William Taylor Was Skeptical Of Trump. Then Came His “Nightmare Scenario” In Ukraine

A straight-shooting, no-nonsense career US diplomat who was hesitant to return to Ukraine for the Trump administration now appears to have been a voice of reason as two fellow diplomats discussed pressuring Ukraine’s new president to dig up dirt that might help …Trump’s reelection campaign.

…They say he’s a tell-it-like-it-is extrovert who puts matters of state before politics.

… Sondland and Volker told an aide to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, that an official White House visit to meet Trump and the delivery of $391 million in critical military aid was dependent on him launching and publicizing investigations into a gas company where Joe Biden’s son Hunter worked, and Ukrainian interference in the 2016 elections.

…“Are we now saying that security assistance and [White House] meeting are conditioned on investigations?” Taylor texted to Sondland on Sept. 1, after the Ukrainians had learned that the US was withholding the military aid and Trump had backed out of a trip to Poland, where he was supposed to meet with Zelensky. “Call me,” Sondland replies.

The text messages pick up on Sept. 8, when Sondland says he’s held multiple conversations with Zelensky and Trump.

In that exchange, Taylor says, “The nightmare is [the Ukrainians] give the interview and don’t get the security assistance. The Russians love it. (And I quit.)”

William Taylor Was Skeptical Of Trump. Then Came His “Nightmare Scenario” In Ukraine

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Michigan native to travel in NASA’s 1st all-female spacewalk

Since the world’s first spacewalk in 1965, only 14 women have done them, versus 213 men, according to NASA.

…Astronaut Christina Koch, born in Grand Rapids, has been teamed up with astronaut Jessica Meir to venture out Oct. 21 to plug in upgraded batteries for the solar power system.

Michigan native to travel in NASA’s 1st all-female spacewalk

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(Also, dun f’ it up this time NASA!)

This week in Mormon Land

Women can act as witnesses to temple sealings and that any baptized member (starting as young as age 8) can serve as a “witness of the baptism of a living person.”

In addition, any temple recommend holder (male or female) can act as a witness at a “proxy baptism for a deceased person” in a Latter-day Saint temple. This change also extends to holders of so-called limited-use recommends. These are often teenage girls and boys. 

…He discussed “kinship” relationships, pointing to the various types of marriages in church history, such as plural, proxy, convenience and successive sealings. Many of these kinships didn’t focus on reproduction, meaning it hasn’t always been seen as essential for a relationship.

This week in Mormon Land: A pre-General Conference crush of stories; so long, ‘James the Mormon’; new debate about family proclamation – The Salt Lake Tribune

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This teen wasn’t allowed into her homecoming dance because she was wearing a jumpsuit

Despite her best efforts, she hadn’t found the perfect dress. But, no worries, she thought. She already had a jumpsuit in her closet, and she could easily dress it up for the dance.

Or so she thought. When the 17-year-old arrived at the Tampa Bay Homeschool homecoming dance on September 27, the event planner stopped her. She wasn’t allowed in.

The reason? She wasn’t wearing a dress.

This teen wasn’t allowed into her homecoming dance because she was wearing a jumpsuit – CNN

Since there is no school distric t involved they can’t be sued to oblivion to make a point the tax-payers would never allow them to forget. In lieu of that the event planner should be sued and charged pressed for discrimination in a criminal court. People who treat young women like this should PAY DEARLY.

NASA Announces First All-Female Spacewalk After Previous One Canceled

Astronauts Christina Koch and the newly arrived Jessica Meir will venture out Oct. 21 to plug in new, upgraded batteries for the solar power system. It will be the fourth of five spacewalks for battery work.”

… “The latest class of NASA astronauts, selected in 2013, includes four women and four men. What’s most interesting … is not the gender parity. Two of the women have something the earliest female astronauts couldn’t: Military backgrounds. One of them, Anne McClain, is an Army major who flew helicopters during combat missions in Iraq.”

NASA Announces First All-Female Spacewalk After Previous One Canceled | The Daily Wire

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Trump staffers were left ‘genuinely horrified’ by calls with leaders

“People had gotten really numb to him blurting out something he shouldn’t have,” one former national security staffer told the Post.

…”Phone calls that were embarrassing, huge mistakes he made, months and months of work that were upended by one impulsive tweet.”

…One official said every one of Trump’s interactions with other leaders had a time limit before it would eventually devolve into an inappropriate interaction. 

“You had two to three minutes max,” one former senior administration official said. “And then he was still usually going to say whatever he wanted to say.”

Trump staffers were left ‘genuinely horrified’ by calls with leaders – Business Insider

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Trump impeachment probe: How voters reacted in a Pennsylvania district

She’d come to Muhlenberg College ready to defend why Democrats in the House of Representatives were moving forward on an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.

…It wasn’t until about 20 minutes into the event that someone brought up the issue. That person argued a majority of Americans don’t support removing Trump from office and that the inquiry would prevent Congress from being able to solve problems and work together.

…To those who criticized her, Wild argued that impeachment would not be a distraction from the issues that got her elected. She pointed to her work on the Education and Labor committee and legislation aimed at lowering prescription drug prices. 

