The right-wing Supreme Court could be very harmful for the environment

A riveting @CoralMDavenport story on the decades-long conservative campaign to hobble the federal government’s regulatory power, now about to reach fruition. https://t.co/SPGmankkRo
— Nick Confessore (@nickconfessore) June 19, 2022

Overturning Roe is just one goal for the Supreme Court’s Republican justices. For decades, far-right donors have wanted to gut the EPA and weaken the federal government’s regulatory powers. THREAD ->
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) June 11, 2022

“This profound disconnect between the will of the people and the court’s deregulatory agenda on the environment could not come at a more dangerous time — pushing people and the planet closer and closer to the point of no return.”https://t.co/Bg58WAz5eF
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) June 7, 2022

So, just to be clear about where things stand (from today's headlines), the Supreme Court is poised to block EPA's ability to fight climate change, set back LGBTQ rights, and continue its assault on democracy. pic.twitter.com/6yfBNnISUB
— Aaron Belkin (@AaronBelkin) March 10, 2022

Coal companies and Republican-led states want the Supreme Court to limit @EPA’s power to regulate #greenhouse gases from power plants, a major driver of global warming that threatens to worsen flooding, droughts, disease and other calamities. @alexcguillen https://t.co/F7xW1omyjs
— Safe Climate Campaign (@safe_climate) June 12, 2022

Analysis: Several environmental lawyers said the draft opinion does not bode well for the Supreme Court’s forthcoming decision in West Virginia v. EPA, a challenge to the EPA’s authority to regulate carbon emissions from the power sector. https://t.co/UY27av3MXU
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 4, 2022

Abortion rights aren't the only thing on the line with this captured, extremist Supreme Court. The very future of our planet is as well.#WVvEPA could be the most consequential environmental Supreme Court case in decades. 👇 https://t.co/rcQ6trZrkX
— LCV – League of Conservation Voters 🌎 (@LCVoters) June 12, 2022

I always wondered about this

How did our ancestors know which plants were poisonous? Before science, the only way to determine this was to eat the plant. How did they pick the unlucky person who had to try a plant nobody had seen before?

Two strange covers of Jimi Hendrix songs

I don’t have anything to add to these except note that I love Brave Combo.

Covers: The Coo Coo Bird/The Cuckoo

The 1929 recording of “The Coo Coo Bird” also known as “The Cuckoo” by Clarence Ashley is on The Anthology of American Folk Music.

Murder rates are highest in some red states

Cities are actually safer. Republicans attack cities to distract from their own problems.

Did you know?

It’s states with loose gun laws where violence rates are the highest. pic.twitter.com/BMzocVm6ns
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) August 30, 2022

Fascinating:
"In 2020, per capita murder rates were 40% higher in states won by Donald Trump than those won by Joe Biden.
8 of the 10 states w/the highest murder rates in 2020 voted for the Republican presidential nominee in every election this century."https://t.co/ML5i3EqHas
— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) August 17, 2022

Violent crime is "more of a red state problem than a blue state one, as 8 out of the 10 states with the highest murder rates voted for Trump in 2020. The murder rate in the 25 states that went for Trump is, on average, 40% higher than that of states that voted for Biden." #moleg https://t.co/Ctt775iW4G
— Kristin Bowen | Text ACT to 644-33 (@CoMo_Kristin) June 8, 2022

ANY time someone refers with terror of urban crime, hand them this. Your chances of being attacked in Missouri are much higher than your chances of being attacked in New York. Higher in TX than in California. And on and on. Suitable for lamination. pic.twitter.com/GeFr58XGqV
— Virginia Heffernan (@page88) October 5, 2022

What to conclude from crime data? Cities are safer than the countryside and New York is doing far better than most places. "The overall lesson seems to be that the more urban your surroundings, the less danger you face." – @foxjust https://t.co/UPdp4GXV9S
— Tim O'Brien (@TimOBrien) June 7, 2022

