G+ Migration Blog

Ok, today needs pets: 1) Cat TV 2) We have taken your submission under advisement and find it disinteresting. 3) Flumph

This kind of fraud is straight up evil. The inspector general's report has 15 recommendations for improving the system. Basically, the report says that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, should analyze more data to ferret out scams and then share that information with hospice inspectors and the public. However, in a letter to Daniel Levinson, the inspector general at HHS, CMS Administrator Seema Verma, rejected more than half of the report's recommendations. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/07/31/634075540/hhs-inspector-generals-report-finds-flaws-and-fraud-in-u-s-hospice-care https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/07/31/634075540/hhs-inspector-generals-report-finds-flaws-and-fraud-in-u-s-hospice-care

But how will we make Coke and Necco rockets?!? Oh, yeah, and over 200 people are suddenly out of work. Surprise! https://money.cnn.com/2018/07/26/news/companies/necco-shutdown/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2018/07/26/news/companies/necco-shutdown/index.html

I give up, I really do. Black, female, post-partum. And dead. https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/31/health/woman-dies-rescue-wont-take-her-cant-pay/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/31/health/woman-dies-rescue-wont-take-her-cant-pay/index.html

Magnus Itland, somebody may have found a way to "immunize" mice to protect people. Usual ethical concerns notwithstanding. https://money.cnn.com/2018/07/27/technology/lyme-disease-genetically-modified-mice-ticks-nantucket/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2018/07/27/technology/lyme-disease-genetically-modified-mice-ticks-nantucket/index.html

Because we all trusted HR so much, anyway. "Lapses in professional responsibility" - the most euphemistic euphemism to ever euphemism. https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/30/politics/fema-sexual-harassment-investigation/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/30/politics/fema-sexual-harassment-investigation/index.html

Not to impinge on another thread elsewhere, other concerns about Jane Eyre , that are written about in critical evaluations: Rochester's wife (Bertha), her characterization and treatment. I commented that maybe there's enough writing and criticism of it to argue that Thomas Hardy's novels were meant as criticism of Victorian attitudes and behavior. Maybe. ( Tess of the d'Urbervilles was mentioned.) So maybe we just don't have enough about the Brontes. Or maybe the Brontes were just products of their time. Except that some of the writing about them, and about Jane Eyre notes that there was already awareness of mental illness and better treatment, not to mention bigotry and racism toward persons of colored or mixed race (Creole in this novel). I've read arguments that Charlotte Bronte was trying to indicate just how terrible a person Rochester was by his description of Bertha. Except it's Charlotte Bronte's description, as well. Black-ish, foreign, femal...

1) No surprise. 2) Flames. On the side of my face. (Bolding below is mine.) These laws protect clinicians who want to refuse treatment , but there is little recourse for clinicians in the opposite scenario — those who want to provide care that a religious employer has forbidden . In many cases, religious exceptions are enshrined in law but a right to standard medical care is not , said Susan Berke Fogel, a director at the National Health Law Program who specializes in reproductive health care. She finds that troubling, because religious exemptions are just that: exceptions to standards that were set by the medical profession to ensure that doctors are giving patients the best possible care . “What [religious hospitals] are getting is permission not to meet those standards,” said Fogel. And yet, hospitals are generally not required to let patients know what services they do not provide. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-catholic-bishops-are-shaping-health-care-in-rural-america...

Oo, one of my favorite #getoffmylawn isms: it's a public place, therefore, we are entitled to have a large group conversation that everyone can hear because OMG BIBLE STUDY VICTORIA'S SECRET I'M WRITING A BOOK MEET MY BOYFRIEND TODDLER'S ARE ASSHOLES LOOK AT THIS HOUSE WHAT ARE YOU DOING NEXT WEEKEND I LOVE YOU IS SHE STILL WEARING MY GLASSES THAT'S MY FAVORITE BEATLES SONG ... I mean, yes, it is a public place. Is anyone else having a voluble group chit-chat for all to share? I didn't think so. P.S. That is a verbatim transcript of less than 30 seconds of speaking by 3 people between the ages of 18 and 25, probably on the lower end of that range, and not all female for those of you affected by societal stereotyping. Not that this violates all the stereotypes at play, here. Sigh.

More boring rhetoric. I'm reading a thing about humor and after discussing Cicero and Greek writing about humor this author mentions Freud. Why? Apparently, he tried to analyze humor. Wrote a whole book about it (compare/contrast Greek writings about humor). Anyway, this author talks about how the Greeks were "unintentionally funny" in writing their texts on humor, and then says the same about Freud. His example of a joke from Freud's book: Prisoner on his way to the gallows: "Well, this is a good beginning to the week." The author says this is unfunny. Maybe I'm just partial to gallows humor (huh, huh?), but that seemed pretty funny to me. Ok, I could have just said dark humor, but where's the fun in that? Anyway, I disagree with this author. It's funny. I even looked up the Freud book (in English) and skimmed a bit. It's a product of its time and you better like puns, even multilingual puns, but it qualifies as funny. Aside: All of this mak...

