GOOD DECISION??!

A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that the Biden administration most likely overstepped the First Amendment by urging the major social media platforms to remove misleading or false content about the COVID-19 pandemic, partly upholding a lower court’s preliminary injunction in a victory for conservatives.

The judges wrote that the White House and the Office of the Surgeon General had “coerced the platforms to make their moderation decisions by way of intimidating messages and threats of adverse consequences” and “significantly encouraged the platforms’ decisions by commandeering their decision-making processes.”

The ruling, by a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, was another twist in a First Amendment case that has challenged the government’s ability to combat false and misleading narratives about the pandemic, voting rights and other issues that spread on social media.

The White House defended its interactions with social media companies and said the Department of Justice was reviewing the ruling and would consider options for responding.

So-o-o-o, it’s just fine to spread information that can cause grave harm, and the false narrative surrounding The Big Lie??!

It is long past time for social media platforms to operate under the same rules as other media and to be held liable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! for disseminating knowingly false information.

Why can Trump lie about literally everything, attempt a coup, and destroy democracy but the White House and FBI can’t ask social media companies to remove blatant falsehoods and conspiracy theories about a pandemic??!

Partisan extremism, NOT a court of law!!!!!!!!!!

“MAYBERRY MARK” LOSES

Georgia prosecutors leading the criminal election interference case against “the former guy” and 18 of his allies notched a victory yesterday when a judge rejected!!! an effort by Mark Meadows, Boy Orange‘s former White House chief of staff, to move his case from state court to federal court.

Removal to federal court would have given Meadows key advantages, including a jury pool that was more favorable to Trump.

Conducting a trial in federal court would have also increased the likelihood that the United States Supreme Court, a third of whose members were nominated by Trump, would ultimately get involved in the case.

The setback for “Mayberry Mark” came in the first of many rulings that are expected for the defendants who are seeking to have their cases moved out of state court. Trump has NOT filed for a removal to federal court, but he is widely expected to do so.

The ruling, by Judge Steve Jones of the Northern District of Georgia, does NOT bode well for any number of reasons.

One, in particular, is extremely pleasing, to the old Lobsterman: The question of where the trials will take place is significant because, unlike in federal court, the proceedings in state court will be televised, setting the stage for long-running public trials focused on efforts by Trump and his toadies attempting to cling to power.

In a filing this week, Trump’s lawyer, Steven Sadow, notified the presiding Fulton County Superior Court judge, Scott McAfee, that Trump might seek to move his case; he has until the end of the month to decide.

WHAT’S TO LIKE??!

Likeability.

Over the last month, there have been a series of national polls on the “likeability” of BOTH Joey Biden and Boy Orange, as the campaign season for ’24 starts to heat up.

BOTH are in the vicinity of 35%.

Once you get beyond inflation; Ukraine; health-care; and, the weighty legal issues ahead for each man, you are left with a resounding element for Donnie and Joey: A-G-E.

It’s unavoidable.

Why would someone who dislikes Biden then turn around and vote for Trump?

You may NOT like Biden, but how does it follow that Trump is better?

The old Lobsterman looks at the dilemma this way – the truly cataclysmic risks that Donald John Trump brings with him. First, Trump is an autocrat; he would clearly love to run the country along the same lines as Putin and Xi…plus carrying a list of vendettas that would cripple democracy. Biden is demonstrably interested in individual rights and in preserving the Constitution.

Second, Trump is a fireworks factory, ready to go off in any direction without regard for consequences. Do we really want him in charge of the nuclear codes, again??! Surely, we can ALL agree that Biden is far less likely to get us into a nuclear war than Trump.

Third, climate change. Trump disregards this very real and inarguable catastrophe that is descending on ALL of us. Trump does NOT think about the future, trading it for instant gratification. Biden is far more likely to look into the future impact of what we do now and save the world for our grandchildren.

Fourth, income inequality and health-care. Trump would take health care away. Biden would NOT.

Lastly, Trump supporters are beyond reason, believing that they are special, entitled to rights!!! while NO one else is!!!

