#Population Research Center at the University of Texas (Austin)

[minnesotafollower]

Will the World’s Population Cease To Expand?  

This blog has published many posts about the U.S. currently experiencing a declining and aging population and seeing one solution in encouraging immigration from other countries that have increasing and younger populations.[1] This perspective is complicated by some population experts seeing a future peak in world population and a subsequent shrinkage in same without reaching a plateau and stable…

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

June 29, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

JUN 30, 2023

Today the Supreme Court handed down a decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc., v. President and Fellows of Harvard College. Students for Fair Admissions is an organization designed to fight against affirmative action in college admissions, and today it achieved its goal: the Supreme Court decided that policies at Harvard and the University of North Carolina that consider race as a factor in admissions are unconstitutional because they violate the guarantee of equal protection before the law, established by the Fourteenth Amendment. 

The deciding votes were 6 to 2 in the case of Harvard—Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson recused herself because she had been a member of Harvard’s board of overseers—and 6 to 3 in the case of the University of North Carolina. 

In the case of the two schools at the center of this Supreme Court decision, admissions officers initially evaluated students on a number of categories. Harvard used six: academic, extracurricular, athletic, school support, personal, and overall. Then, after the officers identified an initial pool of applicants who were all qualified for admission, they cut down the list to a final class. At Harvard, those on the list to be cut were evaluated on four criteria: legacy status, recruited athlete status, financial aid eligibility, and race. Today, the Supreme Court ruled that considering race as a factor in that categorical fashion is unconstitutional. 

The court did not rule that race could not be considered at all. In the majority decision, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that “nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise.”

How much this will matter for colleges and universities is unclear. Journalist James Fallows pointed out that there are between 3,500 and 5,500 colleges in the U.S. and all but 100 of them admit more than 50% of the students who apply. Only about 70 admit fewer than a third of all applicants. That is, according to a study by the Pew Research Center, “the great majority of schools, where most Americans get their postsecondary education, admit most of the people who apply to them.” 

The changing demographics of the country are also changing student populations. As an example, in 2022, more than 33% of the students at the University of Texas at Austin, which automatically admits any Texas high school student in the top 6% of their class, were from historically underrepresented populations. And universities that value diversity may continue to try to create a diverse student body.

But in the past, when schools have eliminated affirmative action, Black student numbers have dropped off, both because of changes in admission policies and because Black students have felt unwelcome in those schools. This matters to the larger pattern of American society. As Black and Brown students are cut off from elite universities, they are also cut off from the pipeline to elite graduate schools and jobs. 

More is at stake in this case than affirmative action in university admissions. The decision involves the central question of whether the law is colorblind or whether it can be used to fix long-standing racial inequality. Does the Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868 to enable the federal government to overrule state laws that discriminated against Black Americans, allow the courts to enforce measures to address historic discrimination? 

Those joining the majority in the decision say no. They insist that the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment after the Civil War intended only that it would make men of all races equal before the law, and that considering race in college admissions undermines that principle by using race in a negative manner, involving racial stereotyping (by considering race by category), and lacking an endpoint. “Many universities have for too long wrongly concluded that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned, but the color of their skin. This Nation’s constitutional history does not tolerate that choice,” the majority opinion reads. 

In a concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that affirmative action actually made racial tensions worse because it “highlights our racial differences with pernicious effect,” prolonging “the asserted need for racial discrimination.” He wrote: “under our Constitution, race is irrelevant.” “The great failure of this country was slavery and its progeny,” Thomas wrote. “And, the tragic failure of this Court was its misinterpretation of the Reconstruction Amendments.” 

Those justices who dissented—Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson—pointed to the profound racial discrimination that continued after the Civil War and insist that the law has the power to address that discrimination in order to achieve the equality promised by the Fourteenth Amendment. “The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment enshrines a guarantee of racial equality,” Sotomayor’s opinion begins. “The Court long ago concluded that this guarantee can be enforced through race-conscious means in a society that is not, and has never been, colorblind.” 

In her concurring opinion concerning the UNC case, Jackson noted that “[g]ulf-sized race-based gaps exist with respect to the health, wealth, and well-being of American citizens. They were created in the distant past, but have indisputably been passed down to the present day through the generations. Every moment these gaps persist is a moment in which this great country falls short of actualizing one of its foundational principles—the ‘self-evident’ truth that all of us are created equal.” 

If this fight sounds political, it should. It mirrors the current political climate in which right-wing activists reject the idea of systemic racism that the U.S. has acknowledged and addressed in the law since the 1950s. They do not believe that the Fourteenth Amendment supports the civil rights legislation that tries to guarantee equality for historically marginalized populations, and in today’s decision the current right-wing majority on the court demonstrated that it is willing to push that political agenda at the expense of settled law. As recently as 2016, the court reaffirmed that affirmative action, used since the 1960s, is constitutional. Today’s court just threw that out.  

The split in the court focused on history, and the participants’ anger was palpable and personal. Thomas claimed that “[a]s [Jackson] sees things, we are all inexorably trapped in a fundamentally racist society, with the original sin of slavery and the historical subjugation of black Americans still determining our lives today.” Her solution, he writes, “is to unquestioningly accede to the view of elite experts and reallocate society’s riches by racial means as necessary to ‘level the playing field,’ all as judged by racial metrics…. I strongly disagree.” 

Jackson responded that “Justice Thomas’s prolonged attack…responds to a dissent I did not write in order to assail an admissions program that is not the one UNC has crafted.” 

She noted that Black Americans had always simply wanted the same right to take care of themselves that white Americans had enjoyed, but it had been denied them. She recounted the nation’s long history of racial discrimination and excoriated the majority for pretending it didn’t exist. “With let-them-eat-cake obliviousness, today, the majority pulls the ripcord and announces ‘colorblindness for all’ by legal fiat. But deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life. And having so detached itself from this country’s actual past and present experiences, the Court has now been lured into interfering with the crucial work that UNC and other institutions of higher learning are doing to solve America’s real-world problems.”

“Today, the Supreme Court upended decades of precedent that enabled America’s colleges and universities to build vibrant diverse environments where students are prepared to lead and learn from one another,” the Biden administration said in a statement, warning that “the Court’s decision threatens to move the country backwards.” In a speech to reporters, Biden called for new standards that take into consideration the adversity—including poverty—a student has overcome when selecting among qualified candidates, a system that would work “for everyone… from Appalachia to Atlanta and far beyond.”

“While the Court can render a decision, it cannot change what America stands for.”

—

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[newstfionline]

Sunday, June 25, 2023

The World’s Empty Office Buildings Have Become a Debt Time Bomb (Bloomberg) In New York and London, owners of gleaming office towers are walking away from their debt rather than pouring good money after bad. The landlords of downtown San Francisco’s largest mall have abandoned it. A new Hong Kong skyscraper is only a quarter leased. The creeping rot inside commercial real estate is like a dark seam running through the global economy. Even as stock markets rally and investors are hopeful that the fastest interest-rate increases in a generation will ebb, the trouble in property is set to play out for years. After a long buying binge fueled by cheap debt, owners and lenders are grappling with changes in how and where people work, shop and live in the wake of the pandemic. At the same time, higher interest rates are making it more expensive to buy or refinance buildings. A tipping point is coming: In the US alone, about $1.4 trillion of commercial real estate loans are due this year and next, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. When the deadline arrives, owners facing large principal payments may prefer to default instead of borrowing again to pay the bill.

Inflation, health costs, partisan cooperation among the nation’s top problems (Pew Research Center) Inflation remains the top concern for Republicans in the U.S., with 77% saying it’s a very big problem. Gun violence is the top issue for Democrats: 81% rank it as a very big problem. When it comes to policy, more Americans agree with the Republican Party than the Democratic Party on the economy, crime and immigration, while the Democratic Party holds the edge on abortion, health care and climate change.

The Brown Bag Lady serves meals and dignity to L.A.’s homeless (USA Today) A Los Angeles woman, known affectionately as the Brown Bag Lady, is serving the city’s unhoused population with enticing meals and a sprinkle of inspiration for dessert. Jacqueline Norvell started cooking meals for people on L.A.’s Skid Row about 10 years ago in her two-bedroom apartment after getting some extra money from her Christmas pay check. She bought several turkeys and prepared all the fixings for about 70 people, driving to one of L.A.’s most high-risk areas to hand out the meals. “We just parked on a corner,” said Norvell. “And we were swarmed.” She says people were grateful and she realized the significant demand. Norvell’s been cooking tasty creations ever since. Norvell garnishes each dish with love and some words of encouragement. In addition to the nourishment, each bag or box has an inspirational quote. “We’ve got to help each other out,” she said. “We have to.”

