Here To Help

They're from the Medicare branch of the government and they're here to help:

Medicare Is Cracking Down on Opioids. Doctors Fear Pain Patients Will Suffer.

Officials are close to limiting doses of the painkillers, but doctors say doing so could put older patients into withdrawal or lead them to buy deadly street drugs.

Jacob Sullum of Reason covered this in frightening detail.

 

Comments

[Tom R]

Bama #1

[narcisocenfl]

This explains the kerfluffle mazzetti coughed up

https://mobile.twitter.com/alimhaider/status/978846299901526016?p=v

[Extraneus]

NC sheriff hopeful apologizes for joke about taking guns away from people’s ‘cold, dead hands’

[henry]

No problem. Just nationalize health care and the government cant tell doctors what to do. /braindeadcelebmode

[Dave (in MA)]

Criminals are abusing drugs? Take drugs away from non-criminals.

It worked for guns.

[narcisocenfl]

Clearly, the opioid crisis had to do with a more expansive pain management regime.

[henry]

Those millenials...

If employees at Amazon, Apple, and Facebook were given the chance to take on the role of Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook or Mark Zuckerberg, many of them agree on what they would immediately change: their company's vision and strategy.

but the 18-27 age group wants more pay.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/28/the-no-1-change-tech-workers-would-make-if-they-were-in-charge.html?__source=twitter%7Cmain

[Jim Eagle]

I am abusing a bottle of Sonoma-Cuterer before I head to bed because when you are jet lagged its always better to go to bed like daddy does with a few pints or glasses under your belt.

Frederick is out looking at the available fitness facilities he can work out in while here. Mrs. JiB is with him since he needs an interpretor but not necessarily since everyone in Flanders who is a high school graduate speaks English fluenetly.

[Jim Eagle]

..but can spell better than I do... Fluently.

[James D.]

From henry's link...

Workers listed creating a better product and cutting expenses as less important, according to the survey results.

This is the same generation that shows approval for socialism over capitalism in polls...

[narcisocenfl]

Yes but what does better vision and strategy mean, do i want to know?

[henry]

narciso, from the guy interviewed... more SJW than it is now is my guess. As a tech CEO with lots of employees, they often tell me what I should be doing in terms of direction. It often has to do with whatever they did at their last job, or what they read in the paper. Very rare to get a fresh idea, let alone a useful one.

[DrJ]

they [employees] often tell me what I should be doing in terms of direction

I've found this particularly to be so for the young or Millenials, which of course are the same these days. They always know better, think current management are idiots, and know absolutely nothing. Not that this interferes with having opinions...

[henry]

The Onion @TheOnion
1h

Mark Zuckerberg Prepares For Congressional Testimony By Poring Over Lawmakers’ Personal Data

https://www.theonion.com/mark-zuckerberg-prepares-for-congressional-testimony-by-1824149833?utm_content=Main&utm_campaign=SF&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=SocialMarketing

[James D.]

How about this for a vision at any for-profit company:

Produce a product/service that your customers want to buy/use, and sell it to them for more than it costs you to produce it.

I think an awful lot of companies (and their employees), as well as society generally, would be a lot better off if they just stuck to that.

[rse]

Already saw the changes in opioid scripts even for non-medicare patients. before open heart surgery the nurses were warning patients to ask for pain meds and not to assume they would be brought after they are awake post-surgery.

On climate change, it was always an excuse for government planning at all levels, much like equality mandates. As anthony giddens tactlessly put it, it doesn't matter if it's true. it only matters that it is fervently believed.

Most major cities have opened Offices of resilience. Here's atlanta's. https://www.atlantaga.gov/government/mayor-s-office/executive-offices/office-of-resilience

Most major corp's now have chief sustainability officers to help the company meet environmental goals.

[Ralph L]

Old people can't get to the street.

[GUS]

James, how about UNITEDS model, the beatings will continue until moral improves.
Or CHEVRON'S, we bent over so that YOU can bend over.

[aononamom]

Don't miss rse's link to Atlanta's Office of Resilience above.
Truly Onion-worthy.

