A blog about societal, cultural, and civilizational collapse, and how to stave it off or survive it. Named after the legendary character "Crazy Eddie" in Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's "The Mote in God's Eye." Expect news and views about culture, politics, economics, technology, and science fiction.
Meyers isn't the only late-night talk show host with blistering monologues on guns and guests favoring gun control. Both Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel did as well. Maybe I will post them, too. Stay tuned.
After at least 20 people were shot and killed in a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, James shares his sense of heartbreak about the day's events and frustration about the way nothing ever seems to change when it comes to America's rampant gun violence.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern outlines what her country's government did to enact sensible gun control after a terrible mass shooting in Christchurch.
Prime Minister Ardern also talked about what her country did to reduce the effects of the pandemic, something I haven't written about before. In fact, I've never mentioned New Zealand's Prime Minister before. Welcome to the blog, Prime Minister!*
Follow over the jump for two of Stephen's monologues about guns and another guest who discussed the topic.
Veterans and other people all across America are answering a special Memorial Day request this year. At precisely 3 p.m. local time, wherever they are, they will all be playing “Taps.” One third-generation veteran will be strumming his guitar, while another man took trumpet lessons for seven months to be able to participate. The powerful tribute was dreamed up by CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman, who says, “The amazing thing about ‘Taps’ is it means different things to different people.”
CBS News Correspondent Steve Hartman urges musicians to play "Taps" at 3pm on Memorial Day to honor Americans who gave their lives for our country.
While the CBS Sunday Morning video I embedded two years ago mentioned Hartman, it didn't hit me how much of a personal campaign backed by his employer Taps Across America was at the time. Watching these videos made me realize it. That doesn't mean it's a bad idea; I rather like it. As I wrote in 2020, "I'll be listening at 3:00 P.M. local time for anyone playing 'Taps.' I hope my readers are, too."
Go behind-the-scenes of Prehistoric Planet with executive producers Jon Favreau and Michael Gunton for a closer look at how they brought this wondrous world to life...
Experience the wonders of our world like never before in this epic docuseries from Jon Favreau and the producers of Planet Earth. Travel back 66 million years to when majestic dinosaurs and extraordinary creatures roamed the lands, seas, and skies.
Jon Favreau and Michael Gunton confirmed what I wrote last week.
I was a big fan of "Walking with Dinosaurs," a sequel to which I mentioned in Infidel 753 and I talk fossils and this show looks like it will be a worthy successor to it. It's been 23 years since that aired and both the science and technology have advanced since then, so the depictions of the dinosaurs and other Mesozoic organisms will reflect both. Besides, I think every generation deserves its own dinosaurs, both real and fictional.
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By the way, all of these scenes are from the latest Cretaceous, indicating that this show is looking at different biomes on the Earth at the same time, unlike "Walking with Dinosaurs," which proceeded through the entire Mesozoic to show how the planet and is organisms changed over time. This makes it more like Planet Earth II and Blue Planet II, which examine different environments on the modern Earth. That's an interesting conceit and one I'm looking forward to watching.
Follow over the jump for videos that show how the series depicts the paleontological discoveries since "Walking with Dinosaurs" and supports those depictions with science.
There is another viral disease outbreak making news besides COVID-19. SciShow explains as it asks and answers What Is Monkeypox?
While cases of Monkeypox are being found worldwide, the nature of the disease and the science we currently have available keeps concerns from growing.
I found this video both concerning and reassuring — concerning in that monkeypox is the kind of disease that "The Hot Zone" warned about, a tropical zoonotic illness spread by modern travel, reassuring because it, unlike COVID-19 or Ebola, is neither that dangerous nor an unknown quantity. As I wrote last month about nuclear weapons, "learning about it made me less anxious, as I could use my knowledge as a source of power over my fears." I hope the same is true for my readers.
Seth takes a closer look at the powerful forces and leaders behind the decades-long fraud that convinced people it's their constitutional right to own arsenals of military-grade weaponry.
I agree with the late Chief Justice Warren Burger that the current interpretation of the Second Amendment is a legal fraud. What does "a well-regulated militia" mean and why is that being ignored?
Sen. Chris Murphy talks about the heartbreaking school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, challenging his colleagues to take action during his speech before the Senate and discussing the progress that still needs to be made for gun control.
