The Evening Blues - 3-13-20
Hey! Good Evening!
This evening's music features Texas blues singer Lou Ann Barton. Enjoy!
Lou Ann Barton - Hip Shake
“Either you get eaten by a wolf today or else the shepherd saves you from the wolf so he can sell you to the butcher tomorrow.”
-- Ogden Nash
News and Opinion
Sanders begins campaign to drag his supporters behind Biden
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders addressed the national media Wednesday afternoon, appearing in public for the first time since his devastating defeat in Tuesday’s primaries. His remarks were the beginning of an effort by Sanders to corral workers and young people behind the right-wing campaign that former Vice President Joe Biden will wage in the general election, including suggestions to Biden about the type of “left” noises he needs to make in order to pull the wool over the eyes of Sanders’ own supporters. The appearance was a remarkable demonstration of Sanders’ prostration before the Democratic Party, a political instrument of the billionaires, which he has demagogically criticized in his two campaigns for the presidency.
He began and ended his remarks by declaring that nothing was more important than defeating Donald Trump in the presidential election, a formula whose meaning is clear: all-out support for the presumptive Democratic Party nominee, former Vice President Biden. Sanders suppressed any criticism of the Democratic frontrunner in his own remarks, while repeatedly referring to him as “my friend.” He said nothing about Biden’s vote for the war in Iraq, or his support for the banks against consumer protection laws, or his role in writing repressive laws that led to the mass incarceration of African Americans.
While not officially conceding, Sanders made no reference to any future primary contests, including those in Florida, Ohio, Illinois and Arizona next Tuesday, which will select 577 delegates to the Democratic national convention. Instead, he focused entirely on Sunday’s televised debate in Phoenix, Arizona, where he and Biden are set to be the sole candidates on the stage under rules set by the Democratic National Committee. Sanders claimed that exit polls of primary voters showed they supported his policies on issues like health care, student loan debt and the environment, but rejected him as a candidate. “While our campaign has won the ideological debate, we are losing the debate over electability,” he said. He added that he disagreed that Biden was more likely to defeat Trump, but continued, “that is what millions of Democrats and independents today believe.”
It would be more accurate, however, to say that the Democratic Party leadership, having decided on Biden as its preferred candidate, has carried out political blackmail against Sanders’ supporters, telling them, in effect, that if Sanders is nominated, the party will sabotage his campaign and ensure a sweeping Trump victory. ...
Sanders is capitulating to the pressure from the Democratic Party leaders and even making himself their instrument. He spoke, not as a political opponent of Biden’s, but as an adviser, giving the future nominee tips on the best way to swindle Sanders’ own supporters, and the working class as a whole, with false promises on universal access to health care, a reduction in student loan debt, measures to curb police violence, and so on.
The Corporations and Their Media Strangled Bernie, and Older Black Voters Tied the Knot
With his victory in the Blacktropolis of Detroit, the clueless corporate champion Joe Biden has definitively won the “Black” Democratic presidential contest. Unlike South Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi, where collaborationist preachers have always held sway over huge sections of the Black electorate, Detroit was once home to the Marxist-oriented League of Revolutionary Black Workers and sent avowed socialist John Conyers to Congress for 52 years, from 1965 to 2017. Detroit isn’t afraid of people that call themselves socialists – actually, very few Black people are socialism-phobic, and young Blacks are even more socialist-friendly than their white counterparts.But this is the election cycle when Blacks circle their wagons around the Democratic establishment, perceiving it as the only refuge from Donald Trump and his marauding White Man’s Party.
The difference between 2016, when Bernie Sanders beat Hillary Clinton in Michigan, and this year’s primary is simple: the experience of four years of Donald Trump. Black people want desperately to sweep the Orange Menace and his Amerikaners from power, and have been convinced by corporate media that white folks will hold Sanders’ socialism against him and allow Trump another mandate. Black people don’t vote their own political convictions in Democratic primaries; they give their votes to candidates they believe are the best bet to defeat the White Man’s Party. With such a “strategy,” Black folks almost never win -- in terms of getting an officeholder who thinks as they do -- but are content to avoid losing catastrophically to the worst “crackers.”
Black voters are aware of Biden’s many transgressions against them -- but that’s what white “moderates” do, and older Blacks have convinced themselves that a white moderate is needed to flush the overtly white racist Trump from power. Black voters support Bernie Sanders’ agenda, which very much resembles a Black political center of gravity that decades of polling has shown is far to the left of the white political spectrum. In fact, majorities of the very voters that awarded sweeping victories to Joe Biden in the March 3 Super Tuesday primaries told exit pollsters they “support a single government health insurance plan for all?” – the very definition of Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All. Sanders’ signature program won the primaries, hands down – but Bernie lost to the corporate hack that opposes Medicare for All. Indeed, all of Sanders’ core issues – Green New Deal, a living minimum wage, cancellation of student debt – are supported by super-majorities of Democrats (and huge numbers of Republicans).
These should be winning issues in general elections, not just primaries, but Black folks, especially, fear to back candidates that champion these issues, assuming that white folks will not tolerate candidates that are too “radical.” Whites appear to have the same fears about each other.
The corporate media is the culprit that spreads mass disinformation on the political opinions of all American constituencies, creating a counter-reality that conforms to the interests of its ruling class owners. In short, they lie for a living. With constant, 24-7 repetition, it works.
In the last four years the tempo and intensity of corporate media lies has been absolutely astounding, as the Lords of Capital scrambled to reclaim the political narrative in the face of systemic disarray, the relentless decline in general living standards, the visible decay of physical infrastructure, and the unstoppable economic eclipse of the U.S. by China. Bernie Sanders threatened to end the austerity “Race to the Bottom” regime (although not its interlocking foreign policy component, endless wars) with a fistful of new health, education and labor entitlements plus a Green New Deal (a concept, not really a bill) that would force the Lords of Capital to cede some control of the heights of the economy to the people. This was unacceptable to the rulers, who told their corporate media to make Sanders unacceptable to the electorate, by hook, crook and massive disinformation. Joe Biden is the wholly undeserving beneficiary of this coordinated corporate media campaign. ...
