Morrison bumble bee proposed for protection, news for World Bee Day

Happy World Bee Day! As I have since 2022, I'm concentrating on bumblebees.* Today, I'm amplifying the relevant part of Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation's press release, Morrison Bumble Bee and Large Marble Butterfly to be Considered for Endangered Species Protection.*

Responding to petitions filed by the Xerces Society, last week the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced that the Morrison bumble bee (Bombus morrisoni) and the large marble butterfly (Euchloe ausonides) warrant further consideration for protection under the Endangered Species Act, by issuing a positive 90-day finding for these two species.

Next, Fish and Wildlife will carry out a full review (called a Species Status Assessment) of the two species. Once these are completed, FWS will decide whether or not listing these species as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act is warranted. If listing is warranted, legal protections will go into effect and resources will be directed to recovery.

Morrison bumble bees have disappeared in many places
The Morrison bumble bee historically occurred across much of the western U.S., and can be found in grasslands, sagebrush steppe, and woodland edges. It has co-evolved with local plants for thousands of years and is a super-pollinator, contributing to the stability of our wildlands and agricultural systems. However, the species has disappeared from much of its range and may have declined by as much as 75%. It faces multiple ongoing threats, including habitat loss and degradation, overgrazing, climate change, pesticides, diseases, and competition with honey bees. The Xerces Society petitioned FWS to protect this bee in 2023.
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These pollinators need federal protection to survive
ESA listings would protect these species by addressing the threats they are facing and ensuring that regulatory mechanisms — which are currently lacking — are in place to protect the species in locations where they are needed most. Federal protection is especially important for the Morrison bumble bee and the large marble butterfly because they occur in several states where state wildlife agencies lack the legal authority to protect insects and are unable to address the conservation needs of these species.

We lose something precious when a species goes extinct. Morrison bumble bees and large marble butterflies are integral parts of the unique landscapes that make the western U.S. so special. Our world would be a duller place without the pleasure of watching this vibrant butterfly and bright yellow bee tumble from flower to flower.

May both the Morrison bumble bee and large marble butterfly earn protection under the Endangered Species Act, and may the Endangered Species Act still include habitat protection, which the Trump Administration wants to remove. This is even more than they tried last time, which resulted in fewer species being listed. I'm crossing my fingers.

Even if these proposals go into effect, all may not be lost. The Nevada Independent published Bees, butterflies and beetles — bill would allow Nevada to manage certain invertebrates: "If passed, the state's department of wildlife would gain permission to protect 66 of Nevada’s most imperiled insects." The article specifically mentions the Morrison bumble bee. May it pass, too.

That's a wrap for today's biodiversity holiday, although I plan on returning to the general topic on Thursday, which is International Day for Biological Diversity. In the meantime, stay tuned for Wayback Wednesday.

*Honeybees have their own day. I'll remember them in three months.

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?

Closer looks at failed impeachment vote and Haley losing to 'none of these candidates' in Nevada

Stephen Colbert asked Joy-Ann Reid about the then-pending impeachment vote of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in the interview of her I embedded in Colbert talks 'Trump has no immunity' plus Joy-Ann Reid and Katy Tur on the election. That vote took place shortly after and failed with literally comic results. Watch Seth Meyers recount MTG and House Republicans Humiliated as Mayorkas Impeachment Crashes and Burns: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at House Republicans' attempt to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas crashing and burning when a Democratic lawmaker they thought would be absent made a surprise appearance to cast the decisive vote.

Green vs. Greene with Al Green providing the decisive vote from a wheelchair after temporarily leaving the hospital. Wow, that really was dramatic, even if the result was comic. Nancy Pelosi wouldn't have made that mistake; she could count.

Speaking of comic, I shouldn't be surprised that Nikki Haley lost to "None of these candidates" in the 2024 Nevada Republican Primary since Donald Trump was not on the ballot. Colbert made that the second topic in Speaker Johnson Gets Spanked | Nobody Wins Nevada GOP Primary | Trump’s Pick To Run The RNC.

The House GOP achieved new levels of dysfunction this week with their botched impeachment vote, Nikki Haley took second place in Nevada’s primary despite running unopposed, and the former president is pushing RNC chair Ronna McDaniel to resign.

It gets worse for Haley. She isn't even registered for tonight's Nevada Republican Caucuses, while Trump is, and those will pick Nevada's convention delegates, so she'll get none of them. Instead, she's focusing on the Republican caucuses in the U.S. Virgin Islands. I hope she gets delegates there.

