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

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Linkee-poo, the first tree in the greenwood it was the Holly

How to walk on ice.

"Mama In Her Kerchief and I In My Madness." It's an old fashion, Cthulhu Christmas.

The Rock Hall Class of 2017 Inductees. In all the news stories on this YTF don't they mention Joan Baez or Nile Rodgers? WTF news media? Also it's time for my annual "Why the fuck do they have the induction ceremony in NYC?" drum beat (yeah, I know, cause NYC was a little baby about not getting the Hall).

BBC4's Stardust by Neil Gaiman. (Grokked from Neil Gaiman)

Don't blink.

"Pope Francis has named a graphics arts history expert to head the Vatican Museums, which include the Sistine Chapel with Michelangelo's frescoed ceiling."

A little nightmare fuel, a Gizmodo article on a Russian deep sea fisher who posts pictures of his weirder catch on twitter. Note that some of these fish are distorted by the decompression of being hauled to the surface. (Grokked from Kameron Hurley)

"Several people were wounded in a shooting at a mosque frequented largely by Somali immigrants in Switzerland's largest city, and the suspect remains at large, Zurich police said Monday." Wonder if we'll hear about this as much as we've heard about the truck that drove through the Christmas Market? Yeah, probably not.

"A woman in Louisville, KY caught an ugly confrontation on video Tuesday in which an angry white shopper went on a racist tirade against a pair of Hispanic women who were shopping together." As Soledad O'Brien, who shared this link on twitter, said, "I feel confident this lady voted on her 'economic concerns'." (Grokked from Laura J. Mixon)

Again, repealing NC HB2 in a deal to remove the protections Charlotte put in place is not a deal. It leaves NC business, schools, etc all with the power to discriminate against LGBTQ peoples. This is not progress, it's a step back.

"Two of Flint's former emergency managers and two water plant officials were charged Tuesday for felonies of false pretenses and conspiracy -- the allegations are that they misled the Michigan Department of Treasury into getting millions in bonds, and then misused the money to finance the construction of a new pipeline and force Flint's drinking water source to be switched to the Flint River… (the) emergency managers put in charge of Flint during a years-long financial crisis, reported directly to the governor and are the highest level officials to be charged so far. They also face misdemeanors of misconduct in office and willful neglect of duty." Somebody's going to emergency. Somebody's going to jail. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)

"A federal court in New York is scheduled to release redacted copies Tuesday of the search warrant and other documents that gave the FBI new license to dig into a trove of Hillary Clinton emails days before the presidential election."

"'What I am interested in is just developing a whole new generation of talent,' Obama told NPR's Steve Inskeep in an interview on Morning Edition." Yes, this.

"The nation’s largest police union this week amended a document listing the group's apparent executive and legislative priorities to clarify that it was simply an outline of what members may expect from a Trump administration, and not an 'wish list' meant to outline the group's goals." Everybody got that? This list sent out to FOP members outlining expanded police powers and a roll-back of Obama era policies restricting police from pursuing racial agendas is totally not a demand or wish list for their support of the President-elect. Totally.

"Eric and Donald Trump Jr. are behind a newly-founded non-profit that is hosting a charity event over inauguration weekend offering top-tier donors access to the President-elect and themselves, the Center for Public Integrity reported Monday." What? This is my surprised face. Supposedly this fundraiser is now offline.

"'Nobody wants to go first,' said Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.), who received nasty phone calls, letters and tweets after he penned an August op-ed in The New York Times, calling on Trump to release his tax returns. 'People are naturally reticent to be the first out of the block for fear of Sean Hannity, for fear of Breitbart, for fear of local folks.'" Well, we now have a list of the blackshirts. If we all weren't going to sink together I would be all "how do you like your politics now, assholes." This is the beast the conservatives created (support of fringe right-wing media, support of RINO hunts, support of thuggery in the name of politics). Did you not understand that eventually that dog always bites the hand that feeds it (a case of the ever shrinking circle of "who is in" because there always needs to be an enemy)? So let me give these conservatives some back bone, these bullies only have power because you give it to them. Of course you're also frightened that your fellow conservatives won't back you up. That's a legitimate fear. But is that how you want to live your lives? Are you the ones who chided the liberals for not having a backbone? Grow one yourselves. You can die (politically) in the public square, fighting for your beliefs, or you can die quietly in your chambers stifled by your politics an unable to mask your lying eyes. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)

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