Post by mhbruin on Dec 12, 2021 8:11:08 GMT -8
US Vaccine Data - We Have Now Administered 484 Million Shots (Population 333 Million)
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Another Reason to Hate Social Media. Not That We Need One More.
A social media influencer said she had been the victim of cyber-flashing for the past 10 years.
Podcaster Jess Davies, from Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, said she had received hundreds of unsolicited obscene images.
Calls are growing for cyber-flashing to become a crime as part of measures to toughen laws on online safety.
Jess, who has 151,000 followers on Instagram, said she has become almost "numb" to the images she is sent, adding: "What's illegal offline should be illegal online."
"I am probably cyber-flashed every month, maybe more, depends really on what I share.
"This has been going on for 10 years. I've probably received literally hundreds of these images. The kind of stuff I get is close-up shots, or of them performing a sex act.
"When I receive the images it makes you feel a bit dirty and you start thinking, 'why me? Why have they sent them to me, is it something I've done'?"
"If you had thousands of men flashing you in the street, that's illegal, and that would be a huge problem and a huge conversation, so why are we accepting it online?"
Cyber-flashing has become increasingly common during the pandemic as people spend more time online, campaigners have said.
There Are a Lot Of Sick People Out There
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Omicron May Be Less Virulent, But It Is Not Harmless
The first people in the UK are in hospital with Omicron infections, Nadhim Zahawi has said.
The new variant of coronavirus now accounts for a third of cases in London, the education secretary said.
It is not clear if those people who are in hospital with Omicron are there because of the virus or for other reasons.
She said there had not been a report of a death from the variant in the UK yet, although she pointed out that it had only been identified two weeks ago. It is two weeks after infection that you would expect to see people admitted to hospital, with deaths coming after that.
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They'll Kill You For Playing Music, But Selling Heroin and Meth Are Fine
Heaped in plastic bags in a small room in rural southern Afghanistan, the white crystals glisten.
They are "export quality" methamphetamine, and will be trafficked to countries as far away as Australia. Once there, the 100kg (220lb) stored in this room will have a street value of around £2m ($2.6m).
Outside, smoke billows from two barrels where new batches of meth are being cooked.
Drugs are big business in Afghanistan, and under the Taliban, trade is booming. The country has long been linked with heroin, but in recent years, it has also emerged as a significant producer of crystal meth - another dangerously addictive drug.
What If You Play the Song "Heroin"?
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He's Leaving to Take a 2-Year Shower to Try to Wash Off the Stench
Chris Wallace is leaving Fox News after nearly two decades with the network, he announced on his show Sunday.
Wallace, 74, thanked viewers for joining him every week on "Fox Sunday," adding that he's enjoyed his time on Fox but that it was his time to step away.
"The fact you’ve chosen to spend this hour with us is something I cherish," Wallace said. "But after 18 years, I have decided to leave Fox. I want to try something new to go beyond politics, to all the things I’m interested in. I’m ready for a new adventure. And I hope you’ll check it out."
It Steve Doocey Now the "Serious" Guy on Fox?
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Unretirement Unthinkable? Unlikely.
Higher rent, higher food prices and longer lifespans often lead to financial challenges for many Americans, leading to post-retirement job searches. More people have returned to work after retirement, with a steady uptick happening over the last few months.
This is continuing the trend of older people considering retirement a temporary stage, lasting until a financial need arises, according to Emma Aguila, an economist and associate professor at the University of Southern California Sol Price School of Public Policy.
In October, the unretirement rate was 2.6 percent, above the 2.5 percent rate for September and 2.4 percent in August, a steady upward trajectory, according to an analysis of data from the Current Population Survey (a household survey from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) by Nick Bunker, economic research director for North America at the job site Indeed.
Bunker said that his analysis does not look into the reasons for the increase and that survey data showed that pandemic job loss and a more viable job market might be a factor. But other experts said the uptick, driven partly by early pandemic job loss, might also be caused by financial need among older Americans.
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Great Description: The Boring Apocalypse
But many people aren’t so afraid of Covid-19 anymore, complicating public health authorities’ efforts to slow Omicron’s spread. We’ve all seen this horror movie before, and when you’ve watched the killer jump out brandishing a weapon 10 times — even when you’ve watched him kill — it just doesn’t freak you out the same way. The same rerun has been playing for 21 months. We’re living through a phenomenon that risk experts might call a “boring apocalypse.”
