Chapter 116: June 2018 – November 2018
“To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
– Nelson Mandela (OTL)
FORMER YAKUZA LEADER STABBED TO DEATH IN PRISON!
…the deadly confrontation sparked a brief turf war inside the prison between rival prison gangs consisting of former members of rival Yakuza syndicates. The conflict ended when the prison security forces deployed knockout gas, allowing masked personnel to quickly subdue the prisoners and avoid a possible riot…
– The Asahi Shimbun, Japanese newspaper, 6/1/2018
WILDFIRES IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA LEAVE OVER 50 DEAD AND HUNDREDS OF BUILDINGS DESTROYED
– The Daily Telegraph, UK newspaper, 2/6/2018
3 June 2018: On this day in history, the Volcan de Fuego, an active stratovolcano in Guatemala, erupted with such speed and intensity that there was essentially no time to evacuate nearby areas; subsequently, the quickly-moving lahars, pyroclastic flows and volcanic ash clouds killed no less than 197 people, making it Guatemala’s deadliest volcanic eruption since 1929
– onthisdayinhistory.co.uk
KING VS. CZAR VS. CHEF: Drive-Thru Ordering At Three Major Burger Joints
…after carefully weighing the differences in wait-time and order accuracy, I have to say that, in my experience, the underdog that is Burger Czar is prevailing over the bigger chains in regards to customer service and wait-line movement efficiency…
– tumbleweedmagazine.co.usa, review section, 4/6/2018
BLUE BEE RETURNS FROM NEAR-EXTINCTION
…the rare species of blue calamintha bee, once thought to be extinct, has been rediscovered in Florida, roughly five years after it was last spotted. First identified in 2009, these rare blue bees made headlines for their specific habitat needs, foraging strategies, and beautiful indigo coloring. The bees’ reemergence was confirmed by Chase Kimmel of the Florida Museum of Natural History…
– nationalgeogrpahic.co.usa/news, 6/5/2018 e-article [1]
UK LABOUR PARTY LEADERSHIP RESULTS: Standing Sails To Top Spot
…economics expert Guy Standing bested fellow MPs Polly Toynbee and Aravella Simotas in a landslide leadership election…
– The Daily Telegraph, UK newspaper, 6/6/2018
BIG ISLAND GETS RARE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY ALERT
…the alert was issued for the higher areas of the island due to freezing rain and ice falling as a result of the continuing lava flow plowing a path through a large section of Big Island. The quantity of lava reaching the ocean via this flow is creating large plumes of steam. These plumes are so massive, they are rising high enough into the atmosphere, where they are condensing and freezing before falling back down onto the island…
– The Hawaii Tribune-Herald, 6/7/2018
…US President Kelsey Grammer’s working relationship with PM Bachand was on display in early June 2018, when the two leaders participated in a bilateral meeting on renewable energy trade between the US and Canada. The meeting was held at Niagara Falls, and while the two agreed on fiscal policy positions generally-speaking, Bachand had a personality that just did not seem to “click” with Grammer’s at the event. This professional but impersonal relationship contrasted sharply with the friendship Grammer formed in his first year in office with PM Rogers, which the Canadian magazine The Walrus dubbed a “bromance.” With Rogers no longer in office, it appeared the head of state closest to Grammer was UK PM Goodlad; the two men had a reputation for being “classy,” yet pragmatic individuals, and the two spoke often after Goodlad’s ascension on strengthening economic and social ties between not just the US and the UK, but between the US and the British Commonwealth.
On the more domestic side of things, Bachand got along better with Australian PM Jim Varvaris than with Grammer; the two of them famously – or infamously, depending on who one asks – spent a weekend fishing off the coast of Queensland in early 2017. When Varvaris was replaced by Jenny Leong, she and Bachand struggled to not have a less tenuous relationship. But with conflicting ideologies and personalities, Leong and Bachand failed in this endeavor before the end of 2018...
– Richard Johnston’s The Canadian Party System: An Analytic History, UBC Press, 2017
REPUBLICAN-LED SENATE AGAIN KILL G.R.E.E.N. PROPOSAL IN COMMITTEE
– The Washington Post, 6/10/2018
11 June 2018: On this day in history, the ontech sales of popular singer-songwriter Calypstica’s hit single “Calypstica” broke several records…
– onthisdayinhistory.co.uk
CAN YOU SMELL WHAT KFC’S COOKING?
Florence, Kentucky – For the first time in eight years, since the death of Mildred Saunders Ruggles, a direct descent of The Colonel sits as the Chair of KFC’s Board of Directors. Honorary Kentucky Colonel Harland David “Davey” Sanders IV (b. 1959), son of industrial designer Harland David “Lando” Sanders III (b. 1939) and grandson of US Senator Harland David “Harley” Sanders Jr. (1912-2007), has served on the board since his great aunt’s death, but only is moving up the corporation’s leadership ladder, and it seems he may have plan for how to keep the company “at the top.”
Sitting down with Davey in his Florence HQ office, the short and graying 59-year-old, looking more like his great-grandfather every day, explains, “I spent my free time being with my family, helping my kids, especially my son Vinnie.” He refers to Harland David “Vinnie” Sanders V (b. 1985). “But he’s beaten his drug addiction, and now that he and his wife have another little Harland to handle on their own,” as in Harland David Sanders VI (b. 2014), “I figured that this was the best time for me to get more involved in my great-grandfather’s company.”
I ask him to explain further. He replies cryptically with “I think it’s time for a sort of rebirth of KFC…”...
– The New Yorker, 6/12/2018 article
ELVIS-VANILLA ICE COLLAB SINGLE CAN’T STAND THE HEAT OF CRITICISM
…This old hound dog won’t hunt. The latest Elvis single, his first in four years and yet another collaborative work, this one with Vanilla Ice, fails to live up to its own hype. But the two musicians aren’t handling it well. Each are saying that the negative reviews ontech “don’t reflect the real people,” as Mr. Ice put it on the 11th. On the 12th, Mr. Presley suggested that the harsh comments are “being planted by our rivals” without offering any further specifications or clarification…
– Variety magazine, 6/14/2018
[wikibox pic:
imgur.com/XiO77tV.png ]
William Mark Fagerbakke (FAY-ger-bah-kee) (born October 4, 1957), also known by the nicknames
“Bill the Fang” Fagerbakke,
“Fingerbang” Fagerbakke and
“Fake-and-Bake” Fagerbakke is an American actor and retired award-winning professional football player. Born in California but raised in Idaho, Fagerbakke began his athletic career in college football at the University of Idaho (1976-1979), and then played in the NFL as a lineman, first for the Houston Oilers from 1979 to 1983, then for the Minnesota Vikings from 1983 to 1998. Fagerbakke retired from the NFL in 1998 at the age of 40.
After feeling “unfulfilled” coaching football at his alma mater, Fagerbakke moved permanently to California in 2001 to begin a modest acting career. In early roles, he was typecast as either tough brutes or idiot sidekicks before proving he could do serious film roles in the late 2000s decade. He cameoed in the 2010 “Orca” remake starring Liam Neeson, and starred as a retired football coach in the award-winning TV series “Endzone” from 2011 to 2015, a spiritual successor to the 1990s TV series “Coach” (starring Craig T. Nelson and John “Tooz” Matuszak); Endzone maintains a small but strong cult following. Fagerbakke was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in the 2018 film drama “Crashing Plume,” but lost out to 27-year-old Sophie J. L. North. He has since maintained a modest celebrity status, most often appearing in numerous medium-budget films and occasionally lending his talents to commercials for various products. Fagerbakke has more recently begun doing voice acting, most notably voicing the arrogant and dimwitted Troll King in the New Line Animation fantasy film “Rocklickers.”
– clickopedia, c. early 2021
GRAMMER WELCOMES EL SALVADOR PRESIDENT TO THE WHITE HOUSE
…Estevan “Steve” Montenegro, born in 1981 in El Salvador, at a time of economic renewal for El Salvador, is this Central American nation’s latest conservative-leaning leader…
– The Washington Post, 6/19/2018
LEBANON VOTERS PICK NEW PRESIDENT: Boutros Harb Wins Over Soleiman Franjieh Jr.
