September 8, 2022

Almost half of Michigan local officials report harassment and abuse, survey finds

(Detroit Free Press) Delta Township Clerk Mary Clark thought it'd be a good idea to invite her community to have a conversation about how elections work.

The veteran elections official wanted to walk through how voting apparatuses are operated, broadly explain security and answer any questions from her neighbors about the process. It was an exercise in transparency, an acknowledgment of the years of frustration and confusion fomented by prominent politicians bent on undermining election results.

Within five minutes of sending out a mass email invitation, the responses started coming in.

"The response was, 'if it's a Dem or a RINO, it's not going to be true,'" said Clark, a Democrat and former president of the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks.

"People feel a license to be more rude...I believe it's because there was a White House occupant (former President Donald Trump) that gave permission and demonstrated inappropriate social interactions." ..............(more)

https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2022/09/08/michigan-local-officials-report-harassment-and-abuse-survey-finds/65956851007/

September 8, 2022

US lobster put on 'red list' to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales

(Guardian UK) Lobster nets and pots have become such a threat to the survival of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales that the crustaceans have been “red-listed” as seafood to avoid by a major fish sustainability guide.

Fewer than 340 of these whales exist today, including only 80 breeding females. The population is estimated to have dwindled by 28% over the past decade.

Seafood Watch, a sustainability guide for consumers and businesses issued by Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, has downgraded Atlantic lobster caught by pot and gillnet fisheries in the whales’ range to “avoid”, its lowest rating.

The new assessment reflects the lack of “timely, effective management” to mitigate “significant risks” of entanglement and promote recovery of the species. The US lobster fishery is worth about $500m (£430m) a year. .............(more)

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/08/us-lobster-put-on-red-list-to-protect-endangered-north-atlantic-right-whales

September 8, 2022

Steve Bannon expected to surrender in New York on border wall fraud charges

(Guardian UK) Top former Trump strategist Steve Bannon is expected to surrender to New York authorities on Thursday to face state fraud charges surrounding his role in a fundraising effort to privately underwrite the construction of the US-Mexico border wall, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The expected move by the Manhattan district attorney’s office was quietly communicated to Bannon in recent days, the sources said of the indictment, which remains under seal, and Bannon is expected to turn himself in at 9am ET before probably being released on his own recognizance.

Bannon, the sources said, is expecting to face fraud charges alleging that he siphoned off more than $1m for personal expenses from the “We Build the Wall” fundraising effort that promised to send all proceeds towards underwriting the completion of the US-Mexico border wall. ...................(more)

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/08/steve-bannon-border-wall-charges-surrender

September 8, 2022

I've seen America's future if the Trumpers win: It's what Lebanon looks like right now

I've seen America's future if the Trumpers win: It's what Lebanon looks like right now
Want to see a modern nation torn apart by violence and reduced to feudalism? You really don't, but it could happen

By BRIAN KAREM
PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 8, 2022 6:30AM


(Salon) Comedian Kathy Griffin recently received a rash of grief for insinuating in a tweet that the Republicans want to start a civil war. But it is actual Republicans who have floated that possibility – not Griffin. So what would that entail? What would that future look like?

For those who are pondering how to use their vote this fall, it's time to take a look at what kind of future we will face should those who call themselves "Trump Patriots" succeed, either through the ballot box, violence or both.

I've seen one of those possible futures for the United States.

I can only hope it's not the future for the United States.

It is not pretty. It is not comfortable. In this future, 50 years after a period of civil war, insurrection and widespread violence, things have changed dramatically.

....(snip)....

As infrastructure crumbles, the politicians begin buying votes directly — paying off the poor for their votes by giving them handouts monthly. Politicians can do that because they have successfully manipulated local election boards, putting their minions from the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers in jobs as "poll watchers" who stand around armed on Election Day, as close as three feet from voters. Texas recently tried (but failed) to pass a law on drive-through voting that would permit poll watchers to get into cars with voters.

