Major car manufacturers aren't giving up on their efforts to stymie Massachusetts' right to repair legislation. read more
School districts from Pennsylvania to Wyoming are bowing to pressure from some conservative groups to review -- then purge from public school libraries -- books about LGBTQ issues and people of color. read more
A lawsuit against the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers follows similar litigation that was successful against the organizers of a far-right rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017.
Evelyn N. Farkas: If Putin is not deterred from seizing another chunk of sovereign territory, he won't stop there. read more
The milkman cometh back. Pandemic forces that disrupted corporate milk-processing operations and left consumers wary of fluctuations in grocery store supplies -- and crowds of shoppers -- have helped resurrect a market for the home delivery of milk and other dairy products in some locales, including eastern Connecticut. read more
... the mounting tensions between Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ...
Trump dogs "dull" DeSantis ahead of potential 2024 matchup
www.axios.com
...Donald Trump is trashing Ron DeSantis in private as an ingrate with a "dull personality" and no realistic chance of beating him in a potential 2024 showdown, according to sources who've recently talked to the former president about the Florida governor.
Why it matters: The two are among the most popular Republicans in the country, and as the former president eyes another run in 2024, he's irked by DeSantis' popularity and refusal to rule out running against him....
@#39 ... NATO keeps expanding east. ...
Properly phrased...
Countries of eastern Europe are choosing to enter NATO.
... Bill Clinton promised Gorbachev that NATO would not expand east of the Oder. ...
Claim: NATO promised Russia it would not expand after the Cold War
www.nato.int
...Fact: NATO Allies take decisions by consensus and these are recorded. There is no record of any such decision taken by NATO. Personal assurances from individual leaders cannot replace Alliance consensus and do not constitute formal NATO agreement.[emphasis mine]
NATO's "Open Door Policy" is based on Article 10 of the Alliance's founding document, the North Atlantic Treaty (1949). The Treaty states that NATO membership is open to any "European state in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area". It states that any decision on enlargement must be made "by unanimous agreement". NATO has never revoked Article 10, nor limited the potential for enlargement. Over the past 72 years, 30 countries have chosen freely, and in accordance with their domestic democratic processes, to join NATO. This is their sovereign choice.
In addition, at the time of the alleged promise, the Warsaw Pact still existed. Its members did not agree on its dissolution until 1991. The idea of their accession to NATO was not on the agenda in 1989. This was confirmed by Mikhail Gorbachev himself in an interview with Russia Beyond the Headlines:
"The topic of 'NATO expansion' was not discussed at all, and it wasn't brought up in those years. I say this with full responsibility. Not a single Eastern European country raised the issue, not even after the Warsaw Pact ceased to exist in 1991. Western leaders didn't bring it up, either."
Declassified White House transcripts also reveal that, in 1997, Bill Clinton consistently refused Boris Yeltsin's offer of a 'gentlemen's agreement' that no former Soviet Republics would enter NATO: "I can't make commitments on behalf of NATO, and I'm not going to be in the position myself of vetoing NATO expansion with respect to any country, much less letting you or anyone else do so ... NATO operates by consensus."...
... The West is playing chicken with them. ,,, ?i>
Once again, it was Russia, not the West that invaded and annexed Crimea, taking it from Ukraine.
It looks to me as if Russia is the aggressor here, and NATO is playing defense. That is why more nations want to join NATO.
Media Bias Chart...
adfontesmedia.com
Looks like OAN is in the "Contains misleading info" and "Hyper-Partisan Right" categories box, sharing that box with Mercola and InfoWars.
@#16 ... Between ...
There's also this...
Two Georgia poll workers sue One America News, Giuliani over debunked fraud claims
www.reuters.com
...Two Georgia election workers who were the target of vote-rigging conspiracy theories have sued the far-right One America News Network, its top executives, and former President Donald Trump's ex-lawyer Rudy Giuliani for allegedly spreading lies about them....
The complaint alleges that OAN broadcast stories in which Moss and Freeman were falsely accused of conspiring to produce secret batches of illegal ballots and running them through voting machines to help then-candidate Joe Biden defeat Trump.
There is no evidence to support such claims, which have been repeatedly debunked by Georgia election officials.
In a brief interview, OAN chief executive Robert Herring Sr. told Reuters he was not concerned about the lawsuit and that his network had done nothing wrong.
"I know all about it and I'm laughing," he said of the lawsuit. "I'm laughing about the four or five others who are suing me. Eventually, it will turn on them and go the other way."...
U.S. in new Cold War with Russia, says top Republican on House Foreign Affairs
www.axios.com
...Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Sunday he believes the U.S. is engaged in a new Cold War with Russia.
Why it matters: McCaul's comments on CNN's "State of the Union" come days after diplomatic talks among the United States, European allies and Russia hit a dead end, increasing fears of a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine....
What they're saying: McCaul said he would like to see more deterrence from the U.S. in its dealings with Russia.
- - "I'm seeing some tough rhetoric but not a lot of action," he said, adding that "you have to put things on the table like sanctions, you have to talk about more arms sales, weapons sales to Ukraine."
- - "Rather than threatening after an invasion takes place, we ought to be providing deterrents before an invasion takes place," he said.
Asked by host Jake Tapper if he believes the U.S. is engaged in a new Cold War against Russia, McCaul responded, "I do. I do, because I think Putin again smells weakness here."
The bottom line: "This would be the largest invasion in Europe since World War II. That's how big of a deal this is."...
@#2 ... Who cares what that fat clown says? ...
A very significant part of the Republican Party.
A very significant number of Republicans in Congress.
Trump's cult-like control' of Republican party grows stronger since insurrection
www.theguardian.com
...Whether it was praising white supremacists, siding with Vladimir Putin or suggesting bleach as a coronavirus cure, there was nothing that Donald Trump could do to make the Republican party fall out of love with him....
In the year since the insurrection that reverberated around the world, Trump's stranglehold on Republicans has seemingly become stronger, not weaker.
[Sen] Graham was soon back on the golf course with him; [Leader] McCarthy was soon kissing the ring at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Many leaders of the party have set about changing the narrative of the insurrection to portray it as a heroic last stand -- a new "lost cause"....
This region was an early spike in omicron cases for the US.
The past few days we've been starting to see indicators drop.
For example, the past couple of weeks, the positivity rates were:
12/30/2021: NY: 22%, NJ: 34%, CT: 20%
01/05/2022: NY: 22%, NJ: 39%, CT: 23%
01/11/2022: NY: 19%, NJ: 31%, CT: 24%
01/14/2022: NY: 16%, NJ: 25%, CT: 19%
01/17/2022: NY: 13%, NJ: 22%, CT: 19%
Hopefully the downward trend in this area will continue.