[Another Bob]

DrJ | March 28, 2018 at 03:20 PM

Ain’t that the truth. And in software the HR types are in a state of permafreakout that the kiddies feel engaged. So you have to invent ever-better ways of telling them nicely “you couldn’t find your ass with two hands and a GPS, so why would I want to listen to you pontificate about how to run a project or a business”.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

https://www.recode.net/2018/3/28/17172212/apple-facebook-revolution-tim-cook-interview-privacy-data-mark-zuckerberg

Cook said Facebook should have self-regulated, but we are past that point now.

[clarice feldman]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/03/28/doj-inspector-general-investigates-alleged-fisa-abuses-by-doj-fbi.html

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Here's the list of cities that Atlanta joined:

http://www.100resilientcities.org/cities/

As you can see, many are NOT in the US.

I don't know how Jakarta got on this list and Indianapolis did not, but I am glad for it.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

https://www.dailywire.com/news/23399/former-smallville-actress-allegedly-second-command-hank-berrien

That cult again.

[Old Lurker]

Clarice, from your link:

"Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz announced Wednesday he will review potential Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) abuses by both the Justice Department and the FBI, following requests from Congress and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

The Office of the Inspector General released a statement Wednesday outlining the initiation of a review.

“The OIG will initiate a review that will examine the Justice Department’s and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s compliance with legal requirements, and with applicable DOJ and FBI policies and procedures, in applications filed with the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) relating to a certain U.S. person,” the statement obtained by Fox News read. “As part of this examination, the OIG also will review information that was known to the DOJ and the FBI at the time the applications were filed from or about an alleged FBI confidential source.”

.................

So he is looking into one case but we don't know who. So maybe Trump Tower related, or maybe not. That it follows a request from Congress and Rid Van AG, it probably is Trump related maybe. In any event he has just initiated it, so that suggests there is not already a FISA Abuse investigation in the 4th Dimension that might be about concluded. If this IS the Carter Page poll vault into the Trump Tower Servers, starting now means dead silence on this central issue for what? 1 Year? 2 Years? When does the SoL run out on those crimes? When DID the Political SoL run out on those crimes?

[Old Lurker]

Rip. "Rid" was a freudian slip, honest.

[Old Lurker]

Doesn't the DoJ IG have - did I hear 400? - investigators? Nobody could be freed up earlier to look into a coup against an elected POTUS?

Back to the Ledge for me.

[clarice feldman]

OL--I am assuming that person is Steele. Since most of what we know about Strzok and Page and the FISC application was made known to the Congressional committees thru the OIG, I rather assume they've been picking up a lot of it in connection with the main investigation,

[Catsmeat]

Daddy, haven't caught up yet, but 1) thank you for the room lineage of C.P. Snow--amazing; and 2) yes, it's "Woodhouse" not "Wode to rhyme with owed." It's hard being American and dealing with British literature, as you only learn how to pronounce things by accident. My favorites to pass along:

Bewick (of Bewick's Birds) is pronounced as we say Buick; Walter Bagehot, the great 19th c. economist and historian is pronounced "Badgit"; St. John Rivers, the guy Jane Eyre doesn't marry, is pronounced "sinjin"; and William Whewell, the great scientist who among other things confirmed that tides were global (in the 1830s), is pronounced "hue-ell."

[rse]

MM-Data-Smart Governance gets to same place but uses different nomenclature and more private actors. https://datasmart.ash.harvard.edu/about/stephen-goldsmith is your former mayor's activities at harvard.

In system's theory on steering society, goldsmith's work is about two levels above the micro level of the mind, but it's actually the same group of theories. Bioecological Systems Theory by Urie Brinfenbrenner. narciso with love i downloaded a confirming paper from 2013 from the fla gov website.

[Old Lurker]

Clarice, I think you mean Carter Page, not Steele, since Steele is not a US person.

[rse]

http://www.indy.gov/eGov/City/DPW/SustainIndy/Documents/Mayor%20Joe%20Hogsett%20Announces%20Development%20of%20Sustainability%20and%20Resilience%20Action%20Plan.pdf

September 2017. I know a lot of the buzz phrases that help with searches.

