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alwaysinasnit

alwaysinasnit's Journal
alwaysinasnit's Journal
February 10, 2022

Right-wing conspiracy theorists are lodging a disturbing attack on software that actually does fight

voter fraud: report

https://www.alternet.org/2022/02/right-wing-conspiracies/

Right-wing conspiracy theorists are now turning their attention toward undermining a critical software that actually does combat voter fraud: the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC).

A new report from NPR's Miles Parks explains how far-right conspiracy theorists are now attacking ERIC to substantiate their unfounded claims of voter fraud. " The far-right is now running a disinformation campaign against one of the best tools that states have to detect and prevent voter fraud," Parks wrote.

According to Parks, ERIC is "a shared database called the Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC for short. It allows states to securely share voter registration data across state lines and with a number of other government agencies, like the Social Security Administration and departments of motor vehicles."

In addition to ERIC being a voter registration database, it also gives election officials the ability to keep track of voters registered in specific districts to help maintain voter roll accuracy.

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December 23, 2021

Google Earth can detect B2 stealth bomber.

https://www.popsci.com/military/air-force-b2-spirit-bomber-google-earth/

The 172-foot-wide B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, which costs nearly $2 billion in today’s dollars, can sneak past enemy air defenses with the same radar signature as a small bird, but you can also spot it on Google Earth as long as you have an internet connection.

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December 22, 2021

Interesting article at Salon; "Why they hate Dr. Fauci"

https://www.salon.com/2021/12/22/why-they-hate-him-dr-fauci-triggers-the-right-because-he-reveals-their-deepest-insecurities/

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Dr. Fauci has been the favorite target of "who does he think he is"-style rants by pretty much every right-wing pundit and politician out there for over a year now. He's easily the most reliable hate object they've had since Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Those three are some readers — and that reliably triggers the bullying response in the Jesse Watters types. Despite all of their chest-thumping bravado, this knee-jerk hostility to those perceived as intellectually curious evinces a deep insecurity driving right-wingers.

We also see this in the furious reaction on the right to polling data showing that young Democrats are not interested in socializing with, much less dating, Republicans. Considering how much liberals are demonized in right-wing media, you'd think the last thing conservatives would want is their company. But so much of that anger is driven by conservative insecurity, knowing that ultimately, their company is mostly irritating and definitely not interesting, and lashing out at others for perceiving that.

Which isn't to say the stereotype of the smug liberal doesn't exist. That Hicks routine is iconic in the annals of smug liberalism. But nowadays, the trend in smug liberalism tends to be more condescending than catty. It's those on the left who mistake intentional obtuseness for inborn stupidity. It manifests in lectures at other liberals about how we need to be patient with the unvaccinated Trumpers, because they can't be expected to understand how vaccines work. Or in treating Fox News viewers like dim-witted ciphers, instead of people who actively seek out propaganda and reject reality-based information. Say what you will about those on the left who are angry at the unvaccinated, fascistic Fox News audience — at least we give them the respect of knowing that their ignorance is a choice, not a predetermined condition.

In truth, the "smug liberal" is far more of a paranoid fantasy on the right than a reality. It's the manifestation of their own resentment of people who did do the reading, people who do want to know more about the larger world. They are jealous of people who say yes to novel ideas and new experiences, instead of freaking out at the mere thought of having to learn something new. It's not that such people are especially smug. Dr. Fauci, for instance, radiates kindness and patience. It's that conservatives are just that insecure about their own shortcomings.

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December 1, 2021

Good article on abortion history in US

https://www.cnn.com/2016/06/23/health/abortion-history-in-united-states/index.html


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The view from centuries ago

In the 18th century and until about 1880, abortions were allowed under common law and widely practiced. They were illegal only after “quickening,” the highly subjective term used to describe when pregnant women could feel the fetus moving, Reagan said.

“At conception and the earliest stage of pregnancy, before quickening, no one believed that a human life existed; not even the Catholic Church took this view,” Reagan wrote. “Rather, the popular ethic regarding abortion and common law were grounded in the female experience of their own bodies.”

Though it is considered taboo in Christian traditions, until the mid-19th century, “the Catholic Church implicitly accepted early abortions prior to ensoulment,” she explained. “Not until 1869, at about the same time that abortion became politicized in this country, did the church condemn abortion; in 1895, it condemned therapeutic abortion,” meaning procedures to save a woman’s life.

Abortions would become criminalized by 1880, except when necessary to save a woman’s life, not at the urging of social or religious conservatives but under pressure from the medical establishment – and the very organization that today speaks out in support of abortion access, Reagan explained.

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November 6, 2021

Marjorie Taylor Greene brutally trolled by Adam Kinzinger

https://www.rawstory.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-adam-kinzinger/

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Late Friday, the controversial Georgia Republican lashed out at the thirteen that she called "traitors" and said the bill that will provide much-needed funds for infrastructure projects is evidence of creeping "communism."

That led Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) to mock Taylor Greene for her freak-out while also getting in a jab at her previous "Jewish space lasers" comments.

Providing a screenshot of Taylor Greene's tweet where she ranted, "These are the 13 "Republicans" who handed over their voting cards to Nancy Pelosi to pass Joe Biden's Communist takeover of America via so-called infrastructure," Kinzinger -- whose name was on the list -- fired back: "Infrastructure=communism is a new one. Eisenhower's interstate system should be torn up or else the commies will be able to conveniently drive! Red Dawn in real life."

Not content with that, he added, "Also I'm assuming that the 'Republicans' being in quotes implies that if you don't believe in Jewish space lasers, and believe in roads, you aren't a real Republican."

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September 6, 2021

Here's how the Justice Dept. could sue Texas for violating civil rights: Prof. Laurence Tribe



https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/09/05/justice-department-stop-texas-abortion-law-laurence-tribe/

The Texas legislature and five Supreme Court justices have joined forces to eviscerate women’s abortion rights — the legislature by creating and the justices by leaving in place a system of private bounties designed to intimidate all who would help women exercise the right to choose. But the federal government has — and should use — its own powers, including criminal prosecution, to prevent the law from being enforced and to reduce its chilling effects.

Of course, the best approach would be for Congress to codify the right to abortion in federal law, although Democrats likely lack the votes to make that happen — and there is a risk that this conservative Supreme Court would find that such a statute exceeded Congress’s authority under the Commerce Clause.

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Attorney General Merrick Garland has the power, under federal civil rights laws, to go after any vigilantes who employ the Texas law to seek bounties from abortion providers or others who help women obtain abortions.

The attorney general should announce, as swiftly as possible, that he will use federal law to the extent possible to deter and prevent bounty hunters from employing the Texas law. If Texas wants to empower private vigilantes to intimidate abortion providers from serving women, why not make bounty hunters think twice before engaging in that intimidation?

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Name: Dolores
Gender: Female
Hometown: California
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Current location: California
Member since: Thu Nov 30, 2017, 02:58 PM
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