The National Center for Health Studies just issued it’s life expectancy report for 2020.  Not surprisingly, life expectancy in the US fell in 2020 fueled by COVID-19 deaths.  The shocking thing is how much in fell, by 1.5 years from 2019, from 78.8 to 77.3 years.  75% of those deaths were directly attributable to COVID-19.  This is the largest single year drop in US life expectancy since WWII. Trump’s incompetence, repeated all over the country by Trump Mini Me governors, caused millions of unnecessary infections and hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths.  The US has 4% of global population, but over 20% of COVID infections and deaths.

There’s simply no excuse for it, but the predictable result of the election of incompetents to high office.  Electing Donald Trump to the presidency was the single largest mistake made by voters in our entire history, and we have paid for it in treasure and deaths; even worse, we will continue to pay for this bumbling for generations to come.

This is how you do it.  Katie Hopkins, sort of the UK’s version of Tucker Carlson, is very much a controversial personality, first gaining attention as a contestant on the UK version of The Apprentice about 14 years ago.  Since then, she’s been carrying the water for the extreme right in Europe writing columns and talking on radio and television.

As part of a new program to improve the economy by allowing television and movie crews into the country, Hopkins was granted a special visa into Australia to participate in the Australian version of the television show, Big Brother.  Under Australian quarantine rules, she was required to quarantine in a hotel for 14 days.  Under these rules she was to stay in her room and food would be brought to her.  Also under those rules, she was to wait 30 seconds after a door knock and then answer the door wearing a mask to retrieve the food brought to her.  She thought it would be really funny to not do that, but to immediately answer the door sans not only a mask, but also clothing.  AND she videoed herself doing that and then posted the video on social media.  She was trying to attract attention and draw a reprimand so she could then publicize government tyranny.

Well, she drew more than attention and a reprimand.  Officials from New South Wales arrested her, fined her $1,000 Australian dollars, and promptly put her on a plane back to the UK.  Australia is having none of the anti-science, anti-vax nonsense, and is actively working to protect its citizens, especially from idiots like Hopkins.  Oh, and here’s the best part – Big Brother Australia fired her from the show.

Boom.

The Washington Post has published a harrowing account by insiders of Trump’s case of Covid19 last October that was downplayed and lied about since the day he got sick.  As we all assumed, Trump was a LOT more ill than his staff or doctors lead us to believe, and he left for the hospital only when convinced how bad it would look if he waited so long that he would be taken on a gurney rather than walking to Marine One.  The story also confirms what we all assumed, that he lived ONLY because he was president.  WH doctors poured every known treatment to him as he got more ill, including the experimental therapy, the monoclonal antibody treatment.  And then HHS secretary Alex Azar pulled strings so Trump could jump the line in front of others.  At the time Trump received the treatment, only 10 people had received it.  That treatment, and the others performed at the same time (which was unprecedented) undoubtedly saved his sorry life.

Trump’s contempt for science, human life, and common sense is well known.  He forced aides to remove their masks in his presence, even while complaining to them that WH visitors would often get too close to him during events he insisted on holding.  Covid19 outbreaks became so common that then CDC director Robert Redfield labeled 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as “not safe”. Because of Trump’s defiant ignorance, untold numbers of staffers, their families, and visitors were exposed and fell ill.  Almost 900 Secret Service employees contracted the infection, HALF of them special agents who protected Trump, his family, and Pence.  God knows how many fell ill from exposure during Trump’s idiotic Hitleresque rallies.

The worst part of this story, though, was that the gargantuan effort to save Trump actually backfired.  Everyone had assumed that Trump having a near death experience would change him and he would reverse himself on the Coronavirus response, encouraging mitigation measures and preparing for the vaccine.  Doctors were trying to decide when they would start speaking their mind about the disease.  Staffers were preparing for a reversal of Trump idiocy.  They were all wrong.  Literally dead wrong.  Trump insisted on returning to the WH early, and when he did return he was still very ill, but even more defiant.  He insisted on climbing the stairs on the South Portico and barely made it.  He then turned to the cameras and yanked off his mask revealing his heavy orange stage makeup, turned and stalked back into the WH.  Nothing changed.

That was the day that hope died because Trump didn’t.  And that’s the truth.

Alaska state senator Lora Reinbold is one of those: loud-mouthed, science denier, and anti-vaxxer.  She steadfastly refuses to follow COVID protocols, even refusing to wear an appropriate mask at the state capitol in Juneau and railing about “mask tyranny”.  Being a falsehood-spouting Republican, Reinbold is an active member of the Stupid Caucus of the GOP.  Her behavior has been so egregious (even to her fellow Republicans) that she was removed as chair of the state senate judiciary committee and banned from certain parts of the capitol for her repeated violations of COVID protocols and berating other senators.  She was even fined for refusing to follow protocols.

Reinbold’s behavior has now come with really serious consequences, and it’s hilarious. Alaska Airlines is the only airline that flies between Reinhold’s home in Anchorage and the state capital of Juneau, and she has clashed with airline employees over federal mask mandates and COVID protocols in place to protect travelers, and publicly complained about the restrictions.  Exasperated, the airline finally banned her this weekend from flying on the airline, period.  Announcing the ban to the media, the airline’s spokesman said,

“We have notified Senator Lora Reinbold that she is not permitted to fly with us for her continued refusal to comply with employee instruction regarding the current mask policy.  This suspension is effective immediately, pending further review. Federal law requires all guests to wear a mask over their nose and mouth at all times during travel, including throughout the flight, during boarding and deplaning, and while traveling through an airport.”

She now has to take a 14 hour drive, complete with a ferry ride to get to Juneau for legislative sessions. Last night, in a Trump-like response to the ban on Facebook, Reinbold threatened the airline with an investigation into its “monopoly”, and complained that she was publicly named after the ban, despite her regular public ranting about the airline.   Seems to me that turnabout is fair play.

Alaska Airlines not only did the right thing here and were forced to do so.  Reinbold is a danger to the public especially since she is an elected official who has used her position to flout the law and common sense.  She got exactly what she deserved.

As reported in the Texas Tribune, the Texas Senate is considering a bill that would prevent cities and counties from enacting paid sick leave ordinances. Republican politicians that run on small government and local control, as usual, have no qualms about violating that “principle” of theirs when it interferes with big business. Like when Denton county decided to ban fracking, the state quickly put a stop to that type of local control. Now that Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio require paid sick leave, big government is coming to put a stop to it.

You see, they really know what’s best for us, y’all. The Tribune article quotes a “CEO” of a company that runs Auntie Anne Pretzels and Cinnabon franchises in Texas. According to her, offering her food-service workers paid sick leave would be terrible for them, because if she had to pay sick leave, she couldn’t offer them 401K’s. Which is funny, because the stores owned by her company don’t offer 401k’s at all. Or maternity leave. Or any benefits. As usual, they’re just anti-worker and full of shit. They would rather the employees serve covid pretzels than pay a part-time employee $7.25 an hour for a four-hour shift while they rest and recover.

This is all public information based on employee reviews from Glassdoor and Indeed, by the way.

Employees of these mall stands make minimum wage. They work with food. They do not have health insurance and I imagine they’d have to work 15-20 hours to afford one cash pay doctor’s visit, not including prescriptions. These people have absolutely nothing, and their boss is fighting against offering them sick pay. I hate humanity.

In a pandemic, when we are all told to stay home if we are sick, Texas Republicans want to make sure that we are not guaranteed sick leave. It’s for our own good, really.

This morning, Greg Abbott banned vaccine passports in Texas, falsely claiming that they “reveal private health information”.  That’s the dumbest goddam thing I’ve heard since Trump recommended consuming bleach.  Protecting “private health information”?  For God’s sake I’m telling EVERYBODY.  Abbott’s confirmed once again that he’s a complete moron.

Texans shouldn't be required to show proof of vaccination & reveal private health information just to go about their daily lives.

I issued an Executive Order that prohibits government-mandated vaccine passports in Texas.

Don't tread on our personal freedoms. pic.twitter.com/weTbz4FKyH

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) April 6, 2021