Post by mhbruin on Mar 22, 2022 9:54:51 GMT -8
US Vaccine Data - We Have Now Administered 559 Million Shots (Population 333 Million)
First time we have been below 50,000 cases since July 22nd.
↓ 23.9% Cases, two-week change
↓ 57.7% Deaths, two-week change
977,117 Total confirmed deaths
--------------
California Precipitation (Updated Tuesday March 22)
There was some rain in the Nor Cal. A little more in the ten-day.
--------------
--------------
Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees
He's Announcing He's Committed a Scam. I Wonder How Well That Will Work.
A Russian billionaire sanctioned by the UK says he no longer owns many former properties, potentially putting them beyond the reach of the law.
Ex-Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov's £82m London home and Surrey mansion were put into trusts linked to the oligarch.
This raises questions over the effectiveness of sanctions imposed since the invasion of Ukraine began.
The UK government says Mr Usmanov "cannot access his assets".
"Sorry for any misunderstanding"?? WTF Does That Mean?? And, Did They Fire the Teacher? No, They Had a "Talk" With Her.
A Southern California private school apologized to parents after a teacher shared a video last month of her leading preschool students in a chant denouncing President Joe Biden.
The video obtained by ABC 7 News in Los Angeles shows the unnamed teacher at Turning Point Christian School in Norco asking the 4- and 5-year-olds, “Who’s our president?”
When they answer in unison, “Biden,” the teacher then asks, “What do we want to do with him?”
The students shout back, “We want him out!”
Parent Christina McFadden told ABC 7 the video from the President’s Day lesson was shared through the school’s messaging app, before it was taken down.
Turning Point officials said in a statement to parents that the school was “sorry for any misunderstanding” caused by the video.
Greg is Lying Out of His Ab-Butt
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has shamelessly promoted the supposed successes of his multibillion dollar, taxpayer-funded border scheme. “Through Operation Lone Star, the Texas Department of Public Safety has seized hundreds of pounds of cocaine & fentanyl, with a street value of $2.2M,” he claimed in a September tweet. “Operation Lone Star continues to secure the border, crack down on human smuggling,” read a press release just a couple days ago.
But when pressed on the data to back that up, the right-wing governor’s office has “fought two dozen public records requests from the news organizations that would provide a clearer picture of the operation’s accomplishments,” a joint investigation from Marshall Project, ProPublica, and The Texas Tribune said. But some of the information that has been presented has been misleading, or just an outright lie.
“A year into the operation, officials touted more than 11,000 criminal arrests, drug seizures that amount to millions of ‘lethal doses’ and the referrals of tens of thousands of unauthorized immigrants to the federal government for deportation as signs that the program is effective,” the joint report said.
But included in that have been the arrests of U.S. citizens nowhere near the border with Mexico. Texas had also included charges like cockfighting as well as sexual assault and stalking, which, while very serious crimes, have nothing to do with a supposed border operation. Texas stopped counting those and 2,000 other charges as part of Operation Lone Star later last year, “after the news organizations began raising questions about the ties between the arrests and border security,” the report said.
She's Not Carrie, But She Loves Mr. Biggs
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema privately praised Rep. Andy Biggs months after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol many suspect he helped stoke, and she questioned why she needed to wear a mask in an early 2021 meeting with President Joe Biden, a new book says.
'I love Andy Biggs': Book says Sen. Kyrsten Sinema praised him after Jan. 6. In a passage about negotiations over Biden's stalled "Build Back Better" agenda, authors Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns, both reporters for the New York Times, use unnamed sources to describe a September fundraiser Sinema attended with Republican-friendly business groups.
“I come from a fiscally conservative state,” she said, according to the book. “And I’m interested in maintaining pro-growth tax policies that ensure that we can get through this pandemic without losing ground. “Arizonans don’t like taxes, and we don’t really like government. We love our country. And we love our military. And that’s about where it ends.”
Let us think about Andy Biggs for a moment, that Sinema supposedly loves. What kind of company does he keep?
(Marjorie Taylor Greene) nabbed endorsements from Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus; Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), one of President Donald Trump’s closest allies on Capitol Hill; Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.), a Freedom Caucus member and former pastor who rescinded his endorsement the day after this story was published; and the House Freedom Fund, the political arm for the Freedom Caucus. Jordan said he disagreed with her statements but did not pull his endorsement. Biggs did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
Ted Cruz Won't Take the "High Life Road". No Questions About Beer.
So Biden Should Have Nominated a White Man Who Owned Slaves
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) began his speech with an attempt to give Jackson, who if confirmed would be the first Black woman on the court, a history lesson.
“Supreme Court confirmations weren’t always controversial,” Cruz said. “In fact, Bushrod Washington, when nominated to the Supreme Court in 1798, was confirmed the very next day.”
It is true that Bushrod Washington — a favorite nephew of George Washington who had never served as a judge before — was officially nominated to the Supreme Court on Dec. 19, 1798, and confirmed the next day by voice vote in the Senate. However, he had already been serving on the court since Nov. 9 via recess appointment from President John Adams. (Ten justices have been recess appointed, the last coming during the Eisenhower administration.)
It is also true that Washington was an enslaver.
He Sounds Like the Perfect Republican Candidate, Except He Never Owned Slaves ... That We Know Of.
