Post by mhbruin on May 4, 2022 9:00:56 GMT -8
US Vaccine Data - We Have Now Administered 576 Million Shots (Population 333 Million)
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California Precipitation (Updated Tuesday May 3)
We had some rain up north this week.
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Quote of the Day
“It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.” ― Mark Twain
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Irony: The Opposite of Wrinkly.
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Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees
The World Class Liar Appointed Liars
Former President Donald Trump's Department of Homeland Security delayed and altered an intelligence report related to Russian interference in the 2020 election, making changes that "appear to be based in part on political considerations," according to a newly released watchdog report.
The April 26 Homeland Security inspector general's assessment provides a damning look at the way DHS' Office of Intelligence and Analysis dealt with intelligence related to Russia's efforts to interfere in the US, stating the department had deviated from its standard procedures in modifying assessments related to Moscow's targeting of the 2020 presidential election.
The conclusion that Trump's appointee appeared to have tried to downplay Russian meddling in a key intelligence report is the latest example of how his aides managed his aversion to any information about how Russia might be helping his election prospects. According to special counsel Robert Mueller's report, Trump officials tried to avoid the topic during meetings and at hearings, because he would become enraged and upset when Russian meddling came up.
The US intelligence community announced during the 2020 campaign that Russia was actively meddling in the election to weaken then-candidate Joe Biden. At the time, Trump downplayed those findings and promoted false claims about Biden that aligned with Russia's disinformation efforts. The IG report addresses past suspicions that Trump appointees distorted some intelligence reports to foster a more Trump-friendly narrative.
The QOP Caught the Car. The BIG Question: Will They Pay a Price with Voters?
The emphasis on the leaking (versus what was leaked) was an interesting fixation for a party that has devoted much of its last five decades to clearing the way for the demolition of Roe v. Wade.
But McConnell just might be the ultimate example of the dog that caught the car. Sure, he wants Roe shredded along with basically every other decision supported by a solid majority of Americans. But McConnell surely doesn't want it shredded before the midterms. By Jove, he can practically taste that Majority Leader goodness.
Except now the fringe court for which he stole two seats might be complicating Senate Republicans’ path back to the majority. Here's a little glimpse of why McConnell and his conference had a cow after the leaked opinion surfaced in Politico.
Misogyny in Action
In case you needed any further proof that the modern anti-abortion movement is an outgrowth of many centuries of virulent misogyny and violence against women, Justice Samuel Alito’s leaked opinion draft striking down Roe v. Wade relies heavily on a 17th century English jurist who had two women executed for “witchcraft,” wrote in defense of marital rape, and believed capital punishment should extend to kids as young as 14.
“Two treatises by Sir Matthew Hale,” Alito wrote in his argument to end legal abortion across America, “described abortion of a quick child who died in the womb as a ‘great crime’ and a ‘great misprision.’ See M. Hale, Pleas of the Crown.”
So how many of you woke up this morning thinking you were guilty of “great misprisions”? Not many, I’ll wager. But clearly, a great many of you are up to your blowsy neck wattles in them.
How interesting that Alito would cite Pleas of the Crown! That’s the text, published in 1736, 60 years after Hale’s death, that defended and laid the foundation for the marital rape exemption across the world.
Here's Sir Hale’s full-throated defense of rape: “For the husband cannot be guilty of a rape committed by himself upon his lawful wife for by their mutual matrimonial consent and contract the wife hath given up herself in this kind unto her husband which she cannot retract.”
He Should Lie Back and Enjoy Losing the Election
Robert Regan, the Michigan Republican who said rape victims should “lie back and enjoy it,” lost his bid for the state House to Democratic opponent Carol Glanville in a special election on Tuesday.
The district Regan sought to represent, a conservative area north of Grand Rapids whose residents are primarily white, has only ever been held by Republicans, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Glanville received about 52% of the vote, trumping Regan’s 40%, according to local news reports citing unofficial results from the Kent County Clerk’s office.
Elevating the Art of Stupid
Newsmax host Grant Stinchfield suggested on Tuesday — without evidence or logic — that future Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson may be responsible for the leak of a draft ruling that would dismantle abortion rights.
There’s one very big problem with this theory: Jackson isn’t on the Supreme Court yet.
Nor was she on the court when it heard arguments in the case over Mississippi’s abortion restrictions. She isn’t involved in the ruling at all.
Maybe They Should Have a Client Who Doesn't Have Bananas for Brains
Donald Trump’s attorneys did not want the former president’s sworn testimony in which he worried about being pelted with “very dangerous” fruit to be made public.
Trump’s comments were from an October 2021 deposition in a civil lawsuit filed by five activists who allege they were assaulted by Trump’s security guards outside Trump Tower in Manhattan in 2015. The Daily Beast published some of the fruitier excerpts last week after it was filed in court.
Trump’s lawyers said in a court filing on Tuesday that the release of the transcript containing the fruit discussion was “palpably improper” and called for sanctions against the plaintiffs’ lawyers, accusing them of releasing it in “bad faith” and tainting the jury, Insider reported.
