Welcome to The Now

Here's a unspoken link between American business and the American military: America does not attack it's business partners, especially if the "business" is selling weapons.  Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Japan, Israel, Australia ...they are all good customers; Saudi Arabia gets 24% of US arms exports alone. And again, this tends to apply to other businesses as well (hence the NBA tip-toeing around criticism of China).  Bottom line is, if a country plays ball with America, they won't get experience a coup, invasion, or political uprising. That said, America needs a reason to keep making and selling weapons, and that's where the Foreign Boogey-Man comes in. And while China and North Korea can be useful in that role, nothing beats going after Vladimir Putin, as global affairs analyst and opinion writer Michael Bociurkiw writes in this CNN article : As 2022 nears, the West is trying to figure out Russian President Vladimir Putin's next move on a complex geopo...

 In light of Joe Manchin's decision to finally drop the pretense, former Democrat and current MPP Paula Jean Swearengin decided to remind/inform people how she was treated endorsement-wise when she ran for office . (FYI: It's more or less a practice that US Senators do not support primary challenges to other sitting Senators, regardless of party). While most of the responses were positive and/or encouraging, others choose to attack Swearengin for daring to criticize the Democrats (or in Bernie Sanders' case, Democrat-affiliates). I'm curious how these people reacted to Hillary Clinton's blaming everyone and everything for her 2016 loss. Also, Sarah Silverman got a taste of Democratic Party retribution as well . 

 After successfully convincing many potentially radical left-leaning voters that Joe Biden would be some progressive hero, and now facing backlash because (despite Democratic Party control of two branches of government) of all the broken promises, AOC and the Squad are switching back to their pseudo-activist role, trying to come across as scrappy fighters against something they actually championed.  

  The Jean-Luc Picard of the Democratic Party, who had no problem keeping the NBA from protesting or consolidating support around Joe Biden to help sink Bernie Sanders' chance of winning the 2020 primary, is noticeably absent as Joe Manchin has decided to decapitate Biden's (supposedly) signature legislation. Anything to the left of Democratic Party Leadership is a threat .

  An admirable idea , but vaccines alone will not defeat COVID. We need a universal health care system.  I'm sure on some level he realizes this, but he is a former police officer and he seems to be looking at COVID like it's some kind of criminal.

  Case in point : More than 600 employees at the Department of Correction may opt to test weekly in lieu of being vaccinated against COVID-19, a CT Mirror analysis has found, because the state is not requiring prison medical staff to apply for medical or religious exemptions. That policy is inconsistent with rules for the majority of health care workers at the departments of Veteran’s Affairs, Children and Families, Mental Health and Addiction Services, and Developmental Services. About 3,700 workers at those agencies must have exemptions approved by the state if they want to test weekly instead of getting vaccinated, as per Gov. Ned Lamont’s executive order. The governor’s office confirmed that correctional employees are not bound by this rule. The administration’s restrictive mandate for most health care employees is similar to practices in private hospitals in Connecticut, which also require workers to apply for exemptions if they do not want to be vaccinated. The governor’s vac...

It was always, at best, a juvenile bit of logic: vote for Joe Biden (he of 40 years of legislating as a Reagan Democrat) to oust Donald Trump, and then push (or lobby) to get him to be more progressive/left. First things first: there are a number of reasons to suggest Biden over Trump, like Biden would accept the result of the election, win or lose, and not attempt to wreck what's left of our electoral process.  There's no need to try and make the real base believe that it's even remotely possible that Biden can be pushed to go back on decades of center-right policy. Why? Because there's this assumption that there are elements and mechanisms within and/or connected to the Democratic Party that can push him in the first place . As this little graphic highlights, that doesn't exist. Anyone to the left of Democratic Party Leadership is either humbled, co-opted, or excommunicated.  If you choose to stay, you must play by their rules. If you choose to leave, prepared to ...

Let's get to the point: The US has about 61% of the population vaccinated (which is close to the percentage of Americans who vote , by the way).  The rest of the world is a coin flip , depending on their government and their resources.  America won't get COVID under control without a Universal Healthcare System (aka, Medicare For All). The world won't improve until America takes the lead and offers vaccinations to nations who need and accept them for free .

