Covid-19 Mandates targeting Anti-Vaxxers are Coming...And Fast

 

There are gun nuts, and then there are anti-vax nuts. Right now it is the latter who are killing innocent American citizens. I feel sure all the fair-minded and lucid thinkers of the U.S. wholeheartedly welcome this headline from Daily Beast: "America’s Finally Telling the Anti-Vax Nuts Where They Can Go." Many of us bloggers have ideas of their potential destination and just today I have come up with, outer space, a location befitting their far-out beliefs. 

It is perhaps a coincidence that as I began to construct this post, a friend of mine received a phone call from an anti-vaxxer, anti-masker, anti-distancer and anti-anything else that is based in scientific fact. It was a long and frequently confrontational conversation because he is just as sure of his position in intelligence as the anti-everything on the other end. This person is a confirmed know-it-all with a perspective intensified by the defense of her position.

Here's a gaffe made by this person during the debate that throws the whole anti-bunch movement out of kilter. The talker doesn't believe in the science of vaccines but does believe in the fact that, by having had coronavirus, antibodies are created that protect her in the future. Isn't that science? My friend didn't press the point because the opposition throws up a shield for anything fact-based, saying the

people we follow are afraid to tell us the truth.

This individual is living with a built-in obstinance of logic. Science Daily says...

infants are capable of deductive problem solving as early as 10 months of age, a new study by psychologists at Emory University and Bucknell finds.

Is it possible there is a wire loose in the brains of the anti-science group and, if reconnected, it could solve the Covid-19 pandemic? If only it could be this simple, but, no doubt, there would be thousands of excuses to deny surgery. Sometimes I wonder if they enjoy this kind of independent beligerantism. Did I just coin a word? Here's another headline from The Daily Beast...

"One Thing Will Save Us From These Suicidal Lunatics—Mandates"

Here are some examples from New York city, which is supposed to be somewhat sophisticated,,,

 

One of the points this anti-science person made on the phone was that Covid-19 is no worse than the annual flu. I did some research and re. this she was so far off it is laughable. In the 2019-2020 flu season, according to the CDC, there were 20,000 flu-related deaths. Johns Hopkins Univ. reports there were 352,000 coronavirus deaths in 2020. And already in 2021 353,000 deaths from the virus. Logic would indicate it is downright foolish to compare the two.

The 1918 flu pandemic which killed 50 million was a wake-up call for the treatment of viruses. Covid is brand new with scientists facing a virus so far they aren't even sure where or what it came from. But did you know that misinformation spread during 1918, like in 2020, but at that time they didn't have platforms of social media that are available today. In my wife's discussion, the other side listed the hospital where she worked as her source. Today, misinformation is a business.

And the word is also being spread by politicians questioning the validity of the virus making it near impossible for the uneducated to know what to do. Here is a classic example...

GOP lawmaker says COVID deaths are a Vatican plot — and vaccines contain 'living organisms with tentacles'

This blithering idiot is from New Hampshire and is typical of what some GOP lawmakers in Congress come up with regularly.

Science will prevail, must prevail, if we are to survive this pandemic. One can only wonder if these lunatics will ever realize the truth.

Facebook Compared to Tobacco Cos. killing children

 

Speaking before Congress, whistleblower, Frances Haugen, did a number on Facebook and its founder, Mark Zuckerberg. Described as "animated" at times by The Guardian, would indicate to me that she is overly enthusiastic to get facts before the public she believes are important and necessary. This is how she

described it on Vice...

“I’m here today because I believe Facebook’s products harm children, stoke division, and weaken our democracy.”

This clearly puts the monkey on Zuckerberg's back, and should prompt some control on Facebook's wide open permission for the misinformation it spews regularly. One Senator called Haugen's statement, “the big tobacco jaw-dropping moment of truth.” Here's a statement that should get Congress moving...

“Facebook knows that they are leading young users to anorexia content,” she said in a voice of authority that may prove a tipping point in government efforts to curb the power of big tech.

Haugen says that the Facebook empire, which includes Instagram and WhatsApp, could be made "safer," but, in fact, FB chooses not to and instead focuses on profits. Haugen continues...

“The company's leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer, but they won't make the necessary changes because they have put their astronomical profits before people. Congressional action is needed. They won’t solve this crisis without your help.”

If the reaction of Senators is any indication of how Congress views this issue--several joined Haugen in "scathing" criticism of Mark Zuckerberg--it would indicate that we might expect some action, and soon. Here's her ammunition...

A former product manager on Facebook’s civic misinformation team, she has come forward with tens of thousands of pages of internal research documents she secretly copied before leaving her job in the company’s civic integrity unit.

This all seems to have surfaced from recent discoveries revealing that...

Facebook knew Instagram was deeply toxic for teenage girls, resisted changes to make its platform safer for fear of reducing engagement, and knew it was openly used by drug and human traffickers.

Frances Haugen was applauded by The Senators, and even Facebook has agreed that something should be done about the openness of the Internet. Now the monkey is on the back of Congress with the future of misinformation hanging in the balance. 