Benjamin Dictor, a lawyer for the activists, countered that Trump’s side had fair warning that the deposition would come out and that he “should have the reasonable expectations that his words and actions will be subject to some level of media scrutiny.”
During the deposition, Trump said he worried about people throwing “pineapples, tomatoes, bananas” at him during rallies.
“It’s very dangerous stuff. You can get killed with those things,” Trump said about projectile tomatoes when asked by Dictor for examples of security threats his team had to face.
"Void of Any Useful Detail"
A New York court has rejected an attempt by Donald Trump to halt a contempt order and $10,000 in daily fines levied against the former US president for failing to properly comply with an investigation into his company.
Trump was found in contempt of the court last month for failing to comply with a subpoena from Letitia James, the New York state attorney general, who is seeking financial records for her civil fraud investigation into the Trump Organization.
The twice-impeached former president was hit with a $10,000 daily fine by the judge, Arthur Engoron, until he provided the documents sought by James. Trump claims the records cannot be found and attempted to have the fines and contempt order removed.
Alina Habba, Trump’s lawyer, argued in her appeal that the “exorbitant fine is wholly unjustified” and the treatment of the property mogul and former host of TV show The Apprentice was “unconscionable and indefensible”.
However, Engoron has turned down this appeal, leaving Trump with $80,000 in fines to date. The judge criticized an affidavit from Trump that outlined how the company has searched fruitlessly for the documents required by James.
“Mr Trump’s personal affidavit is completely devoid of any useful detail,” Engoron wrote.
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Today's Best Person in the World Nominees
Hello, Dolly! (But Carly Simon? Really? The Song Really WAS About Him.)
Dolly Parton has been voted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, despite previously asking to "respectfully bow out" of contention for the honour.
The singer said in March that she was "extremely flattered" to be nominated, but felt she had not "earned the right" to be counted as a rock artist.
However, she was too late because the ballots had already gone out.
As a result, the star will be inducted in November alongside Eminem, Carly Simon, the Eurythmics and Duran Duran.
Other new entrants include soul legend Lionel Richie and Hit Me With Your Best Shot singer Pat Benatar.
Meanwhile, British heavy metal band Judas Priest will receive the musical excellence award, as will producers Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, whose work with Janet Jackson changed the sound of US pop in the 1980s and 90s.
The Budget Deficit Is Shrinking, While the QOP Integrity Deficit Grows.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday will address his efforts to reduce the nation's budget deficit, noting that it is expected to fall for the second straight year amid a recovering economy and waning emergency spending, according to the White House.
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Invasions Have Consequences
From the Same People Who Said They Would Not Invade Ukraine. (Wouldn't a Declaration of War Recognize Ukraine as a Country?)
Russia has dismissed speculation that it will declare all-out war in Ukraine in the coming days as "nonsense".
Moscow has up until now denied it is at war, instead referring to the invasion as a "special military operation".
But Western officials have speculated that President Vladimir Putin could use the 9 May Victory Parade to announce an escalation of military action.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, however, said there was no truth to the rumours "at all".
Take Your Oil and Shove It (Or Sell It to the Chinese).
The EU has proposed some of its toughest measures yet against Russia, including a total ban on oil imports and sanctions on war crimes suspects.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the package was aimed at maximising pressure on Russia while minimising damage to Europe.
Russian crude oil would be phased out within six months, she said.
Military officers involved in suspected war crimes in Bucha and Mariupol would also face new sanctions.
"This sends another important signal to all perpetrators of the Kremlin's war: We know who you are, and you will be held accountable," Ms von der Leyen told the European Parliament on Wednesday.
The EU has been focusing for weeks on how to wean itself off Russian oil and gas. It has already pledged to reduce gas imports by two-thirds by the end of 2022 and now plans to phase out crude oil over six months and refined products by the end of 2022.
What's Happening on the Ground? Not Much Is Changing.
Russia didn’t gain any ground today, anywhere. They are stuck stuck. Meanwhile, Ukraine finally confirmed the capture of the strategic city of Staryi Saltiv, which actually took place over the weekend. Those Ukrainian gains around Kharkiv now allow utter destruction of supply convoys anywhere that city. No wonder the Donbas front is stymied.
The green squares represents the estimated strength of Ukrainian forces in brigades. The Russian numbers in red are their battalion tactical groups (BTG). A Ukrainian brigade is the rough equivalent of 2-3 Russian BTGs, though I would estimate on the higher end (3x) given how under-resourced those BTGs have turned out.
Down near Kherson, in the south, Ukraine actually has a numerical advantage—seven Russian BTGs vs 10-15 Ukrainian equivalents. It’s no surprise that Russia is stuck trying to move on Krivyi Rih and Mikolaiv, while Ukraine is slowly rolling Russian forces in that axis.
Similarly, Russia is severely under-resourced in the Kharkiv axis with just five BTGs, while Ukraine has 6-9 equivalents. That's why Ukraine is moving. However, the advantage isn ‘t huge, so progress is slow. Ukraine has admitted severe losses, and even got smashed trying to enter the northern town of Kozacha Lopan.