If even a fraction of the tens of millions of Sanders supporters reject their leader’s expected call to go all-in for a nominee and party that is determined to suppress them, a mighty and independent mass movement can be built in a relatively short space of time. Indeed, that was always the best outcome of the decade’s resurgence in anti-capitalist, anti-racist politics. The Democrats were always a dead end, but folks had to get their asses kicked TWICE to learn that you can’t turn a ruling class party against the ruling class.
152 House Democrats Join GOP to Reauthorize 'Abusive Government Surveillance Powers'
With the nation's attention fixed on the rapidly spreading coronavirus, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives on Wednesday passed legislation to extend FBI surveillance powers that were set to expire on March 15.
The bill, formally titled the USA FREEDOM Reauthorization Act, cleared the House by a vote of 278 to 136, with 152 Democrats and 126 Republicans voting yes. View the full roll call here.
The legislation, strongly opposed by civil liberties groups and privacy advocates, is the product of bipartisan negotiations between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (D-Calif.), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio.).
Attorney General William Barr voiced his support for the measure in a statement on Wednesday.
Nothing says bipartisanship like extending provisions of the PATRIOT Act! pic.twitter.com/ibqOjFXyCV
— Jonathan "Boo and Vote" Cohn (@JonathanCohn) March 11, 2020
If passed by the Senate, advocacy group Free Press warned, legislation would "reauthorize abusive government surveillance powers."
"The bill would reauthorize Section 215 powers Congress established under the USA Patriot Act in 2001," Free Press noted. "Section 215 is the provision national security agencies cited in the past to support their unwarranted collection of phone records of hundreds of millions of people in the United States."
US launches airstrikes in Iraq in retaliation for rocket attack that killed three
The United States had carried out strikes against five Iran-backed militia weapons storage facilities in Iraq, a day after a deadly rocket attack killed two American soldiers and one British service member at a base north of Baghdad. “The United States conducted defensive precision strikes against Kataib Hezbollah facilities across Iraq,” a Pentagon statement said.
“These weapons storage facilities include facilities that housed weapons used to target US and coalition troops,” it said. The strikes were “defensive, proportional and in direct response to the threat posed by Iranian-backed Shia militia groups,” the statement added.
The strikes marked a rapid escalation in tensions with Tehran and its proxy groups in Iraq, just two months after Iran carried out a massive ballistic missile attack against American troops at a base in Iraq.
They came just hours after top US defence leaders threatened retaliation for the Wednesday rocket attack, making clear that they knew who did it and that the attackers would be held accountable.
Migrants on Greek islands to be offered €2,000 to go home
Migrants on the Greek islands are to be offered €2,000 (£1,764) per person to go home under a voluntary scheme launched by the European Union in an attempt to ease desperate conditions in camps.
The amount is more than five times the usual sum offered to migrants to help them rebuild their lives in their country of origin, under voluntary returns programmes run by the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM). The offer will last one month, as the commission fears an open-ended scheme would attract more migrants to Europe. It will not apply to refugees who have no homes to return to, but is intended to incentivise migrants seeking better living standards to leave the islands. ...
The commission said it hoped 5,000 people will take up the offer, although it acknowledged it lacked statistics on how many people on the Greek islands were “economic migrants”, rather than refugees. Migrants on the Greek mainland were likely to be offered extra money to leave – much less than €2,000, but higher than the usual resettlement sum of €370.
Since 2016, 18,151 people have chosen to return home from Greece under a voluntary returns programme funded by the EU and run by the IOM. Only about one-fifth of them (3,927) were on the islands.
US Fed injects $1.5tn to markets as Dow and FTSE suffer worst day since 1987
Panic over the coronavirus on global financial markets amid the biggest market crash in a generation has forced the US central bank to inject trillions of dollars into bond markets in a dramatic attempt to prevent a repeat of the 2008 credit crunch.
As stock prices plunged around the world on Thursday, with both the London and New York markets suffering their worst day since the Black Monday crash of October 1987, the New York Federal Reserve said it would pump $1.5tn (£1.2tn) into the American financial system to stop markets from freezing up. ...
In the most significant intervention to date, the New York Fed said it would offer three blocks of $500bn into an arm of the financial markets which allows banks to exchange government bonds for cash. It came amid signals that the international financial system was coming under severe strain from some of the most extreme movements in stocks and bonds for a generation.
Governments and companies use bond markets to borrow money from investors. In the 2008 credit crunch, banks stopped lending to one another as panic spread through the system. The Fed warned it had identified “highly unusual disruptions” amid widespread concern over the unfolding economic damage from Covid-19.
However, the move provided only a brief respite for share prices on Wall Street, before the Dow plunged again in what also turned out to be its worst day since 1987.
As GOP Rejects Economic Relief for Working People, Fed's $1.5 Trillion Stock Market Injection Would Cover 'Almost All Student Loan Debt in the US'
Hours after Republican leaders in Congress derided a Democratic proposal to provide healthcare and economic relief to Americans affected by the coronavirus pandemic as a burdensome "ideological wish list," the Federal Reserve moved to inject $1.5 trillion into the bond market to keep the financial system stable.
The decision followed a tumultuous week on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones index plummeting 2,200 points Thursday morning after the White House announced that travel will be restricted from 26 European countries.
The federal government, however, has yet to step in to provide assistance and peace of mind to the millions of working Americans who have no paid sick leave, those who are uninsured and have no way of paying for testing and treatment for the coronavirus, and nearly half a million children whose schools have closed as a precautionary measure.
Earlier on Thursday, House Democrats introduced a bill to provide all working Americans with 14 days of emergency paid sick leave, increase Medicaid funding, and free coronavirus testing. Progressives including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called for Democrats to consider more measures including debt relief.
"The amount that the Fed just injected almost covers all student loan debt in the U.S.," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. "There is absolutely NO excuse for not pausing student debt collections, planning for mortgage and rent relief, etc."
FYI, the amount that the Fed just injected almost covers all student loan debt in the US.
There is absolutely NO excuse for not pausing student debt collections, planning for mortgage &rent relief, etc.
We need to care for working people as much as we care for the stock market. https://t.co/IT6qZA2gtt
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 12, 2020
As the virus, officially known as COVID-19, spread to all but five states and infected more than 1,400 people in the U.S., a White House official dismissed the possibility of the bill passing, accusing Democrats of "letting fear surrounding coronavirus be a vehicles to push their radical left agenda."
