;)
The Commentariat -- August 10, 2021
Afternoon Update:
Marie: 12:04 pm ET: Sounds like Cuomo is about to quit. 12:06 pm ET: Yup! ~~~
~~~ New York Times: "Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York said on Tuesday he would resign from office, succumbing to a ballooning sexual harassment scandal that fueled an astonishing reversal of fortune for one of the nation's best-known leaders. Mr. Cuomo said his resignation would be effective in 14 days. Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, will be sworn in to replace him. She will become the first female governor of New York." This is an item in a live update of New York regional developments. The AP's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Michael Scherer & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced his resignation Tuesday in an effort to head off a looming impeachment effort in the state Assembly after a state investigation found he sexually harassed 11 women and oversaw an unlawful attempt to exact retribution against one of his accusers. 'Wasting energy on distractions is the last thing that state government should be doing,' Cuomo said in a video address. 'And I cannot be the cause of that.... Given the circumstances the best way I can help now is to step aside and let government get back to governing,' he added.He said his resignation will be effective in 14 days. Cuomo will be replaced by Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), who will be New York's first female governor and will serve out the rest of the term until the next election in November 2022." MB: As Tom Winter Ron Allen of NBC News pointed out, the last legislature could still impeach & convict him.
Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "The Senate gave overwhelming bipartisan approval to a $1 trillion infrastructure bill on Tuesday to rebuild the nation's deteriorating roads and bridges and fund new climate resilience and broadband initiatives, delivering a key component of President Biden's agenda. The legislation would be the largest infusion of federal investment into infrastructure projects in more than a decade, touching nearly every facet of the American economy and fortifying the nation's response to the warming of the planet. It would provide historic levels of funding for the modernization of the nation's power grid and projects to better manage climate risks, as well as pour hundreds of billions of dollars into the repair and replacement of aging public works projects. The vote, 69-30, was uncommonly bipartisan; the yes votes included Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate Republican leader, and 18 other Republicans who shrugged off increasingly shrill efforts by ... Donald Trump to derail it. But the measure now faces a potentially rocky and time-consuming path in the House, where the speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and the nearly 100-member Progressive Caucus, have said they will not vote on it unless and until the Senate passes a separate, even more ambitious $3.5 trillion social policy bill this fall."
~~~~~~~~~~
Jeff Schogol of Task & Purpose: "The security situation in Afghanistan is so bad that the U.S. Air Force has brought out some of its biggest guns in an attempt to stop the Taliban's blitzkrieg throughout the country. The U.S. Air Force has committed B-52 bombers and AC-130 gunships to support Afghan forces on the ground, Task & Purpose has confirmed. The Times of London was first to report about those U.S. aircraft being used to conduct airstrikes in Afghanistan."
Katie Rogers, et al., of the New York Times: &"The Biden administration, under pressure from families of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, said on Monday that it intended to disclose some long-classified documents that the families think could detail connections between the government of Saudi Arabia and the hijackers who carried out the attacks. In a court filing in long-running litigation brought by the victims' families against Saudi Arabia, the Justice Department said that the F.B.I. 'recently' closed a portion of its investigation into the terrorist attacks and was beginning a review of documents that it had previously said must remain secret with an eye toward disclosing more of them."
Camilo Montoya-Gomez of CBS News: "Lawyers representing children in U.S. immigration custody asked a federal court on Monday to order the release of migrant teenagers from two emergency housing sites in Texas where minors have reported mental distress, substandard conditions, prolonged stays and inadequate services. In their lawsuit before the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, the attorneys accused the Biden administration of violating the 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement and its rules regarding the treatment of migrant children, which the federal government is legally obliged to follow. At the center of the 31-page complaint are two makeshift housing facilities for unaccompanied migrant children that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) established this spring at the Fort Bliss U.S. Army base and a camp for oil workers in Pecos, a remote town in west Texas."
Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Democrats formally began their push on Monday for the most significant expansion of the nation's social safety net since the Great Society of the 1960s, unveiling a budget blueprint that would spend $3.5 trillion on health care, child and elder care, education and climate change. The budget resolution, which Senate Democrats hope to pass by the end of this week, would allow the caucus to piece together social policy legislation this fall, paid for by raising taxes on the wealthy, large inheritances and corporations. Should all 50 senators who caucus with Democrats hold together, the measure could pass the Senate without a Republican vote, nullifying the filibuster threat. Democrats plan to take up the measure as soon as the Senate approves a separate $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill as early as Tuesday morning. Together, the measures could secure virtually all of President Biden's $4 trillion economic agenda, rebuilding the nation's roads, bridges, rail lines, water systems and electricity grid while expanding public education, social welfare and health care -- and remaking the federal tax code." ~~~
~~~ Jennifer Scholtes & Caitlin Emma of Politico: "Senate Democrats released a $3.5 trillion budget on Monday morning that doesn't tackle the imminent need to raise the debt ceiling, setting the stage for a dramatic standoff with Republicans this fall. The exclusion of debt limit language amounts to a political gamble..., with the Treasury Department expected to run dry on its borrowing limit in the coming weeks. Senate Republicans have already warned that they won't give Democrats the votes needed to approach the issue on a bipartisan basis, which means that the debt limit's omission from the budget tees up a future cross-aisle fight over the debt." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ The Sky Is Falling as Senators Play Chicken. Burgess Everett, et al., of Politico: "With the threat of default on the nation's $28 trillion debt awaiting this fall, Democrats are going ahead with plans to exclude raising the federal borrowing limit from their party-line $3.5 trillion budget bill. Instead, they are counting on the Senate minority leader to provide them the GOP votes they need to overcome a filibuster and avert economic disaster. But [Mitch] McConnell is not budging.... [So] Either [Democrats] pass a debt increase on party lines or potentially own the toxic politics of a credit default as Republicans stand on the sidelines. But Democrats are betting ... McConnell's side will blink."
Burgess Everett & Marianne Levine of Politico: "President Joe Biden's bipartisan infrastructure deal cleared its final serious Senate hurdle Sunday night, putting the legislation on a glide path to passage as soon as late Monday. In a 68-29 vote, the Senate closed down debate on a bill negotiated by a bipartisan group of 10 senators that spends $550 billion in new money on the nation's physical infrastructure. Sunday's vote came after senators spent the weekend haggling over amendments and time agreements to consider them." (Also linked yesterday.)
Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times points out that the filibuster means that only bills that address situations that are largely uncontroversial can pass the Senate; thus the federal government is powerless to handle all those matters in which the Senate minority disagrees with the majority. And that's no way to run a government. Therefore, a bipartisan infrastructure bill, which is about to pass the Senate, is not very impressive in a country where many bridges & roads have been crumbling for decades. ~~~
~~~ Marie: It's as if Bernie Sanders & Rand Paul take an excursion into the Atlantic on Joe Manchin's houseboat and some catastrophe occurs, leaving Bernie & Li'l Randy in a lifeboat together. Li'l Randy screams, "My God, we're going to die!" and Bernie says, "Here, take this paddle & together we'll row to shore. I have a heart condition & I can't manage it by myself." Upon penalty of death, Randy decides not to filibuster Bernie's proposal, and the two row to safety. You would not really credit Randy with a magnificent gesture of bipartisanship, would you?
Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: An honest assessment: "... Trump ally and Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo ... pressed [Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND)] on whether he was 'betraying the Republican base' [by voting for the infrastructure bill, which Trump opposes.]... 'Well, he didn't give one reaso[n] it's a bad deal, other than it's Joe Biden's,' Cramer said."B.S.: "'I have encouraged President Trump to take credit for this,' [Sen Rob] Portman [R-Ohio] said last week on CNN. 'President Trump's effort to raise the level of awareness about the need for infrastructure improvement should help us get this done. You know, he proposed a $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill.' Congrats, Mr. Former President. This thing you now oppose is your handiwork."
A Very Good Question. Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A federal judge on Monday questioned why U.S. prosecutors are asking Capitol riot defendants to pay only $1.5 million in restitution while American taxpayers are paying more than $500 million to cover the costs of the Jan. 6 attack by a pro-Trump mob. Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell of Washington challenged the toughness of the Justice Department's stance in a plea hearing for a Colorado Springs man who admitted to one of four nonviolent misdemeanor counts of picketing in the U.S. Capitol. Howell has already asked in another defendant's plea hearing whether no-prison misdemeanor plea deals offered by the government are too lenient for individuals involved in 'terrorizing members of Congress,' asking pointedly whether the government had 'any concern about deterrence?'... Assistant U.S. Attorney Clayton Henry O'Connor told Howell the government would explain how it computed the damage and restitution estimate before October.... Prosecutors gave few details in early June when they put a price tag for the first time on damage done to the Capitol in the riots, saying in court filings that as of mid-May the sum totaled 'approximately $1,495,326.55.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: This is about the DOJ treading lightly on nice, white, Christian men/Republicans.
