Tracker

Civil war expert recoils in horror at interviews with Trump fans: 'They don’t want democracy anymore' The U.S. recently fell out of the rankings of democratic nations, and one expert worries that it will happen again -- and tip the country into civil war. Barbara Walter, a University of California professor and an expert on civil conflicts, recently wrote about the political volatility in the U.S. since the Jan. 6 insurrection, which dropped the country into the anocracy zone, and she told CNN the riot had made the deadly risks from Donald Trump's lies "impossible to deny and ignore." "Anocracies are neither fully democratic nor fully autocratic; their citizens enjoy some elements of democratic rule (e.g., elections), while other rights (e.g., due process or freedom of the press) suffer," Walter wrote for the Washington Post. "In the last weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency, the respected Center for Systemic Peace (CSP) calculated that, for the first time in more than two centuries, the United States no longer qualified as a democracy. It had, over the preceding five years, become an anocracy." President Joe Biden's peaceful inauguration moved the polity ranking back into the democratic zone, but Walter warned the threat remained, putting the U.S. at real risk of additional violence and instability, and Walter reacted with alarm when a CNN host showed her interviews with Trump supporters who refused to accept the former president had lost the election. "Well, 10 years ago, [my reaction] would have been shock and disbelief," Walter said. “I would have thought, ‘Well she’s an outlier and she’s not representative of anything larger than a fringe movement, maybe.' But of course, that’s not the case anymore.” Walter and others who study civil conflict have been sounding the alarm for years, but she said no wanted to believe the risks, but she said Trump and his right-wing media allies have corroded trust in democracy itself -- with already fatal results. “Citizens do believe what they are hearing and if they hear it long enough and consistently enough and if that’s all they hear, they absolutely don’t think it’s a lie, they think it’s the truth,” Walter said. "You know, they're good people," she added. "They are trying to do what they think is right. It's the leadership that's cynical. It's the leadership that knows better who is feeding them lies consistently. They’re priming their supporters to believe that democracy isn’t worth defending because they don’t want democracy anymore." Civil war expert recoils in horror at interviews with Trump fans: 'They don’t want democracy anymore' - Alternet.org

Woman With MS Dies of COVID After Doctors Told Her She Couldn’t Get Vaxxed, Family Says The family of a California woman who died from COVID-19 announced that they’re suing health-care provider Kaiser Permanente, alleging she was denied a vaccine and refused monoclonal antibody treatment after she was infected. Nerissa Regnier, a 45-year-old realtor with three children, had multiple sclerosis but was “managing” the disease, said Annee Della Donna, an attorney for the family. When she approached Kaiser about getting vaccinated, Regnier was told more than half a dozen times in six months that she could not receive the vaccine because it contained a “live virus,” the lawyer alleged. (Not one of the available COVID-19 vaccines contains live viruses.) Regnier later tested positive for the coronavirus. Hospitalized at a medical center within Kaiser’s network, she was denied monoclonal antibody treatment, Della Donna alleged. Regnier died Dec. 16. Kaiser officials have declined to comment on Regnier’s case, instead insisting that the company is committed to providing the “highest quality health care appropriate” for each patient. Woman With MS Dies of COVID After Doctors Told Her She Couldn’t Get Vaxxed, Family Says (thedailybeast.com)

There are those who confuse freedom with licence. "Useful idiots"

that, or Jones is showing signs of Old-Timers disease.

They are trying to ensure that these children grow up so ignorant that they will be lifetime GOPers.

Its more a condemnation of their political system.

"Son of omicron" variant worries public health officials amid new wave of COVID-19 infections. The variant, known as BA.2, has been identified in over 40 countries and seems to spread very quickly As the omicron variant became the dominant strain in the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists began to nervously observe that we knew very little about its origin. If this unusually vaccine-evasive and infectious mutant can arise seemingly out of nowhere, they warned, it is entirely possible that another related virus might pop up and surprise everyone. Some even speculated that omicron itself could mutate into a new virus that would present a different range of problems for scientists trying to study them. New reports from California reveal that this last warning may have been prophetic. The California Department of Health confirmed on Tuesday that it had identified 11 cases throughout the state of BA.2, a sub-variant of omicron. At the time of this writing, 96 people around the country in total have been diagnosed with the BA.2 sub-variant in the United States. The World Health Organization (WHO) has dubbed the strain a "variant of concern," or a virus that will spread more rapidly, hinder public health precautions more effectively or in some way prove to be more dangerous than other forms of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (which causes COVID-19). Unfortunately, there are early signs it may be more transmissible than the earlier strain of omicron (now known as BA.1), as Imperial College London virologist Tom Peacock opined on Twitter. "Any variant that proves to be able to transmit more efficiently will cause more cases, and therefore likely more hospitalisations," Pam Vallely, a professor of medical virology at the University of Manchester, told Newsweek. "But we cannot infer anything meaningful from the limited data available for this variant so far." "Son of omicron" variant worries public health officials amid new wave of COVID-19 infections | Salon.com

The Wexit people are in on the protests and Trump banners have been reported. I support the testing. If you come back infected, you can spread it quickly to many people, some of whom who are vulnerable. We have enough Covidiots locally that we do not need to add to that number, and for truckers, its part of the cost of doing business. My son and daughter in law recently returned from Hawaii and were tested going and returning, and considered it as necessary- no big deal.

