Way too many people making way too many excuses

Pandemic

At the heart of the matter is the news media’s focus on breakthrough infections, which the CDC has said are rare. In some instances, poorly framed headlines and cable news chyrons wrongly suggested that vaccinated Americans are just as likely to spread the disease as unvaccinated Americans. But that isn’t quite the case. Vaccinated Americans still have a far lower chance of becoming infected with the coronavirus and, thus, they are responsible for far less spread of the disease.

“The media’s coverage doesn’t match the moment,” one of the Biden officials told me. “It has been hyperbolic and frankly irresponsible in a way that hardens vaccine hesitancy. The biggest problem we have is unvaccinated people getting and spreading the virus.”[1]

We do most definitely have a problem with people refusing to be vaccinated and this has been true for a while.[2]

Erika D. Smith reminds[3] me of what I wrote earlier this year, about how Black people have an entirely different experience with the medical system, including truly terrifying and appalling experience, that makes many of them more reluctant to be vaccinated.[4] She points to many of the same factors that appeared in reporting[5] when I wrote that post.

The trouble is that what I feared at that time appears to have come true. With the delta variant, we have a virus that is more contagious, even among the fully vaccinated, even though the vaccines continue to provide strong protection against serious illness.[6] The emergence of this variant does not, by any stretch of the imagination, preclude the appearance of even worse variants in the future. The trouble also is what I wrote more recently, that when people are dying, it is long past time to stop with the bullshit.[7]

While Black fear[8] cannot be so easily dismissed as white fealty to Donald Trump,[9] the fact is, as Smith acknowledges, people, including Black people, are dying.[10] A chart (figure 1) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention illustrates the problem:[11]

Fig. 1. Screenshot of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention breakdown of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths by race and ethnicity,[12] taken by author, July 31, 2021, public domain.

Of the groups shown (figure 1), and relative to white people, only people of Asian descent are at less than or equal risk of infection, hospitalization, or death. Other groups, the indigenous, Latinx, and Black are all at elevated risk. Vaccine hesitancy is, in effect, white supremacy. I’ll say it again: When people are dying, it is long past time to stop with the bullshit.[13]

Alexis Benveniste, “These companies are requiring Covid-19 vaccines for their employees,” CNN, July 28, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/28/business/companies-vaccine-mandate/index.html

Justine Coleman, “Pfizer vaccine effectiveness drops to 84 percent after six months: data,” Hill, July 28, 2021, https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/565282-pfizer-biontech-vaccine-effectiveness-drops-to-84-percent-after-six-months

Jacqueline Howard, “Pfizer data suggest third dose of Covid-19 vaccine ‘strongly’ boosts protection against Delta variant,” CNN, July 28, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/28/health/pfizer-third-dose-data-bn/index.html

Justin Miller and David Wallace-Wells, “What If Vaccines Don’t Really Stop the Virus From Spreading?” New York, July 28, 2021, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/07/covid-vaccines-may-not-totally-stop-delta-from-spreading.html

David Leonhardt to Morning list, “A confusing message,” New York Times, July 28, 2021, https://messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/template/oakv2?abVariantId=0&campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20210728&instance_id=36411&nl=the-morning&productCode=NN&regi_id=97793637&segment_id=64604&te=1&uri=nyt%3A%2F%2Fnewsletter%2F12f5196d-ad87-5d92-8259-21654fdb0c86&user_id=087ade925ce15f15a24824418c4789ce

Stephen Losey, “DoD Making Masks Mandatory Again, Even for the Vaccinated, in Some Places,” Military.com, July 28, 2021, https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/07/28/dod-making-masks-mandatory-again-even-vaccinated-some-places.html

Rebecca Ratcliffe, “Myanmar could become Covid ‘super-spreader’ state, says UN expert,” Guardian, July 28, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/28/myanmar-could-become-covid-super-spreader-state-says-un-expert

Erika D. Smith, “I wish I could be angry with the unvaccinated. Being Black makes that complicated,” Los Angeles Times, July 28, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-07-28/getting-angry-covid-vaccine-holdouts-white-privilege

Yasmeen Abutaleb, Carolyn Y. Johnson, and Joel Achenbach, “‘The war has changed’: Internal CDC document urges new messaging, warns delta infections likely more severe,” Washington Post, July 29, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/07/29/cdc-mask-guidance/

Timothy Bella, “Tucker Carlson falsely claims Anthony S. Fauci ‘created’ covid,” Washington Post, July 29, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/07/29/tucker-carlson-fauci-created-covid/

Democracy Now! “‘We Can’t Trust the Unvaccinated’: Dr. Leana Wen on Vaccine Mandates & How to Stop the Delta Variant,” July 29, 2021, https://www.democracynow.org/2021/7/29/covid_19_delta_variant_leana_wen

Anne Flaherty and Arielle Mitropoulos, “CDC mask decision followed stunning findings from Cape Cod beach outbreak,” ABC News, July 29, 2021, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/cdc-mask-decision-stunning-findings-cape-cod-beach/story?id=79148102

Melody Schreiber, “Please Don’t Rush to Get a Third Covid Shot,” New Republic, July 29, 2021, https://newrepublic.com/article/163103/dont-rush-get-third-covid-shot-pfizer

Sabrina Siddiqui and Paul Kiernan, “Biden Says Federal Employees Must Get Covid-19 Shots or Wear Masks, Test Regularly,” Wall Street Journal, July 29, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-calls-for-100-payments-for-newly-vaccinated-americans-11627586033

Isaac Stanley-Becker, “Charlie Kirk’s pro-Trump youth group stokes vaccine resistance as covid surges again,” Washington Post, July 29, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/07/29/vaccine-mandates-charlie-kirk-tpusa/

Leana S. Wen, “The CDC needs to make clear: The problem is the unvaccinated,” Washington Post, July 29, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/29/leana-wen-cdc-mask-guidance-unvaccinated-problem/

Brianna Abbott, “CDC Says New Mask Guidelines Informed by Cape Cod Outbreak,” Wall Street Journal, July 30, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/cdc-says-new-mask-mandate-informed-by-cape-cod-outbreak-11627664465

Ariana Eunjung Cha, Rose Hansen, and Jacqueline Dupree, “‘A rush to get shots,’” Washington Post, July 30, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/07/30/vaccination-increases-states-delta-surges/

Carolyn Y. Johnson, Yasmeen Abutaleb, and Joel Achenbach, “CDC study shows three-fourths of people infected in Massachusetts coronavirus outbreak were vaccinated but few required hospitalization,” Washington Post, July 30, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/07/30/provincetown-covid-outbreak-vaccinated/

David Litt, “Republicans used to laud ‘personal responsibility’. Not with Covid,” Guardian, July 30, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/30/republicans-used-to-laud-personal-responsibility-not-with-covid

Ruth Marcus, “Require the vaccine. It’s time to stop coddling the reckless,” Washington Post, July 30, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/30/require-vaccine-its-time-stop-coddling-reckless/

Brian Stelter and Oliver Darcy, “White House blasts Covid coverage,” CNN, July 30, 2021, https://view.newsletters.cnn.com/messages/1627696990899989e7b7635dc/raw


Evictions

Rent relief continues to be snarled in bureaucratic red tape,[14] the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a ruling in June warning that the eviction moratorium could not be extended past the end of July,[15] and so, today, that moratorium expires, because Congress couldn’t get its act together even with a month’s warning. Democrats in the Congressional leadership complain that they had no warning,[16] which, I’m sorry, defies comprehension. There is no excuse.

Yet again we are on the brink of a flood of evictions that tenants and housing advocates have been warning about for a year and a half now, and it’s been sort of a bungee-jumping experience. So to have such a lukewarm response from the Biden administration at this point in time is really frustrating.[17]

Katy O’Donnell, “‘Down the drain’: Millions face eviction after Biden lets protections expire,” Politico, July 31, 2021, https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/31/eviction-moratorium-rental-assistance-biden-501917


Infrastructure

Eric Levitz, “5 Reasons Biden Got His Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal,” New York, July 30, 2021, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/07/5-reasons-biden-got-his-bipartisan-infrastructure-deal.html


