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Post by mhbruin on Feb 14, 2023 8:56:33 GMT -8
Today a man knocked on my door and asked for a small donation towards the local swimming pool. I gave him a glass of water.
Dueling Headlines
Inflation continued to cool in January - ABC News
January inflation hits 6.4%, missing analysts' expectations for a faster slowdown - NBC News
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Post by mhbruin on Feb 14, 2023 9:03:45 GMT -8
Canadian Geese Aren't Safe in Washington DC
Police have issued a warning after a string of armed robberies targeted people wearing Canada Goose winter coats in Washington DC.
There were at least seven reported robberies of people wearing the popular luxury coats between December and February.
Some of the robberies took place near George Washington University, prompting the campus to issue its own advisory.
The prices of the coats stolen range from $550 (£454) to nearly $1,500.
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Post by mhbruin on Feb 14, 2023 9:05:37 GMT -8
DeathSentence Loses While Winning
Let’s take the governor’s battle with Walt Disney World. Last year, Disney employees stood up to DeSantis and his notorious “Don’t Say Gay” bill, a law that bans public schools from discussing LGBTQ+ history and gender identity in classrooms. In response to the theme park’s pushback, DeSantis signed a bill erasing the company’s decades-long tax benefits as a special tax district.
“I will not allow a woke corporation based in California to run our state … Disney has gotten away with special deals from the State of Florida for way too long,” DeSantis said, according to The New York Times.
What seemed like a win for DeSantis was, in fact, a loss for the taxpayers in the Reedy Creek Improvement District area around the park, left to pick up the pieces where Disney had paid before. As USA Today reports, those residents would not have to shoulder the costs of emergency services, road repair, and the district’s approximately $1 billion in debt—that would be the responsibility of surrounding counties.
After realizing that DeSantis’ bold move was actually a noose around the neck of the primarily Black and brown communities in Osceola and Orange Counties, the Times reports that the Florida legislature was forced to step in and allow Disney to keep its tax benefits, including its tax-exempt status and the ability to approve development plans without prior approval from local regulators. In exchange, DeSantis got control over the five members of the tax district. Woot woot!
Even Republicans were irritated by the bluster of DeSantis’ claim of a win. Anthony Sabatini, chairman of the Lake County Republican Party in Florida, tweeted:
“So basically Woke Disney gets to keep its nearly tax-free, regulation-free status—but with a different Board … And now they are not allowed to have an airport … What a massive capitulation this is … HUGE win for Woke Disney … BIG loss for conservatives.”
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Post by mhbruin on Feb 14, 2023 9:09:49 GMT -8
The QOP Has Been After Social Security for a Long Time
First of all, if Republicans had absolutely no desire to make major cuts to America’s main social insurance programs, why would they sunset them — and thus create the risk that they wouldn’t be renewed? As Biden might say, c’mon, man.
And then there’s that historical record. Two things have been true ever since 1980. First, Republicans have tried to make deep cuts to Social Security and Medicare every time they thought there might be a political window of opportunity. Second, on each occasion they’ve done exactly what they’re doing now: claiming that Democrats are engaged in smear tactics when they describe G.O.P. plans using exactly the same words Republicans themselves used.
So, about that history. It has been widely forgotten, but soon after taking office Ronald Reagan proposed major cuts to Social Security. But he backed down in the face of a political backlash, leading analysts at the Cato Institute to call for a “Leninist” strategy — their word — creating a coalition ready to exploit a future crisis if and when one arrived.
To that end, Cato created the Project on Social Security Privatization, calling for replacing Social Security with individual accounts — which George W. Bush tried to do in 2005. By then, however, Cato had quietly renamed its project; “privatization” polled badly, and Bush insisted that it was a “trick word” used to “scare people.”
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Post by mhbruin on Feb 14, 2023 9:12:47 GMT -8
Assad Must Be Thrilled. An Earthquake is Helping Him to Kill His Own Citizens
Buildings in rebel-controlled parts of the country collapsed on sleeping families just as they had across the border in Turkey, but, in Syria, virtually no one from the outside world came to help. The White Helmets, a volunteer rescue service that has been pulling civilians out of the rubble of homes bombed by Russian and Syrian government air strikes for years, did their best to rescue survivors. But they had none of the advanced rescue equipment brought to Turkey, where teams from around the world flew in with sniffer dogs, sensitive microphones, and seismic sensors. Syrians mostly dug with backhoes, shovels, and bare hands. People told us that there were some buildings, filled with families, from which no survivors had emerged.
They said that the Assad regime and its ally, Russia, are preventing international aid from entering rebel-held areas. Several border crossings with Turkey are within a half hour’s drive from Syria’s disaster zone. So far, though, Assad has only permitted U.N.-distributed aid through one of them, and none of the assistance has included earthquake relief or rescue equipment. In response to criticism, Assad promised to open three border crossings on Monday. Meanwhile, those trapped under the rubble have slowly perished in places like Jindires, and their deaths are a microcosm of what has been happening in northwest Syria for years. Martin Griffiths, the U.N.’s head of emergency relief, tweeted on Sunday, “We have so far failed the people in north-west Syria. They rightly feel abandoned. Looking for international help that hasn’t arrived.”
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Post by mhbruin on Feb 14, 2023 9:17:08 GMT -8
Netanyahu Wants Control Over the Courts That Are Investigating Him
Israel’s controversial new environment minister was shouted off the stage at a climate summit here in the so-called capital of Negev desert as protests grow against the most right-wing government in this country’s 75-year history.
