Texas lawmaker says he's not concerned about measles outbreak because of antibiotics

A Texas state lawmaker suggested that he is not worried about the recent outbreak of measles across the country because antibiotics can treat the virus.

Texas state Rep. Bill Zedler (R) made the comments Tuesday to the Texas Observer and said he had a case of measles when growing up, before a vaccine for it was developed.

"They want to say people are dying of measles," he told the Observer. "Yeah, in third-world countries they're dying of measles. Today, with antibiotics and that kind of stuff, they're not dying in America."

Since their invention, vaccines for measles have been largely effective. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates only about 2 to 5 percent of children who get the vaccine within the first 12 months contract measles.




https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/432145-texas-lawmaker-says-hes-not-concerned-about-measles-outbreak-because-of

'Do you want to change your bulls-- story, sir?' Calif. Dem preps for Cohen

Seven hours of Michael Cohen testimony before the House Oversight Committee wasn’t enough for Rep. Eric Swalwell. The Dublin Democrat was looking forward to hearing Cohen testify Thursday, in private, before the House Intelligence Committee.

There, Swalwell told the “It’s All Political” podcast, his first order of business would be to ask the question that the federal marshal played by Tommy Lee Jones famously asked in the 1993 movie “The Fugitive”: “Do you want to change your bulls— story, sir?”

“I’m very grateful that he’s coming clean, but we’ve got a big bulls— story that we were told and he needs to clean it up,” Swalwell said.

Nevertheless, Swalwell sees value in hearing from Cohen, even though President Trump’s former personal attorney is about to serve a three-year prison term after pleading guilty to nine felonies, including campaign finance violations and tax evasion.

Or, as Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the top Republican on the House Oversight Committee, described Cohen on Wednesday: “A fraudster, cheat, felon and, in two months, a federal inmate.”




https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Do-you-want-to-change-your-bulls-story-13652661.php

Medicare for All Loses Momentum Among Voters

Wall Street Journal: “Now, enthusiasm for the proposal is waning as supporters face pointed questions over how it would work—and how it would be paid for. As a result, more candidates are backing intermediate measures, including optional buy-ins to government-run coverage that are likely more attainable in the short term.”

“Net support for a single-payer health system among all registered voters … fell from about 30% in November 2018 to 12% in February.”



https://politicalwire.com/2019/03/01/medicare-for-all-loses-momentum-among-democrats/

Tweet of the Day

Trump has a friend in Glenn Greenwald

Bonus Tweet of the Day

Ex-governor says the electoral college is needed to stop 'the minorities' from picking presidents

Former Maine Gov. Paul LePage, the Trump-loving Republican who left office last year after serving two terms, has said that he opposes plans to abolish the electoral college on the grounds that doing so would harm white people.

Law and Crime reports that LePage appeared on right-wing talk radio station WVOM this week to denounce a bill currently under consideration in which states would instruct their electors to support the presidential candidate who wins the popular vote, not just the candidate who wins the most votes in their individual state.

LePage started out by arguing that such a move would harm smaller states — but he then quickly pivoted to making an explicitly racist argument.

“What would happen if they do what they say they’re gonna do, white people will not have anything to say,” LePage complained. “It’s only going to be the minorities who would elect. It would be California, Texas, Florida.”

LePage also said that having awarding the presidency to the winner of the popular vote would amount to setting up a “dictatorship” like “the constitution of Venezuela.”



https://www.rawstory.com/2019/02/trump-loving-ex-governor-says-electoral-college-needed-stop-minorities-picking-presidents/#.XHgQ8mOx9B0.twitter

Tweet of the Day

Campaign to send young girls to see Captain Marvel raises nearly $61K

A crowdfunding campaign designed to provide free screenings of the upcoming movie Captain Marvel for girls and young women has raised more than three times its original goal.

The “Send Girls to See Captain Marvel” campaign, launched by the nonprofit organizations Girls Inc. LA and We Have Stories set out to raise $20,000 in order “to help girls from various backgrounds have the opportunity to see the film by providing tickets and renting out theaters.” As of this writing, the campaign has raised $60,825 in one month.

“Everyone should have an opportunity to see women in roles they can aspire to one day be, roles that show women as strong, smart and bold,” said a message on the campaign’s GoFundMe page. “From a teacher to a fighter pilot—or a superhero. This is an opportunity to continue to empower girls to be just that.”

“Marvel Studios’ first female led film, Captain Marvel offers this type of important representation,” the message added.

A report from Variety reveals that donors include Ellen DeGeneres’ The Ellen Show and E! News, which each gave $10,000 to the campaign.

We Tell Stories also organized a similar initiative with Black Panther last year, raising more than $1 million and financing free screenings of the Oscar-winning film for 73,000 children.

Campaigns like these, as well as last year’s Give A Child the Universe initiative designed to get young people to see A Wrinkle in Time for free, speak to an overall broadening of the diversity within genre films, showing that these films are connecting with wider audiences and that more people are seeing the importance of getting young audiences to see them.


https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/captain-marvel-campaign-to-send-young-girls-raises-61k

House freshman Katie Porter (D-CA) sends Equifax CEO crying to his mother.

Equifax CEO Mark Begor found himself in the hot seat during a congressional hearing featuring aggressive questioning by two freshman members of the U.S. House.

More than a year after an Equifax security breach exposed the data of nearly 150 million consumers, the credit bureau head was asked by California Democrat Katie Porter if he'd be willing to publicly share his address, birth date and Social Security number.

"I would be a bit uncomfortable doing that congresswoman," Begor said in the Tuesday hearing, citing the risk of identity theft. "If you'd so oblige me, I'd prefer not to."

Porter then questioned why Equifax attorneys were seeking to dismiss a class-action suit over its 2017 breach by arguing in federal court that no harm had occurred.

https://twitter.com/chadloder/status/1100459600824815617


https://www.cbsnews.com/news/katie-porter-equifax-ceo-mark-begor-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/