In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: Flooding; death] Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear has declared a state of emergency after severe flooding in the state has killed two people and prompted rescue efforts for six others who are missing: "Rescue crews are searching in heavy rain and mud in the state's hilly Appalachian terrain, in the north-eastern area of the state. ...The search area is eight miles (13km) long, in a rural area with only 1,200 residents. Those missing range in age from 22 to 74. ...Crews will continue searching ground they have already covered and start new searches using excavators and dump trucks, joined by the US National Guard." My condolences to the families and friends of those lost, and I fervently hope that the rescue efforts find survivors.

[CN: War; Nazi reference] Republicans are losing their shit over President Obama's nuclear deal with Iran, because of course they are, and here is Illinois Senator Mark Kirk being typically ridiculous: "'This is the greatest appeasement since Chamberlain gave Czechoslovakia to Hitler,' Kirk continued, saying he believed Obama only went through with the deal because he has a poor understanding of history and did not realize appeasement made war more likely. Kirk said he thought the deal meant that Israel would now have to take 'military action against Iran.'" For fuck's sake.

[CN: Carcerality; racism] Yesterday, President Obama used the occasion of a speech at the NAACP annual convention to criticize the US' mass incarceration: "Calling for an end to mass incarceration and for wholesale changes in a system that 'by a wide margin … disproportionately impacts communities of color,' the president described the criminal justice system as 'an aspect of American life that remains particularly skewed by race and by wealth,' and 'a source of inequity that has ripple effects on families and on communities throughout our nation.' ...The speech was delivered just one day after the president commuted the sentences of 46 federal prisoners convicted for nonviolent drug offenses, and appears to be part of a larger late-presidency push to make progress on an issue that enjoys a unique degree of bipartisan support. Obama noted several times in his address the 'unlikely bedfellows' that reform has brought together, like senators Corey Booker and Rand Paul who introduced legislation in March aimed at keeping nonviolent offenders out of prison. 'You've got Americans for Tax Reform and the ACLU, you've got the NAACP and the Koch brothers!' Obama said to laughter from the audience." Major kudos to the prison reform and prison abolition activists whose tireless work has raised awareness all the way to the White House.

[CN: Police brutality; racism] "One federal judge thinks the taxpayers of Gardena, CA deserve to see the video of police officers opening fire on three innocent people, killing one. With the city getting ready to pay $4.7 million to the family of Ricardo Diaz-Zeferino, an unarmed man shot for putting down his hands [to pull up his pants], Judge Stephen V. Wilson believes the defendants should not be able to hide from their deadly mistakes." Good. I think there's a serious conversation to be had about the proliferation of images of the state-sanctioned murders of people of color, and the value of sharing them, but the state should not be allowed to conceal those images from public view.

[CN: Food insecurity; class warfare] My pal Katie Klabusich on the GOP, food stamps, and "How Republicans Are Taking Food out of My Mouth." Go read it!

[CN: Abortion stigma] In news that will surprise no one, a new study has found that "only very rarely do women regret having an abortion." No kidding! "The research also hints at what factors might make women feel more regret about the choice to have an abortion. Women who struggled more with the initial decision and those with a greater desire to be pregnant were more likely to say that abortion was the wrong choice for them. Women who felt that their community stigmatized abortion and women without much social support reported more negative emotions around the procedure." (Huh!)

[CN: Homophobia] LOOOOOOVE: "Italian Sports Magazine Taunts Homophobes with Kissing Gay Rugby Couple." That picture! *fans self*

Nearly $377 million has already been raised for the 2016 presidential election, which is still a year and a half away. Thanks a fuckload, Citizens United!

And finally! "Dog with allergies to humans adopted by vet who treated it." Are you even kidding me? Awwwwww.