Saturday, August 21, 2021

And another day of getting ‘coached,’ descending into violence and harassment, booster shots, MN GOP in ‘ruins,’ the Taliban acquiring American arsenal, TX and abortion, sex trafficking at Sturgis, and the looming CO River crisis comes to a close:

“We’re belittling science just as we expect it to rescue us.” -- Andy Slavitt

Deaths

US: 644,840 (+559)

World: 4,436,657 (+8890)

Cases

US: 38,519,294 (+120,698)

World: 212,147,418 (+593,881)

Parents get coached on how to escape mask and vaccine rules. Across the U.S., religious figures, doctors, public officials and other community leaders are trying to help people circumvent COVID-19 precautions. While proponents of these workarounds say they are looking out for children’s health and parents’ rights, others say such stratagems are dishonest and irresponsible and could undermine efforts to beat back the highly contagious delta variant. — This truly is disgusting and angering. Your freedom ends when it endangers others.

Mask, vaccine conflicts descend into violence and harassment. Across the country, anti-vaccine and anti-mask demonstrations are taking scary and violent turns, and educators, medical professionals and public figures have been stunned at the level at which they have been vilified for even stating their opinion. And they have been terrified over how far protesters will go in confronting leaders outside their homes and in their workplaces.

Vaccinated man dies in Florida, daughters share their anger and urge people to get vaccinated. A fully vaccinated man who resided in a Florida retirement home died from COVID-19. His daughters wrote an obituary urging people to get vaccinated and blame the state for his life ending.

Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. and his wife have tested positive for COVID-19 and have been hospitalized.

More US adults want booster shots than are unvaccinated. The good news is that most qualifying adults will likely take the booster in yet another sign that Americans are, in large part, pro-vaccination when it comes to the coronavirus…Perhaps most interesting is that many Americans seem willing to get many boosters. Ipsos specifically asked vaccinated adults whether they'd get a booster if it is recommended to get one annually like a flu shot. A near uniform majority (87%) said they would be likely, while 63% said they would be very likely. Given that 62% of adults are fully vaccinated overall, this means more than 50% of Americans indicate that they likely want a booster and might be willing to get many of them…Another way to look at it, there are a lot more Americans who are willing to mostly follow health officials advice when it comes to the Covid-19 vaccine than not follow it at all.

Whopping 94% of Adults in England Have Covid-19 Antibodies. England still sees 25,000 covid-19 cases per day but deaths have fallen sharply since the height of the pandemic.

The Euro 2020 final was a "superspreader event" in and around London's Wembley Stadium, according to government figures. About 2,300 people "were likely to have been infectious at the time of the event," Public Health England found. The data for the July 11 event showed a further 3,404 people in and around the stadium were potentially infected after the event and may have contracted the virus there. While fans were required to take a coronavirus test to be allowed entry to Wembley, the system relied on them reporting whether the test was negative.

Top Mississippi hospital tightens its COVID vaccine policy. Mississippi’s only Level 1 trauma center and teaching hospital announced Friday it will now mandate all employees and students to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The policy is a reversal from a rule put in place last month that allowed employees or students to skip the vaccine if they agreed to wear an N95 mask while on campus.

Minnesota GOP ‘in ruins’ after shocking scandal. The proximate cause of Carnahan’s departure was a firestorm that engulfed the party in recent days, after a GOP donor she was close to, Anton “Tony” Lazzaro, was indicted on federal sex-trafficking charges. A pile-on ensued, with Carnahan, the wife of Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn, accused by party officials and former staffers of running a toxic, retaliatory workplace, mismanaging party finances and, through the use of non-disclosure agreements, squashing transparency. “The party is in ruins,” Michael Brodkorb, a former deputy chair of the Minnesota GOP, said on Friday. He added, “I don’t know if the party has hit rock bottom yet.”— Republicans always find a way to go lower.

Rifles, Humvees and millions of rounds of ammo: The Taliban celebrate their new American arsenal. The Taliban's newfound American arsenal is likely not limited to small arms, as the group captured sizable stockpiles of weapons and vehicles held at strongholds once controlled by US-backed forces, including modern mine-resistant vehicles (MRAPs) and Humvees. Initial estimates suggest the Taliban may now also possess several Black Hawk helicopters and other US-funded military aircraft.

IS threat forces US changes to evacuations at Kabul airport. Potential Islamic State threats against Americans in Afghanistan are forcing the U.S. military to develop new ways to get evacuees to the airport in Kabul, a senior U.S. official said Saturday, adding a new complication to the already chaotic efforts to get people out of the country after its swift fall to the Taliban.

Texas can ban common abortion procedure in second trimester, appeals court rules. Texas can limit access to the most common procedure used to end a pregnancy in the second trimester, an appeals court ruled Wednesday, in a decision likely to end up before the U.S. Supreme Court. The ruling paves the way for Texas to be the first state in the nation to impose such a ban. At issue is a law passed by the Texas Legislature in 2017 that requires doctors to stop the heart, or cause what they called "fetal demise,” before the commonly used dilation and evacuation abortion procedure — except in the case of a medical emergency. Those who violate the law can face fines or jail time.

The Southwest’s most important river is drying up. The Colorado River irrigates farms, powers electric grids and provides drinking water to 40 million people. But as its supply dwindles, a crisis looms.

Nine Men Arrested in Sex Trafficking Operation at Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.

Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.