The Evening Blues - 11-15-19



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The day's news roundup + tonight's musical feature: Lonnie Brooks

Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features Chicago and Louisiana blues singer and guitarist Lonnie Brooks aka "Guitar Jr." Enjoy!

Lonnie Brooks - I'm Not Going Home

“Thus did a handful of rapacious citizens come to control all that was worth controlling in America. Thus was the savage and stupid and entirely inappropriate and unnecessary and humorless American class system created. Honest, industrious, peaceful citizens were classed as bloodsuckers, if they asked to be paid a living wage. And they saw that praise was reserved henceforth for those who devised means of getting paid enormously for committing crimes against which no laws had been passed. Thus the American dream turned belly up, turned green, bobbed to the scummy surface of cupidity unlimited, filled with gas, went bang in the noonday sun.”

-- Kurt Vonnegut


News and Opinion

The task of politics today is to scare the capitalists as much as communism did

On its own terms, “really existing socialism” was a miserable failure: brutally repressive to its own peoples and ultimately unable to compete with capitalist economies. Yet it achieved something else that its own politburos and planners never intended - an achievement that represents one of our era’s greatest paradoxes. Communism didn’t topple capitalism, but kept it honest – and so saved it from itself. The very presence of a powerful rival ideology frightened capitalists into sharing their returns with workers and the rest of the society, in higher wages, more welfare spending and greater public investment. By sending tanks into Prague in 1968, Leonid Brezhnev may have crushed the dream of “socialism with a human face”; but he and other Soviet general secretaries forced capitalism to become less inhumane. Conversely, the collapse of communism between 1989 and 1991 has left capitalism unchallenged and untempered – and increasingly unviable. The challenge of our time, whether in the UK’s general election or next year’s US presidential contest, is to build a political movement that can restrain a system spinning madly out of control.

You’re not meant to think of it this way. From the very outset, November 1989 was framed as the moment when capitalism could stop battling for survival and finally renew itself. The Guardian’s own leading article, published even as the Trabants queued by the mile to get into the west, summed up liberal hopes: “The wealth is at last available not only to tackle long-neglected evils at home, but to pay for a genuine fight against poverty, injustices and ecological disaster in the rest of the world.”

I trust I’m not giving away too much of the plot by observing it hasn’t panned out like that. Indeed, for most of the past three decades, the political classes – whether Tony Blair or David Cameron, George W Bush or Barack Obama – have accepted vast gulfs between rich and poor as just one of those sad facts of life. With tiny shrugs, they put it down to globalisation or the shifting job market – and deploy the work of top economists such as Harvard’s Lawrence Katz and David Autor who argue that income inequality has been a natural byproduct of technological innovation.

Yet history supplies very different testimony. It shows how the existential threat to capitalism posed by socialist movements, whether revolutionary communist or reformist social democrat, rebalanced power towards workers. The starkest example is the eight-hour working day. Demanded for more than a century by socialists such as Robert Owen, it had been the rallying cry of the annual May Day demonstrations organised since 1890 – yet it took the Bolshevik revolution of October 1917 and the concurrent unrest of workers across Europe to make it law within months in France, Germany and Portugal. The manner in which socialism reformed capitalism is made explicit in a paper from the International Labour Organisation that notes how the surge in inequality across the west in the 19th century was reversed “as the threat of the spread of communism inspired welfarist redistributive reforms, giving capitalism a more human face”. In 1929 the richest 0.1% of Americans owned almost 25% of all the nation’s household wealth; by the 70s, that had dropped below 10%. ...

In a new study of 16 industrial countries during the cold war, Brazilian economists André Albuquerque Sant’Anna and Leonardo Weller argue that the “more national elites were under the threat of communist revolution, the more the state introduced policies that reduced top income shares” – whether that be taxing and spending more, or allowing uncomfortably powerful trade unions. Those reds under the bed helped ensure you would have social democracy at home.


Nick Estes: What the coup against Evo Morales means to indigenous people like me

Evo Morales is more than Bolivia’s first indigenous president — he is our president, too. The rise of a humble Aymara coca farmer to the nation’s highest office in 2006 marked the arrival of indigenous people as vanguards of history. Within the social movements that brought him to power emerged indigenous visions of socialism and the values of Pachamama (the Andean Earth Mother). Evo represents five centuries of indigenous deprivation and struggle in the hemisphere. A coup against Evo, therefore, is a coup against indigenous people.

Evo’s critics, from the anti-state left and right, are quick to point out his failures. But it was his victories that fomented this most recent violent backlash. ...

The indigenous-socialist project accomplished what neoliberalism has repeatedly failed to do: redistribute wealth to society’s poorest sectors and uplift those most marginalized. Under Evo and MAS leadership, Bolivia liberated itself as a resource colony. Before the coup, Evo attempted to nationalize its large lithium reserves, an element necessary for electric cars. Since the coup, Tesla’s stocks have skyrocketed. Bolivia rebuked imperialist states like the United States and Canada by taking the path of resource nationalism to redistribute profits across society.

This was Evo’s crime.

His replacement, Jeanine Añez Chávez, agreed. “I dream of a Bolivia free of satanic indigenous rites,” the opposition senator tweeted in 2013, “the city is not for the Indians who should stay in the highlands or the Chaco!!!” After Evo’s departure, Chavez declared herself interim president while holding up a large bible, though she failed to get the required quorum in the senate to do so. Next to her stood Luis Fernando Camacho, a member of the Christian far-right. After Evo’s resignation, Camacho stormed the presidential palace, a flag in one hand and a bible in the other. “The bible is returning to the government palace,” a pastor said on a video while standing next to Camacho. “Pachamama will never return. Today Christ is returning to the Government Palace. Bolivia is for Christ.”

