Wouldn’t you know it, this thread would lapse just before Trump was kicked out of office. I wonder if the new thread will be as lively without the Orange Cheeto around to focus our anger? I think Joe might provide some prompting, at least.
Lynna is your curator. Type furiously!
SC (Salty Current) says
Michael Beschloss: “Watch high officials of the last Administration as they carefully try to rehabilitate their reputations. It has already started.”
SC (Salty Current) says
Here’s a link to the March 16 Guardian coronavirus world liveblog (support the Guardian if you can!).
From there:
SC (Salty Current) says
Oh, this reminded me of some podcast recommendations:
Conspirituality – “Deradicalizing From Digital Hate (w/Caolan Robertson)”:
(This podcast as a whole is…not my favorite, but the interview is worthwhile. Begins around 42 minutes in.)
Know Your Enemy – “The Rush Limbaugh Show (w/ Nicole Hemmer)”:
SC (Salty Current) says
Teddy Schleifer:
quotetheunquote says
Re: #471 on previous iteration (Nick Adams tweet):
What the actual… I had to look this Adams guy up, because, I thought, this MUST be satire; but no, he’s legitamatly a full-on Trump/Reagan cultist.* Wow, the lack of awareness, just… wow.
(*Unless he really is a “five dimensional chess” -playing performance artist doing a reeeeealy long piece … it’s so hard to tell anymore. But if he is, he’s a very good one.)
tomh says
McConnell offers scathing ‘scorched Earth’ filibuster warning
BY JORDAIN CARNEY – 03/16/21
Mitch McConnell, always the country’s best interests at heart.
SC (Salty Current) says
“This is fascinating. Some % of people who get covid suffer long-term symptoms. Some of those people are now reporting their symptoms disappear after getting vaccinated. Yet another absolute puzzle surrounding this godforsaken plague…”
WaPo link atl.
SC (Salty Current) says
BuzzFeed – “Non-Americans Are Sharing The Things They Thought Were Fake About America That Turned Out To Be Completely True”:
Lynna, OM says
Trump’s ‘wall’ inadvertently makes things easier for smugglers
Trump’s border wall not only failed to make things better, in some ways, the multi-billion-dollar boondoggle made matters quite a bit worse.
Lynna, OM says
As USA Today reports, the Arizona Republican Party’s lawsuit challenging last year’s election procedures was so groundless that a local judge ordered the state GOP to pay Arizona $18,000 in legal fees.
USA Today link
Lynna, OM says
With talk of ‘terrorist watch list,’ McCarthy pushes his luck at border
McCarthy could’ve stuck to his usual talking points. Instead he mentioned terrorist-watch-list members trying to enter the US through the southern border.
Lynna, OM says
On Medicaid expansion, relief bill leaves red states with no excuses
The Democrats’ COVID relief package makes it hard for red states to say no to Medicaid expansion. Mississippi’s Republican governor doesn’t seem to care.
Lynna, OM says
quotetheunquote @4, what is even more amazing is that other Trump supporters picked up the Nick Adams tweet and retweeted it. The Trump cult followers added their own comments about how great Trump was looking. It is just bizarre.
Links from the previous chapter of this thread:
https://proxy.freethought.online/pharyngula/2021/01/18/discuss-political-madness-all-the-time-18/comment-page-5/#comment-2086403
https://proxy.freethought.online/pharyngula/2021/01/18/discuss-political-madness-all-the-time-18/comment-page-5/#comment-2086407
https://proxy.freethought.online/pharyngula/2021/01/18/discuss-political-madness-all-the-time-18/comment-page-5/#comment-2086418
That last link is to SC’s comment 476, which leads to ” “Trump fans mocked for praising his ‘dreadful’ appearance at Mar-a-Lago event.” Yep.
Lynna, OM says
Follow-up to comment 12.
Tom Joseph:
https://twitter.com/TomJChicago/status/1371058520616009730
SC (Salty Current) says
Mad in America – “Endorsing Neoliberal Capitalist Ideas Connected to Loneliness and Reduced Well-being”:
(I haven’t read the paper.)
Lynna, OM says
Ammon Bundy Charged With Failure To Appear After Refusing to Wear Mask At Trial
Comments posted by readers of the TPM article:
SC (Salty Current) says
CNBC – “Russia and Iran tried to interfere with 2020 election, U.S. intelligence agencies say”:
According to CNN, they found that Putin personally directed the Russian effort, which has continued beyond the election. They’ve essentially been partnering with Trump and the Trumpublicans to undermine US democracy.
Lynna, OM says
Follow-up to tomh in comment 5.
Durbin to McConnell on filibuster reform: Bring on your ‘scorched earth,’ we’ve already seen it
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian world liveblog:
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian world liveblog:
Lynna, OM says
SC in comment 16:
Good summary. Thanks.
In other news: Conservative media calls on Gen X to save us from ‘cancel culture’ and Gen X responds, cancel that
Seth Masket:
Lots more examples at the link. Humorous for the most part.
Lynna, OM says
Watch judge call police shooting victim ‘dumb’ Black man ‘they were trying to make an angel out of’
Scroll down at the link to view the video.
Lynna, OM says
Follow-up to SC’s comment 16.
More details:
Link
Who are these “US contacts”?
Lynna, OM says
The Washington Post’s correction about Trump’s phone call to a Georgia official, explained
Trump is lying about the correction. The truth is more complicated than Trump is claiming. The truth still shows that Trump is guilty as hell.
Lynna, OM says
Follow-up to comments 5 (tomh) and 17.
Wonkette:
Link
Pierce R. Butler says
Lynna… @ # 13, quoting Tom Joseph: Trump in twilight. Vacant, dead eyes… His degenerative neurological disease has reached a point where he is brought out as a novelty item for Republican dog and pony shows
At last, Trump’s supporters are vindicated: he has achieved truly Reaganesque status!
SC (Salty Current) says
Scott Stedman:
Lynna, OM says
Pierce @25, funny, and also tragically correct.
Humor/satire from Andy Borowitz:
New Yorker link
SC (Salty Current) says
Reminder about Caputo from HuffPo in September – “Health Official Out To Manipulate CDC Reports Has Deep Russian Ties”:
Shortly after this report, he was diagnosed with cancer and underwent surgery. I don’t know the current state of his health.
Lynna, OM says
NBC News:
NY Times:
Lynna, OM says
Link
Lynna, OM says
Judge denies release after QAnon insurrectionist ‘blatantly lied’ during high-profile TV interview
SC (Salty Current) says
“This report also rejects what former DNI Ratcliffe told Fox last year. When asked what China is doing ‘in this election’, Ratcliffe replied; ‘China is using a massive and sophisticated influence campaign that dwarfs anything that any other country is doing’. But the report says:…[‘China Did Not Attempt to Influence Presidential Election Outcome’…]”
Seems like this is, like, a crime. He was the DNI.
Lynna, OM says
Dr. Birx on Trump’s infamous ‘inject disinfectant’ moment: ‘I still think about it every day’
Lynna, OM says
Link
Lynna, OM says
SC @32, good point!
SC (Salty Current) says
Holy fucking shit.
SC (Salty Current) says
Byline Times – “A Decade of Savage Loss For All Syrians’: The Psychological Cost of Civil War”:
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says
Multiple deaths, at least 8, in shootings near Atlanta allegedly at Asian massage partners.
Suspect in custody.
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says
#38, parlors, not partners. mea Culpa.
SC (Salty Current) says
More re Nerd’s #38 above – CNN – “8 killed in shootings at 3 metro Atlanta spas. Police have 1 suspect in custody”:
SC (Salty Current) says
Priyamvada Gopal in the Guardian – “Why can’t Britain handle the truth about Winston Churchill?”:
KG says
Wm. Shakespeare said “The prince of darkness is a gentleman!” (King Lear, Act 3, Scene 4 – the speaker is Edgar, one of the “goodies” in the play). Apparently he’s also a (small-d) democrat!
SC (Salty Current) says
An update on several posts by Lynna here, from today’s Guardian US-politics liveblog:
(I’m not happy at how the Post is parroting some of the bullshit Republican framing. I’ve also had more than enough of the Republicans’ idiotic hyperbole – “the greatest invasion of state sovereignty by Congress in the history of our Republic.” It’s long past time for journalists to start calling them out on this nonsense, or at least to stop reproducing it uncritically.)
SC (Salty Current) says
Stephen Collinson at CNN – “New US intel report shows Russia, Trump and GOP acolytes have same goals”:
More at the link.
SC (Salty Current) says
Here’s a link to the March 17 Guardian coronavirus world liveblog.
From there:
SC (Salty Current) says
Rep. Lieu: “According to this report, 6 of the 8 murder victims in the Atlanta area mass shooting are Asian women. Was this a hate crime? We need more evidence. But we do know the alleged murderer targeted three locations where the victims would disproportionately be Asian women.”
SC (Salty Current) says
“Tomorrow [now today] a 16 year old trans girl from Tacoma, WA will testify about the Equality Act in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Republicans on hand will be Sens. Cruz, Hawley, Grassley, Cotton, Sasse, Graham, Cornyn, Lee, Kennedy, Tillis, and Blackburn.
Praying for her….”
This hearing is at 10 AM ET. Will be on C-SPAN.
SC (Salty Current) says
“EXCLUSIVE: @GStephanopoulos: ‘You’re for bringing back the talking filibuster?’
Pres. Biden: ‘I am. That’s what it was supposed to be…Democracy’s having a hard time functioning’.”
Video clip atl.
quotetheunquote says
@SC #36.
S. Crowder has always been a steaming pile of sh¡t pretending to be a human being, but this is definitely the worst I’ve ever seen him;* he’s not even trying to hide the out-and-out “l’il Sambo” act. I personally think he’s worse than Limbaugh was, if that’s possilble.
Oh, fun fact – he’s from Montreal, originally (althought born in Detroit). Yay! Another national embarrassment.
*I actually have watched very little of “Louder with Crowder”, being not a particularly keen on wretching up my breakfast. I only ever heard of him because one of his videos rebutting something from Samatha Bee’s show came up as “recommended” in my YT feed. From that, I got the impression that he was just another of the many anti-feminist cranks out there, awful but not particularly remarkable.
quotetheunquote says
@SC #37:
I see that one of the responses to Representative Lieu’s tweet was:
I don’t do Twitter, but every once in a while, I wish I did, because this one really begs for a response:
quotetheunquote says
Sorry, #50 was in response to #46, not #37.
SC (Salty Current) says
The Atlanta police are doing a press briefing about the shootings. I missed the beginning, but police Capt. Jay Baker said Long confessed to the killings, and said he did it because he has a sex addiction and these were places he sought to gratify himself and therefore he wanted to destroy them. When they caught him, he was on his way to Florida to massacre some more people at massage parlors. The matter-of-fact tone with which Baker presented what he did and why was fairly infuriating to me, I have to say.
SC (Salty Current) says
quotetheunquote @ #49, yeah, it was shocking even for that genre, which is saying something. It was like something out of the 1920s. And the ignorance is just off the charts. Poisonous.
quotetheunquote @ #50, Baker was asked if Long had expressed any religious motives, and he said no. But there are a number of indications that he’s very religious. I would be extremely surprised if this misogynistic attack had no religious (“dens of sin,” “led me into sin”) aspect.
quotetheunquote says
#53 (second para) – Ugh, sounds just about right for a fundamentalist “Moral Majority” type. There’s nothing new about this kind of misogyny, of course, but I remember it being given a lot of oxygen in the U.S. during the Reagan years; Reagan’s alliance with the fundies really put a “spring in the step” of these people, unfortunately.