Former Missouri Republican Gov. Eric Greitens left office in 2018 amid multiple scandals. And in new court documents released yesterday, Greitens’ ex-wife detailed allegations of domestic abuse against the now-Senate hopeful.
In a sworn affidavit as part of an ongoing child custody case, Greitens’ ex-wife accused him of physically abusing her and their children, as well as threatening himself and their family while they were married. Greitens joined Steve Bannon’s podcast and called the allegations “completely baseless,” accusing his ex-wife of conspiring with allies of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who Greitens opposes.
Three GOP candidates — Rep. Vicky Hartzler, Rep. Billy Long, and state Attorney General Eric Schmitt — as well as Democrat Lucas Kunce called on Greitens to drop out of the race. And Missouri GOP Sen. Josh Hawley, who has endorsed Hartzler, tweeted to call for the same, adding “if you hit a woman or a child, you belong in handcuffs, not the United States Senate.”
Gun and Lies. That Sounds Like a QOP Wet Dream.
Civil rights groups have filed a lawsuit against political canvassers, some of them armed, who pounded on voters’ doors in Colorado with questions about what they claimed was a rigged presidential election.
Interrogating residents about baseless claims of election fraud and photographing their homes amounted to a “voter intimidation campaign” in violation of the post-Civil War Ku Klux Klan Act, alleges the suit filed in U.S District Court in Colorado by the NAACP, the Colorado League of Women Voters of Colorado and Mi Familia Vota.
The suit accuses the U.S. Election Integrity Plan, which organized the canvassers, and three of its leaders of violating the Voting Rights Act through “intimidating, threatening and coercive conduct,” often in neighborhoods with a high number of people of color. It asks the court to declare the canvassing intimidation and harassment, and to order it stopped.
The canvassers often display badges, the lawsuit says, and are encouraged to carry weapons. They confront voters “for allegedly casting fraudulent ballots” and take photos of people’s homes, according to the suit.
The group uses such tactics across Colorado and in several other states, the suit says. It was founded by supporters of former President Donald Trump after he lost the 2020 election and began spreading his widely debunked lies about election fraud. Funders, according to the suit, include MyPillow guy Mike Lindell, a prominent promoter of Trump’s bogus claims.
Meatball: An easy pitch to hit, usually right down the middle of the plate.
Today's Dumbest Dog Owners in the World
A dog in North Carolina is looking for a new home after his previous owners dumped him at an animal shelter because they said they feared he might be gay.
“Fezco,” who is described as a 4- to 5-year-old dog of an unknown breed, was recently dropped off at the Stanly County Animal Protective Services in Albemarle.
The reason? Fezco apparently humped another male dog, and the dog’s owners assumed the canine was a “gaynine” and didn’t want him around so they left him at the shelter.
Now the shelter wants to find Fezco a new home and says he likes people and other animals, according to a report Thursday on Charlotte CW affiliate WCCB.
Although Scientific American notes that homosexual behavior has been observed in more than 1,500 animal species, the ASPCA says that it’s common for dogs to mount and thrust against other animals, people and objects, including wadded-up blankets, dog beds and toys, as a form of masturbation or as a response to stress.
The QOP Can Find a Reason to Stop Any Bill. This One Doesn't Help Oil Companies Enough.
Mere days after all but eight House members voted to revoke normal trade relations with Russia — a whopping total in the bitterly divided chamber — its path through the Senate is already looking complicated.
Senate Republicans are demanding the legislation be paired with a separate House-passed measure banning Russian oil imports. Democratic leaders are instead aiming to quickly pass the trade bill this week by itself, honoring a request from President Joe Biden as he looks to further isolate Russia over its war in Ukraine.
The dispute threatens to delay or derail congressional action on an overwhelmingly popular measure designed to punish Russia and deprive its economy of key revenue streams. But one key Republican involved in the push suggested that Democrats are already on track for a resolution by letting both the trade and oil sanctions packages pass.
“We are negotiating and my hope is that we will merge the two House bills,” said Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. “The House voted for both bills with over 400 votes. And that kind of bipartisan agreement is still in existence over here on both bills.”
Any prolonged negotiation could hinder what has otherwise been a lightning-quick response from Congress to Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. The two parties sent $14 billion in emergency aid to Ukraine recently to help finance its defenses against Russia; Republicans and some Democrats have publicly prodded Biden to act faster than he has. But unless all 100 senators agree on a path forward, the Senate can’t vote quickly on anything this week.
Previous Guy Sought Advice From Someone Smarter Than Him About Korea.
Kid Rock has revealed that former President Donald Trump once asked for his advice on dealing with North Korea during his time in office.
--------------
Today's Best Person in the World Nominees
They Can't Have a Brave and Honorabl Person Roaming the Streets of Moscow
The jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has been sentenced to an additional nine years, in a fresh trial roundly criticized by human rights organizations as politically motivated.
Navalny is already imprisoned on a two-and-a-half-year sentence, incarcerated since he was immediately arrested on his return to Russia following treatment in Germany in January of last year, after being poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent in August 2020.
Prosecutors sought a new 10-year sentence on fresh charges of embezzlement and contempt of court that were announced in February, granted by the court, which means Navalny will remain incarcerated until President Vladimir Putin is entering his 80s.
Those Brave Lads of theRAF UAF
Each night, Ukrainian pilots like Andriy loiter in an undisclosed aircraft hangar, waiting, waiting, until the tension is broken with a shouted, one-word command: “Air!”
Andriy hustles into his Su-27 supersonic jet and hastily taxis toward the runway, getting airborne as quickly as possible. He takes off so fast that he doesn’t yet know his mission for the night, though the big picture is always the same — to bring the fight to a Russian Air Force that is vastly superior in numbers but has so far failed to win control of the skies above Ukraine.
“I don’t do any checks,” said Andriy, a Ukrainian Air Force pilot who as a condition of granting an interview was not permitted to give his surname or rank. “I just take off.”
Nearly a month into the fighting, one of the biggest surprises of the war in Ukraine is Russia’s failure to defeat the Ukrainian Air Force. Military analysts had expected Russian forces to quickly destroy or paralyze Ukraine’s air defenses and military aircraft, yet neither have happened. Instead, Top Gun-style aerial dogfights, rare in modern warfare, are now raging above the country.
--------------
Invasions Have Consequences
Rallies Have Consequences, Too.
Swimwear maker Speedo has ended its sponsorship deal with two-time Olympic gold medal swimmer Evgeny Rylov after the Russian attended a rally hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Rylov, who won gold in the 100 and 200 meter backstroke events at last year's Tokyo Olympic Games, was among eight top Russian athletes who appeared on stage at the rally in Moscow last week, according to Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. The rally commemorated the eighth year of Russia's annexation of Crimea -- which is deemed illegal by the Ukrainian government and not recognized in the West.
"Following his attendance at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow at the weekend, Speedo can confirm that it has terminated the sponsorship of Evgeny Rylov with immediate effect," the company said in a statement to CNN.
"We condemn the war in Ukraine in the strongest possible way and stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, our athletes and our teammates who have been impacted by the conflict."
"As part of this decision, any outstanding sponsorship fees will be donated to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)," Speedo added.
When No News is Big News
From the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there have been reports that more big moves were on the way. Amphibious assaults were reportedly on their way to Odessa. Belarus was about to send thousands of its own soldiers over the border. Thousands of foreign fighters were ready to rally to Russia’s cause.
Any of those things might still happen, but on Tuesday afternoon in Kyiv, none of them have happened yet. Syrian troops that Vladimir Putin bragged about in the first week of the war are still sitting in Syria, with no sign that they’re about to board any transportation to bring them into Putin’s war. Belarusian forces continue to make a great show of shuffling back and forth inside Belarus, but have yet to line up near the border, much less cross it. Odessa’s beaches remain clear.
While Ukrainian forces are conducting a counterattack that has driven back Russian forces around Kyiv and opened much of the road into Kherson, there is a lot that’s not going on in Ukraine. Despite advertised claims that 40,000 Syrian mercenaries would be joining Russian troops, that hasn’t happened. The same thing goes for other claims about forces from other Russian allies. There does seem to have been some number of Chechen fighters involved in the southeast of Ukraine, but so far their numbers seem few and their impact undetectable. The only Belarusian forces to enter Ukraine so far as those which have volunteered to fight for Ukraine. In fact, the Lukashenko dictatorship has had to taken moves to quiet down what appeared to be vibrant recruiting for more Belarusian volunteers.
All His Dreams Are Turning to Nightmares
Putin dreamed of restoring the USSR, those dreams are turning to dust in Ukraine.
For many years, he spread propaganda in Europe to drive Brexit and create other potential ****exits from the European Union. His single-minded ideological drive to become the new Stalin has blinded him. His propaganda machine has assured him popularity in Russia, but has done the exact opposite in Europe.
The longer that Ukraine opposes his armies, the more his rage will be turned upon Russia itself. Dictators always have to find someone else to blame.
His attack has suppressed Germany’s feeling of national guilt, he has awoken Europe’s engineering and industrial powerhouse. Europe's collective defensive strategy is evolving.
Finland and historically neutral Sweden are reconsidering their stance with respect to NATO.
He is encouraging by his failure the democratic dreams of Georgians and Belarusians, rather than expanding Russia’s sphere of influence/dominance, it is diminishing, one day perhaps in Russia itself.
The European Union [plus NATO] will expand despite Putin’s, US Republicans, and the UK Tories hopes. His army of little helpers, the extreme right wing in Europe, are running away from him faster than shit flies off a hot shovel. [There will always be a few Totalitarian dreamers].
Putin Shills Take a New Line. Make War, Not Love.
Prilepin complained that the United States is “pumping Ukraine full of weapons to massacre the Russians,” failing to mention that Russia is the aggressor in this war. He added: “Arnie, you are a predator and an enemy.”
As a guest on Soloviev’s Sunday show, Prilepin stressed that the Russians shouldn’t try to convince the West of their humanity and good will. He argued that Russia’s approach towards the West should be as harsh as possible: “If they’re seriously afraid of the conflict with Russia, of WWIII, of nuclear war or the escalation of the conflict, we should be convincing them that we’re ready for it, that we love it, that we like to make war.”
Such a Dilemma. What to Do With Your Second Yacht?
A second superyacht belonging to Chelsea soccer club owner and sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich has docked in a resort in southwestern Turkey - a country that's not applying sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, Turkish media reports said Tuesday.