Meet Your Trump Supporter. John Wright of the Raw Story: "A Virginia man who was filmed destroying media equipment during the Capitol insurrection has been re-arrested on charges that he strangled a family member. Now, federal prosecutors are asking a judge to revoke a bond that was granted to 39-year-old Joshua Dillon Haynes so that he remains behind bars while awaiting trial on six federal charges related to the insurrection, the Roanoke Times reports. 'There is probable cause to believe that the defendant committed multiple violations of state law while he was on home incarceration for his criminal conduct on Jan. 6,' federal prosecutors wrote in a motion filed Friday, arguing that he poses a danger to the public and has a 'lengthy pattern of abusive conduct.'"
Tim Miller of the (right-wing) Bulwark: "After months of being promised by the former President and his stooges that Dominion Voting Systems had RIGGED the election, we finally have our first credible investigation into voting machine tampering. The lede in Monday's Grand Junction Sentinel brings the Kraken: 'The Mesa County Clerk's Office is under investigation ... for a breach in security over its election system.'... The clerk who is under investigation for tampering with the county election system is Tina Peters, a fervent supporter of Donald Trump and amateur vaccine science aficionado.... In short, in an attempt to demonstrate that Donald Trump was still the rightful president, a county clerk tweeted that the election machines she was in charge of overseeing were in fact vulnerable, and in order to prove it someone in her office allegedly carried out the very breach she was falsely claiming must have been committed by anti-Trump forces." ~~~
~~~ Derek Muller of the Election Law Blog has a bit more.
The Oracle of D.C. Philip Bump of the Washington Post writes about how the latest Homeland Security assessment is that "Some conspiracy theories associated with reinstating former President Trump have included calls for violence if desired outcomes are not realized [in August]." Bump writes, "But then I remember an article I wrote on Aug. 31, 2020, called, 'The dangerous overconfidence of Trump supporters.' I outlined what might happen in the aftermath of last year's election:
"Biden's campaign and other officials will encourage people to be patient, with hundreds of thousands of votes still outstanding. But what will many Trump supporters hear? They'll hear the apparent loser of the race and his 'allies' in the media rejecting what they know to be true -- that Trump won in a landslide. They'll hear that Trump's win ... is being targeted with fraudulent mail ballots. They'll hear that what Trump said would happen is, in fact happening. What happens next? If recent weeks are any indication, tension may erupt into violence." Emphasis added.
Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "Britain's Prince Andrew has been sued in New York by a woman who said she was forced to have sexual encounters with the prominent royal while she was trafficked beginning at age 16 by his friend Jeffrey Epstein, including at the late sex offender's sprawling mansion in Manhattan. Virginia Giuffre's lawsuit was filed in federal court in Manhattan on Monday, citing the state's Child Victims Act, legislation passed several years ago that extended the statute of limitations for adults who were allegedly abused as children to sue. The lawsuit was filed just as Giuffre's Aug. 14 deadline to do so was nearing."
The Pandemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here: "The United States is averaging more than 124,000 new virus cases each day, more than double compared with two weeks ago and the highest rate since early February, according to a New York Times database. Hospitals in hot spots around the country are approaching capacity." The item titled "As the Delta variant tears ..." provides a particularly good round-up of what's going on across the U.S. ~~~
I strongly support Secretary Austin's message to the Force today on the Department of Defense's plan to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of required vaccinations for our service members not later than mid-September. -- President Joe Biden, in a statement Monday ~~~
~~~ Ellen Mitchell of the Hill: "The Pentagon will require all military personnel to get the COVID-19 vaccine by Sept. 15, according to a new memo from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, released Monday. 'I will seek the president's approval to make the vaccines mandatory no later than mid-September, or immediately upon' final approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 'whichever comes first,' Austin wrote in the memo to troops. He added that Pentagon officials 'will also be keeping a close eye on infection rates,' currently on the rise now due to the highly contagious delta variant. If the rates begin to impact military readiness, 'I will not hesitate to act sooner or recommend a different course to the President if l feel the need to do so. To defend this Nation, we need a healthy and ready force.'" The AP's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Monday are here: "The battle waged by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) against mask and vaccine mandates is facing challenges on multiple fronts. His ban on vaccine passports was temporarily blocked by a federal judge late Sunday: Norwegian Cruise Line was cleared to require coronavirus vaccines for guests and crew members.... The head of the country's second-largest teachers union on Sunday shifted course to signal support for vaccine mandates for teachers to protect students, especially those under 12 who are not old enough to be inoculated. A group of parents of disabled children in Florida sued Friday to block the state's ban on mask mandates in schools. Florida education officials moved the same day to give students access to a state voucher program that helps pay for private tuition if their public schools require masks -- an acknowledgment that some schools in the state are moving ahead with mask mandates despite the law." (Also linked yesterday.)