  1. [1]Brian Stelter and Oliver Darcy, “White House blasts Covid coverage,” CNN, July 30, 2021, https://view.newsletters.cnn.com/messages/1627696990899989e7b7635dc/raw
  2. [2]Philip Bump, “Vaccine skepticism and disregard for containment efforts go hand in hand,” Washington Post, April 2, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/04/02/vaccine-skepticism-disregard-containment-efforts-go-hand-in-hand/; Democracy Now! “‘We Can’t Trust the Unvaccinated’: Dr. Leana Wen on Vaccine Mandates & How to Stop the Delta Variant,” July 29, 2021, https://www.democracynow.org/2021/7/29/covid_19_delta_variant_leana_wen; Dan Diamond and Tyler Pager, “‘Patience has worn thin’: Frustration mounts over vaccine holdouts,” Washington Post, July 23, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/07/23/anger-targets-vaccine-holdouts-delta-surge/; Melanie Evans and Julie Wernau, “Unvaccinated Americans Are Behind Rising Covid-19 Hospitalizations,” Wall Street Journal, July 18, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/unvaccinated-covid-19-hospitalizations-11626528110; Maggie Fox, “Unvaccinated people are ‘variant factories,’ infectious diseases expert says,” CNN, July 3, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/03/health/unvaccinated-variant-factories/index.html; David Frum, “Vaccinated America Has Had Enough,” Atlantic, July 23, 2021, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/07/vaccinated-america-breaking-point-anti-vaxxers/619539/; Dhruv Khullar, “One half of America is protected. The other is approaching a perilous moment in the pandemic,” New Yorker, June 23, 2021, https://www.newyorker.com/science/medical-dispatch/the-delta-variant-is-a-grave-danger-to-the-unvaccinated; Ed Kilgore, “The Willfully Unvaccinated Are the Newest Republican Martyrs,” New York, July 13, 2021, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/07/the-willfully-unvaccinated-are-the-newest-republican-martyrs.html; David Litt, “Republicans used to laud ‘personal responsibility’. Not with Covid,” Guardian, July 30, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/30/republicans-used-to-laud-personal-responsibility-not-with-covid; Apoorva Mandavilli, “Reaching ‘Herd Immunity’ Is Unlikely in the U.S., Experts Now Believe,” New York Times, May 3, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/03/health/covid-herd-immunity-vaccine.html; Ruth Marcus, “Require the vaccine. It’s time to stop coddling the reckless,” Washington Post, July 30, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/30/require-vaccine-its-time-stop-coddling-reckless/; Luke Money and Rong-Gong Lin, II, “Tougher tactics targeting the unvaccinated needed to stop new COVID-19 spike, experts say,” Los Angeles Times, July 14, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-07-14/to-slow-covid-19-rise-door-to-door-vaccine-outreach-and-workplace-requirements-could-help; Ed Pilkington and Lauren Aratani, “US seeing ‘pandemic of the unvaccinated’ as cases rise in every state,” Guardian, July 16, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/16/covid-19-us-delta-variant-unvaccinated; Paul Waldman, “I’m tired of being nice to vaccine refusers,” Washington Post, July 27, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/27/im-tired-being-nice-vaccine-refusers/; Leana S. Wen, “The CDC needs to make clear: The problem is the unvaccinated,” Washington Post, July 29, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/29/leana-wen-cdc-mask-guidance-unvaccinated-problem/
  3. [3]Erika D. Smith, “I wish I could be angry with the unvaccinated. Being Black makes that complicated,” Los Angeles Times, July 28, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-07-28/getting-angry-covid-vaccine-holdouts-white-privilege
  4. [4]David Benfell, “Medical apartheid and COVID-19 vaccinations,” Not Housebroken, May 3, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/03/26/medical-apartheid-and-covid-19-vaccinations/
  5. [5]April Dembosky, “It’s not Tuskegee. Current medical racism fuels Black Americans’ vaccine hesitancy,” Los Angeles Times, March 25, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2021-03-25/current-medical-racism-not-tuskegee-expls-vaccine-hesitancy-among-black-americans
  6. [6]Brianna Abbott, “CDC Says New Mask Guidelines Informed by Cape Cod Outbreak,” Wall Street Journal, July 30, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/cdc-says-new-mask-mandate-informed-by-cape-cod-outbreak-11627664465; Yasmeen Abutaleb, Carolyn Y. Johnson, and Joel Achenbach, “‘The war has changed’: Internal CDC document urges new messaging, warns delta infections likely more severe,” Washington Post, July 29, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/07/29/cdc-mask-guidance/; Anne Flaherty and Arielle Mitropoulos, “CDC mask decision followed stunning findings from Cape Cod beach outbreak,” ABC News, July 29, 2021, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/cdc-mask-decision-stunning-findings-cape-cod-beach/story?id=79148102; Carolyn Y. Johnson, Yasmeen Abutaleb, and Joel Achenbach, “CDC study shows three-fourths of people infected in Massachusetts coronavirus outbreak were vaccinated but few required hospitalization,” Washington Post, July 30, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/07/30/provincetown-covid-outbreak-vaccinated/
  7. [7]David Benfell, “Lock up the anti-vaxxers,” Not Housebroken, July 27, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/07/27/lock-up-the-anti-vaxxers/
  8. [8]April Dembosky, “It’s not Tuskegee. Current medical racism fuels Black Americans’ vaccine hesitancy,” Los Angeles Times, March 25, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2021-03-25/current-medical-racism-not-tuskegee-expls-vaccine-hesitancy-among-black-americans; Erika D. Smith, “I wish I could be angry with the unvaccinated. Being Black makes that complicated,” Los Angeles Times, July 28, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-07-28/getting-angry-covid-vaccine-holdouts-white-privilege
  9. [9]David Benfell, “Messaging against malice,” Not Housebroken, July 28, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/07/28/messaging-against-malice/
  10. [10]Erika D. Smith, “I wish I could be angry with the unvaccinated. Being Black makes that complicated,” Los Angeles Times, July 28, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-07-28/getting-angry-covid-vaccine-holdouts-white-privilege
  11. [11]Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Risk for COVID-19 Infection, Hospitalization, and Death By Race/Ethnicity,” July 16, 2021, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/investigations-discovery/hospitalization-death-by-race-ethnicity.html
  12. [12]Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Risk for COVID-19 Infection, Hospitalization, and Death By Race/Ethnicity,” July 16, 2021, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/investigations-discovery/hospitalization-death-by-race-ethnicity.html
  13. [13]David Benfell, “Lock up the anti-vaxxers,” Not Housebroken, July 27, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/07/27/lock-up-the-anti-vaxxers/
  14. [14]Will Parker, “Logjams Are Keeping Much of $47 Billion in Federal Aid From Renters,” Wall Street Journal, June 7, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/logjams-are-keeping-much-of-47-billion-in-federal-aid-from-renters-11623070800
  15. [15]Associated Press, “Supreme Court rejects plea by landlords to lift federal eviction moratorium,” Los Angeles Times, June 29, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-06-29/supreme-court-leaves-cdc-eviction-moratorium-in-place
  16. [16]Andrew Ackerman, “End of Eviction Moratorium Puts Many Tenants at Risk of Losing Their Homes,” Wall Street Journal, July 23, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/tenants-at-risk-for-eviction-as-pandemic-protections-are-set-to-expire-11627038002; Andrew Ackerman, “Biden Asks Congress to Extend Federal Eviction Moratorium,” Wall Street Journal, July 29, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-asks-congress-to-extend-federal-eviction-moratorium-11627571409; Sarah Ferris, Heather Caygle, and Katy O’Donnell, “Democratic push to extend eviction moratorium fizzles in the House,” Politico, July 30, 2021, https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/30/eviction-battle-house-democrats-501758; Jonathan O’Connell et al., “Evictions are about to restart as tenants wait on billions in unspent rental aid,” Washington Post, July 30, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/07/30/evictions-moratorium-expire-rental-assistance/; Katy O’Donnell, “‘Down the drain’: Millions face eviction after Biden lets protections expire,” Politico, July 31, 2021, https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/31/eviction-moratorium-rental-assistance-biden-501917; John Wagner and Tony Romm, “Biden, Democrats mount last-minute effort to extend eviction moratorium,” Washington Post, July 29, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-urges-congress-to-extend-eviction-moratorium-saying-his-hands-are-tied-by-supreme-court-ruling/2021/07/29/2ed8a52e-f07e-11eb-81d2-ffae0f931b8f_story.html
  17. [17]Melanie Wang, quoted in Katy O’Donnell, “‘Down the drain’: Millions face eviction after Biden lets protections expire,” Politico, July 31, 2021, https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/31/eviction-moratorium-rental-assistance-biden-501917

Your reminder that Democrats are desperate to lose

Pennsylvania, Evictions

One might reasonably wonder how the Democrats figure they’re going to get any votes in 2022 from people being evicted[1] because they couldn’t get their shit together,[2] despite a month’s warning from the U.S. Supreme Court,[3] and they only got around to thinking, gee, maybe somebody should do something a couple days ago,[4] even as rent relief programs have been problematic from the beginning and haven’t even begun to show even the slightest sign of responding expeditiously in far too many cases.[5] But oh yeah, these are the Democrats we’re talking about. And we’ve already long established that they want desperately to lose elections.

Andrew Ackerman, “Biden Asks Congress to Extend Federal Eviction Moratorium,” Wall Street Journal, July 29, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-asks-congress-to-extend-federal-eviction-moratorium-11627571409

Charlotte Keith, “Thousands of Pa. households still waiting for rental relief as eviction ban nears its end,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, July 29, 2021, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/thousands-of-pa-households-still-waiting-for-rental-relief-as-eviction-ban-nears-its-end/

John Wagner and Tony Romm, “Biden, Democrats mount last-minute effort to extend eviction moratorium,” Washington Post, July 29, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-urges-congress-to-extend-eviction-moratorium-saying-his-hands-are-tied-by-supreme-court-ruling/2021/07/29/2ed8a52e-f07e-11eb-81d2-ffae0f931b8f_story.html

Sarah Ferris, Heather Caygle, and Katy O’Donnell, “Democratic push to extend eviction moratorium fizzles in the House,” Politico, July 30, 2021, https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/30/eviction-battle-house-democrats-501758

Jonathan O’Connell et al., “Evictions are about to restart as tenants wait on billions in unspent rental aid,” Washington Post, July 30, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/07/30/evictions-moratorium-expire-rental-assistance/


Infrastructure

Oh, here’s that other big empty Democratic Party promise. The headlines on Mike DeBonis’ story is more pessimistic than the story itself,[6] but still woefully insufficiently pessimistic.

Because, guess what? Unless Chuck Schumer pulls off a “vote-a-rama” in time, Kyrsten Sinema will be on vacation for that infrastructure vote.[7] And I don’t see how the Democrats are getting either Sinema or Joe Manchin to vote yes on the reconciliation package.

Mike DeBonis, “Schumer, a leader more liked than feared, faces test of whether he can deliver the ‘big and bold’ agenda he’s promised,” Washington Post, July 29, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/infrastructure-schumer-senate/2021/07/29/8575551e-efaf-11eb-81d2-ffae0f931b8f_story.html

German Lopez, “What’s in the new infrastructure bill — and why it’s a big deal,” Vox, July 29, 2021, https://www.vox.com/22598883/infrastructure-deal-bipartisan-bill-biden-manchin


Lenape Nation

Whenever the U.S. claims to be a nation under “the rule of law,” I would suggest remembering American Indians.

Kenny Cooper, “‘We just want to be welcomed back’: The Lenape seek a return home,” WHYY, July 30, 2021, https://whyy.org/articles/we-just-want-to-be-welcomed-back-the-lenape-seek-a-return-home/


Climate crisis

Remember when James Inhofe brought a snowball onto the Senate floor from a Washington, D.C., winter to disprove global warming?[8] Well, he has a more convincing place to go, now.[9]

The trouble, of course, is not that “the continued existence of snow disproves climate change,”[10] but rather that climate scientists have forecast increasingly extreme—both in frequency and magnitude—climate events. The snow in Brazil[11] qualifies as the latter, just as do the wildfires out west and do increasingly intense hurricane seasons.

