The Evening Blues - 12-31-20



eb1pt12


The day's news roundup + tonight's musical feature: Tuba Skinny

Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features New Orleans street band Tuba Skinny. Enjoy!

Tuba Skinny - Jubilee Stomp

"The legitimate object of government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done, but can not do at all, or can not so well do, for themselves – in their separate, and individual capacities."

-- Abraham Lincoln


News and Opinion

Democrats ROLL OVER And Give Mitch His Way

Mitch McConnell says 'no realistic path' for $2,000 relief checks bill

Donald Trump’s demand for $2,000 relief checks to Americans struggling financially with the pandemic was all but dead after Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday that a proposal from Democrats had “no realistic path to quickly pass the Senate”.

Declaring that he would not be “bullied” by Democrats into quickly approving the measure, McConnell effectively denied a final request for legislative action by the president in the waning days of his administration.

“We just approved almost a trillion dollars in aid a few days ago,” McConnell said, referring to the passage of a massive $900bn stimulus package that included $600 direct payments to most American adults. “It struck a balance between broad support for all kinds of households and a lot more targeted relief for those who need help most.”

NO $2,000 CHECKS! -- GOP Senate Stops Trump's Stimulus Demand

McConnell BLOCKS Checks And Dems Immediately CAPITULATE

'A Matter of Life and Death': Sanders Urges Americans to Call Their Senators and Demand Vote on $2,000 Checks

Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday urged members of the public to call their senators and demand an immediate vote on $2,000 direct payments as Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his Republican allies continue to stand in the way, blocking relief supported by a strong majority of U.S. voters and President Donald Trump.

"Call your senator at (202) 224-3121 and demand the Senate vote NOW on the bipartisan $2,000 direct payment legislation passed by the House of Representatives," tweeted the Vermont senator, who characterized the proposed $2,000 payments as "a matter of life and death for millions of Americans" in the midst of massive public health, hunger, and housing crises.


Transcript at the link:

A Hard Look at Rent and Rent Seeking with Michael Hudson & Pepe Escobar

New Year's Eve events cancelled across US as Covid cases surge

While the crystal-encrusted New Year’s Eve ball will drop in Times Square at midnight on 31 December, its descent will diverge from tradition: this sparkling, 12-foot sphere will be greeted by empty streets due to Covid-19, and not hundreds of thousands of revelers.

New York City authorities have announced that Times Square will not be open to the public on New Year’s Eve. The party and live performances will go on, albeit virtually: Those wishing to attend can stream online, or watch on television. ...

US cities are changing how they ring in 2021 as Covid-19 cases and deaths surge nationwide. The most recent Johns Hopkins University data reports 19,448,626 US cases and 336,947 deaths.

The cancelation of in-person events could be key in preventing disease, given that millions have recently flouted warnings against holiday travel and social gatherings. Numerous mass get-togethers could make things even worse.

California identifies second US case of highly contagious Covid-19 variant

New US cases raise fears UK Covid variant is already widespread

The US has now reported multiple cases of the new and apparently more contagious variant of the coronavirus first detected in the UK, triggering concerns about how long the mutant version has been here and how widely it has spread.

The first known case was reported in Colorado on Tuesday. The person infected was later identified as a National Guardsman who had been sent to help out at a nursing home struggling with an outbreak. Health officials have said a second Guard member may also have it.

And on Wednesday, California confirmed its first known case in that nation’s most populous state, which is currently experiencing its deadliest month of the pandemic. The news of a second confirmed case in less than 24 hours offered a strong indication that the infection is spreading more widely in the country. ...

The Colorado and California cases have raised a host of questions about how the new variant arrived in the US and whether it is too late to stop it now, with top experts saying it is probably already spreading elsewhere in the United States.

'This Is Warp Speed?' At Current Pace, US Will Take 10 Years to Adequately Vaccinate the Public Against Covid-19, Analysis Warns

If the Trump administration's coronavirus vaccine distribution effort continues at its current sluggish pace, it would take nearly a decade for the United States to inoculate an adequate number of Americans to rein in the deadly pandemic.

That's according to an analysis released Tuesday by NBC News, which found that the U.S. is nowhere near on track to meet the Trump administration's stated goal of vaccinating around 80% of the population by late June of 2021.

