Coronavirus & Monkeypox Tidbits #211 9/18/22
Announcements:
First, there is now a Resources Page here for the most commonly asked questions I'm getting.
Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don't be shy about that.
New post:
How To Reduce Your Child’s Risk Of The Enterovirus Infection (EV-D68) That Is Causing Paralysis
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Asymptomatic Infections Drive Many Epidemics, Including Monkeypox, Polio, and COVID
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/980118
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Election volunteer opportunities:
NOPE Neighbors: https://www.nopeneighbors.org/volunteer
If you like calling and talking to voters, Power the Vote is assembling weekly volunteer opportunities. These are remote opportunities that you can do from home! Click on this link to find out more: https://docs.google.com/
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Why we must help GOTV and fight voter suppression:
"Little attention has been paid to one of the most sustained and brazen suppression campaigns in America: the effort to block help at the voting booth for people who struggle to read... about 48 million Americans, or more than 1/5 of the adult population" https://t.co/WWW9ZDv4i5
— adam harris (@AdamHSays) September 12, 2022
News
Covid:
Global COVID-19 cases fall 28%; deaths drop 22%
New COVID-19 cases worldwide fell 28% last week—marking a fifth straight week of declining cases—and COVID-related deaths dropped 22% from the previous week, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its weekly update today.
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More good news on sars-2 vaccines: they appear to prevent long covid (we've been waiting for answers to this question). A propensity matched cohort from the UK found that 2+ doses of vaccine decreased adjusted long covid risk by 41% (95% CI 31%-50%).
— David Fisman (@DFisman) September 16, 2022
...we know from prior work that long covid risk seems to increase with initial symptom severity,
Link to paper: https://academic.oup.com/ofid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ofid/ofac464/6696170?login=false
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Published today: @TheLancet Commission on Covid-19:
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) September 14, 2022
"a massive global failures" with recommendations going forward https://t.co/RI7wC2OjCF
It's a 57-page paper. I think this Figure and the 1-pager editorial summarize it well pic.twitter.com/PvC9vgjXTR
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New report details global COVID-19 response failures, calls for improved multilateral cooperation
by Lancet
Failures of global cooperation and inequality between countries
The COVID-19 response has shown several aspects of international cooperation at its best: public-private partnerships to develop multiple vaccines in record time; actions of high-income countries to financially support households and businesses; and emergency financing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.
But the events of the past two years have also exposed multiple failures of global cooperation. Costly delays by WHO to declare a "public health emergency of international concern" and to recognize the airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 coincided with national governments' failure to cooperate and coordinate on travel protocols, testing strategies, commodity supply chains, data reporting systems, and other vital international policies to suppress the pandemic. The lack of cooperation among governments for the financing and distribution of key health commodities—including vaccines, personal protective equipment, and resources for vaccine development and production in low-income countries—has come at dire costs.
Pre-COVID-19 rankings of country preparedness for pandemics, such as the 2019 Global Health Security Index, ranking the U.S. and many European countries among the strongest for their epidemic response capabilities, turned out to be poor predictors of the actual outcomes of the pandemic.
Lancet Commission paper = https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)01585-9/fulltext
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-09-global-covid-response-failures-multilateral.html
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Leftover residues of the virus might be causing long COVID, new study says
The research study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases journal has found that the spike protein of the virus remains in the blood of long COVID people up to a year after the infection. In support of its claim on long COVID, the study has also found that this spike protein is not found in people who have fully recovered from COVID.
The researchers have come to a conclusion that these leftover residues of the virus could be hampering the immune system causing complications like blood clots and inflammation, which subsequently leads to several complications causing long COVID.
"Active viral reservoirs could cause PASC or post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 symptoms, but circulating spike may also give rise to symptoms. Similar to bacterial superantigens, SARS-CoV-2 spike contains structural motifs that skew the T cell receptor repertoire, possibly accounting for the hyperinflammatory response observed in severe COVID-19 and MIS-C patients," the study says.
https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciac722/6686531?
