Friday, January 21, 2022

And another day of executive orders, ‘last anniversaries,’ other health problems, where you’re most likely to catch COVID, vaxxing preteens without parental consent, ‘stand your ground’ laws, and ‘like a bat out of hell I’ll be gone when the morning comes’ comes to a close:

“This right-wing push against CRT is completely manufactured to rile up the base and long-term to chip away at any attempts of racial equity. And it's as damnably obvious as it is appalling.” — Phil Plait

“Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.” — Robin Williams 

Deaths

US: 887,643 (+3740)

World: 5,603,566 (+10,310)

Cases

US: 71,394,579 (+839,717)

World: 346,968,115 (+3,908,389)

DOJ wants Oath Keepers leader to remain in jail pending trial for seditious conspiracy charge related to US Capitol attack. "There are no conditions of release that can reasonably assure the safety of the community or the defendant's appearance in court," prosecutors wrote in a court filing on Thursday. "And based on Rhodes's evidence destruction aimed at hiding his crimes and the identities of his co-conspirators, he poses a risk of obstructing justice should he be released."

Oath Keepers Anticipated “a Bloody and Desperate Fight” to Overturn the Election for Trump. US prosecutors paint a chilling picture of the extremist group’s alleged seditious conspiracy. One filing, a detention memo in the case against Oath Keeper Edwards Vallejo of Arizona, hints that more people could yet be charged in connection with the conspiracy. Evidence it contains also shows that extremists have embraced Trump’s most recent rhetoric reinforcing the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him through fraud, messaging that continues to fuel a violent far-right movement. — Yes. It was an attempted coup.

Read the never-issued Trump order that would have seized voting machines. Among the records that Donald Trump’s lawyers tried to shield from Jan. 6 investigators are a draft executive order that would have directed the defense secretary to seize voting machines and a document titled “Remarks on National Healing.” The executive order — which also would have appointed a special counsel to probe the 2020 election — was never issued, and the remarks were never delivered. Together, the two documents point to the wildly divergent perspectives of White House advisers and allies during Trump’s frenetic final weeks in office.

Activists look ahead to what could be the 'last anniversary' for Roe. Nationwide polls suggest a majority of Americans support abortion rights. But years of activism by abortion rights opponents at all levels of government have brought Roe v. Wade and related precedent closer than ever to being reversed.

Booster shots needed against omicron, CDC studies show. Three studies released Friday offered more evidence that COVID-19 vaccines are standing up to the omicron variant, at least among people who received booster shots. They are the first large U.S. studies to look at vaccine protection against omicron, health officials said.

Omicron surge is undermining care for other health problems. The omicron surge this winter has not only swamped U.S. hospitals with record numbers of patients with COVID-19, it has also caused frightening moments and major headaches for people trying to get treatment for other ailments. Less-urgent procedures have been put on hold around the country, such as cochlear implant surgeries and steroid injections for rheumatoid arthritis. And people with all sorts of medical complaints have had to wait in emergency rooms for hours longer than usual. -- Thanks, anti-vaxxers.

Where you’re most likely to catch COVID: New study highlights high-risk locations. Researchers behind the paper analyzed outbreaks and superspreader events and studied factors that hinder and aid the virus’ spread, to design a mathematical model that takes many factors into account before giving a percentage risk of infection. The percentage isn’t a perfectly accurate estimate, but it helps answer several complex questions: In what situations am I mostly likely to catch COVID-19? Least likely? And how likely is “likely?”

The Washington State Department of Health has launched a website for Washington residents to get free at-home COVID tests delivered to their door. Between the state and federal programs, each home in Washington will qualify for up to nine free at-home COVID-19 tests. However, the convenience comes with a potential downside if self-testing jeopardizes the accuracy of statewide case counts.

Preteens may be vaxed without parents under California bill. California would allow children age 12 and up to be vaccinated without their parents’ consent, the youngest age of any state, under a proposal late Thursday by a state senator. Alabama allows such decisions at age 14, Oregon at 15, Rhode Island and South Carolina at 16, according to Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco who is proposing the change. Only Washington, D.C., has a lower limit, at age 11. Wiener argued that California already allows those 12 and up to consent to the Hepatitis B and Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines, and to treatment for sexually transmitted infections, substance abuse and mental health disorders. “Giving young people the autonomy to receive life-saving vaccines, regardless of their parents’ beliefs or work schedules, is essential for their physical and mental health,” he said. “It’s unconscionable for teens to be blocked from the vaccine because a parent either refuses or cannot take their child to a vaccination site.”

