tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24727768376903566562024-03-17T23:01:22.625-04:00The Daily DudeBringing you pointless and on-point stuffThe Daily Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01733984746521139979noreply@blogger.comBlogger4981125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2472776837690356656.post-12898215360853998952024-03-16T10:25:00.004-04:002024-03-17T17:14:24.520-04:00Musk Fires Interviewer He Hired Because He Didn't Like the First Interview<p>Don Lemon is back in the headlines, revealing that he was fired by Elon Musk after his interview with the bimbo billionaire didn't go as Musk had planned. Lemon said he pressed Musk on his alleged ketamine use, a recent meeting with former President Donald Trump, and better moderation on X.</p><p>The ex-CNN anchor suggested Musk does not care about moderation on X due to the content it allows to stay up. "Apparently(free
speech), that doesn’t matter to Elon Musk maybe it's just talking
points,” Lemon said during an interview on CNN. Musk refused to answer some of Lemon’s hard-hitting questions and snapped back at him for doing so. "I don’t have to answer questions from reporters,” Musk snapped. "I’m criticized constantly I could care less," he added.<br /></p><p>Lemon explained why he asked Musk about ketamine and said it was
because of his high responsibility across several important companies. "His alleged drug use has been extensively written about by credible news organizations like the Wall Street Journal," Lemon told CNN. "Elon
Musk is responsible for Star Link, Tesla, a number of different
companies and I think it is important for people to understand his
mindset. </p><p>"Whether he is using drugs illegally or not. He is one of the most consequential people on the planet." In June 2023, The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk uses ketamine. Ketamine is a drug that could be prescribed for depression treatment or is used recreationally which is illegal. Musk also smoked marijuana on camera during the Joe Rogan podcast which resulted in NASA conducting a safety review on Space X.</p><p>Lemon also asked Musk about a recent encounter he had with Trump. Musk said he was having breakfast at a friend's house and Trump just showed up. "I was at a breakfast at a friend's place and Donald Trump was invited. That's it," Musk said. "Let's just say he did most of the talking." Lemon
asked Musk if he would help Trump pay any of his legal bills and he
responded, "I’m not going to pay his legal bills in any way shape, or
form."</p><p> </p><p> </p>The Daily Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01733984746521139979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2472776837690356656.post-33196771367874281062024-03-15T07:26:00.001-04:002024-03-15T08:27:17.678-04:00Zayn - What I Am<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yDvhh1SGKHs?si=IdB-3d271A5Hb6LJ" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>The Daily Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01733984746521139979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2472776837690356656.post-49369372660310837022024-03-14T06:55:00.000-04:002024-03-17T09:16:03.806-04:00Settlement Reached on Florida's "Don't Say Gay" Law<p>Ron DeSantis boasted that <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ron-desantis-florida-where-woke-goes-to-die-midterm-election-win/" target="_blank">”Florida is where woke goes to die” </a>in
his victory speech after overwhelmingly winning reelection in the 2022
midterms. That was the peak of DeSantis’ political career before his
now-aborted presidential campaign.</p>
<div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: start;">
<div>
<p>Now <a href="https://www.tampabay.com/news/education/2024/03/11/florida-settles-lawsuit-over-parental-rights-law-will-clarify-vague-wording/" target="_blank">a settlement has been reached</a>
in a two-year-old lawsuit brought by a coalition of parents, students,
and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups that challenged one of the cornerstones of
DeSantis’ “anti-woke agenda”—the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” statute.</p>
<p>In March 2022, DeSantis signed the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/florida-dont-say-gay-law-signed-56aee61f075a12663f25990c7b31624d" target="_blank">Parental Rights in Education Act</a>, which
prohibited classroom instruction about gender identity and sexual
orientation in kindergarten through third grade, even though such
instruction was not offered. Just days later, <span style="text-align: left;">a federal<span> </span></span><a href="https://www.nclrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Equality-Florida-et-al.-v.-DeSantis-et-al.-Complaint.pdf" target="_blank">complaint</a><span style="text-align: left;"><span> was filed <a href="https://www.nclrights.org/about-us/press-release/florida-parents-students-challenge-dont-say-gay-or-trans-harmful-unconstitutional/" target="_blank">that called the bill “blatantly unconstitutional.”</a> </span></span>A year later, DeSantis<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/desantis-signs-dont-say-gay-expansion-gender-affirming-care-ban-rcna84698" target="_blank"> signed a new measure</a> that<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/desantis-signs-dont-say-gay-expansion-gender-affirming-care-ban-rcna84698" target="_blank"> restricted such lessons</a> through high school.</p><p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/dont-say-gay-florida-settlement-schools-lgbtq-f7850eedcb8bc6a117690d2b84aff671" target="_blank">The Associated Press </a>reported that since 2022, at least six other Republican-controlled states—Alabama, <span style="text-align: start;">Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, and North Carolina—have </span>used Florida’s law as a model to pass prohibitions on classroom instruction on gender identity or sexual orientation. </p><p><span style="text-align: start;"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/03/12/school-lgbtq-hate-crimes-incidents/" target="_blank">A Washington Post analysis </a>of FBI data found that s</span>chool
hate crimes targeting LGBTQ+ people have sharply risen in recent years,
climbing fastest in states that have passed laws restricting LGBTQ+
rights in schools.</p><p><span style="text-align: start;">“What [the Florida] settlement does, is, it
re-establishes the fundamental principal, that I hope all Americans
agree with, which is every kid in this country is entitled to an
education at a public school where they feel safe, their dignity is
respected and where their families and parents are welcomed,”<span> </span></span>Roberta Kaplan, <span style="text-align: start;">the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, told <a href="https://apnews.com/article/florida-dont-say-gay-bill-settlement-987904b3e19122d719cf468034746b6e" target="_blank">The Associated Press</a> in an interview. “This shouldn’t be a controversial thing.” </span><span style="text-align: start;">If Kaplan’s name sounds familiar it’s because <a href="https://www.kaplanhecker.com/our-talent/roberta-kaplan" target="_blank">she led the legal team </a>representing writer
E. Jean Carroll in her sexual battery and defamation lawsuits against
former President Donald Trump, securing nearly $90 million in jury
verdicts.</span></p><p><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">Under the terms of the settlement,
the Florida Board of Education will send instructions to every school
district saying the Florida law doesn’t prohibit discussing LGBTQ+
people, nor prevent anti-bullying rules on the basis of sexual
orientation and gender identity or disallow Gay-Straight Alliance
groups. The settlement also spells out that the law is neutral—meaning
what applies to LGBTQ+ people also applies to heterosexual people—and
that it doesn’t apply to library books not being used for instruction in
the classroom. </span><span style="text-align: start;">The law also doesn’t apply to books
with incidental references to LGBTQ+ characters or same-sex couples, “as
they are not instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity any
more than a math problem asking students to add bushels of apples is
instruction on apple farming,” according to the settlement.</span></p><p>The settlement is welcome because there is a link between school hate
crimes targeting LGBTQ+ people and states with laws restricting their
rights in schools. <br /></p><p><span style="text-align: left;">It seems that some of the enthusiasm
for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation might be waning now that DeSantis is out of
the presidential race. </span><span style="text-align: left;">The Florida Legislature adjourned last Friday, March 8, leaving 21 of 22 anti-LGBTQ+ bills effectively killed,<span> </span></span><a href="https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/the-tide-is-turning-dozens-of-anti" target="_blank" title="">according to writer Erin Reed</a><span style="text-align: left;">. These included laws that would have expanded “Don’t Say Gay” policies<span> </span></span><a href="https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/florida-bill-could-destroy-lgbtq" target="_blank" title="">to the workplace</a><span style="text-align: left;">;
ban Pride flags in schools and government buildings; permit student
organizations to exclude transgender people; exempt transgender youth
from child abuse provisions; and allow calling someone racist, sexist,
