Spreadnecks: COVIDIOTS, Anti-Maskers, Anti-Vaxxers, Etc.

[Estiveo]

I wonder what the wait times are like at the two border crossings?

[Dave from down under]

Perhaps Canada should put her on a no-entry list since she is a bio terrorist.

[LM K]

Google Maps says the trip takes 19 hours and 40 minutes including the ferry trip.

Yikes! It's 848 miles according to google maps.

Oh! I bet she didn't include the 75 mile ferry ride.

The flight takes 1 hour 40 minutes.

[sugar magnolia]

Maybe she can get one of her wealthy supporters to fly her in a private plane? I'm sure she would notate that honestly and correctly on her FEC filings and tax returns.

[Dave from down under]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/202 ... /100022786

'You lose people very quickly': Talking to friends or family who are down the anti-vaccine rabbit hole

The fine line between argument and division
Suzanne's fear that arguing with her daughter will only push her further away — and towards anti-vaxxers — is a sentiment often heard when speaking to people whose loved ones have gone down the rabbit hole of anti-vaccine conspiracy theories.

Frances, who lives in Victoria, told the ABC she faces this problem, as lifelong friends of Frances's elderly mother have become strident anti-vaxxers over the course of the pandemic.

They're now trying to convince Frances's mother, who's in her 70s, not to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

The more Frances argues with them and her mother, the more she fears that the issue of the vaccine is ruining their relationship.

And yet she can't give up.

"She's still on the fence," Frances said.

"But I'm scared she too will get caught in the web of articles and go down the rabbit hole and not get the vaccine."

Anti-vaccine views are very rare, but higher for COVID
Fortunately, stories like Suzanne's and Frances's are rare in Australia.

The vast majority of Australians plan to take the COVID vaccine when it's available, according to most recent studies.

A small proportion — between 15 and 27 per cent — are hesitant or unsure about getting the jab.

And an even smaller (but louder) fraction of Australians — about 4 to 8 per cent — say outright they would refuse the COVID-19 vaccine.

[jcolvin2]

I wonder what the wait times are like at the two border crossings?

I was thinking about the 39 hour ferry trip on the Alaska State Ferry system from Whittier to Juneau. She would not need to cross any international borders to make that trip.

[bob]

Blocked as well and didn't even give him a hard time, what a snowflake. Because he blocked me, couldn't see his reply:

Pastor Carl Gallups (THE REAL ONE carlgallups.com) @CarlGallups 11h
Replying to @Orly_licious
Actually, that's not what it says at all. Germs are NOT viruses and bacteria. The paragraph I sent you, comes after the one you sent me and clarifies that. So we don't agree. You've misunderstood the FDA statement completely.

Gallups changed his tune and acknowledged that the FDA doesn't say what he claims. Rather, his new spin is that the FDA's message is different because of Gallups:



(Or, more likely: Gallups got caught recycling his old messages.)

[bill_g]

Apologizes if this has been posted already - Tucker is asking his viewers to harass people wearing masks outdoors, and if they see masks on children to call in their local childs services to bust the parents for child abuse.

[LM K]

Apologizes if this has been posted already - Tucker is asking his viewers to harass people wearing masks outdoors, and if they see masks on children to call in their local childs services to bust the parents for child abuse.

I would make mincemeat of someone who tried to bully me about wearing a mask. I'm very good at appearing sweet as I rip assholes to pieces if they start sending their shit at me. Passive aggressive responses are my specialty.

The "call in their local child's services" isn't funny. Family and Child Service is already dangerously understaffed. Their focus must be on children at actual risk.

[pipistrelle]

I assume it may be illegal to knowingly make a false claim of child abuse.

[NewMexGirl]

Speechless.

A private school in Miami, citing false claims, bars vaccinated teachers from contact with students.

A private school in the fashionable Design District of Miami sent its faculty and staff a letter last week about getting vaccinated against Covid-19. But unlike institutions that have encouraged and even facilitated vaccination for teachers, the school, Centner Academy, did the opposite: One of its co-founders, Leila Centner, informed employees “with a very heavy heart” that if they chose to get a shot, they would have to stay away from students.