"To meet that goal, a little more than three million people would have to get the shots each day," NBC noted. "But so far, only about two million people—most of them frontline healthcare workers and some nursing home residents—have gotten their first shots of the 11.5 million doses that were delivered in the last two weeks."

US court strikes down pandemic limits on New York’s houses of worship

A federal court of appeals ruled that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s capacity limits on houses of worship in areas with rising COVID-19 cases constituted a violation of religious liberty.

The ruling on Monday comes after a Supreme Court injunction last month blocked Cuomo from enforcing the rules until the lower court could reevaluate an earlier ruling that upheld state guidelines limiting synagogue attendance to 10 or 25 people.

The case, brought by the Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and Agudath Israel of America, an advocacy organization representing ultra-Orthodox Jews, was one of the first religious liberty cases to be decided by the court’s new conservative majority. The appeals court ruling was celebrated by Agudath Israel as confirmation that it had achieved a victory for religious liberty. ...

The court ordered the district court to reevaluate its ruling on the percentage capacity limits imposed by Cuomo to determine if they discriminated against houses of worship.

Israel’s vaccine rollout excludes Palestinians

Israel is rolling out its COVID-19 vaccine campaign in haste. On Christmas Day, the country had the second most prolific program in the world.

But the rollout is selective. While Israel has secured 8 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, for which its two million-strong Palestinian citizens are eligible, no provision has been made for the roughly 5 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza who live under its military occupation. ...

As the occupying power, Israel has a responsibility under international law, including article 56 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, to ensure “public health and hygiene in the occupied territory.”

Article 56 makes “particular reference to the adoption and application of the prophylactic and preventive measures necessary to combat the spread of contagious diseases and epidemics.”

Israel is also reneging on its signed agreements and promises, specifically Article 17 of its 1995 interim agreement with the Palestine Liberation Organization. That too calls explicitly for Israel to help the Palestinian Authority combat “epidemics and contagious diseases … [and] … develop methods for exchange of medical files and documents.” ...

Such discriminatory policies have barely been noticed abroad, even in Europe, where it was reported that Germany would allow Israel, a non-EU country, to have special access to its Pfizer vaccine.

B-52s fly over Persian Gulf as Washington escalates war threat against Iran

For the third time in little more than a month, the Pentagon has sent a pair of B-52 Stratofortress long-range heavy bombers to the Persian Gulf in a threat of war against Iran. This threat is being steadily escalated on the orders of US President Donald Trump as he continues to demand the overturning of the results of November’s US presidential election. The warplanes, which are capable of launching both nuclear and conventional weapons, flew low over the Gulf after a midair refueling over the Eastern Mediterranean in a 30-hour round-trip flight from their base in North Dakota. They were escorted by a squadron of F-16 fighter planes.

Without mentioning Iran by name, the chief of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees US military operations throughout the Middle East, left no doubt as to the target of the provocative bomber deployment. “The United States continues to deploy combat-ready capabilities into the US Central Command area of responsibility to deter any potential adversary, and make clear that we are ready and able to respond to any aggression directed at Americans or our interests,” said CENTCOM commander General Frank McKenzie in announcing the Gulf overflight. “We do not seek conflict, but no one should underestimate our ability to defend our forces or to act decisively in response to any attack.”

The B-52 flights are only part of a continuous and ominous US military buildup in the region. Last week, the Navy sent the nuclear-powered submarine USS Georgia, armed with cruise missiles, along with accompanying warships, into the Persian Gulf, joining the USS Nimitz carrier strike group already deployed there. ...

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a “senior US military officer” told the Associated Press that the Pentagon had “picked up signs” that Iran may be “planning for possible rocket attacks against US interests in Iraq” in conjunction with the first anniversary of the criminal US drone missile assassination of senior Iranian leader Qassem Suleimani on January 3, 2020, after he arrived at Baghdad international airport for an official state visit. The “senior officer” said that Iran “may be considering” broader attacks against US targets in the Middle East, where some 50,000 American troops are deployed, or “might have its eye on economic targets,” invoking the September 2019 attack on Saudi oil-processing facilities, for which Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed responsibility. The officer’s language — “maybe ... might ... possible” — makes clear that there is no substantive evidence that Tehran is preparing any attack whatsoever, but that any provocation in the region can be used as a pretext for a US war of aggression against Iran.

