The snow
caused huge traffic pileups.
Insider, Hundreds
have been stranded on I-95 in Virginia for more than 12 hours, and they're
running out of fuel, food, and water in frigid conditions
·
Hundreds of drivers on I-95 in northern Virginia have been stuck
for hours in the snow.
·
Motorists told Insider that they're running out of fuel for
heating and have no food or water.
·
Some have been stuck on the road for more than 12 hours, and
haven't heard from the authorities yet.
All the snow photos so far have been posted fine, though last time, the blog posting was stopped after several photos. This time, the issue seems to be spacing and to accommodate, I've left extra space throughout. Thank you, readers, for your understanding. I don't understand the font changes.
Today, Jan. 6,
is the anniversary of the invasion of the capitol. I never got closer that afternoon than 6th
and East Capitol streets and soon retreated. Some folks I’ve encountered in Texas and
West Va., ardent Trump supporters, have insisted that the assault on the
capitol on Jan. 6 never actually took place (“fake news”), but I personally witnessed
it with my own eyes and ears. After
4 chaotic years of Donald Trump and the pandemic surge, Jan. 6
was just one more shocking and unprecedented event.
Since the last posting on New Year’s Day, when I had to split the post into 2 parts, I’ve learned from Wikipedia that blogs are blocked in a number of countries, including Cuba, China, and Vietnam, and have had portions blocked in other countries as well. There are also certain limitations, but Wikipedia does not specify most of them. Still, even that is a useful reference, since blogspot offers no guidance whatsoever.
Fortunately, in the wake of the pandemic, the internet and
computers have allowed remote work and made real-time connections possible without
the need to meet face-to-face. The internet has been a pandemic lifeline for so
many of us. I’ve been able to meet remotely with others for my Amnesty
International volunteer work and even to participate “live” with some folks in
Honduras. The internet has also been useful in connecting with others all over
the world. I recall the days when an airmail letter was sent out and we just
hoped it arrived in another country. Just yesterday, a young woman from Bhutan sent
me a message asking, “Auntie, how are you doing? How’s our pepper plant?” I had
to tell her that sadly the potted plant grown from seeds she’d brought here from
Bhutan a few years ago had finally died. My sister and her husband living in Philadelphia
are doing just fine without internet or a computer, though they do watch TV and
wonder how I can get along without it. They also subscribe to an actual newspaper
delivered to their doorstep.
Washington
Post, Man arrested on charges of attacking vaccination clinic,
injuring staffers he called 'murderers'
The virus has become the leading cause of death for American law enforcement officers, according to the nonprofit Officer Down Memorial Page [most apparently unvaccinated]
Orlando
Sentinel, Pressure mounts for health care providers: Florida threatens
fines for complying with the federal vaccination mandate
How did Covid
and vaccination become so politicized? Some folks would rather die than submit
to a vaccine.
This new omicron
virus variant is setting us all back, just as we thought we were emerging from
the pandemic. And maybe even worse is in store, as per the following: Daily
News, New COVID variant ‘IHU’ with 46 mutations detected in France
Yahoo News, Biden tries to rally
COVID-weary nation: 'We're all tired and frustrated'
The
pandemic’s persistence and shape-shifting is hobbling Biden’s efforts to get the
country and the economy back on track and not helping his approval ratings. If Joe
Manchin would finally come on board, that would help a lot of people, including
his own constituents.
The
Hill reports:
President
Biden's disapproval rating reached a new high in December, according to a new CNBC-Change Research poll. Overall, the
survey showed 56 percent of voters disapproved of Biden's performance in office...His
approval rating now stands at 44 percent. Biden was particularly hard hit when
it came to the public's opinion of his handling of the economy and the COVID-19
pandemic.
[Opinion on his handling of the economy would certainly improve if he could get
the stalled package approved.]