homophobic or transphobic to be treated as defamation.</span></p><p><span style="text-align: start;"> </span></p><p> </p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>The Daily Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01733984746521139979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2472776837690356656.post-9802720994483652602024-03-13T19:16:00.010-04:002024-03-13T22:03:16.182-04:00Were We Really Better Off Four Years Ago under Trump?<p>Of late, Republicans have taken to thinking it would be politically advantageous to publicly ask voters, "Are you better off today than you were fours years ago?" Well . . . do you remember where we were four years ago-- Friday, March 13, 2020? Were we better off then?</p><p>It was on that day that a lot of businesses closed up shop, and millions of others were told to stay home from work because of the emerging COVID-19 pandemic. Schools were closed; there were no church services, national parks closed; entertainment venues shut their doors Trump held an embarrassing 72-minute press conference in the White House rose garden that made it obvious that he didn't know what he was doing.</p><p>"We don't want people to take a test if, if we feel that they shouldn't be doing it." Trump blathered. He said that there would be 1.4 million COVID tests available the next week, and 5 million available within a month, adding, "I doubt we'll need anywhere near that." Of course, we all now know that Trump did not meet those testing targets (in fact, HHS botched the first COVID testing protocol, resulting in the loss of precious time needed to identify and contain early breakouts of the virus). And of course, people all over the country soon became desperate to get any testing they could. Trump refused to take any responsibility for the widespread testing delays-- a true leader!</p><p>There were massive lines to get into grocery stores and shelves were soon laid bare, with shortages of almost everything-- cold and flu medications, canned goods, bottled water, dried pasta, and cleaning and paper products. In that pathetic press conference four years ago today, Trump's incompetent HHS Secretary (Alex Azar) cruelly joked about the lack of toiler paper. On that day, over 2,000 were reported to be critically ill from COVID and 41 had already died from the virus. Hospitals were already seeing shortages of masks, medical gloves and protective clothing. </p><p>When asked why he disbanded the White House pandemic office months earlier (which resulted in the U.S. losing valuable time responding to the crisis), Trump responded, "Well, I just think that's a nasty question. Some of the doctors say it will wash through; it will flow through. An interesting terms, and very accurate, I think you're going to find in a number of weeks, it's going to be an accurate term."</p><p>By the end of Trump's term, COVID-19 <a href="https://dothedude.blogspot.com/2021/01/trumps-legacy-covid-death-cult.html" target="_blank">had resulted in some of the deadliest days in U.S. history</a>, exceeding the death toll on September 11, 2001. By the time Trump left office, over 380,000 Americans had died of COVID-- too bad we can't ask any of those people if they think things were better off under Trump. </p><p><br /></p>The Daily Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01733984746521139979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2472776837690356656.post-32542835123835508532024-03-12T21:06:00.001-04:002024-03-13T21:09:28.254-04:00Savage Takedown of Trump's Memory Lapses at House Hearing<p><span class="story-intro clearfix"></span></p><p><span>Today’s </span><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/3/12/2228994/-Live-coverage-House-GOP-hearing-on-just-how-old-Biden-is?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_11&pm_medium=web">House Judiciary Committee hearing</a><span>
examining special counsel Robert Hur’s anticlimactic report on Joe
Biden was disastrous for the GOP Congress members hoping to tarnish the
sitting president’s image and reputation. Time and again, the Democratic committee members successfully
contrasted the attempted attacks on Biden with Donald Trump’s dubious
mental acuity, evasive testimony, and </span><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/3/12/2229010/-Democrats-bring-supercut-of-Trump-receipts-to-GOP-hearing-and-it-s-devastating?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_8&pm_medium=web">general incompetence</a><span>.</span></p><span class="story-intro clearfix">
<p><span>One of the most powerful arrows in the Democrats’ quiver was
the video supercut. They introduced not one, not two, but three
supercuts showing the relentless incompetence, bizarre behavior, and
untrustworthiness of the twice-impeached former president. <br /></span></p></span><p></p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fBoP_1sLbz0?si=0axzmNuc1XbNuEby" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>The Daily Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01733984746521139979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2472776837690356656.post-69529020183858283482024-03-11T08:16:00.000-04:002024-03-17T09:20:10.690-04:00Lizard Takes the Gold<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZdTMRjSAQt3v5dBcwmlkZea7X_fhGrIRvWJ6-10kizCsULTspRJcCfPNU2eQXFMxvsxTPqAx7knRCR0P-kXNT-8VNlSkDfKSm3JRsBwcTgyiRnkdLEjzztuy35FjnUfPeUnPaJTf0M37x-RFXhKvx-wrNi0UE1Wp9A3UqFZXmE2b_l5ghHt9HHRZF-A8/s697/Oscars1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="697" data-original-width="607" height="567" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZdTMRjSAQt3v5dBcwmlkZea7X_fhGrIRvWJ6-10kizCsULTspRJcCfPNU2eQXFMxvsxTPqAx7knRCR0P-kXNT-8VNlSkDfKSm3JRsBwcTgyiRnkdLEjzztuy35FjnUfPeUnPaJTf0M37x-RFXhKvx-wrNi0UE1Wp9A3UqFZXmE2b_l5ghHt9HHRZF-A8/w495-h567/Oscars1.jpg" width="495" /></a></div><br /><p></p>The Daily Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01733984746521139979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2472776837690356656.post-36288146440407389632024-03-10T09:51:00.019-04:002024-03-16T09:55:31.887-04:00Liberty University Slapped With Record Fines for Mishandling Rape Claims<p>The federal Department of Education has announced a historic $14
million fine against Liberty University for failing to properly handle
reports of sexual assault and other campus safety issues.
</p><div><p>Universities are required by law to support victims of violence. The
Education Department found that the Christian evangelical Liberty
University had <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24459024-daf2e931-bc53-43a4-8006-5689f39e91d0">fundamentally failed to do so</a>.
Sexual assault victims were “punished for violating the student code of
conduct,” the report concluded, “while their assailants were left
unpunished.” The government found that Liberty’s actions had created a “culture of silence.”</p><p>The findings, which the department announced Tuesday, echo a ProPublica investigation that <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/the-liberty-way-how-liberty-university-discourages-and-dismisses-students-reports-of-sexual-assaults">detailed how officials had discouraged and dismissed</a>
women who tried to come forward with accounts of sexual assault. Women
who went to school officials to report being raped recalled being
threatened with punishment for breaking the university’s strict moral
code, known as “The Liberty Way.”</p><p>The fines against Liberty are more than double the amount of the
next-largest fines in Department of Education history—against Michigan
State University for its failures to protect hundreds of women and girls
from sexual abuser Larry Nassar. Liberty will also face two years of federal oversight. In response to the government’s report, Liberty University <a href="https://www.liberty.edu/title-ix/clery-act-program-review-response/">said in a statement</a>
that it faced “unfair treatment.” But the school also admitted to
mistakes and committed to spending $2 million to improve campus safety.</p><p> </p>
</div>The Daily Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01733984746521139979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2472776837690356656.post-14111418468662405532024-03-09T07:23:00.005-05:002024-03-16T09:58:48.790-04:00One of the All-Time GOP State of the Union Disasters<p><span class="story-intro clearfix"><span>Whether it’s Marco Rubio getting </span><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/marco-rubios-water-bottle-moment">so very thirsty</a><span>, or </span><a href="https://www.vox.com/2015/6/22/8824553/bobby-jindal-speech">Bobby Jindal</a><span> going from darling of the party to has-been in 15 minutes flat</span></span><span>, </span><span class="story-intro clearfix"><span>there's something about a
Republican response to the State of the Union address that inevitably
generates a field day for comedians.</span></span></p><p><span class="story-intro clearfix"><span>From the faux kitchen setting, to the going all out for the lead in the seventh-grade production of “The Crucible” </span><a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/katie-britt-sotu-rebuttal-torched-republicans-1234983528/">energy</a><span>, to the garb that reminded many viewers of a character from “</span><a href="https://x.com/gigglyleigh/status/1766121178874409092?s=20">The Handmaid’s Tale</a><span>,” Katie Britt’s performance in the GOP response to the State of the Union might be the response to end all responses. </span></span><span>The Alabama senator projected her best
