December 11, 2018 6:00 AM
Morning Reads, Biennial Edition (December 11, 2018)
Good morning from Athens!
- Atlanta drivers spend more money on their commutes than anywhere else in the country.
- The WWII Homefront Museum opened in Brunswick.
- The demise of Toys ‘R’ Us is part of why you might not want to wait until the last minute to buy the latest hot toy.
- If a picture is worth 1,000 words, what does more than a century of Supreme Court portraits tell us?
- Here’s how you can stop apps on your phone from following you around.
- A fascinating read about an Indiana man that evokes Clark Griswold, HOA angst, private property rights, and Fox News.
- The Strategist has several year-end best-of lists, including the best pens (and they are wrong for not giving the Pilot V5 a higher ranking), and a list of the 100 best holiday gifts.
- Meanwhile, Alexandra Petra ranked her favorite 100 holiday songs and I feel very seen reading her take on Dominick, the Italian Christmas Donkey. (Overheard at my house, ad nauseum: “Alexa! Play Dominick the Donkey!” Pls hlp)
About Author
Teri
Teri Anulewicz is a Democrat who represents House District 42 in the Georgia General Assembly. She previously spent nearly a decade on the Smyrna City Council. A native New Orleanian and quasi-Texan, Teri graduated from Agnes Scott College in 1998. She's been a front page contributor since 2015, and she compiles each Tuesday's Morning Reads.
19 Comments
Add a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
The Strategist ranks the retractable version of the Pilot V5 at 65. Bah, humbug.
My fav pen didn’t even make the list: The Zebra G-301. Metal body, gel ink, small size fits almost any pocket.
Their testing could use some more criteria though: I think ‘retractable’ should add points. And the winner doesn’t even have a pocket clip! And price should add or subtract points too.
Here is the Trumpster’s favorite pen. And He’s saving tax dollars with it. https://www.circa.com/story/2018/11/16/nation/trump-to-sharpie-hey-can-i-get-a-custom-pen-oh-and-make-it-look-rich
You mean the White House actually has to buy those pens? Jeez Louise you would think they could get them donated.
That story about the Idaho guy (not Indiana) reminds of stories I’ve read about people who move to the country and then complain about the manure smell.
“He’s an idiot. It’s pointless to try to convince him of anything. He’s gone off the rails. We’re in Crazytown. I don’t even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I’ve ever had.” — John Kelly
Indeed. And dismissed from it too. It’s a job that apparently can go unfilled instead of Kelly in it, where Kelly served a serial lying narcissist and damaged your reputation by letting him pull you into serving his lies..
Best line from yesterday that I would attribute if I could find where I saw it:
Being Trump’s chief of staff now has the job security of the Hogwarts’ Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
For the geezers that is the equivalent of the life expectancy of the new crew member on Star Trek.
https://twitter.com/jondanziger/status/1071952753025519616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1071952753025519616%7Ctwgr%5E363937393b636f6e74726f6c&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fentry%2Fdonald-trump-chief-of-staff-twitter-suggestions_us_5c0e0a08e4b035a7bf5ca15a
A little context please…
More charges coming soon. https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/272207/terrorism-charges-coming-soon-new-mexico-jihadists-matthew-vadum
Your morning laugh: Giuliani last week being pranked on his Twitter account by an Atlantan. Giuliani went conspiracy theory, natch.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/12/05/rudy-giulianis-typo-became-an-anti-trump-message-he-blamed-twitter-this-atlanta-man-pranked-him/?&&__twitter_impression=true&iaccess=ODYwOWYxZjItMDBmMS00ZjBkLWIwOGMtYTI0YWU1NGQyOGYyfDEyLzUvMjAxOCA4OjUwOjUyIEFNfGVtYWls&utm_campaign=6612396&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newspaper&utm_term=.460a3d371bdb
Especially rich in the context of Trumpian best and brightest, since Trump appointed Giuliani a cyber security advisor.