Florida. Joseph Choi of the Hill: "In his ongoing crusade against mask mandates in schools, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced on Monday that the Florida Board of Education could withhold the salaries of superintendents and school board members who defy his ban on facial coverings.... His office [said] that DeSantis's priorities were 'protecting parents' rights' and 'ensuring that every student has access to a high-quality education that meets their unique needs.'... The Florida governor has already threatened to cut off funding to schools that enact mask mandates for students." ~~~
~~~ DeSantis Doubles Down on Killing off Sea-Going Vacationers. Taylor Dolvin of the Miami Herald: "Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings secured a win in federal court Sunday allowing it to require passengers provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination..., [but] Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has championed the new state law that bars companies from requiring vaccination proof from patrons, is vowing to appeal. Other cruise companies said Monday they are assessing what the ruling means for their cruises, which are already underway in Florida."
Texas. Annette Nevins & Laura Meckler of the Washington Post: "Dallas city school leaders defied their governor Monday, announcing that students and staff will be required to wear masks in school buildings as coronavirus cases spike across the region and state. The announcement from the Dallas Independent School District, delivered hours after some schools began for the year, came despite a statewide ban in Texas on such mandates. Last month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) issued an executive order barring government entities -- including public schools -- from mandating masks or vaccines. As virus caseloads have skyrocketed, the governor has declined to modify the policy.... Dallas is the first Texas school district to defy the governor's order. Last week, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner did the same, saying city employees would be required to wear masks in situations where they are unable to socially distance themselves from others." ~~~
~~~ When the Left Hand Has No Idea What the Right Hand Is Doing. Patrick Svitek of the Texas Tribune: "Gov. Greg Abbott announced new moves Monday to fight the coronavirus pandemic as it rages again in Texas, including asking hospitals to again put off certain elective procedures to free up space for COVID-19 patients. Still, the governor did not back down on his refusal to institute any new statewide restrictions on businesses or to let local governments and schools mandate masks or vaccines."
New York. Michael Scherer, et al., of the Washington Post: "New York Assembly leaders pledged Monday to finish the initial stage of their impeachment inquiry of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in the next several weeks.... One adviser said the three-term governor was adopting a strategy of seeking to 'buy time' so he can make a case to the legislature that his actions do not warrant removal from office. The adviser ... said Cuomo is unwilling to listen to a chorus of calls from advisers urging him to step down.... Monday saw signs of escalating repercussions for Cuomo allies, as the advocacy groups Human Rights Campaign and Time's Up contended with mounting internal tensions over the involvement of their leaders in the governor's efforts to discredit one of his accusers." ~~~
~~~ Graham Kates & Caroline Linton of CBS News: "New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said Monday that the goal of the Judiciary Committee's impeachment inquiry into Governor Andrew Cuomo is to conclude 'all due haste.' The committee last week sent a letter to Cuomo's legal team asking him to provide any additional evidence before it concludes its inquiry on August 13.... At the start of Monday's hearing, Judiciary Committee chair Charles Lavine called the allegations in [State AG Letitia] James' report 'deeply disturbing' and said the committee will review the report in addition to its own findings." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Jodi Kantor & Michael Gold of the New York Times: "The fallout from a damaging report that found Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women widened on Monday when Roberta A. Kaplan, a nationally prominent lawyer with ties to the governor, resigned from Time's Up, the organization founded by Hollywood women to fight sexual abuse and promote gender equality. Ms. Kaplan, the chairwoman of Time's Up and the co-founder of its legal defense fund, was one of several prominent figures whom the report found to be involved in an effort to discredit one of Mr. Cuomo's alleged victims, and she has continuing legal ties to a former Cuomo aide accused of leading that effort." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post -- even as she praises the tiny local Albany Times Union for its coverage of Andrew Cuomo's scandals -- takes CNN & Chris Cuomo to the woodshed for the way the network & its 9 pm host have "handled" Brother Andrew's moral crises. ~~~
~~~ So Then ... Erik Wemple of the Washington Post takes down Brian Stelter, host of CNN's "Reliable Sources" for whitewashing CNN's handling of the Cuomo dilemma "in a way that had to delight the network's PR operation.... The AG report, of course, focuses on Andrew Cuomo's conduct, not Chris Cuomo's. That's why CNN needs to commission a report of its own to determine just how its star anchor fit into this sexual harassment pushback effort."