– The Guardian, side article, 23/6/2018
RUSSIAN WHISTLEBLOWER GRANTED ASYLUM IN AUSTRALIA
…The Land Down Under has had no extradition arrangements with Russia since 2000…
– The Daily Telegraph, UK newspaper, 27/6/2018
“…In financial news today, Chevron announced that it will finance and facilitate over $2trillion over the next five years to back GCD solutions and sustainable development programs as the oil giant seeks out their own slice of the growing ‘go-green’ pie. Chevron executives have been very wary of their global corporation’s impact on the environment ever since the Chevron Oil Spill of the 1980s that devastated the Alaskan coastline and created a PR disaster that rival oil companies capitalized on throughout the 1980s and 1990s…”
– CBS Evening News, 6/28/2018 broadcast
THE SPONGEBOB ZONE (TV series; 5 seasons, 1997-2002)
Cast:
>
Main Cast <
Tony Hale as SpongeBob (pilot)
Carlos Alazraqui as SpongeBob (Seasons 1-5)
Don Cornelius as Squidward
Charlie Adler as Mr. Krabs and Patrick Star
Brooke Burns as Rosie the Squirrel
Domenick Jack Irrera as Bubble Bass
Dougie Osowski as Mr. Barnacle
Linda Wallem as Pearl the Waitress
Robert Clotworthy as Fred Legg (Seasons 2-5)
Matt Battaglia as King Neptune (Seasons 1-2, 5)
Kevin Meaney as Sheldon Plankton (Seasons 2-5)
Levi L. Knebel as Dr. Flotsam (Seasons 3-5)
– mediarchives.co.usa
FUTURAMA (1994-present)
Cast:
>
Main Cast <
Rob Paulsen as Markey Marvin “Key” Martin
Katey Sagal as Taranga Leela
Billy West as Professor Cramble Xenoba Farnsworth and Dr. John Bleep Zoidberg
Kathy Soucie as Bartokovski Dennis “Bart” Farnsworth
John DiMaggio as Bender Rodriguez and Willie the Janitor
Lauren Tom as Lisa Wong
Marvin Katzoff as Houseley Penfield Grubbs
Phil Hartman as Captain Zapp Branigan
Christina Applegate as Patty Martinez
Phil LaMarr as Hermes Kingston
>
Recurring Cast <
LeVar Burton as Police Chief Clancy Corvallis
Harry Shearer as NNYC Mayor Homer Seymour Simpson (and several minor characters)
Robyn Petty as Maggie Johannesburgopolis
Ali Ahn as Janey Lee
Patricia Alice Albrecht as Patty the Robot
Robert Clotworthy as Lrrr (and several minor roles)
Dougie Osowski as Volkor the Amoeba
Irene Tedrow as Earth President-in-exile Marjorie Wiggum (1994-1995)
Tress MacNeille as Earth President-in-exile Marjorie Wiggum (1995-present)
Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Whitemarsh Telesphore Cherubusco Schwarzchild
Rob Paulsen as Dr. Nicholas Devlin Percival McCrackenthorpe III
– mediarchives.co.usa
LIFE IN HECK AND OTHER FUN PLACES (1987-1993)
Cast:
>
Main Cast <
Patrick Pinney as Binky Notarabbit, the father of the Notarabbit family
Debra Clinger as Sheba, Binky’s wife
Christine Cavanaugh as Bongo, Binky’s teenage son from a previous marriage
Dana Hill as William and Abe, Binky and Sheba’s young twin sons
Frank Welker as Snarla, the family cat
Joel Kenney as Jeff
Joe Alaskey as Akbar
Dan Castellaneta as Krusty the Clown, a retired clown who is the Notarabbits’ neighbor
Maggie Roswell as Selma Simpson, the only employee at their town’s only employment agency
– mediarchives.co.usa
MIGUEL OSORIO ELECTED PRESIDENT OF MEXICO
…Miguel Angel Osorio Chong (PRI), age 53, is of Chinese descent on his mother’s side. …Osorio won in an upset over the PAN candidate that many assumed would win due to the popularity of the term-limited incumbent President Santiago Creel (PAN). ...Earlier this year, Osorio surprised political pundits by besting Lilia Marodio Reza (b. 1978) in the PRI primary, a race that was even closer than tonight’s general election, and gained much more media attention than typical party primaries, because of its intensity between the two candidates and their differing ideas over direction the party should take in the years ahead. Osorio promoted stability and bipartisanship, while Reza championed for radical social changes that energizer young voters but alienated older and more conservative members of the PRI…
– TheHoustonChronicle.co.usa, 7/1/2018
“Heat Dome” brings dangerously high temps, humidity to much of Canada and the states
– The Toronto Star, Canadian newspaper, 7/2/2018
[pic:
imgur.com/2pLzOu4.png ]
– Former Vice President Bob Ross doing some fishing, c. summer 2018
DEATH TOLL LIKELY HIGHER THAN REPORTS SUGGESTS: Heat Wave Deaths Are High, But Not In The Way You Think They Are
…The apparent concentration of heat wave-related deaths in the past several days being in Quebec is not the fault of province mismanagement, nor is it the result of some GCD-related anomaly. The perceived concentration is due to Quebec being the province with the loosest rules and regulations for attributing deaths from heat in official medical reports. ...This summer’s heat wave is surely one for the history books…
– The Cape Breton Post, Nova Scotia newspaper, 7/7/2018
“…When lava flows over vegetation, the burning plant life create methane gas as a byproduct. And as you can see by the blue flames shooting out from the lava over there, there is a lot of methane gas being produced and released here. The flames are not emerging directly in the lava because the methane gas seeps into subsurface voids and then explodes from the heat, so they emerge from cracks in the ground several feet away from the lava itself. This is a serious safety concern, so officials have established a very generous evacuation zone…”
– Kennedy News Network, “Breaking News” segment, 7/8/2018 broadcast
…Another fiscal crisis concerning the federal budget arose in July 2018, and it stemmed from the expensive damage that the 2017 Hurricane wrought upon the southern United States. The Grammer administration initially received praise for federal responses to the hurricanes, with praise coming especially from the Governors of Texas and Puerto Rico (Rick Perry and Raul Labrador, respectively), both of whom were Republican Party loyalists. Both in hindsight, it was apparent that Grammer’s fiscal conservativism had restricted the extent of federal assistance. Most notably, the annual budget for ODERCA (Overwhelming Disaster Emergency Response Coordination Agency) was in 2017 roughly 40% of what it was in 2011. …As more statistics came out over state governments lacking federal help during the 2017 Hurricane season, more American citizens demanded more federal funds be allocated to services such as ODERCA.
However, this would require restructuring the 2018-2019 federal budget just weeks ahead of the deadline established by the BBA. Ergo, Grammer held an emergency closed-door cabinet meeting on July 15.
“The media’s giving us the beating of a lifetime over the shrinking of the federal government – as if they don’t know that that is what being
libertarian means!” The President allegedly remarked.
In the meeting, Grammer went around the room and discussed with each cabinet member which department could afford cutbacks in order to increase ODERCA’s “shoestring” budget. As expected, the heads of State, Treasury, Defense, and the Justice department all made excuses and alleged that their budgets were already smaller than they “should” be. Postmaster General Ralph Nader reluctant was resistant to have his department be a sacrificial lamb for another fiscal shortfall; Grammer had already proposed merging the responsibilities of his “final job in Washington” into the department of Energy and Technology. As a result, Nader joined with Secretary Jager and the heads of Agriculture, the Interior, Commerce, Labor, Education, HHS, Transportation, VA, and Community Development in voicing great reluctant to let go of additional funding.
“Look, people, please!” Grammer displayed impatience with the bickering. “There’s fifteen of you. Surely a flat-across-the-board .5% sliver from each one of you would suffice, right?”
The President’s “budget gurus” all nodded. The President’s Secretaries all grumbled and then nodded in compliance.
– historian Jane Mackaman’s What Principles Endure: An Examination of The Grammer Presidency, Vintage E-Books, 2022
Reporter Brian SCHWARTZ: “Extensive polling has found that bipartisan majorities fid ranking choice voting to be easy in states and cities already using it. One extensive poll, asking the simple question ‘Which would you more likely support: A) a leader elected by a majority of the vote or B) a leader elected by a plurality of the vote’ resulted in 90% of Americans polled supporting Option A), 3% support Option B) and 7% going for Option C), unsure.”
Guest panelist, political researcher and former CEO of Gehl Foods Katherine GEHL (pro-RCV): “Yes, and that study also revealed that on partisan lines, sentiments are almost even among Democrats and Republicans, with 93% of Democrats and 87% of Republicans voting for Option A.”
Guest Panelist, CEO and President of The FairVote Institute Rob RICHIE (pro-RCV): “More than 76% of people polled by Gallup said that R.C.V. is either somewhat easy to understand. 12% said it was very easy, 10% said it was somewhat difficult, and just 2% said it was very difficult. On partisan lines, 16% of Republicans called it very or somewhat difficult, while just 8% of Democrats found it very or somewhat difficult.”
Guest Panelist, former DNC Committeeman Robert ZIMMERMAN (anti-RCV): “In other words, 12% of Americans find this difficult? That’s too high a number.”
Former NRC Communications Director Matt GORMAN (anti-RCV): “Yeah, I agree, nobody should be able to accept suppressing, or at least discouraging, the will of 12% of any population.”
Guest Panelist, Senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation Hans VON SPAKOVSKY (anti-RCV): “This instant-runoff proposal is unnecessarily complicated. We should just implement a two-round voting system similar to the one that the French have.”
Guest Panelist, professor of political science at UMSL David KIMBALL (pro-RCV): “But that would be more expensive than RCV.”
– Kennedy News Network, roundtable discussion, 7/19/2018
The Positives And Negatives of Ranked-Choice Voting: A Guide
…Ranked Choice Voting is nothing new. It was invented in 1870 and Australia has been using it for lower house elections since 1918. Proponents of this voting process claim it could
streamline the election process, making it less expensive, more efficient, and fairer. Studies of its use at the state and local levels, such as for mayoral elections, suggest that Ranked-Choice Voting systems lead to the election of
more moderate representatives who better reflect voter preferences rather than rewarding ideological extremists. The system also prevents a “spoiler effect” in which a third (or fourth or fifth) candidate splits the vote of the most-popular candidates by making elections less of an either-or proposition. …US Senator Mike Gravel (D-CA), a leading proponent of the N.I.A.,
also says it leads to less negative campaigning, stating that “since
each voter can potentially vote for a candidate as well as their opponent, candidates shy from negative campaigning that would alienate the supporters of other candidates, instead trying to appeal to those voters as their second or third choice.”…
– aot.co.usa, 7/20/2018 e-article [2]
“I want to see everyone vote ‘No’ on RCV. It is not at all a democratic approach. It will not solve our election problems; it will instead create more election problems.
Ranked-choice voting is the flavor of the day. And it will turn out to have a bitter taste.”
CO-HOST: “Its advocates believe RCV is, at least, more democratic than the Electoral College occasionally determining the winner.”
“Its advocates want to replace real democracy, in which a majority picks the winner, with something akin to a game show method of selection. The result could be more like Family Feud than a decision about one of the most important choices people can make.”
[snip]
“The thing about RCV, the thing that its proponents always ignore, is the fact that it
doesn’t actually lead to a candidate who represents the majority of voters. This is because an
easily exhausted electorate doesn’t always rank all the candidates on a ballot. Especially in the U.S., where most people do not even bother to even learn about third-party candidates, or even that much about the major party candidates, either, for that matter. And as a result, some voters will end up with their ballots eliminated before the final round of voting, and thus will
no say in the final outcome. For example, say
there were five names on a ballot and you only ranked three, who were all eliminated, your now-blank ballot wouldn’t be counted in the final vote at all. You will not have expressed any choice about the two leading candidates.”
CO-HOST: “Well then maybe people will strategically pick more popular or electable candidates for their second and third choice.”
Contributor JANICE FINE: “Which is exactly what the establishment may want us to do!”
“Either way, RCV is clearly not a solution. It may just be another complication, and of that we should be very wary, because there are legitimate reasons
for skepticism when it comes to RCV. But the thing is, the larger element that
is broken in American politics, and therefore what should be focused on, is election procedures, not our well-established and only occasionally-imperfect election processes.”
– Former US Rep. Gordon Weil (R-ME), head of the political activist group “Ranked Is Wrong: Vote No On RCV,” CBS News, 7/21/2018 segment [3]
D.R. CONGO TAKING “PREVENTATIVE STRIDES” TO COMBAT KIVU EBOLA OUTBREAK
…the rise in reported cases of the virus has the potential to be worse than the 2013-2014 Kivu Ebola outbreak, but the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s President is confident that his administration will “avoid the mistakes” of his predecessor, telling his nation’s press today that “our communities are working together to keep each other safe and sanitary in the weeks and months ahead”…
– The Cape Times, South African newspaper, 7/23/2018
“…Torrential rains have triggered massive floods in Japan, displacing thousands and killing at least seventy people…”
– BBC World News, 7/25/2018 broadcast
GRAMMER THE GRIZZLY?: POTUS SHOWS OFF BOD WHILE ON SUMMER VACATION
…After tackling a missile incident and now facing a fiscal crisis in D.C., President Grammer must have been ecstatic to get away from the Beltway and spend some fun in the sun with the First Family…
[pic:
imgur.com/8vD4O4M.png ]
Above: The President spending quality time at Santa Monica Beach with one of his sons, while vacationing with his wife and his four youngest children (photograph provided by Splash News, our coast-centric division)
– The Hollywood Reporter, 7/28/2018
MARS APPROACH BRINGS OUT SIGNS OF PROMISE AND REMORSE IN SPACE TRAVEL COMMUNITY
…Today, Mars made its closest approach to Earth since 2003, four days after reaching “opposition.” This event was marked by former NASA Director John McAfee declaring it to be a “gravely missed opportunity” for the US and the world. “We should have planned a second Marstronaut mission for this second window instead of just sending out more probes,” said McAfee in a THN interview.
Incumbent NASA Director Bezos, on the other hand, took the moment to give an optimistic speech at NASA’s HQ in Virginia, in which he promoted Project Postman, the “Lunar Bot Hub” endeavor that is still in development.
