Tracker

Gotta copy your idol.

In and out of the Convention Center this morning in 25 minutes. Had the Pfizer vaccine- yaaaay!!!

Pretty soon Trump isn't going to have many "friends" who are not in jail. On the other hand, he might be joining them.

Pfizer Vaccine Is Effective for 6 Months, Works for South Africa Variant: Study -Reuters A new study has found that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is effective on new variants, marking a step towards full FDA approval. In a clinical trial with 46,000 people, participants were at least 90% protected from symptomatic COVID-19 for six months after receiving a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Results show that 927 participants tested positive for the virus, and out of those, only 77 had received the vaccine, while 850 had received a placebo. The study also showed that Pfizer is effective against a virus mutation called B.1.351, more commonly known as the South Africa variant, which is said to be more contagious. “It’s really wonderful news that these vaccines continue to progress very rapidly toward licensure,” said Luciana Borio, a biotech official and former FDA scientist. The vaccine is currently authorized for emergency use only by the FDA.

We should be proud of that. The only people Carlson like are horrible ones.

Dementia does have its benefits- you get to meet new people every day and you can hide your own Easter eggs- a handy tip right now.

Manhattan Prosecutors Subpoena Trump Org CFO’s Bank Records: Report -Getty Manhattan prosecutors investigating the Trump Organization’s finances have subpoenaed the bank records of the company’s longtime CFO Allen Weisselberg, The New York Times reports. Lawyers in District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.’s office are also scrutinizing lavish gifts Donald Trump and his family gave to Weisselberg, which included an apartment on Central Park South, cars, and private school tuition. The executive, like the ex-president, has not been charged with a crime.

New report reveals why Bill Barr didn't want to get caught anywhere with Matt Gaetz Rep. Matt Gaetz's name has been in the headlines a lot this week — not only in connection with an Axios report that he is considering leaving Congress to work as a pundit at Fox News competitor Newsmax TV, but also, in connection with two federal criminal investigations. And an article written by reporters Matt Dixon and Betsy Woodruff Swan and published by Politico this week explains why former U.S. Attorney General William Barr avoided being seen in public with Gaetz at one point in 2020. Gaetz is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of a broad sex trafficking probe, and one of the things being examined in that probe is allegations that he had sex with a 17-year-old girl and paid her to travel with him across lines — which the congressman has vehemently denied. Gaetz has also claimed the FBI is investigating a related extortion plot that Gaetz and his father, former Florida State Senate President Don Gaetz, allege was organized by former federal prosecutor David McGee. The Politico report points out that the investigation of Gaetz's conduct began under the Trump administration, undercutting allegations that it's driven merely by partisan bias. In 2020, the Politico reporters add, "Then-U.S. Attorney General William Barr was briefed on the Gaetz probe and did not take issue with it, a source familiar with the matter told Politico. Barr and the Office of the Attorney General received multiple briefings on the Gaetz probe, beginning in the summer of 2020, a second person familiar with the probe said. They encouraged Florida prosecutors to move as quickly as they needed to and take whatever steps were appropriate." According to Dixon and Swan, Barr even avoided attending a GOP event because of Rep. Gaetz's presence. New report reveals why Bill Barr didn't want to get caught anywhere with Matt Gaetz - Alternet.org Judge voids Trump campaign non-disclosure agreement he used to silence employees A federal judge on Tuesday voided a Trump campaign non-disclosure agreement, ruling that it was too vague to be legally enforceable. U.S. District Court Judge Paul Gardephe, a George W. Bush appointee, ruled that the Trump campaign cannot enforce its overly broad NDA against Jessica Denson, a former Hispanic outreach director who was ordered to pay nearly $50,000 after she filed a sexual discrimination and harassment lawsuit against the campaign in 2017 and criticized Trump on social media. Though the ruling only applies to Denson, her attorneys argued that it invalidates every campaign NDA. (Should be verrry interesting)

