Is The Delta Variant Bad? Should We Mask Up For It?

JUMP TO DEVEN “STRONG” FUTCH

This is a comment by a close friend…

….and while this is using her comment, it is not being used to zero in on her — it is merely indicative of a wider position held by many. It is a raw expression of ultimately the failure of leadership in various levels of our government (federal, state, and local). Not giving us the real info, stirring people up by fear that is not warranted in order to cover-up administrative failures.

It is almost comical, but the next “we are all gonna die” moment is already here… Delta is soo last week, cue hysteria:

It’s a never ending political power-grab opportunity.

First however, a quote to set the mood:

  • “Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.” – CS Lewis, God in the Dock.

So, let us first deal with the real numbers and why the individual should be concerned about themselves — coming from a person who got the J&J, but who’s wife refuses to get the jab.

(Graphic and more found at RIGHT SCOOP)

BEN SHAPIRO

Ben Shapiro has been hitting these out of the park! Here is a good-sized excerpt of him speaking “truth to power-grabs.” (A truncated one also at his site is worth watching and passing on — also, the Fuller Show)

One of the most important aspects of this is that the Delta Variant is LESS DEADLY than the original variants. Here is Rand Paul to kick off the next part:

  • “So, the Delta variant is more transmissible but less deadly,” Sen. Paul said. “But if you say that, Facebook will take you down; they’ll chastise you, take away your birthday, and say you’re spreading mistruth. But it’s absolutely factual.”

Yes, it is waaay less deadly! Here are some UK stats via an excellent post over at PJ-MEDIA: (all graphs to follow are enlargeable on clicking):


UNITED STATES


CASES
DEATHS

See more at THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER


UNITED KINGDOM


CASES
DEATHS

DEATHS COMPARED


And of course, common sense tells you that the Biden Admin knows it’s full  of crap:

  • If New COVID-19 Variants Need to Be Taken Very Seriously, Why Isn’t Biden Closing the Border? (PJ-MEDIA)

Here is a recent story about another case most likely linked to an mRNA vaccine:


DEVEN STRONG


Here is a recent story of a drill Sgt. who is now rumored to be part of a large study on the possible effects of the mRNA vaccines — why? — because he was said to be a couple of weeks past his 2nd shot. Here is his story via Deven Strong’s “PERSONAL BLOG” on Facebook:

(June 29th) On Wednesday June 23rd around noon, Staff Sergeant Deven Futch had a major heart attack affecting his major artery. He just finished a big run at work for Family Day. He was down for 52 minutes before they were finally able to find a light pulse on him. He was rushed back where they found his main artery was 100% blocked. They Inserted a stint in his heart to clear the blockage and placed him on the respirator.

Deven was transported that day to a bigger hospital that specializes in Cardiology. He was placed on life support a machine called ECMO that pumps and oxygenates his blood outside the body, allowing the heart and lungs to rest and placed on a lot of meds. He was also placed on dialysis because his kidneys also took a big hit.

On June 26th Deven had a small seizure they sent him for a CT scan that showed slight brain swelling, and fluid in his lungs. Dr’s suspected this with his condition. He also has broken ribs and collapse lungs from the prolong CPR. They placed him on seizure meds and neurology watched very closely.

On June 27th they eased up on Devens sedation medicine and he was able to follow the DR’s commands. I was able to let him know I was not going to leave his side and he nodded his head at me. I walked away for a moment to go to the cafe to grab a coffee and Deven Took it upon himself to pull out his breathing tube while tied up. When his Nurse looked at him and asked why he did that, he gave a little Grin. That’s our Deven lol We watched closely to monitor Devens breathing, his lungs still need more time to heal. He did pretty good for about an hour until his oxygen levels were dropping and he was struggling to breath. After talking with the Drs and seeing things differently we could do we finally told Deven the best thing would be to sedate him for a couple more days and place another breathing tube in. He tried so hard to push through to be able to stay awake with us, but finally agreed to another breathing tube. I asked if he wanted me to stay and he shook his head yes, I stayed by his side while they inserted another breathing tube and he said he loved me and blew me a kiss.

His parents and I were able to talk to him and let him know how much we love him. He understood where he was at and what happened. We let him know how much love and support he has and he needs to continue to fight for his beautiful children.

Today on June 29th he will have a procedure to remove him from life support the ECMO machine. We ask for prayers for our sweet Deven and ask that God watches over the Dr’s and Nurses while they do their job and work on him.

