Litecoin (LTC) Down $0.21 Over Past 4 Hours, Started Today Up 3.14%; in an Uptrend Over Past 14 Days – CFDTrading

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Litecoin 4 Hour Price Update

Updated August 04, 2020 07:20 AM GMT (03:20 AM EST)

Litecoin closed the last 4 hour candle down 0.36% ($0.21); this denotes the 3rd candle in a row a decline has happened. Relative to other instruments in the Top Cryptos asset class, Litecoin ranked 4th since the last 4 hour candle in terms of percentage price change.

58.53 (USD) was the opening price of the day for Litecoin, resulting in the previous day being one in which price moved up 3.14% ($1.78) from the previous day. This move happened on lower volume, as yesterdays volume was down 50.43% from the day before and down 55.31% from the same day the week before. Out of the 5 instruments in the Top Cryptos asset class, Litecoin ended up ranking 4th for the day in terms of price change relative to the previous day. The daily price chart of Litecoin below illustrates.

Trend traders will want to observe that the strongest trend appears on the 14 day horizon; over that time period, price has been moving up. For additional context, note that price has gone up 9 out of the past 14 days.

Over on Twitter, here were the top tweets about Litecoin:

Just under $2.6 bln of #Litecoin was sent from #LTC addresses in the past week (27 Jul 2 Aug).Thats the equivalent of buying 619,991,295 fart cushions at $4.17 each on Amazon.

@panini_pamela @LTCtruth People Who Do Things Right On The Switch Over Will Not Need A Job Ever Again!Biggest Transfer Of Wealth On The Way! The Biggest Thing About Corona Is To Get People To Wake Up And Realize No Ceiling Level For What You Can Earn In The New World Coming! I Smell Opportunities!

Litecoin has a market cap of $3.8bn.What does Litecoin do again? RUNE has a market cap of $83m. Its about to battle-test bleeding edge blockchain tech which could draw huge rivers of liquidity and correlated value accrual.Arbitrary examples are my forte, thanks for asking.

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Litecoin (LTC) Down $0.21 Over Past 4 Hours, Started Today Up 3.14%; in an Uptrend Over Past 14 Days - CFDTrading

Litecoin, Stellar’s Lumen, and Tron’s TRX – Daily Analysis July 30th, 2020 – FX Empire

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XLM/USD 30/07/20 Daily ChartFor the day ahead

Stellars Lumen would need to move through the $0.09655 pivot to support a run at the first major resistance level at $0.09824.

Support from the broader market would be needed, however, for Stellars Lumen to break back through to $0.098 levels.

Barring a broad-based crypto rally, the first major resistance level would likely limit any upside.

Failure to move through the $0.09655 pivot would bring the first major support level at $0.09351 into play.

Barring another extended crypto sell-off, however, Stellars Lumen should steer well clear of the second major support level at $0.09182.

First Major Support Level: $0.09351

First Major Resistance Level: $0.09824

23.6% FIB Retracement Level: $0.09960

38% FIB Retracement Level: $0.14336518

62% FIB Retracement Level: $0.2050

Trons TRX slipped by 0.12% on Wednesday. Following a 2.26% gain on Tuesday, Trons TRX ended the day at $0.019224.

A bearish start saw Trons TRX fall to an early morning intraday low $0.018989 before making a move.

Steering clear of the first major support level at $0.01844, Trons TRX rallied to an early morning intraday high $0.019990.

Trons TRX broke through the first major resistance level at $0.01971 before falling back to $0.01910 levels.

Finding late support, however, Trons TRX revisited $0.0195 levels before sliding to $0.0192 levels and into the red.

At the time of writing, Trons TRX was down by 0.50% to $0.019128. A bearish start to the day saw Trons TRX fall to an early morning low $0.018829 before rising to a high $0.019169.

Trons TRX left the major support and resistance levels untested early on.

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Litecoin, Stellar's Lumen, and Tron's TRX - Daily Analysis July 30th, 2020 - FX Empire

You Can Now Trade Litecoin on the Ethereum Blockchain With Kyber By Cointelegraph – Up News Info

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You Can Now Trade Litecoin on the Ethereum Blockchain With Kyber

The Kyber Network, a decentralized, on-chain cryptocurrency exchange, has just listed the Ethereum-compatible pLTC token a new cross-chain token developed by pTokens project.

Announcing the news to Cointelegraph on Aug. 3, Kyber Network said that pLTC tokens will be accessible through KyberSwap and other decentralized apps, or DApps. They will also be available on platforms powered by Kybers on-chain liquidity protocol.

Continue Reading on Coin Telegraph

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.

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You Can Now Trade Litecoin on the Ethereum Blockchain With Kyber By Cointelegraph - Up News Info

Insights into the Litecoin Exchange Industry to 2026 Impact of COVID-19 on the Market – Owned

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The comprehensive report published, offers an in-depth intelligence related to the various factors that are likely to impact the demand, revenue generation, and sales of the Litecoin Exchange Market. In addition, the report singles out the different parameters that are expected to influence the overall dynamics of the Litecoin Exchange Market during the forecast period (2020-2026). A detail of COVID19 Impact analysis which is included in the report.

As per the findings of the presented study, the Litecoin Exchange Market is poised to surpass the value of ~US$ XX by the end of 2026 growing at a CAGR of ~XX% over the assessment period. The report includes a thorough analysis of the upstream raw materials, supply-demand ratio of the Litecoin Exchange in different regions, import-export trends and more to provide readers a fair understanding of the global market scenario.

Get Free PDF for More Professional and Technical Insights Including COVID19 Impact [emailprotected] https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=2736835

This report covers leading companies associated in Litecoin Exchange market:

Scope of Litecoin Exchange Market:The global Litecoin Exchange market is valued at million US$ in 2017 and will reach million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of during 2018-2025.

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Litecoin Exchange Market: Regional analysis includes:

This Market Report includesdrivers and restraints of the global Litecoin Exchange market and their impact on each region during the forecast period. The report also comprises the study of current issues with consumers and opportunities. It also includes value chain analysis.

On the basis on the end users/applications,this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, Litecoin Exchange market share and growth rate of Litecoin Exchange foreach application, including-

On the basis of product,this report displays the sales volume, revenue (Million USD), product price, Litecoin Exchange market share and growth rate ofeach type, primarily split into-

Litecoin Exchange Market: Regional analysis includes:

Contact For Any Query or to Get Customized Report: https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=2736835

Litecoin Exchange Market Report Structure at a Glance:

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Insights into the Litecoin Exchange Industry to 2026 Impact of COVID-19 on the Market - Owned

Online Banking Industry Global Forecast by Products, Applications, Distribution Channels, Form, Regions, Company Analysis – Market Research Posts

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The global Online Banking Market, which is extensively assessed in the report contemplates the best need development angles and how they could affect the market over the figure residency under thought. The experts have taken careful endeavors to thoroughly evaluating every development factor of the market, other than indicating how certain market restrictions could represent a danger to players in the coming years. In addition, the report additionally gives data on top patterns and openings and how players could take advantage of them to take up the difficulties in the Online Banking Market. This could be a helpful rule for players to concrete their situation in the business or make a rebound in the market.

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Key Businesses Segmentation of Online Banking MarketOn the basis on the end users/applications,this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, Online Banking market share and growth rate of Online Banking foreach application, including-

On the basis of product,this report displays the sales volume, revenue (Million USD), product price, Online Banking market share and growth rate ofeach type, primarily split into-

Online Banking Market Regional Analysis Includes: Asia-Pacific(Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Japan, Philippines, Korea, Thailand, India, Indonesia, and Australia) Europe(Turkey, Germany, Russia UK, Italy, France, etc.) North America(the United States, Mexico, and Canada.) South America(Brazil etc.) The Middle East and Africa(GCC Countries and Egypt.)

Key Highlights of the Table of Contents:Online Banking Market Study Coverage:It includes key market segments, key manufacturers covered, the scope of products offered in the years considered, global Online Banking market and study objectives. Additionally, it touches the segmentation study provided in the report on the basis of the type of product and applications.Online Banking Market Executive summary:This section emphasizes the key studies, market growth rate, competitive landscape, market drivers, trends, and issues in addition to the macroscopic indicators.Online Banking Market Production by Region:The report delivers data related to import and export, revenue, production, and key players of all regional markets studied are covered in this section.Online Banking Market Profile of Manufacturers:Analysis of each market player profiled is detailed in this section. This segment also provides SWOT analysis, products, production, value, capacity, and other vital factors of the individual player.

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Key Questions Answered: To gain insightful analyses of the Online Banking market and have a comprehensive understanding of the global market and its commercial landscape. Assess the production processes, major issues, and solutions to mitigate the development risk. To understand the most affecting driving and restraining forces in the market and its impact on the global Online Banking market. Learn about the Online Banking market strategies that are being adopted by leading respective organizations. To understand the future outlook and prospects for the market. Besides the standard structure reports, we also provide custom research according to specific requirements.

