Linkee-poo can't believe it's Thursday

It's still alligators as far as the eye can see.

"Your first draft does not require your faith in it."

"A woman seen speeding through a stop sign at 60 mph (97 kph) told officers they shouldn’t arrest her because she’s a 'very clean, thoroughbred, white girl,' police said." Yes, Virginia, you're going to jail.

Something new has been added. "A vicious species of tick originating from Eastern Asia has invaded the US and is rapidly sweeping the Eastern Seaboard, state and federal officials warn… The tick, the Asian longhorned tick (or Haemaphysalis longicornis), has the potential to transmit an assortment of nasty diseases to humans, including an emerging virus that kills up to 30 percent of victims. So far, the tick hasn’t been found carrying any diseases in the US. It currently poses the largest threat to livestock, pets, and wild animals; the ticks can attack en masse and drain young animals of blood so quickly that they die…"

"The housing crash hurt the poor and middle class more than the rich, who rode the bull stock market." Ah yep. The article paints an over roses picture, "Beginning in the late 1990s, the upper half of the wealth distribution started to pull away from the lower half, but on the eve of the housing crash, all three categories had seen a steady gain in wealth since 1950." Actually not, if you actually look at the chart, the bottom 50% lost steam somewhere in the 70s and except for a brief period mid/late 80s never regained growth equal to the top 50%. They also tend to focus on the housing market and not on the fact that real wages, adjusted for inflation, have seen little to negative growth since the 70s (at about the time Unions began losing). (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)

The Ferguson prosecutor who didn't charge Darren Wilson for killing Michael Brown lost his primary election. "On Tuesday night, Robert McCulloch’s 28-year tenure as St. Louis County prosecutor came to a sudden, unexpected end… In a Democratic primary election, McCulloch got trounced 57% to 43% by Wesley Bell, a city councilman from the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Mo." I guess this one didn't "just fade away."

"No less than 26 percent of Americans say they agree that 'the president should have the authority to close news outlets engaged in bad behavior.'…Fifty-three percent disagreed, and here's the partisan breakdown… 43 percent of Republicans say yeah… 12 percent of Democrats agree, along with 21 percent of independents." Kind of ironic this is on Fox News, whom you might remember peddles opinion as news and faced an unofficial interview embargo during the first few months of the Obama administration.

How go the Trade Wars? "Here's a list of some of the companies, sorted by state, who have announced effects from the tariffs…" Checks watch, ah, right on schedule.

"Ohio Gov. John Kasich said Ohio voters who cast so many votes for Democrat Danny O'Connor in a solidly Republican district were 'sending a message to the Republicans to knock it off.'" Announcer voice: they won't.

"Senate Democrats filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests on Wednesday to try to force the Trump administration to hand over documents from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's time working in the White House." More than one way to skin a rabbit. Unfortunately with FOIA there is the possibility of heavy redaction. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)

It takes one to know one… "Federal prosecutors in New York on Wednesday charged New York Republican Rep. Chris Collins, his son and another man with 13 counts of securities fraud, wire fraud and false statements stemming from an alleged insider trading scheme centered on an Australian pharmaceutical company… Collins, who was the first sitting member of Congress to endorse Donald Trump's presidential bid, surrendered Wednesday morning at his attorney's office in Manhattan, according to the FBI." (Grokked from Vincent O'Connor)