This is brilliant messaging from Biden in response to grandstanding, objectively pro-COVID Republican governors such as Ron DeSantis [via The Tampa Bay Times], who is preventing private businesses, public schools and local governments from putting COVID mitigation measures in place:
President Joe Biden delivered a stern message on Tuesday to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over the Republican’s opposition to mask mandates: “Get out of the way.”
“Look, we need leadership from everyone. If some governors aren’t willing to do the right thing to beat this pandemic, then they should allow businesses and universities who want to do the right thing to be able to do it,” Biden said in remarks about the pandemic. “I say to these governors please help. But if you are not going to help, at least get out of the way of the people who are trying to do the right thing. Use your power to save lives.”
Psaki made similar remarks in a briefing:
White House press secretary Jen Psaki, in response to a question about DeSantis, said at her briefing on Tuesday, “Most Republican governors are doing exactly the right thing.”
“But if you aren’t going to help, if you aren’t going to abide by public health guidance, then get out of the way and let people do the right thing to lead in their communities, whether they are teachers, university leaders, private sector leaders or others who are trying to save lives.”
My political instincts aren’t especially sound, but I think a no-nonsense “get out of the way” message is exactly the right response to preening extremists like DeSantis, Abbot, et al. Wingnut governors are playing to the anti-vax, anti-mask minority, and hopefully alienating normal people in the process.
Ever since the new CDC guidance was issued, I’ve been thinking we need to inject more BLAME into the unfolding COVID narrative. We’re NOT all in this together. We wouldn’t be experiencing a surge if these fucking goobers had lined up for shots like we did. That’s a fact. The unvaccinated are the obstacle to returning to normal, and they are endangering all of us.
Biden has a tightrope to walk because he needs to convince the reachable unvaccinated to get a shot, so he has to be careful about what he says about ordinary people. But Republican governors are fair game, and telling them to get out of the way also implies that everyone is either part of the problem or part of the solution, which is the truth.
Open thread.
Hey Blue
Get out of the way indeed.
Heading to L.A. on Friday to visit my 94 year old mother who I haven’t seen in two years. Wish I’d gone in June but wasn’t able to get away at that point. Not thrilled about getting on an airplane with potential spreaders but at least I have a couple of N95 masks for the flights.
zhena gogolia
Quoted for its truth and honesty. I feel exactly the same. My rage is boiling over.
Steeplejack (phone)
Interesting thread. Speculative but cause for hope.
Elizabelle
Yes! Excellent messaging. Lay the blame where it belongs, and remind voters what their GOP numbnut governors are actually doing — sacrificing lives [ETA: and endangering the economic recovery] for their own political standing and career.
Good all around.
Republicans. Bad for health. Bad for business.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
“Sometimes, that there Tree o’ Liberty gotta be watered with the congealed lung fluid of Memaw over in Starke, mah brother Cletus in Raiford, Uncle Ray in Asbury Lake and cousins Hollis and Bo down in Palatka.
They gots ta do it to own them goldurn librul communists….”
– a DeSantis voter in 2022
lollipopguild
This is a very good Big Biden Deal. More of this please!
Hildebrand
I love this framing because it’s not asking DeSantis and his ilk to do anything other than let the sane people do the work. My guess is that DeSantis and his ilk are all vaccinated, do want the numbers to go down (at least for the sake of ‘bidness’), but just don’t want to actually do anything to alienate the maga masses – this allows them to do that. They can just stand back and spout nonsense from the sidelines – which is fine, especially if it means they aren’t actively sabotaging our pandemic response.
Jerzy Russian
I am amazed that President Biden is able to get through speeches that discuss Republicans without swearing. For example, “Most Republican governors, in spite of being fuckheads, are doing the right thing.” Same goes for press conferences. If it were me the first response I would have would be something like “that has got to be the stupidest fucking question I have heard this week..”
Served
It’s beyond time to start pulling up the draw bridge on the unvaccinated and releasing a universal vaccine passport program that businesses can opt to use. It take time to set up, and make accessible options for everyone, but these people don’t care if they hurt themselves or others as long as they get to have fun.
No more dessert until they finish their vegetables.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thv11.com/amp/article/news/health/coronavirus/asa-hutchinson-wishes-didnt-sign-mask-mandate-ban-into-law/91-1e7b1915-8219-445f-8ef9-8932d1656a0d
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Also good for the anti-vaccers.
Ella in New Mexico
Meanwhile, my completely useless Desert Trailer Trash Congresswoman, Yvette Herrell jumped on the MGT bandwagon and signed on to a bill that would deny Federal Funding to colleges and universities who mandate vaccines and and masks. Like ours in NM have done.
She’s ahead of her time, that one. I still have no idea how she managed to win by almost 20K votes when she lost in 2016 by 5K.
Maybe I should start my own “Audit the Election” campaign, complete with the grifting PAC I could start to secretly pay my own personal bills?
Baud
I can’t help but notice that Rand Paul has not been vocal about the sacred liberty rights of businesses the way he has been when they are forced to serve black people.
Jerzy Russian
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: At least the Governor acknowledges that COVID exists, so that is progress of sorts I suppose. Regarding that law, even if COVID was on the decline, wouldn’t it be a good idea to reserve mask mandates for the next pandemic?
Urza
Exactly who are these “reachable unvaccinated” that still need convinced? There’s a dental assistant that I like talking to. I’ve needed to go in more frequently than I would like this year. She started off saying she didn’t have the time. Then it was have you heard about these emails, for which she had absolutely no information about said emails, I assume someone close to her was talking about Fauci. Then it was having a relative who had a blood clot from the vaccine, even though said relative did not get J&J and had a history of clots.
