It's easy to talk about how the "middle-America" problem is new and caused by NAFTA and those "illegal" immigrants taking "our" jobs. And it's just as much bullshit as the other times I've heard similar shit said during my life. "Things are so hard, we have to exit the EU to save our jobs and national identity" and "We need to renegotiate NAFTA because of all the jobs we lost." Bullshit. Want to know how I know this?
Don't Give Up – Peter Garbiel
This was released in 1986, before the EU (1993), before NAFTA (also 1993). I'm old, but I remember. This isn't the first time we've seen the problems that "the poor, rural white" is supposedly going through (and again, the average Trump voter makes above the average income). This isn't the first time Britain had economic problems. And if we keep blaming the wrong people and the wrong things, we'll continue to have the same problems.
(H/T to Dan for pointing to the song)
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Linkee-poo, is it only a dream that there'll be no more turning away?
The Modulin. Building new instruments by hacking and moving your own. Sure, it's a little Forbidden Planet sounding (theremin), but I'm okay with that. (Grokked from Dan)
"'For every dollar people are contributing to the retirement savings system, about 40 cents of that money is coming out before people reach their late 50s,' said Brigitte Madrian, professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School."
"The animals had been genetically engineered to produce high levels of proteins called cadherins in the brain's 'reward circuit,' which plays an important role in addiction. And genetic studies have suggested that people with high levels of cadherins are more susceptible to drug addiction." Creating mice that show a resistance to drug addiction.
"Moda Health, a small Oregon health insurer, just won a $214-million judgment against the federal government. Normally that wouldn’t be worth reporting, except that in awarding Moda the money, the federal judge in the case dismantled the most cynical attack on the Affordable Care Act that congressional Republicans had devised." (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)
"Our Intelligence Community is so worried by the unprecedented problems of the Trump administration—not only do senior officials possess troubling ties to the Kremlin, there are nagging questions about basic competence regarding Team Trump—that it is beginning to withhold intelligence from a White House which our spies do not trust." And there there is this part, "Now SIGINT confirms that some of the non-salacious parts of what Steele reported, in particular how senior Russian officials conspired to assist Trump in last year’s election, are substantially based in fact." (Grokked from John)
"Mexico is one of the top buyers of American corn in the world today. And Mexican senator Armando Rios Piter, who leads a congressional committee on foreign relations, says he will introduce a bill this week where Mexico will buy corn from Brazil and Argentina instead of the United States." That's gonna leave a mark. And considering cheap American corn (thanks to NAFTA) pretty much tanked the local growers (who were mightily pissed at what they considered the US "dumping subsidized corn" on their markets), there's a history of Mexico being against US corn producers. (Grokked from Wes Chu)
Ah, the jobs-President. "President-elect Donald Trump is driving a hard bargain for the foreign workers who will staff The Mar-a-Lago Club this winter… He’s paying some of them less than they made this past year, and most get just a 1 percent raise… As the presidential campaign heated up, Trump won approval to hire 64 foreign workers through the federal government’s H-2B visa program, according to newly released data from the U.S. Labor Department. This past year, Trump was allowed to hire 69 foreign workers at Mar-a-Lago." You'd think he could hire local employees, except that they all know him. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
(Ed. Gen. Flynn has stepped down since I wrote this) You know, Gen. Flynn not only was let go for violations of security while working at the Pentagon, he may have discussed policy with the Russians before the inauguration and then lied about it and got the VP-elect to lie about it. It can't get much worse. "In addition, the Army has been investigating whether Mr. Flynn received money from the Russian government during a trip he took to Moscow in 2015, according to two defense officials." Oh dear God. (Grokked from George Takei)
Tweet of my (breaking) heart: @wes_chu Travel ban's influence is pervasive. Friends are cancelling trips. 70yr old inlaws who are citizens are considering cancelling trip to Korea
"'For every dollar people are contributing to the retirement savings system, about 40 cents of that money is coming out before people reach their late 50s,' said Brigitte Madrian, professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School."
"The animals had been genetically engineered to produce high levels of proteins called cadherins in the brain's 'reward circuit,' which plays an important role in addiction. And genetic studies have suggested that people with high levels of cadherins are more susceptible to drug addiction." Creating mice that show a resistance to drug addiction.
"Moda Health, a small Oregon health insurer, just won a $214-million judgment against the federal government. Normally that wouldn’t be worth reporting, except that in awarding Moda the money, the federal judge in the case dismantled the most cynical attack on the Affordable Care Act that congressional Republicans had devised." (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)
"Our Intelligence Community is so worried by the unprecedented problems of the Trump administration—not only do senior officials possess troubling ties to the Kremlin, there are nagging questions about basic competence regarding Team Trump—that it is beginning to withhold intelligence from a White House which our spies do not trust." And there there is this part, "Now SIGINT confirms that some of the non-salacious parts of what Steele reported, in particular how senior Russian officials conspired to assist Trump in last year’s election, are substantially based in fact." (Grokked from John)
"Mexico is one of the top buyers of American corn in the world today. And Mexican senator Armando Rios Piter, who leads a congressional committee on foreign relations, says he will introduce a bill this week where Mexico will buy corn from Brazil and Argentina instead of the United States." That's gonna leave a mark. And considering cheap American corn (thanks to NAFTA) pretty much tanked the local growers (who were mightily pissed at what they considered the US "dumping subsidized corn" on their markets), there's a history of Mexico being against US corn producers. (Grokked from Wes Chu)
Ah, the jobs-President. "President-elect Donald Trump is driving a hard bargain for the foreign workers who will staff The Mar-a-Lago Club this winter… He’s paying some of them less than they made this past year, and most get just a 1 percent raise… As the presidential campaign heated up, Trump won approval to hire 64 foreign workers through the federal government’s H-2B visa program, according to newly released data from the U.S. Labor Department. This past year, Trump was allowed to hire 69 foreign workers at Mar-a-Lago." You'd think he could hire local employees, except that they all know him. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
(Ed. Gen. Flynn has stepped down since I wrote this) You know, Gen. Flynn not only was let go for violations of security while working at the Pentagon, he may have discussed policy with the Russians before the inauguration and then lied about it and got the VP-elect to lie about it. It can't get much worse. "In addition, the Army has been investigating whether Mr. Flynn received money from the Russian government during a trip he took to Moscow in 2015, according to two defense officials." Oh dear God. (Grokked from George Takei)
Tweet of my (breaking) heart: @wes_chu Travel ban's influence is pervasive. Friends are cancelling trips. 70yr old inlaws who are citizens are considering cancelling trip to Korea
Monday, February 13, 2017
Linkee-poo doesn't want you tonight, you weren't there, I'm gonna show you tonight I'm alright, I'm just fine, and you're a tool
Using starlight as a random inducer for double checking quantum entanglement. Okay, but what if everything is entangled from the Big Bang?
"In an interview with NPR, (John) Oliver reluctantly concedes that President Trump will define the shows this season. Oliver carries a distinctly liberal sense of humor and a distinctly serious sense of purpose about his satire in an age when politics, journalism and entertainment have often not just blurred definitions but have swapped numbers, apartment keys and Netflix passwords."
I'ma just gonna leave this here. "But to Chowning and other members of the coalition, it was the second bill, HB 1441, that was even more disturbing, devoid of any nuance and completely unconstitutional. Written by another of the chamber’s freshmen, Rep. Justin Humphrey, the legislation would require a woman seeking an abortion first to obtain written permission from her sexual partner. It would also require her to provide his name to her doctor and would forestall the procedure if the man wanted the opportunity to challenge paternity." You may think that's the worst part of it all, but it's not when you get to the reasoning. (Grokked from Kelly Link)
"Chief Owens died in our name, so it is for us to demand a thorough and dispassionate accounting from our leaders." Jim Wright on claiming victory in Yemen. Stands and salutes.
I don't often do this, but can you imagine the shit-storm conservatives would have made had President Obama's raid that killed bin Laden had gone this wrong (things did go wrong, we lost a very expensive helicopter, and needed to activate the backup extraction plan)?
"…(T)he 72 cancer therapies approved between 2002 and 2014 only bought patients an extra 2.1 months of life compared with older drugs, researchers have found. And there’s no evidence that two-thirds of the drugs approved in the last two years improve survival at all… Yet, that doesn’t keep some of those drugs from coming with heavy price tags and concerning side-effects. Among cancer drugs approved in 2016, the average cost for a year’s worth of treatment was $171,000." But let's roll-out drugs with even less testing and verification. To be fair, some patients do wonderfully better using the new drugs. (Grokked from Vince O'Conner)
"Thus, although the 100-mile border zone is not literally 'Constitution free,' the U.S. government frequently acts like it is." CPB, the 100 mile wide zone, and you. (Grokked from Saladin Ahmed)
"Walker was marching and picketing with a group of about 20 people on Saturday. Their rally was met with a huge counter protest – at least 165 people marched in support of Planned Parenthood." Protests and counter protests in the middle of winter. The gods I hope we can keep this up for the next decade. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
"On Friday night, after four years of CYO basketball together, the nine boys and two girls on the St. John's 5th grade team had to make a decision: Play without the girls or give up the rest of the season… Two weeks prior, the team was told by the league's director that they should never have played as a coed team… Parents said the team's record was wiped, too, since the girls had played in those games 'illegally.'" The team decided to give up the rest of the season. Noted to reinforce the idea that sometimes people make the right decisions for the right reasons. (Grokked from Cherie Priest)
The kids are alright. "First they marched, mow more than 13,000 women are planning to run for office." This is a good thing. Not all will eventual run (or win), but if they're taking seminars on how to run (and serve) chances are they aren't going back to their old lives any time soon. "When these women do run, it’ll likely be at a local level…" Positive benefit to the hell we're all walking through. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
ZOMG, voter fraud! "Iowa's top elections official, who is pushing for a voter identification requirement that could make it harder for some to vote, has only been informed of 10 votes that were potentially improper out of nearly 1.6 million counted statewide in the November election.… Further review by the AP showed that most of the instances were mistakes rather than fraud, and may not have been stopped by an identification requirement. They included a non-English speaking citizen who mistakenly voted when he registered and again on Election Day, a felon whose voting rights had been restored in Wisconsin but not Iowa, and a non-citizen who turned herself in after learning later she shouldn't have been eligible to vote." Oh noes, all those votes for Hillary… oh, wait. "The only person charged with election misconduct in Iowa is Terri Rote of Des Moines, a Trump supporter who told police she voted twice because she believed the candidate's claims that the election was rigged and that her first ballot wouldn't be counted" (Grokked from Jim Wright)
Tweet of my heart: @meyerweb Jesus H. Bombastus Christ on a unicycle. They used CELL PHONES for light. Camera-bearing, microphone-bearing CELL. PHONES. (Grokked from Ferrett Steinmetz) (for context if you need it)
"In an interview with NPR, (John) Oliver reluctantly concedes that President Trump will define the shows this season. Oliver carries a distinctly liberal sense of humor and a distinctly serious sense of purpose about his satire in an age when politics, journalism and entertainment have often not just blurred definitions but have swapped numbers, apartment keys and Netflix passwords."
