And another day of defeating autocracy, tossing out congressional maps, free Covid tests, unspent relief dollars, Russia preps to invade Ukraine, DirectTV say no to OAN, half of all kids exposed to lead, suicidal thoughts, cancer, and robots playing sports comes to a close:
“Liberals think if they just mention something one time, that's enough. Republicans understand the value of mentioning shit over and over and over for decades. Their way works.” — Oliver Willis
Deaths
US: 871,597 (+2358)
World: 5,547,144 (+8373)
Cases
US: 66,162,759 (+926,284)
World: 324,273,148 (+3,387,215)
How Democracy Can Defeat Autocracy. The conventional wisdom these days is that autocracy is ascendant and democracy is on the decline. But the superficial appeal of the rise-of-autocracy thesis belies a more complex reality—and a bleaker future for autocrats. As people see that unaccountable rulers prioritize their own interests over the public’s, the popular demand for rights-respecting democracy remains strong. In country after country—Myanmar, Sudan, Russia, Belarus, Nicaragua, Poland, Uganda, even Kazakhstan before protests seemed to have been hijacked by a governmental power struggle—large numbers of people have recently taken to the streets, even at the risk of being arrested or shot. There are few rallies for autocratic rule…Repression may yield resignation, but that should not be confused with support. Many autocrats thought they had learned to manipulate voters through managed elections. They would allow periodic balloting—but only after, by their calculation, tilting the playing field sufficiently to prevail. This manipulation was often enough to ensure a so-called victory but not so blatant as to deprive the exercise of all legitimacy…What is left after such blatant undermining of elections is no longer managed democracy but “zombie democracy”—a charade that has no pretense of a free and fair contest. These autocrats have moved from manipulated co-optation to rule by repression and fear. Some cite this unabashed oppression as evidence of rising autocratic power, but in fact it represents the opposite—an act of desperation by leaders who know they have lost any prospect of popular support…Being the least bad system of governance may not be enough if public despair at democratic leaders’ failure to meet today’s challenges leads to public indifference, if not despair, about democracy. That opens the door for charismatic autocratic leaders. The defense of human rights requires not only curbing autocratic repression but also improving democratic leadership.
Ohio Supreme Court tosses GOP-drawn congressional map. The Ohio Supreme Court tossed out the state’s new congressional map on Friday, with a blistering opinion condemning state Republicans for favoring their own party despite Constitutional reforms to curb partisan gerrymandering. “When the dealer stacks the deck in advance, the house usually wins. That perhaps explains how a party that generally musters no more than 55 percent of the statewide popular vote is positioned to reliably win anywhere from 75 percent to 80 percent of the seats in the Ohio congressional delegation," Justice Michael P. Donnelly wrote in the majority opinion of the 4-3 decision. "By any rational measure, that skewed result just does not add up," Donnelly added.
New Texas voting law snags US citizens, mail ballot requests. Thousands of Texans — including some U.S. citizens — have received letters saying they have been flagged as potential noncitizens who could be kicked off voting rolls. And this week, local elections officials said hundreds of mail-in ballot applications are being rejected for not including required new information. -- This is how government run by Republicans functions.
Group whose anti-abortion ad Amy Barrett signed accused of promoting harassment of doctors. An Indiana group whose anti-abortion campaign was endorsed in a signed advertisement by Amy Coney Barrett before she became a supreme court justice, keeps a published list of abortion providers and their place of work on its website, in what some experts say is an invitation to harass and intimidate the doctors and their staff…Barrett signed a two-page advertisement in 2006, while she was working as a professor at Notre Dame, that stated that those who signed “oppose abortion on demand and defend the right to life from fertilization to natural death”. The second page of the ad called Roe v Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that legalized abortion, “barbaric”.
Here's how you can get free home Covid-19 tests. Starting Saturday, many Americans can get home Covid-19 tests at no cost through their private insurance. They can obtain the tests from pharmacies, retailers and online vendors...Most Americans with private insurance can buy home tests online or in stores and have them paid for at the time of purchase or get reimbursed by submitting a claim to their insurer. So make sure you save your receipts.
The tests won't be subject to copays or deductibles. -- Thank the Biden Administration for this.
Beginning Wednesday, January 19, Americans will be able to order free at-home COVID-19 tests from the federal government. Here's how it will work. Orders for up to four tests per household can be placed using the website COVIDtests.gov. The administration will also set up a phone number so those without access to computers or high-speed internet can place orders. The White House said tests will usually ship within seven to 12 days of ordering, meaning most Americans won't receive them until the end of January.
How long you can wear your N95, according to experts. An N95 mask's material and filtration ability aren't "going to degrade unless you physically rub it or poke holes in it," Marr said. "You'd have to be in really polluted air ... for several days before it lost its ability to filter out particles. So, you can really wear them for a long time. People have been talking about 40 hours -- I think that's fine. Really, it's going to get gross from your face or the straps will get too loose or maybe break before you're going to lose filtration ability.”
Treasury: Arizona risks relief funds over anti-mandate rules. The Biden administration is threatening to recoup COVID-19 relief funds sent to Arizona over state provisions that it says discourage families and school districts from following federal guidance recommending face coverings in schools.
As schools battle Omicron, billions of federal relief dollars remain unspent. Some schools are struggling to remain open for in-person learning due to the latest coronavirus surge -- but a lack of money isn't the problem. Much of the $190 billion that Congress authorized for schools earlier in the pandemic has yet to be used. In a majority of states, less than 20% of the federal money had been spent by the end of November.