Sometimes good athletes want something specific or maybe don't like the physical stuff. A guy named "Tiger" Wiseman broke at lot Gretzky's records in the OHL, but had no interest in pro hockey. Last I heard he was a fireman in North Bay. My son was a good, big hockey player, but when he reached the age where bodychecking started, he opted out- didn't like hurting people.

The prosecution needs for one or two conspirators to save themselves by striking deals and turning on others. There is evidence this is already happening.

You are correct- I got the two movies confusicated, but Beyond was not good. (IMO)

To repeat myself, it will take a couple of prosecutions and conviction for criminal negligence causing harm/death for the cretins to wake up. To repeat myself, it will take a couple of prosecutions and conviction for criminal negligence causing harm/death for the cretins to wake up.

Beyond. Ugh.

There is incontrovertible evidence that he, in fact, is an eejit.

The most recent Star Trek movie is a close second, but that first one nearly sank the franchise for good. Roddenberry had to make all kinds of promises in order to get a second one made.

Bolsonaro’s Far-Right Guru Who Dismissed ‘Moronavirus’ Pandemic Dies of COVID -Reuters Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has declared a national day of mourning after his COVID-denying mentor died of the virus. Olavo de Carvalho, 74, was a longtime right-wing crusader in Brazil who was crucial in Bolsonaro’s shock rise to power in the 2018 presidential election. Carvalho’s relatives announced his death Monday, but didn’t say how he died. However, his estranged daughter, Heloísa de Carvalho, revealed Tuesday that her dad died from COVID-19. He had spent the pandemic playing down the severity of the virus, dismissing it as the “moronavirus” and writing in a tweet in May 2020: “The fear of a supposedly deadly virus is nothing more than a little horror story designed to scare the population and make them accept slavery as they would a present from Father Christmas.” In a mournful statement, Bolsonaro described his mentor as “one of the greatest thinkers in our country’s history.”

Is Xavier Riddle any relation to Tom Riddle?

James Webb Telescope transmits first image back to Earth!

Every member of Trump's inner and outer circle has pled the Fifth repeatedly- Don Jr. pled the Fifth almost 500 times when deposed.

Elton John Tests Positive For COVID, Postpones Farewell Tour A positive COVID-19 test has forced Elton John to postpone at least two shows in Dallas, where he was scheduled to perform Tuesday and Wednesday nights. “Hi everyone, wanted to send a message to let you know that I have contracted COVID and so have had to reschedule my shows in Dallas,” John told his fans on Instagram. “If you have tickets, you’ll be contacted with the new dates really soon. It’s always a massive disappointment to move shows and I’m so sorry to anyone who’s been inconvenienced by this but I want to keep myself and my team safe.” The 74-year-old rock legend added that he’s vaccinated, boosted and only experiencing mild symptoms, and expressed optimism he’ll be able to pick back up this weekend for a show in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Pfizer Begins Clinical Trial For Omicron-Targeting Vaccine Pfizer has begun a study comparing its original COVID-19 vaccine with doses specially tweaked to match the hugely contagious omicron variant. Pfizer and its partner BioNTech announced the study on Tuesday. COVID-19 vaccine-makers have been updating their shots to better match omicron in case global health authorities decide the change is needed. Omicron is more likely than previous variants to cause infection even in people who’ve been vaccinated, but it’s not yet clear that a change to the vaccine recipe will be ordered. Among the issues regulators are weighing: Some of the first places to face an omicron surge already are seeing the mutant wane — and there’s no way to know if the next variant that arises will resemble omicron or be totally different. The original vaccines still offer good protection against severe illness and death. Studies in the U.S. and elsewhere have made clear that adding a booster dose strengthens that protection and improves the chances of avoiding a milder infection. “We recognize the need to be prepared in the event this protection wanes over time and to potentially help address omicron and new variants in the future,” Kathrin Jansen, Pfizer’s vaccine research chief, said in a statement. Pfizer Begins Clinical Trial For Omicron-Targeting Vaccine | HuffPost null

Ok, maybe a name change to something more dignified, like "Sir Osis of Liver".

The tragedy I was referring to was the ordeal waiting for his soon-to-be widow and the children involved. Kids growing up without a Dad do suffer for that., and widows typically suffer financial as well as emotional hardship. For her, I cannot imagine the inner turmoil she is going through from the realization that her partner chose to die rather than get a minute jab and live with her and the kids.

Young Father Denied Heart Transplant Because He Refuses to Get COVID Vaccine A 31-year-old father in need of a heart transplant has been bumped from the transplant list at Brigham and Women’s Hospital because he won’t get vaccinated against COVID-19, CBS Boston reports. “It’s kind of against his basic principles—he doesn’t believe in it,” David Ferguson told the news outlet of his son, DJ Ferguson. The father of two was at the top of the transplant list until he was removed over his vaccination status, his father said. It was not immediately clear why he was in need of a heart transplant. The hospital released a statement explaining that the vaccine requirement is standard policy, as the jab creates “both the best chance for a successful operation and also the patient’s survival after transplantation.” Arthur Caplan, the head of Medical Ethics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, put it more simply: “Post any transplant, kidney, heart whatever, your immune system is shut off. The flu could kill you, a cold could kill you, COVID could kill you. The organs are scarce, we are not going to distribute them to someone who has a poor chance of living when others who are vaccinated have a better chance post-surgery of surviving.” Young Father Denied Heart Transplant Because He Refuses to Get COVID Vaccine (thedailybeast.com) (I suppose this was inevitable and has probably happened already without announcement. But it is tragic and very very stupid)