I'ma just gonna leave this here. "But to Chowning and other members of the coalition, it was the second bill, HB 1441, that was even more disturbing, devoid of any nuance and completely unconstitutional. Written by another of the chamber’s freshmen, Rep. Justin Humphrey, the legislation would require a woman seeking an abortion first to obtain written permission from her sexual partner. It would also require her to provide his name to her doctor and would forestall the procedure if the man wanted the opportunity to challenge paternity." You may think that's the worst part of it all, but it's not when you get to the reasoning. (Grokked from Kelly Link)
"Chief Owens died in our name, so it is for us to demand a thorough and dispassionate accounting from our leaders." Jim Wright on claiming victory in Yemen. Stands and salutes.
I don't often do this, but can you imagine the shit-storm conservatives would have made had President Obama's raid that killed bin Laden had gone this wrong (things did go wrong, we lost a very expensive helicopter, and needed to activate the backup extraction plan)?
"…(T)he 72 cancer therapies approved between 2002 and 2014 only bought patients an extra 2.1 months of life compared with older drugs, researchers have found. And there’s no evidence that two-thirds of the drugs approved in the last two years improve survival at all… Yet, that doesn’t keep some of those drugs from coming with heavy price tags and concerning side-effects. Among cancer drugs approved in 2016, the average cost for a year’s worth of treatment was $171,000." But let's roll-out drugs with even less testing and verification. To be fair, some patients do wonderfully better using the new drugs. (Grokked from Vince O'Conner)
"Thus, although the 100-mile border zone is not literally 'Constitution free,' the U.S. government frequently acts like it is." CPB, the 100 mile wide zone, and you. (Grokked from Saladin Ahmed)
"Walker was marching and picketing with a group of about 20 people on Saturday. Their rally was met with a huge counter protest – at least 165 people marched in support of Planned Parenthood." Protests and counter protests in the middle of winter. The gods I hope we can keep this up for the next decade. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
"On Friday night, after four years of CYO basketball together, the nine boys and two girls on the St. John's 5th grade team had to make a decision: Play without the girls or give up the rest of the season… Two weeks prior, the team was told by the league's director that they should never have played as a coed team… Parents said the team's record was wiped, too, since the girls had played in those games 'illegally.'" The team decided to give up the rest of the season. Noted to reinforce the idea that sometimes people make the right decisions for the right reasons. (Grokked from Cherie Priest)
The kids are alright. "First they marched, mow more than 13,000 women are planning to run for office." This is a good thing. Not all will eventual run (or win), but if they're taking seminars on how to run (and serve) chances are they aren't going back to their old lives any time soon. "When these women do run, it’ll likely be at a local level…" Positive benefit to the hell we're all walking through. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
ZOMG, voter fraud! "Iowa's top elections official, who is pushing for a voter identification requirement that could make it harder for some to vote, has only been informed of 10 votes that were potentially improper out of nearly 1.6 million counted statewide in the November election.… Further review by the AP showed that most of the instances were mistakes rather than fraud, and may not have been stopped by an identification requirement. They included a non-English speaking citizen who mistakenly voted when he registered and again on Election Day, a felon whose voting rights had been restored in Wisconsin but not Iowa, and a non-citizen who turned herself in after learning later she shouldn't have been eligible to vote." Oh noes, all those votes for Hillary… oh, wait. "The only person charged with election misconduct in Iowa is Terri Rote of Des Moines, a Trump supporter who told police she voted twice because she believed the candidate's claims that the election was rigged and that her first ballot wouldn't be counted" (Grokked from Jim Wright)
Tweet of my heart: @meyerweb Jesus H. Bombastus Christ on a unicycle. They used CELL PHONES for light. Camera-bearing, microphone-bearing CELL. PHONES. (Grokked from Ferrett Steinmetz) (for context if you need it)
Friday, February 10, 2017
Linkee-poo is tired of screwin' up, tired of going down, tired of myself, tired of this town
The Google Docs document for town halls. Maybe your rep is listed. (Grokked from George Takei)
"A Flickr group devoted to the most beautiful old control panels you've ever seen."
Ten advances in weaponry that changed history. Oddly no mention of the stirrup. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
So, how are things going in those states that opted to not expand Medicaid? In Idaho people are still dealing with (and dying from) easily treatable diseases. Idaho state Sen. Marv "Hagedorn’s perspective started to shift. Maybe the state should have taken the federal money. 'I think everyone presumed everyone was getting the care they needed, and that was just not true,' he said." Just in case you've forgotten what a fuckup the "free-market" healthcare industry was before Obamacare. (Grokked from Hannah Bowman)
"In reality, of course, none of the controversy over asset forfeiture centers around what authorities do when they find a 'huge stash of drugs'… So what’s striking here is the manner in which, over the course of an exchange… Trump progresses from learning of the existence of a new… concept, to misunderstanding completely what it is and why it’s controversial, to developing a strong opinion about it painted in a childlike understanding of the world and morality… to expressing outrage that anyone could have an opinion on it that diverges from his own." So how's that "we want a business man to run it" going for you? (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
"Newly sworn-in Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Thursday that he thinks a rise in crime is a 'dangerous permanent trend,' contradicting FBI data that indicates an overall downward trend." What did you dream, we told you what to dream. Welcome to the machine.
"National security adviser Michael Flynn privately discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with that country’s ambassador to the United States during the month before President Trump took office, contrary to public assertions by Trump officials, current and former U.S. officials said." Oops. And so begins the walk back. "The talks were part of a series of contacts between Flynn and Kislyak that began before the Nov. 8 election and continued during the transition, officials said." (Grokked from Mur Lafferty)
"Sean Spicer has said that he was 'clearly' referring to the terrorist attack in Orlando last year when he mysteriously referred to an attack in Atlanta several times over the past two weeks." Well obviously. I mean one was a white supremacists and the other was nominally tied to ISIS. Of course he only meant to mention the ISIS one.
Surprise! "Trump vexed by challenges, scale of government… The new president’s allies say he has been surprised that government can’t be run like his business." Every new administration has their troubles, but this is about the worst I can remember it ever being. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
"A Flickr group devoted to the most beautiful old control panels you've ever seen."
Ten advances in weaponry that changed history. Oddly no mention of the stirrup. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
So, how are things going in those states that opted to not expand Medicaid? In Idaho people are still dealing with (and dying from) easily treatable diseases. Idaho state Sen. Marv "Hagedorn’s perspective started to shift. Maybe the state should have taken the federal money. 'I think everyone presumed everyone was getting the care they needed, and that was just not true,' he said." Just in case you've forgotten what a fuckup the "free-market" healthcare industry was before Obamacare. (Grokked from Hannah Bowman)
"In reality, of course, none of the controversy over asset forfeiture centers around what authorities do when they find a 'huge stash of drugs'… So what’s striking here is the manner in which, over the course of an exchange… Trump progresses from learning of the existence of a new… concept, to misunderstanding completely what it is and why it’s controversial, to developing a strong opinion about it painted in a childlike understanding of the world and morality… to expressing outrage that anyone could have an opinion on it that diverges from his own." So how's that "we want a business man to run it" going for you? (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
"Newly sworn-in Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Thursday that he thinks a rise in crime is a 'dangerous permanent trend,' contradicting FBI data that indicates an overall downward trend." What did you dream, we told you what to dream. Welcome to the machine.
"National security adviser Michael Flynn privately discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with that country’s ambassador to the United States during the month before President Trump took office, contrary to public assertions by Trump officials, current and former U.S. officials said." Oops. And so begins the walk back. "The talks were part of a series of contacts between Flynn and Kislyak that began before the Nov. 8 election and continued during the transition, officials said." (Grokked from Mur Lafferty)
"Sean Spicer has said that he was 'clearly' referring to the terrorist attack in Orlando last year when he mysteriously referred to an attack in Atlanta several times over the past two weeks." Well obviously. I mean one was a white supremacists and the other was nominally tied to ISIS. Of course he only meant to mention the ISIS one.
Surprise! "Trump vexed by challenges, scale of government… The new president’s allies say he has been surprised that government can’t be run like his business." Every new administration has their troubles, but this is about the worst I can remember it ever being. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
Thursday, February 9, 2017
Linkee-poo don't need you to worry for me 'cause I'm all right
Did you ever wonder what a 70-year old can of war rations tastes like? We'll there's a guy who will do that for you. (Grokked from John)
How our civilization helped our diseases develop.
A kickstarter to publish "(r)are macabre posters from 1862 Victoriana to 1971 Psychedelia!" Damnit, why do these things always come around when I'm being tight with cash. The only thing saving me right now is it's a half page book (5.5" x 8.5"). (Grokked from Neil Gaiman)
Today in Fake News news, "Wikipedia editors have voted to ban the Daily Mail as a source for the website in all but exceptional circumstances after deeming the news group 'generally unreliable.' The move is highly unusual for the online encyclopaedia, which rarely puts in place a blanket ban on publications and which still allows links to sources such as Kremlin backed news organization Russia Today, and Fox News, both of which have raised concern among editors." You know, of you can't come up the low bar set by RT or Fox, that's saying something. (Grokked from Dan)
The rise of the Resistance. It’s too soon to tell if the current resistance movement will follow the tea party’s pattern. But there are already many parallels. It has arisen spontaneously and en masse. Many Republicans believe it’s not real…" (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
"President Donald Trump's meeting with Intel CEO Brian Krzanich turned into a product announcement with a presidential touch on Wednesday when Krzanich promoted the corporation's new investments while standing in the Oval Office." That's great. The Oval Office as product announcement speech platform. "Former Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini announced in 2011 that the corporation would invest over $5 billion in Fab 42 (Which now CEO Brian Krzanich is announcing here), which was originally set to be completed in 2013… Otellini made the announcement during a visit by President Barack Obama… Intel indefinitely postponed the factory's opening in 2014 amid decreased demand, according to a report by the Oregonian." Yeah, that's great. (Grokked from Dan)
"White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Wednesday that Nordstrom's decision to stop carrying Ivanka Trump's clothing and accessories line is an attack on the president's policies and his daughter." This will turn out well. (Grokked form Kathryn Cramer)
How our civilization helped our diseases develop.
