Tuesday, April 5, 2022

And another day of the horror of Russian occupation, increasing ‘international conflict,’ an ‘extremely grim’ Covid outbreak, OK’s turn on abortion, state murder rates, OH’s own ‘don’t say gay’ bill, bad air, Musk joins Twitter’s board, and TN wants to eliminate age requirement for marriage comes to a close:

"It's terrifying to think that we're going backwards in time, that we're actually watching in real time getting our rights taken away from us.” -- Kristin Williams

“If I were a Republican I’d be ashamed today. Of course, anyone capable of shame wouldn’t still be a Republican.” — John Pavlovitz

Deaths

US: 1,009,390 (+711)

World: 6,183,510 (+4367)

Cases

US: 81,900,012 (+32,049)

World: 494,140,283 (+1,360,945)

'We're not finding soldiers, just innocent people': The horror of Russian occupation revealed in Borodianka. Moscow has denied targeting civilians, but volunteers are working with police to pick up the bodies of killed civilians left to rot in the open air..."We are gathering people who were shot by the Russians. Civilians who were tortured. We have been working for two days," Hennadiy Avramenko, 45, said.

In Bucha, Ukraine, burned, piled bodies among latest horrors. One blackened body had arms raised in supplication, the face contorted in a horrible scream. The skull of another had a bullet hole in the left temple. The small blackened foot of a child could be seen in the tangle of charred bodies piled together in Bucha, the town outside of Kyiv where graphic evidence of killings and torture has emerged following the withdrawal of Russian forces. The six burned and blackened corpses were just the latest gruesome scene to emerge from Bucha as world leaders push for Russia to be held accountable, including for possible war crimes.

Top US general: Potential for 'significant international conflict' is increasing. The top US military officer told lawmakers Tuesday that the world is becoming more unstable and the "potential for significant international conflict is increasing, not decreasing."

Oklahoma Legislature passes bill to make performing abortions a felony. The state House passed a bill Tuesday that would make performing an abortion a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, has said he will sign any anti-abortion bill sent to him. If he signs this one, it will go into effect this summer. Another House bill, 4327, would allow private citizens to file lawsuits against doctors who perform abortions and would only allow a woman to have an abortion if her life were at stake. It now goes to the state Senate. -- Remember, Republicans are not “pro-life.” They are merely “pro-birth.” Once you’re born, they don’t give a fucking shit about you. No one, absolutely no one, should be forced to continue a pregnancy against their will.

Republican-controlled states have higher murder rates than Democratic ones: study. Republican politicians routinely claim that cities run by Democrats have been experiencing crime waves caused by failed governance, but a new study shows murder rates are actually higher in states and cities controlled by Republicans…But a comparison of violent crime rates in jurisdictions controlled by Democrats and Republicans tells a very different story. In fact, a new study from the center-left think tank Third Way shows that states won by Trump in the 2020 election have higher murder rates than those carried by Joe Biden. The highest murder rates, the study found, are often in conservative, rural states. The study found that murder rates in the 25 states Trump carried in 2020 are 40% higher overall than in the states Biden won. (The report used 2020 data because 2021 data is not yet fully available.) The five states with the highest per capita murder rate — Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky, Alabama and Missouri — all lean Republican and voted for Trump…Criminologists say research shows higher rates of violent crime are found in areas that have low average education levels, high rates of poverty and relatively modest access to government assistance. Those conditions characterize some portions of the American South.

COVID outbreak ‘extremely grim’ as Shanghai extends lockdown. The COVID-19 outbreak in China’s largest metropolis of Shanghai remains “extremely grim” amid an ongoing lockdown confining around 26 million people to their homes, a city official said Tuesday. The director of Shanghai’s working group on epidemic control, Gu Honghui, was quoted by state media as saying that the outbreak in the city was “still running at a high level.”

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) announced on Tuesday evening that he had tested positive for a breakthrough case of COVID-19.

Florida 'Don't Say Gay' law inspires proposed legislation in Ohio. The bill also goes a step further than the recently passed Florida law, forbidding Ohio public school educators in grades 4 through 12 from teaching or using "instructional materials on sexual orientation or gender identity in any manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards." The drafted bill language does not specify what "age-appropriate" or "developmentally appropriate" material might qualify.

