Wednesday, September 15, 2021

And another day US democracy under attack, religious exemptions, 1 in every 500, cutting back public health, SCOTUS approval, a minimum salary of $70K, Olympic gymnasts testimony, and SpaceX’s first private flight comes to a close:

“It is malpractice to speak about the “Big Lie” in the passive voice. There is nothing passive about who is pushing it, and why.” -- Dan Rather

Deaths

US: 685,023 (+2682)

World: 4,673,481 (+10,612)

Cases

US: 42,479,780 (+191,575)

World: 227,252,757 (+591,919)

Americans agree. US democracy is under attack. Perhaps even more troubling than those numbers is how much confidence in the US system has fallen since earlier this year.

As COVID-19 vaccine mandates rise, religious exemptions grow. Religious objections, once used sparingly around the country to get exempted from various required vaccines, are becoming a much more widely used loophole against the COVID-19 shot. -- And once again, religion is used to do horrible things.

States sound alarm over Covid-19 outbreaks among school kids. Covid-19 cases are surging among children as the school year begins -- many in districts without mask mandates -- continuing to force quarantines and other disruptions. The latest weekly count of new pediatric cases -- 243,373 -- is about a 240% increase since July, the American Academy of Pediatrics said Monday.

Two NFL teams now require fans to be vaccinated. On Tuesday, the Buffalo Bills announced that all fans over the age of 12 will be required to show proof of vaccination in order to attend games. The Las Vegas Raiders previously announced it would require that fans be vaccinated to attend home games.

1 in every 500 US residents have died of Covid-19. The United States has reached another grim milestone in its fight against the devastating Covid-19 pandemic: 1 in 500 Americans have died from coronavirus since the nation's first reported infection.

Most states have cut back public health powers amid pandemic. Republican legislators in more than half of U.S. states, spurred on by voters angry about lockdowns and mask mandates, are taking away the powers that state and local officials use to protect the public against infectious diseases. -- Just trying to kill ourselves.

5 takeaways after Gov. Gavin Newsom prevails in California recall.

FBI director faces new scrutiny over investigation of Brett Kavanaugh. At the heart of the new questions that Wray will face later this week, when he testifies before the Senate judiciary committee, is a 2010 Memorandum of Understanding that the FBI has recently said constrained the agency’s ability to conduct any further investigations of allegations of misconduct.

Supreme Court job approval sinks to all-time low, poll shows. The Supreme Court’s job approval has sunk to an all-time low, according to new polling taken after the court declined to block a deeply divisive Texas law banning most abortions. Only 37 percent of registered voters said they approve of the court’s handling of its job, with 50 percent expressing disapproval.

CEO on why giving all employees minimum salary of $70,000 still "works" six years later: "Our turnover rate was cut in half". Price slashed his own salary by $1 million to be able to give his employees a pay raise. He was hailed a hero by some and met with predictions of bankruptcy from his critics. But that has not happened; instead, the company is thriving.

Olympic gymnasts McKayla Maroney and Simone Biles ripped the FBI and the Justice Department in Senate testimony Wednesday for how FBI agents mishandled abuse allegations brought against Larry Nassar and then made false statements in the fallout from the botched investigation.

SpaceX’s first private flight streaked into orbit Wednesday night with two contest winners, a health care worker and their rich sponsor, the most ambitious leap yet in space tourism. It was the first time a spacecraft circled Earth with an all-amateur crew and no professional astronauts.

Ancient spider caring for her offspring is trapped in 99 million-year-old amber.

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

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