Tracker

And the lack of lineups?

I would imagine these are going to last only a matter of hours and are yet another sign that America is headed straight for the edge of the cliff to the thunderous applause of all the fascists. The only way to stop this if for the Biden administration to go after Trump and all the sycophants who were ready to overthrow a democratically elected government will every aggressive legal means possible. America has always been thus, but these reptiles were afraid to come out from the rocks they lived under until now. I cannot see that America will ever be the same again.

Jimmy Carter Issues Warning About American Democracy In Chilling Op-Ed Former President Jimmy Carter warned the United States is at “genuine risk of civil conflict” as he spelled out his fears for the future of democracy in America in an op-ed for The New York Times. “Our great nation now teeters on the brink of a widening abyss,” Carter, 97, wrote in the essay published Wednesday on the eve of the first anniversary of the U.S. Capitol riot. "Without immediate action, we are at genuine risk of civil conflict and losing our precious democracy, Americans must set aside differences and work together before it is too late.” The 39th president recalled initially hoping the Donald Trump-incited Jan. 6 insurrection “would shock the nation into addressing the toxic polarization that threatens our democracy.” “However, one year on, promoters of the lie that the election was stolen have taken over one political party and stoked distrust in our electoral systems,” he lamented. What “we have fought so hard to achieve globally — the right to free, fair elections, unhindered by strongman politicians who seek nothing more than to grow their own power — has become dangerously fragile at home,” Carter added. Jimmy Carter Issues Warning About American Democracy In Chilling Op-Ed | HuffPost Latest News

In dealing with a severely addicted person, you get more with a kind word and a gun than you get with a kind word.

People desperate for their 5 minutes of fame before they sink back into triviality.

In South Africa, COVID cases fall as fast as they rose — suggesting the omicron wave could be brief The omicron variant is going extinct almost as fast as it took off in South Africa As goes South Africa, so goes the rest of the world. That sentiment might capture the hope of the health care community as they observe the infection pattern of omicron variant in the Southern Hemisphere nation of nearly 60 million people. When cases of the newly discovered COVID-19 mutation skyrocketed in South Africa in November and December 2021, the world took notice, fearful that it would soon reach the shores of all nations. After scientists learned that the SARS-CoV-2 strain was more transmissible than other viruses which cause COVID-19, political leaders like President Joe Biden began preparing their nations for the worst. But now, merely a month since cases began spiking in South Africa, numbers have dropped precipitously. Indeed, recent COVID-19 case numbers in South Africa resemble a very steep mountain — an incredibly fast spike, followed by an equally fast fall. Now, as South Africa emerges from the other side of its omicron wave, observers hope that the rest of the world will also find itself in better shape at the end of this chapter of the pandemic than it was during other variant phases. Fortuitously, researchers in South Africa have found that people in that country who were infected with the omicron variant were much less likely to be hospitalized, at least compared with previous variants. Just as notably, people who become sick after getting infected with omicron seem to recover more quickly than patients who were infected with other SARS-CoV-2 variants. Experts in the country believe the omicron surge there has already peaked, with the government issuing a statement on Dec. 30 explaining that there had been a 29.7 percent decrease in the number of confirmed new cases for the week ending on Christmas Day, compared with the number from the previous week (from 127,753 down to 89,781 cases). "All indicators suggest the country may have passed the peak of the fourth wave at a national level," the statement added, noting that there were only two provinces that reported increases in cases (the Western Cape and Eastern Cape). Officials also noted that, although the variant remains highly transmissible, hospitalizations have not increased as much as during previous COVID-19 waves. "This means that the country has a spare capacity for admission of patients even for routine health services," they pointed out. In South Africa, COVID cases fall as fast as they rose — suggesting the omicron wave could be brief | Salon.com

There are two types of people: those who can finish sentences and those

Agreed, but there are seeming anomalies- Epstein, Maxwell and Nygard are proof of that, so it is possible. Trump has a lot of money (although nowhere as much as he says he has) plus rabid followers, so who knows?

