Tuesday, January 19, 2021

And another day of a violent legacy, debates over extremist speech, nooses found at a school, four new variants of Covid, voting reform bills, a new political party, NFL history, being fired for being in porn, and the first preserved dinosaur butthole comes to a close:

“Here comes the sun.” -- George Harrison

Deaths

US: 411,486 (+2866)

World: 2,065,672 (+16,361)

Cases

US: 24,806,964 (+180,588)

World: 96,624,404 (+615,616)

Countdown: 1 day.

Trump leaves office with little to show of his major promises, and a legacy of violent divisiveness. President Trump promised to end 'American carnage' and 'Make America Great Again.' Four years later, he exits in 'disgrace.'

Violence at Capitol and beyond reignites a debate over America's long-held defense of extremist speech. Even the American Civil Liberties Union, the consummate guardian of speech, has sought to address the "competing values" its long-held defense of expression presents, and some experts say free speech theories need to take into account the way social media has been used to manipulate the marketplace of ideas. "We have to pay attention to the way that tech platforms are shaping discourse and the way technology moves fringe ideas into the mainstream," said Joan Donovan, research director at Harvard's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. "The idea we would somehow get out of it by not paying attention to what's going on and opening the floodgates to more speech misunderstands the phenomenon of online platforms and misunderstands the technology."...Other observers see it differently, including Richard Moon, a law professor at the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada, where hate speech laws broadly prohibit inciting hatred against "identifiable groups." "Hate speech and false claims on the internet can have consequences -- and are not just steam being blown off," he said. "Hateful speech plays to fear and resentment -- appealing to the audience at a visceral level. It is often directed at a sympathetic audience in a context that limits the opportunity for debate and reflection. In such circumstances, some in the audience may take seriously the message of hate speech and follow its logic to a violent conclusion."...Those ideas grow more dangerous in numbers, Seltzer said. "It would be great if the safety valve worked," she said. "The fear and what we're seeing in lots of YouTube rabbit holes and QAnon conversations is people expressing things that are out there and finding themselves amid a cluster of people whose views are even further out there -- maybe even more dangerous views. "They're not in the public square taking turns on a soap box. They're in an echo chamber."

Trump Has Discussed Starting a New Political Party. Mr. Trump discussed the matter with several aides and other people close to him last week, the people said. The president said he would want to call the new party the “Patriot Party,” the people said. -- Please go ahead and do so.

An FBI agent went undercover to study white supremacists. He's now speaking out about racist police.

Police investigating nooses found at Illinois school over MLK Jr. weekend as possible hate crime. Two messages were placed on the ropes with tape, police said. One read “Let them play!” and the other said “Hear us now! Please!”

At least four new variants of the coronavirus are keeping scientists awake at night.

Washington starts COVID-19 vaccine Phase 1B with lower age threshold and adds more mass vaccine sites.

Soon to take majority, Senate Democrats introduce voting reform bill. The act includes voting reforms intended to block recent state laws which have made voting more difficult with provisions allowing online voter registration and making it illegal to prevent anyone from registering to vote. It would also include campaign finance and ethics reforms. But it also includes some controversial provisions, such as expressing support for D.C. statehood and overturning the Supreme Court decision Citizens United on campaign finance.

President-elect Joe Biden plans to unveil a sweeping immigration bill on Day One of his administration that would provide an eight-year path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. without legal status.

President-elect Biden picks transgender woman as assistant health secretary. Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine is poised to become the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

GOP Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene referred to Parkland school shooting as "false flag" event on Facebook.

Putin wanted Trump in the White House because he believed that Trump would weaken the United States and the Western alliance. He was correct.

For the first time in NFL history, a woman will officiate at the Super Bowl. Sarah Thomas already made history when she was named the first permanent female NFL official in 2015 and became the first female to officiate an NFL playoff game in 2019. Now, she's been selected to be part of the officiating crew for Super Bowl LV.

College Board to cut SAT essay section and subject tests. Beginning this summer, the College Board, the nonprofit that administers the SAT, will no longer automatically include the essay portion of the test and only offer the section in states where it's required for SAT School Day administrations.

She Was Fired From Taco Bell for Being in Porn. With her sex work on pause during the pandemic, Lonna Wells was earning money for her family at Taco Bell. But she was fired when a customer complained. Now she’s speaking out. When she asked what she’d done wrong, the person claimed that a customer had lodged a formal complaint that there was a woman working the drive-thru who was doing internet porn, and as a God-fearing Christian they didn’t feel comfortable giving the establishment their business. It was 7:30 a.m., just 30 minutes before she was supposed to clock in, and Wells was in a state of shock.

1st preserved dinosaur butthole is 'perfect' and 'unique,' paleontologist says. The first dinosaur butthole ever discovered is shedding light where the sun don't shine. The discovery reveals how dinosaurs used this multipurpose opening — scientifically known as a cloacal vent — for pooping, peeing, breeding and egg laying.

Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.

Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.