Facing Brutal Heat, the Texas Electric Grid Has an Ally: ‌Solar Power (NYT) Strafed by powerful storms and superheated by a dome of hot air, Texas has been enduring a dangerous early heat wave this week that has broken temperature records and strained the state’s independent power grid. But the lights and air conditioning have stayed on across the state, in large part because of an unlikely new reality in the nation’s premier oil and gas state: Texas is fast becoming a leader in solar power. The amount of solar energy generated in Texas has doubled since the start of last year. And it is set to roughly double again by the end of next year, according to data from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. “Solar is producing 15 percent of total energy right now,” Joshua Rhodes, a research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin, said on a sweltering day in the state capital last week, when a larger-than-usual share of power was coming from the sun. So far this year, about 7 percent of the electric power used in Texas has come from solar, and 31 percent from wind. The state’s increasing reliance on renewable energy has caused some Texas lawmakers, mindful of the reliable production and revenues from oil and gas, to worry. “It’s definitely ruffling some feathers,” Dr. Rhodes said.

Guatemalans are fed up with corruption ahead of an election that may draw many protest votes (AP) As Guatemala prepares to elect a new president Sunday, its citizens are fed up with government corruption, on edge about crime and struggling with poverty and malnutrition—all of which drives tens of thousands out of the country each year. And for many disillusioned voters—especially those who supported three candidates who were blocked from running this year—the leading contenders at the close of campaigning Friday seem like the least likely to drive the needed changes. Guatemala’s problems are not new or unusual for the region, but their persistence is generating voter frustration. As many as 13% of eligible voters plan to cast null votes Sunday, according to a poll published by the Prensa Libre newspaper. Some of voters’ cynicism could be the result of years of unfulfilled promises and what has been seen as a weakening of democratic institutions. “The levels of democracy fell substantially, so the (next) president is going to inherit a country whose institutions are quite damaged,” said Lucas Perelló, a political scientist at Marist College in New York and expert on Central America. “We see high levels of corruption and not necessarily the political will to confront or reduce those levels.”

Chile official warns of ‘worst front in a decade’ after floods, evacuations (Reuters) Days of heavy rainfall have swollen Chile’s rivers causing floods that blocked off roads and prompted evacuation in the center of the country, amid what has been described as the worst weather front in a decade. The flooding has led authorities to declare a “red alert” and order preventive evacuations in various towns in the south of Santiago. “This is the worst weather front we have had in 10 years,” Santiago metropolitan area governor Claudio Orego said.

Crisis in Russia (NYT/AP) A long-running feud over the invasion of Ukraine between the Russian military and Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia’s private Wagner military group, escalated into an open confrontation. Prigozhin accused Russia of attacking his soldiers and appeared to challenge one of President Vladimir Putin’s main justifications for the war, and Russian generals in turn accused him of trying to mount a coup against Putin. Prighozin claimed he had control of Russia’s southern military headquarters in the city of Rostov-on-Don, near the front lines of the war in Ukraine where his fighters had been operating. Video showed him entering the headquarters’ courtyard. Signs of active fighting were also visible near the western Russian city of Voronezh, and convoys of Wagner troops were spotted heading toward Moscow. The Russian military scrambled to defend Russia’s capital. Then the greatest challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin in his more than two decades in power fizzled out after Prigozhin abruptly reached a deal with the Kremlin to go into exile and sounded the retreat. Under the deal announced Saturday by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Prigozhin will go to neighboring Belarus. Charges against him of mounting an armed rebellion will be dropped. The government also said it would not prosecute Wagner fighters who took part, while those who did not join in were to be offered contracts by the Defense Ministry. Prigozhin ordered his troops back to their field camps in Ukraine, where they have been fighting alongside Russian regular soldiers.

In Myanmar, Birthday Wishes for Aung San Suu Kyi Lead to a Wave of Arrests (NYT) In military-ruled Myanmar, there seemed to be a new criminal offense this week: wearing a flower in one’s hair on June 19. Pro-democracy activists say more than 130 people, most of them women, have been arrested for participating in a “flower strike” marking the birthday of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the civilian leader who was ousted by Myanmar’s military in a February 2021 coup. Imprisoned by the junta since then, she turned 78 on Monday. The protest—a clear, if unspoken, rebuke of the junta—drew nationwide support, and many shops were reported to have sold all their flowers. Most of the arrests occurred on Monday, but they continued through the week as the military tracked down participants and supporters. In some cities and towns, soldiers seized women in the streets for holding a flower or wearing one in their hair. Some were beaten, witnesses said. The police have also been rounding up people who took to Facebook to post a birthday greeting or a photo of themselves with a flower. Phil Robertson, the deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, called the campaign the latest example of the “paranoia and intolerance” of Myanmar’s military rulers.

Sweltering Beijingers turn to bean soup and cushion fans to combat heat (Washington Post) China’s national weather forecaster issued an unconventional outlook this week: “Hot, really hot, extremely hot [melting smiley face],” it wrote Tuesday night on Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter. It was imprecise, but it wasn’t wrong. The temperature in Beijing hit 106 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday, a public holiday for the Dragon Boat Festival. It was the highest June recording since 1961. Visiting the Great Wall was “like being in an oven,” said Lin Yun-chan, a Taiwanese graduate student on her first trip to Beijing. The heat wave is almost the only thing anyone can talk about. Much of the online discussion revolves around food. People are sharing advice about the most hydrating snacks for the hot weather: mung bean soup and sour plum drink are popular options. Entrepreneurs looked for ways to capitalize on the heat wave: One promoted a seat-cushion fan designed to combat a sweaty butt, while tourism companies touted trips to the south of the country, which is usually hotter but currently less so.

Your next medical treatment could be a healthier diet (WSJ) Food and insurance companies are exploring ways to link health coverage to diets, increasingly positioning food as a preventive measure to protect human health and treat disease. Insurance companies and startups are developing meals tailored to help treat existing medical conditions, industry executives said, while promoting nutritious diets as a way to help ward off diet-related disease and health problems. “We know that for adults, around 45% of those who die from heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, stroke, that poor nutrition is a major contributing factor,” said Gail Boudreaux, chief executive of insurance provider Elevance Health speaking at The Wall Street Journal Global Food Forum. “Healthy food is a real opportunity.”

[weather-usa]

Study Reveals Cities Influence Rainfall Patterns

We've all heard of the urban heat island effect, where cities are warmer than their rural surroundings. Now, scientists have identified a similar phenomenon called the urban "rain island effect," where cities seem to receive more rainfall than nearby rural areas.

In a groundbreaking study, researchers analyzed rainfall patterns in over 1,000 cities worldwide and discovered that more than 60% of them experience higher precipitation levels compared to their rural surroundings.

In some instances, the difference is significant, as highlighted in the study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. For example, flood-prone Houston averages nearly five inches more rain annually than the surrounding rural areas.

The study’s findings carry significant implications for urban areas, with the most concerning being the increased risk of flash flooding in densely developed regions.

Why do cities get more rain?

What causes cities to receive more rainfall than surrounding areas? According to study co-author Zong-Liang Yang, a professor at the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin, one major factor is the presence of tall buildings. These structures block or slow down wind, causing air to converge toward the city center, which can lead to more rainfall.

Weather Forecast For 77377-Tomball-TX:

https://www.behance.net/gallery/202051419/Weather-Forecast-For-77377-Tomball-TX

“Cities often have tall buildings that cause air to converge or pile up,” explained meteorologist Marshall Shepherd, a former NASA scientist and co-author of the study, now at the University of Georgia. “It’s like two trains colliding—their front ends rise up. That’s convergence.”

The city's buildings create lift, pushing warm, moist air from the surface into the cooler air above, where it can form rain clouds.

Another factor is the urban heat island effect. According to NASA, the warmer temperatures in cities create unstable air. When city-heated air rises, it cools and condenses, forming rain clouds that typically drench areas downwind.

Climate and Average Weather Year Round in 31410 - Savannah GA

Other cities also experience increased rainfall. Alongside Houston, the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area also shows a significant difference between urban and rural precipitation, according to the new study. Globally, cities like Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, and Lagos in Nigeria were similarly notable.

In general, cities with larger populations, higher aerosol emissions, and more pronounced urban heat island effects tend to see greater increases in annual rainfall.

See more:See more:

https://weatherusa.app/zip-code/weather-71751

https://weatherusa.app/zip-code/weather-71752

https://weatherusa.app/zip-code/weather-71753

https://weatherusa.app/zip-code/weather-71754

https://weatherusa.app/zip-code/weather-71758

How was the study conducted?

Researchers analyzed daily precipitation using high-resolution satellite data for 1,056 cities worldwide, from 2001 to 2020. They compared annual rainfall, extreme precipitation events, and long-term trends in each city to those in nearby rural areas. The study found that 63% of cities received more annual rainfall within and downwind of their urban areas than the surrounding countryside.

In Southeast Asia, cities like Ho Chi Minh and Kuala Lumpur—known for rapid urbanization and population growth—exemplify how urban factors can amplify local rainfall patterns.

