If you have any question as to whether DeSantis is fit to be president of the United States, his decision to hire this man should answer it. He either did it because he actually believes that the COVID vaccines are dangerous, which makes him a moron or he did it out of a cynical desire to appeal to anti-vax voters. Either way, it was a disgraceful decision and should disqualify him from ever having higher office of any kind: Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo personally altered a state-driven study about Covid-19 vaccines last year to suggest that some doses pose a significantly higher health risk for young men than had been established by the broader medical community, according to a newly obtained document. Ladapo’s changes, released as part of a public records request, presented the risks of cardiac death to be more severe than previous versions of the study. He later used the final document in October to bolster disputed claims that Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were dangerous to young men.
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Neither does right wing chutzpah: The ghost of the Confederacy hangs heavily over the Tennessee Legislature. Justin Jones, one of two Black members expelled from the state’s House of Representatives in April 2023, had run afoul of House leadership before. In 2019, as a private citizen, he was arrested following his actions in protesting a bust in the state capitol honoring Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general and later Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. While the expulsion of Jones and his colleague, Justin J. Pearson, riveted the nation’s attention, a curious and related event in the Legislature’s other branch, the Tennessee Senate, passed nearly unnoticed. On Feb. 3, 2023, two state senators issued a formal proclamation commemorating April 2023 as and encouraging “all Tennesseans to increase their knowledge of this momentous era in the history of this State.” One of the signers is Senate Speaker Randy McNally, who is also the state’s lieutenant governor; the other is Sen. Mark Pody from Lebanon.
Only the good ideas die young The Post-Keynesian Economist Victoria Chick—Vicki to her friends—died earlier this year, and was celebrated today by the interment of her ashes in her beloved home of Hamstead, and a tribute to her at University College London, her academic home for over half a century. With Vicki’s death, most of … Continue reading "Farewell Vicky Chick"
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is crumbling under a mountain of criticism for his sinking campaign. Right now he’s travelling all over the country giving speeches and selling his book proclaiming he’s the greatest anti-woke warrior on the planet. This week he’s jetting off overseas, presumably to prove that he can meet with foreign leaders as an equal. Meanwhile, back in Florida, Ft Lauderdale is drowning and he hasn’t bothered to change his busy schedule to appear (even belatedly asking for an emergency federal emergency declaration from the road.) And he was terribly embarrassed by all but one of the Florida congressional delegations, some of whom are his former colleagues in the House, endorsing Donald Trump in a carefully choreographed roll-out over the course of a week. The NY Times’ Maggie Haberman notes that while all of this is true, it’s also true that DeSantis is being judged by the party and the press as a normal politician while Trump still gets graded on a curve.
Honestly, I can hardly believe this is real — but it is.
Tucker’s model is what cost them 787,500 million dollars Nicholas Confessore wrote a major Tucker Carlson expose last year which convinced me that Carlson is a man totally motivated by money and not much more. He is so venal that he will literally say anything in pursuit of his goals. This seems like a good day to post the summary of that article. The man is a blight on humanity: Night after night on Fox, Tucker Carlson weaponizes his viewers’ fears and grievances to create what may be the most racist show in the history of cable news. It is also, by some measures, the most successful. With singular influence — reaching far beyond Fox and the viewers who tune in to his show — Mr. Carlson has filled the vacuum left by Donald J. Trump, championing the former president’s most ardent followers and some of their most extreme views. As fervently as he has raced to the defense of the Jan. 6 rioters, so has he sown doubt and suspicion around immigrants, Black Lives Matter protesters or Covid-19 vaccines. A New York Times examination of Mr.
North Dakota’s Republican Gov. Doug Burgum signed an abortion ban at six weeks of pregnancy — even in cases of rape or incest — into law on Monday. “This bill clarifies and refines existing state law … and reaffirms North Dakota as a pro-life state,” Burgum said in a statement. The law, one of the strictest in the country, takes effect immediately. Supporters have said the measure protects all human life, while opponents contend it will have dire consequences for women and girls. Republican Sen. Janne Myrdal, of Edinburg, sponsored the bill. “North Dakota has always been pro-life and believed in valuing the moms and children both,” Myrdal said in an interview with The Associated Press after Burgum signed the bill. “We’re pretty happy and grateful that the governor stands with that value.” They do not value women. And I doubt they do much for kids once they’re out of the womb either. They can just pull themselves up by their onesies. There are now 14 states with 6 week abortion bans. Only some of them allow exceptions for rape and incest.
What’s going on? Folks have been asking me, since this story broke, “Why is Fani Willis waiting until at least July 11 to announce her charging decision?” That’s a reasonable question–and I *think* there’s a logical explanation. Recall that last week, Willis’s office moved to disqualify a lawyer representing 10 of Georgia’s fake electors. They had two grounds: First, that she did not, contrary to representations by her then-co-counsel, communicate immunity offers to certain of her clients. Second, they revealed that in meetings with prosecutors on 4/12 and 4/14, certain of that lawyer’s clients accused another fake elector — and fellow client — of committing “acts that are violations of Georgia law.” Because of the “impracticable and ethical mess” the lawyer created, the D.A.’s office has moved to disqualify her from representing ANY of the 10 electors, all of whom were notified last year they were targets of the investigation. That means 10 people — some of whom remain targets, others of whom are cooperators or exploring cooperation — likely need new lawyers.
Peter Jukes reports on more revelations about the transatlantic right-wing network, and why the Government is withholding key information on the former Prime Minister’s role
The GOP’s debt ceiling game of chicken House Republicans led(?) by Speaker Kevin McCarthy refuse to raise the debt ceiling without conditions. Given their lax attitudes toward punishing insurrection and attacks on their own legislative chambers, it hardly seems beyond the pale that asking “Would they or wouldn’t they?” regarding defaulting on the national debt seems as quaint as asking if the Bush administration would torture prisoners. It would throw markets and the economy into chaos. But then, their party is now defined by that condition. “His caucus is willing to allow the United States to default on its debt to force budget cuts,” the Washington Post Editorial Board notes: It is foolish to gamble with the full faith and credit of the U.S. government at any time. It’s madness to do so now, at a fragile moment for the financial system. Have lawmakers learned nothing from the 2011 standoff that resulted in higher borrowing costs and a lower U.S. credit rating? Back then, the two sides got close to the edge and there were hefty costs.