Amidst the chaos, anti-indigenous race-hatred has gripped the country since Evo’s October 20 re-election. While left critics continue to rail against Evo, paradoxically blaming him for the coup that overthrew him, no evidence has emerged of election fraud. ... Other critics still contend that Evo’s 13-year tenure was too long. They mention Evo losing a referendum to amend constitution but failing to note the Supreme Court ruling that allowed him legally to run for another term. For our indigenous president, after five centuries of colonization, 13 years was not long enough.


Bolivia's interim president's indigenous-free cabinet heightens polarization

Bolivia’s controversial new interim president has unveiled a new cabinet which critics say could further increase polarization in the country still deeply split over the ousting of her predecessor, Evo Morales.

To the applause of military top brass, lawmakers and senators, Jeanine Áñez vowed to “reconstruct democracy” and “pacify the country” at a late-night ceremony in the “Palacio Quemado” (Burnt Palace) presidential building. “We want to be a democratic tool of inclusion and unity,” said the 52-year-old religious conservative, sitting at a table bearing a huge open Bible and crucifix.

But the transitional cabinet sworn into office on Wednesday night did not include a single indigenous person, in a country where at least 40% of the population belongs to one of 36 indigenous groups.

Speaking in Mexico City on Wednesday, Morales hinted that he might return to Bolivia, but Áñez made clear that he would not be allowed to run again. “Evo Morales does not qualify to run for a fourth term. It’s because [he did] that we’ve had all this convulsion, and because of this that so many Bolivians have been demonstrating in the streets,” she said. ...

Speaking to journalists, Áñez’s new interior minister, Arturo Murillo, vowed to “hunt down” his predecessor Juan Ramón Quintana, a prominent Morales ally, stoking fears of a witch-hunt against members the previous administration. ...

The perceived disrespect of indigenous symbols has also whipped up outrage among Morales supporters in Bolivia and across Latin America. Social media videos showing the burning of the Wiphala – the multi-coloured flag of native people of the Andes closely associated with Morales’s legacy – has brought thousands on to the streets waving the banner.

CrossTalk: Bolivia’s Coup

Bolivia's dueling parties strike deal to end political chaos

Bolivia’s interim government and lawmakers from the party of unseated leader Evo Morales struck a deal late on Thursday to pursue new elections, potentially helping resolve the South American country’s political crisis.

In a late night session of the Bolivian Senate, the chamber’s President, a member of Morales’ Movement for Socialism (MAS) party, said there was agreement to work toward new elections after weeks of protests and violence that led to leftist leader Morales resigning under pressure last Sunday. ...

Bolivia’s interim President Jeanine Anez, who took over on Tuesday after a spate of resignations, had earlier indicated she wanted to mend bridges with Morales’ party. She said, however, that Morales himself would not be welcome as a candidate.

Anez did not give a specific date for the election, but under the constitution she has 90 days to do so since declaring herself interim leader by invoking the constitutional line of succession earlier this week.

Inside Chile's unprecedented protest movement

Labour promise to provide free Wi-Fi to every home

A new tax on Big Tech companies including Facebook, Google and Amazon would help fund Labour’s plans to provide homes and businesses with free internet connections, while the part of BT responsible for broadband would also be taken under public ownership.

A new British Broadband public service would boost 5G connectivity and deliver fast full-fibre internet across the country, where parts have poor internet connections, the party said. If in government, it would aim to deliver the service at no cost to members of the public by 2030 after integrating the broadband-relevant parts of BT into the new public entity.

Jeremy Corbyn will make the announcement in Lancaster on Friday where is expected to describe the new free public service as central to his plans to transform the country and economy.

Senate Democrats Join GOP to Back 'Automatic Austerity' Bill That Would Gut Social Programs, Hamstring Bold Policies

A handful of Senate Democrats joined forces with Republicans last week to advance sweeping budget legislation that would establish an "automatic deficit-reduction process" that could trigger trillions of dollars in cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, and other social programs—and potentially hobble the agenda of the next president.

The Bipartisan Congressional Budget Reform Act (S.2765), authored by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), passed out of the Senate Budget Committee on November 6. The legislation is co-sponsored by five members of the Senate Democratic caucus: Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.), Mark Warner (Va.), Tim Kaine (Va.), Chris Coons (Del.), and Angus King (I-Maine).

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee and a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, issued a statement last week opposing the legislation and warning it "could be used by Republicans to unilaterally cut programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and nutrition assistance—all supposedly to reduce the deficit."

"This new proposed process comes less than two years after Republicans on this Committee showed no hesitation in adding $2 trillion to the deficit in order to pass the Trump tax cuts for the wealthiest families and the most profitable corporations in America," said Sanders.

As The American Prospect's David Dayen noted Thursday, passage of S.2765 would severely hamstring Sanders' ability to implement his agenda should he win the White House in 2020. "If a Democrat wants to extend free public college to all Americans, or move toward a universal healthcare system, or amass resources to fight the climate crisis," Dayen wrote, "they're going to run into the deficit scolds, the 'No, We Can't' brigade. Republicans like Enzi want to build that 'No, We Can't' presumption into the budget process itself. It makes no sense for Democrats to help them."

Dems lack of moral authority dooms impeachment inquiry

Nancy Pelosi says Trump's actions toward Ukraine amount to 'bribery'

House Democrats are refining part of their impeachment case against the president to a simple allegation: bribery.

The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, on Thursday brushed aside the Latin phrase “quid pro quo” that Democrats have been using to describe Donald Trump’s actions toward Ukraine. As the impeachment hearings go public, they’re going for a more colloquial term that may resonate with more Americans.

“Quid pro quo: bribery,” Pelosi said of Trump’s 25 July phone call in which he asked the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, for a “favor”. ...

Democrats and Republicans are hardening their messages to voters, who are deeply entrenched in two camps.

Trump continued to assail the proceedings as “a hoax” on Thursday, and the House GOP leader, Kevin McCarthy, dismissed the witness testimony as hearsay, at best second-hand information.

