Tuesday, January 10, 2023
Attorneys find classified info in private office from Biden's time as VP: report - Raw Story - Celebrating 18 Years of Independent Journalism
This comes amid a well-publicized FBI search of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort that recovered a trove of extremely classified documents, including intelligence on Iranian weapons systems and spy operations against China, that the president allegedly improperly had removed from secure facilities and did not return after repeated demands from the National Archives…
How Congress Ended “Syndicated Conservation Easement” Tax Scams — ProPublica
The recently signed $1.7 trillion spending bill could accomplish what six years of IRS audits and DOJ prosecutions could not: shutting down "syndicated conservation easements" that exploit a charitable tax break meant to preserve open land...
Congress must listen to working families and overhaul healthcare, minimum wage and education
Americans are united on some of the most important issues facing our country and they want government to address them…
House Republicans’ ‘very first bill’ to target law enforcement
Or put another way, the first legislative priority for the new House Republican majority is to undermine law enforcement.
Amateur epidemiologists have their way in the District of Columbia | The Hill
On the one hand, GOP members of Congress engineered the revocation of a Department of Defense requirement for service members to be vaccinated against the virus, apparently based on the faulty premise that the threat no longer existed. On the other hand, the Republican-appointed majority of the U.S. Supreme Court allowed a restrictive border policy to remain in effect, as if it was essential to protect public health. Both actions were motivated more by politics than by scientifically grounded evidence…
George Santos accused of sweeping campaign finance violations - The Washington Post
…Instead, the complaint alleges, "unknown individuals or corporations may have illegally funneled money" to Santos's campaign through his firm — part of what Campaign Legal Center describes as a scheme for the candidate to act as a straw donor to his own congressional bid. While candidates are permitted to contribute or loan their campaigns unlimited sums, the complaint argues that the money Santos gave to his campaign was not his own but rather given to him "in the guise of salary and dividends" for the purpose of making undisclosed or prohibited contributions that exceeded lawful limits.
The complaint also accuses Santos of misrepresenting his campaign's spending. It notes that his campaign reported "an astounding 40 disbursements between $199 and $200, including 37 disbursements of exactly $199.99," thereby eluding requirements to keep a receipt, invoice or canceled check for all spending above $200...
Conversation with Julia Sweeney (Freedom From Religion Foundation National Conference speeches)
FFRF's co-president, Dan Barker, interviewed Julia Sweeney at our 2022 National Convention in San Antonio.
Sweeney, an actress, comedian, author and director, was cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1990 to 1994 and has created several one-person comedy shows. Her third one-person show, “Julia Sweeney: Older & Wider” has run in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and at an FFRF convention. It was filmed and will be released in 2023. She is also a recipient of FFRF’s “Emperor Has No Clothes” Award.
Interview:
Sweeney, an actress, comedian, author and director, was cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1990 to 1994 and has created several one-person comedy shows. Her third one-person show, “Julia Sweeney: Older & Wider” has run in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and at an FFRF convention. It was filmed and will be released in 2023. She is also a recipient of FFRF’s “Emperor Has No Clothes” Award.
Interview:
Why Religion is Not the Answer: The World's Ignominious Killer (Student Essay contest 10th place)
"From genocides to ethnic cleansings to crimes against humanity, religions consistently appear as the culprits of atrocities. Historian Ben Kiernan points out in his book Blood and Soil main themes of justification for such actions, of which many are intertwined with religious rhetoric..."
Monday, January 9, 2023
CBO: GOP’s IRS bill will add $114B to deficit | The Hill
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated Monday that the legislation would cut federal spending by $71 billion, but would reduce tax revenue to the tune of almost $186 billion. The net effect would be a $114 billion increase in deficits over the next decade…
Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) 2022 Student Essays Winners - YouTube
Three of FFRF's student essay winners joined us at FFRF's 2022 National Convention to read their essays. The three winners who joined in us San Antonio are Marcus Brown, Caleb Buell and Ethan Haight.