Shortly after the minister took the podium at Ben-Gurion University on Tuesday morning, activists seated in the audience began repeatedly shouting “shame on you” in Hebrew at Idit Silman, the legislator who in January assumed the top environmental post in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new administration.
The event took place one day after roughly 100,000 demonstrators descended on the national capital in Jerusalem to protest the new administrator’s plan to give the Knesset power to override the judiciary, a sea change that critics say would strip the courts of vital independence.
Supporters of the proposal say the court system empowers judges who are more liberal than voters and are not subject to elections. Opponents — who have ranged from civil society groups to Israeli President Isaac Herzog — generally say the move will allow Netanyahu to fight criminal charges against himself by cherry-picking friendly judges.
Monday night’s march in Jerusalem, one of the largest demonstrations in Israel’s history, capped off weeks of routine Saturday night protests across the nation.
“It really is possible that our air be clean but our hearts and our heads would be polluted by violence,” Silman said. “I’m proud to be part of this government.”
If the judicial reforms become law, banking giant JPMorgan Chase warned that Israel’s credit rating may be downgraded, exacting a painful toll on the country’s export-oriented tech industry. Goldman Sachs said the proposed reforms could harm the value of the shekel.
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Post by mhbruin on Feb 14, 2023 9:18:52 GMT -8
He's Too Old to Be a Republican?
A supporter of former President Donald Trump is crossing the political aisle — to become a Democrat.
New Jersey state Sen. Samuel Thompson, a delegate for Trump in 2016 and 2020 who has hailed his presidency a “success,” said he was quitting the GOP because local party leaders questioned his fitness for office because of his age. Thompson is 87.
“The betrayal by so many of my friends — that was too much for me,” Thompson told The Associated Press on Monday. “I am not leaving my party. My party leadership has left me.”
Thompson will run for reelection later this year as a Democrat. He would have faced a “tough” GOP primary, reported the New Jersey Globe.
Will He Be a Qemocrat?
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Post by mhbruin on Feb 14, 2023 9:22:19 GMT -8
Sarah Silverman Knows Why They Hate Her
“These right-wing people really fucking hate me!” she noted.
Then she guessed why they might feel so strongly.
“What am I, a gender-neutral bathroom over here? What am I, a Starbucks cup that just says ‘happy holidays’ over here? What am I, a grown woman with an opinion?” she asked, then realized it was the last one. “Oh, yeah, that’s probably it.”
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Post by mhbruin on Feb 14, 2023 9:24:01 GMT -8
His Role as president of the Senate Didn't Prevent Him From Writing a Book About It
Republican former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is preparing to resist a grand jury subpoena for testimony about Donald Trump's push to overturn his 2020 election loss, a source familiar with his plans said on Tuesday.
Pence will argue that his role as president of the Senate - making him a member of the legislative branch - shields him from certain Justice Department demands, rather than cite executive privilege as then-vice president, the source said.
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Post by mhbruin on Feb 14, 2023 9:26:59 GMT -8
Big Business Wants the Debt Ceiling Raised. A Crisis Hurts Big Business, and They are Big Donors to the QOP, BUT ...
Republican lawmakers taking the hardest line against raising the U.S. government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling rely heavily on small donors to fund their campaigns, a Reuters analysis found, shielding them from business lobby pressure to avoid a default.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus, a secretive group of at least 37 conservative Republicans, got close to 40% of their campaign funds from smaller donations during the 2022 election cycle, the analysis of financial disclosures found, compared to close to 20% for the rest of the party's House members.
That financial independence from traditional power brokers could make it even harder for Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy to maintain control over members of his party in a closely divided House and further complicate his negotiations with Democratic President Joe Biden over raising the government's borrowing limit.
House Freedom Caucus members, who want to shrink the role of government, are demanding reductions in government spending. Biden opposes putting conditions on a debt ceiling increase, which is needed to cover outlays and tax cuts already approved by Congress.
Some Freedom Caucus members leaned especially hard on small donors; U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia got close to 70% of her 2022 campaign fund from people giving $200 or less, Reuters found. Her office did not respond to requests for comment.
Small-dollar fundraising helps lawmakers buck pressure from traditional power brokers and corporate groups, said Ian Vandewalker, a campaign finance expert at New York University's Brennan Center.
"The ability to raise money outside those structures means you have freedom to thumb your nose at those structures," Vandewalker said.
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Post by mhbruin on Feb 14, 2023 9:29:04 GMT -8
Everybody Hates Jesus
Most Super Bowl adverts plug things like fizzy drink and cars, but one of the most talked-about commercials the day after the big game was selling Jesus - and it upset several very different political tribes.
Advertisements for an evangelical Christian website called He Gets Us have been shown on US TV since last year, during sporting events and the Grammys.
The ads use striking black-and-white photographs of recent events to project Christian values on to modern life.
They alternatively portray Jesus as a "cancelled" influencer, a refugee, a struggling worker and other archetypes.
And during the Super Bowl the commercial brought together opposite ends of the ideological spectrum - in outrage.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the left-wing Democratic congresswoman from New York City, tweeted: "Something tells me Jesus would *not* spend millions of dollars on Super Bowl ads to make fascism look benign."
Meanwhile, Charlie Kirk, founder of the right-wing campus group Turning Point USA, said the adverts "pander to liberals". He's previously called the campaign "one of the worst services to Christianity in the modern era" and the people behind it "woke tricksters".
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