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

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Linkee-poo, by flash and thunder fire I'll survive, then I'll defy the laws of nature and come out alive

"'Also, we will mention the irony of the pig in a police car now so that anyone that thinks they're funny is actually unoriginal and trying too hard,' the police said on social media." (Grokked from Dan)

The company you keep. "Another Ivanka Trump-related business could have a scandal on its hands. A court document filed at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York this summer and obtained by GQ, who published a report on Friday, December 22, claims that the now-defunct jewelry company Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry was allegedly involved in a scheme to cover a $100 million debt owed by an oil trading family to the Commercial Bank to Dubai." (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)

"In a case involving the rights of tens of millions of private-sector employees, the U.S. Supreme Court, by a 5-4 vote, delivered a major blow to workers, ruling for the first time that workers may not band together to challenge violations of federal labor laws." Yes, conservatives are coming for all of us.

"Der Spiegel reported all parents have been given two weeks to explain to school officials why they pulled their children out of class. If they fail to persuade educators that it was for a worthy cause, each family could be fined up to €1,000, about $1,177… It is not uncommon for parents in the U.S. to be fined — and, in some instances, they are even jailed — for their children's truancy, said Deborah Fowler, executive director of the public service law center Texas Appleseed." Looks at all the rich people with kids I've worked with. Yeah, right. I wonder which families they're talking about?

"A man who shot dead a tech worker from India has pleaded guilty to federal hate crime charges."

"Two U.S. citizens said they were detained last week by a Border Patrol agent in Montana after he overheard them speaking Spanish to each other in a convenience store… Ana Suda and Mimi Hernandez said they’d popped into the store in Havre, a small town near the border with Canada, early Wednesday morning when they were approached by a uniformed Border Patrol agent, KRTV reported."

"There are an estimated 6,500 undocumented immigrants in the U.S. with end-stage kidney disease. Many of them can't afford treatment or private insurance, and are barred from Medicare or Medicaid. This means the only way they can get dialysis is in the emergency room." Where they are 14 times more likely to die (not because of ER treatment, but because of delaying treatment until they qualify to go to the emergency room). And, yeah, we may look cal, cool, and detached in the ER working on patients who are dying, but we're not that way on the inside. And everytime a patient dies from something we know was preventable (or manageable), there's a little part of us that dies as well.

"Clean modern homes, antiseptic wipes and the understandable desire to protect small babies against any infection are all part of the cause of the most common form of childhood cancer, a leading expert has concluded after more than 30 years of research." Babies getting sick is a part of the process, it's a feature not a bug. (Grokked from John)

Government work should never be privatized. "The Department of Education now tells NPR it has launched a new, 'top-to-bottom' internal review of all aspects of the TEACH grant program. Officials say the review is aimed at fixing the issues and that the department is 'absolutely committed to improving' the program." It's just another way to screw the poor.

"When targeting his message to white evangelical voters, President Trump has often focused on traditional priorities for social conservatives, such as abortion and religious freedom. But in recent months another issue – criminal justice – has become a priority for Trump's influential group of evangelical advisers." Well that, and Jared Kushner's dad went to jail for several years.

"Roger Stone, a longtime adviser of President Trump, complained of partisan behavior by special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation on Sunday, but also speculated that he could be under investigation by Mueller for a crime unrelated to coordinating with Russia leading up to the 2016 presidential election." When the lights get turned on, the cockroaches scatter. If you've done nothing wrong, you've got nothing to worry about. At least that's what conservatives have been telling the rest of the world for years. Also, there is no such thing as an "extraneous" crime.

"'It was also agreed that White House chief of staff Kelly will immediately set up a meeting with the FBI, DOJ, and DNI together with congressional leaders to review highly classified and other information they have requested,' Sanders said… The top Democrat in the Senate questioned the propriety of such a meeting but said that if it occurs, it must be bipartisan." Good luck with that, Chuck. My prediction? There will be six months of conservative leaders acting like Ralphie and Randy fighting to get downstairs in a Christmas Story as they race to Fox News with the latest half-truth/conspiracy theory.

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