Aaron Maté: Why Democrats will regret lionizing the national security state on impeachment

Rights Advocates Target Lawmakers and Lobbyists With Facial Recognition Technology in US Capitol

To demonstrate exactly why tougher restrictions—including a ban for government agencies—should be placed on facial recognition technology, digital privacy rights advocates Thursday morning showed up on Capitol Hill to deploy the controversial technology against lawmakers, corporate lobbyists, and even members of the press.

"This should probably be illegal," said Evan Greer, deputy director of Fight for the Future, the group behind the effort, in a statement. And that's the point.

"Until Congress takes action to ban facial recognition surveillance," Greer said, "it's terrifyingly easy for anyone—a government agent, a corporation, or just a creepy stalker—to conduct biometric monitoring and violate basic rights at a massive scale."

The group is using the commercially available Rekognition software, made by Amazon, to scan the faces of thousands of people walking by in Washington, D.C. and then cross-checking those faces with a database to "track down" their possible identities. ... As of this writing, according to the ScanCongress.com website, the activists have already scanned the faces of 9,240 people.


Greer said she and other activists are scanning people in the nation's capital city to make a very specific point. "We need an immediate ban on law enforcement and government use of face surveillance," she said, "and should urgently and severely limit its use for private and commercial purposes."

Outcry after Facebook sponsors gala featuring Brett Kavanaugh

Facebook is facing criticism for sponsoring the annual gala dinner of the Federalist Society, the powerful rightwing legal group behind the nomination of the conservative supreme court justice Brett Kavanaugh.
The world’s largest social media company is listed as a “gold circle” sponsor of the 2019 National Lawyers Convention in Washington, and is featured in the guidebook app for the event, where Kavanaugh was scheduled as the keynote speaker on Thursday evening.

The Federalist Society has played a key role in the decades-long Republican strategy to pack US courts with conservatives, which has been advanced under Donald Trump’s administration. The group’s executive vice-president, Leonard Leo, advised the president on Kavanaugh’s controversial appointment.

Demand Justice, the not-for-profit group which aims to motivate progressives on issues related to the federal judiciary, released an advert calling on supporters to “tell Facebook: stop funding the fight to normalize Brett Kavanaugh”. ...


This is not the first time Facebook has drawn scrutiny over Kavanaugh. The company’s head of global public policy, Joel Kaplan, was spotted sitting behind Kavanaugh during his 2018 Senate judiciary committee hearing. “Facebook should not be sponsoring the rehabbing of Brett Kavanaugh’s reputation when Dr Blasey Ford remains unable to resume a normal life after bravely coming forward last year,” Katie O’Connor, the senior counsel for Demand Justice, told the Verge. “You can claim to respect survivors of sexual assault or you can pay for a celebration of Brett Kavanaugh, but you can’t do both.”

Confirmation of Steven Menashi to Federal Appeals Court 'Should Send Shockwaves Across America'

Civil rights advocates on Thursday condemned the Senate's confirmation of Steven Menashi to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, characterizing him as among the most extreme of all the far-right judicial nominees put forward for lifetime appointments by President Donald Trump.

Menashi was confirmed by a 51-41 vote, largely along party lines, with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) voting against him with Democrats. ...

Menashi's confirmation flipped the bench in the Republicans' favor and sent a fifth Trump nominee to the court which could ultimately decide whether the president's financial records must be released.

During his confirmation hearing in September, Menashi was denounced by rights advocates and lawmakers when he refused to answer many questions from senators regarding his work in Trump's Department of Education and at the White House. ...

Critics on social media condemned Republicans for confirming a nominee with a history of bigoted statements toward women, the LGBTQ community, and ethnic minorities. ...

While Menashi served as acting general counsel at Trump's Department of Education, the agency rolled back Title IX protections for LGBTQ students, racial minorities, and sexual assault survivors. Manashi's past writings include attacks on so-called "campus gynocentrists" who staged "Take Back the Night" rallies when Menashi was in college; claims that LGBTQ rights advocates focused too much on the murder of Matthew Shepherd while ignoring murders committed by gay men; and a statement that liberal democracies should give preference to immigrants of certain ethnicities because "ethnic ties provide the groundwork for social trust and political solidarity."

Justice for Rodney Reed: Millions Urge Texas to Halt Execution Amid New Evidence of His Innocence

Sen. Dick Durbin Introduces Bill to Curtail ICE’s “Unnecessary Overuse of Solitary Confinement”

Slamming the “rampant and unnecessary overuse of solitary confinement” at U.S. immigration detention centers, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., on Thursday proposed legislation to dramatically curtail the practice. The bill takes aim at a range of abusive practices identified in “Solitary Voices,” an International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and Intercept joint investigation into the heavy use of solitary confinement by U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement at detention centers around the country.

If adopted, the bill would outlaw locking detained immigrants in solitary confinement in most instances as a punishment. It would also prohibit the use of isolation on individuals with severe mental illness, physical disabilities, and those who have recently given birth, with “narrow and temporary exceptions for detainees who pose a substantial and immediate threat.”

Lawyers and Scholars to LexisNexis, Thomson Reuters: Stop Helping ICE Deport People

Lawyers, students, and scholars called on legal database providers to end their contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security, and private surveillance contractor Palantir, saying the arrangements put universities and immigration lawyers in the untenable position of feeding money and even information into systems that facilitate deportation. Researchers Against Surveillance and Law Students Against ICE made their requests in a letter and petition asking Thomson Reuters, which owns the legal search tool Westlaw, and RELX, owner of LexisNexis, to end the deals, which they estimated were worth tens of millions of dollars. They were joined by Latinx advocacy group Mijente as well as Immigrant Defense Project, which engages in litigation and legal activism. ...

