Linkee-poo Monday Feb 22

Cat Rambo on the Baen Bar and dis-inviting Toni https://catrambo.medium.com/more-fuel-for-the-recent-baenfire-2d8bdfa7f795 as the WoldCon GoH.

"A California lawmaker has introduced legislation that would decriminalize psychedelics in the state, the latest bold step in a movement to end America’s war on drugs… Scott Wiener, the state senator who authored the bill, hopes that in following the lead of places such as Oakland, Santa Cruz and the District of Columbia – all cities which have decriminalized psychedelics – California will move one step closer to decriminalizing the use and possession of all drugs, something that Oregon passed by voter initiative in November."

"Gov. Gavin Newsom acknowledged Sunday that state and local health officials have stumbled in distributing the COVID-19 vaccine equitably among Latino and Black communities in California… Speaking at a mobile vaccination clinic in Inglewood, Newsom said the state needs to “do more and do better” to provide outreach and set up vaccine sites directly in the communities that have been hardest hit by the virus."

"Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former head of the Food and Drug Administration during the Trump administration, predicted Sunday that declining COVID-19 infection rates are 'likely to continue' due to more Americans receiving their vaccines and the amount of people who have already contracted the coronavirus." And, you know, we've passed the holiday season. Next up, Spring Break.

There was this conspiracy theory about how the numbers of deaths from COVID were wrong, that it couldn't be that high, that doctors/hospitals were somehow profiting by labeling random deaths on COVID. Well, they were correct that the numbers were wrong, but not in the direction they thought. "Ohio's COVID-19 death toll has been underreported by as many as 4,000 people, the state Department of Health announced Wednesday… Officials say the issue was discovered during 'routine employee training,' and the unspecified problem apparently began last October and went on for months. The bulk of the so-far uncounted deaths occurred in November and December, according to the ODH."

"All schools in England are to reopen on 8 March as part of the prime minister's 'cautious' four-part plan to lift the coronavirus lockdown… Boris Johnson will share his finalised roadmap with ministers later, before unveiling it to MPs and then leading a news conference at 19:00 GMT."

"Texas officials are cracking down on businesses they say have hiked the prices of food, water, and hotel rooms while the state continues to deal with shortages caused by unprecedented winter weather." Now do public utilities.

"The surge in pricing is hitting people who have chosen to pay wholesale prices for their power, which is typically cheaper than paying fixed rates during good weather, but can spike when there’s high demand for electricity. Many of those who have reported receiving large bills are customers of electricity provider Griddy, which only operates in Texas."

"The brutal winter storm that turned Texas roads to ice, burst pipes across the state and left millions of residents shivering and without power has also damaged the reputations of three of the state’s leading Republicans." It won't last long.

"A suspected oil tanker leak off the coast of Israel last week has led to Israel's biggest maritime ecological disaster in many years, with authorities closing the country's beaches and beginning a massive cleanup effort."

"Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is buying competitor and fellow Ohio tire maker Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. in a deal valued at $2.5 billion, the companies announced Monday morning." Ah, it's the "mergers to make insanely large companies while reducing customer choice" time of the recovery.

"While the President bungled two different statistics at a CNN town hall last week, the thrust of what he said is accurate: The minimum wage, which has been stuck at $7.25 an hour since 2009, has fallen far behind in terms of both inflation and productivity."

"Even with a raise to $15 per hour, a typical family of four couldn’t afford the basics in any U.S. state, according to a CNBC analysis of cost-of-living data assembled by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (This example assumes two kids and two adults working full-time for minimum pay.)"

"Showers of jet engine parts over residential areas on both sides of the Atlantic have caught regulators’ attention and prompted the suspension of some older Boeing planes from service."

"Disney+ is warning viewers that some episodes of 'The Muppet Show' feature 'negative depictions' and 'mistreatment of people or cultures.'… The variety show, which ran for 120 episodes in the 1970s and features puppet characters interacting with celebrity guests, was added to Disney's streaming service last week. Viewers are being shown the warning label before episodes." Also, The Muppet Show was a show for adults, it wasn't kids' fare.

"For months, Democrats in Washington have been debating what to do about student loan debt. About 43 million borrowers owe $1.6 trillion in federal student loans. While some lawmakers have pushed for President Biden to forgive up to $50,000 per borrower via executive order, Biden has so far only expressed support for more limited forgiveness, of $10,000, through pandemic relief legislation."

"Now, the once-snubbed Supreme Court pick will finally come before the Senate, this time as President Joe Biden’s choice for attorney general. Garland, an appeals court judge, is widely expected to sail through his confirmation process, which begins Monday before the Democratic-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee, with bipartisan support."

"In a reversal of the past four years, President Biden has vowed to take on the violent threat posed by the far-right. But how? On this week’s On the Media, a look at the techniques and tactics used to undermine extremism, here and abroad."

"But in the four years since he had joined the church as a pastor, Stacy had found himself increasingly up against an invisible, powerful force taking hold of members of his congregation: conspiracy theories, disinformation and lies… Stacy has seen the real consequences of these lies build up over the years; he says it has tainted the name of his faith."

"As happens at such moments, some editorialists and on-air voices are saying the Grand Old Party is over. But premature obituaries of this kind are neither new nor convincing. The latest batch of them might just set the stage for the next remarkable Republican comeback."

"South Dakota's Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg was charged Thursday with three 2nd-class misdemeanors for his role in a car accident that killed a man who was walking down the side of a highway in September."

"Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said on Sunday the US had begun to communicate with Iran over the detention of American citizens, calling the matter a 'complete and utter outrage'… Iran has arrested dozens of dual nationals, including several Americans, in recent years, mostly on espionage charges. Human rights activists accuse Tehran of trying to use the detentions to win concessions from other countries, a charge it dismisses."

Meanwhile, on Bullshit Mountain… "President Biden’s 'radical' foreign policy agenda is 'turning upside down our Middle East policy' and giving Iran an 'out' to become a nuclear state with a return to the Obama-era nuclear deal, Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, said Sunday." Up is down, black is white. He then goes on to shove Jan 6th down the memory hole.

"Former vice president Mike Pence has declined an invitation to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), where former president Donald Trump is scheduled to make his first public speech since leaving office." Ouch.

"About 19,000 Pennsylvanians have left the Republican Party since Jan 6. That’s a drop in the bucket for a state with more than 8.8 million registered voters, and almost 3.5 million Republicans. But it’s also an unusually high rate of defections: Almost two-thirds of the voters who have switched parties this year left the GOP, compared with a third or less typically."