babylonsister

babylonsister's Journal

January 31, 2022

Fulton County Asks Feds for Help After Trump Demands 'Biggest Protest' Over 2020 Investigation

https://www.thedailybeast.com/fulton-county-asks-fbi-for-help-after-trump-demands-biggest-protest-over-2020-investigation?ref=home

Fulton County Asks Feds for Help After Trump Demands ‘Biggest Protest’ Over 2020 Investigation
CROWD CONTROL
Jamie Ross
News Correspondent
Published Jan. 31, 2022 9:05AM ET

Prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, are feeling under such a threat from Donald Trump and his supporters that the district attorney has reportedly felt the need to call in the FBI to help keep them protected. At a rally in Texas on Saturday night, Trump ordered his supporters to hold “the biggest protests we have ever had” in cities such as Atlanta if the prosecutors who are investigating his efforts to overturn the 2020 election “do anything wrong or illegal.” Fulton County DA Fani Willis is carrying out one of those investigations, and CNN reports that she’s asked the FBI to conduct a risk assessment of buildings near her office and the courthouse where a special grand jury will be seated as part of the county’s Trump investigation in May. According to CNN, Willis wrote in a letter that “security concerns were escalated this weekend” by Trump’s incendiary speech in Texas. The FBI field office in Atlanta didn’t comment on CNN’s report.

January 31, 2022

Eric Boehlert: Biden Boom hits new heights -- press buries the good news

Biden Boom hits new heights — press buries the good news
Sticking to the script
Eric Boehlert
3 hr ago

Want more proof that the mainstream media remains committed to downplaying good news about the Biden economic boom?

When the Commerce Department on Thursday announced that the economy just grew at the fastest rate in nearly 40 years, posting robust growth numbers not seen since the Reagan era, none of the network newscasts treated the announcement as a big deal. In fact, two of the three newscasts, “ABC World News Tonight” and “CBS Evening News” didn’t even cover the story on Thursday — “NBC Nightly News” gave it one sentence.

The same media that remains in inflation hyperventilation mode, just cannot work up the energy to consistently inform news consumers about the red-hot economy under President Joe Biden. It won’t billboard the fact that it grew so rapidly in the fourth quarter of last year that it pushed the annual gross domestic product rate — the broadest measure of economic activity — to an eye-popping 5.7 percent. (The GDP under Trump never got above 3 percent.) Consumer spending also soared 7.9% last year, the quickest clip in since 1946.

So attached to the idea of using economic news to bash Biden, the press doesn’t know what to do when the data demolish the media’s preferred storyline. That was obvious by the fact that the coverage of the blockbuster GDP news seemed to go out of its way not to mention him.

more...

https://pressrun.media/p/biden-boom-hits-new-heights-press

January 31, 2022

How to heal our national exhaustion

How to heal our national exhaustion
Americans have burnout on top of burnout on top of burnout. Now what?
By Anna North Jan 27, 2022, 8:00am EST

What comes after burnout?

That’s the question facing a lot of Americans as we stagger into 2022 still carrying the burden of a pandemic on our shoulders, plus some other burdens including but not limited to the increasingly devastating effects of climate change, the real and disturbing threats to democracy, and the seeming inability of the highest levels of the US government to address these dangers. It’s even boring to talk about how much any of us — parents, students, cogs in the broken-down capitalist machine — are dealing with at this point: “Does Anyone Want to Hear About Burned-Out Moms Anymore?” Amil Niazi asked at The Cut. That was in August 2021.

snip//

There are, however, ways for us to cope with our exhaustion and even kick-start ourselves out of it — without becoming nihilists or burying our heads in the sand. Chatterjee, for example, has been thinking of Rest for Resistance as going through a “winter phase” where the work won’t stop, but may change. Burned-out activists may find themselves “needing to find rest from the movement itself right now,” they said, but “that doesn’t mean quitting.”

