Blue Sky

Posted on by Thor

Ron DeathSantis was one of the last governors to shut down the state of Florida at the beginning of the pandemic and he was one of the first to open up to full capacity much to the pleasure of his mentor POTUS Trump. At press conferences The Governor always puts a favorable spin on his handling of the pandemic by picking out obscure facts from the data and ignoring the growing danger as the state is being hit by a wave much bigger that the summer surge. This is known as the blue sky policy. If people are ignorant of the facts they can go about their merry way until they are also infected.

Like the POTUS, his denial of science puts every Floridian in danger since many are encouraged to not wear masks and gather in large groups. He is literally killing his constituents. Though the hope of vaccines are on the horizon, his backwards policies may result in many denying their efficacy. To him politics are more important than human lives.

The Sun Sentinel reported that, the Florida Department of Health’s (DOH) county-level spokespeople were ordered in September to stop issuing public statements about COVID-19 until after the Nov. 3 election. Rebekah Jones a former DOH worker had her computer and phone seized by police because she was reporting the daily hard facts about the spread of COVID-19 that don’t mirror the Blue Sky policy. He withheld data about the spread of the virus in schools, prisons, hospitals and only after prolonged legal battles could reporters gain access to those facts. The sunshine law requires certain proceedings of government agencies to be open or available to the public. When it comes to COVID-19 there has been a black out. Any messaging has to go through the Governor and he insists on Blue Sky messaging rather than stating facts. He seems to think he can pack everyone into bars and restaurants at full capacity despite the rising tide, and he can still keep the at risk population safe. The fact is he can’t. Rather than make adjustments to slow down the spread, he seems to want everyone infected. He seems to have embraced the disgraced former POTUS advisor, Scott Atlas’ herd immunity theory which will result in a huge spike in needless deaths. With community spread as wide spread as it is becoming, this will be a very dark winter with very dark sky’s.

Joe Biden state, “Out of our collective pain, we will find our collective purpose: to control the pandemic, to save lives, and to heal as a nation.” Lets hope DeSantis eventually decides to help rather than hinder as COVID sweeps through Florida a second time. Information is power. Stay informed. Stay safe.

Infamy

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“December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” said President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to an emergency session of Congress. On that day More than 2,400 people, including 68 civilians , died and almost 1,200 more were injured. Americans were shocked by this surprise attack.

On average more than 2400 people have died each day in December, 2020. The surge of deaths following Thanksgiving travel are not yet a part of this surge. This is like experiencing the horror of Pearl Harbor every day of the week with no signs of the pandemic slowing.

Government and health officials have warned that cases and deaths will rise further in the coming weeks and months due to people traveling and gathering with family, against the advice of health experts. This is the new norm, with death on an epic scale and half the country trying to convince themselves that it isn’t happening. People cling to strange conspiracy theories.

The attack on Pearl Harbor woke a sleeping giant and united Americans against a common enemy. Today Americans are divided and confused preferring to hate each others political stances as opposed to the common enemy. America was betrayed by its government as the president lied to Americans about the virus. So many believed and continue to believe his lies. He didn’t want Americans to panic. But given the facts and some leadership Americans are able to fight and win any war. Trumps efforts to overturn the election are also infamous, yet so many stand behind him while ignoring the the danger to democracy and the pandemic.

Joe Biden is for the first time trying to unify the country around a common goal of wearing masks when out in public for 100 days to fight the spread of COVID-19. Back in 1941 people would have understood that as a patriotic duty. Today more than half the country will consider that an invasion of their rights. Americans are killing themselves by ignoring science and standing behind Trumps rhetoric of victim hood and hate.

Rudy’s Meltdown

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Rudy Giuliani held a press conference on Thursday November 18, 2020 in which he literally melted down. He was attempting to pith the conspiracy theory of wide spread voter fraud and in the process suffered a strange hair dye or mascara malfunction. As he spoke dye began running down his cheeks from his side burns as he sweated profusely. He blew his nose in a hanky from his breast pocket, folded it snot side out and began wiping his face.

