If you’re new to Change My View pieces, please check out our guide. What we’re looking for in the comments are respectful rational arguments either for or against the motion.

The Apple versus Samsung patent trial that began in 2011 returned to court last week. Closing arguments were made on Friday, and it’s now up to a jury to decide whether the damages awarded to Apple will be increased, decreased or remain unchanged.

My expectation is that Apple will lose the case – and I’ll define ‘lose’ in a moment – and that, actually, that would be the right result …

more…

The Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir, Jeff Singer, Stephen Wolf, and Carolyn Fiddler, with additional contributions from David Jarman, Steve Singiser, Daniel Donner, James Lambert, David Beard, and Arjun Jaikumar.

Leading Off

● NJ-02: When he first entered the race for New Jersey's open 2nd Congressional District back in February, engineer Hirsh Singh reportedly assured local GOP leaders that he'd pour $2 million of his own money into his bid. But according to the financial disclosure statement he just filed with the House, if Singh even self-funded a fraction of that sum, he'd be flat broke.​

Campaign Action

​Singh's filing shows that, far from being a multi-millionaire, his actual assets sit somewhere between $51,000 and $115,000. He lists between $1,000 and $15,000 of those assets as coming from casino winnings, writing in the description, "Hit black 13 on Roulette in Atlantic City after the first annual GOP Leadership Summit ;-)." Yes, Singh really included that winky emoticon in his official financial disclosure statement.

Republican leaders understandably don't seem too ;-) with Singh. Atlantic County party chair Keith Davis grumbled, "A lot of people supported him based upon the personal wealth he pledged was going to be brought into this campaign." And some of those people were, like Davis, also from Atlantic County, which makes up about 40 percent of the electorate in the June 5 primary, nearly twice as much as the next largest county.

Thanks to the representations he made about his finances, Singh earned the important "organization line" in Atlantic County as well as in Ocean County, which comprises about 10 percent of the vote. That gives him a distinct advantage in the primary, since his name will appear in a separate column from those of his foes. And since those rivals have even less money, name recognition, or external support, Singh remains the front-runner.

Singh in fact has only self-funded $54,000 so far, leading an impatient Davis to warn that Singh "better start raising money." But that hope may be as vain as the dream that Singh would self-fund millions in the first place: Singh brought in just $48,000 from donors during his first quarter in the race.

If you enjoy this work, it’s more important than ever to support it— join Sparky’s List! And remember, if you missed out on the sold-out Kickstarter career compilation, the second edition is now available from IDW Publishing.

As the Mamas & the Papas once sang, "Oh Monday mornin´ you gave me no warnin´ of what was to be," and so we enter a new week in the reality teevee show that is our, um, strange reality. Courage, Crooks & Liars! Let's soldier-on!

Hackwhackers brings us up to date on who is buying whom in the Little Kremlin-on-the-Potomac matter.

Addicting Info looks into Prznint Stupid's latest tweet storm (latest at least as I write this, who knows what Stupid will bleat and mewl later?)

First Draft explains why they should not be President, and in the process explain why the mango-hued sh**gibbon shouldn't be, either.

Bonus Track: Big Bad Bald Bastard is an Ellery Queen fanboi and writes the praise of great pulp fiction. Gonna go to the library! BBL!

Last Tuesday, one of the biggest, most exciting and meaningful victories for progressives was Kara Eastman's win in the Nebraska Democratic primary. She beat Blue Dog and DCCC endorsee Brad Ashford 20,239 (51.43%) to 19,113 (48.57%). ​

It was another case of local Democrats slapping down the DCCC for their pig-headed interference in a local primary. The DCCC attempted to gaslight the district-- that voted overwhelmingly for Bernie in 2016-- telling them they needed to nominate a proven reactionary, "ex"-Republican instead of a woman who ran on many of the same issues that made Bernie so attractive to local, 2nd District Democrats.

