The Evening Blues - 3-8-19



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The day's news roundup + tonight's musical feature: Legendary Blues Band

Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features Chicago blues band Legendary Blues Band. Enjoy!

Legendary Blues Band - Shake For Me

"There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice."

-- Montesquieu


News and Opinion

Chelsea Manning jailed for refusing to testify to grand jury in WikiLeaks case

Former US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning has been jailed for refusing to testify to a grand jury investigating WikiLeaks.

US district judge Claude Hilton held Manning in contempt of court and ordered her jailed on Friday after a brief hearing where Manning confirmed she has no intention of testifying. She told the judge she “will accept whatever you bring upon me”.

Manning says she is refusing to testify because she objects to the secrecy of the grand jury process, and already revealed everything she knows at her court martial.

The judge said she will remain jailed until she testifies or until the grand jury concludes its work.

Plans for Wheelchair-Accessible Cells at Gitmo Paint 'Chilling Picture' of Detainees Held Without Trial For Rest of Their Lives

Newly-revealed plans for expanding the Guantanamo Bay prison confirm that the future of the facility focuses on keeping detainees there well into old age—and likely for the rest of their lives.

A decade after President Barack Obama signed an executive order calling for Guantanamo Bay to be shuttered, prison officials are seeking contractors to build a wheelchair-accessible 5,000-square foot compound at the detention center, according to reports by the Middle East Eye andthe Miami Herald.

Human rights advocates on Thursday decried the move. "Building wheelchair accessible prison cells at Guantanamo paints a deeply chilling picture," said Maya Foa, director of the British human rights organization Reprieve. "President Trump appears to be planning to detain men—the vast majority of whom have never been charged with a crime or faced a trial—until they die." The new wing will contain three handicapped-accessible cells—suggesting that the prison is planning to provide end-of-life care to detainees, many of whom have not been formally charged with any crime or been afforded a trial. ...

Of the 40 men who are currently being held at the prison in Cuba, 26 are considered "forever prisoners," having never been tried. Five have been cleared for release in recent years but remain imprisoned. Some prisoners have been at Guantanamo Bay since the say the facility opened in 2002. A number of detainees are now in their 50s and 60s, and the oldest inmate is 71 years old and in poor health after having been detained for 14 years.

Worth a full read:

Royal Wedding Got Triple the Media Coverage of Yemen in 2018

The ongoing war in Yemen, called the world’s “worst humanitarian disaster” by the United Nations and independent aid agencies since early last year, received a grand combined total of 20 minutes of coverage on the ABC, NBC, and CBS weekday evening news programs in 2018. That compared to a total of 71 minutes that the three major networks devoted to the British royal wedding and a combined total of 100 minutes dedicated to the rescue of a dozen young cave explorers from flooding in Thailand, according to the latest annual compilation by the authoritative Tyndall Report.

By contrast, the brutal murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in September received a total of 116 minutes of coverage by the three networks, making it one of the very few foreign-based stories to make it into the top 20 most-covered network news events in 2018. ...

Overall, the lack of coverage of the Yemen disaster is symptomatic of negative trends regarding foreign news coverage by the major networks, which together remain the biggest single source of international news in the United States. An average of more than 22 million households tune into the nightly newscasts, or about four times the number of those that watch any of the three major cable channels—Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN—on a given evening. ...

Precisely because of its unparalleled reach and the influence of its major sponsors (compared to cable news advertisers), network news has always been designed to appeal to the greatest number of viewers. In important ways, the network news agenda — as shallow, superficial, sensationalistic, and increasingly inward as it is — reveals how Americans see and understand events and trends overseas.

The single most network-covered story of the year, according to Tyndall’s tally, was the nomination and confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh at 426 minutes, followed by the ongoing probes into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election (332 minutes). Aside from the Russian investigations, North Korean-U.S. summitry was the top foreign-policy story, clocking in at 212 minutes, making it the year’s fifth-biggest story overall.

Journalist Confronts CNN Over Smear Piece

We Are Being Lied Into War Again

The invasion of Iraq just felt like it was a lie to me. And it turned out that I was right, that it was a lie, and that the entirety of the mainstream media and our government were either wrong or lying and, most of the time, both. Now our government and our media are trying their damnedest to lie us into another war, this one with Venezuela. They tell us the Venezuelan people are desperate for necessities like toothpaste, while independent journalists show piles of affordable toothpaste in Caracas.

And even if they didn’t have toothpaste, that hardly seems like a good reason for America to be dropping our long-range bad decisions on the heads of innocent people. Turning a town into an impact crater for the sake of a battle to stop gingivitis seems a bit extreme.

The mainstream media and nearly the entirety of the U.S. government tell us Juan Guaido is the “interim president,” even though he was never elected to that position and the current president is still leading the Venezuelan government and military. So I guess this “interim” is the time between Guaido being a nobody and the time when he goes back to being nobody but now gets to tell women at parties, “You know, I used to be interim president.” ...

This is not the first time our government and our media have conspired to drag the American people into war with another country—or helped create a coup that will inevitably have disastrous results.

End Venezuela Sanctions Says Rep. Ro Khanna and 15 Progressive Democrats

Inside the Neoliberal Laboratory Preparing for the Theft of Venezuela’s Economy

US foreign policy mobilizes every available resource for regime change and for counterinsurgency. Among those resources, you will always find academics. The pen may not always be mightier than the sword, but behind every US-backed war on a foreign people there will be a body of scholarly work.

