Linkee-poo Monday Sept 13

"So here we are, 20 years later. Has the U.S. passed the test? Is the country safer?… NPR asked several former officials who served in senior positions over the past two decades. Their collective answer could be summarized as, 'Yes, but…'"

"The Texas Gulf Coast and southwestern Louisiana are under threat Monday, with Tropical Storm Nicholas bringing a "life-threatening storm surge, isolated tornadoes, and significant heavy rain up to 20 inches in places," the National Weather Service said."

"Just a month after rainfall was recorded for the first time ever at Greenland's highest point, the island is expecting up to four feet of snow from the remnants of Hurricane Larry — the rare tropical storm to stay intact so far north… Hurricane-force gusts topped 100 miles per hour at Kulusuk Airport near Greenland's southeast coast. At Tasiilaq, the largest town in the region, sustained winds reached 55 miles per hour, with gusts of over 90."

"Fragments of medieval Merlin manuscript found in Bristol library reveal 'chaster' story… Parchment fragments discovered in bindings of much later volumes reveal 'subtle but significant' variations on Arthurian legend".

"Yet another billionaire entrepreneur is set to ride into space this week, strapped inside the capsule of a SpaceX rocketship, as part of an astro-tourist team poised to make history as the first all-civilian crew launched into Earth orbit."

"US space agency scientists were so excited by the Martian rock sampled by their Perseverance rover last week they got the robot to take a second sample… Perseverance drilled its first finger-sized core on 6 September, repeating the procedure a couple of days later."

/"Nonetheless, Nipah remains a concern, not just in India but for the entire planet. The World Health Organization classifies it as a "virus of concern" for future epidemics because "each year it spills over from its animal reservoir into humans," says Dr. Stephen Luby, professor of infectious disease at Stanford University. And when humans are infected it can be transmitted from person-to-person."

Even if the story out of Oklahoma proved not to be true (well, follow up investigations are a mixed bag) that doesn't mean people aren't being affected by wait times… "Earlier this week, state public health officials activated crisis standards of care for at least 10 hospitals across ten Northern Idaho counties because of an unprecedented surge of hospitalizations due to COVID-19… This means health care facilities are overwhelmed and are now rationing care for everyone, regardless of their diagnosis."

"Former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb predicted Sunday that the agency he helmed will authorize Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine for emergency use in children ages 5 to 11 by the end of October."

"Twenty-six states in the US have fully vaccinated more than half of their population, federal data shows, but some hospitals are still filling up with Covid-19 patients who did not get their shots."

"A review of coronavirus specimens collected in Los Angeles County shows the mu and lambda variants were circulating earlier this summer, but the delta variant remains dominant, officials said Friday… The highly contagious delta has 'crowded out all of the other previously circulating strains,' now accounting for 100% of all strains sequenced in L.A. County, said Barbara Ferrer, the county’s public health director."

"Long COVID is a poorly defined, poorly understood condition that occurs when COVID-19 patients' symptoms won't go away for weeks or months, or new ones emerge just when they think they're all better… But breakthrough infections can happen, especially with the delta variant. And it's becoming increasingly clear that unvaccinated people can develop long COVID symptoms, even from mild cases." I think they meant to say "vaccinated people can develop long COVID symptoms…".

"His story is poignant and sad, and his concerns are widely held — but when Tennessee teenager Grady Knox stood up at a county school board meeting to explain why he wants masks in schools, adults at the meeting mocked and heckled the high school student."

"Child mortality from COVID rose 140% from the end of July to early September, Politico first reported… COVID cases are down compared to earlier in the summer, but children make up about a quarter of new weekly cases."

"The lawsuit, which stated that a vaccine mandate infringes on workers’ personal autonomy, has been dropped in light of President Biden’s new sweeping vaccination mandate."

"At one local hospital in upstate New York, dozens of staff members walked away from their jobs after refusing to get vaccinated. The move has seriously disrupted care in the process… Lewis County General Hospital in Lowville, N.Y., announced Friday that it is pausing maternity services later this month because dozens of staff members quit rather than get COVID-19 vaccines."

"President Joe Biden's new vaccine mandates for federal employees don't apply to members of Congress or those who work for Congress or the federal court system." That's because Congress is exempt from workplace condition laws.

"Plans to introduce vaccine passports for access into nightclubs and large events in England will not go ahead, the health secretary has said… Sajid Javid told the BBC: 'We shouldn't be doing things for the sake of it.'"

"The federal minimum wage in the U.S. has remained glued at $7.25 an hour for the last 12 years, the longest stretch without a boost since it was first adopted in 1938… If the minimum wage had kept pace with gains in the economy's productivity over the last 50 years, it would be nearly $26 an hour today, or more than $50,000 a year in annual income, one economist notes." Note, nobody's wages, who aren't executive officers, have kept up with productivity.

How goes Brexit? "This asset protection scheme will be largely funded by steeper taxes on jobs via a 1.25 percentage point hike in the national insurance paid by both employees and employers. That route was chosen on the cynical basis that a lot of the public mistakenly think NI is more just than income tax, when the reverse is true. Care workers, whose median pay is just £8.50 an hour, will be asked to sacrifice some of their very low income so that the property wealth of much richer people is ringfenced for the benefit of their heirs. There are several words you can use to describe this arrangement. Unfair would be one of them. Brave is not." Remember when the Brexitiers said exit would solve most of the NHS's issues because all that money could flood back into it? And then people rightly pointed out that was bullshit.

From last week, but… "Tens of thousands of supporters of embattled right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro heeded his call and turned out at rallies Tuesday as he stepped up his attacks on Brazil’s Supreme Court and threatened to plunge the country into a constitutional crisis."

"A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger plane from Islamabad touched down in Kabul on Monday morning, according to an airline spokesman… This marks the first flight to land in Afghanistan from neighboring Pakistan since the chaotic final withdrawal of US troops last month."

"North Korea says it successfully test fired what it described as newly developed long-range cruise missiles over the weekend, its first known testing activity in months, underscoring how it continues to expand its military capabilities amid a stalemate in nuclear negotiations with the United States."

"The US Environmental Protection Agency is failing to protect children by ignoring poisons in the environment and focusing on corporate interests, according to a top children’s health official who will testify this week that the agency tried to silence her because of her insistence on stronger preventions against lead poisoning." (Grokked from Kelly Link)

"But an NPR investigation finds that the homes HUD sells are disproportionately located in flood-prone places, compared with Zillow records of all homes sold in the United States. The agency does not fully disclose the potential costs and dangers of living in harm's way, and some of these transactions have happened as local governments are buying out properties in the same areas to mitigate flood risk."

"In 1924, a flourishing beach resort for Black people along the Southern California coast was seized by the local city government through eminent domain… The stated reason was to build a park, but historical records show the resort was shut down because the resort's owners and its patrons were Black… Now, an effort to return what is known as Bruce's Beach to the descendants of its original owners — and make amends for a historical wrong — is poised to become reality."

"Foster is the leader of the Turnaway Study, a nationwide project that examined the long-term effects of either having an abortion or being turned away. The study found that people who were denied an abortion had almost four times greater odds of being below the federal poverty level… When individuals are blocked from obtaining care, she said, they are more likely to struggle to afford basic living expenses like food, housing and transportation."

"Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co on Saturday sharply criticized a proposal by Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives to give union-made electric vehicles in the United States an additional $4,500 tax incentive… Toyota said in a statement that the plan unveiled late Friday discriminates 'against American autoworkers based on their choice not to unionize.'"

"U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne of Iowa was slow to get behind a $1 trillion infrastructure bill after the Senate passed it last month. It wasn’t the price tag that tripped up the Democrat from a swing House district. It was that none of the money was targeted for a home state industry — ethanol and biodiesel." So you're saying it's old school politics, then? When representative were concerned about their constituents?

