ATTN!
While you were sleeping #Trump issued an edict that eliminates job protections for tens of thousands (maybe millions) of federal employees, all involved in policy-making. It paves the way for a mass firing of govt employees.
MORE stripes.com/trump-issues-s…
2/ The edict "...strips long-held civil service protections from employees whose work involves policymaking, allowing them to be dismissed with little cause or recourse, much like the political appointees who come and go with each administration."
MORE
3/ "Federal scientists, attorneys, regulators, public health experts and many others in senior roles would lose rights to due process and in some cases, union representation, at agencies across the government. The White House declined to say how many jobs..."
MORE
4/ "would be swept into a class of employees with fewer civil service rights, but civil service experts and union leaders estimated anywhere from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands in a workforce of 2.1 million."
Examples of people whose jobs cld no longer be protected:
5/ - @US_FDA scientists who resist rapid drug or vaccine approvals demanded by @WhiteHouse
- @NIH scientists who deny #COVID19 lies & distortions
- @CDCgov policymakers that insist on lockdown approaches to COVID
- Any scientists calling out #ClimateChange
MORE
6/ This is all in line with a 2017 @WhiteHouse document that I warned at the time was the #Trump masterplan for destroying the "administrative & regulatory government."
It was drafted during #SteveBannon time in the WH, & reflects his anti-govt views. performance.gov/GovReform/Refo…
"It's an attempt to redefine the civil service as a political arm of the presidency rather than public servants who work for the American people," Beyer said, calling the result "open cronyism that does not benefit the country, but the president."
"The order wld shift the affected employees frm what is known as the 'competitive service' — which covers the bulk of the exec branch — into the 'excepted service,' which applies to political appointees below the level requiring Senate confirmation." stripes.com/trump-issues-s…
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
WOW. The @US_FDA#COVID19#vaccine mtg just heard summaries of focus group studies about American opinions of such a vaccine -- will they take it? Six powerful themes emerged (quotes from focus groups). (MORE) fda.yorkcast.com/webcast/Play/c…
2/ More focus group rxns, from non-white groups, regarding fears of #COVID19#vaccines
MORE
My god!
"All 62 residents in a Kansas nursing home tested + for #COVID19, health officials announced. Of those 62 residents, 10 have died, 1 is hospitalized, & the rest of the residents are currently being quarantined & treated at the facility." health.com/condition/infe…
A 100% infection rate is astounding -- I can't recall any such scale in any prior epidemic. It's urgent to get a detailed epi/genomic analysis. Was this spread by a staff member? By a single elder superspreader? A family visitor? #COVID19 is CONTAGIOUS.
A man who lost his uncle in this nursing home, about #COVID19 threat: “Respect it, it is a real thing and people are really dying—just be aware of your situation and take the precautions needed.”
😷😷😷😷😷😷😷
Here are some examples of what "record-breaking hospitalizations" and soaring deaths from #COVID19 look like across America right now.
First, Iowa, where yesterday 31 people died, & "534 people hospitalized, topping Tuesday's high of 501."
MORE desmoinesregister.com/story/news/hea…
2/ Soaring #COVID19 numbers are reported in Texas, especially the Mexican border town of El Paso: "El Paso County shattered a pandemic record Thursday morning. Health officials announced 1,161 new cases and four coronavirus-related deaths."
MORE kvia.com/top-stories/20…
3/
35 Minnesotans died of #COVID19 yesterday & "State health officials linked the high number of fatalities — the most since May 28 — to accelerating infections.
'...a surge in deaths was to be expected several wks after a surge in cases'.”
MORE startribune.com/minn-health-of…
A #WarpSpeed press conf starting momentarily @CDCgov w @HHSGov Sec. #Azar and @CDCDirector#Redfield & Dep Dir Jay Butler.
The @FDA vaccine advisory comm meets tomorrow. And a volunteer in @AstraZeneca trial in Brazil died. Waiting for the presser....will thread from here.
Starting. Redfield: "#COVID19 is the most significant public health challenge our nation has faced in 100 years."
"It's been a difficult year for Americans, but we are going to through this on the other side."
"remain diligent...protect ourselves"
MORE LIVE
3/ Dep Dir @CDCgov Jay Butler:
Speaks wearing 😷
"we're seeing a distressing trend"
220,000 deaths
>75% of country has ^ed cases
National ^ 60,000/day, "in all parts of the country"
"we get tired of wearing masks, but it's more important than ever"
MORE LIVE
This falls into the category of "if I wrote this scene in a movie nobody would believe it."
Tonight.
Live #COVID19 work-up @foxnewstalk@TuckerCarlson
The President of the United States will "undergo a medical exam" conducted by Fox's Dr. Marc Siegel
MORE dailycaller.com/2020/10/09/tru…
2/ Dr. Marc Siegel has been #FoxNews medical commentator since 2008, & is on the faculty @nyulangone . He said on #Hannity that #COVID19 "should be compared to the #flu. Because at worst, at worst, worst-case scenario it could be the flu."
MORE
3/ It was Siegel who was on camera w/#Trump for the infamous "person, woman, man, camera, TV" segment in which @POTUS bragged about his cognitive function test.
In April on @TuckerCarlson he announced that #hydroxychloroquine "cured" his father of #COVID19 .
But he has...
MORE
The good folks @Gisaid have nearly 140,000 #SARSCoV2 viruses genetically sequenced. If you go to their epi section: gisaid.org/epiflu-applica…
..there are some amazing findings.
1.) Tracing backwards they think 3 diff strains were in Wuhan by Dec4, abt 1% diff from each other.
MORE
GISAID/2
2.) If you pass your cursor over a dot you get read-out on strain: source, country, genetics.
3.) As you move from Left 2 Right you track both time & an ever-widening genetic tree.
4.) Most USA viruses are the blue GR clade, which 1st emerged abt 2nd week of Feb.
MORE
GISAID/3
5.) If you focus on the blue, and go to the furthest right/bottom of the blue section..click on that dot. It's USA/WI-GMF-20447/2020 -- a Wisconsin Sept. 15th strain. When you pass your cursor over it w/out clicking you will see that it's 20% divergent from its
MORE