Saturday, April 27, 2024
Delta plane's emergency slide falls off during flight - ABC News
The 33-year-old plane was taken out of service and the passengers were placed on another flight to Los Angeles, according to the FAA...
Mike Johnson's threat of the National Guard against Columbia student protests is chilling
These Republicans' calls for troops to be sent in to repress peaceful student protests are incredibly chilling. They also reflect the GOP's generally extreme attitudes on the Israel-Hamas war and intolerance of rhetoric remotely critical of Israel. For Johnson, trying to seize control of a wedge issue for Democrats using aggressive law-and-order rhetoric also provides a convenient opportunity for political stagecraft as he faces internal dissent in the House...
Trump’s potential plan for Fed raises alarms | The Hill
"If it becomes clear that there's going to be a Fed chair that answers to the president, I would expect a dramatic reaction in the markets and the White House would have to deal with that," said Ian Katz, director at research consultancy Capital Alpha Partners...
US states sue over agency rule on protections for workers who get abortions | Reuters
They said that being forced to accommodate state workers' abortions would conflict with state laws barring the use of public funds to provide abortions...
Bans
An abortion is a procedure to end a pregnancy. It can be done two different ways: Medication abortion, which uses medicines to end the pregnancy. It is sometimes called a "medical abortion" or "abortion with pills." Procedural abortion, a procedure to remove the pregnancy from the uterus. It is sometimes called a "surgical abortion."
Coal-fired plants will have to capture emissions or shut down, says strict new EPA rule | PBS NewsHour
"One of the biggest environmental challenges facing our nation is man-made pollution that damages our air, our water and our land," Regan said in a speech at Howard University. "Not only is this pollution a major threat to public health — it's pushing our planet to the brink."…
Friday, April 26, 2024
US supreme court to decide on ex-president’s claim of immunity
Regardless of its ruling in the Trump case, Waldman said, the supreme court had now "given Donald Trump what he craved most: time.
"Smith first asked for the justices to get involved last December. Instead, they stayed their hand, and the DC circuit court of appeals unanimously ruled against Trump" in early February.
"Rather than affirming that ruling, or unfreezing the trial, the court [said in late February it would] hear the case on the very last day set for oral arguments this term, 25 April. All the while they purr that they are acting in an 'expedited' manner...
World’s billionaires should pay minimum 2% wealth tax, say G20 ministers
Brazil, Germany, Spain and South Africa sign motion for fairer tax system to deliver £250bn a year extra to fight poverty and climate crisis…
Michigan doctor who revealed Flint water crisis now takes on child poverty
In January Hanna-Attisha launched RX Kids, a program that gives new moms one year of guaranteed, no-questions-asked income. Through a combination of state and philanthropic funding, all pregnant and new moms – regardless of income – in Flint are eligible for a one-time payment of $1,500 during their pregnancy and $500 a month for the first year of their baby's lives.
"It's about not being OK with poisoned water and it's about not being OK with babies growing up in poverty," Hanna-Attisha said...
Cost of developing new drugs may be far lower than industry claims, trial reveals
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is challenging drug companies to be transparent about the cost of trials, which has always been shrouded in secrecy. Its own bill for landmark trials of a four-drug combination treatment for drug-resistant tuberculosis came to €34m (£29m).
Current estimates for research and development of new medicines range from €40m to €3.9bn. The extortionate cost of trials is used to justify high prices of new medicines, but companies do not publish either the topline or a breakdown of their spending…
Trump CAUGHT in NEW Possible Hush Money Scheme
Did Trump use a company controlled by his campaign treasurer to funnel money and jobs to his former White House staff in return for them not testifying against him including before the Jan6 Committee? Michael Popok breaks down “Red Curve Solutions” controlled by Trump treasurer, Brad Crate taking in millions of Trump PAC dollars and then offering jobs to people like Mark Meadows’ former assistant Cassidy Hutchinson if she didn’t testify against Trump.
The Supreme Court is likely to place Donald Trump above the law in its immunity case - Vox
It's unclear if the Court will explicitly hold that Trump could commit crimes with impunity, or if they'll just delay his trial so long that it doesn't matter...
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DeSantis: Florida ‘will not comply’ with new Biden Title IX rules | The Hill
"The Department crafted the final Title IX regulations following a rigorous process to give complete effect to the Title IX statutory guarantee that no person experiences sex discrimination in federally funded education," a U.S. Department of Education spokesperson said in an emailed statement to The Hill Thursday.