Biden and Harris have not demonstrated particular charisma, not like Obama or Reagan, though they do seem honest and workmanlike. It’s a relief that Trump is no longer in office and that we now have an adult, whatever his flaws, occupying the presidency. Worst of all is not that Trump so compulsively lies, beginning with the birther lie way back when. Rather, most worrisome is that so many Americans actually believe his lies, even passionately. I’ve witnessed that myself among folks in Texas and West Va. The man has apparently lived dishonestly his whole life, starting with a phony draft deferral, having proxies take his college entrance exams (and maybe even his course exams), cheating on his wives, dodging taxes, misrepresenting his investments, and now claiming that he actually won the 2020 election. As I may have said before, if he actually ever told the truth, we simply wouldn’t believe him. A year ago, the Washington Post reported that Trump's false or misleading claims total 30573 over 4 years.
As Rep. Liz Cheney has said about Trump’s refusal to try
to stop--instead to further encourage--the assault on the capitol in an unprecedented
and crude attempt to halt certification of Biden’s election, "any man who
would provoke a violent assault on the Capitol to stop the counting of
electoral votes, any man who would watch television as police officers were
being beaten, as his supporters were invading the Capitol of the United States,
is clearly unfit for future office, clearly can never be anywhere near the Oval
Office ever again.” Liz Cheney is trying to protect the integrity of the Republican
Party. She called Mike Pence “a hero.” I was never fond of her father, but appreciate
that he accompanied her to the House chamber for a Jan. 6 anniversary
remembrance today.
Yahoo News, Jan. 6
anniversary poll: Share of Trump voters who believe Biden 'won fair and square' falls
to 9% amid declining trust in U.S. democracy
Daily Beast, California Deputy DA Who Fought Vaccine Mandate Dies Abruptly After Falling Ill With COVID at Age 46 [If vaccine skeptics keep on dying at such a rapid rate, they won’t be around any more to keep the virus going.]
Daily Mail, Man, 75, dies
after falling out of viewing area and into Hawaii's active Kilauea Volcano:
Rescuers found his body 100 feet below crater rim [Thinking back about getting too
close to that rim myself, I shudder a bit. Who knows if the man died by
accident or suicide? He was apparently a resident of nearby Hilo.]
“Aquamation,” as was used for the body of Desmond Tutu, is apparently a more ecofriendly alternative to cremation and something we should all consider. “Aquamation is a water-based process whose scientific name is ‘alkaline hydrolysis,’ in which a ‘combination of gentle water flow, temperature, and alkalinity are used to accelerate the breakdown of organic materials’ when a body is laid to rest in soil.” https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/02/africa/desmond-tutu-aquamation-intl/index.html
[US] Immigration enforcement encountered nearly 2 MILLION migrants in fiscal year 2021 | Daily Mail Online ... 1.72 million resulted in expulsion
https://nypost.com/2021/10/18/biden-secretly-flying-underage-migrants-into-ny-in-dead-of-night/
[If true, the legal status of these migrants is
unknown.]
Miami Herald, Gov. DeSantis
wants $8M to remove ‘unauthorized aliens’ from Florida, escalates Biden feud
Orlando Sentinel, Pressure mounts for health care providers: Florida threatens fines for complying with the federal vaccination mandate
Reuters, U.S. arrests suspect in Haiti presidential assassination, source says
Washington
Post, U.S. charges Colombian
national in plot to kill Haitian president
U.S.
authorities detained Colombian national Mario Antonio Palacios at an airport in
Panama.
Miami Herald, Amid
diplomatic bungling, Jamaica set to send alleged Moïse assassin to Colombia,
not Haiti
AP, Haiti
PM flees under gunfire as Haiti rings in new year
Miami Herald, 15
migrants land in the Keys. ‘S.O.S. Cuba’ was printed on the side of their small
boat
Miami Herald, 119
Cubans repatriated after 12 migrant interceptions in the Florida Straits
Reuters, El
Salvador allows two Cuban journalists to enter country
...Hector Valdez and Esteban Rodriguez,
reporters for independent news website ADN Cuba, said on social media that they
arrived at El Salvador's main international airport on Tuesday night. They
intended to board a flight to Nicaragua but were told authorities in Managua
had prohibited their entry.
China is moving into Latin America, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10364663/China-plots-Latin-America-new-action-plan.html
Missouri state rep Mary Elizabeth Coleman, age 39, a mother of 6, is a lawyer and an outspoken anti-abortion advocate. Her opponents have labeled her an anti-feminist trying to take away women’s rights, forcing them to give birth against their will. Abortion defenders seem to be fighting hard against indications that public support for abortion, especially after the first trimester, seems to be slipping now as more becomes known about fetal development and as a fetus takes on a recognizable human form and becomes capable of feeling pain. After all, even animals are protected from undergoing unnecessary pain. Some people will now actually owe their existence to Coleman. Of course, all sorts of individuals start out in utero; some developing into amazing and wonderful people, others not so much. But many of them we will never get to see or ever get to know because their birth mothers’ “right to privacy” has halted their existence in utero. Coleman and others like her support life as a “seamless garment” from conception to natural death, also opposing the death penalty.
Coleman and other pro-lifers do need to put
their money where their mouth is to vigorously support financial and practical assistance
for low-income and single mothers after a child’s birth, not just up to
the birth itself. After all, parenthood is a commitment for the long haul and
even giving up a child for adoption is not easy, though many eager would-be parents
are waiting to adopt children and now birth parents can often maintain a
connection with a child after adoption.
AP, Vatican
novelty to start New Year as pope urges adoption
Wash. Post, Don’t choose pets over
children, Pope Francis says as birthrates drop
[Whenever I’ve
heard the pope speaking, he has used either Latin or Spanish]
CNA, His fellow
Democrats want him to resign because he's pro-life, but Aaron Oliver
won't budge Oliver, an Episcopal priest and New Jersey
Army National Guard chaplain [and Democratic municipal chair], says he's a
faithful Democrat soldier in every other respect. “I'm a loyal Democrat, a
lifetime Democrat,” he told CNA. “Many of us think that there’s not an
inconsistency with being pro-life and a Democrat. We think the party should be
the open tent that it claims to be.”
[The
following endeavor takes a novel approach.] Montgomery Advertiser, Dr.
Matthew Phillips says Life on Wheels clinics support women facing pregnancy
crises... The usual outcome of a woman getting an ultrasound from Life On
Wheels is that she either decides to parent and gets connected with a local
pregnancy center or she decides to continue with her abortion. [It’s her
choice, though actually seeing the reality of the developing fetus may convince
some women not to abort].
Desert Sun, As a
judge, I couldn't punish the killing of this unborn child. Should the law be
changed? [A pregnant woman was killed in accident caused
by a drunk driver.]
The abortion debate is now really muddling liberal and conservative labels.
Support for the death penalty is considered conservative, but abortion support is
liberal? Abortion providers are trying to change minds with personal stories,
but that’s a tactic that can work either way. Recently, a fetus of more than 20
weeks was reported to have been aborted in Connecticut after discovery that a
10-year-old girl was pregnant. At that late stage, since the trauma to the girl
for the abortion would be about as great as if she gave birth, why not let the fetus
go on to be born?
Effective birth control and sterilization for both men and women, despite
increases in life expectancy, have greatly reduced population growth even in
countries that prohibit abortion. (In Latin America, female sterilization is common after the birth of 2 or 3 children.) The
ideal population trajectory for a country, a region, or the whole world would probably
be maintenance of the population at current levels or with only very slight
increases over time. A falling population provides insufficient support for those
at older ages. In the US, most partnered women now have either no children or only
one or two, which does not result in population maintenance. Probably retirement
ages should continue to be raised and Americans should expect to keep on working
longer.
Russian proverb: “The Tears of
Strangers are Only Water"
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