![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarbirdI ran some errands today - a stop at the hardware store, dropped off some mail, dropped off some non-picked-up recycling.
Almost all women were wearing masks. Not all. But the vast majority.
Other than store workers required to, almost no men were. The only two who did were quite old. And that's here.
Meanwhile, over on the dry side - places like Walla Walla - they're having COVID-19 parties. Get everybody exposed. Get herd immunity no matter how many people it kills. In deep Trump territory, they're doing it in public, using children - see the news item 15 in the list. This will work well - particularly in conjunction with their ramping up of mask wearing as a "culture war" issue - as part of the strategy to destroy and de-legitimise containment efforts as part of the re-election campaign, as per my April 21st statement.
Not that anyone listens to me.
Cascadia Now. Maybe we can contain it here.
----- 1 -----
Chris Christie Says U.S. Needs to Reopen and Accept More Deaths
“The message is that the American people have gone through significant death before,” Christie said he would tell the American people.
Justin Baragona
Contributing Editor
Updated May. 05, 2020 12:00AM ET
Published May. 04, 2020
https://www.thedailybeast.com/chris-christie-pushes-for-reopening-says-americans-have-to-accept-more-coronavirus-deaths
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said on Monday that the American economy needs to reopen quickly and that tens of thousands of more Americans may die from the novel coronavirus, insisting that Americans are “gonna have to” accept that.
Speaking to CNN correspondent Dana Bash on her The Daily DC podcast, Christie—who now works as an ABC News contributor—pushed for the reversal of stay-at-home orders in order to open up businesses and ramp up economic activity.
Confronted with recent models that now show that as many as 135,000 Americans will die due to decreased social distancing amid the pandemic, Christie essentially threw up his hands and said there really wasn’t a choice.
...
Asked how he would tell the American public about the need to reopen if he were the president, Christie responded: “The message is that the American people have gone through significant death before.”
“We sent our young men during World War II over to Europe, out to the Pacific, knowing, knowing that many of them would not come home alive,” he said. “And we decided to make that sacrifice because what we were standing up for was the American way of life. In the very same way now, we have to stand up for the American way of life.”
----- 2 -----
Brooke Binkowski
twitter.com/brooklynmarie
4 May 2020
[THREAD]
https://twitter.com/brooklynmarie/status/1257517816950820864
Today I got the idea to put together a thread of every public official, elected or appointed, who is advocating for or trying to normalize mass die-offs as a right and just sacrifice to make for the sake of The Economy (tm). I'll start with Chris Christie
----- 3 -----
White House coronavirus task force to be wound down around Memorial Day
By Jake Tapper and Caroline Kelly, CNN
Updated 3:20 PM ET, Tue May 5, 2020
https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/05/politics/white-house-coronavirus-task-force-winding-down/index.html
(CNN)The White House coronavirus task force will start to wind down later this month, a senior White House official told CNN on Tuesday.
The official said the task force "will be phased down around Memorial Day. We will continue to have key medical experts advising (President Donald Trump) daily and accessible to press throughout the coming months ahead."
The New York Times first reported the White House's plan to wind down the task force.
The plan to phase out the task force comes as as the country's Covid-19 daily cases and reported deaths plateau, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Research Center. The move would also quash the most visible nerve center for the federal government's response to the virus.
----- 4 -----
Grace Segers
twitter.com/Grace_Segers
May 5, 2020
https://twitter.com/Grace_Segers/status/1257744005842063363
Per twitter.com/benstracy, in a meeting with reporters today, Vice President Pence said “conversations are being had about winding down the work of the [coronavirus] task force.” He said they are looking at Memorial Day “window” but work on testing and stockpile will continue.
[THREAD CONTINUES]
Grace Segers
twitter.com/Grace_Segers
May 5, 2020
https://twitter.com/Grace_Segers/status/1257745830825660418
Dr. Anthony Fauci just told twitter.com/PaulaReidCBS that there was no intention to wind down the task force. "That’s not true, I’ve been in every task force meeting, and that’s not what they are doing," Fauci told her.
----- 5 -----
Donald J. Trump
twitter.com/realDonaldTrump
May 5, 2020
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1257741326650470400
Well run States should not be bailing out poorly run States, using CoronaVirus as the excuse! The elimination of Sanctuary Cities, Payroll Taxes, and perhaps Capital Gains Taxes, must be put on the table. Also lawsuit indemnification & business deductions for restaurants & ent.
