PBS Terra explains why 'America’s Disaster-Free Zone Has a Dark Secret'

Today's "evergreen educational entry I can share in July" features Weathered on PBS Terra explaining why America’s Disaster-Free Zone Has a Dark Secret.

When you look at Federally declared disasters across the U.S., there’s a surprising blank spot in the Southwest region. What’s up with that? Is the Southwest really a safe haven from natural disasters? Or is there a more sinister explanation for this giant hole in the map? On this episode of Weathered, we talk to the folks who made this map, and some of the world’s leading experts on climate risk to find out what’s really going on.

My wife and I watched this video together on the big-screen TV in our bedroom. I guessed the lack of natural disasters in the American Southwest was because there aren't a lot of people there and that the dark secret was the heat. The first guess wasn't true; the Phoenix–Mesa–Chandler, AZ MSA has an estimated population of 5,228,938 while the Las Vegas–Henderson–North Las Vegas, NV MSA has an estimated population of 2,407,226.

The second guess was dead on. That's no surprise, as I blogged about Phoenix being the hottest city in the U.S. in 2021 and mentioned its record heat in 2023 twice. What is surprising is that heat waves don't count as federal natural disasters covered by FEMA. The commenters found the reason dismaying: "You don't get disaster declarations for mortality. You only do it for economics." Ecurewitz responded "That’s the most American statement ever." RandomAngle9 commented "The fact that heat doesn't 'qualify' as a disaster because it doesn't destroy buildings, only people, says everything about how we value human life in policy." Speaking of policy, Florida banning municipalities from protecting workers from heat shows that DeSantis wasn't only bad on COVID-19. He and the rest of the Republicans on Florida are bad on climate and weather, too.

While the lack of natural disasters in the American Southwest exists because of a flaw in the criteria for disaster declarations, the lack of natural disasters in and around Michigan is real. As I wrote in 2022, "Michigan is currently the safest state in the Union for natural disasters..." This gives me another opportunity to tout the Great Lakes State as a climate haven.

That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for a string of holidays, Juneteenth, American Eagle Day, National Seashell Day, the Summer Solstice, World Giraffe Day 2025, Father's Day, World Rainforest Day, and Detroit-style Pizza Day. I love holidays!

Local news covers the marching bands in the 2025 Macy's Parade

As I wrote yesterday, I'm breaking this year's edition of Local news coverage of marching bands in the 2024 Macy's Parade for Thanksgiving into two parts. Part one was WMUR covers the Spartans in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Part two consists of the marching bands, beginning with Fox 5 New York reporting Alcorn State University’s Sounds of Dynomite: Marching band in Thanksgiving Day Parade.

FOX 5 NY's Kendall Green speaks with some members of Alcorn State University’s marching band "Sounds of Dynomite."

Yes, I'm sharing the bands in alphabetical order as listed on Macy's website with the last two swapped for a narrative. I'm glad it resulted in an HBCU band first. Also, I'm glad I got a non-NBC affiliate because of what I wrote last year.

By the way, notice how many of these segments are from local NBC affiliates. As I first wrote in CNN defends Big Bird after Ted Cruz calls one of the character's tweets 'Propaganda,' a pandemic update, "my readers should keep that relationship in mind when watching the clip above. It's not just news value that's driving it."

In this case, it is news value.

Follow over the jump for the rest of the bands in tomorrow's parade.

The Wall Street Journal explains 'Why America’s Groundwater Is Disappearing'

I left a note to myself at the end of 'Weathered' on PBS Terra asks 'Has Earth Already Crossed MAJOR Tipping Points?' that I repeated in 'Weathered: Earth's Extremes' asks 'What Happens When the Land Runs Out?'

The description mentioned groundwater, but the video itself didn't include anything about the subject. Just the same, reading it reminded me that I show a Wall Street Journal video about groundwater depletion to my students and I should embed it here.

Without any further ado, I'm sharing Why America’s Groundwater Is Disappearing.

Unchecked groundwater use is draining aquifers across the U.S., threatening drinking water supplies and the nation’s status as a food superpower. For example, the Ogallala Aquifer beneath the Great Plains supports about 30% of all U.S. crop and animal production, but in 2022, parts of the water table reached their lowest levels since NASA started measuring two decades ago.

WSJ explains why this crisis is posing an “existential threat” to many communities and looks at how the critical natural resources could be saved.

That gets the point across about groundwater depletion, especially in the Ogallala Aquifer, and sets the stage for the next slide, which is about subsidence and sinkholes. I've been showing those videos to my students for a decade already. Welcome to blogging as professional development.

I don't show the next video, PBS NewsHour's Depletion of major groundwater source threatens Great Plains farming, but if anything happens to The Wall Street Journal's video or I decide not to support the paper (it is a NewsCorp property, after all), it's available as a backup.

