In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

Another major winter storm is hitting large parts of the US: "Snow was falling from northern Texas to Connecticut on Thursday morning, as a storm system expected to badly affect travel stretched from northern Mexico to New England. The storm is likely to hit some of the busiest travel corridors in the country, dumping snow from Washington DC to New York City, before moving off the coast Thursday evening. ...On Wednesday evening the storm had already produced rare bipartisan agreement in Washington, where lawmakers scrambled to get out of town before government offices closed for the day on Thursday, the Associated Press reported." LOL. Sob.

[Content Note: Violence] Fucking hell: "U.S. ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert underwent two-and-a-half hours of surgery after he was slashed in the face by a Korean nationalist in an attack at a breakfast forum in Seoul on Thursday to discuss Korean reunification. Lippert, 42, was bleeding from deep wounds to his face and wrist but was able to walk after the attack. Doctors said later his condition was stable after 'very successful' surgery that required 80 stitches in his face. The assailant was caught and identified by police as 55-year-old Kim Ki-jong. ...The attack was a protest against joint military exercises by South Korean and U.S. troops, which Kim said interfered with reconciliation between North and South Korea, according to police following an interrogation."

Chief Justice John Roberts gives a possible clue as to where his thinking may be on the healthcare case before the Supreme Court: "Roberts, usually among the most active questioners on the court, scarcely said a word throughout the highly anticipated clash." He asked only one question, which "may turn out to be extremely important. ...Anthony Kennedy had asked about 'Chevron deference,' a doctrine of law that describes how much leeway the executive branch should have in interpreting laws. [Solicitor General Donald Verrilli], not surprisingly, said that the Chevron doctrine gave the Obama Administration more than adequate permission to read the law to allow subsidies on the federal exchange. 'If you're right about Chevron,' Roberts said, at long last, 'that would indicate that a subsequent Administration could change that interpretation?' Perhaps it could, Verrilli conceded. ...To limit the Obama Administration in this case would be to threaten the power of all Presidents, which Roberts may be loath to do. But he could vote to uphold Obama's action in this case with a reminder that a new election is fast approaching, and Obamacare is sure to be a major point of contention between the parties. A decision in favor of Obama here could be a statement that a new President could undo the current President's interpretation of Obamacare as soon as he (or she) took office in 2017. In other words, the future of Obamacare should be up to the voters, not the justices."

[CN: Racism; misogyny] To the fainting couches! "The Writers Guild of America West issued a new report this week on diversity in TV writers' rooms. The stats for women or for people of color are not good. Eleven percent of TV shows have no women writers on staff. Over one-third of TV shows have no minority writers on staff."

[CN: Animal abuse] In good news, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is retiring its elephant acts: "Feld Entertainment, the company that owns the circus, said Thursday that it will phase out the 13 elephants from its traveling circus performances. By 2018, the popular pachyderms will be relocated to a conservation center in central Florida, where they will join the rest of the Ringling Bros. herd of more than 40 elephants. ...'This is the most significant change we have made since we founded the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation in 1995,' Feld Entertainment CEO Kenneth Feld said in a statement." Which is not totally out of the goodness of their hearts, but because of the work of animal activists advocating for "anti-circus" and "anti-elephant" ordinances, which are increasingly costly for Feld Entertainment to fight.

As has been well-documented, Lena Dunham is pretty much an asshole who resists all criticisms of privilege in the making and content of her show Girls, but the male protagonist of the show, actor Adam Driver, isn't making the same mistake: "I'm a straight, white male, and I've had more opportunities than other people have, unjustly. And I've been lucky on top of that. ...I see so many actors and friends who are so fucking good—but for one reason or another, because they're female or African American, there aren't as many opportunities for them. It's total bullshit. My wife is an actress. She's had to audition for, you know, 'Blonde Girl #3.' There's just such shitty writing and not as many opportunities."

This is not only a terrific headline, but a great story: "Police rescue young harbour seal taking leisurely stroll down middle of Halifax street." LOL aww!

And finally! I love this story for a number of reasons, not least of which is that a friend I've known since middle school is part of Lucky Dog Rescue: "The Shedd Aquarium [in Chicago] has adopted its fifth rescue dog, as part of its ongoing effort to demonstrate how to build strong relationships with animals. Kobe, a 3-year-old Dogo Argentino mix, was found thin and dirty in Kendall County in 2013, and was on the euthanasia list until he was taken in by Lucky Dog Rescue, a volunteer-run animal rescue group. It was suspected he was a junkyard dog, because of how thin and dirty he was, and because a rope was tied around his neck when he was found. After nursing Kobe back to good health, and training him, Lucky Dog Rescue found him a foster family, but he apparently had a little too much energy for them, and the Shedd ended up adopting him for their 'One World' program. At the Shedd, he'll get further training through positive reinforcement before joining the 'One World' show, which showcases human connections to animals." Blub!