

https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/watch/taking-on-trump-s-lies-fear-mongering-obama-delivers-closing-argument-for-gillum-1360499267768
OBAMA IS ONE OF THE GREATEST OF THE DEMOCRATIC SPEAKERS. WATCH THIS.



TAKE MICHAEL MOORE SERIOUSLY AND GO DOWN TO YOUR DEMOCRATIC HEADQUARTERS AND SEE WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR THEM. MONEY IS ONE THING, BUT AT THIS PRE-ELECTION TIME, THEY WILL NEED FOOT SOLDIERS AND DRIVERS ALSO; AND OF COURSE, VOTE! AS USUAL, THIS MOORE INTERVIEW IS A GREAT ONE. I REALLY LIKE HIM, FOR THE SAME REASONS I LIKE BILL MAHER AND DICK CAVETT. I WONDER WHERE HE IS NOW. HE WAS ACTUALLY DRIVEN OFF THE AIR BY RICHARD NIXON. SAD DAYS, AND HERE WE ARE AGAIN.

https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/watch/michael-moore-take-trump-seriously-and-don-t-listen-to-pelosi-or-the-polls-1361311811782
DURATION 12:40


SULLY SPEAKS OUT BEAUTIFULLY FOR OUR DEMOCRACY AND THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS. “THIS IS NOT THE AMERICA I KNOW AND LOVE.” SEE THIS INTERVIEW.

https://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/capt-sullenberger-vote-against-republican-control-1361293379598
THE LAST WORD -- Capt. Sullenberger: Vote against Republican control
Capt. Sully Sullenberger has a message for the American people: "everyone, everywhere must vote." Capt. Sully urges voters to save our democracy from a President that is not capable or willing to change.
“I COULD NOT LET MY SILENCE OR CIVILITY CONNOTE ACQUIESCENCE.” RIGHT ON, CAPTAIN!

VIDEO -- CAPT. SULLENBERGER’S CALL TO ACTION TO VOTE DURATION 9:47


THIS IS INDEED DISCOURAGING. MAYBE OUR DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE SCHOLTEN IS SIMPLY AFRAID THAT HE CAN’T SWIM IN THAT CURRENT, OR MAYBE HE IS PERSONALLY ON THE LINE IN HIS PHILOSOPHICAL VIEWS. A WOMAN I KNOW SAID THAT SHE THINKS OPPOSING THE RIGHTISTS “MAKES THEM WORSE;” I GUESS THAT DEPENDS ON WHETHER YOU FEAR MORE THE ACT OF MAKING A CONFRONTATION, OR THE LOSS OF YOUR ABILITY TO SPEAK UP AT ALL.

PACIFISTS USUALLY CONSIDER MAKING A SHOW OF “GENTLENESS,” BY NOT FIGHTING BACK, TO BE AN EFFECTIVE WAY OF FIGHTING BACK. IN THE CASE OF CHRISTIANS, THEY USUALLY BELIEVE THAT BY DOING THAT THEY WILL GO TO HEAVEN. WHILE IT IS TRUE THAT BEING A MARTYR CAN ENGENDER ENOUGH SUPPORT TO HELP OUR CAUSE, ON THE OTHER HAND, THAT’S A LONG-TERM GAIN IN A SHORT-TERM SITUATION, AND WILL VERY LIKELY END IN LOSS OF FREEDOM OR DEATH, ACCORDING TO HOW DANGEROUS THE PARTICULAR AUTOCRAT HAPPENS TO BE.

