DeSantis goes full homicidal maniac in his quest for the White House

From NBCNews -

DeSantis administration advises against Covid shots for Florida residents under 65

In a deviation from federal recommendations, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration is advising residents under the age of 65 not to get the new Covid boosters from Pfizer and Moderna.

"What I have directed our department to do is to provide guidance that really recommends and advises against the use of these mRNA Covid-19 vaccines for anyone under 65," Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo said at an online panel hosted by DeSantis on Wednesday.

[snip]

"With virtually every walking human being having some degree of immunity and the questions we have about safety and about effectiveness — especially about safety — my judgment is that it’s not a good decision for young people and for people who are not at high risk at this point in the pandemic," [FL Surgeon General} Ladapo said.

1. Wear a damn mask.

2. Get vaccinated. 

Wear a damn mask. Covid cases rising nationally

From the CDC -

AZ-specific info:

From Axios, written by Jeremy Duda, dated 8/24/2023 -

COVID hospitalizations fell in Arizona, but signs point to late summer wave nationally

COVID-19 hospitalizations in Arizona fell 4% between June and July, though state health officials noticed a slight increase at the beginning of August.

By the numbers: Arizona saw about 2.2 COVID hospitalizations per 100,000 people in July, down from about 2.3 in June.

• The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) has recorded 7,585 COVID cases over the past six months, 12% of which required hospitalization.
• Recent data indicate that hospitalizations increased from July 30 to Aug. 5, but it'll take more time for ADHS to see what the numbers look like for August as a whole, agency spokesperson Tom Hermann tells Axios Phoenix.
• Cases have been on the upswing since early July, he says, and more cases generally means more hospitalizations.

Yes, but: Rising COVID numbers nationwide point to a late summer wave of the virus, Alex Fitzpatrick and Kavya Beheraj report.

1. Wear a damn mask.

2. Get vaccinated. 

What do you get when scum is in charge of things? Rampant fraud

One of the hallmarks of Cheeto's presidential administration was putting people in charge of agencies where the people have the same (lack of) ethics and integrity as him.

He viewed a health crisis as a lucrative grifting opportunity, and so did others.

From AP -

The Great Grift: More than $200 billion in COVID-19 aid may have been stolen, federal watchdog says

More than $200 billion may have been stolen from two large COVID-19 relief initiatives, according to new estimates from a federal watchdog investigating federally funded programs that helped small businesses survive the worst public health crisis in more than a hundred years.

The numbers issued Tuesday by the U.S. Small Business Administration inspector general are much greater than the office’s previous projections and underscore how vulnerable the Paycheck Protection and COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs were to fraudsters, particularly during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.

The actual report from the SBA is here.

Gotta love taxpayer-funded propaganda sessions

Even though the Arizona Legislature is on vacation until next month, there will still be scads of BS spewed at the state capitol next week.

This time, it will be about spewing anti-Covid response BS.

On Thursday and Friday next week, an informal committee will meet, with infamous pandemic deniers such as state legislators Rep. Janae Shamp, Sen. TJ Shope, and Rep. Steve Montenegro and Congresscritters Paul Gosar, Andy Biggs, and Eli Crane on it.

The committee will go by the (relatively) innocuous-sounding name of "Novel Coronavirus Southwestern Intergovernmental Committee."

The spewers-in-chief will listen to "testimony" from a veritable rogues' gallery.

First up (at least, he's first on the agenda):

Dr. Peter McCullough.  When I Googled his name, this came up (emphasis added by me) -

Next up: Dr. Lionel Lee, a Kari Lake supporter, and Dr. George Fareed, someone who's testified to the US Senate in support of giving Hydroxychloroquine to Covid patients.

Then:  Aaron Siri, an anti-mask lawyer.

Closing the first day's "testimony": Kurtis Bay, someone who blames (behind a paywall) the FDA for his wife's death from Covid.

The second day starts off with McCullough again.

Next up: Dr. Richard Urso, someone who has notably lied about Covid boosters.

Then: Dr. Pierre Kory, known for promoting Ivermectin as a treatment for Covid.

Next to speak: Dr. Lela Lewis, a religiously devout doctor who is the head of an anti-Covid vaccine group.

Last up: Anne Teixeira.  Can't find much about her.  I'm not sure, but she seems to be a Phoenix-area speech-language pathologist, which wouldn't qualify her to pontificate on Covid

Except in front of a committee like this one.

Arizona Legislature 2023: And the first one out of the gate is...

 OK.  They've fixed the lege's website. :)

HB 2001, the first bill before the legislature, has been introduced by Rep. David Cook, a Republican from Globe.

