Linkee-poo but whenever Monday comes you can find me crying all of the time

Hip hinging, the secret of bending so you don't hurt your back.

"Only about 50 percent of adolescents with depression get diagnosed before reaching adulthood. And as many as 2 in 3 depressed teens don't get the care that could help them… To address this divide, the American Academy of Pediatrics has issued updated guidelines this week that call for universal screening for depression." I think this is a good idea, but only if it's coupled with general education. Having "Big D" depression is still widely misunderstood. Heck, I had a discussion at the hospital just last week attempting to correct some of my coworkers misperceptions (they still thought clinical depression was just being sad for a long time). There's still a big stigma of being diagnosed with depression (and it also qualifies as a "pre-existing condition" for insurance). Also this will only work if you can disable the helicopter parent (who may try to fill out the questionnaires for the kids).

"A 40-year-old Supreme Court decision is on life support at the nation's highest court, and the expected outcome could further undermine an already shrinking union movement." Remember how conservatives are all up in arms about courts "rewriting laws"? Nope, they're perfectly for it when it advances their agenda. But here's my take on it (besides it should be thrown out, unless you actually rewrite the laws and say the unions contacts don't apply to those who choose not to be in the union - i.e. they have to negotiate their own employment agreement, and the union won't take their side in a complaint), if it's a 1st Amendment right to not pay dues because that money can't be separated out from the general union funds so that it's not paying for political speech that the non-union member may disagree with (note, not all union members agree with the political stance of the union they belong to), then it should also be fair game for a tax payor to withhold taxes if the government is spending money on priorities and politics they disagree with.

"The Trump administration unleashed a flood of outrage earlier this month after unveiling a proposal to overhaul the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly called food stamps. The plan would replace half the benefits people receive with boxed, nonperishable… foods chosen by the government and not by the people eating them… Among those horrified at the thought: American Indians who recognized this as the same type of federal food assistance that tribes have historically received, with devastating implications for health." It's been tried before. It doesn't work and it doesn't save overall costs.

"Sales of new U.S. homes fell in January for the second straight month, possibly dragged down again by bad weather." Also, there's a dearth of new homes on the market.

The partisan divide continues to grow as Sen. Feinstein fails to gain the California Democratic Party endorsement. "While the lack of an endorsement certainly won't keep Feinstein off the ballot, it's a sign that grass-roots Democrats are eager to supplant leaders who are seen as too moderate and willing to compromise."

"In red, blue or purple states, in middle America or on the coasts, most Americans loathe the nation’s legislature. One big reason: Most think lawmakers are listening to all the wrong people, suggests a new study by researchers at Stanford University and the University of California-Santa Barbara with the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research." But people still approve of their own congressperson, which means we're still stuck in this rut.

"Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been criticised after telling a girl in military uniform that she would be honoured if killed while fighting… 'If she's martyred, they'll lay a flag on her,' he told the sobbing girl at a televised congress of his AK party." Erdogan is the world worst birthday clown.

The supposedly defeated Boko Haram kidnaps another school's worth of children.

"Russian military spies hacked hundreds of computers at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, The Washington Post reported Saturday… According to the report, the Russian agents attempted to place the blame on North Korea, planting false evidence to make it look like the country had done the hacking." (Grokked from Joy Reid)

Let's give everyone guns, what could go wrong? "Police in Amarillo shot an innocent man who helped foil a possible church shooting… Police said Joshua Len Jones, 35, of Amarillo, barged into a church building at Faith City Mission, pulled out a gun and was holding about 100 congregants and church staff hostage… In the time between when police were dispatched and when officers arrived, a handful of churchgoers wrestled Jones to the ground. One of the congregants was able to grab Jones' gun… Officers entered the building and saw the churchgoer holding the gun and opened fire, according to the Amarillo Police Department." (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)

"President Donald Trump says his administration has ended more unnecessary regulations than any previous administration. In response to his orders, the Transportation Department has withdrawn, repealed, delayed or put on the back burner at least a dozen significant safety rules, according to an Associated Press review of the department’s regulatory actions over the past year." Who need safety?

"Then, on Saturday, committee Democrats released a rebuttal giving their perspective on the story — or at least part of it… Even though the countermemo is incomplete, it includes several points of interest that advance the never-ending story of the Russia imbroglio."

"Ivanka Trump says she believes her father’s denials of sexual misconduct, arguing that questions to her on the topic are 'pretty inappropriate.'" Dear Ivanka, are you still a "Senior Advisor" to the president (even if he's your father)? If so, the question is entirely appropriate especially since you're also promoting yourself as "an advocate of women and families within the administration." We didn't choose you for the role, your father (and yourself) did.