Starting at midnight on January 1, tens of thousands of books (as well as movies, songs, and cartoons) entered the public domain, meaning that people can download, share, or repurpose these works for free and without retribution under US copyright law.
Per the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, “corporate” creations (like Mickey Mouse) can be restricted under copyright law for 120 years. But per an amendment to the act, works published between 1923 and 1977 can enter the public domain 95 years after their creation. This means that this is the first year since 1998 that a large number of works have entered the public domain.
Basically, 2019 marks the first time a huge quantity of books published in 1923 — including works by Virginia Woolf, Agatha Christie, and Robert Frost — have become legally downloadable since digital books became a thing. It’s a big deal — the Internet Archive had a party in San Francisco to celebrate. Next year, works from 1924 will enter the public domain, and so-on.
So, how do you actually download these books?
It largely depends on what site you go to, and if you can’t find a book on one site, you can probably find it on another. For instance, ReadPrint.com, as well as The Literature Network (mostly major authors), and Librivox (audio books), Authorama (all in the public domain), and over a dozen other sites all have vast selections of free ebooks.
There’s also a handful of archiving projects that are doing extensive work to digitize books, journals, music, and other forms of media. A blog post from Duke University’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain listed some of the most recognizable works published in 1923, as well as links to download these books on digital archiving projects Internet Archive, HathiTrust, and the Gutenberg Project. The books include:
In total HathiTrust, a massive digital archiving project, has also uploaded more than 53,000 works published in 1923 that just entered the public domain. Over 17,650 of them are books written in English. Similarly, Internet Archive has already uploaded over 15,000 works written in English that year.
If you’re interested in academic papers, Reddit user nemobis also uploaded over 1.5 million PDF files of works published in academic journals before 1923. Your best bet for actually finding something you want to read in there is to know which academic paper you’re looking for beforehand and check the paper’s DOI number. Then, search for the DOI in one of nemobis’s lists of works — one list includes works published until 1909, the other includes works published until 1923.
It’s worth noting that projects like Internet Archive and Project Gutenberg rely on volunteer efforts, so there’s going to be disparities in the number of books available for download depending on where you go. But over the next several days and weeks, it’s safe to expect many more books will become available legally and for free across the web.
Free Graphic Novels (DC, Marvel, Image, etc), Music, TV shows, and music on HOOPLA.
Free music that you can KEEP on FREEGAL
You are PAYING for all this with your tax money - USE THEM. Most likely systems will have all 3 or 2 out of 3, so if you aren’t sure call your local library’s reference/information desk and how you can get set-up or started.
Hey, highkey from a library worker:
Overdrive has a new mobile app called LIBBY I find it easier to use. It’s the same content as Overdrive just better for mobile. Overdrive and Libby both let you send items to your kindle as well.
Can confirm Overdrive is amazing.
I work in the largest library system in my state (17 branches in total).
I use it not only for ebooks, but movies as well.
Other FREE resources to check with your library for are:
Freegal Music (download and keep music, including current music)
Hoopla Digital (borrow ebooks, e-audiobooks, e-graphic novels, stream movies)
To put the Trump administration into historical context, consider that Donald Trump embodies the worse of all the former Presidents typically regarded as among the worse in our history.
Donald Trumps is …
• as racist as Andrew Jackson,
• as corrupt as Warren Harding,
• as singularly pro-corporation as Calvin Coolidge,
• as abusive of power as Richard Nixon, and
• as incompetent as George W. Bush.
Trump may yet prove to be as inept as the pre-civil War Presidents: Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, and James Buchanan.
Also, Donald Trump brings his own set of dysfunctional attributes beyond the scope of other Presidents. He is unique from other Presidents in that he is so utterly ignorant of public and world affairs that he has no idea when people are manipulating him for their own nefarious purposes and hidden agendas. Furthermore, Trump is so impulsive that he is easily baited and reacts recklessly to every provocation. And Trump is uniquely uncurious and intellectually lazy, and never seeks out information because he delusionally thinks he is of high intelligence and already knows everything he needs to know. Moreover, no President in American history has ever been implicated with a foreign power against the United States.
That issue has yet to play out, but it could make Trump’s presidency standout in comparison against every other past administration. So it is very likely that taking his presidency in its totality, Donald Trump may very well be the worse President ever in American history. That’s quite an accomplishment for Trump in less than two years into his first term of office.
Again, an incisive critique by Jennifer Rubin getting to the heart of the matter. We can see Trump if we are generous, as a despot without a mandate, a fish out of the water, any number of “interesting” things but sadly in the light of day it all boils down to is a singular lack of intelligence. No, it doesn’t help he’s groomed for failure by his closest advisors, incestuous hand picked yes “men” similarly endowed. Dysfunctional, they merrily pat each other on the back while the rest of us are still recoiling in disbelief and shock. No clue. The exact reflection of the voter that put him and his family where they are, an orgy of stupidity. America fell in the trap spectacularly, like the workings of the charlatan Madoff, Trump convinced he was capable by thrusting the Mar a largo and celebrity status, wealth instead of intelligence into their imaginations and it was swallowed hook line and sinker. He’s still doing it to every foreign dignitary who visits. It’s his modus operandi. It’s him, and no one with a single brain cell thought he would change. There is no life after Trump just Trump, there is no president only Trump, and he is, in fact, missing a brain. Absolutely yes. We’re schooled to put a spin on this by looking for some scapegoat. Learning disability, personality disorder, mental decline but to be politically honest, it’s a brain that’s missing, nothing else.
President Donald Trump does not read - except in small doses and when his own name appears prominently. Before the presidency, his only activities were work and golf. He does not mingle with intellectuals, cultural trend-setters or artists.
It should come as no surprise - and it was not - that he sorely lacks in sophistication, knowledge of the world, understanding of government and a rudimentary grasp of economics.
Sitting atop arguably the great resource on the planet - the body of knowledge retained by American government experts on everything from economics to medicine to military history - he remains blissfully ignorant on a range of subjects.
He surrounds himself with dim yes men who know little more than he and, in any event, tremble at the prospect of correcting their “Dear Leader.” But sometimes you wonder whether Trump is just, well, dumb.
The Associated Press reports:
President Donald Trump has been handing out his cell phone number to world leaders and urging them to call him directly, an unusual invitation that breaks diplomatic protocol and is raising concerns about the security and secrecy of the US commander in chief’s communications. Trump has urged leaders of Canada and Mexico to reach him on his cell phone, according to former and current US officials with direct knowledge of the practice. Of the two, only Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has taken advantage of the offer so far, the officials said… “If you are speaking on an open line, then it’s an open line, meaning those who can monitor those conversations are doing so,” said Derek Chollet, a former Pentagon adviser and National Security Council official now at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
For someone who mocked Hillary Clinton for setting up a home email server that was vulnerable to hacking, Trump and his negligence defy explanation. Either he does not understand that his calls might be intercepted or does not care.
As a matter of self-preservation, however, one would think he would very much care if American enemies including terrorists could determine his whereabouts. (How is it, by the way, that American intelligence services condoned his using an unsecured line?) One would think he would be tired of being embarrassed when the content of calls is made public. It is times such as this when one wishes national security adviser H.R. McMaster had not frittered away his credibility spinning for the president and instead had the wherewithal to put his foot down and tell the president that he cannot behave in such a fashion.
When one considers this behaviour and that of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who allegedly discussed a dark communication line using Russian facilities, several explanations come to mind. First, this behaviour reflects the degree to which these neophytes on the world stage are hopelessly unschooled and naive. Alternatively, their behaviour denotes a shocking propensity for recklessness, even with their own financial and personal security (risking blackmail, among other things). That recklessness seems without purpose. (What goal would be served by talking on unsecured cell phone lines or on Russian lines that could not be accomplished on approved lines of communication?) Alternatively, maybe these people are paranoid conspiratorialists (who make Sean Hannity sound sane by comparison), convinced that the only thing they have to fear is the American “deep state” (or some such nonsense).