In the heart of the country, Great Plains farmers and ranchers produce a quarter of all U.S. crops and 40 percent of its beef. But they rely on a resource that has been slowly drying up, water. Stephanie Sy reports from Kansas for our series on the impact of climate change, Tipping Point.

It's the same basic story with all new characters except for Brownie Wilson, who appears in both videos. PBS also emphasizes the effects of climate change more and makes even clearer two of Commoner's Laws: "Everything Is Connected to Everything Else" — the economy and society of western Kansas is connected to agriculture, and local agriculture is dependent on groundwater — and "There Is No Free Lunch — over-reliance and overuse of groundwater is already incurring costs. Brant Peterson switching from corn to sorghum could also serve as an example of a third law, "Nature Knows Best," although corn, originally from Mexico and cultivated by Native Americans, comes closer to a native plant than sorghum, which is originally from Africa.

The Wall Street Journal video also mentioned cracks forming in Arizona because of groundwater depletion. PBS Terra's Maiya May addresses this phenomenon in Why Are These Huge Cracks Appearing in the Desert?

In Arizona, fissures are becoming an increasingly common phenomenon due to lack of rain and groundwater depletion. Weathered's Maiya May explains.

Yikes! That might scare my students should I care to replace one of my subsidence videos with it.

Stay tuned as I track down more of my promises for future posts and share them as evergreen entries through the end of the month.

Marching music for the Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, and Ohio Presidential Primaries on the Vernal Equinox

Happy Vernal Equinox! I'm passing on the science of the day this year to celebrate with the next installment of marching music for primaries and caucuses. I'm working my way more or less east to west starting at Ohio, represented by one DCI corps, three DCA corps, and a Rose Parade band. I kick off the music to watch and listen while waiting for results with with Bluecoats | #2023 | The Garden of Love | Bon Iver - ____45_____

Canton, Ohio's Bluecoats perform a segment from the corps' #DCI2023 production, "The Garden of Love," during the 2023 DCI World Championships hosted August 10-12 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Canton, OH | 2nd Place | 97.738

That deserves an encore, so here's Bluecoats | #dci2022 | Riffs and Revelations.

Canton, OH | 2nd Place (tie) | 97.325

Canton, Ohio's Bluecoats perform a segment from the corps' #DCI2022 production, "Riffs and Revelations," during the 2022 DCI World Championships hosted August 12-14 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

While Blue Devils won and Boston Crusaders tied for second, this was the show everyone talked about in 2022, and this was probably the most talked about moment.

Now for the first of three all-age corps from the Buckeye State, as Cobbled Deepslate asks Could you imagine if this was Cincinnati Tradition 2022 at DCA Finals. Yes, but thanks to Deepslate, I don't have to.

Why would this be Cincinnati Tradition's 2022 program "Soirée" at DCA finals 2022?

Because it is.

Next, Cake Doctor asks does anyone have a video of Rogues Hollow Regiment @ DCA finals 2023? Dude, you do. Let's see how long this, and all the rest of the unofficial uploads, lasts.

Rogues Hollow Regiment Preforming their 2023 Program "'Groovin" At DCA Finals.

Back to Cobbled Deepslate asking I wish this was Columbus Saints at DCA Finals 2022 for the last all-age corps from Ohio.

I wish this was Columbus saints show "Mixtape" at dca finals 2022.

The Columbus Saints remind me of the Marion Cadets during the 1990s. Let's see if any of my readers gets that reference.

I close out Ohio's marching music selections with Ohio State University Marching Band - 2022 Pasadena Rose Parade from Music213.

From Columbus, Ohio The Ohio State University Marching Band performing at the 133rd Annual Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade on Saturday, January 1, 2022.

Darn, they didn't do the precision turn they performed in 2019. I was looking forward to that.

Follow over the jump for marching music from Florida, Illinois, Kansas, and Arizona, which makes this part an update of A Drum Corps Ides of March for an election year and Marching music and a drink for the St. Patrick's Day primaries. The tradition of Illinois and Florida holding their primaries on holidays continues!

CityNerd describes how to 'Live Your Best Life In These 18 Swing-State Cities'

How dedicated are my readers to maximizing the power of their votes? Are they (you) dedicated enough to move? If my readers are, and care about urbanism, then CityNerd has a list of places to move to as he describes how to Live Your Best Life In These 18 Swing-State Cities.

It's 2024. Ever think about moving to a state where your vote might actually make a difference? It's what I did in 2022 and I highly recommend it -- if you can "swing" it. Today we're looking at this year's likely swing states and affordable neighborhoods in each with great urban qualities.

I'm pleasantly surprised Ray Delahanty, CityNerd's real name, listed two neighborhoods in Detroit as destinations, praising the Motor City's potential and predicting, like I have for the past dozen plus years, the city's comeback. I would choose Midtown over Downtown, because of the Whole Foods store, where my wife and I have shopped, but both are good choices.

