Tag Archives: illness

Most Ominous Quote of the Week – December 12, 2020

“I don’t know how this ends without violence and death.”

Clint Watts, a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and at the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security at George Washington University, expressing concern about the response by right-wing extremist militia groups to Donald Trump’s loss

Watts also believes the worst is yet to come, adding, “They now have had time to think about what they want to do.  They have heard continuous false claims – which they want to believe – and now they are being pushed and pointed to places to mobilize.”  Watts noted the dynamic could intensify after Trump is ejected from the White House, COVID-19 becomes less of a threat, and there are more public targets as people start returning to public life.

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Best Quotes of the Week – December 12, 2020

“The mountains of misinformation are not helping the process; they’re only hurting it.”

Geoff Duncan, Republican lieutenant governor of Georgia, responding to Donald Trump’s relentless claims the elections were “stolen”

Two runoff elections for senator in Georgia on January 5 will determine control of the U.S. Senate.

“I personally think my company should pay me workers compensation for brain damage for having to read that lawsuit and related filings.  It really is one of the stupidest bits of performative leg humping we have seen in the last five years. These attorneys general are willing to beclown themselves and their states all to get in good with the losing presidential candidate.   The suit is absurd on its face.  These states seek to interfere in the internal affairs of other states when those states are not actually electing the president, but allowing their voters to choose members of the Electoral College.  Were this to succeed, which it will not, the states will start suing each other at every election as a bit of theater.”­

Erick Erickson, far-right social conservative and evangelical Christian fundamentalist radio host, in an essay on his blog

Erickson endorsed Trump’s reelection campaign, but criticized a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, denouncing it as “one of the stupidest bits of performative leg humping we have seen in the last five years.”

“We believe our Jewish community needs to be able to join and partner in solidarity with communities of color like Arab Americans, Black Americans, Indigenous people who are facing systemic injustice and be able to listen to their narratives just as we expect other communities to listen to our narrative as Jews.”

Ellen Brotsky, a volunteer leader for Jewish Voice for Peace, an organization devoted to combating all forms of ethnic and racial bias

JVP and their supporters are concerned recent changes to school curriculums about ethnic inclusivity in the state of California are overlooking people of Middle Eastern extraction.

“The allegations in the lawsuit are false and irresponsible.  Texas alleges that there are 80,000 forged signatures on absentee ballots in Georgia, but they don’t bring forward a single person who this happened to. That’s because it didn’t happen.”

Jordan Fuchs, Georgia’s deputy secretary of state, responding to a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin whose election results handed the White House to President-elect Joe Biden

In the suit, Paxton claims pandemic-era changes to election procedures in those states violated federal law and is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block the states from voting in the Electoral College.

“I feel so privileged to be the first.”

Margaret Keenan, age 90, upon becoming the first person in Great Britain to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine shot outside of clinical trials

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Tweets of the Week – December 5, 2020

Charles M. Blow

Blow was responding to this tweet by Lauren Witzke, a former Republican U.S. Senate candidate:

Jack Posobiec

In response, Sen. Rand Paul said this:

They were both referring to a previous declaration by Dr. Anthony Fauci that schools should remain closed.

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Most Ominous Quote of the Week – December 5, 2020

“By this time next week, we are going to be talking about 3,000 deaths a day – that’s 9/11 every single day.”

Dr. Jonathan Reiner, cardiologist and professor of medicine at George Washington University, to CNN

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Best Quotes of the Week – December 5, 2020

“Just 100 days to mask, not forever – 100 days.  And I think we’ll see a significant reduction.”

President Elect Joe Biden, urging Americans to wear masks to help stop spread of COVID-19

“To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have affected a different outcome in the election.”

– U.S. Attorney General William Barr, confirming that various complaints by the Trump Administration of voter fraud in the recent elections are unfounded.

“Mr. President, you have not condemned these actions or this language. Senators, you have not condemned this language or these actions. This has to stop. We need you to step up, and if you’re going to take a position of leadership, show some.”

Gabriel Sterling, the Voting Systems Manager for the Georgia Secretary of State’s office, during a press conference Tuesday afternoon after weeks of harassment, threats, and division

Sterling called out President Trump and Georgia Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler for not condemning ongoing threats made against Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, his wife, and numerous elections officials and contractors.

Sterling said the “straw that broke the camel’s back” occurred when a 20-something contractor discovered a noose in front of his home with his name on it after an online video claiming to show him “manipulate data.”

“He just took a job,” Sterling said, adding he chose to have a high-profile job, but the young man who was threatened was just doing his job.  “People started accusing him of treason.”

“I am not going to be intimidated by these threats from telling the truth to the American people.”

Christopher Krebs, former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, in an essay for the Washington Post

Donald Trump had terminated Krebs via Twitter on November 17 after CISA rebuked the President’s claims of rampant voter fraud in the November 3 elections.  Trump campaign lawyer Joe di Genova had suggested Krebs should be shot.

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Photos of the Week – November 28, 2020

These are images of people waiting at various food banks across the United States in the days leading up to Thanksgiving.  I’m sure these people are thrilled to know the Dow Jones Industrial reached 30,000 this week.  This happened in the richest goddamn country in the world.

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Thanksgiving 2020

Before eating, always take time to thank the food.

Arapaho Proverb

I don’t know if this can possibly be a happy Thanksgiving for anyone in the United States right now – what with all of the chaos that has made this year a time most of us want to forget.  For me and millions of others across this nation, not much good has come of it.  If anything, though, Thanksgiving holiday moves us closer to the end of the year and further into the future.  As much as religious and social conservatives despise it, time does move forward.

I’m primarily thankful I’ve reached this point without losing my mind.  I had some moments a few months ago when I didn’t know if I’d live to see the dawn.  Depression and anxiety have always been two of greatest nemeses.

But here I am.  I’m still thankful I have the same small cadre of friends I’ve had for years.  And I’m thankful I have a home and have had enough financial resources lately to get through this – the worst period of my life to date.  Too many people have neither.

While I’m glad I have some semblance of hope, I know there are so many people struggling more than me.  As this holiday known for family gatherings and an abundance of food hobbles along through a global pandemic, I can only cringe at the large numbers of my fellow Americans dealing with so-called food insecurity – a polite term for hunger.

There have been an untold number of food drives the past few weeks across the country; where charity outfits have been distributing free food to people.  People who are unemployed or underemployed and on the cusp of homelessness.  While the elite continue to waddle in their gluttony and an incompetent Congress dismisses the suffering the way a serial killer tosses their victims, literally millions of Americans are wondering how they’re going to survive.  This – in the wealthiest and most powerful goddamn country on Earth.

I can beseech those people to understand there IS a tomorrow.  The sun WILL rise.  And, as tough and grueling as it is, they can’t give up on themselves.

Image: Banahas, prickly pear paddles, dandelion salad and white tail deer. Photo by Caleb Condit & Rebecca Norden

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Spread This!

Be careful what you say.  And write.  And post in an advertisement.  In trying to keep Americans’ spirits energized for the upcoming holidays, the Giant Foods grocery chain created this jewel for its food platter offerings – without fact-checking the verbiage.  In the midst of a lethal pandemic the last thing anyone desires is a “super-spreader” event.  I mean, we already have one in the White House.

Giant Foods apologized for the ad and promptly pulled it.  I have to admit all that cheese, shrimp and wine looks delectable!  Just don’t breathe on it!

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Worst Quotes of the Week – November 21, 2020

“There are mail-in ballots.  Some people in some places receive four or five of those, and they used four and five of those.  Let’s say that they got four in the mail and they sent the four in, there’s three of them that are crying out, ‘Wrong! This is wrong. This is not right. This is deception.’  It’s crying out.  There are others through software that votes have changed, you better believe those ballots are crying out, ‘This is a lie. This is not right. This is not right.’  All the way down the line, even to people who have died and gone to Heaven. … Especially if those people were born again, they’re in Heaven right now and they’re crying out.  They’re crying out against the injustice of this. You cannot come against the Lord of the Sabbath, the Lord of angel armies.  Angels have been dispatched; they are out there.  That is why that voice is crying out. It is not just the people. It is the ballot itself.”

George Pearsons, senior pastor at Eagle Mountain International Church in Newark, Texas, on the 2020 presidential election

“He is not president-elect until the votes are certified.  So the answer to that is no.  And I don’t know what basis you or anybody else would claim that he’s president-elect before the votes are certified and these contests are resolved.”

– Texas Sen. John Cornyn, on a call with various news organizations

Cornyn also admitted Donald Trump may not have been reelected.

“There are legal claims that are being challenged in court, and everybody on the ballot has certain access rights and remedies, and if they want to push that, they are able. Once those are adjudicated and the process plays out, I will accept the results of the election.”

– Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, refusing to acknowledge that Joe Biden won the state

“It’s Orwellian in a place like Oregon to say if you gather in numbers more than six we might come to your house and arrest you and you get 30 days of jail time.  That’s not the American way.”

Kayleigh McEnany, White House Press Secretary, in response to health care officials’ advice not to have large family gatherings for Thanksgiving

McEnany tested positive for the COVID-19 virus in October.

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Best Quotes of the Week – November 21, 2020

“A president is a public servant. They are temporary occupants of the office, by design.  And when your time is up, then it is your job to put the country first and think beyond your own ego, and your own interests, and your own disappointments.”

Barack Obama, on CBS’ “60 Minutes”

“My whole campaign was about ‘COVID, COVID, COVID,’.  And when I talked to people through their storm doors, they would say they wanted responsible COVID management.”

Dr. Kristin Lyerly, Democratic candidate for a Wisconsin State Assembly seat, on what incited her campaign

“We’re stuck with Dan Patrick and a $1 million bounty for a fraud that never happened.”

Houston Chronicle contributor Cort McMurray, on Texas Lte. Gov. Dan Patrick’s monetary offer to anyone who can prove voter fraud in the elections

“I think the hardest thing to watch is that people are still looking for something else and a magic answer and they do not want to believe COVID is real.  Their last dying words are, ‘This can’t be happening.  It’s not real.’”

Jodi Doering, a South Dakota nurse on how some of her patients prefer to believe they have pneumonia or something other than COVID-19, even if they’re dying and despite seeing their positive test results

“Yes, the Trump administration is a bit like the COVID pandemic. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but the worst — the last chapter is just the worst.”

David Brooks, on Trump’s refusal to concede

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