Tuesday, March 23, 2021

And another ‘normal’ day in the US full of  ‘thoughts and prayers’ that get us nowhere, lengthy impeachment investigations, longer first-class mail delivery times, and summer weather lasting half a year (which is bad) comes to a close:

“One political party tries to reduce gun violence. The other does everything it possibly can to make American mass murderers the best equipped mass murderers in the world.” -- Lawrence O’Donnell

Deaths

US: 556,883 (+938)

World: 2,745,386 (+10,181)

Cases

US: 30,636,534 (+59,572)

World: 124,790,051 (+498,573)

After two mass shootings, Americans ask: Is this what a return to normal looks like? "Normal for the United States, unfortunately, is a mass shooting once a week," expert says. In less than a week, two gunmen separated by 1,400 miles have taken 18 lives. And experts who study and chronicle mass killings warned Tuesday that there could be more as the nation reverts to a more normal way of life.

The Colorado attack is the 7th mass shooting in 7 days in the US. — Seems the country is “back to normal.”

Biden urges Congress to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

“Nothing wrong with thoughts and prayers, unless like Cruz you are using them as an excuse to do nothing.” Mr Cruz launched into a staunch defence of firearm ownership at a hearing on Tuesday, falsely accusing Democrats of trying to take guns away from “law-abiding citizens”. -- Ted Cruz is a traitor and liar.

California lawmakers seek to force gunmakers to 'microstamp' bullet casings.

Supreme Court to discuss case that could expand Second Amendment rights.

Sen. Joe Manchin opposes two gun safety bills passed in the House earlier this month, underscoring Democratic divide over gun control. -- Senator Joe Manchin is really a Republican pretending to be a Democrat.

New York lawmakers promise a wide-ranging and lengthy impeachment investigation into Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

When Adding New States Helped the Republicans. In 1889 and 1890, Congress added North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho, and Wyoming—the largest admission of states since the original 13. This addition of 12 new senators and 18 new electors to the Electoral College was a deliberate strategy of late-19th-century Republicans to stay in power after their swing toward Big Business cost them a popular majority. The strategy paid dividends deep into the future; indeed, the admission of so many rural states back then helps to explain GOP control of the Senate today, 130 years later.

President Biden said the Affordable Care Act special enrollment period would be extended until August 15 and urged struggling Americans to sign up.

Sidney Powell argues in new court filing that no reasonable people would believe her election fraud claims. The election infrastructure company Dominion Voting Systems sued Powell for defamation after she pushed lawsuits and made appearances in conservative media on behalf of then-President Donald Trump to sow doubt about the 2020 election results. Dominion claims that Powell knew her election fraud accusations were false and hurtful to the company. In a new court filing, Powell's attorneys write that she was sharing her "opinion" and that the public could reach "their own conclusions" about whether votes were changed by election machines.

Longer first-class mail delivery times and cuts to post office hours across the country are among the changes embattled Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced Tuesday as part of a 10-year plan for the agency.

Fact check: Rep. Madison Cawthorn falsely claimed there are "zero dollars" spent on homeless veterans. It's actually more than $2 billion this year. -- Madison Cawthorn is a liar.

The Biden administration will cancel roughly $1 billion in student debt for borrowers defrauded by their colleges, reversing a controversial Trump-era policy.

By the end of the century, summer weather could last half a year (and that's not a good thing). Summer weather could grow to half a year in length by the end of this century if no mitigation efforts are done on climate change, according to a new study. In about the past 60 years, summer has increased by 17 days on average across the globe.

Disney shifts ‘Black Widow’ and doubles down on streaming. “Black Widow,” once planned to debut in May 2020, had been set to kickoff the summer movie season on May 7. It will instead premiere July 9. And it will do so simultaneously on the company’s streaming platform for a $30 early-access fee. For theaters, which are beginning to reopen after punishing months of closure due to the pandemic, the announcement was a blow to hopes of an imminent recovery. While bigger and bigger films have turned to streaming and premium-on-demand in recent months, Marvel movies are Hollywood’s most bankable box-office behemoths.

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

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