What is Going to Happen? A US General's Opinion
Phase 2 has begun. So far, Ukraine resistance is holding steady. With the up-gunned support coming from the United States, NATO and other allies, the Ukrainian forces have prevented any major progress on the multiple Russian axes aimed to permanently carve up Ukraine. Allied weaponry, ammunition and equipment appear to have arrived just in time. But Putin’s forces are inching forward in some areas, and a few Russian units seem to be learning from previous mistakes. The Russians will not merely give up.
Unable to take the ground they want, the Russians likely will rely more and more on conducting war by missile, rocket and artillery. Massive destruction offsets Russia’s lack of tactical proficiency. Targeting logistical support will grow in importance in this phase of the war because logistics is the lifeblood of war. For the Ukraine forces, keeping their supply lines open will become a key requirement. So, those lines increasingly will come under Russian attack. Likewise, Russian supply depots and shipping will remain Ukrainian targets.
Putin will stay focused on achieving his campaign objectives until Ukraine’s combination of active defense and local counterattacks “teach” the Russians that they cannot win. This phase of the war will be intense and has several possible endings.
The Ukraine war is far from over
The Russian Hordes Are Getting Smaller
It’s fair to say that at this point in Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, the reputation of the Russian military has shrunk by, if not 100%, something like 99%. Every film that made Russian forces seem like an unbroken mass of Dolph Lundgren clones marching perfectly along in their smartly tailored coats needs to be updated to represent the combination of sniveling incompetence and thoughtless brutality that seems closer to the truth.
In a purely physical sense, the U.S. Defense Department estimates that Russia has lost about 25% of the force it sent across the Ukraine border. On top of that, the U.K. Ministry of Defense estimates that about 25% of the Battalion Tactical Groups (BTG) that remain are “combat ineffective” due to lacking either personnel or equipment. In recent days, there have been reports of assaults from Russian forces that were far below the supposed scale of a BTG, and there have been translations like this one showing that a BTG with just two remaining tanks deliberately sabotaged one of them to keep from being sent into battle.
“Our tank, we broke it ourselves in the morning as to not go. BTRs went with out us and they have a lot of 200s [killed] and 300s [wounded] in critical condition.”
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Want To Visit Jamestown? Soon You May Need to Bring a Bucket and a Shovel.
One of the most important historic sites in America has been put on a list of endangered places. Preservation groups warn that Jamestown, Virginia, may not survive another generation because of climate change.
In 1607, the small island near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay became the first successful English colony. It is often described as the birthplace of both democracy and slavery in America.
But the tides of the James River are becoming higher and more damaging, the water table is rising, and storms are more frequent and severe, causing dangerous floods.
"There are multiple challenges and they're all related to climate change," says James Horn, president of the Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation. "Essentially, we can't get rid of the water."
The threat from water is nothing new - the James River had already eroded the western part of the island settlement and until digging began in 1994, it was erroneously believed that the original fort was already underwater. Archaeologists have since excavated most of the fort and recovered millions of artefacts. In 2013 they found evidence of cannibalism during the brutal winter of 1609-10, known as the Starving Time. And in 2015 they discovered the skeletal remains of the first settlers.
But climate change is accelerating the pace of erosion and flooding, jeopardising the site as well as further research and the potential for future discoveries.
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The South African Connection
Covid-19 cases are spiking in South Africa, and public health experts in the United States are following the data closely, waiting to see what it might reveal about how immunity from previous infections behaves over time.
South Africa has been a bellwether before. Scientists there were the first to discover the Omicron variant of the coronavirus late last year, setting off a global chain reaction. After a pandemic peak in December, cases in the country declined, but now they're on the rise again -- along with positivity rates and hospitalizations. It could spell South Africa's fifth wave.
The spike has been tied to two new sublineages of Omicron, BA.4 and BA.5, which the World Health Organization added to its monitoring list last month. They're dominating transmission in the country, accounting for almost 60% of all new Covid-19 cases by the end of April, according to South Africa's National Institute of Communicable Diseases.
South African scientists have found that BA.4 and BA.5 can evade antibodies from previous infection well enough to spark a new wave, but are less likely to do so in people vaccinated against Covid-19. Almost all South Africans are either vaccinated or have had a previous infection.
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"19th Unnamed Cave": Catchy Name! Right Up There With BA.4 and BA.5 (Scientists Need Help With Branding.)
Roughly 1,000 years ago, artists working by the light of burning reeds carved figures into the ceiling of a cave in what’s now Alabama, crouching in the narrow space below.
Over the millennium that followed, the carvings became almost invisible to the naked eye, as they got covered by the mud that naturally accumulated on the cave’s walls.
Now, those carvings have been revealed by advanced photography as the largest set of carvings ever found inside a cave in North America, some of them depicting figures almost 7 feet long.
Several of the carvings seem to show people wearing Native American regalia, such as headdresses, and carrying what appear to be rattles. Researchers think they could represent spirits of the dead.
The cave in the northern Alabama countryside (the researchers are keeping its precise location a secret) is the richest prehistoric cave art site in North America, Simek said.
It’s one of thousands of caves within the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau, a huge region of “karst” — heavily eroded limestone — that runs from southern Pennsylvania to Alabama.