99 percent of people worldwide breathe air that doesn’t meet WHO standard. Fine particle pollution has been linked to premature deaths, heart attacks and decreased lung function, while nitrogen dioxide can contribute to or worsen asthma. In response to its findings, the WHO called on countries to revise their own air quality standards and increase vehicle emissions and efficiency standards, among other actions.

Republican candidate in New Hampshire voted in two states’ primaries in 2016. Matt Mowers, the former Trump administration aide who is running for Congress in New Hampshire, voted twice during the 2016 primary, according to voting records obtained by CNN, opening the Republican candidate up to criticism from his opponents and charges of hypocrisy from Democrats.

Elon Musk to join Twitter's board. Elon Musk is set to join Twitter's board of directors, a move that potentially boosts his influence over the social media platform and which comes one day after it was disclosed that he had become the company's largest individual shareholder. Twitter said in a regulatory filing Tuesday that it plans to appoint the Tesla and SpaceX CEO to its board for a term that ends in 2024. As part of the deal, Musk has agreed not to acquire more than 14.9% of the company's shares while he remains on the board.

Editorial: If you saved $365,000 a day every day for 2000 years, you still wouldn’t have as much wealth as Elon Musk. Yes. 2000 years.

“The newest member of Twitter’s board of directors once went on Twitter and called a U.S. Senator “Senator Karen” because she suggested he—the richest man in the world—should pay income taxes. He paid $0 in income taxes last year.” — Sawyer Hackett

More families would be able to access Affordable Care Act subsidies next year, under a rule proposed by the Biden administration Tuesday.

Study of wealthy nations finds American women most likely to die of preventable causes, pregnancy complications. Researchers with the Commonwealth Fund pulled data from the fund’s 2020 International Health Policy Survey and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Statistics on health care were compared among Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US. Among US women ages 18 to 49, just over a quarter rated their country’s health care system as good or very good. In every other country, a majority of women in this age group gave their health care system a positive rating.

Tennessee bill would eliminate age requirements for marriages, opponents say. A bill proposal making its way through Tennessee legislature that would establish a common-law marriage between “one man” and “one woman.”…Opponents of the bill say it would eliminate an age requirement, opening the door for a coverup of child sex abuse.

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

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

Monday, April 4, 2022

And another day of considerations, securing backing, blue and red states moving farther apart, ‘firmly on track toward an unlivable world,’ not calling it retaliation, Musk takes stake in Twitter, handguns and homicide risks, road-rage, and ‘ravenous’ jumping worms comes to a close:

“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you cannot help them, at least do not hurt them” -- Dalai Lama

Deaths

US: 1,008,679 (+481)

World: 6,179,143 (+2986)

Cases

US: 81,867,963 (+35,351)

World: 492,781,338 (+1,024,799)

Editorial: If you saved $365,000 every single day for 2000 years, you still would not have as much wealth as Elon Musk. Think very hard about that.

Moscow has repeatedly warned Finland and Sweden of 'serious military and political consequences' if they join NATO. Even so, they are considering it.

Jackson secures more bipartisan backing for Supreme Court nomination as 3 Republicans endorse her in procedural vote. The 53-47 vote included support from all 50 Democrats and Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah. Murkowski and Romney announced their support for Jackson as the procedural vote was taking place.

Poll: Americans really didn't like how Republicans treated Ketanji Brown Jackson. False, malicious attacks involving child porn don’t go over so well, it turns out…But don’t expect Cruz and Hawley to care much about the broader public reception. The intended audience for their malicious performances absolutely ate it up—and that’s likely all that matters to these senators.

Flurry of New Laws Move Blue and Red States Further Apart. The flurry of action, particularly in the West, is intensifying already marked differences between life in liberal- and conservative-led parts of the country. And it’s a sign of the consequences when state governments are controlled increasingly by single parties…“We’re further and further polarizing and fragmenting, so that blue states and red states are becoming not only a little different but radically different,” said Jon Michaels, a law professor who studies government at UCLA. Americans have been sorting into opposing partisan camps for at least a generation, choosing more and more to live among like-minded neighbors, while legislatures, through gerrymandering, are reinforcing their states’ political identities by solidifying one-party rule…Some Republican bills are bold at first glance but vaguely worded. Some appear designed largely to energize base voters. Many, however, send a strong cultural message. And divisions will widen further, said Peverill Squire, an expert on state legislatures at the University of Missouri, if the Supreme Court hands more power over to the states on issues like abortion and voting, as it did when it said in 2019 that partisan gerrymandering was beyond federal jurisdiction…“We may be heading into a future where you could have conservative states and progressive states deciding they are better off pushing their own visions of what government should be.”