SC (Salty Current) says
“WATCH: Rep. Debbie Dingell tells her experience with domestic violence and passionately advocates for Congress to pass the Violence Against Women Act.”
Short video atl.
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian world liveblog:
SC (Salty Current) says
“NEW: Senate confirms Katherine Tai to be US trade representative.
Tai, the daughter of immigrants from Taiwan, is the first woman of color to be the top US trade negotiator. The vote was 98 to 0.”
SC (Salty Current) says
This is part of what I described as “fairly infuriating” @ #52:
“‘Yesterday was a really bad day for him and this is what he did’ — a law enforcement official explains Robert Aaron Long’s decision to kill 8 people in a strange manner”
SC (Salty Current) says
From TPM’s liveblog:
Lynna, OM says
GOP expectations toward Corporate America are changing: Cotton and Rubio want business to toe the Republican line on matters related to culture and race. [aiyiyiyi]
SC (Salty Current) says
Joe Biden next to a shamrock bowl Zooming with Micheál Martin and rambling about his Irish grandfather Ambrose Finnegan and his visits to Ireland is pretty refreshing.
Lynna, OM says
Good news: The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported yesterday that Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) is restoring the voting rights of 69,000 Virginians “who completed their prison sentences for a felony but remain under probation — a change in the state’s policy that he said will help people fully re-enter society.”
Lynna, OM says
More good news: In Iowa, the latest Des Moines Register poll found Joe Biden’s favorability rating in the state has climbed to 51%, up from 43% last fall. The Democratic president lost Iowa by roughly eight points.
Lynna, OM says
Republican leaders and the subject of vaccination:
Link
Lynna, OM says
Trump admits he wanted US courts ‘to overturn elections’
Lynna, OM says
Follow-up to SC @48.
Link
tomh says
Re: #64
House members could get a coronavirus vaccine. But a quarter of them have not.
By Marianna Sotomayor and Paul Kane
March 17, 2021
And then you have dunderheads like NC Rep. Madison Cawthorn (“I won’t be taking it. The survival rate is too high for me to want it”) and Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado (“I have the freedom to decide if I’m going to take a vaccine or not, and in this case I am not going to take the vaccine”).
Lynna, OM says
Biden admin unveils $10B school testing plan for Covid-19
This is a good idea. Several colleges and universities adopted similar plans earlier in the pandemic, and it worked quite well. How a Pioneering Covid Testing Lab Helped Keep Northeast Colleges Open
Lynna, OM says
President Obama:
Lynna, OM says
tom @67, aiyiyi, that is painful to read. Such stupidity on the part of Republicans.
In other news, “How Many Rudy Giulianis Does It Take For Russia To Steal An Election For Trump?”
Link
SC (Salty Current) says
Tweet o’ the day.
More here.
SC (Salty Current) says
Ari Berman:
SC (Salty Current) says
“It’s so difficult to process the endless violence against women. Asian women, Black women, trans women, Indigenous women, immigrant women, everyone. It just never stops.”
SC (Salty Current) says
“After Russia recalled its ambassador to the U.S. for ‘consultations’ following Biden calling Putin a killer, Jen Psaki doesn’t comment directly but says the US-Russia relationship ‘will look different. We will be direct. We will speak out on areas where we have concerns’.”
SC (Salty Current) says
Netanyahu is running quite a campaign:
“Bibi vs The World
Likud video compares Europe’s COVID misery to Israel.
Yesterday, PM who refuses to vaccinate Palestinians with Israeli surplus complained to @moran_ynet that # of Israeli COVID dead would be lower if it weren’t for Palestinian laborers”
“6 months after UAE recognition of Israel, Netanyahu showed his true face. UAE now livid at his efforts to drag them into [the upcoming Israeli election]. ‘We came to an accord with the state & people of Israel, not a specific person’, Emirati official told @kaisos1987. (Any Likudnik could’ve told’em)”
SC (Salty Current) says
“‘I now hold the Senate seat where Herman E. Talmadge sat. And that’s why I love America’ — Sen. Raphael Warnock”
Thread with video clips and quotes from Warnock’s incredible first floor speech atl.
Lynna, OM says
SC @76, Warnock is turning out to be an effective politician as well as a man of integrity. He has a solid ethical core. He’s also a great orator. His speech inspired a standing ovation.
A few details:
Link
Video of the speech is available at the link.
SC (Salty Current) says
Josh Marshall: “Georgia Sheriff on Jeffrey Dahmer: Look, everybody has to eat. And this is what he did.”
Lynna, OM says
About the shooting/murder of 8 people (including 6 Asian women) in Georgia:
Link
Lynna, OM says
IRS plans to extend tax filing deadline to mid-May
SC (Salty Current) says
“NEW: Man wanted by US Capitol Police was stopped by Secret Service near Naval Observatory (which houses Vice President’s residence)
Police say they found a long gun, a large amount of ammunition and several gun clips w/ ammunition in man’s car parked in a DC garage”
Lynna, OM says
Wonkette:
Link
SC (Salty Current) says
Sam Levine, Guardian:
SC (Salty Current) says
Tanzania’s president and COVID denialist John Magufuli has died. He was 61.
SC (Salty Current) says
From the Guardian world liveblog:
lumipuna says
Tanzania’s Vice President Samia Sulhu Hassan is blaming Magufuli’s death on “heart condition”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/17/tanzanias-president-john-magufuli-dies-aged-61
Lynna, OM says
Texas Monthly:
https://www.texasmonthly.com/news/wall-street-profited-off-texas-blackouts/
Lynna, OM says
GOPers Seize DHS Hearing For Feverish Rants About Immigrants
Lynna, OM says
Follow-up to comment 88.
Posted by readers of the TPM article:
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian – “Putin wishes Biden ‘good health’ after killer accusation”:
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian – “Dutch election: progressive party surges as PM begins coalition talks.”
It’s a bit complicated with a number of parties, and I’m not quite sure about the definition of terms in their analysis, but it’s an overview.
SC (Salty Current) says
Here’s a link to the March 18 Guardian coronavirus world liveblog.
From there:
Lynna, OM says
Intel revelations raise difficult questions for several Republicans
The intelligence community’s assessment raises some difficult questions for Trump and Giuliani, but they’re not the only ones in an awkward position.
Lynna, OM says
Poll: Most GOP voters still reject legitimacy of Biden’s presidency
The good news: the number of GOP voters accepting the legitimacy of Biden’s presidency is growing. The bad news: it’s not growing much.
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian world liveblog on the European Medicines Agency press conference:
Ay.
Lynna, OM says
Another election-fraud story touted by top Republicans unravels
SC (Salty Current) says
More:
SC (Salty Current) says
From today’s DN! headlines:
Lynna, OM says
Republicans being bonkers … again.
Link
SC (Salty Current) says
I think this is (or should be) the main EMA takeaway: “The incidence of the reported blood clots and thromboembolic events are not higher than the existing rate, the officials reiterate, again.”
Lynna, OM says
OMFG.
Police Captain Who Said GA Shooting Suspect Had ‘Bad Day’ Peddled Racist Anti-China Shirts Online
Lynna, OM says
SC @100. Right. Agreed.
In other news, and as a follow-up to comment 101, Lieu calls for FBI investigation of Atlanta shootings after Georgia officer’s racist post surfaces
Lynna, OM says
Follow-up to comments 101 and 102.
Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn tweeted:
Wonkette commentary:
Link
tomh says
WaPo:
Becerra squeaks through confirmation vote to become HHS secretary
Amy Goldstein
March 18, 2021
Some of the Republican arguments against him:
All sound like arguments in favor to me.
SC (Salty Current) says
Ashish Jha:
SC (Salty Current) says
“We paid an impromptu visit to the Bessemer Amazon facility earlier, and something caught my eye through one of the windows. I hopped on a table outside to get a closer look, and spotted this anti-union banner hanging in the employee locker room. Shameful.”
You don’t get power for free.
SC (Salty Current) says
Daily Beast – “GOP Rep. Extols Lynchings During Hearing on Anti-Asian American Violence”:
Incidentally, for reference:
SC (Salty Current) says
Oop – my comment @ #106 wasn’t general but in response to the propaganda in the poster: “Why pay for what you get for free?”
SC (Salty Current) says
Several European countries have announced that they’re resuming use of the AstraZeneca vaccine; others will make their announcements tomorrow.
SC (Salty Current) says
More from the Guardian – “AstraZeneca Covid vaccine is safe and effective, says European regulator”:
What a mess.
SC (Salty Current) says
“JUST IN: Appeals court reinstates guilty verdicts for Flynn biz partner Bijan Rafiekian over the pair’s Turkey-related lobbying during 2016 prez campaign. Now, Kian faces prison for conduct DOJ seemed to absolve Flynn for and Trump granted him pardon for…”
Politico link atl.
SC (Salty Current) says
Jim Sciutto:
SC (Salty Current) says
“If a gunman targeted 3 kosher butchers, and killed 8 people, 6 Jews, then said, ‘Hey, I’m not anti-Semitic, just a psychotic vegan’ would you a) believe him? b) counsel, ‘Jews are freaking out, sure, but don’t comfort them because who knows why this guy did what he did?'”
(If I were choosing a new pseudonym I could do worse than Psychotic Vegan…)
SC (Salty Current) says
“Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson have told investors they will hike prices on vaccines soon and cash in as covid vaccines may be required annually. J&J explained they will wait for the pandemic ‘to end’ but they reserve the right to make the declaration.”
SC (Salty Current) says
Tweet o’ the day.
SC (Salty Current) says
LOL.
SC (Salty Current) says
This is FUCKED UP.
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian world liveblog:
SC (Salty Current) says
BBC – “Tokyo Games creative head quits over ‘Olympig’ insult”:
This is all so exhausting and sad. (And doubly so for animal rights advocates.)
SC (Salty Current) says
(Is the pun the same in Japanese, or was it in English?)
SC (Salty Current) says
MoJo – “White Farmers Got 97 Percent of Last Year’s Ag Bailout. Now Some Are Mad Black Farmers Are Getting Debt Relief.”
SC (Salty Current) says
OMG cute.
SC (Salty Current) says
Our society is sick.
lumipuna says
From 88:
and 103:
Apparently, Republican proposed solutions to Covid-19 include: 1. Close the borders, at least to the kind of people we don’t want in the US anyway. 2. Continue to be angry at the Chinese at large for something some of them did or didn’t do over a year ago.
Here in Finland, border traffic control is also something a lot of people demand in the name of stopping Covid-19. It seems slightly odd to me, since the virus is already quite widespread within the country, but what do I know about epidemic control. The authorities here generally follow expert advice, and they indeed do try to limit traffic and mandate testing at the borders, as much as it’s possible within the framework of existing laws, constitution and international agreements. However, nobody here seems to be singling out incoming asylum seekers and other immigrants, who constitute only a tiny portion of all incoming traffic.
