Stop the Idiocracy: November 2021

Monday, November 29, 2021

Massachusetts: Gov. Charlie Baker says the Commonwealth has been working with other states to create QR code vaccine passport

Meredith Nierman/WGBH News

Privacy and civil liberties advocates and the like are going to hate this, but it would make life easier for those who are vaccinated and would eliminate fraud, as some anti-vaxxers have been forging vaccination cards. Via WGBH -

"It's a universal standard and we've been working with a bunch of other states, there's probably 15 or 20 of them, to try to create a single QR code that can be used for all sorts of things where people may choose to require a vaccine," Baker said of the passport program.
Baker showed hosts Margery Eagan and Jim Braude his code while in the GBH’s studios in Brighton.
"It's my proof that I've been vaccinated," he said.
Last week, new Boston Mayor Michelle Wu hinted that the city may implement a vaccine mandate for indoor recreation areas.
Baker defended the availability of COVID booster shots in the state, saying Massachusetts is providing around 55,000 total vaccination shots per day, including boosters, and has administered around 1 million booster shots. Baker compared that figure to the 80,000 doses the state was outputting last spring at the height of the vaccination push with the help of mass vaccination centers. (Read more)

Washington Post report: ‘Red America has seen the highest rates of cases and deaths, and the lowest rate of vaccinations’

Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

It’s almost as if there’s a correlation between wearing masks and getting vaccinated, and fewer people falling sick and dying. Who would have thought? (/s.) For once, I’m glad to live in a state run mostly by the Democrats. At least their party isn’t denying science and enabling covidiocy. WaPo national corespondent Philip Bump reports -

It’s worth putting a fine point on a subject I raised earlier Monday: It is red America, Donald Trump-voting America, that has seen the worst effects of the pandemic. With divergent vaccination rates, with the unvaccinated population that’s most at risk being made up of Republicans at three times the rate of Democrats, that gap is poised to grow.
If we break down monthly case and death figures by county vote in 2020, we see that Trump counties have been hardest hit by the pandemic on a per capita basis since last year. If we throw in vaccination rates, we see that it is those same counties that have been the slowest to get vaccinated. As of April of this year, the most red and most blue counties in the country began to diverge on vaccination rates. As of writing, data compiled by The Washington Post suggests that the counties that voted most strongly for President Biden are fully vaccinated at a rate 40 percent higher than the rate in the counties that voted most strongly for Trump. (Read more)

Sunday, November 28, 2021

The World Health Organization urges nations not to impose travel bans from southern Africa as new omicron variant spreads

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

It is beyond obvious now that virtually the entire world took their foot off the pedal, so to speak, far too soon. Governments caved to pressure from their restless and malevolent citizenries. Closing America’s borders is the only responsible action at this time, but the WHO appears to care more about public opinion than anything else. -

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The World Health Organization on Sunday urged countries around the world not to impose flight bans on southern African nations due to concerns over the new omicron variant.
WHO’s regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, called on countries to follow science and international health regulations in order to avoid using travel restrictions.
“Travel restrictions may play a role in slightly reducing the spread of COVID-19 but place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods,” Moeti said in a statement. “If restrictions are implemented, they should not be unnecessarily invasive or intrusive, and should be scientifically based, according to the International Health Regulations, which is a legally binding instrument of international law recognized by over 190 nations.”
Moeti praised South Africa for following international health regulations and informing WHO as soon as its national laboratory identified the omicron variant.
“The speed and transparency of the South African and Botswana governments in informing the world of the new variant is to be commended,” said Moeti. “WHO stands with African countries which had the courage to boldly share life-saving public health information, helping protect the world against the spread of COVID-19.”
Cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus popped up in countries on opposite sides of the world Sunday and many governments rushed to close their borders even as scientists cautioned that it’s not clear if the new variant is more alarming than other versions of the virus.
While investigations continue into the omicron variant, WHO recommends that all countries “take a risk-based and scientific approach and put in place measures which can limit its possible spread.” (Read more)

Friday, November 26, 2021

New ‘omicron’ COVID variant discovered; the United States and European Union move to restrict travel from eight nations in southern Africa as stock markets fall

AP Photo/Denis Farrell

As President Biden has noted, it is time for some of these other countries to step up their efforts to contain this plague. Notice I said ‘contain,’ because there is no hope now of actually eradicating it, thanks to those who have spent this entire pandemic whining about their freedom instead of following necessary protocol. From the AP -

The White House said the U.S. will restrict travel from South Africa and seven other countries in the region beginning Monday. It did not give details except to say the restrictions will not apply to returning U.S. citizens or permanent residents, who will continue to be required to test negative before their travel.
Medical experts, including the WHO, warned against any overreaction before the variant that originated in southern Africa was better understood. But a jittery world feared the worst nearly two years after COVID-19 emerged and triggered a pandemic that has killed more than 5 million people around the globe.
“We must move quickly and at the earliest possible moment,” British Health Secretary Sajid Javid told lawmakers.
There was no immediate indication whether the variant causes more severe disease. As with other variants, some infected people display no symptoms, South African experts said. The WHO panel drew from the Greek alphabet in naming the variant omicron, as it has done with earlier, major variants of the virus. (Read more)