mom-who-would-definitely-take-out-your-kid-so-her-daughter-could-be-head-cheerleader
vibes, </span><span>wandering through a whispery, dystopian hellscape in a kitchen that seemed eerily devoid of life.<br /></span></p><p><span>Since appearing on America’s televisions, Britt’s drama club delivery has been the subject of a </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/08/katie-britt-sotu-reaction"><span>baffled response</span></a><span> from Republicans as well as </span><a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/katie-britt-gop-senator-inspired-130119297.html"><span>a vast number</span></a><span> of social media memes. </span><span>It was so awful that, as </span><a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/katie-britt-sotu-rebuttal-torched-republicans-1234983528/">Rolling Stone</a><span> reports, Republican commentators were burning down Britt’s performance in real time. <br /></span></p><p><span>During her speech, Britt told a brutal story of a woman who had
been a victim of sex trafficking. The Alabama senator heavily implied
that this story had happened in America under President Joe Biden’s
watch. However, journalist </span><a href="https://x.com/yashar/status/1766329114292842930?s=20"><span>Jonathan Katz</span></a><span> quickly disassembled Britt’s story and found the real woman behind the claims. </span><span>Britt’s story was based on the tragic abuse suffered by Karla Jacinto Romero, who </span><a href="https://docs.house.gov/meetings/FA/FA16/20150514/103457/HHRG-114-FA16-Bio-RomeroK-20150514.pdf"><span>told her story</span></a><span> to </span><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/11/katie-britt-state-of-the-union-00146221"><span>Congress in 2015</span></a><span>. As it turns out, the horrific events that she survived happened nearly two decades ago (between </span><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/10/politics/katie-britt-sex-trafficking-victim-interview/index.html"><span>2004 and 2008</span></a><span>) and occurred in Mexico, not the U.S.</span></p><p><span>In her response to the brutal mockery of her speech, Katie Britt refused to apologize for use of the misleading story.<br /></span></p><p><span> </span></p>The Daily Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01733984746521139979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2472776837690356656.post-59952848971743437752024-03-08T07:50:00.001-05:002024-03-08T07:50:00.126-05:00Kings of Leon - Mustang<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wMJyD23nKrk?si=fDJLYM-kjLDXCh6k" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>The Daily Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01733984746521139979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2472776837690356656.post-55967421982526140662024-03-07T07:17:00.062-05:002024-03-17T10:06:42.940-04:00McConnell Sneaks His Way to the Exit<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUZOGcmy7GquAuYdox8OpJC5wge8GHOQP_IZyhMe2EpqQbU1t3zMUMF2al0oa2G4G6xKnXzVMjnrTKINWLjU6VPZ4wm4mGt19iZ3x0evBB052k6Wz65Op0qo5HkHYnRh5NPZp2qXAs2C2TwfS_S9AJPCHmCb8ZOBie79SAknsoOqCTzhQAjmeqjYpyBOA/s915/MitchHadToGoWEB.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="610" data-original-width="915" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUZOGcmy7GquAuYdox8OpJC5wge8GHOQP_IZyhMe2EpqQbU1t3zMUMF2al0oa2G4G6xKnXzVMjnrTKINWLjU6VPZ4wm4mGt19iZ3x0evBB052k6Wz65Op0qo5HkHYnRh5NPZp2qXAs2C2TwfS_S9AJPCHmCb8ZOBie79SAknsoOqCTzhQAjmeqjYpyBOA/w516-h343/MitchHadToGoWEB.jpg" width="516" /></a></div><br />McConnell is heading out the door with a tarnished legacy-- with no claim whatsoever to actually have passed significant or historic legislation. He is only known to have blocked progress (Merrick Garland's nomination, e.g.) or cemented GOP power (to no positive end). In the waning years of his toxic term, McConnell built up and supported a man that he is known to despise and knows is destructive-- because he always saw
Trump as a means to an end.
<p></p><p>And yet that coveted "end," as MSNBC's Jen Psaki points out, left McConnell utterly
impotent. "And that's the real legacy of Mitch McConnell: a cynic
focused on power only to be swallowed by the monster that he enabled to
obtain it," she said.<br /></p>
<p>As McConnell hero <a href="https://mostquoted.com/ronald-reagan-quotes">Ronald Reagan once said</a>,
"To sit back hoping that someday, some way, someone will make things
right is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last —
but eat you he will." <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>Here's a partial list of the lows of McConnell's legacy:</p><h3><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/02/13/can-republicans-really-block-obamas-supreme-court-nomination-for-a-year-probably/" title=""><span>He stole a Supreme Court seat</span></a><span> from President Barack Obama. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>When Justice Antonin Scalia died in 2016, McConnell
insisted that the seat would remain empty because it was an election
year and, according to a rule he created, the seat could therefore not
be filled. He even refused to give Merrick Garland a hearing. </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But three years later, asked what he would do if the same situation arose in 2020 under President Donald Trump? </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>"Oh, we'd fill it," </span><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/5/29/1861149/-Not-breaking-Mitch-McConnell-is-a-massive-unprincipled-hypocritical-liar"><span>he said</span></a><span>. And that’s just what he did.</span></span></span></span></h3>
<h3><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">2. <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/10/26/1989816/-McConnell-goes-totally-nuclear-puts-Barrett-on-the-Supreme-Court-8-days-before-the-election" title=""><span>He stole a Supreme Court seat</span></a><span> from future President Joe Biden. McConnell </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">did this after changing his “no new Supreme Court
justice in the last year of a president’s term” rule—to install the
ultra-conservative Amy Coney Barrett on the court eight days before the
2020 election.</span></span></span></h3>
<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span></span></span></span></p>
<h3><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>3. He packed the federal judiciary for Trump with </span><a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/trump-and-mcconnells-overwhelmingly-white-male-judicial-appointments"><span>white men</span></a><span>, many of them </span><a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/trump-picks-more-not-qualified-judges-1" title=""><span>unqualified</span></a><span>. </span></span></span></h3>
<h3><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">4. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/01/11/when-did-mitch-mcconnell-say-he-wanted-to-make-obama-a-one-term-president/" title=""><span>He vowed</span></a><span> to obstruct the efforts of a sitting President. <br /></span></span></span></span></h3>
<h3><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">5. He vowed to obstruct Biden. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>“One hundred percent of our focus is on stopping this new administration,” he </span><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/mcconnell-says-he-s-100-percent-focused-stopping-biden-s-n1266443"><span>said</span></a><span> in 2021.</span></span></span></span></h3>
<h3><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>6. He made the debt ceiling a </span><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2011/8/3/1002778/-Mitch-McConnell-takes-a-permanent-hostage-the-debt-ceiling"><span>permanent hostage</span></a><span> starting in 2011. </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>McConnell made sure that shutdown threats were a regular part of American
politics while shutting down efforts to fix the problem.</span> <span>"I
think some of our members may have thought the default issue was a
hostage you might take a chance at shooting,” McConnell said before a
vote in 2011. “Most of us didn't think that. What we did learn is
this—it's a hostage that's worth ransoming." </span></span></span></span></h3>
<h3><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>7. He turned the </span><a href="https://democracy21.org/news/press-releases/a-timeline-of-the-senate-filibuster" title=""><span>filibuster into a weapon</span></a><span>. </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>McConnell used the filibuster “more than ever in history”
during the Obama administration to try to deny Obama any legislative
victories. He kept using it long
after Obama left office, including to block </span><a href="https://twitter.com/DSenFloor/status/1398312051622223873"><span>a 9/11-style Jan. 6 committee</span></a><span>. </span></span></span></span></h3>
<h3><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>8. He </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/02/14/this-is-how-bad-mcconnell-really-is/" title=""><span>voted to acquit</span></a><span> Trump after the Jan. 6 insurrection. </span></span></span></h3><h3><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>9. He built a career, and a big campaign nest egg, </span><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/9/12/1885081/-McConnell-s-career-has-been-built-by-fighting-gun-safety-laws-and-1-3-million-from-the-NRA" title=""><span>fighting gun safety regulations</span></a><span>. </span></span></span></h3>