Why 2020 Was The Worst Year Ever By The Numbers

National Park Ranger Condemned for Attacking Unarmed Indigenous Man on Sacred Native Land

Indigenous and wilderness conservation groups were among those on Wednesday responding with outrage to video of a National Park Service ranger tasering an unarmed Indigenous man after he walked off a trail in Petroglyph National Monument in New Mexico on Sunday and then refused to comply with the ranger's orders.

Darrell House, a Diné (Navajo) and Oneida U.S. Marine Corps veteran, was hiking with his sister and his dog in the Albuquerque park—which features many petroglyphs, or ancient stone carvings that are sacred to tribes—so that he could harvest dirt for ceremonies and pray.

House said he walked off a marked trail in order to socially distance himself from a large group of walkers when "this park ranger started following me."

"I guess he was upset about me going off trail before, you know, doing my prayers for the rocks," House told KOB. In a video released by the National Park Service, House repeatedly refuses to disclose his real name to the rangers.

"I didn't see a reason to give my identification," House told NBC News. "I don't need to tell people why I'm coming there to pray and give things in honor to the land. I don't need permission or consent. And I don't think he liked that very much."

A ranger House identifed by his last name Graden then fired his Taser at him. In a video recorded by his sister, House is seen writhing on the ground in agony next to his dog while the woman pleads for the attackers to stop.

"I don't have anything; I apologize for going off the trail," House says between cries of pain.

House said the attack left him "traumatized" and bleeding. ...


The Indigenous liberation group Red Nation released a statement on Wednesday condemning the attack on House. It read, in part:

The Petroglyphs National Monument, which is home to ancient Indigenous rock art that still retains spiritual and cultural significance to Indigenous people today, was initially created at the request of Native activists to protect the area from vandalism and developers. Instead, the NPS under the authority of the Department of Interior is policing Native people on Native land.

Public lands are stolen lands. Indigenous people have the right to practice their culture and spiritual ways on Indigenous land without fear of repression, discrimination, or violence. In consultation with our dear relative Darrell House, The Red Nation calls for a full investigation of NPS actions of racial terror that day, the termination of rangers Wineland and Graden, and restitution and a full apology to Darrell and his sister.

"Landback begins with defunding racist police on Indigenous land, the Department of the Interior is no exception," the group added.

"America's Moment of Reckoning": Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor & Cornel West on Uprising Against Racism

Louisville officer could face firing over Breonna Taylor raid

Louisville police have taken steps that could result in the firing of an officer who sought the no-knock search warrant that led detectives to the apartment where Breonna Taylor was fatally shot. Detective Joshua Jaynes has received a pre-termination letter, media outlets reported Tuesday. It came after a professional standards unit investigation found he had violated department procedures for preparation of a search warrant and truthfulness, his attorney said. ...

Jaynes has a hearing with the interim chief, Yvette Gentry, and her staff on Thursday. ...

Jaynes was not present during the shooting at Taylor’s apartment in Louisville. About 12 hours earlier, he secured a warrant with a “no-knock” clause from a judge.



the horse race



How Andrew Yang's Mayoral Race Is Shaking Up Politics

'Sore loser': Walmart apologizes after tweet mocks Senator Hawley

Walmart on Wednesday apologized to Josh Hawley, the Republican senator who said he would not vote to certify electoral college results, after a post on its Twitter account called him a “#soreloser”. ...

The social media controversy started unfolding before noon, about one hour after Hawley tweeted his position on the usually ceremonious count. “Millions of voters concerned about election integrity deserve to be heard. I will object on January 6 on their behalf,” Hawley said.

“Go ahead. Get your 2 hour debate. #soreloser” said a reply posted to Walmart’s Twitter account.

Hawley replied “Thanks @Walmart for your insulting condescension. Now that you’ve insulted 75 million Americans, will you at least apologize for using slave labor?” In another tweet, the Missouri legislator said: “Or maybe you’d like to apologize for the pathetic wages you pay your workers as you drive mom and pop stores out of business.”