"As a condition of receiving federal funds, all federally funded schools are obligated to comply with these final regulations and we look forward to working with school communities all across the country to ensure the Title IX guarantee of nondiscrimination in school is every student's experience."…
Takeaways from the Supreme Court arguments on Trump’s absolute immunity claims | CNN Politics
Sauer's willingness to commit to the idea that some allegations in the indictment weren't protected by immunity was an extraordinary walk back of what had been the former president's position up to that point.
But the Trump lawyer may be hoping that the move will encourage the justices to order more proceedings on deciding what's private and what's public in the indictment, a move that could seriously delay the case's march to trial...
The serious point at the heart of Biden’s latest anti-Trump joke
"[W]hen the pandemic hit, Trump failed the most basic duty any president owes the American people: a duty to care and a duty to respond. Remember when he told us, 'Don't worry; this will all be over by Easter'? Remember when he told us, literally, inject bleach? ... Think about it. Because he failed to care, not only did people die, but millions of Americans lost their jobs, their homes, their livelihoods."
Biden NABTU Speech
President Biden is leading an economic boom, reducing the federal deficit, and delivering on infrastructure. Trump still thinks windmills cause cancer, advocates injecting yourself with bleach, and threatens to cut Social Security and Medicare. One's a leader, one's a loser.
Opinion | These legislators opposed Ukraine aid and their own states’ interests - The Washington Post
Many Americans don't realize that the great majority of the military aid Congress approves for Ukraine stays right here in America — replenishing U.S. weapons stockpiles, strengthening our defense industrial base and creating good manufacturing jobs for American workers...
Republican framing of Trump's NY trial not convincing 2024 voters
In other words, as Trump insists he did absolutely nothing wrong in this criminal case, only about a fifth of the public believes him...
Iran expands public crackdown on women and girls, sparking public anger - The Washington Post
"When I insisted that I pay my taxes and I have the right to use the metro, they violently took me to a room. They hit me with an electric shocker," she wrote on X. "The whole time, they restrained my arms and one of the officers sexually assaulted me."
Conservative judge scolds SCOTUS for missing the 'only question' on Trump that matters - Raw Story
"Whether undertaken in his or her 'official,' 'candidate,' or 'personal' capacity, a President of the United States has never been and can never be immune from prosecution (after leaving office), for having attempted to remain in power notwithstanding the election of that President's successor by the American People," wrote Luttig. "Consequently, there is no reason whatsoever for the Supreme Court to remand to the lower courts for a determination of which of the alleged criminal acts might have been personal and which might have been official."…
Biden's happy polling surprise, thanks to RFK Jr.
A trio of recent polls shows that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s independent candidacy may be hurting former President Trump more than President Biden…
Supreme Court appears skeptical of blanket immunity for a former president : NPR
Without presidential immunity, Scharf contends, "you end up in a scenario where presidents will be paralyzed by the fear of post-election criminal prosecutions, and the ability of the president to discharge his duties in a vigorous and effective way will be forever crippled."
Not so, counters Peter Keisler, who served as a top Justice Department official in President George W. Bush's administration: "You don't protect the presidency by immunizing somebody who tries to steal it."…
Thursday, April 25, 2024
US Senate passes $95bn in aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan
The Senate, in a bipartisan super-majority, overwhelmingly voted to advance the measure, which Joe Biden is expected to sign…
Trump’s economic agenda would make inflation a whole lot worse - Vox
Voters trust Trump to lower prices, even as his advisers put forward plans for increasing Americans' cost of living...
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‘Eye popping numbers’: Donald Trump’s electoral math problem that will not go away
Michael Steele, former Republican National Committee Chairman and Elizabeth Neuman, author of the new book Kingdom of Rage joins Nicolle Wallace on Deadline White House with reaction to the continued electoral math problem plaguing candidate Donald Trump with the ex-president continuing to struggle to bring over Nikki Haley voters nearly two months after she ended her bid for President.
Message of Unity
Today, President Biden signed historic legislation providing foreign aid to our allies. His message of unity is simple - whether you're a Democrat, Republican, or Independent, America stands with our allies, opposes tyrants, and leads during critical global events.
"Let's Focus On Something That My Republicans DON'T LIKE To Talk About..."
Dan Goldman rips Republicans for continuing to fearmonger about immigrants.
Arizona House votes to repeal Civil War-era abortion ban - The Washington Post
Three Republicans crossed party lines to vote with Democrats. If passed by Senate, Arizona governor says she will sign...
