Trump supporters and conspiracy theory - Part 2

[Jack Nessan]

You are posting nothing but nonsense.

What has happened in the last year was an absolute disaster with Criminal Donald, his corrupt administration, and the right wing media purposely lying to the American people allowing over 600,000 Americans to die. Now they are purposely pushing anti vaccine propaganda to prevent people from getting vaccinated so more people will die and you're parroting the same lies. You would greatly benefit from not watching blatant vaccine disinformation on Faux Propaganda.   

This is the real world Mr. Nessan, unvaccinated children and people are dying from COVID-19 which is now the more deadly Delta variant. You choose to live in a world of fantasy and make believe from what you hear in the right wing media. If you want to save your life you need to get vaccinated. Lay off the right wing media's bogus propaganda.


15-year-old Colorado girl dies from coronavirus Delta variant

Mesa County, Colorado reported its first child COVID-19 death in May. Shilynne Loux said that girl was her 15-year-old daughter.

Kaci Loux tested positive for the Delta variant and was hospitalized before her age group was eligible for the vaccine, the health department said.

“She was an outstanding girl. Like I said, she loved her music, she loved hanging out with me," her mom said.

Her mother is still in shock over what happened.

"You shouldn't have to lose your own kid over it," Loux said.

Cases of the rapidly spreading Delta variant are skyrocking in several states, including Colorado. The majority of the variant cases have been reported in Mesa County.

Health officials say that the variant is a high risk for young children who are not vaccinated.

Loux said her youngest daughter had coronavirus back in April, and everyone in the family ended up getting it. Only her daughter Kaci was hospitalized.

"It progressed pretty fast," she said. "She was complaining that she couldn't breathe.”

At one point, her mother said it seemed like Kaci was improving.

They're getting ready to put her into recovery and then everything just went to hell," she said.

Her daughter went into cardiac arrest and passed away after nearly a month in the hospital.

She warned other parents that if they believe their child is sick, don't wait to take them to the hospital.

"Take them in ASAP because if you wait it gets 10 times worse and it will shut their lungs down fast," she said.

The 15-year-old girl had so much life ahead of her.

“She was so loved," her mother said.

https://www.wral.com/coronavirus/15-year-old-colorado-girl-dies-from-coronavirus-delta-variant/19778107/


Unvaccinated Man Who Died of COVID 'Never Thought It Could Happen to Him'

The wife of an unvaccinated North Dakota man who died of COVID-19 last month has spoken out, saying her husband thought it "could never happen to him."

Amy Tersteeg told INFORUM that she did not want to push anyone to get vaccinated, but she felt the urge to share her husband's story so people could hear about his experience.

She said her husband, Rob Tersteeg, was open to getting vaccinated but was not in a rush to do so because he had no underlying health conditions.

"He never thought it could happen to him," she told INFORUM. "I want people to see what COVID really does. I want them to know that Rob received every COVID treatment, and it did not save him. "

Rob Tersteeg died on June 3 at the age of 46 after having received weeks of treatment for COVID-19.

As he lay on an ICU bed at Trinity Health in the city of Minot, the devoted stepfather to three children told his wife that she should get the kids vaccinated as soon as possible.

Amy Tersteeg had already received the vaccine earlier in the pandemic due to the fact that she works in an administrative role for Trinity Health.

Aside from not having any underlying health conditions, Tersteeg said that her husband had not prioritized getting vaccinated given that he had made it through more than a year of the pandemic without contracting COVID-19, while also seeing case numbers in North Dakota declining.

In his role as an oilfield safety officer for a natural gas company, Rob Tersteeg had traveled all over the U.S. in 2020 and had never become infected, even after being in states where COVID-19 was running rampant.

But in mid-May this year, Tersteeg began to develop symptoms of the disease, including a cough. Eventually, he began to experience difficulties with his breathing and decided to head to the emergency room. Unfortunately, he would never return home from hospital.

"Nothing had ever taken Rob down before. He just didn't stand a chance against COVID," Amy Tersteeg said.

During his hospitalization, his family was not allowed to be in the room due to COVID protocols.

"He was just so isolated and alone," Amy Tersteeg said.

