TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalMissouri reports record number of COVID-19 hospitalizations
ST. LOUIS — As Missouri again reported a record number of COVID-19 hospitalizations Friday, the leader of the local pandemic response warned that cases are rising quickly in rural areas, a change since previous months of the pandemic.
Missouri’s hospitalization numbers have been rising for weeks. Health experts have warned that hospitals will be challenged if new coronavirus case numbers continue to swell through flu season.
This week, Mercy Hospital Washington, seeing higher numbers of virus patients than ever, transferred two COVID-19 patients to another facility because of concerns about capacity.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported on Friday that there were 1,068 patients in hospitals statewide with presumed or confirmed COVID-19, the highest number on record. The data lags three days, and not every hospital reports every day.
Read more: https://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/coronavirus/missouri-reports-record-number-of-covid-19-hospitalizations/article_f52b9d40-f8dd-53ef-9aaf-ba9f1cddd367.html
'Cease-and-desist' letter by Galloway campaign prompts edit to GOP attack ad
JEFFERSON CITY — State Auditor Nicole Galloway’s campaign for governor fired off cease-and-desist letters to television station managers across Missouri this week, saying an ad produced by a GOP-allied political action committee falsely accused her of committing a crime.
Legal pressure by the Galloway campaign had, as of Friday, resulted in nine stations removing the original Uniting Missouri PAC ad from the air, said Kevin Donohoe, spokesman for the Galloway campaign. A spokesman for Uniting Missouri said the group voluntarily replaced the ad with an edited version.
Uniting Missouri supports Gov. Mike Parson, Galloway’s Republican opponent on Nov. 3.
The skirmish highlights the rough-and-tumble nature of election advertising, where opposing campaigns and groups portray other candidates in the worst light possible. In some cases, TV station managers get caught in the middle, acting as referee between lawyers for both sides.
Read more: https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/cease-and-desist-letter-by-galloway-campaign-prompts-edit-to-gop-attack-ad/article_2e7214d4-f404-5e3d-992c-9bd4fa53e4ce.html
Eric Greitens to Host New Show on Network You Don't Watch
Welcome back to prime time, Eric Greitens.
After a slight detour around a sex scandal that would have silenced a more humble man, Missouri's ex-governor will be hosting a new morning talk show. That's right. No more slinking around his lake house at Innsbrook Resort, leaping into action in St. Louis streets or delivering (faulty) face masks to firefighters. Greitens will resume his rightful place among the elite power players of this nation.
After what was surely a gruesome bidding war among the major networks, the influential Real America's Voice network has partnered with equally storied Just the News to land Greitens' show "Actionable Intelligence."
The brand-new partnership, announced today, will feature Greitens in the coveted 5 a.m. time slot.
"I can't imagine being a part of a better media partnership for launching my new TV show, 'Actionable Intelligence,'" Greitens says in the news release. "Nowhere else can you find the kind of cutting-edge programming we're going to deliver, addressing the issues that matter most to Americans. Tune in!"
Read more: https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2020/09/22/eric-greitens-to-host-new-show-on-network-you-dont-watch
I occasionally see ShermanA1 awake at that hour. Perhaps Greitens and has found a viewer? 
Breonna Taylor Memorial at Saint Louis University Defaced, Sparking Protests
“If y’all want to chant, we can sit here and chant all fucking day,” said Ashlee Lambert, a Saint Louis University graduate student, who helped lead a protest on campus earlier today.
For Lambert, it all began Thursday morning when she wrote “Black Lives Matter” and “No officer was convicted for the murder of Breonna Taylor,” among other messages in chalk on the campus’ Clock Tower.
It was soon made apparent that this opinion wasn’t shared by others on campus.
Some time since yesterday morning, an unknown individual or group used a permanent marker to write over Lambert’s messages with their own. “Trump 2020” and “David Dorn” were etched over the chalk writing on the Clock Tower’s base and sides, as well as on a nearby bench. Dorn was a retired St. Louis police captain, who was killed in June while defending a pawn shop from looters. Trump highlighted his death as he has sought to paint nationwide protests as inherently violent.
Read more: https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2020/09/25/breonna-taylor-memorial-at-saint-louis-university-defaced-sparking-protests
Tort reform bills protect wrongdoers at the expense of Missouri families
One of the top priorities of the Missouri Senate last session was passing SB 591 to make it more difficult to impose punitive damages on wrongdoers who acted with a “willful, wanton, or malicious culpable mental state … tantamount to intentional wrongdoing where the natural and probable consequence of the conduct is injury.” SB 591 also included language protecting businesses that defraud Missouri families.
Brett Emison
Other tort bills which passed out of committee but failed to reach final passage included:
• A statute of repose to protect manufacturers of defective products
• Changes to R.S.Mo. § 537.065 making it harder for small businesses to protect their assets when an insurance company has wrongfully refused coverage under an insurance policy insured
• Changes making it more difficult for mesothelioma victims and their families to hold businesses accountable for asbestos exposure
• Limiting the amount of time an injured victim may file a lawsuit against the wrongdoer
• Reducing the amount of pre- and post-judgment interest to make it financially beneficial for a wrongdoer to engage in frivolous defenses in order to delay payment
• Immunity for businesses who needlessly expose employees and customers to COVID-19 by failing to follow recommended practices determined by health officials
Each of these bills protects wrongdoers at the expense of Missouri families. Each of these bills infringes on our fundamental constitutional right to trial by jury. Each of these bills violates the fundamental tenet in our society that a wrongdoer is responsible for the harms that result from their actions. Each of the tort bills filed last session would drastically undermine Seventh Amendment rights in order to protect wrongdoers.
