Tag Archives: politics

Author of Two Retracted COVID-19 Studies Once Bemoaned Misconduct The Lancet retracted a controversial “observational study” aboutthe use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without antibiotics or zinc in the treatment of COVID-19. The retraction came after scientists, doctors, etc.  raised questions about the data  The study’s authors were not able to access and vouch for the underlying data, which came from the company Surgisphere. The New...

Word is circulating that Stephen Miller is writing Donald Trump’s speech on race relations. I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that Trump’s “solution” to the current malaise in the U.S. will involve extending a ban on immigration and expanding enforcement and expulsion of undocumented individuals. This seems like a safe bet to me because Miller really is a one-trick pony and Trump relishes rehashing his greatest hits. Maybe Miller will toss in some...

Echoes and contrasts with 1968  – by New Deal democrat  As I mention from time to time, I am a fossil. I am old enough to remember 1968, when I was a politically precocious teenybopper. In the past week, I have read a number of commentaries wondering if this year is similar. In short: yes. In 1968 it appeared that the world was spiraling out of control. The Vietnam war was at its height, with 300 soldiers killed every week. Protests against the war were...

Chattahoochee County, Georgia, had a significant increase in cases from a relatively high (ca. 50) base. Fort Benning’s new cases appear to be the source, even as those are not fully reported in the NYT data yet. Scurry County, Texas, is more typical; a 1200% (not a typo) increase—but from a base of two (2). Curiously, the Snyder, TX, website still lists 33 cases in the county, while the NYT data indicates about seven of those have been removed. This...

Summary of initial polling: Overwhelming agreement that officers should be fired Strong agreement with murder charges Majority agreement that policing is biased against blacks Majority support for protesters Concern about violence and looting, support for curfews and use of National Guard, and even military Trump net 17 point disapproval of handling of situation My takeaways – 1) there is real hope for progress here if the protests remain largely peaceful...

There are two insurance-related police reform ideas being discussed. One approach focuses on municipal liability insurance.  Many municipalities do not purchase liability insurance to cover lawsuits against officers, instead choosing to self-insure.  This is potentially a problem because insurers actually play an important role in loss control.  They provide information and services related to procedures, training, the risks posed by individual officers,...

Has Trump Created A Praetorian Guard In Washington? President Trump has already shown his Orwellian tendencies by giving a speech on Monday in the Rose Garden in which he declared his “respect” for peaceful protesters at the very moment that forces ultimately responding to an order by Trump violently attacked peaceful protesters in front of the White House to remove them from Lafayette Square, as well as priests and parishioners from the patio of their...

The 2.5 million employment gain does not look too impressive from this perspective.

“Ryan is looking down right now, and you know that, and he is very happy, because I think he just broke a record.” “Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying this is a great thing that’s happening for our country,” Trump’s cynical invoking of George Floyd yesterday has a history that explains what he imagined he was doing. In the first week after his inauguration, Trump approved a Navy Seal raid on suspected positions of al Queda in the...

I saw the first pic on Hullabaloo and I pulled a second pick from Google. The first pic looks remarkedly like General Flynn. Digsby has an article up called “More of this, please” from where the first picture came of a protestor to Trump’s visit to Maine. The look-a-like Flynn is protesting Trump’s visit to Maine. Do you agree on the similarity? Agree???