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When I began Schwartzreport my purpose was to produce an entirely fact-based daily publication in favor of the earth, the inter-connectedness and interdependence of all life, democracy, equality for all, liberty, and things that are life-affirming. Also, to warn my readers about actions, events, and trends that threaten those values. Our country now stands at a crossroads, indeed, the world stands at a crossroads where those values are very much at risk and it is up to each of us who care about wellbeing to do what we can to defend those principles. I want to thank all of you who have contributed to SR, particularly those of you who have scheduled an ongoing monthly contribution. It makes a big difference and is much appreciated. It is one thing to put in the hours each day and to do the work for free, but another to have to cover the rising out-of-pocket costs. For those of you who haven’t done so, but read SR regularly, I ask that you consider supporting it.
Stephan: I have been talking about the christofascist trend and the transformation of American evangelical Christianity into a White supremacist male-dominant fascist cult, and that cult's melding with the Republican Party. It is, I think, one of the greatest dangers facing the future of America.
President Donald J. Trump joins members of his Cabinet in a prayer led by Secretary of Energy Rick Perry during a Cabinet Meeting Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019, in the Cabinet Room of the White House. Credit: Official White House Photo/Joyce N. Boghosian
In the wake of the Pew Research Center’s findings that 84 percent of the white evangelical Protestant vote went to former President Donald Trump in 2020, it is more important than ever for the American public to face the uncomfortable truth about the authoritarian Christian right’s deleterious impact on society, culture and politics.
Some of us have been pushing for this conversation for years, with various iterations of relevant data and scholarship helping to elucidate key points. During the 2016 primaries, a few political scientists drew attention to a link between authoritarian personality traits and support for Trump. For Religion Dispatches, I wrote at the time, “if ‘a desire for order and a fear of outsiders’ predicts Trump support, the question of why white evangelicals are backing a trash-talking billionaire can be easily […]
Stephan: Something very strange is going on with the Covid pandemic. I mentioned it yesterday, and published a chart illustrating it graphically, and today more hard data has come in that confirms my observation. The Covid pandemic has entered a phase where it is defined by political affiliation, a situation for which I can find no prior example in history. MAGAts don't get vaccinated, and now those contracting the disease, and dying from it, are almost entirely from this unvaccinated demographic. What is even worse it has become clear that those who contract Covid, even if they survive, often have ongoing health problems brought on by Covid which suggests that MAGAts are going to be having health problems for years to come. Who do you think they will blame? Themselves? Trump? The Republican Party?
Depiction of a COVID-19 patient in the hospital. Credit: Shutterstock.com
The Washington Post cited shocking data released by the state of Maryland that revealed every person who died from COVID-19 there last month wasn’t vaccinated.
“But even as the total number of cases is down, the risk remains for those who are unvaccinated,” said the report. “In addition to the more than 100reported coronavirus deaths in June, Marylanders who haven’t gotten inoculated made up 95 percent of the 2,385 new coronavirus cases and 93 percent of the 6,707 new coronavirus hospitalizations the state saw that month.”
The move comes at the same time that states with lower vaccine rates are now experiencing increases in COVID cases.
Stephan: I have lost count of the number of people who have written me urging me to do articles promoting the use of ivermectin as a "cure" for Covid-19. I have explored this by reading everything I can find in the databases and talking with researchers deep into this pandemic. I can find nothing that supports the assertion that ivermectin is an effective remedy against Covid. Rather I have come to see it as a particularly effective example of disinformation propagation. That is also one of my main takeaways from the Trump era and the pandemic. American culture is now defined largely not by facts, but by disinformation. People who think of themselves as thoughtful well-read individuals in fact spew out the most egregious nonsense.
Here is Politifact's take on ivermectin. Personally, I wouldn't take it.
A COVID-19 vaccination is administered at a 24-hour, walk-up clinic hosted by the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium at Temple University inPhiladelphia. Credit: AP
The study was done by researchers affiliated with a group that is campaigning for ivermectin to be approved for COVID-19 use, and they did not declare that affiliation in their study. Experts said ivermectin trials on which the review is based were not high quality.
The FDA warns against taking ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19.
Is the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin a “cure” for COVID-19?
We’ve rated False claims such as “mountains of data” show ivermectin “basically obliterates” COVID-19 transmission. Some limited studies suggested that ivermectin can help treat COVID-19; others show no significant impact. Many of the studies had small sample sizes and other limitations.
At the same time, ivermectin has not been universally dismissed as a potential treatment.
A new study has reignited the debate, making claims about fewer coronavirus deaths even though public health authorities say more research is needed.
“New study links ivermectin to ‘large reductions’ in COVID-19 deaths,” reads one headline on the Epoch […]
Stephan: It is very clear to anyone who bothers to look at the data that the American power grid, and in fact the entire U.S.infrastructure, is woefully unprepared to deal with climate change. This is particularly true in states governed by Republicans, and it doesn't take much imagination to conceive of the misery and death these states will be condemned to because of their lack of preparation. This is why the full Biden proposals for rebuilding infrastructure should be passed and implemented as soon as possible.
But it’s far from the first time extreme weather has caused serious problems with the power grid in recent months. During the winter storm that hit Texas in February, nearly 5 millionpeople lost power. In June, California suggested that residents charge their electric vehicles during off-peak hours to save energy. And for the first time ever, after power outages hit several neighborhoods during this week’s heat wave, New York City officials sent residents an emergency mobile alert urging them to conserve energy.
It’s abundantly clear that the power grid in the United States is not ready for the effects of climate change, including the extreme weather events that come with it. After all, climate change isn’t just increasing the demand for energy to keep people cool or warm amid heat waves and winter storms. It’s also damaging […]
Stephan: Preparing for climate change, as this article describes, gets down to tiny little details. How efficient is a home's insulation? What kind of heating system is permitted by the building code? What kind of windows are used? Little details that must be thought out; it all requires a level of attention to detail at the local planning and licensing level. But will it happen? Perhaps in states governed by Democrats, but in those states governed by Republicans? Probably not. What we are going to see is that the Great Schism Trend is going to significantly impact America's response to climate change.
A tattered U.S. flag waves in the wind as construction workers build new homes in an area of Breezy Point in Queens, New York.
Buildings are huge generators of planet-warming gases, with fossil fuels responsible for everything from heating and cooling to cooking and charging our devices. Experts say a massive overhaul of building efficiency is imperative within the next decade to prevent catastrophic warming.
Building codes are updated every three years, and making those more aggressive is the most obvious way to make such an overhaul happen ― requiring things like energy-saving windows and chargers for electric vehicles, and eliminating natural gas-powered appliances. But as the private consortium that writes the codes that all 50 states adopt is preparing for the next round, it has given industries opposed to climate progress even more power over the process.
Last week, the International Code Council, a nonprofit made up of industry groups and local governments, named 93 people to its committees writing the 2024 codes for commercial and residential […]
Philip Bump, National Correspondent - The Washington Post
Stephan: The Covid pandemic is far from over, particularly in Red value states where the vaccination rate is very low and a large percentage of the population simply will not get vaccinated. It is basically becoming a pandemic defined by one's political affiliation. You just can't fix stupid and, as a result, many MAGAts are going to die.
Two elected officials have weighed in over the past several days on the effort to vaccinate as many Americans as possible.
The first was President Biden. During a July 4 speech at the White House, he again encouraged the country to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, referring to covid-19, the disease it causes.
“Covid-19 has not been vanquished,” he said. “We all know powerful variants have emerged, like the delta variant, but the best defense against these variants is to get vaccinated. My fellow Americans, it’s the most patriotic thing you can do. So, please, if you haven’t gotten vaccinated, do it — do it now for yourself, for your loved ones, for your community and for your country.”
The second official to offer thoughts was Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who weighed in on Twitter.
“No one cares about the Delta Variant or any other variant,” she wrote. “They are over covid & there is no amount of fear based screaming from the media that will ever force Americans to shut down again.”
Em Steck and Andrew Kaczynski and Drew Myers, - CNN
Stephan: Republican Senator Ron Johnson from Wisconsin is today's winner of the Republican Scum Award. I'll just let him speak for himself, and ask the people of Wisconsin, how could you elect someone like this to the Senate?
Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) speaks during a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee hearing on the Colonial Pipeline cyber attack, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., June 8, 2021. Credit: Graeme Jennings/Pool/Reuters
Sen. Ron Johnson insisted again last week that he is not a climate change denier, but CNN’s KFile found video of him from just weeks earlier telling a Republican group that it is “bullsh*t.””I don’t know about you guys, but I think climate change is — as Lord Monckton said — bullsh*t,” the Wisconsin Republican said, without uttering the expletive but mouthing it, and referring to British conservative climate change denier Lord Christopher Monckton. “By the way, it is.”Johnson, a member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, continued that “there are more and more scientists” writing books “just laying this to waste” and questioned why the US was focused on the climate crisis at all.”What are we doing here? Well, we’re killing ourselves,” said Johnson, adding, “it’s a self-inflicted wound.”
Emma Tucker, Omar Jimenez and Kristina Sgueglia,, - CNN
Stephan: America's gun madness becomes more and more violent; it has reached a level you would only expect to see in a war zone. This 4th of July weekend there were 400 shootings, 400!, and 150 people died as a result. Yet, it is easier to buy a gun than it is to vote in many states. I wonder how many people have to be murdered each weekend before any of this changes. Would 1,000 deaths a weekend make any difference? Would 5,000 deaths have an effect? I'm not sure, but we may find out. America is a very dangerous country.
At least 150 people were killed by gun violence in more than 400 shootings across the country during the Fourth of July weekend as major cities nationwide confront a surge in violent crime, according to data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive.The data, which includes the number of shooting incidents and gun violence victims nationally over a 72-hour period from Friday through Sunday, is still evolving and will be updated.In New York, where gun violence has been rising to levels not seen in years, there were 26 victims from 21 shootings from Friday to Sunday, a decrease from the same period last year when 30 people were shot in 25 shootings, the New York Police Department said.
On July 4, the city experienced 12 shooting incidents that involved 13 victims, an increase from last year when there were eight shootings and eight victims, according to the NYPD.So far this year, gun violence incidents in New York have spiked almost 40% over the same period in 2020, with 767 shootings and 885 […]