A kickstarter to publish "(r)are macabre posters from 1862 Victoriana to 1971 Psychedelia!" Damnit, why do these things always come around when I'm being tight with cash. The only thing saving me right now is it's a half page book (5.5" x 8.5"). (Grokked from Neil Gaiman)
Today in Fake News news, "Wikipedia editors have voted to ban the Daily Mail as a source for the website in all but exceptional circumstances after deeming the news group 'generally unreliable.' The move is highly unusual for the online encyclopaedia, which rarely puts in place a blanket ban on publications and which still allows links to sources such as Kremlin backed news organization Russia Today, and Fox News, both of which have raised concern among editors." You know, of you can't come up the low bar set by RT or Fox, that's saying something. (Grokked from Dan)
The rise of the Resistance. It’s too soon to tell if the current resistance movement will follow the tea party’s pattern. But there are already many parallels. It has arisen spontaneously and en masse. Many Republicans believe it’s not real…" (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
"President Donald Trump's meeting with Intel CEO Brian Krzanich turned into a product announcement with a presidential touch on Wednesday when Krzanich promoted the corporation's new investments while standing in the Oval Office." That's great. The Oval Office as product announcement speech platform. "Former Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini announced in 2011 that the corporation would invest over $5 billion in Fab 42 (Which now CEO Brian Krzanich is announcing here), which was originally set to be completed in 2013… Otellini made the announcement during a visit by President Barack Obama… Intel indefinitely postponed the factory's opening in 2014 amid decreased demand, according to a report by the Oregonian." Yeah, that's great. (Grokked from Dan)
"White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Wednesday that Nordstrom's decision to stop carrying Ivanka Trump's clothing and accessories line is an attack on the president's policies and his daughter." This will turn out well. (Grokked form Kathryn Cramer)
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Linkee-poo, no more turning away from the coldness inside
Note to Self podcast Privacy Paradox project. The EFF Panopticlick tool and Privacy Badger browser plug in, find out who is tracking you, and gain the power to disappear from them (unfortunately doesn't work in my version of Safari).
"Starting in 2014, Vizio made TVs that automatically tracked what consumers were watching and transmitted that data back to its servers. Vizio even retrofitted older models by installing its tracking software remotely. All of this, the FTC and AG allege, was done without clearly telling consumers or getting their consent." Oopsie. (Grokked from Dan)
"Imagine the horror of being trapped in a hostile landscape surrounded by snowflakes that were once objects of amusement but now form a blizzard of menacing proportions. Then smile because you're not a fascist, and are merely stuck on a polar icebreaking vessel for 10 hours." It's a remix.
"Balls in SPAAAAAACCCCEEE!" "When Ellison Onizuka made his second flight as a mission specialist aboard space shuttle Challenger in 1986, one of the personal effects he carried with him was a soccer ball signed by members of the Clear Lake High School girls and boys soccer team, where his daughter attended school… Now that soccer ball has gone back into space." (Grokked form Dan)
"Despite more than a week of headlines about President Donald Trump's immigration executive order and the administration's focus on national security, a plurality of Americans say health care costs are their primary concern, rather than terrorism, according to a poll released Tuesday by Monmouth University." It's almost like those two things are linked somehow. Healthcare costs are at 25%, terrorism is at 2%. That's just one point up from "Trump as president" (1%).
"People who want to visit the United States could be asked to hand over their social-media passwords to officials as part of enhanced security checks, the country's top domestic security chief said." One, already has happened as reported by people coming into the US after Trump's EO on immigration. Two, this shit again? Three, there's a huge difference between asking for someone's social media handles and asking for their login information. Fourth, there have been reports of CBP demanding people coming into the US to unlock their phones so they could copy all the data on the phone. (Grokked from Dan)
"Sebastian Gorka (you may remember him as the Breitbart editor and being guilty of taking a firearm into a TSA controlled ares), deputy assistant to President Donald Trump, said Monday that the administration will continue using the term 'fake news' until the media understands that their 'monumental desire' to attack the President is wrong." I feel like I'm in a Rocky Horror Picture Show screening and I'm supposed to shout, "That's not what fake news is, asshole." That's some serious Ministry of Truth shit right there. (Grokked from Maureen Johnson)
How's those "alternative facts" working out? "Despite what the White House has claimed, top Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway acknowledged on Tuesday that some terror attacks on a list released by the administration did in fact receive 'international coverage and wall-to-wall coverage.'" So, say the outrageous lie and initially defend it, then roll it back later when your base isn't watching. Where have I seen that before?
"A House committee voted on Tuesday to eliminate an independent election commission charged with helping states improve their voting systems as President Donald Trump erroneously claims widespread voter fraud cost him the popular vote." First rule of corruption, turn off the alarms and clear out the watchdogs. (Grokked from George Takei)
Rep Sean Duffy stays on point no matter what the facts. I love when he states "that's one example" and then the reporter starts listing more examples. Also, there was that DoHS report on white supremacists that the GOP helped scuttle. (Grokked from Maureen Johnson)
"But there are plenty of people worried about it." I think that's the understatement of the decade. Trump's calls with foreign leaders continue to go off the rails. Although they say some have gone very well. I'm sure our alliance with the Czechs will prove fruitful. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
"'I think what’s most important are the actions,' (Speaker Ryan) continued. 'This administration is honoring the ruling, and this administration is going through the proper procedures to deal with the ruling to try and get the ruling overturned. They’re going through the appeals process, they’re respecting the separation of powers in the process. Look, I know he’s an unconventional President. He gets frustrated with judges, we get frustrated with judges. But he’s respecting the process, and that’s what counts at the end of the day.'" You know, except for that first week where there were other rulings against Trump's EO, but CBP keep detaining people and forcing them to give up their green cards. Also there are the comments made against the judge (attacking him personally, not just the judgement).
Tweet of my heart: @MaryRobinette Remember, you want the plot to thicken, not curdle. Steady application of heat, not a sudden boil. Unless writing a potboiler
"Starting in 2014, Vizio made TVs that automatically tracked what consumers were watching and transmitted that data back to its servers. Vizio even retrofitted older models by installing its tracking software remotely. All of this, the FTC and AG allege, was done without clearly telling consumers or getting their consent." Oopsie. (Grokked from Dan)
"Imagine the horror of being trapped in a hostile landscape surrounded by snowflakes that were once objects of amusement but now form a blizzard of menacing proportions. Then smile because you're not a fascist, and are merely stuck on a polar icebreaking vessel for 10 hours." It's a remix.
"Balls in SPAAAAAACCCCEEE!" "When Ellison Onizuka made his second flight as a mission specialist aboard space shuttle Challenger in 1986, one of the personal effects he carried with him was a soccer ball signed by members of the Clear Lake High School girls and boys soccer team, where his daughter attended school… Now that soccer ball has gone back into space." (Grokked form Dan)
"Despite more than a week of headlines about President Donald Trump's immigration executive order and the administration's focus on national security, a plurality of Americans say health care costs are their primary concern, rather than terrorism, according to a poll released Tuesday by Monmouth University." It's almost like those two things are linked somehow. Healthcare costs are at 25%, terrorism is at 2%. That's just one point up from "Trump as president" (1%).
"People who want to visit the United States could be asked to hand over their social-media passwords to officials as part of enhanced security checks, the country's top domestic security chief said." One, already has happened as reported by people coming into the US after Trump's EO on immigration. Two, this shit again? Three, there's a huge difference between asking for someone's social media handles and asking for their login information. Fourth, there have been reports of CBP demanding people coming into the US to unlock their phones so they could copy all the data on the phone. (Grokked from Dan)
"Sebastian Gorka (you may remember him as the Breitbart editor and being guilty of taking a firearm into a TSA controlled ares), deputy assistant to President Donald Trump, said Monday that the administration will continue using the term 'fake news' until the media understands that their 'monumental desire' to attack the President is wrong." I feel like I'm in a Rocky Horror Picture Show screening and I'm supposed to shout, "That's not what fake news is, asshole." That's some serious Ministry of Truth shit right there. (Grokked from Maureen Johnson)
How's those "alternative facts" working out? "Despite what the White House has claimed, top Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway acknowledged on Tuesday that some terror attacks on a list released by the administration did in fact receive 'international coverage and wall-to-wall coverage.'" So, say the outrageous lie and initially defend it, then roll it back later when your base isn't watching. Where have I seen that before?
"A House committee voted on Tuesday to eliminate an independent election commission charged with helping states improve their voting systems as President Donald Trump erroneously claims widespread voter fraud cost him the popular vote." First rule of corruption, turn off the alarms and clear out the watchdogs. (Grokked from George Takei)
Rep Sean Duffy stays on point no matter what the facts. I love when he states "that's one example" and then the reporter starts listing more examples. Also, there was that DoHS report on white supremacists that the GOP helped scuttle. (Grokked from Maureen Johnson)
"But there are plenty of people worried about it." I think that's the understatement of the decade. Trump's calls with foreign leaders continue to go off the rails. Although they say some have gone very well. I'm sure our alliance with the Czechs will prove fruitful. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
"'I think what’s most important are the actions,' (Speaker Ryan) continued. 'This administration is honoring the ruling, and this administration is going through the proper procedures to deal with the ruling to try and get the ruling overturned. They’re going through the appeals process, they’re respecting the separation of powers in the process. Look, I know he’s an unconventional President. He gets frustrated with judges, we get frustrated with judges. But he’s respecting the process, and that’s what counts at the end of the day.'" You know, except for that first week where there were other rulings against Trump's EO, but CBP keep detaining people and forcing them to give up their green cards. Also there are the comments made against the judge (attacking him personally, not just the judgement).
Tweet of my heart: @MaryRobinette Remember, you want the plot to thicken, not curdle. Steady application of heat, not a sudden boil. Unless writing a potboiler
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Current Mood
Not related to blogging here, but for other parts of life.
Because, damn, that's another great rock anthem.
Man, if this were karaoke, right now I'd hit that "I" so fucking hard you'd get the choruser echo just from my unmic'ed voice hitting the back wall.
Because, damn, that's another great rock anthem.
Man, if this were karaoke, right now I'd hit that "I" so fucking hard you'd get the choruser echo just from my unmic'ed voice hitting the back wall.
Linkee-poo is walking the beat, at night he becomes a bartender
Trigger warnings: Delilah S. Dawson on why she writes what she does, and why she won't make the uncomfortable more palatable. (Grokked from John Scalzi)
"According to both Fidelity and research done by Aon Hewitt and the University of Georgia, in order to maintain our standard of living post-retirement, we need to have saved at least 11 times our income by age 65. That means saving 15 percent to 17 percent of income across your working life." The coming retirement crisis. This is why Social Security reform is necessary (although all the proposals from the right would effectively kill it). Or we need to have a basic income proposal. Also note that 401(k)s (which were never intended for the populace) aren't prepared for this, and you can't save more than 10% of your income (except for "catch up" rules which don't apply until you're older). Here comes the hard place, now it's time to see how solid that rock is.
