Linkee-poo for Wednesday

"Venus is an important destination for future space exploration endeavors. However, it presents a unique set of challenges. Though its internal geology is similar to Earth’s, its surface is hot enough to melt lead and is covered with craters, volcanoes, mountains, and lava plains." How to explore Venus (I think I've read a few stories like this). (Grokked from Dan)

"The state’s top school official is trying to downplay — and in some cases remove entirely — references to evolution in the science standards of what students are supposed to be taught in Arizona high schools." (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)

"In the weeks since the Kilauea volcano began belching lava into Hawaii's residential areas, the fiery flow has destroyed dozens of structures and covered scores of acres on the Big Island. But authorities fear its destructive reach could ravage at least two more cornerstones of the state: its power supply and, a little less tangibly, its all-important tourism industry." Remember a few years ago when we were building a new telescope observatory that was going to disturb an area sacred to the goddesses of Hawaii and they hired some priestesses to offer balm to the goddesses? Yeah. Think we might have to do that again, and maybe this time spring for the good whiskey.

Remember that Oklahoma gubernatorial candidate story about his facebook page that I said you should take with a big grin of salt. Here's a Snoopes post on him (including that claim, which they say is "unproven", but has a whole bunch of other stuff). "A Tulsa-based businessman running for governor of Oklahoma was the center of controversy in May 2018, when posts appeared on his campaign’s Facebook page in which he appeared to call for disabled people in receipt of government benefits to be euthanized or left to 'starve and die.'" He and his husband seem to be serial litigators constantly calling others Nazis and "little Hitlers." And they seem like wonderful people, not. But finally, "Mangum (his "maiden" name) is unlikely to feature among the contenders in a ten-way race which — as of May — was led by Lieutenant Governor Todd Lamb, former Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett, and businessman Kevin Stitt." Well thank the gods for that.

"A sinkhole has developed on the White House’s North Lawn, reporters observed Tuesday." Melania trying to dig her way out? Nascent hell-mouth? Even the Earth attempting to swallow the evil of Trump? It's where the minions will emerge? I could go on for days. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)

"Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Tuesday that she was unaware of intelligence assessments concluding that Russia favored President Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election." To be fair, the government does generate lots of memos on any given day. It's impossible to read all of them. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)

"So the special counsel's office just wants to silence Stone, he said — but it's not doing a very good job… Stone is reaching out to reporters daily, appearing on news shows and promoting a new book, Stone's Rules, about his rules for life as mentioned in a Netflix documentary about him called Get Me Roger Stone… He is also raising money for his legal defense, hosting a show five days a week on the conspiracy-minded website InfoWars and writing a regular political column on his personal website." So two thoughts here. One, if I were cynical I would think this was just a publicity grab to sell books. Two, oh hell, Roger, you keep right on talking (as the prosecution takes notes).

"At this point, it’s looking as if Trump’s tough talk on China trade will turn out to be as empty as his tough talk on, say drug prices. Faced with the prospect of actually going toe to toe with powerful interests – as opposed to doing harm to desperate immigrants, poor people who need health care, etc. – Trump keeps backing down, ignominiously. But what happened to all that bluster about trade wars being 'good, and easy to win'?" (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)