LGBTQ dating ban at BYU probed in federal investigation. Students at Brigham Young University, a private religious school, can be punished for holding hands or kissing someone of the same sex.

Kansas teen’s death has spotlight on ‘stand your ground’ law. Now even some Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature who support the idea behind the law want to revisit it. The reason: A prosecutor said this week that it prevented him from criminally charging employees of a juvenile intake center in Wichita in the death of a Black teenager who’d been restrained on the ground on his stomach, shackled and handcuffed for more than 30 minutes. Police took 17-year-old Cedric Lofton to the center after a foster care agency said he needed a mental health exam for increasingly erratic behavior. Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said any criminal charges were likely to be dismissed by a judge because Bennett concluded that the juvenile center’s employees believed they were acting in self-defense during the Sept. 24 altercation with Lofton. He said that Kansas courts have expanded self-defense rights to the point that, “How could any cop ever be prosecuted, then, for shooting somebody?” -- ‘Stand your ground’ laws are fucking bullshit.

The IRS has made tax season even worse, somehow. Tax season is quickly approaching. If you’re anything like me, you’re already annoyed by the mere prospect of having to interact with the International Revenue Service and all its bureaucracy. This year though, we have the added bonus of the IRS requiring you to scan your face to file taxes online. Not only is this an annoying, extra step, but it immediately begs the question: Why the hell is the IRS buying into surveillance software?…So what exactly is ID.me? As Krebs described, ID.me is an online identity verification service. To use it, people have to provide the company with a government identification document, copies of their bills, and a selfie. — WTF?

Nanoplastic pollution found at both of Earth’s poles for first time. Tiny particles including tyre dust found in ice cores stretching back 50 years, showing global plastic contamination.

Thelma Sutcliffe, the oldest living person in the US, has died at age 115. Born on Oct. 1, 1906, in Omaha, Nebraska, Sutcliffe was 115 years and 108 days old at the time of her death.

RIP Louie Anderson. He was 68.

RIP Meat Loaf. He was 74.

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

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

Thursday, January 20, 2022

And another day of grand juries, shredding voting rights, election police, SCOTUS again bails on TX abortion law, felonies for medical professionals in AZ, ‘curriculum transperancy,’ an ex-Pope, superbugs, alcohol, the housing market, and changing M&Ms comes to a close:

“All Republicans have is ‘Fear, Fraud and Fascism.’" — Jaime Harrison

Deaths

US: 883,903 (+2927)

World: 5,593,256 (+9518)

Cases

US: 70,544,862 (+736,512)

World: 343,059,726 (+3,664,179)

Trump campaign officials, led by Rudy Giuliani, oversaw fake electors plot in 7 states. Trump and some of his top advisers publicly encouraged the "alternate electors" scheme in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, Nevada and New Mexico. But behind the scenes, Giuliani and Trump campaign officials actively choreographed the process.

Georgia prosecutor requests special grand jury in Trump election probe. Fulton County DA Fani Willis said some witnesses have refused to cooperate without subpoenas. A special grand jury would have the power to subpoena witnesses.

GOP States Are Shredding Voting Rights and Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema Are Now Complicit. The 48 Democrats who supported reforming the filibuster to pass voting rights legislation represented 34 million more Americans than the 52 senators (every Republican plus Manchin and Sinema) who upheld it.

Voting rights fight shifts back to statehouses as Senate Democrats fail to advance national protections. Just weeks from the first primaries of the 2022 midterm elections, the fight over voting rights is unfolding again at the state level -- with Republicans in several swing states proposing new measures that would make it harder to vote.

Why Texas election officials are rejecting hundreds of vote-by-mail applications. Several counties in Texas have reported rejecting hundreds of vote-by-mail applications in the past week because of confusion over new ID requirements created by a Republican-backed law that went into effect last month. The Texas law, known as Senate Bill 1, requires that people provide either a partial Social Security number or a driver's license number on their application for a mail-in ballot — and that number has to match the identification on their voter registration. The problem is this: A lot of people don't remember what form of ID they put on their registration. That's especially true if they registered to vote decades ago.

