The GOP starts forging a new alliance with QAnon

[kennypowers 1,431]

On 10/20/2020 at 9:17 AM, Mikey said:

WTF? Here's what: CNN and MSNBC are nothing but propaganda groups for leftist extremists.. The truth is not in them. I don't see how this QAnon, who or whatever it is, can be any worse.

Have you actually ever heard of Fox News?  Very similar to the radios Hitler put into people's homes.

[DKW 86 7,410]

2 hours ago, Mikey said:

Now that we've disposed of Hitler, do you consider this QAnon source to be more dangerous than some Marxist group, say, Black Lives Matter? Are the QAnons  rioting, looting and killing people? Or is that simply in their manifesto for some future date?

Some future date. 

Personally, i think onceTrump is removed from office, most of the other stuff will go quickly non-violent. I think most can see they overplayed their hand.

[I_M4_AU 7,762]

37 minutes ago, DKW 86 said:

Some future date. 

Personally, i think onceTrump is removed from office, most of the other stuff will go quickly non-violent. I think most can see they overplayed their hand.

We have seen that Antifa and BLM have scaled back their *protests* as of late and, if Biden is elected, I fully expect to see a de-escalation of the groups responsible for the unrest...........until Biden doesn’t work as fast as these groups believe they should.  If Biden doesn’t appease (his mode of operation) fast enough, the violence may return.

Never negotiate with terrorists.

[Amwest20 139]

11 hours ago, Mikey said:

 

 

11 hours ago, TitanTiger said:

No, it's said because you don't study issues, you comment on articles without even reading them, you bloviate on things you know little about, you can't even demonstrate you really know the definition of the term "socialism."

I'd give my eye teeth for some conservatives of intellectual depth and gravity around here.  All we get instead are mindless drivel peddlers like yourself bogging down discussion and wasting everyone's time.

Im obligated to throw it out there that I think that Mikey is absolutely not “bogging down the discussion” he’s doing quite the opposite.

[TitanTiger 20,469]

1 minute ago, Amwest20 said:

Im obligated to throw it out there that I think that Mikey is absolutely not “bogging down the discussion” he’s doing quite the opposite.

Your opinion is duly noted.

[Leftfield 2,583]

Just now, TitanTiger said:

Your opinion is duly noted.

I think he was simply meaning that people keep responding, not that Mikey's posts are worthwhile?

[TitanTiger 20,469]

2 minutes ago, Leftfield said:

I think he was simply meaning that people keep responding, not that Mikey's posts are worthwhile?

He's bogging it down in the sense that there's a topic at hand, and Mikey injects mindless drivel, off topic nonsense, or ignorant ramblings because he doesn't understand the issues and doesn't bother to read.  There's a topic to discuss and Mikey detracts from rather than deepens or adds to it.

[Amwest20 139]

1 minute ago, TitanTiger said:

Your opinion is duly noted.

Had to call out the Cancel Culture antics when I read it.  You may continue on with the Trump Derangement Syndrome.  

[Amwest20 139]

11 minutes ago, Leftfield said:

I think he was simply meaning that people keep responding, not that Mikey's posts are worthwhile?

No, I’m just not simply canceling them like you and many others.

[Leftfield 2,583]

Just now, Amwest20 said:

No, I’m just not simply canceling them like you and many others.

Ah. Well, then I apologize for giving you the benefit of the doubt.

[Amwest20 139]

Just now, Leftfield said:

Ah. Well, then I apologize for giving you the benefit of the doubt.

It’s fine.  I totally get your username by the way.... way out there.  

[TitanTiger 20,469]

26 minutes ago, Amwest20 said:

Had to call out the Cancel Culture antics when I read it.  You may continue on with the Trump Derangement Syndrome.  

[TitanTiger 20,469]

18 minutes ago, Amwest20 said:

It’s fine.  I totally get your username by the way.... way out there.  

Look, if you have something of substance to add to the actual subject, please do so.  If not, you can join Mikey.

[Amwest20 139]

3 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

Look, if you have something of substance to add to the actual subject, please do so.  If not, you can join Mikey.

I denounce Qanon in the same manner that Mr. Mikey calls the fake news to being leftist propaganda.  

[homersapien 11,352]

6 hours ago, HarsinVOL said:

-The-QAnon Conspiracy.pdfUnavailable

Can't access that link. (Or at least I can't.)

[DKW 86 7,410]

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343349893_The_QAnon_Conspiracy_Theory_A_Security_Threat_in_the_Making

Is that it?

[CoffeeTiger 5,082]

On 10/22/2020 at 10:54 AM, kennypowers said:

Have you actually ever heard of Fox News?  Very similar to the radios Hitler put into people's homes.

Crazy to think that just 2 months from this comment FoxNews looks almost like a 'middle of the road' network compared to the crazy that is going on over at Newsmax and One America News. 

[homersapien 11,352]

On 10/22/2020 at 9:05 PM, Amwest20 said:

Had to call out the Cancel Culture antics when I read it.  You may continue on with the Trump Derangement Syndrome.  

"Trump Derangement Syndrome?  

I'm curious, do you consider this article to be an example of "Trump Derangement Syndrome"?

 

Our biggest task in the New Year: End the chaos

Opinion by Editorial Board

Dec. 31, 2020

ANY DEEP thinkers who want to attempt an essay on how things will go in the year 2021 would do well to narrow their focus somewhat and just limit themselves to the matter of how we’ll get through the next three weeks. The dignified, predictable and uplifting ceremonies that normally accompany our peaceable transfer of power are now subject to the grudges, whims and contagious fantasizing of one angry man. January may contain a whole year’s worth of trouble in itself.

Should we get through that, however, there is, next, the challenge of containing and fighting the covid-19 scourge throughout the world. At the same time come the usual concerns: China, Russia, nuclear weapons, climate change. And then there are such perennial issues as immigration, gun violence and race relations. But assuming that we weather whatever disruptive mischief might be on the horizon this month, and that the government is allowed to do what democratic republics are supposed to do — hand over power to the freely and honestly elected winner of the last election — then there is one primary job before all of us this year: Stop the chaos.

Disorder, turmoil, uncertainty, lies and misinformation are all marks of dictatorships and authoritarian regimes. Bureaus, departments and ministries are set against one another. Power is delegated to compliant minions, whose one goal is to please the leader. Large parts of a nation’s wealth are funneled into the coffers of cronies. Confusion is deliberately created as to who is in charge of what, and personal pledges of loyalty to the leader are demanded. Efforts are made to turn the judiciary into a servant of the regime. Collegial ties with democratic allies are neglected, and new ones are formed with various bosses and presidents-for-life.

To what extent the Trump administration has been guilty of any or all of these things can be debated, but the president’s post-election behavior — pardoning unpardonable offenses and maligning state officials for performing their election duties honestly and in accord with the law — is beyond argument; it is disgusting.

President-elect Joe Biden clearly recognizes the job before him and has the temperament for it. One word often often used in speaking of him is “decent.” But the same adjective has been applied to several other presidents of recent memory, who were not reelected. What Mr. Biden must deal with is the legacy of a classic demagogue, someone who seizes on people’s discontent and assures them there are simple answers for it, usually involving plots, conspiracies and the behavior of “others”: minorities, foreigners, the media, whatever.

The incoming president will have a huge task before him. His primary tool should be an old one, somewhat in disuse at the White House in recent times: the truth.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/our-biggest-task-in-the-new-year-end-the-chaos/2020/12/31/1064d546-4abf-11eb-a9f4-0e668b9772ba_story.html

 

How about this one?

 

Vaccination is going slowly because nobody is in charge

We’ve known for months that vaccines were coming. Why weren’t we prepared to use them?

Ashish K. Jha

Ashish K. Jha is a physician, health policy researcher and the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health.

Dec. 31, 2020

Vaccine development for covid-19 has occurred at a remarkable pace, thanks in large part to the careful work of the scientific community, both in the United States and around the globe. Operation Warp Speed played a key role in accelerating the creation of vaccines without cutting corners, and producing millions of doses. As a result, the two vaccines that have been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration are safe and highly effective against the disease. That’s why we want them to reach people’s immune systems as quickly as possible — and why the current delays in getting people vaccinated are so disappointing.

Let’s start with a quick recap: As recently as early October, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said we’d have 100 million doses of vaccine by the end of 2020. One month later, that was reduced to 40 million doses. As recently as Dec. 21, Vice President Pence, the

head of the White House coronavirus task force, said that we were on track to vaccinate 20 million Americans by Dec. 31. Unfortunately, 20 million doses haven’t even gotten to the states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting that we have vaccinated about 2.6 million people. Assuming the reporting lags by a few days, we might be at 3 or 4 million total.