By the end of the month, her husband's condition had worsened and he was intubated. He was eventually airlifted to another hospital in Minneapolis to receive specialist treatment. However, medical staff could not save him and he died in the early morning of June 3.

Dr. Casmiar Nwaigwe, an infectious disease specialist at Trinity Health, said some people think that they will not be severely affected by COVID-19 because they are relatively young and healthy. But Rob Tersteeg's story demonstrates that even seemingly healthy people can die from the disease.

"People feel that as long as they don't have any underlying medical conditions that they are not at risk of COVID. In my experience, it is not true," Nwaigwe told iNFORUM.

As of July 11, more than 184 million Americans have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine—roughly 55 percent of the population—according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over 159 million Americans have been fully vaccinated.

https://www.newsweek.com/unvaccinated-man-died-covid-north-dakota-1608794

The only thing that is truly known is the experts do not know. They have been wrong about this from the get go. There have been different strains of this all along. That is why groups of people have different severities of the covid than others. For there to be a Delta variant there had to be an Alpha, Beta, and Chi variant.

If there are health concerns or just plain worried by it then by all means a person should get the shot, but it is a personal choice. There are endless stories of people having bad reactions to the shot. I personally know of people with breathing problems, temporary blindness, and  diabetes from the shot. An interesting study is the J&J analysis of why people dying from the J&J shot is better than dying of Covid.

The shot is not a guarantee against dying from the Covid it just increases the odds against it. Telling young girls and boys they need to get the shot that they will be alright is irresponsible on your part. There is no way to know what will happen.  If you are wrong they are the only ones dealing with the fallout of it. Even Agent Orange passed through to later generations of Vietnam vets. Most likely there won't be lasting effects of the shot but the what if factor is there. Every drug out there has a list a mile long of disclaimers about possible problems, where is the list for the vaccine.

[Jerry Organ]

The only thing that is truly known is the experts do not know. They have been wrong about this from the get go. There have been different strains of this all along. That is why groups of people have different severities of the covid than others. For there to be a Delta variant there had to be an Alpha, Beta, and Chi variant.

If there are health concerns or just plain worried by it then by all means a person should get the shot, but it is a personal choice. There are endless stories of people having bad reactions to the shot. I personally know of people with breathing problems, temporary blindness, and  diabetes from the shot. An interesting study is the J&J analysis of why people dying from the J&J shot is better than dying of Covid.

Some people who recover from COVID-19 have contracted diabetes. I can find nothing on the scientific sites I visited about the vaccine causing temporary blindness and diabetes.

There are some reports about blood-clotting and a warning about anaphylaxis, a potential reaction by people (who are immunocompromised or take medication that suppress the immune system) to some ingredient in the vaccine medium (this is an ongoing issue form these folks for all vaccines). Johnson & Johnson reported an increased risk of the rare nerve condition Guillain-Barré syndrome ("The chance of having this occur is very low"). The flu, surgery and contracting COVID-19 can cause Guillain-Barre.

These new vaccine technologies have been studied, including clinically with people, for decades. When the pandemic was announced by WHO in January 2020, all the pharmaceutical companies had to do was map the strain, which could take days or a few weeks. What held up the vaccine being released was the standard months-long clinical trials. Trump's "Wrap Speed" had almost nothing to do with the research by most of the companies; it was more funding the clinical trials (which some might term "research") and securing shipments of dosages.

The shot is not a guarantee against dying from the Covid it just increases the odds against it. Telling young girls and boys they need to get the shot that they will be alright is irresponsible on your part. There is no way to know what will happen.  If you are wrong they are the only ones dealing with the fallout of it. Even Agent Orange passed through to later generations of Vietnam vets. Most likely there won't be lasting effects of the shot but the what if factor is there. Every drug out there has a list a mile long of disclaimers about possible problems, where is the list for the vaccine.

Apparently, those taking immunosuppressive drugs (as mentioned, some may have an immediate adverse reaction to some ingredient in the vaccine medium) may receive both doses with no immediate reaction, but have minimum or no detectable antibodies against Covid-19. In the US, about six million people take such drugs and so may not be adequately protected from COVID-19, even if they receive two shots. Some taking a third dose report immunity while others see no change.

