The Evening Blues - 5-5-20



eb1pt12


The day's news roundup + tonight's musical feature: Clarence Garlow

Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features Texas blues and cajun guitarist Clarence Garlow. Enjoy!

Clarence Garlow & Anna Mae Rogers - I Called You Up Daddy

"The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face for the urge to rule it."

-- H.L. Mencken


News and Opinion

It’s Crucial to Distinguish Between Can’t and Won’t—With a Million Lives at Stake

In a story predicting two more years for the coronavirus pandemic, CNN (5/1/20) quotes Michael Osterholm, who directs the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota: “This thing’s not going to stop until it infects 60 to 70% of people,” he said. “The idea that this is going to be done soon defies microbiology.”

CNN should note that accepting a 60–70% infection rate means accepting a million deaths or more, assuming a fatality rate of 0.5%—which may be a conservative estimate.

The network should also note that it’s not a law of microbiology that requires that we allow the coronavirus to infect hundreds of millions of people, but a choice made by governments—as the varied results obtained by different countries demonstrate.

There’s a usually unspoken assumption that the US just can’t do what China did—which was to pursue a strategy based not just on discouraging but on halting transmission of the coronavirus. It can’t be that quarantines are seen as incompatible with democracy; we have quarantines, after all. The idea seems to be that effective quarantines are incompatible with democracy—but that’s not true either, as nations with elected governments like New Zealand and Taiwan have also managed to bring new cases down to near zero.

It may be unlikely that the United States will summon the political will to implement a realistic plan for not just delaying, but stopping Covid-19. But it’s crucial for media reporting on options in the fight against the outbreak to distinguish between can’t and won’t—especially when the other option is letting a million people die.

China Thinks Backlash to Its Coronavirus Response Could Lead to All-Out War With the U.S.

The global wave of anti-Chinese sentiment being driven by the Trump administration has led officials in Beijing to warn their government to prepare for armed conflict with the U.S.

That was the finding presented to China’s top leaders, including President Xi Jinping, last month in a confidential report prepared by Beijing’s Ministry of State Security, according to sources with knowledge of the report’s contents who spoke to Reuters.

The document lays out how anti-Chinese sentiment has mirrored the rapid spread of coronavirus around the globe, concluding that hostility toward Beijing has not been this high since the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.

The report was written by the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), a think tank affiliated with the Ministry of State Security, China’s top intelligence body. The CICIR researchers conclude that the wave of anti-China sentiment was coming primarily from Washington, and that Beijing needs to be prepared for the worst-case scenario of armed confrontation between the two global powers.

'Speculative' lab origin theory further exacerbates US-China tensions

Trump and Pompeo’s “big lie”

In a modern-day version of the “big lie,” the Trump administration is claiming that the COVID-19 pandemic is the product of the deliberate actions of the Chinese government. On Sunday, President Donald Trump, in a “town hall” with Fox News, accused China of taking actions specifically intended to infect millions of Europeans and Americans. After repeating the false claim that the novel coronavirus originated in a research laboratory in Wuhan, which he said China tried to cover up, Trump declared: “They didn’t stop people going into the USA and all over the world... They said, hey look, this is going to have a huge impact on China, and we might as well let the rest of the world” become infected. ...

Such claims have been asserted repeatedly in recent days by top administration officials. On Sunday morning, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that there is “enormous evidence” that the virus originated in a Wuhan laboratory, adding, “Remember, China has a history of infecting the world.” In a separate interview Sunday, White House advisor Peter Navarro declared that China “seeded the world with what became the pandemic.” He added, “I did write a book in 2006 called The Coming China Wars. On page 150, I predicted that the Chinese Communist Party would create a viral pandemic that would kill millions of people worldwide. It is now beyond my wildest nightmare what China has inflicted on the world.”

These are brazen and unsubstantiated lies. Neither Trump, Pompeo, Navarro or anyone else has provided a shred of evidence to substantiate their claims.

The method recalls that of Nazi Germany, which collapsed 75 years ago this month. Hitler, who committed suicide on April 30, 1945, amid the rubble of the Third Reich, used it to justify the invasions of Poland and Czechoslovakia and other crimes. The aim of the “big lie” is to intimidate through its sheer brazenness. According to Wikipedia, it “is a propaganda technique and logical fallacy. The expression was coined by Adolf Hitler, when he dictated his 1925 book Mein Kampf, about the use of a lie so ‘colossal’ that no one would believe that someone ‘could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously.’”

Trump’s utilization of this method comes at the very point where the American government is abandoning any systematic effort to slow the spread of the pandemic, effectively allowing large sections of the population to become infected. The Trump administration is seeking to provide itself with an escape hatch. Whatever happens, it is China’s fault. Knowing that its program will lead to a rapid and substantial growth of fatalities, the White House is hoping that when the butcher’s bill of its disastrous policies comes due, it will be able to direct social tensions outward against China.

Fauci says there is no scientific evidence virus came from Chinese laboratory

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the foremost US expert on infections diseases and a key member of Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force, has said that there is no scientific basis for the theory that coronavirus was man-made in a Chinese laboratory, or escaped from a laboratory after being brought in from the wild.

Dr. Fauci told National Geographic, in an interview just published:

If you look at the evolution of the virus in bats and what’s out there now, [the scientific evidence] is very, very strongly leaning toward this could not have been artificially or deliberately manipulated … Everything about the stepwise evolution over time strongly indicates that [this virus] evolved in nature and then jumped species

Based on the scientific evidence, he also doesn’t entertain an alternate theory—that someone found the coronavirus in the wild, brought it to a lab, and then it accidentally escaped,” National Geographic reports

Five Eyes network contradicts theory Covid-19 leaked from lab

There is no current evidence to suggest that coronavirus leaked from a Chinese research laboratory, intelligence sources have told the Guardian, contradicting recent White House claims that there is growing proof this is how the pandemic began.

The sources also insisted that a “15-page dossier” highlighted by the Australian Daily Telegraph which accused China of a deadly cover up was not culled from intelligence from the Five Eyes network, an alliance between the UK, US, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

British and other Five Eyes agencies do believe that Beijing has not necessarily been open about how coronavirus initially spread in Wuhan at the turn of the year. But they are nervous about getting involved in an escalating international situation.

On Sunday Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, said: “I can tell you that there is a significant amount of evidence that this came from that laboratory in Wuhan.” No evidence was offered by Pompeo to back up his assertion but information has been circulating over the last month in the UK, US and Australia aimed at raising questions about the high security Wuhan Institute of Virology, which has long specialised in researching coronaviruses in horseshoe bats.