  This Twitter thread is from August 2021 , and it hasn't gotten any better. There is a reason the guy is polling so badly , especially on economics. Erasing student loan debt, passing Medicare For All, giving Americans a $2,000 stimulus check, pushing for a national minimum wage increase to $15/hr; these things would have improved the economic well-being of millions of Americans and allowed the Democrats to cruise to re-election.  UPDATE: a better way to read that thread . 

 I don't fault CNN for having a food section, or even for their celebrity journalists for having recipes, but considering all the things that are going on in the world, like: Julian Assange War Sanctions against other Counties (which is basically a declaration of war) Or things going on in America (in addition to the above): Police Brutality/Militarization of Law Enforcement People Trapped in Student Loan/Credit Card/Medical Debt Homeless Crisis Flawed Healthcare System Increasing Infringements on Speech ( currently being disguised as "protection" ) Continued Deregulation Crusade Against Worker's Rights Institutional Racism Media Consolidation The Defunding of our Educational System Or heck, even positive things like: Steven Donziger leaving jail ( but still being under house arrest) The first (and second) Starbucks Union Democratic Elections in the Global South They decide to put a section of their celebrity journalist's personal recipes on the front page of t...

 Apparently Nancy Pelosi is still upset about what happened on 1/6/21: “I'll never forgive president — former president of the United States and his lackeys and his bullies that he sent to the Capitol for the trauma that he — that wasn't what was exerted on our staff. These are young, largely younger people who come with the idealism to work in the Capitol on either side of the aisle and whatever it is. And for us to sign up for this when we run for office, it's bad enough for our families to see the danger we're in.” Keep in mind Pelosi didn't seem that upset with Trump when Congress approved his Pentagon budget .  In fact, how many times did Pelosi lead the charge to stymie Trump's legislative agenda. I mean, as Speaker and one of the leaders of the Democratic Party, she could have actively made every day of Trump's presidency a living nightmare.  She could have.

 When you leave one of the two major parties to either go independent or third party, their supporters never let you forget it. But considering the vast number of times Democrats and Republicans have switched with each other, you'd think most of that hostility would be directed toward the people who "changed teams." You'd think. Apparently, the party supporters don't care. Do search on any social media platform to see anyone attacking a Democrat who was formerly a Republican or a Republican who was once a Democrat. They exist, but the vitriol is no where near that towards anyone who decides against the duopoly.  It's almost like Reds/Blues would rather you be a Blue/Red than third-party/independent. And if they're more focused on the party than the policies being championed and implemented, than the party might not be worth supporting. Bonus! Democrats fight against ending Surprise Medical Bills :

 Sure Chris Cuomo being fired calls CNN's credibility to attention, and apparently Don Lemon may be next . But remember Roger Ailes , Bill O'Reilly and Fox News? Cable News is problematic, full-stop. We just haven't learned about the crazy things that's been going on over at MSNBC yet. 

We started with "reform the police" but it was either ignored or diluted to the point of being ineffective. We toyed with "abolish the police" because we figured that professionals like social workers, fire fighters and medics could fill a lot of the needed roles, with the community stepping up to fill any other gaps. We settled on "defund the police" because they are being militarized to a ridiculous degree, and the money could be better used to combat crime in other ways (improving education and/or reducing poverty).

 So after both the VPOTUS  communications director and chief spokesperson (who incidentally, worked on Biden's 2020 campaign as well as Sander's 2016 campaign) have called it quits, CNN's Chris Cillizza asks, " What the heck is going on with Kamala Harris ?" The answers range from "dysfunction" and "lack of focus" to "exasperation" over Harris' "future political ambitions." There's also the fact that (as quoted reporter Mark Z Barabak put it) the role of Vice President, "is an inherently diminishing one." All possible, especially the last one (it's likely Harris thought of her role as VP as a stepping stone, ala "VEEP"). Still, Cillizza must be one of those political media people who believe that being the benefactor of a winning presidential campaign equates into being loved by the populace. He ends with a twinge of confusion about Harris's dwindling popularity. The fact of the matter i...

 As Graham Elwood shows us , "Yes it is."

