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Georgia GOP has a new voter suppression tactic: Here's how they are targeting Black election officials Republicans in the state of Georgia are making arduous efforts to further contribute to voter suppression across the state. In addition to enacting laws to make it more difficult for people of color to vote, they are now targeting Black election officials. According to The New York Times, Republican lawmakers are laying the foundation to expand their own power over election processes in states across the country. Lawmakers' actions in Georgia are a prime example of what may be seen in many states in the very near future. Per the publication: "Across Georgia, members of at least 10 county election boards have been removed, had their position eliminated, or are likely to be kicked off through local ordinances or new laws passed by the state legislature. At least five are people of color and most are Democrats — though some are Republicans — and they will most likely all be replaced by Republicans." "Ms. Hollis and local officials like her have been some of the earliest casualties as Republican-led legislatures mount an expansive takeover of election administration in a raft of new voting bills this year." The reports about Georgia's targeting of Black election officials come as similar actions are being taken in other Republican-led states like Arkansas, Kansas, and possibly Arizona. Over the last year, there have been more discussions about Republican lawmakers' efforts to chip away at the United States' democracy. In some states, controversial voting laws have already been passed but what's worse is that some of the bills include provisions that grant election power to politicians; many of whom have biased political agendas. Georgia GOP has a new voter suppression tactic: Here's how they are targeting Black election officials - Alternet.org

Scientists say spider silk could teach us how to replace plastic For all our scientific and technological might, humans struggle to manufacture materials as tensile as a spider's silk. Five times as strong as steel, spiderwebs are a testament to the ingenuity of nature — and particularly to the millions of years of evolution that endowed arachnids with the power to make such miraculous strands of silk. Chemists and engineers have studied spider silk for years to figure out if it could be adapted in developing novel materials. Now, an intriguing new paper has a remarkable proposal: use a biodegradable spider silk-inspired material to replace plastic. Such a concept would have incredible utility in reducing plastic pollution on Earth, which causes myriad health, environmental and ecological problems. The new article in question, published in the scientific journal Nature Communications, reveals that Cambridge researchers have managed to create a sustainable material that could theoretically replace plastics but is made from plants and sustainable. As Professor Tuomas Knowles, a chemistry and biophysics professor at the University of Cambridge, wrote to Salon, spider silk is extremely strong even though its molecules are connected together by comparatively weak bonds. The looseness of the molecules makes the molecules more dynamic, and they can be packed together in dense quantities. From a material standpoint, Knowles says spider silk is unique in that spiders create it with protein that can "naturally untangle and restructure" itself, a process known as "protein self-assembly." Knowles and his team followed the same principle. "These interactions are formed in large part through contacts involving the backbone of the molecules; this is the part that all protein molecules have in common," Knowles explained. "As such, we found that it is possible to take molecules which are unrelated to silk, but find conditions where they too can assemble into dense arrays which are held together by backbone interactions." Knowles hopes this knowledge could, quite literally, save the world. Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter The Vulgar Scientist. "This technology has significant potential to replace plastics in a wide range of applications," Knowles explained to Salon. "Plant-protein materials are high performance, and have a perfect end-of-life. Unlike fossil fuel based materials, no chemicals can be released when the materials degrade. And unlike most other potential replacements for plastic, our materials are 100% natural, with no chemical modification or cross linking." Knowles believes in the new material so much that he and his team have founded a company called Xampla, which plans on launching products based on it in the real world, including a micro plastic application (fabric softeners' fragrance capsules) and a plastic film application (wrappers for dishwasher detergents). "By 2025, we envisage that these materials will be found widely in homes, in personal care, homecare and food packaging applications," Knowles wrote to Salon. If Knowles is correct, the invention will come not a moment too soon. There is a growing body of evidence linking chemicals known as "endocrine disruptors," which are found in many widely-used plastics, to dropping sperm counts among men. Plastic pollution has also seeped into our food and could be causing widespread illnesses like cancers. Large quantities of disposable plastic have found their way into the ocean, bringing considerable suffering to aquatic life and hurting the livelihoods of many low-income individuals. The pandemic has only exacerbated these trends by increasing demand for single-use plastic products and making it cheaper to create new plastic. These are serious problems — but, as Knowles tells Salon, not ones that he had initially set out to solve when he began studying the webs woven by our eight-legged friends. "When we started this research, our goal was to understand the fundamental nature of protein self-assembly," Knowles explained. "We asked the question, 'How does for example a spider make silk so strong?' And as we developed, we realized that that fundamental understanding could be applied to many other proteins as well and thus address one of the principal environmental challenges of our day."

