Weekend Reading: February 24, 2017

On February 24, 2017February 24, 2017 By chrisbarsantiIn Omnium GatherumLeave a comment

books1

If the Great Cheeto were more competent, we’d really be in trouble; also, how his courtiers push a diet of flattering media to keep the boss from Tweeting all the damn time.
For these folks, everything is going just fine and all the complainers need to shut up already.
The “Trump Slump”: Fewer tourists coming to America.
When H.R. McMaster argued with Rumsfeld that the Iraqi insurgency was alive and well, Rummy would fax him pages from Che Guevara’s memoirs to argue, No it isn’t.
Taking a media break from the President is harder than you’d think.
What do ex-Cub Dexter Fowler and his family “owe” Cardinals fans? Nothing.
Misuse of Misfits tshirts, and why punk is now officially dead.
So how about Great Cheeto and the Russian mob?
The revolutionary aspect of Viola Davis’ hair.
The Houses of Parliament are in wretched shape and Britain is bitterly divided between Londoners and everybody else; maybe the capital should move to Manchester?
Don’t worry, Depeche Mode hates Nazis, too.
Print and read: Low unemployment and crime rates or not, things have been getting fairly miserable in the U.S. since 2000; here’s why and why it matters.

Weekend Reading: February 17, 2017

On February 17, 2017February 16, 2017 By chrisbarsantiIn Omnium GatherumLeave a comment

Which cops are most likely to fire their weapons? White male veterans.
So exactly how few of Trump’s foreign policy promises has he kept? Well, Rome wasn’t destroyed in 3 weeks.
Wall Street Journal: Anybody who says we’re pro-Trump is pushing “fake news.”
Ikea goes Africa.
Well, that took awhile: the first black Bachelorette. (And yes, that show is still on.)
The black bloc and antifas protesters who are starting to fight back.
When neo-Nazis argue that they are SO TOTALLY NOT neo-Nazis.
Same as it ever was: Ambassadorships for sale.
So how did a loony Missouri conspiracy-monger wrangle a White House press room pass?
Winston Churchill wrote an essay about alien life–he thought it could well exist.
Print and read: Andrew Sullivan on our new Mad King—”With someone like [Trump] barging into your consciousness every hour of every day, you begin to get a glimpse of what it must be like to live in an autocracy of some kind.“

Weekend Reading: February 10, 2017

On February 10, 2017February 10, 2017 By chrisbarsantiIn Omnium GatherumLeave a comment

bookshelves

Where Breitbart meets “church militant” conservative Catholics.
Also, what Bannon and ISIL have in common.
A Congressman actually just said that terrorism isn’t a problem, as long as the terrorists are white.
The (hate-monger) Milo Yiannopoulos book deal tarnishes the whole publishing industry.
So exactly how far is the GOP willing to go?
Turns out, presidenting is hard!
Wait, which one was the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty?
“The women,” said the Congressman, “are in my grill.”
100 (more) jokes that shaped modern comedy.
Taibi: The president “talks a big game when slamming the door on penniless refugees, but curls up like a beach weakling around guys who have more money than he does.“
Print and read: “With the civil rights movement, we thought we had won the war. Not quite.” Welcome to the white-nationalist presidency.

Weekend Reading: February 3, 2017

On February 3, 2017February 3, 2017 By chrisbarsantiIn Omnium GatherumLeave a comment

library1

So Trump’s first authorized special ops raid went about as well as you would expect.
See what you can match on this “Early Warning Signs of Fascism” sign at the Holocaust Museum to the current administration.
Garrison Keillor: “‘We’re not going to let people die in the streets.’ No, they’re going to die at home in their bedrooms.“
Things don’t change: Dr. Seuss vs. fascism.
One day from Melania’s diary.
With new tech for inventing real-looking video and audio, the 2020 election will be a bonanza for fake news.
New scholarship taking applications … but only for white men.
No problem here: Navy SEAL convoy flying Trump flag.
Print and read: Did you know that white supremacists have been infiltrating law enforcement for years? The FBI does.
Bonus print and read: New York’s attorney general could be the White House’s greatest threat.

Weekend Reading: January 27, 2017

On January 27, 2017January 26, 2017 By chrisbarsantiIn Omnium GatherumLeave a comment

bookstore1

So how come Gwyneth Paltrow’s website Goop thinks it’s a good idea for women to stick jade eggs in their, well, you know whats?
John McWhorter: “I listen to the man who is now president as if he were roughly 12 years old. That way, he is always perfectly understandable.“
Criminalizing dissent: A North Dakota congressman wants to make it legal for drivers to run over protesters.
Young Obi-wan Kenobi vs. sexist troll Piers Morgan.
“A torqued up man-child, alternatively rageful and fragile, both grandiose and profoundly insecure.“
Maybe it’s time to just stop interviewing Kellyanne Conway.
Better than Nazi-punching? Shia LaBeouf fights Nazi with many, many words.
Ever wonder what Narcissistic Personality Disorder looks like? Watch this and see.
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual Democracy Index, the United States is downgraded from “Full Democracy” to “Flawed Democracy”; meaning it’s now ranked below Japan and even with Italy.
This is what happened one of the last times that the U.S. government decided that certain refugees were a threat.
Why the president thinks millions voted illegally–a golfer told him a story.
25 billion avocados equals one wall.
Is it scorched-earth time?
Print and read: How rural-urban resentment in a small Wisconsin county leads to Trump.