We are all so greatful for his Marine friends starting CPR as soon as they did and acted the way they did because of them and the good CPR that he got he is where he is right now!! He is here able to still fight. Deven is strong ?? I know he will get through this. He’s Deven Strong.

He is recovering, and his family has time to spend with their husband/father.


BONUS: MASKS


(UPDATED 8-4-2021) This comes by way of REASON.COM discussing a recent study on masks:

The research has not yet been peer-reviewed, and may still prove to be flawed. But it does line up with some other data points on mask mandates. For instance, Texas saw no case spike when it lifted its mandate in early March. And an April 2021 analysis saw states with stricter rules about face coverings and indoor dining faring worse than states that did not.

This goes against many people’s assumptions—including those of this study’s authors.

Contrary to our hypothesis, early mandates were not associated with lower minimum case growth. Maximum case growth was the same among states with early, late, and no mandates. This indicates that mask mandates were not predictive of slower COVID-19 spread when community transmission rates were low or high.

We wondered if mask mandates were associated with smaller or slower surges in case growth. Differences between minimum and maximum case growth were similar among early, late, and no mandate states, and surges from minimum to maximum growth occurred at similar rates. These findings suggest that mask mandates are not predictive of smaller or slower shifts from low to high case growth.

The authors also “speculated that statewide mask use, rather than mask mandates per se, may predict COVID-19 case growth.” This hypothesis fared slightly better, but still didn’t hold up for situations when case growth was high.

“Data suggest that mask use is a poor predicter of COVID-19 growth at the state level,” they conclude. “Our findings do not support the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 transmission rates decrease with greater public mask use.”

Most important in this post is this, WHERE CAN I GET Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin? AMERICA’S FRONTLINE DOCTORS has a consultation sign up HERE! See also FLCCC ALLIANCE (Click Pic)

PolitiFact Covers Up For Their Dear Leaders

Well, POLITIFACT has circled the wagons for their Party’s Dear Leader… hat-tip to TWITCHY

Before getting to the response to the above… here is a bit from a somewhat related topic — that is — the distrust of the vaccines in the Black and Latino communities via PJ-MEDIA:

….study called “Coronavirus Vaccine Hesitancy in Black and Latinx Communities” shows that a mere 14% of black people believe the vaccines are safe. Duly elected communists Bill de Blasio and Andrew Cuomo are struggling to get minority New Yorkers to vaccinate. Here’s a hint: Stop using the word “Latinx.” Latinos (for you white libs, that means people of Latin American descent) hate the word. Even more, they hate white people making up words for them. Stop it.

[….]

How does the left get black folks to get the vax shots? I’m no marketing wizard, but perhaps they should stop pandering. Whatever they do, I hope they don’t use stupid, urban marketing rhymes.

Oops, too late. …..

Free tickets to Lincoln Center?

Brooklyn Botanical Gardens?

Come on komrade de Blasio, know your crowd!Look at what Andrew “Pander” Cuomo came up with exactly two weeks later:…

a free scratch-off ticket with every shot, and another ridiculous rhyme

offers of not only scratch-off tickets but greasy food, booze, money, and weed. Bugs Bunny cartoons have been canceled for less offensive cliches….

The New England Journal of Medicine (that would be science) suggests marketing over pandering, lotteries, free beer, or fishing licenses,

[Editor’s Note: LOL]

ALDOUS HUXLEY’S GHOST has a great response to the idea of PolitiFact denying the truth:

Again, who is not vaxxing…

 

The Effectiveness of Ivermectin via The Wall Street Journal

If Ivermectin is effective against Covid and all indications suggest that it is, why aren’t we making it more accessible? Why does the medical establishment dismiss it and even suggest that it’s harmful? Dennis Prager discusses two articles in his monologue. One from The Wall Street Journal, the other from Slate:

  • Why Is the FDA Attacking a Safe, Effective Drug? (WSJ)
  • The Noble Lies of COVID-19 (SLATE)

The Slate article deals more with masks.

Via THE WALL STREET JOURNAL’s article, Why Is the FDA Attacking a Safe, Effective Drug?(via The Burning Platform)

Ivermectin is a promising Covid treatment and prophylaxis, but the agency is denigrating it.

The Food and Drug Administration claims to follow the science. So why is it attacking ivermectin, a medication it certified in 1996?

Earlier this year the agency put out a special warning that “you should not use ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID-19.” The FDA’s statement included words and phrases such as “serious harm,” “hospitalized,” “dangerous,” “very dangerous,” “seizures,” “coma and even death” and “highly toxic.” Any reader would think the FDA was warning against poison pills. In fact, the drug is FDA-approved as a safe and effective antiparasitic.

