And another day of Republican messaging, shootings are inevitable ‘as part of free society,’ jailed for a miscarriage, ‘echo chambers,’ suing Meta, fewer friends, the widening ‘mortality gap,’ and Period Crunch cereal comes to a close:
“When Republicans talk about valuing “freedom”, they’re speaking of it in the sense that only people like them should ultimately possess it.” — Ethan Grey
“Just a friendly reminder, that if you're paying an arm and a leg at the pump, Democrats voted recently to stop Big Oil from price-gouging. Every single Republican voted against this measure.” -- Rep. Pramila Jayapal
Deaths
US: 1,034,284 (+454)
World: 6,323,378 (+1903)
Cases
US: 86,782,404 (+144,917)
World: 536,575,203 (+662,402)
Fox News to Skip Primetime Coverage of Jan. 6 Committee Hearings. Fox News will be the only major news network not to air the entire Jan. 6 Committee hearings live, and instead will provide its own coverage “as warranted” through the filter of its regular prime-time programs and hosts, the network said Monday. — They’ll be spinning the propaganda. Not that it will matter. Their viewers were never going to change their minds anyway.
“This is a thread on Republican messaging. The press doesn’t want to have a direct conversation with you about this. So as a former Republican who is now a consistent Democratic voter, I will. Thread.” — I encourage you to read the whole thread, but the bottom line is the following:
“Here is the Republican message on everything of importance:
“1. They can tell people what to do.
“2. You cannot tell them what to do.
“This often gets mistaken for hypocrisy, there’s an additional layer of complexity to this (later in the thread), but this is the basic formula.”
Vote every Republican out of office.
“Some of the children in Texas murdered with an AR-15 were so ‘hollowed out’ and visually unidentifiable from their wounds that they had to use DNA tests to id them. But hey, GIT YER PRARIE DOGS.” -- Andrea Kuszewski
One of the questions in the poll asked respondents if they feel that mass shootings are "unfortunately something we have to accept as part of a free society" or "something we can prevent and stop if we really tried." In response, 44% of Republicans said mass shootings are inevitable "as part of a free society." Meanwhile, 85% of Democrats and 73% of Independents said mass shootings are preventable "if we really tried."
The Most Shocking New Statistic on Mass Shootings. Nearly three quarters of Americans believe we can prevent mass shootings if we prioritize the goal of doing so—yet an astounding 44 percent of Republicans think we just have to accept these gun massacres as part of living in a “free society.” Accept them? Really? Even acknowledging that Americans’ views on guns are complex and highly politicized, this is a shocking finding, particularly after a fresh slaughter of school children. This apparently common perspective among Republicans is more than bleak on its own merits. Recently, I wrote about the ingrained national narrative of resignation about the mass shootings epidemic, in the context of outrage over the chronic failure of Congress to strengthen gun laws. Acceptance of the carnage among Republicans as a fact of American life is a different twist on the theme that “nothing really can be done” about mass shootings—a theme whose repetition may in fact worsen such attacks:
“Remember back in the olden days before the NRA owned the GOP, when #MassShootings didn’t occur virtually everyday in America?” — Ed Hull
She was jailed for losing a pregnancy. Her nightmare could become more common. Becker’s nightmare offers a preview of the kinds of criminal cases that could become commonplace in the US if the supreme court, as expected after the leak of a draft opinion last month, officially overturns Roe v Wade. In the states that outlaw abortion, advocates warn, pregnancy losses more broadly will be treated as potential crimes, including in cases of wanted pregnancies. Even with Roe in effect, women have repeatedly faced arrest and charges for their pregnancy outcomes…“A lot of people don’t realize that pregnant people are already facing criminalization all across the country, including in blue states like California. All it takes is a rogue district attorney.”
“One of the reasons America's leaders right now are so broken is that they don't know hardship, loss, sacrifice & community the way leaders of past generations did. They are privileged. Mostly white men. US Senate is 74% male. Older. 95% white. Let that sink in.” -- Sophia A. Nelson
Who Exactly Is Trapped in an “Echo Chamber”? In a way, those who worry about echo chambers are too hopeful. Many voters really do want Trump, Brexit, and other things that liberals abhor. A lot of people do not care, deep down, about democracy. Better information might not be a panacea for that, even if it would slow down a conspiracy theory like QAnon. Let’s really imagine this cure, that perfect Homo omniviewpointicus. They are flooded with information. They know all; they see all. They’ve digested each piece of news. And they are full of data. Wait. That sounds kind of like someone who spends all day on Twitter.
Louisiana banned transgender women and girls from competing on sports teams consistent with their gender at all public and some private elementary and secondary schools and colleges on Monday after the state's Democratic governor declined to take executive action on the controversial measure. Gov. John Bel Edwards' decision not to veto or directly approve SB 44 means that his state's Republican-led legislature succeeded in passing the ban nearly a year after the governor had killed a similar version of the legislation last June, calling it discriminatory. Per state law, the governor needed to take direct action on the legislation before Monday in order to have a say in its fate.
The 'mortality gap' between Republican and Democratic counties is widening, study says. Here's why. A new study found deaths rates are improving faster in Democratic counties than Republican ones. Experts are calling this phenomenon the "mortality gap," and say state policies, individual health decisions and a shift in party demographics may be widening it. -- There’s nothing good for you about living in a Republican county or state. Vote all Republicans out of office. Every single one of them.
Family sues Meta, blames Instagram for daughter’s eating disorder and self-harm. A preteen girl’s “addictive” use of Instagram resulted in an eating disorder, self-harm and thoughts of suicide over several years, according to a lawsuit against the platform’s parent company, Meta. The lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California late Monday, heavily cites the Facebook Papers, a trove of internal Meta research documents leaked last fall that revealed that the tech giant knew Instagram was worsening body-image and other mental-health issues among teenage girls in particular.
Some cancer patients can skip treatments, 2 studies show. After surgery, some cancer patients can safely skip radiation or chemotherapy, according to two studies exploring shorter, gentler cancer care.
Intimina Brings Period On The Kitchen Table! In order to fight the stigma around menstruation, it’s important to talk about it! A unique menstrual-themed breakfast cereal called Period Crunch has been created to raise awareness of the lack of conversations about periods in the home. Every piece of the statement-making cereal resembles a uterus and has been released by INTIMINA as part of our campaign to encourage more dialogue about menstrual health.
Figure skating minimum age rises to 17 before 2026 Olympics. No 15-year-old figure skaters will be allowed to compete at the 2026 Olympics following the controversy surrounding Russian national champion Kamila Valieva at this year’s Beijing Games.
The case for fewer friends. But you don’t need a roster dozens deep to enjoy the fruits of friendship. Franco says even having one friend is a net positive. “The biggest return we get in friendship is going from zero to one friend in terms of its impact on our mental health and well-being,” Franco says. “If you can get that deep with one person, it’s going to be powerful and it’s going to be impactful, and you don’t need to have a ton of friends.” Instead of stretching yourself thin trying to keep in contact with everyone you’ve ever met or feeling pressured to make new friends, it’s worth considering the value of a few close confidants...Out of dozens of connections, the number of close friendships people have, Dunbar found, is five. Similarly, a 2020 study found that having three to five close friends is enough to feel fulfilled.
RIP Jim Seals. He was 80.
Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.
Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.
No comments:
Post a Comment