PBC News & Comment: Smart, Stable People Don’t Brag “I’m Like, Really Smart”

Fresh fodder for late-night comics, defensive, insecure Trump blabbers about how he is, “like” really smart, stable, and a genius….--The Don dispatched Steve Miller to wrassle with Jake Tapper, and both men think they won
--Oprah gave a great speech at Golden Globes, leading many desperate Americans to embrace the idea she should run for president; she, too is a stable genius
--establishment Dem Paul Waldman says “Get a Grip” in WashPo,  and listener Lorna Garano serves up Guardian critique of Winfrey from 2015
--San Francisco’s biggest funders of Dems make news: Susie Buell is pissed at Franken’s treatment, Tom Steyer says he won’t run for Senate or Governor
--in Sunday front-pager, NY Times exposes “one of the biggest intelligence failures” in predicting North Korea’s progress on nukes and rockets
--in 6-3 opinion, Supreme Court orders new trial for black man convicted of murder and rape, based on juror’s racist statements; Clarence Thomas dissents
--the Court also allowed Mississippi to permit LGBTQ discrimination due to “religious freedom”
--federal judge in Las Vegas dismissed charges against Bundy clan over Bunkerville standoff, citing intentional misconduct by prosecutors
--more financial links between Israelis and Kushner company are revealed
--at New York’s Fordham U, Students for Justice in Palestine had to sue administration after it rejected application for campus organization
--compared to its arbitrary and abrupt treatment of Nicaraguans, Salvadorans get 9-month notice that special immigration status is ending; I still oppose the move
--major shareholders of Apple demand that company take steps to limit smartphone addiction among kids
--the powerful documentary about the persecution and imprisonment of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman is now online
--one of Roy Moore’s accusers, Tina Johnson, had her house torched a few days ago
--rooftop fire hits Trump tower