Post by mhbruin on Mar 23, 2022 8:54:17 GMT -8
US Vaccine Data - We Have Now Administered 559 Million Shots (Population 333 Million)
↓ 23.3% Cases, two-week change
↓ 66.8% Deaths, two-week change
978.248 Total confirmed deaths
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California Precipitation (Updated Tuesday March 22)
There was some rain in the Nor Cal. A little more in the ten-day.
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Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees
No Wonder the QOP is So Worried About Voter Fraud
Debra Meadows was a busy bee in 2020. According to the North Carolina Board of Elections, on Oct. 26, Debbie showed up at the Macon County community building in Franklin, North Carolina, and filled out a one-stop voter application for early voting in the 2020 presidential election. She claimed she lived in Scaly Mountain in a 14-foot by 62-foot mobile home. The problem was … she didn’t.
According to North Carolina state law, in order to vote in that state, you must reside in the claimed address for at least 30 days prior to the election. Again, she didn’t. Debbie must not have read the top of the voter form either, which clearly states: “fraudulently or falsely completing this form is a Class I felony under Chapter 163 of the NC general statutes.”
Debbie additionally dropped off an absentee ballot for her hubby Mark Meadows, who was then the White House chief of staff for failed President Donald Trump.
This is just the latest in a long list of discoveries regarding Mark and Debbie and their shady-as-hell voting practices.
As first reported by The New Yorker’s Charles Bethea, Meadows does not own the Scaly Mountain property, which sits in the southern Appalachian mountains. Debbie did rent the house for a couple of months, but as the unnamed owner of the house told The New Yorker, “He [Mark Meadows] did not come. He’s never spent a night in there.” The Meadows family did stay at the home in the fall of 2020 when they were in the area for a Trump rally as nearby hotels were mostly booked.
According to The News & Observer, Meadows is still registered to vote at the mobile home address.
As The Washington Post’s Fact Checker reporting shows, Debbie signed not one, not two, but three forms fraudulently. First a voter registration form, then an absentee ballot request for Mark, and then the one-stop application—a form that’s intended to warn someone of the legal ramifications of knowingly falsely signing.
Debbie voted in the 2020 primary runoff using the false mobile home address; Mark signed a voter registration form but did not end up actually voting in the primary.
Prior to the election on Sept. 19, 2020, the Meadows listed a P.O. box in a town about 70 miles away from the mobile home near Asheville, North Carolina, as their mailing address and listed the move-in date to the mobile home as the following day: Sept. 20. But in March 2020, the Meadows sold their Sapphire, North Carolina, home, meaning they didn't actually live in the state. They in fact lived at the time in their recently purchased condominium in Old Town Alexandria in Virginia.
Bye-Bye. He Was Off to Dubai. Was Manafort on the Lam?
They Can't Be Dumb Enough to Invade Poland. They Are Already Bogged Down in Ukraine
Poland is expelling 45 Russian diplomats suspected of working for Russian intelligence, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
"In total, 45 people with varying diplomatic status... were ordered to leave the territory of the Republic of Poland within 5 days," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lukasz Jasina told a news conference.
One person had been given 48 hours to leave, he added.
"Russia is our neighbour, it will not disappear from the map of Europe, but the aggression towards Ukraine proves that it is an unfriendly state, and even hostile to Poland."
America: Love It or Leave It. He Chose "Leave It".
A California man suspected of taking part in the US Capitol riots last year has been granted asylum in Belarus.
Evan Neumann fled the US after being charged in connection with the riots.
The 48-year-old first settled in Ukraine, before reaching Belarus where he asked for asylum - claiming he faced "political persecution" in the US.
A Belarusian official said Mr Neumann has been granted permission to remain in the country "indefinitely".
State officials also alleged that Mr Neumann had been forced to cross the Belarusian border "illegally" after attracting "interest from local secret services" in Ukraine.
Not All Religious Leaders Are Vile People.
It’s no secret that one of the biggest reasons that this country has dragged its feet in responding to domestic violence and sexual assault is that elements of the church have had their collective heads up their collective butts on this issue. One of the biggest reasons that survivors don’t come forward for years, if they come forward at all, is the utter lack of support—and in some cases, outright hostility—from the church. Some of the very people who should be lifting survivors up are instead kicking them in the teeth and a bunch of other places.
I’ve seen some pretty egregious cases of this happening over the years. But without a doubt, the worst case I’ve seen to date comes from one of the titans of the evangelical world, John MacArthur. In half a century as pastor of Grace Community Church in the San Fernando Valley, he has acquired a sterling reputation among evangelicals even though he doesn’t get as many headlines as the likes of Franklin Graham, James Dobson, and Pat Robertson.
That reputation, however, took a beating after MacArthur began beating the drum for churches to reopen to full capacity during the worst of COVID—then covered up reports of an outbreak during the 2020 winter surge. What’s left of that reputation now stands torn to shreds after Christian investigative journalist Julie Roys uncovered irrefutable evidence that MacArthur’s church publicly supported a convicted child abuser—after MacArthur publicly shamed his wife for throwing him out of the house.
QANON Ron Wants Sick People to Die
More than 14.5 million Americans signed up for Obamacare health insurance for 2022, a 21% jump over last year and the highest since the Affordable Care Act was signed 12 years ago, the U.S. government said on Wednesday.
