And another day of white victimhood fueling Republican politics, dead Russian troops in Ukraine, refugee status in Belarus, ID models TX abortion law, calling for extreme weather warnings, and some risks for Alzheimer’s comes to a close:
“The Republican Party is the most dangerous organization in human history.” — Noam Chomsky
Deaths
US: 1,001,175 (+1383)
World: 6,128,270 (+6344)
Cases
US: 81,527,329 (+51,060)
World: 476,481,934 (+2,399,167)
How white victimhood fuels Republican politics. With President Biden having just passed one full year in office, public opinion research shows that white Americans — and especially Republicans — see whites as victims of discrimination more than, say, Hispanic or Black Americans. According to a 2021 survey by the Pew Research Center, for example, only 17 percent of Republican and Republican-leaning Americans said there is “a lot” of discrimination against Black people in today’s society. That number rose to 26 percent when Republicans were asked whether they believed white people faced “a lot” of discrimination. And intense white racial resentment remains present both among Trump’s base and in our politics today…”There’s this sense that there’s only so much of anything to go around, so more of something for other groups or entities might mean less of something for me and my group,” he told us. “That makes a lot of sense when you’re talking about food at the table in front of you, but it feels like it’s getting applied to things like equal rights — or respect and status.”…Kamala Harris’s ascendance to the vice presidency as well as the nomination of U.S. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, for example, likely further stoked white Americans’ existing hatred against Black people and other marginalized groups…When white Americans see minorities succeed, it threatens them in a way that makes them feel like victims. As Sommers puts it: “It seems like there’s some kind of status, attention or special treatment that certain white people think will be bestowed on them if they make the claim that they’ve been treated unfairly.” In other words, for a “post-racial” America to exist, white people would need to see people of color ascending to higher political offices and an increasingly multiracial nation as a win for all of America. Instead, many take these things as a personal attack and view it as a loss of their own status at the top of America’s racial hierarchy…What’s striking is how these perceptions persist even in the face of extraordinary evidence to the contrary…What could be fueling an increase in these views? Following Trump’s loss in 2020, the Republican Party leaned further into messages that paint Republicans and white people as victims of an overzealous movement for racial justice…”If we’ve learned nothing else in the last five or so years, it’s just how influential top-down attitudes are. When leaders around the country and at a regional level are using racist or vulgar language themselves, that seems to move the needle on what’s considered normative and acceptable behavior in our society.” If we want to address the inequities that continue to plague and divide our society, white Americans — and in particular, white Republicans — will need to move away from the victimhood narrative and acknowledge our current reality…The success of minorities does not mean victimization for white Americans. Without recognition that we can all succeed — and that the nation will be better off for it — the patterns of disparities we have discussed throughout will continue to persist, and we will all be worse off for it. — Almost all of the country’s problems can be traced back to white victimhood. Fucking racists. And Republicans are indeed racists. The data is clear.
NATO: 7,000 to 15,000 Russian troops dead in Ukraine. NATO estimated on Wednesday that 7,000 to 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in four weeks of war in Ukraine, where fierce resistance from the country’s defenders has denied Moscow the lightning victory it sought.
Jan. 6 suspect who fled U.S. granted refugee status by Belarus. The man, Evan Neumann, faces several charges, including that he assaulted police officers when he participated in the riot. — Because innocent men always flee to an authoritarian country?
Idaho governor signs abortion ban modeled on Texas law. Idaho on Wednesday became the first state to enact a law modeled after a Texas statute banning abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy and allowing it to be enforced through lawsuits to avoid constitutional court challenges.
UN chief calls for extreme weather warning systems for everyone on Earth. Everyone on the planet should be covered by an early warning system against extreme weather and climate-related disasters within five years, the UN secretary general has said. About a third of people around the world are not now covered by early warning systems, but in Africa the problem is greater, with about six in 10 people lacking such warnings. As climate breakdown takes hold, more people are likely to be affected by extreme weather, including flash floods, heatwaves, more violent storms and coastal storm surges, made worse by sea level rises.
Having high cholesterol and blood sugar in your 30s may raise your risk for Alzheimer's disease decades later in life, according to a new study…”This study gives us more fuel for the fire that we need to start as early as possible in the fight against Alzheimer’s.”
Blood pressure medication recalled over cancer risk concerns. Pfizer has issued a recall for a high blood pressure medication distributed under three names, according to the company. Accuretic and its two generic versions distributed by Greenstone -- quinapril and hydrochlorothiazide tablets and quinapril HCl/hydrochlorothiazide tablets -- are subject to the recall. The medications treat hypertension, which increases the risk for potential dangerous cardiovascular events like strokes.
Madeleine Albright, 1st female US secretary of state, dies. Madeleine Albright, a child refugee from Nazi- and then Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe who rose to become the first female secretary of state and a mentor to many current and former American statesmen and women, died Wednesday of cancer, her family said. She was 84. She was 84.
A dinosaur bigger than T. rex swam and hunted its prey underwater. The researchers found that spinosaurids -- a family of predatory dinosaurs that can be up to 15 meters (49 feet) in length (larger than a T. rex) -- had dense bones, suggesting they were adapted to life in the water. None of the other 39 dinosaurs the research team investigated as part of the study were likely at ease in water, they said.
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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