Tag Archives: covid-19

August 10, 2026 · 5:15 am

Let’s kick off the week with the Republican horsemen of the apocalypse!

First War: we’re still engaged in one because the Toddler and his government have no idea how to end it. And the options for doing so are steadily getting worse.

“We are asking small towns — many with no dedicated cybersecurity staff members and little money to spare — to protect essential infrastructure against hackers linked to other nations.” The Toddler has slashed cybersecurity funding and whines that (of course) the real problem is Democrats, not Iran.

“Using munitions is not necessarily a bad thing. They exist to be used. The question facing the United States is whether the risk in a future conflict arising from reduced inventories is worth the gain in the current conflict.” More on how and why we’re depleting our munitions here, here and here.

“Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump began with an astonishingly stupid theory of war: the belief that performative masculinity is how you win. Hegseth literally believes that the secret of military might in an age of AI-enabled drones that can travel hundreds of miles is more testosterone.”

The conflict between military GPS-blocking tech and civilian navigation needs.

The Toddler says the war is going great. Unsurprisingly the Toddler is pissed when he gets questioned about Iran. But he’s very sad about soldier deaths — though the Pentagon is also fudging the body count. And lying some more. Oh, and any right-wing criticism he gets? It doesn’t bother him at all.

“Iran’s military budget is a rounding error in our military budget. And we lost. For all practical purposes, we’ve left ourselves in a much weaker position and Iran in a stronger position than it was before. But Trump has to believe or has to claim that he believes that the whole world is extremely impressed.” And no, the Toddler does not have a policy on Iran, or on anything.

The Toddler hasn’t forgotten he wants to conquer Greenland and Canada. Small wonder China is winning as the Iran war continues.

Next Plague: The Toddler is now demanding SecHealth Kennedy go anti-vax even faster. And it’s not like Kennedy wasn’t already pushing the non-existent vaccine/autism link. Which has helped us set new records for measles cases. Digby speculates the Toddler’s seized on vaccines causing autism because Barron’s on the spectrum and the Toddler needs someone to blame. LGM suggests it’s the Toddler’s ego — if vaccines cause autism, then he can be the hero who cures autism.

“The Trump administration has effectively shut down most of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s activities, closing the spigot on federal funding estimated to have saved thousands of lives and billions of dollars over the past 27 years by improving medical practice.”

We’re also gutting HIV prevention programs.

And like his boss, Kennedy lies. Getting rid of the vaccine court would advance his goal of getting rid of vaccines.

Jay Bhattacharya, now head of the National Institutes of Health, was a crackpot critic of mask mandates who predicted a covid death-toll of 40,000 so no big deal. He was dead wrong but now he’s whining about how all the criticism the Toddler’s health officials get is because of the media and Joe Biden.

The attacks on science-based medicine keep getting worse. And so does the incoherent lies of the right wing about how covid was no big deal even though Anthony Fauci was a monster for unleashing such a terrible disease (he didn’t). Here’s more incoherent lies and political paranoia.

And we know how useless the CDC under Kennedy has been at monitoring the explosive diarrhea problem. And they’re not responding well either.

“The Trump administration plans to end a subsidy program that helped hold down premiums for Medicare drug plans, a move that could leave many seniors facing higher rates for their prescription coverage next year.”

How about Famine? “The U.S. Department of Agriculture has warned grocery stores across the country to avoid providing discounts to SNAP recipients who will not be receiving their full benefits this month, claiming it would be a violation of the rules governing the program. Here’s now food banks are prepping for the cuts.

And there’s Death. From being unable to get abortions even in a miscarriage. Even when you’re close to bleeding out. And now we have probable next Attorney General Todd “I’m so over the Epstein files” Blanche declaring he’ll be very aggressive in restricting abortion rights further.

I suppose killing the economy is something of a stretch on this theme, but hey, it’s my blog. So let’s note Republicans gave the Toddler the power to impose even worse tariffs. And despite the claims illegal immigrants are taking all the American jobs, deporting them hasn’t prevented a labor-market slump.

And of course, the appointment of Todd Blanche as AG will further the death of the rule of law.

