Paul Krugman: The Obamacare Replacement Mirage (NY Times Blog)
… what really amazes me about the latest set of stories is the promise that Ryan will finally deliver the Republican Obamacare alternative that his colleagues in Congress have somehow failed to produce after all these years. No, he won't - because there is no alternative.
Abraham Riesman: How Ta-Nehisi Coates, Kevin Smith, and Other Celebs Learned to Write Comic Books (Slate)
In the past few decades, an array of stars from outside the comics industry have gone from being comics fans to being comics writers. After speaking to a few such people, it became clear that publishers don't have some kind of boot camp for celebrity novices-people largely get thrown in the geeky deep end and learn how to swim.
The tomato is the edible, often red berry-type fruit of the nightshade Solanum lycopersicum, commonly known as a tomato plant. The tomato is consumed in diverse ways, including raw, as an ingredient in many dishes, sauces, salads, and drinks. The English word tomato comes from the Spanish word, tomate, derived from the Nahuatl (Aztec language) word tomatl. It first appeared in print in 1595.
The tomato belongs to the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The species originated in Central and South America and its use as a food originated in Mexico, and spread throughout the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas.
Alan J was first and correct with:
Mexico.
mj wrote:
Guessing again
I think it might be somewhere on the Indian sub-continent. Even if
that's wrong, I'm a bit embarrassed that I've forgotten the regions,
since India is such a vague, imprecise designation.
Randall said:
Jim from CA, retired to ID, responded:
Mexico
Deborah replied:
I know that the Aztecs grew tomatoes so I'm guessing Mexico.
Cloudy, cool & overcast - not sure if more rain is in my future but fingers crossed.
Adam answered:
Ummmm...South America? Italy? France??
Dale of Diamond Springs, Norspringcali said:
Mexico…Tomato…My plants are coming next weekend…Volunteer cherry tomats are doing quite well…nothing is as scrumptious as fresh off the vine…then the Dagos got ahold of them and the rest is fucking culinary history…
Little Latin Lois Of Oregon replied:
As with all the best food in the world, the tomato got it's culinary start in Mesoamerica! If I was being sent to Mars and could only take the cuisine of one culture from Earth, that would be the one! They also have really good beer!
DJ Useo answered:
I guess Italy. When I was a child in school, they told us tomatoes came from South America to Europe,
where people feared they were poisonous.
All I know is whenever I ate tomatoes as a kid, I would heave. Bleh!
When I reached my teenage years, I came to like tomatoes a lot.
I'll even eat stewed ones with a little salsa on them.
Maybe I should have guessed Spain.
Marian responded:
Mexico
MAM wrote:
Mexico ~ Spread throughout the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas.
Joe S said:
Mexico.
Carla picking tomatoes, a long, long time ago.
BttbBob has returned to semi-retired status.
~~~~~
Patriot Act NSA Spying Unconstitutional Section 215 National Security Letters Must End
My name is Marc Perkel and I have decided to announce that I will not comply with the so called "Patriot Act" laws requiring me to disclose information about my customers. If I receive a national security letter I will immediately photograph it, post it online everywhere I can, and then make a video of me burning it. I will then await my arrest. If you want to put me in jail then come get me mother fucker.
Mostly sunny and cool on the south side of the Santa Monica Mountains. Heavy rain and flash flooding out in the Valley.
Tonight, Tuesday:
CBS begins the night with a RERUN'NCIS: The 3rd One', followed by a RERUN'NCIS: The Original One', then a RERUN'NCIS: The 3rd One'.
On a RERUNStephen Colbert (from 3/28/16) are Tom Hiddleston, Laura Benanti, and Frightened Rabbit.
On a RERUNJames Corden, OBE, (from 3/9/16) are Martin Short and Will Arnett.
NBC starts the night with a FRESH'The Voice', followed by a FRESH'Game Of Silence'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Fallon are Amy Schumer, Richard Linklater, Zara Larsson, and Wayne Newton.
Scheduled on a FRESHSeth Meyers are Anna Wintour, Eve, the Last Shadow Puppets, and Fabrizio Moretti.
On a RERUNCarson 'The Scab' Daly (from 3/22/16) are Will Arnett, Empress Of, and Lauren Lapkus.
ABC opens the night with a RERUN'Fresh Off The Boat', followed by a RERUN'The Real O'Neals', then a FRESH'Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD', followed by a FRESH'Beyond The Tank'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Kimmel are Katie Couric, Clark Gregg, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Deftones.
The CW offers a FRESH'iZombie', followed by another FRESH'iZombie'.
Faux has a FRESH'New Girl', followed by a RERUN'Grandfathered', then a FRESH'Brooklyn Nine-Nine', followed by a FRESH'The Grinder'.
