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babylonsister
babylonsister's Journal
babylonsister's Journal
January 13, 2022
Inflation's a global dilemma — the press blames Biden
GOP talking points
Eric Boehlert
2 hr ago
snip//
The New York Times: “A troubling development for President Biden.” The Washington Post headline: “Democrats Worry Biden Could Pay the Political Price For Rising Inflation.” (The first person quoted in the piece was a GOP pollster.)
What’s missing from the inflation coverage is the consistent acknowledgement that the trend of rising prices is a global phenomenon, fueled by the pandemic. The Politico report made no mention of worldwide inflation, neither did the Times or Post dispatches; the AP included just one sentence.
Dismissed or downplayed is the fact that systemic, record-setting inflation has taken hold in virtually every major economy:
Thanks to international reporting, we know inflation is on the rise around the world. But news consumers here have to search that information out because it’s rarely included in coverage of the U.S. economy. Most often, domestic inflation is presented in a silo, independent from the global economic trend that has been sparked by a worldwide virus.
snip//
It was no surprise that a recent AP poll found consumers fixated on inflation: “Income Is Up, But Americans Focus on Inflation.” Why is that? Americans are inundated with the media’s constant inflation coverage, most of which omits the fact the trend is now happening all around the world.
Eric Boehlert: Inflation's a global dilemma -- the press blames Biden
https://pressrun.media/p/inflations-a-global-problem-the-pressInflation's a global dilemma — the press blames Biden
GOP talking points
Eric Boehlert
2 hr ago
snip//
The New York Times: “A troubling development for President Biden.” The Washington Post headline: “Democrats Worry Biden Could Pay the Political Price For Rising Inflation.” (The first person quoted in the piece was a GOP pollster.)
What’s missing from the inflation coverage is the consistent acknowledgement that the trend of rising prices is a global phenomenon, fueled by the pandemic. The Politico report made no mention of worldwide inflation, neither did the Times or Post dispatches; the AP included just one sentence.
Dismissed or downplayed is the fact that systemic, record-setting inflation has taken hold in virtually every major economy:
• “Germany: Annual Inflation Hits Highest Rate Since 1993”
• “Italian Inflation Hits Highest In More Than A Decade On Energy”
• “Mexico Ends Year With Inflation At 7.36%, Most In 20 Years”
• “Russian 2021 Inflation Accelerates To 8.39%, Preliminary Data Shows”
• “Spain's Annual Inflation Jumps To 6.7% At End Of 2021, Highest Since 1989”
• “UK Inflation Hits 10-Year High Ahead Of Key Bank Of England Meeting”
• “Canada's Annual Inflation Rate Matches 18-Year High, Set to Keep Rising”
• “Italian Inflation Hits Highest In More Than A Decade On Energy”
• “Mexico Ends Year With Inflation At 7.36%, Most In 20 Years”
• “Russian 2021 Inflation Accelerates To 8.39%, Preliminary Data Shows”
• “Spain's Annual Inflation Jumps To 6.7% At End Of 2021, Highest Since 1989”
• “UK Inflation Hits 10-Year High Ahead Of Key Bank Of England Meeting”
• “Canada's Annual Inflation Rate Matches 18-Year High, Set to Keep Rising”
Thanks to international reporting, we know inflation is on the rise around the world. But news consumers here have to search that information out because it’s rarely included in coverage of the U.S. economy. Most often, domestic inflation is presented in a silo, independent from the global economic trend that has been sparked by a worldwide virus.
snip//
It was no surprise that a recent AP poll found consumers fixated on inflation: “Income Is Up, But Americans Focus on Inflation.” Why is that? Americans are inundated with the media’s constant inflation coverage, most of which omits the fact the trend is now happening all around the world.
January 13, 2022
more...
https://www.thedailybeast.com/glenn-beck-says-he-has-covid-again-and-its-hit-his-lungs-but-hes-taking-ivermectin?ref=home?ref=home
Edited to add correct link
Glenn Beck Says He Has COVID Again and It's Hit His Lungs, but He's Taking Ivermectin
I just can't find any sympathy in my heart even if I wanted to. 