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August 4, 2026 · 11:40 am

People in the news: Dr. Fauci, Sen. Moreno, Sen. Tillis, Todd Blanche

Anthony Fauci has spent a lifetime working in public health. He isn’t perfect. As And the Band Played On discusses, his warnings about AIDS made it sound far more contagious than it really was. Unfortunately, after the Toddler declared that covid was no big deal (despite knowing that it was a deadly threat, as he admitted later), anyone pushing sensible public health measures for a pandemic was the big bad of the age. Last month, Republicans called Dr. Fauci before Congress so they could discuss how awful he was (funny, they’re much more eager to interrogate him than they are the people in the Epstein files).

Suspecting they’d use anything he said against him, Fauci pleaded the Fifth. Even before that, we have Fox News declaring we must make an example of him. Senator Tommy Tuberville, going with conspiracy theories about the origins of covid, declared Fauci should be locked up for killing millions (no, he didn’t). Despite his giving pregnancy advice to Katie Miller, that professional misogynist says Fauci is a narcissist monster. And despite the Toddler repeatedly invoking the Fifth over the years, Republicans are outraged anyone else would do it. RFK Jr simultaneously condemned Fauci for pleading the Fifth and flogged his bullshit book on Fauci.

As Paul Campos says, the Republican view is that Fauci ruined America by mandating such absurd precautions against a disease that was no worse than a bad cold, but he’s also a monster indirectly responsible for spreading a disease that killed millions. No, it doesn’t make sense, but it’s not like they can run on their track record.

Then there’s Sen. Bernie Moreno who declared Fauci is a monster who cannot stay free. By contrast, when his daughter Emily reported that her ex-husband, Rep. Max Miller was violently abusive to her and their daughter, Sen. Moreno said nothing that would endanger Miller’s re-election chances. This week, Moreno changed his tune and called on Miller to resign. My guess is that Moreno hoped Miller could ride out the storm and keep the seat Republican; now that the tide is turning, he wants Miller to step down before it’s too late to take him off the ballot. Meanwhile our president shrugs the charges against Miller off: “I’ve always thought he’s a very good person.” Given how little he cared about the allegations against Justice Brett Kavanaugh and SecDef Pete Hegseth, is anyone surprised?

Speaking of violence against women, it turns out that Daniel Moraff, the consultant who discovered and promoted alleged rapist Graham Platner, has his own alleged history of violence and assault (I believe the allegations).

Last but not least we have North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis. Since the Toddler forced him out of the race for re-election, Tillis has been showing signs of a spine. That includes questioning the choice of Toddler-toady Todd Blanche as new AG. Blanche assured Tillis and fellow holdout John Cornyn that policies he’d pushed like the Toddler’s slush fund and protecting the Toddler from IRS investigation were now dead. This appears to be baloney; nevertheless, Tillis is now fine with Blanche, just as he was fine with every cabinet pick, including RFK Jr. He even interviewed Pete Hegseth’s sister in law about domestic abuse allegations against Whiskey Pete, talked about how seriously he took that stuff — then voted for Hegseth as SecDef. Which he’s manifestly unqualified for, quite aside from the allegations. Tillis has been critical of the Iran war recently but let’s not forget — his votes helped lead us into it.

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April 3, 2025 · 5:15 am

Just because the clown car is full of clowns, it can still run you over

As the Felon administration demonstrated by how easily it reveals secret war plans (and yes, despite their lies it’s not a hoax and the leak is a bad thing), we’re currently under a government of incompetents. Pete Hegseth, the SecDef who pretends he’s all about merit, is about as meritorious as a box of rocks. His only qualification for his gig is that he won’t hesitate if President Snowflake wants him to call out the troops to kill protesters who hurt the Snowflake’s fee-fees.

And because Hegseth is the Felon’s pick, Republicans are recoiling from admitting he’s a failure. More here. Oh, and did you know Hegseth thinks manly military warrior-hood means it’s okay to commit war crimes.