President Donald Trump added that the GOP would not allow the pandemic to be a way for Democrats to "get some of the goodies they have been able to get for the last 25 years."
US migrant deportations risk spreading coronavirus to Central America
Concerns are growing that the deportation of migrants from the US and Mexico could accelerate the spread of coronavirus in Central America, after authorities in Honduras suspended repatriation flights and confirmed the first two cases in the country. Honduras became the third country in Central America – and the first in the Northern Triangle region which is the largest source of migration to the US – to confirm cases of the virus late on Tuesday.
The cases both involved people who had recently returned from Europe, but three men deported from the US also arrived presenting symptoms of the virus. The three deportees – aged between 18 and 26 – have been placed in isolation, and President Juan Orlando Hernández called for calm, saying on Wednesday: “We cannot allow ourselves to be guided by panic or hysteria.”
But activists fear that the constant flow of deportees from the US and Mexico could complicate the region’s ability to contain the virus. More than 1,000 cases and 38 deaths from the virus have been confirmed in the US. “Those countries need to be reviewing a moratorium on deportations right now in light of this illness,” said Elizabeth Kennedy, a migration expert based in Central America.
“We Are Way, Way Behind”: U.S. Lags on Coronavirus Testing & Medical Experts Warn “No One Is Immune”
Anger grows at Trump administration's coronavirus testing failures
Anger is mounting in the US over the Trump administration’s failure to test for coronavirus on a scale that could contain the outbreak and mitigate its most devastating impacts. On Thursday the lack of testing capacity for Covid-19 was recognised in blunt terms by one of the top US officials dealing with the crisis. Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, described the current state of affairs as “a failing” at a hearing of the House oversight committee.
From Congress to state capitals across the country, politicians of both main parties have shown rare bipartisan agreement that the pace of federal testing is woefully inadequate. Congress members who were given private briefings by Trump administration officials on Thursday expressed shock and outrage that so far only 11,000 tests have been conducted in a country of 327 million people.
By contrast South Korea, which has been grappling with one of the most severe outbreaks of Covid-19 globally, tests roughly the same number, about 10,000 people, every day. In total, South Korea has tested 230,000 of its 51 million people – 130 times as many per capita as the US. The aggressive use of testing to identify carriers of the disease and quarantine them has been credited as a major factor in South Korea’s relative success in dealing with the crisis.
One of the most astounding indications that the US is falling abysmally behind where it needs to be in getting to grips with the crisis is given by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in its coronavirus database. It records the number of specimens tested daily for Covid-19 by CDC and public health labs. It shows that on Tuesday, the most recent entry given, the total number of specimens tested across the whole of the US was eight.
Tulsi Gabbard details UBI plan for crisis
Trump's Travel Ban Is ‘Completely Incoherent,’ Health Experts Say
President Trump’s 30-day ban on European visitors is a terrible strategy for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, health experts said, because it ignores the simple fact that the virus is already spreading through American communities.
“I do not anticipate this will be effective in the least,” Harvard epidemiologist Dr. Michael Mina told VICE News shortly after Trump’s surprise Wednesday night announcement. “Ultimately, this ban demonstrates his continued cognitive dissonance about the reality that coronavirus is along a trajectory of exponential growth in the United States.”
The U.S. officially recorded 938 infections as of Thursday morning, but many experts estimate the real number to be well into the thousands and simply uncounted due to the low level of testing in the United States. The Trump administration’s bungled attempt to deliver a test to regional laboratories, which was later discovered to be malfunctioning, helped delay screening efforts in America and put the Trump team on the defensive over its response.
“It is very likely we have quite a few more thousand, or perhaps in the low tens of thousands of cases and just do not know it yet,” Mina said. “In many ways, the travel bans might be best suited to keep Europe safe from American travelers.”
Hill's Editor-In-Chief: Is Washington establishment failing the test of this crisis?
Bolsonaro Aide Who Visited With Trump Tested Positive for Coronavirus — And Three Other Members of the Delegation Have Flu-Like Symptoms
A Brazilian official who met with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday tested positive for Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel strain of coronavirus that has risen to pandemic levels. Fábio Wajngarten serves as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s communications secretary and traveled with his boss to Trump’s Florida resort for a meeting over the weekend, before testing positive upon his return to Brazil.
A source also confirmed to The Intercept that three other members of the delegation to Florida are showing flu-like symptoms, including fevers, though it is unclear what the results of coronavirus tests may be. The source, who has direct knowledge of the conditions of some members of the delegation that traveled with Bolsonaro to the U.S., asked for anonymity for fear of retaliation.
The Florida event brought together Trump, Bolsonaro, and several top Brazilian government officials.
The Saturday event at Mar-a-Lago was to celebrate the birthday of Trump fundraiser Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is also dating the president’s son Donald Trump Jr. Trump Jr. was also in attendance, as were Vice President Mike Pence, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Eric Trump, and Rudy Giuliani, many of whom are seen in close contact with the Brazilian delegation in video and photos of the event.
The four Brazilians who fell ill — one confirmed and three possible cases — did not take tests in Miami. Instead, some members of the delegation with symptoms chose to return to Brazil to take the test in São Paulo, a move that went against recommendations of the World Health Organization. Bolsonaro was tested for coronavirus this Thursday and results are expected on Friday.
Vulnerable prisoners 'exploited' to make coronavirus masks and hand gel
Prison labour is being used to shore up supplies of face masks and hand gels in Hong Kong and the USA as campaigners warn that inmates are among the most vulnerable to Covid-19 infections.
Women inmates at the Lo Wu prison in Hong Kong have reportedly been asked to work night shifts to make 2.5m face masks a month after a huge rise in demand according to Reuters. Female prisoners in Lo Wu prison are paid around HK$800 (£80) a month for round-the-clock production, significantly under Hong Kong’s minimum wage. ...
On Monday the governor of New York announced the state will also be using prison labour to produce 100,000 gallons of hand sanitiser for schools, prisons, transportation systems and other government agencies. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced in a press conference on Monday that the production of the hand sanitiser was in response to shortages due to the coronavirus outbreak. ...
Campaigners at the National Prison Project warned that prison inmates are among the most vulnerable populations to the spread of Covid-19: “There is ample opportunity for a virus to enter a prison or jail, and for it to go back out into the community. Once a contagious illness enters, conditions in correctional facilities are highly conducive to it spreading.”
