Republicans Considering More Than 100 Bills to Restrict Voting Rights (DonkeyHotey)
The author writes, “After an election filled with misinformation and lies about fraud, Republicans have doubled down with a surge of bills to further restrict voting access in recent months, according to a new analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice. There are currently 106 pending bills across 28 states that would restrict access to voting, according to the data. That’s a sharp increase from nearly a year ago, when there were 35 restrictive bills pending across 15 states.”
Biden’s Sign Language Interpreter Has Translated Far-Right Misinformation (Dan)
The author writes, “A gesture meant to bolster President Biden’s call for unity and inclusion instead inspired divisiveness, after news emerged that a White House American Sign Language interpreter was a Trump supporter who previously interpreted videos rife with misinformation. Heather Mewshaw, who appeared in the White House coronavirus briefing on Monday beside press secretary Jen Psaki, was identified by deaf and hard-of-hearing advocates and Time Magazine, fueling questions about the White House’s vetting process and what could have happened if Mewshaw misinterpreted Biden officials or inserted her own bias.”
What the GameStop Rally Has Revealed About Financial Media (Russ)
From the New Republic: “The financial cable news networks are ostensibly aimed at the sort of person who posts or lurks on r/WallStreetBets — normies interested in the stock market and the economy, keyed up to get hold of that One Weird Trick to Get Rich that hurdy-gurdy stock hypeman Jim Cramer might shout at any moment. The programming on offer across these various networks promises to provide viewers with the True Scoops needed to make informed investments. But there is not, and never has been, anything populist about the way these networks operate. These networks are all about upholding the sanctity of the Blessed Market and protecting the interests of their high-faluting financial sector guests — the people who run hedge funds and corporate oligopolies, who are the keymasters of this universe.”
Why Must TVs Remain Off at L.A. County Restaurants? Yelling, Screaming Can Spread Coronavirus, Officials Say (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “It’s a ritual of dining out to look out for the big screen televisions to keep updated on the Lakers score or monitor the NFL or soccer, even if your occasion is celebrating Mom’s birthday or closing a business deal. But with Los Angeles County’s new rules for outdoor dining, which took effect Friday, TVs must remain off. … Officials said this is a precaution designed to make eating in outdoor restaurants as safe as possible — especially with the Super Bowl coming up.”
A Group of Orca Outcasts Is Now Dominating an Entire Sea (Bethany)
From the Atlantic: “On a warm September afternoon, on San Juan Island off the northwestern coast of Washington State, I boarded J2, a sleek black-and-white whale-watching vessel. The boat was named after a locally famous orca, or killer whale, affectionately known as ‘Granny.’ Until her disappearance in 2016, Granny was the matriarch of J-pod, one of the three resident orca groups, or pods, that live in the surrounding Salish Sea. For what some experts think was more than a hundred years, Granny returned to these waters every summer, birthing babies and watching them grow.”
The Rise of Mardi Gras ‘House Floats’ (Dana)
From Smithsonian Magazine: “Under normal circumstances, New Orleans’ Mardi Gras celebrations are veritable bacchanals filled with throngs of people throwing gold, green and purple beads from ornately decorated parade floats. Amid a global pandemic, however, pressing against crowds of strangers is a more frightening than festive prospect. With the Louisiana city’s Mardi Gras parades canceled, New Orleans residents are finding new ways to celebrate safely. … Thousands of locals have transformed their homes into makeshift ‘house floats.’”
