April 15th – what’s In what’s Out

In: hugging Granny

Out: all-nighter hangover doing taxes, cussing at IRS as you rush to post office to file taxes today (deadline now May 17th) and caring a damn about what that former guy said.

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22 thoughts on “April 15th – what’s In what’s Out”

  2. VOA  (yes the Voice of America –  alive and well again after 4 years in former guy’s purgatory):

    WASHINGTON – The United States will announce sanctions on Russia as soon as Thursday for alleged election interference and malicious cyber activity, targeting several individuals and entities, people familiar the matter said.
    The sanctions, in which 30 entities are expected to be blacklisted, will be tied with orders expelling about 10 Russian officials from the United States, one of the people said.
    […]
    The wide-ranging sanctions would come in response to a cybersecurity breach affecting software made by SolarWinds Corp. that the U.S. government has said was likely orchestrated by Russia. The breach gave hackers access to thousands of companies and government offices that used the company’s products.
    Microsoft President Brad Smith described the attack, which was identified in December, as “the largest and most sophisticated attack the world has ever seen.”
    The United States also intends to punish Moscow for alleged interference in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. In a report last month, U.S. intelligence agencies said Russian President Vladimir Putin likely directed efforts to try to swing the election to then-President Donald Trump and away from now-President Joe Biden.
    […]
    In a call on Tuesday, Biden told Putin that the United States would act “firmly” to defend its interests in response to those actions, according to U.S. officials’ account of the call.
    Biden also proposed a meeting with Putin “in a third country” that could allow the leaders to find areas to work together.

  3. looks like pogo’s state wants to be an INnie too

    money:

    West Virginia really wants you to move there. So much so that on Monday, Governor Jim Justice announced the launch of the Ascend WV program, designed to lure remote workers to relocate to the Mountain State. As part of the program, approved applicants who move to West Virginia will receive $12,000, as well as more $1,200 in free outdoor gear rentals for a year.
    […]
    Since the average work from home salary exceeds $90,000, several cities and states (including Alaska and Tulsa, Oklahoma) have been willing to pay workers to consider relocating, in order to reap the benefits of a high-income population base. Gov. Justice is hoping to lure outdoor enthusiasts who might also appreciate the area’s low cost of living (according to Zillow, the average price of a house in West Virginia is $113,578, which is quite a bit cheaper than the national average of $272,446.), while offering a greater benefits package than anywhere else so far.
    The Ascend WV was introduced by Gov. Justice, alongside Intuit Chairman Brad D. Smith and his wife, Alys, and West Virginia University President E. Gordon Gee, and will be available in three cities at first: Morgantown, Shepherdstown, and Lewisburg, though the hope is to eventually expand it to all 55 counties. The relocation package, which has been valued at more than $20,000, will also include free coworking space, guided outdoor trips, networking events with local business leaders and the chance to earn remote work certifications at West Virginia University.
    Applications for the Ascend WV program are now available for the first 50 spots in the host city of Morgantown, and applications for Shepherdstown and Lewisburg will be announced soon.

  5. virus vs vaccines

    cbsnews:

    London — A study by researchers at Oxford University in England suggests the risks of experiencing dangerous, rare blood clots in the brain are far higher in those who catch the coronavirus than in those who get either the AstraZeneca vaccine, or the vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna in the U.S. The research shows that the number of people who experience clots after getting the vaccines made by the American pharmaceutical giants appears very similar to the number who get the rare condition after a shot of the AstraZeneca drug, which was developed in conjunction with Oxford’s vaccine institute.
    A key finding of the research, revealed Thursday as a “pre-print” study which has yet to be reviewed by other scientists, was that the risk of experiencing a blood clot in the brain was about 95 times higher for people who contract COVID-19 than in the general population.

    That’s yet another serious health threat associated with the disease, and one the scientists hoped would boost confidence in all of the major vaccines currently available in the Western world, as their research suggests the drugs carry a significantly lower threat of clotting than the disease they’ve been proven to fend off. 

    […]
    The data showed that about 4 in every 1 million people who get the American-made vaccines experience cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT), or blood clots in the brain. With the AstraZeneca vaccine, which works in a different way and is similar to the Johnson & Johnson shot, the research showed an incidence rate of about 5 in every 1 million.