Israelis protest new Netanyahu government
"My grandparents came to Israel to build here something amazing... We don't want to feel that our democracy is disappearing, that the Supreme Court will be destroyed," said a lawyer among the protesters who gave his name only as Assaf.
"Extremists are starting to deploy their forces and it's not the majority," said protester Omer, a worker in Tel Aviv's tech sector...
House Republicans Preparing Broad Inquiry Into F.B.I. and Security Agencies - The New York Times
Such a situation could result in lawmakers trying to scrutinize a Justice Department investigation as that inquiry potentially examines some of those same lawmakers' conduct concerning the events of Jan. 6…
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/08/us/politics/house-republicans-fbi-investigation.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/08/us/politics/house-republicans-fbi-investigation.html
Phishing attacks are increasing and getting more sophisticated
"What we've been seeing is an increase in the use of voicemail and text as part of two-pronged phishing and BEC [business email compromise] campaigns," said Jess Burn, senior analyst at Forrester Research. "The attackers leave a voicemail or send a text about the email they sent, either lending credibility to the sender or increasing the urgency of the request." …
The Invention of Elise Stefanik - The New York Times
Ms. Stefanik's reinvention has made her a case study in the collapse of the old Republican establishment and its willing absorption into the new, Trump-dominated one...
Putin praises Russian Orthodox Church for backing troops in Ukraine | Reuters
President Vladimir Putin on Saturday praised the Russian Orthodox Church for supporting Moscow's forces fighting in Ukraine in an Orthodox Christmas message designed to rally people behind his vision of modern Russia.../cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/73NV2YLM7VLCPPZASCKCSF3SKU.jpg)
Abortion associated with lower psychological distress compared to both adoption and unwanted birth, study finds
Of the four outcomes, unwanted birth and adoption had the highest scores on a measure of psychological distress.
Research has found that unplanned or unintended pregnancy is related to postpartum depression and is also related to subsequent neglect, abuse, and poor child well-being. Research has also found that unintended pregnancies that result in abortion or adoption can have mental health consequences of their own...
… Additionally, the study concludes with these thoughts, "This study showed that among women who experienced an unintended pregnancy, the unwanted birth and adoption group had worse long-term psychological distress consequences. Abortion did not lead to negative psychological consequences. Therefore, it is important to ensure equal and safe abortion opportunities and providing more support to women with unwanted birth."…
McCarthy’s Day One Plan: Gut the Office of Congressional Ethics – Mother Jones
"These are measures that will render the ethics office ineffectual and which no member, from either party, should support," Craig Holman, a lobbyist with the government watchdog group Public Citizen said last week. "Today's Republican party is rife with ethical transgressions. And it is now trying to make it much harder to hold members of Congress accountable to the standards of decency we expect."
No sign of casualties after Russia claims revenge attack on Ukrainian soldiers | Reuters
There were no obvious signs that soldiers had been living there and no sign of bodies or traces of blood...
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/moscow-ends-self-proclaimed-ceasefire-vows-press-ahead-ukraine-2023-01-08/
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/moscow-ends-self-proclaimed-ceasefire-vows-press-ahead-ukraine-2023-01-08/
/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/26TJPHRCF5K67HHU5SJGVOA6RA.jpg)
Proposed GOP select panel would be empowered to review ‘ongoing criminal investigations’ - POLITICO
A proposed subcommittee to investigate "weaponization" of the federal government — a key demand of House conservatives who delivered Speaker Kevin McCarthy the gavel — would be given sweeping investigatory powers that include explicit authority to review "ongoing criminal investigations."…
U.S. Reps. Jared Huffman & Jamie Raskin: Congressional Freethought Caucus (Freedom From Religion Foundation National Conference speeches)
U.S. Reps. Jared Huffman and Jamie Raskin have been stalwart defenders of secularism in Congress, as founding members and co-chairs of the Congressional Freethought Caucus.