The academic laboratory of the Venezuelan coup has the highest academic pedigree of all—it’s housed at Harvard . Under the auspices of the university’s Center for International Development, the Venezuela project of the Harvard Growth Lab (there are growth labs for other countries as well, including India and Sri Lanka) is full of academic heavyweights, including Lawrence Summers (who once famously argued that Africa was under-polluted). Among the leaders of the growth lab is Ricardo Hausmann, now an adviser to Juan Guaido who has “already drafted a plan to rebuild the nation, from economy to energy.”

In an interview with Bloomberg Surveillance, Hausmann was asked who would be there to rebuild Venezuela after the coup—the IMF, the World Bank? Hausmann replied (around minute 20), “we have been in touch with all of them. … I have been working for three years on a ‘morning after’ plan for Venezuela.” The hosts interrupted him before he could get into detail, but the interview concluded that bringing back the “wonderful Venezuela of old,” for investors, would necessitate international financial support. Never mind that —amply documented but forgotten by those who accuse Maduro of the same crimes.

The Growth Lab website provides some other ideas of what Hausmann’s plan likely includes: Chavez’s literacy, health care, and food subsidy “Missions,” a growth lab paper argues, have not reduced poverty (and, implicitly, should go). Another paper argues that the underperformance of the Venezuelan oil industry was due to the country’s lack of appeal to foreign investors (hence Venezuela should implicitly be made more appealing to this all-important group). A third paper argues that “weak property rights” and the “flawed functioning of markets” are harming the business environment—no doubt strengthening property rights and getting those markets functioning again will be in the plan. If this sounds like the same kind of neoliberal prescription that devastated Latin American countries for generations and was imposed and maintained through torture and dictatorship from Chile and Brazil to Venezuela itself, that is because the motivation is to bring back the “wonderful Venezuela of old.”

The Guardian includes some propaganda with its coverage, but here are the salient parts:

Venezuela: huge power outage leaves much of country in the dark

Venezuela has been hit by a vast power cut, with at least 18 of its 23 states reportedly affected by a blackout authorities blamed on anti-government saboteurs. ...

The Venezuelan news website El Pitazo reported that the outage appeared to be the result of a failure at the Simón Bolívar hydroelectric plant in the southern state of Bolívar.

Members of Nicolás Maduro’s crisis-stricken government claimed opposition wreckers had targeted the plant, which is also known as Guri.

“The black out has been caused by sabotage at Guri,” tweeted the official account of the television program of Maduro’s second-in-command, Diosdado Cabello.

Max Blumenthal: Report From the Real Venezuela

Khanna, Ocasio-Cortez Among Progressive Democrats to Condemn US-Backed Regime Change in Venezuela

Over a dozen progressive House Democrats on Thursday condemned the Trump administration's "unacceptable" push for regime change in Venezuela. The comments came in a letter addressed to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and signed by Reps. Ro Khanna (Calif.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), and 13 other House Democrats.

"President Donald Trump and other senior United States (U.S.) officials have generated alarm in Venezuela and throughout the region with actions and statements—such as the recent threat that 'all options are on the table'—which indicate a pursuit of American military-led regime change," reads the letter. The progressives also slammed the Trump White House for "crippling" millions of ordinary Venezuelans with unilateral sanctions.

"[T]he president's recent economic sanctions threaten to exacerbate the country's grave economic crisis, causing immense suffering for the most vulnerable in society who bear no responsibility for the situation in the country," the letter states.

Khanna, who spearheaded the letter, urged his Democratic colleagues to unite against U.S.-backed regime change and sanctions in an interview with HuffPost on Thursday. "Here's the mistake we make: We're quiet when these interventions are happening," said Khanna, who has been an outspoken opponent of U.S. interference in Venezuela. "That was a mistake in Iraq, that was a mistake in Libya. Then afterwards we say, 'These interventions were a mistake and how do we rectify it?' Instead, we need to speak up right in the beginning when we see signs of interventionism that are going to make situations worse."

Israeli journalist urges Americans to 'say the truth' about Israel

Worth a full read:

Labour’s Fight Over Israel Long Time in Coming

An announcement this week by the Jewish Labour Movement that it is considering splitting from the British Labour Party could not have come at a worse moment for Jeremy Corbyn. The Labour leader is already besieged by claims that he is presiding over a party that has become “institutionally anti-Semitic.” The threats by the JLM should be seen as part of concerted efforts to oust Corbyn from the leadership. They follow on the heels of a decision by a handful of Labour MPs last month to set up a new faction called the Independent Group. They, too, cited anti-Semitism as a major reason for leaving.

On the defensive, Corbyn was prompted to write to the JLM expressing his and the shadow cabinet’s “very strong desire for you to remain a part of our movement”. More than 100 Labour MPs, including members of the front bench, similarly pleaded with the JLM not to disaffiliate. They apologized for “toxic racism” in the party and for “letting our Jewish supporters and members down.” Their letter noted that the JLM is “the legitimate and long-standing representative of Jews in the Labour party” and added that the MPs recognized the importance of “calling out those who seek to make solidarity with our Jewish comrades a test of foreign policy.”

That appeared to be a swipe at Corbyn himself, who is the first leader of a British political party to prioritize Palestinian rights over the U.K.’s ties to an Israeli state that has been oppressing Palestinians for decades. Just this week the Labour leader renewed his call for Britain to halt arms sales to Israel following a UN report that said the Israeli army’s shooting of Palestinian protesters in Gaza’s Great March of Return could amount to war crimes.

Despite the media attention, all the evidence suggests that Labour does not have a problem of “institutional anti-Semitism,” or even a problem of anti-Semitism above the marginal racism towards Jews found in the wider British population. Figures show only 0.08 percent of Labour members have been disciplined for anti-Semitism. Also largely ignored by the British media, and Corbyn’s opponents, is the fact that a growing number of Jews are publicly coming out in support for him and discounting the claims of an “endemic” anti-Semitism problem.

Some 200 prominent Jews signed a letter to The Guardian newspaper calling Corbyn “a crucial ally in the fight against bigotry and reaction. His lifetime record of campaigning for equality and human rights, including consistent support for initiatives against antisemitism, is formidable.” At the same time, a new organization, Jewish Voice for Labour, has been established to underscore that there are progressive Jews who welcome Corbyn’s leadership.

In the current hysterical climate, however, no one seems interested in the evidence or these dissenting voices.

National board member of Jewish Voice for Peace defends Rep. Ilhan Omar

“It hurts a lot:” Muslim, black members of Congress react to anti-hate vote

A resolution passed by House Democrats Thursday against hatred has, ironically, further divided a party grappling with evolving views and positions on Israel and Islam. The resolution was put forth earlier this week by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after comments by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) on the Israel lobby which many senior members of Congress viewed as anti-Semitic. A backlash immediately ensued over claims Omar’s comments had been misinterpreted, and that she was being singled out because of her Muslim faith.

On Thursday, a revised version of that resolution, now cast as a broad rebuke of hatred, was passed by the Democrat-controlled House. But despite the resolution's inoffensive syntax, which condemned anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim bigotry broadly and did not mention Omar by name, the damage was done. The move left hurt feelings, particularly among black and Muslim members of Congress, as well as freshman members.

“I don’t want to cry about it, but it does – it hurts a lot,” Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) told VICE News in a phone interview while fighting back tears. “I just feel like I’m not being truly seen or heard.” Besides Omar, Tlaib is the other historic first Muslim woman elected to Congress. Her grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins are living in the occupied territories of Palestine, and she says she wishes even her fellow Democrats would stop and listen to their stories instead of rushing to label them anti-Semitic.

“These are powerful stories that I feel like need to be told,” Tlaib said. “You have to make sure we have a Congress where we can talk about issues like oppressive actions of governments and human rights violations. That’s what I heard from Ilhan at that event. I heard her speaking up for peace and justice for Palestinians like my grandmother.”

And Tlaib says this week she also learned that her supposedly “big tent” party might not really be that big. “I think we realized how bipartisan Islamophobia is,” Tlaib said.

Remi Kanazi backs Ilhan Omar, calling for 'open and honest discourse'

There Are 106 Democratic Co-Sponsors for Medicare for All. What's Up With the Other 130?

A week after the introduction of comprehensive single-payer healthcare legislation, Congressional Democrats are split over the bill. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) unveiled the Medicare for All Act Feb. 27 in an outdoor press conference. On Wednesday morning, Jayapal appeared on Democracy Now! to tell hosts Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez where the legislation stood a week in and stressed the universal popularity of the plan. ...

Despite the public support for the plan, however, Congress isn't totally sold on the bill. Jayapal acknowledged that she'd have to work to convince her party on the merits of the legislation—even as other Democrats like Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) are introducing their own versions of healthcare legislation that would expand Medicare to people 50 and over. ...

Jayapal's bill has the support of 106 other House Democrats, but there are still 130 members of the majority party who have yet to sign on. Those members, according to a study by Carl Gibson at GritPost, are recipients of over $43 million in donations from the healthcare industry over their careers.

Using campaign finance data made publicly available by the Center for Responsive Politics, Grit Post calculated that donors in the insurance and pharmaceutical industries gave a combined $43,740,947 in career campaign donations to the 130 House Democrats who have not yet signed on as co-sponsors to Rep. Jayapal's bill. House Democrats received anywhere from $9,570 in financial support from pharma and insurance to $3.2 million, depending on the member.

"Additionally, not one member of House Democrats' leadership has co-sponsored the bill," wrote Gibson. 

You can read the list of names—and their contributions—here.

What Is Katharine Gorka Doing at the Homeland Security Department? This Group Is Suing to Find Out.

A liberal watchdog group is demanding answers about the work of Katharine Gorka, a top political appointee who serves as an adviser at the Department of Homeland Security. Prior to her appointment at Homeland Security, Gorka — whose husband is far-right media personality and former White House aide Sebastian Gorka — was known for her anti-Muslim rhetoric.

After Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, he named Katharine Gorka to his Homeland Security transition team. She later earned a permanent appointment in the department. Gorka’s LinkedIn page describes her as a “Senior Advisor for Policy,” but Homeland Security has been reluctant to explain exactly what her role is. A spokesperson for the Homeland Security Department told the Huffington Post in 2017 that her work “includes efforts to address everything from global jihadists [sic] threats to domestic terrorists.”

On Thursday, a Washington-based nonprofit called Democracy Forward filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act seeking records related to Gorka’s exact role. According to the complaint, the group initially filed a records request in November and received an acknowledgement from Homeland Security, but the department has since failed to meet response times required by statute.

“The public deserves to know what Katharine Gorka is doing at DHS, but the Trump administration isn’t saying,” said Charisma Troiano, Democracy Forward’s press secretary, in an email. “We’re suing to find out whether her extreme and biased views are driving Homeland Security resources away from real threats.”



the horse race



Paul Manafort sentenced to less than four years in prison

Paul Manafort arrived at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia facing the prospect of two decades in prison. He left the courtroom with just a fraction of that — 47-months, to be exact. Manafort’s sentence by a federal judge Thursday in Virginia represents a startling departure from the range — 19-to-24 years — recommended by the probation office following Manafort’s conviction last August.

