October 10, 2021

A must-watch short MSNBC panel discussion that includes Malcom Nance (says we're headed towards a

violent, multivariate insurgency (TITUS ie the Trump Insurgency in the United States), somewhat reminiscent of IRA sectarian terror campaigns, but on a much grander canvas and scale)

https://www.msnbc.com/american-voices/watch/trump-returns-to-iowa-fueling-speculation-over-2024-ambitions-123178565605

October 10, 2021

WaPo Editorial Without these changes, US democracy will remain vulnerable to Trump, other bad actors

Opinion by the Editorial Board

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/10/09/without-these-changes-us-democracy-will-remain-vulnerable-trump-other-bad-actors/

“One thing we know is you, Rosen, aren’t going to do anything to overturn the election.” These, according to a new Senate Judiciary Committee report, were the words of President Donald Trump, pressuring the acting attorney general, Jeffrey Rosen, to upend a free-and-fair vote. Three days after Mr. Trump uttered them, a mob he had inflamed with lies ransacked the Capitol as lawmakers met to count duly cast electoral votes.

The Senate report details how Mr. Trump tried persistently to enlist the Justice Department in his scheme to overturn the 2020 election results. His pressure campaign, after Attorney General William P. Barr resigned in December, featured calls and meetings with Mr. Rosen and other top Justice Department staff. It continued as Mr. Trump sent them a preposterous petition he wanted them to file with the Supreme Court asking the justices to void Joe Biden’s victory. It reached its zenith in a cockamamie plot to force Mr. Rosen to pressure state governments to cook the results or be replaced by Jeffrey Clark, a lower-ranking Justice official who would go along with the scheme. Mr. Trump failed because Mr. Rosen and other officials in key positions refused to cooperate and threatened to resign. But they could not stop Mr. Trump from forcing the resignation of the U.S. attorney in Atlanta and replacing him with a lawyer the then-president thought would pursue the fraud investigations he wanted to see.

Senate Republicans played down these revelations, arguing that, following the Russia investigation, it was reasonable for Mr. Trump to mistrust the Justice Department and the FBI. But, leaving aside the fact that the Russia probe was a well-founded and legitimate counterintelligence investigation, Mr. Trump, in this case, was not exercising reasonable skepticism; he was trying to hold on to power against the wishes of the American people, based on widely debunked mistruths about the 2020 vote. Anyone seeking to play down that fact today is complicit in his plot to undermine U.S. democracy. The seriousness of Mr. Trump’s effort to nullify an election, his continuing lies about the results and the willingness of so many Republicans to indulge those lies call for several responses.

The investigations must continue. The House’s Jan. 6 committee should compel Mr. Clark, who did not cooperate with the Senate Judiciary panel, to testify. The House and the Justice Department must enforce the committee’s subpoenas, which several Trump confidantes appear prepared to flout on the former president’s say-so. The National Archives should turn over documents immediately. If courts are involved, judges must act with urgency. Mr. Trump learned how to run out the clock by gaming the judicial system; courts must not let that happen again. Most urgently, Congress must reinforce elements of the nation’s democratic infrastructure vulnerable to exploitation by bad actors such as Mr. Trump. It should revamp the ancient Electoral Count Act to limit partisan interference in presidential vote tallying, and it should impose federal election standards that insulate state election officials from political pressure. Republicans who still respect the Constitution should be willing to join in this effort.

October 9, 2021

WTF's wrong w/ Iowa? Trump has a 32 point lead over Biden in net favourability in the supposed 'gold

standard' Des Moines Register poll.