Finally, the end of Ronna McDaniel's time as RNC chair comes as no surprise to me other than it took longer than I expected. After all, everything Trump touches dies — eventually.

Stay tuned for another short post tomorrow. Normally, I'd have something longer planned for Friday, but I have an appointment in the morning and a work meeting in the afternoon, so brief it will have to be.

Marching music for the 2024 Nevada Primary from University of Nevada, Reno, and UNLV

It's time for this year's edition of Marching music for the Nevada Primary! This is a continuation of my marching music for presidential primaries series — songs to listen and watch as my readers and I wait for results for results from the primary tonight and the Republican caucuses on Thursday. There are no competitive drum corps in Nevada, so I'm featuring the Silver State's top marching bands, beginning with SPACE - University of Nevada Wolf Pack Marching Band.

The University of Nevada Wolf Pack Marching Band performs SPACE. Musical selections include Also Sprach Zarathustra, Mars, Star Trek, and Space Oddity.

That's a pretty conventional selection of space-themed music, which reminds me that the Saturn Awards were Sunday night and Star Trek: Picard won four awards, while Star Trek: Strange New Worlds won one. I'll get to that in a future post, maybe as early as this weekend. In the meantime, I'm sharing UNLV 2015 LVI Performance.

UNLV's Star of Nevada Exhibition Performance at the Las Vegas Invitational at Las Vegas High School 11/7/15

This is the second best and second most recent complete performance I could find on YouTube. As I wrote four years ago, "The Star of Nevada Band could use better videographers among its fans!" The university could also record more of the band's shows!

I close with Joint Halftime by University of Nevada and UNLV #NevadaStrong from College Marching Productions.

Watch as the University of Nevada and UNLV combine at halftime to honor those lost in the Las Vegas Shooting

As I wrote about 11 Minutes in 'Retrograde' about the final 9 months of the U.S. in Afghanistan earned 6 nominations at the News & Doc Emmy Awards: "I took one look at the title and preview image and suspected this series was about the 2017 Las Vegas Massacre, coverage of which earned eight nominations and three awards at the 2018 News and Documentary Emmys. Nearly six years time hasn't made the incident any less horrific." That's still true today.

I'm skipping the Virgin Islands Caucus on Thursday, February 8, so watch for this series to return on February 27, 2024 for the Michigan Primary. Stay tuned.

Previous marching music for 2024 primaries and caucuses posts.

• Colts, Hawkeyes, Cyclones, and Rose Parade bands, marching music for the 2024 Iowa Caucuses
• The Spartans for a drum corps New Hampshire Primary
• Marching music for the 2024 South Carolina Primary — Carolina Crown, South Carolina, Clemson, and South Carolina State

John Oliver on water for World Water Day

Happy World Water Day! For this year's observance, I sharing Water: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO).

John Oliver discusses the water shortage in the American west, how it’s already impacting the people who live there, and what God has to say about it.

In addition to being a particularly American perspective on the 'World's Water Crisis' and 'What Will Life Look Like as MAJOR Rivers Run Dry?', it's also an update on Western drought likely worst in a millennium and may be the beginning of 'aridification', Vox asks and answers 'Who's really using up the water in the American West?', Wall Street Journal on 'Las Vegas: A Water Conservation Trailblazer Amid the Worst Drought in 1,200 Years', and PBS NewsHour on Great Salt Lake shrinking during the current drought. After all my posts examining the problem from a serious news perspective, it was time for some comedy.

Speaking of comedy, I thought Bryan Cox's guest starring performance as G-d was hilarious. Not only was it an appropriate response to the Governor of Utah asking people to pray for rain, it reminded me of three things. First, the Emmy-winning Cox will be returning in "Succession" this Sunday. Second, "Succession" is an HBO series that will lead into "Last Week Tonight." As I mentioned most recently in 'Navalny,' 'All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,' and 'A House Made of Splinters' — three political and social issue documentaries nominated at the Oscars, "my readers should keep that relationship in mind when watching the clip above. It's not just news value that's driving it." Finally, as I wrote in 'SNL' sends up Trump's visit to the train derailment site in Ohio in its cold open and Weekend Update, "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" has been moved out of variety talk to a new variety scripted category, where it will compete against "Saturday Night Live." Maybe that will mean that Cox would be eligible for an Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series nomination for this performance to go along with his likely third Emmy nomination for "Succession." I can hope.