Former national archivist discusses Trump’s desperate campaign to keep his records sealed: 'I’m talking about prison time' Almost a year after leaving the White House, former President Donald Trump continues to face a variety of investigations — from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s January 6 committee to New York State Attorney General Letitia James to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Trump’s team has fought aggressively to keep White House records out of the hands of Pelosi’s committee, and according to Daily Beast reporter Jose Pagliery, former U.S. national archivist John W. Carlin believes that Trump has good reason to want to keep those records under lock and key. “An outgoing president’s White House records go straight to the National Archives and Records Administration, where they could be kept away from the public for up to 12 years,” Pagliery explains in an article published by the Beast on January 3. “However, President Joe Biden waived that presidential privilege when he allowed the bipartisan House January 6 Committee to request some documents about Trump’s final weeks in office. Trump sued to block that, and his odd claims of ‘residual’ executive privilege got knocked down by a federal judge who noted ‘presidents are not kings’ and an appellate panel that found his argument has ‘no basis.’” Pagliery continues, “This epic fight over records is now reaching the Supreme Court. Those records could show whether the Trump White House plotted to use the Department of Justice to intimidate states to reject 2020 election results, schemed with rogue Republicans in Congress to halt certification of Electoral College votes that reflected Biden’s win at the polls, and interacted with rally organizers who brought the crowds that violently attacked the U.S. Capitol Building.” Carlin was appointed to head the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration by President Bill Clinton in 1995. And Donald W. Wilson, also interviewed for Pagliery’s article, held that position from 1987-1993. Carlin told the Beast that Trump is showing a sense of desperation when it comes to keeping his White House records away from the January 6 committee, saying, “Given how frantic they are.... there are things in those records that are going to make real trouble. I’m talking about prison time. It reinforces the fact that they know they’re in real trouble if these things are released — particularly if they’re released soon.” According to Carlin, “It’s important that records are used to get the truth out. Nothing highlights that more than the controversy we're going through. Records are going to have a huge impact in determining who did what, particularly as you get to the Justice Department.” Former national archivist discusses Trump’s desperate campaign to keep his records sealed: 'I’m talking about prison time' - Alternet.org

So....he would be the Wicker Man?

It would be nice to think that the Trumpers will get what is coming to them, but reality is another matter. In the 1930s when several of the richest and most powerful families conspired to overthrow Roosevelt because he was instituting policies of increasing taxes on the rich and massive public works projects to spur the US out of the Great Depression. The plot was foiled only when the US Marine Corps commanding general was approached by the conspirators and initially pretended to go along but alerted the Secretary of Defence, who, along with Roosevelt, summoned the cabal to Washington and threatened them all with long jail terms and/or hangings. This made the group rethink their goals, but none, NONE went to jail. Nixon ought to have gone to jail, but was pardoned for "national healing". I expect that it will be much the same again for Trumpers- the flunkies will go to jail for token sentences but the big fish will swim away.

Peter Navarro, Trump's former advisor and confidant, created a plan that had an appearance of quasi-legality and would allow Trump and his stormtroopers to overturn the election results on the pretext of illegal voting (with no proof at all), and order the military to seize voting machines. The real scary part is that Navarro claimed that he had 100 senators and congressmen ready to back the plan to the hilt, including a declaration of martial law. If that doesn't scare the poop out of Americans, nothing will. In a poll taken about a month ago, 30% of Republicans said that they were OK with violence being used to install a GOP president if they lost the next election.

Ex-Trump aide Peter Navarro says 100 House members were "ready" to carry out election coup In the year since last Jan. 6, we've heard numerous accounts of unsuccessful "coup plots" allegedly or reportedly devised by Donald Trump's allies and followers. But this week, in an interview with Rolling Stone, former White House adviser Peter Navarro revealed a scheme that, by his account, nearly worked to keep the former president in office. Although officially a Trump adviser on trade and economic issues, Navarro has become a leading promoter of Trump's grandiose claims that the 2020 election was "stolen" through widespread voter fraud. Following Trump's defeat in November of that year, Navarro told Rolling Stone, the adviser did "research" on how Trump could be legally and rightfully reinstalled — at least in Navarro's mind — for a second term. That research apparently laid the foundation for the "Green Bay Sweep," an ambitious scheme that would have required the cooperation of former Vice President Mike Pence and every Republican member of the House of Representatives. During the certification of electoral votes on Jan. 6, Pence would "provide a public forum" in which grievances and complaints about "fraud and election irregularities could be aired in 24-hours of televised hearings to the American public." Once Congress had created a legal basis for challenging the Electoral College votes, in Navarro's narrative, there would have then been an unspecified "mechanism" — definitely not mentioned in the Constitution — "that would allow those likely illegal [Electoral College] votes to be sent back to the states for further review." At this juncture, Navarro said, at least some Republican-dominated states would "withdraw any certification" of their electoral votes, making an Electoral College majority impossible. That would have thrown the presidential election into the House — and that part actually is in the Constitution — with each state's delegation casting one vote. Since Republicans controlled more states than Democrats, Trump would presumably have been "elected" to a second term. "My role in the whole thing was basically to provide Congress, via my reports, the analytical material they needed to actually make the challenges," Navarro explained. "And the president himself had distributed Volume One of the report to every member of the House and Senate a week or so earlier. "It's a well thought-out plan based on sound, constitutional law and existing legislative precedent. And all it required was peace and calm on Capitol Hill for it to unfold," he added. Ex-Trump aide Peter Navarro says 100 House members were "ready" to carry out election coup | Salon.com

