Friday, May 04, 2018

Spring Rain


10 comments:

  1. listener said:
    That link "How ancient DNA is transforming our view of the past" is intriguing, though I cannot fathom how ancient Europeans could have mixed with Native Americans. Maybe I need their definition of "ancient."

    Reply: The ancestors of the Native Americans were genetically isolated for a long time in an area of far northeastern Eurasia--long enough to accumulate some specific genetic mutations. Then they moved to Beringia and later on to North America proper; but some of them went back west, too, and their genes spread to the west, all the way to Europe. It was completely speculative, until human remains with the suspected genetic admixture between those ancestral Native American genetic markers and others from farther west were found near Lake Baikal. Then more and more evidence was found.

    HTH
    Alan

    P.S.: Received the ancestry.com DNA test kit today. Also the first political mailers of the upcoming primary election; "election day" is June 5th, but May 7th is the first day to vote by mail. I have my ballot all figured out except for State Senator.

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  2. And here is some opinion about what yesterday's Giulani-Cohen-Trump clusterfork means:
    ‘An MO For Other More Serious Crimes’[Click]

    Alan

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    1. Ah, all very helpful and interesting. Thank-you, Alan!

      As for choosing your Senator, just have to say: May the force be with you. 😉

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    2. Thanks, listener. DiFi has always been too far to the right for my tastes, but I voted for her nonetheless--until she voted [like HRC] in favor of the war on Iraq. There is no question she is superannuated. I figure Kevin de Leon's bona fides exceed hers when she was first elected; he's not perfect, but I figure he's OK and he will be getting my vote.

      --Alan

      And re European remote ancestry:
      Europe's family tree has a THIRD branch: Link in genetic connection between Modern Europeans and Native Americans found[Click] Four years old; more has probably been deduced, but this is still the current idea.

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    3. Oops--it is our state Senator that I haven't decided on, not our US Senator. US Senator is no problem to decide. California Senator is a bit more puzzling. There are four choices; a Republican endorsed by the American Independent Party (NO!) and three "businesspersons." The fellow with the state Democratic Party endorsement--no relevant experience so far as I can tell; ditto for another fellow supposedly with no party preference, and a gal with experience as a county supervisor running as a Democrat. Puzzling.

      Alan

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    4. OK, I got state senator figured out. The fellow with the Democratic Party endorsement has no relevant experience; he worked in the insurance industry in an unclear capacity--could be an insurance salesman. School board member. Talks a good line, but talk is cheap. I don't think so. The fellow running as an independent is anti-tax and pro-firearms; no. The gal has been active in (our) local Democratic Party organization for quite a while, and was a county supervisor. She has run for higher office before. That works for me.

      Alan

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    5. Oh, and the League of Women Voters sees things the same way I do on every one of the state propositions. The one local charter amendment is uncontroversial. So now I await the arrival of my ballot. Vote by mail is becoming very popular in California.

      Alan

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  3. And here is some opinion about what the Giulani-Cohen-Trump clusterfork means:
    ‘An MO For Other More Serious Crimes’[Click]

    Gee, Susan; it seems the Ohio GOP has come a long way since the days of the Taft family.
    ‘Recipe For Disaster’: GOP Braces For Another Brutal Special Election In Ohio[Click]

    Trump: Giuliani Just Started And ‘He’ll Get His Facts Straight’[Click] Translation: “So I hire raging incompetents; so what?” It occurs to me to wonder if the federal prisons continue the practice of Alcatraz, where convicts were always referred to by number, never name.

    From talkingpointsmemo.com yesterday:

    This Won't End Well [Agreed]
    House Chaplain ‘unresigns’, says Ryan aide objected to his being Catholic.
    Late Update: Speaker Ryan caves almost instantly, unfires Chaplain, says his decision was based on “what I believed to be the best interest of this institution.”

    WNBA Champion Coach: No WH Invite Squares With Trump’s View Of Women[Click] Like the victims of the Waffle House assassin and the fellow who fought him off.

    GOP Ad Targets Affairs of Newsom, Villaraigosa[Click] I am far from thrilled by either Newsom or Villaraigosa; I will be voting for Delaine Eastin for Governor. But the supporters of Cox Who? would come out ahead by spending their money on good quality ice cream; he doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance in Hell of becoming Governor of California.

    —Alan

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    1. I seriously HATE every single elected Republican in Ohio. My god, their campaign ads are nauseating - just mud slinging and more mud slinging.

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