“African American voters are voting in just as high a percentage as Americans.” — Mitch McConnell (WTF? This is who Mitch McConnell is. His blatant racism aside, though, he is referring to the past election turnout, which of course is why the GOP is making it more difficult for POC to vote in the next election. Fucking racists.)

"In this country, American means white. Everybody else has to hyphenate." -- Toni Morrison

Boebert asked Jewish visitors to Capitol if they were doing "reconnaissance". Boebert is said to have seen the group of visitors on Thursday, looked at them “head to toe” and asked if they were visiting the Capitol to do “reconnaissance,” one person who saw the interaction told the outlet. -- Fucking disgusting.

GOP gubernatorial candidate David Perdue calls for new election police unit in Georgia. Perdue's plan would create "an Election Law Enforcement Division in the State of Georgia" that would "be charged with enforcing election laws, investigating election crimes and fraud, and arresting those who commit these offenses," according to a release from his campaign. Perdue's plan also called for "election results to be independently audited before certification." — The GOP has decided they want their own Gestapo. 

Jan. 6 committee requests interview with Ivanka Trump. The House committee investigating the U.S. Capitol insurrection is asking Ivanka Trump, daughter of former President Donald Trump, to voluntarily cooperate as lawmakers make their first public attempt to arrange an interview with a Trump family member.

DeSantis administration puts Florida health director on leave for encouraging vaccinations for his staff. Pino had written in a Jan. 4 email to his staff: “I have a hard time understanding how we can be in public health and not practice it,” WMFE, a public radio station in Orlando, reported. — This is crazy. 

Supreme Court for third time allows Texas to bar abortions after six weeks. The U.S. Supreme Court has once again let the lower courts delay in addressing a Texas law that for four months has, for all practical purposes, made abortion in Texas illegal after six weeks of pregnancy, when many women do not yet know they are pregnant.

States with weaker gun laws have higher rates of firearm-related homicides and suicides, study finds. A new study published Thursday by a leading non-profit organization that focuses on gun violence prevention found that there is a direct correlation in states with weaker gun laws and higher rates of gun deaths, including homicides, suicides and accidental killings.

Pope Benedict failed to act against abusive priests when he was archbishop in the 1970s and 1980s in Germany, report finds. The archdiocese and the law firm said that top church officials had been informed of the results ahead of its publication. However, in a statement to NBC News, the Vatican said the report's "contents are presently unknown."

Tennessee-based adoption agency refuses to help couple because they're Jewish. A Knoxville couple is suing the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, saying a state-sponsored Christian-based adoption agency refused to help them because they are Jewish. It is the state’s first lawsuit to challenge a new law that allows religious adoption agencies to deny service to families whose religious or moral beliefs aren't in sync with the provider's. — Who could have ever seen that coming? Um…almost everyone! “Religious freedom” laws promote and encourage hatred towards others.

Arizona medical professionals who perform gender-affirming surgery or provide hormonal treatment to transgender or gender nonconforming minors would face felony charges and prison time under a proposed law from a northern Arizona legislator. Sen. Wendy Rogers, R-Flagstaff, proposed Senate Bill 1045 to prohibit medical procedures that affirm the gender identity of children and teens who are transgender. The law would ban medical staff from doing gender affirming surgeries on transgender minors and prescribing testosterone to transgender men or estrogen to transgender women who are under 18. Health professionals would be guilty of a Class 4 felony, with a prison sentence one to three years. SB1045 would also prohibit a teacher, nurse, counselor or any other school staff from withholding information about a transgender student’s gender identity from the child’s parent…“It is dangerous,” Starzyk said. “It is deadly because if (children) don’t have the foundational information, if they have nobody they can turn and oftentimes is the only one they can turn to is the professional at school before, (the legislature) is laying the foundation for students suicides.” — Stop this shit, AZ. 

NCAA adopts new policy for transgender athletes. The NCAA has adopted a sport-by-sport approach for transgender athletes, bringing the organization in line with the U.S. and International Olympic Committees.

They fought critical race theory. Now they’re focusing on ‘curriculum transparency.’ Conservative activists want schools to post lesson plans online, but free speech advocates warn such policies could lead to more censorship in K-12 schools. Lawmakers in at least 12 states have introduced legislation to require schools to post lists of all of their teaching materials online, including books, articles and videos. The governors of Arizona, Florida and Iowa, who have previously raised concerns about how teachers discuss racism’s impact on politics and society, called for curriculum transparency laws in speeches to their legislatures this month. -- Remember, the GOP goal is to abolish public education. They may just very well succeed because who would want to be a teacher under all this bullshit?