Deutschewelle, “Brazil gets snow and ice, surprising residents,” July 30, 2021, https://www.dw.com/en/brazil-gets-snow-and-ice-surprising-residents/a-58699478


Donald Trump

Aruna Viswanatha and Sadie Gurman, “Justice Department Advises Treasury to Release Trump Tax Returns,” Wall Street Journal, July 30, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/justice-department-says-treasury-must-release-trump-tax-returns-11627667462


Pandemic

It looks like the Pfizer vaccine remains highly effective against severe illness.[12] What’s at stake here is mostly—only mostly—about less serious cases and transmissability;[13] here the Pfizer vaccine drops from 96 to only 84 percent effectiveness after six months.[14]

Among the 469 cases linked to the Barnstable [Massachussetts] outbreak in the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] report, nearly 75% were fully vaccinated. For people with breakthrough infections, almost 80% had symptoms of cough, headache, sore throat or fever. Four were hospitalized and no deaths were reported, the CDC said. Infected people reported attending densely packed indoor events and outdoor events at bars, restaurants and houses.[15]

Yasmeen Abutaleb, Joel Achenbach, Dan Diamond, and Adam Taylor, “CDC urges vaccinated people in covid hot spots to resume wearing masks indoors,” Washington Post, July 27, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/07/27/cdc-masks-guidance-indoors/

Simone Jasper, “Is it a HIPAA violation to ask someone about their COVID vaccine status? What to know,” Sacramento Bee, July 27, 2021, https://www.sacbee.com/news/coronavirus/article253056433.html

Tyler Pager and Eli Rosenberg, “Biden plans to require federal workers to be vaccinated or undergo repeated tests,” Washington Post, July 27, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/07/27/biden-vaccine-mandate-federal-employees/

Jaclyn Peiser, “Evangelical pastor demands churchgoers ditch their masks: ‘Don’t believe this delta variant nonsense,’” Washington Post, July 27, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/07/27/tennessee-pastor-greg-locke-masks/

Sabrina Siddiqui and Tarini Parti, “CDC Urges Vaccinated People to Resume Wearing Masks Indoors in Some Areas,” Wall Street Journal, July 27, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/cdc-to-urge-vaccinated-people-to-resume-wearing-masks-in-public-indoor-spaces-11627399286

Paul Waldman, “I’m tired of being nice to vaccine refusers,” Washington Post, July 27, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/27/im-tired-being-nice-vaccine-refusers/

Alexis Benveniste, “These companies are requiring Covid-19 vaccines for their employees,” CNN, July 28, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/28/business/companies-vaccine-mandate/index.html

Justine Coleman, “Pfizer vaccine effectiveness drops to 84 percent after six months: data,” Hill, July 28, 2021, https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/565282-pfizer-biontech-vaccine-effectiveness-drops-to-84-percent-after-six-months

Jacqueline Howard, “Pfizer data suggest third dose of Covid-19 vaccine ‘strongly’ boosts protection against Delta variant,” CNN, July 28, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/28/health/pfizer-third-dose-data-bn/index.html

Justin Miller and David Wallace-Wells, “What If Vaccines Don’t Really Stop the Virus From Spreading?” New York, July 28, 2021, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/07/covid-vaccines-may-not-totally-stop-delta-from-spreading.html

David Leonhardt to Morning list, “A confusing message,” New York Times, July 28, 2021, https://messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/template/oakv2?abVariantId=0&campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20210728&instance_id=36411&nl=the-morning&productCode=NN&regi_id=97793637&segment_id=64604&te=1&uri=nyt%3A%2F%2Fnewsletter%2F12f5196d-ad87-5d92-8259-21654fdb0c86&user_id=087ade925ce15f15a24824418c4789ce

Stephen Losey, “DoD Making Masks Mandatory Again, Even for the Vaccinated, in Some Places,” Military.com, July 28, 2021, https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/07/28/dod-making-masks-mandatory-again-even-vaccinated-some-places.html

Rebecca Ratcliffe, “Myanmar could become Covid ‘super-spreader’ state, says UN expert,” Guardian, July 28, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/28/myanmar-could-become-covid-super-spreader-state-says-un-expert

Yasmeen Abutaleb, Carolyn Y. Johnson, and Joel Achenbach, “‘The war has changed’: Internal CDC document urges new messaging, warns delta infections likely more severe,” Washington Post, July 29, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/07/29/cdc-mask-guidance/

Timothy Bella, “Tucker Carlson falsely claims Anthony S. Fauci ‘created’ covid,” Washington Post, July 29, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/07/29/tucker-carlson-fauci-created-covid/

Democracy Now! “‘We Can’t Trust the Unvaccinated’: Dr. Leana Wen on Vaccine Mandates & How to Stop the Delta Variant,” July 29, 2021, https://www.democracynow.org/2021/7/29/covid_19_delta_variant_leana_wen

Anne Flaherty and Arielle Mitropoulos, “CDC mask decision followed stunning findings from Cape Cod beach outbreak,” ABC News, July 29, 2021, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/cdc-mask-decision-stunning-findings-cape-cod-beach/story?id=79148102

Sabrina Siddiqui and Paul Kiernan, “Biden Says Federal Employees Must Get Covid-19 Shots or Wear Masks, Test Regularly,” Wall Street Journal, July 29, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-calls-for-100-payments-for-newly-vaccinated-americans-11627586033

Isaac Stanley-Becker, “Charlie Kirk’s pro-Trump youth group stokes vaccine resistance as covid surges again,” Washington Post, July 29, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/07/29/vaccine-mandates-charlie-kirk-tpusa/

Leana S. Wen, “The CDC needs to make clear: The problem is the unvaccinated,” Washington Post, July 29, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/29/leana-wen-cdc-mask-guidance-unvaccinated-problem/

Brianna Abbott, “CDC Says New Mask Guidelines Informed by Cape Cod Outbreak,” Wall Street Journal, July 30, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/cdc-says-new-mask-mandate-informed-by-cape-cod-outbreak-11627664465


Kevin McCarthy

Dana Milbank, “Fact check: Is Kevin McCarthy a ‘moron’?” Washington Post, July 30, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/30/fact-check-is-kevin-mccarthy-moron/


  1. [1]Andrew Ackerman, “End of Eviction Moratorium Puts Many Tenants at Risk of Losing Their Homes,” Wall Street Journal, July 23, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/tenants-at-risk-for-eviction-as-pandemic-protections-are-set-to-expire-11627038002; https://disunitedstates.com/2020/08/05/biden-sanders-demand-3-month-freeze-on-rent-payments-eviction-of-tenants-across-u-s/
  2. [2]Sarah Ferris, Heather Caygle, and Katy O’Donnell, “Democratic push to extend eviction moratorium fizzles in the House,” Politico, July 30, 2021, https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/30/eviction-battle-house-democrats-501758
  3. [3]Associated Press, “Supreme Court rejects plea by landlords to lift federal eviction moratorium,” Los Angeles Times, June 29, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-06-29/supreme-court-leaves-cdc-eviction-moratorium-in-place
  4. [4]Andrew Ackerman, “Biden Asks Congress to Extend Federal Eviction Moratorium,” Wall Street Journal, July 29, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-asks-congress-to-extend-federal-eviction-moratorium-11627571409; John Wagner and Tony Romm, “Biden, Democrats mount last-minute effort to extend eviction moratorium,” Washington Post, July 29, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-urges-congress-to-extend-eviction-moratorium-saying-his-hands-are-tied-by-supreme-court-ruling/2021/07/29/2ed8a52e-f07e-11eb-81d2-ffae0f931b8f_story.html
  5. [5]Will Parker, “Logjams Are Keeping Much of $47 Billion in Federal Aid From Renters,” Wall Street Journal, June 7, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/logjams-are-keeping-much-of-47-billion-in-federal-aid-from-renters-11623070800; Kyle Swenson, “The eviction moratorium is about to end. Rent relief hasn’t arrived. These renters decided to take action,” Washington Post, June 5, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/06/05/prince-georges-rent-strike-eviction/; https://disunitedstates.com/2020/08/05/biden-sanders-demand-3-month-freeze-on-rent-payments-eviction-of-tenants-across-u-s/
  6. [6]Mike DeBonis, “Schumer, a leader more liked than feared, faces test of whether he can deliver the ‘big and bold’ agenda he’s promised,” Washington Post, July 29, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/infrastructure-schumer-senate/2021/07/29/8575551e-efaf-11eb-81d2-ffae0f931b8f_story.html
  7. [7]Tara Palmeri et al., “ “Sinema’s vacation plans, Manchin gets booed and megadonor drama,” Politico, July 30, 2021, https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2021/07/30/sinemas-vacation-plans-manchin-gets-booed-and-megadonor-drama-493787
  8. [8]Ted Barrett, “Inhofe brings snowball on Senate floor as evidence globe is not warming,” CNN, February 27, 2015, https://www.cnn.com/2015/02/26/politics/james-inhofe-snowball-climate-change/index.html
  9. [9]Deutschewelle, “Brazil gets snow and ice, surprising residents,” July 30, 2021, https://www.dw.com/en/brazil-gets-snow-and-ice-surprising-residents/a-58699478
  10. [10]Sheldon Whitehouse, quoted in Ted Barrett, “Inhofe brings snowball on Senate floor as evidence globe is not warming,” CNN, February 27, 2015, https://www.cnn.com/2015/02/26/politics/james-inhofe-snowball-climate-change/index.html
  11. [11]Deutschewelle, “Brazil gets snow and ice, surprising residents,” July 30, 2021, https://www.dw.com/en/brazil-gets-snow-and-ice-surprising-residents/a-58699478
  12. [12]Justine Coleman, “Pfizer vaccine effectiveness drops to 84 percent after six months: data,” Hill, July 28, 2021, https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/565282-pfizer-biontech-vaccine-effectiveness-drops-to-84-percent-after-six-months
  13. [13]Brianna Abbott, “CDC Says New Mask Guidelines Informed by Cape Cod Outbreak,” Wall Street Journal, July 30, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/cdc-says-new-mask-mandate-informed-by-cape-cod-outbreak-11627664465; Yasmeen Abutaleb, Joel Achenbach, Dan Diamond, and Adam Taylor, “CDC urges vaccinated people in covid hot spots to resume wearing masks indoors,” Washington Post, July 27, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/07/27/cdc-masks-guidance-indoors/; Yasmeen Abutaleb, Carolyn Y. Johnson, and Joel Achenbach, “‘The war has changed’: Internal CDC document urges new messaging, warns delta infections likely more severe,” Washington Post, July 29, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/07/29/cdc-mask-guidance/; Anne Flaherty and Arielle Mitropoulos, “CDC mask decision followed stunning findings from Cape Cod beach outbreak,” ABC News, July 29, 2021, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/cdc-mask-decision-stunning-findings-cape-cod-beach/story?id=79148102; Sabrina Siddiqui and Tarini Parti, “CDC Urges Vaccinated People to Resume Wearing Masks Indoors in Some Areas,” Wall Street Journal, July 27, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/cdc-to-urge-vaccinated-people-to-resume-wearing-masks-in-public-indoor-spaces-11627399286;
  14. [14]Justine Coleman, “Pfizer vaccine effectiveness drops to 84 percent after six months: data,” Hill, July 28, 2021, https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/565282-pfizer-biontech-vaccine-effectiveness-drops-to-84-percent-after-six-months
  15. [15]Brianna Abbott, “CDC Says New Mask Guidelines Informed by Cape Cod Outbreak,” Wall Street Journal, July 30, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/cdc-says-new-mask-mandate-informed-by-cape-cod-outbreak-11627664465

Oh, gee, Joe Manchin has a conflict of interest

Joe Manchin

Manchin suggested this week he won’t vote for an infrastructure bill that could result in the biggest government spending on climate solutions in U.S. history unless Senate Republicans, some of whom deny that climate change is even real, are also happy with the plan. . . .