An aircraft carrier is an exceeding complex piece of machinery with lots of moving parts. One of those parts helps launch aircraft into the air. So, how does one test such a system? Using a $70M F18? Hell no. How about a few old trucks. Sure, there were lots of serious faces and data gathering going on, but I can bet that there were a number of raucous cheers as well. (Grokked from Dan)
Why does the military still pursue the F-35 even though it's the most expensive and complicate aircraft purchase program? Because the F-35s (flying with F-22s) just scored a 15-1 kill ratio during Red Flag. And our current president thinks we should trash it and order more F-18 Super Hornets. Yeah. What's not stated in that article is that Red Team (the opposition) are not fresh candidates out for a spin in their F-16s. Red Team are drawn from from the top pilots and operators. They typically crush Blue Team at the beginning until the kids can catch up. What that means is the F-35 system is a disruptive entry into air superiority. (Grokked from Ken McConnell)
Why don't we work with Assad in Syria? "A newly released report by Amnesty International alleges a widespread and systematic attack by Syria's government against its civilian population, including murder, torture, enforced disappearances and extermination carried out at a military prison called Saydnaya." Because he's a murderer.
"At the beginning of March, the FBI will no longer accept FOIA requests via email. Instead, requesters will have to rely on fax machines and standard mail ('snail mail') in order to communicate with the agency’s records management division." Well, that (and the attendant costs charged to the requestors) should slow things down sufficiently. Or as friends once said, "It's 2010, who lists fax numbers on their business cards anymore." Actually a lot of government and health care institutions rely on faxes (especially when networks go down). (Grokked from Dan)
"During Monday’s morning meeting, Conway, multiple sources said, shrugged off the concerns from thousands of people jamming phone lines critical of Trump's Cabinet nominees, explaining that she's more worried about her own 'RPI' or 'Real Person Impact' meter." Apparently we all aren't real people to this administration. Could this finally be the "let them eat cake" moment (they're starting to pile up). Also noted because they're figuring it (how to get work done) out. That could mean more problems ahead. (Grokked from Paolo Bacigalupi)
"President Donald Trump accused 'Obama people' of leaking less-than-favorable details about his tense phone calls with Australian and Mexican leaders, calling the leakers 'disgraceful' in an interview with Fox News published Monday." Not that he's disputing what they've said, but just that they aren't "his people" as it were.
The Trump administration released a list of terrorist attacks that the media hasn't focused on. So they don't think the media focused on the San Bernardino attack, the Paris attack, but a lot of attacks throughout the world. You know, they things we focused on for weeks at a time. Also, apparently, the document is riddled with misspellings. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
"According to both Fidelity and research done by Aon Hewitt and the University of Georgia, in order to maintain our standard of living post-retirement, we need to have saved at least 11 times our income by age 65. That means saving 15 percent to 17 percent of income across your working life." The coming retirement crisis. This is why Social Security reform is necessary (although all the proposals from the right would effectively kill it). Or we need to have a basic income proposal. Also note that 401(k)s (which were never intended for the populace) aren't prepared for this, and you can't save more than 10% of your income (except for "catch up" rules which don't apply until you're older). Here comes the hard place, now it's time to see how solid that rock is.
An aircraft carrier is an exceeding complex piece of machinery with lots of moving parts. One of those parts helps launch aircraft into the air. So, how does one test such a system? Using a $70M F18? Hell no. How about a few old trucks. Sure, there were lots of serious faces and data gathering going on, but I can bet that there were a number of raucous cheers as well. (Grokked from Dan)
Why does the military still pursue the F-35 even though it's the most expensive and complicate aircraft purchase program? Because the F-35s (flying with F-22s) just scored a 15-1 kill ratio during Red Flag. And our current president thinks we should trash it and order more F-18 Super Hornets. Yeah. What's not stated in that article is that Red Team (the opposition) are not fresh candidates out for a spin in their F-16s. Red Team are drawn from from the top pilots and operators. They typically crush Blue Team at the beginning until the kids can catch up. What that means is the F-35 system is a disruptive entry into air superiority. (Grokked from Ken McConnell)
Why don't we work with Assad in Syria? "A newly released report by Amnesty International alleges a widespread and systematic attack by Syria's government against its civilian population, including murder, torture, enforced disappearances and extermination carried out at a military prison called Saydnaya." Because he's a murderer.
"At the beginning of March, the FBI will no longer accept FOIA requests via email. Instead, requesters will have to rely on fax machines and standard mail ('snail mail') in order to communicate with the agency’s records management division." Well, that (and the attendant costs charged to the requestors) should slow things down sufficiently. Or as friends once said, "It's 2010, who lists fax numbers on their business cards anymore." Actually a lot of government and health care institutions rely on faxes (especially when networks go down). (Grokked from Dan)
"During Monday’s morning meeting, Conway, multiple sources said, shrugged off the concerns from thousands of people jamming phone lines critical of Trump's Cabinet nominees, explaining that she's more worried about her own 'RPI' or 'Real Person Impact' meter." Apparently we all aren't real people to this administration. Could this finally be the "let them eat cake" moment (they're starting to pile up). Also noted because they're figuring it (how to get work done) out. That could mean more problems ahead. (Grokked from Paolo Bacigalupi)
"President Donald Trump accused 'Obama people' of leaking less-than-favorable details about his tense phone calls with Australian and Mexican leaders, calling the leakers 'disgraceful' in an interview with Fox News published Monday." Not that he's disputing what they've said, but just that they aren't "his people" as it were.
The Trump administration released a list of terrorist attacks that the media hasn't focused on. So they don't think the media focused on the San Bernardino attack, the Paris attack, but a lot of attacks throughout the world. You know, they things we focused on for weeks at a time. Also, apparently, the document is riddled with misspellings. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
Monday, February 6, 2017
Linkee-poo, now Lucy looks sweet 'cause he dresses like a queen
The rise of the Day One Patch scheme of software development. (Grokked from Dan)
"Stories like Helen's occur in ICUs all over the country every day, unfortunately."
"But now Scientific American reports that 'Chronic use of popular heartburn medicines may be riskier than was thought,' citing two papers linking the drugs to an increase risk of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, and a greater risk of kidney problems." (Grokked from Dan)
"On Thursday the GOP-controlled House voted to overturn an Obama administration rule designed to keep firearms out of the hands of some people deemed mentally ill." I'm sure that'll work out well. Oh, BTW, those of you in coal country the Congress also overturned the rule to keep your cricks and rivers clean. Because, as you know, you can trust the mine company to be concerned about your health.
"Florida lawmakers are again proposing a contentious plan that would put coding and foreign language on equal footing in a public high school student's education… Disclosure records show that Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has three lobbyists registered to fight in support of the bill." Disney. Education. Coding. 2017 is turing out really weird. (Grokked from Dan)
"The American military has failed to publicly disclose potentially thousands of lethal airstrikes conducted over several years in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, a Military Times investigation has revealed. The enormous data gap raises serious doubts about transparency in reported progress against the Islamic State, al-Qaida and the Taliban, and calls into question the accuracy of other Defense Department disclosures documenting everything from costs to casualty counts." Paging General Westmoreland, General Westmoreland please pick up the courtesy phone. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
"President Donald Trump was blunt Friday morning when he told a roundtable of business leaders why his administration was committed to hollowing out some financial regulations in Dodd-Frank: His friends can’t get loans." The Wall Street Gravy Train is just leaving the station.
"President Trump is expected to sign two directives on (last) Friday, ordering a review of financial industry regulations known as Dodd-Frank and halting implementation of a rule that requires financial advisers to act in the best interests of their clients, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity." Because that's what all those "rural, white Trump supporters" were really interested in. "The banks are going to be able to price product more efficiently and more effectively to consumers." Yeah. They were so much better priced before 2008. Uh huh. Next up, I'm sure the CFPB will be on the chopping block or turned over to be run by the very bankers it was created to police.
So 100,000+ people had their visa revoked because of the Executive Order last week. The administration said 109 people were affected. A hundred-thousand verses on-hundred and nine. No big difference there. It's a rounding number for anything under one-billion. But the number is closer to 60,000. As if that makes it any better.
"Aides confer in the dark because they cannot figure out how to operate the light switches in the cabinet room. Visitors conclude their meetings and then wander around, testing doorknobs until finding one that leads to an exit. In a darkened, mostly empty West Wing, Mr. Trump’s provocative chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, finishes another 16-hour day planning new lines of attack." The first few weeks are always the worst, and it appears that they're figuring it out. But I see the trappings of "run the government like a business", which really won't work out in the long run. I expect the firings to start soon (which they still haven't filled many key positions).
"There is an enormous amount of crazy-sounding news right now (ed: Oh my yes)… If progressives are looking to be shocked, terrified, or incensed, they have plenty of options (ed: exactly why fake news spread among the right during the election). Yet in the past two weeks, many have turned to a different avenue: They have shared 'fake news,' online stories that look like real journalism but are full of fables and falsehoods." A good article, although most of it is still on the conservative side of the spectrum, there is a growing cadre of fake news peddlers on the progressive side. Also the article interviews Brooke Binkowski, managing editor of Snopes. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
SO there's this argument about if journalists have forsaken their role in society of holding those in power accountable for their statements an trying to inform the public of what's really going on versus being stenographers writing down what people say without analysis. "USA Today columnist calls CNN’s Stelter ‘ridiculous’ for fact-checking Trump: ‘It’s not a good look’." Yeah, it's a thing. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
"Stories like Helen's occur in ICUs all over the country every day, unfortunately."
"But now Scientific American reports that 'Chronic use of popular heartburn medicines may be riskier than was thought,' citing two papers linking the drugs to an increase risk of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, and a greater risk of kidney problems." (Grokked from Dan)
"On Thursday the GOP-controlled House voted to overturn an Obama administration rule designed to keep firearms out of the hands of some people deemed mentally ill." I'm sure that'll work out well. Oh, BTW, those of you in coal country the Congress also overturned the rule to keep your cricks and rivers clean. Because, as you know, you can trust the mine company to be concerned about your health.
"Florida lawmakers are again proposing a contentious plan that would put coding and foreign language on equal footing in a public high school student's education… Disclosure records show that Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has three lobbyists registered to fight in support of the bill." Disney. Education. Coding. 2017 is turing out really weird. (Grokked from Dan)
"The American military has failed to publicly disclose potentially thousands of lethal airstrikes conducted over several years in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, a Military Times investigation has revealed. The enormous data gap raises serious doubts about transparency in reported progress against the Islamic State, al-Qaida and the Taliban, and calls into question the accuracy of other Defense Department disclosures documenting everything from costs to casualty counts." Paging General Westmoreland, General Westmoreland please pick up the courtesy phone. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
"President Donald Trump was blunt Friday morning when he told a roundtable of business leaders why his administration was committed to hollowing out some financial regulations in Dodd-Frank: His friends can’t get loans." The Wall Street Gravy Train is just leaving the station.