Known to science only as the “19th Unnamed Cave,” it extends for miles beneath the surface. Hundreds of carved figures are incised into the ceiling of the “dark zone” filled with stalactites and stalagmites just beyond the light from the entrance.
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Who'll Pay the Price For Ending Roe? The Usual Suspects.
Research suggests the bans and restrictions would have manifold effects on maternal health. For one, if more pregnant people can't get the abortions they seek, they'd shoulder the risk of the U.S.'s relatively high — and rising — rate of death from pregnancy-related causes, which is particularly elevated among people of color.
The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate of any developed country. In total, about 700 women die every year of pregnancy-related complications in the U.S., and about 3 in 5 of those deaths are preventable, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"One of the things that I worry about the most is that we are going to see an increase in maternal deaths in this country" if Roe is overturned, said Lauren Ralph, an epidemiologist at the University of California, San Francisco.
The U.S. maternal mortality rate in 2020 was 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births — the highest it had been since before Roe was overturned, according to the Commonwealth Fund, which promotes better health care for underserved communities. The rate was far higher among Black people: 55.3 deaths, which is nearly three times the rate for white people.
A rise in maternal deaths, therefore, would likely "be concentrated among people who are living below the federal poverty line, people of color," Ralph said.
The U.S. maternal mortality rate more than doubled from 1987 to 2017, CDC data show. By contrast, maternal mortality in high-income countries decreased slightly every year on average over roughly the same period, according to a 2016 study.
What Should Biden Do?
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Alito Says Roe is "Not Deeply Rooted in American History"
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Who Gets an Abortion? It's Not a Bunch of Teenagers.
Race
Not every state reports abortion by ethnicity, but those that do reveal that abortions to blacks and Hispanic women account for 55.4% of the 405,795 abortions reported by race. This number is disproportionate considering the fact that black and Hispanic women only comprise roughly 29% of the total U.S. population.
Age
Sixty percent of women getting an abortion are in their 20s. That breaks down to about 33% of all abortions to women who are just 20-24, and about another 25% of abortions to women 25-29. They may be putting off childbearing until they feel more stable.
Marital Status
Unmarried women account for about 85% of all abortions. Women without supportive partners often feel like they are left with no choice but to abort the child.
Other Children
Almost 60% of women obtaining an abortion have already given birth to one or more children! Only 40.3% abort their first child.
Religion
Thirty-seven percent of women obtaining abortions identified as evangelical or Catholic.
Income Level
Poverty does drive women to abortion. The economic incentive behind the idea that they can pay for an abortion instead of raising a child is a significant driving force behind their “decision,” one they likely feel driven to by these practicalities of not making ends meet. Three out of four women having an abortion are low income and cluster near or below the poverty line.
Maybe Abortion Foes Should Address Poverty If They Want Fewer Abortions. Also, Preventing Poor Women From Getting Abortions Means More Kids Will Grow Up in Poverty. (And all those extra Black babies will likely grow up to be Democrats.)
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Bores can Weigh up to 320 Pounds and Grow to Over 6-Feet in Length.
"The people of Rome are being held hostage by wild boar"
It was 11 pm in Rome and 44-year old psychotherapist Marta Santangelo was walking down her street, a bag full of trash in one hand, her dog's leash in the other. As she approached the trash cans on the darkened road, she realized she was in danger.
She quickly scooped her dog into her arms and took off running, but it was too late. Her attacker leapt from behind, and Santangelo fell to the floor, the latest victim in a series of attacks on the citizens of north Rome.
The aggressors: Wild boar.
In Santangelo's case, it was a large sow with a litter of seven piglets in toe. Although the wild hogs don't normally attack people, they can pose a danger to humans and pets if they sense danger to their young or their food sources.
Shakira says wild boar attacked her in Spain
"The animal was on top of my head," Santangelo told Italian daily La Repubblica. "If my dog had not defended me, I don't know what would have happened."
Santangelo was lucky. A motorist who witnessed the attack drove her to a hospital, where she was treated for minor injuries. But Romans have been rattled by the increasingly common, and increasingly brazen encounters with the animals, and angry at the local government for not stemming the boar incursions.
The Italian capital is home to an estimated 5,000-6,000 wild boar. They live in the city's parks but venture into populated areas at all hours of the day and night. They often move in large groups searching for food, entering school and hospital grounds, perusing outdoor restaurants and nonchalantly crossing busy streets and highways.
Wild boar can weigh up to 220 pounds and grow to 5-feet in length.
