Linkee-poo is just trying to get through the day

The "father of the internet" and William Gibson. A pretty good explanation of how near-future SF works.

"In the first-ever report on the extent and impact of cooperation between courts and the private debt collection industry nationwide, the American Civil Liberties Union found courts in 26 states and Puerto Rico in which judges issued arrest warrants for alleged debtors at the request of private debt collectors." Debtors' Jail is illegal in the US (even though it's perpetuated in the form of cash bail).

"The U.S. women's hockey team owns Olympic gold for the first time in 20 years, after breaking Canada's remarkable streak of success in a gripping final at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. The only previous U.S. win had come in the tournament's first year, in 1998." And yet all we heard about was the gnashing of teeth over the men's team not making it.

"Last summer, 53-year-old Jeff Murphy was hiking in Yellowstone National Park when he disappeared. Park investigators found his body on June 9, where Murphy had fallen 500 feet from Turkey Pen Peak, after accidentally stepping into a chute… But he wasn't on just any hike. He was looking for a treasure box of gold and jewels worth up to $2 million, buried somewhere in the Rocky Mountains by an eccentric millionaire named Forrest Fenn."

"Most voters aren’t noticing more money in their paychecks under the new tax law, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll… Just a quarter of registered voters, 25 percent, say they have noticed an increase in their paycheck, the poll shows. A majority, 51 percent, say they have not."

"A New York congressman this week proposed a bill to allow the federal government to revoke the citizenship of naturalized U.S. citizens within ten years if they are involved in gang activity." Only someone who doesn't understand citizenship would propose such a bill. Of course it came from a Republican. (Grokked from Joy Reid)

Also from New York… "Many mass murders are perpetrated by Democrats, New York Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney said Wednesday in a radio discussion on gun control following the recent mass shooting at a Florida high school." Such nice people. (Grokked from Katheryn Cramer)

"Rubio was joined by Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat, and U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., started by answering parents and students at the event in Sunrise… Rubio was the lone Republican lawmaker on the panel, as CNN's Jake Tapper said both President Trump and Florida Gov. Rick Scott declined invitations to attend." I don't especially like Rubio, but he gets points for at least showing up.

"Donald Trump Jr. says he was impressed by the poor people of India… 'I think there is something about the spirit of the Indian people that is unique here to other parts of the emerging world. You go through a town ... and, I don't want to be glib but you can see the poorest of the poor and there is still a smile on a face. ... I know some of the most successful people in the world and some of them are the most miserable people in the world.'" How the rich see the rest of the world. Wouldn't it be great if American poor people smiled more?

"Why didn't then-President Barack Obama stop Russia's campaign of active measures against the 2016 presidential campaign?" A little fact checking. Also, remember when Clinton stood on stage and told us that Trump was a Russian puppet? Also, "Obama administration officials have said they worried about appearing to put their thumb on the scales for Clinton." And that was a very big fear as the right-wing media had already rolled out conspiracy theories that this was already happening.

"A woman in Florida who unknowingly posted messages in support of events promoted by Russia-linked trolls during the 2016 US presidential campaign denied she had been duped by the Kremlin operatives." Misses the point by saying everyone who showed up at the event she helped promote (which was instigated by the Russians) was a Trump supporter. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)