Glenn Beck Says He Has COVID Again and It’s Hit His Lungs, but He’s Taking Ivermectin
‘INTO MY LUNGS’
The conservative radio host, who has declared he is unvaccinated, says the infection is now “just getting into my lungs... you will want to avoid that.”
Zachary Petrizzo
Media Reporter
Published Jan. 13, 2022 12:28AM ET
Conservative talk radio host Glenn Beck has fallen sick with the coronavirus—again.
This time around, the former Fox News host turned mini conservative media mogul said Wednesday afternoon, the illness has progressed into his lungs.
“I am great, Mark. I am great, Mark,” Beck told fellow conservative radio Mark Levin during his daily radio program. “Despite having COVID and seeing the destruction of our country,” he added.
“Do you have COVID right now?” Levin asked.
“Ya, I do,” Beck fired back, adding, “it’s [COVID-19] starting to go into my lungs today and a little disturbing. I’m on all the medications and treatments and everything else, so.”
“It’s all good,” Beck said while letting out a deep cough.
“Do you have COVID right now?” Levin asked.
“Ya, I do,” Beck fired back, adding, “it’s [COVID-19] starting to go into my lungs today and a little disturbing. I’m on all the medications and treatments and everything else, so.”
“It’s all good,” Beck said while letting out a deep cough.
more...
https://www.thedailybeast.com/glenn-beck-says-he-has-covid-again-and-its-hit-his-lungs-but-hes-taking-ivermectin?ref=home?ref=home
Edited to add correct link
January 12, 2022
Who is Ray Epps? Just another example of Republicans eating their own
Mark Sumner
Daily Kos Staff
Wednesday January 12, 2022 · 10:24 AM EST
When insurgents smashed their way into the Capitol on Jan. 6 both Republican members of Congress and the propagandists at Fox News had no doubt about who was in charge of the violence. From Kevin McCarthy’s frantic calls, to Sean Hannity’s texts, all of them were begging Trump to call off his dogs. Even Donald Trump’s own son was texting Mark Meadows in an effort to get his father to pull back his private army. Not one of those texts was mentioned a belief that the violence was generated by infiltrators from Black Lives Matter, or antifa, or the FBI.
In the critical moment, all of them, from Jim Jordan to Laura Ingraham, knew the truth: Trump inspired the violence, Trump directed the violence, and the mob ripping through the Capitol building was doing the bidding of their master.
But of course, none of that was what they said in public or on the air. Even before the attack began, right-wing media was already claiming that antifa and BLM infiltrators were among the crowd. In the hours after the attack, the need for a scapegoat accelerated, and it didn’t take long for the Q-inspired network of Trump supporters to land a greasy finger on the perfect fall guy. That guy was Ray Epps—a 60-year-old member of their own ranks, and the former president of the largest branch of the Oath Keepers militia. He’s a far-right Trump supporter who has been thrown under the bus by his fellow Trumpists.
All of this seems to stem from a Jan. 5 video in which Epps is seen calling on people to “go into the Capitol” while insisting that they do so “peacefully.” Add in the fact that Epps has not been arrested in connection with the insurrection, and that was enough for those looking for anything other than the truth.
Epps was declared an FBI mole by social media sleuths. It didn’t take long before the Trump faithful became convinced that Epps had been planted in their ranks to trick them into the invasion. In days, the wedding venue owner from Arizona was transformed into the center of a conspiracy to entrap Trump supporters, and given a starring role in Tucker Carlson’s nightly conspiracies. It wasn’t Donald Trump who was in charge of the insurrection, said the conspiracy theories, it was Ray Epps.
The finger of blame was directed toward Epps when a picture appearing to show Epps among a group of people charging past a fallen police barricade was posted by the FBI. But Epps failed to be arrested and his picture was later removed. This, according to the Q-cognoscenti, was clear evidence that Epps is “a fed”—a plant slipped in amongst the unsuspecting sheep of Trump supporters to lead them astray.
