2022/11/08

Tuesday, November 8, 2022 (#312)

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Page updates: added links to Twitter/Musk purchase and created Twitter/Musk purchase/Mastodon influx What points show that Neil Armstrong didn't reach the Moon?: an example of how people can be misled when they don't understand stuff about reality. researching the claim that Rudy Guiliani reduced crime in NYC: 2022-02-11 Giuliani to Newsmax: NYC Mayor's Crime Fighting Measures Are 'Idiotic' 2020-07-02 Giuliani’s Misleading Attack on de Blasio and Crime (FactCheck.org) 2009 How New York Became Safe: The Full Story 2007-09-01 How much credit does Giuliani deserve for fighting crime? (Politifact) «While the statistics he cites are accurate, independent experts and studies of the phenomenon suggest Giuliani exaggerates his role.» 2007-07-18 Press Release - Mayor Giuliani Cleaned Up New York City: note that this is a press release by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley of The American Presidency Project 2003-01 What Reduced Crime in New York City Mayoralty of Rudy Giuliani 2022-11-08 Are the gender criticals OK? (via): this is the thing about fascism (and yeah, TERFs / "gender critical"s are fascists) -- they have to keep narrowing the circle of who is acceptable. They always turn on their own. (Side query: if you've had both a natural birth and a C-section, does the latter negate your Real Motherhood? Or does giving birth naturally once let you in the club? Or maybe it's nonbinary?) 2022-11-07 Republicans Are Laying The Groundwork (Again) To Reject Elections They Lose «Masters recalled his dad worrying that, even if Masters won by 30,000 votes over incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), "they’ll just find 40,000 for Mark Kelly. He invited me to prove him wrong," Masters said. "I said, 'Dad, I can’t prove you wrong. All I know is, if those are the numbers, I’ve got to win by 80,000.'" The crowd reportedly burst into applause.» The GOP victim-mentality escalates... 2022-11-03 CDC issues new opioid prescribing guidance, giving doctors more leeway to treat pain: this seems like a good thing. Too many people who need pain meds aren't able to get them. My doctor wouldn't prescribe hydrocodone for me, even though I have a long history of responsible usage. (Fortunately I still have a small stash left over from dental work and don't need it that often, BUT.) 2022-11-02 Sentenced to life for stealing $14: ‘I needed help, but was given jail’ ...in California, a supposedly liberal state (where liberals are supposedly "soft on crime") «At the time of the 2002 offense, in which he took loose change from an unlocked garage, Coulson, then 35, was living on the streets of Long Beach and deep in the throes of drug addiction. He was also struggling with mental illnesses after surviving significant childhood abuse. Despite his documented health crises, and having no violent crimes on his record, a judge ordered him to be locked up for life, saying he could only be considered for release after 35 years.» He was nailed by a "three strikes" law - in part because his $14 crime counted as two strikes. « Proponents said the law would “keep murderers, rapists, and child molesters behind bars, where they belong”. Instead, within a decade, nearly 3,500 people were given life sentences for nonviolent offenses such as shoplifting or drug possession.» 2022-11-08 Florida warns US Justice Department that federal election monitors are not allowed inside polling places «In a letter to DOJ dated Monday, Florida state elections officials argued that federal officials are not included on the list of people allowed inside polling places [–] and even if they did qualify, it “would be counterproductive and could potentially undermine confidence in the election.”» "Undermine confidence in the election" is the Right's new code-phrase for "point out how we're screwing things up" and/or "go against our narrative that the 2020 election was rigged". @anubis2814 on toot.cat observes: «Say you are [messing] with the elections without saying you are messing with the elections», which kinda nails it exactly.