Post by mhbruin on Apr 26, 2022 9:15:12 GMT -8
US Vaccine Data - We Have Now Administered 572 Million Shots (Population 333 Million)
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California Precipitation (Updated Tuesday April 19)
We had some rain up north this week.
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Huge Fight at the Seafood Restaurant. Battered Fish Everywhere.
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Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees
Life Ain't Easy for a Goy Named Sue.
Donald Trump has long had a simple philosophy when it comes to legal matters: Sue, sue, sue.
A USA Today review in 2016 showed that Trump had been involved in more than 4,000 lawsuits over the prior 30 years, a stunning testament to his litigiousness.
In the White House, Trump just kept suing (or threatening to sue). As I noted in October:
"Trump sued John Bolton to stop the the publication of a book about the former national security adviser's time in the White House. (He lost.) He threatened to sue CNN because a poll showed him trailing Joe Biden by 14 points. He threatened to sue The New York Times after the newspaper published an article detailing allegations by two women that Trump had inappropriately touched them. He threatened to sue if members of his campaign were not allowed into satellite election offices in Philadelphia. He threatened to sue special counsel Robert Mueller."
It's, well, kind of his thing. Trump often uses litigation as a way to influence public opinion. It's a way of showing that he's always on offense, and muddying the waters surrounding public perception about him and his business.
While, in the main, that strategy has worked for Trump over these many years, it may well be hitting a roadblock in the civil case being brought against him by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Witness what happened Monday in New York. A judge ruled that Trump was in civil contempt for his refusal to comply with a subpoena for documents related to the investigation into whether his company made misleading or fraudulent financial statements. (The judge said Trump would be fined $10,000 a day until he complies.)
While Trump's legal team said that they will appeal the ruling -- because, of course -- the decision does make clear the limits of the former President's use of the legal system to obfuscate and stall.
Trump's legal problems are, without question, the biggest threat to his running again for president in 2024. And they aren't going away.
Is Marshalls Law "We Sell Designer Clothes For Less"?
Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene suggested in a text message sent three days before Joe Biden was sworn in as president that some of former President Donald Trump's staunchest allies wanted to declare martial law to keep Trump in power.
"In our private chat with only Members, several are saying the only way to save our Republic is for Trump to call for Marshall law," Greene texted Trump's then-chief of staff, Mark Meadows, on Jan. 17, 2021, 11 days after a pro-Trump mob attacked the U.S. Capitol to try to stop the certification of the vote.
Real Marshall Law
Perjury Taylor Greene Rides Again!
Since-deleted videos from Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's social media contradict comments the GOP congresswoman made at a court hearing on Friday downplaying her ties to a YouTuber and conservative activist who participated in the January 6, 2021, mob that broke into the US Capitol.
Speaking at her hearing, Greene called Anthony Aguero, who CNN's KFile previously reported cheered on and justified the Capitol break-in, "a distant friend," and someone whom she had not spent much time with. Greene said she was unaware Aguero called Greene one of his closest friends. Aguero has not been charged for unlawful entry at the US Capitol on January 6. The FBI previously declined to comment on whether it was investigating Aguero in an email to CNN.
But in past deleted videos, saved by CNN from Greene's time as a political activist, she spoke extensively about her ties to Aguero, repeatedly boasting he was a "dear, dear," "great, great," and "best" friend. Greene spoke about the considerable work the pair had done together, saying the two had "gone to a lot of different events together and do a lot of work together."
Greene and Aguero did not return CNN's requests for comment on their ties.
Those extensive ties include a trip to the border with Aguero, attending Donald Trump's El Paso rally together, repeated dinners, visiting Washington, DC, together in February 2019, and taking photos at numerous events. Greene said the pair worked on an article together for a conservative publication on her border visit.
She is photographed with Aguero in Washington, DC, at the November 2020 "March for Trump" rally, where Greene spoke. Following Greene's speech, Aguero can be seen accompanying her off the stage in a video of the rally. Greene liked a November 2020 tweet with a photo of a group including both Greene and Aguero at the rally.
Greene and Aguero were photographed together in October 2021 at the conservative conference AMP Fest, according to a post shared by Aguero on his Twitter account, despite Greene's assertion she couldn't recall if she had spoken to Aguero since the insurrection on January 6, 2021. A video, taken by a conservative activist, shows Greene playfully talking to Aguero as she takes the photo.
In one instance in 2019, Greene was banned from posting on her Facebook page, and Aguero let Greene broadcast on his page.
"Anthony is my great, great friend," Greene said in that video. "He's one of my best friends...Anthony is my dear, dear friend. I love him so much. He's one of the greatest guys."
How Can They NOT Pay Flight Attendants While Boarding? They are DEFINITELY Working. How Is this Legal?
Delta Air Lines said it will start paying flight attendants during boarding, a first for a major U.S. airline and an initiative that comes during a unionization drive for the Atlanta-based airline’s biggest work group.
Usually, flight attendants are paid starting when the aircraft doors close.
Delta plans to begin the boarding pay, half of flight attendants’ hourly rates, on June 2, according to a company memo. The carrier is also increasing boarding time for narrow-body flights to 40 minutes from 35, which the company says is “one of several steps we’re taking to add resiliency to our operation.”
The pay changes were announced as a union campaign by the Association of Flight Attendants that started in late 2019 picks up steam again as the Covid pandemic crisis wanes for airlines.
Delta’s more than 20,000 flight attendants are not unionized, unlike at other major U.S. airlines.
Junior, Hanging Out Wish Scum Doesn't Make You Look Less Scummy.
For Greitens, in particular, the “shock value” of employing these demonstrative tactics is particularly revealing. He is attempting to distract from serious allegations of child and spousal abuse that have come to light in a custody dispute with his former wife, Sheena Greitens. In an Affidavit filed last month, Ms. Greitens provided some of the details of that alleged abuse, which she claims she will back up with photographic and other evidence as the case proceeds.
