DL Open Thread: Sunday, December 8, 2024

Now that Dr. Brian Haimes has dropped out of the race for the SD 5 nomination and has endorsed fellow ChristianaCareCorporocrat Ray Seigfried, the choice for the electors tomorrow night has become clear.  I’ll be writing a piece about that choice later today, but Shay Frisby is so clearly the only real Democrat in the race, and I hope electors will pay attention.

Ah, but that’s for later.

Assad Regime Crumbles.  Don’t know if that’s ‘good news’ or ‘bad news’, but it’s undeniably ‘news’:

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime crumbled on Sunday morning after the armed Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham pushed into Damascus, the capital. Syria’s prime minister promised to facilitate a transition of power. As people celebrated on the streets, a rebel leader on Syria’s public broadcaster said people were “fed up with 50 years of Assad rule,” and the Foreign Ministry issued a statement heralding a “new page” for the country. Assad’s whereabouts were unknown. The Foreign Ministry of Russia, a major backer of Syria’s government during the civil war, said Assad stepped down as president and left the country after negotiations with rebels, a claim that could not be independently verified.

The US response?:

“Multiple actors” in the Syrian civil war have “a terrible track record” on human rights, including Bashar al-Assad’s government, Russia, Iran and the Islamic State terrorist group, Daniel B. Shapiro, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, said Sunday, according to the Associated Press. He urged all parties “to protect civilians” and said if the fall of Assad’s regime is confirmed, “no one should shed any tears.”

Timothee Chalamet The CEO Shooter??  Hmmm, just as that Dylan bio-pic is coming out?  Someone should root through his trash (read this story!):

A shooting suspect “lookalike contest” took place in New York City’s Washington Square Park on Saturday — likely a comedic reference to the Timothée Chalamet lookalike contest held in the same location in October.

After New York police released a photo of a “person of interest” in the killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Thursday, many people on social media remarked on the individual’s apparent physical resemblance to the actor.

When independent reporter Talia Jane asked the handful of contestants at Saturday’s event about who organized the contest, one man joked, “The FBI.”

I could start a whole new QAnon by spinning these stories into one deep dark conspiracy.  But the Iggles are on at 1 today and I’ve got a whole ‘nother story to write.  My Own Private QAnon will just have to wait.

Like A Little Bird Flu With That Raw Milk? Hmmm, wonder what RFK Jr. thinks about this:

The United States Department of Agriculture will begin mandatory testing of US milk supplies for bird flu. The Friday announcement was a break from the previously voluntary testing program for the bird flu virus known as H5N1.

This strain of bird flu was first found in US dairy cattle in March, according to the USDA. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said in a statement that the testing program “will give farmers and farmworkers better confidence in the safety of their animals and ability to protect themselves, and it will put us on a path to quickly controlling and stopping the virus’ spread nationwide.”

Experts told the Times that they were disappointed with the speed of the transition toward a mandatory testing program. Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University School of Public Health, called the expanded testing “long overdue.” She explained, “Bulk milk testing is the primary way we are identifying outbreaks on farms, which is critical for preventing severe disease for farm workers who’ve been exposed.”

In addition to agricultural workers, the relatively small number of Americans who choose to consume raw, unpasteurized milk are at particular risk of contracting the bird flu. Nearly all milk sold in the United States is pasteurized, which eliminates the risk of contracting the virus. As Mother Jones reported earlier this year, promoting raw milk has become a trend among wellness influencers on sites like TikTok.

‘Wellness influencers’: Your Oxymoron Of The Day.

Wisconsin Judge Restores Public Unions’ Bargaining Power.  It’s taken 13 years, and it’s not over yet.  Nevertheless, progress:

In response to a lawsuit alleging that a notorious law passed by the former Republican governor of Wisconsin Scott Walker in 2011 is unconstitutional, a county judge ruled on Monday that more than 60 sections of the law and several sections of a follow-up law in 2015, Act 55, are unconstitutional.

Walker called the decision “brazen political activism at its worst” and Republicans plan an appeal.

Thousands protested the introduction of the law, which crippled unions’ funding and powers. Following the passage of Act 10, several Republican-dominated states pushed to pass similar legislation, including Florida which passed a similar law in May 2023 targeting public sector unions, and Iowa, which passed legislation that took away collective bargaining rights from many state employees in 2017.

Act 10 stripped collective bargaining rights from thousands of state employees in Wisconsin, limiting their ability to bargain solely on wage increases that cannot exceed inflation. It also forced public sector labor unions to annually vote, with a majority of members participating and voting, to maintain certification.

The law also forced public sector workers to pay more for healthcare and retirement benefits, resulting in around an 8.5% decrease in their pay for workers making $50,000 a year. (Maybe that’s where John Carney ‘borrowed’ the idea.)

I could have closed with WDEL’s photos from yesterday’s Claymont Holiday Parade, but they failed to post a picture of me in my profoundly disturbing Christmas get-up, so I’m boycotting them.

What do you want to talk about?