Trump (+8 net) 53% favourable, 45% unfavourable

Biden (- 24 net) 37% favourable, 61% unfavourable



https://eu.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/iowa-poll/2021/10/04/iowa-poll-ratings-former-president-donald-trump-rally-des-moines/8378131002/



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Methodology and more detail:

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21075990-methodology-for-10421-trump?responsive=1&title=1



Biden's national approval ratings from polls at the same time as the DM Register poll







Biden's national approval ratings from now, from the most recent polls (toss out Rasmussen of course, plus Trafalgar and Quinnipiac look like outliers, as does, in the other direction, Redfield & Wilton)

October 9, 2021

A Poem for a Fall Weekend (an abecedarian)

https://www.theatlantic.com/books/archive/2021/07/poem-leila-chatti-attention/619531/

October 9, 2021

Google bans ads on content, including YouTube videos, with false claims about climate change.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/07/technology/google-youtube-ads-climate-change-misinformation.html



Google said it will no longer display advertisements on YouTube videos and other content that promote inaccurate claims about climate change. The decision, by the company’s ads team, means that it will no longer permit websites or YouTube creators to earn advertising money via Google for content that “contradicts well-established scientific consensus around the existence and causes of climate change.” And it will not allow ads that promote such views from appearing. “In recent years, we’ve heard directly from a growing number of our advertising and publisher partners who have expressed concerns about ads that run alongside or promote inaccurate claims about climate change,” the company said.

The policy applies to content that refers to climate change as a hoax or a scam, denies the long-term trend that the climate is warming, or denies that greenhouse gas emissions or human activity is contributing to climate change. Google limits or restricts advertising alongside certain sensitive topics or events, such as firearms-related videos or content about a tragic event. This is the first time Google has added climate change denial to the list. Facebook, Google’s main rival for digital advertising dollars, does not have an explicit policy outlawing advertisements denying climate change.

In addition to not wanting to be associated with climate change misinformation, ad agencies, in an echo of their shift away from the tobacco business decades earlier, have begun to re-evaluate their association with fossil-fuel clients. Agencies such as Forsman & Bodenfors have signed pledges to no longer work for oil and gas producers. Calls have increased to ban the industry from advertising on city streets and sponsoring sports teams.

Greenpeace USA and other environmental groups filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission earlier this year accusing Chevron of “consistently misrepresenting its image to appear climate-friendly and racial justice-oriented, while its business operations overwhelmingly rely on climate-polluting fossil fuels.” Exxon faces lawsuits from Democratic officials in several states accusing it of using ads, among other methods, to deceive consumers about climate change. Publications such as the British Medical Journal, The Guardian and the Swedish publications Dagens Nyheter and Dagens ETC have limited or stopped accepting fossil fuel ads. The New York Times prevents oil and gas companies from sponsoring its climate newsletter, its climate summit or its podcast “The Daily,” but it allows the industry to advertise elsewhere.

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October 8, 2021

Joe Manchin told @SenSchumer his speech on the floor after the debt limit was "fucking stupid."

In
@PunchbowlNews
AM:
@Sen_JoeManchin
told
@SenSchumer
his speech on the floor after the debt limit was “fucking stupid.”

Some other nuggets from the floor:

—
@LeaderMcConnell
said “Thanks for showing up” to
@tedcruz
. Also he said to cruz “I thought you run the Senate"

https://twitter.com/JakeSherman/status/1446439270626086915

NEW: Manchin tells reporters that he thought Schumer’s speech preceding final passage of the debt limit measure was “inappropriate.”

Thune also said he confronted Schumer on the floor to tell him the speech was out of line.

https://twitter.com/caitlinzemma/status/1446277301130387462


https://politicalwire.com/2021/10/08/schumer-rips-republicans-after-debt-limit-vote/




https://email.punchbowl.news/t/ViewEmail/t/92A21571020CFEDF2540EF23F30FEDED/F0FBF4A26141BC72E89F0E32AAFB68BF

October 8, 2021

Journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov win 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for press freedom

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/nobel-peace-prize-maria-ressa-muratov/2021/10/08/0d0516e8-2806-11ec-8739-5cb6aba30a30_story.html



Journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov on Friday won the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to promote freedom of the press. Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, singled out the journalists from Philippines and Russia for their efforts to safeguard the freedom of expression “which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.”

In 2020, the award went to the U.N.’s World Food Program for its role in addressing food supply crises and trying to improve conditions in conflict zones. The agency was also at the forefront of dealing with the economic fallout of the pandemic around the world and the the accompanying rise in hunger.

The prize is a gold medal and an award of $1.14 million dollars. It was set up by the will of Swedish businessman and inventor Alfred Nobel in his 1895 with the aim of celebrating the people or organizations working for “fraternity between nations,” reducing standing armies and promoting “peace congresses.” Over the years, that criteria has been interpreted to also include the promotion of human rights.