McAfee, however, also commented on Bezos’ speech, saying “If Bezos hadn’t spent so much time working with private businesses to decentralize American space travel, we would have built it by now. And that would have allowed marstronauts to only take five months to travel to the Red Planet instead of seven.”
Saudi Arabia’s space agency announced in 2001 their own plan to go to Mars in 2018, but the mixed results of their 2008 moonshot led to the country’s government cancelling the project. Earlier this week, they launched a robot space probe, the Glory 5, to the planet Mars instead…
– popularscience.co.usa, 7/31/2018
“…new polling shows that President Grammer’s approval rating is down to its lowest numbers since 2014, with the recent gradual dip most likely stemming from controversies concerning his apparent response to last year’s Hurricane Season being ‘insufficient’ according to multiple reports…”
– ABC News, 8/2/2018 broadcast
STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARED AS WILDFIRES PERSIST IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
– The Los Angeles Times, 8/3/2018
…The rise of the California wildfires as a major issue led to the White House immediately pledging to help California combat them. President Grammer discussed the matter with the state’s Governor, Cruz Bustamante, would had previously served as Grammer’s lieutenant governor; as a result of this previously-established relationship, the process of coordinating a federal response went smoothly.
Meanwhile, the White House inner circle hoped that combating the fires would reverse the sinking approval ratings of both Grammer and the GOP. They also believed that a successful response to the fires would “finally shake off the narrative spun by liberals in the media,” as the WH Communications Director later put it, “that ‘libertarian’ means ‘irresponsible’ or simply ‘irresponsive.’”…
– historian Jane Mackaman’s What Principles Endure: An Examination of The Grammer Presidency, Vintage E-Books, 2022
5 August 2018: On this day in history, a 6.9m earthquake struck the island of Lombok, Indonesia, destroying homes and building, displacing thousands, and killing over 400 people…
– onthisdayinhistory.co.uk
ERITREAN SCANDAL UPDATE: Nikolayev Unwilling To Green Light Investigation
…inquiries into allegations of Russian President Nikolayev allegedly staging a missile crisis with Eritrean President Ephrem are being met with fierce resistance at the Kremlin. The President’s loyal Prosecutor-General is refusing to “humor the lies and waste our valuable time” directing the Justice Department to address “this baseless rumor.” Meanwhile, the leaders of the National Assembly’s Majority coalition (National with Strong Arm and Motherland) seem very reluctantly to launch any probes into the Kremlin or the military, likely fearing that such action will collapse the coalition o the detriment of their political careers. However, Vlad Chub, Leader of the National Assembly Opposition/Minority coalition (Democratic with Green and Protectionist) claims the inaction from the ruling party leaders is due to a “fear of reprisals from the madman holed up inside the Kremlin.”…
– The Guardian, UK newspaper, 8/8/2018
BACHAND WINS, BUT BARELY!
…The PCs lost a considerable number of seats, becoming just three seats shy of losing majority control. In the event of this event happening, along with Chow’s PLs still failing to gain a majority of seats, Bachand likely would have tried to form a coalition government with the Quebec Party to stay in power…. Opposition leader Olivia Chow (PL) conceded earlier tonight, as did Pierre Paquette (Quebec), while Ken Melamed (Green) and Tim Hudak (New Maple) are expected to concede soon...
– thetorontostar.co.can, 8/10/2018
Agafia (2017-2018) was a Canadian digitally-streamed miniseries based on real events in which a family was isolated from the rest of humanity for over 40 years. The series follows the incredible survival of the Lykov family in the isolated wilderness of the Russian Taiga, and of the four geologists who discovered their existence there in 1979. Each episode ran for 40 minutes on average. The series received good reviews, and concluded with a series finale at the end of Season 2, totaling 20 episodes.
Cast:
Yuliya Snigir as Agafia Lykov
Konstantin Khabensky as Yerofei Sedov
Oleg Tabakov as Karp Lykov
[see full list
here]
Season One: Episode 1 – “A” Story (1979): while surveying land in a helicopter, four Soviet geologists (Yerofei, Petros, Vlad and Ivan) stumble upon a human settlement in a remote mountainside in the Abakan Range of the Taiga, a dense boreal forest area, 150 miles away from the nearest human settlement; the inhabitants inside, and the geologists, are concerned about how to respond to seeing each other. “B” Story (1936): The Lykov brothers are members of a fundamentalist Russian orthodox sect that had been persecuted since the days of Peter the Great in the 18th century called “the Old Believers.” Fearing religious persecution for practicing religion in communist Russia, Karp Lykov wants to stay in the Ural while his brother wants to flee father east, but when his brother is killed, Karp flees with his wife Akulina and their children, Savina and Natalia, into the forests of the Western Sayan mountains with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
Episode 2 – “A” Story (1979): the geologists make firm contact with the Lykovs, starting up a dialogue with them, and the family members learn about developments such as World War Two, the Cold War, and television for the first time. One geologist, Yerofei Sedov, soon establishes a friendly relationship with the family’s youngest daughter, 34-year-old Agafia. Yerofei soon realizes her peculiar speech pattern is the result of a lifetime of isolation, not mental impairment. “B” Story (1937): Karp and his family survive their first winter in the taiga by eating their shoes, and with their basic shelter receiving extensive damage from blizzards and the freezing cold.
Episode 3 – The geologists debate whether they should report the existence of the Lykov family. Yerofei and Petros believe they shouldn’t while Ivan and Vlad believe they should; they also disagree on telling the family about Mikhail Suslov, the rising civil unrest they have witnessed, and their own lack of confidence/uncertainty in how the Soviet government would respond to the family’s existence. In the end, they take a blind vote among the four of them, and they unanimously vote to not telling anyone of the family’s existence. Meanwhile, the Lykovs show their visitors how they have adapted to the tundra.
Episode 4 – “A” Story (1979): two of the geologists are intrigued by Dmitri, Afagia’s older brother who is a strong man and who lives in the forest “like a Russian Tarzan.” Meanwhile, back at their base in the Oblast’s capital of Abakan, Yerofei is caught trying to bring some dresses to the girls, but gets away with it by saying they belong to his ex-girlfriends. “B” Story (1961): it snows in June, destroying the family’s crops, and making the mother worry.
Episode 5 – “A” Story (1980): the geologists find a recording device in their office and soon tell the family they will have to not visit them for a while, upsetting Agafia and troubling Yerofei. “B” Story (1961): Karp’s wife dies feeding the children, and the family reacts to it with grief, anger and sadness.
Episode 6/7 (two-parter) – “A” Story (1980): the family hears a low rumble in the distance but no clouds; the geologists return to finally tell the family of the growing political unrest and of the Aktau Disaster (a major nuclear power plant meltdown), then must calm them of their fears that it is the end of the world. During the geologists’ stay, Agafia encounters love and sin with Yerofei (who has not told Agafia that he is married), while the rest of the geologists contemplate moving up there with them in case a nuclear war really is to occur and destroy Russia. “B” Story (1961): after burying the mother and all hope being seemingly lost in the wake of the lost crops, Agafia finds a single rye grain growing in the remains of the family’s garden. The family guards the grain with their lives, protecting it from animals and the elements. When the grain grows, the Lykovs celebrates the endurance of life.
Episode 8 – “A” Story (1980): Ivan is shot and killed by Soviet officials for trying to smuggle food onto the department’s helicopter, and Petros and Vlad must survive interrogations, as their higher-ups believe they are planning some sort of treasonous act. Meanwhile, Yerofei walks in on his wife having an affair, leading to a sad but mutual separation. “B” Story (1950): a young Agafia is frightened of the woods before they become her home.
Episode 9 – Traumatized by the interrogations, Vlad burns their department’s headquarters to the ground to keep the Lykov family safe, and then flees with Petros and Yerofei to the Kykovs. They travel by boat with lots of supplies, but Yerofei and Vlad still arrive in weak condition from the effects of the trip. The Kykovs then helps them build a separate cabin near the family’s “homestead.”
Episode 10 – In late 1981, Agafia deals with her feelings for Yerofei while Yerofei deals with the Lykov family’s strict and conservative religious observances. Meanwhile, Petros and Vlad spend time learning about the family and how to survive in the area, while Dmitri’s increasing interest in the outside world worries Karp. In the final minutes, Yerofei asks Karp if he can marry his daughter, but the screen cuts to black before Karp responds.
Season Two: Episode 11/1 – “A” Story (1985): Agafia and Yerofei are married and have a son. Petros and Vlad return from a trip back to Abakan to report that the Soviet Union has collapsed. Believing it is safe to return to civilization, the geologists plan to leave, though Yerofei is reluctant to do so. After some arguing, Karp allows Dmitri to travel with Petros and Vlad back to civilization while Yerofei stays behind. “B” Story (1959): Karp and his wife wonder if they should return to civilization and risk persecution, and ultimately decide against it.
Episode 12/2 – “A” Story (1985): the family again refuses to leave their home despite the hardship, and argue when Petros and Vlad decide to return premanently to civiliation. However, the geologists do get the Kykovs to agree to tell the world of their existence. “B” Story (1983): Agafia deals with childbirth and her child becoming sick, leading to arguing after Yerofei suggests he should venture out for medicine. Right before he leaves, the baby’s fever breaks, and it is revealed to the audience that Petros gave the baby medicine from a secret stash he has in his hut. “C” Story (2014): Agafia deals with Yerofei’s failing health while their daughter is living “far away,” and Agafia discovers a lump on her breast.
Episode 13/3 – In 1986, the geologists meet with journalist Vasily Peskov. The subsequent publication of treatises and photographs of the family in Russian newspapers make the Lykovs national celebrities. After much convincing, Karp finally agrees to tour the country with the rest of his children, finding good and bad things in the world of modernity. During the trip, we learn that Russian President Vlad Volkov pardoned the geologists for burning down their department headquarters due to nobody being hurt by the fire, and that the Russian government has paid for the Lykov family to tour the country for a month, during which time Agafia sees airplanes, horses, cars and telephones for the first time. Agafia is both frightened and fascinated by the unfamiliarity of Moscow and St. Petersburg. When they return home after four weeks of travel, though, Dmitri begins to not feel well.
Episode 14/4 – In 1986, Dmitri is suffering from pneumonia, and there is debate if the trip out of the homestead damaged his immunity. The father refuses to send him to a hospital, but when his situation deteriorates, he relents and Dmitri is airlifted to Abakan. However, the “illness” has already become too severe, and he passes away at the hospital. Agafia fears for her children’s health; the final minute reveals that Agafia is now pregnant with her second child.
Episode 15/5 – “A” Story (1986): Vlad, the geologist who was most supportive of Dmitri’s travelling aspirations, is reeling with guilt over Dmitri’s death, and, after attempting suicide, announces he is permanently moving to St. Petersburg to seek therapy. After a misunderstanding, Agafia, thinking Yerofei is leaving to, refuses to leave the homestead and pushes Yerofei away in reaction to the fear of being alone. She and Yerofei make up in the end after saving Petros from drowning in a separate incident. “B” Story (2014): Agafia still refuses to leave the homestead despite unprecedented floods, and she and Yerofei barely survive the destruction of one of the property’s huts downhill from the main building. Agafia only agrees to seek medical attention for her breast lump.
