In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: Class warfare] Incoming Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is vowing to destroy the Affordable Care Act any way he and his party can. Republicans think people aren't entitled to healthcare.

[CN: Climate change] Holy shit: "A comprehensive, 21-year analysis of the fastest-melting region of Antarctica has found that the melt rate of glaciers there has tripled during the last decade. The glaciers in the Amundsen Sea Embayment in West Antarctica are hemorrhaging ice faster than any other part of Antarctica and are the most significant Antarctic contributors to sea level rise. This study by scientists at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), and NASA is the first to evaluate and reconcile observations from four different measurement techniques to produce an authoritative estimate of the amount and the rate of loss over the last two decades. 'The mass loss of these glaciers is increasing at an amazing rate,' said scientist Isabella Velicogna, jointly of UCI and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California."

But, by all means, Congress—let's debate taking healthcare away from people, instead of showing some urgency about how the planet is totally fucked.

[CN: Misogyny] Actual Headline: "Hillary should stop dithering." Actual Subhead: "The media have moved from Hillary fatigue to Hillary exhaustion." Actual paragraph from this garbage passing for journalism: "So far, Hillary's non-campaign campaign is based on three things: She is the inevitable Democratic nominee. She deserves the presidency. And there is nobody who can beat her." These are all things that the media, the poor babies who are so exhausted from writing pointless speculation about Hillary Clinton 24/7, have said about Clinton's "non-campaign." Maybe they could just STFU and take a nap.

[CN: Illness] Idris Elba is a good egg: "British actor Idris Elba and a host of international football stars launched a public awareness campaign on Wednesday to help halt West Africa's Ebola epidemic and recognize the health workers fighting the deadly disease. ...'For me the battle against Ebola is a personal one,' said Elba, whose parents are from Sierra Leone and Ghana. 'To see those amazing countries in West Africa where my father grew up and my parents married being ravaged by this disease is painful and horrific.'" Lending his celebrity to try to keep this story in the Western media is terrific. And it's infuriating that it's necessary, but it has utterly fallen out of the news in the States, now that the alarmism drummed up for the midterm election isn't useful anymore.

[CN: Police brutality; racism] The grand jury is expected to return a decision this week regarding the killing of Eric Garner. "In anticipation of the grand-jury announcement, the New York Police Department has started preparing for large-scale protests."

President Obama has announced an initiative "aimed at improving conditions and opportunities for American Indian youth, of whom a third live in poverty. Obama's Generation Indigenous initiative calls for programs focused on better preparing American Indian youth for college and careers, and developing leadership skills through the Department of Education and the Aspen Institute's Center for Native American Youth."

Breaking fifteenth century news: "It's Official: Skeleton Found Under Parking Lot Is Richard III."

Oh Maude, get ALL the tissues: Family adopts dying dog to give him the best last days ever. "Before Butch left this world for good, they were going to give him the best days he would probably ever know. He was taken to a fire station to see Santa, and then they threw him a big party complete with guests and gifts at a local park. The party menu consisted of cheeseburgers and pumpkin pie, and that evening he got to snuggle up with Kansas to sleep." ♥

And finally! Here is a kitten playing with an iPad. "You won!"