"The FBI released a newly declassified document on the 9/11 attacks Saturday, revealing details on the logistical support given to two of the Saudi hijackers in the lead-up to the terrorist attacks, as the world marked the 20th anniversary of one of America's darkest days."

"Bookmakers Betfair, which operates the world's largest online betting exchange, puts Newsom's odds of remaining in office at 1/8, while the odds that he is removed from office now stand at 4/1 on Sunday, September 12. This was a slight decline on odds offered on Saturday, which were 1/18 for him to remain in office and 6/1 for him to be removed."

"These ongoing calamities – a once-in-a-generation health crisis and unprecedented challenges posed drought and extreme weather – were, largely, what gave rise to the recall effort. Having won his seat by a historic margin in 2018, Newsom has found himself in a peculiar position. Still broadly popular in the state, he’s fending off challenges from Republicans and rightwingers who are more out of touch with most residents than the governor at his worst. Extraordinary crises have given rise to an extraordinary recall – one that could trigger extraordinary political upheaval in one of America’s bluest states." There's some part of me that wonders if the recall wasn't a bid to drain Newsom's coffers before next year's general election.

Meanwhile, on Bullshit Mountain… "But ironically, while Newsom and other Democrats portray Texas as a nightmare, Texans note that more Californians and California businesses have been relocating to the Lone Star State, seeking relief from California’s taxes and regulations, according to the report."

"Salesforce (CRM) announced that it will assist its employees and their families if they want to leave Texas after the state passed the nation's most restrictive abortion law."

"Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin said Sunday he will not support the $3.5 trillion price tag for the economic bill that would expand the nation's social safety net and that 'there's no way' Congress can meet the timeline set by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to pass it." Sounds like Manchin is starting to feel some heat.

"The president has proposed more than $3 trillion worth of revenue increases, primarily through higher taxes for corporations and the country’s richest households as well as greater IRS enforcement that would target the wealthy. But key lawmakers voiced doubts this past week about the size and possible impacts on the economy as congressional committees considered the measures and a wide array of business groups sifted through the details to highlight what they oppose." Trickle down does not work. Time to restore fiscal sanity.

"The draft proposal, which could still change before it is expected to be officially released Monday, calls for increasing the top marginal rate on individuals to 39.6%, up from the 37% rate set by the Republicans' 2017 tax cut law… The rate would apply to individuals with taxable income over $400,000 a year and married couples filing jointly earning over $450,000 annually… The top capital gains rate would increase to 25%, from 20%… In addition, lawmakers would slap a 3% surtax on individuals with adjusted gross incomes in excess of $5 million."

And the bullshit just keeps coming… "A report released this week in Arizona’s largest county falsely claims to have uncovered some 173,000 'lost' votes and 96,000 'ghost votes' in a private door-to-door canvassing effort, supposedly rendering the 2020 election in Maricopa County 'uncertifiable.'"

"CNN spoke to about a dozen state and county officials involved in elections for this story; all of them expressed concern that the widespread and unsubstantiated claims of a stolen election could take a lasting toll on American democracy… But while those efforts were stymied by a thin line of civil servants, a concerted push in myriad states to set the stage for a future power grab is finding more success."

"Just two days before armed rioters stormed and ransacked the Capitol, about 300 law enforcement officials got on a conference call to talk about the possibility that Donald Trump’s supporters would turn violent on Jan. 6. They specifically discussed the possibility that the day’s gatherings would turn into a mass-casualty event, and they made plans on how to communicate with each other if that happened."

"Organizers of a Kentucky rally in support of former President Donald Trump featuring several prominent allies and conspiracy theorists expected some 10,000 people to show up this weekend. Instead, less than 300 were in attendance when local journalists attempted to cover the proceedings." Sad trombone sounds.

Linkee-poo Friday Sept 10

Twenty years on… "In the 20 years since terrorist hijackers crashed commercial jets into the twin towers and the Pentagon and heroic passengers downed a fourth plane in a field in western Pennsylvania, America has been engaged in a boundless battle on that score — a fight President George W. Bush termed the 'Global War on Terror.'… It led the U.S. to deploy hundreds of thousands of troops in Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries; build juggernaut foreign and domestic surveillance operations; re-imagine how war is waged; militarize domestic law enforcement, especially along the southern border with Mexico; flout international humanitarian norms and impinge on civil liberties at home; and spend trillions of taxpayer dollars in service of the idea that such an assault will never happen again." As most of you know, I have some feelings about this, but the end result comes down to some essential questions: are we safer, are we afraid, have we given up what we cherish, are we the same nation? The answers to those questions will answer the question, have we won?

"Over the past few weeks, the Biden administration has launched drone strikes against suspected terrorist targets in Somalia and Afghanistan, based on congressional authority dating to September 2001. This week, five terror suspects have been in court for pre-trial hearings now entering their ninth year in Guantánamo Bay, which opened its prison gates in January 2002."

"Scientists briefly estimated that Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein, as it's now known, was the largest such icy body identified to date, perhaps more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) across. Additional observations have cast that into doubt, but given the 'megacomet' a new distinction: it sprouted a tail remarkably far from the sun, suggesting more revelations to come. All told, the object offers astronomers an unprecedented opportunity to watch the antics of a comet."

"The hidden scars left on the landscape during ice ages thousands to millions of years ago have now been imaged in spectacular detail… Using a technique called reflection seismology, a team of scientists has imaged enormous gouges carved by subglacial rivers, buried hundreds of meters below the floor of the North Sea. Called 'tunnel valleys', these features can help us understand how frozen landscapes change in response to a warming climate."

"In English, ducks say 'quack quack,' while they say 'cua cua' in Spanish. French ducks say 'coin coin.'… But an Australian duck named Ripper is a little different: He calls you a 'bloody fool.'"

The Last Week Tonight with "John Oliver explains how emergency medical services function in the U.S., why they can be so expensive, and what we can do to fix things."

"President Biden on Thursday unveiled a series of steps to combat the newly surging pandemic, including the announcement of a forthcoming federal rule that all businesses with 100 or more employees have to ensure that every worker is either vaccinated for COVID-19 or submit to weekly testing for the coronavirus."

"In response to Biden trying to end the pandemic, Republicans were very upset. Very, very upset. Here were some of their freedom-loving responses." Whackaloon quotient goes up.

Meanwhile, on Bullshit Mountain… "President Biden announced a sweeping plan that could force millions of unvaccinated Americans to get the COVID-19 shot but left out mandating the vaccine for illegal immigrants crossing the border… Biden announced Thursday that all employers with more than 100 employees will be forced to either require their employees get vaccinated against COVID-19 or mandate weekly testing for the virus."

"Now at least four possible COVID-19 deaths from January 2020 have survived Anderson’s vetting. Spread out across four states, they have become part of a scattershot collection of clues about the virus’s early spread beyond China — some of them trustworthy, others less so — that have begun drawing more attention as scientists and intelligence officials try to unravel how the pandemic began."

"Prices that producers get for final demand goods and services surged in August at their highest annual rate since at least 2010, the Labor Department reported Friday… The producer price index rose 0.7% for the month, above the 0.6% Dow Jones estimate, though below the 1% increase in July… On a year-over-year basis, the gauge rose 8.3%, which is the biggest annual increase since records have been kept going back to November 2010. That came following a 7.8% move higher in July, which also set a record."

"Though surveys from the Institute for Supply Management this month showed measures of prices paid by manufacturers and services industries fell significantly in August, they remained elevated. Factories and services providers still struggled to secure labor and raw materials, and faced logistics delays."