Episode 16/6 – In 1986, Natalia dies from some sort of illness, and the father is also suffering from pneumonia-like symptoms. At the same time, Karp is furious to learn about the contents of a book on the family that has been airlifted to them, demonstrating the negative aspects of celebrity status. However, Karp’s attitude improves after communicating with other Old Believers over the property’s new solar-powered telephone.
Episode 17/7 – “A” Story (1988): Agafia is diagnosed with a tumor, leading to her traveling to hospital while Petros looks after the ailing Savina. Upon her return from the hospital, though, she and Yerofei are saddened to learn that Savina died while they were gone. “B” Story (1948): Karp and his wife Akulina deal with three of their four children being sick, but they deal with it together.
Episode 18/8 – In late 1989, the 6-year-old daughter of Agafia and Yerofei questions the family’s religious practices after Yerofei admits doubting some of it, causing an argument that ends when Karp feels sick and his health declines yet again.
Episode 19/9 – In early 1990, Karp dies, traumatizing both Agafia and her daughter. Petros returns after not visiting the Taiga for over a year to give the family gifts and to try to liven up the mood.
Episode 20/10 (double-length) – “A” Story (2001): the 18-year-old daughter of Agafia and Yerofei announces that she wants to leave the family home to get an education in civilization. Yerofei and Agafia go with her for the first few days. The daughter has trouble at first, but adjusts to modern life better than Agafia did in the 1980s. “B” Story (2016): Yerofei has been dead for months. Agafia’s daughter returns to her mother’s bedside (pneumonia) after years of rarely visiting, and her brother comforts his sister in explaining why Agafia refused to abandon the Homestead, her home. A text crawl explains Agafia recovered from pneumonia and was still alive, and still at “the Homestead,” at the time of the episode’s airing on October 19, 2018.
– digitalmedia.co.can
…Mexico’s economy is continuing to rise healthily, as the stock market in Mexico City closed today with its healthiest numbers in decades…
– ABC Morning News, 8/20/2018 broadcast
ASSISTANT US SECRETARY OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT RESIGNS
…Star Parker (b. 1956), an African-American political official (R-CA) with a focus on education and urban renewal, was hired by the Grammer administration’s department of Community Development in 2015. A self-declared “anti-welfare” conservative, Parker served in the US House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015, winning election in 2010 and 2012 before losing re-election in 2014. …Parker says she has stepped down over “multiple disagreements” that she has had with the incumbent administration, alleging that the incumbent US Secretary of Community Development – physician and former Marstronaut Patricia Consolatrix Hilliard “Doc” Robertson – is doing “an abysmal job. She never took up any of my ideas”…
– The Washington Post, 8/21/2018
HOST 1: “So did you see this news bit? Apparently our Governor’s dad, retired Admiral John McCain, just got a terminal cancer diagnosis, and so his son Barack and his daughter Naomi are going to be spending some time with him down in Florida.”
HOST 2: “Yeah, the Governor’s basically putting everything on hold because of a family crisis.”
HOST 1: “You know, its moments like this where you can see why Rocky is so popular. He’s a family man. He loves his dad, he loves his wife, his sons and daughter, he’s a guy who cares, you know? Remember that video that went fervid ontech a few years back where he calms down a supporter’s baby?”
HOST 2: “Yeah, yeah, but it’s also touching, his backstory I mean. McCain’s dad is a war hero, and they’ve reportedly had a strong family bond for decades, even after his parents divorced, so this diagnosis has got to be heartbreaking for Barack.”
HOST 1: “I know I’d cry if it happened to my Dad. And I’m not ashamed to say that, either.”
– KCAP (950 AM) Helena, Montana news/talk radio station, 8/24/2018 broadcast
“The [N.D.R.R.] Supreme Court has ‘original jurisdiction’ in certain special national cases, as authorized by the 1985 [N.D.R.R.] Constitution. Those include the challenging of individual acts of the National Assembly and challenging, questioning, and determining the legalities of the decrees of the President. The military’s refusal to investigate just how it misplaced nuclear devices or release documentation concerning it on the orders of the President merits scrutiny, and the Prosecutor-General knows this. He knows of this, he knows of all of this.”
– Russian Supreme Court Chief Justice Yury Chaika, 8/26/2018
“…Tonight in London, a free trade deal between the UK, India, Australia and South Africa was signed into law by the heads of state of these four nations. The deal will very likely leave on impact on much of the world’s commerce as economic allegiances shift to adjust for financial windfalls resulting from this major multinational trade decision…”
– BBC World News, 28/8/2018 broadcast
William Nealon, Supreme Court Associate Justice, Is Dead At 95
…appointed to the seat by US President Walter Mondale, William Joseph Nealon Jr. (7/31/1923-8/30/2018) had served as a moderate-to-liberal voice in the US Supreme Court since June 29, 1974. His eventful tenure on the bench, at roughly 44 years, 2 months and a day, makes him one of the longest-serving federal judges in US history…
– The Washington Post, 8/30/2018
Nealon’s vacancy created a Supreme Court consisting of five left-leaning justices (Delgado-Colon, Sandel, Chin, Schroeder, and Chief Justice Page) and three right-leaning justices (Thompson, Garza, Bacon). This meant that Nealon’s demise did not “endanger” the “liberal majority” of the court. However, incidentally, the three conservative justices each represented a faction of the GOP – Thompson was a far-right conservative, Garza was a “Colonel conservative” type, and Bacon was a Snowe-like centrist. Thus, there was one major political philosophy found in the Republican Party but not on the Supreme Court – libertarianism.
Deciding to make the court “more reflective of America,” Grammer both made a strategic gesture and upheld of his own principles when he carefully began vetting for a potential Supreme Court seat appointee by reviewing several libertarian and libertarian-leaning judges and law experts. According to his former White House Communications Director, “race and gender were not deciding factors. The court was already made up of two Hispanic justices, two Black Justices, a Chinese-American justice, and a Jewish justice, so the bench was already ethnically diverse – majority-nonwhite, in fact. And three of the justices were women.” Despite this, many media outlets reported that, among the names being considered, were Filipino-American Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Tani Cantil-Sakauye (b. 1959), Chinese-American Federal Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Dolly Maizie Gee (b. 1959), and Indian-American Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Amul Thapar (b. 1969). Freshman Republican US Senator Rand Paul of North Carolina (b. 1963) was also rumored to be in consideration, but he publicly declined interest in the position on September 1.
During White House discussions, Grammer slowly narrowed down the options to a shortlist of five potential nominees. Chicago Law School Professor Gene Healy (b. 1970) was an accomplished academic and an expert on federalism and US law. Georgetown University Dean Randy E. Barnett (b. 1952) was an even more seasoned teacher and writer of constitutional law, but was 66 years old. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Robert Patrick Murphy (b. 1976), on the other hand, was a spritely 42. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Norman Stephen Kinsella (b. 1965) had not been in his seat for very long, as Grammer himself had appointed him to it in 2015, but he had made a name for himself by being a passionate proponent of Hans-Hermann Howe’s theory on augmentation ethics. Finally, Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Martinez Guzman (b. 1961) had a libertarian-leaning record in a conservative state.
As deliberations continued, the list took up an almost RCV-like composition, with the libertarian ideologue Murphy taking first place, the alleged “diversity” option in second, in case Murphy failed to be nominated, and Barnett as the “safe” option.
– Linda Greenhouse and Morton J. Horwitz’s Sustaining Liberty: The Supreme Court Under Our Current Chief Justice, Sunrise Publishing, 2020
KILAUEA ERUPTION DECLARED OVER; Crisis Ends After Lava Lake In ‘Ahu‘Aila‘Au Recedes Below Surface
– hawaiinews.co.usa 9/5/2018
LOCALS PRAISE CHIN’S RESPONSE TO LAVA FLOW
…Hawaiians are lauding Governor Doug Chin’s handling of orderly evacuation procedures that kept civilians safe as the Kilauean Lava Slow overwhelmed a wide swath of Big Island on its way to the ocean. Only six major injuries and zero deaths were reported…
– The Hawaii Tribune-Herald, 9/7/2018
GRAMMER NOMINATES LIBERTARIAN JUDGE ROBERT PATRICK MURPHY FOR SUPREME COURT
…Murphy was appointed to a California District Court in 2011 before Grammer appointed him to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2013…
– The Washington Post, 9/8/2018
FORMER RECREADRUG LORD BEGINS JAIL SENTENCE TODAY
…The underworld kingpin who killed his way to the top must serve a minimum of 30 years before being eligible for parole, at which point he will be 80 years old. Evangelos Goussis, age 50, began his adult life with great promise, becoming a professional athlete and even competing in the 1988 Olympics. His life took an unexpected turn when he was banned from the sport and the 1992 games for alleged steroid use. After that, the disillusioned Goussis entered the world of crime, starting out in drug trafficking and using his own fitness and training equipment supply business as a cover. Upon switching to the more lucrative recreadrug-smuggling business, he found himself locking horns with competition such as the Russia Mafia and several yakuza syndicates, leading to him orchestrating the murder of several rivals from 1994 to 2009. By 2001, Goussis’ own “cartel” of allies made him one of the most powerful criminals in central Asia, allowing him to transfer narcotics from Afghanistan and Tajikistan across United Turkestan and into Russia and China. He established a “barrier” of allies in Uzbekistan, making himself nearly untouchable to law enforcement by making himself popular in the region with gestures such as paying for schools and hospitals, along with distributing masks and other supplies during the SARS pandemic of 2002-2004. His criminal career reached its apex with the ascension of alleged ally Islam Karimov to the U.T. Presidency in 2006, and ended abruptly with Karimov’s assassination in 2008. Karimov’s successor launched an anti-corruption crusade that targeted hundreds of underworld figures including Goussis. The recreadrug smuggler’s power and influenced gradually eroded away as the U.T.’s Justice Department worked their way up from small offenders to major influencers, until Goussis was finally arrested in 2015. UT officials revealed in 2017 he was caught a sting operation in which he confessed in front of a hidden camera to ordering the recent killing of five ex-allies out of fear that they would speak to police. That reveal put an end to rumors that the gun smuggler-turned-author known as Tommy Gun Thompson had collaborated with U.T. police, which he reportedly did not…
– The Guardian, UK newspaper, 9/9/2018
JOHN CANDY IS DEAD AT 67
…the iconic star of dozens of comedic film and TV roles passed away suddenly in his sleep from a heart attack, a spokesperson for his family announced. Candy had suffered from health issues intermittently for years, and had survived three health years already (in 1993, 1999, and 2016)...
– The Los Angeles Times, 9/10/2018
11 September 2018: On this day in history, Hurricane Florence, a powerful and long-lived Cape Verde hurricane that caused catastrophic damage across the eastern North American continent, especially in the U.S.’s North Carolina, reaches peak intensity, with 1-minute winds of 210 km/h
[4]; the hurricane, responsible for 17 direct fatalities, formed on 31 August and dissipated on 18 September.
– onthisdayinhistory.co.uk
[pic:
imgur.com/uoFKkov.png ]
– A deer wades through a flooded suburban street in North Carolina during the final days of Hurricane Florence
GRAVY GRAVEYARDS: Top 12 Defunct Fast-Food Chains From Yesteryear
A restaurant chain going out of business always weighs heavily on the hearts of its most die-hard fans. And years later, even fast-food joints scuttled for poor sanitation conditions or general incompetence can still be thought back on with nostalgia for its best years. To honor the one-year anniversary of the final Chuck-E-Cheese outlet locking its doors for the last time, here are the Top 12 restaurant chains that America has said goodbye to over the last few decades.