The private DHA news agency said the Bermuda-registered Eclipse docked at a port in the resort of Marmaris amid international efforts to freeze assets belonging to top Russian businessmen linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A day earlier, Abramovich's Bermuda-flagged luxury yacht My Solaris arrived in the nearby resort of Bodrum, triggering a protest by a group of Ukrainians who boarded a small motor boat and tried to prevent the yacht from docking.
--------------
Escape from Mouse-Scwhitz
Walt Disney Co. employees at corporate locations across the U.S. plan to get up from their desks and head to the exits Tuesday to protest CEO Bob Chapek's response to Florida legislation that LGBTQ advocates have dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill.
LGBTQ workers and allies are expected to participate in a general walkout at office locations in California, Florida and elsewhere, a group of employees announced last week on a website that calls out Chapek by name.
In recent weeks, Chapek has come under intense internal criticism and public scrutiny for not having taken a more forceful stand against HB 1557, a bill that would prohibit instruction about "sexual orientation or gender identity" in kindergarten through the third grade in Florida.
--------------
We Can't Be Smug About Smog
Wildfires in the U.S. combined with the near-elimination of pandemic restrictions pushed air pollution levels in the U.S. back to pre-Covid levels in 2021, according to a report released Tuesday.
IQAir, a Swiss company that monitors air quality around the world, said in the report that the U.S. as a whole saw a 7 percent increase in fine particle air pollution in 2021 compared to the previous year. Seven of the top 10 most populous cities in the United States have returned to pre-pandemic levels of air pollution, with Dallas, Miami and Washington, D.C., as the exceptions.
Atlanta recorded a 33 percent increase in pollution, attributed to traffic returning and increased monitoring. Similarly, Minneapolis recorded a spike of 35.7 percent last year.
Christi Chester-Schroeder, an air quality scientist for IQAir, said the reason for the jump in Minneapolis was stagnant air, increased monitoring and wildfires in the western U.S.
“In July 2021, the measurement was three times what an average July would be for Minneapolis,” she said.
--------------
Powell Plays Quarterback. "Blue 27. Blue 27. Omaha. Omaha. Hike!"
Chair Jerome Powell said Monday that the Federal Reserve would raise its benchmark short-term interest rate faster than expected, and high enough to restrain growth and hiring, if it decides this would be necessary to slow rampaging inflation.
Powell's message was more hawkish than his comments were after last week's Fed meeting, when officials raised their key rate a quarter-point from near zero to a range of 0.25% to 0.5%. (“Hawks” typically support higher rates to stave off inflation, while “doves” generally prefer lower rates to bolster hiring).
His remarks, in a speech to the National Association for Business Economics, caused a sharp drop in the stock market, with its implication that potentially much higher rates could be on the way for mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and other consumer and business borrowing. U.S. stocks later recovered, with the S&P 500 index ending the day down less that 0.1%.
Powell said that if necessary, the central bank would be open to raising rates by a comparatively aggressive half-point at multiple Fed meetings. The Fed hasn’t raised its benchmark rate by a half-point since May 2000.
--------------
Evergrande Has Become Ever Broke
Banks have seized $2 billion in cash from Evergrande, the ailing Chinese real estate developer said Tuesday as it announced a delay to the publication of its annual earnings.
Evergrande said that it won't be able to meet the March 31 deadline for publishing audited results for 2021, a year which saw it default on its debts as prices and activity in China's vast real estate sector slumped.
One of its units — Evergrande Property Services — said some of its lenders had unexpectedly claimed around 13.4 billion yuan ($2.1 billion) of its bank deposits that were pledged as collateral for "third party guarantees."
It didn't specify who the lenders were, saying only that the banks had taken control of the cash. The property services unit said it would establish an independent committee to investigate.
The real estate developer is one of China's largest and its most indebted with more than $300 billion of total liabilities, including about $19 billion outstanding offshore bonds held by international asset managers and private banks on behalf of their clients.
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
First time we have been below 50,000 cases since July 22nd.
↓ 23.9% Cases, two-week change
↓ 57.7% Deaths, two-week change
977,117 Total confirmed deaths
New Cases 7-Day Average | Deaths 7-Day Average | |
| Mar 21 | 28,657 | 861 |
| Mar 20 | 27,786 | 901 |
| Mar 19 | 27,747 | 909 |
| Mar 18 | 28,274 | 972 |
| Mar 17 | 29,317 | 1,035 |
| Mar 16 | 30,040 | 1,052 |
| Mar 15 | 30,934 | 1,107 |
| Mar 14 | 32,458 | 1,186 |
| Mar 13 | 34,113 | 1,187 |
| Mar 12 | 34,253 | 1,210 |
| Mar 11 | 34,805 | 1,198 |
| Mar 10 | 35,269 | 1,197 |
| Mar 9 | 37,146 | 1,179 |
| Mar 8 | 37,879 | 1,161 |
| Mar 7 | 40,433 | 1,208 |
| Mar 6 | 42,204 | 1,259 |
| Mar 5 | 43,665 | 1,281 |
| Mar 4 | 45,555 | 1,319 |
| Mar 3 | 49,888 | 1,413 |
| Mar 2 | 53,016 | 1,558 |
| Mar 1 | 56,253 | 1,674 |
| Feb 28 | 68,480 | 1,832 |
| Feb 27 | 62,556 | 1,686 |
| Feb 26 | 66,053 | 1,719 |
| Feb 25 | 69,203 | 1,751 |
| Feb 24 | 72,111 | 1,720 |
| Feb 23 | 75,208 | 1,674 |
| Feb 22 | 79,539 | 1,602 |
| Feb 21 | 78,306 | 1,872 |
| Feb 20 | 98,012 | 1,872 |
| Feb 19 | 100,129 | 1,890 |
| Feb 18 | 103,462 | 1,920 |
| Feb 17 | 112,653 | 1,998 |
| Feb 16 | 121,664 | 2,020 |
| Feb 15 | 134,468 | 2,100 |
| Feb 14 | 146,921 | 2,208 |
| Feb 16, 2021 | 78,292 |
| At Least One Dose | Fully Vaccinated | % of Vaccinated W/ Boosters | |
| % of Total Population | 76.6% | 65.2% | 44.2% |
| % of Population 5+ | 81.4% | 69.3% | |
| % of Population 12+ | 86.3% | 73.6% | 45.8% |
| % of Population 18+ | 88.1% | 75.2% | 47.6% |
| % of Population 65+ | 95.0% | 88.9% | 66.7% |
California Precipitation (Updated Tuesday March 22)
There was some rain in the Nor Cal. A little more in the ten-day.