Setting the record straight: ‘Russiagate’ was not a hoax, and Trump is not a victim

Brendan Smialowski /AFP /Getty Images

David Frum, the former White House speechwriter during the Bush 43 administration, is sounding the alarm about the media’s latest tactic in their campaign to revive the political career of Donald Trump: Whitewashing Russia’s (successful) efforts to gaslight the American public and elect Trump in 2016. Don’t fall for any of this bulls**t -

If Donald Trump had been supported only by people who affirmatively liked him, his attack on American democracy would never have gotten as far as it did.
Instead, at almost every turn, Trump was helped by people who had little liking for him as a human being or politician, but assessed that he could be useful for purposes of their own. The latest example: the suddenly red-hot media campaign to endorse Trump’s fantasy that he was the victim of a “Russia hoax.”
The usual suspects in the pro-Trump media ecosystem will of course endorse and repeat everything Trump says, no matter how outlandish. But it’s not pro-Trumpers who are leading the latest round of Trump-Russia denialism. This newest round of excuse-making is being sounded from more respectable quarters, in many cases by people distinguished as Trump critics. With Trump out of office—at least for the time being—they now feel free to subordinate their past concerns about him to other private quarrels with the FBI or mainstream media institutions. On high-subscription Substacks, on popular podcasts, even from within prestige media institutions, people with scant illusions about Trump the man and president are nonetheless volunteering to help him execute one of his Big Lies. (Read more)

Wednesday, November 24, 2021

AG Merrick Garland instructs U.S. attorneys to ‘prioritize prosecution of federal crimes occurring on aircraft’ as incidents involving unruly passengers explode

Getty Images

What a nation of violent and aggressively stupid jackasses we’ve become. America’s worst enemy is itself -

A woman was kicked off an Allegiant Air flight and arrested Sunday for refusing to wear a face mask, police said. As she was wheeled down the jetway in Las Vegas, police said, the woman allegedly yelled obscenities and "Let's go, Brandon" — a euphemism involving the president, reported CBS affiliate KLAS.

Katrina Alspaugh, of Las Vegas, faces one charge of violating airport rules, according to KLAS. Police said Alspaugh had earlier attempted to punch another passenger at the security checkpoint who pointed out Alspaugh was not wearing her mask.

It is one in a stream of incidents of alleged unruly behavior in the skies, and came as the hectic holiday travel season starts. A Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman said Tuesday was the sixth straight day agents screened more than 2 million passengers, the longest stretch of days topping that mark this year. Tuesday's passenger volume was 91% of its 2019 level, the agency said Wednesday.

The Federal Aviation Administration said this week it had received 5,338 reports of unruly passengers so far this year, 3,856 of which involved masks, and is requesting a total $161,823 in fines against eight passengers for alleged alcohol-related incidents. That brings the total civil penalties against passengers to at least $1.3 million in 2021.

The largest of the fines announced this week, $40,823, stems from an April incident aboard a Southwest Airlines flight from San Jose to San Diego. A passenger allegedly drank their own alcohol during the flight despite being told by a flight attendant it was prohibited, then sexually assaulted the flight attendant and smoked marijuana in the bathroom, according to a news release.

A passenger on a March flight from Fort Meyers, Florida, to Detroit that was diverted to Atlanta is accused of repeatedly taking off his face mask after crew members told him to keep it on, swearing at other passengers and accusing them of stealing, and appeared to be intoxicated, according to the release.

"This is America. This is free speech. What don't you understand?" he allegedly yelled at a crew member. (Read more)

'Fell victim to authoritarian tendencies.’ United States added to the list of ‘backsliding democracies’ for the first time

Julio Cortez/AP

The Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance report is a sobering indictment of America in the 21st century. But we are hardly alone in the global march toward tyranny. It is human nature, especially in times of turmoil, to place security - and protection from ‘the other’ - above individual liberty. -

The United States for the first time was added to a list of “backsliding democracies” in a report released Monday by the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.
“The United States, the bastion of global democracy, fell victim to authoritarian tendencies itself, and was knocked down a significant number of steps on the democratic scale,” the International IDEA’s Global State of Democracy 2021 report said.
The study, which analyzed trends from 2020 to 2021, found that more than a quarter of the world’s population now lives in democratically backsliding countries, which International IDEA defines as nations seeing a gradual decline in the quality of their democracy.
“The world is becoming more authoritarian as nondemocratic regimes become even more brazen in their repression and many democratic governments suffer from backsliding by adopting their tactics of restricting free speech and weakening the rule of law, exacerbated by what threatens to become a ‘new normal’ of covid-19 restrictions,” the report found. “The number [of countries] moving in the direction of authoritarianism is three times the number moving toward democracy.”
International IDEA classes countries as democratic (which includes those backsliding), “hybrid,” and authoritarian, the latter two of which it considers to be nondemocratic. It bases its analysis on 50 years of democratic indicators tracked in about 160 countries.
The report found that some of “the most worrying” democratic backsliding happened in some of the world’s largest countries, including Brazil and India. It also highlighted “concerning democratic declines” in the United States and three European Union members: Hungary, Poland and Slovenia. (Read more)

