/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/4M6Z6EQ5CRMIVCSYRE2NGFF74I.jpg)
Thursday, September 30, 2021
Democrats weigh first nationwide fee on plastic in U.S. budget negotiations | Reuters
… "That pollution chokes our oceans, hastens climate change, and threatens Americans' well-being, and it's the plastics industry that should cover the cost of the damage," Whitehouse said...
‘Racism is rampant’: Alien Weaponry, the metal band standing up for Māori culture
The New Zealand trio have gone global thanks to their forthright Māori-language songs, which confront colonial history and ongoing inequality…
Trump May Have Let Slip Details Of His Election Scheme As He Attacked Georgia Governor | HuffPost
…Trump during his rally in Perry, Georgia, on Saturday twice stated that he had asked Kemp to call a "special election" — a request that would mesh with some of his advisers' recommendations to him to declare martial law in a handful of states he narrowly lost and to force them to hold new elections…
The Racist ‘Great Replacement’ Conspiracy Theory Is Becoming A Mainstream GOP Talking Point | Talking Points Memo
… "We've always wanted to keep immigrants out. We've always wanted to keep Black and brown people out. We've always wanted to keep their numbers low and disempowered. But now we have a reason to do it in the form of the 'great replacement' conspiracy theory."…
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/the-racist-great-replacement-conspiracy-theory-is-becoming-a-mainstream-gop-talking-point
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/the-racist-great-replacement-conspiracy-theory-is-becoming-a-mainstream-gop-talking-point
MAGA Fan Behind Arizona Audit Crushes Yet Another Pro-Trump Conspiracy Theory | HuffPost
Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan says a memo circulating in right-wing media isn't from him...
Biden infrastructure plan wouldn’t establish a per-mile driving tax - PolitiFact
… "The claim is a ridiculous distortion," said Robert Poole, director of transportation policy at the Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank.
The purpose of the pilot program would be to test whether a mileage fee would be a viable way to support the Highway Trust Fund in lieu of the current gasoline tax. The fee has long been discussed as a means of replacing the gas tax as the auto industry moves toward electric cars…
Elizabeth Warren tells Fed chair he is ‘dangerous’ and opposes renomination
"Your record gives me grave concerns," the Massachusetts Democrat said. "Over and over, you have acted to make our banking system less safe, and that makes you a dangerous man to head up the Fed, and it's why I will oppose your renomination."
Despite Arrests And Setbacks, Far-Right Proud Boys Press New Ambitions : NPR
…Stall and Miller said the Proud Boys have moved beyond their singular focus on street fights against antifa activists, and are now pursuing a deliberate strategy to forge alliances with disparate elements on the right...
'No major incidents of illegal activity': DHS told Pentagon as pro-Trump mob breached Capitol - POLITICO
…"It was immediately clear that their primary goal was to defeat our perimeter as quickly as possible and to get past the police line," Sund testified. "This mob was like nothing I have seen in my law enforcement career. The group consisted of thousands of well-coordinated, well-equipped violent criminals. They had weapons, chemical munitions, protective equipment, explosives, and climbing gear. A number of them were wearing radio earpieces indicating a high level of coordination."…
We now know why Biden was in a hurry to exit Afghanistan.
He made several missteps, but on the big picture, he was right...
Closest Known Relatives of Virus Behind COVID-19 Found in Laos - Scientific American
…"When SARS-CoV-2 was first sequenced, the receptor binding domain didn't really look like anything we'd seen before," says Edward Holmes, a virologist at the University of Sydney in Australia. This caused some people to speculate that the virus had been created in a laboratory. But the Laos coronaviruses confirm these parts of SARS-CoV-2 exist in nature, he says…
Wednesday, September 29, 2021
Florida bars state agencies from assisting with Biden immigration policies | TheHill
…But a recent court ruling from the Fifth Circuit noted that the administration has the discretion under the provision of the law cited by Florida to allow some migrants to enter the country to pursue asylum claims without holding them in immigration detention.
Investors with $1.6 trillion in assets push Congress to back paid leave | Reuters
… The more than 100 investors, which include public pension funds, state treasurers and asset managers, said a paid leave policy would help to improve the U.S. economy and make the companies in which they hold shares perform better.
"It's an economic security issue," said Wisconsin State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski. "We have seen through the pandemic that the U.S. not having this policy has taken women, for example, out of the workforce.../cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/THXEKCGB2RMFNBFJVJ6BLDYJ4I.jpg)
How to use your smartphone to identify objects | Popular Science
Your smartphone may know what it is, even if you don't…
Republican rep wants a Biden-Trump rematch ... in 2021
Paul Gosar wants Congress to somehow set a Biden-Trump rematch, not for 2024, but for later this year. He didn't appear to be kidding...
