TallGuyJohninBKK

There are differing opinions on the impact of RFK Jr. dropping out of the presidential race. But here's one by a recognized expert: RFK Jr. dropping out would benefit Kamala Harris: Historian Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. withdrew from the ballot in Arizona If he drops out of race, it would boost Harris' campaign, historian says Kennedy campaign 'disappearing' wipes out negative key for Harris: Lichtman Aug 23, 2024 CHICAGO (NewsNation) — A historian who’s correctly predicted nearly every presidential race since 1984 says that if Robert F. Kennedy Jr. drops out of the 2024 election, Democratic nominee Kamala Harris will benefit. Allan Lichtman, an American University professor, has used a formula of 13 true-or-false questions, or “keys,” in his winning predictions. (more) https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/2024-election/rfk-jr-dropping-out-benefit-kamala-harris-historian/

From everything I read, Paxlovid seems to be generally considered UNDER-utilized as a COVID treatment, partly because of the relatively high costs if people are having to pay out of pocket, but also because its recommended use is only within the first 5 days of developing COVID symptoms... And people often just don't move so fast in terms of getting tested, seeing a doctor to get a prescription, etc... Some general background here: 13 Things To Know About Paxlovid, the Latest COVID-19 Pill June 20, 2024 "Paxlovid, an oral antiviral pill that can be taken at home, is the go-to treatment for COVID-19. If you are at high risk for severe disease from COVID, and you take it within the first five days of experiencing symptoms, it will lower your risk of getting so sick that you need to be hospitalized." ... 2. When should I take Paxlovid? You have to take Paxlovid within five days of developing symptoms. Like all antivirals, Paxlovid works best early in the course of an illness—in this case, within the first five days of symptom onset, says Jeffrey Topal, MD, a Yale Medicine infectious diseases specialist... ... 6. How well does Paxlovid work? In November 2022, the CDC reported on a real-world study that showed adults who took Paxlovid within five days of a COVID diagnosis had a 51% lower hospitalization rate within the next 30 days than those who were not given the drug. The study included people who had been vaccinated or had a previous infection, which the CDC said implied the drug should be offered to people who are eligible regardless of their vaccination status. However, a study by Pfizer, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in April 2024, suggested that Paxlovid may not be beneficial for people at low to moderate risk who have mild illness and those who have been fully vaccinated. Yale Medicine https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/13-things-to-know-paxlovid-covid-19

Re Bolton: https://archive.ph/tYsO2

Or in reality, it's because she opposed insurrectionist and felon Donald Trump as the nominal leader of her own party, and the Republicans in her district penalized her for her integrity and patriotism.

Rats and sinking ship come to mind: Top Truth Social execs—including the CEO—are shedding stock before Trump even can Sep 4, 2024 ... While Trump isn’t able to start selling his shares yet, some other insiders have started shedding their stake in the company. Trump Media’s chief financial officer and treasurer, Phillip Juhan, disclosed last week he’s selling $1.9 million worth of stock, according to SEC filings. Trump Media’s general counsel, Scott Glabe, chief operating officer Andrew Northwall, and chief technology officer Vladimir Novachki each sold shares as well, according to Aug. 22 SEC filings. Devin Nunes, a former Republican congressman and Trump Media’s president and CEO, also sold off $632,000 worth of stock last Thursday. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/top-truth-social-execs-including-193113371.html But, if Trump somehow manages to become U.S. dictator for life (who needs "stolen" elections, after all), perhaps there will be a resurgence here... Let's hope NOT!

