TomCADem
TomCADem's JournalVox: Why Masks Became Political
BBC News - QAnon, coronavirus and the conspiracy cult
It is interesting to see Europe's perspective on QAnon, a bizarre conspiracy theory has surged in popularity in the US since the pandemic, according to exclusive research seen by the BBC.
Vox - Joe Biden's Policy Vision for America
Which American Presidents are widely considered to have been the most progressive in modern times? FDR and Lyndon Johnson. Yet, when they were elected or selected, neither was considered to be overly progressive. FDR was part of the Roosevelt family dynasty. Lyndon Johnon was Southern Democrat from Texas. Indeed, JFK got blowback from progressives for selecting LBJ as his running mate.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/21340746/joe-biden-covid-19-coronavirus-recession-harris
There are aspects of Bidens policy agenda that rise to this level of ambition. To tackle Covid-19, hes promised nationwide testing, a 100,000-person Public Health Jobs Corps, hazard pay for essential workers, massive vaccine stockpiles produced ahead of approval for the speediest deployment, and much more.
His economic recovery plan would pay health insurance costs for newly unemployed people, offer middle-class parents and caretakers $8,000 a year for child or long-term care support, spend $700 billion on manufacturing and R&D to expand jobs in those sectors, and make it easier to organize unions.
His climate plan features $2 trillion in investments in clean energy and a clean electricity standard mandating that electricity production in the US not produce any carbon by the year 2035.
Trump Made A Huge Mistake In Drawing Attention to Susan B. Anthony, A Voting Rights Activist!
Trumpsters and Republicans love to bleet the word "Freedom" as though all it stood for was the right to be able to shoot a gun and not wear a mask. Yet, without missing a beat, Republicans happily support efforts to suppress the vote in the midst of a pandemic.
On top of that, Trump has denigrated John Lewis, who was a protester known for getting in "Good Trouble." But before Lewis, Susan B. Anthony got arrested for voting illegally because she was a woman.
After her arrest on charges of voting illegally in the 1872 federal election, Susan B. Anthony undertook a speaking tour . The title for her lecture was "Is it a Crime for a Citizen of the United States to Vote?" In her lecture, she explained why the right to vote and exercising that right is essential to freedom. In short, Susan B. Anthony asked how can the consent of the governed be given, if the right to vote be denied?
So, if Trump is going to pardon Susan B. Anthony after her death, why not ask him about why he and Republicans are trying so hard to reverse and to suppress the rights that Susan B. Anthony fought for? How can the consent of the governed be given, if the right to vote is denied?
Susan B. Anthony's words are as true today as they were a hundred years ago:
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/anthony/anthonyaddress.html
Our democratic-republican government is based on the idea of the natural right of every individual member thereof to a voice and a vote in making and executing the laws. We assert the province of government to be to secure the people in the enjoyment of their unalienable rights. We throw to the winds the old dogma that governments can give rights. Before governments were organized, no one denies that each individual possessed the right to protect his own life. liberty and property. And when 100 or 1,000,000 people enter into a free government, they do not barter away their natural rights; they simply pledge themselves to protect each other in the enjoyment of them, through prescribed judicial and legislative tribunals. They agree to abandon the methods of brute force in the adjustment of their differences, and adopt those of civilization.
Nor can you find a word in any of the grand documents left us by the fathers that assumes for government the power to create or to confer rights. The Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, the constitutions of the several states and the organic laws of the territories, all alike propose to protect the people in the exercise of their God-given rights. Not one of them pretends to bestow rights.
"All men are created equal, and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. Among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."
Here is no shadow of government authority over rights, nor exclusion of any from their full and equal enjoyment. Here is pronounced the right of all men, and "consequently," as the Quaker preacher said, "of all women," to a voice in the government. And here, in this very first paragraph of the declaration, is the assertion of the natural right of all to the ballot; for, how can "the consent of the governed" be given, if the right to vote be denied. Again:
"That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundations on such principles, and organizing its powers in such forms as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness."
Exercise Your Freedom and Vote! Susan B. Anthony Explains Why Voter Suppression Is Anti-Freedom
Trumpsters and Republicans love to bleet the word "Freedom" as though all it stood for was the right to be able to shoot a gun and not wear a mask. Yet, without missing a beat, Republicans happily support efforts to suppress the vote in the midst of a pandemic.
Even before John Lewis was getting in "Good Trouble," there was Susan B. Anthony who got arrested for voting illegally because she was a woman. After her arrest on charges of voting illegally in the 1872 federal election, Susan B. Anthony undertook a speaking tour . The title for her lecture was "Is it a Crime for a Citizen of the United States to Vote?" In her lecture, she explained why the right to vote and exercising that right is essential to freedom. In short, Susan B. Anthony asked how can the consent of the governed be given, if the right to vote be denied?
