Many things changed for the better on January 20, 2021. Here’s one of them: “The new leadership at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, has pledged to … resume targeting payday loan scams that trap troops in endless cycles of debt,” Military.com reports. ̶[...]
Archive for February, 2021
The world is laughing after an English town council’s ZOOM meeting goes off the rails
“Was the Zoom meeting of the century called illegally? Had all participants read and understood the standing orders? And, most importantly, did Jackie Weaver have the authority to kick Handforth parish council’s chairman out of the discussion?” CNN asked. “Those were the ques[...]
February 5th, 2021 - 2:32 pm § in Jews
Germans try 2 ex-Nazis in juvenile courts
At least two people charged with Nazi-era crimes against Holocaust victims are being tried as juveniles in German courts, despite their advanced age, because they were minors when the crimes were committed, CNN reported on Friday, February 5, 2021. Both worked at the Stutthof concentration camp (pho[...]
February 5th, 2021 - 2:01 pm § in Donald Trump, Politics
Gone Girl: House banishes Greene from committees
“House Democrats on Thursday took the extraordinary step of voting to strip committee assignments from a member of the opposite party, saying Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) had forfeited her right to those seats by endorsing conspiracy theories, racist dogma and violence against Democratic po[...]
February 5th, 2021 - 9:00 am § in Misc.
Where mansions are dirt cheap
Shaker Heights, Ohio, reeks of old money. The city hall (left) and public library (right) look like the former homes of 19th century railroad barons. They’re not, but the town was founded and developed by the Van Sweringen brothers, who controlled several railroads until bankrupted by the 1929[...]
Republicans, listen up!
You’re not going to have a political party if you don’t straighten up. Less than a month after the Capitol insurrection, “lots and lots of people are leaving the Republican Party.” More than 10,000 Arizonans dropped their Republican affiliation last month. Another 10,000 in [...]
Biden looking at student debt relief
During the campaign and since, Biden has supported debt relief for student borrowers. There’s a debate going on within his administration about what his authority to act is, without legislation by Congress, and what shape student borrower relief might take. (Read story here.) Right now, itR[...]
Voting machine company sues conspiracy peddlers
“A voting technology company swept up in baseless conspiracy theories about the 2020 election filed a monster $2.7 billion lawsuit on Thursday against Fox News, some of the network’s star hosts, and pro-Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, alleging the parties worked in c[...]
Greene: What’s at stake
Vox explains: “Democrats have pushed for consequences for the first-term representative, who has supported or suggested, in no particular order: the QAnon conspiracy theory; Parkland and 9/11 denial; the killing of Democratic leaders; and the idea that 2018 forest fires were started by a Jew[...]
China vs. Taiwan
China has been preparing for decades to invade the island democracy, which it claims as its sovereign territory, and recently has sharply escalated its threats and airspace incursions against Taiwan; with the U.S. preoccupied at home, is conflict brewing? Read story here. Secretary of State Antho[...]