Thursday, August 17, 2023

And another day seeking delays, the fake electors plot, MAGAs threatening grand jurors, firing a teacher for premarital sex, cutting university programs, mortgage rates, World Chess bans trans women, children in ER for mental illness, cancer, and blue-lights comes to a close:

"Accuse the other side of that which you are guilty." -- Joseph Goebbels

Trump's legal team seeks to delay federal election interference trial until 2026. In a court filing Thursday, Trump's attorneys recommended starting the trial in April 2026, more than two years after prosecutors are seeking to get the trial underway. -- Delay, delay, delay. It’s one of his strategies. When will he ever be held accountable for any of his actions? Let’s see if he gets this delay, as well.

Roger Stone Recorded Details of Fake Electors Plot Days After 2020 Election: Report. A video obtained by MSNBC shows Donald Trump’s former political advisor Roger Stone dictating the rationale behind a plan to undermine the certification of Electoral College votes days before the outcome of the 2020 election was announced. In the video, Stone, speaking slowly to an associate who is transcribing his words, states that “the final decision as to who the state legislatures authorize the send to the electoral college is a decision made solely by the legislature.” “Any legislative body may decide on the basis of overwhelming evidence of fraud to send electors to the electoral college who accurately reflect the president’s legitimate victory in their state, which was illegally denied him through fraud,” Stone adds. Stone concludes by asserting that “we must prepare to lobby our Republican legislatures, by personal contact, and by demonstrating the overwhelming will of the people in their states — in each state — that this may need to happen.”

Trump supporters post names and addresses of Georgia grand jurors online. “It’s becoming all too commonplace to see everyday citizens performing necessary functions for our democracy being targeted with violent threats by Trump-supporting extremists," Jones said. "The lack of political leadership on the right to denounce these threats — which serve to inspire real-world political violence— is shameful.” -- Those who call themselves Republicans are such horrible people.

Grand jurors in Georgia Trump case face threats, racist attacks. “Everyone on that jury should be hung,” one user wrote on a right-wing online forum...“MAGAs posting the grand jurors addresses online,” a Truth Social user wrote. “I see a swift bullet to the head if, and when, somebody shows up at their homes.”...Ever since the grand jurors’ names were made public late Monday night, when the charges were filed, they have been repeatedly attacked online. -- Republicans, which have been fully taken over by MAGAs, only know violence.

Residents flee, airlifts begin as wildfire approaches capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories. Residents of the capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories fled an approaching wildfire Thursday, some driving hundreds of miles to safety and others signing up for emergency flights, the latest chapter in Canada’s worst fire season on record. The fire, boosted by strong northern winds, was within 16 kilometers (10 miles) of Yellowknife’s northern edge, and people in the four areas at highest risk were told to leave as soon as possible.

Witnesses of Buffalo mass shooting file rare lawsuit against social media and gun companies. The 16 plaintiffs, most of whom worked at Tops but also some customers, survived the racist attack but had to endure moments of terror that left lasting effects, such as nightmares, trouble sleeping, anxiety and paranoia, the lawsuit alleges. Some, according to the lawsuit, have even been unable to return to work at Tops or other jobs.

Books banned in other states fuel Vermont lieutenant governor’s reading tour. While officials in some other states are banning or restricting certain books in schools and libraries, Zuckerman, in liberal Vermont, has taken a different tack: reading and discussing them at libraries and bookstores around the state...″These bans often target books that feature LGBTQ+ characters; talk about gender and sexuality; highlight racial disparities; or talk about difficult issues such as substance abuse and cases of police violence,” Zuckerman, a Democrat, said in a statement when he announced the tour in June. “Students, teachers, and curious minds should be able to access materials that spark critical thinking, cover difficult topics, and appeal to diverse interests without fear of government interference.”

Taliban official says women lose value if their faces are visible to men in public. “It is very bad to see women (without the hijab) in some areas (big cities), and our scholars also agree that women’s faces should be hidden,” Akif said. “It’s not that her face will be harmed or damaged. A woman has her own value and that value decreases by men looking at her. Allah gives respect to females in hijab and there is value in this.”