UN warns Earth ‘firmly on track toward an unlivable world’. Temperatures on Earth will shoot past a key danger point unless greenhouse gas emissions fall faster than countries have committed, the world’s top body of climate scientists said Monday, warning of the consequences of inaction but also noting hopeful signs of progress.

‘It’s Now Or Never’: We Have 3 Years to Reverse Course, Major Climate Report Finds. If anything could motivate world leaders out of climate apathy, it's this latest IPCC warning. -- We’ll see if they get motivated.

No obituary for Earth: Scientists fight climate doom talk. It’s not the end of the world. It only seems that way. Climate change is going to get worse, but as gloomy as the latest scientific reports are, including today’s from the United Nations, scientist after scientist stresses that curbing global warming is not hopeless. The science says it is not game over for planet Earth or humanity. Action can prevent some of the worst if done soon, they say.

Magic no more? DeSantis questions Disney's special operating city in Florida. The Reedy Creek Improvement District, a special administrative zone that is the site of Walt Disney World, has decades of history in Florida. Imagine if Disney had to go through its local planning and zoning board to build a new castle. Or if it suddenly had to rely on Orange County, Florida, and other local jurisdictions to pick up its trash. Or if it could no longer sell its own bonds to build roads in its parks. That's what could happen if some Florida legislators get their way. — DeSantis is trying to spin it as not retaliation, but yet he clearly didn’t have a problem with the arrangement before Disney spoke out against his hateful Don’t Say Gay law.

The worst people on the planet are cheering the reelection of Hungary's authoritarian leader. Viktor Orbán has pioneered a form of “illiberal democracy” that the American right increasingly looks to for inspiration.

Suddenly, Tesla’s Elon Musk is Twitter’s biggest stakeholder. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has taken a 9% stake in Twitter to become its largest shareholder after raising questions about the social media platform’s dedication to free speech. The ultimate aim of Musk’s 73.5 million share purchase worth $2.9 billion, based on the closing price Friday, is not clear. Yet in recent weeks Musk, who has 80 million Twitter followers and posts there often, has questioned free speech on Twitter and whether the platform is undermining democracy…His Twitter stock purchase comes as Musk is locked into a bitter dispute with U.S. securities regulators over his ability to post on Twitter. Musk’s lawyer has contended in court motions that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is infringing on the Tesla CEO’s First Amendment rights…The SEC brought a securities fraud charge, alleging that Musk was manipulating the stock price with his posts. — Elon Musk represents much of what’s wrong in this world. Also, see editorial at the top of today’s post. 

Study finds higher homicide risk in homes with handguns. Most U.S. gun owners say they own firearms to protect themselves and their loved ones, surveys show. But a study published Monday suggests people who live with handgun owners are shot to death at a higher rate than those who don’t have such weapons at home. “We found zero evidence of any kind of protective effects” from living in a home with a handgun...The study has several shortcomings. For example, the researchers said they could not determine which victims were killed by the handgun owners or with the in-home weapons. They couldn’t account for illegal guns and looked only at handguns, not rifles or other firearms. The dataset also was limited to registered voters in California who were 21 and older. It’s not clear that the findings are generalizable to the whole state, let alone to the rest of the country, the authors acknowledged.

Road-rage shootings see ‘worst year on record’ in 2021. More than 500 people in the U.S. were killed or wounded while driving last year. More than 500 people in the U.S. were killed or wounded in road-rage shootings in 2021, the "worst year on record" for gun violence on streets and highways, according to analysis released Monday by Everytown for Gun Safety.

With students in turmoil, US teachers train in mental health. Since the pandemic started, experts have warned of a mental health crisis facing American children. That is now playing out at schools in the form of increased childhood depression, anxiety, panic attacks, eating disorders, fights and thoughts of suicide at alarming levels, according to interviews with teachers, administrators, education officials and mental health experts.