None of this will change so long as money is to be made destroying the Earth with no consequences.

The encouraging thing is that all evidence indicates that two doses of vaccine gives well over 90% immunity against all the COVID viruses.

Infectious Disease Expert Warns ‘We’re Not Done With This Virus At All’ Michael Osterholm doubted there would be future national surges in COVID-19 but said “substantial” local and regional ones were a possibility. Infectious disease expert Michael Osterholm warned Friday of the possibility of “substantial” local and regional surges of COVID-19, telling CNN’s Poppy Harlow that “we’re not done with this virus at all.” Osterholm, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, doubted there would be another national surge because of the scale of the United States’ vaccination program, which to date has seen more than 175 million Americans receive at least one shot. But Osterholm said more localized surges could occur if the highly transmissible Delta variant takes hold in the U.S., where it is now quickly spreading. The variant first identified in India has already become the dominant strain of the virus in the United Kingdom, where rising cases have forced the delay of easing lockdown restrictions. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Friday that the Delta variant will “probably” become the most dominant in America. Osterholm agreed, noting its ability to evade the immunity provided by a single dose of one of the two-dose vaccines.

Arizona election audit takes wild turn: Voter data is transported to a "secret" lab in another state The Republican-led Arizona audit being conducted by the Florida-based tech company Cyber Ninjas took an unexpected turn after voter data was transported to a mystery "lab" in Montana to be "forensically evaluated" by a third party. At some point during the audit, CyFIR — a digital security firm subcontracted by Cyber Ninjas — was enlisted to examine ballots. But it wasn't until Arizona Republic reporter Jen Fifield started digging through a state-run "SOS" website posting audit updates that she noticed "copies" of data were being "sent to a lab in Montana." Upon further research, the Arizona Republic traced the data's whereabouts back to a Montana property whose owner was listed as CyFIR CEO Ben Cotton on public records. Cotten is also the CEO of Cyber Technologies (CyTech), the parent company of CyFIR. Both companies are based out of Virginia, but they also share the same northwest Montana "Bigfork" address on documents. At the time, Ken Bennett, an audit official, informed the Arizona Republic that he wasn't aware of how the data in the hands of Cotton and his firms was being kept safe. Weeks later, Bennett told CNN that CYFIR was allowed to send copies of voter data to Montana on a truck. "Bennett tells us he doesn't know where the so-called 'lab' is," CNN reporter Gary Tuchman said during the televised report. "It is apparently a secret." A request by Salon for comment from CyTech President Timothy Poole and Cotton went unreturned. While local news reports on the matter have been circulating over the past few weeks, the story didn't catch wind until Tuchman took viewers to Cotton's Montana address on Wednesday. While the CNN reporter got within eye-shot of a cabin on the Montana property, he could not walk beyond that point due to a "private property" sign that warned against trespassing. According to additional reporting conducted by CNN, the sprawling property owned by Cotton has numerous structures on site. It remains unclear whether the "lab" is actually located on the property — or if it even exists. Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs shared the feature report, which has since caught the attention of many on social media. "You can't make this stuff up," Hobbs told CNN. "If it wasn't happening right in front of our eyes, we wouldn't believe it was happening." Arizona election audit takes wild turn: Voter data is transported to a "secret" lab in another state | Salon.com

Mike Pence Heckled As A ‘Traitor’ On Stage At Conservative Summit Former Vice President Mike Pence received a chilly reception from some when he took the stage at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s annual conference on Friday. There were some cheers, but Pence was also heckled by audience members echoing criticisms he had received from former President Donald Trump. “It is great to be back with so many patriots dedicated to faith, freedom and the road to the majority,” Pence said as he began his remarks at the event in Orlando, Florida. Several loud calls then rang out: “Traitor!” Pence gets drowned out by hecklers at the Faith & Freedom Coalition summit, some of whom appear to be chanting “traitor!” pic.twitter.com/pAQxavsK3O Some people yelling at Pence were escorted out of the venue, while others left on their own, according to Washington Post reporter Dave Weigel. Mike Pence Heckled As A 'Traitor' On Stage At Conservative Summit | HuffPost

Damn. I was really, really hoping that we would be under 100 new cases per day by now.