"A second Qatar Airways passenger flight, which arrived in Afghanistan on Friday, has now departed from Kabul airport, a day after more than 100 foreign nationals left on another plane with the Taliban's approval… It is currently unclear how many passengers are on board the plane and what their nationalities are."

"The arguments that the Justice Department is presenting on the merits -- that the law violates Supreme Court constitutional precedent on abortion rights -- are on solid ground. But the question is whether its lawsuit can get around the same procedural issues that doomed the earlier federal lawsuit brought by abortion clinics."

"With the September 14 recall Election Day fast approaching, Trump and other right-wing figures, including top Newsom replacement candidate Larry Elder, have started to lay the groundwork to baselessly dismiss a potential Newsom victory as a product of Democratic cheating." Same playbook.

"One benefit of never admitting you lost a presidential election -- even though, of course, you did -- is that you can just keep on acting like the president… That's exactly what Donald Trump is trying to do these days, overseeing a sort of shadow presidency for the base of the Republican Party in which Covid-19 isn't that big of a problem, the 2020 election was stolen and he was right about, well, everything else too."

Linkee-poo Thursday Sept 9

Michael Constantine, and so it goes.

"Tropical Depression Mindy was dropping heavy rain on southern Georgia and parts of South Carolina on Thursday morning and could produce scattered flash flooding and a few tornadoes as it pushes to the coast, forecasters said… Mindy, which formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday afternoon and made landfall over the Florida Panhandle's St. Vincent Island that night, had weakened to a tropical depression by the time it reached southern Georgia on Thursday morning."

"When Spanish bishop Xavier Novell resigned last month, the Roman Catholic Church cited strictly personal reasons without going into detail… It has now emerged in Spanish media that he fell in love with a woman who writes Satanic-tinged erotic fiction."

"Larrivee is one of countless members of Gen Z, a generation that roughly encompasses young people under 25, who are responding to the planet’s rapidly changing climate by committing their lives to finding a solution. Survey after survey shows young people are not just incorporating new climate-conscious behaviors into their day-to-day lives – they’re in it for the long haul." But it makes me wonder if these degrees will just be the "Humanities" or "Liberal Arts" degree of the future.

"Almost 60% of oil and gas reserves and 90% of coal must remain in the ground to keep global warming below 1.5C, scientists say… The forecast is based on close analysis of global energy supply and demand… It is a "bleak" but realistic assessment of 'what the science tells us is needed', the researchers say." The closer we get to 2030, the harder the change will become if we don't start now.

"Mexicans are sharing spectacular videos of bursts of blue lights seen streaking across the skies as a strong earthquake rocked the country's Pacific coast city of Acapulco on Wednesday."

"Smoke alarms went off at the Russian segment of the International Space Station in the early hours of Thursday, and the crew reported noticing smoke and the smell of burnt plastic… Russia's space agency Roscosmos said the incident took place in the Russian-built Zvezda module and occurred as the station's batteries were being recharged."

"The $10bn James Webb Space Telescope is expected to launch on 18 December… Yes, countless targeted lift-offs have come and gone in the past, but this one has a reality to it that the others didn't: the successor observatory to Hubble is now actually built."

"A monumental set of decisions is expected Thursday from the Food and Drug Administration that could reshape the tobacco industry for years to come by limiting, or altogether blocking, the sale of millions of electronic cigarette products." Good.

About that post on Oklahoma hospitals being overwhelmed… "'NHS Sequoyah has not treated any patients due to complications related to taking ivermectin. This includes not treating any patients for ivermectin overdose,' the statement read. 'All patients who have visited our emergency room have received medical attention as appropriate. Our hospital has not had to turn away any patients seeking emergency care. We want to reassure our community that our staff is working hard to provide quality healthcare to all patients. We appreciate the opportunity to clarify this issue and as always, we value our community's support.'" As I said, I wasn't seeing that in our hospitals.

"COVID Update: How big a problem will future variants be?" A twitter thread which lays out how the disease is progressing and the issues of mutations. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)

"Israel shot to an early lead in the race to vaccinate, inoculating almost 80 per cent of its citizens aged 12 and over by June, the vast majority with the Pfizer vaccine… With leaders confident they had conquered COVID-19 and the risk of it spreading, the country lifted virtually all movement restrictions and mask mandates… 'They completely dropped their guard,' said Kim Mulholland, a paediatrician at the University of Melbourne and member of the WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization."

"United Airlines’ employees who are granted exemptions to a company vaccinate mandate for religious reasons will be put on temporary unpaid leave starting next month, the airline told staff Wednesday, citing the recent rise in Covid cases."

A Florida judge ruled Wednesday that the state cannot enforce a ban on public schools mandating the use of masks to guard against the coronavirus, while an appeals court sorts out whether the ban is ultimately legal."

"Vaccine developer said on Wednesday it has initiated an early-stage study to test its combined flu and Covid-19 vaccine… The trial, to be conducted in Australia, will enroll 640 healthy adults between the ages of 50 and 70 years and who have either been previously infected with the coronavirus or given an authorized Covid-19 vaccine at least eight weeks prior to the study." Could have used this last year, this year not so much.

"At least 14 people have been killed in a fire at a makeshift hospital treating Covid-19 patients in North Macedonia… Footage shared on social media showed a building in flames and a thick cloud of black smoke billowing into the air near a main road in the city of Tetovo."

"The resurgence of Covid-19 is rapidly dominating Joe Biden’s administration, putting into question the future of his broader legislative agenda and increasingly steering Democrats into treacherous political territory… The president on Thursday is expected to lay out a detailed, six-point plan that’s aimed at staunching a loss in public confidence as the Delta variant sends hospitalizations, deaths and infection rates soaring. Democrats, anxious about the state of the presidency and the country, say Biden must use the moment to forcefully outline how he intends to combat this worsening stage of the pandemic." Wear the goddamn mask.

"First-time filings for unemployment claims in the U.S. dropped to 310,000 last week, easily the lowest of the Covid era and a significant step toward the pre-pandemic normal, the Labor Department reported Thursday… Claims had been expected to total 335,000 for the week ended Sept. 4, according to economists surveyed by Dow Jones."

Meanwhile, on Bullshit Mountain, this is bad news… "Stocks were little changed Thursday as investors continued to assess the strength of the U.S. economy… The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 36 points, or 0.1%, while the SnP 500 index declined 0.06% and the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.04%. Both the Dow and the SnP 500 have lost ground in each of the last three sessions, falling Wednesday after the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, a survey of business conditions across the U.S, said economic activity slowed over the summer as the COVID-19 delta variant spread across the country."

"The number of people employed in nontraditional ways in the US rose to a record 51 million this year, an unprecedented 34 percent jump compared to 2020, according to new data from MBO Partners, a company that provides business solutions to the independent workforce and has conducted a long-running study of the group. These types of workers — which include contract workers, people who are self-employed, temporary and on-call workers, and those who get short-term jobs through online apps or marketplaces — are now equivalent to a third of US employment." Also, I'm going to call bullshit on the "perks" part of gig work.

"The Los Angeles police department (LAPD) has directed its officers to collect the social media information of every civilian they interview, including individuals who are not arrested or accused of a crime, according to records shared with the Guardian." My twitter handle? It's "@eatshitpiggos" no spaces, all lowercase, two "g"s. (Grokked from John Scalzi)

"Boats carrying migrants across the English Channel could be turned back from the UK, if personally approved by Home Secretary Priti Patel… The government has authorised Border Force officials to use the new tactic - but only in limited circumstances… However France is strongly against the plan, saying it breaks maritime law and accusing the UK of blackmail."

"Weeks before an era-defining national election, Germans are missing Chancellor Angela Merkel already, praising her calm and stabilising influence as they prepare with a mix of hope and trepidation for life under a new leader for the first time in 16 years."