Which Raises the Question: Would Most People Rather Be Bored and Healthy or Entertained and Sick?
Across America, many of the nearly 50 million people infected with the coronavirus continue to suffer from some persistent symptoms, with a smaller subset experiencing such unbearable fatigue and other maladies that they can’t work, forcing them to drop out of the workforce, abandon careers and rack up huge debts.
Hard data is not available and estimates vary widely, but based on published studies and their own experience treating patients, several medical specialists said 750,000 to 1.3 million patients likely remain so sick for extended periods that they can’t return to the workforce full time.
Long covid is testing not just the medical system, but also government safety nets that are not well suited to identifying and supporting people with a newly emerging chronic disease that has no established diagnostic or treatment plan. Insurers are denying coverage for some tests, the public disability system is hesitant to approve many claims, and even people with long-term disability insurance say they are struggling to get benefits.
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How Is Even Planning This Not a Crime?
Philip Waldron, the retired colonel, was working with Trump’s outside lawyers and was part of a team that briefed the lawmakers on a PowerPoint presentation detailing “Options for 6 JAN,” Waldron told The Washington Post. He said his contribution to the presentation focused on his claims of foreign interference in the vote, as did his discussions with the White House.
A version of the presentation made its way to the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, on Jan. 5. That information surfaced publicly this week after the congressional committee investigating the insurrection released a letter that said Meadows had turned the document over to the committee.
“The presentation was that there was significant foreign interference in the election, here’s the proof,” Waldron said. “These are constitutional, legal, feasible, acceptable and suitable courses of action.”
The PowerPoint circulated by Waldron included proposals for Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6 to reject electors from “states where fraud occurred” or replace them with Republican electors. It included a third proposal in which the certification of Joe Biden’s victory was to be delayed, and U.S. marshals and National Guard troops were to help “secure” and count paper ballots in key states.
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Are There Single Dosers?
There appear to be millions of Americans walking around who have received a single dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, who may think they are protected against whatever the virus can throw at them — and who could be sorely wrong.
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Who Won The Week?
LGBTQ protections among our northern neighbors, as Canada bans "conversion therapy," which psycho-quacks for Jesus falsely claim can change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity
Deqa Dhalac, who became the first Somali-American mayor in the United States when she was seated in South Portland, which is Maine's 4th largest city
President Biden: fastest economic recovery in U.S. history; gas prices falling; opens democracy summit; promotes infrastructure law in Kansas City; welcomes Kennedy Center honorees to WH
Dana Milbank of WaPost, for dropping a bomb on his fellow journalists by proving their coverage of truthful, smart, USA-loving Biden has been as negative as their coverage of lying, idiotic, Russia-loving DJT
Former Nat'l Guard Colonel Earl Matthews, for accusing senior Army leaders, inc. traitor Mike Flynn's brother, of lying to Congress about their slow-as-slugs response during the Capitol riot
Filipino-American journalist Maria Ressa and Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov, who received their Nobel Peace Prizes today in Oslo
The Justice Department, for announcing a lawsuit against Texas's redistricting plans, which are white supremacy on steroids
Washington DC, which unanimously approved renaming the street in front of the Saudi embassy "Jamal Khashoggi Way" to honor the journalist killed on the crown prince's orders
The Starbucks employees in Buffalo who became the first from the company to vote for unionizing in the U.S.---they'll join Workers United, an SEIU affiliate
The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, for their "withering rejection" of Trump's attempt to stop the release of documents related to his planning of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack
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And the Beat Goes On. And the Beat Goes On.
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And the Gouge Goes On. The Price Gouging Goes On.
Insulin has been on the market for a hundred years and for millions of Americans with diabetes, it is literally the difference between life and death.
But insulin in the U.S. costs about eight times more than it does in peer countries, according to a 2020 study. About one in four people who need it can’t afford it, surveys have suggested, which is why many end up rationing their own medication — sometimes with severe, even fatal consequences.