If someone has not gotten it by now, they are not actually intending to get it. They will just keep coming up with new excuses to justify even if they don’t want to admit that even to themselves. Maybe if you brought it to them at the most convenient time for them they might give in, but most would say they don’t think its safe yet since its not approved. After approval most of those will say it hasn’t been around long enough and they want to see the long term effects in trials.
Barring the dismantling of the reich wing echo chamber that continually provides new excuses for low information viral hosts, there isn’t a whole lot that can be done without work and preferably government mandates. Those will help for the soft opinions that keep changing. They won’t help for the hardcore who will buy a fake vaccination card and then just say they had a breakthrough case if something happens. Unless there is a worldwide database, hopefully feeding off national databases of the vaccinated, and that is actually checked and not just an easily forgeable card looked at, there will never be enough vaccinated to reach the mythical herd immunity.
Ella in New Mexico
@Steeplejack (phone): It’s so hard to have hope and watch it die mercilessly time and time again…but I’ll try :-D
A Ghost to Most
How can DeathSantis run for president if he gets out of the way?
rikyrah
????
Natalia Solenkova, MD PhD (@SolNataMD) tweeted at 1:09 AM on Wed, Aug 04, 2021:
My rain of covid patients today. Only 1 is vaxxed & on high flow O2 texting. The rest, unvaxxed, – intubated, laying on their bellies, on dialysis, sedated & paralyzed. I’m sweating in a plastic PPE like took a shower in scrubs & having new face wounds. #Tired #GetVaccinated https://t.co/YQQ9owesoF
(https://twitter.com/SolNataMD/status/1422801842157891585?s=03)
Ohio Mom
In Anne Laurie’s complication this morning, there’s this:
“ Since State of Florida is not publicly publishing daily COVID data, Florida Hospital Association is”
An example of responsible private concerns moving on ahead without a state government’s support. Kudos to them.
I imagine epidemiologists all over the world sighing when they hear about one governmental body or another refusing to keep stats. Just makes more work for the epidemiologists, it’s not as though they don’t have a big toolbox of alternative methods of analyzing things. As the old saying goes, the truth will out.
lollipopguild
@Served: People who do not have their shots do not get fruit cup.
andy
It’s never their fault, especially when it is. Our county had this surge of cases back (400 to date to over 4000 just in a month) in November, curiously enough, about 24 days after a tr*mp rally a couple counties over. It didn’t stop our redcaps from smirking or glaring when we were out wearing our masks, even the ones in our workplace after the Covid death of a retired long term co-worker here. I remember way way back in 2020 the same people who were delighted at the idea of millions dying to achieve herd immunity just as long as we kept the bars open are now loudly refusing the vaccine, even though it’s free and you can now basically get it on demand. At this point they’re desperate to drag this out, because they think it’ll make Biden and the Democrats look bad, and that getting the vaxx NOW is a good as an admission of complicity.
Which it is.
gvg
My local Alachua county Florida school board voted last noght to require masks for at least the first 2 weeks of school (starts in 6 days). This is in defiance of the Governor who had promised financial penalties of any schools that did, and this county is generally risk adverse with regard to state funding.
Maybe he will pretend not to notice like he ignored some big businesses mandating shots for workers….
rikyrah
U.S. Navy Nurse Practitioner (ret.) (@USNMedicineCRNP) tweeted at 5:45 AM on Wed, Aug 04, 2021:
Chance of death in a FULLY vaccinated patient infected with Delta variant : 0.0029%
Chance of death in a UNVACCINATED patient infected with Delta variant : 5.22%
1800x higher.
THAT is your answer.
(https://twitter.com/USNMedicineCRNP/status/1422871276314669060?s=03)
MattF
Now… maybe start some unverifiable rumors. ‘It’s a freak show at Mar-a-Lago, literally. I’m not saying that anyone is biting the heads off live chickens, but rumor has it that there’s a room full of feathers.’
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@Jerzy Russian:
You’d think. Conservatism never was good about long-term planning, though.
Ken
I see Florida has reached the “SEVERE” risk level on https://covidactnow.org/, a dubious distinction it shares with Louisiana. Looks like Louisiana is still winning 2 of 3 individual stats, but DeSantis is working on that.
Florida: 82.1 cases/100K, 1.27 infection rate, 18.8 test positivity
Louisiana: 93.1 cases/100K, 1.37 infection rate, 15.5 test positivity
stinger
@Hey Blue: Hope she’s well. I expect it will be great to see her!
Snarki, child of Loki
“Incandescent rage” is an appropriate reaction, at this point.
The MAGAts either get the shot in the arm, or two in the noggin. Decide fast.
geg6
The University had a town hall meeting yesterday and it was good news and bad news. They have decided not to require vaccines for now. Students, faculty and staff have been told that they are expected to vaccinate and upload their card into the University’s system. Students who do not have their vaccine credentials and who live on campus will be tested before they move in and will be required to wear masks at all times. Anyone testing positive will not be allowed to move in. Everyone (including faculty and staff) who is not vaccinated is required to test once a week. Anyone testing positive will be required to isolate for ten days and no students who are isolating due to symptoms or quarantining due to exposure will have online access to classes and will have to make arrangements with faculty to determine how to make up the work they missed. Faculty will have to figure out how to get their classes covered. So, finally, consequences and peer pressure may move some people to do what needs done. Also, depending on the infection rates in the county in which the campus is located, there will be campuses that will be required to have everyone, vaccinated or not, masking until the infection rates fall to safer levels. Since most of our campuses have high numbers of commuters, that may move some of the recalcitrant commuters into vaccinating. We were warned that, if these measures do not lead to higher levels of vaccination among the University community, a vaccination requirement may be implemented. Currently, my idiot Trumpy county has a pretty high level of transmissions and low levels of vaccinations, I expect we will be masking when students show up in a couple of weeks, vaccinated or not. We were given signs we could put up outside our individual offices saying we want anyone coming in to our personal offices to wear a mask. I have posted one on my office door. Fuck this shit. I trust no one around here other than those I work most closely with to tell the truth about their vaccine status and two of those are not vaccinated. So they can just put a damn mask on to talk to me. I’m sick of these assholes and out of all patience with them.