Murphy did a good job of expanding on the history of gun control since Sandy Hook, which prompted me to declare This week deserves Grumpy Cat and ask Expanded concealed carry, really? I hope Senator Murphy is right that the political and social climate has turned in favor of gun control during the past decade.
Seth takes a closer look at pro-gun politicians refusing to take action for stricter gun safety measures to stop America's plague of mass shootings and pitching an insane alternative to get rid of doors instead of guns.
Ugh, Ted Cruz. I'm glad the correspondent with Sky News and the rest of the reporters interrogating him asked why mass shootings, particularly school shootings, are a uniquely American problem. It shows that he doesn't have an answer beyond the deflections he responded with.
Meyers isn't the only late-night talk show host with blistering monologues on guns and guests favoring gun control. Both Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel did as well. Maybe I will post them, too. Stay tuned.
I'm recycling the comment I left on this video as a reaction.
I was looking for Jeff Berardelli to deliver this news and here he is at WFLA instead of CBS News. Just seeing him on this channel was enough to get me to subscribe to its YouTube channel. Hi, Jeff, from one of your fans!
Earth's carbon dioxide levels have hit the highest recorded level in human history, new data shows.
For the first time on record, monthly average carbon dioxide (CO2) levels exceeded 420 parts per million (ppm) in April, their highest peak since accurate measurements began 64 years ago.
They even reached 421.33 ppm on one day last week, as greenhouse gas emissions continue to soar around the world.
The day before yesterday, the CO2 concentration measured by weather balloon over Hawaii reached 421.50 ppm, another record.
Four key climate change indicators – greenhouse gas concentrations, sea level rise, ocean heat and ocean acidification – set new records in 2021. This is yet another clear sign that human activities are causing planetary scale changes on land, in the ocean, [and in the atmosphere.]
There is a 50:50 chance of the annual average global temperature temporarily reaching 1.5 °C above the pre-industrial level for at least one of the next five years – and the likelihood is increasing with time, according to a new climate[...]
While it's theoretically possible that we can follow this plan and Japan, South Korea, and the U.S. federal government are at least shooting to be carbon neutral by 2050, I think it's more likely that the world as a whole will follow China's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. That involves greenhouse gas emissions peaking by 2030 and net zero by 2060. That won't keep us below 1.5oC above the pre-industrial average, but it might just be enough to keep us below 2oC of warming above that same benchmark. I hope that's good enough. At least it won't be Eocene levels of warming — I hope.
It's bad enough that we're on track for Pliocene temperatures at current rates of warming. Welcome to the 400 ppm world.
*Liberals sometimes call The Daily Mail "The Daily Fail" because of its perceived conservative social, economic, and political stances, but I have found it has decent science reporting, even if it serves the paper's tendencies to scare its readers. At least it's frightening them with something real and factual. Just the same, I may explore the nickname and perception later. Stay tuned.
With the damage caused by the remains of Hurricane Ida fresh on their minds, some New York City residents are bracing for another active hurricane season. CBS2's Christina Fan and Lonnie Quinn report.
While I think CBS New York did an excellent job of depicting the human impact of Hurricane Ida, I found its explanation of the science behind the storm season prediction a bit lacking compared to ABC 13 Houston's NOAA predicts above average Atlantic hurricane season, releases storm names, which includes the primary list for names for 2022's tropical storms and hurricanes.
Chief Meteorologist Travis Herzog explains NOAA's 2022 hurricane season predictions.
I have a personal interest in this season, as one of my names is on this list, just like it was on the lists for 2010, when it actually was used, but I don't recall noticing it then, and 2016, when it wasn't. I paid more attention when another of my names appeared in the 2005 list, when it was used, as that was the first time there were more storms than names, just like 2020. I paid even more attention in 2011, when that name appeared next to my ex-girlfriend's. We broke up more than 15 years ago, but we're still together as hurricane names and will be until at least 2023. Ironic.
Speaking of named storms, if this season results in 21 named storms, it will be the third consecutive year that all names on the primary list will be used. Yikes! That's enough to make me conclude by being a good environmentalist and recycling what I last wrote in August 2021.
The average global temperature is on the rise, evidenced by the ten warmest years on record happening since 2005. But this isn’t just about greenhouse gases preventing heat from escaping. Another culprit comes in the form of…clouds.