So some people not wearing a mask--who have both shots but unknowingly no immunity--may be as vulnerable as the unvaccinated they mingle with. Yesterday Britain launched "Freedom Day" (lifting lockdown restrictions), a few days after Britain reported its highest daily number of new COVID-19 cases (54,674) since January. I can see this going pear-shaped.

[Rick Plant]

Another corrupt Trump henchman has been criminally indicted. Everyone of these dirty Trump associates is either involved with Russia or illegally conspires with foreign governments to destroy America. He "nailed it for the home team"? No, he just got nailed by the feds. These scumbags are all anti American traitors.   

Trump ally Tom Barrack charged with acting as an agent of a foreign government



Tom Barrack, a former adviser to former President Donald Trump, was charged Tuesday with illegal foreign lobbying on behalf of the United Arab Emirates for what federal prosecutors in Brooklyn described as an effort to influence the foreign policy positions of both the 2016 Trump presidential campaign and the subsequent incoming administration.

Barrack is charged in a seven-count indictment with acting as an agent of the UAE between April 2016 and April 2018. He is also charged with obstruction of justice and making false statements to federal law enforcement agents.

Barrack was the chairman of Trump's inaugural committee, and while some of the charged conduct concerns the presidential transition, it appears unrelated to the inaugural festivities.

According to the indictment, Barrack and two other men charged Tuesday -- Matthew Grimes of Aspen, Colorado, and Rashid Sultan Rashid Al Malik Alshahhi, a UAE national -- capitalized on Barrack's status as a senior outside adviser to the Trump campaign to "advance the interests of and provide intelligence to the UAE while simultaneously failing to notify the Attorney General that their actions were taken at the direction of senior UAE officials."

Barrack was directly and indirectly in contact with UAE senior leadership, according to the charges, and he referred to Alshahhi as its "secret weapon" to promote its foreign policy agenda in America.

Barrack and Grimes are scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Los Angeles, according to the Justice Department, while Alshahhi hasn't been arrested. In a court filing Tuesday asking for Barrack's detention, prosecutors said that three days after being interviewed by federal agents in April 2018, Alshahhi fled the US and hasn't returned.

A spokesperson for Barrack said he will plead not guilty.

"Mr. Barrack has made himself voluntarily available to investigators from the outset. He is not guilty and will be pleading not guilty," the spokesperson told CNN.

The UAE embassy in Washington did not immediately return a request for comment.

An attorney for Grimes didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

I nailed it. . . for the home team'

The indictment cites several instances of the defendants' alleged promotion of UAE's agenda to the Trump campaign. In May 2016, Barrack inserted language praising the UAE into a campaign speech about US energy policy, then sent an advance draft of the speech to Alshahhi to give to UAE officials, according to the indictment. In 2016 and 2017, Barrack, Alshahhi and Grimes received talking points from UAE officials for Barrack's TV appearances in which he promoted the UAE's interests.

Following one appearance, Barrack emailed Alshahhi, "I nailed it. . . for the home team," referring not to the United States but to the UAE, according to the charges.
 
After Trump won the 2016 election, the defendants allegedly continued to push UAE interests at the direction of UAE officials. In December 2016, Barrack, Grimes and Alshahhi attended a meeting with senior UAE government officials, where Barrack told them to make a "wish list" of US foreign policy items for the first 100 days of the incoming presidential administration, as well as for the first six months, year and four years.

According to the charges, Barrack had a dedicated cell phone with a secure message application for the purpose of communicating with senior UAE officials.

Trump's first year in office

In 2017, Barrack, Grimes and Alshahhi continued to work on behalf of the UAE to advance its interests at the White House. Three days after Trump's inauguration, Alshahhi texted Grimes about arranging a phone call between UAE officials and the new President, according to the indictment. Grimes told Alshahhi that he had spoken to Barrack about it, and a few days later, Grimes told Alshahhi that Trump would speak to an Emirati official that day, later telling Alshahhi, "We can take credit for that phone call."

That March, an official from Saudi Arabia, a UAE ally, visited the White House, and the following day, Barrack texted Alshahhi, telling him that he had briefed Trump regarding the meeting. Barrack also said he had arranged for another senior US official to speak with the Emirati official with whom Trump had spoken shortly after the inauguration. Alshahhi replied: "Amazing."