Monday, November 22, 2021

A flash mob of looters, consisting of at least 80 individuals, invades northern California department store

Google Maps

If this doesn’t speak ominously as to the direction the people of this country are going in. Post-COVID, and amid all the racial, political, and economic turmoil, crime and violence is starting to explode. Seeing as Americans only want to rip each other’s heads off now, these trends will continue to spike in spite of even the best efforts made to mitigate the damage. Crazy as it seems, Americans – enough of them, at least - appear genuinely hellbent on self-destruction. -

A Nordstrom store in San Francisco was overrun by dozens of looters on Saturday night who tore through the department store, grabbing merchandise and fleeing in waiting cars.
Around 80 suspects were involved in what law enforcement is calling a smash-and-grab incident in Walnut Creek, a county east of San Francisco.
Police arrested three people in connection with the incident, per a press release from the Walnut Creek police department. San Francisco natives Dana Dawson, 30, and Joshua Underwood, 32, and 18-year-old Rodney Robinson, from Oakland, were named by the police.
"Police are investigating what was clearly a planned event, with the initial calls coming into the department about cars driving recklessly in the area shortly before 9 p.m.," read the police press release. It added that Nordstrom employees called law enforcement when around 80 people entered the store and grabbed merchandise.
"Two employees were assaulted, and one was pepper-sprayed by the suspects," said the police department. The authorities added that they managed to stop one of the getaway cars waiting outside and arrest two people — including Dawson, who was in possession of a firearm.
The police department added that the rest of the mob managed to flee the area "in cars at high speeds." There were at least ten different vehicles involved in the crime, per CNN. (Read more)

The remaining few intelligent people are heading for the exit, and Fox News becomes ever more of a national populist cesspool

Janos Kummer/Getty Images

Jonah Goldberg and Stephen F. Hayes announce they are leaving Fox News. One thing that is not acknowledged here is that their now-former network is giving its rabid audience exactly what they want. Time to start holding the rank-and-file accountable. -

Fox News still does real reporting, and there are still responsible conservatives providing valuable opinion and analysis. But the voices of the responsible are being drowned out by the irresponsible.
A case in point: Patriot Purge, a three-part series hosted by Tucker Carlson.
The special—which ran on Fox’s subscription streaming service earlier this month and was promoted on Fox News—is presented in the style of an exposé, a hard-hitting piece of investigative journalism. In reality, it is a collection of incoherent conspiracy-mongering, riddled with factual inaccuracies, half-truths, deceptive imagery, and damning omissions. And its message is clear: The U.S. government is targeting patriotic Americans in the same manner —and with the same tools—that it used to target al Qaeda.
“The domestic war on terror is here. It’s coming after half of the country,” says one protagonist. “The left is hunting the right, sticking them in Guantanamo Bay for American citizens—leaving them there to rot,” says another, over video of an individual in an orange jumpsuit being waterboarded.
This is not happening. And we think it’s dangerous to pretend it is. If a person with such a platform shares such misinformation loud enough and long enough, there are Americans who will believe—and act upon—it.
This isn’t theoretical. This is what actually happened on January 6, 2021.
Over the past five years, some of Fox’s top opinion hosts amplified the false claims and bizarre narratives of Donald Trump or offered up their own in his service. In this sense, the release of Patriot Purge wasn’t an isolated incident, it was merely the most egregious example of a longstanding trend. Patriot Purge creates an alternative history of January 6, contradicted not just by common sense, not just by the testimony and on-the-record statements of many participants, but by the reporting of the news division of Fox News itself.
Indeed, the news side of Fox routinely does what it is supposed to do: It reports the truth. COVID-19 is deadly, vaccines work, Joe Biden won Arizona, the election was not stolen, January 6 was not a Deep State-orchestrated “false flag” operation but was an assault on the Capitol as part of a broader attempt to steal an election: The people who put the “news” in Fox News have reported all of these things.
This is not the place to expound at any length on the many problems and challenges facing the country. But we sincerely believe that all people of good will and good judgment—regardless of their ideological or partisan commitments—can agree that a cavalier and even contemptuous attitude toward facts, truth-seeking, and truth-telling, lies at the heart of so much that plagues our country. (Read more)

Saturday, November 20, 2021

'U.S. intelligence officials are warning European allies of a potential Russian military incursion into Ukraine'

