Linkee-poo remember, remember, the eleventh of September

We vow to never forget, but then we forget other lessons and we make the same mistakes that brought about later events we swore never to forget.

"When researchers at the University of Kentucky compare brains donated from people who died with dementia, very rarely do they find one that bears only Alzheimer’s trademark plaques and tangles — no other damage."

"The next generation of doctors will start their careers at a time when physicians are feeling pressure to limit prescriptions for opioid painkillers… Yet every day, they'll face patients who are hurting from injuries, surgical procedures, or disease. Around 20% of adults in the U.S. live with chronic pain." It's not just a problem for new doctors. Existing practices are under intense scrutiny when they prescribe pain killers, to the point where people with chronic pain are forced to jump through hoops every month to keep their pain under control.

With energy production we often don't consider the other end of the problem, what to do with the waste. "While most of a (wind energy) turbine can be recycled or find a second life on another wind farm, researchers estimate the U.S. will have more than 720,000 tons of blade material to dispose of over the next 20 years, a figure that doesn't include newer, taller higher-capacity versions."

"The proportion of Americans without health insurance edged up in 2018 — the first evidence from the government that coverage gains under President Barack Obama’s health care law might be eroding under President Donald Trump." Sputter, sputter, cough.

"The M.I.T. Media Lab, which has been embroiled in a scandal over accepting donations from the financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, had a deeper fund-raising relationship with Epstein than it has previously acknowledged, and it attempted to conceal the extent of its contacts with him." And they knew all along whom was giving and what their character was, but they took the money anyway. Money at these levels corrupts, and Epstein found a way (they thought) to wash his credentials clean of the stain by association. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)

"'Some girls don't like pink, so please can you make army girls that look like women?' the young girl wrote. 'I would play with them every day and my friends would to!'" Green Army Men will now include Green Army Women, and it only took a (number of) letter(s and emails).

"The NCAA’s Board of Governors is urging Gov. Gavin Newsom not to sign a California bill that would allow college athletes to receive money for their names, likenesses or images." You know, if the NCAA had more rules about schools paying their coaches, what they do with network money and licensing deals, and about profiting (or at least promoting) with the student's images I would favor the NCAA's position more. But instead it appears as if the NCAA's rules are more about funneling money away from athletes who deserve a cut.

How goes Brexit? "The nature of the Irish border post-Brexit is a major sticking point in negotiations between the British government and the European Union… Both sides agree, whatever the outcome of Brexit, that checks along the Irish border must be avoided." Well, actually not.

"'If you're not interested, leave the chamber,' (Speaker Bercow) said. 'I'm not remotely interested in your pettifogging objection, chuntered inelegantly from a sedentary position.'" Oh my right, honorable gentleman. And with that, the UK Parliament is prorogued.

"Judges at Scotland’s highest civil court said the government’s action was illegal 'because it had the purpose of stymieing Parliament.' But the Court of Session judges said Britain’s Supreme Court must make the final decision at a hearing next week." Naughty naughty.

How go the Trade Wars? "China’s Ministry of Finance announced plans to exempt 16 types of U.S. products from additional tariffs on Wednesday, including food for livestock, cancer drugs and lubricants."

Remember when we were laughed at suggesting that a President Trump would try to declare bankruptcy and try to refinance the US debt (which you can't do)? "'The Federal Reserve should get our interest rates down to ZERO, or less, and we should then start to refinance our debt. INTEREST COST COULD BE BROUGHT WAY DOWN, while at the same time substantially lengthening the term,' (Trump) said." Well, tweeted. The president is an idiot who doesn't understand how government works.

"The dramatic rescue of the last four crew members trapped inside the capsized M/V Golden Ray off the Georgia coast on Monday signaled the start of a new challenge for maritime authorities and salvors: What do you do with a 650-foot-long, 71,000-ton cargo ship filled with oil and thousands of cars, flopped over on its side, blocking the nation's second-busiest port for vehicles and heavy machinery?"

"The top 15 richest Americans would have seen their net worth decline by more than half to $433.9 billion had Warren’s plan been in place since 1982, according to the paper by University of California, Berkeley professors Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman." It sounds like you're trying to say this is a bad thing, but I can't see the downside here. Although I should say this is the first article that basically describes the effect of compound interest, but in a negative light.

"If reelected in next week's general election, the longtime Israeli prime minister said he plans to annex a significant chunk of the occupied West Bank." If re-elected (remember there is an election Netanyahu might lose, and most polls show it close), Netanyahu will drive another nail into the peace process.

"Federal prosecutors in Puerto Rico have accused a FEMA official of taking bribes in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. These bribes allegedly came from the then-president of an Oklahoma-based federal contractor. That contractor was one of the main companies hired to rebuild the island's devastated power grid."

"'It's part of a pattern of deemphasizing science and facts and the truth in order to play some often naive or silly political agenda,' said Beyer, who serves on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. The committee's chairwoman, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, endorsed an investigation of the NOAA statement by the Commerce Department's inspector general." Oh, Wilbur.

"Lawmakers in California have advanced a bill aimed at ensuring minimum wage, workers' compensation and other benefits for contract workers in the gig economy." A blow is struck for the workers in this "new economy." Now do adjunct faculty.

"On March 30, 2016, in an immigration courtroom in Charlotte, North Carolina, a 2-year-old boy was doing what you might expect: He was making some noise. But Judge V. Stuart Couch—a former Marine known to have a temper—was growing frustrated. He pointed his finger at the Guatemalan child and demanded that he be quiet… When the boy failed to obey his command, the threats began. 'I have a very big dog in my office, and if you don’t be quiet, he will come out and bite you!' Couch yelled… In August, the Trump administration promoted Couch and five other judges to the Justice Department’s Board of Immigration Appeals, which often has the final say over whether immigrants are deported." I've said elsewhere that the next president needs to appoint a Czar to Fix All This Shit so the president can focus on moving the needle forward. One of those things needing fixing is to drum assholes like this out of government service. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)

"A conservative television network sued Rachel Maddow for more than $10 million on Monday for calling it 'paid Russian propaganda.'" Lawsuits as marketing leverage and brand building.

"President Trump has fired national security adviser John Bolton, the lifelong proponent of American hard power, after months of division between the men over the direction of foreign and national security policy." Another one bites the dust. And then there's the whole, "You can't fire me, I quit!" aspect of the thing.

"The U.S. military court and prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, have cost more than $6 billion to operate since opening nearly 18 years ago and still churn through more than $380 million a year despite housing only 40 prisoners today." Remember the big discussions about if GitMo was actually a Good Idea™ or not? What the legal process should be? Seems like we're still asking those questions.

"Republican Dan Bishop narrowly won the special election in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District on Tuesday, keeping the GOP's grasp on the traditionally conservative seat." While a win is a win, I'm not sure a 2% margin is that good in what should be a solid GOP district.