US refuses to extradite CIA agent who killed UK teen Harry Dunn

Brazil’s President Goes to War With Democratic Institutions — and Hopes the Military Has His Back

“Out with Congress, Supreme Court saboteurs! New anti-communist constitution! Criminalize communism!” read one banner. “Military intervention with Bolsonaro,” read another. A protester waved a sign outside the window of a car: “Weapons for upstanding citizens.” Hundreds of diehard, far-right protesters were gathered on Sunday in Brasília, the capital of Brazil, to rally against the quarantine imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus and in support of what would amount to a military coup against the legislature and judiciary. Multiple journalists were physically attacked. Among the speakers at the rally was President Jair Bolsonaro himself, who was also present at a similar protest two weeks earlier.

Bolsonaro and his allies have repeatedly insisted that these protests in favor of overthrowing the legislature and undermining the Supreme Court are “spontaneous movements” by average supporters, but the Supreme Court has opened an investigation into who is behind them. Multiple members of Congress aligned with the president are suspected of organizing the events, including Bolsonaro’s sons.

Bolsonaro, who favors reopening the country against the advice of public health experts, is increasingly at war with anyone in the government who does not bend their knee to him, which includes representatives of almost every democratic institution in the country — stoking fears that Brazil is accelerating its slide toward another dictatorship.

Meanwhile, the Federal Police are investigating Bolsonaro and his politician sons for multiple suspected crimes; his former political party has called for his impeachment; his former Justice Minister Sergio Moro gave an eight-hour deposition to investigators alleging that the president politically interfered in law enforcement institutions; the public prosecutor — a recent Bolsonaro appointee — has asked for an investigation into Moro’s allegations against Bolsonaro; Supreme Court ministers have blocked multiple actions he has attempted to take in recent days; and the commander of the army has publicly contradicted his coronavirus denialism. That’s just a sampling of the battles underway. With the deck stacked so high against him, Bolsonaro is not signaling defeat or moderation, but rather that he is willing to go all out on his war against Brazilian democracy.

Assange Hearing to Resume in September

Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled on Monday that the extradition hearing for WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange would likely resume for three weeks on Sept. 7 if a courtroom could be found, possibly outside London.

Assange’s lawyers had submitted a petition to delay the hearing, originally scheduled to resume on May 18, because of the difficulties of consulting with Assange and of having him appear either in the courtroom, or by video-link because of unsafe conditions in Belmarsh Prison’s video room.

Baraitser agreed to the postponement because she wants Assange to be physically present in the courtroom. He was unable to attend the brief hearing on Monday because he was “unwell,” Baraitser told the court.

Assange’s defense is expected to call 21 witnesses to the hearing, many who must travel from abroad. The prosecution also agreed to the postponement, saying it might be difficult for prosecutors to travel to London while lockdown conditions in both the U.S. and Britain persist.

'Time for the Agency to Come Clean': FCC Ordered to Release Detailed Data From Fake Net Neutrality Comments

Judge Lorna Schofield of the Southern District Court of New York has ordered the Federal Communications Commission to turn over server logs and other records pertaining to the fake comments that poured into the agency's system in 2017 as it moved to repeal net neutrality protections.

The New York Times sued the FCC in 2018 demanding that the agency release data logs that could shed light on who was behind the fake comments. The newspaper filed the lawsuit after the FCC refused to comply with a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the records on the grounds that revealing IP addresses from the fake comments would be an "unwarranted invasion of personal privacy."

But Schofield ruled (pdf) last Thursday that the FCC, headed by former Verizon attorney Ajit Pai, failed to make a "persuasive" case for withholding the information from the public and said the records could help determine whether the agency's comment process is "vulnerable to corruption."

"In this case, the public interest in disclosure is great because the importance of the comment process to agency rulemaking is great," Schofield wrote. "If genuine public comment is drowned out by a fraudulent facsimile, then the notice-and-comment process has failed." ...

The FCC's widely unpopular plan to repeal net neutrality protections, which took effect in 2018, garnered more than 22 million public comments. According to the New York attorney general's office, more than 9 million of the comments may have been submitted with stolen identities.

Gizmodo reported last year that "in May 2017, dozens of Americans came forward with claims that their identities had been used, without their consent, in a campaign to inundate the Federal Communications Commission with public comments critical of [net neutrality]."

"What was most curious, however, is that each of these people had supposedly submitted the very same comment; a veritable word salad of telecom industry talking points," Gizmodo reported. "In particular, the comment was a rebuke of the Obama administration's exercise of 'unprecedented regulatory power' in pursuit of net neutrality, a policy which it accused of 'smothering innovation, damaging the American economy, and obstructing job creation.'"

Krystal and Saagar: Amazon VP RESIGNS citing retaliation against internal whistleblowers

Amazon executive resigns over company’s ‘chickenshit’ firings of employee activists

Tim Bray, a top engineer and vice-president at Amazon, announced on Monday he is resigning “in dismay” over the company’s firing of employee activists who criticized working conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Bray’s resignation comes as Amazon faces increased scrutiny and employee activism surrounding its internal response to coronavirus. Amazon workers on Friday participated in a nationwide sick-out to, claiming the company has failed to provide enough face masks for workers, did not implement regular temperature checks it promised at warehouses, and has refused to give workers paid sick leave protest working conditions and inadequate safety protections.

In a blogpost explaining his resignation, Bray called the firings of organizers at the company “chickenshit”, and said they were “designed to create a climate of fear”. In resigning, Bray has become the highest-ranking corporate employee at Amazon to publicly speak out about worker conditions.

“Remaining an Amazon VP would have meant, in effect, signing off on actions I despised,” Bray, who had worked at the company for nearly six years, said. ...

“At the end of the day, the big problem isn’t the specifics of Covid-19 response,” Bray said. “It’s that Amazon treats the humans in the warehouses as fungible units of pick-and-pack potential. Only that’s not just Amazon, it’s how 21st-century capitalism is done.”

Navajo Nation Suffers Third-Highest COVID-19 Infection Rate in U.S. with Limited Healthcare & Water

'Kind of Like Large Scale Negligent Homicide': As Trump Urges Reopenings, CDC Report Warns of Surge in Covid-19 Deaths

As President Donald Trump publicly encourages states to reopen their economies against the advice of public health experts, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is privately projecting that U.S. Covid-19 deaths could reach a staggering 3,000 per day by June 1—nearly double the current daily death toll of more than 1,700.

The New York Times on Monday obtained an internal CDC document (pdf) predicting around 200,000 new coronavirus cases each day by the end May, up from around 25,000 new cases per day at present.

"The projections confirm the primary fear of public health experts: that a reopening of the economy will put the nation right back where it was in mid-March, when cases were rising so rapidly in some parts of the country that patients were dying on gurneys in hospital hallways with cases rising so rapidly that the health care system is overloaded," the Times reported.


The CDC projection came to light just hours after Trump claimed during a Fox News town hall that the U.S. has been "successful" in limiting the death toll from the virus. More than 1.1 million people have contracted Covid-19 in the U.S. and nearly 68,000 have died. The virus has killed at least 1,000 people across the nation every day since April 2.