The tension stems from multi-pronged business model of Thomson Reuters and RELX. On the one hand, Westlaw and LexisNexis, their respective legal products, provide virtually every law firm and law school in the country with access to court filings, case law, opinions, academic work, and other resources essential for legal research. On the other hand, the companies have expanded their role as data brokers for government agencies.

According to the letter, which was provided to The Intercept by organizers, ICE’s six current contracts with Thomson Reuters have a total potential value of more than $54 million. This includes ICE’s use of the CLEAR database, which, as McKenzie Funk recently reported for the New York Times Magazine, has come to play a crucial role in deportations and immigration enforcement by collating and providing to government clients “data from credit agencies, cellphone registries, social-media posts, property records, utility accounts, fishing licenses, internet chat rooms and bankruptcy filings, all fused and vetted by algorithm to form an ever-evolving, 360-degree view of U.S. residents’ lives.” Privately run databases like CLEAR are particularly attractive to government agencies like ICE because the agencies face legal restrictions on what information they can themselves collect and how long they can retain such data.

CLEAR also helps ICE suck in some government data, including license plate information from Vigilant Solutions, a California-based division of telecommunications giant Motorola. Another Thomson Reuters subsidiary has provided ICE with real-time data on jail bookings to help the agency locate immigrants, sparking a letter of concern from watchdog group Privacy International. RELX’s ICE contracts total $2.24 million, the letter asserts, including subscriptions to the public records database Accurint.

“Lawyers are funding the companies that are building ICE’s surveillance system, which totally works against their clients,” said Sarah Lamdan, a professor and librarian at CUNY School of Law and a member of Researchers Against Surveillance. “They’re paying collectively millions of dollars to Thomson Reuters and Lexis every year, and then those companies are putting it into R&D, where they are creating products for ICE and law enforcement.”



the horse race



Tulsi Comments On Rude Reception On “The View”

Elizabeth Warren rips into billionaires who oppose wealth tax in scathing ad

Elizabeth Warren has stepped up her attack on the billionaires opposing her proposals for a new “wealth tax” by launching a scathing new ad that targets four of America’s richest men by name. In the ad, Elizabeth Warren Stands Up to Billionaires, to be broadcast on US TV this week, the leftwing Massachusetts senator trains her sights on the investor Leon Cooperman, the former Ameritrade CEO Joe Ricketts, the former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and the investor Peter Thiel.

“It is time for a wealth tax,” Warren proclaims at a campaign rally in a high school gym to the cheers of students. “I’ve heard there are some billionaires in America who don’t support this plan,” she adds faux-incredulously, before identifying four of her least favorite billionaires, along with their alleged wrongdoings or opposition to her tax proposal.

Cooperman, who the ad notes settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2017, paid nearly $5m in fees over insider trading violations and recently teared up during a TV interview on the subject of his wealth, has previously slammed Warren. The senator, Cooperman told CNBC, “represents the worst in politicians as she’s trying to demonize wealthy people because there are more poor people than wealthy people”. ...

The ad appeared to touch a nerve with Blankfein, who tweeted he was “surprised” to be featured in it and also included an insulting reference to a scandal over Warren’s prior claims of Native American ancestry. “Maybe tribalism is just in her DNA,” his tweet said.


Warren Suggests Corporate Media Ask Working People, Not Just the Very Rich, About Her Wealth Tax

Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday evening called out the news media for focusing their coverage of her proposed Ultra-Millionaires Tax largely on wealthy CEOs' and investors' negative views of the plan rather than those of the working families the senator says would benefit from the redistribution of wealth.

At a town hall attended by 200 SEIU members in Concord, New Hampshire, Warren asked the crowd, "How many billionaires have you seen interviewed in just the last week about this wealth tax?"

"Okay, I get it, we have now done the billionaires," she continued. "How many of the 43 million Americans who are struggling with student loan debt have you seen interviewed?"


Buttigieg's misleading/aggressive efforts to win over black voters

Bernie tops Dem field as Warren slides

Applauding His Record of Standing Up to 'Charter Billionaires,' United Teachers Los Angeles Endorses Bernie Sanders

The 35,000-member United Teachers Los Angeles overwhelmingly voted Thursday to endorse Sen. Bernie Sanders in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, citing the need for an "unapologetic, longstanding ally of progressive policies to make public education a priority in the White House."

UTLA, the second-largest teachers union local in the nation, said in a statement announcing the endorsement that 80 percent of its elected leadership voted in favor of supporting Sanders.

"Sanders is the first viable major candidate in 25 years in the Democratic Party to stand up against privatization, the charter billionaires, and high-stakes testing and to stand up for a massive redistribution of wealth to schools and social services," said UTLA president Alex Caputo-Pearl. "Critically, like UTLA, Sen. Sanders believes in building a national movement for real, lasting change."

Teachers have consistently ranked among the most common donors to Sanders' presidential campaign. As the Washington Post reported, "K-12 teachers have donated more money to Sanders than to any of the other Democratic presidential candidates."

UTLA's decision to back Sanders came on the eve of National Nurses United's official endorsement of the Vermont senator, which is scheduled for a press conference in Oakland, California at 4:30 pm PT.

Shahid Buttar on Defeating Pelosi and Impeaching Trump, Plus the Return of Lizholio



the evening greens


World's Largest Public Bank Ditches Oil and Coal

Climate activists celebrated Thursday the decision of the European Investment Bank to stop funding most oil and coal projects by 2021, part of a bid to be the world's first "climate bank."

The bank's board made the decision at a meeting on Thursday, CNBC reported. ...

According to Reuters, the new policy does not outright ban all fossil fuel projects, but makes most of them impossible under the new parameters:

Under the new policy, energy projects applying for EIB funding will need to show they can produce one kilowatt hour of energy while emitting less than 250 grams of carbon dioxide, a move which bans traditional gas-burning power plants.

Gas projects are still possible, but would have to be based on what the bank called "new technologies," such as carbon capture and storage, combining heat and power generation or mixing in renewable gases with the fossil natural gas.

