News blues…
Our planet is heading towards 100 million Covid infections – a quarter of those in the US – and more than 2 million deaths – 20 percent of those in the US. Yet The Donald is holed up watching TV in the White House, and a second impeachment looming. Nary a word about Covid-19’s toll on the nation.***
What are the roots of the attempted coup on US Capitol? “The Capitol riot has ended the notion that the president’s hardcore base was motivated by economic anxiety. It has always been about race.”
Donald Trump supporters who ransacked the U.S. Capitol last week weren’t short on cash or propelled by severe economic anxiety.Read “Trump Supporters’ Main Problem Was Never the Economy” >>
The insurrectionists came to Washington by plane. They stayed in Airbnbs and at the Embassy Suites. They wore costumes and carried weapons and iPhones. Some were cops. There were doctors, lawyers, a Chicago real estate broker, teachers ― even a school therapist. A CEO.
Sure, some of them could’ve been impoverished former coal miners, as so many pundits have described a certain sect of Trump voters. But these people weren’t raging over the decline of the carbon-based economy. This was a riot about race and power. If there was economic anxiety, it was spurred by the rioters’ false notion that their place in the world is under threat.
We can stop talking about how white Americans voted for Trump because of economic interest. His appeal was never about money. (And Trump is leaving office with the economy in tatters, by the way. On Thursday, 1.15 million more people filed for unemployment.)
The insurrection was the violent cry of a group of (mostly) white men, afraid of losing power ― not just of having their savior leave office but more broadly seeing their place at the top of the American caste system knocked down a peg.
…Overwhelmingly they’ve found that Americans who chose Trump were worried about losing their social status, their place in a country where white folks will soon be in the minority and where many women no longer seem to realize that men should be in charge.
***
The truth will out: “Bankrolling the Disenfranchisers,” a new analysis, calls out the corporate and trade association political action committees that poured millions in campaign contributions to the 147 Republicans who voted to object to President-elect Joe Biden's win over President Donald Trump. ***
Steve Schmidt, cofounder of The Lincoln Project: The 2nd Impeachment of Donald J Trump
Latest ad from The Lincoln Project:
Home remedies rife on social media advise eating piles of vitamin D, D3, C, magnesium, and/or zinc capsules, and this, that, and the next thing, consume mangos, pineapples, and avocados, not drink cold liquids, only hot, especially with lemon juice and ginger. I received advice to drink gallons of hot tea, as Chinese do “and look, their Covid infections are waning”. But, I reply, the English drink more tea than the Chinese “and look, their Covid infections are surging…”
My most effective home remedy to date? “Rum therapy”: swallow one Panado capsule (500 mg paracetamol) with a mojito: chopped mint, large squeeze of lime, ice cubes, soda water and a hint of white rum. Drink early afternoon. By sunset you’ll be smiling again.
Note: Dr Internet recommends acetaminophen for sore throats. Not much of a pill swallower, I have no acetaminophen meds in the house, only paracetamol. If you have a choice of meds, go with acetaminophen for sore throat. Better yet, trust your own doctor’s advice over Dr Internet’s.
How democracy dies (0:55 mins)Ted Cruz.Josh Hawley.Kevin McCarthy.These are the names of traitors to the United States of America—and officeholders in our nation’s Capitol.
They must resign, or be expelled.
The defense of our democracy and our Constitution from domestic enemies is our most critical job.
We’re airing ads across Missouri, Texas, California, and in D.C. to remind Americans of the most urgent threat to our Republic.
There is no denying what the stakes are. We’ve borne witness to what falling off the edge would look like.
Our democracy dangled off the point of no return last week, as we watched the President and his sycophants levy a violent attack on the Capitol—and on Congress doing the people’s work inside. We cannot look over that edge again.
We must take steps to back away, and that starts with accountability, first and foremost.
Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, and Kevin McCarthy must resign—or they must be expelled.
We, the People, demand it.
We hoped the fight for our Republic would take place at the ballot box.
Now, it’s in our shared halls of democracy. We must defend them.
Voters in every state and district represented by a seditionist must know the truth, and must take action.
It is our country’s only way forward.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
My sore throat continues. My various remedies include placing a towel over my head then handing my head over a sink full of boiling water and alternate breathing steam through mouth and nose. (Some recommend flavoring the water with eucalyptus oil.) I gargle with salt water, a easy home remedy recommended to fend off anything more deadly.Home remedies rife on social media advise eating piles of vitamin D, D3, C, magnesium, and/or zinc capsules, and this, that, and the next thing, consume mangos, pineapples, and avocados, not drink cold liquids, only hot, especially with lemon juice and ginger. I received advice to drink gallons of hot tea, as Chinese do “and look, their Covid infections are waning”. But, I reply, the English drink more tea than the Chinese “and look, their Covid infections are surging…”
My most effective home remedy to date? “Rum therapy”: swallow one Panado capsule (500 mg paracetamol) with a mojito: chopped mint, large squeeze of lime, ice cubes, soda water and a hint of white rum. Drink early afternoon. By sunset you’ll be smiling again.
Note: Dr Internet recommends acetaminophen for sore throats. Not much of a pill swallower, I have no acetaminophen meds in the house, only paracetamol. If you have a choice of meds, go with acetaminophen for sore throat. Better yet, trust your own doctor’s advice over Dr Internet’s.
Alas, my various remedies work only during daylight. Overnight my throat infection blossomed. I spent an uncomfortable night, despite several forays to the bathroom to gargle salt water.
This morning, after shining a flashlight/torch down my gullet, I see one tonsil is more inflamed than it was yesterday. I thank my lucky stars both tonsils are not inflamed.
***
News from the US Embassy in South Africa:Health Alert: South African Department of Home Affairs Announced the Temporary Suspension of Marriage Services in South Africa
Location: The Republic of South Africa
Event: The South African Department of Home Affairs announced January 12 that they are to combat COVID transmission. These include applications of Smart ID cards, applications for passports, and marriage services such as solemnisation and registration including those of foreign citizens.
Actions to Take:
- Visit the DHA’s webpage for more details on this announcement
- Visit the Embassy’s COVID information page for additional information on COVID in South Africa.
Beware: Getting married or not, South African Department of Home Affairs is the last place anybody with a modicum of sense would visit during a pandemic.
Having spent literally years trying to get a passport and an ID card completed in South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs, I’d say one would be hard pressed, during a normal (non-pandemic) day, to tell whether Home Affairs has “temporarily suspending many services” or is operating. The pace is about the same for both operation and suspension of "many services."
After years visiting KZN Home Affairs head office, I finally stumbled upon how to complete paperwork: do it via the South African Embassy in Los Angeles, Ca.
What had not been completed over 6 years of trying took 6 months in LA.
That is, I received a passport.
The ID card? Nope. I still do not have and ID card that can be applied for only in South Africa.
The rumor that I could obtain one via my bank turned out to be half true: only via banks in Gauteng Province.
No comments:
Post a Comment