Wonder what RepackRider thinks about the race.

They clearly don't have real mountains to work with.  The course was a concession to television coverage, a highly artificial lap course, a long way from what I consider the mountain bike experience.

That being said they were very sloppy with how they handled the connections between the foundation and HRC. She was not served well by her subordinates.    

It's their Tar Baby.

MileHiHawkeye: "On that note, be warned that Seattle has some of the most aggressive panhandlers/street people around."

Seattle has long been a magnet for homeless teens, and in the Capitol Hill and University districts they are very aggressive, although perhaps desperate is a more apt description.

The Seattle LGBT Commission conducted a study and survey in 2010 that attempted to determine the number of homeless LGBT youth there were in both the city and King County. In the course of finding that about 27% of homeless youth identify as LGBT, the Commission actually provided the very first definitive and reliable figures regarding the overall extent of the area's homeless youth, both straight and LGBT, which it pegged at somewhere between 9,500 and 10,000.

That number alone is staggering and problematic, and the Commission further noted its suspicions that due to the highly transient nature of this particular dmographic, their estimate was likely on the low side. The study also found that one in four LGBT youth were subsequently driven from home and became homeless after they came out to their family.

It's sad to think that some people would treat children as disposable commodities.

My favorite lines...

"The poll results show that there's a genuine appetite out there for a juicy Clinton scandal," he said. "But, sadly, there's also a sense that maybe they did their best work in the nineties."

 However, the FBI director was able to say last July that he did not believe that these additionally obtained emails were intentionally deleted. And, of course, acknowledged that email users routinely delete many emails.

Within France, however, it enjoys widespread political backing, not just from the far-right National Front but also from the mainstream right and left. Manuel Valls, the Socialist prime minister, has argued that the burkini is "not a fashion item", but represents the "enslavement of women". Why are the French so offended by Islamic body covering?

The government's defence of the burkini ban rests on worries about religious tension and public order after recent terrorist attacks, coupled with two underlying principles. The first is laïcité, a strict form of secularism enshrined by law in 1905 after a struggle against authoritarian Catholicism. This principle is supposed to keep religion out of public life, and has been the basis of previous French bans: on the headscarf (and other "conspicuous" religious symbols, including the Jewish kippah and oversized crucifixes) in state schools (in 2004), and the face-covering niqab in all public places (in 2010).

Link

Of course the question of why any criticism of Islam is attacked, now by the government in England, Germany, the Netherlands and other countries, is right there staring us in the face.

And you know - they can run their country how they see fit.  But they can't complain about laws in Iran or Saudi Arabia anymore that tell women what to wear - they are no better than them.  Saudi Arabia feels that women showing their hair is "not compatible with the values of Saudi Arabia".  If that's who France wants to emulate they are legally free to do so, but there will be consequences.  They can't prevent people from hating them for it.  

 The courtroom scenes are not up to the notions of TV court drams, but many trials are like this, folksy and absent the rapid fire of "objections."  But, it does seem unrealistic for the courtroom to be so empty, especially in a high profile case, such as this is supposed to be.

 As for my own sleuthing, just as I think I have it figured out, something happens that sends me back to square one.  Now we have Detective Box wondering, and then we have Nas as the guy.  Mother does not believe Nas, but Chandra does and seals it with a jailhouse kiss.

WESTWORLD starts Oct 2

Not a defense of the guys' bad, or even illegal actions, but this occurred after hours, after partying.  Not a scandal as a part of the Olympic swimming events. Not an Olympic scandal such as the Salt Lake bribery, Russian doping, or the throwing of a badminton competition.

 Rather, personal deportment, that should not reflect on their country any more than if Olympians from Germany had too much bier at the Hofbrahaus, locked elbows and smashed all he steins. Not minimizing, but proportionalizing.

People want to make sure the House is protected," said Shields, who also leads American Action Network, which is closely connected to Ryan and his leadership team. Shields acknowledged the GOP's uncertain prospects in the race for president and control of the Senate -- many Republicans worry Democrats will prevail in both cases -- but said donors know that "we have to protect the House and build the firewall. And they have a tremendous amount of faith in the job that Speaker Ryan is doing and want to make sure he has the largest functional majority that he can have."

Ultimately, the decision was made to put him down, which was not a popular one for obvious reasons but likely necessary, given the tremendous toll he was taking on the steelhead queuing up at the Ballard fish ladders. Removal is now the official policy for troublesome sea lions there, because they had nearly destroyed the steelhead run by 1994, when only 70 fish were recorded as having made it through the locks. That run has since rebounded handsomely, thanks primarily to sea lion population control in the vicinity.

I'm not sure if it would be as much help as is claimed, but making it a national market, no price approval required, would be some help.

Of course the only solution is single payer, based on the Medicare Model, except no copays and with dental and vision costs, and paid for by a Federal Sales tax collected at the POS, IOW not a VAT. About 15% should do it. We can exclude unprepared food and some other items to give the low income folks some help.

I was a little freaked by the two lines that have it coming straight over my house.    

Not really.   Just a little maybe.

I will be less obsessed when I can afford to have the gigantic trees that surround my house trimmed.  

CoralGables: "For the most part we don't even give a damn unless it's less than 24 hours out and on course for a direct hit. Otherwise, it's just another blistering hot day in paradise."

We received rainfall at 2" per hour clip yesterday and last night, thanks to the fringes of a tropical cyclone which passed just south of the Big Island. (Which also explains why it's so friggin' humid today.) And about seven weeks ago, we got hit by Tropical Storm Darby, with accompanying road washouts and landslides. Our state civil defense is one of the very best in the world, and will give us a head's up well in advance if a major weather disturbance is en route to hit us directly.