MY has 'TMZ (Not So) Live', followed by 'Hollywood Today (Not So) Live'.
A&E has 2 hours of old 'Storage Wars', followed by a FRESH'Storage Wars: Behind The Locker', then a FRESH'Storage Wars', followed by another FRESH'Storage Wars', then still another FRESH'Storage Wars'.
AMC offers the movie 'Die Hard', followed by the movie 'Lethal Weapon', then the movie 'Lethal Weapon 2'.
BBC -
[6:00AM] MAN VS. WILD - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 6-Alaskan Mountain Range
[7:00AM] MAN VS. WILD - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 7-Mount Kilauea
[8:00AM] RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES US - SEASON 5 - EPISODE 15-Zocalo
[9:00AM] RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES US - SEASON 5 - EPISODE 14-Chiarella's
[10:00AM] RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES US - SEASON 6 - EPISODE 12-Yanni's
[11:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 26-The Neutral Zone
[12:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 2 - EPISODE 1-The Child
[1:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 2 - EPISODE 2-Where Silence Has Lease
[2:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 6 - EPISODE 13-Aquiel
[3:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 6 - EPISODE 14-Face of the Enemy
[4:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 6 - EPISODE 15-Tapestry
[5:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 6 - EPISODE 16-Birthright (Part 1)
[6:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 6 - EPISODE 17-Birthright (Part 2)
[7:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 6 - EPISODE 18-Starship Mine
[8:00PM] RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE (2004)
[10:00PM] RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE (2004)
[12:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 6 - EPISODE 13-Aquiel
[1:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 6 - EPISODE 14-Face of the Enemy
[2:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 6 - EPISODE 15-Tapestry
[3:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 6 - EPISODE 16-Birthright (Part 1)
[4:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 6 - EPISODE 17-Birthright (Part 2)
[5:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 6 - EPISODE 18-Starship Mine (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has 'Real Housewives Of BH', followed by a FRESH'Beverly Hills Social', then a FRESH'Real Housewives Of BH', 'Real Housewives Of Dallas', followed by a FRESH'Watch What Happens Live'.
Comedy Central has 'Futurama', another 'Futurama', 2 hours of old 'Tosh.0', followed by a FRESH'Tosh.0', then a FRESH'Not Safe With Nikki Glaser'.
Scheduled on a FRESHThe Daily Show is King Bach.
Scheduled on a FRESHThe Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore is Quinta Brunson.
Scheduled on a FRESH@Midnight are Lamorne Morris, Carrot Top, and Arden Myrin.
FX has the movie 'Wild Hogs', followed by the movie 'The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty', then the movie 'The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty', again.
History has 3 hours of old 'Counting Cars', followed by a FRESH'Forged In Fire'.
IFC -
[6:00AM] COMEDY BANG! BANG!-Thomas Middleditch
[6:15AM] LAND OF THE DEAD
[8:15AM] DAWN OF THE DEAD
[10:45AM] 28 DAYS LATER
[1:30PM] LAND OF THE DEAD
[3:30PM] DAWN OF THE DEAD
[6:00PM] THAT '70S SHOW-Baby Fever
[6:30PM] THAT '70S SHOW-Jackie Bags Hyde
[7:00PM] THAT '70S SHOW-Hyde's Christmas Rager
[7:30PM] THAT '70S SHOW-Ice Shack
[8:00PM] THAT '70S SHOW-Who Wants It More?
[8:30PM] THAT '70S SHOW-Fez Gets the Girl
[9:00PM] THAT '70S SHOW-Dine and Dash
[9:30PM] THAT '70S SHOW-Radio Daze
[10:00PM] THAT '70S SHOW-Donna's Panties
[10:30PM] THAT '70S SHOW-Romantic Weekend
[11:00PM] THAT '70S SHOW-Baby Fever
[11:30PM] THAT '70S SHOW-Jackie Bags Hyde
[12:00AM] THAT '70S SHOW-Hyde's Christmas Rager
[12:30AM] THAT '70S SHOW-Ice Shack
[1:00AM] THAT '70S SHOW-Who Wants It More?
[1:30AM] THAT '70S SHOW-Fez Gets the Girl
[2:00AM] THAT '70S SHOW-Dine and Dash
[2:30AM] THAT '70S SHOW-Radio Daze
[3:00AM] 28 DAYS LATER
[5:45AM] COMEDY BANG! BANG!-Eddie George (ALL TIMES EDT)
Sundance -
[6:30AM] Snake Eyes
[8:45AM] Runaway Jury
[11:45AM] Fargo
[1:45PM] Red Dawn
[4:15PM] Sudden Impact
[6:30PM] Patriot Games
[9:00PM] Three Kings
[11:30PM] American History X
[2:15AM] Badlands
[4:15AM] Love Lust-Love Lust & Make-up
[4:30AM] Hap and Leonard-Trudy
[5:30AM] Hap and Leonard-War (ALL TIMES EDT)
SyFy has the movie 'The Cabin In The Woods', followed by the movie 'Freddy Vs. Jason'.