I also appreciate Grand Rapids earning an honorable mention as well as Ypsilanti being mentioned in passing. I'd also recommend Royal Oak, where I used to live, and Ferndale. Any one of those are good places to live, although my wife and I got priced out of Royal Oak and moved to a municipality with a more prestigious name yet better housing at a lower price. I wouldn't recommend my current neighborhood for urbanism. My miles driven increased enough that I made good on my promise to buy a hybrid by trading in my mini-SUV for a Prius to compensate.

I close by noting that I don't have to do anything to live where my vote matters. I have lived in Michigan for 35 years already. To see why my adopted home state is important, read 'How Michigan explains American politics' by Vox. Now I'm wondering what my readers who live in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin think of CityNerd's recommendations. Comments?

No Labels could field third-party candidate next year

I think the debt ceiling deal is such a fast-moving target that anything I write about it now will have the shelf life of milk in the sun, so I'm following through on my promise to examine No Labels' effort to gain ballot access in next year's elections. I begin with Stephanie Ruhle and her guests on MSNBC's "The 11th Hour" discussing Independent group 'No Labels' could field third-party candidate in 2024.

The centrist group “No Labels” is ramping up efforts to put a third party candidate on the ballot in 2024, but Democrats say this could help Donald Trump.

I'm glad I waited until MSNBC uploaded this segment, as it gave someone associated with No Labels a chance to respond. I personally think Mark McKinnon is giving the most charitable explanation — "break glass in case of emergency," meaning to prevent a second Trump presidency if Biden is too ill to serve. If that actually ends up happening next summer before the Democratic Party convention, then the scenario I described in Marianne Williamson and Nikki Haley, two women running for President on International Women's Day might come to pass.

[I]f Biden actually becomes vulnerable to a primary challenge, he would attract someone like Gavin Newsom to enter the contest. That would be a mistake if TFG is the Republican nominee again, but maybe not if DeSantis is. I think Newsom and DeSantis match up better than either Newsom and Trump or Biden and DeSantis. Still, I don't think Biden will fail be be renominated if he actually runs. Party discipline is not only much stronger in the Democratic Party than the Republican Party, it's stronger than it was when i joined in 2004. As I wrote in 'SNL' shares scary news for Halloween 2022, "Re-nominating Joe Biden might be scary, but all the other potential candidates mentioned were even scarier, so back to Biden we go. I'm OK with that."

No Labels really doesn't need to do this, as the Democratic Party can take care of the problem itself, whether through new candidates entering the contest or the delegates nominating Kamala Harris instead. That would be a scenario right out of "Veep." Life imitating art!

CNN also examined this subject, which Third Way posted on its YouTube channel as CNN: Dems warn No Labels third-party ticket could split vote.

Third Way Senior Visiting Fellow Tim Ryan joins Michael Smerconish on CNN to explain why a No Labels third-party bid for the White House would re-elect Donald Trump.

That's an even more dire warning about what a No Labels candidate could do next year.

I stumbled across this subject by following up on Kyrsten Sinema becoming an independent. No Labels loves her and this effort helps her, too. No Labels will have ballot access in Arizona next year, including for U.S. Senate. Sinema now has a guaranteed spot waiting for her. Nice work, No Labels.

This concludes May 2023's blogging. Stay tuned for June, when I plan on writing about the debt ceiling tomorrow, after the House of Representatives votes on the measure. That should be interesting.

PBS Terra asks 'What is the RISKIEST Region in the US as the Climate Changes?'

When PBS Terra revealed 'the Safest Place to Live as the Climate Changes', it begged the question of what the least safe places to live in the U.S. because of climate change. It asked and answered that question yesterday when the channel uploaded What is the RISKIEST Region in the US as the Climate Changes?

Climate Change is increasing the frequency and severity of natural disasters all around the world. And in the United States, more and more people seem to be moving to the places that are projected to be most impacted by climate change, from hazards such as flooding, wildfire, storms, drought and extreme heat; and leaving the most climate-resilient areas. At first glance, this seems like a bizarre and paradoxical trend. So, for this episode of Weathered, we decided to see if we could get to the bottom of it.

We spoke to experts and sifted through lots of data about moving trends and shifting climate patterns to figure out what’s really going on here and what you can do to avoid moving into harm’s way.

While I expected the answer to be one of Florida, the Gulf Coast, or Arizona, all of which are high-risk areas, the answer to the question in the subject line turned out to be Beaufort County, South Carolina. That surprised me, just like Lamoille County, Vermont as the safest place from climate change surprised me. Still, it's enough to discourage me from moving to Arizona or Florida (Texas and Louisiana are not in the cards). On the other hand, I'm heartened to see that the western Great Lakes states of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, along with Iowa, form the safest region from climate change. Half of the ten safest cities from climate change are in these states. As I wrote the last two times I examined this subject: "I'll take it. It reinforces my feeling that leaving California for Michigan has turned out to be a smart move, literally, the longer I live here." I just wish that the economics were such that people would move here instead of into harm's way. That would make a great subject for another post. Stay tuned.

