tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post2847532250095868405..comments2024-03-06T06:34:42.881-05:00Comments on EconoSpeak: "The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe, 1842Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-40614498827107514062020-10-08T16:07:58.226-04:002020-10-08T16:07:58.226-04:00Horror fiction was a nineteenth-century invention,...Horror fiction was a nineteenth-century invention, really.<br /><br />Frankenstein, Dracula, and others. Poe obviously was<br />interested.<br /><br />Dickens dabbled in it, with The Mystery of Edwin Drood.<br />As did his pal, Wilkie Collins. For a modern take on<br />this, read 'Drood' by Dan Simmons, which is historical<br />fiction about what may be behind the Dickens novel.<br />A terrific read, as I recall.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EP26IK/" rel="nofollow">Drood by Dan Simmons</a><br />via @amazon Fred C. Dobbsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-22394994119183505852020-10-06T08:13:44.414-04:002020-10-06T08:13:44.414-04:00This May Be The Most Horrible Thing That Donald Tr...<a href="https://shar.es/ab9kCt" rel="nofollow">This May Be The Most Horrible Thing That Donald Trump Believes"</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-eugenics_n_57ec4cc2e4b024a52d2cc7f9?ncid=engmodushpmg00000004" rel="nofollow">And it just may be the master key to unlocking how he thinks.</a><br /><br />Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has offered a litany of racist comments, which it turns out may be rooted in his deeper belief in the inherent superiority of some people ― and not others.<br /><br />The Frontline documentary “The Choice ,” which premiered this week on PBS, reveals that Trump agrees with the dangerous and abusive theory of eugenics .<br /><br />Trump’s father instilled in him the idea that their family’s success was genetic, according to Trump biographer Michael D’Antonio.<br /><br />“The family subscribes to a racehorse theory of human development,” D’Antonio says in the documentary. “They believe that there are superior people and that if you put together the genes of a superior woman and a superior man, you get a superior offspring.”<br /><br />The Huffington Post dug back through the archives and found numerous examples of Trump suggesting that intellect and success are purely genetic qualities and that having “the right genes” gave him his “very good brain.”Fred C. Dobbsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-7041686354446689002020-10-04T07:47:41.577-04:002020-10-04T07:47:41.577-04:00For Trump, the Only Medical News Is Good Medical N...<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/03/us/politics/white-house-trump-health.html?smid=tw-share" rel="nofollow">For Trump, the Only Medical News Is Good Medical News</a><br /><br />NY Times - October 3<br /><br />WASHINGTON — When Dr. Sean P. Conley stepped in front of the cameras at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Saturday, he delivered a briefing that seemed intended less to inform the American public than to satisfy the public relations demands of a famous and famously demanding patient — President Trump.<br /><br />“He’s doing great,” he said. But moments later, the president’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, speaking off camera and on the assumption he would not be identified, offered a contradictory assessment, noting “the president’s vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning, and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care.”<br /><br />“We’re still not on a clear path to a full recovery,” he added.<br /><br />The radically different message was stunning, and at first attributed, at Mr. Meadows’s insistence, to “a source familiar with the president’s health” speaking on background, but later identified as the chief of staff.<br /><br />The discordant statements were a revealing insight into the dynamics behind the Trump White House’s frequent release of misleading information, particularly about the president’s health. Dr. Conley is a Navy doctor and Mr. Trump is not only his patient but his commander in chief. The president is known to be especially interested in presenting his health in the best possible light, and his health has never been an issue the way it is now. It is almost certain he was watching Dr. Conley’s news conference on TV in his hospital room. ...Fred C. Dobbsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-83741249728633730162020-10-04T03:56:31.975-04:002020-10-04T03:56:31.975-04:00Vincent Price for President!
He (who else?) playe...Vincent Price for President!<br /><br />He (who else?) played Prince Prospero in the movie. <br /><br />Also as the Witchfinder General in the movie of that name, he would have had a lot of work in our years of Russiagate frenzy. <br /><br />But I also recall his role in the Ronald Colman pic Champagne for Caesar. <br /><br />Can see the mocking 1940s view of his businessman / stable genius role, all too soon to be returned to the national pantheon, during our previous bout of Witchfinding. But with the present Prince Trumpero in charge, we may finally be rid of the businessman as Ayn Randian mythic hero, and see that it was nothing but trumpery all along. Would be a bargain at any price. Calgacushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06031818010224747000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-84953143341284507162020-10-03T17:10:00.369-04:002020-10-03T17:10:00.369-04:00What happens if Trump cannot run anymore?