Whatever the explanation, Trump does not evidence any greater knowledge or sophistication than he possessed when he entered the office. You’d think he would have learned something in four months. Then again, maybe the rudimentary practices of government are utterly beyond him. One need not be a psychiatrist or an educator to see that he is incapable of performing the functions of his job - executing the laws, keeping the nation’s secrets, following routine security procedures. In short, maybe he is not compromised nor mentally ill, but merely dumb.
Copyright The Washington Post
Re: “
Alternatively, their behaviour denotes a shocking propensity for recklessness, even with their own financial and personal security (risking blackmail, among other things). That recklessness seems without purpose.
“ -
That recklessness reflects a profound narcissism and sense of entitlement - “I do what I want, when I want, regardless of what anyone says about the consequences, because I am responsible to no one and I do what I want.” It’s a deep psychological and moral flaw, and not a world-view that responds to efforts to rein it in.
Hate crimes are sharply on the rise in the Trump era, according to new data from the FBI. That makes it all the more worrisome that Trump and the Republican Party embraced an openly anti-Semitic message in a desperate last-minute bid to win midterm elections.
Trump’s hateful influence on America started with his high-profile, virulently racist 2015 campaign for president. Between 2015 and 2016, the FBI found a 6 percent increase in hate crimes reported to law enforcement agencies around the country.
But it’s gotten a lot worse since Trump took office. According to the FBI’s latest data, the number of hate crimes reported increased by another 17 percent from 2016 to 2017, rising from 6,093 to 8,437.
Of these, 1,679 hate crimes were anti-religious. 58.1 percent were anti-Semitic, and 18.7 percent were anti-Muslim.
The numbers on anti-Semitism are especially troubling given the horrific synagogue shooting that killed 11 Jews in Pittsburgh last month, and given the hateful messaging that Trump and Republicans engaged in during the 2018 midterm election cycle.
Republicans and the conservative movement have long made a boogeyman out of George Soros, a philanthropist and Holocaust survivor. Soros, who is Jewish, has donated heavily to progressive and pro-Democratic causes.
But during the 2018 campaign, the Republican Party turned its anti-Semitic dog whistle about Soros into a bullhorn. The party’s official campaign committee ran numerous anti-Soros ads, some of which invoked ancient, hateful stereotypes about Jewish people by depicting Soros sitting behind piles of money.
Soros, along with about a dozen other prominent Democrats, were targeted with pipe bombs sent to them in the mail by a fervent Trump supporter. The would-be serial bomber had made online postings ranting about Soros, furthering the same tropes pushed by the right for years.
And shortly before his murderous rampage, the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter tweeted anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that echoed those pushed by Trump and some congressional Republicans.
Trump himself has embraced anti-Semitic ideas, language, and positions ever since he became involved in politics. His campaign granted press access to anti-Semitic outlets, and he was praised by former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke.
And during his presidency, Trump has repeatedly sided with violent extremists.
Not only did Trump infamously call violent neo-Nazis “very fine people” after they murdered Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, he also decided to cut funding for the Violent Extremism Grant Program that begun under President Obama.
Instead of putting violent right-wing extremists on notice and on the run, the move sent another signal to these groups that Trump would allow them to flourish.
For years, conservatives have complained about government efforts to counter right-wing extremism. Most notably, the Obama administration was attacked for a Department of Homeland Security report on recruitment efforts by far-right groups.
Now, with Trump in the White House, those convicted of hate crimes are actually citing Trump’s words as a defense. Three men convicted of a plot to bomb Muslims in Kansas filed a sentencing memorandum referencing “the rhetorical China shop bull who is now our president.”
