I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Linkee-poo, where the streets have no names

Just a reminder that this day was a big recruitment and fund raising day in the US for the Irish Republican Army, the terrorists we loved to coddle.

Since it's St. Paddy's Day, have some Irish folktales as selected by W. B. Yates. (Grokked from Ellen Kushner)

The goat made me do it. A short history of hysterias, animal trials, the the presence of the Devil in animals. (Grokked from Terri Windling)

A late 10th, early 11th century book of riddles. Mostly in Latin and Old English. (Grokked from Sarah Goslee)

Being different is good. Sure, it hurts in school. And there are a great many adults who think of the world and high school writ large and they never grow beyond what they were in high school. That life would kinda suck, and could only really be tolerable if you remain ignorant. Don't be that person. Be different.

Good news, people! "(B)rain researchers have great news for people 30 and up who feel their brains are slowing down. We can get smarter." Well thank the gods for that.

The wonderful experimentation lab that is evolution. The "Tully Monster" has been (somewhat) figured out. (Grokked from John)

"Doctors have long disputed the accusation that the payments they receive from pharmaceutical companies have any relationship to how they prescribe drugs… (except)… A new ProPublica analysis has found that doctors who receive payments from the medical industry do indeed prescribe drugs differently on average than their colleagues who don't. And the more money they receive, the more brand-name medications they tend to prescribe." This is my shocked face. You do know that pharma buy prescription information from pharmacies which include which doctors are prescribing what medications and at what rate. Although some doctors are now refusing any pharma money. For my own doctor's office, they have regulated just how much pharma reps can be in the office. Why? Because there were so many, they were annoying the patients by jumping the sign-in line, constantly interrupting the flow of patients, and generally being dicks. So now they're only allowed in my doctor's office on two days, and they'r not allowed to bring food.

You mean privatizing government is less efficient, more costly, and less transparent. This is my shocked face. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)

The US Military will supposedly pay you money to make a bomb out of your household appliances. So they can then see what creativity is out there to try and develop tech to stop it. Anybody thinking this is some kinda of Last StarFighter interview process? Also, say, remember it's against the law to build a bomb. Apparently DARPA doesn't remember either. (Grokked from Warren Ellis)

Don't get sick. Medical debt is still a big problem. One that won't be solved until we have a single-payor program.

And a Marketplace report on living without a safety net. I'm fortunate that I now have one, although it feels very precarious. I'm not sure if it's a relic of instilled paranoia about having enough, or if I'm really that on edge. But it is one of the reasons I work my two jobs. Tell me again how we need more tax relief for the 1%, because that's not really helping the vast majority of people. A "rising tide" can only lift you up if you already have a boat.

"Early voting (in NC) offered a glimpse of the problems that will arise on Tuesday — during the past ten days of early voting, many college students were blocked from the polls." Ah, working as planned. (Grokked from Steven Gould)

"The visit was the latest step in an ongoing and organized campaign by these lawmakers, essentially the political arm of the militant movement, to make a once-radical political cause part of the mainstream." The lawmakers who supported the Bunds and just how whackaloon the right has become. When the GOP says they're a "Big Tent" party, this is what they're talking about. They have rightwing, social conservatives, and the whackaloons. That's their Big Tent. (Grokked from Xeni)

Why the Trumpster hasn't been charged with inciting a riot. And I have to disagree with the final statement. While the Secret Service do swear to uphold and defend the constitution, and while and while their original mandate (and most of what they do) is act as Treasury's enforcement arm, they are not police. And while protecting their charge, they will not prevent a crime from happening under their watch. They will, however, be willing to testify against their charges. IIRC (Grokked from BoingBoing)

Well, Trump is expanding the base. But truthfully, white supremacists have always supported conservative politics. They're just more prominent and vocal this time around. (Grokked from Jason Sanford)

"EIU (the Economist Intelligence Unit) rated a possible Trump presidency among its top-10 global risks in forecasts released Wednesday, citing a possible international trade war and the candidate's rhetoric serving as a "potent recruitment tool" for jihadist groups among its concerns." Well, that can't be good. In other dumpster-fire news, the Trumpster calls the Wall Street Journal editorial board a bunch of poopy-heads.

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