Wikimedia Commons/Creative Commons/OSCE

Putin is on the march again -

U.S. intelligence officials are warning European allies of a potential Russian military incursion into Ukraine, with the likelihood of one increasing as the weather gets colder. An incursion is weather-dependent, but could happen in a matter of weeks, barring intervention from the West, U.S. officials briefed on the matter told CBS News.
Tens of thousands of Russian troops have amassed at the Ukraine border -- months after thousands of troops assembled at the border in the spring. But unlike last spring's buildup, which was regarded as a show of force, U.S. intelligence officials are warning that this one could be in preparation for an actual incursion into the Donbass region of Eastern Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday the alliance was closely monitoring a "large and unusual concentration of Russian forces" near Ukraine's border.
"It is urgent that Russia shows transparency about this military build-up, de-escalates and reduces tensions," Stoltenberg said following a meeting with outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Both American and British intelligence has been shared with European stakeholders. (Read more)

Apple tracking device placed on Arkansas woman’s car without her knowledge or consent

Jacob Krol/CNN

Yet another threat to peoples’ safety and well-being to add to a growing list of such. Anybody who wants to stalk another individual can now do so without too much effort, and with minimal chance of getting caught, thanks to Apple’s AirTags. -

Although they have many beneficial applications, such as the one mentioned above, they can also be used for unwanted surveillance. Jonesboro, Arkansas’ KAIT News reported the story of an unidentified woman that turned on her iPhone in her car only to get a notice informing her that there was an AirTag somewhere nearby.
This was clearly an AirTag she had not placed herself as at the time of the event she did not even know what it was. “It popped up I have an AirTag following and I’m like, no,” said the woman. She thus came to the eerie conclusion that someone else was trying to track her.
“On my way to work and I went to hook my phone up to listen to music and then it popped up I have an AirTag following and I’m like, no,” added the woman still in shock. She proceeded to find the device taped to her trunk, put it in a bag, and bring it to the local police station for investigation.
Unfortunately, the police have no leads as of yet but Robert Sexton, a CID Detective with the Paragould Police Department, did say that this is an event that is becoming increasingly more common and that people should watch out for such incidents. In addition to being able to stick AirTags in unwanted locations, nefarious actors may also be able to hack them. Yikes! (Read more)

Friday, November 19, 2021

FDA moves to speed along convoluted approval process for COVID booster shots

AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Some states have not waited for federal regulators to finish their convoluted approval processes. It really isn’t any wonder why so much of the general public is skeptical of the FDA, CDC, etc. (and thus become vulnerable to anti-vaxxer propaganda) when these agencies have been so inept throughout the course of the pandemic -

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators on Friday moved to open up COVID-19 booster shots to all adults, expanding the government’s effort to get ahead of rising coronavirus cases that experts fear could snowball into a winter surge as millions of Americans travel for the holidays.
The Food and Drug Administration’s decision stands to simplify what has been a confusing list of who’s eligible by allowing anyone 18 or older to choose either a Pfizer or Moderna booster six months after their last dose — regardless of which vaccine they had first. The move came after about a dozen states had started offering boosters to all adults.
“We heard loud and clear that people needed something simpler — and this, I think, is simple,” FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks told The Associated Press.
There’s one more step before the approach becomes official: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must agree to expand Pfizer and Moderna boosters to even healthy young adults. Its scientific advisers were set to debate it later Friday.
If the CDC agrees, tens of millions more Americans could have three doses of protection before the new year. Anyone who got the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine can already get a booster.
All three COVID-19 vaccines used in the U.S. offer strong protection against severe illness including hospitalization and death without boosters, but protection against infection can wane with time. Previously, the government had cleared boosters of Pfizer’s vaccine, as well as the similar Moderna vaccine, only for vulnerable groups including older Americans and people with chronic health problems.
But Pfizer last week asked the FDA to expand that decision to everyone, citing new data from a study of 10,000 people. Ultimately, the FDA decided there was enough evidence, from studies and real-world use of boosters, to back the expansion for both Pfizer and Moderna.
The move comes as new COVID-19 cases have climbed steadily over the last two weeks, especially in states where colder weather is driving people indoors. Some states didn’t wait for federal officials to act and opened boosters to all adults.
Marks said he understood why some governors got out ahead of the FDA.
“We’re going into a cold season, cases going up, high travel season, people indoors sharing good holiday times together,” he said. “They probably saw the specter of what could happen here, and were trying — well intentioned — to do something.”
Boosters for everyone was the Biden administration’s original goal. But in September, a panel of FDA advisers voted overwhelmingly against that idea based on the vaccines’ continued effectiveness in most age groups. Instead, they endorsed an extra Pfizer dose only for the most vulnerable. (Read more)

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Unfit to serve: U.S. Navy tells remaining unvaxxed sailors to either get vaxxed, or get out

Julio Rivera/U.S. Navy via AP

If they’re buying into the lies and conspiracy theories of outsiders - instead of what their commanding officers and the Commander-in-Chief are telling them (or they’re just plain scared of a needle) - then they are not fit to serve. Note that less than 2,000 sailors remain unvaxxed -