Ivermectin was developed and marketed by Merck & Co. while one of us (Mr. Hooper) worked there years ago. William C. Campbell and Satoshi Omura won the 2015 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for discovering and developing avermectin, which Mr. Campbell and associates modified to create ivermectin.

Ivermectin is on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines. Merck has donated four billion doses to prevent river blindness and other diseases in Africa and other places where parasites are common. A group of 10 doctors who call themselves the Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance have said ivermectin is “one of the safest, low-cost, and widely available drugs in the history of medicine.”

Ivermectin fights 21 viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the cause of Covid-19. A single dose reduced the viral load of SARS-CoV-2 in cells by 99.8% in 24 hours and 99.98% in 48 hours, according to a June 2020 study published in the journal Antiviral Research.

Some 70 clinical trials are evaluating the use of ivermectin for treating Covid-19. The statistically significant evidence suggests that it is safe and works for both treating and preventing the disease.

In 115 patients with Covid-19 who received a single dose of ivermectin, none developed pneumonia or cardiovascular complications, while 11.4% of those in the control group did. Fewer ivermectin patients developed respiratory distress (2.6% vs. 15.8%); fewer required oxygen (9.6% vs. 45.9%); fewer required antibiotics (15.7% vs. 60.2%); and fewer entered intensive care (0.1% vs. 8.3%). Ivermectin-treated patients tested negative faster, in four days instead of 15, and stayed in the hospital nine days on average instead of 15. Ivermectin patients experienced 13.3% mortality compared with 24.5% in the control group.

Moreover, the drug can help prevent Covid-19. One 2020 article in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications looked at what happened after the drug was given to family members of confirmed Covid-19 patients. Less than 8% became infected, versus 58.4% of those untreated. Among 200 healthcare workers and others at high risk of exposure, only 2% of those given ivermectin developed Covid-19. But 10% of the control group did.

Despite the FDA’s claims, ivermectin is safe at approved doses. Out of four billion doses administered since 1998, there have been only 28 cases of serious neurological adverse events, according to an article published this year in the American Journal of Therapeutics. The same study found that ivermectin has been used safely in pregnant women, children and infants.

If the FDA were driven by science and evidence, it would give an emergency-use authorization for ivermectin for Covid-19. Instead, the FDA asserts without evidence that ivermectin is dangerous.

At the bottom of the FDA’s warning against ivermectin is this statement: “Meanwhile, effective ways to limit the spread of COVID-19 continue to be to wear your mask, stay at least 6 feet from others who don’t live with you, wash hands frequently, and avoid crowds.” Is this based on the kinds of double-blind studies that the FDA requires for drug approvals? No.

Mr. Henderson, a research fellow with the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, was senior health economist with President Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers. Mr. Hooper is president of Objective Insights, a firm that consults with pharmaceutical clients.

Most important in this post is this, WHERE CAN I GET Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin? AMERICA’S FRONTLINE DOCTORS has a consultation sign up HERE! See also FLCCC ALLIANCE (Click Pic)

(Click to Enlarge)

Republicans Not Getting Vaccinated | Delta Variant Dangers

The Left is making Trump supporters the Boogeyman. Here are the stats of those not getting vaccinated

Ben Shapiro runs through some of the real numbers… instead of percentages of those sick with Delta.


GRAPHIC I ADDED


Why So Many Have Questions About The 2020 Election

Tucker Carlson Reading @martyrmade’s Viral Thread On Why So Many Trump Supporters Have Questions About The 2020 Election & Their Distrust Of The Mainstream Media (@TheColumbiaBugle) See also RED STATE; 100% FED-UP; RIGHT SCOOP (where the video came from!); CONSERVATIVE TREE HOUSE.

 

FLASHBACK: Trump’s July 4th Was Like A Banana Republic?

(Originally posted July of 2019)

TRUMP’s July 4th celebration:

ZERO HEDGE notes the media’s slam of Trump’s 4th of July celebration:

“Putin’s America,” tweeted Anand Giridharadas, a pundit who was genetically engineered in a Monsanto laboratory to appeal to NPR listeners on every possible level.

Giridharadas used these words yesterday to caption a short video clip of two tanks being carted through the streets of DC in preparation for their appearance in a parade for Independence Day, a holiday in which Americans gather to eat hot dogs and drink Mountain Dew in celebration of the anniversary of their lateral transfer from monarchy to corporatist oligarchy.