Elizabelle
Can the school districts sue the governor for his interference with their mask standards?
It is criminal that DeSantis is making the Florida public schools choose between millions in reliable funding and protecting their young students who cannot be vaccinated yet.
What about public school parents suing?
DeSantis should not be allowed to get away with this.
I wish these governors could be held criminally liable for the deaths, illness and longterm disability resulting from their policies. They should have a duty to mitigate.
In addition to the businesses that cannot withstand another round of covid-related disruption. These governors are deplorable.
MontyTheClipArtMongoose
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: govt by cystic fibrosis.
MontyTheClipArtMongoose
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: his “mission accomplished” moment.
rikyrah
Yessss ????????
Craig Wall ABC 7 (@craigrwall) tweeted at 6:47 AM on Wed, Aug 04, 2021:
BREAKING: Governor Pritzker will be announcing a statewide school mask mandate today, per sources. It will apply to public and private schools, K-12. It is in response to rising Delta cases including in kids, and differing approaches being taken by school districts. @ABC7Chicago
(https://twitter.com/craigrwall/status/1422886882560589825?s=03)
debbie
I like this too. Tangentially, I’d also like Psaki to directly respond to GOP statements that it is Democratic ineptness that has resulted in rental assistance not being delivered quickly.
stinger
@Served: I don’t understand Covid vaccine reluctance/refusal. I mean, I’ve heard the reasons, but don’t they see the hospitalized and dead all around them? Everybody knows people who got it, and most people know someone who was hospitalized with it.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Ohio Mom: DeSantis hiding the numbers is one of those “why bother dude?” moments. His base will just ignore the real numbers, make up numbers they like. If they are forced to deal with the real numbers come up with some stupid excuse like “Zombie Hugo Chavez on an italian space station” to ignore the real numbers and they will vote from DeStantis anyway because of the R after his name.
Scout211
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2021/08/04/health/who-coronavirus-booster-shots/index.html
WHO calls for a moratorium on booster shots until the end of September.
Nicole
Yesterday I stopped in our corner bodega and an MTA worker came in and was greeted by another customer who asked her if she was getting the vax now that it’s required and she replied, “Nope.” She prefers getting tested every week.
Netflix was requiring 3X a week testing for people in the Red Zone on productions (actors and the crew who had close contact with them) prior to the vaccine (Netflix is now requiring vaccination). I think businesses and government agencies should do likewise, because 3X a week is a huge hassle. AND require it be done on the employee’s own time, not during the paid work day.
Renie
Has anyone heard sourced information on the Lambda variant? At a doctor visit this week she told me that one was showing the vaccine is not that effective. If true and it gets a hold on the US we are in some deep shit. Right now it’s mostly in South America
Elizabelle
@Nicole: Agreed.
I wonder what that MTA worker’s issue with vaccines is.
rikyrah
Florida Chris (@chrislongview) tweeted at 10:45 AM on Wed, Aug 04, 2021:
I wish progressives would take last night’s defeat and learn the correct lesson. Pick candidates who have extensive résumés in their Districts. They win because they earned the trust of voters.
Shontel didn’t win because of PACs.
She won because she had relationships & receipts.
(https://twitter.com/chrislongview/status/1422946861128716293?s=03)
Betty Cracker
@gvg: Yeah, I noticed DeSantis didn’t say shit when The Mouse said public-facing employees had to get shots. Also, good on Alachua for mandating masks! I suspect my county’s schools will have outbreaks and closures because the county is run by pinheads.
rp
I thought the movie “Contagion” was unrealistic because there’s no way they could come up with a vaccine in just a few months. Little did I know that the most unrealistic part of the movie was everyone eagerly getting vaccinated.
topclimber
@Elizabelle: IANAL but forcing schools to violate their responsibility to provide a healthy environment seems analogous to telling them they can’t remove sex offenders from the classroom.
There will be lawsuits, if only from parents.
Urza
@Renie: My understanding of Lamda concurs with your doctor so far. It has been found in America. However, it appears as though it has to fight for hosts with fast spreading Delta, so it hasn’t gotten much of a foothold yet. That could of course change quickly.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@MattF: “I am not saying during an Adderal high Trump interrupted a marriage at Mar-a-Lago to fornicated with a donkey in front of the bride and groom while screaming at the donkey “Tell me your’ name is Ivanka”, just I heard a rumor of it”
Scout211
@Renie:
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/delta-infections-among-vaccinated-likely-contagious-lambda-variant-shows-vaccine-2021-08-02/
Betty Cracker
@Scout211: It’s a valid complaint, IMO. Again, we have the unvaccinated to thank.
andy
@Urza: and these are the… people who demand IDs for voting
trollhattan
Couple we know (she once babysat our little one) had a baby last year in the midst of Covid. Everything went fine. Just learned the little guy, who’s now one, caught Covid at daycare and now dad tests positive despite being vaccinated and everybody is quarantined. Ugh. So far as I know the little guy’s symptoms aren’t too bad so far.