The news was welcomed by climate advocacy group 350 Action. In a statement, the group's Germany campaigner Kate Cahoon called the decision "the beginning of the end of climate-wrecking fossil fuel finance" but warned there was still work to do.

"The gas lobby has unfortunately managed to get Germany and the European Commission to insert some loopholes into the policy, which leave the door open for funding of dangerous fossil gas projects," said Cahoon. "They had better take note of the growing list of pipelines, terminals, and fracking wells that are scrapped thanks to local opposition and the unprecedented masses of people mobilizing for climate justice."

'Mother Nature Does a Mic Drop': Venice City Council Chamber Floods Minutes After Members Vote Down Climate Crisis Amendment

It seemed like divine intervention—or at least the hand of Gaia.

Minutes after the Venetian city council voted down a resolution addressing the climate crisis Wednesday, the council chambers were filled with water for the first time in history, the result of unprecedented flooding in the city due to the highest tides in 50 years.

"Mother Nature does a mic drop," tweeted software developer Denis Õstir.


As Common Dreams reported, Venice is currently suffering through intense flooding that observers have tied directly to the climate crisis.

"From north to south, Italy has been impacted by a series of extreme climate events," Greenpeace Italy said Wednesday. "What's happening in Venice is a powerful example. This is not just 'bad weather,' this is a climate emergency."

As Superbugs Infect Millions and Kill Tens of Thousands Each Year, CDC Chief Warns Post-Antibiotic Era 'Already Here'

Bolstering concerns about the "continuing threat" that so-called superbugs pose to human health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report Wednesday that found antibiotic-resistant bacteria and fungi cause more than 2.8 million infections and 35,000 deaths annually in the United States.

"That means, on average, someone in the United States gets an antibiotic-resistant infection every 11 seconds and every 15 minutes someone dies," the CDC said in a statement announcing the report, Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States 2019 (pdf).

"When Clostridioides difficile, a bacterium which is not typically resistant but can cause deadly diarrhea and is associated with antibiotic use, is added to these," the statement continued, "the U.S. toll of all the threats in the report exceeds three million infections and 48,000 deaths."

The new release follows the CDC's 2013 AR Threats report (pdf). Since the first report, CDC Director Dr. Robert R. Redfield told reporters Wednesday, "we've reduced the number of deaths from antibiotic-resistance by 18% overall and by nearly 30% in hospitals alone." However, the 2019 report says that "CDC is concerned about rising resistant infections in the community."

"This is a problem that ultimately affects all of us," Michael Craig, a CDC senior adviser on antibiotic resistance, told CNN. "It literally has the potential to affect every person on the planet."

Sen. Cory Booker on Environmental Justice, Nuclear Power & “Savage Racial Disparities” in the U.S.

AOC and Bernie Are Teaming Up on a Green New Deal for Housing

Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) took their first stab at rolling out specifics on their landmark Green New Deal proposal, introducing legislation in both chambers of Congress to rehabilitate public housing communities that have seen years of neglect. ... In the process, it would make significant upgrades to the country’s stock of public housing, leveraging seven different grant programs to replace their energy systems and make the country’s public housing carbon-neutral within 10 years. ...

The Green New Deal for Public Housing Act aims to turn federally-owned public housing properties into more functional communities, by building in healthier grocery stores, community gardens, and child care centers. It would prioritize hiring residents from those neighborhoods to help revitalize them, an effort that would create over 240,000 new jobs a year, Data for Progress also found. ...

AOC’s bill would provide funding for basic capital needs, like appliance and electrification upgrades, all of which would have to comply with energy standards established by the Environmental Protection Agency. It would also provide funding to replace the old pipes that leach lead into public housing residents’ drinking water, a problem that disproportionately harms children in low-income communities of color. ...

One of the grants funded by the bill is earmarked for natural disaster preparedness: everything from retrofitting old buildings to prevent serious damage from storms to emergency disaster response. ...

If enacted, the program would distribute money to public housing authorities that want to generate their own renewable energy. Under the bill, those authorities could keep 90 percent of the profits they make from generating and selling that energy, and it includes a clause that requires the authority to give residents a say in how they use that profit.


Also of Interest

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

Why Aren't People in the US Rising Up Like Those Elsewhere in the World?

Bolivia Does Not Exist

Massive Anti-Coup Protests Explode Across Bolivia 'Against the Many Violations to Democracy

As Lula Emerges From Prison, US Media Ignore How Washington Helped Put Him There

Trump And Zelensky Want Peace With Russia. The Fascists Oppose That.

Ukraine For Dummies

The Sad Death of James Le Mesurier

I'm the Google whistleblower. The medical data of millions of Americans is at risk

How Chilean Protesters Took Down a Drone With Standard Laser Pointers

NYT Recycles Polling to Tell Dems Once More: Move to the Right

Roger Stone: Trump adviser found guilty on all counts in WikiLeaks hacking case

How the Fed Boosts the 1%: Even the Upper Middle Class Loses Share of Household Wealth to the 1%. Bottom Half Gets Screwed

The great American tax haven: why the super-rich love South Dakota

So, About That Moment Of Clarity You Experienced That One Time…


A Little Night Music

Guitar Junior - Roll Roll Roll

Lonnie Brooks - Figure Head

Lonnie Brooks - Mama Talk to your Daughter

Lonnie Brooks - The Popeye

Guitar Junior - Family Rules

Guitar Junior - Pick Me Up on Your Way Down

Guitar Jr - I Got It Made (When I Marry Shirley Mae)

Lonnie Brooks - Mr Hot Shot

Lonnie Brooks - Watch Dog

Lonnie Brooks & Sugar Blue - Two Headed Man!