The truth seems to be a whole lot simpler. The FBI talked to Epps. Attorneys for the House Select Committee on Jan. 6 talked to Epps. Neither found any clear evidence that he had been involved in violence, or that he had actually entered the Capitol building on Jan. 6. No video or pictures have subsequently emerged showing Epps inside the Capitol.
snip//
From the president of the Oath Keepers to an outcast shunned as an FBI operative, Epps is, if nothing else, a sterling example of how willing Trump supporters are to eat their own if that’s what it takes to keep the conspiracies alive.
Who is Ray Epps? Just another example of Republicans eating their own
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/1/12/2074203/-Who-is-Ray-Epps-Just-another-example-of-Republicans-eating-their-ownWho is Ray Epps? Just another example of Republicans eating their own
Mark Sumner
Daily Kos Staff
Wednesday January 12, 2022 · 10:24 AM EST
When insurgents smashed their way into the Capitol on Jan. 6 both Republican members of Congress and the propagandists at Fox News had no doubt about who was in charge of the violence. From Kevin McCarthy’s frantic calls, to Sean Hannity’s texts, all of them were begging Trump to call off his dogs. Even Donald Trump’s own son was texting Mark Meadows in an effort to get his father to pull back his private army. Not one of those texts was mentioned a belief that the violence was generated by infiltrators from Black Lives Matter, or antifa, or the FBI.
In the critical moment, all of them, from Jim Jordan to Laura Ingraham, knew the truth: Trump inspired the violence, Trump directed the violence, and the mob ripping through the Capitol building was doing the bidding of their master.
But of course, none of that was what they said in public or on the air. Even before the attack began, right-wing media was already claiming that antifa and BLM infiltrators were among the crowd. In the hours after the attack, the need for a scapegoat accelerated, and it didn’t take long for the Q-inspired network of Trump supporters to land a greasy finger on the perfect fall guy. That guy was Ray Epps—a 60-year-old member of their own ranks, and the former president of the largest branch of the Oath Keepers militia. He’s a far-right Trump supporter who has been thrown under the bus by his fellow Trumpists.
All of this seems to stem from a Jan. 5 video in which Epps is seen calling on people to “go into the Capitol” while insisting that they do so “peacefully.” Add in the fact that Epps has not been arrested in connection with the insurrection, and that was enough for those looking for anything other than the truth.
Epps was declared an FBI mole by social media sleuths. It didn’t take long before the Trump faithful became convinced that Epps had been planted in their ranks to trick them into the invasion. In days, the wedding venue owner from Arizona was transformed into the center of a conspiracy to entrap Trump supporters, and given a starring role in Tucker Carlson’s nightly conspiracies. It wasn’t Donald Trump who was in charge of the insurrection, said the conspiracy theories, it was Ray Epps.
The finger of blame was directed toward Epps when a picture appearing to show Epps among a group of people charging past a fallen police barricade was posted by the FBI. But Epps failed to be arrested and his picture was later removed. This, according to the Q-cognoscenti, was clear evidence that Epps is “a fed”—a plant slipped in amongst the unsuspecting sheep of Trump supporters to lead them astray.
The truth seems to be a whole lot simpler. The FBI talked to Epps. Attorneys for the House Select Committee on Jan. 6 talked to Epps. Neither found any clear evidence that he had been involved in violence, or that he had actually entered the Capitol building on Jan. 6. No video or pictures have subsequently emerged showing Epps inside the Capitol.
snip//
From the president of the Oath Keepers to an outcast shunned as an FBI operative, Epps is, if nothing else, a sterling example of how willing Trump supporters are to eat their own if that’s what it takes to keep the conspiracies alive.
January 12, 2022
More subpoenas for Trump world figures, including strategists and Jan. 6 speechwriter
Brandi Buchman
Daily Kos Staff
Wednesday January 12, 2022 · 10:39 AM EST
The Trump administration official who helped craft the former president’s inflammatory Jan. 6 speech, and a duo of advisers who facilitated the rally at the Ellipse, have been subpoenaed by investigators probing last year’s insurrection at the Capitol.