That's a good explanation of how nights can and sometimes do warm up faster than days. It also serves to illustrate that climate change results from changes in the average of all temperature readings over time, not just the daily high temperature. SciShow also covered what this means to people in last week's Can’t Sleep? Blame the Climate Crisis.
Today, we bring you two surprising effects of the climate crisis: less sleep and more dying trees.
I wrote Lancet reports climate change is a 'medical emergency' nearly four years ago and I don't recall sleep disorders being one of the effects mentioned, but that doesn't mean they aren't important. As Hank Green explained, losing sleep results in other health issues, showing that everything is connected to everything else and there is no free lunch. It also means that if someone says they are losing sleep over climate change, they could mean it literally.
Another issue I have with cryptocurrency is its environmental cost. I'm sharing two videos that address that concern and explain how to fix it today, beginning with DW Planet A asking Can Bitcoin clean up toxic waste?
Some new players in the crypto space are using bitcoin mining to clean up toxic waste. So is it possible to “green up” bitcoin’s dirty track record? Can mining digital currency ever actually be good for the environment?
This is a good overview of the environmental problems caused by mining crypto, including efforts by the crypto miners to make their mining at least look more sustainable. That ranges from actually making the process greener to mere greenwashing.
The world of cryptocurrency and NFTs is riddled with controversy, but somewhere amid all of that blockchain there's some reckoning with reality that must be done.
SciShow explained the technology better than DW Planet A, while the latter explained the environmental issues more thoroughly. That's why I embedded both videos.
Both videos also relate to Commoner's Laws: There is no free lunch, there is no away, everything is connected to everything else, and nature knows best, which appears in the first video, relying on renewable energy and energy from waste, as there is no waste in nature.
An epic true story about majestic dinosaurs and the habitats they roamed. Begin exploring coasts, deserts, freshwater, ice worlds, and forests May 23 on AppleTV +
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Experience the world of dinosaurs like never before in this epic five-night event, from Executive Producer Jon Favreau and the producers of Planet Earth. Featuring David Attenborough, Prehistoric Planet streams on Apple TV+ May 23rd.
I was a big fan of "Walking with Dinosaurs," a sequel to which I mentioned in Infidel 753 and I talk fossils and this show looks like it will be a worthy successor to it. It's been 23 years since that aired and both the science and technology have advanced since then, so the depictions of the dinosaurs and other Mesozoic organisms will reflect both. Besides, I think every generation deserves its own dinosaurs, both real and fictional.
Apple TV uploaded five more previews, one for every night of the "epic five-night event." Follow over the jump to see those.
I'm returning to tales of collapse and decline in the Motor City today with the latest episode from Jake Williams of Bright Sun Films: Abandoned - Detroit's Packard Plant.
At one time, Detroit Michigan was the capitol for automotive manufacturing. The perfect place for Packard Automotive to relocate to and build our their dream plant. After decades of success and buildings encompassing millions of square feet, the brand went under and their factory in limbo. Now, the former Packard plant stands as a monument of failure and quite possibly the largest abandoned factory in the world, in the middle of Detroit.
As much as I wrote about the post-industrial decline and rebirth of Detroit during the early days of this blog, I mentioned the Packard Plant only once before, as a filming location for "Devils Night: Dawn of the Nain Rouge."* On the one hand, that ties into one of the uses of the Packard Plant that Jake listed, as a location for movies. On the other, that's a major omission by me and it's long past time I covered it. Thanks to Jake for creating and uploading this video to give me the opportunity.
The American bumblebee has declined by nearly 90 percent across the U.S. Now there’s a new push to protect it under the Endangered Species Act. NBC’s Kerry Sanders reports as our series TODAY Climate continues.
While the U.S. hasn't added the American Bumblebee to the national Endangered Species List, at least one state has added it to the state's endangered species list, as WWLP-22News reported in American Bumble Bee was added to the endangered species list nearly three years ago.
The American Bumble Bee was a common sight in Massachusetts more than 50 years ago, but the population's been in steady decline for the last 25 years, and are now found almost exclusively in Franklin and Hampshire counties.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that the variable cuckoo bumblebee, a critically imperiled species that has not been observed since 1999, may warrant Endangered Species Act protection. The announcement kicks off a one-year status assessment of the species.