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New Cases 7-Day Average | Deaths 7-Day Average | New Hospitalizations 7-Day Average | |
| May 3 | 61,712 | 325 | |
| May 2 | 60,410 | 318 | 2.214 |
| May 1 | 57,020 | 307 | 2,072 |
| Apr 30 | 56,581 | 310 | 1,882 |
| Apr 29 | 56,166 | 308 | 1,946 |
| Apr 28 | 54,696 | 311 | 1,955 |
| Apr 27 | 53,133 | 334 | 1,941 |
| Apr 26 | 48,692 | 299 | 1,889 |
| Apr 25 | 47,407 | 330 | 1,840 |
| 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 | |
| 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 May 3)
We had some rain up north this week.
| Percent of Average for this Date | Last Week | 2 Weeks Ago | 3 Weeks Ago | |
| Northern Sierra Precipitation | 80% (74%) | 81% (74%) | 79% (70%) | 73% (63% of full season average) |
| San Joaquin Precipitation | 66% (61%) | 67% (61%) | 65% (58%) | 65% (57%) |
| Tulare Basin Precipitation | 61% (57%) | 62% (57%) | 60% (54%) | 61% (53%) |
| Snow Water Content - North | 20% | 29% | 15% | |
| Snow Water Content - Central | 27% | 33% | 27% | |
| Snow Water Content - South | 17% | 23% | 24% |
Quote of the Day
“It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.” ― Mark Twain
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Irony: The Opposite of Wrinkly.
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Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees
The World Class Liar Appointed Liars
Former President Donald Trump's Department of Homeland Security delayed and altered an intelligence report related to Russian interference in the 2020 election, making changes that "appear to be based in part on political considerations," according to a newly released watchdog report.
The April 26 Homeland Security inspector general's assessment provides a damning look at the way DHS' Office of Intelligence and Analysis dealt with intelligence related to Russia's efforts to interfere in the US, stating the department had deviated from its standard procedures in modifying assessments related to Moscow's targeting of the 2020 presidential election.
The conclusion that Trump's appointee appeared to have tried to downplay Russian meddling in a key intelligence report is the latest example of how his aides managed his aversion to any information about how Russia might be helping his election prospects. According to special counsel Robert Mueller's report, Trump officials tried to avoid the topic during meetings and at hearings, because he would become enraged and upset when Russian meddling came up.
The US intelligence community announced during the 2020 campaign that Russia was actively meddling in the election to weaken then-candidate Joe Biden. At the time, Trump downplayed those findings and promoted false claims about Biden that aligned with Russia's disinformation efforts. The IG report addresses past suspicions that Trump appointees distorted some intelligence reports to foster a more Trump-friendly narrative.
The QOP Caught the Car. The BIG Question: Will They Pay a Price with Voters?
The emphasis on the leaking (versus what was leaked) was an interesting fixation for a party that has devoted much of its last five decades to clearing the way for the demolition of Roe v. Wade.
But McConnell just might be the ultimate example of the dog that caught the car. Sure, he wants Roe shredded along with basically every other decision supported by a solid majority of Americans. But McConnell surely doesn't want it shredded before the midterms. By Jove, he can practically taste that Majority Leader goodness.
Except now the fringe court for which he stole two seats might be complicating Senate Republicans’ path back to the majority. Here's a little glimpse of why McConnell and his conference had a cow after the leaked opinion surfaced in Politico.
Misogyny in Action
In case you needed any further proof that the modern anti-abortion movement is an outgrowth of many centuries of virulent misogyny and violence against women, Justice Samuel Alito’s leaked opinion draft striking down Roe v. Wade relies heavily on a 17th century English jurist who had two women executed for “witchcraft,” wrote in defense of marital rape, and believed capital punishment should extend to kids as young as 14.
“Two treatises by Sir Matthew Hale,” Alito wrote in his argument to end legal abortion across America, “described abortion of a quick child who died in the womb as a ‘great crime’ and a ‘great misprision.’ See M. Hale, Pleas of the Crown.”
So how many of you woke up this morning thinking you were guilty of “great misprisions”? Not many, I’ll wager. But clearly, a great many of you are up to your blowsy neck wattles in them.
How interesting that Alito would cite Pleas of the Crown! That’s the text, published in 1736, 60 years after Hale’s death, that defended and laid the foundation for the marital rape exemption across the world.
Here's Sir Hale’s full-throated defense of rape: “For the husband cannot be guilty of a rape committed by himself upon his lawful wife for by their mutual matrimonial consent and contract the wife hath given up herself in this kind unto her husband which she cannot retract.”
He Should Lie Back and Enjoy Losing the Election
Robert Regan, the Michigan Republican who said rape victims should “lie back and enjoy it,” lost his bid for the state House to Democratic opponent Carol Glanville in a special election on Tuesday.
The district Regan sought to represent, a conservative area north of Grand Rapids whose residents are primarily white, has only ever been held by Republicans, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Glanville received about 52% of the vote, trumping Regan’s 40%, according to local news reports citing unofficial results from the Kent County Clerk’s office.
Elevating the Art of Stupid
Newsmax host Grant Stinchfield suggested on Tuesday — without evidence or logic — that future Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson may be responsible for the leak of a draft ruling that would dismantle abortion rights.
There’s one very big problem with this theory: Jackson isn’t on the Supreme Court yet.
Nor was she on the court when it heard arguments in the case over Mississippi’s abortion restrictions. She isn’t involved in the ruling at all.
Maybe They Should Have a Client Who Doesn't Have Bananas for Brains
Donald Trump’s attorneys did not want the former president’s sworn testimony in which he worried about being pelted with “very dangerous” fruit to be made public.
