I'd Laugh, If It Didn't Hurt So Much

First off, a pretty picture, for those of you who just want the pretty pictures:

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Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal is always awesome, of course, but this one really hits home right now:

(Don't forget to click through for the hovertext and bonus panel, though!)

Links!

• Library Land
• Sandra Boynton’s Facebook Illustrations Are What We Need Right Now





• Another bright light in troubling times: Chuck Wendig asks and answers the question, "Why Persist As A Writer In Times Of Such Heinous Fuckery?" 
• What's The Next Big Dystopian Novel? Margaret Atwood Has Some Ideas And they sound amazing.
• The New York Public Library just uploaded nearly 200,000 images you can use for free Nice!
• Metropolitan Museum of Art Opens Digital Vault Also nice! 
• Merriam-Webster Just Added More Than 1,000 New Words to the Dictionary "Just as the English language constantly grows, so does the dictionary."
• Health, Science, & Technology
• Children of color with autism face disparities of care and isolation  "Autism rates among African-Americans are the same as rates among whites, but African-American children are often diagnosed with autism at an older age, missing potential years of treatment."
• This totally counts as homeschool curriculum, right? Bill Nye Saves the World, the Anti-Anti-Science Show, Hits Netflix in April
• Light pollution is probably a bad thing. Just how bad - and bad in what ways - is debatable. The Darkest Town In America
• Melting glacier ice is also a bad thing. A Crack in an Antarctic Ice Shelf Grew 17 Miles in the Last Two Months "According to Dr. Rignot, the collapse of Larsen C would add only a tiny amount of water to the global sea level. Of greater concern to scientists is how the collapse of ice shelves can affect the glaciers that flow behind them, because the melting of those glaciers can cause much higher levels of ocean rise. Scientists see the impending Larsen C collapse as a warning that much larger amounts of ice in West Antarctica could be vulnerable."
• U.S. Politics
• Are you under 35 and concerned about the state of our government, local and national? Why not consider running for office? "Run for Something will recruit and support talented, passionate youngsters who will advocate for progressive values now and for the next 30 years, with the ultimate goal of building a progressive bench. We’ll take a chance on people the usual 'institutions' might never encounter.We’ll help people run for offices like state legislatures, mayorships, city council seats, and more. We’ll do whatever it takes to get more under-35 year-olds on the ballot."
• Related: Are you a woman and concerned about the state of our government, local and national? Why not consider running for office? "Emerge America is the premier training program for Democratic women.We inspire women to run, we hone their skills to win. Our goal is clear: to increase the number of Democratic women in public office."
• The Minimum Wage Movement Is Leaving Tipped Workers Behind Personally, I think we should just get rid of tipped work and pay everyone a living wage. I don't even know why that's a controversial statement.
• Worldwide Actions Planned After Army Corps of Engineers Grants Dakota Access Easement Related: 2 Cities To Pull More Than $3 Billion From Wells Fargo Over Dakota Access Pipeline
• Court blocks North Carolina law aimed at curbing Democratic governor’s power  
• Elizabeth Warren silenced for reading Coretta Scott King letter on Senate floor 'Shush, woman!' That didn't stop the letter from getting read, though: Jeff Merkley reads Coretta Scott King's letter about Jeff Sessions on Senate floor I don't know why McConnell thought it appropriate to silence Warren but let Merkley read it uninterrupted; I encourage you to ask him. You can also read the letter Coretta Scott King wrote opposing Sessions' nomination in 1986. Lots of women are reading it tonight - right outside McConnell's house, in fact.
• Related: Jeff Sessions Confirmed as Attorney General, Capping Bitter Battle  "Civil rights advocates worry, however, that he will reverse steps taken by the Obama administration in the last eight years to bring more accountability to police departments, state and local governments, and employers. Advocates point to his history of votes against various civil rights measures, as well as the accusations of racial insensitivity."
• Republican Lawmakers Propose New Law To Reduce Legal Immigration "Their bill would do three things: First, limit the number of foreign nationals who are able to get green cards to reunite with their families already in the U.S. — currently the largest category of legal immigrants; second, cut the number of refugees in half; third, eliminate the diversity visa lottery — a program that gives visas to countries with low rates of immigration to the United States." I am particularly disgusted by the fact that they would aim specifically to keep families apart and deny refuge to people fleeing disaster or war. 
• I don't suppose the GOP is particularly concerned about voter fraud anymore?  House Republicans Just Voted to Eliminate the Only Federal Agency That Makes Sure Voting Machines Can’t Be Hacked 
• Speaking of Republicans using Trump as cover to do terrible things... Move Quietly "While the Donald the Unready throws enough tantrums to keep everyone variously entertained and horrified, House Republicans are introducing one regressive piece of legislation after another. Most will go nowhere. Some will add to the pile of problems we have to fix down the road. One target that is moving into focus is their decades-long dream of cutting Social Security."
• GOP Congressman Insists White Terrorist Attacks Are Totally Different "Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) also pointed to 'the good things' that came from the shooting of black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina." And he seems to think Gabby Giffords died.
• Trump held his first VA listening session without veterans advocates 
• Anderson Cooper Shuts Down The White House’s Terrorism List In Just 45 Seconds 
• Did you miss the Trump Travel Ban Hearing? Luckily, you can still hear the whole thing. Trump isn't likely to win much favor by attacking the court, though that isn't stopping him: Trump Calls Hearing on Immigration Ban ‘Disgraceful’ Related: Travel ban hearing: whose arguments are stronger and what happens next? 
• Legality aside, how likely is it that terrorists coming into the country from the nations Trump's travel ban covers or from refugees? It’s Not Foreigners Who are Plotting Here: What the Data Really Show
  

  So let’s take a hard look at some empirical data I put together on who the terrorists are and how they relate to the assumptions in the executive order.
  
  For those who don’t want to do this deep dive, here’s a quick two-sentence summary: Conway’s position is empirically indefensible. Absolutely nothing in the large body of data we have about real terrorist plots in the United States remotely supports either a focus on barring refugees or a focus on these particular seven countries.
  
  Nothing.

  Not bloody likely, then. I'd ask someone to pass this information along to the Pres, but he's busy fighting with Nordstrom, so...
  
• Since I've gotten no offers to financially support my Bowling Green Massacre Information Center, how about building an Atlanta Terroristic Attack Memorial Information Center? Sean Spicer cites Atlanta terror attack that never happened I have personally survived both nonexistent attacks. 
• International
• First, some good news: After More Than A Century, Bison Return To Canada's Oldest National Park 
• And now some bad news: Putin approves legal change that decriminalises domestic violence "From now on, beatings of spouses or children that result in bruising or bleeding but not broken bones are punishable by 15 days in prison or a fine, if they do not happen more than once a year." 
• Yemen is no longer happy with us. Yemen Withdraws Permission for U.S. Antiterror Ground Missions I can't blame them, really.
• Othernesses
• Tornadoes Devastate New Orleans Neighborhoods Hit by Katrina At least seven tornadoes hit NOLA and surrounding areas, causing a ton of destruction and injuries - but, so far, no reported deaths.
• Richard Hatch, Battlestar Galactica star, dies at 71 I do not like this at all.
• Full Disclosure: I adore Lent Madness!


If you haven't done it before, you should. It's a fun way to learn about the saints. Of course, we're still waiting (some less patiently than others) for Lent Madness to begin. Meanwhile, check this out: Quiz: Which Golden Halo Winner are YOU? Apparently, I'm Frances Perkins! She's one of my favorite people of all time.