At the hearing, Judge T.S. Ellis called the recommended guideline range “excessive” before a packed courtroom, and remarked that Manafort — a man who built a vast fortune consulting for tyrants of various stripes around the world — had led an otherwise “blameless” life. ...

Early in the trial, Ellis remarked that “even a blind person” could see that the real target of the Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s prosecutors wasn’t Manafort — but the political strategist’s former boss, President Trump. ...

Manafort found himself at the center of Mueller’s Russia investigation after carrying on a running conversation during the 2016 campaign with a man allegedly tied to Russian intelligence, named Konstantin Kilimnik. Mueller’s team accused Manafort of lying about that connection — even after he pleaded guilty and pledged to truthfully cooperate with investigators. ... But it was the work that Manafort did years before he signed up to lead the Trump campaign that got him into so much legal trouble. ...

Manafort still faces sentencing next week in another case in Washington D.C., where he pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy. He faces a maximum 10 years in his D.C. case, and the judge must decide whether the two sentences should be served at the same time, or back-to-back.



In Iowa, Sanders Addresses 'Rural Community Issues We Almost Never Hear About': Factory Farms and Big Ag

Bernie Sanders took aim at factory farms and agribusiness in a speech kicking off his Iowa presidential campaign Thursday.

"We need policies in Washington for rural America that represent the needs of working people and family farmers," the Independent senator from Vermont told a crowd of around 2,000 at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, "not agribusiness and large, multinational corporations." ...

Consolidation and incorporation of the farming industry have had major effects on the health and economic well being of Iowans. Sanders noted that change in his speech Thursday. "We have seen family farmers by the thousands go out of business, as the prices that they receive for their products decline rapidly," Sanders said, "and large agribusiness corporations and factory farming takes over agriculture."

Sanders also addressed the power held by large farming companies in how they interact with both smaller farms and the economy of Iowa and the U.S. as a whole. After listing a litany of problems plaguing the rural communities in Iowa, the senator talked solutions—beginning with enforcing laws put in place to stop corporate consolidation.

"Among many other things that need to be done is for the federal government to enforce anti-trust laws," said Sanders.

Elizabeth Warren: Here’s how we can break up Big Tech

Twenty-five years ago, Facebook, Google, and Amazon didn’t exist. Now they are among the most valuable and well-known companies in the world. It’s a great story — but also one that highlights why the government must break up monopolies and promote competitive markets.

In the 1990s, Microsoft — the tech giant of its time — was trying to parlay its dominance in computer operating systems into dominance in the new area of web browsing. The federal government sued Microsoft for violating anti-monopoly laws and eventually reached a settlement. The government’s antitrust case against Microsoft helped clear a path for Internet companies like Google and Facebook to emerge. The story demonstrates why promoting competition is so important: it allows new, groundbreaking companies to grow and thrive — which pushes everyone in the marketplace to offer better products and services. ...

Today’s big tech companies have too much power — too much power over our economy, our society, and our democracy. They’ve bulldozed competition, used our private information for profit, and tilted the playing field against everyone else. And in the process, they have hurt small businesses and stifled innovation. ... We need to stop this generation of big tech companies from throwing around their political power to shape the rules in their favor and throwing around their economic power to snuff out or buy up every potential competitor.

That’s why my administration will make big, structural changes to the tech sector to promote more competition — including breaking up Amazon, Facebook, and Google.

[Click the link to see the details of Warren's plan to break up tech giants and keep them smaller. -js]



the evening greens


Citing 'Permanent Oil Price Decline,' Norwegian Fund's Fossil Fuel Divestment Could Spark Global 'Shockwave'

In a move that climate campaigners say should send a "shockwave" through the global oil and gas industry, the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund—the largest of its kind in the world—has recommended the Norway government divest the entirety of the fund's $40 billion holdings from the fossil fuel industry.

In a statement on Friday, Minister of Finance Siv Jensen explained the decision is meant to "reduce the vulnerability" of the Norwegian fund "to permanent oil price decline." With an estimated $1 trillion in total holdings, Norway's Sovereign Wealth Fund is the largest publicly held investment in the world. According to a spokesperson for the finance ministry, the fund currently has roughly 66 billion Norwegian krone ($7.5 billion) invested in energy exploration and production stocks—approximately 1.2% of the fund's stock portfolio.

The recommendation from the Norwegian fund will now be sent to the nation's parliament for approval.

Climate groups that have pushed aggressively for divestment from the fossil fuel industry in recent years as a key way to decrease the threat of greenhouse gases and runaway global warming celebrated the announcement as a possible crucial turning point.

Red wolf: the struggle to save one of the rarest animals on Earth

Attempting to locate one of the rarest animals on the planet, US government scientist Joe Madison pointed an antiquated VHF tracking antenna at a tangle of thick vegetation and twiddled some dials on the receiver. ... Sightings of red wolves are uncommon not only due to their elusive nature but also their plummeting population. Only around 30 of the creatures remain in the wild, in a corner of North Carolina, with 18 of them fitted with radio collars that Madison attempts to pick up with his antenna.

An FWS assessment in 2016 warned this vestige could completely vanish within eight years. The scenario now is even grimmer. “We’re already way ahead of where that projection was,” Madison said. “If we stay on the current trajectory it won’t be that long before we lose the population. In fact, we are down to one known breeding pair.” Faced with hardening opposition to the wolves’ presence from some nearby landowners, the FWS has gradually pulled back. Wild releases of captive pups have stopped, as has the sterilization of encroaching coyotes to avoid hybridization.

In June, the Trump administration unveiled a plan, several years in the making, that would scale the red wolves’ protected area back to its federally owned core and allow people to shoot the species without repercussions on private land. Conservation groups argue this plan will swiftly snuff out the red wolf and have taken the fight to the courts.

“The impression we’ve gotten is that Fish and Wildlife have got tired of trying to save controversial species like wolves,” said Dr Ron Sutherland, an ecologist and red wolf expert at the Wildlands Network. “They don’t have the budget or the backing of Congress. It’s easier to let the wolves decline to the point where they can just pull the plug and we’re very nearly at that point. This wasn’t a thing started by Trump but Trump could certainly finish it off.”

Tens of thousands of red wolves once lived in a sweeping expanse from Texas to New York until the arrival of European settlers saw them branded a pest, with a bounty placed upon them leading to mass slaughter. It appeared the species would go the way of passenger pigeons and eastern cougars – blasted haphazardly by guns until there was nothing left to shoot – before a novel rescue plan was hatched in the 1980s. ... Red wolves are routinely killed in car collisions or disease but the leading cause of deaths is now gunfire. From a peak of 151 animals in 2005, the population has slumped to a fifth of this number.

The Climate Denier Enablers

What the Green New Deal will mean for your hamburger

Amid the various critiques of the proposed Green New Deal, few capture the alarmism of the American right quite like Sebastian Gorka’s now viral claim that the deal’s proponents “want to take away your hamburgers … this is what Stalin dreamt about but never achieved”. While it is debatable whether Stalin would have rejoiced in a vegan United States, it is true that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s proposal for a low-carbon economy would require a major reduction in livestock production. But there doesn’t need not be an either/or choice between the Green New Deal and meat consumption: the solution to the Green New Deal’s hamburger problem lies in Silicon Valley’s “clean meat” startups.

Cellular agriculture technology can already produce meat that is virtually identical in genetics and flavor to industrially produced meat, and it can do so without harming any animals. Last week, the UK thinktank Chatham House released a report urging EU policymakers to promote rapid regulation of and investment in this new technology. The United States needs to do the same. Government investment in scaling up alternative proteins should form a backbone of the Green New Deal’s commitment to job creation, industrial innovation and food security. ...

The plant-based meat and milk alternatives sector has seen tremendous growth in recent years, and the market for meat-alternatives such as the Impossible Burger is on track to grow to $5bn a year by 2020. But these products are mere alternatives. Cellular agriculture, meanwhile, uses animal stem cells to grow meat in a lab setting that is genetically analogous to meat from slaughtered animals. The Bay Area startup Memphis Meats has already produced meatballs indistinguishable from the real thing. Compared with conventional meat, clean meat generates 96% less GHG emissions, and uses 99% less land and up to 96% less water.

Cellular meat has yet to be released on the market, pending both regulatory clearance – which has been hotly contested by the cattle ranching lobby – and the ability to lower costs and scale up production. However, the sector has won hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital funding, including from major meat companies like Tyson, and many companies in the space plan to launch their first products within a year or two. ...

Bringing cellular agriculture under the Green New Deal umbrella right now, as the sector is still developing, could also mitigate the potential problems the new industry might present. Question marks hang over the energy use (rather than GHG emissions) of clean meat, the role of the financial sector in shaping its development, and its effects on labor. Green New Deal investment could tie cellular technology to clean energy schemes, democratize and strategically steer investment to maximize social benefit, and use a job guarantee or retraining programs to protect workers who might lose jobs at farms and slaughterhouses. And it could do all this without depriving Americans of the meat they love. This could be the Green New Deal’s chicken in every pot moment: lab-grown hamburgers for all.

Free-range eggs producer accused of deceiving US consumers

The producers of Nellie’s Free Range Eggs have been accused of deceiving US consumers about how well it treats its hens in a lawsuit lodged in New York City. The packaging of the eggs shows hens roaming open pastures and being cuddled by children. This is deceptive, the lawsuit claims, because Nellie’s crams as many as 20,000 hens into crowded sheds, with just 1.2 sq ft of floor space each.

The US district court complaint, by four individuals represented by the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), further alleges that Nellie’s provides little outdoor access for its hens and allows its suppliers to kill all male newborn chicks. Nellie’s New Hampshire-based parent company, Pete and Gerry’s Organics, has labeled the eggs, which cost up to $8 for a dozen, as “Certified humane”. The Boston Red Sox recently adopted the brand as the team’s “official egg”.

“Consumers pay a premium for eggs they believe come from laying hens subjected to humane treatment with labels such as ‘free-range’ and ‘cage-free’,” said Jeanne Christensen, partner at Peta’s law firm, Wigdor.

“As the allegations show, consumers are buying eggs from an egg producer that subjects its laying hens to horrific conditions. This lawsuit is filed to hold Nellie’s accountable for its betrayal of both consumers and the hens that are suffering from unnecessary pain and distress.”


Also of Interest

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

Deconstructed podcast: Cornel West on Bernie, Trump, and Racism

Debunking the myth that anti-Zionism is antisemitic

Meghan McCain Is A Fake, Blubbering Asshole

Don’t Allow McConnell to Thwart Vote on Yemen

Liberals and the left fail to notice – and celebrate – the intellectual death of conservatism

Reparations Now? Maybe In Order to Get the Job Done It's Time To Call It Something Else

North Korea's Game Plan And Its Upcoming Satellite Launch

Dried out: big ag threatens clean water in rural California

Cars are killing us. Within 10 years, we must phase them out

A Look Back at How Reforming Wall Street Failed So Miserably Under Obama


A Little Night Music

Legendary Blues Band - Money

Legendary Blues Band - Woke Up With The Blues

Legendary Blues Band - In the Rain

Legendary Blues Band - I Don't Know

Legendary Blues Band - Blues for Big Nate

The Legendary Blues Band - Snakeskin Strut

Legendary Blues Band - Do The Get Down

Legendary Blues Band - For You My Love

Legendary Blues Band at The Roxy - Wash DC 11-10-88


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buried in a Politico article

By the time she ran for office in 2016, knocking off a 22-term incumbent to win a seat in the Minnesota statehouse, Omar was fed up—not so much with Trumpism, or with politics in general, as with the Democratic Party.

As she saw it, the party ostensibly committed to progressive values had become complicit in perpetuating the status quo. Omar says the “hope and change” offered by Barack Obama was a mirage. Recalling the “caging of kids” at the U.S.-Mexico border and the “droning of countries around the world” on Obama’s watch, she argues that the Democratic president operated within the same fundamentally broken framework as his Republican successor.

“We can’t be only upset with Trump. … His policies are bad, but many of the people who came before him also had really bad policies. They just were more polished than he was,” Omar says. “And that’s not what we should be looking for anymore. We don’t want anybody to get away with murder because they are polished. We want to recognize the actual policies that are behind the pretty face and the smile.”

“As much as other people are uncomfortable, I’m excited about the change in tone that has taken place that is extremely positive. The insightful conversations that we’re having about money and its influence in Washington. And my ability, I think, to agitate our foreign policy discussions in a way that many of my colleagues who have been anti-intervention, anti-war have been unable to do in the past,” she says. “So, I’m OK with taking the blows if it means it will ignite conversations that no one was willing to have before.”

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joe shikspack's picture

@gjohnsit

i am beginning to greatly admire ilhan omar.

“Hope has two beautiful daughters; their names are Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are, and Courage to see that they do not remain as they are.”

-- Augustine of Hippo

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Wally's picture

You really have a knack for picking important news items that otherwise might escape my radar (even though I spend a lot of time on the internet trying to keep informed).

Keep up the good work!

Thanks much!

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joe shikspack's picture

@Wally

thanks, have a great weekend!

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Azazello's picture

This is a week old so you may already have seen it.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76yG5ussU2o width:500 height:300]
This is pretty funny: Alan MacLeod on Twitter
Apparently, Guaido told Pence that half the army would defect, only a small percentage did and Pence is pissed.

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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

thanks for the video, i hadn't gotten around to that one yet.

the article from the tweet is pretty interesting. i ran it through google translate and it has details of guaido's meeting with pence after the dramatic failure of the "humanitarian aid" gambit.

apparently guaido talked pretty big to the gringos:

Guaidó had promised the US government that if most of the world's leaders recognized him as the highest authority in Venezuela, at least half of the officers would defect. It did not happen. The United States managed to get no less than 50 presidents to recognize the president of the Venezuelan Assembly, but so far the armed forces are still with Maduro.

guaido also told the gringos that:

Maduro's social base is disintegrated. The crisis revealed that indeed the support of his Government waned, but it is not non-existent.

... and apparently, the rich, white venezuelans didn't come through either:

there were reproaches shared by the uncommitted attitude of the Venezuelan millionaires living abroad. A more determined contribution of money was expected to finance the passage of police, military and politicians to the area of ​​Guaidó. So far it has not happened. That is why important decision-making centers of the international community begin to warn that the Venezuelan opposition could lose the momentum that it gained with the emergence of Guaidó.

guaido apparently misread the willingness of the gringos to send the marines:

Guaidó had bet that Pence would announce the use of force to remove Maduro from power, but the vice president cooled those expectations.

oops.

apparently, one of the ideas discussed was to see if there was a region of venezuela that guaido had enough support in that local military could protect and spread the revolution from.

It is clearly a very sensitive issue, because the United States has suffered the serious consequences of implementing such territorial fragmentation strategies in Syria and Libya.

perhaps we are seeing a strategy of sabotage instead of territorial fragmentation now.

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Azazello's picture

@joe shikspack
I'm glad it's falling apart. I've never seen any benefits from being a citizen of an imperial power. Good on Trump for being an incompetent ignoramus. We owe it to the world and our own people to let this thing, this cosa nostra, fail.

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

lotlizard's picture

@Azazello  
Obama, on the other hand, was just so slick and suave and Harvard Law that everyone was happy to bend their knee and kiss his ring.

A leader like Obama can, by killing radical imam preachers or (supposedly) Osama Bin Laden using Mafia methods, convince a lot of (supposedly) progressive people that Mafia methods are good.

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dystopian's picture

Great work and song JS! Thanks!

Pomp and circumstance looks way better on TV than starving children and maimed bodies next to US and UK made missiles and bombs?

Great to hear a whopping 15 Dems at least speak up to end Venezuela sanctions. Quit "Gaza Stripping" the poor people!

Sure great to see all the various Jews speaking up to support Ilhan Omar.

Will 10 little Fbooks, Googles, Microsucks, fix things? It is jut a bunch of little bad things instead of a few big ones. I'd have been much more impressed if Warren said: Net Neutrality, the internet is a public utility, and expansive privacy laws.

I don't think Red Wolf will make it... inbreeding depression like the Florida Cougar, etc. I thought when they were at 150 there was hope. But only 30? Sure some things were saved from less animals, but the odds are against it. Arabian Oryx was 8 or so that saved the species, and Bali Starling was maybe a dozen, so there have been success with fewer animals, but only with intensive management.

The Caitlin "Meghan Fake Blubbering Asshole McCain" piece was great. I just wished she would have put "bloviating" instead of "blubbering" Close enough...

Have a great weekend off! thanks for the blues!

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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

yeah, 15 dems supporting an antiwar demand is pretty sad, but sadly it represents an improvement over recent levels of progressive gumption.

i am quite glad to see people coming out of the woodwork in support of omar. the support must have been pretty massive to turn around pelosi and hoyer who both seemed to have the long knives out for omar.

i'm just glad that warren is putting the antitrust idea out there into circulation, it can be improved later. antitrust has been neglected for far too long. it's certainly an area in which obama failed miserably.

i hope that the red wolf can wait out the trump administration. i guess they are the ruth bader ginsberg of species.

thanks, you have a great weekend, too!

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burnt out's picture

@joe shikspack Just dropped in say hello.
I'm guessing Chelsea will sit it out.

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All I want is the truth. Just give me some truth. John Lennon

burnt out's picture

@burnt out you'll find it. ( :

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All I want is the truth. Just give me some truth. John Lennon

joe shikspack's picture

@burnt out

heh, found it. Smile

yeah, it looks like chelsea is going to have to take some more harassment at the hands of a particularly evil institution. i'd like to see the judge and the prosecutor both get millions of postcards that simply say, "you suck."

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empire wars for what they are? Cat knows it ain't showing up here in the 'ganda media. Justify the $32 trillion pentagon expenditures to prop up the failed capitalist state by invading another country for the profits of Citgo. Wall st. shudders. Expansion is critical. WS can not sustain the bubble without more extraction. Choice time. World bucks US empire. Implode or retract? Billionaires decide. We lose.

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joe shikspack's picture

@QMS

heh, i'm pretty sure that much of the world is pretty clear about what the u.s. is and stands for. we may be the only country that believes our hype.

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@joe shikspack
thanks for the EB
enlightenment
rings true

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dystopian's picture

@joe shikspack Isn't there some old saying about when an empires collapses... Which is when they believe their own bullshit.

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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

i vaguely recall such a quote, but not enough of it to track it down.

i like these, though:

"Look back over the past, with its changing empires that rose and fell, and you can foresee the future, too."

-- Marcus Aurelius

"An empire is an immense egotism."

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

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detroitmechworks's picture

Lots of promises about new technologies that absolutely are going to maybe save us in a couple of years. Just need more money to prove it. You know how it is. Well, of course I don't have the proof WITH me... Just trust us! Have we ever steered you wrong before?

See, here's the thing, I know I can be suckered. So when people start pulling out the classic con tactics, my warning bells go off.

But hey, I'm the paranoid guy, so of course YMMV on that.

And random music that expresses the mood I'm in today.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcEzx5HLYEw]

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

joe shikspack's picture

@detroitmechworks

while i generally support the green new deal as a move in the right (very general) direction, i have my problems with it, too. the biggest problem is that it does not deal with the fact that industrial society (or more appropriately the industrial age) has to end if we are to survive. the idea of endless growth is not something that can continue to be a basis for society.

even if the magic bullet technology (carbon capture/sequestration or something like it) is found - and it is quite possible that it will - it will only be kicking the can down the road for a number of reasons.

the last time human population growth was at a crossroads and it looked like malthus might be proved correct, artificially fixed nitrogen saved humanity's radical reproduction process from hitting the wall. (incidentally, the linked article is very well worth a read.)

sooner or later, humanity is going to answer the question of how many people can live on this planet and what sort of quality life is possible at that population.

technology can certainly increase the number that is the answer that question, but it probably can't take it off the table.

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I am reading your news articles, thinking deep thoughts, drinking cold beer...living the life...
and thinking about Chelsea in jail.
I wonder if she is safe. Depressed. Fed and medicated properly. Given access to her lawyers, friends, and family.
I wonder if that judge sees this as a resume' enhancer for Supreme Court appointment one day.
What a shitty ruling.

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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

joe shikspack's picture

@on the cusp

good to see you!

it seems that the system has remembered to visit its revenge on chelsea again. i am disgusted by them. a system of justice with no viable concept of mercy or decency is not worthy of respect.

i better stop before i get warmed up.

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@joe shikspack and publicly and on the record constantly.
There is a reason why no judge gives me grief about my vacation letters that protect me from surprise hearings while I am gone.
I think they are glad I am gone.
I have been in lots of jails, detention centers, prisons, even death row, and they are all places that would rob me of the will to live.
Chelsea is a hero.
This really weighs heavily upon my soul.
It is so unfair, I just want to leave and never come back to 'Murika.
I will always look to Chelsea as my example to follow for bravery and integrity.

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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

joe shikspack's picture

@on the cusp

thanks for what you do!

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Good evening Joe,checking in. Am back in the states taking it one step at a time trying not to overwhelm myself. Have some great support along the way.

Read the report on the red wolves you posted and this news is very depressing. Read an article that I am having trouble getting it to link to this post but if you do a search for red wolves and Galveston island in Texas, you will find there is a link to the remaining red wolf population and maybe a little light.

Have a good weekend.

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Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.

This ain't no dress rehearsal!

joe shikspack's picture

@jakkalbessie

it is great to see you here again. i hope that things are going well and i am really glad to hear that you have an ample support network.

perhaps this is somewhat like what you were thinking of?

Red wolf DNA found in mysterious Texas canines

i hope that there is still enough wild range left for these guys to expand into without the usual problems with ranchers, jerks with guns and other assorted idiots.

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enhydra lutris's picture

@jakkalbessie
ae back and safe and sound. All of the best to you, and do hang in there.

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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 --

@enhydra lutris Glad to be back and back in the C99 conversations.

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Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.

This ain't no dress rehearsal!