[maryrose]

Wasn’t that ICE deportee handcuffed to an officer to prevent escape?

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Oh brother. Am watching the press briefing and April Ryan wants Sarah to explain why the President hasn't intervened in that police shooting of the black boy in his grandmother's backyard.

[Old Lurker]

Obviously my snark about the announcement is they made it sound like a big deal for which we should be grateful and to me it is just a Big Whup in the slow walk.

That'll get RG on my back before you know it.

[-peter]

I figure that by the time Lent is over (4 days and counting) Captain will have Tourette's syndrome.

And if anyone needs weed in New Jersey (new Dem governor trying to make it the state's principal product) they can qualify if they have Tourette's. LUN

[maryrose]

Unlike Obama ,President Trump is far too busy to weigh in on every gang shooting or declare that the police acted stupidly.

[maryrose]

OL:
Between you and me I am no fan of the 4D chess theory.
When Congress has to subpoena the FBI to get Wray’s rear-end in gear then Houston, we have a problem.
Did the doubling of FBI agents not occur to him until now or is the slow walk part of business as usual.
This information was requested back in October.
Surprised our president hasn’t raised more of a fuss about this.

[maryrose]

Peter:
Your post made me laugh!

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Old Lurker,

I am not a lawyer. I don't understand how prosecutions or investigations or grand juries work.

For months I have heard criticism here and on Twitter about how Sessions isn't doing anything. Now, through Rep. Goodlatte, we know there is at least one Grand Jury, some sort of independent investigator outside of Washington, DC, there are thousands of sealed indictments, and Sessions is obviously doing stuff.

I am just going to wait and see what happens, and I refuse to be gloomy.

[Old Lurker]

I agree with all that, Maryrose.

[rse]

NDIANAPOLIS
–
Today, Mayor Joe Hogsett delivered welcome remarks at the Climate Leadership Summit 2, announcing that the City’s Office of Sustainability issued a Request for Qualifications(RFQ)for a Sustainability and Resilience Action Plan.
Released on Monday, the RFQ seeks consultants to assist with the evaluation of existing City of Indianapolis plans, initiatives, assets, and services to determine their impact on neighborhood-
level poverty, crime,and health
in light of vulnerability to natural disasters and climate impacts.

The selected team will review neighborhood
and department level data and build the capacity of City departments to include climate data in decision-making and asset tracking systems.

"The Sustainability and Resilience Action Plan will set Indianapolis on a path that not only increases our resilience to the changing climate, but spurs economic growth and improves quality of life,”said Mayor Hogsett.

"Ever aware of the need to act today to ensure Indianapolis thrives tomorrow,
we are undertaking this ambitious task to lay the groundwork that will protect our community for generations to come.”
The RFQ further calls for recommendations of
equitable short-and long-term mitigation
and adaptation strategies that drive down carbon emissions and address social,
environmental, and economic factors.Identified strategies will be paired with an analysis of the costs and impacts of
both adopting the strategy and taking no action.
The team will also be tasked with developing methods for communicating regional climate risks and producing a public-facing report on the risks and opportunities of climate change in Central Indiana.

The plan will incorporate social benefits and equity, reinforce the value of sustainable planning and resilience action,
integrate the work of community partners,
and align with the key values of the Plan 2020 Bicentennial Agenda.

[rse]

https://www.earthcharterindiana.org/resilient-cities/

Just because you are not getting rockefeller money doesn't mean you are not also all in. atlanta gets sucked in in part because of the old alliance with spelman college. John D senior's wife's maiden name.

[clarice feldman]

OL--I re read it--the reference it seems to me is about the FISC application re a US citizen but this refers, I think, to STEELE: "As part of this examination, the OIG also will review information that was known to the DOJ and the FBI at the time the applications were filed from or about an alleged FBI confidential source.”
I could certianly eb wrong--I was up in the middle of the night with a sick cat and may be too tired to appreciate what you are saying.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

rse,

If we still had our ex-Marine officer and GOP mayor, none of this stuff would be happening. Hogsett got in the year after Obama was elected while everyone was still not aware of how incompetent and evil he was.

