First, check out Bill Maher's two (2) new rules posted online this past week:
The Monologue. The effect of the warm waters in the northern Pacific could counteract some of the impacts of a strong El Niño. This winter's El Niño could become the strongest in more than 50 years.
El Nino may Intensify Into Strongest in 50 Years
What may happen in California this winter is that more modest storms could deliver episodes of soaking rain, rather than many storms with torrential rain, yards of snow in the mountains, damaging winds and major flooding.
While moderate storms with less flooding rain and damaging winds would be good news for property owners and commuters, it would take several blockbuster storms to build snow levels significantly and fill reservoirs in order for more lasting drought-relief.
AccuWeather Chief Long Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok stated you have to go back many decades before you can find a similar setup to what we believe will transpire this winter. For example, in Los Angeles the total rainfall for the year in 1958 was 15.43 inches, compared to 27.06 inches in 1998 and the normal of 12.82 inches. Since rainfall deficits are currently extremely large in California, the tradeoff may be that near- or slightly above-average rainfall occurs and the drought is still intact by the end of the winter, but perhaps just not as extreme.
In many locations of California, the rainfall deficit ranges from 1-2 feet below average since July 1, 2013.
People will still need to keep conserving water and be prepared for significant and disruptive storms this winter.
Weekly Wrap Up: Plastic Balls Deployed to Cut Evaporation in Reservoir
According to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Henry Margusity, "The challenge meteorologists face this winter is the pattern is much more complex than whether or not there is an El Niño with big storms." The realm of possibilities this far in advance ranges from a spray of storms along the coast from California to Mexico and minimal drought relief to relentless storms in a narrow zone producing flooding. Until El Niño storms and rain kick in this winter, wildfire conditions will continue to worsen over much California into this fall.
Trump whirled into the Iowa State Fair this weekend on his private helicopter, descending on a scene scouted out by many other presidential candidates from both parties.
And, Donald Trump flew to Iowa on Saturday morning on his 757 after a rally in New Hampshire the previous night, before taking his helicopter from the airport toward the fair.
Trump said his campaign planned to put out position papers in the next few weeks, including one on taxes. The first, on immigration, is expected to come Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."
Still, he downplayed the need for specifics, suggesting it was only of interest to the media.
"I don't think the people care. I think they trust me, I think they know I'm going to make good deals for them," Trump said.
"I don't think I've made mistakes," Trump said, noting that his poll numbers have risen after a series of controversies starting with his remarks on immigrants from Mexico.
Trump continued to take several shots at former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a Republican presidential rival, saying he was "a puppet to his donors" and blasting his recent remarks concerning Iraq.
He also took a shot at Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential frontrunner, suggesting she may only be eclipsed by Secretary of State John Kerry because of the recently negotiated Iran deal.
"Hillary Clinton was the single worst secretary of State in the history of this country," Trump said. "The world collapsed around us while she was secretary of State."
Trump's highly anticipated appearance at the Iowa State Fair, including a throng of media, comes as he opened his first campaign office there this week and stood in the top spot in Hawkeye State polling.
Trump is also getting ripped again for his blood comments about where Megyn Kelly bleeds from but yeah, Roger Ailes sold out to the Donald when Megyn Kelly took off the gloves so to speak & the Donald won very, very big. You know something weird is going on when Rupert Murdoch's conservative media empire gets taken for a ride
They are talking about how Pope Francis is very tolerant and how nuns could feasibly be allowed to be with the priests and how divorced people could feasibly use confessionals, how gay people could should not be judged, and of course how Atheist's could be let into heaven but then again, "it is not like Atheist's care", but it is a "nice gesture" but anyway, that was very funny. I guess there is a movement out there to allow nuns to actually listen to confessions by people. I happen to like Pope Francis and I like how this woman is speaking about that there should be joy and whatnot when it comes to this religion.
They are also touching into how she is fighting against the death penalty in general and notably in the Richard Glossip case.
I found the story here and it does not sound like he has had much of a defense:
Dozens of death penalty opponents gathered in the Oklahoma state Capitol building Tuesday as part of a last-ditch effort to save the life of Richard Glossip, who is scheduled to be executed Thursday.
