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Apart from cursing what we can’t control, what’s on the agenda for the day?
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Thursday Morning Open Thread: Cold, Cold ProspectsPost + Comments (54)
This post is in: How about that weather?, Open Threads, Republican Venality, Russiagate
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Apart from cursing what we can’t control, what’s on the agenda for the day?
Thursday Morning Open Thread: Cold, Cold ProspectsPost + Comments (54)
This post is in: Dog Blogging, How about that weather?, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Readership Capture, All we want is life beyond the thunderdome
A monster storm is headed for the East Coast, but don't worry, it's only expected to become a [squints at notes] "bomb cyclone" https://t.co/tLjbbRCQiD
— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 2, 2018
Oh great fucking "bomb cyclones" this is like that sharknado shit but real
— Serenity Now! (@Johngcole) January 2, 2018
Yes, this is an East-Coast-centric blog, because that’s where most of the front pagers are. And besides, those of you on the other coast (or in distant time zones) ought to be in bed by now, anyways. Thoughts & prayers to those between Florida and Maine whose personal environments weren’t meant to deal with *this* level of chill!
Apart from “not freezing”, what’s on the agenda for the day?
How cold is it? The only thing Mimi wants to do is warm her paws over the radiator. pic.twitter.com/5X6NN1OmXf
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) January 2, 2018
Since Shirley Chisolm was one of my first real-life political heroes, I truly admire this woman’s style:
Shirley Chisolm said: "if they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair."
In her incredible campaign for Cincy City Council, @tamayaforcincy always repeated that quote.
Today, at her swearing in, she brought the chair. #mainstreet pic.twitter.com/zTj53qI9P9
— David Pepper (@DavidPepper) January 2, 2018
And speaking of admirable political figures…
Obama's birthday declared a holiday in Illinois https://t.co/DtoBOZKhVU pic.twitter.com/MbOQog8mRB
— The Hill (@thehill) January 3, 2018
@realDonaldTrump ??Rest assured, New York will NEVER, EVER do this for you.
— Hope Sherman (@hope_sherman) January 3, 2018
Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Bundle UpPost + Comments (136)
This post is in: Climate Change, Domestic Politics, Don't Mourn, Organize, How about that weather?, Open Threads
U.S. to be coldest region in world relative to normal over next week. Please note rest of world will be much warmer than normal lest anyone try to claim pocket of cold in U.S. debunks global warming, which they will invariably and irresponsibly do. https://t.co/hzocqUrfKp https://t.co/4uA4fJUAyV
— Capital Weather Gang (@capitalweather) December 27, 2017
… the howling winds of chaos are far from metaphorical. Don’t forget your gloves / scarves / hats!
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Also, PSA:
As we count down to the new year, we get to reflect and prepare for what’s ahead. For all the bad news that seemed to dominate our collective consciousness, there are countless stories from this year that remind us what's best about America.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 29, 2017
Kat Creech, a wedding planner in Houston, turned a postponed wedding into a volunteer opportunity for Hurricane Harvey victims. Thirty wedding guests became an organization of hundreds of volunteers. That’s a story from 2017. https://t.co/yxhjwkr5Se
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 29, 2017
Chris Long gave his paychecks from the first six games of the NFL season to fund scholarships in Charlottesville, VA. He wanted to do more, so he decided to give away an entire season’s salary. That’s a story from 2017. https://t.co/NL0RoARkan
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 29, 2017
Ten-year-old Jahkil Jackson is on a mission to help homeless people in Chicago. He created kits full of socks, toiletries, and food for those in need. Just this week, Jahkil reached his goal to give away 5,000 “blessing bags.” That’s a story from 2017. https://t.co/muxPZnEGkd
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 29, 2017
All across America people chose to get involved, get engaged and stand up. Each of us can make a difference, and all of us ought to try. So go keep changing the world in 2018.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 29, 2017
Friday Afternoon Open Thread: Meanwhile, Outside the Trump Bubble…Post + Comments (149)
by John Cole| 93 Comments
This post is in: Climate Change, Dolt 45, Just Shut the Fuck Up, Serenity Now!
He’s on a god damned mission to make me mental:
Fucking hell.
This post is in: Climate Change Solutions, Open Threads, Science & Technology, Bring On The Meteor
The US government has lifted a ban on making lethal viruses, saying the research is necessary to develop strategies against "rapidly evolving pathogens that pose a threat to public health" https://t.co/5c1mFdMhCI pic.twitter.com/aLWhsu5UOD
— CNN (@CNN) December 19, 2017
Deregulating plagues sounds like a great idea. https://t.co/27PdXv9IK9
— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) December 20, 2017
Let’s remember why they put the whole “making deadly viruses” thing on pause in the first place… pic.twitter.com/df5vV3L06A
— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) December 20, 2017
For the record, I’m all in favor of scientific research — I just don’t trust the Repubs and their hand-picked goobers to do anything useful here, and (like everybody else) I’m not sanguine about their ability not to make things actively worse…
… Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, made the announcement, in which he outlined a new framework for the controversial research. The work with three viruses can now go forward, but only if a scientific review panel determines that the benefits outweigh the risks…
The decision brings an end to a three-year moratorium on research involving the influenza virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome (known as SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (or MERS). Critics say the research could unleash a new germ that threatens millions if it is not properly stored or if it escapes from a lab.
The government paused the research in 2014 to review the practices in handling and storing infectious agents. At the time, Collins said that biosafety and biosecurity risks needed to be “understood better.”
The pause came after several incidents involving the mishandling of potentially dangerous pathogens at government laboratories.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention accidentally exposed dozens of workers to anthrax in 2014, and a subsequent investigation detailed other instances in which lab workers did not follow protocol. Around that time, vials of the deadly smallpox virus were found in a cardboard box in an unsecured refrigerator at the National Institutes of Health’s campus in Bethesda, Maryland.