Today’s positive finding comes in response to a petition filed in 2021 by the Center for Biological Diversity. If the variable cuckoo bumblebee gets protected under the Act, it would be the first cuckoo bumblebee listed and the third listed bumblebee after the rusty patched bumblebee and Franklin’s bumblebee.
“These bumblebees need protection urgently, and if the Biden administration acts quickly, we can safeguard this important species before it’s gone forever,” said Jess Tyler, a Center staff scientist who authored the petition. “I’m hopeful that the variable cuckoo bumblebee is still out there, but we need swift federal action to help this species avoid extinction.”
The variable cuckoo bumblebee was once widely found in open grasslands and meadows. While it has lived mainly in the eastern United States, it has also been observed as far southwest as Arizona and as far northeast as New Hampshire. It was last seen in the 1990s in Nebraska, Missouri and Florida. There have been no confirmed observations of this species since 1999.
Cuckoo bumblebees are social parasites that take over the nests of other bumblebees by subduing the resident queen and tricking the host’s worker bees into feeding and caring for the cuckoo bumblebee’s young. In doing so, cuckoo bumblebees help keep host bumblebee populations diverse and healthy, including by reducing disease virulence.
The variable cuckoo bumblebee is entirely dependent on its host species, the American bumblebee, which has declined by an estimated 89%. The Center has also petitioned to list the American bumblebee under the Act and is fighting to get it protected. The variable cuckoo bumblebee and its host are also threatened by multiple concurrent factors that degrade their habitat, including intensive agriculture and pesticides.
The Service will now initiate a scientific status review and public comment period before deciding whether to protect the variable cuckoo bumblebee.
Background
Wild bees are essential to the pollination of wild flowering plants and many flowering crops. North America is home to 46 species of bumblebees, but an increasing number are in trouble. Nearly 1 in 4 bumblebee species is in decline and threatened with extinction in North America.
The variable cuckoo bumblebee is a generalist pollinator and was once found in a wide range of open habitats, including urban areas. Their host species makes its nests in pre-existing cavities, like rodent burrows and rotten logs, or on the surface of the ground in large grass bunches. The variable cuckoo bumblebee is one of a rare group of parasitic cuckoo bumblebees that play important regulatory roles in bumblebee communities and ecosystems.
I just hope it's not too late, as the Variable Cuckoo Bumblebee has not been seen this century and may already be extinct.
Everyone has heard of honeybees, but what about the 4,000 species of wild, native bees that live alongside honey bees here in North America? These lesser-known, but equally industrious insects not only pollinate our crops but also support healthy, diverse ecosystems across the continent. Unfortunately, many of these native bee species are in trouble. In The Power of Pollinators, entomologist and insect evangelist Dr. Samuel Ramsey showcases the diversity, beauty, and importance of North America’s wild bees, and shares simple steps that everyone can take to help them. Get engaged at www.plantwildflowers.org.
All of this is good information I plan on passing along to my students.
Seth takes a closer look at North Carolina Republican congressman Madison Cawthorn, one of the most vocal proponents of Donald Trump's big lie about the 2020 election, losing his GOP primary last night despite Trump’s endorsement.
While Rep. Madison Cawthorn was the clear loser in the North Carolina primary, as of our taping time the results were still too close to call in the Pennsylvania GOP Senate primary pitting Dr. Mehmet Oz against David McCormick.
Pennsylvania's chaotic Republican Senate primary is still too close to call,, with doctor Mehmet Oz locked in a tight race with former hedge fund executive Dave McCormick. Steve Kornacki breaks down the GOP Senate primary, the Democratic Senate primary and the GOP primary for governor.
Kornacki concentrated on the Republican contest because it's too close to call. There are still a lot of mail-in and even in-person votes still count and the election looks to be headed to a recount. Joe Scarborough ranted about the reason for that in Joe: Pennsylvania Should Count Early Votes Early, Like Florida Does.
Pennsylvania's Republican Senate primary was too close to call early Wednesday, with Mehmet Oz locked in a tight race with Dave McCormick. The state secretary of state’s office indicated in a statement that it could take days to report unofficial results due to mail-in and absentee ballots. Joe Scarborough discusses why mail-in and absentee ballots should be counted early to avoid delays.
I grew up in California, where the absentee ballots were counted first, at least before 1989 when I moved out of the state, so I agree with Scarborough that other states should do it, too.
