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FakeNoose

FakeNoose's Journal
FakeNoose's Journal
March 3, 2023

Rep. Mike Zabel (D. Delaware) was accused of sexual misconduct. Here's what you should know.



(link) https://www.inquirer.com/politics/pennsylvania/mike-zabel-delaware-county-house-democrat-accused-sexual-misconduct-20230302.html

A Democratic representative from Delaware County was accused of sexual misconduct Wednesday by a lobbyist from one of the state’s top unions.

Rep. Mike Zabel (D., Delaware) allegedly sexually harassed Andi Perez, a lobbyist for Service Employees International Union 32BJ in 2019, Perez told Spotlight PA. She previously shared her experience, without naming Zabel, at a listening tour event organized by then-House Speaker Mark Rozzi (D., Berks).

Zabel is accused of acting inappropriately toward at least three of his female colleagues, according to Perez and two other reports. And the House Ethics Committee will now look into the allegations against him.

- snip -

House Republicans quickly called for Zabel to resign, describing him as a “serial predator” whose behavior was known by Democratic leaders. Perez, the lobbyist, also called for his resignation. So far, House Democrats have not asked their colleague to step down.


- more at link -

The OP article does contain specific allegations and the women who made them. However I couldn't fit all of that into our "4-paragraph" requirement. So you'll need to click on the link to see the rest of this story.

The next step will involve the House Ethics Committee will be tasked with deciding whether any action should be taken against Zabel.

March 2, 2023

The winners of this year's local races will run Pa.'s 2024 election, and the stakes are high



(link) https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/pennsylvania-elections-2023-county-commissioners-certification-deniers-20230302.html

This year’s local races will determine how Pennsylvania runs its 2024 presidential elections.

Counties, not the state, run elections — and the county boards of elections that certify results are on the ballot this year for the first time since the 2020 presidential race. If they choose to contest those results, local officials can use their individual counties to hold the entire state’s results hostage.

The act of certification was once a routine ministerial task. But with the rise of election denialism and the mainstreaming of once-extreme conspiracy theories since former President Donald Trump’s refusal to accept his 2020 loss, county-level certification has emerged as a key vulnerability in the electoral system.

“The unsubstantiated challenges to the validity of the 2020 election not only spurred citizens to storm the Capitol on January 6th, but it has also gained traction in some local government offices to cast doubt on other election results when they do not align with a desired outcome,” said Tammy Patrick, CEO for programs at the Election Center, a Texas-based nonprofit that is also the National Association of Election Officials.

More than a dozen Pennsylvania elections officials interviewed by The Inquirer said the changing role of local elections boards in recent years — including becoming more high-profile and politicized — has created new risks. Some warned of rising electoral danger in their own and neighboring counties, including election deniers running for office.


- more at link -

We can't ignore the "off-year" elections of 2023. The Repukes are not ignoring it, they're quietly running for offices at the county level. Democrats must Get Out The Vote this year!

The ultimate power of Pennsylvania county boards of elections is to certify vote totals.



March 1, 2023

Penguins, Pirates, Steelers unite for diversity and equity initiative in Pittsburgh


(caption) Presenters announcing a partnership between the Steelers, Penguins, Pirates and Pittsburgh's Black Political Empowerment Project pose at Acrisure Stadium (formerly called Heinz Field) on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. Photo: Brian Batko/Post-Gazette


(link) https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/2023/02/28/penguins-pirates-steelers-bpep-pittsburgh-diversity-equity-inclusion/stories/202302280126

The Penguins, Pirates and Steelers can’t run any of the same plays, but now they all share the same game plan. At least when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion.

In a program Tuesday night at Acrisure Stadium, the Pittsburgh-based Black Political Empowerment Project (B-PEP) announced its partnership with the city’s three major professional teams. The three franchises all have agreed to adopt and implement B-PEP’s Corporate Equity & Inclusion Roundtable “playbook” within their organizations, with a focus on providing employment opportunities to African Americans.