At risk of repeating myself, the more I re-study rhetoric, the more I want to hit every leader of the Clinton campaign with a rhetoric stick (see: argumentum ad baculum). This has nothing to do with the official debates; it has to do with the entire approach to dealing with Trump. He did not run an unassailable campaign, yet the other side kept handing out rhetorical gift bags. Probably one of, if not the most well known example is the "basket of deplorables". YUGE failure of decorum/ethos. Hi, I can't relate to you, bugger off. Yeah, that's a successful persuasive strategy. I haven't read her book, but I hear that Clinton actually notes this as an error on her part in her election post-mortem. No idea precisely how she notes it, not having read her. Hopefully, with some insight. Aside: I'm not going to get into the fraught territory of decorum that touches on clothing, because that has been a classic venue for attacking women forever - damned if you do, damne...

Ugh. I have new glasses and they are making me sick. I've been pretty lucky since having to start wearing glasses, but this pair is giving me that wonderful why am I feeling dizzy and nauseated? ooooh, riiiiight thing. I've decided I will try the time honored wear them a little longer each day thing, starting with shorter periods of time wearing them to see how that goes. I managed to wear them for an hour today before I got actively sick to my stomach. It's going well, yes? Sooo nauseated. #csb

Let's just print the t-shirts now: POTUS, The Despot Tour. He can list Kim, Putin, al-Saud, Xi, etc. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45013683 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45013683

So.Not.Surprised. Well, I mean, I am surprised that people are finally paying serious attention to this abuse and how often it happens in this culture and that they might even be doing something vaguely appropriate about it. But that it happens and gets the Mad Men treatment? Nah. Seriously. Everybody knows. Anyone who says they've never heard any such thing in the industry is completely suspect. If they ever get around to stopping the other kinds of abuse that happen (verbal, mental, emotional), well, then I will be surprised. https://www.npr.org/2018/07/27/633260273/cleveland-orchestra-suspends-lead-violinist-after-sexual-misconduct-accusations https://www.npr.org/2018/07/27/633260273/cleveland-orchestra-suspends-lead-violinist-after-sexual-misconduct-accusations

Further info on how and why California is so much better than the rest of the country on this. That's because, as NPR and ProPublica have reported, the American medical system still prioritizes infant survival over maternal care. It approaches childbirth with the assumption that most women who give birth will be fine. And that is because there is a politicized cultural narrative that says so. Mind you, the medical establishment in this country is historically resistant to and slow to change and its culture continues to be a microcosm of the white male narrative. It is hardly fertile ground for attempts to counter the dogma about how natural and magical child bearing is and how evil all those contraceptives and murderers are. Oh, and how if a woman dies in childbirth it's god's will, or some such. Every professional medical organization in this country needs to start by telling their practitioners if they want professional recognition they keep their religion at home. If the...

it's travail it's traumatic it's stragedy you can hear the goddess of discord murmuring low let the nukes go! so pledge to me your loyalty and when I kiss you just say to me da tovarich, it's traumatic, it's troubling, it's travail, it's terrifying, ... it's stragedy. The night is young, the skies are clear So if you want to go walking, dear, It's delightful, it's delicious, it's de-lovely. I understand the reason why You're sentimental, 'cause so am I, It's delightful, it's delicious, it's de-lovely. You can tell at a glance What a swell night this is for romance, You can hear dear Mother Nature Murmuring low, "Let yourself go!" So please be sweet, my chickadee, And when I kiss you, just say to me, "It's delightful, it's delicious, It's delectable, it's delirious, It's dilemma, it's delimit, it's deluxe, It's de-lovely".

Couldn't think of the quote I really wanted but once you give up your rights and privileges, good luck getting them back, folks. Can we openly talk about this administration and living in a police state, now? [Can't link to the Boston Globe article b/c it's behind a wall.] Edit: I should be clear that the air marshals being tasked to do this are the ones objecting to it and questioning it, and noting it is not a beneficial or appropriate program to achieve the stated goals. https://www.rt.com/usa/434557-tsa-quite-skies-surveillance-program/ https://www.rt.com/usa/434557-tsa-quite-skies-surveillance-program/

I looked, because other post that made me think about something I should have paid more attention to. Also, Rachel Fulton Brown is a piece of work. She is the whitest white woman to ever white in her white privilege. Her problem isn't being a conservative in academia. Contrary to popular belief, there are a LOT of conservatives in academia. Her problem, on a superficial skimming of a lot of stuff of hers, is that she conflates her personal religious beliefs with her scholarly work and then tries to co-opt other cherry picked bits of stuff and ties herself to (for example) Tolkien, Jesus, and the Virgin Mary as a way of validating herself and her opinions. I haven't read any of her (theoretically pure) scholarly writings themselves. Maybe they are brilliant. But the rest of her stuff? Let me summarize with just this, I guess now well known, bit from her blogging: "Shame on all of you. You spineless cunts. The bullies are YOU." Which, she says, was a quote from Milo Yia...