The military hardware parade is taking place at the behest of President Bolton’s social media assistant Donald Trump, and critics have been vocally decrying it as alien and un-American. Pundits like Giridharadas and Steve Silberman have been saying it’s something Russia would do. The Independent said it’s a spectacle you’d see in “authoritarian regimes such as North Korea, Iran and China.” Adam Best and Charles Pierce both likened it to something that would be done in a “banana republic”, an interesting choice of phrase for a gratuitous display of American military bravado given that term’s blood-soaked origins in US corporate colonialism.

All of these people are of course being ridiculous. There’s nothing alien or un-American about Trump’s parade at all. Jingoistic fetishization of the military is as American as a deep-fried trademark symbol.

All this parade is, actually, is just one of the many, many, many many times over the last two and a half years that Trump has shown America its true face, and Americans haven’t liked what they’ve seen.

“That’s not my reflection!” the Americans scream at the mirror he holds up for them. “That’s Putin!”

“That’s not my reflection!” they protest. “That’s North Korea!”

“That’s not my reflection!” they say. “That’s a banana republic!”

No, America. That’s you. It’s been you all along……..

FDR’s third inaugural parade:

EISENHOWER’s inaugural parade:

JFK’s inauguration:

George W. Bush’s military parade:


MEDIA HYPE


NEWSBUSTERS has a montage of media predictions that were in reality, just a projection of how the view Republicans:

The media hastily have distanced themselves from their projections of street brawls and naked partisanship at the Salute to America event following a largely patriotic, unobjectionable July 4 speech by President Trump. Since TV news audiences are unlikely to hear talking heads acknowledge their numerous false predictions, here is a reminder of the worst of the bunch — ranging from the cynical to the absurd.

[….]

Matthews also foresaw Trump supporters causing violence and chaos in the streets of D.C.:

A lot of people are gonna show up who are pro-Trump. They’re gonna have their Confederate flags flying and their license plates and all kinds of trouble making. There’ll be a lot of other people, they’re gonna meet like in a storm, and you’re gonna have a real conflict.

Perhaps the most absurd concerns about the event were voiced by Esquire writer Charlie Pierce, who appeared to worry that tanks would be falling into the Potomac. “The speech is gonna be dreadful, and there’s all kinds of catastrophes. They’re not sure if the bridges over the Potomac can handle the tanks,” Pierce pontificated on the July 2 All In. He also implied that some unspecified disaster might befall F-35 pilots during their scheduled flyover, citing “the inability to eject” from the plane “without beheading yourself.”

They collect some other craziness from the media as well:

Another Fail is this story about AOC saying the event was poorly attended:

Debunked Bunkum (MSM’s Wuhan Conspiracy Montage/Supercut)

(MOONBNATTERY and TOM ELLIOT hat-tips!)

What do I think? I think that China was using the labs (level 2 and 4) to change – genetically – this coronavirus to have in it’s arsenal as a bio-weapon. But through human or facility errors (or both), it escaped. I highly doubt this release was intentional.

ARTICLES:

  • Intelligence on Sick Staff at Wuhan Lab Fuels Debate on Covid-19 Origin (WALL STREET JOURNAL)
  • The ‘Wuhan Lab Leak’ Theory Looks More Credible Than Ever (NEW YORK POST)
  • After Mocking And Dismissing Wuhan Lab Theory, Media Now Taking It Seriously (FOX)
  • U.S. Intel Report Identified 3 Wuhan Lab Researchers Who Fell Ill In November 2019 (NBC)
  • PolitiFact Retracts Wuhan Lab Theory ‘Fact-Check’ (WASHINGTON EXAMINER)
  • More Evidence That The Wuhan Lab-Leak Theory Is The Correct One (WASHINGTON EXAMINER)
  • Facebook Decides to Finally Let You Say Something Previously Verboten About COVID (PJ-MEDIA)
  • Facebook Lifts Ban on Wuhan Lab Leak Posts amid Renewed Debate over Theory (NATIONAL REVIEW)
  • CNN Flip Flops and Blames Trump For Their Denial (RPT)
  • Mainstream Media Finally Reports on Wuhan Illnesses in November 2019 – More Than A Year After First Reported By TGP (GATEWAY PUNDIT)
  • China Joe Shut Down State Department Probe Into Covid’s Origins — FAUCI: IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A “DERELICTION OF DUTY” TO NOT FUND THE WUHAN LAB (ACE OF SPADES)
  • Virologist: NIAID Grantee Funded Wuhan Coronavirus Studies Used In Gain-Of-Function Research (JUST THE NEWS)
  • “Take COVID Lab Theory Seriously,” Say Top Academics (NATIONAL PULSE)
  • Wuhan Lab DELETED Fauci’s NIH And Gain Of Function Mentions From Old Web Pages In Early 2021 (NATIONAL PULSE)
  • Fauci Says He’s No Longer Sure COVID Occurred Naturally… (WEASEL ZIPPERS)
  • Bombshell Letter in Prestigious Scientific Journal Calls for New Investigation Into COVID-19’s Origins  (PJ-MEDIA)
  • Unearthed Evidence Shows Fauci Defended ‘Integral’ Gain-Of-Function Research Despite Pandemic ‘Risks’ (NATIONAL PULSE)
  • Wuhan Lab Researcher’s Wife Died Of COVID-Like Illness In December 2019, Former Lead US Investigator Says (DAILY CALLER)