Among those in attendance were David Morehouse, senior adviser to Steelers president Art Rooney II; Travis Williams, Pirates team president; and the Penguins’ Tracey McCants Lewis, chief people officer and general counsel. Steelers President Art Rooney II is in Indianapolis for the NFL scouting combine but filmed a pre-recorded video for the presentation.

“For clarification, this doesn't mean all jobs go to Black people,” said Tim Stevens, B-PEP chairman and CEO. “It means we’re in the Rolodex for Pittsburgh.”

Mr. Stevens began work with Mr. Rooney on this mission in 2013, when Mr. Rooney gave him the thumbs-up to use the term “Rooney Rule” in B-PEP’s efforts to expand diversity, equity and inclusion in the Pittsburgh region. Now, Mr. Rooney will share this same initiative with the other 31 owners in the NFL, a commitment that — when coupled with the Penguins and Pirates jumping on board — Mr. Stevens views as a “transformational moment in time.”


- more at link -

March 1, 2023

Steve Bannon loses his mind on the air (Media Matters)



(link) https://www.mediamatters.org/steve-bannon/steve-bannon-sen-joe-mccarthy-one-greatest-americans-history-country

STEVE BANNON (HOST): Gallagher, brother, you are so dead wrong smearing and besmirching one of the greatest Americans in the history of this country, and that would be Senator Joe McCarthy of Wisconsin. OK?

Because we'll go back, I'll take on anybody in the world. Let's sit down and go through what McCarthy did and what McCarthy said and what McCarthy proved and how McCarthy helped save this nation, right, by the infiltration of communists and Marxists in the highest levels of the United States government and throughout the thing. We need more of that today, Gallagher.


- podcast video at link -

(Short article, nothing more at link, just the video)

Somebody please lock this guy up. Today!

February 28, 2023

US retailers' lure cash-strapped customers with products under $5

(link) https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/us-retailers-lure-cash-strapped-customers-with-products-under-5-2023-02-28/

NEW YORK, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Retailers have a new sweet spot: products that cost $3 to $5. Target said on Tuesday that it would be stocking its shelves with more products priced under $10 as the retailer tries to appeal to more cost-conscious consumers dealing with once-in-a-generation inflation.

This comes a little more than a year after dollar store chain Dollar Tree (DLTR.O) said it would launch more discretionary products including seasonal items and apparel priced between the $3 and $5. Americans are shifting their shopping habits and hunting for bargains in the face of unrelenting inflation. Many, including high-income households, are buying more store-label brands as budgets stretch in the face of higher interest rates.

Minneapolis-based Target, which has nearly 2,000 stores, reported a quarterly profit that beat Wall Street’s expectations for the first time in a year, as it shifted its focus to selling more food and lower-priced items under its higher-margin private-label brands including Favorite Day, Good & Gather and Mondo Llama.

Target generates more than $30 billion in sales from its 48-owned brands, the company disclosed in a presentation on Tuesday adding that these brands grew faster than overall sales in 2022. Now it plans to double down on its in-house products.


- more at link -

I remember the days when these discount specials were called "loss leaders." So the idea was to get us to walk in for the loss leaders, and then stay and buy things that weren't discounted. But I go back to the old days when loss leaders were usually priced under a dollar.

February 28, 2023

An at-home COVID-19 and flu test gets FDA emergency use authorization



(link) https://www.post-gazette.com/news/health/2023/02/28/lucira-covid-flu-test/stories/202302280110

The Food and Drug Administration has approved an at-home test that can detect and discern between COVID-19 infection and two strains of the flu, Influenza A and B, continuing the shift from clinical to home-diagnostic care that blossomed during the height of the pandemic.

Manufactured by medical technology company Lucira Health, the test uses a nasal swab to detect the presence of a virus in 30 minutes. The emergency use authorization, announced Friday in a news release from the Food and Drug Administration, followed a surge in respiratory cases in the fall that drove up hospitalizations nationwide and in Allegheny County. National and local respiratory cases now are trending downward. Two days prior to the approval, Lucira filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing the hope for approval in August, prior to flu season.

The single-use test is currently only available for health care providers to purchase, at $99; a Lucira spokesperson said it is not yet known when consumers can buy the device more widely. The spokesperson said the test is expected to be at least partially, if not fully, reimbursable by insurance, depending on the consumer’s plan.

As of Jan. 15, all private health insurance members are eligible to receive up to eight at-home COVID tests at no cost.


- more at link -

Americans for the most part have given up on wearing masks and social distancing. So there needs to be a quick and low-cost way to test at home, even for those of us who are already vaccinated. Maybe this is the answer, or at least it's a good start?

February 28, 2023

Breaking: Joanna McClinton elected first female speaker of the Pa. House as Mark Rozzi steps down

From Spotlight:


(link) https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2023/02/pa-house-speaker-mark-rozzi-resigns/

HARRISBURG — Democrat Joanna McClinton was elected the first female speaker of the Pennsylvania House on Tuesday after Mark Rozzi stepped down after two tumultuous months presiding over the lower chamber. McClinton was supported by all 102 Democrats in the chamber and no Republicans.

“I’m grateful for all who fought before me … so that this day was possible,” McClinton said after taking the oath of office. “It is only on their shoulders that I stand here today.”

McClinton is the first woman and second Black person to be speaker of the Pennsylvania House, after K. Leroy Irvis. Rozzi announced he was stepping down at the beginning of the state House’s Tuesday session.

His brief time as speaker was defined by partisan fights and gridlock over the rules that govern the lower chamber. Rozzi told Spotlight PA he hopes his legacy will be a rules package that would give rank-and-file lawmakers from both major parties more say in the chamber’s agenda.


- more at link -

Well I guess this has been hinted at for the last couple of weeks. Thank you Rep. Mark Rozzi!

Congratulations to our new Speaker Joanna McClinton!

February 27, 2023

Dow said it was recycling American-style sneakers. Instead they went to an Indonesian flea market

Reuters Special Report

U.S. petrochemicals giant Dow Inc and the Singapore government said they were transforming old sneakers into playgrounds and running tracks. Reuters put that promise to the test by planting hidden trackers inside 11 pairs of donated shoes. Most got exported instead.

(link) https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/global-plastic-dow-shoes/

At a rundown market on the Indonesian island of Batam, a small location tracker was beeping from the back of a crumbling second-hand shoe store. A Reuters reporter followed the high-pitched ping to a mound of old sneakers and began digging through the pile.

There they were: a pair of blue Nike running shoes with a tracking device hidden in one of the soles. These familiar shoes had traveled by land, then sea and crossed an international border to end up in this heap. They weren’t supposed to be here.

Five months earlier, in July 2022, Reuters had given the shoes to a recycling program spearheaded by the Singapore government and U.S. petrochemicals giant Dow Inc. In media releases and a promotional video posted online, that effort promised to harvest the rubberized soles and midsoles of donated shoes, then grind down the material for use in building new playgrounds and running tracks in Singapore.

Dow, a major producer of chemicals used to make plastics and other synthetic materials, in the past has launched recycling efforts that have fallen short of their stated aims. Reuters wanted to follow a donated shoe from start to finish to see if it did, in fact, end up in new athletic surfaces in Singapore, or at least made it as far as a local recycling facility for shredding.


- more at link -

Long story, but well worth the time to read!
Dow has run scams like this before. This time they got caught.







February 27, 2023

Inquirer: We sat down with Gov. Josh Shapiro to talk about his first month. Here are our takeaways.



(link) https://www.inquirer.com/politics/pennsylvania/josh-shapiro-governor-train-derailment-budget-school-funding-20230227.html

No bills have come across Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk during his first month in office. But he’s kept busy.

The new Democratic governor has worked to cast himself as a leader willing to reach across the aisle in a deeply polarized state. And he’s put time into boosting his national profile, too — giving interviews to Fox News and the Washington Post shortly after taking office, and going to the Super Bowl in Arizona.

Shapiro has also called on the state legislature to abolish the death penalty, signed pro-business executive orders, visited the train derailment site near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border, and attended the funeral of the Temple University police officer killed Feb. 18. He now must work with lawmakers in the state House, where Democrats hold a thin majority after a chaotic start to their session, and the Republican-controlled state Senate to accomplish his agenda.

The Inquirer sat down with Shapiro to talk about his first month, his upcoming budget address, and what he thinks he’ll be able to get done in the coming years. Here are five takeaways from the exclusive interview.


- more at link -

Points covered in the interview:
1) His first crisis as governor is the East Palestine train derailment.
2) He’s trying to build consensus from both parties on his budget proposal before he unveils it.
3) He won’t say how he’ll get involved in the fight over extending the statute of limitations for child sex-abuse victims.
4) Fixing the state’s school funding system will take time.
5) His family is settling into life in Harrisburg.





February 27, 2023

How use of diabetes drug OZEMPIC for weight loss has led to a shortage



(link) https://www.post-gazette.com/news/health/2023/02/26/ozempic-weight-loss/stories/202302200075

Ozempic has been catapulted into the public eye in recent months as celebrities and wellness influencers started taking it for weight loss. But Ozempic is a diabetes drug — and the craze has led to a shortage, leaving those who need it for Type 2 diabetes at a loss.

Generically known as semaglutide, it was approved to treat diabetes by the Food and Drug Administration in 2017. But during clinical trials, researchers noticed a side effect: The drug led to weight loss by slowing down stomach emptying and mimicking hormones naturally produced by the intestines that signal satiety.

That led manufacturer Novo Nordisk to rebrand semaglutide as Wegovy — basically Ozempic at a higher dose, but intended strictly for weight loss. Wegovy was approved by the FDA in 2021. Semaglutide’s increasing spotlight has spurred conversations about correlations between health and weight, and whether another weight loss drug is the best approach.

Proponents call Ozempic and Wegovy part of a “revolutionary” new class of drugs to treat obesity, while opponents urge for the fair treatment of fat people and argue that the end goal of a smaller waist and the manipulation of bodies is harmful no matter the outcome. At the center of it all are patients who can’t get the medication they need.


- more at link -

Wow, that plus insulin is so expensive anymore! Not good news for diabetics these days.

Profile Information

Name: Kathy Hinsman
Gender: Female
Hometown: Pittsburgh PA
Home country: USA
Current location: Pittsburgh
Member since: Sat Feb 18, 2017, 02:16 PM
Number of posts: 32,634

About FakeNoose

Hey DU friends! Baby boomer here. I became a voter in 1972 when I turned 21, and I've been voting regularly ever since. For a long time I remained independent - always voting for Dem candidates. However that changed in 2008 when I wanted to vote for Hillary Clinton for President. But I live in Pennsylvania where we have closed elections, and my only chance to vote for Hillary was in the Dem primary. So I joined the Democratic Party in 2008, voted for Hillary, and I've never looked back. Barack Obama won the primary in Pennsylvania, as ell as most other states, and I supported him in the general election. It was a different story in 2016 .... You'll never convince me that Chump didn't CHEAT his way into the White House. The worst 4 years in the history of our country ensued, 2017 to 2020, and the first few days of 2021. We all lived through it and i don't need to explain it now. My goal is to make sure that Chump NEVER gets elected to ANYTHING again. Not even Dogcatcher of West Palm Beach FL. Whether he goes to prison is not up to me - but he must be CONVICTED of his crimes and PREVENTED from running for office again. Better yet - he should be in prison or six-feet-under. You get me? I love the cooperation, optimism and can-do spirit of Democratic Underground. We're a community of liberal-minded Americans and we know how to share our stories constructively and pro-actively. Let's all pitch in and get this job done. There has never been a more important election that right now, this year. Democrats everywhere MUST WIN. Joe Biden must win FOUR MORE YEARS!
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