He cited the 1980s movie My Cousin Vinny to reference the notion that pole inspectors were not close enough to see the votes being counted. He held up two fingers as the lawyer did in the movie when the witness with bad eyesight guessed wrong. All of the strange conspiracy theories aren’t with mentioning since they are not based in fact. Trump’s lawyers talk of “Fraud” outside the courtroom but inside the courtroom they stress that there is no fraud. Judges keep dismissing cases as baseless since no evidence is presented.

Even more outlandish than Rudy’s lies, Sidney Powell claimed that Georgia’s voting system software was part of a conspiracy involving former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who died back in 2013. She vowed that her conspiracy theories would “blow up” Georgia with a “biblical” lawsuit. This was even a step too far for Trump, his legal team, Giuliani and, Jenna Ellis  put out a statement Sunday November 22, 2020 that said, “Sidney Powell is practicing law on her own. She is not a member of the Trump legal team. She is also not a lawyer for the president in his personal capacity.” Trump himself tweeted last week that Powell was part of a team of “wonderful lawyers and representatives” spearheaded by Giuliani. What a national embarrassment. President Donald Trump is worried his campaign’s legal team, led by his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, is composed of “fools that are making him look bad,” NBC News reported. For once Trump is waking up to reality.

Trump has over 30 lawsuits on courts attempting to overthrow the election results. At least 25 have been denied, dismissed, settled or withdrawn. He won only two which allowed election inspectors to stand closer to the people counting votes. I would hate to be those counters having people breathing down your neck during a pandemic. No court has found even a single instance of fraud.

 

Putt the Lame Duck

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Joe Biden was elected president of the United States, but the lame duck Donald Trump is trying to tie up the transition of power with a glut of frivolous lawsuits. The lame ducks can do damage before slinking off on inauguration day, January 20, 2021. Things can get particularly dangerous in this time of COVID-19 crisis. Yesterday November 9, 2020 there were 135,574 new cases of COVID-19 with 1,345 deaths. There have been over 100,000 new cases every day since the election. With the lame duck in charge over 100,000 more people may die before the presidential inauguration.

Trump could encourage the rise of violent domestic terrorists that refuse to accept the outcome of the election while continuing to spread misinformation that the election is being “stolen” from him. Don Jr. has advised him to start having more rallies to incite his “base” and promote the stolen election fraud.

Trump just fired Mark Esper, the countries defense secretary. There is no possible reason for the firing except revenge. Mark Esper apologized to the American people for being seen in the president’s photo opportunity outside the White House when peaceful protestors were gassed to allow Trump to pose with a bible in front of a church. Esper has fought back against using armed military against United States citizens. Esper also backed the idea of renaming military bases named after confederate generals, who like Trump lost the war. Foreign nations are aware of America’s vulnerability during a time of presidential transition and it makes no sense for our defense department to be in turmoil as Biden takes office in January. Trump loyalists are being installed in positions of power in the pentagon. The pentagon might be a hot spot for some radical changes in the next 71 days. It has the smell of Trump trying to create a police state after his loss. Mike Pompeo said in a press briefing today that there will be a second Trump term. Trump’s GOP sycophants seem to be enabling the former president’s fiction that he won the election. They support his fantasy with their silence, fearing death threats from Trump loyalists should they cross him.

Whatever happens in the next two month’s, you can expect Trump to continue his tirade of lies. According to the Washington Post’s analysis, President Trump has made false or misleading claims more than 20,000 times between January 20, 2016 and July 9, 2020. He is likely to issue blanket pardons for himself and his family and destroy any White House documents that could be incriminating.

Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud are causing a continued slip of Americans trust in government. That trust is hard to regain. White supremacists are fueled by Trumps ongoing rhetoric. The Department of Homeland Security finds these domestic terrorists to be the most “persistent and lethal threat” in the US.

I frankly am hopeful that I will no longer have to pay attention to the lame duck grifter.

 

Winter Is Coming

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The next two months are going to be the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 100,000 cases have been reported every day since the election. The numbers are going to continue to climb in the next two months until we look back at 100,000 cases a day as the base of the mountain.

There’s a delay between case spikes and death spikes, which means there will be more deaths in the coming weeks and months. Though Joe Biden won the election, this is still Trump’s pandemic for the next two months until Joe is sworn in on January 20, 20201.