Another best and brightest pick doing Log Cabin Republicans proud: Kerri Kupec, a 2011 law graduate of bottom tier Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University, who spent the last four years as an Alliance Defending Freedom mouthpiece ranting on the Christian Broadcasting Network and Fox News about attacks on religious freedom, has been hired as the Director of Public Affairs at the Justice Department.
From the Southern Poverty Law Center: “The Alliance Defending Freedom is a legal advocacy and training group that has supported the recriminalization of homosexuality in the U.S. and criminalization abroad; has defended state-sanctioned sterilization of trans people abroad; has linked homosexuality to pedophilia and claims that a “homosexual agenda” will destroy Christianity and society. ADF also works to develop “religious liberty” legislation and case law that will allow the denial of goods and services to LGBT people on the basis of religion.”
If the simple fact of equal access to public services for homosexuals will destroy Christianity, then so be it.
In case you missed this one over the weekend:
The Wooing of Jared Kushner: How the Saudis Got a Friend in the White House
Senior American officials were worried. Since the early months of the Trump administration, Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and Middle East adviser, had been having private, informal conversations with Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the favorite son of Saudi Arabia’s king.
Given Mr. Kushner’s political inexperience, the private exchanges could make him susceptible to Saudi manipulation, said three former senior American officials. In an effort to tighten practices at the White House, a new chief of staff tried to reimpose longstanding procedures stipulating that National Security Council staff members should participate in all calls with foreign leaders.
But even with the restrictions in place, Mr. Kushner, 37, and Prince Mohammed, 33, kept chatting, according to three former White House officials and two others briefed by the Saudi royal court. In fact, they said, the two men were on a first-name basis, calling each other Jared and Mohammed in text messages and phone calls…
…Mr. Kushner’s support for Prince Mohammed in the moment of crisis is a striking demonstration of a singular bond that has helped draw President Trump into an embrace of Saudi Arabia as one of his most important international allies.
But the ties between Mr. Kushner and Prince Mohammed did not happen on their own. The prince and his advisers, eager to enlist American support for his hawkish policies in the region and for his own consolidation of power, cultivated the relationship with Mr. Kushner for more than two years, according to documents, emails and text messages reviewed by The New York Times…
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/08/world/middleeast/saudi-mbs-jared-kushner.html
It’s something for the House to investigate. Along with the source of the funds that bailed out Kushner family real estate investments.,
I used different pens for different things. All of them made the list. From my pen caddie and art drawer from my desk I have…
No. 95. The only difference is I have diamond tip needles. This is not a writing pen. It needs to held almost vertically, Great for hand drafting and line work drawings. You have to wash and soak them if you leave them without writing for more then 72 hours.
No. 94 I use a .03 tip. My go to for hand drawing on plans and drawings. No bleeding through any paper ever. Also a technical pen so it needs to be held almost vertical.
No. 51 Pilot V Razor. Felt version of the V5. most of my work can not have roller ball or ball point. this works as well with no indents to the pages below.
No. 29. This is the felt tip version on no 95. Mainly for detail line work on renderings or watercolor. doesn’t blend or blend. I didn’t think the Sukura Micron would make the list. outside the narrow scope of line work and graphic design, this is not a well known pen.
No. 26 I use the finer .03 tip. This is my roller ball, signing pen
No.3 – My work horse pen. Outside of signing legal documents, this pen can do anything I need if it has to.
That Trumpster. His policies have been up to no good. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-10/factories-in-the-u-s-are-posting-job-openings-like-never-before
The coast from the Obama rebound is largely It’s Trump’s economy now to the extent that it’s any President’s economy—flat volatile stock market after his $100 billion prime the pump—he invented that phrase you know—and no decrease in income inequality..
I don’t think anyone doubted that the economy could be stimulated further. The question is, can it be stimulated enough to overcome the $3-8 Trillion it is costing?
Is that article supposed to be a negative?