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

Monday, June 19, 2017

Linkee-poo, oh well a touch of grey kinda suits you anyway

So, the president either is or isn't under investigation. But it could be he is under investigation and it hasn't proceeded to the point where he would have to be informed. But man is there an awful lot of guilty behaviors going on. And then there's the memes of the president playing 4d chess or giving grand consideration to actions… versus most people, including the president, saying he goes with his gut. Are we not entertained?

There's a bill that nobody seems to know anything about, but everybody knows everything about, which won't be actually introduced until right before a vote (and which the final amendment would be to either revert to the original language, lining out any previous amendments, or which we won't see the real text of the bill until the final amendment). It might be a smoke screen to give cover, or it might be a real thing. It might be "conservative ideals" or it might be the GOP's attempt to erase any victory by a black president.

In Syria we shoot down a Syrian MiG, and now the Russians want to play games (note, "following as a target" means lighting up with targeting radar, a very provocative move). It might be an actual aggression, or might be an opportunity to probe our technical capabilities.

A cargo ship runs into our destroyer killing 7 sailors, we have no ambassador or appropriate Naval secretary to respond or coordinate any response. And the president tweets about his popularity.

Here we are now, entertain us.

At the intersection of a writing link and a politics link, "President Donald Trump, Unreliable Narrator." On our president's twitter rages, the lack of fact-based reasoning shown in them, and what that does to our political discourse.

"'In hindsight, I guess we should have anticipated this,' occult museum director Greg Newkirk says, 'but when it comes to working with haunted artifacts in new, unexplored ways, you never know what’s going to happen. We’re attempting something that’s never been done before, laying the groundwork for future study of paranormally-active objects. There are going to be quirks we can’t see coming.'" New technology always causes these stories (there are stories of haunted telegraph wires). (Grokked from Joshua Parker)

So, thinking of taking a holiday from social media (haven't we all), but feel you'd miss the scrolling through content? Well, Binky is here to save you. Yes, Virginia, there is a social media app that has no impact on anything, anywhere. If I understand it correctly (and not by listening to the developer), it's essentially a news and entertainment media app in disguise as a social media app. Look, if this app could take the place of your social media use, I suggest just dropping the social media part in the first place. You'd gain so much energy and time. This is why I'm rarely on Facebook.

"In addition to its importance as an early and reliable warning of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, impaired smell offers a window into the underlying mechanisms of the two diseases."

There was a time when we thought the oceans were boundless. "And although the world they are exploring has really never been touched by humans, there's still plenty of signs of human life from above — in the form of trash and micro plastics… 'Every single net that we put down there picked up some rubbish: paint cans, old fishing wire, bottles,' O'Hara says."

No, the Nazis were not leftist. When they were a revolutionary party, there were some lefties, but they were all killed in the various purges of the party.

We don't need to regulation or rules. "About 20 percent of baby food samples tested over a decade-long period had detectable levels of lead, according to a new report from Environmental Defense Fund, a nonprofit group." I'm sure that's so the babies won't knock and ping (you might need to be of a certain age to get that joke).

And in "shooting fish in a barrel" news, "'Senate Republicans can't answer simple and critical questions about the health care bill they're crafting in secret,' says Vox after asking eight Republican senators how their bill will actually improve the health care system in the United States. Their vacuous non-answers are truly mind-boggling." This is about the conservatives making a strategic mistake naming the ACA "Obamacare." This is about erasing our first black President. It's not about health care.

On the importance of Medicaid… "On this Monday morning the clients at Our Place are sharing their goals — big and small. One man wants to finish a mosaic he's working on, while a woman down the table says she hopes to go to the movies with a friend someday." If the Republicans get their way, it's a good bet that woman will never get to the movies with a friend.

"The U.S. Office of Government Ethics on Friday released President Donald Trump's most recent financial disclosure, and it shows that the former real estate mogul carries at least $315 million in liabilities — $130 million to Deutsche Bank alone." (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)

2 comments:

Janiece said...

It's Schrodinger's investigation.

Steve Buchheit said...

It's everything to everyone. While Schrodinger is a good analogy (you won't know what it is until they open the box), in the media it's more like a Rorschach test.