Linkee-poo is all out of pennies and the well, it done run dry

Wow, GE is being dropped from the DOW Jones Industrials. That's huge (but not entirely unexpected). Again, the DOW is rigged to go up and GE has been a solid underperformer for almost a decade. The real social problem here is that a lot of GE retirees' pensions are almost all GE stock.

Elizabeth Bear is writing a book about writing and her Patreon sponsors will get a first look. I think this is about the first Patreon that has me really thinking of signing up.

I have nothing against Patreon (or Drip), or the people who use it (hell, I've thought of setting one up), but long ago I trained my brain to think about money in this fashion; "$3 a month is $36 at the end of the year. That's a first-run movie with snacks or a moderate diner before drinks and tip." I started that thought process to keep me from falling into economic traps and to re-enforce good habits (like bringing a lunch instead of buying a lunch). My other habit it to calculate just how much work I have to do to pay for something.

"Both the Hollywood Reporter and Variety reported Tuesday that plans are afoot to bring multiple new Star Trek shows to life…" I'll believe it when I see them. This is one of those, "let's see what buzz we can develop" stories to judge if a project would have the audience draw it would need to be profitable.

"In addition to making Venus notoriously inhospitable to rover missions, the planet’s thick atmosphere and the speed at which it moves may accelerate Venus’s rotation, Science News reports."

"Scientists have uncovered a pit of human bones at a Civil War battlefield in Virginia. The remains are the amputated limbs of wounded Union soldiers… It's the first 'limb pit' from a Civil War battlefield to be excavated, and experts say it opens a new window on what is often overlooked in Civil War history: the aftermath of battle, the agony of survivors and the trials of early combat surgeons."

"A study published in the journal PLOS Medicine on Tuesday provides some new insight. It found that those who drink the most have the highest risks of death and cancer… Yet the study also found that a person's combined risk of dying younger or developing cancer is lowest among light drinkers: those consuming only one to three alcoholic drinks per week. That risk increases with each additional drink consumed per week." Unfortunately the study (which I've heard other reports about, one of which was AB InBev pulling their funding) doesn't show a direct link between alcohol consumption and risks, only a casual (not causal) relationship. People who drink moderately may have other tendencies which lead to lower mortality and cancer risks, or those who don't drink or drink heavily have other behaviors that lead to increased risks of cancer or mortality. This is like those studies of "people who live (in place) eat (dietary prescriptiveness) and live longer lives" which leads people to believe if they eat those foods they'll live longer. Which the study doesn't actually say (and more in-depth research show many social differences which help those people live longer).

"More than 115 Americans are dying every day from an opioid overdose. But a study out Monday finds that just three in 10 patients revived by an EMT or in an emergency room received the follow-up medication known to avoid another life-threatening event." Remember when Trump declared an emergency? Where did all that money (he finally allocated) go? "Even at just 3 in 10 patients, Massachusetts was likely offering more opioid medication treatment than many states as of 2014. That's because 97 percent of the state's residents have health insurances, the highest rates in the country. In many parts of the U.S., it's difficult to find someone who will prescribe a patient methadone or buprenorphine." Again universal, single-payor, comprehensive health care for all would solve a lot of this problem.

"Mounting evidence suggests that many key plants lose nutritional value at higher CO2 levels, and scientists are running experiments all over the world to try to tease out the effects." So in the future our food will be less nutritious. Hint, it already is. Yes, plants love increase CO2 levels. For almost all plants it makes them grow faster. But faster growing does not mean better plants. That includes trees, which have also shown a tendency to grow faster with increased CO2 levels, but the wood they produce is not structurally sound enough to produce dimensional lumber.

"A plan to save $75 million on Akron’s massive sewer project is awaiting a federal judge’s approval, after changes were approved by the Akron City Council." While that's a fraction of the $1.2 billion project, it still shows how "greener" is cheaper. Note the amended plan also will include repaving some roads (and plus), small "green spaces" (another plus), and reduce the storm water load the sewer will need to handle (all pluses).