Select Jan. 6 committee chairman Bennie Thompson announced the subpoenas for Andy Surabian, Arthur Schwartz, and Ross Worthington on Tuesday. Surabian and Schwartz have “relevant information” about who was communicating with former President Donald Trump about the rally, Thompson said, and Worthington could have greater insights into Trump’s thinking since he helped draft the speech that was rife with bogus election fraud claims.
Interviews and evidence already obtained from over 300 cooperating witnesses thus far have led investigators to Surabian, Schwartz, and Worthington.
Correspondence reviewed by the committee prompted Thompson to tell Surabian and Schwartz that the panel believes the men discussed the Jan. 6 rally directly with Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle. Those discussions may have also included rally organizers Katrina Pierson and Caroline Wren, as well as Trump spokesperson Taylor Budowich, and prominent Trump campaign donor and Publix grocery store heiress Julie Fancelli.
Surabian, a strategist for the GOP, has close professional ties to Trump Jr. as well as ex-Trump adviser Steve Bannon. Bannon is now awaiting trial after being indicted on a contempt of Congress charge late last year.
more...
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/1/12/2074201/-More-subpoenas-for-Trump-world-figures-including-strategists-and-Jan-6-speechwriter
More subpoenas for Trump world figures, including strategists and Jan. 6 speechwriter
More subpoenas for Trump world figures, including strategists and Jan. 6 speechwriter
Brandi Buchman
Daily Kos Staff
Wednesday January 12, 2022 · 10:39 AM EST
The Trump administration official who helped craft the former president’s inflammatory Jan. 6 speech, and a duo of advisers who facilitated the rally at the Ellipse, have been subpoenaed by investigators probing last year’s insurrection at the Capitol.
Select Jan. 6 committee chairman Bennie Thompson announced the subpoenas for Andy Surabian, Arthur Schwartz, and Ross Worthington on Tuesday. Surabian and Schwartz have “relevant information” about who was communicating with former President Donald Trump about the rally, Thompson said, and Worthington could have greater insights into Trump’s thinking since he helped draft the speech that was rife with bogus election fraud claims.
Interviews and evidence already obtained from over 300 cooperating witnesses thus far have led investigators to Surabian, Schwartz, and Worthington.
Correspondence reviewed by the committee prompted Thompson to tell Surabian and Schwartz that the panel believes the men discussed the Jan. 6 rally directly with Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle. Those discussions may have also included rally organizers Katrina Pierson and Caroline Wren, as well as Trump spokesperson Taylor Budowich, and prominent Trump campaign donor and Publix grocery store heiress Julie Fancelli.
“The communications of interest relate to, among other issues, plans for the rally including concerns around proposed speakers like Ali Alexander (also known as Ali Akbar) and Alex Jones, appearance fees for certain people who did speak at the rally, and media coverage after Jan. 6 about the rally,” the notice to Surabian states.
Surabian, a strategist for the GOP, has close professional ties to Trump Jr. as well as ex-Trump adviser Steve Bannon. Bannon is now awaiting trial after being indicted on a contempt of Congress charge late last year.
more...
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/1/12/2074201/-More-subpoenas-for-Trump-world-figures-including-strategists-and-Jan-6-speechwriter
January 12, 2022
The Rude Pundit
Proudly lowering the level of political discourse
1/11/2022
Covid Tests, Sick Leave, and More: This Country Has Lost Its Ability to Give a Shit About You
snip//
What this pandemic has starkly revealed just how failed so many of the policies we've been forced to live under have been.
We were warned early in the pandemic that the lack of paid sick leave for workers was going to fuck us over. While there was an actual effort to provide for this during the lockdown period of the pandemic, now, as Omicron has its viral way with us, the fact that most workers get little or no paid sick leave has led to, well, sick people going to work (if they aren't forced to by their employers), which leads to more sick people, including people who are too sick to work, which depletes the work force and makes it so no one can work. Or is that math too fucking hard? As in so many things, the US is an outlier as one of only 11 countries where there is no national paid sick leave law. In other words, our selfish capitalism is freedoming us to death.