The CIA says that the mysterious symptoms known as Havana Syndrome are not the result of a sustained global campaign by a hostile power. In about two dozen cases, the agency cannot rule out foreign involvement, including many of the cases that originated at the U.S. Embassy in Havana beginning in 2016. Another group of cases is considered unresolved. But in hundreds of other cases of possible symptoms, the agency has found plausible alternative explanations, the sources said. The CIA declined to comment.

Antibiotic-resistant superbugs kill more people than AIDS or malaria: study. More than a million people worldwide die each year from infections linked to microbes resistant to antibiotics, a new study has found. Researchers describe the threat as "one of the greatest challenges facing humanity."

No amount of alcohol is good for the heart, new report says, but critics disagree on science. In a bold move, the World Health Federation released a policy brief Thursday saying that no amount of alcohol is good for the heart.

Something Has to Give in the Housing Market. Or Does It? Two years into the pandemic, rundown bungalows command bidding wars, buyers keep snatching up places they have never seen, and homebuilders can’t find enough cabinet doors for everyone who wants a new home. The median price for an American home is up nearly 20% in a year. The for-sale inventory is at a new low. And the hopeful buyers left on the sidelines have helped drive up rents instead...“It’s not a bubble, it really is about the fundamentals,” said Jenny Schuetz, a housing researcher at the Brookings Institution. “It really is about supply and demand — not enough houses, and huge numbers of people wanting homes.”

The M&Ms are different now. So far, 2022 has not been very different from recent years, in that every day America seems to wake to what I can only call immensely bad news…And oh yeah, did you hear, they’re getting rid of the go-go boots on the goddamn green M&M?…The changes to the M&M characters are mainly as follows, according to CBS: the red M&M, who is generally known for being a pain, will be nicer. The orange one “will embrace his true self, worries and all,” whatever that means, and is being angled toward Gen Z. (You know, because he’s anxious.) The brown M&M will have shorter heels, and the green M&M will be reduced to a pair of sneakers (still unclear if they are actually dating or not). Yellow and blue appear to be coming out of this move relatively unscathed, although it’s unclear what makes them so much better than the rest of the gang. According to Mars, which has faced accusations of human rights violations, these changes are meant to reflect a “more dynamic, progressive world.” It might seem that they have failed to see the progressiveness of their green M&M, their crown jewel, who for as long as the public can remember has been unafraid of her own sexuality. However, it is obvious, and maddening for reasons I can barely articulate, that Mars knows the extent of her power and yet chose to downgrade her just the same.

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

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

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

And another day of votes, SCOTUS rulings, reducing polling places, the NY AG and Trump, Putin paying a ‘dear price,’ FL shielding whites from discomfort, the US economy not working for POC, TX college students confront anxiety, and malicious QR codes comes to a close:

“The folks who called us snowflakes would like to ban teaching anything that might make someone feel uncomfortable…” — Jess Piper

“You cannot be pro-democracy and against voting rights. Simple enough?” -- Ken Olin

“Honestly, no one should be in a voting line long enough to require water.” -- Genetta Adams

Deaths

US: 880,976 (+3736)

World: 5,583,738 (+10,339)

Cases

US: 69,808,350 (+1,042,103)

World: 339,395,547 (+4,089,108)

Voting bill blocked by GOP filibuster, Dems try rules change. Voting legislation that Democrats and civil rights groups argued is vital for protecting democracy was blocked Wednesday by a Republican filibuster, a setback for President Joe Biden and his party after a raw, emotional debate.

Supreme Court allows Jan. 6 committee to get Trump documents. The justices on Wednesday rejected a bid by Trump to withhold the documents from the committee until the issue is finally resolved by the courts. Trump’s lawyers had hoped to prolong the court fight and keep the documents on hold. Following the high court’s action, there is no legal impediment to turning over the documents, which are held by the National Archives and Records Administration. They include presidential diaries, visitor logs, speech drafts and handwritten notes dealing with Jan. 6 from the files of former chief of staff Mark Meadows. -- Only Justice Clarence Thomas dissented.

