The thing that has just boggled my mind about the lying unvaccinated?
Their Orange Savior HAS BEEN FULLY VACCINATED SINCE DECEMBER/JANUARY.
I was NOT surprised to read this:
i distinctly remember a number of journalists and commenters asking why joe biden wouldn’t just ask for trump’s help in promoting vaccinations. https://t.co/QMVWj4GfDN
— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachi) August 14, 2021
Because, of course😒😒
He had a chance to participate in the vaccine PSA like the other former Presidents. He declined.😒
And, now…Children’s hospitals are filling up.😢😢😢
I've thought for a while that the only thing that might break the fever of antivax hysteria is kids dying in large numbers. But I'm not even sure that will do it. The antivaxxers will call them crisis actors, and tweet death threats at their parents. https://t.co/DKfiEviv0d
— Mike Rothschild (@rothschildmd) August 13, 2021
Uh huh😠
If people who go out and buy fake vaccine cards get COVID, do they expect someone to put them on a real ventilator?
— Andy Slavitt 🇺🇸💉 (@ASlavitt) August 11, 2021
If you are found passing off a fake one at your job, you need to be FIRED.
If you are found passing off a fake one at a school, the student needs to be EXPELLED.
NO CODDLING OF THE LYING UNVACCINATED.😠😠😠
People are fed up with Greg Abbott and his ridiculous handling of Covid. https://t.co/cuqYIQrjPX
— Sam from Delacroix, LA (@Kennymack1971) August 10, 2021
😒😒😠😠
So I was told, according to insiders, the big Republican plan is to discourage vaccines and masks so that the Biden administration is stuck having to deal with this pandemic the entire time. #DumbestPlanEver
— PhDeezNutz (@D4Real8645) August 14, 2021
Stretch Marks of the Beast (@KieseLaymon) tweeted at 5:53 PM on Tue, Aug 17, 2021:
Here’s what’s not being said about Mississippi. The system has already failed. When medical professionals call and beg you to keep your elderly family from needing the hospital because there is no staff and no rooms, the system has already failed. Literally left for dead.
(https://twitter.com/KieseLaymon/status/1427765431830450180?s=02)
As I stated a year ago, once #COVID hits the Deep South we will see the full wrath of #COVID19. The intersection of #Pandemic and #Poverty, due to its influence on #SocialDeterminantsOfHealth, will break the #HospitalSystem https://t.co/KAyr9n4FGc
— Ebony Jade Hilton, MD (@EbonyJHilton_MD) August 18, 2021
According to NBC News, Republican Greg Abbott has told people he received a third booster dose of a COVID vaccine.
Abbott bans mask mandates and vaccine mandates for everyone else, but he'll reportedly protect himself with a booster dose. https://t.co/Gw0lQnG4H1
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 17, 2021
Some of you who follow me know I've been pleading for weeks now for help here in Florida. Yesterday, my school district had 5000 in quarantine. Today it is 8000! Our children are in great danger! Someone please help! https://t.co/VlQTz5MG3A
— Laura👠Marlin (@GiGicmka) August 18, 2021
COVID ORPHANS😢😢
A Texas mother and father have both died of COVID-19, leaving their four children orphaned, according to local reports. Lydia Rodriguez and her husband Lawrence “didn’t believe in vaccines,” a cousin said. https://t.co/KN1EEmOy4x
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) August 17, 2021
This Aug. 6, 2021, photo shows 13-year-old Mkayla Robinson with her arm around her little brother, both wearing backpacks.
It was her first day of 8th grade & his first day of kindergarten—at mask-optional schools.
She died of COVID-19 eight days later.https://t.co/4IwJS5tYL7 pic.twitter.com/sJFYoq0BSp
— Ashton Pittman (@ashtonpittman) August 18, 2021
Always remember, there are those out fighting the good COVID fight, trying to help people:
Looking forward to this event December 2021. Thank you for the honor.
Stanford is the first Black woman to receive the Gold Medal Award in the award’s 112-year history. https://t.co/bfJSY9ebVa
— Ala Stanford MD (@alastanford) August 13, 2021
You don’t have to tell me twice. Let me get that appointment.
Biden administration to advise COVID vaccine boosters for most Americans at 8 months https://t.co/9ETv3xKCyN
— Skeptical Brotha 💛🐝🌈 (@skepticalbrotha) August 18, 2021
🤔🤔🤔🤔
Daryl Sturgis✊🏽 (@darylsturgis) tweeted at 11:35 AM on Wed, Aug 18, 2021:
The current anti-mask/ anti-vaxx movement feels a lot like the Tea Party of 2009-10. Suddenly out of nowhere folks started showing up at town halls and city council meetings screaming about deficits at the height of the financial crisis. None of this feels organic.