----- 6 -----
Mark Joseph Stern
twitter.com/mjs_DC
May 5, 2020
[THREAD]
https://twitter.com/mjs_DC/status/1257699256451895296
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley, a Republican, just described the governor's stay-at-home order as "the very definition of tyranny."
Yeah, the Republicans on the Wisconsin Supreme Court are going to strike down Gov. Evers' stay-at-home order.
And they're going to do it after oral arguments and conference held on Zoom so they don't personally risk coronavirus infection.
And Justice Daniel Kelly, who just lost his seat (by a huge margin) and is now a lame duck, is likely going to join the majority in invalidating the stay-at-home order.
[THREAD CONTINUES]
SEE ALSO REPLY:
Ian Millhiser
twitter.com/imillhiser
May 5, 2020
https://twitter.com/imillhiser/status/1257708274583027714
And Wisconsin's Republican chief justice just dismissed a coronavirus flare up because it only impacted people who work in meat packing plants and not "the regular folks."
----- 7 -----
Whistleblower Alleges Trump Administration Ignored Dire COVID-19 Warnings
The complaint filed on Tuesday by Dr. Rick Bright described an administration that sputtered when the virus emerged.
Sam Stein, Erin Banco, Asawin Suebsaeng, Jackie Kucinich
Updated May. 05, 2020
https://www.thedailybeast.com/whistleblower-alleges-trump-adm-ignored-dire-covid-warnings
The Trump administration was warned in late January that it had a critical shortage of surgical masks needed to combat coronavirus and that it needed to prioritize the development of a vaccine. But it failed to take action, a top administration health official alleges in a whistleblower complaint formally filed on Tuesday.
The complaint from Dr. Rick Bright, who led the government’s efforts to find a vaccine for the coronavirus before being reassigned to a position at the National Institutes of Health, details what he describes as a staggering degree of inaction from administration officials bracing for a historic pandemic. Bright, who served as a program leader within the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), says he raised alarms about supply chain shortages early on during the coronavirus’ spread. While certain officials inside the administration shared his fears—most notably, President Donald Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro—others did not.
Eventually, Bright says, he was excluded from a meeting on COVID, even though the agenda for the meeting listed him as a participant. He claims he was ultimately fired for pushing back and speaking out against the administration’s attempts to push an unproven COVID therapy drug.
Chief among his antagonists, Bright identifies Dr. Robert Kadlec, the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). Kadlec, Bright alleges, declined to coordinate senior level meetings in mid January as the virus was spreading across China, suggesting that he was “[n]ot sure if that is a time sensitive urgency.”
----- 8 -----
Matt Pearce
twitter.com/mattdpearce
5 May 2020
[THREAD]
https://twitter.com/mattdpearce/status/1257720207293861888
During the 1918 influenza pandemic, officials had to design new public-health messages specifically targeted at men who thought a lot of the anti-flu measures were too feminine.
----- 9 -----
BrieAnna J. Frank
twitter.com/brieannafrank
5 May 2020
[THREAD]
https://twitter.com/brieannafrank/status/1257710908928745472
9:32 am - myself + other journalists here are being harassed for wearing masks.
One man says: “It’s submission, it’s muzzling yourself, it looks weak - especially for men.”
We’re being accused of fear-mongering, not knowing anything + being “pieces of shit.”
[FOLLOWUP TWEET]
One harassing man just asked me a series of questions + I refused to engage.
He turns to a middle-aged male journalist next to me + says “I’m sure you know, but I doubt she does.”
“What are you, 2-3 years out of college? What business do you have writing the news?”
[FOLLOWUP TWEET]
I’m on my phone to talk with editors and this guy and a woman says “oh, she’s probably googling (what we asked her).”
“Are you phoning a friend BrieAnna?”
[FOLLOWUP TWEET]
“You’re on the wrong side of history.”
“You’re on the wrong side of patriotism - you’re like communists,” says a group of twitter.com/realDonaldTrump supporters toward myself and other journalists here.
[EMBEDDED VIDEO]
[FOLLOWUP TWEET]
Here’s more video from the interactions between twitter.com/realDonaldTrump supporters and media here outside of twitter.com/Honeywell_Aero in Phoenix.