"A commercial flight took off from Kabul airport on Thursday for the first time since the Taliban seized Afghanistan, hours after the militants cleared a group of Americans and other foreign nationals to leave the country… It is unclear at this stage whether or how many Americans were on board the Qatar Airways flight, reported earlier to be bound for Doha, or the nationalities of the other passengers."

"The US Supreme Court has stayed the execution of Texas inmate John Henry Ramirez, who requested the right to have his pastor hold him as he died… In an order on Wednesday, the top court said the justices would take up the appeal in October or November."

"The Biden administration has told 11 officials appointed to military service academy advisory boards by former President Donald Trump to resign or be dismissed, a source familiar with the situation tells CNN's KFile… The officials asked to resign include prominent former Trump officials like former White House press secretary Sean Spicer, former senior counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway and former national security adviser H.R. McMaster. They were appointed to the advisory boards of the Naval Academy, Air Force Academy and West Point respectively." You serve at the pleasure of the president. This president does not require your service. You resign.

"The White House on Thursday defended its move to purge a slew of Trump allies and former administration officials from their roles on various military advisory boards — invoking former President Donald Trump’s incitement of the Jan. 6 insurrection as a reason why those appointees should no longer serve on the government panels."

"The West Virginia Democrat and his staff have been engaged for weeks in intensive negotiations with the chairs of key Senate committees ahead of his party's release of a sprawling bill to expand the social safety net, laying down his demands on a wide-range of issues: health care, education, child care and taxes, according to multiple sources familiar with the talks."

But… "Chuck Schumer is brushing off Joe Manchin’s call for a 'strategic pause' on Democrats’ spending agenda, vowing that the party will not slow its pursuit of a $3.5 trillion bill tackling climate change, tax policy and beefing up social programs."

"The FBI released new information on Wednesday on the person who left pipe bombs in Capitol Hill the night before hundreds of people stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6… The new information includes a virtual map and clear surveillance video that shows the route the bomber walked while placing the two devices on Jan. 5."

Remember that lawyer defining a lot of Jan 6 traitors? "Then, on Sept. 7, Pierce reappeared. He said he had been released from a hospital in the Los Angeles area after a 12-day stay but declined to discuss exactly what led to his hospitalization… 'I will not be elaborating further on my personal medical issues,' he told NPR in an email. (He did say in his statement, 'I have not taken any vaccination for COVID-19, nor do I plan to do so.')"

"Former president Donald Trump on Tuesday night claimed he was pulled to safety by 'two big firemen' after 9/11 when he 'heard creaks' at Ground Zero and predicted a nearby building would collapse — which it never did." They didn't have "tears in their eyes" or begged him, "Please, Mr. President, come with us"? Yeah, not buying it.

Linkee-poo Wednesday Sept 8

"A powerful earthquake struck near the Pacific resort city of Acapulco on Tuesday night, killing at least one person and causing buildings to rock and sway in Mexico City hundreds of kilometers away… The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7 and was centered about 10 miles northeast of Acapulco."

"Animals are increasingly 'shapeshifting' because of the climate crisis, researchers have said… Warm-blooded animals are changing their physiology to adapt to a hotter climate, the scientists found. This includes getting larger beaks, legs and ears to better regulate their body temperature."

"Here's a sentence that's basically unintelligible to most people: Humans must mitigate global warming by pursuing an unprecedented transition to a carbon neutral economy… A recent study found that some of the most common terms in climate science are confusing to the general public. The study tested words that are frequently used in international climate reports, and it concluded that the most confusing terms were 'mitigation,' 'carbon neutral' and 'unprecedented transition.'" Yes, those are not fourth-grade words and so many people are confused by them because they willingly don't want to learn their meaning.

"Scientists have discovered a huge and bizarre animal species that lived in primordial seas half a billion years ago during a period when most early aquatic creatures were about the size of a pea pod… But the newly named Titanokorys gainesi was a predatory arthropod that dwarfed smaller swimmers, measuring in at almost half a meter (19.7 inches)."

"During Ingenuity's 13th flight, the helicopter, which measures just 19 inches (48 centimeters) tall, traveled at7.3 mph (3.3 m/s), slower than the 10 mph (4.3 m/s) speed it maintained on Flight 12. On Saturday's flight, Ingenuity captured 'images pointing southwest of the South Seítah region. This aerial scouting continues to aid in planning @NASAPersevere’s next moves,' JPL officials said in the same tweet."

"When wildfire smoke descends over a city or town, as it does increasingly often for tens of millions of people in the American West, public health officials have a simple message: Go inside, shut doors and windows. Limit outdoor activities… New research shows that may not be enough to protect a person's health." Shocking.

"A team of public-health experts predict this year's flu season could result in three times as many hospitalizations as a normal year, putting a further strain on the healthcare system during the coronavirus pandemic, NBC News reported." Soon.

"A judge in Ohio has reversed an earlier emergency order that required a hospital to administer ivermectin to a COVID-19 patient against the hospital's wishes. The anti-parasitic drug is most commonly used in the U.S. as a dewormer in animals." Good.

But they're not going to stop… "Key backers of the QAnon conspiracy theory are carrying out a coordinated campaign against a Northwest Side hospital that has refused to prescribe an unapproved drug to treat one of the group’s followers for COVID-19… The supporters are demanding that doctors give a hospitalized ally ivermectin, a medication approved for treating parasites in both humans and animals that has garnered huge interest in recent weeks, with the vaccine-averse increasingly touting it as a groundbreaking coronavirus treatment."

"About 50 Detroit health care workers have filed a lawsuit against a hospital system, claiming its upcoming COVID-19 vaccine mandate violates the Fourteenth Amendment's protection of 'personal autonomy and bodily integrity.'… Why it matters: This is the second major legal test concerning vaccine mandates in the health care sector, after an unsuccessful lawsuit claiming a Texas hospital's policy requiring all staff be vaccinated against the virus was unlawful." While they haven't made the COVID vaccine mandatory at my hospital, they are laying the groundwork for it. Also, as a hospital worker, I am required to have other vaccines, and they did make the flu vaccine mandatory last year. Also, yes, not all healthcare workers are the sharpest tools in the shed.

"Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is 'completely incorrect' to suggest vaccines are a personal choice with no broad implications, says Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's top infectious disease authority."

Also, just anecdotal, our numbers at the hospital are looking a lot like last January.

"Wednesday, the state of Virginia removed the 12-ton statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee more than 130 years after it was installed amid efforts to change the collective memory of the Civil War." Good riddance to rubbish.

"Four activists from the Hong Kong pro-democracy group that organizes the city's annual Tiananmen Square vigil were arrested early Wednesday morning, after the group refused to comply with a police order to submit information on national security grounds."

"A massive fire raged through an overcrowded prison near Indonesia's capital early Wednesday, killing at least 41 inmates, two of them foreigners serving drug sentences, and injuring 80 others."

"Britney Spears' fight to end her court-ordered conservatorship took an unexpected turn on Tuesday when her father and the conservator of her estate, Jamie Spears, filed a petition to end the arrangement." Didn't expect that plot twist.

"Two more victims of the 9/11 terror attacks at the World Trade Center have been identified in New York City--just days before the nation marks the 20th anniversary of the tragedy."

"In a specially constructed courtroom in the historic Palais de Justice on the Île de la Cité, 20 men will be judged for the jihadist Islamic State (IS) plot that led to 130 dead and hundreds of wounded that night, not just at the Bataclan but also at the Stade de France and on the café-terraces of the 10th and 11th arrondissements."