 In the US, the call to blame any and everyone who has either (a) not received a vaccine, (b) sympathizes with those who haven't been vaccinated, or (c) criticized how vaccinations have been distributed, administered and politicized is reaching an apex, despite around 64% of the country being vaccinated. Meanwhile, a bunch of countries and at least one continent on planet Earth are being denied vaccines because of the guy who's best know for having a monopoly on operating systems .   Why aren't the people who are attacking their neighbor for refusing the vaccine not attacking Bill Gates for trying to extort nations? Does it have something to do with his years-long push to get the media in his back pocket ?  Update: There are apparently some people willing to at least go after the WTO .

 With a president elected and the Queen now relieved of her duties as head of state, the country is beginning a life post-colonialism . Keeping in mind its demographics , let's hope that they don't fall victim to the US Military-Industrial-Complex (i.e., they either reject capitalism or decide to do business with countries other than America). 

 It will be closed and it will stay closed during Thanksgiving for the foreseeable future.

       So apparently the relationship between Republicans and Democrats have gone from disagreement-yet-mutual-respect to disdain to thinking that the other is the root of all evil on Earth .  Considering that neither has a locked on the voting majority (about 40% of registered voters identify as independent, and neither Republican and Democratic registered voters can't crack 25%), this shouldn't be a big issue. Sadly, the media, our political system and everyone you'll see or talk to during Thanksgiving believes that Democrats and Republicans are our only option. The vast majority of the American political world ignores that fact that many third parties exist, from "veteran" Green Party and Libertarian Party to the new [Movement for a] People's Party . The mainstream media downplays their significance, while relatively independent social media outlets argue that while both major parties are less than desired, voting third party is a waste of a vote.  In ...

 The enemy in the battle against COVID-19 is not your neighbor who caught COVID and doesn't want to get vaccinated. It's not the co-worker who insists on wearing masks both inside and outside. It's not the relative who has been vaccinated and is speaking out against mandates. The enemy is Pfizer, who is profiteering, covering up data, and attacking/firing anyone who exposes either:

 

 Channing Tatum has made no secret that "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" was not something he found of acting in . Among his complaints was the script, no being able to play Snake Eyes (he wanted the only guaranteed non-speaking role ?) and not wanting to be pigeon-holed into being an action star. No sir ; we certainly don't want Tatum to get stuck with that label. Not at all .  I also remember a video where Tatum said he was hesitant because he was worried that G.I. joe may be to propagandistic (for the record, this is that director's resume ).  Anyway, now that America is in a post-"Why-Did-We-Leave-Afghanistan" mood, Hollywood has greenlit a propaganda war/dram/action movie that Tatum and "Venom" star Tom Hardy are attached to. Well, at least he won't have to wear a cheesy battle suit, right? 

 Those who believe that the COVID-19 vaccine will make you immune to the virus need to read this CNN story about someone who has had four shots and is no more protected than someone who had zero , and this Newsweek story about how Florida is experiencing the lowest infection levels in the country .  Reminder: the vaccine is supposed to make sure that you don't die when you catch COVID-19, not prevent you from catching it.  Also: having a universal health care system should have been the solution from the jump. 

When the government gives money to rich people, they usually don't ask for it back . Considering that the US was one of the few industrialized nations to not pay workers during the COVID-19 lockdown, would it hurt so much to let people keep the money? 

 Art by Barry Deutsch. 

The Washington Post's take on before , during and after the Jan 6th event.  Newsweek: Now everyone is talking about how lousy Terry McAuliffe's campaign was. Left Voice: The Center Cannot Hold , indeed.

While it seemed that Fauci's dog-killing story would (finally) sink his public credibility, The Washington Post comes to the rescue, accusing a bipartisan organization of playing favorites .

Compare the Democrats' strategy for self-described socialist India Walton for the Buffalo mayor's race to their strategy for GOP candidate in the VA Governor's race .   In Buffalo, NY Walton was labeled as an ineffective radical by her opposition (who were ignoring the fact that Walton touted the endorsements of establishment and left-leaning Democrats ). Panicking by her primary victory, supporters of Byron Brown (who has been mayor for 16 years) relied on money and votes from Republicans and Independents. Technically-speaking, Brown is not currently a Democrat, so he can keep doing what he's been doing without having to worry about incurring their wrath. In Virginia, Democrats were desperate to get Democratic Terry McAuliffe any traction. Instead of addressing some really bad takes , they decided to flood the Commonwealth with Democratic Party celebrities and act like the election was Biden vs Trump Part II. The truth is McAuliffe had some things in common with Yo...