With the help of the DCCC, Ashford raised $558,946 and spent $397,194, while Kara raised $355,887 and spent $284,880. Ashford was endorsed by anyone from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party​ the DCCC could round up-- not just the Blue Dogs but the New Dems, Gabby Giffords, the labor unions that do whatever the DCCC tells them and, of course ambitious Blue Dog/New Dem Adam Schiff, who has been traveling around the country using his new-found celebrity to help right-of-center candidates like himself undermine progressive candidates like Kara.

read more

Kyle Stock writes via Bloomberg: Eight months after slashing its price and expanding membership past 2 million users, MoviePass is now at risk of going bust. The parent company, Helios & Matheson Analytics, which now owns 92 percent of MoviePass, said last week that it had just $15.5 million in cash at the end of April and $27.9 million on deposit with merchant processors. MoviePass has been burning through $21.7 million per month. A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing last month revealed that the company's auditor has "substantial doubt" about its ability to stay solvent. Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities Inc., warns that MoviePass may not survive the summertime run of blockbusters. On Tuesday, Helios reported the performance of MoviePass for the three months ending on March 31. The company lost $107 million, earning just over $1 million from marketing deals and $47 million from subscriptions. Helios shares have fallen to decade lows of less than $1 after peaking at $32.90 in October, alongside the MoviePass hype.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Well, as predicted, it was lousy golfing weather, and Dotard J. Trump boiled over. So, welcome to the 70th consecutive Infrastructure Week here on The Presidential Apprentice.

And of course, because today is a day in America, the show comes to you still under the cloud of Friday’s mass shooting.

I’m sure you’re as tired of all the winning as I am. But let’s get started.

Listen right here at 9:00 AM ET!

PODCAST LISTENERS: There’s a new podcast platform in town, and the big news is: this one pays! RadioPublic pays podcast producers on a CPM basis, for listens on their native app (available for iPhones & Androids), financed by pre- and post-roll ads they insert. Not a bad way to support the show, with somebody else’s money!

So if you’re a podcast listener, please consider downloading the RadioPublic app on your Android or iOS phone. Yes, you can still download directly from their site, or listen to the player embedded here at Daily Kos. But it’s listens in their app that count toward payment.

Nothing changes on our end. It’s still Greg Dworkin, Joan McCarter, and even Armando. Plus also, me. And you! As always, we still want your voice on the air with us. Sit down with your smart phone or other electronic recording device and send us your stories and commentary to share with the audience. There’s no easier way to try your hand at podcasting, without all the hassle!

Of course there’s no substitute for having your support via Patreon, or one-time contributions via Square Cash. (And hey, if you want a cool trick for donating sorta-kinda cost free, get their cash.me app and use this share code to get $5 in your account (plus $5 in mine) when you send your first $5 (to anyone)!

For now, how about one on the house? Here’s what we did last time out, on our LIVE show:

x Embedded Content

RadioPublic|LibSyn|YouTube|Patreon|Square Cash (Share code: Send $5, get $5!)

Just minutes into today’s show, there were two shootings competing for attention, but we didn’t yet know which would become the more significant. The bulk of the show was given over to bribe updates. Specifically: an update on the Cohen SARs/bribes; the Trump-China bribe, and; the Kushner-Qatar bribe (with a caveat, but also a few domestic bribes thrown in for good measure). No one could have predicted what would happen once Trump irritated China with increased trade barriers. Unless you were going to guess that they’d take their business elsewhere. Like, maybe Russia. What’s the next big Trump lie? It’s an old one, actually: Obama was “spying” on his campaign. That is not how this works, of course. And what’s really happening is that Trump thinks it’d be a shame if something happened to a certain FBI informant. Just to get a few more key items on the record (for your weekend edification): the full catalog of Scott Pruitt scandals; some more backstory on Trump’s stupid obsession with Putin, and Russia in general, and; in case you thought any part of the world today wasn’t complete bullshit….