#GOP, what say you?#ElPasoStrong #UvaldeStrong #UvaldeMassacre
'A study found that murder rates are highest in Republican-controlled states.'https://t.co/JSzHymM1hy
— James Ball (@cato218) June 2, 2022

https://twitter.com/zepy32/status/1532588158038118401?s=20&t=_bWPHaopXCxXXLgvbrIIvw

Red States Have Higher Murder Rates Than Blue States, According to New Study | Inside Edition

There you have it. What are red state governors doing about it? More guns and increased crimes. https://t.co/GvuYqVIVFr
— Srinadh (@peace_srinadh) June 7, 2022

NEW: @AOC just shut down Republicans scapegoating big cities like NYC and Chicago that face gun violence: “Let’s talk facts. 70% of illegally trafficked guns in NYC come from [red states with loose gun laws]. We're losing children due to lawlessness unleashed by red states.”
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) June 8, 2022

Did not know:

Rural America, too, has seen a surge in violent crime. “I’ve never seen these numbers before,” said one South Carolina sheriff about homicides.

Homicide rates in 2020:

✔️rose 25% in rural America
✔️rose 30% in urban Americahttps://t.co/a48nYreGz9 via @WSJ
— Brad Wilcox (@BradWilcoxIFS) June 10, 2022

When crime goes up in rural areas, for some reason we don't blame the (Republican) politicians who are in charge: https://t.co/Fpbw9DdaJf
— Paul Waldman (@paulwaldman1) June 10, 2022

There is generally more murder in cities subjected to the Red America gun policy regime — Republicans haven't come up with some magic formula they're just good at taking advantage of the fact that the media is disproportionately focused on a handful of cities. https://t.co/EIIj2gZLnf
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) June 29, 2022

it’s funny that despite all the media coverage, New York City is still one of the safest places in the country, by a significant margin pic.twitter.com/x5wzHBXxe7
— sam (@sam_d_1995) July 17, 2022

NBC’s reporting team on gun violence went to Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia & Baltimore — all cities, 3 in the North. Yet the top 7 states for homicides per capita are almost all Southern & rural: MS, LA, AL, MO, AR, SC, TN.
It’s one way media distort the picture of violence.
— Mark Jacob (@MarkJacob16) July 18, 2022

A growing mortality gap between Republican and Democratic areas may largely stem from policy choices. (@LydiaDenworth Scientific American) Details: https://t.co/mkd9KMxrFm pic.twitter.com/9q7HOd5iLi
— Opinion Today (@OpinionToday) July 18, 2022

"The biggest risks for homicides came in conservative counties with iron-fist sheriffs and district attorneys, places where progressives in power are nearly as common as monkeys riding unicorns." https://t.co/nsWYQI3X1d
— MattEllisDA (@MattEllisDA) August 28, 2022

Documentary about actress Louise Brooks on YouTube

Start with Pandora’s Box (1929) a great silent film in which she plays Lulu. It would certainly be on my list of top ten silent films. The great Criterion Collection two-disc DVD version is out of print. I posted a link to a version on YouTube. I assume it’s in the public domain by now.

She wrote a book that was published in 1982. I also added the review from the New York Times.

Always time for a dash of Louise Brooks pic.twitter.com/muvS2ZjgCj
— Noirchick In Old Hollywood (@Noirchick1) June 28, 2022

Lots of people dropping by the site recently to enjoy this rediscovered Technicolor footage of Louise Brooks. If you haven't seen it yet – enjoy! https://t.co/bttkeZE0uu
— 🎞 Silent London 🎞 (@silentlondon) August 30, 2022

Louise joins members of the Pandora’s Box cast and crew in November, 1928. Director G.W. Pabst sits next to her, Carl Goetz (“Schigolch“) is left (with hat and pipe). Franz Lederer (“Alwa”) is in the upper left corner. Josefine Müller, Louise’s maid on set, is in the foreground. pic.twitter.com/GJNXaWCpCi
— Forever Louise Brooks (@ForeverLouiseB1) March 29, 2023

Republican hypocrisy on states rights

Republicans believe in states rights except when they don’t like what the states are doing.
— Harris Levy (@HarrisL585) June 3, 2022

This applies to guns, too. The Supreme Court is likely to make it easier to carry guns in an upcoming decision on a New York law. They are getting their right-wing Supreme Court to do the work they can’t get done in a Congress where they are the minority.