Nobel also endowed prizes in physics, chemistry, medicine and literature. Unlike the other prizes which are selected and awarded in Sweden, Nobel chose a Norwegian committee, selected by that country’s parliament, to administer the prize.

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October 8, 2021

These Glass-Domed Cabins Let You Watch the Northern Lights in Bed

This travel package has glass-domed cabins with a once-in-a-lifetime view.

https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/off-the-map-travel-glass-domed-cabins-watch-the-northern-lights



Travel is still limited, at best, and probably involves a lot more daydreaming than actually traveling at this point. But if you're a planner, Off the Map Travel has a new escape that might subdue a couple of years of bottled-up wanderlust. The trip involves a stay in new glass igloo cabins located in Kilpisjärvi, Finland. They are part of a travel package from Off the Map that includes two different cabins with glass roofs for your northern lights viewing experience. They're part of the travel company's "Stars of Scandinavia" experience, which shuttles you around Lapland with plenty of opportunities for stargazing and aurora hunting.



Not only are the Wau House Igloo cabins stunning, but they're genuinely useful in trying to catch the bucket list display. "The northern lights are magical, but you never know when they will appear, so we wanted to give our guests the best chance and not miss a second of the action with this new travel experience," says Founder of Off the Map Travel Jonny Cooper. The outdoor lighting is even red to ensure that stargazers don't have their night vision negatively impacted.



The next leg of the experience takes guests south to Rovaniemi and the glass-roofed Lappish Kammi Suites. You'll also get a feel for the region with husky sledding, a fat bike tour, snowmobile treks, and opportunities to learn about Sami culture in the package. The trip isn't on the house, though. The six-day, five-night package costs £1795 per person (about $2,078) and does not include flights. It does, however, provide the potential to check something off your bucket list.

October 7, 2021

House Of The Dragon 🐉 Official Teaser HBO Max (GoT Prequel)

October 7, 2021

Dear White People Showrunner Quits Netflix Over Dave Chappelle's Transphobic Special

https://www.themarysue.com/dear-white-people-showrunner-quits-netflix-over-dave-chappelles-transphobic-special/

Dave Chappelle continues to tarnish his own comedic legacy with his latest Netflix comedy special The Closer, where he doubles down on his transphobic and homophobic rhetoric. Chappelle has been criticized for his transphobic material before, with our own Princess Weekes writing in 2017, “Chappelle should probably never, ever speak about trans people again.” Yet despite this, Chappelle spends a shocking amount of time in his new special espousing anti-LGBTQ+ views and identifying proudly as a “TERF.”

In response, Dear White People showrunner Jaclyn Moore announced that she is parting ways with Netflix over their support of Chappelle’s transphobic comedy special. In a lengthy Twitter thread, Moore, who is trans, discusses why she chose to walk away from the streaming service. Moore tweeted, “I will not work with them as long as they continue to put out and profit from blatantly and dangerously transphobic content.”

https://twitter.com/JaclynPMoore/status/1445912662093729793
https://twitter.com/JaclynPMoore/status/1445917679546679300
Moore added, “I love so many of the people I’ve worked with at Netflix. Brilliant people and executives who have been collaborative and fought for important art… But I’ve been thrown against walls because, “I’m not a ‘real’ woman.” I’ve had beer bottles thrown at me. So, @Netflix, I’m done.” Moore, who is executive producing the Queer as Folk reboot for Peacock, eloquently breaks down how Chappelle’s comedy is so hurtful and dehumanizing to the communities he attacks.

https://twitter.com/JaclynPMoore/status/1445927631954841603
https://twitter.com/JaclynPMoore/status/1445928335889117193
GLAAD also issued a statement about Chappelle’s special, saying “Dave Chappelle’s brand has become synonymous with ridiculing trans people and other marginalized communities. Negative reviews and viewers loudly condemning his latest special is a message to the industry that audiences don’t support platforming anti-LGBTQ diatribes. We agree.”
https://twitter.com/glaad/status/1445870767548231685

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