[influencermagazineuk]

Elon Musk's Foundation Makes Monumental Contribution: Unveiling the Remarkable $10 Million Gift

Renowned entrepreneur Elon Musk, recognized for his multifaceted initiatives and outspoken concerns about demographic trends, has demonstrated his commitment on an unprecedented scale. Recent insights reveal that Musk, a fervent advocate of addressing population challenges, has substantiated his convictions with a remarkable philanthropic act—a staggering $10 million contribution to a groundbreaking fertility and population research endeavor in Texas. This substantial endowment marks a historic moment for the Musk Foundation, signifying its most substantial contribution to higher education yet, primarily aimed at advancing pivotal research endeavors. In a defining move, Elon Musk allocated a monumental sum of $10 million to the University of Texas at Austin in 2021, specifically designated for the institution's visionary Population Wellbeing Initiative (PWI). This collaborative initiative merges the university's Population Research Center and its economics department to investigate critical facets encompassing fertility dynamics, future demographic trends, and their intricate interplay with economic progress. Through this significant grant, the Musk Foundation propels pioneering research programs, underscoring its resolute commitment to advancing scientific understanding in this vital sphere. Elon Musk's concerns over what he has termed the "population collapse" phenomenon have been widely acknowledged. His distinctive perspectives on countering the potential ramifications of an "underpopulation crisis" have reverberated through various platforms. Distinctive in his convictions, Musk fervently advocates for the necessity of multiple childbirths to navigate the intricate landscape of demographic shifts effectively. The Population Wellbeing Initiative, which garnered Musk's substantial backing, has issued projections of paramount significance. Notably, owing to dwindling fertility rates, the initiative posits a thought-provoking conjecture—the majority of human history has already unfolded, with approximately four-fifths of the journey complete. This assertion implies that, without decisive intervention, a future marked by a disconcerting decline in population numbers might ensue, prompting contemplation on the potential consequences. Furthermore, in a show of tangible support for his beliefs, Elon Musk also played a pivotal role in funding a noteworthy two-day PWI conference held last October. Intriguingly, this contribution was discreetly executed, with the extent of Musk's involvement concealed from the academicians hailing from diverse locales who convened for the event. Beyond his philanthropic undertakings, Elon Musk's personal life has captured attention in equal measure. As a father to an impressive brood of nine children, his familial journey has been both diverse and expansive. Musk's offspring encompass a spectrum of relationships, with five children—Griffin, Vivian, Kai, Saxon, and Damian—born to Canadian author Justine Wilson. Further extending his familial tapestry, two children—X AE A-XI and Exa Dark Siderael—were welcomed with singer Grimes. Notably, Musk's visionary pursuits also found expression in the realm of Neuralink, where he fathered twins with a prominent executive, underscoring his ceaseless drive to explore uncharted territories. Elon Musk's vocal expressions on the topic of demographic challenges reverberate through his digital footprint. On various occasions, he has taken to social media to assert that the perils of "population collapse" surpass even the scope of climate change as a civilization-endangering force. Notably, a recent repost from Musk emphasized the ongoing relevance of the population crisis discourse, with the visionary entrepreneur unequivocally concurring with the assertion that population collapse constitutes a formidable threat to societal stability. In an emblematic proclamation, Elon Musk declared, "Doing my best to help the underpopulation crisis," immediately followed by the resolute statement, "A collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces by far." This declaration encapsulates Musk's steadfast commitment to addressing a multifaceted crisis that transcends conventional boundaries. Elon Musk's recent $10 million contribution to the University of Texas at Austin's Population Wellbeing Initiative underscores not only his enduring commitment to crucial scientific inquiries but also his resolute belief in proactive intervention to navigate demographic challenges. This historic act of philanthropy resonates as a clarion call to engage with the complexities of population dynamics, ensuring a future characterized by resilience, understanding, and proactive solutions. Read the full article

[espies-galaxy]

Checking Our Mental Health Is More Important Than Ever

Dear World,

Mental health is a level of psychological well-being or an absence of a mental disorder; it is the "psychological state of someone who is functioning at a satisfactory level of emotional and behavioral adjustment."

I did some research a time ago and recently just to check the numbers, and I think it is time that we take a step back and look at the damages our youth are or might experience. We can do something to help, but first, we must show people it is okay to ask for help. How about we think this through and see what we can do to lower these numbers, change starts with you and with me.

From the perspective of positive psychology, mental health includes an individual's ability to enjoy life, create a balance between life activities and efforts to achieve psychological resilience; the well-being of an individual is comprised of the realization of their abilities, coping with everyday stresses of life, productive work, and contribution to their community.

Web-based surveys done between August 2011 to November 2011 that was done by National Alliance on Mental Illness received 765 responses from individuals currently enrolled or enrolled in the last six years. All asked the same questions about what it was like living with a mental health condition while attending.

This survey also shows that there are eight issues for college students. The highest being depression (27 percent), bipolar disorder (24 percent), anxiety (11 percent), schizophrenia (six percent), PTSD (six percent), ADHD (five percent), substance abuse (one percent), and 12 percent chose another type of illness.

Over half of the responses were from currently enrolled students, and a mere 16 percent were. The survey shows that students near graduating realized the condition and received help.

All colleges are not immune to these issues either. Last year over half of the student population went to a counseling meeting provided by the student health services. The information gathered said 56 percent of which were male and 44 percent of which were female.

Most universities have a counseling center that does not give personal information. Still, they are able to say the most common diagnosis, which matches with statistics from the APA and that along with depression, social anxiety is most common not only in the millennial generation but all upcoming generations from the stress of being successful after school.

A study was done at the University of Texas at Austin’s Counseling and Mental Health Center, created a team of trained and certified counselors to determine the appropriate level of care that the student needs at that time.

"For some students, a single session with a mental health professional is all they need, perhaps to help them problem-solve a situation or talk about a personal concern," says Chris Brownson, Ph.D., associate vice president for student affairs and director of UT-Austin's Counseling Center, says the article.

Brownson continued, "Other students are in need of more intermediate or even extended care. This is a way of getting students in front of a counselor more quickly and then ultimately getting them connected to the type of treatment they need much faster."

The APA reported that this system allowed each student to get the help needed without cutting away time from the students with more urgent problems regarding their health.

All students need to do is ask for help; everything is confidential, and there is only one way to change the stigma: to show people that going and asking for help is okay.

Sincerely,

The Girl Who Studied Psychology To Understand Others

(originally written by me on January 30, 2017)

[sellmyhomefastfortworthtx]

Dallas-Fort Worth home prices see record growth

Dallas-Fort Worth home prices keep growing at an exceedingly fast pace. At a record 28.8%, the latest year-over-year home cost increase for the region is one of the highest ever recorded in the monthly S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index report. Home prices nationwide saw a 19.8% annual gain in February. Phoenix, Tampa and Miami reported the highest gains of the 20 cities surveyed in the index. Sell My Home Fast Fort Worth TX “That level of price growth suggests broad strength in the housing market, which is exactly what we continue to observe,” S&P’s Craig Lazzara said in the report. He added, however, that rising mortgage rates may soon have an impact on home prices. “The macroeconomic environment is evolving rapidly and may not support extraordinary home price growth for much longer,” he said. The index compares sales price changes of specific properties over time. Case-Shiller’s price estimate is considered more accurate than home sales data from real estate agents, which can be influenced by the type of properties that are selling each month. Dan Handy, an economic data analyst for Zillow, said that while low inventory and higher rates and prices could drain the pool of buyers eventually, the housing market remains very competitive, with listings going under contract after about a week on the market and homes continuing to sell above asking price. “There are fewer than half the number of homes on the market than at this time in 2019 — the last comparable period prior to the pandemic — yet sales continue to trend above pre-pandemic levels,” Handy said in a statement. “Changes in inventory and affordability will remain key to the housing decisions of prospective buyers in the months ahead.” The index compares sales price changes of specific properties over time. Case-Shiller’s price estimate is considered more accurate than home sales data from real estate agents, which can be influenced by the type of properties that are selling each month. Dan Handy, an economic data analyst for Zillow, said that while low inventory and higher rates and prices could drain the pool of buyers eventually, the housing market remains very competitive, with listings going under contract after about a week on the market and homes continuing to sell above asking price. “There are fewer than half the number of homes on the market than at this time in 2019 — the last comparable period prior to the pandemic — yet sales continue to trend above pre-pandemic levels,” Handy said in a statement. “Changes in inventory and affordability will remain key to the housing decisions of prospective buyers in the months ahead.” Local prices have been affected by a severe shortage of properties on the market and high population growth in the area. The median home price across North Texas reached $380,000 in March, up 22%, according to the North Texas Real Estate Information System and the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University. The four major D-FW counties all saw double-digit declines in listings in March, according to the MetroTex Association of Realtors. The situation is most dire in Collin County, which had just a half month’s supply of listings last month and is now seeing pricing higher than in the Austin area. Dallas-Fort Worth had just 0.7 months of available inventory in the first quarter, with 6,865 homes available, according to Texas Realtors. A balanced market between buyers and sellers would have about six months’ worth of supply.