Bree Newsome & Prof. Eddie Glaude: The Black Lives Matter Movement Helped the Democrats Defeat Trump

Trump returns to Washington early as allies plot challenge to Biden victory

Donald Trump returned to Washington on Thursday, abruptly cutting short a holiday retreat to his private south Florida resort as the president’s allies on Capitol Hill prepare to mount a last-ditch challenge to Joe Biden’s election victory. ...

[H]ours before the White House announced that Trump would spend New Year’s Eve in Washington, the Republican senator Josh Hawley of Missouri announced that he would object to the electoral college result when Congress meets on 6 January to affirm Biden as the winner of November’s presidential election.

Trump had been goading his most loyal backers in Congress to stage a final intervention on the floor of the House to try to overturn the results of the election.

The effort to keep Trump in power is all but destined to fail, but it will test Republicans’ loyalty to the president, who maintains a vice-like grip on their party, even after Americans voted to remove him from office after a single term.

Many Senate Republicans had hoped to avoid such a showdown over the certification process, typically a formality. The move by Hawley, a conservative freshman believed to have presidential ambitions, will force his colleagues to publicly affirm or oppose the election results.



the evening greens


Lethal Levels of Radiation Found in Damaged Fukushima Reactor Will Have 'Huge Impact' on Shutdown, Regulators Warn

In what Japanese regulators on Wednesday called an "extremely serious" development, lethal levels of radiation have been recorded inside the damaged reactor building at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, threatening the shutdown and decommissioning of the site of the second-worst peacetime nuclear disaster in history.

According to The Asahi Shimbun, Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) reported that massive amounts of radioactive materials have been found around shield plugs of the containment vessels in the No. 2 and No. 3 reactors.

NRA officials estimated radiation levels at 10 sieverts per hour—enough to kill a worker who spends just one hour there.

Decommission of the reactor requires workers to remove the shield plugs, which block radiation from the reactor core during normal plant operation. This discovery has forced officials to reconsider their shutdown plans.

NRA chair Toyoshi Fuketa said that removing the highly irradiated shield plugs made safe retrieval of nuclear fuel debris—an already dangerously daunting task—all the more difficult.

"It appears that nuclear debris lies at an elevated place," Fuketa said at a news conference earlier this month. "This will have a huge impact on the whole process of decommissioning work."

The latest alarming find is the result of an investigation that resumed in September after a five-year pause in which the NRA took new measurements of radiation levels around the shield plugs at the No. 2 and No. 3 reactors.

Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the plant, announced December 24 that nuclear fuel debris removal would be postponed until 2022 or later due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As Common Dreams reported in October, Greenpeace and other environmental and anti-nuclear advocates expressed shock and outrage after the Japanese government announced a plan to release stored water from the ill-fated plant into the Pacific Ocean. Greenpeace subsequently released a report claiming that radioactive carbon-14 released into the ocean "has the potential to damage human DNA."

The Fukushima Daiichi disaster—the result of a 2011 earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 15,000 people in northeastern Japan—was the worst nuclear incident since the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown in the former Soviet Union, and the worst in Japan since the United States waged a nuclear war against the country in 1945 that killed hundreds of thousands of people.

Caribbean volcanoes rumble to life as scientists study activity not seen in years

Volcanoes that have been quiet for decades are rumbling to life in the eastern Caribbean, prompting officials to issue alerts in Martinique and St Vincent and the Grenadines as scientists rush in to study activity they say has not been observed in years.

The most recent warning was issued late on Tuesday for La Soufriere volcano in St Vincent and the Grenadines, a chain of islands home to more than 100,000 people. Officials reported tremors, strong gas emissions, formation of a new volcanic dome and changes to its crater lake. The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency said that scientists observed an “effusive eruption within the crater, with visible gas and steam” on Tuesday.

The government warned those living near the volcano to prepare to evacuate if needed, declaring an orange alert that means eruptions could occur with less than 24 hours’ notice.

La Soufriere, located near the northern tip of the main island of St Vincent, last erupted in 1979, and a previous eruption in 1902 killed some 1,600 people. That occurred shortly before Martinique’s Mt Pelee erupted and destroyed the town of Saint-Pierre, killing more than 30,000 people.

