Welcome to The Now

 

Can't say I'm surprised : Connecticut towns and cities are spending millions of dollars of federal stimulus funds to install police surveillance systems in local communities, enabling law enforcement officials to more easily track people’s movements and potentially solve crimes. Public records show that at least five municipalities in the state have allocated millions of dollars provided through the American Rescue Plan Act to equip local police departments with a variety of surveillance technology, which has raised concerns about privacy and civil liberties in the past. The purchases of the new surveillance equipment were widely supported by local elected leaders in many towns, but in some instances, the spending prompted questions among local residents about whether the federal funding could be put to better use. Patrick Daley, the police chief in Norwich, said his department had plans to add more surveillance cameras already, but it would have taken the town years to finance...

When Vice President Kamala Harris isn't laughing awkwardly/inappropriately at comments or questions being directed at her, she's offering nothing-burgers and swatting away helpful advice : Under pressure to respond forcefully to the Supreme Court's decision to strike down Roe v. Wade, Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday said the White House is not currently discussing the idea of using federal property to ensure access to abortion services for those living in states that have banned or are moving to ban the procedure. Asked specifically about the proposal during an interview with CNN's Dana Bash, Harris initially dodged the question, saying the Biden administration is looking to " do everything we can to empower women to not only seek but to receive the care where it is available ." When Bash followed up, Harris said the idea is " not right now what we are discussing ." " We are 130-odd days away from an election, which is going to include S...

 Sadly, it looks like Status Coup's consistent coverage of what's been happening to the people of Flint , Michigan, will not have the desired impact : DETROIT (AP) — Charges against former Gov. Rick Snyder and others in the Flint water scandal must be dismissed after the Michigan Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a judge had no power to issue indictments under a century-old, rarely used law. It’s an astonishing defeat for Attorney General Dana Nessel, who took office in 2019, got rid of a special prosecutor and put together a new team to investigate whether crimes were committed when lead contaminated Flint’s water system in 2014-15. State laws “authorize a judge to investigate, subpoena witnesses, and issue arrest warrants” as a one-person grand jury, the Supreme Court said. “But they do not authorize the judge to issue indictments,” the court said in a 6-0 opinion. The challenge was filed by lawyers for former health director Nick Lyon. But the decision also applies to Sny...

 In other words: they are both complicit and incompetent.

 Anyone or any group who is anti-war, advocating for the working class, fighting for ballot initiatives and/or rank choice voting, or pushing for programs like mutual aid need to understand that the current elected officials in office are not there to help you . The party will always come first. 

 Three days after the Supreme Court reverses Roe v Wade and with an election on the horizon, CT Governor Ned Lamont airs an ad saying that he will defend a woman's right to chose . The is admittedly better than what Democrats in DC have been doing (aka, fundraising), but let's not forget some things: When current President Joe Biden was a Senator, he lead the charge against the testimony of Anita Hill and as a result cleared the way for Clarence Thomas to become a Supreme Court Justice. Three of the Justices who ruled to overturn Roe v Wade were nominated by US presidents (GW Bush and Donald Trump) who did not win the popular vote (and in Bush's case, won the Electoral College due to the Supreme Court's ruling).  Barack Obama did not push back against then-Senate leader Mitch McConnell when there was a vacancy late in Obama's term (hoping to use the issue as a way to boost support for Hillary Clinton's run for office). This same Mitch McConnell would have the op...

 By "pretending" I mean, " a training exercise :" The Los Angeles Police Department has been hit with a wrongful death lawsuit after an officer was 'beaten to death' in a training exercise meant to 'simulate a mob attack'.  Officer Houston Tipping was 'repeatedly struck in the head severely enough that he bled' during a training activity, a lawsuit filed by his mother, Shirley Huffman, alleges. Tipping, 32, was left with multiple breaks in his neck and suffered a 'catastrophic spinal injury' which caused his death, the suit claims. The five-year LAPD veteran also obtained multiple injuries that required stitches. The department said Tipping was injured while 'grappling' with another officer and referred to his death as a 'horrible accident.' No one has been arrested or charged over his death. Tipping was laid to rest last Wednesday during a funeral attended by the LAPD police chief Michel Moore, department leaders and ...