Journalists are being accused of leading the country into socialism and facism. We’re asked why we’re not looking into Iraq/Venezuela. twitter.com/azcentral
[EMBEDDED VIDEO]
[THREAD CONTINUES]
----- 10 -----
British Scientist Who Spearheaded National Lockdown Quits After Meeting With Married Lover
Emma Tucker
5 May 2020
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/british-scientist-who-spearheaded-national-lockdown-quits-after-meeting-with-married-lover/ar-BB13DRxV
The British scientist known colloquially as “Professor Lockdown,” who pushed Prime Minister Boris Johnson to impose a nationwide lockdown, resigned on Tuesday after he defied social distancing guidelines to have a rendezvous with his married lover in his London home.
Professor Neil Ferguson, who had been praised for his expertise and guidance during the U.K.’s coronavirus outbreak, allowed 38-year-old Antonia Staats—who is married with two children—into his home at the same time he was publicly advising everyone else to adhere to strict guidelines banning couples from seeing each other if they didn’t live together.
----- 11 -----
WA Emergency Management
twitter.com/waEMD
5 May 2020
https://twitter.com/waEMD/status/1257803191611084800
Officials in Walla Walla are receiving reports of #COVID19 “parties” occurring in their community, where noninfected people mingle with an infected person in an effort to catch the virus. This is extremely dangerous & unwise. Not sure if this is happening elsewhere, but stay safe
----- 12 -----
Lewis County parents sue Washington state over school closure order
5 May 2020
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/coronavirus-daily-news-updates-may-5-what-to-know-today-about-covid-19-in-the-seattle-area-washington-state-and-the-nation/#update-12742124
Three parents filed suit against the state of Washington and Gov. Jay Inslee in Lewis County Superior Court Tuesday, claiming their children's rights to education had been violated when schools closed in response to the coronavirus.
Conservative activist Tim Eyman, a Republican candidate for governor, is raising funds for the suit.
----- 13 -----
Four Republican lawmakers sue Inslee over coronavirus stay-home order, contending ‘the emergency has been contained’
By Jim Brunner
May 5, 2020
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/four-republican-lawmakers-sue-inslee-over-coronavirus-stay-home-order-contending-the-emergency-has-been-contained/
In the latest in an escalating series of legal challenges by Republicans, four Washington state legislators sued Gov. Jay Inslee in federal court on Tuesday, seeking to strike down his stay-home order aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
A 28-page complaint, filed by the lawmakers and others in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, contends “the emergency has been contained” and that continuing restrictions for workers, businesses and residents are not legally justified.
The lawmakers joining the lawsuit are Reps. Drew MacEwen, R-Union; Andrew Barkis, R-Olympia; Chris Corry, R-Yakima; and Brandon Vick, R-Vancouver. Four other Washington residents also are plaintiffs, saying their rights to work, operate businesses, obtain medical care and worship have been harmed. The plaintiffs are represented by Joel Ard, a Seattle lawyer and member of the conservative Federalist Society, and David DeWolf, a professor emeritus of law at Gonzaga University.
Inslee’s emergency stay-home order, which was first imposed March 23, was recently extended through May 31, although some workplaces, construction sites and recreational activities are reopening in phases.
----- 14 -----
Masks become a flashpoint in the virus culture wars
By Rick Rojas
May 4, 2020
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/masks-become-a-flashpoint-in-the-virus-culture-wars/
ATLANTA — As the nation edges away from lockdown and people once again share public spaces in the middle of a pandemic, wearing a face mask — or refusing to — has become a flash point in a moment when civic rules are being rewritten, seemingly on the fly.
The result has been dirty looks, angry words, raw emotions and, at times, confrontations that have escalated into violence.
In Flint, Michigan, a security guard at a Family Dollar store was fatally shot on Friday afternoon after an altercation that the guard’s wife told The New York Times had occurred over a customer refusing to wear a face covering, which is required in Michigan in any enclosed public space.
...
In Stillwater, Oklahoma, an emergency proclamation mandating face coverings led to so much verbal abuse in its first three hours on Friday — and a threat involving a gun — that officials swiftly amended it. Masks became encouraged, not required.