Politicians across the ideological spectrum have been promising a government response for years. Now Democrats hope to provide one as part of the Build Back Better legislation, which includes reforms to prescription drug pricing, with provisions that single out insulin for special treatment. Chief among them is a proposed rule that would limit the cost of insulin to $35 a month out-of-pocket for anyone with insurance.
That would represent a potentially massive improvement, although not everybody would feel it. Because the cap applies to insurance, it wouldn’t directly help the uninsured, who are frequently the ones with the least money to spare.
Nor is it clear that the cost restriction will become the law. Republicans may ask the Senate parliamentarian to rule that restrictions on what private insurers can charge for insulin falls outside the rules of budget reconciliation, the special legislative procedure Democrats are using to pass Build Back Better.
Even if that appeal fails, the legislation still needs to get all the way through Congress, which is no sure thing.
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If She Can Graduate College, Why Can't She Spell "The"?
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Terrorist? Journalist? I Guess They Sound the Same to Government Agents.
A special Customs and Border Protection unit used sensitive government databases intended to track terrorists to investigate as many as 20 U.S.-based journalists, including a Pulitzer Prize-winning Associated Press reporter, according to a federal watchdog.
Yahoo News, which published an extensive report on the investigation, also found that the unit, the Counter Network Division, queried records of congressional staffers and perhaps members of Congress.
Jeffrey Rambo, an agent who acknowledged running checks on journalists in 2017, told federal investigators the practice is routine. “When a name comes across your desk you run it through every system you have access too, that’s just status quo, that’s what everyone does,” Rambo was quoted by Yahoo News as saying.
The AP obtained a redacted copy of a more than 500-page report by the Homeland Security Department’s inspector general that included the same statement, but with the speaker’s name blacked out. The border protection agency is part of Homeland Security.
The revelations raised alarm in news organizations and prompted a demand for a full explanation.
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What If The Previous Guy and The Previous Personality Held a Sexual Harassment Festival and Nobody Came?
There were so many empty seats at Donald Trump’s Florida event on Saturday that organizers had to shut down the upper level of the arena in Sunrise, Florida, the Sun Sentinel reported.
Trump fans sitting in the nosebleed section of the FLA Live Arena were told that they were being “upgraded” to the lower levels, according to the newspaper.
Many tickets remained unsold before the event.
Trump appeared with former Fox News personality Bill O’Reilly, who was bounced from the network after accusations of sexual harassment.
One supposed audience member, in a tweet that later appeared to have been deleted, complained that the duo was an hour late — and there were a “lot of empty seats.”
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Before and After
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What's Good For the Goose Is Good For the Merchants of Death
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday pledged to empower private citizens to enforce a ban on the manufacture and sale of assault weapons in the state, citing the same authority claimed by conservative lawmakers in Texas to outlaw most abortions once a heartbeat is detected.
California has banned the manufacture and sale of many assault-style weapons for decades. A federal judge overturned that ban in June, ruling it was unconstitutional and drawing the ire of the state’s Democratic leaders by comparing the popular AR-15 rifle to a Swiss Army knife as “good for both home and battle.” California’s ban remained in place while the state appealed.
Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers in Texas this year passed a law banning abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which normally occurs at about six weeks into pregnancy. The Texas law allows private citizens to enforce the ban, empowering them to sue abortion clinics and anyone else who “aids and abets” with the procedure.
Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Texas law to remain in effect while abortion clinics sue to block it. That decision incensed Newsom, a Democrat who supports abortion rights.
“If states can now shield their laws from review by the federal courts that compare assault weapons to Swiss Army knives, then California will use that authority to protect people’s lives, where Texas used it to put women in harm’s way,” Newsom said in a statement released by his office at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
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A Little Good California Drought News
A major storm is headed toward Northern California, promising to drop up to 10 feet (3 meters) of snow on Sierra Nevada mountain peaks and bring much-needed rain throughout the region.
Rain was expected in the Bay Area, with snowfall in the Sierras starting Sunday before getting heavier between Monday and Tuesday, according to forecasters. There could even be a dusting of snow on Bay Area mountaintops.
“If you live in the Sierra, today is the final day to prepare for a multi-day winter storm that will likely be remembered for years to come,” the National Weather Service warned in a forecast issued Saturday.
