It's a new day, a new year, and a new decade (insert consternation here). But it's the same old shit we're dealing with.
"You know how sometimes you’ll read a particular author and find that their cadences and word choices are creeping into your own head-voice?… I ask because I have spent these last few days reading a lot of Chuck Tingle, and my brain is currently a CAPSLOCK wonderland filled with buckaroos and sentient jet-skis… The purpose, you ask? Well, aside from the sheer joy of proving love, I thought it might be a fun quest: is it possible that such an eccentric body of work could yield practical writing advice?"
So let's check in with the down under… "The leader of Australia's eastern New South Wales state has declared a week-long state of emergency in response to the escalating bushfire threat… PM Scott Morrison had to cut short a visit to one fire-hit town after being heckled by angry residents."
"At least 21 people have died in flooding in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, after the city had its most intense rainfall for at least 24 years… The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) measured 377mm (14.8 inches) of rainfall in a day at an airport in East Jakarta… The agency said the intensity of the rain was due to several factors, including the monsoon season, as well as a high amount of water vapour in the air." We're boned.
"US farmers have taken a particularly harsh beating this year from a one-two punch of nasty flooding exacerbated by climate change and a trade war with China." As I've said before, with climate change we're growing the wrong crops in the wrong places because the weather is hitting at the wrong time. But don't worry… "In 2019, the federal government delivered an extraordinary financial aid package to America's farmers. Farm subsidies jumped to their highest level in fourteen years, most of them paid out without any action by Congress." I'm sure it's totally legal to not have Congress allocate and appropriate those funds. And then there is this, "For one thing, it's an enormous amount of money, more than the final cost of bailing out the auto industry during the financial crisis of 2008." And yet, I'm not seeing Tea Party rallies and calls for cutting the deficit. Say, what do we call it when governments in other countries just hand money to certain groups like farmers or industry? Something, something about communes or something like that.
"In a desert far from any city, farmers use groundwater to grow lush green hay. The hay fattens livestock all over the world. But there's a big problem: The water is drying up. Now scientists warn it will take thousands of years for an aquifer in southeastern Oregon to recover, while residents there are already hurting." Welcome to the new water wars.
"Wind accounted for 47% of Denmark’s power usage in 2019, the country’s grid operator Energinet said on Thursday citing preliminary data, up from 41% in 2018 and topping the previous record of 43% in 2017." But apparently we can't because… um… we don't wear wooden shoes. Or something (yes, yes, scale blah blah… but here in Ohio we've removed any renewable power mandate just last year). (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
"Authorities are investigating an outbreak of viral pneumonia in central China amid online speculation that it might be linked to SARS, the flu-like virus that killed hundreds of people more than a decade ago." Here we go again.
"Required parental consent is one of the main reasons Massachusetts, often viewed as a bastion of liberal laws, only gets a grade of 'C' for abortion access from an abortion rights group. Now, there's an ongoing, vigorous debate in Massachusetts about whether to keep or remove this restriction." Remove it.
"A police officer made up a story about having "f---ing pig" written on his coffee cup at a McDonald's in Junction City, Kansas, as a joke, his chief said Monday."> This is my shocked face. What happens when a civilian manufactures evidence? (Grokked from Jim Wright)
"The congregation at a Texas church where two people were fatally shot had repeatedly given food to the gunman, according to the pastor, but had declined to give money to him, angering a man who court records show was deemed mentally incompetent for trial in 2012." Oh, well, at least we can now categorize this into a convenient silo and say there's nothing we could do.
The most dangerous catch. "The Coast Guard in Alaska has suspended a search for five fishermen missing after the boat they were in sank on Tuesday… Two survivors of the seven aboard were rescued by helicopter early Wednesday from a life raft, officials said."
How go the Trade Wars? "Here are six charts that look at how the world’s top two economies and their financial markets have performed in the year."
"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday that he will seek immunity from prosecution in corruption cases he's facing." From the parliament. Which he hasn't been able to convene because he can't form a government. Yeah. This will totally work.
"Hong Kong police arrested about 400 people in New Year’s Day protests after what started as a peaceful pro-democracy march of tens of thousands spiraled into chaotic scenes with police firing tear gas to disperse the crowds."
"President Trump and his Russian counterpart have the coming year to deal with an expiring nuclear treaty that will lapse just after the end of his first term… Trump hasn't ruled out renewing the treaty, known as New START. But he has made it clear that he would rather strike a bigger deal that includes different kinds of nuclear weapons — and that also brings China into the fold." Anyone think that'll happen? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
"Recreational marijuana use became legal in just one more state, Illinois, with the start of the New Year on Wednesday. More states could follow suit in 2020, with several states set to put recreational marijuana on the ballot. Cannabis is still considered an illegal substance at the federal level."
"But the Postal Service as a public, government-run entity is not guaranteed, and advocates in Congress, President Donald Trump’s administration, and consulting firms like McKinsey & Co. have called for privatization of the agency for some time… Those changes could come as early as next month." This should be burning up the airwaves, but in this climate of daily crisis and heinous fuckery, it's barely a news blip.
"In a court filing Christmas Eve in Los Angeles Superior Court, lawyers for Durst conceded he had written the note directing police to the home of his best friend, Susan Berman, in December 2000."
"The State Department launched an intense investigation to find out who 'liked' Chelsea Clinton’s tweet at President Donald Trump, The Daily Beast reports." The link was from the official USA's EU delegation twitter account. Petty, thy name is president. (Grokked from George Takei)
"The IRS announced significant changes Monday to its deal with the tax prep software industry. Now companies are barred from hiding their free products from search engines such as Google, and a years-old prohibition on the IRS creating its own online filing system has been scrapped." Well see just how far they'll go to enforce these new rules. (Grokked from DongWon Song)
"One surprisingly simple reason evangelicals love Trump… It’s his immigration policy." That's a nice way of saying they're racist.
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