Tɪɴʏ Fʀᴏɢ video (click eet!) https://www.reddit.com/r/aww/comments/90bu6w/heat_index_was_110_degrees_so_we_offered_him_a/ https://www.reddit.com/r/aww/comments/90bu6w/heat_index_was_110_degrees_so_we_offered_him_a/

I have no idea what it says in Korean, but the English is just makin' me shake my head. Somebody turn the poor raccoon back over, please. https://www.sunnyskyz.com/uploads/2018/07/rgujj-fat-raccoon.jpg

I did not make this up and I had nothing to do with the punchline. There's a tape; I can prove it. https://wnep.com/2018/07/26/foxes-are-stealing-newspapers-and-leaving-them-all-over-one-mans-backyard/ https://wnep.com/2018/07/26/foxes-are-stealing-newspapers-and-leaving-them-all-over-one-mans-backyard/

Because someone does good things does not mean they don't do bad ones. Not to mention that these aren't cartoon villains, all evil, all the time. They're human beings with varied moods and behaviors, controlled under some circumstances, uncontrolled under others. They can be brilliant, supportive, and mentoring to one person while being an abusive bastard to someone else. I know the cultural trope is for guys to talk about women and their crazy moods and behavior (hormones!), but you might want to look in the mirror a bit on that one. Not to mention that abusers are often the nicest guy in the room to everyone else except their chosen victim. This is a behavior that does not happen in a culture that truly says it is wrong, that it is unacceptable. But we have all sorts of excuses and winks and real man tropes that undermine any and all other facades of disapproval. At the end of the day, it's really ok, you see, because it's how it ought to be. Is she a goer? Nudge ...

Macedonian festival. This year I just got the snausages instead of the every kind of meat ever made and cooked over a spit and also the stuffed cabbage and that other yummy stuff dinner. All of which tastes really good. However, that allowed me to save room for all the pastries . This includes things with fig, strudels, a Russian Hat cake/cookie thing (which I bit just so you could see all the layers of goodieness), various tortes, and those peach cookies. I dig the peach cookies. Research says variants are served in parts of Italy, Croatia, Macedonia, and probably some other places in the general vicinity of the former Yugoslavia. I like the ones filled with jam, esp. peach or apricot jam. They are serious work, what with the baking and scooping and filling and putting them together and then coloring and sugaring them. Also, taste dee-licious. These are pretty big, too, not tiny bite sized. Picture of the inside of the church. The outside doesn't, but the inside looks like a tiny ...

I met a schnoodle today. It is a cross between a schnauzer and a poodle. I don't know why you would need to cross those two, but it is a hyper, cute, perpetual motion machine that would not stop jumping. It was like a Jack Russell, or something. #csb

- locked - My dad was charging his iPad. The one my bro and SIL got him so he could facetime with the grandchild. (Iow, it's my dad's, not my mom's. This really pisses her off. It has continued to piss her off for 3.5 years. She will never let it go .) He left the house to do something. He came back and my mom told him his iPad was fully charged (it would be hard for him to figure that out on his own, of course). He goes to turn it on and it won't turn on. He says something. My mom says ... "Oh, I turned it off completely because it doesn't charge properly unless it's turned off completely and you leave it on all the time and that's why it runs out of charge so I turned it off and you should do that. All you have to do is hold the button and it will turn on. You're so impatient. Just wait a few minutes and it'll turn on. If you're so impatient and you can't get it to work just give it to (my name)." My mother is that insulting, bel...

It's like Brave New World - alphas, betas, gammas, deltas. Except that this isn't genetically encoded at birth. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-25/inside-google-s-shadow-workforce https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-25/inside-google-s-shadow-workforce

Lebanese festival, dinner - chicken shawarma, hot off the spit with pickles and fries and toum. Also, technically blessed because sandwich made and served by the priest and he said so (festival is at Maronite church). Followed by three giant cookies - macaroon, aka Zainab's Fingers, a big round sesame ring cookie, and a huge walnut maamoul. Really, I would have eaten one of every possible thing but that would be an enormous amount of food and they don't do sampler plates, so I ate these.

Lawrence Keane, general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade association for gun manufacturers, told Reuters concerns over 3-D printable guns were overblown. “I don’t see it likely at all that criminals will use this clunky and expensive technology,” Keane said. Obs he doesn't think anarchists and terrorists (white, homegrown) are "criminals". Not to mention probably doesn't have much clue about 3D printing or what people will do with it. So it's fine! Guns for everybody! (That John Malkovich movie was totally unrealistic. Besides, it's much easier to get 'real' guns.) https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-guns/u-s-judge-denies-gun-control-groups-attempt-to-block-3-d-gun-blueprints-idUSKBN1KH2I2 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-guns/u-s-judge-denies-gun-control-groups-attempt-to-block-3-d-gun-blueprints-idUSKBN1KH2I2

I'm gonna guess that will also shut down their local tv station around here, which actually did some good local coverage. More local news reporting going away. https://www.engadget.com/2018/07/27/new-york-ousts-spectrum-recurring-failures/ https://www.engadget.com/2018/07/27/new-york-ousts-spectrum-recurring-failures/

I mean, they're black and they're gay. What's your point? #sarcasm https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/who-besides-the-cdc-didn-know-black-gay-men-needed-hiv-outreach/MofPGO20R0lBz9YDMiNeJN/?icmp=np_inform_variation-control https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/who-besides-the-cdc-didn-know-black-gay-men-needed-hiv-outreach/MofPGO20R0lBz9YDMiNeJN/?icmp=np_inform_variation-control

And that other article led to this. But it's totally different here because that meme with Clinton and a pile of money and a six pointed star was random, and hey, the potus' daughter converted so it's fine. Also, nobody in Charlottesville chanted anything about blood and soil. https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6881274/jeremy-corbyn-suspends-another-labour-councillor-over-outrageous-anti-semitic-post-claiming-jews-drink-blood-and-sexually-abuse-babies/ https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6881274/jeremy-corbyn-suspends-another-labour-councillor-over-outrageous-anti-semitic-post-claiming-jews-drink-blood-and-sexually-abuse-babies/

