COVID is a vascular disease with respiratory transmission: https://scitechdaily.com/covid-19-is-a-vascular-disease-coronavirus-spike-protein-attacks-vascular-system-on-a-cellular-level/ . This has been the general understanding for some time. Researchers continue to fill in the details of the mechanisms involved. The spike protein alone causes significant disease.
Oregon restores lockdowns; rural Republicans have highest infection rates and vaccine hesitancy: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/01/oregon-restores-restrictions-covid-surge-vaccine-hesitancy . Our rural counties are very sparsely populated, so the “last mile” delivery problem is significant.
Patients with autoimmune suppression benefit from Pfizer vaccine: https://www.jpost.com/health-science/coronavirus-vaccine-effective-on-autoimmune-disease-patients-study-finds-667003 . The exception seems to be patients receiving rituximab (commonly known as Rituxin). Rituxin is a very common chemotherapy drug, so this is actually a rather significant exception.
WSJ: US vaccines effective against UK variant: https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-k-covid-19-variants-hold-in-u-s-has-silver-lining-vaccines-counter-it-11619956800 . Keep in mind that many other variants are already in circulation in the US.
US discussing broader global vaccine distribution with WTO: https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2021-05-02/the-latest-pakistan-restricts-border-travel-to-fight-virus .
US lacks ethnicity data on pandemic’s effects: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/05/we-still-dont-know-who-the-coronaviruss-victims-were/618776/ . Other than this data fact, I strongly disagree with the tone of this article. “Elderly” is not another word for “white”. There are many young white people and many elderly black people. The original strain causes many more deaths among the elderly (of both races) than among the young. So those are the people who deserve to be protected first, because they are the most vulnerable. And the delay involved has amounted to weeks; it is not denial of treatment.
The author should reflect on why blacks are more skeptical of vaccination than whites. It is because of things like the Tuskegee Project. Medicine no longer involves that type of mistreatment. This article is reinforcing vaccine skepticism among blacks. That is going to kill some of them.
WSJ: AstraZeneca blood clot deaths: “My sister is not a number”: https://www.wsj.com/articles/family-of-teacher-who-died-after-astrazeneca-shot-seeks-answers-11619947801 .
India’s pandemic continues to worsen: https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/india-pummeled-anew-covid-deaths-and-infections . More: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-56961940 (link replaced 6/2/2021). Oxygen remains scarce. Indians overseas work to provide aid: https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3131936/coronavirus-googles-sundar-pichai-steel-magnate-lakshmi-mittal .
Israel sees dramatic reduction in cases: https://www.jpost.com/health-science/coronavirus-israel-registers-13-new-cases-in-24-hours-lowest-in-a-year-666990 . High levels of vaccination have worked to drive down the pandemic. Israel will watch for the transmission of variants.
Argentina hits 3 million cases as hospitals fill: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-05-02/hospitals-are-full-as-argentina-covid-19-cases-hit-3-million .
WSJ: The debate over economic acceleration: https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-savings-stockpile-could-accelerate-economyif-consumers-spend-it-11619967601 . The statistics in this article strike me as fruit salad. Apparently, if you held assets worth $1 million at the beginning of the pandemic and they have now appreciated to $1.5 million, that is savings of $500,000. Otherwise, I cannot explain the high savings rate attributed to those over 70. If that is a correct reading of these numbers, then a flat dollar stimulus check distributed to all those earning below $75,000 was exactly the right way to stimulate spending.
US-Iran prisoner deal: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2021/05/02/iranian-state-tv-reports-prisoner-swap-deals-us-britain/4914494001/ . This public revelation is obviously the quickest way to blow up a deal. We can assume that negotiations have occurred. It is unclear now how these deals might proceed. There are other signs of infighting within Iran: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/khamenei-criticises-irans-foreign-minister-over-leaked-remarks-2021-05-02/ .
Here is another take on the Texas special election: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/02/texas-special-election-too-close-to-call-but-gop-on-verge-of-lockout-win-485194 . So the only Democrat with a chance indirectly asked the other dimwits to drop out, and none of the 9 did. Pathetic.
More on the Giuliani-FBI story retractions: https://www.salon.com/2021/05/02/nyt-washington-post-nbc-news-issue-corrections-to-giuliani-stories/ . As speculated yesterday, part of the problem was being misled by a trusted source.
Newsmax apologizes to Dominion employee for false election accusations: https://apnews.com/article/election-recounts-election-2020-government-and-politics-arts-and-entertainment-80321b21dfb3926564efb55e8cbf9f22 . We have now seen a string of apologies in the wake of Dominion’s $1.3 billion lawsuit against Fox and other conservative news organizations. It appears Newsmax settled with the Dominion employee. The defendants in the employee’s suit include the Rude Dude. This does make me wonder if the Giuliani-FBI story was a set-up. Giuliani wants the sources disclosed; I’m curious as well.
Rudy’s legal problems are Orange Julius’ as well: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/05/02/giuliani-trump-legal-trouble-485186 .
The New York Times has “a crush” on Kristi Noem: https://newsthud.com/ny-times-kristi-noem-rising-quickly-as-a-republican-prospect-for-2024/ (link replaced 5/25/21). Let’s be clear – Kristi Noem as a presidential candidate is a non-starter. First, she’s the governor of a small state. Second, she’s nuts – meaning she cannot win a debate against a competent mainstream candidate. It’s okay to consider her as an angry Sarah Palin. It’s even possible she could get elected to the Senate. But beyond that, we get to weirdness (Kristi in Ted Cruz’ cabinet?).
There are still some worthwhile general observations about this fantasy piece. Conservatives are desperate to find a credible presidential candidate. When your best shot is Ron DeMentis, you become more desperate. That’s how Orange Julius ran the table in 2016, even though he has no political philosophy. Conservatives had to fall in line. At the moment, the Republican Party clings to anger as its uniting force. This approach is as exhausting as it is destructive. The Republican Party needs to figure out what it is FOR with some urgency. Otherwise, it’s headed to being a rural, regional party.
Susan Collins shouts support from her iceberg: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/02/susan-collins-defends-romney-cheney-485200 . Momentum remains with the Orange Julius forces in command of the Titanic – that is, the Republican Party.
Pro-Trump lawyer is actually crazy: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/theres-a-lot-of-crazy-going-on-pro-trump-lawyer-blows-up-key-gop-race/ar-BB1ghdO9?li=BBnb7Kz . Whether or not America is a racist country is an open question to some. However, having lived in South Carolina for two years, there is no question that South Carolina is a racist state. Tim Scott is not speaking realistically. When Orange Julius ran in 2016 in the Republican primary, he carried every county in the state. Indeed, 20% of his voters said in the CNN exit poll that ending slavery after the Civil War was a mistake. And now this, today: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/fire-chief-resigns-after-telling-local-police-stop-responding-to-black-neighborhoods/ar-BB1gg6wY?li=BBnbfcL .
How bad are things at the Republican rank-and-file level? Wow: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/for-republicans-fealty-to-trumps-election-falsehood-becomes-defining-loyalty-test/ar-BB1ghpRr?li=BBnb7Kz . Orange Julius has never been wrong? His anti-science lunacy has killed more Americans than World Wars I and II and Vietnam combined. Inject bleach … the Putin relationship … These people refuse to accept reality. They are uneducable, and that is not a politically motivated comment. They live in a false realm which they refuse to give up.
What are the solutions? We have to force reality upon them, quickly. The best bets: (1) Criminal actions are in process against Orange Julius, Giuliani and other minions. But Orange Julius must be held personally accountable. (2) Voting rights must be protected. (3) Democrats must dominate elections involving Republicans who support Orange Julius in any way.
Democrats are at great risk of losing the House in the next election. As voters, we must consider financially supporting moderate Republicans in their primaries. However, there are so few left with realistic chances of winning a primary that this will need to be a laser-focused process. I continue to believe that demographics (and reality) are on the Democrats’ side, but we remain in a battle for the soul of the nation. In particular, what is going on in the Republican Party is the most dangerous brainwashing I have even seen in this country.
All of this places greater urgency on enactment of Biden’s policy proposals. There has to be substantive change because talk and reality will have a hard time unwinding the ongoing brainwashing of the Republican base.