Another storm system predicted to hit California midweek could deliver almost continuous snow, said Scott McGuire, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Reno office, which monitors an area straddling the Nevada state line. Downed trees and white-out conditions could endanger motorists; meanwhile the Sierra Avalanche Center warned heavy snow and strong winds on top of a weak snowpack could cause large and destructive avalanches.
On Pace for a Good Winter. But It's Still Early
Most of the reservoirs aren't doing well
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There Is a Fungus Among Us
Vast networks of microscopic, underground fungi serve a crucial role in Earth’s ecosystems — and there’s a lot we don’t know about them.
More than a quarter of Earth’s species live in soils underground, including the fungal networks that help store huge quantities of carbon, provide most plants with the majority of the nutrients they need to survive and allow the plants to receive important signals from others.
Now, a team of scientists is launching a first-of-its-kind effort to map the world’s mycorrhizal fungi, a process they hope can identify fungal biodiversity for conservation, grow understanding of how these species interact within ecosystems and keep more carbon in soil.
“These fungal networks have been a global blind spot in conservation and climate agendas. People haven’t woken up and realized there is this ancient life support form below our feet,” said Toby Kiers, an evolutionary biologist and professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, who co-founded SPUN, the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks.
Full story for those who care about fungi
Studying Fungi Does Not Make You a Fun Guy
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He Should Have Stuck to Acceptable Acts for a Priest Like Child Molestation
A bishop in Spain has had his clerical powers removed following his marriage to a "transgressive" author of erotica with satanic undertones.
The diocese of Solsona -- where Xavier Novell Goma has been serving as a bishop -- issued a statement on Saturday that said Novell is now forbidden from administering the sacraments and engaging in any active teaching, "both in public and private," although he can still maintain his status as a bishop.
According to the statement, Novell, bishop emeritus of Solsona, entered into a civil marriage with Silvia Caballol on November 22, 2021, in the province of Barcelona. The statement then refers to Canon 1394.1 of the Catholic Church, which states that "a clergyman attempting marriage, even if only civilly, shall be subject to suspension."
Novell became Spain's youngest bishop in 2010, aged 41, when he was appointed to Solsona, a small city to the north of Barcelona in Spain's northeastern Catalonia region.
In September, Novell resigned as a bishop -- as the Vatican approved and announced in its bulletin that month.
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CDC doesn't do a good job of reporting around holidays.
200 Million Fully Vaccinated
Doses Administered 7-Day Average | Number of People Receiving 1 or More Doses | Number of People Fully Vaccinated | New Cases 7-Day Average | Deaths 7-Day Average | |
| Dec 12 | 1,984,721 | 239,008,166 | 201,975,235 | ||
| Dec 11 | 2,020,853 | 238,679,707 | 201,688,550 | ||
| Dec 10 | 1,721,570 | 238,143,066 | 201,279,582 | 118,575 | 1,146 |
| Dec 9 | 1,583,662 | 237,468,725 | 200,717,387 | 118,052 | 1,089 |
| Dec 8 | 1,611,831 | 237,087,380 | 200,400,533 | 118,515 | 1,092 |
| Dec 7 | 1,781,389 | 236,363,835 | 199,687,439 | 117,488 | 1,097 |
| Dec 6 | 1,780,807 | 236,018,871 | 199,313,022 | 117,179 | 1,117 |
| Dec 5 | 2,264,301 | 235,698,738 | 198,962,520 | 103,823 | 1,154 |
| Dec 4 | 2,009,864 | 235,297,964 | 198,592,167 | 105,554 | 1,150 |
| Dec 3 | 1,700,056 | 234,743,864 | 198,211,641 | 106,132 | 1,110 |
| Dec 2 | 1,428,263 | 234,269,053 | 197,838,728 | 96,425 | 975 |
| Dec 1 | 1,116,587 | 233,590,555 | 197,363,116 | 86,412 | 859 |
| Nov 30 | 1,152,647 | 233,207,582 | 197,058,988 | 82,846 | 816 |
| Nov 29 | 937,113 | 232,792,508 | 196,806,194 | 80,178 | 804 |
| Nov 28 | No Data | 72,008 | 719 | ||