Second Lady of Pennsylvania, Giselle Barreto Fetterman, joins Morning Joe to discuss her husband, the current lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania John Fetterman, winning the Democratic nomination for an open U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania immediately following his having a stroke.
Congratulations to Fetterman and I wish him a speedy and complete recovery.
Five states are holding primary elections today, the most populous of which is Pennsylvania. FiveThirtyEight's coverage of these primaries has focused on the Keystone State, most recently when it asked Who Will Win The GOP's Senate Primary In Pennsylvania?*
In this installment of the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast, the crew discusses the races to watch in Tuesday's primaries in Idaho, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oregon and Pennsylvania. They also introduce a new FiveThirtyEight collaboration with Ipsos in which we ask Americans about the issues they care most about in the run-up to the midterm elections. The first poll, coming out this week, is all about inflation.
The supposed front runner for the GOP nomination is Mehmet Oz, but both Kathy Barnette and David McCormick (shown in the preview image) could beat him today. They're likely to face off against John Fetterman, who is leading Conor Lamb for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. FiveThirtyEight has more on him in How John Fetterman Became A Democratic Favorite In Pennsylvania.
John Fetterman is the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania. He's a Democrat, he's covered in tattoos, he's running for Senate and he's polling really well in his party's primary. But he's trending these days because of resurfaced reports that he chased an unarmed Black jogger with a shotgun in 2013.
Not a great look for a Democratic candidate, but it hasn't seemed to hurt him much, if at all.
Voters in Idaho, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oregon and Pennsylvania are heading to the polls this week to vote in their states’ primary elections. Here are the Republican candidates running for Congress, as well as state-level positions like secretary of state, who support former President Donald Trump’s “Big Lie.”
Of this week’s primaries, we’ve found Pennsylvania has the greatest share of Big Lie candidates running: We’ve identified 15 of 41 Republican candidates there who have backed Trump’s claims of a stolen election. In particular, the race to become the GOP nominee for governor has attracted multiple election deniers. One of the frontrunners in that race — Doug Mastriano — has repeatedly questioned the results of the 2020 election, including in Pennsylvania and he supported Trump’s efforts to try to overturn results there. He has said there was “cheating and fraud” in Pennsylvania and “rampant voting problems,” though his evidence relies on anecdotes and misinformation.
Personally, I'd rather call it Trump's dangerous delusion, his fixed belief that the election was stolen from him despite allevidence, which I see as related to his vulnerabilitytoconspiracy theories, but "the Big Lie" is the established phrase used by CNBC and others, so I'm calling it that instead. It's a lie, too.
Mayer's reporting shows that Trump's delusion is not just dangerous but contagious. It's bad enough that there is one pandemic running around; we don't need another.
The delusion has continued to spread, infecting a lot of candidates in today's elections. Ugh.
Weekend Update compares this week's headlines to 'Mad Max' on last night's 'SNL'
"opened with a litany of unpleasant realities" that were "also a list of future blogging topics." One of those was the baby formula shortage. As Colin Jost (and his writers) noted, it's ironic, if not downright perverse, that Alito's leakedSupreme Court opinion mentioned "the domestic supply of infants" at the same time we're having trouble feeding the ones we already have. That's dystopian.
A baby formula shortage has become a major problem for parents around the U.S., one without quick solutions. About 40 percent of formula is out of stock nationwide due to supply chain disruptions, inflation and a recall by one of the biggest producers. Meanwhile, the White House announced steps to address the shortage. Brian Dittmeier, of the National WIC Association, joins Ali Rogin to discuss.
I agree with Jessica Cohen Taubman that moms should be in charge of the world, at least for a few days, just to solve problems like this. I'm sharing one such solution at the end of the post.
While PBS did a good job of showing the effects of the shortages in its interviews of mothers and explaining what the U.S. government could do to solve it, it didn't focus enough on the causes of the problem. For that, I turn to CNBC Television explaining How the baby formula shortage happened.
CNBC's Valerie Castro joins The News with Shepard Smith to report on the baby formula shortage and what the administration hopes to do about it.
Four companies control 90% of the market. I've seen that before, as four companies control the beef industry. I wrote then that this could be bad for consumers. The baby formula shortage shows one way this happens.
President Joe Biden spoke with retailers and manufacturers to make supplies available as quickly as possible, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday.
Looks like the Biden Administration is taking this issue seriously. Also, this was one of Jen Psaki's final press conferences. I wish her success in her future endeavors.
The White House promised it’s working hard to solve the national baby formula shortage. But for families with newborn babies and infants, a solution can’t come soon enough. As they get down to their last formula supply, people are getting more and more desperate in their search. A mom named Gina from Sound Beach, New York, drove for hours with her 10-month-old son, looking for formula. She found a lot of bare shelves.
As I've written before, Inside Edition is a syndicated infotainment newsmagazine that is not the hardest news source, so I'm not surprised it presents stories in a very personalized and somewhat sensationalized way. Still, it's a major source of information for many people — this video currently has 412,976 views, nearly twenty times more than the next most viewed video I embedded from CNBC Television with 24,779 — so I shouldn't ignore it. Besides, it shows a Natureknowsbest solution, donating breast milk, that mothers are contributing to help with the shortage. I find that admirable; I just don't know how scalable it is.
I told my readers to "Stay tuned to see how many of [the unpleasant realities] I tackle this week" yesterday. One down.
[W]hat once felt like the End Times have just become the times reminded me that my wife remarked after looking at the news over the weekend that it feels like it's one apocalyptic event after another. My response was that the pandemic alone isn't the Apocalypse, but it is an apocalypse. The same with all the rest of the calamitous events this summer.
The summer of 2022 hasn't even begun yet, but I still think and feel this way about the news.
Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like Mega Millions announcing the wrong winning number.
Congratulations to Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra on winning Eurovision! May that provide a morale boost to the country in its war with Russia. Also, congratulations on getting me to mention Eurovision for the first time since Oscar nominated scores and songs for National Film Score Day 13 months ago.
Even the writers for "SNL" needed a break from the news and they put words to that effect in Kate McKinnon's mouth as Nicole Wallace, who introduced Johnny Depp and Amber Heard Trial Cold Open.
Johnny Depp (Kyle Mooney) and his lawyer (Aidy Bryant) show evidence in the courtroom.
I haven't been following the trial closely, but the viewers that have commented that this wasn't nearly as funny as the real thing and expressed their disappointment. Still, it's a sign that, like me, "SNL" also has "I can't be all DOOM all the time" moods and needed some escapism. I can't say I blame them.
*It's also a list of future blogging topics. Stay tuned to see how many of them I tackle this week.
CNBC's Shep Smith reports on the increase in drug overdose deaths in the United States. Last year, more than 107,000 people died. It was the highest total on record.
While Shep Smith did a good job of presenting the headline numbers, including the best preview image I could find, he and his writers did not explore the reasons for the surge in overdose deaths. I turn to PBS NewsHour's Overdose deaths in the U.S. reached record levels in 2021 to explain those.
New CDC data released Wednesday indicates that deaths from drug overdoses in the U.S. reached a record-high last year. More than 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, the highest annual death toll ever recorded. Deaths from fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine rose sharply. Dr. Nora Volkow, the National Institute On Drug Abuse director, joins Geoff Bennett to discuss.
Americans and others taking drugs to deal with the stress of the pandemic doesn't surprise. I expect it's part of the 15 million excess deaths worldwide I mentioned two days ago. It's also an example of two of Commoner's Laws: There is no free lunch and everything is connected to everything else. As I wrote in COVID-19 and diabetes for World Diabetes Day 2021, a pandemic update, "All of the systems in our body are connected to each other and what we do to or for one system will have effects on the rest. Also, isolating ourselves to protect us from the pandemic comes at a price, which we have to pay one way or another..."
Speaking of connections, overdoses from fentanyl contamination of other drugs have shown up in two of my favorite shows, "Ozark" and "Big Sky." I can't escape the opioid epidemic even in my entertainment.
By the way, I'm glad to see PBS interviewing Dr. Nora Volkow. While the U.S. probably wouldn't have more than 100,000 deaths without the pandemic, the country would still likely be seeing record numbers of overdoses and news organizations would be interviewing Dr. Volkow even more often. She deserves the recognition.
That's it for reality. Stay tuned for the next Sunday entertainment feature, which will likely be another compilation of highlights from tonight's "Saturday Night Live."