Why Nancy Pelosi Is The “Most Effective Evil”

Trump Says He Won't Approve Covid-19 Package Without Tax Cut That Offers Zero Relief for 30 Million Newly Unemployed

President Donald Trump on Sunday said he will not approve another badly needed Covid-19 stimulus package if it doesn't include a payroll tax cut, a policy that would strike a blow to Social Security and Medicare funding while offering no relief for the more than 30 million people who have lost their jobs over the past six weeks.

"I told Steve just today, we're not doing anything unless we get a payroll tax cut," Trump said during a Fox News town hall Sunday night, referring to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. "That is so important to the success of our country."

The town hall was the second time in less than a week that the president has proposed a payroll tax cut as a centerpiece of the next relief legislation, which is being negotiated by the White House and congressional leaders as the U.S. barrels toward an unemployment rate not seen since the Great Depression. ...

Economists have noted that a payroll tax cut—unlike additional direct payments, which Trump has opposed—would do nothing for those who have been thrown out of work by the coronavirus crisis.

University of Michigan economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers wrote in a New York Times op-ed in March that a payroll tax cut would give "the biggest breaks to those with the biggest paychecks, and delivers nothing to those who have lost their pay."

"And it's a slow infusion of cash," Stevenson and Wolfers added, "dripping out paycheck by paycheck."

Additionally, advocacy groups have warned that a payroll tax cut represents a threat to Social Security and Medicare.

"'Payroll tax cut' is code for 'gut Social Security and Medicare's dedicated funding, then demand benefit cuts,'" Social Security Works tweeted Sunday night. "Democrats must stand strong and continue blocking Trump's terrible idea."

Trump's comments came in the early stages of talks over a "Phase Four" coronavirus stimulus package that advocates and experts say is urgently needed to stem mass layoffs, forestall a looming nationwide housing crisis, and avert a second Great Depression.

Trump Fires Inspector General Ahead of Damning Whistleblower Complaint About Bogus Coronavirus Cures

On Friday, while Rick Bright was in the process of filing what promises to be a damning whistleblower complaint to the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, President Donald Trump announced that he was firing the inspector general, Christi Grimm, and nominating a handpicked replacement.

Two weeks ago, Bright, who, as deputy assistant secretary for preparedness and response for HHS, oversaw the government’s purchase and funding of vaccines, treatments, and tests for the coronavirus, said he had been forced out of his job because he refused to cave to pressure to adopt scientifically unproven treatments for Covid-19. ...

Grimm became inspector general in January and came under attack from Trump after her office published a report pointing out severe shortages of testing supplies and personal protective equipment. In a tweet, Trump called the report, which was based on interviews with hospital administrators from 323 hospitals in 46 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, “another Fake Dossier” because Grimm had worked for the Obama administration. In fact, while she did serve under Barack Obama, Grimm, who been in the IG’s office since 1999, has also worked for the administrations of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Trump’s nominee to replace Grimm is attorney Jason Weida.

The highly anticipated whistleblower report from Bright is expected to focus on hydroxychloroquine, a drug that Trump hyped as a “game changer” but that was found in a Veterans Affairs study to be of no clinical benefit to coronavirus patients, and actually increased their chances of death. While Trump’s enthusiasm, which sent online demand for the drug surging 1,000 percent, has since fizzled, he has now put his faith in another drug: Gilead Pharmaceutical’s remdesivir. On Friday, Trump met with Gilead CEO Dan O’Day to announce that the Food and Drug Administration would be giving the drug emergency use authorization as a treatment for Covid-19.

“We’re going to be having some really incredible results,” Trump predicted.



the horse race



Heh, you can't make this stuff up. AOC's challenger is Wall Street's version of a grave robber.

Ocasio-Cortez Challenger Left Her Job as CNBC Anchor to Serve on Board of Company That Profits From Death

Before Michelle Caruso-Cabrera launched a conservative primary challenge against Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York, she was on the board of directors of GWG Holdings, a life settlement company that makes money off life insurance policies purchased primarily from seniors, the terminally ill, and those unable to afford it for less than face value, turning a profit when the beneficiary dies.

In September 2018, Caruso-Cabrera left her full-time position as an anchor at CNBC to join the board of directors at Beneficient Group, a Dallas-based company that lends money to ultrawealthy Americans who need it fast by turning nonliquid assets into cash. Beneficient is funded by GWG Holdings, a Minneapolis-based life insurance investor that poured nearly $1 billion into the company in a 2018 transaction. ...

Life settlements, also known as “viatical settlements,” grew in the 1980s during the height of the AIDS epidemic. The New York Times described the niche industry in a 2017 article as such:

If a life-settlement company likes its odds of turning a profit, it will buy the policy, paying out more than the policy’s cash value — the amount received if the policy were canceled — but less than the face value, or death benefit. The firm acquires the policy and continues paying the premiums. Then the company (or a big investor who buys bundles of policies) collects when the seller dies. It’s something like a reverse mortgage, but on your life instead of your house.

GWG Holdings, which has a portfolio of more than $2 billion, entered the life settlement business in 2006. The firm reported in a 2019 SEC filing that it continues to hold a portfolio of life insurance policies, but would no longer be purchasing additional policies. Its subsidiary, GWG Life told the New York Times that it “works with nursing homes and assisted living chains to reach people contemplating the daunting costs of long-term care.” Life settlement companies offer larger payments to people they expect will die soon — the sooner they die, the quicker the payout. (GWG has referred to profits from policy holder deaths as “policy realizations” and portfolio “seasoning.”)

Ryan Grim: Why Elizabeth Warren, Democrats are changing tune on MeToo

The Senate Won't Even Look for the Tara Reade Complaint Against Joe Biden

The Secretary of the Senate answered former Vice President Joe Biden’s call to release any records that could support or undermine his former staffer Tara Reade’s claim that Biden sexually assaulted her in the early 1990s.

And the official answer is ... nope.

Such a records request isn’t allowed under the law, the Senate office said in a statement released Monday amid rising scrutiny over Biden’s actions three decades ago. The denial means that any official avenue for chasing down the relevant records of Reade’s incendiary claim has, at least for now, been closed. Biden refused to ask the University of Delaware, which holds his Senatorial archives, to hunt through its files. ...

On Friday, Biden broke his silence over the matter and asked the Secretary of the Senate to ask the National Archives to look for any record of Reade’s complaint, and to release it to the media. ... Biden said they must be in the National Archives. But the National Archives said, actually, no, they’re held by the Senate. But Senate rules say such documents should be preserved with the help of the General Services Administration — which said such documents are turned over to the National Archives, Politico reported over the weekend.

In any case, the Secretary of the Senate’s statement on Monday shut down the request.



the evening greens


50 Years From Now, Many Densely Populated Parts of the World Could be Too Hot for Humans

By 2070, the world's habitable climate zone will shift so much that billions of people will be pushed past human comfort levels.

A new study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows  a "surprisingly narrow" human climate niche—between 52 degrees Fahrenheit to 59 degrees Fahrenheit. And it will shift geographically more in the next 50 years than any time during the past 6,000 years. As a result, up to 3 billion people are "likely to live under climate conditions that are warmer than conditions deemed suitable for human life to flourish," the international team of researchers wrote.

Los Angeles and Paris will bake in fiery desert temperatures, and the world's most populous cities in Asia and Africa will have deadly heat waves every year. "It looks unlivable for many," said co-author Tim Lenton, director of the Global Systems Institute at the University of Exeter. "Where we are headed is a place we don't want to go."

Some cities in North America and Europe that are now in the sweet spot of the human climate zone, with mean annual temperatures from 64 degrees and 68 degrees Fahrenheit, will be as warm as the North African coast by late in the century, Lenton said. "That's quite a climate shock. We're going back to temperatures that we haven't seen for 5 million years, territory that predates the divergence of humans from apes," he said.

Compounding the climate problem for humans is that the greatest population growth is expected exactly in those zones most affected by human-caused warming. If the inhabitants do not migrate to more livable areas, the researchers projected, one-third of the global population will experience a mean annual temperature warmer than 84 degrees Fahrenheit—an average currently found only on 0.8 percent of the Earth's land surface, mostly concentrated in the Sahara.

Baltimore and Annapolis experience worst coastal flooding in over 5 years

Howling winds roared up the Chesapeake Bay on Thursday, pushing water in Baltimore to its highest level since Hurricane Isabel in 2003. In Annapolis, the water reached its greatest height since the fall of 2014.

The high water flooded parts of both downtown areas, which is becoming more common as sea levels rise because of climate change.

The strong winds, gusting up to 50 mph from the south, arrived ahead of a drenching rainstorm that unloaded widespread totals of one to two inches. The flooding was mostly the result of the wind shoving water up the bay, but rainfall added to the inundation.


Baltimore’s tide gauge showed a peak water level of 4.24 feet, the highest since Sept. 19, 2003, when Hurricane Isabel elevated the tide to 8.15 feet. Thursday’s water level was the 11th highest on record, and equated to tides 2.5 to 3 feet above normal and up to one foot of inundation above normally dry ground. ...

Because of rising seas due to climate change, the frequency of coastal flooding has increased dramatically in the Mid-Atlantic in recent decades. From 2000 to 2015, the incidence of high-tide flooding doubled from an average of three days per year to six, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report.

A nuclear waste site where the biggest fear isn’t radiation, but coronavirus

For more than a month, coronavirus has brought cleanup of a 586-square-mile decommissioned nuclear production complex in south-eastern Washington state to a near standstill. Most of the more than 11,000 employees at the Hanford site were sent home in late March, with only essential workers remaining to make sure the “most toxic place in America” stays safe and secure.

Now with signs that Washington has turned a corner with the virus and the state’s governor slowly starting to relax some safety measures, Hanford workers are looking at the very real possibility of returning to work. But after facing those initial few weeks of Washington’s coronavirus crisis on-site at Hanford, workers say they received little information and even fewer safety measures from leadership, and some employees are terrified by the prospect. ...

A radiological control technician, who has worked at Hanford for more than 15 years, said trailers continued to be shared by as many as 50 people and each Monday morning 200 employees would come together for a meeting in a single room. When workers finished at one of the many contaminated areas of Hanford, they needed to be checked for radiation before leaving. Technicians would stand next to them, without a mask on, running a handheld device over their body – being sure to stay within a quarter of an inch of their skin to ensure accurate readings. In a single hour, one of these radiological control technicians, may have surveyed as many as 30 people.

“There’s no way to keep that social distancing. You’re right up in somebody’s face, they’re breathing on you, they’re sweaty,” said the technician, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation at work. ...

Geoff Tyree, spokesperson for the US Department of Energy, Hanford Site, said in a statement on Friday that no timeline has been set in terms of a return to full operations, and plans will be adapted based on how the coronavirus situation continues to develop.


Also of Interest

Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.

Tale of Two Cities Redux: HK to Ease its COVID-19 Restrictions, While NYC Situation Remains Dire

JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Fossil Fuel Industry Get Bailed Out Under Fed’s “Main Street” Lending Program

Kissing the Carter Doctrine Goodbye (Shouldn’t Be This Hard)

Former national security officials say Democrats should oppose Israeli occupation, settlement expansion in platform

Missouri’s Attorney General Is Fighting for the Right to Keep an Innocent Man in Prison

A tale of two cities: how New York police enforce social distancing by the color of your skin

Corporate Looting as ‘Rescue Plan,’ Robber Barons as ‘Saviors’

Food distribution centers in Texas are seeing 100% increase in need and report they are ‘going to run out of food in a couple of weeks’

Newspapers Won’t Connect the Dots on Postal Service Threats

Keiser Report | Petrodollar Comes Full Circle

Krystal Ball: Will McConnell's corporatist bailouts lose him re-election?

One-quarter of Dems are DONE with Biden after Tara Reade allegations

Krystal and Saagar: Obama team SOUNDS ALARM on Biden's failing basement campaign


A Little Night Music

Clarence Garlow - Dreaming

Clarence Garlow - Route 90

Clarence Garlow - I feel like calling you

Clarence Garlow - Jolie Tee Catin (Purty Little Dollie)

Clarence Garlow - Crawfishin´

Clarence Garlow - Blues As You Like It

Clarence Garlow - I'm In A Boogie Mood

Clarence Garlow - No No Baby

Clarence Garlow - Bon Ton Roula

Clarence Garlow - She's So Fine


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13 users have voted.
joe shikspack's picture

@gjohnsit

excellent news. the sooner the democrat party crumbles the better.

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14 users have voted.
Bob In Portland's picture

@lotlizard Let me check my pockets.
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Nope. But maybe after my stimulus check gets here.

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15 users have voted.
lotlizard's picture

@Bob In Portland  
and actually felt inspired by either of them, we still wouldn’t get to bask in the awesomeness of their physical presence, bathed in their fervid effulgence (gag).

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8 users have voted.
joe shikspack's picture

@lotlizard

glad to see biden running the corporate colors up the flagpole for all to see.

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8 users have voted.
Bob In Portland's picture

Dave Emory, who's been doing research on all sorts of devious things done by the US government et al over the years, has a lot of information on chemical-biological warfare programs run by the US and its allies over the years. His information is demoralizing, scary, but pretty much always true.

Here is his latest summary: http://spitfirelist.com/news/white-supremacists-nazis-and-biological-war...