Republicans block measure to fund US government beyond Thursday
…Republicans have refused to vote with Democrats on the debt ceiling despite Democrats doing so under the Trump administration, a time when Republican tax cuts added to the national debt…
The Lie About the Supreme Court Everyone Pretends to Believe - The Atlantic
…What I take exception to is the demand from judges and justices that the public acquiesce to their self-delusion that they are wise sages who hold themselves above the vulgarities of partisan politics, even as they deliver sweeping victories to a conservative movement and Republican Party that have worked for half a century to achieve those victories...
Republicans Filibuster Bill Averting Government Shutdown, Debt Default | HuffPost
…With Republicans dug in over the debt limit and unwilling to bend to pressure from top White House officials and business leaders, Democrats will likely be forced to take up a bill with GOP support that funds the government through December and leaves the debt ceiling issue unresolved ― for now…
Slow pace of vaccinations is largest drag on the economy in survey of business leaders
Corporate leaders are far less bullish on the economic recovery than they were back in the spring — and they fear that vaccine holdouts could stall or even reverse the progress that has been made...
Americans’ fortunes soared during the pandemic. Some lawmakers see lasting lessons. - POLITICO
Key aspects of the economy are doing better than before the pandemic, which supporters say shows how government spending can help…
Amy Coney Barrett sullies the Supreme Court | TheHill
…Barrett's appointment and her ill-timed assertion of the court's nonpartisanship has damaged one more institution of government. At the start of the court's new term, public approval of the court fell to 49 percent, down from 66 percent last year. Paying attention to public opinion is important…https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/574090-amy-coney-barrett-sullies-the-supreme-court
What Republicans choose to forget about their regressive tax breaks
…But Toomey's rhetoric was plainly wrong. The senator pointed to job growth and GDP growth, so let's consider both in more detail…
How Biden's massive infrastructure plans could change your life - Axios
Here's how your life could change if even some of the measures get to Biden's desk…
CIA officials under Trump discussed assassinating Julian Assange – report
Mike Pompeo and officials requested 'options' for killing Assange following WikiLeaks' publication of CIA hacking tools, report says…
Lead Found in Blood of Half of Kids Under 6 in the US: Study
Children living in older houses and poorer communities were more likely to have elevated blood lead levels...
Why Biden says his plan costs 'nothing' (and why he's right)
When the president insists the Democrats' $3.5 trillion plan will cost "nothing," he has a point. It all comes down to net and gross costs...
In 'Dopamine Nation,' Overabundance Keeps Us Craving More (Terry Gross; Fresh Air podcast)
Human beings are programmed to approach pleasure and avoid pain. It's an instinct that dates back millions of years, to a time when people needed to actively seek food, clothing and shelter every day, or risk death.
But psychiatrist Anna Lembke says that in today's world, such basic needs are often readily available — which changes the equation.
"Living in this modern age is very challenging. ... We're now having to cope with: How do I live in a world in which everything is provided?" Lembke says. "And if I consume too much of it — which my reflexes compel me to do — I'm going to be even more unhappy."
Lembke is the medical director of addiction medicine at Stanford University and chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. Her new book, Dopamine Nation, explores the interconnection of pleasure and pain in the brain and helps explain addictive behaviors — not just to drugs and alcohol, but also to food, sex and smart phones.
Lembke says that her patients who are struggling with substance abuse often believe their addictions are fueled by depression, anxiety and insomnia. But she maintains that the reverse is often true: Addictions can become the cause of pain — not the relief from it. That's because the behavior triggers, among other things, an initial response of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which floods the brain with pleasure. But once the dopamine wears off, a person is often left feeling worse than before.
"They start out using the drug in order to feel good or in order to experience less pain," Lembke says. "Over time, with repeated exposure, that drug works less and less well. But they find themselves unable to stop, because when they're not using, then they're in a state of a dopamine deficit."
Interview:
But psychiatrist Anna Lembke says that in today's world, such basic needs are often readily available — which changes the equation.
"Living in this modern age is very challenging. ... We're now having to cope with: How do I live in a world in which everything is provided?" Lembke says. "And if I consume too much of it — which my reflexes compel me to do — I'm going to be even more unhappy."
