Terry Jones, and so it goes.
"Scientists in the Philippines are defending their assessment of a volcano that has been spewing ash for more than a week after a local official demanded they change their 'opinion' of the danger it poses and urged people to defy authorities and return to their homes." The climate crisis in miniature.
"Some 2.2 billion years ago, an asteroid slammed into the Earth, leaving behind a massive, 43-mile-wide crater in what's now Western Australia, scientists announced Tuesday… It's the world's oldest known impact site, the new study said, one that also may have changed Earth's climate: It occurred at a time that coincided with Earth’s recovery from an ice age known as 'Snowball Earth,' where most of Earth’s surface was covered with ice sheets up to 3 miles thick, according to a statement from Imperial College in London." Yarrabubba, you'll probably hear about that soon.
"US President Donald Trump has decried climate 'prophets of doom' in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where sustainability is the main theme." Old man yells at clouds. This is why we can't have nice things, because of denial babies in suits.
"NASA has chosen nine finalists in the student naming contest for its next Mars rover, which currently goes by the bland Mars 2020… Public input is one criterion NASA will use to pick the final name, and the agency is therefore encouraging folks to vote for their favorite online at go.nasa.gov/name2020. But you'll have to act relatively fast; voting closes at midnight EST…on Jan. 28." What, no Rover McMarsface? You can vote here if you want to skip the article.
"One of the most commonly used drugs on the market may be deemed a carcinogen by California… Acetaminophen, an active ingredient in popular pain-relief medications like Tylenol, Excedrin and Midol, has been on the state’s list of drugs under review for years because of tenuous links to cancer." I'm old enough to remember the Tylenol poisoning scares, this is just the long term version of that.
"And although Influenza A did finally overtake Influenza B this week to account for most of the flu activity in the United States for the first time this season, incidence overall continues to decline. That could lead the majority of states returning to low levels in the next two to four weeks, according to Biocomplexity Institute researchers." Ah, yeah, Bob.
"Public health officials have confirmed the first U.S. case of a mysterious coronavirus that has sickened hundreds in China, the CDC says." Dramatic music plays here.
"Nearly one month ago, Boeing completed the first orbital test flight of its Starliner spacecraft with a near-perfect landing at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico… The mission had to be cut short due to a well-publicized timing error that delayed the spacecraft's service module from performing an orbital insertion burn. This caused the thrusters on board the service module, which provides power to Starliner during most of its mission, to fire longer than expected. As a result, the spacecraft did not have enough fuel to complete a rendezvous with the International Space Station, a key component of the test flight in advance of crewed missions."
"But Twitterstorians have been preoccupied with more weighty matters in the Trump era, a time when the President and his followers are known for spreading dubious versions of American history… Many Twitterstorians have taken it upon themselves to correct the record." When the "well, actually…" argument has the weight of evidence behind it. (Grokked from S.A. Chakraborty)
"Have you been thinking about going back to college? Perhaps you're looking to change jobs, make more money or simply finish that degree you started… Maybe there's a program you've already checked out, or you're just starting to explore your options. Wherever you are on your journey, here are six tips to help you take that leap." As someone who has done it, I highly recommend having a very good reason for wanting to do it. Have specific goals. My goal was to have skills for a job that was resistant to economic sways, did not have rampant agism, paid sufficiently to not be a major setback, not be easily automated, and something that I could work at until I am able to retire (if I'm ever able to retire).
"Just across the state border in rural Northern California, Shasta County had earned a $1.6 million grant to help fund a similar low-barrier shelter. County supervisors considered its proposal last winter when they heard from Police Chief Michael Johnson from the city of Anderson… 'It is just another enabling mechanism for the homeless, the transients and the displaced people here,' Johnson told the board in February 2019. 'When you create something and enable people, you're going to attract more.'" So instead the chiefs and sheriffs want to build bigger jails. More jails isn't the solution. Providing services doesn't attract homeless.
"Two inmates at a maximum-security prison in Mississippi have died after suffering injuries from a "blunt force beating," officials said Tuesday, bringing the death toll across the state's prison system to at least seven since the beginning of the year." Mississippi jails have long been centers of corrupt practices that leave prisoners vulnerable to abuse and death. Under conservative government they were allowed to continue under the conservative philosophy that "jail should be bad to be a deterrent."
"The Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos had his mobile phone “hacked” in 2018 after receiving a WhatsApp message that had apparently been sent from the personal account of the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, sources have told the Guardian… The encrypted message from the number used by Mohammed bin Salman is believed to have included a malicious file that infiltrated the phone of the world’s richest man, according to the results of a digital forensic analysis." You've been hacked. So, apparently SMB is that guy you shouldn't trust.
