Fox News Isn't 100% in the Tank for Trump

And Trump is not happy about it.

Following a series of swipes at Fox News from the White House this summer, Neil Cavuto has become the latest network personality to push back against the president’s expectations of uninterrupted praise.

Cavuto said on Thursday: “First of all, Mr President, we don’t work for you. I don’t work for you. My job is to cover you, not fawn over you or rip you. Just report on you – call balls and strikes on you.”

And this:

Fox News isn’t supposed to work for you. https://t.co/kQDY4UKv8z

— Brit Hume (@brithume) August 28, 2019

Of course, the low-wattage loons on Fox and Fiends are still almost as far up Trump's ass as is Bill Barr.

Caturday

Cat yoga with shelter cats:

A couple of the shelter cats which were at that session got new homes from it.

1911 Assembly

If you strip down your 1911, this video can show you how to quickly put it back together.

Because It's Friday

Steam in Boreas, Colorado:

Trump the Tyrant- Republicans Follow Him At Their Peril

President* Trump is so eager to complete hundreds of miles of border fence ahead of the 2020 presidential election that he has directed aides to fast-track billions of dollars’ worth of construction contracts, aggressively seize private land and disregard environmental rules, according to current and former officials involved with the project.

He also has told worried subordinates that he will pardon them of any potential wrongdoing should they have to break laws to get the barriers built quickly, those officials said.

Let's be clear about this: Trump is normalizing authoritarian behavior. What he is doing will be replicated by a Democrat.

Funny thing, too: Conservatives were so, so outraged by Kelo v. City of New London and who cheered when Vera Coking fought off Trump's attempt to take her home for a parking lot are now silent about Trump's orders to aggressively confiscate the private property of American citizens to build an arbitrary portion of his fucking wall.

One might wonder if Trump's telling subordinates that he will pardon them if they break the law is enough to justify a conspiracy charge against Trump.

Also, as anyone who has ever seen a road project hurried, construction done at a rush is often as well-made as a Soviet apartment block.

But keep this in mind, conservatives: The tools that Trump picks up will be used by others in ways in which you will not approve.

Conservatives: You can stand behind Trump or you can stand behind the United States as a nation of laws. You no longer can do both.

Apropos of Nothing In Particular

The whole story.

And this:

Let the Pruning Begin; 2020 Ed.

Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has ended her candidacy for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

Mrs Gillibrand announced her decision to withdraw in an online video after failing to qualify for a third Democratic debate next month.

"After more than eight incredible months, I am ending my presidential campaign," she said.

Regular readers of this blog know my opinion of the junior senator from NY.

There are a number of other candidates who are likely to be gone soon. Some may not; Tom Steyer can afford to continue until 2040 or so.

R.I.P., Captain Haynes

A pilot who is credited with saving dozens of lives has died. United Flight 232 went into total hydraulic failure while Al Haynes was at the controls in 1989. With the help of three other pilots, he maneuvered the DC-10 to a miraculous crash landing in Sioux City, Iowa, and 184 of the 296 people on board survived.

Captain Haynes was 87.

The cockpit voice recorder transcript is fascinating. The famous exchange with ATC:

My recollection of things is that every time they tried to replicate the flight of UA 232 in a simulator, they had an unsurvivable crash. Most of the attempts didn't get close to the airport. That anyone survived is a testament to the skill of Capt. Haynes and the other pilots in the cockpit.

Godspeed, Captain.

I So Don't Care About This Shit

Actress Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, will be able to continue using a law firm that recently represented the University of Southern California, which is an alleged victim in the sweeping college admissions bribery case, a federal judge allowed Tuesday.

This sort of shit has been going on for a long time. Do you really think that Jared Kushner got into Harvard on his own merits? Or that Donny, Jr. or Ivanka did?

Admission of the kids of graduates (legacies) or of donors is old news. The difference may be that the wealthy know enough not to have a paper trail linking the donations to the admissions of their spawn.

Baby Trump Is Getting What He Wants

The Amazon is burning, the Little Trump who is the president of Brazil is rejecting any help.

I'm pretty certain that Bolsonaro is seeing the result that he wants. He'd have the Amazon burned to the last tree if he had his way.

Just like his mentor.