Thursday, April 1, 2021

And another day of suppressing votes in TX and KS, troubling variants, the myth of the supernegro, a CA shooting, sex trafficking at a Houston bar, SCOTUS relaxing media ownership rules, and the Matt Gaetz downfall increases exponentially comes to a close:

“361 bills introduced in 47 states to make it harder to vote in first 3 months of this year, overwhelmingly by Republicans. Meanwhile, there's been 123 mass shootings already this year & no action on guns.” — Ari Berman

Deaths

US: 566,611 (+1355)

World: 2,839,987 (+11,966)

Cases

US: 31,244,639 (+78,295)

World: 130,157,191 (+695,782)

Texas Senate advances bill limiting how and when voters can cast ballots, receive mail-in voting applications. In an overnight vote after more than seven hours of debate, the Texas Senate signed off on Senate Bill 7, which would limit extended early voting hours, prohibit drive-thru voting and make it illegal for local election officials to proactively send applications to vote by mail to voters, even if they qualify. — “Fair” and “honest” elections means making it more difficult for POC to vote.

Two corporate giants come out against Republicans’ efforts to restrict voting in Texas. American Airlines and Dell Technologies on Thursday publicly declared their opposition to Republican legislative proposals that would impose new restrictions on voting.

Kansas lawmakers, following a trend in Republican-controlled statehouses nationwide, gave initial approval Wednesday to bills that would strip the executive and judicial branches of some authority over elections and make it more difficult to cast a ballot by mail. One of the measures would bar the Governor and courts from altering election laws. The other limits who is permitted to return a mail-in ballot on behalf of another person and makes it a felony for an individual to return more than five mail-in ballots. — The GQP doesn’t even try to hide the fact it embraces fascism. 

An 85% majority of Democrats say everything possible should be done to make voting easy. By contrast, just 28% of Republicans say everything possible should be done to make voting easy. — No, the two parties are not the same.

Feds' investigation of Matt Gaetz includes whether campaign funds were used to pay for travel and expenses. The investigation of Gaetz began in the closing months of the Trump-era Justice Department under then-Attorney General William Barr and was initially part of a broader probe into trafficking allegations against another Florida politician. Information that may connect Gaetz to a fake ID scheme at the center of the case against that second Florida politician, Joel Greenberg, was presented to federal investigators in a meeting early last year, according to two other people familiar with the matter.

Gaetz showed nude photos of women he said he'd slept with to lawmakers. "It was a point of pride," one of the sources said of Gaetz. There's no indication these pictures are connected to the DOJ investigation.

“Since Wednesday afternoon, Fox News/Fox Business programming has mentioned Hunter Biden at least 16 times. Matt Gaetz has not been mentioned once.” --  Aaron Rupar

More than 11,000 cases of a troubling variant reported in the US. These states have the highest numbers.

Ontario shuts down for at least a month as ICU admissions jump. Ontario announced a province-wide "emergency brake" shutdown beginning this weekend as Canada's most populous province struggles to cope with a surge in ICU admissions that provincial leaders said they feared was fueled by rapidly spreading coronavirus variants.

Pfizer, Biontech say trials suggest Covid vaccine works against South African variant, is effective after 6 months.

The Myth of the Supernegro Comes to Derek Chauvin’s Defense. The argument the defense was making was essentially that this Black man was so large, so powerful, and so dangerous that the only thing the tiny white cop could do to stop him was to kill him...It’s not the first time this trope will be deployed against Black people, and it certainly won’t be the last. But still there was something so jarring to listen to children and adults testify tearfully about what they witnessed at the scene of George Floyd’s death and to understand what Nelson was saying: Floyd, gasping for air, crying out in pain, calling out for his mother, was the angry, aggressive, combative one, a man so powerful that if Chauvin had removed his knee, well, that’s when the real danger would’ve begun.

Four People — Including A Child — Were Killed In A Mass Shooting In California. It comes on the heels of mass shootings in Georgia and Colorado in the last two weeks.

Oregon House to consider bill that criminalizes displaying a noose. A Senate bill that would criminalize the display of a noose has passed the Senate Floor and will now head to the House of Representatives for consideration.

Political turbulence in Brazil overshadows Covid-19 crisis. A day after the biggest Cabinet reshuffle since President Jair Bolsonaro took office, the three commanders of Brazil's armed forces were squeezed out, fueling speculation that Bolsonaro is losing the support of the military and seeking to assert control, amid growing criticism over his handling of the pandemic.

The National Guard welcomes and promotes women. That is, until they report a sexual assault. Guard units have buried sexual assault allegations, withheld crucial documents from victims and retaliated against women who have come forward, including denying them career advancement, an investigation by the Cap Times, in conjunction with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, has found. “The actual rape pales in comparison to what people live through,” said Christine Clayburg, who reported being assaulted in the California Air National Guard.

Family charged for coordinating sex trafficking operation at Houston bar for more than a decade, US attorneys say. "Authorities ultimately identified another victim who was brought to the United States specifically to work at Puerto Alegre, according to the allegations. While there, she was allegedly forced to engage in commercial sex," it says. "The charges allege she was only 17 at the time."

US hunger crisis persists, especially for kids, older adults.

We sampled tap water across the US – and found arsenic, lead and toxic chemicals. Almost every sample tested had measurable levels of PFAS, a group of compounds found in hundreds of household products. These chemicals are linked to learning delays in children, cancer, and other health problems. More than 35% exceeded a safety threshold that CR scientists and other health experts believe should be the maximum. Yet many consumers have never heard of PFAS.

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a move by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to relax media ownership rules, handing down a unanimous ruling that favors large broadcasters. The decision dealt a blow to challengers who argued that laxer regulations could usher in more media consolidation at the expense of minority and female media ownership.

Hosting duties for the 2032 Games could be shared between North and South Korea, after the South Korean capital sent proposals to the International Olympic Committee to co-host with North Korea's capital, Pyongyang. —Hmmm.

New Zealand raises minimum wage to $20 an hour. Taxes on the riches New Zealanders are being raised

Biden to review executive authority to cancel student debt. Biden's chief of staff said that the president asked the Education Department to review his legal authority to cancel debt and that he will determine how he could proceed.

Paul Simon has sold his entire song catalog to Sony Music Publishing, joining a string of older musicians cashing in on their life's work.

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

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