THERE IS A GOODLY TREND THIS YEAR OF JOHN Q PUBLIC’S GOING AGAINST THE FAR RIGHT, I THINK. JUDGING FROM THE RESULTS THAT SANDERS HAS HAD, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THOSE MORE TIMID OR UNDECIDED PEOPLE OFTEN SIMPLY NEED STRONG AND OUTSPOKEN LEADERS SO THAT THEY CAN FEEL SAFE IN BUCKING THE LOCAL CROWD OR SOME OTHER BULLY, LIKE THEIR MARRIAGE PARTNER. IN CHOOSING TO FOLLOW THE PLAN OF VIRTUE RATHER THAN EXPEDIENCY, THERE CAN BE PERSONAL DANGER INVOLVED. I DO AGREE THAT PEOPLE WILL EVENTUALLY COME TO SEE TRUMP FOR WHAT HE IS IF THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS REMAINS TRUE IN THIS COUNTRY, BUT THAT COULD TAKE A LONG TIME; AND TRUMP MAY HAVE HIS OWN “STORM TROOPERS” BY THEN, AS FAST AS HE HAS MOVED SINCE HE CAME INTO OFFICE. ONE ARTICLE CLAIMED THAT HE HAS MADE COMMENTS ABOUT HAVING LOCAL POLICE ANSWER TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. THAT SOUNDS LIKE "STORM TROOPERS" TO ME.

HOWEVER, IF SCHOLTEN JUST WANTS TO SIT ON THE FENCE UNTIL HE SEES WHICH WAY THE TIDE IS RUNNING SO HE CAN JOIN THE MOST POWERFUL GROUP, THEN HE IS DEFINITELY NOT MY KIND OF DEMOCRAT. THAT’S WHAT ELIZABETH WARREN HAS DONE, I DO BELIEVE, AND THAT PREVENTS MY SEEING HER IN A GOOD LIGHT. AS LONG AS SHARING THE WEALTH REMAINS POPULAR, SHE WILL SUPPORT IT. SHE LET BERNIE SANDERS BREAK DOWN THE HEAVY BRUSH, SHE TOOK PUBLIC CREDIT FOR BEING ON HIS SIDE OF THINGS, AND THEN DECLINED TO HELP HIM. INSTEAD SHE WALKED THROUGH THE PATHS HE MADE WITHOUT SO MUCH AS A THANK YOU FOR HIS GOOD WORK.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/11/01/steve-kings-critics-call-him-white-supremacist-his-democratic-opponent-not-my-place/
Steve King’s critics call him a 'white supremacist.’ His Democratic opponent? ‘Not my place.’
By Isaac Stanley-Becker November 1, 2018

PHOTOGRAPH -- J.D. Scholten, Democratic candidate for Iowa's 4th congressional District, welcomed criticism of his Republican opponent, Steve King. But he declined to label the controversial lawmaker a "racist." (Thomas McKinless/CQ Roll Call/AP) (Congressional Quarterly)

When Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) took to Twitter to declare his support for ethnic nationalism, writing last year, “We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies,” J.D. Scholten’s friends from out of state bombarded him with questions.

“Is this where you’re from?” they asked. “Is this you?”

The former minor league pitcher didn’t know how to respond. “I would love to say, ‘That doesn’t represent us,' but ‘representative’ is his job title,” he said.

Scholten, 38, is the Democrat trying to wrest that title from King, who has been engulfed in controversy this week over his racially incendiary rhetoric, as the nation remains on high alert following the massacre on Saturday of 11 Jews in Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report has moved the race for Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, which lies in the northwest quadrant of the state, from “likely” to “lean” Republican.

King has compared immigrants to dogs and said young migrants had “calves the size of cantaloupes” because they were transporting heavy loads of marijuana. He tweeted a cartoon depicting former president Barack Obama wearing a turban. His party didn’t rebuke him in June when he retweeted a message from a self-described “Nazi sympathizer.” Last month, he voiced support for Faith Goldy, an unsuccessful Toronto mayoral candidate who has promoted the notion that a “white genocide” is underway. And last week, reports surfaced that King had met in August with members of an Austrian political party founded by former Nazis, during a trip funded by a group that promotes awareness of the Holocaust.

“I don’t know really how to define it other than selfish,” Scholten said in an interview with The Washington Post when asked how he would describe the conduct of his opponent.

The Democratic candidate pointedly refrained from calling King a “racist” or a “white nationalist” — terms that others, and not just Democrats, have used, opening the door for Scholten to pounce. Instead, he framed his opponent’s association with far-right figures abroad and his inflammatory statements at home as an abdication of leadership, noting that King was not named to the cross-chamber committee hashing out the terms of the farm bill, which is critical to a district where agriculture is king.