Interview:
Why Religion is Not the Answer: Reproductive Freedom for a Healthier World (Student Essay contest 9th place)
"This can be boiled down to apply to nearly any societal problem that we face: Use evidence-based reasoning to find solutions that benefit humanity as a whole and take action to implement these solutions as quickly and as vastly as possible. Although religion currently serves as a significant barrier to this method of problem-solving, it is my most sincere hope that generations to come will move away from religious allegiance in favor of promoting good health and total well-being for all of the world’s inhabitants..."
Sunday, January 8, 2023
The fountain of life: Water droplets hold the secret ingredient for building life
“This is essentially the chemistry behind the origin of life,” said Graham Cooks, the Henry Bohn Hass Distinguished Professor of Analytical Chemistry in Purdue’s College of Science. “This is the first demonstration that primordial molecules, simple amino acids, spontaneously form peptides, the building blocks of life, in droplets of pure water. This is a dramatic discovery.”
Friday marks two years since a deadly riot engulfed the U.S. Capitol (Sergio Olmos, Morning Edition, National Public Radio)
By January 6, leaders of the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Stop the Steal founder Ali Alexander were all communicating in an encrypted Signal chat run by Roger Stone, a Trump associate. Each group had different plans for how they would lay siege to the Capitol. The Oath Keepers, for example, had a cache of weapons in hotel rooms in Virginia, with men waiting by the radio to act as a quick reaction force. They would bring guns in once the Capitol had been taken. And on that day, the Oath Keepers moved on the Capitol steps in stack formations like trained soldiers. But it's important to understand that they didn't just appear on January 6, these far-right groups. They have been building for years by the point of January 6. Groups like the Proud Boys had been getting to street fights in cities like Portland, Ore., something I witnessed firsthand. And I want to tell you the story of what happened there to understand the forces at play.
Interview: (6 minute listen)
Russian hackers targeted 3 US nuclear research labs: report – DW – 01/06/2023
A team of Russian hackers known as Cold River targeted three prominent US nuclear research laboratories last summer, Reuters reported Friday...
Census data reveals LGBT+ populations for first time - BBC News
More than 1.3 million people in England and Wales identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual, census data has revealed for the first time...
Here Are the Concessions Kevin McCarthy Had to Make to Become House Speaker – Mother Jones
According to CNN, here's what the holdouts got from McCarthy in exchange for the speakership…
Hakeem Jeffries Just Made History—and Gave a Helluva Speech – Mother Jones
"House Democrats," he said, "will always put American values over autocracy, benevolence over bigotry, the Constitution over the cult, democracy over demagogues, economic opportunity over extremism, freedom over fascism, governing over gaslighting, hopefulness over hatred, inclusion over isolation, justice over judicial overreach, knowledge over kangaroo courts, liberty over limitation, maturity over Mar-a-Lago, normalcy over negativity, opportunity over obstruction, people over politics, quality of life issues over QAnon, reason over racism, substance over slander, triumph over tyranny, understanding over ugliness, voting rights over voter suppression, working families over the well-connected, xenial over xenophobia, 'yes, we can' over 'you can do it,' and zealous representation over zero-sum confrontation."
A brief taxonomy of Christian nationalism in the U.S. - The Washington Post
A look at six loose networks of faith leaders and followers who fit some part of the definition…
I talked to 70 parents who raised highly successful kids—here's the 'surprising' parenting style they used
Respectful parenting, sometimes called "wise parenting," involves setting standards and strict rules (e.g., only spending money you earn) while also being respectful of kids' choices (e.g., letting them choose their own after school activities)…
Cassidy Hutchinson’s Lawyer Was Working Against Her (Opening Arguments podcast OA670)
Liz Dye joins us to break down the J6 bombshell news that Cassidy Hutchinson’s own lawyer was apparently… not her lawyer. It’s some extremely unethical stuff. Possibly criminal? Listen in!