[kuramirocket]

Sarah Rafael García is an award-winning author and multimedia artist, community educator, curator, and performance ethnographer born in Brownsville, Tejas and raised in Santa Ana, California. She’s author of Las Niñas and SanTana’s Fairy Tales and coeditor of the anthologies Pariahs and Speculative Fiction for Dreamers. García has over 13 years of experience as an Arts Leader and is founder of Barrio Writers, LibroMobile, and Crear Studio — all art programs initiated as a response to build cultural relevance and equity for BIPOC folks in Orange County.

Sarah Rafael García Captures Santa Ana’s History and Gentrification Through Fairy Tales

García has returned periodically to Santa Ana, often witnessing attempts by developers to gentrify the city. In 2016, she went back again, this time as artist-in-residence at Cal State Fullerton’s Grand Central Art Center in the Artists Village — where she became a modern-day Brother Grimm, transforming the community’s stories into fairy tale format. A multimedia installation based on her Santa Ana fairy tales was on view at Grand Central Art Center in Santa Ana in May 2017.

Writing has been a fixture in her life, ever since her father died unexpectedly of an aneurysm in 1988 when she was just 14. At the time she, her Mexican immigrant parents and her sisters, Suzanne and Nydia, were living in Santa Ana. García describes the city as, “the largest border town without a border, with its 80 percent Mexican-American population.” Here, the writer became steeped in the joys and race-inflicted sorrows that come with living in such a community. Issues like gentrification weren’t just headlines, but were reality living outside her window. 

After her father’s death, her mother Sara received a life insurance settlement and moved the family to the mostly white community of Rancho Santa Margarita. They relocated there so that García and her sisters could attend better schools, her mother asserted. Yet this move became a culture shock for the girl of color who was surrounded by perfect blonde classmates.

Last year, she began transforming her childhood memories and desires into fairy tales. Reaching this epiphany followed decades of study, moving many times, extensive travel and a variety of jobs.

García’s nomadic life began when she moved out of her home right after high school to live on her own and attend Irvine Valley College. At IVC, she studied creative writing, sociology and Spanish, while paying her own tuition. “I didn’t even have a computer and there were semesters when I took classes without purchasing the required books. I wonder how I survived it all,” recalls García. Through her fierce determination, she transferred to Texas State University in Austin while working full-time at a center for at-risk youth. After graduating in 1998 with a sociology degree, she worked in high-end marketing jobs in Los Angeles (one with a window overlooking the Hollywood sign). In 2004, a neighbor began stalking her. Unable to resolve this problem, she fled L.A. for a job teaching English in Beijing, China. She lived and worked there for 18 months.

During her stay there, she began composing stories of her family life in Santa Ana. By 2006, she had completed 20 stories. she compiled them into “Las Niñas.” She then left China, and researched an appropriate publisher for her book.

She returned to Santa Ana in 2008, discovering to her dismay that the place was drastically changed. She worked at tutoring jobs, promoting her book, and giving back to her community by starting the non-profit Barrio Writers (BW) program. BW counsels teens from underserved communities through spontaneous reading, grammar, creative writing, higher education and cultural arts. The program now has eight chapters in California and Texas.  

García moved to Austin, Texas in 2010. Two years later, she returned to Texas State for graduate studies. 

“I started writing feminist short stories incorporating some of the characteristics of fairy tales and fables in order to offer a counter narrative to female narratives, as a way to turn the male gaze back on society, making society accountable for sculpting our stereotypes.” She received her MFA in creative writing from Texas State in 2015.

García soon started writing a new collection of fairy tales, inspired by her Santa Ana childhood memories. She crafted a proposal based on these stories in a bid to become artist-in-residence at Grand Central Art Center, which caught the eye of its director. “It was wonderful to see Sarah’s stories written from the perspective of someone who spent her youth in this city,” he says. “Her innovative approach shares community histories, past and present.” Her proposal won her a one-year arts residency at the Center, where she lives what she calls a “fairy goddess” life. Without having to worry about paying the rent or utilities, she gained the peace of mind to concentrate on her stories of Santa Ana.

There are six stories in “SanTana’s Fairy Tales” (in English and Spanish). These include “The Carousel’s Lullaby,” expressing longing for a carousel. She also tells cautionary tales about what might occur in Santa Ana with the threat of deportation. In “Hector & Graciela,” she writes, “Police held heavy batons, threatening gente (people) to return where they came from, while piercing sirens foreshadowed an immigrant’s worse nightmare.”

Using words to paint pictures, García is chronicling in “SanTana’s Fairy Tales” the land that was once filled with a vibrant culture. “Where once Mexican culture was celebrated on Calle Cuatro, she explains, “today white-walled coffee shops and trendy barbers are replacing quinceañera stores and chasing away fruteros (fruit vendors).”

In the story “The Wishing Well,” García also describes her own experience as a writer: “So on this new day when La Fuente [fountain] flowed water again, she knew what was to come, it was up to her to separate the realities from the city’s past lives, she knew she had to write it all down to let la gente decide what is true.” 

 Grand Central Art Center’s director remarks, “Sarah brings an amazing energy and passion to her work. Her sense of community, deep connections and especially her writing project open greater dialogue.”

As a Latina artist herself who has long admired Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, García visited Santa Ana’s Bowers Museum in April 2017 to view its “Frida Kahlo: Her Photos” exhibition. 

“I realize as women we forget to celebrate our life journeys simply because we are still navigating through them,” she remarked, “and sometimes we forget to look back. How many times have we thought, I wonder if Frida ever knew that this would be her life now?”

Sources: (x) (x)

[femsolid]

The world’s largest dataset on patients who have undergone sex-reassignment procedures reveals that these procedures do not bring mental health benefits. But that’s not what the authors originally claimed. Or what the media touted.

In October 2019, the American Journal of Psychiatry published a paper titled, “Reduction in Mental Health Treatment Utilization Among Transgender Individuals After Gender-Affirming Surgeries: A Total Population Study.” As the title suggests, the paper claimed that after having had sex-reassignment surgeries, a patient was less likely to need mental health treatment.

Well, over the weekend, the editors of the journal and the authors of the paper issued a correction. In the words of the authors, “the results demonstrated no advantage of surgery in relation to subsequent mood or anxiety disorder-related health care visits or prescriptions or hospitalizations following suicide attempts".

So, the bottom line: The largest dataset on sex-reassignment procedures—both hormonal and surgical—reveals that such procedures do not bring the promised mental health benefits.

In fact, in their correction to the original study, the authors point out that on one score—treatment for anxiety disorders—patients who had sex-reassignment surgeries did worse than those who did not:

individuals diagnosed with gender incongruence who had received gender-affirming surgery were more likely to be treated for anxiety disorders compared with individuals diagnosed with gender incongruence who had not received gender-affirming surgery.

You would think patients suffering from gender dysphoria would want to know that.

One of the first scholars to raise questions about the original study was Mark Regnerus, a professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin.

Regnerus praised the study for having such a robust dataset. But he pointed out oddities in the way the authors presented the results to the public, and which results the media touted.

For example, Regnerus highlighted that “the study found no mental health benefits for hormonal interventions in this population.”

He also pointed out that in a dataset of 9.7 million people, the results of the original analysis the authors put forward hinged on the outcomes of just three people.

Furthermore, Regnerus noted how small the impact of any given surgery was, that a clinic would need to perform 49 surgeries before they could expect a patient to benefit—hence the plural in the original paper’s title: surgeries.

Given all of these concerns, why the media celebration of the study? Why the “consensus” among the medical elite that transitioning benefits patients? Why the claim that it’s the only acceptable treatment?

It shouldn’t surprise us that the results of this most recent study—and its correction—show that hormonal and surgical transition procedures don’t bring the promised benefits. Even the Obama administration admitted that the best studies do not report improvement after reassignment surgery.

In August 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid wrote that “the four best designed and conducted studies that assessed quality of life before and after surgery using validated (albeit non-specific) psychometric studies did not demonstrate clinically significant changes or differences in psychometric test results after GRS [gender reassignment surgery].”

What does that mean? A population of patients is suffering so much that these patients would submit to amputations and other radical surgeries, and the best research the Obama administration could find suggests that these surgeries bring them no meaningful improvements in their quality of life.

And sadly, in a discussion of the then-largest and most robust study on sex reassignment, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services pointed out: “The study identified increased mortality and psychiatric hospitalization compared to the matched controls. The mortality was primarily due to completed suicides (19.1-fold greater than in control Swedes).”

These results are tragic. And they directly contradict the most popular media narratives, as well as many of the snapshot studies that do not track people over time. Indeed, the Obama administration noted that “mortality from this patient population did not become apparent until after 10 years.”

So when the media tout studies that track outcomes only for a few years, and claim that reassignment is a stunning success, there are good grounds for skepticism. Indeed, it will be interesting to see which media outlets report on this past weekend’s correction—and the true results of the study.