You are the passengers on a most uncommon elevator about to ascend into your very own episode of The Twilight Zone.
On July 22nd, 1994 - the Hollywood Tower Hotel was opened to the public. It was and still is an absolute modern marvel of an attraction that completely changed how the industry viewed thrill rides. This is the history of The Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror.
I plan on covering the technology of the attraction and Tokyo DisneySea's version of the ride in future Friday the 13th or Halloween installments. In the meantime, I have a drinkrecipe video for today's theme, Monster Movie Happy Hour "Twilight Zone" cocktail.
The crew step back in time to 1960 and help celebrate the 60th anniversary of the premiere of Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone" tv series.
The technology used to replace the actual background with the images of a 1960s living room and kitchen looks like the one I use on Zoom, where the programming is very good at recognizing what's me, but not so good at keeping any inanimate object I'm holding in the picture if it's not directly in front of me. I played "magic tricks" on my students last semester by making my smartphone disappear when I moved it off to my side. Still, I found this an interestingly conceived and executed video, despite the low budget effects, and subscribed to the channel. I can always use more entertaining drink recipes!
Enough fantasy and entertainment. I will return to reality tomorrow. Stay tuned.
As the death toll from the coronavirus nears 1 million Americans, we’ve been exploring why the U.S. Suffered such a terrible loss, especially when compared to other nations similar to us. While there are many reasons for this, one of them is that many Americans have not wanted to be vaccinated. William Brangham reports.
I'm going to be a good environmentalist by recycling my reaction from February.
I found this depressing but not surprising, as I've been seeing this develop since I wrote Samantha Bee on 'Mask Hysteria' two years ago, even before vaccines. Since then, I've been paying attention to Charles Gaba at ACASignups.net who has been tracking vaccination rates vs. partisanship since May 2021....He found the same relationship between party identification and vaccination rates that [PBS NewsHour] showed in the video above.
Nearly 15 million people around the world have died from COVID's impact, directly or indirectly, during the first two years of the pandemic, according to a new World Health Organization report. It’s also about three times higher than governments have reported so far. University of Washington's Jonathan Wakefield, whose modeling work helped produce the report, joins William Brangham for more.
Speaking of which, both PBS and ABC News, which broadcast and uploaded Breakthrough COVID-19 deaths increasing as omicron subvariants spread last night, still think the country is close but hasn't passed that grim milestone yet, but expect it will pass it soon (I think we passed it already).
Breakthrough deaths comprise a larger share of COVID-19 deaths amid a surge of cases nationwide. ABC News medical contributor Dr. Alok Patel explains what you need to know.
That's not good news. Despite what Dr. Fauci said to PBS NewsHour last month, we are still in an active pandemic and cases are going up, even though deaths so far haven't followed suit.
That's it for today's pandemic update. Follow over the jump for the most active links on Twitter during the eleventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Chief Medical Advisor to the President, delivered a compelling speech to the Class of 2020 and Class of 2021 graduates at the University of Michigan Comeback Commence at Michigan Stadium on Saturday, May 7, 2022. He applauded the graduates’ adaptability, resilience, and dedication despite the difficulties and uncertainties of the pandemic, saying he is “in awe” of them.
After praising the graduates and recounting how he began researching HIV and AIDS, he remarked on the polarized political environment where those on one side of the ideological divide reject science. In particular, he warned the attendees against "the normalization of untruths." That's a message I can get behind.*
Electric vehicles are becoming a larger share of the U.S. car market, pushed both by consumer demand and federal policy changes. #NewsyInTheLoop shares why more people are going electric and the obstacles some automakers and potential buyers are seeing along the way.
It certainly convinced my daughter. She saw $6/gallon gas in Hollywood last fall and decided to buy an EV. I approve.
The response by Congressional Democrats like Chuck Schumer is a continuation of what I described last month.
PBS is showing both sides trying to score political points, Democrats against big corporations and Republicans against environmental regulation. It's no surprise that I'm on the Democrats' side on this. However, if CNBC is correct about gasoline and diesel retailers being reluctant about lowering prices at the pump so that they can recoup losses incurred on the way up, then gas station owners are to blame for the continued high cost of fuel. That would mean beating up on local small businesses. I don't think that would play well for either party's politicians, who would rather be seen as defending the public against big business or "big government."