New York. Jonah Bromwich & Troy Closson of the New York Times: "[Carlton] Roman, who was 26 when he was arrested [for murder in 1989], and [Christipher] Ellis, who was 20 [when he was arrested for murder in 1990], were incarcerated for more than three decades, spending their 30th, 40th and 50th birthdays behind bars. On Monday, the two men, both of whom are Black, were freed by state judges in courtrooms 11 miles apart who found they had been unjustly convicted. Mr. Roman was charged with murder and attempted murder in 1989, as a college graduate and honors student who had no criminal record and a fiancée who corroborated his whereabouts at the time of the fatal shooting. He was sent to prison largely because of the testimony of two men who his lawyer said were involved in the drug trade. Mr. Ellis ... was convicted of murder and armed robbery in 1992. His conviction was vacated last month, after his lawyer argued that the police had concealed multiple murder suspects from defense lawyers and prosecutors, and had also failed to tell prosecutors about a witness who denied that Mr. Ellis was present at the time of the murder."
Texas. James Barragán of the Texas Tribune: "A state district judge in Travis County issued an order blocking the arrest of House Democrats who have broken quorum by leaving the state, paving the way for those who remain outside of Texas to return home without threat of apprehension. State District Judge Brad Urrutia, a Democrat, granted the temporary restraining order late Sunday night restricting Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dade Phelan from 'detaining, confining or otherwise restricting' the free movement of House Democrats within the state or issuing any warrants ordering their confinement. The order expires in 14 days unless extended by Urrutia. The court will hear arguments on a temporary injunction on Aug. 20, and Abbott and Phelan must show why a temporary injunction should not be filed against them." (Also linked yesterday.)
News Lede
AP: "U.S. employers posted a record 10.1 million job openings in June, another sign that the job market and economy are bouncing back briskly from last year's coronavirus shutdowns. Job openings rose from 9.5 million in May, the Labor Department reported Monday. Employers hired 6.7 million workers in June, up from 6 million in May. The gap between openings and hiring suggests that firms are scrambling to find workers."
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Reader Comments (10)
Here's the story Marie's been waiting for:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/08/10/rick-astley-rickroll-youtube/
One billion Rickrolls and counting.
TWO PEAS IN A POD:
Abbott and DeSantis: How long do we have to wait until both these numskulls are fried to a crisp? In their state of play they defy anything that resembles a state of normal behavior. It boggles the mind!
I think the only way this country will ever reach herd immunity
would be to pay the last guy, who lives at Mar-A-Lardo, to go on
the TV, probably Faux News, and convince all those anti-vaxers
who cling to his every word that it will help him get back into
office if they live to vote for him in the future.
How many millions of $ would it cost us taxpayers?
Or maybe just his ego would lead him to do it for those who
worship him.
PD: Abbott and DeSantis are the yes-men who still sucked up to Hilter as the Soviet tanks were rumbling through Berlin. They are just who we have to go through to get to Nirvana.
In the interest of not using one click to support Faux and Murdoch: if you type in Rashida Tlaib on Google, the first hits are Murdoch owned outlets. Same thing for Obama. Every time someone clicks on those Murdoch owned stories, Murdoch becomes more powerful.
The penalties for malfeasance and criminal activity need an update. Whether it is the judge questioning the slap on the wrist fines for January 6 insurrectionists, or a prosecutor who throws college educated black men into jail while concealing evidence, or Jeff Epstein/Leon Black, or god knows what; the punishments are far trailing the crimes. Go read about Steve Penny at USA Gymnastics and tell me some bastard doesn't need to be throttled.