Bernie vs Trump vs Biden with James Adomian and Anthony Atamaniuk, Plus the Primary | Useful Idiots
Coronavirus Outbreak Forces Uninsured Congressional Candidate to Suspend Door-Knocking Efforts
A progressive congressional candidate's decision on Thursday to stop in-person canvassing on her campaign due to the coronavirus outbreak and her lack of health insurance shed light on the choices many working Americans are being faced with as lawmakers scramble to pass public health and economic relief measures.
Nabilah Islam announced she would suspend door-knocking on her campaign for Congress in Georgia's 7th district as the number of presumed and confirmed cases of the coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, reached 31.
"Our grassroots campaign relies heavily on person-to-person contact, but I cannot in good faith ask our campaign staff or volunteers to knock doors—nor do I feel safe canvassing in person myself," Islam tweeted.
As Common Dreams reported, Islam's campaign drew attention in January when the Medicare for All advocate petitioned the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to allow her to use campaign funds to pay for her health insurance, saying the move would put runs for public office within reach of more working people. Islam is one of more than 100,000 people in her community who lack health insurance.
Being uninsured is now forcing Islam to limit her contact with voters in her district, she said.
Progressives Threaten To “DemExit” Over Biden
'Now Is the Time for Solidarity': Bernie Sanders Addresses Health and Economic Crisis Facing US as Coronavirus Spreads
Sen. Bernie Sanders addressed the public Thursday on the "health and economic crisis" facing the United States as the coronavirus spreads across the nation, causing layoffs, threatening entire industries, and exposing gaping holes in America's social safety net.
"Now is the time for solidarity," Sanders said. "Now is the time to come together with love and compassion for all, including the most vulnerable people in our society."
Sanders demanded that President Donald Trump declare the coronavirus a national emergency and urged Congress to immediately work to ensure that everyone in the U.S. can access the healthcare they need "without cost." The Vermont senator also said that any coronavirus vaccine must be free and available to all.
"Now is not the time for price-gouging and profiteering," Sanders said.
The Vermont senator went on to call for an "immediate moratorium on evictions, on foreclosures, and on utility shut-offs so that no one loses their home during this crisis, and that everyone has access to clean water, electricity, heat and air conditioning."
Sanders and his 2020 Democratic presidential rival Joe Biden have both been forced to cancel campaign events due to the coronavirus, which has infected over 1,400 people and killed at least 40 in the United States.
The Democratic National Committee announced Thursday that it is moving the presidential debate scheduled for Sunday from Phoenix, Arizona to Washington, D.C. "out of an abundance of caution and in order to reduce cross-country travel."
"All parties have decided that the best path forward is to hold Sunday's debate at CNN's studio in Washington, D.C., with no live audience," DNC communications director Xochitl Hinojosa said in a statement.
[Full transcript of Sanders' coronavirus address at link. - js]
Krystal Ball: What Bernie needs to do RIGHT NOW
Coronavirus Bungling Is What We Voted For
Donald Trump is a blithering idiot and incompetent at the actual mechanics of running a government. This isn’t to deny his other competencies at bullying and running a campaign, but he’s obviously mentally deficient.
He is bungling the Coronavirus response. That’s going to lead to a lot of dead people, including a lot of old people who, forgive me, voted for him.
Meanwhile, there is a Democrtic primary going on in which the candidate who is obviously suffering from dementia and doesn’t want universal health care is winning.
So apparently Democrats also want to be governed by an incompetent, they just weren’t offered one before.
If you elect incompetents, they will do incompetent things, like bungle epidemic responses. ...
I live in Ontario, ruled by Doug Ford. Dougie is arguably more incompetent and slightly more evil than Trump. He is bungling the response. Trudeau, our Prime Minister, who is very pretty and has nice abs, is bungling the response. There were competent alternatives, but those competent alternatives were left wing (NDP) and wanted to help the poors, and the electorate didn’t want that. Oh no, a poor might be helped.
Well, now the poors weren’t helped and the old people who voted to not help the poors (because, yes, that’s how elections all went) are going to die.
I do have sympathy, because I don’t like people suffering, but when people deliberately take action to ensure other people don’t get help; deliberately elect incompetents (even ones who are obviously suffering from mental problems like Trump, Bush and Biden) then find out they too will suffer, well, one’s sympathy has to be somewhat leavened.
Can Biden handle a two-hour debate?
J Street urges DNC to adopt anti-occupation language in their platform
The liberal advocacy group J Street is pressuring the Democratic Party to include anti-occupation language in its party platform before their convention this summer. 230 Jewish clergy and other community members have signed a J Street letter calling on political parties to update their platforms to “make clear what a comprehensive Israel/Palestine foreign policy looks like under a future administration, which includes a commitment to security, democracy, and human rights.”
A number of College Democrat chapters have already endorsed the organization’s call. “College students are absolutely committed to defeating Donald Trump in 2020 — and to making sure that the next president is prepared to take action to oppose annexation, confront the occupation and lead the way towards Israeli-Palestinian peace” J Street U national president Matan Arad-Neeman said in a statement, “This campaign is about demonstrating that strong support for Israel can and should go hand-in-hand with an unapologetic commitment to Palestinian rights. It is imperative that party leaders reflect that consensus.” ...
After Joe Biden’s decisive primary wins on Tuesday, there’s a clear path for him to win the Democratic nomination. Bernie Sanders’ movement has turned out a significant number of Muslim voters and many in his progressive base support the cause of self-determination. Biden has been a staunch supporter of Israel for decades and has even referred to himself as a Zionist. It seems likely that another battle over platform language will develop, but it remains to be seen what it will ultimately look like.
We should stop buying fish until the industry stops slaughtering dolphins
How many people want dolphins killed? part from the psychopath shooting them in Florida, and the Japanese hunters slaughtering them every year in Taiji cove, I would hazard a guess at none. They are perhaps the world’s most loved wild animals. Yet, every day, dolphin killers form an orderly queue, at supermarket checkouts in the UK and around the world. If you are buying fish, and there is no clear and watertight guarantee, you are likely to be complicit in something that would revolt you.