“They’re eliminating fossils, which is very, very disturbing, because if you’re sticking your head in the sand, and saying that fossil (fuel) has to be eliminated in America, and they want to get rid of it, and thinking that’s going to clean up the global climate, it won’t clean it up all,” he told CNN.[1]

Geoff Dembicki, “Joe Manchin Makes $500K a Year From One of the Dirtiest Coal Plants in West Virginia,” Vice, July 28, 2021, https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3x8bw/joe-manchin-senator-millions-coal-grant-town-west-virginia


Allegheny County

Paul Guggenheimer, “What the CDC mask recommendations mean for Western Pennsylvanians,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, July 27, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/regional/what-the-cdc-mask-recommendations-mean-for-western-pennsylvanians/

Chris Hippensteel, “Allegheny County not returning to masking; that could change if cases rise, Fitzgerald says,” Public Source, July 28, 2021, https://www.publicsource.org/important-info-on-coronavirus-preparation-in-allegheny-county/


Pandemic

Just sayin’, if the message of the 2020 election was that not even the Democrats could lose to COVID-19, then I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be running the way most Republicans are.[2] But I guess they can just blame it all on Anthony Fauci.[3]

Alexis Benveniste, “These companies are requiring Covid-19 vaccines for their employees,” CNN, July 28, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/28/business/companies-vaccine-mandate/index.html

Jacqueline Howard, “Pfizer data suggest third dose of Covid-19 vaccine ‘strongly’ boosts protection against Delta variant,” CNN, July 28, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/28/health/pfizer-third-dose-data-bn/index.html

Justin Miller and David Wallace-Wells, “What If Vaccines Don’t Really Stop the Virus From Spreading?” New York, July 28, 2021, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/07/covid-vaccines-may-not-totally-stop-delta-from-spreading.html

David Leonhardt to Morning list, “A confusing message,” New York Times, July 28, 2021, https://messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/template/oakv2?abVariantId=0&campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20210728&instance_id=36411&nl=the-morning&productCode=NN&regi_id=97793637&segment_id=64604&te=1&uri=nyt%3A%2F%2Fnewsletter%2F12f5196d-ad87-5d92-8259-21654fdb0c86&user_id=087ade925ce15f15a24824418c4789ce

Stephen Losey, “DoD Making Masks Mandatory Again, Even for the Vaccinated, in Some Places,” Military.com, July 28, 2021, https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/07/28/dod-making-masks-mandatory-again-even-vaccinated-some-places.html

Rebecca Ratcliffe, “Myanmar could become Covid ‘super-spreader’ state, says UN expert,” Guardian, July 28, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/28/myanmar-could-become-covid-super-spreader-state-says-un-expert

Yasmeen Abutaleb, Carolyn Y. Johnson, and Joel Achenbach, “‘The war has changed’: Internal CDC document urges new messaging, warns delta infections likely more severe,” Washington Post, July 29, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/07/29/cdc-mask-guidance/

Timothy Bella, “Tucker Carlson falsely claims Anthony S. Fauci ‘created’ covid,” Washington Post, July 29, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/07/29/tucker-carlson-fauci-created-covid/

Democracy Now! “‘We Can’t Trust the Unvaccinated’: Dr. Leana Wen on Vaccine Mandates & How to Stop the Delta Variant,” July 29, 2021, https://www.democracynow.org/2021/7/29/covid_19_delta_variant_leana_wen

Sabrina Siddiqui and Paul Kiernan, “Biden Says Federal Employees Must Get Covid-19 Shots or Wear Masks, Test Regularly,” Wall Street Journal, July 29, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-calls-for-100-payments-for-newly-vaccinated-americans-11627586033

Isaac Stanley-Becker, “Charlie Kirk’s pro-Trump youth group stokes vaccine resistance as covid surges again,” Washington Post, July 29, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/07/29/vaccine-mandates-charlie-kirk-tpusa/

Leana S. Wen, “The CDC needs to make clear: The problem is the unvaccinated,” Washington Post, July 29, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/29/leana-wen-cdc-mask-guidance-unvaccinated-problem/


Evictions

The U.S. Supreme Court handed down its ruling warning that the eviction moratorium could not be extended a month ago.[4] But only now, a full month later, have Democrats realized they need to get an act of Congress in under three days.[5] Are you fucking kidding me? I’m actually supposed to believe this is serious?

Andrew Ackerman, “Biden Asks Congress to Extend Federal Eviction Moratorium,” Wall Street Journal, July 29, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-asks-congress-to-extend-federal-eviction-moratorium-11627571409

John Wagner and Tony Romm, “Biden, Democrats mount last-minute effort to extend eviction moratorium,” Washington Post, July 29, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-urges-congress-to-extend-eviction-moratorium-saying-his-hands-are-tied-by-supreme-court-ruling/2021/07/29/2ed8a52e-f07e-11eb-81d2-ffae0f931b8f_story.html


  1. [1]Geoff Dembicki, “Joe Manchin Makes $500K a Year From One of the Dirtiest Coal Plants in West Virginia,” Vice, July 28, 2021, https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3x8bw/joe-manchin-senator-millions-coal-grant-town-west-virginia
  2. [2]Max Boot, “Republicans are preventing America from reaching Biden’s vaccination goal,” Washington Post, July 6, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/06/republican-antivaxxers-biden-vaccination-goal/; Philip Bump, “Vaccine skepticism and disregard for containment efforts go hand in hand,” Washington Post, April 2, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/04/02/vaccine-skepticism-disregard-containment-efforts-go-hand-in-hand/; Philip Bump, “A third of White conservatives refuse to get vaccinated — a refusal shown in polling and the real world,” Washington Post, July 6, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/07/06/third-white-conservatives-refuse-get-vaccine-refusal-shown-both-polling-real-world/; Libby Cathey, “Biden tries to clarify comment that Facebook is ‘killing people,’ ABC News, July 19, 2021, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-clarify-comment-facebook-killing-people/story?id=78927017; Dan Diamond, “153 people resigned or were fired from a Texas hospital system after refusing to get vaccinated,” Washington Post, June 22, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/06/22/houston-methodist-loses-153-employees-vaccine-mandate/; Dan Diamond, Hannah Knowles, and Tyler Pager, “Vaccine hesitancy morphs into hostility, as opposition to shots hardens,” Washington Post, July 15, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/covid-vaccines-biden-trump/2021/07/15/adaf6c7e-e4bd-11eb-a41e-c8442c213fa8_story.html; Jackie Drees, “Vaccine passports: 23 states with bans, limitations & green lights,” Becker’s Healthcare, May 26, 2021, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/digital-transformation/vaccine-passports-10-states-with-bans-limitations-green-lights.html; Elizabeth Dwoskin, “Facebook steps up campaign to ban false information about coronavirus vaccines,” Washington Post, December 3, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/12/03/facebook-covid-vaccine/; Tim Fitzsimons and The Associated Press, “Top Tennessee health official says she was fired after efforts to get teens vaccinated,” NBC News, July 13, 2021, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/top-tennessee-health-official-says-she-was-fired-after-efforts-n1273887; Michael M. Grynbaum, Tiffany Hsu, and Zolan Kanno-Youngs, “On Fox News, Vaccination Pleas Intensify, but Skepticism Persists,” New York Times, July 20, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/20/business/media/fox-news-covid-vaccines.html; Courtney Ann Jackson, “Mississippi doctors still urging folks to get vaccinated as Delta variant becomes dominant COVID strain,” WLBT, July 5, 2021, https://www.wlbt.com/2021/07/06/mississippi-doctors-still-urging-folks-get-vaccinated-delta-variant-becomes-dominant-covid-strain/; Peter Jamison, “Their neighbors called covid-19 a hoax. Can these ICU nurses forgive them?” Washington Post, July 6, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/07/06/appalachian-covid-deniers-nurses-virginia/; Ron Kampeas, “In latest Nazi analogy, Marjorie Taylor Greene invokes ‘medical brown shirts’ in decrying vaccination outreach,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, July 7, 2021, https://www.jta.org/quick-reads/in-latest-nazi-analogy-marjorie-taylor-greene-invokes-medical-brown-shirts-in-decrying-vaccination-outreach; Brett Kelman, “Tennessee abandons vaccine outreach to minors — not just for COVID-19,” Nashville Tennessean, July 13, 2021, https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/health/2021/07/13/tennessee-halts-all-vaccine-outreach-minors-not-just-covid-19/7928701002/; Dhruv Khullar, “One half of America is protected. The other is approaching a perilous moment in the pandemic,” New Yorker, June 23, 2021, https://www.newyorker.com/science/medical-dispatch/the-delta-variant-is-a-grave-danger-to-the-unvaccinated; Ed Kilgore, “The Willfully Unvaccinated Are the Newest Republican Martyrs,” New York, July 13, 2021, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/07/the-willfully-unvaccinated-are-the-newest-republican-martyrs.html; Hannah Knowles, “DeSantis sells ‘Don’t Fauci My Florida’ merch as new coronavirus cases near highest in nation,” Washington Post, July 14, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/07/13/desantis-fauci-florida/; Jeremy Kohler, “GOP Legislators in Missouri Oppose Vaccine Efforts as State Becomes COVID Hotspot,” Pro Publica, July 21, 2021, https://www.propublica.org/article/missouri-legislators-oppose-vaccine-efforts-as-state-becomes-covid-hotspot; Oliver Laughland and Jessica Glenza, “Inside a Tennessee hospital grappling with Delta and vaccine hesitancy,” Guardian, July 24, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/24/tennessee-coronavirus-covid-delta-variant-cases-vaccines; Summer Lin, “Got your COVID vaccine? Stay out, says California restaurateur decrying ‘stupidity,’” Sacramento Bee, July 26, 2021, https://www.sacbee.com/news/coronavirus/article253039643.html; Apoorva Mandavilli, “Reaching ‘Herd Immunity’ Is Unlikely in the U.S., Experts Now Believe,” New York Times, May 3, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/03/health/covid-herd-immunity-vaccine.html; Tom McCarthy, “US public increasingly skeptical of Covid-19 death toll, poll finds,” Guardian, July 21, 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/21/us-coronavirus-death-toll-public-opinion-poll-accuracy; Chris Megerian, “Biden’s coronavirus success threatened by political divisions he pledged to heal,” Los Angeles Times, April 27, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-04-27/bidens-coronavirus-success-threatened-by-political-divisions-he-pledged-to-heal; Grace Panetta, “GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert calls Biden’s door-to-door vaccinators ‘needle Nazis,’” Yahoo! News, July 8, 2021, https://news.yahoo.com/gop-rep-lauren-boebert-calls-130015902.html; Kari Paul, “‘A systemic failure’: vaccine misinformation remains rampant on Facebook, experts say,” Guardian, July 21, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jul/21/facebook-misinformation-vaccines; Jaclyn Peiser, “Evangelical pastor demands churchgoers ditch their masks: ‘Don’t believe this delta variant nonsense,’” Washington Post, July 27, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/07/27/tennessee-pastor-greg-locke-masks/; Bryan Pietsch, “Twitter suspends Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for spreading covid-19 misinformation,” Washington Post, July 20, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/07/20/marjorie-taylor-green-twitter-suspended-covid/; Tony Romm, “Fake cures and other coronavirus conspiracy theories are flooding WhatsApp, leaving governments and users with a ‘sense of panic,’” Washington Post, March 2, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/03/02/whatsapp-coronavirus-misinformation/; Greg Sargent, “A vile new Trump-GOP claim about vaccines suggests trouble ahead,” Washington Post, July 19, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/19/vile-new-trump-gop-claim-about-vaccines-suggests-trouble-ahead/; Mark Scott and Steven Overly, “‘Conspiracy bingo’: Trans-Atlantic extremists seize on the pandemic,” Politico, May 12, 2020, https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/12/trans-atlantic-conspiracy-coronavirus-251325; Isaac Stanley-Becker, “Charlie Kirk’s pro-Trump youth group stokes vaccine resistance as covid surges again,” Washington Post, July 29, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/07/29/vaccine-mandates-charlie-kirk-tpusa/; Reis Thebault, “In latest clash over Wuhan lab, Fauci tells Sen. Rand Paul: ‘You do not know what you’re talking about,’” Washington Post, July 20, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/07/20/fauci-paul-wuhan-lab/; Daniel Villarreal, “Matt Gaetz Says Anthony Fauci ‘Has Blood on His Hands, And Now the Country Knows It,’” Newsweek, June 4, 2021, https://www.newsweek.com/matt-gaetz-says-anthony-fauci-has-blood-his-hands-now-country-knows-it-1597853; Benjamin Wallace-Wells, “The Vaccine Resisters,” New Yorker, March 5, 2021, https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-populism/the-vaccine-resisters; Paul Waldman, “Right-wing anti-vaccine hysteria is increasing. We’ll all pay the price,” Washington Post, July 8, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/08/right-wing-anti-vaccine-hysteria-is-increasing-well-all-pay-price/; Laurel Wamsley, “Florida Gov. DeSantis Rejects Vaccine Passports As ‘Completely Unacceptable,’” National Public Radio, March 30, 2021, https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/03/30/982837517/florida-gov-desantis-rejects-vaccine-passports-as-completely-unacceptable; Hannah Wiley, “‘No masks. No vaccines.’ Battle is brewing over coronavirus immunizations in California,” Sacramento Bee, June 26, 2020, https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article243381501.html
  3. [3]Timothy Bella, “Tucker Carlson falsely claims Anthony S. Fauci ‘created’ covid,” Washington Post, July 29, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/07/29/tucker-carlson-fauci-created-covid/; Hannah Knowles, “DeSantis sells ‘Don’t Fauci My Florida’ merch as new coronavirus cases near highest in nation,” Washington Post, July 14, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/07/13/desantis-fauci-florida/; Reis Thebault, “In latest clash over Wuhan lab, Fauci tells Sen. Rand Paul: ‘You do not know what you’re talking about,’” Washington Post, July 20, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/07/20/fauci-paul-wuhan-lab/; Daniel Villarreal, “Matt Gaetz Says Anthony Fauci ‘Has Blood on His Hands, And Now the Country Knows It,’” Newsweek, June 4, 2021, https://www.newsweek.com/matt-gaetz-says-anthony-fauci-has-blood-his-hands-now-country-knows-it-1597853
  4. [4]Associated Press, “Supreme Court rejects plea by landlords to lift federal eviction moratorium,” Los Angeles Times, June 29, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-06-29/supreme-court-leaves-cdc-eviction-moratorium-in-place
  5. [5]Andrew Ackerman, “Biden Asks Congress to Extend Federal Eviction Moratorium,” Wall Street Journal, July 29, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-asks-congress-to-extend-federal-eviction-moratorium-11627571409; John Wagner and Tony Romm, “Biden, Democrats mount last-minute effort to extend eviction moratorium,” Washington Post, July 29, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-urges-congress-to-extend-eviction-moratorium-saying-his-hands-are-tied-by-supreme-court-ruling/2021/07/29/2ed8a52e-f07e-11eb-81d2-ffae0f931b8f_story.html