Around the same time, Barrack, Grimes and Alshahhi began to push people favored by the UAE for appointments in the new presidential administration. On March 13, 2017, Alshahhi sent Grimes the resume of a US congressman whom the UAE wanted appointed as US ambassador. The appointment of the congressman was "important for our friends," Alshahhi wrote to Grimes. "Because ur [sic] are about to change the current one."

Two days later, Alshahhi turned to Barrack, asking him for help in obtaining the congressman's appointment. "They r [sic] very keen on the ambassador they suggested to help the relationship. Your help will go long way." Barrack replied:

"Yes -- give me name again."

About one month later, Barrack told Alshahhi that Barrack himself was under consideration by Trump to become either US ambassador to the UAE or special envoy to the Middle East. Barrack's appointment to either post "would give ABU DHABI more power!" he told Alshahhi.

"This will be great for us," Alshahhi replied. "And make you deliver more. Very effective operation." Barrack responded, "And great for u!" Barrack was never appointed to either post.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/20/politics/tom-barrack-arrested/index.html

[Rick Plant]

The only thing that is truly known is the experts do not know. They have been wrong about this from the get go. There have been different strains of this all along. That is why groups of people have different severities of the covid than others. For there to be a Delta variant there had to be an Alpha, Beta, and Chi variant.

Again, you don't know what you're talking about and the experts are not wrong. The only people who are wrong are the lying right wing media hacks and the Criminal Trump administration who lied every single day to the American people about COVID-19 and now the vaccine. Then people like you parrot this disinformation pretending you're an expert.   

The reason we have different strains is because these new strains mutated from the original COVID virus. And new strains mutated from that strain and so on. Scientists and doctors are very worried that an even more deadly strain will mutate from the already deadly Delta variant because morons refuse to get vaccinated and are rapidly spreading COVID.    ​

If there are health concerns or just plain worried by it then by all menns a person should get the shot, but it is a personal choice. There are endless stories of people having bad reactions to the shot. I personally know of people with breathing problems, temporary blindness, and diabetes from the shot. An interesting study is the J&J analysis of why people dying from the J&J shot is better than dying of Covid.

What do you mean "if there are health concerns"? We are in a pandemic and unvaccinated people are dying. Sounds like a health concern to me.

No, it's not a "personal choice". These unvaccinated morons are disrupting our way of life and are destroying our country including the economy. They refuse to get vaccinated and then beg for medical attention when they are gasping for air. Then they end up dying alone in a hospital while keeping this virus around to infect others.

You don't know anybody who was blinded or got diabetes from having the shot because that does not happen. You are making this up.

You don't develop "breathing problems" from the vaccine. Breathing problems occur because of COVID-19.   

You are posting dangerous anti vaccine disinformation.               

The shot is not a guarantee against dying from the Covid it just increases the odds against it. Telling young girls and boys they need to get the shot that they will be alright is irresponsible on your part. There is no way to know what will happen.  If you are wrong they are the only ones dealing with the fallout of it. Even Agent Orange passed through to later generations of Vietnam vets. Most likely there won't be lasting effects of the shot but the what if factor is there. Every drug out there has a list a mile long of disclaimers about possible problems, where is the list for the vaccine.

This is absolutely false. The vaccine prevents you from dying from COVID-19. That is a medical fact. You are posting Qanon anti vaccine disinformation. 

All the Covid-19 vaccines prevent death and severe disease, and that's what matters, experts say
https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/22/health/covid-vaccines-prevent-death/index.html

'Covid vaccines preventing serious illness and death'
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-56765802

Covid vaccines prevent severe illness & death: Experts
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/vaccines-prevent-severe-illness-death-health-experts/articleshow/81712852.cms

Nearly all COVID deaths in US are now among unvaccinated
https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-941fcf43d9731c76c16e7354f5d5e187

[Rick Plant]

She's another one who found out COVID-19 is real and not a "hoax". She should've gotten vaccinated, instead of spreading COVID-19 and vaccine lies like a moron. She believed in these lies because the right wing media were pushing Qanon COVID/anti vaccine conspiracy theories and she believed them. The article states she picked up COVID in South Dakota, which is no surprise, because Trump stooge failed Gov. Kristi Noem did nothing to protect her residents from the virus letting it run wild and out of control.         