As for ethnic resentment, this is something that increasingly starts coming up here with regard to immigrant communities and migrant worker camps (construction sites, farms etc.).
It’s been often noted that Covid-19 disproportionately affects Black and Hispanic communities in the US, and likewise BAME immigrant communities in Europe. Slightly deeper analysis reveals that the virus actually targets lower socioeconomic classes, where people tend to have in-person jobs (often in customer service or in crowded facilities), cramped living spaces and large households. These lower socioeconomic classes are also disproportionately made up of ethnic minorities.
In Finland there’s been some difficulty getting immigrant and migrant worker communities participate equally in the generally recommended precautions, such as masking and social distancing. There may be variable and complicated reasons for this, that are difficult to distinguish from the abovementioned socioeconomic issues.
Anyway, now there’s increasing concern among the totally-not-racists that our epidemic is largely driven by the poor compliance of people in immigrant communities. Infections are rising, thanks to the new virus variants, everyone is tired of the restrictions, and vaccine supply remains short. There’s some talk of prioritizing vaccines into the badly affected (ie. immigrant heavy) neighborhoods, and this riles up the sort of people who loathe the idea of “rewarding bad behavior”. Others just generally grumble about the apparent or rumored masking/distancing non-compliance among ethnic minorities, without proposing any constructive solutions.
SC (Salty Current) says
“Last week, Tennessee’s historical commission voted 25-1 to remove a bust of KKK leader Nathan Bedford Forrest from the state Capitol.
Now, citing ‘cancel culture’, some Republicans are trying to…
wait for it…
fire everyone on the commission.”
Link atl.
Lynna, OM says
SC @105, all good points. Thanks for posting that. I live in a state where the daily case rate is rising. I did get my first dose of Moderna vaccine today, so that’s good. Not good is that many of the customers in the store where the vaccination clinic was located were not wearing masks.
I have almost no side effects. Slightly sore arm. Mild headache.
I’ll get a second dose of Moderna vaccine in April.
Lynna, OM says
Bits and pieces of news:
NPR:
Associated Press:
Wall Street Journal:
Clarion Ledger:
Lynna, OM says
McCarthy Angrily Insists It’s Not Stealing The Election If He Only Tried To Toss Votes Of Two States
Lynna, OM says
Follow-up to comment 128.
More detail, and a reader’s comment:
Backstory:
SC (Salty Current) says
Lynna @ #126, great news!
blf says
Rather to my surprise — assuming I’m reading correctly — the new Covid-19 “lockdown lite” measures announced last night for some parts of France do not include the entire Nice–Marseille coastal area (only the Nice-area, plus (as expected) other areas, including Paris). At the moment, I believe that of all the changes announced, the only one which affects this immediate area is the change in start of curfew (from 6pm to 7pm, I think curfew still runs until 9am).
Vaccinations are still a Big Problem. France is more-or-less tracking the EU average rate (France c.11, EU c.12 vaccinations per 100 people), but as the average is presumably being held down by laggards such as Bulgaria and Latvia (both c.5)†, that’s not as impressive as it sounds. France is still very much in near the bottom (EU-wise, i.e. excluding the exceptional performance of the UK at c.41 (no snarking, congratulations to the NHS!)). Of course, President Macron and minions are claiming France is doing exceptionally well, EU-wise; not quite sure what reality they imagine themselves to be in (perhaps they are looking at the total numbers, where do to its size, France’s c.5.6m vaccinations since the end of December is perhaps amongst the largest in the EU (haven’t checked)?).
† If I recall correctly, Latvia — and presumably also Bulgaria — is having a massive supply problem.
SC (Salty Current) says
In the Guardian (support it if you can!):
“US and China publicly rebuke each other in first major talks of Biden era.”
This is feeling very Cold War.
“Myanmar security forces kill eight anti-coup protesters, say local media reports”:
“Tanzania’s first female leader urges unity after Covid sceptic Magufuli dies”:
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian – “‘Things are desperate’: Brazil’s Covid intensive care units are almost all at capacity”:
blf says
Follow-up to me@131, I just noticed the link has a pushbutton to switch between rate and total, so looking at the total, my guess is very probably correct: Marcon, et al., are looking at the totals (c.8m), second only to Germany’s c.10m within the EU (UK is c.28m). Which seems rather impressive given the absurd protocol here in France for getting vaccinated…
SC (Salty Current) says
Here’s a link to the March 19 Guardian coronavirus world liveblog.
From there:
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian world liveblog:
SC (Salty Current) says
NBC – “Biden poised to announce first wave of nominations to reshape U.S. courts”:
SC (Salty Current) says
Ryan J. Reilly:
SC (Salty Current) says
Vote Issa 2022: Basically Pro-Slavery.
SC (Salty Current) says
Vice – “Trump Official Charged In Capitol Riot Has Family Ties to Argentina’s Military Junta”:
More at the link.
Lynna, OM says
SC @130, yes. Thanks. Even one shot provides some protection, so I feel like I’m on the right path. I’ll continue to wear a mask in any public space, of course. My arm is still sore today, more sore than I thought it would be, and there is slight swelling around the injection site. Not really unusual, and not serious.
Bits and pieces of campaign news.
Lynna, OM says
Why it matters that Team Trump lied about China, election interference
Robert O’Brien, John Ratcliffe, and Bill Barr knew the truth about foreign interference in our elections, but they chose to lie to the public.
In my opinion, they should be prosecuted.
Lynna, OM says
‘Here we go again’: Rand Paul clashes with Fauci (for the 4th time)
Yesterday was the fourth time Rand Paul clashed with Anthony Fauci during a hearing.
Lynna, OM says
Trump’s House GOP devotees threaten to tear down party and country alike
McCarthy is ineffective. He can’t control his caucus, he can’t even guide them.
Lynna, OM says
House passes path to citizenship for DACA recipients, temporary status holders, and farmworkers
Lynna, OM says
“I know folks have seen that President Biden slipped on his way up the stairs to AF1, but I’m happy to report that he is just fine and did not even require any attention from the medical team who travels with him. Nothing more than a misstep on the stairs,” White House communications director Kate Bedingfield tweeted.
Yep, Biden was actually jogging up the stairs when he stumbled twice.
Lynna, OM says
Wonkette: “Newsmax Wingnuts Sad ‘The Blacks’ Keep Acting Like Racism Is Thing That Exists”
Link
blf says
Lynna@146, Faux news on
in 3… 2… 1… which then continues for a week or so until some qAnonsense kook claims Dr Biden’s thesis, when deciphered in a “bible code”-like manner, reveals she is the niece of a daemon, so Obama must be the bezzlebug himself (as proved by Clinton’s e-mails and Benghazi! (which President Biden is trying to “cancel” from history)).Lynna, OM says
Washington Post: “Church condemns suspected killer’s ‘evil actions and desires’”
It’s about time we focused on and properly mourned the victims.
Washington Post link
Lynna, OM says
Follow-up to comment 149.
Washington Post:
Lynna, OM says
“Virus variants mean our covid winter isn’t over. Don’t ease restrictions now.” The Washington Post article is by Ashish Jha.
Lynna, OM says
Why the House GOP’s stunt targeting Eric Swalwell is so ridiculous
Lynna, OM says
Link
Sounds quite trumpian. DeSantis basically wants an award for successfully hiding the true number of COVID deaths in Florida.
blf says
Lynna@153, on Florida and its highly-dubious Covid-19 statistics (both Grauniad articles from early-December-2020):
● Florida newspaper investigation finds state government misled public on Covid as cases rose: “Governor Ron DeSantis and his administration ‘suppressed facts’ and ‘dispensed dangerous misinformation’, according to [the South Florida Sun Sentinel]”.
● Armed police raid home of Florida scientist fired over Covid-19 data: “Rebekah Jones claims Governor Ron DeSantis, with whom she has clashed repeatedly since her dismissal in May, was involved”.
The Grauniad has been following Dr Jones’ story for awhile (e.g., Florida scientist says she was fired for refusing to change Covid-19 data ‘to support reopen plan’ (May-2020): “Dr Rebekah Jones says she was fired from Department of Health by the governor after protesting order to censor information”).
A snippet from the first referenced Grauniad article:
The latest I know of, Florida analyst who clashed with governor over Covid data faces arrest (January-2021).
Not only extremely hair furorian of desantity, but also stalianistic, etc., silence and imprison critics.
johnson catman says
re Lynna @149:
So, Long said he had a “sexual addiction” and he saw the spas and massage businesses as a “temptation”. At those ages, the people killed do not seem to be typical “sex-workers”. It seems as if he was just targeting them based on race, and this should definitely qualify as a hate-crime.
Lynna, OM says
blf @154, thanks for the additional information. That provides context.
johnson @155, right. And, of course it does not matter if the killer has a “sexual addiction.” That is no excuse to gun down other people. I am reminded of the ways in which the killer’s fundamentalist religion (Crabapple First Baptist Church) has always blamed a mythological “Eve” for Adam’s downfall. The whole incident reveals layers of rottenness.
Church details from the Washington Post:
Lynna, OM says
CDC:
Lynna, OM says
Follow-up to comment 157.
The CDC also commented that good ventilation was necessary, that older children (middle school and high school) should continue to observe 6-foot social distancing rules, and that the degree of coronavirus infection in the surrounding community should be taken into account.
Lynna, OM says
12 jurors have finally been seated for the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who was charged for the death of George Floyd.
Lynna, OM says
Washington Post:
johnson catman says
re Lynna @159:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/18/us/Chauvin-jury-selection-George-Floyd.html#:~:text=The%2012%2Dperson%20jury%20is,jurors%20who%20identify%20as%20multiracial.
At least they did not end up with an all-white jury.
Lynna, OM says
Yep, that’s bonkers.
Judge Accuses NYT And WaPo Of Being ‘Democratic Party Broadsheets’ In Bonkers Anti-1A Argument
johnson catman says
re Lynna @160:
Of course! The default republican position is denial, and their highest priority is to “burn it all to the ground”.
johnson catman says
re Lynna @162:Judge Laurence Silberman is 85 years old. It is time for him to quit yelling at people to get off of his lawn.
Lynna, OM says
johnson @161, thanks for the additional information.
In other news, and as a follow-up to comment 162: Judge Laurence Silberman is 85 years old. He should retire. He is not thinking logically.
Silberman is the recipient of a Lifetime Service Award and a Distinguished Service Award from the Federalist Society chapters of Georgetown and Harvard, as one reader of the TPM article noted.
More comments from readers of the article:
Lynna, OM says
Cartoon: Mitch & filibuster’s senate games
Lynna, OM says
Schadenfreude moment: Mar-a-Lago partially closed due to COVID-19 outbreak: report
Lynna, OM says
Another schadenfreude moment: Trump’s private Boeing 757 sitting idle in disrepair at New York airport
johnson catman says
re Lynna @168:
I would bet that it has been a LOT longer than that since it was used, especially since he had the use of AF1 and Marine1 at his disposal for the previous four years.
tomh says
WaPo:
Ex-Florida state senator paid bogus candidate to ‘siphon votes,’ police say, in race GOP narrowly won
By Katie Shepherd
March 19, 2021
Lynna, OM says
tom @170: Republican election fraud! And unethical behavior that would not be addressed by any of the Republican so-called “election integrity” laws. Figures.