“I don’t get into name-calling,” he said. “I’m absolutely disgusted with a lot of what he stands for, but I didn’t run for Congress to call him anything. It’s not my place to do it. I’ll let the voters decide on what’s appropriate and not appropriate. I’m not the one who defines what a racist is.”

[Land O'Lakes withdraws support for GOP Rep. Steve King after boycott calls]

His restraint points to a different tack in a campaign season convulsed by debates over identity — debates that have driven the two parties further apart. Examples abound. Georgia could elect the country’s first female African American governor, who is a Democrat, or the Republican, who has pledged to “round up ‘illegals.’” The Republican candidate for Senate in Arizona said her opponent, who is bisexual, supported “treason” because of comments she had made about war in the Middle East. In Vermont, Democrats made Christine Hallquist the country’s first openly transgender major-party nominee for governor, as the Trump administration considers narrowly defining gender as linked to biological sex.

The divisions are stark, and some Democrats have tried to use them to their advantage. "I’m not calling Mr. DeSantis a racist. I’m simply saying the racists believe he’s a racist,” concluded Andrew Gillum, the Democratic nominee for governor in Florida, during a heated debate last month, referring to a record of statements dogging his Republican opponent, Rep. Ron DeSantis.

Scholten — who, unlike Gillum, is white — said he doesn’t feel the need to level such a blunt accusation.

“It’s not that I’m uncomfortable. I believe the district needs new, moral leadership from someone who unequivocally rejects white nationalism and racism,” he said. “I feel things are clear. It doesn’t matter what I say one way or the other. He is who he is. It speaks for itself."

Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio), the chairman of the House Republican campaign arm, on Tuesday assailed King for “white supremacy and hate,” and the fundraising group he heads said it wouldn’t “play” in King’s race. Land O’Lakes, the dairy giant, pulled its financial support the same day, citing the “company’s values.”

And on Wednesday, another Republican, Rep. Carlos Curbelo of Florida, said on MSNBC that he would never vote for “someone like Steve King,” even if it meant forfeiting control of the House, calling his colleague’s statements and actions “disgusting.” The same day, the head of the Anti-Defamation League, Jonathan Greenblatt, called on House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) to censure King for statements and affiliations “that are anti-Semitic and offensive not just to the Jewish community, but to all Americans.” Ryan did not do so.

The harsh reproach enforced a degree of accountability for King. But his hard-line views on race and cultural identity have moved further into the mainstream during the presidency of Donald Trump, who has aimed to make the final days of the midterm campaign about polarizing issues of immigration and national belonging. King, an eight-term congressman, parroted the president’s rhetoric in responding to the criticism, blaming the “fake news” and “Establishment Never Trumpers."

A poll released Tuesday by Change Research, a Democratic firm, found that King had only a one-point lead over Scholten, a first-time candidate. David Wasserman, Cook’s House editor, said Scholten was King’s “first credible challenger in six years.” He has massively outraised the incumbent, his campaign coffers lined by contributions from national donors — from Florida to Texas to Massachusetts — some of whom view King as a “white supremacist” and a “bigot.”

Scholten has forcefully denounced King’s comments and has called on Republicans to join him. But the lifelong Democrat, who has worked as a paralegal in Minneapolis and Seattle, is speaking to a specific audience. Since 2012, King has been reelected multiple times in a district where voters favored Trump to Hillary Clinton roughly 2 to 1.

The candidate has left the sharper barbs to the American Values PAC, a group targeting King and Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. One ad called King “Klan and neo-Nazi approved.”

That enables Scholten to present himself as a “healthy alternative,” as he described his campaign in a phone interview from the road north of Sioux City, the city of about 80,000 where he grew up.

He graduated from the University of Nebraska and pursued professional baseball, playing abroad as well as for his hometown team, the Sioux City Explorers. He stands at 6 foot 6 but never made it to the major leagues.

