Senate Republicans are cowards

They won’t condemn Trump for asking for help from Putin. This is the probable 2024 presidential candidate and they are afraid of him and his cult. What Trump did was terrible.

Asked Chuck Grassley, who is probing Hunter Biden's activities, about Trump call on Putin to release dirt on Bidens: “I'm just going to concentrate on my own investigations of Biden. I didn't know what he said and I don't want to answer your interpretation of what he requested.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 31, 2022

Asked if it were appropriate for Trump to make ask, he said: “The appropriateness of things that Trump asks for is more amusing to you than it is to me. We have a current president who is, you know, way more concerning to me frankly than what the former president might be doing”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 30, 2022

“My message to Putin is he needs to go,” Lindsey Graham says about Trump urging Putin to dish out dirt on Biden. On Trump’s comments: “It’s not something I would do.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 30, 2022

"Donald Trump is Donald Trump. He hasn't changed. He's not going to change." — @SenKevinCramer dismisses Trump again asking Putin to release dirt on his political foes as just Trump being Trump pic.twitter.com/AlkvWsHblO
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 31, 2022

Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, who is investigating Hunter Biden, told @tedbarrettcnn when asked about forme Trump urging Putin to release dirt on the Bidens: "I don't get my information that way."
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 31, 2022

This is what all Americans should be saying about Trump:

Sen. Warner: ‘Despicable and pathetic that Donald Trump is out appealing to a war criminal’ https://t.co/tzJXk4A6eC
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 31, 2022

Ron Klain says on MSNBC that Donald Trump calling on Putin to release dirt on Hunter Biden is "absolutely disgusting"
— Kevin Liptak (@Kevinliptakcnn) March 31, 2022

Bad news for Baltimore’s Inner Harbor

The Gallery is closed and the Light Street Pavillion of Harborplace only has one tenant.

T. Rowe Price Breaks Ground On Harbor Point Headquarters, Raising New Questions For Future Of Inner Harbor https://t.co/ZiSInxwJyE pic.twitter.com/hPRTQnOqJL
— WJZ | CBS Baltimore (@wjz) March 30, 2022

Clothing retailer H&M leaves Harborplace amid center’s uncertain futurehttps://t.co/omjvnBGrHH
— The Baltimore Sun (@baltimoresun) March 10, 2022

Retro: A look back at Harborplace’s happy early days as redevelopment approaches https://t.co/B1OUucZYig
— PreservationMaryland (@PreservationMD) May 12, 2022

Covers: Hound Dog

“Hound Dog” was an R&B hit for Big Mama Thornton in 1953 and a rock and roll hit for Elvis Presley in 1956. Rufus Thomas recorded “Bear Cat”, an answer record, in 1953.

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A post shared by Arhoolie Foundation (@arhooliefoundation)

“I don’t remember exactly what the song was.” https://t.co/uhxiBHscen
— American Songwriter (@AmerSongwriter) July 2, 2022

Did Elvis Steal From Big Mama Thornton? The Real “Hound Dog” Story

Female patients and people of color are more likely to have their symptoms dismissed by medical providers

Female patients and people of color are more likely to have their symptoms dismissed by medical providers, studies show.
New York Times readers shared their experiences with what many refer to as "medical gaslighting." Read more: https://t.co/TwJPrC0k0s pic.twitter.com/7o2g0yHgRQ
— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 30, 2022

Black Americans suffered disproportionately in #COVID19's early days due to systemic racism & a lack of health care in Black communities, a new report says.

Older Black Americans were 5x more likely to die vs. white people, and Black people were 2x as likely to be food insecure. pic.twitter.com/itehlbKUes
— AJ+ (@ajplus) March 30, 2022

Black adult hospitalizations reached a pandemic high during the omicron wave, CDC study finds https://t.co/ADDx6Z1RYI
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) March 19, 2022

"We must confront the fact that, too often, Black people do not get the quality of health care that would allow them to trust the medical system with their lives," Elaine Batchlor writes in a guest opinion. https://t.co/zkDqN9Rgzk
— Washington Post Opinions (@PostOpinions) March 30, 2022

New York City will start offering free access to doulas to combat disparities in maternal care.

The U.S. has the worst maternal mortality rate of developed nations. Black women are 3x more likely to die from pregnancy complications due to structural racism and health inequities. pic.twitter.com/sdRaXf0x2N
— AJ+ (@ajplus) March 25, 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated health inequity for Black, Brown, and Indigenous Americans, resulting in significantly higher rates of COVID-19 infection, hospitalization, and death compared to their white counterparts.

WATCH Dr. Jamila Michener speak up: pic.twitter.com/kiuvmHSuvA
— Oversight Committee (@OversightDems) March 29, 2022

This is how systemic & medical racism shows up, it’s evident in health disparities left in the wake. #BlackAmericans based on employment & community factors were at increased risk of infection, hospitalization, & death BUT were NOT prioritized for vaccines.https://t.co/9Nq4jtqQkG
— Ebony Jade Hilton, MD (@EbonyJHilton_MD) March 29, 2022

Long-festering concerns about racial disparities in gynecologic and obstetric services are set against the backdrop of an imminent Supreme Court ruling. https://t.co/YxLs2t3C7e
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 10, 2022

New from me: As the Supreme Court weighs the fate of Roe v. Wade, advocates and health care providers fear that cutting off access to abortion will lead to more pregnancy-related complications and deaths that disproportionately affect Black people.https://t.co/0G4gqb9DIa
— Shawna Chen (@shawnarchen) June 17, 2022

Ron Brownstein tweets on the GOP

Brownstein has written many perceptive tweets on the Republican Party recently. He often retweets tweets from Jennifer Rubin who writes for the Washington Post. Her tweets and articles are worth checking on. Brownstein writes for the Atlantic and appears on CNN.