Lonnie Brooks - Rockin' Red Rooster

Roy Clark And Lonnie Brooks On Hee Haw - Hideaway

Guitar Junior - The Crawl


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The news, views and blues
Good stuff Joe
Thanks a bunch

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joe shikspack's picture

@QMS

vonnegut was an astute observer of american culture and of mankind generally. i discovered him when i was a teenager and eagerly read all of his writings. he remains among my favorite writers.

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snoopydawg's picture

Thus the American dream turned belly up, turned green, bobbed to the scummy surface of cupidity unlimited, filled with gas, went bang in the noonday sun.”

Oh yeah that happened big time. Bill Clinton will always be remembered for pissing away the peace dividend after the Cold War ended.

Good companion article to Aaron's video talk.

The Brennan Dossier: All About a Prime Mover of Russiagate

That intelligence "flowed from the C.I.A. to the F.B.I" underscores that the agency played a larger role in the early stages of the Trump-Russia probe than is publicly acknowledged. Late last month, the Times ran a more ominous piece suggesting that the CIA may have been a prime mover of the probe through deception. It reported that Durham has been asking interview subjects "whether C.I.A. officials might have somehow tricked the F.B.I. into opening the Russia investigation." In anticipation of being asked such questions, the paper added, "[s]ome C.I.A. officials have retained criminal lawyers."

Boy am I hoping Brennan is loosing sleep over the investigation into his actions. That too many people don't see anything wrong with him and others of his ilk reporting on the news scares me. Same with them finding Mueller, Comey and McCabe trustworthy after they spent their careers lying to them. SMDH.

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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

thanks for the link. i just skimmed the beginning of it and it appears to comport quite well with what ray mcgovern has been saying for ages, particularly this part:

The ICA's blockbuster finding was presented to the public as the consensus view of the nation's intelligence community. As events have unfolded, however, it now seems apparent that the report was largely the work of one agency, the CIA, and overseen by one man, then-Director John Brennan, who closely directed its drafting and publication with a small group of hand-picked analysts.

i'll read the rest of it later, looks good.

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The article on Socialism keeping capitalism is good. However, the author buys into the myth of authoritarianism & "inability to compete with capitalism" nonsense.

I have a feeling a good chunk of people on this site know this but anyways... let me quote from an exchange I read recently :

https://southsidepride.com/2019/05/06/big-beasts/

He appreciates the successes of Scandinavian socialism, but he fails to appreciate that Russia, China, Korea, Vietnam, were under attack from the capitalist government of the U S. as soon as they declared themselves socialist. Socialism has been under attack everywhere in the world except Scandinavia, and Scandinavia is the exception that proves the rule. When you’re not being bombed or invaded, you can develop a peaceful, democratic society that has socialist and capitalist features. It is the function of the U.S. government and military to attack and undermine socialism everywhere they find it. Our government will destabilize a socialist government, create angry crowds, finance the opposition and arm a revolt. Their government will respond defensively. They may limit free speech because they can’t tell what’s a genuine protest and what’s a CIA rent-a-crowd. They are on alert. They are at war, with us, and we can’t understand why people in the world don’t like us.

I don't agree with him calling Scandinavian countries as Socialist but he sums up "siege socialism" accurately otherwise. Would those countries have had problems in the absence of siege? Hell yes. And they did have problems for sure. Going from capitalism to socialism is gonna be hell a lot bloody. But could those countries have navigated the treacherous terrain (incl self-inflicted problems - occupying countries, Stalin's handiwork in Poland during WW2, his purges etc) and come out somewhat successful? That one we didn't get a chance to see.

But we have examples of socialism which worked for centuries under peaceful times. That would be the indigenous socialism(s) Nick Estes & Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz refer to.

In the Eastern bloc itself, when the siege was relaxed, the disaster capitalists moved in and imposed shock Doctrine in former USSR for example. And West Germany annexed
E.Germany. This is NOT a defense of the police state but my pointing out the harsh realities of actually existing socialism. And today there is a Karl Marx credit card in the former East Germany.

BBC did run some decent segments last week around the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. They quoted people in the former EG talking about the things they miss - decent housing, education, healthcare etc

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@Funkygal

https://twitter.com/jhal9000/status/1143933902404247553

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@Funkygal

thanks Funkygal !

more to be said, all we got for now

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Azazello's picture

@QMS
I was a Buffalo Springfield fan in my youth.
Poco was a lot of the same guys, after the break-up of that band.

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

joe shikspack's picture

@Funkygal

However, the author buys into the myth of authoritarianism & "inability to compete with capitalism" nonsense.

yep, people with their ambitions, prejudices, greed and lust for power always make a hash out of the best ideologies that idealists can manufacture.

But we have examples of socialism which worked for centuries under peaceful times. That would be the indigenous socialism(s) Nick Estes & Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz refer to.

agreed.

i would like a credit card that has an illustration of stalin and jay gould playing poker in hell.

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@Funkygal ,

but I have always thought of democracy and dictatorship as systems of government, and socialism and capitalism as systems of the economy. Therefore you could have a socialist democracy or a socialist dictatorship. And you could have a capitalist democracy or a capitalist dictatorship. The problem with capitalism is that it creates overwhelming power in very few hands and therefore brings about dictatorship, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

I think of the Soviet Union as having been a socialist dictatorship and the Scandinavian countries as socialist democracies. I think the socialist democracies take care of themselves, live in peace, and appear to be solvent, at least when compared to basket cases like the United States.

So I think the United States has always struggled with the concept of democracy somehow working with capitalism. I think we're at a point of realizing capitalism is inconsistent with democracy, that the power of wealth is abusive of humanity, and that depending on billionaires to fund the needs of the disabled or the injured has been a pipe dream.

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Wally's picture

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joe shikspack's picture

@Wally

considering that the prime movers of the coup are christian fascists, i expect to see a lot more killings of indigenous people in the coming days. it's sad, but predictable.