(https://twitter.com/darylsturgis/status/1428032829661777923?s=02)
Yesss👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿
No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) tweeted at 9:01 PM on Tue, Aug 17, 2021:
BREAKING: A Texas school board has found a loophole in Greg Abbott’s ban on school mask mandates by instead adding masks to the district’s dress code.
(https://twitter.com/NoLieWithBTC/status/1427812904863154181?s=02)
A co-worker had been out of our office on assignment for the last 10 weeks. He stopped by to catch up.
Him: “Do you go out?”
Me: ” Outside of to and from work? And doctor’s appointments? No. ”
Him:.” The grocery store?”
Me: ” Delivery”
He went on to express relief, because he thinks people have gone crazy. He told me of all the gatherings people have invited him too, and he has been, nope…not now.
He was like…all these folks talking about how they just got back from Florida and Texas, and do I want to come over ..he was like HELL NO.
His fiance is a nurse…and, he’s like, the stories that she tells him..about people his age (mid 30’s) and younger…
We just shook our heads.
We will travel in 2022.😒
“..About a month ago, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense posted photographs on social media of seven brand-new helicopters arriving in Kabul, delivered by the United States.
“They’ll continue to see a steady drumbeat of that kind of support going forward,” U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters a few days later at the Pentagon.
In a matter of weeks, however, the Taliban had seized most of the country, as well as any weapons and equipment left behind by fleeing Afghan forces.
Video showed the advancing insurgents inspecting long lines of vehicles and opening crates of new firearms, communications gear and even military drones.
“Everything that hasn’t been destroyed is the Taliban’s now,” said one U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Current and former U.S. officials say there is concern that those weapons could be used to kill civilians, be seized by other militant groups such as Islamic State to attack U.S.-interests in the region, or even potentially be handed over to adversaries such as China and Russia.
President Joe Biden’s administration is so concerned about the weapons that it is considering a number of options to pursue.
The official said launching airstrikes against the larger equipment, such as helicopters, has not been ruled out, but there is concern that it would antagonize the Taliban at a time when the United States’ main goal is evacuating people.
Another official said that while there are no definitive numbers yet, the current intelligence assessment was that the Taliban are believed to control more than 2,000 armored vehicles, including U.S. Humvees, and up to 40 aircraft potentially including UH-60 Black Hawks, scout attack helicopters, and ScanEagle military drones.
“We have already seen Taliban fighters armed with U.S.-made weapons they seized from the Afghan forces. This poses a significant threat to the United States and our allies,” Representative Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote in an email.
The speed with which the Taliban swept across Afghanistan is reminiscent of Islamic State militants taking weapons from U.S.-supplied Iraqi forces who offered little resistance in 2014.
Between 2002 and 2017, the United States gave the Afghan military an estimated $28 billion in weaponry, including guns, rockets, night-vision goggles and even small drones for intelligence gathering.
But aircraft like the Blackhawk helicopters have been the most visible sign of U.S. military assistance, and were supposed to be the Afghan military’ biggest advantage over the Taliban.
Between 2003 and 2016 the United States provided Afghan forces with 208 aircraft, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).
In the last week, many of those aircraft were most useful for Afghan pilots to escape the Taliban.
One of the U.S. officials said that between 40 and 50 aircraft had been flown to Uzbekistan by Afghan pilots seeking refuge. Even before taking power in Kabul over the weekend, the Taliban had started a campaign of assassinating pilots.
Some planes were in the United States for maintenance and will stay. Those en route to Afghan forces will instead be used by the U.S. military to help in the evacuation from Kabul.
Current and former officials say that while they are concerned about the Taliban having access to the helicopters, the aircraft require frequent maintenance and many are complicated to fly without extensive training.
“Ironically, the fact that our equipment breaks down so often is a life-saver here,” a third official said.
Retired U.S. Army General Joseph Votel, who oversaw U.S. military operations in Afghanistan as head of U.S. Central Command from 2016 to 2019, said most of the high-end hardware captured by the Taliban, including the aircraft, was not equipped with sensitive U.S. technology.
“In some cases, some of these will be more like trophies,” Votel said.
There is a more immediate concern about some of the easier-to-use weapons and equipment, such as night-vision goggles.