<h3><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>10. He </span><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2014/12/2/1348812/-McConnell-will-try-to-roll-back-campaign-finance-laws-in-omnibus-spending-nbsp-bill" title=""><span>destroyed campaign finance reform</span></a><span> and </span><a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/2/15/18224850/mitch-mcconnell-campaign-finance-reform-hr1"><span>filibustered any effort</span></a><span> to get money out of politics. </span></span></span></h3>
<h3><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">11. <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/mitch-mcconnell-s-complicated-history-voting-rights-act-n1234755" title=""><span>He blocked votes</span></a><span> to save the Voting Rights Act. </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>This,
along with his other moves to make it </span><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/1/30/1830926/-Making-it-easier-to-vote-is-a-Democratic-power-grab-McConnell-sneers"><span>more difficult to vote</span></a><span>, earned McConnell the nickname “</span><a href="https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2018/10/25/suffocation-of-democracy/" title=""><span>the gravedigger of American democracy</span></a><span>.”</span></span></span></span></h3>
<h3><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">12. <a href="https://www.npr.org/2017/07/27/539907467/senate-careens-toward-high-drama-midnight-health-care-vote" title=""><span>He tried to kill Obamacare</span></a><span>—and failed.</span></span></span></h3>
<h3><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>13. He blew off </span><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1UJ00Q/"><span>coal miners with black lung disease</span></a><span> from </span><a href="https://www.good.is/articles/mcconnell-brushes-off-coal-miners" title=""><span>his own state</span></a><span>. But he</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span> always
found time to help mine owners </span><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/24092019/mitch-mcconnell-coal-miners-pensions-fund-appalachia-senate-campaign/"><span>prop up their dying industry</span></a><span>.</span></span></span></span></h3><h3><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>14. He </span><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/22/politics/mitch-mcconnell-grim-reaper-green-new-deal/index.html" title=""><span>named himself</span></a><span> the “Grim Reaper.” </span></span></span></h3><h3><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>15. He tried </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/08/us/politics/elizabeth-warren-republicans-facebook-twitter.html" title=""><span>to silence</span></a><span> Sen. Elizabeth Warren. It backfired.</span></span></span></h3>
<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">During a floor speech against the confirmation of Jeff Sessions
as Trump’s attorney general in 2017, the Massachusetts senator
tried to read a damning letter from Coretta Scott King
which blasted Sessions for “the awesome power of his office to chill
the free exercise of the vote by black citizens” while serving as a
United States attorney in Alabama.” McConnell insisted Warren had violated a rule against demeaning a fellow senator. And he cut her off. “She was warned,” McConnell said. “She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.” <span>The joke’s on McConnell, though, because his criticism</span><span> of Warren became a meme. And a hashtag. And a </span><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/nevertheless-she-persisted-tattoo/"><span>tattoo</span></a><span>. And a </span><a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/436491-warren-puts-gender-front-and-center-in-new-fundraising-campaign/"><span>fundraiser</span></a><span>. And a rallying cry. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><br /></span></span></span></p>The Daily Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01733984746521139979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2472776837690356656.post-71759180983061745442024-03-06T20:07:00.001-05:002024-03-17T10:22:02.740-04:00Sinema and Manchin Are Out-- Thank God!<p><span>There’s a lot of handwringing in the traditional media about the end of the Senate moderate, now that quasi-Democrats </span><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/3/6/2227650/-8-reasons-to-celebrate-Kyrsten-Sinema-curtsying-out-of-the-Senate-for-good?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_1&pm_medium=web"><span>Kyrsten Sinema</span></a><span> and </span><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/9/2204786/-Joe-Manchin-s-long-career-tells-the-tale-of-West-Virginia-s-transformation-from-blue-to-red"><span>Joe Manchin</span></a><span>, along with Republican </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/14/romney-retirement-announcement-reactions"><span>Mitt Romney</span></a><span>, have called it quits. Axios </span><a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/03/06/sinema-retirement-manchin-romney-centrists"><span>calls</span></a><span>
it “a series of crushing blows to Senate bipartisanship, hollowing out a
centrist core that has suffered under years of intensifying
polarization.” Politico </span><a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/03/05/congress/filibuster-in-deep-trouble-00145099" title=""><span>laments</span></a><span> that “The filibuster is in big trouble” with “two of its staunchest defenders” leaving. Good riddance.</span></p><p><span>Between Sinema and Manchin, all hope of the nation having nice
things during the first two years of President Biden’s term (when
Democrats held a majority in both the House and Senate) was crushed.
They blocked or watered down all the good, transformative policies Biden
and fellow Democrats proposed for the country. Now the two biggest impediments to actual progress will be gone—if the Democrats keep the Senate. <br /></span></p><p></p><p> Democratic majority unimpeded by the dysfunctional duo means that progress can finally happen. Democrats can <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/8/18/2046704/-Two-institutions-must-changed-to-protect-voting-rights-The-Senate-filibuster-and-the-Supreme-Court">restore and expand</a> the Voting Rights Act (which Manchin and Sinema ultimately blocked). They can <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/6/30/2107479/-Biden-announces-support-for-a-filibuster-carve-out-to-restore-abortion-rights-right-to-privacy" title="">restore abortion rights</a>, which the supposedly pro-choice Sinema <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/sinema-opposes-bidens-call-filibuster-exception-pass-abortion/story?id=86069899">blocked</a> when Biden urged a filibuster carve-out for it. Democrats can <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/3/9/2020056/-Days-after-minimum-wage-thumbs-down-Sinema-gets-an-International-Women-s-Day-Twitter-ratio" title="">raise the minimum wage</a> and make massively wealthy private equity and hedge fund executives<a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/8/5/2114675/-Sinema-gets-on-board-with-climate-deal-after-protecting-tax-loophole-for-wealthy-finance-executives" title=""> pay their damn taxes</a>. Democrats’ vision for <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/1/14/2074697/-Environmental-justice-cannot-be-achieved-without-eliminating-the-filibuster-advancing-voting-rights">environmental justice</a>
can be realized. Comprehensive immigration reform would be that much
more possible. A Democratic majority without Manchin and Sinema could
even <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/6/30/2178563/-The-Supreme-Court-is-out-of-control-and-must-be-reformed" title="">reform the Supreme Court</a>.</p><p> </p>The Daily Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01733984746521139979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2472776837690356656.post-70894740900837224512024-03-05T06:52:00.000-05:002024-03-05T06:52:00.135-05:00Which Came First-- the Ignorance or the Hate?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOkmHq-pJCy6NPhaKVHx69ws_qGKFba4yAonHNcCevKkIXmt0de-96aWphBB1pe-_PpkreYTL1BX1SKS3uebcwestg4yVTVHQTcVZae_PSYSunn42seTKtBAWq7GqbVmqJinUI-_jSnuOXCR545mBWLMNH1rEG6L_cRa6BXXYklEOAp7uYW-dk0Yg1Byg/s915/FryingEgg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="691" data-original-width="915" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOkmHq-pJCy6NPhaKVHx69ws_qGKFba4yAonHNcCevKkIXmt0de-96aWphBB1pe-_PpkreYTL1BX1SKS3uebcwestg4yVTVHQTcVZae_PSYSunn42seTKtBAWq7GqbVmqJinUI-_jSnuOXCR545mBWLMNH1rEG6L_cRa6BXXYklEOAp7uYW-dk0Yg1Byg/w522-h395/FryingEgg.jpg" width="522" /></a></div><br /><p></p>The Daily Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01733984746521139979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2472776837690356656.post-20470306438683699922024-03-04T07:38:00.001-05:002024-03-04T07:38:00.131-05:00Four States Ban Divorce for Pregnant Women<p>There are four states where judges cannot legally finalize a divorce
if a woman is pregnant with no exception for cases involving domestic
violence, according to The American Pregnancy Association. While the laws in Missouri, Texas, Arizona, and Arkansas
allow for couples to file for divorce, the court must wait until after a