Um, so it sounds pretty much like there are certainly some parts of the Muslim immigrant community in France who've decided that the story that Jews have it better and it (whatever it is) is the fault of the Jews is a better story than just fighting general discrimination in France. Not to mention the idea that being religiously or culturally Jewish makes anyone, anywhere a legitimate scapegoat for objections to Israel's policies or existence. Which makes it anti-semitism whether they like the term or not. And if this is a narrative that is acceptable and not brought out publicly within the French Muslim community and debunked and made unacceptable within the community, then that reinforces it. The fact that it is possibly a minority within the community doesn't mitigate the fact that it is clearly having a broad effect. Pretending it's not you and ignoring it is not going to fix any part of this. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/27/world/europe/france-new-anti-semitism....

I find it very disturbing that the killer whales I saw in BC may cease to exist in my lifetime. I know King (aka Chinook) salmon are a big deal to fishermen, and thus tourism, but if we need to ban catching and eating them to save this unique population, I don't think it's impossible to consider. There are other salmon to fish and eat, other things to attract tourism (although maybe not that spend that much money), and there are probably some populations of King up in Alaska that are not critical to an Orca population's survival. There are a number of articles about this population prompted by the first birth in 3 years to a mom and the baby died, but the mom has kept carrying the body for days, trying to keep it above water where it could breathe. https://komonews.com/news/local/chinook-salmon-key-to-survival-of-resident-whales-says-activist https://komonews.com/news/local/chinook-salmon-key-to-survival-of-resident-whales-says-activist

Neato. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/sounds-of-the-sun https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/sounds-of-the-sun

I mean, they can't shop at Whole Foods, you know? Then again, this bear seems to be eating vegetarian. Ok, like one of you will probably get that joke because it's yours. Meanwhile, I'm betting the forestry service is going to be relocating that bear and getting on people to make sure they don't leave any scraps or garbage around to attract bears. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/spaghetti-stealing-bear-manitoba-whiteshell-1.4763298 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/spaghetti-stealing-bear-manitoba-whiteshell-1.4763298

I've been reading a lot about rhetoric lately. Not that I'm demonstrating that on here, but I digress. Anyway, it leaves me with the extremely clear thought that the biggest failing of the Clinton campaign was rhetorical, on multiple levels. Maybe I'll bore you with details of my thoughts at some point, but it is boggling to me that political professionals, some of them highly experienced and some who definitely had at least some classical education, so badly mishandled this particular skill. Moreover, there seems to be consensus that Clinton was highly skilled at doing the jobs that made her qualified to run for POTUS. Those jobs inherently require skill with different aspects of rhetoric, even if you can't pronounce 'enthymeme' (or debate it). What happened to those skills in that campaign? Very disappointing.

I this will be a #getoffmylawn, so let's just start with the hashtag, shall we? Barnes and Noble, which is a public place, but not in the public park paid for by the taxpayers sense. It's a private business paid for by customers. Parenting is hard, adulting is hard. Children may by constitution or upbringing be limited in their means of communication. However, when a child is screaming and crying for over 20 minutes (a lot over 20 minutes), it's time for the adults to suck it up and take the kid elsewhere. As in, not in a place where they are imposing on many, many people who are not trapped in an airplane so they have no choice. It's a pain in the rear to have to leave places and stop what you are doing because your child is having a meltdown. But the necessity of being in a Barnes and Noble is probably extremely low in terms of necessary for the continuation of life or whatever. So not that big a deal to leave, is what I mean. Also? Have had the dubious opportunity of...

I posted a link when NPR did their investigative reporting on the poor care for giving birth in this country. USA Today, of all things, seems to have done some in-depth follow-up to that. This is long and Trigger Warnings on how very bad the maternity care in this country is. The reporting on this is almost entirely under the headline: U.S. the Most Dangerous Developed Country to Give Birth In . This is an accurate headline. (NB: article points out that California is the one state that seems to have done better overall because they implemented and followed proper guidelines.) This article doesn't say it, much, but there is obviously a component of racism and misogyny to this. Also a cultural tendency to somehow blame women for their condition, frequently based on appearance. One thing they specifically call out is discrimination based on weight. For real, this is a thing that happens. I have another set of questions. There is a significant number of women, now, in Ob/Gyn and the o...

MARS. https://www.space.com/41297-where-to-see-mars-at-opposition.html https://www.space.com/41297-where-to-see-mars-at-opposition.html

Stupid nightmares.

My mother is a walking bundle of logical fallacies. Who gets really defensive and nasty when you point any of that out. Also? You may never interrupt any of her conversations (as defined by her), but she is entitled to butt into absolutely anything at any time. Oh, were you talking to someone? No, I'm just serially compressing air molecules into sound waves for the hell of it.

None of the articles I've seen about this include a link to published findings. So this was just a presentation so far? Plus, every article has included this or a similar caveat: It may take a few more years before the study conclusively shows whether the risk of Alzheimer's was actually reduced because of the lower blood pressure, the researchers said. Guys, I know you have to promote your research. I do. And of course you would present potentially significant preliminary findings from a major arm of a major trial at a meeting. (I am accepting that this was a designed primary part of the SPRINT trial. I'd have to look it up to make sure this wasn't secondary data mining.) I also know that you do not have direct control over what the media does. But you do have control over what you say and how you leverage it. You can't say something "clearly demonstrated to lower rates of mental decline" while saying you haven't conclusively proven something. I'm...