It may mean simply taking “a day where we’re thinking about ourselves through the pandemic and not the entire community,” Chatterjee said. A restful day can look different for everyone: It could be watching a movie, or cooking, or just taking a mental rest from the constant pressures of problem-solving. For some people, work can even be restful, he said, especially if it happens on their own terms.

snip//

Among Cyrus’s patients, the ones who are doing the best at this point in the pandemic are working toward a goal or have something concrete to look forward to, the psychiatrist said. Cyrus herself has anxiety and depression, and what’s helped her is planning a winter trip for herself and her partner. “You have to find some sort of thing that feels new,” she said.

more...

https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22902543/covid-omicron-pandemic-tired-burnout

January 30, 2022

Kidney Patient Rejects Transplant to Stay Anti-Vax

https://www.thedailybeast.com/kidney-patient-chad-carswell-rejects-transplant-to-stay-anti-vax?ref=home

Kidney Patient Rejects Transplant to Stay Anti-Vax
‘NOT CHANGING MY MIND’
Published Jan. 30, 2022 11:47AM ET
WSOC

A North Carolina man who desperately needs a new kidney is rejecting a transplant because the coronavirus vaccine is required. “I was born free. I will die free,” double amputee Chad Carswell told WSOC. “I’m not changing my mind... I’ve had conversations with my family and everybody who is close to me and they know where I stand and there will not be a situation that occurs where I’ll change my mind on this topic.” The hospital, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, requires the vaccine for anyone on a transplant list because those patients would be vulnerable to severe disease or death if they were infected after the operation—which would mean a scarce organ could go to waste.

January 29, 2022

Bette Midler Responds To Jim Justice: 'His Dog's Ass Would Make A Better Governor'

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bette-midler-responds-jim-justice-dog_n_61f560a7e4b0061af25f71ed

Bette Midler Responds To Jim Justice: 'His Dog's Ass Would Make A Better Governor'
The Republican governor had previously told Midler to kiss his dog's "hiney" after she insulted West Virginians.
Hilary Hanson
01/29/2022 12:15pm EST

Bette Midler hit back at West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) after he told her to kiss his dog’s “hiney” in a somewhat graphic display this week.

Justice concluded his State of the State address on Thursday night by picking up Babydog, his English bulldog, and presenting her anus to the cameras.

“Babydog tells Bette Midler and all those out there: Kiss her hiney,” he said.

Justice’s foul request was in reference to insulting comments Midler made in December about the people of West Virginia. The actor and singer had been criticizing Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) for his refusal to support Democrats’ Build Back Better legislation, and she tweeted that Manchin “wants us all to be just like his state, West Virginia. Poor, illiterate and strung out.”

Midler received backlash from both the left and the right for her characterization of West Virginians and apologized, saying she had been “seeing red” over Manchin’s actions.

But she may not have totally absorbed the lesson about not mocking the state.

BTW, here are the state rankings of all the areas and agencies for which the so-called “Governor” of WVA, #JimJustice, is responsible. Judging from these rankings, I’d say his dog’s ass would make a better Governor than him! pic.twitter.com/TJAB3oj5VV
— bettemidler (@BetteMidler) January 28, 2022

For Justice’s part, his stunt with Babydog was the butt of some backlash too, with Democratic state delegate Shawn Fluharty telling The Guardian that the governor “habitually lowers the bar of our state.”

January 29, 2022

Amy Schneider: What I Learned From My Jeopardy! Experience

https://www.jeopardy.com/jbuzz/contestants/amy-schneider-what-i-learned-my-jeopardy-experience

“And while, as I’ve said, my trans identity is only one part of myself, it has also been the source of easily the biggest rewards I’ve gotten from this experience. The first one is personal: a few months ago, deep down, I simply did not believe that I could ever really be accepted for who I was. That is, I had come to believe (not without some difficulty) that at least some people accepted me: my family, my girlfriend, my inner circle of friends. But I always believed that most people would see me as trans people have so often been seen: a freak, a pervert, a man in a dress, a liar, mentally ill. And as the days counted down to my episodes airing, I braced myself for the rejection I was sure would come. And then… it just didn’t. Sure, there have been a few isolated voices trying to bring me down, but the overwhelming reaction has been of support and acceptance. People actually believe me when I say who I am. They don’t think there’s something wrong with me. And because of that, for maybe the first time in my life, I’m starting to think there really isn’t anything wrong with me either.”