What Hogsett mainly does is run around the city making appearances at community groups, black churches, democrat fundraisers, etc. Any progress this city makes economically is leftovers from the former mayor or GOP istituted stuff from the state government.

I am thinking, however, if the pothole situation doesn't improve, he will be voted out. The roads here are the worst I have ever seen. Some streets look like they have been strafed by an A-360. And when they made a big deal out of repairing them, the asphalt was crap and disintegrated in about a week, opening the potholes again. (Probably some crony using inferior product.) People have lost patience.

[Old Lurker]

:-) It is SO easy to push your button, MM!

I do wonder why Sessions did not get angry with Wrey's foot dragging until just this week, though? Was he not aware that the DoJ and FBI were slow walking congressional committees just like they did under Holder-Lynch? Was that on purpose for a reason yet to be revealed, or was it just careless? I hope hope hope it was part of a plan, but the jig is up for springing it already.

Nothing wrong with gloomy. It reduces disappointment and makes the occasional good news like Christmas morning!

[henry]

If the IG is just starting an investigation of FISA abuses, what was he investigating the past 27 months, failure to clean coffee spills in the interview rooms? Can't tell you what we're doing, it affects prosecutions in English "if we looked into anything we'd have to prosecute someone, not gonna do that, have another cookie." There are no white hats.

[Old Lurker]

Sorry about the cat, Clarice. About when you were up, the dog which sleeps on our bed decided to pay us back for letting her eat the new mulch put down this week by throwing up all over MY SIDE of the bed. We could have met for coffee in Chevy Chase.

The details on the IG thing don't really matter...I latched onto "initiated" since that implies the start of a long well known slow dance, not the coming soon of a nuclear bomb of an IG Report.

[Old Lurker]

See. Henry gets it!

Henry is like Mikey with the cereal...

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Old Lurker,

I didn't attack you! I was very nice!

I simply said I don't understand what's going on with the IG, but Sessions IS doing stuff.

Regular analysis of this stuff is hard, because Sessions is keeping so much under his hat. You have to remember he has a staff with a lot of Obama hires which makes anything he does difficult. Same with Wray, as I imagine all of the ethical agents and employees were terminated long ago or sent to field offices.

This is like trying to walk forward while having two people on each leg holding you back.

Wray may have needed the subpoena from Congress in order to crack the whip. I also think he has, by now, identified agents who will be helpful rather than a hindrance, and those will be the people sent in to help the slow-walkers.

The ways of the Washington bureaucracy are not easy to penetrate. Like I said, I can only watch and wait. I am, however, hopeful.

[Extraneus]

we know there is at least one Grand Jury

How do we know that?

[Old Lurker]

I know you were MM! I was just funnin with you.

I know you and I both are on pins and needles wondering what is ahead.

Even though all my assets and a lot of my friends are in DC, I'm thinking a Neutron Bomb might be a good start.

[clarice feldman]

My cat threw up on MY side of the bed, too. what a coincidence, OL. do you suppose Mrs. OL and Howard plotted that? Too much of a coincidence, I think. to just be happenstance.

What has the OIG been investigating? The handling of the Hillary email investigation IIRC.In the course of which, he doubtless has noticed overlapping with the FISC application based on Hillary's paid goon Steele.

[Old Lurker]

Interesting to note that the DoJ IG investigation has now taken longer than it took to build both the Empire State Building (tallest building in the world) and the Pentagon (biggest building in the world or at least US) from start to finish.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

My granddaughter, the one who is at DePauw, called and wants to come stay the night. She stayed on campus during spring break (I think because of differences with her mother over her gender issues) but knows that she can come here, which is pretty funny if you think about this Trump supporter welcoming her gay granddaughter. However, I love her dearly and am glad she felt like she could ask.