Trump called to ban Muslims from traveling to the United States, and tried to make it official U.S. policy soon after he was first sworn in.
The FBI’s new hate crimes report reveals that Americans are under attack for no reason other than their race, gender, orientation, or religious beliefs.
Instead of being leaders who will protect all Americans, Trump and the Republicans are fostering hate in a desperate attempt to hold on to political power.
Anyone still unsure of how (or even whether) they’ll vote in the midterms should consider this: All three branches of government are now under the control of one party, and that party is under the control of Donald J. Trump.
With the addition of Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court is as firmly Republican as are the House and Senate.
Kavanaugh was revealed as a fierce partisan – not only as a legal advisor who helped Kenneth Starr prosecute Bill Clinton and almost certainly guided George W. Bush’s use of torture, but also a nominee who believed “leftists” and Clinton sympathizers were out to get him.
He joins four other Republican-appointed jurists, equally partisan. Thomas, Alito, and Roberts have never wavered from Republican orthodoxy. Neil Gorsuch, although without much track record on the Supreme Court to date, was a predictable conservative Republican vote on the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit – which is why the Heritage Foundation pushed for him and Trump appointed him.
Even under normal circumstances, when all three branches are under the control of the same party we get a lopsided government that doesn’t respond to the values of a large portion of the electorate.
But these are not normal circumstances. Donald Trump is President.
Need I remind you? Trump is a demagogue who doesn’t give a fig for democracy – who continuously and viciously attacks the free press, Democrats, immigrants, Muslims, black athletes exercising First Amendment rights, women claiming sexual harassment, anyone who criticizes or counters him; who treats the executive branch, including the Justice Department, like his own fiefdom, and brazenly profits off his office; who tells lies like other people breathe; and who might well have conspired with Vladimir Putin to swing the election his way.
Trump doesn’t even pretend to be the president of all the people. As he repeatedly makes clear in rallies and tweets, he is president of his “base.”
And his demagoguery is by now unconstrained in the White House. Having fired the few “adults” in his Cabinet, Trump is now on the loose (but for a few advisors who reportedly are trying to protect the nation from him).
All this would be bad enough even if the two other branches of government behaved as the framers of the Constitution expected, as checks and balances on a president. But they refuse to play this role when it comes to Trump.
House and Senate Republicans have morphed into Trump acolytes and toadies – intimidated, spineless, opportunistic. The few who have dared call him on his outrages aren’t running for reelection.
Some have distanced themselves from a few of his most incendiary tweets or racist rantings, but most are obedient lapdogs on everything else, including Trump’s reluctance to protect the integrity of our election system, his moves to prevent an investigation into Russian meddling, his trade wars, his attacks on NATO and the leaders of other democracies, his swooning over dictators, his cruelty toward asylum-seekers, and, in the Senate, his Supreme Court nominees.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has emerged as Trump’s most shameless lackey who puts party above nation and Trump above party. The House leadership is no better. House intelligence chair Devin Nunes is Trump’s chief flunky and apologist, but there are many others.
Now that Kavanaugh is on the Supreme Court, you can forget about the Court constraining Trump, either.
Kavanaugh’s views of presidential power and executive privilege are so expansive he’d likely allow Trump to fire Mueller, shield himself from criminal prosecution, and even pardon himself. Kavanaugh’s Republican brethren on the Court would probably go along.
So how are the constitutional imperative of checks and balances to be salvaged, especially when they’re so urgently needed?
The only remedy is for voters to flip the House or Senate, or ideally both, on November 6th.
The likelihood of this happening is higher now with Kavanaugh on the Court and Trump so manifestly unchecked. Unless, that is, voters have become so demoralized and disillusioned they just give up.
If cynicism wins the day, Trump and those who would delight in the demise of American democracy (including, not incidentally, Putin) will get everything they want. They will have broken America.