He has links to previous shows (he has a radio show) and items in the news.

Suffice it to say, that when Nazi Germany fell in 1945 the US Army not only imported German rocket scientists to help with our "space race" (really, a race to build a nuclear arsenal) they also imported Nazi biologists and chemists who worked in Germany's wartime effort. For example, it was a German chemist who alerted his new allies to LSD. Soon thereafter the US was testing LSD on unsuspecting people in their mind control experiments. They tried all sorts of things, in part to be able to create assassins. Surely no connection to that flood of political assassinations during the sixties.

But what were the biologists doing? The new book by Annie Jacobsen, OPERATION PAPERCLIP, actually talks about what these men of science were doing before they got to America. And after? What would you think that Nazi biology scientists working for our secret government programs would do in the labs? In the early seventies we know that Dr. Robert Gallo, the fellow who found HIV/AIDS, was working on making a similar creation at Litton Bionetics, a military contractor. Why would a scientist working for our national defense be trying to create a new virus by mixing Visna (a sheep wasting disease) with various simian diseases?

Robert Hatfill, the first Fort Detrick biologist suspected of sending those anthrax letters, has a long history in biological warfare, including incidents in Africa. And what kind of biological warfare was going on in Africa? Well, there was Doctor Meryl Nass's work in Zimbabwe, the former Rhodesia, showing that there was an attempt by the whites, losing power there, to attempt a widespread epidemic among the black population. There is apparently another, bigger group who came out of South Africa.

So who's been vectored by our exotic plagues? AIDS became a massive epidemic in Africa before it came to America, where it popped up with gays, Haitians and intravenous drug users.

If the Nazis were in control of the world today, who would they target for extermination? Ask yourself, "What would Hitler Do?"

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14 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

@Bob In Portland

https://m.jpost.com/blogs/the-jewish-problem---from-anti-judaism-to-anti...

There have been lots of people here who believe that eugenics is not quite as bad as people think it is. Looks like Hitler wouldn’t have taken things as far as he did if he didn’t know that people here had his back. And wasn’t it companies here that supplied him with equipment for the camps and the gas he used? I think it’s here that I read it. Plus we supplied his army stuff.

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11 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Azazello's picture

@snoopydawg
Just from memory, and without research, I seem to remember IBM selling to Germany during the war and maybe Ford too. Auto and truck manufacturer Opel was a subsidiary of GM. The infamous Zyklon B gas was made in Germany by I.G. Farben. As for us supplying the German army, the Lend-Lease program supplied equipment to allied governments, mostly Britain and the Soviet Union, not Germany.

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8 users have voted.

We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

@Azazello
And Henry Ford openly praised Hitler. that's why the government forced hoim to step down as head of Ford Motor Company in favor of his young grandson who was released from service as a junior Naval officer.

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10 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

joe shikspack's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness

bush + hitler.

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9 users have voted.
CB's picture

@Azazello
instrumental in enabling the Nazis to manufacture materials for their war prior to WWII. American banks also financed this to a great extent.

The following is excerpted from a report printed by the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary in 1974:

The activities of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler prior to and during World War II...are instructive. At that time, these three firms dominated motor vehicle production in both the United States and Germany. Due to its mass production capabilities, automobile manufacturing is one of the most crucial industries with respect to national defense. As a result, these firms retained the economic and political power to affect the shape of governmental relations both within and between these nations in a manner which maximized corporate global profits. In short, they were private governments unaccountable to the citizens of any country yet possessing tremendous influence over the course of war and peace in the world. The substantial contribution of these firms to the American war effort in terms of tanks, aircraft components, and other military equipment is widely acknowledged. Less well known are the simultaneous contributions of their foreign subsidiaries to the Axis Powers. In sum, they maximized profits by supplying both sides with the materiel needed to conduct the war.

During the 1920's and 1930's, the Big Three automakers undertook an extensive program of multinational expansion...By the mid-1930's, these three American companies owned automotive subsidiaries throughout Europe and the Far East; many of their largest facilities were located in the politically sensitive nations of Germany, Poland, Rumania, Austria, Hungary, Latvia, and Japan...Due to their concentrated economic power over motor vehicle production in both Allied and Axis territories, the Big Three inevitably became major factors in the preparations and progress of the war. In Germany, for example, General Motors and Ford became an integral part of the Nazi war efforts. GM's plants in Germany built thousands of bomber and jet fighter propulsion systems for the Luftwaffe at the same time that its American plants produced aircraft engines for the U.S. Army Air Corps....

Ford was also active in Nazi Germany's prewar preparations. In 1938, for instance, it opened a truck assembly plant in Berlin whose "real purpose," according to U.S. Army Intelligence, was producing "troop transport-type" vehicles for the Wehrmacht. That year Ford's chief executive received the Nazi German Eagle (first class)....

The outbreak of war in September 1939 resulted inevitably in the full conversion by GM and Ford of their Axis plants to the production of military aircraft and trucks.... On the ground, GM and Ford subsidiaries built nearly 90 percent of the armored "mule" 3-ton half-trucks and more than 70 percent of the Reich's medium and heavy-duty trucks. These vehicles, according to American intelligence reports, served as "the backbone of the German Army transportation system."....

After the cessation of hostilities, GM and Ford demanded reparations from the U.S. Government for wartime damages sustained by their Axis facilities as a result of Allied bombing... Ford received a little less than $1 million, primarily as a result of damages sustained by its military truck complex at Cologne...

Due to their multinational dominance of motor vehicle production, GM and Ford became principal suppliers for the forces of fascism as well as for the forces of democracy. It may, of course, be argued that participating in both sides of an international conflict, like the common corporate practice of investing in both political parties before an election, is an appropriate corporate activity. Had the Nazis won, General Motors and Ford would have appeared impeccably Nazi; as Hitler lost, these companies were able to re-emerge impeccably American. In either case, the viability of these corporations and the interests of their respective stockholders would have been preserved.

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10 users have voted.
Bob In Portland's picture

@Azazello There's a book about IBM selling them punchcard systems, at that time state of the art, which the Nazis used to keep track of Jews and other Nazi targets. The US government didn't directly aid Nazis after its entry into WWII, but US corporations continued to operate in Germany during the war, including Ford, GM, etc. When, near the end of the war and allied bombing was leveling German factories, the allied command studiously avoided bombing the American-owned factories.

Prescott Bush, who'd been named as one of the Wall Streeters behind the attempted coup of FDR in 1933, hid Nazi investments in the US through moving monies between the Union Bank in the US and banks in Amsterdam and Berlin. Wall Street pretty much loved Hitler over FDR.

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6 users have voted.
Bob In Portland's picture

@snoopydawg One of the weird little quirks about AIDS was that that was a pool of northern Europeans who had a natural resistance to it. Considering the official story, that it sprang from a virus in Africa it makes no sense that they would have such resistance. So when a new virus appears, look to see who dies from it in bigger numbers.