Efforts to ban books jumped an 'unprecedented' four-fold in 2021, ALA report says. But the American Library Association said Monday that this year there have been more challenges to books than they have seen since they started tracking it in 2000…Additionally, the ALA cannot track what they call "silent censorship," when individuals take it upon themselves to make sure that books cannot be found in libraries — hiding them in drawers, tossing them out, or simply taking them off the shelves. This often leads to books being listed in library catalogues but never able to be found when looking for them.

THC and CBD exposure in womb linked to childhood obesity, higher blood sugar, study says. Pregnant women who were exposed to cannabis products that contained THC and CBD were more likely to have children with increased fat mass and blood sugar levels at age 5, a new pilot study found. "So some women may use it in pregnancy, thinking that it's a safe alternative to other medicines, even prescribed medications," Moore said. "Yet studies show connections between marijuana use during pregnancy and low-birth weight in babies and behavioral problems later in childhood, and there may be links to glucose and weight issues as well."

Woman dies after eating cannabis gummy sweet. A man has been charged with possession with intent to supply Class B synthetic cannabinoid, being concerned in the supply of a synthetic cannabinoid and possession with intent to supply a psychoactive substance. — So they could have done a better job writing that headline. 

‘Ravenous’ jumping worms are spreading in US. ‘Only takes one to create a new invasion’. Invasive jumping worms are a type of earthworm, and they “devour organic matter more rapidly…stripping the forest of the layer critical for seedlings and wildflowers,” according to Cornell. It’s believed that the first Asian jumping earthworms were recorded in the late 19th century, and they can be found in the woods, parks, backyards and even compost piles…The worms are gray and brown and are identifiable by a white band that circles their tube-like body. — They also don’t need a mate to reproduce. 

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

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

Sunday, April 3, 2022

And another day of watching history repeat comes to a close. Genocide, rape, and torture, plus heart issues from Covid, doctors denying care because of ‘conscience,’ mass shootings, rich companies using bankruptcy, and regulating boarding schools:

“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” -- Voltaire

“REMINDER: Ginni Thomas's transgressions are more important than Will Smith's. Stay focused, people.” -- Mrs. Betty Bowers

“When Republicans get back into power, Apple and Disney have to understand one thing: Everything will be on the table, your copyright/trademark protection, your special status in certain states, and even your corporate structure itself…” -- Laura Ingraham (So much for “cancel culture” and “free markets.”)

“Narrator: Once again, Laura Ingraham decides to let the whole world know she’s a fascist bigoted amoral anti-LGBTQ anti-freedom anti-choice anti-free market propaganda-vomiting regressive dumbass bobblehead succubus hellbent on destroying Democracy.” -- The USA Singers

“It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.’ — Voltaire

Deaths

US: 1,008,198

World: 6,176,157

Cases

US: 81,832,612

World: 491,756,539

Hundreds of murdered civilians discovered as Russians withdraw from towns near Kyiv — As towns of Bucha and Irpin were retaken from withdrawing Russian forces, horrific photos and videos began to flow in. Ruined houses, burned-down cars, and bodies of civilians scattered around the streets. The photos appear to prove that the Russian forces carried out targeted, organized killings of civilians in Bucha, particularly of men: They are often found shot dead, with their hands tied behind their backs…Despite the Russian authorities claiming that their forces are not targeting civilians in Ukraine, there is clear evidence of the opposite.

Ukraine documents alleged atrocities by retreating Russians. Ukraine’s troops found brutalized bodies with bound hands, gunshot wounds to the head and signs of torture after Russian soldiers withdrew from the outskirts of Kyiv, authorities said Sunday, sparking new calls for a war crimes investigation and sanctions against Russia. Associated Press journalists in Bucha, a small city northwest of the capital, saw the bodies of at least nine people in civilian clothes who appeared to have been killed at close range. At least two had their hands tied behind their backs. The AP also saw two bodies wrapped in plastic, bound with tape and thrown into a ditch.