She presents as someone who is of limited intellectual capacity with the integrity of a bowl of watery Jello.

Or hire Medlock to coach our new kicker for a couple of months.

Blindfolded and into the teeth of a tornado. In the dark.

Soooo....the Bombers are expected to make their Marc?

Feinstein said that Trump learned his lesson after his first impeachment, so you know how keen her judgment is. BTW: there is also a village in Spain whose inhabitants are all blue- the Blue Man Group?

I hope you are not holding your breath while awaiting a Democrat with gonads to say this.

Nah. That kicker from Quebec looked pretty darned good. Medlock was as steady and consistent as you get, but I do not expect him to return.

Gov. Greg Abbott Makes Texas a ‘2nd Amendment Sanctuary State’ by Legalizing Carry of Handguns Without License or Training Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill allowing Texans to carry handguns without a license or training after Sept. 1. So y'all vacationing in Texas this fall or nah? In 2019 the state of Texas saw two mass shootings in El Paso and Midland-Odessa that left a total 30 people dead. It was reported that the two shootings marked the sixth and seventh mass shootings that occurred in Texas over that year and the nine years prior. That year, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott—the Donald Trump of people who will never be president (of course, a lot of people also said that about Trump)—pledged to Texans that he and his office would do “everything we can to make sure a crime like this doesn’t happen again.” Two years later, it turns out—*in my best Tyler, the Creator voice*—that was a lie.

I If You need further proof: GOP Congressman: FBI 'participated' in insurrection to 'entrap' harmless protestors and 'frame the MAGA movement' U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) is demanding the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Dept. of Justice tell Congress what they know about their own alleged "participation" in Donald Trump's January 6 insurrection, which led to at least seven deaths. Gohmert falsely claims the attack on the U.S. Capitol – which in reality was an attempted coup designed to overturn a free and fair election – was instead a "monumental entrapment scheme used as a pretext to imprison otherwise harmless protestors" and used to “frame the entire MAGA movement as potential domestic terrorists." News organization The Recount calls Gohmert's assertions "a bullshit baseless conspiracy theory." Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) spews a bullshit baseless conspiracy theory blaming the FBI for organizing the January 6th insurrection to “frame the entire MAGA movement as potential domestic terrorists." pic.twitter.com/LZI5bQfx65 — The Recount (@therecount) June 17, 2021 The Texas Republican congressman, explained on Thursday on the floor of the House that his "friend," Fox News white supremacist host Tucker Carlson "covered this last night," called the conspiracy theory "really disturbing... because we don't like to see government agents stirring up trouble or find that there are criminal acts that would not likely have occurred had not the federal government been participating." Having no evidence that January 6 was an "inside job," which is what Gohmert is asserting, he goes on to make up possible scenarios, again, without any basis in fact. "Whether they were actual agents, or an undercover agents, or informants that were working for the federal government. But this is scary stuff this is, This is kind of third world stuff, this is not only third world stuff but this is like Putin-like kind of activity. So, if there were federal agents that were involved on January 6, we really need to know what the FBI knew and when they knew it, and not only that, we need to know how much participation did any of our federal friends either at DOJ, FBI, or any of the Intel Community, what kind of role were they playing?" GOP Congressman: FBI 'participated' in insurrection to 'entrap' harmless protestors and 'frame the MAGA movement' - Alternet.org At Long Last, Donald Trump Finally Admits: ‘We Didn’t Win’. But he did add ominously: “Let’s see what happens on that.” Amid a rambling, off-the-rails phone interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, former President Donald Trump finally admitted a critical fact: “We didn’t win.” It was the first time since the presidential election more than seven months ago that Trump has conceded to his successor, President Joe Biden. But he also ominously warned: “Let’s see what happens on that.” Trump told Hannity Wednesday night: “Shockingly, we were supposed to win easily at 64 million votes, and we got 75 million votes, and we didn’t win. But let’s see what happens on that.” At Long Last, Donald Trump Finally Admits: 'We Didn't Win' | HuffPost