Sailors who are denied a COVID-19 vaccination exemption will have five days to get their first shot or be discharged, according to a Navy administrative message released Monday.
The message, issued by the Navy's head of manpower, personnel, training and education, a three-star admiral, notes that the lowest discharge rating a vaccine-refusing sailor can receive, "without extenuating circumstances, will be GENERAL (under honorable conditions)."
The Marine Corps released a similar message Oct. 25.
The update is the latest in a series of announcements that the Navy has issued communicating its intent to vaccinate its entire force. (Read more)

New York City: Anti-vaxxers display swastikas and Star of David outside Jewish assemblyman’s office

Office of Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz

Washington Post - Protesters display swastika, Star of David outside Jewish politician’s office to oppose vaccine rules

Explicit Anti-Semitism: Exactly the direction the anti-vaxxers, at least some members of both parties, and the entire nationalist populist and ‘progressive’ movements are heading in. America itself is beginning to turn its back on the Jewish people. We speak specifically of the anti-vaxxers here, and nearly all populist movements in history have eventually scapegoated the Jews; usually with great success. America and the civilized world once declared ‘never again,’ but it is about to happen again – large chunks of Americans have grown hellbent on being the new Nazi Germans, and most of the rest are naïve and blind to the true extent of the evil unfolding in front of us.

Monday, November 15, 2021

Historic infrastructure billed signed into law by President Biden

Washington Post

Never let it be said the man never got anything done -

President Biden on Monday signed into law a sweeping $1.2 trillion infrastructure measure, notching an achievement that had long eluded his predecessor in the White House, Donald Trump.
Republicans and Democrats gathered at the White House on Monday as Biden signed the legislation, which is aimed at improving the country’s roads, bridges, pipes, ports and Internet connections.
Trump had repeatedly tried and failed to secure a bipartisan infrastructure deal.
“Here in Washington, we’ve heard countless speeches, promises and white papers from experts. But today, we’re finally getting this done,” Biden said. (Read more)

Russia confirmed to have conducted anti-satellite test (ASAT) that put the lives of astronauts aboard the International Space Station in jeopardy

Shutterstock

In more news that is of vital importance but nobody is talking about, the State Department has confirmed that Russia conducted an anti-satellite test (ASAT) over the weekend. You know, only America's mortal enemy that has interfered in our elections and is the world leader in disseminating anti-democratic propaganda – fake news and conspiracy theories – warping the minds of countless millions. The same Russia that paid bounties on American troops in Afghanistan, of which President Trump and the majority of the American people said nothing about. Yes, this is a pretty severe threat to national security, one in which astronauts aboard the International Space Station were put in grave jeopardy. But nothing to see here, right? -

Russia conducted an anti-satellite test (ASAT) early on Monday (Nov. 15), generating hundreds of thousands of pieces of space debris and threatening the safety of astronauts on the International Space Station, the U.S. government has confirmed.
"Earlier today, the Russian Federation recklessly conducted a destructive satellite test of a direct-ascent anti-satellite missile against one of its own satellites," U.S. Department of State spokesperson Ned Price said during a daily press briefing today (Nov. 15).
“The test has so far generated over 1,500 pieces of trackable orbital debris and hundreds of thousands of pieces of smaller orbital debris that now threaten the interests of all nations," Price said. He added that this event has posed a serious threat to the seven astronauts currently in space.
"This test will significantly increase the risk to astronauts and cosmonauts on the International Space Station, as well as to other human spaceflight activities," Price added.
Earlier today, the seven astronauts on the International Space Station took refuge within their Soyuz and Dragon vehicles docked to the space station as the station continued to pass through a debris field every 90 minutes. There are currently four NASA astronauts, two Russian cosmonauts and one German astronaut from the European Space Agency (ESA) on board.
With the crew taking shelter, rumors swirled that Russia may have conducted an ASAT test that destroyed a defunct satellite not too far from the station, and the space debris from that interaction could be what is causing this danger.
Price stated that Russia did conduct an ASAT test that created hundreds of thousands of pieces of debris, although he did not specify whether the test created the debris cloud that the astronauts are dealing with. (Read more)

President Biden signs Executive Order directing cabinet agencies to address ‘crisis of violence’ against Native Americans

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. (photo c/o debforcongress.com)

The Tribal Nations Summit: A thoroughly decent, yet necessary, act by the Biden administration. Why, in the year 2021, are Native American communities still in such dire shape and neglected by the population at large? At least the White House is doing something to address them, but few Americans will notice or care and the media will not bring attention to it. -

