Friday, January 7, 2022

And another day of not being ashamed, tragedy not bringing national unity, shortening interval for boosters, Justices sparring over mandates, Arbery killers get life, money having never felt this fake, non-binary athletes, and Sidney Poitier comes to a close:

"If I'm remembered for having done a few good things and if my presence here has sparked some good energies ... that's plenty." -- Sidney Poitier

Deaths

US: 858,346 (+2503)

World: 5,497,078 (+7361)

Cases

US: 60,464,426 (+900,310)

World: 303,822,545 (+3,022,233)

'We're Ashamed of Nothing': Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene Cement the Republican Stance on Jan. 6. The far-right lawmakers on Thursday hosted what they described as the Republican “response” to a slate of Democratic events commemorating the anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. They professed their lack of shame while offering a preview of their press conference on Steve Bannon’s podcast. “We’re proud of the work that we did on Jan. 6 to make legitimate arguments about election integrity,” Gaetz continued…Gaetz and Greene may have once represented the fringes of the conservative movement. They’re now leaders in it.

The Lesson of January 6: Tragedy Does Not Yield National Unity. Let’s look at some previous national traumas: (You should read them.) … And look at the Trump years. Charlottesville, George Floyd, the Las Vegas shooting, a pandemic that has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans (with many of those deaths preventable). None of these dreadful events spurred civility and productive conversation across the political divide. (Right-wingers red-baited the Black Lives Matter movement as a Marxist threat to the security of the nation.) Awful occurrences tend to widen the tears in our social fabric, as they compel people who cling to misguided and unfounded notions to cling harder. They become not reasons to reassess, but ammunition for the continuing political and cultural battles. Trump and his cultists now point to January 6 as the natural—and justified—reaction to the real insurrection that occurred over a year ago when the election was stolen (fact-check: not stolen) from Trump…To be repelled by Trump’s action—or inaction—and the conduct of his mob on January 6 would be too much of a shock to the system for a Trump loyalist. It would require disowning a foundational belief in Trump. And as McConnell, McCarthy, and Graham have illustrated, the political tide of this cultism is too tough a current to swim against. Any opportunity for January 6 to yield common cause or a valuable reckoning was a mirage. One crucial point of Trumpism is the lack of desire to reconcile or seek commonality. In many, if not most, cases, national tragedies do not heal; they clarify the rifts that exist. They reveal where the fight is and what work must be done.

FDA shortens interval for Moderna's Covid-19 booster dose to 5 months. The US Food and Drug Administration on Friday amended the emergency use authorization for Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine, shortening the period of time between initial vaccination and the booster shot to at least five months for those over the age of 18.

Omicron cases could fall just as quickly as they rose, CDC says. Instead of a wave, picture the recent surge in the U.S. as more of an "ice pick," similar to cases in South Africa, Dr. Rochelle Walensky said.

A Rhode Island hospital is dealing with a Covid-19 outbreak with patients after it asked staff who had tested positive, but were asymptomatic, to come in due to a staffing shortage. Eleanor Slater Hospital had two staff members come into work on Saturday and three Monday. A spokesperson said the outbreak is not connected to the workers.

Justices spar over vaccine mandates as COVID jolts Supreme Court. The Supreme Court on Friday wrestled with the unprecedented COVID-19 public health emergency, authorities' urgent push to protect Americans and the power of federal agencies to impose vaccine mandates or vaccine-or-test requirements on tens of millions of workers. The court -- during nearly four hours of oral arguments in two highly expedited cases -- appeared to fully comprehend the gravity of the moment for American public health, but many justices voiced reservations about the federal government's authority to impose such policies nationwide.

Arbery killers get life in prison; no parole for father, son. Three white men convicted of murder for chasing and killing Ahmaud Arbery were sentenced to life in prison Friday, with a judge denying any chance of parole for the father and son who armed themselves and initiated the deadly pursuit of the 25-year-old Black man.

Money has never felt more fake. It’s a strange place we’re in, which might explain why these tangible improvements don’t seem to dislodge national feelings of alienation. The state of the world and the economy can feel really hopeless. There’s mass distrust in institutions and in government, and economic mobility is increasingly hard to achieve. We’re in the midst of a pandemic that doesn’t look like it’s ever going to really end. NFTs feel like a scam, but then again, so does everything…If and when the bubble around some of these hyped investments bursts, a lot of people are going to get hurt and lose money. In NFTs, evidence suggests those who are already wealthy and powerful are the ones ruling the roost, just like in the stock market. While there are true believers in crypto projects, so much of it is just speculation, and venture capitalists and hedge funds are more likely to win the speculation game than the little guys caught up in the mania…“If it’s just a dot-com bubble, it sucks for the people who invested,” she said. “But if it’s 2008, then we’re all screwed, even those of us who aren’t investing, and that’s not fair. It really depends on who’s getting into this and how integrated it’s getting with the rest of the financial system.”

Figure skater Timothy LeDuc poised to become first out non-binary athlete at Winter Olympics.

Flooding in Washington state shuts down interstate, forces evacuations. Rain and snowmelt flooded rivers and creeks and caused major road closures in western Washington, officials say.

Sidney Poitier will be remembered for his acting — and his advocacy. Poitier was a powerhouse dramatic actor, but the weight of racial responsibility was heavy throughout his career.

RIP Sidney Poitier. He was 94.

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

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