And another day of mercenaries, Trump ‘more likely than not’ committed crimes, culture wars, SCOTUS and religious freedom, laws ‘designed to end protesting,’ WA to end gas car sales, 70 degrees warmer than normal, 3D nipple tattoos, and the Oscar slap comes to a close:
“Remember when a U.S. Supreme Court justice was revealed to have a variety of direct links to an American coup d'etat and then the opposition party just... never really said anything about it and the moment passed and four days later everything just kind of moved on.” -- Will Stancil
“What a sad commentary when you slap the crap out of someone on live TV, win an Oscar, get a standing ovation and then accept that Oscar talking about “love”. There was so much wrong about this moment.” -- Michael Steele
Deaths
US: 1,004,243 (+776)
World: 6,151,862 (+3564)
Cases
US: 81,657,854 (+32,966)
World: 483,478,866 (+1,364,917)
Russia deploys mercenaries to Ukraine. A notorious Russian military contractor is expected to send up to 1,000 mercenaries to eastern Ukraine, Britain’s Defense Ministry says. The Wagner Group has been accused of human rights abuses in the Middle East and elsewhere.
Judge: Trump likely committed crimes related to election. A federal judge on Monday asserted it is “more likely than not” that former President Donald Trump committed crimes in his attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 election, ruling to order the release of more than 100 emails from Trump adviser John Eastman to the committee investigating the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
“If you wonder why Trump is not scared right now; why Ginni Thomas is not scared right now; why Mitch McConnell is not scared right now; it’s because they have played out everything contained in this thread and understand that all that matters are the 2022 and 2024 elections.” -- Seth Abramson (Read the entire thread. It starts here. It’s long, but holy shit.)
Republicans’ midterms pitch: never mind the policy, here’s the culture war. America’s national government might be under Democratic control but its red states are on the march with sweeping laws targeting abortion, LGBTQ+ people and the teaching of race in schools that threaten to turn back the clock to an era when a citizen’s rights depended on where they lived. The offensive on cultural hot button issues also appears calculated to ensure that November’s midterm elections will be contested on a playing field of rightwing outrage. Democrats argue that Republicans resort to such territory in lieu of policy substance. — You don’t have to be a Democrat to see it’s true.
How do you convince a skeptical public to get a fourth shot? The expected green light for a second coronavirus booster shot poses a challenge to the Biden administration, which will need to work overtime to convince a public that has largely decided to move on from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shanghai is locking down over 10 million people at a time. Why that's a big deal. Many countries around the world have decided to live with the coronavirus, even as a new subvariant fuels another wave of infections. But China is an extremely important exception.
Conservative Supreme Court justices fire warning shot on religious freedom and LGBT+ rights. Supreme Court judges Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas have indicated that “the day will soon come” when the court rules on religious freedom and LGBT+ rights.
“Designed to End Protesting”: Louisiana Supreme Court Makes Protesters Guilty by Association. The court ruled that an advocate who helped organize a Black Lives Matter rally could be sued for events that took place during that rally, even though he was not involved...The lone dissenter was the court’s only Black judge, Justice Piper Griffin. “The finding of a duty in this case will have a chilling effect on political protests in general as nothing prevents a bad actor from attending an otherwise peaceful protest and committing acts of violence,” wrote Griffin, who is a Democrat elected in a judicial district that contains parts of New Orleans. “The flow of political speech could hinge on which viewpoints had patrons with deeper pockets.”...Other states have pushed guilt-by-association for demonstrators since the protests of 2020, adopting new statutes that broaden who can be punished for what happens at a protest. In 2021, Florida passed a law championed by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis that created new felony charges that can be used against people who are present at a rally that is deemed violent, even if they were not involved in any criminal action. In August 2020, Tennessee lawmakers made it a felony to camp overnight outside the state capitol after sustained protests earlier that summer. (In both states, a felony conviction also means losing the right to vote, sometimes for life, turning the electoral process into another legal minefield.) New Republican bills this year in Florida, Georgia, and now Louisiana, where the legislative session just began, could further ramp up the threats of criminal and civil penalties against protesters. -- All because Republicans are racists, authoritarians, and misogynists. They do not believe in democracy. It’s their way or no way.
Ketanji Brown Jackson is the most popular Supreme Court nominee in years. If Jackson's ratings hold up through her likely confirmation, she would be the most popular nominee to be confirmed since John Roberts in 2005.
‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law on Monday that forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, a policy that has drawn intense national scrutiny from critics who argue it marginalizes LGBTQ people. -- Just because you don’t talk about something doesn’t mean that it isn’t there. Republicans are such hateful people. And using children to try and hide their hate. Fucking digusting. And none of this is surprising because Republicans don’t want most people educated.
President Biden pitches minimum tax on billionaires in new budget. The White House on Monday proposed imposing a minimum tax on the nation's richest people to challenge the "indefensibly low tax rates" the wealthy can engineer as Democrats take another swing at a so-called billionaire's tax.
Washington state sets target to end gas car sales by 2030. Washington is committing to going green as the state passed legislation to only allow the sale of electric cars beginning in 2030. The move is part of a larger climate change plan that focuses on overhauling the state’s transportation system.
Extraordinary Antarctica heatwave, 70 degrees above normal, would likely set a world record. The temperature at Concordia Research station atop Dome C on the Antarctic Plateau — typically known as the coldest place on Earth — surged to an astounding 11.3 degrees Fahrenheit on March 18. The normal high temperature for the day is around minus-56, around 70 degrees warmer than normal.
More than 1 million U.S. students have held off going to college since the pandemic started. Two-year public schools are some of the hardest hit. But skilled-trades programs are booming.
Walmart to end cigarette sales in some stores. Walmart will no longer sell cigarettes in some of its stores though tobacco sales can be a significant revenue generator.
Breast cancer can leave survivors lacking a sense of self. 3D Nipple tattoos are helping some reclaim it.
MIT reinstating standardized testing requirements. MIT said it made its decision due to the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine and an increase in students taking tests in schools. -- Standardized tests are bullshit.
While some stand-up comedians thought Will Smith slapping Chris Rock was fodder for jokes, others worry it could set a dangerous precedent. Many comedians, some on social media, began wondering whether the moment would set a bad precedent for those who do stand-up. Would disgruntled audience members, offended by a punchline or by a joke at their expense, feel emboldened to get physical with a comedian the way Smith did with Rock?
Will Smith apologizes to Chris Rock for slapping him at the Academy Awards. Will Smith apologized to Chris Rock on Monday for slapping him at the Academy Awards on Sunday night, saying in a statement that he was "out of line" and "embarrassed." -- Damage control.
Academy condemns Will Smith’s actions, launches review. In a statement Monday, the film academy said: “The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night’s show. We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our bylaws, standards of conduct and California law.”
“Chris Rock didn’t press charges. Will Smith apologized. I hope it’s a learning moment. Can we please now focus on genocide in Ukraine, the qualified nominee about to be 1st Black woman on SCOTUS and the Justice married to a loon who needs to recuse himself from election cases?” -- Ana Navarro-Cardenas
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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