In an example of how misinformation threatens the nation’s effort to vaccinate enough Americans to get the coronavirus under control, Ms. Centner, who has frequently shared anti-vaccine posts on Facebook, claimed in the letter that “reports have surfaced recently of non-vaccinated people being negatively impacted by interacting with people who have been vaccinated.”

“Even among our own population, we have at least three women with menstrual cycles impacted after having spent time with a vaccinated person,” she wrote, repeating a false claim that vaccinated people can somehow pass the vaccine to others and thereby affect their reproductive systems. (They can do neither.)

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/26/us/f ... ccine.html

[Sunrise]

Speechless.

A private school in Miami, citing false claims, bars vaccinated teachers from contact with students.

A private school in the fashionable Design District of Miami sent its faculty and staff a letter last week about getting vaccinated against Covid-19. But unlike institutions that have encouraged and even facilitated vaccination for teachers, the school, Centner Academy, did the opposite: One of its co-founders, Leila Centner, informed employees “with a very heavy heart” that if they chose to get a shot, they would have to stay away from students.

In an example of how misinformation threatens the nation’s effort to vaccinate enough Americans to get the coronavirus under control, Ms. Centner, who has frequently shared anti-vaccine posts on Facebook, claimed in the letter that “reports have surfaced recently of non-vaccinated people being negatively impacted by interacting with people who have been vaccinated.”

“Even among our own population, we have at least three women with menstrual cycles impacted after having spent time with a vaccinated person,” she wrote, repeating a false claim that vaccinated people can somehow pass the vaccine to others and thereby affect their reproductive systems. (They can do neither.)

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/26/us/f ... ccine.html

This article could also be posted in the Floriduh thread, I suppose.

[Resume18]

What sort if schools is this now? A school for complete morons? The god damned virus isn't enough, now we have to deal with imbeciles that will ensure we never recover from it. You want to get over all this? Wear a mask, get vaccinated and stop being imbeciles.

[bob]

In a different situation, the attorney would "explain" (read: coach) the defendant on how to appear contrite. So, basically theater: Defendant apologizes, judge lectures, attorney gives assurances this won't be a problem again.

Contrition kabuki; Powell skates:


As this HuffPo article explains, Powell said her employer (read: fellow traveler) "encouraged" her not to wear a mask when interacting with customers. So this mesh "mask" was meant to be a compromise between her employer's and the court's wishes.

(There's also some song-and-dance that the mesh "mask" was intended to be used in conjunction with a clear shield, with "intended" doing all the work.)

"For completeness," Powell's response to the OSC.

[Dave from down under]

A lot of privilege on show here..

[sterngard friegen]

Powell is probably laughing her ass off.

Unmasked.

[pipistrelle]

Powell is probably laughing her ass off.

Unmasked.

Yep. Fooled that judge, she’s crowing.

[bill_g]

The smirk on her face tells me she was hell on wheels as a child. I'm betting her first word was No!

[neonzx]

What sort if schools is this now? A school for complete morons? The god damned virus isn't enough, now we have to deal with imbeciles that will ensure we never recover from it. You want to get over all this? Wear a mask, get vaccinated and stop being imbeciles.

From the school website:
https://centneracademy.com/medical-free ... d-vaccines

Medical Freedom from Mandated Vaccines

Your son or daughter may not be able to attend their first day of school until they are fully vaccinated. While these regulations were established to help protect all children, the amount of unknown risks associated with vaccinations will have you seriously second-guessing whether this policy should be upheld.

Rather than helping children’s immune systems, there is a large belief in the United States that the excess of mandatory vaccines is actually damaging them. In fact, in the past 20 years, U.S. statistics prove that children are experiencing doubled rates of Attention Deficit Disorder and learning disabilities, doubled rates of asthma, tripled rates of diabetes, and a rise in autism in every single state at the rate of 600 percent.

A lot of kids are suffering and it is up to us as a Miami international school community to rule out any and all possibilities contributing to the rise in chronic diseases and disabilities for our students. Before we, as a school, mandate anything that could possibly be causing so much harm to our students, studies need to be urged to be conclusive as to whether common mandatory vaccinations lead to various common health disorders. Families and children should have medical freedom. Students should not be forced to endure these immunizations until there are more significant long-term studies and examinations of the various implications and side effects of these drugs.

At CA we believe in health freedom. We know that every child and family at our school is unique. There is no one size fits all to vaccines. This is why we follow the Florida law and allow our parents to complete a medical or religious exemption form to opt out of the school vaccination program. If you need any support in understanding the process further, please complete our contact us form and we will further assist you with this process.

According to their site, the school presently has ~300 students, PreK-8th.

[Resume18]

What sort if schools is this now? A school for complete morons? The god damned virus isn't enough, now we have to deal with imbeciles that will ensure we never recover from it. You want to get over all this? Wear a mask, get vaccinated and stop being imbeciles.

From the school website:
https://centneracademy.com/medical-free ... d-vaccines

Medical Freedom from Mandated Vaccines

Your son or daughter may not be able to attend their first day of school until they are fully vaccinated. While these regulations were established to help protect all children, the amount of unknown risks associated with vaccinations will have you seriously second-guessing whether this policy should be upheld.

Rather than helping children’s immune systems, there is a large belief in the United States that the excess of mandatory vaccines is actually damaging them. In fact, in the past 20 years, U.S. statistics prove that children are experiencing doubled rates of Attention Deficit Disorder and learning disabilities, doubled rates of asthma, tripled rates of diabetes, and a rise in autism in every single state at the rate of 600 percent.

A lot of kids are suffering and it is up to us as a Miami international school community to rule out any and all possibilities contributing to the rise in chronic diseases and disabilities for our students. Before we, as a school, mandate anything that could possibly be causing so much harm to our students, studies need to be urged to be conclusive as to whether common mandatory vaccinations lead to various common health disorders. Families and children should have medical freedom. Students should not be forced to endure these immunizations until there are more significant long-term studies and examinations of the various implications and side effects of these drugs.

At CA we believe in health freedom. We know that every child and family at our school is unique. There is no one size fits all to vaccines. This is why we follow the Florida law and allow our parents to complete a medical or religious exemption form to opt out of the school vaccination program. If you need any support in understanding the process further, please complete our contact us form and we will further assist you with this process.

According to their site, the school presently has ~300 students, PreK-8th.

Oh, so it's a school for minds so open, their brains fell out. I wish they had -300 students.

[Dave from down under]

https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2021-04- ... /100102090

South Australian man arrested over allegedly placing fake QR codes on official COVID-19 check-ins

A man has been arrested after allegedly placing fake QR codes over official business check-in codes in Adelaide.

Key points:

A man has been charged over allegedly putting fake QR codes on official COVID-19 check-in points
The 51-year-old man from Edwardstown was arrested today
He has also been charged with possessing a prohibited weapon
The same man has also been charged with possessing a prohibited weapon, after officers searched the man's home and allegedly found a double-sided knife.

SA Police said officers went to an Edwardstown address on Wednesday, after it received allegations that fake QR codes were stuck over official business QR codes at South Plympton, south of Adelaide, on Sunday.

Police from the COVID Compliance Section arrested 51-year-old Colin Davies and charged him with two counts of obstructing operations related to COVID-19 under the state's Emergency Management Act.

Mr Davies has since appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court, which has heard he placed fake QR codes over valid ones at Franco's Fruit and Vegetables and the South Plympton Bakehouse.

Prosecutors argued Mr Davies had obstructed contact tracing efforts during the pandemic and should be refused bail.

However, a magistrate granted bail on condition that Mr Davies did not carry any loose QR labels and did not visit the two businesses.

He will face court again in July.

Police earlier said no data was released through the fake QR codes.

Police said anyone found tampering with or obstructing business QR codes would likely face arrest and a penalty of $10,000.

[Foggy]

Off Topic

The smirk on her face tells me she was hell on wheels as a child. I'm betting her first word was No!

My dad insists that my first word - learned from him when the (early '50s) Tee Vee was showing only static - was "DAMMIT!"

I'm still like that.