Between seasons, Scholten began a career as a paralegal. But he moved home nearly two years ago, at the encouragement of his grandmother, who asked him to take over the family farm shortly before she died. When the farm passed to his mother’s generation, Scholten returned and purchased his family home from his parents. The best job he could find paid $15 an hour and came without benefits, so he created a position of his own, as a freelance paralegal.

Meanwhile, a candidate willing to take on King had yet to emerge. “That’s when I was like, ‘You know what, I cannot let Steve King just go without an opponent,’” he said. He announced his candidacy last summer.

Scholten said he has visited each of the district’s 39 counties at least three times. Residents, he said, weren’t worried about birthright citizenship or the migrant caravan heading toward the southern border. “Kitchen-table topics,” such as health care, were at the center of conversations. People in the district want border security, he said, but the area also has a labor shortage. A grain elevator recently needed 39 employees to help with the harvest, “and they didn’t get one American citizen to apply,” he said.

In a deep-red district, he is running as an outsider and a populist. He has the endorsement of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), as well as that of the Sioux City Journal, which has favored King in the past.

“The average person in Congress is 58 years old, with a net worth of $1 million,” Scholten said in an ad from earlier this year. “Well, I’m different. I’m 20 years younger and just shy of $1 million short of that average.”

He dared viewers, “Tell me this race is unwinnable.”

National Democrats long saw it that way, he said. Before this week’s poll, King was recently shown to have anywhere from a six to a 20-point lead. “For the longest time, I’ve been trying to scream to say, ‘Hey, we’re on pace to beat this guy,' and nobody was making much noise about it,” Scholten said.

He sees some signs of change. His campaign manager texted him Wednesday to say that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which has faced criticism for discounting progressive candidates, had "responded with more than just a sentence this time,” Scholten said.

More from Morning Mix:

Trump revives ‘Willie Horton’ with ad linking illegal immigrant killer to Democrats

Police believe a Ferguson protester’s son killed himself. His mother insists he was lynched.

Willie McCovey, Charlie Brown, and the hit that wasn’t in the 1962 World Series. Neither could forget it.

Isaac Stanley-Becker
Isaac Stanley-Becker is a reporter on The Washington Post's Morning Mix team. Follow


VIDEO ONLY
https://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/two-presidents-go-head-to-head-before-election-day-1360763459746?v=raila&
ON BRIAN WILLIAMS SHOW, WATCH OBAMA WHEN HE’S TEE’D OFF. IS HE PASSIVE OR PROBABLY GAY AS TRUMP ET AL. HAVE SUGGESTED? NO. HE’S JUST SMART AND CARING. HE’S ONE OF THE GOOD GUYS! HE’S LIKE BERNIE SANDERS. HE’S PRINCIPLED, BUT HE CAN REALLY LAY IT ON THE LINE. GO, DEMS!!


VIDEO ONLY
https://www.msnbc.com/am-joy/watch/georgia-governor-race-democratic-candidate-stacey-abrams-joins-am-joy-1361084483782
INTERVIEWS ON THIS ELECTION. ABRAMS IS THE GOVERNOR SEAT COMPETITOR (AND SHE REALLY IS A COMPETITOR) RUNNING AGAINST KEMP. HE’S IN TROUBLE, AND HE KNOWS IT, SO HE HAS BEEN MORE AND MORE AGGRESSIVE AND DISHONEST. DESPITE THE BLACK VERSUS WHITE ISSUE, AND MALE VERSUS FEMALE, ABRAMS IS STILL THAT LITTLE BIT AHEAD OF HIM STATISTICALLY. SHE’S A BEAUTIFUL, STRONG AND (YES, MR. PRESIDENT) “INTELLIGENT” CONTENDER. DIRTY POLITICIANS ALWAYS THINK THEY CAN HIDE THEIR ACTIONS OR BULLY THEIR WAY THROUGH, BUT WHEN THE AMERICAN PEOPLE GET TIRED OF THAT, THE TIDE CHANGES.