But some backed Wild’s call for an inquiry – and took it a step further. 

“Why can’t the House hold those who refuse to cooperate in contempt, find them, and put them in jail?” one woman asked Wild as the crowd cheered.

…Others like Dawn Dobrosky noted she wasn’t “a fan” of Trump but felt as though Democrats were picking on him. 

“It’s like they won’t give him a break,” she said while loading groceries in her car. 

Dobrosky, who says she wrote in a candidate instead of voting for Hillary Clinton or Trump in 2016

Trump impeachment probe: How voters reacted in a Pennsylvania district

hmmm…

Also…. Concerning people like Ms Dobrosky….

Saying she didn’t vote for Trump is beyond splitting hairs. Whether or not she wants to admit it to herself, by writing someone in, she voted for Trump. The “Oh, the media/Democrats/etc are so unfair to him,” shtick  is just camouflage for cowards. Unless she said the exact same (or reciprocal) thing about Obama and HRC, then she is 100% supporting Trump, she’s just too embarrassed to say it out loud.

Job applicant outraged after company shares her bikini photo on Instagram as ‘PSA’: ‘This is not doing you any favors’

Job applicant outraged after company shares her bikini photo on Instagram as ‘PSA’: ‘This is not doing you any favors’ – AOL Finance

Well, the company was out of line to post a picture from an actual applicant’s feed without prior approval but they had a point. It’s not a professional look. By providing access to her instagram the applicant did herself no favors.

Border wall book details turbulent week of Donald Trump’s directives

Trump had at times privately talked about “fortifying a border wall with a water-filled trench, stocked with snakes or alligators, prompting aides to seek a cost estimate. He wanted the wall electrified, with spikes on top that could pierce human flesh.”

Additionally, after aides told him that his public suggestion of soldiers shooting migrants if they threw rocks was illegal, he backed down. But, he later suggested that they “shoot migrants in the legs to slow them down.”

“That’s not allowed either, (staff) told him,” according to the excerpt.

…The comments came around the same time [that Trump] publicly threatened to close the border, saying he would if “Mexico doesn’t get with it.” [He] later backed off from that threat. 

Border wall book details turbulent week of Donald Trump’s directives

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Research: When Women Are on Boards, Male CEOs Are Less Overconfident

Having women on the board results better acquisition and investment decisions and in less aggressive risk-taking, yielding benefits for shareholders. What’s less clear is why these effects happen.

Our research suggests one potential reason: Having female board members helps temper the overconfidence of male CEOs, improving overall decision making for the company.

…One benefit of having female directors on the board is a greater diversity of viewpoints, which is purported to improve the quality of board deliberations, especially when complex issues are involved, because different perspectives can increase the amount of information available. At the same time, research has found that female directors tend to be less conformist and more likely to express their independent views than male directors because they do not belong to old-boy networks.

…Our study has two important policy implications. First, it suggests that female board representation matters more in certain industries, because some industries have more overconfident CEOs. Second, our findings suggest female board representation can be especially beneficial in helping firms weather crises. Overall, our research supports the view that having women on boards improves strategic decision making and benefits firms.

Research: When Women Are on Boards, Male CEOs Are Less Overconfident

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Is it Rude, Is it Mean, or is it Bullying?

In the last few years, Americans have collectively paid attention to the issue of bullying like never before; millions of school children have been given a voice, 49 states in the U.S. have passed anti-bullying legislation, and thousands of adults have been trained in important strategies to keep kids safe and dignified in schools and communities. These are significant achievements.

At the same time, however, I have already begun to see that gratuitous references to bullying are creating a bit of a “little boy who cried wolf” phenomena. In other words, if kids and parents improperly classify rudeness and mean behavior as bullying—whether to simply make conversation or to bring attention to their short-term discomfort—we all run the risk of becoming so sick and tired of hearing the word that this actual life-and-death issue among young people loses its urgency as quickly as it rose to prominence.

It is important to distinguish between rude, mean, and bullying so that teachers, school administrators, police, youth workers, parents, and kids all know what to pay attention to and when to intervene. As we have heard too often in the news, a child’s life may depend on a non-jaded adult’s ability to discern between rudeness at the bus stop and life-altering bullying.

Is it Rude, Is it Mean, or is it Bullying? | Psychology Today

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Hawaiian Tourism Authorities Launch New Visitor Education Campaign

…The Pono tourism movement. “Pono” is a Hawaiian word having a multi-faceted meaning, but, concisely, it connotes an ethos of respect, uprightness, prosperity and well-being.

“Many travelers visiting the Hawaiian Islands don’t necessarily understand why we stay on the trail when we hike, why we care about protecting our reefs, and many of the dangers they need to be mindful of,” said Jay Talwar, HVCB’s chief marketing officer. “Rather than scold them, we felt that, if our residents shared the ‘whys’ behind appropriate behavior, then most visitors would follow along; in other words, if we don’t show them the trail, how can we expect them to stay on it? That’s what our new Kuleana Campaign aims to do.”

Hawaiian Tourism Authorities Launch New Visitor Education Campaign | TravelPulse

nice!