All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Second world war veteran twice denied absentee ballot under Texas voting law | Texas | The Guardian

…Kenneth Thompson, who served in the US army in Europe, told Click2Houston, a Harris county news outlet, he had voted in every election since he was 21 and even remembered paying a 50-cent poll tax in the 1950s.

“I’ve been voting many, many years and I’ve never missed a vote,” he said, adding that he considers voting a duty.

But under a voting restriction bill known as SB1 and passed last August, Thompson could be unable to meet the state’s 31 January voter registration deadline for an absentee ballot.

According to the new law, Thompson is required to submit a social security or driver’s license number that matches state or county records. When Thompson registered to vote decades ago, however, such requirements were not in place.

“He registered to vote in the 1940s and they didn’t require that,” said Delinda Holland, Thompson’s daughter…

Source: Second world war veteran twice denied absentee ballot under Texas voting law | Texas | The Guardian

Farmers flourish under Biden, see recovery from Trump-era trade wars

…”Well, certainly the difference between 2019 and 2021 is the differences in administrations,” Montana Farmers Union President Walter Schweitzer said in an interview. “In 2019, our administration was at war with all of our customers.” Under Biden, he said, the nation is “rebuilding our relationships with our customers.”…

Source: Farmers flourish under Biden, see recovery from Trump-era trade wars

Peston: Sue Gray report complete and will be ‘very uncomfortable reading’ for Boris Johnson | ITV News

…The investigation, led by civil servant Sue Gray, has now concluded according to Political Editor Robert Peston, and it is likely to be published on Wednesday or Thursday.

The Metropolitan Police launched its own investigation on Tuesday morning after ITV News revealed a birthday party for the PM was held in June 2020, while the country was under Covid-19 lockdown rules.

“It will, I am told, be a report that will make for very uncomfortable reading for the PM and Tory MPs,” Peston said.

He later added that he expects the document to be published in full “with no cuts, no censorship, no redactions” and it will be made public just “hours” after the PM receives it…

Source: Peston: Sue Gray report complete and will be ‘very uncomfortable reading’ for Boris Johnson | ITV News

Book Banning

Take him to court – he can’t do that.

NANMYKEL.COM

Will public libraries be targeted next for book banning?  Even the thought is reprehensible.

Mississippi mayor withholds library funds over LGBTQ books

 

RIDGELAND, Miss. — The director of a Mississippi library system says a mayor is withholding $110,000 from his city’s library because LGBTQ books are on the shelves.

Tonja Johnson, executive director of the Madison County Library System, told news outlets that Ridgeland Mayor Gene McGee received citizen complaints about a handful of books that depicted members of the LGBTQ community.

“Funding for this year was being withheld until we removed what he called ‘homosexual material’ from the library,” Johnson told WAPT-TV. “His reasoning that he gave was that, as a Christian, he could not support that, and that he would not release funding until we remove the material.”

Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Sympathizer”: "....those who seek…

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The Pope Denounces Misinformation ‘Infodemic’ About Vaccines – Slashdot

Meeting with members of the International Catholic Media Consortium on COVID-19 Vaccines — a fact-checking network that aims to combat misinformation — the pope said that being fully informed by scientific data was a human right. “To be properly informed, to be helped to understand situations based on scientific data and not fake news, is a human right. Correct information must be ensured above all to those who are less equipped, to the weakest and to those who are most vulnerable. Francis, 85, received the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus shot last year and has been vocal about the importance of vaccines.

“Fake news has to be refuted, but individual persons must always be respected, for they believe it often without full awareness or responsibility,” he said Friday. Source: The Pope Denounces Misinformation ‘Infodemic’ About Vaccines – Slashdot

What You Need to Know About Blood Tests

CRAIN'S COMMENTS

Blood tests are a common part of annual physical exams. However, many of those who have exams don’t know what is being done with the blood samples.

The article below from Dr. Leslie Kernisan talks about blood tests for older adults. However, her comments can apply to younger adults as well.

She further highlights tests that she orders which are part of her protocol, but not necessarily what other doctors do. Sometimes a doctor may omit a test that might actually be of value to you. (Insurance companies are pressing providers to minimize costs by reducing the tests that they run. What the insurance company wants might actually be detrimental to you.)

In my own case, during one exam years ago, I asked my doc if he was running an assay of testosterone levels. He wasn’t, but since it was a “cheap test”, he added it to the request. The…

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