The worst states for children are those with the most restrictive abortion laws, CNN says (story here). Most of the 21 states with anti-abortion laws waiting for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade “fall into the bottom half of state rankings on a wide array of measures tracking the well[...]
Archive for the ‘America’ Category
Hillary for president in 2024?
No, no, no, I’m not suggesting it! But could it actually happen that Democrats nominate her? Journalist Joe Concha, writing for The Hill (here), speculates they might; I’m unsure whether he’s saying that tongue-in-cheek. He assumes Biden won’t run for a second term (even thou[...]
GOP senators were briefed on Jan. 4 about plans to overturn election
The House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection has learned that GOP senators were briefed 2 days earlier on White House plans to overturn the election by declaring a national emergency, the Guardian reported on Saturday, December 11, 2021 (story here). That information is in a PowerPoi[...]
Brian Williams signs off from MSNBC (video)
Return to The-Ave.US Home Page[...]
Recycling Robert E. Lee
In his 2008 book The World Without Us, which tries to imagine what would happen on Earth if all humans suddenly disappeared, Alan Weisman suggested that humanity’s bronze artifacts would be the longest-lasting evidence of our former presence. Other sources (e.g., this article) say bronze can l[...]
Gun-toting rioter planned to “remove” Pelosi and McConnell
Prosecutors filed court papers on Thursday, December 2, 2021, accusing Guy Reffitt, a Texas militia member, of taking a gun and wrist restraints onto the Capitol grounds during the January 6 insurrection intending to “physically remove or displace” Speaker Pelosi and GOP Senate leader Mc[...]
Why the right targets BLM and “critical race theory”
It’s simply about white supremacy. Conservatives like a status quo that puts white people in charge, gives white people preferential treatment, and keeps black people “in their place.” After George Floyd became yet another black man murdered by a white cop, millions of Americans pa[...]
Major cities hire “chief heat officers”
Here in Seattle, we sweltered through prolonged 100-degree-plus heat last summer, and I began joking to friends about buying Arctic beachfront property while it’s available. The warming Arctic is no joke, though. Seattle isn’t one of the cities hiring “chief heat officers” &#[...]
Seattle activist behind attacks on “critical race theory”
The tsunami of rightwing attacks against “critical race theory” didn’t come from nowhere, or happen by spontaneous combustion. It’s the brainchild of a very smart conservative activist named Christopher Rufo, who has Seattle connections. Rufo, 37, a California native, graduat[...]
Turning point for Biden’s presidency?
For many voters, getting rid of Trump’s toxic presidency was an end itself. But Americans, as a whole, expect positive accomplishments from their leaders. CNN calls the infrastructure bill, passed with GOP help, “the largest single infrastructure investment in American history.” It[...]