Amy Schneider

January 29, 2022

Washington State Trooper Who Quit Over Vaccine Mandates Reportedly Dies Of COVID

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/robert-lamay-gov-jay-inslee-vaccine-mandates-covid-19-washington_n_61f4d1d4e4b04f9a12bd8084

Washington State Trooper Who Quit Over Vaccine Mandates Reportedly Dies Of COVID
Robert LaMay famously quit his job with a bitter videotaped sign-off directed at Gov. Jay Islee over his strict COVID vaccine mandates.
Mary Papenfuss
01/29/2022 02:18am EST | Updated 2 hours ago

Washington State Trooper Robert LaMay, who grabbed headlines when he blew up at Gov. Jay Inslee (D) over vaccine mandates last year, has died of COVID-19, KIRO news radio reported Friday.

He was 50.

LaMay published a video he recorded on his last day in which he said, “Jay Inslee can kiss my ass.”

LaMay started his career in 1999, and worked all over the state. He retired last October instead of getting vaccinated.

“We don’t do vaccines,” he told Fox News in an interview last year after he quit, referring to himself and his family. “We don’t do flu shots or any of that stuff.”

snip//

https://twitter.com/KIROCharlie/status/1487258597348102148?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1487258597348102148%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffpost.com%2Fentry%2Frobert-lamay-gov-jay-inslee-vaccine-mandates-covid-19-washington_n_61f4d1d4e4b04f9a12bd8084

January 29, 2022

The Rude Pundit: One More Time: Nearly Every Parent Is Too Fucking Dumb to Decide on School Curricu

https://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2022/01/one-more-time-nearly-every-parent-is.html
The Rude Pundit
Proudly lowering the level of political discourse
1/28/2022
One More Time: Nearly Every Parent Is Too Fucking Dumb to Decide on School Curriculum

snip//

In Florida, the state legislature is considering two bills, both recently voted out of committees: one would prevent teachers from discussing anything related to LGBTQ topics and allow parents to sue a school if a teacher does; the other forces educators to "objectively" teach everything and not do or say anything that might make a student "feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race, color, sex, or national origin." Think about that from the perspective of a teacher. You've already got parents screaming at you every time you give their tender babe a grade below A. You've got administrators demanding you do more and more work with assessment and planning. You have to buy toilet paper for the school with your own money. You have to teach so that students can do well on annual tests that lawmakers demand they take. And now you've gotta gauge if talking about Ruby Bridges to your 5th graders in Social Studies is going to cause distress? Fuck that. Why bother? And who the fuck are parents and legislators to tell you how to do your fucking job?

By the way, what if not teaching about, say, Ruby Bridges causes distress to Black students? What if whitewashing that history gives them feelings of anguish? But, of course, these bills are written by people who don't give a shit about the feelings of non-white students or LGBTQ students. They are strictly for parents who think they know better than teachers and they fucking don't. But expertise doesn't matter any more in this stupid country where some troglodyte grunting on a YouTube video or podcast has more authority and sway than people who devoted their lives to something.

snip//

Importantly, our parents respected the teachers. Those oil field workers and store clerks and shrimp boat workers didn't try to fuck with the schools just because of their beliefs (and, besides, the Supreme Court had recently slapped down Louisiana on a creationism law). Parents who gave a damn were at-home partners with the schools, helping their kids get their homework done and supporting the efforts of the teachers. And, to be honest, a good many parents just didn't care.

It wasn't perfect. There were conversations and conflicts. There were shitty parents and shitty teachers. But, mostly, teachers got to do their fucking jobs without a bunch of assholes telling them they know better.