‘All wars are like this’: rape used as a weapon of war in Ukraine. Women and girls have recounted the abuse they have suffered at the hands of Russian soldiers. Particularly difficult for many to comprehend is the scale of the sexual violence. As Russian troops have withdrawn from towns and suburbs around the capital in order to refocus the war effort on Ukraine’s east, women and girls have come forward to tell the police, media and human rights organisations of atrocities they have suffered at the hands of Russian soldiers. Gang-rapes, assaults taking place at gunpoint, and rapes committed in front of children are among the grim testimonies collected by investigators.

At least 20 bodies seen in one street in town near Kyiv. The bodies of at least 20 men in civilian clothes were found lying in a single street Saturday after Ukrainian forces retook the town of Bucha near Kyiv from Russian troops, AFP journalists said. One of the bodies of the men had his hands tied, and the corpses were strewn over several hundred meters of the residential road in the suburban town northwest of the capital...An open Ukrainian passport lay on the ground next to the person who had his hands tied behind his back with a piece of white cloth. All were wearing civilian clothes – winter coats, jackets or tracksuit tops, jeans or jogging bottoms, and trainers or boots.

Fifty-seven people have been buried in a mass grave in Bucha, a town outside Kyiv recently retaken by Ukrainian forces from Russian troops, a local official says.

"This is genocide." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Editorial:  When you ask yourself what would you have done during the Nazi regime in Germany before and during WWII, know that whatever you’re doing right now is your answer.

“You remember when Trump as President threatened to send the Army into Chicago? 

“And Republicans cheered that idea? 

“When he paraded tanks through our capitol? 

“And Republicans cheered? 

“Do you? 

“It's all part of the same mindset, one that ends in genocide. Every time.”

— Stonekettle

Heart issues more common after Covid infection than vaccination, CDC reports. Compared to vaccination, Covid-19 itself is far more likely to lead to heart problems in teenage boys and young men, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday. The study is the first to compare directly the odds of a type of heart inflammation called myocarditis following an infection versus vaccination — providing a clearer understanding of the real risk for heart problems and perhaps offering comfort to parents and young men who have had questions about the risks and benefits of the vaccine.

Covid cases are down. Unfortunately, stomach flu outbreaks are up. As Covid restrictions are lifted, people are gathering more, which could be behind an uptick in stomach bugs.

GOP Makes "Price Gouge Diabetics on Insulin" Part of Its Official Party Platform. While the House of Representatives passed a bill capping the cost of insulin on Thursday night with unanimous Democratic support, a mere 12 Republicans voted for the legislation, with 193 voting against it (five didn‘t vote at all). In other words, the House GOP was offered an opportunity to support making insulin more affordable for millions of Americans, and the response from most was: “Eh, we’d rather they continue paying through the nose.”

South Carolina House passes bill for doctors to deny care that violates "conscience". The bill would excuse medical practitioners, health care institutions and health care payers from providing care that is inconsistent with their personal beliefs. According to the HRC, the bill could enable administrative staff to decline to submit insurance claims or health care providers to override patients’ end of life directives. Receptionists may also be entitled to turn away patients and medical researchers could refuse to publish the results of a state-funded study because the scientific evidence is inconsistent with their personal beliefs. — Our human rights are being taken from us right before our eyes. 

“For many years, the Republican Party has been nothing but a ruse concocted by the corporate power structure using their contrived "culture wars" to persuade a disaffected segment of the American electorate to vote against their own economic interests.” — Col. John Pelham

California mass shooting: 6 dead, 10 injured in Sacramento. Six people were killed and 10 injured in a mass shooting early Sunday as bars and nightclubs were closing in downtown Sacramento and police in California’s state capital were searching for at least one suspect.

One in three LGBT+ Brits abused by their family, disturbing report finds. Galop reported that the abuse ranged from verbal harassment to threats of homelessness and physical violence.

GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker has been overstating his academic achievements for years. For years, Herschel Walker has told the same inspiring story: that he graduated in the top 1% of his class at the University of Georgia. He’s told the story, according to a review of his speeches by CNN’s KFile, during motivational speeches over the years and as recently as 2017. The only problem: it’s not true. Walker, who is a candidate in the Republican primary race for US Senate in Georgia, acknowledged in December that he did not graduate from Georgia after the Atlanta-Journal Constitution first reported that the false claim was listed on his campaign website. -- The word “overstating” is doing a lot of work here. He lied. He’s been lying for years.