| Percent of Average for this Date | 2 Weeks ago | 3 Weeks ago | |
| Northern Sierra Precipitation | 79% (62% of full season average) | 84% (61%) | 87% (60%) |
| San Joaquin Precipitation | 69% (54%) | 74% (53%) | 76% (51%) |
| Tulare Basin Precipitation | 65% (51%) | 71% (51%) | 70% (48%) |
| Snow Water Content - North | 46% | 55% (52%) | 59% (53%) |
| Snow Water Content - Central | 55% | 59% (64%) | 58% (66%) |
| Snow Water Content - South | 52% | 60% (66%) | 54% (63%) |
--------------
Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees
He's Announcing He's Committed a Scam. I Wonder How Well That Will Work.
A Russian billionaire sanctioned by the UK says he no longer owns many former properties, potentially putting them beyond the reach of the law.
Ex-Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov's £82m London home and Surrey mansion were put into trusts linked to the oligarch.
This raises questions over the effectiveness of sanctions imposed since the invasion of Ukraine began.
The UK government says Mr Usmanov "cannot access his assets".
"Sorry for any misunderstanding"?? WTF Does That Mean?? And, Did They Fire the Teacher? No, They Had a "Talk" With Her.
A Southern California private school apologized to parents after a teacher shared a video last month of her leading preschool students in a chant denouncing President Joe Biden.
The video obtained by ABC 7 News in Los Angeles shows the unnamed teacher at Turning Point Christian School in Norco asking the 4- and 5-year-olds, “Who’s our president?”
When they answer in unison, “Biden,” the teacher then asks, “What do we want to do with him?”
The students shout back, “We want him out!”
Parent Christina McFadden told ABC 7 the video from the President’s Day lesson was shared through the school’s messaging app, before it was taken down.
Turning Point officials said in a statement to parents that the school was “sorry for any misunderstanding” caused by the video.
Greg is Lying Out of His Ab-Butt
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has shamelessly promoted the supposed successes of his multibillion dollar, taxpayer-funded border scheme. “Through Operation Lone Star, the Texas Department of Public Safety has seized hundreds of pounds of cocaine & fentanyl, with a street value of $2.2M,” he claimed in a September tweet. “Operation Lone Star continues to secure the border, crack down on human smuggling,” read a press release just a couple days ago.
But when pressed on the data to back that up, the right-wing governor’s office has “fought two dozen public records requests from the news organizations that would provide a clearer picture of the operation’s accomplishments,” a joint investigation from Marshall Project, ProPublica, and The Texas Tribune said. But some of the information that has been presented has been misleading, or just an outright lie.
“A year into the operation, officials touted more than 11,000 criminal arrests, drug seizures that amount to millions of ‘lethal doses’ and the referrals of tens of thousands of unauthorized immigrants to the federal government for deportation as signs that the program is effective,” the joint report said.
But included in that have been the arrests of U.S. citizens nowhere near the border with Mexico. Texas had also included charges like cockfighting as well as sexual assault and stalking, which, while very serious crimes, have nothing to do with a supposed border operation. Texas stopped counting those and 2,000 other charges as part of Operation Lone Star later last year, “after the news organizations began raising questions about the ties between the arrests and border security,” the report said.
She's Not Carrie, But She Loves Mr. Biggs
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema privately praised Rep. Andy Biggs months after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol many suspect he helped stoke, and she questioned why she needed to wear a mask in an early 2021 meeting with President Joe Biden, a new book says.
'I love Andy Biggs': Book says Sen. Kyrsten Sinema praised him after Jan. 6. In a passage about negotiations over Biden's stalled "Build Back Better" agenda, authors Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns, both reporters for the New York Times, use unnamed sources to describe a September fundraiser Sinema attended with Republican-friendly business groups.
“I come from a fiscally conservative state,” she said, according to the book. “And I’m interested in maintaining pro-growth tax policies that ensure that we can get through this pandemic without losing ground. “Arizonans don’t like taxes, and we don’t really like government. We love our country. And we love our military. And that’s about where it ends.”
