I start with the proviso that we are in a radically better position than we were two years ago. Most of the population is vaccinated. We have experience treating COVID. We have effective antivirals coming online. But this morning in New York City has a feeling of déjà vu. My inbox is filled with a rush of cancellations: school holiday events; a journalists’ drinking get-together that had just restarted after a two year hiatus postponed the morning of; lines outside testing centers snake around the block. It all has the feel of Spring of 2020 when everything was normal and then on a dime it wasn’t.
Continue reading “COVID Notes #3”Georgia GOPers Quietly Asked Perdue To Not Run For Governor Before He Did It Anyway
Before former Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) launched his primary challenge against Gov. Brian Kemp (R) last week, a majority of the Republicans in the Georgia state Senate privately sent him a letter asking him to please not do that.
Continue reading “Georgia GOPers Quietly Asked Perdue To Not Run For Governor Before He Did It Anyway”COVID Notes #2
Let me share a couple more thoughts on boosters.
The UK is currently in a mad dash to get boosters into the arms of as many people as possible. We’re certainly pushing boosters here too. But it’s a singular focus there in a way that is not the case here. That’s the first, second and third part of their strategy basically. They’re advising work from home and universal masking. But basically it’s to buy time for getting boosters in as many arms as possible over the next two to three weeks. They’re deploying the military to set up pop-up clinics, advising hospitals to suspend routine care to focus on booster administration. They have a goal of getting every adult in the country boosted by the end of the month. So really they’re pulling out all the stops.
Continue reading “COVID Notes #2”Only One Kentucky GOPer Joins Biden On Tour Of Tornado Devastation
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things.
Trump’s Ever-Present Iron Grip
Even though Biden invited the entire Kentucky congressional caucus to join him on his visit to their state yesterday to survey the damage caused by the deadly tornadoes over the weekend, according to the White House, the only Republican who took him up on his invite was Rep. James Comer (R-KY).
- Comer’s district includes the areas where the tornadoes destroyed homes and businesses.
- The federal government will pay for 100 percent of the costs for emergency recovery in Kentucky for the first 30 days after the disaster, Biden announced during his trip.
- At least 71 people in Kentucky have been confirmed dead, according to a Kentucky Emergency Management spokesperson.
Sinema Sinks Hopes For Filibuster Change For Voting Rights
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) continues to bearhug the filibuster despite Democrats’ renewed efforts to reform the procedure to pass their crucial voting rights bill.
Pelosi Rejects Potential Ban On Lawmaker Stock Trading
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) threw cold water on the idea of prohibiting members of Congress and their spouses from trading stocks while in office yesterday because “we are a free-market economy,” therefore lawmakers “should be able to participate in that.”
Dem Dares Russian Politician To Kidnap Him
Duma member Aleksei Zhuravlyov, who also chairs Russia’s nationalist Rodina party, called for the kidnapping of Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) yesterday. Gallego had said “we have to kill some Russians” if Russia tries to take over Ukraine.
The Democrat’s response to the kidnapping threat: Bring it on.
Senate Passes $770 Billion Defense Bill
Amid hand-wringing over the costs of child tax credits and other social benefits, the Senate approved $770 billion for the National Defense Authorization Act on Wednesday by an overwhelming majority of 88 votes against 11. Who says bipartisanship is dead?
GOP Guv Candidate Uses Stock Footage Of Other Countries In Ad Celebrating His State
Scott Jensen, a Republican candidate for Minnesota governor, has a campaign ad that purports to highlight his state’s beauty and greatness–while using stock video footage from Spain, Russia, Ukraine, Thailand and the UK. The ad labels every scene with the name of a Minnesota city or park even though several of the images are from abroad.
Derek Chauvin Pleads Guilty To Federal Civil Rights Charge In George Floyd’s Death
Ex-cop Derek Chauvin, who’s already been sentenced 22 1/2 years in prison on state charges for George Floyd’s death, has pleaded guilty to federal charges of willfully violating Floyd’s civil rights by kneeling on his neck.