Why do we need regulations? "Big banks are skirting the rules on the sale of the complex financial instruments that helped bring about the 2008 financial crisis, by exploiting a loophole in federal banking regulations… The loophole could leave Wall Street exposed to big losses, potentially requiring taxpayers to once again bail out the biggest banks, warns the report's author, Michael Greenberger, former director of trading and markets at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission." Because the greed factor is too high.

How go the Trade Wars? "The White House said Monday evening that if China goes through with its promise to retaliate against the US tariffs announced last week, the United States will impose tariffs on an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese goods." Tit meet Tat, shake hands. And just as an aside, while we talk of Stormy Daniels, the separation of parents and children at our border, and the so obvious interference of the Russians in our domestic politics (and support of Trump as president) as bringing Trump down it's the fall out from this trade war that will actually do it.

More Trade War news. "The Dow sank around 350 points, or 1.4%, on Tuesday. That put it in negative territory for the year and on track for its sixth straight day of losses. The S&P and the Nasdaq fell, too."

"The combined wealth of the world’s millionaires rose for a sixth straight year and topped $70 trillion for the first time ever in 2017 thanks to an improving global economy and strong stock market performance, according to a new report released Tuesday." Why do you rob banks, Mr. Sutton? Where do you look to increase taxes, beleaguered average American Citizen?

"President Donald Trump was vocal on Twitter on Monday morning amid a rising outcry from both sides of the aisle over his administration's 'zero tolerance' immigration policy." Manbaby tears.

"A Michigan resident awoke Tuesday morning to slashed tires, swastikas and a racist message spray-painted on the pickup truck parked outside his family’s home in Vienna Township." And they can't even spell "white" correctly.

"After more than a year of complaints and warnings — some subtle and others a little less so — the Trump administration has announced that the United States is withdrawing from the United Nations Human Rights Council."

"The president on Tuesday called on Congress to come up with a 'third option': for the legal authority to detain and promptly remove families together as a unit. This is similar to a practice used during the Obama administration, when some families were detained together. That, too, was criticized, but it is emerging now as a preferred alternative." With a discussion of the Flores Settlement Agreement.

"The head of the American Academy of Pediatrics went so far as to call the policy 'child abuse' and against 'everything we stand for as paediatricians'."

"Kirstjen Nielsen says it’s 'offensive' to suggest the Trump administration is purposely separating families… But that’s exactly what the homeland security secretary and other officials are directing border agents to do." When did conservatives just get so bad at lying?

"Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen's rough week got worse on Tuesday night after activists interrupted her dinner at a Washington D.C. Mexican restaurant and heckled her for her department's controversial 'zero tolerance' child separation immigration policy." In the words of Finley Peter Dunne, "The job of a newspaper is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable." Don't worry she can always dine at the Trump International. I hear they have great taco bowels. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)

"U.S. Senate Democrats on Monday pressed Justice Department officials about whether some FBI agents may have leaked damaging information about Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to Rudy Giuliani, now an adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, shortly before the 2016 election." Rhut rho, Raggy.

"Olivia Nuzzi had no plans to play the heart-rending audio of Central American children crying for their parents when she arrived in the White House briefing room Monday… When no one else did, Nuzzi said, 'I just kind of went for it.'" (Grokked from Laura J. Mixon)

"The Trump administration rolled out a rule that will allow small businesses and self-employed workers the option to buy less-expensive health insurance plans that can jettison benefits required by the Affordable Care Act." I'm currently in one of those, it's not all that great (and not at all inexpensive). It's just another ploy to weaken the Obamacare markets.

I am Spartacus. "As Donald Trump walked through the Capitol Rotunda to his meeting with the GOP, amid tensions over the current immigration crisis gripping his administration, a young woman’s voice echoed down down the hallowed halls of Washington power: 'Mr. President, f*** you!'" (Grokked in a roundabout way from Kathryn Cramer)