"President Trump is expected to sign two directives on (last) Friday, ordering a review of financial industry regulations known as Dodd-Frank and halting implementation of a rule that requires financial advisers to act in the best interests of their clients, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity." Because that's what all those "rural, white Trump supporters" were really interested in. "The banks are going to be able to price product more efficiently and more effectively to consumers." Yeah. They were so much better priced before 2008. Uh huh. Next up, I'm sure the CFPB will be on the chopping block or turned over to be run by the very bankers it was created to police.
So 100,000+ people had their visa revoked because of the Executive Order last week. The administration said 109 people were affected. A hundred-thousand verses on-hundred and nine. No big difference there. It's a rounding number for anything under one-billion. But the number is closer to 60,000. As if that makes it any better.
"Aides confer in the dark because they cannot figure out how to operate the light switches in the cabinet room. Visitors conclude their meetings and then wander around, testing doorknobs until finding one that leads to an exit. In a darkened, mostly empty West Wing, Mr. Trump’s provocative chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, finishes another 16-hour day planning new lines of attack." The first few weeks are always the worst, and it appears that they're figuring it out. But I see the trappings of "run the government like a business", which really won't work out in the long run. I expect the firings to start soon (which they still haven't filled many key positions).
"There is an enormous amount of crazy-sounding news right now (ed: Oh my yes)… If progressives are looking to be shocked, terrified, or incensed, they have plenty of options (ed: exactly why fake news spread among the right during the election). Yet in the past two weeks, many have turned to a different avenue: They have shared 'fake news,' online stories that look like real journalism but are full of fables and falsehoods." A good article, although most of it is still on the conservative side of the spectrum, there is a growing cadre of fake news peddlers on the progressive side. Also the article interviews Brooke Binkowski, managing editor of Snopes. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
SO there's this argument about if journalists have forsaken their role in society of holding those in power accountable for their statements an trying to inform the public of what's really going on versus being stenographers writing down what people say without analysis. "USA Today columnist calls CNN’s Stelter ‘ridiculous’ for fact-checking Trump: ‘It’s not a good look’." Yeah, it's a thing. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
Friday, February 3, 2017
Linkee-poo still doesn't know what I was waiting for and my time was running wild
Fantasy is about power, an interview with Lev Grossman. (Grokked from Terri Windling)
When you edit your story, it's not just a line edit. That was a lesson it took me too long to learn. It's something I still struggle with. (Grokked from Ferrett Steinmetz)
"I occasionally search for oddments related to bees and witchcraft, and a bit of my web-trawling over the weekend yielded an interesting spot from the Witchcraft Museum in Boscastle, Cornwall. One of the items they have on display is a charm taken from a house in Dawlish in Devon, England. In physical form, it is a faded blue drawstring bag that contains the bodies of three dead bumblebees. The Witchcraft Museum calls it a charm for prosperity as the Dawlish bag was hung in the best room of the house, and they market a similar version in their gift shop, though this one uses ceramic coins shaped with a relief of a bee, and promise it will 'bring health, happiness, and sweet good fortune.'" Adds another pin to the map of places I want to visit if I ever get to England. Recently a coworker was talking about their remodeling of a very old house. They complained about their spouse dropping cigaret butts behind the drywall. I made a comment about them "leaving something behind for archeological discovery." And that's when they said, "We've found a lot of those… and one old, worn out shoe. Why would they leave a shoe behind a wall?" I had to lie and say I have no idea (I try not to alarm my coworkers with my store of arcane trivia, and it would have caused problems including the "How did you know that" one). (Grokked from Mrs Tadd)
Five secret criminal uses for the stuff they sell in gas stations. (Grokked from John)
"Oklahoma lawmakers are staring into a budget hole that's nearly $900 million deep — and they might not be able to cut their way out of it. Legislators are considering tax increases to help fund state government, and one idea is gaining traction: hiking taxes on gasoline and diesel." When shit gets real, conservatives will raise your taxes. It's just they'll do it in the most regressive way possible. Take Ohio (please) as an example. To pay for another income tax break (which goes mostly to the wealthy) they're talking about rising the sales tax (which hits the poor more severely). And gods forbid that we raise the oil and gas separation tax (what we charge companies for extracting oil and gas). I mean, that would hurt.
"Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto says tests indicate the city's water is safe, even though about 100,000 customers are still being advised to boil tap water before using it." Okay, I understand the surge to say things like that when you're an elected official, but just don't. The water is not "safe" until it clears the 3rd round of testing. You say, "We're concerned about what is going on, we're being over cautious, and want to be sure we aren't inadvertently endangering our water customers."
"After a weekend of chaos and demonstrations at US airports stirred by President Donald Trump’s executive order mandating tighter immigration rules, the greenback was crushed in early Monday trade." Huh, don't remember that on the news. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
"It takes 3.5% of a population engaged in sustained nonviolent resistance to topple brutal dictatorships." That means about 1.1 million of us are needed. What were the attendance numbers of the Woman's March? (2.6 million in case you were wondering)
"Businesses dislike many parts of the ACA… But large companies in particular… say a poorly thought-out replacement might turn out to be worse for them and their workers." Get ready for high-premium increases for lower coverage. It's all fun and games until a repeal becomes an actual possibility, and then people get concerned. "Edward Lenz, senior counsel for the ASA, said that before Donald Trump's election, 'we ignored lots of the talk of the Republicans about repeal. First of all there was no chance of that happening with the president [Obama] in the White House. And frankly no one here counted on President Trump's victory.'"
"Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums grew more slowly in 31 states and the District of Columbia between 2010 and 2013 -- after the passage of Obamacare -- compared with 2003 to 2010, according to the nonpartisan foundation the Commonwealth Fund… The slowdown in the growth in premiums is tied to the recent historic slowdown in health care costs… and could be attributed to a variety of factors. Those include the continuing effects of the recession and new Obamacare policies… However, wages have grown even more slowly since 2003, meaning workers and their families have yet to see the benefits of the changes in the health care market. Health insurance costs -- including employee premium costs and deductibles -- grew faster than income in every state, the report found." The deck is stacked against you girl, get back in bed. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
"U.S. military officials told Reuters that Trump approved his first covert counterterrorism operation without sufficient intelligence, ground support or adequate backup preparations… As a result, three officials said, the attacking SEAL team found itself dropping onto a reinforced al Qaeda base defended by landmines, snipers, and a larger than expected contingent of heavily armed Islamist extremists." (Grokked form Ellen Kushner)
"Federal employees worried that President Donald Trump will gut their agencies are creating new email addresses, signing up for encrypted messaging apps and looking for other, protected ways to push back against the new administration’s agenda." Nonpartisan doesn't mean "we'll do whatever you want." The civil service is highly dedicated to making government work for the people. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
NPR talking about how the Trump administration is leaking like a sieve. Mostly it's because there is no discipline, and everyone in power positions are attempting to backstab everyone else. Those in the civil service are attempting to send up flares to get help. And only a little bit are floating trial balloons. While they don't discuss it, my guess is some of it is also creating channels to feed disinformation to the press.
"'I would, yeah, absolutely, (include Hobby Lobby)' Spicer said. 'I think there is several businesses and several institutions, Catholic institutions and others, that have been mandated or apparently attempted to mandate certain things that they may or may not do or how they have to treat their employees.'" It also says in the Bible that slavery is not a bad thing, and that you can't hold debts past 7 years but you don't hear Christian groups talking about those articles of faith. Here's the thing, nobody is telling you how to live your life or conduct you personal business. If you pay for birth-control, that doesn't mean you need to use it. If you bake a cake, or sell flowers, or take photos for a wedding you are not being asked to bless the wedding. But the argument against providing those services are all based on that principle. I still think that in one of these cases regarding withholding services the lawyer for the plaintiffs should grill the defendants on their religious beliefs and see if they refuse services for other breaches (such as, do they ask if the couple had pre-marital sex, is there going to be drinking or dancing at the reception, both of which have prohibitions that are "deeply held convictions" of several main stream religions).
"Steve Inskeep talks with Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to President Trump, about the administration's recent statement about Israeli settlements and a raid in Yemen." Wherein Mr. Gorka says Iraqis have told him they 100% support Trump's travel ban. You know, the country that just curtailed American travel to their country (which may affect the war against ISIS) in a tit for tat response. Yeah. Apparently they love the ban… in emails they're highly supportive. So besides being an inveterate liar and former editor of Breitbart (I repeat myself), he is also charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor for carrying a firearm into a TSA checkpoint. Character, it matters. (that last link grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
"Ilan Berman, vice president of the conservative American Foreign Policy Council think tank, reported that the White House turned off its recording equipment during President Donald Trump’s call with Russian President Vladimir Putin." If true, that's a bad sign. Note that I couldn't find other information for this, but in this NPR story they say the content of the call wasn't made available (that's the readout). (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
And then Trump lifts the sanctions against the FSB (modern incarnation of the KGB and GRU). Only, reports say the Duma was praising the move at least an hour before the administration notified Congress. Nothing to see here citizen, move along. (Grokked from Lisa N. Morton)
Remember how Trump excoriated President Obama for daring to speak out again Israeli Settlements because he is such a good friend of Israel? "President Trump is encouraging Israel to hold off on new settlement construction. The surprising statement came after the Israeli prime minister vowed to build the first new settlement in the West Bank in many years." How do you like him now?
The Hidden Brain podcast discussing "In her new book, Strangers in Their Own Land, sociologist Arlie Hochschild tackles… (why) people might vote against their economic needs, they're actually voting to serve their emotional needs." The "deep story" ("They're the stories we tell ourselves to capture our hopes, pride, disappointments, fears, and anxieties")people hold about their place in the world and how it shapes our politics (in this case).
So how are people doing in the first two weeks of the four-year slog of a Trump presidency? Let's go to the polls. "52% say they'd rather Obama was President, to only 43% who are glad Trump is." (Grokked from Paolo Bacigalupi)
You know that idea that the military would stand up to a despot if Trump went that way? Hold that thought. "A convoy of military vehicles flying a Trump flag last weekend in Kentucky belonged to a Naval Special Warfare (read: SEALs) unit, according to multiple reports." (Grokked from Dan)
When you edit your story, it's not just a line edit. That was a lesson it took me too long to learn. It's something I still struggle with. (Grokked from Ferrett Steinmetz)
"I occasionally search for oddments related to bees and witchcraft, and a bit of my web-trawling over the weekend yielded an interesting spot from the Witchcraft Museum in Boscastle, Cornwall. One of the items they have on display is a charm taken from a house in Dawlish in Devon, England. In physical form, it is a faded blue drawstring bag that contains the bodies of three dead bumblebees. The Witchcraft Museum calls it a charm for prosperity as the Dawlish bag was hung in the best room of the house, and they market a similar version in their gift shop, though this one uses ceramic coins shaped with a relief of a bee, and promise it will 'bring health, happiness, and sweet good fortune.'" Adds another pin to the map of places I want to visit if I ever get to England. Recently a coworker was talking about their remodeling of a very old house. They complained about their spouse dropping cigaret butts behind the drywall. I made a comment about them "leaving something behind for archeological discovery." And that's when they said, "We've found a lot of those… and one old, worn out shoe. Why would they leave a shoe behind a wall?" I had to lie and say I have no idea (I try not to alarm my coworkers with my store of arcane trivia, and it would have caused problems including the "How did you know that" one). (Grokked from Mrs Tadd)
Five secret criminal uses for the stuff they sell in gas stations. (Grokked from John)
"Oklahoma lawmakers are staring into a budget hole that's nearly $900 million deep — and they might not be able to cut their way out of it. Legislators are considering tax increases to help fund state government, and one idea is gaining traction: hiking taxes on gasoline and diesel." When shit gets real, conservatives will raise your taxes. It's just they'll do it in the most regressive way possible. Take Ohio (please) as an example. To pay for another income tax break (which goes mostly to the wealthy) they're talking about rising the sales tax (which hits the poor more severely). And gods forbid that we raise the oil and gas separation tax (what we charge companies for extracting oil and gas). I mean, that would hurt.
"Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto says tests indicate the city's water is safe, even though about 100,000 customers are still being advised to boil tap water before using it." Okay, I understand the surge to say things like that when you're an elected official, but just don't. The water is not "safe" until it clears the 3rd round of testing. You say, "We're concerned about what is going on, we're being over cautious, and want to be sure we aren't inadvertently endangering our water customers."
"After a weekend of chaos and demonstrations at US airports stirred by President Donald Trump’s executive order mandating tighter immigration rules, the greenback was crushed in early Monday trade." Huh, don't remember that on the news. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
"It takes 3.5% of a population engaged in sustained nonviolent resistance to topple brutal dictatorships." That means about 1.1 million of us are needed. What were the attendance numbers of the Woman's March? (2.6 million in case you were wondering)
"Businesses dislike many parts of the ACA… But large companies in particular… say a poorly thought-out replacement might turn out to be worse for them and their workers." Get ready for high-premium increases for lower coverage. It's all fun and games until a repeal becomes an actual possibility, and then people get concerned. "Edward Lenz, senior counsel for the ASA, said that before Donald Trump's election, 'we ignored lots of the talk of the Republicans about repeal. First of all there was no chance of that happening with the president [Obama] in the White House. And frankly no one here counted on President Trump's victory.'"
"Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums grew more slowly in 31 states and the District of Columbia between 2010 and 2013 -- after the passage of Obamacare -- compared with 2003 to 2010, according to the nonpartisan foundation the Commonwealth Fund… The slowdown in the growth in premiums is tied to the recent historic slowdown in health care costs… and could be attributed to a variety of factors. Those include the continuing effects of the recession and new Obamacare policies… However, wages have grown even more slowly since 2003, meaning workers and their families have yet to see the benefits of the changes in the health care market. Health insurance costs -- including employee premium costs and deductibles -- grew faster than income in every state, the report found." The deck is stacked against you girl, get back in bed. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
"U.S. military officials told Reuters that Trump approved his first covert counterterrorism operation without sufficient intelligence, ground support or adequate backup preparations… As a result, three officials said, the attacking SEAL team found itself dropping onto a reinforced al Qaeda base defended by landmines, snipers, and a larger than expected contingent of heavily armed Islamist extremists." (Grokked form Ellen Kushner)
"Federal employees worried that President Donald Trump will gut their agencies are creating new email addresses, signing up for encrypted messaging apps and looking for other, protected ways to push back against the new administration’s agenda." Nonpartisan doesn't mean "we'll do whatever you want." The civil service is highly dedicated to making government work for the people. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
NPR talking about how the Trump administration is leaking like a sieve. Mostly it's because there is no discipline, and everyone in power positions are attempting to backstab everyone else. Those in the civil service are attempting to send up flares to get help. And only a little bit are floating trial balloons. While they don't discuss it, my guess is some of it is also creating channels to feed disinformation to the press.
"'I would, yeah, absolutely, (include Hobby Lobby)' Spicer said. 'I think there is several businesses and several institutions, Catholic institutions and others, that have been mandated or apparently attempted to mandate certain things that they may or may not do or how they have to treat their employees.'" It also says in the Bible that slavery is not a bad thing, and that you can't hold debts past 7 years but you don't hear Christian groups talking about those articles of faith. Here's the thing, nobody is telling you how to live your life or conduct you personal business. If you pay for birth-control, that doesn't mean you need to use it. If you bake a cake, or sell flowers, or take photos for a wedding you are not being asked to bless the wedding. But the argument against providing those services are all based on that principle. I still think that in one of these cases regarding withholding services the lawyer for the plaintiffs should grill the defendants on their religious beliefs and see if they refuse services for other breaches (such as, do they ask if the couple had pre-marital sex, is there going to be drinking or dancing at the reception, both of which have prohibitions that are "deeply held convictions" of several main stream religions).
"Steve Inskeep talks with Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to President Trump, about the administration's recent statement about Israeli settlements and a raid in Yemen." Wherein Mr. Gorka says Iraqis have told him they 100% support Trump's travel ban. You know, the country that just curtailed American travel to their country (which may affect the war against ISIS) in a tit for tat response. Yeah. Apparently they love the ban… in emails they're highly supportive. So besides being an inveterate liar and former editor of Breitbart (I repeat myself), he is also charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor for carrying a firearm into a TSA checkpoint. Character, it matters. (that last link grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
"Ilan Berman, vice president of the conservative American Foreign Policy Council think tank, reported that the White House turned off its recording equipment during President Donald Trump’s call with Russian President Vladimir Putin." If true, that's a bad sign. Note that I couldn't find other information for this, but in this NPR story they say the content of the call wasn't made available (that's the readout). (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
And then Trump lifts the sanctions against the FSB (modern incarnation of the KGB and GRU). Only, reports say the Duma was praising the move at least an hour before the administration notified Congress. Nothing to see here citizen, move along. (Grokked from Lisa N. Morton)
Remember how Trump excoriated President Obama for daring to speak out again Israeli Settlements because he is such a good friend of Israel? "President Trump is encouraging Israel to hold off on new settlement construction. The surprising statement came after the Israeli prime minister vowed to build the first new settlement in the West Bank in many years." How do you like him now?
The Hidden Brain podcast discussing "In her new book, Strangers in Their Own Land, sociologist Arlie Hochschild tackles… (why) people might vote against their economic needs, they're actually voting to serve their emotional needs." The "deep story" ("They're the stories we tell ourselves to capture our hopes, pride, disappointments, fears, and anxieties")people hold about their place in the world and how it shapes our politics (in this case).
So how are people doing in the first two weeks of the four-year slog of a Trump presidency? Let's go to the polls. "52% say they'd rather Obama was President, to only 43% who are glad Trump is." (Grokked from Paolo Bacigalupi)
You know that idea that the military would stand up to a despot if Trump went that way? Hold that thought. "A convoy of military vehicles flying a Trump flag last weekend in Kentucky belonged to a Naval Special Warfare (read: SEALs) unit, according to multiple reports." (Grokked from Dan)
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Linkee-poo in the morning you go gunning for the man who stole your water and you fire till he is done in, but they catch you at the border
Matter and anti-matter asymmetry. Okay, I'm going to have to read that again.
The price for Naloxone and its injector rise substantially. But all is not lost. "In another Mylan parallel, Kaleo offers coupons to patients with private insurance, so they don’t have any co-pay when they pick up the device." Yes, friends, this is why your health insurance costs keep going up. And our current President, who had promised to let Medicare negotiate drug prices (it was about the only thing I agree with him on) capitulated this week after a visit from PhRMA (the pharmaceutical lobbying group). So as more places are now equipping first responders (and other lay people) with Naloxone, not all of them can negotiate the price down to reasonable levels (note, these reasonable levels are still more than likely several multiples of what the drug and the device costs just a few years ago). "But that money comes from somewhere—most likely taxpayers. And it’s hardly sustainable…" The article incorrectly states that Martin Shkreli was the first to raise prices far beyond the cost increases in manufacturing. Let me tell you a little story about Viagra… "The problem… is that policymakers haven’t found a solution to get people needed medication and keep pricing in line with value." There are plenty of model programs available. Take Canada's pricing scheme for instance.
"Middletown (Ohio) Police said this was the first time it had used data from a heart device to make an arrest, but the pacemaker data proved to be an 'excellent investigative tool;' the data from the pacemaker didn’t correspond with Compton’s version of what happened. The retrieved data help to indict Compton." The tell-tale heart strikes back. (Grokked from Dan)
"The suspected shooter who carried out a massacre of Muslims praying at a mosque in Quebec, Canada, is a strong supporter of far-right U.S. President Donald Trump and a right-wing extremist, according to his former classmates, acquaintances, and social media accounts." I'm sure Bill O'Reilly can explain how it's all a leftist, muslim thing. (Grokked from Katheryn Cramer)
So, how's the town hall meetings going? "Rep. Peter Roskam's (R-IL) office cancelled a meeting with constituents about Obamacare on Wednesday when a staffer for the congressman learned that a reporter was present, according to the Aurora Beacon-News." Yep, about as expected. His excuse was he was only there to meet with constituents, the press wasn't invited (one of his constituents invited the reporter to be a part of her group). Let me put it to you this way, if you're scared to talk with your constituents with a reporter present, you're not doing your job correctly. You really need to rethink just what the hell you're doing.
The ghost of Alexander Haig raises it's hoary face, "(National Security Advisor Gen. Michael) Flynn says that 'we are officially putting Iran on notice,' although it's not clear what he meant." Leaked position statement, going off the ranch, or the administration just not knowing how things are done?
"Instead, President Trump blasted Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over a refugee agreement and boasted about the magnitude of his electoral college win, according to senior U.S. officials briefed on the Saturday exchange. Then, 25 minutes into what was expected to be an hour-long call, Trump abruptly ended it." So, that went well. I would place this in the level of "conjecture", although they cite unnamed sources briefed on the phone calls (there are other details from calls that don't show the president in the best light). (Grokked from Kelly Link)
"Saturday's Navy SEAL raid in Yemen — which resulted in the death of an 8-year-old American girl — had previously been rejected by former President Barack Obama, The Guardian reports. President Donald Trump approved of the raid in his first military strike as commander-in-chief." It's a steep learning curve, and frankly Trump doesn't learn very fast (or fell he has to learn). This is not a movie or an episode of 24. (Grokked from Fred Clark)
Reuters decides how to cover the Trump administration. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
"The Trump administration wants to revamp and rename a U.S. government program designed to counter all violent ideologies so that it focuses solely on Islamist extremism… The program, 'Countering Violent Extremism,' or CVE, would be changed to 'Countering Islamic Extremism' or 'Countering Radical Islamic Extremism,' the sources said, and would no longer target groups such as white supremacists who have also carried out bombings and shootings in the United States." You know, the people who have killed more Americans than "radical islamic terrorists" have since 2002. I would say this is a product of "ideology sans facts" running amok if it also wouldn't have the effect of protecting "at-right" militia groups who might form a Brown Shirt brigade in support of the president. And refocusing CVE would neutralize any attempt to stop them (short of a civil war). (Grokked from Paolo Bacigalupi)
"A leaked copy of a draft executive order titled “Establishing a Government-Wide Initiative to Respect Religious Freedom,” obtained by The Investigative Fund and The Nation, reveals sweeping plans by the Trump administration to legalize discrimination." (Grokked from Michele)
Tweet of my heart: @unrealfred You don't resist so that your oppressors see the light. You resist so that others will know there are better choices than the darkness. (Grokked from Cat Rambo)
Double dip: @chapmanchapman The est. security cost for Melania living 200mi away from Trump is double the annual budget for the National Endowment for the Arts. (Grokked from Charles de Lint)
The price for Naloxone and its injector rise substantially. But all is not lost. "In another Mylan parallel, Kaleo offers coupons to patients with private insurance, so they don’t have any co-pay when they pick up the device." Yes, friends, this is why your health insurance costs keep going up. And our current President, who had promised to let Medicare negotiate drug prices (it was about the only thing I agree with him on) capitulated this week after a visit from PhRMA (the pharmaceutical lobbying group). So as more places are now equipping first responders (and other lay people) with Naloxone, not all of them can negotiate the price down to reasonable levels (note, these reasonable levels are still more than likely several multiples of what the drug and the device costs just a few years ago). "But that money comes from somewhere—most likely taxpayers. And it’s hardly sustainable…" The article incorrectly states that Martin Shkreli was the first to raise prices far beyond the cost increases in manufacturing. Let me tell you a little story about Viagra… "The problem… is that policymakers haven’t found a solution to get people needed medication and keep pricing in line with value." There are plenty of model programs available. Take Canada's pricing scheme for instance.
"Middletown (Ohio) Police said this was the first time it had used data from a heart device to make an arrest, but the pacemaker data proved to be an 'excellent investigative tool;' the data from the pacemaker didn’t correspond with Compton’s version of what happened. The retrieved data help to indict Compton." The tell-tale heart strikes back. (Grokked from Dan)
"The suspected shooter who carried out a massacre of Muslims praying at a mosque in Quebec, Canada, is a strong supporter of far-right U.S. President Donald Trump and a right-wing extremist, according to his former classmates, acquaintances, and social media accounts." I'm sure Bill O'Reilly can explain how it's all a leftist, muslim thing. (Grokked from Katheryn Cramer)
So, how's the town hall meetings going? "Rep. Peter Roskam's (R-IL) office cancelled a meeting with constituents about Obamacare on Wednesday when a staffer for the congressman learned that a reporter was present, according to the Aurora Beacon-News." Yep, about as expected. His excuse was he was only there to meet with constituents, the press wasn't invited (one of his constituents invited the reporter to be a part of her group). Let me put it to you this way, if you're scared to talk with your constituents with a reporter present, you're not doing your job correctly. You really need to rethink just what the hell you're doing.
The ghost of Alexander Haig raises it's hoary face, "(National Security Advisor Gen. Michael) Flynn says that 'we are officially putting Iran on notice,' although it's not clear what he meant." Leaked position statement, going off the ranch, or the administration just not knowing how things are done?
"Instead, President Trump blasted Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over a refugee agreement and boasted about the magnitude of his electoral college win, according to senior U.S. officials briefed on the Saturday exchange. Then, 25 minutes into what was expected to be an hour-long call, Trump abruptly ended it." So, that went well. I would place this in the level of "conjecture", although they cite unnamed sources briefed on the phone calls (there are other details from calls that don't show the president in the best light). (Grokked from Kelly Link)
"Saturday's Navy SEAL raid in Yemen — which resulted in the death of an 8-year-old American girl — had previously been rejected by former President Barack Obama, The Guardian reports. President Donald Trump approved of the raid in his first military strike as commander-in-chief." It's a steep learning curve, and frankly Trump doesn't learn very fast (or fell he has to learn). This is not a movie or an episode of 24. (Grokked from Fred Clark)
Reuters decides how to cover the Trump administration. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
"The Trump administration wants to revamp and rename a U.S. government program designed to counter all violent ideologies so that it focuses solely on Islamist extremism… The program, 'Countering Violent Extremism,' or CVE, would be changed to 'Countering Islamic Extremism' or 'Countering Radical Islamic Extremism,' the sources said, and would no longer target groups such as white supremacists who have also carried out bombings and shootings in the United States." You know, the people who have killed more Americans than "radical islamic terrorists" have since 2002. I would say this is a product of "ideology sans facts" running amok if it also wouldn't have the effect of protecting "at-right" militia groups who might form a Brown Shirt brigade in support of the president. And refocusing CVE would neutralize any attempt to stop them (short of a civil war). (Grokked from Paolo Bacigalupi)
"A leaked copy of a draft executive order titled “Establishing a Government-Wide Initiative to Respect Religious Freedom,” obtained by The Investigative Fund and The Nation, reveals sweeping plans by the Trump administration to legalize discrimination." (Grokked from Michele)
Tweet of my heart: @unrealfred You don't resist so that your oppressors see the light. You resist so that others will know there are better choices than the darkness. (Grokked from Cat Rambo)
Double dip: @chapmanchapman The est. security cost for Melania living 200mi away from Trump is double the annual budget for the National Endowment for the Arts. (Grokked from Charles de Lint)
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Linkee-poo a storm is threatening my very life today
Short editorial note. The next 3 weeks are going to be a slog for me, so publishing may become erratic. As with all such pronouncements, now watch me post hyper-regularly and on weekends. I've thought about using this quirk in my nature/universe to spur my other writing, but then I remember that Murphy's Law is not recursive.
There's been a lot of good twitter the last 24 hours, but this one I wanted to put up top: "@ChuckWendig Be wary of those "rogue" WH accounts. Treat them like satire or parody, unless of course you like fake news without a whiff of evidence." Oh my this very fucking much. You don't want to know the holes I've gone down but haven't posted here because I couldn't really verify the information (or in the worst cases, it all ran back to the same origin point). And I've even questioned some of what I would consider legit sources, especially when it hits my confirmation biases. I'm especially careful when it does that.
Terri Windling on beginning again. In the past I have waited for the Muse/genius to start dictating and as a pantster I can tell you that the act of putting words down in a coherent order when you don't feel inspired is a small miracle of the mundane Muse. All the words are from them, because the Muse is you in the final analysis (even if you're writing for someone else). The hard part these days is finding the time and energy. I like to have a few hours to dedicate, but I'm working on trying to train myself for smaller periods of time. Now if I could do something about the energy part. As with all of Terri's posts don't forget the image rollover text.
"Last Word: addictive browser game for word-slingers."
"Prolonging life might sound like a good thing, but Warraich notes that medical technologies often force patients, their loved ones and their doctors to make difficult, painful decisions… he writes about a patient with end-stage dementia who screamed 'kill me' as a feeding tube was inserted into his nose." Been there. Please make a living will, let the people around you know your wishes. If you want every measure taken to preserve life, go ahead and tell them that. Understand that without orders that's what we will do. If you don't want those measures take, you have to tell us. "Knowing when to stop is much harder." Yes. Do it while you have you facilities.
"Screening for lung cancer using low-dose CT scans can save lives, but at a cost: Tests frequently produce anxiety-producing false alarms and prompt unnecessary procedures." This is why most medical professionals both say that those "full-body scans" offered by traveling medical groups were worthless, but also probably won't read the full radiologist's report to patients. We see lots of things that are just variations in anatomy and/or benign. "There was a benefit to the 20 or so patients out of this large initial population who had their cancer detected while it was likely to be treatable." And so the balance game begins. How many cancers/disease do you allow to pass undetected versus how much you want to panic people with false positives. For medicine tests are weighted toward the false-positive rather than the false-negative, that is we would rather have a positive result that is later proven negative than a negative result when there should have been a positive. One can be ruled out by further testing, the other leads to greater patient suffering. The flip-side to this story (and this is the only way these stories are presented, btw) are those times that we don't discover cancer (or another disease) until very late (stage 4). And yes it's terrible on the patient, but the care providers also take a hit. There is a particular silence that falls in the control room as we get the pre-compiled images and notice a problem. I've had 3 patients who we've discovered late stage cancer for which they had no previous diagnosis. I had to stand stoic in an ER room as a doctor explained to a patient they needed surgery now, probably before midnight if possible, and that no, waiting to consult their regular doctor isn't in the cards (the patient was in severe denial, their spouse was losing it in the hallway while 2 nurses helped them). So while, yes, it's a pain to have a false positive. Trust me, you do not want it the other way.
How's that swamp draining going? "…one of the things Donald Trump did to win the election was shift to the left on a number of key issues — promising to avoid cuts in Social Security and Medicare benefits and adopting a longstanding Democratic pledge to let Medicare negotiate bulk discounts in the price it pays for prescription drugs… Today, after a meeting with pharmaceutical industry lobbyists and executives, he abandoned that pledge, referring to an idea he supported as recently as three weeks ago as a form of 'price fixing' that would hurt 'smaller, younger companies.'… Trump’s new plan is that he’s 'going to be lowering taxes' and 'getting rid of regulations.'" Literally the one thing I agreed with Trump on is now gone. So now it's just more of the same. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
Oh, and this, "A lawsuit filed Monday accused three makers of insulin of conspiring to drive up the prices of their lifesaving drugs, harming patients who were being asked to pay for a growing share of their drug bills." Want to know why your insurance keeps going up? "Several companies have recently tried to head off criticism by taking actions to address rising prices. In December, Lilly said it would offer a 40 percent discount off the list price of its insulin product, Humalog, for patients who are forced to pay full price." Yep, so if you have to pay cash they'll knock off 40% (which still makes it 150% more expensive than 2001 if I've done my math correctly). "And Novo Nordisk, which makes Novolog, has pledged to limit price increases in the American market to less than 10 percent in a year." Or they promise to raise it less than 5x the rate of inflation. Good to know.
