Wednesday, July 21, 2021

And another day of failed bills, rejections, anti-vax FB groups, Fox’s Covid coverage being a mess, parts of China underwater, US West fires spread smoke to East Coast, a racist AL lawmaker, and  tracking emails comes to a close:

“I don't care if you think I'm Satan reincarnated. The fact is, you can't look at that television and say nothing happened on the 6th. You can't listen to people who say this was a peaceful march.” -- President Joe Biden

Deaths

US: 625,808 (+445)

World: 4,142,465 (+9147)

Cases

US: 35,146,476 (+64,757)

World: 192,823,546 (+595,260)

Infrastructure bill fails first vote; Senate to try again. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., had scheduled the procedural vote to nudge along negotiations that have dragged for weeks. But Republicans mounted a filibuster, saying the bipartisan group still had a few unresolved issues and needed to review the final details. They sought a delay until Monday.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejects two Republicans tapped by the GOP leader to serve on the panel investigating the Capitol riot, citing the “integrity” of the probe.

New Jersey officials say nearly 50 fully vaccinated residents have died from COVID-19. All the fully vaccinated COVID-19 patients who passed were over the age of 50. Others had preexisting conditions.

Anti-vaccine groups changing into ‘dance parties’ on Facebook to avoid detection. Some anti-vaccination groups on Facebook are changing their names to euphemisms like “Dance Party” or “Dinner Party,” and using code words to fit those themes in order to skirt bans from Facebook, as the company attempts to crack down on misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines. -- Fucking anti-vaxxers.

Alabama doctor on treating unvaccinated, dying COVID patients: “I’m admitting young healthy people to the hospital with very serious COVID infections,” wrote Cobia, a hospitalist at Grandview Medical Center in Birmingham, in an emotional Facebook post Sunday. “One of the last things they do before they’re intubated is beg me for the vaccine. I hold their hand and tell them that I’m sorry, but it’s too late.”

Don’t be fooled by that viral Hannity clip. Fox News’s Covid-19 coverage is a mess. This sort of incoherency is a feature of Fox News, not a bug. — Stop watching Fox News. They are literally trying to kill you.

An Alabama lawmaker is facing calls to resign after using the N-word during a council meeting. Video of the meeting posted to the Tarrant, Alabama, Facebook page shows City Council member John “Tommy” Bryant standing up, pointing at a Black councilwoman and asking: "Do we have a house nigger in here? Would she please stand up?" -- Fucking racist asshole.

Dallas Morning News hires first Black executive editor. The Dallas Morning News named veteran journalist Katrice Hardy as its executive editor, making her the first Black person to hold the top job. -- Yeah. It’s 2021.

Large swathes of China's Henan province were under water, with its capital Zhengzhou hardest hit, where at least 25 people have died, after being drenched by what weather forecasters said was the heaviest rain in 1,000 years.

Wildfires in the American West, including one burning in Oregon that's currently the largest in the U.S., are creating hazy skies as far away as New York as the massive infernos spew smoke and ash six miles high.

Yes, your emails are being tracked. Here's how to stop it. Embedding trackers into emails is astonishingly easy. From how many times you open a message, the time of day, and even what city you're in, the very act of reading an email can send a surprising amount of data back to the sender, even if you never respond.

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

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