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3 users have voted.
joe shikspack's picture

@Bob In Portland

i think that i have the answer to your question. wwhd?

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9 users have voted.
Azazello's picture

Here's a couple of articles that are worth a look.
From Lambert Strether at naked capitalism: COVID-19 and Class in the United States
From Venezuelanalysis.com: Venezuelan Armed Forces: Paramilitary Incursion Neutralized

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8 users have voted.

We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

joe shikspack's picture

@Azazello

thanks for the links! lambert certainly seems to have made an interesting set of correlations there. i think he's on to something.

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8 users have voted.
Anja Geitz's picture

CDC projections that say we’re going to be battling this virus for upwards of TWO YEARS!?!

Governmental projections of 70% of the population eventually getting this virus because they “can’t” mitigate the spread because they’re either incompetent, criminally indifferent to millions of deaths, or both.

A Dickensian-like political system that is set up so the wealthy profit from this pandemic, and ruthlessly pass legislation that undermines the social safety net of working class and the newly unemployed.

Put a fork in me. I’m done.

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18 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

joe shikspack's picture

@Anja Geitz

yep, when i heard early on that it was going to take a couple of years to come up with a successful vaccine, i figured that it was going to be two years until this thing was really over.

it's going to be interesting (in the sense of the ancient curse "may you live in interesting times") to see what happens in two years.

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13 users have voted.
Anja Geitz's picture

@joe shikspack

I crave for normal. Don’t want interesting.

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5 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

joe shikspack's picture

@Anja Geitz

i miss people most. but there are other formerly simple things, like a nice meal out that seem so far out of reach now.

i am trying hard to see this as an opportunity rather than an unwanted obstacle.

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10 users have voted.
Anja Geitz's picture

@joe shikspack

And visiting my favorite wine bar afterwards. In fact, that was the last thing I did before the lockdown. Although I didn't know it would be the last time at the time. Also miss entertaining people here in the garden. I have so many trees here that summertime spent under the shade of a tree sipping a cool drink is surely one of life’s simple pleasures.

image_129.jpeg
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4 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

snoopydawg's picture

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the chairman of the Senate's small business committee, blocked an attempt by Democrats to pass a bill that would require the Trump administration to report new details on how small business aid is being dispersed amid the coronavirus pandemic.

When was the last time a democrat used that option to block bad bills? Anyone? Bueller? Democrat have options to block McConnell from getting his judges appointed too, but instead Schumer is not using them. Why the hell are the democrats still at home? Lots of house members are blowing hot air about the people who are risking their lives to help us, but..oh never mind. Color me throughly disgusted!

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18 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

joe shikspack's picture

@snoopydawg

yep, the democrats can put holds on legislation in the senate. i would guess, however, that if it became a regular feature of business in the senate, there would be a new "nuclear option" and the rules would change.

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10 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

@joe shikspack

I’ve heard the term before, but I don’t know how it works. And why does every bill need 60 votes instead of just the majority of 51?

From The 'Who didn’t see this coming' file.

Meat prices explode because of shortages

Lots of features out doing bugs these days huh? Great news though for farmers.

ETA

1B1A9D59-0DA3-41DC-9E01-72F0DB211303.jpeg

Wow huh?

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8 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

@snoopydawg are about the same.
I have room in my freezer for about 20 more packages, then I will be at full capacity.
I have been stocking up for about a month now.

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5 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

joe shikspack's picture

@snoopydawg

that explain some of the senate rules that allow individual senators to obstruct business:

hold

filibuster (which explains why 60 votes are necessary for most business, though there are exceptions.

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6 users have voted.
lotlizard's picture

@snoopydawg  
My (eastern) German friends mentioned something about having stopped eating beef back when the health threat in the headlines was mad cow disease. But that was decades ago.

Food inflation … is happening. Meats, bread, and dairy are holding relatively steady — smaller country with regional sub-economies = short supply lines — but prices for everything else, especially fresh vegetables and fruit, are rising (from fresh broccoli at +200% to canned kidney beans at +25%).

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5 users have voted.
Bollox Ref's picture

when it comes to Biden?

(Edit)

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12 users have voted.

Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

joe shikspack's picture

@Bollox Ref

i don't know about the plot, but if i read the fine print on that tweet correctly, it looks like they've finally inserted their heads up their arses so far that anoxia is about to ensue.

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11 users have voted.
Bollox Ref's picture

@joe shikspack

The funny thing is, should Biden be removed as nominee, for Ms./Mr 'X', these supporters will shift on a dime to immediately support Ms./Mr 'X', and Biden will be ancient history (down the memory hole).

(Screenshot updated)

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15 users have voted.

Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

joe shikspack's picture

@Bollox Ref

thanks for the better screen shot. i read it correctly, it appears.

they could replace biden with anybody but bernie sanders and there would not be a peep uttered by the democrats. corporate dems are completely interchangeable.

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12 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

@Bollox Ref

D462949A-47F8-4252-A6D5-57716CD300CC.jpeg

I had a hard time reading the other one on my iPad. I just saw this in an article titled, From believe all women to just believe Obama.

Heh think Obama doesn’t know about Biden’s wandering hands?

A heads up. I upgraded my iPad OS and it’s learning how to use my words and I’m leaving a lot of errors unchecked. Auto correct has been killing me such as Christian disabilities instead of chronic ones.

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12 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

@snoopydawg
I am an independent voter. Even if the Dems replace Joe Biden I will wonder if they all really think rape is OK and powerful men have a right to do whatever they want. This is seriously creepy and disgusting.

I do not know what happened between Tara Reade and Biden. I finally watched a video with TR and she seemed credible to me. Biden does have baggage, but from a criminal standpoint deserves the benefit of the doubt. That does not mean he or his wacko followers have some sort of a right to my vote. There should be an independent investigation.

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8 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

@ScienceTeacher

powerful men have a right to do whatever they want.

And they have set back any of the gains of sexual assault victims have gotten by decades.

This is article is one of the best I’ve read.

https://www.currentaffairs.org/2020/05/the-attacks-on-tara-reade-are-unb...

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11 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Pricknick's picture

@snoopydawg
Turn auto correct off as much as possible.
Start sounding out words and spelling them as you were taught to.
It's a thought processs that you, I and many have let go to the wayside.
Many quit thinking for the word and let algorithm take over.
You're one of the fortunate. Most can see through to your meaning no matter how you spell,

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6 users have voted.

Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

snoopydawg's picture

@Pricknick

No way. I use my desktop in the am and spend as much time doing spellcheck and searching for the right word as I do writing my comments. I have always had difficulty with spelling since my TBI so why shouldn’t I use something that makes it easier for me?