Just a reminder that we don’t have vaccine passports

Allegheny County

Paul Guggenheimer, “What the CDC mask recommendations mean for Western Pennsylvanians,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, July 27, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/regional/what-the-cdc-mask-recommendations-mean-for-western-pennsylvanians/


Pandemic

There is a new blog post entitled, “Messaging against malice.”

Yasmeen Abutaleb, Joel Achenbach, Dan Diamond, and Adam Taylor, “CDC urges vaccinated people in covid hot spots to resume wearing masks indoors,” Washington Post, July 27, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/07/27/cdc-masks-guidance-indoors/

Simone Jasper, “Is it a HIPAA violation to ask someone about their COVID vaccine status? What to know,” Sacramento Bee, July 27, 2021, https://www.sacbee.com/news/coronavirus/article253056433.html

Tyler Pager and Eli Rosenberg, “Biden plans to require federal workers to be vaccinated or undergo repeated tests,” Washington Post, July 27, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/07/27/biden-vaccine-mandate-federal-employees/

Jaclyn Peiser, “Evangelical pastor demands churchgoers ditch their masks: ‘Don’t believe this delta variant nonsense,’” Washington Post, July 27, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/07/27/tennessee-pastor-greg-locke-masks/

Sabrina Siddiqui and Tarini Parti, “CDC Urges Vaccinated People to Resume Wearing Masks Indoors in Some Areas,” Wall Street Journal, July 27, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/cdc-to-urge-vaccinated-people-to-resume-wearing-masks-in-public-indoor-spaces-11627399286

Paul Waldman, “I’m tired of being nice to vaccine refusers,” Washington Post, July 27, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/27/im-tired-being-nice-vaccine-refusers/

Alexis Benveniste, “These companies are requiring Covid-19 vaccines for their employees,” CNN, July 28, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/28/business/companies-vaccine-mandate/index.html

Jacqueline Howard, “Pfizer data suggest third dose of Covid-19 vaccine ‘strongly’ boosts protection against Delta variant,” CNN, July 28, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/28/health/pfizer-third-dose-data-bn/index.html

Justin Miller and David Wallace-Wells, “What If Vaccines Don’t Really Stop the Virus From Spreading?” New York, July 28, 2021, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/07/covid-vaccines-may-not-totally-stop-delta-from-spreading.html

David Leonhardt to Morning list, “A confusing message,” New York Times, July 28, 2021, https://messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/template/oakv2?abVariantId=0&campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20210728&instance_id=36411&nl=the-morning&productCode=NN&regi_id=97793637&segment_id=64604&te=1&uri=nyt%3A%2F%2Fnewsletter%2F12f5196d-ad87-5d92-8259-21654fdb0c86&user_id=087ade925ce15f15a24824418c4789ce

Rebecca Ratcliffe, “Myanmar could become Covid ‘super-spreader’ state, says UN expert,” Guardian, July 28, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/28/myanmar-could-become-covid-super-spreader-state-says-un-expert


My old high school

KPIX, “Judge Overturns SF School Board Decision To Cover Up Controversial Mural,” July 28, 2021, https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2021/07/28/judge-overturns-sf-school-board-decision-to-remove-controversial-mural/


In some counties, it’s back to masks

Pandemic

While details of the revised guidance seem sparse and it strikes me that many of the places where this guidance should apply are the same places that are least likely to enforce it, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging people in some counties to resume wearing masks indoors.[1]

New guidance issued by the nation’s top health protection agency said fully vaccinated people who live in places with high or substantial transmission of the virus should once again wear masks in public indoor spaces, while emphasizing that Covid-19 vaccines remain effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalization and death.[2]

This news reached me after I had already published a new blog post entitled, “Lock up the anti-vaxxers” and, further, it is even more clear today than yesterday that people are entirely fed up with assholes who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19.[3]

“Nobody wants to go backward but you have to deal with the facts on the ground, and the facts on the ground are that it’s a pretty scary time and there are a lot of vulnerable people,” said Robert Wachter, chairman of the department of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. “I think the biggest thing we got wrong was not anticipating that 30 percent of the country would choose not to be vaccinated.”[4]

So you want “facts on the ground?” The facts on the ground are that this is all due to assholes who refuse vaccination,[5] whether it’s politic to say so or not.[6] So, hell yes, I’m blaming the unvaccinated. And hell yes, I think they should be locked up.[7] They can cry fascism all they like;[8] it’s my freedom they’re impinging now because I’m required to wear a mask all day long driving for Uber and Lyft and it’s my trip to visit my aging and vulnerable mother that’s in ever increasing doubt. They can all fuck right the hell off.

Dan Diamond, “Doctors, nurses and medical groups call for mandatory coronavirus vaccinations for health workers,” Washington Post, July 26, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/07/26/mandatory-vaccinations-urged-health-workers/

Emma Fitzsimmons, “New York City and California will require workers to be vaccinated or face testing,” New York Times, July 26, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/26/nyregion/new-york-vaccinations-workers.html

Summer Lin, “Got your COVID vaccine? Stay out, says California restaurateur decrying ‘stupidity,’” Sacramento Bee, July 26, 2021, https://www.sacbee.com/news/coronavirus/article253039643.html

Justine McDaniel and Chris A. Williams, “More COVID-19 shots are being given in Pa. and N.J. as delta variant spurs outbreaks in U.S.,” Philadelphia Inquirer, July 26, 2021, https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/covid-vaccine-pa-increase-delta-20210726.html

Yasmeen Abutaleb, Joel Achenbach, Dan Diamond, and Adam Taylor, “CDC urges vaccinated people in covid hot spots to resume wearing masks indoors,” Washington Post, July 27, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/07/27/cdc-masks-guidance-indoors/

Simone Jasper, “Is it a HIPAA violation to ask someone about their COVID vaccine status? What to know,” Sacramento Bee, July 27, 2021, https://www.sacbee.com/news/coronavirus/article253056433.html

Tyler Pager and Eli Rosenberg, “Biden plans to require federal workers to be vaccinated or undergo repeated tests,” Washington Post, July 27, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/07/27/biden-vaccine-mandate-federal-employees/

Jaclyn Peiser, “Evangelical pastor demands churchgoers ditch their masks: ‘Don’t believe this delta variant nonsense,’” Washington Post, July 27, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/07/27/tennessee-pastor-greg-locke-masks/

Sabrina Siddiqui and Tarini Parti, “CDC Urges Vaccinated People to Resume Wearing Masks Indoors in Some Areas,” Wall Street Journal, July 27, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/cdc-to-urge-vaccinated-people-to-resume-wearing-masks-in-public-indoor-spaces-11627399286

Paul Waldman, “I’m tired of being nice to vaccine refusers,” Washington Post, July 27, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/27/im-tired-being-nice-vaccine-refusers/


Cuba

Manolo De Los Santos and Vijay Prashad, “If You Grew Up With the U.S. Blockade as a Cuban, You Might Understand the Recent Protests Differently,” Toward Freedom, July 21, 2021, https://towardfreedom.org/story/archives/americas/if-you-grew-up-with-the-u-s-blockade-as-a-cuban-you-might-understand-the-recent-protests-differently/


Work

Oh, what a surprise. The Wall Street Journal sympathizes with employers.[9]

Meanwhile,

So far, early data suggests that cutting the benefits given to Americans who lost their jobs during the covid-19 pandemic has not led to a big pickup in hiring. The 20 states that reduced benefits in June had the same pace of hiring as the mostly Democrat-led states that kept the extra $300-a-week unemployment payments in place, according to state-level data from the Labor Department. Survey data from the Census Bureau and Gusto’s small-business payroll data show similar results.