Let us think about Andy Biggs for a moment, that Sinema supposedly loves. What kind of company does he keep?
(Marjorie Taylor Greene) nabbed endorsements from Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus; Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), one of President Donald Trump’s closest allies on Capitol Hill; Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.), a Freedom Caucus member and former pastor who rescinded his endorsement the day after this story was published; and the House Freedom Fund, the political arm for the Freedom Caucus. Jordan said he disagreed with her statements but did not pull his endorsement. Biggs did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
Ted Cruz Won't Take the "High Life Road". No Questions About Beer.
So Biden Should Have Nominated a White Man Who Owned Slaves
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) began his speech with an attempt to give Jackson, who if confirmed would be the first Black woman on the court, a history lesson.
“Supreme Court confirmations weren’t always controversial,” Cruz said. “In fact, Bushrod Washington, when nominated to the Supreme Court in 1798, was confirmed the very next day.”
It is true that Bushrod Washington — a favorite nephew of George Washington who had never served as a judge before — was officially nominated to the Supreme Court on Dec. 19, 1798, and confirmed the next day by voice vote in the Senate. However, he had already been serving on the court since Nov. 9 via recess appointment from President John Adams. (Ten justices have been recess appointed, the last coming during the Eisenhower administration.)
It is also true that Washington was an enslaver.
He Sounds Like the Perfect Republican Candidate, Except He Never Owned Slaves ... That We Know Of.
Former Missouri Republican Gov. Eric Greitens left office in 2018 amid multiple scandals. And in new court documents released yesterday, Greitens’ ex-wife detailed allegations of domestic abuse against the now-Senate hopeful.
In a sworn affidavit as part of an ongoing child custody case, Greitens’ ex-wife accused him of physically abusing her and their children, as well as threatening himself and their family while they were married. Greitens joined Steve Bannon’s podcast and called the allegations “completely baseless,” accusing his ex-wife of conspiring with allies of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who Greitens opposes.
Three GOP candidates — Rep. Vicky Hartzler, Rep. Billy Long, and state Attorney General Eric Schmitt — as well as Democrat Lucas Kunce called on Greitens to drop out of the race. And Missouri GOP Sen. Josh Hawley, who has endorsed Hartzler, tweeted to call for the same, adding “if you hit a woman or a child, you belong in handcuffs, not the United States Senate.”
Gun and Lies. That Sounds Like a QOP Wet Dream.
Civil rights groups have filed a lawsuit against political canvassers, some of them armed, who pounded on voters’ doors in Colorado with questions about what they claimed was a rigged presidential election.
Interrogating residents about baseless claims of election fraud and photographing their homes amounted to a “voter intimidation campaign” in violation of the post-Civil War Ku Klux Klan Act, alleges the suit filed in U.S District Court in Colorado by the NAACP, the Colorado League of Women Voters of Colorado and Mi Familia Vota.
The suit accuses the U.S. Election Integrity Plan, which organized the canvassers, and three of its leaders of violating the Voting Rights Act through “intimidating, threatening and coercive conduct,” often in neighborhoods with a high number of people of color. It asks the court to declare the canvassing intimidation and harassment, and to order it stopped.
The canvassers often display badges, the lawsuit says, and are encouraged to carry weapons. They confront voters “for allegedly casting fraudulent ballots” and take photos of people’s homes, according to the suit.
The group uses such tactics across Colorado and in several other states, the suit says. It was founded by supporters of former President Donald Trump after he lost the 2020 election and began spreading his widely debunked lies about election fraud. Funders, according to the suit, include MyPillow guy Mike Lindell, a prominent promoter of Trump’s bogus claims.
Meatball: An easy pitch to hit, usually right down the middle of the plate.
Today's Dumbest Dog Owners in the World
A dog in North Carolina is looking for a new home after his previous owners dumped him at an animal shelter because they said they feared he might be gay.
“Fezco,” who is described as a 4- to 5-year-old dog of an unknown breed, was recently dropped off at the Stanly County Animal Protective Services in Albemarle.
The reason? Fezco apparently humped another male dog, and the dog’s owners assumed the canine was a “gaynine” and didn’t want him around so they left him at the shelter.
Now the shelter wants to find Fezco a new home and says he likes people and other animals, according to a report Thursday on Charlotte CW affiliate WCCB.
Although Scientific American notes that homosexual behavior has been observed in more than 1,500 animal species, the ASPCA says that it’s common for dogs to mount and thrust against other animals, people and objects, including wadded-up blankets, dog beds and toys, as a form of masturbation or as a response to stress.
The QOP Can Find a Reason to Stop Any Bill. This One Doesn't Help Oil Companies Enough.
Mere days after all but eight House members voted to revoke normal trade relations with Russia — a whopping total in the bitterly divided chamber — its path through the Senate is already looking complicated.
Senate Republicans are demanding the legislation be paired with a separate House-passed measure banning Russian oil imports. Democratic leaders are instead aiming to quickly pass the trade bill this week by itself, honoring a request from President Joe Biden as he looks to further isolate Russia over its war in Ukraine.
The dispute threatens to delay or derail congressional action on an overwhelmingly popular measure designed to punish Russia and deprive its economy of key revenue streams. But one key Republican involved in the push suggested that Democrats are already on track for a resolution by letting both the trade and oil sanctions packages pass.