TBS:
Scheduled on a FRESHConan are Aaron Paul, John Bradley, and Ben Rector.
Harvey Fierstein, left, and Cyndi Lauper attend a ceremony honoring them with stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday, April 11, 2016, in Los Angeles.
Photo by Rich Fury/Invision
Canadian singer Bryan Adams has canceled a show in Mississippi to protest a new state law that will let people with religious objections deny services to same-sex couples, the second major concert scrapped in the U.S. South over discrimination concerns.
On Friday, rock star Bruce Springsteen called off a weekend concert in North Carolina to show his opposition to a new law there barring transgender people from choosing bathrooms consistent with their gender identity.
Adams, who was set to perform on Thursday at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, called the state's measure "extremely discriminatory."
Ninety-five Mississippi writers, including best-selling author John Grisham, signed a letter released on Monday calling for a repeal of the law before it takes effect in July.
The polygamist family featured in the reality television show "Sister Wives" lost its bid to overturn parts of Utah's anti-bigamy law under a federal appeals court ruling issued on Monday.
The case, filed after the show's popularity prompted a criminal investigation into whether star Kody Brown was illegally married to four women, drew international attention and raised questions about whether the state could bar consenting adults from living together as a family.
Brown is legally married to one of his wives, and "spiritually" married to the others.
In 2013, U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups struck down part of the state's law, saying it criminalizes intimate relationships among consenting adults.
But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit overturned that ruling on Monday. The court said because the Browns had not actually been charged under the law - and the state said it would not prosecute multiple marriage cases unless there were allegations of fraud or criminal activity - the case was moot.
Black drivers in California are far more likely than their white counterparts to face arrest for unpaid traffic tickets or driving with a suspended license, according to a study by a civil rights coalition released on Monday.
The report found a direct correlation between both race and poverty and driver's license suspensions stemming from failure to pay a ticket or appear in court.
In San Francisco, African-Americans made up 6 percent of the population, but accounted for 49 percent of the arrests for failure to pay fines or appear in court, the study found.
In Los Angeles County, the data showed black people comprised 9 percent of the population but nearly a third of those arrested for driving with suspended licenses. The group was unable to secure comparable data from the Los Angeles Police Department.
In both locations, Latinos were arrested at rates slightly higher than their share of the population, but roughly double that of whites, who were underrepresented in arrests, the study showed.
British actor John Cleese performs during his show 'Last Time to See Me Before I Die' in Musikhuset, Aarhus, Denmark, Monday, April 11, 2016.
Photo by Tobias Nokolai
Ailing Viacom Inc controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone opposes Chief Executive Officer Philippe Dauman's plan to sell a minority stake sale in Viacom's Paramount Pictures movie studio, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
The report added to turmoil over the future of Viacom, the conglomerate that owns MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and other TV channels, as Dauman faces pressure to boost the company's stock price.
Dauman visited the home of 92-year-old Redstone in February to seek his support for the plan, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Even though Redstone has trouble speaking, Dauman thought he heard "yes," the newspaper said, quoting unidentified sources.
After the sale plan was announced, Redstone summoned Paramount chief Brad Grey and expressed displeasure about the potential sale, the newspaper reported.
Prosecutors have given the federal court overseeing Dennis Hastert's hush-money case enough evidence of sexual abuse for the judge to at least consider sentencing the former House speaker to more than the suggested maximum of six months behind bars.
Hastert has pleaded guilty to breaking banking law in a scheme to pay $3.5 million to ensure someone identified in court papers as "Individual A" stayed silent about being abused when he was a 14-year-old student at the Illinois high school where Hastert was the wrestling coach. The statutory maximum for the banking violation is five years in prison, but sentencing guidelines suggest no more than a matter of months.
Federal judges have enormous leeway, so Judge Thomas M. Durkin will not be bound by the guidelines when he sentences the 74-year-old Republican on April 27 in Chicago. A closer look at the process and Hastert's likely fate:
Prosecutors refer to sexual abuse on nearly every page of a 26-page presentencing memo filed late Friday. But Hastert's conviction isn't for sexual abuse. It's for the comparatively technical charge of structuring huge cash withdraws to pay Individual A, first withdrawing $50,000 at a time and then later switching to just under $10,000 to evade reporting requirements.
