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Category: USA (Page 2 of 6)

A beautiful, broken America.

‘American Exceptionalism’ as defined in Wikipedia, is the belief that the United States is either distinctive, unique, or exemplary compared to other nations.

Watch Mike Pence say Trump and ‘gaggle of crackpot lawyers’ asked him to overturn election

2023-08-03 /

In an interview broadcasted on the right-wing Fox network, Former Vice President Mike Pence said Donald Trump personally asked him to “reject votes” on January 6.

Said Pence » “Let’s be clear on this point. It wasn’t that they asked for a pause. The president specifically asked me and his gaggle of crackpot lawyers asked me to literally reject votes which would have resulted in the issue of being turned over to the house of representatives.”

He added: “They asked me to reject votes, return votes, essentially to overturn the election.”

Mike Pence says Trump and ‘gaggle of crackpot lawyers’ asked him to overturn election

Note: Clicking the above image will load and play the video from YouTube.

 

More at » Axios | UPI | NY Times

This is why Donald J. Trump is indicted for Conspiring to Defraud the United States.

Continue reading

August 1, 1936 » XI Summer Olympic Games were opened by Adolph Hitler in Nazi Germany

2023-08-01 /

A reminder how Nazi Germany tried to use the 1936 Olympic Games for propaganda purposes. The Nazis promoted an image of a white race and wanted to showcase its superiority above all others. American Jesse Owens had other plans in mind.

History.com »

Meanwhile, Jesse Owens had emerged as a track and field sensation in the States. He tied the world record in the 100-yard dash while still in high school, and his performance at the 1935 Big Ten Championships, in which he established three world records and matched a fourth over a span of 45 minutes, remains one of the most extraordinary accomplishments in collegiate sports history.

He wasn’t the only African American athlete making waves. Ralph Metcalfe was a silver medalist at the 1932 Olympics and at one point shared the world record in the 100-meter dash.

And a Temple University sprinter named Eulace Peacock emerged as a highly formidable opponent to Owens, even beating him multiple times in head-to-head competition in 1935, before suffering a hamstring injury that squashed his 1936 Olympic hopes.

California opens privacy investigation into who controls and shares the data your car is collecting

2023-07-31 /

California’s new privacy regulator is embarking on its first-ever enforcement action to review of the privacy practices of connected automobiles.

WSJ »

The California Privacy Protection Agency—created under a ballot initiative in 2020 and the only regulator in the nation solely dedicated to privacy issues—will examine the growing amalgamation of data collected by smart vehicles and whether the business practices of the companies collecting that data comply with state law.

“Modern vehicles are effectively connected computers on wheels. They’re able to collect a wealth of information via built in apps, sensors, and cameras, which can monitor people both inside and near the vehicle,” Ashkan Soltani, the agency’s executive director, said in a statement.

U.S. regulators’ scrutiny of the data lags behind such efforts in Europe, which has forced automakers to update software to limit the collection and protect the privacy of consumers.

 

 

 

US intelligence agencies are buying corporate location data instead of obtaining court authorized search warrants to track Americans and citizens of other countries

2023-07-29 /

Dell Cameron, writing in Wired »

Officials at the National Security Agency (NSA) have approached lawmakers charged with its oversight about opposing an amendment that would prevent it from paying companies for location data instead of obtaining a warrant in court.

Introduced by US representatives W

arren Davidson and Sara Jacobs, the amendment, first reported by WIRED, would prohibit US military agencies from “purchasing data that would otherwise require a warrant, court order, or subpoena” to obtain. The ban would cover more than half of the US intelligence community, including the NSA, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the newly formed National Space Intelligence Center, among others.

The House approved the amendment in a floor vote over a week ago during its annual consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act, a “must-pass” bill outlining how the Pentagon will spend next year’s $886 billion budget. Negotiations over which policies will be included in the Senate’s version of the bill are ongoing…

Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints

2023-07-28 /

Ingordigious » (17th Century) Adj. » Motivated primarily by greed.