Many economists and business owners say other issues such as health concerns, child-care problems and workers reassessing their career choices appear to be larger factors keeping them home.[10]

Though it does appear that in those states, hiring of people over 25 years of age has increased at the expense of teens.[11] But a consistent theme is that restaurant work sucks and restaurants are accordingly having difficulty hiring.[12]

Rachel Pannett, “Minimum-wage lessons for the U.S. from the other side of the world,” Washington Post, July 26, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/minimum-wage-australia-biden/2021/07/26/e681cac8-de42-11eb-a27f-8b294930e95b_story.html

Cara Sapida, “Police respond after Pittsburgh’s South Side Burger King allegedly left empty by workers,” WPXI, July 26, 2021, https://www.wpxi.com/news/top-stories/police-respond-after-south-side-burger-king-allegedly-left-empty-by-workers/ZZ262QR555FZBJWYMDHDMLRNZE/

Amara Omeokwe, “Biden Administration Moves to Tilt Pay and Power Toward Workers,” Wall Street Journal, July 27, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-administration-moves-to-tilt-pay-and-power-toward-workers-11627378380

Heather Long and Andrew Van Dam, “States that cut unemployment early aren’t seeing a hiring boom, but who gets hired is changing,” Washington Post, July 27, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/07/27/unemployment-insurance-go-away/


White supremacist gangs

Colin Deppen, “A police killing in Philadelphia could change Pa. use-of-force cases forever,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, July 27, 2021, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/a-police-killing-in-philadelphia-could-change-pa-use-of-force-cases-forever/


Donald Trump

Alexa Corse, “Capitol Police Officer Describes Fighting ‘Hand to Hand, Inch by Inch’ in Jan. 6 Testimony,” Wall Street Journal, July 27, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/capitol-police-officer-describes-fighting-hand-to-hand-inch-by-inch-in-jan-6-testimony-11627398536


  1. [1]Yasmeen Abutaleb, Joel Achenbach, Dan Diamond, and Adam Taylor, “CDC urges vaccinated people in covid hot spots to resume wearing masks indoors,” Washington Post, July 27, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/07/27/cdc-masks-guidance-indoors/; Sabrina Siddiqui and Tarini Parti, “CDC Urges Vaccinated People to Resume Wearing Masks Indoors in Some Areas,” Wall Street Journal, July 27, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/cdc-to-urge-vaccinated-people-to-resume-wearing-masks-in-public-indoor-spaces-11627399286
  2. [2]Sabrina Siddiqui and Tarini Parti, “CDC Urges Vaccinated People to Resume Wearing Masks Indoors in Some Areas,” Wall Street Journal, July 27, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/cdc-to-urge-vaccinated-people-to-resume-wearing-masks-in-public-indoor-spaces-11627399286
  3. [3]David Benfell, “Weeding out the stupid,” Not Housebroken, July 27, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/07/23/weeding-out-the-stupid/
  4. [4]Yasmeen Abutaleb, Joel Achenbach, Dan Diamond, and Adam Taylor, “CDC urges vaccinated people in covid hot spots to resume wearing masks indoors,” Washington Post, July 27, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/07/27/cdc-masks-guidance-indoors/
  5. [5]Max Boot, “Republicans are preventing America from reaching Biden’s vaccination goal,” Washington Post, July 6, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/06/republican-antivaxxers-biden-vaccination-goal/; Philip Bump, “A third of White conservatives refuse to get vaccinated — a refusal shown in polling and the real world,” Washington Post, July 6, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/07/06/third-white-conservatives-refuse-get-vaccine-refusal-shown-both-polling-real-world/; Adam Cancryn and David Lim, “Biden administration likely to miss July 4 vaccine target as new Covid strain surges,” Politico, June 22, 2021, https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/22/biden-july-4-vaccination-target-495485; Jenny Deam, Ryan Gabrielson, and Bianca Fortis, “‘Don’t You Work With Old People?’: Many Elder-Care Workers Still Refuse to Get COVID-19 Vaccine,” Pro Publica, July 23, 2021, https://www.propublica.org/article/dont-you-work-with-old-people-many-elder-care-workers-still-refuse-to-get-covid-19-vaccine; Dan Diamond, “153 people resigned or were fired from a Texas hospital system after refusing to get vaccinated,” Washington Post, June 22, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/06/22/houston-methodist-loses-153-employees-vaccine-mandate/; Dan Diamond, Hannah Knowles, and Tyler Pager, “Vaccine hesitancy morphs into hostility, as opposition to shots hardens,” Washington Post, July 15, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/covid-vaccines-biden-trump/2021/07/15/adaf6c7e-e4bd-11eb-a41e-c8442c213fa8_story.html; Jackie Drees, “Vaccine passports: 23 states with bans, limitations & green lights,” Becker’s Healthcare, May 26, 2021, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/digital-transformation/vaccine-passports-10-states-with-bans-limitations-green-lights.html; Chandelis Duster, “Fauci: ‘We’re going in the wrong direction’ on Covid-19 cases,” CNN, July 25, 2021, https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/25/politics/anthony-fauci-covid-19-unvaccinated-cnntv/index.html; Melanie Evans and Julie Wernau, “Unvaccinated Americans Are Behind Rising Covid-19 Hospitalizations,” Wall Street Journal, July 18, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/unvaccinated-covid-19-hospitalizations-11626528110; Courtney Ann Jackson, “Mississippi doctors still urging folks to get vaccinated as Delta variant becomes dominant COVID strain,” WLBT, July 5, 2021, https://www.wlbt.com/2021/07/06/mississippi-doctors-still-urging-folks-get-vaccinated-delta-variant-becomes-dominant-covid-strain/; Peter Jamison, “Their neighbors called covid-19 a hoax. Can these ICU nurses forgive them?” Washington Post, July 6, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/07/06/appalachian-covid-deniers-nurses-virginia/; Dhruv Khullar, “One half of America is protected. The other is approaching a perilous moment in the pandemic,” New Yorker, June 23, 2021, https://www.newyorker.com/science/medical-dispatch/the-delta-variant-is-a-grave-danger-to-the-unvaccinated; Ed Kilgore, “The Willfully Unvaccinated Are the Newest Republican Martyrs,” New York, July 13, 2021, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/07/the-willfully-unvaccinated-are-the-newest-republican-martyrs.html; Apoorva Mandavilli, “Reaching ‘Herd Immunity’ Is Unlikely in the U.S., Experts Now Believe,” New York Times, May 3, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/03/health/covid-herd-immunity-vaccine.html; Chris Megerian, “Biden’s coronavirus success threatened by political divisions he pledged to heal,” Los Angeles Times, April 27, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-04-27/bidens-coronavirus-success-threatened-by-political-divisions-he-pledged-to-heal; Luke Money and Rong-Gong Lin, II, “Tougher tactics targeting the unvaccinated needed to stop new COVID-19 spike, experts say,” Los Angeles Times, July 14, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-07-14/to-slow-covid-19-rise-door-to-door-vaccine-outreach-and-workplace-requirements-could-help; Ed Pilkington and Lauren Aratani, “US seeing ‘pandemic of the unvaccinated’ as cases rise in every state,” Guardian, July 16, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/16/covid-19-us-delta-variant-unvaccinated; Kevin Rector et al., “Many L.A. cops and firefighters aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19. Is this a public safety threat?” Los Angeles Times, June 19, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-06-19/vaccination-rates-lag-among-california-public-safety-workers-drawing-concern; Paul Waldman, “Right-wing anti-vaccine hysteria is increasing. We’ll all pay the price,” Washington Post, July 8, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/08/right-wing-anti-vaccine-hysteria-is-increasing-well-all-pay-price/; Katherine S. Xue, “Coexisting With The Coronavirus,” New Yorker, July 21, 2021, https://www.newyorker.com/science/annals-of-medicine/coexisting-with-the-coronavirus
  6. [6]Dan Diamond, Hannah Knowles, and Tyler Pager, “Vaccine hesitancy morphs into hostility, as opposition to shots hardens,” Washington Post, July 15, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/covid-vaccines-biden-trump/2021/07/15/adaf6c7e-e4bd-11eb-a41e-c8442c213fa8_story.html; David Frum, “Vaccinated America Has Had Enough,” Atlantic, July 23, 2021, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/07/vaccinated-america-breaking-point-anti-vaxxers/619539/
  7. [7]David Benfell, “Lock up the anti-vaxxers,” Not Housebroken, July 27, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/07/27/lock-up-the-anti-vaxxers/
  8. [8]Philip Bump, “Vaccine skepticism and disregard for containment efforts go hand in hand,” Washington Post, April 2, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/04/02/vaccine-skepticism-disregard-containment-efforts-go-hand-in-hand/; Ron Kampeas, “In latest Nazi analogy, Marjorie Taylor Greene invokes ‘medical brown shirts’ in decrying vaccination outreach,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, July 7, 2021, https://www.jta.org/quick-reads/in-latest-nazi-analogy-marjorie-taylor-greene-invokes-medical-brown-shirts-in-decrying-vaccination-outreach; Hannah Knowles, “DeSantis sells ‘Don’t Fauci My Florida’ merch as new coronavirus cases near highest in nation,” Washington Post, July 14, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/07/13/desantis-fauci-florida/; Grace Panetta, “GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert calls Biden’s door-to-door vaccinators ‘needle Nazis,’” Yahoo! News, July 8, 2021, https://news.yahoo.com/gop-rep-lauren-boebert-calls-130015902.html; Greg Sargent, “A vile new Trump-GOP claim about vaccines suggests trouble ahead,” Washington Post, July 19, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/19/vile-new-trump-gop-claim-about-vaccines-suggests-trouble-ahead/; Daniel Villarreal, “Matt Gaetz Says Anthony Fauci ‘Has Blood on His Hands, And Now the Country Knows It,’” Newsweek, June 4, 2021, https://www.newsweek.com/matt-gaetz-says-anthony-fauci-has-blood-his-hands-now-country-knows-it-1597853; Laurel Wamsley, “Florida Gov. DeSantis Rejects Vaccine Passports As ‘Completely Unacceptable,’” National Public Radio, March 30, 2021, https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/03/30/982837517/florida-gov-desantis-rejects-vaccine-passports-as-completely-unacceptable
  9. [9]Amara Omeokwe, “Biden Administration Moves to Tilt Pay and Power Toward Workers,” Wall Street Journal, July 27, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-administration-moves-to-tilt-pay-and-power-toward-workers-11627378380
  10. [10]Heather Long and Andrew Van Dam, “States that cut unemployment early aren’t seeing a hiring boom, but who gets hired is changing,” Washington Post, July 27, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/07/27/unemployment-insurance-go-away/
  11. [11]Heather Long and Andrew Van Dam, “States that cut unemployment early aren’t seeing a hiring boom, but who gets hired is changing,” Washington Post, July 27, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/07/27/unemployment-insurance-go-away/
  12. [12]Jenn Ladd, “‘This is a real job’: Philly’s restaurant workers dissect the labor shortage, and contemplate a different future,” Philadelphia Inquirer, July 10, 2021, https://www.inquirer.com/news/labor-shortage-pandemic-workers-restaurants-philadelphia-hiring-20210710.html; Heather Long and Andrew Van Dam, “States that cut unemployment early aren’t seeing a hiring boom, but who gets hired is changing,” Washington Post, July 27, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/07/27/unemployment-insurance-go-away/; Gene Marks, “Rude customers are a drag – but can we small business owners do more?” Guardian, July 25, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jul/25/small-business-owners-rude-customers; Alina Selyukh, “Low Pay, No Benefits, Rude Customers: Restaurant Workers Quit At Record Rate,” National Public Radio, July 20, 2021, https://www.npr.org/2021/07/20/1016081936/low-pay-no-benefits-rude-customers-restaurant-workers-quit-at-record-rate