Having secured the US election, and with his thumb firmly on the scales for the French and German elections, Putin is on the move again. "Freezing and nerve-shattered residents of an eastern Ukraine town battered by an upsurge in fighting between troops and Russia-backed rebels flocked to a humanitarian aid center Wednesday to receive food and warm up."
"Embattled Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley emptied his leftover campaign funds to pay legal bills as his faced an impeachment push and fallout from a scandal."
"Explaining that he wanted to be prepared for any unforeseen outcome, local Donald Trump supporter Fred McGuire, 52, said Tuesday that he has a few backup scapegoats ready to go in case the president’s planned aggressive policing and monitoring policies aimed at immigrants don’t fix everything." Oh Onion, don't ever change. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
"At least 17 Jewish community centers across the United States were targeted with bomb threats in the third wave of such mass disruption this month." Nazis. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
"But the movement toward limiting protesters’ free speech rights is not confined to the terminals of DIA. In anticipation of an active protest movement during Trump’s administration, multiple Republican-controlled states are currently pushing for legislation that would discourage and even criminalize nonviolent, public demonstrations." Just like they did in the 70s and 80s. They're also trying to make "picketing" illegal (which would muzzle unions). (Grokked from Charles de Lint)
"With every mass shooting, the initial news is almost always riddled with inaccuracies—misidentification is common, and rarely is there more than one attacker. By now this is very well-known in newsrooms. Earlier on Monday, an additional suspect was reportedly in custody: a man of Moroccan origin… Quebec officials soon clarified that this second person was considered a witness, not a suspect in the attack. But the toothpaste was already out of the tube with Fox News, which had pushed the story in a particular direction…" Also with the Press Secretary. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
"DeVos questionnaire appears to include passages from uncited sources." Oh sweet Cthulhu. (Grokked from Fran Wilde)
How totalitarianism takes root: "The totalitarian mass leaders based their propaganda on the correct psychological assumption that, under such conditions, one could make people believe the most fantastic statements one day, and trust that if the next day they were given irrefutable proof of their falsehood, they would take refuge in cynicism; instead of deserting the leaders who had lied to them, they would protest that they had known all along that the statement was a lie and would admire the leaders for their superior tactical cleverness." Also, most people skew toward authoritarianism. And the majority of those who don't will skew that direction under a perceived threat.
Character is what you do when you think no one is watching. "A person secretly recorded closed sessions on national security and health care (at the private GOP retreat in Philadelphia) that were attended by many dozens of GOP lawmakers. They had gathered for a private discussion of some of the thorniest legislative issues of the moment, as well as a question-and-answer session with Pence." And there's now a hunt on to find the person, whom they believe was someone posing as a spouse of a lawmaker who was ejected from the confab. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)
Tweet of my heart: @jonrosenberg Donald told us he would run the country like he runs his businesses and now we know why he declared bankruptcy six times. (Grokked from Eric VanNewkirk)
Double dip: @claytoncubitt Centrist Aggressive Explainer Tweetstormers are the high-fructose corn syrup of the information diet. Tempting but mostly empty calories. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)
Third time charm: @keewa Weird how many Lone Wolves there are and how they all seem to occupy the same white nationalist spaces online (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
There's been a lot of good twitter the last 24 hours, but this one I wanted to put up top: "@ChuckWendig Be wary of those "rogue" WH accounts. Treat them like satire or parody, unless of course you like fake news without a whiff of evidence." Oh my this very fucking much. You don't want to know the holes I've gone down but haven't posted here because I couldn't really verify the information (or in the worst cases, it all ran back to the same origin point). And I've even questioned some of what I would consider legit sources, especially when it hits my confirmation biases. I'm especially careful when it does that.
Terri Windling on beginning again. In the past I have waited for the Muse/genius to start dictating and as a pantster I can tell you that the act of putting words down in a coherent order when you don't feel inspired is a small miracle of the mundane Muse. All the words are from them, because the Muse is you in the final analysis (even if you're writing for someone else). The hard part these days is finding the time and energy. I like to have a few hours to dedicate, but I'm working on trying to train myself for smaller periods of time. Now if I could do something about the energy part. As with all of Terri's posts don't forget the image rollover text.
"Last Word: addictive browser game for word-slingers."
"Prolonging life might sound like a good thing, but Warraich notes that medical technologies often force patients, their loved ones and their doctors to make difficult, painful decisions… he writes about a patient with end-stage dementia who screamed 'kill me' as a feeding tube was inserted into his nose." Been there. Please make a living will, let the people around you know your wishes. If you want every measure taken to preserve life, go ahead and tell them that. Understand that without orders that's what we will do. If you don't want those measures take, you have to tell us. "Knowing when to stop is much harder." Yes. Do it while you have you facilities.
"Screening for lung cancer using low-dose CT scans can save lives, but at a cost: Tests frequently produce anxiety-producing false alarms and prompt unnecessary procedures." This is why most medical professionals both say that those "full-body scans" offered by traveling medical groups were worthless, but also probably won't read the full radiologist's report to patients. We see lots of things that are just variations in anatomy and/or benign. "There was a benefit to the 20 or so patients out of this large initial population who had their cancer detected while it was likely to be treatable." And so the balance game begins. How many cancers/disease do you allow to pass undetected versus how much you want to panic people with false positives. For medicine tests are weighted toward the false-positive rather than the false-negative, that is we would rather have a positive result that is later proven negative than a negative result when there should have been a positive. One can be ruled out by further testing, the other leads to greater patient suffering. The flip-side to this story (and this is the only way these stories are presented, btw) are those times that we don't discover cancer (or another disease) until very late (stage 4). And yes it's terrible on the patient, but the care providers also take a hit. There is a particular silence that falls in the control room as we get the pre-compiled images and notice a problem. I've had 3 patients who we've discovered late stage cancer for which they had no previous diagnosis. I had to stand stoic in an ER room as a doctor explained to a patient they needed surgery now, probably before midnight if possible, and that no, waiting to consult their regular doctor isn't in the cards (the patient was in severe denial, their spouse was losing it in the hallway while 2 nurses helped them). So while, yes, it's a pain to have a false positive. Trust me, you do not want it the other way.
How's that swamp draining going? "…one of the things Donald Trump did to win the election was shift to the left on a number of key issues — promising to avoid cuts in Social Security and Medicare benefits and adopting a longstanding Democratic pledge to let Medicare negotiate bulk discounts in the price it pays for prescription drugs… Today, after a meeting with pharmaceutical industry lobbyists and executives, he abandoned that pledge, referring to an idea he supported as recently as three weeks ago as a form of 'price fixing' that would hurt 'smaller, younger companies.'… Trump’s new plan is that he’s 'going to be lowering taxes' and 'getting rid of regulations.'" Literally the one thing I agreed with Trump on is now gone. So now it's just more of the same. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
Oh, and this, "A lawsuit filed Monday accused three makers of insulin of conspiring to drive up the prices of their lifesaving drugs, harming patients who were being asked to pay for a growing share of their drug bills." Want to know why your insurance keeps going up? "Several companies have recently tried to head off criticism by taking actions to address rising prices. In December, Lilly said it would offer a 40 percent discount off the list price of its insulin product, Humalog, for patients who are forced to pay full price." Yep, so if you have to pay cash they'll knock off 40% (which still makes it 150% more expensive than 2001 if I've done my math correctly). "And Novo Nordisk, which makes Novolog, has pledged to limit price increases in the American market to less than 10 percent in a year." Or they promise to raise it less than 5x the rate of inflation. Good to know.
Having secured the US election, and with his thumb firmly on the scales for the French and German elections, Putin is on the move again. "Freezing and nerve-shattered residents of an eastern Ukraine town battered by an upsurge in fighting between troops and Russia-backed rebels flocked to a humanitarian aid center Wednesday to receive food and warm up."
"Embattled Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley emptied his leftover campaign funds to pay legal bills as his faced an impeachment push and fallout from a scandal."
"Explaining that he wanted to be prepared for any unforeseen outcome, local Donald Trump supporter Fred McGuire, 52, said Tuesday that he has a few backup scapegoats ready to go in case the president’s planned aggressive policing and monitoring policies aimed at immigrants don’t fix everything." Oh Onion, don't ever change. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
"At least 17 Jewish community centers across the United States were targeted with bomb threats in the third wave of such mass disruption this month." Nazis. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
"But the movement toward limiting protesters’ free speech rights is not confined to the terminals of DIA. In anticipation of an active protest movement during Trump’s administration, multiple Republican-controlled states are currently pushing for legislation that would discourage and even criminalize nonviolent, public demonstrations." Just like they did in the 70s and 80s. They're also trying to make "picketing" illegal (which would muzzle unions). (Grokked from Charles de Lint)
"With every mass shooting, the initial news is almost always riddled with inaccuracies—misidentification is common, and rarely is there more than one attacker. By now this is very well-known in newsrooms. Earlier on Monday, an additional suspect was reportedly in custody: a man of Moroccan origin… Quebec officials soon clarified that this second person was considered a witness, not a suspect in the attack. But the toothpaste was already out of the tube with Fox News, which had pushed the story in a particular direction…" Also with the Press Secretary. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
"DeVos questionnaire appears to include passages from uncited sources." Oh sweet Cthulhu. (Grokked from Fran Wilde)
How totalitarianism takes root: "The totalitarian mass leaders based their propaganda on the correct psychological assumption that, under such conditions, one could make people believe the most fantastic statements one day, and trust that if the next day they were given irrefutable proof of their falsehood, they would take refuge in cynicism; instead of deserting the leaders who had lied to them, they would protest that they had known all along that the statement was a lie and would admire the leaders for their superior tactical cleverness." Also, most people skew toward authoritarianism. And the majority of those who don't will skew that direction under a perceived threat.
Character is what you do when you think no one is watching. "A person secretly recorded closed sessions on national security and health care (at the private GOP retreat in Philadelphia) that were attended by many dozens of GOP lawmakers. They had gathered for a private discussion of some of the thorniest legislative issues of the moment, as well as a question-and-answer session with Pence." And there's now a hunt on to find the person, whom they believe was someone posing as a spouse of a lawmaker who was ejected from the confab. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)
Tweet of my heart: @jonrosenberg Donald told us he would run the country like he runs his businesses and now we know why he declared bankruptcy six times. (Grokked from Eric VanNewkirk)
Double dip: @claytoncubitt Centrist Aggressive Explainer Tweetstormers are the high-fructose corn syrup of the information diet. Tempting but mostly empty calories. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)
Third time charm: @keewa Weird how many Lone Wolves there are and how they all seem to occupy the same white nationalist spaces online (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
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