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40% of COVID pneumonia patients still had lung problems at 1 year
A pair of new studies describe long-COVID findings, one from Spain showing that nearly 40% of bilateral pneumonia patients had impaired lung diffusion 1 year after hospitalization, and the other from England demonstrating that double-vaccinated adults were 41% less likely than their unvaccinated peers to report symptoms 3 months or more after infection.
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Twice-daily nasal irrigation reduces COVID-related illness, death
by Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University SEPTEMBER 13, 2022
Starting twice daily flushing of the mucus-lined nasal cavity with a mild saline solution soon after testing positive for COVID-19 can significantly reduce hospitalization and death, investigators report.
They say the technique that can be used at home by mixing a half teaspoon each of salt and baking soda in a cup of boiled or distilled water then putting it into a sinus rinse bottle is a safe, effective and inexpensive way to reduce the risk of severe illness and death from coronavirus infection that could have a vital public health impact.
"What we say in the emergency room and surgery is the solution to pollution is dilution," says Dr. Amy Baxter, emergency medicine physician at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University and corresponding author of the study in Ear, Nose & Throat Journal.
"By giving extra hydration to your sinuses, it makes them function better.
If you have a contaminant, the more you flush it out, the better you are able to get rid of dirt, viruses and anything else," says Baxter.
"We found an 8.5-fold reduction in hospitalizations and no fatalities compared to our controls," says senior author Dr. Richard Schwartz, chair of the MCG Department of Emergency Medicine. "Both of those are pretty significant endpoints."
The study appears to be the largest, prospective clinical trial of its kind and the older, high-risk population they studied—many of whom had preexisting conditions like obesity and hypertension—may benefit most from the easy, inexpensive practice, the investigators say.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-09-twice-daily-nasal-irrigation-covid-related-illness.html
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COVID vaccine may cut long-term symptoms up to 80% | CIDRAP https://t.co/GPBW2UiXF1
— Arthur Caplan (@ArthurCaplan) September 12, 2022
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https://twitter.com/mildanalyst/status/1570192672102711296?s=20&t=ZJZqIpcqBhwOUB_oUXLARQ
Monkeypox:
Walensky also said the disease is still largely seen in networks of men who have sex with men (MSM), a message echoed by the World Health Organization (WHO) today in a report on global outbreak trends.
To date, 22 people have died worldwide during this outbreak, the WHO said, but there is no evidence of sustained spread outside MSM communities.
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11,000 Americans have been vaccinated with Jynneos in the past several weeks as part of a pilot vaccination pop-up program at large LGBTQA+ gatherings, including Southern Decadence in New Orleans and Charlotte Pride.
new cases have declined in the United States by 50% since the first week of August.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 144 more monkeypox cases yesterday, raising the US total to 22,774.
Of new cases reported last week, of which almost all were seen in men who have sex with men (MSM), Black men accounted for 38% cases, Latino men for 25%, and White men for 26%.
But Black men account for only 12% of those who've received a first dose of the monkeypox vaccine, and Latino men make up 21% of first-time vaccine recipients, the White House response team said.
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/
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Monkeypox in Patient Immunized with ACAM2000 Smallpox Vaccine 8 yrs ago
We pose major questions regarding the efficacy of ACAM2000 vaccine amidst ongoing shortages of the JYNNEOS (https://www.bavarian-nordic.comExternal Link) 2-dose monkeypox vaccine.
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/28/11/22-1215_article?
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Good news: The rate at which new monkeypox cases are occurring in the US is slowing down.
— Maryn McKenna (@marynmck) September 15, 2022
Less good: It's not yet clear which actions have made this happen — and determining that will make a difference to the course of the outbreak from now. Me at @WIRED: https://t.co/Idsyi0ownM
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Will the #monkeypox virus become more dangerous? https://t.co/wazOrVuHbF
— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) September 16, 2022
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Polio:
https://twitter.com/GidMK/status/1569806579444367361?s=20&t=IQ-hiOYpAt9ityDtsrIZpQ
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Other:
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Measles cases top 100,000 in the first eight months of 2022
From the beginning of the year and through August 28, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reported 100,044 suspected measles cases, of which 4,652 cases were confirmed.
