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Celerity
Celerity's Journal
Celerity's Journal
December 12, 2022
https://www.thedailybeast.com/covid-trend-that-spelled-big-trouble-in-2020-is-back
In the early months of the COVID pandemic, elderly people were at much greater risk than their younger friends, family, and neighbors. It was simple: weaker immune systems and more comorbidities—other diseases and conditions—made COVID more dangerous for people around 65 years and older.
This “pandemic of the elderly” eased as seniors all over the world rushed to get vaccinated in late 2020 and the new, more transmissible Delta and Omicron BA.2 and BA.5 variants became dominant—and tore through the younger, fitter part of the population.
But that was more than a year ago. Now there are signs that, once again, COVID is disproportionately afflicting older people. It’s like 2020 all over again. And the seniors in one country are especially at risk: China. The data seem clear. Eric Topol, the founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in California, crunched the numbers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and concluded that in many U.S. states, including New York and California, the rate of COVID hospitalizations for seniors “now exceeds the BA.5, BA.2 and Delta waves.”
https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1599786968384405504
Anthony Alberg, a University of South Carolina epidemiologist, drew the same conclusion. “At this point, the proportion of all [COVID] deaths that are elderly people is at about 90 percent, as high as it has been since the COVID-19 pandemic began,” he told The Daily Beast.
snip
COVID Trend That Spelled Big Trouble in 2020 Is Back
Bad news for people hoping this pandemic is finally over.https://www.thedailybeast.com/covid-trend-that-spelled-big-trouble-in-2020-is-back
In the early months of the COVID pandemic, elderly people were at much greater risk than their younger friends, family, and neighbors. It was simple: weaker immune systems and more comorbidities—other diseases and conditions—made COVID more dangerous for people around 65 years and older.
This “pandemic of the elderly” eased as seniors all over the world rushed to get vaccinated in late 2020 and the new, more transmissible Delta and Omicron BA.2 and BA.5 variants became dominant—and tore through the younger, fitter part of the population.
But that was more than a year ago. Now there are signs that, once again, COVID is disproportionately afflicting older people. It’s like 2020 all over again. And the seniors in one country are especially at risk: China. The data seem clear. Eric Topol, the founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in California, crunched the numbers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and concluded that in many U.S. states, including New York and California, the rate of COVID hospitalizations for seniors “now exceeds the BA.5, BA.2 and Delta waves.”
https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1599786968384405504
Anthony Alberg, a University of South Carolina epidemiologist, drew the same conclusion. “At this point, the proportion of all [COVID] deaths that are elderly people is at about 90 percent, as high as it has been since the COVID-19 pandemic began,” he told The Daily Beast.
snip
December 12, 2022
https://www.thedailybeast.com/florida-governor-ron-desantis-anti-trans-campaign-is-sneaky-power-grab
For months now, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been aggressively using his executive power to deny transgender medical care for two of society’s most vulnerable groups—children and the poor. In that, he has been far from alone, as Republicans across the country lean into an ugly backlash against the trans community and the science that supports it.
Along the way, DeSantis has been employing a power grab some fear will be adopted by other Republican governors—with disastrous results. As part of DeSantis’ ongoing MAGA crusade against progressives, his administration is simultaneously using different state agencies to cut off what is referred to as “gender-affirming” care that helps trans people realize their identities. When a far-right state legislator failed to pass an anti-trans bill earlier this year, the governor resorted to backroom bureaucracy to get the same result.
It’s the latest instance of DeSantis implementing increasingly cruel policies as he builds a national reputation in the run-up to a possible 2024 run for the White House. But it also illustrates what political commentators say distinguishes DeSantis from his presumptive primary foe, former President Donald Trump. DeSantis knows how to operate the machinery of government effectively—as a weapon against the marginalized. And time is running out for anyone to stop him.
“We’re worried that DeSantis is creating a playbook for political ideology. Legislatures are failing to pass these laws because they are against science—and against what constituents in states want to be done with tax dollars. Governors are going to see this and think this is something they can do to sidestep the democratic process,” said Carl Charles, a civil rights lawyer with the advocacy group Lambda Legal, which is fighting to block one of those policies.
snip
This 'Sneaky' DeSantis Power Grab Might Be His Cruelest Yet
Republicans are going after trans people across America. But the potential 2024 contender from Florida is targeting people more efficiently than anyone else.https://www.thedailybeast.com/florida-governor-ron-desantis-anti-trans-campaign-is-sneaky-power-grab
For months now, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been aggressively using his executive power to deny transgender medical care for two of society’s most vulnerable groups—children and the poor. In that, he has been far from alone, as Republicans across the country lean into an ugly backlash against the trans community and the science that supports it.