Unabashed Liberal's picture

@jakkalbessie

glad to hear that you're pacing yourself (as you should). Think of you often. Take good care.

Pleasantry

Blue Onyx

I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive.
~~Gilda Radner, Comedienne

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.
~~Cicero

The obstacle is the path.
~~Zen Proverb

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

@enhydra lutris Glad to be back and back in the C99 conversations. @Unabashed Liberal Thanks and stayed with d.o. sister for a few days and when anxiety would rear it's head she would remind me 1,2,3 and pace yourself.

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Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.

This ain't no dress rehearsal!

snoopydawg's picture

@jakkalbessie

I'm glad to hear that you have some support and that you are back in the country. Hope that you are doing as well as you can be. I saw this photo of the parrot and thought about how our special friend divineorder is not here and was washed with grief. Maybe it will bring you some joy. The other photos are great too especially the wolf puppy.

Wildlife photos

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

@enhydra lutris Glad to be back and back in the C99 conversations. @Unabashed Liberal Thanks and stayed with d.o. sister for a few days and when anxiety would rear it's head she would remind me 1,2,3 and pace yourself. @snoopydawg
Thanks for those nature photos. They are all so powerful! Was in Houston to visit our attorney and a friend took me to a place she thought I would enjoy and there was a scarlett macaw and a keel billed toucan in cages. Told her this was not the way I wanted to see these birds and did bring some fresh memories and sadness to me. I don't quite know why she thought I would enjoy them.

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Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.

This ain't no dress rehearsal!

enhydra lutris's picture

Have a great weekend.

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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

have a great weekend, too!

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Unabashed Liberal's picture

to get by here earlier, and post my self-transcribed excerpt of Jayapal's DN interview with Amy and Juan. (Unfortunately, got hung up with Pup due to lousy weather, etc.)

Anyhoo, it is so important (to me) that I reach as many people as possible, I'll wait until the first day next week that I can get it posted early--as in late afternoon, when you first post. I'll also post a link to her Bill, and post an excerpt of the portion that her interview contradicts. IMO, Jayapal has every right to propose anything she wants--but, no right to flat-out lie dissemble (OK, I'll be polite) about the substance of the Bill. Does she actually believe that no one will read the Bill, and notice? Whew!

So, for now, I'll leave you (somewhat jokingly, but not totally) with a video that may explain why 100+ lawmakers may have taken a pass on endorsing Jayapal's MFA Bill.

Watch ol' 'Rosty'--Dan Rostenkowski, IL Dem, former Chair of House Ways and Means Committee--do the Rosty Rumble in the video--literally, taking off on foot to flee from some of his senior constituents.

Could it be that some Dem lawmakers have visions of that scene? IMO, they should, unless they plan to revise aspects of Jayapal's bill.

Terrible thunderstorm--and possible a tornado--in tomorrow's forecast, here. It was so terrible to hear about the tornados, and loss of life in Lee County, Alabama. (One of my very old stomping grounds--Auburn University.) Didn't know tornados had winds that strong.

Hey, Everyone have a nice weekend! And stay safe, if bad weather comes your way.

Pleasantry Bye

Blue Onyx

I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive.
~~Gilda Radner, Comedienne

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.
~~Cicero

The obstacle is the path.
~~Zen Proverb

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Pluto's Republic's picture

@Unabashed Liberal .

I am not finding explanations that make sense to me in the news.

Jayapal has every right to propose anything she wants--but, no right to flat-out lie dissemble (OK, I'll be polite) about the substance of the Bill. Does she actually believe that no one will read the Bill, and notice?

Your guidance on this issue has been so insightful. I look forward this part, especially. I want to see the bill executed fast, whatever it is. There is no need to delay. Delay = Corruption. We know what the final product looks like. We've gone well beyond the proof of concept.

Have a nice weekend.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
Unabashed Liberal's picture

@Pluto's Republic

all weekend. However, since it's late (for me), I'll post the link to the Bill, and her words next week.

What I'm referencing, may, or may not, matter to you. It's one of the major points that I often harp on--I'm in favor of expanding the current Traditional/Original Medicare program--the one that LBJ signed into law in July 1965.

What I'm not in favor of, is a managed care scheme--with its global budgeting (the same as Medicare Advantage capitation fees, basically), etc.

Specifically, if you listen to the DN interview, there are at least two instances where she claims that her proposal MFA Bill expands THE EXISTING MEDICARE PROGRAM.

Not true.

Her Bill says that as soon as her proposed MFA Bill is fully implemented (a 2-year window), no further benefits will be paid from Traditional Medicare, referred to as Title XVIII.

Also, in another part of the Bill, it states flatly that monies that would have gone into the Traditional (Medicare) program, will be channeled into the new MFA Universal Trust Fund

For us, it's a no-brainer--we're not interested. Today, we have total autonomy in regards to the health care services that we receive. With Jayapal's 'cost containment' measures, we'll be thrown into "managed-care h*ll." If we had wanted that, we'd have enrolled in Medicare Advantage (MA).

Of course, this view applies to millions (but, not all) of seniors who have the same coverage. That's why I half-jokingly posted the Rostenkowski video.

Needless to say, there are people/seniors who don't object to managed care. And, frankly, I have no problem with those folks jumping right into a MFA system. That's their business.

But, they needn't try to drag me along with them. Biggrin

Seriously, I'll post the link to the Bill next week. And, quote Jayapal's claims from her interview.

Have a great weekend, Pluto!

Pleasantry

Blue Onyx

I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive.
~~Gilda Radner, Comedienne

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.
~~Cicero

The obstacle is the path.
~~Zen Proverb

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.