Vox explains 'Why so many “election deniers” lost in 2022'

I'm returning to election coverage with Why so many "election deniers" lost in 2022, which Vox uploaded this morning.

The belief that Donald Trump actually won the 2020 US election is widespread among his most devoted followers. That belief rests on claims of massive voter fraud in the 2020 election that have never been substantiated. And in the 2022 elections, many “election deniers” ran for state-level offices that have direct control over elections, promising to limit access to voting if they won. Of all Republican nominees for election-administration positions this year, over half openly claimed that Trump won in 2020.

But when the election came, the most high-profile of those “election denier” nominees, many of whom were favored to win, actually lost. And the story of why many of them lost is actually the story of thousands of ordinary citizens using the tools of democracy to protect democracy.

Three states whose gubernatorial elections I covered, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Arizona, played prominent roles in this video. While I quoted Stephen Colbert calling Tudor Dixon "an election-denying, transphobic, COVID-19 conspiracy theorist," I associated Dixon more with her opposition to abortion than her election denialism. The latter I thought were bigger issues for Kristina Karamo and Matthew DePerno, the Republican candidates for Secretary of State and Attorney General, respectively. Still, I'm glad all of them lost and Gretchen Whitmer, Jocelyn Benson, and Dana Nessel won. I'm also happy that Josh Shapiro beat Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania and Katie Hobbs beat Kari Lake in Arizona. Without them in power, the possibility of election subversion succeeding in 2024 drops dramatically. Whew.

Meyers and Colbert take closer looks at Kari Lake and other election deniers running for office

I'm continuing my comedic election coverage with Seth Meyers examining Obama Campaigns Against Kari Lake and Warns About Threats to Democracy: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at Republican candidates who are in very close races and could easily win in the midterms, including the pro-Trump election deniers who have outright declared they will use their power to steal future elections.

Register to vote, check your registration status, get election info, volunteer to see free shows at https://www.headcount.org or text VOTE to 57568. It takes less than 2 minutes to get ready to vote and make your voice heard in an upcoming election.

Watching this reminded me that 'SNL' on the midterm election and Twitter opened with a sketch about which candidates the Democrats would nominate if they were like the Republican nominees running this year. It was a clown show worthy of "Idiocracy." Speaking of movie comedies, my reaction to Kari Lake saying that people who accepted the 2020 election results were the true conspiracy theorists was "'I know you are but what am I?' was a lot funnier when Pee-wee Herman said it."

Seth revisited Kari Lake in Cecily Strong Loved Portraying Kari Lake on Saturday Night Live.

Cecily Strong talks about seeing bears when she was in Canada for Schmigadoon!, going snorkeling in the Mediterranean Sea and her impression of Kari Lake on Saturday Night Live.

As I wrote about Strong's impression of Lake in 'SNL' shares scary news for Halloween 2022, "she nails another politician. She also nails Arizona, 'the Florida of the West.'" Also, I'm glad to hear that she finished production on the Emmy-winning and Saturn-nominated "Schmigadoon!" My wife and I enjoyed the first season and are looking forward to the next, which will be another chance to display her song and dance skills.

Stephen Colbert and his writers also had fun with Lake in This Is How Kari Lake's Comments Would Sound If They Were Actually Creatively Edited.

The Late Show decided to show Kari Lake what creative editing actually looks like.

*Snork* Be careful what you accuse others of; you might find out what it really looks like when it happens.

Stay tuned for more election coverage.

'SNL' shares scary news for Halloween 2022

Happy Halloween! I closed David Pumpkins returns as 'Saturday Night Live' celebrates Halloween 2022 by telling my readers "stay tuned for part two, which has Halloween content in the middle of all the politics and current events, tomorrow. Trick or treat!" I open, like the show did, with PBS NewsHour-Republican Momentum Cold Open - SNL.

PBS NewsHour host Judy Woodruff (Heidi Gardner) interviews Republican candidates Herschel Walker (Kenan Thompson), Dr. Oz (Mikey Day) and Kari Lake (Cecily Strong) as their numbers continue to surge in the polls.

As I wrote yesterday, "I'm glad to see Cecily Strong return this season. I have another video featuring her that I'm saving for tomorrow." This is that video, where she nails another politician. She also nails Arizona, "the Florida of the West." Now I hope my daughter votes against her and for Katie Hobbs next week.

Not only is the 2022 election scary, so is 2024, as satirized in Horror Movie Trailer - SNL.

A horrifying movie trailer depicts the scariest outcomes for the 2024 election.

Re-nominating Joe Biden might be scary, but all the other potential candidates mentioned were even scarier, so back to Biden we go. I'm OK with that.

For the rest of the news worth making fun of, I'm sharing Weekend Update: Elon Musk Buys Twitter, Companies Cut Ties with Kanye West - SNL.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like John Fetterman and Dr. Oz facing off in a senate debate.

