Planet Money podcast with… "Here is a thing we hear approximately every day: 'The world is changing faster than ever before.'… Robert Gordon doesn't buy it." Having lived through the 90s computer revolution, yes this. One a tangent, there are ways to measure productivity of healthcare workers. Trust me, my annual review at the hospital includes them.
"For wolf advocate Larry Wiess, the battle to bring wolves back to Colorado isn't just about ecology. It's about challenging more than a century of U.S. wildlife management… According to the coalition backing the plan, it'd also be the first time that voters — in any state — would decide whether to reintroduce an endangered species."
"The first US evacuee from China known to be infected with the Wuhan coronavirus was mistakenly released from a San Diego hospital after an initial test found the person had not been infected, local health officials said Monday." Oopsie.
"China's government on Tuesday fired two senior health officials in Hubei province, the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic, placing Beijing in direct control of efforts there to contain its spread." Totally normal, not spinning out of control, no sir.
"Lovell is one of about 10 state workers participating in a year-old program to lower prescription drug costs by having (Utah) public employees buy their medication in Mexico at a steep discount compared to U.S. prices. The program appears to be the first of its kind, and is a dramatic example of steps states are taking to alleviate the high cost of prescription drugs." It's cheaper for them to travel to Mexico to buy some drugs. (Grokked from Ellen Kushner)
"In recent years, headlines, pundits and politicians have often warned that we’re in the midst of a job-stealing robot revolution; but roboticists argue that their creations will complement, rather than replace, us. In Japan, the robots are already here – what’s more, many are actively embracing the robot age, from suburban nursing homes to the highest levels of government, which announced an investment of 100bn yen ($100m) in robot development a few years ago. Some entities are even highlighting robotic colleagues as a selling point to young, new recruits."
"A coalition of senators called on Amazon’s Jeff Bezos to address high rates of work-related injuries at the company’s massive warehouse facilities, saying they were concerned the tech giant had focused more on profits than its 'own workers’ safety and health.'" Naughty naughty. Who would have thought unbridled capitalism would exploit the workers (sit down, Karl Marx, we all know what you think).
"The Justice Department announced charges Monday against four members of the Chinese military for allegedly hacking the credit bureau Equifax in 2017 and stealing the personal information of around 145 million Americans." Voice over before the play, "Tonight, the part of Russia will be played by the Chinese."
"At the direction of President Rodrigo Duterte, a fierce critic of the United States, the Philippines announced Tuesday that it would scrap a security pact that allows American forces to train there." So much winning.
"North Korea illegally exported millions of tons of commodities like coal last year to enhance its ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons programs, according to a confidential UN report."
But "President Donald Trump has told top foreign policy advisers that he does not want another summit with Kim Jong Un before the presidential election in November, according to two sources familiar with the discussions." Oh look, it's another bankrupted casino.
"The Department of Justice (DOJ) is under fire after a whistleblower complaint revealed that the department had given over $1 million in anti-human trafficking grants to two groups, Hookers for Jesus and the Lincoln Tubman Foundation, rather than highly recommended, established groups." For draining the swamp, there sure are lots of alligators and snakes in here, plus the ground is awfully, well, swampy. Welcome my friends to the show that never ends…
"The Trump administration wants to slash billions of dollars in federal support from Medicaid, food stamps and other safety net programs for the poor, while largely sparing the Medicare program that benefits seniors." As I tweeted last night, the Democratic presidential candidates need to grab copies of this budge and start a fire and brimstone revival type speech where they say, "This is the conservative agenda, this is their view of the America they want" and start listing off what will be cut and how that affects everybody. I know, it'll require in depth knowledge and knowing the results of a lot of studies, but you're asking for the top job, I think you (and your speech writers) could handle it. "The administration wants to require that those claiming the Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit and credit for other dependents provide a Social Security number, which would target immigrants. This would save nearly $73 billion over 10 years, according to the budget's summary table." As you know form the link posted previously, this is a red herring. People without SS numbers can't claim those anyway.
"A $4.8 trillion budget proposal that President Donald Trump unveiled on Monday would provide more than $80 million for a new FBI office in Cleveland and $320 million for the Great Lakes Restoration initiative, but would cut an Energy Department loan program that an electric truck builder has planned to use to repurpose General Motors’ closed Lordstown plant." Hey look, Lordstown, you're getting fucked again. How do ya like Trump now?
The people who control the actual pursestrings. "Senate Budget Chairman Mike Enzi said Monday he will not hold a hearing on Donald Trump’s $4.8 trillion budget, warning that it will turn into a 'diatribe against the president.'… Trump’s budget for fiscal year 2021 offered a conservative outline for spending levels — but is merely an aspirational document. The White House and Congress have already decided on their spending caps for the upcoming fiscal year."
"Trump over the weekend retweeted several conservative personalities and stories attempting to connect (Mitt Romney) to the Ukrainian energy company Burisma and its former board member Hunter Biden, two parties at the center of Trump’s attempted quid pro quo. The allegation was featured in several far-right blog posts: A senior adviser from Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign was on Burisma’s board of directors, and that by voting to impeach Trump last week, Romney was covering for his fellow swamp crony." Burisma, Benghazi, it's all good.
"Transcript: Lindsey Graham on 'Face the Nation,' February 9, 2020". JFC, this is the rantings of a person on the verge of a mental breakdown. The contradictions, the blender of issues and events, sentences next to each other that are completely the opposite. Just staggering. He says in one sentence that the Russians are still engaging in disinformation and we should scrutinize any information coming from them, but we need to investigate the Bidens… which the charges against the Bidens are Russian propaganda. And I'll just say it here, the Steele Dossier has mostly been proven (not all of it, not the most salacious details). He's swallowed the Deep State conspiracy. Senator Graham, are you okay? 'Cause you might be having a stroke. (Grokked form Chuck Wendig)
"The sloppy roll-out of Iowa results prompted disinformation and confusion over the mechanics of the caucus system. This week, On the Media looks at the origins of the nomination process to explain how we got here. Plus, local reporters in New Hampshire examine the power struggle at the heart of the upcoming contest." The New Hampshire "First in the Nation" industrial complex.
"The president’s reelection campaign was then in the midst of a multimillion-dollar ad blitz aimed at shaping Americans’ understanding of the recently launched impeachment proceedings. Thousands of micro-targeted ads had flooded the internet, portraying Trump as a heroic reformer cracking down on foreign corruption while Democrats plotted a coup. That this narrative bore little resemblance to reality seemed only to accelerate its spread. Right-wing websites amplified every claim. Pro-Trump forums teemed with conspiracy theories. An alternate information ecosystem was taking shape around the biggest news story in the country, and I wanted to see it from the inside."
"Climate change is a top issue in the Democratic presidential primaries and some candidates have taken relatively aggressive policy stands, including vows to ban hydraulic fracturing. But some Democrats worry that could push moderate voters in key swing states to reelect President Trump next November." Want to know how to change it. Explain to people just how much they've been underpaid for leases on their land considering the long term damage fracking has done. Explain how much profit the companies have made (even with the lower price of natural gas) compared to fractured water tables and environmental damage to these people's land which may make their homes less sellable (including the incurred lost of the mineral value). Then you can bring up climate change.
No comments:
Post a Comment