Just One More Canuck
@lollipopguild: “If you don’t eat your meat, you can’t have any pudding. How can you have any pudding if you don’t eat your meat?”
stinger
@stinger: Some people’s thoughts and reactions are more fact-driven, while others’ are more emotion-driven. People hospitalized and dying should reach both types. Should.
WaterGirl
@geg6: I’m sorry. I was so relieved when the University of Illinois here in Champaign came out with the requirement to be vaccinated.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
“Shawn of the Dead” was unrealistic in that the government mobilized an effective response in a couple of days.
WaterGirl
@trollhattan: Shit.
Raven
@Renie: Have you heard of Google?
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@stinger:
HIPAA actually hurts us here. Can’t really have roving press cameras and querying reporters in occupied ICU suites and hospital hallways documenting the misery without running afoul of the statute.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@Just One More Canuck:
Goddammit – now I have THAT running through my head.
rikyrah
Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) tweeted at 10:50 AM on Wed, Aug 04, 2021:
The most important thing is to understand that the Republican party is the most important institution keeping the country under-vaccinated and thus full of Delta COVID.
(https://twitter.com/joshtpm/status/1422948110192594947?s=03)
Ruckus
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
They will vote for him because he is acting insane.
Or is insane, difficult to tell the difference any more.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
hmm interesting, the CDC signed a health order temporarily banning evictions because of the public health risk. I guess this is the admin work around the BS in Congress.
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s0803-cdc-eviction-order.html?fbclid=IwAR1wgy-UlnxeYl5l04POLEiWPoGZGPZDtsBIxG6RfOCnLEzADPQqHuuuQiU
Mike in NC
“Get Out of the Way” sounds a lot more credible than MAGA.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Ruckus: As with the Flat Earthers, at some point the act stops being an act.
mrmoshpotato
@Jerzy Russian:
Exactly. And how Psaki doesn’t answer Peter Douchecanoe with a smack to the face…
Renie
@Scout211: Wow that doesn’t sound good at all. I live on Long Island NY and we still have alot of people wearing masks. Never really saw much of a fall off in wearing masks since last year but then I’m still avoiding large crowds. Guess I will continue to.
ET
I wonder if anyone is ever going to ask those GOP gov. like DeSantis why do they seem so intent on killing their citizens?
Elizabelle
NY Times: The Offspring’s drummer says he was dropped from the band over being unvaccinated.
Betty Cracker
@Scout211: I don’t know anything about how viruses mutate, but my fear is these idiotic anti-vax people are going to keep fucking around until a variant emerges that can completely defeat the vaccine. They’ll fuck around, and we’ll all find out. That’s why I’m for a harder line, including mandates and exclusions from schools, businesses, etc. I fear the virus will mutate faster than the political possibilities change though.
Elizabelle
When pop-punk musicians The Offspring are acting upon more scientific guidance than the governor of Florida …
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@Elizabelle:
They’re OK
Ruckus
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
He’s not that good an actor to play the part of an insane person as well as he does.
debbie
@geg6:
We have lost the honor system in this country. Fuck you, GOP.
Elizabelle
@Betty Cracker: I think Biden and Psaki should say that. That we are endangered if these viruses mutate and we cannot allow them a reservoir of unvaccinated Americans.
The wonderful Surgeon General Vivek Murthy says it — in one ear, out the other. Plus: fired by Trump.
Covid is such a novel disease, with unknown longterm effects. I am sick of these morons fucking it up for everyone else. Those who truly cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons, they get a pass.
But enough of coddling these morons. Enough.
RSA
Marc Thiessen is a contemptible human being.
debbie
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:
No pogo-ing for you?
L85NJGT
Recent poll has Charlie Crist with a MoE lead (45/44) in a head to head.
I assume that informs some of the willingness to press from the White House.
Baud
@Elizabelle:
Gotta keep ’em
separatedvaccinatedBaud
@L85NJGT:
Against DeSantis or Crist’s primary opponent?
Fair Economist
@Hey Blue: Right now San Diego County is reporting vaccinated people are getting COVID at about 3 per 100,000 per day.
At the rate a vaxxed person expects to get COVID about once per century. It’s not a big risk. Also, airplanes have pretty good air exchange, so wear your mask, take sensible precautions, and you and your mom should be fine. Enjoy your visit!
Just Chuck
That’s some clever framing: stop meddling with businesses and schools trying to do the right thing. Paints the GQP as the controlling statists (that they always have been).
stacib
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: I heard he was screaming “say my name”. LOL
L85NJGT
@Baud:
Head to head vs. Crist, DeSantis has fallen 10 points in three months.
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/445638-shock-poll-charlie-crist-leads-ron-desantis-amid-covid-19-surge/
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@debbie:
Not my general style – gotta be in the mood.
scav
@RSA: It’s good to have some solid, unchanging anchors in an otherwise turbulent world.
It’s also good to confirm that their widdle widdle feelings are being hurt.
cmorenc
@Hey Blue:
My experience on two recent flights is somewhat reassuring, in that the flight attendants on the four United flight legs I took seemed serious about enforcing the mask mandate, politely but very firmly directing any would-be slackers they came across to get with the program. The main worry is that some passengers were prone to taking generous liberty with the exception for eating/drinking.
satby
@Renie: South America was mostly reliant on the Sino Pharm vaccine that was only about 60% effective against the original Covid. So unless they’ve verified that against the more effective vaccines I wouldn’t worry about it right now.
brantl
Since shots are free, these covidiot assholes need to start paying for their own testing, as the expense is only incurred because they’re refusing to take the shots. I think that’s only fair, right? Unless they can show a medical reason that they can’t take the shot. There’s no reason the rest of us should be paying for these meat-for-brains idiots.
