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babylonsister
babylonsister's Journal
babylonsister's Journal
January 13, 2021
The Rude Pundit
Proudly lowering the level of political discourse
1/12/2021
They Have to Acknowledge Biden Won Fair and Square
snip//
Right now, as more Republicans start to realize that they'd better get off the Trump-tanic before it breaks in two, they need to understand that there is a price to heal, and they have to pay it. Tell the truth. Joe Biden won. You lied about the rest. Say it like the truth you know it is. Or fucking sink.
Oh, and sacrifice the Republicans who fanned the flames most, like devolved cockmites like Mo Brooks, Paul Gosar, Josh Hawley, Ron Johnson, and the mightiest cockmite of them all, Ted Cruz. Purge the government of these bastards. Don't forget to kick out the Q nuts. And then we can get to the healing and unifying over destroying Trump.
The Rude Pundit: They Have to Acknowledge Biden Won Fair and Square
https://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2021/01/they-have-to-acknowledge-biden-won-fair.htmlThe Rude Pundit
Proudly lowering the level of political discourse
1/12/2021
They Have to Acknowledge Biden Won Fair and Square
snip//
Right now, as more Republicans start to realize that they'd better get off the Trump-tanic before it breaks in two, they need to understand that there is a price to heal, and they have to pay it. Tell the truth. Joe Biden won. You lied about the rest. Say it like the truth you know it is. Or fucking sink.
Oh, and sacrifice the Republicans who fanned the flames most, like devolved cockmites like Mo Brooks, Paul Gosar, Josh Hawley, Ron Johnson, and the mightiest cockmite of them all, Ted Cruz. Purge the government of these bastards. Don't forget to kick out the Q nuts. And then we can get to the healing and unifying over destroying Trump.
January 13, 2021
Charlie Pierce: All of this wonderful ethical revulsion...
That explains it.
All of this wonderful ethical revulsion in our congressional Republicans is directly proportional to the number of corporations that have said they'll turn off the money spigot.
-- Charlie Pierce via Twitter
-- Charlie Pierce via Twitter
January 13, 2021
Republicans across the country are switching parties since the Jan. 6 terrorist attacks
Dartagnan
Community
Tuesday January 12, 2021 · 10:29 AM EST
snip//
But this latest spectacle from the high-octane deplorables (perhaps a better descriptor would be “despicables?”) who identify with the Republican Party is not gaining any sympathy from the electorate. Even though the insurrection (thus far) was initially viewed by Americans through a partisan lens, as the character of the violence has become more clear, Americans have already sharply reassessed their opinions.
In fact, the little data available thus far (and the outrage, as we know, is ongoing) suggests that these terroristic riots and violent attacks may be permanently alienating many Americans from any further association with the GOP, including some of those who likely voted Republican in the last election.
The impact is only a trickle thus far, but it’s worth noting.
In Florida:
In Pennsylvania:
In Iowa:
These are small numbers, but that is as expected. It’s not as if affirmatively changing their voter registration is at the top of everyone’s mind right now, with everyone anxiously waiting for the Great Orange Shoe to drop before Trump drags the republic any further into the abyss.
The other important thing to keep in mind, while we wait for a trend to develop here, is the impact that the events of Jan. 6 will certainly have on young people, particularly young people of color who might not already be leaning toward exercising their right to vote but may find the shocking events of Jan. 6 more than a sufficient motivator. After all, the white supremacist and neo-Nazi ideology underpinning these riots is now impossible to discount by anyone with a brain and a pair of eyes.
As a parent of school-age children, I can tell you that these events are being discussed this week in public schools nationwide with a view toward easing the trauma on what young people have just been forced to witness, thanks to Donald Trump and his cast of enablers. As powerfully as the 9/11 attacks stuck with a prior generation, the residual impact of these events on young peoples’ attitudes will be profound and long-term, particularly occurring as they have in the context of the enormously stressful backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As painful as this experience is, to say it does not bode well for the future of the Republican party would be an understatement.
Republicans across the country are switching parties since the Jan. 6 terrorist attacks
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/1/12/2008476/-Republicans-across-the-country-are-switching-parties-since-the-Jan-6-terrorist-attacksRepublicans across the country are switching parties since the Jan. 6 terrorist attacks
Dartagnan
Community
Tuesday January 12, 2021 · 10:29 AM EST
snip//
But this latest spectacle from the high-octane deplorables (perhaps a better descriptor would be “despicables?”) who identify with the Republican Party is not gaining any sympathy from the electorate. Even though the insurrection (thus far) was initially viewed by Americans through a partisan lens, as the character of the violence has become more clear, Americans have already sharply reassessed their opinions.
In fact, the little data available thus far (and the outrage, as we know, is ongoing) suggests that these terroristic riots and violent attacks may be permanently alienating many Americans from any further association with the GOP, including some of those who likely voted Republican in the last election.
The impact is only a trickle thus far, but it’s worth noting.
In Florida:
The numbers are small, but notable. In Miami-Dade, the state’s most populous county, more than seven times as many Republicans as Democrats changed their party registrations in the aftermath of the violence in Washington, D.C. The ratio of Republican to Democratic switches was almost as high in Palm Beach County, the third most populous.
In Pennsylvania:
In Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, 192 people have changed their party registration since the Jan. 6 riot. Only 13 switched to the GOP — the other 179 changed to Democrat, independent or a third party, according to Bethany Salzarulo, the director of the bureau of elections.
In Iowa:
In Linn County, Iowa, home to Cedar Rapids, more than four dozen voters dropped their Republican Party affiliations in the 48 hours after the Capitol attack. They mostly switched to no party, elections commissioner Joel Miller said, though a small number took the highly unusual step of cancelling their registrations altogether.
These are small numbers, but that is as expected. It’s not as if affirmatively changing their voter registration is at the top of everyone’s mind right now, with everyone anxiously waiting for the Great Orange Shoe to drop before Trump drags the republic any further into the abyss.
The other important thing to keep in mind, while we wait for a trend to develop here, is the impact that the events of Jan. 6 will certainly have on young people, particularly young people of color who might not already be leaning toward exercising their right to vote but may find the shocking events of Jan. 6 more than a sufficient motivator. After all, the white supremacist and neo-Nazi ideology underpinning these riots is now impossible to discount by anyone with a brain and a pair of eyes.
As a parent of school-age children, I can tell you that these events are being discussed this week in public schools nationwide with a view toward easing the trauma on what young people have just been forced to witness, thanks to Donald Trump and his cast of enablers. As powerfully as the 9/11 attacks stuck with a prior generation, the residual impact of these events on young peoples’ attitudes will be profound and long-term, particularly occurring as they have in the context of the enormously stressful backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As painful as this experience is, to say it does not bode well for the future of the Republican party would be an understatement.
January 12, 2021
Justice Department Probes Sedition Charges
January 12, 2021 at 5:24 pm EST By Taegan Goddard
Justice Department Probes Sedition Charges
https://politicalwire.com/2021/01/12/justice-department-probes-sedition-charges/Justice Department Probes Sedition Charges
January 12, 2021 at 5:24 pm EST By Taegan Goddard
“The Justice Department and FBI have created a sedition and conspiracy task force to pursue charges against participants in the storming of the U.S. Capitol and are investigating any links to domestic or foreign instigators,” the Washington Post reports.
“The investigation, one of the largest ever undertaken by the department, includes counterterrorism and counterterrorism facets and has charged 70 individuals and identified 170 suspects to date.”
Said U.S. attorney Michael Sherwin, citing video footage not yet public: “The gamut of cases is mind-blowing… People are going to be shocked with egregious activity in the Capitol.”
“The investigation, one of the largest ever undertaken by the department, includes counterterrorism and counterterrorism facets and has charged 70 individuals and identified 170 suspects to date.”
Said U.S. attorney Michael Sherwin, citing video footage not yet public: “The gamut of cases is mind-blowing… People are going to be shocked with egregious activity in the Capitol.”
January 12, 2021
Rick Snyder Will Face Charges In Flint Water Scandal
Finally!! 
https://politicalwire.com/2021/01/12/rick-snyder-will-face-charges-in-flynt-water-scandal/
Rick Snyder Will Face Charges In Flint Water Scandal
January 12, 2021 at 2:45 pm EST By Taegan Goddard
“Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R), his health director and other ex-officials have been told they’re being charged after a new investigation of the Flint water scandal, which devastated the majority Black city with lead-contaminated water and was blamed for a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in 2014-15,” the AP reports.
January 12, 2021
Once you and your friends are vaccinated, can you quit social distancing?
Expect life to return to normal in 3 stages — not all at once.
By Sigal Samuel Updated Jan 12, 2021, 2:05pm EST
snip//
The best way to set realistic expectations around what life will look like in 2021 is to think of it in three stages. Stage 1 is what you can safely do once you and your close friends or family are vaccinated. Stage 2 is what you can safely do once your city or state has reached herd immunity, where enough people are protected against infection that the virus can’t easily spark new outbreaks. Stage 3 is what you can do once herd immunity is reached internationally. (Note that there’s a good chance we won’t reach that last stage in 2021.)
A lot will depend on the answer to a crucial open question: Are the vaccines only good at preventing symptomatic disease, or are they also good at preventing infection and transmission?
Bloom and other experts are optimistic that the vaccines help reduce infection and transmission, but nobody knows by how much. “We just need more data on transmission,” he said. “Hopefully it will come out of the trials in a couple of months.”
In the meantime, even vaccinated people have to assume they can still become infected and pass along the virus. That means they need to keep wearing masks and social distancing whenever they’re around unvaccinated people.
more...
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/22219362/end-of-covid-19-pandemic-social-distancing-masking
Once you and your friends are vaccinated, can you quit social distancing?
Once you and your friends are vaccinated, can you quit social distancing?
Expect life to return to normal in 3 stages — not all at once.
By Sigal Samuel Updated Jan 12, 2021, 2:05pm EST
snip//
The best way to set realistic expectations around what life will look like in 2021 is to think of it in three stages. Stage 1 is what you can safely do once you and your close friends or family are vaccinated. Stage 2 is what you can safely do once your city or state has reached herd immunity, where enough people are protected against infection that the virus can’t easily spark new outbreaks. Stage 3 is what you can do once herd immunity is reached internationally. (Note that there’s a good chance we won’t reach that last stage in 2021.)
A lot will depend on the answer to a crucial open question: Are the vaccines only good at preventing symptomatic disease, or are they also good at preventing infection and transmission?
“One can imagine a scenario where you are vaccinated and you develop a protective immune response. You will not get sick, you will not die, but the virus will still be able to grow in your nose and transmit to other people,” said Barry Bloom, a professor of immunology and infectious diseases at Harvard.
Bloom and other experts are optimistic that the vaccines help reduce infection and transmission, but nobody knows by how much. “We just need more data on transmission,” he said. “Hopefully it will come out of the trials in a couple of months.”
In the meantime, even vaccinated people have to assume they can still become infected and pass along the virus. That means they need to keep wearing masks and social distancing whenever they’re around unvaccinated people.
more...
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/22219362/end-of-covid-19-pandemic-social-distancing-masking
January 12, 2021
The case for consequences
Why Republicans have to be held accountable for the attack on Capitol Hill.
By Zack Beauchamp@zackbeauchampzack@vox.com Jan 12, 2021, 12:50pm EST
It’s been less than a week since a mob whipped up by President Donald Trump attacked the US Capitol in his name, and Republicans in Congress are already telling Americans to move on. What’s needed now is not punishment for insurrection, they say, but rather “healing” for a country rent by partisan fissures.
But there has not been a “peaceful transition.” Five people are dead, and dozens injured, because the president’s supporters attacked Congress in an effort to disrupt its confirmation of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
Had such an attack been perpetrated by jihadists or a foreign power, Republicans would not want to simply move on: They would demand consequences, action to ensure that it never happened again. The reason they are not now is that it is their party, from President Trump on down, that bears responsibility for inciting this mob by insisting that the 2020 election was fraudulent. McCarthy himself voted against certifying Biden’s Electoral College victory — even after the House was attacked by marauders with zip ties and a hanging noose.
It is true that America needs healing, but of a very different kind. The country requires an aggressive treatment regimen to fight the illness at the heart of American democracy: the Republican elite’s willingness to stoke paranoid and violent fantasies prevalent among its base. It is not just Trump to blame, but also those Republicans who led the charge in trying to overturn the election result: people like Sens. Josh Hawley (MO) and Ted Cruz (TX), and Reps. Mo Brooks (R-AL), and Andy Biggs (R-AZ).
The clearest and simplest path forward is to hold these elites accountable: to punish them for what they’ve done, sending a signal that such behavior will not be tolerated in a democracy.
more...
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22222056/trump-republicans-impeachment-case-capitol-fourteenth-amendment
The case for consequences
The case for consequences
Why Republicans have to be held accountable for the attack on Capitol Hill.
By Zack Beauchamp@zackbeauchampzack@vox.com Jan 12, 2021, 12:50pm EST
It’s been less than a week since a mob whipped up by President Donald Trump attacked the US Capitol in his name, and Republicans in Congress are already telling Americans to move on. What’s needed now is not punishment for insurrection, they say, but rather “healing” for a country rent by partisan fissures.
“To deliver a better America, partisans of all stripes must first unite as Americans and show that a peaceful transition has occurred,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said in a Friday statement. “Impeaching the president ... will only divide our country more.”
But there has not been a “peaceful transition.” Five people are dead, and dozens injured, because the president’s supporters attacked Congress in an effort to disrupt its confirmation of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
Had such an attack been perpetrated by jihadists or a foreign power, Republicans would not want to simply move on: They would demand consequences, action to ensure that it never happened again. The reason they are not now is that it is their party, from President Trump on down, that bears responsibility for inciting this mob by insisting that the 2020 election was fraudulent. McCarthy himself voted against certifying Biden’s Electoral College victory — even after the House was attacked by marauders with zip ties and a hanging noose.
It is true that America needs healing, but of a very different kind. The country requires an aggressive treatment regimen to fight the illness at the heart of American democracy: the Republican elite’s willingness to stoke paranoid and violent fantasies prevalent among its base. It is not just Trump to blame, but also those Republicans who led the charge in trying to overturn the election result: people like Sens. Josh Hawley (MO) and Ted Cruz (TX), and Reps. Mo Brooks (R-AL), and Andy Biggs (R-AZ).
The clearest and simplest path forward is to hold these elites accountable: to punish them for what they’ve done, sending a signal that such behavior will not be tolerated in a democracy.
more...
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22222056/trump-republicans-impeachment-case-capitol-fourteenth-amendment
January 12, 2021
Posted on Mon, Jan 11th, 2021 by Sean Colarossi
Maxine Waters Warns That MAGA Terrorists Are Plotting Nationwide Pre-Inauguration Attacks
As the country continues to reel from a violent coup attempt at the U.S. Capitol that was incited by the sitting president of the United States, there is a growing possibility that other MAGA attacks are being plotted all across the country in the run up to Joe Biden’s inauguration.
During an interview on Monday, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) said she wasn’t at all confident that Biden‘s swearing-in would be secure. She also warned that other acts of MAGA violence and terrorism could target other states.
“Some of our state legislative offices are also targeted,” the Democratic lawmaker said. “They may have an operation that’s going on all over the country at one time, where they are being attacked.”
“I think we’re in a very dangerous time in the history of this country,” she added.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1348810061288714242
Rep. Waters said:
New reporting from The New York Times sheds light on why Rep. Waters and others are concerned about future attacks, particularly in Washington D.C. on inauguration day.
According to the Times, “Another Defense Department official said that law enforcement agencies were planning for any number of possible events, some of them horrific. Worst-case scenarios include snipers targeting inauguration dignitaries, ‘suicide-type aircraft’ entering Washington’s restricted airspace and even remote-powered drones attacking the crowd.”
“The officials said they were particularly worried about multiple active-shooter situations flaring up simultaneously,” the report added.
more...
https://www.politicususa.com/2021/01/11/maxine-waters-warns-that-maga-terrorists-are-plotting-nationwide-pre-inauguration-attacks.html
Maxine Waters Warns That MAGA Terrorists Are Plotting Nationwide Pre-Inauguration Attacks
Posted on Mon, Jan 11th, 2021 by Sean Colarossi
Maxine Waters Warns That MAGA Terrorists Are Plotting Nationwide Pre-Inauguration Attacks
As the country continues to reel from a violent coup attempt at the U.S. Capitol that was incited by the sitting president of the United States, there is a growing possibility that other MAGA attacks are being plotted all across the country in the run up to Joe Biden’s inauguration.
During an interview on Monday, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) said she wasn’t at all confident that Biden‘s swearing-in would be secure. She also warned that other acts of MAGA violence and terrorism could target other states.
“Some of our state legislative offices are also targeted,” the Democratic lawmaker said. “They may have an operation that’s going on all over the country at one time, where they are being attacked.”
“I think we’re in a very dangerous time in the history of this country,” she added.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1348810061288714242
Rep. Waters said:
No, I’m not confident (that Biden’s inauguration will be secure), based on what we’ve just experienced. And we need to do a deep investigation about how this happened and who’s complicit in all of this. But I want to tell you not only am I not confident about the times that you are identifying that possibly we could have real problems. I do believe that the president of the United States, Trump, has organized and worked in a way that even after he’s not serving as the president, that he believes that he’s going to have control over a significant population in this country that he can use to basically rule and to basically confront whatever entity he’d like to confront that’s not agreeing with him, turn them on to other groups, etc. I think that he intends to exercise power even past his presidency. And so, whether you’re talking about a group of particular dates where we may have trouble, and I also think that, you know, when they talk about the 17th and they talk about the 20th, that some of our state legislative offices are also targeted. And they may have an operation that’s going on all over the country at one time, where they are being attacked. So, I think we’re in a very dangerous time in the history of this country.
New reporting from The New York Times sheds light on why Rep. Waters and others are concerned about future attacks, particularly in Washington D.C. on inauguration day.
According to the Times, “Another Defense Department official said that law enforcement agencies were planning for any number of possible events, some of them horrific. Worst-case scenarios include snipers targeting inauguration dignitaries, ‘suicide-type aircraft’ entering Washington’s restricted airspace and even remote-powered drones attacking the crowd.”
“The officials said they were particularly worried about multiple active-shooter situations flaring up simultaneously,” the report added.
more...
https://www.politicususa.com/2021/01/11/maxine-waters-warns-that-maga-terrorists-are-plotting-nationwide-pre-inauguration-attacks.html
January 12, 2021
17 hours ago
22 Disasters, 262 Dead, $95B in Damages: 2020 Set Records for US Climate Mayhem
As if last year weren’t bad enough.
Oliver Milman
This story was originally published in the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
The US was battered by a record number of weather and climate-driven disasters in 2020 as extensive wildfires scorched the west, hurricanes in quick succession pummeled the east and extreme heat swept across the heart of the country, a new federal government report has shown.
A total of 22 major disasters, defined as each causing at least $1bn in damage, swept the US last year, six more than the previous record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa).
At least 262 people died, with $95bn in total damages recorded, the federal agency reported on Friday.
The year was marked by punishing extremes on both the east and west coasts. It was the most active wildfire year on record in the US west, with California recording five of the six biggest fires in its history, an outbreak that destroyed thousands of homes and caused the sky to turn an apocalyptic orange over the San Francisco Bay Area.
A total of 10.3m acres burned in wildfires in 2020 across the US west, an area larger than Maryland and well above this century’s average.
more...
https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2021/01/22-disasters-262-dead-95b-in-damages-twas-a-record-year-for-us-climate-mayhem/
22 Disasters, 262 Dead, $95B in Damages: 2020 Set Records for US Climate Mayhem
17 hours ago
22 Disasters, 262 Dead, $95B in Damages: 2020 Set Records for US Climate Mayhem
As if last year weren’t bad enough.
Oliver Milman
This story was originally published in the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
The US was battered by a record number of weather and climate-driven disasters in 2020 as extensive wildfires scorched the west, hurricanes in quick succession pummeled the east and extreme heat swept across the heart of the country, a new federal government report has shown.
A total of 22 major disasters, defined as each causing at least $1bn in damage, swept the US last year, six more than the previous record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa).
At least 262 people died, with $95bn in total damages recorded, the federal agency reported on Friday.
The year was marked by punishing extremes on both the east and west coasts. It was the most active wildfire year on record in the US west, with California recording five of the six biggest fires in its history, an outbreak that destroyed thousands of homes and caused the sky to turn an apocalyptic orange over the San Francisco Bay Area.
A total of 10.3m acres burned in wildfires in 2020 across the US west, an area larger than Maryland and well above this century’s average.
more...
https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2021/01/22-disasters-262-dead-95b-in-damages-twas-a-record-year-for-us-climate-mayhem/
January 12, 2021
Trump warned about potential civil liability, as some aides clear out desks
"Think O.J.," an adviser explained it to Trump, according to one source.
ByJonathan Karl,John Santucci, andKatherine Faulders
January 11, 2021, 2:20 PM
In the wake of Wednesday's assault on the nation's Capitol, President Donald Trump has been advised he potentially could face civil liability connected to his role in encouraging supporters who went on to storm Congress, sources familiar with the conversations told ABC News.
"Think O.J.," an adviser explained it to Trump, according to one source. It was a reference to O.J. Simpson, who was found not guilty of murdering his ex-wife and a friend but later faced stiff civil damages after being sued by his ex-wife's family.
Prior to Wednesday, the president and his advisers had been discussing a self-pardon -- something that would be both historic and untested in American history -- in the wake of a phone call with Trump and Georgia election officials that was made public. The sources say if the president were to self-pardon, it would only strengthen the motivation to bring civil cases against the 45th president.
more...
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-warned-potential-civil-liability-aides-clear-desks/story?id=75180691
Trump warned about potential civil liability, as some aides clear out desks
Trump warned about potential civil liability, as some aides clear out desks
"Think O.J.," an adviser explained it to Trump, according to one source.
ByJonathan Karl,John Santucci, andKatherine Faulders
January 11, 2021, 2:20 PM
In the wake of Wednesday's assault on the nation's Capitol, President Donald Trump has been advised he potentially could face civil liability connected to his role in encouraging supporters who went on to storm Congress, sources familiar with the conversations told ABC News.
"Think O.J.," an adviser explained it to Trump, according to one source. It was a reference to O.J. Simpson, who was found not guilty of murdering his ex-wife and a friend but later faced stiff civil damages after being sued by his ex-wife's family.
Prior to Wednesday, the president and his advisers had been discussing a self-pardon -- something that would be both historic and untested in American history -- in the wake of a phone call with Trump and Georgia election officials that was made public. The sources say if the president were to self-pardon, it would only strengthen the motivation to bring civil cases against the 45th president.
more...
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-warned-potential-civil-liability-aides-clear-desks/story?id=75180691
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