Yesterday, I focused on getting prepared to go see Virgil tomorrow. I also heard from Pat B that she will be missing tomorrow. I promise a post, but I don’t promise a full one. I also promise a video open thread, but it may be short as well.
Cartoon –
Short Takes –
HuffPost – Alabama Wants To Use Its COVID Relief Funds To Build New Prisons
Quote – Sandy Ray, the mother of an inmate killed in a state prison in 2019, came to the Statehouse Monday and showed lawmakers a photo of her son’s battered face following an altercation with guards. New prisons might help, she said, but there needs to be broader changes, otherwise it’s, “still going to be the same problems in the new buildings.” “They are still killing people in the prison system and it’s worse than it was in 2019 when my son died,” she said.
Click through for story and rationales.
Mother Jones – In California’s Water Wars, Nuts Are Edging Out People
Quote – Irrigating the valley’s farms takes 89 percent of the region’s water (compared to just 3 percent for residents). Embedded in what’s essentially a desert, San Joaquin’s vast agriculture industry relies on two sources for this liquid sustenance: snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada mountain range that forms the state’s eastern spine, and underground aquifers that have developed over millennia. Farm operations receive the great bulk of the melted snow, shunted through a complex of dams, canals, and aqueducts. But because of climate change, the annual Sierra Nevada snowpack has shown a declining trend for years—and will likely dwindle further over the next several decades, a growing body of research suggests.
Click through for details. This is a serious story, and I hope y’all will pardon my frivolity, but what drew me to this story was the applicability of the title to the entir country. (Wing) nuts are edging out (normal) people everywhere one looks.
NM Political Report – Chipmunk subspecies only found in the White Mountains could be listed as endangered
Quote – The three units proposed for critical habitat include Nogal Peak, Crest Trail and Sierra Blanca. The lands are both federal and tribal. The tribal lands belong to the Mescalero Apache Tribe. The critical habitat includes Ski Apache Resort in the Sierra Blanca unit. According to the notice published in the Federal Register, the chipmunk has been seen at Ski Apache Resort on Lookout Mountain and the summer activities at the ski resort, including maintenance, can negatively impact the chipmunk. The Fish and Wildlife Service has had conversations with the Mescalero Apache Tribe, according to the notice.
Click through for more. Greedy and powerful people don’t give a tinker’s dam about unintended consequences … which is why we have to.
Food for Thought –
9 Responses to “Open Thread for September 30, 2021”
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Alabama Wants To Use Its COVID Relief Funds To Build New Prisons
Gov. Kay Ivey had to call a “Special Session” of their congress to try to weasel money from the American Rescue Plan designed for COVID relief, and repurpose it to build MORE prisons. In so doing, Ivey admitted that Alabama’s prison infrastructure was “broken.”
So tell me, Kay – who’s been in charge of your “broken” prison system all these years?
And why should I and other fellow Americans let you use COVID funds to fix up your broken prisons and build MORE prisons? (Apparently Ivey just learned that there are a few young blacks still roaming free in Alabama.)
In California’s Water Wars, Nuts Are Edging Out People
If it’s only water that’s considered WRT different types of milk, soy wins … hands-down.
https://findanyanswer.com/goto/468095
Chipmunk subspecies only found in the White Mountains could be listed as endangered
I’ve lived in this house for 17 years now, and for some odd reason this year I’ve had a gazillion chipmunks in the back yard. My property does abut a 7,800 acre county park – but it’s odd I’ve not had them in these numbers before.
They’re cute little guys.
I’m allergic to soy (and peanuts are in the same family, so anyone allergic to peanuts, as I also am, should be vaer careful with soy as well. Lots of people are allergic to peanuts.)
Chipmunks are cte, aren’t they? They probably have lost habitat adjcent to or near your land. I worry about any species being endangered, because we can never be certain whethr or not they play n important role in the ecosystem … until hey are gone. It’s the reverse with invasive species. Humans find it very hard to resist the “she followed me home, can I keep her?” instinct We got lucky in the 18th century with Clara the rhinoceros, but we haven’t always been lucky.
Get a chance to rest before you go. Good vibes for your day to be great, in visiting Virgil, be safe driving to and fro.