"As the Biden administration scrambled to conduct a massive evacuation effort from Afghanistan, American officials quietly instructed U.S. citizens and at-risk Afghans, including Afghan commandos, to head to a secret CIA base outside Kabul to secure safe passage to the U.S. amid increased risks of a terrorist attack on the capital city’s main airport." I love how the media attempts to spin this story as "and they did it all without any help or encouragement from the administration." Yeah, Bob, sure it happened that way.

"After more than a year of conducting arguments remotely, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it will resume in-person oral arguments this fall, beginning with the slate of cases to be heard in October, November and December."

"Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday defended a new state law banning most abortions that also does not provide exceptions for cases of rape or incest, saying it does not force victims to give birth even though it prohibits abortions before some women know they're pregnant… Abbott, a Republican, added that Texas would strive to 'eliminate all rapists from the streets' while taking questions during his first press conference since the law took effect last week." Wait, you could have eliminated all rapists from the streets before this and you didn't?

"Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday signed into law a bill that bans 24-hour and drive-thru voting, imposes new hurdles on mail-in ballots and empowers partisan poll watchers… The restrictive voting measure adds Texas to the list of Republican-controlled states that have seized on former President Donald Trump's lies about widespread voter fraud and clamped down on access to the ballot box this year. Already, Florida, Georgia and other states have enacted new voting laws."

"In a race against the clock, Democratic leaders in Congress are working frenetically to craft a multitrillion-dollar bill to expand the social safety net with plans to hit the gas and start moving it through the House this week… The House Ways and Means Committee released hundreds of pages of legislative text Tuesday and announced hearings on Thursday and Friday. The bill would include 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave for all workers; expanded Medicare benefits to add dental, hearing and vision coverage; and new investments to bolster nursing homes and long-term care, among other provisions."

"The deputy mayor of Airmont, N.Y., has been arrested on multiple weapons charges, after police discovered an arsenal of illegal guns in his house — including 16 assault weapons and 13 silencers, according to the district attorney's office. Investigators say they also found a stash of fake federal IDs, including FBI credentials… Deputy Mayor Brian Downey, 47, now faces more than 30 state and federal criminal counts."

"Trump’s looming involvement in the primary will test his political power in the GOP like never before, as he seeks to punish the most high-profile House Republican to vote for his impeachment in January. His allies and team not only encouraged Hageman to run against Cheney — they now are under pressure to clear the crowded primary field of other candidates who could split anti-Cheney sentiment, which would give the incumbent the chance to win her primary with only a plurality."

Linkee-poo Tuesday Sept 7

Willard Scott, Michael K. Williams, and so it goes.

"'Labor Day should be a moment when we all reflect the critical contributions of working people to the political, economic and cultural development of this country,' said Claudrena Harold, a history professor at the University of Virginia… Three moments in labor history, in particular, are central to U.S. history, the modern labor movement, and today's workplace, according to history and labor scholars." Really, NPR? Nothing about the coal mine wars, Homestead, or any of the others?

"To make the system as small as possible, the researchers decided to start with the CRISPR protein Cas12f (also known as Cas14), because it contains only about 400 to 700 amino acids. However, like other CRISPR proteins, Cas12f naturally originates from Archaea – single-celled organisms – which means it is not well-suited to mammalian cells, let alone human cells or bodies. Only a few CRISPR proteins are known to work in mammalian cells without modification. Unfortunately, CAS12f is not one of them. This makes it an enticing challenge for bioengineers like Qi."

"The rapidly warming climate is the 'greatest threat' to global public health, more than 200 medical journals are warning in an unprecedented joint statement that urges world leaders to cut heat-trapping emissions to avoid 'catastrophic harm to health that will be impossible to reverse.'"

You might remember me mentioning that one of the largest impacts of climate change will be on our food supply and where we live and grow our crops are all in the wrong places. Whelp, a twitter thread. It's here earlier than predicted.

"New York City was never built to withstand a deluge like the one Ida delivered. It showed."

"There was 'just the right mix of weather conditions' in place to fuel the system, according to Tripti Bhattacharya, an assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences at Syracuse University… 'A storm like this would have been exceptionally rare 20 or 50 years ago,' she told NPR. 'But we have to start thinking about it becoming the norm as the climate warms.'"

"Yes, it's that familiar winter nemesis, the flu. And there are vaccines to help ward it off — but also misinformation and fears circulating. 'We've been concerned about vaccine fatigue and that people will be confused about whether or when they need the flu shot, and not very eager to once again roll up their sleeve,' says Dr. William Schaffner, medical director of the National Foundation of Infectious Diseases. 'Flu is a nasty virus and worth protecting against.'"

"The rise in people using ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug usually reserved for deworming horses or livestock, as a treatment or preventative for Covid-19 has emergency rooms 'so backed up that gunshot victims were having hard times getting' access to health facilities, an emergency room doctor in Oklahoma said." Fortunately I haven't seen this (or at least it hasn't been called out in a way I would recognize).

"Poison control centers are seeing a dramatic surge in calls from people who are self-medicating with ivermectin, an anti-parasite drug for animals that some falsely claim treats COVID-19… According to the National Poison Data System (NPDS), which collects information from the nation's 55 poison control centers, there was a 245% jump in reported exposure cases from July to August — from 133 to 459."

"Over the past several months, a series of studies has found that some people mount an extraordinarily powerful immune response against SARS-CoV-2. Their bodies produce very high levels of antibodies, but they also make antibodies with great flexibility — likely capable of fighting off the variants of coronavirus circulating in the world but also likely effective against variants that may emerge in the future."

"Of all the patients treated in an ICU, those on ECMO require the most attention, says nurse Kristin Nguyen who works in the ICU at Vanderbilt University Medical Center."

"Schools that have opened their doors to students amid the spread of the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus already are grappling with how to best continue teaching students when hundreds and sometimes thousands of them are in quarantine."

"The U.S. health care system is again buckling under the weight of a COVID-19 surge that has filled more than 100,000 hospital beds nationwide and forced some states to consider enacting 'crisis standards of care' — a last resort plan for rationing medical care during a catastrophic event."

"The leaders of two federal health agencies are urging the White House to rethink its plan to roll out COVID-19 vaccine boosters starting Sept. 20."

"A Mississippi man freed after nearly 23 years in prison filed a lawsuit Friday against the district attorney who prosecuted him six times in the killings of four people at a small-town furniture store."

Look, actual data… "Since last summer’s Black Lives Matter protests, there’s a popular refrain echoing through urban police precincts, rural sheriff’s offices and city halls everywhere in between: Officers are fleeing America’s police forces in big numbers, officials say… According to federal data, those worries are unfounded. Last year, as the overall U.S. economy shed 6% of workers, local police departments lost just under 1% of employees after a decade of steady expansion, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about 4,000 people out of nearly half a million employees in municipal police departments and sheriff’s offices nationwide. State and federal law enforcement departments actually saw a slight increase in the number of employees."

"In the immediate aftermath of Trump’s election, the theme of American plutocrats preparing for the apocalypse was impossible to avoid. The week after the inauguration, the New Yorker ran another piece about the super-rich who were making preparations for a grand civilisational crackup; speaking of New Zealand as a 'favored refuge in the event of a cataclysm', billionaire LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, a former colleague of Thiel’s at PayPal, claimed that 'saying you’re "buying a house in New Zealand" is kind of a wink, wink, say no more'." About New Zealand, Peter Thiel, and the "Sovereign Individual", a book that apparently Ayn Rand was the gateway drug. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)

"Arriving in a military helicopter, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro was inaugurated in the state’s old capital on Sunday amid clashes between police and protesters who oppose continued Serb influence in the tiny Balkan nation."

"Some evangelical pastors are reportedly providing religious exemption documents to the members of their church, and right-wing forums are sharing strategies to skirt vaccine requirements. Religious freedom groups are sending threatening letters to states, schools and employers and preparing legal challenges to fight vaccine mandates." I don't think this was the march of the saints and religious war they wanted. It's also the war they will lose.

