Reading

Created
Mon, 22/04/2024 - 00:30
From the Department of Duh Have you checked your wallet? Are your dollars quantum? I quit carrying cash during the pandemic and didn’t look back, so my dollars are electronic. Donald Trump told reporters in Manhattan that he would testify in his trial. This RSBN dude actually believed him. There was no joy in Mudville. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● For The Win, 5th Edition is ready for download. Request a copy of my free countywide GOTV planning guide at ForTheWin.us.
Created
Sun, 21/04/2024 - 23:00
When they finally get around to it Churchill may not have said, “The Americans can always be trusted to do the right thing, once all other possibilities have been exhausted.” And given the history of the 21st century so far, “always” is way too generous. But occasionally we come up for air after deep dives into the primitive ooze. Well, the ooze eagerly awaits Speaker Mike Johnson after Saturday’s House vote to furnish $61 billion in American aid to Ukraine’s fight to free itself from Russian aggression. More Russophile Republicans voted against the measure than caucus members less cosy with the Moscow’s Make Russia Greater Again dictator. But it passed over the MAGA extremists’ objections. So if they are on-brand, they’ll be coming for Johnson’s seat. Later, if not sooner. The last time Congress approved aid to Ukraine was December 2022, and Democrats held both houses of Congress.
Created
Sun, 21/04/2024 - 10:00
Dreadlocks can’t smoke him pipe in peaceToo much informers and too much beastToo much watchie watchie watchie, too much su-su su-su suToo much watchie watchie watchie, too much su-su su-su su -from “Tenement Yard”, by Jacob Miller Happy Holiday! How about some good news for a change? Via the Associated Press: Saturday marks marijuana culture’s high holiday, 4/20, when college students gather — at 4:20 p.m. — in clouds of smoke on campus quads and pot shops in legal-weed states thank their customers with discounts. This year’s edition provides an occasion for activists to reflect on how far their movement has come, with recreational pot now allowed in nearly half the states and the nation’s capital. Many states have instituted “social equity” measures to help communities of color, harmed the most by the drug war, reap financial benefits from legalization. And the White House has shown an openness to marijuana reform. The origins of the date, and the term “420” generally, were long murky.
Created
Sun, 21/04/2024 - 08:30
It had started its ugliest turn The GOP turbo charges its “base” strategy in the ugliest way possible Published by digby on April 20, 2020 President Trump’s daily coronavirus briefing rallies aren’t even attempting to be relevant to the ongoing pandemic anymore. To the extent it even comes up, it’s entirely Trump bragging about anything that’s gone right and blaming others for everything that’s gone wrong. If you want to know the latest information about the emergency, you’ll need to look elsewhere. These are Trump campaign rallies done for the strict purpose of energizing his base. If you’re reading this, you have probably read and heard vast amounts of reporting revealing the overwhelming failure of the Trump administration in this crisis. Just this weekend we learned that CDC officials were actually embedded with the World Health Organization in January and repeatedly alerted the U.S. government about the coronavirus outbreak, which completely undermines Trump’s attack on the organization. Unfortunately, the foot-dragging and the errors continue.
Created
Sun, 21/04/2024 - 08:00
These people were not better off. And there were many more to come. Death Notices Published by digby on April 21, 2020 CNN reports: Sunday’s edition of The Boston Globe contained a shocking visualization of the coronavirus pandemic: page after page after page of death notices. The obituary section in Sunday’s print edition spanned 16 pages. This time last year, there were seven. The increase is a stark illustration of the devastating toll the pandemic is having on Massachusetts and New England.”It’s literally showing it in black and white how deadly this virus can be,” said Jaclyn Reiss, the Globe’s digital editor, in an interview with CNN. And while Reiss noted there was no immediate way to determine how many of the death notices that filled pages A-13 to A-28 came from coronavirus victims — death notices don’t always say how the person died — several of them mentioned a battle with the virus.
Created
Sun, 21/04/2024 - 07:17

MARINE Rescue NSW’s 3,400 volunteers across the state were in high demand last month, responding to the organisation’s busiest March on record. During March 2024 on the Mid North Coast Marine Rescue NSW units responded to 52 search and rescue missions, including 28 emergency responses. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it...

The post Busy March for Marine Rescue NSW appeared first on News Of The Area.