Mt Pelee too is now active once again. In early December, officials in the French Caribbean territory issued a yellow alert due to seismic activity under the mountain. It was the first alert of its kind issued since the volcano last erupted in 1932, said Fabrice Fontaine, with Martinique’s Volcanological and Seismological Observatory, to the Associated Press.


Also of Interest

Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.

These Are the Very Real Dangers to the U.S. Economy of Not Issuing $2,000 Stimulus Checks

Democrats battle for soul of party as Biden win masks alarming failures

Biden’s Pick For No. 2 Pentagon Spot Comes From Hawkish, Arms Industry-Funded Think Tank

The ICC’s Indefensible Decision on Alleged UK War Crimes in Iraq

Caitlin Johnstone: America Keeps Claiming Governments It Hates Are Paying Bounties On US Troops In Afghanistan

Faced With Concurrent Crises, UNICEF Warns Millions of Children Threatened by 'Looming Famine'

California's wildfire hell: how 2020 became the state's worst ever fire season

The Freedom Struggle in 2020: Angela Davis on Protests, Defunding Police & Toppling Racist Statues

Jimmy Dore: Trump Pardons War Criminals Instead of Assange & Snowden

Rising: Does Populism Have A Future On The Right?


A Little Night Music

Tuba Skinny - Papa's got your bathwater on

Tuba Skinny - Storyville Blues

Tuba Skinny - The Weary Blues

Tuba Skinny - What's the Matter with the Mill

Tuba Skinny - The Keyhole Blues

Tuba Skinny - How Do They Do It That Way?

Tuba Skinny - C. C. Rider

Tuba Skinny @ Louisiana Music Factory, Apr 30, 2019

Tuba Skinny - Live from WWOZ Virtual Groove Gala


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25 users have voted.

Comments

Movement for a People's Party

Thanks for the Skinny Tuba!

Fun stuff

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17 users have voted.
joe shikspack's picture

@QMS

heh, there are a bunch of reasons why i'd like to someday visit new orleans (after the pandemic is under control and hopefully before it sinks beneath the waves) and tuba skinny is high on the list.

have a great evening and a great new years day!

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9 users have voted.
ggersh's picture

Letting 2020 go is easy, but what lays in store for the 99% now? I'm not feeling it, but am so hoping I'm wrong.

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18 users have voted.

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

@ggersh

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12 users have voted.
ggersh's picture

@QMS amazingly shows like that are non existent these days.

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6 users have voted.

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

joe shikspack's picture

@ggersh

yeah, i know what you mean. i hope that there never comes a time when we become nostalgic for the good old days of 2020.

have a great evening and a happy new years day!

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7 users have voted.

for another year of the EB. Whata year.

Happy/celebratory choice of tunes for a New Years eve... thnx.

I like Cori Bush's idea on how to fund our monthly survival checks. It's the perfect solution. Win-win.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year.

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13 users have voted.
joe shikspack's picture

@randtntx

heh, at least from the previews, i think that i am going to enjoy having cori bush invade the millionaire's club. Smile

have a great evening and a happy new years day!

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11 users have voted.
smiley7's picture

news and blues.

Happy New Year's to you, the misses and family, hugs to little one.

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13 users have voted.
joe shikspack's picture

@smiley7

thanks for reading and listening for another year! the news doesn't seem to have gotten better this year, but at least the blues are timeless and comforting.

have a great evening and a happy new years day!

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8 users have voted.
mimi's picture

and the best of the old year is that it is over. I distracted myself by watching a 12 part documnetary (a real one with exclusively all original footage) about the second world war, called "Countdown to the downfall - the long end of the second world war". Parts of it are on you tube, but it is in German. At least it brought my senses back to earth to realize what real misery and evil is about.

Nevertheless what is ahead of us, I wish you all a happy, healthy, New Year with enough food, warmth, shelter and friendships and lots of music.

Prost, cheers, happy dance ...
[video:https://youtu.be/BXyH2XinDo4]
See, Joe Shikspack can dance, heh ... not bad. Smile

Oh no, I start the new year as a bad girl, forgot to say many, many thanks for your EB work. But then I say that in every EB and I think in the new year I have to come up with seomthint new. Lemme think about it. ... ok, thanks for all the old music and old news, they are much better than the new news and the new music.
/wiping off my sweat ...

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11 users have voted.

