Noise...

One of the first things you learn covering American politicians is that they’re not terribly bright.

They’re usually in office for one reason: someone with money sent them there, often to vote yes on a key appropriation bill or two.

On the other 364 days of the year, their job is to shut their yaps and approximate gravitas anytime they’re in range of C-SPAN cameras.

But some do talk all kinds of stuff.  

All of AOC’s supporters sent her to Washington precisely to make noise. There isn’t a cabal of key donors standing behind her, cringing every time she talks about the Pentagon budget.

She is there to be a pain in the ass, and it’s working. Virtually the entire spectrum of Washington officialdom has responded to her with horror and anguish.

  “AOC,”  had a lot to say since arriving in Washington. She will continue to talk until her party leaders tell her to stop,  [Matt Taibi-The rolling stone]

Bugattis...

A trio of treasured Bugattis kept locked in a barn for years by the family of an artist could sell for a small fortune when they are auctioned next week.

Belgian sculptor August Thomassen purchased the three vehicles in the late 1950s and early 1960s when they were practically worthless to everyone but him. His daughter told the De Telegraaf newspaper that he loved their engineering and unusual styling.

The cars will be crossing the block on Feb. 8 at the Retromobile event in Paris, where they should sell for well over $1 million combined. The all-original Type 57 is expected to fetch as much as $750,000 on its own.

Parallels

A giant H has been painted on the broad boulevard in front of the American Embassy in Kabul, creating a new helipad that recently has been used only by Zalmay Khalilzad, the special United States diplomat who has been talking with the Taliban.  

The pecking order is clear. As American policy in Afghanistan seems bent more than ever on making a deal with Taliban insurgents to withdraw American troops from the country after nearly two decades of war, Mr. Khalilzad’s diplomacy is taking priority.

The talks between Mr. Khalilzad and the Taliban have raised some parallels to Henry A. Kissinger’s talks with North Vietnamese leaders, which presaged the American pullout from South Vietnam in 1973 and the collapse of South Vietnam two years later.

The learning curve to create Peace is 20 years. Just a thought.

Resign...

Florida Secretary of State Michael Ertel resigned after photos emerged of him wearing blackface as a Hurricane “Katrina victim” at a Halloween party in 2005.

The Tallahassee Democrat reported that the photos were taken two months after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in August 2005, leading to an estimated 1,836 deaths.

Ertel, 49, a Republican, had been appointed Seminole Supervisor of Elections just a few months earlier by then-Gov. Jeb Bush. He had previously served as spokesman for Seminole County and the county Sheriff’s Office.

Mo...

Help...

ومتورطش نفسك

 حملة جديدة للتصدي لارتفاع تكاليف الزواج   

تحت عنوان “خليها تعنس ومتورطش نفسك”، غرد العديد من الشباب المؤيدين للحملة عبر هذا الهاشتاج، الذي شهد عبارات ساخرة من قبلهم

These are married guys I assume.

Hate...

Mount...

 Investigations are underway into allegations that a doctor working for an Ohio hospital system ordered inappropriately high doses of pain medication.

The Columbus-area Mount Carmel Hospital System has said six other patients under the care of Dr. William Husel received doses of fentanyl that were larger than necessary to provide comfort, but likely weren't the cause of their deaths. The patients who died under Husel's care suffered from various ailments and ranged in age from 39 to 83.

The hospital system has acknowledged that Husel wasn't removed from patient care until four weeks after concerns were raised about his prescribing habits. Three patients died during those weeks after receiving excessive fentanyl doses ordered by Husel, Mount Carmel said.

The hospital has apologized and has placed six pharmacists and 14 nurses on administrative leave during the investigation.

Who to blame? Let us see the rest of the dance...

Together...

A family who eats together, stays together”  The world has changed and sitting down to breakfast, lunch or dinner is not such an easy thing to do! Often families rush off to work and school in the mornings, grabbing some fruit or eating porridge on the run.

Eating meals together has the potential to strengthen family bonds as it provides a daily time for the whole family to be together. 

For younger children, routine family meals can provide a sense of security and a feeling of belonging in the family. Older children and teenagers, too, prefer eating together as a family.  

Studies have proven that there’s a significant link between family dinners and academic performance.  Teens who have between five and seven  family dinners per week were twice as likely to report receiving mostly A’s and B’s in school, compared to those teens who have fewer than three family dinners per week. In addition, only 9% of teens who ate frequently with their families did poorly in school, according to the report.