Take the time to watch Frances Haugen testify in Congress TODAY...

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NEWS FLASH: Facebook down globally...Anti-vaxxer misinformation a cause?

 

Recently I googled "facebook anti vaxxer posts," and got almost 13 million hits. Considering it is specific to anti-vaxxers, it shows the activity on Facebook that is centered around the people who spread misinformation on Covid-19. Everything from pushing the drug Ivermectin, a medication for animals, to literally entering

ICU wards and attempting to talk the coronavirus sick into leaving the hospital. Not just misguided advocates, doctors have also joined this gang of imbeciles.

The big news, Facebook and its several apps are down globally.

Now you have to wonder at this point if some poor, fed-up family member who lost a loved one due to this stupid misinformation has somehow hacked into Facebook's internal workings and plunged the whole system into chaos. They are saying it is one of the longest outages for this social media site. All of its apps went down simultaneously provoking the possibility, if by design, it certainly was well planned. No one as yet has taken credit. 

Some experts are blaming it on DNS and BGP. Don't want to be responsible for a conspiracy theory, but the "haters" are just as vociferous on both sides of this issue. Some are exclaiming it is a "massive hack." And, Mark Zuckerberg, along with the Facebook properties, have been repeatedly under investigation by the feds, alluding to the fact that maybe some of the accusations could be correct. Could the recent 1.5 billion theft of FB files be connected? No one knows yet.

Well, Facebook is back up but its own engineers are still leery whether The DNS and BGP connection are solid. If this was a hack job, well, no one is talking about it yet. If the mishap wasn't malicious, then, does that mean FB's team of supposed technical pros were out to lunch when this happened. Or, has the company simply strung together too many apps, and this is what happens when they can't talk to each other anymore. Whatever, bet Zuckerberg won't sleep tonight.

Republicans continue to dissect the democratic process

 

Richard L. Hasen, is a professor at the University of California, Irvine, School of Law, and an expert in election law, according to the New York Times, and he is concerned that the GOP is quietly but effectively undermining the democratic voting process. You might recall a few years ago when the radical right, again, quietly and effectively, completely flummoxed DNC head, Debbie Wasserman Schultz in taking over Governors' offices and state legislatures, leading to won elections.

Hansen reminds us of the recent Jan. 6, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, basically for the purpose of denying the validity of the 2020 election, which 

The Donald Trump sneer

Donald Trump has continued in a number of ways by energizing his group of double-digit supporters. This, alone, carried into the 2024 election, would be enough to disrupt the democratic process. But, Hansen says the next coup attempt will be executed by “lawyers in fine suits.”

Here are the facts...

"Between January and June, Republican-controlled legislatures passed 24 laws across 14 states to increase their control over how elections are run, stripping secretaries of state of their power and making it easier to overturn results."

And there is, of course, the ever-present Moscow Mitch McConnell, known as the "Grim Reaper," since President Barack Obama he has decreed to block anything "Democrat." His most recent drive against our country is to block 
"Democrats’ effort to act responsibly and step up to the thankless task of raising the debt limit." Here's the Daily Beast's take...

There are lots of things you can say about Cocaine Mitch, but you can’t say he broke his vow to make stopping Biden “100 percent of his focus.” His willingness to imperil the full faith and credit of the United States to do so is more proof than the country can stand.

Here's a typical Republican quote for you by Sam Brodey: "Republicans Don't Want a Debt Default—Just Democratic Chaos."

But what we must never lose sight of is the fact that Trump supporters are just as

mentally unbalanced as the simpleton they follow. Here's a headline from Salon: "White terror: Millions of Americans say they'd support violence to restore Trump to power." That should scare the hell out of anyone who is in full command of his or her mental faculties. There has even been talk of another civil war like we experienced in 1861, with the Jan. 6, insurrection a preview.

A couple weeks ago the Trump goons held a "Justice for J6" rally, which pretty much fizzled with a very low turnout. Salon's reaction was...

Trump's Republican-fascists and their propagandists have elevated these hooligans, vandals and (in many cases) terrorists to the status of martyrs and patriots as a way of legitimizing their anti-democratic movement, creating sympathy among Trump's faithful that can be exploited for fundraising and, of course, recruiting and encouraging more extremists to the cause.

To underwrite this bizarre Trump movement, AlterNet reports there is a group, The Claremont Institute that will tell you...

that Republicans and Democrats aren't just members of competing political parties, but are, in effect, living in two separate countries. Describing Claremont as the "intellectual home of America's Trumpist right," Green notes that Claremont President Ryan Williams and his colleagues "believe that America has" become "two fundamentally different countries, not least because of the rise of secularism."

Can you imagine what Abraham Lincoln would have thought had he been confronted by a bunch of lunatics like this? Racists aren't the most mentally stable individuals, but at least the cause was simpler. The South favored slavery; the North did not. It is no longer simple, but still very similar to 1861, two very different groups that are determined to, each, have its way. Only one side can win, and it is that which will determine the future of democracy.