But…

The idea that rational Americans would turn to the Orange Despot because they don’t like Biden is appalling. You don’t have to like him. You do need to vote for him…the alternative is unthinkable.

REASONS FOR OPTIMISM?

Being in my 80’s, and battling Stage 4 cancer, the latest news as regards the new Omicron variants is troublesome.

Jill Biden, the first lady, tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, for the third time. ALREADY, schools in Kentucky and Texas have closed, citing widespread respiratory illness among students and staff.

A steady uptick in cases since July and reports of worrisome new variants have fueled concern that the virus is poised to make a comeback this Fall and Winter.

But…

In interviews, multiple medical experts have offered reassurances that the country will NOT see a return to the nightmarish scenarios of the previous two years.

COVID cases are on the rise, but doctors are optimistic? Why??!

NO one who studies COVID is optimistic. We don’t have any treatments for long covid. The Lancet has a newly released study showing that most people with long covid have NOT shown any significant signs of improvement in two years. We don’t have nasal vaccines, which would do a better job of protecting us.

By the time our new, updated vaccine is widely available, and properly distributed, it won’t be targeting the variants that are widely circulating. COVID, as we currently understand it, affects ALL of our organs and our nervous systems, it damages our T cells and causes immune system exhaustion, thus making us more susceptible to other infections [of serious concern to the old Lobsterman].

Many people are NO longer testing for COVID, they just pretend it is the flu or a cold [specifically, just look at the “mystery bug” affecting players at the US Open in NY] and they willfully expose!!! other people to COVID because they aren’t, and won’t, wear masks when they are sick.

We do NOT have anything to be optimistic about. Stay close to your ‘family doctor!!! and staff.’

h/t: John Hopkins and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. 

JUST ANOTHER THUG

Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the Proud Boys, was sentenced yesterday to 22 years in prison!!! for the central role he played in organizing a gang of his pro-Trump followers to attack the Capitol on 1/6, and stop the peaceful transfer of presidential power.

What about the guy who told him to “stand back and standby”??!!!?

Can’t wait for his day of judgement!!!!!!!!!

The penalty imposed on Tarrio at a three-hour hearing in Federal District Court in Washington was the final sentence to be lodged against the five members of the Proud Boys who were tried on seditious conspiracy charges earlier this year.

In a series of separate prosecutions – of which Tarrio’s sedition trial was by far the most important – the Justice Department all but decapitated [one hopes!] the group’s national leadership and mostly put an end to its involvement in large-scale and often violent pro-Trump rallies in cities across the country.

I’m ALWAYS amazed when I see these rough-edged thugs like Tarrio so attracted and committed to slick dandies like Trump and especially the likes of a Roger Stone. The contradictions in their appearance and lifestyle speaks loudly to the duplicity and deception they use to achieve their goals.

Still NOT enough cowbells for the old Lobsterman!

IS IT OVER??!

The old Lobsterman loves this compilation…

Happy Labor Day, y’all.

JUST ANOTHER BROKEN PROMISE

A ‘lick-and-promise’ spiraling toward Planet Earth.

When Boy Orange‘s media start-up announced in October 2021 that it planned to merge with a Miami-based company called Digital World Acquisition, the deal was an over-night stock market hit.

With the $300 million Digital World had ALREADY raised from investors, Trump Media & Technology Group, creator of the pro-Trump social network Truth Social, pledged then that the merger would create a tech titan valued at $875 million at the start and, depending on the stock’s performance, up to $1.7 billion later.

ALL they needed was for the merger to close – a process that Digital World, in a July 2021 preliminary prospectus, estimated would happen within 12 to 18 months.

Now, almost two years later, the deal faces what could be a catastrophic threat. With the merger stalled for months, Digital World is fast approaching a September 8th deadline for the merger to close and has scheduled a shareholder meeting for Tuesday in hopes of getting enough votes to extend the deadline another year.

Suckers, suckers, suckers, suckers!!!

