What to get a nation that has almost everything? John Scalzi has the answer… "Have you registered to vote? If not, do so here, it’s simple and easy." There are few things that scare officials more than a loss of fundraising and the motivated voter.
"A federal judge on Monday sided with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and ordered the Dakota Access pipeline to shut down until more environmental review is done." It's only been in operation for 3 years… and leaked a few times.
"The death toll from three days of heavy rain and flooding in southern Japan rose to 40 on Monday, including 14 who drowned at a riverside nursing home, as rescuers searched for 10 missing people and rain threatened wider areas of the main island of Kyushu, officials said."
Hey, remember the last healthcare crisis? Yeah, it didn't magically go away either. "Top Trump administration officials say drug overdose deaths are surging amid the coronavirus pandemic, driven by increased substance use due to anxiety, social isolation and depression… A White House drug policy office analysis shows an 11.4 percent year-over-year increase in fatalities for the first four months of 2020, confirming experts’ early fears that precautions like quarantines and lockdowns combined with economic uncertainty would exacerbate the addiction crisis."
"'Make no mistake about it, what you see today is that America is going back to work and the American people are finding a way every day to put this coronavirus farther in the past,' (VP Pence) told CNBC the same day the country reported more than 55,000 new virus cases, a daily record."
"The group of scientists argue that the WHO needs to give more weight to the role of the airborne spread of Covid-19, The New York Times reported on Saturday."
"As health services around the world continue to focus their resources on ending the coronavirus pandemic, they threaten to derail decades of hard-won progress in the response to HIV, TB and many other diseases. That's according to a new report by the International AIDS Society publishing this week." There's only do much money for public health, and efforts to prevent other diseases require human contact and groups of people to be tested and educated.
"The White House is again rejecting calls for a national mask-wearing mandate… White House chief of staff Mark Meadows says in an appearance on 'Fox and Friends' Monday morning that the president sees the issue as a 'state-to-state' matter."
"Marshaled against a pandemic that has sickened at least 2.6 million in the U.S., killed more than 126,000 people and cost tens of millions of jobs and $3 trillion in federal rescue money, state and local government health workers are sometimes paid so little, they qualify for public aid. They track the coronavirus on records shared via fax. Working seven-day weeks for months, they fear pay freezes, public backlash and even losing their jobs." Part of the systematic dismantling of the US.
"One person has been killed and one hospitalized in serious condition after a vehicle barreled past a police barrier and into protesters on a freeway in Seattle this weekend." But the Washington State Patrol would like you to know that this is the protestors' fault because a car got around the troopers' barricades.
"An uneasy July 4th in Richmond, Va., as armed groups gather warily."
"A white couple face criminal charges after one of them was captured on video pulling a handgun on a Black woman and her daughters in a restaurant parking lot in Michigan." Good.
"A statue of abolitionist Frederick Douglass was ripped from its base in Rochester on the anniversary of one of his most famous speeches, delivered in the city in 1852." Waits for the inevitable backlash from the right saying that we shouldn't be tied to the past just as "the leftists" tear down statues and replacing this statue with a new one show their hypocrisy.
"A group called the Sons of Confederate Veterans has raised a 20-foot-by-30-foot Confederate flag on an 80-foot pole near an interstate in North Carolina… The flag replaces a smaller version that had been there."
"After a weekend spent stoking division, President Donald Trump on Monday went after NASCAR’s only Black driver and criticized its decision to ban the Confederate flag at its races and venues." Keep telling me he's not racist, because he keeps acting like a racist.
"The amendment would simplify elections for governor and other statewide officials by erasing an Electoral College-type provision from Mississippi’s 1890 constitution — one that was written to dilute Black voting power and maintain white control of state politics."
"A loose network of Facebook groups that took root across the country in April to organize protests over coronavirus stay-at-home orders has become a hub of misinformation and conspiracy theories that have pivoted to a variety of new targets. Their latest: Black Lives Matter and the nationwide protests of racial injustice." Funny how that works.
"The FBI reported that Americans set a new record of 3.9 million background checks to purchase or possess firearms in June. That eclipsed the previous record set in March of 3.7 million background checks."