@mimi

good point mimi

for laughs...

[video:https://youtu.be/tfbVIiibtQU]

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7 users have voted.
joe shikspack's picture

@mimi

i hope the year ahead has better news than the year we're leaving behind. thanks for reading and listening.

have a great evening and a happy new years day!

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4 users have voted.
Lookout's picture

Thanks for the news and music tonight and all this year Joe!

If we think TPTB will take care of people we're deluding ourselves. They take care of their own. Simply reality. Neofuedalism has arrived. Find your place in the system, serfs.

Wish I could be more hopeful as we enter the new year. No matter, I'm wishing you all the best!

Drink a cup of kindness. That is what is needed!
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPnhaGWBnys]

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11 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

joe shikspack's picture

@Lookout

yep, the powers-that-be have made it clear that we are on our own and there will be not be even a thimble-full of kindness coming from them.

it's going to be an interesting year.

have a great evening and a happy new years day!

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6 users have voted.

@Lookout Thank you, lookout. My new year's wish is for Scotland to vote for and achieve freedom from the English boot. Go Nicola.

Thank you Joe. For the news and forum. It's a brave thing to do during the current season of increasing loss and despair.

Better days for all of us. Don't know when. Maybe someday.

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10 users have voted.

NYCVG

joe shikspack's picture

@NYCVG

heh, i'm with you on scottish independence. they've always gotten a raw deal from the brits ever since their rich people sold them out.

thanks for reading and participating this year!

have a great evening and a happy new years day!

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7 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

Flynn told congress this a few years ago and nothing came from it of course, but it’s good to see it being exposed. Just the tan suit my left buttock.

Welp I’m glad to see the back of this year, but I’m worried about what next year will bring? Lots of pain and misery for lots of people I’m afraid.

Bad situation made worse.

I don’t know if this was a second incident or the same one with more information on it. A pharmacist did that. Article says that some vaccines were given to people unknowingly.

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12 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

joe shikspack's picture

@snoopydawg

heh, yep, i vaguely recall that during the shrubya administration a law was passed that criminalized giving material support to terrorist-linked orgs.

on the other hand, in our two-tiered justice system there is no legal accountability for wealthy and well-connected people.

that's an odd story about the pharmacist. it'll be interesting to find out what his motive was.

have a great evening and a happy new years day!

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8 users have voted.
mimi's picture

I want to frigging do something. What could I do ? I have so much difficulties not to hate your country for what it is doing to its citizens. I feel bad about it, but It is just soooo awkward.
[video:https://youtu.be/W5j_j0aW6Cw]

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10 users have voted.
TheOtherMaven's picture

@mimi

It's getting to that point, where instead of Americans "adopting" and sponsoring children of Third World countries, it is becoming necessary for members of "other" First World nations to "adopt" and sponsor poverty-stricken Americans....

Whether the USA is still a First World nation is a matter of dispute, and the evidence is rapidly growing that it isn't.

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11 users have voted.

There is no justice. There can be no peace.

Lily O Lady's picture

@TheOtherMaven

microwaves and refrigerators to claim those in poverty in the US aren’t really poor. Not surprising.

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8 users have voted.

"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"

@TheOtherMaven

the wealthy could *adopt* the poor
of this country. $50/wk buys groceries.

Start a tax free foundation to absorb the
excess from wealth to fund the poor here.

It's the capital way to smolder a fire.

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8 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

@TheOtherMaven

I posted this last Saturday.

Phone lines are open now. Call now.

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10 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

mimi's picture

@TheOtherMaven
I have a real one, my son, who I don't have to adopt, he is my biological kid. He has all the features of someone, who you might want to adopt, no formal (but tons of informal education), wrong color, minimum wage earner, war trauma, messed up childhood, stupid family with lots of international exposure, the only thing that distinguishes him from a 'real American'.

Just saying ... my son though has adopted himself quite often homeless Americans, so he would have friends, when he should become homeless himself... see, he is smart. Smile

And he plays music for the homeless for free (which is rarer than you might think and they love him for it.

So, we are ready for 2021, right?

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1 user has voted.
joe shikspack's picture

@mimi

well, maybe the quickest way to get it done is to make all of the wealthy and powerful people and their institutions suddenly disappear. Smile

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8 users have voted.