Right now, parents are being told that they need to put their children on the prescribed puberty-blocking drugs, Cross X hormones, etc. That is entirely an experimental treatment protocol. What the science is showing is that hormonal-surgical transition doesn't provide the promised wholeness and happiness patients are seeking. So what we need to do is find ways to help patients feel comfortable in their own bodies. We need to be respectful. We need to be compassionate. We also need to be truthful. And so, we need to be helping patients who feel uncomfortable in their bodies to once again feel comfortable in their bodies. But not to radically transform their bodies, because that does not bring the lasting wholeness and happiness that they seek.

[minnesotafollower]

Will the World’s Population Cease To Expand?  

This blog has published many posts about the U.S. currently experiencing a declining and aging population and seeing one solution in encouraging immigration from other countries that have increasing and younger populations.[1] This perspective is complicated by some population experts seeing a future peak in world population and a subsequent shrinkage in same without reaching a plateau and stable…

[jennymanrique]

Contra-Vax

Vaccines to the rescue? Only if people roll up their sleeves. Photo courtesy of Valleywise Health

Science moved at unprecedented speed to develop vaccines against the new coronavirus. It was too fast for some latinos -- especially those egged on by myth and misinformation 

On the ranch where Gabriela Navarrete was raised in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua, she learned early on that the land could provide what she needed to cure her ills. Mesquite bark, olive oil, corn vinegar and baking soda were useful for treating everything from joint pains to throat infections. In case of indigestion, the medicine was a good old stomach rub.

Navarrete, 69, passed on to her three daughters and one son the lesson that "everything natural is what is good for the body."

So when the COVID-19 pandemic began, she quickly stocked up on Vitamin C, infusions of ginger, chamomile and peppermint, and linden tea for sleeping.

And while this arsenal failed to defend her against the coronavirus last year, she remains resolute: Her principle of "consuming everything natural," she said, is more powerful than the idea of getting vaccinated.

That's why she’s decided that the new COVID vaccines are not for her.

"Getting the vaccine is going to be very bad for me because I think they are made from the virus itself," Navarrete said, talking from her home in Anthony, New Mexico, a small town on the border with Texas. "The only time I got the flu shot, I got a lot worse and I don't want to do that to my body anymore."

Graciela Navarrete and her grandson, Diego.

The coronavirus reached Navarrete’s family through her 17-year-old daughter, an athlete who resumed volleyball practice once the school gym was opened after the lockdown. Everyone avoided hospitalization. They were treated by the family doctor with antibiotics, ibuprofen and albuterol in inhalers.

"The virus gave me very bad headaches and I still struggle when walking, so I accepted the medicines. But I am definitely not getting vaccinated."

Like others her age, Navarette is at a higher risk of infection. Yet that’s not enough for her or her children to discount messages they’ve gotten via WhatsApp, complete with videos, that claim, for example, that vaccines are made with tissues of aborted fetuses.

Doubts and fears 

Nationwide, people across demographic lines have lingering doubts about the new COVID-19 vaccines, according to a new survey by the Monmouth University Polling Institute.

Half of the survey respondents said they plan to get vaccinated as soon as they’re allowed to. But 19% say they want to first see how others react to the inoculations, while 24% say they will avoid the vaccine if they can.

Among Latinos, according to recent data from the COVID-19 vaccine monitor launched by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) to track attitudes and experiences with the vaccines, 18% of adults said they will definitely not get the vaccine. Another 11% said they will only do so if it’s required by employers. And, among those who have decided that they will get vaccinated, 43% said they want to wait and see how the innoculations affect other Latinos.

According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Latinos are nearly twice as likely to be infected by COVID-19 as non-Latino whites. The same population is more than four times as likely to be hospitalized and almost three times as likely to die of the virus. This is due, partly, to the large number of Latinos working in essential jobs that expose them to co-workers and the public. Other factors, like access to health care, also play a role.

Despite the higher risk, some Latinos remain uncertain about the safety of the new coronavirus vaccines.

An example: Navarrete in Texas, said she believes the myth that vaccines carry bits of an actual virus.

"There are other vaccines that have virus particles, including live virus particles," said Gerardo Capo, chief of hematology at Trinitas Comprehensive Cancer Center in New Jersey. "This vaccine is more modern. It has internal proteins of the virus that are not considered to cause an infection. It is impossible."

Vaccine hesitancy among Latinos in the U.S. is not necessarily an ideological issue or a belief in the anti-vaccine movement. "It has more to do with not having enough information or having inadequate information," said Nelly Salgado de Snyder, a researcher with  the University of Texas at Austin.

Doubts exist even among Latino health care professionals.

Ada Linares, a nurse in the New York area, told palabra. that it’s not the suspicious messaging seen on social media or via WhatsApp texts, but her own unfamiliarity with this vaccine -- how it was developed and potential side effects perhaps overlooked in testing and trials that moved at unprecedented speed.

“I have always been pro-vaccine, and I think this is why we are here today,” she said. “But at the same time, I don’t know much about (the vaccines).”

Nurse Ada Linares hesitated for some time but she eventually rolled up her scrubs and took her doses. Photo: Jorge Melchor

Avoiding the needle 

In Texas, officials started by vaccinating health care workers, residents of nursing homes and some people older than 65 years.

Throughout the state, according to the KFF monitor, only 15% of vaccines have reached Hispanics, even though Latinos account for almost 40% of the population, 44% of coronavirus cases and almost half of COVID-19 deaths.

"We need to focus on equity as part of the COVID-19 vaccination effort," said Samantha Artiga, director of KFF's racial equity and health policy program. "It is important to monitor data by race and ethnicity to understand the experiences of the communities ... , who is receiving the vaccines, and who has been the most affected by the pandemic."

But it’s more than just reluctance. Studies into low flu vaccination rates among low-income Latino seniors show that being uninsured -- and even the lack of transportation to get to vaccination centers -- are huge barriers.  

Experts suggest that no-cost COVID-19 vaccines, available to everyone regardless of health insurance or immigration status, could help close the gap, “if the information is available in linguistically appropriate materials and the concerns of people are clearly addressed. Immigrant families should be assured that their medical data is private and will not be used by federal agencies,” Artiga said.

Conspiracy theories

In addition to debunked conspiracy theories that Pfizer and Moderna vaccines can alter DNA, or contain microchips implanted by Bill Gates to monitor people with 5G technology, other rumors specific to the Latino community have spread through social media.

“The viral disinformation includes anonymous voice messages on WhatsApp that say that since Trump does not like Mexicans and built the wall, he wants to vaccinate us so we cannot have more children, or that the vaccine is a poison for those of us who are here undocumented, that it is a way to get rid of us,” Salgado de Snyder said.

Photo illustration by FrankHH/Shutterstock

She suggested one possible reason such disinformation is embraced: “People believe it because they don't have the level of education or the institutional support to confirm this information that they hear from other Latinos. Many of them do not speak English and most of the scientific information is not available in Spanish,” she said.

Salgado de Snyder is the co-author of the study, “Exploring Why Adult Mexican Males Do Not Get Vaccinated: Implications for COVID-19 Preventive Actions,” conducted by the Migrant Clinicians Network and published last September.

Data was collected in 2019 at the Ventanilla de Salud at the Mexican Consulate in Austin. Before the pandemic, the clinic offered free vaccines against maladies like influenza, tetanus, hepatitis A and B, and human papilloma, in association with Austin Public Health.

Some 400 patients gave researchers a variety of reasons for not getting vaccinated, including lack of time or money, fear of injections and of potential side effects, insufficient information or motivation, and the perception that they are  healthy and don’t need inoculation.

"While women are more familiar with the health system because in Mexico there is a universal voluntary and free vaccination program, men have the mistaken belief that vaccines are the cure for a problem, they do not see (a vaccination) as a preventive tool," Salgado de Snyder said.

“As breadwinners, they do not want to miss a day of work to go to get vaccinated,” she added. “That is why our recommendations in times of COVID are that through some type of mobile clinic, employers offer vaccines in workplaces such as construction companies or meatpacking plants,” she said.

Moving too fast

María del Rosario Cadena remembers that during her childhood in Tampico, in Mexico’s Tamaulipas state, she received vaccines against hepatitis and polio without any side effects. But she is "very suspicious" about the COVID-19 vaccines that seem to have been developed and approved so quickly.

"I've seen on TV that it affects various parts of the body and people get very sick after receiving it," del Rosario Cadena said.

Maria del Rosario Cadena

Apart from her doubts about the vaccine, del Rosario Cadena insists she follows all recommendations to guard against COVID-19: She wears a mask, she practices social distancing, and she’s always washing her hands. And, since she doesn’t go out "at all," the 71-year-old said she believes that “isolation is my vaccine. I feel I don't need it."

Her daughter, Rocio Valderrabano, 55, is diabetic, so she will soon have access to a COVID-19 vaccine. But she has doubts, so she’ll wait and see how some friends -- nurses -- react to their second doses. "I know people who have had COVID and spent four days with oxygen. I know they had a very bad time ... but I still want to wait and see if there are side effects (to the vaccine)."