Lembke is the medical director of addiction medicine at Stanford University and chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. Her new book, Dopamine Nation, explores the interconnection of pleasure and pain in the brain and helps explain addictive behaviors — not just to drugs and alcohol, but also to food, sex and smart phones.
Lembke says that her patients who are struggling with substance abuse often believe their addictions are fueled by depression, anxiety and insomnia. But she maintains that the reverse is often true: Addictions can become the cause of pain — not the relief from it. That's because the behavior triggers, among other things, an initial response of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which floods the brain with pleasure. But once the dopamine wears off, a person is often left feeling worse than before.
"They start out using the drug in order to feel good or in order to experience less pain," Lembke says. "Over time, with repeated exposure, that drug works less and less well. But they find themselves unable to stop, because when they're not using, then they're in a state of a dopamine deficit."
Interview:
Tuesday, September 28, 2021
Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Buddies Tried to Get the VA to Sell Access to Veterans’ Medical Records — ProPublica
A congressional investigation prompted by ProPublica's reporting found Trump's "Mar-a-Lago crowd," wealthy civilians with no U.S. government or military experience, pursued a plan to monetize veterans' medical data…
The US has terrible family policies. How do expats fare abroad?
…An instant change: the family went from spending $1,400 a month on their daughter's childcare – and preparing to pay the same for their son when he started preschool – to paying €373 ($438) a month for both children. In Ireland, families also collect a €140 ($164) child benefit each month until their children turn 16. "I remember thinking: 'what?!' you just get money?" Dubois said…
…
iOS 15: Hide My Mail creates temporary email addresses
…These burner emails are good for signing up in forms on the web that you might not want to share your main email address with…
Biden could end the debt ceiling and avoid a 2021 government shutdown all by himself - Vox
Minting the trillion-dollar coin, the 14th Amendment, and other ways to finally kill the debt ceiling...:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69915401/184774992.0.jpg)
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22684328/us-debt-ceiling-government-shutdown-biden-democrats
Trump's new interviews and appearances show that a storm is brewing - CNN
… Cowardly"
The "right-wing media, with a few honorable exceptions, is one giant safe space for the Big Lie," historian and "On Tyranny" author Timothy Snyder told me. So the reality-based press needs to make "democracy the story," he said, because elements of the GOP are actively working to subvert future elections through laws, regulations and propaganda efforts. Snyder quite realistically described how a presidential loser could be cast as the winner in 2024. "That is what's happening right before our eyes right now," he said, "and we're just too cowardly to look at it."…
Monday, September 27, 2021
Chris Wallace grills Greg Abbott for allowing 15,000 rapes before signing 6-week abortion ban - Raw Story - Celebrating 17 Years of Independent Journalism
"And almost everyone says that's a severe undercount. There are a lot more cases that just aren't reported."
https://www.rawstory.com/chris-wallace-greg-abbott-abortion/
https://www.rawstory.com/chris-wallace-greg-abbott-abortion/
Laugh at the outrage over ‘sexy seahorses’ – but there’s nothing funny about conservatives trying to rewrite history
The moms have been very methodical: they've sent the Tennessee department of education a detailed spreadsheet outlining their complaints about the books being foisted on their children. It makes for unintentionally hilarious reading. A book about Galileo is "anti-church". A book about seahorses contains too many details about the mating rituals of seahorses. A book about Native Americans is "divisive" and "paints white people in negative light". A book about Ruby Bridges, the first Black child to integrate an all-white public elementary school, is "divisive". (Racists love using the word "divisive", have you noticed? How dare you bring up slavery and segregation! You're being divisive!) A book about Greek mythology is a little too "graphic and scary". A book about Martin Luther King contains "photographs of political violence". The whole thing reads like the unhinged ravings of a book club from hell.
Two disbarred lawyers sued a Texas doctor who performed an abortion. Flustered ‘pro-lifers’ are backpedaling
…Interestingly, the anti-choice movement doesn't seem entirely happy that the lawsuits that enforce the abortion ban they championed are now actually arriving in Texas courts. John Sego, a legislative director of the anti-choice group Texas Right to Life, which supports SB8, expressed displeasure that the law is being enforced – well, exactly the way it was designed…
Marjorie Taylor Greene's 'good Christian' abortion meltdown
…Deb Dingell's Christianity would seem to be more inclusive — her definition of loving thy neighbor translates politically into policy (same-sex marriage, abortion rights, etc.) that Marjorie Taylor Greene abhors. But nonetheless, it also, inadvertently, reinforces one of the chief tenets of white Christian nationalism — the idea that Christianity has a monopoly on virtue…
Sunday, September 26, 2021
A Love Letter to #Exvangelicals and Those Deconstructing their Toxic Faith (Seth Andrews, The Thinking Atheist podcast)
Andrew Seidel has penned a latter for Religion Dispatches that serves as an encouragement to exvangelicals. In this (free) short bonus show, with their permission, I read the text of that letter.