“We are negotiating and my hope is that we will merge the two House bills,” said Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. “The House voted for both bills with over 400 votes. And that kind of bipartisan agreement is still in existence over here on both bills.”
Any prolonged negotiation could hinder what has otherwise been a lightning-quick response from Congress to Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. The two parties sent $14 billion in emergency aid to Ukraine recently to help finance its defenses against Russia; Republicans and some Democrats have publicly prodded Biden to act faster than he has. But unless all 100 senators agree on a path forward, the Senate can’t vote quickly on anything this week.
Previous Guy Sought Advice From Someone Smarter Than Him About Korea.
Kid Rock has revealed that former President Donald Trump once asked for his advice on dealing with North Korea during his time in office.
--------------
Today's Best Person in the World Nominees
They Can't Have a Brave and Honorabl Person Roaming the Streets of Moscow
The jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has been sentenced to an additional nine years, in a fresh trial roundly criticized by human rights organizations as politically motivated.
Navalny is already imprisoned on a two-and-a-half-year sentence, incarcerated since he was immediately arrested on his return to Russia following treatment in Germany in January of last year, after being poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent in August 2020.
Prosecutors sought a new 10-year sentence on fresh charges of embezzlement and contempt of court that were announced in February, granted by the court, which means Navalny will remain incarcerated until President Vladimir Putin is entering his 80s.
Those Brave Lads of the
Each night, Ukrainian pilots like Andriy loiter in an undisclosed aircraft hangar, waiting, waiting, until the tension is broken with a shouted, one-word command: “Air!”
Andriy hustles into his Su-27 supersonic jet and hastily taxis toward the runway, getting airborne as quickly as possible. He takes off so fast that he doesn’t yet know his mission for the night, though the big picture is always the same — to bring the fight to a Russian Air Force that is vastly superior in numbers but has so far failed to win control of the skies above Ukraine.
“I don’t do any checks,” said Andriy, a Ukrainian Air Force pilot who as a condition of granting an interview was not permitted to give his surname or rank. “I just take off.”
Nearly a month into the fighting, one of the biggest surprises of the war in Ukraine is Russia’s failure to defeat the Ukrainian Air Force. Military analysts had expected Russian forces to quickly destroy or paralyze Ukraine’s air defenses and military aircraft, yet neither have happened. Instead, Top Gun-style aerial dogfights, rare in modern warfare, are now raging above the country.
--------------
Invasions Have Consequences
Rallies Have Consequences, Too.
Swimwear maker Speedo has ended its sponsorship deal with two-time Olympic gold medal swimmer Evgeny Rylov after the Russian attended a rally hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Rylov, who won gold in the 100 and 200 meter backstroke events at last year's Tokyo Olympic Games, was among eight top Russian athletes who appeared on stage at the rally in Moscow last week, according to Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. The rally commemorated the eighth year of Russia's annexation of Crimea -- which is deemed illegal by the Ukrainian government and not recognized in the West.
"Following his attendance at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow at the weekend, Speedo can confirm that it has terminated the sponsorship of Evgeny Rylov with immediate effect," the company said in a statement to CNN.
"We condemn the war in Ukraine in the strongest possible way and stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, our athletes and our teammates who have been impacted by the conflict."
"As part of this decision, any outstanding sponsorship fees will be donated to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)," Speedo added.
When No News is Big News
From the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there have been reports that more big moves were on the way. Amphibious assaults were reportedly on their way to Odessa. Belarus was about to send thousands of its own soldiers over the border. Thousands of foreign fighters were ready to rally to Russia’s cause.
Any of those things might still happen, but on Tuesday afternoon in Kyiv, none of them have happened yet. Syrian troops that Vladimir Putin bragged about in the first week of the war are still sitting in Syria, with no sign that they’re about to board any transportation to bring them into Putin’s war. Belarusian forces continue to make a great show of shuffling back and forth inside Belarus, but have yet to line up near the border, much less cross it. Odessa’s beaches remain clear.
While Ukrainian forces are conducting a counterattack that has driven back Russian forces around Kyiv and opened much of the road into Kherson, there is a lot that’s not going on in Ukraine. Despite advertised claims that 40,000 Syrian mercenaries would be joining Russian troops, that hasn’t happened. The same thing goes for other claims about forces from other Russian allies. There does seem to have been some number of Chechen fighters involved in the southeast of Ukraine, but so far their numbers seem few and their impact undetectable. The only Belarusian forces to enter Ukraine so far as those which have volunteered to fight for Ukraine. In fact, the Lukashenko dictatorship has had to taken moves to quiet down what appeared to be vibrant recruiting for more Belarusian volunteers.
All His Dreams Are Turning to Nightmares
Putin dreamed of restoring the USSR, those dreams are turning to dust in Ukraine.
For many years, he spread propaganda in Europe to drive Brexit and create other potential ****exits from the European Union. His single-minded ideological drive to become the new Stalin has blinded him. His propaganda machine has assured him popularity in Russia, but has done the exact opposite in Europe.
The longer that Ukraine opposes his armies, the more his rage will be turned upon Russia itself. Dictators always have to find someone else to blame.
His attack has suppressed Germany’s feeling of national guilt, he has awoken Europe’s engineering and industrial powerhouse. Europe's collective defensive strategy is evolving.