[fierceredpanda]

Jonathan Chait, NY Magazine: COVID Is Going Away, and It’s Making Some Trump Fans Crazy

As the coronavirus pandemic recedes as a national public-health emergency, you might expect reactionaries to respond with the same relief and joy as the rest of us, perhaps — given their exaggerated loathing of any protective measures — more so. Yet, oddly enough, the mental torments it’s inflicting upon them persist. They are seeing a glimpse of a world in which the virus does not supply a daily theater for culture-war conflict. It does not suit them.

Here are two usefully frank specimens to analyze: Tucker Carlson’s monologue last night attacking outdoor masks as an affront, and Peter D’Abrosca’s tirade against the vaccine in American Greatness. While neither rant is typical of current conservative thinking about the pandemic, they are not so completely idiosyncratic as to represent nothing broader. More importantly, they both lay out their premises in unusually revealing fashion.



It’s usually wise to avoid the temptation to pathologize opposing beliefs without first attempting to understand them on their own terms. In this case, however, the subjects are laying out their diagnosis in full public view. “I have decided that because the vile political Left, which I despise in the abstract, wants me to take their coveted vaccine, I simply will not,” writes D’Abrosca. “After the horrifying displeasure of meeting several of their militant COVID-19 restriction enforcers in person over the past year, I have become even more steadfast in my stance.”

He is turning down a completely free and convenient medical treatment that gives almost complete protection against a virus that makes even young people quite sick and which has long-term health effects of unknown scale and duration. Because he believes it distresses his political enemies. (For the record, speaking for myself, I feel bemusement and pity for D’Abrosca, but not anger.)

Carlson, for his part, is training his fans to think of outdoor mask-wearing as a form of aggression against which they must lash out. And the reason is that the sight causes him psychological distress. What they should tell people when demanding they remove their masks, he instructs, is, “Your mask is making me uncomfortable.”

In both cases, it’s not about their freedom. It is — by their own account — about their feelings.

Chait's conclusion is that anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers have so wound their identities around opposition to public health measures that on some level they don't want the pandemic to end, because it would mean an end to the fighting on this particular front in the culture wars.

[neonzx]

Nearly 100 infected with COVID-19 at Republic super-spreader event
https://www.krem.com/article/news/inves ... ff33946e58

REPUBLIC, Wash. — A three-day-long super-spreader event in Republic, Washington is causing a spike in COVID-19 cases in Ferry County. As of Wednesday, nearly 100 people had been infected.

The event was set up to recruit new Eagle’s Club members the weekend of April 9-11. Some said it was advertised as a protest against COVID-19 restrictions. The club president said it was simply a dinner and poker night to attract new members.

Health officials in Republic said patient zero was traced back to the event. Since then, infections have reached far into the community. The bank in town had to shut down early and brought in temporary workers. One of the only grocery stores also had limited capacity and county services have taken a hit with court cases being delayed because so many workers are either home sick or in quarantine.

“There's 95 people that have tested positive since that event,” Northeast Tri-County Health District Administrator Matt Schanz said. “And the vast majority have had some kind of exposure to that event, either by attendance, or by a secondary exposure. They're continuing to test… even today, they're continuing to be tested.”

[Azastan]

Nearly 100 infected with COVID-19 at Republic super-spreader event
https://www.krem.com/article/news/inves ... ff33946e58

REPUBLIC, Wash. — A three-day-long super-spreader event in Republic, Washington is causing a spike in COVID-19 cases in Ferry County. As of Wednesday, nearly 100 people had been infected.

The event was set up to recruit new Eagle’s Club members the weekend of April 9-11. Some said it was advertised as a protest against COVID-19 restrictions. The club president said it was simply a dinner and poker night to attract new members.

Health officials in Republic said patient zero was traced back to the event. Since then, infections have reached far into the community. The bank in town had to shut down early and brought in temporary workers. One of the only grocery stores also had limited capacity and county services have taken a hit with court cases being delayed because so many workers are either home sick or in quarantine.

“There's 95 people that have tested positive since that event,” Northeast Tri-County Health District Administrator Matt Schanz said. “And the vast majority have had some kind of exposure to that event, either by attendance, or by a secondary exposure. They're continuing to test… even today, they're continuing to be tested.”

Home of Loren Culp:

https://www.columbian.com/news/2020/nov ... -republic/