Jilly_in_VA
Jilly_in_VA's JournalEMS performed CPR at Mitch McConnell's home same day he was hospitalized: Dispatch audio
Emergency responders were called to Sen. Mitch McConnell's Washington, D.C. address for a report of a person unconscious on the same morning that the Republican former Senate Majority Leader was taken to the hospital, publicly available audio from D.C. Fire and EMS dispatch confirms.
"CPR in progress," a D.C. Fire and EMS paramedic said over the radio before 9 a.m. on June 14, just six minutes after the initial call came from McConnell's home near the U.S. Capitol about an "unconscious" person.
One minute later, a dispatcher said paramedics were dealing with a "cardiac arrest." The senator's name was not mentioned during the radio calls, and whether EMS was referring to the 84-year-old McConnell in the dispatch has not been confirmed.
On the same day as the radio dispatches, McConnell spokesperson David Popp told news outlets that the Republican former Majority Leader was admitted to the hospital and was "receiving excellent care." A day later, his spokesperson said McConnell remained "fully engaged with staff on Senate business and Kentucky matters." Popp did not reveal the reason for McConnell's hospitalization.
https://www.wbir.com/article/news/nation-world/ems-mitch-mcconnell-report-dispatch-fire-and-ems/507-c13842a6-f890-4eef-8864-8cf6954a0911
We knew that he was *unconscious" but did we know this? I think he's probably now totally incompetent.
'Weaponizing ignorance': Muslims bear brunt as Texas Republicans make hate mainstream
Following a brutal Republican primary runoff in which Islamophobia took center stage, anti-Muslim hatred continues spilling into public life in Texas.
Texans say that the hate speech shared by elected officials is increasingly echoed by people in their everyday interactions, including discussions about education or interactions at a store, in a park, at university and at elementary school. In one case, students at the University of Houston were praying when a man approached them and burned a Qur’an. In other cases, people have been verbally attacked for wearing traditional garments.
“It definitely trickles down,” said Naila Syed, a Dallas resident and member of the Islamic Center of North America Council for Social Justice. Syed says her two young daughters have been confronted with anti-Islam “talking points” while at school. A fellow student asked them if they knew that followers of Islam treated women poorly. “To have a kid who has these points ready and memorized like this is just very concerning as a parent,” Syed said.
Multiple people said the hatred had made them uncomfortable venturing outside their own home by themselves. Others requested the use of a pseudonym because they had already been the subject of threats and online harassment. Recently, Muslim attenders at the official Texas GOP convention – including some delegates – were told to convert to Christianity or leave the country. About the same time, a woman was filmed verbally accosting two Muslim women in a grocery store.
“Islam is a terrorist organization, not a religion,” the woman said. “This is not a Muslim country; this is a Christian country.”
A fundraiser for the woman who made the comments has raised nearly $145,000 as of this writing and drawn support from the Republican congresswoman Nancy Mace. Mace and other lawmakers, including Brandon Gill, also a Republican, have repeatedly cast Europe as a cautionary tale for what happens when people from Muslim-majority countries are allowed to immigrate elsewhere.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/29/texas-muslims-hate-speech
If all the Muslims moved out of Texasss, it would definitely hurt their economy. There are a lot of them.
A Prediction About the Death of Shitler
And this is a serious one. I predict that when he dies and they figure it all our, his vaunted "empire" will be found to be....completely and hopelessly BANKRUPT. There will be no money to pay the creditors and nothing left for his darling spawn. I hope Melanoma has a good life insurance policy on him, or she will have to sell her jewelry to afford to flee to Slovenia with the kid (to avoid prosecution, of course).
Israeli forces arrest Palestinian 'doctor of the poor'
Israeli forces on Sunday arrested a prominent 71-year-old Palestinian physician known as the “doctor of the poor” in a pre-dawn raid on his home in the occupied West Bank, prompting widespread condemnation.