This is striking. We’ve known for months that vaccines were coming. We know that vaccines only work when people get vaccinated. Every dose of vaccine not given risks more illness and potential death. The failure to vaccinate more quickly is tragic given that more than 3,000 Americans are dying of covid-19 every day. At the current rate, we will surpass 400,000 deaths by Inauguration Day.

Operation Warp Speed now says it aims to vaccinate all Americans by June. But we will not get there unless we understand what is happening and what we need to do to fix it.

How did we get from 100 million promised doses to just a few million people vaccinated? It is a lesson in misunderstanding American federalism and a failure of national leadership. The federal government and Operation Warp Speed saw their role as getting vaccines to the states, without considering what supports states would need to get vaccines to the people. The Trump administration is now blaming the slow rollout on states. This is political theater and obviously untrue. States undoubtedly have a critical role to play in vaccine distribution. But states alone can’t mount one of the largest vaccination efforts in recent history. Moreover, not all 50 states are failing.

What is happening at the state level? The responsibility of vaccine distribution has fallen on state health departments. These relatively poorly funded agencies have been managing the full pandemic response for months. They oversee testing, the data collection and reporting, providing public guidance, overseeing restrictions, and so much more. They are squeezed and stretched, and to make matters worse, their leaders are receiving death threats and other forms of harassment, prompting some to quit. These agencies are in no position to take on rapid deployment of a new vaccine without a lot more resources and help.

The Trump administration gave about $340 million in Cares Act funding to states, territories and other jurisdictions for vaccine preparedness. This was a tiny portion of the amount that states and the administration acknowledged was needed. As time for distribution got closer, the administration never pushed for more funding to states, leaving them largely lacking the financial resources needed. So these already strained public health departments across the country are finding themselves in a position to stand up rapid vaccination infrastructure with little support.

If this story line sounds familiar, it is. This is the same strategy the administration used for personal protective equipment for nurses and doctors, as well as for testing. And it was never going to work. It’s also a story that fits into a larger pattern: For years, our public health infrastructure has been starved of resources, and without both money and deep, prolonged investments in these institutions, expecting them to pull off every major challenge in the middle of a global pandemic is unrealistic.

What is actually needed for large-scale vaccinations? The current strategy allows for every clinic, hospital and pharmacy to be a vaccination site, which translates into tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of sites across the nation. It would be simpler and easier to take a more streamlined approach, with the federal government working with states to focus resources on a more limited number of sites, providing more direct logistical support to each instead of leaving them to fend for themselves. Among other things, this would mean ensuring that they had the physical infrastructure, the staffing and the IT infrastructure they need to proceed. For people who are not able to go to these sites (such as some nursing home residents), local pharmacies could deliver the shots. (West Virginia took this approach, becoming the first in the nation to offer vaccines to all nursing home residents.) Some states might choose a different approach, and the federal government could work with them.

Regardless of the particular approach, this sort of planning should have happened in October and November. The administration should have gone to Congress and gotten the money needed to set this up. That didn’t happen. Instead, the administration is blaming the states. Of course, once a blame culture is set, the finger-pointing continues: In Mississippi, the health chief says it’s not the state's job to ensure vaccines get into people's arms and he is now blaming front-line providers for the slow rollout.

What must happen now? It’s important to know that many states are taking real responsibility. A lot of overburdened public health agencies are still setting up vaccination sites. And Congress just allocated $7 billion in the latest covid relief bill for states to vaccinate people. The federal government should be working with states to figure out what they need — and use staffing from FEMA, the National Guard or other agencies to bolster state capacity or even take over responsibilities where states feel they need help. Getting these sites up and running quickly with vaccinations happening efficiently is of the essence.

There is hope now. President-elect Joe Biden is pledging action, recognizing and preparing to meet the huge operational challenge of vaccinating a nation with the urgency demanded by these times. After a slow ramp up, states will improve their processes. For all this pandemic has taught us and cost us, it has demonstrated again that we are the United States and, especially in crisis, an effective federal government is essential.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/12/31/vaccination-slow-trump-administration-states/

 

[DKW 86 7,410]

1 hour ago, CoffeeTiger said:

Crazy to think that just 2 months from this comment FoxNews looks almost like a 'middle of the road' network compared to the crazy that is going on over at Newsmax and One America News. 

Wait, I think Newsmax and OAN are just getting revved up. By midsummer, they will be at full blown crazy and bashing FNC for everything they are worth.
I Also see them becoming more and more irrelevant as soon as one American Right Wing Icon passes on...Bless his heart. 😉