Lethal bullshit

Pandemic

There is a new blog post entitled, “Lock up the anti-vaxxers.”

Thankfully, vaccine mandates are beginning to appear:[1]

All municipal employees in New York City, including police officers and teachers, and all state employees and on-site public and private health care workers in California will have to be vaccinated or face at least weekly testing.

The Department of Veterans Affairs on Monday also became the first federal agency to mandate that some of its employees get inoculated. . . .

Hospitals and health care systems like NewYork-Presbyterian and Trinity Health have already announced vaccine mandates, in some cases touching off union protests. The National Football League recently announced it could penalize teams with players who do not get vaccinated. Delta Air Lines will require new employees to be vaccinated, but not its current workers. And last week a federal judge ruled that Indiana University could require vaccinations for students and staff members.[2]

David Connett, “Anger over Sajid Javid’s advice to not ‘cower’ from Covid,” Guardian, July 24, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jul/25/sajid-javids-advice-to-not-cower-from-covid-provokes-angry-backlash

Oliver Laughland and Jessica Glenza, “Inside a Tennessee hospital grappling with Delta and vaccine hesitancy,” Guardian, July 24, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/24/tennessee-coronavirus-covid-delta-variant-cases-vaccines

Annie Linskey, Tyler Pager, and Dan Diamond, “Surge of covid delta variant poses new political threat to Biden and his agenda,” Washington Post, July 24, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-covid-delta-agenda/2021/07/23/11afddae-ebc0-11eb-ba5d-55d3b5ffcaf1_story.html

Chandelis Duster, “Fauci: ‘We’re going in the wrong direction’ on Covid-19 cases,” CNN, July 25, 2021, https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/25/politics/anthony-fauci-covid-19-unvaccinated-cnntv/index.html

Dan Diamond, “Doctors, nurses and medical groups call for mandatory coronavirus vaccinations for health workers,” Washington Post, July 26, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/07/26/mandatory-vaccinations-urged-health-workers/

Summer Lin, “Got your COVID vaccine? Stay out, says California restaurateur decrying ‘stupidity,’” Sacramento Bee, July 26, 2021, https://www.sacbee.com/news/coronavirus/article253039643.html

Emma Fitzsimmons et al., “New York City and California will require workers to be vaccinated or face testing,” New York Times, July 26, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/26/nyregion/new-york-vaccinations-workers.html


Iraq

This[3] is a face-saving exercise for Iraqi politicians. No one is actually going anywhere.[4]

Notice how Joe Biden dances around saying the word “withdrawal:”[5]

“We are not going to be, by the end of the year, in a combat mission,” Mr. [Joe] Biden said Monday at the start of a White House meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. The president said U.S. military forces would “be available to continue to train, to assist, to help and to deal with ISIS.”[6]

That’s because there is no withdrawal.[7]

Richard Spencer, “Joe Biden to declare end of combat operations in Iraq,” Times, July 26, 2021, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/joe-biden-to-declare-end-of-combat-operations-in-iraq-m2tsbrqdr

Ken Thomas and Michael R. Gordon, “U.S. Combat Role in Iraq to End This Year, Biden Says,” Wall Street Journal, July 26, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-combat-troops-will-leave-iraq-this-year-biden-says-11627326623


Work

A [Pittsburgh] city spokesperson says it appears the employees walked off the job. . . . Burger King employees reported that they were just too short staffed to operate so the manger [sic] closed up early… And forgot to lock the door behind him.[8]

It would appear at the very least that somebody hasn’t gotten the memo[9] that wages need to be at least $15 per hour.[10] I’m guessing that won’t be who ends up with the blame.

Rachel Pannett, “Minimum-wage lessons for the U.S. from the other side of the world,” Washington Post, July 26, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/minimum-wage-australia-biden/2021/07/26/e681cac8-de42-11eb-a27f-8b294930e95b_story.html

Cara Sapida, “Police respond after Pittsburgh’s South Side Burger King allegedly left empty by workers,” WPXI, July 26, 2021, https://www.wpxi.com/news/top-stories/police-respond-after-south-side-burger-king-allegedly-left-empty-by-workers/ZZ262QR555FZBJWYMDHDMLRNZE/


Voting rights

You just have to understand that the Democrats do not, in their heart of hearts, really want to win:

“I don’t think the Democratic Party as a whole is prioritizing this issue and its potential damage in the way that they should,” said Doug Herman, who was a lead mail strategist for Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns. “We just went through an insurrection that was stoked by voter fraud lies, and the reaction to that from the Republican Party is to restrict the voting process so severely that only their voters can participate. And I don’t understand the lack of fierce resistance to that from Americans and Democrats.”[11]

Then it all makes sense.

Maya King, David Siders, and Daniel Lippman, “‘We’re f—ed’: Dems fear turnout catastrophe from GOP voting laws,” Politico, July 26, 2021, https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/26/democrats-gop-voting-laws-crisis-500726


Republicans

Henry Olsen, “The GOP has five factions now. They all see a different future for their party,” Washington Post, July 26, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/26/gop-has-five-factions-now-they-all-see-different-future-their-party/


  1. [1]Emma Fitzsimmons et al., “New York City and California will require workers to be vaccinated or face testing,” New York Times, July 26, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/26/nyregion/new-york-vaccinations-workers.html
  2. [2]Emma Fitzsimmons et al., “New York City and California will require workers to be vaccinated or face testing,” New York Times, July 26, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/26/nyregion/new-york-vaccinations-workers.html
  3. [3]Richard Spencer, “Joe Biden to declare end of combat operations in Iraq,” Times, July 26, 2021, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/joe-biden-to-declare-end-of-combat-operations-in-iraq-m2tsbrqdr; Ken Thomas and Michael R. Gordon, “U.S. Combat Role in Iraq to End This Year, Biden Says,” Wall Street Journal, July 26, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-combat-troops-will-leave-iraq-this-year-biden-says-11627326623
  4. [4]Michael R. Gordon, “U.S., Iraq to Agree That Combat Troops Should Leave by End of 2021,” Wall Street Journal, July 22, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-iraq-to-agree-that-u-s-combat-troops-should-leave-by-end-of-2021-11626975666
  5. [5]Ken Thomas and Michael R. Gordon, “U.S. Combat Role in Iraq to End This Year, Biden Says,” Wall Street Journal, July 26, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-combat-troops-will-leave-iraq-this-year-biden-says-11627326623
  6. [6]Ken Thomas and Michael R. Gordon, “U.S. Combat Role in Iraq to End This Year, Biden Says,” Wall Street Journal, July 26, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-combat-troops-will-leave-iraq-this-year-biden-says-11627326623
  7. [7]Michael R. Gordon, “U.S., Iraq to Agree That Combat Troops Should Leave by End of 2021,” Wall Street Journal, July 22, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-iraq-to-agree-that-u-s-combat-troops-should-leave-by-end-of-2021-11626975666
  8. [8]Cara Sapida, “Police respond after Pittsburgh’s South Side Burger King allegedly left empty by workers,” WPXI, July 26, 2021, https://www.wpxi.com/news/top-stories/police-respond-after-south-side-burger-king-allegedly-left-empty-by-workers/ZZ262QR555FZBJWYMDHDMLRNZE/
  9. [9]Cara Sapida, “Police respond after Pittsburgh’s South Side Burger King allegedly left empty by workers,” WPXI, July 26, 2021, https://www.wpxi.com/news/top-stories/police-respond-after-south-side-burger-king-allegedly-left-empty-by-workers/ZZ262QR555FZBJWYMDHDMLRNZE/
  10. [10]Eli Rosenberg, “These businesses found a way around the worker shortage: Raising wages to $15 an hour or more,” Washington Post, June 10, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/06/10/worker-shortage-raising-wages/
  11. [11]Maya King, David Siders, and Daniel Lippman, “‘We’re f—ed’: Dems fear turnout catastrophe from GOP voting laws,” Politico, July 26, 2021, https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/26/democrats-gop-voting-laws-crisis-500726

Infrastructure as a social good? Who knew?