"Multiple planes meant to ferry hundreds of people who say they are fearful of life under the Taliban's rule, including American citizens and green card holders, spent another day parked on an airstrip in northern Afghanistan Monday."

"These so-called audits won’t alter the outcome of the 2020 election. Their point is to cast further doubt on its legitimacy and justify additional state measures to suppress votes and alter future elections… It’s a vicious cycle. As Trump continues to stoke his base with his big lie that the election was stolen, Republican lawmakers – out to advance their careers and entrench the GOP – are adding fuel to the fire, pushing more Americans into Trump’s paranoid nightmare."

"Georgia had the largest-ever single rollout of new voting equipment to 159 counties, delayed a spring primary because of the coronavirus and counted more than five million votes three times in the weeks after the November general election. Sosebee said this conference - the first in-person gathering since the 2020 cycle - was a chance for her colleagues to support each other after a difficult year."

"Donald Trump is reportedly close to selling rights to his hotel near the White House in Washington, a move the website Axios said 'would carry a symbolism savoured by opponents', given it would mean 'the removal of Trump’s brash, golden branding from Pennsylvania Avenue'… Reports from Iowa, however, indicated that the former president is close to announcing an attempt to return to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, often called the most powerful address in the world, with a run for the Republican nomination in 2024."

"While serving as U.S. ambassador to Canada, Kelly Craft directed government business to then-President Donald Trump’s Washington, D.C. hotel, according to internal emails released by the State Department."

Meanwhile, on Bullshit Mountain… "President Joe Biden traveled on Friday to Louisiana where he appeared to bring along a 'cheat sheet' which featured names and photographs of local officials with certain talking points, according to a report detailing his visit." Oh look, it's the "uses a teleprompter" controversy all over again. What I love is that they talk about how they also gave Trump the "cheat sheets" and notes, but he left them on the plane or "held the notebook." Note that nowhere in this article does anyone say Biden whipped out the card to refer to it. These people are so deranged they'll probably criticize the White House for buying toilet paper next.

Linkee-poo Friday Sept 3

"New Zealand authorities were so worried about an Islamic extremist they were following him around-the-clock and were able to shoot and kill him within 60 seconds of him unleashing a frenzied knife attack that wounded six people Friday at an Auckland supermarket… Three of the shoppers were taken to Auckland hospitals in critical condition, police said. Another was in serious condition, while two more were in moderate condition."

"Space company Firefly launched its Alpha rocket for the first time on Thursday evening, but the vehicle had suffered an issue a couple minutes into ascent and exploded in the sky above the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California."

"Data received late Sept. 1 from NASA’s Perseverance rover indicate the team has achieved its goal of successfully coring a Mars rock. The initial images downlinked after the historic event show an intact sample present in the tube after coring. However, additional images taken after the arm completed sample acquisition were inconclusive due to poor sunlight conditions. Another round of images with better lighting will be taken before the sample processing continues."

We did it! "All Ohio counties are now rated in the red with high community transmission of COVID-19… Ashtabula County was the last of 88 counties in the state to reach a high status." Hey, ho, way to go, Ohio.

"'For me, the takeaway of this story really is that even just momentary short, brief lapses in, you know, taking off a mask can open up an opportunity for delta to escape through,' says Tracy Lam-Hine, the Marin County epidemiologist who authored the report on the outbreak." Also, most schools don't have the ventilation required and 6' apart isn't far enough (because SARS-CoV2 is spread by aerosol).

"After 10 days in the hospital with a near-fatal case of a multi-system inflammatory syndrome related to COVID-19, the then-13-year-old softball phenom and beloved, straight-A student from Hinds County, Miss., was lethargic and frail. She braced herself against the car's door frame… But six months later, despite having watched a loved one struggle with the illness, some of Allie's closest friends and family remain unvaccinated."

"Job creation for August was a huge disappointment, with the economy adding just 235,000 positions, the Labor Department reported Friday… Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for 720,000 new hires… The unemployment rate dropped to 5.2% from 5.4%, in line with estimates." Remember when a 235k jobs report would have been met with exuberance? That was what, 2 years ago? Again, the only disappointment here is that the real number didn't mean Wall Street "expectations."

And the NPR story about the jobs report with a little more nuance.

"The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to 340,000, a pandemic low and another sign that the job market is steadily rebounding from the economic collapse caused by the coronavirus pandemic."

"The Postal Service regularly cheats mail carriers out of their pay, according to a Center for Public Integrity investigation. Managers at hundreds of post offices around the country have illegally underpaid hourly workers for years, arbitrators and federal investigators have found." Whispers, it ain't just the post office.

"McDonald's loyal fans are used to the fast-food chain’s ice cream machines being broken… And now the machines are under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission, The Wall Street Journal reports."

An On the Media podcast (I don't think I posted this yet)… "'Shrill' popped back up in the national lexicon in the coverage of Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential bid, and again, in a 2020 race filled with female candidates… But these slurs are not just the product of age-old misogynistic stereotypes. Biases against female voices were perniciously exacerbated by the broadcast technology that powers radio and audio recording technology. They're designed to thin higher frequency voices and enrich lower ones. In this interview from 2019, she and Brooke revisit the proliferation of radio in the 1920's and 1930's, when our ears were trained to prefer listening to men talk, and reflect on how societal gender standards have been shaped since."

"China’s government banned effeminate men on TV and told broadcasters Thursday to promote 'revolutionary culture,' broadening a campaign to tighten control over business and society and enforce official morality." Waits for conservatives to embrace this move, "Hey, these commie guys have something good going on here."

More guns make us all safer… "Three schools in Rutherford County were on a brief lockdown Wednesday afternoon while officers investigated a nearby incident of shots being fired. The cause of the gunfire? According to Rutherford County officials, an expectant father fired a weapon during a gender reveal phone call." He fired his gun, because he was on the phone, telling his relatives that he was having a boy. This person is too dumb to own firearms.

Time for the sad trombones… "One way the National Rifle Association projects its power is through the image of tens of thousands of members in a convention center, in front of the politicians who back the powerful gun rights organization… But this weekend, for the second year in a row, the NRA's chosen convention center will stand empty, after it was forced to cancel its annual meeting due to the COVID pandemic." Not that they're having cash flow problems at all.

Another On the Media episode… "Algorithms are everywhere, making crucial decisions at almost every juncture of our lives. But, while we may believe in the objectivity of these mathematical models, they're made from and produce far more bias than we think. Mathematician and former Wall Street quant, Cathy O'Neil wants us to question our unexamined faith in predictive algorithms. Her book, Weapons of Math Destruction, calls out an urgent need to investigate these black box constructions that govern so much of our lives, from going to college and getting a job, to online advertising and criminal sentencing. She and Brooke discuss the science behind predictive algorithms and how they can go terribly wrong." As the old saying goes, "garbage in, garbage out, but this garbage having been processed by an extremely expensive machine is now sanctified and none dare question it."

"As a novel six-week abortion ban has significantly curtailed abortion care in Texas, another bill, aimed at restricting medication abortion, is set to become law in the state… The Legislature this week advanced the bill, called Senate Bill 4, which would limit access to medication abortions for many. For now, patients can obtain the medication up until 10 weeks of pregnancy in the state. The measure would prevent physicians from administering it to people who are more than seven weeks pregnant and prohibit the pills from being mailed in Texas." The heartbeat bill was just the tip of this iceberg.

"The Supreme Court's conservative majority tossed a legal bomb into the abortion debate late Wednesday night… By a vote of 5-to-4, the court's most conservative members upheld, for now, a Texas law that, in effect, bans abortions after about six weeks. But almost as important as the result was how the court reached its decision — without full briefing and arguments before any court." Who's the activist court?

Concerned Senators are concerned again. "Sen. Joe Manchin just made it clear Democrats have work to do to win his vote for their sprawling economic plan — and prevent President Joe Biden’s agenda from collapsing… The West Virginia Democrat on Thursday urged party leaders to 'pause' their consideration of a massive $3.5 trillion spending bill. Democrats aim to approve the measure, which would invest in climate policy and social programs, in the coming weeks without Republican support." What Schumer needs to do is look at Joe and say, "Do it. Vote no. You will never be able to travel anywhere without people telling you what a little shit you are." Because until he does, Manchin will pull this shit every single time. This is political brinksmanship. Manchin knows he's the "lynchpin" in the passage. You have to knock him out of that position. Tell him this is the albatross you are willing to tie around his neck.

"A SurveyUSA/San Diego Union-Tribune poll found Newsom beating back the recall by eight percentage points, and a Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) poll released Wednesday night shows the governor leading by an even bigger margin." Now it's just a get out the vote operation. Also note, IIRC, next year the California governors race is on the November 2022 ballot.

"It's been nearly a month since sensitive data about voting equipment in Colorado's Mesa County was posted online by conspiracy theorists eager to cast doubt on the outcome of the 2020 election… At the center of the criminal investigation into how that information was released is county clerk Tina Peters, whose whereabouts remain unknown. She hasn't returned to work in Mesa County since the data breach was announced… The FBI is also investigating the case."

"How the US created a world of endless war… In 2008, many of Barack Obama’s supporters hoped he would bring the global war on terror to a close. Instead, he expanded it – and his successors have done nothing to change course."

Linkee-poo Wednesday Sept 2

"As Ida made its way to the northeast, unprecedented flooding hit New York with photos and videos capturing the affects of the powerful storm… Videos shared on social media showed the Brooklyn Queens Expressway impassible, cars stuck in streets in Elmhurst, Queens, and water racing into subway stations in Manhattan. More than 3 inches of rain fell in Central Park in one hour."

"Photos show what appears to be a miles-long oil slick near an offshore rig in the Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Ida, according to aerial survey imagery released Wednesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and reviewed by The Associated Press."

"Scenes From Hurricane Ida's Devastating Path." See if you can spot what's wrong in the photo of the guy with the boat next to the mailbox.

"After two bone-dry years that sank the U.S. Southwest deeper into drought, this summer’s rainy season unleashed with fury."

"Despite threatening to pull Russia out of the International Space Station prematurely, the head of the country's space agency is now promising to remain NASA's partner at least until the orbiting outpost is eventually retired."

And then… "The International Space Station (ISS) could suffer "irreparable" failures due to outdated equipment and hardware, a Russian official has warned… At least 80 percent of in-flight systems on the Russian segment of the ISS had passed their expiry date, Vladimir Solovyov told state media." Just another reminder that Russia has already declared they want to pull out and launch their own space station. Also, yess, the ISS is past its original projected life.

"Dreaming of a future where Luke Skywalker's replacement hand is more than a sci-fi fantasy, scientists have designed a 'bionic arm' that enlists help from tiny robots to re-create the vital sensations forfeited when one loses an upper limb. The bots do that by safely vibrating muscles at the amputation site."

"Members of the Sackler family who are at the center of the nation's deadly opioid crisis have won sweeping immunity from opioid lawsuits linked to their privately owned company Purdue Pharma and its OxyContin medication… Federal Judge Robert Drain approved a bankruptcy settlement on Wednesday that grants the Sacklers 'global peace' from any liability for the opioid epidemic." Fuck.

"Fully vaccinated people that catch COVID-19 are almost twice as likely to get no symptoms than those who haven't had a vaccine, a large UK study suggests… The study from researchers at King's College London was published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases medical journal late Wednesday. It found that fewer than 0.2% of 971,504 fully vaccinated adults studied caught COVID-19 at least a week after their second dose."

"The World Health Organization (WHO) is tracking a new COVID-19 variant that it says could have the ability to evade the immunity people get from vaccines and prior COVID-19 infections… Called Mu, the B.1.621 variant was first detected in Colombia in January this year. It has since been detected in 39 countries and was added to the WHO's watchlist on August 30." Note this was also thought to be the case with Delta and Lamba.

"A New Jersey woman calling herself the AntiVaxMomma on Instagram sold several hundred fake COVID-19 vaccination cards at $200 a pop to New York City-area jab dodgers, including people working in hospitals and nursing homes, prosecutors said Tuesday… For an extra $250, a second scammer would then enter a bogus card buyer's name into a New York state vaccination database, which feeds systems used to verify vaccine status at places they're required, such as concerts and sporting events, prosecutors said." Wow, $450 to avoid getting the actual jabs which could help you and which cost :: checks notes :: nothing.

"As cases ballooned in August, however, the Florida Department of Health changed the way it reported death data to the CDC, giving the appearance of a pandemic in decline, an analysis of Florida data by the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald found… On Monday, Florida death data would have shown an average of 262 daily deaths reported to the CDC over the previous week had the health department used its former reporting system, the Herald analysis showed. Instead, the Monday update from Florida showed just 46 “new deaths” per day over the previous seven days." Neat trick, but easily sussed out.

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tallied over 39 million cases of COVID-19 in the U.S., but if you want to know more detailed information, such as where patients live, whether patients were hospitalized or died, demographic details like race, gender and age, that information is gathered separately… In that more detailed CDC data set, about 1 in 5 known cases — or 7 million people — are completely missing, an NPR analysis found."

"A third dose of the Moderna vaccine — given six months after the initial two doses — significantly boosts immunity, according to data the company submitted to the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday."

"The Virginia Supreme Court of Virginia ruled Thursday that the state can take down an enormous statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that has towered over a traffic island in Richmond for more than a century and has become a symbol of racial injustice."

"Three suburban Denver police officers and two paramedics were indicted on manslaughter and other charges in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man put into a chokehold and injected with a powerful sedative in a fatal encounter that provoked national outcry during racial injustice protests last year."

"Lost Dog is one of a growing number of companies that, in a desperation for hired hands, is loosening restrictions on everything from age to level of experience. Drug store chain CVS announced earlier in August it would no longer require a minimum high school degree to fill entry level spots at its stores. This year, it also plans to end its GPA requirement of 3.0 when it recruits on college campuses. Meanwhile, Amazon has stopped testing job seekers for marijuana."

"Ghost kitchens provide facilities for restaurants, catering services, and other businesses to prepare food for takeout and delivery. Rarely do ghost kitchens feature any sort of seating area for customers."

"The Taliban has surrounded the only remaining province resisting its rule, a senior leader said on Wednesday, calling on rebels to negotiate a settlement with the group… Since the fall of Kabul on Aug. 15, mountainous Panjshir has been the only province to hold out against the Islamist group, although there has also been fighting in neighbouring Baghlan province between Taliban and local militia forces."

"The U.S. ended its massive evacuations out of Kabul, Afghanistan, by President Biden's Aug. 31 deadline, but as many as 27 California public school students remain in Afghanistan… The students, whose grades range from elementary to high school, are from 19 families from the San Juan Unified School District in Sacramento. Most of the students, the school district says, have family members with them."

"Over the past five years, the EPA has not rejected any new chemicals submitted by industry despite agency scientists flagging dozens of compounds for high toxicity. Four EPA whistleblowers and industry watchdogs say a revolving door between the agency and chemical companies is to blame, and that the program’s management has been 'captured by industry'. The charges are supported by emails, documents and additional records that were provided to the Guardian."