So, exercise your freedom and vote. And, anyone who is trying to suppress the vote is trying to take away freedom from American citizens.
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/anthony/anthonyaddress.html
Our democratic-republican government is based on the idea of the natural right of every individual member thereof to a voice and a vote in making and executing the laws. We assert the province of government to be to secure the people in the enjoyment of their unalienable rights. We throw to the winds the old dogma that governments can give rights. Before governments were organized, no one denies that each individual possessed the right to protect his own life. liberty and property. And when 100 or 1,000,000 people enter into a free government, they do not barter away their natural rights; they simply pledge themselves to protect each other in the enjoyment of them, through prescribed judicial and legislative tribunals. They agree to abandon the methods of brute force in the adjustment of their differences, and adopt those of civilization.
Nor can you find a word in any of the grand documents left us by the fathers that assumes for government the power to create or to confer rights. The Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, the constitutions of the several states and the organic laws of the territories, all alike propose to protect the people in the exercise of their God-given rights. Not one of them pretends to bestow rights.
"All men are created equal, and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. Among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."
Here is no shadow of government authority over rights, nor exclusion of any from their full and equal enjoyment. Here is pronounced the right of all men, and "consequently," as the Quaker preacher said, "of all women," to a voice in the government. And here, in this very first paragraph of the declaration, is the assertion of the natural right of all to the ballot; for, how can "the consent of the governed" be given, if the right to vote be denied. Again:
"That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundations on such principles, and organizing its powers in such forms as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness."
US coronavirus: New CDC guidance says Covid-19 rates in children 'steadily increasing'
Source: CNN
Health experts say children make up more than 7% of all coronavirus cases in the US -- while comprising about 22% of the country's population -- and the number and rate of child cases have been "steadily increasing" from March to July.
The data was posted alongside updated guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for pediatricians that also includes what is known about the virus in children.
"Recent evidence suggests that children likely have the same or higher viral loads in their nasopharynx compared with adults and that children can spread the virus effectively in households and camp settings," the guidance states.
Transmission of the virus to and among children may have been reduced in spring and early summer due to mitigation measures like stay-at-home orders and school closures, the CDC says."Recent evidence suggests that children likely have the same or higher viral loads in their nasopharynx compared with adults and that children can spread the virus effectively in households and camp settings," the guidance states.
Transmission of the virus to and among children may have been reduced in spring and early summer due to mitigation measures like stay-at-home orders and school closures, the CDC says.
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/us-coronavirus-new-cdc-guidance-says-covid-19-rates-in-children-steadily-increasing/ar-BB17ZcJ4?li=BBnb7Kz
Record U.S. coronavirus fatalities and 'startling surge' of cases in children and teens
Source: NBC News
The U.S. logged the highest number of COVID-19 deaths in two weeks, a new NBC News tally showed Thursday, but widespread testing shortages raised concerns that the figures coming out of the hardest-hit states might not be presenting a true picture of this deadly pandemic.
The 1,424 fatalities reported Wednesday were the highest since July 28, when 2,218 deaths were reported, the figures showed. And it was the twelfth time in the last 16 days that the death toll exceeded 1,000.
Most of these deaths were in the Southern and Sun Belt states like Florida, Texas and Arizona that began reopening in May and June at the urging of President Donald Trump despite warnings from public health experts that the coronavirus was starting to crest.
"The deaths we see today are a result of infections from four to eight weeks ago," Admiral Brett Giroir, the assistant secretary of health and the Trump administration's testing coordinator, said Thursday on a call with reporters.
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/record-us-coronavirus-fatalities-and-startling-surge-of-cases-in-children-and-teens/ar-BB17Vwj6?li=BBnb7Kz
Clint Watts "Election 2020: Russia Cares, China Doesn't"
While you see Trump and Pompeo going out of their way to attack China, not surprisingly you hear little mention of Russia's continued efforts to interfere with the U.S. election. Has Russia lost interest in the U.S. election? Clint Watts, who testified to Congress on Russian election interference in 2016, recently posted that Russia continues to the be the most active foreign actor trying to interfere in the U.S. election in support of Trump:
https://www.fpri.org/fie/election-2020-russia-china/
Furthermore, an examination of the paltry Chinese election coverage shows they spend remarkably little time seeking to elevate one candidate over another. The trade war, Huawei, COVID-19, and the Hong Kong protests dominate Global Times headlinesnot the 2020 election. Of 1,211 mentions of the 2020 candidates over a 15-month period, more than 85% discussed President Trump. Trumps mentions were far more negative than positive, and most always in the context of Chinas foreign policy goals vis-à-vis the U.S. rather than the presidential election. When China discusses the 2020 election, its not about capturing a victory, but undermining the integrity of the American democratic process.