Dr Mazen Al-Rantisi, a physician widely known for providing care to low-income Palestinians, was arrested before dawn at his home in the al-Tira neighbourhood of Ramallah.
He was later taken to the police station in the Israeli settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, where he is believed to be under interrogation by the Special Investigations Unit. Israeli authorities have not said why he was detained or where he is currently being held.
According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the arrest is believed to be connected to Al-Rantisi’s position as chair of the Union of Health Work Committees, a Palestinian non-profit founded in 1985 that operates clinics serving thousands of patients each year, particularly in rural communities with limited access to healthcare.
The organisation was declared an “unlawful association” by the Israeli military in 2020 under emergency regulations dating back to the British Mandate for Palestine. Two years later, Israeli forces shut its headquarters in Al-Bireh. Despite those measures, the group remains legally registered with the Palestinian Authority’s interior ministry.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/25/israeli-forces-arrest-palestinian-doctor-of-the-poor
Fucking hell. This is untenable.
Mona Khalil, sea turtle conservationist, killed in Israeli strike in Lebanon
When war arrived again in Lebanon, Mona Khalil refused to abandon her beloved beachfront home or the endangered sea turtles she had dedicated her life to protecting.
During the last conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in 2024, the environmental activist reluctantly fled her property in the southern Lebanese village of Al-Mansouri, which doubles as a marine conservation area, and took refuge in Beirut.
Her friends say she resented every second of being driven from her home. So when war began anew in March, Khalil stayed put.
She died on Friday from wounds sustained in an Israeli strike on her home earlier this month. She was 76.
"She chose her own destiny," Assad Serhal, Khalil's friend and fellow conservationist, told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. "She wanted to die there, and she did."
On June 4, an Israeli strike hit Khalil's house. Her assistant, an Ethiopian woman, is recovering from burns, according to the Guardian. But Khalil succumbed to her wounds in a Beirut hospital.
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/mona-khalil-obit-9.7246301
Dirtbag Israelis
Sounding off about something in new cars (at least 2019 on)
I don't know who thought it was a great idea to put Bluetooth technology in all new cars AND completely eliminate CD players at the same time. Bluetooth is a great thing for navigation or podcasts or whatever UNTIL you hit a blind spot, and believe you me, there are plenty of those in Virfinia and east Tennessee, where I do most of my driving, BUT it has a tendency to go wonky also. Mine did for awhile this paat winter until I discovered that my car had decided my phone was an iPod. WHAT? It took awhile to disabuse the car of that notion. Also, it gets notional about playing some internet radio stations and even local radio. 
But what is further annoying is not being able to play favorite music in the car without downloading it to my phone, which uses us a lot of bandwidth and is annoying as hell. And worse than that is being unable to listen to books on CD, something that literally saved my life during long commutes and when I was a travel nurse. Heck, I suppose those have gone the way of the dodo too. Listening to books on Bluetooth is not the same because you have to a) wait for them at the library and hurry up with them when you finally get them or b) pay for them via Audible or c) use something like Librivox and listen to classics, and Librivox has not worked well for me even at home.
Dammit, auto manufacturers, just give us back our CD players!
New York sweep by Israel critics shines light on a fraught issue for Democrats
When Varun Venkatesh cast his ballot in New York’s primary this week, he thought about “a good litmus test for me as a voter.” He wanted to know what the candidates are doing for the Palestinian cause.
The 27-year-old Brooklyn resident decided to support Claire Valdez, who was backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, over Antonio Reynoso, another progressive who was the choice of the Democratic establishment, because she had “a clear and more consistent stance.”
Valdez triumphed in her congressional primary, as did two other insurgent candidates endorsed by Mamdani, and Israel was a key issue in each of the races. Now the question for Democrats is how many more voters like Venkatesh are out there as the party charts its path toward the November midterms and the next presidential election.
The war in Gaza began with Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which responded with a yearslong counterattack that left more than 73,000 dead. About 1,000 have died since a ceasefire was reached in October, according to the Hamas-run health ministry that does not differentiate between civilian and combatant casualties.
