Afternoon Tea 2.11.2021 - Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

Oh no, the consequences of my actions.

February 11, 2021

Gina & Pedro should replace Goofus & Gallant in Highlights Magazine, Mayor Bill “VCR Clock” de Blasio blinked 12:00 at midnight, Velveeta Elvis didn’t seem too worried about that angry mob Pence was being saved from, both sides are not equal, and the suffering we lived through over the past four years was so, utterly unnecessary. It’s Thursday, February 11th, 2021, and this is the Tea.

40% of US COVID-19 deaths were unnecessary, 22,000 deaths from environmental policies avoidable (Fast Company) & Public policy and health in the Trump era (The Lancet - Infographic PDF) As many of these issues precede Trump, the life expectancy of places that went for Trump is 2 years lower than places where Trump only got 40% of the 2016 vote. After earning their support, he wrecked their health and environment. 84 workplace protection & environmental standard laws were rolled back during the Trump era.

Biden administration backs DeVos in fight over testifying about loan forgiveness (Politico) I don’t care about norms or “it might be used against us” whining. Until the GOPartisans are forced to spend Hildawg level hours in Benghazi tier hearings for years, Biden should give no rest to the wicked. Especially the wicked with yachts.

Trump’s Tweet Attacking Pence Came Right After Learning His VP’s Life Was In Danger (HuffPo) As more people try to piece together whether Emperor Tang’s mob was actively seeking out VP Pence, timelines like this are terrifying.

Newly elected Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) told reporters Wednesday night, following the second day of the former president’s impeachment trial, that Trump had called for his help in delaying election certification the afternoon of the U.S. Capitol attack but he had told Trump that Pence had just been taken from the Senate and he couldn’t talk just then.

“He didn’t get a chance to say a whole lot because I said, ‘Mr. President, they just took the vice president out. I’ve got to go,’” Tuberville said.

According to video footage from that day, Pence was removed from the Senate at 2:14 p.m. after rioters had broken into the Capitol, meaning that when Trump lashed out at Pence at 2:24 p.m., he already knew Pence’s life was in danger.

In America’s ‘Uncivil War,’ Republicans Are The Aggressors (FiveThirtyEight) I’m so tired of “both sides talk” when any even casual look at the reality is horrifying for any progressive or person who considers themselves left of center. As documented exhaustively in this report.

MTA chief admits he can’t figure out how to clean subway without overnight closure (Daily News) & Subway Workers Say Shut-Down Overnight Shift Has Turned into a Dangerous Nightmare (TheCity) One of my first jobs in tech sometimes involved shift work that began between 2-4am at times. That work would now be impossible for me, as it is for thousands of New Yorkers. And that’s before we start to comprehend how a non-24hr subway system will change nightly density and economic calculus of the city. Who wants to be stuck on the wrong side of the bridge when the BART stops running?

Mayor de Blasio joins calls for Gov. Cuomo to lose emergency powers (Daily News) 2021 got me out here agreeing with Mayor Own Goal. Let us never pretend we understand the whorls of karma.

The Egghead Gap (The New Atlantis) Here’s a nationalist, neoliberal take you’d probably not expect from me: We should not just abolish ICE, we should create a department of Promigration to identify the best scientists, engineers, researchers, business leaders, system administrators, cybersecurity personnel and social science scions and recruit them to the USA like scouts recruit sportsball players.

British Energy Tycoon Unveils Diamonds Made Out of Thin Air (Barron’s) Here’s one who would qualify! Sky diamonds! I’m cautious, but carbon capture and diamonds? If we have dirty rainwater to spare, use it! Replace blood diamonds with sky diamonds.

No arrests in the first six months of healthcare professionals replacing police officers (Denverite) Hey that thing harm reduction & mental health program people said would work? Works super good. Those in mental health crisis should have mental health professionals respond to them, not dudes with punisher skull tattoos, tasers, and a Farva-From-Super Troopers level of patience. Oh and the guns.

Pedro Pascal To Star As Joel In ‘The Last Of Us’ HBO Series Based on Video Game (Deadline) & Lucasfilm Calls Gina Carano’s Social Media Posts “Abhorrent”; Actress No Longer Employed By Studio Star Wars, a galaxy of contrasts far, far away. On one side, you have Pedro Pascal, who belts out TRANS RIGHTS MATTER on twitter whenever asked, and staunchly stands by his family and LGBTQ fans. He’s also the ascendant star of Prospect, Game of Thrones, the titular Mandalorian, now cast the most anticipated VG-to-TV since Witcher Superman. Gina Carano bet the farm on alt right grievance politics, going from anti-mask to anti-vaxx, recently comparing being conservative with being a holocaust victim. At that point, you could actually hear the door slam shut on her career. Calls to have Lucy Lawless replace her have started to grow, which I am absolutely here for. Give Xena a minigun.

Song of the Tea: Not really a song per se, just a weird and haunting vision of the future. Post Malone doing a virtual concert with Pokémon, streamed on YouTube and Twitch.

We’ll be off on the 15th & 16th, coming back on Wed Feb. 17th. The 100 monkeys chained up writing are having a birthday, so we’re gonna give them a little time off.

Yours,t