"Richard Glossip’s case cries out for deeper, moral consideration, because it raises the specter of an actually innocent man being executed for a crime he did not commit, based on the testimony of only one man, the man who actually killed the victim," Sister Helen Prejean, a nun known for her memoir Dead Man Walking and Glossip's spiritual adviser, said at a press conference. "Human rights are inalienable. They’re not given by government -- and they shouldn’t be taken away."
Glossip was convicted of first-degree murder in 1998 and subsequently sentenced to death based on the sole testimony of one witness, Justin Sneed, who confessed to beating a hotel owner to death with a baseball bat and claimed that Glossip hired him to do it. In exchange for his testimony, Sneed was spared death row himself and instead sentenced to life in prison.
“It’s a peculiar distortion of justice that the actual killer will likely die of natural causes in a minimum-security prison, while Richard faces death," Mark Henricksen, one of Glossip’s attorneys, said at the press conference.
Sister Helen Prejean approaches Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin's office with a group of Richard Glossip supporters Tuesday.
Bud Welch, an Oklahoma City native whose only daughter was killed in the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, added that bomber Timothy McVeigh's execution didn't bring closure to him or his family. “We feel re-victimized,” Welch said during the press conference. “McVeigh’s execution is nothing but revenge. Victims' families cannot go through the healing process if you think killing someone out of revenge will bring you peace."
A Change.org petition asking Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin to suspend Glossip's execution has garnered more than 31,000 signatures. After Tuesday's press conference, Prejean led the group to Fallin's office, where she and Crystal Martinez, a friend of Glossip’s who authored the Change.org petition on his behalf, presented an aide with two boxes full of signatures.
Outside the governor’s chambers, members of Glossip’s family, wearing white T-shirts emblazoned with Glossip’s face on the front and the words “PLEASE HELP FREE AN INNOCENT MAN” on the back, appeared visibly pained.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do,” Christina Glossip-Hodge, Glossip's eldest daughter, told The Huffington Post quietly when asked how the family would now spend their time as they await a response from Fallin’s office.
Members of Glossip's family outside Fallin's office.
Sneed's daughter, O'Ryan Justine Sneed, penned a letter to Oklahoma's clemency board in October, saying that her father has expressed in private conversations that he wishes he could recant his testimony. "For a couple of years now, my father has been talking to me about recanting his original testimony. But has been afraid to act upon it, in fear of being charged with the Death Penalty," reads the letter, a copy of which has been obtained by HuffPost. "His fear of recanting, but guilt about not doing so, makes it obvious that information he is sitting on would exonerate Mr. Glossip."
Glossip, who has staunchly maintained his innocence from the start, told HuffPost last week that he doesn't harbor bad feelings towards Sneed. "A lot of people ask if I hate [Sneed]," he said. "I don't hate him. Hatred ain't gonna do anything for you. ... I do believe that there is something after this life, and that I don't want to be going through it hating everybody."
On Monday, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt filed to stay the executions of Glossip and two other inmates, in light of recent news that the U.S. Supreme Court will review the state's lethal injection methods. Oklahoma's execution procedurescame under scrutiny last April after death row inmate Clayton Lockett writhed and struggled on the gurney for 45 minutes before a heart attack ultimately killed him.
Bud Welch, whose daughter died in the Oklahoma City bombing, addresses Glossip's supporters.
Glossip and two other inmates, John Grant and Benjamin Cole, are plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case. “It’s the first time in a long time that I let myself get a little more excited than normal," Glossip told HuffPost after hearing that the country's highest court would examine his situation. "I finally got a victory. A small victory -- but it uplifted me."
In the meantime, Glossip has refused to give up hope, and said his thoughts of his loved ones help to get him through his final days. "I think about just being able to hug my family," he said. "When you see how much they love you, it helps keep you very, very strong. Especially over these last couple of weeks."
In a statement emailed to HuffPost, Fallin's office indicated that she would not make an effort to stay Glossip's execution. “The only legal action available to the governor is to grant a stay of up to sixty days. Because the attorney general has already requested a stay from the Supreme Court, no further action needs to be taken by the governor at this time,” Communications Director Alex Weintz said, adding that the governor did indeed receive the petition.
When Tuesday's event was over, Nancy Ogden, Glossip’s sister, looked back at the closed doors of Fallin's office. “I just wonder if she even has a heart," she said.
