There's battle lines being drawn.
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong.
Young people speaking their minds
getting so much resistance from behind

Monday, October 31, 2016

Linkee-poo was working in the lab late one night when my eyes beheld an eerie sight

How bad is the NoDAPL getting? Amnesty International has sent observers. Also, "Protesters said that those arrested in the confrontation had numbers written on their arms and were housed in what appeared to be dog kennels, without bedding or furniture." I'm sure they're no racism going on here. You know, "Injun Hunts" aside. And now there are reports that Ohio State Highway Patrol Troopers have been dispatched to help law enforcement efforts. I'm sure that will help calm things down.

Some Halloween folklore. (Grokked from Terri Windling)

Apparently there is also an attempt to remove Halloween from Samhain. (Grokked form Dr Caitlin Green)

As a reminder, the Pilgrims banned Halloween because it was too Catholic, and they banned Christmas because it was too pagan. It's not like Christianity hasn't coopted many of the pagan/heathen traditions in an attempt to "Christianize" the holidays (which the people continued to celebrate, even after their "conversion").

Apparently Metformin may delate or prevent Alzheimers and dementia.

NASA's Scout program tracking near-Earth asteroids.

"By every measure, Minnesota governor Mark Dayton's five year run as governor has been a stellar success: while Tim Pawlenty, his tax-slashing, 'fiscally-conservative' Republican predecessor presided over a $6.2B deficit and a 7% unemployment rate… Dayton added 172,000 new jobs to the Minnesota economy, brought Minnesota down to the fifth-lowest unemployment rate in the country, and brought the average Minnesotan income up to $8,000 more than the median US worker, while posting a $1B budget surplus… How did Dayton do it? He raised the state income tax on individuals earning more than $150K, from 7.85% to 9.85%; he raised Minnesota's minimum wage and guaranteed equal pay for women." Again, there are real world labs which have tried many of the economic philosophies. Now, while it's somewhat disingenuous to compare economics during the 2007 economic collapse, we do have other experiments in "conservative fiscal ideology" to show the difference. Take for instance Kansas.

"There needs to be a hell of a lot of hate in your heart to think lynching people on Halloween is funny. And yet, here we are, Miami. A homeowner… is celebrating the holiday by lynching two black-looking dummies in his or her yard… It's also impossible to ignore what's just in front of the display on the same lawn: A 'Trump/Pence 2016' sign." Although it turns out the sign is in a neighbors yard (it's one of those communities that the "lawn" is not as large as some people's gardens), the homeowner who put up the display refuses to say which candidate he's supporting and is telling everyone to get over it, because it's Halloween. Yeah, still not cool. (Grokked from Justine Larbalestier)

"Instead, throughout his life in the spotlight, whether as a businessman, television star or presidential candidate, The Post found that Trump had sought credit for charity he had not given — or had claimed other people’s giving as his own." In the olden days we called that "a braggart." (Grokked from Fred Clark)

"Donald Trump suggested in a speech at a Colorado rally on Saturday that election officials will throw away mail-in ballots if they don't 'like' them." Sweet Jesus, how does that low-power brain send enough signal to his legs to walk?

And there there is this. "Donald Trump is not letting up on his claims that the election could be rigged against him… During a rally in Greeley, Colorado, on Sunday evening, Trump opened the event expressing skepticism of mail-in ballots in the state. He encouraged people to get a new ballot, even if they have already sent one in, and vote again." I swear if you wrote this as a novel it would break the bonds of credibility. You have a major political candidate not only saying the election is rigged, stoking fears of voter fraud, but actually encouraging it. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)

"'He has refused to condemn in a very serious way his racist and anti-Semitic fans,' (CNN Jake) Tapper said, arguing that Conway and Trump’s running mate Mike Pence have taken a more forceful approach." To which, of course, Kellyanne Conway said that he had and that he didn't approve of the press intimidation. Except, you know, he hasn't and he's encouraged the intimidation of the press.

"In a stunning political move, conservatives are already strategizing on how to block any future Supreme Court nominee from moving forward during Hillary Clinton's presidency before the election even happens." You may remember when the RNC held a conference after the 2008 election on how to block the agenda of President elect Obama, and to label him a socialist. And while Ted Cruz is technically correct, the Constitution does not enumerate how many judges sit on the SCOTUS, he ignores all historical president. Also, this is basically just sour grapes over losing the election and potentially losing a conservative SCOTUS. This is the senatorial version of holding their breath until they turn blue.

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