Links

https://www.npr.org/2018/09/18/648722358/supreme-court-orders-disclosure-for-dark-money-as-new-report-unveils-some-donors
Sept. 18, 2018
The Supreme Court on Tuesday insisted that many donations to predominantly conservative political nonprofit groups — what's often called dark money — be disclosed, seven weeks ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.
The ruling closes, at least for now, a loophole that has allowed wealthy donors to finance aggressive ads while staying anonymous. Crafted by the Federal Election Commission nearly 40 years ago, the loophole flourished after the 2010 Citizens United ruling.
The court set aside an order issued by Chief Justice John Roberts on Saturday.


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/1-7-million-chickens-drown-175600464.html
Sept. 18, 2018
About 1.7 million chickens have been killed in flooding from Florence as rising North Carolina rivers swamped at least 60 farm buildings where the animals were being raised for market, according to a major poultry producer.


[This article includes a slide show of the effects of the storm, esp. flooding:]
https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2018-09-17-florence-flooding-north-south-carolina?cm_ven=wu_videos
Sept. 18, 2018
Hurricane Florence, now a post-tropical cyclone, resumed its second week of impacts with much of the same – flooding that cut off entire towns, water rescues in parts of the Carolinas that have been inundated, and more tragedy.
The storm is responsible for at least 35 deaths – 27 in North Carolina, six in South Carolina and two in Virginia.
Don't use map apps: Because of the aggressive flooding, road closures are a fluid situation, and navigation apps are having trouble keeping up. Therefore, officials have warned drivers to not use the apps, as they could lead travelers into flooded or closed roads.
The worst for many may still be coming. Rivers including the Little Pee Dee, the Waccamaw, the Great Pee Dee, the Lumber, and the Black are expected to reach or exceed flood levels this week.


https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/sep/18/epa-methane-pollution-rule-rolled-back-health-warning
Sept. 18, 2018
The Trump administration is rolling back Obama-era standards to limit planet-warming methane pollution from oil and gas operations on federal lands.
Environmental advocates said retracting the regulation would contribute to global warming and cause more smog-forming pollution that can cause heart and lung illnesses.


https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/sep/18/brett-kavanaugh-us-supreme-court-patriarchy
Sept. 18, 2018
I hate to state the obvious, but apparently it needs to be done. Just because someone has never sexually assaulted you, it doesn’t mean they’ve never sexually assaulted someone else. Just because someone has been nice to you, it doesn’t mean they’ve acted the same way with everyone else in their life.
As more and more stories of supposedly good guys acting badly come out, it is getting harder pretend that sexual assault is something only monsters do.


https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/sep/18/air-pollution-causes-jump-in-dementia-risk-study-suggests
Sept. 18, 2018
People over 50 in areas with the highest levels of nitrogen oxide in the air showed a 40% greater risk of developing dementia than those with the least NOx pollution, according to the research, based on data from London.
The observational study, published in the BMJ Open journal on Wednesday, cannot establish that air pollution was a direct cause of the dementia cases. However, the authors said the link between higher pollution and higher levels of dementia diagnosis could not be explained by other factors known to raise risks of the disease.
Air pollution has already been linked with cardiovascular and respiratory disease
Frank Kelly, professor of environmental health at King’s College London and one of the authors of the paper, told the Guardian: “The study outcome suggests a linkage [between air pollution and dementia] but cannot inform on the cause. However, I believe that we now have sufficient knowledge to add air pollution to the list of risk factors for dementia. Our calculations suggest that it elevates risk by 7%, so [that would suggest] approximately 60,000 of the total 850,000 dementia cases in the UK, in mathematical terms.”
A ground-breaking study from China recently found a “huge” reduction in intelligence associated with breathing dirty air, equivalent to losing a year’s education.
The paper’s authors said a link between poor air quality and dementia could begin early in life. They wrote: “Traffic related air pollution has been [linked to] poorer cognitive development in young children, and continued significant exposure may produce neuroinflammation and altered brain innate immune responses in early adulthood.”


https://www.voterstudygroup.org/publications/2016-elections/the-five-types-trump-voters
June 2017
The Five Types of Trump Voters


The way we treat other people helps to create a world where others treat us that way.