Tuesday, June 22, 2021

And another disgusting day in America comes to a close:

“It just seems surreal to me that in the year 2021--we still have a 97% white US Senate deliberating on legislation that mostly affects 99% of people of color, and who has access to the vote and ballot box, which is what it did in the 1860's, and 1960's--when does it end?!” — Sophia A. Nelson

“I look forward to the day that Democrats bring in the kinds of people who will fight Mitch McConnell in the same sewers where he has operated so successfully for more than three decades. Until that day, McConnell will continue to take apart this country like a Lego set.” -- Don Winslow

Deaths

US: 617,875 (+412)

World: 3,897,391 (+9014)

Cases

US: 34,434,803 (+14,965)

World: 179,912,915 (+376,648)

Senate Republicans Block Democrats' Sweeping Voting Rights Legislation. Tuesday evening's procedural vote to bring up the legislation, called the For the People Act, needed 60 votes to open floor debate but received 50. In the evenly divided chamber, all Senate Democrats backed it, but all Senate Republicans voted no. — We all lose when you vote Republican.

Delta variant is 'greatest threat' to eliminating Covid in U.S., Fauci says. The variant, which was first detected in India, is more contagious and causes more severe disease than other circulating variants, he said during a White House Covid-19 response team briefing.

American workers don't want to go back to normal, and that makes sense. Getting "back to normal" in the American jobs market won't cut it for everyone. Especially in retail and hospitality, where "normal" was an army of low-wage workers juggling two or more part-time jobs to pay the bills.

The push to make 'ecocide' an international crime takes a big step forward. A panel of 12 lawyers from around the world has proposed a legal definition for a new crime that the lawyers want to see outlawed internationally: ecocide, or widespread destruction of the environment...The Netherlands-based Stop Ecocide Foundation, along with a coalition of environmentalists, lawyers and human rights advocates, has been pushing since 2017 to make ecocide a crime prosecuted by the International Criminal Court. The court currently prosecutes just four offenses: genocide, crimes against humanity, crimes of aggression and war crimes.

Pelosi signals new panel to investigate Jan. 6 Capitol riot. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is signaling that she is poised to create a new committee to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, pushing closer to a partisan investigation of the attack after Senate Republicans blocked the creation of an independent probe.

Texas governor vetoes bipartisan bill meant to require schools to teach dating violence prevention. The bill, named the Christine Blubaugh Act in honor of a 16-year-old who was killed by her ex-boyfriend, would have provided students with instruction on how to identify signs of abuse and how to report it. Lessons surrounding these topics would be mandated at least once in the middle school curriculum and twice at the high school level.

US to review Native American boarding schools’ dark history. The federal government will investigate its past oversight of Native American boarding schools and work to “uncover the truth about the loss of human life and the lasting consequences” of policies that over the decades forced hundreds of thousands of children from their families and communities.

Living with a short sleep gene: 'It's a gift'. Some people are blessed with the genetic ability to sleep only five hours a night with no harmful effects. Meet one of the first families to be studied for this unusual short sleep gene.

Scientists don't know why hundreds of birds are getting sick and dying across the U.S.

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

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