Meadows, Giuliani and other Trump allies charged in Arizona 2020 election probe - The Washington Post
Those indicted include former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, attorneys Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, John Eastman and Christina Bobb, top campaign adviser Boris Epshteyn and former campaign aide Mike Roman. They are accused of allegedly aiding an unsuccessful strategy to award the state's electoral votes to Trump instead of Biden after the 2020 election. Also charged are the Republicans who signed paperwork on Dec. 14, 2020, that falsely purported Trump was the rightful winner, including former state party chair Kelli Ward, state Sens. Jake Hoffman and Anthony Kern, and Tyler Bowyer, a GOP national committeeman and chief operating officer of Turning Point Action, the campaign arm of the pro-Trump conservative group Turning Point USA...
Formerly homeless woman in D.C. fights eviction on her own - The Washington Post
The case illustrates the myriad challenges that come after unhoused people are given a place to live, as well as the mental health and other support that is often needed to help them succeed...
What fliers need to know about new refund rules for airlines - The Washington Post
Starting in about six months, U.S. airlines will have to offer customers cash refunds before vouchers…
Lara Trump Alarms Critics With 'Frightening' Comment About RNC's Election Plans | HuffPost Latest News
"Sounds like a perfect authoritarian election plan to me," fascism expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat commented...
Rightwing US website that spreads election conspiracies declares bankruptcy | The far right | The Guardian
Gateway Pundit, run by Jim Hoft, is being sued for defamation by Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss and others…
Idaho's abortion argument to Supreme Court is offensive to E.R. docs like me
Idaho wants to redefine what it means to acceptably skirt death, but emergency medicine is not a "let's see what happens" practice. We are a "let's take care of this before it gets out of hand" practice...
Don’t buy Moscow’s shameless campaign tying Biden to its terrorist attack | The Hill
The tragic terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow killed over 140 and left dozens more with serious injuries. Despite ISIS-K claiming responsibility, as well as warnings from both the U.S. and Iran of potential terrorist actions on Russian soil, Moscow continues to point the finger at others. Some Russian officials have stated that the U.S. did not provide specific enough intelligence concerning the anticipated attack; others have said the intelligence was never transmitted in the first place.
Others have suggested that the United States and the broader West are somehow responsible…
Mike Johnson met with boos amid Columbia visit over student protests - The Washington Post
"Get off our campus!," one student yelled. "Go back to Louisiana, Mike!" someone shouted...
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
The latest incredible depths of evil of Facebook
This week a court case revealed Facebook and Zuck used Onavo VPN to spy on users and decrypt encrypted traffic from Snapchat, YouTube and Amazon....
Russia jams GPS signals for thousands of flights in Europe
More than 46,000 planes have reported GPS issues over the Baltic Sea since last August…
Electric and hybrid sales to rise to new global record in 2024
International Energy Agency says 17m vehicles will be sold this year, up more than 20% compared with 2023…
RELEASE of Trump Confidential Records BACKFIRES in HIS FACE
Ben Meiselas reports on the confidential documents that Judge Cannon made public at Donald Trump’s request which now show how how a cooperating witness in Donald Trump’s inner circle identified as “Person 16” cooperated to bring Trump down.
WOTM: The Bar Hits Infinitely Low, Part V
In part five, Bill explains to us how immoral acts magically become moral acts, with the mere word of a Being whose existence cannot be demonstrated.
Biden rule grants overtime pay to 4 million US workers | Reuters
"Too often, lower-paid salaried workers are doing the same job as their hourly counterparts but are spending more time away from their families for no additional pay," Su said...
How Minority Rule Threatens Democracy (Terry Gross; Fresh Air podcast)
It's a fundamental tension in a democracy: How do you have majority rule in a way that also protects minority rights? Journalist Ari Berman says the Founding Fathers struggled with that question back in 1787 — except, for them, white male landowners were the minority in need of protection.
"Most of the founders were skeptical of the public's ability to elect the president directly," Berman says. "So they created this very complicated situation in which electors would elect the president instead of the people electing the president directly."
In his new book, Minority Rule, Berman connects the debates and compromises of the country's founders to contemporary politics. He says the founding fathers created a system that concentrated power in the hands of the elite and that today, institutions like the Electoral College and the Senate — designed as a check against the power of the majority — are having much the same effect.
Interview:
"Most of the founders were skeptical of the public's ability to elect the president directly," Berman says. "So they created this very complicated situation in which electors would elect the president instead of the people electing the president directly."
In his new book, Minority Rule, Berman connects the debates and compromises of the country's founders to contemporary politics. He says the founding fathers created a system that concentrated power in the hands of the elite and that today, institutions like the Electoral College and the Senate — designed as a check against the power of the majority — are having much the same effect.
Interview:
The electric car revolution is on track, says IEA | CNN Business
Global electric vehicle sales are set to rise by more than a fifth to reach 17 million this year, powered by drivers in China, according to the International Energy Agency…
FTC bans noncompete agreements for workers - The Washington Post
They are used in a wide range of industries, including technology, hairstyling, medicine and even dance instruction, while imposing restrictions on both high- and low-wage earners.
The FTC estimates that banning noncompete agreements could create jobs for 30 million Americans and raise wages by nearly $300 billion per year...
How G.M. Tricked Millions of Drivers Into Being Spied On (Including Me) - The New York Times
This privacy reporter and her husband bought a Chevrolet Bolt in December. Two risk-profiling companies had been getting detailed data about their driving ever since...
Wisconsin official blames homelessness on "sin," then votes against aid for the poor
The Dane County Board in Wisconsin, which includes the city of Madison, recently gave a $231,005 grant to Porchlight, a non-profit organization that helps the homeless.
But not before one board member, Jeff Weigand, opposed the proposal because he wanted the county to address the root cause of homelessness: SIN!
David Pecker and the Trump Tower conspiracy
" I covered the weird and historic 2016 campaign. While the celebrity candidate led in many early polls, he was far from a shoo-in for the nomination. Ben Carson was the front-runner for a spell in late 2015, Ted Cruz won the Iowa caucuses, and Marco Rubio was briefly seen as the logical young choice for the G.O.P.
Pecker testified that as part of what prosecutors call "the Trump Tower conspiracy," hatched just before Trump announced his candidacy in June 2015, Trump — through Michael Cohen — helped The Enquirer generate phony stories about malpractice by Carson and adultery by Cruz and Rubio (not to mention an article sliming Cruz's father as connected to John F. Kennedy's assassination).
No one in the courtroom was laughing at the lurid tabloid headlines when they were introduced into evidence. It seems clear that these bogus stories, too, were part of the corrupt and journalistically disgraceful Trump Tower deal…
New Study Bolsters Idea of Athletic Differences Between Men and Trans Women - The New York Times
A new study financed by the International Olympic Committee found that transgender female athletes showed greater handgrip strength — an indicator of overall muscle strength — but lower jumping ability, lung function and relative cardiovascular fitness compared with women whose gender was assigned female at birth.
That data, which also compared trans women with men, contradicted a broad claim often made by proponents of rules that bar transgender women from competing in women's sports...
Why Can't Christians Agree on "True Christianity?" (Seth Andrews; The Thinking Atheist podcast)
Hardline Bible literalists say they're practicing the correct faith. Progressives say the hardliners are fake Christians. What the Hell is going on?
- Dr. Chrissy Stroop: https://cstroop.com/about/
Interview:
Telling Jefferson Lies: Consequences of Christian Nationalism (Warren Throckmorton)
In general terms, I believe Christian nationalism is bad history, bad politics, and bad religion. In prior episodes, I have concentrated on the bad history. In this segment and the next, I focus mainly on the bad politics. Around the world, religious nationalism is associated with state sponsored violence against citizens, use of force to take political control, erosion of the separation of church and state, degrading of democratic principles and attacks on minority rights. I believe Christian nationalism is also bad for Christianity which I will examine in the next episode.
Note: I did not mention that long time Fellowship leader Doug Coe passed away in 2017. I believe that explains some of the shifting within the Fellowship. Having said that, there always was an element within that group which didn't make a strong commitment to human rights.
Resources mentioned:
Note: I did not mention that long time Fellowship leader Doug Coe passed away in 2017. I believe that explains some of the shifting within the Fellowship. Having said that, there always was an element within that group which didn't make a strong commitment to human rights.
Resources mentioned:
- The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War by Jeff Sharlet.
- The Family, Netflix documentary, by Jeff Sharlet.
- Charismatic Revival Fury, podcast by Matthew Taylor, produced by Brad Onishi
- Dartmouth College historian and author Randall Balmer,
- Communications director at Americans United for the Separation of Church and State Rob Boston,
- Louisville pastor and social worker Joel Bowman, Mount St Mary's University philosophy instructor Scott Coley,
- Grove City College social work associate professor Jennifer Hollenberger,
- historian Troy Jackson,
- journalist Jonathan Larsen, author and journalist Katherine Stewart,
- religion scholar with the Institute for Islamic,
- Christian and Jewish Studies Matthew Taylor,
- and historian and author Jemar Tisby.