Unvaccinated Trump supporter who spread coronavirus conspiracy theories dies of COVID-19



On Tuesday, the Cape Cod Times reported that Linda Zuern, a former member of the Bourne, Massachusetts Board of Selectmen and a Trump-supporting figure in the local Republican Party, had died of COVID-19.

Zuern died at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston of severe complications caused by COVID-19, according to the report. She was 70 years old and had not been vaccinated.

"She was a strong woman who believed in speaking the truth and defending our freedoms in America," Republican State Committeewoman Deborah Dugan told the Cape Cod Times. Dugan was at Zuern's bedside when she died. "I would describe her to people as a little woman but a mighty warrior."

For months, Zuern, a member of the pro-Trump group the United Cape Patriots, had promoted conspiracy theories about the pandemic on Facebook. She has shared articles accusing the World Health Organization of a coverup of the "Wuhan Virus" and claiming COVID-19 is cover for "globalists" to usher in "U.N. Agenda 2030" — a sustainable development initiative right-wing conspiracy theorists assert is a plot to create a one world government.

Zuern also expressed support for the QAnon conspiracy theory, posting their creed of "WWG1WGA" (Where We Go One, We Go All).

Zuern promoted the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment of COVID-19 during a Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates meeting in December and questioned whether officials "had looked into preventative measures that people could use besides a vaccine to help build up their immune system," the Cape Cod Times reported.

Peter Meier, chair of the Board of Selectmen, said Zuern cared deeply about others. "She definitely left her mark on the community," he added.

According to the report, Zuern and her mother contracted COVID-19 while returning home from a trip to South Dakota — a state where Republican-motivated policies have let the virus propagate with little control.

https://www.rawstory.com/unvaccinated-trump-supporter/

[Rick Plant]

Vaccine makers take aim at Delta variant as COVID cases climb

TAMPA, Fla. — With the Delta variant fueling a rise in COVID-19 cases nationwide, Pfizer and BioNTech are developing a booster shot specifically meant to target the strain.

"While Pfizer and BioNTech believe a third dose of BNT162b2 has the potential to preserve the highest levels of protective efficacy against all currently known variants including Delta, the companies are remaining vigilant and are developing an updated version of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine that targets the full spike protein of the Delta variant," read a July 8 news release from the companies. BNT162b2 is Pfizer's current vaccine.

A benefit of mRNA vaccines is that they can be adjusted to target different mutations of the virus more quickly than vaccines for other illnesses, such as the flu. University of South Florida associate professor of medicine Dr. Michael Teng said it involves sequencing the strain you want to attack, then changing the sequence of the mRNA.

"Then, you can manufacture it, so it's fairly easy," said Teng. "The harder part is actually proving that that vaccine still does what you expect it to do."

According to Pfizer and BioNTech, clinical trials on the Delta booster could get underway next month, pending regulatory approvals.

The companies say the first batch of mRNA for the study has already been manufactured. There was no estimate for when the booster could be submitted for emergency approval, but Teng said the current vaccines work well against the variant.

The July release said lab tests showed Pfizer's current formula produced strong neutralization against Delta after the standard two doses. The maker of the other mRNA vaccine, Moderna, is also working on a variant booster candidate. Last month, the company announced a study found its current vaccine showed a "modest reduction" in efficacy against Delta. 

"I don't necessarily see that we need a Delta-specific vaccine," said Teng. "I think the bigger question is whether we'll need a third dose of the mRNA vaccines or maybe a second dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine."

Teng said based on what's been learned from clinical trials and real world evidence, he thinks a booster dose will only be necessary for people with compromised immune systems. To those who haven't yet been vaccinated, he said now is the time.

"You'll have two to three weeks until you get full immunity, it's going to take some time," said Teng. "So, in the meantime, you need to protect yourself. Do the risk reduction — wear a mask, physically distance, things like that, because this Delta variant is pretty transmissible. It's the most transmissible form of SARS-CoV-2 that we've seen so far."

https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2021/07/21/delta-variant-booster



Delta variant: ‘A perfect storm is brewing’ in certain parts America, health official explains

Unvaccinated individuals are experiencing a sharp rise in new coronavirus cases as the Delta variant becomes increasingly pervasive across the U.S.