Need more info on how to listen? Find it below the fold.

From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…

Jimmy Kimmel and Sen. Chris Murphy Weigh in on Santa Fe

x x YouTube Video

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I support the real 2nd Amendment, not the imaginary 2nd Amendment.

And the real #2A isn’t absolute. It allows Congress to wake up to reality and ban these assault rifles that are designed for one purpose only - to kill as many people as fast as possible.

— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) May 19, 2018

Is it November 6 yet?

Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold...

Mother Jones:

Latest News on Donald Trump Jr. Sparks A Trump Tweet Rant About the “Witch Hunt”

The president responds to the “failing and crooked” New York Times’ “boring” scoop

It’s a pretty damning story, at first glance. But on Sunday President Donald Trump offered alternative read on it—it actually vindicates him, because the disclosure of the meeting meant that special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the election had gone nowhere.

The story never actually says that, because that doesn’t make any sense. Mueller’s probe has already indicted 19 people—including 13 Russian nationals—and wrung a guilty plea from the president’s first national security adviser. His campaign manager has been indicted. And the Times story notes that Mueller was investigating this second meeting specifically to see if it, too, had been coordinated in some way with the Russians.

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I know we are all numb. But for any other president it would be obvious that this tweet alone is grounds for impeachment and removal. Obstructing justice in the investigation of his own campaign and ordering an investigation of a political rival. pic.twitter.com/pXyhF7hE1Y

— Jonathan Ladd (@jonmladd) May 21, 2018

How many apps do you have installed on your iPhone or iPad? How many of those apps are being used on a regular basis? Here’s how to find out the last time you used an app and why it’s important to know this information.
... Read the rest of this post here

"How to find out the last time you used an app on iPhone" is an article by iDownloadBlog.com.
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A sketchy report published Monday would have us believe that Apple is working on a more affordable HomePod model with Beats branding that would be priced below $200.... Read the rest of this post here

"Apple may be planning a cheaper $199 HomePod under Beats brand" is an article by iDownloadBlog.com.
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Aaron Pearce, maker of the HomeCam and HomePass apps, has today expanded his HomeKit utility suite with HomeScan, a simple app to show the current signal strength of all the Bluetooth HomeKit accessories in your home. You can quickly identify weak spots and find a better placement for your essential smart home sensors.

more…

Good Morning All,

This weekday feature is for Juicers who are are on the road, traveling, or just want to share a little bit of their world via stories and pictures. So many of us rise each morning, eager for something beautiful, inspiring, amazing, subtle, of note, and our community delivers – a view into their world, whether they’re far away or close to home – pictures with a story, with context, with meaning, sometimes just beauty. By concentrating travel updates and tips here, it’s easier for all of us to keep up or find them later.

So please, speak up and share some of your adventures and travel news here, and submit your pictures using our speedy, secure form. You can submit up to 7 pictures at a time, with an overall description and one for each picture.

You can, of course, send an email with pictures if the form gives you trouble, or if you are trying to submit something special, like a zipped archive or a movie. If your pictures are already hosted online, then please email the links with your descriptions.

For each picture, it’s best to provide your commenter screenname, description, where it was taken, and date. It’s tough to keep everyone’s email address and screenname straight, so don’t assume that I remember it “from last time”. More and more, the first photo before the fold will be from a commenter, so making it easy to locate the screenname when I’ve found a compelling photo is crucial.

Have a wonderful day, and enjoy the pictures!

Prepare for some wow today folks!

Today, pictures from valued commenter Mr. Prosser.