Interview:
David Frum on how MAGA Republicans have DESTROYED Conservatism for the Trump CULT (Anthony Davis; The Weekend Show podcast)
The Atlantic’s David Frum discusses the divided face of America and how Republicans have abandoned traditional conservatism in the dangerous wake of Trumpism.
Interview:
Why Religion is Not the Answer: Faith Won't Solve the Climate Crisis (Student Essay contest 8th place)
Religion is not the answer because we know the science is indisputable. — we alone (as the human race) caused climate change. God is not going to save us, and we have a moral obligation to the future generations of both humans and animals alike to leave them with the best world possible. Using a scientific perspective to tackle climate change can be relied on more than a faith-based approach because it uses the peer-review process, journal retractions (if necessary), meta-analyses (to evaluate trends), and the principle of reproducibility to inform perspectives. Science strives to find objective truth about an unknown. Religion starts with a foundation of “truth” and strives to find evidence that validates those assumptions. 
Saturday, January 7, 2023
The News Roundup – Domestic and International (The 1A) 2023-01-06
Domestic
California Rep. Kevin McCarthy has had better weeks. The Republican expected to get his party’s nod to become speaker of the House this week as the new representatives were supposed to be sworn in. However, a holdout wing of the GOP has stalled McCarthy’s ascent. McCarthy has been unable to win the absolute majority of votes required to become House speaker for days.Damar Hamlin’s health is reportedly improving despite being in critical condition. The Buffalo Bill was hospitalized following a tackle in his team’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday.
President Joe Biden said Thursday that his administration would work to crack down on border crossings, turning away Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans. The former senator is expected to visit the southern border in the near future.
Interview:
International
The Kremlin is facing unprecedented criticism from inside Russia after one of the deadliest attacks on its troops since the Ukraine war began. It took place on New Year’s Day. Kyiv, and Russian bloggers, claim the death toll is very likely in the hundreds.At a briefing held by the World Health Organization on Wednesday, Mike Ryan, emergencies director at WHO, issued a warning about the spread of COVID overseas:
We believe the current numbers being published from China underrepresent the true impact of the disease in terms of hospital admissions, in terms of ICU admissions, particularly in terms of death.
The European Union fined Facebook’s parent company, Meta, more than 400 million dollars for privacy violations. It’s also banned Facebook from forcing users in the European Union to accept personalized ads based on their online behavior.
Interview:
Fears over lax security in Republican-controlled House two years after Capitol attack
"Over the last two years since 2020, members of Congress, particularly members of color, have been under direct attack in our districts, in DC, in the communities – and House Democrats worked to enhance those protections, not just for ourselves, but by passing legislation for our constituents," Horsford said, speaking to the Guardian on his way to a meeting at the Capitol two days ago.
"And now, the Republicans want to roll those protections back just like they want to roll back protections for women, protections for immigrants, protections for labor.
"They're not here to serve the people – they're here to serve their special interest and that's why we have to do everything we can to make sure their term in the [House] majority is very short," he added...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/05/republicans-control-house-security-measures-capitol-attack
Matt Schlapp accused of fondling male campaign staffer
The Herschel Walker campaign aide said the conservative leader groped him without his consent in October...
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/matt-schlapp-accused-fondling-male-campaign-staffer-rcna64563
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/matt-schlapp-accused-fondling-male-campaign-staffer-rcna64563
The new liberal playbook to keep House Republicans on defense - Vox
Petkanas said that the goal of these groups is to "make sure that none of the work that this new House does goes unnoticed." The idea is to hold a mirror up to Republicans' priorities. "So when they pass legislation," he said, "doing what they said they were going to do, which is to cut Social Security and Medicare, to raise prescription drug costs, to pass a national abortion ban, we're going to make sure that people don't just shrug it off here in DC so that people back at home don't hear about it, we're going to hold a lantern to that."…
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2023/1/6/23542325/mccarthy-democrats-republicans-congress-attacks-benghazi-hunter-biden
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2023/1/6/23542325/mccarthy-democrats-republicans-congress-attacks-benghazi-hunter-biden
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71832291/1454284326.0.jpg)
Speaker McLOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL (Opening Arguments podcast OA671)
Sorry this is just so funny and we all deserve to enjoy it. We recorded this early due to a cyclone that wasn’t very bomb, and yet everything Andrew said and researched remains perfectly timely as of release due to the fact that McCarthy has failed EVEN MORE VOTES. It’s so great. But Andrew has for us a deep-dive on the history of this, and just how unprecedented it really is.