Lynna, OM says
Don’t Buy The Spin: The House Process To Resolve The Iowa 2 Election Is Working Properly
Lynna, OM says
Ted Cruz Crusades Against Voting Rights Claiming Dems Want ‘Child Molesters’ To Get Ballots
Lynna, OM says
Follow-up to comment 173.
Posted by readers of the TPM article:
Lynna, OM says
About time: Defense Sec. Austin replaces Trump appointees on panel to strip Confederate names from bases
Lynna, OM says
Viruses do not get weaker over time, and the COVID-19 pandemic is a prime example
Lynna, OM says
Fauci:
Lynna, OM says
US Secretary of Education cancels $1B of student loan debt
The Department of Education implemented a new strategy focused on helping students defrauded by colleges and universities.
Lynna, OM says
Wonkette:
Link
johnson catman says
re Lynna @179:
How can Perkins refer to Biden and even say that with a straight face? If there was a god, he would have burnt Tony’s tongue out of his mouth for that.
Lynna, OM says
johnson @180:
Perkins demonstrates an astounding amount of cluelessness, and a lack of self-awareness.
I am reminded of Mitch McConnell’s recent statements:
[see comment 172]
Mitch combined lying, hypocrisy, false equivalency, and an up-is-down type of propaganda that echos Perkins’ statement.
Lynna, OM says
Link
Biden and Harris did a great job.
Lynna, OM says
Wonkette: “Heritage Foundation Determined To Stop American Liberals From ‘Canceling’ The British Monarchy”
Link
Lynna, OM says
“Sexual Anguish of Atlanta Suspect Is Familiar Thorn for Evangelicals”
New York Times link
Lynna, OM says
Speaking of the Monarchy (comment 183), here’s a cartoon that explains “the fine points of Prince Charles’s finery:
https://www.newyorker.com/cartoons/blitts-kvetchbook/the-fine-points-of-prince-charless-finery-explained
Lynna, OM says
Trump’s Mar-A-Lago Club To Host Large Event After Staff Infected With Coronavirus
Lynna, OM says
Johnson Peddles Falsehoods Of ‘No Violence’ On Senate Side During Capitol Attack
Lynna, OM says
Follow-up to comment 187.
Blunt Decries ‘Alternative Versions’ Of Capitol Attack After Johnson’s False Claims
Lynna, OM says
Follow-up to comment 187.
Posted by readers of the article:
Follow-up to comment 188, with postings by readers of the article:
Lynna, OM says
Link
Lynna, OM says
https://twitter.com/NelsonforWI/status/1373421314032144386
Good tweet. Good photo of anti-racism billboard.
Lynna, OM says
https://twitter.com/AmandiOnAir/status/1373639730206814216
Photos at the link.
Lynna, OM says
Wonkette: Republican Patriots Pretty Sure Russian Dictator Can Wipe The Floor With [Biden]
Wonkette link
See also: https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1372910156116287490
Lynna, OM says
A reminder: Yesterday was March 20. That was the day that QAnon people claimed Donald Trump would be sworn in as President. That didn’t happen.
I haven’t kept count of the many dates on which QAnon people were sure Trump would be declared president … and then it didn’t happen.
Lynna, OM says
“Pentagon chief in Afghanistan on unannounced visit as deadline to withdraw U.S. troops looms”
Washington Post link
Lynna, OM says
We need to rein in billionaires. Start with South Dakota.
Washington Post link
Lynna, OM says
Vaccinated mothers pass covid antibodies to babies in utero and breastmilk, early studies show.
Washington Post link
Lynna, OM says
Workers at U.S. meat plants, early Covid hot spots, are now getting vaccinated in many states.
New York Times link
Lynna, OM says
Link
See also:
https://twitter.com/coralmerfi/status/1371262453544280064
Lynna, OM says
Follow-up to comment 199.
See also:
https://twitter.com/adhoyo/status/1370156010770477059
Lynna, OM says
Please, no. “Trump adviser says former president will return to social media within months.”
Link
Trump’s return to social media sounds wildly over hyped to me.
Lynna, OM says
Wonkette: “Tomi Lahren Exposes Plan To Secretly Replace Biden With Harris”
Link
tomh says
Trump will be screaming this on his deathbed.
Trump Says the Supreme Court ‘Will Go Down in History’ as ‘Gutless,’ Refuses to Admit He Lost Last November’s Election Fair and Square
snarkrates says
tomh: “Trump will be screaming this on his deathbed.”
I hope he’s screaming on his deathbed, and I hope he doesn’t wait too long.
Lynna, OM says
A paraphrased and summarized fundraising report, based on Politico’s reporting: The Democratic National Committee raised $8.5 million last month, its best-ever February in a non-presidential election year. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee raised about $11.5 million last month, which is also an off-year record. The Republican counterparts have not yet announced their fundraising totals.
Lynna, OM says
Follow-up to tom @203.
Why Trump’s latest ‘illegitimate election’ nonsense matters
There’s a difference between Trump’s exasperating nonsense and lies that put Americans at risk. His latest statement falls into the latter category.
Trump is not just brazenly lying, he is brazenly fomenting violence.
Lynna, OM says
More shenanigans and more vengeance from Trump:
Link
Audio of the podcast is available at the link.
SC (Salty Current) says
Here’s a link to the March 22 Guardian coronavirus world liveblog.
From there:
Also in the Guardian – “Covid: AstraZeneca vaccine 79% effective with no increased blood clot risk – US trial”:
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian – “Trump still being investigated over Capitol riot, top prosecutor says”:
More at the link.
Lynna, OM says
Chuck Todd’s intro to Meet the Press on Sunday:
Commentary:
Link
Chuck Todd has a habit of simplifying issues in ways that favor Republican talking points. He is a dunderhead most of the time.
Lynna, OM says
Saudis propose cease-fire with Yemen’s Houthi rebels
SC (Salty Current) says
From today’s DN! headlines:
Lynna, OM says
Weird, strange … alarming.
Wonkette:
Olson is not dead. No one fired back at him.
Link
Lynna, OM says
A couple of vaccine news updates:
Lynna, OM says
D.C. statehood can no longer be ignored. Will Democrats step up?
Washington Post link to an article by Paul Waldman.
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian world liveblog:
Almost 70% of the 65+ population in the US has received at least one dose, and almost 43% are fully vaccinated.
Lynna, OM says
Why 14 GOP reps balked at condemning Myanmar’s military coup
Reacting to Friday’s House vote, one observer asked, “Is there now a pro-coup caucus?”
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian world liveblog:
blf says
SC@218, According to the track-and-trace app, ICU occupancy in my area (which includes Marseille albeit not Nice (which is now under a “lockdown lite”)) is c.111%. It’s been around 100% for several weeks now, and over 100% for at least the past week (from memory). France as-a-whole is c.90%, a rise from something in the 60%’s over roughly the same time (also from memory).
Besides the dead-snail’s pace of the vaccination programme, what has me very annoyed at the moment is Thousands of revellers flout Covid-19 restrictions to attend Marseille carnival (video): “Authorities in the French city of Marseille have expressed outrage after some 6,000 people gathered for an unauthorised carnival to celebrate the first day of spring. Many of the revellers at the #LaPlaine carnival were not wearing masks, and security forces made several arrests for damage to property while others were fined for flouting coronavirus restrictions.”
SC (Salty Current) says
Amanda Marcotte at Salon – “Republicans have perfected the troll two-step: The art of being a jerk and then playing the victim”:
SC (Salty Current) says
Sorry, I left out:
SC (Salty Current) says
blf @ #219, I’m so sorry you have to live with that. I saw a clip about that Marseille event. At the moment, my COVID fatigue is less acute than my selfish-asshole fatigue.
Lynna, OM says
The rioter next door: How the Dallas suburbs spawned domestic extremists.
Washington Post link
It’s good to know the extent and the depth of the crazy.
SC (Salty Current) says
LOL.
SC (Salty Current) says
Tweet o’ the day.
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says
There’s been a shooting at a supermarket in Boulder, CO, with multiple injuries/deaths. Reports on MSNBC.
Dang.
Lynna, OM says
Humor/satire from Andy Borowitz:
New Yorker link
Lynna, OM says
Follow-up to Nerd’s comment @226.
Witnesses describe chaotic, terrifying scene as shots were fired at grocery store.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/03/22/boulder-shooting/
Lynna, OM says
Hmmm, not quite as described by Ducey.
Huffington Post:
Lynna, OM says
145 House Republicans refuse to say whether they’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19
Lynna, OM says
Cartoon: Sen. Ron Johnson
Lynna, OM says
Republican Dan Crenshaw’s attempt to debate immigration thwarted by interviewer’s facts
Video is available at the link.
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says
Update to my #226. There was a press conference on the CO shooter situation on MSNBC. One police officer dead. Person of interest injured and in custody. Number of injured/dead not released. Rachel suspects multiple deaths due to lack of information.
Threat over.
Lynna, OM says
Link
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says
A second press conference in Boulder. 10 reported deaths including the Officer who was a first responder. Shooter is acknowledged as being in custody.
SC (Salty Current) says
Here’s a link to the March 23 Guardian coronavirus world liveblog.
From there:
SC (Salty Current) says
Also in the Guardian:
“Cern experiment hints at new force of nature”: “Experts reveal ‘cautious excitement’ over unstable particles that fail to decay as standard model suggests.”
“‘What appointments did these dogs have to keep?’: long lunches and brief liaisons in a radical new dogumentary”: “To mark National Puppy Day, Elizabeth Lo’s acclaimed film Stray gives humans rare insight into the canine gaze, courtesy of homeless mutts in Istanbul.”
SC (Salty Current) says
Endorse.
SC (Salty Current) says
HuffPo – “Sidney Powell Says ‘No Reasonable Person’ Would Believe Her Election Fraud Lies”:
johnson catman says
re SC @239:
After the republicans have created millions of people that fit the category of “no reasonable person”, they are now trying to use that as an excuse to deflect any responsibility for their actions. LOCK THEM UP! Or in her case, take all of her assets.
SC (Salty Current) says
JFC.
SC (Salty Current) says
More re #241 – from CNN’s Reliable Sources:
SC (Salty Current) says
Holy shit does Joe Scarborough need to stop talking about immigration.
SC (Salty Current) says
“Navajo Nation has reported 0 new COVID-19 cases for the first time in six months!!!!!”
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian world liveblog:
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian world liveblog:
Lynna, OM says
11 years later, the Affordable Care Act is getting the last laugh
The ACA is increasingly popular, effective, and necessary. Republicans have tried to repeal and sabotage the health care law, but it remains standing.
Lynna, OM says
Republican arguments against DC statehood descend into nonsense
Republicans have had plenty of time to come up with their best arguments against D.C. statehood. They just can’t seem to come up with anything compelling.
Lynna, OM says
Why is Florida’s Ron DeSantis listening to Scott Atlas?
When Atlas finally exited the White House, there was relief in some circles that he might finally stop giving bad advice. Ron DeSantis had other ideas.
“Atlas argued against masks and increased testing, sidelined actual experts, and advocated an indefensible approach to “herd immunity,” in which officials allowed the virus to spread and infect much of the population.”
