According to the NYT, there is a massive increase in the number of new COVID cases as compared to two weeks ago, but -- in both the US and around the world -- a *decrease* in the number of people dying each day.
Similarly, Florida -- which some believe is governed by a homicidal maniac bent on murdering as many of his citizens as possible while he vacations -- has a significant increase in new COVID cases but one of the lowest daily death counts since the pandemic began.
If you doubt there is a large section of the country that does not want any good news about COVID, and does not want to hear that signs point to the Omicron variant being less deadly, check the replies to this data. They crave the pandemic's permanence.
Even Dr. Fauci is saying publicly that "all indications point to a lesser severity of Omicron" -- *all indications* -- yet if you point this out, those addicted to lockdowns and governments restrictions will react with rage and even fear. It's bizarre.
This was one of the saddest and most pathetic displays from a Trump-era liberal -- also courtesy of The Vox Explainer (he worked for @neeratanden at the time at CAP) -- but the Drama Queen Week we're in store for this week will make this look like sober and grounded reflection.
The dangers of NBC and CNN hiring a army of CIA, FBI, NSA, DOJ and Pentagon operatives are obvious. They turn these outlets into state TV. They use security state agents to "report" the news. And, as with Figliuzzi, they conceal the personal stake these agents have in the news.
If NBC or MNSBC were legitimate news outlets, they'd bar Figliuzzi from reporting on the Assange case at all. He led the FBI unit that coerced a mentally unwell teenager into making false accusations in exchange for immunity: accusations he now recanted.
Having unelected tech oligarchs ban duly elected members of Congress - or even the sitting President - from using their massive platforms is dystopian. Remember how many world leaders warned that FB & Twitter's banning of Trump was a threat to democracy.
As American liberals (including their journalists) yet again celebrate and express gratitude to tech giants for silencing their political enemies -- even elected officials -- compare their mindset to how the rest of the democratic world thinks to see how authoritarian they are.
US liberals don't realize what a rogue and authoritarian faction they are because their media outlets keep all dissent from them. When Big Tech banned Trump, it was denounced as dangerous by Merkel, Macron, UN & EU officials. Listen to Mexico's AMLO:
Today's @washingtonpost article on GOP attitudes on the 2020 election mentions a typically ignored fact: the overwhelming majority of Democrats believed in late 2017 that Trump "was not legitimately elected president." Hence, GOP views are "not novel."
Indeed, in 2019 -- 3 years into the Trump presidency -- Hillary Clinton herself proclaimed Trump an "illegitimate president," and accused the Republicans of having stolen the 2016 election. That prompted no pompous Atlantic essays on Democracy In Peril.™
But it's much worse than that. As late as 2018, 2/3 of all Dems - 2/3! - believed "Russia tampered with vote tallies in order to get Trump elected President."
One of the leading advocates of this conspiracy theory, @neeratanden, has a high-level WH job.
The rationale for prioritizing some races over others crumbles upon examination.
Under NY's policy, a wealthy 18-year-old Asian or Black marathon runner is automatically eligible for antibody treatment, while an impoverished White patient must demonstrate underlying illness.
The new memo from New York's Health Department says that the only monoclonal antibody approved for the Omicron variant is "extremely limited," with severe shortages. Using a patient's race to determine who can access life-saving treatments first is extraordinary.
NEW: The Epidemic of Prosecutorial Abuse -- Interview with Raj Rajaratnam
Rajaratnam's important new book, "Uneven Justice," spends some time on his own case, but mostly as a window to understand the virtually limitless power of federal prosecutors:
For years, the cause of criminal justice reform and curbing prosecutorial abuse resided on the libertarian right and left. Now the pro-Trump right has seen how pervasive and dangerous such abuses are: @PreetBharara, @Comey, Russiagate fraud, Carter Page.
So much of my reporting over the last decade has been about prosecutorial abuse: the 2011 book I wrote (With Liberty and Justice for Some) and our 2020 year-long Brazil exposés (which revealed corruption by judges and prosecutors).