“The fact that Clarence Thomas continues to fail to recuse himself, given the activities of his wife that are directly related to the insurrection, is mind-boggling.” -- Norman Ornstein

President Biden said he believes Congress can pass "big chunks" of his sweeping social safety net and climate spending plan, Build Back Better, acknowledging that negotiators will have to "fight for the rest later."

Plans to close all but one polling place in a rural Georgia county reverberate through a battleground state. While battles over poll closures often garner little attention, Diaz said, "the procedures that happen behind the scenes can really affect whether your vote matters."…All voting would happen at a central location in Lincolnton, the county seat, under the consolidation plan the elections board is set to consider. But in a community with little reliable public transportation, "the poor and marginalized people won't be able to vote because, bottom line, they won't be able to get to the polls.” — The GOP doesn’t want everyone who has the right to vote, to vote.

New York AG says Trump’s company misled banks, tax officials. In a court filing late Tuesday, lawyers for Attorney General Letitia James told a judge they have not decided whether to bring a lawsuit in connection with the allegations, but that investigators should be allowed to question Trump and his two eldest children under oath as part of the civil probe.

“You see the mob takes the Fifth. If you’re innocent why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?” — Donald Trump (It’s a video)

What comes next in New York’s investigation of Donald Trump. After investigating former President Donald Trump for several years, New York Attorney General Letitia James used a court filing Tuesday to outline much of the evidence her investigators have gathered so far. The legal memo claimed the Republican’s company used “fraudulent or misleading” valuations of its assets while seeking loans and tax breaks. Here’s what this development could mean for Trump and his namesake company:

Biden says Putin will pay ‘dear price’ if he invades Ukraine. President Joe Biden said he believes Vladimir Putin doesn’t want full blown war in Ukraine and would pay a “dear price” if he moves forward with a military incursion.

Florida could shield whites from ‘discomfort’ of racist past. A bill pushed by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that would prohibit public schools and private businesses from making white people feel “discomfort” when they teach students or train employees about discrimination in the nation’s past received its first approval Tuesday…Democrats argued the bill isn’t needed, would lead to frivolous lawsuits and said it would amount to censorship in schools. They asked, without success, for real-life examples of teachers or businesses telling students or employees that they are racist because of their race…DeSantis held a news conference last month in which he called critical race theory “crap,” and said he would seek legislation that would allow parents to sue schools and employees to sue employers if they were subject to its teachings.

“I am reminded of segregationists who justified separate restrooms, elevators, waiting rooms, restaurants, phone booths, water fountains, parks, schools, pools, and even cemeteries by claiming White adults and children felt "discomfort" around Black people. And now this.” — Ibram X. Kendi

US economy 'has never worked fairly for Black Americans—or, really, for any American of color,’ Treasury chief says. The insidious legacy of slavery in the U.S., as well as decades of racist policies that followed, results in systemic economic issues that are still present today -- such as the racial wealth gap, experts said. A Brookings Institution report published last year said that the net worth of a typical white family ($171,000) is nearly 10 times greater than that of a Black family ($17,150) in America, with researchers saying the gaps in wealth between Black and white households "reveal the effects of accumulated inequality and discrimination, as well as differences in power and opportunity that can be traced back to this nation’s inception." Separate and more-recent data from the Federal Reserve indicated that in 2019, the typical White family has eight times the wealth of the typical Black family and five times the wealth of the typical Hispanic family. The Fed dataset indicates that in 2019, the median wealth of a white family in the U.S. was $188,200 and the median wealth of a Black family was some $24,100. The data notably is before the COVID-19 pandemic hit Black and Latino communities with inordinate furor and in many cases widened the gap between the haves and have-nots.

Texas college students confront anxiety, apathy as another pandemic semester begins. As Texas universities and colleges begin a fifth semester during the COVID-19 pandemic, many students say they are struggling with uncertainty and an indifference toward school and the future. “We are forced to act like everything’s OK,” said Kevin Christman, a sociology graduate student at the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley. “We’re close to a million COVID deaths [in the United States] already and the government is like, ‘You guys got to keep working because the economy needs to keep running.’ So it’s just like, what’s the point of it all?”

University of Michigan reaches $490M settlement with sexual abuse accusers. The University of Michigan has agreed to pay $490 million in damages to the more than 1,000 former students, mostly male, who said they were sexually abused by sports doctor Robert Anderson. The announcement appeared to close the book on one of the nation's biggest sex abuse scandals, which involved several generations of victims going back to the 1960s.

