I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Linkee-poo through the window in the wall come streaming in on sunlight wings a million bright ambassadors of morning

"The Trump administration is asking states to speed delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to people 65 and older and to others at high risk by no longer holding back the second dose of the two-dose shots, officials said Tuesday." Hey guys, if you wanted to exercise such control, maybe you should have handled the whole program instead of dumping it on the states.

"Things are so bad in Los Angeles County that health officials are now advising all essential workers to wear masks inside their own home to prevent spreading Covid-19 within their household."

"A leaked internal 'polling' spreadsheet from one of the country's top union avoidance firms offers an inside look into a highly secretive industry that specializes in helping employers derail union drives using sophisticated, tested, and, at times, legally questionable methods… The spreadsheet was used by union avoidance firms that tried to thwart a union drive at two Seattle hospitals owned by Conifer Health Solutions in 2019. One of the union avoidance firms involved in that campaign was IRI Consultants, which was retained by Google in 2019 amid a wave of unprecedented worker organizing at the company. On Monday, hundreds of Google workers revealed they formed a union with the Communications Workers of America." Yes Virginia, companies are willing to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to make sure they don't pay you $0.50 more.

"A new trend is emerging among ransomware groups where they prioritize stealing data from workstations used by top executives and managers in order to obtain 'juicy' information that they can later use to pressure and extort a company's top brass into approving large ransom payouts." Burning Chrome.

"General Motors said Tuesday it plans to launch an all-electric van called the EV600 this year… The van – part of GM’s plan to invest $27 billion in electric and autonomous vehicles by 2025 – will be the first vehicle under a new commercial business unit in GM called BrightDrop. The EV600 will be capable of up to 250 miles per charge, according to Pam Fletcher, vice president of global innovation, who will oversee the new division."

"New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick announced on Monday that he has declined to accept a Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Trump, citing last week's deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol. Mr. Trump was set to give the highest civilian honor to the 68-year-old this week, a White House official had previously told CBS News."

"Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused the Voice of America news service of 'demeaning America' in a speech that a watchdog group criticized as 'political propaganda' and a violation of the government-funded agency's own rules… Pompeo delivered remarks in person to a command audience of VOA staff despite the Covid pandemic, urging them to report that 'this is the greatest nation the world has ever known.' Pompeo did not mention the pandemic, the insurrectionist violence that rocked the Capitol last week, leaving five dead, or President Donald Trump's role in encouraging the chaos." That isn't worrying at all.

"The Trump administration is designating Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism in a move that will return the island nation to the pariah list from which it was removed five years ago."

"President Trump is heading to Texas on Tuesday in a last-ditch effort to show off one of his signature election promises — the border wall — as Democratic lawmakers appear ready to move forward with impeaching him for a second time."

"Efforts to rush parts of President Donald Trump's border wall in his final days in office are doomed and in some places have actually harmed border security, according to campaigners… Witnesses to the work in Arizona told Insider that mountainous parts of the border were easier to reach now than when Trump took power four years ago, as the process involved building new roads over rough terrain."

"With only hours before the scheduled execution of Lisa Montgomery, a convicted murderer and the first woman to face the federal death penalty in nearly seven decades, a federal judge late Monday put a temporary stop to it pending a mental competency review… A date for such a hearing was not immediately given, and prosecutors have filed a notice to appeal the decision."

"The day before a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, an arm of the Republican Attorneys General Association sent out robocalls urging supporters to come to D.C. to 'fight' Congress over President Donald Trump's baseless election fraud claims… After the attempted insurrection on Wednesday left a police officer and four others dead, several GOP attorneys general have now distanced themselves from the robocalls, insisting they didn't know about the campaign. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, the chairman of the Rule of Law Defense Fund, the nonprofit that sent out the calls, blamed the group's staffers." Apparently they don't have any interns left.

"Only days later is the extent of the danger from one of the darkest episodes in American democracy coming into focus. The sinister nature of the assault has become evident, betraying the crowd as a force determined to occupy the inner sanctums of Congress and run down leaders — Trump’s vice president and the Democratic House speaker among them." Why it's almost as if it was a full-on coup attempt.

"Two Capitol Police officers have been suspended after supporters of President Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol, according to Representative Tim Ryan, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee. Ryan said on Monday that there were "10 to 15" investigations into Capitol Police officers." With inside help.

"It's become a frequent topic throughout the Trump presidency, but the 25th Amendment has never actually been used before to take powers away from a president without his consent… The amendment provides a framework for how that scenario should play out, but legal experts have spent decades wondering about the potential 'constitutional crises' that could follow."

"The next few days are going to be long, but by the end of Wednesday, we expect that President Donald Trump will be impeached a second time."

"Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, in theory, gives Congress the authority to bar public officials, who specifically took an oath of allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, from holding office if they "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against the Constitution and therefore broke their oath. But the provision has rarely been used or tested, and so scholars are unsure about how exactly Congress could exercise authority under this provision and to what end today." Hmm, that's an interesting choice as it could also bar several Congress members and Senators from holding office as well.

"Online articles and social media posts claim that President Donald Trump invoked the Insurrection Act on January 10, 2021, allowing the US military to ensure law and order. This is false; there has been no official announcement that the Act was invoked, and though the National Guard was deployed during the deadly storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters on January 6, its presence was not the result of presidential action, and was only in support of local police."

"The FBI has warned of possible armed protests across the US as Trump supporters and far-right groups call for demonstrations before Joe Biden is sworn in as president… There are reports of armed groups planning to gather at all 50 state capitols and in Washington DC in the run-up to his 20 January inauguration." Part II.

"They have been snubbed by potential employers, told they would be a 'liability' and in one instance were even compared to the 'Hitler Youth.'… This is the job market many experienced national security officials who work for President Donald Trump are facing just days before a new president takes office and they will be out of work." Your reputation is your greatest asset.

You know that argument about how inauguration is only a few days away? "Chad Wolf is resigning as the acting secretary of Homeland Security, he said in a letter to the department Monday obtained by CNN." Yeah, it's full of crap.

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