"Brazilian prosecutors have charged controversial American journalist Glenn Greenwald with cybercrimes after he published hacked text messages exposing corruption among public officials." Gee, an abusive authoritarian government might overstep its bounds? Shocked…
"After months of escalating protests, Lebanon has named a new prime minister and cabinet… Hassan Diab, a professor and former education minister, will take the top role, according to a statement read by an official at the Baabda presidential palace in Beirut on Tuesday. He was appointed with the backing of Hezbollah, its allies, and the Free Patriotic Movement, a Christian political party."
Ah, Florida man strikes again. "A worker with anti-government views fatally stabbed his Trump-supporting boss at a Florida Turnpike construction site and placed an American flag next to the body after they got into a political argument, deputies said Tuesday."
Staying with Florida for a moment… "The National Weather Service says falling iguanas are possible Tuesday night ahead of the season's coldest night."
"Jan. 22 marks the 47th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark court case that legalized abortion nationwide. People on both sides of the furious debate say this could be the year when everything changes… In March, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear its first abortion case since Justice Brett Kavanaugh replaced Anthony Kennedy, who had been the swing vote on abortion cases. A decision is expected by summer."
All when this is happening. "A new Gallup poll finds a record number of Americans are unhappy with the nation's abortion laws — a shift mostly caused by growing dissatisfaction among Democrats." A majority is of the opinion that the laws are too strict.
"The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday in a major case that could dramatically alter the line separating church and state… At issue is a Montana state constitutional amendment that bars direct and indirect taxpayer aid to religious institutions. Conservative religious groups and advocates of school choice are challenging the 'no-aid' provision." If church institutions want tax payer money, they should pay taxes (on all their activities and properties). Fair is fair, after all.
The Throughline podcast on how VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) was passed. Trigger alert for descriptions of domestic violence. "In the mid-1980's a woman who didn't consider herself a feminist was asked to solve perhaps the biggest problem women face. How she and a small group of people seized on that rare moment and fought back in the hopes that something could finally be done." Funny how the arguments against it haven't changed at all. If slavery is our original sin, domestic violence (and violence against women) is our sin of omission.
"President Trump says he'll widen a controversial travel ban that prohibits nearly all people from seven countries from traveling or immigrating to the U.S., calling it 'a very powerful ban' that's necessary to ensure national security." Remember when the travel ban was a "temporary" action "until we could figure out what was going on"?
"A district encompassing Greater Seattle is set to become the first in which every voter can cast a ballot using a smartphone — a historic moment for American democracy."
"Top liberals have reached a détente with the House Democratic campaign arm in a dispute over a policy that inhibits primary challengers to incumbents — a move intended to unify Democrats in this year’s battle to protect their majority and defeat President Donald Trump." The blacklist rule (which targets campaign managers and staff who work for progressive primary challengers) should be tossed out. It's a ridiculous constraint on the democratic process and is only meant to protect those already in power.
"Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says her political party is not actually a 'left party,' describing it critically as 'center-conservative.'" This is not a controversial statement in reality, but only in some odd party purity concept. It's really relatively recently that parties have divided into these strict ideological camps. It's true the GOP has tended right and the Democrats have tended left, but both parties used to have a wide range of ideological groups. That started changing with Civil Rights, accelerated under Reagan's 11th Commandment and activation of the social conservatives, and in the early 2000's the parties further divided by tolerance for authoritarianism. President Obama would be considered a solid conservative in the 70s. So would many of the elected members of the Democratic Party.
"When Chief Justice John Roberts issued an extraordinary admonishment of Democrats and Republicans on the first day of President Donald Trump's impeachment trial, he not only reminded speakers to maintain decorum but used a seldom-uttered word -- pettifogging -- to make his point."
"After more than 12 hours of action Tuesday, the Senate adopted the ground rules for the coming weeks in President Trump's impeachment trial. It brought a reminder that even this highly scripted ordeal may include a few surprises after all."
Meanwhile, on Bullshit Mountain… "Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff stared down President Trump’s lawyers on the Senate floor Tuesday as they accused him of lying to the American people and denying Trump due process during the impeachment investigation… Trump lawyers Pat Cipollone and Jay Sekulow repeatedly ripped into Democrats, especially Schiff, on the first day of arguments in the Senate impeachment trial, as the House Intelligence Committee chairman -- who is serving as the top Democratic impeachment manager -- sat up straight in his chair and didn’t take his eyes off his accusers." This is a national news organization saying, "Did I trigger you, libtard?"
"Imagine that Democrats nominate Joe Biden, or Elizabeth Warren, or Mike Bloomberg, or anyone else in the field as their candidate for president. Now imagine that President Donald Trump, who once joked about shooting someone on Fifth Avenue, tweets out the following: 'Crazy (fill in candidate name here) would be terrible for America. Can someone help me out here? Don’t worry, my pardon power is absolute.'" Sure, it's an over-the-top scenario, but abuse of power is a crime. It is coercion, bribery, corruption, self-dealing, and a few other crimes of office. To say it's not a crime is to invite corruption at a level which is poisonous to democracy.
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