1: Pizza Toppings – This knockoff of Pizza Hut founded in 1987 and slowly grew to a string of outlets across the West Coast. By the mid-1990s, it was a popular place for teenagers to hang out after school. However, its own internal mismanagement got to it before its competitors could. Several outlets were shutdown in 1996 and 1997 for severe health code violations, damaging their reputation. One of the chain’s founders had relatives that kept tipping their hands into the till and pestering some employees, and another co-founder was arrested for crack possession in 1998, at the height of the Recreadrug Wars. Later that year, amid multiple legal issues, the chain was sold to a larger company that eventually shut down all of its remaining locations by 2003.
2 (tie): Chicken In The Rough/Chicken-To-Go – These two chicken-selling chains were friendly rivals to KFC during The Colonel’s early years. Despite Chicken-To-Go’s “Texas-sized” pieces being larger than KFC’s, it folded quickly in the early 1960s. Similarly, Chicken In The Rough closed its doors for the final time in 1963. Both simply failed to compete in the growth period the fast-food industry experienced in the late 1950s, even with The Colonel himself trying to convince Chicken In The Rough’s founders to fight harder to keep up with the competition. Sanders allegedly argued, “we [KFC] can’t be the only chicken sellers in town; people will think we’re the best by default instead because it’s true.”
3: Taco Bell – A dispenser of “Mexican-inspired” taco, burritos, and other items, its founder slowly and gracefully build it up across the states, but then brought the chain to the front of national new cycle with an independent bid for the Presidency in 1988. The media attention soon led to the company becoming the center of several scandals. While investigations into the chain’s wage theft practices and mistreatment of undocumented workers wasn’t enough to significantly impact its base, the allegations of the company having a toxic workplace environment was the final nail in its coffin. By the mid-1990s, Chi-Chi’s and Zantigo’s had taken Taco Bell’s place in the Mexican-American fast food game. Taco Bell’s final location shut down in 1999, but not before three avid loyalists chained themselves to the building and had to be removed by police. Thus the company’s history ended up reflecting its food – its entrance (into the fast-food industry) was smooth, but its departure was more than a little messy.
4: Long John Silver’s – Before founding SpongeBob’s – the oddly-named family-friendly seafood “dining experience” that practically redefined the term “dinner and a show” by launching a TV series based on the chain’s mascots – Stephen Hillenburg of Ohio originally worked for Long John Silver’s. In the late 1980s, LJS’s was losing seafood-hungry customers to Boston Sea Party and Red Lobster, but Hillenburg’s superiors dismissed his rebranding ideas. In 1990, he left the chain to found SpongeBob’s Undersea Cuisine. And soon enough, the sponge – much like the gluttonous nematodes pulling apart a rival restaurant’s foundation in an episode of the iconic ’90s series – joined the lobster and the sea party in pulling apart LJS’s customer base. Long John Silver’s filed for bankruptcy in July 1998, and officially entered the annals of history during the “mini-recession” of 1999.
5: T.G.I. Friday’s – Founded in 1965 as a place for single adults to mingle, the bar-centric chain expanded quickly before priority was shifted to it’s casual dining aspects. However, financial struggles in the late 1970s led to the chain plateauing and changing hands several times. Its focus was switched to a sports bar but reverted into a family-friendly atmosphere a few years later. The chain was on its way out when an obvious knockoff chain, Burger Hut Thursdays, took off in popularity. Instead of trying to replicate BHT’s superior business model, TGIF’s newest owners spent millions taking BHT to court, suing them for unfair competition. Litigation from 1992 to 2000 drained their finances. Then, the New York Supreme Court ruled in favor of BHT, stating that the similarities ended at the similar names of the establishment and some similar menu options. The ruling was seen as establishing loose guidelines for how much imagery one can rip off from something when one opens up a business in New York. Efforts to bounce back from this embarrassing defeat ended when the SARS pandemic essentially killed off the chain’s remaining outlets. Most of its former locations now belong to former finals such as BHT, Arby’s, and Steak-&-Ale (also known as The Jolly Ox in some markets).
6: Chuck E. Cheese’s – The “real cool place to be a kid” began to decline in popularity in the late 1990s, a slip worsened by the effects of the 1999 mini-recession and the SARS pandemic. It seems children grew tired of its mediocre food, creepy animatronics and lackluster games. With indoor dining pausing abruptly during the pandemic and home-consul videogaming surging, the company never fully recovered and shut down all but one store in 2009
[5]. The final location closed in 2017. Essentially, Chuck E. Cheese’s failed to modernize; they learned the hard way that it is exponentially more difficult to use a robotic rat-man to impress young people who have lar-phones and techslabs for entertainment.
7: Sambo’s – This jungle-themed breakfast eatery reached its apex of over a thousand locations in 1978, just before that year’s markets enter recession. Financial shortfalls soon combined with sanitation inspectors shutting down several locations, and with protests over their mascot (a dark-skinned, half-naked Indian boy, with a name considered pejorative to African-Americans, who is riding a tiger), resulted in them closing up shop in 1989.
8: Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream – not to be confused with Steve’s Ice Cream, which still has locations across 32 states, Ben and Jerry’s began after Bennett Cohen’s chain of bagel-and-coffee outlets, called Ben’s Bagels, went belly-up in 1979. Two years later, Cohen met up with his childhood friend Dr. Jerry Greenfield, MD, who was practicing medicine in Youngstown, Ohio. The two men soon launched Ben’s newest entrepreneurial enterprise in the area, and by 1991, Ben and Jerry’s was an award-winning company involved in numerous charity and community development projects across the US, especially in the Midwest. However, the co-founders’ increase in progressive political activism took its toll of the company; by 2001, their ice cream was losing so many customers to rivals such as Steve’s Ice Cream that B&J outlets began closing. But Cohen was inspired by President Jackson. Cohen’s humanitarianism ultimately culminated in him launching a bid for Governor of Ohio in 2005, only for the two men to die in a plane crash in early 2006. Interestingly, Cohen and Greenfield had sold the rights to the ice cream company for multinational use to a large parent company ahead of the primary deadline, but had not sold any of their trademarks for use before they died. As a result, under new management, the remaining stores were soon closed.
9: Beefsteak Charlie’s – Clocking in at 105 years of operation, the first restaurant of this chain was founded in 1910, but its final location was closed forever in 2015. After rising in popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, head executive Larry Ellman sold it in 1987 to what would become one of several owners until its final parent company there in the towel. Its businessmen management turnover rate was due to it defying financial spreadsheet basics with gigantic prices and rock-bottom prices. With that and an all-you-can eat salad bar, and free refills for all alcoholic beverages, it is a wonder how it stayed afloat for so long!
10: Minnie Pearl’s Chicken – On July 29, 1963, Colonel Sanders demonstrated on live TV how he made his famous chicken, doing so in front of Tennessee Ernie Ford and Minnie Pearl from “Hee Haw.” Six years later, Nashville attorney and would-be politician convinced her to lend her name and likeness to a chicken chain that would try and compete with the “monopolistic” KFC. The subsequent restaurants sold chicken in hatbox-shaped containers dotted with yellow daisies and featuring a picture of “Cousin Minnie” present a drumstick. The chicken, reportedly salty but serviceable, came with biscuits, honey packets and moist towelettes. The restaurant venture opened a total of 523 outlets before the US SEC investigated Hooker for stock price manipulation and accounting irregularities, culminating it the sudden demise of Minnie Pearl’s Chicken in 1979
.
11: Don Pablo’s – Taking its cue from the success of Taco Bell, this full-service Tex-Mex chain was founded in Lubbock, Texas, in 1985 and boasted 260 outposts at its height. Don Pablo patrons appreciated how the burritos, chimichangas, salsa and tortillas were all made from scratch. Also, the restaurants were visually striking. You felt like you were in an old Mexican village on a movie studio lot. Don Pablo’s may have just been unlucky. Ownership changed hands several times, and the companies that had big plans to expand it were prone to bankruptcy. Fans still mourn its 2011 demise.
12: Royal Canadian Pancake House – While noticeably more subdued in presentation than other flashy restaurants, both at the time and on this list, this small NYC-based chain had a cult following. Oddly, its menu had little to do with Canadian breakfast staples or methods of preparation. The chain was most famous for pancakes the size of large pizzas – in fact, leftovers went home in a pizza box! Other favorites included the Womlette, an omelet-topped waffle, and the Canadian Cracker, a waffle topped with fried eggs and cheese. The chain closed in 1998, not long after the owner was indicted for ethics violations.
– proudsoutherner.co.usa/food, 9/15/2018 [6]
Stephen McDannell Hillenburg (b. August 21, 1961) is an American philanthropist and the CEO of SpongeBob’s Undersea Cuisine, a chain of family-friendly seafood restaurants found across North America and Europe…
[snip]
…Hillenburg founded the first “SpongeBob’s” restaurant in 1991, and the company quickly grew. In 1994, Hillenburg began work on hybrid live action-animated TV commercials to advertise the chain; these commercials were so popular, Hillenburg was convinced to create a TV series centering on his restaurant’s mascots. The TV show “The SpongeBob Zone” ran from 1997 to 2001, with an additional collection of episode “specials” airing in 2002...
[snip]
…In the 2000s and 2010s, Hillenburg used the wealth he had amassed from SpongeBob’s to expand his interests to other areas such as marine research and food distribution. Hillenburg’s humanitarianism and community activism, his treatment of workers at his restaurants, and his maintenance of management transparency has received praise from various groups. Hillenburg has also received criticism from other groups for keeping his restaurant chain privately-owned, refusing to take the company public over his mistrust of “the intention of stockholders.” …In 2018, political activist Tulsi Gabbard accused Hillenburg of cultural misappropriation for operating a tropics-themed chain despite he himself not being from the tropics. However, the incident did not develop any farther, with thousands of technetters coming to Hillenburg’s defense ontech…
– clickopedia.co.usa, c. 2021
Guest Panelist, political analyst and former Gov. Karl ROVE (R-UT): “So, would this referendum make it so each state does Ranking Choice Voting separately or is it at the National Level? Or somehow both?”
Co-Panelist Ana NAVARRO: “It’d be a national law, Karl, so it would be the law of all the lands – as in all the states would have to comply with it, like how all the states have to comply with the US Constitution, Karl, as a matter of principle.”
ROVE: “Nah, nah, I don’t like that. Maybe some states are already planning on doing that, rendering this useless. Or maybe an incentive that should have been added to this would be that it allows states to run their primary races, and races for the US Senate, US House, and governor races however they want to. That would be the trade-off. Is it too late for them to add that sort of thing to this?”
NAVARRO: “Well, given that this was a years-long process and the election’s less than two months away, I’m going to say no, you’re a bit too late to the party here, Karl.”
– The Overmyer Network, roundtable discussion, 9/20/2018
CHOW DEMANDS SPECIAL COMMISSION AFTER R.C.M.P.’S “INCONCLUSIVE” REPORT
…the national spending scandal may have just worsened for the Prime Minister. According to recent reporting, Bachand rejected the proposal of creating a special commission to investigate federal spending discrepancies out of fear that it would lead to a high-profile item for the media to follow. Bachand hoped that a referral to the RCMP would “keep it [the scandal] out of the news”...
– The Toronto Star, Canadian newspaper, 9/21/2018
SAME-SEX MARRIAGE TO BE LEGAL IN CHILE
…the National Congress’ narrow vote will make Chile the 30th nation to legalize same-sex marriage…
– The Guardian, UK newspaper, 9/22/2018
US SENATE APPROVES MURPHY FOR SUPREME COURT SEAT, 59-45, WILL TAKE SEAT “IMMEDIATELY”
– The Washington Post, 9/23/2018
SUPREME COURT COMPOSITION ON
SEPTEMBER 27, 2018
Chief Justice (since July 2001): Alan Page (D-MN, liberal) – succeeded Frank Johnson – appointee: J. Jackson
Associate Justice Seat 1 (since March 1999): Larry Thompson (R-GA, conservative) – succeeded Leon Higginbotham – appointee: Dinger
Associate Justice Seat 2 (since May 2000): Emilio Garza (R-TX, conservative) – succeeded Ed Levi – appointee: Dinger
Associate Justice Seat 3 (since April 2008): Aida Delgado-Colon (D-PR, progressive) – succeeded Joseph Sneed III – appointee: J. Jackson
Associate Justice Seat 4 (since September 2018): Robert Murphy (R-CA, libertarian) – succeeded William Nealon – appointee: Grammer
Associate Justice Seat 5 (since November 1971): Sylvia Bacon (R-PO, centrist) – succeeded John Harlan II – appointee: Sanders
Associate Justice Seat 6 (since May 2002): Michael Sandel (D-CT, liberal) – succeeded Herb Fogel – appointee: J. Jackson
Associate Justice Seat 7 (since July 2009): Denny Chin (D-CA, liberal) – succeeded Miles Lord – appointee: Wellstone
Associate Justice Seat 8 (since October 1990): Mary Murphy Schroeder (D-CO, progressive) – succeeded William Brennan – appointee: Bellamy
– thesupremecourt.co.usa/court_compositions/by_date/9_27_2018
28 September 2018: On this day in history, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake strikes Sulawesi, Indonesia, causing a tsunami that kills at least 4,200 people and injures over 10,500 others…
– onthisdayinhistory.co.uk
RUSSIAN LEGAL SHOWDOWN: Prosecutor-General Aleksandr Matovnikov Clashes With Russian Supreme Court As Probes Struggle To Make Headway
– The New York Times, 9/29/2018
“…Rock-and-roll icon Elvis Presley, having recently been diagnosed with lung cancer, today announced that he is undergoing treatment to fight the cancer, but did not confirm reports that he is set to receive a lung transplant. The move to stay private about his latest health scare is possibly in response to the controversies surrounding a highly-publicized heart transplant he had in the year 2000, in which a fan donated their heart to him that was touching to many but concerning to others. Transplant or no transplant, Presley has stated that he believes he, quote, ‘can and will beat this thing,’ end-quote…”
– ABC News, 10/1/2018 broadcast
FORMER F.L.O.T.U.S. KATHRYN DENTON DIES AT 92
…Kathryn Jane Maury Denton served as First Lady of the United States from 1981 until her husband’s resignation in December 1986. She was married to Jeremiah A. Denton from 1946 until Jeremiah’s death last year...
– The Atmore Advance, Alabama newspaper, 10/3/2018
BROWN BACKS BROWN: Actress Endorses Governor Hopeful
…state senator Yvette McGee Brown (D) is aiming to become Ohio’s first African-American female Governor, and she is getting some help from some Hollywood heavyweights. Actress Yvette Nicole Brown mirrored Halle Berry-Williams and Arsenio Hall last month in endorsing the liberal politician…
– The Hollywood Reporter, 10/5/2018
Rodger Albert Bumpass (born November 20, 1951) is an award-winning American actor, director, producer, and voice actor. Bumpass has since appeared in over 70 films, including Heavy Metal (in a minor voice role), National Lampoon’s Vacation (as a minor character), The Goonies (as a police officer, a minor character), Vampire’s Kiss (as the main character), Shakes the Clown (as a secondary character), Forrest Gump (as the main character), The Blood-Red Butterfly (as a main character), Highway to Hell (as a major character), Godzilla 2000 and its three sequels (as a major character), Ghost Rider 4 (in the main antagonist role), Killionaire: The Loaded Assassin (as the main character), and Stormwrecker (as a major character). Bumpass has also appeared in, or has performed voice acting for, almost 50 TV shows, including CatDog, Jimmy Neutron, Roseanne Returns Yet Again, CSI, NCIS, and The Arizona Trail.
[pic:
imgur.com/b34rqrS ]
Rodger Bumpass was born in 1951 to Virginia and Carroll Bumpass of Bumpass Cleaners and Dryers. He was raised and educated in Arkansas before moving to California to pursue an acting career...
[snip]
…Bumpass’s rise to fame began with the release of the 1979 National Lampoon film “Fin” (also titled “Jaws 3, People 0”), in which he starred as the main character. In the film, Bumpass has a love scene with Bo Derek, who eventually married Bumpass...
[snip]
…Bumpass began directing and producing films in 1999 with the high-budget film Kneel Before Ed, starring Chris Farley as a kindhearted-but-clumsy man who receives God-like powers…
[snip]
...Bumpass has received dozens of awards for his work. In 1994, he won an Oscar for Best Actor, for his performance as the titular role in the film Forrest Gump. Actor Tom Hanks later expressed regret at declining the role over an issue with the script, remarking that he thought it was too unrealistic that the character would go into space…
– clickopedia.co.usa, c. 2018
…I would say it was on a cold day in October, but this was in Moscow, where every day in October is cold. However, I will say that it was in the dead of night, during The Witching Hours. And that it was a private moment, held in the den of the President’s private residence between Nikolayev and a few of his friends from Siberia.
“Their insolence is astounding,” the Russian President loudly and angrily grumbled with a sneer of contempt on his face. “I should threaten to nuke Australia for taking in that little snitch. And if they call my bluff? Hey, I’m a man of my word!” As he exclaimed, he threw his hands up dramatically.
To the remark, one of his mafia friends – a well-built bald man with a small nose, one-and-a-half chins, and a nearly all-black suit – meandered over to the seat across from Nikolayev’s armchair beside the giant window. The blinds were drawn so one could look out over the capital’s nocturnal ambiance. The
Bashnya Rossiya was visible on the President’s side, standing tall above the rest of the financial sector. “Vladimir, you’re going to have to access some sort of hit in order walk away from it. Butting heads is getting you nowhere but deeper into a hole.”
“And what would you have me do?” Nikolayev asked, either dumbfounded or insulted.
The Bald Man answered candidly, “Orchestrate an investigation. Control all aspects. Make a patsy out of someone. Ever heard of a kangaroo court? Put ’em through one if you want. Or, if you want a more permanent solution, there’s always our guys.”
“Even saying that this is worthy of an investigation acknowledges their suspicions. It legitimizes the attacks on my Presidency. Why should I give my enemies the satisfaction?”
“Because you struttin’ about like you own the place is worsening your own government’s reputation. This and your temper. Which reminds me, what’s this we hear about you roughhousing National Assembly Members?”
“I was just putting them in their place, like you would with any disloyal customer.”
“Well, word on the street is that the only reason why the assembly isn’t impeaching you is because of us. Remember that. We got you here and we’re keeping you here. you’re welcome.”
Nikolayev smirked, “Last time I checked, the President is the leader of Russia. That’s me. I control the military, I appoint the justices, I can influence the legislation. You can only try to do any of that by proxy. And I’m that proxy.”
“You don’t have to be,” the Bald Man said ominously.
The President made a snort-like chuckle, and remarked sarcastically, “Oh, sure! I forgot! You definitely don’t need me!”
“You really think you’re untouchable, don’t you?”
Nikolayev answered, “Well I do have a security staff. They’re like yours, only they have a better dental plan.”
“Don’t be smart with me Vlad, be smart out there!” The Bald Man angrily bellowed and pointed out the window. “The people of the world are watching you. Be smart here, you’re acting like a moron. Listen,” he leaned in closer, and I just barely heard him say “We didn’t sign on to a moron President. Remember how you got here, my friend. Because we do.”
The following Monday, Nikolayev public reversed course by announcing that Prosecutor-General Matovnikov would lead a “corruption review board” to study the matter concerning “unwanted agents” committing acts of espionage for the benefit of Eritrea. Matovnikov made his nose browner by remarking that he was “certain” that the board would find “not a shred” of evidence connecting the President to the weapon smugglers and military members in question…
– Marina Lebedev’s tell-all memoir My Time In The Nation of Nikolayev, Perspective Publishers, 2022
NEUROBOTS MAKE OPTIC NERVE REPAIR NOW POSSIBLE!
…The transformative new procedure has just been cleared by the last of several federal boards… Because the human optic nerve goes directly to the brain, surgery on it is incredibly difficult, requiring a level precision thought impossible until now thanks to the development of neuro-nanobots. Microscopic robots that make repairs too small for human hands to perform are now able to help surgeons. The damaged nerve can now be repaired, restoring eyesight.
“This new procedure has the potential to help millions,” says the head of the research team, “especially once it stops being so incredibly expensive an operation.”
The research team also note that for optic nerves too damaged to repair, it is currently still very risky “but not completely impossible” to have neuro-nanobots carefully “break down and remove” the “dead” optic nerve” and replace it with a new one. Due to the nerve’s connection to the brain, this step is still in the hypothetical stage of development.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that the new procedure for repairing damaged optic nerves may be the first step to unlocking mental health repair efforts, “correcting brain damage brought on by accidents, genetics, or disease,” as the head of the research team explains...
– popularsciencemagazine.co.usa, 10/9/2018
10 October 2018: On this day in history, Hurricane Michael hit Mexico Beach, Florida, making for one of the most intense hurricanes to hit the mainland U.S. since Camille in 1969…
– onthisdayinhistory.co.uk
INTERVIEW WITH FIVE-STAR MASTER CHEF ELSA BORBOA-FIRRO
Host: “How did you get your start in the world of cooking?”
Borboa-Firro: “When I got out of High School in 1984, I got a job working at a fast food place. Chicken George. It’s a chain that’s still around, but just barely, which is a shame because it was at one point the largest chain under African-American ownership, serving chicken, gumbo, biscuits and other soul foods. It was so big, the character Chicken George in the 1977 ABC miniseries Roots is a reference to the chain. I learned a lot from working there, from the coworkers, from the cuisine, and I was inspired to try out, like, actual cooking, to see how you can combine different cultures and their respective flavors to make something new and enticing.”
[snip]
Host: “So what in your opinion is the best family-friendly restaurant around right now.”
Borboa-Firro: “Well, my personal favorite would have to be one that’s real gimmicky, but it’s also real good. You ever hear of G. G. Ritzy’s Luxury Grill and Ice Creams. That place is decidedly cool. The striking art deco logo harked to the Gatsby era. The hexagonal tile floor that somehow mesmerizes me every time I walk in. The kids’ meals that, I remember, they come in little cars made out of biodegradable cardboard. The perfectly seared burgers, the shoestring fries. It all makes for a real good time, especially if you like the distinctive novelty of the 1920s as much as I do.”