“Madison Cawthorn: There are Republican cocaine orgies in Congress.

“Sarah Palin: I’d like to announce that I’m running for Congress.”

-- Adam Parkhomenko

Churches played an active role in slavery and segregation. Some want to make amends. Some churches across denominations are acknowledging that their wealth was often built off of enslaved labor and are committing parts of their endowments to reparations funds.

Rich companies are using a quiet tactic to block lawsuits: bankruptcy. Johnson & Johnson, which is headquartered in New Jersey, is valued at more than $400 billion. But in October 2021, the company used a controversial legal maneuver in bankruptcy court to freeze Wilt's case along with thousands of others. The company had faced some 38,000 lawsuits claiming that trace amounts of asbestos contamination in Johnson's baby powder caused ovarian cancer and mesothelioma...But with most of the cases — including Wilt's — still pending, the company found a way to stop the legal process in civil court, using a complex bankruptcy strategy known in legal circles as the "Texas two-step." Here's how the maneuver worked. First, last October, J&J spun off a subsidiary in Texas called LTL. Then, using a wrinkle in Texas state law, J&J was able to transfer all of the potential liability linked to the tsunami of baby powder asbestos claims into the shell of the new company, while keeping valuable assets separate. LTL then quickly filed for bankruptcy in North Carolina. That move immediately halted the baby powder cases, which could remain on hold for months or years...Legal experts tell NPR that a growing number of wealthy companies, organizations and individuals accused of serious wrongdoing are using similar bankruptcy tactics, hoping to delay or permanently block lawsuits. They've found openings in state and federal law that allow them to leverage the sweeping power wielded by bankruptcy judges when cutting deals. But they're not being forced to endure the financial pain and exposure that comes with actually filing for bankruptcy... These bankruptcy maneuvers have quietly reshaped some of the most important legal cases of recent years. -- They include members of the Sackler family (Purdue Pharma), the Koch brothers, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and the Boy Scouts. We are all pawns in a game that was designed to do nothing but make rich people richer.

Missouri regulates boarding schools after abuse allegations. The schools are unrelated and are not affiliated with any particular Christian denomination. But both opened in southwest Missouri under a 1982 state law that gave religious boarding schools free rein and the state no way to monitor how kids were educated. Even the health department had no oversight, including for schools that claimed to address mental health, behavioral and addiction issues. The new law approved last year followed extensive reporting from The Kansas City Star that found that several faith-based boarding schools, including Agape, relocated to Missouri after being investigated or shut down for abuse or neglect elsewhere...Missouri’s new law sets minimum health and safety requirements for boarding schools, which still don’t have to be licensed. The law mandates background checks for employees; requires adequate food, clothing and medical care for students; and says parents must be allowed access to their children at any time without prior notice.

States look for solutions as US fentanyl deaths keep rising. As the addiction and overdose crisis that has gripped the U.S. for two decades turns even deadlier, state governments are scrambling for ways to stem the destruction wrought by fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.

Oregon decriminalized drugs in 2020: How’s it going? With Oregon being the first state in America to decriminalize possession of personal-use amounts of heroin, methamphetamine, LSD, oxycodone and other drugs, its program is being watched as a potential model for other states. - It was a beginning, but more needs to be done.

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

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

Friday, April 1, 2022

And another day of a ‘precarious’ spot, less details about activities, record low hospitalizations, cutting retirement benefits, Cawthorn blaming Dems, it’s really bad for teachers, 40mpg, unions, housing the homeless, legalizing weed, Palin is back, and Smith resigns comes to a close:

“If you think cancel culture is a thing, you should definitely be angry about the GOP attacking Disney. If you're not, then you never cared about policing speech. You just wanted to be able to say shitty things without consequences.” — The Rude Pundit

Deaths

US: 1,007,989 (+669)

World: 6,171,238 (+4262)

Cases

US: 81,813,515 (+33,012)

World: 490,043,267 (+1,476,793)

Jan. 6 panel puts Garland in ‘precarious’ spot, ups pressure. Lawmakers investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol are increasingly going public with critical statements, court filings and more to deliver a blunt message to Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice. President Donald Trump and his allies likely committed crimes, they say. And it’s up to you to do something about it.