It pertains to rule making by the Arizona Department of Health Services.

It proposes some [ahem] interesting clauses -

36. RULES MADE BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES IF ALL OF THE FOLLOWING APPLY: 

 (a) THE RULES REDUCE A REGULATORY BURDEN WITHOUT JEOPARDIZING HEALTH AND SAFETY. 

(b) THE RULES DO NOT INCREASE COSTS TO PERSONS WHO ARE REGULATED BY THE RULE.

(c) BEFORE THE RULES ARE ADOPTED, THE PUBLIC IS GIVEN AT LEAST 18 FIFTEEN DAYS TO COMMENT ON THE RULES.

Hope the war on COVID isn't over, because the war on COVID mitigation efforts sure isn't.

Ducey wants to use Covid mitigation fund to financially reward private pro-Covid schools. Federal judge says "No."

And because money is involved, Dougie will appeal.  Of course.

From AP -

Judge tosses Arizona suit over limits on virus relief funds

A judge has dismissed Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s lawsuit challenging 

the Biden administration’s demands that the state stop sending 

millions in federal COVID-19 relief money to schools that don’t 

have mask requirements or that close due to COVID-19 outbreaks.

The state filed the lawsuit earlier this year after the U.S. Treasury 

Department demanded that Ducey either restructure the $163 

million program to eliminate restrictions it says undermine 

public health recommendations or face a repayment demand.

The Treasury Department also wanted changes to a $10 million program 

Ducey created that gives private school tuition money to 

parents if their children’s schools have mask mandates.

In a ruling earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Steven Logan 

concluded it was reasonable for the Biden administration to say 

that the money couldn’t be spent on efforts that would undermine 

compliance with COVID-19 prevention guidelines. The judge 

said a program that requires noncompliance with guidelines 

may worsen the pandemic and create more negative effects, 

which goes against the purpose of the relief fund.

[snip]

Ducey’s lawyers have said in court records that the governor is 

appealing the ruling. Ducey spokesman C.J. Karamargin said on 

Saturday that the governor’s office was reviewing the decision.

Federal court records are behind a paywall (PACER).

Covid cases are rising nationally

From Johns Hopkins University -

U.S.:

Arizona:

Cases actually look to be down here in AZ, though hospitalizations from those cases are up.

Maybe we should look at graphs for other epicenters of Covid denialism, like Texas and Florida.

Texas:

Florida:

1. Wear a damn mask.

2. Get vaccinated. 

Covid cases are rising both here in AZ and nationally...but I went to supermarket today, and maybe 10% of the customers were masked

From NPR -

The real COVID surge is (much) bigger than it looks. But don't panic

Cases of COVID-19 are — yet again — on the rise. The U.S. is seeing an average of more than 100,000 reported new cases across the country every day. That's nearly double the rate a month ago and four times higher than this time last year.

And the real number of cases is likely much higher than that, according to health officials. Because many people now rely on at-home tests, "we're clearly undercounting infections," White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha told reporters at the most recent COVID press briefing. Hospitalizations are trending upwards too, though only gradually still in most places.

From the Mayo Clinic -

In the U.S.:

In AZ:

1. Wear a damn mask.

2. Get vaccinated. 

Maybe the next song he writes will be titled "Karma Sucks"

For the record Covid kills people and I don't wish it on *anyone*.

Having said that, I'm not going to lose sleep over an example of "what goes around, comes around."

From the Associated Press, via NPR -

Eric Clapton cancels shows after testing positive for COVID-19

Eric Clapton, a critic of coronavirus vaccines and pandemic restrictions, has tested positive for COVID-19 and canceled two upcoming European gigs.

Clapton's upcoming shows in Zurich on Tuesday and Milan on Wednesday will be rescheduled, he announced on his Facebook page and official online site. The 77-year-old rocker tested positive following his concert at London's Royal Albert Hall on May 8.

1. Wear a damn mask.

2. Get vaccinated. 

Maybe Ron DeSantis thinks that being hooked up to a ventilator is a "presidential" look

From CNN -

Ron DeSantis just yelled at high school students for wearing masks

Ron DeSantis is apparently not above scolding high school students to make his, uh, point about Covid-19.

The Florida Republican governor approached a group of students wearing masks who were standing behind a podium at the University of South Florida, where he was scheduled for a news conference Wednesday.

"You do not have to wear those masks. I mean please take them off," DeSantis said to, at first, polite laughter. But he wasn't kidding around.