'SNL' shares Easter wishes in its cold open included a Weekend Update clip about Elon Musk buying Twitter, but I haven't said anything about since because I wasn't sure it would happen and I wanted to see how would work out if it did. It has and so far I'm not positively impressed. I'm not surprised about that, either.

Follow over the jump for the rest of the political clips from this past weekend's show.

Kansas votes to uphold abortion rights as seen by Colbert, Meyers, and Noah

I posted a serious examination of Michigan's primary election in No good deed goes unpunished as Meijer loses primary to Gibbs in Michigan yesterday, so today I'm sharing comedic examinations of the rest of Tuesday's primary elections beginning with Stephen Colbert's monologue Kansas Votes To Preserve Abortion Rights | Processed Foods Are Killing Our Brains.

Kansas voters upheld abortion rights by 59% to 41% in yesterday's election, and scientists have really bad news about some of our favorite foods.

I agree with Stephen; Kari Lake sounds incoherent. No wonder The Former Guy endorsed her. For what it's worth, NBC News currently characterizes the contest for the Republican nominee for Arizona Governor as "too close to call" with Lake leading. Go Katie Hobbs, who is the Democratic nominee for Arizona Governor.

Of course, the headline election story is Kansas rejecting a proposed amendment removing the right to an abortion from the Kansas constitution. Seth Meyers had more to say about that and other primary election news in Kansas Voters Back Abortion Rights; Trump Endorses "Eric" in Missouri: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at voters in Kansas overwhelmingly rejecting a state ballot measure that would have restricted abortion access and Trump endorsing multiple dudes named "Eric" in the same Missouri Senate race.

The GOP dirty tricks both Seth and Stephen described didn't work and a good thing, too. Here's to the measure protecting abortion passing in Michigan this November. Also, I knew there had to be an Eric Trump joke in there, and there was, even if I had to wait until the very end to hear it.

BTW, welcome back from quarantine for Seth and congratulations on his shows' three Emmy nominations for Outstanding Variety Talk Series, Outstanding Short Form Comedy, Drama or Variety Series, and Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series. To celebrate, I'm sharing the Twitter images promoting the show nominations.


Good luck, although I think John Oliver, James Corden, and "Saturday Night Live" will win these categories instead.

I close with Trevor Noah's take on the election results and other news, Kansas Votes Pro-Choice, Alex Jones Caught in Lie & Beyoncé Tweaks Album Again | The Daily Show.

Kansas votes to uphold the right to have an abortion, Alex Jones' attorney accidentally gives his texts to the prosecutor, Beyoncé tweaks her album again, Brad Pitt wears a skirt to his latest movie premiere, and Airbnb will no longer rent out slave quarters.

Last night's results reinforce what I first wrote in Colbert and Meyers take closer looks at replacing Liz Cheney and Arizona audit and repeated yesterday, "'this fight is not over conventional ideas of left and right. Instead, it is about loyalty to Trump, which is odd considering that major American political parties generally move away from losing presidential candidates. Not now — the GOP is sticking closer to Trump than ever.' That has become even more true since then." Worse yet, if TFG's endorse nominees win, a lot of them will be in charge of certifying elections. Who needs an armed insurrection when the coup will happen through legal means?

Speaking of legal means, LOL, Alex Jones. I might have more to say about his trial later. Stay tuned.

PBS NewsHour examines Arizona's latest restrictions on voting rights

I posted PBS NewsHour on voting rights exactly three months ago, so it's time for an update. Watch as PBS NewsHour asks As state lawmakers tighten voting rules, what will the impact be on the midterm elections?

Arizona’s Republican governor signed a bill last month requiring proof of citizenship to vote in presidential elections. Voting rights advocates say it could impact some 200,000 Arizonans. It’s the latest in a move by Republican lawmakers nationwide to tighten voting rules ahead of the 2022 midterms elections. Jessica Huseman, the editorial director of Votebeat, joins Geoff Bennett to discuss.

I am a scientist, not a lawyer, but I think what Arizona did with separating federal from state election registration is dodgy, in more ways than one. Also, if private donors can't contribute to election administration, a restriction Jessica Huseman points out is not necessarily a bad idea, then the money has to come from somewhere. At least the Biden Administration is proposing the additional funds to run elections, but if Congress and the states don't come through, then it will starve election administrators of the money they need. I don't like the idea of that happening. What about you, my readers?

MSNBC examines disinformation and 'insider threats' to the 2022 elections

It's a mid-term election year, so today I'm pivoting away from the pandemic to elections and government with yesterday's State Election Officials Battle The Spread Of Disinformation Ahead Of Midterms from MSNBC.

