Baggage

If only there was a McSweeney to manage that antisemitism messaging for Labour.

Don't threaten me with a good time!

Texas: Party Registration Statistics
Total Registered Voters: 17,485,702
Democrats: 8,133,683 (46.52%)
Republicans: 6,601,189 (37.75%)
Unaffiliated: 2,750,830 (15.73%)

I enjoy your updates for always calling out 'the awful Biomass'.

3 reasons Republicans’ redistricting power grab might backfire The attempt by Texas Republicans to gerrymander more GOP legislative districts could backfire and deliver the party dummymandered districts. A political scientist explains the stakes.

If, at the next election, 60% vote Democrat, how many of those seats will go blue?
Gerrymandering has a risk too: 'dummymandering'

theconversation.com/3-reasons-re...

Unless he gives it to one of the Millers

Added to my Christmas wish list.

A Record Boom in Home Battery Storage Australia’s new battery rebate has sparked a record surge in home storage, with households installing capacity that rivals the nation’s biggest grid-scale projects in just six months.

Australia says 'hold my beer'
www.energymatters.com.au/renewable-ne...

The transformation of the Australian grid and the energy market by a simple 30% discount scheme for home batteries is breathtaking.
It is the example that is the biggest threat to the Fossil fuel industries and all their stranded assets.

Has anyone suggested they ask McSweeney how it is done?

“Infographic titled ‘2024 March of Dimes Report Card: Infant Mortality in the US.’ The overall US infant mortality rate is shown as 5.6 deaths per 1,000 live births. A note states that 16 states meet the Healthy People 2030 target of 5.0 or fewer deaths per 1,000 births. A disparity ratio of 2.11 is also displayed. A map of the United States shows infant mortality rates by state for 2022, shaded from light to dark purple. A legend indicates five categories: 4.9 or less (lightest), 5.0–5.7, 5.8–6.1, 6.2–6.9, and 7.0 or greater (darkest). States with the highest mortality (7.0 or greater) include: • South Dakota (7.8), Arkansas (7.7), Louisiana (7.4), Puerto Rico (7.4), West Virginia (7.3), Ohio (7.1), Georgia (7.1), Tennessee (6.6 but shaded as high), and several others in the South and Midwest. Moderately high states (6.2–6.9) include: Arizona (6.2), New Mexico (5.9 but shaded mid), Oklahoma (6.9), Missouri (6.8), Kansas (5.8 but mid-shaded), Michigan (6.4), and much of the South and Midwest. Lower-rate states (5.0–5.7) include: California (4.1 but very low), Colorado (4.5), Utah (5.0), Texas (5.7), Virginia (6.2 but mid), and others. The lowest-rate states (4.9 or less) include: California (4.1), Washington (4.3), New York (4.3), Connecticut (4.3), Massachusetts (3.3), New Hampshire (3.5), New Jersey (3.6), and Rhode Island (3.9). Alaska is shown at 6.6 deaths per 1,000; Hawaii at 5.8. Text above the map reads: ‘Over 20,000 babies died before their first birthday; the greatest rates occurred in the South and Midwest regions.’”

“Infographic titled ‘The infant mortality rate increased for the first time in two decades in 2022 and babies born to Black birthing people have a rate 1.9× the national rate.’ The left side shows a horizontal bar chart of infant mortality rates per 1,000 live births by maternal race/ethnicity for 2020–2022. Rates are: Asian 3.5, White 4.4, Hispanic 4.8, American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) 8.1, Pacific Islander (PI) 8.7, and Black 10.6—the highest rate. On the right, a vertical bar chart shows the leading causes of infant death (percentage of total deaths) for 2020–2022: Birth defects 20.0%, preterm birth/low birth weight (PTB/LBW) 15.0%, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) 7.3%, and accidents 6.4%. A note defines AIAN and PI, and explains PTB/LBW and SIDS. Source: National Center for Health Statistics Period Linked Birth/Infant Death data, 2020–2022. Footer text: ‘The 2024 March of Dimes Report Card: The State of Maternal and Infant Health for American Families.’”

It is those who live in the states in the South and Midwest that ALREADY have the HIGHEST infant mortality and black babies who will suffer disproportionately as their state governors will like accede to ACIP's recommendation. 2/

The Nobel Prize committee should announce the World Cup winner tomorrow

This is obscene

Goebbels would be proud

US federal judge orders release of Epstein grand jury materials Ruling compels unsealing of documents from 2006-2007 federal investigation into Epstein in Florida

Cudos to @khanna.house.gov and Massie for introducing the bill.

This is huge

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

2 or 3 in typical a week, so around 100 to 150.

I guess they're not hiding anymore

Rep. Crockett’s Statement on the Supreme Court’s Ruling on Texas’s 2026 Map

3 reasons Republicans’ redistricting power grab might backfire The attempt by Texas Republicans to gerrymander more GOP legislative districts could backfire and deliver the party dummymandered districts. A political scientist explains the stakes.

EXACTLY
Dummymandering: it's a thing.

"In trying to maximize their seats, a party spreads its voters too thin and fails to make some districts safe enough. These vulnerable districts can then flip"

When the swing is big, they loose everything.

theconversation.com/3-reasons-re...

American Big Oil Pays More in Taxes Abroad A new report details how fossil fuel lobbyists have won huge U.S. tax giveaways.

Cheaper for Big Oil to buy Congress than to pay taxes. Let alone pay for the harm of their pollution.

But of course...

Magaziner: "This is not about the drugs. This is about oil."

🍿

A man says Good morning, everyone. It's It's an absolute shitshow out there, today.

Morning Bluesky.

New York Times Sues Pentagon Over First Amendment Rights

Bring it on

Free read:

Make it so

Exactly!
And the Supreme Court needs to stop this.

Pentagon report concludes Hegseth put troops in danger with Signal chat Report says defense secretary violated policies in sharing secret information in March on planned airstrike in Yemen

Surely he's toast now?

And now they are assimilated into Trump's menagerie. He owns them.

Robert Reich Trump’s Pay-to-Pardon Scheme

This week Trump pardoned a private equity fraudster, the drug-trafficking ex-president of Honduras, and a Congressman who allegedly took bribes.

Meanwhile, he's weaponizing government to go after his enemies.

An utter mockery of the rule of law. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NflcWXdV-B0