"Russia Insider founder Charles Bausman traveled from his home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 and advanced as far as the Capitol’s balustrades after Trump’s speech, he said. Soon after, he left the country for Moscow." Waves at my Russian friends.

"As the United States-backed government in Afghanistan fell to the Taliban and US troops raced to leave the country, White supremacist and anti-government extremists have expressed admiration for what the Taliban accomplished, a worrying development for US officials who have been grappling with the threat of domestic violent extremism." You may remember in the 90s white supremacist and neo-nazi groups formed relationships with other international groups which share their vision of "culturally pure nation states" and have supposedly secretly agreed to divide the world into "homelands."

"Democrats are hustling to finalize their gigantic social spending plan during the dog days of summer recess, wary they will blow their target date to finish as Congress faces a crush of deadlines later this month… Speaker Nancy Pelosi has ordered committee leaders to battle it out with their Senate counterparts to resolve all major disputes this week on what will be included in the up-to-$3.5 trillion bill. But wide gulfs remain between the House and Senate on central pieces of the package, including expanding Medicare, shoring up Obamacare, raising taxes and curbing carbon emissions."

Linkee-poo, Wednesday September 1

"A controversial Texas law that bars abortions at six weeks went into effect early Wednesday morning after the Supreme Court and a federal appeals court failed to rule on pending emergency requests brought by abortion providers."

"Enriquez De Santiago sought help at a Commerce City, Colo., health clinic that takes a novel approach to improving the health of its patients: It incorporates legal assistance into its medical practice for patients facing eviction or deportation proceedings, among other legal woes. And the state's Medicaid program helps fund the initiative." Gee, helping people with legal issues to reduce their stress levels ends up affecting their health as well? Who could have known.

"An Illinois church summer camp and men's conference in June has been linked to 180 confirmed and probable Covid-19 cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday… The camp and conference did not require attendees to be vaccinated, tested or masked, the CDC reported, and the high rate of transmission was likely to have been driven by the delta variant of the coronavirus." Good work, assholes.

"Increasing COVID-19 cases and the surge in the delta variant are leading to an increase in children being hospitalized and have the leaders of children's hospitals pleading with the public to help protect kids from the virus… Nationally, researchers believe 300 children each day are being hospitalized. In Minnesota, hospital capacity is tightening amid a spike in other respiratory illnesses."

"A 24-year-old woman from Illinois was arrested on Sunday while trying to enter Hawaii with a fake covid-19 vaccination record card. How did authorities know it was fake? For starters, the counterfeit card said the woman had received the 'Maderna' vaccine rather than the Moderna vaccine." They aren't even good at this.

"With the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, Boevers and other parents and advocates recently filed suit in federal court challenging South Carolina’s ban on school mask mandates. The lawsuit, which names several state officials and local school boards as defendants, alleges South Carolina’s policy violates federal law by effectively excluding students with disabilities from participation in the public education system."

"Purdue Pharma launched a behind-the-scenes effort in recent days aimed at discouraging the Justice Department from appealing a pending multibillion-dollar bankruptcy settlement for the OxyContin-maker… NPR acquired an early draft of a letter distributed by the drug company to groups supportive of the bankruptcy deal." Fuckers.

"Federal park officials have ordered the closure of a trail in California's Mariposa County where three family members and their dog were found dead from unknown causes earlier this month. Officials cited "unknown hazards" in the area as the reason for the closure."

"Any one who has ever accidentally stepped on a dog's tail has probably wondered if dogs can understand the difference between doing something by mistake versus doing it on purpose. Now a new study suggests that, at least in some circumstances, dogs do seem to know when their humans have just screwed up." Or, ya know, it could be pack behavior (the human is in charge and intentionally denying me food, so I don't get to eat).

"U.S. companies created far fewer jobs than expected in August as the Covid resurgence coincided with cutbacks in hiring, according to a report Wednesday from payroll services firm ADP… Private payrolls rose just 374,000 for the month, well below the Dow Jones estimate of 600,000 though above July’s 326,000, which was revised downward slightly from initial 330,000 reading." Note, these are not the official government numbers, but a private company's estimate. Also note the "disappointing" nature of the number isn't because it's down from the previous month, but that it doesn't match "Wall Street expectations."

"At the end of this week, the extra $300 weekly unemployment bonus will expire for everyone, including coverage for freelancers and the long-term unemployed. More than 11 million people will be affected, with roughly 7.5 million losing benefits entirely after Labor Day weekend. Roughly two dozen states chose to pull the plug on federal aid ahead of the deadline, with governors claiming that the extra unemployment insurance was disincentivizing residents from taking available jobs."

"Social Security and Medicare, the government's two biggest benefit programs, remain under intense financial pressure with the retirement of millions of baby boomers and a devastating pandemic. Social Security will be unable to pay full benefits starting in 2034, a year earlier than previously forecast, due to impact of the crisis… That's according to a new report from the programs' trustees released Tuesday, which moved up, by one year, the date for the depletion of Social Security's reserves. Medicare is still expected to exhaust its reserves in 2026, the same date as estimated last year." Time to remove the payroll caps.

"Khalid Noor, a member of the former Afghan government’s peace negotiating team, said the world made a mistake when it abandoned Afghanistan after Soviet troops withdrew from the country in 1989… If that happens again, terrorist groups will emerge and plan attacks around the world." Just a reminder, the Taliban accepted al Qada because Osama bin Laden could pay in hard currency. And in this article there is fear mongering on several sides.

"White House chief of staff Ron Klain committed Tuesday to evacuate from Afghanistan the Afghan interpreter who helped rescue then-Sen. Joe Biden and two other senators from a snowstorm in 2008."

"Fighters waved white Taliban flags from Humvees and armored SUVs at the military parade, where many of the vehicles appeared in near perfect condition. The Taliban also organized an air display with a recently seized Black Hawk helicopter flying past the militants along the road while also trailing a white Taliban flag." So, did we disable the equipment or not?

"There were 7,759 reported hate crimes in the U.S. last year — the most in 12 years, the FBI reported this week. But some experts and advocacy groups say the true number is probably even higher… The number of recorded bias incidents reported by the FBI was the highest since 2008, when 7,783 hate crimes were reported to the agency, federal data shows."

"The Justice Department on Monday alerted several federal judges that an outspoken attorney representing at least 17 alleged rioters charged in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection is reportedly hospitalized and possibly incapacitated after testing positive for COVID-19, leaving the bulk of his cases effectively at a 'standstill' and his clients 'without counsel.'" Only maybe not. And this story just get weirder and weirder… "Pierce, whose firm has previously represented former President Donald Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani and Trump's former campaign adviser George Papadapoulos, had been fundraising for his efforts defending accused rioters through a new organization he set up… Prosecutors in Monday's filing took issue with Marshall stepping in for Pierce, noting that Marshall is not a licensed attorney and is currently facing felony criminal fraud charges in a state court in Pennsylvania…ABC News repeatedly tried to reach Pierce, with no response. The office number listed on his website is disconnected, and a message on the cellphone number listed on his website says the number no longer belongs to him." And then there are the outstanding debt issues surrounding his law firms.

"House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday issued a veiled threat to companies that cooperate with the House select committee investigating the deadly January 6 riot at the US Capitol, warning that 'a Republican majority will not forget.'" Remember these are the same people who told us, "If you have nothing to fear…" back in the aughts. Also, complying with subpoenas and orders to preserve evidence is not violating federal law.

"House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is coming under fire for threatening telecom and tech companies… A House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol asked the 35 companies to preserve records of those who may have been involved in the riot and/or the rally that preceded it."

"According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records reviewed by Salon, Lindell (through his company MyPillow) has recently sold off at least one of his private planes." Yeah, it soap opera, but it's a good one.