| Nov 27 | No Data | 72,139 | 721 | ||
| Nov 26 | No Data | 73,962 | 742 | ||
| Nov 25 | No Data | 82,440 | 887 | ||
| Nov 24 | 898,833 | 231,367,686 | 196,168,756 | 93,931 | 989 |
| Nov 23 | 1,126,545 | 230,669,289 | 195,973,992 | 94,266 | 982 |
| Nov 22 | 1,521,815 | 230,732,565 | 196,398,948 | 93,668 | 1,009 |
| Nov 21 | 1,774,196 | 230,298,744 | 196,284,442 | 91,021 | 985 |
| Nov 20 | 2,136,513 | 229,837,421 | 196,128,496 | 90,823 | 996 |
| Nov 19 | 1,952,717 | 229,291,004 | 195,920,566 | 92,852 | 1,047 |
| Nov 18 | 1,870,564 | 228,570,531 | 195,713,107 | 94,260 | 1,069 |
| Nov 17 | 1,811,047 | 228,175,638 | 195,612,365 | 88,482 | 1,032 |
| Nov 16 | 1,608,906 | 227,691,941 | 195,435,688 | 85,944 | 1,028 |
| Nov 15 | 1,582,519 | 227,133,617 | 195,275,904 | 83,671 | 1,029 |
| Nov 14 | 1,375,998 | 226,607,653 | 195,120,470 | 80,823 | 1,043 |
| Nov 13 | 1,370,279 | 226,157,226 | 194,951,106 | 80,590 | 1,049 |
| Nov 12 | 1,335,066 | 225,606,197 | 194,747,839 | 78,552 | 1,038 |
| Nov 11 | No Data | 73,218 | 999 | ||
| Nov 10 | 1,316,294 | 224,660,453 | 194,382,921 | 76,458 | 1,051 |
| Nov 9 | 1,316,228 | 224,257,467 | 194,168,611 | 74,584 | 1,078 |
| Feb 16 | 1,716,311 | 39,670,551 | 15,015,434 | 78,292 |
| At Least One Dose | Fully Vaccinated | |
| % of Total Population | 72.0% | 60.8% |
| % of Population 12+ | 82.4% | 70.3% |
| % of Population 18+ | 84.3% | 72.1% |
| % of Population 65+ | 95.0% | 87.2% |
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Another Reason to Hate Social Media. Not That We Need One More.
A social media influencer said she had been the victim of cyber-flashing for the past 10 years.
Podcaster Jess Davies, from Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, said she had received hundreds of unsolicited obscene images.
Calls are growing for cyber-flashing to become a crime as part of measures to toughen laws on online safety.
Jess, who has 151,000 followers on Instagram, said she has become almost "numb" to the images she is sent, adding: "What's illegal offline should be illegal online."
"I am probably cyber-flashed every month, maybe more, depends really on what I share.
"This has been going on for 10 years. I've probably received literally hundreds of these images. The kind of stuff I get is close-up shots, or of them performing a sex act.
"When I receive the images it makes you feel a bit dirty and you start thinking, 'why me? Why have they sent them to me, is it something I've done'?"
"If you had thousands of men flashing you in the street, that's illegal, and that would be a huge problem and a huge conversation, so why are we accepting it online?"
Cyber-flashing has become increasingly common during the pandemic as people spend more time online, campaigners have said.
There Are a Lot Of Sick People Out There
--------------
Omicron May Be Less Virulent, But It Is Not Harmless
The first people in the UK are in hospital with Omicron infections, Nadhim Zahawi has said.
The new variant of coronavirus now accounts for a third of cases in London, the education secretary said.
It is not clear if those people who are in hospital with Omicron are there because of the virus or for other reasons.
She said there had not been a report of a death from the variant in the UK yet, although she pointed out that it had only been identified two weeks ago. It is two weeks after infection that you would expect to see people admitted to hospital, with deaths coming after that.
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They'll Kill You For Playing Music, But Selling Heroin and Meth Are Fine
Heaped in plastic bags in a small room in rural southern Afghanistan, the white crystals glisten.
They are "export quality" methamphetamine, and will be trafficked to countries as far away as Australia. Once there, the 100kg (220lb) stored in this room will have a street value of around £2m ($2.6m).
Outside, smoke billows from two barrels where new batches of meth are being cooked.
Drugs are big business in Afghanistan, and under the Taliban, trade is booming. The country has long been linked with heroin, but in recent years, it has also emerged as a significant producer of crystal meth - another dangerously addictive drug.