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snoopydawg's picture

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

Wally's picture

Just a couple days ago, police blocked Adriana Salvatierra, President of the Bolivian Senate, from entering Parliament. According to the Constitution, he was next in line for succession to the presidency. According to the article above you posted above, Joe, he was back in the senate and reached some kind of agreement on new elections (which Morales had agreed to before the coup took place). Meanwhile the marches continue while protesters are shot and killed by police.

Here's an excellent analysis of what happened if anyone still wants to question whether it was/is a coup or think it was a justifiable coup:

Cohen's twitter also has breaking new and extensive ideo coverage, too, of today's massacre and related events. WARNING: Much of it is very graphic and disturbing.

and while I don't know how true any of this is, I figure it's information at least worth sharing for careful consideration:

Edits/additions: scuse me. so much seems to be happening fast and furious.

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joe shikspack's picture

@Wally

i would guess that the meeting actually happened and there was an agreement to hold elections.

it was inevitable that the christofascists would have to find a way to get the leadership of the indigenous population to agree to calm down the populace. the christofascists need to adhere to some social niceties in order to maintain a veneer of legitimacy.

a general strike seems like a positive step. the people need some leverage about now that doesn't involve violence.

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with death and violence in the titles of the lead
Ya, I know a lot of stuff is going down.
Reader friendly version maybe..
bambi is upset with sh*t going down
or something along those skids

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snoopydawg's picture

Hopefully Rodney will get a new trial altogether.

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

@snoopydawg
better which-ever
What is needed is good news.
Give the peeps something to feel good about.
Dive into the issues with a positive.

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joe shikspack's picture

@snoopydawg

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The Judge that performed my wedding ceremony back in the day had presided over the Brantley capital murder trial that occurred in Montgomery County, Texas many years ago. He said he was new to the bench, just took it for granted that when a prosecutor said something, or a cop said something, it was the Gospel Truth. He learned the hard way. Spent a long time trying to atone.
And, here we go again. Texas, of course. Black men. Of course.
I think at least two of my attorney pals worked on that appeal for Reed. I will contact them, try to get some background info.

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

@on the cusp @on the cusp

Had to fight the cop / prosecutor block, copping pleas
Did not follow along
Got driven out of law by local authorities
mentioned the practice of justice is an ill-legal
Guess you are figuring that one out by now

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@QMS What a great Dad and what a great example for you!

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

@on the cusp

It was an honor to interpret justice
from a front line soldier
he told me to stay away from law
as a practice..
'most demanding and least rewarding'
of the professions.
followed his advice
and went sailing

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@QMS He is the reason why you sail, and sail freely, my friend.
What a Dad!
Wow!

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

@on the cusp

for your understanding
escaping justice
by the local cops
chased me out
think he did a favor
to clue us into small town
michigan political consequence
before getting snared
the price of wisdom paid

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@QMS I have had anonymous death threats. All kinds of blackmail stuff.
It is the way of the world, the way troublemakers and truth tellers get treated.
Go sail.
Some of us on land "have got this".

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

@on the cusp

make tears in my eyes
for the battles you choose
escapism is a response
not a solution
grounded individuals
make the difference
twixt rights and wrongs
thanks for trying
the reward is ahead

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@QMS It is just a thing I was brought up with, to go for it, die trying.
If the guy had not been an awful shot, I would be dead with no kids to carry on the family tradition.
We all die. We should all die, trying.

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

@on the cusp

The idea of dying to try.
Make this a better world.
Think I got that too.
Fight with all you got.
Few second chances left.

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@QMS We are the last stand.
We can stand up for our kids, or let them go to early deaths.
We are there.
same for our elderly parents.
Nobody dies on my watch without a major fight, because my Dad's ghost would kick my ass for being a coward!

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

@on the cusp

extending the lessons taught
by the previous generation
to the next
our role
making things better
thanks for trying

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Azazello's picture

That first clip from Rising, Dems lack of moral authority ... is about the best thing they've done so far. Here's another one from this morning:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqZEwoAEv80 width:500 height:300]
Taibbi article here: November 14, 2019 3:26PM ET Deval Patrick’s Candidacy Is Another Chapter in the Democrats’ 2020 Clown Car Disaster
I heard on NPR that the Russians are infiltrating from the Mexican border, more later.

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

joe shikspack's picture

@Azazello

heh, i have both a hope and a sneaking suspicion that the billionaire class' last-minute interlopers are going to get their asses handed to them. of course that means that the dnc will resort to more devious means.

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@joe shikspack

I wonder?
Deb Was Shultz now a leader of the pack
Demos not the resistance
Trumpet a diversion
Ignorance of pressing issues
Like endless war
destruction of our planet
so a couple goofs get rich
How foogen more
do the players propose?

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joe shikspack's picture

@QMS

they have to convince the american people that they collectively want and have voted for the lack of change that they represent.

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@joe shikspack

how can the voting citizens left
(with a perceptive mind)
aka - independents and undecided
not see we are being deceived
seems pretty obvious
not given a choice
there exists no political resistance
in our inflamed halls
of 'elected' representatives
impeachment diversion is the best
tactic the circus has anymore
in other words
not about us

Sheesh

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joe shikspack's picture

@QMS

cannot be unseen. that is why we have trump.

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Azazello's picture

@joe shikspack
The latest here: Border Agent shoots Russian migrant during altercation near Lukeville
Defcon 3, this is not a drill.

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

joe shikspack's picture

@Azazello

i bet he was on his way to washington to help trump out of this jam.

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@Azazello

A 'desperate to sell you the news' paper headliner:
Border Agents Shoot Aliens
reading further, turns out they were just Mexicans
or Canadians. Body cams were broken and the bodies
disappeared mysteriously. Investigations continue.

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enhydra lutris's picture

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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

yep, every now and then i get the feeling that it might be better to pick up my long-neglected guitar and join a rock and roll band again.

