I have a theory there are forces out there spoiling for the fight (they see this Summer and Fall as an ideal time that won't come again), and they'll use the events of the recent days in an attempt to launch it. Some of them are white, some black, and some wear a police uniform. They aren't the majority, they aren't even a sizable percentage of a minority position. This is the realm of the terrorist. And to reiterate, the goal of the terrorist is revolution and chaos. Their tactic is to sever the basic social contract between the governed and the government. There's a hellalotta misinformation out there today, and not all of it is "fog" of events, some of it feels deliberate. Fortunately I believe their ideology is blinding them to more obvious choices which would bring about that conflict. Thank the gods for stupid criminals.
And yes, you didn't have to call for it, Black Lives Matter leaders have already condemned the shootings in Dallas. (Grokked from Annalee Flower Horne)
"The President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, has ordered the Federal Security Service (FSB) to produce 'encryption keys' to decrypt all data on the internet, and the FSB has two weeks to do it, Meduza reports." Uh, yeah, Bob. Sure. That's the way it works. (Grokked from Dan)
"Inspired by the relatively simple morphological blueprint provided by batoid fish such as stingrays and skates, we created a biohybrid system that enables an artificial animal—a tissue-engineered ray—to swim and phototactically follow a light cue." They claim they have a biologic life-form, not until the rat muscle grows on its own. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
"Astronomers and archeologists are examining whether certain megalithic tombs found in Europe could have been used to enhance our ancestors’ vision of the night sky." Okay then. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
"When economics and state policy reinforce each other, the result can be… electric. California is the prime example. For decades, it has led the nation in establishing standards for increasing energy efficiency, utilizing renewable sources and reducing carbon emissions. Those policy signals have helped spur a dynamic clean-energy industry." On the divide between Red and Blue states when it comes to renewable energy generation and how the economics is starting to make the question moot. Only, those states who got a jump on it (Blue states, mostly) will see the most benefit. Red states who blocked and rolled back provisions will see less of the pie. Ohio is one of those states. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
Defining the shrinking middle-class. While the numbers show 2/3 of the movement out of the middle-class is upward to the "rich", I think it's because of how we define those brackets (because it's based on "median income") and the actual experience isn't the same as the numbers. You can find out where the Pew Center would place you here. It says I'm in the middle class (which I already knew), but it says my area (Youngstown/Warren/Boardman - I'm closer to there than to Cleveland-Elyria) has fewer lower-income people than the national average. I was an area foreman for the US Census in 2010. I think there's some issue with their data here (although it does answer my question of just who the hell is buying all these high priced homes they're building, I know I couldn't afford one).
"In the past five years, the Syrian government has assassinated, bombed, and tortured to death almost seven hundred medical personnel, according to Physicians for Human Rights, an organization that documents attacks on medical care in war zones. (Non-state actors, including isis, have killed twenty-seven.) Recent headlines announced the death of the last pediatrician in Aleppo, the last cardiologist in Hama. A United Nations commission concluded that 'government forces deliberately target medical personnel to gain military advantage,' denying treatment to wounded fighters and civilians 'as a matter of policy.'" On combat zone hospital care, duty, responsibility, humanity and how the medical world supports each other. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
Man who pulled gun during a Don't Shoot Portland rally is taken into custody. De-escalation and apprehension. Funny how that works. (Grokked form Annalee Flower Horne)
"Though Facebook blamed the removal of a video showing the shooting of Philando Castile on a 'technical glitch,' a new report suggests the 'glitch' may have been deliberate police intervention." Not cool. Especially not now. (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)
"'The Petraeus case, to my mind, illustrates perfectly the kind of cases the Department of Justice is willing to prosecute,' (FBI Director Comey) said. 'Even there, they prosecuted him for a misdemeanor. In that case, you had had vast quantities of highly classified information, including special sensitive compartmented information. That's the reference to code words. Vast quantity, not only shared with someone without authority to have it, but hidden in the insulation in his attic and then he lied about it during the investigation.'" Just a reminder, Comey has been a Republican appointee, has worked for Republican presidential campaigns, and is pretty solidly in the (R) camp.
Fox News is reportedly doing an internal investigation into Gretchen Carlson's accusations of sexual harassment. "Bloomberg News posted a video Thursday that compiled soundbites of Gretchen Carlson's former co-hosts on "Fox & Friends" making lewd comments to her on-air." Don't worry, Fox, Bloomberg has you covered. Not sure where I said it but I did mention that she would win, all she needed to do was bring in tape of the programs on Fox News.
The TPP plank of the Democratic Party comes down to a question of whose side are you on. Yes, it'll be approved in a Lame Duck session after the election. Just like all the other trade deals. Because nobody has the courage to talk sense and reality after using the TPP as a whipping boy in the election. (Grokked from Lizz Winstead)
Florida Rep. Corrine Brown and her chief of staff have been charged with multiple fraud offenses stemming from a misuse of funds from the charity she runs. Proof that there are assholes on both sides of the aisle (also the DoJ doesn't care about political affiliation).
You know how the GOP are supposed to be pro-business? Well, only businesses they like. Everyone else can pound salt. Rep. Peter Roskam, (R - IL) offered an amendment to the financial services spending bill prohibiting Boeing from selling planes to Iran. Passed on a voice vote. They also added an amendment to prohibit women from signing up for the draft. Because, God forbid, it blurs the gender line. They also stuffed in an amendment that prohibits DC from using any money to implement a law that prevents employers from discrimination based on reproductive health choices. And right there are three reasons I no longer am a Republican.
"A spokesman for Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) said that the legislator and Donald Trump had a 'gracious exchange' during a meeting Thursday, but that the election 'remains a dumpster fire.'" Wow. It also looks that way from the inside, too? Well, technically he said, "Mr. Sasse continues to believe that our country is in a bad place and, with these two candidates, this election remains a dumpster fire. Nothing has changed." That's someone who is trying to come to terms with either voting for someone who will kill him slowly, or one that will kill him painfully. On a related note, Dan points us to the fact that Google Trends is seeing heavy traffic for searching "dumpster fire".
How to make friends and influence people. "Trump said at the meeting that he has yet to attack Flake hard but threatened to begin doing so. Flake stood up to Trump by urging him to stop attacking Mexicans. Trump predicted that Flake would lose his reelection, at which point Flake informed Trump that he was not on the ballot this year, the sources said." Not.
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