As Paul Krugman says, however, it’s possible to be both incompetent and evil: “Musk is incompetent and evil. He suffers from billionaire brain — that special blend of ignorance and arrogance that occurs all too frequently in men who believe that their success in accumulating personal wealth means that they understand everything, no need to do any homework. But he also clearly detests anything that makes life better for non-billionaires. And he shares these traits with Donald Trump, which makes them allies”

RFK Junior may be genuinely ignorant about vaccines and medicine, for instance, but he’s still doing evil by gutting government support for them. It’s politically incorrect to believe covid was ever a problem so RFK’s pretense he cares about chronic health problems doesn’t include long covid (happily there was pushback and the funding’s been restored). He’s massively cutting government health staff. He’s tapping a debunked anti-vax researcher to prove the non-existent link between vaccines and autism. The US is ending overseas vaccination programs and making the spread of measles worse (and worse). We are, of course, gutting research into LGBTQ health problems. And making it harder for scientists to communicate.

Tucker Carlson ain’t smart, but his willingness to pander to anti-vaxxers is immoral too. Ditto this.

And of course, there are other health hazards Republicans are bringing back into fashion. Also cutting back the fight against invasive species. And getting rid of fluoride in our water. Nor do they think studying violence against pregnant women is worth funding.

They’re also looking at more child labor as a solution to the lack of immigrants.

This is evil. So is deporting someone for pro-Palestinian free speech. And ending programs that fight child labor, sex trafficking and slave labor. Or detaining Putin’s critics and handing them over to him.

How about rich people who use their money to shape public policy then whine about blowback?

MTG is an evil liar whose Christian faith doesn’t stop her bearing false witness about her enemies. She’s also none too bright and cracks like an egg under pressure.

Eliminating FEMA seems to qualify as evil. I’m guessing they’ll reconfigure things so the felon can dole out disaster aid to those who kiss his ring, much as he’s already rewarding your toadies in other areas. As LGM noted a couple of years back, a lot of Republican policy is based on the assumption that Dems won’t treat them the same way if the tables turn — though they’ll lie and accuse them of it anyway.

Then there’s the Treasury axing some of its rules against money-laundering.

On the plus side, some blowback is happening. The fight is not over though even if we win, there will be shit-ton of damage. As usual after a Repub presidency, we’ll have to clean it up — even though many right-wingers will cling to the belief whatever’s wrong in their lives is our fault.

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May 27, 2024 · 6:32 am

Homophobe grifter Mat Staver has a win-win here

As I’ve mentioned before, conservative activists, while they may be sincere, are also in it for the money. Anti-gay lawyer Mat Staver is undoubtedly sincere in his loathing for LGBTQ rights but he has no qualms lying about gays and asking for money to fight them. Or spouting bullshit about the horrible effects of covid vaccines — send him money to fight vaccine mandates!

The same thing applies to Staver’s announcement his Liberty Counsel organization is taking anti-gay bureaucrat Kim Davis’ case to the Supreme Court. Davis, you may remember, was a Kentucky county clerk who refused to sign marriage licenses for gay couples. She also refused to let anyone in her office do it on the grounds she’d have to sign it so she was still guilty of approving what she considered sinful behavior. Later she switched to denying all marriage licenses so she couldn’t be accused of discrimination.

Lawsuits followed. Davis lost. Now Staver’s appealing to the Supreme Court and throwing in a call to overturn Obergefell and end the right to gay marriage.

I have no sympathy for Davis. She gets paid, in part, out of gay citizens’ taxes; telling them she refuses to provide service isn’t acceptable. Plus the idea she’d have been personally “approving” the marriages is nonsense. All a county clerk does is certify that the marriage meets the legal requirements. It doesn’t constitute approval. Maybe the county clerk who signed my marriage license didn’t approve of me marrying someone 15 years younger or didn’t approve of me not having a religious wedding. Signing the license didn’t force them to compromise, it only established that I met the legal requirements. Davis has been married four times. I suspect she’d freak out if anyone denied her a marriage license on the grounds they didn’t approve of divorce.

For Staver, however, this is a win-win. I don’t know what the odds of overturning Obergefell or even reversing Davis’ legal defeat are but I’m sure some of the judges would be up for both. And if it doesn’t he gets publicity and oh, yes, money. Click through my link above and he’s asking for donations. Fighting gay marriage has been a cash cow for right-wingers for years.

