I now seem to be an every other day interest. So soon the bloom comes off the rose.
Harlan Ellison, not without his faults, and so it goes.
"Five people are dead and at least two others were wounded in a shooting at The Capital newspaper in Annapolis, Md., officials announced at a news conference Thursday afternoon." It appears as if the shooter had a long standing grudge against the paper. On social media there's various attempts to connect the shooter to different politics, of which there's no real, verified reporting. But I think it's safe to say when the president says that news media are the enemy of the people, this gives some people permission to act out.
"Using data collected by NASA’s late-great Cassini space probe, scientists have detected traces of complex organic molecules seeping out from Enceladus’ ice-covered ocean. It’s yet another sign that this intriguing Saturnian moon has what it takes to sustain life."
"Swirled amid the dust, soot and electromagnetic radiation that sits among the stars of the Milky Way, there is also a whole mess of toxic grease. This 'space grease' — actually an oily form of hydrogen-bound carbon called aliphatic carbon — is one of several types of carbon leaked into empty space by blazing stars, and may be among the key ingredients in the formation of new stars and planets, astronomers say."
"Friends of mine live in Hawaii, right next to the area impacted by the most recent lava flows. In the midst of the destruction nearby & stress of the unknown, they woke up to this - tiny pieces of olivine all over the ground. It is literally raining gems." (Grokked from Cat Rambo)
"Government scientists trying out a new kitchen safety training video got an unpleasant surprise when they watched how people behave during food preparation… Not only did their volunteers fail to use meat thermometers properly — or even at all in many cases — but they failed to wash their hands and spread germs all over the kitchen." Washing your hands, it's not just for hospitals.
"Glioblastoma is a type of brain cancer that has recently been quite visible in the media after Sen. John McCain was treated for it. Glioblastoma claimed the lives of over 15,000 people in 2015. However, researchers at Duke University are working to reduce that number through 'oncolytic virus therapy' from an unexpected medical foe: The poliovirus." Fuck cancer.
"One reason the union's rate is so low is that it classifies occupational and physical therapy not as ancillary medical services but as alternative treatment, on par with acupuncture and chiropractic care, according to insurance policy documents provided by Lopez… Also, because of that categorization in Lopez's plan, the amount not covered by insurance that Lopez has to pay out-of-pocket doesn't even count toward the family's out-of-pocket maximum — that's when the sum of deductibles, premiums and other charges reaches a threshold that triggers the insurer to pick up the remainder of the tab." And this is considered a "good" health insurance policy.
"New and tougher rules designed to protect coal miners from the coal and silica dust that causes the fatal disease black lung may not be enough to stem an "epidemic" of the worst stages of the disease or the highest rates of disease in Central Appalachia in 25 years." Note the industry says it's pursued a "beyond compliance" route for over a decade now, and yet miners are still getting black lung in record numbers.
"Lawsuits and media reports have accused Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, of aggressively marketing the powerful narcotic even after it knew the drug was being misused. Prosecutors have charged the founder of Insys Therapeutics and several of the company's sales representatives and executives for their roles in an alleged conspiracy to bribe doctors to use its fentanyl spray for unapproved uses. State and local governments have sued a host of drug makers, alleging they deceptively marketed opioids and seeking to recoup what it costs to treat people addicted to the drugs." But this is the thing that gets me. When I've asked doctors to pain meds after a legit diagnosis that includes pain, such as post surgery, I have trouble getting the meds of my choice (not all painkillers work the same for everybody).
"Police in Germany have arrested a man who may have murdered 21 of his co-workers by poisoning their lunches in a killing spree stretching back to 2000."
What if we threw a parade and nobody came? "Four months after President Donald Trump directed the Defense Department to organize a military parade, planning is just beginning but no budget has been assigned yet." Just going to say, I love the photo of the French parade, all the berets with their rifles with bayonets. Who the fuck uses a bayonet anymore? And who the hell would want on a FAMAS with its bullpup design? Seriously, it would be more effective to use it as a handheld knife in your non-dominate hand. "It's like a pole-arm, but a really really short spear," (said in a bad French accent). Don't get me wrong, I like the bullpup concept for close in fighting and while the FAMAS has issues (and the French military is moving away from it), it's also quite effective. But what genius had the thought, "We'll add a bayonet, it'll be kickass"? (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)
"(Ag Secretary) Perdue wouldn’t say exactly what form the support would take, noting that it’s 'not good practice to open our playbook while the opposing team is watching.' But he appears to be suggesting that he’ll soon be hitting up the US Treasury and paying farmers, directly or indirectly, to offset sales lost to foreign buyers retaliating against Trump’s threatened tariffs. Despite his shrewd reticence in the USA Today piece, Perdue has been mulling such a program…" Your newly limited tax dollar being spent wisely. Waits to see "government tofu" being handed out in food pantries like "government cheese" was when I was a kid. (Grokked from Wesley Chu)
"In a large, brightly lit grocery store in Canada's capital Ottawa, Scott Chamberlain smoothly navigates his shopping cart through the produce section, looking for ingredients to make chili. He snaps up a bag of red peppers, clearly stamped 'Product of Canada.' But the only onions available are from the U.S. He reaches for Canadian-grown leeks instead." I wonder when we'll hear conservatives laments about the so-called politeness of Canadians?
Story from 2017, when the travel bans were first put in place. "Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a message for refugees rejected by U.S. President Donald Trump: Canada will take you." PM Trudeau is trolling us quite well. Of course our president makes it easy for him. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
"Federal agents broke up a group of protesters early Thursday morning who had camped for several days in front of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland, Oregon, according to CBS affiliate KOIN-TV. Agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security then formed a human barricade outside the building and faced off with the protesters, who had backed up onto city property"
"Long-standing law requires candidate campaigns and party committees to report their finances regularly. But among outside groups — political action committees, superPACs and nonprofit groups — nearly half the money spent so far in the midterm elections was either never disclosed or only partially disclosed." And the new rule won't do much to help, either.
"Sounds good, right? Imagine, filing your taxes on a post card. What could be easier?… But a look at a draft version of the form, obtained by NPR, show things aren't quite so simple."
"Rep. Maxine Waters stirred up a lot of controversy last week when she called on people to confront Trump administration officials whenever they are out in public. Now the California Democrat reportedly has canceled events in Texas and Alabama because of a 'serious death threat' made against her." The conservatives can take their calls for "civility" and stick it.
"Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort is asking a federal appeals court to order his release in advance of two upcoming criminal trials where he's set to face charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller." No.
There's some story brewing about how Justice Kennedy's son was the Deutsche Bank lender who gave Trump loans of nearly (or more than) $1 billion after Trump had defaulted on earlier loans (including to Deutsche Bank) and no other US bank would go near him. There's also a report that Justice Kennedy had already hired law clerks for the next year of cases, and had previously no intent of retiring, until having a 20 minute private conversation with the president. That Josh Kennedy was Trump's loan officer is now established, the rest is hearsay (or at least I haven't seen an article on it yet).
Tweet of my heart: @AllenCMarshall "What ever happened to civility?"… "You labeled it 'political correctness' and decided it was something bad." (Grokked from Xopher Halftongue)
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