Elizabelle
@Baud: Brilliant! LOL.
Tweet at them. They should do a PSA.
debbie
@cmorenc:
I don’t remember which airline or flight, but they duct taped some guy to his seat after he got drunk and rowdy and punched someone out.
Baud
@Elizabelle:
I don’t use Twitter. Feel free to steal.
The Thin Black Duke
Everything would be fine if they started responding to unmasked Anti-Vaxxers the same way they respond to BLM activists.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@Baud:
?
Kay
@rikyrah:
That’s interesting. You COULD do it using “safety” (which state-level is REALLY broad) in the same way you can require fire alarms and fire drills, but I don’t think it’s the go-to. I like when they look at their codes and push them a little.
cmorenc
@Jerzy Russian:
also:
I am amazed that President Biden is able to get through speeches that discuss Republicans without swearing.
Ruckus
@Betty Cracker:
We are up to what number of mutations now, 8-9?
I am relatively sure the mutations are not in response to the vaccines, they are the normal evolution of an extremely easily transmitted organism with relatively little mitigation by extinction of transmission blockage, IE vaccination. IOW a virus evolves/mutates very fast, one that transmits so readily between hosts, IE has a very large (and seemingly in some cases very willing) host class will evolve/mutate faster. And Covid will easily invade hosts, it’s transmission method and reproduction speed make that not only possible but extremely likely. And as we realize, if we are smarter than a box of rocks, this one is doing exactly that. Because there seems to be a large segment of the population that is dumber than a box of rocks.
Scout211
@debbie:
Links are nice.
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/frontier-airlines-flight-crew-assault/index.html
TriassicSands
Should Biden, Psaki, and others start using names? Would it help to say that DiSantis and Abbott should get out of the way instead of just referring to generic “people” who need to get out of the way.
I don’t think naming names will help at all with the idiots, but the only thing likely to help with them is to either die from COVID-19 or have a severe enough case (for either them personally or a loved one) to wake them up. Even that isn’t sufficient for some of them. On the other hand, DiSantis is likely to be a presidential candidate in 2024 and people need to be warned about him.
His level of depravity and irresponsibility is truly amazing, even if it has become commonplace in the Republican Party.
Scout211
@Ruckus:
https://www.who.int/en/activities/tracking-SARS-CoV-2-variants/
Here’s a list of the variants identified by the WHO.
L85NJGT
Who wants to be the last one to die for Republican intransigence on hygiene?
realbtl
I’m out of patience with the vac refusers, fuck ’em. Just flew back from CA and first visit with my 1.5 yo grandson since Jan 2020. OAK masking- 100%, SLC still 100% but with a few acting 5 year old mouth breathers (How do you manage to only breathe through your mouth with your nose out of the mask?). Home to MT, maybe 30%. Thanks for the freedom to not have my grandson visit assholes.
Ruckus
@debbie:
And they got suspended for that.
I’d bet they would do it again though.
Elizabelle
Betty Cracker! Your mission is to tweet at the Offspring with the latest Baudism.
Just Chuck
@Elizabelle: Seems to me Parada actually has a legitimate reason for hesitancy — people with autoimmune disorders always have to weigh those risks, and he does have his previous exposure as part of the equation.
His band still has a legitimate reason to drop him from tours, but hopefully they can still keep him in the studio, assuming he’s regularly tested. But then it looks a lot to me like he’s also publicly throwing out a bunch of blanket antivax talking points that apparently didn’t go over well with the band.
So screw him. No one cares who the drummer for Offspring is anyway, it’s not like he’s Danny Carey.
Hoodie
@Scout211: Big shot flying on Frontier. He sprung for the WORKS bundle, no doubt.
MagdaInBlack
@Betty Cracker: That, is exactly what I’m worried about. They’ll fuck around til we have something that cannot be controlled.
Scout211
@Ruckus:
Frontier Airlines reversed that as soon as they heard from the union.
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/frontier-airlines-flight-crew-assault/index.html
Ramiah Ariya
I want to point out that when this variant hit India back in April, May, a bunch of you guys were busy sharing cremation pictures from India, to prove some political point. Anne Laurie repeatedly posted provocative pieces from political partisans in India.
It was clear when the wave hit India that this was some weird new shit. In my apartment complex of 70 houses, ten apartments got infected within a two weeks period even though a lockdown was in force (In the entire previous year, we had only 3 families affected). One young boy got it a second time. Now we know that the Delta variant can infect those who were already infected with the original virus.
Even though it was clear that nobody had any clue what was going on, the Western press was gleefully writing about how “Hindu nationalists” had somehow mismanaged the pandemic response. They took special note of apparently “rich” Indians fleeing the country. None of this had any empathy for a country like India that was always going to be hit hard by this virus, given lack of infrastructure and high population density.
At that time itself it was clear that this variant was going to hit the world; and very little could be done to control it once it got loose in a population, particularly where vaccinations were difficult.
I don’t know how American liberals managed to convince themselves that the pandemic was over once their guy was in.
The truth is the US had Trump – nobody else had a leader close to him in sheer stupidity. Because you had Trump, the American press covered every outbreak in every country as if there were Trumpian leaders mismanaging the response. In reality, different countries faced different issues – yet all that nuance was lost in the American coverage.