Thanks to the disdain shown by Congress for anything deemed "socialism," medical coverage is nonexistent unless you purchase private insurance — and even then it isn't guaranteed. There is no hope of basic health maintenance, and you pray that no one in your family has to handle a medical emergency: Since you can't afford health care, they will likely die. Hospitals charge exorbitant fees because they too have to pay premium prices for water and electricity. ...........(more)

https://www.salon.com/2022/09/08/ive-seen-americas-future-if-the-trumpers-win-its-what-lebanon-looks-like-right-now/

September 8, 2022

Michigan judge rules 1931 law criminalizing most abortions is unconstitutional

(Detroit Free Press) The 1931 law criminalizing most abortions in Michigan violates the tenets of the state Constitution, Court of Claims Judge Elizabeth Gleicher ruled Wednesday.

The order is not the final say on abortion access in the state − opponents will certainly appeal to a higher court that has already undermined previous Gleicher rulings. But it is the first time a Michigan judge has weighed in on the constitutionality of abortion in the state since the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the national constitutional right to an abortion afforded through Roe v. Wade.

"Manifestly, criminalizing abortion will eliminate access to a mainstay healthcare service. For 50 years, Michiganders have freely exercised the right to safely control their health and their reproductive destinies by deciding when and whether to carry a pregnancy to term. Eliminating abortion access will force pregnant women to forgo control of the integrity of their own bodies, regardless of the effect on their health and lives," Gleicher wrote in the opinion.

"Enforcement of (the criminal abortion ban) will endanger the health and lives of women seeking to exercise their constitutional right to abortion. Enforcement also threatens pregnant women with irreparable injury because without the availability of abortion services, women will be denied appropriate, safe and constitutionally protected medical care.” ............(more)

https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2022/09/07/michigan-abortion-law-1931-ruled-unconstitutional/65872882007/

September 7, 2022

Shark Kills US Tourist Snorkeling In Bahamas

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A shark attacked and killed a U.S. cruise ship passenger who was snorkeling in waters around the Bahamas on Tuesday, according to authorities.

The incident involved a 58-year-old woman from Pennsylvania and occurred at a popular snorkeling spot near Green Cay in the northern Bahamas, police spokeswoman Chief Superintendent Chrislyn Skippings told The Associated Press.

“It’s unfortunate,” she said.

Skippings said the woman’s family identified it as a bull shark.

Royal Caribbean International said in a statement to the AP that the person died after arriving at a local hospital for treatment and that the company is helping their loved ones. They said the guest was participating in an independent shore excursion in Nassau and had been sailing on Harmony of the Seas, which is on a seven-night trip after departing Florida on Sunday. .................(more)

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/shark-kills-us-tourist-snorkeling-in-bahamas_n_631899e1e4b000d9884c0d77

September 7, 2022

Man attacked by gator, arm snapped off

MIAMI - There have been at least a half dozen alligator attacks this season around the Tampa Bay area.

Eric Merda is one of those who lived to tell his story.

He said on July 17th, he got lost in the woods at the Lake Manatee Fish Camp in Myakka City. When he finally found the lake, he decided to swim across rather than walk around.

"Not the smartest decision a Florida boy could make," Merda said. "I looked over and there's a gator on my right-hand side so I went to swim and she got my forearm so I grabbed her like this, she was trying to roll but she snapped her head so my arm went backward like this completely." ..............(more)

https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/florida-man-attacked-by-gator-arm-snapped-off/

September 7, 2022

DC/MD/VA: Additional 7000-series trains returning to Metrorail service September 12

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) will be able to return up to 20 of its 7000-series trains to daily service starting Sept. 12, under an updated return to service plan that has been approved by the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC). The updated return to service plan was developed based on data analysis accumulated during the first phase of the 7000-series trains service reentry, which includes an accumulation of more than 860,000 miles of train travel.

The increased number of trains marks the start of the second phase of WMATA’s return to service for the 7000-series fleet; the first phase saw up to eight trains enter daily service. The third phase will be determined by WMATA and approved by WMSC at a later date.

Phase One saw nightly inspections of the trains and Phase Two will implement a four-day inspection interval. WMATA reports it inspected 234 cars 24,000 times during the summer and the return to service plan says the authority has 56,000 data points for back-to-back and journal bearing gap with no measured failures or observable movement.

WMATA installed the first automated inspection system this spring. The authority intends to install six of these systems to inspect wheelsets of its 7000-series railcars in real time. WMATA says any railcar with wheel measurement changes would be removed from the fleet. ......................(more)

https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/vehicles/article/21279755/additional-7000series-trains-returning-to-metrorail-service-september-12

September 7, 2022

Crimes of the powerful: Why the Mar-a-Lago "special master" decision is so dreadful

Crimes of the powerful: Why the Mar-a-Lago "special master" decision is so dreadful
Our justice system is already deeply unfair. Insisting on a higher bar for Trump's prosecution only makes it worse

By GREGG BARAK
Contributing Writer
PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 6:30AM


(Salon) When it comes to the crimes of the powerful, whether we are talking about Wall Street fraudsters, multinational corporate offenders or ex-presidents of the United States under investigation for seditious conspiracy or espionage, the bar for prosecution should be of a lower rather than of a higher nature. Why? Because the social realities of justice in America are already stacked in favor of the powerful perpetrators of crime.

To hold such accused perpetrators to a higher bar for indictment or prosecution only serves to reinforce the existing biases of our justice system, favoring the powerful at the expense of almost everyone else in society.

In the case of U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon's decision to appoint a special master in the case of Donald Trump's purloined documents, recently seized by the FBI in its search of Mar-a-Lago, Duke law professor Sam Buell tweeted that "Donald Trump is getting something no one else ever gets in federal court, he's getting it for no good reason, and it will not in the slightest reduce the ongoing howls that he is being persecuted, when he is being privileged."

Similarly, Andrew Weissmann, who has 20 years of experience as a federal prosecutor and 10 years as a defense attorney, tweeted: "In none of the rare Special Master appointment cases — of attorneys like [Michael] Cohen and [Rudy] Giuliani — did the court ENJOIN the criminal investigation. Less factual merit and far worse legal ruling."

Weissmann refers to the fact that Cannon's order prevents the Justice Department from using the documents in question as part of its criminal investigation into Trump, at least until the not-yet-appointed special master has gone through those thousands of pages. ...........(more)

https://www.salon.com/2022/09/07/of-the-powerful-why-the-mar-a-lago-special-master-decision-is-so/

September 7, 2022

The Solution to the Trump Judge Problem Nobody Wants to Talk About

(Slate) Legal analysts lit up social media on Monday in response to the broad and potentially devastating order by Judge Aileen M. Cannon, a Donald Trump appointee to the Southern District of Florida, temporarily halting the criminal investigation of the former president and his alleged pilfering of classified documents. Her order further authorized a special master to identify and return the small fraction of materials seized in last month’s court-approved search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence that may belong to him. One analyst after another meticulously detailed the failings of Cannon’s reasoning: It was “untethered to the law,” “a political conclusion in search of a legal rationale,” “deeply problematic,” “laughably bad.” At some point, one truly runs out of euphemisms for lawless partisan hackery.

It’s possible to agree with every one of these criticisms but still find them less than satisfying. Because at the end of the day, no matter how much withering criticism she faces, Cannon still gets to put on the black robe and run interference for her benefactor. She will still get a standing ovation at some future Federalist Society gathering. She remains in control of this case. But it’s not just Cannon: Many smart lawyers also noted that the Justice Department now faces the unenviable task of having to appeal this decision up to higher courts that are filled with Trump appointees, which takes the sting out of the opprobrium: For all we know, the Trump-stacked 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals or five radical justices on the Supreme Court may also greet her outrageous decision with a standing ovation.

So the problem is not just the extreme and heinous flaws in Cannon’s ruling. It’s also the Trump-shaped world in which Cannon operates, with impunity, which we will all have to endure for the foreseeable future. It’s the brutal reality that we may face a steady stream of depraved decisions like Cannon’s for the rest of our lives—and the pain of hearing from every quarter that nothing can be done to remedy it.

....(snip)....

There are solutions out there for the problem of Trump’s runaway judges. Expanding the courts—even just the lower courts—is the most bulletproof. Congress has periodically added seats to the federal judiciary from its inception to help judges keep up with ever-ballooning caseloads. Today’s litigants (who are not named Donald Trump) often face yearslong court delays. The Judicial Conference, a nonpartisan government institution that develops administrative policies, has begged Congress to add seats to the lower courts. Some Republicans have supported the idea in recognition of the crisis facing our understaffed judiciary. Letting Joe Biden balance out far-right courts like the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals—which will weigh Cannon’s ruling if the government appeals—would go a long way to tame the jurisprudence of Trumpism. When district court judges know their radical decisions will be overturned on appeal, they may be less likely to swing for the fences in the first place. ..............(more)

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/09/trump-judge-aileen-cannon-court-reform.html