► Scientists are racing to understand the true threat of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 as cases of infection are rising around the world. As David Leonhardt writes for The New York Times, it is red America that should be most worried about the spread:
In the U.S., partisanship is the biggest factor determining vaccination rates. If Democratic voters made up their own country, it would be one of the world’s most vaccinated, with more than 91 percent of adults having received at least one shot. Only about 60 percent of Republican adults have done so.
This vaccination gap has created a huge gap in death rates, one that has grown sharply during the second half of the year.
One telling detail is that Covid deaths in both swing counties and heavily Biden counties have not risen over the past two months, even as nationwide case numbers have surged. In heavily vaccinated communities, rising caseloads don’t automatically lead to rising death tolls.
In hundreds of U.S. counties, though, most adults still have not received a Covid vaccine shot. “Just since this summer, 150,000 unvaccinated Americans have needlessly lost their lives despite the widespread availability of vaccines,” Dr. Peter Hotez of the Baylor College of Medicine, in Houston, said yesterday.
Here’s another reason why you should ignore right-wing narratives pushing back against COVID-19 precautions.
► Meanwhile, as The Hill newspaper reports, new information demonstrates that former President Trump actively sought to undermine the nation’s COVID-19 response:
The Trump administration deliberately undermined the nation’s coronavirus response for political purposes, including by weakening testing guidance and championing widespread “herd immunity,” according to a new report from the House panel investigating the pandemic response.
The Democratic staff report released Friday was a summation of the year’s work investigating political interference in the pandemic response from Trump officials and the former president himself.
In interviews with officials and from uncovered emails and other documents, the committee found that the former administration failed to heed warnings about supply shortages, blocked public health officials from speaking publicly and neglected the pandemic response in order to focus on the 2020 presidential election and on promoting the lie that the election was “stolen” from Trump through widespread fraud.
Weiser said he will work with state legislators and law enforcement officials during the next legislative session in legislation to better combat fentanyl, including more resources for law enforcement.
The additional resources would be used to investigate fentanyl trafficking rings, disrupt drug supply chains through multijurisdictional task forces and educate the public in an effort to prevent accidental overdoses, according to Weiser.
Weiser also asked state legislatures to examine existing laws surrounding drug dealing and possession laws, specifically how they relate to fentanyl.
“Dealers selling counterfeit pills with fentanyl in our communities are peddling substances that can kill,” Weiser said. “The legislature should increase penalties for those that deliberately handoff fentanyl and fentanyl-laced drugs to unsuspecting users, resulting in accidental overdoses. Four grams of fentanyl is not the same as four grams of cocaine or any other illegal drug. The legislature should re-evaluate whether a felony charge is appropriate for possessing this amount of fentanyl.”
► The Colorado Times Recorder reports on a joint fundraiser in Colorado Springs in which Republican candidates dedicated to the “Big Lie” got together to trade conspiracy theories and see Senate candidate Ron Hanks dressed up like the Crocodile Hunter.
The Weld RE-4 school board governing Windsor and Severance schools revisited mandatory masking at a special meeting Wednesday night, deciding to wait until it has a full board to make a decision regarding the existing mandate.
New board member Aaron Smith introduced a resolution to make the masks optional, but the board ultimately decided the new interim superintendent and new board member — both set to begin in early January — should have a say in the decision and they needed more time with the resolution.
Board president Russ Smart said he hopes to have a decision regarding masks on Jan. 10; students are returning to the classroom from winter break on Jan. 4.
Just tell COVID-19 to take a holiday break, okay?
► Colorado is working on refilling the coffers of its unemployment fund, as The Colorado Sun explains.
The Colorado Transportation Commission on Thursday approved a new rule that could divert billions of dollars to clean transportation projects in the coming decades.
The rule will require the state Department of Transportation and the state’s five metropolitan planning organizations to measure the climate impact of planned projects and offset them if they exceed a given amount. Transportation-related emissions now make up the largest source of climate pollutants in Colorado.
State officials estimate the rule could shift some $6.7 billion by 2050 toward public transit, pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, construction emission reduction, and other environmentally friendly strategies. They also hope it will incentivize local governments toward more efficient land use, with denser housing and commercial developments that require less travel.
Members of the commission said the rule is an important step to address climate change — and a difficult one because state transportation agencies have historically been singularly focused on building and maintaining roads.
► Former President Trump wants Senate Republicans to shank Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. It’s not working.
►Keep an eye on Wisconsin, where continued efforts to prove that the 2020 election was fraudulent are being steered by people who are not exactly independent.
11 thoughts on “Get More Smarter on Friday (Dec. 17)”
#PfruitTriggerAlert
It's going to be 60 degrees today in Green Bay today but the world's largest economy can't pass climate legislation because a coal millionaire who lives on a yacht and drives a Maserati doesn't support it.
Ron Hanks can cosplay all he wants; it won’t make him any more or less electable in Colorado. But I don’t think getting elected is the goal of the candidates in the CTR article. They want to undermine democracy by intimidating election officials, and suppress the votes and political speech of anyone who disagrees with them. They want to use their “campaigns” to spread fascism.
“Anything is worth a try because it’s what keeps us from violence,” Hanks told supporters at the fundraiser, which included a silent auction and snacks. “We are going to hit a point here where there is no more things to try, and that’s where things get dangerous to me.”
Watkins, the EPCO Sheriff candidate, is one of the Constitutional Sheriffs- their roots were in the segregationist South. Their premise is that the Sheriff IS the law in his county, and can ignore Federal and State laws he disagrees with.
Given this group’s fascist agenda, Hanks is channeling Mussolini brownshirts more than Crocodile Dundee. So he’s dressed appropriately for the role he wants to play.
An unsuccessful presidential candidate in 2012 and 2016, Perry in 2015 described the candidacy of then-rival Trump as "a cancer on conservatism" that "will destroy a set of principles."
December 17, 2021 09:34 AM UTC
11 Comments
#PfruitTriggerAlert
It's going to be 60 degrees today in Green Bay today but the world's largest economy can't pass climate legislation because a coal millionaire who lives on a yacht and drives a Maserati doesn't support it.
"Senate candidate Ron Hanks dressed up like the Crocodile Hunter."
In MAGA-land, every day can be Halloween.
You have to blend into that natural environment pretty well if you're hunting printers. They spook easily.
Ron Hanks can cosplay all he wants; it won’t make him any more or less electable in Colorado. But I don’t think getting elected is the goal of the candidates in the CTR article. They want to undermine democracy by intimidating election officials, and suppress the votes and political speech of anyone who disagrees with them. They want to use their “campaigns” to spread fascism.
Watkins, the EPCO Sheriff candidate, is one of the Constitutional Sheriffs- their roots were in the segregationist South. Their premise is that the Sheriff IS the law in his county, and can ignore Federal and State laws he disagrees with.
Given this group’s fascist agenda, Hanks is channeling Mussolini brownshirts more than Crocodile Dundee. So he’s dressed appropriately for the role he wants to play.
Hanks looks like a fat Crocodile Dundee.
Los descamisados…..
Any photos of him without his shirt on? Thought that was a job prerequisite.
Ugh, no thanks. Bad enough as a mental image.
You’re not imagining Vlad shirtless on horseback?!?!?
I have a “No Shirt No Shoes No Fascists” policy posted on my fantasy life.
Regarding the Red-Unvaxed Pandemic
Cancer doesn’t seem to adequately describe Trumpism…
CNN Exclusive: Jan 6 investigators believe Nov. 4 text pushing 'strategy' to undermine election came from Rick Perry