Tuesday, January 01, 2019

C'mon Mueller! Make this year worthwhile!!


36 comments:

  1. Just went to donate to Warren's campaign, and realized that one is not a federal contractor. Occasionally I take a small federal contract as an expert for the defense. Upon reflection I thought maybe I could donate when I don't have a contract, which is most of the time, but shouldn't make the contributions automatic on a monthly basis. Sophistry, yes, but literally true. I have asked for their advice, though.

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    1. You raise an interesting concern, Alan. Let us know how it turns out.

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    2. Garbled entry. Should read "and realized contributions are not allowed from federal contractors."

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  2. HAPPY NEW YEAR 2🎉0🎊1🎏9 !!!

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  3. We spent New Year's Eve with 2 sons, 1 DIL, 3 granddaughters and their 3 dogs. The grands performed several numbers from recent Disney movies, for which they created choreography. We enjoyed a bonfire, even though it was raining. Ha! Very fun! Then we all had sparkling cider at midnight (and all three grands made it to midnight!). The drive home was rainy and foggy and in places slipsy, as the snow and ice already on the roads had turned to slush and ice. But we took it slow and made it home fine. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

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  4. Most happy New Year! Warm as kin be here. All heaters off just now.

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  5. The New Horizons space probe zoomed past Ultima Thule as planned and afterwards phoned home. First photos to be released in a day or two. It will take a very long time to transmit all the data; because of the distance, transmission rates will be slow.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Reposted to make link clickable:
      ctually the first photos are up now: "http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/News-Article.php?page=20190101">http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/News-Article.php?page=20190101. Thanks for the tip go to the "Science Fact" section of the "SciFi & Fantasy" forum at forumania.com.

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    3. Doesn't want to click. :(

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    4. Here's another try:
      Actually the first photos are up now: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/News-Article.php?page=20190101. Thanks for the tip go to the "Science Fact" section of the "SciFi & Fantasy" forum at forumania.com.

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    5. Looks like maybe you need a space between the reverse caret following the URL and the text to be displayed.

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  6. More science stories:

    Space probe Osiris-Rex makes closest ever orbit of smallest ever object [Click] “Nasa sampling mission skims a mile above tiny asteroid Bennu where it will try to land and collect samples.” Gee—the asteroid is only 500m in diameter; surely no human pilot could have a light enough touch to achieve orbit.

    Amazon warehouse workers organizing! Yay![Click] It is a truism that the only effective union organizer is the employer. The anarchosyndicalist in me does regret that they are working with a union other than the IWW; I thought it was great when Starbucks employees in New York went with them.

    Smithsonian “Hall of Extinct Monsters” reopening in June after a five-year renovation. [Click] Sounds grrrrreat!

    Late frost gives UK magic mushroom hunters an extra high [Click]

    The wind machines in the orange groves on the other side of the river were running this morning, for the first time this year—so it must be the coldest morning so far this winter.

    And only two days before the Democratic-dominated House of Representatives convenes!

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    1. Well, science stories except for the Amazon workers story.

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    2. Good for the Amazon workers! More power to them!

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  7. ”Elizabeth Warren Doesn’t Want to Be Hillary 2.0” [Click] As if she could be. For proposed Hillary 2.0’s, why not look at Beto O’Rourke or Kamala Harris? Interesting tidbits: :…no other candidate has built herself up into quite this kind of dreadnought…the thing about a dreadnought: It might not have as flashy a design, but it blows a lot of other ships out of the water.” There are passing references to her construction of national campaign infrastructure.

    I suspect that Warren’s announcement reflects an agreement with Bernie that she will the the one to run for President this time.

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  8. "I suspect that Warren’s announcement reflects an agreement with Bernie that she will the the one to run for President this time." Then why is he soliciting contributions for a possible run?

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    1. Well, that money could legally be used for other purposes.

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    2. And I just got an email "Paid for by Friends of Bernie Sanders" that sounds very much like a 2020 platform.

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    3. Yeah, I get e-mail from Bernie too, and the subject lines alone sound very much like an activde candidate. I'll be in a quandary if they both run.

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  9. An interesting comment from another thread:

    "[Warren's] story is really interesting. When she was in her first year as a professor, she had Dr. Stefan Riesenfeld from Berkeley speak to her class about bankruptcy law. He was an expert in the field and had even testified to Congress about the issue many times. Anyway, one of the students asked him to describe the type of family that usually files for bankruptcy. He basically referred to them all as poor people who had made bad choices. Warren followed up and asked how he knows that. He sort of dismissively replied that every expert in the field just knows that. Anyway, Warren decided this was a huge gap. She and her students started interviewing real people who had gone through bankruptcy and recording the interviews as often as possible. She collected an entirely new data set that changed the way bankruptcy law was viewed as a matter of public policy. This new approach is what got Harvard interested in hiring her. It also made her the go-to person when Democrats needed to consult with someone on bankruptcy law."

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    1. Oh, that view and that response sounds so typically pompous and male professorial. I'm very pleased that the young Elizabeth Warren didn't accept that status quo crap and, further, did something about it! That's just the kind of person we need in teaching and in public policy.

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  10. Elizabeth Warren's "specialty" is the economy and the completely unequal distribution of wealth and the growing monopoly of corporations. I don't know how she is on foreign relations. I definitely do not want Kamala Harris, Joe Biden or Cory Booker. I also like Tulsi Gabbard, but I don't know if she has any ambitions in that direction. However, I won't be taking an early leap onto any bandwagon. I want a better chance to evaluate the field. And, yes, I still love Bernie, but I think the DNC has already set up to sabotage him if he runs again. Beto and Joe Kennedy III are media stars, but Beto can't stop dropping the F word in public and Joe has some positions I really don't agree with. I'll watch and see how it goes with all of them.

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    1. Very wise.

      Last night I saw a preliminary list that included several names I didn't even recognize. I selected Sherod Brown, but another name that caught my fancy was Jeff Merkley. But it really is too early. I do know though that I do not want Harrass.

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    2. Er, that should be Harris.

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    3. I have a warm feeling toward Joe Biden because he takes the train regularly. But important as that is, it's not the #1 criterion for a presidential candidate.

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  11. I am pretty sure I posted a link to a foreign policy address Warren gave recently; I think that is very important, and I was favorably impressed. Do we necessarily agree on everything? Of course not. But her address demonstrated serious consideration of the issues and credible policy positions.

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    1. Susan—here it is. Couldn’t locate it in the blog, but found the original.
      Elizabeth Warren: A Foreign Policy for All [Click] Published in Foreign Affairs

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  12. Loves ya all my frens, without exception. Hope we each have a good good year ahead.

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    1. Hope is very powerful. Backatcha, puddle.

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    2. Yeah, Facebook asked what three things you want for 2019. My answer: 1. trump in prison, 2. Ivanka in prison, 3. Kushner in prison.

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  13. Cat, I totally forgot Sherrod Brown. He is legit and works for workers, but - again - I don't know how he is on foreign relations.

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  14. I looked into it and feel he is definitely lacking in terms of foreign policy--But I think he would be an excellent strategic choice for VP.

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