HMM: U.S. to Outline Plans to Help Venezuela After Maduro Leaves. “The official declined to give any details about U.S. President Donald Trump’s vague warning on Thursday of a blockade for Venezuela, but said that Maduro should view Trump’s comments as a sign he should take advantage of ongoing talks in Barbados to come up with an “exit plan,” the official said.”
Maybe we could ship them a few thousand copies of Ayn Rand’s Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal.
LIZ SHELD’S MORNING BRIEF: As Expected, Trump Blamed for Deadly Massacres. “Twitter was full of all kinds of blame for Trump (and Fox News) which is strange because after domestic terror attacks by radical Muslims, we are immediately warned not to extrapolate blame beyond the guilty party.”
EURO-CHICKEN: Doubts Rise Over Europe’s Readiness for a No-Deal Brexit.
Until recently, few European officials believed a no-deal Brexit would happen, as their governments set in motion preparations. Now, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s rising threats to take Britain out of the EU with or without a deal by the Oct. 31 deadline is prompting EU officials to dust off plans ranging from information campaigns to fast hirings of customs officers.
European leaders aim to boost Brexit awareness among smaller and midsize enterprises, officials say. Big companies are preparing by hiring consultants, shifting headquarters, stockpiling merchandise, preparing alternate transport methods and determining tariff rates or customs procedures that would apply to products traded with Europe.
But smaller EU and British firms are still unprepared, warned the Confederation of British Industry in a recent report. “For hundreds of thousands of small companies, diverting precious resource—both human and financial—to Brexit preparedness measures is out of reach,” the report said.
As an EU member, the U.K. operates within the bloc’s customs union. In the event of a no-deal exit, tariffs for goods would default to World Trade Organization levels that are used among countries with no trade deals between them.
This is all on Brussels. They’ve played hardball this whole time, apparently expecting to be able to bully the UK into remaining. And perhaps that might have worked — under Theresa May. But now Boris Johnson is PM, and the EU’s backup plan has been revealed to be “What are we supposed to do now?”
UPDATE: Link was bad before. Fixed now — sorry!
STARTING WITH “WHAT THE HELL?”: Canadian lab’s shipment of Ebola, Henipah viruses to China raises questions.
IF YOU ASK TO ASK… How much would ‘Medicare-for-all’ REALLY cost the middle class?
If “Medicare-for-All”’s total cost for the first 10 years is in line with projections produced by the American Action Forum, Mercatus Center, and Urban Institute—roughly $32 trillion to $38 trillion—I estimate 40 million to 60 million households would end up paying more in new taxes than they would receive in health care benefits. Millions of these households would lose more than $10,000 annually, even if it is assumed they would otherwise need to pay a full health insurance deductible and some out-of-pocket expenses under a private health insurance model.
Contrary to the claims made by the leading Democratic candidates, millions of middle-class earners would be hit particularly hard under “Medicare-for-All.” For example, filers earning $50,000 to $75,000 would likely need to pay on average $7,773 to $9,171 more in new taxes. Those families earning $75,000 to $100,000 would pay $12,612 to $14,880 more. Most households with more than $100,000 income would pay close to or more than $20,000 in additional taxes.
Left unsaid? When Washington controls virtually all health spending, instead of just fighting with your insurer over coverage, you’ll be fighting against everyone from the lowliest welfare recipient to giant defense contractors over a common pool of tax dollars.
AMERICA’S LONGEST WAR: Trump Wants to Pull All US Troops Out of Afghanistan by the 2020 Election.
That would be nice.
THEY’RE ALWAYS IN THE LAST PLACE YOU LOOK: Passenger finds flight attendant in overhead compartment while boarding.
I DON’T SEE IT: Ancient Arthropod Named After Star Wars’ Millennium Falcon.
MEANWHILE, OVER AT VODKAPUNDIT: Florida Man Friday — The Naughty Napper Edition.
21ST CENTURY HEADLINES: Neuroscientists decode brain speech signals into written text.
THE LAW IS AN ASS: 79-year-old woman sentenced to 10 days in jail for feeding stray cats.
IS THERE NOTHING IT CAN’T DO? Economists use beer as measure to document failures of socialism in new book.
THEY’RE ONLY NOW JUST BEGINNING TO CATCH ON? Democrats warn of Trump trap.
JON CALDERA: CSU victim junkies know power of changing language.
Thankfully the victim junkies at our state-sponsored Colorado State University have updated their Inclusive Language Guide. This is an arbitrary and ever-changing list of words and phrases they’d like scrubbed from our collective vocabulary.
All I can say is: This list takes the cake as being the craziest, most insane, deranged, demented, and dumb list made by uppity ladies and gentlemen going to war with us normal people in the peanut gallery to gyp us of our speech and sell our freedom down the river.
Can you identify all 14 non-inclusive words or terms in the previous sentence? Yes, 14.
Read the whole thing.
PLAY ACCORDING TO THE CHROMOSOMES YOU WERE DEALT: Calls for transgender athletes to compete in their own category after Kiwi weightlifter won haul of medals following her transition from a man to a woman.
MAYBE THE RUSSIANS DID IT: Hannity and Tucker Continue to Dominate Cable, Maddow Falls Far Behind.
MAYBE SHE FORGOT TO BROADCAST IN WISCONSIN: Maddow sheds more than 800,000 viewers in 6 months.
WHEN TECHNOLOGY BECOMES INDISTINGUISHABLE FROM MENTAL ILLNESS: ‘Talking Lasers’ That Beam Messages into Your Head Could Be Here in 5 Years, Pentagon Says.
21ST CENTURY HEADLINES: NASA agrees to work with SpaceX on orbital refueling technology.
THAT’S MORE THAN JOHN KERRY EVER DID: US Imposes Sanctions on Iranian FM Who Screamed at John Kerry During Nuke Negotiations.
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