DL Open Thread Monday, Oct. 7, 2024
Residents of flood-ravaged Appalachia, having been hammered by a hurricane, are suffering further because of the MAGAts among them. Goosed by Russians working through Elon Musk’s propaganda platform, they’re spreading rumors about nefarious activity by FEMA that has their local officials, almost all of them Republican, begging them to knock it off. They’re country people, I would have expected them to know that chickens come home to roost. Or that when you dance with the devil, he calls the tune.
In a somewhat related story, it turns out – who would have guessed? – that Donald Trump’s social media venture is a happy hunting ground for scammers, some of whom have lost staggering sums to the kind of swindles that Bernie Madoff pulled. They form a congregation of the conned.
America’s love affair with oversized vehicles has real human costs. Pedestrian deaths high a 40-year high in 2022 – 7,805 people. A proposed rule would impose limits on the shape and size of these monster trucks and SUVs. Automakers are, naturally, fighting it. I’d like for Democrats bring back the surcharge on oversize vehicles, ownership of which I’m sure skews heavily Republican.
Drug overdose deaths are, at last, declining – but only among whites. Black, Hispanic and Native populations have seen no decrease, and in many places it continues to increase. Nobody’s sure why fatalities are dropping, but one expert posed a stark possibility: Those most susceptible to overdoese have already died.
The floor’s yours.
My take on overdose death rates decreasing. Everything is about privkege and in the white community Narcan has become far more available and young folks who are non drug users are carrying it as a community harm reduction effort . In communities of color this activity lags. I don’t know the level of impact on the statistics but in my observation the acceptance of Narcan as a community life saving resource has grown substantially.
If there was only some large pot of money the government could disperse into the community to organizations who could have a real impact on the solution we might see some real results
AS long as BHL isn’t spreading it…
So looks like Monique finally filed her 8 day report 21 days late. And it makes Bethany hall long look like a good book keeper
Fine. We get it. She’s also in the pockets of the developers.
Gotta say–focus on her seems a little obsessive, and far too late.
You have a better target?
Yes. Until BHL is brought to justice, I’ll always have a better target.
Some folks are gonna see people who won their elections as the greater danger.
It’s important to alert the public as to which elected officials or candidates are bought and paid for, and by whom.
Monique Johns is bought and paid for by the developers.
If you check out the 30-day report I just started, you’ll see that Lumpy Carson is bought and paid for by just about every special interest, especially the insurance companies and the liquor distributors.
Easier to list that those who are not bought and paid for.
Unpopular opinion probably, but I might actually vote for the Republican candidate, Melissa Brayman. She seems more competent, didn’t steal campaign literature, and she might be easier to beat in 2 years? Not that she’ll win in a presidential year…
There’s no write-in, is there?
It’s a four-year term.
I’m considering doing the same…
Recently I became injured outside of work and am not cleared by my employer to return (my doctor cleared me for light duty).
I’m not able to use any of my front-loaded sick leave for this and didn’t have any sick leave left over (the last couple of years were difficult for us, and I haven’t been in the position for that long). Short term disability won’t kick in until after a month. That means 1 month of work unpaid, despite the fact I could do much of my work modified.
I’m of course for paid medical leave and always have been, but now that it’s happened to me, it really hits home realizing how critical it is for those who are working paycheck to paycheck. It’s just SO frustrating paid FMLA took so long to pass and will take years to implement.