The Nom Before The Storm
January 21, 2022
This week, we shared a story about the Supreme Court hearing a case where a group wanted to fly the Christian flag outside City Hall in Boston, but were not allowed to due to separation of church and state. So, we thought we’d ask you to help us conduct a survey! Please tell us if you think the flag should be allowed, and we’ll share the results next week.
“Politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.” – Charles de Gaulle
“Everything is changing. People are taking their comedians seriously and the politicians as a joke.” – Will Rogers
The Bar Is On The Florida
Governor Ron DeSantis wants Floridians to live in the “freest state” in the nation – but, not all Floridians, just those who would vote to reelect him in 2022 and support him for president in 2024, assuming Donald Trump doesn’t run, of course. “Together we have made Florida the freest state in these United States,” DeSantis said during his State of the State address last week. “While so many around the country have consigned the people’s rights to the graveyard, Florida has stood as freedom’s vanguard.”
The Sunshine State’s Republican leader is particularly proud of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, claiming he’d been right all along to eschew lockdowns and vaccine and mask mandates. He took direct aim at the Biden administration and its health officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, the president’s chief medical director. “Florida has become the escape hatch for those chafing under authoritarian, arbitrary, and seemingly never-ending mandates and restrictions,” DeSantis said. Members of the GOP-led legislature in the audience were almost entirely maskless, at a time when the state was averaging almost 64,000 new cases each day, and counted almost 63,000 deaths.
DeSantis has made sure opposing voices are silenced. In September, he installed as Surgeon General a doctor who opposes vaccine and mask mandates and calls concern over the pandemic “Covid mania.” On Tuesday, the Florida Department of Health placed a top official on administrative leave after he sent an email to employees encouraging more of them to get vaccinated. Raul Pino, Orange County’s public health director, said in the January 14th email it was “irresponsible” not to be vaccinated. “I have a hard time understanding how we can be in public health and not practice it,” he added.
DeSantis has even involved himself in redistricting, apparently thinking the legislature hadn’t gone far enough to favor the party. The blatantly partisan map DeSantis’ office produced Sunday gives Republicans the advantage in 18-20 of the state’s 28 districts. It proposes carving up communities that have long shared the same congressional district, and eliminates some minority access districts altogether. An editor of The Cook Political Report and a redistricting guru tweeted that the DeSantis map was “the most brutal gerrymander proposed by a Florida (Republican) yet.”
DeSantis is also pushing legislation that would prohibit public schools and private businesses from making white people feel “discomfort” when they teach students or train employees about discrimination in the nation’s past. On Tuesday, the state Senate Education Committee approved the bill that takes aim at critical race theory, a way of thinking about America’s history through the lens of racism. Conservatives reject it, saying it’s a world view derived from Marxism. (Business Insider, NYT, Guardian, WaPo, CNN, CBS News)
Tsunami Devastation Continues
- At least three people died in Tonga last Saturday after an unprecedented eruption from an underwater volcano darkened the sky with ash. The eruption was so powerful it was recorded around the world, and triggered a tsunami that flooded Pacific coastlines from Japan to the U.S.
- In Peru, freakish waves hit oil refineries operated by Spanish oil giant Repsol, creating what’s described as the worst ecological disaster to hit the South American country in recent history, and the government is demanding “immediate compensation.” Besides killing two people, Peru’s foreign minister said Saturday’s spill inflicted “serious harm to hundreds of fishermen’s families” and had “put in danger the flora and fauna” in two protected natural areas.
- On Monday, authorities cordoned off three beaches after another 6,000 barrels of oil were spilled during the offloading of a tanker at La Pampilla refinery, off the coast just north of the capital of Lima. (France24, Guardian)
A Phone To Pick
- The cybersecurity group Citizen Lab says the Beijing Winter Olympics app that all Games attendees must use contains security weaknesses that leave users exposed to data breaches. The My2022 app is supposed to be used by athletes, audience members, and media for daily Covid monitoring, and will offer voice chats, file transfers, and Olympic news.
- But Citizen Lab reported that it had found a “censorship keywords” list built into the My2022 app, and a feature that allows people to flag other “politically sensitive” expressions; additionally, the app fails to provide encryption on many of its files. China has dismissed the concerns.
- Nevertheless, on Tuesday, cybersecurity firm Internet 2.0 recommended that people attending the Beijing Olympics bring burner phones, create temporary email accounts for their time in China, and leave their primary devices at home. Several countries have also reportedly told athletes to leave their main devices at home. The Games begin February 4. (BBC)
Additional World News
- Israeli police demolish Palestinian family’s home after lengthy standoff (NBC)
- EU urges Moscow to free Navalny on anniversary of his arrest (Reuters)
- Vietnamese people smuggler jailed for 15 years over deaths of 39 people (Guardian)
- Twin earthquakes in Afghanistan kill 26, leave families searching for loved ones (CBS)
- Omicron: Is racism why South African evidence of milder infection was ignored? (BBC)
- Roads in Sudan’s capital barricaded as strike against protest deaths starts (Reuters)
- England is about to drop virtually all anti-COVID restrictions (CBS)
- The stove-to-table Always Pan from Our Place is perfect for anyone who loves to eat, cook, and celebrate (and wants to spend more time at the table and less time cleaning). It’s been thoughtfully designed to replace 8 traditional pieces of cookware.
