Annie Karni, Congressional Correspondent - The New York Times
Stephan: I have never understood the Right's hysteria about same-sex marriage. Why shouldn't an individual have the right to enter into marriage with anyone they love who loves them. It supports wellbeing, and creates happiness, so what's the problem? But we all know that this simple right to pick the partner you love, regardless of their gender makes MAGAt world crazy. Well, here is what looks like it is going to be good news.
Senator Tammy Baldwin, Democrat of Wisconsin, led a bipartisan group that quietly built sufficient Republican support for the measure. Credit: Haiyun Jiang / The New York Times
WASHINGTON — The Senate passed landmark legislation on Tuesday to mandate federal recognition for same-sex marriages, as a lame-duck Congress mustered a notable moment of bipartisanship before Democrats were to lose their unified control of Capitol Hill.
The 61-to-36 vote put the bill on track to become law in the final weeks before Republicans assume the majority in the House of Representatives at the start of the new Congress in January. It marked one of the final major legislative achievements for Democrats before Republicans shift the focus in the House to conducting investigations of President Biden’s administration and family members.
The bill must now win final approval by the House, which would clear it for Mr. Biden’s signature. Representative Steny H. Hoyer, Democrat of Maryland and the majority leader, said that chamber would move quickly to pass it, acting as soon as next week.
But its embrace in the Senate, where proponents […]
Stephan: This isn't getting much media coverage, but the Moore v. Harper case now before the Supreme Court, given the christofascist cabal that dominates the court today, could radically alter the whole structure of the American electoral process. It would basically move control of the Congress and presidency away from the voters and into the state legislatures. It would change the entire power structure of American politics making the state legislatures the dominant player in all elections.
US Supreme Court Credit: supreme.justia.com
Scheduled for argument in December, Moore v. Harper concerns the ability of state courts to enforce state constitutions and state laws in elections. Many are sounding the alarm that the decision could have a monumental effect on elections for years to come.
In the case Moore v. Harper, the U.S. Supreme Court will not only examine congressional redistricting in North Carolina — it will also be examining a far-right legal idea known as the independent state legislature doctrine. In its most severe form, the ISL, also known as ISLT, argues that only state legislatures should govern elections at the state level.
Former Secretary of State and First Lady Hilary Clinton attempted to warn the American people of the possible consequences back in October.
The issue in Moore v. Harper is whether the Constitution gives state legislatures the exclusive power to determine the “manner” of congressional elections, unconstrained by state constitutions. Under the independent state legislature theory advanced by North Carolina Republican legislators and their conservative allies, it does.
Because state constitutions often provide greater protection of voting rights […]
Sara Berg, MS, Senior News Writer - American Medical Association
Stephan: Further evidence that America's illness profit system when stressed trends towards failure. Sixty three percent of physicians report they are verging on burnout. This is going to have a notably strong impact on rural areas, particularly in Red states which, because of the Dobbs decision, already have healthcare systems under stress. We are seeing a growing number of medical deserts where healthcare is at third world levels, and that is going to leave us woefully unprepared for the next pandemic. The whole system needs to be restructured so that it is based on wellbeing not profit.
A rural American medical desert
Three in five physicians reported at least one manifestation of burnout during the height of the Omicron wave that struck the U.S. during the winter of 2021–2022, pushing physician burnout rates to an all-time high and demonstrating more than ever the need for a renewed national commitment to bolster the physicians and other health professionals who have worked so tirelessly to save countless lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Between Dec. 9, 2021, and Jan. 24, 2022, nearly 2,500 U.S. physicians responded to a survey by researchers from the AMA, the Mayo Clinic, Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of Colorado School of Medicine. The researchers found that, overall, 62.8% of physicians had at least one manifestation of burnout in 2021, compared with 38.2% in 2020, 43.9% in 2017, 54.4% in 2014 and 45.5% in 2011. These trends were consistent across nearly all specialties.
Stephan: The anti-vaxxer movement is playing a very negative role in diseases other than Covid. This movement is a form of willful stupidity that killed millions with Covid and now, as this CDC report describes, has become a factor with measles. You can't fix willful stupidity because it is a choice people make, a deliberate denial of well-established facts.
A young child with measles Credit: Baby center
Measles vaccination coverage has steadily declined since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, a record high of nearly 40 million children missed a measles vaccine dose: 25 million children missed their first dose and an additional 14.7 million children missed their second dose, a joint publication by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports. This decline is a significant setback in global progress towards achieving and maintaining measles elimination and leaves millions of children susceptible to infection.
In 2021, there were an estimated 9 million cases and 128,000 deaths from measles worldwide. Twenty-two countries experienced large and disruptive outbreaks. Declines in vaccine coverage, weakened measles surveillance, and continued interruptions and delays in immunization activities due to COVID-19, as well as persistent large outbreaks in 2022, mean that measles is an imminent […]
Stephan: I am increasingly concerned by what a corrupt nation the United States has become. A small group of the uber-rich are openly and actively advocating a fascist authoritarian government. Here's proof of what I am saying.
Kari Lake with Glenn Youngkin in October 2022 Credit: Gage Skidmore
In an article published on November 3, the Daily Beast’s Roger Sollenberger reported that “nearly 80 percent” of the $1.7 million that right-wing shipping magnates Dick and Elizabeth Uihlein donated to Republican candidates “between January 7, 2021 and August 31, 2022” went to “campaigns or committees tied to the 147 Republicans who voted, on January 6, (2021), to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory.” But their fondness for MAGA election denialists, according to Sollenberger, goes beyond donations.
Sollenberger, writing for the Beast in an article published on November 28, reports that in 2021, Arizona Republican Party Vice Chair Gina Swoboda was hired as executive director for “the Uihlein-backed dark money nonprofit Restoration Action Inc.” Her salary was $108,750 per year.
“Swoboda, a former Trump campaign official and the vice chair of the Arizona Republican Party, is now leading a misguided charge against the ballot count in that state on behalf of GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake,” Sollenberger explains. “Swoboda currently […]
