Linkee-poo Wednesday

Alligators overboard!

"This is what modern fantasy writers are up against. In my local B&N, most authors are lucky to find a copy of their book, super lucky if it’s face out. There are 3.5 shelves for Tolkien. 1.5 for Jordan. Here’s who we compete against for shelf space: not each other, but dead guys." A tweet by Fonda Lee, for which she received a shitstorm, for which Jim Hines calls out said shitstorm for what it really is. I do like Tolkein (although I find him slightly unreadable the older I get), and Jordan's first couple of Wheel of Time books (and Conan) were good and both series of books are considered classics (what, no Donaldson? But he's still alive, right?). It reminds me of the story about why barns are painted red (they're painted red because red is a cheap paint, why is it cheap, because they make a ton of it because people buy it to paint their barns with). But seriously, I know people's shopping habits have changed in this age of the Internet (ie. web). But web shops are great to buy the product you already know you want. Shopping on the web is still horrible to find things you didn't know you needed. There is no really comparable "browsing" function (at best you can see a bunch of options for things you were looking for). BTW, Jim is great guy and one of the reasons I like him (besides writing kick-ass books) is that he is willing to call out bullshit when he sees it (salutes). (Grokked from Jason Sanford because I really needed one more layer of abstraction to make this all work)

Ah, the unexpected third-act plot twist. "Attorneys for 'Empire' actor Jussie Smollett said Tuesday that charges alleging he lied to police about a racist and homophobic attack have been dropped." (Grokked from Bo Bolander)

"FDA finds breast implants cause rare form of cancer… The panel said it was too soon to pull the implants from the market, but says it will make a recommendation Tuesday." These are the textured implants. And while I appreciate the issues surrounding implants (especially for reconstruction after mastectomy), I'm not sure a delay is what's needed here.

"The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved siponimod (Mayzent, Novartis) to treat adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), including clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting disease, and active secondary progressive (SP) disease, the agency announced." But it doesn't really sound all that fantastic and there are sever potential side-effects.

"Despite Trump's tweet Tuesday that the GOP will become 'the Party of Healthcare!' and his pledge to take care of people with pre-existing conditions, it is increasingly, glaringly, alarmingly clear that the White House has no plan for what comes next if courts ultimately agree that the Affordable Care Act is now unconstitutional."

"Unlike commercial plans that cap members' out-of-pocket drug spending annually, Medicare has no limit for prescription medications in Part D, its drug benefit. With the cost of specialty drugs increasing, some Medicare beneficiaries could owe thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket drug costs every year for a single drug."

"India announced Wednesday that it successfully fired an anti-satellite weapon and intercepted an unidentified Indian satellite at an altitude of 300km. This test, named 'Mission Shakti,' gives India the prestige of becoming only the fourth nation to shoot down a satellite, but it raises serious questions about orbital debris and the on-going militarization of space." "Shot-down" is a misnomer. It destroyed the satellite creating a debris cloud that threatens other satellites. (Grokked from John)

"A U.S. federal court struck down North Carolina’s decades-old ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, saying any 'week- or event-specific' abortion ban is unconstitutional." And now to the Supreme Court.

"How to sell a massacre: NRA's playbook revealed." Ooo, more fun fallout from AlJazeera's penetration of Australia's One Nation organization. (Grokked from Cat Rambo)

"The Mueller report, or what is known of it so far, removes the worst-case scenarios that had been hanging over President Donald Trump’s head. But it does not fully exonerate him. Nor does it answer many of the questions Americans still have about the conduct of their president and Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election." While they say they have 5 lingering questions, it's essentially one question. If the president isn't colluding with Russia, or a Russian agent, why does he and everyone around him act like they are? And that's a fair question.

"U.S. Attorney General William Barr plans to issue a public version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election within 'weeks, not months,' a Justice Department official said on Tuesday." Here's the thing, the Group of 7 should be able to read the report right now, as it stands (one copy, in a secured room, no notes as per previous disclosures). Why isn't the report shared with them right now? Mostly it's because the report doesn't say what Barr claims it says, and his decision to not prosecute for obstruction is based on his belief that for a president to be found in obstruction he also must be guilty of the crime he is obstructing investigation of. In this case, conspiracy with the Russians. Note here, the president is an unindicted coconspirator in at least 2 other felonies that the president's aids/employees have already pleaded guilty to. Barr is not considering that maybe the president was obstructing those cases as well. Because he doesn't want to.

"The release of special counsel Robert Mueller's report may provide Americans with the best playbook yet on how to defend democracy in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election." But you'll note the president hasn't done a damn thing to make Russia's job harder. Almost like he was an asset. Because he thinks Russia wants to help him. What nobody has effetely explained to the president is that he's a useful idiot to the Russians, and as soon as burning him will advance their goals (of chaos and weakening the West) they will light him up like Burning Man.

Tweet of my heart: @BarbMcQuade Mueller did not establish conspiracy. That’s different from saying he found no collusion. Sometimes my father-in-law can’t find his car in the parking lot. That doesn’t mean his car is not there. We need to see the full report to understand the facts so we can safeguard elections (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)