About 1,000 plus people are dying a day now and with 73 days until the January 20, 2021 inauguration that means at least  73,000 more deaths before Biden in sworn in. Since the numbers will rise with no control measures from the Trump administration, it is possible for over 100,000 deaths before the inauguration.

The nation is fatigued from seven months of the virus and many are letting their guard down. As we face Thanksgiving and Christmas families want to gather to celebrate and break bread together. Unfortunately, it is exactly these small family gatherings which help spread the virus. Experts are pleading, “Please don’t gather with more than a few carefully chosen people.” Gathering around the table with family for a holiday meal is one of the riskiest things to do this holiday. It is particularly risky since it involves several generations of people who could transmit the virus.

Trump has refused to concedes his loss. We face the following months with a president who is vindictive and abusive. Emily W. Murphy, a Trump appointee, has yet to sign off on a key document needed to formally begin the transition process. Trump is likely to execute a scorched earth policy making it difficult for the next administration to attach the health crisis from day one. Joe Biden has a COVID-19 task force picked out but they are on hold until Trump allows them work work along side his gutted COVID-19 task force.

On person on Biden’s task force is Rick Bright who tried to warn the Trump administration about the dangers of the virus. Back in May he warned that “2020 could be the darkest winter in modern history.” He damn well got that right.  Rick was demoted when he blew the whistle on the Trump administration when they tied to flood the streets with  an unproven drug touted by Trump, Hydroxychloroquine. The malaria drug was proven to have no benefit for COID-19 patients and in some cases was lethal. Had the administration listened to Rick Bright at the beginning of the pandemic, thousands of lives could have been saved.

Election Night Super Spreader

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White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows upstaged the petulant Donald Trump on Election Night. That night, I went to bed knowing full well that the results would take time to count. As I slept it turns out, Trump decided to hold a party in the White House where he threatened democracy by claiming he had won long before the votes had been counted. His fascist authoritarian announcement was pulled off the air by the networks since he was lying. News anchors reacted in horror at this small man’s predictable behavior. Twitter had to block his tweets which were also voter fraud.

Trump’s fascist party in the east room of the White House, was overshadowed by his chief of staff, Mark Meadows who tested positive for COVID-19 the day the after election night bash. The mask less Mark mixed and mingled at the indoor event which consisted of about 400 of Trumps ardent supporters, donors and staff. Despite health officials’ warnings about the risks of large gatherings amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump has continued to bring big groups of people together for outdoor campaign rallies and events at the White House.

The White House has become America’s most famous super spreader hot spot. The White House has been close lipped about exactly how many have contracted the virus in the White House but at least 5 staff have made their illness public. Mark Meadows is infamous for being dismissive of wearing masks. It was Mark who tried to keep news of the White House outbreak from becoming public. When he approached reporters in the White House halls, he took off his mask to speak and reporters reacted in horror. He stomped off refusing to speak to reporters with the mask in place. Meadows was in close contact with President Donald Trump after the president was diagnosed with Covid-19 in early October. Until now he had avoided contracting the virus. Meadows famously announced that the administration was going to do nothing to control the spread of the virus. Essentially the Trump administration had thrown up the white flag of surrender. As he said, “The US would not be able to get the coronavirus under control “because it is a contagious virus.” It is quite simple to to get the pandemic under control, by wearing masks and not holding super spreader events.

Mark Meadows was front and center as hundreds gathered in the White House on election night. He usurped Trump as the super spreader in chief. Guests were reportedly tested before the event began, but, a negative test result doesn’t mean it is safe to mingle with others. Those who were in attendance Election Night are now at risk of having been infected. New cases of COVID-19 have surpassed 100,000 a day every day since the election. America is entering the darkest phase of the pandemic since it began.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the presidential election but they do not take over until January 20, 2021. That leaves us 72 days with a president who ignores the pandemic. We need Biden’s new COVID-19 task force to step up immediately to do something, anything. The two co-chairs of the incoming administration’s task force are Vivek Murthy, the former U.S. surgeon general, and David Kessler, the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.