Host: “That’s interesting, because last month you celebrated your grandson’s second birthday with him at a ShowBiz Pizza Place.”
Borboa-Firro: “Well, yeah. The little tyke loves that place. And, listen, that chain is a lot less annoying that it used to be. You know how only some restaurants can pull off the animatronics gimmick? Self-aware ones like SpongeBob’s, Chi-Chi’s, and Casa Bonita? ShowBiz Pizza Place wasn’t one of those places, and they realized it, and they fixed it. They didn’t dig in their heels like the stubborn idiots at Chuck E. Cheese's
[5]. The people in charge at ShowBiz Pizza Place got rid of most of the noisy arcade games. They were able to adapt to changing times and evolve with their customer base, reducing the number of old-fashioned arcades and replacing them with the latest Trix multiplayer techsports, the latest vidgames, even VR headset games.”
Host: “And the food?”
Borboa-Firro: “Do you really want to get me started on that? Because I have a lot of things to say on that subject. Not all of it’s negative, but not all of it’s positive, either.”
– tumbleweed.co.usa, 10/12/2018
FRANCE’S “ENDLESS” TOWER FINALLY OPENS
…with a construction period that seemed to go on without end, the office building aptly named
Tour Sans Fin (French for “Tower Without Ends”) is now open for business, with French President Bové attending the Grand Opening ceremony in Courbevoie, Paris, France earlier today. Standing taller than the Eiffel Tower, the newest addition to the city of Paris’s skyline stands at 1,396 feet tall and with 103 floors in a long and narrow cylindrical shape that gives the allusion of disappearing into the sky on cloudy days. Construction of this, one of the tallest skyscrapers in Europe, has been consistently intermittent. Work on it stalled during the economically poor periods of 1991, 1999, 2002 and 2013, but work resumed after each period and ultimately delaying its completion by 24 years…
– The New York Times, 10/14/2018
THE MISSION OF THE BIGFOOT PARTY
These are the primary goals that we pledge to set out to do once YOU elect us into public office
Total Government Transparency – If we are the greatest country on earth, why does our government hide so much behind the phrase “that’s classified”? Why would the greatest country on Earth have so much to hide? The whole point of government is to have leadership reflective of the people. And the people demand to know everything that their government does!
Defend All From Government Oppression – President Grammar’s libertarianism does not go nearly far enough. We will ensure that government does not infringe onto the properties, the privileges and the rights of the people.
Use The Government To Help, Not Harm – We will keep the government out of people’s personal lives by implementing public works programs and improving UNC services to cut down on long lines and remove whatever is left of the once-dominant Big Pharma.
Sensible Taxation – If you fly a helicopter to work, your taxes won’t go to paying for roads you don’t use; the more you voluntarily donate to charity, the less amount of your taxes go to social assistance programs, and visa versa.
Limitations on Superwealth – No single human individual can own more than 0.5% of the entire national economy. Pure and simple common sense.
Environmental Protection – It will be our administration’s responsibility and duty to support, protect and defend the environment, and all species of all planets, including cryptids and the unexplained, against all enemies, foreign and domestic, animal, vegetable and mineral.
Scientific Innovation – We will use funds that the government currently wastes on war to invest in the scientific study, research and development of alternate energy and lost technology, including alternative medicine, the energy fields of the Egyptian pyramids, and Atlantean interstellar travel capabilities.
Peace on Earth and Elsewhere – Our administration will promote holistic and wholesome goodwill to all nations. We will have peaceful relations with all people in all nations, on all planets, and in all planes/dimensions of existence.
No Nukes on Earth – We will ban the military use and development of nuclear weapons, but permit “constructive” nuclear uses such as destroying Earth-bound meteors or using them in science experiments carried out in uninhabited sections of Deep Space.
– bigfootparty.co.usa/mission-statement, c. October 2018
INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST FOUND DEAD IN MOSCOW PARK
…the journalist, who had stated ontech to be following a “lead” relating to the Nikolayev-Ephrem Scandal on October 20, apparently committed suicide, according to a statement by city police…
– The New York Times, 10/22/2018
NEW MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGH: Has A Cure For Both Glaucoma And Paraplegia Been Found In Mustard And Starfish Trials?
…a combination of drugs (and elements found in more natural items such as mustard seed (lutein and other carotenoid compounds)), when combined with the regenerative properties found in starfish, seem to be able to “alter” human DNA strands from the central nervous system – which hosts both the optic nerve (the “cable” of nerve fibers that allows one to see) and the spinal cord. The alteration was able to cause both segments to regenerate after injury. …Experiments conducted not on detached human tissue but on paraplegic mice yielded positive results as well. The mustard-starfish serum caused damaged spinal cords to regenerate, returning partial mobility to a majority of the mice in the study. …“This is still in its infancy, and much more testing needs to be done,” says the head of the project, “but at the point is, we’re definitely getting there, and that is giving us high hopes that we are onto something that can help millions.”…
– usarightnow.co.usa, 10/24/2018
MIDTERM POLLS: Republicans “Likely” To Retain House And Senate; Voters “Evenly Split” On National Initiative’s R.C.V. Question
– The Washington Post, 11/1/2018
November United States Senate election results, 2018
Date: November 6, 2018
Seats: 34 of 104
Seats needed for majority: 53
New Senate majority leader: Webb Franklin (R-MS)
New Senate minority leader: Midge Osterlund (D-DE)
Seats before election: 58 (R), 45 (D), 1 (I)
Seats after election: 55 (R), 48 (D), 1 (I)
Seat change: R v 3, D ^ 3, I - 0
Full List:
Arizona: incumbent Grant Woods (D) over David Schweikert (R)
California: incumbent appointee Jane Kim (D) over Malia Cohen (D)
Connecticut: incumbent Warren Mosler (D) over Matt Corey (R)
Delaware: incumbent Dan Frawley (D) over Rob Arlett (R)
Florida: incumbent Allen West (R) over Alan Grayson (D) and Douglas Scott Rogo (Bigfoot)
Hawaii: incumbent Mazie Hirono (D) over Ron Curtis (R)
Indiana: incumbent Jackie Walorski (R) over Mike Braun (D)
Maine: Mike Michaud (D) over Max Linn (R) and Joe Brooks (Independent); incumbent Olympia Snowe (R) retired
Maryland: incumbent Carl Stokes (D) over Tony Campbell (R)
Massachusetts: incumbent Kathleen Hartington Kennedy-Roosevelt (D) over Curt Schilling (R)
Michigan: incumbent Hansen Clarke (D) over Tagg Romney (R)
Minnesota: Farheen Hakeem (D) over Leonard J. Richards (R); incumbent Skip Humphrey (D) retired
Mississippi: incumbent Webb Franklin (R) over Mike Espy (D)
Missouri: incumbent Sarah Steelman (R) over Travis Gonzalez (D)
Montana: Stan Jones (R) over incumbent Denise Juneau (D)
Nebraska: incumbent Oletha Faust-Goudeau (D) over Charles Herbster (R)
Nevada: Doug Swanson (R) over Jan Laverty Jones (D); incumbent Patty Cafferata (R) retired
New Jersey: incumbent Upendra Chivukula (D) over Alison McHose (R)
New Mexico: incumbent Debbie Jaramillo (D) over Mick Rich (R)
New York: incumbent Tom Suozzi (D) over Chris Gibson (R)
North Dakota: David Dean Andahl (R) over Earl Pomeroy (D); incumbent John Hoeven (R) retired
Ohio: incumbent Sherrod Brown (D) over Jim Renacci (R)
Pennsylvania: Luke Ravenstahl (D) over Cam Bartolotta (R); incumbent H. J. Heinz III (R) retired
Potomac: incumbent Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) unopposed
Puerto Rico: Alexandra Lugaro (D) over incumbent Luis Fortuno (R)
Rhode Island: incumbent Myrth York (D) over Martha McSally (R)
Tennessee: incumbent Mae Beavers (R) over Roy Herron (D) and Stephen Fincher (Rational Republican)
Texas: incumbent Kay Granger (R) over Ricardo Sanchez (D) and Joaquin Castro (La Raza Unida)
Utah: Spencer Cox (R) over James Singer (D); incumbent David Marriott (R) retired
Vermont: incumbent Tony Pollina (D) over Jasdeep Pannu (R), B.J. Peacock (Independent), Folasade Adeluola (Independent) and Reid Kane (Liberty Union)
Virginia: Tom Perriello (D) over incumbent Denver Riggleman (R/Bigfoot)
Washington: incumbent Norm Rice (D) over Hong Tran (R)
West Virginia: Jesse Johnson (D) over incumbent Betty Ireland (R)
Wisconsin: S. C. Gunderson (R) over incumbent Russ Feingold (D) and Robert Welch (Values)
Wyoming: incumbent appointee Curt Meier (R) over Mike Massie (D)
– knowledgepolitics.co.usa
United States House of Representatives results, 2018
Date: November 6, 2018
Seats: All 441
Seats needed for majority: 221
New House majority leader: Ed Markey (D-MA)
New House minority leader: Larry Lee Householder (R-OH)
Last election: 209 (D), 232 (R)
Seats won: 237 (D), 204 (R)
Seat change: D ^ 28, R v 28
– knowledgepolitics.co.usa
United States Governor election results, 2018
Date: November 6, 2018
Number of state gubernatorial elections held: 37
Seats before: 29 (R), 21 (D), 1 (I), 1 (G)
Seats after: 28 (R), 24 (D), 1 (I), 1 (G)
Seat change: R v 1, D ^ 3, I v 1, G v 1
Full list:
Alabama: Twinkle Cavanaugh (R) over Artur Davis (D); incumbent Richmond M. Flowers Jr. (D) was term-limited
Alaska: incumbent Lesil L. McGuire (Liberty-Republican-Alliance) over Anna MacKinnon (Democratic), Craig Campbell (I) and Jeffrey Brown (Green)
Arizona: Barry Hess (R) over Marco Lopez Jr. (D/LRU); incumbent Tina Flint Smith (D) was term-limited
Arkansas: incumbent Connor Eldridge (D) over Tim Griffin (R)
California: incumbent Cruz Bustamante (D) over Steve Knight (R), Malia Cohen (Green), Oliver Stone (Bigfoot) and Mary “The Fringe Centerfold Candidate” Carey (Natural Mind) (runoff avoided)
Colorado: Mark A. Callahan (R) over Bernie Buescher (D), A. Harlan Romanoff (G) and J. A. Garcia (La Raza Unida); incumbent Bill Thiebaut (D) retired
Connecticut: Ted Kennedy Jr. (D) over Prasad Srinivasan (R); incumbent Nancy Lee Johnson (R) retired
Florida: Jenny Johnson (R) over incumbent Alex Sink (D), Danny Whitney (Country) and Lewis Black (Liberty Union)
Georgia: Ben Lewis Jones (D, endorsed by the Country and Bigfoot parties) over Newt Gingrich (R) and Dewey McClain (Teamwork); incumbent Shirley Franklin (D) retired
Hawaii: incumbent Doug Chin (D) over Ray L’Heureux (R)
Idaho: incumbent Butch Otter (R) over Michelle Stennett (D)
Illinois: incumbent Al Giannoulias (D) over Jeanne Ives (R) and Christopher Fleming (Bigfoot)
Iowa: incumbent Kim McFadden (R) over Cathy Glasson (D)
Kansas: incumbent Susan Wagle (R) over Pam Horton Curtis (D)
Maine: Cynthia Dill (D) over Emily Cain (R), incumbent Patty LaMarche (Green) and Justin Alfond (Independent)
Maryland: incumbent Kumar Barve (D) over Jonathan Bartlett Jennings (R)
Massachusetts: incumbent Maura Healey (D) over Gabriel Gomez (R) and Scott Lively (Boulder)
Michigan: Brian Calley (R) over Abdul El-Sayed (D); incumbent Michael Moore (D) retired
Minnesota: Melvin Carter (DFL) over incumbent Michele Bachmann (IRL)
Nebraska: incumbent David K. Karnes (R) over Steve Lathrop (D)
Nevada: Lucy Flores (D) over incumbent Randy Quaid (R) and Rory Reid (Compromise)
New Hampshire: incumbent Darryl Perry (R) over Andru Volinsky (D)
New Mexico: Javier Gonzales (D) over Aubrey Dunn Jr. (R) and Hector Balderas Jr. (Independent Democratic); incumbent Allen Weh (R) retired
New York: incumbent Mike Gianaris (D) over Mike Ranzenhofer (R)
Ohio: Yvette McGee Brown (D) over incumbent Jim Petro (R)
Oklahoma: T. W. Shannon (R) over Anastasia Pittman (D); incumbent Rebecca Hamilton (R) retired
Oregon: incumbent Tina Kotek (D) over Vicki Berger (R)
Pennsylvania: Paul Mango (R) over Jo Ellen Litz (D); incumbent Barry Goldberg (D) retired
Potomac: incumbent Linda Washington Cropp (D) over Martin Moulton (R)
Rhode Island: Henrique Radonski-Capriles (R) over incumbent Marilyn Ann Briggs (Independent) and Matt Brown (D)
South Carolina: Gresham Barrett (R) over Keisha Waites (D); incumbent Andre Bauer (R) retired
South Dakota: Brendan V. Johnson (D) over incumbent Brock L. Greenfield (R)
Tennessee: incumbent Rand McNally (R) over Ron Littlefield (D)
Texas: Rick Perry (R) over Annise Parker (D/La Raza Unida); incumbent Bill Owens (R) retired
Vermont: incumbent Jeffrey P. Weaver (D) over Ethan Sonneborn (Independent), Keith Stern (R) and Brenda Siegel (Humanitarian)
Wisconsin: Cory Mason (D) over Mark Neumann (R) and Wendell Harris (DSA/Socialist); incumbent Mark Green (R) retired
Wyoming: incumbent Cynthia Jo Hill (R) over James W. Byrd (D)
– knowledgepolitics.co.usa
GOVERNOR-ELECT CAPRILES PROMISES POPULIST REFORM
…Our 76th and next Governor, Henrique Radonski Capriles, will be the first-ever Venezuelan-American Governor in US history. Capriles was born in Newport in 1972 to a wealthy mercantile family, but working at the family’s docks let him witnessing the daily struggles of the workers. …Capriles (R) won over incumbent Governor Marilyn Ann Briggs (I), a former adult film actress who was elected Lieutenant Governor in 2014 and became Governor after the unexpected death of Governor Bob Healey (I). The late Healey’s populist core message: “less government intervention, a strict reading of the US Constitution, and fiscal conservatism” were similar to Caprile’s campaign but differed greatly in style and presentation. Healey had been considered a possible running mate for NYC Mayor Jimmy McMillan during his third-party bid for President in 2016…
– The Newport Daily News, 11/7/2018
MAYOR WESSON RE-ELECTED
…Los Angeles Mayor Herb Wesson, the city’s second African-American mayor, won his first full term in last night’s decisive mayoral election. In closest challenger, Rick Caruso (b. 1959), a billionaire businessman and philanthropist, lost to Wesson by a margin of roughly 10%. Melina Reimann (b. 1972), an activist and academic of Pan-African Studies, came in third place, ahead of fourth-place finisher Benjamin J. M. Novak (b. 1979), a B-list TV actor, and fifth-place finisher Curren Price Jr. (b. 1950), a city councilman. A sixth prominent candidate, city councilman Kevin Alexander “Kal” Leon (b. 1966), dropped out two days after early voting began after being accused of sexual pestering. All six were Democrats in an officially nonpartisan race. Wesson won with a majority of 51%, versus Caruso’s 31%.
In May 2017, Herb J. Wesson Jr. (b. 1951), a city council member at the time, won a special 18-month term after Mayoral and other city elections were “adjusted” so that they now coincide with national midterm elections, in order to improve voter turnout. The shift of mayoral elections being held in the spring of odd years came about via a 2016 city law, after much debate over the record-breaking low of only 15.4% voter turnout in the 2013 Mayoral election. Wesson is eligible to run for a second and final full term in 2022...
– The Los Angeles Times, 11/7/2018
Co-Panelist Van JONES: “So in response to the question, ‘Should the United States use a “Ranked Choice/Instant Runoff” Method of Voting?’, a clear majority voted ‘yea.’ Now for those watching this who are unfamiliar with the N.I.A. process, this is not the passing of a Constitutional Amendment, and so will not require a second vote to affirm Tuesday’s vote, right?”
Reporter Kevin JAYS: “Right. This is because the initiative that made its way to a nationwide vote called for the retaining of the Electoral College for ‘emergency situations’ but is pretty much otherwise stripped of its effect on the election. This is because the new national law outlaws Presidential Electors from voting for the second-place finisher in a 2008 or 2012-style election without permission from a majority vote from a joint session of congress. And that can only happen if congress fails to certify the election results due to something like, say the vote margin being too narrow to call ahead of Inauguration Day, or something akin to the Presidential Election of 1876.”
Co-Panelist Ana NAVARRO: “So can we talk about how the states voted on this thing for a second? Here’s the map behind us –”
[pic:
imgur.com/N6mIkdt.png ]
NAVARRO: “And as you can see, 24 states voted ‘no,’ but 28 states voted ‘yes,’ and it’s interesting because it seems most people voted based on the population of their state more so than on party lines, with high-population states like Texas voting ‘yes’ and low-population states like Vermont and Oregon voting ‘no.’ Even Potomac voted against it, that’s surprising.”
Reporter Bob BECKEL: “That’s because of claims that the initiative would stifle the voices of people in ‘small’ states. I think a lot of people misunderstood that phrasing to mean small in size instead of small in population level. And, by the way, the margin in Potomac was fairly narrow.”
Guest Panelist Alisyn CAMEROTA: “It’s also interesting that West Virginia and South Carolina voted yes, because both states were expected to vote no. This result was most likely due to those two states are two of certain states where the population is going up and the economy improving. It looks like all states with those conditions voted yes, and I think that that is possibly due to citizens in these states believing that they are going to be high-population areas in the near future.”
Guest Panelist, political analyst and former Gov. Karl ROVE (R-UT): “I don’t like this. This is a move towards national centralization, the centralization of the government and the country at the national and federal levels. If I had been able to amend this initiative, I would have made it so each individual state will use the R.C.V. process, but however they choose to use it. But this National Initiative clearly states that this is at the national level, the popular vote winner is the winner of the election. That henceforth makes the states individually less significant and the vote of the nation as a whole the decider instead of key swing states.”
BECKEL: “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
ROVE: “It takes power away from low-population states like New Hampshire and gives more power to states like California. This is not a time for celebration. This is a sad day for small states like North Dakota and my home state of Utah. This is a tragedy for people such as the farmer of this country who already get ignored despite their vital role in society. I’m telling you, people were not educated enough about the negative ramifications of RCV, and soon enough, they are going to realize that this was a gigantic mistake.”
– The Overmyer Network, roundtable discussion, 11/8/2018
…Nakheel Tower, next to Nakheel Harbor in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was originally designed to be exactly 1km tall (3,281 ft), only for projected financial issues to result in its size being reduced to 2,460 feet and for its grand opening to be delayed to November 12, 2018. This makes it the second-tallest building in the world, behind Dubai Tower (2,626 ft) but ahead of the US's Chicago Spire (2,000 ft) and Russia's Bashnya Rossiya (1,919 ft)....this massive superscraper is still an impressive architectural feat, with nearly all of its 120 floors being dedicated to luxury apartments…
[pic:
imgur.com/ACLXEXG ]
– skyscrapercenter.co.usa
Heavy Winds Fueling CA Wildfire Resurgence
– AccuWeather, 11/19/2018 report
“Thanks to the heroic actions of state firefighters and the bravery of the National Guard, fire and rescue helicopters have maintained the spread of the wildfires at the town of Paradise. Only five fatalities have been reported by local hospitals.”
– CA Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D), 11/25/2018
NOTE(S)/SOURCE(S)
[1] Based closely on this:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/blue-bee-feared-be-extinct-found-florida-180974957/
[2] Italicized parts from here:
https://www.aol.com/news/ranked-choice-voting-quest-save-140318113.html
[3] Italicized passages from here:
https://www.aol.com/news/ranked-choice-voting-quest-save-140318113.html
[4] It reached a peak of 240 km/h in OTL, but because of more effective efforts to combat “Global Climate Disruption” ITTL, the extremity of the climate is already starting to be chipped away at (well, a tiny bit at least)!
[5] Mentioned in a November 2011 segment as having gone defunct by then.
[6] Some phrases and/or passages are from here:
https://moneywise.com/life/lifestyle/defunct-restaurant-chains
Also, here’s a quick poll for the next chapter, as the Democrats have retaken the House, but not the Senate (“Should House Democrats push for some sort of slave-reparations-via-income-tax-exemptions plan in 2019?” Yes / No): https://www.strawpoll.me/45216286
The next chapter’s E.T.A.: May 17 at the latest!
Two minor quibbles/questions. Was Jeramiah's death covered in a previous update? Given that Kemp's was, it would seem strange to not have one for him (Though I may just have missed it). And also, you mentioned here that Senator Kim was a replacement senator, which lines up with the previous senator dying in May during 2018. However, I can't seem to find a mention of him passing? As such, on my first go around I was quite shocked. Hope that doesn't come across as too pushy or anything, just a few thoughts. Looking forward to the next one.
Thanks!
I mentioned Denton passing away in August 2017.
Deukmejian passed away in office in 2018 but I may have forgotten to mention it. Gov. Bustamante appointed Kim to the seat.
I like the Bigfoot Party. Definitely one of the best names for a serious political party. Good to see Michelle Bachmann kicked out of the governor's mansion. Did Alex Kozinski get removed for sexual misconduct?
Good job on the chapter! I can't wait for the 2020 election. Since we’re only a few chapters away from the election I’m cheering for Charlotte Pritt as the Dem nomination and Harley Davidson Brown as the Republican nomination.
How long are you gonna take TTL gap80?
Thanks!
Yes, he got kicked out of office in early 2016
We'll see how the polls go!
Until it finally catches up to the present