We are not trying to get into the Guinness Book of World Records, but here we are paying a record $4.32 a gallon in Michigan for gas. AAA reports prices in Michigan hit a new high on May 9.
Gas retailers should be selling regular at $4.45 to break even, so they're selling at a loss to keep customers coming in. That's the good news. The bad news is they will keep the price of gas high once crude oil and wholesale gas prices start falling in late July and August. WDIV looks at that price trajectory and the reasons behind it in Michigan gas prices hit new record high.
Help Me Hank is on the mission to figure out why gas prices are soaring.
The other is increased demand in the face of lower supply, something I've worried about for a while, most recently in Oil falls below $0.00 for the first time ever, when I wrote "the collapse in oil prices will lead to oil company bankruptcies, which will decrease competition and lead to higher prices in the future." Those higher prices because of decreased competition and restrained supply have arrived and I think they will last at least until next year. Get used to them.
I agree that $5.00/gallon regular gasoline is coming to Michigan by Memorial Day. I'm glad I drive a Prius.
By the way, high gas prices have increased reader interest in a decade-old post with a catchy title, Hard times plus rising gas prices equals gas thefts. That's because gas thefts are becoming a big problem again. Maybe I should write about it. Stay tuned.
John Oliver discusses the leaked draft opinion that looks set to overturn Roe v. Wade, how we got to this point, and where we may be headed.
Oliver didn't go as far back as the 1200s, which "Saturday Night Live" did. He only had to note Sir Matthew Hale from the 1600s to point out the antiquated sources Justice Alito cited to support his draft opinion, who was bad enough.
As for Oliver mocking Chuck Schumer saying "this is not your grandfather's Republican Party," yes and no. In terms of style, it certainly isn't, but on reproductive rights, it's been heading this way for decades. While I didn't mention reproductive rights in If I were still a conservative, disagreement with the anti-abortion movement inside the Republican Party, which had nearly completed its takeover of the party by 2000, certainly contributed. My environmentalism, which I did mention in that post from eleven years ago as a reason I left the GOP, leads me to favor birth control, including abortion as a last resort, in order to reach zero population growth. My feminism adds to my support for reproductive rights. I explained both in CNBC asks 'Is The U.S. Running Out Of People?'
U.S. birth rates have been dropping for more than a decade and fertility rates have been dropping for even longer than that. In fact, U.S. fertility rates have been at or below replacement rate since 1973, when Roe vs. Wade legalized abortion. Economic uncertainty and other factors have contributed to the trend.
Second, increased population is bad for the environment, as expressed by the variable P in I=P*A*T "where I is impact, P is population, A is affluence, and T is technology." Impact increases as both population and affluence increases; both drive up demand for resources and create more waste and pollution. Therefore, keeping population down will help the environment. By keeping human population below the carrying capacity for our species, it helps people as well.
Third, increasing educational and economic opportunities for women is the number one way to decrease birth rates and keep them down, although increasing economic security might put a floor under the declining birth rates. Women's education and a stronger economy will also increase affluence, which will increase impact if more efficient technologies don't counteract both affluence and population.
Notice that I started this section by crediting Roe v. Wade for beginning the current period of low birth rates. That Oliver cites an estimate of 75,000 more children being born if (when) it's overturned demonstrates its effectiveness at lowering U.S. population growth. Therefore, overturning it strikes me as generally bad for sustainability.
What I see as an unfortunate outcome is one that opponents of abortion regard as a good one, including for its economic effects as an alternative solution to the one I proposed last year.
[I]f not enough babies are born in the U.S. to meet our job demand, the country can allow more immigration. I'm O.K. with that, but Donald Trump became president in large part because many Americans weren't and still aren't. That's why, when one of my students asked in 2015 if the U.S. would ever adopt Chinese population policies, I responded no, that's not the American way. If the U.S. thinks it has an overpopulation issue, it would restrict immigration. The next week, Trump rode down the escalator and denounced immigrants. This is one of those cases where I hate being proved right.
I have been in favor of zero population growth for as long as I can remember. However, I'm not sure the U.S. economy is set up for a stable or slowly declining population, a point I made in the Hipcrime Vocab: Why Slowing Population Growth is a Problem. We are going to have to figure how to do so. Otherwise, I might live long enough to experience the wisdom of the saying "Be careful what you wish for; you might get it."