Premiered Apr 7, 2020

Ben Swann — Apr 17, 2020

1-Year Ago:

Media slammed as conspiracies, but later turned out true.

  • the MSM said ppl who believed the FBI spied on Trump were whacks… turned out true . Mark Levin called it in March of 2017.
  • The media said what was said to be going on in the nursing homes in New York was a big conspiracy from conservatives. Turned out to be worse than expected.
  • The MSM said the Hunter laptop story was a conspiracy, and very likely a Russian propaganda operation. Biden even said he had zero discussions with his sone and brother regarding Hunter’s business dealings. This turned out to be patently false
  • Biden met with Ukranian, Kazakhstan, and Russian business associated of Hunter. There are signed receipts by Hunter when he dropped it off — lol.
  • the MSM and Big Tech censored evidence and called the idea of Covid escaping a lab in Wuhan conspiratorial. As of this week, Big Tech has backed off censoring these now heavily evidentiary positions.
  • It was touted that Dominion Machines did not have wireless modems, and were safe for elections. Anyone who thought different was called crazy. Turns out Dominion now admits “human error” can influence the election (per Dominion)
  • People were called conspiracy nuts for thinking Antifa/BLM dressed up as Trumpers and entered the Capital. Turns out they have arrested one main agitator (seen stoking the crowd) and seized money paid him from CNN. He and some others were Antifa/BLM.
  • For 2-years the media said Mueller had evidence. The media said Trump said there were good Nazi’s.
  • Etc., Etc.

Trump and Republicans have been batting .750

LOL – VOX STEALTH EDITS

(Click to go to larger source)

Vaccine Passports and Anti-Israeli Pro-Terror Democrats

Much of this is via ACE OF SPADES and a Facebook convo I was in. In a conversation elsewhere, someone said no one is talking about vaccination passports… I respond with three examples:

  • Some states have already introduced their own digital health passports with assistance from the private sector, while others are still in development. But the idea is entirely off the table in several states. As a result, vaccine passports have created something of a flashpoint.
  • The Biden administration and private companies are working to develop a standard way of handling credentials — often referred to as “vaccine passports” — that would allow Americans to prove they have been vaccinated against the novel coronavirus as businesses try to reopen.
  • (pic below compliments) A medical doctor and professor who writes columns and regularly appears as a guest on CNN slammed the CDC’s decision to let vaccinated people stop wearing masks, and suggested there should be a mechanism in place – like a vaccine passport – to keep those who choose not to take the vaccine from appearing in public.

Just three examples, and I have not known Big Government to throttle back on grabs for power.

Now some ACE OF SPADES:

Is it just me, or is this creepy?

“The ImmunaBand is the outward symbol of the COVID-19 Vaccination. In every interaction with fellow employees and the public, the ImmunaBand bracelet contributes as a silent witness to the power of the vaccine

CULT STATUS:

[ ] YES

[ ] NO

[X] DEFINITELY NOT A

I gotta tell you, I feel the shameful red of embarrassment that I did not see the opportunity to fleece religious maniac dullards and exploit the congenitally stupid by selling them shoddy devotional tchotchkies.

They’re such mindless cultists. They’re a veritable mint waiting to be unloaded.

The above compliments PART III of my COVID ORIGINS POST

That was the weird PASSPORT part…. but I want to continue because the guys/gals at ACE always make me laugh:

Sarah Silverman — who is obviously no genius anyway, but who is also now radioactively unfunny — made the bold pronouncement that Bruce “Caitlyn” Jenner is transphobic.

Hawaiian shirts are making a comeback.

Oh no they’re practically Nazi uniforms!!!!

The colorful and uniquely patterned shirts are making a comeback this year, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The news outlet reports that part of the appeal of the shirts is the wide variety of styles they come in, which allow the wearer more freedom to express themselves.

The trend was apparently inspired by a shirt recently worn by David Beckham in Miami. The Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello shirt reportedly inspired more people to attempt to pull off the colorful, yet casual look that Beckham went with.

I’ve wanted a Hawaiian shirt for a long time, but didn’t get one, first because I thought, and this is stupid, “What’s with all these flowers and birds? This is gay.”

Then I accepted that flowers and birds and pineapples were essential motifs of the shirt, so I sought a shirt with… less gay flowers and less gay birds. Like, manly flowers. Flowers with biceps. Like, birds with guns and dicks.

Again, this is embarrassing. These are the stupid thoughts my stupid brain has when I’m not minding it.

I do not seek your approval. I only seek your pity.

In 2017, Dr. Shi Zengli — the “Bat Lady” herself, the woman who worried publicly that covid might be one of her own Frankenviruses — stated in a paper that her work was being funded by Anthony Fauci’s NIH/NIAID.

Also note that that MIT biologist says that some of the techniques described in that paper are “gain-of-function” techniques.

But Fauci is a dues-paid member of the Ruling Class. He gets to commit perjury with impunity.

Maybe they’ll award him an Emmy.

WORSHIP YOUR INFALLIBLE GOD-GOVERNMENT:




[I AM INCLUDING THE VIDEOS BELOW]




While the Biden Administration pumps millions into the Palestinian Authority, they refuse to commit to selling Israel more of the Iron Dome missiles that saved so many Israeli lives in the latest Hamas terror-bombardment.

Take a bow, NeverTrump. You put this into office……

BOOM!

FBI Finally Admits “GOP Shooter” Was A Domestic Terrorist

It took them long enough, but they finally admitted it after Christopher Wray (FBI head) laughably said it was a death by cop scenario — rather than an ideological Leftist shooting political adversaries Here is THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The FBI quietly admitted Friday that the 2017 Alexandria, Virginia, baseball field shooting that nearly killed Rep. Steve Scalise has been classified as “domestic terrorism” carried out by a “domestic violent extremist” targeting Republicans after the bureau previously classified it as “suicide by cop.”

The revelation appears in the middle of an appendix on page 35 of a 40-page FBI-DHS report released on Friday titled “Security Strategic Intelligence Assessment and Data on Domestic Terrorism.” In a section describing approximately 85 different “FBI-Designated Significant Domestic Terrorism Incidents in the United States from 2015 through 2019,” the Alexandria baseball field shooting appears, with the FBI categorizing the perpetrator as a “Domestic Violent Extremist” and describing the incident thusly: “An individual with a personalized violent ideology targeted and shot Republican members of Congress at a baseball field and wounded five people. The subject died as a result of engagement with law enforcement.”

In June 2017, James Hodgkinson, a man from Illinois who was living out of a van in Alexandria, opened fire at Eugene Simpson Stadium Park after asking GOP Rep. Jeff Duncan, who was leaving practice early, if the players were Republicans or Democrats. Hodgkinson struck Scalise in the hip, hit lobbyist Matt Mika in the chest, and injured two U.S. Capitol Police officers, Crystal Griner and David Bailey. Scalise nearly bled to death and required multiple surgeries before returning to Congress.

Hodgkinson, an avid liberal and supporter of Democratic presidential primary candidate and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, was killed by law enforcement. He had posted on Facebook that “Trump is a Traitor. Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It’s Time to Destroy Trump & Co.” and joined other groups such as “Terminate The Republican Party” and “Join The Resistance Worldwide!!”…..

THE BLAZE notes a portion of the declassified FBI report:

  • An individual with a personal violent ideology targeted and shot Republican members of Congress at a baseball field and wounded five people. The subject died as a result of engagement with law enforcement.

Continuing, they also write:

  • The Republicans also noted that Hodgkinson had a “potential ‘hit list'” in his pocket. The names on that list were GOP Reps. Jim Jordan (Ohio), Mo Brooks (Ala.), Trent Franks (Ariz.), Morgan Griffith (Va.), Scott DesJarlais (Tenn.), and Jeff Duncan (S.C.).

AS A REMINDER…

… of the recent revelation by Director Wray that got common sense people saying WTF!? BYRON YORK (May 3rd)

….“On Nov. 16, 2017, the FBI briefed those of us who were at the field that day,” Wenstrup said at a House Intelligence Committee hearing featuring FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Much to our shock that day, the FBI concluded that this was a case of the attacker seeking suicide by cop.”

“We were just astonished,” Wenstrup told me in a recent conversation. “We just went, ‘What?’ I said, ‘There’s no way. If you want to commit suicide by cop, you just pull a gun on a cop.’”

Hodgkinson had obviously done much, much more than that. and the suicide by cop theory made even less sense in light of the fact that the Capitol Police who were at the baseball field that day — the security detail for Scalise, a member of the House leadership — were sitting in an unmarked vehicle, wearing plain clothes. Hodkinson would not have known they were police.

Wenstrup also noted that the FBI had not interviewed the members — the victims — in this case. They never interviewed Duncan, who had actually spoken to the shooter. “I asked (the FBI), ‘Who did you talk to?’” Wenstrup recalled. “They took my number, called me the next day. I called them back, and never heard from them again.”

At the hearing, Wenstrup noted that, “Both the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence published products labeling this attack as a domestic violent extremism event specifically targeting Republican members of Congress. The FBI did not. The FBI still has not.”

Now, in light of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, which is widely referred to as domestic terrorism, Wenstrup wonders what the FBI was doing. The attack “could have been a massacre,” Wenstrup noted. “The attacker may have believed he could change the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives in one morning.”

[….]

The unanswered question in all this is why the FBI, at the time under the leadership of acting Director Andrew McCabe, did what it did. Even at that time, the bureau was warning Americans of the danger posed by domestic terrorists. and yet the FBI refused to publicly recognize a clear act of domestic terrorism. Was some sort of Trump-era bias involved? Was it bureaucratic infighting? Something else? It’s time the victims in the case — and also the country as a whole — got some answers.

PREVIOUS POSTS ON HODGKINSON

Bill Maher On “COVID-19 ‘Panic Porn'” (Plus: Vitamin D)

I disagree with Bill Maher on the “Climate Change ‘denial'” thingy (now “Climate Emergency” — see Patrick Moore’s book “Fake Invisible Catastrophes and Threats of Doom” for instance), but this is a worthy rant of note:

  • Study: Majority Of Americans Grossly Overestimated COVID-19 Hospitalization Rates (THE FEDERALIST)

I also think he is partially correct on the weight issue. There are other factors as well. For instance,

A Dec 11 article in Internal Medicine News is titled: “Vitamin D deficiency in COVID-19 quadrupled death rate.” study by Dr. Dieter De Smet and colleagues from AZ Delta General Hospital, Roeselare, Belgium, looked at 186 patients hospitalized early in the pandemic, in March 2020, with severe acute respiratory syndrome and confirmed COVID-19.

Almost 60 percent of patients, 47 percent of women and 67 percent of men, were vitamin D deficient on admission (a level of 25(OH)D <20 ng/mL). The deficiency was worst in men with the most severe pneumonia. The correlation of vitamin D deficiency with death, with an odds ratio of 3.87, was independent of age or comorbidities.

The report, published in the American Journal of Clinical Pathology, notes that studies involving hundreds to thousands of individuals in the U.S. and Israel showed an association between prior vitamin D deficiency and the possibility of a positive PCR test. Studies involving tens to hundreds of patients in Iran, Germany, Israel, Spain, China, and the UK reported correlations between low vitamin D levels and intensive care unit (ICU) admission, ventilator dependency, and death.

Beside its role in calcium metabolism, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D stimulates defenses against pathogen invasion of the respiratory tract and inhibits the destructive “cytokine storm.” Deficiency has been associated with more frequent viral respiratory infections and asthma attacks.

More than a billion people worldwide are deficient, Dr. DeSmet writes.

About 20 minutes of daily sun exposure to a large area of skin, between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., is needed to make enough vitamin D. Darker-skinned individuals need more. As the weather cools, vitamin D levels will be dropping—note that “flu season” happens when vitamin D levels are depleted after winter sun deprivation. Adults may need 4,000 to 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 supplements daily.

More than 90 percent of nursing home patients are reportedly vitamin D deficient. This might help explain why they account for around half of COVID deaths though they represent less than 1 percent of the population. Does supplementation help? In a French nursing home, COVID survival in patients who had recently received an oral bolus of 80,000 IU of vitamin D3 was 82 percent, compared with 44 percent in those who had not (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.11, P = 0.003—see figure below)….