About 10.3 million people enrolled from the 33 U.S. states that use the online marketplace funded by the federal government and about 4.3 million people from states that sell the insurance directly to their residents.
Can You Have Brains and Braun?
Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) said Tuesday that he believes interracial marriage should not be legal nationwide and that individual states should decide whether to allow it.
“So you would be OK with the Supreme Court leaving the question of interracial marriage to the states?” reporter Dan Carden of The Times of Northwest Indiana asked Braun.
“Yes,” the senator replied on the call with Indiana reporters. “I think that’s something ― if you’re not wanting the Supreme Court to weigh in on issues like that, you’re not going to be able to have your cake and eat it too. I think that’s hypocritical.”
The Supreme Court legalized interracial marriage nationwide in 1967, in the landmark case Loving v. Virginia.
The world Braun would return to is what same-sex couples faced until 2015 — their marriage was not recognized federally and might be legal in one state but not the next. That sort of discrimination had ramifications in all corners of life, including medical decisions and family planning.
DeathSentence Sure Seems Obsessed With Young Female Athletes
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Tuesday refused to accept the victory of Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer on the University of Pennsylvania women’s team, in the women’s 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA championships.
In a proclamation, DeSantis instead declared runner-up in the race Emma Weyant, an Olympic silver medalist from Sarasota who now competes for the University of Virginia, as the “rightful winner.”
“Since she is a native Floridian from Sarasota, I, Ron DeSantis, Governor of the State of Florida, do hereby declare in Florida that Emma Weyant is the rightful winner of the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s 500-yard Freestyle, congratulate her on yet another significant achievement, and express pride that she is a Florida resident,” the document asserted:
The Whitest Person In America Weighs In On Who is Black Enough
Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Tuesday likened President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson, to a “white liberal” and suggested a “rap star off the street” was more likely to share the views of an average American.
Jackson has faced fierce questioning from Republicans this week during her Senate confirmation hearings on everything from her views of critical race theory to child pornography.
“I have to say, her views really seem like those of every affluent white liberal I’ve ever met,” Carlson said during a segment with his sports and politics commentator Clay Travis.
“If you want a Black candidate ― I’m serious! I think the country would get better representation from, you know. She’s just a carbon copy of everyone in the neighborhood I spent my life in,” Carlson added.
Travis agreed.
“This is what happens, Tucker, they want cosmetic diversity, but everybody to have the exact same opinions. No diversity of thought, diversity of appearance. It’s scary.”
Carlson then claimed Jackson’s views were not representative of “the average American.”
“If you picked a rap star off the street, that person’s views would more likely be closer to the views of the average American than the views of this woman, I would argue,” he said. “I’ve got money on it actually.”
"We Are Not The Fringe"
Josh Hawley Wishes He Was Special, But He's a ...
Jimmy Kimmel was creeped out by some of the questions Republican senators asked Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson during her confirmation hearing on Tuesday. But one GOP lawmaker stood above the rest in all the wrong ways: Sen. Josh Hawley.
“What a creep this guy is. He’s senator from Missouri,” Kimmel said. “Spent much of his 30 allotted minutes reading a list of child porn videos from a case the judge worked on.”
The “Jimmy Kimmel Live” audience murmured.
“He did,” Kimmel said. “Oh, that’s not a joke.”
The White House later called Hawley’s actions an “embarrassing, QAnon-signaling smear.”
Hawley is “trying to throw meat to these Q-Anuts and also smear a woman who’s a mother of two daughters and quite clearly not pro-child porn,” Kimmel said.
Then, Kimmel showed an image of Hawley elbow-bumping Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who is reportedly the subject of a federal investigation looking into whether he and others paid for sex at drug-fueled parties involving a 17-year-old girl, including possibly paying for her to travel with him across state lines.
Or as Kimmel called Gaetz: “A fine upstanding American who very innocently Venmos teenage girls ― because he’s nice, is why he does that.”
Kimmel said the GOP had no real criticism of Jackson so they’re claiming she is soft on crime.
“It’s funny listening to the same people who let the president get away with trying to overthrow the government call anyone ‘soft on crime,’” Kimmel observed.
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Today's Best Person in the World Nominees
The Heroes of Voznesensk
It was one of the most decisive battles of the war so far - a ferocious two-day struggle for control of the farming town of Voznesensk and its strategically important bridge.
Victory would have enabled Russian forces to sweep further west along the Black Sea coast towards the huge port of Odesa and a major nuclear power plant.
Instead, Ukrainian troops, supported by an eclectic army of local volunteers, delivered a crushing blow to Russian plans, first by blowing up the bridge and then by driving the invading army back, up to 100km, to the east.
"It's hard to explain how we did it. It's thanks to the fighting spirit of our local people and to the Ukrainian army," said Voznesensk's 32-year-old mayor, Yevheni Velichko, standing in body armour with his guards outside the town hall.
It's About Time. This Has Been a Major Factor in Keeping Blacks in Poverty for Over a Century
The Biden administration will announce on Wednesday new steps to crack down on real estate appraisers who assign lower home price estimates to Black and Latino homeowners, senior officials said.
Mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac found in 2021 that Black and Latino people were more likely to have their homes valued under the agreed sales price than white homesellers.
Such an appraisal can limit the size of a mortgage that can be written on a property, forcing homeowners to sell at a lower price or cancel a sale altogether. It can also reduce the amount available during a refinancing.
Senior administration officials said they are working to bolster appraisal standards, increase the diversity of the workforce tasked with creating those estimates and make it easier to report discrimination that violates federal law.
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Invasions Have Consequences
The Russian Army Doesn't Have a Glorious History in Offensive War (My Comments)
Their only real victories are when defending their own territory, with winter helping them defeat Napoleon and Hitler.
They got their asses kicked by Japan in the Russo-Japanese War.
They got destroyed by a much smaller German Army fighting on two fronts in WWI.
They got seriously beaten by German in WWII until the winter and supply line issues kicked in.
The lost in Afghanistan (but them so did we.
Large numbers, bad leadership, poor weapons. It's the same old story.
The Hackers Have Entered the Fight
M, a Ukrainian engineer in his early 20s, is not healthy enough to enlist in the military. So every day, he sits down at his computer to do what he can as part of Ukraine’s IT army, an informal group of volunteer hackers whose job it is to wreak as much havoc on Russian websites as possible.
“I try to do whatever I can, whatever I can reach to end the war, to stop it, to stop killing Ukrainian people,” said M, who asked to use only an initial from his first name out of fear for the safety of him and his family.
M's tool is a simple one: Flooding Russian websites with fake web traffic, an old and basic cyberattack more commonly known as a distributed denial of service, or DDoS. He can execute it from the computer in his bedroom in Lviv, Ukraine.
Though unsophisticated, the DDoS attack has had a renaissance during the opening weeks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. And though the attacks do not tend to do much damage — many websites can either mitigate the attacks or come back online quickly — they’re a way for almost any hacktivist to participate.
“They’re quite an easy task that most people can do on their phones and their laptops,” M said.
The DDoS attacks are the most conspicuous part of a hacktivist-driven cyberbattle around Ukraine, with little evidence of more advanced, state-based cyberattacks — at least so far. President Joe Biden warned Monday of “evolving intelligence that the Russian government is exploring options for potential cyberattacks.”
Shane Huntley, the head of Google’s Threat Analysis Group, which tracks hacking trends, said that DDoS attacks are appealing to novice hackers because widely available programs make them easy to deploy.
“DDoS is the easiest thing to do. It’s one click now. If you’re a teenager anywhere in the world, you can participate,” he said. “It has the lowest barrier to entry.”
They also can make a visible, immediate impact, he said.
“DDoS is the most obvious of all attacks, so it’s really easy to see this activity, versus espionage or subtler destruction attacks,” Huntley said. “It’s very clear when a site goes offline.”
Metrics on the size of DDoS attacks and their impact on Russian companies and agencies can be difficult to come by, but Russia has given some indications that they’ve become a serious hindrance. A number of Russian sites have recently made themselves available only to computers with a Russian IP address, meaning someone has to be in Russia or use a virtual private network to route their internet connection through the country to access it.
He Wasn't Wanted In Ukraine, But He Came Anyway. Some People Can't Take a Hint and Keep Showing Up.
Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to attend the Group of 20 summit that is being hosted by Indonesia this year, Russia’s ambassador to the Southeast Asian country said Wednesday. Western nations are reportedly trying to exclude Moscow from the G-20, a group of the world’s largest economies.
“It will depend on many, many things, including the covid situation, that is getting better. So far, his intention is … he wants to,” Ambassador Lyudmila Vorobieva said of Putin’s attendance.
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The Pride Didn't Have Gay Pride
The Orlando Pride has apologized after a supporters’ group was told it could not display a banner that said “Gay” at a match this weekend.
The Black Swans’ banner was in reference to Florida’s recent legislation dubbed by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay″ bill. The supporters’ group went to Twitter, claiming the sign was deemed political and removed.
In the fallout, the front office for the National Women’s Soccer League team said it would meet with the group to find out what happened.
“These conversations resulted in one ultimate and important conclusion: a mistake was made when the club asked the Black Swans to remove the banner that said ‘GAY,’” the team said Tuesday in a statement.
The Pride’s statement said it wrongly focused on policies and procedures surrounding signs and banners, rather than the meaning of the message. The team was playing the opening match of the NWSL’s preseason Challenge Cup against the Washington Spirit on Saturday.
The Pride has long championed LGBTQ rights, and there are 49 rainbow-colored seats at their home stadium to honor those killed in the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016.
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Just When You Think It's Safe to Take off the Mask
After weeks in free fall, new Covid-19 cases are starting to level off in the US, as the BA.2 subvariant continues its ascent.
BA.2 caused about 35% of cases in the US last week, up from 22% the week before, according to new estimates from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which were posted on Tuesday.
At the same time, new Covid-19 cases are holding steady or increasing in about 19 states, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Some of the states seeing increases—New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Jersey are in northeastern regions where the CDC estimates that BA.2 is now causing more than half of new Covid-19 cases.
Health officials have warned that overall Covid-19 infections could rise across the US in a few weeks, parallel to trends in the UK and Europe.