Since 2003 the United States has provided Afghan forces with at least 600,000 infantry weapons, including M16 assault rifles, 162,000 pieces of communication equipment, and 16,000 night-vision goggle devices.
“The ability to operate at night is a real game-changer,” one congressional aide told Reuters.
Votel and others said small arms seized by the insurgents such as machine guns, mortars and artillery pieces including howitzers could give the Taliban an advantage against any resistance that could surface in historic anti-Taliban strongholds such as the Panjshir Valley northeast of Kabul.
U.S. officials said the expectation was that most of the weapons would be used by the Taliban themselves, but it was far too early to tell what they planned to do — including possibly sharing the equipment with rival states such as China.
Andrew Small, a Chinese foreign policy expert at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, said the Taliban was likely to grant Beijing access to any U.S. weapons they may now have control over.
One of the U.S. officials said it was not likely China would gain much, because Beijing likely already has access to the weapons and equipment.
The situation, experts say, shows the United States needs a better way to monitor equipment it gives to allies. It could have done much more to ensure those supplies to Afghan forces were closely monitored and inventoried, said Justine Fleischner of U.K.-based Conflict Armament Research.
“But the time has passed for these efforts to have any impact in Afghanistan,” Fleischner said..”
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/08/20/world/taliban-us-weapons-cache/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1629445628
I’m no military expert/strategist.. But even I foresaw and easily anticipated much of this..
Common sense..
That after so many wars/invasions.. and so many years embedded in the Middle East and dealing with the landscape and mindset..
That the ‘greatest’ military/democracy in the world, with supposedly far-reaching, deeply burrowed tentacles of what’s supposed to be a ‘superior’ Intelligence community, could not/did not even anticipate and forestall such basic, easily foreseen/unforeseen details …as final plans were made to drawdown and depart from a country and region that for aeons, has been mired in multi-faceted wars with multifaceted malign actors, multifaceted interests/priorities, multifaceted players.. with multifaceted moods, multifaceted faces, multifaceted tongues, multifaceted loyalties.
For shame..
This is seriously less than bottom basement JV level strategy, execution, implementation..
A month before final withdrawal from a country it’d been in for 20years, the world’s so-called ‘greatest’ Military (and Democracy that really isn’t ..that won’t even let folks vote.. won’t even fund public schools or provide basic housing or healthcare for its citizens..)
Utterly ridiculous, that just a month ago, this ‘greatest’ of democracies that’s constantly insisting on ‘budget cuts’ as it denies its own citizens here at home, the most essential and basic of services.. was still delivering billions of dollars worth of state-of-the-art planes, weaponry, machinery.. deadly war toys.. to a clearly uncommitted, weak-kneed Afghan ‘military’ (one that predictably, quickly folded, with its ‘leaders’ ready with their own plans A & B, immediately absconding with millions of dollars in planes, war toys, raw cash..)
That even in our all-knowing, supposedly savvy, ‘Intelligence-rich’ ‘superiority’… just a month ago, we were still shipping in and offloading these massively expensive and deadly war toys and goodies to the Afghan ‘military’ that wasn’t ..one that we’d supposedly ‘trained’ and now obviously, clearly had no built-in short/long-term crucial oversight plans, controls, or containment in place for/with… even as the Taliban was already known to be advancing and taking over..
Absolutely, absolutely NUTS..
Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) tweeted at 2:18 PM on Fri, Aug 20, 2021:
Trump releases 5,000 Taliban fighters & their leader, cuts out government from talks, removes 9,000 American troops, announces we’re leaving, giving Taliban a year to make deals with warlords (which they did). Biden made mistakes, but Jesus…there was no way this would end well.
(https://twitter.com/kurteichenwald/status/1428798681688465411?s=03)
Malcolm Nance (@MalcolmNance) tweeted at 4:01 PM on Thu, Aug 19, 2021:
THAT’S GOTTA HURT. Right wing chats and forums are fully convinced that #CapitolHillBombThreat bomber Ray Roseberry was actually a Democrat crisis actor & his call for Patriots was a False Flag operation to smoke out real Patriots. They do not believe he supported Trump … ever.
(https://twitter.com/MalcolmNance/status/1428462135370264576?s=03)
Putting her on your radar. She is an excellent candidate
Cheri Beasley (@CheriBeasleyNC) tweeted at 1:09 PM on Thu, Aug 19, 2021:
It was the pursuit of justice that led me to become a public defender after law school. It was the pursuit of justice that inspired me to become Chief Justice. And it is the pursuit of justice that inspires me to serve the people of NC as your next Senator from this great state. https://t.co/y2tUar36LK
(https://twitter.com/CheriBeasleyNC/status/1428418874358255619?s=03)
Truth
chris evans (@chris_notcapn) tweeted at 9:58 PM on Thu, Aug 19, 2021:
I just want to point out for people who don’t understand how racism manifests itself in every fibre of American life — the debacle with Mike Richards at Jeopardy is not an anomaly.