(MEDSCAPE | PECKFORD 42)

And,

  • One studyTrusted Source found that, overall, about 42% of people in the United States were deficient in vitamin D. The figure rose to 82% among Black people and 70% among Hispanic people. (MEDICAL NEWS TODAY)
  • Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) analyzed data from 235 people who were admitted to the hospital with Covid-19. They found that patients older than 40 years old were 51.5 percent less likely to die from the infection if they had a sufficient level of Vitamin D, which they define as being at least 30 ng/mL. (FORBES)

JANUARY ARMSTRONG & GETTY FLASHBACK:

The Myth Of American Inequality (Armstrong & Getty)

Armstrong and Getty read from and discuss a bit an article in the WALL STREET JOURNAL entitled: The Myth Of American Inequality. See more via my post titled, “Wealth Inequality in America – Critiques On Inequality” (The below video was the update to that post)

The article is originally found at the WALL STREET JOURNAL, titled:

  • The Truth About Income Inequality: The Census Fails To Account For Taxes And Most Welfare Payments, Painting A Distorted Picture.

Here is the non-paywall article via PECKFORD 42:

Taxes and transfers in the U.S. put its income distribution in line with its large developed peers.

America is the world’s most prosperous large country, but critics often attempt to tarnish that title by claiming income is distributed less equally in the U.S. than in other developed countries. These critics point to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which ranks the U.S. as the least equal of the seven largest developed countries. American progressives often weaponize statistics like these to urge greater redistribution. But the OECD income-distribution comparison is biased because the U.S. underreports its income transfers in comparison to other nations. When the data are adjusted to account for all government programs that transfer income, the U.S. is shown to have an income distribution that aligns closely with its peers.

The OECD measures inequality by determining a country’s “Gini coefficient,” or the proportion of all income that would have to be redistributed to achieve perfect equality. A nation’s Gini coefficient would be 0 if every household had the same amount of disposable income, and it would approach 1 if a single household had all of the disposable income. The current OECD comparison, portrayed by the blue bars in the nearby chart, shows Gini coefficients for the world’s most-developed large countries, ranging from 0.29 in Germany to 0.39 in the U.S.

But there are variations in how each nation reports income. The U.S. deviates significantly from the norm by excluding several large government transfers to low-income households. Inexplicably, the Census Bureau excludes Medicare and Medicaid, which redistribute more than $760 billion a year to the bottom 40% of American households. The data also exclude 93 other federal redistribution programs that annually transfer some $520 billion to low-income households. These include the Children’s Health Insurance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. States and localities directly fund another $310 billion in redistribution programs also excluded from the Census Bureau’s submission.

This means current OECD comparisons omit about $1.6 trillion in annual redistributions to low-income Americans—close to 80% of their total redistribution receipts. This significantly skews the U.S. Gini coefficient. The correct Gini should be 0.32—not 0.39. That puts the U.S. income distribution in the middle of the seven largest developed nations.

Gini scores for other countries in the OECD ranking also might shift with better data: The OECD doesn’t publish transfers by income level for other countries. But the change in income distribution for other countries would likely be less drastic. The poorest fifth of U.S. households receive 84.2% of their disposable income from taxpayer-funded transfers, and the second quintile gets 57.8%. U.S. transfer payments constitute 28.5% of Americans’ disposable income—almost double the 15% reported by the Census Bureau. That’s a bigger share than in all large developed countries other than France, which redistributes 33.1% of its disposable income.

The U.S. also has the most progressive income taxes of its peer group. The top 10% of U.S. households earn about 33.5% of all income, but they pay 45.1% of income taxes, including Social Security and Medicare taxes. Their share of all income-related taxes is 1.35 times as large as their share of income. In Germany, the top 10% pay 1.07 times their share of earnings. The top 10% of French pay 1.1 times their share.

If the top earners pay smaller shares of income taxes in other countries, everybody else pays more. The bottom 90% of German earners pay a share of their nation’s taxes on income 77% larger than that paid by the bottom 90% of Americans. The bottom 90% in France pay nearly double the share their American counterparts pay. Even in Sweden—the supposed progressive utopia—the top 10% of earners pay only 5.9% of gross domestic product in income-related taxes, 22% less than their American peers. The bottom 90% of Swedes pay 16.3% of GDP in taxes on income, 77% more than in the U.S.

Even these numbers understate how progressive the total tax burden is in America. The U.S. has no value-added tax and collects only 35.8% of all tax revenues from non-income-tax sources, the smallest share of any OECD country. Most developed countries have large VATs and collect a far larger share of their state revenue through regressive levies.

When all transfer payments and taxes are counted, the U.S. redistributes a larger share of its disposable income than any country other than France. Relative to the share of income they earn, the share of income taxes paid by America’s high earners is greater than the share of income taxes paid by their peers in any other OECD country. The progressive dream of an America with massive income redistribution and a highly progressive tax system has already come true. To make America even more like Europe, these dreamers will have to redefine middle-income Americans as “rich” and then double their taxes.