During the past 39 days, a relentless heat wave has broken 2,300 records across the southern U.S., including the 20th consecutive day over 110 degrees in Phoenix (AZ) and shows no immediate letting up. A shift to the west means that new areas as far north as Montana can see hot days such as 99 degrees on Saturday. This map gives an idea of how dire the temperatures are.
No climate warming?
- June was the hottest month in NOAA’s 174-year global climate record, 1.89 degrees above average, the 47th-consecutive June and 532nd-consecuritive month above the 20th-century average.
- The past seven years have been the hottest on the Earth “by a clear margin, according to the Copernicus Change service.
- The year 2023 could be the warmest on record, surpassing 2016 at 58.69 degrees over global land and ocean. Last year was 58.44 degrees.
- Atlantic Ocean temperatures are the highest since record-keeping became in 1850 with surface temperatures almost three degrees warmer than typical.
- Heat waves, once considered typical, are hotter and more frequent. Temperatures in Spain and Portugal were 36 degrees higher than average during May.
As record heat and wildfire smoke engulf huge swaths of the country, President Joe Biden could free up disaster relief funds and slash carbon emissions by declaring a climate emergency — a move Democratic lawmakers have repeatedly called on him to make.
The Republicans response to the disaster from climate warming is introducing a bill blocking President Joe Biden from declaring a climate emergency, despite almost one-third of people in the U.S. suffering from heat alerts. Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX) and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) mocked the current crisis by naming the bill the “Real Emergencies Act” which would prevent the president from declaring a national emergency “on the premise of climate change” under any of three laws. Executive emergency powers could provide FEMA funds for disaster relief and mitigation.
A leaked email describes mandatory brutality ordered by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s “Operation Lone Star” initiative toward migrants at the southern state border—push them back into the water when they reach the U.S. border and don’t give them any medical care for issues, including broken bones, when they try to circumvent razor wire in the Rio Grande River or survive the intense heat. The author, a medic, wrote:
“I truly believe in the mission of Operation Lone Star; I believe we have stepped over a line into the inhumane. We need to operate it correctly in the eyes of God. We need to recognize that these are people who are made in the image of God and need to be treated as such.”
Another trooper supported the statement, but Abbott claims that his policies would not mistreat people attempting to cross without legal authorization. Congressional Democrats have called the floating barrier in the international barrier both illegal and inhumane. Rep. Joaquin Castro asked that Abbott stop his Operation Lone Star until the situation has been investigated.
In one case a woman with two children had a miscarriage while she was caught in the wire. One of her children later died at the hospital; the other one “was never found,” according to the trooper. A pecan farm owner said that officials working for Abbott’s border security operation refused to remove the razor wire from his property despite his multiple requests. He said that several people had been injured by the state-installed by the state that can use private property without the owner’s permission after a 2021 law which appropriate almost $10 million for the initiative.
Actors and other film industry union workers have joined writers in striking for better conditions, and Universal picked that time to cut all the foliage off the trees they used for shade during their pickets in the 90+ degree heat. The city, which manages the trees, said that they are “essential to providing Angelenos with significant environmental and public health benefits, especially during a heatwave.” Universal claimed they trim the trees every year during July and August, a time when no trees should be trimmed. According to city laws, trees are trimmed either by a city crew or a third-party crew hired by a local business with the correct permit.
The union, SAG-AFTRA said that its members can no longer picket at NBCUniversal after the tree trimming and “suspiciously timed construction that has forced picketers into streets without proper safety rails.” Studio executives spoke anonymously about how major studios are set on “[breaking] the WGA”; they plan “to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses.” In the studios, CEO pay grew by 1,480 percent since 1978; typical worker pay increased by 18 percent in that time.
In a victory for disabled children, a federal court ruled that Florida violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by unnecessarily institutionalizing children with complex health needs, placing them in nursing homes instead of providing community health services in their homes. About 140 children in Florida’s Medicaid programs live in nursing homes within three counties, and approximately 1,800 children are at risk of being similarly institutionalized. The ruling orders the state to improve care coordination and fund more at-home nursing for children with increased access to medical support and service. Throughout Florida, nursing homes have been criticized for health and safety issues, with a high number of Covid deaths and now expectations of climate change to harm disabled and aging residents in largely underprepared facilities.
Like DDT, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) fails to keep his promises. While campaigning, he said he would “donate every dime I make when I’m in Washington, D.C., to the veterans of the state of Alabama.” He created a charity, Tommy Tuberville Foundation, in 2014 as part of his requirement to donate $5,000 a month of his annual salary of $1.6 million to the athletics department. In 2016, he gave 150 season tickets to veterans. The IRS, however, shows very little of his money spent on charitable causes, especially after he was elected as senator. In 2021, the foundation had $74,101 in revenue with $32,000 spent for administrative costs. Gross receipts the next year were $50,000 with no requirement to provide details. Tuberville’s spokesperson did not report any donations from his $174,000 annual salary.
Infamous for his blockade against military promotions, Tuberville now claims it has nothing to do with abortion although his reason is that the military provides time off and travel expenses if military members must travel outside the large number of states blocking the procedure. Forty percent of female service members—80,000 on active duty—are stationed in states with no or severely restricted access to abortion services in the U.S. These women are already more likely to leave the military because of its lack of family planning service and discrimination. The military also funds abortion only in cases of rape or incest and to protect the health of the mother. For the procedure, troops must obtain civilian care, but Tuberville accuses the Pentagon of paying for abortions.
Even ultra-conservative Hugh Hewett is lambasting Tuberville for his boycott, writing that it isn’t “pro-life” to damage military lives. Hewett wrote:
“Uncertainty is just paralysis, and paralysis in the military can be deadly. On every level, this action by the Alabama senator is morally and strategically wrong…. Stop playing with the lives of U.S. military personnel.”
Alabama is also playing games with the Supreme Court’s order to redraw its congressional district map to have two of seven districts with a majority of Black voters. Its new map, due on Friday, has even fewer Blacks that the one that SCOTUS sent back to the state, meaning it still violates the Voting Rights Act. With the GOP maps, minorities have a strong voice only in one district although they comprise almost one-third of the population.
Rep. George Santos (R-NY), facing 13 charges in an indictment and an investigation from the House Ethics Committee, represents third wealthiest district in New York and the fourth-wealthiest in the country. Only three of his constituents have donated to his campaign in 2023 with most of the over $6,000 coming from one person. In January, 78 percent of the district voters, including 71 percent of Republicans, want him to resign. In his first term, Santos had said that he would leave office “if 142,000 voters who voted for me” decided not to vote for him again. That’s 97.4 percent of the 145,824 who voted for him in 2022 before they knew anything about him.
Known for sexist, racist, homophobic, and election-denying statements, Jesse Watters has taken over Tucker Carlson’s prime Fox spot, and his mother is very proud, so proud that she called into his show on the first night. All went well at first while she praised him, but then she segued into “suggestions” of the practical (progressive?) kind so he would keep his job. She started with an obvious reference to Carlson’s firing and Fox’s lawsuit settlement of over $787 million:
“Do not tumble into any conspiracy rabbit holes. We do not want to lose you and we want no lawsuits, OK? I want you to seek solutions, versus fanning the flames.”
More of her comments are here as if the two-minute video. Delightful!
There’s far more news, but that’s enough for tonight. More tomorrow and the DDT roundup on Cult Sunday.
Nel's New Day 