Trump's presidential diarist tells Jan. 6 committee White House officials provided less detail about his activities days before riot. Other witnesses also have told the panel there was significantly less information being shared with those involved in White House record-keeping during the same time period, according to three sources familiar with the investigation. One source described how White House record-keepers appeared to be "iced out" in the days leading up to January 6.

Number of COVID patients in US hospitals reaches record low. COVID-19 hospitalization numbers have plunged to their lowest levels since the early days of the pandemic, offering a much needed break to health care workers and patients alike following the omicron surge. The number of patients hospitalized with the coronavirus has fallen more than 90% in more than two months, and some hospitals are going days without a single COVID-19 patient in the ICU for the first time since early 2020.

Romney suggests cutting retirement benefits for younger Americans. In comments to the Senate budget committee on Wednesday, the Republican senator from Utah said that the spiraling costs of retirement programs had to be tackled to bring national debt under control. Romney raised the politically controversial idea of cutting benefits, but only for younger generations before they reach retirement age…The programs in question include two of the most popular benefits in the country – social security and Medicare, which make up more than 40% of government spending.

Cawthorn responds to GOP backlash over ‘orgy’ comments by blaming Democrats for his remarks. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., broke his silence Friday after days of GOP uproar over his remarks on a podcast claiming congressional colleagues were using drugs and inviting him to sex parties. But in a lengthy statement, Cawthorn attempted to distance himself from his own comments by suggesting it was Democrats and the media that made the allegations about cocaine use and orgies...On the podcast, Cawthorn discussed “the sexual perversion that goes on in Washington” and said some of his older colleagues had invited him to orgies. “I mean, being kind of a young guy in Washington, where the average age is probably 60 to 70, and I look at all these people, a lot of them that I’ve looked up to through my life — I’ve always paid attention to politics — then all of a sudden you get invited,” Cawthorn said, quoting one such alleged exchange. “‘Oh, hey, we’re going to have kind of a sexual get-together at one of our homes. You should come.’ I’m like, ‘What did you just ask me to come to?’ Then you realize they’re asking you to come to an orgy,” Cawthorn, 26, said. -- Yeah, the Democrats made that up? What a bunch of horse shit, Cawthorn. Own what you said.

Sarah Palin announces run for Congress in Alaska. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin announced on Friday that she is running for Congress, seeking to fill the state's lone US House seat after the death of longtime Rep. Don Young.

Teachers In America Were Already Facing Collapse. COVID Only Made It Worse. Teachers all over the country describe problems that touch every aspect of our culture and society, from technology dependence to stats-obsessed bureaucracy to a post-COVID behavior crisis. Left with no comprehensive way to staunch the flow of quitting teachers, the system has leaned on nominal stopgaps aimed at helping teachers cope. These may include professional development sessions focused on mental health and self-care, or regular school-wide appreciation emails. A teacher friend of Joe, the high school teacher in upstate New York, recently received a self-care kit from their school’s administration that came with a sheet of “reminders” printed out in colorful type on a sheet of paper. The advice includes affirmations like “I deserve to take care of myself” and “I am important & good at what I do.” Joe sent me a photo of it. “It’s my classroom & I can cry if I want to,” reads one of these reminders. “Teaching is rewarding, but hard work. It’s okay to cry in a bathroom stall.” “I don’t think you could go anywhere besides an Amazon warehouse and see a sign that says you can cry in the bathroom, it’s OK,” Joe said. “For $56,000.”