PLUS an update – Elon Musk is still an idiot. And SO bad at business. Just… so, so bad.
PLUS an update – Elon Musk is still an idiot. And SO bad at business. Just… so, so bad.
Interview:
One in eight cases of asthma in US kids caused by gas stove pollution – study
Last year, researchers at Stanford discovered that levels of nitrogen dioxide emitted from gas stoves and ovens can rise above safe standards set for outdoor pollution by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) within just a few minutes, with the problem particularly acute in smaller kitchens...
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/06/us-kids-asthma-gas-stove-pollution
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/06/us-kids-asthma-gas-stove-pollution
‘It never stops’: killings by US police reach record high in 2022
"These are routine police encounters that escalate to a killing," said Samuel Sinyangwe, a data scientist and policy analyst who founded Mapping Police Violence and provided 2022 data to the Guardian. "The reduction in the conversation around police violence does not mean that this issue is going away. What's clear is that it's continuing to get worse, and that it's deeply systemic."
What's more, in 32% of cases last year, the person was fleeing before they were killed, generally running or driving off – cases in which experts say lethal force is unwarranted and also endangers the public. In June, Ohio police officers fired dozens of rounds at Jayland Walker, who was unarmed and fleeing; a month later, an officer in California exited an unmarked car and immediately fired at Robert Adams as he ran in the opposite direction...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/06/us-police-killings-record-number-2022
South Carolina Supreme Court strikes down state abortion ban
The South Carolina Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a ban on abortion after six weeks, ruling the restriction enacted by the Deep South state violates a state constitutional right to privacy...
Opinion | First order of business for the GOP House? Defunding the (tax) police - The Washington Post
In recent weeks, high-level Republicans have said their top legislative priority is clawing back the $80 billion that Democrats recently appropriated to the Internal Revenue Service over the next decade. About half of this money will go toward beefing up enforcement; the rest for other functions such as improving customer service and modernizing the agency's embarrassingly decrepit IT systems…
What’s the fundamental divide in the GOP? Listen to what they say. - The Washington Post
McCarthy's allies talked about what they wanted to do (recognizing, at times, the limits imposed by a Democratic president and Senate). His opponents argued for upending the system...
Kevin McCarthy Is Proof You Don’t Negotiate With Terrorists (Danielle Moodie; The New Abnormal podcast)
Kevin McCarthy is being held hostage. Sorta. Kurt Bardella, a Los Angeles Times columnist and former House Oversights Committee staffer on the Republican side, joins this episode of TNA to chat with Danielle Moodie all about the GOP Speaker of the House shit show happening right now, starting with a big question from Danielle: How the hell did we get here? Bardella has some ideas, including very colorful language to describe the “bunch of ass clowns” leading this charge. Plus, Rep. Mondaire Jones also joins the pod to discuss the so-called “Never Kevin-ers” like Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert—and the real reason he thinks that Republicans are embarrassed by George Santos.
