Important New COVID/Vax Data

Posted on by Josh Marshall

Over the last few days I’ve been collecting information and thinking through a few more posts on the progress of the Delta-driven 4th COVID wave. One of the conclusions I’ve been ruminating on is that the CDC has been doing a pretty good job in 2021 on what the CDC is designed to do. (It is important to remember, and bewildering to remember, that the CDC actually wasn’t posting COVID case, testing or mortality data through 2020. It fell to a DIY journo collaborative.) But it’s clear that we need an entity that is capable of and empowered to do a lot more. In the current moment there is just a lot of data about the current shape of the pandemic that we simply do not have. We do have that data, or a lot of it, for the UK and Israel because they have centralized health care systems that have all the data. We will come back to that. But for the moment I wanted to flag for your attention this week’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) from the CDC. It contains three new studies which go directly to the most critical questions we’re facing.

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Sic Transit

Posted on by Josh Marshall

A sign of the times update. Politico Influence, Politico’s newsletter on the lobbying industry, is reporting that the US Chamber of Commerce is now requiring proof of vaccination for anyone who enters their DC offices. The National Association of Manufacturers and the Business Roundtable are also instituting vaccine mandates.

Governor Abbott’s COVID

Posted on by Josh Marshall

You have seen the news that Gov. Abbott of Texas has tested positive for COVID. It adds a new element of drama to the battle he’s currently waging to ban school masking and vaccine mandates in Texas. But there’s another element I wanted to mention. Because when I saw it yesterday it confused me.

The governor’s office reports that he tested positive after one of the tests for the infection he takes each day. They report he is fully vaccinated, in good health and as yet has no symptoms of the disease. At 63 he is approaching the age when people start to have more adverse outcomes. But fully vaccinated there’s every expectation he will have a mild course of the illness if he has any symptoms at all and probably not need to do more than do the duties of office in quarantine.

But the statement from the Governor’s office also noted that he has begun taking the Regeneron antibodies treatment.
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Mask-Mandate Foe Abbott Has COVID-19

Posted on by Cristina Cabrera

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things.

Rolling In The Deep Irony

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has tested positive for COVID-19, per a video announcement he posted yesterday.

  • Abbott is vaccinated and isn’t experiencing any symptoms.
  • The governor, a paraplegic, received a third booster shot, according to NBC News. The Federal Drug and Food Administration has authorized booster shots for immunocompromised people.
  • Abbott seemed to encourage Texans to get the vaccine by noting that he wasn’t experiencing any symptoms.
  • Abbott has been a fierce opponent of vaccine and mask mandates while hospitals in his state are getting slammed with COVID-19 cases.
  • It’s not clear when the GOP governor became infected, but he has attended numerous public and private events in recent days where, photos show, masking was virtually nonexistent:

That fundraiser at the Republican Club at Heritage Ranch sure looks busy. What else has been on his agenda lately?

Weird, none of the hoards of infected migrants that Abbott accuses of exposing “our communities” to COVID-19 are in any of these pictures!

Arizona Governor Is Trying To Bribe Schools Into Letting Kids Get Exposed To COVID-19

Arizona district and charter schools that are “following all state laws” will receive extra funding from money allocated to the state through Congress’ last COVID-19 relief package, Gov. Doug Ducey (R) announced yesterday as several local officials defy his mask mandate ban.

  • The governor made it explicitly clear that this is about rewarding local governments that don’t require masks at schools, claiming in his announcement that mandates “place more stress” on families (presumably ones that aren’t stressed about their child getting sick).
  • Ducey’s announcement comes as the Florida Board of Education voted to potentially withhold funds from school districts that have refused to comply with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) mask mandate ban.
  • Florida’s announcement hasn’t deterred the Alachua County School Board from upholding its mask mandate, however:

Key Analysis

“‘Breaking point’: Why the red state/blue city conflict is peaking over masks” – CNN

FBI Investigates Election Data Leak To QAnon Circles

The FBI in Denver is joining the investigation into a leak of Mesa County’s election data to an infamous QAnoner that was allegedly assisted by county clerk Tina Peters.

  • The feds are working with the Mesa ​County district attorney “on the forensic review and analysis of county voting systems to determine if there was a potential federal criminal violation,” a FBI spokesperson told CNN.
  • Peters went to MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell’s “Cyber Symposium” circus last week and accused the Colorado secretary of state of victimizing her “because I am a Republican, I’m a conservative and she’s not.”

Let The Georgia GOP’s Election Hijacking Begin

The Georgia State Board of Elections will appoint a panel to review Fulton County’s elections process at Republicans’ request today.

  • It’s the next step in Georgia Republicans’ efforts to take control of the county’s elections process after its heavily blue majority helped flip the state to Biden.

Earthquake Devastation In Haiti

The death toll of Haiti’s enormous earthquake this weekend is at nearly 2,000, and more than 9,000 people have been injured.

Thoughts And Prayers

New York Attorney General Letitia James is moving forward with her bid to dissolve the National Rifle Association (NRA).

  • The corruption running rampant within the organization has “continued unabated,” James wrote in a new court filing this week.

Saluting The Taliban To Own The Libs

Conservatives have offered weird takes on Taliban ideology over the last couple of days:

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FL Board Of Education Votes To Probe Districts Defying DeSantis Ban On Mask Mandates

Posted on by Summer Concepcion

The Florida Board of Education on Tuesday voted unanimously to approve investigations into two school districts in the state that defied Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) order banning mask mandates. Continue reading “FL Board Of Education Votes To Probe Districts Defying DeSantis Ban On Mask Mandates” →

Here’s Why We Do the Prime AF Push

Posted on by Josh Marshall

A few of you have asked why we’re doing our Prime Ad Free (AF) trial. So I wanted to explain. In this drive we need at least 1,000 Prime members to upgrade to Prime AF. We know there are at least a thousand who – once they try it – will want to upgrade just because they prefer it. Believe me, it’s a lot better. So our two week free trial is really just a diabolical plan to figure out who those 1000+ members are.
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FBI Seizes Devices, Clothes Of Militia-Linked Couple Who Were In DC On Jan. 6

Posted on by Josh Kovensky

In a raid earlier this month, the FBI seized electronic devices and outfits worn to the Capitol on Jan. 6 from a Georgia couple who are linked to the head of a Three Percenter offshoot group.

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