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

Sunday, July 3, 2022

Linkee-poo Sunday July 3

"At least nine people died and an estimated 11,500 people were injured in fireworks-related accidents last year, according to a new report from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission… The number of injuries has risen 25% since 2006, and federal regulators are warning people ahead of July Fourth to be careful handling any recreational pyrotechnics." Full disclosure, this year July 4th is my summer holiday to work. Mostly what we see are burns from people being too close or (in one case) holding a bottle rocket for launching.

"Once again, Florida plans to eradicate the giant African land snail, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture calls 'one of the most damaging snails in the world.'… It's a 'highly invasive agricultural pest' that can feed on over 500 types of plants, USDA says."

"But at the end of the Triassic, about 202m years ago, more than three-quarters of land and marine species were wiped out in a mysterious mass extinction event linked to vast volcanic eruptions that sent much of the world into cold and darkness. The devastation set the stage for the reign of the dinosaurs."

"A new Minnesota law lets people 21 and over buy and consume food and beverages with a small amount of hemp-derived THC, but some legislators might not have fully understood the bill before passing it… The new law says food and beverages cannot contain more than 5 milligrams of hemp-derived THC per serving and no more than 50 milligrams per package."

"After a string of steady increases, mortgage rates fell this week — a mixed blessing for the fragile U.S. economy… The lower rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage is a relief for home shoppers who have been watching rates climb, but it’s also a sign that a recession could very well be around the corner as the market slows."

"American Airlines says it's restored most of the affected flights after a technical glitch in the company's scheduling system reportedly forced the airline to drop thousands of trips this month… More than 12,000 flights between Sunday and the end of July were wiped out on Friday night because they lacked either a captain, first officer or both, after pilots had changed their assigned trips, the Allied Pilots Association, the union that represents American Airlines pilots, told CNBC."

"Those are some of the factors causing travel chaos this summer, but a shortage of pilots that has been brewing for years has also added strain to the industry."

"The average monthly car payment crossed $700 a month earlier this year, the highest on record, according to Cox Automotive/Moody's Analytics."

"The Edwardses received more than $8 million after Josh filed paperwork falsely claiming that their ministry, ASLAN International Ministry, had 486 employees and a monthly payroll of $2.7 million, according to a federal forfeiture complaint… A federal investigation raised serious red flags. Among them: The accountant who purportedly signed off on the loan allegedly had dementia and hadn’t done any work for the organization since 2017."

"In the 1950s and 1960s, when states were liberalizing abortion laws, 'the charge for that actually came from doctors who said, "This is insane, we can't practice medicine, we can't exercise our medical judgment if you're telling us that this is off the table,"' explains Melissa Murray, law professor at New York University."

"Hours after the Supreme Court action, the Buckeye state had outlawed any abortion after six weeks. Now this (Ohio) doctor had a 10-year-old patient in the office who was six weeks and three days pregnant… But for now, the procedure still is legal in Indiana. And so the girl soon was on her way to Indiana to Bernard's care."

"The U.S. Supreme Court’s top security officer has asked Maryland Governor Larry Hogan to enforce laws barring picketing outside the Maryland homes of high court justices, saying protests and 'threatening activity' have increased."

"Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in a dissenting opinion Thursday cited claims that Covid-19 vaccines were 'developed using cell lines derived from aborted children.'… None of the Covid-19 vaccines in the United States contain the cells of aborted fetuses. Cells obtained from elective abortions decades ago were used in research during the development of the Covid vaccine, a practice that is common in vaccine research."

"Several dozen white supremacists marched through the streets of Boston Saturday… The men, some of whom carried police shields and flags, were part of the white supremacist group Patriot Front, CBS Boston reports. At one point, they boarded a subway train at a downtown station."

"Why the hell should I have any faith that (Trump is) going down this time?" Jim Wright on the current situation.

"While the details from those who heard the accounts differ, the Secret Service sources say they were told an angry confrontation did occur. And their accounts align with significant parts of Hutchinson's testimony, which has been attacked as hearsay by Trump and his allies who also have tried to discredit her overall testimony."

"Taylor is a fringe, far-right figure in Georgia with a history of making false claims about the 2020 election, voting machines and how elections are run. In the days following her defeat, Taylor has asked followers to sign affidavits stating they voted for her to prove she won the election — despite no evidence the vote totals are incorrect and with the deadline to challenge an election already passed… Taylor is not an outlier, but rather an indicator of a new crop of candidates who insist they won their elections, facts be damned." She had 3.4% of the vote.

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