Interview:
Read the Letter:
Women Beyond Belief (Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freethought Radio podcast)
This week, we talk about the religious attack on abortion rights. FFRF attorney Liz Cavell explains FFRF's friend-of-the court brief we filed at the U.S. Supreme Court challenging Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban. Then we talk with Mandisa Thomas, founder and president of Black Nonbelievers about the "Women of Color Beyond Belief” conference in Chicago.
Interview:
Christian Apologist Josh McDowell Just Realized He‘s Racist (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Athiest podast #393)
— Creationist Kent Hovind will spend a month in jail for domestic violence. (1:50)
— Christian apologist Josh McDowell made racist comments at a conference, and he’s now stepping back from his ministry. (9:40)
— Is it really sticking it to Chick-fil-A if you get a sandwich from them on a Sunday? (34:55)
— The Transformed Wife, Lori Alexander, wants you to know that love isn’t a prerequisite for marriage. (40:32)
— Benet Academy in Illinois hired, fired, then rehired a lesbian lacrosse coach. And here’s a link to Jessica’s interview with comedian and Benet grad Cameron Esposito. (46:24)
— Can a middle school principal be fired for what he says in the pulpit as a pastor? (59:30)
— MAGA cultist Pastor Robert Jeffress admitted there’s no “credible religious argument” against COVID vaccines. (1:08:12)
— An Italian priest was arrested for stealing Church cash for a drug-fueled gay orgy. (1:10:19)
— Christian apologist Josh McDowell made racist comments at a conference, and he’s now stepping back from his ministry. (9:40)
— Is it really sticking it to Chick-fil-A if you get a sandwich from them on a Sunday? (34:55)
— The Transformed Wife, Lori Alexander, wants you to know that love isn’t a prerequisite for marriage. (40:32)
— Benet Academy in Illinois hired, fired, then rehired a lesbian lacrosse coach. And here’s a link to Jessica’s interview with comedian and Benet grad Cameron Esposito. (46:24)
— Can a middle school principal be fired for what he says in the pulpit as a pastor? (59:30)
— MAGA cultist Pastor Robert Jeffress admitted there’s no “credible religious argument” against COVID vaccines. (1:08:12)
— An Italian priest was arrested for stealing Church cash for a drug-fueled gay orgy. (1:10:19)
Interview:
GOP to step up 2022 poll watching efforts in Michigan and across US
…Mark Brewer, a former chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party who specializes in election law, said Findlay is correct that many Republican poll watchers in Michigan "had no idea what they were doing." They do need better training, he said. But under the federal consent order, "what they were hampered from doing was harassing Black voters," Brewer said...
House Democrats vote to establish federal right to abortion
"Roe v Wade was not the beginning of women having abortions," said Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, a Democrat from Illinois. "It was the end of women dying from abortions."
“Humane immigration and salad vaccination.” (Pod Save America podcast)
President Biden tries to unify Democrats around his economic plan, former White House domestic policy director Cecilia Muñoz joins to discuss what the Administration can do about the border and immigration, and Jon and Dan break down this week’s wildest right-wing conspiracy in a new segment called Shit Your Uncle’s Posting.
Interview:
Disgraced Ex-President Sues Niece Mary Trump (Opening Arguments podcast OA528)
...for... revealing the depths of the Trump family tax crimes. This suit has not been reported very well in the media. Andrew has the breakdown, and the main takeaway that should be the headline everywhere this is covered. But that's not all the Trump related news! Indeed we've got two more stories somehow crammed into this episode. They involve two "bad documents" as we call them here on the show. The Dominion letter and the Eastman memo. One reveals the election lies were known bull shit and the other is a blueprint for a coup. Yikes...
Interview:
Saturday, September 25, 2021
The News Roundup — Domestic (The 1A) 2021-09-24
The FDA authorized a booster shot of the Pfizer vaccine for people aged 65 and older. The company is also claiming that its vaccine is safe for children. Dr. Anthony Fauci says it could be available in “weeks,” in time for Halloween.
Haitian migrants are crammed into a tent city at the Texas border. Some have taken refuge under a bridge and have been sheltering in tents for more than a week. The Biden administration has begun flying some of them back to the island nation.