Even worse, there's the lack of any or of decent health insurance in this country. I personally know people who refuse to get help for their obviously symptomatic Covid because they are afraid of how much it will cost if they end up in the hospital. This has been one of the brute realities for Americans, and even with Obamacare and expanded Medicaid (not to mention Medicare for the many elderly who are sick), the out-of-pocket cost can go into the thousands and thousands of dollars and, fuck it, that's not worth it unless you might die. How much undiagnosed Covid is out there? How much untreated?
Fuck, I'm not even getting into the lack of support for parents whose children have to stay home from schools.
Think of the stress all this causes, stress that's added to the stress of the pandemic. Our country is doing that to us. Our leaders, especially Republicans, are doing it. But, honestly, Biden has broad powers that he could draw on right now in a crisis that we're two goddamned years into. Could he say that government is going to cover all Covid-related medical expenditures, creating a de facto Medicare for all? (Maybe, but then the savage dickbeasts on the Supreme Court would tell everyone to fuck off and die.) I remember when President Obama decided to make health care his major first-term goal, and many wondered why that in particular, why not go for a greater economic and infrastructure package to build on the Recovery and Reinvestment Act? But Obama knew that health care insecurity was overwhelming for many Americans. Of course, what we got was severely compromised and has been undermined by Republicans at every turn, at every level, so that, while an improvement, the Affordable Care Act is still a fucking sieve of a program.
Fuck, I'm not even getting into the PTSD everyone is going to have to deal with for the next few decades. I'm not even getting into the absolutely unforgivable burden we've put on health care workers repeatedly, breaking many of them.
It's not working, this way of existing without caring about each other on a national basis. Yet what can you say about a nation that allows this to happen and a people that don't rise up and demand something better other than that we have lost our ability to care about each other (not you, of course, not you personally, unless it is you, in which case, go fuck yourself). Instead of doing the things that would make us better, our leaders keep things the same, even in the face of a genuine catastrophe, even when one easy thing, free at-home Covid testing, would ease some of the burden of this sadistic time we're damned to live through and allow us to at least pretend we care.
(Note: This isn't about anti-vaxxers or anti-maskers because fuck them always.)
The Rude Pundit: Covid Tests, Sick Leave, and More: This Country Has Lost Its Ability to Give a Shit
https://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2022/01/covid-tests-sick-leave-and-more-this.htmlThe Rude Pundit
Proudly lowering the level of political discourse
1/11/2022
Covid Tests, Sick Leave, and More: This Country Has Lost Its Ability to Give a Shit About You
snip//
What this pandemic has starkly revealed just how failed so many of the policies we've been forced to live under have been.
We were warned early in the pandemic that the lack of paid sick leave for workers was going to fuck us over. While there was an actual effort to provide for this during the lockdown period of the pandemic, now, as Omicron has its viral way with us, the fact that most workers get little or no paid sick leave has led to, well, sick people going to work (if they aren't forced to by their employers), which leads to more sick people, including people who are too sick to work, which depletes the work force and makes it so no one can work. Or is that math too fucking hard? As in so many things, the US is an outlier as one of only 11 countries where there is no national paid sick leave law. In other words, our selfish capitalism is freedoming us to death.
Even worse, there's the lack of any or of decent health insurance in this country. I personally know people who refuse to get help for their obviously symptomatic Covid because they are afraid of how much it will cost if they end up in the hospital. This has been one of the brute realities for Americans, and even with Obamacare and expanded Medicaid (not to mention Medicare for the many elderly who are sick), the out-of-pocket cost can go into the thousands and thousands of dollars and, fuck it, that's not worth it unless you might die. How much undiagnosed Covid is out there? How much untreated?
Fuck, I'm not even getting into the lack of support for parents whose children have to stay home from schools.