 Especially those in the two major parties. What do they do with your donations? Pay their consultants (who usually give them bad advice) Pay for ads, which: Beg more people for money Beg other people to vote for them Pass along to their other party members... including those you don't agree with policy-wise . You could be using your hard-earned money to invest in yourself or more directly in causes/programs that help people in the way you wish elected official have been doing.  Besides, it's been shown that even when you donate to people who (a) already are well-off or (b) already well-connected they don't listen because there are donors with more money and influence than you who are contributing to these candidates .

 Press Secretary Jen Psaki has COVID-19 . Can we have Universal Health Care now ?

 That's what Democrats will have to say to their constituents if they don't hold the line . I can't imagine saying something along the lines of, "Well, we tried y'all" winning many votes.  They didn't Force the Vote. They couldn't get a Minimum Wage increase. The stimulus checks were less then promised. Kids are still in cages. Countries are still being bombed. People of color are still being brutalized by police. Journalists are still being punished for simply showing the world the dark underbelly of our governments. Medical bills, gasoline, rent and mortgages are high and rising. The Pandemic still reigns. Climate Change has not been successfully addressed. Those were just some of the expectations that didn't get addressed to satisfaction. The Left has all but abandoned the Democratic Party (there are still some holdouts) and if they don't pull out a substantial, legacy-level, New Deal-like win with these two bills, they may begin to lose som...

Here we go : (CNN)Speaker Nancy Pelosi told House Democrats on Thursday "don't embarrass" President Joe Biden by voting down a $1 trillion infrastructure bill amid Biden's trip overseas, a warning that underscores the high stakes of the moment for the divided party as the President's agenda hangs in the balance. House Democratic leaders are pushing for a vote on the infrastructure bill even as key progressives signal they plan to withhold their support, a dynamic that could force leadership to delay the vote for the second time in two months and deal a major blow to Biden on the world stage. [snip] Pelosi's admonition not to "embarrass" the President came during the closed-door meeting. She also said that she would put the infrastructure bill on the floor later Thursday and hold the vote open to get the bill through. In other words: the platform House members ran on and their politics mean little when their party leader's reputation/feelings are ...

 With Sam Raimi at the helm, I imagine that the movie will look like a cross between " Oz the Great and Powerful " and " Drag Me to Hell ." In a sense, Raimi is like a cross between Wes Craven and Tim Burton, and his sense of comedic timing is (arguably) better than either. Combine that with the Power of the Mouse, related works and his Marvel History , I expect a very unique entry into the MCU.

 At this time, it doesn't seem like foul play, but that doesn't make it any less of a somber story : New York (CNN Business)A John Deere worker who was walking to the picket line Wednesday in Milan, Illinois, was struck and killed by a car, according to the United Autoworkers Union. "It is a somber time to lose a member who made the ultimate sacrifice in reporting to picket for a better life for his family and coworkers," said Ray Curry, UAW President. The 56 year-old union member, whose name has not been released, was a 15-year employee at the Milan John Deere Parts Distribution Plant in Moline, Illinois. The workers at John Deere have been striking for almost two weeks now.  

 By definition, a vaccine is "a substance used to stimulate the production of antibodies and provide immunity against one or several diseases, prepared from the causative agent of a disease, its products, or a synthetic substitute, treated to act as an antigen without inducing the disease." For the curious, the definition of " immunity " is, "the ability of an organism to resist a particular infection or toxin by the action of specific antibodies or sensitized white blood cells."  Notice the use of "resist," as in, "You're going to catch it, but we want you to survive the ordeal." That being in mind, check out this video Jimmy Dore did regarding Noam Chomsky's surprisingly fear-filled idea to ostracize unvaccinated people from society:

There was a time during the GW Bush Administration where it became obvious that the President's foreign policy was falling apart: no weapons of mass destruction, no connection between Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, no real justification for the men and women who lost their lives and/or their livelihood.  Domestic policies (trying to convince people to invest their Social Security in the Stock Market, Hurricane Katrina response) wasn't fairing any better. Facing what would later be know as a blue wave (before the media claimed what happened in 2018 one) the GOP decided to implement the "Shut Up and Clap Louder" strategy. It was basically, "Ignore reality, claim that the policy (or policies) help(s) to make the country better, and praise the President at every opportunity." Flash forward to now, where President Biden is bleeding at the polls , and the Democrats are seemingly employing the same strategy. Instead of acknowledging the broken campaign promise...