This is one of the best initial interviews I have ever seen.I love it how she basically turned it into being about that above told story about the guy on death row in Oklahoma. She seems great and Bill just described her as being "terrific."The Panel consists of Jennifer Granholm, Doug Heye and Lawrence Wilkerson. Jennifer Granholm is the former Governor of Michigan and the Director of the American Jobs Project at UC Berkeley. She also serves as co-chair of Priorities USA Action, a super PAC that is supporting Hillary Clinton for President in 2016. Twitter: @JenGranholm. Doug Heye was the Deputy Chief of Staff to former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and previously served as RNC Communications Director. He was recently selected as a Fall 2015 fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics. Twitter: @dougheye. Lawrence Wilkerson is the former Chief of Staff to General Colin Powell. He is currently a Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Government and Public Policy at the College of William & Mary. He served 31 years in the U.S. Army and retired from active service in 1997 as a colonel.
Did you know that Jen Granholm was on 'The Dating Game' way back in the day? It was funny to see.
And, what is the alternative with regard to the Iran Nuclear Deal? We have to have some type of a deal set in place rather than not have one. That is a no brainer and I do not get why any would oppose it is calculated in that if President Blackenstein does anything at all, people will oppose it. At least Bill got this Doug Heye guy to admit out loud that there is no reason to oppose because he merely says that people do (oppose it).
They are now talking about how the US flag was raised at embassy in Cuba after 54 years. There is no reason to not be in Cuba and vice versa with that country having a presence here in America.
We have gone over the next issue many times in writing but why can't an army of 20,000 to 30,000 members in its' group or in its' military be over taken by the rest of the middle east countries that carry 4,395,655 people accumulative in their respective armies? It makes zero sense and then we (American Military) must get involved in it which most likely it is because of the fact that those other middle east countries have army's that just cannot fight.
Next issue is another great one because Bill exposes the contradicting ways these GOP candidates are out and out hypocritical.
For instance, Carly Fiorni stated about Donald Trump's Meygan Kelly comments saying "that there is no excuse" and that "she stands with Meygan Kelly". Yet she does not stand for equal pay for women. Nor does she stand for maternity leave, abortion rights, contraception as part of health care.
Jeb Bush says that "Donald Trump is wrong" and that he "should apologize" to her. Yet he boasts about how Florida was the first state to defund Planned Parenthood. Jen Granholm goes to remind everyone how Jeb also would not allow a mentally challenged rape victim in Florida to not get an abortion. He intervened with it as Governor. It was called the Scarlet Letter bill. It requires women to have to put a listing of the adoption in the newspaper for the general public to view it and for the father to know about it.
Doug Heye then finds it insulting to talk about an issue that only he brings up. He also does bring up that a few GOP'ers (Thank you Todd Aiken, and Thank You Richard Murdoch) that had said some "stupid" things when it comes to women's issues.
I forgot about hearing about the Beyonce' comments and the Jay Z pimp comment made by Mike Huckabee.
The RNC has come out with a picture book called 'The Mysterious People that aren't men':
One of Talib's song made the POTUS daytime play list he took on his vacation to Maine this week.
He was in Ferguson last week for the year anniversary of Michael Brown's death and unfortunately a police Officer shot a man in Ferguson following the one-year anniversary of Michael Brown's death.
They discuss the Bernie Sanders and Black Lives Matters interactions because many observers are perplexed by the decision of some Black Lives Matter activists to twice disrupt attempted addresses by presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Well, I am not perplexed. The new generation of civil rights activists never accepted "trickle-down economics" from conservatives. Today they are rejecting "trickle-down justice" from the liberals.
I love and admire Sanders. But until the Black Lives Matters activists started snatching away their microphones, economic populists like him rarely spotlighted the specific pain that has been building in the African-American community. Instead, they focused mainly on so-called "class issues" -- including the need to defend Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid, rein in Wall Street and the Koch Brothers, and tax corporations and rich people.
Many African-American leaders support those policies. But we have needed and wanted more. Our economic problems include an unemployment rate that is double that of whites, racially biased policing and court systems, predatory lenders who deliberately target black neighborhoods and public schools that expel black children at staggering rates for minor offenses.