We All Know Teachers Are Underpaid. But Who Imagined It Was This Bad? Rothrock’s story is not exceptional—at least in her line of work, in this country. If she were any other highly educated American professional, that might be different. But Rothrock is a teacher. That a teacher must work a second, part-time job on weeknights and weekends, year-round, more than 20 years into her career, in spite of a master’s degree and a modest lifestyle, is so universally accepted among her peers and colleagues in education that it barely warrants notice…”It’s really kind of disheartening when you think that many teachers not only have bachelor’s degrees but master’s degrees and still have to hustle for their income. It sends a message.”…“The system is clearly broken when we have highly qualified professionals needing to supplement their income to survive, who are one catastrophe—one paycheck—away from complete ruin.” In a national survey of nearly 1,200 classroom teachers conducted in spring 2021 by the Teacher Salary Project, a nonpartisan organization, 82 percent of respondents said they either currently or previously had taken on multiple jobs to make ends meet. Of them, 53 percent said they were currently working multiple jobs, including 17 percent who held jobs unrelated to teaching…Among the public, misconceptions about the teaching profession abound, leading many to view teachers’ side hustles as innocuous. The assumption is that teaching is easy work, with short days ending at 3 p.m. and summers off, making the season well-suited for earning extra wages. Of the 30 teachers I interviewed, whose annual salaries range from $32,000 to $98,000, every single one disputed that idea. So did King, the Education Secretary during the Obama administration and a former classroom teacher…Even before the pandemic, but especially now, teachers are expected to be not only instructors, facilitators, and subject matter experts, but mentors, family liaisons, behavioral interventionists, and whatever else the crisis du jour demands…It’s true that, controlled for levels of education and years of experience, teachers make less money on the dollar than their peers in comparable fields, a concept known as the wage penalty. The Economic Policy Institute has been tracking this for years and found, most recently in 2019, that public school teachers nationally make about 19 percent less than employees in commensurate professions, or about 81 cents on the dollar. The trend has been getting worse over time; the wage penalty for teachers in 1996 was 6 percent.

Qatari official: Rainbow flags may be taken to protect fans. Rainbow flags could be taken from fans at the World Cup in Qatar to protect them from being attacked for promoting gay rights, a senior leader overseeing security for the tournament told The Associated Press. Major General Abdulaziz Abdullah Al Ansari insisted that LGBTQ couples would be welcomed and accepted in Qatar for the Nov. 21-Dec. 18 FIFA showpiece despite same-sex relations remaining criminalized in the conservative Gulf nation. But Al Ansari is against the overt promotion of LGBTQ freedoms as symbolized by the rainbow flag that FIFA and World Cup organizers had previously said would be welcome across Qatar’s eight stadiums.

New vehicles must average 40 mpg by 2026, up from 24 mpg. The new requirements increase gas mileage by 8% per year for model years 2024 and 2025 and 10% in the 2026 model year. For the current model year, standards enacted under Trump require the fleet of new vehicles to get just over 24 miles per gallon in real-world driving.

Chicago to offer prepaid gas cards to residents amid skyrocketing gas prices. “By subsidizing the cost of gas and transit, we’re helping residents get to work, school, the grocery store, the medical office or wherever they need to get to. Enabling physical mobility directly ties into economic mobility,” said Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

In a stunning victory, Amazon workers on Staten Island vote for a union. Amazon workers at a warehouse in Staten Island, New York, have voted to unionize, a first for Amazon, and a stunning win for a grassroots campaign led by former and current Amazon employees. The historic vote was 2,654 for the union to 2,131 against.

Los Angeles agrees to spend $3 billion to house homeless residents. The money would pay for up to 16,000 beds over the next five years, while more than 41,000 people currently live on the streets.

California snowpack is critically low, signaling another year of devastating drought. Snowpack in the California Sierra this winter is just 38% of normal, California water officials said Friday, in the latest sign the state's drought is growing more devastating by the month.

March sets record for most tornado reports. As of Friday morning, the current preliminary number was 233 tornado reports, breaking the record of 225 reports in 2012, with records going back to the year 2000.

The House passed it, Americans want it: Why is legal weed still a long shot? Most Americans think it’s time to legalize weed. A whopping 91 percent of our Republic says that marijuana should be allowed for medical use, according to the Pew Research Center, and nearly two thirds support legalizing it recreationally, as well. Recreational weed is already legal in 18 states, and decriminalized in 13 more. It seems like federal legalization is only a matter of time. But Congress isn’t always the best conduit for making public opinion into federal law—it just happens to be the only one we have. So, when the House approved a bill to decriminalize marijuana today, the vote fell mostly along party lines and came with the knowledge that there’s not too much hope for full legalization.

Will Smith resigns from film academy over Chris Rock slap. Will Smith resigned Friday from the motion picture academy following his Oscars night slap of Chris Rock and said he would accept any further punishment the organization imposed. Smith in a statement released Friday afternoon said he will “fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct. My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable.”

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

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