For More Information Kindly Contact: ResearchMozMr. Rohit Bhisey,90 State Street,Albany NY,United States 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: [emailprotected]Media Release @ https://www.researchmoz.us/pressreleaseFollow me on Blogger: https://trendingrelease.blogspot.com/

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Online Banking Industry Global Forecast by Products, Applications, Distribution Channels, Form, Regions, Company Analysis - Market Research Posts

Internet Banking Market 2020 New Techniques, Research Analysis, Treatment Types, Latest Trends, Regional Demand and Forecast Outlook 2025 – Market…

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The Global Internet Banking Market offers a primary overview of the Internet Banking industry covering different product definitions, classifications, and participants in the industry chain structure. Global Internet Banking Market Report analyzes the production of goods, supply, sales and the current state of the market in detail. In addition, the report examines the market share of production and sales of products, as well as capacity, production capacity, sales trends, cost analysis and revenue generation. The Global Internet Banking market report is provided for the international markets as well as development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status.

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This report covers present status and future prospects for Internet Banking Market forecast till 2025. The research report cover market Overview, Development and Segment by Type, Application and Region. Global Internet Banking Market by company, Type, Application and Geography. The report begins from overview of industrial chain structure and describes the upstream. Besides, the report analyses Internet Banking market trends, size and forecast in different geographies, type and end-use segment, in addition, the report introduces market competition overview among the major companies and companies profiles, besides, market price and channel features are covered in the report.

Top Leading Key Players are:

Microsoft Corporation (US), Fiserv, Inc. (US), ACI Worldwide (US), Tata Consultancy Services (India), Cor Financial Solutions Ltd. (UK), Capital Banking Solutions (US), Edge Verve Systems Limited (India), Rockall Technologies (Ireland, Temenos Group AG (Switzerland) and Oracle Corporation (US)

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In addition, report on global Internet Banking market presents strategic analysis and ideas for new entrants using historic data study. Thus report provides estimation about the market size, revenue, sales analysis and opportunities based on the past data for current and future market status. Report covers analysis of different enterprises as part of global Internet Banking market. There are some important tools for any market movement. Also report forecasts the market size of global Internet Banking market in Compound Annual Growth Rate in terms of revenue during the forecast period.

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Based on Type, the market has been segmented into:

retail banking & investment banking

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In this study, the years considered to estimate the size of the Internet Banking market are as follows:Historical Year: 2015-2019Base year: 2019Estimated year: 2020Forecast year 2020 to 2026

For information on data by region, company, type and 2019, is considered the base year. Whenever data were not available for the base year, the previous year was taken into account.

Key Developments in the Internet Banking Market. To describe Internet Banking Introduction, product type and application, market overview, market analysis by countries, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;. To analyze the manufacturers of Animation Software, with profile, main business, news, sales, price, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2018;. To display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers in Global, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2018;. To show the market by type and application, with sales, price, revenue, market share and growth rate by type and application, from 2013 to 2019;. To analyze the key countries by manufacturers, Type and Application, covering North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle-East and South America, with sales, revenue and market share by manufacturers, types and applications;. Internet Banking market forecast, by countries, type and application, with sales, price, revenue and growth rate forecast, from 2018 to 2025;. To analyze the manufacturing cost, key raw materials and manufacturing process etc.. To analyze the industrial chain, sourcing strategy and downstream end users (buyers);. To describe Internet Banking sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers etc.. To describe Internet Banking Research Findings and Conclusion, Appendix, methodology and data source

For Any Query on the Internet Banking Market: https://www.adroitmarketresearch.com/contacts/enquiry-before-buying/27

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Adroit Market Research is an India-based business analytics and consulting company. Our target audience is a wide range of corporations, manufacturing companies, product/technology development institutions and industry associations that require understanding of a markets size, key trends, participants and future outlook of an industry. We intend to become our clients knowledge partner and provide them with valuable market insights to help create opportunities that increase their revenues. We follow a code Explore, Learn and Transform. At our core, we are curious people who love to identify and understand industry patterns, create an insightful study around our findings and churn out money-making roadmaps.

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Internet Banking Market 2020 New Techniques, Research Analysis, Treatment Types, Latest Trends, Regional Demand and Forecast Outlook 2025 - Market...

Ron Rivera will stand for anthem, but fully supports First Amendment rights – NBC Sports – NFL

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When the regular season begins (and hopefully it will), the head coach of The Washington Football Team will be standing for The National Anthem. But Ron Rivera will not question the decision of players to use the anthem as a platform for protest.

Well, the truth of the matter is again, lets go back to our Constitution, to our Bill of Rights, the amendment, Rivera recently told TheAthletic.com. Lets go back to the oath of office to serve and protect. Part of the Constitution is the First Amendment. Theres a lot of people out there that support the Second Amendment vehemently. Well, if you support the Second Amendment vehemently, why wouldnt you support the first one, which is freedom of expression, freedom of speech? And thats all that is. Thats an extension of one of our unalienable rights, one of our God-given rights, one of the things written into the Constitution. So, again, lets at least applaud that. Lets celebrate that as well.

Rivera said hell stand because his father served in the military, his brother was a first responder, and his wifes family has a history of military service.

My dad had brothers that served in World War II, Rivera added. So to me, standing at attention is what Im going to do. Thats how Im going to honor them. I might kneel during the coin toss because I do support Black Lives Matter. I do support the movement to help correct the policing. But at the same time, I think everybody has to celebrate what the Constitution of the United States entitles us to do as Americans. Thats the thing that everybodys got to understand. We got to get past all this other stuff and quit making this a political fight. Theres nothing political about the Constitution. Its clear cut the Supreme Court rules on it, follow it, and then were supposed to defend it.

As the pandemic continues to consume so much of footballs focus, issues regarding the anthem will become front and center if/when games are played. Given the uncertainty created by COVID-19, criticism and controversy over players not standing for the anthem should be regarded as the proverbial good problem to have, because it will mean that games are being played.

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Ron Rivera will stand for anthem, but fully supports First Amendment rights - NBC Sports - NFL

Letters to the editor for Aug. 4, 2020 | Opinion | thefacts.com – Brazosport Facts

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Journalists want to have it both ways

In your reprint of the Seattle Times editorial, it seems the journalist wants to be on both sides of the First Amendment. If they print the truth, the mob will turn on them, so they want to withhold anything that exposes the mob. It is reported more than 500 assaults on media journalist were reported while they were covering a peaceful demonstration of First Amendment rights. The police want unpublished material to identify illegal acts and perpetrators. The journalist think this is a violation of their First Amendment rights.

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Letters to the editor for Aug. 4, 2020 | Opinion | thefacts.com - Brazosport Facts

Perspective: The Power Of The First Amendment | WNIJ and WNIU – WNIJ and WNIU

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Wester Wuori's "Perspective" (July 24, 2020).

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

That is the First Amendment to the US Constitution, ratified on December 15, 1791. I part company with many of my fellow liberals when it comes to freedom of speech. In the past 20 years, in my view, its been the far left that has slowly chipped away at First Amendment rights and a free exchange of ideas, especially those with whom we may not agree.

College and university speech police routinely bow to student pressure to bar speakers from campus because of their views or past writings. Campuses have created safe spaces where opinions and words are banned so as not to damage young minds. Sadly, now some in higher education are considering speech policies that could expel students for voicing a racist opinion.

The First Amendment is not absoluteno one should yell fire in a crowded theater, of course. However, this most important of our Bill of Rights does allow me to learn from and challenge others on their opinions and beliefs, no matter how vile or loathsome society may find their comments or writings or speeches.

How do we combat hateful or incendiary speech? With more speech. With better speech. With more effective arguments that make their case not because of the volume at which they are delivered but by the power of their meaning.

When it comes to racism, I would argue that silencing peoples views only drives them underground. And, its there, out of sight, where those beliefs and practices can and will do the most damage.

Im Wester Wuori and thats my Perspective.

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Perspective: The Power Of The First Amendment | WNIJ and WNIU - WNIJ and WNIU

Trump Still Blocking Critics On Twitter, Watchdog Says In New Lawsuit 08/03/2020 – MediaPost Communications

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President Trump continues to block critics on socialmedia, despite judicial rulings that doing so violates the First Amendment, a watchdog alleged in a new lawsuit filed Friday.

This case is made necessary because defendants continue tounconstitutionally block ... individuals from the @realDonaldTrump Twitter account, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University alleges on behalf of five individual Twitterusers in a complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan. Trump and social media director Daniel Scavino are named as defendants.

Two users -- including Georgetown professor of public policyDonald Moynihan -- say they were blocked during his presidency, but don't know what specific tweet provoked the block. The other three say they were blocked before Trump was inaugurated.

The Knight Institute has sent multiple letters and emails to defendants explaining that the continued blocking of these individuals from the @realDonaldTrump account violates the FirstAmendment, and asking defendants to unblock these individuals accounts, but defendants have expressly refused, the complaint alleges.

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In 2017, the Knight Institute initially suedthe White House on behalf of seven Twitter users who had been blocked after criticizing Trump. They argued that the White House violated free speech principles by blocking people based on theirpolitical views.

The following year, U.S. District Court Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald in New York sided against the White House and issued a declaratory judgment that the blocks wereunconstitutional.

The U.S. Department of Justice appealed to the 2nd Circuit, arguing that Trump acts in a personal capacity, as opposed to an official one, when he blocks peopleon Twitter.

A three-judge panel of that court upheld Buchwald's decision, ruling that evidence of the account's official nature was overwhelming.

The Justice Departmentthen urged the 2nd Circuit to order a new hearing in front of all or most of the circuit's judges. The appellate court rejected that request in March, with two judges dissenting.