WATCH THIS INTERVIEW IN WHICH AS FORMER ATTY. GEN. ERIC HOLDER SO RECENTLY SAID, IT’S NOT “WHEN THEY GO LOW, WE GO HIGH,” BUT “WHEN THEY GO LOW, WE KICK ‘EM.” I’M GLAD TO SEE THESE THINGS, NOT BECAUSE I’M A HATE-FILLED PERSON, THOUGH I AM DISTINCTLY COMPETITIVE AND I BELIEVE THAT FAIR PLAY IS SOMETHING THAT WE MUST FIGHT FOR IF WE ARE TO HAVE IT; BUT BECAUSE THE DEMOCRATIC WHITE PEOPLE IN 2016 ROLLED OVER AND PLAYED DEAD IN FRONT OF TRUMP, AND GUESS WHAT! HE BEAT THE PANTS OFF OF US. OF COURSE, HE CHEATED TO DO IT. NOW WE ARE HESITATING TO PROSECUTE TRUMP AND THE TRUMPIAN POLITICAL “MACHINE.” IS IT FEAR, OR ARE WE COOPTED? I PERSONALLY DON’T BELIEVE IN THE “DEUX EX MACHINA” PRINCIPLE AS AN INTELLIGENT POLITICAL POLICY, SO I SAY FORMER ATTY. GEN. HOLDER IS RIGHT. “LET’S FIGHT!” FIRST, THOUGH, WE MUST REPLENISH OUR RANKS BY VOTING, VOTING AND VOTING. A STRAIGHT DEMOCRATIC TICKET WOULD DO THE JOB.


WHAT ABOUT THAT ALASKA NEWS ARTICLE? NAUGHT* HERE! THIS STORY HAS APPARENTLY BEEN PULLED. THE WASHINGTON POST LISTS ANOTHER STORY, WHICH ALSO IS NO LONGER THERE. I WONDER WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE.

[“NAUGHT” – SEE “GRAMMAR” SITE BELOW.]

I FINALLY FOUND IT AT THE NYT SITE AND WIKIPEDIA. I LOVE WIKIPEDIA. AS IS OFTEN THE CASE, THE WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE HAS BEEN UPDATED TO THE MINUTE, ALMOST. MALLOTT IS A VERY INTERESTING MAN, THOUGH ACCORDING TO WIKI, “A PARTNER” WITH THE GOVERNOR IN CUTTING BACK FUNDING ON A FUND FOR THE WELFARE OF HUMANS IN ALASKA – NOT A NICE THING FOR A DEMOCRAT TO DO. HE DID FIRST RUN AS AN INDEPENDENT, HOWEVER, SO HIS BEING “DIFFERENT” SHOULDN’T SURPRISE ME.


TWO UNCOMMONLY HEARD ENGLISH WORDS:
NAUGHT* VERSUS NOUGHT
https://www.grammar.com/naught_vs._nought

Angbeen Chaudhary — Grammar Tips

Many of the languages in use today have been around for millennia. English has gone through many changes during that time, and while most of the language has evolved, a few words have survived to the 21st century almost intact. Naught and nought are two such words. They are actually spelling variants of the same pronoun, which are several centuries old. Any time you have an archaic word, you should ask yourself if there is a newer, simpler word that you could use instead. Even in academic and professional writing, simplicity and relatability are virtues that all writers should seek to cultivate.

In this post, I will compare naught vs. nought. I will also use each of these words in example sentences, so you can see them in context. Plus, I will show you a memory tool that will help you remember whether you mean nought or naught when you need to use these words.

Origin:

The word naught originated from Old English nāwiht, -wuht, from nā ‘no’ + wiht ‘thing’

Naught as pronoun:

Naught is used as a pronoun in archaic English which means “nothing.”

He's naught but a worthless fool.

Nought as noun:

The word nought is used as a noun in English language where it refers to the digit 0.

Use of naught:

Naught with an a is pronoun meaning nothing. Its use is considered archaic, but it is still used in some phrases. In general, however, most writers today would just use nothing.