Nope. Not what the article is talking about, at all. In fact, the only time I could find the word "atheism" is in the headline. Bad Atlantic , no biscuit. It does suggest the specific and deliberate ways a particular minority of Americans have been trying to force their theocracy on everyone else. Although they phrase it as modeling the slower secularization of the US versus Europe. Look surprised when I tell you one of the elements of this has to do with control of education and the deliberate prevention of exposure to other ideas. Of course, that's my wording and interpretation. P.S. They are talking about modeling, not artificial intelligence. Fire the headline writer. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/07/artificial-intelligence-religion-atheism/565076/ https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/07/artificial-intelligence-religion-atheism/565076/

The cat made me do it. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2018/07/26/if-you-want-to-start-businesses-will-this-cat-poop-parasite-help/#316b2e024ee4 https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2018/07/26/if-you-want-to-start-businesses-will-this-cat-poop-parasite-help/#316b2e024ee4

Unfortunately, this is why you do studies. Because of exactly what they end the article with: “But we should always keep in mind that by not conducting this study, there would have been a risk as well. Doctors might have prescribed this drug for years off-label, assuming it was safe and effective.” There were good reasons to conduct the studies, and seemingly no reason to expect such dangerous outcomes. Stopping the trial was the right thing to do. http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/07/trials-viagra-help-poorly-growing-fetuses-are-halted-after-infant-deaths http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/07/trials-viagra-help-poorly-growing-fetuses-are-halted-after-infant-deaths

Yep, we should all have guns. They'll have to pry them from our cold, dead hands. Oh, wait. https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/buffalo-police-94-year-old-man-fires-gun-in-assisted-living-facility/1322788794 https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/buffalo-police-94-year-old-man-fires-gun-in-assisted-living-facility/1322788794

AYFKM?!?! FLAMES ON THE SIDE OF MY FACE. This spoiled, rich, privileged, AUGH. WTF IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/07/brock-turner-says-he-didnt-attempt-rape-only-outercourse.html https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/07/brock-turner-says-he-didnt-attempt-rape-only-outercourse.html

Can we compare them to [insert choice of dictatorship here] NOW?? https://money.cnn.com/2018/07/25/media/white-house-kaitlan-collins-press-pool/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2018/07/25/media/white-house-kaitlan-collins-press-pool/index.html

What stupid bastards. Not only are they clearly completely ignorant about the governance, philosophy, and history of this country, they must really hate this country. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Mark Meadows (R-NC) are apparently making hay out of their so-called "leadership" on this idiocy, supported by others, including: Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) Rep. Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (R-AZ) Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA) Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN) Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) It doesn't matter whether or not Ryan or Gowdy or anyone else is or is not going to try to follow through on this. It's a propaganda move, a distraction, an enormous waste of taxpayer money, an abuse of their power, position, and responsibility to govern this country. Not let some foreign power successfully foment asinine squabbles to save said foreign power the trouble of having a war to bring us down. These idiots are going to destroy this country th...

The Ultimate Resolution of The Apricot Saga: I got enough apricots to make 8 1.5 cup jars of jam. Take that, tree rats.

Plum tart. Crust cracked, but otherwise ok.

Darkberry crumble - blackberries and black raspberries, topped with ground almonds, butter, little bit of flour, little bit of brown sugar.

After a mass shooting left three people dead, including the shooter, in Toronto on Sunday, the city's conservative mayor backed a proposal that even the most liberal American politicians wouldn't dare support ― a total ban on all handgun sales. That's not actually true. But supporting legislation and getting legislation passed are vastly different things. Plus, they're comparing a powerless City Council vote with passing a national law. Even the article points out that it would take changes in the law at the national level in Canada, as well. (Although I'd give that better odds than the US.) Toronto's vote is like something from an alternate reality when compared with how U.S. politicians, especially conservatives, have failed to take preventive action against mass shootings. Attempts at pushing through even moderate legislation, such as limiting assault weapons, have faltered as shooters repeatedly kill children in schools or murder dozens in incidents includin...

Why does he even have a star? When Kanye West tried to say Kim Kardashian should have one, this was the official response as to why she didn't qualify: Ana Martinez, a spokeswoman for the Walk and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, however, has now issued a response to explain why that won't be happening. "We don't have reality stars on the Walk of Fame," she tells Yahoo's omg!. "We don't have a category for it. We're happy to consider reality stars once they get nominated for, or win, an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar." Martinez added, "We'll consider them when they're legitimate actors or singers." So which of those categories does Donald Trump fill? He's never even been nominated for one of those awards (the production staff on "The Apprentice" got nominated but never won). As for legitimate actor or singer, give me a break. All he is is a reality TV star. Hollywood COC you got some 'splainin' to do. https...

- tight locked - Lovely. She's pissed off because I made my dad some eggs last night when he felt like eating. My mom was doing something, it was late, I was in the kitchen cleaning up and my dad wandered in b/c hungry but too tired to think or deal and he needed something he might tolerate on a wonky stomach but no sweets or carbs b/c that was pretty much all he'd been having when he could eat. Otherwise, he'd had some soup and some broth and therefore also wanted something at least semi-solid. So eggs. He was going to try to make them but he was too tired for that to be smart, so I offered. BFD. Later, my mom finds out he ate eggs and demands to know who made them. Then proceeds to say things like why didn't you ask me? I could have made eggs for you! This morning tries to get my dad to let her make eggs for him, which he is not up for this morning. So. Much. Pathology.