The WhiteHouse hasn't yet said whether it will seek review by the Supreme Court.

The Knight Center says that the administration unblocked the original plaintiffs in 2018, as well as others who had beenblocked over critical comments.

But the organization says the administration has refused to unblock people who fall into two categories -- those who can't specify the tweet that led to theblock, and those who were blocked before Trump took office.

The Knight Institute is seeking a declaratory judgment that the continued blocks violate the First Amendment, and an injunctionrequiring the White House to unblock all accounts unless it can justify the blocking on an individualized basis.

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Trump Still Blocking Critics On Twitter, Watchdog Says In New Lawsuit 08/03/2020 - MediaPost Communications

Religious Entities Flex Their Muscles Through the Roberts Court, Playing Both Sides of the Discrimination Coin – Justia Verdict

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Religious litigants were successful this Supreme Court Term wielding their religious identity as both a shield and a sword. The Roberts Court delivered just what they ordered: ever more expansive rights to government funding, based on their right not to be discriminated against, and mounting immunity from the employment discrimination laws. Thanks to President Trump, the Court now has a conservative, religious majoritywhich is composed of four Catholic men (Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh) and Justice Neil Gorsuch, who is apparently Episcopalian. They were a well-oiled machine delivering for religious believers with nary a concern about who might be harmed.

As religious litigants succeed in expanding their opportunities for government-sourced income streams, and eschew the legal obligations on everyone else, they also persist in their expectations of no public accountability about their finances. Unlike other nonprofits, they maintain their tax-exempt status without having to truthfully disclose their actual finances, donors, or lobbying activity. The result is a greater capacity to pursue government funds under cover, e.g., the PPP loans through which the Catholic dioceses and parishes raked in $1.4 billion, and an ever-increasing power to impose their beliefs on their employees, whether co-believers or not.

There was a time when the separation of church and state, that concept devised by Baptist preacher John Leland and embodied in James Madisons First Amendments Establishment Clause, meant that the government was foreclosed from moving tax proceeds into religious coffers. Madison, the drafter of the First Amendment, railed against taxpayer support of religious education in his 1785 Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments. He said not even three pence in taxes should flow from a citizen to support religious education. Why? Because government financial support of religion is bad for religion and bad for government; it leads to a union of power that the framing generation understood leads to tyranny.

One of the projects of religious lobbyists and some law professors since the 1990s has been to open the sluice to increased government funding of religious education and activities. They shrewdly adopted the vernacular of discrimination, arguing that if any other entity was receiving taxpayer funds, well, then, they should, too. Their first major success was in 1995 in Rosenberger v. University of Virginia, where the Court ruled 5-4 that the University of Virginia was required to financially support a religious club engaged in proselytization if it also supported secular clubs. The decision planted the seed they hoped to cultivate that religious entities must be treated equally with all others that receive government dollars. They reasoned that if they are not included as beneficiaries of public funds, they are victims of discrimination. Dont worry about James Madisons concern about corruption and an unholy union of power. Instead, accept that religious entities and secular entities are the same when it comes to funding.

In 2017, the Roberts Court gave that seed a heavy watering with the Chief Justices majority opinion in Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer, holding that a church must receive recycled rubber playground resurfacing if other playgrounds did as well. This Term, in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, Roberts took the Court one step farther, holding that the government cannot have a scholarship fund that includes private schools but not religious private schools. This was a victory for private religious schools coffers.

While they have posed as the victims of unfair discrimination in government funds, religious entities have also pushed an agenda of discrimination against their employees. In other words, they have seen no need to draw a connection between public values like nondiscrimination and the fact they are demanding taxpayer proceeds and tax-free status.

In the 1980s, religious lobbyists with their supportive law professors took to the legislatures to demand what they are fond of calling autonomy. They frequently argue that they are so special that while they should be treated as equals in terms of finances, they should not have to obey the laws meant for everyone else. They may piously demand equal treatment when it comes to government dollars, but they are determined to be able to discriminate against their employees at will in as many ways as possible. Three cases this Term enhance their power to discriminate.

Their preferred mechanisms for avoiding the obligations of the law are the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), and a doctrine called the ministerial exception.

This Term, the Roberts Court in an opinion by Justice Alito enlarged the ministerial exception in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru and St. James School v. Biel, to hold that lay teachers at Catholic schools are not protected by the federal laws against age discrimination or disability discrimination. Alito intoned how very religious their teaching activities were, without once making a nod to how devastating it can be to lose your job because of your age or cancer diagnosis. Employees of religious entities beware: regardless of what the faith believes, they can violate your civil rights on a whim (after they pay you a pittance compared to other private schools and public schools).

The less-noticed moment of a newly defined power to discriminate appeared in the Bostock v. Clayton County case where Justice Gorsuch wrote for the majority. The headline from this case was that sex in Title VII includes LGBTQ and so employers would not be permitted to discriminate against their gay or trans employees. This seemed like such a progressive opinion! Yet, read the opinion to the end where Gorsuch laid the foundation to permit anyone to discriminate against LGBTQ under Title VII if they are able to articulate a religious reason for it.

At the end of the majority opinion, Gorsuch went out of his way to point out that the employers in that case did not raise a religious defense to the claims, but if they had, there is an escape hatch: RFRA. Before you become comfortable thinking, well, that wont apply to major corporations, please remember Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. In that case, a for-profit lucrative arts and crafts chain successfully invoked RFRA to deny women employees contraceptive coverage that conflicted with the owners faith. That would otherwise be a violation of the womens rights against gender and religious discrimination under Title VII, but as Gorsuch declared, RFRA is a super statute. Thus, Bostock modified by RFRA opens the door to discrimination against LGBTQ employees by individuals, nonprofits, and for-profit organizations.

RFRAs capacity to undermine public health in Hobby Lobby was reinforced this Term in Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania, where the majority, in an opinion by Justice Thomas, held that the Trump administrations evisceration of the contraceptive mandate (requiring no-cost contraception for all women) through broad religious and moral exemptions was supported by RFRA. As with all of these decisions, the spotlight was trained on the religious actors while their victims essentially sat in the dark, off to the side, ignored by the justices who were busy constructing a separate world for fellow believers without the bothersome Lockean obligations of a shared society.

Essentially, the conservative members of the Court have built a functional and operational establishment. They have created entitlements to government support, while they have built shelter for religious entities and business owners from the principles of fairness and accountability that undergird Title VII.

Madison sagely described the effect of religious establishments on civil society: sometimes they erect a spiritual tyranny on the ruins of the Civil authority and at others, they have been seen upholding the thrones of political tyranny. Either way, according to Madison, they have not been the guardians of the liberties of the people.

Amen to that.

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Religious Entities Flex Their Muscles Through the Roberts Court, Playing Both Sides of the Discrimination Coin - Justia Verdict

Guns taken in 1st local case involving Virginia’s new ‘red flag’ law – The Winchester Star

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WINCHESTER "What's the point in living?" "I just want to die."

Those were the comments police said a man made prior to having his guns taken in the first local case involving Virginias new "red flag" law. The case was adjudicated on Monday in Winchester Circuit Court.

The 45-year-old Winchester man made the suicidal threats while in possession of a pistol on July 17, according to police. He voluntarily surrendered three guns to police and will not be allowed to possess guns until at least Jan. 30. The man didn't attend the hearing on the "substantial risk order," according to Marc Abrams, Winchester commonwealth's attorney. The Winchester Star isn't naming the man because he hasn't been charged with a crime.

The new law, which went into effect July 1, is designed to keep guns away from potentially violent people. There are approximately 36,000 gun deaths annually in the U.S. including about 1,000 in Virginia, according to the Gifford Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which analyzed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics. That includes about 22,000 suicides and nearly 13,000 homicides.

Virginia and at least 16 states and the District of Columbia have red flag laws. Virginia's law says a person posing a "substantial risk of injury" to themselves or others can't buy, own or transport guns.

The red flag law and other gun control measures passed the Democratically-controlled General Assembly earlier this year in Richmond, despite fierce opposition from gun rights advocates. In January, about 22,000 gun owners protested the legislation at the state capitol. Resolutions in support of Second Amendment rights were also adopted by many Virginia localities, including Clarke and Frederick counties.

Critics of the red flag law said it could lead to guns being taken away unjustly.

In the local incident, police responded to an unnamed store after a clerk said a man in an "agitated state" in possession of an ammunition clip had left the store and was in the store parking lot rifling through the trunk of his vehicle, according to court documents. When police tried to secure the gun they said was in the trunk, they said the man became angry and made a series of suicidal remarks, including "I'm not going to say I'm going to kill myself, but I'll speed up death,""I'm on the fast track to death" and"I wake up crying every day." He was then taken to Winchester Medical Center.

Under the new law, the man was served with an emergency substantial risk order on July 18, which required him to turn in his guns to police. It gives authorities 14 days to hold a court hearing or return the guns. On July 20, the man turned in two semi-automatic pistols and a pump-action shotgun.

At the hearing, a judge issued a 180-day substantial risk order, which is the maximum time the guns can be held. The order can either expire, allowing the guns to be returned, or authorities can hold another hearing and try to keep them.

Abrams said he understands some Second Amendment supporters dislike the law, but the case met the legal standard for taking the guns. "We'll have to see if it's effective," he said.