January 29, 2022

'Patriotic Millionaires' Will Fund Primary Against Sinema

'Patriotic Millionaires' Will Fund Primary Against Sinema
"Patriotic Millionaires," a wealthy progressive group, prepares to fund primary opponents of conservadems.
By Common Dreams — January 28, 2022

A group of wealthy progressives announced Thursday that it will support primary challenges against Rep. Henry Cuellar, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, and other right-wing Democrats who have actively obstructed President Joe Biden's legislative agenda and, in the process, potentially boosted the GOP's chances of retaking Congress.

"These radical moderates have done more damage to President Biden’s agenda than Mitch McConnell and Ted Cruz combined," Erica Payne, president of the Patriotic Millionaires, said in a statement announcing the organization's endorsements for the looming 2022 midterms—and its plans to back campaigns to unseat right-wing Democrats in this year's elections and beyond.

"Their outright sabotage of President Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda, likely done on behalf of their donors, left us with no choice—it's time to draw a line in the sand," Payne continued. "It's time for the American people to expect better from Democrats, and for the party to hold its elected officials to a higher standard."

snip//

"Our country is becoming unstable, largely due to rapidly growing inequality," Morris Pearl, the chair of the Patriotic Millionaires, said in a statement Thursday. "A small number of radical so-called moderates have stood in the way of even the most commonsense reforms because they are too beholden to a few shortsighted ultra-wealthy people. They have decided to have people who work for a living fall further and further behind to preserve the wealth of millionaires and billionaires."

In addition to backing candidates challenging right-wing Democrats, the Patriotic Millionaires endorsed seven Democratic incumbents, including Reps. Katie Porter (Calif.), Andy Kim (N.J.), and Deborah Ross (N.C.).

"It's time for Democratic donors to stand up for working people," said Pearl. "We must stop contributing to and endorsing candidates who are actively sabotaging the president's agenda."

"If Democrats want to convince voters to support them, they need to show voters that being a Democrat means something," he added. "The people we are endorsing are the tireless champions of working people that the party needs more of. It’s time to focus our support and resources behind candidates like them, rather than ones that will actively undermine their colleagues and the country."

more...

https://crooksandliars.com/2022/01/patriotic-millionaires-will-fund-primary

January 29, 2022

Ex-Fox News Star Lands at NBC News After Quitting Over Tucker Carlson

An endorsement from Chuck Todd?

Ex-Fox News Star Lands at NBC News After Quitting Over Tucker Carlson
FROM FOX TO PEACOCK
The news of the prominent Iraq War booster landing at NBC was met with some criticism from those who remember his false claims about Hussein and al Qaeda.
Zachary Petrizzo
Media Reporter
Published Jan. 28, 2022 3:00PM ET

Months after Stephen Hayes quit Fox News over Tucker Carlson’s conspiratorial rhetoric about the Jan. 6 riots, the conservative author and pundit has landed at NBC News.

“I’ve known and worked with Steve Hayes on and off for nearly 25 years,” Meet the Press anchor Chuck Todd said in a Friday morning statement announcing Hayes’ new role as a network contributor. “He is a principled reporter and analyst who always puts truth and facts above emotion and sentiment.”

Hayes was a Fox News contributor for 12 years and was once a writer for the now-defunct Weekly Standard before co-founding The Dispatch, a center-right website offering an anti-Trump alternative for conservative audiences. He will make his first appearance as an NBC contributor on Sunday morning during Meet the Press, a show on which he has frequently appeared in years past.

Hayes did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s request for additional comment on his new job.

more...

https://www.thedailybeast.com/ex-fox-news-star-stephen-hayes-lands-at-nbc-news-after-quitting-over-tucker-carlson?ref=home

Profile Information

Gender: Female
Hometown: NY
Home country: US
Current location: Florida
Member since: Mon Sep 6, 2004, 09:54 PM
Number of posts: 171,057

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