Arizona Secretary of State and candidate for governor Katie Hobbs and senior opinion writer for The Boston Globe Kimberly Atkins Stohr discuss how election workers around the country are fighting against conspiracy theories and misinformation ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

For more about election misinformation and other threats to local election administration, read the Politico article Nicolle Wallace quoted, Election officials are on the frontlines of defending democracy. They didn't sign up for this.

Voting for the 2022 midterms is already underway, and the nation’s top election officials are caught fighting a two-front war: Battling disinformation stemming from the last election, while simultaneously preparing for the next one.

The officials are no longer just running elections. They’ve become full-time myth-busters, contending with information threats coming from the other side of the globe — and their own ranks.
...
They’re dealing with political candidates undermining the election systems that they still run for office in, and conspiracy theories that target even the most obscure parts of America’s election infrastructure. And they say the country will face the same issues this year as it elects a new Congress and decides control of three dozen statehouses.
...
The struggles stemming from misinformation vary state-to-state, from dealing with threats of violence against election workers at all levels to contending with so-called insider threats — election workers who themselves pose a security challenge to the system.

One of the insider threats the article mentions is Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters of Colorado, who was the subject of Election Denier Under Investigation Is Running To Oversee Elections In Her State on "All In" the night before last.

“There is a possibility that this lady, who is currently under investigation for allegedly tampering with election machines, who actively pushes Donald Trump's Big Lie,” says Chris Hayes, “That woman could conceivably be in charge of overseeing all of Colorado's elections in 2024.”

Time to recycle what I last repeated in Colbert and Klobuchar on the insurrection one year later.

It looks like the people who buy Trump's "Big Lie" are learning from last year's failed effort to overturn the election by not just working the refs, but replacing them. I'm going to recycle my reaction from April in response.

Personally, I'd rather call it Trump's dangerous delusion, his fixed belief that the election was stolen from him despite all evidence, which I see as related to his vulnerability to conspiracy 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.

To paraphrase what I wrote last month, Benson's remarks show that Trump's delusion is not just dangerous but contagious.

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold's response to Peters' behavior shows that, too.

So, what can the voters do to prevent candidates who pose an insider threat do? Run for something! Watch Alex Wagner substituting for Rachel Maddow reporting Wave Of New Candidates Eager To Counter Wave Of Right-Wing Activists In Local Elections.

Amanda Litman, co-founder and executive director or Run For Something, talks about the surge in interest in running for local office and the importance of supporting quality, non-kooky candidates in low level races to preserve the functioning and integrity of democracy in the United States.

If my readers can't or won't run for something, at least support the candidates who oppose the supporters of "The Big Lie" in this year's state and local elections. Our democracy depends on it!

2021 sixth warmest year on record globally, fourth warmest in U.S., NASA and NOAA report

I concluded 2021 in climate and weather from ABC News, NBC News, and WeatherNation by writing "That's it for last year's climate and weather until NASA and NOAA weigh in on how 2021 ranks among the hottest years on record." Both science agencies released their findings on Thursday, so it's time for this year's version of 2020 tied with 2016 for warmest year on record, NASA reports. I begin with ABC15 Arizona's The heat stays on: Earth hits 6th warmest year on record in 2021.

Two U.S. science agencies say 2021 was the sixth hottest year on record globally, part of a long-term warming trend.

ABC15 Arizona interviewed a scientist with NASA. 9News in Denver, Colorado, interviewed a NOAA scientist in 2021 was the sixth hottest year globally, said NOAA.

Scientists with NOAA say that the global temperature in 2021 was not as warm as the last two years. Still - it was one of the top 10 warmest years on record.

That was worth embedding just for the preview image from Climate Central, let alone all the other images of last year's climate and weather from NOAA. If 9News had used ABC15's video description, I'd have placed this video first.

Not only was 2021 the sixth warmest worldwide, it was the fourth warmest in U.S. history, as ABC10 in Sacramento, California, reported in 2021 was the 6th warmest year on record across the globe, added to weather extremes.

2021 was the 4th warmest year on record for the U.S., according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

ABC10 got very local in the second half of this video, concentrating of the effects of climate change on precipitation. That ties into one of the questions I asked my students about An Inconvenient Truth: "What is the predicted effect of global warming on floods and droughts?" The answer is that it will make both more extreme, exactly what ABC10 showed for its coverage area in its video.

ABC10 included clips of NASA scientist Gavin Schmidt in its report. Here's the source video from NASA Goddard: Temperature Record 101: How We Know What We Know about Climate Change.

2021 was tied for the sixth warmest year on NASA’s record, stretching more than a century.

But, what is a temperature record?

GISTEMP, NASA’s global temperature analysis, takes in millions of observations from instruments on weather stations, ships and ocean buoys, and Antarctic research stations, to determine how much warmer or cooler Earth is on average from year to year. Stretching back to 1880, NASA’s record shows a clear warming trend.