Trump’s comments were from an October 2021 deposition in a civil lawsuit filed by five activists who allege they were assaulted by Trump’s security guards outside Trump Tower in Manhattan in 2015. The Daily Beast published some of the fruitier excerpts last week after it was filed in court.
Trump’s lawyers said in a court filing on Tuesday that the release of the transcript containing the fruit discussion was “palpably improper” and called for sanctions against the plaintiffs’ lawyers, accusing them of releasing it in “bad faith” and tainting the jury, Insider reported.
Benjamin Dictor, a lawyer for the activists, countered that Trump’s side had fair warning that the deposition would come out and that he “should have the reasonable expectations that his words and actions will be subject to some level of media scrutiny.”
During the deposition, Trump said he worried about people throwing “pineapples, tomatoes, bananas” at him during rallies.
“It’s very dangerous stuff. You can get killed with those things,” Trump said about projectile tomatoes when asked by Dictor for examples of security threats his team had to face.
"Void of Any Useful Detail"
A New York court has rejected an attempt by Donald Trump to halt a contempt order and $10,000 in daily fines levied against the former US president for failing to properly comply with an investigation into his company.
Trump was found in contempt of the court last month for failing to comply with a subpoena from Letitia James, the New York state attorney general, who is seeking financial records for her civil fraud investigation into the Trump Organization.
The twice-impeached former president was hit with a $10,000 daily fine by the judge, Arthur Engoron, until he provided the documents sought by James. Trump claims the records cannot be found and attempted to have the fines and contempt order removed.
Alina Habba, Trump’s lawyer, argued in her appeal that the “exorbitant fine is wholly unjustified” and the treatment of the property mogul and former host of TV show The Apprentice was “unconscionable and indefensible”.
However, Engoron has turned down this appeal, leaving Trump with $80,000 in fines to date. The judge criticized an affidavit from Trump that outlined how the company has searched fruitlessly for the documents required by James.
“Mr Trump’s personal affidavit is completely devoid of any useful detail,” Engoron wrote.
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Today's Best Person in the World Nominees
Hello, Dolly! (But Carly Simon? Really? The Song Really WAS About Him.)
Dolly Parton has been voted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, despite previously asking to "respectfully bow out" of contention for the honour.
The singer said in March that she was "extremely flattered" to be nominated, but felt she had not "earned the right" to be counted as a rock artist.
However, she was too late because the ballots had already gone out.
As a result, the star will be inducted in November alongside Eminem, Carly Simon, the Eurythmics and Duran Duran.
Other new entrants include soul legend Lionel Richie and Hit Me With Your Best Shot singer Pat Benatar.
Meanwhile, British heavy metal band Judas Priest will receive the musical excellence award, as will producers Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, whose work with Janet Jackson changed the sound of US pop in the 1980s and 90s.
The Budget Deficit Is Shrinking, While the QOP Integrity Deficit Grows.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday will address his efforts to reduce the nation's budget deficit, noting that it is expected to fall for the second straight year amid a recovering economy and waning emergency spending, according to the White House.
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Invasions Have Consequences
From the Same People Who Said They Would Not Invade Ukraine. (Wouldn't a Declaration of War Recognize Ukraine as a Country?)
Russia has dismissed speculation that it will declare all-out war in Ukraine in the coming days as "nonsense".
Moscow has up until now denied it is at war, instead referring to the invasion as a "special military operation".
But Western officials have speculated that President Vladimir Putin could use the 9 May Victory Parade to announce an escalation of military action.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, however, said there was no truth to the rumours "at all".
Take Your Oil and Shove It (Or Sell It to the Chinese).
The EU has proposed some of its toughest measures yet against Russia, including a total ban on oil imports and sanctions on war crimes suspects.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the package was aimed at maximising pressure on Russia while minimising damage to Europe.
Russian crude oil would be phased out within six months, she said.
Military officers involved in suspected war crimes in Bucha and Mariupol would also face new sanctions.
"This sends another important signal to all perpetrators of the Kremlin's war: We know who you are, and you will be held accountable," Ms von der Leyen told the European Parliament on Wednesday.
The EU has been focusing for weeks on how to wean itself off Russian oil and gas. It has already pledged to reduce gas imports by two-thirds by the end of 2022 and now plans to phase out crude oil over six months and refined products by the end of 2022.
What's Happening on the Ground? Not Much Is Changing.
Russia didn’t gain any ground today, anywhere. They are stuck stuck. Meanwhile, Ukraine finally confirmed the capture of the strategic city of Staryi Saltiv, which actually took place over the weekend. Those Ukrainian gains around Kharkiv now allow utter destruction of supply convoys anywhere that city. No wonder the Donbas front is stymied.
The green squares represents the estimated strength of Ukrainian forces in brigades. The Russian numbers in red are their battalion tactical groups (BTG). A Ukrainian brigade is the rough equivalent of 2-3 Russian BTGs, though I would estimate on the higher end (3x) given how under-resourced those BTGs have turned out.
