All things political. Coronavirus Edition. (1 Viewer)

[Maxp]

I fear we are really going to be in a bad place due to the obvious cuts to the federal agencies that deal with infectious disease, but also the negative effect the Affordable Care act has had on non urban hospitals. Our front line defenses are ineffectual and our ability to treat the populous is probably at an all time low. Factor in the cost of healthcare and I can see our system crashing. What do you think about the politics of this virus?

 

[MT15]

Good explainer of why the whole “dying with Covid and dying from Covid” talking point is a ruse. From a hospital administrator:

 

[superchuck500]

Goodness gracious

 

[MT15]

Who exactly is defending this craziness? Is it the county, or the state? Surely it’s not the feds?

 

[superchuck500]

Who exactly is defending this craziness? Is it the county, or the state? Surely it’s not the feds?

It's a "1983 Action", 42 USC Sec. 1983 which gives individuals a private civil action for damages against local and state law enforcement officers for violation of constitutional rights. Here, the officers were deputies of a county sheriff's department in Wisconsin. So they are being sued directly for money damages.

The officers' attorneys are being paid by somebody, usually either by the government under authority that allows payment of private counsel to defend these kinds of actions, or by the officers' themselves which typically happens through union benefits or through a professional liability policy they may pay annually for.

 

[MT15]

So, they have to defend it? Shouldn’t they just settle on damages and admit they were wrong?

 

[superchuck500]

So, they have to defend it? Shouldn’t they just settle on damages and admit they were wrong?

Effective settlement strategy usually has you defending the case until you settle it. You don’t just walk in and say “we’re liable - let’s settle.”

 

[CoolBrees]

Effective settlement strategy is my new phrase in contract negotiations and parenting.

 

[Booker]

Well that was kind of disturbing to read.

 

[H B Lowrey]

I fear we are really going to be in a bad place due to the obvious cuts to the federal agencies that deal with infectious disease, but also the negative effect the Affordable Care act has had on non urban hospitals. Our front line defenses are ineffectual and our ability to treat the populous is probably at an all time low. Factor in the cost of healthcare and I can see our system crashing. What do you think about the politics of this virus?

I don't see blaming the ACA when it is the system itself that is the problem.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Guess this can go here
==================

…..Turn on Fox today and you’ll find one host after another — Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Tucker Carlson — waxing poetic on the noble cause of the “Freedom Convoy."

This is a group of Canadian truckers who descended on the capital city of Ottawa to protest a requirement that those who cross back and forth over the U.S. border be vaccinated.


Not only have they shut down large portions of the city, but they’ve also been honking their horns at all hours, in an apparent attempt to drive residents out of their minds.


Now Republican politicians are getting into the act: After GoFundMe announced that it would be returning money raised for the truckers, whose ranks include a variety of far-right cranks, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas announced they’d be mounting investigations of the company.

And of course, Donald Trump — who as president loved nothing more than sitting in a truck like a big boy — expressed his support for the truckers.

It’s somewhat ironic that DeSantis would come to the defense of these protesters, because in the past he hasn’t looked on the exercise of that particular right with a great deal of sympathy.

Last April, he enthusiastically signed a bill that makes it a felony to block traffic in a protest and “grants civil legal immunity to people who drive through protesters blocking a road," as the Orlando Sentinel put it.

A similar law passed in Texas, as it has in a number of conservative states. Oklahoma’s version gives drivers both civil and criminal immunity for injuring or killing protesters.

But of course, that was when everyone considered blocking traffic to be a protest tactic associated with the left, including demonstrations after George Floyd’s murder.

When right-wingers do it, it’s entirely different!


The animating idea here appears to be that the value of free speech and the forms it takes should be judged solely on whether they’re motivated by ideas you agree with.

Perhaps DeSantis should include a provision to that effect the next time he signs a law dictating what teachers are and are not allowed to say in the classroom……..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/02/08/american-right-canadian-truckers/

 

[H B Lowrey]

Guess this can go here
==================

…..Turn on Fox today and you’ll find one host after another — Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Tucker Carlson — waxing poetic on the noble cause of the “Freedom Convoy."

This is a group of Canadian truckers who descended on the capital city of Ottawa to protest a requirement that those who cross back and forth over the U.S. border be vaccinated.


Not only have they shut down large portions of the city, but they’ve also been honking their horns at all hours, in an apparent attempt to drive residents out of their minds.


Now Republican politicians are getting into the act: After GoFundMe announced that it would be returning money raised for the truckers, whose ranks include a variety of far-right cranks, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas announced they’d be mounting investigations of the company.

And of course, Donald Trump — who as president loved nothing more than sitting in a truck like a big boy — expressed his support for the truckers.

It’s somewhat ironic that DeSantis would come to the defense of these protesters, because in the past he hasn’t looked on the exercise of that particular right with a great deal of sympathy.

Last April, he enthusiastically signed a bill that makes it a felony to block traffic in a protest and “grants civil legal immunity to people who drive through protesters blocking a road," as the Orlando Sentinel put it.

A similar law passed in Texas, as it has in a number of conservative states. Oklahoma’s version gives drivers both civil and criminal immunity for injuring or killing protesters.

But of course, that was when everyone considered blocking traffic to be a protest tactic associated with the left, including demonstrations after George Floyd’s murder.

When right-wingers do it, it’s entirely different!


The animating idea here appears to be that the value of free speech and the forms it takes should be judged solely on whether they’re motivated by ideas you agree with.

Perhaps DeSantis should include a provision to that effect the next time he signs a law dictating what teachers are and are not allowed to say in the classroom……..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/02/08/american-right-canadian-truckers/

Idiots one and all.

 

[MT15]

Another visit from our old friend, base rate fallacy.

