Category: Uncategorized

Five district attorneys representing some of the most populous counties in the state have written to Republican Texas Governor Gregg Abbott educating him that his recently enacted ban on treatment for transgender children is “un-American” and an assault on Americans’ freedoms, ABC News reports.

Earlier this week, Abbott signed a sweeping executive order barring any gender-affirming medical procedures for transgender children under the age of 18 and calling for any parent or medical professional providing such treatment to be charged with child abuse.  The letter was signed by John Creuzot of Dallas County, José Garza of Travis County, Joe Gonzales of Bexar County, Mark Gonzalez of Nueces County; and Brian Middleton of Fort Bend County.

“We are deeply disturbed by Governor Abbott and Attorney General Paxton’s cruel directives treating transgender children’s access to life-saving, gender-affirming care as ‘child abuse,'” the letter read, continuing “This is part of a continued onslaught on personal freedoms. Elected officials should be protecting our most vulnerable. These two, instead, want to irrationally target and restrain children seeking medical assistance — and force caregivers to participate.”

President Biden will officially nominate DC Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, the Associated Press reports citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Fresh off his insane “alternate midterms platform”, Senator Rick Scott is getting some encouragement from his Orange God Emperor to challenge Mitch McConnell for leadership of the Senate GOP caucus, Axios reports. While the likelihood of any palace coup’s success against the Kentucky Turtle is slim at best given his support, Scott does have an important position as the head of the National Republican Senate Campaign committee, so he may actually be the closest to a viable challenger Trump has at this point. It’s not like Tommy Tuberville is going to step up.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to announce on Friday a reduction in mask wearing recommendations for areas that do not have high transmission rates of the coronavirus, the Associated Press reports.

The new guidelines will loosen restrictions on vaccinated people in indoor public spaces, while still recommending unvaccinated people wear masks indoors.  Currently, 95% of counties in the US are classified high transmission areas.

NBC News is reporting President Joe Biden has made his choice for his first appointment to the Supreme Court.  The specific individual is not yet known, but she is going through a lengthy prep and check before being introduced.

As this traffic helicopter shot shows, the “massive” and “overwhelming” convoy of truckers from Pennsylvania coming to Washington to clog the Swamp has arrived in the DC Metro area.  The “convoy,” shown above at the I-95 interchange with the DC Beltway, consists of one tractor trailer and a pickup truck festoon in Trump flags.

I have a friend who works for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.  An hour or so ago, she posted that they were prepared for massive traffic disruption all over the state, but nothing materialized.

Why are all these wealthy, “pull yourself up by your boot straps” Republicans begging everyone else for money?

The two prosecutors who quit the Manhattan District Attorney’s office left because the newly-sworn-in DA told them that they did not have a solid enough case yet to push for an indictment, not because the DA told them not to pursue the case as some outlets had reported, New York Magazine reports.

Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz had been told last September by Cyrus Vance, Jr. that they did not have enough evidence to indict Trump.  The pair came back in December, the final month of Vance’s term, and presented a case which Vance found compelling, but opted to leave the decision to indict to his successor, Alvin Bragg.

Upon reviewing the case, Bragg felt there wasn’t enough evidence to bring a case yet.  The DA’s office made the decision to wait to hear the evidence that will be presented in New York State’s case to obtain more evidence that may support an indictment.

Vladimir Putin has overplayed his hand–a hand in a poker game where Donald Trump is the croupier.  

Putin is banking on the invasion of Ukraine to unite Russians–not just with those in Ukraine but also those back in Mother Russia–against the threat of democracy.  The threat is, of course, to him, not them, but he’s wrapping his aggression in the same brand of nationalism coming from the American right wing:  all ethnically-proper people must unite and fight for their (fictional) heritage.

Whether it was for cultural purity as Putin claims, or more likely Putin’s greed to control a productive economy, the invasion comes under conditions very different than Russia’s previous aggressions, including the fact that it was tacitly endorsed by a US presidential administration.