    That equates to a risk of CVT 10-times greater for people who catch the coronavirus than for those who get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, and 8-times greater for those given the AstraZeneca shot.

    […]
    The research released by Oxford on Thursday found that about 39 of every 1 million people who contract COVID-19 are likely to experience the clots on the brain. The scientists stressed that the point of their research was not to compare vaccines, but to gather firm data on the risks of all the vaccines compared to the risks associated with catching COVID-19.

    [continues]

  6. repeat for emphasis:

    The research released by Oxford on Thursday found that about 39 of every 1 million people who contract COVID-19 are likely to experience the clots on the brain.

    compare that to the incidences in the vaccinated (no matter which vaccine was administered)

  8. For those looking for something different, Dr. Pimple Popper on YouTube.  Gross, nasty, disturbing and somewhat weird come to mind.  She is a dermatologist who tapes a lot of her surgeries and pimple popping.  It is stunning the big, bulging and nasty things people will live with for years before seeking treatment. 
     
    And for something entirely different, Sen. Schumer is not all that for Puerto Rico statehood.  I can send him mail asking for him to change his mind, he is one of my senators.

  10. patd…  I know quite a few older women that can finally hug their grandchildren….  it’s a beautiful thing!  I also know several people that today is their birthday….  can’t say they are tax babies today.
     
    Good on Joe for getting tough with Russia!  

  11. https://www.texastribune.org/2021/04/14/texas-appeals-court-statewide-senate/

    More Texas-sized, dirty tricks and politics.

    “The Texas Senate passed a bill Wednesday to create a new statewide court of appeals that would hear cases that have statewide significance — including ones that challenge state laws, the constitution or when the state or its agencies are sued.“

    “Critics say the proposed new court is a Republican attempt to yank jurisdiction of these cases from Democrats.“

    “Since the [3rd Court of Appeals] deals with issues facing state government, it’s a thorn in the Republican Party side,” Mark P. Jones, a political science fellow at Rice University, said in an interview. “And so by transitioning that by moving that to a statewide election where Republicans have the advantage, they would be able to, most likely, flip from being a Democratic majority… to a [5-0] Republican advantage.”

    “…recent lawsuits surrounding Gov. Greg Abbott’s pandemic emergency orders are examples of types of litigation the proposed court would have jurisdiction over.“

  13. I wish I had a senator, he said wistfully……all’s I got is Lindsay Graham and Tim Scott.     That’s just an affront to all humanity.

  14. Expand the Supremes?  Good idea.  No reason to keep them limited.  Expand the House?  Definitely.  Neither represents the country any more in terms of quantity of citizens served.  Trying to reason why to keep them limited fails because the country has grown.  I have heard the “oh we cannot expand because there is no room in the building and there is no way they could see, hear or interact with each other arguments against expansion for the last sixty years.  All B.S.   We have the technology to deal with all of it.  Tradition for size for either only goes back a few decades.  They are expandable, and sometimes reduced.  Thirteen justices and another four hundred twenty-three representatives would be a good start.

  15. the guardian:

    Whitest-ever paint could help cool heating Earth, study shows

    New paint reflects 98% of sunlight as well as radiating infrared heat into space, reducing need for air conditioning

    Infrared image shows how a sample of the ‘whitest paint’ (the dark purple square in the middle) cools the board below ambient temperature.

    An infrared image shows how a sample of the ‘whitest paint’ (the dark purple square in the middle) cools the board below ambient temperature. Photograph: Joseph Peoples/Purdue University

  16. given the above info on why white paint, seems greek isles were way ahead of their time –  by centuries.  opa! as zorba would joyfully shout

    Image result for greek island village

  19. https://www.texastribune.org/2021/04/15/texas-constitutional-carry/

    “House Bill 1927 would nix the requirement for Texas residents to obtain a license to carry handguns if they’re not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a gun.”

    “Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who heads the Senate, has previously expressed hesitation over the measure, saying in a 2017 radio interview that, “with all the police violence today we have in our state … law enforcement does not like the idea of anyone being able to walk down the street with a gun and they don’t know if they have a permit or not.”

    When even the likes of Lt. Dan sees a problem with it, it’s a problem.

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