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

Sunday, January 14, 2018

Linkee-poo weekender

Things are just going so fast that I should clear out these links before Monday. Sorry, the end of last week was exceptionally hectic.

"Some locations on Mars are known to have water ice just below the surface, but how much has remained unclear. Dundas et al. used data from two orbiting spacecraft to examine eight locations where erosion has occurred. This revealed cliffs composed mostly of water ice, which is slowly sublimating as it is exposed to the atmosphere. The ice sheets extend from just below the surface to a depth of 100 meters or more and appear to contain distinct layers, which could preserve a record of Mars' past climate. They might even be a useful source of water for future human exploration of the red planet." Water on Mars.

"Wildlife managers in Florida say they want to remove roaming monkeys from the state in light of a new study published Wednesday that finds some of the animals are excreting a virus that can be dangerous to humans."

"In case you weren't counting -- and I was -- Trump uses the exact phrase 'no collusion' seven times in that answer. He goes with the alternative 'nobody's found any collusion' once. Let's call it a soft eight."

"Joe Arpaio, the controversial former sheriff from Arizona, announced this week that he will run for the U.S. Senate to help advance President Trump's agenda… But he's breaking from the president on people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children… 'Deport them,' Arpaio told NPR's Morning Edition in an interview airing Thursday morning." Of course the xenophobes say "deport them." And frankly, if you're thinking that someone Trump doesn't also believe they should be deported, you aren't paying attention. He just thinks it's a trap to get the Democrats to the negotiating table and them blame them for any action of immigrants (no matter how they came, when they came). But for someone who just had his own pardon, you'd think he'd be a little more generous. But that isn't the conservative way.

And while we fight about other stupid shit, CHIP still doesn't have a fix. "Dr. Mahendra Patel, a pediatric cancer doctor, has begun giving away medications to some of his young patients, determined not to disrupt their treatments for serious illnesses like leukemia. He's worried Congress will fail to renew funding soon for a health program that pays for the care of millions of children across the country." Helping people keep well, especially kids, saves us money in the long run.

"President Donald Trump was apparently unaware that not all—in fact, the vast majority—of welfare beneficiaries are not black as recently as last March, according to a new report." I just can't keep up with this. (Grokked from Joy Reid)

Idiot who claims no-go zones and Muslims burning politicians in the Netherlands becomes ambassador to the Netherlands. Dear Trump supporters, the rest of the world's media doesn't give a shit about your feelings.

"At a roundtable with policy experts and elected officials, Trump expressed a desire to "break this vicious cycle" of inmates turning to crime when their lives outside prison prove too difficult." Future planning for family members?

So there's this belief that if Trump orders a nuclear strike that the military will countermand the order because no-one would think that we're about to enter a nuclear war. "Hawaii residents and tourists alike were shaken shortly after 8 a.m. local time Saturday when a push notification alerted those in the state to a missile threat, causing an immediate panic until officials confirmed it was a false alarm."

What did he say? Okay, just for context, we had one resident who used a garden hose running from their neighbor's house for their running water needs… for 3 years (had to write legislation to end that). I had to help write a law to prevent people from throwing garbage out their windows onto their lawn. And you really don't want to see the people picking up their beer at our all night gas station (the only one in southern Ashtabula County) at 11pm.

"Donald Trump knows a thing or two about 'shitholes' – the label he apparently bestowed on El Salvador, Haiti and various African nations during an Oval Office meeting about immigration. His own father was reportedly so ashamed of coming from Germany – widely considered to be a “shithole” by Americans fighting in two world wars – that he pretended for most of his life that he was Swedish."

Trump won't be going to London. Because apparently he thinks making the embassy more secure (and owning the land instead of leasing) is a bad deal.

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