What If You Play the Song "Heroin"?
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He's Leaving to Take a 2-Year Shower to Try to Wash Off the Stench
Chris Wallace is leaving Fox News after nearly two decades with the network, he announced on his show Sunday.
Wallace, 74, thanked viewers for joining him every week on "Fox Sunday," adding that he's enjoyed his time on Fox but that it was his time to step away.
"The fact you’ve chosen to spend this hour with us is something I cherish," Wallace said. "But after 18 years, I have decided to leave Fox. I want to try something new to go beyond politics, to all the things I’m interested in. I’m ready for a new adventure. And I hope you’ll check it out."
It Steve Doocey Now the "Serious" Guy on Fox?
--------------
Unretirement Unthinkable? Unlikely.
Higher rent, higher food prices and longer lifespans often lead to financial challenges for many Americans, leading to post-retirement job searches. More people have returned to work after retirement, with a steady uptick happening over the last few months.
This is continuing the trend of older people considering retirement a temporary stage, lasting until a financial need arises, according to Emma Aguila, an economist and associate professor at the University of Southern California Sol Price School of Public Policy.
In October, the unretirement rate was 2.6 percent, above the 2.5 percent rate for September and 2.4 percent in August, a steady upward trajectory, according to an analysis of data from the Current Population Survey (a household survey from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) by Nick Bunker, economic research director for North America at the job site Indeed.
Bunker said that his analysis does not look into the reasons for the increase and that survey data showed that pandemic job loss and a more viable job market might be a factor. But other experts said the uptick, driven partly by early pandemic job loss, might also be caused by financial need among older Americans.
--------------
Great Description: The Boring Apocalypse
But many people aren’t so afraid of Covid-19 anymore, complicating public health authorities’ efforts to slow Omicron’s spread. We’ve all seen this horror movie before, and when you’ve watched the killer jump out brandishing a weapon 10 times — even when you’ve watched him kill — it just doesn’t freak you out the same way. The same rerun has been playing for 21 months. We’re living through a phenomenon that risk experts might call a “boring apocalypse.”
Which Raises the Question: Would Most People Rather Be Bored and Healthy or Entertained and Sick?
Across America, many of the nearly 50 million people infected with the coronavirus continue to suffer from some persistent symptoms, with a smaller subset experiencing such unbearable fatigue and other maladies that they can’t work, forcing them to drop out of the workforce, abandon careers and rack up huge debts.
Hard data is not available and estimates vary widely, but based on published studies and their own experience treating patients, several medical specialists said 750,000 to 1.3 million patients likely remain so sick for extended periods that they can’t return to the workforce full time.
Long covid is testing not just the medical system, but also government safety nets that are not well suited to identifying and supporting people with a newly emerging chronic disease that has no established diagnostic or treatment plan. Insurers are denying coverage for some tests, the public disability system is hesitant to approve many claims, and even people with long-term disability insurance say they are struggling to get benefits.
--------------
How Is Even Planning This Not a Crime?
Philip Waldron, the retired colonel, was working with Trump’s outside lawyers and was part of a team that briefed the lawmakers on a PowerPoint presentation detailing “Options for 6 JAN,” Waldron told The Washington Post. He said his contribution to the presentation focused on his claims of foreign interference in the vote, as did his discussions with the White House.
A version of the presentation made its way to the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, on Jan. 5. That information surfaced publicly this week after the congressional committee investigating the insurrection released a letter that said Meadows had turned the document over to the committee.
“The presentation was that there was significant foreign interference in the election, here’s the proof,” Waldron said. “These are constitutional, legal, feasible, acceptable and suitable courses of action.”
The PowerPoint circulated by Waldron included proposals for Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6 to reject electors from “states where fraud occurred” or replace them with Republican electors. It included a third proposal in which the certification of Joe Biden’s victory was to be delayed, and U.S. marshals and National Guard troops were to help “secure” and count paper ballots in key states.
--------------
Are There Single Dosers?
There appear to be millions of Americans walking around who have received a single dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, who may think they are protected against whatever the virus can throw at them — and who could be sorely wrong.
--------------
Who Won The Week?
