Wednesday, September 8, 2021

And another day of the Republican template, seniors at high risk, the mu variant, child hospitalizations, the “Big Lie,” “a ticking time bomb,” pride flags, removing statues, Afghan women, media liable for comments, and banning animal testing comes to a close:

“Anyone curious about how America would do under full Republican rule needs only look at Florida or Texas.” -- Robert Reich

Deaths

US: 671,183 (+2161)

World: 4,608,865 (+10,417)

Cases

US: 41,397,587 (+190,915)

World: 223,379,681 (+661,410)

Texas Is the New Republican Template. What’s happening there is about much more than the fight over reproductive rights. It’s about political control.

Risk of severe breakthrough Covid-19 higher for seniors and people with underlying conditions. For fully vaccinated Americans, the risk of being hospitalized or dying from Covid-19 is low -- much lower than the risk for unvaccinated people. But in those rare cases when a fully vaccinated person gets infected, data suggests it's older adults and those with multiple underlying medical conditions who are most at risk of serious illness.

Mu COVID Variant Outbreak in Florida as Hundreds of Cases Detected. Although Florida is finally starting to see a decrease in the number of new COVID-19 cases, there have been hundreds of cases detected of the Mu variant, which is more transmissible and potentially more resistant to vaccines than other strains..."If, in fact, the variant is capable of substantially reducing the effectiveness of vaccines in lowering the risk of severe illness...well, it's one of those situations that we've been worried about."

What is the mu variant of the coronavirus? It’s a version of the coronavirus that was first identified in Colombia in January and has since caused isolated outbreaks in South America, Europe and the United States…So far, the mu variant doesn’t seem to be spreading quickly: It accounts for fewer than 1% of COVID-19 cases globally. In Colombia, it may be responsible for about 39% of cases.

"People would like to say we’re done with Covid, but Covid is not done with us.” -- Dr. Anthony Fauci

Child Covid-19 hospitalizations reach a new high as schools reopen. That's not the only reason to protect kids from Delta, doctors say. Just as doctors feared, more children are getting hit hard by Covid-19 as the Delta variant tramples across the country. And the school year just started.

Parents Of Children With Disabilities Join The Legal Battle Over Masks In Schools. In a wave of lawsuits in nearly half a dozen states, families of students with disabilities are joining the legal battle over masks in schools. Complaints filed in Tennessee, Florida, Utah, Texas and South Carolina argue that restrictions on mask mandates infringe on disability rights and that children with disabilities are being forced to choose between their health and their education.

Florida judge allows school mask mandates to continue despite governor's appeal. A Florida judge ruled against Gov. Ron Desantis on Wednesday and allowed schools in the state to mandate face-masks while the case is appealed at a higher level.

‘A ticking time bomb’: University of Washington faculty unconvinced about the return to in-person learning. However, many faculty members are not satisfied with UW’s plan for an entirely in-person fall quarter. The return to in-person learning comes as the highly transmissible delta variant blows through both vaccinated and unvaccinated populations statewide, further encumbering an already strained hospital system with record-breaking hospitalizations.

South Dakota Bans Clinicians From Using Telemedicine To Provide Medication Abortions. Republican Gov. Kristi Noem's order restricting the safe, effective pill is the latest in a wave of red states trying to make abortions dangerous.

‘Big lie' brings ever-bigger consequences. Including Texas, 17 Republican-controlled states have new voting restrictions in place in time for 2022 -- via bills at least partly inspired by the mistruths told by former President Trump.

Biden ousts 18 Trump military academy board appointees. The Biden administration on Wednesday removed 18 appointees named to U.S. military academy boards by Donald Trump in the final months of the Republican president’s term in office, according to the White House.

Oklahoma governor removes only physicians from medical board. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt removed the only two physicians from the board that oversees the state’s Medicaid agency, just a week after the board voted 7-1 to delay implementing rules on Stitt’s plan to privatize some Medicaid services. — Republicans have collectively lost their minds.

A Missouri teacher resigned last week after parents complained about a pride flag in his classroom and the district told him to take it down. John M. Wallis was recently hired to teach speech, theatre and world mythology at Neosho Junior High School. He has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights…He added: "There is never a problem when a heterosexual teacher displays pictures of themselves and their spouses in a classroom but I have a flag and all hell breaks loose."

Robert E. Lee statue on historic Virginia street removed. Virginia on Wednesday took down a towering statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, the last Confederate statue remaining along Richmond's historic Monument Avenue. A pair of rulings from the state Supreme Court last week cleared the way for its removal after intense national debate over the 12-ton statue's purpose and place along the nearly one-mile, tree-lined street in the city that was once the capital of the Confederacy.

Afghan women to be banned from playing sport, Taliban say. In an interview with the Australian broadcaster SBS, the deputy head of the Taliban’s cultural commission, Ahmadullah Wasiq, said women’s sport was considered neither appropriate nor necessary. “I don’t think women will be allowed to play cricket because it is not necessary that women should play cricket,” Wasiq said. “In cricket, they might face a situation where their face and body will not be covered. Islam does not allow women to be seen like this.

Taliban ban protests and slogans that don’t have their approval. Rallies in Afghanistan have already been broken up violently, now ‘severe consequences’ are threatened for demonstrators.

Australian court rules media liable for Facebook comments. Australia’s highest court on Wednesday made a landmark ruling that media outlets are “publishers” of allegedly defamatory comments posted by third parties on their official Facebook pages.

Mexico becomes first North American country to ban animal testing for cosmetics. This makes Mexico the 41st country worldwide to ban such testing, according to the Humane Society.

Fossils of giant, 'mind-boggling' swimming head creature unearthed in Canada. A fossil found in the Canadian Rockies revealed an unusual marine animal that was much larger in scale than any other ocean creatures at its time more than 500 million years ago.

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

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