Weekend Open Thread
[guest post by Dana]
Here are a few interesting news items to chew over. Feel free to share anything that you think readers might find interesting. Make sure to include links.
First news item
Came across this clip in @FOX9 video from Monday's protest/rally outside Shady's Tavern in Albany, MN. This is @LouRaguse, a fellow Reporter & friend trying to cover the story. And getting *harassed* for wearing a mask. A judge will decide soon whether the bar can legally re-open pic.twitter.com/iHYXUvysow
— Paul Blume (@PaulBlume_FOX9) May 22, 2020
Second news item
How not to stop stop the spread of a highly contagious virus:
A Great Clips hairstylist exposed dozens of clients to coronavirus while showing symptoms, Missouri health officials say.
The stylist at a salon franchise in Springfield served 84 clients and exposed seven coworkers, the Springfield-Greene County Health Department said Friday. The hairstylist also visited a Dairy Queen, Walmart and fitness center, officials said.
Third news item
Trump serves reporters confusing word salad about coronavirus test results:
“I tested very positively in another sense,” Trump added. “I tested positively toward negative, right? So no, I tested perfectly this morning. Meaning I tested negative. But that’s a way of saying it. Positively toward the negative.”
Given the above, I’m thinking sooner rather than later :
It’s been more than six months since President Donald Trump claimed to have started his annual physical at Walter Reed hospital but the White House is declining to explain why he has yet to complete the yearly doctor’s examination.
Senior administration officials did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment about the delay — despite Trump announcing this week he was taking an unproven and potentially dangerous drug after being exposed to an aide who tested positive for coronavirus.
Fourth news item
Two old white guys have a slap fest:
Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired back at President Trump on Twitter late Friday night after the president again scolded his former ally for recusing himself from the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Mr. Trump has thrown his support behind Session’s Senate rival Tommy Tuberville in Alabama’s upcoming election.
“3 years ago, after Jeff Sessions recused himself, the Fraudulent Mueller Scam began,” Mr. Trump tweeted. “Alabama, do not trust Jeff Sessions. He let our Country down. That’s why I endorsed Coach Tommy Tuberville… the true supporter of our #MAGA agenda!”
Sessions responded with a fiery tweet of his own: “Look, I know your anger, but recusal was required by law. I did my duty & you’re damn fortunate I did. It protected the rule of law & resulted in your exoneration. Your personal feelings don’t dictate who Alabama picks as their senator, the people of Alabama do.”
Fifth news item
President Trump is considering establishing a panel to review complaints of anticonservative bias on social media, according to people familiar with the matter, in a move that would likely draw pushback from technology companies and others.
The plans are still under discussion but could include the establishment of a White House-created commission that would examine allegations of online bias and censorship, these people said. The administration could also encourage similar reviews by federal regulatory agencies, such as the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Election Commission, they said.
“Left-wing bias in the tech world is a concern that definitely needs to be addressed from our vantage point, and at least exposed [so] that Americans have clear eyes about what we’re dealing with,” a White House official said.
The Radical Left is in total command & control of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Google. The Administration is working to remedy this illegal situation. Stay tuned, and send names & events. Thank you Michelle! https://t.co/ZQfcfD3Hk9
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 16, 2020
Sixth news item
Millions of us have been there on the battlefield. We saw the aircraft get hit. We were on the bridge when last contact with the submarine was made. We saw the tank after it exploded in flames. I lost two of my captain commanders two weeks apart in Vietnam. Wonderful officers in their late 20s, older men in the eyes of an infantry lieutenant. The first killed as we extracted under fire was hit in the small of the back by the only rounds to strike the Chinook helicopter. The second killed during an all-night barrage of enemy artillery on our battalion. I crawled over to him and retrieved his .357 Magnum revolver since I was wounded and could not load my M16. His mother wrote me several beautiful letters in later weeks. In the last communication she asked if I had “prayed with her son as death approached.” I could not recreate for her the scene. The whiplash of machine gun fire across the landing zone. The pouring rain and the mud, and the hundreds of casualties hoping to survive. The ongoing combat mayhem that is incompatible with prayer.
Our troops are out there today in harm’s way across the face of the Earth. Sixty thousand have been killed or wounded since the 9/11 attacks to protect us from the terrorists who wish to destroy us and our freedom. In this war, 1,000 of our casualties have been women. They now join their brothers in shedding their blood.
So, on this Memorial Day, as we face such sadness for our threatened way of life, let us also honor the memories of those courageous young Americans who disappeared into history so that we could remain free and live under our Constitution.
I am reminded of a passage in the famous 1914 poem by Laurence Binyon:
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
A misbegotten, warped freedom obsession is killing us. pic.twitter.com/KbYaTVtR0O
— Anand Giridharadas (@AnandWrites) May 22, 2020
(h/t Paul Montagu)
Have a good weekend.
–Dana