In other religious notes:

House Speaker Mike Johnson talks a lot about having a Biblical worldview. His worldview does not include judging other people —oh, wait, he does that, he just refuses to judge Trump. Christian right-winger Rick Green talks about how Biden is unworthy, Biblically speaking — but everything Green says describes Trump.

Pope Francis reaches out to trans sex workers. Conservative Protestants shit themselves. Coincidentally, Fred Clark contemplates the bafflement of some right-wing Christians at why they’re considered the bad guys.

Wonder what a Christian nationalist America would look like? Well for starters, some advocates say Muslims can’t be Americans. And they continue lying about how Muslims are taking us over and imposing sharia law. It wouldn’t be too good for people with mental illness as some right-wing Christian leaders claim mental illness doesn’t exist. And if people are poor, it’s because God doesn’t love them as much as the rich. And gays and atheists don’t have the right to disagree with Christians.

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May 14, 2023 · 5:15 am

AIDS in the ’80s: one book, one movie

When I first read Randy Shilts’ AND THE BAND PLAYED ON: Politics, People and the AIDS Epidemic, I saw it as a current-events book that would be worth reading as history in decades to come. Rereading it recently I still think so, with one large exception (discussed in Killing Patient Zero further on).

As the book begins, gay men in San Francisco and New York — two hotspots for gay life at the time — start coming down with Kaposi’s sarcoma, a skin cancer that typically affects elderly Jews and grows slowly. These cancers did not. Other victims are hit with baffling bacterial growth in the lungs or brain diseases. Before long it becomes clear that something is killing gay men but is it drugs? An STD? How can it be stopped? And what do you call it: what started as “the gay cancer” became Gay-Related Immune Deficiency and then Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

Shilts’ book is fueled by rage at pretty much everyone. Gays who refused to believe their sex life was the issue, and refused to practice safe sex. Government officials in both cities who sat on their hands about doing anything to help gays, or refused to close gay bathhouses for fear of offending gay supporters. Media that had zero interest in writing about some disease killing those icky people (the first stories focused on It Might Affect Straights!!!). Blood banks that resisted taking precautions against tainted blood — their blood does not have gay cooties! And it would be expensive to test! The Reagan administration lied through its teeth saying, over and over, that they’d funded every possible AIDS research and mitigation project when requests for funding were piling up. University administrations refused to expedite research requests by staffers and punished anyone who made an end run.

The result? Years wasted, lots more people dead. I’m not sure if AIDS was, as many people describe it, the most terrifying disease of the century (was it scarier than the Spanish flu or the possibility of kids getting polio?) but it was a horrifyingly lethal one. It might have been even worse if Rock Hudson, closeted Hollywood gay, hadn’t come down with AIDS. Here was a star who could put a face on the disease (though TYG says for people her age, young Ryan White getting AIDs from a transfusion was a much bigger deal): if a Hollywood icon and manly man could get AIDS, nobody was safe!

All that said, Shilts writes about a number of admirable figures too: people who fought for funding, researched the disease, pushed for safe-sex measures and struggled to save lives (right wing Senator Orrin Hatch was, to my surprise, one of them). Plus those who died, whether with dignity, resignation, fury or tears (or a mix of all of them). It’s the mix of individual experience and big-picture worldview that makes the book so effective.

Even though I lived through the era it feels unreal to me now. Shilts, writing in 1987, talks about how our lives are broken into Before the epidemic and After which is how it felt at the time. It was a seismic shock that made it suddenly acceptable to talk about condoms on TV (a big taboo previously) but now it’s a musty memory (keep in mind I was a straight guy living a low-risk life so I didn’t go through the harrowing some of the book’s subjects did). It makes me appreciate how the Spanish flu and polio have receded into history. It also makes me see some of the covid insanity with fresh eyes. Religious conservatives insisting their right to hold superspreader services — who knows if covid’s even real? — aren’t that far off from the reactions some gays had to the news sex could kill them.

The one place Shilts blows it is his portrayal of Gaetan Dugas, the man he fingers as Patient Zero, the gay dude who brought AIDS to America and spread it through a promiscuous lifestyle that kept going even after his symptoms became obvious. Except as KILLING PATIENT ZERO (2020) shows, AIDS had a much longer latency period than first appeared, taking as much as a decade to destroy people’s immune systems; that meant it was established in the American gay population well before Dugas, a Canadian flight attendant, supposedly began spreading it.

Dugas was, like many gay men, skeptical about AIDS being spread by STDs (one of the things better funding might have confirmed sooner); the movie points out that for many gays, sexual freedom in the 1970s was proof they were no longer the love that dare not speak its name and they didn’t want to withdraw from that. Dugas, ironically, came off looking like the prime mover because he cooperated so much with the CDC, providing lots of information about his sexual contacts; had other men been as forthcoming the map of who infected whom would have looked very different. And Patient Zero — a term that didn’t exist before AIDS — was really a misinterpretation of “Patient O” in one file, short for “Out of California.”

Shilts’ editor (the author himself has passed) says he seized on Dugas as a way to put a face on the epidemic; giving readers and the media a Typhoid Mary figure (and Typhoid Mary herself was nowhere near the lethal carrier legend has made her out to be) would generate enough attention people outside the gay community would read the book. Giving them a Typhoid Gay guaranteed right-wing media would flag the book as one of interest (right-wing outlets, as I recall from the time, took great glee pointing out it was All Gays’ Fault for their lechery, but ignoring Reagan’s role). Shilts didn’t like demonizing Dugas but he went along with it and the tactic worked. The documentary does a good job painting Dugas as human being rather than a deviant monster. I’d recommend anyone who reads Shilts’ book follow up with the movie. “It seems to me reality shouldn’t come ready-packed with metaphors.”

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October 17, 2022 · 5:36 am

Another “lying right-wingers” post, starting off with some good news!

Alex Jones who claimed the Sandy Hook shooting was a fraud, wrapped up his second civil lawsuit owing almost $1 billion in damages. He says no way he can pay, but there’s no doubt he has the money. Hopefully the attorneys will hound him until he bleeds out financially (I’ve heard different legal speculation how likely that is).

Marjorie Taylor Greene, the third-class celebrity pretending to be a congresswoman, feigns outrage because “all he did was speak words” so not respecting his freedom of speech is persecution. But there are many situations in which free speech doesn’t protect speaking words: slander, intimidation, extortion, and defamation, which is what they nailed Jones on. While Greene is a dim bulb, I suspect she knows that but she knows her online audience doesn’t care.

Similarly, anti-Muslim liar Laura Loomer says she’ll never pay the damages CAIR won for her lies about them because the money would fund terrorism — another lie.

In other Republicans Lying news:

Republicans talk about how harsh voting rules are necessary to prevent fraud. Turns out Ron DeStalinist is fine with loosening the rules for hurricane-hit counties — but only the ones that vote Republican.

By a great deal of dogged reporting, Christian reporter Mike Hertenstein found a tape of evangelist Billy Graham telling Nixon that while Hitler made some mistakes, he was only trying to free Germany from the control of The Synagogue of Satan. In other words, Graham embraced and spread one of the fundamental anti-Semitic lies.

The single largest source of lying and misinformation about covid? Donald Trump (though Fox News helps). And while his PAC talks big about the importance of winning Congress next month, “the group has contributed about $8.4 million so far directly to Republican campaigns and committees, while devoting $7 million to Trump’s lawyers and another $2 million to the nonprofits, which employ former members of his administration, including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.”

Herschel Walker offered to pay for his girlfriend’s abortion, then stiffed her for the money.

Senator Tommy Tuberville says Democrats want to give reparations to criminals. Jennifer Rubin says reporters need to press other Republicans to take a stand on such statements.

Conservative judges are now claiming Yale is so woke, they won’t accept clerks from Yale Law School. Which if you believe their cancel-culture bullshit means they’re punishing conservative students who’ve already suffered persecution at YLS (supposedly).

Misogynist preacher John Piper claims sex is only for Christians — everyone else is just prostituting themselves.

Republicans claim they’re fighting groomers, but as I’ve mentioned before the grooming is coming from inside the house. And this house.

Propagandist Michael Flynn claims that state governors can declare war. I suspect he means “Republican governors.”

Right-wing ex-Dem Tulsi Gabbard (don’t let the door hit you on the way out!) and Seth Rogan spread that bullshit about schools catering to furries.

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April 14, 2022 · 5:09 am

Bad Republican ideas

Several decades ago, Ronald Reagan claimed Republicans were the “party of ideas.” They still are, but all their ideas suck.

For example, Sen. Rick Scott’s unworkable proposal that all federal legislation ends every five years. Of course, given all the government functions a gridlocked/Republican dominated Congress won’t reauthorize, that probably means millions more for tax cuts to rich senators. Not that he’s outside the mainstream on cutting everything that doesn’t line their pockets.

One of their supposed killer arguments against newly confirmed Justice Jackson (Woot!) was that she couldn’t define what a woman is. As Monica Hesse points out, none of their ideas of what a woman is make a lick of sense.

And they’re still totally dedicated to Not Saying Gay. And accusing Disney of turning viewers gay. And it hurts the kids and parents they pretend to be protecting.

How about their dedication to forcing doctors to give patients ivermectin for covid? And less and less effort to treat Covid. with vaccines that work. But they will, however, spread conspiracy bullshit about it.

The Supreme Court increasingly using the “shadow docket” to overturn laws without giving legal opinions. More here. Though the Repub judges are quite insistent we should read their well-reasoned opinions rather than assume they’re partisan hacks …oh, no opinions in shadow docket cases? Go figure.

The increasing calls for violence. I suppose when they stop walking it back is when we’ll really know we’re in deep shit.

They’re the party of more and more guns, and then more guns.

And less and less effort to treat Covid.

And freaking out over their fear that Democrats will replace white people.

More generally, there’s their conviction that it’s A-OK to spew any amount of bullshit to get elected. Trump won in 2020. Covid vaccines kill. Trump’s fumbled Truth Social is doing better than Twitter. Even dumbass, easily disproven stuff such as claiming it was Trump, not Obama who had bin Ladin killed. They’re following in the wake of Trump, a man who doesn’t really believe in truth or lies, just saying whatever works. As I’ve said before, it’s depressing that if America dies, it’s going to be from cheap right-wing grifters.

So to counter depressing, a few small victories. Not enough to turn the tide; then again, no one victory ever turns the tide. So let’s celebrate!

Steve Bannon says he shouldn’t be held in contempt of Congress because he refused their subpoena based on his lawyer’s advice. A judge cries bullshit.

Ammon Bundy, right-wing slimeball, refused his 40 hours of court-ordered service. He’s now getting 10 days in jail.

An appeals court has reversed a lower court decision blocking the vaccine mandate for federal workers. The mandate is back on.

A 1/6 revolutionary is looking at a potential eight-year sentence.

Mark Meadows, 1/6 coup plotter and Trump toady, apparently registered to vote in 2020 based on an NC address he’s never lived at. North Carolina has struck him from the voter rolls. Though given blacks busted for alleged voter fraud have faced prison sentences, it’s a shame that’s the worst he’ll get.

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January 31, 2022 · 5:10 am

So if covid mandates is no different than requiring measles shots in schools …

The obvious conclusion is that measles and other vaccine mandates are unacceptable too. Because vaccine mandates are bad is now an absolute Republican axiom, not to be questioned. And Republican politicians won’t risk re-election by standing up and being the ones who question. Never mind how many children get sick or anti-vaxxers die. Case in point, Kansas state Senator Richard Hilderbrand who wants to eliminate liability for doctors who prescribe ivermectin — where’s the proof it doesn’t work?

It’s true that even the polio vaccine had its anti-vaxxers, but at least they were true believers, not cowards who know the vaccine saves lives (and I’m sure are vaccinated themselves) but don’t have the spine to say so.  Though to be fair, Sen. Ron Johnson says so many idiotic anti-vax things, maybe he doesn’t even feel any pressure on his spine. For example that Fauci overhyped covid like he overhyped AIDS — except overhyping AIDs was the opposite of what happened in the 1980s (check out Randy Shilts’ classic And the Band Played On for a look at how blithely health officials and the government approached the disease).

I doubt Dr. Joseph Ladapo is that ignorant about vaccines — he’s an MD after all — but to get his gig as Florida’s new surgeon general, he’s willing to say maybe vaccines don’t work. After all, Typhoid Ron DeSantis just fired a surgeon general who said the opposite. Likewise I suspect religious conservative anti-vaxxer osteopath Sherri Tenpenny is spewing bullshit (the vaccine will make you a transhumanist cyborg!) because as noted at the link it’s been great for her public profile. But hey, maybe she is batshit delusional.

Oh, and DeSantis himself, despite opposing vaccine mandates, masking or anything that makes the pandemic less lethal, is quick to whine about how it’s Democrats who want us to die. And how nurses shouldn’t be forced to get the vaccine because many of them want to have babies (no further explanation).

Patrick Howley, who once claimed the government plans to criminalize checking out women’s breasts, now claims vaccinated people shun him because they can sense he’s not a “Pfizerblood”

Even Dr. Fauci’s feeling the pressure, and who can blame him?

I’m sure some anti-vaxxers are up in arms that getting vaccinated is a prerequisite for heart transplants. They’re perfectly happy to blame people who believe in medicine and say it’s their fault anti-vaxxers are dying.

You’d think the Supreme Court, who have lifetime appointments, would show some sense, but they’re part of the Republican death cult too.

If this were happening in the developing world, you know how the media would cover it. Ignorant superstitious natives, unable to comprehend Western medicine, fearful it will do something evil to their bodies or that it’s the medicines that make you sick! And yeah, that about sums it up. The anti-vax movement is like the witch doctors in countless old jungle movies. Terrified they’ll lose their power if people embrace the “white man’s medicine” they do their best to whip up the equivalent of a torch-burning mob.

In the movies, of course, those guys always lost. In reality, it seems they’re doing pretty damn well.

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January 17, 2022 · 5:00 am

Talking tough, talking stupid

As I’ve mentioned before Republicans love to talk about killing their opponents but they don’t want to be held responsible for their rhetoric. Case in point, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene declaring Americans must use the Second Amendment to fight liberal tyranny, but of course she’s not suggesting violence, not her!

Conversely, when indulging in heated rhetoric about liberal fascism or the communist takeover, they evoke Stalin while offering tame examples like liberals “manipulating their access to status and comfort.” Stalin did a damn sight more than that, dudes. Likewise, lying Trump toady Matt Gaetz claims that blaming Republicans for 1/6 is the blood libel. Dude the blood libel involved mobs killing Jews for supposedly using children’s blood in their Passover bread; I don’t see mobs coming for your head, The QAnon accusations about cannibal pedophiles are much closer to the blood libel in substance, and they’ve already led to some violent incidents. And they do want people’s heads.

That does not, however, stop them from just making up injustices, like J.D. Vance claiming dozens of 1/6 seditionists have been jailed without charges. It’s a lie. So is Dennis Prager’s claim the 1/6 insurrection was a false flag like the Reichstag fire. Ted Cruz told the truth about 1/6 this month, but then had to walk it back. SC Senator Lindsay Graham has a shit fit that Biden calling out the insurrection as just that is politicizing events. Yes, what could be political about an attempt to overthrow the duly elected president.

By contrast Republicans have no problems with the Republican party committing to the goal of more people dying of covid. And yet some members of the press pretend there are no significant issues in current politics.

Now, to the stupid —

Speaking of covid, Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, brings the stupid to his anti-vax arguments with “Why do we think that we can create something better than God in terms of combating disease?” Yes, remember how natural immunity has conquered smallpox, polio, tetanus, measels and flu? Oh, wait, we get shots for those. In Wisconsin state government, nitwit Republican Treig Pronchinske argues that since we can’t see covid virus particles, we can’t tell if anyone has it, let alone treat it. Again, a few centuries of medical history show he’s full of it.

Then there’s anti-vax militant Christopher Key, who says you can beat the Trump virus without a vaccine by drinking your own urine. And the conservative who claims, a la Ron Johnson, that God’s a better doctor: healing through prayer will be like universal health care with no deductibles. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court is siding with anti-vaxers on the dubious grounds that workplace safety laws don’t specifically cover pandemics.

And then there’s the guy who said history classes about Nazism and Soviet communism should be impartial.

David Bateman of the Silicon Valley firm Entrata lost his CEO gig after claiming the covid vaccine is part of a Jewish takeover plot (“For 300 years the Jews have been trying to infiltrate the Catholic Church and place a Jew covertly at the top. It happened in 2013 with Pope Francis.”).

Returning to  the tough talk, at least a few bullies are getting their comeuppance. Kaleb Cole of the Atomwaffen Division neo-Nazi group got seven years for threatening journalists with death. The leader of the right-wing Oathkeepers has been arrested for his 1/6 role.

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January 3, 2022 · 5:10 am

It’s not about winning (and other religious links)

As Jack Kirby once observed, humans are really bad at living by their ideals. It’s much easier to turn them into flags, then go and kill everyone carrying a different flag. The idea that our religion, for instance, is about something bigger than “our side wins!” is a difficult one.

Case in point, Donald Trump Jr. informs young conservatives that they’re playing too nice: We’ve turned the other cheek  … I understand the mentality but it’s gotten us nothing,” he complained. “OK? It’s gotten us nothing while we’ve ceded ground in every major institution.” Dude, it’s not about getting us something in this world, it’s about acting in the way God requests. Of course, I doubt Junior cares — I’m sure his Christianity is ass nonexistent as his father’s — other than convincing his audience to support The Former Guy when he tries to overthrow the government again.

I have similar thoughts about Melissa Crabtree, an Oklahoma Trump voter and conservative Christian who says she’s angry at being ridiculed for opposing mask mandates: “Why people are choosing to shame others, I don’t know.” Given she’s also angry over men not being masculine enough, gender blurring and teaching kids racism is bad, I suspect she’s fine with shaming people — just not people who think like her (I could be wrong).

An old Slacktivist post looks at the right-wing bullshit that women should give birth without drugs because, the Bible!

And of course we have right-wing bullshitter Charlie Kirk comparing Kyle Rittenhouse to Jesus.

The pandemic has stressed out clergy just like laity.

Militant Islam is on the rise in Pakistan. Not that our religious right here wouldn’t be just as bad once off the leash.

I’m an admirer of Beth Allison Barr and Kristen Kobes Du Mez but to patriarchalist ministers and Christian leaders they’re false teachers and wolves. As the article at the link says, the problems are “not the fault of those asking the questions; the problem is building a take-it-or-leave-it worldview on premises that don’t hold up to scrutiny made in good faith.”

A Christian in Virginia is outraged that a banned books display includes the Bible.

Even some of The Former Guy’s evangelical allies are upset with his cussing out Israeli leaders — how dare Netanhayu call and congratulate Biden? I suspect they’ll still vote for TFG when time comes though.

Conservatives love to blame sexual harassment and predators like Harvey Weinstein on liberal sexual values. But then we get conservative Christians like like Pennsylvania DA Bill Higgins, a Very Moral Man who goes easy on female defendants in return for sex. He was later convicted.

Christian finance guru Dave Ramsey has been sued by an employee, Brad Amos, for religious discrimination. Amos says his religious beliefs require him to mask and take other steps to avoid spreading Covid; Ramsey is anti-covid restrictions and allegedly fired Amos. I’m sure all the Republicans so outraged about vaccine mandates will raly to Amos’ cause … I’ll come in again.

And now some Christmas links:

“An escaped camel sent police scrambling in a Kansas City suburb this past weekend. The dromedary in question escaped a Nativity scene in Bonner Springs, Kansas.

Learning history from It’s a Wonderful Life. Caution, it’s not always a good teacher. It’s a better teacher in matters of faith.

“Christmas hope may well fall in the psychological category of wish fulfillment. But that does not disprove the possibility of actually fulfilled wishes. On Christmas, we consider the disorienting, vivid evidence that hope wins.” — Michael Gerson on not giving in to despair (pitched to fellow believers, but I am one).

“Most evangelical posturing on covid mandates is really syncretism, a merging of unrelated beliefs — in this case, the substitution of libertarianism for Christian ethics. In this distorted form of faith, evangelical Christians are generally known as people who loudly defend their own rights.” — Gerson again.

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