The alligators are getting sneaky.
"Wallace Broecker, a climate scientist who brought the term 'global warming' into the public and scientific lexicon, died on Monday. He was 87." And so it goes.
"The French Fencing Federation that oversees Olympic level swordplay with foils, epees and sabres has added George Lucas’ laser sword to its cache of recognized weapons for competition, the Associated Press reports." I'm now trying to think of how you could create a light saber that would survive full contact like this as most of the ones I have seen would break at the first real blow.
"'What will these instruments sound like in 200 years? I hope they can still be played,' (Fausto Cacciatori chief conservator of the Violin Museum in Cremona, Italy) says. 'But you never know. All it takes is one unfortunate event. An earthquake, for instance. Think about what happened to so much art during World War II.'… Cacciatori says Stradivarius instruments need a 21st century failsafe — and someone who understands music as well as technology to pull it off… Enter deejay Leonardo Tedeschi." I guess I'm sort of gobsmacked that this hasn't been done before.
"Like Adee, many beekeepers across the U.S. have lost half their hives — they call one with no live bees inside a 'deadout.' Some beekeepers lost as many as 80 percent. That's unusual. And many of the hives that did survive aren't strong in numbers."
"Electric vehicles are currently a tiny fraction of the car market, which is dominated by internal combustion engines. But many more electric car models will hit showrooms in the next few years, and several factors have analysts convinced that is part of a major transition in the industry." Another question is how will we fund and maintain roads, which are mostly paid for by gas taxes.
"Community Clinic serves 37,000 low-income patients in the northwest part of the state. Irvin Martinez, its health insurance enrollment specialist, says he's witnessed a lot of turmoil among patients attempting to comply with the new Medicaid rules. In Arkansas, the program is called Arkansas Works." Work requirements aren't justice, they're an excuse to throw people out of systems that help them. They're a disgusting ploy disguised as "basic civility"and an "attempt to give them dignity" while stripping the powerless of any hope.
"To own a gun, Illinois residents are required to have a Firearms Owners' Identification, or FOID, card issued by the state… Days after buying the gun, he applied for a conceal-carry permit. Police discovered a 1995 conviction for felony aggravated assault in Mississippi — an offense they said might not have turned up on the background check necessary for a FOID card. Police revoked his FOID card and sent him a letter telling him to relinquish any firearms. Ziman said police records show that the letter was sent, but she doesn't know whether police attempted to follow up."
In Ohio our state legislature is thinking of hiking our $0.29 gas tax to $0.30. So, "A conservative think tank is calling on lawmakers to make changes to counter an increase to the gas tax by making cuts elsewhere in Ohio's tax structure." Yes, conservatives are thinking of raising the gas tax which haven't been increased in decades, but only if they cut some other taxes. Instead of saying it should increase by a penny per year for the next decade, while they figure out how to replace the gas tax as more vehicles either use less or no gas.
"Two Republican state representatives will unveil legislation tomorrow to change the state’s prevailing wage law. Actually, Ohio’s lawmakers have been trying to alter those laws for a while now." Because, yes, conservatives are just that petty.
"Three months after the midterm elections, North Carolina officials are publicly laying out their evidence for the first time that the outcome in the state's 9th Congressional District may have been tainted by election fraud."
"During Monday’s North Carolina Board of Elections hearing on alleged election fraud in the 9th district, worker for political operative McCrae Dowless Lisa Britt testified that he told her to plead the 5th Amendment since 'they have nothing on us,' per NPR affiliate WFAE." Considering the worker refused the advice, they now have something on Dowless. Dowless was a hired consultant of Republican candidate Mark Harris. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
How goes Brexit? "The deadlock over the terms of the United Kingdom’s departure from the EU continues and the prospect of the nation leaving the bloc without an exit deal looms larger… And that’s fueled an upsurge in stockpiling, which has reached the highest level in a G-7 country since comparable records began in 2007." Preppers come to the UK.
"The Washington Post reports that Nauert's nomination (as the US Ambassador to the UN) 'faced complications' after it was revealed that she had 'hired a foreign-born nanny about 10 years ago who didn't have the proper work visa and Nauert didn't pay proper taxes on time, according to two officials involved in her nomination process.'" Heather Nauert is a former Fox and Friends host.
"A study released on Sunday tallies the chemical weapons attacks over the course of the Syrian civil war, which has left hundreds of thousands dead. At least 336 have occurred, according to authors Tobias Schneider and Theresa Lütkefend of the Berlin-based Global Public Policy Institute." War crimes which will most likely go unpunished.
"Bernie Sanders is campaigning for president again, officially entering the crowded 2020 Democratic presidential field on Tuesday with a vow to finish what he started in his last race for the White House." I haven't been sharing all the announcements of people running because there are going to be a fucking lot of them. Most will drop out this Summer as they hit the stumbling blocks of raising funds and getting an organization up and running. Bernie has the advantage of having done this before, so he has the organization part ready, it remains to be seen if he can raise the funds this time, despite the BernieBro Brigade. But, seriously, can we get someone from the next generations (Boomers or Xers)? The GOP (lead by President Trump) have already dusted off the socialism drum and are beating it hard already. The Democrats will need to develop a counter-narrative.
"CNN reports that McGaughey, the husband of (William) Barr’s (our new Attorney General's) youngest daughter, has been hired as an attorney in the White House counsel’s office, where he’ll 'advise the president, the executive office, and White House staff on legal issues concerning the president and the presidency.'… Meanwhile, Mary Daly, Barr’s oldest daughter, will be leaving her current job in the deputy attorney general’s office for a gig at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which has had its own Russian intrigues." I'm sorry, this entire subplot either needs to be heavily rewritten or cut because if just defies suspension of disbelief. (Grokked from Jim Wright)
"In Roger Stone's new Instagram post on this President's Day Monday, he appears to be attacking Judge Amy Berman Jackson, the federal judge overseeing his case. The symbol in the upper left corner of the image looks like crosshairs, or a gun target next to her head." (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)
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