woman gives birth in order to finalize child custody and child support.</p><p>Two
of these states – Missouri and Texas – are subject to trigger laws
where, since the overturning of Roe v Wade in June 2022, abortions are
automatically banned in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. Since the Supreme Court rolled back abortion rights, horrific cases have been reported including an <a data-link-tracking="InArticle|Link" href="https://www.the-express.com/news/us-news/122039/ohio-woman-miscarriage-charged-abusing-corpse" rel="nofollow">Ohio woman being charged with abusing a corpse after having a miscarriage in a toilet</a> and a <a data-link-tracking="InArticle|Link" href="https://www.the-express.com/news/us-news/120896/texas-Supreme-Court-emergency-abortion-blocked-attorney-general" rel="nofollow">Texas woman being denied an emergency abortion by the state Supreme Court</a> after her baby was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition that would likely lead to a miscarriage or stillbirth.</p><p>Election strategists have been anticipating abortion and bodily autonomy to be a leading issue in the upcoming election after<a data-link-tracking="InArticle|Link" href="https://www.the-express.com/news/politics/117770/november-7-election-abortion-rights-issue" rel="nofollow"> having a major impact on off-year elections</a>, including Ohio making a special ruling to <a data-link-tracking="InArticle|Link" href="https://www.the-express.com/news/us-news/108014/Ohio-abortion-rights-special-election" rel="nofollow">enshrine abortion protections into law</a>.</p><div class="text-description"><p>A report from Missouri’s Department of
Health and Senior Services found that nearly 5% of women between
2007-2014 were abused either before or during pregnancy. That equates to
about 500 women out of the 10,098 women surveyed.</p><p>Similarly, a <a data-link-tracking="InArticle|Link" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4361157/" rel="nofollow">study from the Journal of Women's Health released a study in 2015</a>
that 3%-9% of women experience abuse during pregnancy, showing that
low-income, predominantly single women were particularly vulnerable to
intimate partner violence during that period of time.</p><p>This month, Missouri State Rep. Ashley Aune introduced a <a data-link-tracking="InArticle|Link" href="https://house.mo.gov/bill.aspx?bill=HB2402&year=2024&code=R" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">bill</a> earlier this month to undo the legislation to ensure single mothers receive child support. "This legislation could literally save lives,” said Matthew Huffman who is
affiliated with the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual
Violence. “For abusive partners they might be using reproductive
coercion and control to keep their partner pregnant so that they can’t
ever actually be granted a divorce.”</p></div><p> </p>The Daily Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01733984746521139979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2472776837690356656.post-21058159270621051232024-03-03T09:39:00.001-05:002024-03-03T09:39:00.244-05:00AI Snafu at Google Raises Concern Over Anti-White Bias<p>Google CEO Sundar Pichai tried to address the company’s Gemini controversy last week, calling the AI app’s problematic responses around race
unacceptable and vowing to make structural changes to fix the problem.</p><p>Google
suspended its Gemini image creation tool last week after it generated
embarrassing and offensive results, in some cases declining to depict
white people, or inserting photos of women or people of color when
prompted to create images of Vikings, Nazis, and the Pope. The
controversy spiraled when Gemini was found to be creating questionable
text responses, such as equating Elon Musk’s influence on society with
Adolf Hitler’s.</p><p>Those comments drew sharp criticisms, especially from conservatives, who accused Google of an anti-white bias. Most
companies offering AI tools like Gemini create guardrails to mitigate
abuses and to avoid bias, especially in light of other experiences. For
instance, image generation tools from companies like OpenAI have been
criticized when they created predominately images of white people in
professional roles and depicting Black people in stereotypical roles.</p><p>In a memo to employees, Pichai wrote:</p><div class="styles_text__lvCVh"><p></p><blockquote><p>"I want to address the recent issues
with problematic text and image responses in the Gemini app (formerly
Bard). I know that some of its responses have offended our users and
shown bias – to be clear, that’s completely unacceptable and we got it
wrong.</p><div aria-hidden="true" class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_adDivider__aXGYy styles_topDivider__FcDpP"></div><div aria-hidden="true" class="styles_divider__xkDtO styles_adDivider__aXGYy styles_bottomDivider__6uqU_"></div><p>Our
teams have been working around the clock to address these issues. We’re
already seeing a substantial improvement on a wide range of prompts. No
AI is perfect, especially at this emerging stage of the industry’s
development, but we know the bar is high for us and we will keep at it
for however long it takes. And we’ll review what happened and make sure
we fix it at scale.</p><p>Our mission to organize the world’s
information and make it universally accessible and useful is sacrosanct.
We’ve always sought to give users helpful, accurate, and unbiased
information in our products. That’s why people trust them. This has to
be our approach for all our products, including our emerging AI
products.</p><p>We’ll be driving a clear set of actions, including
structural changes, updated product guidelines, improved launch
processes, robust evals and red-teaming, and technical recommendations.
We are looking across all of this and will make the necessary changes.</p><p>Even
as we learn from what went wrong here, we should also build on the
product and technical announcements we’ve made in AI over the last
several weeks. That includes some foundational advances in our
underlying models e.g. our 1 million long-context window
breakthrough and our open models, both of which have been well received.</p><p>We
know what it takes to create great products that are used and beloved
by billions of people and businesses, and with our infrastructure and
research expertise we have an incredible springboard for the AI wave.
Let’s focus on what matters most: building helpful products that are
deserving of our users’ trust."</p></blockquote><p></p><div class="styles_text__lvCVh"><p>The Gemini controversy has provided fodder for critics on the right, who often accuse tech companies of liberal bias. But to informed observers, this story isn't about bias. These new developments show that Google made actual technical errors
in the fine-tuning of its AI models. The problem is not with the
underlying models themselves, but in the software guardrails that sit
atop the model. Nobody really believes Google actually set out to
force Gemini to depict the Pope as a woman, or Vikings as Black people,
nor did anyone want it to find moral equivalency between Musk and
Hitler. This was a failed attempt at instilling less bias and it went
awry. The race to develop AI tools has likely forced Google to speed up product development faster than it would have preferred. While these technical mistakes may be easily fixable, the reputational damage may not be so easy to fix.</p><p> </p></div></div>The Daily Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01733984746521139979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2472776837690356656.post-18759671897635368182024-03-01T07:06:00.000-05:002024-03-01T07:06:00.135-05:00Sheryl Crow - Do it Again<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wiqYuF1qNkE?si=9QhOpxQt2L5ilxPM" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>The Daily Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01733984746521139979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2472776837690356656.post-38304399359853123822024-02-28T06:38:00.001-05:002024-02-28T06:38:00.246-05:00Admit It<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsRN35rP1RXdHsiBRBCKVTm_IPy2JyOyG6E3FK9AUmMJGh2kMN6yoVnQW3k2qlhcjIlkS5HW4dcmLac6SyMkXyvJuFHIiGaSpBKjvhIKrNNp0EshBo9Kx4thLRv9zf9Lx41F1jFKP93AGNHRu6vN41aRUn4LC9gaaLMaamlIP967pkW5pxfZJtgvNXuwE/s601/ReusableBag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="601" height="483" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsRN35rP1RXdHsiBRBCKVTm_IPy2JyOyG6E3FK9AUmMJGh2kMN6yoVnQW3k2qlhcjIlkS5HW4dcmLac6SyMkXyvJuFHIiGaSpBKjvhIKrNNp0EshBo9Kx4thLRv9zf9Lx41F1jFKP93AGNHRu6vN41aRUn4LC9gaaLMaamlIP967pkW5pxfZJtgvNXuwE/w520-h483/ReusableBag.jpg" width="520" /></a></div><br /><p></p>The Daily Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01733984746521139979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2472776837690356656.post-29143710095376132192024-02-27T06:26:00.001-05:002024-02-27T07:36:30.527-05:00Indiana's War on Teachers<p>An alliance of Indiana teachers unions is demanding that state Attorney General Todd Rokita take down <a href="https://www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/education-liberty/" target="_blank" title="">a portal he set up </a>earlier
this month to essentially spy on educators. Citizens can use the “Eyes
