I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Linkee-poo Tuesday

Just a heads up that tomorrow will definately not have a post (or if there is one, it'll be late in the afternoon or evening). Also, things might be late for the next week.

"SpaceX won't be the only private company bringing people to the International Space Station. Virgin Galactic announced Monday that it has signed a deal with NASA to train private astronauts and coordinate potential trips to the ISS."

"The Perseverance rover will land on Mars to search out signs of past microbial life, if it ever existed. It will be the first Nasa mission to hunt directly for these 'biosignatures' since the Viking missions in the 1970s."

"A drug that could stop cancer cells repairing themselves has shown early signs of working… More than half of the 40 patients given berzosertib had the growth of their tumours halted."

"Pubs, restaurants, hotels and hairdressers can open from 4 July in England, when social distancing rules will be eased… Prime Minister Boris Johnson said people should remain 2m apart where possible but a 'one metre plus' rule will be introduced."

"Most health officials departing their roles are leaving because of pushback from people who don't like public health restrictions needed to control the pandemic, Freeman, CEO of NACCHO, said… She said the organization is seeing more positions being vacated in past weeks."

"A confrontation between protesters and police in the park across the street from the White House on Monday evening led the US Secret Service to take the unusual step of ordering members of the White House press corps to immediately leave the grounds."

"NASCAR drivers and crew members sent a powerful message to the world on Monday: 'We stand with Bubba Wallace.' The show of solidarity came a day after NASCAR announced that a noose was discovered inside Wallace's garage stall at Talladega Superspeedway… A massive crowd pushed and followed Wallace's No. 43 car as he sat in the driver's seat during pre-race activities." Something positive.

How goes Brexit? "The United Kingdom officially exited the European Union in January, but the divorce was far from finalized… And the two sides are very much still working the entire thing out." Tick-tock.

How go the Trade Wars? "After various media reports quoted Navarro as saying that the China deal is 'over,' stocks and the Chinese currency tumbled… Later, Navarro issued a new statement, saying that the trade deal remains in place."

"President Donald Trump has said there will be another relief package, raising the prospect of further stimulus checks amid economic turmoil posed by COVID-19… While Congress is yet to pass a further such bill, with the HEROES Act passing the House before stalling in the Senate, the president said he believes bipartisan action will be taken in the coming weeks." Funny how this came out after the Tulsa rally flop and how there's absolutely zero details. Also note, not everyone has received the first round of stimulus.

"First up, consumer spending. Typically, Chetty said, recessions are driven by a drop in spending on durable goods, like refrigerators, automobiles and computers. This recession is different. It's driven primarily by a decline in spending at restaurants, hotels, bars and other service establishments that require in-person contact… But what the team's data show is that this decline in spending is mostly in rich ZIP codes, whose businesses saw a 70% drop-off in their revenue. That compares with a 30% drop in revenue for businesses in poorer ZIP codes." Trickle-down never really worked, but now it really isn't even working in the limited sense. And when extended unemployment benefits end next month, expect the bottom to drop out as well. The rich don't really spend much of their capital (although in dollar terms they spend more). What would make the economy start humming again is to tax them (although attempting to tax existing stockpiles would be troublesome). But right now the pain of holding onto their money isn't as great as the perceived pain of spending that money. Until that pain equation flips, nothing will change.

"U.S. President Donald Trump will suspend the entry of certain foreign workers, a senior administration official said on Monday, a move the official said would help the economy, but which business groups strongly oppose." Again, you thought he was on your side, business people. He's not. You were just convenient to him at the moment. With authoritarians eventually everyone falls into the "out" group eventually.

"When the General Motors plant in Lordstown, Ohio, went dark last year, it was a familiar story for the region. Yet another manufacturing powerhouse — a pillar of the local economy and a rare source of good jobs — was shutting down… But the closure of the plant was not the end of the story. The factory was sold to Lordstown Motors, a start-up building an electric pickup truck that's scheduled to be unveiled on Thursday."

"A group of Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives urged President Donald Trump on Tuesday to reconsider his decision to cut the number of U.S. troops in Germany, saying their presence is the backbone of NATO’s deterrent against Russian aggression."

"The White House on Monday denied any malicious intent behind President Trump's use of the racist term 'kung flu' this weekend to describe the deadly coronavirus pandemic, saying that the president had no "regrets putting the onus back on China" for the deadly virus." Ugh. Bullies always think they're clever when they're just boorish. The president is a virulent racists.

"Fresh off a rally in Tulsa, Okla., in which nearly two-thirds of the arena was empty, President Trump heads to Arizona for a series of smaller events centered on a key element of his reelection pitch: border security… The president is scheduled to survey part of the border fence with Mexico in Yuma, Ariz., on Tuesday."

"Barr’s quick descent from 'Washington insider' to authoritarian bag man has been ably chronicled by my colleague Jeremy Stahl. It began when he lied extravagantly about the contents of the Mueller report, over Robert Mueller’s own objections, and had seemingly bottomed out with his interference in both the Roger Stone sentencing this winter and the abrupt dropping of the case against Michael Flynn. In both instances, career lawyers at the Justice Department walked off the job, and both actions aroused massive internal dissension that took the form of a letter by hundreds of former DOJ attorneys seeking his resignation." Usually when you drain a swamp people stop getting caught in the muck.

"Geoffrey Berman, the federal prosecutor ousted over the weekend by the Trump administration, recently refused to sign a letter from the Justice Department that criticized New York City's coronavirus restrictions that affect religious institutions, a person briefed on the matter said."

"The White House on Monday admitted that President Donald Trump was involved in the removal of US Attorney Geoffrey Berman after Trump had claimed he was "not involved" in the process this weekend… Speaking at the White House Monday, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump was 'involved in the sign-off capacity' as she sought to explain the removal of Berman as a simple swap that would allow Jay Clayton, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, to take the post."

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