Let ‘em Burn
There comes a time in any contest where it all comes down to a battle of wills. One dead giveaway that the other side is losing it is desperation. The haters, morons, anti-vaxxers, Trump ass kissers are getting there quickly. Fear is a big weapon for these assholes, but they are ALL essentially cowards. Remember when Loofah Boy O’Reilly would be losing an argument? Remember what he’d do? He’d start screaming “Shut up, shut up, shut up!” or he’d threaten to punch someone or just get up and storm off the set.
That’s the fear.
This is why confederates avoid any form of rational discussion the same way they run from responsibility. Fear.
And fear makes you desperate. Trump’s fear of losing, of looking like a sad sack, ass-kicked-hard loser pushed him to attempt a coup, to overthrow a fair election, and it created the conditions in the minds of his fearful foot soldiers who see their dreams of eternal white guy dominance disappearing with each vote cast against them for a violent attempted putsch.
The way to win in a democracy is to make a case for your worldview, get enough people on your side and get them to vote for you.
But that’s not how Republicans work. Deep down, they know their days are numbered. So, what to do? Cheat, finagle, subvert, lie, steal elections. And if that doesn’t work, go for the guns.
But there’s fear in that direction too. Fear of looking like lying, anti-American, democracy despising traitors. So, they have to pretend, like Trump, that they’re breaking out the guns and keeping legitimate voters from casting ballots because they’re SAVING democracy.
Same with this COVID nonsense. We have DeSantis threatening people’s livelihoods if they dare to cross him. Down in Texas, Abbott still wants to look tough, but he also has this terrible feeling that hospitals are filling up with his supporters and soon another 100,000 or 200,000 may be dead. And they won’t be Democrats this time (Jared, you piece of shit).
Then there’s little senator What About Me? In his attempt to remain vaguely relevant with the morons, the littlest moron makes a call to stand against science.
Okay, shithead. You can go back to mowing the lawn now.
These people are right to be afraid. Their zeal to own the libs propels them down plenty of rocky roads. Policy battles are one thing. But this is science. This is nature taking its course, doing what it always does.
They’ll never win this fight, but they can, and will, die trying. Sinister motherfuckers like DeSantis and Rand Paul who feel like they can pile up political capital by convincing people to die for them will lose eventually.
Fear. You can smell it. The more fearful, the more desperate. But they ain’t gonna beat the virus with t-shirts, guns, and slogans. As more of them start to die, there should be a backlash. And if there isn’t, and more of them drop dead from stupidity and from following evil liars, its all jake with me.
In the movie “Saving Private Ryan”, there’s a moment after the Allies break through at Normandy where they roust some Nazis hidden in a bunker. They cook them with a flame thrower. As the fiery, screaming figures run out, someone says, in the wake of losing many of his comrades to their enemies, “Don’t shoot ‘em. Let ‘em burn”. In other words, don’t put them out of their misery. Their belief in evil leaders that wrought such devastation on the world brought them to this end.
Same with these soon to be dead anti-vaxxers.
Let ‘em burn.
The problem I'm seeing with C-19 vaccination in my little county with a 38% vaccination rate isn't anti-vaxxers. It's people who are afraid of the vaccine and those who believe God will protect them.
One comment I've heard is "It can't be any good since they're giving it away".
@BoLe, are those the same people that eagerly scarf down the free sausage samples at Walmart?
@Bobby Lee: A hilarious excuse. But it's probably better than one I read where 25% of the unvaccinated were using several months ago: "It's too expensive."
Fuck ‘em. Let ‘em burn. No charge. Except to all the rest of us who have to pay for their hospital stay until they’re carted out.
I’m thinking we need to take a page from the Union playbook during the Civil War. Union soldiers killed by traitors were buried in the front yard of the traitor Robert E. Lee’s mansion in Virginia. That burial site eventually became Arlington Cemetery.
From here in out, those who die of COVID in red states whose governors fight against proper public health mandates, should be buried on their property. In Florida, that will become akin to a murderous zombie apocalypse very quickly, so the overflow morons that don’t fit in the DeSantis mansion’s yard should be buried at Marred a Lardo, with pictures of Fatty smirking over their graves.
The Lincoln Project takes on once again these strange pod people who have emerged like rats after a heavy rain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVIZyHzkYHs