Is the GOP on the run?
It's too soon to call the results of the mid-terms, but between Roe v. Wade, the January 6th investigations, stolen confidential documents, etc. etc., conventional wisdom may not apply
The Complete Guide to All the Ways Donald Trump Is Legally Screwed
As assembled by RSN.org, here is a list of every single criminal investigation and civil lawsuit the ex-president is currently facing, including the ones you’ve probably never heard about. It’s hard to imagine that Trump will not be held accountable for any of these alleged criminal activities. More likely, it will be a cascade of charges, indictments and follow-on discoveries of nefarious activities. Regardless, next time you think that Trump is going to escape accountability, refer to this handy list — it’s unfolding in real-time, and once the dam breaks…
https://www.rsn.org/001/the-complete-guide-to-all-the-ways-donald-trump-is-legally-screwed.html
Michael Cohen Predicts 'So Much Flipping' To Come From Trump's Embattled Allies
In a prefect companion piece to the list of Trump’s legal problems (above), his former personal attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen, predicts that many of Trump’s allies will soon flip on him, as multiple investigations close in on his business dealings and efforts to interfere in the 2020 election. “There’s going to be so much flipping, it’s going to be like watching a gymnastics event,” according to Cohen. As reported by Huffington Post, Cohen has predicted that “Every single person is going to (flip) ― they all know what happened to me. None of them want to go to prison.” Cohen explains his rationale, in this short but insightful piece…
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/michael-cohen-trump-allies-flipping_n_6302b902e4b0f7df9bb16be2
GOP spending under fire as Senate hopefuls seek rescue
According to reporting by The Washington Post, a cash crunch at Republican campaigns and the NRSC has set off a panic as GOP candidates emerged from bruising primaries playing catch-up in polls and advertising. The bottom line is that there has been a perfect storm of bad conditions for GOP fundraising, and one noteworthy example is that “Donald Trump’s relentless fundraising pitches and cash hoarding has exhausted the party’s online donor base.” This is aggravated by questionable RNC spending decisions, and internal controversy regarding how the party’s previously deep cash reserves have been unexpectedly exhausted. Maybe voters are just not into the Republican brand these days (one can’t imagine why). As Florida’s Marco Rubio complained recently, while begging supporters for money for his campaign, “Do I need to remind you that just last week it was reported that my opponent raised more in one month than I was able to raise all of last quarter? My opponent is gaining momentum and I desperately need your support,” Mr Rubio wrote. “Please, I’m begging…” So sad…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/19/gop-senate-rescue-midterms/
The Lost Cause, the Big Lie, and the events of January 6th
“The Lost Cause is the racist myth that justifies chattel slavery. It tells a false story of generous slave owners and happy slaves, as well as lies that the Civil War wasn't really fought over slavery — it was about states' rights. Everything that follows, the nadir of American race relations, the violent dismantling of Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, the erections of Confederate monuments and the conflation of a treasonous Confederate flag with patriotism, are all in the name of this Lost Cause. The Big Lie has come to mean the lie that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election but that it was stolen from him. It was a lie so large that it drove the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, and extended out to include another lie, one that painted the violent attempt to overturn the election as a peaceful protest.” This story from NPR details the societal factors underlying the events surrounding the January 6th riots, and the larger unrest the country is experiencing. As you might imagine, race has a lot to do with it. “Both the Lost Cause and the Big Lie are myths meant to justify — and at the same time deny the existence of — violence meant to preserve white power.”
https://www.npr.org/2022/08/23/1117993012/january-6th-hearings-race
Scientists Achieve the Impossible, Safely Destroy Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’
“Anywhere you look, we’re drowning in so-called forever chemicals, or PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). These substances were originally developed in the 1940s to make life easier by creating non-stick cookware, waterproof clothing, and stain resistant furniture. Yet the same tough chemistry that made these feats possible also made it nearly impossible for these chemicals to degrade naturally after they were used up.” Now, as reported by VICE News, and in a new paper published recently in the journal Science, a team of researchers have uncovered a new way to dispose of a class of these chemicals, permanently. One of the exciting benefits of this discovery is that the process leaves no damaging products in its wake. “We were pleased to find a relatively low temperature, low energy input method where the one specific portion of these molecules falls off and sets off a cascade of reactions that ultimately breaks these PFAS compounds down to relatively benign products including fluoride ions… that are in many cases found in nature already and do not pose serious health concerns.” While not yet ready for widespread implementation, the discovery is being hailed as groundbreaking — a positive development worth knowing about…
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