Privileged Executive: How Sessions Has Shut Down Congressional Oversight

by Nomad

One of the duties of members of Congress is to provide oversight over the executive branch. Presidents have long attempted to evade this scrutiny by means both legal and questionable. One tool at president's disposal is the use of executive privilege. 
Here's how Trump's Attorney General has used it to shield the president from oversight in the matter of Russian collusion.

No question about it, as a concept, executive privilege is a tricky thing. It is defined as "a constitutional principle" that allows the president (and high-level executive branch officials) to withhold information from Congress, the courts and ultimately the public.

A Conservative Blogger Unmasks Laura Ingraham's Fake Populism of Mr. Trump

 by Nomad

It's always a pleasant surprise to find a post of the past linked on other websites. Okay, it's rather flattering. However, when the site that links is called "American Conservative," I tend to be wary about checking to see what gives. I was intrigued, but at the same time, prepared to be insulted and mocked. What I found, to my amazement, was something unexpected.

Common ground.

The Busy Ms. Ingraham

It's an understatement to call the 54-year-old Laura Ingraham a busy lady. She is a nationally syndicated radio show host, an editor-in-chief for her own website, a long time Fox News Channel contributor and starting soon, a full-on Fox News TV host. She riding a wave of conservative broadcasting and publishing that been very good to her. 

She is also a writer of bestselling books like Shut Up & Sing: How Elites from Hollywood, Politics, and the UN Are Subverting America, The Hillary Trap: Looking for Power in All the Wrong Places and The Obama Diaries. a fictional collection of diary entries not written by President Obama. And finally, there's this year's bestseller to be, Billionaire at the Barricades: The Populist Revolution from Reagan to Trump.

Sanity Sunday- The Music of Manuş Baba

 by Nomad

Now a musical interlude in this calm before the storm.

Born in 1986 in the southeastern Turkish city of Mersin, Manuş Baba studied music in the Faculty of Fine Arts of Akdeniz Üniversity.

During this time, he played in coffeehouses, bars, and nightclubs either as part of a group or as a solo performance.

After graduation, Manuş later moved to Istanbul, the cultural capital of Turkey to advance his career.
For a young and talented musician, Istanbul is really the only place to be noticed and to grow as an artist.

He has earned deserved recognition in the last year and released his debut album in May 2017.

How Rampant Corruption in Russia Forced Putin to Attack Western Democracies

by Nomad

A few days ago, Sergei Aleksashenko wrote an article in The Moscow Times that very likely went unnoticed in the West. Aleksashenko was Deputy Minister of Finance and Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank in the 1990s.
Since that time, Aleksashenko witnessed with his own eyes the 1992 promise of economic transformation turn sour. The creation of the Putin's autocracy, wiping away Russia's chance for substantive reform, has been one of the modern history's sadness stories.

Wole Soyinka: Armed with My Convictions

  by Nomad

Some Surprising Reasons Why Identifying Psychopaths is Harder Than You May Think

  by Nomad

Confessions of a Psychopath-Spotter

I recently found this extremely interesting and amusing TED talk by Jon Ronson. Even though you've probably never heard of him, Ronson's career covers a lot of ground: a journalist, author, documentary filmmaker, screenwriter, and radio presenter. And one other thing,  he is also a certified psychopath-spotter. He's taken the course and everything.

His TED lecture begins with Ronson stumbling across a DSM manual, the comprehensive manual of mental disorders. If you don't know, the DSM Manual is produced by the American Psychiatric Association and serves as the official authority on mental health diagnoses (and related insurance claims).

A Distraction: A Video Tour of the Turkish City of Izmir

by Nomad

Not too long ago, I posted some photos of Izmir which some of you found interesting. I thought I would follow up with a few video clips. These clips come from the city of Izmir only and not from the more beautiful outlying areas. Still, it's a lovely town, I think.

Trump and de Tocqueville: America's Battle Between Two Types of Patriotism

 by Nomad

Patriotism and What it Means

In 1831, the French diplomat, political scientist, and historian Alexis de Tocqueville made an excellent observation about patriotism in his masterwork "Democracy in AmericaDemocracy in America."

Strictly speaking, the term, patriotism means an attachment to a homeland. The word "patriotism" is derived from the Greek word πατρίς (patris), meaning 'fatherland.'
And with that comes all the loose connotations of a patriarchal system, defined as "a social system in which males hold primary power and predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property."  Historically, the term patriarchy was used to refer to autocratic rule.

Sanity Sunday- Songs by Neil Young

 by Nomad

The spotlight of this week's Sanity Sunday shines on the classic hits of Canadian singer/songwriter, Neil Young. His biography is much too long and detailed to go into here but his Wikipedia bio covers all of the high points.
In November, Young celebrates his 72nd birthday (unbelievable, right?) and that makes him one of the surviving "greats" of the 60s.
A rare honor for a rare kind of artist.
Here's my selection of Young hits.

Film Friday: A Story about Hope and the Bookmobile

by Nomad

We all have stories to tell. It's one of the best things about having an online community: the stories you share. These are stories that make us who we are and what we believe. Stories about experiences that shaped us, for better or worse.

The animation below comes from the StoryCorp archives. The mission of this non-profit storytelling organization "is to record, preserve, and share the stories of Americans from all backgrounds and beliefs." 

We do this to remind one another of our shared humanity, to strengthen and build the connections between people, to teach the value of listening, and to weave into the fabric of our culture the understanding that everyone’s story matters. At the same time, we are creating an invaluable archive for future generations.

In that regard, StoryCorps follows in the great tradition of oral historian Studs Terkel and the interviews of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) of the 1930s. Its weekly podcast should be on your list of things to listen to.
Below is a true story which has been made into a short film.   

Good News Round-Up for Week Two of October 2017

by Nomad

With ugly events happening every place you turn, with stupid insensitive people running the show, and with so many people affected by man's inhumanity to man and all living things, you might sometimes think the world has gone to shit.

You might think that last remaining thing on the to-do list is to shovel the whole mess into a trash can and walk away.
That's one plan.

Giving in to despair might seem like the easiest thing to do. No question about that. That course, however, never made the world a better place, never saved a life and never inspired anybody to be a better person.

To remedy that, it is time for a round-up of the despair-immunizing news for the month. Let's start our search for good news in what might seem an unlikely place. The Carribean.

Reddit's AMA Reveals What Life in Post-Maria Puerto Rico is Actually Like

by Nomad

If you aren't a regular Reddit user, you might not be aware of some of the interesting things going on there. One of the topics- called subreddits- is AMA, which stands for "Ask Me Anything."

The premise is simple. A person with inside information, whether they be a scientist, celebrity or politician or an Average Joe or Jane willing to share with first-hand or eye-witness information.  He or she attempts to answer questions from the curious.
Like a virtual press conference for the world with the general question: "what's it like to be you?"

This particular subreddit has become one of the most popular on the site. As of May 2017, Barack Obama's AMA is the highest rated on the site. Wikipedia notes that the increased traffic for Obama's AMA brought down many parts of the website when it occurred on August 29, 2012.

Sanity Sunday - The Music of Ian Randall Thornton

by Nomad

Ian Randall Thornton, a touring indie folk artist from Norfolk, Virginia, produces comfort music, precisely what is required for a Sanity Sunday musical break.

A review at Billboard magazine had this to say of Thornton:

"...beautiful vocal and instrumental layering, solemn and thoughtful lyrics, and a rousing chorus. The song’s stoic themes are also given a heavier weight with the impressive, breathy power of Thornton’s voice."

Hard to disagree with that.