Son will be back from vacation tonight and his girlfriend will probably stay here, too. Full house! I am ordering pizza! Now for a glass of wine.

[Old Lurker]

Clarice, since MM is experimenting with making Cats and Dogs play nicely together, let's ship ours to her until they get well.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Old Lurker,

MO! As you can see from my previous post, there is no room in the inn!

As regards to the length of time of the IG's investigation, did you consider that there is THAT MUCH CORRUPTION? Unlike Saudi Arabia, we can't just round them all up and put them in the Trump DC hotel on mattresses.

Look at what we have learned about the FBI, the DOJ, the State department, Facebook, Google, the CIA, etc.

How long would it take to go through all of those documents, texts, emails, etc?

We are talking about cleaning out the Augean Stables here.

[henry]

We are talking about sliding past the statute of limitations here.

[maryrose]

I agree with Henry and OL and would not describe us as gloomy.
We are REALISTIC.
Modifying expectations is the story of my life.
I remain hopeful but not positive that some people that deserve jail will in fact end up there.
Kerry’s daughter, getting off on a climate change technicality leads me to believe many Clintonistas have a similar get out of jail free card up there sleeve.
Bill Clinton just flat out refused to leave the presidency.
In retrospect,
It is what Nixon should have done.

[Old Lurker]

Of interest only to A-mom who has a son doing medicine in Boston and might have been a contender, I am pleased to announce that YL2 called from Venice last night to say she and the fellow resident she has been dating are officially engaged.

My SIL immediately emailed "Congratulations OL, you have now offloaded your entire inventory!"

[maryrose]

Should be their

[Old Lurker]

By SIL, I mean YL1's husband.

The new kid sought my consent before they left for Italy but it was a secret.

[Porchlight]

Congratulations, OL!

Now maybe we could have a temporary break on the gloom? No? :)

[maryrose]

OL:
Congratulations to your family!
What wonderful news!

[Old Lurker]

Give me a moment, Porch...

:-)

[Porchlight]

The new kid sought my consent

That is remarkably upstanding and old-fashioned. I should have directed Mr Porch to do the same.

[clarice feldman]

Heh, OL--Congratulations.I have some super wedding ideas--I got from Boe--10,000 orchids hanging from the ceiling of the ballroom for starters. Is Mrs OL home so we can discuss this at length?

My cat will be in a bag on your front porch tonight to make shipping easier.You can tell it's her because the bag will be moving around a lot.

[Old Lurker]

I heard "consent" but Mrs. OL suggests I diagram the sentence to see if I just heard what I wanted to hear!

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Donald J. Trump
‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump

I am pleased to announce that I intend to nominate highly respected Admiral Ronny L. Jackson, MD, as the new Secretary of Veterans Affairs....

Donald J. Trump
‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump
2m2 minutes ago

....In the interim, Hon. Robert Wilkie of DOD will serve as Acting Secretary. I am thankful for Dr. David Shulkin’s service to our country and to our GREAT VETERANS!

[Porchlight]

Lol, clarice.

Don't worry, OL, I'm sure you can talk them down to 7500 orchids.

[henry]

OL, to stay in a good mood... ship those critters on United. ;)

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Any bags show up here and I will be contacting Mrs. OL and others about those Thermomixes!

[Old Lurker]

I was telling my pals the other day about the kidding we were giving Beasts about how wedding costs can get away easily. He said that his first wife and mother of his daughter who was getting married decided that the private club where they planned the reception had bad lighting and was looking dingy. So she told the wedding planner to arrange to have it redecorated for free to the club and to send the bill to her first husband, father of the bride.

True story. And he paid it.

[maryrose]

Wray May have needed a subpoena to crack thee whip?
Surely you jest.
He is the boss man at the FBI.
If they don’t obey , fire their rear-ends.
If they are foot dragging reassign them.
Remember this is the guy who at one point said if McCabe was fired he would go also.
Sessions needs to personally visit and ride herd on these slow pokes.
Give them a deadline and have consequences if they don’t meet it. Get rid of any Obama’s holdovers by examining their files and boot anyone who has a negative evaluation.
Inform them if they aren’t on board there is the door.

