(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Overnight News Digest for February 8, 2023 (State of the SOTU edition) [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-08 This is an open thread where everyone is welcome, especially night owls and early birds, to share and discuss the happenings of the day. Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments. President Biden unleashed Dark Brandon at his State of the Union, and won the Internet. Meanwhile, Sarah Huckabee Sanders didn’t so much deliver the GOP response as she PROJECTED it. A woman whose career ranged from working political campaigns (starting with her dad’s) all the way up to serving as the widely-reviled spokes-liar of the most dishonest President in American history accused her opponents of lying. A woman who never saw a culture war she didn’t adore — and launched several herself - accused her opponents of culture war. A woman who has helped her party intrude into every avenue of American life, from women’s wombs to children’s bookshelves to high school athletes menstrual schedules, had the temerity of claiming “Democrats want to rule us with more government control.” Worst of all, a Southern governor who presides over Little Rock, scene of the first UNwoke mob hounding the first black students to desegregate a US school, a governor who incites hatred against the majority of the US population throughout her speech, has the temerity to claim It’s the Democrats who teach our children “to hate one another on account of their race”, rather than to END racial hatred in all its forms. Indeed, she brags about signing executive orders (extremely democratic, those, not authoritarian at all) to “ ban CRT, racism, and indoctrination in our schools, eliminate the use of the derogatory term ‘Latinx’ in our government, repeal COVID orders and said never again to authoritarian mandates and shutdowns.” (Before later harkening back to that racist history and saying we’re beyond it so everything is cool, right?) She then jumps into a projected list of everything that President Biden “inherited”: the fastest economic recovery on record” (right, it was Trump who built the US economy from scratch using nothing but his fingernails, and the economy was in perfect shape when he left office…. NOT). “The most secure border in history” (which somehow became completely porous and a total disaster the minute a Democrat occupied the White House) “ Cheap abundant, home-grown energy” (which she again conveniently forgets Trump inherited from Obama) ”Fast-rising wages...” (actually, totally stagnant pre-pandemic, and a disaster post-pandemic) “A rebuilt military” (huh? Bush hollowed out the military with too many wars; it was Obama who rebuilt) “...And a world that was stable and at peace” (except for the Middle East, Iran, North Korea, and of course, a Russian invasion of Ukraine that everyone seems to forget was ongoing from 2014 but Trump certainly did nothing to stop, in fact he encouraged it) “But over the last two years, Democrats destroyed it all”, she lies, and then proceeds with a list of lies about the state of the border, drug addiction, and the economy that I’m not even going to bother calling out, because what’s the point? x While @SarahHuckabee touts public safety, here is what she skips over: Arkansas has the one of the highest murder rates in the nation. — Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) February 8, 2023 “The dividing line in America is no longer between right or left. The choice is between normal or crazy”, she says, and who can disagree with her? How she can look at what has happened to the GOP in the House of Representatives and accuse the Biden Administration of being hijacked by the party’s radical fringe is perhaps the projection to end all projections. Perhaps she does have SOME shame. The woman whose crowning achievement has been getting elected to her daddy’s old office of Governor of Arkansas despite her complete lack of executive experience (or business experience, or any kind of experience other than campaigning and lying, but I repeat myself) managed to get through an entire speech without once trashing Hunter Thompson for riding his daddy’s coattails to success. x Just a reminder: @SarahHuckabee admitted under oath that she lied when she was Trump’s Press Secretary. — Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) February 8, 2023 x Normally I wouldn’t preemptively post a response to the response to the State of the Union, but after reading Sarah Huckabee-Sanders’ remarks on Republicans in a “culture war we didn’t start and never wanted to fight”…ma’am this was nearly a *year* ago pic.twitter.com/jL5GU4jNi5 — Mallory McMorrow (@MalloryMcMorrow) February 8, 2023 x Steve Schmidt added that “Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ pathological lies…prove Donald Trump is still in control.”pic.twitter.com/WqhTwkcJF7 — CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) February 8, 2023 And speaking of lying liars: And the Chart of the Day calls out the deficit peacocks: x Republican Presidents run up the deficit. Democratic Presidents reduce the deficit. Any questions? pic.twitter.com/qYqIH5bVFb — Really American 🇺🇸 (@ReallyAmerican1) February 7, 2023 Meanwhile, in the “Twitter Files” hearings… Anika Collier Navaroli, a former senior employee on Twitter’s content moderation team, testified that the social media company ended its ban on abusive language against immigrants to “go back to where they came from” so that Trump would not face repercussions for his racist 2019 attack on four minority Democratic congresswomen. “So much for bias against right-wing on Twitter,” Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez replied. And the hearing hinted that the Trump White House attempted to censor the speech of at least one American: Chrissy Teigen. When Teigen called Trump a series of expletives in 2019, Navaroli testified that she was told the Trump White House contacted Twitter and demanded that it be removed. Strangely enough, Republicans showed no interest in drilling down on this allegation of censorship. It’s no wonder why. x Today, Rep. AOC uncovered that Twitter changed its own content moderation policy after Trump violated it, in order to accommodate his hateful tweets and try to keep him on the platform. "So much for bias against right-wing on Twitter." Watch the full hearing ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/fKzhaZgpB9 — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) February 8, 2023 x Former Twitter official Anika Collier Navaroli says "if we're here to talk social media &the govt, we need to talk about Twitter's failure to act before J6. I'm here to tell you that doing nothing is not an option. If we continue to do nothing, violence is going to happen again" pic.twitter.com/IXDl7nOqzi — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 8, 2023 x Was the point of the hearings today by Republicans for us to learn that Trump and members of his White House frequently demanded tweets critical of him be removed, while Biden and the Biden WH never once did that? Thanks guys! — Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) February 8, 2023 So, Biden knocked his State of the Union address out of the park… but what happens next? ...Biden highlighted efforts to remove lead pipes from an estimated 10 million households, schools, and care centers where they are still used for drinking water, an epidemic that disproportionately harms Black, Latino, and low-income children. He also reiterated his administration’s pledge to install hundreds of thousands of electric vehicle charging stations, featured new tax credits for families to purchase electric vehicles and energy efficient appliances, and called out the record profits enjoyed by oil and gas companies last year as Americans struggled with high gas prices. But Biden’s address failed to lay out exactly how he plans to do this beyond the roll out of these already-passed acts, particularly as he faces a newly elected Republican majority in the House. Unlike his calls for tax reform and protections for Medicaid and Social Security, the State of the Union lacked a clear vision for how his administration hopes to tackle the many climate deadlines looming for the last two years of his term, from new emissions limits on coal-fired power plants and vehicles to efficiency standards for appliances and industry. There is also the issue of the delays and staffing shortages at the Environmental Protection Agency, and fear of a blockade on climate action within federal courts, spurred by a deep bench of conservative judges appointed during the Trump Administration. And also: The Sunrise Movement, March for Our Lives, United We Dream Action, and Gen Z for Change reminded Biden in a statement that they helped convince young Americans “to defend our democracy in record numbers in 2020 and in 2022″—and those voters are expecting the president to work in their best interest and enact policies they have long championed. “We are a vital voting bloc, and in the next two years, President Biden must listen to us and deliver,” tweeted the Sunrise Movement, which has been credited with pushing more than 100 Democratic lawmakers to co-sponsor the Green New Deal. “We need to see more from President Biden,” said the organizations. “Without a Democratic majority in Congress, President Biden must step up and use the full extent of his power to invest in the top issues facing our generation. Young people demand bold action on climate change and gun violence, and we need solutions for our country’s immigration system that respect people’s rights and keep families together.” x State of the Union: Youth organizers remind Biden he needs to deliver on climate promises to young voters if he wants to be reelected #SOTU "We made the difference in electing President Biden in 2020, saved Democrats again in 2022" https://t.co/CrawNxgA1b — Jeremy Bloom (@jeremybloom) February 7, 2023 Some folks have a few more suggestions: A new report outlines decisive action that the US can take to cut pollution and advance clean electricity in the power sector over the next two years. Under President Joe Biden, the US aims to cut all carbon pollution by 2035 from the power plants that run US homes and businesses. It’s a first step toward the broader goal of zeroing out greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the entire economy by mid-century to rein in the climate crisis. ...A detailed new analysis finds that the Biden administration can still keep this central 2035 climate goal within reach if the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enacts strong carbon pollution standards for new and existing power plants. New policies in major energy markets can help propel annual clean energy investment to more than $2 trillion by 2030, a rise of more than 50% from today. The report, titled, “Powering toward 