LGBTQ protections among our northern neighbors, as Canada bans "conversion therapy," which psycho-quacks for Jesus falsely claim can change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity
Deqa Dhalac, who became the first Somali-American mayor in the United States when she was seated in South Portland, which is Maine's 4th largest city
President Biden: fastest economic recovery in U.S. history; gas prices falling; opens democracy summit; promotes infrastructure law in Kansas City; welcomes Kennedy Center honorees to WH
Dana Milbank of WaPost, for dropping a bomb on his fellow journalists by proving their coverage of truthful, smart, USA-loving Biden has been as negative as their coverage of lying, idiotic, Russia-loving DJT
Former Nat'l Guard Colonel Earl Matthews, for accusing senior Army leaders, inc. traitor Mike Flynn's brother, of lying to Congress about their slow-as-slugs response during the Capitol riot
Filipino-American journalist Maria Ressa and Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov, who received their Nobel Peace Prizes today in Oslo
The Justice Department, for announcing a lawsuit against Texas's redistricting plans, which are white supremacy on steroids
Washington DC, which unanimously approved renaming the street in front of the Saudi embassy "Jamal Khashoggi Way" to honor the journalist killed on the crown prince's orders
The Starbucks employees in Buffalo who became the first from the company to vote for unionizing in the U.S.---they'll join Workers United, an SEIU affiliate
The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, for their "withering rejection" of Trump's attempt to stop the release of documents related to his planning of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack
--------------
And the Beat Goes On. And the Beat Goes On.
--------------
And the Gouge Goes On. The Price Gouging Goes On.
Insulin has been on the market for a hundred years and for millions of Americans with diabetes, it is literally the difference between life and death.
But insulin in the U.S. costs about eight times more than it does in peer countries, according to a 2020 study. About one in four people who need it can’t afford it, surveys have suggested, which is why many end up rationing their own medication — sometimes with severe, even fatal consequences.
Politicians across the ideological spectrum have been promising a government response for years. Now Democrats hope to provide one as part of the Build Back Better legislation, which includes reforms to prescription drug pricing, with provisions that single out insulin for special treatment. Chief among them is a proposed rule that would limit the cost of insulin to $35 a month out-of-pocket for anyone with insurance.
That would represent a potentially massive improvement, although not everybody would feel it. Because the cap applies to insurance, it wouldn’t directly help the uninsured, who are frequently the ones with the least money to spare.
Nor is it clear that the cost restriction will become the law. Republicans may ask the Senate parliamentarian to rule that restrictions on what private insurers can charge for insulin falls outside the rules of budget reconciliation, the special legislative procedure Democrats are using to pass Build Back Better.
Even if that appeal fails, the legislation still needs to get all the way through Congress, which is no sure thing.
--------------
If She Can Graduate College, Why Can't She Spell "The"?
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Terrorist? Journalist? I Guess They Sound the Same to Government Agents.
A special Customs and Border Protection unit used sensitive government databases intended to track terrorists to investigate as many as 20 U.S.-based journalists, including a Pulitzer Prize-winning Associated Press reporter, according to a federal watchdog.
Yahoo News, which published an extensive report on the investigation, also found that the unit, the Counter Network Division, queried records of congressional staffers and perhaps members of Congress.
Jeffrey Rambo, an agent who acknowledged running checks on journalists in 2017, told federal investigators the practice is routine. “When a name comes across your desk you run it through every system you have access too, that’s just status quo, that’s what everyone does,” Rambo was quoted by Yahoo News as saying.
The AP obtained a redacted copy of a more than 500-page report by the Homeland Security Department’s inspector general that included the same statement, but with the speaker’s name blacked out. The border protection agency is part of Homeland Security.
The revelations raised alarm in news organizations and prompted a demand for a full explanation.
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What If The Previous Guy and The Previous Personality Held a Sexual Harassment Festival and Nobody Came?
There were so many empty seats at Donald Trump’s Florida event on Saturday that organizers had to shut down the upper level of the arena in Sunrise, Florida, the Sun Sentinel reported.
Trump fans sitting in the nosebleed section of the FLA Live Arena were told that they were being “upgraded” to the lower levels, according to the newspaper.
Many tickets remained unsold before the event.
