Stephan: If you have listened to any of the rightwing media on television, or radio, or read rightwing websites, you may have been as surprised as I have been, that the Republicans generally are upset and opposed to the jury's decision in the Derek Chauvin trial. In fact, they have politicized it into an act of war by the left. Am I exaggerating? Read and decide yourself.
What seems to be happening is that without Trump to focus them, the Republican Party has become even more radicalized, and this is a very dangerous trend.
Hannity, Ingraham, and Carlson, the three leading propagandists employed by Fox
Throwing Derek Chauvin under the bus should have been a no-brainer for the “I’m not a racist” crowd. The pretense behind “blue lives matter” has been that it’s not that conservatives are racist but that Black Lives Matter goes “too far.” They argue that most police killings are unfortunate accidents to be tolerated in the name of greater social safety and that the “few bad apples” who do it on purpose can be held to account without widespread reform.
It was always nonsense, of course. But Chauvin’s conviction on three counts for murdering George Floyd provided conservatives a golden “hey, at least we’re not that guy” opportunity. The evidence against Chauvin was overwhelming. The video of the murder showed the world the nonchalant determination on Chauvin’s face as he snuffed out Floyd’s life. Police officials testified against Floyd. Prosecutor Steve Schleicher gave conservatives an out by saying, “This wasn’t policing, this was murder.” Conservatives could have easily clung to Chauvin’s conviction as an “exception that proves the rule” situation, insisting that […]
Robin Carart-Harris, Head of the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London - Guardian (U.K.)
Stephan: Although I have never done psychedelic research myself, because psychedelics produce altered-states of consciousness, including nonlocal states of consciousness, the two research communities since the 1960s have been intertwined and so over the decades I have had the pleasure of knowing many of the research researchers and physicians. A little know but very sad story is the suppression of this research beginning with Nixon and his "War on Drugs" which began in 1971. As a result the funding for this research dried up and it was worth your academic appointment to become openly involved in such studies. As a result untold thousands did not get the mental health assistance they should have and could have. It is good news about an important trend that this work is once again being carried out.
When taken in high doses, psilocybin [derived from magic mushrooms] profoundly alters the quality of conscious awareness, releasing suppressed memories and feelings.’ Credit: Misha Kaminsky/Getty
Mental illness is the 21st century’s leading cause of disability, affecting an estimated billion people across the world. Depression is the number one contributor: more than 250 million people have this condition globally. The number of people prescribed antidepressant medications, the first-line treatment for depression, increases each year,and the market for them is valued at approximately $15bn (£11bn).Yet depression prevalence rates have not decreased since accurate record-keeping began. One reason for this paradox is the failure of science to adequately explain how and why depression occurs.
Psychiatry has long sought and failed to find a compelling biomedical explanation for depression. One popular idea, the “serotonin hypothesis”, was inspired by the observation that drugs that increase the activity of this naturally occurring brain chemical have antidepressant effects. First produced in the mid-1980s, Prozac (chemical name fluoxetine) is the most famous selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant.Of these, Cipralex (escitalopram) is one of the newest and best performing.
Stephan: Biden and his administration have been in office just over three months without a single scandal or grift. Or, put the other way, Trump and his orcs have been out of office for just over three months and we are still having their grifts and scandals breaking into the news like syphilitic pustules. Here is today's Pence pus pocket. It is yet another example of the sense of privilege and entitlement all Trumpers seem to feel. What really concerns me though is that none of these people seem to be getting held responsible for their loathsomeness.
More details continue to emerge about the Trump-Pence administration.
Mike Pence, source of the latest Trump scum report
“While coronavirus cases surged to record levels late last December, Vice President Mike Pence went on a ski vacation in Vail, Colorado. The trip came with a massive bill to taxpayers, with Secret Service protection alone costing $757,527.85, according to documents obtained by CREW. At the time of his holiday travel, Pence was the head of the White House coronavirus task force, which put out dire warnings after Thanksgiving as the CDC recommended that Americans stay home over the holidays in order to limit the spread of the virus. Clearly, Pence did not follow the government’s advice, and in the process put dozens of Secret Service agents at heightened risk of infection,” the group said on Thursday.LISTEN: Special Comedy Exclusive – The Raw Story Podcast Interviews ‘President Trump’
Brady Dennis and Juliet Eilperin, Reporters - The Washington Post
Stephan: Wonderful good news again from the Biden administration. Finally, we have a president who has his priorities straight, and he has been in office for nearly 100 days and there has not been a single scandal or grift by anyone in his administration. When I think about the proceeding four years I feel like we, as a country, were trapped in a horror movie insane asylum.
President Biden plans to pledge this week that the United States will slash its greenhouse gas emissions at least in half by the end of the decade. Credit: Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post
President Biden this week will pledge to slash U.S. greenhouse gas emissions at least in half by the end of the decade, according to two people briefed on the plan, as part of an aggressive push to combat climate change at home and persuade other major economies around the world to follow suit.
The move comes as Biden convenes a virtual summit of more than three dozen world leaders Thursday, aimed at ratcheting up international climate ambitions and reestablishing the United States as a leader in the effort to slow the planet’s warming.
The planned U.S.pledge represents a near-doubling of the target that the nation committed to under the 2015 Paris climate agreement, when Barack Obama vowed to cut emissions by 26 to 28 percent compared with 2005 levels.
Asked for comment, a White House official said a final decision had not been made.
The Paris accord, which President Donald Trump exited […]
Stephan: More good news from the Biden administration. Just as Franklin Roosevelt ushered in decades of prosperity in the U.S. with his New Deal, so Biden's infrastructure plans, and commitment to non-carbon energy, are going to create hundreds of thousands of new well-paying jobs. You have to ask yourself why are the Republicans opposed to all of this?
Offshore Wind Turbines Credit: CleanTechnica
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm today joined the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce at a White House roundtable meeting to announce a national goal to deploy 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2030. This effort will support approximately 77,000 jobs in industry and surrounding communities, generate electricity to power over 10 million American homes, and cut 78 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. This new goal, with additional Department of Energy (DOE) investments announced today, builds on President Biden’s Executive Order to address the climate crisis and create American jobs by accelerating the deployment of renewable energy on public lands and waters, including through swift interagency action to advance offshore wind.
“This offshore wind goal is proof of our commitment to using American ingenuity and might to invest in our nation, advance our own energy security, and combat the climate crisis,” said Secretary Granholm. “DOE is going to marshal every resource we have to get as many American companies, using as many sheets of American steel, employing as many American workers as […]