Examples:

But all this work could be for naught if the NFL owners and players fail to agree on a new collective bargaining agreement by March 3. [STL Today]

My luck went for naught a week or two later when the report was published about the dangerously high levels of mercury in Lake Erie fish. [Casper Star-Tribune]

They don’t call it Beantown for naught. [Huffington Post]

Use of nought:

Speaking of nought, it is a spelling variant of the same word. Nought is even more archaic than naught; it has survived basically intact from Middle English and has been in use for at least a thousand years. Nought has come to mean nothing in a mathematical context, i.e., it is used to indicate zero. Naught, however, is used in non-mathematical contexts when nothing is meant.

Examples:

This season that figure is at 1.36: they are fifth despite scoring just 25 goals and having a goal difference of nought. [Guardian]

The number opting for the subject ranges from nought to 90 per cent. [The Independent]

Naught or nought:

Nought and naught are spelling variants of an archaic pronoun that means “nothing.” British writers occasionally use “nought to refer to the number zero.” For British audiences, who are more likely to use nought to mean 0, you can remember that the o in nought looks like a miniature zero. Since both of these words are so old and uncommon, though, you should simply use nothing in virtually every other context.


ANOTHER MYSTERIOUS RESIGNATION

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/alaska-lt-gov-resigns-abruptly-over-inappropriate-comments-1346004547665?v=raila&
Alaska lt. gov. resigns abruptly over 'inappropriate comments'
Rachel Maddow reports on the unexpected resignation of Alaska Lieutenant Governor Byron Mallott just weeks before the election, with Mallott citing nothing more specific than "inappropriate comments."
Oct. 16, 2018


THIS STORY FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES GIVES MORE INFORMATION ON THE UNFORTUNATE ALASKA STORY. THE COMMENTS ARE ABOUT “A WOMAN OR WOMEN.” GOOD. IT’S NOT RACIST. WIKI SAYS THAT HE “MADE INAPPROPRIATE OVERTURES” TO A WOMAN.

SEE WIKIPEDIA FOR A GREAT DEAL MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MALLOTT, WHO WAS A DEMOCRAT, A “SELF-MADE MAN,” AND NATIVE ALASKAN OF THE TLINGIT TRIBE. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byron_Mallott

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/16/us/alaska-lieutenant-governor-mallott-resigns.html
Alaska’s Lieutenant Governor Resigns After ‘Inappropriate’ Comments
Image -- Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott, right, with Gov. Bill Walker of Alaska earlier this year in Anchorage. CreditCreditMark Thiessen/Associated Press
By Kirk Johnson
Oct. 16, 2018

SEATTLE — The lieutenant governor of Alaska, Byron Mallott, resigned abruptly on Tuesday after making what Gov. Bill Walker, a political Independent, called “inappropriate” but unspecified comments.

The resignation threw an already tight re-election effort by Mr. Walker into even more uncertain territory with only a few weeks before voting begins.

Mr. Mallott, 75, is the state’s most prominent Native Alaskan politician, a member of the Tlingit people, and has been a hugely popular figure in rural tribal areas of the state. As a Democrat, he was also part of an unlikely political marriage with Mr. Walker, a former Republican who left his party to run as an Independent in 2014.

In his first term, Mr. Walker repeatedly referred to Mr. Mallott as his partner in dealing with a huge budget deficit that has required painful cuts to state programs and a reduction in payments to Alaskans from a fund created by decades of oil tax revenues.

And Mr. Walker was entering what appeared to be a tough gantlet in seeking a second term, facing a well-known Democratic candidate, the former United States Senator Mark Begich, and a well-financed Republican former state senator, Mike J. Dunleavy.

Now, with only a few weeks left before the election, Mr. Walker’s office said in a statement that it was too late to remove Mr. Mallott’s name from the ballot. “He will not accept the position of lieutenant governor if elected,” the statement said.

Mr. Walker said he learned on Monday night of “inappropriate comments that do not reflect the sterling level of behavior required in his role as lieutenant governor.”