(CNN) - President Joe Biden signed an executive order Monday directing federal agencies, including the departments of Justice, Interior and Homeland Security, to create a strategy addressing what the President called a "crisis of violence" against Native Americans.
"Today, I'm directing federal officials to work with tribal nations on a strategy to improve public safety and advanced justice," Biden said at the White House's first-ever Tribal Leaders Summit.
The President continued: "This builds on the work we did together on reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act in 2013, when we granted authority to tribes to exercise jurisdiction over non-Indian offenders who commit violence on tribal lands."
"We're going to reauthorize that again, we're going to expand the jurisdiction to include other offenses like sex trafficking, sexual assault and child abuse," Biden said.
First lady Jill Biden, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland -- the country's first Native American Cabinet Secretary -- Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Attorney General Merrick Garland and Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas stood next to Biden as he signed the order.
The order "tasks DOJ, Interior and Homeland Security to address and create a strategy in 240 days for specific law enforcement issues and to provide tribal nations with support in implementing tribally centered responses as well," to combat violence against Native communities, an administration official said Sunday. The Department of Health and Human Services will also be charged with developing plans for violence prevention and victim support. (Read more)

Austria implements COVID lockdown for the unvaccinated as cases yet again surge

AP Photo/Lisa Leutner

America has more or less surrendered to the virus, but a few, more enlightened countries are still making an effort to stop the spread. But even in these places, there are malcontents crying about their rights and nationalist politicians eager to appease this ‘freedumb’ constituency. -

BERLIN (AP) — Austria took what its leader called the “dramatic” step Monday of implementing a nationwide lockdown for unvaccinated people who haven’t recently had COVID-19, perhaps the most drastic of a string of measures being taken by European governments to get a massive regional resurgence of the virus under control.
The move, which took effect at midnight, prohibits people 12 and older who haven’t been vaccinated or recently recovered from leaving their homes except for basic activities such as working, grocery shopping, going to school or university or for a walk — or getting vaccinated.
The lockdown is initially being imposed until Nov. 24 in the Alpine country of 8.9 million. It doesn’t apply to children under 12 because they cannot yet officially get vaccinated — though the capital, Vienna, on Monday opened up vaccinations for under-12s as part of a pilot project and reported high demand.
Officials say police patrols and checks will be stepped up and unvaccinated people can be fined up to 1,450 euros ($1,660) if they violate the lockdown. (Read more)

Far-right propagandist and Trump enabler Steve Bannon turns himself in on contempt charges

Getty Images

Long past due -

WASHINGTON (AP) — Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, surrendered to federal authorities on Monday to face contempt charges after defying a subpoena from a House committee investigating January’s insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Bannon was taken into custody Monday morning and is expected to appear in court later in the afternoon. The 67-year-old was indicted on Friday on two counts of criminal contempt – one for refusing to appear for a congressional deposition and the other for refusing to provide documents in response to the committee’s subpoena.
The indictment came as a second expected witness, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, defied his own subpoena from the committee on Friday and as Trump has escalated his legal battles to withhold documents and testimony about the insurrection.
If the House votes to hold Meadows in contempt, that recommendation would also be sent to the Justice Department for a possible indictment.
Officials in both Democratic and Republican administrations have been held in contempt by Congress, but criminal indictments for contempt are exceedingly rare.
The indictment against Bannon comes after a slew of Trump administration officials – including Bannon – defied requests and demands from Congress over the past five years with little consequence, including during an impeachment inquiry. President Barack Obama’s administration also declined to charge two of its officials who defied congressional demands. (Read more)

Connecticut judge rules professional hate-monger and seditionist Alex Jones is ‘guilty by default’ of defaming the victims of the Sandy Hook massacre

Adriana Zehbrauskas/NYT

A mere slap on the wrist for somebody who – if we lived in a sane country – should be in a prison cell for the rest of his life. How many millions of minds and hearts have been poisoned by this individual’s various crusades over the last twenty years; from the lie about 9/11 being an ‘inside job,’ to his long-time anti-vaccine activism (long predating the arrival of COVID), to enabling the rise of Donald Trump, and to this vile Sandy Hook conspiracy theory, few of these multitudes of grifters have quite as much blood on their hands as he. Nobody – probably not even Rush Limbaugh, Tucker Carlson, or even Trump himself - been quite as effective as Alex Jones in sowing the seeds of the coming civil war. No other civilized nation in the 21st century would tolerate this evil, but in no other first-world country is ‘freedom’ a rallying cry for oppressing and dominating others quite as it is in #Murica and with its legions of ‘freedom-loving,’ far-right ‘patriots.' -

A superior court in Connecticut granted a sweeping victory to the families of eight people killed in a 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., suing the far-right broadcaster and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his Infowars media outlet for defamation.
The judge in Connecticut ruled on Monday that because Mr. Jones refused to turn over documents ordered by the courts, including financial records, he was guilty by default. The ruling combines with three previous rulings in Texas to grant the families of 10 Sandy Hook shooting victims four victories in four defamation lawsuits against Mr. Jones. (Read more)

‘Three snow leopards died of complications related to Covid-19 at a zoo in Lincoln, Neb., despite efforts by staff to restore them to health after they tested positive for the virus about a month ago’

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, via Associated Press

Human beings refuse to protect each other from this plague, so innocent animals certainly do not stand a chance when they are confronted with it -