Weekend Reading: January 20, 2016

On January 20, 2017January 19, 2017 By chrisbarsantiIn Omnium GatherumLeave a comment

library1

Oh, irony: Now that they’re running things, GOP voting to fund same ACA they were recently suing to kill.
Some people think that silencers have been just too easy to buy.
The lights are back on in Detroit.
Maybe it’s time to stop making excuses for why so many people in Middle America voted for hate.
“I love this new world, I no longer have to be politically correct,” said the Connecticut Republican, allegedly, before assaulting a woman, allegedly.
Fiddling and prevaricating while the planet actually burns.
Somebody wrote a poem for Trump’s inauguration. And it is bad. As in, Vogon poetry bad.
Print and read: About that KKK murder prosecution Jeff Sessions was supposedly so instrumental in…

Quote of the Day: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Edition

On January 16, 2017January 15, 2017 By chrisbarsantiIn Books, Comics-Graphic Novels, Omnium Gatherum, politicsLeave a comment

This is what Evan McMullin (yes, a Republican) had to say about the president-elect’s attacks on Rep. John Lewis:

On this Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, let it be clear that John Lewis is an American patriot. Trump’s attacks on him further confirm it.

Now, go and buy yourself the March trilogy of graphic historical novels that Lewis co-wrote.

If you can find a copy, that is.

Weekend Reading: January 6, 2017

On January 6, 2017January 6, 2017 By chrisbarsantiIn Omnium GatherumLeave a comment

bookshopselfridges1

“The church militant” – yet another way to make religion awful.
Most anticipated books of the year, so far.
Carrie Fisher, galactic princess with the heart and soul of a writer.
Turns out that Nixon was even worse than we already knew.
Maybe there’s (some, tiny, infinitesimal) hope: the GOP just might keep shooting itself in the foot, what with corruption, free spending, and whatnot.
Rogue One mapped out with clips from previous films; why bother creating?
South Korea has one government official whose sole job is monitoring Trump’s Twitter.
In 1971, the Notorious RBG pointed out to her alma mater, Columbia Law School that yes indeed, there were women alumni.
Well, this certainly seems democratic.
Print and read: From the days when literature could be dangerous — George Plimpton, Ernest Hemingway, the Cuban Revolution, and the CIA.
Bonus print and read: Full U.S. intelligence report on the Russian disinformation campaign during the 2016 election.

Weekend Reading: December 16, 2016

On December 16, 2016December 14, 2016 By chrisbarsantiIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

rarebooks1

Beyond Pizzagate: a brief guide to shooters who love to read Infowars.
The new Republican reality turns the Reagan era on its head when it comes to Russia and Islam.
If Obamacare goes, over 50 million people could be uninsurable due to preexisting conditions.
Suspicious package left outside Ozark courthouse was … just books.
Climate date being copied to servers in Toronto, just in case new administration decides to trash it.
Free story: The Devil in America.
Photographer: Yes, the Sandy Hook massacre happened, and all so-called “truthers” can go to hell.
Print and read: Is the American economy out of big ideas?
Bonus print and read: “The media scandal of 2016 isn’t so much about what reporters failed to tell the American public; it’s about what they did report on, and the fact that it didn’t seem to matter.“

Weekend Reading: December 2, 2016

On December 2, 2016December 1, 2016 By chrisbarsantiIn Omnium GatherumLeave a comment

readingcomic

On the decadent Republicans of means: “What a price our country and the world will pay … because those Americans most richly blessed failed so completely in their duty as citizens.“
Since election day, over 700 incidents of “hateful harassment.”
Trump as the oracular personification of the post-literate age.
Did you know Lincoln wanted to “create a new American race”? He didn’t, but that’s what newspapers reported in 1864, almost ruining his re-election chances.
Hate crimes are on the rise; already hard to prosecute, it’s likely even fewer will get charged in the future.
An argument that Clinton lost, in essence, because she was transparent and told the truth.
Next time you’re in Tokyo, stay at this bookstore-themed hostel.
Yep, that’s Helen Mirren in the new Fast and the Furious flick.
“None of their heroes are elected”; only 19 percent of millennials think it’s a bad idea for the military to take over the country.
La La Land, Hamilton, Crazy Ez-Girlfriend, and the return of the musical.
When Castro bred a supercow.
Print and read: Dave Eggers on what is to come: “We are headed toward a dark corridor, my friends.“