Clinicians said mistrust also comes from knowing there were few people of color in the vaccine trials. In the trial for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, participants were 13% Latino, 10% African American, 6% Asian, and 1% Native American. Moderna’s trial population was 20% Hispanic, 10% African American, 4% Asian.

"We hope that the labs that are developing new vaccines will include more Latino patients in their trials," said Dr. Lucianne Marin, a pediatrician at Los Barrios Unidos Community Clinic in Dallas, one of 75 community centers in Texas that will provide vaccines in immigrant neighborhoods.

Marin and the rest of the Barrios Unidos staff have already received both doses --  injections that caused her "a bit of discomfort, fatigue, and a headache."

“Anything strange that enters the body can cause a reaction,” she said. “But one has to understand that the vaccine is not made from the live virus. It’s from genetic material that will help to generate antibodies. … I tell my patients that a fever or a pain in the body cannot be compared with the exposure to the coronavirus.”

The community clinics are out to debunk myths and dispel fears. They emphasize the greater risk of infection for Latinos who have chronic health problems like diabetes, hypertension, and excessive weight.

In doctor’s offices or in telemedicine visits they invite grandmothers to be champions in their families and spread the message about the need to get vaccinated. “Among Latinos, the elders of the family are highly respected and they are listened to; if they are convinced (of the vaccine), the family will be too,” Marin said.

Community health workers also share messages on Facebook, or partner with local Spanish-language media on virtual discussions featuring doctors and public officials -- even representatives from consulates of Latin American countries.

“It is our job to be the reliable messenger,” Marin said. “Vaccines are safe and free.”

Originally published here

Want to read this piece in Spanish? Click here

[killeeninfo]

New Rule Creates "Citation Required" Signs For Horse Riding

Not to be mistaken with Killeen, County Armagh. City in Texas. Killeen is also a town in Bell County, Texas, United States, according to the 2020 census. According to the US census, its registered population was 125,912, making it the second-largest town in Texas and also the third-most populated city in Bell County. The City of Austin, Texas and College Park, Maryland are some of the other major centers of population and commerce in the state of Texas.

As already mentioned, Texas is famous for its wide range of climate, soil conditions and landscape types. In the rural areas, Texas hill country and flatlands are mixed. This transition marks the dividing line between Texas rural and ranch life. The highlands of Texas are characterized by fertile plains and rolling hills. Major attractions in the area are Fort Bowie, San Antonio, Mc Perry and Eagle Pass.

The second largest town in the City of Killeen, Texas is its commercial and manufacturing sector which contributes largely to the economy of the entire city. Its main economic units are Texaco and Ford Motors. Other notable businesses in the area include Continental Tire, Bobcat, Continental Life Insurance Company and Killeen Refining & Marketing Corporation.

Texas Oil Industry: Along with cotton gins, oil is another main commodity transported from central Texas to all parts of the world. Killeen, Texas is the location of major oil refineries including Shell Petroleum, Enterprise, Tesoro and Conoco. An oil storage facility is also located in the city. A port for container ships is also present, which serves the purpose of loading and unloading vessels carrying petroleum. An oil storage facility is an important business center in central Texas.

Entertainment Options: When it comes to entertainment, killeen Texas offers a wide range of choices. It has innumerable amusement parks that offer exciting rides and games for children and adults. Killeen has four amusement parks namely Bell County Memorial Park, Bee Creek Park, Silverado Creek Park and Northside Park. These parks have rides and games for kids, adults and toddlers. Apart from this, there are many dance halls and recitals present in the city. In addition to this Bell County Memorial Park is home to the Bell County Historical Society and Museum.

Bell County: The county is located in the middle of Texas. Its capital city is Austin. It is a large rural community which is famous for its rich culture and arts. Killeen has many recreational opportunities including: hunting, fishing, antiquing, birding and boating.

Fort Hood Army Depot: The fort is one of the prominent attractions located at the center of Killeen. It was the first post for the Texas Volunteers. The depot offers a great opportunity to explore the history of the town along with learning about the different cultures present in Texas. It was built during the First World War and served as an important military post.

Killeen Texas - Fort Hood has been chosen as the destination for a number of prestigious events and tourist destinations. As such, this community has made a name for itself as a premier tourist destination in south Texas. Its location makes it an ideal place for companies to relocate to provide their employees with outstanding benefits and job security.

Killeen Texas - Fort Hood is one of the largest cities in central Texas. It is also home to a number of educational, research and development institutions. A popular daydreaming location, the high school has been ranked among the best high schools in the Texas High School Athletic Association. The University of Texas - Austin is also located nearby. In addition to boasting a strong educational system, Fort Hood has developed into a world-class entertainment center. Its location makes it a logical choice to locate a good movie theater within easy commute distance.

In early May 2020, a motion was introduced by the town of Killeen to have the city clerk to post a copy of the current laws pertaining to horses at the city's public stables. The intent of this motion was to "provide a concise outline for horse and rider riders of the city of Killeen and the surrounding areas." Council members voted in favor of the posting of the citation needed to enforce the existing laws. After the citation was posted, it was then required that all equine related citations are received and processed by the same office. Many council members expressed concerns that with the additional workload being placed on the city clerk, they would not have enough time to do their regular job.

Unfortunately, the new requirement of receiving a citation needed to be met by early August 2020, leaving little time for the clerk to complete processing. This caused Fort Hood to experience a net loss in income when fees were calculated. Many residents believe that the city could have incurred an increase in revenues by allowing the equine license fee to lapse. However, council members feel that the added cost to the residents of Killeen will compensate for the revenue lost due to the new rule.

[feelingbluepolitics]

[Free coronavirus article.]

Americans under Republicon/trump-controlled government are uniquely perfect prey for this peak opportunistic virus. Immediate gratification in coming out of homes will not be met with any immediately negative repercussions.

More people, facing few alternatives as McConnell blocks subsistence support, will have to come out. The disconnect of the lag time will lure out others as well, especially the victims of the Fox Gnus/trump coordination. As has been noted, both density and density will also play a role.

"Dallas, Houston, Southeast Florida’s Gold Coast, the entire state of Alabama and several other places in the South that have been rapidly reopening their economies are in danger of a second wave of coronavirus infections over the next four weeks, according to a research team that uses cellphone data to track social mobility and forecast the trajectory of the pandemic.

"The model, developed by ­PolicyLab at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and updated Wednesday with new data, suggests that most communities in the United States should be able to avoid a second spike in the near term if residents are careful to maintain social distancing even as businesses open up and restrictions are eased.

..."There are preliminary signs, however, that hot spots — new clusters of coronavirus spread — could soon flare across parts of the South and Midwest.

"'As communities reopen, we’re starting to detect evidence of resurgence in cases in places that have overreached a bit,' said David Rubin, director of PolicyLab.

"Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center said last week that cases in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area could spike this summer, with a tripling of daily active cases of covid-19, the disease the novel coronavirus causes, if there is a significant easing of mitigation efforts. And PolicyLab projects that in the next month, Harris County, which includes Houston, will go from a couple hundred cases a day to more than 2,000.

..."The overall national picture remains ambiguous: The daily death toll from covid-19 is dropping, but increased activity and travel in a population that remains susceptible to infection means the coronavirus has new opportunities to spread.

"Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Wednesday he has 'no doubt' there will be new waves of cases.

"'The virus is not going to disappear,' he said in an interview with The Washington Post. 'It’s a highly transmissible virus. At any given time, it’s some place or another. As long as that’s the case, there’s a risk of resurgence.'

"He said the country has time now to prepare for new caseloads, which could mount considerably in the fall."

As before, however, trump looks set to throw this precious survival preparation time away. If he acted responsibly now, it might look as if he should have before, but he was "perfect," and will do nothing different in any way. People will have to die in vast additional number to help him save his unmasked face.

"A presentation prepared by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency — and reviewed by The Post — suggests new waves could be steep enough in some places to overwhelm ventilator capacity.

"For instance, the data indicates that only 866 ventilators are in use in Georgia, which has pursued one of the most aggressive reopening plans. But the state’s supply of 2,853 ventilators could be outstripped as soon as the end of the month by the projected number required for covid-19 patients, according to the federal modeling. States from Arizona to Colorado to Tennessee could face similar shortages, according to the projections.

..."Lauren Ancel Meyers, who directs the Covid-19 Modeling Consortium at the University of Texas at Austin, said her group looks at cellphone data.

"'It’s telling us the same thing we see when we look out our windows,' Meyers said. 'We are seeing a big change in people’s mobility.'

"The increased activity so far has not led to an increase in hospitalizations.

"'If the changes in behavior that started in May really did accelerate transmission, we will begin to see that in the case data, the hospitalization data, the death data very soon,' she said.

..."One fundamental problem for scientists is that the virus does not reveal its presence readily. There is a lag in data. On average, it takes about five days for a person infected with the coronavirus to develop symptoms. That incubation period can be even longer — up to 14 days. Then there is another lag before a symptomatic person gets tested and gets the results or perhaps needs hospitalization.