----- 15 -----
Chris Metcalf
twitter.com/LOLBeReasonable
5 May 2020
https://twitter.com/LOLBeReasonable/status/1257730122150490113
Replying to Twitter.com/aetiology tweet [https://twitter.com/aetiology/status/1257695478512332800] and twitter.com/GioninosO:
This is from the same town. IT'S WORSE
[EMBEDDED IMAGE: Stock photo of children sitting at some sort of wooden railing. Overlaid text reads: "It's May! Let's Play! PLAYGROUND PATRIOTS/May 4, 2020/1:00 PM/Orr Park/We are done.../* giving up our freedoms/* watching our economy crumble/* allowing our constitution to be ignored/We will gather in grassy areas to play, parking on Elm Street. Pack a lunch if you like, as we last understood picnic tables are open. Please join FB group Playground Patriots for updates.]
----- 16 -----
As things fall apart, remember how we got here.
twitter.com/solarbirdy
5 May 2020
He IS leading by example. HE IS LEADING BY EXAMPLE. This is what he WANTS, and he doesn't CARE HOW MANY DIE.
The message is "Hey everybody, Coronavirus is over!" The strategy is HERD IMMUNITY, and they don't care who dies.
Everybody _he's_ doing this with will have been tested.
[IN RESPONSE TO]
Scott Dworkin
twitter.com/funder
5 May 2200
https://twitter.com/funder/status/1257758947873902592
BREAKING: Trump didn’t wear a mask and was shaking hands after he landed in Phoenix for his coronavirus propaganda events. Trump should lead by example, but he’s not a leader.
Almost all women were wearing masks. Not all. But the vast majority.
Other than store workers required to, almost no men were. The only two who did were quite old. And that's here.
Meanwhile, over on the dry side - places like Walla Walla - they're having COVID-19 parties. Get everybody exposed. Get herd immunity no matter how many people it kills. In deep Trump territory, they're doing it in public, using children - see the news item 15 in the list. This will work well - particularly in conjunction with their ramping up of mask wearing as a "culture war" issue - as part of the strategy to destroy and de-legitimise containment efforts as part of the re-election campaign, as per my April 21st statement.
Not that anyone listens to me.
Cascadia Now. Maybe we can contain it here.
- Chris Christie Says U.S. Needs to Reopen and Accept More Deaths
- Today I got the idea to put together a thread of every public official, elected or appointed, who is advocating for or trying to normalize mass die-offs as a right and just sacrifice to make for the sake of The Economy (tm).
- White House coronavirus task force to be wound down around Memorial Day
- Pence, Fauci contradict each other on Federal winddown
- Donkeyballs Donald goes full extortionist on Federal aid
- Republicans on the Wisconsin Supreme Court are going to strike down Gov. Evers' stay-at-home order
- Whistleblower Alleges Trump Administration Ignored Dire COVID-19 Warnings
- During the 1918 influenza pandemic, officials had to design new public-health messages specifically targeted at men who thought a lot of the anti-flu measures were too feminine. [CONTEXT: Reporters in Arizona being harassed for wearing masks.]
- BrieAnna J. Frank - myself + other journalists here are being harassed for wearing masks.
- British Scientist Who Spearheaded National Lockdown Quits After Meeting With Married Lover
- Officials in Walla Walla are receiving reports of #COVID19 “parties” occurring in their community
- Noted shoplifter raises money to help Lewis County parents sue Washington state over school closure order
- Four Republican lawmakers sue Inslee over coronavirus stay-home order, contending ‘the emergency has been contained’
- Masks become a flashpoint in the virus culture wars
- Ohio group "Playground Patriots" works to defy COVID-19 containment, spread virus
- Trump IS leading by example, and journalists STILL don't get it
----- 1 -----
Chris Christie Says U.S. Needs to Reopen and Accept More Deaths
“The message is that the American people have gone through significant death before,” Christie said he would tell the American people.
Justin Baragona
Contributing Editor
Updated May. 05, 2020 12:00AM ET
Published May. 04, 2020
https://www.thedailybeast.com/chris-christie-pushes-for-reopening-says-americans-have-to-accept-more-coronavirus-deaths
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said on Monday that the American economy needs to reopen quickly and that tens of thousands of more Americans may die from the novel coronavirus, insisting that Americans are “gonna have to” accept that.
Speaking to CNN correspondent Dana Bash on her The Daily DC podcast, Christie—who now works as an ABC News contributor—pushed for the reversal of stay-at-home orders in order to open up businesses and ramp up economic activity.
