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U.S. government vividly shows the danger of fireworks in literally mind-blowing video

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Fireworks safety video, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

It’s the Fourth of July, American Independence Day, a holiday where Americans buy nearly $1 billion worth of fireworks (literally tens of thousands of tons of explosive material) to light up the night sky in a celebration-slash-commemoration of the firearms our colonizers gleefully discharged in open revolt against the Brits who first sent them there.

While our resentments against the British have (mostly) receded, the danger of explosives hasn’t entirely. That’s why the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recently released this literally head-exploding video demonstrating the numerous ways that fireworks can blow your brain, children and limbs to bits.

Luckily, the video uses mannequins, but it gets its message across quite vividly.

They’ve even published this following list of helpful firework safety tips:

– Never allow young children to play with, or ignite, fireworks, including sparklers. Sparklers burn at temperatures of about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit—hot enough to melt some metals.

– Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose handy, in case of fire or other mishap.

– Light fireworks one at a time, then move away quickly.

– Never try to relight or handle malfunctioning fireworks. Soak them with water and throw them away.

– Never place any part of your body directly over a fireworks device when lighting the fuse. Move to a safe distance immediately after lighting fireworks.

– Never point or throw fireworks (including sparklers) at anyone.

– After fireworks complete their burning, douse the spent device with plenty of water from a bucket or hose before discarding the device to prevent a trash fire.

– Make sure fireworks are legal in your area, and only purchase fireworks that are labeled for consumer (not professional) use.

Happy Fourth, everyone!

 

 

 

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'BUCKLE UP'

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s Democratic Consultants Ditch Her After She Switches Parties

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Powerful Democratic consultants have dropped Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) since she disaffiliated from the Democratic Party to register as an Independent. Their departure will make it more difficult for her to win re-election in her home state if she runs again in 2024.

“NGP VAN, which manages Democratic voter data, is set to cut off Sinema’s access at the end of January, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation,” The Huffington Post reported. “The ad makers who worked with her in 2018, Dixon/Davis Media Group, have split with her campaign. Two other Democratic sources said polling firm Impact Research made the same decision.”

The departures are notable because they’ll limit Sinema’s ability to tout her political accomplishments in advertising and to reach voters who supported her in past elections. Current polling also suggests that she’d face an uphill climb in a future election.

Although Sinema hasn’t yet announced a re-election bid, Arizona Democratic Reps. Ruben Gallego and Greg Stanton, are both expected to run for the state’s U.S. Senate seat. If she runs, she’ll likely face a three-way contest against a Democrat and a Republican in the general election.

A recent poll from PPP showed Sinema getting only 13 percent of support from state voters in a three-way race against Gallego (who got 40 percent) and gubernatorial-election-loser Republican Kari Lake (who got 41 percent). While it’s unclear whether Lake would even run for Senate following her narrow 2022 election loss, Sinema’s Independent bid could act as a spoiler for either candidate.

Sinema crafted bipartisan deals on same-sex marriage, gun control, and infrastructure funding, The Huffington Post notes. But she also has a reputation for opposing other social reforms that Democratic voters support, like minimum wage hikes and filibuster reform. She also gained additional favor with Republicans by blocking President Joe Biden’s (D) proposed tax hikes on the wealthy and corporations.

The real challenge for Democrats, if Sinema runs, will be to distance her from their party in a way that will cause her to split the Republican vote rather than the Democratic one.

 

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Trump Tells Followers to Vote in Georgia’s “Illegal and Invalid” Senate Elections

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While ignoring the pandemic and continuing to rail against “widespread voter fraud” on Twitter, President Donald Trump took a small moment Friday night to warn his followers about Georgia’s “illegal and invalid”January 5 special runoff elections that will determine which political party controls the Senate.

Then, on Saturday morning, Trump told his followers to vote in said “illegal and invalid election,” mentioning that he’ll be campaigning for the two incumbents on Monday night and adding, “GET READY TO VOTE ON TUESDAY!!!

In a three-Tweet thread (marked by Twitter as “disputed” and untrue), Trump wrote:

“Before even discussing the massive corruption which took place in the 2020 Election, which gives us far more votes than is necessary to win all of the Swing States (only need three), it must be noted that the State Legislatures were not in any way responsible for the massive changes made to the voting process, rules and regulations, many made hastily before the election, and therefore the whole State Election is not legal or Constitutional. Additionally, the Georgia Consent Decree is Unconstitutional & the State 2020 Presidential Election is therefore both “illegal and invalid”, and that would include the two current Senatorial Elections. In Wisconsin, Voters not asking for applications invalidates the Election. All of this without even discussing the millions of fraudulent votes that were cast or altered!”

In short, Trump told his voters that the entire Georgia election is rigged, a sentiment shared by his legal team who have repeatedly blasted Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and the state’s Republican Governor Brian Kemp for accurately declaring that Biden fairly won the state, thus contradicting Trump and his supporters’ baseless claims of widespread voter fraud (which, by the way, have been almost entirely rejected from courts for lack of evidence nearly 60 times over).

“It’s not going to matter how the people vote in the Georgia race,” former Trump campaign attorney Sidney Powell told The Rush Limbaugh Show on December 29. “It obviously didn’t matter how they voted nationwide, did it? … It might be that they’ve even rigged the system so that the two Republicans win.”

For months, Republicans have worried that Trump’s repeated claims that voter fraud made him lose Georgia in the November elections would discourage Republicans from voting in the January 5 election. Trump supporters pledged not to vote to help punish state Republicans who affirmed Biden’s victory.

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FCC Chairman Admits That He Wants to Block Biden from Changing Anything

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Brendan Carr, FCC, Biden

In a recent interview with Neil Cavuto on Fox Business, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr, pictured above, said it would be “valuable” for Senate Republicans to block President-elect Joe Biden from appointing a new FCC chairperson. That way, the GOP can “forestall” Biden’s agenda in the agency, including restoring net neutrality so that corporations can’t charge companies for an equal presence on the internet.

In short, if Republicans win Georgia’s runoff elections on January 5, they could stall a vote for Biden’s new pick for the FCC head. If this happens, Biden won’t be able to seat someone to help implement his agenda.

“But I think it would be very valuable to … help forestall what really would be billions of dollars worth of economic damage that I think a Democrat FCC would look to jam through from day one in January or February,” Carr said.

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