[maryrose]

What are these animals doing sleeping in your beds in the first place? Don’t they have their own place to sleep?

[Old Lurker]

Give her a few minutes to absorb my news, then Clarice will have a wonderfully useful and prcatical idea for guest gift bags, right?

[Old Lurker]

Don't go there, Maryrose.

[Extraneus]

Last week, Sundance claimed that a statement from DoJ indicated that a grand jury had be empaneled.

Giddy Up – DOJ Admits They Have a Grand Jury Empaneled in FBI and DOJ Investigation…

Some of us here thought it might have just been a boilerplate statement about what things can't be disclosed.

In a Sundance post from yesterday, we have the same language in the 4th paragraph of Rosenstein's response to the Goodlatte subpoena.

REPORT: AG Sessions Demanded Faster FBI Response To Congressional Document Request…

There may in fact be a grand jury, but I think this is simply a listing of what they can't disclose:

"When the Department and the FBI identify a responsive document, we review it only to ensure that it does not include grand jury information, information about ongoing law enforcement actions involving American citizens, or privileged attorney-client communications."

Is there any other evidence of a grand jury apart from Sundance's "Giddy Up" post?

[Captain Hate]

I figure that by the time Lent is over (4 days and counting) Captain will have Tourette's syndrome.

I've been twitching like the second coming of Ted Strickland.

[Porchlight]

OL, my dad never says anything, but I'm pretty sure he was delighted that Mr Porch and I were married in the courthouse. A wedding lunch afterwards with family and a keg in our backyard that evening.

He got off way cheap. But I've found ways over the years to make it up to him. ;)

[maryrose]

We had a car for 10 years.
She never ever slept in our bed or in anyone else’s.

[Old Lurker]

Your Dad is doubly blessed, Porch!

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

maryrose,

If you are one of the few in an organization and everything you do has roadblocks, procedural objections, etc. and you cannot fire people because of Civil Service laws, you need an iron-clad reason to get them to move and to get in reinforcements.

Hence, a subpoena. Now foot-dragging will be considered obstruction.

[maryrose]

Car should be cat.

[clarice feldman]

Really,MM--resorting to blackmail..who would do such a thing!

[Extraneus]

Remember this is the guy who at one point said if McCabe was fired he would go also.

Pretty sure that was an unsourced report.

[maryrose]

Is it true you need an iron clad reason to get people to do their job if they work in government? Anyone?

[Extraneus]

Remember this is the guy who at one point said if McCabe was fired he would go also.

Pretty sure this was an unsourced report.

[Old Lurker]

That's a trick question, right Maryrose?

[Captain Hate]

Congrats, OL. My SIL asked for my consent also; like a truly idiotic member of the family, he did it in front of everyone else, which I pointed out to him. I liked him anyway so it was an automatic choice.

[clarice feldman]

MM, resorting to blackmail! I never!!

[maryrose]

My husband asked my father also which I thought was nice.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Well, maryrose, I have currently my son's cat spending vacation in my bedroom, and Edgar sleeps with me every night.

My daughter's Chihuahua-Pomeranian mix sleeps with her, and will come in here and sleep with me when she is gone (except while the cat is here).

My old cat Harry, who lived to be 17, used to crawl in bed with me all of the time, particularly in his later years. I think he liked the soft mattress and warmth.

[Old Lurker]

She says, waving the OL Binder around for all to see...

[clarice feldman]

Figured that out maryrose. I won't let my car sleep with me either. As for the cat. She has her own bed, but often prefers mine and who am I too argue with her?

[maryrose]

OL:
Trick question about the animals or the the FBI deadbeats?

[Old Lurker]

There are three dog beds in our bedroom. Two dogs. Go figure.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

maryrose,

All this proves is that my pets like me better than yours!

LOL!

[clarice feldman]

OL, tacky of you to mention the binder .

[Old Lurker]

...Deadbeats, Maryrose. NOBODY has broken the code on how to get government employees to do their jobs especially in DC.