Human rights groups and a United Nations commission have described Israel’s actions as a genocide, a charge that’s been rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
https://apnews.com/article/mamdani-democrats-new-york-israel-palestine-01de0690f2fb99e89cb40817b7da0f66
Is the tide turning?
Tucker Carlson says he'll no longer support GOP
Longtime conservative commentator Tucker Carlson said on a podcast that “there’s no chance I would support the Republican Party” ahead of the November midterm elections, dismissing the political affiliation he’s defended as a pundit for decades, including as one of Fox News Channel’s most popular hosts.
“Not gonna support the Democratic Party,” Carlson was quick to add, speaking late last week on the show “Can’t Be Censored.” “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
Carlson, who has amassed a large following on his own podcast since being fired from Fox News in 2023, has more recently diverged from the party, a disillusionment supercharged by President Donald Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran in February.
Carlson supported Trump in 2024. After the war began, he apologized for supporting the then-presidential candidate and “misleading people,” saying it wasn’t intentional.
He’s repeatedly criticized the war as being at the behest of Israel at the expense of Americans, and attacked the party for failing to represent its own voters, citizens and nation
https://apnews.com/article/tucker-carlson-republican-party-podcast-support-2da45ec63516d0cc9f0d2ea1891839d2
So is he gonna start his own party or run as a Libertarian when he runs for President? And will he take (or even get) AIPAC money?
Anyone else watch the Ecuador-Curaao game in World Cup last night?
Holy shamoley, what a defensive marvel! On both sides, really, but especially on Curaçao''s. The ball was in their backfield for what seemed like 90% of the second half, but Ecuador could not score! Could NOT, despite repeated and clever attempts. The defenders were amazing, but I am in absolute awe of Curaçao's keeper, Eloy Room, who made save after save and kept coming back for more. And despite their thrashing from Germany, they're still in and Ecuador is out! Just amazing.
I teach religious studies. Vance's book on his conversion is one of the worst things I've read.
Vice President JD Vance’s new book, “Communion,” is not only his story of his conversion to Catholicism in 2019, it’s also his pitch to Republicans, especially religious ones, about why he has the mettle to be the party’s 2028 presidential candidate. Writing a book has become a prerequisite for a presidential run, but as a professor who has read some awful writing, I find that Vance’s new book ranks among the worst things I’ve read. As has been reported, there’s a United Methodist Church on the cover of this book about converting to Catholicism, and that choice of illustration serves as a metaphor for the ignorance and inauthenticity found within.
Vance’s account of his conversion from evangelism to atheism and then to Catholicism is familiar to those of us who study religious switching in America. According to the Pew Research Center’s 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study, 35% of American adults were raised in a different religious tradition than the one they practice.
But on his promotional book tour, Vance is proving himself to be woefully inept about his faith. For example, on his Tuesday appearance on ABC’s “The View,” he couldn’t answer questions about how he squares his recently found faith with the Trump administration’s policies. He seems confused about what Catholicism is and doesn’t seem to understand that Christian beliefs aren’t the same as a list of conservative talking points.
Thus, in “Communion” we get his disjointed story about how he was attracted to the Catholic Church despite his divergent views from its teachings. If nothing else, “Communion” confirms what was already obvious: Vance is not the theologian he thinks he is, and indeed, he knows very little about the Catholic faith. Despite his lack of knowledge, in his short time as vice president, he has had the temerity to question Pope Francis’ motivations for criticizing the Trump administration’s immigration policies and to lecture Pope Leo XIV on when war is morally justified.
https://www.ms.now/opinion/jd-vance-book-communion-2028-presidential-race
If it's half as awful and inauthentic as "hillbilly Elegy", I won't even bother with it because I'd just get disgusted halfway through and hurl it across the room into the trash
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Gender: Do not displayHome country: USA currently
Current location: Virginia
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