Thursday, February 11, 2021

And another day of awaiting an acquittal because the GOP has left democracy for dead, a ‘scary’ survey finding, an anti-Trump third party, AG Barr blocking a guilty plea, ‘abhorrent and unacceptable’ social media posts, and a 130-vehicle pileup in Texas comes to a close:

“It’s not the ‘presentation by the House managers’ that will cause Republicans to vote ‘Not Guilty;’ it’s white supremacy and white male patriarchy. They are Jim Crow’s children, I expect nothing else from them than to let a fellow klansman off without consequences.” — Bishop Talbert Swan

Deaths

US: 486,922 (+3722)

World: 2,378,824 (+13,886)

Cases

US: 28,002,240 (+105,026)

World: 108,296,047 (+442,952)

A 'Scary' Survey Finding: 4 In 10 Republicans Say Political Violence May Be Necessary. The level of distrust among Republicans evident in the survey was such that about eight in 10 said the current political system is "stacked against conservatives and people with traditional values." A majority agreed with the statement, "The traditional American way of life is disappearing so fast that we may have to use force to save it."..."As with a lot of questions in the survey, white evangelicals stand out in terms of their belief in conspiracy theories and the idea that violence can be necessary," Cox says. "They're far more likely to embrace all these different conspiracies."

Extremists and QAnon supporters are organizing on message boards to take over the Republican Party.

Three GOP senators meet with Trump's lawyers on eve of impeachment defense presentation. A trio of Republican senators allied with former President Donald Trump met with his defense team Thursday evening, in the middle of an impeachment trial in which they will vote on whether to convict Trump and potentially bar him from holding public office again. Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah were spotted going into a room in the US Capitol that Trump's lawyers were using to prepare for their arguments. -- The trial was never meant to be fair nor meaningful from the GOP point of view.

House managers wrap case, argue Trump could stoke more violence if not convicted. The former president's defense is set to begin Friday after two days of methodical and at times emotionally wrenching presentations from Democrats.

Trial highlights: ‘We were invited’ and a quick defense. Over two days of testimony, the Democrats asserted that Trump deliberately ordered his supporters to “fight like hell” and “go by very different rules” or they “wouldn’t have a country anymore.” They bolstered their case with accounts from the rioters themselves, some of whom said they were acting on Trump’s orders. The former president’s defense team insists Trump’s speech near the White House was protected under the First Amendment. -- So I guess now it’ll be okay to yell “Fire!” in a crowded theater? Whenever we get back to theaters, that is.

Dozens of former Republican officials in talks to form anti-Trump third party. Dozens of former Republican officials, who view the party as unwilling to stand up to former President Donald Trump and his attempts to undermine U.S. democracy, are in talks to form a center-right breakaway party.

Americans' opinions of the Republican Party have worsened in recent months, with 37% now saying they have a favorable view of the party, down from 43% in November. This decline, along with a slight increase in the Democratic Party's positive ratings, to 48%, gives the Democrats a rare double-digit advantage in favorability.

Trump's Covid-19 condition was so concerning that doctors considered putting him on a ventilator, source confirms.

Japan has the most beds per capita in the developed world. So why is its health system crashing? As of February 4, more than 8,700 people in Japan, who tested positive for Covid-19, were waiting for a hospital bed or space at an isolation center. That means people are dying at home, fighting conditions alone and spreading the virus to family members.

Biden administration finalizes deal for 200 million vaccine doses from Pfizer, Moderna.

AG Barr blocked ex-officer Derek Chauvin from pleading guilty in George Floyd's death, officials tell AP. -- WTF?

Lucasfilm Calls Gina Carano Social Media Posts “Abhorrent”; Actress No Longer Employed By ‘Mandalorian’ Studio. “Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future. Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”

The president of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee intends to resign after making demeaning and sexist comments about women, Japanese media report.

Judge declines new arrest warrant for Kyle Rittenhouse.

Women's rights activist Loujain Alhathloul released after 1,001 days in Saudi prison. Alhathloul, 31, is a graduate of the University of British Columbia and an internationally recognized activist. In December she was sentenced to six years in prison in Saudi Arabia under a vague and broadly worded law aimed at combating terrorism... “We want to make sure that it's clear that she has been released from prison but she is not free. Loujain is still waiting for the result of her appeal and she is still a convicted terrorist in Saudi Arabia solely for her peaceful activism.”...Alhathloul was known for calling for the right to drive before it was granted in 2018 and for the removal of male guardianship laws that had long stifled women's freedom of movement and ability to travel abroad. Since she was imprisoned, she told her family she had been held in solitary confinement and suffered electrocution, flogging and sexual assault. She had also gone on hunger strikes multiple times as the COVID-19 pandemic indefinitely delayed her trial over the summer.

Assault charges dropped against Buffalo officers seen pushing 75-year-old protester in viral video. -- It wasn’t just a “push.”

Twitter permanently bans Project Veritas account. The decision followed what a Twitter (TWTR) spokesperson described to CNN Business as repeated violations of the platform's policies prohibiting sharing — or threats of sharing — other people's private information without consent.

Legal loopholes allow abuse to go undetected at religious boarding schools, advocates say. At a Missouri Christian school for troubled teens, alumni say a gap in state law prevented inspections, enabling abuse to continue for decades.

6 killed in 130-vehicle pileup on icy Texas interstate. At the scene of the crash on Interstate 35 near downtown Fort Worth, a tangle of semitrailers, cars and trucks had smashed into each other and had turned every which way, with some vehicles on top of others.

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

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