Mr. Mallott’s replacement, Valerie Nurr’araaluk Davidson, who had been commissioner of the Department of Health and Social Services and is also Native Alaskan, suggested in her own statement that Mr. Mallott’s comments involved a woman or women, though she, too, provided no specifics.

“Respect for women, and the dignity of all Alaskans, is our responsibility,” she said. “I am profoundly disappointed by his conduct.”

Mr. Mallott was briefly the Democratic Party nominee for governor in 2014, but gave up the nomination to run at Mr. Walker’s side because Mr. Mallott said that only together could they defeat the previous governor, Sean Parnell, a Republican.

Mr. Mallott could not be immediately reached for comment, with a call and email to the governor’s office getting no response late Tuesday afternoon. He said in his resignation letter that his comments had “placed a person whom I respect and revere in a position of vulnerability.”

He said in the letter that he would seek “healing for my family and for my staff, my friends and all those who have place their faith in me and been let down by my behavior.”

“I take full responsibility for this action and apologize to, and seek healing for, the person I hurt,” he added.

The rapid erasure of Mr. Mallott from the executive branch website was also sharp and sudden. An internet search that turned up the lieutenant governor’s website produced an error message, saying that “the page you are looking for no longer exists,” and listing Ms. Davidson as the office holder.


NOW FOR A GREAT NATURE ARTICLE, WHICH INTRODUCES A SURPRISING FRIENDSHIP AND SOMETHING WHICH I’D NEVER IMAGINED BEFORE – UNDERWATER TRACKING.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-45967535
'How I became friends with an octopus'
By Mohammed Allie
BBC News, Cape Town
4 November 2018

PHOTOGRAPHS -- SEA CHANGE PROJECT

Imagine befriending an octopus, swimming alongside the much-feared great white shark, having your face stroked by a rarely seen clawless otter and cradling a wild rock fish in your hands.

These fascinating, life changing experiences have been documented by South Africans Craig Foster and Ross Frylinck in a newly released book entitled Sea Change - Primal Joy and the Art of Underwater Tracking following eight years of diving without wetsuits and scuba gear in the icy waters of Cape Town.

Mr Foster said he developed an amazing relationship with an octopus during the course of his daily dives into what he described as the "golden" underwater kelp forest outside Simon's Town, which lies on the Atlantic side of the Cape peninsula.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image caption
South Africa's navy is based in Simon's Town

"I had the privilege of visiting this incredible animal for almost a year. It totally trusted me, lost all fear, it would take me on hunting expeditions and let me into its secret world.

"Octopuses have different personalities, some are quite bold, others very shy, she was in between," Mr Foster told the BBC, describing how she would come over and greet him when she became accustomed to his visits.

"It is a great privilege to step into that world to learn - not like a mammal - but like a fellow spineless creature in her invertebrate world," he said.

Her den was mainly a hole she had dug in the ocean floor, which the diver described as a "proper home".

"She hunts over 50 species but you can only find that out when you're allowed into her den and can pick up the bones of the animals she has eaten," he said, referring to the lobster and crab shells he saw.

"You realise, my goodness, her life is so detailed and crazily connected to everything around her."

'Human are not on a shark's menu'
The diver has also had amazing encounters with great white sharks, possibly some of the ones that have been responsible for attacks on surfers and bathers on surfers and bathers in nearby False Bay over the years.

Unlike the aggressive hunters of human flesh they are often portrayed to be, he paints a totally different picture of a magnificent serene animal.

Image copyrightSEA CHANGE PROJECT
Image caption
There are more than 500 species of shark

"When the great white sees a human it scans us, its search image is picking up something that's not prey. They are not sure what we are, they may be curious but it's not something that's good for them to eat and they know that.

"They aren't animals that are after us, if they were, there would be attacks every day. If they see a seal, a fish or some of the other prey that's a different story but humans are not on their menu.

"The one attack a year is an aberration. There's something in that person they attack that's triggering a response in that shark, it's incredibly rare. Maybe it's the muscle tension that's high, maybe the shark is in a bad mood.