Amid this hellscape of gun violence here comes the Supreme Court.

Poised to nullify NY's law requiring a permit to carry a gun. (yes really). Will have a domino effect in many other states. Case is NYSRPA v Bruen. Decision expected this month. https://t.co/4BKOtx4Wu5
— Mark D. Levine (@MarkLevineNYC) June 3, 2022

DeSantis’s terrible attacks if he doesn’t like their views

This started with his attack on Disney World.

SCOOP: The State or Florida threatened the Special Olympics with $27.5 MILLION in fines because the organization had a vaccine requirement at its games in Orlando this weekend.

Late yesterday, the Special Olympics pulled the requirement. 1/3
— Jay O'Brien (@jayobtv) June 3, 2022

How pettyhttps://t.co/e7c8SQVBXT
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) June 3, 2022

Experts on impact of redistricting

The bottom line is that blue state judges supported fairness and red state judges supported Republican gerrymandering. It’s not an even fight.

Hard to overstate how big a setback the 2022 redistricting cycle has been for nonwhite voting strength. No new majority-minority seats created in TX, AL, SC or LA (pending) despite sufficient population, and existing Black VRA seats dismantled/weakened in FL, MI, NC et. al.
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) June 20, 2022

It's been a long redistricting cycle, but I summed it up as best I could in my big redistricting overview article out today: https://t.co/shdTUDM1is
— Nathaniel Rakich (@baseballot) June 15, 2022

More from @FiveThirtyEight on how Democrats' sue-to-blue strategy failed & Republicans won redistricting.

"Republicans … gained ground from redistricting: The GOP is positioned for a net gain of [3-5] seats in 2022 just thanks to the new lines alone."
https://t.co/H5Zp4UkO2U
— National Republican Redistricting Committee (@GOPRedistrict) June 2, 2022

Your tweet should note that it is Republicans who have created the underrepresentation of people of color in FL, AL, and LA.
— Harris Levy (@HarrisL585) June 15, 2022

ALL 50 STATES ARE DONE WITH REDISTRICTING! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/nI8bjHuYdf
— Eric Stutz 🇺🇸 (@eric_stutzman5) May 31, 2022

Under the new congressional maps, the tipping-point seat (#NC13) has a 538 partisan lean of R+2.5, meaning the House has a 2.5-point GOP bias. Under the old maps, it was R+2.3.
— Nathaniel Rakich (@baseballot) May 31, 2022

Biden states w/ commission/court maps: AZ, CA, CO, CT, HI, MI, MN, NJ, NY, PA, VA, WA, WI
Dem gerrymanders: IL, MD, MA, NV, NM, OR, RI

Trump states w/ commission/court maps: ID, IA, MT, NC
GOP gerrymanders: AL, AR, FL, GA, IN, KS, KY, LA, MS, MO, NE, OH, OK, SC, TN, TX, UT
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) May 24, 2022

Pretty good look at the net effect of redistricting strategies. Rs focused primarily on reinforcing light red seats to consolidate into safe territory, leading to a big drop in competitive Lean R type seats. Ds played more offense where they could, adding 10 in the D+2-7 range. https://t.co/6M9ttDS1q1
— Liam Donovan (@LPDonovan) June 9, 2022

50th anniversary of The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie

I saw this great film in a theater when it was new. It’s available on as part of a Blu-ray disc set from the Criterion Collection

Watch the new trailer for the 50th anniversary 4K restoration of Luis Buñuel's THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE!

Opens June 24 at @FilmForumNYC https://t.co/Rnr3TsUxhz pic.twitter.com/WQuGwuGyjF
— Rialto Pictures (@RialtoPictures) June 1, 2022