We are gaslit about failing to thrive in the “meritocracy” by people who rig the game
(https://twitter.com/chris_notcapn/status/1428551890908889088?s=03)
Jake Lobin (@JakeLobin) tweeted at 7:58 PM on Thu, Aug 19, 2021:
Absolutely incredible….
95% of Georgians over 18 years old have now registered to vote.
THANK YOU STACEY ABRAMS 🧡 https://t.co/9YmNfH9DdJ
(https://twitter.com/JakeLobin/status/1428521765958045697?s=03)
Alabama doctor about the collapse of their medical system
https://youtu.be/9YmB5ivE9Ds
LarryO last night
https://youtu.be/SfRkuGZo4-M
Madness.. outrageous, heartbreaking.. How is this ok anywhere in the world..
SAfmRadio Radio @SAfmRadio:
934 girls between the ages 10 to 14 gave birth between April 2020 and March 2021, according to the Gauteng Health Department.
https://twitter.com/SAfmRadio/status/1427652115300814854?s=20
Not OK😠😠😠😠😠
Maddening.. heartbreaking, outrageous.. How is this ok anywhere in the world..
SAfmRadio Radio @SAfmRadio:
934 girls between the ages 10 to 14 gave birth between April 2020 and March 2021, according to the Gauteng Health Department.
https://twitter.com/SAfmRadio/status/1427652115300814854?s=20
Tarig (@1Tarrig) tweeted at 10:18 AM on Wed, Aug 18, 2021:
We deserve a film or series with Viola Davis, Angela Bassett and Aunjanue Ellis. No remakes, no script about them simply being someone’s wife or mother, but something FIRE so they can continue to show how multifaceted and brilliant they are. https://t.co/rUugcIOJvB
(https://twitter.com/1Tarrig/status/1428013323111436291?s=02)
Now, if HE can read it and see it in black and white, why can’t every person in the Media?
In Case Anyone Was Wondering Why the Taliban Actually Were Able To Retake Afghanistan So Easily, It Is Because the Trump Administration Agreed the US Would Unconditionally Surrender To Them
by Adam L Silverman
| August 18, 2021, 3:07 pm
This post is in: America, Foreign Affairs, Military, Open Threads, Silverman on Security, War
The title is not hyperbole. The agreement negotiated by Ambassador Khalilzad, the Special Representative for Afghan Reconstruction working under the direction of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the direct orders of then President Trump makes the Treaty of Versailles look like strategic genius.
The abject surrender is in part one and sections 2 and 3 of part 3. Part 2, which is the Taliban’s responsibilities as a result of the agreement, are not enforceable by the US once the US and its Coalition allies complete the withdrawal from Afghanistan and because of what the US agreed to in part 1: to never again threaten to use force, use force, or interfere in any way in Afghanistan.
What did the US agree to:
Release of Taliban prisoners,
Lifting of all sanctions,
Complete withdrawal from Afghanistan,
To never again threaten to use force, use force, or interfere in any way in Afghanistan
To seek positive relations with the Taliban
To establish economic reconciliation with the new post occupation Islamic government of Afghanistan
The key parts are in screen grabs below.
https://www.balloon-juice.com/2021/08/18/in-case-anyone-was-wondering-why-the-taliban-actually-were-able-to-retake-afghanistan-so-easily-it-is-because-the-trump-administration-agreed-the-us-would-unconditionally-surrender-to-them/?updated=1629317211#comment-8260374
Request from Fair Fight for everyone to call their U.S. Representative (sent out yesterday)
Today was a historic day for voting rights, as Alabama Congresswoman Terri Sewell officially introduced the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (HR4) in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act is landmark legislation, befitting its name and the legacy of Congressman John Lewis, that would implement historic and urgently needed protections of the freedom to vote.
Here’s the deal: We need both the For the People Act AND the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act in order to fight back against the slate of anti-voter bills passed in state legislatures and to protect voters from future attacks on their freedom to vote.
With redistricting around the corner, it’s imperative that the House pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act when they come back into session on the 23rd, so that the Senate is able to vote on both the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act as soon as they return from recess.
We need you to call your U.S. Representative at 833-465-7142 and demand that they pass HR4, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act—immediately.