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Azazello's picture

@enhydra lutris
Is this the greatest rock 'n roll song ever written ?
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Cxsgn2UzQ0 width:500 height:300]

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

joe shikspack's picture

@Azazello

lots of competition for that title. the internet says led zeppelin's stairway to heaven and/or queen's bohemian rhapsody. on the other hand, my vote tonight is:

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Azazello's picture

@joe shikspack
The internet is a buncha' morons.
How 'bout this one:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW0cVp0WWkk width:400 height:240]

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

joe shikspack's picture

@Azazello

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dystopian's picture

@Azazello It is way up there... Keith liked Tumblin' Dice best methinks. Jumpin Jack Flash is pretty good too. Funny the Stones opened 75 tour (first Ron Wood tour) opened with Honky Tonk Woman. Get Yer Ya Ya's Out was one of the best live rock recordings and performances of its day. Mick Taylor. I saw the '72 Exile tour, Mick Taylor's last U.S. tour with them, I was never the same after the first song, Rocks Off. Much less All Down the Line.

P.S. loved yer Beefhart pic a couple weeks ago!

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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

@Azazello
Rolling Stones song, nevermind the best Rock and Roll song.

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The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

Azazello's picture

@UntimelyRippd
and I'm stickin' to it.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYcPceLKiY0 width:500 height:300]

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

joe shikspack's picture

@Azazello

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Azazello's picture

@joe shikspack
Tears must be cried.
People say that Keith was a prick but he just gave Gram that song.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNaqBBjrIZw width:500 height:300]

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

@Azazello
tune.

Choosing "the best" rock song is, of course, a bit of a fool's game. For one thing, we'd end up in a big bitch fight about whether this song or that is really a "rock" song. For another, a lot of the really great music isn't the stuff that got played on the radio. Layla is fucking amazing, but I'm not sure it's better than Why does love got to be so sad, on the same album. Cocaine is kinda cool -- especially the live version -- but The Core (from the same album) kicks its ass.

I can't think of any reasonable way to rank any of these, one above the other.
Note, BTW, that several of them are covers that FAR out-do the originals.
[video:https://youtu.be/UrOPJXrUWII]
[video:https://youtu.be/VbIC4018oVk]
[video:https://youtu.be/Cv0OmgE3FH0]
[video:https://youtu.be/wRKNXhG86VU]
[video:https://youtu.be/DmATYFuVZJk]
[video:https://youtu.be/yQjqqy2hhDA]
[video:https://youtu.be/jabwb_U3pjA]
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwBkvYJu2aE]
[video:https://youtu.be/qmKrcOB7udA]
You get the idea.

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The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

Azazello's picture

@UntimelyRippd
I think if I had to pick a best Stones tune, of all time, probably Sympathy ...
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mki5cY61cPk width:400 height:240]

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

@Azazello
nod to sympathy, but the merry whatsernames vocals on shelter are just ... it.

up
0 users have voted.

The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

@Azazello n/t

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

enhydra lutris's picture

@Azazello
Depends on your mood, whether or not you feel like dancing or just want to listen, feeling mellow, contemplative, just relaxing. Do you have a separate category for pure instrumentals, and what about early and late crossovers? Its 6:54 am and I am into my first coffee wryly thinking stuff like "Willie and the Hand Jive" and, of course, Bob Dylan had high praise for this little gem, short and sweet:

but I sort of always preferred this:

All the same, Joe has a major contender with Johnny B. Goode.

I'm kind of partial to Sympathy for the Devil, but that's the sixties radical talking I suspect. I think the field must be narrowed by sub-genre or era or something, there was some great surf stuff, especially for just jumpin' (I used to tell a jazzercize head I knew that if she was serious she'd try doing the watusi to wipeout - kept us slim when I was young), and then vocal and or musical virtuosity, and does r&b count, and what the hell is r&b anyway?? - 3 samples

Is this rock?

Does this count, especially since it's a cover?

And what about out there? Smoke a couple, or drop a tab, lean back, close your eyes and

(Is there a duration limit? My late brother would probably have said East-West with St. Steven second.)

So, no telling, but my mood is shifting, and oscillating between Heroin (Lou Reed/Velvet Underground) and simple old classics that have stood the test of time and been heavily covered:

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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 --

Azazello's picture

@enhydra lutris
There's a huge bunch of styles that get lumped together as "rock" but I'm thinking rock 'n roll should be blues-based, like Chuck. Thanks for getting me started on the Stones '69 tour, good stuff and this year is the 50th anniversary. That tour, and "the Sixties", closed out with Altamont on Dec.6.

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

enhydra lutris's picture

@Azazello
of a late start for Altamont and were turned back by the horrendous traffic that even swamped all of the sneaky back roads. Good thing, because we would've been right up front, like we were for every other concert we went to, which might've turned out badly for us.

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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 --

dystopian's picture

Lonnie was a great guitar player. Great sound and tone, fast, clean. When Roy Clark wants America to see a guy play, y'all better watch.

The Federalist Soc. sucks. All the judges Schumer has been rubber-stamping for Turdle McConnel are from there. Young F'rs in for life without a cursory glance at their record or position.

A weather channel clip I saw on the Venice flooding did not mention sea-level rise. Just winds and tides. Yet the sealevel IS higher than it used to be. I am sure to many hard-core meteorology and climatology hobbyists like myself it was a glaring obvious oversight blackout. This is the new Weather Channel since IBM took over.

I have said for at least a couple decades: "We will create the bug that kills us."

Thanks for the great tunes!

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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

joe shikspack's picture

@dystopian

heh, this time around putting together brooks' feature there was a significant bunch of his louisiana recordings from the late 50's available on youtube that weren't up last time i looked. i hope that there will be even more next time.

yeah, the federalist society has destroyed the judiciary. it was bad before, but it's going to be somewhere between useless and an impediment going forward i suspect.

have a great weekend!

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