Confronted with recent models that now show that as many as 135,000 Americans will die due to decreased social distancing amid the pandemic, Christie essentially threw up his hands and said there really wasn’t a choice.
...
Asked how he would tell the American public about the need to reopen if he were the president, Christie responded: “The message is that the American people have gone through significant death before.”
“We sent our young men during World War II over to Europe, out to the Pacific, knowing, knowing that many of them would not come home alive,” he said. “And we decided to make that sacrifice because what we were standing up for was the American way of life. In the very same way now, we have to stand up for the American way of life.”
----- 2 -----
Brooke Binkowski
twitter.com/brooklynmarie
4 May 2020
[THREAD]
https://twitter.com/brooklynmarie/status/1257517816950820864
Today I got the idea to put together a thread of every public official, elected or appointed, who is advocating for or trying to normalize mass die-offs as a right and just sacrifice to make for the sake of The Economy (tm). I'll start with Chris Christie
----- 3 -----
White House coronavirus task force to be wound down around Memorial Day
By Jake Tapper and Caroline Kelly, CNN
Updated 3:20 PM ET, Tue May 5, 2020
https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/05/politics/white-house-coronavirus-task-force-winding-down/index.html
(CNN)The White House coronavirus task force will start to wind down later this month, a senior White House official told CNN on Tuesday.
The official said the task force "will be phased down around Memorial Day. We will continue to have key medical experts advising (President Donald Trump) daily and accessible to press throughout the coming months ahead."
The New York Times first reported the White House's plan to wind down the task force.
The plan to phase out the task force comes as as the country's Covid-19 daily cases and reported deaths plateau, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Research Center. The move would also quash the most visible nerve center for the federal government's response to the virus.
----- 4 -----
Grace Segers
twitter.com/Grace_Segers
May 5, 2020
https://twitter.com/Grace_Segers/status/1257744005842063363
Per twitter.com/benstracy, in a meeting with reporters today, Vice President Pence said “conversations are being had about winding down the work of the [coronavirus] task force.” He said they are looking at Memorial Day “window” but work on testing and stockpile will continue.
[THREAD CONTINUES]
Grace Segers
twitter.com/Grace_Segers
May 5, 2020
https://twitter.com/Grace_Segers/status/1257745830825660418
Dr. Anthony Fauci just told twitter.com/PaulaReidCBS that there was no intention to wind down the task force. "That’s not true, I’ve been in every task force meeting, and that’s not what they are doing," Fauci told her.
----- 5 -----
Donald J. Trump
twitter.com/realDonaldTrump
May 5, 2020
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1257741326650470400
Well run States should not be bailing out poorly run States, using CoronaVirus as the excuse! The elimination of Sanctuary Cities, Payroll Taxes, and perhaps Capital Gains Taxes, must be put on the table. Also lawsuit indemnification & business deductions for restaurants & ent.
----- 6 -----
Mark Joseph Stern
twitter.com/mjs_DC
May 5, 2020
[THREAD]
https://twitter.com/mjs_DC/status/1257699256451895296
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley, a Republican, just described the governor's stay-at-home order as "the very definition of tyranny."
Yeah, the Republicans on the Wisconsin Supreme Court are going to strike down Gov. Evers' stay-at-home order.
And they're going to do it after oral arguments and conference held on Zoom so they don't personally risk coronavirus infection.
And Justice Daniel Kelly, who just lost his seat (by a huge margin) and is now a lame duck, is likely going to join the majority in invalidating the stay-at-home order.
[THREAD CONTINUES]
SEE ALSO REPLY:
Ian Millhiser
twitter.com/imillhiser
May 5, 2020
https://twitter.com/imillhiser/status/1257708274583027714
And Wisconsin's Republican chief justice just dismissed a coronavirus flare up because it only impacted people who work in meat packing plants and not "the regular folks."
----- 7 -----
Whistleblower Alleges Trump Administration Ignored Dire COVID-19 Warnings
The complaint filed on Tuesday by Dr. Rick Bright described an administration that sputtered when the virus emerged.