Trump Media erases all 2024 stock gains days before Donald Trump can cash out his $1.95B stake September 5, 2024 https://fortune.com/2024/09/05/donald-trump-truth-social-tmtg-stock-price/ Donald Trump has lost $4 billion in wealth amid bumpy ride for Trump Media & Technology Group September 5, 2024 Former President Donald Trump's personal stake in Trump Media & Technology Group topped more than $6 billion in March when its shares soared after making their public market debut. Nearly six months later, that fortune has dwindled to less than $2 billion amid losses and shrinking revenue. A months-long slump has lopped more than 70% from the stock's valuation since its late March peak, with the shares hitting a new low on Wednesday. As the biggest shareholder in Trump Media & Technology, Trump has suffered the largest losses, although the decline is only on paper for now since he's not yet able to sell any of his shares. Trump owns about 60% of Trump Media & Technology Group, a money-losing social media company that trades under the ticker DJT (the former president's initials). The company has gained a following among Trump's supporters, typically retail investors who have flocked to groups on Truth Social to express concern about the declining share price and blame short sellers for the stock's swoon. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-djt-stock-trump-media-technology-group-truth-social/

Triggered!!!

Can't help it that you're unaware of the details and political affiliations of the various U.S. broadcast networks and their political leanings. Sinclair, Inc., doing business as Sinclair Broadcast Group, is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate... the company is the second-largest television station operator in the United States by number of stations, after Nexstar Media Group, owning or operating 193 stations across the country in over 100 markets, covering 40% of American households. ... "A 2019 study in the American Political Science Review found that "stations bought by Sinclair reduce coverage of local politics, increase national coverage and move the ideological tone of coverage in a conservative direction relative to other stations operating in the same market".[4][5] The company has been criticized by journalists and media analysts for requiring its stations to broadcast packaged video segments and its news anchors to read prepared scripts that contain pro-Trump editorial content, including warnings about purported "fake news" in mainstream media, while Trump has tweeted support for watching Sinclair over CNN and NBC." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_Broadcast_Group

You really should know your own world better... Fox, OAN, NewsMax and others, including Nexstar and Sinclair: Nexstar's NewsNation is just another right-wing cable network The network, host of the next GOP primary debate, spreads racist tropes, promotes anti-immigrant hate, and defends men reported for sexual misconduct 11/21/23 https://www.mediamatters.org/cable-news/nexstars-newsnation-just-another-right-wing-cable-network Nexstar's NewsNation Faces Turmoil, Staff Departures Amid Conservative Bias Concerns Mar 9, 2021 Nexstar‘s NewsNation channel is in turmoil as it faces staff defections amid concerns that the outlet is being pushed by management to lean to the right in its news coverage. The simmering controversy for the channel previously known as WGN America gained steam on Tuesday when Nexstar confirmed that Jennifer Lyons, the WGN-TV Chicago news veteran who led the launch of the primetime “NewsNation” block last September, has resigned her post as VP of news. That follows several lower-level departures last week that appear to have been prompted by concerns that former Fox News executive Bill Shine is leading a charge to steer the channel to the right. Shine is a consultant to Nexstar and NewsNation but does not have a formal role at the company. https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/newsnation-jennifer-lyon-nexstar-bias-1234926851/ Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is an American publicly traded media company with headquarters in Irving, Texas, Midtown Manhattan, and Chicago. The company is the largest television station owner in the United States, owning 197 television stations across the U.S., most of which are affiliated with the four "major" U.S. television networks and MyNetworkTV https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nexstar_Media_Group and No. 2 rank U.S. television station owner Sinclair Broadcast Group as well: Sinclair, Inc., doing business as Sinclair Broadcast Group, is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate... the company is the second-largest television station operator in the United States by number of stations, after Nexstar Media Group, owning or operating 193 stations across the country in over 100 markets, covering 40% of American households. ... "A 2019 study in the American Political Science Review found that "stations bought by Sinclair reduce coverage of local politics, increase national coverage and move the ideological tone of coverage in a conservative direction relative to other stations operating in the same market".[4][5] The company has been criticized by journalists and media analysts for requiring its stations to broadcast packaged video segments and its news anchors to read prepared scripts that contain pro-Trump editorial content, including warnings about purported "fake news" in mainstream media, while Trump has tweeted support for watching Sinclair over CNN and NBC." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_Broadcast_Group