Along the way, DeSantis has been employing a power grab some fear will be adopted by other Republican governors—with disastrous results. As part of DeSantis’ ongoing MAGA crusade against progressives, his administration is simultaneously using different state agencies to cut off what is referred to as “gender-affirming” care that helps trans people realize their identities. When a far-right state legislator failed to pass an anti-trans bill earlier this year, the governor resorted to backroom bureaucracy to get the same result.
It’s the latest instance of DeSantis implementing increasingly cruel policies as he builds a national reputation in the run-up to a possible 2024 run for the White House. But it also illustrates what political commentators say distinguishes DeSantis from his presumptive primary foe, former President Donald Trump. DeSantis knows how to operate the machinery of government effectively—as a weapon against the marginalized. And time is running out for anyone to stop him.
“We’re worried that DeSantis is creating a playbook for political ideology. Legislatures are failing to pass these laws because they are against science—and against what constituents in states want to be done with tax dollars. Governors are going to see this and think this is something they can do to sidestep the democratic process,” said Carl Charles, a civil rights lawyer with the advocacy group Lambda Legal, which is fighting to block one of those policies.
snip
December 12, 2022
https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-dui-arrests-by-police-officer-jason-haferman-of-fort-collins-unleashed-chaos
https://archive.ph/voyeG
Harris Elias and his 15-year-old son were driving home from dinner at a local Fort Collins, Colorado, taco spot when they got pulled over. Elias, a 51-year-old single father of three, told The Daily Beast that he immediately “put his defenses up” as he noticed Officer Jason Haferman walking up to his driver-side window on Dec. 3, 2021. “At first, he asked me if I knew why he had pulled me over, which I thought was a ridiculous question because I had no idea why he would pull me over,” Elias said. “As soon as he asked me what I had to drink, I knew it was happening all over again.”
The harrowing sense of déjà vu, he said, was spurred because just two years prior, he had been arrested by a Loveland, Colorado, police officer on suspicion of driving under the influence (DUI). The case was eventually dismissed, but it instilled a deep fear of overzealous law enforcement in Elias. In a police report obtained by The Daily Beast, Haferman claimed Elias’ “eyes were glassy, pupils constricted, and his breathing was deep” and immediately placed him under arrest to get tested for drugs and alcohol at a local hospital.
A Colorado Bureau of Investigation Forensic Services lab report later detected no drugs or alcohol in his system. But before those results came back, Elias was already halfway to hell. “I can’t explain what it is like walking through the hospital handcuffed. To see how people look at you, and how the staff interacts with you,” Elias said. “It was really degrading.” The humiliation, he said, was just the start. When he was allowed to bond out of jail three days later, he said, he had to deal with child protective services and beg a judge to let him have contact with his son.
That’s because in Colorado, state law dictates that an individual who commits a DUI that involves a child can also be prosecuted for child abuse, a charge Elias faced in addition to driving under the influence and careless driving. Elias eventually got all charges dropped after approximately two months—but, he said, the sting hasn’t gone away. “Knowing that I couldn’t even drive with my own kid and there was zero evidence that I violated any law… it made me feel six inches tall,” Elias explained. “By far, the thing that doesn’t go away from this case is the child abuse aspect of it. It is the ultimate way to hurt someone who has spent the last 15 years as a single dad.”
snip
Rogue Cop Gave Out DUIs Like Candy--and Sent Lives Into Chaos
Their blood tests came back clean. By then, it was too late.https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-dui-arrests-by-police-officer-jason-haferman-of-fort-collins-unleashed-chaos
https://archive.ph/voyeG
Harris Elias and his 15-year-old son were driving home from dinner at a local Fort Collins, Colorado, taco spot when they got pulled over. Elias, a 51-year-old single father of three, told The Daily Beast that he immediately “put his defenses up” as he noticed Officer Jason Haferman walking up to his driver-side window on Dec. 3, 2021. “At first, he asked me if I knew why he had pulled me over, which I thought was a ridiculous question because I had no idea why he would pull me over,” Elias said. “As soon as he asked me what I had to drink, I knew it was happening all over again.”
The harrowing sense of déjà vu, he said, was spurred because just two years prior, he had been arrested by a Loveland, Colorado, police officer on suspicion of driving under the influence (DUI). The case was eventually dismissed, but it instilled a deep fear of overzealous law enforcement in Elias. In a police report obtained by The Daily Beast, Haferman claimed Elias’ “eyes were glassy, pupils constricted, and his breathing was deep” and immediately placed him under arrest to get tested for drugs and alcohol at a local hospital.
A Colorado Bureau of Investigation Forensic Services lab report later detected no drugs or alcohol in his system. But before those results came back, Elias was already halfway to hell. “I can’t explain what it is like walking through the hospital handcuffed. To see how people look at you, and how the staff interacts with you,” Elias said. “It was really degrading.” The humiliation, he said, was just the start. When he was allowed to bond out of jail three days later, he said, he had to deal with child protective services and beg a judge to let him have contact with his son.
That’s because in Colorado, state law dictates that an individual who commits a DUI that involves a child can also be prosecuted for child abuse, a charge Elias faced in addition to driving under the influence and careless driving. Elias eventually got all charges dropped after approximately two months—but, he said, the sting hasn’t gone away. “Knowing that I couldn’t even drive with my own kid and there was zero evidence that I violated any law… it made me feel six inches tall,” Elias explained. “By far, the thing that doesn’t go away from this case is the child abuse aspect of it. It is the ultimate way to hurt someone who has spent the last 15 years as a single dad.”
snip
December 12, 2022
https://www.thelocal.se/20170920/meet-the-swede-who-went-undercover-with-the-alt-right-for-a-whole-year/
https://archive.ph/oNLO2
Published: 20 September 2017
Hermansson spent a whole year with far-right extremist groups in the UK and US on behalf of anti-racism organization Hope Not Hate. Pretending to be a Swedish student writing about the suppression of right-wing speech in Sweden, he met and spoke with alt-right members, while wearing a hidden camera. He recorded one founding member claiming he had links all the way to the Donald Trump White House Administration.
His work forms part of a new report 'The International Alternative Right', which takes a closer look at some of the alt-right key figures, many of whom are Swedes at the frontline of the international extremist movement. The most in-depth report of its kind, it and Hermansson's undercover work quickly grabbed global headlines. Hermansson spoke to The Local on Skype from New York on Wednesday, after revealing his true identity in interviews with the New York Times, Dagens Nyheter and Swedish anti-racism organization Expo.
Sweden seems to be a very important concept to the alt-right and I understand you even used your Swedishness to manage to get inside. Why are they so obsessed with Sweden?
snip
Meet the Swede who went undercover for a whole year with the alt-right in the US and UK
Swedish student Patrik Hermansson, 25, talks to The Local about what he learned when he went undercover for a year with the international alt-right movement.https://www.thelocal.se/20170920/meet-the-swede-who-went-undercover-with-the-alt-right-for-a-whole-year/
https://archive.ph/oNLO2
Published: 20 September 2017
Hermansson spent a whole year with far-right extremist groups in the UK and US on behalf of anti-racism organization Hope Not Hate. Pretending to be a Swedish student writing about the suppression of right-wing speech in Sweden, he met and spoke with alt-right members, while wearing a hidden camera. He recorded one founding member claiming he had links all the way to the Donald Trump White House Administration.
His work forms part of a new report 'The International Alternative Right', which takes a closer look at some of the alt-right key figures, many of whom are Swedes at the frontline of the international extremist movement. The most in-depth report of its kind, it and Hermansson's undercover work quickly grabbed global headlines. Hermansson spoke to The Local on Skype from New York on Wednesday, after revealing his true identity in interviews with the New York Times, Dagens Nyheter and Swedish anti-racism organization Expo.
You went undercover for a year. Explain how that happened?
I've been working for Expo in Sweden for a couple of years and done various things, so I've considered myself an anti-fascist for a long time. Then I moved to London to start studying, and I asked some colleagues from Expo to put me in touch with Hope Not Hate, so I could continue helping out in whatever way I could. I wouldn't have expected them to ask me to go undercover, but they did and I said yes, for the same motivation as other anti-fascism work I've done before. I think fascism is probably the biggest threat to the society I want to live in, so I want to do something to stop it. Then of course, it was exciting and I felt like I could do it.
I've been working for Expo in Sweden for a couple of years and done various things, so I've considered myself an anti-fascist for a long time. Then I moved to London to start studying, and I asked some colleagues from Expo to put me in touch with Hope Not Hate, so I could continue helping out in whatever way I could. I wouldn't have expected them to ask me to go undercover, but they did and I said yes, for the same motivation as other anti-fascism work I've done before. I think fascism is probably the biggest threat to the society I want to live in, so I want to do something to stop it. Then of course, it was exciting and I felt like I could do it.
What was the most surprising thing you learned?
There were many surprising things. For me how social these organizations are is important, and surprising. They're not just doing political campaigning or serious conferences or demonstrations, but they organize barbecues and picnics, go to gallery openings, concerts, and just have a beer in a pub. Most of the time I spent with them was some type of social activity. Of course they plan other stuff and they talk about politics, but I think many of the people there are there for social reasons. It provides a context for them as friends. Many of the people have most of their friends in these organizations. And of course there's a danger in that, because it makes it more difficult to get out.
There were many surprising things. For me how social these organizations are is important, and surprising. They're not just doing political campaigning or serious conferences or demonstrations, but they organize barbecues and picnics, go to gallery openings, concerts, and just have a beer in a pub. Most of the time I spent with them was some type of social activity. Of course they plan other stuff and they talk about politics, but I think many of the people there are there for social reasons. It provides a context for them as friends. Many of the people have most of their friends in these organizations. And of course there's a danger in that, because it makes it more difficult to get out.
Sweden seems to be a very important concept to the alt-right and I understand you even used your Swedishness to manage to get inside. Why are they so obsessed with Sweden?
snip
December 12, 2022
Millions of Americans are struggling to pay back their student loans. Director Blake Zeff looks at the origins of the student debt crisis and how two lines in a congressional bill may have changed the wallets of borrowers forever.
MSNBC: New Documentary 'Loan Wolves' Investigates Student Debt Crisis
Millions of Americans are struggling to pay back their student loans. Director Blake Zeff looks at the origins of the student debt crisis and how two lines in a congressional bill may have changed the wallets of borrowers forever.
December 12, 2022
Eric Holder, former attorney general and chair of the Democratic Redistricting Committee, talks with Alex Wagner about Independent Legislature Theory and how it would be used to hijack elections if the Supreme Court doesn't rule against it.
Holder rips legal scheme to hijack elections as SCOTUS considers Independent Legislature Theory
Eric Holder, former attorney general and chair of the Democratic Redistricting Committee, talks with Alex Wagner about Independent Legislature Theory and how it would be used to hijack elections if the Supreme Court doesn't rule against it.
December 11, 2022
This vile creature essentially runs the House GOP. This is who they are.
https://twitter.com/JoJoFromJerz/status/1601652980884811776
December 10, 2022
This video is simply great 🤍🎥
https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1601358668129513472
Leo Perisić, Ivan's son, running over to console Neymar Jr in tears.
Leo Perisić, Ivan’s son, running over to console Neymar Jr in tears. 🇧🇷🇭🇷 #Qatar2022This video is simply great 🤍🎥
https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1601358668129513472
December 10, 2022
my thoughts:
What remains to be seen with Sinema is IF she will try and run as an indie (she would lose a Dem primary overwhelmingly) and dare us to run a Dem against her.
I think she loses a one-on-one 2024 race versus Ducey or another non crazed MAGAt type, and also, in a 3-way race, (say Gallego v Sinema v Ducey) she has little to no chance of winning either. IF the Rethugs nominate Lake, then she MAY have a shot, and I think she may well be banking on this (or she may simply think she can win in ANY on-one-one scenario, which, especially if it is Ducey, is foolish IMHO).
Her move is actually pretty brilliant (and Machiavellian and devious) 3 dimensional chess (IF she wants to run again), as it is the only way for her to make it to the general election. She has pulled the pin on a grenade, and will dare us to nominate a Dem opponent. She has found a loophole gambit that neuters the Democratic Party primary process, potentially, and removes that accountability that comes from the primary process as well.
Sinema's gambit has a historical analogy: Joe Lieberman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Lieberman
During his Senate re-election bid in 2006, Lieberman lost the Democratic Party primary election, but won re-election in the general election as a third party candidate under the "Connecticut for Lieberman" party label. Never a member of that party, he remained a registered Democrat while he ran.
Lieberman was officially listed in Senate records for the 110th and 111th Congresses as an Independent Democrat, and sat as part of the Senate Democratic Caucus. However, after his speech at the 2008 Republican National Convention in which he endorsed John McCain for president, he no longer attended Democratic Caucus leadership strategy meetings or policy lunches.
On November 5, 2008, he met with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to discuss his future role with the Democratic Party. Ultimately, the Senate Democratic Caucus voted to allow him to keep the chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Subsequently, he announced that he would continue to caucus with the Democrats. Before the 2016 election, he endorsed Hillary Clinton for president and in 2020 endorsed Joe Biden for president.
As senator, Lieberman introduced and championed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 and legislation that led to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. During debate on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), as the crucial 60th vote needed to pass the legislation, his opposition to the public health insurance option was critical to its removal from the resulting bill signed by President Barack Obama.
snip
A survey in October 2010 showed that Lieberman had an approval rating of 31% and that just 24% of Connecticut voters felt he deserved re-election. Lieberman announced on January 19, 2011 that he would retire from the Senate at the end of his fourth term. Lieberman gave his farewell address on December 12, 2012. He was succeeded by Democratic representative Chris Murphy.
During his Senate re-election bid in 2006, Lieberman lost the Democratic Party primary election, but won re-election in the general election as a third party candidate under the "Connecticut for Lieberman" party label. Never a member of that party, he remained a registered Democrat while he ran.
Lieberman was officially listed in Senate records for the 110th and 111th Congresses as an Independent Democrat, and sat as part of the Senate Democratic Caucus. However, after his speech at the 2008 Republican National Convention in which he endorsed John McCain for president, he no longer attended Democratic Caucus leadership strategy meetings or policy lunches.
On November 5, 2008, he met with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to discuss his future role with the Democratic Party. Ultimately, the Senate Democratic Caucus voted to allow him to keep the chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Subsequently, he announced that he would continue to caucus with the Democrats. Before the 2016 election, he endorsed Hillary Clinton for president and in 2020 endorsed Joe Biden for president.
As senator, Lieberman introduced and championed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 and legislation that led to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. During debate on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), as the crucial 60th vote needed to pass the legislation, his opposition to the public health insurance option was critical to its removal from the resulting bill signed by President Barack Obama.
snip
A survey in October 2010 showed that Lieberman had an approval rating of 31% and that just 24% of Connecticut voters felt he deserved re-election. Lieberman announced on January 19, 2011 that he would retire from the Senate at the end of his fourth term. Lieberman gave his farewell address on December 12, 2012. He was succeeded by Democratic representative Chris Murphy.
my thoughts:
What remains to be seen with Sinema is IF she will try and run as an indie (she would lose a Dem primary overwhelmingly) and dare us to run a Dem against her.
I think she loses a one-on-one 2024 race versus Ducey or another non crazed MAGAt type, and also, in a 3-way race, (say Gallego v Sinema v Ducey) she has little to no chance of winning either. IF the Rethugs nominate Lake, then she MAY have a shot, and I think she may well be banking on this (or she may simply think she can win in ANY on-one-one scenario, which, especially if it is Ducey, is foolish IMHO).
Her move is actually pretty brilliant (and Machiavellian and devious) 3 dimensional chess (IF she wants to run again), as it is the only way for her to make it to the general election. She has pulled the pin on a grenade, and will dare us to nominate a Dem opponent. She has found a loophole gambit that neuters the Democratic Party primary process, potentially, and removes that accountability that comes from the primary process as well.
December 10, 2022
https://twitter.com/DrewLinzer/status/1601289169338519552
Kyrsten Sinema has an 18% favorable rating in Arizona right now. Democrats: 5% fav, 82% unfav
Drew Linzer
@DrewLinzer
Pollster, statistician, political scientist. Director at
@Civiqs
. Daily polling updates: http://civiqs.com
Kyrsten Sinema has an 18% favorable rating in Arizona right now.
Democrats: 5% fav, 82% unfav
Independents: 25% fav, 56% unfav
Republicans: 25% fav, 45% unfav
(Normally this is paywalled here so just screenshots)
@DrewLinzer
Pollster, statistician, political scientist. Director at
@Civiqs
. Daily polling updates: http://civiqs.com
Kyrsten Sinema has an 18% favorable rating in Arizona right now.
Democrats: 5% fav, 82% unfav
Independents: 25% fav, 56% unfav
Republicans: 25% fav, 45% unfav
(Normally this is paywalled here so just screenshots)
https://twitter.com/DrewLinzer/status/1601289169338519552
Profile Information
Gender: FemaleHometown: London
Home country: US/UK/Sweden
Current location: Stockholm, Sweden
Member since: Sun Jul 1, 2018, 07:25 PM
Number of posts: 43,286
