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

Thursday, July 21, 2022

Linkee-poo Thursday July 21

From DAW Books, "Readers: we've been made aware of the cancellation of preorders for DAW books with 9/1/2022 on-sale dates onward. We apologize profusely for the inconvenience this has caused. To receive your preordered book, please place your order again through your preferred retailer."

"Federal regulators Wednesday canceled a policy adopted under former President Donald Trump that weakened their authority to identify lands and waters where declining animals and plants could receive government protection." The slow progress of trying to heal the massive damage done by Trump and conservatives.

"The government had urged Brits to stay home if possible. Train stations were shut or empty; an airport closed a runway and police closed a highway when asphalt melted and buckled. The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said the city's fire brigade received 1,600 calls for assistance and that firefighters were fighting at least a dozen major fires across the city. Residents of Blidworth, a village near Nottingham, were evacuated as 15 fire crews battled an enormous blaze on a nearby farm." I've often said that the problem with climate change in the near term is that we're living and growing our food in the wrong places. Climate change will make how we live in 30 years almost unrecognizable to us. Our infrastructure just isn't built for this.

"A new analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention using data from 25 states finds that fatal overdoses increased by 44% among Black people in 2020 compared with the year prior… The jump in drug overdose deaths was almost as sharp for American Indian and Alaska Native people — groups that together saw a 39% increase over the previous year."

"A Sesame Street-themed amusement park has apologized and promised more training for its employees after a video showing a costumed character waving off two 6-year-old Black girls during a parade went viral online."

"Baidu, a Chinese search engine and artificial intelligence firm, unveiled its latest electric autonomous driving vehicle on Thursday… The Apollo RT6 will be soon be part of Baidu’s robotaxi fleet, as China pushes forward with its autonomous driving ambitions. It is a fully electric vehicle with a steering wheel that can be removed or installed when required, and will cost 250,000 yuan ($37,000) per unit."

"The truckers are protesting Assembly Bill 5, a gig economy law passed in 2019 that made it harder for companies to classify workers as independent contractors instead of employees, who are entitled to minimum wage and benefits such as workers compensation, overtime and sick pay." Yes, some people like the "independent contractor" gigs. That's great, companies can still hire them. They just can't force you to be one just to get a job.

"That's because Netflix's second-quarter earnings report revealed the company lost 970,000 subscribers. And while that is a big number — the biggest subscriber loss in the company's 25-year history — it is also a little less than half the 2-million subscriber loss the company predicted in April, which sent shock waves through Wall Street and the streaming industry."

"The U.S. House overwhelmingly approved legislation Tuesday to protect same-sex and interracial marriages amid concerns that the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade abortion access could jeopardize other rights criticized by many conservative Americans… In a robust but lopsided debate, Democrats argued intensely in favor of enshrining marriage equality in federal law, while Republicans steered clear of openly rejecting gay marriage. Instead leading Republicans portrayed the bill as unnecessary amid other issues facing the nation."

"An Indiana doctor who provided an abortion for a 10-year-old abuse victim from Ohio is taking a key step toward a possible defamation lawsuit against Indiana's Republican attorney general, Todd Rokita." Where's the GoFund me for this? Also, what is not being brought out about this case is this. I'm assuming the reporting here isn't because of the abortion, but because of the "suspected" abuse, and the doctor in most states would be a mandatory reporter. Which is as it's supposed to be. If you're in a position to know or help and you suspect abuse, you should report it. However, the back end of that, receiving and acting on the reports, seems to be severely broken here. And that's the AG's responsibility. So just like rape kits it appears reports are being received, sorted, and archived, and absolutely nothing else. And frankly that is the actual crime here.

"The Republican Party of Arizona's executive committee censured Rusty Bowers, the speaker of the state House who testified on Capitol Hill about the events surrounding the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, on Tuesday night… Kelli Ward, chairwoman of the Arizona GOP, announced the condemnation by the panel on Twitter, saying Bowers is 'no longer a Republican in good standing & we call on Republicans to replace him at the ballot box in the August primary.'" With authoritarians eventually everyone is on the outs. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)

"Parts of a 2021 Texas voting law that cracked down on assistance for voters with limited English skills and voters with disabilities can no longer be enforced… A federal judge in Texas issued a ruling last month striking down provisions in Texas' new law, known as Senate Bill 1, that set limits on how people can help voters cast their ballots. State officials had until last week to appeal the ruling, but they declined. The office of the Texas attorney general has not responded to requests for comment."

"That officer, Laurence Brewer, said in a letter to the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday that the National Archives and Records Administration 'has become aware of the potential unauthorized deletion of United States Secret Service (Secret Service) text messages' that were dated Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, 2021." Loss like the Secret Service is going to have a lot of job openings real soon.

"Researchers at Harvard University who conducted the largest study yet of what motivated Jan. 6 rioters say the data is clear: The most common responses focused on former President Donald Trump and his lies about the election… The study, which was shared with NBC News ahead of its publication, logged and analyzed the motives of 417 Capitol rioters, all of whom have been charged in relation to Jan. 6. The motives were derived from 469 documents filed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, including charging documents and sentencing memoranda." Every time they blame Trump, an angel gets its wings. "The third most frequently listed reason defendants gave to law enforcement for entering the Capitol was their belief that they were participating in 'revolution, civil war, or secession.'… About the same number of defendants in the study claimed they were at the Capitol to 'peacefully protest' (7%) as those who claimed they were there because of a 'general interest in violence' (6.2%)."

"The 16 Republicans who submitted false documents claiming to be official Georgia electors and that Donald Trump won the state's election have been notified they could be prosecuted for their actions… In a court filing Tuesday, 11 of the fake GOP electors, including party chairman David Shafer, filed a motion seeking to halt future testimony, have the Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis removed from prosecuting them and that any report be held under embargo or seal until after the midterm elections." They say they were "preserving their options." No, they were committing a felony, signed a document that is the evidence of their crime, and now they're upset that they're having to pay consequences for their criminal actions.

"But the men at Garcia's door weren't part of a get-out-the-vote effort. They were part of a growing national movement by regular people to try to root out alleged fraud in America's elections… The data they yield isn't considered credible by election experts, and the door-to-door nature of the interactions is raising concerns about voter intimidation." The proper response is, "May I see your Federal ID? You don't have one? You have 30 seconds to get your treasonous ass off my property."

"Before Trump eventually released a presidential memo in 2020 calling for the unprecedented exclusion of unauthorized immigrants from a key set of census numbers, earlier releases of internal documents and public statements by Trump officials signaled their interest in using citizenship data to try to break with more than two centuries of precedent in how congressional seats and Electoral College votes are redistributed among the states… Still, the newly disclosed documents provide a detailed look into some of the early behind-the-scenes discussions at a time when Trump officials were focused on keeping their plans under wraps."

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