Djokovic faces deportation as Australia revokes visa again. Novak Djokovic faces deportation again after the Australian government revoked his visa for a second time, the latest twist in the ongoing saga over whether the No. 1-ranked tennis player will be allowed to compete in the Australian Open despite being unvaccinated for COVID-19.
'A slap in the face': Nurses told to use vacation and sick days to stay home if they test positive. Some nurses have been forced to use their own sick days and vacation days if they test positive for Covid-19 — or have even been told to return to work if they are asymptomatic.
White House: Russia prepping pretext for Ukraine invasion. U.S. intelligence officials have determined a Russian effort is underway to create a pretext for its troops to further invade Ukraine, and Moscow has already prepositioned operatives to conduct “a false-flag operation” in eastern Ukraine, according to the White House.
DirecTV declines to renew OAN contract. DirecTV has declined to renew its contract with One America News Network (OAN), a far-right outlet favored by former President Trump. -- Now do the same with Newsmax and Fox News.
Virginia bill targeting critical race theory cites wrong Lincoln debate. A new measure aimed at eliminating critical race theory in Virginia schools proposes teaching students about key documents in American history — including a debate between President Abraham Lincoln and the abolitionist Frederick Douglass that never happened. -- They don’t even pretend to know history. Fucking white supramecists.
Thieves in LA are looting freight trains filled with packages from UPS, FedEx and Amazon. Photos and videos showing piles of empty boxes littered alongside rail tracks in Los Angeles County, California have gone viral as shipping companies say they've seen a dramatic spike in railroad theft. Some of the boxes are packages from companies like UPS, Amazon and FedEx.
Goodbye ‘godsend’: Expiration of child tax credits hits home. For the first time in half a year, families on Friday are going without a monthly deposit from the child tax credit — a program that was intended to be part of President Joe Biden’s legacy but has emerged instead as a flash point over who is worthy of government support.
8,400 Kroger workers strike as employees reportedly can’t afford groceries. More than 8,000 Kroger grocery workers have gone on strike this week in Colorado to push for higher wages and health care benefits, as a new study revealed that 75 percent of employees are food-insecure…Only 39 percent of the grocery store employees surveyed said they are unable to pay for groceries themselves, according to the report. Kroger is one of America’s largest employers, with almost half a million workers. Fourteen percent of those surveyed also reported being currently homeless, or having been homeless in the past year.
The US 'megadrought' sets another stunning record. Despite several recent drenching rainstorms in the West and enough snow to top the second story of some buildings, the United States has tied an alarming drought record: At least 40% of the Lower 48 has gone 68 straight weeks -- more than 17 months -- in drought conditions.
Nearly half the world’s kids are exposed to dangerous levels of lead. And we aren’t doing much to prevent it. A recent systematic evidence review, widely cited and respected in the field, pooled lead screenings from 34 countries representing two-thirds of the world’s population. The study estimated that 48.5 percent of children in the countries surveyed have blood lead levels above 5 µg/dL…The lead problem is global. It’s catastrophic in scope and hurting children’s ability to learn, earn a living when they grow up, and function in society. Yet lead has gotten comparatively little attention in the global public health space. Charities globally are spending a total of just $6 million to $10 million a year trying to fight it. For comparison, individuals, foundations, and corporations in the United States alone spent $471 billion on charity in 2020. Childhood lead poisoning is a tragedy — and it is one that would be relatively inexpensive for the world to fix.
Study: More evidence links a virus to multiple sclerosis. There’s more evidence that one of the world’s most common viruses may set some people on the path to developing multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis is a potentially disabling disease that occurs when immune system cells mistakenly attack the protective coating on nerve fibers, gradually eroding them. The Epstein-Barr virus has long been suspected of playing a role in development of MS. It’s a connection that’s hard to prove because just about everybody gets infected with Epstein-Barr, usually as kids or young adults -- but only a tiny fraction develop MS. Thursday, Harvard researchers reported one of the largest studies yet to back the Epstein-Barr theory.
Sinead O'Connor hospitalized, days after teenage son's death. "I've decided to follow my son. There is no point living without him. Everything I touch, I ruin. I only stayed for him. And now he's gone," she wrote on an unverified Twitter account linked to her official account. O'Connor -- who has been open about her own mental struggles and suicidal thoughts in the past -- went on to say she felt "lost," and blamed herself for her teenage son's death..."I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I am with cops now on way to hospital. I'm sorry I upset everyone," she posted, adding: "I am lost without my kid and I hate myself. Hospital will help a while. But I'm going to find Shane. This is just a delay." -- If you are having suicidal thoughts, please seek help. There are people to help you through such difficult times. You are worth it.
Tennis legend Chris Evert has been diagnosed with cancer. Tennis legend Chris Evert, who won 18 Grand Slam singles titles and three Grand Slam doubles titles in her career, said Friday she has been diagnosed with stage 1 ovarian cancer.
Elephants Dying From Eating Plastic Waste in Sri Lankan Dump. Conservationists and veterinarians are warning that plastic waste in an open landfill in eastern Sri Lanka is killing elephants in the region, after two more were found dead over the weekend. -- The pictures are remarkable. Check them out.
From robot soccer to speedgate, these sports of the future already exist. Thanks to artificial intelligence, robotics and other technological innovations, new high-tech sports are kicking off around the world. From robots taking the field to play soccer, to pilot-controlled drones racing one another, like humans, machines are proving to have their own competitive streak. AI can now even create new sports, from the strategy and rules of the game to the layout of the playing field. These high-tech sports may sound like they come from the future, but they already exist. Here are some of the most ground-breaking.
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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