Think of the stress all this causes, stress that's added to the stress of the pandemic. Our country is doing that to us. Our leaders, especially Republicans, are doing it. But, honestly, Biden has broad powers that he could draw on right now in a crisis that we're two goddamned years into. Could he say that government is going to cover all Covid-related medical expenditures, creating a de facto Medicare for all? (Maybe, but then the savage dickbeasts on the Supreme Court would tell everyone to fuck off and die.) I remember when President Obama decided to make health care his major first-term goal, and many wondered why that in particular, why not go for a greater economic and infrastructure package to build on the Recovery and Reinvestment Act? But Obama knew that health care insecurity was overwhelming for many Americans. Of course, what we got was severely compromised and has been undermined by Republicans at every turn, at every level, so that, while an improvement, the Affordable Care Act is still a fucking sieve of a program.
Fuck, I'm not even getting into the PTSD everyone is going to have to deal with for the next few decades. I'm not even getting into the absolutely unforgivable burden we've put on health care workers repeatedly, breaking many of them.
It's not working, this way of existing without caring about each other on a national basis. Yet what can you say about a nation that allows this to happen and a people that don't rise up and demand something better other than that we have lost our ability to care about each other (not you, of course, not you personally, unless it is you, in which case, go fuck yourself). Instead of doing the things that would make us better, our leaders keep things the same, even in the face of a genuine catastrophe, even when one easy thing, free at-home Covid testing, would ease some of the burden of this sadistic time we're damned to live through and allow us to at least pretend we care.
(Note: This isn't about anti-vaxxers or anti-maskers because fuck them always.)
January 12, 2022
Jamie Raskin Throws 'Benghazi' In Jim Jordan's Face
When Jordan "investigated" Benghazi, he demanded everyone testify, because nobody has the right to hide. Now that he's implicated in the insurrection? Not so much.
By John Amato — January 11, 2022
Video @ link~
Rep Jamie Raskin used Jim Jordan's own words against him. It's about time we all did.
After saying he had "nothing to hide," the Ohio Republican Jordan has refused to cooperate with the House committee investigating the insurrection January 6.
J6 Committee Member Jamie Raskin joined MSNBC on Monday. He was asked his thoughts about Jordan's refusal.
That seems to only apply to Democrats, right Gym?
Jordan is one of the worst Congressmen ever. He ditched the U.S. Constitution and his constituents and swore allegiance to a narcissistic buffoon.
Jordan has information and is refusing to cooperate.
I think some Ohio voters should take a page from North Carolina voters who are objecting to Madison Cawthorn and demand Jordan be disqualified as a congressional candidate for his role in the insurrection and his refusal to come forward and testify.
In the Jim Jordan Republican silo, only Republicans are allowed to hide the facts and the truth.
Jamie Raskin Throws 'Benghazi' In Jim Jordan's Face
https://crooksandliars.com/2022/01/raskin-throws-jordans-obsession-benghaziJamie Raskin Throws 'Benghazi' In Jim Jordan's Face
When Jordan "investigated" Benghazi, he demanded everyone testify, because nobody has the right to hide. Now that he's implicated in the insurrection? Not so much.
By John Amato — January 11, 2022
Video @ link~
Rep Jamie Raskin used Jim Jordan's own words against him. It's about time we all did.
After saying he had "nothing to hide," the Ohio Republican Jordan has refused to cooperate with the House committee investigating the insurrection January 6.
J6 Committee Member Jamie Raskin joined MSNBC on Monday. He was asked his thoughts about Jordan's refusal.
Raskin said, "To answer Jim Jordan, I would quote Jim Jordan from the views that he expressed in the final Benghazi report, where he said that all of the truth must come out. Everybody needs to testify, and nobody's got the right to hide anything from Congress."
That seems to only apply to Democrats, right Gym?