All three of the former Minneapolis police officers Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao, who stood by and did nothing to prevent Derek Chauvin from murdering George Floyd just prior to his death have been found guilty of federal civil rights violation charges, WCCO reports.

The Russian and Belarusian military assault on Ukraine saw some setbacks on its second day as President Zelensky rallied his people with selfless bravery to defend the capital, but the prospects for keeping their nation intact remained very much in doubt. National Zero’s live coverage has been moved to a new article to make the comment thread more navigable.

The Florida House on Thursday passed two pro-bigotry bills, the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” and another bill banning the teaching of CRT in schools where CRT is not taught, continuing to demonstrate Republicans want to preserve their ability to be bigots.

As the Tampa Bay Times reports, the Republican-dominated Florida House passed bills along Party lines, and the legislation will now go to Republican Governor Ron DeSantis for his signature.

The bills are crafted under the guise of “protecting parental freedoms” by allowing parents to object to classroom topics relating to gender identity and race so that the kids can inherit their parents’ xenophobia.

An opinion being issued by the DC Circuit Court of Appeals – on which Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson sits – on Thursday as opposed to the standard Tuesday or Friday is being taken as a strong signal that Brown Jackson has been chosen as Biden’s nominee to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, as the last time the Circuit issued an opinion outside of the usual days of the week was just hours before now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination was announced in 2018.

In the early morning hours of Thursday, February 24th, 2022 local time Russian and Belarusian military forces began their assault on Ukraine following months and weeks of escalation by Vladimir Putin’s dictatorial regime, making major gains in the first day of their onslaught. National Zero’s live coverage has been moved to a new article to make the comment thread more navigable.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the initiation of a “special military operation” in Ukraine during a television appearance on Russian State television, the New York Times reports.  A Times reporter posted that two large explosions were heard in the Ukrainian town of Kramatorsk at virtually the same time Putin’s announcement was broadcast on television.

Putin said the action would be aimed at the “demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine,” a reference to a conspiracy theory the Kremlin has supported that the high ranks of the Ukrainian military are held by neo-Nazis.

Can’t help but admire Zelensky’s bravery and defiance here in the face of almost certain death. Fate is funny, putting a guy who starred in a comedy series about a teacher who semi-accidentally got elected president of Ukraine as the actual real life president who now is tasked with steeling his country for a long and grueling fight – a fight with which brings the strong possibility he personally will not live to see the end of it. He’s not King Leonidas or Winston Churchill or Charles de Gaulle, men who were bred and groomed to lead. He’s a regular dude with above average intelligence and speaking skills who could make people laugh. A few slightly different decisions in life and Zelensky could be the wacky Russian immigrant neighbor on some NBC half-hour sitcom. There’d be an article on the bottom of TMZ’s front page saying how worried Yury from The Kevin Hart Show was about his family back home in Ukraine while he’s safe in Los Angeles with his wife Kristina Rivera, who plays the quirky evidence lab tech expert on CSI: St Louis.

Yet Zelensky’s in Kyiv, maintaining this redoubtable dignity in a world full of cowards and weasels and tyrants. Meanwhile Putin has to sleep with one eye open if he even sleeps at all. Boris Johnson whimpers like a baby pleading forgiveness for throwing parties while Brits were locked down. Trump facing a moment in 2020 where COVID-19 beckoned him to lead and he failed by any and every measure imaginable. Netanyahu starting a fucking war in a desperate last ditch bid to remain in power. Mohammed bin Salman’s goons butchering a dude who wrote some mean things about him. The list goes on and on. History doesn’t bring these tests to every leader and fewer pass them when they do come. It’s not all the time when you can say with 100% sincerity and without it being just political campaign media shop bullshit that one is an “inspiration” to his people.

Volodymyr Zelensky is an inspiration. May his name long outlive him, whatever happens.