100% Clean Power by 2035: The Path to Carbon-Free Electricity after the Inflation Reduction Act,” projects that the investments in the Inflation Reduction Act would increase the nation’s share of carbon-free electricity to 66% by 2030. But if the investments are coupled with strong power plant rules from the EPA, the US could achieve a 76% clean grid by 2030, within striking distance of the 80% target, the analysis found. x How Can The US Eliminate Carbon Pollution From The US Power Sector By 2035?https://t.co/U8Z3mym7dH — SmartEnergyConcepts (@smartenergy4u) February 7, 2023 Meanwhile, the usual suspects continue to try to block all action (so they can rack up a few more years of disgusting profits before the whole world collapses around us) At a time when many other Democrats fault natural gas for fueling climate change, former senator Mary Landrieu (D-La.) frames it as a solution. “Yes, this country needs to move forward on wind and solar,” Landrieu said in a recent Bloomberg News interview, speaking on behalf of a nonprofit group that advocates for natural gas. “But we need to back it up with a fuel that we can count on, a power source, and that’s natural gas. It’s abundant, it’s cheap, and it can be cleaner.” ...The group, dubbed Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future, comes as Democratic leaders across the country restrict gas use to fight climate change. The bans threaten customer losses for gas utilities, which dominate the liberal strongholds in cities and on coasts. To resist these efforts, the nonprofit group has enlisted prominent Democratic politicians and pollsters to help enhance gas’s reputation among liberal voters. Wait, did I just say “While the whole world collapses around us?” Yeah, that’s not hyperbole. As climate change ramps up droughts, floods and further disasters, we can learn from history. In 1200 BCE, the entirety of the (then) known world was upended by a series of collapses… and now we know that climate was responsible. No one knows for sure what happened to the ancient Hittite Empire. For nearly 500 years, its dominion extended across much of modern Turkey and into Syria and Lebanon. Its kings dwelled in massive stone palaces inside a gated capital city. Large-scale farming, sophisticated irrigation systems and far-reaching trade networks filled the imperial coffers. And then, just after 1200 B.C., it vanished. Archaeological investigations suggest that the royal administration packed up the palace and fled the capital. The city was abandoned and later burned. Few accounts from the fractured kingdom remain to explain exactly why. But climate data, captured in the rings of long-dead trees, offer a clue. A new analysis published Wednesday in the journal Nature shows that the Hittites endured three consecutive years of extreme drought right around the time that the empire fell. Such severe water shortages may have doomed the massive farms at the heart of the Hittite economy, leading to famine, economic turmoil and ultimately political upheaval, researchers say. But there is good news coming, too. Like this story — the treaty was a terrible idea that lets Big Oil sue countries that make it more expensive for them to do business (by forcing them to deal with the actual costs of their dirty polluting ways). In a notable U-turn, the European Commission has proposed a collective and coordinated exit of all 27 member states from the controversial Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), an obscure international agreement that protects energy investors from unexpected circumstances that might hurt their profit expectations. ...Under the ECT, investors were protected against discriminatory access, expropriation, nationalisation, breaches of contract and other unexpected circumstances that could impact their profit expectations. Critics say the ECT provides disproportionate protection for fossil fuel infrastructure, worth €344.6 billion in Europe alone, at a critical time when pollutants need to be phased out to fight the climate crisis. x 👀 EU on the brink of tearing up a 1994 treaty that protects fossil fuel investors from “unexpected circumstances” that harm their profit expectations and includes the ability to sue governments for, say, net-zero policies. IOW, going forward, climate action is TO BE EXPECTED. https://t.co/8pShjfjNcp — Dr. Sandra Steingraber (@ssteingraber1) February 8, 2023 Your weekly reminder that the Covid Pandemic isn’t over: When the covid-19 pandemic first stormed the globe three years ago, the coronavirus was believed to be largely a respiratory ailment that also damaged the cells that line the blood vessels. But research is now showing that the virus can spread throughout the body and remain lodged in organs. This might offer one clue about the lingering phenomenon of “long covid” and suggest why it will remain a serious problem for individuals and the heath-care system for some time to come. The entire world will have to prepare for a legacy of long-covid sufferers. It is not yet known how many people have long covid, why and what their prospects for recovery are, let alone what the long-term impact on society will be. The U.S. government reported in August that “no laboratory test can definitively distinguish” long covid from other causes of illness. But some general definitions are that long covid, or “post-acute sequelae of covid-19,” is a series of symptoms that continue or develop after the initial infection, that persist three months or more after the first sickness, and that can include fatigue, shortness of breath, cognitive dysfunction, pain, difficulty sleeping, racing heart rate, gastrointestinal problems and other ailments that interfere with everyday functioning. Research is providing new insights into why. In a study published in Nature in December, researchers carried out 44 autopsies in search of how far and wide the virus had spread in patients who had died, a group largely older and unvaccinated. The researchers found that the virus can spread throughout the entire body and that it is capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier, infecting and replicating in the human brain, but they also noted that it seems to reserve most of its damage for the respiratory system. A separate study, published in Nature in January, pointed out that long-covid symptoms can crop up in the heart, lungs, immune system, pancreas, gastrointestinal tract, neurological system, kidneys, spleen and liver, blood vessels and reproductive system. It is also possible that covid causes long-term damage to the endothelial cells that line blood vessels, and that such damage is leading to persistent symptoms. And because you can never have enough Schadenfreude… James O’Keefe, the founder and chairman of Project Veritas, has taken a paid leave from the conservative nonprofit media organization as its board considers whether to remove him from his leadership position, according to current and former employees of the organization. An internal message sent to Project Veritas employees by the organization’s executive director, Daniel Strack, said that O’Keefe would be taking “a few weeks of well-deserved PTO.” An image of the message was shared by a source familiar with the organization’s internal operations, and its authenticity was confirmed by a current employee. When reached for comment on his personal cell phone, O’Keefe said nothing in response and did not respond to follow-up calls and text messages. Through a Project Veritas spokesman, Strack later released a statement on behalf of the organization. “Like all newsrooms at this stage, the Project Veritas Board of Directors and Management are constantly evaluating what the best path forward is for the organization,” the statement read in part. It did not directly address questions about O’Keefe’s employment status. “There are 65+ employees at Project Veritas dedicated to continuing the mission to expose corruption, dishonesty, waste, fraud, and other misconduct in both public and private institutions,” the statement read. “To our supporters: We hear you, we care about you, and we will never give up.” O’Keefe is his organization’s guiding ideological force and onscreen face, but his status as its day-to-day manager has become uncertain amid reports of internal turmoil, lawsuits from former employees, leaks about its internal workings, and a federal investigation into its conduct in purchasing a diary stolen from Ashley Biden, the president’s daughter. Strack’s internal message to employees made reference to what he called “a distracting time” and said that a board meeting had been held to discuss “the health of the organization” and that while “we have not come up with final solutions yet we have made a few immediate decisions.” The message said two top Project Veritas executives, including the nonprofit’s chief financial officer, had been “reinstated.” Multiple sources said that the pair had recently been fired by O’Keefe. x can you imagine how bad the accusations against him must be for Veritas to can him. https://t.co/PcBsEkSztR — Clara Jeffery (@ClaraJeffery) February 8, 2023 Looking for a little action tonight? Here’s something you can do while the rest of the US sleeps… x Our team at @genzforchange developed a tool to let you send an automatically generated email to the stakeholders of Cop City. 2 contractors have already dropped out- LETS GET THE REST!! pic.twitter.com/vsWPtCfbBf — Elise Joshi (@EliseJoshi) February 7, 2023 And here’s something you should probably NOT do (NOTE: THIS IS PROBABLY SATIRE): Legendary Studio Ghibli director and animator Hayao Miyazaki reportedly went off the rails during an interview about future projects, claiming he was going to take matters of conservation into his own hands. “Cutesy movies won’t save the environment. I’m going to blow up a factory,” the Spirited Away director said Thursday. “Man is killing the Earth, and I can make a thousand adorable Totoro movies, but it will not stop a logger from massacring a jungle. You idiots aren’t getting the message. So now instead of painstakingly animating a beautiful metaphor for environmentalism, my next big project will be detonating an improvised pipe bomb on the load-bearing walls of a sheet metal plant deep in the Amazon. I have detailed sketches and storyboards of what I intend the explosion to look like, including a gorgeous full-color animation of the factory foreman charring to an obsidian corpse.” The crew of the Overnight News Digest consists of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, jeremybloom, Magnifico, annetteboardman, eeff, rise above the swamp, Besame and jck. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Interceptor 7, Man Oh Man, wader, Neon Vincent, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), ek hornbeck (RIP), rfall, ScottyUrb, Doctor RJ, BentLiberal, Oke (RIP) and jlms qkw. 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