Linkee-poo don't cry for me next door neighbor

John Prine's Tiny Desk Concert.

Janeice has some things to talk about as we get older. I've buried a lot of friends and family. Both people who were gone too fast and some who probably stuck around longer than they would have wanted. Dealing with my own parental issues at the moment and thinking a lot about what might be coming just around the bend. It's no longer the thoughts of, "I really shouldn't do (that thing you probably would have done in your 20s)." I'm into the age of, "Your body just doesn't work that way anymore." I can deal with my own body issues (although not being able to lose this weight is really pissing me off), but the thing that really bugs me is having to cut ear hair. WTF is that all about?

"IEEE Spectrum has a detailed report on the launch of the four SpaceBee satellites, which it called 'the first ever unauthorized launch of commercial satellites.'" Pirate satellites. It's a cyberpunk future after all.

A little on the Keto Diet, which I understand is gaining popularity. Basic advice, avoid. Eat less, exercise more.

"If National Geographic's April issue was going to be entirely devoted to the subject of race, the magazine decided it had better take a good hard look at its own history." So how did that go? "For much of its history, the pages of National Geographic depicted the Western world as dynamic, forward-moving and very rational. Meanwhile, Mason says, 'the black and brown world was primitive and backwards and generally unchanging.'"

The don't make 'em like they used to. Chinook Salmon that is. "'It is an interesting twist to blame the marine mammals,' Ken Balcomb with the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island said in an email. 'I would first ask how the Chinook evolved to be so big during the preceding 12,000 years in the presence of hordes of such size-selective natural predators throughout their range. Large size was selected by Mother Nature for Chinook salmon in spite of natural predation.'" Well of course it couldn't be humans overfishing the stock.

"Under Mr. Avenatti’s offer, Ms. Clifford would then be allowed to '(a) speak openly and freely about her prior relationship with the President and the attempts to silence her and (b) use and publish any text messages, photos and/or videos relating to the President that she may have in her possession, all without fear of retribution and/or legal liability for damages.'" Shit, I didn't make enough popcorn. Oh, and while I personally wouldn't actually want to see or hear any of those photos or videos :: crosses fingers :: please, please, please let there be a pee-pee tape. (Grokked from Joy Reid)

"The boomers inherited a rich, dynamic country and have gradually bankrupted it. They habitually cut their own taxes and borrow money without any concern for future burdens. They’ve spent virtually all our money and assets on themselves and in the process have left a financial disaster for their children." As Stephen King puts it, "We had a chance to change the world and instead opted for the Home Shopping Network." Boomers spoiled everything. From the article; "(A)nd there’s no way around the fact that millennials will have to sacrifice in ways the boomers refused to sacrifice, but that’s where we are — and these are the choices we face." (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)

"The Trump administration has decided to withdraw an Obama-era rule that would have set new standards for the way animals should be treated if their meat is going to be sold as 'certified organic.'" (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)

"… Steve Bannon, the onetime chief White House strategist, and Marine Le Pen, who lost the French presidency to Emmanuel Macron in May, sought to prop up each other with a shared anti-establishment stance." Steve Bannon begins his campaign to unite the Nazis of the world. And while he himself carries the nationalist fever of nativism (read as "xenophobic mixed with anti-semitism"), he is a dyed in the wool anarchist. He just feels kinship to those who share his hate and feels that supporting them is the quickest path to burning it all to the ground. Steve Bannon has fully embraced the role of Joseph Goebbels and, IMHO, deserves the same end.

And you might say, "It's just words, how can Steve Bannon's words hurt anyone but himself?" "Austin police said there was no clear motive for the explosion on Monday but they believed it was linked to a March 2 blast in the city that killed a man and both incidents were being investigated as homicides. The two homes that received the packages belonged to African-Americans, the police said." There's one example. Words have the power to inspire people and give them license to perform acts they've wanted to perform. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)

"Buried within new Senate legislation to roll back restraints on banks is a provision that would exempt an estimated 85 percent of all U.S. banks and credit unions from public reporting requirements, raising fears that discriminatory practices by lenders could go undetected… The data that would be exempt from reporting includes the financial information of borrowers and loan applicants, along with their race and sex." I'm sure nobody would ever exploit that.

"The federal government censored, withheld or said it couldn’t find records sought by citizens, journalists and others more often last year than at any point in the past decade, according to an Associated Press analysis of new data… The calculations cover eight months under President Donald Trump, the first hints about how his administration complies with the Freedom of Information Act." Nothing to see here, citizen. Move along.

"A federal judge says the Trump administration violated federal law when it failed to meet a deadline to identify all parts of the U.S. with dangerous smog levels."

Here we go. "The federal government recorded a budget deficit of $215.2 billion in February, up significantly from a year ago as the impact of the GOP tax cuts passed in December begin to surface." Tonight we'll begin with a generous serving of, "it's early in the process, not all of the benefits can be expected to show up in the numbers quickly."

"The San Francisco spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement resigned after the agency’s recent Northern California sweep, saying he couldn’t continue to do his job after Trump administration officials made false public statements about a key aspect of the operation." (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)

So after months of speculation and continuous denials, Sec of State Tillerson is gone. I wonder if this from last night had anything to do with it? "US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson issued a harsh condemnation of Russia following a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in the United Kingdom last week, going further than the White House's response stopping short of pinning blame for the attack on Moscow." Since I've stated this elsewhere, the killing a citizen or "protected person" by a foreign power is an act of war. The use of nerve agents on foreign soil is casus belli. And here I will just point to Article 5 of the Nato Treaty which the president was forced to acknowledge earlier in his term.

"President Donald Trump’s personal assistant, John McEntee, was escorted out of the White House on Monday… Mr. McEntee was removed from the White House grounds on Monday afternoon without being allowed to collect his belongings, a White House official said. He left without his jacket, a second White House official said." I'm sure he wanted to spend more time with his family. You leave like that when you miss your family. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)

And the person selected to lead the CIA, she sounds nice. "In May 2013, the Washington Post’s Greg Miller reported that the head of the CIA’s clandestine service was being shifted out of that position as a result of 'a management shake-up; by then-Director John Brennan. As Miller documented, this official — whom the paper did not name because she was a covert agent at the time — was centrally involved in the worst abuses of the CIA’s Bush-era torture regime… she was 'directly involved in its controversial interrogation program' and had an 'extensive role' in torturing detainees. Even more troubling, she 'had run a secret prison in Thailand… where two detainees were subjected to waterboarding and other harsh techniques.' The Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on torture also detailed the central role she played in the particularly gruesome torture of detainee Abu Zubaydah… Beyond all that, she played a vital role in the destruction of interrogation videotapes that showed the torture of detainees both at the black site she ran and other secret agency locations. The concealment of those interrogation tapes, which violated multiple court orders as well as the demands of the 9/11 commission and the advice of White House lawyers, was condemned as 'obstruction' by commission chairs Lee Hamilton and Thomas Keane. A special prosecutor and grand jury investigated those actions but ultimately chose not to prosecute… The name of that CIA official whose torture activities the Post described is Gina Haspel. Today, as BuzzFeed’s Jason Leopold noted, CIA Director Mike Pompeo announced that Haspel was selected by Trump to be deputy director of the CIA." (Grokked from Katheryn Cramer)

Hey evangelicals, "Trump administration denies asylum to some 100 Iranian Christians." Tell me about your champion now.

Tweet of my heart: @justinaireland Trump has eliminated so many folks from his administration that even George RR Martin is like “damn, chill out, dude.” (Grokked from Kelly Swails and Mary Robinette Kowal)