More crazy and bigoted news that drives my depression

From the linked article in the above Joe.My.God. post.   Remember, this is a Yale history grad, claiming that is OK to honor Confederate Generals that fought the US government to keep slavery because “But at the end of the day, you know, we had people that have done great things for this country,” DeSantis said.”

Ron DeSantis doubles down on restoration of ‘iconic’ Fort Bragg name

Despite the limited scope of the DoD’s renaming, the Governor likened taking Bragg’s name off the fort to moves to “take Abraham Lincoln off the statue down in Boston … take Teddy Roosevelt down in New York City” and “remove George Washington’s name from schools in San Francisco.”

“And that’s not, I think, what I want to see. I mean, I think you can look back at anybody and you could find flaws. But at the end of the day, you know, we had people that have done great things for this country,” DeSantis said.

“I’m not in a position to say that somehow I’m so much better than any of this. It’s a different time. People make mistakes. There’s different parts of our society, we look back and can say was a mistake. But this idea that we’re going to erase history, I just think, is fundamentally wrong, and we’re not going to do that.”

Brian Curtis 2 days ago
“We shouldn’t erase history,” say Republicans who support expunging all record of Trump’s impeachments.

You Again? Brian Curtis2 days ago

And no teaching the histories of minority groups unless they reflect positively on white, christian men.

That would be too traumatic for them to bear!

Rebecca Gardner2 days ago

While we’re at it, let’s also create Fort Hirohito. Why not, he was the leader of a foreign nation that attacked the United States. Let’s run with this theme Governor Fucknutz.

carswell Hayseed2 days ago edited

Fort Rosa Parks. Black, female, uppity, liberal. The GQP will have a collective aneurysm.

mkbear682 days ago

“And here’s the thing, you know, you learn from history, you don’t erase the history” and yet history that makes students uncomfortable can’t be taught in schools…right

band💋 DmR2 days ago

That’s what happens when you’re clearly running for president of the Confederate States of America.

tbj5 Yves R. Mektin2 days ago

Trump’s an elderly sociopathic narcissist, he’s spent decades refining his charisma and reflexes to lie instantly, without hesitation and with complete believability.

Ronnie isn’t, even if he’s a sociopath himself, he’s just hungry for power and clout and tries constantly to copy Trump to try and steal his thunder and his followers. But he can never be as good a liar.

🔄arithrianos🔄2 days ago edited

Wow, he first says the name of the military base did not cause him to learn any history at all, then claims keeping the name is vital to learning the history he was totally ignorant about until they removed the name of the incompetent traitorous slaver, demonstrating he is lying through his teeth. He must have experts help him prove himself a liar like that, I don’t think he’s clever enough to figure it out himself.

TK2 days ago edited

I guess he means we learn only from white history, not the black history he is censoring in the schools. That’s erasing history, asshole!! This guy is such a lying fucking hypocrite.

Watters wanted and got the Tucker spot at fox. To get it he has to appeal to the most right wing demographics sought after by media, and to win them he has to be full open racist and the most ardent supporter of the right wing conspiracies along with pushing the idea of Christian nationalism. Hugs

Sarah2 days ago edited

So, if we make DC and Puerto Rico states, will Hawaii become “real America,” since it won’t be the most recent anymore?

Anyway, well, we know why he doesn’t think Obama is a “real American.”

vap Sarah2 days ago

No. Because in MAGA land only White, Christians are “real Americans”

John L vap2 days ago

Even then you have to be the Reich kind of “Christian”

Houndentenor Sarah2 days ago

No, he means that Obama is black and therefore not a real American because real Americans are white.

SkokieDaddy – wiener dog dad2 days ago

Now that he’s been given Tuckum’s time slot, he needs to up his hate-the-black-guy game to earn his bona fides.

Uncle Mark: HoHo-smoking homo Doug10518 hours ago

I’ll check Texas for the proper roasting temperature setting

clay 2 days ago
Between her sarcasm, mental health problems, and internalized anti-Semitism, how can I take her seriously enough to even criticize her?

Hayseed2 days ago

Who cares about the tapes or even the documents case? We need to focus on what is really important…

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Chris Baker Reality.Bitesa day ago edited

If man sees a kid playing in the street, then notice a car driving down the street, and he shrugs and says ‘free will’ and the car hits the kid, is that man a good person or a bad person?

Yet somehow Christians want to tell you that God is good, even though he allows bad things to happen. (And he could have just stopped it all by making Adam and Eve barren, or ending the world 4000 years ago.)

NotJoea day ago

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Gigia day ago

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RR Unbordered Americana day ago

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TWO MEN leaving a public restroom .
Man#1 approaches Man#2 and says:
“Excuse me sir but I noticed you didn’t wash your hands after using the urinal. I’m from Texas and in Texas we’re taught you should always wash your hands after using the restroom.”
Man#2 replies: “Well I’m from California and in California we’re taught you should’nt pee all over yourself.”

bambinoitalianoa day ago

This is Biden trying to take away our electricity! I’m going full blast until it brownout! Freedum!

Sarah bambinoitalianoa day ago

I’m going full blast until it brownout!

Happens to me after I eat bean soup.

Skeptical_Inquirer bambinoitalianoa day ago

I wish non-Dem Texans would learn to blame the GQP they vote in for the shitty state of their infrastructure but if the Ted Cruz fleeing for Cancun didn’t teach them shit . . .

Serene Pumpkin Skeptical_Inquirera day ago

The GQP has had 100% control of the state for what, 20 years? And still the fascists find ways to blame powerless Democrats

IamSmartypantsa day ago

This is really a non-issue because if the power goes out and people die, nobody can sue the power company because the Republican Texas Supreme Court just held that Republican-controlled ERCOT is immune from lawsuits. No liability = No Problem.