"Honestly, it's not doing anything. We've gotta stop with this Covid theater. So if you want to wear it, fine. But this is ridiculous," he continued.

From Johns Hopkins University -

1. Wear a damn mask.

2. Get vaccinated. 

What's the Texan word for "karma"? "Paxton".

From The Texas Tribune -

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has fought vaccine mandates, tests positive for COVID-19

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has tested positive for COVID-19, his office said Wednesday.

The communications staff at the attorney general's office told The Texas Tribune in an unsigned statement that Paxton had tested positive.

1. Wear a damn mask.

2. Get vaccinated. 

How to get it wrong about Covid, Florida style

From WKMG (FL) -

Orange County health officer Dr. Raul Pino on leave, under state inquiry involving vaccines

Dr. Raul Pino, the director of the Florida Department of Health in Orange County who has been so visible during the pandemic, is on administrative leave pending an inquiry, the Florida Department of Health confirmed to News 6 Tuesday.

“As the decision to get vaccinated is a personal medical choice that should be made free from coercion and mandates from employers, the employee in question (Pino) has been placed on administrative leave, and the Florida Department of Health is conducting an inquiry to determine if any laws were broken in this case,” FDOH press secretary Jeremy Redfern said in a statement.

1. Wear a damn mask.

2. Get vaccinated. 

Don't get arrested in Fayetteville; they may poison you

From CNN -

ACLU sues on behalf of inmates who say they were given Ivermectin to treat Covid-19 without consent

The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of four inmates who claim they were given the drug Ivermectin to treat Covid-19 without their consent.

The suit accuses the Washington County Detention Center, Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder, jail physician Dr. Robert Karas and Karas Correctional Health of administering Ivermectin to the inmates without prior informed consent as to the nature, contents or potential side effects of the drug.

Fayetteville is the county seat of Washington county in Arkansas.

From the FDA -

Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19

COVID-19. We’ve been living with it for what sometimes seems like forever. Given the number of deaths that have occurred from the disease, it’s perhaps not surprising that some consumers are turning to drugs not approved or authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

One of the FDA’s jobs is to carefully evaluate the scientific data on a drug to be sure that it is both safe and effective for a particular use. In some instances, it can be highly dangerous to use a medicine for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 that has not been approved by or has not received emergency use authorization from the FDA. 

There seems to be a growing interest in a drug called ivermectin for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 in humans. Certain animal formulations of ivermectin such as pour-on, injectable, paste, and "drench," are approved in the U.S. to treat or prevent parasites in animals. For humans, ivermectin tablets are approved at very specific doses to treat some parasitic worms, and there are topical (on the skin) formulations for head lice and skin conditions like rosacea.

However, the FDA has received multiple reports of patients who have required medical attention, including hospitalization, after self-medicating with ivermectin intended for livestock.

1. Wear a damn mask.

2. Get vaccinated. 

3. Don't use animal drugs.

Whether it's Ducey or DeSantis (or whoever), GQP governors think of gaslighting as a political strategy

Yes, Ducey is running for Senate in 2024 and DeSantis is running for president in the same year.

And both are doing so on the backs of dead people.

From Merriam-Webster -

From the Tampa Bay Times -

Gov. Ron DeSantis State of the State address: ‘We were right and they were wrong’

Gov. Ron DeSantis had a simple message to Floridians during his address to state lawmakers on Tuesday.

“We were right,” he said, “and they were wrong.”

Celebrating a booming economy and riding high in the polls during his run for reelection, DeSantis echoed his talking points over the last year during his State of the State address to state lawmakers on Tuesday.

62000+ people, and their friends and families, may disagree with him.

From Johns Hopkins University -

DeSantis lies about Covid.  A lot.

From Columbia University -

COVID-19 Data Misrepresented by Florida Governor

The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported that the Florida Department of Health had commenced an inquiry into the state’s reporting of COVID-19 deaths, after Governor Ron DeSantis suggested that the official reports overstate the number of deaths. According to the report, Governor DeSantis and members of his staff repeatedly questioned the accuracy of the COVID-19 death rates, with his press secretary Fred Piccolo Jr. tweeting: "we can tell you definitively that Florida is counting deaths that were not directly caused by COVID-19.” Mr. Piccolo has also sought to downplay the COVID-19 pandemic in other ways. On one occasion, he erroneously tweeted: “we had one COVID death in Florida yesterday . . yes you read that right. One.” In fact, on the day in question, there were 47 deaths.

Ducey of AZ did much the same thing in his own State of the State address.