This coverage had consequences – in the peak of the wave in May, when India was receiving aid from the US, the American press was asking the Biden administration why aid was being sent to India which was mismanaging the response!
Patricia Kayden
West of the Rockies
There was footage last week of a woman keeping bedside vigil over her husband (on a ventilator in ICU) with Covid. She said he wasn’t vaccinated, that “they didn’t know how bad it could be.”
Seriously? You’ve only had 18 months of the biggest international news story since WW2, and you didn’t know Covid was this deadly? You can’t be arsed to follow current events at all? I mean, I know that Duck Dynasty and bowling league demand a lot of your time, but shit.
TriassicSands
@L85NJGT:
i could provide a list of the ones we could hope will go first.
The craziness is so out of control it’s hard to believe this isn’t just a bad dream (or computer simulation). But real it is. You know there’s a huge problem when people are willing to risk death (even if they are too stupid to believe there is a risk) for such utter nonsense.
prostratedragon
Baltimore Symphony is not fucking around:
Flutist gets booted from Baltimore Symphony after promoting conspiracy theories about COVID-19
The principal flutist, that is.
@Ruckus: Any day! I certainly would.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Scout211: Supposedly the future Master of the Universe in question was awarded “Role Model Fraternity Member of the Year” at his school.
Kay
Just appalling. The pro family party.
Elizabelle
@West of the Rockies: Some genius (now a widow) told an interviewer that she and her now dead 40-something husband decided to “wait a year” re the vaccines’ safety.
Husband regretted that. On his deathbed.
Wait a year. During a pandemic.
They got their data, though.
West of the Rockies
@Elizabelle: I nominate your last line for the revolving tagline.
MattF
@West of the Rockies: It’s what you may think if Fox is your main source of news. Misinformation and disinformation work.
Renie
@Raven: is that the search engine that is trying to take over the world?
prostratedragon
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: And his parents are worth $2 million dollars, two I tell you! (I’ve been calling him Le Dauphin.)
Kay
@Elizabelle:
Not a scientist but for me the “trial” was HUGE. Lots and lots and lots of people. That was good enough for me. Has there ever been a bigger experiment on a vaccine?
Elizabelle
@Just Chuck: Yeah, I did see the Guillian-Barre info.
NY Times took pains that next sentences were that that elevated risk applied only to J&J, at this point, and that the drummer was spouting off big government drivel too.
Although: the G-B risk is still a small one. Another physician might advise differently.
Not determinative.
Geminid
@Ella in New Mexico: As you point out, Harrell went from a 5,000 vote loss in 2018 to a 20,000 vote win in 2020. Blue wave in 2018? trump bump in 2020? Next year will tell us a lot about the sustainablity of each party’s mojo. Democrats used to have a dropoff in midterms, relative to Republicans. This may have changed. One thing I wonder about: If there was a trump bump, how big will the post-trump slump be?
Redistricting will be another factor in next year’s New Mexico 2nd District election. Democrats in the “Round House” will not be inclined to do Yvette Harrell any favors.
Ruckus
@Scout211:
Thank you.
So currently, known variants are at 24. This bad boy is worse than even I thought. Well when you have 4 billion unrestricted hosts possible, not counting non human hosts, and 4 billion possible restricted hosts (meaning less likely to become hosts), rapid growth and mutation is rather likely.
Elizabelle
@Kay: Exactly. Millions upon millions upon millions. In the US alone.
I wonder if some of these idiots are afraid of making a bad decision, when making no decision means the virus might make it for you.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Patricia Kayden: Me thinks the letter writer married her boss and retired at age 25.
Jay C
@Ruckus:
IANAEdidemiologist, but I seem to recall that the delta variant is the one that was originally called B.1.6.1.7 (or something like that), and was first detected in (?) India back in (?) November ’20. IOW, it had mutated before the vaccines were readily/widely available, so not a “reaction” to the vaccine.
Not that that fact (being, y’know, a fact) will make much difference to the hardcore MAGA deniers/avoiders….
Kay
@West of the Rockies:
I’m willing to take them back in if they go public with regrets. People make stupid mistakes. I think maybe those testimonials are persuasive.
I thought the guy who said he “failed to protect his family” (his kids are sick) would really hit home. Boom. That goes right to the core.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@prostratedragon: Popehat was pointing how $2M is only a decent house in CA. lol
Also, attacking a flight crew is punishable by 20 years in jail.
debbie
@Scout211:
Didn’t have one. I had the visual from last night’s news, but thanks.
debbie
@Ruckus:
I’m not violent, but I don’t see where they had a choice. He was really swinging hard.
ETA: I shutter to think how ripping off that tape must have felt.
stinger
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: But where Delta and Alpha are rampant, people have family, neighbors, and friends who are infected. No need for television cameras to get the point across, and none of them would believe non-Fox news anyway.
Ken
You’re going to have to be more specific….
Ruckus
@Scout211:
Good.
From the short video that I saw, that asshole was way out of control and that big guy that helped restrain him wouldn’t have been out of line to punch him 2 or 20 times in the face, until he complied. I mean restraining him and duct taping him to his seat was good and worked, but it seems it’s getting to the point that the no valid reason unvaccinated are actively trying to kill others, and that is in my legal playbook, murder. YMMV.
Peale
@Jay C: Same with Lamda. It was identified in Peru in December. It’s the most dominant strain there, but it’s not some clever trick of the sentient virus to get around vaccines.
WaterGirl
@Renie: I think that’s a totally fair question. I don’t have an answer for you, and I haven’t had time to research it myself.
