Linkee-poo well that was a week wasn't it

Alligators.

Twitter finally bans Alex Jones. And all it took was Jones stalking Twitter's Jack and making an ass of himself on Capital Hill yesterday.

Do I need to point to articles about the Indian High Court nullifying a colonial era law that outlawed homosexual sex? Or can we just be happy that 20% of the population of the world now has the freedom to love fully?

"A romance novelist was arrested on suspicion of murder, three months after her chef husband was found fatally shot inside the culinary institute where he taught." So you're saying the butler didn't do it?

"The space agency released a wild 360-degree panorama captured by (Curiosity) on Aug. 9. It's notable for the view of the darkened, dusty Mars skies and for the detailed look at the dust-covered rover itself."

Sometimes it's hard for people to understand what life was like just a few decades ago. Here's a tweet thread about body autonomy and how American society, for the most part, denied women that autonomy (and in many places, still does or is attempting to reinstate male or state control over women's bodies). It wasn't just the botched abortions, the ingestion of toxic chemicals to induce abortion, the deaths and tragic mutilations that were the result of that, it's also the psychological scars that continue to resonate into the present. In case you ever wonder why I fight for a woman's right to choose over her own body and will ridicule anyone who believes otherwise, it's because I've heard and lived with too many of these stories. (Grokked from Jim Wright)

"In the end, Happer was not tapped as Science Advisor by the Trump administration, but E&E News reported Tuesday that he is now a member of the National Security Council… Happer was previously listed as the director of a group called the 'CO2 Coalition,' which has a website that claims that CO2 released from fossil fuels is just good news for global plant growth while having no real effect on Earth’s climate." Well, isn't that special. (Grokked from John)

"Here's a bold idea to fight back against bacteria that can't be stopped by antibiotics: Go after them with germ-eating microbes. That reasoning lies behind an intriguing line of research that might also be put to use in the event of a germ-warfare attack." What could possibly go wrong?

"A new report published in The Lancet on Wednesday finds that when it comes to health, quality — not quantity — seems to be more important… The study estimates that 5 million people die every year because of poor-quality health care in low- and middle-income countries. That's significantly more than the 3.6 million people in those countries who die from not having access to care." I'm not sure there's much of a different between those two categories.

How go the Trade Wars? "World shares fell for a fifth straight day on Thursday as investors braced for another escalation in a trade war between the United States and China, while emerging-market currencies paused near 15-month lows."

"Vladimir Putin must take responsibility for the Salisbury Novichok attack, Security Minister Ben Wallace has said."

"A town mayor, who had been accused by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte of being involved in the drug trade, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in a pre-dawn attack in Cebu province." Duterte is someone our president admires.

"About two-thirds of Texas high schools are not following a state law that mandates giving all eligible students the opportunity to register to vote, according to a new report. That means hundreds of thousands of potential voters have been left off the rolls." The fuck. (Grokked from Laura J Nixon)

"When rumors first started circulating that she was flashing the white supremacist sign with her right hand behind Kavanaugh, lots of us - even here at C & L! - said, 'Come on. She's just cold. She's just folding her arms.' Secretly, though, in homes throughout the country, we all started trying to cross our arms with our hand in that position just to see how natural it was... and...it's not." (Grokked in a roundabout way - from an tweet storm about flashing the sign - from Chuck Wendig)

"Booker, D-N.J., broke Senate rules when he questioned Kavanaugh Wednesday night about emails that had been made off-limits by a Republican lawyer, and then released the documents Thursday ahead of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He could lose his committee position or be expelled from the Senate for violating the chamber's rules." Ah, no. First of all the documents were cleared for release before Sen. Booker released them (although he might not have known that). And, yeah, try and get him expelled for that release. See what will happen.

"An audience member had some colorful reactions to President Donald Trump's speech at a campaign rally in Billings, Montana, on Thursday… The unidentified man made several facial expressions as the president delivered his remarks… A woman later approached the man mid-speech and briefly spoke with him before taking his spot in the crowd." It's all about the imaging and if you're loyal enough.

"President Donald Trump sought to heighten the sense of urgency for his base Thursday when he told supporters that if he is impeached, 'it's your fault, "cause you didn't go out to vote."'" Not that he's guilty or anything. "'If the opposite party becomes president, every time before it even starts, before you've even found out whether or not he or she is going to do a great job, they'll say, "We want to impeach him" and you'll impeach him,' Trump said." Dear Mr. President, I refer you to your statements in December of 2016. Also I'll refer you to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who said if Hillary Clinton was elected president he would keep Scalia's SCOTUS seat open for 4 years.

"Donald Trump will not answer federal investigators’ questions, in writing or in person, about whether he tried to block the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, his lawyer has said." Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of, "if he's got nothing to hide why won't he testify?" Remember when the president just couldn't wait to talk with Mueller. Yeah. I guess that dry-run of questioning they did scared the bejesus our of his lawyers.

Heard that Ryan said the president should bring in lie-detectors to the West Wing to look for the op-ed writer. Also rumors the president is considering it. Mole hunt here we come.

Tweet of my heart: @JesseFFerguson 1 HOUR AGO - Kavanaugh confirms he will NOT recuse himself from protecting Trump by denying a Mueller subpoena… 1 HOUR LATER - Trump says to Mueller: I'm not talking to you. You gotta subpoena me.… Weird, huh? (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)