That sounds like a very good plan to increase the number of more infectious and more deadly variants.
Also, just how misinformed is Governor Ron DeSantis? He’s acting like a fool.
johnson catman says
re Lynna @249:
He’s not acting.
Lynna, OM says
Follow-up to SC @242.
When Fox News did cover the Colorado shooting, they did it in a way that spread misinformation and racism: “Hannity And Bongino Link Colorado Shooting Massacre To Black Lives Matter Protests.”
Link
Lynna, OM says
DeJoy set to unveil plan to finish off the Postal Service. The Senate needs to act now to stop him
Lynna, OM says
A few details about gun laws in Boulder, Colorado:
Link
Lynna, OM says
Biden urges Congress to pass assault weapon ban
Lynna, OM says
Michelle Obama:
Lynna, OM says
Wonkette:
Link
Lynna, OM says
A closer look at Russian propaganda/media, and how it resembles Fox News:
Washington Post link
Lynna, OM says
[sigh] Alabama News:
Boston Globe, with good news:
Lynna, OM says
Follow-up to comment 251, and shades of Sean Hannity showing up in Senate Republicans:
Link
Lynna, OM says
Biden admin issues new guidance speeding up release of unaccompanied kids from HHS custody
That should help.
Lynna, OM says
Pfizer starts early stage trial for oral COVID-19 drug
SC (Salty Current) says
CNN – “‘He cut my underwear. Then he did what he did'”:
Much more at the link.
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian – “Brazil Covid crisis: fury after Bolsonaro says people will soon lead ‘normal lives'”:
SC (Salty Current) says
In the Guardian:
“Israel election: early results suggest extended deadlock”:
This is still developing.
Michael Mann – “It’s not too late for Australia to forestall a dystopian future that alternates between Mad Max and Waterworld”:
“Top Saudi official issued death threat against UN’s Khashoggi investigator”:
“The US has been silent on Honduras’s drug problem, but that might be about to change”:
More at all of the links, of course.
SC (Salty Current) says
Here’s a link to the March 24 Guardian coronavirus world liveblog.
From there:
SC (Salty Current) says
BBC – “Coronavirus: ‘Double mutant’ Covid variant found in India”:
SC (Salty Current) says
Alan Feuer, NYT:
Screenshots atl.
(Also above on the thread is reporting on a hearing called by judge Mehta yesterday about the Sherwin 60 Minutes interview (see #209 above). The DoJ is saying this was unauthorized (and I read yesterday that he’d asked for permission earlier and been denied) and that Sherwin has been referred to the Office of Professional Responsibility.)
johnson catman says
re Lynna @257:
It is hard to push advertisers one way or another when almost half of the country strongly believes the propaganda that is so damaging.
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian world liveblog:
I hope someone’s studying the contrast between Spain, where vaccine uptake seems to be consistently high, and France.
SC (Salty Current) says
Noga Tarnopolsky: “#IsraElex4: 57% of Israelis cast ballots to end Netanyahu’s rule. Its a clear repudiation, even if the opposition is fractured. Netanyahu will try to cobble together an immunity coalition of homophobes, misogynists, Jewish supremacists & Islamists, but the vote is clear.”
SC (Salty Current) says
“Joe Biden is extending the Obamacare enrollment window for a second time — to August 15.
A subtle but consequential move after Donald Trump refused to open the exchanges for special enrollment through the pandemic last year.
ACA grants HHS broad discretion in implementation, which leads to major differences in the way it functions under Dem and GOP presidencies. Trump used that power to undermine it and that held down enrollment. Biden is doing the opposite.”
(My suggestion: That they have forms and set up enrollment information tables at large vaccination sites.)
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian world liveblog:
They’ve included the penultimate sentence every time they report new deaths in Sweden and the last sentence in every post about Sweden for several months. No other country gets these pointless disclaimers.
From Worldometer – total deaths:
Iceland: 29 (85 per 1m)
Norway: 656 (120 per 1m)
Finland: 809 (146 per 1m)
Denmark: 2,405 (414 per 1m)
Sweden: 13,357 (1,317 per 1m – 26th highest in the world)
I’m not sure why these aren’t the appropriate comparisons for Sweden.
SC (Salty Current) says
Mark Levine:
Lynna, OM says
johnson @268: “It is hard to push advertisers one way or another when almost half of the country strongly believes the propaganda that is so damaging.” True. Good point.
SC @272, thanks for posting those statistics. It’s a good comparison. Too many people are giving Sweden approbation that is not deserved.
SC @273, I have relatives that live in NYC. One of them has a vaccination appointment at 5am and one has an appointment Saturday night. At least they are vaccinating people around the clock. As for opening indoor dining and other foolishness … sheesh.
Lynna, OM says
Bad news for Missouri:
More extremists running for office.
SC (Salty Current) says
Yesterday’s tweet o’ the day.
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian world liveblog:
…
blf says
Lynna@274, “I have relatives that live in NYC. One of them has a vaccination appointment at 5am and one has an appointment Saturday night. […] At least they are vaccinating people around the clock.”
Here in France it’s a 9am–5pm operation, weekdays only. (Actually, my village is something like 8:30am–4pm.) That helps the snail’s pace of the effort, albeit the major inhibitor, in my opinion, is the need for a doctor’s appointment so you can be lectured-at why a vaccination is necessary, before being able to make an appointment. Which not only makes things proceed at dead snail’s pace, but does nothing obvious to address the problem it’s presumably meant to address — the very high rate of vaccine hesitancy. (A famous poll back in December found that only c.40% were prepared to be vaccinated (I’ve sometimes accidentally misstated that poll as 40% against — no, it’s only 40% for being vaccinated).)
(Apologies for repeating my rant, but vaccination drive here is so completely fecking stupid and arse-backwards !!!1!)
SC (Salty Current) says
“Israeli pollster Mano Geva notes ‘There remain 450,000 votes to be counted— the equivalent to 11 Knesset seats’.”
Lynna, OM says
blf @278, sorry to hear that the vaccination efforts in France are still moving at a snail’s pace. The rule requiring a conversation with a doctor before making an appointment for vaccination is mind boggling. That’s counter-productive. Your frustration is justified.
In other news, McConnell pretends GOP’s voter-suppression efforts don’t exist
McConnell is defending voter suppression efforts by pretending there are no voter suppression efforts.
JFC. McConnell stole that phrase, “a solution in search of a problem,” from the Democratic Party’s description of Republican efforts to stop so-called “voter fraud.”
Link
Those of us living in a world where facts matter will have to organize to defeat McConnell’s lies, and we will have to counter the Republican organizations that have banded together to push voter-suppression efforts nationwide.
SC (Salty Current) says
blf @ #278:
That’s completely absurd.
Lynna, OM says
Follow-up to comment 280.
More details regarding how totally bizarre the Republican voter-suppression efforts have become:
Link
So now voting on Sunday in unholy?
Lynna, OM says
Follow-up to comment 282.
BTW, so glad to hear that the Georgia legislature got so much pushback about ending Sunday voting that they had to back down.
Now they need to back down on their other voter-suppression plans.
Lynna, OM says
Georgia Legislature Mulls Power Grab Targeting Local Election Officials
Republicans are looking to knock Warnock out of the Senate during the next Georgia Senate election.
Lynna, OM says
The Trump administration hid lots of shady dealings. Some of them are just now coming to light
Lynna, OM says
Megan Rapinoe and other soccer stars headed to Congress and the White House for Equal Pay Day
Lynna, OM says
Republicans are still the party of white grievance, (and that’s the nice way of putting it):
Link
Lynna, OM says
Wonkette:
Link
Lynna, OM says
Wonkette: “More quality rightwing propaganda from Fox News.”
Link
Lynna, OM says
More than 40 states say they will meet or beat Biden’s May 1 deadline for vaccine eligibility for all adults.
New York Times link
SC (Salty Current) says
Moment of zen.
Lynna, OM says
McConnell spiraling into hysteria over potential loss of his Jim Crow filibuster
McConnell is addlepated.
Lynna, OM says
Cartoon: The ballot or the bullet
lumipuna says
From The Guardian’s live coronavirus news:
[“Five cities” refers to four municipalities in Helsinki metropolitan area, plus the southwestern city of Turku]
This whole thing is kind of weird and ass-backwards, and its practical effect won’t be nearly as dramatic as implied above. There’s lots of Finnish media hype and public confusion on this, while the legal proceedings are glacially slow in response to a recent surge of infections.
Basically, the government is seeking to restrict private gatherings, especially indoors but also outdoors. For this end, they drafted an emergency bill that technically forbids people from leaving their homes for the purpose of meeting friends, or any other purpose not specifically exempted. The list of exemptions is long (and the details are still being ironed out) and covers most activities people normally engage in outside of home. Also, it will be nearly unenforceable, as you don’t need any particular proof to assure the police that you’re out on necessary errands, in the unlikely case they will actually have time to question your comings and goings.
In this model, almost any outdoor activity can be billed as necessary outdoor recreation, and gatherings of three will be permitted (with safe distances) during such recreation. The police can mainly just disperse any larger groups of people they find hanging out in public places, and act when people snitch on someone having a house party.
Oh, and non-essential businesses will apparently not be ordered closed. It just seems people would be technically forbidden from visiting them. I honestly hope there will be some clarity on these kind of details as the bill proceeds through the system.
I can almost believe they made this thing deliberately provocative and confusing just to raise everyone’s attention to the ongoing coronavirus emergency.
SC (Salty Current) says
Rachel Maddow’s opening segment last night was excellent, so for some reason MSNBC decided to clip out just the last 6 minutes to make available to the public.
Raw Story – “Maddow explains exactly why John Cornyn is fighting new DOJ nominee — and it has nothing to do with qualifications”:
(There’s a slightly longer clip in their story.)
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian – “‘Saddest March of our lives’: Brazilians lament Covid devastation as critics decry Bolsonaro”:
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian – “Alexei Navalny says health has sharply deteriorated in jail”:
SC (Salty Current) says
From yesterday’s DN! headlines:
SC (Salty Current) says
Here’s a link to the March 25 Guardian coronavirus world liveblog.
From there:
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian world liveblog:
SC (Salty Current) says
Wow.
SC (Salty Current) says
“Just a reminder that the Democrats are one random, awful sudden illness or death away from losing their majority and Breyer should probably consider that.”
Lynna, OM says
Link
Lynna, OM says
Why the prospects for an ‘enormous’ infrastructure bill are improving
The Democrats’ next major challenge is a jobs and infrastructure package. Ironically, the more Republicans reject it, the better its odds of success.
Lynna, OM says
Unemployment claims improve, drop below major threshold
At no point over the course of the last year did the weekly total of first-time unemployment claims drop below 700,000 – until today.
Lynna, OM says
As momentum shifts, the filibuster rule is running out of friends
Every time Senate reformers pick up a new Senate ally, Mitch McConnell’s anxiety level seems to reach a new level.
SC (Salty Current) says
TPM – “Oath Keepers Leader Spoke On Phone With Capitol Rioter During Attack, Feds Allege”:
Very interesting quote atl.
Lynna, OM says
Texas AG Conceals Messages He Sent During Pro-Trump Rally And Insurrection
Lynna, OM says
Follow-up to comment 308.