Basically: Republican president rarely ask if they can do something, and Democratic president come up with excuses why they can't do anything.  Except increasing the military budget. They all agree to do that. Also, Democrats are very good with coming up with "liberal" arguments to do thing Republicans get pushback for even suggesting ( Crime Bill , Telecommunications Act , etc.)

  "Build Back Better" my big butt : On Thursday, Judge William H. Alsup of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco threw out a June 2020 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule changing the Clean Water Act Section 401 certification process to allow federal agencies to approve large projects—including fossil fuel pipelines, hydroelectric dams, industrial plants, wetland developments, and municipal facilities—against the wishes of states and Native American tribes. In July 2020, 20 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration over the rule change. That September, Indigenous tribes and green groups also filed suit against the administration, claiming the new rule would jeopardize tribal and state efforts to protect their water quality. "We feel vindicated by this win today," Western Environmental Law Center (WELC) attorney Sangye Ince-Johannsen said in a statement following the ruling. "The ...

 Simply put: while it may be temporarily satisfying to ridicule people for losing their jobs , this could potentially impact the unemployment numbers in a way that hurts Democrats in the midterms .  COVID-19 is still new, and people have a right to be skeptical. Not willfully ignorant, but skeptical. 

This is a real opinion piece . BTW: "commercial superpower" is not (currently) a real phrase. 

 In America, there are self-proclaimed Democrats who praise Colin Powell yet despise Condoleezza Rice, despite the fact that both of them pushed the same foreign policies while in the GW Bush Administration.

It's possible that this story from David Corn is just Sen. Manchin trying to scare Sen. Chuck Schumer and President Joe Biden into capitulating on the infrastructure bill, but there are more good reasons to call his bluff and let him leave than back down like a scared little bunny: The Democrats will no longer have to listen to Manchin . Is there a chance that Manchin caucuses with the Republicans, giving them power over the Senate? Yep. But the Democrats still have the House of Representatives and the White House, so the GOP aren't going to be able to pass anything either. As powerful as Manchin will seem in the Senate, he will no longer be a factor in the overall process of lawmaking. The Democrats can now run someone against Manchin in West Virginia . It's doubtful that they'll run someone like Paula Jean Swearegin , but any candidate who is to the left of Manchin economically would be an improvement. And let's not forget that Manchin pushed a gubernatorial cand...

 In one word: protests. As in, " Students from Howard University protest their less-than-stellar living conditions :" Protester Tia-Andrea Scott expressed concerns over accounts of students coughing up blood and experiencing mold in the walls of their dorms. She said university officials were invited to a town hall on Tuesday night but instead of showing up, they sent police officers instead. “This isn’t how we should be treated by our university. Howard University is supposed to be illustrious” Scott continued. “But when it comes to protecting the people that are here, and Black issues, clearly they’re not meeting us…unless media presence or unless everyone is watching.” Video shared on social media shows Howard students blasting the school over the lack of COVID testing and the mold inside the dorms. While I'm sure these issues (and others) have been building up for some time, events like these protests -in addition to the strikes that have been popping up across Americ...

 As the ex-nurse-turned mayoral candidate India Walton is finding out:  

 Answer: Yes . 

 Another day, another act of capitulation : WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned fellow Democrats on Thursday they “must put aside our differences” as the party struggles to coalesce around President Joe Biden’s huge but now-scaled-back package of social services and climate change strategies. Schumer’s letter to colleagues comes as progressive leaders in Congress are steering them away from what the progressives call a “false choice” over what to keep or cut as Democrats labor to trim what had been a $3.5 trillion proposal to about $2 trillion. I would say that I'm surprised if not for the fact that since the election, Democrats have consistently backed down from their promises, including a $2,000 stimulus (not $1,400) and $15 minimum wage.  Keep in mind that the original price tag was almost twice as much as the $3.5 trillion that Chuck Schumer now is willing to reduce. No on is pushing the Democratic Party to the left. The leadership won't allow it....