Prosecutors said in the Friday filing that they would have preferred sex-abuse charges, but the statute of limitation on sexual abuse ran out decades ago. Still, prosecutors considered Hastert's conduct with the victims, all boys 14 to 17 years old, so egregious that they chose to pursue the banking charge to ensure he faced some punishment.
Three years after conflict erupted in the Central African Republic, the biggest killers of children aren't bullets but malnutrition, malaria, respiratory infections and diarrhea, the United Nations said Monday.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the mortality rate of children under the age of five is now above emergency levels in 11 of 16 prefectures across the country and in the capital Bangui, "marking a significant increase since pre-crisis level."
The U.N. humanitarian office, known as OCHA, said in its latest bulletin that the International Medical Corps reported that in these areas one out of every six children is "acutely malnourished."
Before the violence erupted, OCHA said malnutrition levels for children under the age of five were extremely high due to widespread poverty, a fragile health system, lack of access to clean water and sanitation, and poor infant-feeding practices.
In the wider population, OCHA said a U.N. World Food Program assessment in February found that hunger levels are also "staggeringly high" with one out of every two people unable to find sufficient food.
A Wisconsin school district said on Monday it would discipline several students who taunted an opposing team's fans and minority players with chants of "Trump, build a wall" and "Trump" during a high school soccer game.
The incident occurred on Thursday during a girls' varsity soccer game between Elkhorn Area High School and Beloit Memorial in southeastern Wisconsin, said Jason Tadlock, the administrator of the Elkhorn Area School District, in a statement posted on the district's Facebook page.
During the game, three elementary school students who were sitting near Beloit fans said: "Trump, build a wall," and two high school students chanted: "Trump" four or five times, Tadlock said. It was unclear whether the two groups attended the game together.
In December, the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association sent an email to athletic departments across the state, reminding local officials that any chants or taunting of opponents and their fans was considered unsportsmanlike and that they should take action when it occurs.
British actress Helen Mirren poses for photographers upon arrival at the UK premiere of the film 'Eye In The Sky' at a central London cinema, London, Monday, April 11, 2016.
Photo by Jonathan Short
A San Antonio school officer caught on tape body-slamming a middle-school student was fired Monday by the district, which said the officer's misstatements about what happened were revealed by the video.
Officer Joshua Kehm's statements on the March incident were "inconsistent" with the video and his response was "absolutely unwarranted," the San Antonio Independent School District said in a statement.
Superintendent Pedro Martinez said Kehm's case has been referred to the Texas Rangers, the state law enforcement agency, for possible criminal charges.
Martinez said in an interview that he didn't find out about the incident until seeing the video on the Internet, and that staff at Rhodes Middle School also face discipline for not immediately reporting what happened.
Kehm first told the district that the girl's fall was accidental, then that she had been fighting an arrest in some way, Martinez said.
A devotee with his body painted poses as he waits to perform during a ritual as part of the annual Shiva Gajan religious festival at Sona Palasi village, in West Bengal, India, April 11, 2016. Devotees offer sacrifices and perform acts of devotion during the festival in the hopes of winning the favour of Hindu god Shiva and ensuring the fulfillment of their wishes, and also to mark the end of the Bengali calendar year.
Photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri
An ancient whip uncovered at a medieval English monastery may be one of only four metal scourges found in the country, according to the Nottinghamshire County Council, which manages the archaeological site.
Scourges, whips or cat-o'-nine-tails made of copper-alloy wires braided together were used by people in the Middle Ages to chastise themselves. And this particular artifact, which dates back to the second half of the 14th century, was probably used by monks at Rufford Abbey to whip themselves as a form of penance, and to ward off the Black Death, the council said in a statement.
The Black Death was a catastrophic outbreak of the bubonic plague that killed more than a third of Europe's population in the early 1330s. In England, the Black Death lasted only a year - from 1348 to 1349 - but records show that it was enough to wipe out entire families and resulted in a decline in Rufford's wool trade, which was also a primary source of income for Rufford Abbey, in the following years.
During a dig underneath the meadow at Rufford Abbey in 2014, archaeologists discovered a stain of green copper coloring the soil. But the archaeologists were unable to decipher the significance of the copper artifact until further tests linked it to a few rare scourges found at other monasteries.
A newborn reticulated giraffe baby is seen with its mother in their enclosure in the Debrecen Zoological and Botanical Garden in Debrecen, Hungary, April 11, 2016. The baby is the very first of its kind since the foundation of the Debrecen Zoo.
Photo by Szolt Czegledi
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wrote:
said:
has returned to semi-retired status.