A horrifying report last week showed that dolphin numbers in the Indian Ocean have fallen by 87% since 1980, as they’ve been drowned in gill nets set for tuna. But the problem is not confined to distant seas, or to tuna fisheries. On average, two dolphins or porpoises are washed up on UK beaches every day. Many of them show the scrapes and indentations caused by fishing nets. Discoveries of dead dolphins around the Bay of Biscay this year are likely to beat the grisly record set in 2019, when 1,100 were found on the French coast. Large numbers are also turning up on the beaches of Ireland. ... The dolphins found on the shore are likely to be a small proportion of the total killed. Most corpses sink or drift out to sea. Because the slaughter is deliberately unrecorded by European governments, we have only rough guesses about how many might be dying. ...
Almost all commercial fishing presents a threat to dolphins and porpoises. But some techniques are more lethal than others. While gill nets kill large numbers of porpoises, and all kinds of trawling and seine netting endanger dolphins, there’s a particularly strong correlation between dolphin deaths and two types of fishing: pair trawlers catching bass and supertrawlers pursuing small, midwater fish. Pair trawlers (two boats pulling a net between them) move much faster than single trawlers. Supertrawlers – 100m or more in length – tow gigantic nets that scoop up entire shoals, and the predators hunting them. Because these ships tend to pursue species used for making the pellets fed to farmed fish – such as salmon, bass, halibut and prawns – scarcely any species on sale today can be safely dissociated from dolphin killing. ...
s there any difference between the accidental but inevitable mass killing of dolphins by the fishing industry, and the deliberate annual massacre in Japan, that rightly causes such public outrage? If something is morally wrong, no amount of money can make it morally right. The slaughter of dolphins and other magnificent wildlife is, on any measure, morally wrong. f you agree, there’s a simple answer. Stop buying fish. Until the industry has been contained, and its devastating impacts ended, we should withdraw our consent. Otherwise, we too are the killers.
Brazil’s Yanomami people victims of illegal gold rush in Amazon rainforest
New Report Takes Aim at Five Banking Institutions Backing Amazon Rainforest Exploitation
A new report from the group Amazon Watch shows how five of the world's largest financial institutions are funding the exploitation of the Amazon Rainforest for oil—even as those firms claim to be on the side of mitigating the climate crisis.
"Five of the world's most powerful financial institutions are actively contributing to climate change by providing debt and equity financing for crude oil extraction projects in the Amazon," reads the report.
The five banks—Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, and BlackRock—"have made available tens of billions of dollars for oil companies operating in the Amazon, including GeoPark, Amerisur, Frontera, and Andes Petroleum," according to the report.
The five firms have enjoyed good press recently for their stated commitment to curbing the climate crisis and making investment choices around saving the planet.
But, Amazon Watch said in an accompanying multimedia toolkit, the firms are instead "pouring money into crude oil extraction in the western Amazon, despite explicit opposition from indigenous groups on the ground and the worsening of the climate crisis that such activity promotes."
Also of Interest
Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.
Why I’d Rather Be in Italy for the Coronavirus Pandemic
Media Dutifully Report Trump’s Fiddling as Coronavirus Burns Through World
Team Trump Failed to Bully ICC Into Dropping War Crimes Probe
New OPCW whistleblower slams ‘abhorrent mistreatment’ of Douma investigators
Federal Judge Orders Chelsea Manning Released from Jail
Judge Releases Manning After Suicide Attempt, Effectively Fines Her Supporters $256,000
Majority of white evangelical Protestants in US believe Trump serves their interests
Elite Media Dismiss Voter Suppression on Grounds That It’s ‘Complicated’
Jimmy Dore: Why Tulsi Should STAY In Primary Race
Saagar Enjeti: Biden has proven he can't be trusted in a crisis
A Little Night Music
Lou Ann Barton - Te-Ni-Nee-Ni-Nu
Fabulous Thunderbirds w/Lou Ann Barton - I Got a Rocket in My Pocket
Jimmie Vaughan w/Lou Ann Barton - Scratch My Back
Lou Ann Barton - Natural Born Lover
Jimmie Vaughan w/Lou Ann Barton - I'm in the Mood for You
Lou Ann Barton & Stevie Ray Vaughan - You Can Have My Husband
Lou Ann Barton - I'm Old Enough
Lou Ann Barton - You'll Lose A Good Thing
Lou Ann Barton - Sugar Coated Love
Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble with Lou Ann Barton - My Baby's Gone (Oh Yeah)
Comments
So basically COVID19 appears in Dec/January
Since then we've come close to war w/Iran.
https://www.moonofalabama.org/
Why Is The U.S. Launching A New War On Iraq?
OK bailouts cuz the virus, but of course not for the people but for the banks
https://wolfstreet.com/2020/03/12/frazzled-fed-rolls-out-fastest-mega-mo...
As Everything Bubble Implodes, Frazzled Fed Rolls Out Fastest Mega-Money Printer Ever, up to $4.5 Trillion in Four Weeks
Don't forget his other buddies, Oil
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/oil-surges-after-trump-orders-doe-fill-...
Oil Surges After Trump Orders DOE To Fill Up Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Trump asked the energy department to buy "large quantities of oil" for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and to "fill it right to the top."
80
Bailout for the people, like UFO's, the government says it doesn't exist
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
Not much of a "surge" for oil prices
WTI up 1.47 to 32.97. That's still a far cry from the $45 it was two weeks ago.
The US will have to stop shipping oil to foreign customers and re-direct it to the SPR. Russia and Saudi Arabia can fill these markets faster than the US can pump it underground. Don't forget that oil consumption is already down 2.5 mbbls/d and hits to the world economy have just begun.
Looks like China is also bargain hunting which may assist in raising prices.
Now THIS is an example of truly free and open markets (which we haven't seen since the Seven Sisters took over global oil production and marketing in the early 50's).
evening ggersh...
covid 19 appears in dec/jan, u.s. government prepares drastic measures to protect its corporate sector.
the people will get just as much as is needed to keep the banks and rentiers afloat.
Ha, the world is going to hell
Trump and his generals respond by bombing
an occupied country. Yeah, that'll fix it.
question everything
evening qms...
heh. going?
hell, coming soon to a neighborhood near you.
already here
watching the re-runs at the local drive-in
we don't have to pay to get it
watch it in the neighbors wide screen tv
size of a billboard
question everything
Right twice a day
From a tweet from the tRump campaign:
Usually those guys aren't quite this astute.
