Even the New York Times is writing about the Bachelor in Paradise fiasco and The Bachelorette series (with its racial tensions and imminently expected racial blow-up between two male contestants.) If you haven't been following, WB canceled the filming of Bachelor in Paradise (the most raunchy of the series' productions) amid allegations of a possible sexual assault,and sent all the contestants home. Today WB announced the investigation was complete and nothing untoward happened, so it will resume filming. (TMZ has the sleazy details and they are sleazy.)

The Times also covers the current Bachelorette season and its latest episode here. In the previews for next week, contestant Kenny and contestant Lee, go at it and apparently Kenny gets cut with a knife near his eye. It's pretty predictable that the show would exploit any racial tensions this season, but it's curious that so far Rachel has been giving Lee the benefit of the doubt. I suspect that's due to prodding by the producers.

On Viceland, Hailey Gates is back for Season 2 of States of Undress. [More...]

Happy Father's Day to everyone.

How times change: Check out this ad from the 1970's with the happy, smiling dad who just got a good night's sleep -- using Quaaludes.

On Melania's parents joining Melania and Barron for their move to DC and visit to Camp David: I expect them to be semi-permanent residents. (So far there's no indication they are moving in permanently.) They live at Trump Tower where they helped raise Barron (they are the reason Barron speaks Slovenian - I don't think they speak English.) Grandparents (not just nannies) are fixtures in raising Trump kids because their parents weren't around. With his oldest three kids, it was Ivana's parents, who moved in for six months a year, and the nannies who raised them.

The Trumps certainly would not have won any parenting awards when Don Jr. was a child. With Donald busy building his empire and Ivana helicoptering to Atlantic City six or seven days a week to run Trump Castle, there wasn’t a lot of time for helping with homework or taking weekend trips to the park. Ivana hired two Irish nannies, Dorothy and Bridget, to care for the children. But the most important early influence came from Ivana’s Czech parents, Milos and Maria Zelnicek, who lived with the family in Trump Tower for six months out of the year.

[More...]

Three weeks ago I wrote that Talkleft's 15th birthday is coming up and I was weighing whether to keep blogging. TalkLeft's official birthday is today: I launched this blog on June 15, 2002-- and have written on it almost every day since then.

Thanks to the many kind responses (and several donations) I received, I've decided to keep going. I think there is a lot to talk about, and that these are such scary times, we all need a place to vent.

I also want to thank every one who has taken the time to read a page, post a comment, given us a news tip, linked to TalkLeft, donated dollars and befriended us.

If you missed donating a few weeks ago, and appreciate Talkleft's longstanding and continued existence, and the effort that goes into my researching and writing, or just want to buy me a birthday drink, donations are very much appreciated. [More...]

Sorry about the lack of blogging this weekend. I just don't feel like writing when all the news is about Trump. And I had more important things to do. Like try and find this pair of sunglasses worn by actress Kate del Castillo. I spent hours online trying to match and find them and couldn't. I ended up going to my local optical shop and buying these, which while different, I really like. [More...]

I just read that Apple's next Safari browser upgrade will block auto-play videos. It can't come fast enough.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Time for a new open thread, all topics welcome.

ISIS has claimed credit for the Philippines casino bombing.

The U.S. took out the significant ISIS cleric, Turki al-Binali, and the co-founder of the Amaq News Agency.

Al Qaida continues to regroup, with Osama bin Laden's son Hamza bin Laden taking on a more public spokesman role.

Ansar al-Sharia folded in Libya. Al Qaida has not. ISIS is still making noise there, but it no longer is in control of a major city.

Donald Trump and Paris: Absent from the Rose Garden ceremony yesterday: Jared and Ivanka. Guess their feelings were hurt that Ivanka's time spent putting meetings together was for nothing. She really doesn't hold any power over her erratic father. There's no reason for anyone to "court" her.

Who has fun plans this weekend? This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

From the Guardian: Jared Kushner's charmed life is about to come to a screeching halt and Germany Steps Up Attack on Trump for 'weakening' the west .

Trump's Communications Director is leaving. (His resignation letter was submitted May 18.)

The House committee investigating Russia has issued a subpoena to Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, after he refused an invitation to talk to them. (Added: Reuters says no subpoena has been issued.)

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Former Panama military leader Manuel Noriega has died. He was 83. He served 17 years in a U.S. prison after being tried and convicted on cocaine trafficking, money laundering and racketeering charges in Miami in 1992.

Noriega accused Washington of a “conspiracy” to keep him behind bars and tied his legal troubles to his refusal to cooperate with a U.S. plan aimed at toppling Nicaragua’s leftist Sandinista government in the 1980s.

[More...]

In 3 weeks, TalkLeft will be 15 years old. I'll be deciding whether to keep the site going another year. Feel free to let me know your thoughts.

TalkLeft is actually pretty expensive to run, because it has so much material it has to be on its own server. As I get older, I can't help but think of other things I can do with that money, particularly if I think I'm no longer contributing anything of substance to the discussions of the day. I'm not convinced my voice is needed over the next three and and a half years, since we've already gone to Hell in a hand basket, and absent a universally agreed upon despicable act by Donald Trump that is likely to lead to his resignation or impeachment, I'm not sure we'll get him out before 2020. I doubt I am willing to give this uncouth carnival barker another three years of my attention. I'd rather fade into the woodwork and hide my head in the sand, and hope there's still a world in place when I take it out. [More...]

Trump continues to self-destruct and feed his aides to the wolves. Yesterday he sent staff out to make denials, only to personally admit today what they denied. Yesterday:

“I was in the room — it didn’t happen,” Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, Mr. Trump’s national security adviser, said in an appearance outside the West Wing, which was sent into chaos on Monday afternoon by reports that the president had disclosed extremely sensitive information about an Islamic State plot.

Trump today: I had every right to disclose whatever I disclosed to Russia.

Israel is the country whose intelligence information was exposed by Trump. [More...]

Happy Mother's Day to All. I got some good news from the TL kids (there are now two) which I can now share. [More....]