Below are some key points to emphasize when calling your Representatives about the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.
What to Say To Your Representatives
Our democracy is in crisis. It is essential that both the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the For the People Act become law before state legislatures and commissions formally approve new redistricting maps. We need urgent federal action to secure fair districts, protect voters from partisan gerrymandering, and ensure their voices are heard. I’m counting on you to pass HR4 as soon as you return to DC.
Want some more information? Feel free to share the following with your Representatives:
Americans across party lines support common sense national standards to protect the freedom to vote, and ensure all eligible voters are able to make their voices heard.
The House must take immediate action to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act in order to protect voters from future attacks on their freedom to vote and ensure fair districts.
Together, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the For the People Act are key tools in protecting the freedom to vote across the country—and particularly for protecting people of color from voter suppression.
Thank you for your support and activism,
Team Fair Fight Action
Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) tweeted at 7:40 AM on Wed, Aug 18, 2021:
New: Afghan ambassador in Tajikistan says President Ashraf Ghani escaped with $169m worth of cash in bags before Kabul fell to the Taliban, BBC reports.
(https://twitter.com/hugolowell/status/1427973568630083587?s=03)
Tom Watson (@tomwatson) tweeted at 7:27 AM on Wed, Aug 18, 2021:
The Afghanistan retreat has really exposed one aspect of American public life that’s central to the horrors of the 2015-2021 era: the crushing failure of journalism in general and political reporting in particular. It’s not even junior high school level. Stunning to see.
(https://twitter.com/tomwatson/status/1427970375573508099?s=03)
Spandan @ Reclaim the Fight 🇺🇸 🏳️🌈 🇮🇱 (@reclaimthefight) tweeted at 8:37 PM on Tue, Aug 17, 2021:
Trump thinks the situation in Afghanistan is his opportunity to make a comeback.
Spoiler alert: It’s not.
(https://twitter.com/reclaimthefight/status/1427806925601734666?s=03)
Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) tweeted at 8:04 AM on Tue, Aug 17, 2021:
Worried about #Covid & wondering about what’s safe to do at this point? We asked a bunch of experts what they are willing to do in this summer of Delta. https://t.co/r3I2NKMqDo https://t.co/p2J4fzT0dr
(https://twitter.com/HelenBranswell/status/1427617414540365826?s=03)
Lakeview East (@LakeviewEast) tweeted at 3:23 PM on Tue, Aug 17, 2021:
Annnnnd we’re back to masks. Chicago issues mask mandate for all indoor establishments . This indoor mask mandate for all individuals 2 years and older, regardless of vaccination status, begins Friday, Aug. 20.
Read more here https://t.co/Or5e2rD4QM
PC: Crain’s Chicago https://t.co/SQsOF0Ue6d
(https://twitter.com/LakeviewEast/status/1427727838858334213?s=03)
James Hohmann (@jameshohmann) tweeted at 7:56 PM on Sun, Aug 15, 2021:
Two weeks before Saigon fell in April 1975, 32-year-old Joe Biden met with Gerald Ford at the White House. The freshman senator told the president the situation in Vietnam was hopeless & the US should leave as quickly as possible. Via @AnnieLinskey https://t.co/rqN9lbJ6lA
(https://twitter.com/jameshohmann/status/1427071612348735491?s=03)
Rick Perlstein (@rickperlstein) tweeted at 11:33 AM on Tue, Aug 17, 2021:
It’s so fascinating to me that the immediate collapse of the Afghan government is reported by braying horserace journalists as a terrible blunder by Biden, when then alternative was a slow collapse, which is to say a bloody civil war.
(https://twitter.com/rickperlstein/status/1427669921190666245?s=03)
Thom Bird, Democracy Worshipper (@ThomboyD) tweeted at 5:19 PM on Mon, Aug 16, 2021:
Joe Biden is never going to be the president the press wants him to be, but he seems determined to be the president the people who voted for him expect him to be.
(https://twitter.com/ThomboyD/status/1427394493381152786?s=03)
Loren DeJonge Schulman (@LorenRaeDeJ) tweeted at 8:39 PM on Mon, Aug 16, 2021:
There is enormous value in a president who does not BS the American people on his actions and his aims.
(https://twitter.com/LorenRaeDeJ/status/1427444863050604552?s=03)
When I think about the children that will die because of Abbott and his antics with regards to the schools, all the while HE gets tested everyday, got a phucking booster shot before the FDA approved it, and is getting the best therapy…it engrages me😡😡
Good Morning, Everyone😊😊😊