I'll return to this and other water stories presently. In the meantime, stay tuned as I continue my celebration of completing another year of blogging and starting another with statistics followed by retrospectives on (Wayback) Wednesdays, (Throwback) Thursdays, (Flashback) Fridays and selected Sundays through the rest of this month and probably all of April.

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.

Lawmakers introducing and passing bills to stop changing clocks as Daylight Saving Time begins

Daylight Saving Time (DST) begins tomorrow and, as I have for the past few years, I'm documenting efforts to stop the switching back and forth between DST and standard time because of the time change's deleterious health effects. Today, I'm sharing news from Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. Since I live in Michigan, I begin with WXYZ's Michigan lawmaker introduces bill to end Daylight Saving Time changes.

Get ready to lose an hour this weekend as Daylight Saving Time is almost here, but if one state lawmaker has her way, it could be the last chance in Michigan.

State Representative Hoitinga cited health reasons for ending DST, which WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids covered in Studies: Daylight Saving time can lead to health issues.

We'll spring forward overnight into Sunday. Could that loss of sleep hurt your heart?

Joe LaFurgey promised another segment about state lawmakers introducing bills to either stay off DST or make it permanent. He and WOOD-TV delivered with Time to change time change? Michigan senator says yes.

Daylight saving time takes effect early Sunday morning, meaning you'll lose an hour of sleep as we spring ahead.

Hoitinga said she was looking for a State Senator to support her legislation. She might already have one in Jeff Irwin, who I know from covering him for the now-defunct Examiner.com and who I last wrote about when he proposed legalizing marijuana six years ago. I hope they find a way to work together across the partisan divide.

Follow over the jump for stories about ending the switching back and forth from outside Michigan.

Joe Biden is the apparent President-elect as Pennsylvania and Nevada called for him

I concluded Colbert, Kimmel, and Corden react to Trump's speech last night with derision and outrage plus a bonus Closer Look by writing "The wait is getting to people, including me. I hope I have more definitive news tomorrow. Stay tuned." Well, the wait is over. Watch NBC News Projects Joe Biden Will Be The President-Elect from NBC News.

NBC News projects Joe Biden will win the state of Pennsylvania in the 2020 presidential election, and will have enough electoral votes to become the president-elect.

Whew! Yay! 273 electoral votes for Joe Biden thanks to the Keystone State!

I have more news. Just after I started composing this entry, NPR reported AP Calls Nevada For Joe Biden: "The Associated Press has called Nevada for President-elect Joe Biden, bringing his electoral vote total to 290." That total includes Arizona, which NBC News and ABC News have not yet called for Biden, but the AP and Fox News did two days ago. Add in Georgia, where Biden is also leading, and Biden's electoral vote total increases to 306. Even without those two states, Biden's total is 279, so he's won.*

I conclude today's brief post with analysis from FiveThirtyEight: How Joe Biden And Kamala Harris Won A Historic Election.

As multiple news outlets report that Joe Biden has won the presidency, managing editor Micah Cohen and politics editor Sarah Frostenson talk with Galen Druke about this historic election.

In addition to the thoughtful analysis by Druke and Frostenson, I'm glad Cohen brought up how ground-breaking the victory is for Kamala Harris, who will be the first woman, first African-American, and first Asian-American to be elected Vice President.** Congratulations to her and Biden!

*At least this stage. The real election is the Electoral College, which votes on December 14, 2020. That's followed by a joint session of the new Congress on January 6, 2021. Biden's and Harris's legal team will have to keep an eye on that to make sure there are no attempts to send a slate of electors who do not reflect their state's popular vote or defections by faithless electors. The good news is that competing slates of electors have not made a difference since the 1876 election and faithless electors haven't made a difference since 1836 and that was for Vice President, not President. Still, people are trying. When John Oliver told his viewers to expect an election month not just an election night, he was not kidding.

**She's not the first person of color to be Vice President. Herbert Hoover's Vice President Charles Curtis was Native American, an enrolled member of the Kaw Nation.

Meyers, Colbert, and Noah take closer looks at Trump ignoring science on fires and pandemic

During the past seven days, I took two serious looks at climate change in The Weather Channel compares the 2005 and 2020 Atlantic hurricane seasons as tropical storms Teddy and Vicky form and 'California wildfires illustrate the consequences of climate change' — PBS NewsHour. That means it's time to examine these two climate-fueled weather disasters through the lens of comedy. Two Emmy-nominated late night talk show hosts, Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert, and their writers provided me the material to do that along with a bonus helping of President Trump ignoring science, not only about the fires, but also the pandemic. That allowed me to include a third comedian, Trevor Noah, in the mix. A trifecta of gallows humor!

I begin with Late Night with Seth Meyers' Trump Holds Indoor Nevada Rally as Wildfires and Pandemic Rage: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at President Trump and the Republican Party descending deeper into lawless authoritarianism as wildfires and an out-of-control pandemic continue to rage.

I'm glad to see that Seth included clips of Leah Stokes from PBS NewsHour in his routine. That means more people will see her candid comments about how climate change is fueling the fires.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert examined much of the same territory without duplicating clips and jokes in Trump Denies Climate Science In Fire-Scarred California, Echoing His Downplaying Of The Coronavirus.

Stephen Colbert addresses the issue on everyone's mind (that photo of Chris Evans' penis) before turning to the day's other pressing stories including the California wildfires and new revelations from Bob Woodward about President Trump's handling of the pandemic.

Stephen's important contribution to the fire coverage was pointing out that most of the fires in California are taking place on federal land, so criticizing the state of California's forest management practices is misguided, misinformed, and downright hypocritical. It's also a rerun of Trump's remarks about Finland raking its forests two years ago. At least Trump is being consistent, if only consistently awful.

Stephen also had more to say about Trump's mishandling of the pandemic beyond his Nevada rally in his own take on Trump downplaying the pandemic to Bob Woodward. The Late Show uploaded three clips of Stephen interviewing Woodward, which I am thinking of turning into a post of its own. Stay tuned, I just might.

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah didn't talk about Trump's mishandling the fires — Trevor and his writers focused on how his followers are doing that on their own in another clip — but they, like Meyers and Colbert, did describe how his rally in Nevada was likely to exacerbate the pandemic in Trump's Illegal Indoor Rally & A COVID-positive College Party | The Daily Social Distancing Show.

Facebook comments come to life at a Utah anti-mask protest, college students can’t grasp the meaning of quarantine, and Trump holds an illegal superspreader rally in Nevada.

The Daily Show's writers are finding more comedy gold in the people who support Trump than Trump himself. I think that's a useful perspective on the crisis we're facing. Trump may be setting the tone, but he pays attention to his followers. Otherwise, pollsters wouldn't be seeing numbers like those below.

Trump threatens Michigan and Nevada over mail-in voting

I just mentioned the advantages of voting by mail during a pandemic in Marching music for the Oregon Primary. Not everyone likes the idea, as WOOD-TV reported Trump threatens funding after Michigan absentee ballot move.


I'll have more from WOOD-TV after I share CNN's Trump lashes out at swing states over vote-by-mail yesterday.

President Donald Trump on [Twitter] lashed out at officials in two swing states, Michigan and Nevada, over their moves to make it easier for more voters to cast their ballots by mail ahead of the November election, highlighting his growing anger over mail-in voting changes that he contends will hurt his chances of reelection. The President's harsh and often baseless criticism of vote-by-mail is significantly ratcheting up as more and more states loosen their vote-by-mail restrictions proactively or on court orders.

CNN describing Trump's comments as "harsh and often baseless criticism of vote-by-mail" is certainly mincing no words. I also happen to agree with it.

Since this is a Michigan-based blog, I think this story needs a local reaction in addition to CNN's national reaction. WOOD-TV returns with one in Benson responds after Trump threatens funding.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is responding to criticism after moving to send absentee applications out to registered voters for the August and November elections.

Good for you, Secretary Benson! Just the same, this looks like a fight that will be fought all the way to the November general election. Sigh.

Marching music for the Nevada caucuses

I concluded Vox explains America's presidential primaries by telling my readers "I plan on doing for Nevada what I've already done for Iowa and New Hampshire, share some marching music for my readers to enjoy while they wait for the caucus results.  Stay tuned."  It's time to me to follow through and my readers to watch and listen.

Since there are no competitive drum corps in Nevada, today's installment features the state's top marching bands, beginning with the one from the state's flagship university, University of Nevada Wolf Pack Marching Band Pregame Show 2014.


I captured the NEVADA spellout from this performance to illustrate this entry.

Moving from north to south, ShowtimeWeb captured UNLV "Star of Nevada" Marching Band 2016's halftime show when UNLV played Jackson State University.


Even with the sound problems, this is the best video of the UNLV band I could find on YouTube.  The Star of Nevada Band could use better videographers among its fans!

That's it for the university bands from the Silver State.  Follow over the jump for two Nevada high school bands that marched in the Rose Parade during the past decade.