All the DNC has to do is keep the flies off Biden long enough
to get he and his running mate, H. Rodent Clinton, on the ticket in November. By then, with the coronavirus having shredded the US health system and economy, the Trumpeter will stink tens times as bad. It'll be a shoo-in.
By this time next year, Biden can be quietly put out to pasture and Her Heinous can rise to the throne.
If that's what the DNC thinks,
they may be quite nastily surprised - again.
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
They got their way with with cheating Sanders
in the primaries. Do not underestimate the evilness of the DNC.
I have a gut feeling Her Heinous is going to be playing a major role in the Democrat primaries this year.
Right now I'll give odds at 3 to 1.
This too,
, is my nightmare. My only hope is that the cackling thing has become such a caricature of evil that the inner sensibilities of nature itself could not, simply could not, permit a repeat.
Lurking in the wings is Hillary, like some terrifying bat hanging by her feet in a cavern below the DNC. A bat with theropod instincts. -- Fred Reed https://tinyurl.com/vgvuhcl
evening minuteman...
i find it humorously ironic that the democrat party drama playing out is a little like a movie titled, "weekend at bernie's."
Corona fatigue syndrome meets EB counterterrorism efforts
... many of us have a bad hair day and stay at home. I am a good American today and do exactly that what the leader sez is right.
Have a good weekend, another corona will jump the cliff on Monday.
Be well. All.
https://www.euronews.com/live
evening mimi...
heh. stay home, read the eb and wash your hands frequently - a sure formula for staying healthy.
I spent an hour in a jail, interviewing and instructing
my inmate client.
When I left there, I visited with my dr. about a pesky sinus infection. It keeps my throat dry, and that led me to almost choke to death this morning. It completely cut off my air. Good thing I was home and could get to some water!
And I asked him, how do I stay safe? What could be filthier than a jail? Or a packed courtroom where they bring 30 inmates over in a chain gang for their first court appearances?
It is not as though I have any say in this. I am under order to appear in court, subject to fines and being jailed for being late, much less not appearing at all.
He had no answers but hand sanitizers, and stop hugging people!
And do not let them hug me!
Very interesting articles and videos in the ebs, and thanks for bringing to our attention, joe.
Please stay well.
edit: to complete a sentence, spelling. Sorry, VERY long day.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
yeah, jail time is not a fun time
thanking you for your pursuit of justice
wishing there were more out there
like you
question everything
I guess I never gave up hope that I could help.
Jailed inmates are almost always too poor to afford health insurance. The ones in jail with decent jobs and so forth can make a bond.
At least the jail employees did not block me from visiting, did not unnecessarily delay the interview.
I did not feel punished today.
I have gotten 5 felony cases, and 2 misdemeanor cases outright dismissed within the last year. I am on a ROLL!
I will represent, will accept yard eggs and cherry pies as payment, I will front the money for some fines, and I always get paid back.
I hate and despise the punitive police system.
And I believe the Constitution, and all state laws and codes work both damn ways.
The damn cops do not decide when Constitutional protections attach.
I constantly remind them those rights, unless specifically waived, begin with that first breath Americans take.
God, I am on a ROLL!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
I did not feel punished today
So good to hear!
Admire your resolve!!
question everything
Your instincts are in line with the experts,
. Everything I've read and heard from medical/science professionals over the past couple of days points to cutting off personal contact. The rationale is based not only on your personal survival but also on the goal of limiting the caseload on the system, i.e., reducing the spread of the infection so that available services are not stretched to the breaking point. This is what they are worried about: the load on the system being so great that the system breaks down. Odds are, you will be hearing this message pretty soon from local and state officials in your area. In the interim, of course you don't touch others, and of course you wash and disinfect, but I've also heard that the virus travels through the air from the breath of those with whom you communicate, and so you need to keep at least 6 feet between yourself and whomever you're talking to.
The way we "do business" is going to change drastically. But it's not forever. We can manage it for the time being. Take care and good luck.
Lurking in the wings is Hillary, like some terrifying bat hanging by her feet in a cavern below the DNC. A bat with theropod instincts. -- Fred Reed https://tinyurl.com/vgvuhcl
Same to you
It will eventually go away.
Take good care.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
evening otc...
heh, they can make you appear in court, but can they make you take off your hazmat suit?
i am glad that you are on a roll, because from what i've been reading, people in jails and prisons are probably not going to fare well as the coronavirus spreads.
please take aggressive steps to protect yourself and stay safe!
Talk about close quarters and lack of health care...
Imagine being cooped up with 3 cellies, using one commode, one sink, no soap, unless one inmate can buy it...
And the jailers, the delivery guys from Fedex, going in and out...it was just incredible.
Take care, joe!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
sitting ducks ...
is the phrase that comes to mind.
useless eaters perhaps?
n/t
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
nah...
they are the workforce of choice for the elites.
Good evening, joe and bluzerz!
Okay ~ our university extended spring break for three weeks. Our K-12 schools are closed for three weeks. No performances, sporting events, nada!
So, our government does nothing so the people take matters into their own hands and act fast. What will the pieces be that the government has to pick up? It’s eerie. Are we seeing everything changing?
Have a thoughtful evening and weekend, friends.
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
Well, since the government is supposed to
represent the will of the people, -- remember that? -- maybe, just maybe, it will work out okay. I totally agree with your wish for a "thoughtful" weekend.
Lurking in the wings is Hillary, like some terrifying bat hanging by her feet in a cavern below the DNC. A bat with theropod instincts. -- Fred Reed https://tinyurl.com/vgvuhcl
evening ra...
schools here are closing down, too. the university system closed early, sending kids home before spring break and is preparing to conduct classes online afterwards.
lots of employers in my area are working out ways for people to work at home, which works for some jobs but not so well for others.
it's good that people are figuring it out for themselves. our current government doesn't really much care about most of us, nor is it capable of ignoring the demands of rich people for low taxes and corporate socialism for long enough to do much for most of us.
have a great weekend and/or time at home!
viral condition...
considering most people (80+%) get over this virus rather easily...unless you're old or have other conditions like diabetes, I 'm thinking I wish I would get it and get over it and then be immune so I can live normally not worrying about infection.