Fox News caught trying to pass off GOP operatives as parents "concerned" about critical race theory. A new report sheds light on the backgrounds of the nearly dozen anti-CRT guests featured on Fox News Fox News failed to disclose to their audience that nearly a dozen guests billed as parents panicked by what they misleadingly label critical race theory being taught to their young children in school are also professional Republican operatives, according to a newly released report. The liberal media watchdog organization Media Matters for America details how Fox News has repeatedly failed to mention that their guests, who included right-wing media personalities, GOP strategists and conservative think tank staffers, were far from apolitical despite billing them as your average outraged parent. For example, one of the guests who frequently appeared to rail against critical race theory was a gentleman by the name of Ian Prior, who was billed by the network as a "Loudoun County parent" that went "from [a] concerned parent, like many of you, to legal activist." But below the surface, Prior is a Republican operative with deep GOP political roots. The former Department of Justice spokesperson, Media Matters noted, worked "in top communications roles during the 2016 election cycle" including for "the National Republican Congressional Committee, the Karl Rove-fronted super PAC American Crossroads, and the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC that works to elect Republican senators which was founded by allies of Minority Leader Mitch McConnell." Fox News caught trying to pass off GOP operatives as parents "concerned" about critical race theory | Salon.com

There was a report on CBC radio this afternoon that some of the vaccination supercenters are taking walk-ins.

GOP's Jim Jordan outraged after DOJ refuses to investigate bizarre Italian space laser election fraud theory Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is outraged over a new conspiracy theory he says the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) refuses to investigate. According to Above the Law, Jordan actually believes Italian laser satellites swayed the 2020 presidential election in President Joe Biden's favor. "That is a problem," the Ohio congressman said on Wednesday during the House Oversight Committee hearing for Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. He referred to a cache of emails that highlighted the Trump White House's mounting pressure on the DOJ to interfere with the presidential election. GOP's Jim Jordan outraged after DOJ refuses to investigate bizarre Italian space laser election fraud theory - Alternet.org Trump Goes On The Weirdest Tangent In Rambling Fox News Call Donald Trump called into Fox News on Wednesday night, and the former president immediately launched into a rambling montage of his rally talking points from the past. In one of the strangest moments of the interview, Trump revived his grievances against windmills, this time claiming they “kill everything.” As president, Trump repeatedly griped about windmills, and at one point even claimed ― falsely ― that they cause cancer. In reality, his main problem with wind turbines is that he thought an offshore wind farm would ruin the view from his golf resort in Scotland. He sued to stop it from being built, but he lost. The turbines were constructed, and Trump has held a grudge ever since. “They’re making windmills all over the place, to ruin our land and kill our birds,” he said Wednesday. “To kill everything.” Trump Goes On The Weirdest Tangent In Rambling Fox News Call | HuffPost

FWIW:

Conservatives follow Fox News' Tucker Carlson to baselessly claim FBI was behind Capitol riot Fox News primetime host Tucker Carlson was quick to give air to a relatively new fringe theory that the January 6 Capitol riot was an inside job hatched and carried out by FBI operatives — and other conservatives pundits were even quicker to buy into the baseless claims. On the Tuesday episode of his top-rated Fox News show, hours after military officials and FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before Congress, Carlson claimed that there remain a series of "basic factual matters" to which the nation still doesn't have answers stemming from the riot. "Why is the Biden administration preventing us from knowing?" Carlson asked his audience before citing an article posted on the far-right website Revolver News, which was founded by disgraced Trump speechwriter and white nationalist conference speaker Darren Beattie. The story penned by Beattie speculated that it wasn't fervent pro-Trump activists who breached the Capitol and took marching orders from Trump, but rather undercover agents of the federal government. "Some of the key people who participated on January 6th have not been charged. Look at the documents. The government calls those people unindicted co-conspirators," the Fox host commented. "What does that mean? Well, it means that in potentially every single case, they were FBI operatives," Carlson concluded. "Really! In the Capitol on January 6th." Conservatives were quick to pounce on the notion after Carlson's promotion of it. Conservatives follow Fox News' Tucker Carlson to baselessly claim FBI was behind Capitol riot | Salon.com

I had zero ill effects from my shot on Sunday. The waifu had some pretty strong chills that night and a sore arm for a couple of days.

Impressive.