on Education” portal to report on so-called “woke” educators and expose<a href="https://events.in.gov/event/attorney_general_todd_rokita_launches_eyes_on_education_portal_to_further_empower_parents?utm_campaign=widget&utm_medium=widget&utm_source=State+of+Indiana" target="_blank" title=""> “examples of socialist indoctrination” </a>in classrooms across the state. Rokita was even more explicit in an interview for <a href="https://www.21alivenews.com/2024/02/19/rokita-says-new-education-portal-will-combat-trans-sanity-schools/" target="_blank" title="">Fort Wayne television station WTPA</a> in which he said the portal would help combat what he called “left wing nonsense” and “<span>trans-sanity.”</span></p><div class="story__text-above-fold">
<p><span>Leaders of six teachers unions representing more than 4,000 educators posted a </span><a href="https://x.com/hseateachershse/status/1756782354847203754?s=20" target="_blank">letter</a><span><span> </span>on social media on Feb. 11 expressing concern about the accuracy of documents posted on the portal, the<a href="https://www.indystar.com/story/news/education/2024/02/14/teachers-worried-for-safety-after-launch-of-eyes-on-education-portal/72586106007/" target="_blank"> IndyStar</a> reported. The letter from the <a href="https://hseateachers.org/" target="_blank">Hamilton Southeastern Education Association</a> said the portal also compromises teachers’ privacy and safety by posting their personal information. </span>“Furthermore, the Attorney General is weaponizing a government website
for his personal benefit. This further breeds misplaced mistrust in
Indiana teachers, pitting teachers against the communities they
willingly serve,” the letter added.</p><p>The portal reflects a nationwide drive by conservative politicians
and right-wing organizations like Moms for Liberty to restrict what
students learn about race and gender. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/04/13/youngkin-tip-line-lawsuit-virginia/" target="_blank" title="">set up a similar concept as a tip line in 2022</a> for parents to report “divisive” content in schools. It was <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/11/05/1134514204/a-tip-line-championed-by-virginia-gov-youngkin-last-year-has-been-quietly-shut-d" target="_blank" title="">shut down within months </a>after a poor response and defeat for his administration in a public records lawsuit filed by media organizations.</p>
<p>In Arizona, the state’s Republican Superintendent of Public
Instruction Tom Horne set up an “empower hotline” last year to take
reports of “inappropriate” school content, particularly regarding race
and gender ideology, but it received about 30,000 prank calls and
emails, and only a handful of genuine complaints,<a href="https://azmirror.com/2023/06/09/number-of-legitimate-reports-to-teacher-complaint-hotline-unknown/" target="_blank"> the Arizona Mirror reported.</a></p><p> </p><p></p></div>The Daily Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01733984746521139979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2472776837690356656.post-46838642565962508602024-02-26T06:36:00.001-05:002024-02-26T07:42:31.104-05:00Another Cholera Outbreak in Southern Africa-- This Time on a Cruise Ship<p><span class="sc-7dcfb11b-0 kVRnKf">Mauritius
has denied a Norwegian cruise ship permission to dock at the capital
Port Louis over fears of a potential cholera outbreak on board. </span>At least 15 people on the Norwegian Dawn have been in isolation over suspected illness.</p><section class="sc-4e574cd-0 bhtqwj" data-component="text-block"><p class="sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fYAfXe">The
passengers developed mild symptoms of a stomach illness during a trip
to South Africa, a representative of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings
said. 69-year-old passenger Mary
Francovilla Dees <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-68401264" target="_blank">told reporters</a> that despite the delay the atmosphere on the ship has been fairly
calm. "The passengers on this ship have appeared to take this in their stride," she said. Francovilla said passengers have entertained themselves by sitting by the pool, attending shows and going to the bar. A Dutch passenger on board told <a class="sc-c9299ecf-0 bZUiKB" href="https://www.bndestem.nl/breda/bredaas-horecagezin-zit-vast-op-cruiseschip-iemand-aan-boord-heeft-mogelijk-cholera~ad611ba5/?cb=e551107251324f994872e6aa78f50422&cb=92e099526a4d732ab47728d8bce55cd4&auth_rd=1&auth_rd=1&" target="_blank">BN DeStem</a> they were told there could be a cholera outbreak on board by the captain.</p></section><section class="sc-4e574cd-0 bhtqwj" data-component="text-block"><p class="sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fYAfXe">There have been cholera outbreaks in southern Africa over the last few months, with Zambia being hardest hit. Since
January 2023, at least 188,000 people have been infected with cholera
across seven countries in southern Africa, according to the UN. More
than 3,000 people have died.</p><section class="sc-4e574cd-0 bhtqwj" data-component="text-block"><p class="sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fYAfXe">"The
health and safety of passengers as well as that of the country as a
whole are of the utmost to the authorities," the Mauritius Ports
Authority said. The ship arrived in Mauritius on Saturday evening after arriving a day early because it did not stop in Réunion Island. There
are 2,184 passengers and 1,026 crew members on the ship. About 2,000
planned to disembark in Port Louis, with another 2,000 expected to board
at the same time. Those who were disembarking or joining the cruise will now do so on February 27, the Norwegian Cruise Line spokesperson said.</p></section></section>The Daily Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01733984746521139979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2472776837690356656.post-71183704325973640652024-02-24T09:45:00.000-05:002024-02-24T12:50:19.298-05:00Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Two Years On<p> <span>It’s been two years since Russian dictator Vladimir Putin sent
tanks rolling across the borders from Russia and Belarus, and began this
long, nightmarish war. It’s safe to say that very few people on that </span><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/2/23/2082006/-Russia-invades-Ukraine-Putin-declares-war"><span>first day</span></a><span>
of the invasion could have foreseen the situation that Ukraine is in
today. </span>
</p><p><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/2/22/2081623/-Russia-formally-occupies-portions-of-eastern-Ukraine-that-it-had-covertly-occupied-for-decades"><span>One day before</span></a><span>
that illegal, unprovoked invasion was launched, Daily Kos predicted
that this war could be as damaging to Russia as the invasion of
Afghanistan had been to the USSR four decades ago. That prediction was
badly off base. The Soviets lost </span><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/08/the-soviet-war-in-afghanistan-1979-1989/100786/"><span>14,500 soldiers </span></a><span>over the 10 years of the Soviet-Afghan war. Russia </span><a href="https://www.newsweek.com/andrei-morozov-murz-dies-suicide-avdiivka-losses-1871868"><span>lost 16,000 men</span></a><span> before capturing the small city of Adviivka this past Saturday. </span></p><p><span>Only it won’t be that way in Russian history books. Because the Russian defense minister has now declared that Avdiivka was a </span><a href="https://x.com/Archer83Able/status/1759969533593334181?s=20" title=""><span>textbook operation</span></a><span>
achieved with minimal losses. So please ignore the videos you’ve seen,
and don’t worry about the Russian military blogger who reported the
truth about Russian losses. According to Russian Telegram channels, he </span><a href="https://www.newsweek.com/andrei-morozov-murz-dies-suicide-avdiivka-losses-1871868"><span>committed suicide</span></a><span>. Which may be the same thing as “</span><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/alexei-navalny-is-dead-spokeswoman-confirms-2024-02-17/"><span>sudden death syndrome</span></a><span>.”</span></p>
<p><span>Victors get to write the history. And if everyone isn’t very careful, the next history of Europe will be written in Russian.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span>At the same time, Russia's attempt to take control of the Republican Party in the U.S. has been much more successful. Assistance to Ukraine </span><a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3483993-house-approves-40b-in-aid-for-ukraine-57-republicans-vote-no/" title=""><span>passed overwhelmingly</span></a><span> in the early days of the conflict, but since then, creeping </span><a href="https://apnews.com/article/putin-russia-republicans-ukraine-europe-trump-fbe56b789e7c37313ec158a00a571be4"><span>Russian influence over Republicans</span></a><span>
has grown in both the House and Senate, reaching the point where
positions that seemed outrageous two years ago now dominate the
Republican Party. </span>
</p><p><span>At the heart of this issue is an idolization of Putin as an
authoritarian strongman who holds all the wealth and power imaginable,
doling out slices of each to his friends based on their loyalty. It’s
precisely this model that has made Donald Trump such a fan. Putin has
helped cement his spot at the top of the GOP pantheon with large doses
of racism, misogyny, and hatred for the LGBTQ+ community, not to mention