Raskin continued, "So, I think he had it right then. Jim Jordan, more than anybody else, knows what dogged, aggressive investigation is about, even when he's on a wild goose chase, he demands all the information he wants, and we're not on that. We are on the central investigative mission certainly of this decade, if not this century, to get to the bottom of this terrible political crime that was incited and to a substantial extent organized by Donald Trump."
Jordan is one of the worst Congressmen ever. He ditched the U.S. Constitution and his constituents and swore allegiance to a narcissistic buffoon.
Jordan has information and is refusing to cooperate.
I think some Ohio voters should take a page from North Carolina voters who are objecting to Madison Cawthorn and demand Jordan be disqualified as a congressional candidate for his role in the insurrection and his refusal to come forward and testify.
In the Jim Jordan Republican silo, only Republicans are allowed to hide the facts and the truth.
January 12, 2022
'A great triumph for us': California law giving farmworkers overtime time pay fully kicks in
Gabe Ortiz
Daily Kos Staff
Tuesday January 11, 2022 · 3:32 PM EST
Did you know that for years farmworkers have not been entitled to overtime pay unless they’ve been working at least ten hours? That’s set to change for many farm laborers in California as of this month, when state law that requires farmers with more than 26 employees to pay overtime after eight hours goes into effect, The Fresno Bee reports.
The law has been phased in since its 2016 passage, finally going into full effect on Jan. 1. “This is a great victory and a great triumph for us,” 58-year-old farmworker Lourdes Cárdenas told Fresno Bee. She’s harvested cherries, nectarines, and peaches. She frequently worked 10 hour days with no overtime pay at all. “Sometimes, I couldn’t even afford food. But now we’ll have equal pay.”
“It’s a very historic and momentous occasion for farmworkers that they now, for the first time in the history of agricultural labor, have the same rights as all other Californians do,” UFW Foundation government affairs deputy director Eriberto Fernandez told Fresno Bee. He noted how farmworkers (as well as domestic workers) were intentionally excluded from workplace protections nearly a century ago. “For the first time since the 1930s, equal overtime pay now also applies to farmworkers,” he said.
more...
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/1/11/2074054/--A-great-triumph-for-us-California-law-giving-farmworkers-overtime-time-pay-fully-kicks-in
'A great triumph for us': California law giving farmworkers overtime time pay fully kicks in
'A great triumph for us': California law giving farmworkers overtime time pay fully kicks in
Gabe Ortiz
Daily Kos Staff
Tuesday January 11, 2022 · 3:32 PM EST
Did you know that for years farmworkers have not been entitled to overtime pay unless they’ve been working at least ten hours? That’s set to change for many farm laborers in California as of this month, when state law that requires farmers with more than 26 employees to pay overtime after eight hours goes into effect, The Fresno Bee reports.
The law has been phased in since its 2016 passage, finally going into full effect on Jan. 1. “This is a great victory and a great triumph for us,” 58-year-old farmworker Lourdes Cárdenas told Fresno Bee. She’s harvested cherries, nectarines, and peaches. She frequently worked 10 hour days with no overtime pay at all. “Sometimes, I couldn’t even afford food. But now we’ll have equal pay.”
“It’s a very historic and momentous occasion for farmworkers that they now, for the first time in the history of agricultural labor, have the same rights as all other Californians do,” UFW Foundation government affairs deputy director Eriberto Fernandez told Fresno Bee. He noted how farmworkers (as well as domestic workers) were intentionally excluded from workplace protections nearly a century ago. “For the first time since the 1930s, equal overtime pay now also applies to farmworkers,” he said.
more...
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/1/11/2074054/--A-great-triumph-for-us-California-law-giving-farmworkers-overtime-time-pay-fully-kicks-in
January 12, 2022
Friends and colleagues of the Republican figure flooded social media with tributes on Tuesday, lamenting what they said was her death “from COVID-related pneumonia.”
more...
https://www.thedailybeast.com/conservative-activist-kelly-canon-dies-of-covid-complications-after-attending-anti-vaccine-symposium?ref=home
Conservative Activist Dies of COVID Complications After Attending Anti-Vax 'Symposium'
...and another one...