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Guns taken in 1st local case involving Virginia's new 'red flag' law - The Winchester Star

Letter to the editor: Traczyk will defend conservative principles – The Winchester Star

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There are times in each of our lives when one must stop and consider what matters most to you. This has never been more relevant than in the current environment we find ourselves in as a country.

For my family and I, there is nothing more important than God, family, and country. In looking at recent events in this country, it has become readily apparent that many elected individuals have forgotten the oath they took to uphold the Constitution of the United States. It is truly disheartening the stance many have taken in regards to the "People's Rights" or Bill of Rights and specifically the Second Amendment.

We, the residents of the 29th District, have an opportunity to send someone to Richmond who I have known to be willing to take a stand in defending our Constitutional rights. That man is Richard Traczyk. It has been an honor to work with Mr. Traczyk in numerous capacities over the past 15 years and it has been refreshing to see him stand for many of the same conservative principles I cherish which include being a strong supporter of the Constitution, pro-life, and family initiatives.

Mr. Traczyk needs your help to make it to Richmond. On Saturday, August 8th, there will be a Firehouse Primary at the Millwood Fire Station. I encourage you to check out Mr. Traczyk's achievements and support him with your vote in the Republican Primary.

Shawn Graber

Frederick County Board of Supervisors, Back Creek District representative

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Letter to the editor: Traczyk will defend conservative principles - The Winchester Star

Top Prosecutor Kim Gardner Has Faced Racism and Death Threats. Now She Faces Reelection. – Mother Jones

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In July, St. Louis prosecutor Kim Gardner revealed that she had found a terrifying note on her car. I hope you hang from a tree, it read.

Gardner, the first Black woman to serve as circuit attorney in St. Louis, was elected four years ago after pledging to make the criminal justice system more fair for people of color. (Like a district attorney, a circuit attorney is a chief prosecutor for a particular jurisdiction.) While in office, she has faced incredible pushback. Most recently, President Trump objected when she filed criminal charges against a white couple who pointed guns at Black Lives Matter protesters walking through their gated community in June; he told the conservative Townhall Media that Gardners decision to prosecute them was a disgrace.

The hate mail quickly flooded her inbox. It is YOU who are the racist, unfairly targeting white McCloskeys for exercising their 2nd Amendment rights, someone emailed her, according to the Washington Post, referring to the gun-toting couple. U really need to be run out of town you black b-!

On Tuesday, Gardner is up for reelection. In the primary, she faces Mary Pat Carl, a white prosecutor who used to work in the same office but resigned from that post in 2017 after Gardner became circuit attorney. In some ways, the race will be a test of whether Gardners reformist bona fides can withstand the harsh backlash from Republicans, who have questioned her at every turnoffering a stark reminder of the double standards that progressive Black women often face when theyre elected as district attorneys or circuit attorneys.

Historically, a chief prosecutors decision on a case is the last word. People who hold this title have immense discretion to choose whom to charge with crimes, and what types of crimes to charge them with. But in Gardners case, politicians and courts have pushed back against her power again and again. After she was elected, a police union spokesperson described her as a menace who needed to be removed from office by force or by choice. When Gardners office investigated then-Gov. Eric Greitens over allegations of sexual misconduct in 2018, the police petitioned a court to appoint a special prosecutor who charged one of her investigators with perjury and got a search warrant to seize the server with her offices emails. (Gardner later dropped the charges against the governor, who resigned.) This year, state lawmakers tried to pass a bill transferring some of Gardners authority to the states Republican attorney general.

In January, Gardner filed a lawsuit accusing her city of a racially motivated conspiracy to push her out of office and block her attempts to make the legal system fairer for minorities. Other Black women prosecutors from around the country flew to St. Louis to support her, saying she faced an unprecedented campaign by the citys corrupt and racist political establishment to destroy her.The prosecutorsincluding Orlandos Aramis Ayala, Baltimores Marilyn Mosby, and Bostons Rachael Rollinscould understand what Gardner was going through. Theyd seen their own power questioned in unusual ways too, as Ive previously reported:

In Orlando, Aramis Ayala, the first Black district attorney in Florida, saw some of her powers removed by the governor in 2017 after she decided to stop seeking the death penalty. Then-Gov. Rick Scott made the unusual decision to issue an executive order preventing her office from handling a case in its jurisdiction involving a murdered police officer; he assigned it and 22 other capital cases to a prosecutor in another county instead. A month later, Aramis received a noose in the mail. In September, Rachael Rollins, Bostons first elected Black woman prosecutor, asked a court to dismiss the charges against nonviolent protesters who opposed a straight pride parade; a local judge refused

After Marilyn Mosby, a Black chief prosecutor in Baltimore, flew to St. Louis in a show of support for Gardners lawsuit, she got a voicemail from a caller in Illinois who accused her of hating police and white people. If wed known you all were gonna be this much fucking trouble we wouldve picked our own fucking cotton, the caller said.Mosby had been sued by police after she tried to prosecute officers for the death of Freddie Gray, who fell into a coma in a police van in 2015. Filing a lawsuit against a prosecutor is essentially unheard of, according to the Marshall Project, a criminal justice-focused news organization. A judge let the suit proceed; the Supreme Court later sided with Mosby

A prosecutors discretion is something thats usually considered sacred, says [Jamila] Hodge [a former federal prosecutor who now works at the Vera Institute of Justice]. Its only when those decisions are being made by Black women in this role, and when theyre done to the benefit of populations who have been traditionally marginalized and harmed by the system, that now prosecutions discretion is a problem.

Gardner filed charges on July 20 against the white couple, Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who say they pointed their guns at Black Lives Matter protesters because they feared for their lives and property. The couplewho have a history of suing neighbors, family members, and employers over various disputesclaimed the protesters damaged a gate and threatened their safety. But video obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch showed protesters walking peacefully through an open gate, and keeping their distance on the sidewalk as they moved past the house. The marchers admitted to trespassing by entering the gated community, private land, on their way to the mayors house, but denied damaging any property.

It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner at those participating in nonviolent protest, Gardner said in a statement when she charged the couple with unlawful use of a weapon, a felony. And while we are fortunate this situation did not escalate into deadly force, this type of conduct is unacceptable in St. Louis, she added. Gardner said she would not seek prison time against the McCloskeys if they were convicted, but would encourage a court to put them into a diversion program, such as community service.

Trump isnt the only politician who publicly criticized Gardner for her decision to prosecute the couple. We will not allow law-abiding citizens to be targeted for exercising their constitutional rights to carry firearms, tweeted Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, who vowed to pardon the McCloskeys if they were convicted. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt also posted a video on Twitter condemning Gardner, and filed a brief to the court attempting to get her case against the couple dismissed. US Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), wrote that Gardners decision to prosecute was an unacceptable abuse of power and asked the Justice Department to investigate her. And the McCloskeys filed a motion attempting to disqualify her from their case because she referenced them in a campaign email seeking donations for her reelection.

Dozens of progressive prosecutors around the country have come to Gardners defense.They include Aramis, Mosby, and Rollins, along with Chicagos Kim Foxx, San Franciscos Chesa Boudin, and Philadelphias Larry Krasner. In an open letter released on July 22, they wrote that they had deep concerns about the shameful, aggressive, and blatantly political attacks on Gardner over the McCloskey investigation. It is up to Missouri law and a jury composed of the people of St. Louis to determine whether the McCloskeys should be held criminally responsible for their actions, not a handful of politicians who neither live nor vote in that jurisdiction and, in some cases, do not even have any prosecution or law enforcement experience, the prosecutors wrote.

The disturbing intervention in this local case is reflective of a broader, dangerous pattern that we have seen far too often in recent years, they added, referring to politicians who criticized or tried to intervene in other reformist prosecutors decisions to charge certain crimes or, more often, to not charge minor nonviolent offenses. These attacks have ignored the fact that the local prosecutors were elected with a mandate from their communities to build a more effective and equitable justice system and that their decisions are squarely within the purview of the job they were duly elected to carry out.

Even Gardners opponent in Tuesdays primary election, prosecutor Mary Pat Carl has condemned the political attacks against Gardner over the McCloskey case. These racist attacks and threats against my opponent and #women of color in general, must stop, Carl tweeted last week. We will not make St. Louis safer by tearing others down. But Carl,who ran unsuccessfully against Gardner four years ago, has criticized her opponent for being ineffective and lacking competence; for a high turnover rate among attorneys in the office; for a decrease in the rate of trials that lead to a conviction; and for straining relations between the prosecutors office and the police. I think you can hold the police accountable, without going to war with the police, Carl told local radio station KMOX. She also blasted Gardner for not properly reporting some campaign contributions and flights.

Meanwhile, some reform-minded activists have criticized the circuit attorney for not being progressive enough. But she has racked up several notable Democratic endorsements, including from Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, who commended her for significantly reducing the citys jail population without increasing overall crime, and for declining to rely on the testimony of police officers accused of misconduct.

Gardner, for her part, says the racist attacks and death threats against her got worse after Trump and other Republicans tried to intervene in her case against the McCloskeys. Its been disheartening, she told CNN. This is not about a Second Amendment right, she added later in the interview. This is about an elected prosecutor doing their job, like they do everyday without fanfare or any political pandering thats going on, and evaluating criminal activity in their jurisdiction.