  And not just because people complained about their cramped seating .

Update from a post from last week via of The Convo Couch:

 Can't have a robust economy without a workforce .  FYI: a closer look (Pages 11 through 14) break things down by industry and region. 

Instead of sharing their vaccine recipe with organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) - which could help make the vaccine available worldwide- Moderna has decided that it's better off just selling vaccines for profit .  This is a rather cruel piece of evidence that the vaccine was not created to harm or control the populace. 

 With very few options and a disastrous economic fallout looming due hesitation on raising the debt ceiling, President Biden has decided to pull out the big guns, aka, bank CEOs . And wouldn't you know it, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell now wants to deal .  Keep in mind that if Biden was the negotiator that he claimed to be during the 2020 presidential campaign, he wouldn't have needed to reach for such a big stick. 

 In his latest attempt to play congressional gadfly, Joe Manchin has decided to make the more left-leaning Democrats in Congress choose which of the following three policies they want to keep : expanded child tax credit, paid family leave or subsidies for child care . While this may look like Manchin may finally be willing to negotiate, there's a reason to be suspicious. It's possible Manchin would just be against whichever option was picked, claiming that the other two are more reasonable. It's also possible that Manchin wants someone else to make the choice instead of him, which will take the anger and frustration off of him while splintering the people who want all three policies.  For the most part, the left-leaning Democrats aren't buying it , but time will tell. After all, the midterms are fast approaching and Manchin has just as much pull with Republicans in charge.   

 While President Joe Biden is apparently open to weakening the filibuster rules in order to get his legislation passed, the American media appears to be pushing the more left-leaning Democrats in Congress to compromise on a bill that already represents a compromise . 

  Secular Talk and Common Dreams also talk about this, but that's the basic takeaway. And we're not only talking about CEOs, but world leaders as well.  I'll also add that there's not a lot of daylight between how the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists put this Pandora Papers story together and what Wikileaks does. 

 Between the 60 Minutes whistleblower revelation and The Facebook Family's (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) very convenient "downtime" while people were about to discuss said whistleblower revelation, Facebook isn't having a good week. AOC is about to make it worse : "It's almost as if Facebook's monopolistic mission to either own, copy, or destroy any competing platform has incredibly destructive effects on free society and democracy," the Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter. "Remember: WhatsApp wasn't created by Facebook. It was an independent success. FB got scared and bought it." "If Facebook's monopolistic behavior was checked back when it sh ould've been (perhaps around the time it started acquiring competitors like Instagram)," the New York Democrat added, "the continents of people who depend on WhatsApp and IG for either communication or commerce would be fine right now. Break them up." Being a in the busin...

Graham Elwood reminds us that Facebook is not our friend . Remember: if it's free, then that means that you are the product . 

 Looks like being a social media platform "empowered" by politicians to be the gatekeeper of "good information" can be problematic when profits are on the line : The identity of the Facebook whistleblower who released tens of thousands of pages of internal research and documents — leading to a firestorm for the social media company in recent weeks — was revealed on "60 Minutes" Sunday night as Frances Haugen . The 37-year-old former Facebook product manager who worked on civic integrity issues at the company says the documents show that Facebook knows its platforms are used to spread hate, violence and misinformation, and that the company has tried to hide that evidence. "The thing I saw at Facebook over and over again was there were conflicts of interest between what was good for the public and what was good for Facebook, and Facebook over and over again chose to optimize for its own interests, like making more money," Haugen told "60 Minut...

 COVID-19, or more specifically, how we combat COVID-19 may lead to (yet) another economic spiral. If the federal government and other states follow New York's lead to mass fire health care workers for refusing the vaccine mandates , and end up hiring people with little-to-no experience in applying vaccination properly, who go on to follow jab procedures that even the vaccine manufactures don't recommend , we're going to end up with a lot more sick/dying people.  Good luck convincing people to get the booster if there is a fallout. And those who haven't been jabbed at will look at this and say, "SEE?!? I told you that it was dangerous!"  Being skeptical of people who choose professional advancement, monetary achievement, or personal gain over the well-being and health of the public is not a crime. 

