Linkee-poo

Still alligators.

"Unfortunately, our planet's changing climate is denting permafrosts around the world. And now NASA-funded research has confirmed that the expected gradual thawing of the Arctic permafrost is being dramatically sped up by a natural phenomenon known as thermokarst lakes." A lot of the tundra is actually frozen bogland, which is rich in methane, which is worse than carbon dioxide. This is what's called a "tipping point." We're boned.

"The New Horizons spacecraft has spotted an ultraviolet glow that seems to emanate from near the edge of the solar system. That glow may come from a long-sought wall of hydrogen that represents where the sun’s influence wanes, the New Horizons team reports online August 7 in Geophysical Research Letters."

Local new, boy's death ruled homicide. (Insert stream of barely recognizable curse words until I pass out from not breathing)

Sure, Brexit may sound bad, but consider the plight of Germany. "In Germany, beer consumption is up as temperatures remain unusually high. This is good and bad news for the beer industry… While the breweries have more than enough beer to go around, they're running out of bottles because customers are not returning their empties quickly enough." Also, because of marketing, everybody's bottles are different.

"That's the tale of two kinds of health care in India – for the wealthy and for the rest of the country. But the prime minister hopes to change all that." Narrator voice, ours isn't much better. Don't think so? Call for an appointment with a specialist and see how long you have to wait.

"The guidance is from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which oversees the insurance marketplaces set up by the Affordable Care Act. CMS is encouraging states to allow the sale of plans outside of those exchanges that don't incorporate a surcharge insurers started tacking on last year." So after sabotaging Obamacare they offer the solution, low-cost plans that don't cover shit.

"As one of his first acts in office in 2011, Gov. Rick Scott canceled a $2.4 billion federally funded and shovel-ready bullet train from Orlando to Tampa because it carried 'an extremely high risk of overspending taxpayer dollars with no guarantee of economic growth.'… Now, the idea has returned — revived by All Aboard Florida, a Coral Gables-based company that has heavily supported Scott — and the governor has reversed course… (Gov. Scott) and his wife last year invested at least $3 million in a credit fund for All Aboard Florida's parent company, Fortress Investment Group, according to recently disclosed financial documents." Isn't that convenient. Hey, remember how Rick Scott made his fortune before becoming governor? Yeah, I do. He stole my Mom's retirement savings as Columbia/HCA folded. Fuck Ricky Scott. (Grokked from Chang)

To to make a civics education last? "One piece of advice she hopes sticks? 'Question everything.'"

"A Salt Lake City-area lawyer named Walter J. Plumb III is trying to remove Utah's medical marijuana initiative from the ballot in November. Plumb, who owns a pharmaceutical company called Pharmics Inc., asserts that his religious right to be intolerant of sick people who use cannabis to treat their illness is guaranteed by the constitution. He has spent over $100,000 of his own money in his effort to prevent allowing Utahans from voting on the issue." (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)

"The Satanic Temple unveiled its statue Thursday of a goat-headed, winged creature called Baphomet during a First Amendment rally at the Arkansas State Capitol to protest a Ten Commandments monument already on the Capitol grounds." But they don't have a congressional sponsor, so they don't have permission to install it.

"The U.S. Department of Education is in the midst of a top-to-bottom review of a troubled federal grant program for public school teachers. The effort follows reporting by NPR that found many teachers had their grants unfairly converted to loans, leaving some with more than $20,000 in debt. In June, 19 U.S. senators signed a letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, citing NPR's reporting and saying 'it is urgent that these mistakes are fixed.'… Now, documents obtained by NPR reveal that a previously unreported plan to fix the program was problematic from the start and did nothing for the vast majority of people involved."

"West Virginia's House of Delegates voted to impeach all four justices on the state's Supreme Court of Appeals on Monday." Power grab, or a just response to out of control spending? Why not both?

"After losing his Rasputian status with Trump and the Mercers, (Steve Bannon) tried to peddle his off-brand fascism with nationalist Europeans. But it turns out even these unsavory characters think the only thing Bannon is good at is making things worse." He forgot the cardinal rule, and that's the rule of exclusion. He's an American, and Europeans (especially fascistic Europeans) don't like Americans (karmic enough, a brand that Bannon helped soil in European eyes). (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)

A QAnon of the left? "As it turned out, though, Smith was neither a former Delta Force soldier or a malevolent CIA operative. In fact, evidence suggests that the Twitter account beloved by Trump haters was in fact operated by Justin Hendrix, a Seattle gamer who regularly made pro-Trump comments online." I don't claim to be highly connected, but for being a "hero", I never heard of him. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)

"The Trump administration is preparing to let conservative-led states impose additional restrictions on the nation’s health program for the poor that could push tens of thousands of people off coverage, POLITICO has learned." The harm this administration and the conservative ideals it champions will take decades to reverse. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)

"Dramatized police dispatch calls of a DUI arrest. Allegations of sexual harassment. Court filings reviewing “failed” business investment… Those are attacks leveled against Democratic congressional candidates in a new Republican ad campaign in recent days — part of a growing effort to personalize the midterm elections and disqualify individual Democratic hopefuls early in a bid to save the Republican House majority."

"Federal prosecutors in New York are in the final stages of the investigation into President Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen… Federal authorities are investigating whether Cohen committed bank or tax fraud in connection with his financial and business dealings including loan activities… Investigators are also examining whether Cohen violated campaign finance and other laws by helping to arrange payment deals to secure the silence of women who said they had affairs with Mr. Trump."

"Truth isn't truth." Okay, well, what Giuliani was trying to say is, "He said, she said," (or in this case, "He said, he said") which isn't the same thing. But still, not a shining moment in democracy and legal scholarship. Also who should we believe; someone whose career is based on being able to distinguish reality from fiction, or somebody whose own lawyers have stated they take extra precautions when interviewing him because he can't be relied on to tell the truth?