@joe shikspack @joe shikspack

form a tax free foundation
siphon the wealth to help the poor &
write it off, fund a progressive alliance to
form a congress of local organizers nation-wide.
Start a movement for fun and profit!

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9 users have voted.
mimi's picture

@joe shikspack
I thought about it ...

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2 users have voted.
Lily O Lady's picture

Driver Services to renew my license today. My husband encouraged me because when he went this summer the office was nearly empty and he was finished very quickly. Not so today. Some people were there with small entourages. I had to show up 20 minutes before my appointment. I had to wait in a “socially distant “ chair, but people would wander by me.

I swear the state is trying to kill us. If I get Covid19, I’ll try to post before I croak. I really should not be required to go indoors.

I hope you all an avoid infection and live to see better days.

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15 users have voted.

"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"

joe shikspack's picture

@Lily O Lady

i hope that even the covid virus doesn't like going to the department of driver services. Smile

have a great evening and a happy new years day!

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10 users have voted.
Lily O Lady's picture

@joe shikspack

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9 users have voted.

"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"

Dawn's Meta's picture

@Lily O Lady in Lookout's essays, and comments. Here is an easy set of things that can be done after possible exposure and for prevention:
Vitamins B12, D3, C (Ascorbic Acid), Zinc - these best under the tongue or with C and Zinc in a glass of good water.

Gargle with Sea Salt at a tepid or slightly warm temperature. For virus killing add a few (easy it can burn) Provodine/Iodine to gargle.

Rinse nose and sinuses with Sea Salt slightly warm. Make sure to have enough salt the water does not burn. We use large syringes or a NETI pot. If you are feeling adventurous, add Provodine Iodine one or two drops to the nasal rinse. It can burn, so easy does it. But the stuff really does seem to kill the virus.

At least we feel that in addition to masks, hand washing and distance, we are doing something that may work.

Happy New Year Lily and all of the C99 community. Thanks everyone.

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7 users have voted.

A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.

Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.

Lily O Lady's picture

@Dawn's Meta

to try them. I do have sublingual B-12.

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4 users have voted.

"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"

I hope you and everyone reading this is enjoying some celebration and will have a good New Year.
2020 had some rough spots, but did bring a joyous development in my life, so I will look back on it as the best year of my life.
I also move into my newly reconstructed office the first week of January, so 2021 has some positive aspect already.
New Orleans is a 6 hour drive. Post-pandemic, pre-climate change disappearance, we will spend some weekends there, enjoying the food and music. I understand K-Paul's steak house is permanently closed. At least I did eat there once.

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10 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

joe shikspack's picture

@on the cusp

i'm glad that 2020 had a big bright spot for you and i hope that things continue to get even better as the years progress.

heh, new orleans is about a 20 hour drive for me - a bit too far for a casual overnight trip.

but maybe one of these days. heh, covid should be gone in a couple of years, so maybe then.

have a great evening and a happy new years day!

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8 users have voted.
TheOtherMaven's picture

I just had a kitchen misadventure trying a recipe for homemade eggnog. My suspicion is that the recipe got some things backward.

Observations:
* The eggs should be pasteurized first rather than being "tempered" and then put back into a bare saucepan to "cook longer". (DO NOT use a bare saucepan, you'll never get it right.)
* Do this in a double boiler or a bain-marie (right-sized bowl over boiling water - match carefully to saucepan so no water can get into the bowl). THIS IS A MUST.
* In case you do screw it up (as I did), have a large-capacity blender handy, take the mess off the heat and let it cool a little - don't panic!) Put in blender and start with pulses, increasing to steady (but low) processing once it stops spitting. (If you start blending right away, you'll get burned!)

It is theoretically possible to avert disaster altogether by using pre-pasteurized eggs - if you can find them. (Not sold around here. Blum 3 )

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8 users have voted.

There is no justice. There can be no peace.

joe shikspack's picture

@TheOtherMaven

heh, back in my college days i attempted to make egg nog. i concluded that the best thing to do was to throw away the eggs and everything else that was not rum so that it couldn't ruin the nog. Smile

have a great evening and a happy new years day!

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6 users have voted.
enhydra lutris's picture

365 too. A very fitting way to kick out the old year and a lot of the baggage that accompanied it. Maybe next year will be better, or at least not any worse.