 

 

  Protesting is the new black : Thousands of farmers have gathered in the central Netherlands to protest against the Dutch government’s plans to rein in emissions of nitrogen oxide and ammonia, driving their tractors across the Netherlands and snarling traffic on major highways. Wednesday’s protest was organised earlier this month after the government published nationwide targets for reducing emissions, sparking anger from farmers who claim their livelihoods – and those of thousands of people who work in the agricultural service industry – are on the line. Calling it an “unavoidable transition”, the government mandated reductions in emissions of up to 70 percent in many places close to protected nature areas and as high as 95 percent in other places. The government has been forced to act after courts in recent years began blocking permits for infrastructure and housing projects because the country was missing its emissions targets. By early afternoon, many protesting farmers had ar...

 

 Sure there's a reasonable explanation for this , but then again, if there isn't I wouldn't be surprised. 

Via CNN : London (CNN Business)The United Kingdom has a jobs problem. There just aren't enough workers to keep its economy moving forward, and many employees are growing angry about inflation taking a large bite out of their paychecks. The problem escalated Tuesday as thousands of rail workers went on strike over demands for better pay and working conditions — the biggest walkout on the railways in 30 years — bringing large parts of the network to a halt. More strikes are set for Thursday and Saturday. A separate strike by workers on London Underground also halted tube services. The railway strikes could continue for months, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers has said, and teachers, nurses and other workers could walk out as their pay falls behind soaring rates of inflation, now forecast to peak above 11% later this year. Unison, a union representing 1.3 million public sector workers, said last week that it was "strike-ready." Now, CNN is labeling ...

 Just can't figure out what... (h/t to Wavy and CBS News ) 

  All those weapons and access, and they were still so ineffective. This is why Uvalde citizens are calling for the chief to be fired , and why people nation-wide are calling for #DefundthePolice. 

 Yes; they can (in fact one state has proven it). The real question is: will America do it ?

 Did you know that unemployment was essentially a byproduct of capitalism? Now you do.

 

 In America's binary political system, voters are led to believe that the Republican Party represents all that is politically right in the country while the Democratic Party represents everything that is politically left. This could not be further from the truth . And with just a bit of searching even "approved" sites, you too can discover the reality of the situation. Let's begin with this story about one of the congressional caucuses : A large group of House Democrats are stepping up pressure on party leaders to revive their stalled economic agenda and avoid hitting voters with huge healthcare bills only weeks before the November midterms. Fifty-seven members of the centrist New Democrat coalition led by Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington signed a letter meant to highlight the steep health insurance premium increases that many people would face if a pandemic-era financial assistance program expires in December. The cohort included many Democratic lawmakers locked in t...

 Mechanical Military Dogs can now swim for tracking down and killing humans surveillance purposes. 

 As this story from MintPress shows, it's just that easy (especially if you're targeting a group the mainstream media doesn't care about).

 Movie Flash (Ezra Miller) " is reportedly hiding from court papers related to grooming accusations leveled against them ."  So just for those following the drama that is cinematic DC: Superman is reportedly gone, Cyborg has beef with one of the former directors, Aquaman's girlfriend may be re-casted, and now Flash is grooming instead of zooming.  Marvel may be more formulaic, but they don't have to deal with this craziness. 

 It should be clear to most that the reason Joe Biden has low poll numbers is not only did he not push for things his party's base wanted (Medicare For All, student debt forgiveness) but he failed on things he said he would do ($15 minimum wage, $2,000 stimulus checks). And that's not even going into how his Administration threw up their hands after a tepid COVID-19 vaccine rollout, his photo op that passed as troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Russian saber-rattling and soft support for Ukrainian Nazis that led to a new war in Europe or the inflation that came as a result of that mess. Nevertheless, it wasn't supposed to be a problem for Joe Biden. Out of all of the Democratic primary candidates for 2020, he was the one who could reach across the aisle and work with the GOP to get things done (never mind that this was also the claim of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama when they either campaigned or got elected). Of course, we know how this song ends. The Democrats claim t...

