By Joe Cochrane @ NYTimes.com, May 1

JAKARTA, Indonesia — The imposing, six-foot-tall painting is a potent symbol of modern Indonesian history: the country’s founding father, Sukarno, cradling a dead, barefoot rebel killed by Dutch colonial forces amid rice fields and smoldering volcanoes in late-1940s Java.

The fighter’s bloodied shirt draws immediate attention — but so does a necklace dangling from the body: a Christian cross, worn by the independence martyr for the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation.

The 2006 painting has become the symbol of a global initiative by the Indonesian youth wing of Nahdlatul Ulama, the largest mass Islamic organization in the world, that seeks to reinterpret Islamic law dating from the Middle Ages in ways that conform to 21st-century norms.

Among other things, it calls for a re-examination of elements of Islamic law that dictate relations between Muslims and non-Muslims, the structure of government and the proper aims and conduct of warfare [....]

America largely stood around cheering as women were insulted and intimidated all through the various campaigns. But why didn't women do better? Why did they get so emotional and scatterbrained? Why didn't they think strategically?

The part where I have trouble with the author is that if Hillary was that feminazi bitch to be locked up in blue state and Fox News/still-in-denial mainstream media terms, how's a couple more days in the heartland going to override blogs and TV shows full of hate and vitriol? So Biffalo Bill eats his female victims' skin and Hannibal Lector shoved a pencil through his victim's throat - how come Hillary's so unlikeable? It's American Psycho rules - and our takeaway is to feed the psychos more meat.

An interestingly personal endorsement. 

While that would have been my position whoever run against Le Pen on a non-racist ticket, there is something more in my endorsement of Macron: During my tenure as Greece’s finance minister in early 2015 Emmanuel revealed to me a side of him that few progressives have seen. While the troika of Greece’s lenders and the Berlin government were strangling our freshly elected left-wing government’s attempts to liberate Greece from its debt-bondage, Macron was the only minister of state in Europe that went out of his way to lend a helping hand. And he did so at a personal political cost.

He hopes Democrats will return to their roots and fight to end rural poverty as a way to defeat Trump. "That's what JFK did, and LBJ," Smith said. "They went to coal towns and said, 'We're here. And we give a shit.'"

By Norman Mayerson @ The New York Times, April 27

[....] a visit to the dealership’s service department a [....] customer is likely to spot the sign announcing labor charges upward of $125 an hour, a rate typical in cities and at the low end for luxury brands  [.....] a mechanic wielding wrenches is not paid that hourly rate — the shop’s cash flow must cover sophisticated diagnostic tools and contribute its share toward the dealership’s prime real estate. But top-level technicians in the field can earn $100,000 a year after achieving master mechanic status and five years of experience, said Robert Paganini, president of the Mahwah, N.J., campus of Lincoln Technical Institute.

So, it would be logical to conclude, applicants must be banging on dealership doors for those jobs.

Not quite: It’s the dealerships and auto manufacturers banging on doors, eagerly seeking out candidates at job fairs, trade schools and events for veterans. The shortage of qualified technicians is so acute that a year ago, BMW of North America began its own recruiting program, making its pitch to students at postsecondary technical schools and career fairs. While that may be a common practice for multinational corporations, it’s unusual in that the job openings will be at independently owned BMW franchises [.....]

By Kelsey Snell  & John Wagner @ The Washington Post, 39 minutes ago

By exploiting Republican divisions over spending priorities, Democrats secured nearly $5 billion in new money for domestic programs in the five-month budget deal. The lopsided victory means it will be very difficult — if not impossible — for the GOP to exert its will in future budget talks.

Also see their piece What's in the spending-bill deal?

AND THIS INTERPRETATION SEEMS TO BE THE GENERAL WISDOM, see other pieces posted as comments  from NYTimes, Politico, TPM, and The Hill. (Includes news on their Health Care Bill as well.) BIG FAIL for Trump today.

@ Artsy.net, April 21 Just sharing because some here showed interest when this one came out

By Partick Kingsley @ NYTimes.com, April 30

ISTANBUL — The Turkish government expanded its crackdown on dissent and free expression over the weekend, purging nearly 4,000 more public officials, blocking access to Wikipedia and banning television matchmaking shows.

A total of 3,974 civil servants were fired on Saturday from several ministries and judicial bodies, and 45 civil society groups and health clinics were shut down, according to a decree published in Turkey’s official gazette.

Turkish internet users also woke up on Saturday to find that they no longer had access to Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia written by volunteers.

The dismissals mean that an estimated 140,000 people have now been purged from the state and private sectors, and more than 1,500 civil groups closed, since a failed coup last year [.....]

The original Twitter feed:

https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ThingsOnlyChristianWomenHear&src=tyah

​There's more than 1 revolution going on. Ride it, folks - we can come out on top if we define our real morals & ethics and message them. The right is bankrupt, but unless our window's open for business, they ain't coming to us.

Typical female conversation with (male of course) church elder.

And it's all just emotions, not facts.