Australia

Graham Readfearn, “The Great Barrier Reef is not on the ‘in danger’ list. Why, and what happens next?” Guardian, July 24, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/25/the-great-barrier-reef-is-not-on-the-in-danger-list-why-and-what-happens-next


Pandemic

David Connett, “Anger over Sajid Javid’s advice to not ‘cower’ from Covid,” Guardian, July 24, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jul/25/sajid-javids-advice-to-not-cower-from-covid-provokes-angry-backlash


Infrastructure

There’s almost no mystery about a group promoting privatization; they’re almost certainly capitalist libertarians, and clearly with sympathy from neoliberals. Oh, and their track record sucks because while they chase fantastic profits from “supply and demand,” the quality of their road work leaves something to be desired, and it turns out that demand is elastic to the point of collapse.[1] The concept of a social good is entirely absent from this completely asinine thinking.

Lee Fang, “Mystery Group Promoting Infrastructure Privatization Boosted By Toll Road Lobbyists,” Intercept, July 23, 2021, https://theintercept.com/2021/07/23/infrastructure-privatization-toll-roads/

Military

Will Weissert, “Rep. Luria’s pro-Navy, centrist identity may get Jan. 6 test,” Associated Press, July 24, 2021, https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-government-and-politics-capitol-siege-navy-cead205203b284a27184b83a99620dbe


Oklahoma

Annie Gowen and Robert Barnes, “‘Complete, dysfunctional chaos’: Oklahoma reels after Supreme Court ruling on Indian tribes,” Washington Post, July 24, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/complete-dysfunctional-chaos-oklahoma-reels-after-supreme-court-ruling-on-indian-tribes/2021/07/23/99ba0b80-ea75-11eb-8950-d73b3e93ff7f_story.html


  1. [1]Lee Fang, “Mystery Group Promoting Infrastructure Privatization Boosted By Toll Road Lobbyists,” Intercept, July 23, 2021, https://theintercept.com/2021/07/23/infrastructure-privatization-toll-roads/

Not just the old Confederacy

There is a new blog post entitled, “Normalized pedophilia and other discrepancies of the young.”


Evictions

Bullshit:

The pandemic hit Tracy Scopel’s Pittsburgh business hard, causing her to miss rent payments on her home for the first time ever. Facing eviction, Ms. Scopel said she applied for rental assistance through Allegheny County, Pa., in late March. Ten minutes before a court hearing earlier this month, she got an email informing her that she had been approved for aid and would be fully caught up on her rent.

“‘The system works,’” a local judge told her after she read the email to him, she said.[1]

No, the system doesn’t work. If that email had arrived ten minutes later, she’d have been evicted. And none of this mitigates the trauma Tracy Scopel endured waiting for relief and worrying about losing her home. That that judge can carry on as if all is well is a significant part of the problem.

Andrew Ackerman, “End of Eviction Moratorium Puts Many Tenants at Risk of Losing Their Homes,” Wall Street Journal, July 23, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/tenants-at-risk-for-eviction-as-pandemic-protections-are-set-to-expire-11627038002


Pandemic

We’re seeing an awful lot of coverage of the South and vaccine hesitancy.[2] I’m becoming concerned that this is starting to look like an Old Confederacy problem when, in fact, the problem is nationwide, the evil idiots I lament[3] are everywhere.

Oliver Laughland and Jessica Glenza, “Inside a Tennessee hospital grappling with Delta and vaccine hesitancy,” Guardian, July 24, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/24/tennessee-coronavirus-covid-delta-variant-cases-vaccines


White supremacy

Wright Thompson’s article[4] is a long read. It’s worth it.

Wright Thompson, “His Name Was Emmett Till,” Atlantic, September 2021, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/09/barn-emmett-till-murder/619493/


January 6, 2021

Peter Hermann, “‘Some are still suffering’: Months after Capitol riot, police who fought the mob contend with physical, psychological pain,” Washington Post, July 24, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/capitol-riot-police-injuries-trauma/2021/07/23/e008f0f0-d8d8-11eb-9bbb-37c30dcf9363_story.html


  1. [1]Andrew Ackerman, “End of Eviction Moratorium Puts Many Tenants at Risk of Losing Their Homes,” Wall Street Journal, July 23, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/tenants-at-risk-for-eviction-as-pandemic-protections-are-set-to-expire-11627038002
  2. [2]Dan Diamond, “153 people resigned or were fired from a Texas hospital system after refusing to get vaccinated,” Washington Post, June 22, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/06/22/houston-methodist-loses-153-employees-vaccine-mandate/; Tim Fitzsimons and The Associated Press, “Top Tennessee health official says she was fired after efforts to get teens vaccinated,” NBC News, July 13, 2021, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/top-tennessee-health-official-says-she-was-fired-after-efforts-n1273887; Courtney Ann Jackson, “Mississippi doctors still urging folks to get vaccinated as Delta variant becomes dominant COVID strain,” WLBT, July 5, 2021, https://www.wlbt.com/2021/07/06/mississippi-doctors-still-urging-folks-get-vaccinated-delta-variant-becomes-dominant-covid-strain/; Peter Jamison, “Their neighbors called covid-19 a hoax. Can these ICU nurses forgive them?” Washington Post, July 6, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/07/06/appalachian-covid-deniers-nurses-virginia/; Brett Kelman, “Tennessee abandons vaccine outreach to minors — not just for COVID-19,” Nashville Tennessean, July 13, 2021, https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/health/2021/07/13/tennessee-halts-all-vaccine-outreach-minors-not-just-covid-19/7928701002/; Dhruv Khullar, “One half of America is protected. The other is approaching a perilous moment in the pandemic,” New Yorker, June 23, 2021, https://www.newyorker.com/science/medical-dispatch/the-delta-variant-is-a-grave-danger-to-the-unvaccinated; Hannah Knowles, “DeSantis sells ‘Don’t Fauci My Florida’ merch as new coronavirus cases near highest in nation,” Washington Post, July 14, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/07/13/desantis-fauci-florida/; Jeremy Kohler, “GOP Legislators in Missouri Oppose Vaccine Efforts as State Becomes COVID Hotspot,” Pro Publica, July 21, 2021, https://www.propublica.org/article/missouri-legislators-oppose-vaccine-efforts-as-state-becomes-covid-hotspot; Oliver Laughland and Jessica Glenza, “Inside a Tennessee hospital grappling with Delta and vaccine hesitancy,” Guardian, July 24, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/24/tennessee-coronavirus-covid-delta-variant-cases-vaccines; Dennis Pillion, “‘I’m sorry, but it’s too late’: Alabama doctor on treating unvaccinated, dying COVID patients,” Advance Local, July 21, 2021, https://www.al.com/news/2021/07/im-sorry-but-its-too-late-alabama-doctor-on-treating-unvaccinated-dying-covid-patients.html
  3. [3]David Benfell, “Weeding out the stupid,” Not Housebroken, July 23, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/07/23/weeding-out-the-stupid/
  4. [4]Wright Thompson, “His Name Was Emmett Till,” Atlantic, September 2021, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/09/barn-emmett-till-murder/619493/

The evil and the stupid

Pandemic

There is a new blog post entitled, “Weeding out the stupid.”

Jeremy Kohler, “GOP Legislators in Missouri Oppose Vaccine Efforts as State Becomes COVID Hotspot,” Pro Publica, July 21, 2021, https://www.propublica.org/article/missouri-legislators-oppose-vaccine-efforts-as-state-becomes-covid-hotspot

Jenny Deam, Ryan Gabrielson, and Bianca Fortis, “‘Don’t You Work With Old People?’: Many Elder-Care Workers Still Refuse to Get COVID-19 Vaccine,” Pro Publica, July 23, 2021, https://www.propublica.org/article/dont-you-work-with-old-people-many-elder-care-workers-still-refuse-to-get-covid-19-vaccine


Afghanistan

Sandi Sidhu, Anna Coren, and Helen Regan, “Afghan interpreter for US Army was beheaded by Taliban. Others fear they will be hunted down too,” CNN, July 23, 2021, https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/22/asia/afghanistan-interpreters-taliban-reprisals-intl-hnk/index.html


White supremacy

Taylor Telford, “Dozens of nooses have shown up on U.S. construction sites. The culprits rarely face consequences,” Washington Post, July 22, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/07/22/noose-construction-industry-racism/


Facebook

Julia Ioffe, “‘What Drives Mark Zuckerberg Is Power,’” Tomorrow Will Be Worse, July 23, 2021, https://ckarchive.com/b/68ueh8h84wpr


Texas troopers to arrest ‘trespassers’ on southern border

White supremacist gangs

Adisa Hargett-Robinson, “Supreme Court excessive force ruling could be ‘a big deal,’ lawyer says,” ABC News, July 22, 2021, https://abcnews.go.com/US/supreme-court-excessive-force-ruling-big-deal-lawyer/story?id=78638482


Migration

Not all counties along the Texas-Mexico border agree even that the migration constitutes an emergency, let alone that state troopers should be arresting “trespassers” without a complaint from landowners.[1]

Elizabeth Findell, “Texas Arrests Migrants Crossing the U.S. Border for Trespassing,” Wall Street Journal, July 22, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/texas-arrests-migrants-at-u-s-border-but-some-counties-arent-on-board-11626946201


Donald Trump

Eugene Scott, “Pennsylvania decertifies county voting system following private company audit promoted by pro-Trump state senators,” Washington Post, July 21, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/pennsylvania-decertifies-county-voting-system-following-private-company-audit-promoted-by-pro-trump-state-senators/2021/07/21/cee5bf38-ea4e-11eb-97a0-a09d10181e36_story.html


Pandemic

Siobhan Hughes, “Bill Would Strip Social Media of Protections for Health Misinformation,” Wall Street Journal, July 22, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/bill-to-strip-social-media-of-protections-for-health-misinformation-11626976800


Abortion

Ariane de Vogue, “Mississippi asks US Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade,” CNN, July 22, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/22/politics/mississippi-roe-v-wade-abortion/index.html


Computer chips

Asa Fitch, “Intel CEO Says Chip Shortage Could Stretch Into 2023,” Wall Street Journal, July 22, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/intel-intc-2q-earnings-report-2021-11626899296


Iraq

A ‘withdrawal’ in name only.[2]
Michael R. Gordon, “U.S., Iraq to Agree That Combat Troops Should Leave by End of 2021,” Wall Street Journal, July 22, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-iraq-to-agree-that-u-s-combat-troops-should-leave-by-end-of-2021-11626975666


  1. [1]Elizabeth Findell, “Texas Arrests Migrants Crossing the U.S. Border for Trespassing,” Wall Street Journal, July 22, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/texas-arrests-migrants-at-u-s-border-but-some-counties-arent-on-board-11626946201
  2. [2]Michael R. Gordon, “U.S., Iraq to Agree That Combat Troops Should Leave by End of 2021,” Wall Street Journal, July 22, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-iraq-to-agree-that-u-s-combat-troops-should-leave-by-end-of-2021-11626975666