Conservative Activist Dies of COVID Complications After Attending Anti-Vax ‘Symposium’
DEPRESSING
Kelly Canon had celebrated her vaccine exemption a few weeks before she fell ill with the virus and wound up on a ventilator.
Allison Quinn
News Editor
Published Jan. 11, 2022 11:08AM ET
A well-known conservative activist in Arlington, Texas, who peddled COVID-19 vaccine misinformation has died of complications caused by the virus—just a few weeks after attending a “symposium” against the shots.
The Arlington Republican Party confirmed the passing of Kelly Canon on Facebook.
“Another tragedy and loss for our Republican family. Our dear friend Kelly Canon lost her battle with pneumonia today. Kelly will be forever in our hearts as a loyal and beloved friend and Patriot. Gone way too soon We will keep her family in our prayers,” the Arlington Republican Club said in a statement.
Friends and colleagues of the Republican figure flooded social media with tributes on Tuesday, lamenting what they said was her death “from COVID-related pneumonia.”
“I Had just texted with her yesterday and she said she was doing well, fighting off this damn Covid in both of her lungs that turned into double pneumonia, so I am quite shocked to get this news,” wrote one friend who identified herself as Jennifer Talbert Frank.
more...
https://www.thedailybeast.com/conservative-activist-kelly-canon-dies-of-covid-complications-after-attending-anti-vaccine-symposium?ref=home
January 11, 2022
Justice Department Forms Domestic Terrorism Unit
January 11, 2022 at 10:45 am EST By Taegan Goddard
Justice Department Forms Domestic Terrorism Unit
https://politicalwire.com/2022/01/11/justice-department-forms-domestic-terrorism-unit/Justice Department Forms Domestic Terrorism Unit
January 11, 2022 at 10:45 am EST By Taegan Goddard
“The Justice Department is forming a new domestic terrorism unit to help combat a threat that has intensified dramatically in recent years,” the Washington Post reports.
“Matthew Olsen, the head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, announced the unit in his opening remarks before the Senate Judiciary Committee, noting that the number of FBI investigations of suspected domestic violent extremists — accused of planning or committing crimes in the name of domestic political goals — had more than doubled since the spring of 2020.”
“Matthew Olsen, the head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, announced the unit in his opening remarks before the Senate Judiciary Committee, noting that the number of FBI investigations of suspected domestic violent extremists — accused of planning or committing crimes in the name of domestic political goals — had more than doubled since the spring of 2020.”
January 11, 2022
Faulty Fire Doors Were Flagged Six Times Before Deadly Bronx Blaze, Report Says
WARNING SIGNS
Jamie Ross
News Correspondent
Published Jan. 11, 2022 6:52AM ET
Faulty Fire Doors Were Flagged Six Times Before Deadly Bronx Blaze, Report Says
https://www.thedailybeast.com/bronx-fire-happened-after-self-closing-doors-were-flagged-to-landlords-six-times-report-says?ref=homeFaulty Fire Doors Were Flagged Six Times Before Deadly Bronx Blaze, Report Says
WARNING SIGNS
Jamie Ross
News Correspondent
Published Jan. 11, 2022 6:52AM ET
Inspectors repeatedly flagged broken fire doors at the Bronx high-rise where 17 people died in a blaze on Sunday, the New York Post reports. Earlier this week, fire officials said deadly black smoke was able to spread through the building because some of the self-closing doors that were designed to trap fire and smoke failed to close behind panicked residents as they fled from the flames. Now, the Post reports inspectors from the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development cited the apartment block six times between 2013 and 2019 for failing to properly maintain its self-closing doors. One broken door was reportedly flagged in March 2017 and wasn’t fixed until July 2020, though other issues appear to have been fixed within months. Building resident Cookie Dennis said: “My door doesn’t self-close and never has... I have lived here 27 years, and I don’t ever remember the door closing by itself.” The building was owned by billionaire real-estate investor Rubin Schron until December 2019. Schron didn’t comment on the Post’s report.
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