Trump appeared with former Fox News personality Bill O’Reilly, who was bounced from the network after accusations of sexual harassment.
One supposed audience member, in a tweet that later appeared to have been deleted, complained that the duo was an hour late — and there were a “lot of empty seats.”
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Before and After
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What's Good For the Goose Is Good For the Merchants of Death
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday pledged to empower private citizens to enforce a ban on the manufacture and sale of assault weapons in the state, citing the same authority claimed by conservative lawmakers in Texas to outlaw most abortions once a heartbeat is detected.
California has banned the manufacture and sale of many assault-style weapons for decades. A federal judge overturned that ban in June, ruling it was unconstitutional and drawing the ire of the state’s Democratic leaders by comparing the popular AR-15 rifle to a Swiss Army knife as “good for both home and battle.” California’s ban remained in place while the state appealed.
Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers in Texas this year passed a law banning abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which normally occurs at about six weeks into pregnancy. The Texas law allows private citizens to enforce the ban, empowering them to sue abortion clinics and anyone else who “aids and abets” with the procedure.
Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Texas law to remain in effect while abortion clinics sue to block it. That decision incensed Newsom, a Democrat who supports abortion rights.
“If states can now shield their laws from review by the federal courts that compare assault weapons to Swiss Army knives, then California will use that authority to protect people’s lives, where Texas used it to put women in harm’s way,” Newsom said in a statement released by his office at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
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A Little Good California Drought News
A major storm is headed toward Northern California, promising to drop up to 10 feet (3 meters) of snow on Sierra Nevada mountain peaks and bring much-needed rain throughout the region.
Rain was expected in the Bay Area, with snowfall in the Sierras starting Sunday before getting heavier between Monday and Tuesday, according to forecasters. There could even be a dusting of snow on Bay Area mountaintops.
“If you live in the Sierra, today is the final day to prepare for a multi-day winter storm that will likely be remembered for years to come,” the National Weather Service warned in a forecast issued Saturday.
Another storm system predicted to hit California midweek could deliver almost continuous snow, said Scott McGuire, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Reno office, which monitors an area straddling the Nevada state line. Downed trees and white-out conditions could endanger motorists; meanwhile the Sierra Avalanche Center warned heavy snow and strong winds on top of a weak snowpack could cause large and destructive avalanches.
On Pace for a Good Winter. But It's Still Early
Most of the reservoirs aren't doing well
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There Is a Fungus Among Us
Vast networks of microscopic, underground fungi serve a crucial role in Earth’s ecosystems — and there’s a lot we don’t know about them.
More than a quarter of Earth’s species live in soils underground, including the fungal networks that help store huge quantities of carbon, provide most plants with the majority of the nutrients they need to survive and allow the plants to receive important signals from others.
Now, a team of scientists is launching a first-of-its-kind effort to map the world’s mycorrhizal fungi, a process they hope can identify fungal biodiversity for conservation, grow understanding of how these species interact within ecosystems and keep more carbon in soil.
“These fungal networks have been a global blind spot in conservation and climate agendas. People haven’t woken up and realized there is this ancient life support form below our feet,” said Toby Kiers, an evolutionary biologist and professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, who co-founded SPUN, the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks.
Full story for those who care about fungi
Studying Fungi Does Not Make You a Fun Guy
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He Should Have Stuck to Acceptable Acts for a Priest Like Child Molestation
A bishop in Spain has had his clerical powers removed following his marriage to a "transgressive" author of erotica with satanic undertones.
The diocese of Solsona -- where Xavier Novell Goma has been serving as a bishop -- issued a statement on Saturday that said Novell is now forbidden from administering the sacraments and engaging in any active teaching, "both in public and private," although he can still maintain his status as a bishop.
According to the statement, Novell, bishop emeritus of Solsona, entered into a civil marriage with Silvia Caballol on November 22, 2021, in the province of Barcelona. The statement then refers to Canon 1394.1 of the Catholic Church, which states that "a clergyman attempting marriage, even if only civilly, shall be subject to suspension."
Novell became Spain's youngest bishop in 2010, aged 41, when he was appointed to Solsona, a small city to the north of Barcelona in Spain's northeastern Catalonia region.
In September, Novell resigned as a bishop -- as the Vatican approved and announced in its bulletin that month.
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