The Lincoln Children’s Zoo lamented the deaths of Ranney, Everest and Makalu in a Facebook post on its official page Friday evening, saying the mountain cats “were beloved by our entire community inside and outside of the zoo.”
“This loss is truly heartbreaking, and we are all grieving together,” the statement said.
The snow leopards were not the only animals to have contracted the virus at the facility. The Lincoln Children’s Zoo had published a statement on Oct. 13 disclosing that the snow leopards and Sumatran tigers had “tested positive for the virus that causes Covid-19.”
The zoo had collected nasal swab and fecal samples after animal keepers had “observed symptoms consistent with the virus in felids,” which can include respiratory illness. The zoo said it had been treating the snow leopards and tigers “with steroids and antibiotics to prevent secondary infection,” but its statement did not say whether its animals had been vaccinated.
This summer, zoo animals started receiving an experimental Covid vaccine made by Zoetis, a veterinary pharmaceutical company in New Jersey.
The Lincoln zoo’s tigers appeared to be pulling through, according to the latest statement. “Sumatran tigers, Axl and Kumar, have made a seemingly full recovery from the illness,” the zoo said.
Cases of coronavirus infections among zoo animals have surfaced throughout the U.S., including the first two spotted hyenas in the world found to have the virus, among other animals infected at the Denver Zoo. Other recently reported cases have included tigers in Omaha, Neb.; African lions, snow leopards, jaguars and a tiger in St. Louis and lions in Honolulu. (Read more)

Friday, November 12, 2021

DHS issues holiday alert warning of domestic terrorism threat

Alex Wong/Getty Images

In addition to the continuing threat global Jihadists pose, the Department of Homeland Security is showing increasing concern about homegrown terrorism. Considering we had a genuine homegrown terrorist attack on the United States Capitol this past January 6, it is no longer hyperbole to say our own people are now more of a threat to the homeland than foreign actors. And what a sad commentary that is -

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. faces a “heightened threat environment” from domestic extremists and people inspired by foreign terrorist groups with the approach of the holiday season, the Department of Homeland Security warned Wednesday.
While DHS said it had no credible information on a specific threat, the agency warns in its latest national terrorism advisory bulletin that mass gatherings for the upcoming religious holidays could be potential targets, including from people and organizations seeking to exploit resentment over pandemic lockdowns and recent events such as the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“The Homeland continues to face a diverse and challenging threat environment,” it said.
This is the fourth time this year the agency has issued a bulletin, highlighting the perceived danger from a volatile mix of domestic extremists, often motivated by racially or ethnically motivated hate, and homegrown extremists inspired by overseas groups. It reflects a shift from the focus on al-Qaida and other organizations following the creation of DHS after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
It also comes in an environment that has been super-charged by online propaganda and conspiracy theories as well as anger over the economic turmoil caused by the pandemic. DHS warned that extremists will pose a “significant threat” at least into 2022.
Timothy Langan, the assistant director of the FBI’s counterterrorism division, made similar points last week in an appearance before the House intelligence committee. He said the threat from domestic terrorism has “significantly increased” in the last 18 months, with the agency currently conducting about 2,700 investigations on violent domestic extremists. (Read more)

Friday, November 5, 2021

Congress finally passes infrastructure bill, heads to president’s desk for signature

AP Photo/Matt Slocum

It is passed, albeit significantly cut back from the original proposal, but how shameful that 193 Republicans and six Democrats (all from the radical ‘progressive’ wing) chose to put the personal ideology ahead of the needs of the country -

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House approved a $1 trillion package of road and other infrastructure projects late Friday after Democrats resolved a months-long standoff between progressives and moderates, notching a victory that President Joe Biden and his party had become increasingly anxious to claim.
The House passed the measure 228-206, prompting prolonged cheers from the relieved Democratic side of the chamber. Thirteen Republicans, mostly moderates, supported the legislation while six of Democrats’ farthest left members — including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri — opposed it.
Approval of the bill, which would create legions of jobs and improve broadband, water supplies and other public works, whisked it to the desk of a president whose approval ratings have dropped and whose nervous party got a cold shoulder from voters in this week’s off-year elections.
Democratic gubernatorial candidates were defeated in Virginia and squeaked through in New Jersey, two blue-leaning states. Those setbacks made party leaders — and moderates and progressives alike — impatient to produce impactful legislation and demonstrate they know how to govern. Democrats can ill afford to seem in disarray a year before midterm elections that could result in Republicans regaining congressional control.
Simply freeing up the infrastructure measure for final congressional approval was a like a burst of adrenaline for Democrats. Yet despite the win, Democrats endured a setback when they postponed a vote on a second, even larger bill until later this month.
That 10-year, $1.85 trillion measure bolstering health, family and climate change programs was sidetracked after moderates demanded a cost estimate on the sprawling measure from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The postponement dashed hopes that the day would produce a double-barreled win for Biden with passage of both bills. (Read more)

Government releases improving economic figures, but take with a grain of salt

Reuters/Octavio Jones

Reminder: Just because Trump isn’t president anymore, it doesn’t mean the government’s unemployment numbers – or the means of determining those numbers - are legitimate. Far more people have stopped looking for work, and those folks are not included in that 4.6% number. It seems that partisans remember this fact when the other side holds the White House, but conveniently forget when it’s their guy in office. Don’t do that. Reuters -

