April 13, 2018

"Is curing patients a sustainable business model?" Goldman Sachs analysts ask

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/04/curing-disease-not-a-sustainable-business-model-goldman-sachs-analysts-say/?amp=1&__twitter_impression=true

One-shot cures for diseases are not great for business—more specifically, they’re bad for longterm profits—Goldman Sachs analysts noted in an April 10 report for biotech clients, first reported by CNBC.

The potential to deliver “one shot cures” is one of the most attractive aspects of gene therapy, genetically engineered cell therapy, and gene editing. However, such treatments offer a very different outlook with regard to recurring revenue versus chronic therapies... While this proposition carries tremendous value for patients and society, it could represent a challenge for genome medicine developers looking for sustained cash flow.


More at link on how the creepiest amongst us think.

April 4, 2018

My son just texted me this take on 45 vs. Amazon:

Yesterday at lunch I said I hoped Pence would keep his mouth shut after he was sworn in and read the NTSB report outlining how many Amazon drones were found in the wreckage of AF1's engines.

March 16, 2018

The Cause and Consequences of the Retail Apocalypse

https://newrepublic.com/article/145813/cause-consequences-retail-apocalypse

This is an older article, but in view of the Toys R Us closings, people need to understand what's looking in the near future.


The Macy’s near my house is closing early next year. The mall where it’s located has seen less and less foot traffic over the years, and losing its anchor store could set off a chain reaction. Cities across the country are facing this uncertainty, with over 6,700 scheduled store closings; it’s become known as the retail apocalypse.

This story is at odds with the broader narrative about business in America: The economy is growing, unemployment is low, and consumer confidence is at a decade-long high. This would typically signal a retail boom, yet the pain rivals the height of the Great Recession. RadioShack, The Limited, Payless, and Toys“R”Us are among 19 retail bankruptciesthis year. Some point to Amazon and other online retailers for wrestling away market share, but e-commerce sales in the second quarter of 2017 only hit 8.9 percent of total sales. There’s still plenty of opportunity for retail outlets with physical space.

Billions of dollars of this debt comes due in the next few years. “If today is considered a retail apocalypse,” Bloomberg reported, “then what’s coming next could truly be scary.” Eight million American retail workers could see their careers evaporate, not due to technological disruption but a predatory financial scheme. The masters of the universe who devised it, meanwhile, will likely walk away enriched, and policymakers must reckon with how they enabled the carnage.

March 10, 2018

Somebody else that feels like I do ......

https://twitter.com/_amroali/status/972154413258289153?s=20

February 23, 2018

Wonder why Wayne LaPierre wasn't in the Army during Vietnam?

We should restate it that he was rejected due to a mental issue.

February 23, 2018

If the "American Sniper" couldn't.....

February 21, 2018

Great argument about those who make laws:

February 16, 2018

Best answer to Gov. Scott's demand Wray be fired:

Adam Weinstein

The director of a Broward senior home called Governor Rick Scott's personal cellphone desperate for help when their power failed in Irma last year. No help arrived. 14 seniors died. The governor's office deleted its voicemails. 

February 15, 2018

Another comment from God.....

https://mobile.twitter.com/thetweetofgod


It is useless for a society to blame a person's "mental health issues" when that society itself is insane.



Someday I'll learn how to post a tweet on my phone.

February 12, 2018

What to know what Sen. Tom Cotton will say about immigration on the Senate floor?

Here's the reply I got this morning.

Thank you for contacting me about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. It’s good to hear from you, as always.

President Trump’s decision to phase out the DACA program is the first step toward cleaning up the mess that President Obama’s unlawful amnesty left behind.President Trump is right that this amnesty would never have stood up in court. Yet, we now face a situation where some 700,000 people, who were brought to our country as minors, face legal limbo. Dealing with this problem is a legislative task, not an executive-branch task.

We must recognize that codifying the DACA program will have two inevitable, negative consequences: encouraging future illegal immigration with minors, and allowing those individuals to obtain legal status for their family members via extended-family chain migration—rewarding the very people who broke the law in the first place and further depressing working-class wages. As Congress negotiates how to codify DACA in a lawful and responsible manner, we must mitigate the negative consequences by stopping the extended-family chain migration that hurts the working class and by strengthening the enforcement of our immigration laws.

As you may know, the White House recently released a framework for immigration reform. President Trump’s proposal would provide a 10 to 12-year path to citizenship for up to 1.8 million illegal immigrants who were brought to the United States as minors, while also authorizing $25 billion for border security and enforcement measures and eliminating the flawed Diversity Visa Lottery. Most importantly, this framework would promote nuclear family migration by limiting family sponsorships to spouses and minor children only, ending extended-family chain migration. This proposed reform to the family preference categories is modeled off of the RAISE Act (S. 1720), legislation I introduced last year that would update America’s permanent, legal immigration system to fit the needs of our 21st century economy.

The president's framework is generous and humane, while also being responsible. It protects those eligible for DACA—who are here through no fault of their own—and by securing the border and putting an end to extended-family chain migration, it will prevent us from ending up back in the same situation in five or ten years. This proposal should be the starting point of our discussions over legislation to codify DACA. And I look forward to working with my colleagues to turn the framework into legislation that can pass both the House and the Senate with widespread support.

I’m honored to serve as your senator. You, your family, and our state will remain on my mind and close to my heart in my work. Always feel free to call my office at (202) 224-2353 or visit www.cotton.senate.gov. Be sure to drop by my office and say hello if you ever visit our nation’s capital.