NY Time...<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/02/us/politics/trump-succession-constitution.html?smid=tw-share" rel="nofollow">What happens if Trump cannot run anymore?</a><br /><br />NY Times - October 2<br /><br />It gets messy, quickly.<br /><br />First, the Republican National Committee would have to produce a new nominee, a process that would involve Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and the 168 national members — three from each state and territory. But since many states have already started printing, mailing and accepting ballots, and some have begun in-person voting, the name of a new nominee could be unlikely to be printed on ballots in time for Election Day.<br /><br />Then it would fall to individual states to decide how to proceed, and most have not set rules for this situation.<br /><br />“It would be a question of what each state’s law says or doesn’t say about what happens in this eventuality, and many state laws are just silent on this possibility,” said Richard L. Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine, who also discussed the issue on his Election Law blog. “So there may be questions about what to do.”<br /><br />The question would become more complex if Mr. Trump won but was unable to serve. Some but not all states bind their electors to vote for whoever wins the state, but even most states with binding elector laws make no mention of what could happen should a candidate die or be unable to serve.<br /><br />The question could be resolved by Congress, which certifies the Electoral College vote, or it could end up in the courts.Fred C. Dobbsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-35795146549293712142020-10-03T17:01:56.656-04:002020-10-03T17:01:56.656-04:00(Alas, can't postpone the
election, so must p...(Alas, can't postpone the <br />election, so must push ahead...)<br /><br /><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/10/03/mike-pence-campaign-person-arizona-trump-recovers-covid-19/3608249001/" rel="nofollow">Mike Pence to hold in-person campaign event in Arizona as President Trump battles COVID-19</a><br /><br />USA Today - October 3<br /><br />WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's reelection campaign is deploying Vice President Mike Pence to Arizona next week to host an in-person campaign event even after Trump and several other top Republicans tested positive for COVID-19.<br /><br />The Trump campaign announced Saturday that Pence will host a "Make America Great Again!" event in Peoria, Arizona on Thursday. It comes as Trump is fighting the coronavirus at Walter Reed Medical Center and after Trump campaign manager Brad Stepien also tested positive for the virus.<br /><br />The event will be held at the corporate offices of TYR Tactical, a company that sells military gear. The campaign, which opened the event for general admissions, did not specify in a news release whether it will take place indoors or outdoors.<br /><br />The decision to move ahead with in-person campaigning comes as Trump's cavalier attitude toward the coronavirus – including holding rallies where many in attendance haven't worn face masks – faces intense scrutiny amid the outbreak that hit Trump, the campaign and other Republican officials. ...Fred C. Dobbsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-62715111616166430482020-10-03T16:40:43.019-04:002020-10-03T16:40:43.019-04:00WH chief of staff says Trump’s vitals over past 24...<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2020/10/03/trump-covid-live-updates/?tid=ss_tw" rel="nofollow">WH chief of staff says Trump’s vitals over past 24 hours are ‘very concerning’</a><br /><br />Washington Post - October 3<br /><br />The White House on Saturday created a startling amount of confusion on the timing of President Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis and the status of his health through a series of conflicting statements, injecting an extraordinary degree of uncertainty into the nation’s understanding of the president’s condition and who may have been exposed to the deadly virus.<br /><br />At a Saturday morning news conference, members of Trump’s medical team at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center said the president is fever-free and that they are “extremely happy” with the progress he has made. But Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, said Trump went through a “very concerning” period over the last day, according to the Associated Press. Meadows also said the next two days will be critical in terms of his health.<br /><br />Trump’s medical team also suggested the president knew he tested positive for the coronavirus earlier than had been reported. Sean P. Conley, Trump’s physician, said we are “72 hours into the diagnosis,” meaning the president could have tested positive as early as Wednesday. And the team refused to answer key questions about when the president was first diagnosed and first symptomatic, and whether he had received supplemental oxygen.<br /><br />The president’s condition caused serious concern in the past 24 hours, and the next 48 hours will be critical to Trump’s recovery from the coronavirus, according to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.<br /><br />“The president’s vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning, and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care,” Meadows said. “We’re still not on a clear path to a full recovery.”<br /><br />The assessment stood in contrast with the more positive one from Trump’s White House physician and other members of his medical team during an earlier news conference at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, in which they described the president as fever-free, in “exceptionally good spirits,” and telling them he felt well enough to leave the hospital that day.<br /><br />The statement from Meadows was originally distributed to the media through a White House pool report and was attributed to “a source familiar with the president’s health.”<br /><br />Two White House officials familiar with the statement, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue, later said it was Meadows who spoke with reporters.<br /><br />Meadows was also seen on camera pulling reporters aside to talk after the news conference with the doctors ended. The Associated Press, which had a reporter at the event, also later identified Meadows as the source of the comment.<br /><br />Meadows did not respond to a request for comment Saturday.<br /><br />News outlets, including the New York Times and the AP, also reported that Trump received supplemental oxygen Friday before being flown to Walter Reed, information that White House physician Sean Conley refused to disclose at the news conference when asked if the president had been given oxygen.<br /><br />Meadows’s comment and Trump’s need for extra oxygen contradict Conley and other White House aides who said Friday that Trump was experiencing “mild symptoms,” but otherwise doing well.Fred C. Dobbsnoreply@blogger.com