Secure 💪🏻 IamSmartypantsa day ago

This is nothing like the giant frozen front of 2021. We did all of this last summer. If anything, it would be rolling blackouts. We will be fine.

What, me worry?a day ago

Did they ever get around to upgrading their grid? I’m guessing it will go down and stay down for days before the 4th.

bambinoitaliano What, me worry?a day ago

No, they told everyone to kiss their grid when they rejected Beto.

Strang previously appeared here when he declared that people who oppose Trump are possessed by demons and that voting against Trump is a vote for the “apocalypse.” Also, holograms and Trump’s impeachments? Both the work of Satan. We last heard from him when he appeared in a “documentary” with Dr. Demon Semen.

Ščŏŧŧ Ċ – 🇺🇦 🕊3 days ago

What’s happening lines up with God’s Word regarding what would happen in the end times before Jesus returns.

But that’s what you want, isn’t it? Shouldn’t you be happy? I mean, your imaginary friend is going to show everyone he’s not imaginary after all. That’s a good thing, right?

Chris Baker mythictom3 days ago

There was a book, “The Late Great Planet Earth” that was popular among the end times folks. “The last days are nigh!” Published in 1970. 53 years ago. And even in the late 1800s, preachers were saying the end times were near.

They literally pray “Lord come quickly!” But then complain about all the “signs of the end times” as if that’s a bad thing. They should be working -toward- the ‘one world government” and a global currency and world peace and “the mark of the beast” because that’s what will bring the rapture. (Your eschatology may vary).

Harveyrabbit 🐱3 days ago

Expelled from caucus. AKA thrown back in the pen.

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This is basically the attempt by white supremacists to prevent the natural decline of white majority / supremacy in the US. They are terrified over the demographics that shows the steady decline of the white majority and the increase in non-white people. It terrifies them because they fear being treated as they have treated POC all during the history of the US. They want to remain the unchallenged authority they have always been. This denies everything we understand about culture and human development, not to mention what the US has always stood for. We are better / stronger / improved the more we blend and add to our prior society. Hey if you treat others that are different from you decently, they will do the same to you. If you act like an asshole toward them, they might do the same back. The thing to understand is be a decent nice person to others. Remember race is a social construct. We are all humans. We may look different but we really are the same species. Do dogs or cats of different colors be racist against each other, and should they, as they are all dogs or cats. Hugs

Todd20036 Rex3 days ago

DeSantis is worse than trump. He’s smarter, more ambitious, and actually wants to rule the country

Trump just wants the pomp and circumstances

Darreth TexasBoy3 days ago

Yes… and look which demographic he’s coddling. They’ll fall totally in line with him. Evangelicals always find the worst in humanity to align themselves with

NorthBayFella Dave B3 days ago

I don’t do 1930s/40s comparisons lightly or often, but DeSantis could certainly be someone to take us down a
similar road, just a 2020s version of it. He’s already taking actions in that vein — shipping human beings like cargo, book bannings, etc. I’m not suggesting it could be a literal Holocaust, but he will seriously and intentionally harm a lot of Americans (and more so, people wanting to become Americans) before he would be done. A lot of people would die.

Also, I’m not not saying he wouldn’t cause a literal Holocaust, either.

JackFknTwist a day ago edited
O/T : –
At the risk of having only one tune, I don’t think it can be said often enough that in their doctrinaire zealotry the conservative Justices of the Supreme Court have betrayed their underlying hypocrisy.
In their preening self-importance all they have exposed is their lack on any integrity, their enthusiasm to lie at any opportunity and their shallow semblance of probity.
What we have on the US Supreme Court is a few liars, charlatans and those willing to prostitute themselves at the alter of the Federalist Society on the one hand and to rich ‘grooming’ billionaires on the other.
Was there ever a Supreme Court so compromised?

The_Wretched JackFknTwista day ago

Yes, 1937 or so. Towards the end of the “gilded age”, the SCOTUS was as virulently anti-decency as Alito and Thomas are now. FDR, then president, make a threat to “pack” (unfvck) the court and the court suddenly changed its tune on what the law was. Then the plan to fix the court fell apart.

There’s some suggestion that a similar thing may have happened between last term and this one with regard to KNAW, Roberts and Raspberry Baret. They have not gone along with the same degree of YOLO-ALITO that marked last year / the Dobbs Term.

SkokieDaddy – wiener dog dada day ago

“I’m in capable of crafting legislation that respects the constitution. Vote for me for president” – Ron DeSantis

[Please clap]

NotMiguela day ago

They can’t win on real issues that matter to people so we’ll have lots of noise on wedge issues over the next year. Brown people invading, drag queen groomers and Susie has to call her teacher they/them at school.

rednekokiea day ago

DeSantis keeps trying to resurrect the infamous Jones commission – which attemped to erase homosexuality from all colleges and other schools throughout the state some 50 years ago, along with the actions of Senator Joseph McCarthy, who tried it nationally. The only result was the ruining of the reputations and hopes of over 200 students and faculty in Florida.
This is evil in its strongest form.

Nic Peterson Ed B21 hours ago

Most of this is Florida law, so US SCOTUS is largely irrelevant unless there is a conflict with Federal Law. The Florida SCOTUS is packed with bigots, in a large sense the fate of Florida rests in the hands of the appellate courts.

Nic Peterson Sam_Handwich21 hours ago

That’s gonna be the kicker. We already know the FLSC is packed with bigots. The appellate courts are either going to side with a dictator or with the republic that placed them in their robes.

