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Yup. The Brits Have It: The Lancet Is… Spot On.

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Do go read it all, but this is a world-class medical journal — and it benefits from a view, from some distance (across the pond)… as to what all is sorely lacking in the US response.

The rest of the world is frankly terrified — that come November, four per cent of the world’s population will vote for a leader that effectively sets access to vaccines and medical breakthroughs… for the other 96 per cent of the planet. To be sure, we are world citizens too, and we should vote, with the health care of the world, in mind — more so than at any time in our lives, to date:

….In the decades following its founding in 1946, the CDC became a national pillar of public health and globally respected. It trained cadres of applied epidemiologists to be deployed in the USA and abroad. CDC scientists have helped to discover new viruses and develop accurate tests for them. CDC support was instrumental in helping WHO to eradicate smallpox. However, funding to the CDC for a long time has been subject to conservative politics that have increasingly eroded the agency’s ability to mount effective, evidence-based public health responses. In the 1980s, the Reagan administration resisted providing the sufficient budget that the CDC needed to fight the HIV/AIDS crisis. The George W. Bush administration put restrictions on global and domestic HIV prevention and reproductive health programming.

The Trump administration further chipped away at the CDC’s capacity to combat infectious diseases. CDC staff in China were cut back with the last remaining CDC officer recalled home from the China CDC in July, 2019, leaving an intelligence vacuum when COVID-19 began to emerge. In a press conference on Feb 25, Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, warned US citizens to prepare for major disruptions to movement and everyday life. Messonnier subsequently no longer appeared at White House briefings on COVID-19. More recently, the Trump administration has questioned guidelines that the CDC has provided. These actions have undermined the CDC’s leadership and its work during the COVID-19 pandemic….

The USA is still nowhere near able to provide the basic surveillance or laboratory testing infrastructure needed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic….

But punishing the agency by marginalising and hobbling it is not the solution. The Administration is obsessed with magic bullets — vaccines, new medicines, or a hope that the virus will simply disappear. But only a steadfast reliance on basic public health principles, like test, trace, and isolate, will see the emergency brought to an end, and this requires an effective national public health agency. The CDC needs a director who can provide leadership without the threat of being silenced and who has the technical capacity to lead today’s complicated effort.

The Trump administration’s further erosion of the CDC will harm global cooperation in science and public health, as it is trying to do by defunding WHO. A strong CDC is needed to respond to public health threats, both domestic and international, and to help prevent the next inevitable pandemic. Americans must put a president in the White House come January, 2021, who will understand that public health should not be guided by partisan politics….

So it goes… we are being called to a higher purpose. Will we collectively… answer that call, in the face of the most severe threat to us all, in over a generation? I hope so… onward — with a wry smile. For… hope is the best, of all things….

नमस्ते

With John’s Near Daily “Toweringly-Stupid Statements” — This May Well Become A Recurring Theme…

~ condor ~ 1 Comment

Under the guise of riffing on what an actual medical doctor observed, on COVID-19 persistence — and growing lethality (since Hinderaker can no longer remotely credibly claim this experience is, in any manner like the ’17-’18 flu season in the US)…

John conflates the accurate notion that it will be years before COVID dies out, with his false assumption that an economy without any social distancing / shutdown, but with perhaps three years of rolling COVID deaths, in waves… would still be “flourishing“.

That simply contradicts what we know of human nature. It will be quite a while (if ever) before most sensibly-scientific, and literate people cram shoulder to shoulder at an NFL or NBA game; crowd into a sweaty dance club… or beer-bar joint… or sit close to one another on Broadway, or in a movie theater. And certainly not before we know that 80 to 90 per cent of everyone in the US alone… has been vaccinated. A vaccine. we. don’t. have. (yet) — and won’t, before Christmas — at the very soonest. [And it contradicts… the emerging data out of Sweden, where there were no lock-downs.]

Here’s his non-sequitur, in full:

“…The real choice is between the disease with a flourishing economy, and the disease with a devastated economy. The disease is a constant….”

Um… in a word… no. Assumes many facts not in evidence; contradicts known evidence, conclusively. The economy was contracting even before COVID — and it will do so, whether we shelter in place or not. Mostly all this affects is whether say 150,000 in the USA ultimately die of COVID, or if it is… perhaps ten times that number (if most people behave recklessly).

There are estimates that up to 40 per cent of NYC’s office space will never be re-filled, with commercial tenants. That is not a RESULT of shelter in place — that is a result of the FACT that without a vaccine, and without herd immunity… most thinking humans won’t really relish crowding into an elevator every morning, especially if anyone sneezes.

Geez, John. Wake up. Just wake up; leave this to people who actually understand some epidemiology / real science.

Onward, grinning… just the same. Fishing in the North Woods did not improve his clarity — at all.

Judge Sullivan’s Line: “Here’s MY Contribution To… Equal Justice Under The Law, B!TCH!” Looking Right At Barr — And Flynn.

