Jan 15
2024
Monday Morning Read
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You’d think with climate change wreaking havoc on the planet our state lawmakers would be doing their bit to help. Yes and no.
The New York State League of Conservation Voters has released its annual environmental scorecard and the results are mixed concerning members of the Western New York delegation.
Some scored well, starting with Senators Tim Kennedy and Sean Ryan and Assembly Members Pat Burke and Monica Wallace.
At the other extreme were Assembly Members David DiPietro and Michael Norris, who voted in favor of just one of 14 pieces of legislation the scorecard was based on.
As a whole, lawmakers representing western and central New York posted a middling score.
By the way, authorities reported last week that 2023 was the planet’s hottest year on record.
I won’t drink to this: A new study has found that one liter of bottled water contains a staggering 240,000 microscopic pieces of plastic.
A couple of media stories of note: How the greed and ineptitude of newspaper chains have aided and abetted the rise of start-up of both nonprofit and for-profit news organizations, which, while on the ascent, are facing headwinds of their own.
Elon Musk – you know, the free speech advocate – has suspended the Twitter accounts of some of his critics. Meanwhile, reports suggest Musk may have a drug problem that explains some of his behaviors.
Elise Stefanik, the upstate Congress member, has joined the wing nuts of those who claim those arrested for their role in the Jan. 6 insurrection aren’t criminal defendants, but rather hostages. Margaret Sullivan speculates she’s auditioning to be Donald Trump’s running mate.
Roger Stone got caught on tape advocating for the assassination of key Democrats as a way of teaching the party a lesson.
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The politics of hunger: More than a dozen red states are turning down federal funding to feed hungry children. And Gaza is on the cusp of a famine.
Karl Marx said “religion is the opiate of the masses.” These days, it’s sports. In particular, pro football. No fewer than 93 of the 100 most watched television programs of last year were NFL games. The Bills, by the way, accounted for 13 of the most-watched games.