a solid dose of cold-hearted </span><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alexey-navalny-wife-russia-putin-regime-hiding-body-from-mother/"><span>death to his enemies</span></a><span>. That’s the kind of leader that </span><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/09/russia-ukraine-woke-military-tucker-carlson/671569/"><span>makes Ted Cruz swoon</span></a><span>.</span></p>
<p><span>From Trump to </span><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/2/9/2222387/-Tucker-Carlson-interviewed-Putin-and-boy-did-that-go-off-the-rails-fast"><span>Tucker Carlson</span></a><span>,
the right has spent the past two years selling Republicans on how nice
it would be to get rid of that messy old democracy. Just let Trump run
the show without interference, and you’ll get clean subways. Ones where
the </span><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-15/stop-saying-mussolini-made-the-trains-run-on-time"><span>trains run on time</span></a><span>.</span></p>
<p><span>And all it costs is your freedom. Not like you’d ever miss that old thing.</span></p><p><span> </span></p><p></p>The Daily Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01733984746521139979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2472776837690356656.post-74166551310566794912024-02-23T07:08:00.000-05:002024-02-23T07:08:00.410-05:00Kacey Musgraves - Deeper Well<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TGkMYMxi-hw?si=0uJ_igvnWkaNS-9r" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>The Daily Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01733984746521139979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2472776837690356656.post-28134829227393328992024-02-22T06:43:00.002-05:002024-02-23T07:58:34.970-05:00Georgia GOP Wants to Criminalize Libraries<p>A proposal that would require school libraries to notify parents of
every book their child checks out was advanced by Georgia state
senators, while a proposal to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/georgia-lawmakers-eye-allowing-criminal-charges-vs-school-librarians-over-sexual-content-of-books/" target="_blank">subject school librarians to criminal charges</a> for distributing material containing obscenity waits in
the wings. </p><p>The measures are part of a broad and continuing push by Republicans in many states to <span class="link"><a data-invalid-url-rewritten-http="" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/banned-books-list-increased-schools-ban-critical-race-theory-sexuality-pen-america-report/" target="_blank">root out what they see as inappropriate material</a></span> from schools and libraries, saying books and electronic materials are corrupting children. Opponents say it's a campaign of censorship <span class="link"><a data-invalid-url-rewritten-http="" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/illinois-outlaws-book-bans-libraries/" target="_blank">meant to block children's freedom to learn</a></span>, while scaring teachers and librarians into silence for fear of losing their jobs or worse. </p>
<p>Georgia senators are also considering bills to force all public and
school libraries in the state to cut ties with the American Library
Association and to restrict school libraries' ability to hold or acquire
any works that depict sexual intercourse or sexual arousal. Neither
measure has advanced out of committee ahead of a deadline next week for
bills to pass out of their originating chamber.</p><p>"This is part of a larger national and Georgia trend to try to limit
access," said Nora Benavidez, a board member of the Georgia First
Amendment Foundation and lawyer for Free Press, a group that seeks to
democratize the media. "The logical endpoint of where this bill, as well
as others, are taking us is for children to have less exposure to
ideas." <br /></p><p> </p>The Daily Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01733984746521139979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2472776837690356656.post-77509267360330124132024-02-21T06:54:00.001-05:002024-02-21T08:16:46.204-05:00This Could be Heaven or This Could be Hell<p><span class="sc-7dcfb11b-0 kVRnKf">Handwritten
pages inscribed with the first known iterations of legendary rock song
Hotel California <a href="https://www.vulture.com/article/eagles-hotel-california-lyrics-trial-explained.html" target="_blank">are at the center of an upcoming at a criminal trial</a>. </span></p><section class="sc-4e574cd-0 bhtqwj" data-component="text-block"><p class="sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fYAfXe">Glenn
Horowitz, Craig Inciardi and Edward Kosinski have been charged with
conspiring to sell pages from the yellow lined pad, along with other
Eagles lyrics, without the rights. The three men have pleaded not guilty. The Manhattan district attorney's office is expected to call Eagles member Don Henley as its star witness. The
non-jury trial will include more than 80 pages of draft lyrics from the
1976 Hotel California album, including famous lines from the eponymous
hit like: "You can check out any time you like, but you can never
leave."</p><p class="sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fYAfXe">Horowitz, Inciardi and Kosinki are facing charges with conspiracy
to possess stolen property and other offenses, not with stealing the
documents themselves. The pages of lyrics were allegedly stolen by somebody else before the trio procured them, prosecutors said. After the men attempted to sell some of those lyrics through Kosinski’s
company, Henley caught wind of the scheme and bought them himself for
$8,500. He soon got the Manhattan district attorney’s office involved,
filing a stolen-goods report. Inciardi and Kosinski continued to try to
sell other pages, even listing the “Hotel California” lyrics at
Sotheby’s in 2016, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/hotel-california-lyrics-manuscript-trial-eagles-henley-973e74e795416821e6f022895b47b78e">per the Associated Press</a>. The auction house later withdrew them, and police raided the men’s homes
in 2019, taking 84 pages of lyrics along with 1,300 pages of paperwork
and multiple electronic devices. </p>Prosecutors
still will have to prove the documents were stolen, for the charges to
stick. However, defense laywers have said the documents were not stolen. The dispute dates back to the late 1970s, when writer Ed Sanders was working on a biography for the Eagles. The band had reportedly allowed Sanders to access their archives, which included the lyrics-filled notepads. It is believed that he sold them to Horowitz, a rare-books dealer, for $50,000 in 2005. Horowitz then sold the lyrics to Inciardi and Kosinski, a memorabilia company owner. Sanders was not charged in the case.</section><section class="sc-4e574cd-0 bhtqwj" data-component="text-block"><section class="sc-4e574cd-0 bhtqwj" data-component="text-block"><p class="sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fYAfXe">Don Henley previously told a grand jury he never gave Sanders the lyrics, according to court filings. Defense lawyers have suggested otherwise, casting doubt on Henley's memory. "We believe that Mr Henley voluntarily provided the lyrics to Mr Sanders," attorney Scott Edelman said in court last week.</p><p class="sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fYAfXe"> </p></section><p class="sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fYAfXe"></p></section>The Daily Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01733984746521139979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2472776837690356656.post-25161007809091731032024-02-20T07:21:00.000-05:002024-02-21T08:04:34.495-05:00Advertising for Masses<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB8nI_sZrKqENWSRUg8q2ydmq2FPmhvb1meShlaCbfqwJ2t-UHIkU6cIIj4fUQRmoervfO4Q1cE0yHiXx8S-ocrZuL75BB0p1TiB3D02eAIcFJ2eg-LRyU34IwGJ3fDUY2JnQWMfD1h8uzGBBjaPtibFFuXnfWMIianJWhjkv-creLxiPGMAtA7IQe91w/s915/whatwouldjesusdo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="691" data-original-width="915" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB8nI_sZrKqENWSRUg8q2ydmq2FPmhvb1meShlaCbfqwJ2t-UHIkU6cIIj4fUQRmoervfO4Q1cE0yHiXx8S-ocrZuL75BB0p1TiB3D02eAIcFJ2eg-LRyU34IwGJ3fDUY2JnQWMfD1h8uzGBBjaPtibFFuXnfWMIianJWhjkv-creLxiPGMAtA7IQe91w/w522-h395/whatwouldjesusdo.jpg" width="522" /></a></div><br /><p></p>The Daily Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01733984746521139979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2472776837690356656.post-56539133435218844472024-02-19T09:00:00.001-05:002024-02-21T08:01:50.994-05:00Happy Presidents Day<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio_x403aS2WfwO1R7SSyKdklF32w9Sv-tmPA1w6eCGbC__7bRPpTOo0XpXMRZa76WQw2XGlaeqyT-_fQDGD6mrUsfhs0qGAr2WmPA0TQBuN4pZF33MJ3vSBCk1Ur8UrE5D529Wn5blHBa4_v9bwTzPySq_09OOOPWZKvDR0_wunI2qbDWTAlPxKiLV-UQ/s480/PresidentsDay1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="480" height="459" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio_x403aS2WfwO1R7SSyKdklF32w9Sv-tmPA1w6eCGbC__7bRPpTOo0XpXMRZa76WQw2XGlaeqyT-_fQDGD6mrUsfhs0qGAr2WmPA0TQBuN4pZF33MJ3vSBCk1Ur8UrE5D529Wn5blHBa4_v9bwTzPySq_09OOOPWZKvDR0_wunI2qbDWTAlPxKiLV-UQ/w465-h459/PresidentsDay1.jpg" width="465" /></a></div><br /><p></p>The Daily Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01733984746521139979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2472776837690356656.post-37999136128350285112024-02-18T11:05:00.001-05:002024-02-18T11:06:14.795-05:00Navalny is Just the Latest in a String of Putin Casualties<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Alexei Navalny's body has now been found and it shows signs of being held down while suffering convulsions. </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Navalny's body was reportedly found with signs of bruising, as he was allegedly</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> held down while suffering a seizure. There is no evidence or apparent cause of any seizures. however. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">His body is currently being held at a hospital morgue, and being withheld from his family.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Navalny is just the latest in a long line of mysterious murders and deaths in Russia. Many </span></span>of the critics of the Russian regime