Interview:
Florida’s DeSantis steps up pressure on Disney World - The Washington Post
Last year's fight over LGBTQ talk in Florida schools continues to play out…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/01/06/floridas-desantis-steps-up-pressure-disney-world/
Opinion | Mayor Brandon Scott: Baltimore’s violence-prevention pilot succeeded - The Washington Post
"In January 2022, my administration launched Baltimore's Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS) pilot in the Western Police District. This strategy, known nationally as focused deterrence, facilitates direct, sustained engagement with individuals who are the most likely to be either the victims or perpetrators of violence. Since the start of this pilot, we have seen homicides and nonfatal shootings in the Western District — historically the most violent of Baltimore's police districts — drop by a combined 34 percent as of Dec. 31….
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/01/06/baltimore-violence-prevention-pilot-success/imrs.php
Why Religion is Not the Answer: The Universal Harm of Prolific Religiosity (Student Essay contest 7th place)
"Repeatedly, those in power have demonstrated their lack of concern with the well-being of their citizens. Their inaction and unwillingness to enact substantial change has occurred at alarming rates and in a multitude of areas as they have watched millions suffer and die from mass shootings, gun violence, poverty, hunger, abuse, toxic pollution, unregulated toxic consumer products, and a general lack of access to health care..."
Friday, January 6, 2023
Florida Gov. DeSantis’s latest oxymoronic school spiel - The Washington Post
When announcing the effort in December, DeSantis said, "We won't allow Florida tax dollars to be spent teaching kids to hate our country or to hate each other." It's okay, though, for Florida tax dollars to go to religious schools that discriminate against LGBTQ students and staff…
DeSantis has been all for "parent involvement" in schools — as long as the parents support his positions. Parents who wanted mask mandates in their schools were out of luck, as were those who wanted their children to learn an honest history of the United States. And if you were a member of a school board DeSantis didn't like, or a superintendent in a school district doing something he didn't like, there wasn't much freedom for you…
House Republicans aim to rein in ethics body as investigations into GOP lawmakers loom
Should the OCE open investigations into the members who defied subpoenas from the January 6 committee last year – including the House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy – or Long Island congressman George Santos, who was caught lying about his resume during his campaign, it would ultimately result in public reports with potentially embarrassing conclusions for Republicans...
Opinion | The Burn-It-All-Down Republican Caucus - The New York Times
"And they are getting precisely what they want: more headlines, more airtime, more spectacle and therefore more power.
They aren't interested in governing, but rather in teasing the growing urge among the Republican base to throw a wrench in the gears…"
Why Religion is Not the Answer: Rejection, Torture, and Eternal Damnation (Student Essay contest 6th place)
"According to the Trevor Project in 2020, LGBTQ+ youth are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide as their non-LGBTQ+ peers. Rates of depression and drug use are also elevated in this population.
These issues become more pronounced in those who are transgender, of color or disabled. Research conducted by the Family Acceptance Project found that among LGBTQ+ youth, one-third experience parental rejection. Highly religious families were the least likely to be accepting. Those whose families reject them are at a higher risk for mental health issues and major health concerns including HIV.
Rejection in these cases often included alienation, preventing access to support, using religious beliefs to remind their children of damnation and hell, and sending children to clergy or other providers to “change” their LGBTQ+ identity."...
Thursday, January 5, 2023
Alarm as US states pass ‘very concerning’ anti-homeless laws
Homelessness charities say wave of new bills unfairly targets people without housing as social-services funding is cut…
Supreme Court gun challenge: A New York case could turbocharge the Second Amendment.
Right now, gun advocates are asking SCOTUS to block most of New York's Concealed Carry Improvement Act—which the state legislature passed in the wake of Bruen—on the court's infamous shadow docket. The New York law repealed the state's now-invalid limits on concealed carry, replacing them with more rigorous screenings for permit applicants plus a list of "sensitive places" where guns remained banned. A conservative judge promptly halted the statute, gutting the screening for permits while legalizing concealed carry in hospitals, parks, zoos, movie theaters, protests, and more. But a federal appeals court reinstated the law, leading its opponents to beg the Supreme Court for emergency relief. And so, in the coming days, we will discover how aggressively the conservative majority wants to dismantle all remnants of the nation's gun safety regime...
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