So striking the Manchin/Sinema refusal to change the filibuster gave Senate GOP a veto over whether Washington could respond to all of the restrictions on rights red state Republicans are passing on a virtually complete party line basis-whether abortion, voting, LGBTQ, book bans https://t.co/CMYeu3TbIV
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) April 2, 2022

Also a reminder, as I wrote today, that many of the states most deeply invested in fossil fuel economy are the same moving most aggressively to limit voting/abortion/LGBTQ rights, ban books, censor teachers. Its an across the board recoil from changing US. https://t.co/uWqdR9Y2p2 https://t.co/XXUiSY2F23
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) March 30, 2022

The axis of GOP #scotus majority, red state governors & legislators & GOP Senators working to unravel the rights revolution of the past 6 decades is explored here. Very unlikely the current targets-abortion/voting/LGBTQ/censoring teachers-are the endpoint. https://t.co/yMY1lr9z7Z https://t.co/Rqw340hRaW
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) March 27, 2022

The wave of red state laws already undoing civil rights/liberties show the blueprint: GOP #scotus majority rescinds previous national right; GOP governors & legs rush thru that opening to undo it; in Congress GOP Sens filibuster to block D legislation restoring the national right https://t.co/xOcFtTKGHM
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) March 27, 2022

4 red states moved just this week to restrict abortion. Meanwhile GOP Sens signaled interest in SCOTUS rolling back ntl rights re contraception, interracial marriage & same sex marriage. Censoring teachers, banning books, LGBTQ sports bans:not the endpointhttps://t.co/gJWhcyMQ9j
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) March 26, 2022

Covers: Chain of Fools

“Chain of Fools” was a Don Covay song made famous by Aretha Franklin in 1967.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaPWgrjSC-4

Good thread on the Oriole Park at Camden Yards redesign

Moving the wall back turned out to be an excellent idea.

The price of moving back left field wall worth it for Orioles to eliminate cheap homers

According to ESPN park factors, Camden Yards has gone from the easiest park to homer at in 2021 to the most difficult in '22. The deader ball and deeper LF/wall is converting a number of extra base hits to outs. Santander just had a grand slam turned into a F7 pic.twitter.com/43xt326J6T
— Travis Sawchik (@Travis_Sawchik) May 1, 2022

So the Orioles are making left field in Camden Yards deeper. How many home runs is this going to take off the board? Uh, a lot. On how many, and who it will help and hurt … https://t.co/wXHwWikJww
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) March 28, 2022

More views of Oriole Park at Camden Yards and changes to outfield walls. pic.twitter.com/uCwmegQXDb
— Maury Brown (@BizballMaury) March 22, 2022

Austin Hays can’t rob homers anymore. Ryan Mountcastle figures he needs a little more time in the weight room. John Means, Bruce Zimmermann and Zac Lowther are pumped.

The Orioles are certainly curious about Camden Yards’ new left-field wall. https://t.co/gtm7YuWcCw
— Nathan Ruiz (@NathanSRuiz) March 21, 2022

A look at the off-season work done on left field at Camden Yards pic.twitter.com/rbBCZqKiRD
— The Base Hit (@the_basehit) March 23, 2022

We posted some cool old photos of the area during construction last week. Here's a great video that we dug up from around the same time. https://t.co/AtKaoFTHmr
— Ghosts of Baltimore (@GhostsofBmore) July 21, 2022

Home runs pulled by RHBs in Baltimore…
2021: Orioles 38, Opponents 61
2022: Orioles 27, Opponents 17 pic.twitter.com/jmTlmVCKaC
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) September 6, 2022

Unsurprisingly, #Orioles' Ryan Mountcastle has lost the most home runs due to the '22 LF wall change at Camden Yards, per Statcast, with 11. (Austin Hays has lost 8, Anthony Santander, Adley Rutschman, Jorge Mateo each 7).

Cole Irvin has benefited the most, having 10 HRs saved. https://t.co/rRJxzfaGRM
— Jake Rill (@JakeDRill) August 22, 2024

Where the baseball team name Nippon Ham Fighters comes from

I’ve always wondered about this. Were they fighting with ham or against ham?

So happy you asked.
The actual nickname is the Fighters.
Team is sponsored by the Nippon Ham Co.
— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) March 29, 2022

Documentary about Buster Keaton

Kevin Brownlow and David Gill made this three-part documentary about Buster Keaton in 1987. It’s not on DVD or Blu-ray now. I haven’t watched it yet but plan to. If you haven’t seen Keaton’s silent films from the 1920s, I strongly recommend them.

It’s also on the Internet Archive here.

Update on gerrymandering in Florida

DeSantis is so extreme he wouldn’t even accept a map approved by a Republican-majority legislature.

NEW: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoes new congressional map approved by the Republican-controlled legislature, setting up a showdown with his own party https://t.co/JAKQ9Yk526
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) March 29, 2022

The Legislature's map preserved a majority-Black district in north FL. The district was drawn to protect Black voters' ability to elect candidates of their choice. DeSantis opposes the district, saying it was improperly drawn using race as the main factor. https://t.co/sncrVMIn4d
— Democracy Docket (@DemocracyDocket) March 29, 2022

#NEW: House Speaker Sprowls and Senate President Simpson have issued a joint statement in response to Gov. DeSantis vetoing Florida's congressional map. https://t.co/8IrSBGBGEH pic.twitter.com/PKfPwuk4lB
— The Redistrict Network (@RedistrictNet) March 29, 2022

Florida can either pass legal maps and not get sued or it can pass illegal maps, face aggressive litigation and lose. https://t.co/mEketQouQX
— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) March 4, 2022