"I would not be surprised at all if we do see somewhat of an uptick," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a live interview on Tuesday with the Washington Post. "I don't really see, unless something changes dramatically, that there will be a major surge," he said.
In the UK, where BA.2 now accounts for 85% of new infections, cases have increased by 20% week-over-week. Hospitalizations are up about 22% compared to the prior week. Deaths recorded within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test are up about 17%, according to the most recent government numbers.
On Tuesday, the University of Washington's Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, said their model does not predict a new surge in Covid-19 cases "similar to what we have seen in parts of Europe," said Ali Mokdad, a professor of global health at IHME, on Twitter. Instead, he said, their models suggests that after the end of March there would be a steady further decline in Covld-19 transmission in the US.
Help is Coming for the Little Virus Factories
Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine works in babies, toddlers and preschoolers the company announced Wednesday ― and if regulators agree it could mean a chance to finally start vaccinating the littlest kids by summer.
Moderna said in the coming weeks it would ask regulators in the U.S. and Europe to authorize two small-dose shots for youngsters under 6. The company also is seeking to have larger-dose shots cleared for older children and teens in the U.S.
The nation’s 18 million children under 5 are the only age group not yet eligible for vaccination. Competitor Pfizer currently offers kid-sized doses for school-age children and full-strength shots for those 12 and older.
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If You Are a Fan of Isaac Asimov's Foundation, You Will Enjoy This Application to Putin
A king, or a Commdor, will take the ships and even make war. Arbitrary rulers throughout history have bartered their subjects’ welfare for what they consider honor, and glory, and conquest. But it’s still the little things in life that count, and Asper Argo (the “Commdor” of Korell) won’t stand up against the economic depression that will sweep all Korell in two or three years.”
Read it here
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Who Doesn't Like Our Schools? You Might Be Surprised
I would have thought that the latest numbers about parental satisfaction might be lower because of all the pandemic-related chaos. But according to Gallup, which has tracked school satisfaction annually since 1999, in 2021, “73 percent of parents of school-aged children say they are satisfied with the quality of education their oldest child is receiving.” More parents were satisfied in 2021 than they were in 2013 and 2002, when satisfaction dipped into the 60s, and in 2019, we were at a high point in satisfaction — 82 percent — before the Covid pandemic dealt schools a major blow.
Digging deeper into the Gallup numbers revealed that the people who seem to be driving the negative feelings toward American schools do not have children attending them: Overall, only 46 percent of Americans are satisfied with schools
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The Worst Way To Fly
The tornado that ripped through a New Orleans suburb lifted one house into the air and dropped it onto the middle of a street with a family of three inside.
Neighbors said the parents of a girl climbed out of the wreckage screaming frantically for help. Their daughter was on a breathing machine, and now was stuck inside.
Chuck Heirsch told The Times-Picayune / New Orleans Advocate that he called 911 as he saw his neighbor on Prosperity Street trying to reach his daughter.
“They were screaming. His wife was hysterical. They were already traumatized from taking that ‘Wizard of Oz’ ride,” Heirsch said.
“All the men in the neighborhood ran to the house. The mother, they brought her to me. I just held her,” Nerissa Ledet told the newspaper. “I tried to console her. I said, ‘You know they’re going to get her out.’”
Firefighters quickly arrived and carried her out in a blanket. St. Bernard Parish President Guy McInnis described the rescue, saying she's in a hospital and “doing fine.”
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I Don't Support Defunding the Police or the IRS.
IRS says it needs more money to investigate financial crimes
In its more than 100-year history, the IRS criminal investigation unit has helped put away the likes of Al Capone and John Gotti. It is the nation's sixth-largest federal law enforcement agency and the only one authorized to investigate federal criminal tax violations and pursue related financial crimes, such as money laundering, currency violations and terrorist financing.
But as the financial world grows more complex, so has criminal activity – and the unit tasked with bringing such illicit action to heel is facing an increasing challenge. About 75% of the unit's time is spent on tax investigations, but in recent years, they've shifted resources to emerging areas – like cryptocurrency.
"Gone are the simple days of a person sending a transaction through a single bank account. That was easy to uncover: gain records from the bank. Now it's a very complicated web of sophisticated criminals trying to move money globally, "said Jarod Koopman from the IRS criminal investigation unit.
Last fiscal year, the criminal investigation unit identified $3.5 billion in stolen crypto. This year, they've already exceeded that amount. And the crypto team, once 10 people, is now 70. But that's not because of an expanded workforce. Instead, IRS officials said, the agency has pulled resources away from other priorities.
As the United States and allies slapped sanctions on Russian banks, officials, businesses, oligarchs and their families in an effort to inflict financial pain on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, the Internal Revenue Service is also at the forefront of making sure the wealthiest Russians helping fuel Russian President Vladimir Putin's war machine are not evading restrictions.
In early March, the Justice Department launched the Kleptocapture Task Force to enforce sanctions and export restrictions imposed by the United States against Russia. The IRS criminal investigation unit is part of that interagency effort to find and seize yachts, houses, luxury vehicles and more.
But their work began long before the recent invasion. Since 2017, the IRS has been involved in similar sanctions evasion work, with roughly 20 investigations directly related to money laundering by oligarchs. Criminal investigation unit cyber agents have also been working on efforts involving cryptocurrency transactions associated with Russian-based entities for the past several months.