For the sake of the values we hold dear – and of the institutions of our democracy that our forbearers relied on and our descendants will need – this cannot be allowed.
It is now time to place a firm check on this most unbalanced of presidents, and vote accordingly.
This is so important. I am not American but as somebody who has studied politics and as a German growing up with the history of my country let me tell you - never take democracy for granted, you gave to fight for it. Democracies don’t always die with a big bang bloody revolution, more often they are slowly sabotaged by people in power and they die if the majority stays silent. Vote. Demonstrate.
This means you vote the Democratic party ticket, for the record. The time to shift the party to the left is during the primaries. Right now? You vote the goddamned ticket. Even if that means voting for Manchin, or some equally despicable Democrat.
Because let’s be very, very clear about this: if Manchin isn’t re-elected, it’ll be Patrick Morrisey in that seat: a Republican, who will vote the Republican party line on basically every fucking issue (because Republicans tend to have better party discipline than Democrats, at least at the Federal level), and a Republican who helps keep committee control in the hands of the Republicans and procedural control in the hands of the Republicans, instead of a Democrat who helps shift both those things into the hands of a group of people who actually want to block Trump’s agenda. By all means, vote Manchin out—but we cannot afford for you to do it right now. Do it in the primaries in 2024. Right now? You show up to vote, and you vote the goddamned ticket.
Yes, political parties suck. Yes, they force you, frequently, to gather with people who don’t believe 100% the same things as you. Suck it the fuck up. Sometimes compromise is necessary in adult life! That’s just how it works! This isn’t about one Democrat. It’s not about your Democrat at all. It’s about blocking the Republicans. And the only way to do that effectively at this point in time is to vote the Democratic ticket. Top. To. Bottom.
Reblogging for the @greywash comment especially. Vote like a grownup.
Thank you for saying this! Yes, it has to be democrats! Third party cannot win this one guys!
STROKE: Remember The 1st Three Letters… S.T..R … My friend sent this to me and encouraged me to post it and spread the word. I agree. If everyone can remember something this simple, we could save some folks.
STROKE IDENTIFICATION: During a party, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine and just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. (they offered to call ambulance)
They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food - while she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Ingrid’s husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6:00pm , Ingrid passed away.) She had suffered a stroke at the party . Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today.
Some don’t die. They end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead. It only takes a minute to read this…
STROKE IDENTIFICATION:
A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke…totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.
RECOGNIZING A STROKE
Remember the ‘3’ steps, STR . Read and Learn! Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke. Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions :
S * Ask the individual to SMILE .. T * = TALK. Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) (eg ‘It is sunny out today’). R * Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS .
If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call the ambulance and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.
NOTE : Another ‘sign’ of a stroke is 1. Ask the person to ‘stick’ out their tongue. 2. If the tongue is ‘crooked’, if it goes to one side or the other that is also an indication of a stroke.
A prominent cardiologist says if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it to 10 people; you can bet that at least one life will be saved.
And it could be your own.
First reblog post that actually saves a life.
This is a life-saving post.
the more you know
yeah don’t think that this can’t happen to you or someone you know if they’re young. my cousin’s wife is 33 and she had a stroke last year
I’ve had a stroke. It happens to people, and the more you know about this kind of stuff, the better.Because it could be important to know.
LIVE SAVING. WOOOAHH. REBLOG REBLOG REBLOG REBLOG REBLOG
Had a family member almost die of one, so signal boosting because you never know when you could save a life.
Because I feel bad if I don’t reblog…
My mother died after being paralyzed by a stroke. Please read this^
I remember a while ago here in UK there were stroke-identifying adverts. Their catchphrase was FAST:
F- Face: is their face fallen on one side?
A- Arms: can they raise both their arms up and hold them there?
S- Speech: is their speech slurred? Can they speak a full sentence?
T- Time: if all the signs show a stroke, call 999.
We managed to save my nana with this information when she had her first stroke.