Here are 7 new bombshell details from the complex and unraveling Matt Gaetz investigation story: 1. The Washington Post confirmed two separate Justice Department investigations As we already knew, Gaetz has been under investigation for months under suspicion of a sex crime. But after this news broke, he revealed the existence of another federal investigation — an investigation of an attempt to "extort" him for $25 million over the sex crime allegation. 2. The request for $25 million relates to an Iranian prisoner The Post reported that the request for money from the Gaetz family was driven by a need to fund an operation to save Robert Levinson, a man who was imprisoned in Iran and who the U.S. government reportedly believes is dead. Levinson's family, it seems, believes he may still be alive. Interestingly, despite Gaetz's claim that he is being "extorted," the Examiner report describes the documents requesting the $25 million as a request for a "loan." 3. The incentive in the so-called "extortion" plot is highly dubious According to the document obtained by the Examiner, the plan was for Gaetz to get a presidential pardon if the rescue plan were successful: 4. The document obtained by the Examiner suggests a wider probe of Gaetz than has been reported Though the reports of the DOJ investigation into Gaetz have focused on the sex crime, the document reportedly given to the Gaetz family proposing the funding of the rescue operation suggests the Republican lawmaker is facing scrutiny for a wider range of conduct. In addition to the suspicion of sex trafficking, Gaetz is also supposedly being investigated for "political corruption, public integrity, and other criminal allegations." 5. The document also indicated the sex crime investigation into Gaetz is well-developed Again, it's hard to say whether the documents' claims are at all reliable, but it asserts that the FBI knows there are pictures of Gaetz and another "Elected Official" in a "sexual orgy with underage prostitutes." 6. It's not clear if there's actually evidence of an extortion scheme The reports do somewhat bolster Gaetz's allegation that he's facing an extortion scheme. But scrutinizing the documents and claims published by the Examiner, it's actually not clear if all the components of extortion fit the facts of the case. 7. Gaetz claimed he's looking into job opportunities from conservative outlets — but two denied any interest But a Fox official told the Beast: "No one with any level of authority has had conversations with Matt Gaetz for any of our platforms and we have no interest in hiring him." And OAN CEO Robert Herring said: "Right now, I'm not really hiring anybody for talk shows. I think he is a great congressman..."

This is the usual PC playbook. No surprise at all.

When you are 65, its pretty much anywhere you want it to be.

But will you be able to stay awake for it? BTW: you are officially "old" until you have to start planning how you are going to stand up. Or start wondering why you are in the kitchen. The other day I actually remembered why I was in a room- it was the bathroom, but still....

And your point is.....?

Don't blame this on us old folks or I will come over there and beat you with my cane.

Confirmation of the dearth of new ideas in Hollywood. Lasers and aliens. Gotta have lasers and aliens plus hot female aliens.

That would require him to have a moral compass, which he has never had. Apparently he an Ted Cruz are in a dead heat for the most disliked republican -by the rest of the GOP. There is jubilation in the GOP that Gaetz has self-destructed. Another of Trump's mindless thralls come to a bad end. Flies are always drawn to manure.

Fox News made Matt Gaetz a GOP star. Now he's trying to take Fox News' Tucker Carlson down with him. I'm not a fan of pro wrestling so I have never watched two grown men simultaneously try to throw each other out of the ring. But having watched the entire interview Fox News host Tucker Carlson held with Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., on Tuesday night, I now see the appeal. No one grabbed anyone by the shoulders — the two were not even in the same room — but it was nonetheless a riveting pas de deux of insinuation and attempted blackmail. It was a rare moment of comeuppance for two of the most ridiculous, yet sinister, figures in American politics, and impossible to look away from. But, as Carlson learned — with a chagrin he struggled to hide under his standard furrowed-brow fake concern face — the problem with prizing sociopathy in the people you elevate as figureheads is that often they turn their predatory gaze upon you. This is exactly what happened last night, when Gaetz, who the New York Times reports is under investigation in a federal sex trafficking probe involving a 17-year-old girl, decided that if he's going down, his buddy Tucker was coming with him. "You and I went to dinner about two years ago, your wife was there, and I brought a friend of mine, you'll remember her," Gaetz said, rambling on about how his female friend was now supposedly being "threatened" by the FBI in a "pay-for-play scheme." Carlson quickly denied remembering any such female friend and acted confused. The audience, however, picked up on what Gaetz was laying down. Fox News made Matt Gaetz a GOP star. Now he's trying to take Fox News' Tucker Carlson down with him | Salon.com