"'We’re looking at potentially a month or two later that we’re going to see the impact' of the reopening, said Leana Wen, the former Baltimore health commissioner. 'You have not seen the impact of reopening yet. I think there’s going to be a very significant lag.'"

[bountyofbeads]

Russian Effort to Influence 2016 Election Targeted African-Americans https://nyti.ms/2R2pmzO

Russian Effort to Influence 2016 Election Targeted African-Americans

By Scott Shane and Sheera Frenkel | Dec. 17, 2018 | New York Times | Posted December 17, 2018 |

The Russian influence campaign on social media in the 2016 election made an extraordinary effort to target African-Americans, used an array of tactics to try to suppress turnout among Democratic voters and unleashed a blizzard of posts on Instagram that rivaled or exceeded its Facebook operations, according to a report produced for the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The report adds new details to the portrait that has emerged over the last two years of the energy and imagination of the Russian effort to sway American opinion and divide the country, which the authors said continues to this day.

“Active and ongoing interference operations remain on several platforms,” says the report, produced by New Knowledge, a cybersecurity company based in Austin, Texas, along with researchers at Columbia University and Canfield Research LLC. One continuing Russian campaign, for instance, seeks to influence opinion on Syria by promoting Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president and a Russian ally in the brutal conflict there.

The New Knowledge report, which was obtained by The New York Times in advance of its scheduled release on Monday, is one of two commissioned by the Senate committee on a bipartisan basis. They are based largely on data about the Russian operations provided to the Senate by Facebook, Twitter and the other companies whose platforms were used.

The second report was written by the Computational Propaganda Project at Oxford University along with Graphika, a company that specializes in analyzing social media. The Washington Post first reported on the Oxford report on Sunday.

The Russian influence campaign in 2016 was run by a St. Petersburg company called the Internet Research Agency, owned by a businessman, Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, who is a close ally of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Mr. Prigozhin and a dozen of the company’s employees were indicted last February as part of the investigation of Russian interference by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel.

Both reports stress that the Internet Research Agency created social media accounts under fake names on virtually every available platform. A major goal was to support Donald Trump, first against his Republican rivals in the presidential race, then in the general election, and as president since his inauguration.

Creating accounts designed to pass as belonging to Americans, the Internet Research Agency spread its messages not only via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, which have drawn the most attention, but also on YouTube, Reddit, Tumblr, Pinterest, Vine and Google+, among other platforms. Its attack on the United States used almost exclusively high-tech tools created by American companies.

The New Knowledge researchers discovered many examples of the Russian operators building an audience with one theme and then shifting to another, often more provocative, set of messages. For instance, an Instagram account called @army_of_jesus_ first posted in January 2015 images from The Muppet Show, then shifted to The Simpsons and by early 2016 became Jesus-focused. Multiple memes associated Jesus with Mr. Trump’s campaign and Satan with Mrs. Clinton’s.

The Russian campaign was the subject of Senate hearings last year and has been widely scrutinized by academic experts. The new reports largely confirm earlier findings: that the campaign was designed to attack Hillary Clinton, boost Mr. Trump and exacerbate existing divisions in American society.

But the New Knowledge report gives particular attention to the Russians’ focus on African-Americans, which is evident to anyone who examines collections of their memes and messages.

“The most prolific I.R.A. efforts on Facebook and Instagram specifically targeted black American communities and appear to have been focused on developing black audiences and recruiting black Americans as assets,” the report says. Using Gmail accounts with American-sounding names, the Russians recruited and sometimes paid unwitting American activists of all races to stage rallies and spread content, but there was a disproportionate pursuit of African-Americans, it concludes.

The report says that while “other distinct ethnic and religious groups were the focus of one or two Facebook Pages or Instagram accounts, the black community was targeted extensively with dozens.” In some cases, Facebook ads were targeted at users who had shown interest in particular topics, including black history, the Black Panther Party and Malcolm X. The most popular of the Russian Instagram accounts was @blackstagram, with 303,663 followers.

The Internet Research Agency also created a dozen websites disguised as African-American in origin, with names like blackmattersus.com, blacktivist.info, blacktolive.org and blacksoul.us. On YouTube, the largest share of Russian material covered the Black Lives Matter movement and police brutality, with channels called “Don’t Shoot” and “BlackToLive.”

The report does not seek to explain the heavy focus on African Americans. But the Internet Research Agency’s tactics echo Soviet propaganda efforts from decades ago that often highlighted racism and racial conflict in the United States, as well as recent Russian influence operations in other countries that sought to stir ethnic strife.

Renee DiResta, one of the report’s authors and director of research at New Knowledge, said the Internet Research Agency “leveraged pre-existing, legitimate grievances wherever they could.” As the election effort geared up, the Black Lives Matter movement was at the center of national attention in the United States, so the Russian operation took advantage of it, she said — and added “Blue Lives Matter” material when a pro-police pushback emerged.

“Very real racial tensions and feelings of alienation exist in America, and have for decades,” Ms. DiResta said. “The I.R.A. didn’t create them. It exploits them.”

Of 81 Facebook pages created by the Internet Research Agency in the Senate’s data, 30 targeted African-American audiences, amassing 1.2 million followers, the report finds. By comparison, 25 pages targeted the political right and drew 1.4 million followers. Just seven pages focused on the political left, drawing 689,045 followers.

While the right-wing pages promoted Mr. Trump’s candidacy, the left-wing pages scorned Mrs. Clinton while promoting Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate. The voter suppression effort was focused particularly on Sanders supporters and African-Americans, urging them to shun Mrs. Clinton in the general election and either vote for Ms. Stein or stay home.

Whether such efforts had a significant effect is difficult to judge. Black voter turnout declined in 2016 for the first time in 20 years in a presidential election, but it is impossible to determine whether that was the result of the Russian campaign.

The New Knowledge report argues that the Internet Research Agency’s presence on Instagram has been underestimated and may have been as effective or more effective than its Facebook effort. The report says there were 187 million engagements on Instagram — users “liking” or sharing the content created in Russia — compared 76.5 million engagements on Facebook.

In 2017, as the American news media focused on the Russian operations on Facebook and Twitter, the Russian effort shifted strongly to Instagram, the report says.

The New Knowledge report criticizes social media companies for misleading the public.

“Regrettably, it appears that the platforms may have misrepresented or evaded in some of their statements to Congress,” the report says, noting what it calls one false claim that specific population groups were not targeted by the influence operation and another that the campaign did not seek to discourage voting.

“It is unclear whether these answers were the result of faulty or lacking analysis, or a more deliberate evasion,” the report says.

The report suggests a grudging respect for the scale and creativity of Russian influence operations. But the Russians were not eager to take credit for their own efforts.

After the election, the report says, the Internet Research Agency put up some 70 posts on Facebook and Instagram that mocked the claims that Russia had interfered in the election.

“You’ve lost and don’t know what to do?” said one such post. “Just blame it on Russian hackers.”

[sellmyhomefastsanantonio]

Texas’ housing market shows signs of cooling down after the pandemic drove it to new heights

In July, Texas had more houses for sale than at any time since late 2020. However, this is because home sales have decreased in the past few months in the state’s biggest cities. As a result, sellers have been forced to lower prices to attract buyers. After years of rapid home price increases and a heated battle to buy a house during the COVID-19 epidemic, the Texas housing market is beginning to cool down. In the past, buyers would have to compete against each other and pay more than the asking price for a home. But now, because of pandemic- lockdown measures, there are more homes on the market in Texas than there have been since 2020. Between April and June of 2008, home sales in Texas decreased 5% compared to last year's sales during the same three-month period, as shown in data from the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University. This Drop was seen similarly in major cities such as Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. Home sales even diminished more rapidly by 12% in Austin.

Sellers lowers prices to entice buyers

Many sellers have lowered prices in order to entice buyers with increasing mortgage rates, inflating home values, and inflation after two years of a hot market. That's according to experts at The Texas Tribune, which is a sign that consumers are getting the upper hand in the real estate market. “It’s still a seller’s market,” said Elizabeth McCoy, a Fort Worth real estate agent. “But certainly we’re seeing buyers be able to have a little bit more choice. And that’s such a good thing.” In contrast to the beginning of the pandemic when low mortgage rates and more people working from home spurred buyers — including Millennials who had been putting off becoming homeowners — to buy houses rapidly, so much so that the state’s housing supply dwindled and prices rose an average of 28% from 2020-2021.