Conversely, Russias outlets talk about internal U.S. politics and the election all the time, with their state-sponsored news outlets authoring a high volume of stories and mentioning the candidates more than twice as much as China. It is clear the Kremlin prefers a second term for President Trump heading into the fall and strongly opposes the election of former Vice President Biden. Russian President Vladimir Putin has openly said he wanted Trump to win in 2016, and Russias overt propaganda portrays Trump far more positively than Biden. Although theyve soured a bit on the president in recent months, taking the opportunity to bash him with respect to Americas failed COVID-19 response and the administrations authoritarian response to racial justice protests in D.C., nothing Russia says negatively about Trump compares to how derogatory the Kremlin is toward Biden. Headlines trash Biden continuously, and Russian derision of Biden will hit full swing this summer when a curiously timed movie out of Russia-occupied Donetsk, Ukraine, titled Alpha R hits theaters warning of a New Cold War if Biden wins the election.
The Kremlins strategy since 2016 has remained consistentsecure the base, split the opposition. Facebook takedowns of the Kremlins troll farm in 2019 showed Russian content promoting President Trump, denigrating Biden and elevating Sanders. In March of this year, Facebook closed a Russian troll farm cutout operation in Ghana that sought to infiltrate American minority groups on Facebook and Instagram, presumably hoping to divide the political left and influence voters headed into Election Day.
The Atlantic: The New Jersey Shooting Suspect Left a Pro-Trump Paper Trail
Not surprisingly, the chief suspect in the murder of a Latina Federal Judge's family members was a Trumpster.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/07/judge-esther-salas-shooting-suspect-left-pro-trump-paper-trail/614425/
Esther Salass 20-year-old son was killed in the attack at their home on Sunday, and her husband was wounded. Den Hollander was later found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in Rockland, New York. Den Hollanders insults toward Salas were included in a 2,028-page collection of writings he posted online in 2019 under the username Roy17den, a handle that mirrored his Twitter account, @roy17den, and the email address he used both in personal letters and in court filings.
Female judges didnt bother me as long as they were middle age or older black ladies, he writes when discussing a lawsuit he filed that went before Judge Salas, the first Hispanic woman appointed a federal judge in New Jersey. They seemed to have an understanding of how life worked and were not about to be conned by any foot dragging lawyer. Latinas, however, were usually a problemdriven by an inferiority complex.
Along with the attacks on Salas, Den Hollanders writings also go after President Barack Obama (who he said has an obsession to turn America into a banana republic), Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor (who he claimed was angry that nobody had invited her to her high school senior prom), Hillary Clinton (whose supporters were teary-eyed, sad-sack, PC loonies watching their power of intolerance go down the drain), and an Obama appointee (whom he describes as part of that Orwellian party of feminists, ethnics, Muslims, illegals and queers who think they are superior to everyone else, especially white males.)
Russia is backing a viral video company (Ruptly) aimed at American millennials
I was noticing a lot of videos of right wing protests being featured by a video channel named "Ruptly." For example, one video is entitled, "USA: Protesters rally for anti-mask protest, chant "We can"t breathe," which features an anti-mask protest headlined by Alex Jones of all people.
What is Ruptly? Well, Ruptly is a media outlet that is owned by Russia Today. Like Russia Today is pushes divisive content and features Russia friendly speakers on both the right and "left" such Glenn Greenwald who attacks the U.S. media ad shares tips for avoiding the NSA.
In short, Russia is back to its old tricks trying to undermine and spread division within the U.S.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/15/tech/russia-facebook-viral-videos/index.html
The pages are run by Maffick Media, a company whose majority stakeholder is Ruptly, a subsidiary of RT, which is funded by the Russian government. Although Maffick Media has hired contractors and freelancers in Los Angeles in recent months, the company is not registered in the US, it is registered in Germany.
Facebook suspended the pages on Friday, saying it would reach out to the people running them to ask that they disclose where the pages are run from and their affiliation with their parent company in order to get back on the platform.
The move was an unusual one for Facebook. The company does not require users to provide information about parent companies, but it is rolling out ways to try to increase transparency about who runs popular Facebook pages, and it has been taking aggressive steps to tackle covert government-backed information operations on its service. In 2016, a Kremlin-linked troll group ran a network of pages designed to look like they were operated by real American activists.
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