 

 From Reuters : The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday made it nearly impossible for Americans to sue federal law enforcement officers who violate their constitutional rights , further narrowing the already limited path to hold U.S. officials accountable for even egregious misuse of their authority. The court’s ruling grants actual absolute immunity to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents. That’s nearly 20,000 officers whose work sometimes involves detaining migrant children and flying drones over protests to help with “situational awareness.” Border patrol agents have more power than local police in many contexts, and they engage in the full range of ordinary law enforcement activity -- often far away from the border. The court in Egbert v. Boule held that CBP officer Erik Egbert can’t be sued for allegedly throwing Robert Boule to the ground and injuring him while trying to arrest another man at Boule’s bed-and-breakfast. Egbert allegedly retaliated after Boule filed an exce...

 Now that the media wants everyone to focus on the Jan 6th hearings ("COVID?" "Gas Prices?" "Unemployment?" What's that?) the former headlining narrative has to take a backseat. And that means the blame game is in full effect: Oh and for those who doubt that the media is already making the shift: It's almost like people are realizing that war with a country so ingrained in the global economy makes little sense . 

 CNN has a story that show us when a cop tries to relate to people , instead of seeing them as threats, they can do the "protect and serving" that society expects them to do.

 Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo ( who is doing very well for herself ) claims President Biden has exhausted all options in trying to roll back gas prices : "Unfortunately, that is the brutal reality," Raimondo said in response to CNN's Kate Bolduan saying there's not much action left that President Joe Biden can take. She continued, "You know, this is, in large part, caused by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's aggression. You know, since Putin move troops to the border of Ukraine, gas prices have gone up over $1.40 a gallon, and the President is asking for Congress and others for potential ideas. But as you say, the reality is that there isn't very much more to be done." Of course, Biden's "options" included going to Saudi Arabia and Venezuela with his tail between his legs and begging them for help . Also, prices were rising before Russia attacked Ukraine (remember when the Biden Administration was blaming "supply chain...

Back in 2018, Brookings had am article title, " How the U.S. Military Became the Exception to America's Wage Stagnation Problem ." It referenced a (then) recent report from the Council of Foreign Relations that highlighted (among other things) that, "Over 60 percent of 2016 enlistments came from neighborhoods with a median household income between $38,345 and $80,912" before revealing that between 2000 and 2011, and E5 paygrade went from 10% under the median American to 10% more. For a variety of reasons, the middle class was the US military. The article, however, warned that this could be more of a phase than a permanent shift: The temptation for future defense budgets will be to neglect military compensation increases and regress to the historical pay gap as personnel expenditures currently encapsulate one-third of the defense budget. But, the Department of Defense (DOD) must keep an eye on the horizon and proactively anticipate and act on civilian sector eco...

 Jimmy Dore exposes the hypocrisy over raising the age of gun purchases:

 Because of rise in food and gas prices, discretionary spending is down meaning stores like Target have an excess of goods . 

 Apparently, it is enough to get Sen. Joe Manchin to start talking about gun reform . Nevertheless, in a world where the police can lie and refuse to do their job and not be fired, banning guns outright is not a solution. 

A little over a week ago the columnist who introduced us to the " Friedman Unit " ( between 2003 and 2006 he said at 14 different points that we need to wait "six months" to see how the latest Iraq strategy was working ) wrote an article reminding us how much the media really knows about what's going on with Russia vs Ukraine : For all you knuckleheads on Fox who say that Biden can’t put two sentences together, here’s a news flash: He just put NATO together, Europe together and the whole Western alliance together — stretching from Canada up to Finland and all the way to Japan — to help Ukraine protect its fledgling democracy from Vladimir Putin’s fascist assault. In doing so, he has enabled Ukraine to inflict significant losses on Russia’s invading army , thanks to a rapid deployment of U.S. and NATO trainers and massive transfers of precision weapons. And not a single American soldier was lost. Sadly, no : About 20% of Ukraine's territory is under Russian c...

 

 

 From the CT Mirror article : There’s a fundamental misunderstanding of the problem. Sex workers are not the cause of violence in our communities and arresting them does not solve the real problem: lack of resources . Rather, arresting and harassing sex workers and other under-resourced groups, like people experiencing homelessness or those who use drugs, is violence itself.