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Top Prosecutor Kim Gardner Has Faced Racism and Death Threats. Now She Faces Reelection. - Mother Jones

Sheldon Whitehouse, the Democrats Conspiracy Theorist and Hatchet Man against the Rule of Law – National Review

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Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Washington, D.C., September 27, 2018(Tom Williams/Pool via Reuters)Whitehouses conspiratorial bent runs deep.

When Democrats want to threaten or delegitimize the federal judiciary, they know whom to call first: Sheldon Whitehouse, the Rhode Island senator The Hill calls the Democratic Partys leading voice on the courts. That voice is one of paranoia, conspiracy theories, threats, lies, smears, and hypocrisy.

Senator Whitehouses escalating campaign against an independent judiciary reached its highest fever pitch last August, when he and four other Democratic senators filed an unprecedented amicus brief with the Supreme Court bluntly threatening to restructure the Court if it did not stop issuing conservative decisions, including enforcing the Second Amendment to the Constitution:

The Supreme Court is not well. And the people know it. Perhaps the Court can heal itself before the public demands it be restructured in order to reduce the influence of politics. Particularly on the urgent issue of gun control, a nation desperately needs it to heal.

This was an open threat of Court-packing tied directly to the outcomes of particular cases. Whitehouse filed a brief in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. City of New York, a case in which a New York City law on transportation of firearms so obviously violated the Second Amendment that both the state and city in New York! amended the law after the case was filed. The Court has laid down rules in past cases to stop localities from avoiding adverse decisions in this fashion, and the challengers argued that the new laws were still unduly restrictive of their rights. In New York State Rifle & Pistol, however, the Court issued a per curiam opinion reportedly written by Justice Kavanaugh that backed away from deciding the merits, treating the case as moot. Justices Alito, Thomas, and Gorsuch blasted the outcome, and Kavanaugh himself wrote a separate opinion agreeing with Alitos concern that some federal and state courts may not be properly applying [DC v.] Heller and McDonald [v. Chicago]. The Court should address that issue soon, perhaps in one of the several Second Amendment cases with petitions for certiorari now pending before the Court.

That didnt happen. According to reports from anonymous leakers to CNNs Joan Biskupic, the outcome in New York State Rifle & Pistol and the failure to hear any more Second Amendment cases was the direct result of Chief Justice Roberts hesitancy to take stands on the issue:

CNN has learned that resolution of that case took many twists and multiple draft opinions. Guided by Roberts, Justice Brett Kavanaugh crafted much of what turned out to be an unsigned per curiam opinion. . . . It takes four votes to accept a case and five to rule on it, and sources have told CNN that the justices on the right did not believe they could depend on a fifth vote from Roberts, who had in 2008 and 2010 voted for milestone gun-rights rulings but more recently seemed to balk at the fractious issue.

Roberts caving to threats to the Court as an institution, and to its public legitimacy, is by now a sadly familiar spectacle. Whitehouse knew exactly what he was doing, it worked, and he will do it again.

Rejecting the legitimacy of any court that issues a ruling he dislikes as hopelessly corrupt is standard operating procedure for Whitehouse. This op-ed is typical of Whitehouses system-is-rigged rhetoric:

What if one team spent years and millions of dollars to capture the referees, so the refs could declare that team the winner whenever they fell short on the field? If you were on the other team, youd cry foul. Youd ask: Hey, when did the law become a team sport, too?

. . . Americans can smell a rat. The pattern is too distinct to ignore. We warned the court of polls showing that the publics faith in the courts independence is eroding.

Typically of people who traffic in this sort of paranoia, Whitehouse gets even uglier after a decision does not go his way. The legal saga of Michael Flynn has faced its own torturous history, with a panel of the D.C. Circuit ordering the dismissal of the case, followed by the en banc Circuit recently deciding to rehear that dismissal. There are serious reasons why the Justice Department was right to abandon the Flynn prosecution, and difficult questions about when courts can and should demand the continued enforcement of a guilty plea when the prosecution itself wants to drop it. But for Whitehouse, channeling Donald Trumps so-called judge rhetoric, the only possible explanation for an adverse ruling is a dark conspiracy; thus, he tweeted, Judge Rao delivers the coverup she was put on the court for, and ranted about how flagrant Judge Raos decision is, covering up Flynn scandal. Where you see Neomi Rao, tweeted Whitehouse, you can expect a lot of Trumpy dirt to follow. Shes a cartoon of a fake judge.

Neomi Rao is, of course, the daughter of Indian immigrants and a Senate-confirmed federal-appeals judge with a stellar resume: graduate of Yale and the University of Chicago Law School, on the law review, Supreme Court clerk, white-shoe law firm, law professor, co-chair of an American Bar Association committee. But to Whitehouse, a single ruling he doesnt like means Judge goes in scare quotes. Whitehouses particular crusade to smear Reo is longstanding. In another case, he tweeted that she was a @FedSoc stooge . . . This is why Trump is packing the courts with political hacks. If there were more on this panel, theyd have covered up for him.

During her confirmation hearings, Whitehouse launched an intemperate and false attack on an academic research center Reo founded, claiming that it was bankrolled, bought and paid for by his favorite Emmanuel Goldsteins: the Koch brothers and the Federalist Society. Adam White detailed at length why Whitehouses antics were beneath the dignity of the Senate and a dangerous threat to democratic discourse and academic inquiry:

Whitehouses conspiracy theory seems to be twofold: that Neomi was wrong when she disclaimed these particular funders (shes not wrong), and that the Centers work is dictated by those who have donated money to it (its not). . . . Whitehouses persistently wrong assertions seem to parrot press coverage of the Koch Foundations and anonymous donors combined $30 million donation [to the law school, not the center] in 2016. Those press accounts, in turn, drew the wrong conclusions from university documents released under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.

As the FOIAd documents show, the school earmarked all $30 million for student scholarships. The documents further show that school officials noted thepossibilitythat the school might increase support for research programs like the Center for the Study of the Administrative State. (See, e.g.,pp. 285286 of this big PDF file from the FOIA results.)

But that hypothetical possibility never came to pass because, in actual reality,the Center succeeded in fully funding itself through the support of other foundations and private donors, which is why Judge Rao repeatedly stated during her confirmation process that the Center never received funding from the Koch Foundation or the anonymous donor. (Emphasis in original)

Whitehouses conspiratorial bent runs deep. As Carrie Severino, who has covered his jeremiads at length, has noted:

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse routinely accuses those he disagrees with, including the justices he calls theRoberts Five,of being corrupted by money. In January 2019, he wrote Chief Justice Roberts criticizing the Court for accepting amicus briefs from special interest groups that fail to disclose their donors and adding that a legislative solution may in order if the practice continues. Whitehouses selective outrage is darkly comical when we consider thatthe senator himselfhas filed amicus briefs siding with parties and attorneys who donated to him. Or when we consider theattempt to silencethe Federalist Society by the Committee on Codes of Conduct, a member of which is Whitehouses friend and former donor, John McConnell, now a district judge thanks to the senators efforts.

In launching a witch-hunting congressional probe into the Federalist Society and Leonard Leo, Whitehouse spun a fantastical web for the Washington Posts Paul Waldman:

Leo, the senators letter says, is at the center of a complex network of nonprofit groups and shell entities funded largely by anonymous donors.. . . First, Whitehouse says, Supreme Court judges are selected by the Federalist Society. But, crucially, Whitehouse adds that this group also has a huge dark money operation behind it. . . . But as Whitehouse asserts, the Federalist Society doesnt just produce Supreme Court justices: These days it chooses them. When he ran for president, Donald Trump put out a list of 25 people hed consider for the court; 24 of them either were Federalist Society members or had ties to it. Leo was advising Trump then as now, providing him with names to put on not just the Supreme Court but appellate and district courts as well.

Of course, to anyone remotely familiar with how the Federalist Society works, this completely skips over the distinction between the organization which hosts debates and conferences and does not (unlike the American Bar Association) even take positions on public issues and Leonard Leo, who has since moved on to his own political operation. The notion that the Federalist Society as an organization actually selects judicial nominees is fiction. The fact that the judges on Trumps list were mostly Federalist Society members is unsurprising, given how many conservative lawyers and judges belong to the group. Meanwhile, Whitehouse has been lending cover to openly biased efforts to force judges out of the Federalist Society, but not the ABA. As usual, what would be utterly unremarkable among liberals is cast as a shadowy cabal by Whitehouse. When the plan was scrapped last week, Ben Sasse snarked, Senator Whitehouse can hyperventilate about the Illuminati all he wants.

Its not just the Federalist Society; one district court nominee, Peter Phipps, was grilled by Whitehouse over his membership in the Knights of Columbus, a 140-year-old fraternal organization of Catholic men around the world dedicated to charitable activities and the faith. Whitehouse demanded that Phipps answer questions such as Must you swear an oath in order to join this organization? If so, what is that oath? He asked another nominee about being an Anglican, given that his church believes marriage to be a life-long union of husband and wife intended for the procreation and nurture of godly children and entailing God-given roles of father and mother. How deep the conspiracy runs! I understand there is even a book such churches circulate that carries these same messages.

