And another day of boosters, new measures, prison sentences, retribution, scaring teachers, clemency in OK, another fatal police shooting, rejecting sex ed materials in TX, and books that scare the shit out of conservatives comes to a close:
"We are seeing the greatest rollback of voting rights since the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965. The same states that are pushing voter suppression are also pushing extreme gerrymandered maps to lock in white Republican power for the next decade.” — Ari Berman
“I can smell bullshit from a mile away but it's so much harder to detect when it's around you all day.” — Dane Cook
Deaths
US: 789,155 (+2887 over two days)
World: 5,146,754 (+17,334 over two days)
Cases
US: 48,398,455 (+237,078 over two days)
World: 256,328,092 (+1,255,650 over two days)
Hospitalizations rising among fully vaccinated in U.S., Fauci says. "What we’re starting to see now is an uptick in hospitalizations among people who’ve been vaccinated but not boosted."
Germany approves new measures amid warnings of virus spike. Germany approved new measures Thursday to rein in record coronavirus infections as Chancellor Angela Merkel called the pandemic situation in the country “very serious” and said it was “high time” to contain the spread of the virus.
Steve Bannon files motion pleading not guilty to contempt of Congress charges.
Jacob Chansley, the so-called "QAnon Shaman," was sentenced to 41 months in prison for his role in the US Capitol riot.
House censures Rep. Gosar for violent video in rare rebuke. The vote to censure Gosar and also remove him from his House committee assignments was approved by a vote of 223-207, almost entirely along party lines, with Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois the only Republicans voting in favor. -- Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger should not be considered Republicans because Republicans are fucking crazy. They appear to be the only two sane ones on that side of the aisle.
Republicans hint at retribution after Democrats throw Rep. Gosar off committees. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Democrats will need majority approval from a future Republican-led House to serve on committees.
Some politicians and parents in Texas and across the country want greater control over the kinds of books available to public school students, and they're targeting specific titles to make their argument. Here's how we got here…But the Keller ISD parents didn’t stumble upon the book by happenstance. They were on the hunt…Kobabe’s book wasn’t on the Tarrant County group’s list, but it popped up as parents searched key words for titles with words like “gender” and queer.” The group of North Texas parents first started their efforts in September to expunge what they’ve deemed “pornographic” material in Keller ISD after they found out the district had copies of “Out of Darkness,” an interracial love story…Most of the books on the list were written by women, people of color and LGBTQ writers. Some authors whose works appear on Krause’s list say he’s targeting literature specifically created for children and young adults that helps them feel seen and broadens their worldview…But Democrats have criticized the movement as attempted censorship and the latest attack by conservatives on the LGBTQ community and communities of color…But the scrutiny over school library books, which is largely being driven by white parents, is already a nationwide political phenomenon…Mary Lowe, chair of the Moms for Liberty Tarrant County chapter, said the main focus of her chapter right now is to get rid of sexually explicit books in schools regardless of whether “the content aligns with one sexual preference over the other.” If parents want to “expose” their children to those kinds of books, they can go to a public library, she said. — If you don’t want your child exposed to these kinds of books, then you deal with that with your own child. But you do not have the right to ban these books for everyone else. Take your bullshit crusade and fuck off.
New laws steer some teachers away from race-related topics. New measures that restrict how race is addressed in classrooms have spread confusion and anxiety among many educators, who in some cases have begun pulling books and canceling lessons for fear of being penalized. Education officials have nixed a contemporary issues class in a Tennessee district, removed Frederick Douglass’ autobiography from reading lists in an Oklahoma school system and, in one Texas case, advised teachers to present “opposing” views of the Holocaust. -- Another example of white people trying to control everything.
2 men wrongly convicted of assassinating Malcolm X are exonerated. Two men who served decades in prison for the 1965 assassination of civil rights icon Malcolm X had their convictions formally thrown out Thursday. But only one them, Muhammad Aziz, was in the New York City courtroom to hear a judge announce his exoneration — and see long-delayed justice finally done. The other wrongly convicted man, Khalil Islam, went to his grave in 2009 insisting he was innocent.
Oklahoma governor grants clemency, spares Julius Jones’ life. Oklahoma’s governor spared the life of Julius Jones on Thursday, just hours before his scheduled execution that had drawn widespread outcry and protests over doubts about his guilt in the slaying of a businessman more than 20 years ago.
Pennsylvania teen had his hands up when fatally shot by State Police, new videos show. Authorities obscured the last 4 seconds of Christian Hall’s life in publicly released videos. New footage shows he had his hands up when troopers killed him…But the fatal shooting drew protests from activists who questioned why State Police had opened fire on a teenager who appeared to be suicidal and needed help. Protesters also raised concerns about whether Monroe County District Attorney E. David Christine Jr. could make an unbiased call given that his office regularly works with troopers to build cases.
Iranian government-sponsored hackers are targeting key US infrastructure and, in some cases, deploying ransomware against those victims, US federal agencies warn.
Four students who were disciplined after a “petition” seeking to restart slavery was posted on social media are suing their Kansas City school district for civil rights violations.
Texas board rejects proposed sex ed materials for middle and high schoolers. The State Board of Education’s decision could leave school districts to fend for themselves on how to teach new health requirements, which include birth control, without approved textbooks.
Brazil’s Amazon deforestation surges to worst in 15 years. The area deforested in Brazil’s Amazon reached a 15-year high after a 22% jump from the prior year, according to official data published Thursday. The National Institute for Space Research’s Prodes monitoring system showed the Brazilian Amazon lost 13,235 square kilometers of rainforest in the 12-month reference period from Aug. 2020 to July 2021. That’s the most since 2006.
Doubts over China tennis star’s email raise safety concerns. A Chinese professional tennis player not seen in public since she accused a former top government official of sexual assault purportedly sent an email claiming she was safe and that the allegation was false, a message that only amplified concerns about her safety and demands for information about her well-being and whereabouts. So far, those calls have been met by silence.
For the first time, 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in one year, U.S. health officials say. One reason cited is the growing prevalence of deadly fentanyl in the illicit drug supply.
Experimental Anti-Tick Vaccine Aims to Stop Bites That Could Spread Lyme. In an animal study, the mRNA-based vaccine made it harder for ticks to get a full meal and pass on Lyme bacteria.
Partial lunar eclipse early Friday will be longest in 580 years. Skywatchers in many regions, including North America, South America and Eastern Asia and across the Pacific Ocean, will be able to catch at least part of the celestial show.
Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.
Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.
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