Charlie Watts, and so it goes.
"Last year's influenza season turned out to be the mildest on record, but health experts have renewed warnings that a ‘twindemic’ – in which flu and COVID-19 cases simultaneously rise and overwhelm hospitals – may be possible this year, and they urge Americans to get their flu shot." Here we go again.
"Booster doses of Johnson & Johnson's one-shot coronavirus vaccine generated a big spike in antibodies, the frontline immune system defenses against infection, the company reported Wednesday… People who received a booster six to eight months after their initial J&J shots saw antibodies increase nine-fold higher than 28 days after the first shot, Johnson & Johnson said." Rolls eyes, again, antibodies will decrease, what matters is your t and b cell response. Having antibodies in the blood gives you a jump start to fighting off the infection, but if you don't have an active infection your body will conserve resources and repurpose proteins. This is not saying I won't get the booster shot when available, I will. I'm just saying that reporters are focusing on the wrong thing again (because it makes them appear smart) and it's misleading.
"A Los Angeles City Fire Department captain who railed against the city, the department and his own union leaders over an imminent vaccine mandate for all city workers is under an internal investigation… Granucci, who says he's a 31-year veteran, gnashed his teeth as he called the COVID-19 vaccine mandate 'total tyranny' and insisted that he is 'done being silent on this matter, and so are many of our members.'" Get the shot, Bunny. It's for your own damn good. And it is lawful for your employer to mandate it.
"A turf war between Republican governors and the White House over masking in schools is testing the limits of local control… Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is offering vouchers and federal money to schools and parents that reject face coverings. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is threatening the salaries of school officials who mandate masks. And Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is fighting both mask and vaccine mandates in court… Now President Joe Biden has stepped into the fray."
"Tough-talking Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has confirmed rumblings that he will run next year for vice president, in what critics say is an attempt at an end-run around constitutional term limits."
"The upcoming election in Germany has now become even more unpredictable… Voters are heading to the ballot box on Sept. 26 and the latest poll, carried out by Forsa, shows support for the Social Democratic Party, SPD, increased to 23% of the vote. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative alliance of the CDU/CSU, meanwhile, dipped to 22%. It is the first time in 15 years that the SPD has overtaken the CDU/CSU alliance in the polls."
"Since 2008, more than 4,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflicts, according to the U.N. While many were fighters for Hamas or other militant groups, more than half were civilians. Thousands have been injured. On the Israeli side, the death toll from the four wars stands at 106, officials say."
"Reggie, an Afghan interpreter who worked with the U.S. military, watched in fear from his roof as the Taliban took over Kabul last week. He knew that he and his family were in danger of being killed by the Taliban in retaliation for his work helping the U.S."
Meet the new boss… "Fear is mounting for women and girls in Afghanistan after the Taliban told working women to stay at home, admitting they were not safe in the hands of the militant group's soldiers… Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said at a news conference on Tuesday that women should not go to work for their own safety, undermining the group's efforts to convince international observers that the group would be more tolerant towards women than when they were last in power." Same as the old boss.
"Vice President Kamala Harris' departure for Vietnam was delayed by several hours Tuesday afternoon after her office was informed by the US embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam, of a 'report of a recent possible anomalous health incident.'… That term is the way that the government usually refers to the mysterious Havana syndrome that has sickened hundreds of US officials over the past few years."
"Fifteen minutes after that, a (California Highway Patrol) sergeant told a listserv of commanders that 'possible ANTIFA buses [are] heading to Redding', adding that the agency’s tactical alert center had been notified. The official said that CHP aircraft operations were now actively trying to locate a vehicle on the freeway. The sheriff of nearby Humboldt county, William Honsal, shared the information with his entire staff, saying, 'BOL [be on the lookout] for ANTIFA buses from Oregon.'" There was no bus. Your tax dollars at work, chasing phantoms conjured by the conservative distortion of reality and directed misinformation.
"Amtrak police at Union Station shot and killed a man wanted on a murder warrant out of California late Tuesday."
"Two members of US Congress flew unannounced into Kabul airport in the middle of the chaotic evacuation, stunning State Department and military personnel who had to divert resources to provide security and information to the lawmakers, US officials have said."
Why the judiciary matters… "The Supreme Court issued an order late Tuesday declining to stop the revival of a Trump-era border policy that requires asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases are reviewed by U.S. immigration judges."
"The key agency that enforces federal gun laws seems poised to continue its six-year stretch without a formal director, as the chances of President Biden's nominee gaining Senate confirmation appear to be dwindling in the face of firm Republican opposition and a few holdouts in the chamber's Democratic caucus."
"Former President Donald Trump would love to take down Adam Kinzinger, one of his chief House GOP antagonists, in next year's midterms. But Democrats might beat him to it… Illinois lawmakers are on the verge of rolling out a new congressional map that will very likely gut Kinzinger’s exurban Chicago seat, according to several sources close to the redistricting process, leaving him with just a few bleak options for remaining in office next year."
"On Tuesday, Democrats in the House of Representatives introduced the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, also known as H.R. 4. As Ian Millhiser explained in Vox, H.R. 4 essentially overturns the Supreme Court’s recent attacks on voting rights: Its central provisions give both the Justice Department and federal courts sweeping authority to block voter suppression laws. But one crucial section takes a more creative approach: The House bill actually repeals the court’s own rules for deciding election-related cases—which strongly favor states’ ability to suppress votes—replacing them with voter-friendly directives that would force the justices to safeguard equal suffrage."
"But with California’s gubernatorial recall election under way, Newsom is fighting for his political life. The Democratic governor of a deep blue state could narrowly lose his seat to a fringe rightwing radio host – in large part due to inertia and apathy among voters." Vote in every election.
"New state laws tightening voting restrictions come in two basic varieties: those that make it harder to cast a vote, and those making it more difficult to get registered to vote in the first place."
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