WASHINGTON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - U.S. employment increased more than expected in October as the headwind from the surge in COVID-19 infections over the summer subsided, offering more evidence that economic activity was regaining momentum early in the fourth quarter.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 531,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said in its closely watched employment report on Friday. Data for September was revised higher to show 312,000 created instead of the previously reported 194,000.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls rising by 450,000 jobs. Estimates ranged from as low as 125,000 jobs to as high as 755,000. Worker shortages persisted, even as federal government-funded unemployment benefits wound down in early September and schools reopened for in-person learning.
Still, the report joined rising consumer confidence and services sector activity in painting a more favorable picture of the economy, after the Delta variant of the coronavirus and economy-wide shortages of goods restrained growth in the third quarter to its slowest pace in more than a year.
The unemployment rate fell to 4.6% from 4.8% in September. While companies desperately want to hire, millions remain unemployed and outside the labor force. (Read more)

17-year-old son of Virginia governor-elect is caught attempting to vote illegally. Twice

Shawn Thew/EPA

These GOP f**ks and their supporters (enablers) couldn’t be anymore shameless. Here they are recklessly accusing Democrats, minorities, immigrants, and anybody who is not them of voting fraud, but when the son of a new golden boy Republican politician is caught attempting to commit actual fraud, we get either dead silence or desperate spin (‘he wasn’t charged with a crime,’ ‘he misunderstood the law,’ they’ll demand. No, knock it off.) Via WTOP -

Virginia Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin’s teenage son tried to vote despite being ineligible to do so, the Fairfax County Office of Elections said Friday.
Scott Konopasek, general registrar and director of elections for the county, said the 17-year-old made two attempts at voting on Election Day. He presented identification but could not be registered, because he was underage and therefore was not able to vote.
WTOP is not identifying Youngkin’s son, because he is under 18 and has not been charged with a crime.
He was given a registration form and encouraged to participate in future elections, Konopasek said. (Read more)

Paxlovid: Pfizer seeking FDA approval for COVID drug that could dramatically reduce hospitalizations and deaths

Evan Frost/MPR News

Hopeful the FDA doesn’t drag its heels on this. After all, it must be more sensible than taking horse dewormer or injecting bleach -

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pfizer Inc. said Friday that its experimental antiviral pill for COVID-19 cut rates of hospitalization and death by nearly 90% in high-risk adults, as the drugmaker joins the race to bring the first easy-to-use medication against the coronavirus to the U.S. market.
Currently all COVID-19 treatments used in the U.S. require an IV or injection. Competitor Merck’s COVID-19 pill is already under review at the Food and Drug Administration after showing strong initial results, and on Thursday the United Kingdom became the first country to OK it.
Pfizer said it will ask the FDA and international regulators to authorize its pill as soon as possible, after independent experts recommended halting the company’s study based on the strength of its results. Once Pfizer applies, the FDA could make a decision within weeks or months. If authorized the company would sell the drug under the brand name Paxlovid.
Researchers worldwide have been racing to find a pill against COVID-19 that can be taken at home to ease symptoms, speed recovery and reduce the crushing burden on hospitals and doctors.
Pfizer released preliminary results Friday of its study of 775 adults. Patients who received the company's drug along with another antiviral shortly after showing COVID-19 symptoms had an 89% reduction in their combined rate of hospitalization or death after a month, compared to patients taking a dummy pill. Fewer than 1% of patients taking the drug needed to be hospitalized and no one died. In the comparison group, 7% were hospitalized and there were seven deaths. (Read more)

University of Tennessee football program concludes internal investigation into rule violations

Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

No self-imposed bowl ban, but there’s no guarantee they will qualify for a bowl to begin with. In any given year. Tennessee is not an elite program anymore, and probably will not be for a long time. And college football is a shady business, as much as we love it -

The University of Tennessee has concluded its year-long internal investigation into rules violations within the football program that led to the firing of head football coach Jeremy Pruitt and will not self-impose a bowl ban, the university announced Thursday.
In a statement, the university said it was "moving forward with our focus on rebuilding our football program and supporting student-athletes" and that it would "hold ourselves accountable considering the nature of the violations, our prompt investigation and corrective personnel, the new recruiting environment and other factors."
Sources told ESPN that the university does plan to self-impose penalties other than a postseason ban such as a reduction in scholarships and other recruiting restrictions. The university has yet to receive a notice of allegations from the NCAA, according to sources.
While the NCAA has been heavily involved in Tennessee's internal probe, which was aided by former NCAA investigator Michael Glazier and the Bond, Schoeneck & King law firm, the NCAA has yet to make a final ruling on Tennessee's case and could still levy its own penalties.
"NCAA bylaws prevent us from sharing details of the investigation at this time, but we do commit to providing that information when we are able," the university said in a statement. (Read more)