In Tuesday’s announcement, the institutes said that approved research would take place only if the researcher and institution where the research is being conducted demonstrate the “capacity and commitment to conduct it safely and securely, and have the ability to respond rapidly” should things go wrong.
It also said that the research must be “ethically justifiable” and that any pathogen created, transferred or used in the research “must be reasonably judged to be a credible source of a potential future human pandemic.”…
Here’s hoping Jared Kushner isn’t already circulating a memo offering to sell the findings to the highest bidder, cash before delivery, overseas depositories preferred. (I’d say “Don Jr.,” except we’d already have copies of the memo if it were one of Trump’s genetic sons making the offer.)
Ugh, fine just make it fast-acting I don't want the inevitable world-ending vial spillage to be any 'Outbreak' sort of mess. Andromeda Strain or bust yo. https://t.co/39xMmBLK5q
— Zeddy ( me [ person ] ) (@ZeddRebel) December 20, 2017
Scienterrific Open Thread: Because 2017 Can *Always* Get Worse…Post + Comments (15)
This post is in: How about that weather?, Open Threads, All we want is life beyond the thunderdome
?? ???? Snow cancels Santa visits on the Marietta Square – https://t.co/TEG5Ar9tjN
Our LIVE #StormWatchOn2 coverage continues at 10 p.m. on Channel 2 pic.twitter.com/0HqUTRkI8P
— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) December 9, 2017
This year in one tweet!
What’s on the agenda as we grind down towards year-end?
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"You see these people on TV who have lost everything, and you can’t imagine it, until it’s you. Now I am that person. I have the clothes on my back." With @PostScottWilson
in California, the latest on the wildfires ravaging the state https://t.co/E7nGyrQuTD— Mark Berman (@markberman) December 6, 2017
Per LAPD, avoid navigation apps if ordered to evacuate fire zones, as they can steer you into neighborhoods that are literally burning (and thus seem to have clear roads).
— Justin Shanes (@justinshanes) December 7, 2017
New photo from NASA of the California fires… pic.twitter.com/TIMTe6Uqwv
— John Lundin (@johnlundin) December 9, 2017
Thoughts & prayers (yes, I know exactly how useless that sounds) for those on the Wildfire Coast. It seems miraculous that “only” one death has been attributed to these fires, as of now.
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NB: There will be a separate post about the Pensacola rally later today, because ugh.
Saturday Morning Open Thread: Already Exhausted With 2017Post + Comments (149)
This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Climate Change, Dolt 45, Goddamned Traitors, Open Threads, Republican Venality, Russiagate, Assholes
Papadopoulos' unnamed "supervisor" is Sam Clovis, and the "high-ranking" official is Manafort, source tells @Isikoff https://t.co/DHpQdXxqeL pic.twitter.com/0IOvUcdHjl
— Colin Campbell (@colincampbell) October 30, 2017
So, *this* Sam Clovis that Trump named last month to USDA despite any qualifications other than being a campaign "supervisor"? pic.twitter.com/FD5hl5q8Zg
— Harry Godwyn (@harrygod) October 30, 2017
wait IS CLOVIS THE SOMEONE SITTING ON THEIR BED THAT WEIGHS 400 POUNDS
— Owen Ellickson (@onlxn) October 30, 2017
White House: We won't withdraw Trump USDA pick despite report he told ex-Trump aide to meet with Russians https://t.co/83MMWjfetX pic.twitter.com/87tkJExujs
— The Hill (@thehill) October 31, 2017
This is nice to know, because from past history Clovis is strictly a
cash-in-advance professional, and while the Trump / GOP organizations may not have kept the best records I’m sure Sam always got certified receipts to store away.
(Also, back in Texas, Rick Perry is guffawing.)
which means Mueller made sure he had Clovis on record BEFORE letting the world know Clovis's underling was a cooperating witness.
— Zedward Tweeterhands (@ZeddRebel) October 31, 2017
Sam Clovis, the former top Trump campaign official who supervised a man now cooperating with the FBI’s Russia investigation, was questioned last week by special counsel Robert Mueller’s team and testified before the investigating grand jury, a person with first-hand knowledge of the matter told NBC News…
The court documents unsealed Monday describe emails between Papadopoulos and an unnamed “campaign supervisor.” The supervisor responded “Great work” after Papadopoulos discussed his interactions with Russians who wanted to arrange a meeting with Trump and Russian leaders.
[His lawyer, Victoria] Toensing confirmed that Clovis was the campaign supervisor in the emails. Clovis, a former Air Force officer and Pentagon official who unsuccessfully ran for Iowa State Treasurer in 2014, was the Trump campaign’s chief policy adviser and national co-chairman.He is currently serving as an unpaid White House adviser to the Agriculture Department, awaiting Senate confirmation before the Agriculture Committee for the scientist job. He is not a scientist…
In his role in the Trump campaign Clovis, a 25-year Air Force veteran, helped assemble Trump’s National Security Advisory Committee, chaired by then-Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), which was publicly announced in March 2016.
A public Senate confirmation hearing would give Democrats on the committee an opportunity to question Clovis about his interactions with Papadopoulos and the campaign’s deliberation about meetings with Russian officials.
The Agriculture Committee is chaired by Republican Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas, a former chairman of the Intelligence Committee. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, which is conducting its own Russia-related probe, is also a member of the Agriculture Committee, as are Democrats Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota…
Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, on the other hand: probably not a happy Malevolent Leprechaun right now. Or so, at least, I devoutly hope!
Russiagate Open Thread: Trump’s “400-Pound Guy” UnearthedPost + Comments (292)