Others infected at Election Night Super Spreader Party:

Brian Jack, White House political director

Healy Baumgardner, a former White House Aide

Ben Carson, Housung and Urban Development Secratary

David Bossie, directed election legal challenge

Before these recent cases, at least 28 Trump campaign officials had tested positive for COVID-19.

Treading Water

Posted on by Thor

As of this writing the election for the President of the United States is still up in the air. Even if Joe Biden is elected into office, he will not take office until January 20, 2021. That means the United States will go through two more months with no leadership when it comes to handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

We as a nation have to tread water during a huge spike in COVID-19 cases. The worst is ahead of us. Waiting for the election results feels like dropping below the waters surface.

By late November to early December each state has its own deadline to certify the election. However, if ballot disputes, litigation or other factors delay the count, blowing this deadline doesn’t invoke a penalty in the presidential race.

December 8, 2020 is the safe harbor deadline. Congress can no longer challenge any state electors.

December 14, 2020 is the date when electors are required to meet in their states and cast their ballots for President.

December 23, 2020 the states electors are supposed to transmit their votes to Congress by this date.

January 3, 2020 the new Congress is sworn in.

January 20, 2021 the Constitution says a new presidential term begins.

So, until January 20, 2021 Trump is in charge and likely ignoring the pandemic as he always has. Over 100,000 American are now being infected each day, which is a new record, and death rates continue to rise as hospitals are strained to their breaking points. In recent weeks, Dr. Birx and Dr. Fauci have become increasingly outspoken about the dangers of the president’s approach with the virus. Trump has pushed Birx and Fauci aside in favor of Dr. Atlas who is not an expert on infectious diseases and claimed masks do not work.  Masks do work, wear a mask.

If he’s elected, Biden’s COVID-19 advisory panel would work in parallel to President Trump’s diminished coronavirus task force. The task force would include former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler, New York University’s Dr. Celine Gounder, Yale’s Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, former Obama White House aide Dr. Zeke Emanuel and former Chicago Health Commissioner Dr. Julie Morita, who is now an executive vice president at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The team is expected to advise transition officials on managing the latest spike of Covid-19 cases, ensuring vaccines are safe, and protecting at risk populations. It is unclear how much this new task force can accomplish before the inauguration. The Biden transition team has also discussed contingency plans for the possibility that the Trump administration would refuse to cooperate and share information during a transition.

As of Election Day, the virus has killed more than 230,000 people in the U.S. and infected more than 9 million. In the 86 days until he inauguration, 100,000 more Americans will likely die from the virus if the president doesn’t shift course, said Dr. Robert Murphy, executive director of the Institute for Global Health at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, echoing estimates from other public health experts. Stay safe and keep treading water.

Robo Calls

Posted on by Thor

As I write this the presidential election is still up in the air with a very close race. On election day more than 3 million robo calls  were made to swing state voters. The message said, “stay safe and stay home.” This is possible voter  suppression and the FBI is investigating. This was on of many attempts too confuse voters on election day. The message, only  few seconds long was delivered in a monotone, robotic voice. Apparently robo calls are a scourge during every election.

Those in Texas were targeted in the lion’s share of the calls — more than 798,000 on Election Day according to, TelTech data. Robocalls targeted more than 534,000 numbers tied to area codes in Florida, a pivotal battleground state. More than 93,000 Pennsylvania numbers were selected, as were 89,000 in Michigan and 60,000 in North Carolina. Residents in Flint, Michigan got robo calls encouraging them to vote on Wednesday November 4, 2020 to avoid the long lines on Election Day.

If the calls originated in the United States they should be able to track down the source, but if they originated from overseas, it becomes impossible to track the calls. I got several robo calls on election day, but I answer with my name and a quick salutation, if there is no reply, I immediately hang up. I don’t have patience for that shit. It is interesting that on this site, I often run the hashtags, #StayHome, #SaveLives, #StoptheSpread but I decided that on election day I would not run them. I will be running them again on this post.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, tweeted Tuesday afternoon: “Attempts to hinder voters from casting ballots by spreading misinformation is illegal and will not be tolerated. That’s why I am actively investigating robocalls allegedly spreading disinformation.”

