Stephan: The reality no one wants to talk about is that about a third of Americans dismiss science as just another argument, no more compelling than any other argument, and this is particularly true of Republicans.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
35% of Americans would not get free, FDA-approved vaccine if ready today
Republicans less inclined than Democrats to be vaccinated
Four in 10 non-White Americans would not get vaccine
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The coronavirus’ toll on the lives of people around the world continues to grow, with over 18 million confirmed cases and more than 700,000 deaths, including upwards of 150,000 of those in the United States. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, recently testified before Congress that he continues to be confident that a coronavirus vaccine will be ready by early 2021. With more indications that a vaccine could be close, the next question for health professionals, policymakers and political leaders will be Americans’ willingness to be vaccinated once a vaccine is ready.
But many Americans appear reluctant to be vaccinated, even if a vaccine were FDA-approved and available to them at no cost. Asked if they would get such a COVID-19 vaccine, 65% say they would, but 35% would not.
Stephan: The American Gulag in the best of times is a national disgrace, and humiliation of America in the eyes of the rest of the world. We have about 4.25% of the world's population and 25% of the world prisoners. This report tells you in terms that are about as clear and unequivocal as terms can be why a Republican-oriented judiciary is a disaster; a study in callous indifference, and lack of compassion.
Participants behind a banner reading “COVID BEHIND BARS = DEATH” attend a rally at Rikers Island in New York. Rights advocates have urged state, local, and federal officials to release vulnerable inmates during the coronavirus pandemic and ensure that prisons and jails are equipped with safety measures to prevent outbreaks. Credit : Erik McGregor/LightRocket/Getty
As prisons and jails across the country continue to report Covid-19 outbreaks among inmates and staff, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled late Wednesday that a county jail in California does not have to provide its population with basic sanitary and protective equipment or test symptomatic inmates.
Responding to an emergency application by officials at Orange County Jail, the court handed down a 5-4 ruling along partisan lines and issued a temporary stay on an earlier ruling by federal Judge Jesus Bernal.
After the ACLU and several detainees filed a complaint that the jail was not providing safe conditions for its population of 3,000 people, Bernal issued an injunction in May requiring Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes to implement social distancing, test inmates if they showed symptoms, and provide disinfecting supplies—requirements […]
Stephan: Here is Friday's Republic Scum Report. Republican Senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson, not on the basis of some Democratic charge, but on the assessment of the intelligence community are essentially acting as Russian agents to get Trump re-elected. I am personally unclear why that isn't treason but, in the strange world we live in today, a Black man in Louisiana can be jailed for life for trying to steal a pair of hedge shears, but two millionaire Republican senators can commit treason, in an attempt to sabotage American democracy, and face no consequences.
Republican Senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson. Have they committed treason? Credit: CNN
The Lugar Center is a fairly recent addition of the sort of traditional institute in Washington that prevailed before Donald Trump. Its mission is to advance an internationalist foreign policy, “bipartisan governance,” and bring together experts to “bridge ideological divides.” It was founded by one of the last of the moderate Republicans, Richard G. Lugar, the late U.S. senator from Indiana, who once seemed to define the mainstream of a now bygone party, in the forefront of legislation to curb nuclear proliferation, but was purged in a brutal primary, losing to a Tea Party candidate who declared rape that resulted in a pregnancy was a “gift from God.”
On May 27, the Lugar Center released its first comprehensive Congressional Oversight Hearing Index, an in-depth study of the due diligence of every committee of the House of Representatives and the Senate in holding the executive branch accountable, concluding with a grade for each committee. “If a House or […]
Stephan: The damage Donald Trump and his orcs have done may take a generation or more to repair, if repair is even possible. Most of this gets little attention in the large corporate media, but that does not mean it is not happening, or that it is not horribly destructive, or that it is not against the best interests of the America, Americans, and the biosphere of the earth.
A rule backed by oil interests tries to keep retirees’ savings locked in climate-threatened assets. Meanwhile, the government says the military must avoid those kind climate-threatened investments.
Drilling rig in Colorado. Credit: David Zalubowski
If you’ve ever seen Tom Cruise force Jack Nicholson to admit that he ordered the code red, then you know that one of the best ways to expose lies and uncover the truth is to spotlight glaring discrepancies between public statements.
If you want to know how companies are misleading regulators, look at the difference between what they tell government officials and what they tell their own shareholders.
If you want to know how corporations swindle tax collectors, look at the difference between their boastful earnings statements to shareholders, and their miserly profit reports to the IRS.
It’s the same thing with the climate crisis — if you want to see how the system of climate denial imperceptibly defrauds the public on a day-to-day basis, look at the difference between what the federal government is saying to retirees […]
Stephan: In contrast to the previous story demonstrating what Trump and the Republicans are doing consider this being done by the Democrats. As I tell my readers again and again, I don't care about partisan politics except as an anthropological phenomenon. What I care about and support are policies that foster wellbeing, and the people who propose and implement such policies. I couldn't care less what badge they are wearing.
“Our nation’s pesticide laws have not kept up to keep us safe,” Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) said in a statement. Credit: Stephanie Chapman/Flickr
Democrats in the House and Senate on Tuesday introduced sweeping legislation that would ban some of the most toxic pesticides currently in use in the United States and institute stronger protections for farmworkers and communities that have been exposed to damaging chemicals by the agriculture industry.
“It is long past time for the United States Congress to turn attention to this issue and put the health and safety of our families above the profits of large corporations.” —Sen. Tom Udall
The Protect America’s Children from Toxic Pesticide Act of 2020, sponsored by Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), was applauded by environmentalists as a “bold and much-needed” step in the right direction.
“The pesticide industry and chemical agriculture have for far too long been able to abuse legal loopholes allowing for the use of toxic pesticides that have not been adequately tested to make sure they are safe for people and the environment,” said Scott Faber, senior vice president […]