Sam Stein, Erin Banco, Asawin Suebsaeng, Jackie Kucinich
Updated May. 05, 2020
https://www.thedailybeast.com/whistleblower-alleges-trump-adm-ignored-dire-covid-warnings
The Trump administration was warned in late January that it had a critical shortage of surgical masks needed to combat coronavirus and that it needed to prioritize the development of a vaccine. But it failed to take action, a top administration health official alleges in a whistleblower complaint formally filed on Tuesday.
The complaint from Dr. Rick Bright, who led the government’s efforts to find a vaccine for the coronavirus before being reassigned to a position at the National Institutes of Health, details what he describes as a staggering degree of inaction from administration officials bracing for a historic pandemic. Bright, who served as a program leader within the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), says he raised alarms about supply chain shortages early on during the coronavirus’ spread. While certain officials inside the administration shared his fears—most notably, President Donald Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro—others did not.
Eventually, Bright says, he was excluded from a meeting on COVID, even though the agenda for the meeting listed him as a participant. He claims he was ultimately fired for pushing back and speaking out against the administration’s attempts to push an unproven COVID therapy drug.
Chief among his antagonists, Bright identifies Dr. Robert Kadlec, the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). Kadlec, Bright alleges, declined to coordinate senior level meetings in mid January as the virus was spreading across China, suggesting that he was “[n]ot sure if that is a time sensitive urgency.”
----- 8 -----
Matt Pearce
twitter.com/mattdpearce
5 May 2020
[THREAD]
https://twitter.com/mattdpearce/status/1257720207293861888
During the 1918 influenza pandemic, officials had to design new public-health messages specifically targeted at men who thought a lot of the anti-flu measures were too feminine.
----- 9 -----
BrieAnna J. Frank
twitter.com/brieannafrank
5 May 2020
[THREAD]
https://twitter.com/brieannafrank/status/1257710908928745472
9:32 am - myself + other journalists here are being harassed for wearing masks.
One man says: “It’s submission, it’s muzzling yourself, it looks weak - especially for men.”
We’re being accused of fear-mongering, not knowing anything + being “pieces of shit.”
[FOLLOWUP TWEET]
One harassing man just asked me a series of questions + I refused to engage.
He turns to a middle-aged male journalist next to me + says “I’m sure you know, but I doubt she does.”
“What are you, 2-3 years out of college? What business do you have writing the news?”
[FOLLOWUP TWEET]
I’m on my phone to talk with editors and this guy and a woman says “oh, she’s probably googling (what we asked her).”
“Are you phoning a friend BrieAnna?”
[FOLLOWUP TWEET]
“You’re on the wrong side of history.”
“You’re on the wrong side of patriotism - you’re like communists,” says a group of twitter.com/realDonaldTrump supporters toward myself and other journalists here.
[EMBEDDED VIDEO]
[FOLLOWUP TWEET]
Here’s more video from the interactions between twitter.com/realDonaldTrump supporters and media here outside of twitter.com/Honeywell_Aero in Phoenix.
Journalists are being accused of leading the country into socialism and facism. We’re asked why we’re not looking into Iraq/Venezuela. twitter.com/azcentral
[EMBEDDED VIDEO]
[THREAD CONTINUES]
----- 10 -----
British Scientist Who Spearheaded National Lockdown Quits After Meeting With Married Lover
Emma Tucker
5 May 2020
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/british-scientist-who-spearheaded-national-lockdown-quits-after-meeting-with-married-lover/ar-BB13DRxV
The British scientist known colloquially as “Professor Lockdown,” who pushed Prime Minister Boris Johnson to impose a nationwide lockdown, resigned on Tuesday after he defied social distancing guidelines to have a rendezvous with his married lover in his London home.
Professor Neil Ferguson, who had been praised for his expertise and guidance during the U.K.’s coronavirus outbreak, allowed 38-year-old Antonia Staats—who is married with two children—into his home at the same time he was publicly advising everyone else to adhere to strict guidelines banning couples from seeing each other if they didn’t live together.
----- 11 -----
WA Emergency Management
twitter.com/waEMD
5 May 2020
https://twitter.com/waEMD/status/1257803191611084800
Officials in Walla Walla are receiving reports of #COVID19 “parties” occurring in their community, where noninfected people mingle with an infected person in an effort to catch the virus. This is extremely dangerous & unwise. Not sure if this is happening elsewhere, but stay safe
----- 12 -----
Lewis County parents sue Washington state over school closure order
5 May 2020
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/coronavirus-daily-news-updates-may-5-what-to-know-today-about-covid-19-in-the-seattle-area-washington-state-and-the-nation/#update-12742124
Three parents filed suit against the state of Washington and Gov. Jay Inslee in Lewis County Superior Court Tuesday, claiming their children's rights to education had been violated when schools closed in response to the coronavirus.
