Scientists have recorded water temperatures over 100 degrees off Florida at least twice in the last few days. I’ve been in 80-degree water and that was warm, but 100-degree water is like hot tub water; though silty water does tend to trap light and therefore heat, you would not be audacious to blame climate change for the severity of the problem. I’d tell the citizens of fascist Florida that I hope they’re happy with the razor-wielding clowns they’ve been voting for all these years, except that other creatures actually have to live in that water.
Israeli Knesset passes a judicial “reform” bill, one that will handcuff the nation’s judges from striking down evil laws, despite hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens taking to the streets (and a thousand military reservists boycotting military service). The law the Knesset passed is considerably narrower than the one the ruling far-right coalition wanted to pass in March; you would not be audacious to credit the protests for the coalition’s change of tactics. It’s a damn shame Israel doesn’t even have a second strong political party. But it’s a good thing they have so, so many upstanding citizens. They deserve to win
Bryce Covert at The Intercept details how “(i)n the five years since the start of the #MeToo movement, a quiet but effective legal backlash has swept over those who spoke out about sexual harassment and abuse. The accused have turned around and sued their accusers, effectively silencing them.” Plus, generally the accused have money and their accusers don’t. Right-wingers will claim this difficulty proves all lawsuits are bad, but they’re lying, and even if they weren’t, I wouldn’t want someone who throws up their hands at the slightest difficulty in my foxhole. Anti-SLAPP laws (SLAPP stands for “strategic lawsuit against public participation,” meaning, essentially, its whole purpose is to silence you) would help. Guess which political party generally stomps its feet and refuses to pass them, and guess which other party hasn't worked hard enough to pass them.
Surprise, surprise, a fellow about to become Ron DeSantis’s next deputy campaign manager also worked on that infamous anti-net neutrality campaign from 2017, the one that created millions of fake comments opposing net neutrality. Is there any evil into which Mr. DeSantis won’t dig his fat little fingers? Remember that Our Glorious Elites couldn’t repeal net neutrality – which virtually everyone who has ever thought about it and who also isn’t a cable corporation PR hack supports – without faking comments from dead people. So next time right-wingers argue that dead people delivered the 2020 election to Joe Biden, you can say thou doth protest too much.
Our Senate Judiciary Committee advances a Supreme Court ethics bill without any Republican votes because of course Republicans wouldn’t ever vote for that. Sen. Grassley (R-IA), who used to be pretty good at his job, said the bill was all “about harassing and intimidating the Supreme Court,” while Sen. Graham (R-SC), whose one act of heroism was almost 20 years ago and did no good almost like that was the whole idea, called it an “assault on the Court itself.” Jesus Mary and Joseph what ever happened to “if you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime”? Or is that only for us little people?
Finally, Rudy Giuliani did not contest lawsuit claims from two Georgia poll workers that he smeared them after the 2020 election, but still argued that’s somehow not defamatory. Trigger warning: the whole story is fucking triggering. Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss are still afraid to go out to the grocery store out of fear that diaper-loaded racists will kill them, but don’t expect repentance, let alone shame or self-reflection, from Rudy Giuliani – he’s just saying what he needs to say to get this case moving to the conclusion he somehow thinks he’s going to get! And that’s why our justice system needs to slap his sorry ass down.
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