Fiction..... https://www.allsides.com/media-bias/media-bias-chart

You mean like all of Trump's billionaire buddies? And Trump's tax cuts for the rich? Here Are Trump’s Top Billionaire Donors Some of the nation’s wealthiest people are powering Trump’s bid to return to the White House: His 26 biggest billionaire backers, worth a combined $143 billion, have poured $162 million into the effort so far. Aug 14, 2024 https://www.forbes.com/sites/leokamin/2024/08/14/here-are-trumps-top-billionaire-donors/ A true man of the people... NOT! Trump pressed oil executives to give $1 billion for his campaign, people in industry say “This is a scandal” and “an indictment of the system” — but probably legal, one legal watchdog told POLITICO. 05/09/2024 Former President Donald Trump asked oil industry executives last month to donate $1 billion to aid his campaign to retake the White House, three people familiar with the conversation told POLITICO — a request that campaign finance experts said appeared troubling but is probably legal. The request, first reported Thursday by The Washington Post, occurred during a meeting of industry executives at the former president’s home in Palm Beach, Florida. The oil industry has a long list of policy actions it would want Trump to take, including dismantling parts of President Joe Biden’s green agenda and rolling back pollution regulations that threaten to crimp their profits. As POLITICO reported Wednesday, oil executives are also preparing some highly specific requests for Trump, including executive orders they hope he would sign if reelected. (more) https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/09/trump-asks-oil-executives-campaign-finance-00157131

August 3, 2024 "It is rare for Cabinet members to not support the president they served. They are normally some of a president’s most loyal supporters. But in the case of Trump’s Cabinet, these uniquely qualified insiders — spanning from the vice president and chiefs of staff to more than a dozen agencies, such as Agriculture, Commerce, Homeland Security and Transportation — are deeply divided about whether he should return to power." Among the former cabinet members who the Post said won't say whether or not they'll support Trump: https://archive.ph/tYsO2 https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/interactive/2024/trump-cabinet-endorsements/

Dick Cheney, meanwhile, is hardly alone among prominent Republicans in NOT being on the Trump 2024 train: During Donald Trump’s term, 42 people served in his Cabinet. Nearly half of them haven’t endorsed his 2024 candidacy. There’s no precedent for this. Aug. 6, 2024 ... "By the Post’s count, 42 people, at some point between January 2017 and January 2021, served in Trump’s Cabinet. Based on the latest tally, 24 of them — roughly 57% — are publicly supporting their former boss’s ongoing candidacy. The rest either won’t take a position or have declared publicly that they won’t support the Republican Party’s 2024 nominee. ... As ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos recently summarized during an appearance on MSNBC, “His secretary of state called him a ‘moron.’ [Former Defense Secretary James] Mattis says he doesn’t even respect the Constitution. John Kelly says he’s the worst person he ever met. Think about that applying to any other president of the United States at any other time." (more) https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/half-trumps-former-cabinet-secretaries-havent-backed-2024-election-rcna165185

Some interesting developments going on on the endorsements front: Eighty-eight corporate leaders endorse Harris in new letter, including CEOs of Yelp, Box Sep 6 2024 Eighty-eight corporate leaders signed a new letter Friday endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president. Signers include former 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch, Snap Chairman Michael Lynton, Yelp boss Jeremy Stoppelman and Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen. [emphasis added] If the Democratic nominee wins the White House, they contend, “the business community can be confident that it will have a president who wants American industries to thrive.” https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/06/harris-endorsed-trump-murdoch-yelp-snap-ripple.html But this was the most intriguing one above to me: "They include James Murdoch, former CEO of 21st Century Fox and an heir to the Murdoch family media empire." Interesting.... One of right-wing media mogul (Fox & NY Post) Rupert Murdoch's sons endorsing Kamala Harris for president over Donald Trump! James Rupert Jacob Murdoch (born 13 December 1972) is a British-American businessman.[1] He is the younger son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and the former chief executive officer (CEO) of 21st Century Fox from 2015 to 2019.[2] He was the chairman and CEO for Europe and Asia of News Corporation until 2013 when it was split into News Corp and 21st Century Fox. He was formerly a director of News Corp and was a member of the office of the chairman." But there were prior hints: "In July 2020, Murdoch resigned from the board of directors of News Corp. His resignation letter stated that his resignation was "due to disagreements over certain editorial content published by the Company’s news outlets and certain other strategic decisions" ... In 2020, Murdoch and his wife each donated US$615,000 to the Biden campaign. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Murdoch