investigated crimes of Russia's intelligence services, while
others criticized Putin's wars in Chechnya, Georgia and Ukraine. The methods employed ranged from poisoning and shooting to plane crashes.</p><p data-t="{"n":"blueLinks"}">One of the first to
die was Sergei Yushenkov, a liberal politician and ally of exiled tycoon
Boris Berezovsky. He was shot dead in 2003. Yushenkov,
a critic of the Kremlin, investigated the Federal Security Service's
(FSB) alleged involvement in staging the 2002 Moscow theater hostage
crisis. </p> <p data-t="{"n":"blueLinks"}">Yushenkov
was also a member of an independent commission that investigated
allegations of the FSB's involvement in the 1999 Moscow apartment
bombings, which killed 307 people.</p> <p class="continue-read-break" data-t="{"n":"blueLinks"}">Another
member of the commission, Novaya Gazeta journalist Yury Shchekochikhin,
died after being poisoned in 2003. According to an analysis by London
specialists, Shchekochikhin was poisoned with thallium.</p> <p data-t="{"n":"blueLinks"}">Investigative
journalist Anna Politkovskaya was also a vehement critic of the FSB,
Putin's regime and his war in Chechnya. She survived a poisoning attempt
in 2004. But two years later, Politkovskaya was shot dead in her building's elevator on Putin's birthday.</p> <p data-t="{"n":"blueLinks"}">Meanwhile,
former Russian intelligence officer Litvinenko, who accused Putin of
orchestrating the 1999 Moscow apartment bombings, was poisoned in the
U.K. in 2006 with polonium-210, a radioactive element. The British police
charged Andrei Lugovoi, a former KGB officer and current pro-Kremlin
lawmaker, and businessman Dmitry Kovtun with murdering Litvinenko. In
2016, a British court concluded that Putin and Nikolai Patrushev, the
former head of the FSB, “probably” ordered Litvinenko’s assassination.</p> <p data-t="{"n":"blueLinks"}">Another
opponent of the Kremlin, Sergei Magnitsky, was arrested on trumped-up
charges in 2008 after exposing corruption by Russian government
officials. He died in prison in 2009 after being beaten up and
developing multiple diseases. Magnitsky's death was not investigated, and Russian authorities convicted him in a posthumous trial on tax evasion charges.</p> <p data-t="{"n":"blueLinks"}">A
similar fate befell Boris Berezovsky, a Russian oligarch who had helped
Putin to come to power but had later fallen out with him. He was found
hanged in his bathroom in the U.K. in 2013.</p><p data-t="{"n":"blueLinks"}">One of the most
prominent enemies of Putin was Boris Nemtsov. He co-led the opposition
to Russia's aggression against Ukraine, which began in 2014. Nemtsov was shot dead in front of the Kremlin in 2015.</p> <p data-t="{"n":"blueLinks"}">Yet another critic of the Russian dictator, Denis Voronenkov, was shot dead in Kyiv in 2017. Voronenkov had been a Russian pro-Putin lawmaker who had switched sides and fled to Ukraine.</p><p>Ravil Maganov, the chairman of the board of Russia’s second largest
oil producer Lukoil, met a tragic end six months after he openly
criticized the war in Ukraine. In
September 2022, 67-year-old Maganov died after falling from a sixth-floor window at the Central Clinical Hospital in
Moscow. Russian state news agency Tass claimed his death was a suicide. </p><p>Leonid Shulman, the head of transport at Gazprom Invest was
found dead in his cottage in the village of Leninsky near Leningrad in January 2022. Russian state media reported that a suicide note was found at the scene and
that the investigators were investigating the death as a suicide. Just a month after that, another top executive at Gazprom, Alexander Tyulakov, was found dead
from suicide in the same village. Less than a month later, another Russian businessman, Vasily Melnikov, was found stabbed to death alongside his family in Nizhny Novgoro. The following month, Vladislav Avayev, the former vice-president of Gazprombank, was found dead with his wife and daughter in his Moscow apartment. Russian authorities report that it was a case of murder-suicide. And just days after that incident, Sergey Protosenya, former executive at
the gas producer Novatek (which is partially owned by Gazprom) was found
dead (along with his wife and daughter) at his home north of Barcelona. </p> <p data-t="{"n":"blueLinks"}">That's right-- those fleeing Russia are not safe either. </p><a name='more'></a><p></p> <p data-t="{"n":"blueLinks"}">Boris Berezovsky became a billionaire after he gained control of
Channel One, the main Russian TV channel. The Russian Deputy Prosecutor General eventually demanded that
he come in for
questioning. Berezovsky instead moved to the UK, where he was found dead in 2013. While his
death was initially deemed to have been a suicide by hanging, there was no evidence that he struggled in the act of hanging-- the circumstances of his death remain undetermined.. <br /></p><p data-t="{"n":"blueLinks"}">In
2018, former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his
daughter Yulia survived after being poisoned in the U.K. with Novichok, a
nerve agent produced by the Russian government. Dawn Sturgess, a
British citizen, accidentally came into contact with the poison and died
as a result. The
British authorities identified Russian military intelligence agents
using the passports of Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Bashirov as suspects
in the murder case. Bellingcat, an open-source intelligence outfit,
later identified Petrov and Bashirov to be FSB agents Alexander Mishkin
and Anatoliy Chepiga.</p> <p data-t="{"n":"blueLinks"}">Another 2018 murder has been linked to the Wagner mercenary group, which at the time was acting as Putin's private army. Journalist Orkhan Dzhemal, film director Alexander Rastorguyev and
cameraman Kirill Radchenko were killed in the Central African Republic
while investigating Wagner mercenaries there.</p> <p data-t="{"n":"blueLinks"}">Two other critics of Putin – columnist Yulia Latynina and activist Pyotr Verzilov – survived poisoning attempts in 2017-2018.</p><p data-t="{"n":"blueLinks"}">Several critics of
Putin living abroad also exhibited signs of poisoning in 2021-2023,
according to independent Russian publications Agentsvto and Meduza.
These include Natalia Arno, head of the Free Russia Foundation,
journalist Yelena Kostyuchenko, and John Herbst, a former U.S.
ambassador to Ukraine.</p><div class="intra-article-module" data-t="{"n":"intraArticle","t":13}"></div> <p data-t="{"n":"blueLinks"}">During
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022-2023, more than a dozen Russian
officials, executives, and businessmen died in mysterious circumstances,
with some falling out of a window, off a staircase, or from a boat. </p> <p data-t="{"n":"blueLinks"}">One of the latest deaths was that of Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Kremlin ally who became an opponent of Putin's regime in 2023. In
June 2023 Prigozhin's Wagner mercenary group launched a rebellion and
marched on Moscow. Short of reaching the capital, Prigozhin concluded a
deal with Putin and halted the mutiny. However, in August 2023 a private jet with Prigozhin and six Wagner employees on board crashed not far from Moscow. The likely
cause was a bomb onboard or some other form of sabotage. But the
Conflict Intelligence Team, an open-source intelligence outfit, <a data-t="{"n":"destination","t":13,"b":1,"c.t":7}" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q204uRYKuas&t=456s" target="_blank">believes</a>
the plane was most likely shot down by a surface-to-air missile, based
on the contrail and sounds of explosions recorded by eyewitnesses.</p><div class="intra-article-module" data-t="{"n":"intraArticle","t":13}"></div> <p data-t="{"n":"blueLinks"}">Human rights lawyers and opposition politicians say that now the lives of many political prisoners are also at risk. One
of them is Vladimir Kara-Murza, who survived two poisoning attempts in
2015 and 2017. An FSB poisoning team followed him during the
assassination attempts, according to an investigation by Bellingcat, the
Insider and Der Spiegel. In April 2023, Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in jail on charges of libel against the Russian army. Kara-Murza's
health is deteriorating as a result of harsh prison conditions and
inadequate medical treatment, according to his lawyers. They say he is
suffering from polyneuropathy, which developed as a result of the
poisoning attempts.</p> <p data-t="{"n":"blueLinks"}">Another
political prisoner at risk is liberal politician Ilya Yashin. In 2022
he was sentenced to 8.5 years in jail on charges of "spreading fake
information about the Russian army" – a popular accusation used in
Russia to prosecute those opposing Russia's war against Ukraine.</p><p data-t="{"n":"blueLinks"}"> </p>The Daily Dudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01733984746521139979noreply@blogger.com0