The plague of grasshoppers – Michael Fanone’s pleas on behalf of the Capitol defenders fall on deaf ears – Evening statistics
For all of the commotion that has been made about the swarms of cicadas here – which are perfectly harmless – a much more malevolent type of swarm is appearing in the West as a result of the drought. Grasshoppers are emerging even as the drought is causing waterways to dry up and wildfires to blaze. Agriculture officials are launching the largest grasshopper-killing campaign since the 1980s, spraying the pesticide diflubenzuron to kill grasshopper nymphs before they develop into adults. It’s a fairly drastic solution, since the spraying will kill other insects as well, such as bees and butterflies; but it’s difficult to recommend an alternative. The grasshoppers thrive in the drought, which lessens exposure of grasshopper eggs to parasites that need moisture, and their number is expected to peak in roughly two months, when the insects will reach 2 to 3 inches in length and become so prevalent they’ll start to eat more plant matter on the ranches they infest than cattle can.
Michael Fanone, a police officer who was severely injured during the riot at the Capitol on January 6th, has pressed Kevin McCarthy to denounce: 1) the 21 House Republicans who voted against the Gold Medal bill that would recognize and honor the officers who fought to secure the Capitol, 2) Representative Andrew Clyde’s statements regarding Jan. 6th that compared the rioters to ordinary tourists, and 3) the theory that the FBI was behind the Jan. 6 insurrection. He might as well have spared himself the effort. Fanone underwent a traumatic experience during the riot: he was tased multiple times, dragged into the mob, and beaten with a flagpole, leading to concussion and a heart attack. Over 140 police officers were injured that day and one would imagine that the “law and order” party would hasten to show them sympathy and support, but it did not work out that way. So great is Trump’s baneful influence that even seven months after he has lost the election Republican senators and representatives will not bestow the slightest amount of assistance upon the men who defended the Capitol and may have saved their own lives, for fear of appearing to criticize Trump even indirectly. After many days of stalling, McCarthy finally did consent to meet with Fanone to discuss the aftermath of the riot, but he dismissed Fanone’s request with frigid indifference. As might be expected, most of the Republicans were stricken with silence with respect to this episode, with one notable dissentient voice. Adam Kinzinger, who had shown his independence earlier by voting for Trump’s impeachment, blasted Republicans who have taken to downplaying the severity of the violent insurrection. “Michael Fanone was tortured,” he said. “And if we don’t take responsibility for what happened six months ago because we’re so concerned with winning an election in a year and a half, I don’t know what that says about us as a party.”
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 181,158,943; # of deaths worldwide: 3,924,395; # of cases U.S.: 34,481,754; # of deaths; U.S.: 619,134.