 

[H B Lowrey]

I fear we are really going to be in a bad place due to the obvious cuts to the federal agencies that deal with infectious disease, but also the negative effect the Affordable Care act has had on non urban hospitals. Our front line defenses are ineffectual and our ability to treat the populous is probably at an all time low. Factor in the cost of healthcare and I can see our system crashing. What do you think about the politics of this virus?

The politics of this virus combined with the politics of wealthcare in america will and already has yielded the ethnic cleansing exercise america decided upon once we realized the demographics that would be most impacted.

 

[Optimus Prime]

More on the Canadian trucker protest
=============================
What the truck is going on in Canada? No offence to Ottawa, but it’s not the most exciting place in the world. Over the past couple of weeks, however, the Canadian capital has been embroiled in drama: hundreds of truckers, ostensibly protesting against vaccine mandates, have brought the city to a standstill.

Members of the so-called “Freedom Truck Convoy” have been blaring horns, desecrating war memorials and setting off fireworks. Residents are being driven to distraction. The police chief has called the situation a “siege”; the Ontario premier called it “an occupation”. On Monday, the city’s mayor, Jim Watson, declared a state of emergency.

There’s a lot going on in the world right now. If you’re not Canadian, then the protest in Ottawa might not be top of your list of things to worry about. But I’m afraid you should be worried. You should certainly be paying attention.

What’s unfolding in Ottawa is not a grassroots protest that has spontaneously erupted out of the frustration of local lorry drivers.

Rather, it’s an astroturfed movement – one that creates an impression of widespread grassroots support where little exists – funded by a global network of highly organised far-right groups and amplified by Facebook’s misinformation machine. The drama may be centred in Canada, but what is unfolding has repercussions for us all.

That’s a big claim, so let me break it down. We’ll start with the Canadian lorry drivers. The people protesting against vaccine mandates, it can’t be stressed enough, are by no means representative of the Canadian haulage industry as a whole.

Just 10% of cross-border drivers refused the jabs, according to the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA), meaning that from 15 January they can no longer cross back into Canada without quarantine.

The CTA, along with other major industry organisations, has disavowed the protest. The protesters don’t represent the vast majority of lorry drivers, nor are they representative of public sentiment towards vaccines in Canada – a country where 84% of the population, children included, have received at least one vaccine dose. They are, as Justin Trudeau has said, a “small fringe”……..

The whole world should be worried by the ‘siege of Ottawa’. This is about much more than a few anti-vaxx truckers | Arwa Mahdawi

How did this ‘grassroots’ rebellion paralyse the Canadian capital? With funding from the far right and a boost from Facebook misinformation, writes Guardian columnist Arwa Mahdawi

www.theguardian.com

 

[superchuck500]

More on the Canadian trucker protest
=============================
What the truck is going on in Canada? No offence to Ottawa, but it’s not the most exciting place in the world. Over the past couple of weeks, however, the Canadian capital has been embroiled in drama: hundreds of truckers, ostensibly protesting against vaccine mandates, have brought the city to a standstill.

Members of the so-called “Freedom Truck Convoy” have been blaring horns, desecrating war memorials and setting off fireworks. Residents are being driven to distraction. The police chief has called the situation a “siege”; the Ontario premier called it “an occupation”. On Monday, the city’s mayor, Jim Watson, declared a state of emergency.

There’s a lot going on in the world right now. If you’re not Canadian, then the protest in Ottawa might not be top of your list of things to worry about. But I’m afraid you should be worried. You should certainly be paying attention.

What’s unfolding in Ottawa is not a grassroots protest that has spontaneously erupted out of the frustration of local lorry drivers.

Rather, it’s an astroturfed movement – one that creates an impression of widespread grassroots support where little exists – funded by a global network of highly organised far-right groups and amplified by Facebook’s misinformation machine. The drama may be centred in Canada, but what is unfolding has repercussions for us all.

That’s a big claim, so let me break it down. We’ll start with the Canadian lorry drivers. The people protesting against vaccine mandates, it can’t be stressed enough, are by no means representative of the Canadian haulage industry as a whole.

Just 10% of cross-border drivers refused the jabs, according to the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA), meaning that from 15 January they can no longer cross back into Canada without quarantine.

The CTA, along with other major industry organisations, has disavowed the protest. The protesters don’t represent the vast majority of lorry drivers, nor are they representative of public sentiment towards vaccines in Canada – a country where 84% of the population, children included, have received at least one vaccine dose. They are, as Justin Trudeau has said, a “small fringe”……..

The whole world should be worried by the ‘siege of Ottawa’. This is about much more than a few anti-vaxx truckers | Arwa Mahdawi

How did this ‘grassroots’ rebellion paralyse the Canadian capital? With funding from the far right and a boost from Facebook misinformation, writes Guardian columnist Arwa Mahdawi

www.theguardian.com

The hacked account and suspicious donations behind the Canadian trucker protests

The jumble of misinformation, online fundraising groups and amplification from right-wing political figures suggests there’s more to these protests than meets the eye.

www.grid.news

 

[el caliente]

What’s the difference between the trucker situation and the summer of 2020 (other than how it’s being covered)?

 

[RobF]

What’s the difference between the trucker situation and the summer of 2020 (other than how it’s being covered)?

I'd have said 'the fundamental nature of the protests', but perhaps we're thinking of different things. What do you think are the parallels?

 

[el caliente]

I'd have said 'the fundamental nature of the protests', but perhaps we're thinking of different things. What do you think are the parallels?

I don’t think there is a fundamental difference in their protests. These folks want to be free. They are done with restrictions standing in their way.

I have no problem with the 2020 protests much like I have no problem with what the Canadian truckers are doing. Protests can get uncomfortable, but if that’s what’s necessary to bring about desired change, then so be it.