You guys made me look and there's a lot of 80's movie themes and stuff that I had no idea but I liked the songs. There's a lot I could post, but I'm going with this one. Maybe not the best song, but it's got 2 things I like - Queen and Highlander. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASw32qKppMw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASw32qKppMw

- tightly locked - Omfg my mom. She can't even let my dad take a phone call without pouncing on him with a pen and pad. Like she literally just did this. He's been having issues and his oncologist's office called him back and we have caller ID so my mom knew who the call was. Also, she literally monitors all incoming and outgoing calls like it's the NSA or something. (Srsly. She goes through the electronic phone log on the phones at least once a day and every single time she is out of the house for more than 30 minutes. If she doesn't know what a certain call was and decides she has concerns, she will quiz everyone. Because, you know, we live to deceive and lie to her.) Anyway, my mom saw the caller ID and got a pad, a pen, and within 10 seconds of the phone ringing went to the room where my dad was and sat in a chair right across from my dad. Ask her, and she'll tell you how she was being helpful because blah blah blah. Ask anyone normal and we might make comme...

Nothing is ever easy, I guess. P.S. It's more complicated than the click bait headline suggests. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/health/ebola-transmission-female-survivor.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/health/ebola-transmission-female-survivor.html

Say what, now? Idk, man. That's a tall order and I am skeptic. https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/bob-fosse-limited-series-fx-sam-rockwell-michelle-williams-lin-manuel-miranda-1202883077/ https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/bob-fosse-limited-series-fx-sam-rockwell-michelle-williams-lin-manuel-miranda-1202883077/

Well, now we know at least one thing Nunes and Trump have in common. Neither one of them reads. (Reporting says Nunes relies on Trey Gowdy to read stuff. Write your own jokes, folks.)

Tomato tart. The chives are designating the cheese free zone for the person who could not eat cheese.

From this weekend. I went to check something out that's about 40 minutes away and it was meh so I left. Since I had to drive by the most awesome legit custard place on the way back, and it was hot, I stopped and got black raspberry custard. As one does. This is the kiddie size. Quarter for scale. As is evident, it was so hot and humid it was melting just going from the window to the table. So of course I stopped and took a picture.

First thing that needs to happen if you really believe this science (it's legit science) - change the culture around medical care and medical training and medical workers. It's grossly lacking in self-insight and deeply hypocritical to lecture others and do nothing as the profession that promotes these lifestyles/work environments/training environments. You tell everyone else about evidence based medical care, why don't you apply it to yourselves? https://www.npr.org/2018/07/20/630792401/sleep-scientist-warns-against-walking-through-life-in-an-underslept-state https://www.npr.org/2018/07/20/630792401/sleep-scientist-warns-against-walking-through-life-in-an-underslept-state

There was a huge fight in this country to even get any HPV vaccines into trials, never mind actually given to people. Why? Sex. The vaccine was going to make everyone a sex monster who couldn't stop doing icky things to themselves and others because now there would be nothing to scare them away from having sex. THINK OF THE CHILDREN who are all going to be having sex and other people will be having sex with them and OMG SODOM AND GOMORRAH THE WORLD WILL END. I presume you are all listing the endless list of stupid as you read this. There are similar arguments to the ones mentioned in this article about whether or not a vaccine is efficacious enough to justify spending money on giving it to everybody or making that recommendation that have been used to prevent the vaccine from being available to adults in this country. However, as we know from science , even scientists are influenced by emotional non-science thinking in formulating their approaches and decisions around things. It is...

Interesting. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/business/media/tronc-daily-news-layoffs.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/business/media/tronc-daily-news-layoffs.html

Thing that impresses and annoys me about a search function - when you search for "fish" and results include something about "sable". Sable is a type of fish, so I guess kudos for including anything that might refer to fish and not just the word. Unfortunately, what it pulled up was a recipe for sables, which are cookies. Perhaps if search functions stuck to what was literally requested and didn't try to infer without a better grasp of their guessing?

This is fine. https://wgntv.com/2018/07/22/these-foods-linked-to-ongoing-outbreaks-might-make-you-sick/ https://wgntv.com/2018/07/22/these-foods-linked-to-ongoing-outbreaks-might-make-you-sick/

Today is a Skwidly kind of day :) https://www.reddit.com/r/aww/comments/8x86mb/my_nephew_found_a_sea_shell_with_squid_eggs_inside/ https://www.reddit.com/r/aww/comments/8x86mb/my_nephew_found_a_sea_shell_with_squid_eggs_inside/

Went and saw Maquia today (choice of long English or even longer Japanese title left to readers). 1) Visually stunning, really beautiful. 2) The official poster that makes it look like your typical Arthurian fantasy romance is grossly misleading. Not the still in the link, which is more appropriate. 3) That said, it is a pretty classic anime fantasy setting. 4) In contrast, the main story is extremely modern, although the problem it focuses on is nothing new in the world. Well done on that. 5) Felt like there was some not completed, not explained bits, esp. with some of the side stories. 6) One seriously wrong moment early on. I don't care if it is something that's been around a long time in the context of anime and manga. 7) I thought the score was lovely. 8) Too much flashback. 9) Too long. 10) A lot of social commentary, lessons, etc. on multiple topics, not just the main one. 11) I still do not get what the heck was happening with one particular side story line. I suspec...

