In today's thread we're discussing why on earth Tucker Carlson is in Hungary this week and what it means.
I try NOT to pay attention to anything Tucker Carlson does but this latest development demands discussion because it means something quite serious for all of us.
(THREAD)
(2) Tucker Carlson, the long-time gateway drug to white supremacy & right-wing terrorism in the US, is sealing the deal by moving his show to Hungary for the week so he can suck up to dictator Viktor Orban
(3) If you're not familiar with Viktor Orban, let me introduce you. He's punished journalists, taken over the media, installed an entire judicial branch loyal to him, and gerrymandered to the extent that elections seem irrelevant.
(4) Orban's anti-immigration policies are the stuff of Carlson's wet dreams.
Both Carlson and Orban have had career success by stoking fears of immigrants and using xenophobic tropes to point the fingers of blame at everyone but conservatives.
(8) Well that my friend is all about money. Tucker doesn't even need advertisers. His success comes from exclusive streaming subscribers that make him rather immune to boycotts and criticism.
(10) I don't know what to do about Tucker Carlson, but the problem is much bigger than him. And it will take a lot more than one election to snuff it out.
Hungary, Hitler. The lessons are everywhere. We're not in the clear. Not by a long shot.
In today's thread we're taking a deeper dive into the Thomas Barrack indictment.
The charges against Trump's former best friend are much more serious than a little foreign lobbying. Even the public evidence of Barrack's involvement with the UAE is pretty conclusive
(THREAD)
(2) What Barrack is being charged with isn't JUST acting as a foreign agent on behalf of the UAE. It's also that he obstructed justice and lied to investigators.
With Trump in the White House, US foreign policy was for sale and Barrack wanted a cut.
(3) By the time Trump stumbled into the presidency with Barrack as his inaugration campaign chair, Barrack was on shaky footing financially and was looking for a quick fix.
His position of influence with Trump was an easy ace in the hole.
In today's thread, we're addressing whether or not insurance companies can start hitting the unvaccinated where it hurts. In their wallet.
And the answer, as you might guess, is complicated.
As is everything about healthcare in this country.
(THREAD)
(2) The healthcare costs of this pandemic have been catastrophic and that is probably going to translate into a rate hike, although perhaps not as much as you might expect.
But who should bear the burden of those costs?
Shouldn't it be the unvaccinated?
(3) That's a lot easier said than done. Certainly insurers might calculate that unvaccinated people are a greater risk, but it's likely since most Americans get their insurance through their employers that we'll all feel the brunt of those costs.
In today's thread, it seems like pundits who push anti-vaccination propaganda have often been vaccinated themselves.
This matters because low vaccination rates driving the current surge have one thing in common.
Trump voters.
Here's who has & hasn't been vaccinated.
(THREAD)
(2) Let's start at the top. TRUMP. That sneaky grifter and his wife got secretly vaccinated in January.
Who else? Try just about every GOP leader and most red state governors including McConnell, McCarthy, DeSantis & more. They all got their shots.
(3) So what about the folks over at Fox News? Of course they did. And some of them were bragging about it on camera months before they started questioning the administration's push to vaccinate more Americans.
I worked at a marketing firm that was one of the Utah’s “best places” to work. 95% of upper leadership were men. Most of the creatives were women. This wasn’t the 1960s. It was 2015.
I only filed one sexual harassment complaint but the microaggressions were constant.
Now that the 4th of July holiday has come and gone, let's check in on vaccination rates state by state.
As you're probably aware, Biden just missed his goal of having 70% of American adults vaccinated with one shot. Here's what comes next.
(THREAD)
(2) Vaccination rates slowed dramatically in June, so we just edged over the finish line in some spots. About 20 states reached the goal, putting the country at 67.5% of adults partially vaccinated.
58.6% of US adults are fully vaccinated
78.7% of 65+
(3) Colorado and Oregon were some of the last states to reach the goal. And surprisingly Utah joined their ranks after counting some missing doses from the Indian Health Department and VA.
Utah becomes one of the first red states to reach Biden's goal.
In today's thread, we're asking if the US is on track to meet 70% of adult Americans getting one shot by July 4th.
The short answer is it depends.
And contrary to popular belief it actually doesn't solely depend on convincing red states to roll up their sleeves.
(THREAD)
(2) Let's start with where we're at. There's been some confusion about what we're measuring. If you look at states with 70% of eligible residents vaccinated, those numbers are abysmal.
Fortunately, Biden's goal is just adults (18+)
And that makes a big difference. We're at 65%.
(3) BUT there is a HUGE difference from state to state and as you might expect it depends entirely on whether we're talking red or rural areas.
Yes. Red states are dragging our average down. Way down.