Donald Trump has said that Republicans would ‘never’ be elected again if it was easier to vote. A robo call already existed threatening people who expressed negative views of Trump on social media.

VOTE

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VOTE.

Dr. Michael Osterholm said on “Meet the Press,  COVID-19 will rage “like a forest fire” in the U.S. Trump has no clear plan to deal with it, and has regressed to a dismissive, “pre-pandemic” attitude. “I don’t think that this is going to slow down. Wherever there is wood to burn, this fire is going to burn.  I think we’re going to just see one very, very difficult forest fire of cases.”

Trump has surrendered to COVID-19 with no sane plan.

The Biden Harris ticket have a seven point plan,

  • Testing as many people per day as are currently tested per week by doubling the number of testing sites in the U.S.; investing in rapid and at-home tests; creating a Pandemic Testing Board to oversee test production; and building out a 100,000-person national contact tracing workforce that would collaborate with community groups.
  • Ramping up production of personal protective equipment like masks and face shields.
  • Working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to produce clear guidance for businesses, schools and other facilities trying to reopen, accompanied by government funding for businesses, schools and state and local governments.
  • Creating (and investing $25 billion in) a vaccine production-and-distribution plan that ensures free and equitable access, while allowing scientists to clearly communicate progress with the public.
  • Protecting vulnerable populations like the elderly and people of color, including through a COVID-19 Racial and Ethnic Disparities Task Force, and publishing a real-time data dashboard that provides local information about the outbreak.
  • Restoring the White House office responsible for monitoring global health risks, which Trump disbanded in its original form in 2018, and rejoining the World Health Organization, among other efforts to strengthen the U.S.’ global health response.
  • Encouraging universal masking by urging governors and local lawmakers to enforce mandates.

VOTE.

Stranded

Posted on by Thor

Hundreds of Trump supporters were left stranded in the cold after a Trump rally at Eppley Airfield in Omaha Nebraska. After Air Force One took off, the nightmare had just begun for many. Parking for the rally was four miles away and people had to wait for hours hoping buses would get them back to the lots. Many started walking to their cars further clogging the roads. The Trump campaign said “local road closures and resulting congestion caused delays.” No campaign staff were on site to help with the chaotic scene that unfolded.

An Omaha police officer shook his head and said, “We need at least 30 more buses.” Police assisted in giving the elderly and infirm rides to their cars. According to preliminary reports from that night, 30 people were contacted by emergency personnel for medical reasons and seven were transported to hospitals “with a variety of medical conditions.” News reports indicated that temperature, with wind chill, dropped into the 20s. Seven people were hospitalized for hypothermia.

A post on Instagram summed up the situation neatly, “I see people wearing coats and hats. I did my own research and found out that only 1500 people die of hypothermia in the US each year. That’s only 0.0005% of the population. The rally goers fear something that 99.9995% of people won’t die from. Many who died from hypothermia were wearing coats and hats, and they still died! Coats don’t work.” It seems strange that so many at the Omaha Rally did not have masks to help keep their face warm.

In another extreme, a dozen people from a Trump Rally in Tampa Florida were taken to a hospital possibly due to heat exhaustion, On person fainted and another had a seizure. The other 10 who were taken to the hospital were listed as “sick” with no other details.

More important is the fact that Trump Rally’s leave infectious spikes in their wake. Donny is acting like Johnnie Appleseed spreading the virus all over the country. A CNN investigation found that 82% of Trump Rally sites had an increased rate of new Covid-19 cases one month after the rally. In 10 counties, the new rates of infection were growing faster than the overall rate for the state. After the September 18 Trump rally in Bemidji, Minnesota the infection rate jumped by more than 385%.

Over 91.000 new cases of COVID-19 were reported on Thursday October 29, 2020 which is the highest number of new cases in a single day since the pandemic began. To say Trump is acting irresponsibly is a massive understatement. New studies have found that if this pandemic remains unchecked then more than 400,000 could be dead by February 1, 2021. Unlike the two previous waves, the virus is now affecting every corner of the country.

A Stanford study has found that Trump rally’s have been linked to 30,000 cases and over 700 deaths. Trump has become very effective a killing off his base.