According to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, the Delta variant now accounts for 83% of all COVID cases in the U.S., a 33% increase from two weeks ago. Walensky added that 99.5% of all COVID-related deaths in the country over recent months have been among unvaccinated Americans.

“This is a critical time during our pandemic and particularly we worry about regions like the Southeast, the South, and mountain states where it’s a perfect storm brewing — low vaccination rates, lack of mitigation measures, high prevalence of the Delta variant, cases going up, testing down, positivity rates high, hospitalizations high,” Dr. Anand Parekh chief medical advisor at the Bipartisan Policy Center and former deputy assistant secretary at Health and Human Services (HHS), said on Yahoo Finance Live (video above).

Current COVID-19 hot spots in the U.S. include Missouri, Arkansas, and Florida, according to the Mayo Clinic, highlighting Parekh's point. Florida now leads the U.S. in COVID cases, accounting for roughly 20% of all new infections in the country.

“That’s really driving what we’re seeing nationally: a three-fold increase in cases up to about 30,000 seven-day average, hospitalizations going up,” Parekh said. “Again, the vaccinations are the answer here, and masking will be critical as well.”

'What I'm most worried about is disinformation'

Most of the remaining unvaccinated Americans haven’t budged from their positions of opting out of the vaccine.

A recent poll of 1,715 U.S. adults from Yahoo News/YouGov found that only 29% of them believe the virus is more dangerous than the vaccines. Meanwhile, 37% believe vaccines pose more of a risk.

“What I’m most worried about is disinformation, which is the willful or falsification of information,” Parekh said. “That has to be priority number one. That just cannot be acceptable … It’s really important to get at the disinformation piece. The misinformation we’re going to have to continue to work on. That’s education, but combating disinformation needs to be the number one priority.”

Social media plays a major role in disseminating disinformation. Facebook (FB) has recently come under fire for not doing enough to stop COVID-related disinformation on its platform, with President Biden going so far as to say companies like Facebook were "killing people."

"At the end of the day, Americans will have to decide for themselves,” Parekh said. “I hope that everyone gets vaccinated, but Americans should have the facts to make the decision. But disinformation, when you have actors out there that are willingly falsifying information, I think absolutely private sector partners such as the tech industry need to take steps. They need to be public about the steps they’re taking.”

'Vaccination is really our route out of this pandemic'

While disinformation continues spreading, more and more vulnerable Americans are falling ill to the virus.

Hospitalizations are up 45% and deaths are up 75% over the span of the past two weeks, despite testing decreasing by 13%. The pace of vaccinations has begun to flatten out as well.

“In America, you have two realities,” Parekh said. “One for those Americans who are vaccinated, who are protected from the Delta variant, and those who are unvaccinated, who are facing a threat like they’ve never seen before. This Delta variant is not the same virus that we saw a year ago. It’s highly transmissible. It may even lead to more severe illness.”

For vaccinated individuals, their job is done for the most part, though Parekh did recommend still wearing face masks to prevent potential breakthrough infections, which are exceedingly rare.

"Masking is important because it breaks chains of transmission,” Parekh said. “Masking is important to reduce transmission as well as to protect yourself. We know both of those are true. It’s protecting others who may not be vaccinated. It also protects yourself from potential breakthrough infections.”

Because of the recent surge in cases, some cities and counties have reinstated mask mandates, irrespective of vaccination status, including places like Los Angeles County and the San Francisco Bay Area.

“I think the message is, particularly for those unvaccinated, that vaccination is really our route out of this pandemic,” Parekh said. “Until you get vaccinated, masking in public is also going to be critical as well.”

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/delta-variant-perfect-storm-south-west-183200656.html

[Rick Plant]

Trump pal Tom Barrack faces intense pressure to flip on others in spy scheme: Former prosecutor




A former federal prosecutor threw cold water on denials by Donald Trump's friend Thomas Barrack after his arrest for spying for the United Arab Emirates.