In other words get on the other side of this thing. They currently estimate 80%+ of us will get the virus within the next year or so. Not looking forward to the virus but wanting it to be a thing of the past instead of the future.
Taking vitamin D and C as preventative. Went to the big city of Summerville GA to grocery today.
Did you see T-rumps presser today? He featured the department of wal-mart, target, CVS, and so on. I kid you not.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6HbxcCb-7g]
I'm glad I'm able to laugh at this shit. It is laughable...but sad at the same time.
Hope you and yours are doing well!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
I hate to say this,
but there have been reports of people coming down with the virus, then getting entirely well, and then, somehow, relapsing. Makes ya wonder what's going on with the antibodies ...
Lurking in the wings is Hillary, like some terrifying bat hanging by her feet in a cavern below the DNC. A bat with theropod instincts. -- Fred Reed https://tinyurl.com/vgvuhcl
yes relapes seems possible...maybe common
None the less if you get "it" then you should also have antibodies for "it". I think blood serum test in China are targeting those antibodies. We just have to see how the spread play out, for spread it will.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
I don't think we can reliably determine
the true situation in the US at this moment. We have no idea of what particular flu one has contracted due to lack of testing.
Personally, I have gone through a rough bout with pneumonia two months ago that kicked the shit out of me and two weeks after caught some sort of flu that knocked me down once more. I'm now doing fine.
We need testing, testing and more testing.
evening lookout...
heh, i'd like to have the coronavirus in the past, too, but i'll be glad to wait for a vaccine, thanks.
another thing to consider is that the virus could mutate to the point that whatever antibodies you have might not get the job done for you.
i listened to part of trump's presser while i was in the car. what a maroon.
Jack Ma of Ali Baba donates
1 million face masks and 500,000 coronavirus test kits today.
US to China: drop dead, we get our jobs back. China’s richest man to US: here, have 1 million masks & Covid-19 test kits
Meanwhile the US under Trump's leadership has struggled to get 77,000 tests kits out in 2 fucking months.
evening cb...
an excellent gift. also, a great kick in the ass to people who richly deserve it.
thanks for the link. have a great weekend!
And MSM reverts back to the 1920's and does silent TV
not a word as to how horrible this is for the country
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
Cognitive decline is no joke!
Happy Friday all.
I heard this tune on the radio last Saturday. It took me 'til Thursday to remember what it was and who recorded it. Have a nice night.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-IpB_SDC3U width:500 height:300]
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
evening azazello...
thanks for the tune!
heh, i can't tell you how many times i've had a few bars of a tune or part of a lyric run through my head for days before i figure out where it came from. 'course i can't blame age for it, it's been happening for years now, well before i went seriously gray.
have a great weekend!
I can feel the fire!
Awesome song, and this is a great cut/vid of it... not much vid of this period. I have this vinyl LP. I saw a Barbarians tour, about 78 or so. Bought $20 scalped tickets outside the Forum in LA at showtime at 'the spot'. Stanley Clarke was on bass! They gave him 15 minutes alone on stage to blow everyone's minds.
edit - inserted missing word
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
I think the tour you saw would have been in '79.
This clip was the First Barbarians, 1974.
Cool tune, Wood/Jagger composition for I've Got My Own Album to Do.
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
love that album AZAZ
I confess to buying my copy the week it hit the record stores, but now just dial up cuts on youtube so as to not add wear. Willie Weeks on bass on a bunch of it... an all-star cast, and a bunch of great very well played songs.
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
The Pope has cancelled Easter
They found the body.
The Mormon church has told people not to come to general conference and has cancelled Sunday services as have the Catholic Church. They are moving missionaries out of hard hit areas, but I don't know if they have told others to stop preaching to people in others.
It's the corporations that are shutting down events not the general. And boy did Trump and CEOs presser feel me with confidence. Trump does not even know that he has contradicted himself on so many things. Especially when it comes to testing people for the virus. Yeah I'm confident that they have this under control. Oh well.
evening snoopy...
heh, i always wondered when i was a kid receiving religious instruction, they told me that god was everywhere and i asked them, then why do i have to go to church?
i never got an acceptable answer.
yep, i'm certain that the stable genius has everything under control.
if he becomes ill with the coronavirus, i will have a terrible case of schadenfreude.
Heh..I asked the same thing
But general conference is a huge deal here. And it never fails to rain on conference weekends. Guess what the weather is doing tomorrow? Yup. Raining.
I think I would be a better Druid than I was a catholic. But thank gawd that I gave up giving things up for lent. I called it lint when I was a kid.
honestly, they found the body?
this is big news
kinda ruins the whole bunny pooping chocolate kisses
rouse / image donut?
question everything
Ayup...the pope said it was a miracle
Hey
Did people miss the joke here?
Heh, great headline.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Did God authorize the closure?
is skipping Sunday or Easter mass no longer a sin?
For the Mormons absolutely it came from gawd
The prophet said that he had been in touch with him and they decided it was the best thing to do. If you want to read about it it's on KSL.com. The comments are interesting too.
BTW Joseph Smith died from the Spanish flu about 200 years ago. It's in the comments.
wow again
you mean to make us believe the mormon's
speak directly to god?
Why does everyone else get put on hold?
Or a busy signal.
question everything
Make you believe?
No that's not what I'm doing. I just relaying the information from what I read. I have always thought that Utah would be much better if the Mormons had kept going and settled in Nevada instead of here. There is no separation of church and state here. Not one iota.
seriously?
we know why church leaders, priests, etc. say such crap, but it remains a mystery why their flock buy it.
This is Chelsea's go fund me account
For helping her pay off her fines.
Almost $128,000/256,000
She is going to need more because gfm takes a cut on the donation. Hopefully people will continue to give so she can just work on getting better and not having to worry about things for awhile. I am in awe at her strength of character. I don't know if I could have done what she has.
thanks for the link. n/t
Thanks.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Good evening, joe,
had to travel down the mtn. today; a there and back trip. Stopped in Aldi's, i was the only person wearing a mask. No strange looks, surprised by that, in a way.
Spring blossoms off the mountain, reminding me that no matter seasons change; take care and take it easy, we do what we can do.
Oh, please, let this sink in, 'old man who looks at his life.' You understand.
