All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Texas battling influx of COVID-19 cases: “Our hospitals look like war zones” – CBS News

“Unfortunately, our hospital rooms look like war zones because there are just so many from so many sick people there,” Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez told CBS News. Cortez issued a shelter-at-home order late Monday. Although, Texas Governor Greg Abbott argues that it’s unenforceable. “My job is is to take care of the public health,” Cortez explained. “We brought in a lot of refrigerated trailers to access more morgues, and their capacity is 50. Well in the last eight days, we have an average of 22 people die per day.”

Source: Texas battling influx of COVID-19 cases: “Our hospitals look like war zones” – CBS News

Fact check: Trump revisits familiar falsehoods in first coronavirus briefing in months

Claim: The U.S. has ‘done much better than most’

This is false. The U.S. has an uncontrolled outbreak, reporting more than 50,000 news cases a day. For comparison, far smaller countries, like Germany and Japan, are reporting hundreds of new cases a day.

Claim: ‘We again have tremendous amounts of supplies, we’re in very good shape, and we can move them quickly’

Not according to internal administration documents obtained by NBC News, which showed that the federal government may not have the capacity to supply medical professionals with personal protective equipment.

Claim: The Trump administration inherited ‘very, very empty cupboards’

This is a false claim we’ve fact-checked previously. Both former Obama administration officials and previous news reports dispute it.

While Trump didn’t inherit empty shelves, congressional budget cuts might have depleted parts of the Strategic National Stockpile during the Obama administration. However, Trump didn’t do anything to change that during the first three years of his administration.

Source: Fact check: Trump revisits familiar falsehoods in first coronavirus briefing in months

After Goya CEO Praises Trump, Artists Respond in Hilarious and Dark Ways — Repeating Islands

Artists have created illustrated recipes for homemade sazón, mashups of the Trump family with Francisco Goya artworks, and more. A report by Valentine Di Liscia for Hyperallergic. Earlier this month, the CEO of Goya Foods — which bills itself as “the premier source for authentic Latino cuisine” — publicly praisedPresident Trump during a White House event, saying that he […]

After Goya CEO Praises Trump, Artists Respond in Hilarious and Dark Ways — Repeating Islands

At-Risk Groups Will Soon be Able to Self-Screen for COVID-19 — Petchary’s Blog -Kingston, Jamaica

This is such good news. I am sharing with you all, because it cannot come soon enough. Telemedicine has been talked about for long enough in Jamaica – now at last here is the opportunity provided by this pandemic to protect vulnerable groups – who should not be leaving home, and who don’t wish to […]

At-Risk Groups Will Soon be Able to Self-Screen for COVID-19 — Petchary’s Blog

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown: DHS acting secretary Chad Wolf “brought a Fox News team with him for a photo opportunity” in Portland | Media Matters for America

OREGON GOV. KATE BROWN: There is absolutely no question that the president’s failure to lead a national response to this global pandemic, that the activities, the sending law enforcement officials on to the streets of Portland is a distraction from his failure to lead. There is absolutely no question that this was about scoring political points with his base when the secretary came into Portland, he brought a Fox News team with him for a photo opportunity. They left the graffiti on the building on the federal courthouse for weeks, they could have cleaned it off several weeks ago. This is all about politics, it’s about political theater. It’s clearly not about safety nor about problem solving.

Source: Oregon Gov. Kate Brown: DHS acting secretary Chad Wolf “brought a Fox News team with him for a photo opportunity” in Portland | Media Matters for America

Coronavirus tally jumps to 990 – ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE  California

A steep rise in coronavirus cases reported to the Orange County Health Care Agency on Tuesday reverses a brief decline in COVID-19 counts. According to the OCHCA, 990 new cases were reported, compared to 560 on Monday and 415 on Sunday. The new cumulative total is 30,976, of which 15,232 are judged to be recovered.

Source: Coronavirus tally jumps to 990 – ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE

North Texas Counties Report at Least 433 Babies Test Positive for COVID-19 Since March – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

NBC 5 found more than 430 babies have tested positive for the virus in the four largest counties in North Texas even though the Texas Department of State Health Services is currently only reporting 125 cases in children ages 1 and younger.

NBC 5 asked area county health departments for a breakdown of cases for children 1 and younger since March. In Collin County, the health department reports 42 cases, Denton County reports 38 cases, Tarrant County has had 113 and in Dallas, they reported 240 cases.

These cases haven’t been reported to the state but doctors say these are numbers that give a glimpse into how widespread the virus really is.

Source: North Texas Counties Report at Least 433 Babies Test Positive for COVID-19 Since March – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Twitter bans 7,000 QAnon accounts, limits 150,000 others as part of broad crackdown

Twitter announced Tuesday that it has begun taking sweeping actions to limit the reach of QAnon content, banning many of the conspiracy theory’s followers because of problems with harassment and misinformation.

Twitter will stop recommending accounts and content related to QAnon, including in email and follow recommendations, and it will take steps to limit circulation on content in features like trends and search. The action will affect about 150,000 accounts, said a spokesperson, who asked to remain unnamed because of concerns about the targeted harassment of social media employees.

 

Source: Twitter bans 7,000 QAnon accounts, limits 150,000 others as part of broad crackdown

Pelosi Statement on Trump’s Unconstitutional Census Memorandum | Speaker Nancy Pelosi

“The Constitution is clear: it requires an ‘actual Enumeration’ of the ‘whole numbers of persons’ for the population count and congressional apportionment.  There is no ambiguity about its command.  Trump’s unlawful effort is designed to again inject fear and distrust into vulnerable and traditionally undercounted communities, while sowing chaos with the Census.

“The Trump Administration’s relentless, politically-motived attempt to illegally include a citizenship question on the 2020 Census was unequivocally rejected by the Supreme Court last year.  Nevertheless, the Administration continues to advance its cruel anti-immigrant agenda, fanning the flames of hatred and xenophobia, tearing countless families apart and challenging our bedrock values of equality and justice for all.

“The House of Representatives will vigorously contest the President’s unconstitutional and unlawful attempt to impair the Census.  We will be vigilant to ensure a full, fair and accurate Census and continue working to guarantee maximum participation and inclusion so that every person in every community is counted.”

 

Source: Pelosi Statement on Trump’s Unconstitutional Census Memorandum | Speaker Nancy Pelosi