Was gone for a couple days, sorry about that, business to attend to. But, my absence means that we get to play catch up and go through some stories that passed from the front pages but are still relevant.
US was warned of threat from anti-vaxxers in event of pandemic (The Guardian): Good sleuthing by The Guardians Jason Wilson here! Wilson dug up a June 2019 article in a law enforcement journal called InfraGuard, penned by researchers connected to the FBI, which warned that “America’s ‘anti-vaxxer movement’ would pose a threat to national security in the event of a ‘pandemic with a novel organism’†and that “anti-vaccine movement would also be connected with ‘social media misinformation and propaganda campaigns’ orchestrated by the Russian government.” Hmmmmm, seems to me I’ve seen a lot of anti-vaxx signs at these “Open Our Country†media events, do you think? Nah, couldn’t be! I’m sure that the president must have read something about this in a briefing and… Read Wilson’s piece and then move on to the original article.
New Coalition Promotes Right-Wing Policies to ‘Save Our Country’ (Right Wing Watch): They go by Save Our Country and The Great American Reopening Coalition, and if those names sound straight out of an authoritarian dystopia, Welcome to the American Homeland! Members include “Ginni Thomas, right-wing activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas; Trump economic adviser Stephen Moore; former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich; and Reagan-era Attorney General Ed Meese.” Also Richard Viguerie, Jim DeMint, CPAC’s Matt Schlapp, religious fundamentalist Ralph Reed, racist xenophobe Frank Gaffney, people from the Koch’s FreedomWorks, members of Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum, and many more. This is truly a right-wing, Trumpoid Legion of Doom.
Nearly half of Republicans think Trump should be able to close news outlets: poll (USA Today): This from earlier in the month, but since we seem to be on a tour of the worst of America… Dig the polling on American’s perception of the media. Forty-eight percent of Republicans believe that the media is “The Enemy of the People,†hmmm wonder where they got that idea? Worse, 43% of Republicans “believed the president should have the authority to close news outlets engaged in ‘bad behavior.’†For the most part, Democrats take the opposite opinion. Unfortunately, this kind of info gets the false equivalency treatment, as if raving, authoritarian paranoid conditioning is the same as, I dunno, a willingness to hear news that one doesn’t like to hear, a search for something close to objective truth, curiosity, and common sense. Call me biased, but….
A Woman Living Alone (The Lily): A very good read about how five women who live alone are dealing with the corona lockdown – or – “Seven stories of solitude during the coronavirus, from ages 24 to 86.“
Food is Power (Africa Is A Country): This is a long read but it’s worth it. A history of how food has been used in Africa as a weapon against the people – or – “The World Food Program says COVID-19 will bring about a famine of biblical proportions, so it is a good time to revisit why food has never just been about the simple act of eating. Food is history. Food is identity.â€Â