Cheers for the news and blues.
evening smiley...
good to hear from you, i hope that you're feeling well.
the spring blooms have been going great guns for a little over a week here, though i am at a much lower elevation than you are. i'm sure that the mountains around you are really gorgeous when they're in bloom.
have a great weekend!
look at your life
something worth doing
question everything
Hey,
Hope i didn't shut down comments on FNP with 'me;' occurred in thought after i posted, that most won't be aware of our past rhyme word play. Not intended, if i did.
Yes, old man, been looking hard, these past years, not unusual, i suppose, when destiny breaks with the next wave, maybe. I really don't know what others endure until they share.
Been pink, good color, love magenta.
Good evening Joe. Just thinkin' cough, cough,
gears and levers, cough, uh, is it time yet?
have a good one.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
you know that thing
there in whatev's
question everything
evening el...
heh, you go, you know, the thing!
have a great weekend!
[Edited] Hey, Joe - don't know about you, but
we're suffering from major COVID-19 fatigue. Phew!
Currently, there are only 26 reported cases in our two states--actually, none, in one state (AL). So, almost nothing's changed, as far as the way many folks are going about their lives. Except for most seniors. Speaking for ourselves, family, and closest friends--we're curtailing a lot of public contact, of course. And plan to continue taking reasonable precautions. Better safe, than sorry (as they say).
A local major University has cancelled athletic events, indefinitely, but, didn't close (except for extended already scheduled Spring Break to two weeks, instead of one) - same for the county public school system, in regards to extending already scheduled Spring Break.
Mr M does more running around--pickups, mostly--and, says there appears to be no change in the amount of traffic, or activity. (judging from parking lots of retailers, lines at fast food joints, etc.)
Anyhoo, we've begun listening to the Johnny Carson Channel (a good portion of the day) on XM, because we're so sick and tired of hearing breathless reports about each case, especially, hearing from each public health official who wants to get in front of a camera.
For perspective,
(Earlier today, read the following)
Not that we don't take this pandemic seriously. We do. But, as of late, the (Cable) reporting is verging on sounding more like psyops, than good faith, factual reporting.
Thanks to all the good folks here who are posting excellent, fact-based material, BTW.
One aspect of all this that is beginning to concern us, is 'what may happen to civil liberties' (as well as one's health). Worry that so much hyperbole and hyperventilating might lead to a major crackdown on freedoms. Hope not.
David Axelrod (CNN) already bringing up possibility of no DP convention. What if the election is called off due to fear of 'crowds?' (millions don't have internet connections) Would it be feasible to go to all mail-in ballots? Dunno.
Hey, on a happier note, gonna place an online order for a couple more board games. And, for a few other gadgets that I probably wouldn't think of splurging on, under normal circumstances.
Nice, springlike weather for couple days--then, 5 days straight of showers/rain. Ugh! Unfortunately, the Pup luvs to romp in any type of precipitation. Only thing she likes more is 'carrying' sticks or leaves or twigs--IOW, anything she can pick up.
Thanks for tonight's EB, Joe. Oddly, it's about the only time that I've seen the WSWS in agreement with many of the MSM corporatist 'talking heads'--who claimed to have read his words as 'greasing the skids' to ease out of the race, soon. Maybe, after Tuesday. Not sure that I agree, although I think because of the blame that was put on him (after 2016), he'll likely not stay in until the Convention (if there is one), unless, he has a clear-cut path to winning.
Everyone be well, and take good care. Have a nice and safe weekend!
[Edited: Inserted space.]
Mollie
“If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went.”
~~Will Rogers, Actor & Social Commentator
“Love makes you stronger, so that you can reach out and become involved with life in ways you dared not risk alone.”
~~Author Unknown, Save Our Street Dogs (SOSD) Website
“In a world where you can be anything–be kind.”
~~Author Unknown
“I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive.”
~~Gilda Radner, Comedienne
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
evening mollie...
heh, i tried valiantly to avoid paying attention to coronavirus for a while, but i could not avoid it eventually. so here we are. yep, i am already fatigued, not by the science news - which is always interesting to me, but by the usual political idiocy that attends it.
i'm sure that the dems would love to shut down the primaries and the convention and just proclaim biden the candidate. if they can get away with it, they will.
what may happen to civil liberties
good point
because of the govt. inability to deal
with calamities (see 9/11)
watch
new pre-written responses to viral threats which
will attack
freedoms before recognizing
that govt is unable to control
our response
as a threat to the state security
question everything
So besides toilet paper here in
Georgia people are buying . . . wait for it. . . guns! Of course! These people must be amazing shots to be able to hit those tiny viruses. But I kid. Actually they’re afraid people are coming for their TP stashes. Still kidding. I have no idea what they are thinking!
"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"
evening lily...
heh, i stopped by a grocery store tonight to pick up some produce and figured i'd check and see if there was a run on tp here - and indeed there was. the whole paper products aisle was picked clean. not a square of tp or paper towels to be had. they had diapers, though. i guess babies don't increase their poop output like adults do.
have a great evening!
Sorry I didn’t reply sooner js. Eastern time
means I wilt before many further west get going.
So did you find produce? My daughter called last night to say that she had gone out to get some bananas for the baby at HEB, but the produce aisle was wiped out! Toilet paper and soap too. So she went for body wash to use as soap since they staying in an AirBnB right now. She said she couldn’t believe that this Texas-sized store was wiped out like that.
Yet here at home this morning I saw people out walking for exercise while others were participating in some local event. People congregating to chat. The same people, I assume, who had striped the shelves at the stores just yesterday. SMH
"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"
afternoon lily...
sorry, i wilted before my normal bedtime last night.
yes, i found plenty of produce. which is good, because that is most of my diet.
apparently, most of the toilet paper hoarding public is after canned goods and pasta, there was virtually no canned soup or spaghetti sauce in the store. it's kind of funny, most aisles were stocked up as normal, but there were a few aisles that looked like the pictures they used to show us as kids of the soviet stores.
i haven't seen any decline in traffic or patterns of people being out in public here, yet. i guess we'll see.
great tunes JS!
Great blues if not the news! Love her voice.
Did I not hear one single solitary "that's socialism", or "where ya gonna get the money?"
Have a good one!
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
afternoon dystopian...
it's funny that nobody asks where the fed gets its money from. i wonder how many of the general public know that the fed just hallucinates it into being.
have a great weekend!