The chairman of Trump's inaugural committee was charged in a seven-count indictment with acting as an agent of the UAE between April 2016 and April 2018, and former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that he used his position to influence American foreign policy on behalf of his clients.

"This is not a paperwork violation," McQuade said. "I know Tom said that he could have filed notification with the attorney general and been permitted to lobby on behalf of the UAE, that's absolutely right. There's a reason people don't register in a situation like that. If he registered and everyone knew he was acting on behalf of the UAE, he would never have received the access he got."

"Some of the allegations are that he had drafted of President Trump's speech on energy and shared it with the UAE government officials, got their edits, and then gave it back to President Trump," she added. "That he took credit for getting the UAE omitted from Trump's travel ban in 2017. He wrote an op-ed in favorable terms for the UAE because he got input from the UAE, representing these things as his own judgment and opinion, when in fact, he was doing it on behalf of a foreign government, and the reason that that is a crime isn't because he made a paperwork error. It's because it permits secret undue influence by a foreign government."

Prosecutors haven't alleged a motive because they don't have to do so, but McQuade said it's not hard to figure out why Barrack acted as an unregistered foreign agent for the oil-rich nation.

"There's reporting in the New York Times that his firm was paid $1.5 billion by the UAE and Saudi Arabia, so there's certainly a very powerful financial moment that may be at stake here," McQuade said. "The other thing I see is the potential for cooperation. We know that the Eastern District of New York is also investigating fraud in the Trump inaugural campaign, which Tom Barrack shared, and so he has the opportunity here to come in and share information with prosecutors about that investigation if he wants to work off some of his time."

https://www.rawstory.com/thomas-barrack/

[Rick Plant]

MAGA morons don't listen to experts like Dr. Fauci but believe Qanon conspiracy theories from quack lunatics like this. So, it's no surprise why they get deathly ill with COVID-19 and end up dying in a hospital.

Pro-Trump group tied to infamous 'alien DNA' doctor sues to stop administration of COVID vaccines



On Tuesday, The Daily Beast reported that a pro-Trump group linked to an infamous doctor who has suggested America is under attack from alien DNA and demon sperm is filing a motion with the Food and Drug Administration to halt vaccinations for COVID-19.

"Among other wild assertions in the predictably absurd document, the motion seeking an injunction filed by 'America's Frontline Doctors' falsely claims the three vaccines authorized for emergency use in the U.S. do not actually curb the spread of the deadly virus," reported Pilar Melendez. "Also: that the coronavirus is not a public health emergency. This being the same pandemic that has killed over 600,000 Americans while showing signs of a nationwide resurgence in recent days with the extra-contagious Delta variant, which is almost exclusively harming unvaccinated people."

America's Frontline Doctors, founded by a doctor who is now facing charges for helping to invade the U.S. Capitol on January 6, became notorious last year for pushing a discredited treatment for COVID-19 using hydroxychloroquine, a drug used to treat malaria and some autoimmune diseases. As evidence, they promoted the work of Dr. Stella Immanuel, a Houston-based conspiracy theorist doctor who believes America is being sickened with demon sperm.

Despite their fringe beliefs, America's Frontline Doctors has gained traction in state legislatures, where they have helped to craft anti-vaccine legislation.

https://www.rawstory.com/vaccine-lawsuit/


Trump confessed that wearing a mask made him look weak — even after aides said it could save 100,000 lives: new book




Speaking to Ali Velshi on MSNBC Tuesday, reporters Phil Rucker and Carol Leonnig recalled some of the conversations they had with President Donald Trump in the final year of his presidency.

"You know, his alternate reality, the one he's living in, the one he talked about at length with Phil and me when we interviewed him at Mar-a-Lago, has only gotten more hardened over time," said Leonnig. "Anything that doesn't help him has to be false. It's interesting too because it's particularly perverse to have someone not taking credit for the vaccine they pressured everyone to deliver."

Trump has never bragged about his vaccine, and it's unclear if it's because he knows that his supporters don't believe in it or because he sees Fox News trashing it every night on television. On a few occasions, President Joe Biden has attempted to give Trump credit for "Operation Warp Speed," but the ex-president hasn't followed with his own brag.