Of all the things that you could die from, stupidity shouldn't be even on the list.

Trump called her an ‘incredible woman’ — but a new report reveals the disturbing past of Ashli Babbitt Ashli Babbitt has been heralded by Trump and his MAGA supporters as a martyr, but the reality tells a vastly different story. Babbitt, 35, was an Air Force veteran who was fatally shot by a Capitol Police police officer as she attempted to climb through a broken window of a door leading to the Speaker’s Lobby inside the U.S. Capitol during the terrorist attack on Jan. 6. Since her death, former President Donald Trump has praised Babbitt, calling her an “innocent, wonderful, and incredible woman,” taped a posthumous video for her birthday, and demanded the Justice Department reopen an investigation into her death. Trump supporters idealize her as a soldier for justice who was wrongfully murdered. Her name and photo have been emblazoned on T-shirts and flags at Trump rallies. However, Associated Press spoke with a woman by the name of Celeste Norris who says the Babbitt she knew was dangerous and violent. “I lived in fear because I didn’t know what she was capable of,” Norris told the AP. “I was constantly looking over my shoulder.” Trump called her an ‘incredible woman’ — but a new report reveals the disturbing past of Ashli Babbitt - Alternet.org 'The committee has broken through Trump's wall' and knows exactly what he did during riot: CNN's Jamie Gangel CNN reporter Jamie Gangel on Monday said that the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th Capitol riots has gained direct testimony describing former President Donald Trump's actions as he watched his supporters storm the Capitol. Speaking with host Jake Tapper, Gangel broke down what sources have been telling her about testimony the committee has secured. "The source said, quote, there's a collection of people with relevant information," she said. "Translation, Jake: 'Firsthand' indicates the committee is now hearing from people with direct knowledge. It could be someone who was in the room, someone on the phone, but these are people with firsthand information. I would say, bottom line, Jake, this means the committee has broken through Trump's wall." Trump had indicted to top allies such as Mark Meadows and Steve Bannon that he did not want them cooperating with the committee, but it seems that the committee has nonetheless gathered testimony from other Trump officials to create a full picture of the president's actions during the riots. During her talk with Tapper, Gangel elaborated on one potential witness who could have given the committee significant information. "One witness that we know of who has given a deposition to the committee is Keith Kellogg," she said. "He was former vice president Mike Pence's national security adviser who happened to be with Trump in the White House on January 6th when the riot was going on."

Its like a used car- its not the years, its the mileage. Or would that be kilometerage?

She has adopted the Ron DeSantis approach to dealing with the pandemic. You cannot be asked difficult to answer questions if you cannot be found.

The crest of the pandemic is still forecasted to hit the third week of January but its a helluva lot higher than predicted. I have no doubt that hospitals have triage priorities in place already so as to offer ICU beds only to certain patients if/when the crunch hits.

The biggest problem is that those with the most severe mental health and/or MAS problems are the most unaware of how troubled they are and are the most resistant to intervention.

I have worked for nearly 40 years in healthcare and I am now starting to get scared.