Our founders understood the importance of the Seventh Amendment. Among the list of grievances given in the Declaration of Independence, many of us are familiar with: “For imposing taxes on us without our consent.” The very next grievance listed was: “For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury.” The Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial was included in the Bill of Rights because of its importance. In Missouri, our constitution requires that “the right of trial by jury as heretofore enjoyed shall remain inviolate.”
Read more: https://themissouritimes.com/opinion-tort-reform-bills-protect-wrongdoers-at-the-expense-of-missouri-families/
Galloway, Schupp endorsed by Obama
Former President Barack Obama officially threw his weight behind gubernatorial candidate Nicole Galloway and U.S. Congress hopeful Jill Schupp in Missouri’s upcoming contests.
“I’m proud to endorse these outstanding Democratic candidates who will work to get the virus under control, rebuild the economy and the middle class, and protect Americans’ health care and preexisting conditions protections,” Obama said when sharing his endorsement of the two Missouri Democrats along with dozens of other candidates across the country.
This was Obama’s second round of widespread endorsements. No one from Missouri was included on the initial list.
Both candidates took to social media to share the announcement, stressing the importance of this year’s election.
Read more: https://themissouritimes.com/galloway-schupp-endorsed-by-obama/
AG Paxton Sues Precious Metals IRA and Bullion Coin Scheme that defrauded senior investors of over
AG Paxton Sues Precious Metals IRA and Bullion Coin Scheme that defrauded senior investors of over $185 MillionAttorney General Ken Paxton and the Texas State Securities Board joined the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and 29 other states to prevent Metals.com, Chase Metal, Barrick Capital, and others from continuing to defraud elderly people across the United States by convincing them to convert their retirement savings into precious metals. Documents provided to purchasers contained blatant misrepresentations, grossly inflating the true value of the metals. Senior citizens across the nation suffered substantial losses of their retirement savings by relying on these misrepresentations.
“I will not stand by as these companies use deceptive tactics and underhanded attempts to siphon cash from Texans who seek only to wisely invest their hard-earned retirement savings. The abuse of hardworking Texans, particularly senior citizens who look forward to a secure retirement, cannot be allowed to continue,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Companies that take advantage of Texans will be held accountable.”
Despite a 2019 agreement to refund 84 Texas investors and strengthen company compliance and training, these companies continued to defraud its investors. Today’s action requests that the Court order the companies to cease sales activity, return money to the defrauded investors, never again violate state and federal consumer protection laws, and appoint a receiver to take over the companies.
https://www.alicetx.com/news/20200925/ag-paxton-sues-precious-metals-ira-and-bullion-coin-scheme-that-defrauded-senior-investors-of-over-185-million
(no more at link)
First useful legal action made by Paxton that I can remember. However, it does strike me as ironic that the lawsuit against Paxton that has been stuck in the courts for years is for defrauding investors.
Mystics' home court will be voting supercenter, elections board says
The Entertainment and Sports Arena will be a voting supercenter in the District, the city’s elections board said Friday — granting neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River a large-scale location to cast their ballots in the upcoming election.
The Washington Mystics’ home court will join Capital One Arena, Nationals Park, Dock 5 at Union Market, the Omni Shoreham Hotel and the University of District of Columbia as super vote centers following a report in The Washington Post that there was no such venue in Wards 7 and 8.
The arena will be open for early voting on Election Day.
On Wednesday, Events D.C. President Greg O’Dell made the arena available as a vote center following a wave of criticism about the disparity. O’Dell previously had said the city-owned arena might be in use for another event around the time of the election.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/mystics-home-court-will-be-voting-supercenter-elections-board-says/2020/09/25/4debfd56-ff72-11ea-b555-4d71a9254f4b_story.html
Oregon Governor Sends State Police to Portland for Protests
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown declared a state of emergency Friday as she announced that state troopers and sheriff's deputies would be sent to Portland through the weekend to help police, in the state’s largest city, monitor a weekend rally by the right-wing group Proud Boys and counter-protests by liberal groups.
Portland has been roiled by often violent protests for more than three months following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Demonstrations that went into a lull during Oregon's recent wildfires resumed this week, fueled by a Kentucky grand jury’s decision to not indict officers in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor.
Brown told reporters she is exercising her gubernatorial authority to place Multnomah County Sheriff Mike Reese and Oregon State Police Superintendent Travis Hampton in charge of Portland's public safety on Saturday and Sunday. Brown said that Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler supports the plan.
Read more: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/oregon-governor-sends-state-police-to-portland-for-protests/2428402/
Maryland Man Gets Year in Jail for Hosting Parties Violating COVID-19 Crowd Restrictions
A judge sentenced a Maryland man to a year in the Charles County Detention Center for throwing parties that exceeded capacity restrictions at the beginning of the governor’s coronavirus emergency order.
Shawn Marshall Myers, 42, of Hughesville was arrested in March when officers found more than 50 people hanging out around a bonfire at his home.
At the time, Gov. Larry Hogan’s emergency order prohibited gatherings of more than 10 people.
The Charles County Sheriff's Office said it was the second time Myers hosted a large gathering at his house and he was accused of being argumentative with officers in both times.
Read more: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/maryland-man-gets-year-in-jail-for-hosting-parties-violating-covid-19-crowd-restrictions/2428432/
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Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
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Current location: Bryan, Texas
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