Cartoon: Instituted in the hope of avoiding war, appeasement was the name given to Britain’s policy in the 1930s of allowing Hitler to expand German territory unchecked. Most closely associated with British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, it is now widely discredited as a policy of weakness. *wiki
HP: I feel and agree with what Ms. Sandy Ray said.
NMPR: Very sad.
FFT: WE believe. They don’t. ugh!
THIS JUST IN: – “CA is now permanently a ‘Vote by mail’ state. Because we believe in making voting easier and for every vote to be heard.” ~ Gavin Newsome ~
2. “Players who refuse to get vaccinated should get kicked out of the NBA.” ~ Kareem Abdul Jabbar ~
3. “While typical working Americans pay their taxes, the top 1% evade an estimated $160 Billion in taxes each year. It’s wrong, and it’s past time the ultra wealthy and corporations paid their fair share.” ~President Joe Biden ~
4. “In an open letter to heads of state attending the UN General Assembly, the Int’l Chamber of Shipping warned of a “global transport system collapse” unless governments restore freedom of movement to transport workers and prioritize them receiving vaccines.” ~ Jon Cooper ~
5. “Thank you Senator @TinaSmithMN for your bold leadership in the fight to restore balance and integrity to the Supreme Court. As we look to right the wrong of the stolen Republican SCOTUS majority, I am so very grateful to have your support and partnership.” ~ Senator Ed Markey D-MA ~
TJI #1 – Good for CA.
TJI #2 – When someone of Kareem’s stature speaks, he should be heeded. But he probably won’t be.
TJI #3 – They will never truly pay their fair share – but they don’t need to. They just need to pay something close enough to a fair share that the nation can function. And they will fight that tooth and nail.
TJI #4 – Good point. Of course that, or something similar, is probably true of every segment of the workforce.
TJI #5 – I’m so tired of everyone saying there’s nothing which can be done. It’s true there is currently no way to remove or force off a Justice. But if a Justice can be found to have committed crimes, either before or during his or her presence on the Court, there is no bar to indicting, trying, and convicting that Justice. And a nice long sentence might well force some action. Yes, I’m looking at Brett Kavanaugh. But I doubt he’s alone – simply the most obvious.
TJI #3 – So of course TFG’s solution along w/ his cohorts in crime in Congress was to SLASH the IRS budget even further!
TJI #4: This is exactly what is happening in the UK at the moment: fuel shortages because of truck-driver shortages.
TJI#1: I’m proud of my governor, Gavin Newsome.
TJI#2: Wish these players and fans would pay attention to him. Get vaccinated.
TJI#3: I agree with President Biden, it’s long over due, they need to be paying their share of taxes.
Don’t stress yourself out preparing articles for PP when you’re about to visit Virgil, Joanne. Of course, your priorities should lie with Virgil and a safe trip.
Cartoon: Chamberlain was a Trumpkin ‘avant la lettre’, getting sucked in by a glib megalomaniac who could put on the charm if he wanted to.
HP: I’m absolutely astounded that not only are states considering to use their COVID relief funds for something else entirely but that they are allowed to do so.
MJ: It’s said that water is the new oil, but oil can’t be drunk. It’s not one of the most primary resources like water and air are. Governments everywhere are so inclined to support farmers no matter what that they forget that it may come down to decisions over life and death.
NMPR: I hope the Mescalero Apache Tribe takes their role as natures caretakers just as seriously as their income from the ski resorts and restrict the activities of these resorts befitting the endangered listings of the chipmunks.
FFT: Trumpkins only want to have their questions answered with replies that suit them.They find it easy to blame everyone else for anything they don’t like but they refuse responsibility when the finger also points at them.
HuffPost: Covid-19 funds used for building prisons??? I don’t think that’s a smart choice at all. I like Pat agree with what Ms. Ray is saying about building bigger better prisons isn’t the answer.
Mother Jones: Sad situation. We’ve heard about the water issues for a long time and now it’s gotten even worse with the Climate Change issues. So many states facing droughts.
MNPR: I heard about this on the news yesterday. Plus they brought it up about the Woodpeckers too.
Food for Thought: Shameful so many disasters happening, yet these fools love playing deaf, dumb and blind.
Will be praying that you a safe drive to and from your visit with Virgil tomorrow. Do tell him “Hello”. Let us know when you get back.
Take care. Thanks Joanne