And... Trump Talks About Sending Tweets at 3 A.M. and His Pal Jeffrey Epstein on Lex Fridman Podcast Updated September 4, 2024 ... Trump clearly got very confused and misspoke a number of times, including when he talked about appearing on “The Answer” with Rosie O’Donnell when he meant the daytime talk show “The View.” The former president also rambled about how Joe Biden “thinks he looks good in a bathing suit, which he doesn’t.” One of the more awkward moments during Trump’s relatively short 45-minute chat (most Fridman interviews are several hours), was when he was asked about the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and any files that Trump might release if he becomes president again. ... “Um, he was a good salesman. He was, you know, a hale and hearty type of guy,” while suggesting he might release files on Epstein. In reality, Epstein was one of Trump’s friends and there’s an incredibly creepy video of the two dancing with their lecherous looks in the 1990s. (more) https://gizmodo.com/trump-talks-about-sending-tweets-at-3-a-m-and-his-pal-jeffrey-epstein-on-lex-fridman-podcast-2000494377

News reporting on the Trump interview in question: Trump Slurs and Stumbles Way Through Conspiracy-Laden Interview Donald Trump majorly fumbled an attempt to defend his 2020 election conspiracies. September 4, 2024 https://newrepublic.com/post/185563/donald-trump-slurs-stumbles-conspiracy-interview

My summary: Amid new signs of easing in the U.S.'s continuing mid-year COVID surge, weekly COVID deaths rose again to a fully reported tally of 971 for week ending August 10, more than triple the weekly low of 308 COVID deaths in early June. Still, the current weekly COVID deaths tally remains less than half of that reported at the beginning of 2024 amid the now-typical year-end/holidays COVID surge. The rate of sampled hospitalizations due to COVID reversed prior weekly increases and began declining for the week ending August 17. Two other publicly reported COVID forward-looking indicators -- Emergency Department visits and positive COVID testing rates -- continued modest prior declines in the latest update through August 31, though the positive COVID testing rate remained high at a 16.3% rate. CDC COVID update for Sept. 6, 2024: Weekly national summary "COVID-19 activity remains elevated nationally, but there are continued signs of decline in many areas. COVID-19 test positivity, emergency department visits, and rates of COVID-19–associated hospitalizations remain elevated, particularly among adults 65+ and children under 2 years. Surges like this are known to occur throughout the year, including during the summer months." https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/data/index.html According to the CDC, the "early indicators" of COVID test positivity and COVID related Emergency Department visits both declined slightly for the week ending Aug. 31. The rate of COVID hospitalizations also declined slightly, but the rate of COVID-related deaths rose for the latest reporting periods. Deaths are typically a trailing indicator compared to the other statistics. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home Reported COVID deaths in the U.S. reached nearly 1,000 (971) for latest finalized reporting week ending Aug. 10: * the three gray columns above indicate totals for those recent weeks remain partial. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_weeklydeaths_select_00 With the absence of any comprehensive COVID infection testing and reporting program in the U.S. and reduced reporting of COVID hospitalization data, public health officials increasingly have turned to wastewater monitoring of COVID viral content as a primary forward-looking indicator of COVID activity and trends in the country, as follows: "Wastewater (sewage) can be tested to detect traces of infectious diseases circulating in a community, even if people don’t have symptoms. You can use these data as an early warning that levels of infections may be increasing or decreasing in your community." https://www.cdc.gov/nwss/rv/COVID19-nationaltrend.html https://www.cdc.gov/nwss/rv/COVID19-currentlevels.html

Here's the charts from the latest UKHSA weekly COVID update for England as of Sept. 5: My text summary - New weekly COVID deaths reported at 127 (down 24% for the week ending Aug. 23) fell to their lowest level since late May. Among two other publicly reported indicators, weekly COVID cases (not an especially reliable indicator due to sparse testing) increased 4.4% for the week ending Aug. 28. But the positivity rate for COVID testing (7-day rolling average) continued declining down to 9% from a peak of almost 16% earlier in the summer. There was no updated data for COVID new hospital admissions since the last weekly report. The latest numbers are second consecutive week of data (reported deaths and testing positivity) showing England's spring-summer COVID surge is finally easing. https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/ https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/topics/covid-19#deaths Weekly COVID deaths from the recent low in May: Weekly data for deaths with COVID-19 on the death certificate in England Up to and including 16 August 2024 (some recent prior week figures have been revised vs prior weekly reports): Date -- Amount 23 Aug 2024 -- 127 16 Aug 2024 -- 167 9 Aug 2024 -- 200 2 Aug 2024 -- 197 26 Jul 2024 -- 182 19 Jul 2024 -- 216 12 Jul 2024 -- 205 5 Jul 2024 -- 165 28 Jun 2024 -- 186 21 Jun 2024 -- 149 14 Jun 2024 -- 158 7 Jun 2024 -- 146 31 May 2024 -- 113 24 May 2024 -- 147 17 May 2024 -- 168 10 May 2024 -- 93 https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/ https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/topics/covid-19#cases https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/topics/covid-19#testing

And actually, the ONE California group KKK guy cited above notwithstanding, the KKK's establishment did support and endorse Trump in 2016: David Duke, KKK support Donald Trump Anderson Cooper 360 Donald Trump's campaign is getting support from hate groups such as the KKK and their former leader David Duke. CNN's Drew Griffin reports. https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/11/04/kkk-2016-election-donald-trump-david-duke-griffin-dnt-ac360.cnn AND Ku Klux Klan newspaper declares support for Trump November 3, 2016 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Ku Klux Klan newspaper has declared support for Donald Trump's Republican run for U.S. president, saying America became great because it was a white, Christian republic. The Crusader, one of the white supremacist group's most prominent publications, published a lengthy endorsement and defense of Trump's message on the front page of its current issue under the headline: "Make America Great Again." ... Earlier this year, former KKK leader David Duke of Louisiana voiced support for Trump, saying white people are threatened in America and that he hears echoes of his views in Trump's rhetoric. https://www.reuters.com/article/world/us/ku-klux-klan-newspaper-declares-support-for-trump-idUSKBN12X2ID/ Birds of a feather flocking together....

Well, the ONE California chapter KKK guy cited in the above news report was at least right about one thing: "When the Telegraph asked Quigg why he reneged on his promise to support Trump in the race, he replied: "We don’t like his hair. We think it’s a toupee. He won’t do what he says he will do. He says he’s going to build a 20-foot high fence along with border with Mexico and make them pay. How’s he going to do that?" Surprise: Donald Trump’s Border Wall That Mexico Never Paid for... https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/09/donald-trump-border-wall-damage Fact check: Mexico never paid for it. But what about Trump's other border wall promises? Promise: The wall would cost $8-$12 billion, and Mexico would pay for it. Status: $15 billion, and U.S. taxpayers paid for it. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/fact-check-mexico-never-paid-it-what-about-trump-s-n1253983

Hard to find any humor among this sorry, pathetic bunch... But this one below from Fuentes (from the OP article above) really takes the cake! Are you listening, Donald? ""So, why did we do Stop the Steal? Why did did anyone go to Jan. 6? Why did any one go to jail? ... It would have been good to know that before 1,600 people got charged," Fuentes said on his podcast, referring to the criminal charges for those who invaded and ransacked the Capitol. "It would’ve been good to know that before (I) had all my money frozen, put on a no-fly list, banned from everything, lost all my bank and payment processing.” DUH!!!! Nick, maybe take a long pause next time before you believe anything, or act on anything, that Donald Trump says.