Since I rarely comment here I am a “Lurker” but I enjoy the posts and comments daily and look forward to Alain’s On the Road posts. I have a BA in Anthropology which means I spent my career as a structural firefighter/paramedic (25 years) and a mathematics instructor in middle school (Too many years). Once retired I moved to Grand Junction, CO and began pursuing my true interests as an Avocational Archaeologist especially in northwest Colorado, northeast Utah and the Four Corners. These photos of early Native American rock art, both petroglyphs (pecked or incised into the rock patina) and pictographs (painted with various pigments) date from 2000BCE or earlier to historic times

Arroyo near Kane Creek

Typical canyon country where this type of rock art is found

Sego Canyon area, Utah

Barrier Canyon style pictographs, the oldest style 2000 BCE to 400 CE (roughly). Enigmatic anthropomorths, animorphs and symbols. These are overlayed with Ancestral Pueblo/Fremont figures and modern graffiti.

Moab Man

Moab, UT

Well known petroglyph near a golf course in Moab, UT. Ancestral Pueblo/Fremont style figure showing a horned headdress and hair bobs. 500 to 1050 CE. What does the figure symbolize? Don’t know. The lighter pock marks are modern bullet scars.

Poison Spider area

Linked Ancestral Pueblo/Fremont style figures. All with headdresses. Dancers? Spirit forms? Near the Poison Spider Trailhead, UT

Sego Canyon, UT

Very classic Fremont style anthropomorphs 500 to 1100 CE. Note headdresses, “Weeping Eyes” on rh figure and large necklaces and belts or sashes. Have no idea as to significance of arm and hand with linked fingers. Possible shield at lower left.

McDonald Canyon, CO

A bear figure (white) and headless figure with arching arms. Fremont 900 to 1100 CE

Cottonwoood Wash

Very well done concentric circles. This type of petroglyph is often associated with the Solstices. Often a rock outcropping near the figure will cast a progressive shadow along the rings until it reaches the center on or near the solstices.

 

I am always in awe of the skill, knowledge, passion, and eye of you guys.  Please feel fee to use the form to send in lots of great and groovy stuff. I’ve got lots to work through, but do feel free to send stuff. Even if I don’t run it immediately, there are days or weeks where I’m swamped and some stored content makes things easy.

 

Thank you so much Mr. Prosser, do send us more when you can.

 

 

Travel safely everybody, and do share some stories in the comments, even if you’re joining the conversation late. Many folks confide that they go back and read old threads, one reason these are available on the Quick Links menu.

 

One again, to submit pictures: Use the Form or Send an Email

If you find yourself constantly looking for an elusive set of keys, you’re not alone. Keeping track of your keys is one of the more frustrating time-wasters in life, and the KeySmart Pro with Tile Smart Location is here to help. There’s never been a better and more efficient way to track down your keys, and right now the KeySmart Pro is on sale for just $39.99.... Read the rest of this post here

"This tracking tool and app will keep your keys forever handy" is an article by iDownloadBlog.com.
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Folks,

There’s an Orbital ATK Antares rocket launch at 4:39 AM Eastern, in just a bit. It’s launching from the Wallops Island Facility in Southeast Virginia.

Since the rain has gone, it looks like a lot of folks may see something, should they look the appropriate direction (and up!).

Link to more info: https://www.space.com/40644-watch-orbital-atk-rocket-launch-oa9-webcast.html

 

You can watch the launch live on space.com

 

A coalition of human rights and technology groups released a new declaration on machine learning standards, calling on both governments and tech companies to ensure that algorithms respect basic principles of equality and non-discrimination. The Verge reports: Called The Toronto Declaration, the document focuses on the obligation to prevent machine learning systems from discriminating, and in some cases violating, existing human rights law. The declaration was announced as part of the RightsCon conference, an annual gathering of digital and human rights groups. "We must keep our focus on how these technologies will affect individual human beings and human rights," the preamble reads. "In a world of machine learning systems, who will bear accountability for harming human rights?" The declaration has already been signed by Amnesty International, Access Now, Human Rights Watch, and the Wikimedia Foundation. More signatories are expected in the weeks to come. Beyond general non-discrimination practices, the declaration focuses on the individual right to remedy when algorithmic discrimination does occur. "This may include, for example, creating clear, independent, and visible processes for redress following adverse individual or societal effects," the declaration suggests, "[and making decisions] subject to accessible and effective appeal and judicial review."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone of something Donald Trump told Billy Bush a few years ago:

People will just believe you. You just tell them and they believe you.