- Chauvin also pleaded guilty to violating another person’s civil rights in a separate incident in 2017. In that case, Chauvin held a 14-year-old boy by the throat and pressed his knee on the teen’s neck even after he cuffed him.
- Under the plea deal, Chauvin faces 20 to 25 years in prison which he would serve in federal prison concurrently with the state sentence.
Abbott Frequently Spends 8 Hours Of His Day Fundraising
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) often takes eight hours out of his daily schedule for fundraising calls, according to the New York Times.
bell hooks Dies At 69
Acclaimed author and Black feminist bell hooks died from renal failure at her home in Berea, Kentucky yesterday. Give her obituary in the New York Times a read.
Must-Read
“Anguish and gratitude as tornado slashed through Amazon warehouse” – The Washington Post
“How the Mighty Culinary Union Survived the Apocalypse” – In These Times
Alaska Mayor Turned Off Fluoridation Of Water Supply
Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson shut down the fluoridation of the city’s water supply for five hours on Oct. 1
- Bronson admitted to doing so in a statement on Tuesday. He claimed he had heard reports of the fluoride in the water treatment centers had become dangerous, so he paused the fluoridation to “further investigate these concerns.”
- Bronson is an anti-vaxxer, by the way.
JFK Researchers Let Down By Newly Declassified Assassination Docs
The Biden administration released almost 1,500 formerly classified documents on President John F. Kennedy’s assassination yesterday, but investigators say the records seems to be only duplicates of previously released documents with little to no changes.
Twitter Reassures World Betty White Is Still Alive
Whenever 99-year-old actress and national treasure Betty White trends on Twitter, people often fear the worst. So when she began trending yesterday, Twitter made sure to include this description:
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Warren Demands Expansion Of Supreme Court To Combat ‘Republican Hijacking’
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) on Wednesday urged the expansion of the Supreme Court with more justices, while taking aim at the “gravity of the Republican hijacking” of the court.
Continue reading “Warren Demands Expansion Of Supreme Court To Combat ‘Republican Hijacking’”COVID Notes #1
We have the first study (still un-peer-reviewed) that advances an evidence-based hypothesis for why Omicron COVID may actually produce milder disease. I want to emphasize this is a single study, which has not undergone peer review. The gist is that Omicron was much faster at taking hold in the air passage leading to the lungs but much less efficient in replicating in lung tissue. The surmise is that this makes it much better at jumping from host to host – which is demonstrated by rate of spread in multiple countries – but much less efficient at creating illness once it gets into the lungs.
Continue reading “COVID Notes #1”Where Things Stand: At What Point Do We Say BBB Is Dead?
I don’t really know what it means to “punt” BBB until next year. I’m serious.
We’re going to hear that phrase a lot, with a certain baked-in assumption that it means something. But it’s not like the assurance that I’m going to finish my homework tomorrow, or complete my term paper this weekend, or turn in this client project by the end of next week. There’s no certainty that this will ever get done.
Continue reading “Where Things Stand: At What Point Do We Say BBB Is Dead?”The Sausage Making: Democrats Try To Revive Voting Push As Manchin Stalls Reconciliation Bill
Your intermittent briefing on negotiations over the reconciliation bill.
Many Democrats are calling for a shift in focus, putting voting rights legislation front and center as Build Back Better negotiations continue to drag. Everyone from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to President Joe Biden has endorsed the priority swap, saying voting rights is the most pressing domestic issue.
Continue reading “The Sausage Making: Democrats Try To Revive Voting Push As Manchin Stalls Reconciliation Bill”Sussing Out Durham’s Sussmann Case
It’s been more than five years since the 2016 election. The Trump administration is gone, the statute of limitations for many related crimes has expired, but there’s something still going on: the John Durham investigation.
Continue reading “Sussing Out Durham’s Sussmann Case”The Federalist Outs Jordan As Meadows Texter While Clumsily Trying To Defend Him
The Federalist, a reliable GOP media ally, tried to run interference for Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) on Wednesday and ended up stepping on a nice big rake instead.
Continue reading “The Federalist Outs Jordan As Meadows Texter While Clumsily Trying To Defend Him”