From KTAR -

Arizona Gov. Ducey promises busy 2022 with focus on education, border in State of State address

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey promised a busy 2022 and focused on improvements in education and border security during his eighth and final State of the State address on Monday.

Ducey, a Republican, spoke at the House of Representatives to kick off his final legislative session as governor and ahead of unveiling the 2022 budget on Friday.

“For those who think it’s going to be a quiet year on the Ninth Floor, you haven’t been paying attention,” Ducey said during his speech. “And as I stand here today, the job isn’t done. The goodbyes will come later, much later.

[snip]

Ducey spoke heavily on the state of education in Arizona, singling out the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and reiterating schools would remain open for in-person learning.

He vowed to open free summer camps in June aimed at catching up students in math, reading and American civics.

The governor also said critical race theory wouldn’t be taught in schools, six months after he signed a bill banning state or local governments from requiring training in the area.

From Ducey's press release on the matter of his speech -

From his speech -

[snip]

But still, there’s no denying what’s happening on a national level is straining families and seniors’ checkbooks. Washington’s spending spree, combined with mismanagement of COVID, has broken our supply chain and inflated the cost of everything. A staggering surge of 6.8 percent – food, clothing, gas, prescription drugs. The largest increase in the cost of daily life in nearly four decades. A White House in denial it’s even occurring. And a President hell bent on printing and borrowing money while raising taxes. This is not a strategy that will help working people.

When all else fails, blame others.

Yet Ducey should shoulder the blame himself.

From Katherine Davis-Young at the AZMirror in 2020 -

As COVID-19 Cases Soar, Arizona Scraps Its Own Business Closure Benchmarks

The pandemic has been devastating for many businesses, especially those that have been made to close their doors. And lawmakers have been in the difficult position of having to decide when to require businesses to shut down. Arizona had a set of benchmarks for making these decisions, but the state’s health department recently changed its own rules, effectively ruling out any future closures, regardless of how high virus numbers rise. 

In June, COVID-19 was surging in Arizona. The state’s outbreak was among the worst in the world. Gov. Doug Ducey took action. On June 17, Ducey allowed cities and counties to issue mask mandates. On June 29, he ordered bars, gyms, movie theaters, and water parks to close. The policy actions appeared to work. Cases fell dramatically.

In August, when Arizona's outbreak appeared to be stabilizing, Ducey announced a set of rules for allowing businesses to reopen. He based his plan around the state’s virus data.

[snip]

But a COVID-19 report from the Department of Health Services released Friday included an unannounced change to the benchmarks. The document shows there's now no difference between moderate transmission business guidelines and substantial transmission rules. The change eliminates any level of virus spread that would require closures of any business other than some bars and nightclubs. 

Even though Arizona is seeing higher caseloads than it was when the benchmarks were created, Christ said the state’s rules were really never meant to be used to decide when businesses should close.

From Johns Hopkins University -

Of course, lying about Covid isn't a concept that Ducey (or DeSantis) invented; Cheeto may have perfected it.  From The Atlantic in 2020 -

All the President’s Lies About the Coronavirus

An unfinished compendium of Trump’s overwhelming dishonesty during a national emergency

President Donald Trump has repeatedly lied about the coronavirus pandemic and the country’s preparation for this once-in-a-generation crisis.

Here, a collection of the biggest lies he’s told as the nation endures a public-health and economic calamity. This post will be updated as needed.

Still, as bad as DeSantis' lies were, Ducey's may be worse.  Florida has approximately 3X the population of Arizona, yet only 2.5X the Covid deaths.

From the U.S. Census Bureau -

The Legislature is back in session; "ugly" season has already started

I was going to refer to it as "silly" season, but that name is reserved for the time in the legislative session when all Democrats and rank-and-file Republicans go into "hurry up and wait" mode, waiting for the R leadership and the governor to hand down the state's budget.  A lot of bad bills are passed during this period of boredom.

Introduced today are

HB2059, by Rep. Walt Blackman, an attack on democracy. 

HB2061, also introduced by Blackman, an attack on every school's sex ed curriculum, including a section that removes language in the state law regarding discussion of AIDS (to be fair, language about AIDS is included in other parts of the bill).  It also includes a section that would mandate that abstinence-only be taught in schools.

HB2064, also introduced by Blackman, a pro-Covid and exposure to cervical cancer in schools bill

HB2065, also introduced by Blackman, removing a section of state law barring students who can't show that they've been vaccinated from attending class

HB2071, by Rep. David Cook, putting language in state law about mail in ballots being valid if they are postmarked early enough and received not later than the fifth day after election day...but does NOT remove language saying that ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on election day.