Remember this. It explains a lot that would otherwise seem mysterious.

In just the past couple of days, Donald Trump has produced such a storm of horseshit that I never even got around to noting this story from the Washington Post:

President Trump has personally pushed U.S. Postmaster General Megan Brennan to double the rate the Postal Service charges Amazon.com and other firms to ship packages, according to three people familiar with their conversations, a dramatic move that probably would cost these companies billions of dollars.

….Brennan and Trump have met at the White House about the matter several times, beginning in 2017, and most recently four months ago, the three people said. The meetings have never appeared on Trump’s public schedule. Brennan has spent her career at the Postal Service, starting 32 years ago as a letter carrier. In 2014, the Postal Service’s Board of Governors voted to appoint her as postmaster general.

….Trump has met with at least three groups of senior advisers to discuss Amazon’s business practices, probing issues such as whether they pay the appropriate amount of taxes or underpay the Postal Service, according to the three people. These groups include Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, then-National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn and Domestic Policy Council Director Andrew Bremberg. Bremberg has served as a key liaison with Brennan.

Everyone—everyone—knows why Trump is doing this. He hates the Washington Post, which is owned by Jeff Bezos, and he’s trying to exact some revenge by going after Bezos’s main business, Amazon. In any other presidency, this would be a major scandal. Unless you’re Richard Nixon, you don’t use the power of the presidency to conduct personal campaigns of vengeance against companies or people you happen to be mad at. You just don’t do it. With Trump, however, this bit of retribution is so trivial that it’s hardly worth noting. Of course Trump is using the presidency to settle personal scores. Hell, his whole agenda is motivated primarily by a desire to take revenge against Barack Obama for making fun of him in 2011.

Still, just for the record, this is happening. Trump has tried numerous times to jack up Amazon’s shipping fees, and he’s co-opted his Treasury Secretary and others to spend their time on this too. This might put the postal service out of business. It would certainly hurt plenty of other companies. He doesn’t care. He just wants people to know what happens if they cross him. It’s like Trump’s presidency is a real-life mashup of The Godfather and The Count of Monte Cristo. This would be an entire book chapter if it been part of, say, the Grant administration’s scandals. Today, it’s barely worth a shrug.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Scientific American: UCLA neuroscientists reported Monday that they have transferred a memory from one animal to another via injections of RNA, a startling result that challenges the widely held view of where and how memories are stored in the brain. The finding from the lab of David Glanzman hints at the potential for new RNA-based treatments to one day restore lost memories and, if correct, could shake up the field of memory and learning. The researchers extracted RNA from the nervous systems of snails that had been shocked and injected the material into unshocked snails. RNA's primary role is to serve as a messenger inside cells, carrying protein-making instructions from its cousin DNA. But when this RNA was injected, these naive snails withdrew their siphons for extended periods of time after a soft touch. Control snails that received injections of RNA from snails that had not received shocks did not withdraw their siphons for as long. Glanzman's group went further, showing that Aplysia sensory neurons in Petri dishes were more excitable, as they tend to be after being shocked, if they were exposed to RNA from shocked snails. Exposure to RNA from snails that had never been shocked did not cause the cells to become more excitable. The results, said Glanzman, suggest that memories may be stored within the nucleus of neurons, where RNA is synthesized and can act on DNA to turn genes on and off. He said he thought memory storage involved these epigenetic changes -- changes in the activity of genes and not in the DNA sequences that make up those genes -- that are mediated by RNA. This view challenges the widely held notion that memories are stored by enhancing synaptic connections between neurons. Rather, Glanzman sees synaptic changes that occur during memory formation as flowing from the information that the RNA is carrying. The study has been published in the journal eNeuro.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.