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↓ 23.3% Cases, two-week change
↓ 66.8% Deaths, two-week change
978.248 Total confirmed deaths
New Cases 7-Day Average | Deaths 7-Day Average | |
| Mar 22 | 27,545 | 787 |
| 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%) |
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Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees
No Wonder the QOP is So Worried About Voter Fraud
Debra Meadows was a busy bee in 2020. According to the North Carolina Board of Elections, on Oct. 26, Debbie showed up at the Macon County community building in Franklin, North Carolina, and filled out a one-stop voter application for early voting in the 2020 presidential election. She claimed she lived in Scaly Mountain in a 14-foot by 62-foot mobile home. The problem was … she didn’t.
According to North Carolina state law, in order to vote in that state, you must reside in the claimed address for at least 30 days prior to the election. Again, she didn’t. Debbie must not have read the top of the voter form either, which clearly states: “fraudulently or falsely completing this form is a Class I felony under Chapter 163 of the NC general statutes.”
Debbie additionally dropped off an absentee ballot for her hubby Mark Meadows, who was then the White House chief of staff for failed President Donald Trump.
This is just the latest in a long list of discoveries regarding Mark and Debbie and their shady-as-hell voting practices.
As first reported by The New Yorker’s Charles Bethea, Meadows does not own the Scaly Mountain property, which sits in the southern Appalachian mountains. Debbie did rent the house for a couple of months, but as the unnamed owner of the house told The New Yorker, “He [Mark Meadows] did not come. He’s never spent a night in there.” The Meadows family did stay at the home in the fall of 2020 when they were in the area for a Trump rally as nearby hotels were mostly booked.
According to The News & Observer, Meadows is still registered to vote at the mobile home address.
As The Washington Post’s Fact Checker reporting shows, Debbie signed not one, not two, but three forms fraudulently. First a voter registration form, then an absentee ballot request for Mark, and then the one-stop application—a form that’s intended to warn someone of the legal ramifications of knowingly falsely signing.
Debbie voted in the 2020 primary runoff using the false mobile home address; Mark signed a voter registration form but did not end up actually voting in the primary.
Prior to the election on Sept. 19, 2020, the Meadows listed a P.O. box in a town about 70 miles away from the mobile home near Asheville, North Carolina, as their mailing address and listed the move-in date to the mobile home as the following day: Sept. 20. But in March 2020, the Meadows sold their Sapphire, North Carolina, home, meaning they didn't actually live in the state. They in fact lived at the time in their recently purchased condominium in Old Town Alexandria in Virginia.
Bye-Bye. He Was Off to Dubai. Was Manafort on the Lam?
They Can't Be Dumb Enough to Invade Poland. They Are Already Bogged Down in Ukraine
Poland is expelling 45 Russian diplomats suspected of working for Russian intelligence, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
"In total, 45 people with varying diplomatic status... were ordered to leave the territory of the Republic of Poland within 5 days," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lukasz Jasina told a news conference.
One person had been given 48 hours to leave, he added.
"Russia is our neighbour, it will not disappear from the map of Europe, but the aggression towards Ukraine proves that it is an unfriendly state, and even hostile to Poland."
America: Love It or Leave It. He Chose "Leave It".
A California man suspected of taking part in the US Capitol riots last year has been granted asylum in Belarus.
Evan Neumann fled the US after being charged in connection with the riots.
The 48-year-old first settled in Ukraine, before reaching Belarus where he asked for asylum - claiming he faced "political persecution" in the US.
A Belarusian official said Mr Neumann has been granted permission to remain in the country "indefinitely".
State officials also alleged that Mr Neumann had been forced to cross the Belarusian border "illegally" after attracting "interest from local secret services" in Ukraine.
Not All Religious Leaders Are Vile People.
It’s no secret that one of the biggest reasons that this country has dragged its feet in responding to domestic violence and sexual assault is that elements of the church have had their collective heads up their collective butts on this issue. One of the biggest reasons that survivors don’t come forward for years, if they come forward at all, is the utter lack of support—and in some cases, outright hostility—from the church. Some of the very people who should be lifting survivors up are instead kicking them in the teeth and a bunch of other places.
I’ve seen some pretty egregious cases of this happening over the years. But without a doubt, the worst case I’ve seen to date comes from one of the titans of the evangelical world, John MacArthur. In half a century as pastor of Grace Community Church in the San Fernando Valley, he has acquired a sterling reputation among evangelicals even though he doesn’t get as many headlines as the likes of Franklin Graham, James Dobson, and Pat Robertson.
That reputation, however, took a beating after MacArthur began beating the drum for churches to reopen to full capacity during the worst of COVID—then covered up reports of an outbreak during the 2020 winter surge. What’s left of that reputation now stands torn to shreds after Christian investigative journalist Julie Roys uncovered irrefutable evidence that MacArthur’s church publicly supported a convicted child abuser—after MacArthur publicly shamed his wife for throwing him out of the house.
QANON Ron Wants Sick People to Die
More than 14.5 million Americans signed up for Obamacare health insurance for 2022, a 21% jump over last year and the highest since the Affordable Care Act was signed 12 years ago, the U.S. government said on Wednesday.
