May 16, 2019

can we get the science straight here?

can we stop calling it a heartbeat bill?
can we please reject their spin?

at 6 weeks, the embryo has no heart. it has the beginnings of that organ. it has a simple electrical pulse. the circulatory system is rudimentary. it is a layer of cells, not yet an organ. blood does not circulate till a few weeks later.

dont take it from me, read this.
this is the closest to an unemotional description that i could find in a few clicks. a little "mommy tilt", but accurate descriptions and pictures.
"The embryo is now made of three layers. The top layer — the ectoderm — will give rise to your baby's outermost layer of skin, central and peripheral nervous systems, eyes, and inner ears.
Your baby's heart and a primitive circulatory system will form in the middle layer of cells — the mesoderm. This layer of cells will also serve as the foundation for your baby's bones, ligaments, kidneys and much of the reproductive system."

WILL FORM
WILL FORM
WILL FORM
WILL FORM
WILL FORM
WILL FORM

it is not a heartbeat, because it is not a heart.
so stop saying that.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/pregnancy-week-by-week/in-depth/prenatal-care/art-20045302?fbclid=IwAR3qZfHq9O7lzn3GxuEraj2XpqfZgaUfPJ2Z82vWiXz3t6rVKf24pPnP1U0

May 16, 2019

here's an idea for the green new deal- help farmers re-electrify rural america.

so, when that draft of the green new deal made the rounds, and everyone started stockpiling cheeseburgers, and drawing up plans for their govt home remodeling, msnbc had the good sense to track down the facts about cow farts and climate change.

first off, it's not the farts, its the belching. and there is good research underway to find better feeds that fix that.

but second, as we all know, it is manure and cafo runoff that are killing our waterways.

perhaps some of you have noticed that i have an obsession w 2 particularly glaringly stupid environment nightmares that have, imho, simple solutions.
one is coal ash, which is a mineral mine laying around waiting for someone to get rich on.
the other is manure. pig shit in particular, but manure in general.

a fairly simple anaerobic digester system makes free methane in a bottle.
the sludge that comes out at the end is far more useful as a fertilizer than raw manure. put it in a bag, and make a good buck w your green fertilizer.
such obvious low hanging fruit.

so, the msnbc spot was-
talking to a couple huge dairy farmers in iowa. got the facts about part one.

then this- the entire small town there was powered by electricity from a single dairy farm.

the barns were piped up so that the manure was automatically pumped into the digester.
the whole set up cost $20M.
it made sense for this farmer to invest in that system. so should the tax payers.

this is my pet theory, but there is plenty of good stuff down this same road.
like, how about the green new deal gives green farmers low interest loans and grants of "seed money" for green innovations to agriculture.
how about transition funds for organic farms?
how about increased conservation easements?
how about more wind and solar subsidies? (how about solar for rural schools and hospitals?)

seems like all these things are rich in opportunities for rural economies.

talk about reaching out to the rural voters. (i know, i know, they are crazies. but there are dems out there everywhere, and this could show everyone what we are made of in a way that pokes the dummies in the eye.)

May 15, 2019

are they trying to end abortion, or discredit the supreme court?

i do believe that these bans are being passed in order to get roe before the court again.
not out of love for the unborn, but as a pull-out-all-the-stops to keep the base wound up.

but what if they fail? what if roe is not only upheld but strengthened. or even if it is upheld, but narrowed. then what?

then they get to go on a jihad about the sc, which they have their hooks well into, but which still has truth tellers.
even when you have the majority, if the descents are comparing you to pol pot and satan, what do you do about that?
they need to do something to smear the liberals on the court, and it would cause them not a second's thought to smear the whole institution to do it.

if roberts vote to uphold roe, they will be able to paint it as- not political, no connection to politics here. see, we hate them all.

seems like quite the win/win for them.

May 15, 2019

i have a dream.

this-




becomes supportive housing for people w disabilities, homeless transition and half way house for reentering prisoners.

then do the same in chicago.

that his brand has turned to shit is, to me, a very tasty revenge pie.

May 14, 2019

i said it on day one-

the biggest danger of a twitler presidency was the howling power vacuum that is his empty head.
it could only cause an evolutionary cascade resulting in more and bigger swamp creatures.
and so it has.

now here we are, rattling sabers at iran.
the void has been filled by bolton and pompeo and erik prince and miller and bannon and and and and. ad infinitum.
and off we go to war.
were we all knew we would end up somehow.

and no this is not any kind of evil genius at work.
this is perfectly banal corruption, writ large.
imho, this cabinet bought their seats.
the people who have been buying up our govt under the table have been asked to pull up a chair. and put their money down.
i can think of no other plausible scenario where the worst of the worst rise so swiftly to the top.

the day may be coming where it will have to be pitchforks and (real)* torches, or this democracy dies.
itmfa
before he kills us all.


eta *

May 13, 2019

i wonder if the tide will turn after the primaries.

watching jackie spier on hardball. she says that many rethuglicans have confessed that they fear a primary threat from the right.
also said that if the people support going after trump, they will turn on a dime.

makes me think we may be in a different political landscape when the primaries shake out.

May 13, 2019

pssst. type geeks-

i know you are in here, cuz this thread-
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181215043

big sale this week at myfonts.
which one would you like to buy?

https://www.myfonts.com/search/tag%3Afia2019/fonts/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=FIA_20190513&utm_content=FIA_20190513+CID_d003aa57644310566b71c66f2f0da43d&utm_source=newsletter

May 10, 2019

why voters are asking about policy, and not trump.

andrea mitchell and charlie sykes on right now talking about a word cloud of 300 questions to candidates on the trail. the resident's name is not on their.
the implicit conclusion is that voters only care about spanky in relation to policy, and only then as it impacts them.
that is is all about the kitchen table.
that people either care about policy, or spanky, not both/and.

here's the thing, we are looking carefully at our candidates and their policies because GETTING RID OF THESE CRIMINALS IS A FUCKING GIVEN.

May 10, 2019

my name is mo. i am an addict.

i am addicted to type.
my favorite daily email is from myfonts. especially on friday, when they have the best deals.

i do have a certificate in graphic design, tho i am self taught going back to adobe pages and photoshop 6. i did spend a little time in art school. i use it from time to time, tho i rarely get paid for it.
but i like it. i got started making political buttons to survive the bush years. that itty bitty space is a great teacher. it saved my life in those years.

anyway, i have strong anti-modern tendencies. count me among those who think helvetica was a crime against humanity. count me among those who put arial last in a font list for the web.

i love a nice serif. i love a 2 story g. with a quaint.
any more than 4 ligatures makes my pulse quicken.
any more than 10 glyphs makes me woozy.
i buy fonts i will never use. i cant help myself.

this morning i had to have this one.
https://www.myfonts.com/fonts/latinotype/monckeberg

May 7, 2019

sen warren is reading the mueller report on the senate floor- tweet

https://twitter.com/burgessev/status/1125791926966521858

discussion is not in a thread. go to the page, and look.
good comments on the turtle today, too.


(hosts- i dont consider this about the primary, but am not completely clear on the fine points of the rule.)

eta- she ended w calling for impeachment. from the senate floor.