Ninja0980 Sam_Handwicha day ago

The 11th Circuit (thanks to Patrick Leahy’s stupidity) and SCOTUS are controlled by bigots who will uphold this shit.

Ouch It Bit Mea day ago

I feel like this is part of the whole make shit up and get it to the current Supreme Court so they can declare god and church and money or whatever. Like the website bitch in Colorado and the made up gay client.

Uncle Mark: HoHo-smoking homoa day ago

Win or lose, Tater will screech about how he’s “fighting for families* and against woke culture & a woke & woke judges.” Others will be smart enough to point out his losses or how vaguely worded his laws are, but at the end of the day, DePudding will declare himself “the great fighter for American values*”

* values & families don’t include individuals, friends or family of the LGBTQ, nonChristians, nor nonWhite racial groups. Additional exclusions not listed or implied are applicable by the tiny dictator

GladysKravitza day ago

DeFascist can indeed get the country on a different path –
Here’s what Ron DeFascist has accomplished –
– LGBT students cannot discuss their personal lives with teachers or counselors, making them feel marginalized, alone, and possibly increasing their risks of suicide. Some parents with LGBT family members are moving out of the state. State ACLU currently suing to end this.
– Universities are unsure what they can or cannot teach based on the whims of literally one man. GOP prefer students to be inculcated with cheap cheerleading America First nationalism (this shut down by a judge, results pending)
– History teachers can’t teach about the truth of American racism and black history because it might upset white people
– Some teachers are seeking employment in another state.
– A school principal had to resign because one of her teachers showed students a picture of Michelangelo’s David.
– A teacher is under investigation because she showed 13 year olds a Disney movie with a gay character.
– Women who discover they’re pregnant after 6 weeks, and are unable to have a child, can’t get an abortion in Florida, even though there should be retroactive abortion, Don Jr. lives there
– Property taxes and insurance costs are becoming unaffdable
– Million dollar contracts are given to DeFascist’s donors
– 87,141 people died of Covid in Florida. Less would have died had there been the slightest of protective measures taken, but DeFascist didn’t allow that.
– Hispanic farm and construction workers are not going to work out of fear of DeFascist’s draconian rules to punish undocumented workers and their bosses. Hispanic truckers are refusing to deliver to the state. Farm products are rotting while remaining unpicked.
– Students and companies who support diversity and inclusion are no longer allowed to do so.
– Trans children can no longer get medical care, use bathroom of pronouns of their choice (this shut down by a judge, results pending)
– a court could temporarily remove children from their homes if they receive gender-affirming care
– LGBT people who seek medical care can be denied it if they’re unlucky enough to have a religious fanatic doctor.
– Drag queens can be arrested for appearing in drag in public where children can see them. (this shut down by a judge, results pending)
– Any idiot can buy a gun without a permit, training, or with or without a criminal record.
– Disney, the state’s largest employer, is suing DeFascist because of politically motivated harassment after he started a fight with them because they don’t approve of his anti-LGBT laws. Disney cancelled a $1 billion construction project that would have brought the state over 2,000 jobs.
– More to come. White retirees probably love him because he’s getting rid of the blacks, gays, immigrants and other assorted annoyances. DeSantis calls Florida “the freest state in America.” Actually you’re free to move here, retire and die.

BartmanLA2 days ago

Fantastic news! The world is evolving, but sadly the GQP and TFG will do everything in their power to stop equality in this country from becoming pernanent and legal. I’m sure TFG is probalby labelling Nepal as one of those shit hole countries he doesn’t like.

Gianni2 days ago

Apparently, our evangelical and assorted radical Christian groups, who hate us with the love of God, didn’t know where Nepal is or didn’t know such a country existed. I’ll bet they’re boning up on their geography now.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports:
Two protesters offended by a Pride exhibit at the Rancho Peñasquitos Library have checked out nearly all the books in the display and vowed to keep them until the library eliminates what they call “inappropriate content” for children. The anti-gay protest is the latest example of a growing national backlash against Pride exhibits, which experts say has been fueled by debates over how schools should handle transgender minors.
The Rancho Peñasquitos protest ratchets up the usual backlash San Diego library branches experience when they create Pride exhibits or host events like drag queen story times, said head librarian Misty Jones. The protesters, Peñasquitos residents Amy Vance and Martha Martin, said libraries are open, public spaces for children that should be free of references to gender identity and how adults experience sexual attraction.
Read the full article. A local city council member is raising money to buy additional copies of the books.

Phil in Colorado2 days ago

I’m starting to think this is a matter for the police. They checked them out and stated that they have no intention of returning them unless the library does exactly what they want. Last I checked, that’s called theft.

MrRobotoLA Phil in Colorado2 days ago

They get 5 renewals, unless the items have holds on them. So I urge anyone and everyone in San Diego who is disgusted by their motives to place holds. MANY HOLDS. That way they will be required to return the items or be turned in to a collections agency. That will also likely block their library privileges to borrow any other materials. If it goes beyond that, it is indeed theft.

nocadrummer2 days ago

I had a home in a small town for nearly 30 years. It had a small library, maybe twice the size of the one in my high school. The “Christians” would come in and check out ALL the non-Christian religious books and never return them. It was their way of making sure people couldn’t learn about other religions. And this was before Trump and the MAGA folks.
If your religion of “Christianity” is SO GREAT, it should be able to prove itself against the others by its merits and ideals, not by making the beliefs of others unobtainable.

astroworf2 days ago

Damn these people. A book offered me permission not to hate myself for being who I am.