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You’ve likely seen the latest news — and, in truth… unusual times… lead to unusual… orders.

Here it is, below. But it means Sidney Powell should explain to Flynn, right now, tonight — just how much malpractice she’s committed on his file — and how much better Covington’s advice was [he’d have completed his probation by now, and be free, had he taken the Covington advice].

Now, no matter what Barr or Trump does… Flynn may spend some time in jail. Poetic, that:

…ORDER APPOINTING AMICUS CURIAE

Upon consideration of the entire record in this case, it is hereby

ORDERED that the Court exercises its inherent authority to appoint The Honorable John Gleeson (Ret.) as amicus curiae to present arguments in opposition to the government’s Motion to Dismiss, ECF No. 198, see, e.g., United States v. Fokker Servs. B.V., 818 F.3d 733, 740 (D.C. Cir. 2016); Jin v. Ministry of State Sec., 557 F. Supp. 2d 131, 136 (D.D.C. 2008); it is further

ORDERED that amicus curiae shall address whether the Court should issue an Order to Show Cause why Mr. Flynn should not be held in criminal contempt for perjury pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 401, Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 42, the Court’s inherent authority, and any other applicable statutes, rules, or controlling law….

Judge Sullivan has set this out very carefully. It’s going to leave a… mark. Perhaps on Barr, as well.

नमस्ते

Candace Owens: Out Of Twitter Jail — For The Moment…

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These are what she chooses [click at right], for her first posts, out of jail — on Mother’s Day, no less.

Yep. Nothing but trolling.

Attention seeking.

[Background on this, here.] We will also ignore Hinderaker’s inevitable crowing, on the topic — when he returns from fishing.

Bub-bye, Moron Owens….

And I’ll wish her mother a… peaceful, blessed day, in spite of her fool of a daughter’s antics.

Simple [Damning] Facts: Trump Said On Video Flynn “Lied” To Pence — About Being A Foreign Agent, While Getting Named US National Security Advisor

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I don’t give a damn about Bill Barr’s late arriving gray-wash of the matter. [Don’t lose… the over-arching truth here.]

The man [Flynn] was — by his own written admissions — and materially false required government disclosures about foreign payments — lying to VP Pence… while National Security Advisor, for Trump. He was on the payroll of a “frenemy” government — one that attacked US troops. Trump said he fired Flynn for lying — to Pence. It is on video.

Oh, and he pled guilty twice to lying to federal agents. That was to avoid the above, near-treason charges.

So, no I don’t give a crap about Barr’s craven politics here. Both of these men are guilty — guilty of crimes against our nation.

Out — fast; and furious.

नमस्ते

Once More — Only LOUDER — For “The People In The Cheap Seats”…

~ condor ~ 2 Comments

Here nearly two months after his own fellow blogger, Paul M. told him he was way off base — due to the lack of a vaccine, for COVID-19 — as opposed to the 2017-18 “seasonal flu“… Mr. Hinderaker remains a particularly obstinate liar, about why COVID might merit an extraordinarily cautious response.

Again, we have no working vaccine.

We cannot count on it dying out [despite his third grade level Excel bar chartings — and the false implications therefrom], over the summer, as unlike any seasonal flu — we will not achieve herd immunity without millions of [mostly elderly] deaths.

I do get it: that’s… all terribly inconvenient, for John, personally. And his goofy political / commercial ventures: it cuts into his speaking engagements’ cash take.

And so — this morning, Hinderaker is back to selling… his “snake oil” arguments — ones his own co-author refuted, months ago:

“…Still, the conclusion is reasonably clear. What is unprecedented about [sic; misidentified virus — replaced with COVID-19] virus is not the lethality of the disease, but rather the reaction to it by many of the world’s governments….”

All the ensuing (non-vaccinated) excess deaths — from his lethally dangerous rushing to reopen, far and wide… will be his to defend, to St. Peter — at the pearly gates — should he ever get that far.

Onward… grinning, in Sardonic fashion. This is a movie — still in this “movie of the week’s first reel” [to invoke a long obsolete metaphor — as they are now comprised of a single massive streaming file, of ones and zeroes] — not a Polaroid, John. It will be… unpredictable — by its very nature — and Darwin’s law of natural selection.

Time for a long mountain bike ride, by the lake — social distanced, of course… in the warm sunshine….

On Those Two Cali ER MDs… Bounced From YouTube…

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Mr. Hinderaker has repeatedly linked to, and endorsed these two quacks’ self-interested remarks… because their misinformation fed John’s own COVID-19 “lost boy” stances.

Then YouTube took them down — for spreading false information, in a pandemic, presumably. John cried about some ill-defined censorship. (Silly, that.)

Now… the esteemed emergency physicians’ umbrella organizations — The American College of Emergency Physicians, and the American Academy of Emergency Medicine — have tonight provided a point by point, and scientific, refuting of the two Cali ER docs.

What are the odds Powerline will ever mention… the truth?