Steve Stecklow and Norihiko Shirouzu, writing for Reuters »

About a decade ago, Tesla rigged the dashboard readouts in its electric cars to provide “rosy” projections of how far owners can drive before needing to recharge, a source told Reuters. The automaker last year became so inundated with driving-range complaints that it created a special team to cancel owners’ service appointments.

What Joanna Pocock learned on a 2,800-mile bus ride from Detroit to Los Angeles

2023-07-27 /

The Guardian »

From Detroit, I headed to St Louis, via Columbus, Ohio, where the Greyhound would hit Route 66. My 20-minute stopover in Columbus was where a picture began to form of what Greyhound travel looks like today. The bus station consisted of a parking garage the size of a small airplane hangar. At both ends, electric doors opened and closed when a bus entered or exited. Between the two bus lanes sat a small concrete island where passengers were disgorged. There was a chemical toilet, no drinking fountain, very few seats and no windows. The air was choked with exhaust. A police van was parked at one end of the tunnel and armed policemen stood against a wall facing us.

If you had commissioned an urban planner to design the most hostile, uncomfortable and unhealthy environment for passengers, this would be the result. I guess this is what you get when you travel in a seat costing $35 as opposed to a $200 plane ticket or in a car with a full tank of gas.

My next bus was scheduled to leave for St Louis – a mere 530-mile trip – at 3.00pm. I looked around at my fellow island-dwellers: an elderly man with four large zip-up bags printed with “Patient Belongings”; a couple travelling with a large fluffy blanket propped up against the Porta-Potti as a makeshift bed; a mother and her teenage son carrying large cardboard boxes. The sign on the empty Greyhound kiosk read: “As of 25 January 2023 – you will need photo ID to buy tickets.” Yet another barrier between those with little money, no fixed address, no car, no passport or credit card and their ability to travel…

US records large increase in alcohol-related deaths

2023-07-24 /

Caitlin Gilbert, David Ovalle and Hanna Zakharenko, The Washington Post »

Recently released federal data underscores their experience: U.S. consumption of alcohol, which had already been increasing for years, accelerated during the pandemic as Americans grappled with stress and isolation.

At the same time, the number of deaths caused by alcohol skyrocketed nationwide, rising more than 45 percent. In 2021, alcohol was the primary cause of death for more than 54,000 Americans, causing nearly 17,000 more deaths than just a few years before, in 2018, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mississippi saw a 159 percent increase in alcohol-related deaths, the nation’s biggest leap, along with a 10 percent rise in apparent consumption. In Delaware, consumption increased the most, by 25 percent, while alcohol-related deaths rose 73 percent.

Personal Debt Cycle Hell Encouraged » Tesla is now offering a 84 months / 7-year financing option for all models in the USA

2023-07-24 /

Fortune »

The company now includes seven-year loans as an option on its US order pages, after previously offering loans as long as 72 months. While extending loan terms can lower car buyers’ monthly payments, consumers tend to pay more in interest and face greater risk of owing more than their vehicle is worth.

InsideEVs »

Considering the estimated rate, taking out a loan on a Tesla for this extended period will not be a financially advantageous stratagem. The popular $50,490 Model Y Dual Motor AWD is an excellent example for the loan calculation.

If the buyer puts down Tesla’s preselected $4,500 initial payment, the financed amount would be $47,380. At 6.39% interest, the monthly loan payment will be $703, not considering any potential incentives. After 84 months, the owner will have paid $59,052 in monthly payments, plus the $4,500 paid initially.

In total, the vehicle will cost a staggering $63,552. This is the downside of high-interest, long-term loans on any car.

As Earth sizzles, climate denialists rearrange deck chairs

2023-07-23 /

Eve Ottenberg, Counter Punch »

The problem is known. It has been known for generations, to scientists and to the oil, gas and coal companies who researched and then concealed the lethal effects of their product. Simply put, our social and political economy, structured around burning fossil fuels, heats the earth. The chief culprits in this profligate burning are wealthy countries and their massive organizations like the American military. Small, poor countries have small carbon footprints. This deadly pollution cannot be blamed on them or their so-called excessive birth-rate.

Only 1 in 10 Americans give high ratings to the way democracy is working in the U.S.

2023-07-14 /

AP »

Majorities of adults say U.S. laws and policies do a poor job of representing what most Americans want on issues ranging from the economy and government spending to gun policy, immigration and abortion. The poll shows 53% say Congress is doing a bad job of upholding democratic values, compared with just 16% who say it’s doing a good job.

The findings illustrate widespread political alienation as a polarized country limps out of the pandemic and into a recovery haunted by inflation and fears of a recession. In interviews, respondents worried less about the machinery of democracy — voting laws and the tabulation of ballots — and more about the outputs.

68% of Americans consider immigration good for the U.S.

2023-07-14 /

Gallup »

While barely a quarter of Americans consider immigration a bad thing for the country, that view is far more prevalent among Republicans (43%) than Democrats (10%), with independents roughly matching the nation as a whole (28%). Still, half of Republicans consider it a good thing, as do 67% of independents and 87% of Democrats.

The poll was conducted after the Biden administration lifted emergency regulations employed during the pandemic, known as Title 42, that had allowed border control officers to immediately deport people caught entering the U.S. illegally rather than give them an asylum hearing.

 

Insurance companies are ending some policies in the Sunshine State [Updated]

2023-07-14 /

Soaring hurricane-cover premiums and Ron DeSantis are bad news for the Florida’s homeowners.

The Guardian »

After at least six insurers went insolvent in Florida last year, Farmers on Tuesday became the latest to pull out of the Florida market, saying in a statement that the decision was based on risk exposure in the hurricane-prone state.

Climate change is threatening the very existence of some parts of Florida. And the costs are already being felt by Floridians. At the end of 2022, average annual property insurance premiums had already risen to more than $4,200 in Florida – three times the national average.

NY Times »

In a world where the risk of costly disasters is rising but high premiums are squeezing policyholders and angering state regulators, how can they continue to make money?

That question was at the center of the decision by Farmers Insurance this week to stop renewing almost a third of the policies it has written in Florida, becoming the latest insurer to pull business from a state as the industry grapples with the rising costs of covering damage tied to floods, hurricanes, wildfires and other climate-related disasters.

 

The anti-ownership ebook cconomy

2023-07-14 /

Engelberg Center on Innovation Law & Policy »

Have you ever noticed that you can’t really “buy” an ebook? Sure, when you click that “Buy Now” button on your ereader, tablet, or phone, it feels like a complete, seamless transaction. But the minute you try to treat your ebook like a physical book – say by sharing it with a friend, selling it to someone else, donating it to a school library, or sometimes even reading it offline, reality sets in. You can’t do any of those things.

With most ebooks, even if you think you “own” them, the publisher or platform you bought them from will say otherwise. Publishers and platforms insist that you only buy a license to access the books, not the rights to do anything else with them.

Elon demonstrably does not care who he hurts » B.C. government hit tweet limit amid wildfire evacuations

2023-07-14 /

This is yet another argument to keep AM Radio alive and vibrant. In times of emergency, they are ubiquitous, signals can travel great distances, they don’t need an internet connection, and best of all their signals are not controlled by self-serving, far-right, maniacal personalities.

Vancouver is Awesome »

A B.C. government Twitter account updating residents about driving conditions reached its tweet limit on a weekend it was sharing information about wildfire evacuations.

The incident, which occurred earlier this month, prompted the Ministry of Transportation’s DriveBC account to issue a warning.

“HEADS UP – As many others have this weekend, @DriveBC on Twitter and its sub accounts have exceeded the temporarily imposed post rate limit,” tweeted the ministry account July 2.

The least dangerous cities in the U.S.

2023-07-13 /
  1. Ridgefield, Connecticut
  2. Franklin, Massachusetts
  3. Lake in the Hills, Illinois
  4. Marshfield, Mass
  5. Arlington, Mass
  6. Fulshear, TX
  7. Zionsville, Indiana
  8. Lexington, Mass
  9. Muskego, Wisconsin
  10. Rexburg, Idaho

Among the 50 safest cities in the U.S, 18 are in Massachusetts.

For a list of the 100 safest cities in the U.S., Visual Capitalist.

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