Have you looked at Anne Laurie’s covid threads? They are a great source of information, and you can click on a particular tweet and go to the article, where hopefully there is information in more detail.
Ken
He must not have have enough guns in the house. — Fox viewers
Though I shouldn’t give them ideas, lest they decide to follow the Sentinelese’s highly proactive approach to avoiding infection.
RSA
@scav:
Hah! Yes, that’s true.
The Thin Black Duke
@debbie: As they used to say in my neighborhood, “Don’t start none, won’t be none.”
TriassicSands
@Just Chuck:
That’s actually something he can’t know with any certainty. In consultation with the right doctor he could be right in deciding against getting vaccinated, but are there any cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome after MRNA vaccination? This is a new vaccine technology and what matters is not how many cases there have been with “vaccines,” but how many with the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
The increased risk of developing GBS after the swine flu vaccine was about 1 in 100,000 (CDC). Not a very big risk. His risk may be increased generally, because he’s had it before, but generally doesn’t matter. What matters is the relationship with the MRNA vaccines.
THe CDC also says, “Studies suggest that it is more likely that a person will get GBS after getting the flu than after [ flu] vaccination.”
Medical treatment often involves trade-offs and relative risks. It ‘s not always easy to make the right choice. I’d be willing to bet a small amount of money that his risk with the delta variant is greater than his risk of developing GBS but I don’t have anything significant at risk. Good luck to him.
frosty
@Steeplejack (phone):
Fitzmas!!!
I won’t be holding my breath.
Another Scott
Jane Mayer tells us it’s all a strategy to get and keep political power:
Emphasis added.
Eyes on the prizes.
Cheers,
Scott.
Ruckus
@Ramiah Ariya:
This. Very little about this entire mess is reasonable in any country or any direction. Maybe New Zealand. We in the US have a horrible problem with nearly half our citizens, one of our(their) political parties, and often our “news” organizations, and often pompous arrogance. We elected an absolute moron as our leader, and while there is never a good time to have a moron in a countries leadership position, this time was a far worse time.
Just One More Canuck
@Scout211:From something called Conan Daily, so not verified:
“In May 2021, he graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University with a bachelor’s degree in finance economics with a minor in psychology. He received a Fraternity and Sorority Values in Action award for being a perfect role model and for leading the fight to dismantle fraternity stereotypes. ”
That didn’t age well
Ruckus
@West of the Rockies:
They didn’t know because they didn’t want to know.
They actively placed their own heads up their own asses. It seems like this should be a rather difficult trick but millions seem to be able to do it effortlessly.
MJS
Fun fact re: The Offspring – the lead singer has a PhD in molecular biology. So that’s probably why the drummer’s bullshit excuses don’t fly.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dexter_Holland
Ruckus
@Jay C:
Mutations are not in reaction to a vaccine. Mutations are natural in the course of reproduction of all living things. If there weren’t mutations we would all be exactly the same and would not have changed since the origin of humans. Hell, we are a mutation from some other animal.
rikyrah
The Community of Brown Grove vs. Wegmans
Why African American residents-turned-activists are trying to block a supermarket chain from building a warehouse in rural Virginia
By Tyrese Coleman with Melody Schreiber
AUGUST 4, 2021
https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2021/08/04/why-are-african-american-residents-this-small-town-determined-block-wegmans-warehouse/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F34516d2%2F610abe809d2fda2f47e298db%2F5976b6529bbc0f6826ba274d%2F8%2F70%2F610abe809d2fda2f47e298db
Ruckus
@debbie:
I don’t. We used to buy and use duct tape by the carton for protection to areas we didn’t want sandblasted in our work. Some thought it funny on occasion to place it on someone else’s arm to let them enjoy the feel of the hair being ripped out when the tape is
pulledripped off. And you can’t let that experiment go unpunished.misterpuff
How can you have your pudding, if you don’t eat your meat?
Get vaxxed.
Ken
One of the other morning threads said that Zhan Beleniuk, the first Black Member of Parliament in Ukraine, has become the first sitting member of any parliament to win an Olympic gold medal. Sigh. Sometimes I look at my life and think “I could probably have accomplished more.”
Jeffro
THIS
“Our orange emperor was dethroned by this virus (not by his idiotic non-handling of the pandemic, mind you, but…just because…) and we will not stand by as things get better under Biden!”
Anything to kneecap Dems, including killing themselves.
rikyrah
@Kay:
One of the best videos that explained about the virus took care of a lot of questions.
Biggest problems with vaccines?
MONEY
MANPOWER
VOLUNTEERS
Money wasn’t an issue because every government was throwing money at the vaccine
Manpower wasn’t an issue because the entire scientific research global community was working on it.
Volunteers weren’t an issue because they had 100,000 off the bat ready to volunteer.
Another Scott
ObOpenThread – WUSA9:
Hmmm…
Cheers,
Scott.
Jess
I like the no-nonsense, direct tone of this message. No posturing, no negotiating–just a dismissive order to the childish tantrums on the right. This is how to deal with would-be dominant dogs as well, btw.
Chief Oshkosh
@Hey Blue:
@cmorenc:
Was on a recent Delta flight where the captain came out of the cockpit, right after the safety demo, took the PA from the chief flight attendant, then in his most “why yes, I am in charge” voice, proceeded to voluntold every passenger that Delta Airlines is deadly serious about the deadly delta variant and they you WILL wear masks, and even if the rules say you can take them down while eating or drinking, that that was a privilege and you’d better not abuse it.
This guy left NO doubt about who was in charge and what was expected of the everyone. And he did it with a smile. Sort of.