Weekend Reading: November 4, 2016

On November 4, 2016November 2, 2016 By chrisbarsantiIn Omnium GatherumLeave a comment

whynotbooks1

Vertical farming, coming soon to a Target near you.
If I can’t have the presidency, then nobody can.
Here’s how Trump is trying to actually suppress the vote.
John Dean (who would know): Trump is more Nixonian than Nixon himself.
Not even this yogurt company is safe from the new Nazis (they hire refugees, you know).
The other side of Chicago.
Coming in 2017 near Dubai: Publishing City.
Nope, books aren’t going anywhere.
So the FBI might also be looking into Russia’s years-long attempts to co-opt Trump; no letter from Comey on that, yet.
Where is America getting more diverse the quickest? The Great Plains and Appalachia.
Arizona Republic gets death threats for endorsing Clinton; responds with class, dignity, and patriotism, darn it.
The Boston Archdiocese is spending $850,000 to defeat a marijuana legalization ballot; and yes, they’re still having financial problems.
Did you hear the one about Clinton and ISIS? Well, China has.
Print and read: Today’s American upper middle class, obsessed with taste, self-improvement, and productivity, are the new moralizing Victorians.

Weekend Reading: September 30, 2016

On September 30, 2016September 29, 2016 By chrisbarsantiIn Omnium GatherumLeave a comment

readingroom1

The week that barbarism triumphed.
About three percent of American adults own half the guns.
Stay classy, GOP!
Well, if that didn’t change your mind…
Quite possibly the saddest thing to brag about, ever.
Somebody bought Truman Capote’s ashes for $43,750.
The guerrilla art gang who smuggled subversive political art into Melrose Place.
Will, Grace, Karen, and Jack debate some politics.
Do Northeasterners love Dunkin’ Donuts so much because of the taste or because there’s one on every corner?
Everything about Wells Fargo shows that Bernie was right about big-bank culture (racial discrimination, wide-scale fraud, money laundering, just to begin with) and it’s time to start sending some folks to jail.
Print and read: So what would President Trump’s first term be like?
Bonus print and read: Happy to let Syria burn, Bashar al-Ashad creates a new template of dictator.

Weekend Reading: September 2, 2016

On September 2, 2016September 1, 2016 By chrisbarsantiIn Omnium GatherumLeave a comment

bookstore1

It’s official: the Socialist Workers Party had its act more together than the Minnesota GOP … almost.
The great Belgian book hunt.
Taking feminism back from the marketing department.
Donald Trump just doesn’t understand white people.
If there’s no fire and all smoke, can you still call it a “scandal”?
The argument for editing the books you read to your kids.
Why is it now a lot more dangerous to be a pregnant woman in Texas?
Coming soon to the air above your head: CNN drones.
Trump’s guy in Colorado is a 12-year-old whose mom thought it would set a good example.
Does fear of climate change mean having fewer children?
“Unequivocally the worst media company she has ever dealt with” — Some reasons to never work for Vice as a freelancer.
Print and read: It might (just might) help things if more intellectuals had ever worked service jobs.
More print and read: Survivalism, anti-modernism, paranoia, gun culture, and unique business opportunities merge in the American Redoubt.

Weekend Reading: August 19, 2016

On August 19, 2016August 18, 2016 By chrisbarsantiIn Omnium GatherumLeave a comment

workersbookshop

As of now, Clinton is as likely to beat Trump as an NFL kicker has of making a field goal from the 20-yard line.
Forget the 1960s, it was the ’70s when things really fell apart.
Rape, The Birth of a Nation, and an open letter to Nate Parker.
How Trump made an appeal to black voters … from a majority-white suburb.
When flags become a possible liability.
If you don’t believe climate change science, how about Zillow?
Poll trutherism in the Age of Trump.
Because of even the most populated states getting only two senators, a resident of Wyoming has 65 times the voting power of a Californian.
Print and read: Killing the Tea Party – the Inside Story

Weekend Reading: July 8, 2016

On July 8, 2016July 5, 2016 By chrisbarsantiIn Omnium GatherumLeave a comment

bekindtobooks

About 10 percent of all Icelanders traveled to France to watch their soccer team win.
American Christians believe they are really, really oppressed.
How the new “alt-right” conservatives are overlapping with Trump supporters and pushing white supremacy closer to the mainstream.
The GOP’s presumptive candidate as “cultural heroin.”
Print and read: Minnesota vs. Wisconsin and what it says about the future of American democracy.
Bonus print and read: The Ohio spiritualist and wealthy stockbroker who became America’s first female candidate for the president when she was just 34.

Chris Barsanti

Tag: Trump