Have a very happy new year.

And, of course, be well, and have a great evening.

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8 users have voted.

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 --

joe shikspack's picture

@enhydra lutris

thanks for reading and listening. here's hoping for a better year to come.

have a great evening and a happy new years day!

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5 users have voted.
travelerxxx's picture

Hi, Joe. Thanks for a year's worth of Evening Blues. Seems I always get here late enough that someone has already made a point I might have made - and done it better, anyway! - but I count on your superb choice of information. After I've gone through everything that you highlight, I always am certain that I'm more informed than most.

The music is a lesson nearly every time. So many people who have influenced our musical culture; so many that many of us never knew of. There's tremendous value to that and I appreciate it.

It's New Year's Eve here in the 'burbs north of Houston and there is a war ongoing. Or so it seems. Since sundown, I'll bet I've heard $100,000 worth of fireworks exploded. No, I'm not kidding. People would have to experience it to believe it. I can barely hold a conversation with my wife in our own living room due to the noise. Had to turn the car alarm off in my little Scion because it kept tripping from the vibrations. It's an hour and a half till midnight as I write, so they really haven't even hit their stride. Crazy Texans.

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11 users have voted.
joe shikspack's picture

@travelerxxx

thanks for reading and listening!

heh, we have rednecks here in maryland too. since most fireworks (except sparklers and maybe some other really innocuous fireworks) are illegal and have to be imported across state lines, we don't get quite the volume that you do, but we've been hearing the warm-up fireworks all evening. it should get pretty loud here right around midnight and for about 10 minutes after.

have a great evening and a happy new years day!

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6 users have voted.

fireworks aren't restricted like they are in Houston.
I have been hearing blasts and seeing fireworks in the distant skies since about 8 tonight.
I think it will stop around midnight.
Houstonians come here to family farms or the family lake house just to pop firecrackers. And to shoot guns.
Sigh...
I hope you and your wife and cats can ignore it and enjoy the evening.

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7 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

travelerxxx's picture

@on the cusp

Hi OTC.

We're in an unincorporated area of Harris County. So, yes, while the munitions are illegal in the city of Houston, we're a few miles north of that line. What happens is that all the family and bros from within the city limits of Houston come to their family and friends places here. They drag a truckload of explosives with them. Also, there are several actual supermarkets of fireworks close to us. I went past one of them late this afternoon, and the cars were backed up along FM-2920 waiting to get into the parking lot. Big business.

The fireworks people bribe donate to particular politicians, making it impossible to get restrictions put in place. You know the drill....

So, yeah, it's getting on our nerves. As for our poor cat, she's been in places unknown all day and all night.

I would think it would stop shortly after midnight, but - judging by past experiences - it won't. Christmas eve was almost as bad. They were still going at it at 3:30 AM Christmas day. I know because it kept me awake that long. They must have run out of supplies shortly thereafter, as I finally fell asleep about then. Silent night, indeed.

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7 users have voted.

I have a client that owns a fireworks stand. She says almost all of her customers are from the Houston area.
She makes a butt load of money off that gig.
I spent many years wondering if my horses were going to kill themselves running into a fence on nights like this.
Someone nearby just fired off a gun. WTF?
That said, my Dad shot off a gun at midnight. So, my brother does. On occasion, I do.
I am probably going to do it again, only not with a loud bastard gun.

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7 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

travelerxxx's picture

@on the cusp

At one time I had quite a bit of info on the Houston fireworks biz. A while ago, but if memory serves a lot of it was controlled by just a few companies/people. You're right about the money to be made. Probably why it's still legal here. I had a list of the political donations made, etc. No idea where it is now.

It's finally slacked off some here now. The cat has even come out from wherever she was all day long.

I was just talking to a friend and telling them that back in the 70's, when I was living in Redondo Beach, Ca, they used to set off dynamite at the beach. As I lived only a couple of blocks from the beach, it really got our attention. Hell, we thought it really was war! The locals laughed at us, "Ah, they always do that!" Jeeze!

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snoopydawg's picture

A7A70393-81C6-4363-88DB-E4DF3085060E.jpeg

Happy New Year everyone!

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10 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.