Pitter Patter [DOT 6/12/21]

6/12/21 MegMegMcGee 30

Let’s get atter.

These people are deranged!

Days after school shooting, Rep. Thomas Massie posts family photo with guns, asks Santa for ammo for Christmas
https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/05/us/thomas-massie-kentucky-representative-guns-family-photo/index.html

My initial reaction was, “He’s still alive?”

This mofo

Seven days: Following Trump’s coronavirus trail
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-coronavirus-positive/2021/12/05/b1a55fda-544f-11ec-8927-c396fa861a71_story.html

Sprots!

Negro League baseball players earn spots in the National Baseball Hall of Fame
https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/05/us/negro-league-players-baseball-hall-of-fame/index.html

Stonks!

Dow futures jump 240 points despite recent tech stock selling, bitcoin’s weekend rout
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/05/stock-market-futures-open-to-close-news.html

This is my shocked face :\

Chris Cuomo accused of sexual harassment days before CNN fired him
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/05/chris-cuomo-cnn-fired-sexual-harassment-allegation

Raskin is my Rep and seems an all around decent fellow.

Congressman Jamie Raskin: ‘I’ll never forget the terrible sound of them trying to barrel into the chamber’
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/05/congressman-jamie-raskin-capitol-riot-son-faces-of-year

Tell ’em Large Marge sentcha!

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30 Comments

  1. The unemployment rate among Cuomo brothers has reached 100%.

    The healthy deCoumofication of the New York polis continues. There are really only two biggies left, and they serve at the (inexplicable) sufference of our new Governor, Kathy Hochul. One is Jay Jacobs, who turned the State Democratic Party into the Cuomo Democratic Party. He is so inept that he is the machine boss of Nassau County Democrats and in the recent election his county went red. Oh well, it’s not like there was anything he could do, right?

    The other is Jim Malatras. Let’s let that shining beacon of truth, the “New York Post,” tell us a little bit more about him:

    https://nypost.com/2021/12/05/growing-bipartisan-chorus-for-suny-boss-malatras-to-resign/

    My bet is Malatras will go first, because there’s so much documented evidence of his villainy, and then next year, maybe after the Democratic gubernatorial primary or the election, Jay will be shuffled off to some make-work political consulting job.

      • I think a lot of state college systems are, a convenient place to stash retired or defeated pols who can continue “working” and upping their eventual tax-free pensions. I don’t think this is so much the case in New York (Massachusetts is notorious for this), but I did come across the delightfully named Joanie Mahoney, President of SUNY’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry. “Prior to ESF, Ms. Mahoney served as Onondaga County Executive for 11 years and oversaw all aspects of a county government [it continues &c.]”

        In Malatras’s cases ($450,000 a year plus other perks and benefits) it was a nice “thank you” from the Maximum Leader, plus Handsy probably wanted a loyalist in place to keep him apprised of any unapproved thinking among SUNY’s vast workforce.

  2. Thanks to the Canadian Feds, single use plastic is being phased out. It means plastic straws and utensils are going the way of the glaciers.

    Been using the wooden replacement spoons. Not an enthusiastic fan but considering the amount of trash generated by plastic… Well not much of a choice.

     

    • My city banned foam takeout containers. There was a big PR campaign during the debate predicting a huge economic impact and then… nothing.

      Restaurants and stores said the cardboard etc. containers cost basically the same per serving and they said no customers were complaining.

      As it turned out, the extruded foam packaging manufacturers and wholesalers fund these PR campaigns and dig up whatever astroturfed opposition they can muster. And while it’s true that takeout bans don’t mean a lot all by themselves, the plastics industry is aware that they have a much bigger impact on how people think about plastic, and shifts demand away from gratuitous packaging and disposable items in general. And that’s what they really fear.

      • I once worked on a project, educational materials, about the scourge of overpackaging and how to recognize it. The shining example was the humble orange. You could go to a store, like a bodega, buy one, and just stuff in a coat pocket or some other bag you’re carrying. Or, you could go to a store where the orange has been peeled and sectioned for you, placed on a foam tray, shrink-wrapped, and then double-bagged at the checkout counter. You pay two or three times as much for this, of course, but apparently people do it.

        • For most of us, this makes sense. However, it is important to consider those with mobility issues or other disabilities that make it hard/impossible to do something like peel and section an orange. Same goes for people who benefit from things like straws, mug cakes, microwavable meals, and meal prep kits like Hello Fresh. Wasteful convenience for the able-bodied; godsend for a good number of folks who aren’t.