Finland and historically neutral Sweden are reconsidering their stance with respect to NATO.
He is encouraging by his failure the democratic dreams of Georgians and Belarusians, rather than expanding Russia’s sphere of influence/dominance, it is diminishing, one day perhaps in Russia itself.
The European Union [plus NATO] will expand despite Putin’s, US Republicans, and the UK Tories hopes. His army of little helpers, the extreme right wing in Europe, are running away from him faster than shit flies off a hot shovel. [There will always be a few Totalitarian dreamers].
Putin Shills Take a New Line. Make War, Not Love.
Prilepin complained that the United States is “pumping Ukraine full of weapons to massacre the Russians,” failing to mention that Russia is the aggressor in this war. He added: “Arnie, you are a predator and an enemy.”
As a guest on Soloviev’s Sunday show, Prilepin stressed that the Russians shouldn’t try to convince the West of their humanity and good will. He argued that Russia’s approach towards the West should be as harsh as possible: “If they’re seriously afraid of the conflict with Russia, of WWIII, of nuclear war or the escalation of the conflict, we should be convincing them that we’re ready for it, that we love it, that we like to make war.”
Such a Dilemma. What to Do With Your Second Yacht?
A second superyacht belonging to Chelsea soccer club owner and sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich has docked in a resort in southwestern Turkey - a country that's not applying sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, Turkish media reports said Tuesday.
The private DHA news agency said the Bermuda-registered Eclipse docked at a port in the resort of Marmaris amid international efforts to freeze assets belonging to top Russian businessmen linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A day earlier, Abramovich's Bermuda-flagged luxury yacht My Solaris arrived in the nearby resort of Bodrum, triggering a protest by a group of Ukrainians who boarded a small motor boat and tried to prevent the yacht from docking.
--------------
Escape from Mouse-Scwhitz
Walt Disney Co. employees at corporate locations across the U.S. plan to get up from their desks and head to the exits Tuesday to protest CEO Bob Chapek's response to Florida legislation that LGBTQ advocates have dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill.
LGBTQ workers and allies are expected to participate in a general walkout at office locations in California, Florida and elsewhere, a group of employees announced last week on a website that calls out Chapek by name.
In recent weeks, Chapek has come under intense internal criticism and public scrutiny for not having taken a more forceful stand against HB 1557, a bill that would prohibit instruction about "sexual orientation or gender identity" in kindergarten through the third grade in Florida.
--------------
We Can't Be Smug About Smog
Wildfires in the U.S. combined with the near-elimination of pandemic restrictions pushed air pollution levels in the U.S. back to pre-Covid levels in 2021, according to a report released Tuesday.
IQAir, a Swiss company that monitors air quality around the world, said in the report that the U.S. as a whole saw a 7 percent increase in fine particle air pollution in 2021 compared to the previous year. Seven of the top 10 most populous cities in the United States have returned to pre-pandemic levels of air pollution, with Dallas, Miami and Washington, D.C., as the exceptions.
Atlanta recorded a 33 percent increase in pollution, attributed to traffic returning and increased monitoring. Similarly, Minneapolis recorded a spike of 35.7 percent last year.
Christi Chester-Schroeder, an air quality scientist for IQAir, said the reason for the jump in Minneapolis was stagnant air, increased monitoring and wildfires in the western U.S.
“In July 2021, the measurement was three times what an average July would be for Minneapolis,” she said.
--------------
Powell Plays Quarterback. "Blue 27. Blue 27. Omaha. Omaha. Hike!"
Chair Jerome Powell said Monday that the Federal Reserve would raise its benchmark short-term interest rate faster than expected, and high enough to restrain growth and hiring, if it decides this would be necessary to slow rampaging inflation.
Powell's message was more hawkish than his comments were after last week's Fed meeting, when officials raised their key rate a quarter-point from near zero to a range of 0.25% to 0.5%. (“Hawks” typically support higher rates to stave off inflation, while “doves” generally prefer lower rates to bolster hiring).
His remarks, in a speech to the National Association for Business Economics, caused a sharp drop in the stock market, with its implication that potentially much higher rates could be on the way for mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and other consumer and business borrowing. U.S. stocks later recovered, with the S&P 500 index ending the day down less that 0.1%.
Powell said that if necessary, the central bank would be open to raising rates by a comparatively aggressive half-point at multiple Fed meetings. The Fed hasn’t raised its benchmark rate by a half-point since May 2000.
--------------
Evergrande Has Become Ever Broke
Banks have seized $2 billion in cash from Evergrande, the ailing Chinese real estate developer said Tuesday as it announced a delay to the publication of its annual earnings.
Evergrande said that it won't be able to meet the March 31 deadline for publishing audited results for 2021, a year which saw it default on its debts as prices and activity in China's vast real estate sector slumped.
One of its units — Evergrande Property Services — said some of its lenders had unexpectedly claimed around 13.4 billion yuan ($2.1 billion) of its bank deposits that were pledged as collateral for "third party guarantees."
It didn't specify who the lenders were, saying only that the banks had taken control of the cash. The property services unit said it would establish an independent committee to investigate.
The real estate developer is one of China's largest and its most indebted with more than $300 billion of total liabilities, including about $19 billion outstanding offshore bonds held by international asset managers and private banks on behalf of their clients.
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