The Agony of Stupidity...Covid-19 Weekly Digest of Ignorance

 

Harold Blackwell, a father of two girls, was not vaccinated. He died from pneumonia brought on by COVID-19. 48 years old and previously healthy, he changed his tune and just before death began advocation for vaccine.

Unvaccinated family of three passes around coronavirus until 74-year-old mom with a masters degree passed away. Family says don't criticize her; sane individuals would say she is pathetic.

Two who lived thousands of miles apart and should 

have known better resisted getting vaccinated against COVID-19 for months. Then they realized their stupidity, but it was too late. Too late, the3y already has the virus and after a severe illness, they died. Tsk Tsk.

You gotta see this must-see video, "Infected by Stupid"...

Just be thankful you aren't among the Covid-19 stupid. Or...are you???

The Agony of Stupidity...If they would rather die, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population

 

The above statement is from A Christmas Carol, said by Ebenezer Scrooge, talking about the poor people of his village. The comment also reflects the latest feelings by a vaccinated public fed up with the anti-vaxxing population. If you are a Cat Stevens fan, here is what he had to say in one of his songs that also applies...

“If you want to leave, take good care, hope you make a lot of nice friends out there.”

If we are to assume "out there" could be death, then the singer would appear to be in agreement with Scrooge. Here's another quote from Leonard Pitts Jr. in an opinion piece from the Tampa Bay Times...

"Your quitting your jobs goes a long way toward purging us of the gullible, the conspiracy-addled, the logic-impaired and the stubbornly ignorant."

This is, of course, Florida, where one of the country's preeminent Killing Machines rules, Gov. Ron [demented] DeSantis. Pitts directs his ultimatum to those who have quit their jobs rather than get vaccinated. If you care, here's why people are refusing the vaccines...

Pitts' deniers include...

"a nearly-30-year veteran of the San Jose Police Department surrendered his badge rather than comply with the city’s requirement that all employees be inoculated against COVID-19. He joins an Army lieutenant colonel, some airline employees, a Major League Baseball executive, the choral director of the San Francisco Symphony, workers at the tax collector’s office in Orange County, Florida, and, incredibly, dozens of health care professionals." 

The Daily Beast just published an article under this glaring headline, "Mocking Unvaxxed COVID Victims Is the New Pandemic Blood Sport." They deserve it and that is precisely what this blog post is meant to do, "mock" the looney bins that think they know more than the scientific experts.

I am encouraged by the fact the mock site, Sorryantivaxxer.com, uses my favorite term to describe anti-vaxxers, "They are all idiots.” DB explains...

"The website is indeed likely the most comprehensive repository of one type of now-familiar COVID story: the one where someone who criticized the vaccine ends up dead or hospitalized due to the virus..."

Okay, I live in Arizona, a state that was red when we moved here over twenty years ago. Although it is slowly turning from purple to blue, there are still a number of mentally depraved Republicans. Like Gov. Doug [dufus] Ducey, a sworn Donald Trump mentor, Pres. of the Senate legislature and proprietor of the sham 2020 election audit, Karen Fann, and Kari Lake, former television novice and current political hack who wants to be the next governor. 

They, and others like them, are the ones who have perpetuated misinformation like the current craving for Ivermectin, a deworming drug for animals, that these right-wing morons are taking to treat coronavirus. It can sicken you and can cause death. Feed stores in Phoenix have been complaining for some time now they don't have enough of the medication to supply their animal customers. Podcaster Joe Rogan was a big promoter of Ivermectin, as was Tucker Carlson on Fox News.

But returning to Scrooge's proclamation, "If they would rather die, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population," I have said for months now, corral all these anti-vaxxers/maskers in a gulag where they can ply their beliefs between a    population of like morons and kill each other. It would save us zillions on healthcare and eliminate having to hear about the latest idiot that refused to get his or her coronavirus vaccine.

The Agony of Stupidity...Dying from overconfidence

 

Twenty years old, full of life, but dumb as a bag of hammers. Tyler Gilreath resisted all efforts by his mother, Tamra Demello, urging him to get the Covid vaccine. Told his mother...

"he was young, healthy and didn’t have any pre-existing conditions, and therefore he didn’t need the vaccine’s protection."

But now, Tyler is dead, from the coronavirus he couldn't possibly catch since he was so " young, healthy and didn’t have any pre-existing conditions." He did give it a shot in the end when he told his mother...

"he would get vaccinated once he reached the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, where he would be a sophomore and planned to major in computer science."

Never happened. And it is this kind of scenario we revisit daily that sucks the life out of idiots who should know better. No. Carolina's vaccination rate isn't so bad, at 49.6%, but total coronavirus cases are 1,385,700, deaths, 16,285. And daily cases and deaths are higher than they should be.

Howard Stern on denying healthcare to anti-vaxxers...

So how do you get your kids, who are of age, to do the right thing. Upbringing and environment are important, but if the kid wants to be stupid at this age of reasoning, not much you can do. Tsk Tsk!

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