New Jersey Supreme Court rules in favor of Catholic school that fired a teacher for having premarital sex. The court held that religious entities could use religious tenet exceptions of state employment law as an “affirmative defense” in facing claims of employment discrimination, and it was an “uncontroverted fact” that the school followed the Catholic Church’s religious tenets in terminating Crisitello. -- What a bunch of bullshit. Again, religion, which is nothing more than a man-made invention, is used to discriminate against others. Leave the fucking pews. Religion is neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for being a good person.

‘What am I supposed to do?’: Suggested program cuts [at West Virginia University] leave students lost. The Provost’s Office released its preliminary recommendations following its academic program portfolio review Friday, detailing proposed program reductions and discontinuations in light of the University’s $45 million budget shortfall...The Departments of World Languages, Literatures and Linguistics and Public Administration were recommended to be discontinued completely, as well as both graduate mathematics programs...WVU is currently home to the state's only math PhD program. “They cannot replace language professors with Duolingo, and they cannot replace math professors with ChatGPT.”

Average long-term US mortgage rate climbs to 7.09% this week to highest level in more than 20 years. The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate climbed this week to its highest level in more than 20 years, grim news for would-be homebuyers already challenged by a housing market that remains competitive due to a dearth of homes for sale.

World chess body bars trans women from competing in women’s events. In its guidelines for transgender competitors released Monday, the International Chess Federation, or FIDE, said players that have transitioned from male to female have “no right” to compete in the game against cisgender women, or those who are not trans, until its officials complete “further analysis” of the issue. The governing body gave itself a timeline of no more than two years to complete its review. The guidelines also state that women's titles currently held by trans male competitors “are to be abolished” and can be transferred to a general title of the same or lower level. The federation said if a trans male competitor “changes the gender back to a woman,” the women’s titles can be renewed...LGBTQ advocates have denounced the guidelines, and some critics said the new rules suggest that cisgender men and transgender women are smarter than cisgender women.

Entire police department in Minnesota city resigns. "So right now with our current — trying to hire at $22 an hour, you're never going to see another person again walk through those doors. That's it," Smith said. "Unless you guys do a dramatic change." Smith stressed the urgency of the matter and said smaller police departments he has looked into pay at least $30 an hour. "There's zero incentive to come out here to a small town, low pay, being on call, affecting your free time and everything else," he said.

Emergency room doctors beg for help treating children with mental health illnesses. Every year, approximately half a million children with mental or behavioral health conditions are evaluated in emergency departments, according to the AAP. That number increased over the past decade, experts said...She said that the number of kids seeking psychiatric emergency care in her ER has grown from approximately 30 a month in recent years to 30 a day. "The volume is astronomical, and I don't know that people fully understand how many people are struggling," said Jenkins, who was not involved with the new policy statement. Jenkins said that children as young as six are coming in, often talking about suicide. "This crisis is only getting worse," she said. "It's not getting better."

Cancer diagnosis rates are going up in younger adults, study finds, driven largely by rises in women and people in their 30s. The rate of cancer diagnosis increased in adults in their 30s over the decade but remained stable in other under-50 age groups, the study found. At the same time, the rate of cancers in adults 50 and older is going down. When the researchers looked at cancer trends for younger adults by race, they found that early-onset cancers were going up fastest among people who identify as American Indian or Alaska Natives, Asians and Hispanics. On average, the growth rates of early-onset cancers remained stable in White people and decreased in Black people between 2010 and 2019. Cancers with the highest numbers of early-onset cases­ diagnosed in 2019 were breast (12,649 cases), thyroid (5,869) and colorectal cancers (4,097). The biggest increases in early-onset cases were in cancers of the appendix, which went up 252%; cancers of the bile duct, which went up 142%; and uterine cancer, which increased 76%.

Blue-light blocking glasses don't protect eyes or improve sleep, study finds. Despite their popularity, blue-light blocking glasses probably don’t do much to reduce eye strain, help keep people alert or improve sleep, according to a meta-analysis looking at 17 studies published Thursday.

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

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