Two disbarred lawyers have filed separate suits against a Texas doctor who publicly wrote about performing an abortion. Texas recently passed some of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the country.
Interview:
Haitian migrants are crammed into a tent city at the Texas border. Some have taken refuge under a bridge and have been sheltering in tents for more than a week. The Biden administration has begun flying some of them back to the island nation.
Two disbarred lawyers have filed separate suits against a Texas doctor who publicly wrote about performing an abortion. Texas recently passed some of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the country.
Interview:
The News Roundup — International (The 1A) 2021-09-24
President Joe Biden visited the U.N. this week and promised attendees a decade of “relentless diplomacy.” In his speech to the assembly, the president promised to double the U.S.’s donation of COVID-19 vaccine doses.
Those involved in global markets are on edge watching what’s happening as Evergrande, a huge Chinese property company, flirts with defaulting on its debts.
The party supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin won a majority of seats in the Russian parliament. The election, however, was reportedly marred by fraud with attacks on tech companies like Apple and Google for restricting access to a voting coordination app backed by opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Interview:
Those involved in global markets are on edge watching what’s happening as Evergrande, a huge Chinese property company, flirts with defaulting on its debts.
The party supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin won a majority of seats in the Russian parliament. The election, however, was reportedly marred by fraud with attacks on tech companies like Apple and Google for restricting access to a voting coordination app backed by opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Interview:
Aggravated Naiveté (Allison Gill; Cleanup on Aisle 45 podcast, episode 36)
This week: Weisselberg’s attorney says that there is strong reason to believe more indictments are coming from the Trump Org investigation; many federal agencies adopted policies explicitly prohibiting the use of “chokeholds” and “carotid restraints” unless deadly force is authorized; Randall Eliason joins us to talk about Durham’s flimsy Sussman indictment; plus five more Biden nominations are announced. 
Interview:
The Hilarious Legal Battle Over ‘OlneyFans‘ Parody Article (Opening Arguments podcast OA527)
When the Tacoma Torch posted this hilarious parody news story, the Olney Community Baseball Team responded in the worst possible way – they had their lawyer try to intimidate the satirical site into silence. What the hell were they thinking? It only got more hilarious from there. Listen in for Andrew's breakdown
In the first segment, we go over some great listener feedback, including an email from the person who unmasked Terpsichore Maras. And several thoughtful, important missives from some of our transmasculine listeners on the language around the Texas Abortion Bill coverage. Then, because Andrew has apparently been taking some time management enhancing drugs or something, we get a WILDCARD segment on some really terrible people involved in the insurrection being allowed back into polite society like nothing ever happened.
Interview:
In the first segment, we go over some great listener feedback, including an email from the person who unmasked Terpsichore Maras. And several thoughtful, important missives from some of our transmasculine listeners on the language around the Texas Abortion Bill coverage. Then, because Andrew has apparently been taking some time management enhancing drugs or something, we get a WILDCARD segment on some really terrible people involved in the insurrection being allowed back into polite society like nothing ever happened.
Interview:
Opinion | The Arizona audit’s conclusion backfires on Trump — and wrecks a big GOP lie - The Washington Post
… The conclusion to this ugly saga did backfire, in that it blew up efforts to sustain the big lie about 2020. But the real story here is that it blows up the big lie that Republicans investigating "election fraud" are merely trying to restore confidence in our elections, when in fact they continue to try to undermine it. And that story isn't going away...
Adam Kinzinger: Republicans Are ‘Frigging Crazy’ - The Atlantic
"Madison Cawthorn can invoke coming bloodshed, and Paul Gosar can flirt with white nationalism," he said, naming two of his more extremist colleagues, "and they're signing a letter asking to have me kicked out of the caucus. This is how far the Republican Party has fallen. They call me a RINO"—a Republican in Name Only—"but I haven't changed. The Republican Party has changed into an authoritarian Trump organization. They're the RINOs. Trump is a RINO."
McCarthy’s misleading claim that 2019 debt-ceiling hike paid for all of Trump’s policies - The Washington Post
"… the fiscal impacts of policies enacted during one administration do not end when the next president is sworn in, and increasing the debt limit allows the government to pay bills incurred as a result of both past Republican and Democratic policies."…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/09/23/mccarthys-misleading-claim-that-2019-debt-ceiling-hike-paid-all-trumps-policies/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/09/23/mccarthys-misleading-claim-that-2019-debt-ceiling-hike-paid-all-trumps-policies/
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