- With the Perfect Pot, you get every pot you’ll ever need and then some. It’s dinner-party sized and really does everything: you can boil, crisp, bake, braise, roast, steam, strain, pour, serve, store…you get the idea
- And, hot couple alert (just in time for Valentine’s Day!): Get the Perfect Pot + Always Pan together in the Home Cook Duo — and save $60! They’re probably going to sell out again so order while you can.
The Nom Before The Storm
- President Biden announced eight judicial nominees Wednesday, including Nusrat Choudhury, who would be the first Bangladeshi-American, first Muslim-American woman, and second Muslim-American person to serve as a federal judge. Choudhury has been tapped to be a U.S. judge in the Eastern District of New York.
- Among Biden’s seven other nominees is Philadelphia public defender Arianna Freeman. If confirmed, Freeman, who is Black, would be the first woman of color to serve on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Also nominated is Ana Isabel de Alba, currently a judge on California’s Superior Court of Fresno Country. Alba would be the first Latina to serve in California’s Eastern District and the second active judge of Hispanic descent on the court.
- Judge Nina Nin-Yuen Wang currently serves as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of Colorado. Wang immigrated from Taiwan as a child, and would be the second Asian-American person to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. The first was Biden nominee Judge Regina Rodriguez, confirmed in June 2021. (Courthouse News)
Grishing On The Details
- Stephanie Grisham, former White House press secretary and Chief of Staff to Melania Trump, gave the select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection more information than they’d bargained for when they met with her in early January. Sources now say Grisham provided the committee with new details about events at the Trump White House, many of which she was present for, including what the former president was doing before the Capitol attack, and conversations he was having on the day of the attack.
- Leading up to January 6, Trump held a number of clandestine meetings in the White House residence, mostly scheduled by Trump’s Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. It was previously reported that hours before the attack, Trump made several calls from the White House to top lieutenants at the Willard Hotel to talk about ways to stop the certification of Biden’s win. Grisham also testified about the coordination between the White House, the Secret Service, and the organizers of the “Save America” rally at the Ellipse. (CNN, Guardian)
Additional USA News
- Senate Republicans again block voting legislation put forward by Democrats (CNN)
- Two more Democrats, Reps. Langevin and McNerney, announce their retirements (WaPo, $)
- January 6 committee subpoenas Giuliani and 3 others (CNN)
- Bill de Blasio Says He Won’t Run for Governor After All (NYT, $)
- McCarthy raises $9.5M at major Washington fundraiser (Politico)
- FBI says it’s conducting a ‘court-authorized’ search of Rep. Henry Cuellar’s Texas home (CNN)
- California to pay low income students for community service (LAT, $)
Every Rose Has Its Thorn
- It’s official. Rapper Machine Gun Kelly and actress Megan Fox are engaged. And it’s really all about the ring. Kelly came up with an idea for an out-of-this-world, one-of-a-kind ring in collaboration with designer Stephen Webster, and truth be told, it really is stunning. Kelly posted a video of Fox showing off her bling on his Instagram account after he popped the question on January 11.
- Kelly wrote: “I know tradition is one ring, but i designed it … to be two: the emerald (her birth stone) and the diamond (my birth stone) set on two magnetic bands of thorns that draw together as two halves of the same soul forming the obscure heart that is our love.” Judging from his ubiquitously tattooed and pierced persona, who would’ve guessed Kelly was such a romantic?
- The rapper/actor elaborated some more in the joint interview he and his betrothed gave Vogue Magazine. He explained the “thoroughbred Colombian emerald” was “just carved into the teardrop, straight out of the mine.” Kelly said: “The concept is that the ring can come apart to make two rings. When it’s together, it’s held in place by a magnet. So you see how it snaps together? And then it forms an obscure heart. And you see this right here? The bands are actually thorns. So if she tries to take it off, it hurts…” We get it. Love hurts. But since Celebrity Love doesn’t always have a long shelf life…good luck with that, Megan. (CNN, Cosmo, Vogue)
Additional Reads
- Cyberattack on Red Cross compromised data of over 515,000 ‘highly vulnerable people’ (CNN)
- World’s oldest man dies at 112 — about a month before his birthday (USA Today)
- How Dry January’s continued presence reflects society’s evolving — and divisive — relationship with alcohol (CNN)
- Theodore Roosevelt Statue Removal Begins at Museum of Natural History (NYT, $)
- BBC: $388 million funding cut means shows will be canceled (CNN)
- Starbucks No Longer Requiring Employees To Get COVID Vaccination (BuzzFeed)