Trump Jr and Ivanka are refusing to comply with NY AG’s subpoenas: report Donald Trump, Jr. and Ivanka Trump are refusing to comply with legal subpoenas issued by the New York State Attorney General. AG Letitia James subpoenaed the Trump siblings last month, but according to ABC News court documents say a “dispute has arisen between the OAG and the Individual Trump Parties regarding the Subpoenas.” Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump “will file motions to quash the subpoenas as soon as Monday, the filing indicated.” The subpoenas demand testimony from the adult Trump children in a civil suit filed by James into how the Trump Organization and Donald Trump valued assets. The former president, according to his former attorney Michael Cohen, inflated the value of his real estate holdings when applying for loans or credit, then deflated their value for tax purposes.

Pandemic deaths among pregnant Americans are now 'surging' You can chalk up more deaths for the "pro-life" crowd: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reporting that COVID-19 is now claiming the lives of more pregnant Americans and resulting in more stillbirths. Poynter reports that deaths in pregnancy "rose sharply" in the last two months, and that 40% of such pandemic deaths have happened since August, when delta began surging in the United States. Pregnant people have an increased risk of severe COVID-19 symptoms due to poorer immune responses and other factors, and the CDC is urging those who are pregnant or are planning pregnancy to get vaccinated immediately. That 40% of such deaths have happened just since August is telling, because by August vaccines against COVID-19 were already widely available and the United States was well on its way to getting the population fully vaccinated. But it also marked a new surge of COVID-19 cases based, once again, in Republican-voting states and counties where pandemic safety measures like masking, social distancing, and vaccinations have been mocked or intentionally blocked by state and local Republican leaders. Those Republicans followed Donald Trump in claiming that the pandemic would not be serious, that it would lead to few deaths, and that his administration's inaction was therefore not just forgivable but noble. The party has since made resistance to pandemic safety measures a core "culture war"-style issue. Notably, pro-Trump and anti-vaccine protesters have taken to mocking abortion rights protesters with anti-vaccine signs reading "my body, my choice" or variations.

Canadian political scientist warns his country must face 'horrible' possibility of US becoming a 'right-wing dictatorship' by 2030 As a political science professor at the Royal Roads University in Colwood, British Columbia, Thomas Homer-Dixon is only about 35 miles from the U.S. border — and in an op-ed published by the Globe and Mail on New Year’s Eve, he grapples with the frightening possibility that Canada’s neighbor to the south could be under a fascist dictatorship only eight years from now. “By 2025, American democracy could collapse, causing extreme domestic political instability, including widespread civil violence,” writes Homer-Dixon, author of the book “Commanding Hope: The Power We Have to Renew a World in Peril” and founder of Royal Roads’ Cascade Institute. “By 2030, if not sooner, the country could be governed by a right-wing dictatorship. We mustn’t dismiss these possibilities just because they seem ludicrous or too horrible to imagine.” Homer-Dixon, in his op-ed, warns that if former President Donald Trump returns to the White House in January 2025 — possibly by stealing the 2024 election with the help of the Republican Party — there will be major implications for Canada. “Returning to office, he’ll be the wrecking ball that demolishes democracy, but the process will produce a political and social shambles,” Homer-Dixon writes. “Still, through targeted harassment and dismissal, he’ll be able to thin the ranks of his movement’s opponents within the state — the bureaucrats, officials and technocrats who oversee the non-partisan functioning of core institutions and abide by the rule of law. Then, the stage will be set for a more managerially competent ruler, after Mr. Trump, to bring order to the chaos he’s created.” The Canadian government, he warns, is facing an “unfolding crisis” to the south and needs to think long and hard about how it will respond if United States goes full-fledged authoritarian. “A terrible storm is coming from the south, and Canada is woefully unprepared,” Homer-Dixon explains. “Over the past year, we’ve turned our attention inward, distracted by the challenges of COVID-19, reconciliation and the accelerating effects of climate change. But now, we must focus on the urgent problem of what to do about the likely unraveling of democracy in the United States. We need to start by fully recognizing the magnitude of the danger. If Mr. Trump is reelected, even under the more optimistic scenarios, the economic and political risks to our country will be innumerable.” Homer-Dixon laments that it isn’t excessive to use the “f word” to describe the political threat facing the U.S. — the “f word” being “fascism.”

New, year, same team. Jets have too few forwards willing to backcheck (I'm looking at you, Mark Scheifele) and their defensive "system" in front of their own net resembles a jail break.