Good Year, and Good Luck
December 19, 2019
From Daily Pnut’s Tim: In the August 6, 2019 edition of Daily Pnut I asked readers to consider donating to Service to School (S2S), and that if we reached 500 donors then the Manton foundation would provide a match of $25,000. I wanted to provide an update to readers to let them know that a couple days ago we surpassed the 500 number. I’m incredibly grateful for the generosity and support of Daily Pnut readers as the support was very significant in helping us reach this goal.
I’m personally touched and grateful for your support. S2S will absolutely be great stewards of this funding. Your contributions will empower us to help even more transitioning veterans. This achievement is one of many things that give me optimism for 2020.
“I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.” – Albert Schweitzer
“Anything that we can do to help foster the intellect and spirit and emotional growth of our fellow human beings, that is our job. Those of us who have this particular vision must continue against all odds. Life is for service.” – Fred Rogers
America At A Crossroads
- Today, the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump for obstruction of Congress and abuse of power. He is now the third president in history to be charged with committing high crimes and misdemeanors, and face removal by the Senate. The House of Representatives voted on two articles of impeachment following a six-hour debate. The first article on abuse of power passed 230-197 while the second charge of obstruction of Congress passed 229-198.
- The only other presidents who have been impeached in the past were Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. Unlike his predecessors, who showed contrition and pondered resigning during the impeachment process, Donald Trump voraciously took to Twitter throughout the day, expressing his displeasure and attacking the Democrats endlessly.
- The impeachment votes set the stage for a historic trial beginning early next year in the Senate, which will decide whether to acquit the 45th president or convict him and remove him from office. It is likely that the Republican-controlled Senate will acquit Mr. Trump, but the proceedings will surely draw the ire of millions across the country. Regardless of the Senate decision, however, there will forever be a stain in President Trump’s presidency.
- A divided America: the moment Trump was impeached – in pictures (Guardian)
- ‘It’s all made up’: Trump’s Michigan supporters defiant as House votes to impeach (Guardian)
- Trump impeachment – your questions answered (BBC)
- Senate bias toward Republicans and white voters (Vox)
- A moderate congresswoman went all-in for Trump. Her constituents think they know why. (WaPo, $)
- Trump’s Lasting Legacy (NYT, $)
- The Trump impeachment vote reveals a broken system (Vox)
- The House’s Sad, Predictable, Partisan, and Historic Impeachment of Donald Trump (New Yorker)
Trading Blows Because We Traded Blows
- The Global trading system has begun to show deep cracks following a multitude of preliminary trade deals made between the United States and other countries such as China, Mexico, and Canada.
- Last week, the three North American countries agreed to a renewed and revamped trade deal. China also agreed to a preliminary trade deal with the United States, attempting to alleviate months of economic friction and tension that has been building since 2018, when the trade-war and tariff-war began.
- Despite the many attempts to fix the deepening cracks in the global trade system, history has shown that economic friction often leads to war, which may be the recurring trend if global leaders do not tread carefully moving forward. The next few months will be key in setting up a stable global trade system. (NPR)
If You Can Smoke It, Teens Will Come
- It has been reported that 1 out of 5 high school students have vaped marijuana in the last year.
- Vaping nicotine is still more popular (1 out of 4 students), however the usage of marijuana vapes is alarming to Richard Miech of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. “if you want to be a daily marijuana user, vaping makes it easier… You can just kind of graze on that all day,” Many marijuana vapes are odorless and small enough to fit into a student’s pocket.
- Something of note, this study was performed before the surge in vaping-related lung damage, which was found to be caused by “black market” THC products. (Guardian)
- Special Report: FDA targets e-cigs that hook teens but don’t help smokers quit (Reuters)
- Instagram bans influencers from getting paid to promote vaping and guns (CNBC)
- US teens may be barred from buying vape pens and cigarettes (Guardian)
- A New Drug Scourge: Deaths Involving Meth Are Rising Fast (NYT, $)
Give A Hoot, It Could Save Your Life
- The United States has once again made a global top ten list – this time, the US finds itself amongst the top ten deadliest countries for pollution-related fatalities. Toxic air, water, land, and workplaces have killed at least 8.3 million people around the world in 2017, accounting for 15% of all premature deaths. The United States ranked seventh on the list, with 197,000 pollution-related deaths recorded in 2017 alone.
- Air pollution currently stands as one of the largest causes of death and disability by diseases, stroke, and certain cancers. In the US, air toxins cause 55% of pollution deaths, and experts have warned that Trump administration policies which dismantle environmental standards will only increase the number of pollution-related illness and deaths. (Guardian)
- Depression and suicide linked to air pollution in new global study (Guardian)
- Nearly a fifth of US emissions come from public lands. A new House bill aims to cut them to zero by 2040. (Vox)
Additional USA News
- How U.S. Military Aid Has Helped Ukraine Since 2014 (NPR)
- Secret Surveillance Court Rebukes FBI, DOJ With Order To Re-Validate Their Work (NPR)
- Court Orders F.B.I. to Fix National Security Wiretaps After Damning Report (NYT, $)
- EPA sued for allowing slaughterhouses to pollute waterways (Guardian)
- Federal Appeals Court Rules On Affordable Care Act Case : Shots – Health News (NPR)
- You Don’t Know Bernie Sanders (Buzzfeed)
- Young Black People Are Killing Themselves (NYT, $)
It’s Sneezin’ Season
- The 2019 flu season has already infected 2.6 million people and killed 1,300. Of those patients, 23,000 were hospitalized.
- Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious-disease expert at Vanderbilt University and medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, is “a little concerned that we’ll have a prolonged influenza season.” due to the flu season starting out stronger than average.
- Another concern this season is the prominence of the B/Victoria strain of flu virus. The B strain commonly comes around towards the end of the season (early spring), however it has already started to pop up. (NBC News) Get your flu shot!
Additional Reads
- Flushing away time: tilted toilet aims to increase employee productivity (Guardian)
- Is Sweden the best place to lose your job? (BBC)
- Deep-Sea Mining and the Race to the Bottom of the Ocean (Atlantic, $)
- Exercise advice on food labels could help reduce obesity, researchers say (CNN)
- How much should bosses be paid? (BBC)
- YouTube’s top earners: Eight-year-old tops list (BBC)
- Hollywood Takes a Back Seat to China’s Own Domestic Filmmakers at Box Office (WSJ, $)
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker — our spoiler-free review (The Verge)
- Was the Buddha an awakened prince or a humble itinerant? (Aeon)