Down near Kherson, in the south, Ukraine actually has a numerical advantage—seven Russian BTGs vs 10-15 Ukrainian equivalents. It’s no surprise that Russia is stuck trying to move on Krivyi Rih and Mikolaiv, while Ukraine is slowly rolling Russian forces in that axis.
Similarly, Russia is severely under-resourced in the Kharkiv axis with just five BTGs, while Ukraine has 6-9 equivalents. That's why Ukraine is moving. However, the advantage isn ‘t huge, so progress is slow. Ukraine has admitted severe losses, and even got smashed trying to enter the northern town of Kozacha Lopan.
What is Going to Happen? A US General's Opinion
Phase 2 has begun. So far, Ukraine resistance is holding steady. With the up-gunned support coming from the United States, NATO and other allies, the Ukrainian forces have prevented any major progress on the multiple Russian axes aimed to permanently carve up Ukraine. Allied weaponry, ammunition and equipment appear to have arrived just in time. But Putin’s forces are inching forward in some areas, and a few Russian units seem to be learning from previous mistakes. The Russians will not merely give up.
Unable to take the ground they want, the Russians likely will rely more and more on conducting war by missile, rocket and artillery. Massive destruction offsets Russia’s lack of tactical proficiency. Targeting logistical support will grow in importance in this phase of the war because logistics is the lifeblood of war. For the Ukraine forces, keeping their supply lines open will become a key requirement. So, those lines increasingly will come under Russian attack. Likewise, Russian supply depots and shipping will remain Ukrainian targets.
Putin will stay focused on achieving his campaign objectives until Ukraine’s combination of active defense and local counterattacks “teach” the Russians that they cannot win. This phase of the war will be intense and has several possible endings.
The Ukraine war is far from over
The Russian Hordes Are Getting Smaller
It’s fair to say that at this point in Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, the reputation of the Russian military has shrunk by, if not 100%, something like 99%. Every film that made Russian forces seem like an unbroken mass of Dolph Lundgren clones marching perfectly along in their smartly tailored coats needs to be updated to represent the combination of sniveling incompetence and thoughtless brutality that seems closer to the truth.
In a purely physical sense, the U.S. Defense Department estimates that Russia has lost about 25% of the force it sent across the Ukraine border. On top of that, the U.K. Ministry of Defense estimates that about 25% of the Battalion Tactical Groups (BTG) that remain are “combat ineffective” due to lacking either personnel or equipment. In recent days, there have been reports of assaults from Russian forces that were far below the supposed scale of a BTG, and there have been translations like this one showing that a BTG with just two remaining tanks deliberately sabotaged one of them to keep from being sent into battle.
“Our tank, we broke it ourselves in the morning as to not go. BTRs went with out us and they have a lot of 200s [killed] and 300s [wounded] in critical condition.”
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Want To Visit Jamestown? Soon You May Need to Bring a Bucket and a Shovel.
One of the most important historic sites in America has been put on a list of endangered places. Preservation groups warn that Jamestown, Virginia, may not survive another generation because of climate change.
In 1607, the small island near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay became the first successful English colony. It is often described as the birthplace of both democracy and slavery in America.
But the tides of the James River are becoming higher and more damaging, the water table is rising, and storms are more frequent and severe, causing dangerous floods.
"There are multiple challenges and they're all related to climate change," says James Horn, president of the Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation. "Essentially, we can't get rid of the water."
The threat from water is nothing new - the James River had already eroded the western part of the island settlement and until digging began in 1994, it was erroneously believed that the original fort was already underwater. Archaeologists have since excavated most of the fort and recovered millions of artefacts. In 2013 they found evidence of cannibalism during the brutal winter of 1609-10, known as the Starving Time. And in 2015 they discovered the skeletal remains of the first settlers.
But climate change is accelerating the pace of erosion and flooding, jeopardising the site as well as further research and the potential for future discoveries.
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The South African Connection
Covid-19 cases are spiking in South Africa, and public health experts in the United States are following the data closely, waiting to see what it might reveal about how immunity from previous infections behaves over time.
South Africa has been a bellwether before. Scientists there were the first to discover the Omicron variant of the coronavirus late last year, setting off a global chain reaction. After a pandemic peak in December, cases in the country declined, but now they're on the rise again -- along with positivity rates and hospitalizations. It could spell South Africa's fifth wave.
The spike has been tied to two new sublineages of Omicron, BA.4 and BA.5, which the World Health Organization added to its monitoring list last month. They're dominating transmission in the country, accounting for almost 60% of all new Covid-19 cases by the end of April, according to South Africa's National Institute of Communicable Diseases.
South African scientists have found that BA.4 and BA.5 can evade antibodies from previous infection well enough to spark a new wave, but are less likely to do so in people vaccinated against Covid-19. Almost all South Africans are either vaccinated or have had a previous infection.
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"19th Unnamed Cave": Catchy Name! Right Up There With BA.4 and BA.5 (Scientists Need Help With Branding.)
Roughly 1,000 years ago, artists working by the light of burning reeds carved figures into the ceiling of a cave in what’s now Alabama, crouching in the narrow space below.
Over the millennium that followed, the carvings became almost invisible to the naked eye, as they got covered by the mud that naturally accumulated on the cave’s walls.
Now, those carvings have been revealed by advanced photography as the largest set of carvings ever found inside a cave in North America, some of them depicting figures almost 7 feet long.
Several of the carvings seem to show people wearing Native American regalia, such as headdresses, and carrying what appear to be rattles. Researchers think they could represent spirits of the dead.
The cave in the northern Alabama countryside (the researchers are keeping its precise location a secret) is the richest prehistoric cave art site in North America, Simek said.
It’s one of thousands of caves within the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau, a huge region of “karst” — heavily eroded limestone — that runs from southern Pennsylvania to Alabama.
Known to science only as the “19th Unnamed Cave,” it extends for miles beneath the surface. Hundreds of carved figures are incised into the ceiling of the “dark zone” filled with stalactites and stalagmites just beyond the light from the entrance.
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Who'll Pay the Price For Ending Roe? The Usual Suspects.
Research suggests the bans and restrictions would have manifold effects on maternal health. For one, if more pregnant people can't get the abortions they seek, they'd shoulder the risk of the U.S.'s relatively high — and rising — rate of death from pregnancy-related causes, which is particularly elevated among people of color.
The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate of any developed country. In total, about 700 women die every year of pregnancy-related complications in the U.S., and about 3 in 5 of those deaths are preventable, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"One of the things that I worry about the most is that we are going to see an increase in maternal deaths in this country" if Roe is overturned, said Lauren Ralph, an epidemiologist at the University of California, San Francisco.
The U.S. maternal mortality rate in 2020 was 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births — the highest it had been since before Roe was overturned, according to the Commonwealth Fund, which promotes better health care for underserved communities. The rate was far higher among Black people: 55.3 deaths, which is nearly three times the rate for white people.
A rise in maternal deaths, therefore, would likely "be concentrated among people who are living below the federal poverty line, people of color," Ralph said.
The U.S. maternal mortality rate more than doubled from 1987 to 2017, CDC data show. By contrast, maternal mortality in high-income countries decreased slightly every year on average over roughly the same period, according to a 2016 study.
What Should Biden Do?
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Alito Says Roe is "Not Deeply Rooted in American History"
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Who Gets an Abortion? It's Not a Bunch of Teenagers.
Race
Not every state reports abortion by ethnicity, but those that do reveal that abortions to blacks and Hispanic women account for 55.4% of the 405,795 abortions reported by race. This number is disproportionate considering the fact that black and Hispanic women only comprise roughly 29% of the total U.S. population.
Age
Sixty percent of women getting an abortion are in their 20s. That breaks down to about 33% of all abortions to women who are just 20-24, and about another 25% of abortions to women 25-29. They may be putting off childbearing until they feel more stable.
Marital Status
Unmarried women account for about 85% of all abortions. Women without supportive partners often feel like they are left with no choice but to abort the child.
Other Children
Almost 60% of women obtaining an abortion have already given birth to one or more children! Only 40.3% abort their first child.
Religion
Thirty-seven percent of women obtaining abortions identified as evangelical or Catholic.
Income Level
Poverty does drive women to abortion. The economic incentive behind the idea that they can pay for an abortion instead of raising a child is a significant driving force behind their “decision,” one they likely feel driven to by these practicalities of not making ends meet. Three out of four women having an abortion are low income and cluster near or below the poverty line.
Maybe Abortion Foes Should Address Poverty If They Want Fewer Abortions. Also, Preventing Poor Women From Getting Abortions Means More Kids Will Grow Up in Poverty. (And all those extra Black babies will likely grow up to be Democrats.)
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Bores can Weigh up to 320 Pounds and Grow to Over 6-Feet in Length.
"The people of Rome are being held hostage by wild boar"
It was 11 pm in Rome and 44-year old psychotherapist Marta Santangelo was walking down her street, a bag full of trash in one hand, her dog's leash in the other. As she approached the trash cans on the darkened road, she realized she was in danger.
She quickly scooped her dog into her arms and took off running, but it was too late. Her attacker leapt from behind, and Santangelo fell to the floor, the latest victim in a series of attacks on the citizens of north Rome.
The aggressors: Wild boar.
In Santangelo's case, it was a large sow with a litter of seven piglets in toe. Although the wild hogs don't normally attack people, they can pose a danger to humans and pets if they sense danger to their young or their food sources.
Shakira says wild boar attacked her in Spain
"The animal was on top of my head," Santangelo told Italian daily La Repubblica. "If my dog had not defended me, I don't know what would have happened."
Santangelo was lucky. A motorist who witnessed the attack drove her to a hospital, where she was treated for minor injuries. But Romans have been rattled by the increasingly common, and increasingly brazen encounters with the animals, and angry at the local government for not stemming the boar incursions.
The Italian capital is home to an estimated 5,000-6,000 wild boar. They live in the city's parks but venture into populated areas at all hours of the day and night. They often move in large groups searching for food, entering school and hospital grounds, perusing outdoor restaurants and nonchalantly crossing busy streets and highways.
Wild boar can weigh up to 220 pounds and grow to 5-feet in length.
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