California Reaming

Recall this, gymnasts speak out, comedy gets serious.

Sometimes a little Elder abuse is OK. At least when you're talking about Larry Elder. Elder and his cohort of clowns were soundly defeated in the attempted recall of California Governor Gavin Newsom, who survived the effort without a strand of his perfect hair out of place. The entire recall was a waste of time and money in a system where we already have elections to decide who's in office. But, even after being exhausted by the election of 2020, the golden state's voters made it clear they had no interest in Californicating with any other leaders and soundly evicted the challengers from the Hotel California. The recall race was such a blowout that Steve Kornacki only needed one line of coke. And that's a good thing, because prior to the votes being counted, Elder took a(nother) page out of the Trump playbook and claimed the election was rigged. But the shellacking was too extreme to stick with that line of BS. Gavin Newsom even won Orange County (and we know how popular the color orange is among the Trump crowd). So yes, Newsom won. And yes, exit polling suggests Californians view pandemic sanity as a good thing. But this all added more stress on a state that is already dealing with Covid and the fact that much of it is on fire. And in this recall, we all got burned. I'll have more to say at the afterparty (which I assume is at the French Laundry).

+ Slate: Weirdly, a Vaccine-Skeptical Radio Host Was Not Voted the Next Governor of California.

+ American politics are about 3 things: Location, location, location. Just take a look at this map of yesterday's voting patterns.

2. Tex and Balances

"This relief is necessary to protect the constitutional rights of women in Texas and the sovereign interest of the United States." The DOJ seeks emergency order to temporarily block Texas abortion law.

3. Horror Exercise

"To be clear, I blame Larry Nassar and I also blame an entire system that enabled and perpetrated his abuse. USA gymnastics and the United States Olympic and Paralympic committee knew that I was abused by their official team doctor long before I was ever made aware of their knowledge." US gymnasts testify before Congress about FBI's Nassar investigation. And from McKayla Maroney: "What's even more upsetting to me is that we know that these FBI agents have committed an obvious crime. They falsified my statement, and that is illegal in itself. Yet no recourse has been taken against them. The Department of Justice refused to prosecute these individuals. Why?" (It’s so sick what we let happen to these girls. And yet, we somehow turned Simone Biles' twisties into a bigger scandal.)

4. Guard Cogs for the Blind

Take a look at this lede for AP: "Republican legislators in more than half of U.S. states, spurred on by voters angry about lockdowns and mask mandates, are taking away the powers that state and local officials use to protect the public against infectious diseases." (As I said yesterday, 2020 was the earthquake, but the crazy aftershocks keep coming.)

+ This is a far too common story: A Boy Went to a COVID-Swamped ER. He Waited for Hours. Then His Appendix Burst.

+ "For years, Bob Enyart used his conservative media platform in Denver to mock those who died of AIDS by name or call for women who receive abortions to face the death penalty. Recently, the radio talk-show host - who had successfully sued the state over mask mandates and capacity limits in Colorado churches last year - joined a chorus of conservative voices who have bashed the coronavirus vaccine and vowed to stay unvaccinated." Bob spurned vaccines and mocked AIDS patients. Bob died of Covid-19.

+ Gorillas at Atlanta's Zoo have contracted Covid, probably from a zoo worker. (When a veterinary vaccine is available, the gorillas will take it.)

5. (G)rimshot

"Samantha Bee said in an interview that she could not recall another occasion during her tenure as a late-night host when so many of programs coordinated their efforts like this." From the NYT (gift article for ND readers): Thanks to an effort by my attractive friend Steve Bodow who managed to pull together the OMG-7 leaders, Seven Late-Night Shows Are Teaming Up to Tackle Climate Change. Climate change usually is no laughing matter, but we'll make this exception as long as you promise not to off-gas when you chuckle.

6. When the Rubber Hits the Road

"Sara was a victim of a phenomenon that 12% of women say they have experienced, and that 10% of men say they have perpetrated, but which for years has had no legal recognition and no name other than the one given to it by its practitioners: “Stealthing”, the non-consensual removal of a condom. Now, the violation experienced by Sara and others may finally be made illegal, at least in one state" Condom ‘stealthing’ is a vile practice. California is right to ban it.

7. Hark, Who Goes Theranos?

"I couldn't believe my eyes ... I immediately started asking other reporters, and they were like, 'I think it was him,' and when we got inside and saw him even closer, it was like, 'Yep that was him.'" NPR: 'Concerned Citizen' At Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes' Trial Turns Out To Be Family. (At least it wasn't a blood relative.)

8. Something Rotten in Denmark

"The Faroe Islands are an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, lying about halfway between Scotland and Iceland in the Atlantic Ocean. The annual whale hunt, or grindadráp in Faroese, has been a part of local culture for centuries -- but it usually involves the hunting of pilot whales. Although it has long been criticized by animal rights groups, locals have defended the practice." 1,400 dolphins were killed in the Faroe Islands in one day, shocking even some pro-whalers.

9. A Charming Hideaway

Mexico is going to give away ‘El Chapo's safehouse in a lottery. "The surveillance cameras that covered every angle of the modest home’s exterior were removed. And the hole under a bathtub that Guzmán had slipped through to reach a network of tunnels was covered with a concrete slab." (Don't worry. For the right money, the Mexican government will include an escape tunnel.)

10. Bottom of the News

"It starts with Thanksgiving dinner in 1937. Walter Frederick Morrison and his girlfriend (later wife) Lucille started a game of catch with a metal lid from a popcorn container. The pair had a good time with it, but discovered that the popcorn tin lids were easy to dent, and subsequently, no longer great for flying. They started using cake pans to play; they were easier to find, and cheap to buy." The Surprisingly Complicated History of the Frisbee.

+ How finger counting gives away your nationality.