 The Alabama Governor apparently wanted to use COVID-19 funding to build a prison . If the state didn't already have a high incarceration rate (which people have tried to offer advice on how to rectify ) and wasn't a COVID hotspot , I'd say the criticism of that move is unwarranted. If. 

  Most Americans can barely cover the basics, and going into debt is usually the only solution when unexpected expenses come up . 

 As with most things, COVID-19 revealed. Case in point, the world's tenuous supply chain : Seafarers, truck drivers and airline workers have endured quarantines, travel restrictions and complex Covid-19 vaccination and testing requirements to keep stretched supply chains moving during the pandemic. But many are now reaching their breaking point, posing yet another threat to the badly tangled network of ports, container vessels and trucking companies that moves goods around the world. In an open letter Wednesday to heads of state attending the United Nations General Assembly, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and other industry groups warned of a "global transport system collapse" if governments do not restore freedom of movement to transport workers and give them priority to receive vaccines recognized by the World Health Organization. [SNIP] "The global supply chain is very fragile and depends as much on a seafarer [from the Philippines] as it does on a tr...

  Sen. Kyrtsen Sinema doesn't like things in the bill that the House of Representatives are currently working on/debating, but she won't tell anyone what those things are . You can't negotiate with someone who won't tell you what they want to negotiate over. This reeks of a delaying tactic, designed to appease Sinema's donors. 

  Apparently there's been a review/audit of claims there were previously approved , and between fraud, mistakes on behalf of the applicant or agency, and appeals from former employers there have been a number of "overpayments." 

  Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-Independent-turned-Democrat Matthew Dowd plans to run for Lt. Governor of Texas . 

 Can't think of another way to explain this.

 After voting for the Iron Dome legislation , Democratic Congresswoman Karen Bass has her eyes set on becoming the Mayor of L.A. 

  Apparently, Emanuel's poor tenure as mayor of Chicago has hampered his chances of becoming the US Ambassador to Japan to the point that he's reaching out to people like Senator Lindsey Graham for support . 

 America is a country that, politically-speaking, has conservatives, liberals, libertarians, socialists, communists, anarchists, fascists, and many other ideologies. Some people even have elements of more than one. But when it comes to how America views the world, it's like the trope " Planet of Hats ." In (American) science-fiction, other worlds tend to be completely unified under one trait, philosophy, belief system and/or style of government. Everyone is obese, or share the same religion or are authoritarian.  I suppose we could call this a "Nation of Hats" for practical purposes. The idea that another country could be filled with variations, differences or extremes is almost foreign to most Americans; in truth it's not entirely their fault, they're just listening to what the American media is telling them.  Take this AP story about the Taliban in Afghanistan , for example: KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Friction between pragmatists and ideologues in the ...

 Before it was a state and the American ideal tourist paradise, it was the home of over 680,000 people with their own culture and way of life. A lot of that culture was destroyed in the name of American progress, and the first step to correcting this tragedy is learning more about Hawai'i and the struggles it's native population has endured . 

 If this had been Tulsi Gabbard or Kamala Harris or Candace Owens or Marjorie Taylor Green (or any other political celebrity who has their own rabid fanbase), supporters would be making arguments for and detractors would be making arguments against. The worship or demonization of a person because they have an audience -and not the politics they endorse and/or represent- is one of the reasons America is in the situation it's in.   

 It's like someone out of Knots Landing or Dynasty or a day-time soap: a powerful, quasi-mysterious family that's been a dominant voice in their state for decades endures a gambit of tribulations, some which have been inflicted on them and some which they may have been responsible for .  UPDATE : Another layer to the Murdaugh onion . 

 “I blame Larry Nassar and I also blame an entire system that enabled and perpetrated his abuse. [USA Gymnastics and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee] knew that I was abused by their official team doctor long before I was ever made aware of their knowledge.”  - Simone Biles during her testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee .