Anti-Immigrant activists arriving at the U.S.-Mexico boarder in Texas are shocked to find nothing awaiting them

 

For decades, the biggest lie the GOP and Right Wing Media outlets knew they could count on for DECADES during election years was the idea America is being “invaded” by immigrants throug the Southern Boarder.

This past weekend, conservative activists and White Christian nationalists from across the country have started to arrive at the U.S.-Mexico boarder. What have they found?

NOTHING. Absolutely nothing.

 

No caravans, no trucks packed with “illegals”. No traffickers. NOTHING.

What does this mean for those who for decades were told by Right Wing Media media America was being “invaded” by illegal immigrants? No idea but now that they’re seeing the truth with their own eyes, we’ll see.

I’m not expecting people to change their views overnight or anything like that but hopefully, these people will start thinking for themselves. This is also why I’m not bashing those who took the time to travel to Texas to see what’s going on for themselves. If that’s what it takes for people to understand they’re being deceived, more power to ’em.

 

Anyone who’s lived in New York City or spent time there at night has likely seen these folks in red patrolling the streets. Founded in 1977 by Curtis Silwa, the vigilante group patrols the streets of New York City largely looking out of acts of violence and crime.

They have allegedly intercepted hundreds of attempted muggings and dozens of attempted sexual assaults in just NYC though they’ve expanded to other U.S. cities including Philadelphia, Denver. Chicago and Los Angeles.

I’d heard a lot of positive things about the Guardian Angels until about 16 years ago. I know a lot of people who live and work in New York City. I mean people who’ve had encounters with the Guardian Angels. They’re referred to as a vigilante group and a pack of thugs with good reason. There’s been documented cases of the Guardian Angels taking the law into their own hands–often at Silwa’s urging–and attacking people they suspect of having just committed a crime before they call the police.

The Guardian Angels like to publicly flaunt their friendly relationship with law enforcement but in truth they’ve become a nusiance to NYPD. Silwa had a few failed mayoral bids over the years and many now think he’s taking his political failures out on the people his group targets on a nightly basis. More so given Eric Adams–a former cop–is the current mayor of New York.

Last year, Silwa was recorded shouting anti-immigrant rhetoric outside of a migrant shelter. What made it shocking was the fact he did it while dressed in the Guardian Angels’ signature jumpsuit and some of his people present. To be fair, his group is made up of people from all background male and female but it’s clearly just for sake of appearances. People who’ve known Silwa for decades have long spoken out about his racist ideologies.

That brings me to last week. During Silwa’s interview with Fox “News”, members of his group suddenly turned and tackled a man he claimed was a migrant caught shoplifting live on TV. It was later revealed the man his group assaulted was neither a migrant or a shoplifter but the damage has already been done. The person who was assaulted can and should sue Silwa to say the least.

All that said. This incident is every black and brown person’s worst fear come true: Being targeted by groups like this because you look a certain way. Even worse is the self-justification people like Silwa like to use for arbitrarily doing that to others.

 

That brings me to this past weekend’s shooting incident at prominent Televangelist Joel Olsteen’s mega church in Houston, Texas.

I’ve talked about this a bit on Xitter with a few folks but the more I look at that incident, the more it stinks of setup. It’s nothing more than speculation on my part but circumstances make it hard for me to believe that was a “mentally ill person” who randomly chose that location to target.

For one, it’s well known to people in the area Olsteen’s church has armed security who patrol the halls while it’s open and 24/7 closed circuit security everywhere.

Second, the only person who died was the shooter herself. Not saying she never fired a weapon but it looks like she never actually shot anyone. Her 7 year old son and another bystander were shot–her son critically–in as a law enforcement spokesman said was “an exchange of gunfire”. It’s easy for them to claim that when the suspect was killed on sight and from how it sounds her son may not live very long either.

Third, the “good guys with guns” happened to be nearby when she came in and shot her before she could shoot anyone. Meaning the “good guys with guns” shot her, her son and a bystander. Let that sink in. THAT is the reality those who worship the NRA deem “acceptible collateral damage”.

All that said. What I’m saying–and to be clear, this is nothing more than speculation on my part–is this was a setup. The shooter and her son were Hispanic and they happened to enter just when Spanish worship services were about to began. The incident has already been twisted and repackaged by White Christian Nationalists to claim the shooter was an illegal immigrant which obviously was not true.

That aside, it’s not a secret Olsteen has local law enforcement in his pocket. It would not be hard for him to fabricate a story and distort facts to his liking with the cooperation of local law enforcement. My point is don’t expect the truth to ever be known. Olsteen holds a lot of power and influence in the area as well as in most Evangelical circles not just nationwide but worldwide. It would not be hard for him to fabricate this kind of setup is what I’m saying.

Hours before yesterday’s mass shooting event in Kanasas City happened, I was listening to the latest episode of Joe Trippi’s podcast. In the February 13 episode he had Simon Rosenberg as a guest. Rosenberg made a comment that really stood out to me: Republican voters in red state are really getting left behind.

For the second year in a row, Massachusetts was just named the most educated state in the country and with MassReconnect they might happen a third time next year. By “most educated” we’re not not talking about college or secondary education but primary education (K-12), Preschool/Pre-K (K-0-K2) and access to Museums and public libraries.

I live in Boston but I’ve seen the inside of public libraries in New Bedford, Chelsea, Athol and a few other places in Massachusetts. Despite retail bookstore chains like Barnes and Noble and Boarders going out of business in recent decades, Public Libraries have been and continue to be a constant here.

This is to say nothing of the fact life expectancy is much higher in “Blue” states compared to “Red” states. Yes, nationwide life expectancy is trending in the wrong direction but the reasons and causes for that are largely in Republican policies and ideologies. Even worse is culturally, they’re “proud” of their apparent “race to the bottom”.

This brings me back to the outrage machine that is Republican propaganda going back almost 100 years now. At the beginning, I talked about those who went to see the Southern Boarder in Texas for themselves seeing no sign of an invasion as they’d been told was happening by Right Wing pundits and politicians for decades.

I do think many will now start thinking for themselves and asking the right kinds of questions. It may not be obvious right now but we are seeing the beginning of the end of the current Republican Party. The media is not talking about the growing number of former Republican politicians at all levels who are making plans as we speak to campaign for Biden.

This is to say nothing of former MAGA people like ex-“MAGA Granny” Pam Hemphill who bravely infiltrate Trump rallies to try to talk to people and get them to start thinking for themselves. I’ve said this many times on this blog in 2023 but like it or not, the rest of us need to be willing and able to welcome those who’ve been subjected to in many cases generations of undue influence back into society. True reconciliation can’t happen otherwise.

I want to end with this and it is important. Just like most Democratic voters in Red states who don’t see a reason or need to move just because their political views are different from the majority, the same is also true of Republicans in Blue states. In most cases, they’ve lived in the state they live in all their lives and rightfully shouldn’t have to move just because their political views are different from the majority.

We also NEED Democratic voters living in Red States to stay where they are and not give in to pressure to move to a Blue state. The last thing we want to do is exaserbate the political discord by having a lot of people move en masse to or from states based on their political views. That certainly should be be discouraged to say the least.

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All these GOP politicians calling for violence against government agencies, judges and officials need to be held accountable

 

Like I said at the end of my last post, the Republican Party is openly picking a fight with U.S. Government. Why? Because a Democrat is in the White House first and their interests are being treatened second. As far as they’re concerned, the Justice Department, Law Enforcement and so on are only corrupt when they don’t go after their political rivals (Democrats, etc.) or go after them. That’s their definition of “Justice” or “Injustice”.

This is also why they are feeding the extremists in their party with rhetoric calling for violence against not just Democrats but law enforcement, judges and now the FBI. Thursday afternoon, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a statement regarding the Search Warrant executed on Trump’s residence in Florida on Monday. The only reasons he commented publicly on it was because Trump himself confirmed it happened and the Right has been spreading baseless conspiracy theories second.

This is of course to say nothing of the fact the Far Right IS calling for violence and murder against Law Enforcement or more specifically, Federal agents and the judge who signed the search warrant. Before Garland spoke, there was an ongoing situation involving a guy in Ohio who tried to breach the FBI’s offices in Cinncinnati. He left something to the effect of a suicide note on Trump’s social media platform–including a call to arms–after leaving the scene and was later killed in a shootout with law enforcement.

This is Domestic Terrorism just so we’re clear.

I talked about this in detail in the previous post but the Right and the many Far Right groups with similar interests who are on the move in all 50 states want to dismantle the current government and replace it with an Authoritorian Autocracy or a Theocratic Autocracy.

The response from the GOP was summed up quite nicely by one pundit on CNN this afternoon: The Three Ds.

• Deny: Refute facts and accountability.
• Deflect: Redirect negative public and media scrutiny with Whataboutism and Bothsidesism.
• Destroy: Publicly attack the media, government officials, witnesses and other relevant parties in efforts to discredit all sources.

It’s the same playbook they’ve been using well before Trump though he greatly improved it.

All that said, more acts of Domestic Terrorism by people on the Far Right should be expected in the days, weeks and months to come. The GOP has no offramp they can take because the extremists won’t allow allow them to get off. Not even the more hardline establishment Republicans want to see people get killed but they know they can’t stop if they don’t want to be targeted by their own base. In short, they’re in a lose-lose situation. And they know it.

 

As I was writing this, news broke some of the documents in Trump’s possession that the FBI was after has to do with information about nuclear weapons. What we don’t know–yet–is if this about nuclear weapons belonging to a rogue state, allies OR the U.S. Trump is known to be VERY careless–he has an FBI informant in his inner circle after all–and the obvious next question any reasonable person to ask is who else knew about those documents and where they were?

I don’t need to spell out how bad to WORSE this potentially is depending on whose info that was. As president, he would have access to this information while he was in office.

Here’s a quick overview of the potential implications:

• If the intel was about a rogue nation’s nuclear weapons, the question would be what was he planning to do with that information? He could easily leverage that data with the country in question for money or more likely, safe haven from the U.S. Government. He could also offer it to a third party nation for the same reasons.
• If the intel was about an ally’s nuclear weapons, the question is the same more or less. He could sell that infornation to a rogue nation for either money or safe haven.
• If the intel is about the U.S.’ nuclear weapons, that is the obvious worst case scenario. Not just in regards to rogue nations but people here in the U.S. looking to cause chaos.

…Of course, any or a combination of the three will be a major headache for Biden to deal with. If it’s a rogue nation, they will want to know if the U.S. is actively planning something. If it’s an ally, it makes the U.S. look careless and more so given how disliked Trump was as president around the world. If it’s our own intel, the question Congress, nevermind the DOJ would DEMAND to know is what was Trump planning to do with that information.

News jusr broke minutes before midnight Thursday night Trump announced via his Social Media that he will not oppose the DOJ unsealing the warrant the FBI used to search his Florida home. Garland called his bluff and Trump was forced to give his approval. He has a copy of the warrant–it’s required by law–among other things so he already knows what it says.

Trump is going to find out how it feels to be on the wrong side of a Federal criminal investigation real soon. Now that Trump has publicly announced he will not contest the warrant being publicly released, the rest of us should know the contents by Friday afternoon the latest. This is the beginning of the end of Trump and that will be made more obvious when you start seeing GOP politicians and candidates stop publicly talking about him. It’s coming SOON.

As the saying goes, the longest rope has an end.

Two years ago, a Minneapolis Police Station was burned during protests after the death of George Floyd.

Today, sitting Republican politicians are accusing Law Enforcement and the DOJ of being corrupt simply for doing the jobs. It’s like I said above: As far as the GOP is concerned, the DOJ and Law Enforcement are only corrupt when they don’t go after their political rivals or go after them.

Far Right groups are on the move in all 50 states heeding the call of the guy in Ohio to target Law Enforcement and the Legal Community at all levels. Keep in mind the GOP is silent as Domestic Terrorists are actively planning attacks against people just doing their jobs. “Kill all Feds!”? Are you kidding me? They need to learn what it means to fear the Feds clearly.

The GOP is and has been for political violence for decades. This was true long before Trump came along.  I do agree with moderates who say most Americans don’t like political extremists from either side but for a VERY long time, the Right has been plotting to take over the country. The eyes of most were opened after Roe v. Wade was struck down, something no one thought would actually happen.

That changed things for a lot of people. I’m seeing it in the streets. People don’t want the government coming in their bedrooms or bodies. No one wants Ultra Conservatives telling them what books their children to read or telling their kids’ teachers what parts of American history they’re allowed to know about. No one wants political violence. The GOP is for all these things and much more.

There is no Leftist equivalent and there never was. It’s easy to forget that Martin Luther King Jr. was called a Communist and a Marxist long before he spoke out against the Vietnam War. The GOP sanctioned discrimination against Immigrants, Hispanics and Muslims in general a few decades ago because legally, they can no longer openly persecute Black people. Full stop.

More people are also starting to wake up to the fact the GOP wants to rule, not govern. They made the politically fatal mistake of pissing off Vets nationwide with their (brief) opposition to a Burn Pits bill on a technicality. You can’t do that and claim to support Vets or the military. Not anymore at least.

TV Ads exposing the fact the GOP wants to get rid of social safety nets like  Medicare and Social Security–which they have long referred to as “Entitlements”–have also been running. Don’t forget it was only 4 years ago Trump proposed cutting SNAP Benfits in half and giving everyone a box of non-perishable foods instead. Fortunately for those of us who do receive SNAP Benefits, that ultimately did not happen.

People like to hold up 2 Thessalonians 3:10 which says in part “If anyone will not work, neither should they eat” to justify eliminating Social Services at every level. That verse is one of the most misapplied ever by people who like to say “The Bible says this” to justify being cold-hearted.

At the end of the day they don’t care about the disabled, elderly, pregnant, those with young kids, physically sick, homeless, incarcerated, poor and anyone else who’s suffering or struggling. That’s basically what they’re saying without saying it. They don’t want their tax dollars being wasted on “lazy” people but it’s a different story when it’s them of course. People who lose everything in a disaster typically have a small window to file a claim and for most, what they do get doesn’t go far enough to recoup what they lose.

I tell this story to people a lot because it speaks to the double standard of many on the Right. In 2016 when I paid a visit to a certain Massachusetts office for the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA), I observed a man ranting and raving, saying things like “everyone here is lazy” and “I can’t wait until Trump is president so he can get rid of this”. The man was White and most in the waiting area–including staff–were Black or Hisanic. Having heard enough I guess, a (black) woman sitting next to him turned to him and asked him “Well, why are you here then?”. He turned to her and replied “This is just temporary”. Almost everyone in the room erupted into laughter.

I share that story with people to make this point: Social Services, also referred to as “Welfare” Programs like SNAP and WIC are the reason you don’t have to worry about people trying to break into your home every day. Non-profit organizations like Project Bread are why America is not like Ethiopia, Afghanistan or The Philippines where kids die of starvation every day. Food banks exist to help families regardless of their financial status survive.

The GOP has spent decades dismantling the Middle class because the idea of people in need being helped with Tax Dollars makes them sick. Actually wait I take some of that back. Social Security is NOT funded with federal or taxpayer money. It never was yet they have made it their #1 goal for decades getting rid of it along with Medicare.

THIS is why there are now TV ads trying to warn millions of Americans who will be directly impacted of the reality that is coming their way. This is not the time be distracted. Now is the time to stand up to those who want to tear the country apart.

The irony of Trump’s words before he unleashed his supported on the U.S. Capitold is so apparent now ironically: If you don’t fight, you won’t have a country anymore. They are fighting to take this country. The question to the rest of us is will we let them or not?

 

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Alex Jones gets thoroughly DESTROYED in Court, Multiple Law Enforcement Agencies now getting involved

Man oh man, I need more popcorn for this one. More so knowing this MONSTER probably has criminal charges to look forward to after this CIVIL trial is done. I first found out about this evil bastard right afrer the Sandy Hook mass shooting when CNN made the mistake of giving him an hour on Primetime TV at the time.

In the 10 years since Sandy Hook, it’s believed Alex Jones has made over $200 Million pushing the lie Sandy Hook (and other mass shooting events) was staged. Before Sandy Hook, Jones was already a well-known and established peddler of bizarre conspiracy theories. The difference is Sandy Hook happened AFTER a 20-year asault weapons ban expired.

Again, conspiracy theorists allege Mass Shooting events are what they recently started calling “False Flag” Operations. In other words, they allege Mass Shooting Events are a hoax.

Far Right conspiracy theorists assert Mass Shooting events are orchestrated by the U.S. government–specifically by Democrats conveniently–as part of an elaborate plot to “take away everyone’s guns”. They claim–without proof or evidence of course–no one really dies in Mass Shooting Events, the grieving families are really paid “crisis actors” for the media and the victims never existed.

Yes, really.

This vile, perverse conspiracy theory didn’t really take off until Alex Jones amplified it via the far right media empire he created, Info Wars. He not only profited off this conspiracy theory–to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars–he inspired terrorism against the victims’ families of those killed in Mass Shooting Events by encouraging his audience to “expose the Crisis Actors as the frauds they are”.

How so? Encourage them to contact the victims’ families directly and make them confess to being paid crisis actors hired as part of an elaborate hoax by Democrats to “take away everyone’s guns”. There have already been several arrests and lawsuits WELL before Jones’ turn finally came. Laws have been passed in several states granting Protected Status to victims’ families and survivors of Mass Shooting Events. This was done to make it a hate crime to harass victims’ families and survivors of Mass Shooting Events.

Yes, really.

A decision was reached this afternoon on Jones’ Defamation Lawsuit by two of the families of Sandy Hook victims. They asked for $150 Million. The judge granted them $4.1 Million. It’s worth noting Jones has other similar pending lawsuits against him awaiting him. In recent years, Jones has filed bankruptcy several times but no one seriously believes he’s broke. The real concern is Jones is trying to stall for time so he can stash as much of his money as possible to avoid paying a dime.

Jones’ problems are set to get worse after today: He was not only caught lying on the stand–and exposed on the spot of course–but criminal charges are likely coming because of his own attorney. What happened was the plaintiffs had demanded certain cellphone and text info from Jones via his attorney for quite a while. Jones’ attorney gave the plaintiffs’ attorneys a “dump” of data from at least the last few years without reviewing it first. Data multiple law enforcement agencies AND the 1/6 Committee would like to get their hands on. Jones, who is a hardcore Trump supporter let on in his “show” he may have inside knowledge of some of the planning that went into the events of the 1/6 capitol attack.

Before the decision was made, Jones requested the judge declare a mistrial because of his attorney’s mistake. Of course, the judge declined. Now Jones is sweating bullets knowing more defamation lawsuits are the LEAST of his immediate and future concerns. I am extremely pleased to know his empire of lies and misinformation will soon be silenced for good. It’s just a matter of weather he’ll go to prison, an insane asylum or commit suicide. We’ll see.

 

 

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The April 14 Supermarket mass shooting in Buffalo, New York is clearly the beginning of more such incidents to come

This mass shooting incident FINALLY forced most broadcast, print and internet media outlets to stop hand-waving such incidents and called this one for what it was: An act of Terrorism.

Fox “News” hosts Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingram are the new proud and unapologetic advocates for White Supremacy in America. They and to an extent the network’s owner Rupert Murdoch are morally responsible for what happened in Buffalo. They should be sued if not criminally prosecuted for helping to incite racist violence across the U.S. Not just this but more such incidents to come just between now and the Midterms.

As far as those like the suspect and some GOP politicians or candidates who legit believe the White Replacement Theory are concerned, controlling the government alone isn’t enough. In their minds, “population control” is a necessary step in their ideology. When I say “Population Control” I mean mass shootings and killings carried out by Whites like this and others against Blacks, Latinos, Asians…and their White allies. They feel THAT threatened by how racially diverse America has become because White Nationalists are telling them to.

Businesses and Companies have been noticably featuring Black, Latino, Asian and Biracial actors or models heavily in their Ads over the last 15 years. In case you’re wondering, yes that is intentional. It’s mostly being done to market to those demographics but in more recent years, it’s also being done to promote diversity for potential future employees and staff.

On a related note. One thing the media is likely aware of but has been trying not to draw attention to are the accusations of “Blackwashing” from closet racists against studios and companies like Disney and Dreamworks that cast Black actors as characters portayed as White or Caucasian in the original medium or version.

When it was announced the Quvenzhane Walis was chosen to play the role of Annie in the 2014 modrern reimagining of the story, closet racists came out in droves online to try to accuse the studio of discriminating against red-haired girls by choosing to cast a “nappy-headed nigger” as the iconic character. In their minds, “They already occupy the White House and now they want to take my childhood from me”.

Last I checked, the original Annie movie can still be found digital and physical online but that’s not the point. Their point is if they have to see Black people in media, they don’t like the idea of seeing Blacks onscreen not perpetuating stereotypes. Why? Because it goes against what they were taught or indoctrinated with. I won’t digress on this further for now though.

President Biden paid his respects to Buffalo, New York Tuesday morning to early afternoon. Before returning to Washington, he did what Trump refused to do after Charlottesville and called White Supremacy a poison that has long infected America. His comments came after two other racially motivated mass shootings happened in California and Texas after the one in Buffalo.

As the mayor of Buffalo noted since the incident happened, the city has been receiving threats from people who want to continue what the suspect in that incident started. Two have so far been arrested. This is to say nothing of mayors and other city officials in cities with large Black populations getting similar threats. Most of the threats are being made online but that doesn’t make them any less credible.

 

I have two sources who are embedded in Facebook groups and Discord channels full of White Nationalists. I am not going to name them–one of them self-identifies as being a part of the Hacktivist group Anonymous on that note–but they have embedded themselves in the lion’s den for the sole purpose of gathering intel to be passed on to law enforcement and when the opportunity presents itself, contact their employer(s) or related persons to tell them their employee or business associate subscribes to White Nationalism.

The two don’t know each other but I have known them for about 5 years. I will refer to them as John and Don from this point onward.

John mostly embeds himself in Private, Hidden Facebook groups and Facebook Messenger Chatrooms set up for and by White Nationalists. These groups are typically invite only and they have an extensive vetting process in their efforts to filter out mostly undercover law enforcement. Once you’re in, let’s just say you’ll probably be spending the first few hours in shock, horror, disgust and anger when you see the kinds of people who are unapologetic racists hiding in plain sight.

John told me he’s convinced Mark Zuckerberg legit has NO CLUE just how deeply infested Facebook is with these losers because if he did, he wouldn’t be able to keep the platform online. They’re literally everywhere. Most of them did not go to MeWe and Telegram. They just got better at hiding in plain sight is all. Even scarier is how dedicated they are to their perverse, vile and disgusting ideologies. In their minds, anyone not with them or one of the is either an enemy or must be “educated”.

Don is the one who is a part of Anonymous. Most Anonymous members use Discord to coordinate and talk to each other since you do have a greater degree of privacy and anonminity compared to Facebook. Using an account he created for the purpose, Don has made it a point to actively seek out private Discord servers set up for and by White Supremecists. They’re much harder to get into but once you do, you quickly understand why.

If Facebook is where people go to get indoctrinated or find like-minded people, Discord is where you go to plan violent and criminal acts. Not just against regular people but against elected officials, political candidates, judges and even law enforcement. Yes, really. They have someone who looks into people going through their vetting process before they’re allowed into the rest of the server’s channels.

Don told me he’s a few close calls with his cover nearly getting blown during their vetting process. They’re mostly screening for people who might be law enforcement but given he’s encountered quite a few undercover FBI agents on Discord, he feels there are enough Law Enforcement eyeballs on the known servers to hopefully head off anything major being planned. When he gets into a server for White Supremecists he makes a note of who runs the server, potential affiliates and evidence of criminal or violent acts actively being planned. He then passes that info on to the FBI and local law enforcement depending on where something is being planned.

Both John and Don tell me they know what they’re doing is making a difference as they’ve been able to head off these monsters from seriously hurting people. They also know that for every Discord Server or Facebook Group for White Supremecists they find, there’s an untold number more out there. It’s not like in the past where all they did was express hate with each other and you could safely leave these losers be. Now, they know there’s a very good chance these losers WILL do something if they’re left alone and that is what motivates them to keep hunting online.

 

Even more so since Frances Haugen spoke to Congress last Fall, there has been increased scrutiny directed at Social Media platforms and websites that allow themselves to be safe spaces and recruitment centers for Hate and worse.

Before I continue, I feel the need to say something that honestly needs to be said out loud even more: Social Media platforms and 98% of all websites that have ever existed globally are privately owned and operated. When I say “privately owned” I mean a government doesn’t own or manage it. What that means is the owner of the website or platform has the first and last say in what and who is allowed on it.

You do not have the right to use Facebook or Twitter any more than I have the right to host my blogs on WordPress. If the owner(s) decides to kick you off your platform for any or no reason, it’s well within their right to do so weather you like it or not. It’s a fact 99.99% of people who make an account with a website or online platform do not read the Terms of Service. Click that link if you want to see WordPress’ Terms of Service (last updated 4/26/2022). It’s lengthy but pretty straightforward and easy for anyone to understand compared to most others that were clearly written by and for attorneys. You can sum up WordPress’ Terms of Service (henceforth “ToS” or “TOS”) quite nicely with one sentance: “We will basically let you do whatever you want but keep in mind you will be held solely responsible for anything that might happen and we will step in when and if need be.” I am pretty sure most websites and platforms are WELL aware no one actually reads their ToS and especially those who are dealt with for violating it. That doesn’t mean you’re not bound by them though.

All that said. It is a fact especially with platforms like WordPress, Xanga, Tumblr, Live Journal and YouTube you’re given a VERY long leash with which to do whatever you want for free. Like the old saying goes however, with great power comes great responsability. The problem is for the most part, people abuse the power of the internet and don’t want to be held accountable. This is where government regulations need to be imposed in the U.S. More so at this point with everything going on in recent years.

The European Union, Australia and other countries passed laws and regulations barring tech companies and social media platforms from collecting personal information from their users without their consent over 10 years ago now. The U.S. has done no such thing mostly because Big Tech has been paying off members of Congress to keep that from happening. After Haugen’s testimony last year, hopefully that stops.

Did you know the United States is the only country that has yet to have a period of Reparations for not just slavery but other times in its history the racists don’t want American children to learn about? I’m talking about the extermination of Native Americans over the course of almost 300 years, migrant laborers from China after the Civil War and Central American migrants who are an integral part of Argiculture on the vineyards and farms of most Southwestern states to name a few other examples.

I’ll say the part out loud a small handful of elected officials have only recently started acknowledging: America has a long and storied track record of not acknowledging state-sponsored atrocities and injustices as and after they happened, let alone within the generation of those who were alive. The internment of Japanese Americans during World War II was acknowledged by President Bill Clinton in 1992. Only a few hundred Japanese Americans were alive and though they received financial compensation, their descendants were excluded. The 1920 Tulsa Bombing was publicly acknowleged by President Biden last year on its 100th Anniversary. Only 3 of the survivors are still alive now.

I can keep going but those are two notable exceptions to the norm that is basically “That may have happened in the past but there’s nothing that can be done now.” Actually, there is and other countries have proven it’s not only possible but there is a moral imperative. South Africa and Rwanda are two notable examples for separate reasons.

Everyone knows about the genocide in Rwanda in the 1990s. After that ended, people from both sides sat down to figure out how to move forward together. You can’t slaughter an entire ethnic group and just say “Sorry” to the survivors so…yeah.

When South Africa became a unified Democracy in 1994, one of the first things they did after making Nelson Mandela its first president was sit down and have hard conversations that have been internationally lauded. In short, someone who had been wronged during the Apartheid could elect to forgive the person who wronged them. If they chose to, the guilty party’s record was wiped clean and was sealed, never to be brought up again. If they chose not to forgive the guilty party, that person would go through the courts.

America has do little to nothing. As a reminder, the Ku Klux Klan was created by White Nationalists after the Civil War who did not want to accept the fact Slavery was abolished first (13th Amendment) and the newly free African American slaves were granted full U.S. Citizenship (14th Amendment). They received no financial compensation for what was to that point almost 250 years of slavery in the U.S. No land. No “We’re sorry”. Nothing.

Yet, the racists and misinformed who haved scoffed at the idea of Reparations for Slavery for 170 years betray their indifference to the fact human rights were knowingly violated. The Cultural Civil War the U.S. is dealing with right now is yet another consequence of its refusal to compensate those impacted by the past.

President Biden now imfamously said during his acceptance speech after the 2020 election he owes his victory to African Americans. He also said he will always have their back as president. What has he actually done? Absolutely nothing. Meanwhile, the GOP and their vanguard White Supremecist allies have openly and jointly declared war on Black and Brown people in America afresh. Despite that, Biden seems content to do nothing.

I’ll get to this in a separate post but at this point, it’s probably a fair assumption Biden will for sure be a 1-term president. I said this before the election but he did the only thing anyone wanted him to do: Ensure Trump would be a 1-term president. No one expected him to do anything more than that so…yeah. I’ll stop there since I want to really get into this in more detail in a separate post.

 

 

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As Vaccination Mandate deadlines start to pass, concerns of attacks on Hospitals sharply increase

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine getting full FDA approval last month gave employers nationwide the green light to start passing company or businesswide vaccine mandates. While the vaccine mandates have helped boost vaccination rates nationwide, there are believed to be at least 10% to as much as 30% in some cases who refuse to get vaccinated and either will be or have been fired. Only those with legit documented medical issues are exempt.

Some states including Massachusetts have mobilized the National Guard to work in hospitals struggling under staffing shortages. This was from BEFORE the vaccine mandates and goes back to last summer. Some Doctors, Nurses, Medical Assistants and other hospital staff have been resigning or just walking off the job due to severe stress since the Pandemic began.

Several states including New York and California require persons to present proof of vaccination to enter restaurants, sports arenas and other types of businesses. Although the measures are popular and are being used in Italy and France, they are not without controversy. I don’t mean just among the Unvaccinated but the Fully Vaccinated too.

Before I continue, as a reminder it IS a Federal offense to make or use a fake CDC Vaccination Card or Document. One of the concerns among the fully vaccinated about these proof of vaccination mandates is being made to feel the need to carry their vaccination card–physical or digital–everywhere they go, more so given we all know this is likely to only be until the Corona Virus has been brought under control.

We are certainly getting there and more so thanks to the vaccines.

That said. Phamaceutical company Merck announced last week they are seeking Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the FDA for the antiviral drug they developed for COVID-19. The drug–called Molnupiravir–which comes in pill form cuts the risk of death and hospitalization by up to 50% and can be taken either at home or in a hospital.

While the CDC has given props to Merck for adding another powerful tool, they have also warned this is not a subsitute for getting vaccinated. Most likely, Molnupiravir could be given to someone with mild or moderate sympthoms to hopefully keep things from getting worse.

Merck’s Antiviral Pill is a game-changer but not without controversy. I am specifically talking about the fact that The Intercept is reporting Merck may be selling their new drug for 40 times what it costs to make.

This is in addition to Moderna’s stock taking a huge hit after Merck’s announcement last week. There are now new concerns many of the Unvaccinated were just given the perfect excuse to never get vaccinated even with a vaccine mandate. “Why am I going to get vaccinated when I can just get Molnupiravir if I get sick?” The problem with that thinking is as has been pointed out, Merck is only 50% effective and requires you to already at least test positive for COVID-19.

You could go through that for a 50% chance of not dying or being hosipitalized if you want…or you can simply get vaccinated. I am going to presume your chances of getting severely ill are even lower if you’re vaccinated and take Molnupiravir on that note.

Last but not least.

As I mentioned at the top a small percentage, of people have elected not to get vaccinated for non-medical reasons despite the vaccine mandates. In their minds, they “are being forced to get vaccinated” which Golden State Warriors star Andrew Wiggins expressed over the weekend after he announced he is getting vaccinated so he can play NBA Home games.

This is to say nothing of those who (still) believe COVID-19 is a hoax, those who were sickened by COVID-19 now urging people to get vaccinated are paid actors, the vaccines are experimental or biological weapons and/or doctors are putting people on ventilators so they can kill them. Yes, many people STILL legit believe all of these things.

What is concerning to people who work in healthcare centers are their current and former colleagues who have been compromised by misinformation and are adding to the medical misinformation being spread online.

The vitriol and rhetoric from the anti-vaxx community that predates the Pandemic is now seeing anti-vaxxers protest outside vaccination centers across the country. Yes, really. CNN, MSNBC and Fox “News” aren’t talking about it (yet) but there have been attacks and attempted attacks at some vaccination centers. In some cases, a person will crash into a vaccination center with their car and then quickly drive away. Other times a person will use their car to block people from entering a vaccination center while spouting misinformation and conspiracy theories.

As hospitalizations of the Unvaccinated continue and the American death toll has recently passed 700,000–as a reminder, I do personally believe the death toll could reach 1 Million by the end of this year–those who are anti-vaxx, anti-mask and anti-any mitigating measures become more and more hostile against those who promote or a part of these efforts.

As is often the case, when they can’t get to the people they want to–In this case I refer to Dr. Anthony Fauci–they will go after those who they feel are “a part of the problem”. Specifically, local hospitals and healthcare workers. On that note. Local media outlets should be covering this but there have been reported cases of healthcare workers being harassed by these anti-vaxxers across the country. I mean for over 18 months now.

Some are often followed home from work, sometimes having their home address shared online. I have spoken to two doctors who’ve told me their family is in hiding for safety reasons. In both cases, they have been visited at home or had threatening letters left in their mailbox alledging they are knowingly killing people and claiming it’s from COVID-19.

A fear now being discussed among Healthcare workers is what will happen next: Someone walking into a hospital with a loaded gun and starts shooting people. Everyone is in agreement it WILL happen so it’s just a matter of WHEN it will happen and where.

Both of the doctors I spoke to taken a leave of absence from their jobs because of the death threats and they are taking legal action against some of the people responsible. They are urging hospitals across the country to step up security measures as they believe a violent mass casual event at a hospital can happen at any time.

 

 

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Yes, I have been deleting or blocking Anti-Vaccine comments made on this Blog

Same for Emails.

I’m just confirming what I know some who’ve contacted me or thried to comment over the last 12 months or so probably suspected is true. The reason is the same for why I also block “Trump Won!”, “CNN is Part of The Deep State!” and “Mass Shootings are False Flag Operations!” Comments and Emails: They are complete and utter nonsense with no basis in fact or reality.

I recently read a few online articles on Mass Conspiracy Theories just to give myself a bit of a reset on the topic and more so since I have been talking about them–I mean Conspiracy Theories—on my blogs for a decent part of not just the last 18 months but the last seven years. Not intentionally but I’ve talked about stuff from QAnon and everything related to it to the Anti-Vaccine Movement–I mean before the Pandemic–to High-Profile Mass-Casualty Shootings some Americans legit think are staged (They’re not).

One thing became clear to me as I went through four different articles which each offered a different perspective but the same conclusion about not just Conspiracy Theories but Theories in general. I’ll now share a bit of what I learned. One thing that became clear to me is most laypeople don’t know what the words “Conspiracy” and “Theory” mean.

Let’s break them down, courtesy of Oxford Dictionary:

• Conspiracy: A secret plan by a group (or person) to do something unlawful or harmful.
• Theory: (1) A supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something, especially one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained. (2) A set of principles on which the practice of an activity is based. (3) An idea used to account for a situation or justify a course of action.
• Conspiracy Theory: A belief that some covert but influential organization (or person) is responsible for a circumstance or event.

Now that we have established the raw definititions of the words both separately and combined, let’s go a bit deeper.

A conspiracy is basically a “Secret Plan” meaning the details and specifics are only known to a few people. It’s not a “Secret Plan” if it’s widely known or people not meant to know find out. This is also why one can safely assume so-called Secret Societies like The Deep State don’t really exist because millions of people have at least heard of it.

On that note. I do think the person or entity behind the Twitter account known as “Q” was/is real BUT everything they’ve ever said on the account was 100% fiction. I looked over the account quite a few times and I’ve come to the conclusion “Q” made the account and said what they said as a kind of Social Experiment. They said a lot of outlandish and bombastic things knowing certain people would latch on to it and believe it’s not only plausible but most likely “knew” was true.

To make it next to impossible for people to find out who or where they are, “Q” was very careful not to post or include any identifyable infomation in their posts. I’d say fact that “Q” hasn’t posted anything new on Twitter in almost three years is further strengthens the likely conclusion they had no longterm plans for the account. Further, it was likely someone’s burner account or a troll account someone created for the express purpose of stirring up and misleading people on a large scale.

I know some have probably heard or speculated this before but for all that’s happened between now and “Q’s” last confirmed Tweet–the Migrant Detention Center Crisis, the 2018 Midterms, Trump’s first Impeachment in 2019, the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic, George Floyd’s death and the summer of protests, the 2020 Presidential election, the COVID-19 vaccines becoming available, the January 6 Capitol attack and Trump’s second Impeachment to name most of the big things–there has been nothing but radio silence from “Q”.

…Don’t you find that just a little strange? It’s very unusual that the entity who sparked the “Deep State” Conspiracy Theory has said nothing since 2017 and for has effectively left lit a match that QAnon Believers turned into a raging inferno that has spread not just across the country but across the world.

The more you look at it, the stronger the liklihood that was “Q’s” intention from the beginning. They start a plausible rumor with vague details and leave it to the audience’s interpretation. We have seen the results since then.

Veering away from “Conspiracy”, let’s now go to “Theory.”

When you literally jump off the ground, the Earth’s gravitational pull is why you’re only in the air for about a moment at the most. If you jump off of a tall building, it’s not the fall you have to worry about but the sudden stop at the end. If you jump off a cliff with a hang glider, you won’t fall straight down but will slowly descend until you touch the ground.

The reason most planes and jets are modeled after birds is because scientists and engineers who studied Aerodynamics learned how exactly birds are able to fly. Based on that, people learned how to build and operate aircraft that have only become more sophisticated over time.

These are not theories. They are both parts of the Laws of Physics and the Laws of Gravity. They are not questionable.

It is a fact that if you lose 20% of the blood in your body at once, you WILL die from blood loss. It is a fact that staying in extremely hot or cold environments for too long will eventually kill you. It is a fact that sometimes, some things can’t be easily explained. And so on.

The thing about Theories these days is most people who have a Theory just assume that their Theory is true and look for evidence to confirm it even if the basis for is often flawed or based on assumptions. Until recently, Theories were not generally considered definitively true or false until after it was thoroughly investigated, researched, experimented, tested and repeat as needed or necessary to settle it definitively.

Not anymore. These days, the layperson presumes their theory is true or correct and seeks to not only persuade others of their certainty but also insist others accept their theory without protest, debate or evidence. This right here is why modern society is now in a Post-Truth and Post-Reality Era. I mean for the most part.

Now let’s get to the big one, “Conspiracy Theories”.

Conspiracy Theories have really dominated public discussions over the last 5 years in particular. QAnon and The Deep State are but two of them. It goes without saying I have talked about the ones related to the Corona Virus and Vaccines almost every week since the Pandemic began. I have also talked a bit about the 5G one which actually began a few years before the Pandemic broke out.

Let’s get to the obvious things about Conspiracy Theories that those who believe them to be true often overlook, don’t understand or both:

1. The more people who are involved, the less likely it can or will stay secret: I’ll just put it like that. Remember: The bigger and more sophisticated the conspiracy, the more people who would need to be involved to actually carry it out. The more people involved, the greater the chances of someone outside the conspiracy will find out. This is also how and why the longtime conspiracy theory “9/11 was an inside job” has ZERO merit. Ask anyone who knows anything about espionage and they will tell you: The less who know, the better.
2. Government or Company involved Plots are Unrealistic: In many espionage-related scenarios, the people at or near the top prefer not to know the details or anything about it in general. Why? So that if the plot is discovered or exposed, they can maintain Plausible Deniability of actual involvement or knowledge and be able to prove it in court if necessary. Believe it or not, that’s the truth. Even on the Black Market it’s not that hard to find out who’s buying or selling what if you dig deep enough.The real reason the “Evil Government/Company” Trope is so popular in Fiction across all mediums is because it’s profitable first and deep down people assume there is some truth to it all the time.
3. Today’s Large-Scale Conspiracy Theories Betray Their Origins: By this I mean their inspiration from movies, TV Shows and Internet Memes. I’ll give you an example. When the Corona Virus Pandemic first broke out last Spring, there was a noted uptick in digital purchases and digital rentals of the 2011 movie Contagion. The movie, which was losely inspired by the 2010 SARS Epidemic explores a hypothetical scenario in which the U.S. is hit with a mysterious viral outbreak and works to both get it under control but more importantly, not allow the fear factor to tear the country apart. In comments on comparisons between that movie and the COVID-19 Pandemic, the movie’s writer stated he consulted with the CDC while doing research for the movie’s plot. Further, he stated the scenario he came up with was made with the assumption the White House Adminstration was competent, took the outbreak seriously and didn’t politicize it. In short, the exact opposite of what Trump did with the COVID-19 Pandemic. I mention this because even today, too many Americans “know” the Corona Virus Pandemic is an elaborate hoax and the lockdown was used to control people. Literally thousands of people have died believing this and…yeah.

All that said.

I do think the American Society needs a hard reset in values but I’ll get into this in more depth in a separate post.

I will say this for now though. I have decided to take a 2 and a half month hiatus from following most U.S. News (excluding local news) and certain International News mostly for mental health reasons. It can be pretty overwhelming watching, reading and listening to depressing situations that the news industry is oversaturated with every day and this is why I’m taking a break from that.

Of course, this will also affect what I cover on this blog both for now and in the future. I’m also going start to moving away talking about the Corona Virus Pandemic effective immediately since at this point, I feel it’s time for me to move away from that subject.

I am also hoping to talk about Conspiracy Theories in general a lot less. I feel like over the last two years in particular, I spent way more time time on just this one subject.than I would have liked or wanted to. That’s the real reason I wrote this article the way I did.

 

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Two new COVID-19 related conspiracy theories to watch out for online

One of them is actually a rehash of the one commonly applied to mass shooting victims in which they alledge mass shooting victims don’t actually die and their families are paid crisis actors hired by the government.

The COVID-19 version of this is the numbers of those who actually died is being widely exaggerated and (conveniently) everyone who died since December were all people who were really vaccinated. Further, they claim the media and healthcare officials are being instructed to tell the public everyone dying is unvaccinated to convince people to get vaccinated.

Of course, they have no proof. All they have is speculation and hearsay.

The thing about Conspiracy Theories most people don’t think about is the sheer number of people that would have to be involved for them to even be plausible. And they would be talking to the media. Nothing would please the media more than an elaborate plot being proven true. Just think about it.

Yet we’ve heard nothing of the sort from scientists, government officials, people who work for the vaccine makers–they would be the ones to sound the alarm you’d think–or even healthcare workers for that matter. The sheer number of people who who would have to be involved in a conspiracy of that magnitude is so high–we are talking a few million in just the U.S. and tens of millions globally–that it would be IMPOSSIBLE for it to be “perfectly” carried out without someone saying something.

People latch on conspiracy theorists who submit letters or documents based on nothing to the FDA or CDC–which are dismissed on sight–as “proof” on top of it. The so-called “proof” is 100% speculation and opinion with no actual data or facts. People print out stuff conspiracy theories cite not know all of the information IS NOT TRUE. I’ve seen some of it and we’re talking hundreds of thousands of documents made to look and sound authentic but are not even worth the paper they’re printed on.

The other new conspiracy theory claims the vaccines make people more likely to get sick with COVID-19 despite the overwhelming evidence of the contrary. They point to (wait for it) the reported breakthrough infections as proof of this despite the fact very few of those fully vaccinated have actually gotten sick enough to need to be hospitalized.

The more any rational person thinks about it, after a while you can’t help but come to a rather disturbing but very plausible conclusion: The anti-vaxx community wants as many people to get infected and die as possible. The COVID-19 Pandemic and Americans’ cultural distrust of authority figures became a dream scenario for them over the last 20 years and they have been pressing their advantage.

They have embedded themselves in with these community groups protesting lockdowns, mask mandates and vaccination from the beginning. They are pumping out as much Anti-vaxx information as they can come up with to urge people to resist the “Lunatics in government who want to take away everyone’s freedoms.”

Yeah, no.

First of all, you do not have the right to infect people. Second, it is not a “violation of your freedoms” to be asked to be considerate of other people and their kids. Third, no one is “forcing” you to do anything.

On that last point. Yes, your employer can legally mandate vaccines and even more so now that Pfizer’s is FDA approved. Yes, local and state officials can and will step in if you knowingly defy mask mandates for your business and new infections are traced to it.

There are people who are looking for anything and everything they can think of to “not give in”. I’m sorry but if you feel “your freedoms” is worth more than not just your life but the lives of the people around you, sorry not sorry but that makes you a danger to society.

 

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YouTube and Twitter temporarily Suspend GOP Accounts for spreading Medical Misinformation

Joe Biden publicly chastising Facebook early last month over COVID-19 related misinformation being shared on the platform was clearly heard loud and clear by staff at most Social Media platforms.

On Monday, Twitter announced it has given a 1-week suspension to Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Greene for spreading misinformation about wearing Masks and COVID-19 vaccines. Greene, who is a Trump Loyalist is also a well known peddler of conspiracy theories. Most recently, she congratulated an audience in Alabama for their low vaccination rates. Alabama has the lowest vaccination rate and it is a situation the state’s governor is working to reverse ASAP.

Today, YouTube announced they have suspended Kentucky Republican Senator Ron Paul’s YouTube account for one week for spreading misinformation about non-medical grade face coverings. I mentioned this in recent days but although Paul worked as a private doctor, he is NOT licensed or board certified. In short, he is not qualified to give medical advice and has been repeatedly called out for it by actual credible doctors. Paul has become imfamous over his verbal attacks against Dr. Anthony Fauci since last spring, publicly challenging him at every opportunity and accusing Dr. Fauci of lying to the public about the COVID-19 vaccines as well as accusing him of being “an elite”. That last part is actually a dog whistle to QAnon Believers and other conspiracy theories that became mainstream during Trump’s presidency.

Those who oppose wearing a face covering in public, vaccine and of course think COVID-19 is a hoax or manmade view Paul as a “whistleblower trying to warn the public they’re being lied to” not knowing he actually doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Paul knows nothing of Virology or Epidemiology for that matter. Even worse is he not only knows what he’s doing but he knows better. That’s what makes what he’s been doing so insane.

As a reminder, “Something something Deep State, something something Depopulate the world, Something something man-made disaster, Something something Satan worshipping cabal” and soforth and so on. Paul and Greene are speaking directly to those who believe some or all of this nonsense as a reminder. They know what they’re saying is not true. They know exactly what they’re doing. They are would sooner see their own supporters die to COVID-19 than help get this Pandemic under control.

…This is what makes the Republican Party so dangerous in general. As warped and polarized as the Democratic Party is in comparison, they would never EVER actually do something like this. The Dems have proven time and time again in recent decades that they are not as willing as the GOP to use ANY means necessary to achieve their own ends and it’s a fact that’s frustrated Progressive Dems in particular in revent years. With the GOP, nothing is off the table and that’s why the U.S. is in its current situation.

…The good news is in recent weeks, more people in Republican-controlled states are starting to get vaccinated. I warned about this a few months back but for some, it will take seeing their loved ones sick with COVID-19–more so their children or parents–for them to reconsider their position. Some but not all unfortunately.

More and more of the Unvaccinated in states with low vaccination rates have started to see people they personally know get sick with the Delta Variant in recent weeks yet still refuse to get vaccinated themselves. Based on what I’ve been hearing online, some of the Unvaccinated are increasing their life insurance and buying death insurance as well which is basically their way of saying “If I die from COVID-19, I die.” No, really. People who refuse to get vaccinated are literally making those kinds of arrangements ahead of when they get infected themselves.

…That wasn’t a typo. I said “when”, not “if” for a reason. Here in Massachusetts there has been a recent surge in breakthrough cases as of this week. As a reminder, that’s when someone who is fully vaccinated test positive for COVID-19. The vaccines don’t prevent infection and no one ever said that they do. What they do is if you do get infected after being fully vaccinated you’re far less likely to become seriously ill, need to be hospitalized or die.

The anti-vaxx people like to point to the breakthrough cases as proof “the vaccines don’t work” and they actually betray the fact that they’re lying to people when they do that. No vaccine is 100% effective. No one ever said they were 100% effective. The mRNA vaccines are both 95% effective (Moderna’s was 94.2% effective but based on new data, it’s now 95% effective) at preventing serious illness even with the Delta Variant.

Thanks to the cluster infections of fully vaccinated people on Cape Cod we now know for sure fully vaccinated people who test positive for the Delta Variant could unknowingly infect someone so they would need to quarantine for 10 days even if they have no sympthoms. The reason is because the Delta Variant has a much higher viral load than the other variants. The vaccines still give protection from serious illness as was proven in Provincetown–only 7 people out of 150 got sick enough to need to be hospitalized and no one died.

All that said. I am WELL aware some people are spreading chain text messages warning people local government officials are planning to go door to door and force people to get vaccinated under the threat of imprisonment and some other penalty. This is not true. Neither are the claims “CNN and MSNBC know about it but won’t talk about it because they’re in on it”. Once again, this is not true.

On that note:

NO ONE IS FORCING ANYONE TO GET VACCINATED. NOT NOW OR EVER.

Period.

The reason the anti-vaxxers keep saying it is because they know people who are easily worked up will believe it and not ask the obvious question. Yes, your employer can legally impose a vaccine mandate as a condition of being hired or keeping your job. If you still chose to be vaccinated for non-medical reasons, your choice will be honored.

The reason some in the GOP are helping the Anti-Vaxxers spread minsinformation is purely political first and foremost. Second, they only care about one thing: Power at any cost. They don’t actually care about what’s true or not because if they did, Trump wouldn’t have become president in the first place. The Dems proved it’s possible back in 2016 with Bernie Sanders.

Moving on. I saw a report the news involving Unvaccinated college students paying as much as $200 for a fake vaccination card. Trying to use a fake or counterfeit vaccination card is actually a federal crime believe it or not. I wouldn’t reccommend trying it because someone might decide to call the cops on you. It sounds ridiculous but when you’re sitting in court and told yes, you committed  federal crime maybe you’ll get it then?

A lot of Unvaccinated people are starting to find out now they are not going to have it both ways. You can’t refuse to be vaccinated for non-medical reasons and still expect to keep your job or be hired if the employer in question has a vaccine mandate. They will put you in touch with people who can answer your questions so you can make an informed decision.

If you still decide to not get vaccinated despite their best efforts to help you make an informed decision, they will honor your decision and they will respond accordingly. At the very least you can’t say you didn’t know.

 

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Social Media, the Internet and Friends or Family are no replacement for actual Healthcare Professionals

This Pandemic has proven one thing beyond reasonable doubt: The Internet is no replacement for actual in-person healthcare professionals. Full stop.

I have been managing a few health-related Facebook Pages for almost 5 years now. More so since the Pandemic began, one thing I long suspected and assumed was proven true: People will listen to things they see shared online or are told by someone online because the infrmation being provided is so readily accessible–even if they have no way of knowing if the information is true or even safe–before they will go seek a trained medical professional in person.

Why? Instant gradification.

It’s also VERY dangerous and more so with the increased prevelence of misinformation being posted and shared online. One unfortunate side effect of the Pandemic that doctors have become very concerned about is people who would normally visit for things like a heart attack or stroke are not coming out of fears they will be tested and found positive for COVID-19.

I obviously can’t spreak for everywhere in the world, let alone everywhere in the U.S. but this rumor of widespread mandatory COVID-19 testing at hospitals and other healthcare facilities being spread online is definitely not true. More so given you can now buy COVID-19 tests in pharmacies. While most will probably still go to a clinic, hospital or other mass vaccination site since they also offer COVID-19 testing, the lie being spread everyone who goes to a hospital for a routine checkup or other things with suspected sympthoms of COVID-19 will be forced to test for it.

As a reminder, these are the known early symthoms of COVID-19:

• Fever or Chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

Of course, just one or two of these isn’t enough to confirm you’re COVID-19 positive since most of them are also sympthoms of Pneumonia, the Flu or the common cold. You would need at least a persistent cough, shortness of breath or a fever with 3 or 4 other sympthoms for it to be suspected.

…I bolded my early sympthoms for reference. Same with the list below.

These are the more severe warning signs that should not be ignored:

• Trouble breathing
• Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
• New confusion
• Inability to wake or stay awake
• Pale, gray, or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds, depending on skin tone

For those who don’t know, these are also some of the warning signs of a heart attack, Angina, stroke or seizure. I had the first two and honestly assumed it was Angina again since I was hospitalized for it two months earlier. Then when I had trouble breathing I assumed I was having a mild Asthma attack which even if I was is pretty serious.

Even after testing positive, it was determined my case wasn’t serious enough for me to need to be hospitalized so I quarantined at home. As a reminder, this was before vaccines were available.

Of course, if you look online you will see people looking for medical assistance in all the wrong places. The reason you don’t usually see doctors active on social media is because they’re usually so busy with work. The physical demands of working in a hospital are exceeded only by EMTs, Firefighters, 911 Dispatchers, law enforcement and of course, active duty military personnel.

Most Emergency Room doctors work 18 to 32 hour shifts (they do take rest and food breaks). Most ER Nurses and Medical Assistants work 12 to 24 hour shifts in comparison. They prefer to spend their free time not thinking about work–unless they’re on call of course–and just focus on unwinding or destressing until it’s time for their next shift. Most of them are probably not spending their free time on social media either.

The fact of the matter is medical misinformation flows too freely and easily online. Here’s a small list of things I have been asked on Facebook in just the last two months:

• “I am feeling chest pain and having a hard time breathing. What is the cause?”
• “My groin/back/thigh/hip is very sore. What could be causing it?”
• “It hurts when I walk. Is there anything I can take for it?”
• “Can I take <Insert Medicine Here> for <Insert Ailment Here>? Is it safe?”
• “How do I know if I’m pregnant (or in labor)?”
• “How do I get pregnant?”
• “How many weeks/months pregnant am I?”
• “I heard <Insert cultural myth here>. Is it true?”

Yes, people are actually asking these kinds of questions online. All of these are questions people would be better off asking a school nurse about over the internet in comparison.

I don’t laugh because almost all of them come from people who live in South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbamwe, Kenya, Tanzania, The Philippines and Malaysia. These are all countries whose healthcare systems aren’t as accessible as most developed countries. This might shock some of you but the overwhelming majority of the people in those countries–including those who live in cities–rely on home remedies and only see a doctor for a serious illness or injury, often because of costs out of pocket and distance.

That’s still not an excuse to primarily seek medical help online. More so with all the scammers out there peddling fear and superstition to people who they know are ignorant of their bodies, medical conditions and diseases. The same can’t be said for those who live in developed countries where knowledge is much more easily accessible and I’ll get to this in a bit.

In case I didn’t already make it obvious with some of the examples I listed above–again, this is no laughing matter–yes, there women and girls in many parts of the world who have no idea how their bodies work. This is a serious problem and more so when we’re talking about women and girls going through their first pregnancy. I’m not talking about the ones with a mother or other knowledgable female they can turn to for help. The ones I’ve interacted with either don’t have someone like that or they don’t feel comfortable talking to a family member about what’s going on with their bodies.

…This is where Sex Education comes in handy. Unfortunately, some countries culturally don’t believe women and girls should be allowed to learn how their bodies work or sex, let alone know about birth control or contraceptives in grade school. What you end up with are people growing up ignorant of the risks that come with unprotected sex and an unplanned pregnancy.

It’s a different situation in countries like the U.S.

We are seeing the concentrated efforts of some to promote willful ignorance and to demonize truth itself. Nowhere has this been more prevalent than COVID-19 vaccines. A recent poll done revealed over half of those refusing to get vaccinated fear the vaccines more than the disease. What you’re left with is a public health crisis that is only going to be prolonged.

According to the CDC, it will now take another 6 months to fully vaccinate the entire U.S. population and that’s if everyone was on board. The projected timeframe also factors children under 12 who currently are not eligable to be vaccinated in the U.S. There has been a recent uptick in new vaccinations that is likely to increase further as more employers, businesses and universities mandate vaccination.

Immunization aside. I have noticed over the last 20 years renewed efforts by some to take America back to 1800s-era medicine. Some will say the influences of Eastern Medicine are to blame but that’s definitely not the case with this. Besides, both India and China use Herbal Medicine as well as Modern Medicine side by side.

What’s different with this recent renewed push from some to reintroduce Herbal Medicine in the U.S. is their motives. They are mostly taking advantage of distrust that’s already there in many. Distrust of doctors and the healthcare system that built up over several decades. “You don’t need doctors.”, they tell people. “They lie to people to get them addicted to prescription drugs and make money from Big Pharma.” they like to say in reference to the few bad apples out there. “Why take prescription drugs which you don’t know what’s in them and can’t know’s in them with side effects when you can take herbal remedies instead?” They say, which by the way is factually incorrect. You can ask your doctor or pharmacist to give you a printout of what is in your prescription medication. They usually come with that info anyway on that note.

The fact of the matter is even those who swear up and down that they hate doctors and hospitals will not hesitate to go to one and more so when they know Natural Remedies would be useless for their situation. Fortunately for them, doctors don’t hold a grudge.

 

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The GOP, Fox News and other Right Wing Media abruptly begin promoting the COVID-19 Vaccines

One day after White House officials spoke to Fox News executives regarding their misinformation and disinformation campaign against the COVID-19 vaccines, most of Right Wing Media has done an abrupt 180. They are now not only promoting the vaccines and urging people to get vaccinated but in a few cases, praising Joe Biden for vaccine distribution efforts.

…What’s behind the change in messaging? Probably several things.I do suspect the two biggest reasons were the White House speaking to Fox News and the fact Joe Biden is holding a CNN Town Hall being held in Cincinnati, Ohio tonight.

A third reason is as the CDC warned last week, this Pandemic has now become a Pandemic of the Unvaccinated. People are starting to find out for themselves how dangerous the Delta Strain really is. It’s not the same strain from last year that seemed to mostly target older people and those with various health issues. The Delta Strain is especially potent against the young and healthy in particular.

The good news is the two mRNA vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer/BioTech are effective against the Delta strain. We now know for sure as of this week that those who got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will definitely need a booster to have protection from the Delta Strain. When that will be greenlit remains to be seen.

Before I move on, Biden broke some news during the town hall tonight by saying a decision on full FDA appoval of Pfizer/BioTech and Moderna’s vaccines will come by the beginning of September. He also said approval for kids under 12 to be able to get a COVID-19 vaccine will come at that time as well. That’s pretty big news.

One massive hole Biden blew into the “The vaccines were produced too quickly” was he told America the mRNA technology used to make the vaccines were actually under development over the last 20 years. This is the first time the tech was used and yes, I knew the mRNA tech was under development for that long from the beginning. The fact that he said it is pretty important to say the least.

All that said. I do think we are turning a corner in the urgent push to get as many people in America vaccinated as possible. Weather you like them or not, Fox News is watched by more Americans than any other other media outlet so they and other Right Wing Media organizations promoting vaccination is a very good thing at this point.

Between this and full FDA approval, I do think America could finally get this pandemic under control by the end of the year. Emphasis on “could”. The next 3 to 4 months in particular will be critical. If nationwide vaccination reaches 70% to 85% by Thanksgiving, it would be safe to say the Pandemic in the U.S. is under control.

One of the few threats to that is the emergence of a strain even more dangerous than the Delta Variant. THAT is why the urgency to get vaccinated is so high. The millions of unvaccinated are what keep scientists, researchers and those who work in heathcare up at night. Some have told me in no uncertain terms–and this is just their opinion of course–that they believe the next strain to emerge will likely Escape the protection of all currently available vaccines. The longer a large chunk of the country remains unvaccinated, the greater the risk this could happen.

 

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