Beware scanning malicious QR codes, FBI warns. Here's how to protect yourself. Before you scan that QR code, the FBI has a warning that could keep you from being separated from your money or personal information. "A victim scans what they think to be a legitimate code but the tampered code directs victims to a malicious site, which prompts them to enter login and financial information. Access to this victim information gives the cybercriminal the ability to potentially steal funds through victim accounts." The FBI also said fake QR codes can be used to embed malware onto a victim's phone, giving a scam artist access to the device and potentially any information on it, including financial information. The Bureau said if you become a victim, there is no guarantee law enforcement can get lost funds back to you. Here are some tips from the FBI on how to protect yourself from being taken advantage of.

Rare, pristine coral reef found off Tahiti coast. Deep in the South Pacific, scientists have explored a rare stretch of pristine corals shaped like roses off the coast of Tahiti. The reef is thought to be one of the largest found at such depths and seems untouched by climate change or human activities.

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

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

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

And another day of subpoenas, not happy justices, strategizing against Trump, Sununu tells it like it is, a coming wave of omicron deaths, the WH website for tests goes live, and pausing 5G because of airline disruptions comes to a close:

“The secret of the demagogue is to make himself as stupid as his audience so they believe they are as clever as he.” — Karl Kraus (1874-1936)

"I can't believe what you say because I see what you do." -- James Baldwin

Deaths

US: 877,240 (+2919)

World: 5,573,399 (+9934)

Cases

US: 68,766,247 (+1,135,056)

World: 335,306,439 (+3,895,548)

Republicans Sing Praises of Civil Rights Icon While Blocking Civil Rights. The Republicans proclaiming their reverence Monday for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. make up an all-star roster in the effort to undermine voting rights, a denial of a civil right that disproportionately disenfranchises Black people in the United States.

Rudy Giuliani among Trump allies subpoenaed by Jan. 6 panel. The committee is continuing to widen its scope into Trump’s orbit, this time demanding information and testimony from Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, Sidney Powell and Boris Epshteyn. All four publicly pushed Trump’s baseless voter fraud claims in the months after the election.

Supreme Court justices aren't 'scorpions,' but not happy campers either. Sotomayor has diabetes, a condition that puts her at high risk for serious illness, or even death, from COVID-19. She has been the only justice to wear a mask on the bench since last fall when, amid a marked decline in COVID-19 cases, the justices resumed in-person arguments for the first time since the onset of the pandemic. Now, though, the situation had changed with the omicron surge, and according to court sources, Sotomayor did not feel safe in close proximity to people who were unmasked. Chief Justice John Roberts, understanding that, in some form asked the other justices to mask up. They all did. Except Gorsuch, who, as it happens, sits next to Sotomayor on the bench. His continued refusal since then has also meant that Sotomayor has not attended the justices' weekly conference in person, joining instead by telephone. — Fuck Gorsuch. What a prick. — Anybody who regularly watches Supreme Court arguments is used to seeing testy moments among the justices. But you don't have to be a keen observer these days to see that something out of the ordinary is happening…And, [Feldman] says, if the conservative majority overturns Roe v. Wade, "as it looks like it probably will, it will be doing something the Supreme Court has never done ... in its history, and that is, reverse a fundamental right that ordinary people have enjoyed for 50 years, and say, 'Whoops, ... you never really had this right at all." The court, he maintains, "has never turned back the clock of liberty in that way before." What would be the longer-term consequence of that for the court? Perhaps nothing. It certainly seems preposterous today to imagine enough votes in Congress, especially in the Senate, to expand the size of the court and allow a Democratic president to fill the new seats. And clearly President Biden doesn't want to do that. But some constitutional scholars, like Feldman, see the kind of conservative judicial activism that is unfolding as posing a danger to the court itself not too far down the road. "Abortion, guns and religion are and will always be hot-button front page topics in the United States," Feldman observes, adding that over time, those kinds of decisions "add up," and sooner than one might imagine, there can come a breaking point. "I don't think it will happen through the drip, drip drip," he says. "I think it will happen through the tsunami. But I also think that overturning Roe v. Wade ... could well turn out to be the beginning of that tsunami."

