Tuesday, August 31, 2021

And another day of increasing vax shots, FL fudging numbers, Republican distrust in media, CA’s national parks close, S. Korea mandates cameras in operating rooms, the TX dystopia continues, and the Four Horsemen of shittiness comes to a close:

“I guess we should retire the expression ‘avoid it like the plague’ given how little effort people put into avoiding an actual plague.” — Anonymous 

Deaths

US: 657,910 (+1517)

World: 4,533,609 (+9843)

Cases

US: 40,114,099 (+167,391)

World: 218,540,994 (+639,319)

The widespread adoption of vaccine mandates by governments, schools and businesses led to an increase in the number of people in the U.S. getting their first coronavirus vaccine shot in August. Zients credits the widespread adoption of vaccine mandates by governments, schools and businesses. He pointed to the jump in vaccinations in Washington state, where the weekly vaccinate rate rose 34% after the state announced vaccination requirements for state employees, teachers and school staff. — We’re only going to get out of this mess through vaccine mandates. 

As cases ballooned in August, the Florida Department of Health changed the way it reported death data to the CDC, giving the appearance of a pandemic in decline. If you chart deaths by Florida’s new method, based on date of death, it will generally appear — even during a spike like the present — that deaths are on a recent downslope. That’s because it takes time for deaths to be evaluated and death certificates processed. When those deaths finally are tallied, they are assigned to the actual data of death — creating a spike where there once existed a downslope and moving the downslope forward in time.

Two Florida counties stick with mask mandates despite financial penalties. -- Ah, some smart, brave people in Florida.

Rural Oregon school superintendent fired after enforcing state mask mandate. The board provided no public explanation for its surprise decision to oust a superintendent who has been on the job for three years and in the district for 14 years. But critics and supporters of Purnell’s stance on mask mandates made clear it was a pivotal issue in his fissure with the board.

Beginning Sept. 13, Honolulu, Hawaii, will require proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID test taken within 48 hours to enter establishments.

U.S. adds Canada to its “do not travel" advisory list amid COVID-19 -State Dept.

New study finds Moderna creates more antibodies than Pfizer doses.

Texas Legislature approves election overhaul bill that will add new restrictions to voting. It now goes to the governor, who says he will sign it.

Partisan divides in media trust widen, driven by a decline among Republicans. In just five years, the percentage of Republicans with at least some trust in national news organizations has been cut in half – dropping from 70% in 2016 to 35% this year. This decline is fueling the continued widening of the partisan gap in trust of the media. — The path to authoritarianism is paved with Republican bullshit.

Lauren Boebert is a shittly person.

MTG, not only is she a shitty person, she’s scared shitless as well. 

McCarthy says GOP "will not forget" if companies hand records to Jan. 6 committee. The comment follows the select committee sending letters to 35 companies Monday asking them to preserve a number of records - something McCarthy argues "would put every American with a phone or computer in the crosshairs of a surveillance state run by Democratic politicians." — And obviously Kevin McCarthy, who is also a shitty person, is scared shitless, too.

Madison Cawthorn...yeah, he’s a shitty person, too.

It’s like the Four Horsemen of shittiness.

Rep. Madison Cawthorn calls Jan. 6 rioters 'political prisoners,' suggests he wants to 'try and bust them out' of jail. — There appears to be no redeeming qualities in any Congressional Republican.

Ida’s sweltering aftermath: No power, no water, no gasoline. Hundreds of thousands of Louisianans sweltered in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida on Tuesday with no electricity, no tap water, precious little gasoline and no clear idea of when things might improve.

US Forest Service temporarily closes all California national parks for public safety. In the wake of a statewide wildfire crisis, the US Forest Service announced in an August 30 news release that it will temporarily close national parks throughout California from August 31 through September 17 for safety reasons.

Texas school puts its first black principal on leave in furor over Critical Race Theory. A Black school principal has been placed on paid leave one week after a group of parents accused him of pushing Critical Race Theory- even though the Texas school does not mention it in the district's curriculum…Whitfield, who is married to a white woman, was also asked by the school district to remove photos with the couple together, with complaints saying they were inappropriate…"I am not the CRT (Critical Race Theory) Boogeyman. I am the first African American to assume the role of Principal at my current school in its 25-year history, and I am keenly aware of how much fear this strikes in the hearts of a small minority who would much rather things go back to the way they used to be.” — They don’t try to hide their racism. 

Social Security won't be able to pay full benefits by 2034, a year earlier than expected due to the pandemic. The Covid-19 pandemic and economic recession are to blame for moving up the depletion rate by a year, driven by the big drop in employment and resulting decline in revenue from payroll taxes. The trustees also project a higher mortality rate through 2023 and a delay in births in the short term.

The entire board of Iceland's football federation (KSI) has resigned after a woman accused it of covering up claims of alleged sexual assault by a national squad player.

South Korea mandates cameras in operating rooms after surgery deaths. South Korea's parliament has voted to require hospitals to place surveillance cameras in operating rooms after a series of medical accidents involving unqualified staff who stood in for surgeons. With the bill's passage, South Korea will be the first developed country to require closed-circuit cameras to record surgical procedures.

The Department of Education has canceled more than $9 billion in student loan debt since President Biden has come into office with moves that will affect more than 563,000 borrowers. The agency confirmed the new top-line figure upon its recent announcement detailing its cancellation of $1.1 billion in debt for 115,000 borrowers that attended ITT Technical Institute, which is now defunct.

Instagram to require all users to enter birthdate. Move is part of firm’s efforts to introduce child-safe experience for under-18s

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

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