"'We are committed to making a positive impact in our community and embrace our responsibility to advance social justice and equality,' the (Cleveland Indians) said in a statement that came just hours after the NFL’s Washington Redskins announced a similar move. 'Our organization fully recognizes our team name is among the most visible ways in which we connect with the community.'" There will be severe blowback, given the rush on purchases of Chief Wahoo merchandise (which is still available) when they "retired" him in 2018.
"Nursing home residents are among the Americans getting $1,200 checks as part of the U.S. government’s plan to revive the economy. But with many long-term care facilities under lockdown to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks, what are the rules around how the money is handled?" We faced this as well. You have to get almost to the end of the article to find the main concern. Many people in nursing homes receive Medicaid. In Ohio, if you have over $2,500 you do not qualify for Medicaid. In the article they talk about how residents' Social Security checks are garnished and go to pay their bills except for $50 they're allowed to keep (many residents pay for haircuts, snacks, little things if they're able to go on day trips). So that initial stimulus and the talked about second can put a lot of people in jeopardy of going over the limits. And it takes months to get back on Medicaid (if you have a proactive social workers, it will cover back payments, except for that month they lost coverage). Here in Ohio the average monthly bill for a nursing facility that accepts Medicaid is $4,500. So if the resident somehow goes over $2,500, they will still need to find another $2,000 that month or risk being evicted.
"Then, COVID-19 hit and, as Quartz reported, it changed how many hobbyist board game creators approached the industry. But for many people who suddenly found themselves stuck at home under lockdown, the pandemic also spurred newfound interest in strategy games that require creativity and concentration. Board game hobbyists had more time to spend learning about new games coming out, while newbies to the scene were discovering a world beyond classics like Monopoly and Clue."
"Activity in the U.S. services sector rebounded strongly last month, but those gains are now being threatened by the resurgence of coronavirus cases in many parts of the country."
"Over the past decade, the Drukpa nuns have begun calling themselves the 'Kung Fu Nuns,' and their efforts have earned them worldwide recognition. In October, the Kung Fu Nuns traveled to New York City to receive the 2019 'Game Changer Award' from the Asia Society, an annual award that honors groups and individuals making a 'transformative' impact in Asia and beyond. The nuns are the first all-female group of honorees."
"A humanitarian group said Sunday its rescue ship with 180 migrants stranded aboard for days has 'finally' received instructions to sail to an Italian port, so its passengers can be disembarked."
"A Hong Kong court denied bail on Monday to the first person charged with inciting separatism and terrorism under the city’s new national security law after he carried a sign saying “Liberate Hong Kong” and drove his motorbike into police."
"Indian soldiers who died in close combat with Chinese troops last month were unarmed and surrounded by a larger force on a steep ridge, Indian government sources, two soldiers deployed in the area and families of the fallen men said." There are questions as to why the Indian soldiers were unarmed. It's because firearms are prohibited in that region because of the tense nature of the border struggle. That's why the Chinese attacked with nails, clubs, and rocks.
"China began pulling back troops from along its contested border with India on Monday, Indian government sources said, following a clash between the two countries last month in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed."
"At the foot of Mount Rushmore and on the eve of Independence Day, President Donald Trump dug deeper into America’s divisions by accusing protesters who have pushed for racial justice of engaging in a 'merciless campaign to wipe out our history.'" No, we want you to know your actual history, not the hagiography.
"About 7,500 attendees won an online ticket lottery sponsored by South Dakota's state tourism department. Despite the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in the country, crowds in red, white and blue were seen packed close together and mostly maskless. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem told Fox News ahead of the event that while free masks would be provided, attendees would not be required to wear them or to practice social distancing."
"Now, during a national reckoning on racism, Democratic Party leaders want those symbolic changes to become part of a fundamental shift at the ballot box."
"Coronavirus is skyrocketing in Republican-leaning Sunbelt and interior states, where shifting attitudes about the virus and President Donald Trump’s handling of it could spell more trouble for his re-election effort." Strange how when shit hits the fan, conservative "leadership" crumbles.
"The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that states can require presidential electors to back their states’ popular vote winner in the Electoral College." No more "faithless" electors.
"A look at what didn’t happen this week." There is actual fake news, and there are plenty of people who believe it.
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