Interest rate risee to control inflation

When the Federal Reserve started raising rates in an attempt to control inflation, it also caused mortgage rates to go up. Now, across Texas, that trend is beginning to reverse. According to TRERC, last July 55668 homes were listed for sale while a year later that number increased by 50% completing 83,513 listings. In April, the San Antonio and El Paso metros experienced double-digit growth in listings while Houston and the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplexes saw double-digit rises. The number of homes sold decreased by a similar percentage in each area during the first seven months of this year vs last year. The decrease has been more extreme in Austin — where the housing market was very prosperous during the pandemic, spiking in May when the median price for a home became $550,000, as opposed to $305,000 in January 2020. Now, however, market demand for housing in the capital city has fallen. The number of houses for sale hit 8,709 in July — a 168 percent increase from the 3,251 advertised in July 2021. Ashley Jackson, the Austin Board of Realtors president-elect said that a home she has listed for sale in Pflugerville might have received multiple offers if it had been on the market earlier in the year. However, since there are many homes surrounding hers that are also for sale, her listing has only gotten a steady number of showings but no offers. Jackson said buyers are “not competing as hard for a home as in the past few years where we saw perhaps a buyer had to go 10% or 20% over asking [price]. Maybe now they can get a house at asking price or perhaps even under asking price.” The median selling price of a Texas home has remained steady over the past three months, approximately $350,000 to 360,000. This is an all-time high for the state; however, prices are not expected to drop anytime soon due barring a recession. Real Estate experts attribute this in part to continuous population growth and a strong job market in Texas. Although slowly, it is still anticipated that prices will continue to increase steadily over time. “People are continuing to move here,” said Adam Perdue, a research economist at Texas A&M University’s TRERC. “So, there’s no reason to not think that all of our major metros in Texas as a whole still have that same underlying upward trend.” Though the number of people seeking homes is high, the number of houses for sale does not match this demand. Housing experts believe that six months' worth of dwellings on the market creates a healthy balance between buyers and sellers. As of July, Texas had only 2.5 months' supply according to research from the Texas Real Estate Research Center. After a two-year surge, construction on new single-family homes has suffered a decline in some parts of the state. Double-digit decreases were seen in building permits for new single-family homes across Texas when comparing July data from this year to last. Mike Dishberger, an upcoming Houston townhome developer and president of the Greater Houston Builders Association, specified that this is due to a lack of buyers interested in purchasing homes.

Many people wants to buy home because of high rent

Recently, Dishberger has seen an incline of people wanting to buy houses because they want to leave the state due to high rents. The state's increasingly heated housing market drove more would-be buyers into the rental sector during the epidemic, pushing rents 12.4 percent higher over the past year and nearly 22% since January 2020, according to Apartment List. “What’s driving some of the foot traffic,” Dishberger said, “is that, ‘Hey, my rent used to be $1,500, now it’s $2,000.’” Builders in the Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex have submitted fewer applications so far this year than last year during the first seven months. This year's higher construction costs have led to a decrease in permits, according to Lawrence Dean, senior vice president of real estate research firm Zonda. But there are “more new homes under construction right now than we’ve ever observed,” Dean said. The Texas economy added more jobs than expected in the first quarter of 2019, according to a report released on Monday by the Austin branch of Canape. "The expansion of employment is evidence that the state's growth in population and jobs continues," said Dean. More than 88,000 residences are under construction in Austin, San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas-Fort Worth at present. And while the state's predicted increase in population and employment will keep demand for homes high—albeit less so than during the height of the epidemic—it won't happen right away."

[nuadox]

Next US energy boom could be wind power in the Gulf of Mexico

- By Michael E. Webber , Hugh Daigle , University of Texas at Austin , The Conversation -

With passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which contains US$370 billion for climate and energy programs, policy experts are forecasting a big expansion in clean electricity generation. One source that’s poised for growth is offshore wind power.

Today the U.S. has just two operating offshore wind farms, off of Rhode Island and North Carolina, with a combined generating capacity of 42 megawatts. For comparison, the new Traverse Wind Energy Center in Oklahoma has 356 turbines and a 998-megawatt generating capacity. But many more projects are in development, mostly along the Atlantic coast.

The Biden administration has identified two zones for offshore wind power development in the Gulf of Mexico, which up until now has been firmly identified with oil and gas production. As part of his climate strategy, President Joe Biden has set a goal for the deployment of 30 gigawatts (30,000 megawatts) of offshore wind generating capacity by 2030 – enough to power 10 million homes with carbon-free electricity.

As energy researchers based in Texas, we see this as an exciting new phase in our nation’s ongoing clean power transition. In our view, offshore wind in the Gulf of Mexico presents a unique opportunity for a geographic region with a strong energy workforce and infrastructure to help meet society’s need for reliable low-carbon energy.

Why go offshore?

Wind power on land has seen remarkable growth in the U.S. over the last 15 years, including in Texas, the top wind-generating state in the nation. Wind power’s comparative ease of permitting and siting, affordable installation costs, abundant resources, free fuel and low marginal operating costs have reduced electricity costs for consumers. And wind power avoids significant amounts of air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and water demand for cooling – impacts associated with power plants that burn coal, oil or natural gas.

But onshore wind has downsides. Winds often are weakest in the hottest hours of summer, when air conditioners are working hard to keep people cool. And many of the best wind energy zones are far from electricity demand centers. For example, most wind farms here in the Lone Star State are located on the high plains in west Texas, and were only built after the state spent billions of dollars on long-distance transmission lines to move their power to where it’s needed.

Many of the best U.S. land-based wind generating areas (dark blue zones) are far from coastal population centers, but those cities could be served by offshore wind farms. NREL

Solar power and batteries can solve some of these problems. But generating wind offshore also offers many benefits.

Just as onshore wind lowered electricity costs for consumers, offshore wind is expected to do the same.

More than half of the U.S. population lives within 50 miles of a coast, so offshore wind sites are close to electricity demand centers. This is especially true in the Gulf of Mexico, which is home to major cities such as Houston and New Orleans and a large concentration of petrochemical facilities and ports. Power companies can use subsea cables to bring wind energy to industrial facilities, instead of building hundreds of miles of overhead wires, with associated right-of-way and land access disputes.

Importantly, offshore wind complements onshore wind. As air speeds slow in west Texas on a hot summer afternoon, coastal winds pick up, helping to meet summer peak demand and improving grid reliability.

The offshore wind market is already robust globally, but until now has been practically non-existent in the U.S. Abundant land here has spurred growth of onshore wind, but inhibited a rush to the water.

That’s changing with tighter setback rules in leading wind states like Iowa that limit how close to homes turbines can be placed, which are driving up construction costs and limiting the availability of acceptable sites. Transmission capacity limits on the U.S. power grid are also making it harder to move wind-generated electrons to market.

Constructing offshore wind farms requires specialized ships, port facilities and labor. Many of these resources are already available along the U.S. Gulf Coast, a major offshore oil and gas production region.

Welcome to the Gulf, y'all

Thanks to these development trends, plus measures in the climate bill that increase support for offshore wind, it looks as though a U.S. offshore wind industry is finally ready for prime time. We see the Gulf of Mexico as an especially attractive place to do business.

Compared to cold and bitter conditions in regions like the North Sea, the North Atlantic and coastal Japan, where offshore wind generation is already happening, the Gulf’s shallower water depths, warmer temperatures and calmer waves are relatively easy to manage. Water depths up to 160 feet – currently the maximum depth for fixed-bottom wind turbines – extend nearly 90 miles off the coasts of southeast Texas and southern Louisiana, compared with only about 40 miles off Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard in the Northeast.

The Gulf’s seafloor topography features a more even and gentle slope than areas already under consideration for development off the coast of Virginia. This means that fixed-bottom wind turbines can be used in more places, rather than floating systems, which reduces complexity.

Importantly, the Gulf Coast has a robust offshore industry that was established to serve oil and gas producers, with many specialized companies offering services such as underwater welding, platform manufacturing and helicopter and boat services to get people and equipment to sea. Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production supported an estimated 345,000 jobs in 2019.

Wind farms in the Gulf can leverage existing infrastructure. There are nearly 1,200 miles of existing subsea power cables that could transfer wind energy to shore. Wind generation could also be incorporated into a larger energy system that includes green hydrogen generation and storage and carbon sequestration.

A boost for workers and vulnerable communities

We also believe that offshore wind energy can help advance environmental justice goals. Generating more clean, carbon-free electricity will help to displace refineries and plants that process fossil fuels and generate power from them. These facilities disproportionately harm the health of communities of color in cities like Houston and across the U.S..

Wind power development in the Gulf also offers an opportunity for a smooth labor transition as the U.S. gradually reduces its reliance on fossil fuels. Louisiana is already moving to set rules for offshore wind in state waters, and is seeking federal funding together with Arkansas and Oklahoma for a regional clean hydrogen hub.

Green means go

Permitting for energy projects is notoriously slow at the federal level, and wind energy projects in federal waters may require multi-year lead times. But projects in state waters – extending up to three nautical miles from shore in most areas, and nine miles from shore in Texas – could proceed more rapidly.

Much depends on whether energy states like Texas and Louisiana see opportunities to extend their reputations as energy leaders into offshore wind. As we see it, an offshore wind boom in the Gulf would be good for the region, the nation and the world’s climate.

Michael E. Webber, Josey Centennial Professor of Energy Resources, University of Texas at Austin and Hugh Daigle, Associate Professor of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, University of Texas at Austin

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

--

Read Also

Wind electricity generation by US state 2020-2021 (infographic)