Well, that was 2 hours of my life that were not useful. I got up early to spray and do some other yard work stuff and it was raining. Which is good. We're in a drought and we need it, but you can't do a lot of things when it is raining. Coincidentally, this morning was also when the temps were supposed to drop into the 70s. Which they did. Into the high 60s, in fact, so it would have been perfect weather to do stuff if it was still dry. Now, it's supposed to start getting humid overnight, which means even if it is not raining it will be wet all over everything. Sigh. Also hot, whence I will probably just have to suck it up. #csbp

This is fine. It appears to have popped up independently simultaneously in different parts of the world. It's still quite rare and only associated with ill patients in healthcare settings - hospitals, nursing homes, etc. Unfortunately, it's way ahead of us. https://www.wired.com/story/the-strange-and-curious-case-of-the-deadly-superbug-yeast/ https://www.wired.com/story/the-strange-and-curious-case-of-the-deadly-superbug-yeast/

"Historically, food safety and nutrition have never been adequately funded at FDA," Taylor said, based on his experience at the agency from the 1970s through 2016. This isn't news to some of us, but in case it is, welcome to government not being able to adequately fund things. (This is where you insert something snarky about Mnuchin's new yacht, or something.) Donnelly said that "Beyond budget, there is a lack of trained food inspectors at FDA. Food companies complain that FDA's approach to inspection is punitive, versus a more educational approach taken at [USDA], where on-site inspectors work with food processors to assure safe food production." I'm pretty sure there'd still need to be a stick with that carrot, but even if not, it still comes down to funding training and education (insert comment about tax cuts here). Meanwhile, lawyers have replaced government scientists at the FDA in many instances, and so there is a lack of understanding of ...

I can't tell for sure, but I'm guessing the shooter is white. More to the point, he's harassed people, apparently black people, in this parking lot at least twice in the last month. So I don't know what the sheriff is thinking, but it sounds like the only people who had a reason to feel threatened were the customers at this convenience store. (Yeah, I know. White sheriff, white shooter, Florida. If all it takes is that to let people run loose based on 'stand your ground' nonsense, everybody should boycott the state and everything in it until they get a clue. Or until Disney and Universal, etc. throw their weight around and tell them to stop it. Either way.) https://www.wfla.com/news/pinellas-county/no-charges-in-fatal-parking-lot-shooting/1313532859 https://www.wfla.com/news/pinellas-county/no-charges-in-fatal-parking-lot-shooting/1313532859

Well, this isn't scary. China's already got a "social credit score". Health data or assumed health data being rolled into a thing like that would hardly be a problem. Now you're a bad citizen. At what point does that become criminal? It's not better that we are letting purely profit driven corporations do this without boundaries. The problem, of course, is we know that shaming people doesn't work. If that worked, we'd all be hypothetical deities. We also know that making things an even greater economic burden is not only not motivating, but it also worsens socioeconomic disparities and turns one bad break into an ever-spiraling cascade of impossibilities, uphill both ways (hey, Sisyphus). This is very much an area where Europe is way ahead of us and in the right. Edit: article title - Health Insurers Are Vacuuming Up Details About You — And It Could Raise Your Rates https://www.propublica.org/article/health-insurers-are-vacuuming-up-details-about-you-a...

This is intense. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/personal-history/my-great-grandfather-the-nigerian-slave-trader https://www.newyorker.com/culture/personal-history/my-great-grandfather-the-nigerian-slave-trader

You keep using this word. I do not think it means what you think it means. "Inconceivable that the government would break into a lawyer's office (early in the morning) - almost unheard of," Trump wrote on Twitter Saturday morning. "Even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client - totally unheard of & perhaps illegal. The good news is that your favorite President did nothing wrong!" https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/21/politics/donald-trump-michael-cohen-taping/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/21/politics/donald-trump-michael-cohen-taping/index.html

You need to listen to the episode of "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" with James Comey that they broadcast today. https://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/ https://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/

I WILL BE PRODUCTIVE TODAY. (did it work?)

Oh, right. We're having a Victory parade for Our Dear Leader Veteran's Day. Right after the midterm elections. Doubtless the propaganda PR for this will ramp up completely coincidentally in the run up to the elections. Extra fun in the article - comparing the cost of real military exercises that we "suspended", i.e., canceled, with South Korea versus the cost of the parade. Hint: the parade will cost the same or more. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/estimated-5000-7000-service-members-march-trumps-military/story?id=56715855 https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/estimated-5000-7000-service-members-march-trumps-military/story?id=56715855

Wait. There's an actual person called the Manhattan Madam? Who greenlit this production? (I had to look this up because this is the absolute worst adaptation of a novel that just inexplicably introduces new characters all the time.) Kristin Davis (actual name of Madam) is connected to Roger Stone because he was named as her campaign manager when she ran for governor of New York in 2010. At the same time as he helped Michael Caputo with Carl Paladino's campaign. If you've forgotten, Caputo was interviewed by Mueller already and blames the left for ruining his life and losing his home because it's really flipping expensive to lawyer up when you're being interviewed by a Special Counsel. Or something like that. He worked on the Trump campaign at one point. Also previously worked for Gazprom to work for Putin on his PR in the US. Also something something Ukraine. He was mentored by Roger Stone. (For fun, Caputo's first wife was Russian. They met while he was working...