Former Trump administration officials hold call to strategize against former boss' efforts in 2022 and 2024. Around three dozen former Trump administration officials, disillusioned with their former boss and concerned about his impact on the GOP and the nation, held a conference call last Monday to discuss efforts to fend off his efforts to, in their view, erode the democratic process. The only items the group seemed to agree upon in its first meeting, however, were that they're not sure what their way forward should be, and that they are way behind the efforts of former President Donald Trump and his allies to set the stage for 2022, 2024, and beyond. — Even they don’t want him back. And they worked for the motherfucker. 

Chris Sununu explains going from 'pretty close' to no on New Hampshire Senate bid. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu was on the verge of running for Senate and delivering the Republican Party its biggest recruiting coup of 2022. Then he talked it over with Republican senators…Everything changed after the governor consulted with Republican senators about the aspects of serving on Capitol Hill and what to expect for at least the first two years on the job. Sununu did not like what he heard. “They were all, for the most part, content with the speed at which they weren't doing anything. It was very clear that we just have to hold the line for two years. OK, so I'm just going to be a roadblock for two years. That's not what I do,” Sununu said. The governor said the message from virtually every GOP senator he chatted with — and he chatted with most of them — was that they plan to do little more with the majority they are fighting to win this November than obstruct President Joe Biden until, “hopefully,” 2024 ushers a Republican into the White House. “It bothered me that they were OK with that,” Sununu said. More than that, Sununu was “bothered” by Republicans' seeming inability to answer this question: “I said, ‘OK, so if we're going to get stuff done if we win the White House back, why didn't you do it in 2017 and 2018?’” How did the Republicans Sununu spoke with answer his challenge? “Crickets. Yeah, crickets,” the governor said. “They had no answer.” — Republicans have no plan to help the country. Their only goal is to make rich people richer and people who are not rich suffer. Everyone in their ranks knows this. These comments from Sununu prove it. Never forget, we all lose when you vote Republican.

US faces wave of omicron deaths in coming weeks, models say. The fast-moving omicron variant may cause less severe disease on average, but COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. are climbing and modelers forecast 50,000 to 300,000 more Americans could die by the time the wave subsides in mid-March.

The surge of COVID-19 cases related to the omicron variant has become too much for Kansas officials to keep up with. As a result, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment will end its contact tracing program as of Feb. 1. In a news release, KDHE officials said the decision to end the state's contact outreach and monitoring program, also known as contact tracing, was made due to the large surge in cases, and the fact that the public's willingness to participate has diminished since the start of the pandemic.

How to order free at-home Covid tests: White House website goes live. The website says "every home in the U.S. is eligible to order 4 free at-home COVID-19 tests. The tests are completely free. Orders will usually ship in 7-12 days."

AT&T, Verizon pause some new 5G after airlines raise alarm. AT&T and Verizon will delay launching new wireless service near key airports after the nation’s largest airlines said the service would interfere with aircraft technology and cause widespread flight disruptions.

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

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

Monday, January 17, 2022

And another day of shifting preferences, spinning lies and conspiracies, unsealing names, ex-girlfriend immunity, TX soon passing hospitalizations record, France requiring vaccinations, fines in Austria, the ‘Doomsday’ glacier, and a black diamond comes to a close:

“This country has socialism for the rich, rugged individualism for the poor.” -- Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

“Call it democracy, or call it democratic socialism, but there must be a better distribution of wealth within this country.” — Dr. King, 1960

“The time is always right to do what’s right.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

Deaths

US: 874,321 (+757)

World: 5,563,465 (+5723)

Cases

US: 67,631,191 (+635,658)

World: 331,410,891 (+2,606,935)

U.S. Political Party Preferences Shifted Greatly During 2021. On average, Americans' political party preferences in 2021 looked similar to prior years, with slightly more U.S. adults identifying as Democrats or leaning Democratic (46%) than identified as Republicans or leaned Republican (43%). However, the general stability for the full-year average obscures a dramatic shift over the course of 2021, from a nine-percentage-point Democratic advantage in the first quarter to a rare five-point Republican edge in the fourth quarter...Both the nine-point Democratic advantage in the first quarter and the five-point Republican edge in the fourth quarter are among the largest Gallup has measured for each party in any quarter since it began regularly measuring party identification and leaning in 1991.

