Welcome to The Now

 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 . 

 The dirty little secret of the US Military is that US soldiers and military contractors can be either distinct or interchangeable depending on the conversation. What's no longer secret is that US Military relied on contractors a bit too much...like almost $7 trillion . 

 According to a story from the Rolling Stone , there's one piece of legislation that has Biden willing to go after wayward Democrats: WASHINGTON — With a make-or-break vote looming in the Senate on a sweeping voting-rights and anti-corruption bill, President Joe Biden and his advisers have said in recent weeks that Biden will pressure wavering Democrats to support reforming the filibuster if necessary to pass the voting bill. According to three people briefed on the White House’s position and its recent communications with outside groups, Biden assured Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that he was ready to push for filibuster reform. Biden’s pressure would aim to help Schumer convince moderate Democrats to support a carveout to the filibuster, a must for the party if it’s going to pass new voting protections without Republican votes. According to a source briefed on the White House’s position, Biden told Schumer: “Chuck, you tell me when you need m...

 The new Texas abortion law may backfire on them : Conservatives should be just as outraged by this legal ruse as liberals are. After all, if the Texas scheme actually succeeds in the long run, what's to stop an anti-gun state legislature from banning handguns in the home, in clear violation of SCOTUS precedent, and then placing state officials beyond the reach of federal judicial review by outsourcing the ban's enforcement to an army of private-sector gun control activists? Most gun shops would probably go bankrupt overnight when faced with the wave of private-sector civil suits that such a state law would unleash. Is that the future that conservatives want? As with most things, time will tell.

  Without spoiling too much (besides the fact that some of your favorite MCU characters either die, are zombies, or both): Interesting that there was no main protagonist. A case could be made for either Peter or Banner, but neither were really "in charge" throughout the story. On that note, the episode highlights what happens in a world where key MCU leader types are either unavailable or just...gone. The motley crew left behind makes for cool interactions, but they're not exactly the odds on favorite for surviving.  It's cool that the zombie narrative isn't the sole story; we're seeing the events of "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Ant-Man and the Wasp" play out (somewhat) with a zombie curve-ball thrown in, so there are conflicts on top of conflicts. The characters who didn't show up in this story (hint: they're probably still in space) make one wonder what will happen when/if they show up... I was curious as to whether the zombies h...

 Sure, members of the Squad slept outside the Capitol to get the eviction moratorium extended .  Problem is, the "Fight the System" mystique of their actions faded the moment  Chuck Schumer showed up. And let's not forget that going up against Nancy Pelosi is still considered a "no-no." Also, there was a good chance that the courts would get involved , since the best solution was for Congress to make an actual law (which as lawmakers, the Squad could have done anytime before the break).  Well, members of the People's Party , along with Jackson Hinkle, Lee Camp and Afeni from (Fred Hampton Leftists) decided to hold a no-elected official version. Ultimately, less people showed up than the Squad's protest, which makes one wonder why some of them were arrested:   Just to be clear: Afeni and Lee Camp were not arrested; but Nick Brana , Martin Gugino , Jackson Hinkle and Paula Jean Swearengin were.  Interesting how when more than triple the number showed...

 It's not those who've gotten their shot, or those who used some other non-mainstream from of treatment and then became ill. It's still average, everyday people who didn't get the jab (and most likely don't mask up).  We need to understand that misinformation is coming from (and being incubated on) both sides .  America's worst day in dealing with the pandemic was the day it became politicized. Anyone talking about COVID-19 in a manner to score political points, prosper professionally or earn profit should be met with a raised eyebrow; the only goal should be the general health of the population, no matter who they are .  What could really help America? A Universal Health Care System.

The biggest problem with the current two-party system in the United States is that the tribalism between supporting either the Democratic Party or the Republican Party overshadows any energy focused on improving the lives of average Americans. There are countless groups, clubs, organizations and movements that have come and gone (and some are still around in some form or another) where the goal was to improve the quality of life in some way: helping people find good jobs, exposing corruption, taking care of the sick, etc. Too many of them fell into the trap of, "Do you support the Donkey or the Elephant?" which depending on the answer, alienated them from a whole section of people (thanks mostly to the media).  This is encouraged by the two major parties. The division helps keep them both close to power; all one party has to do is wait for the other to screw up (which is inevitable) and then the party that's not in power promises to make things better if they get elected....

Instead of pretending to know what's going in Afghanistan or arrogantly trying to predict the country's future, why not take the time to reminisce about past and current America presidents trying to justify the entire experience? Since we're talking about 20 years and multiple presidents (Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden) this will be broken up into four parts For this post:  Joe Biden . Keep in mind that not every speech or even every speech about the country in question is being referenced, just notable ones where the justification is mentioned. Also, since this particular president is currently in office, much of this is subject to change .  Because justifications vary, let's use a key: Humanitarian  ("People are getting hurt!") Economic  ("America/American businesses are either losing money because we're not taking action, or can gain money by taking action."  Political  ("This will give us an advantage with our political adversaries,"...

 So while still on CNN, I came across this gem: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is trying to get more Americans to get vaccinated .  Despite this effort, it may be hard to reach those who have...resisted...the vaccinations at this point. While most tend to lean GOP, a good number of that demographic are also Trump supporters . Trump, who has been vaccinated, couldn't even convince his own to follow suite .