Comments posted by readers of the TPM article:
SC (Salty Current) says
“#Boom: Biden announces the renewal of US aid to Palestinians two years after Trump cut all ties.”
Biden’s first press conference will begin any moment.
Lynna, OM says
Follow-up to SC’s comment 295.
Posted by a reader at TPM:
Emphasis mine.
Lynna, OM says
‘Most qualified person to do it’: Biden says Harris to lead diplomatic work with Central America
Lynna, OM says
Wonkette: “Hospital Chief Quitfired After Vaccinating Chicago Trump Tower Staff Instead Of Poors”
Link
Lynna, OM says
I like the way President Biden continues to refer to “Trump” as just “Trump” during his first press conference. Biden doesn’t bother with honorifics like “former President Donald Trump.”
Biden spent quite a bit of time criticizing Trump for dismantling a lot of the HHS infrastructure that was meant to handle the influx of unaccompanied minors at the southern border.
Biden also offered examples of the many differences between his approach to immigration and Trump’s cruel approach.
Lynna, OM says
Bits and pieces of news from Biden’s press conference.
Biden said, regarding immigration: “There’s no easy answer.”
Biden set a new goal of 200 million vaccine shots in first 100 days, (the nation is on track to meet that goal).
Biden says he’ll take on the big issues, one by one, and says GOP can join or ‘continue the politics of division’
SC (Salty Current) says
“So this is weird: Netanyahu hasn’t appeared or said a public word since Tuesday night.”
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian world liveblog:
SC (Salty Current) says
Biden’s remarks just now about democracy vs. autocracy just now, while not perfect, are the strongest part of this press conference so far.
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian – “Trump aide concealed work for PR firm and misled court to dodge child support”:
I hope AJ Delgado and her son get every cent.
SC (Salty Current) says
“‘I predict to you, your children or grandchildren are going to be doing their doctoral thesis on the issue of who succeeded, autocracy or democracy? That is what is at stake, not just in China. Look around the world … we gotta prove democracy works’ — Biden”
Video clip atl.
SC (Salty Current) says
Ari Berman:
tomh says
Re: #321 Voting Rights
Manchin Says Any Overhaul of Voting Rights Must Have GOP Support
Laura Litvan
Mar 25 2021
How quaint.
Lynna, OM says
tom, @322, not sure it is only “quaint.” It is also disingenuous.
In other news: Weeping And Gnashing Of Teeth: Mitch Promises Nothing But Apocalyptic Terrors Without Filibuster
Lynna, OM says
Safety measures at the Capitol:
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/house-chamber-bulletproof-doors
Lynna, OM says
Experts estimate that Trump’s handling of COVID-19 pandemic cost 400,000 American lives
John Morales says
In Australian news:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-26/the-base-tapes-secret-recordings-australian-recruitment/13255994
Lynna, OM says
Haven’t gotten the survival check you were promised? Blame the Trumpers at Social Security Admin.
Lynna, OM says
Oh, FFS.
Trump’s secret sit-down with Ohio candidates turns into ‘Hunger Games’
Trump is focused on vengeance, as always. And he is focused on loyalty tests. It’s ridiculous.
Sounds to me like Trump was confused … mean, nasty and confused.
Lynna, OM says
Fox News’s coverage of Biden’s press conference was hilariously petty
Video snippets are available at the link.
Lynna, OM says
An important ruling from the Ninth Circuit: “States can prohibit people from openly carrying guns in public, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday, adding a voice to a heated issue that the U.S. Supreme Court may soon address.”
San Francisco Chronicle link, (requires payment of 99 cents for a 4-week digital subscription.)
Lynna, OM says
Talking Points Memo:
Good.
Lynna, OM says
NBC News:
Also from NBC News:
Lynna, OM says
We soon have to suffer through coverage of yet another border stunt pulled by Republicans.
Link
SC (Salty Current) says
John @ #326, thanks for that link. It seems clearer every day/week/year that the US DoJ’s insistence on calling white supremacists “domestic terrorists” is a political decision. (They reached so far at one point to label animal rights activists international terrorists their arms almost broke off – something about having once printed British pamphlets or protested a British company or some nonsense like that.) These are plainly international white-supremacist terrorist groups and networks, often funded and supported by rightwing governments or parties and with training camps that are basically indistinguishable from ISIS’.
SC (Salty Current) says
Speaking of Australia…
Guardian – “Where ‘freedom’ meets the far right: the hate messages infiltrating Australian anti-lockdown protests”:
Much more atl.
SC (Salty Current) says
Here’s a link to the May 26 Guardian coronavirus world liveblog.
From there:
SC (Salty Current) says
From yesterday’s DN! headlines:
SC (Salty Current) says
CNN – “Georgia state lawmaker arrested protesting voting restriction bill outside governor’s office”:
Video of police arresting her here.
SC (Salty Current) says
Marc Elias: “BREAKING: On behalf of @NewGAProject, @BlackVotersMtr and @RiseFreeOrg, we have sued Georgia for enacting a new voter suppression law that violates the US Constitution and the Voting Rights Act.”
SC (Salty Current) says
More about the second headline @ #337 – DailyKos – “EPA investigation finds private prison profiteer misused toxic pesticide at notorious ICE facility”:
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian world liveblog:
Lynna, OM says
“Republican Sen. Mike Rounds isn’t just opposed to measures intended to prevent gun violence, he’s also taunting Joe Biden in a provocative way.”
Link
Lynna, OM says
Why a red state wants to ignore voters, reject Medicaid expansion
Most Missouri voters backed Medicaid expansion. Missouri’s Republican-dominated legislature doesn’t much care.
Lynna, OM says
Why Trump became the latest Republican to defend Jan. 6 rioters
The pro-rioters contingent in American politics tends to be quite small, and yet, there was Trump last night, defending the Jan. 6 attackers.
Lynna, OM says
Dominion Slaps Fox News With $1.6 Billion Defamation Suit
Lynna, OM says
More disinformation (or at least carelessness when it comes to facts … carelessness that fosters xenophobia) from trumpian dunderheads who continue to plague us even though the Trump administration ended: Trump CDC chief: Coronavirus ‘escaped’ from Chinese lab
The World Health Organization has concluded that theory is “extremely unlikely.”
Lynna, OM says
‘Baked Alaska’ charged for breaching the Capitol, asks judge to remove GPS monitor
A lot of the white nationalists who attacked the Capitol expect special treatment.
Lynna, OM says
How an unpaid bill can lead to prison
Debtors’ prison might sound arcane. But this comic explains how it exists in another guise in America today.
tomh says
California Supreme Court Rules Jailing Someone Just Because They Can’t Afford Cash Bail Is ‘Unconstitutional’
COLIN KALMBACHER Mar 25th, 2021
SC (Salty Current) says
Lynna @ #342, Madison Cawthorn also issued a creepy threat the other day. They’re all Marjorie Greene now.
Lynna @ #347, IIRC he’s also implicated in that “Ricky Vaughn” voter-fraud conspiracy.
SC (Salty Current) says
Peter Doocy from Fox gets to ask a question at a WH press briefing and uses the opportunity to whine, of course. After Biden’s press conference yesterday he held up a binder full of questions he had wanted to ask Biden, but I guess he forgot it at home today.
SC (Salty Current) says
LOL.
Lynna, OM says
SC @350, yep. Sleaze and then more sleaze.
In other news, I like the fact that Nancy Pelosi always has a Plan B.
Dems launch expansive Jan. 6 investigation as commission plans fade
Republicans are balking at a plan for a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrectionist riot. House Democrats are now moving to Plan B.
SC (Salty Current) says
If MSNBC and CNN wanted to show the WH and WH COVID task force briefings live and in their entirety I would be down with that. We’re in the middle of multiple crises here.
Lynna, OM says
After a year of misinformation, Fox News senior employee dies of COVID-19 at the age of 52
Lynna, OM says
SC @354, agreed. I have seen multiple snippets from those briefings shown and discussed on MSNBC, but I think they have slimmed down the coverage too much.
Regarding just one of those important subjects, immigration, here is an excerpt from an article by César Rodriguez:
Link
Lynna, OM says
Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock spoke to reporters about the voter-suppression bill that was signed by Governor Brian Kemp in Georgia:
KG says
Further to SC’s #335:
‘Hectoring’ from conservatives blamed for Asio move to dump term ‘rightwing extremism’. I’ve actually seen no evidence whatever that anyone who could reasonably be described as “far left” has been involved in what I’d call the “pro-Covid” demonstrations. In other demonstrations during lockdowns, sometimes in contravention of lockdown restrictions and maybe even posing a genuine risk, yes, but in none of those claiming the pandemic is a hoax or that the virus has been manufactured to justify such restrictions.
Lynna, OM says
Wonkette: “Poor Lauren Boebert Living In Constant Fear Of Hammer Murderers”
Link
Lynna, OM says
Piracy fears mount as ships take long way around Africa to avoid blocked Suez Canal
Washington Post link
Lynna, OM says
Humor/satire from Andy Borowitz:
New Yorker link
SC (Salty Current) says
OMG this is hilarious.
Lynna, OM says
SC @362, “Big Dan” is big. Other than that, the political ads look like an exercise in fake authenticity.
In other news, here is some voter suppression news from Michigan: MI GOP Has A Plan For Getting Restrictive Voting Measures Around Guv’s Vetos
Lynna, OM says
Follow-up to comment 363.
A reader of the TPM article posted this question and correction:
Lynna, OM says
WHO asks rich countries to donate 10 million vaccine doses to poorer ones
Lynna, OM says
Wonkette:
https://www.wonkette.com/torres-v-madrid
Lynna, OM says
Covid-19 update for the USA: the nation remains on a plateau of more than 55,000 new virus cases per day. That’s dangerous.
New York Times:
SC (Salty Current) says
Dave Wasserman: “Georgia is roughly where Virginia was a decade ago: Republicans still control state government and may be able to redistrict the state to their liking one last time…but long-term/demographically, the writing is kinda on the wall.”
SC (Salty Current) says
Thanks for that link, KG @ #358. I don’t agree with the people who are angry about the timing and political reasons for ditching the previous categories but generally OK with the new ones. Even if more informative labels can be provided in specific cases, “ideologically motivated violent extremism” and “religiously motivated violent extremism” aren’t very descriptive as umbrella categories and would be difficult to disentangle in practice. They seem constructed not just for avoiding explicit mention of far-right movements and insinuating that there are equal threats from the left but for presenting “religiously motivated” threats as solely the province of Islamism.
SC (Salty Current) says
This is very bad.
SC (Salty Current) says
Tweet o’ the day.
SC (Salty Current) says
Carl Quintanilla, CNBC:
SC (Salty Current) says
Eh, scratch #372 – I just looked at the graph again and read some of the responses. There’s definitely improvement, but the statement is a stretch.
SC (Salty Current) says
Kaitlan Collins: “Big — and surprising — news: Biden’s team announces Johnson & Johnson WILL meet its goal of 20 million vaccines in March. Around 11 million will go out next week. This had been in doubt as of just a few days ago, given less than half the 20 million had gone out.”
SC (Salty Current) says
Hillary Clinton: “If you make it a crime to give voters water as they wait in line, you’re not pro-democracy.”
tomh says
A Minnesota man can’t be charged with rape because the woman chose to drink beforehand, court rules
By Marisa Iati, March 26, 2021
Apparently being too drunk to say “no” is the same as saying “yes.”
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian world liveblog:
SC (Salty Current) says
More re Lynna’s #367 – Guardian – “CDC ‘deeply concerned’ about rising Covid cases as vaccinations accelerate”:
3.3 million people were vaccinated today.
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian (support it if you can!) – “Myanmar: Dozens reported killed after military says protesters could be ‘shot in the head'”:
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian – “Editor of top US medical journal put on leave amid outcry over racism podcast”:
SC (Salty Current) says
Here’s a link to the March 27 Guardian coronavirus world liveblog.
From there:
tomh says
Arkansas governor signs medical conscience objections law
By ANDREW DeMILLO March 26 2021
Lynna, OM says
NBC News:
Lynna, OM says
A note on climate diplomacy, from the Associated Press:
Lynna, OM says
Josh Marshall: “Netanyahu May Finally Be Down for the Count”
Link
Lynna, OM says
Reopening too soon: In the race between the virus and vaccinations, the virus is winning
Lynna, OM says
The U.S. Navy has offered to help Egyptian officials to clear the Suez Canal
Lynna, OM says
Link
Video is available at the link. His scars from serving in the U.S. military are huge.
Lynna, OM says
Surviving going against Trump:
Link
Lynna, OM says
Insurrectionist insists that she won’t go to jail because she has ‘blonde hair, white skin’
Lynna, OM says
New Yorker link to an article by Masha Gessen.
Mush more at the link.
blf says
The mildly deranged penguin’s cheedar (cheese-radar, not cheddar (albeit it does find cheddar)) went berserk recently, jumping about the room screaming thousands of kilos of Reblochon Abbaye de Cîteaux were on the loose. This was highly improbable, as there are only three known ways to get the cheese: At a restaurant, In person at the abbey, or — the method the mildly deranged penguin uses — Raid by flying saucer (remember that scene in Life of Brian?… know you know what they were up to!). But the cheedar got more and more frantic, warning there wasn’t much left. Intrigued, I checked… French monks locked down with 2.8 tonnes of cheese pray for buyers: “Raw-milk product normally sold only to restaurants or visitors to Cîteaux Abbey is marketed online”.
They sold all of it within a day. I was too slow, and didn’t get any… the mildly deranged penguin is currently contacting her flying saucer pirates.
blf says
me(actually, probably the whisky, a nice Deanston Single Malt Virgin Oak)@392: know you know → now you know
blf says
Louvre museum makes its entire collection available online:
When I visited the site, I was delighted to see the image thumbnailing the Masterpieces of the Louvre album being one of my own personal favourites, The Seated Scribe. (Sadly, at the moment, the Louvre’s description is not only terse but in French; there is a more detailed description at Ye Pffft! of All Knowledge.)
Lynna, OM says
Why doesn’t she just repeat what Trump actually said to her?
Link
Video is available at the link.
Lynna, OM says
blf @393, not to worry. I spelled “much” as “mush.” Thanks for the cheese and museum information.
Follow-up to comment 395, (posted by readers of the TPM article):
Lynna, OM says
Caligula’s blessing:
Link
Lynna, OM says
Beto O’Rourke shames Ted Cruz over silly border stunt:
That’s right, the Republicans boarded a gun boat decked out with 50-caliber machine guns for their little cruise on the river. Some of the Republicans wore camouflage gear.
Epic takedown, Mr. O’Rourke. Well done.
https://twitter.com/BetoORourke/status/1372279328336191492
Lynna, OM says
Lindsey Graham gets one thing right:
Graham gets all the rest of it wrong:
Link
Lynna, OM says
Wonkette: “Chief Trump Immigration Nazi Starts ACLU, The MAGA Version”
Link
Lynna, OM says
Wonkette:
Lynna, OM says
At least four dead in Nashville after powerful storm triggers flash flooding.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/03/28/tennessee-flooding/
Lynna, OM says
Covid-19 News: Variants and Eased Restrictions Push U.S. Cases Up Again
New York Times link
SC (Salty Current) says
Quoted in Lynna’s #400:
There’s also the grifty, self-dealing American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ), run by Jay Sekulow. It was founded in 1990 explicitly as a reactionary response to the ACLU.
Lynna, OM says
SC @404: “There’s also the grifty, self-dealing American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ), run by Jay Sekulow. It was founded in 1990 explicitly as a reactionary response to the ACLU.”
Right. Thanks. I had forgotten about that one.
In other news: AK GOP Senator Stands By Murkowski Amid Backlash Over Her Vote To Impeach Trump
Lynna, OM says
Bowen Yang Offers Incredibly Powerful Message On ‘SNL’ Against Asian American Hate
Video at the link.
SC (Salty Current) says
I watched the movie Collective over the weekend and recommend it (it’s on Hulu). It’s been nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary and Best International Film. Here’s an interview with the director, but if you’re going to watch the film don’t listen to it until afterwards.
SC (Salty Current) says
CNN – “Bolsonaro ordered to pay ‘moral damages’ to journalist”:
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian – “Troops open fire at funeral as Myanmar mourns bloodiest day since coup”:
SC (Salty Current) says
Here’s a link to the March 29 Guardian coronavirus world liveblog.
From there:
(Mostly from increased supply from J&J.)
SC (Salty Current) says
Vox – “Amazon started a Twitter war because Jeff Bezos was pissed”:
SC (Salty Current) says
HuffPo – “Georgia Voting Law Punished Secretary Of State For Defying Trump: Election Official”:
SC (Salty Current) says
Ah, union busting.
KG says
A bizarre – indeed, farcical – occurrence in Scottish politics, but with deeper implications. Alex Salmond, the former first Minister in the devolved administration, and former leader of the SNP, has left the party and set up his own, called
The We Hate Nicola Sturgeon PartyAlba*, which plans to stand for seats in the “regional list” part of the election, but not in the FPTP constituency section (there’s an explanation of the voting system here, but I’ll go into it further below). Two SNP MPs at Westminster have defected toTWHNSPAlba, but no MSPs at Holyrood yet.This pop-up party needs to get its act together extremely quickly, as party lists of candidates, and election agents, have to be registered by Wednesday this week – Salmond is currently appealing for candidates to come forward. That makes it clear it’s a reaction to Sturgeon surviving the enquiries into the cock-ups over the Scottish Parliament’s investigation into sexual assault and harrassment claims against Salmond, and a subsequent motion of No Confidence. Salmond’s cover story is that the aim is to win regional list seats (the SNP can’t expect many of these, as I’ll explain), and thus form a pro-independence “super-majority”. If this were the real motivation, he’d have set the party up months ago at least – and it would be a transparent attempt to “game” the electoral system. It does reveal a vulnerability of that system.
The Scottish Parliament has 129 seats. 73 are individual constituencies, with the member elected by the FPTP method – voters have one vote for this section, and whichever candidate gets most votes wins the seat. The other 56 are “regional list” seats – 7 seats for each of 8 regions. Parties put up an ordered list of candidates, voters choose a party (independents can stand and are treated as 1-candidate parties), and seats are assigned one at a time by a “modified d’Hondt” system, with the aim that parties’ total number of seats be roughly proportional to their totals in the regional list vote. For each successive seat, each party’s vote is divided by the number of seats it has won in the region so far (including both constituency and list seats), plus 1. Thus on the first round, a party that won 2 constituency seats in the region would have its list vote divided by 3, while a party winning no constituency seats would have it divided by 1 – i.e., left undiminished. Whichever party had the highest total after this procedure would win the first regional list seat, taken by the first candidate on its list. Suppose a party that won no constituency seats won this first regional list seat – then in the contest for the second list seat, its regional vote would be divided by 2; if the party that won 3 constituencies also won the first list seat, its total would be divided by 4. The process continues until all 7 seats have been allocated. Since the SNP wins most constituencies, it starts with a big disadvantage in capturing regional list seats. Indeed, the system was allegedly set up intentionally to guard against an SNP majority (if so, it failed once, in 2011). The actual effects of Salmond’s intervention are hard to predict, as perhaps the description of the system makes clear – how many voters will back
TWHNSPAlba rather than the SNP – or indeed, rather than the other (and non-pop-up) pro-independence party, the Scottish Greens (to which I belong)? There might be more pro-indy MSPs as a result, but if Alba attracts enough votes to deny the SNP or Greens a seat they would otherwise have won, but not enough to win seats itself, thus letting in one of the anti-Indy parties, there could easily be less. (Most SNP voters seem to side with Sturgeon rather than Salmond. Members of my own party, at least from the comments I’ve seen, are sanguine about our own prospects – polls suggest we’ll get several more than our current 5 seats, but I’m not so confident – voters are unpredictable, and the media are all over the affair, probably both because most of them are anti-Indy and because it is undeniably a juicy story.)What Salmond wants is revenge on Sturgeon for failing to squash the allegations** against him, and more specifically (a) to get back into Holyrood and front-line politics himself so he can more effectively continue his harrassment of Sturgeon (he will presumably stand in the north-east, his long-time political base, and is likely to win a seat himself even if
TWHNSPAlba wins no others), and (b) to deny Sturgeon an overall majority and make her dependent on him for a pro-Indy majority. The outcome is most unlikely to be a “super-majority” for independence, as 3 pro-indy parties will be competing for regional list votes instead of 2, and it will be perceived as a split in the SNP, and split parties tend to do poorly. But it does reveal a potential flaw in the electoral system. As far as I can see, there’s nothing to stop a party splitting itself amicably in two, with one of the resulting parties standing only in constituencies, the other only in the regional list section. I guess there are rules governing the registration of parties and candidates, but I don’t know if they are designed to cope with such a ploy. (The Scottish Greens support an “open list” proportional system.)*”Alba” is the Gaelic name for Scotland. In Gaelic, it is pronounced “Al-a-buh”, but Salmond apparently didn’t know this, and has been pronouncing it as you would expect from English orthography (as indeed I would have done, but I’m not setting up a party with that name).
**Salmond was acquited of 9 charges in court, but what he admitted to – inappropriate kissing, cuddling and touching of women (of whom he was the boss) working with him late in the evening, while he was drunk – should have been more than enough to bar him from any position of authority or public trust for life. He’s not just an egotist, whose supposed devotion to the independence cause is clearly a sham, he’s a disgusting sexist creep at the very least.
KG says
Bah! A slip in my explanation of the Scottish electoral system. In:
“3 constituencies” should be “2 constituencies”.
SC (Salty Current) says
George Floyd’s legal team and family and Al Sharpton are speaking ahead of the opening of the Derek Chauvin murder trial. In a few minutes, at 8:46 AM local time, they’re holding a period of silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.
SC (Salty Current) says
Apologies – they’re kneeling for the 8:46. It’s…a very long time.
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian world liveblog:
SC (Salty Current) says
Community Supported Methiculture.
SC (Salty Current) says
The prosecution just showed the video of George Floyd being murdered, with the bystanders shouting for Chauvin to stop suffocating him.
Lynna, OM says
Dominion lawyer explains in detail why Fox may be f*cked
Lynna, OM says
Link
SC (Salty Current) says
From the CDC – vaccine doses (as of yesterday):
Delivered: 180,646,465
Administered: 143,462,691
That alone is more than 37 million doses that have been already been delivered and are waiting to be administered.
Lynna, OM says
Link
Lynna, OM says
Wonkette:
Link
Lynna, OM says
Wonkette:
Link
SC (Salty Current) says
From today’s DN! headlines:
Lynna, OM says
From the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer charged with using excessive force that resulted in the death of George Floyd:
SC (Salty Current) says
Quoted in Lynna’s #426:
This is exactly what happened in Israel and somehow no one learned from it.
LOL.
Lynna, OM says
https://twitter.com/rafsanchez/status/1376520457420177411
Video snippets are available at the link.
Lynna, OM says
Follow-up to comment 430.
Better photos:
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/26/world/gallery/suez-canal-stuck-ship/index.html
Lynna, OM says
Stuck cargo vessel meme:
https://twitter.com/ever__given/status/1375318992550645762
SC (Salty Current) says
BBC – “The UK professor and the fake Russian agent”:
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian world liveblog:
SC (Salty Current) says
More re Lynna’s #424 – Impending doom is trending on Twitter and it’s a good thing.
SC (Salty Current) says
“Newly released footage shows Montgomery County, Maryland police officers berating and handcuffing a five-year-old who ran away from school”
Video atl. RAGE
SC (Salty Current) says
MSNBC is showing a Vaccine Festival in New Orleans, which will last 24 hours. They hope to vaccinate 6,500 people today. It’s in a giant parking lot at a baseball stadium. They’ve had bands and nice weather.
snarkrates says
Received dose 1 of Pfizer vaccine yesterday–no adverse effects beyond a slightly tight shoulder. My wife is tired and her shoulder is sore, but otherwise no adverse effects.
Even Maryland is getting its feces together.
blf says
Thugs trying to convince people not to accept the J&J SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, Michigan must tell Johnson & Johnson vaccine recipients that it was developed using stem cells:
The embedded link is to this NYT article, Far-Right Extremists Move From ‘Stop the Steal’ to Stop the Vaccine:
Amusingly — appropriately, also — I happened to be listening to Grace Petrie singing Make American Hate Again (video).
SC (Salty Current) says
I’ve been trying not to comment about Greenwald, but “no intern she” put me over the edge.
SC (Salty Current) says
Tweet (thread) o’ the day.
(I have an appointment next week.)
Lynna, OM says
To get around GOP filibusters, Schumer eyes new Senate gambit
With the COVID relief package, Dems found a way around a Republican filibuster. Can they do this a couple of additional times? Chuck Schumer has an idea.
SC (Salty Current) says
The witness in the Chauvin trial right now is so nervous and uncomfortable. She really doesn’t want to be there and is answering questions very slowly, but when asked just now about recording things on her cell phone she said: “I always see the police there [at that intersection] and they’re always messing with people. And it’s wrong and it’s not right.”
Lynna, OM says
SC and snarkrates, glad to hear you are getting vaccinated!
In related news: Five Points On Why Former Trump Officials’ Recent COVID Revisionism Doesn’t Cut It
blf says
Some tidbits (headlines mostly) from RWW:
● Marjorie Taylor Greene Says the US Capitol Is , basically what one probably expects, One of them certainly doesn’t exist, and the one other also shouldn’t be there.
● Yet Again, Family Research Council Opposes Reauthorization of Violence Against Women Act, broadly similar to the above nutter’s rant; e.g., transphobia, anti-feminism, and a loonnngggg list of other bigotries.
● Michele Bachmann Says the Election Was , even more vacuous than the preceding two rants. and HR 1 Will Democratic Control
Tonight I made MUSHROOMS! soup from some rather-well-aged MUSHROOMS! and various other elderly — flavorful with recently-acquired sentience, if also a bit blue-green, fuzzy, or screaming — and a bottle of porto (minus the significant part I’m drinking), and and… and it does not help with the above samples of nuttery bigotry and unlogic.
Lynna, OM says
It’s not just Georgia that is going full bore on the voter-suppression tactics:
Link
Lynna, OM says
Link
Lynna, OM says
Yep, still doesn’t think he didn’t anything wrong … so common among insurrectionists:
Link
Lynna, OM says
Pitiful. Trump is now using other people’s weddings at Mar-a-Lago as opportunities to make his usual stupid political speeches full of lies.
Lynna, OM says
Wonkette: Pillow Grifter Timeline Update: Trump Will Now Be President In August
I wouldn’t buy one of those pillows if you paid me to do so. Surely Lindell is ruining not just his reputation but also his business.
Lynna, OM says
Wonkette: If It’s Sunday, Chuck Todd Is Still So Bad At This
Lynna, OM says
Humor/satire from Andy Borowitz:
New Yorker link
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says
Rachel Maddow last night. Billionaires running the rethugs are scared of the voters. And they can’t sell voter suppression to even conservatives. People favor the John Lewis act.
Video
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian – “Why did the Washington Post ban a sexual assault survivor from reporting on rape?”:
More at the link. Great piece by Moira Donegan.
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian – “‘Garbage strike’ and candle-lit vigils as Myanmar death toll passes 500”:
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian – “David Lammy praised for response to radio caller who said he was ‘not English'”:
SC (Salty Current) says
Here’s a link to the March 30 Guardian coronavirus world liveblog.
From there:
SC (Salty Current) says
Matt Viser, WaPo:
WaPo link atl.
SC (Salty Current) says
“A shrinking percentage of Americans are expressing reluctance to get a Covid-19 vaccine: 17%, down from 22% in January. Vaccine hesitancy is declining in most states….”
Helpful graphs and WSJ link atl.
SC (Salty Current) says
The direct examination of the witness in the Derek Chauvin trial, Donald Williams, just concluded a few minutes ago. He’s a former wrestler/MMA fighter. He was emotional at the end of the direct examination, when they played part of his 911 call. He’s now being cross-examined about wrestling. Chauvin’s attorney isn’t getting anywhere so far.
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian world liveblog:
(They rushed to start vaccinating probably earlier than anyone and IIRC some of the vaccinations were mandatory. And still only 4.3 million out of 145 million people have been vaccinated.)
SC (Salty Current) says
Tweet o’ the day.
SC (Salty Current) says
The testimony of the witness now, whose face and full name aren’t being shown because she’s a minor, is heartbreaking.
SC (Salty Current) says
“the clips of testimony at the chauvin trial are devastating. there were more real-time witnesses expressing alarm and distress at what chauvin was doing than had realized—the 911 dispatcher, the martial arts expert…”
The current witness is Darnella Frazier. She’s the one who shot the video, but her testimony isn’t being shown – audio only – because she’s still a minor. I can’t imagine how traumatic this has been for these witnesses to a murder.
SC (Salty Current) says
“The Republican-run Kentucky legislature on Monday easily overrode Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of a notable bill that restricts his ability to fill any vacancies that arise if one of the state’s U.S. senators dies or leaves office early.”
Link atl.
SC (Salty Current) says
Joyce Vance:
Lynna, OM says
Georgia GOP responds to mass shooting with bill to loosen gun laws
SC (Salty Current) says
Josh Marshall at TPM – “Trump is Floundering and Unheard”:
Lynna, OM says
Link
Lynna, OM says
Trump fights former members of his own team in COVID blame game
SC (Salty Current) says
LOL.
SC (Salty Current) says
Every time I flip to MSNBC, Chuck Todd is still there. Can’t click back to CNN fast enough.
SC (Salty Current) says
Paging Carole Cadwalladr…
From the responses:
“What is this like Cameo for racists?”
“Klaneo”
SC (Salty Current) says
Yamiche Alcindor:
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian world liveblog:
SC (Salty Current) says
The witness testimony from these kids is just unbearable. They’re trying everything to get Chauvin to get up off of Floyd, and hitting a wall of callousness or psychopathy.
Lynna, OM says
Conservatives frustrated by popularity of Dems’ voting-rights bill
Conservative researchers found that most Americans, even on the right, liked what Democrats proposed in their “For the People Act.”
Lynna, OM says
On voting restrictions, Florida seems eager to follow Georgia’s lead
As one lawyer put it, “It appears that Florida Republicans have looked at the outrage aimed at Georgia’s suppression law with envy rather than disgust.”
Lynna, OM says
Dominion’s Legal Team Expands Ranks As It Prepares For Possible Wave Of Fresh Lawsuits
Lynna, OM says
Wonkette: Some A-Hole Beat Up An Old Asian Woman In Midtown NYC. Can We Admit There’s A Problem Now?
Lynna, OM says
Details from the trial:
Washington Post link
SC (Salty Current) says
In the analogy Chauvin’s defense is attempting right now with a trained firefighter/EMT is absurd. It’s obvious that Chauvin was the equivalent of a firefighter in uniform standing outside a raging fire and nonchalantly tossing in pieces of furniture.
Lynna, OM says
The Biden administration is set to turn back Donald Trump’s attempts to promote religious conservative causes abroad at great cost to women and LGBTQ individuals, according to the Associated Press.
Link
Good.
Lynna, OM says
From an opinion piece by Matt Bai, written for The Washington Post:
Washington Post link
SC (Salty Current) says
Guardian world liveblog:
John Morales says
In Australian news:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-31/defence-chief-toes-government-line-on-honours/100038490
(Cowardice comes in many forms — moral, in this case)
SC (Salty Current) says
Lynna @ #483, that’s wonderful news. I remember how depressed I was when they put out that report.
SC (Salty Current) says
Uh…what’s happening with Matt Gaetz?
SC (Salty Current) says
OK, here’s the backstory, such as it is – Axios: “Matt Gaetz says he’s under federal investigation for sexual misconduct.”
SC (Salty Current) says
More: “NEW: DOJ is investigating Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) for trafficking, related to his conduct with a 17-yr-old girl. The investigation was opened under AG Bill Barr and briefed to senior Trump DOJ officials….”
NYT link atl.
SC (Salty Current) says
“…here’s the guy whose investigation matt got sucked into. sounds like a bad set of facts for a congressman to be near to….”
raven says
Might as well pile on.
This source isn’t behind a pay wall like the NYTimes one.
He is reported elsewhere as thinking about quiting the House to work for Newsmax, a troll site.
He has always been a creepy guy.
We are about to find out just how creepy he is.
SC (Salty Current) says
Hee.
timgueguen says
Gaetz appeared on Tucker Carlson’s show tonight. After the interview Carlson called it the weirdest interview that he’d ever aired.
timgueguen says
Talking Points Memo’s piece on the Carlson interview.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/gaetz-implodes-in-surreal-tucker-carlson-appearance
SC (Salty Current) says
From timgueguen’s link @ #495:
Comes the same day as this story:
Not sure what the Florida FBI or individual agents are up to in either case (to the extent either tale can be believed).
Also:
McGee told the Daily Beast the claim was “completely, totally false,” and said “This is a blatant attempt to distract from the fact that Matt Gaetz is apparently about to indicted for sex trafficking underage girls.”
SC (Salty Current) says
From yesterday’s DN! headlines:
SC (Salty Current) says
More about the killing of Victoria Salazar – AJ – “Death of Victoria Salazar ignites more outrage in Mexico”:
SC (Salty Current) says
BBC – “Brazil: Political crisis and Covid surge rock Bolsonaro”: