SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

MAKE SURE TO LEARN THIS! – FROM THE WASHINGTON TIMES:  Officials in Australia are rebranding shark “attacks” as “a negative encounter” as experts argue the former had given the nautical predators a bad reputation not based on science.  At least two of the six Australian states have reportedly changed the way they officially describe shark attacks. In New South Wales, the government’s shark reports now refer to shark “incidents” or “interactions,” and in Queensland, the state government refers to them as “a negative encounter,” Sky News reported.  Attendees at a shark symposium in Queensland were notified of the change in May, The Washington Post reported Friday.  Proponents argue the word “attack” has created a culture of fear around sharks, one often depicted in movies.  “Sharks are very curious animals,” Leonardo Guida, a shark biologist with the Australian Marine Conservation Society, told The Post. They “tend to have exploratory bites … and unfortunately — and sometimes tragically — us humans are quite soft.”  I am so glad that the linguistic injustice against sharks is being addressed.  Now maybe we will have a better and more equitable world, and safer oceans for our swimming friends.

WHAT A FRAUD – FROM FOX:   Missouri Rep. Cori Bush spent nearly $70,000 on private security over the past three months as she advocated for defunding the police, campaign filings show.  Bush's campaign sent $54,120.92 in payments between April 15 and June 28 for "security services" to RS&T Security Consulting, a New York-based firm with a mysterious online presence, Federal Election Commission records released Thursday show. The Democrat's campaign also paid $15,000 to Nathaniel Davis for "security services" over the same time period.  The $69,120 in security payments accounted for more than a third of Bush's $197,000 in campaign expenditures during the second quarter, the FEC records show. It's also nearly double what her campaign spent on private security during the first quarter of 2021.  RS&T's website is no longer active, but a cached version of it shows that the group provides "executive protection agents" that provide "first class executive protection and security for national and international figures."  Meanwhile, Davis's reported address in the filings is the same as Bush's campaign headquarters.  How long will black citizens put up with this kind of cynical representation?

July 16, 2021