Raithe

Jack Reacher is apparently getting rebooted as a tv show, ala Jack Ryan. The author has finally admitted that Tom Cruise is a little on the short side to play a character described as "towering".

*whistles innocently* History - How Rome Destroyed Its Own Republic

I was kind of weighing whether this is politics or weird things.. eh, I'll drop it here:

Oh, you mean the whole tartan patterns on kilts identifying clans? Yeah, the Scots do seem to like to forget that that whole thing was basically an invention of English tailors for tourists going to Scotland back in the 19th century. Although there is a nod to the Celtic past in it, because the Celts did weave plaid (tartan) for awhile so it's not totally fraudulent. More like an exageration. You could identify areas of origin by the pattern of weave and dyes used due to different resources and weavers. For the history lesson (as far as I recall ) Organised tartan patterns became a thing when one of the large commercial weaving factories became the sole supplier to the Highland Regiments (in about 1800 or so)- due to the large quantities they produced they started to develop standard patterns and colours, and give them names. The clan tartans as a whole kicked off due to Scottish expatirates wanting to save/restore/recreate Scottish culture (partially led by Sir Walter Scott), you got the Highland Society in London wrote to the various clans asking for samples of their "clan tartans" because by then they thought the tartan pattern names actually did represent various affiliations. Shortly thereafter, George IV visited Edinborough, led by the aforementioned Walter Scott in a kind of "I Love Me Some Scots" party, and then grew into a "tradition" and then tourism.

Does that mean it actually contains a few historically true facts?

Also, Quote for the Day: "Genuinely, I've had people online tell me that I want to impose Shariah law on the West. Which, as the athiest son of Hindu parents, makes me feel ever so naughty."

Broward County brings in Expert Consultant to speed up ballot count.

Important Rule: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0la5DBtOVNI&

Regional News - State Senator, Protestors arrested at capitol hill while demanding "every vote count"

Its not so much scathing commentary as satire of fascism in general. But it is an entertaining film, with some surprisingly good performances.

Margaret Atwood comes ot the rescue on Twitter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQgobuN0sZQ

What would be the point of credentials if they cannot be given or revoked? This is lunacy. And as far as I know Freedom of press gives them freedom to publish any information not to get information. The point is there is a set procedure on how you go about removing the credentials of a member of the white house press, and they ignored them. The member of press gets a notice, they get told why, they get to present a defence, and then they get removed. With this, none of that actually took place. A member of the press offended the President with some questions, boom. They get removed. Now, if the President has the power to randomly remove the press from the White House because of that, how many Journalists will ask him questions he might not like? That's a bad precedent and creates a certain aura of intimidation of the press which reduces the nature of free speech.

It can depend on the press. But that just means you clean up the press - setting a precedent to deny access on the grounds used is a dangerous step.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxejP4vRvIw

It's really funny in America "hey, lets think about some form of gun control due to mass shootings and such" "NO! That's a slippery slope that leads to tyranny and stripping us of our rights!" vs. "hey, let's make it so some people can't vote" or "hey, let's ignore the rules and strip press of white house credentials if they offend the President" "Eh, it's no biggie. We're America, nothing can go wrong with this. Just Fake News."