"It's also perverse to link the distrust of the election among his supporters, which he sowed and stoked for months, to encouraging people to distrust a vaccine which could save their lives. What we found about our report about Donald Trump's final catastrophic final year in our new book is that many people giving him expert advice at the time, insiders in the medical community, were literally pulling their hair out in fear, in near-panic about him resisting their good guidance. And they were shocked at the degree to which he put American lives in peril for his own political benefit. It sounds a little bit like by linking election and vaccination distrust, he's linking these things for his political benefit, again."

Another point that the writers made was the mask debate that Trump kept having with experts. It didn't matter what they told him, he refused to wear it.

"Is it as simple as he thought it made him look weak?" asked Velshi.

"You know, what's interesting about that moment Ali is the president when he said at the time, 'people tell me,' what he really often was meaning was 'I feel that I look weak,'" said Leonnig. "I will tell you that we learned in our reporting that the chief of staff, Mark Meadows at the time counseled the medical and political advisors and political advisers, no way, he can't wear a mask, he's already dug in on this, he can't do it, because his base will basically rebel. But Donald Trump himself believed that he looked weak and he told Phil and me that about the importance in his mind of looking strong, looking healthy, looking impenetrable, that was important to him."

She went on to explain that many begged Trump to wear the mask, noting that it would inspire people and it could help save lives, but he still didn't care.

"The other sad thing about this moment is that Dr. Robert Redfield, the CDC director, it's one of his greatest regrets," said Leonnig. "According to our reporting, he repeatedly tried to get the president, and ultimately, when failing to convince him, he tried to get the president's physician, Sean Conley, to convince the president for his own safety, just that alone, wear the mask. but Redfield knew and told Conley and told aides if the president will wear the mask, we will literally save hundreds of thousands of lives."

It's unknown just how many people died because they refused to wear a mask, but never in history have Americans died due to a president's own fears of weakness.

See the full discussion below:

Trump official slashed salary of newly hired virologist because he was jealous he was making more money

At a time that Americans needed a smart and stable government, Donald Trump's COVID-19 Task Force was overwhelmed with petty squabbles.

According to the new book by Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig, I, Alone Can Fix It, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar was preoccupied with the salaries of the people on the task force.

Dr Stephen Hahn, who joined as the FDA commissioner in Dec. 2019, had a morning call with the purpose of "navigating task-force personalities and political land mines." The last thing anyone wanted was for the typical Trump White House drama to interfere with protecting the country from the impending pandemic.

Dr. Robert R. Redfield, a virologist who served as the director of the Center for Disease Control, for example, triggered Sec. Azar by making a particularly large salary.

According to the book, Redfield gave up a medical professorship to serve in the government. He was making $700,000 a year and agreed to take the position under a program called Title 42, which gives high-earning private-sector scientists with unique skills higher-than-normal salaries to work in the government. So, Redfield was paid $375,000 -- and Azar was furious.

"After news reports later revealed Redfield's salary, emphasizing that he was making nearly double what his predecessor at the CDC had earned, and more than Azar's pay of $199,000, Azar confronted Redfield," the book recalls.

"How did you negotiate a salary like that?" Azar asked. Redfield explained the "Title 42s." He thought that Azar had actually approved it.

"If I had known that you were going to have to be paid this much, I would have probably asked to look for somebody else," Azar snapped, according to the book. They noted that "his voice loud and his tone sharp."

"Mr. Secretary, let's just be real clear here," Redfield said. "I came in to do this job for the mission, not the money, so if you feel a need to change my salary, change my salary."

That's what Azar did, cutting Dr. Redfield's pay to $185,000, under his own salary.

At each opportunity, Azar sought to throw Redfield under the bus, particularly with the CDC tests for the virus.

In March, after Azar had left office, Politico reported that other health experts from the COVID battle built a kind of "club" to counter the false claims Azar had been spouting in wake of the administration. They call it Alex Azar Anonymous. Redfield is part of that group.

Last month, it was revealed that Azar would work on an Aspen Institute initiative called the Health, Medicine & Society program.

I, Alone Can Fix It is available to purchase today.

https://www.rawstory.com/alex-azar-furious-doctors-salary/