It Begins

...or more accurately, it continues - and accelerates.

Union For Concerned Scientists:

The increasingly reckless House of Representatives, caught up in a public mutiny, may have walked back its abandonment of congressional ethics. But it simultaneously took several other steps that will enable corruption and greatly expand political influence over the work of experts at NASA, NOAA, EPA, and other science agencies, compromising their ability to serve the public interest.

This week, the House made significant changes to the rules under which it operates. First and foremost is the Holman rule, resurrected from the 1870s, just at the end of Reconstruction. This rule allows Congress, through spending bills, to target specific initiatives and reduce the salaries of individual federal employees whose work they find irksome to $1.

Does your research suggest a chemical company that happens to be located in the district of a powerful member of Congress is responsible for environmental contamination? You could be on that list.

So, Repubs are saying they'll keep science from becoming politicized by subjecting scientists to political pressures and ideological tests.

OK and away we go.

Today's GIF

When you realize Trump will be able to interrupt TV programming whenever he wants because he thinks you should know that Alec Baldwin is being mean to him again.

hat tip = @goldengateblond

Today's Tweet

Hillary was so flawed Putin, Trump, Wikileaks, Comey, Gary Johnson and Jill Stein had to join forces just to keep her under 70 million votes

— Boney Hurdle (@eclecticbrotha) January 7, 2017

Today's Pix

Today's Podcast

A highlight: 
At about 43:00, BlueGal reviews an article on Healthcare spending that has just about everything I need to know about Consumer Behavior. ie: in an effort to get people to be more thoughtful and circumspect in how they spend their healthcare dollar, a company raised their deductible (so people had "skin in the game" I assume). But instead of shopping around for better doctors and/or better deals, people just cut back on going to their doctors - eg: they stopped getting the colonoscopies that prevent ass cancer because they didn't go to their doctors for regular checkups so they weren't properly informed and reminded. etc etc etc.



And Bible Bitch is pretty good again this week.

The Professional Left

Today's Quote

This applies to not a few revolutionaries and militarists and other apostles of violence. They are actuated, usually without their knowledge, by hatred; the destruction of what they hate is their real purpose, and they are comparatively indifferent to the question of what is to come after it.

--Bertrand Russell

Today's Tweet

Trump seems even more terrifyingly uninformed when you read his words as text. Here is the ONLY thing he’s ever said about the war in Yemen: pic.twitter.com/qyP7xyXDjV

— Jonathan Riley (@JonRiley7) January 6, 2017

Somethin' wrong with that guy.

Late Breaking Keith

NEW: The video to send to that person in your life who is still supporting @realDonaldTrump. There is no yelling. pic.twitter.com/8ADyBBuFi2

— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) January 5, 2017

Oh, I Get It Now

From Crooks & Liars - Blue Gal (Frances Langum)

That's an awful big buncha smoke for no fire.

More Lying Numbers

• Clinton got 2.8 Million votes more than Trump, but Trump's the new Prez.
• In races for the House, Repubs got 49% of the votes and 55% of the seats.
• In the Senate, the GOP owns a "majority" even though the Dems got 23 Million more votes.

Somethin' ain't right.