Zero.

And John will (of course!) shirk any potential responsibility — for the excess deaths due to his spreading what are demonstrably… lies.

End, mission transmission.

Trump Loses Again, On Appeal — Immigration, In Ninth Circuit: No, On “Public Charge” Stay Orders…

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Once again, 45’s lawless over-reaching, on immigration measures has been blunted, in a very solid 97 page opinion out of California.

In this case, it is the attempt to deem inadmissable, or deport people who’ve received any US aid in the last four years. That won’t happen now. This measure is also pending before the Supremes. However, the highest court has now clearly indicated that it won’t reach the question before Trump is voted out in November [thus mooting it]. So, this may well be the last word on it:

. . . .Regarding § 1182(a)(4)(B), we have recognized that this provision establishes “factors [that] are to be considered ‘at a minimum,’” but “[o]ther factors may be considered as well, giving officials considerable discretion in their decisions.” City & Cty. of San Francisco v. USCIS, 944 F.3d 773, 972 (9th Cir. 2019). The Proclamation does not permit any exercise of official discretion, as the enumerated § 1182(a)(4)(B) factors do, but instead imposes an absolute bar on the entry of uninsured immigrants. For instance, one of the individual Plaintiffs has submitted evidence that he could add his wife to his employer’s healthcare plan once she obtained a social security card, but social security cards are not mailed quickly enough to meet the 30-day deadline mandated by the Proclamation.

Even in this situation, the consular officer has no discretion to consider that the Plaintiff’s wife can obtain an approved health insurance plan and that this factor would weigh against finding that she is likely to become a public charge under § 1182(a)(4)(B). Instead the officer must find that she is inadmissible because she cannot obtain this insurance within 30 days. Without the Proclamation, the officer would have the discretion to consider her admissible, as § 1182(a)(4)(B) intended. In sum, the Proclamation’s health insurance requirement supplants the discretion afforded to consular officers in § 1182(a)(4)(B). . . .

[In addition,] the Proclamation’s perfunctory time limitations do not comport with the textual limits of § 1182(f); and second, § 1182(f) does not provide the President with limitless power to deny visas to immigrants based on purely long-term economic concerns. . . .

Now you know. . . . Happy Cinco!. . . smiling.

नमस्ते

One Topic John And I DO Agree On — But For Opposite Reasons: Candace Owens Should Be “Un-Banned”

~ condor ~ 2 Comments

First, our differences, here (and they are fundamental): John sees a vast, evil, well-oiled left-wing conspiracy at work in today’s Twitter suspension of new content from Ms. Candace Owens. [I’ve (perhaps naively) assumed he and she have accurately portrayed the straw that broke the camel’s back here. I won’t dig — to be sure.]

Me? I see Jack preferring not to have an increasingly unhinged someone with 2.2 million followers inciting armed vigilantes to lawlessness, and likely violence, in Michigan. Specifically calling out the sitting governor.

I’ve seen months and months of hate speech from Ms. Owens — so it is not surprising that she’s now in Alex Jones land, at Twitter. This is no First Amendment problem — no state actors, here. Jack may do as he pleases — it’s his call to make.

[John goes on to suggest seeking “government regulation”, of some sort. Of this free enterprise. Very… un-Republican, of him (un-libertarian, too). Pretty… petty facsist-friendly, actually — but why quibble?] Astonishingly, 45 took time in the middle of a global pandemic — to complain about this tonight, from Camp David — to Jack.

Ah but let’s focus on the positive, here — where we agree: the best way to combat Owens’ lunacy is… more speech — more ridicule of her “ideas”, such as they are.

So, Jack — do un-suspend her accounts.

Her hate may best be countered by sunshine — more bright light, thrown on her positions.

And I’ll be right there, to mock her, mercilessly in images — and sharp prose. That’s the American way.

Grinning….

[U] Cranky Old John — Is At It… AGAIN. Yawn.

~ condor ~ 1 Comment

Here is his latest unhinged whine.

UPDATED Friday night: Paul M. just put Hinderaker’s “minimizations of deaths” rhetoric in its rightful place: the ashcan — this is no flu. There are no easy, ready-made answers. End update.

Nearly daily now, he puts up charts purporting to track US death totals. Any human with a working frontal lobe may notice that no one knows how much worse the death totals would be right now, had we as a nation not conducted the limited [late] social distancing… and even later… shelter in place efforts. What John calls “the shutdowns”, thus:

“…The shutdowns… have gone on long enough and (in my opinion) have proved to be both unnecessary and horribly destructive….”

What we may reliably say is that many many more would be dead now. John has openly admitted as much. But no, this has all been inconvenient, to him, personally. So he converts it into yet another case of progressives ruining his individual [increasingly solitary] life.

Darwin, in the visage of the Joker… seems apt, here.

Onward — ignoring the morons, now gathering online, at his sad lil’ VIPs’ event.

H I L A R I O U S.