Monday, November 22, 2021

And another day of changing state laws, rolling back the clock, two Republicans spout hatred toward LGBTQ+, five more subpoenas, Cuomo misconduct, gender-neutral awards, lobsters and crabs are sentient beings, and Democrats and Republicans widely differ over sources of meaning of life comes to a close:

“When rights are considered privileges, only the privileged have rights.” -- Sarah Kendzior

Deaths

US: 794,864 (+1213)

World: 5,174,846 (+7073)

Cases

US: 48,748,557 (+155,747)

World: 258,441,070 (+619,095)

Republicans are changing state laws to try and get out of federal vaccine mandates. Conservative lawmakers in Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee, Wyoming and North Dakota have already completed special sessions and passed bills aimed at nullifying new federal mandates. — They don’t want the pandemic to ever end.

Greece introduces a wide range of new restrictions aimed at curbing a COVID-19 infection spike that has pushed the rate of death to nearly double the European Union average.

Experimental chewing gum may reduce virus spread; Booster shot protection may be longer lasting. An experimental chewing gum containing a protein that "traps" coronavirus particles could limit the amount of virus in saliva and help curb transmission when infected people are talking, breathing or coughing, researchers believe.

This Texas County Shows Exactly How Republicans Are Rolling Back the Clock on Voting Rights. Galveston is a microcosm of the racial gerrymandering playing out throughout the South…This will deprive communities of color of any political representation at the highest levels of local government in a county that is 45 percent non-white.

A Republican lawmaker has said that LGBT+ people who are beaten up are receiving the “normal consequences” of their “choices”. Montana state senator Theresa Manzella made the remarks Wednesday (17 November) during an event defending a minister accused of anti-LGBT+ hate speech. —  The Republican Party gives permission for people to hate others.

Straight people are ‘superior’ to gay people, says Republican lieutenant governor in hateful sermon. Mark Robinson, North Carolina‘s second-in-command who is expected to run for governor in 2024, spoke at a church sermon in the city of Winston-Salem last Sunday (14 November). In remarks captured on video, Robinson, who only last months faced calls to resign after calling LGBT+ people “filth”, made a slew of disparaging comments about LGBT+ people. He questioned the “purpose” of being gay and said he doesn’t want to explain to his grandchildren what homosexuality is, something he compared to maggots and flies. -- Mark Robinson is a waste of flesh. What a truly horrible person. The Republican Party gives explicit permission for people to hate others. Don’t be a Republican.

Two Fox news commentators have resigned, protesting "irresponsible" voices like Tucker Carlson. The pair wrote in a blog post for The Dispatch, their online home, that Tucker Carlson's "Patriot Purge" propaganda film was the last straw…CNN and other news outlets have described how "Patriot Purge" is disturbing evidence of right-wing radicalization, complete with January 6 denialism and paranoid descriptions of a "new war on terror" targeting Republicans, with references to Guantanamo Bay and images of waterboarding. "This is not happening. And we think it's dangerous to pretend it is," the Goldberg and Hayes wrote. "If a person with such a platform shares such misinformation loud enough and long enough, there are Americans who will believe — and act upon — it." Goldberg and Hayes simply could not be a part of it anymore.

House Jan. 6 panel subpoenas Alex Jones and Roger Stone. A committee investigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection issued subpoenas Monday to five more individuals, including former President Donald Trump’s ally Roger Stone and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, as lawmakers deepened their probe of the rallies that preceded the deadly attack.

Probe finds ‘overwhelming evidence’ of misconduct by Cuomo. A legislative investigation released Monday found “overwhelming evidence” that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo engaged in sexual harassment and ordered state workers to help produce his book during work hours.

Both Republicans and Democrats prioritize family, but they differ over other sources of meaning in life. In February 2021, Pew Research Center asked 2,596 U.S. adults the following open-ended question: “What about your life do you currently find meaningful, fulfilling or satisfying? What keeps you going and why?” Researchers then evaluated the answers and grouped them into the most commonly mentioned categories. Both Republicans and Democrats are most likely to say they derive meaning from their families, and they also commonly mention their friends, careers and material well-being. But Republicans and Democrats differ substantially over several other factors, including faith, freedom, health and hobbies. In fact, even some of the words that partisans use to describe where they draw meaning in life differ substantially. Republicans, along with independents who lean to the Republican Party, are much more likely than Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents to mention words like “God,” “freedom,” “country,” “Jesus” and “religion.” Democrats are much more likely than Republicans to mention words like “new,” “dog,” “reading,” “outside,” “daughter” and “nature.”…Below, we explore these partisan differences in more detail and look at how attitudes in the United States compare internationally, based on surveys conducted among 16 other publics in spring 2021. This analysis examines Americans’ responses to an open-ended survey question about what gives them meaning in life and explores how responses in the United States differ from those elsewhere in the world.

RNC is paying some of Trump's legal fees in New York probe into Trump Organization. The Republican National Committee is paying some of former President Donald Trump's legal bills, using donor funds to help him pay an attorney representing him in a New York investigation into his company's business practices, according to campaign finance filings and a party spokeswoman.

House Democrats call for Biden to ban oil exports and tap emergency reserves. The letter sent Monday to Biden adds to the pressure the White House is facing even from its own party to lower prices at the pump that are angering Americans and contributing to the biggest inflation spike in decades.

BRIT Awards finally axe male and female categories to celebrate artists of all genders. The BRIT Awards will scrap its “best male” and “best female” categories in favour of gender-neutral awards from 2022.

GoDaddy says information on 1.2 million customers exposed in data breach.

Lobsters and crabs are sentient beings and shouldn't be boiled alive, UK report says. Octopuses, crabs and lobsters are capable of experiencing pain or suffering, according to a review commissioned by the UK government, which has added the creatures to a list of sentient beings to be given protection under new animal welfare laws.

In a first test of its planetary defense efforts, NASA's going to shove an asteroid. The golf-cart-sized spacecraft will travel to an asteroid that's over 6 million miles away — and poses no danger to Earth — and ram into it. Scientists will then watch to see how the asteroid's trajectory changes.

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

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