Conservative activist Tim Eyman, a Republican candidate for governor, is raising funds for the suit.
----- 13 -----
Four Republican lawmakers sue Inslee over coronavirus stay-home order, contending ‘the emergency has been contained’
By Jim Brunner
May 5, 2020
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/four-republican-lawmakers-sue-inslee-over-coronavirus-stay-home-order-contending-the-emergency-has-been-contained/
In the latest in an escalating series of legal challenges by Republicans, four Washington state legislators sued Gov. Jay Inslee in federal court on Tuesday, seeking to strike down his stay-home order aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
A 28-page complaint, filed by the lawmakers and others in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, contends “the emergency has been contained” and that continuing restrictions for workers, businesses and residents are not legally justified.
The lawmakers joining the lawsuit are Reps. Drew MacEwen, R-Union; Andrew Barkis, R-Olympia; Chris Corry, R-Yakima; and Brandon Vick, R-Vancouver. Four other Washington residents also are plaintiffs, saying their rights to work, operate businesses, obtain medical care and worship have been harmed. The plaintiffs are represented by Joel Ard, a Seattle lawyer and member of the conservative Federalist Society, and David DeWolf, a professor emeritus of law at Gonzaga University.
Inslee’s emergency stay-home order, which was first imposed March 23, was recently extended through May 31, although some workplaces, construction sites and recreational activities are reopening in phases.
----- 14 -----
Masks become a flashpoint in the virus culture wars
By Rick Rojas
May 4, 2020
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/masks-become-a-flashpoint-in-the-virus-culture-wars/
ATLANTA — As the nation edges away from lockdown and people once again share public spaces in the middle of a pandemic, wearing a face mask — or refusing to — has become a flash point in a moment when civic rules are being rewritten, seemingly on the fly.
The result has been dirty looks, angry words, raw emotions and, at times, confrontations that have escalated into violence.
In Flint, Michigan, a security guard at a Family Dollar store was fatally shot on Friday afternoon after an altercation that the guard’s wife told The New York Times had occurred over a customer refusing to wear a face covering, which is required in Michigan in any enclosed public space.
...
In Stillwater, Oklahoma, an emergency proclamation mandating face coverings led to so much verbal abuse in its first three hours on Friday — and a threat involving a gun — that officials swiftly amended it. Masks became encouraged, not required.
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Chris Metcalf
twitter.com/LOLBeReasonable
5 May 2020
https://twitter.com/LOLBeReasonable/status/1257730122150490113
Replying to Twitter.com/aetiology tweet [https://twitter.com/aetiology/status/1257695478512332800] and twitter.com/GioninosO:
This is from the same town. IT'S WORSE
[EMBEDDED IMAGE: Stock photo of children sitting at some sort of wooden railing. Overlaid text reads: "It's May! Let's Play! PLAYGROUND PATRIOTS/May 4, 2020/1:00 PM/Orr Park/We are done.../* giving up our freedoms/* watching our economy crumble/* allowing our constitution to be ignored/We will gather in grassy areas to play, parking on Elm Street. Pack a lunch if you like, as we last understood picnic tables are open. Please join FB group Playground Patriots for updates.]
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As things fall apart, remember how we got here.
twitter.com/solarbirdy
5 May 2020
He IS leading by example. HE IS LEADING BY EXAMPLE. This is what he WANTS, and he doesn't CARE HOW MANY DIE.
The message is "Hey everybody, Coronavirus is over!" The strategy is HERD IMMUNITY, and they don't care who dies.
Everybody _he's_ doing this with will have been tested.
[IN RESPONSE TO]
Scott Dworkin
twitter.com/funder
5 May 2200
https://twitter.com/funder/status/1257758947873902592
BREAKING: Trump didn’t wear a mask and was shaking hands after he landed in Phoenix for his coronavirus propaganda events. Trump should lead by example, but he’s not a leader.
no subject
Date: 2020-05-06 07:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-05-09 02:01 am (UTC)