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7 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

lotlizard's picture

@snoopydawg  
off to intern with him, I’m sure. So much for Obama and “vetting” — what a laugh!

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=malia+obama+internship+weinstein&ia=web

Auto-correct and spell-check are always the first thing I disable on any devices. Otherwise they drive me nuts with their kvetching / second-guessing. They can be relied on to assume I’m using language X when I’m actually trying to enter text in language Y (you’d think their vaunted “A.I.” would’ve figured this out by now).

Then again, I’m an Aspie who has worked as a professional proofreader so spelling is a thing I’m good at. Middle school anecdotes from the late 1950s in Hawaii: (1) The vocational interest test we kids all had to take suggested I should go into the printing trade (because of fixation on low-level detail?). (2) But that didn’t keep me from screwing up and losing a spelling bee, thereby missing out on a free trip to ”the mainland” (= North America) though.

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9 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

@lotlizard

I just wrote an essay that I got lost in while trying to make my point and I made lots of spelling errors or finding the context for where I wanted to put things. I feel it is really disorganized, but hopefully people will overlook it and see my point.

Mornings are more difficult than later in the day as I become more of a Lert because I had a severe brain injury when I was 17 but wasn't told how it would affect my memory until I was in my 40's and have worked hard to over come the difficulties left from it. Many are still here and they are permanent. It is what it is and I just feel so damn lucky that I am still here to make mistakes. I could have been left in much worse straits or not here at all. If a tool makes my life easier why shouldn't I use it?

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3 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

snoopydawg's picture

@Bollox Ref

Ridden with Biden? Seriously didn’t he bother to think how that would look? I think we need some type of name for people who say that. One woman said Biden could rape her daughter and she would still vote for him. Even if people are just joking it sends a bad message to people who have been sexually assaulted and tells them that they do take them seriously. In my opinion it does.

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11 users have voted.

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lotlizard's picture

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4 users have voted.
Unabashed Liberal's picture

apps." For now, we don't plan to participate in this program--we are self-isolating to the point that it's not at all necessary. All of our grocery and retail deliveries are totally "contactless"--including meals from our favorite pizzeria. Anyhoo, will be interested to see 'how' it plays with the broader populace.

(This was partly made possible because we learned about 'Zoom' from Rambo's trainers, who, even before COVID, used it, when necessary, for follow-up instruction. Talk about good timing! Smile And, we already occasionally used TeleMed App. )

Here you go,

Here come COVID-19 tracing apps -- and privacy trade-offs
MATT O'BRIEN and CHRISTINA LARSON, Associated Press

As governments around the world consider how to monitor new coronavirus outbreaks while reopening their societies, many are starting to bet on smartphone apps to help stanch the pandemic.

But their decisions on which technologies to use — and how far those allow authorities to peer into private lives — are highlighting some uncomfortable trade-offs between protecting privacy and public health.

Also, shout-out to readers who're enrolled in a Medigap policy - didn't get to call my State Insurance Commissioner, today (but, hope to before week is over) to see what they know, but the COVID Bill proposed by Kennedy and Jayapal will clearly greatly affect current beneficiaries' bottom line. Seems that Dems--instead of transitioning unemployed folks into both Medicare and Medicaid to cover all their medical costs (Medicaid is financed by both state and federal tax dollars)--have decided to have today's pool of age 65+ Medigap enrollees bear the brunt of the cost. Pushed for time as we continue to prepare for our healthcare workshops/forums, so, will post anything I find out in sig line--probably, above my rant about the OAP!

Biggrin

This Spring's weather has been some of the worst--and most dangerous--that we recall, since we lived in Tornado Alley (OK) decades ago. Although we did have a couple of beautiful days, intermixed with the storms.

Everyone have a nice evening! Be safe; stay well.

Bye Pleasantry

Mollie

THANK YOU America's Physicians & Nurses, All Medical Personnel, First Responders, To Include Medical (EMT/Paramedics/Ambulance), Pharmacy Personnel, Fire Depts, Police Depts, Retailers/Grocers--Especially, To Marginally-Paid Frontline Retail Cashiers & Clerks.

Last, but not least,

THANKS to America's Truckers/Delivery Persons, Especially, To Over-The-Road/Long Haul Truckers Who Obviously Have The Capacity To Shut Down The Entire Country, If They Were To Choose To Sit Out The Current Public Health Crisis, In Order To Protect Their Own.

You are all truly heroes.

Godspeed. Give rose

“If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went.”
~~Will Rogers, Actor & Social Commentator

“Love makes you stronger, so that you can reach out and become involved with life in ways you dared not risk alone.”
~~Author Unknown, Save Our Street Dogs (SOSD) Website

“In a world where you can be anything–be kind.”
~~Author Unknown

“I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive.”
~~Gilda Radner, Comedienne

Special Health Care for Congress: Lawmakers' Health Care Perks
A little known office on Capitol Hill provides quality care at a low price.

Excerpt:

Sept. 30, 2009— -- This fall while members of Congress toil in the U.S. Capitol, working to decide how or even whether to reform the country's health care system, one floor below them an elaborate Navy medical clinic -- described by those who have seen it as something akin to a modern community hospital -- will be standing by, on-call and ready to provide Congress with some of the country's best and most efficient government-run health care.

Sources said when specialists are needed, they are brought to the Capitol, often at no charge to members of Congress.

"If you had, for example, prostate cancer, you would go to one of the centers of excellence for the country, which would be Johns Hopkins. If you had coronary artery disease, we would engage specialists at the Cleveland Clinic. You Jayapal/Kennedy would go to the best care in the country. And, for the most part, nobody asked what your insurance was," Balbona said. (Balbona was a former OAP Staff Physician.)

In addition to Balbona, several former staff members and private physicians who have consulted at the OAP as recently as last year agreed to talk to ABC News on background. They described a culture centered on meeting the needs and whims of members of Congress, with almost no concern for cost.

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10 users have voted.

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

joe shikspack's picture

@Unabashed Liberal

i wonder how long it will take people to figure out that if you want to evade contact tracing all you have to do is leave your phone at home or get yourself a faraday bag.

heh, the weather here cooled off today and is supposed to stay cool for the next few days. and it's drizzling again.

have a great evening!

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12 users have voted.
Unabashed Liberal's picture

@joe shikspack

DDG'd it. That's cool.

Question - Have a small clutch billfold with 8 credit card slots. Remember when I bought it, tag said that credit cards couldn't be read/scanned.

Do you suppose I have the equivalent of a Farrady Bag? (IOW, don't remember that they used that term on the tag.)

Anyhoo, it was one reason that I bought this small clutch billfold. (Normally, prefer something with a shoulder strap, since I'm bad to put stuff down, and leave it.)

Biggrin

Mollie

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9 users have voted.