Created
Sun, 21/04/2024 - 07:10

APPLICATIONS are now open for young women wishing to become the next Ambassador of the Coffs Harbour Show. The aim of the ‘Coffs Harbour Young Women Experience’ is to find young women to be rural ambassadors for the Coffs Coast and beyond. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business....

The post Coffs Harbour Show seeking its next Ambassador appeared first on News Of The Area.

Created
Sun, 21/04/2024 - 07:05

CITY of Coffs Harbour has accepted handover of the regional boat ramp landside facilities, including the boat rinse, after a number of issues were addressed by Transport for NSW. Council had raised concerns, mostly regarding the eight boat rinse bays and regulatory documentation relating to compliance. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth...

The post City accepts handover of boat ramp facilities appeared first on News Of The Area.

Created
Sun, 21/04/2024 - 07:03

A POSITIVE shift in mindset among builders and those in the construction industry has been revealed in the latest State of Residential Construction Industry report from the Australian of Professional Builders (APB). The data states that the mental health of 79.1 percent of respondents either improved or stayed the same in 2023. Advertise with News...

The post Building strong mental health in the construction industry appeared first on News Of The Area.

Created
Sun, 21/04/2024 - 07:00
They passed the national security bills in the House and the MAGA extremists are pissed. (What else is new?) Here’s Politico on the state of play with the defenestration of Mike Johnson: Right now, however, Capitol Hill’s gossip du jour continues to center on whether Speaker MIKE JOHNSON can keep his job. There’s been some speculation that Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.) could file a privileged motion to vacate later today, teeing up a vote when the House returns from a weeklong recess. But we caught up with her fellow rebel Rep. THOMAS MASSIE yesterday, and the Kentucky Republican laid out a different, slow-burn strategy. Yesterday Rep. PAUL GOSAR (R-Ariz.) made the openly anti-Johnson camp into a trio, and Massie said he was confident their ranks will grow. Expect a number of conservatives, he said, to endorse the Johnson ouster over the coming days. “This is like a ratchet — the pressure will just keep building,” he said. “The speaker’s overdrawn on political capital.
Created
Sun, 21/04/2024 - 05:30
112 members of congress are objectively pro-Putin. There really is no other explanation for this other than reprehensible fealty to that Orange Monster — who is objectively pro-Putin. It’s one of the most bizarre changes of
Created
Sun, 21/04/2024 - 04:58
The Government’s foreshadowed bill for a “Future Made in Australia” has been met with two very different kinds of response, one positive, welcoming the prospect of initiatives from the Government to support and promote investment in forward-leaning projects and the “industries of the future”, the other negative, saying that governments should stay out of private Continue reading »
Created
Sun, 21/04/2024 - 04:57
Australia’s carbon offset scheme costs a lot and captures almost no carbon but provides a fig leaf for continuing emissions. Technology-based Carbon Dioxide Removal is still a distant dream. Distributed energy resources can be the Swiss Army knife of the electricity system. Australia’s carbon offset scheme exposed as a scam Over the last decade the Continue reading »
Created
Sun, 21/04/2024 - 04:55
The global movement towards authoritarianism took a step forward this week, and faced an experiment in checking its infiltration. In America, a frightening move towards crushing protest was made when the Supreme Court refused to hear the Mckesson v Doe case on liability accruing to protest organisers. In Europe, an international gathering of far right Continue reading »
Created
Sun, 21/04/2024 - 04:54
The neo-traditionalists have been sent a clear message by Pope Francis that their dismissal of synodality, and their disruptive behaviour do violence to the very nature of the Church itself and thereby damage the Reign of God. For Pope Francis, synodality is ‘one of the most precious legacies of the Second Vatican Council’ and the Continue reading »
Created
Sun, 21/04/2024 - 04:00
He has to sit there and take it: He seems “selfish and self-serving,” said one woman. The way he carries himself in public “leaves something to be desired,” said another. His “negative rhetoric and bias,” said another man, is what is “most harmful.” Over the past week, Donald Trump has been forced to sit inside a frigid New York courtroom and listen to a parade of potential jurors in his criminal hush money trial share their unvarnished assessments of him. It’s been a dramatic departure for the former president and presumptive 2024 GOP nominee, who is accustomed to spending his days in a cocoon of cheering crowds and constant adulation. Now a criminal defendant, Trump will instead spend the next several weeks subjected to strict rules that strip him of control over everything from what he is permitted to say to the temperature of the room. “He’s the object of derision. It’s his nightmare. He can’t control the script. He can’t control the cinematography. He can’t control what’s being said about him.