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
The pro-Israel group planning to spend millions in US elections
Aipac was already on the defensive after endorsing the 2022 campaigns of dozens of Republican members of Congress who tried to block President Biden's presidential victory...
I Went Undercover At Moms For Liberty
Moms for Liberty wants to depict itself as a grassroots group made up of concerned moms who are worried about their children's education. In reality, they're a GOP astroturf group that has repeatedly peddled the "groomer" myth along with a host of other extreme positions. And to prove it, we went undercover at their conference in Philadelphia.
Christian Supremacists Are Radicalizing Your Neighbors via the 7 Mountains Mandate (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)
Matt Taylor joins Brad to discuss a new breed of chauvinistic, theologically bull-headed Christian nationalists who might be better called “Christian supremacists.”
BONUS CONTENT: AOC outlines why she fears Mike Johnson’s plans in 2024.
These hard-liners believe that Christianity deserves a privileged space in American society — that Christians, being better than other human beings, should be entitled to a superior form of citizenship. They claim that Christians are even destined by God to rule over society.
What is hazy nostalgia to the “God Bless America” crowd is an organized theological and political program for the Christian supremacists.
BONUS CONTENT: AOC outlines why she fears Mike Johnson’s plans in 2024.
Interview:
Trump’s transparent attempt to play the victim on ‘election interference’ - The Washington Post
Below is a summary of how what's known about Trump's actions compares to this purported "election interference."…
The Russia investigation
Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's report did not establish that Trump or members of his campaign conspired with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 election. But it did find that Russia targeted a hacking operation at Hillary Clinton's personal office just hours after Trump said publicly, "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing." (Trump claimed it was a joke, even as he has continued to solicit foreign help in campaigns.)
Top Trump advisers also met at Trump Tower with a Russian promising dirt on Clinton. And a bipartisan Senate report left open the possibility that there was more "collusion" beneath the surface…
Biden administration imposes first-ever staff minimum for nursing homes - The Washington Post
The Biden administration set a first-ever minimum staffing rule for nursing homes Monday, making good on the president's promise more than two years ago to seek improvements in care for the nation's 1.2 million nursing home residents.
The final rule, proposed in September, requires a registered nurse to be on-site in every skilled nursing facility for 24 hours a day, seven days a week...
Americans who want to protect democracy need to stand up for public libraries | The Hill
Public libraries, once considered the backbone of America's civic infrastructure, are now under attack in many places across the country. Every day, librarians are harassed, threatened and intimidated for doing their jobs by people who want to turn libraries into bloody battlefields in the culture wars that are dividing this country and undermining democracy…
Breaking our democracy is all part of the GOP plan - Raw Story
These are the people Republicans are counting on to support transforming America from a democratic republic into a strongman authoritarian oligarchy. The GOP's bet is that if they can keep things broken and bad enough long enough, then people will demand a dictator "who can get things done."
They even hatched a scheme called Project 2025 that hyper-concentrates political power in the White House, pre-positioning the next Republican president to be America's first dictator.
The good news is that President Biden is actually doing something about each of these areas where Republicans have worked so hard for the past 43 years to break our country. And his work is producing good fruit: inflation is down, employment is up, wages are up, and consumer confidence is growing…
Lara Trump touts ‘scorched earth’ agenda after 2024 elections
"He showed us a whole lot that we didn't know was going on — within the media, within Washington, D.C. He exposed a lot of people. So they have to do everything they can to keep him out of that White House 'cause they know Donald Trump gets in for four more years, the jig is up for them. The gloves are off. There are no holds barred here. He is going full-throttle. He's not worried about winning another election [in 2028]. It's four years of scorched earth when Donald Trump retakes the White House."
Trump Was Warned to Return Records to Archives, Unsealed Documents Say - The New York Times
Person 16 told the F.B.I. that Mr. Trump reacted to his warning with a "weird 'you're the man' type of response" and left the impression that he would in fact return the materials to the archives…
Person 16 also suggested that some of Mr. Trump's children had been enlisted in the task of persuading him to return the presidential records to the archives. The person recounted to the F.B.I. that one of the children was told: "There are issues with the boxes. They belong to the government. Talk to your dad about giving them back. It's not worth the aggravation."…
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