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

enhydra lutris's picture

@Unabashed Liberal
farady bags or cases.You simply need to completely surround your device with condictive material when the box or bag is closed.

be well and have a good one.

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8 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Unabashed Liberal's picture

@enhydra lutris @enhydra lutris

a bunch of articles and videos, just like you said.

After a quick glance at several of the instructions (some use the term Farady Cage), sounds like it'll be convenient to order a few Mylar Bags, and follow the rest of the instructions.

In the meantime, for what good it will do, have wrapped a small flip phone in aluminum foil, and placed it in its carrying case. (turned off)

Took some doing, but, finally convinced Mr M to leave his smart phone at home when he did an occasional "contactless" grocery pickup, simply because I don't like the idea of being surveilled. (even if not breaking any rules! Smile )

(At least he's covered if there's a medical emergency, or, if he needs to call roadside assistance.)

Have a good one. Take good care of yourself and the Missus.

Pleasantry

Mollie

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7 users have voted.

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

enhydra lutris's picture

@Unabashed Liberal

used to isolate an protect electronics of various types from stray RF signals that would cause interference with the device and its intended functions, super-duper static busters, if you will. Originally just a big conductive box, often made from wire mesh that was also usually grounded to something.

be well and have a good one.

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5 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

enhydra lutris's picture

@joe shikspack

daytime and take it back when the cat comes home for dinner.

be well and have a good one.

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9 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Anja Geitz's picture

@enhydra lutris

Of course Pierre was the real adventurer who’d stay out all day. Zoe and Ziggy stay closer to home. But still...be interesting to upload a video on their daily exploits.

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9 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Unabashed Liberal's picture

Identity Scan Shield Protection. (whatever that is) Even found the same brand wrist/clutch bag--not the exact model, but close enough for government work. Smile

Guess we'll start shopping for a F Bag, since, prefer not to even take a leisurely ride in the car without a cell phone--just in case. (IOW, leaving it home, is not an option.)

Have a good one.

Mollie

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8 users have voted.

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

joe shikspack's picture

@Unabashed Liberal

if you get one, remember to shut down the phone or put it in airplane mode before you put it in the bag to keep it from wasting the battery looking for signal.

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11 users have voted.
Unabashed Liberal's picture

@joe shikspack

that the battery needs to be removed.

(BTW, is it preferable to turn the phone off, or put it in Airplane Mode--or, does it matter? Certainly sounds like you're well informed on the subject. Me, not so much! Smile )

Mollie

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6 users have voted.

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

joe shikspack's picture

@Unabashed Liberal

well, removing the battery would probably do the job without the bag. however, a lot of modern smartphones don't have removable batteries. if yours is older, there's a good chance that it is removable.

if your battery is not removable (or if it is a pain to do so) then the bag is a good idea and either turning off the phone or putting it in airplane mode should keep it from searching for cell and wifi service.

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5 users have voted.
Unabashed Liberal's picture

@joe shikspack

it's just a matter of making a quick run for a P/U, we have a couple of backup flip phones (carriers that work in LA, or Lower Alabama) that have batteries that are easy to remove. (even if a tad of an inconvenience)

Probably, we'll try to come up with a homemade Farady's bag/cage for our smartphones--just in case the day comes that we can actually get on the road, again. We also have several of the metal fireproof policy/document containers that would work well with a Mylar storage bag. (I think)

Mollie

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3 users have voted.

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

snoopydawg's picture

A Go fund me was setup for the security guard that was killed because he told a Washington to wear a mask. It was asking for $10,000 and it’s at $250,000.

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snoopydawg's picture

@snoopydawg

Very cool.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

enhydra lutris's picture

over there. Interesting news, Bolsonaro teetering, Amazon brass bailing in such a way as to implicate corporate leadership in criminality, Hanford (still) going south, Annapolis awash, what's not to like.

Contact tracing breaking requires sacrificing the utility of one's phone, but, one can dig it out and fire it up any time. Get some old fashioned very fine mesh metal window screen and wrap it 3 or 4 times around a small cardboard box open on one end with ample overhang at the ends.. Seal the seam, preferably with liquid solder or conductive tape roll up the bottom and clamp with a metal paper clamp. Set your phone on airplane mode, drop it in and roll up and clamp the top, but paint the clamp so you know which one it is. Voila! To use phone, unroll marked end, dump out phone and turn it on or turn of airplane mode and you're good to go.

be well and have a good one.

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7 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

joe shikspack's picture

@enhydra lutris

heh, yep, so many opportunities for schadenfreude. Smile

i am not terribly worried about flooding. my house sits at the top of a large granite formation at just shy of 500 feet above sea level. downtown baltimore on the other hand, should start worrying about flooding and plan to either move to higher ground or build a sea wall. where baltimore is now is the third location for baltimore in its history if i remember correctly, so there is precedent for it moving.

have a great evening!

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5 users have voted.
enhydra lutris's picture

@joe shikspack

the core of this hill is all serpentine, so a healthy el nino to saturate it and a good quake on the Hayward fault (about 1 or 2 miles west) and it'll be flatland somewhere to the south of its current location. Ah well, one never owns the land anyway.

be well and have a good one.

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5 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

mimi's picture

it looks like it would be better these days to not be a German. I just wonder what kind of nationality would help me to be a more loved and better understood person around the globe.

I need some love.

[video:https://youtu.be/dsxtImDVMig]

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7 users have voted.
joe shikspack's picture

@mimi

i just did a quick mental review and i can't think of a nation that is universally loved and revered.

so, um, good luck with your project. Smile

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3 users have voted.
mimi's picture

@joe shikspack
way above my pay grade and head size. At least I feel better that way failing. Smile

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4 users have voted.
Lookout's picture

Picking up on our last video about the Newsweek report that the US has been funding bat coronavirus 'gain of function' research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, we dig further into the "Was covid-19 created in a lab?" debate.

Digging into the biochemistry of viruses, we are struck in particular by a genetic string of RNA in covid-19 -- specifically the polybasic furin cleavage site PRRA -- that has all the appearance of an "insert" (i.e., something that does NOT look like a natural mutation)

Chris walks through the science in today's video. But as he does, he's expresses disappointment and angered at some of America's most prominent virologists -- who seem to be more concerned with CYA tactics (perhaps because they were involved in the gain of function research?) than embracing the truth.

Look, now is the time when we need our leaders most, and that for sure includes our heroes of science. It seems crazy to suspect they may be lying to us right now.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZUJhKUbd0k]

The source of that funding? The National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease, headed by.....(drumroll please)....Dr Anthony Fauci, lead medical expert for America's Covid-19 task force.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6y8dlhoMpo

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

joe shikspack's picture

@Lookout

interesting stuff! i wish that i were better able to assess the claims.

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@Lookout I have become so suspicious about the information I am given by the establishment. TPTB have gone out of their way to earn my distrust.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981