Over the years, many black leaders have asked the populists to include specific remedies for our specific ills. We have done this politely and behind closed doors. Often we would hear that their "progressive economic policies" would disproportionately help black folks, so we should be fine with our community's needs never being addressed by name.
It was infuriating. Sometimes, it seemed some Democratic politicians were happy to publicly name and embrace every part of the Democratic coalition -- immigrants rights defenders, womens' rights advocates, environmentalists and champions of LBGT equality. But not black people.
At least, not explicitly -- and certainly not comfortably. We were just supposed to sit there and hope that race-neutral rhetoric and race-neutral proposals might somehow fix our race-specific problems.
I starting calling this dubious strategy "trickle-down justice."
Today's young activists simply are not having any of it.
In case anyone missed the memo after Ferguson, Baltimore and Charleston, here it is: the Obama era of black silence on issues that matter to us is over.
And the entire Democratic Party needs to sit up and take notice.
Black Lives Matter has elevated the national discussion of anti-black racism more dramatically than any movement in decades. It is the only "progressive" force besides Hillary Clinton that the GOP was forced to acknowledge in its first debate last week. By any measure, and especially for such a new phenomenon, that's an extraordinary achievement.
Pundits tend to portray the modern Democratic Party as having only two factions: the pro-business/Wall Street "moderates" (traditionally represented by the Clintons) versus the economic populists (now represented by Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders).
But a third force is rising: a growing, racial justice wing (best represented by the Dreamers and Black Lives Matter) that is highly suspicious of both -- and finds the clueless hypocrisy of the second to be particularly grating.
Here are some things to consider.
1) Black Lives Matter is not a single organization.
Black Lives Matter is not a single organization -- at least not in the conventional sense. It represents the expression of tens of thousands of activists, doing what they think makes sense, in hundreds of different places.
In that regard, it shares some features with Occupy, the tea party and the Arab Spring uprising. It is a "swarm" -- a decentralized network, using an "open source" brand. Such phenomena are notoriously messy and difficult. But they are powerful and necessary to change anything in the present era.
So I will not agree with every single choice, in every time and every place, made by every activist who is inspired by Black Lives Matter. But I don't have to endorse or embrace every tactic for me still to speak with deep respect and warm regard for a force that is becoming the most important movement against anti-black racism in decades.
I would hope that would be true of everyone.
Whatever injury befell Sanders this weekend, worse injuries have fallen upon the young women who grabbed the microphone -- perpetually made to feel wrong, out of place, less than, even criminal their whole lives purely based on the color of their skin. Obviously, that sad fact does not excuse anything and everything that any BLM-inspired activist does. But it is something that is useful to keep in mind, as we search for pathways to unity.
The faces behind #BlackLivesMatter
2) It is not just about Bernie Sanders...
It turns out the Seattle activists' actions were aimed less at Sanders himself and more at racist practices and policies being tolerated by local liberals in a supposed progressive bastion like Seattle. The Seattle Police Department has been under investigation for years for racist scandals and problematic use of force. Black children in King County schools are suspended at higher rates than their white peers. And the region is wasting $210 million on a new jail instead of investing in communities.
The gulf between the region's political reputation and its racial reality is not surprising to me. Nor is Seattle unusual. Far too many progressives are working within social networks that are almost monolithically white. In my experience, too few have focused on building authentic bridges beyond their monochromatic comfort zones.
Therefore, they are not really any more tuned in to the daily lives of people of color than the average moderate or even conservative. That's why their prescriptions for change often ring hollow and fall flat -- at least outside their own company.
3) ... but it is fair to hold Sanders to a higher standard.
Some argue that the #BlackLivesMatter movement should focus its fire on Republicans. But the GOP generally does not pretend to be a champion of the economic underdog. And unlike Hillary Clinton or Martin O'Malley, the central conceit of Sanders' campaign is that he represents a voice of moral clarity against skyrocketing inequality.
For example: any fair discussion of "income inequality" must necessarily include a denunciation of our racially biased criminal justice system. Always.
After all, it is hard to get a job after a judge labels you a felon. African-Americans and white people do drugs at the same rate. But the system incarcerates African-Americans at SIX TIMES the rate of whites, for the exact same behavior. This injustice is a major driver of economic inequality in the black community. It should be a part of ANY speech about economic inequality in the United States -- and not just in speeches made to black audiences.
Therefore nobody should have had to push Sanders to tackle criminal justice issues. To the contrary, especially given the turmoil of the past year, the devastating impact of the incarceration industry should have been a key part of his very first speech as a presidential candidate.
To his credit, Sanders has quickly and admirably adapted. Since BLM protesters disrupted his time on stage at Netroots Nation, Sanders has made powerful speeches and statements. He has posted important, relevant policy prescriptions on his website. Sanders' 2015 rhetoric may finally start to match his pro-civil rights voting record in Congress. Of course, he could go further. And I suspect he will.
4) Bernie's supporters have failed to keep pace with Sanders' progress
Unfortunately, the vitriol from many of Sanders' incensed backers is not helping his cause. It pains me to say this. But I continue to observe shocking levels of racial paternalism, arrogance and condescension in my personal and online interactions with Sanders' outraged supporters. They remain tone deaf or worse on issues that specifically or disproportionately hurt African-Americans. And the situation seems to be getting worse, not better.
One first-person account of the Sanders rally in Seattle says the mostly white, liberal crowd "turned ugly" after the activists spoke up. If this behavior had taken place at a tea party rally, Sanders' supporters would have condemned it.
Some so-called "progressives" even took to combing through the social media accounts of the young women who have protested Sanders, in search of damaging statements. These are the same tactics that progressives denounce right-wingers for employing -- when they try to smear any unarmed, young black person whom the police have killed.
I do not know what kind of relationship the local white activists in Seattle actually have with young black/brown/native activists. But I bet it falls into one of three categories: nonexistent, tokenizing or condescending/condemning. Because, sadly, those are the only choices on the menu in most U.S. cities.
Today's young activists won't put up with that relationship any longer.
5) Beyond emotions -- here is the hard math
The challenge for all Democrats now is not raw emotion -- but hard math.
For Democrats to win the White House in 2016, African-Americans must give 90-95% of our votes to that party's nominee.
Not 50+1% of our vote.
Not even 75%.
To put another Democrat in the White House, black folks must be practically UNANIMOUS in our support for a Democrat.
AND then we will have to overcome hundreds of racist obstacles just to get to the poll: being unlawfully purged from voter rolls, getting targeted for voter ID harassment, being forced to stand in understaffed voting lines for hours and hours and more.
AND after all that, we still must turn out in record numbers.
Or the Democrats will lose. Period.
Given that fact, younger African-Americans rightfully expect each and every Democratic candidate to explicitly, loudly and enthusiastically address the pain and needs of black lives -- to THEIR satisfaction.
That's fair -- since those very candidates will expect those same young activists to turn out millions of voters for them in just a few months. And in pursuit of this goal, I think that most (if not all) of Black Lives Matters' tactics -- including and especially the iconic protest at Netroots Nation -- are laudable, praiseworthy and inspired.
Perhaps this generation of young black folks will be the last one the Democrats (and economic populists, generally) can simply presume to take for granted.
If Black Lives Matter succeeds in that and nothing else, it will have built one of the most meaningful political movements of the 21st century.
And, yeah, like that protester did this week with the 'Oak Keepers' is I think their group name, what would happen if a bunch of Black guys showed up somewhere with automatic machine guns and body armour? That is white privilege because they would get beaten or shot by the police. Let alone there would be army vehicles lining the streets against them.
Regarding Donald Trump being in the lead in Iowa, we all get why, including the Bill and his panel. We get it. He says what we think out loud. They do want to hear what Trump has to say,. Even about the immigration comments and honestly, even about John McCain. That was the so called elephant in the room. Plus, people commented on that about McCain back when he ran vs. Obama. But as Doug Heye says about Trump, he does not go anywhere near any issue when asked point blank about it/them. He changes the subject so brilliantly.
I have also asked many times in writing there is no mention of how the birther issue against Obama is the exact same thing Cruz is in real life. Yet,
And, it is now time for New Rules. New Rules.
Funny joke about Kim Jong Yong and I did not realize Columbia House was still even a company in business today, let alone that they went bankrupt this week.
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