Musk & X also are facing similar problems in the EU: Like Brazil, the European Union also has an X problem September 05, 2024 Brussels — Elon Musk's woes are hardly limited to Brazil as he now risks possible EU sanctions in the coming months for allegedly breaking new content rules. ... Politicians worldwide and digital rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns about Musk's actions since taking over what was then Twitter in late 2022, including sacking many employees tasked with content moderation and maintaining ties with EU regulators. ... The European Union could decide within months to take action against X, including possible fines, as part of an ongoing probe into whether the platform is breaching a landmark content moderation law, the Digital Services Act (DSA). ... The list of governments angry with Musk is growing. He also raised hackles over the summer in the UK during days of rioting sparked by online misinformation that the suspect behind a mass stabbing that killed three girls was a Muslim asylum seeker. (more) https://www.voanews.com/a/like-brazil-the-european-union-also-has-an-x-problem/7772200.html

"The indictments came after a lengthy investigation into Biden’s business dealings while his father was vice president, which Republican lawmakers and former president Donald Trump have tried to use as evidence of corruption within the Biden family. No evidence has surfaced publicly to suggest any wrongdoing by Joe Biden. [emphasis added] Tax evasion is common — American individuals and companies underpay their taxes by hundreds of billions of dollars each year — but criminal charges for tax evasion are rare. The Internal Revenue Service often does not find out about underpayment of taxes at all, and when agents do, they typically handle it by auditing the taxpayer and charging them fees, not by charging them with a crime. AND "Special counsel David Weiss charged Biden last year with three felonies and six misdemeanors, including failing to file and pay taxes, tax evasion and filing false tax returns. He is accused of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in federal taxes from 2016 through 2019, though he has since repaid that amount. [emphasis added] Washington Post: https://archive.ph/oDn7u#selection-1319.0-1319.391 https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/09/05/hunter-biden-alford-guilty-plea-taxes/

This one in the report you cite above from back in January: "Republican and Democratic senators are taking to the airwaves, scrambling to pass severe restrictions on migrants flooding across the U.S.-Mexico border. There's just one thing: Their plan is all but dead. Why it matters: The Senate might pass the plan, which would be one of the harshest immigration bills of the century. President Biden is ready to sign it. But House Republicans — egged on by former President Trump — already are planning to shut it down." So let's be very clear here about just who is responsible for there being no legislation to address the U.S.-Mexico border issues -- Trump, and his sycophant or fearful Republican lawmakers.

Making friends around the world.... 😞 Brazil's Supreme Court upholds nationwide ban on Elon Musk's X Musk has criticized Alexandre de Moraes, a top Brazilian judge, over his efforts to crackdown on right-wing online disinformation on X. Sept. 4, 2024 Brazil’s Supreme Court has upheld a nationwide ban on X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, who has been openly feuding with a judge over the proliferation of right-wing political misinformation on the website. A Supreme Court panel decision on Monday affirmed a Friday ruling from Alexandre de Moraes, a Brazilian Supreme Court justice, to suspend X over concerns about disinformation and the company’s refusal to appoint a local legal representative as required by law. Moraes also said that users who circumvent the ban with a virtual private network, or VPN, could be fined 50,000 reais — or roughly $9,000 — a day. Moraes has aggressively cracked down on online disinformation in the past few years in what he has described as a bid to protect Brazilian democracy. His suspension of X was the culmination of months of escalating tensions between him and Musk, who has used the platform to amplify right-wing grievances over “free speech” in Brazil and accuse Moraes of trying to suppress right-wing voices on X. (more) https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/elon-musk-x-brazil-ban-supreme-court-rcna169356 Nothing can be allowed to interfere with Musk's use of X / Twitter to promote his right-wing disinformation allies.