You may also want to read:
The man who swims with sharks
How the ocean transforms at night
Earth's most colourful creatures

"I have made eye contact with them. I once had five great whites circling me in open water and I could see no aggression towards me whatsoever," Mr Foster said.

"I've had a couple of close meetings with Tiger Sharks but they're also very gentle if you're relaxed. These animals are not the killers they're made out to be."

Mr Frylinck, despite a scary maiden encounter with a big shark, has also become more comfortable with the much-feared animal.

"White sharks very rarely enter the kelp forest, they patrol the fringes. They swim around this bay which has one of the highest concentrations of white sharks in the world.

"One day we were swimming around the edge of the forest and Craig's friend Danny, who was with us, told me a white shark had just swum three to four metres away from my shoulder and had watched me quite intently. He described it as an absolute monster - between four and five metres," Mr Frylinck said.

Underwater tracks
Mr Foster, an award-wining film-maker of natural history, managed to adapt to the underwater world the tracking techniques he learnt in the Kalahari desert from the San people, widely regarded as being the best trackers in the world.

Image copyrightSEA CHANGE PROJECT
Image caption
The coast off Cape Town has a rich variety of sea life, including the blue dragon fish

"It involves a number of things like looking at subtle changes in sand and sand texture to see what animals have been around, looking to see if, for example, there's been a kill, if a worm has been digging, slime trails, egg casings - there are a multitude of signs underwater.

"Initially I thought it would be impossible to try and track underwater but I was desperate to try and break into this very cryptic world," he said.

"This crazy idea was in my mind for a long time and then eventually I started seeing the first underwater tracks, that's when I first thought it could work but I had no idea that I could develop it into such a detailed way understanding of animals underwater."

Diving 365 days a year
It was this understanding that led to Mr Foster uncovering eight new species of shrimp, one of which - Heteromysis Fosteri - has been named after him.

The three new species, mostly bright red to orange in colour with series of either spots or stripes, belong to the genus Heteromysis and differ from previously known species by colour pattern, eye shape and the patterns of spines on their legs and tails.

Image copyrightSEA CHANGE PROJECT
Image caption
Argonauts are said to be rare visitors to the kelp forest off Cape Town's coast

Having managed to meet his commitment to do 365 dives a year, he said his interaction with sea life has made him realise the importance of changing the way he lives.

"The whole way I've been taught by other humans to live on this planet is completely unsustainable and I've also realised that these animals, particularly the phytoplankton, provide the oxygen for every breath I take. They provide the basis for every meal I have.

"They have taught me that all the financial, political and other issues we hear about in the news are inconsequential compared to that natural foundation that holds everything up and we're chipping away at it," Mr Foster said.

"We need to nurture it rather than doing the opposite."


THIS DOCUMENTARY VIDEO IS NOT THE TRASH THAT SOMETIMES APPEARS ON THE INTERNET, BUT A SURVEY RANGING FROM ALL SORTS OF ETHNIC MYTHOLOGY AND ANCIENT HISTORY TO THE REAL “GENTLE GIANT.” FOR GIANTS TO BE SO RARE AMONG HUMANS, THEY ARE IN OUTSIZED FREQUENCY IN FOLK LITERATURE, IT SEEMS TO ME. THERE ARE SOME DOZEN STORIES OF GIANTS HERE. IT’S VERY NICE AND, YES, GENUINELY EDUCATIONAL. ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING WAS JOHN HENRY.

PITUITARY DISORDERS ARE OFTEN THE CAUSE OF GIANTISM. A VIDEO ON GIANTISM THAT I SAW SOME 20 YEARS AGO STATED THAT ABRAHAM LINCOLN MAY HAVE BEEN SUCH A GIANT. HE WAS EXTREMELY TALL AND HAD OVERSIZED FACIAL BONES. WAS HE HANDSOME, NO, BUT A MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL GIANT, TO BE SURE.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4Pa6F03n-k
Giants! ..Friend Or Foe - History Docu
knocknockearth
Published on May 7, 2013
Category -- Education
History