CRANKY OLD FART’S
NEWS & LINKS
#357  [archive]It’s obvious, ain’t it? Every thing Republicans do and stand for is about furthering cruelty.Even when the headlines are so ridiculous they’re kinda funny (see below), the backstory behind the news is always about making someone’s life worse — the gays and trans, women, the blacks, the poor, the victims, some individual who’s offended someone, or anyone who’s not rich, white, and male.Wish there was some creative or clever way to sum it all up, except to say again, holy fuck Republicans are bastards.
• “Common sense” Republicans tour Rikers: “It’s a great atmosphere in there” • Republicans recruit social media influencers to rally support for corrupt Texas AG

• Wisconsin Republican sues newspaper repeatedly, for reporting that he used a slur
    “Acting on a tip from a reader, The Wausau Pilot & Review reported that during the meeting, the owner of a shredding and recycling company, Cory Tomczyk, called a 13-year-old boy a ‘fag’. Mr Tomczyk, who is now a Republican state senator, denied using the slur and demanded a retraction. When The Pilot & Review stood by its article, Mr. Tomczyk sued.
    “Three additional people who attended the meeting later gave sworn statements that they had heard Mr Tomczyk use the word. And during a deposition, he admitted having said it on other occasions.
    “In late April 2023, a judge dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that Mr. Tomczyk had not met the legal standard for proving that the report defamed him.
    “But that was not the end of the matter for the small and financially pinched Pilot & Review, a nonprofit that has already racked up close to $150,000 in legal bills from the case. Mr. Tomczyk has filed an appeal. And the publication’s founder and editor, Shereen Siewert, said she has no idea how she can continue paying both her lawyers and her staff of four.”

• Even after Planned Parenthood stopped performing abortions, Texas is still trying to shut it down  
• Arkansas warns school districts not to offer AP African American Studies • After suspending the state’s only black elected DA, Florida Gov DeSantis fires her chief-of-staff too, and sends police to her home • Pornhub sues Texas, saying new age-verification law shafts porn-site users  • Iowa school district uses artificial intelligence to help remove library books • All cops continue being bastards 

 And in better news…• The Guardian unmasks North Dakota Nazi publisher • Antifa group says it has names and addresses of Nazi company’s customers• North Korea says runaway US soldier wants refuge from mistreatment, racism in US
    North Korea seems an odd place to escape to,
especially after this poor schmo delivered “a profanity-laced tirade
against Koreans.” But what the heck, I’m not offended by his defection, treason, wanderlust, whatever you call it.
    I sincerely wish him a happy life
in his new home. 

🖯  MY BROWSER HISTORY  🖯• How systemic barriers keep the formerly incarcerated from rebuilding their lives
    “Because one of my felonies is for drug possession, I can’t get any cash welfare benefits. The welfare system automatically assumes anyone with a prior drug conviction will spend their money on dope rather than rent, utilities, gas, and food. It doesn’t matter that all my drug tests are clean, or that I’m a graduate of Sobriety Works. The conviction is on my record and that’s the only context that matters.”• The dark secrets buried at Red Cloud Boarding School • Steve Albini: Now he’s a nice guy 

♫♬  AUDIO  ♫• Air — Hair • Catch the Wind — Donovan • Fortunate Son — Creedence Clearwater Revival • Incense & Peppermints — Strawberry Alarm Clock • Ms 45 — Joe Delia

❔  MYSTERY LINKS  ❔• Click • Click • Click • Click • Click 

👁  VIDEO  👁• Georgia District Attorney’s news conference on indictment of former President Trump • “Our circus grew out of a small juggling club called Creative Motion” • Video captures police raid on Kansas newspaper which took the 98-year-old publisher’s ‘last day of her life’  

⚰️  OBITUARIES  ⚰️ • Clarence Avant • Rhoda Karpatkin • Jerome Moss