About 10.3 million people enrolled from the 33 U.S. states that use the online marketplace funded by the federal government and about 4.3 million people from states that sell the insurance directly to their residents.
Can You Have Brains and Braun?
Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) said Tuesday that he believes interracial marriage should not be legal nationwide and that individual states should decide whether to allow it.
“So you would be OK with the Supreme Court leaving the question of interracial marriage to the states?” reporter Dan Carden of The Times of Northwest Indiana asked Braun.
“Yes,” the senator replied on the call with Indiana reporters. “I think that’s something ― if you’re not wanting the Supreme Court to weigh in on issues like that, you’re not going to be able to have your cake and eat it too. I think that’s hypocritical.”
The Supreme Court legalized interracial marriage nationwide in 1967, in the landmark case Loving v. Virginia.
The world Braun would return to is what same-sex couples faced until 2015 — their marriage was not recognized federally and might be legal in one state but not the next. That sort of discrimination had ramifications in all corners of life, including medical decisions and family planning.
DeathSentence Sure Seems Obsessed With Young Female Athletes
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Tuesday refused to accept the victory of Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer on the University of Pennsylvania women’s team, in the women’s 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA championships.
In a proclamation, DeSantis instead declared runner-up in the race Emma Weyant, an Olympic silver medalist from Sarasota who now competes for the University of Virginia, as the “rightful winner.”
“Since she is a native Floridian from Sarasota, I, Ron DeSantis, Governor of the State of Florida, do hereby declare in Florida that Emma Weyant is the rightful winner of the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s 500-yard Freestyle, congratulate her on yet another significant achievement, and express pride that she is a Florida resident,” the document asserted:
The Whitest Person In America Weighs In On Who is Black Enough
Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Tuesday likened President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson, to a “white liberal” and suggested a “rap star off the street” was more likely to share the views of an average American.
Jackson has faced fierce questioning from Republicans this week during her Senate confirmation hearings on everything from her views of critical race theory to child pornography.
“I have to say, her views really seem like those of every affluent white liberal I’ve ever met,” Carlson said during a segment with his sports and politics commentator Clay Travis.
“If you want a Black candidate ― I’m serious! I think the country would get better representation from, you know. She’s just a carbon copy of everyone in the neighborhood I spent my life in,” Carlson added.
Travis agreed.
“This is what happens, Tucker, they want cosmetic diversity, but everybody to have the exact same opinions. No diversity of thought, diversity of appearance. It’s scary.”
Carlson then claimed Jackson’s views were not representative of “the average American.”
“If you picked a rap star off the street, that person’s views would more likely be closer to the views of the average American than the views of this woman, I would argue,” he said. “I’ve got money on it actually.”
"We Are Not The Fringe"
Josh Hawley Wishes He Was Special, But He's a ...
Jimmy Kimmel was creeped out by some of the questions Republican senators asked Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson during her confirmation hearing on Tuesday. But one GOP lawmaker stood above the rest in all the wrong ways: Sen. Josh Hawley.
“What a creep this guy is. He’s senator from Missouri,” Kimmel said. “Spent much of his 30 allotted minutes reading a list of child porn videos from a case the judge worked on.”
The “Jimmy Kimmel Live” audience murmured.
“He did,” Kimmel said. “Oh, that’s not a joke.”
The White House later called Hawley’s actions an “embarrassing, QAnon-signaling smear.”
Hawley is “trying to throw meat to these Q-Anuts and also smear a woman who’s a mother of two daughters and quite clearly not pro-child porn,” Kimmel said.
Then, Kimmel showed an image of Hawley elbow-bumping Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who is reportedly the subject of a federal investigation looking into whether he and others paid for sex at drug-fueled parties involving a 17-year-old girl, including possibly paying for her to travel with him across state lines.
Or as Kimmel called Gaetz: “A fine upstanding American who very innocently Venmos teenage girls ― because he’s nice, is why he does that.”
Kimmel said the GOP had no real criticism of Jackson so they’re claiming she is soft on crime.
“It’s funny listening to the same people who let the president get away with trying to overthrow the government call anyone ‘soft on crime,’” Kimmel observed.
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Today's Best Person in the World Nominees
The Heroes of Voznesensk
It was one of the most decisive battles of the war so far - a ferocious two-day struggle for control of the farming town of Voznesensk and its strategically important bridge.
Victory would have enabled Russian forces to sweep further west along the Black Sea coast towards the huge port of Odesa and a major nuclear power plant.
Instead, Ukrainian troops, supported by an eclectic army of local volunteers, delivered a crushing blow to Russian plans, first by blowing up the bridge and then by driving the invading army back, up to 100km, to the east.
"It's hard to explain how we did it. It's thanks to the fighting spirit of our local people and to the Ukrainian army," said Voznesensk's 32-year-old mayor, Yevheni Velichko, standing in body armour with his guards outside the town hall.
It's About Time. This Has Been a Major Factor in Keeping Blacks in Poverty for Over a Century
The Biden administration will announce on Wednesday new steps to crack down on real estate appraisers who assign lower home price estimates to Black and Latino homeowners, senior officials said.
Mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac found in 2021 that Black and Latino people were more likely to have their homes valued under the agreed sales price than white homesellers.
Such an appraisal can limit the size of a mortgage that can be written on a property, forcing homeowners to sell at a lower price or cancel a sale altogether. It can also reduce the amount available during a refinancing.
Senior administration officials said they are working to bolster appraisal standards, increase the diversity of the workforce tasked with creating those estimates and make it easier to report discrimination that violates federal law.
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Invasions Have Consequences
The Russian Army Doesn't Have a Glorious History in Offensive War (My Comments)
Their only real victories are when defending their own territory, with winter helping them defeat Napoleon and Hitler.
They got their asses kicked by Japan in the Russo-Japanese War.
They got destroyed by a much smaller German Army fighting on two fronts in WWI.
They got seriously beaten by German in WWII until the winter and supply line issues kicked in.
The lost in Afghanistan (but them so did we.
Large numbers, bad leadership, poor weapons. It's the same old story.
The Hackers Have Entered the Fight
M, a Ukrainian engineer in his early 20s, is not healthy enough to enlist in the military. So every day, he sits down at his computer to do what he can as part of Ukraine’s IT army, an informal group of volunteer hackers whose job it is to wreak as much havoc on Russian websites as possible.
“I try to do whatever I can, whatever I can reach to end the war, to stop it, to stop killing Ukrainian people,” said M, who asked to use only an initial from his first name out of fear for the safety of him and his family.
M's tool is a simple one: Flooding Russian websites with fake web traffic, an old and basic cyberattack more commonly known as a distributed denial of service, or DDoS. He can execute it from the computer in his bedroom in Lviv, Ukraine.
Though unsophisticated, the DDoS attack has had a renaissance during the opening weeks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. And though the attacks do not tend to do much damage — many websites can either mitigate the attacks or come back online quickly — they’re a way for almost any hacktivist to participate.
“They’re quite an easy task that most people can do on their phones and their laptops,” M said.
The DDoS attacks are the most conspicuous part of a hacktivist-driven cyberbattle around Ukraine, with little evidence of more advanced, state-based cyberattacks — at least so far. President Joe Biden warned Monday of “evolving intelligence that the Russian government is exploring options for potential cyberattacks.”
Shane Huntley, the head of Google’s Threat Analysis Group, which tracks hacking trends, said that DDoS attacks are appealing to novice hackers because widely available programs make them easy to deploy.
“DDoS is the easiest thing to do. It’s one click now. If you’re a teenager anywhere in the world, you can participate,” he said. “It has the lowest barrier to entry.”
They also can make a visible, immediate impact, he said.
“DDoS is the most obvious of all attacks, so it’s really easy to see this activity, versus espionage or subtler destruction attacks,” Huntley said. “It’s very clear when a site goes offline.”
Metrics on the size of DDoS attacks and their impact on Russian companies and agencies can be difficult to come by, but Russia has given some indications that they’ve become a serious hindrance. A number of Russian sites have recently made themselves available only to computers with a Russian IP address, meaning someone has to be in Russia or use a virtual private network to route their internet connection through the country to access it.
He Wasn't Wanted In Ukraine, But He Came Anyway. Some People Can't Take a Hint and Keep Showing Up.
Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to attend the Group of 20 summit that is being hosted by Indonesia this year, Russia’s ambassador to the Southeast Asian country said Wednesday. Western nations are reportedly trying to exclude Moscow from the G-20, a group of the world’s largest economies.
“It will depend on many, many things, including the covid situation, that is getting better. So far, his intention is … he wants to,” Ambassador Lyudmila Vorobieva said of Putin’s attendance.
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The Pride Didn't Have Gay Pride
The Orlando Pride has apologized after a supporters’ group was told it could not display a banner that said “Gay” at a match this weekend.
The Black Swans’ banner was in reference to Florida’s recent legislation dubbed by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay″ bill. The supporters’ group went to Twitter, claiming the sign was deemed political and removed.
In the fallout, the front office for the National Women’s Soccer League team said it would meet with the group to find out what happened.
“These conversations resulted in one ultimate and important conclusion: a mistake was made when the club asked the Black Swans to remove the banner that said ‘GAY,’” the team said Tuesday in a statement.
The Pride’s statement said it wrongly focused on policies and procedures surrounding signs and banners, rather than the meaning of the message. The team was playing the opening match of the NWSL’s preseason Challenge Cup against the Washington Spirit on Saturday.
The Pride has long championed LGBTQ rights, and there are 49 rainbow-colored seats at their home stadium to honor those killed in the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016.
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Just When You Think It's Safe to Take off the Mask
After weeks in free fall, new Covid-19 cases are starting to level off in the US, as the BA.2 subvariant continues its ascent.
BA.2 caused about 35% of cases in the US last week, up from 22% the week before, according to new estimates from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which were posted on Tuesday.
At the same time, new Covid-19 cases are holding steady or increasing in about 19 states, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Some of the states seeing increases—New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Jersey are in northeastern regions where the CDC estimates that BA.2 is now causing more than half of new Covid-19 cases.
Health officials have warned that overall Covid-19 infections could rise across the US in a few weeks, parallel to trends in the UK and Europe.
"I would not be surprised at all if we do see somewhat of an uptick," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a live interview on Tuesday with the Washington Post. "I don't really see, unless something changes dramatically, that there will be a major surge," he said.
