And another day of violence, anxiety, records, platforms, plans, Projects, considerations, rhetoric, convictions, movements, strikes, harassment, Covid, asteroids, and pooping comes to a close:
“What kind of dystopian hellscape is this?” — Wednesday Addams
Violence plagued all levels of American politics long before the attempt on Trump’s life. Intense partisanship, punctuated by violence, has long been a part of American politics...“I think people really forget that we’re human beings.”
Why Europe looks at Trump’s VP pick with anxiety. Many of America’s closest allies were already dreading the prospect of Donald Trump’s return to the White House. Now that the former president has picked JD Vance as his running mate, they potentially have a lot more to worry about. By choosing Vance, Trump has sent a clear signal that, if elected, his America-first foreign policy will be back in force.
Advocacy groups criticize JD Vance’s ‘cruel’ record on LGBTQ issues. HRC and GLAAD noted that Vance introduced a bill last year called the Protect Children’s Innocence Act, which would have banned transition-related medical care, including puberty blockers, hormone therapy and operations, for minors nationally. The bill, which was never taken up in committee, would have charged health care providers who violated it with a class C felony, which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and also would have banned institutions of higher education and accrediting entities from providing instruction about gender-affirming care.
RNC Official: Nothing In Our Platform Says We Won’t Ban Abortion Nationwide. The platform invokes the Fourteenth Amendment, which the GOP has, for decades, cited as the key to enshrining fetal personhood in the law. That would amount to a de facto national abortion ban by establishing embryos as US citizens entitled to “equal protection of the laws,” among other rights. Now, there’s proof that a top RNC official who helped craft the platform agrees—and wants everyone to know that the party is not softening its increasingly extreme anti-abortion stance.
The DNC’s Plan to Force Biden’s Nomination Is Everything People Hate About the DNC. That’s because the DNC is quietly moving forward with plans to hold a virtual roll call as early as next week, spearheaded by a committee of delegates who have been “vetted” for their loyalty to Biden, the New York Times reports. If the plan works as the DNC intends, Biden will be the party’s nominee weeks ahead of the convention, effectively silencing demands within the party for him to step aside after his dismal debate performance and growing concerns about his ability to campaign and govern. To fear that such an effort risks inflaming tensions does not go far enough in underscoring the stunning lack of respect DNC officials seem to have for the rest of the party—and the millions of independent voters Democrats will need to defeat Trump. After all, the plan, which smacks of hubris and ego, speaks to exactly the kind of suspicions people held during the 2016 primary, that it was tilted in favor of Hillary Clinton long before voters had a chance to speak. Clinton’s loss to Trump eventually promoted some soul-searching at the DNC, as well as promises to earn back voter trust with more transparency. Now fast forward to 2024, and a scheme to quietly barrel through Biden’s nomination, even as high-profile Democrats join average voters in their calls for him to step aside, is all but certain to reopen fresh wounds. Moreover, it undercuts his own defense that he won a nomination process in a real primary.
Project 2025: Eliminate Unions. Trump’s victory last time was a surprise, and many corporate types view his chaotic term as a missed opportunity. This time Heritage, which is a mouthpiece for big employers, has compiled a long list of people they want Trump to hire and appoint, and a scorched-earth plan for his first 180 days...From there, the plan is to bulldoze the protections U.S. workers have built up over 100 years of determination, sacrifice, and unity. It’s ugly: abolish overtime pay laws, outlaw public sector unions entirely, get rid of health and safety protections, eliminate the federal minimum wage by letting states set their own, make it harder to receive unemployment, put children back to work like in the 1920s. Hitting building trades workers, they would get rid of requirements for prevailing wage pay and project labor agreements in federal projects. There’s more. They want to get rid of the Department of Education. Ban teaching women’s history and African American history in schools—lest we get ideas about how to change things! Ban abortion nationwide.
Biden seriously considering proposals on Supreme Court term limits, ethics code, AP sources say. Any changes would require congressional approval, which would be unlikely in a divided Congress. But with Republican nominee Donald Trump bragging about putting the three justices on the high court who are now part of the conservative majority, Biden’s call for major changes could help animate his voters.
The Gospel of Matthew Trewhella: How a Militant Anti-Abortion Activist Is Influencing Republican Politics. For much of his public life, Trewhella has made a career of denouncing the law while railing against abortion and gun restrictions. Twenty years ago, that made him a political pariah. His reputation for blockading abortion clinics, calling for churches to form militias and defending the murder of abortion providers was so extreme that two state chapters of Right to Life, the anti-abortion group, condemned him. But today, the world has changed. He has been invited to speak by local Republican parties and other groups across the country. He gave a prayer breakfast sermon to one of the nation’s preeminent law enforcement associations. And a prolific booster of election conspiracy theories has used his work as the basis for a campaign to disrupt elections.