    • over here a lot of the drinks now come with paper straws….rather hilariously wrapped in little plastic bags before being stuck to the carton by……vacuum wrapping the whole thing in plastic

      woooo! go green!

      usually they even find a place on the packaging to brag about how eco friendly their new non plastic straw is too

      • It may be incredibly naive of me, I freely admit…

        But with all the folks who are disabled who actually do need plastic straws (some have bite issues which make metal/glass a danger, and others have issues that make things like silicone an impossibility), I just don’t GET why we can’t do a better job with recycling?!?

        Like, it’s an oil-based item, WHY can’t we simply rinse ’em off, then melt them down, and re-use the materials *over & over* so that we’re NOT needing “new” base materials and not polluting the hell out of the planet?

        YES, I get the “Recycling is HARD!” conundrum *right now.*

        But, ffs, with the simple, one-use, single-type plastic items like Straws, Soda-Cup Lids, etc, you don’t have the difficulty of it being “multiple/mixed-type plastics!”–which, admittedly does make recycling harder…

        We should be able to do it… we probably already have the technology around *somewhere* that would alow it to happen…

        Is it JUST a lack of will+laziness, when ya boil it all down?

        Because while YES, I do adore the idea of folks who CAN choosing to go for reusables, there would seem to be an absolute goldmine available, for the people/company who fiiiinally decide to move forward on making things from the various types of repurposed plastics.  There are literally DUMPS full of raw materials–but it would be tons easier, to catch the plastics BEFORE they hit the landfills…

        And I KNOW it’s tricky/harder to teach adults to take the time to recycle properly…

        But look at how many folks in Gen-X & the older section of Millenials *always* cut our soda-rings apart, because when we were kids, we learned about animal entanglement & entrapment…

        Dumb, thing to have “stick,” but all those news stories about the Sea Turtles, Mice, and Birds who died from six-pack rings getting stuck around their heads/bodies stayed with us, since our childhoods!😉

        • I don’t have a solution. Just wanted to ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ your point that banning plastic straws negatively impacts a subset of the population. We should be working to provide an option(s) that doesn’t put the onus on them when the bans roll through.

            • YES!!!!

               

              Because this is TOTALLY doable & feasible, for folks who are disabled and have low incomes *and* so often, limited mobility…

              Heck, while we’re at it, we probably ought to also be sure that–like the other potentially dangerous prescriptions–we only allow them to be picked up in 30-day allotments, so that 1. We don’t have too many of them out & about–in case they should fall into the wrong handsand end up on the black market!!!

              And 2. We should also make this multi-thousand-dollar prescription the sort that HAS to be annually renewed, with multiple doctors signing off on it!!!

              Because, you know, soooometimes folks miraculously recover from chronic conditions, and don’t really need continuing levels of support… we’d better verify that these folks truly need the straws, and aren’t simply malingering!

              (And OBVIOUSLY ^^that^^ is snark & sarcasm!!!

              But sadly for too many disabled folks, it really IS something lots of them need to deal with on a regular basis, simply to get their card needs met.😕🙃🥴)

      • …I know that it’s at least true that not all compostable plastics are equal…there’s an ice cream place I’ve been to a time or two that make it clear their tubs/spoons are…but not if you take them home on account of “domestic” garbage & “industrial” stuff gets handled differently & sent different places

        …if you toss them in the bin out front of their place they’ll get composted but as far as any bins at home are concerned they’re just plastic that I don’t think is even accepted by the recycling section of things

        (…much like cardboard takeout cartons that can’t be recycled because of the plastic film they’re lined with…which may not be all of those but seems like most of the ones I’ve had anytime lately?)

      • Do compostable items even compost if you throw them in the regular trash? I feel like most people don’t compost, and American landfills get compacted so there’s not much air flow. I often wonder if marketing stuff as compostable is just greenwashing without the improved access behind it.

        • I’m not even sure that decent home composting would break it down though. Especially if someone does sheet composting.

          I think it’s just bullshit greenwashing. Just like putting recycling logos on all the plastics and ignoring that most municipalities don’t actually have anywhere to go with anything other than #1 and #2 plastics.

  3. A memo written this month by a former Washington DC National official to the 1/6 Commission says two generals lied to Congress in testimony about whether they impeded the National Guard response.

    https://www.politico.com/news/2021/12/06/jan-6-generals-lied-ex-dc-guard-official-523777

    He also says the DOD Inspector General issued a misleading investigation report. Trump in 2020 gutted the DOD Inpector General’s office. One of the people accused of lying to Congress is General Charles Flynn, brother of Michael Fynn.

     

     

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