As CNN reports:
“In early June 2018, I became afraid for my safety and that of our children at our home, which was fairly isolated, due to Eric’s unstable and coercive behavior,” she said. “This behavior included physical violence toward our children, such as cuffing our then three-year-old son across the face at the dinner table in front of me and yanking him around by his hair.”
Sheena Greitens said she and others were so concerned about Eric Greitens’ behavior that they limited his access to firearms on three occasions. She said she was concerned about the “escalation of physical violence” and eventually, “I started sleeping in my children’s room simply to try to keep them safe,” according to her affidavit.
Oops!
Rick Perry was hoisted with his ownpetard text message.
Perry, a Republican former Texas governor and Trump White House energy secretary, previously denied CNN reports that in the days after the 2020 election he sent text messages to then-Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows with ideas for overturning Donald Trump’s defeat.
But on Monday, CNN published a trove of 2,319 of Meadows’ previously undisclosed text exchanges with Trump allies sent between the time of the election and President Joe Biden’s inauguration.
One of the texts, sent on Jan. 7 just hours before the election was certified in favor of Biden, read: ”We have the data driven program that can clearly show where the fraud was committed. This is the silver bullet. Pam Biondi has seen and agrees!! Rick Perry.”
As seen above, it was signed “Rick Perry” and also reportedly included a phone number that CNN confirmed belonged to Perry.
The revelation about the “Dancing With The Stars” alum titillated “The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah:
Hannity Rhymes With "Sanity". That's As Close As It Gets.
Fox News host Sean Hannity took directions from the White House on the day of the 2020 election, CNN revealed Monday after obtaining a trove of text messages, prompting uproar from critics, journalists and media commentators.
“Stress every vote matters. Get out and vote,” then-President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, texted to Hannity on Nov. 3, 2020, according to CNN. “On radio.”
“Yes sir,” Hannity replied. “On it. Any place in particular we need a push.”
When Meadows named Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada, Hannity texted back: “Got it. Everywhere.”
Hannity, who has a close personal relationship with Trump and routinely stumps for him on his TV and radio shows, has repeatedly drawn backlash for crossing media ethics boundaries.
In the lead-up to the 2020 election, Trump’s team even offered signed copies of Hannity’s book in exchange for donations to the campaign.
Most All news organizations prohibit journalists from contributing to political campaigns, but Fox News has defended Hannity as an opinion host and not a journalist.
Lies, Dripping Off Your Mouth Like Dirt
Former President Donald Trump said he will not get back on Twitter, even if his account is reinstated by Elon Musk, who is set to acquire the company for $44 billion.
Trump told Fox News that he would instead maintain a presence on Truth Social, the social media platform launched earlier this year by a new media firm he founded, and expects to begin using the site over the next seven days. Truth Social is one of the brands under the Trump Media and Technology Group, though the platform's popularity has waned in the weeks after its February launch.
Arby's. We Have the Grease!
An Alabama fast-food worker who allegedly threw hot grease on a customer during a dispute over service in the drive-thru line, causing severe burns, was charged with assault, police said.
The 50-year-old woman was charged Monday following a confrontation that occurred Saturday afternoon at an Arby's restaurant in suburban Birmingham, according to a statement from the Hueytown Police Department.
Authorities did not provide details on what prompted the dispute, but police said it did not appear the two women knew each other.
The victim, who suffered second-degree burns over a large part of her body and was hospitalized and filed a civil lawsuit seeking an unspecified amount of money from the worker, Arby's and Alabama-based companies that operate the restaurant, court documents show.
Did He Mention That You Might Shoot Your Neighbor or A Kid Passing By?
A Florida sheriff invited a homeowner who shot at a would-be robber to attend a gun safety course to “learn to shoot a lot better" and “save the taxpayers money."
Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson made the comments during a news conference last Thursday regarding the arrest of a 32-year-old man who was breaking into houses in Pace, which is near Pensacola in Florida's Panhandle.
Multiple residents called 911 last Wednesday to report the break-ins and deputies quickly set up a perimeter, Johnson said. The suspect was jumping over fences and breaking into homes as deputies tried to catch him.
“We don’t know which homeowner shot at him. I guess they think that they did something wrong, which they did not," Johnson said. “If someone is breaking into your house you're more than welcome to shoot at them in Santa Rosa County. We’d prefer that you do actually."
He added that the sheriff's office conducts a gun safety course every other Saturday.
“If you take that you’ll shoot a lot better and hopefully you’ll save the taxpayers money," he added.
Of Course, She Was On Her Way to A MAGA Rally
Cults make prophetic promises they can almost never fulfill, which in turn leads them to revise those guarantees in order to keep their flock in line and their scams alive. In that regard, few have faced a bigger obstacle than the Remnant Fellowship Church, whose founder and leader Gwen Shamblin routinely preached that being faithful to God—primarily by maintaining a slim waistline and training children to be docile and subservient—resulted in glorious financial, familial, and spiritual rewards. That was all well and good during the prosperous Remnant Fellowship times, but it became an onerous problem on May 29, 2021, when a plane piloted by Shamblin’s husband Joe Lara crashed on its way to a Florida MAGA rally, instantly killing Shamblin and everyone else on board.
Shamblin was a nutritionist who argued that true believers should transfer their hunger for food into devotion to the Almighty. It was a program that contended that shedding pounds was an act of piousness, and via books, VHS tapes, and in-church classes, it made Shamblin a national sensation. Moreover, it allowed her to form the Remnant Fellowship Church, a Brentwood, Tennessee-based religious organization that Zenovich’s exposé revealed to be an insular Christian cult that punished the heavyset, isolated members from friends and relatives, brainwashed children into embracing its Holy Trinity-denying doctrine, oppressed women through misogynistic power structures, and urged parents to abuse and beat their children into obedient submission.
Celebrating their Heritage of Treason
On a day that many state and local government offices were closed for Confederate Memorial Day in Mississippi, protesters on Monday said the state needs to stop commemorating the Confederacy.
Several members of Indivisible Northeast Mississippi held signs denouncing the holiday in front of a Confederate monument at the old Lee County Courthouse in Tupelo, the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reported.
Mississippi law designates the last Monday in April as Confederate Memorial Day. The protesters also criticized Republican Gov. Tate Reeves for issuing a proclamation that April is Confederate Heritage Month.
“You have to ask yourself: ‘OK, what heritage is that?’ That heritage is one of white supremacy, the right to enslave human beings for economic gain,” said Mary Jane Meadows.
Every Mississippi governor since Republican Kirk Fordice in the 1990s has issued a proclamation of April as Confederate Heritage Month, and Reeves said April 13 that he "didn’t think this was the year to stop doing it.”
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Today's Best Person in the World Nominees
He Got a Pardon. He Was Working in the Rose Garden.
The first African American to serve on a presidential security detail is among three people to have been pardoned by US President Joe Biden.
Abraham W Bolden Sr, 86, was convicted in 1964 on bribery charges.
The White House also announced that the prison sentences of 75 others - most of whom were serving time on low-level drug offences - have been shortened.
The three people to be pardoned are Mr Bolden, from Chicago, Illinois; Betty Jo Bogans, 51, from Houston, Texas; and, Dexter Eugene Jackson, 52, from Athens, Georgia.
Bolden was appointed to President John F Kennedy's Secret Service detail in 1961, aged 26.
That made the former highway patrolman the first black man to guard a US president.
According to him, Mr Kennedy once introduced him as "the Jackie Robinson of the Secret Service" - a reference to the first African American to play professional baseball.
In 1964, Mr Bolden was fired from the Secret Service after being charged with trying to sell a government file in exchange for a $50,000 bribe.
He denied the allegations, asserting he was being framed for attempting to expose misconduct within the agency.
Among his accusations were that Secret Service agents drank heavily on the job, missed shifts, and used their official vehicles to transport women or visit bars. He also said he had faced racial abuse from co-workers.
He raised money for his legal defence through a series of piano recitals in Chicago.
Following a hung jury in his first trial, he was convicted at his second and sentenced to 15 years - even though some witnesses said they had been pressured into lying by prosecutors.
Mr Bolden served 39 months in federal prison, with a two-and-a-half year probation.
Ms Bogan and Mr Jackson served time in federal prison for drug possession and distribution charges respectively.
Can Biden Do Something About Drug Prices? Elizabeth Says, "Yes".
Sen. Elizabeth Warren worked with a group of more than 25 experts in law and public health from Yale Law School, Harvard Medical School, and Columbia Law School to explain the three options the administration has at its disposal, and urged Becerra to to “move swiftly to use your existing authorities to give sorely needed relief to the millions of Americans paying far too much for their prescription drugs.”
“Existing law gives the executive branch several tools to intervene when patients and public health are harmed by excessive drug prices,” the experts explained in their own letter to Warren last week. “These tools can help the Administration break patent barriers, foster competition where currently there is none, and drive down prices. Critically, using them requires no additional congressional action.”
One of the three tools they discuss is the “government patent use power,” which has been used by the government “to procure important patented technologies from manufacturers other than the patent holders, who may charge very high prices.” They provide the example of the Pentagon using it to purchase technology like night-vision goggles. The other two options for executive action are provided under the 1980 Bayh-Dole Act, “intended to ensure that the public would not be deprived the benefits of inventions that it had effectively sponsored through government-funded research.” Through both “royalty-free license” and “march-in rights” established in that act, the government can break patent barriers for drugs developed with federal research money—and many, many pharmaceuticals fall into that category.
“In our view, § 1498 [the ‘government patent use power’] is a powerful general-purpose tool to target excessive pricing, while the Bayh-Dole Act is particularly helpful for patents that received government research support,” the experts write. “We believe that the two can and should be used together as part of a cohesive strategy when drugs of high public health importance are sold to US patients at excessive prices.”
In an effort to generate publicity for his scandal-ridden Senate campaign, Missouri Republican Eric Greitens posed on Monday with Donald Trump, Jr. at a shooting range. As he empties his semi-automatic pistol into the targets, he pointedly mutters “Liberals beware.” For his part, Donald Trump, Jr., mugging for the camera, adds “Striking fear into the hearts of liberals everywhere, folks,.” after both he and Greitens fire automatic weapons.
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Invasions Have Consequences
Video of Secretary Blinken Delivering the American Message to Zelensky
Crime Doesn't Pay, If You Ignore Logistics
On the ground, both sides nibbled on the edges. Russia made some gains south of Izyum, but were repulsed at Pashkove—the last town before reaching a critical line supplying Ukrainian forces in this entire front. And if you’re wondering, “why is there a functional rail line still supplying Ukrainian forces well within reach of Russian artillery?,” well then, you’re not alone. Russia has clearly prioritized war crime’ing over actually trying to win a war.
Here's a Target They Don't Want to Attack
Nibble, Nibble. May 9th is 13 Days Away, Vlad
In addition to threatening Kherson on the eve of its sham “referendum,” taking the city would cut off the mass of Russian forces threatening Kryvyi Rih to its north. While strategically unimportant, Kryvyi Rih happens to be Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown, and did we mention that Russia doesn’t seem to be trying to win the war? Massacring civilians and pushing to the gates of Kryvyi Rih have zero to little military purpose.
When Will They Ever Learn?
Remember when Russia was going to learn from their early failures, and concentrate their efforts in a single axis to conquer the entire Donbas region in a massive offensive? Remember? Seems like just yesterday!
Right now, Russia is attempting to advance toward:
Mykolaiv
Kryvyi Rih
Zaprozhzhia
Sievierodonetsk
Slovyansk/Kramatorsk
South, east, west, and northwest of Izyum (seriously)
Pushing out from Donetsk
Mariupol
Russia never learns. Russia will never learn. And sure, they grind out a kilometer here or there, but their losses are unsustainable. Ukraine can well afford to give up land for blood, as their reserves (300,000 strong) continue to train and equip out west, and entire new armor, infantry, and artillery battalions are formed with all the great gear streaming in from the West.
How To Get Away With Marder
First, Germany said it couldn’t spare any of its Marder infantry vehicles for Ukraine.
Then it was accused of scrubbing such items from a German arms industry list of what was available for Kyiv. Berlin has since proposed sending some Marders after all but to Slovenia, so that country could in turn send its old Soviet-era tanks to Ukraine. And on Tuesday, the government said it would approve the export of German-made armored antiaircraft vehicles to Ukraine.
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I Don't Think the Deer and the Antelope Can Afford a Home on the Range, Or Even a Home With a Range.
US home prices continued to surge higher in February.
Prices rose 19.8% year-over-year in February, an even higher rate than the 19.2% growth seen in January, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index.
Phoenix, Tampa and Miami reported the highest year-over-year gains among the 20 US cities tracked by the index. Phoenix led the way for the 33rd consecutive month with home prices rising 32.9% from the year before. It was followed by Tampa and Miami, which saw 32.6% and 29.7% gains, respectively.
All 20 cities reported price increases in the year ending February 2022. In January, 16 cities saw year-over-year growth. Prices were strongest in the South and Southeast, but every region continued to show big gains.
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The water asked the sand if it could touch it. The sand said, "Shore."
We have a big problem with almost all public unaware that a sand crisis is looming and is an underrated threat to our civilization. The United Nations Environmental Programme warned today that urgent action is needed to prevent a sand crisis. Sand is critical in making concrete, which builds our infrastructure and homes, and is used to produce glass, electronics, and aeronautics.
Sand is mined all over parts of the earth. It has the most significant volume of solid material extracted after water. Our use of sand has tripled in the past two decades. There is also a finite amount of sand made by eroding forces over millions of years; it is not a renewable resource. And environmental and climate costs such as damage to seas, rivers, beaches, and the land are not sustainable.
A U.N. report on Tuesday called for urgent action to avert a "sand crisis," including a ban on beach extraction as demand surges to 50 billion tonnes a year amid population growth and urbanisation.
Sand is the most exploited natural resource in the world after water, but its use is largely ungoverned, meaning we are consuming it faster than it can be replaced by geological processes that take hundreds of thousands of years, the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) report says.
UNEP's Pascal Peduzzi who coordinated the report written by 22 authors said that some of the impacts of over-exploitation were already being felt. In the Mekong River - the longest in Southeast Asia -sand extraction was causing the delta to sink, leading to salinisation of previously fertile lands.
In a Sri Lankan river, sand removal had reversed the water flow, meaning that ocean water was heading inland and bringing salt-water crocodiles with it, he told journalists.
Demand is now seen as shifting to Africa where villagers often remove sand from beaches to build growing cities. In some cases, this can make coastlines more vulnerable to the impact of climate change, such as more powerful storms, the report said.
Among the report's recommendations were a ban on beach extraction and the creation of an international standard for marine dredging that can harm ocean biodiversity.
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Beijing Can't Duck COVID
Beijing will conduct mass testing of most of its 21 million people, authorities announced Monday, as a new COVID-19 outbreak sparked stockpiling of food by residents worried about the possibility of a Shanghai-style lockdown.
The Chinese capital began mass testing people in one of its 16 districts where most of the new cases have been found. The city also imposed lockdowns on individual residential buildings and one section of the city. Late in the day, health officials said the testing would be expanded Tuesday to all but five outlying districts.
Naturally, after what happened in Shanghai, those living in Beijing reacted precisely as you’d think they would.
Beijing Shoppers Clear Store Shelves in Fear of a Shanghai-Style Lockdown
Beijing residents snapped up food and other supplies as the city's biggest district began mass testing of all residents on Monday, prompting fears of a Shanghai-style lockdown after dozens of COVID-19 cases in the capital in recent days.
Authorities in Chaoyang, home to 3.45 million people, late on Sunday ordered residents and those who work there to be tested three times this week as Beijing warned the virus had "stealthily" spread in the city for about a week before being detected.
"I'm preparing for the worst," said a graduate student in the nearby Haidian district surnamed Zhang, who placed online orders for dozens of snacks and 10 pounds of apples.
Shoppers in the city crowded stores and online platforms to stock up on leafy vegetables, fresh meat, instant noodles and rolls of toilet paper.
But Shanghai Residents Would Love Some Beijing Duck
Shanghai’s 25 million residents have endured an extreme COVID lockdown for nearly a month—and now a new nightmarish topic is trending on Weibo, the country’s Twitter-like social media platform.
After consuming food from government-issued care packages, a number of residents living in housing compounds across several Shanghai neighborhoods have reported suffering from stomach pains and diarrhea, according to reporting from Bloomberg News.
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Welcome to Twitter, China-Style
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New Cases 7-Day Average | Deaths 7-Day Average | New Hospitalizations 7-Day Average | |
| Apr 25 | 47,407 | 330 | |
| Apr 24 | 44,416 | 314 | 1,779 |
| Apr 23 | 45,413 | 315 | 1,629 |
| Apr 22 | 44,308 | 311 | 1,642 |
| Apr 21 | 40,744 | 346 | 1,647 |
| Apr 20 | 42,604 | 375 | 1,609 |
| Apr 19 | 40,985 | 385 | 1,582 |
| Apr 18 | 37,132 | 380 | 1,564 |
| Apr 17 | 35,212 | 373 | 1,542 |
| Apr 16 | 34,972 | 379 | 1,532 |
| Apr 15 | 34,778 | 399 | 1,510 |
| Apr 14 | 35,475 | 446 | 1,490 |
| Apr 13 | 31,391 | 409 | 1,477 |
| Apr 12 | 29,401 | 452 | 1,463 |
| Apr 11 | 30,208 | 483 | 1.447 |
| Apr 10 | 28,927 | 500 | 1,443 |
| Apr 9 | 28,339 | 509 | |
| Apr 8 | 28,169 | 516 | |
| Apr 7 | 26,286 | 471 | |
| Apr 6 | 26,595 | 496 | |
| Apr 5 | 26,845 | 533 | |
| Apr 4 | 25,537 | 537 | |
| Apr 3 | 25,074 | 572 | |
| Apr 2 | 25,787 | 576 | |
| Apr 1 | 26,106 | 584 | |
| Mar 31 | 25,980 | 605 | |
| Mar 30 | 25,732 | 626 | |
| Mar 29 | 25,218 | 644 | |
| Mar 28 | 26,190 | 700 | |
| Mar 27 | 26,487 | 690 | |
| Mar 26 | 26,593 | 697 | |
| Mar 25 | 26,874 | 705 | |
| Feb 16, 2021 | 78,292 |
| At Least One Dose | Fully Vaccinated | % of Vaccinated W/ Boosters | |
| % of Total Population | 77.5% | 66.0% | 45.6% |
| % of Population 5+ | 82.3% | 70.2% | |
| % of Population 12+ | 87.1% | 74.5% | 47.4% |
| % of Population 18+ | 88.9% | 76.0% | 49.1% |
| % of Population 65+ | 95.0% | 90.0% | 68.3% |
California Precipitation (Updated Tuesday April 19)
We had some rain up north this week.
| Percent of Average for this Date | Last Week | |
| Northern Sierra Precipitation | 79% (70%) | 73% (63% of full season average) |
| San Joaquin Precipitation | 65% (58%) | 65% (57%) |
| Tulare Basin Precipitation | 60% (54%) | 61% (53%) |
| Snow Water Content - North | 29% | 15% |
| Snow Water Content - Central | 33% | 27% |
| Snow Water Content - South | 23% | 24% |
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Huge Fight at the Seafood Restaurant. Battered Fish Everywhere.
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Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees
Life Ain't Easy for a Goy Named Sue.
Donald Trump has long had a simple philosophy when it comes to legal matters: Sue, sue, sue.
A USA Today review in 2016 showed that Trump had been involved in more than 4,000 lawsuits over the prior 30 years, a stunning testament to his litigiousness.
In the White House, Trump just kept suing (or threatening to sue). As I noted in October:
"Trump sued John Bolton to stop the the publication of a book about the former national security adviser's time in the White House. (He lost.) He threatened to sue CNN because a poll showed him trailing Joe Biden by 14 points. He threatened to sue The New York Times after the newspaper published an article detailing allegations by two women that Trump had inappropriately touched them. He threatened to sue if members of his campaign were not allowed into satellite election offices in Philadelphia. He threatened to sue special counsel Robert Mueller."
It's, well, kind of his thing. Trump often uses litigation as a way to influence public opinion. It's a way of showing that he's always on offense, and muddying the waters surrounding public perception about him and his business.
While, in the main, that strategy has worked for Trump over these many years, it may well be hitting a roadblock in the civil case being brought against him by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Witness what happened Monday in New York. A judge ruled that Trump was in civil contempt for his refusal to comply with a subpoena for documents related to the investigation into whether his company made misleading or fraudulent financial statements. (The judge said Trump would be fined $10,000 a day until he complies.)
While Trump's legal team said that they will appeal the ruling -- because, of course -- the decision does make clear the limits of the former President's use of the legal system to obfuscate and stall.
Trump's legal problems are, without question, the biggest threat to his running again for president in 2024. And they aren't going away.
Is Marshalls Law "We Sell Designer Clothes For Less"?
Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene suggested in a text message sent three days before Joe Biden was sworn in as president that some of former President Donald Trump's staunchest allies wanted to declare martial law to keep Trump in power.
"In our private chat with only Members, several are saying the only way to save our Republic is for Trump to call for Marshall law," Greene texted Trump's then-chief of staff, Mark Meadows, on Jan. 17, 2021, 11 days after a pro-Trump mob attacked the U.S. Capitol to try to stop the certification of the vote.
Real Marshall Law
Perjury Taylor Greene Rides Again!
Since-deleted videos from Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's social media contradict comments the GOP congresswoman made at a court hearing on Friday downplaying her ties to a YouTuber and conservative activist who participated in the January 6, 2021, mob that broke into the US Capitol.
Speaking at her hearing, Greene called Anthony Aguero, who CNN's KFile previously reported cheered on and justified the Capitol break-in, "a distant friend," and someone whom she had not spent much time with. Greene said she was unaware Aguero called Greene one of his closest friends. Aguero has not been charged for unlawful entry at the US Capitol on January 6. The FBI previously declined to comment on whether it was investigating Aguero in an email to CNN.
But in past deleted videos, saved by CNN from Greene's time as a political activist, she spoke extensively about her ties to Aguero, repeatedly boasting he was a "dear, dear," "great, great," and "best" friend. Greene spoke about the considerable work the pair had done together, saying the two had "gone to a lot of different events together and do a lot of work together."
Greene and Aguero did not return CNN's requests for comment on their ties.
Those extensive ties include a trip to the border with Aguero, attending Donald Trump's El Paso rally together, repeated dinners, visiting Washington, DC, together in February 2019, and taking photos at numerous events. Greene said the pair worked on an article together for a conservative publication on her border visit.
She is photographed with Aguero in Washington, DC, at the November 2020 "March for Trump" rally, where Greene spoke. Following Greene's speech, Aguero can be seen accompanying her off the stage in a video of the rally. Greene liked a November 2020 tweet with a photo of a group including both Greene and Aguero at the rally.
Greene and Aguero were photographed together in October 2021 at the conservative conference AMP Fest, according to a post shared by Aguero on his Twitter account, despite Greene's assertion she couldn't recall if she had spoken to Aguero since the insurrection on January 6, 2021. A video, taken by a conservative activist, shows Greene playfully talking to Aguero as she takes the photo.
In one instance in 2019, Greene was banned from posting on her Facebook page, and Aguero let Greene broadcast on his page.
"Anthony is my great, great friend," Greene said in that video. "He's one of my best friends...Anthony is my dear, dear friend. I love him so much. He's one of the greatest guys."
How Can They NOT Pay Flight Attendants While Boarding? They are DEFINITELY Working. How Is this Legal?
Delta Air Lines said it will start paying flight attendants during boarding, a first for a major U.S. airline and an initiative that comes during a unionization drive for the Atlanta-based airline’s biggest work group.
Usually, flight attendants are paid starting when the aircraft doors close.
Delta plans to begin the boarding pay, half of flight attendants’ hourly rates, on June 2, according to a company memo. The carrier is also increasing boarding time for narrow-body flights to 40 minutes from 35, which the company says is “one of several steps we’re taking to add resiliency to our operation.”
The pay changes were announced as a union campaign by the Association of Flight Attendants that started in late 2019 picks up steam again as the Covid pandemic crisis wanes for airlines.
Delta’s more than 20,000 flight attendants are not unionized, unlike at other major U.S. airlines.
Junior, Hanging Out Wish Scum Doesn't Make You Look Less Scummy.
For Greitens, in particular, the “shock value” of employing these demonstrative tactics is particularly revealing. He is attempting to distract from serious allegations of child and spousal abuse that have come to light in a custody dispute with his former wife, Sheena Greitens. In an Affidavit filed last month, Ms. Greitens provided some of the details of that alleged abuse, which she claims she will back up with photographic and other evidence as the case proceeds.
As CNN reports:
“In early June 2018, I became afraid for my safety and that of our children at our home, which was fairly isolated, due to Eric’s unstable and coercive behavior,” she said. “This behavior included physical violence toward our children, such as cuffing our then three-year-old son across the face at the dinner table in front of me and yanking him around by his hair.”
Sheena Greitens said she and others were so concerned about Eric Greitens’ behavior that they limited his access to firearms on three occasions. She said she was concerned about the “escalation of physical violence” and eventually, “I started sleeping in my children’s room simply to try to keep them safe,” according to her affidavit.
Oops!
Rick Perry was hoisted with his own
Perry, a Republican former Texas governor and Trump White House energy secretary, previously denied CNN reports that in the days after the 2020 election he sent text messages to then-Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows with ideas for overturning Donald Trump’s defeat.
But on Monday, CNN published a trove of 2,319 of Meadows’ previously undisclosed text exchanges with Trump allies sent between the time of the election and President Joe Biden’s inauguration.
One of the texts, sent on Jan. 7 just hours before the election was certified in favor of Biden, read: ”We have the data driven program that can clearly show where the fraud was committed. This is the silver bullet. Pam Biondi has seen and agrees!! Rick Perry.”
As seen above, it was signed “Rick Perry” and also reportedly included a phone number that CNN confirmed belonged to Perry.
The revelation about the “Dancing With The Stars” alum titillated “The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah:
Hannity Rhymes With "Sanity". That's As Close As It Gets.
Fox News host Sean Hannity took directions from the White House on the day of the 2020 election, CNN revealed Monday after obtaining a trove of text messages, prompting uproar from critics, journalists and media commentators.
“Stress every vote matters. Get out and vote,” then-President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, texted to Hannity on Nov. 3, 2020, according to CNN. “On radio.”
“Yes sir,” Hannity replied. “On it. Any place in particular we need a push.”
When Meadows named Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada, Hannity texted back: “Got it. Everywhere.”
Hannity, who has a close personal relationship with Trump and routinely stumps for him on his TV and radio shows, has repeatedly drawn backlash for crossing media ethics boundaries.
In the lead-up to the 2020 election, Trump’s team even offered signed copies of Hannity’s book in exchange for donations to the campaign.
Lies, Dripping Off Your Mouth Like Dirt
Former President Donald Trump said he will not get back on Twitter, even if his account is reinstated by Elon Musk, who is set to acquire the company for $44 billion.
Trump told Fox News that he would instead maintain a presence on Truth Social, the social media platform launched earlier this year by a new media firm he founded, and expects to begin using the site over the next seven days. Truth Social is one of the brands under the Trump Media and Technology Group, though the platform's popularity has waned in the weeks after its February launch.
Arby's. We Have the Grease!
An Alabama fast-food worker who allegedly threw hot grease on a customer during a dispute over service in the drive-thru line, causing severe burns, was charged with assault, police said.
The 50-year-old woman was charged Monday following a confrontation that occurred Saturday afternoon at an Arby's restaurant in suburban Birmingham, according to a statement from the Hueytown Police Department.
Authorities did not provide details on what prompted the dispute, but police said it did not appear the two women knew each other.
The victim, who suffered second-degree burns over a large part of her body and was hospitalized and filed a civil lawsuit seeking an unspecified amount of money from the worker, Arby's and Alabama-based companies that operate the restaurant, court documents show.
Did He Mention That You Might Shoot Your Neighbor or A Kid Passing By?
A Florida sheriff invited a homeowner who shot at a would-be robber to attend a gun safety course to “learn to shoot a lot better" and “save the taxpayers money."
Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson made the comments during a news conference last Thursday regarding the arrest of a 32-year-old man who was breaking into houses in Pace, which is near Pensacola in Florida's Panhandle.
Multiple residents called 911 last Wednesday to report the break-ins and deputies quickly set up a perimeter, Johnson said. The suspect was jumping over fences and breaking into homes as deputies tried to catch him.
“We don’t know which homeowner shot at him. I guess they think that they did something wrong, which they did not," Johnson said. “If someone is breaking into your house you're more than welcome to shoot at them in Santa Rosa County. We’d prefer that you do actually."
He added that the sheriff's office conducts a gun safety course every other Saturday.
“If you take that you’ll shoot a lot better and hopefully you’ll save the taxpayers money," he added.
Of Course, She Was On Her Way to A MAGA Rally
Cults make prophetic promises they can almost never fulfill, which in turn leads them to revise those guarantees in order to keep their flock in line and their scams alive. In that regard, few have faced a bigger obstacle than the Remnant Fellowship Church, whose founder and leader Gwen Shamblin routinely preached that being faithful to God—primarily by maintaining a slim waistline and training children to be docile and subservient—resulted in glorious financial, familial, and spiritual rewards. That was all well and good during the prosperous Remnant Fellowship times, but it became an onerous problem on May 29, 2021, when a plane piloted by Shamblin’s husband Joe Lara crashed on its way to a Florida MAGA rally, instantly killing Shamblin and everyone else on board.
Shamblin was a nutritionist who argued that true believers should transfer their hunger for food into devotion to the Almighty. It was a program that contended that shedding pounds was an act of piousness, and via books, VHS tapes, and in-church classes, it made Shamblin a national sensation. Moreover, it allowed her to form the Remnant Fellowship Church, a Brentwood, Tennessee-based religious organization that Zenovich’s exposé revealed to be an insular Christian cult that punished the heavyset, isolated members from friends and relatives, brainwashed children into embracing its Holy Trinity-denying doctrine, oppressed women through misogynistic power structures, and urged parents to abuse and beat their children into obedient submission.
Celebrating their Heritage of Treason
On a day that many state and local government offices were closed for Confederate Memorial Day in Mississippi, protesters on Monday said the state needs to stop commemorating the Confederacy.
Several members of Indivisible Northeast Mississippi held signs denouncing the holiday in front of a Confederate monument at the old Lee County Courthouse in Tupelo, the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reported.
Mississippi law designates the last Monday in April as Confederate Memorial Day. The protesters also criticized Republican Gov. Tate Reeves for issuing a proclamation that April is Confederate Heritage Month.
“You have to ask yourself: ‘OK, what heritage is that?’ That heritage is one of white supremacy, the right to enslave human beings for economic gain,” said Mary Jane Meadows.
Every Mississippi governor since Republican Kirk Fordice in the 1990s has issued a proclamation of April as Confederate Heritage Month, and Reeves said April 13 that he "didn’t think this was the year to stop doing it.”
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Today's Best Person in the World Nominees
He Got a Pardon. He Was Working in the Rose Garden.
The first African American to serve on a presidential security detail is among three people to have been pardoned by US President Joe Biden.
Abraham W Bolden Sr, 86, was convicted in 1964 on bribery charges.
The White House also announced that the prison sentences of 75 others - most of whom were serving time on low-level drug offences - have been shortened.
The three people to be pardoned are Mr Bolden, from Chicago, Illinois; Betty Jo Bogans, 51, from Houston, Texas; and, Dexter Eugene Jackson, 52, from Athens, Georgia.
Bolden was appointed to President John F Kennedy's Secret Service detail in 1961, aged 26.
That made the former highway patrolman the first black man to guard a US president.
According to him, Mr Kennedy once introduced him as "the Jackie Robinson of the Secret Service" - a reference to the first African American to play professional baseball.
In 1964, Mr Bolden was fired from the Secret Service after being charged with trying to sell a government file in exchange for a $50,000 bribe.
He denied the allegations, asserting he was being framed for attempting to expose misconduct within the agency.
Among his accusations were that Secret Service agents drank heavily on the job, missed shifts, and used their official vehicles to transport women or visit bars. He also said he had faced racial abuse from co-workers.
He raised money for his legal defence through a series of piano recitals in Chicago.
Following a hung jury in his first trial, he was convicted at his second and sentenced to 15 years - even though some witnesses said they had been pressured into lying by prosecutors.
Mr Bolden served 39 months in federal prison, with a two-and-a-half year probation.
Ms Bogan and Mr Jackson served time in federal prison for drug possession and distribution charges respectively.
Can Biden Do Something About Drug Prices? Elizabeth Says, "Yes".
Sen. Elizabeth Warren worked with a group of more than 25 experts in law and public health from Yale Law School, Harvard Medical School, and Columbia Law School to explain the three options the administration has at its disposal, and urged Becerra to to “move swiftly to use your existing authorities to give sorely needed relief to the millions of Americans paying far too much for their prescription drugs.”
“Existing law gives the executive branch several tools to intervene when patients and public health are harmed by excessive drug prices,” the experts explained in their own letter to Warren last week. “These tools can help the Administration break patent barriers, foster competition where currently there is none, and drive down prices. Critically, using them requires no additional congressional action.”
One of the three tools they discuss is the “government patent use power,” which has been used by the government “to procure important patented technologies from manufacturers other than the patent holders, who may charge very high prices.” They provide the example of the Pentagon using it to purchase technology like night-vision goggles. The other two options for executive action are provided under the 1980 Bayh-Dole Act, “intended to ensure that the public would not be deprived the benefits of inventions that it had effectively sponsored through government-funded research.” Through both “royalty-free license” and “march-in rights” established in that act, the government can break patent barriers for drugs developed with federal research money—and many, many pharmaceuticals fall into that category.
“In our view, § 1498 [the ‘government patent use power’] is a powerful general-purpose tool to target excessive pricing, while the Bayh-Dole Act is particularly helpful for patents that received government research support,” the experts write. “We believe that the two can and should be used together as part of a cohesive strategy when drugs of high public health importance are sold to US patients at excessive prices.”
In an effort to generate publicity for his scandal-ridden Senate campaign, Missouri Republican Eric Greitens posed on Monday with Donald Trump, Jr. at a shooting range. As he empties his semi-automatic pistol into the targets, he pointedly mutters “Liberals beware.” For his part, Donald Trump, Jr., mugging for the camera, adds “Striking fear into the hearts of liberals everywhere, folks,.” after both he and Greitens fire automatic weapons.
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Invasions Have Consequences
Video of Secretary Blinken Delivering the American Message to Zelensky
Crime Doesn't Pay, If You Ignore Logistics
On the ground, both sides nibbled on the edges. Russia made some gains south of Izyum, but were repulsed at Pashkove—the last town before reaching a critical line supplying Ukrainian forces in this entire front. And if you’re wondering, “why is there a functional rail line still supplying Ukrainian forces well within reach of Russian artillery?,” well then, you’re not alone. Russia has clearly prioritized war crime’ing over actually trying to win a war.
Here's a Target They Don't Want to Attack
Nibble, Nibble. May 9th is 13 Days Away, Vlad
In addition to threatening Kherson on the eve of its sham “referendum,” taking the city would cut off the mass of Russian forces threatening Kryvyi Rih to its north. While strategically unimportant, Kryvyi Rih happens to be Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown, and did we mention that Russia doesn’t seem to be trying to win the war? Massacring civilians and pushing to the gates of Kryvyi Rih have zero to little military purpose.
When Will They Ever Learn?
Remember when Russia was going to learn from their early failures, and concentrate their efforts in a single axis to conquer the entire Donbas region in a massive offensive? Remember? Seems like just yesterday!
Right now, Russia is attempting to advance toward:
Mykolaiv
Kryvyi Rih
Zaprozhzhia
Sievierodonetsk
Slovyansk/Kramatorsk
South, east, west, and northwest of Izyum (seriously)
Pushing out from Donetsk
Mariupol
Russia never learns. Russia will never learn. And sure, they grind out a kilometer here or there, but their losses are unsustainable. Ukraine can well afford to give up land for blood, as their reserves (300,000 strong) continue to train and equip out west, and entire new armor, infantry, and artillery battalions are formed with all the great gear streaming in from the West.
How To Get Away With Marder
First, Germany said it couldn’t spare any of its Marder infantry vehicles for Ukraine.
Then it was accused of scrubbing such items from a German arms industry list of what was available for Kyiv. Berlin has since proposed sending some Marders after all but to Slovenia, so that country could in turn send its old Soviet-era tanks to Ukraine. And on Tuesday, the government said it would approve the export of German-made armored antiaircraft vehicles to Ukraine.
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I Don't Think the Deer and the Antelope Can Afford a Home on the Range, Or Even a Home With a Range.
US home prices continued to surge higher in February.
Prices rose 19.8% year-over-year in February, an even higher rate than the 19.2% growth seen in January, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index.
Phoenix, Tampa and Miami reported the highest year-over-year gains among the 20 US cities tracked by the index. Phoenix led the way for the 33rd consecutive month with home prices rising 32.9% from the year before. It was followed by Tampa and Miami, which saw 32.6% and 29.7% gains, respectively.
All 20 cities reported price increases in the year ending February 2022. In January, 16 cities saw year-over-year growth. Prices were strongest in the South and Southeast, but every region continued to show big gains.
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The water asked the sand if it could touch it. The sand said, "Shore."
We have a big problem with almost all public unaware that a sand crisis is looming and is an underrated threat to our civilization. The United Nations Environmental Programme warned today that urgent action is needed to prevent a sand crisis. Sand is critical in making concrete, which builds our infrastructure and homes, and is used to produce glass, electronics, and aeronautics.
Sand is mined all over parts of the earth. It has the most significant volume of solid material extracted after water. Our use of sand has tripled in the past two decades. There is also a finite amount of sand made by eroding forces over millions of years; it is not a renewable resource. And environmental and climate costs such as damage to seas, rivers, beaches, and the land are not sustainable.
A U.N. report on Tuesday called for urgent action to avert a "sand crisis," including a ban on beach extraction as demand surges to 50 billion tonnes a year amid population growth and urbanisation.
Sand is the most exploited natural resource in the world after water, but its use is largely ungoverned, meaning we are consuming it faster than it can be replaced by geological processes that take hundreds of thousands of years, the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) report says.
UNEP's Pascal Peduzzi who coordinated the report written by 22 authors said that some of the impacts of over-exploitation were already being felt. In the Mekong River - the longest in Southeast Asia -sand extraction was causing the delta to sink, leading to salinisation of previously fertile lands.
In a Sri Lankan river, sand removal had reversed the water flow, meaning that ocean water was heading inland and bringing salt-water crocodiles with it, he told journalists.
Demand is now seen as shifting to Africa where villagers often remove sand from beaches to build growing cities. In some cases, this can make coastlines more vulnerable to the impact of climate change, such as more powerful storms, the report said.
Among the report's recommendations were a ban on beach extraction and the creation of an international standard for marine dredging that can harm ocean biodiversity.
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Beijing Can't Duck COVID
Beijing will conduct mass testing of most of its 21 million people, authorities announced Monday, as a new COVID-19 outbreak sparked stockpiling of food by residents worried about the possibility of a Shanghai-style lockdown.
The Chinese capital began mass testing people in one of its 16 districts where most of the new cases have been found. The city also imposed lockdowns on individual residential buildings and one section of the city. Late in the day, health officials said the testing would be expanded Tuesday to all but five outlying districts.
Naturally, after what happened in Shanghai, those living in Beijing reacted precisely as you’d think they would.
Beijing Shoppers Clear Store Shelves in Fear of a Shanghai-Style Lockdown
Beijing residents snapped up food and other supplies as the city's biggest district began mass testing of all residents on Monday, prompting fears of a Shanghai-style lockdown after dozens of COVID-19 cases in the capital in recent days.
Authorities in Chaoyang, home to 3.45 million people, late on Sunday ordered residents and those who work there to be tested three times this week as Beijing warned the virus had "stealthily" spread in the city for about a week before being detected.
"I'm preparing for the worst," said a graduate student in the nearby Haidian district surnamed Zhang, who placed online orders for dozens of snacks and 10 pounds of apples.
Shoppers in the city crowded stores and online platforms to stock up on leafy vegetables, fresh meat, instant noodles and rolls of toilet paper.
But Shanghai Residents Would Love Some Beijing Duck
Shanghai’s 25 million residents have endured an extreme COVID lockdown for nearly a month—and now a new nightmarish topic is trending on Weibo, the country’s Twitter-like social media platform.
After consuming food from government-issued care packages, a number of residents living in housing compounds across several Shanghai neighborhoods have reported suffering from stomach pains and diarrhea, according to reporting from Bloomberg News.
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Welcome to Twitter, China-Style
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