HR2001, a resolution, also introduced by Blackman, that's full of anti-Planned Parenthood/choice propaganda masking itself as a pro-African-American measure.

HB2080, by Rep. Mark Finchem, another anti-democracy measure.

HCR2003, by Rep. Gail Griffin, declaring the the legislature loves remaining unvaccinated in the age of Covid-19.

HB2112, by Rep. Michelle Udall, barring the teaching of critical race theory

HCR2001, by Steve Kaiser, asking the voters to alter the state's constitution to ban the teaching of CRT.

HB2107, by Rep. Leo Biasiucci, repealing the section of state law that allow for the ordering of business closures during declared emergencies

HB2115, also introduced by Udall, is a broadly-written measure that would enable the use of a filter to block the downloading of material that is "harmful to minors" on personal electronic devices.

And to think, at one point, I thought that Udall was one the saner Rs in the legislature.

I was wrong about that.

And that's just the House of Representatives.  In the Senate, they've already introduced

SB1123, by Sen. Wendy Rogers. A pro-concealed weapons in universities, colleges, and community colleges measure

SB1124,  also introduced by Rogers, ending fees for concealed weapons permits for actively serving members of the military or retired veterans who were discharged under certain conditions, and for active or retired LEOs.  It would also create an expedited application process for the same.

SB1125,  also introduced by Rogers, that would legalize all non-fully automatic firearms and equipment and ammunition for the same.

SB1131, also introduced by Rogers, expanding school vouchers

SB1132, also introduced by Rogers, barring municipalities from issuing bonds to finance green projects

SB1133, also introduced by Rogers, barring municipalities and school districts from holding all mail elections.  Given that the early vote in 2020 was overwhelmingly Democratic, this one isn't much of a surprise.

SB1134, also introduced by Rogers, barring the use of photo radar.

SB1135, by Sen. Warren Petersen, removing the ability of courts to evaluate change of judge affidavits

SB1138, also introduced by Petersen, basically barring all "gender transition" procedures for those under 18, and barring the use of public funds for the same, and creating an ability for anyone to sue over this.

Expect a bumpy ride from the legislature, with LOTS of red meat for MAGA/GQP types.

We've already seen that on the first day of the session.

Arizona has enough anti-vaxxer idiots; we don't need to import more

Lesson here: When doing research, search engines such as Google are your friend.

From KPNX -

Florida-based company's anti-vaccine propaganda popping up in Phoenix suburbs

Ahwatukee resident Jennifer Salome was confused when she recently found a brochure in her neighborhood telling her people dying from COVID-19 was nothing more than "fake news." 

She's known people who have contracted the virus and has seen it affect people in her community. So Salome didn't understand why this literature was suddenly appearing on her doorstep. 

[snip]

Almost two years into the pandemic and the highly contagious omicron variant is now raging across the Valley. During the first week of the new year, Arizona reported more than 60,000 new cases. 

Earlier this week, Salome found a brochure hanging from the handle of her front door along with a newspaper from The People's Chemist entitled "Straight Talk - What's in the Covid-19 Vaccine?" 

[snip]

Why is the "People's Pharmacist" sending propaganda to Arizonans? 

12 News reached out to Ellison through his website's number and email. A voice message said, "We will most likely not get back to your response. There are a lot of people to help. However, most of your answers can be found in Shane’s book.”

So far the company has not responded to an email. 

I couldn't find any info on the company or its owner, Shane Ellison, in Florida corporate records.

Curiosity piqued, I did some more research.

The address listed on their website's privacy policy page leads to a mail drop. 

Curiosity *really* piqued now, I did some more research.

The phone number listed on their contact page, 505-510-1117, leads to New Mexico.

A quick search of corporate records in New Mexico turned up two NM corps -

XYZPost is a business registration LLC and appears to be unrelated to Ellison, other than being used for this.  They *do* seem to have a predilection for registering "holistic" medical organizations though.

The Better Business Bureau does have a listing for The People's Chemist that offers a California address that leads to a mail drop.

Given the low BBB rating (no actual complaints were provided there) and the habitual use of mail drops, I thought it prudent to look for complaints about The People's Chemist.

Some of those are here and here.

Note: In the interest of being thorough, I checked corporate records in both CA and AZ. I didn't find anything in either place.

Note2: On many websites, Ellison claims to have a master's degree in Chemistry from NAU.  Due to a lack of information, I was unable to confirm or refute that claim.

1. Wear a damn mask.

2. Get vaccinated. 

3. Don't bother with propaganda.