Anti-LGBTQ rhetoric plays a prominent role in first night of RNC. Their speeches Monday especially targeted transgender and non-gender-conforming people...Ahead of the convention, party members published their platform, which says Republicans will "end left-wing gender insanity." "We will keep men out of women’s sports, ban Taxpayer funding for sex change surgeries, and stop Taxpayer-funded Schools from promoting gender transition, reverse Biden’s radical rewrite of Title IX Education Regulations, and restore protections for women and girls," the document said. -- Make sure you know what the GOP plans to do.
Sen. Bob Menendez convicted of all charges, including accepting bribes paid in cash, gold and a car. U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez was convicted on Tuesday of all the counts he faced at his corruption trial, including accepting bribes of gold and cash from three New Jersey businessmen and acting as a foreign agent for the Egyptian government. The jury’s verdict followed a nine-week trial in which prosecutors said the Democrat abused the power of his office to protect allies from criminal investigations and enrich associates, including his wife, through acts that included meeting with Egyptian intelligence officials and helping that country access millions of dollars in U.S. military aid. -- Good. One should suffer the consequences if they break the law, regardless of political affiliation.
Schumer calls on Menendez to resign after conviction. “In light of this guilty verdict, Sen. Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign,” Schumer said in a statement. -- One of the stark differences between Democrats and Republicans.
Elon Musk is going all-in on Donald Trump. But as of Saturday, Musk is now publicly endorsing Trump’s presidential reelection bid. And the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported Monday that Musk is now planning on supporting Trump’s presidential campaign by committing $45 million a month to a new super PAC backing the former president. The donations, if they come to pass, are a significant development in not only the presidential campaign, but also the relationship between the two men, who both have fervent support among millions of fans who stand ready to believe most anything they say. -- Horrible people support other horrible people.
Elon Musk says he’ll move X and SpaceX to Texas. Musk said he decided to move his companies from California after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed several laws expanding protections for LGBTQ+ students. -- So much hate toward others when life is so fucking short.
Israeli strikes in southern, central Gaza kill more than 60 Palestinians, including in ‘safe zone’. Israeli airstrikes killed more than 60 Palestinians in southern and central Gaza overnight and into Tuesday, including one that struck an Israeli-declared “safe zone” crowded with thousands of displaced people.
Women ‘fed to the sharks’ under Texas Senate sexual harassment policy, Texas Monthly reporting finds. Young women working in the Texas state Senate have little protection against sexual harassment and assault, an investigation by a leading state magazine has found. A Texas Monthly report published last week uncovered numerous cases of female staffers and volunteers who said they had been propositioned, groped or otherwise harassed by state senators or senior staff. Beyond the specific allegations against lawmakers or staffers, reporters Olivia Messer and Cara Kelly say they found something more pervasive: a longstanding resistance by Texas Senate leadership to deal with the body’s endemic problem with predatory sexual misconduct.
Covid-19’s back. Should you be worried? Whether people should worry about Covid-19 infection depends on their specific medical circumstances. People who should be especially concerned are those who are older or immunocompromised or those with multiple underlying heart, lung, kidney and other medical conditions. They should be sure they are up-to-date with vaccines, have a plan for accessing antiviral treatment and consider additional precautions such as masking in crowded indoor spaces and trying to gather outdoors instead of indoors.
How often you poop can affect your health well beyond the gut, study suggests. The study of more than 1,400 healthy adults found that people who pooped less frequently also had signs of decreased kidney function. People on the other end of the spectrum, who went far more than normal, showed signs of impaired liver function. -- A story about shit because, as usual in this country, it’s been a shitty day.
A cruise liner-size asteroid will come closer to Earth than some satellites. A new mission may be racing to meet it. The space rock, measuring 1,230 feet (375 meters) across, will come closer to our planet than satellites in its orbit and 10 times nearer than the moon. Apophis will come so close to Earth that it will be visible to the naked eye for around 2 billion people living across most of Europe, Africa and parts of Asia.
To escape all the above chaos happening in the world, tune it to 99.9 Waiting for the Comet. The songs you love. The songs you forgot you love. And the songs you don’t yet know you love.
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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