Linkee-poo Tuesday

The alligators are restless.

"That one decision had led to a lot of other similar ones and had eventually ended up as an agreement with myself to spend over 10 years of my life being a different person than the one I had planned on being and feeling smug about being good at writing crap and then even actually starting to think the crap was good because of the money I was given to produce it. I look at all the people in tech who are convinced they are saving the world, that what they do matters. When the money goes, and it will, that feeling will go with it." On compromise in the arts and where it leads, what can start as a minor self lie can consume your life, and what is success. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)

"To prepare the groundcherry (Physalis pruinosa) for mainstream farming, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator Zachary Lippman, Joyce Van Eck at the Boyce Thompson Institute, and colleagues combined genomics and gene editing to rapidly improve traits such as fruit size, plant shape, and flower production."

"The man at the center of a sex abuse and financial crimes scandal in Sweden that is tarnishing the academy that awards the Nobel Prize in Literature was convicted of rape and sentenced Monday to two years in prison."

"If you're looking for cheaper health insurance, a whole host of new options will hit the market starting Tuesday… But buyer beware!… If you get sick, the new plans – known as short-term, limited duration insurance — may not pay for the medical care you need."

"Cancellations of more than 250,000 radiology orders at VA hospitals across the country since 2016 have raised questions about whether – in a rush to clear out outdated and duplicative diagnostic orders – some facilities failed to follow correct procedures. At issue is a concern over whether some medically necessary orders for CT scans and other imaging tests were cancelled improperly."

"The Israeli leader says he would prefer Palestinians receive 'basically all the powers of sovereignty, or nearly all the powers, but not the ones of security.' This option, he says, would give Israel overriding power of security, but let the Palestinians 'govern their lives in a more complete way,' with their own parliament, government and tax system." So, basically what they have in the West Bank. I'm not sure Neyanyahu understands what a "state" is.

"A U.S. Navy cruiser had an "unsafe" encounter with a Chinese ship while conducting a freedom of navigation operation in the Spratly Islands on Sunday in the South China Sea, a U.S. defense official tells CBS News. The USS Decatur passed within 12 nautical miles of two reefs in the Spratly Islands, which the Chinese consider sovereign territory."

"When Iran launched ballistic missiles into Syria Monday, its message was aimed more at the Islamic Republic's powerful foes: the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia."

"The National Republican Congressional Committee has canceled its TV reservations for Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-KS), making him the sixth House incumbent that either the group or its closely aligned super-PAC are leaving for dead heading into the campaign’s final month."

"A federal district judge in Washington has ruled that a group of nearly 200 Democratic senators and representatives have legal standing to sue President Donald Trump to prove he violated the U.S. Constitution’s emoluments provision banning the acceptance of gifts from foreign and domestic interests." And we're off to the races.

"President Donald Trump shut down a second female reporter for attempting to ask a question about Brett Kavanaugh in the Rose Garden on Monday, by scolding CNN’s Kaitlan Collins for asking about reports that the White House is limiting the scope of the FBI probe into Kavanaugh." Our stable genius president, everybody.

"While it’s 'idiotic to put a shot clock on the F.B.I.,' (former FBI Director James) Comey wrote, 'it is better to give professionals seven days to find facts than have no professional investigation at all.'"

John Oliver's Last Week Tonight about the Kavanaugh hearing. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)

I include this story mostly of an example of "framing" the debate. "Senate Democrats up for reelection this year in deep-red states face a nightmare decision on how to handle Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh." I would say we all face a nightmare decision on Kavanaugh, but even though the public consensus is against him (by small margins), somehow this is a problem for Democrats?

"Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh will not teach at Harvard Law School in the winter, as he was expected to do, the university announced Monday night in an email to law students… 'Today, Judge Kavanaugh indicated that he can no longer commit to teaching his course in January Term 2019, so the course will not be offered,' Catherine Claypoole of the law school curriculum committee wrote in an email to students Monday night… Hundreds of Harvard Law School graduates had signed a letter calling on the school to rescind Kavanaugh’s appointment as lecturer at the school, following sexual misconduct allegations against the U.S. Supreme Court nominee." And there you have the story and two frames. The first is that Kavanaugh can't commit to lecturing (if he's on SCOTUS, he really wouldn't have the time). The other is he realized public opinion is running against him and decided to quite while he was ahead and it was his decision.

"The texts between Berchem and Karen Yarasavage, both friends of Kavanaugh, suggest that the nominee was personally talking with former classmates about Ramirez’s story in advance of the New Yorker article that made her allegation public. In one message, Yarasavage said Kavanaugh asked her to go on the record in his defense. Two other messages show communication between Kavanaugh's team and former classmates in advance of the story." Which would contradict Cavanaugh's testimony about when he heard about the charges. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)

Some of the conservative talk-o-sphere has gone completely off the rails in attempts to defend Kavanaugh and discredit those who are making statements about his sexual aggressiveness and drinking problems. It is really something to see (all of it unsubstantiated, even while they say those making the claims are unsubstantiated… it's turtles all the way down.)