And another day of Republicans beginning their quiet push for new restrictions on abortion access, of the GOP seeking greater control over election offices, teen bravado and guns, harassment over climate change, road usage taxes, Orcas in Spain, and TX’s extreme requirements to access adult websites comes to a close:
“How many times a day can you ask what is wrong with this country?” — Susan Jenkins
In post-Roe era, House Republicans begin quiet push for new restrictions on abortion access. In one government funding bill after another, Republicans are incorporating unrelated policy provisions, known as riders, to restrict women’s reproductive rights. Democrats say the proposals will never become law -- Democrats also said Roe wouldn’t be overturned, yet here we are.
GOP state legislatures seek greater control over state and local election offices. Lawmakers in several Republican-led states have been looking to exert more authority over state and local election offices, claiming new powers that Democrats warn could be used to target left-leaning counties in future elections. The moves range from requiring legislative approval of court settlements in election-related lawsuits to creating paths for taking over local election offices. -- Republicans know they only sell hatred towards marginalized groups. They have nothing else. They also know most Americans don’t subscribe to the hatred they trumpet. So, they have to resort to other means of staying in power, the will of the people be damned.
Kansas’ attorney general is moving to block trans people from changing their birth certificates. Transgender people born in Kansas could be prevented from changing their birth certificates to reflect their gender identities if the state’s conservative Republican attorney general is successful with a legal move he launched late Friday. Attorney General Kris Kobach filed a request in federal court asking a judge to end a requirement for Kansas to allow transgender people to change their birth certificates. He is not seeking to undo past changes, only prevent them going forward.
Mix of bravado and access to guns contribute to mass shootings by teens in St. Louis, other cities. What these and other recent mass shootings share in common is they all involve suspects in their teens, highlighting what can be a deadly mix of teenage bravado and impulsiveness with access to guns. The days when many teens opted to fight out disagreements with fists seem quaint by comparison.
Water being tested where freight train carrying hazardous material plunged into Yellowstone River. Seven cars carrying hot asphalt and molten sulfur fell into the rushing river Saturday morning near the town of Columbus, about 40 miles (about 64 kilometers) west of Billings, Montana. The area is in a sparsely populated section of the Yellowstone River Valley, surrounded by ranch and farmland.
TV meteorologist quits after receiving threats and harassment over climate change coverage. His departure comes months after receiving a series of harassing emails from a viewer who disagreed with one thing he did on-air: he explained how weather was linked to the climate crisis. He also received other negative feedback via private messages and social media, which has become a common experience for weather and climate communicators. -- There have always been hateful people, but today it’s much easier for them to spout their hatred towards the ones they hate. Email and social media have made it much easier for the haters to harass people they don’t like.
‘Rage giving’ prompted by the end of Roe has dropped off, abortion access groups say. The “ rage giving ” did not last. Abortion access groups who received a windfall of donations following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade one year ago say those emergency grants have ended and individual and foundation giving has dropped off.
As fuel taxes plummet, states weigh charging by the mile instead of the tank. So far, only three states — Oregon, Utah and Virginia — are generating revenue from road usage charges, despite the looming threat of an ever-widening gap between states’ gas tax proceeds and their transportation budgets. Hawaii will soon become the fourth. Without action, the gap could reach $67 billion by 2050 due to fuel efficiency alone, Boston-based CDM Smith estimates.
Twitter’s tech rivals are mimicking Elon Musk’s playbook — even Mark Zuckerberg. “Every CEO in Silicon Valley has looked at what Elon Musk has done and has asked themselves, 'Do they need to unleash their own Elon within them?'”...Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said recently that Musk had given other tech executives permission to be more aggressive in cutting jobs and remaking their organizational charts. -- Capitalism is not the answer.
New Texas Law Slaps Extreme Requirements on Adult Sites. Texas has become the seventh state in the union to mandate age-verification in order to access pornographic sites. But unlike those passed in other states, House Bill (HB) 1181, the Texas bill’s identifier during the legislative session, imposes a number of drastic requirements on adult sites extending far beyond age-verification. — Goes into effect September 1st.
Orcas disrupt boat race near Spain in latest display of dangerous, puzzling behavior. A pod of killer whales bumped one of the boats in an endurance sailing race as it approached the Strait of Gibraltar, the latest encounter in what researchers say is a growing trend of sometimes-aggressive interactions with Iberian orcas.
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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