Today's pet family pictures: 1) Yes, I have bed head. How does this relate to the likelihood of my getting a treat? 2)Yes, I'm lounging where I eat. May I help you??

Hm. The food looked more appealing in person. Anyway, this is chicken and cauliflower. The chicken is an adaptation of a recipe called "Djaj bi-Basal wa Sumac" I got out of Saveur . I don't actually know where it's from. Their helpful note was 'the Middle East'. Thanks, Saveur. Anyway, it's chicken with onions and sumac and I used almonds instead of pine nuts and chicken breast instead of a whole chicken so I didn't have to make a stock and cook a whole chicken and I didn't shred it up. Doing it my way I would probably use a little less lemon juice next time, but otherwise it is very tasty. The cauliflower got cooked enough to be not hard and crunchy and then I tossed it in za'atar and olive oil. Specifically, the Provencal olive oil in the picture. A long time ago I tasted olive oil from this part of France that tasted like olives. I haven't had one like that in years. Then I found this. It's amazing . It tastes like olives. It smells ...

Lol. https://jezebel.com/this-jeff-goldblum-statue-is-a-sexy-celebrity-now-1827735313 https://jezebel.com/this-jeff-goldblum-statue-is-a-sexy-celebrity-now-1827735313

And, in a final fruit post for the day, this is why squirrels must die. Not damage from bugs, or fungus, or any of the other thousand natural shocks that fruit flesh is heir to. Nay, this be rodent damage. The miserable tree rats are picky about which fruit they want the nut from. So they taste it . They taste all the fruit until they get one they like and then they rip that one apart and take the pit and eat it. Those are squirrel bites (and scratches). Filthy beasts. It's not enough that they break branches and destroy whole pieces of fruit to get the pits. No, they have to contaminate EVERYTHING. Disgusting.

But wait, there's more! Blackberry tart with lactose free pastry cream - lactose free milk, no butter. I was pretty pleased with how thin and crispy the crust came out - yay, blind baking! Meanwhile, we were down a few blackberries because people kept eating them out of hand because they are just that tasty. Still managed to mostly cover the tart, though.

Black raspberry buckle. I basically used this recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017644-summer-berry-buckle , except that I used an 8x2 round pan, which is basically the same volume as a 9x1.5. Since they don't specify the height of the pan, I was assuming certain things, but they turned out to be correct. The thinner pan would have been kind of a thick pancake. The batter is very sticky, even stickier than it looks in their video and I was seriously concerned that there was no way it would hold together 4.5 cups of berries so I chickened out and only used 2 cups. As you can see it probably would have held at least 3 and maybe the full 4 cups, but what started to happen in the video also happened with me - the berries, no matter how careful you are, start getting crushed up because sticky batter. I did not want squished berries. The other mods I did were using an additional 1/8-1/4 tsp lemon oil, no salt, and per the comments I used 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp gro...

Ok. Who has the betting pool on inviting Putin to the White House just in time to hopefully influence the November elections? Because if that's not what Trump and Co. are doing, I'll eat my hat.

Oh, ok. Apparently, one of the things Trump and Putin discussed was Montenegro. You know, the country whose PM was shoved by Trump last year? Because Trump just threw them under the bus, along with NATO. #thanksPutin

Oh, how nice of him. Trump is letting the Federal Reserve do what they do. Even though he disagrees with them. Dude. YOU ARE NOT AN EMPEROR. You have nothing to say about the Fed other than appointing the Governors. SHUT UP.

I think you mean Nunes Escalates War on Media . Apparently, if you ever question anything about him (that friend's winery he invested in yacht party with the sex and drugs) , in fact, even if you say nice things about him (interviewing his neighbors who were apparently pretty complimentary), he reserves the right to get pissed off at you and spend campaign dollars trying to shut down a small, local newspaper. While he and his campaign continue to run their own "media/news company" that spreads vitriol, propaganda, and disinformation. I'm not sure when we get to stop arguing whether comparisons to the authoritarian playbook are tiresome, but when politicians run their own media outlets while spending campaign money to attack independent media outlets, I think we have a problem. The fact that he spends money and is having public hissy fits makes it pretty clear that he is very not "immune to this". https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/18/devin-nunes-fresno-b...

There is nothing more disappointing than someone having an awesomely named robot whose execution utterly fails to live up to its name. Specifically, Battle Royale with Cheese and its side kick Smaller Pounder. So much potential. So much disappointment. #BattleBots

Today is exactly what summer should be: mid 70s, low humidity, nice breeze.

This my humorless aunty face, Charlottesville. Try leadership and getting rid of the Confederate monuments. You don't have to erase history, in fact you shouldn't because people need to remember that this happened and it was wrong, all caps, bold, larger font wrong. But come on, the Civil War ended in 1865. I think it's the opposite of premature to change this. https://www.apnews.com/43f175724f5e4534a5bd1e0fcb053910/Charlottesville-decides-Justice,-Emancipation-are-premature https://www.apnews.com/43f175724f5e4534a5bd1e0fcb053910/Charlottesville-decides-Justice,-Emancipation-are-premature