However, individual weather events and La Niña — a pattern of cooler waters in the Pacific that was responsible for slightly cooling 2021’s average temperature — can affect individual years. Because the record is global, not every place on Earth experienced the sixth warmest year on record. Some places had record-high temperatures, and we saw record droughts, floods and fires around the globe.

So completes 2021 in climate. Stay tuned for the Sunday entertainment feature.

Rachel Maddow reports on suspicious similarities among fake elector letters in five states

While I've focused on the after-effects of the violent part of last year's attempted self-coup, there was also a non-violent, if possibly also illegal, effort to retain The Former Guy as President. MSNBC uploaded an edited-for-time version of Rachel Maddow reporting and commenting on Similarities Suggest Coordination In Fake Elector Letters From Republicans In Five States.

Rachel Maddow updates reporting on Republicans submitting forged elector letters as if Donald Trump had won their states instead of Joe Biden, with the number of states involved up to at least five, and a pattern of coordination becoming more evident.

I agree with Rachel; it sure looks coordinated. American Oversight thinks so, too.

The fake electoral certificates were assembled by groups of Trump supporters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin who sought to replace the valid presidential electors from their state — who had been chosen by voters in free and fair elections — with bogus slates of pro-Trump electors.

None of the certificates contains any indication that they list illegitimate slates of electors not chosen by those states’ voters.

The coordinated, multi-state effort to cast doubt on the 2020 election and undermine the electoral vote process tragically led to the violent Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in which a pro-Trump mob stormed the building and sought to physically block the congressional certification of each state’s real Electoral College votes.

Both the Rachel Maddow Show and American Oversight are continuing to investigate this multi-state effort to overturn the election. I plan on relaying their findings when they come out. Stay tuned.

Colbert and Klobuchar on the insurrection one year later

I concluded Brenda Lawrence announces retirement from Congress and Rashida Tlaib announces run for her new district, the latest in Congressional musical chairs from Michigan with a program note for today.

Stay tuned for the anniversary of last year's attempted self-coup. That certainly won't be a cheerful occasion.

No, but Stephen Colbert can still milk some laughs out of it. Watch is monologue, Hannity's Role In Jan 6th Planning Revealed | Stephen's Song Explains The New CDC Guidelines.

It appears that Fox News host Sean Hannity had advance knowledge of the former President's plans for the Jan 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, and Stephen Colbert has a special song to help everyone understand the CDC's updated Covid-19 quarantine guidelines.

I've read lots of people call Fox News "state television" during The Former Guy's administration. No, that's Voice of America. It is party television, however, and Hannity's apparent knowledge before and actions during and after the insurrection support my assessment.

Speaking of my expert opinion, Colbert calling Arizona "America's backup Florida" isn't far off. There are lots of snowbirds and retirees there, just like Florida. My late maternal grandparents were among them, as they moved there after my grandfather retired. TFG will love the place, even though it voted for Biden two years ago, and I'm happy he canceled today's press conference.

As for calling the COVID-19 test "the Nosey-Pokey," I'm only surprised that it took this long for someone to call it that and make a song about it.

Follow over the jump for Senator Amy Klobuchar's three-part interview.

Jane Mayer describes 'The Big Money Behind the Big Lie' on MSNBC

I haven't looked at the Arizona audit since May, so it's time to look at it again. MSNBC's How Big Money Is Working To Crack Down On Voting Rights starts off with the latest news about the Arizona audit and then changes the subject to big dark money in politics.

The New Yorker's Jane Mayer discusses new reporting on the dark money behind state laws making it harder to vote.

First, listening to Jane Mayer describing the conspiracy theories about elections reminds me that "Italygate" and the "Kraken" lawsuits are also the results of people believing the conspiracy theories. Second, I share Joe Scarborough's reaction to The Heritage Foundation being one of the funders for third-party audits, election lawsuits, and other actions based on The Big Lie, surprise bordering on incredulity. I wish I could say that I saw that coming when I left the Republican Party 21 years ago. Instead, I'll add to the list of reasons why the past 21 years have validated my decision. Third, Mayer talks about more serious actions like laws restricting voting rights, which is the reason why Texas Democrats left the state for D.C. last month.  All of this reminds me why I think calling the idea that the election was stolen the Big Lie doesn't go far enough.

Personally, I'd rather call it Trump's dangerous delusion, his fixed belief that the election was stolen from him despite all evidence, which I see as related to his vulnerability to conspiracy 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.

Western drought likely worst in a millennium and may be the beginning of 'aridification'

I mentioned drought among the top climate and weather stories of 2020. It did not go away, as Western drought "the worst we have ever seen," says CBS News' Jeff Berardelli.

As CBS News' Mola Lenghi reports, drought conditions in the Western U.S. are historic and point to what could be a catastrophic wildfire season. CBS News meteorologist and climate specialist Jeff Berardelli then joins CBSN's Elaine Quijano with more.

While this video started off as a weather story about this week's heat wave, Jeff Berardelli put it in context as a climate story that carries all kinds of risk. In addition to appreciating the connection, I think this video from CBS News has the best preview image for this entry. I am not above arranging the videos for my posts on that criterion.  (ETA: That didn't work, so I added the image from NOAA.)

The drought in the Western U.S. has been building for years, if not decades. Follow over the jump for that story as well as an update on the situation.

The Daily Show and CNN examine the Arizona audit

While I've been busy chronicling the saga of Elise Stefanik replacing Liz Cheney as conference chair, I've been ignoring the other story Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers covered in their monologues last week, the audit of Maricopa County's ballots that I mocked as being motivated by a racist conspiracy theory. The Daily Show pursued that angle and more in Arizona’s Vote Recount - Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse.

Arizona still hasn’t come to terms with the fact that Donald Trump lost the state election, so they’re recounting the votes for a third time. Jordan Klepper investigates.

I'm glad that Jordan Klepper interviewed Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and allowed her to get her point across that the Cyber Ninjas are partisan and unprofessional in between the jokes. To be fair, the two spokesmen for the audit admitted that the bamboo and watermark conspiracy theories are outlandish and need to be debunked. As for the first person interviewed, the supposed threats from BLM and Antifa show that the conspiracy theories aren't just anti-Asian or even purely racist.

Even the serious news people thought this was both ridiculous and alarming. Watch See what CNN reporter spotted at bizarre election ‘audit’.

CNN's Kyung Lah and crew gain access into the Republican election audit of the 2020 ballots from Arizona's largest county.

In its own way, CNN treated this even more scathingly than The Daily Show, calling it part of The Big Lie and a continuation of the January 6 insurrection as Stacey Abrams pointed out. I think she's right, as are all the critics of the audit CNN's Kyung Lah interviewed.  That's not good news.

The recount could take weeks more to complete. When that happens, I promise to cover it, so stay tuned.

Colbert and Meyers take closer looks at replacing Liz Cheney and Arizona audit

Last night, two of my favorite late night talk show hosts looked at the ongoing fallout from the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen. I begin with Stephen Colbert's monologue, The GOP's Purity Test: Loyalty To The Former President, Or Else.

Republican polling shows the former president with high unfavorable ratings, yet the party's leaders remain keen to punish anyone who breaks with No. 45, prompting Stephen to ask: has there ever been anyone in government as weak as Kevin McCarthy?

Bamboo in the ballot paper? That prompted me to leave the following comment to Meanwhile in Arizona… at Mock, Paper, Scissors.

It looks like the GQP has decided to celebrate Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with stupid Sinophobia, fear and hatred of China and the Chinese. Dudes, you're doing it wrong! Anyone want to bet that these fools are circulating memes that invoke Fu Manchu (and not just Nicholas Cage playing him for laughs in "Werewolf Women of the SS")? I don't want to search; it's bad enough that I know Corona-chan is a thing.

When I repeat "everything is connected to everything else" from Commoner's Laws, I didn't think I would find a connection among anti-Asian racism, elections, the pandemic, and conspiracy theory, but leave it to Trump and his followers in the Republican Party to create one. Consider this a down payment on examining anti-Asian racism that I promised in yesterday's NASA and '60 Minutes' explore the contributions of Asian-Americans to the Mars mission of Perseverance and Ingenuity.

As for his question about Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy being weak, I remember then-Speaker John Boehner having trouble keeping the Tea Party caucus in line. This was a few months after Rachel Maddow said "I think John Boehner is bad at his job." He eventually retired, leading to Paul Ryan taking over the speakership. I have a higher opinion of both of them than McCarthy, whose district I lived in 39 years ago. Boehner may be pickled — whenever I hear him making fun of Ted Cruz, I think "in vino veritas" — but my nickname for McCarthy is Pickled Tongue after a menu item at the leading Basque restaurant in his home town, a place I know, having lived there, too.

Seth Meyers chimed in with Republicans Are Purging Anyone Who Won't Embrace Trump's Election Lies: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at the Republican Party’s fealty to Donald Trump and purge of anyone who refuses to repeat his lies.

While Meyers examined the search for bamboo in ballot paper in even more detail than Colbert, he also expressed the same sentiment that I feel; I never thought I would be on the same side of an issue as Liz Cheney it makes me a bit uncomfortable. Chalk that up to a stuck clock being right twice a day.

That Elise Stefanik has become the leading candidate to replace Cheney strikes me as ironic if one considers this intra-party conflict is over conservatism. Voteview rates Stefanik's ideological score at 0.229, more liberal than 98% of House Republicans in the 117th Congress, while Cheney's ideological score is 0.515, exactly in the middle of the current House Republican Caucus. Replacing a mainstream conservative Republican with an ideological moderate shows this fight is not over conventional ideas of left and right. Instead, it is about loyalty to Trump, which is odd considering that major American political parties generally move away from losing presidential candidates. Not now — the GOP is sticking closer to Trump than ever.