During the Kavanaugh hearings, Whitehouse received one of the wackier allegations against Kavanaugh, from a Rhode Island man peddling a claim that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted a woman aboard a Newport boat in 1985. The man later apologized for the made-up story: Everyone who is going crazy about what I had said I have recanted because I have made a mistake and apologize for such mistake, the man said. When Whitehouse received the charge, he referred it (appropriately) to the FBI, but he didnt stop there: He also referred the man to a reporter, then had the effrontery to act offended when the mans name became public. Instead of apologizing for a patently false smear of Kavanaugh, Whitehouse demanded that Republicans apologize to the false accuser. And Whitehouse has vowed to reopen the Kavanaugh circus: As soon as Democrats get gavels, were going to want to get to the bottom of this.

Conspiratorial musings about dark money and secret conspiracies are also a regular motif for Whitehouse even outside the judicial area. In 2016, he took to the Senate floor with a comically Byzantine map of a so-called conspiracy to spread climate denial:

As Occupy.com glowingly described the theory of Whitehouse and his co-sponsors, their

resolution condemns what they are calling the #WebOfDenial interconnected groups funded by the Koch brothers, major fossil fuel companies like ExxonMobil and Peabody Coal, identity-scrubbing groups like Donors Trust and Donors Capital, and their allies developed and executed a massive campaign to deceive the public about climate change to halt climate action and protect their bottom lines.

By now, this should all sound familiar. With a flourish recognizable to anyone who has ever watched a YouTube expos of a conspiracy, Whitehouse concluded:

Franklin, Jefferson, Madison, Locke . . . these are great names put on the front of very shady, Koch-funded front groups in the #WebOfDenial. And the organizations share several common features. First, they all propagate what by any reasonable scientific standard is preposterous nonsense, and masquerade it as science and independent opinion. Second, they all get massive funding from fossil-fuel interests, and line up always, obediently, with those interests. Third, they interlock. The interlocking is almost too complicated to track, in staff, in board members, in funding sources. But it all traces back to fossil-fuel money.

Other times, Whitehouse just goes straight to his imagination. In pushing the theory in early 2017 that Jeff Sessions was some sort of bag man for collusion with Russia, Whitehouse told CNN:

You can imagine a set of circumstances in which the Trump campaign gave him talking points [and] he was a message boy for them. . . . There was a content related to the relations between U.S.A. and Russia, favorable to Russia that would have encouraged them to support the Trump campaign. And then he returned back to the Trump campaign and said, Done it, you know, mission accomplished here,. . . And if that were the case it would be really, really hard to believe that he didnt remember that.

You can imagine. This is straight-up fiction, accusing the attorney general of the United States of conspiring with the Russian government, on national television, without evidence. All that was missing for the full Joe McCarthy was waving a piece of paper and claiming there were names written on it.

Whitehouses dire warnings about Captured Courts: The GOPs Big Money Assault on the Constitution, Judiciary and Rule of Law apparently dont apply to his own conduct, including the very groups he recruits to his causes:

Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse has repeatedly warned against the dangers of dark-money political groups taking millions of donations from special interest groups, arguing, when pressed, that hes equally concerned about both liberal and conservative groups that dont disclose their donors. But the Rhode Island senator apparently sees no contradiction in giving speeches to liberal groups that accept money from secret Democratic donors, as he did last week, telling the audience that GOP dark money is undermining the U.S. judiciary and the rule of law. Additionally, Whitehouse told a reporter last year he would accept donations from liberal dark-money groups.

Whitehouses shallow, transparent hypocrisy is hardly limited to money. He may rail at nominees who belong to churches and charitable organizations, but Whitehouse himself in 2017 refused to leave his membership in an all-white beach club:

I think it would be nice if they (Baileys Beach Club) changed a little bit, but its not my position Whitehouse told Nagle. When asked if he would pressure the club to push for diversity at the all-white club], Whitehouse said, I will take that up privately.

The beach club had been under scrutiny for years, and Whitehouse had promised in 2006 to quit it, so this was no ambush.

In October 2019, he tweeted about Trump and some of his allies and advisers, I have a theory: some old white men in politics fear irrelevance as death, and will do anything for relevance taking whatever deal with the devil is necessary. Imagining again. Old white men shouldnt cling to power, because they are old, white, and male? Funny, this from the same Sheldon Whitehouse who, at age 62 in 2018, faced a female primary challenger and did not step aside; he opposed her, and defeated her.

None of Whitehouses antics meet with disapproval from Democrats. To the contrary, Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer told The Hill, I cant say enough about Sen. Whitehouse and his relentless pursuit of this area of captured courts. That speaks volumes.

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Sheldon Whitehouse, the Democrats Conspiracy Theorist and Hatchet Man against the Rule of Law - National Review

Probably the most important election in living memory – Big Jolly Times – Big Jolly Times

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As I type this it is three months until what is almost certainly the most important presidential election in living memory. OK, I know that sort of thing gets said a lot. It is mostly bombast and political rhetoric. This time around it isnt.

Donald Trump is far from perfect. That being said I honestly believe he is a well-meaning patriot who wants to do the right thing and is not always sure exactly what that is or how to go about it. He is also beset by a near-perfect storm of problems. Covid-19. The economic contraction caused by our governments reaction to Covid-19. A never-ending string of moronic attacks, believed by some, asserting that Donald Trump is a Russian asset. (He had to have cheated or he could never have beaten Hillary, right?) A serious ongoing attempt by anarchists and other hard-core radicals as well as never-Trumpers to destroy Trump, the American government and society by piggy-backing on some completely legit political unrest caused by a small number of outrageous incidents of police misconduct.

Trumps opponent, Joe Biden, is a senile sock puppet. Even in highly controlled settings, from his basement reading off of a script, or in tightly managed pesudo-press conferences the man often does not know what year it is or even what city he is in, and that is when he is in his own home town. He has either drunk the Kool-Aid and become a true believer or is so brain-burnt that he doesnt realize, or doesnt care, that he has moved from being a moderate liberal Democrat to being a hard-core leftist mouthpiece.

If, due to some gross mischance he does get elected, what is going to happen? He has made conflicting statements on his stance towards defunding the police. He either really believes the ChiComs are nice guys or he is so desperate to keep his son out of the slammer he will say anything to cover up his sons criminal activity, aided and abetted by Senile Joe himself and the Obama administration. He wants to raise every tax on the books and enact some new ones, close down the schools and the churches by government decree, force people to wear face masks anytime they are out of their house and destroy the Second Amendment to the Constitution. (Remember who he said he was putting in charge of his administrations Second Amendment policy? Beto ORourke. Mr. Hell yes we are coming for the AR-15s. Thats the guy.). By the way, how does the thought of Barack Obama, or Michelle Obama, or both of them, on the Supreme Court strike you?

Several weeks ago he PROMISED to put a woman, probably a woman of color, on the ticket with him. He is apparently actually going to do it, probably because the Blacks in his circle will not let him forget about it. It doesnt matter if she is competent or even honest, merely that she have the right skin tone. We should find out this week who is getting the prize.

Four years ago I opined that I thought Hillary would probably win, but also that there would be a very large and possibly decisive closet Trump vote. I was at least half right. It may be even bigger this time around. The Cancel Culture is pissing off a lot of moderates. That is where elections are won, in the middle.

I did not vote for either Hillary or Trump last time. I live in CA. If I thought that Trump had a chance of winning CA I probably would have voted for him simply because I detest Hillary so much. This time around I will likely vote for him if for no other reason than to do my small part to screw up the stats.

Bob Walsh is a California resident and retired from theState of Ca. Dept. of Corrections.

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Probably the most important election in living memory - Big Jolly Times - Big Jolly Times

Meet the candidates for Michigans 58th District House of Representatives seat – The Hillsdale Daily News

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HILLSDALE Whether Hillsdale and Branch County voters head to the polls for Michigans Aug. 4, 2020 Primary Election or vote by mail, they wont be picking only local or federal candidates.

Theyll also be casting a vote for someone to replace third-term state Rep. Eric Leutheuser, whose current term of office expires Dec. 31, 2020.

With no incumbent candidate seeking reelection, the 58th District primary has become a hotly-contested race on the Republican side. In total, five candidates, four Republicans and one Democrat, have declared for the office.

Candidates vying for the Republican nomination have spent more than $75,000 in the run-up to the Aug. 4 election, making it one of the most expensive primary races since the current district boundaries were redrawn in 1992.

Here is a brief rundown of the five candidates who will appear on the ballot, presented in alphabetical order by last name.

Tamara Barnes

Barnes, a 44-year-old public historian from Coldwater, is running unopposed on the Democratic ticket. The only Democrat in the entire field, she has a clear route to clinching the Democratic nomination for the second time in a row.

Though a presumptive longshot, given Hillsdale and Branch Counties electoral history, Barnes is hoping to wage an unconventional campaign as a change candidate in an extremely red-leaning District. A self-described progressive Democrat, Barnes says she wants to clean up corruption in state government and craft policies that benefit a majority of citizens.

"I believe Republican-led legislation at the state level has been a catastrophic failure for most people in Hillsdale and Branch counties," she said. "Workers continue to be paid unfair wages, corporations continue to receive enormous subsidies in the name of economic development, public schools continue to be critically underfunded, proposed cuts to Medicaid continue to put our most vulnerable citizens at risk and our legislators continue to take money from special interest groups in exchange for favors."

Barness platform includes increasing access to quality healthcare, addressing racial and economic inequities in the 58th District and increasing funding for public schools. She supports raising the states minimum wage and expanding Medicaid via the Healthy Michigan Plan (Affordable Care Act) as a placeholder for an eventual universal medical care system.

Barnes, who has spent her entire career working for non-profit organizations, says her research experience and coalition-building skills enable her to consider multiple viewpoints and implement workable solutions for challenging problems. She says those traits make her well-suited for the office of state representative.

"I believe that I am the only candidate who is concerned with people in this district who struggle those making less than a living wage and those who have health issues and remain underinsured," she said.

Barnes has been endorsed by the Branch County Democratic Party and Hillsdale County Democratic Party.

The Democratic nominee two years ago, Barnes was defeated by incumbent Republican state Rep. Eric Leutheuser in the November 2018 general election.

Barnes possesses a Master of Arts in museum studies from State University of New Yorks Cooperstown Graduate Program and a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Western Michigan University.

Andrew Fink

Fink, a 35-year-old attorney from Hillsdale and father of five, announced his candidacy last November at a Hillsdale County Republican Party meeting. A former U.S. Marine Judge Advocate, he is the only candidate running with a military service background.

A Hillsdale College graduate and practicing attorney since 2014, Fink moved back to Hillsdale from Ypsilanti in 2017 to open a branch of his familys law firm, Fink and Fink, PLLC. He was also recently Michigan Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkeys district director in Hillsdale County. Fink says the current political climate prompted him to run out of a sense of duty.

"I'm running because the national liberal movement Bernie Sanders' socialism, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal, and Nancy Pelosi's distrust of American citizens are here in Michigan, too," he said. "As the father of five children, a Marine Corps veteran, and a constitutional law attorney, I believe it's my duty to defend our Constitution and American way of life against those who would throw it all away."

Finks platform includes advocating for fiscally-responsible small government, defending the rights of parents to have choices about their kids education, and supporting Second Amendment and pro-life causes. He has also taken a strong stance on reigning in the executive branchs power in Michigan.

Having worked at all levels of government, ranging from the local to federal level, Fink says his experience handling a wide scope of legal issues sets him apart from other candidates.

"I have the experience and abilities to be a conservative leader in the legislature from day one," he said. "Being a Marine officer, constitutional law attorney who has sued Governor Whitmer for her shut down orders, recipient of a scholarship from the National Rifle Association to study politics at Hillsdale College, and a board member of the Michigan Lawyers chapter of the Federalist Society, I am more ready to get in the fight on day one to help restore our economy, ensure public safety, and stop our overreaching governor in her tracks."

Since his campaigns launch, Fink has raised more than $44,000 more than any other Democratic or Republican candidate.

Fink is the only candidate in the race endorsed by Right to Life of Michigan. He has also received endorsements from state Sen. Mike Shirkey, former state Rep. Ken Kurtz, the Police Officers Association of Michigan, Citizens for Traditional Values and local business owners Bob Galloway and Dave Haylett among others.

Fink possesses a Juris Doctorate from the University of Michigan Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hillsdale College.

Adam Stockford

The 40-year-old mayor of Hillsdale announced his bid for office last October, becoming the first Republican candidate to do so. The first-term mayor, who assumed office in Nov. 2017, is the only candidate in the race currently holding an elected office.

As an elected official whose day-job is in workforce development, Stockford has argued he has more to offer than any other candidate when it comes to understanding local issues and the concerns of 58th District residents, billing himself as both pragmatic and effective in representing his constituents.

"Im running for office because our area deserves a representative that understands the unique interests of this district," Stockford said. "The 58th isnt like any other district, and as the mayor of one of the two major cities and a businessman whos worked with most of the major industries in the district, I have a unique insight into the needs of the people of this area."

Stockfords platform involves increasing revenue sharing for local governments, reforming Michigans grant system, and seeing that rural communities arent left out when it comes to road and infrastructure repair. He is also a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment, has endorsed constitutional carry legislation, and identifies as pro-life.

Stockford says his experience as a city councilor and mayor, as well as his blue-collar background, sets himself apart from his opponents.

"My experience in local government and in workforce development gives me the best mix of business and politics of any candidate," he said. "Ive also worked a plethora of blue-collar jobs, as a carpet installer and a factory worker, and I think if youre going to make decisions that affect the people of this district, you should walk a mile in their shoes."

Stockford has no support from PACs, but has received personal endorsements from several prominent figures including Charles Steele, Hillsdale Colleges Chairman of Economics, Business and Accounting, Hillsdale College politics professor Mickey Craig and Union City Village Manager and Police Chief Chris Matthis among others.

Andy Welden

Welden, 68, a retired farmer from Jonesville, became the fourth Republican candidate to jump into the 58th District race when he formally declared his bid for office in May. Despite his late entry into the race, his campaign raised $21,895 in the three months since its launch, the second-highest haul of any candidate.

The only candidate from either party with a background in agriculture, Welden, who served as the principal and owner of Welden Farms in Jonesville for 35 years, has made his knowledge of farming and nearly two decades of experience in township and county government the centerpiece of his campaign, billing himself as a trusted neighbor and dedicated public servant.

"Im running to represent the residents and their priorities," Welden said. "I believe I am capable of doing this well."

Weldens platform involves giving agriculture a larger voice in Lansing and using his leadership experience to fight for a better quality of life for Branch and Hillsdale County residents. A lifelong NRA member, Welden supports the Second Amendment. He also identifies as pro-life.

A Jonesville High School alumnus hailing from a multi-generation farming family, Welden says he believes hes the best candidate for the job because of his local roots and deep-seeded passion for service.

Welden has been endorsed by the Michigan Corn Growers Associations Friends of Corn PAC and the Michigan Association of Counties MACPAC, but has not taken any contributions from any political action committees.

Welden possesses an Associates degree from Michigan State University.

Daren Wiseley

Wiseley, a real estate agent from Osseo and Indiana University law school graduate, was the third Republican to enter the race, announcing his candidacy last December. At 28 years old, he is the youngest candidate seeking the 58th District seat.

The recent law school graduate, who has never held a public office, but worked for the Hillsdale County Prosecutors Office, says that his inaugural campaign is less about experience and more about the ideological lens he says he will apply to decision-making if elected. Wiseley has used his political-outsider status as one of his main selling points in appealing to voters.

"The 58th District is a heavy red district, and I think the people here deserve not just a Republican, but a conservative one that actually reflects their values," he said. "I'm tired of moderate, establishment Republicans not fighting for the best interests of our district, but instead serving the interests of the lobbyists and kowtowing to the Left I'm running to give our district someone willing to take that hard stand and actually fight for tough issues such as: protecting life, defending gun rights, and opposing corporate welfare to support the hard-working people of this district and our great small businesses."

Wiseleys platform includes reducing taxes and cutting regulations on a state level, as well as fighting for a balanced state budget. The pro-Second Amendment candidate says he will oppose any red flag laws and advocate for constitutional carry legislation. He also opposes taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood.

"I'm a principled conservative who shares the commonsense values of my hometown community," he said. "Voters always say they want a conservative fighter and I've put the work in to give them that choice."

Wiseley has been endorsed by Michigan Trump Republicans and Young Americans for Liberty, two conservative grassroots organizations.

Wiseley possesses a Juris Doctorate from Indiana University-Bloomingtons Maurer School of law and completed his undergraduate studies at Indiana Institute of Technology (Indiana Tech).

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Airships Are No Longer a Relic of the Past; You Could Ride in One by 2023 – Singularity Hub

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As concern over climate change and rising temperatures grows, the airline industry is taking heat (pun intended). Flying accounts for 2.5 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions; thats lower than car travel and maritime shipping, but still a chunk worth acknowledging.

In some parts of the world people have started flight-shaming, that is, giving up air travel themselves and encouraging others to find alternative means of transport that are more climate-friendly. Swedens national flygskam campaign, which started in 2017, even led to a nine percent decrease in domestic air travel.

Its possible to cut back on air travel, but given the globalized nature of business, the economy, and even families and friendships, were not going to stop needing a fast, relatively pain-free way to get across countries or around the globe; some things simply cant be done over Zoom.

An unexpected potential solution is being floated (again, pun intended) by companies that believe people will be willing to trade a lot of time and money for a more planet-friendly way to travel: by airship.

The term airship encompasses motorized crafts that float due to being filled with a gas thats lighter than air, like helium or hydrogen; blimps and zeppelins are the most common. Airships were used for bombings during World War I, and started carrying passengers in the late 1920s. In 1929 Germanys Graf Zeppelin fully circled the globe, breaking the trip up into four legs and starting and ending in New Jersey; it took 22 days in total and carried 61 people. By the mid-1930s there were regular trans-Atlantic passenger flights.

Airships dont need fuel to lift them off the ground, they just need it to propel them forward. Hydrogen was initially the lifting gas of choice, as it was cheap and abundant (and is lighter than helium). But the explosion of the Hindenburg in 1937 not only made the use of hydrogen all but defunct, it dismantled the passenger airship industry virtually overnight (interestingly, though, the Hindenburg wasnt the deadliest airship disaster; it killed 36 people, but a crash 4 years prior killed 73 people).

Since then, airships have been relegated to use for large ads-in-the-sky, and before drones became commonplace they were used to take aerial photos at sporting events.

But passenger airships may soon be making a comeback, and more than one company is already banking on it. OceanSky Cruisesbased, perhaps unsurprisingly, in Swedenis currently taking reservations for expeditions to the North Pole in the 2023-2024 season. According to Digital Trends, a cabin for two is going for $65,000.

Carl-Oscar Lawaczeck, OceanSky Cruises CEO, points out several advantages airships have over planes; their environmental sustainability is just the beginning. The possibilities are amazing when you compare airships with planes, he said. Everything is lighter and cheaper and easier and that gives a lot of possibilities.

Airships have fewer moving parts, and they dont need a runway to land on or take off from. Theyre far more spacious and can carry larger and heavier loads.

If you cringe at the thought of 12 hours of stiff-backed, knee-crunched, parched-air flights, imagine something closer to a flying cruise ship: your own room, a bed, a restaurant and bar, maybe even a glass-floored observation room where you could see the landscape below drifting past in glorious detail.

Would all this make it worth the fact that 12 hours of travel would turn into 60? Airships travel at about one-fifth of the speed of planes; 20 knots versus 100. And nowadays the lifting gas of choice is helium, despite being expensive and scarce.

OceanSky is far from the only company pouring money into resurrecting the airship.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin also started an airship company. LTA (which stands for lighter than air!) Research and Explorations primary stated purpose is to build ultra-cheap crafts to be used for humanitarian missions. The aforementioned lack of need for runways makes airships a promising and practical option for delivering supplies to remote, hard-to-reach locations.

To that end, Barry Prentice, who leads the Canadian company Buoyant Aircraft Systems International, hopes to use airships to transport pre-built structures for schools and housing to remote parts of Canada that lack good roads.

And earlier this year, French airship company Flying Whales (I mean, how can you not adore that name?) received $23 million in funding from the government of Quebec to build cargo-carrying Zeppelins.

Given our current pandemic-dominated reality, its hard to imagine a future of seamless global travel of any kind, much less on an airship. But that future will, thankfully, arrive (though when is anyones guess). As calls for climate action get louder and the costs associated with airships dropas the cost of any new technology tends to do with timewe may find ourselves going retro and being ferried across the globe by giant helium-filled balloons.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Hybrid Air Vehicles Ltd

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This Week’s Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through August 1) – Singularity Hub

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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

OpenAIs Latest Breakthrough Is Astonishingly Powerful, But Still Fighting Its FlawsJames Vincent | The VergeWhat makes GPT-3 amazing, they say, is not that it can tell you that the capital of Paraguay is Asuncin (it is) or that 466 times 23.5 is 10,987 (its not), but that its capable of answering both questions and many more beside simply because it was trained on more data for longer than other programs. If theres one thing we know that the world is creating more and more of, its data and computing power, which means GPT-3s descendants are only going to get more clever.

I Tried to Live Without the Tech Giants. It Was Impossible.Kashmir Hill | The New York TimesCritics of the big tech companies are often told, If you dont like the company, dont use its products. My takeaway from the experiment was that its not possible to do that. Its not just the products and services branded with the big tech giants name. Its that these companies control a thicket of more obscure products and services that are hard to untangle from tools we rely on for everything we do, from work to getting from point A to point B.

Meet the Engineer Who Let a Robot Barber Shave Him With a Straight RazorLuke Dormehl | Digital TrendsNo, its not some kind of lockdown-induced barber startup or aJackass-style stunt. Instead, Whitney, assistant professor of mechanical and industrial engineering at Northeastern University School of Engineering, was interested in straight-razor shaving as a microcosm for some of the big challenges that robots have faced in the past (such as their jerky, robotic movement) and how they can now be solved.

Can Trees Live Forever? New Kindling in an Immortal DebateCara Giaimo | The New York TimesEven if a scientist dedicated her whole career to very old trees, she would be able to follow her research subjects for only a small percentage of their lives. And a long enough multigenerational study might see its own methods go obsolete. For these reasons, Dr. Munn-Bosch thinks we will never prove whether long-lived trees experience senescence

Theres No Such Thing as Family Secrets in the Age of 23andMeCaitlin Harrington | Wiredtechnology has a way of creating new consequences for old decisions. Today, some 30 million people have taken consumer DNA tests, a threshold experts have called a tipping point. People conceived through donor insemination are matching with half-siblings, tracking down their donors, forming networks and advocacy organizations.

The Problems AI Has Today Go Back CenturiesKaren Hao | MIT Techology ReviewIn 2018, just as the AI field was beginning to reckon with problems like algorithmic discrimination, [Shakir Mohamed, a South African AI researcher at DeepMind], penned a blog post with his initial thoughts. In it he called on researchers to decolonise artificial intelligenceto reorient the fields work away from Western hubs like Silicon Valley and engage new voices, cultures, and ideas for guiding the technologys development.

AI-Generated Text Is the Scariest Deepfake of AllRenee DiResta | WiredIn the future, deepfake videos and audiofakes may well be used to create distinct, sensational moments that commandeer a press cycle, or to distract from some other, more organic scandal. But undetectable textfakesmasked as regular chatter on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and the likehave the potential to be far more subtle, far more prevalent, and far more sinister.

Image credit: Adrien Olichon /Unsplash

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Cosmic tango between the very small and the very large – Penn State News

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. While Einsteins theory of general relativity can explain a large array of fascinating astrophysical and cosmological phenomena, some aspects of the properties of the universe at the largest-scales remain a mystery. A new study using loop quantum cosmology a theory that uses quantum mechanics to extend gravitational physics beyond Einsteins theory of general relativity accounts for two major mysteries. While the differences in the theories occur at the tiniest of scales much smaller than even a proton they have consequences at the largest of accessible scales in the universe. The study, which appears online July 29 in Physical Review Letters, also provides new predictions about the universe that future satellite missions could test.

While a zoomed-out picture of the universe looks fairly uniform, it does have a large-scale structure, for example because galaxies and dark matter are not uniformly distributed throughout the universe. The origin of this structure has been traced back to the tiny inhomogeneities observed in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation that was emitted when the universe was 380,000 years young that we can still see today. But the CMB itself has three puzzling features that are considered anomalies because they are difficult to explain using known physics.

While seeing one of these anomalies may not be that statistically remarkable, seeing two or more together suggests we live in an exceptional universe, said Donghui Jeong, associate professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State and an author of the paper. A recent study in the journal Nature proposed an explanation for one of these anomalies that raised so many additional concerns, they flagged a possible crisis in cosmology. Using quantum loop cosmology, however, we have resolved two of these anomalies naturally, avoiding that potential crisis.

Research over the last three decades has greatly improved our understanding of the early universe, including how the inhomogeneities in the CMB were produced in the first place. These inhomogeneities are a result of inevitable quantum fluctuations in the early universe. During a highly accelerated phase of expansion at very early times known as inflation these primordial, miniscule fluctuations were stretched under gravitys influence and seeded the observed inhomogeneities in the CMB.

To understand how primordial seeds arose, we need a closer look at the early universe, where Einsteins theory of general relativity breaks down, said Abhay Ashtekar, Evan Pugh Professor of Physics, holder of the Eberly Family Chair in Physics, and director of the Penn State Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos. The standard inflationary paradigm based on general relativity treats space time as a smooth continuum. Consider a shirt that appears like a two-dimensional surface, but on closer inspection you can see that it is woven by densely packed one-dimensional threads. In this way, the fabric of space time is really woven by quantum threads. In accounting for these threads, loop quantum cosmology allows us to go beyond the continuum described by general relativity where Einsteins physics breaks down for example beyond the Big Bang.

The researchers previous investigation into the early universe replaced the idea of a Big Bang singularity, where the universe emerged from nothing, with the Big Bounce, where the current expanding universe emerged from a super-compressed mass that was created when the universe contracted in its preceding phase. They found that all of the large-scale structures of the universe accounted for by general relativity are equally explained by inflation after this Big Bounce using equations of loop quantum cosmology.

In the new study, the researchers determined that inflation under loop quantum cosmology also resolves two of the major anomalies that appear under general relativity.

Diagram showing evolution of the Universe according to the paradigm of Loop Quantum Origins, developed by scientists at Penn State.

IMAGE: Alan Stonebraker. P. Singh, Physics 5, 142 (2012); APS/A. Stonebraker

The primordial fluctuations we are talking about occur at the incredibly small Planck scale, said Brajesh Gupt, a postdoctoral researcher at Penn State at the time of the research and currently at the Texas Advanced Computing Center of the University of Texas at Austin. A Planck length is about 20 orders of magnitude smaller than the radius of a proton. But corrections to inflation at this unimaginably small scale simultaneously explain two of the anomalies at the largest scales in the universe, in a cosmic tango of the very small and the very large."

The researchers also produced new predictions about a fundamental cosmological parameter and primordial gravitational waves that could be tested during future satellite missions, including LiteBird and Cosmic Origins Explorer, which will continue to improve our understanding of the early universe.

In addition to Jeong, Ashtekar and Gupt, the research team includes V. Sreenath at the National Institute of Technology Karnataka in Surathkal, India. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation, NASA, the Penn State Eberly College of Science, and the Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Pune, India.

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Cosmic tango between the very small and the very large - Penn State News