Capitol Police officers sue Donald Trump over injuries sustained at Jan. 6 riot As a result of the Jan.6 insurrection, two U.S. Capitol Police officers say they suffered serious physical and emotional injuries and are now suing former President Donald Trump over his role in inciting the mob of his supporters who attacked officers during the storming of the U.S. Capitol Building. Officers James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby filed the lawsuit on Tuesday arguing that Trump "inflamed, encouraged, incited, directed and aided and abetted" the insurrection. Both officers claim that they have suffered "physical and emotional injuries" as a result of the Capitol riots. Capitol Police officers sue Donald Trump over injuries sustained at Jan. 6 riot | Salon.com Joe Scarborough Slams Fox News By Airing ‘Deeply Offensive’ Clip MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough on Wednesday tore into Fox News for allowing former Trump White House trade adviser Peter Navarro to push a conspiracy theory about Dr. Anthony Fauci on the air without any pushback whatsoever. Fox News’ Rachel Campos-Duffy just smiled on Tuesday as Navarro ranted and raved about Fauci, calling the nation’s top infectious diseases expert a “sociopath” and the “father” of the coronavirus. Scarborough aired the offending segment on Wednesday’s episode of “Morning Joe.” Afterward, he said: It’s sickening that we had to play that, and I hardly ever play garbage that other networks show. But that was so offensive, deeply offensive, that they just need to be called out. “The fact that they allowed somebody without any pushback [to] call Anthony Fauci the father of the virus, talking about the communist Chinese and genetically this, that and the other from a lab that Anthony Fauci funded is just so deeply offensive,” he added. Joe Scarborough Slams Fox News By Airing ‘Deeply Offensive’ Clip | HuffPost

Kansas City paper slams 'loony' Missouri GOP after state rep says he's 'proud to stand against the will of the people' In Missouri, Republicans in the state legislature have rejected Medicaid expansion at a time when the medical community is still battling the deadly COVID-19 pandemic — and the Kansas City's editorial board, in a blistering editorial published on March 31, slams them for being so clueless. In 2020, Missouri residents voted in favor of Medicaid expansion. But this week, Missouri State Rep. Justin Hill, a far-right Republican, declared that he would defy the will of Missouri's voters for their own good. "Even though my constituents voted for this lie," Hill told fellow lawmakers, "I'm going to protect them. I am proud to stand against the will of the people." The Kansas City Star's editorial board slams Hill for that remark but argues that he is hardly the only clueless Republican in the Missouri State Legislature when it comes to Medicaid expansion. "The competition for the looniest argument against expanding Medicaid in Missouri was stiff Tuesday, but state Rep. Justin Hill, a Republican, took the prize," the Star's editorial board argues. "Hill, from Lake St. Louis, wandered away from the outer edges of sanity some time ago. He skipped his own swearing-in to attend the insurrectionist rally in Washington, D.C., on January 6. He has repeatedly questioned the results of the 2020 presidential election…. Tuesday, during the House debate on Medicaid expansion, Hill slapped his voters in the face." Kansas City paper slams 'loony' Missouri GOP after state rep says he's 'proud to stand against the will of the people' - Alternet.org

If a pilot does not want to be found, s/he can usually do that. Turn off the transponder and dip below the radar horizon and voila!

She projected a very unhealthy body image that many young women emulated. It is to be hoped that she has healed.

Wab Kinew's popularity and that of the NDP has risen in critical groups: women, voters under 35 and lower-income people.

Pallister's approval continues to plummet and the NDP's continues to rise. Expect a flurry of personal attacks on Wab Kinew.

As a footnote, three pieces of debris that have been positively identified as coming from an aircraft consistent with the type that disappeared have washed up on the Seychelles. Not conclusive evidence, but strongly suggestive that the plane went down in the southern Indian Ocean west of Australia. The plane's transponder was turned off just before it went off course. Had the crew been incapacitated, the plane would have continued on a straight course until it ran out of fuel or was shot down. The plane made four course changes before going completely dark, and when you factor all the evidence in, it was human intent and action that was responsible.

'These numbers are incredibly encouraging': Vaccines show major success in protecting nursing homes Jacksonville, Fla. - Barbara Bufano gets the COVID-19 vaccine at Naval Hospital Jacksonville in Jacksonville, Fla., Jan. 15, 2021. Vaccines are currently being offered to on-base health care personnel and first responders assigned to Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Naval Station Mayport and critical national capabilities forces, deploying forces, frontline essential workers, and beneficiaries age 75 and older. COVID-19 vaccines are not available by walk-in for non-hospital personnel. New Covid-19 cases have plummeted by 96% in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities since late December, a report published Tuesday by the industry group American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living revealed. AHCA/NCAL reports (pdf) a decline in new U.S. weekly nursing home cases from 33,540 on December 20 to 1,349 on March 7, according to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Widespread coronavirus vaccinations began in early January, when new nursing home cases dropped precipitously. The industry groups also said there has been a 91% decline in coronavirus-related deaths in nursing homes, dropping from over 6,000 in December to 547 this month.