*** Editor note ***  It was books that gave me my escape from my life.  It was books that let me leave the life of abuse, hurt, and fear I was living constantly at home, in my home.  It was books that let me understand I was not a horrible abomination in life that was going to do horrible things and die in a gutter as my adoptive parents (the ones beating and sexually abusing me and letting their kids do so) claimed long before they even knew I was gay, that I did not need to suffer in silence, (Which I did for most of my life).   These books that these people are trying to ban and deny to the very kids that need them meant so much to me and other kids.  Please do not let them.  Look in the 1950s these people want to revert the social and country to there were no of these kinds of books, no positive representatives in media, but gay, lesbian, and trans kids still existed.  I am going to post a video about a old long time soap opera about gay people and the damage hate can do.   Hugs.


2 days ago

When you say “wife,” “husband,” “fiancé,” “girlfriend,” etc.–all commonly heard from heterosexuals–you are inserting sexuality in public spaces where children are or may be.

Darreth weshlovrcm2 days ago

Mere gender identification on a bathroom door is the actual issue here. These delusional evangelicals are literally incapable of connecting the dots on gender/sexual expression issues.

Houndentenor Flatlander – TXPoast3 days ago

I’m currently reading a book about the John Birch Society and everything they are doing now is the same shit the Birchers were doing in the 50s and 60s. Only back then MSM and even the GOP leadership weren’t on their side.

Hank: NO MORE WoW!!! 3 days ago
Once again, the GQP TAKES AWAY RIGHTS & POWER FROM THE CITIZENS!!!!

ChipSF weshlovrcm3 days ago

They don’t care about corporations either. They only want Republicans to hold the power over everything – people, corporations, city councils, school boards, etc.

Kyle Childress3 days ago

Republicans sure don’t like people voting, do they? They’ll overturn elections, make it harder for statewide resolutions to pass, throw out elected officials they don’t like, and now this. Democrats might wish to mention this on the campaign trail.

Melissia3 days ago

Kinda like how Texas has created special rules that only apply to specific counties that vote mostly Democratic that take away aspects of self-governance from them.

Fascists love centralizing power.

Florida bill allowing radioactive roads made of potentially cancer-causing mining waste signed by DeSantis

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-radioactive-roads-phosphogypsum-potentially-cancer-causing-mining-waste-bill-signed-ron-desantis/

Florida governor and presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis signed a bill Thursday that would allow for roads across Florida to be made with “radioactive” mining waste that has been linked to cancer. 

The measure, brought forward by the state House, adds phosphogypsum to a list of “recyclable materials” that state officials say can be used in road construction. 

The list already included ground rubber from car tires, ash residue from coal combustion byproducts, recycled mixed-plastic, glass and construction steel, which officials had previously determined are “part of the solid waste stream and that contribute to problems of declining space in landfills.” 

Piney Point Wastewater Reservoir
An aerial view of the partially drained New Gypsum Stack South wastewater reservoir at Piney Point in Palmetto, Florida, on May 4, 2021. The reservoir held about 480 million gallons of water in March and was in danger of collapsing and flooding the area. THOMAS O’NEILL/NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES

But unlike most of those products, phosphogypsum is not a material that is aggregated in landfills. It’s the remains left behind from mining phosphate, which is described by the EPA as being a “radioactive material” because it contains “small amounts” of uranium and radium. 

Phosphate rock is mined to create fertilizer, but the leftover material, known as phosphogypsum, had decaying remains of those elements that eventually produce radon. That substance is known as a “potentially cancer-causing, radioactive gas,” a spokesperson for the EPA previously told CBS News. And because of that risk, phosphogypsum is federally required to be stored in gypstack systems – not landfills – in an attempt to prevent it from coming in contact with people and the environment. 

“The Clean Air Act regulations require that phosphogypsum be managed in engineered stacks to limit public exposure from emissions of radon and other radionuclides in the material,” an EPA spokesperson previously told CBS News. 

Before it can be used, the state’s Department of Transportation will need to conduct a study to “evaluate the suitability” of its use, the bill says, and “may consider any prior or ongoing studies of phosphogypsum’s road suitability in the fulfillment of this duty.” That task must be completed by April 1, 2024. 

DeSantis has not yet publicly commented on the signing of this bill, and CBS News has reached out for a statement.

Elise Bennett, Florida and Caribbean director and attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement that the bill is a “reckless handout to the fertilizer industry.” 

“Gov. DeSantis is paving the way to a toxic legacy generations of Floridians will have to grapple with,” Bennett said. “This opens the door for dangerous radioactive waste to be dumped in roadways across the state, under the guise of a so-called feasibility study that won’t address serious health and safety concerns.” 

What makes phosphogypsum so risky?

Radon, the gas emitted from phosphogypsum, trails just smoking to rank as the second-leading cause of lung cancer, and is linked to about 21,000 lung cancer deaths every year in the U.S., according to the EPA. The agency also says it’s the “single greatest environmental source of radiation exposure.”  

Because of this threat, the EPA has banned the use of phosphogypsum in projects for decades. However, a spokesperson for the agency previously told CBS News that it is permitted for agricultural and indoor research, with restrictions, and it can be approved for specific uses if the project “is at least as protective of human health as placement in a stack.” 

In a statement to CBS News on Friday, the EPA said that the passing of the legislation, HB 1191, “does not affect EPA’s regulation of phosphogypsum,” noting the legislation specifies that the phosphogypsum be used “in accordance with the conditions” of the agency. 

“Any request for a specific use of phosphogypsum in roads will need to be submitted to EPA,” the spokesperson said, “as EPA’s approval is legally required before the material can be used in road construction.”