In Arizona, ground zero for 2024, Trump spins lies and conspiracy theories. If his favored candidates fare well, the former president stands to tighten his stranglehold on the GOP and boost his chances of a comeback.

Ghislaine Maxwell will no longer fight to keep the names of eight 'John Does' secret and will leave it to the court to decide whether the names should be unsealed, according to a letter dated January 12.

Matt Gaetz's ex-girlfriend received immunity for her testimony, an ominous sign for Gaetz. Prosecutors granted immunity to an ex-girlfriend of Representative Matt Gaetz before she testified last week in front of a federal grand jury hearing evidence in the investigation of the congressman…Gaetz has been under investigation to determine if he violated sex trafficking laws and obstructed justice in that probe. Gaetz has previously denied all wrongdoing, and has said he has never paid for sex nor had sex with an underage girl.

Glenn Youngkin, the first Republican governor of Virginia since 2014, is wasting no time enacting policies that will harm the state’s people of color. Here’s a sampling of his day one executive actions:

“Glenn Youngkin is about to yank funding from public schools that require masks. He doesn’t give a damn. His kids go to elite Georgetown Prep which requires masks & vaccinations for all students & staff. GOP treats our kids like trash, while doing all they can to protect their own.” -- Lindy Li

Flashback: McConnell says he's '100 percent' focused on 'stopping' Biden's administration. — No administration can be successful if the other party has a singular focus of saying “no” to just about everything, and then blaming the problems of the country on the current administration—the administration they refuse to work with. McConnell knows this. And he’s been successful doing this shit for years. 

“Republicans are honoring the oppressions MLK devoted his life to overcoming by making sure American schoolchildren never hear about any of them.” — Mrs. Betty Bowers

Texas will soon surpass its previous COVID-19 hospitalization record. Doctors and nurses say they can’t keep up this pace for much longer. “I work 60 hours a week and I don't see my child, I don't see my husband, so that I can come and care for you while you yell at me because you're upset that you have a disease that I told you how to prevent in the first place.”

Israel study: 4th vaccine shows limited results with omicron. An Israeli hospital on Monday said preliminary research indicates a fourth dose of the coronavirus vaccine provides only limited defense against the omicron variant that is raging around the world.

Covid-19 vaccination to be required for athletes competing in France, says sports ministry. France's vaccine pass law, approved by parliament on Sunday, will require people to have a vaccine certificate to enter public places such as restaurants, cafes, cinemas and sports arenas, among others. “The rule is simple. The vaccine pass will be required once the law comes into force in institutions that were already subject to the health pass (sporting or cultural). This will apply to everyone (spectators, professional sportspeople).”

Unvaccinated adults will face fines under Austria's new vaccine mandate. Everyone age 18 and over living in Austria must be vaccinated against Covid-19, according to the latest draft. A few groups of people are exempt, such as pregnant people, people recovered from a Covid-19 infection (who are exempt from 180 days from a positive PCR test), and people who cannot be vaccinated without endangering their health.

“It’s sad how much capitalism has manipulated people into believing that everything must be a competition as opposed to an opportunity for collaboration.” -- Frederick Joseph

Tonga remains cut off after a massive eruption and tsunami. Here's what we know. Saturday's eruption of an underwater volcano near Tonga was likely the biggest recorded anywhere on the planet in more than 30 years, according to experts.

How Explosives, a Robot, and a Sled Expose a “Doomsday” Glacier. Scientists are racing to understand how Thwaites is disintegrating, and to figure out how much time humanity has before the thing causes disastrous sea level rise. The ice shelf could crumble in three to five years, which will dramatically accelerate the decline of the rest of the glacier. Each new satellite image of Thwaites shows deeper and longer fractures that are growing up to six miles a year, and they’re heading toward thinner ice…Now that scientists are piecing these trends together—the fractures in the ice shelf, the complexity of the underside of the glacier, and the tidal pumping—they’ve landed at a grim assessment of the Doomsday Glacier: It’s decomposing in more ways than they previously understood. If it melts entirely and takes surrounding glaciers with it, sea levels would go up a total of 10 feet.

Out of this world: 555.55-carat black diamond lands in Dubai. Sotheby’s calls the 555.55-carat black diamond — believed to have come from outer space — “The Enigma.” The rare gem was shown off on Monday to journalists as part of a tour in Dubai and Los Angeles before it is due to be auctioned off in February in London.

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

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