In the UK, where BA.2 now accounts for 85% of new infections, cases have increased by 20% week-over-week. Hospitalizations are up about 22% compared to the prior week. Deaths recorded within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test are up about 17%, according to the most recent government numbers.
On Tuesday, the University of Washington's Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, said their model does not predict a new surge in Covid-19 cases "similar to what we have seen in parts of Europe," said Ali Mokdad, a professor of global health at IHME, on Twitter. Instead, he said, their models suggests that after the end of March there would be a steady further decline in Covld-19 transmission in the US.
Help is Coming for the Little Virus Factories
Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine works in babies, toddlers and preschoolers the company announced Wednesday ― and if regulators agree it could mean a chance to finally start vaccinating the littlest kids by summer.
Moderna said in the coming weeks it would ask regulators in the U.S. and Europe to authorize two small-dose shots for youngsters under 6. The company also is seeking to have larger-dose shots cleared for older children and teens in the U.S.
The nation’s 18 million children under 5 are the only age group not yet eligible for vaccination. Competitor Pfizer currently offers kid-sized doses for school-age children and full-strength shots for those 12 and older.
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If You Are a Fan of Isaac Asimov's Foundation, You Will Enjoy This Application to Putin
A king, or a Commdor, will take the ships and even make war. Arbitrary rulers throughout history have bartered their subjects’ welfare for what they consider honor, and glory, and conquest. But it’s still the little things in life that count, and Asper Argo (the “Commdor” of Korell) won’t stand up against the economic depression that will sweep all Korell in two or three years.”
Read it here
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Who Doesn't Like Our Schools? You Might Be Surprised
I would have thought that the latest numbers about parental satisfaction might be lower because of all the pandemic-related chaos. But according to Gallup, which has tracked school satisfaction annually since 1999, in 2021, “73 percent of parents of school-aged children say they are satisfied with the quality of education their oldest child is receiving.” More parents were satisfied in 2021 than they were in 2013 and 2002, when satisfaction dipped into the 60s, and in 2019, we were at a high point in satisfaction — 82 percent — before the Covid pandemic dealt schools a major blow.
Digging deeper into the Gallup numbers revealed that the people who seem to be driving the negative feelings toward American schools do not have children attending them: Overall, only 46 percent of Americans are satisfied with schools
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The Worst Way To Fly
The tornado that ripped through a New Orleans suburb lifted one house into the air and dropped it onto the middle of a street with a family of three inside.
Neighbors said the parents of a girl climbed out of the wreckage screaming frantically for help. Their daughter was on a breathing machine, and now was stuck inside.
Chuck Heirsch told The Times-Picayune / New Orleans Advocate that he called 911 as he saw his neighbor on Prosperity Street trying to reach his daughter.
“They were screaming. His wife was hysterical. They were already traumatized from taking that ‘Wizard of Oz’ ride,” Heirsch said.
“All the men in the neighborhood ran to the house. The mother, they brought her to me. I just held her,” Nerissa Ledet told the newspaper. “I tried to console her. I said, ‘You know they’re going to get her out.’”
Firefighters quickly arrived and carried her out in a blanket. St. Bernard Parish President Guy McInnis described the rescue, saying she's in a hospital and “doing fine.”
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I Don't Support Defunding the Police or the IRS.
IRS says it needs more money to investigate financial crimes
In its more than 100-year history, the IRS criminal investigation unit has helped put away the likes of Al Capone and John Gotti. It is the nation's sixth-largest federal law enforcement agency and the only one authorized to investigate federal criminal tax violations and pursue related financial crimes, such as money laundering, currency violations and terrorist financing.
But as the financial world grows more complex, so has criminal activity – and the unit tasked with bringing such illicit action to heel is facing an increasing challenge. About 75% of the unit's time is spent on tax investigations, but in recent years, they've shifted resources to emerging areas – like cryptocurrency.
"Gone are the simple days of a person sending a transaction through a single bank account. That was easy to uncover: gain records from the bank. Now it's a very complicated web of sophisticated criminals trying to move money globally, "said Jarod Koopman from the IRS criminal investigation unit.
Last fiscal year, the criminal investigation unit identified $3.5 billion in stolen crypto. This year, they've already exceeded that amount. And the crypto team, once 10 people, is now 70. But that's not because of an expanded workforce. Instead, IRS officials said, the agency has pulled resources away from other priorities.
As the United States and allies slapped sanctions on Russian banks, officials, businesses, oligarchs and their families in an effort to inflict financial pain on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, the Internal Revenue Service is also at the forefront of making sure the wealthiest Russians helping fuel Russian President Vladimir Putin's war machine are not evading restrictions.
In early March, the Justice Department launched the Kleptocapture Task Force to enforce sanctions and export restrictions imposed by the United States against Russia. The IRS criminal investigation unit is part of that interagency effort to find and seize yachts, houses, luxury vehicles and more.
But their work began long before the recent invasion. Since 2017, the IRS has been involved in similar sanctions evasion work, with roughly 20 investigations directly related to money laundering by oligarchs. Criminal investigation unit cyber agents have also been working on efforts involving cryptocurrency transactions associated with Russian-based entities for the past several months.
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