If the vote fails, Digital World will be required by law to liquidate and return $300 million to its shareholders, leaving Trump’s company with NOTHING from the transaction.

FROZEN STEAKS AND BOTTLED WATER…ANYONE??!

NEW COVID VARIANTS

Here on the Prairie, we have seen a 18% jump over last year [same time period] since July 4th weekend.

Concern is rising about the COVID-19 variants EG.5 and BA.2.86.

In August, EG.5 became the dominant variant in the US, and the World Health Organization (WHO) classified it as a “variant of interest,” meaning it has genetic changes that give it an advantage and its prevalence is growing.

BA.2.86 is much less widespread, making up only a tiny fraction of cases, but scientists are alarmed by how many mutations it carries.

EG.5, which has also been called Eris, does NOT appear to have any new capacities when it comes to its contagiousness, its symptoms or its likelihood of causing severe illness. Diagnostic tests and treatments such as Paxlovid continue to be effective against it.

Medical experts state that they, collectively, would feel better if the new vaccine formulation, which is expected to be rolled out in the Fall, was ALREADY available. The updated booster was developed based on another variant that is genetically similar to EG.5. It is expected to provide better protection against EG.5 than last year’s shot, which targeted the original coronavirus strain and a much earlier Omicron variant that is only distantly related.

The other new variant that scientists are watching closely is BA.2.86, nicknamed Pirola. Descended from a different Omicron variant, BA.2.86 has been definitively tied to 29 cases of COVID across four continents, but experts suspect it is more widespread.

Data recently released indicates the research also indicates that BA.2.86 may be less infectious than other variants, though studies conducted in cells in a lab don’t ALWAYS correspond to how a virus behaves in the real world.

The best advice is to discuss with your family doctor…NOW.

h/t: John Hopkins and WHO and Scripps Research and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center.

NOTHING IS THE SAME

Realignment in college sports is for corporate America…

College football as we know it is over…and, the answer to ALL questions is $$$$$$$$$$$$.

Soon ALL players in Division 1 sports will be deemed professionals and can ask for whatever they want. NIL will be NOTHING but a temporary pilot program.

When the college football season kicks off in earnest this Labor Day weekend, it will be a test to keep an eye on the ball. The focus for a few days may be on blocking, tackling and quick-trigger assessments of who’s up and who’s down, but then what in a sport that is on the cusp of unprecedented upheaval??!

Consider what college football will look like in a year…

The Pac-12 Conference may NOT exist. Texas and Oklahoma, anchors of the Big 12 Conference, will be in the Southeastern Conference. The Atlantic Coast Conference will eventually be bicoastal after yesterday’s agreement to add California-Berkeley and Stanford along with Southern Methodist as newfound rivals of Duke and North Carolina.

And after this season, the College Football Playoff will balloon from four teams to 12.

Structural change may also be imminent. There are cases in federal court and before the National Labor Relations Board that are asking for athletes to be considered employees who are due wages and other benefits. There are competing bills in Congress that seek to protect the interests of athletes or schools [perhaps from one another], and a bill in the California legislature that would mandate that universities share revenue from sports with athletes.

There are NO amateur sports anymore…and truth be told, there hasn’t been for the better of 50-plus years.

Stay tuned…sorry. but I had to add that comment.

WHAT REAL LEADERSHIP IS NOT

Once again, Ron “Con” DeSantis exhibits what a leader should NOT reflect!!!

The 46th president is slated today to survey damage in Florida after a powerful hurricane made landfall in the state’s Big Bend region, but politics are threatening to overshadow the visit.

The state’s Republican Governor DeSantis – who is seeking the Republican nomination to face off against Biden in the ’24 presidential election – does NOT plan to meet!!! with Joey on the ground, as is customary after a natural disaster.

How nice to see the governor of Florida putting politics before his people!!!!!!!!!

Late last night, the White House said Biden would travel with first lady Jill Biden and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell to Live Oak, Florida – and emphasized that the trip would NOT affect local recovery efforts.

Gotta love the maturity and respect of the current GOP and its fellow travelers these days!