If it is approved, the EPA previously told CBS News it would “open a public comment period, make any applications and our technical analysis of those applications publicly available, and seek input on the proposed decision.”

Florida’s history of phosphogypsum problems

Phosphate mining has been an ongoing source of contention within Florida for decades. This issue has most recently been seen in the controversy surrounding Piney Point, a former phosphate mining facility in the Gulf Coast’s Manatee County — that after several years of problems — had a nearly “catastrophic” breach in 2021 that resulted in 215 million gallons of water with environmentally toxic levels of nutrients ending up in Tampa Bay within just 10 days.

 

It was found to be a contributor to a red tide event and massive fish kill in the area in the following months. It lead to a lawsuit from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection, and prompted Florida lawmakers to budget $3 million to clean up the site.

Ragan Whitlock, a staff attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, told CBS News when the bill was introduced that “history has shown wherever this waste goes, environmental contamination has followed.” 

The state has 25 gypstacks, several of which have had leaks, sinkholes and other issues arise throughout their lifespans. In May, more than 20 organizations, including the Center for Biological Diversity, urged DeSantis to veto the bill

“No environmentally conscious or ‘green’ governor worth his salt would ever sign a bill into law approving roadbuilding with radioactive materials,” Rachael Curran, an attorney with People for Protecting Peace River, said in the letter urging the governor’s decision. 

And even with the promise of the state’s Department of Transportation looking at conducting a study or considering one that has already been done, Whitlock told CBS News he has “very little confidence” in the state’s “ability to manage this project.” 

“The feasibility study that the Florida Department of Transportation would create is only aimed at addressing whether this would be a suitable construction material,” he said. “The Florida Department of Transportation is not in the position to make a finding about the health and safety of this product to Floridians and our environment.”

 

For more information on the damage to the Florida environment and the harm to residents, read the following.   Sure will help get tourist dollars, won’t it.    Hugs.

https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/manatee/2021/04/06/piney-point-retention-pond-what-you-need-know-tuesday-florida-wastewater-leak/7103334002/

Piney Point: What you need to know on Tuesday, April 6 about evacuations, Florida wastewater leak

https://www.heraldtribune.com/videos/news/2023/06/28/manatee-county-mosquito-control/12178802002/

<iframe title=”HERALDTRIBUNE-Embed Player” width=”540″ height=”350″ frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no” allowfullscreen=”true” marginheight=”0″ marginwidth=”0″ src=”https://uw-media.heraldtribune.com/embed/video/12178802002?placement=snow-embed”></iframe&gt;

  • More than 300 hundred homes and multiple businesses in the area around Piney Point have been evacuated.
  • A state of emergency has been declared by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for Manatee, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.
  • State and local officials are coordinating efforts.

Herald-Tribune journalists are covering the situation in Piney Point and possible impacts to the area, like we have for over 20 years. Local journalism like this is supported by our readers. If you’re a subscriber we thank you. And if you’d like to subscribe, please see our current offers here.

***

Last week, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection approved the pumping of wastewater into the Tampa Bay ecosystem from a retention pond at Piney Point – a former phosphate plant in Manatee County. A leak in the liner of the reservoir has caused a partial breach in one of the containment walls and officials hope that pumping more than 30 million gallons of wastewater out of the reservoir will relieve pressure on the walls and reduce the chance of an uncontrolled major breach.

More than 300 hundred homes and multiple businesses in the area around Piney Point have been evacuated. State and local officials are coordinating efforts and a state of emergency has been declared by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for Manatee, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.

  
The shoreline along Tampa Bay, just north of Port Manatee and Piney Point.  Millions of gallons of wastewater are being pumped into Tampa Bay at Port Manatee in an effort to avoid a catastrophic failure of a containment wall at Piney Point.
 
 
 
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The shoreline along Tampa Bay, just north of Port Manatee and Piney Point. Millions of gallons of wastewater are being pumped into Tampa Bay at Port Manatee in an effort to avoid a catastrophic failure of a containment wall at Piney Point.
MIKE LANG, SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE
This still image from video shows the breach in the containment wall of the Piney Point reservoir. United States Congressman Vern Buchanan toured Piney Point Monday, Apr. 5, 2021, getting a look at the breach in the containment wall, the pumping outflow and Port Manatee where the wastewater is being pumped into Tampa Bay.
 
 
 
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This still image from video shows the breach in the containment wall of the Piney Point reservoir. United States Congressman Vern Buchanan toured Piney Point Monday, Apr. 5, 2021, getting a look at the breach in the containment wall, the pumping outflow and Port Manatee where the wastewater is being pumped into Tampa Bay.
MIKE LANG, SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE
 
Wastewater from Piney Point is flowing into Tampa Bay at this berth at Port Manatee. United States Congressman Vern Buchanan toured Piney Point Monday, Apr. 5, 2021, getting a look at the breach in the containment wall, the pumping outflow and Port Manatee where the wastewater is being pumped into Tampa Bay.
 
 
 
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Wastewater from Piney Point is flowing into Tampa Bay at this berth at Port Manatee. United States Congressman Vern Buchanan toured Piney Point Monday, Apr. 5, 2021, getting a look at the breach in the containment wall, the pumping outflow and Port Manatee where the wastewater is being pumped into Tampa Bay.
MIKE LANG, SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE
United States Congressman Vern Buchanan toured Piney Point Monday, Apr. 5, 2021, getting a look at the breach in the containment wall, the pumping outflow and Port Manatee where the wastewater is being pumped into Tampa Bay.
 
 
 
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United States Congressman Vern Buchanan toured Piney Point Monday, Apr. 5, 2021, getting a look at the breach in the containment wall, the pumping outflow and Port Manatee where the wastewater is being pumped into Tampa Bay.
MIKE LANG, SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE
Wastewater being pumped from the Piney Point reservoir flows into Tampa Bay at Port Manatee, via this water-filled ditch in the center of this image. United States Congressman Vern Buchanan toured Piney Point Monday, Apr. 5, 2021, getting a look at the breach in the containment wall, the pumping outflow and Port Manatee where the wastewater is being pumped into Tampa Bay.
 
 
 
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Wastewater being pumped from the Piney Point reservoir flows into Tampa Bay at Port Manatee, via this water-filled ditch in the center of this image. United States Congressman Vern Buchanan toured Piney Point Monday, Apr. 5, 2021, getting a look at the breach in the containment wall, the pumping outflow and Port Manatee where the wastewater is being pumped into Tampa Bay.
MIKE LANG, SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE
 
Wastewater from Piney Point is flowing into Tampa Bay at this berth at Port Manatee.  United States Congressman Vern Buchanan toured Piney Point Monday, Apr. 5, 2021, getting a look at the breach in the containment wall, the pumping outflow and Port Manatee where the wastewater is being pumped into Tampa Bay.
 
 
 
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Wastewater from Piney Point is flowing into Tampa Bay at this berth at Port Manatee. United States Congressman Vern Buchanan toured Piney Point Monday, Apr. 5, 2021, getting a look at the breach in the containment wall, the pumping outflow and Port Manatee where the wastewater is being pumped into Tampa Bay.
MIKE LANG, SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE
Wastewater being pumped from the Piney Point reservoir flows into this ditch and into Tampa Bay. United States Congressman Vern Buchanan toured Piney Point Monday, Apr. 5, 2021, getting a look at the breach in the containment wall, the pumping outflow and Port Manatee where the wastewater is being pumped into Tampa Bay.
 
 
 
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Wastewater being pumped from the Piney Point reservoir flows into this ditch and into Tampa Bay. United States Congressman Vern Buchanan toured Piney Point Monday, Apr. 5, 2021, getting a look at the breach in the containment wall, the pumping outflow and Port Manatee where the wastewater is being pumped into Tampa Bay.
MIKE LANG, SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE
Wastewater being pumped from the Piney Point reservoir flows into this ditch and into Tampa Bay. United States Congressman Vern Buchanan toured Piney Point Monday, Apr. 5, 2021, getting a look at the breach in the containment wall, the pumping outflow and Port Manatee where the wastewater is being pumped into Tampa Bay.
 
 
 
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Wastewater being pumped from the Piney Point reservoir flows into this ditch and into Tampa Bay. United States Congressman Vern Buchanan toured Piney Point Monday, Apr. 5, 2021, getting a look at the breach in the containment wall, the pumping outflow and Port Manatee where the wastewater is being pumped into Tampa Bay.
MIKE LANG, SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE
 
The wastewater containment ponds at the old Piney Point fertilizer plant property in Manatee County. A breach in a containment pond wall led to more than 200 million gallons of polluted water being dumped into Tampa Bay. Florida lawmakers have included $100 million in the 2021-2022 budget for the Piney Point cleanup effort, among other budget earmarks targeted at projects in Sarasota or Manatee counties.
 
 
 
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The wastewater containment ponds at the old Piney Point fertilizer plant property in Manatee County. A breach in a containment pond wall led to more than 200 million gallons of polluted water being dumped into Tampa Bay. Florida lawmakers have included $100 million in the 2021-2022 budget for the Piney Point cleanup effort, among other budget earmarks targeted at projects in Sarasota or Manatee counties.
MIKE LANG/HERALD-TRIBUNE FILE
Congressman Vern Buchanan got an aerial tour of the Piney Point reservoir breach, pumping outflow and Tampa Bay on Monday, Apr. 5th
 
 
 
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Congressman Vern Buchanan got an aerial tour of the Piney Point reservoir breach, pumping outflow and Tampa Bay on Monday, Apr. 5th
MIKE LANG
 

What is the situation at Piney Point on Tuesday?

The strategy of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and other agencies working on Piney Point is to reduce the amount water so that there is less pressure on the damaged reservoir retaining walls, in order to prevent a catastrophic breach that could send a massive wall of water into the surrounding area.

After pumping more than 30 million gallons of wastewater each day from Piney Point into Tampa Bay, the amount of water in the Piney Point retention pond has dropped to under 300 million gallons, down from approximately 480 million gallons last week at this time.

The addition of new federal and state resources should increase the rate at which water can be pumped out of Piney Point.

April 6 updates:U.S. 41 reopens; mandatory evacuation order remains in place

Is the wastewater radioactive?:Your questions about the leak answered

Wastewater being pumped from the Piney Point reservoir flows into this ditch and into Tampa Bay. United States Congressman Vern Buchanan toured Piney Point Monday, Apr. 5, 2021, getting a look at the breach in the containment wall, the pumping outflow and Port Manatee where the wastewater is being pumped into Tampa Bay.
 

Is there a second breach in the Piney Point retention pond?

While the leaking wastewater containment pond wall at the old Piney Point fertilizer plant site continues to be a critical situation, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection said Monday that concerns about a possible second breach in the wall have proven to be unfounded.

Manatee County officials said that a drone equipped with thermal imaging equipment identified a possible second breach in the wall at 2 a.m. Monday. An investigation later determined that the area identified was not another wall failure, according to the DEP.

“Our technical team and our engineers came in and evaluated and determined there was no second breach,” said DEP Spokeswoman Shannon Herbon.

DEP official says no second breach in Piney Point retention pond wall

The shoreline along Tampa Bay, just north of Port Manatee and Piney Point.  Millions of gallons of wastewater are being pumped into Tampa Bay at Port Manatee in an effort to avoid a catastrophic failure of a containment wall at Piney Point.
 

What are the environmental impacts of pumping Piney Point wastewater into Tampa Bay?

Environmental groups say they worry that recent releases from a Piney Point wastewater treatment facility will eventually fuel an algae bloom that could impact coastal Southwest Florida. 

Nutrient-rich waters from the treatment facility will offset natural balances in the coastal estuaries and will eventually end up in the Gulf of Mexico, where red tide initiates. 

The region was partially crippled during a 17-month red tide bloom that started in the fall of 2017 and lasted until the spring of 2019.

Piney Point waters may fuel harmful algae bloom along Southwest Florida coast

Gov. DeSantis updated the Piney Point situation (April 4, 2021) during a Sunday morning press conference held at Manatee County's Public Safety Department in Bradenton.
 

What will happen to Piney Point once this crisis is over?

State lawmakers are pushing a bill to fund a complete cleanup and closure of the phosphogypsum stacks at Piney Point with American Rescue Plan funds, an effort that could cost upwards of $200 million.

On Monday evening, Senate President Wilton Simpson (R-Trilby) announced that the Senate will consider a budget amendment on Wednesday when it considers Senate Bill 2500, known as the General Appropriations Act.

Florida Senate seeks to use federal COVID relief money to clean up Piney Point site

"It's leaked before and they didn't fix it -- please don't put another band-aid on this" -- local resident Bill Schafer. BILLY COX| HERALD-TRIBUNE
 

What about evacuations for people living near Piney Point?

More than 300 households and numerous businesses have been evacuated and those evacuation orders are still active.

On Monday, Manatee County Public Safety  reported that the county has had to help relocate more people among the more than 300 households that were covered by the mandatory evacuation around the Piney Point wastewater reservoir. 102 residents have now been provided shelter at local hotels with the assistance of Manatee County and the Red Cross.

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Join us as we delve into the intriguing clash between science and creationism. In this thought-provoking video, Did Dinosaurs Coexist with Humans? we explore the discrepancies between the existence of dinosaurs and the biblical timeline. From unravelling the age of dinosaurs to examining the compatibility of scientific evidence and religious beliefs, we uncover the truth behind Young Earth Creationism. Prepare for a captivating journey that challenges long-held assumptions and sheds light on the fascinating debate surrounding dinosaurs and the Bible. Don’t miss out on this eye-opening exploration of the Dinosaur-Bible Conundrum!

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Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Thoughts on Transgenderism

Randy sent me this and I love Neil’s answer to the questions Shapiro is asking.  “Why do you care”  Basically Tyson’s answer was “what is your goal, is it to restrict other people’s freedoms”?   He did not let that go, even as hard as Shapiro tried to change the topic to some claim of harm to children.   Tyson made clear that it did not matter what area of science it fell into, if it was biological or phycological, the fact is it exists and should be respected.   Hugs

How did rocks become knobbly and bumpy? – a basic geology guide.

Turtles Around the World Are Basking in Moonlight

https://www.treehugger.com/turtles-around-the-world-basking-moonlight-7375648

Thanks to Ali for sending me the link.   In case it has not been clear to most people, I love wild life, learning about nature, and trying to be a good steward to the planet Earth.   I want to care for and keep well the environment I need to live, and that includes keeping all the diverse species alive as possible.  Perhaps the one thing I took from my years of being in the SDA religion was the idea that mankind was given dominion over the planet and its life forms but demanded to care for and nurture it.  That is why the current idea from right wing religious groups that humans can trash the environment with impunity because god will fix it seems so strange to me.   Maybe our friends of the blog who are of different religious faiths will weigh in and give us their opinions, as I am serious, I don’t understand the idea of destroying the place you need to live.   Last I knew this was the only place within our reach that can support us, maybe we should do everything we can to keep it healthy?     Hugs

A new study is the first of its kind to document the widespread basking of freshwater turtles at night.

Freshwater turtle basking at night
Freshwater turtle basking at night. Image captured for study on nocturnal basking habits.

Dr Donald McKnight / La Trobe University

While the rest of us are sleeping, freshwater turtles from Central America to Asia are slinking out of the water and basking at night. There have been occasional anecdotal reports of this behavior before, but now a new study is the first to document the widespread occurrence. The findings suggest that nocturnal basking “may be a common and almost entirely overlooked aspect of many species’ ecology,” write the authors.

 

The study was led by La Trobe University and published in Global Ecology and Conservation. In it, the authors document nocturnal basking in six families of freshwater turtle species, occurring in Central America, Trinidad and Tobago, Seychelles, Africa, Asia, and Australia.

 

Postdoctoral Researcher at La Trobe University Dr. Donald McKnight said he and a colleague, Dr. Eric Nordberg from the University of New England, first observed freshwater turtles nocturnal basking at the Ross River in Townsville, Australia.

 

“We think it’s related to temperature. The water is staying so warm at night that it’s actually warmer than the turtles like to be and they can cool down by coming out of the water,” says McKnight.

 

“It’s widespread across the turtle family tree, with the caveat that it is only in the tropics and the subtropics where it occurs,” he added. “They were coming up at night and sitting on logs exhibiting very much the same behavior they do during the day; when we looked into it, it wasn’t something that turtles reportedly did.”

 

For the study, researchers from around the world did what anyone would do when wondering what turtles do at night: They put cameras on basking logs to monitor the nocturnal activity of as many freshwater turtle species as possible.

 

The cameras were set up in 25 locations across Australia, Belize, Germany, India, Seychelles, Senegal, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States, and South Africa. They were programmed to take a photo every two minutes; they captured data on 29 species from seven of the freshwater turtle families.

 
Freshwater crocodile and turtles daytime basking in Townsville Queensland
Freshwater crocodile and turtles daytime basking in Townsville Queensland. Image taken as part of the study on nocturnal basking.

Dr. Eric Nordberg / The University of New England

It would be lovely to think the turtles are just enjoying some leisure time when things are quiet and the diurnal world is asleep. But the researchers note that in most cases, the turtles emerged from the water when the water was too warm and the air was cooler. Given the warming planet, that’s admittedly a bit depressing. However, not all of the nighttime baskers were escaping too-warm water. From the study:

 

“… [T]urtles in India exhibited more nocturnal basking on cooler nights, rather than warmer nights, and P. adansonii in Africa spent more time basking nocturnally in winter than in summer. The reasons for these differences are unclear. It may be that at some sites or seasons, turtles are escaping unfavourably warm water temperatures, while at others, they are taking advantage of the warm tropical air to increase their body temperature and escape unfavourably cold water.”

 

“Alternatively,” the authors add, “at some locations, nocturnal basking may not be directly for the purpose of thermoregulation, but the higher night-time temperatures in the tropics may allow turtles to emerge for other purposes, such as predator avoidance.”

 

Regardless of the “why” behind different species’ reasons for midnight basking, it’s a fascinating look at behavior not previously documented by scientists. And it is at least heartening to know that turtles are figuring out important behaviors tied to thermoregulation. As the study concludes, this “could have implications for turtles’ persistence and behavioural changes under climate change.”

 

The study “Nocturnal basking in freshwater turtles: a global assessment,” was published in Global Ecology and Conservation.

High egg prices send profits at largest US producer soaring more than 700%

https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/29/business/egg-profits-cal-maine/

Price gouging!   Profit is king even if it kills people.   The inflation the US is experiencing is mostly being caused by greed and unheard of profit by major companies doing price gouging.   Yet few elected officials are talking about it and few news organizations are reporting it.   Instead, even when hit with it during a congressional hearing Jerome Powell insists that the rates hikes will keep going until there is a return to large unemployment.   Why?  Because the wealthy are terrified of the power working people have right now in the labor market.   They want that quashed, stomped down until the old status quo returns where companies could set any low wage and bad working conditions and the workers had to accept that.  That is what the rate hikes are about, and Powell even admits that he wants high unemployment even as it hurts the working people and the poor.    Now it is starting to be made more public how corporations have been raking in record profits including the big oil companies that kept gas prices as high as possible, including railroad companies even as they cut the work force to the bare minimum to the point of only having two workers for even miles long trains, and it also includes food producing companies.   Stop to think of how everything people need and use went up in price the companies blamed it on everything from supply issues to in the case of eggs / chick on bird flu / death of the chickens.   Yet these same companies have kept raising prices even as all the issues they claimed were causing the price increases have been solved and gone away.   Hugs

Cal-Maine Foods, the largest egg producer in the United States, reported revenue doubled and profit surged 718% last quarter because of sharply higher egg prices.

The company, which controls about 20% of the US egg market according to Reuters, said its average selling price for a dozen eggs in the quarter ending February 25 was $3.30, more than double the average of $1.61 a year earlier. Despite the higher prices, the total number of eggs it sold edged up 1%, so its overall revenue rose 109% to $997.5 million.

That doubling of revenue was nothing compared to its profits, however. Net income soared to $323.2 million from only $39.5 million a year ago.

The jump in revenue and profit had been expected but easily topped forecasts. Shares of Cal-Maine (CALM) were up 4% in premarket trading.

A deadly and highly infectious avian flu has forced US farmers to kill millions of egg-laying hens, reducing the country’s egg supply and driving up prices. But Cal-Maine said in its earnings statement that there have been no positive tests for avian flu at any of its owned or contracted production facilities.

Egg producers’ pricing decisions have been criticized by some politicians, who accuse them of profiteering and price gouging.

“American families working to put food on the table deserve to know whether the increased prices they are paying for eggs represent a legitimate response to reduced supply or out-of-control corporate greed,” said a letter sent by Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Katie Porter to Cal-Maine and other major egg producers last month.

Cal-Maine did not immediately respond early Wednesday to a request for comment about the letter.

Egg prices did start to retreat slightly in the government’s most recent inflation reading for February, but are still up more than 55% from a year earlier.

 

So inflation is bullshit and we’re just being gouged

Yup. There is no inflation like there was in the 70s. Corporate profits are at record highs.

Pure, unadulterated greed. Raise taxes on our profits? We’ll show you….

Or, we’re being gouged which in turn CAUSES inflation.

Eggs start at $6 where I am. Sometimes you can find them for $3.99 at Trader Joes. Reading this article, the egg producers are behaving just like oil companies. Manufacturing a fake crises and then jacking up prices,

I read that about 1% of layers were put down. That’s it.

That’s what we’ve been told.
But reading the article, it says production is up by 1% and profits by 700%.

Only 1% werre put down. The prices are a manufactured crisis.

Huh, so higher egg prices were caused by price gouging which is possible because we’ve allowed consolidation to wipe out real competition? Who could possibly have guessed that?

This is price gouging. Yes, if your costs go up, you have to raise prices, but if you just raised prices by the amount your costs increased, then profits would stay relatively the same.

When the tax on beer went up a quarter per case, the price increased by a dollar a six pack.