IT.WAS.GREAT.
Old School
@Ken:
But then you wouldn’t have been able to take as many naps.
germy
This thread is funny and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it come true:
geg6
@Ramiah Ariya:
Hmmm, so much bullshit here I’m not even going to address it. I’ll let AL defend herself, but I’ll just say this is full of lies and everyone should be pointing and laughing at you.
Another Scott
ObOpenThread – Meanwhile, …
That’s just crazy talk!! What could possibly go wrong with a huge, unregulated shadow financial system propping up the economy with “free money”??
Cheers,
Scott.
WaterGirl
@TriassicSands: I think it’s better not to use names. Otherwise the particular person could fundraise off of Biden called out Governor X! Donate to Governor X now!
Just Chuck
@TriassicSands: Difference here is he already has GBS. He also had previous exposure, so he’s hoping that’s enough. Seems if he was willing to be regularly tested, that’d be enough for sessions, but still way too dangerous for a tour.
But as others have pointed out, Covid itself is much more likely to inflame his GBS.
Just Chuck
@Ruckus: Heck, the Y chromosone was a mutation, and I’m told there’s parts of our genome still trying to “correct” it.
prostratedragon
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: Yeah, was thinking that I know people in unexceptional positions that they’ve worked in for a while who can easily meet or top that.
But that’s one of the less important things his parents should have already sat him down about. Maybe a couple of years on ice would chill him out.
Bostondreams
And that clown DeSantis tells Biden to eff off…and blames immigrants for the surge in COVID in Florida..
StringOnAStick
@Urza: Don’t you mean your registered Dental Hygienist? Dental Assistants are the ones who help the dentist, not the ones who clean your teeth. Unfortunately dentistry trends conservative and some dental hygienists are as right wing as they come. If your RDH is telling you she doesn’t have time for you to come in more often, I strongly suggest you find another RDH/dental practice because if you’ve got gum disease issues and she’s blowing off your concerns that you need more frequent treatment, then she’s a crappy RDH who is NOT practicing evidence-based dental hygiene and you’ll pay in the long run with worsening gum disease. Uncontrolled gum disease is implicated in many poor health outcomes, so even if you enjoy talking to her, she isn’t doing you any favors. I retired as an RDH last year because of Covid, and it was hard to have not become cynical over the crap care some offices and RDH’s are providing out there. It’s hard work if done to the proper standard, which is why it too often isn’t.
Regine Touchon
https://www.al.com/news/2021/08/whitmire-how-one-alabama-college-outsmarted-the-states-vaccine-passport-ban.html
Have to hand it to Birmingham Southern College. Of course there’s outrage from the usual suspects.
Anyway
@Ramiah Ariya:
Huh?? The surge in india was due to the govt relaxing lockdowns and promoting and participating in huge election rallies and religious melas in Feb-March before there was any significant vaccine distribution. it was only when things started going rapidly south in April that new lockdowns were reinstated in May.
Panurge
@Urza:
NBC News (IIRC) reports that vaccination rates in certain Southern states have gone up by a factor of three lately, so it looks like someone’s finally getting the message.
StringOnAStick
@Nicole: What the hell good is testing 3X a week with a variant as transmissible as Delta, or even more so, Delta plus? I don’t get why companies/government agencies are dancing around this except of course the needed full authorization to avoid an avalanche of lawsuits to pay to fight (and you just know there are dark money groups waiting to pounce on any that try to enforce a vaccination mandate before full approval). Let’s say an unvaxxed person gets exposed right after one of their testing points. That gives them at least a day to spread it, and an MTA working is around many, many people every day. With Delta’s transmission rate at 4 to 5 times that of “old” Covid, it still results in exponential growth in number of cases.
I’ve seen too many people acting like getting tested for exposure has some kind of magic anti-Covid effect, when all it does is give you a yes or no, within the margin of error. Ugh.
My 89 yo dad the full vaccinated RW Bircher rageaholic from way back has decided he will be flying to see his equally awful twin sister in October. Because he only watches FOX, he’s sure everything is fine and there’s no risk to flying.
Betty Cracker
@Bostondreams: Sounds like he’s triggered. Good.
Ken
@Regine Touchon: From the article about Birmingham Southern College’s workaround to the vaccination requirement ban:
So even had BCS required vaccinations, the new law would have… done nothing. Brilliant.
StringOnAStick
@Just Chuck: The strain of touring is more likely to inflame his GBS!
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Bostondreams: That’s as about a stupid an argument DeSantis has going as “We can’t do anything about COVID because it’s a Bio-Weapon”
JaySinWa
@Kay: Washington State has issued a mask mandate for all public and private schools. I assume their will be resistance and lawsuits. There were protests already at at least one school board.
Nora Lenderbee
@StringOnAStick: I think Urza mean that the dental assistant (or hygienist) claimed she didn’t have time to get the vaccine. Not that she didn’t have time to take care of Urza’s teeth.
Captain C
@Ruckus:
All I’m saying is that if I’m on a jury, and a vaxxed person is on trial for killing a non-vaxxed person, I’d be open to self-defense arguments just based on that.
Barbara
@Panurge:
They really assumed that they could pander to the covid dead enders but avoid dire consequences because enough people would get vaccinated anyway, thereby burnishing their image with the hard core while not alienating the reasonable. Oops Delta. Oops rampant disinformation. Now we’re all at risk.
The Utter Dregs
@prostratedragon: Re: the principal flutist, Hannibal Lecter would’ve just eaten her.
MontyTheClipArtMongoose
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: thanks, bin laden