63 percent of lab confirmed measles cases have less than 5 years old, and only 36 percent with a history of vaccination.
In addition, 1,294 measles related deaths have been reported (1.3% case fatality rate).
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Great start--we really need far more on #supplychain security and independence: U.S. to spend more than $2 billion to launch Biden’s biomanufacturing initiative https://t.co/gCgnsW9f5X via @statnews
— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) September 17, 2022
Diagnostics:
still an incredible, negligent last of testing.
Drugs and Vaccines:
Efficacy of monovalent COVID-19 booster began waning by 3 or 4 months
South African researchers report waning monovalent (single-strain) COVID-19 vaccine booster effectiveness against the Omicron subvariants, with estimated efficacy falling to 50% against the BA.1/BA.2 and 47% against BA.4/BA.5 as early as 3 or 4 months after vaccination.
In the study, published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), the research team estimated the effectiveness of two and three doses of the monovalent Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19 hospitalization among 32,883 patients hospitalized for any cause and tested for COVID-19 from Nov 15, 2021, to Jun 24, 2022.
Sep 14 NEJM research letter
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/09/covid-19-scan-sep-15-2022
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WHO strongly advises against antibody treatments for COVID-19 patients
The antibody drugs sotrovimab and casirivimab-imdevimab are not recommended for patients with COVID-19, says a WHO Guideline Development Group of international experts in The BMJ today.
These drugs work by binding to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, neutralizing the virus's ability to infect cells.
Today's strong recommendation replaces previous conditional recommendations for their use and is based on emerging evidence from laboratory studies that these drugs are not likely to work against currently circulating variants, such as omicron.
In the same guideline update, WHO makes a conditional recommendation for the use of the antiviral drug remdesivir in patients with severe COVID-19, and a conditional recommendation against its use in patients with critical COVID-19.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-09-strongly-antibody-treatments-covid-patients.html
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It's complicated: Covid vaccine program raises concern about potential errors
Here’s an added challenge to increasing uptake of Covid vaccines: keeping all the different doses straight. Patient safety is paramount but confidence in the public health benefits of vaccination could also take a hit from any errors. As STAT’s Helen Branswell notes, the current Covid vaccine schedule seems tailor-made to trip up people delivering the doses. Before getting into the many colors of caps topping vials, there are multiple vaccines administered in different volumes, some after dilution but many not, and with intervals between doses ranging from three weeks to at least five months.
“This immunization schedule is among the most complex that I've personally had to deal with, and it is constantly changing,” Grace Lee of Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in Palo Alto, Calif., told Helen. The CDC says it has developed strategies to minimize the risk. Read more. at STAT.
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Should I Time My COVID Booster? https://t.co/PikX7v8MkD
— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) September 17, 2022
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Moral values explain differences in COVID-19 vaccination rates across US counties https://t.co/Z83ulwlssZ via @medical_xpress
— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) September 17, 2022
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COVID-19: One in three infected, unvaccinated people no longer have detectable antibodies one year after infection https://t.co/KKHSMawyuu via @medical_xpress
— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) September 17, 2022
Devices:
Why cleaning air in your classroom/home/bar/work at least 6 to 12 times per hour (6-12 ACH) is not great, but rather the bare minimum to cut down COVID spreading.
— Devabhaktuni "Sri" Srikrishna (@sri_srikrishna) May 31, 2022
+ 5 steps to get 6-12 ACH with gold-standard HEPA purifiers or cheaply with Do-It-Yourself (DIY) filtration
(1/19) pic.twitter.com/TAxnr2vkQn
Epidemiology/Infection control:
Imagining COVID is 'like the flu' is cutting thousands of lives short. It's time to wake up https://t.co/CHQbboBF3l via @ConversationEDU
— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) September 17, 2022
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Another new COVID variant is spreading: What we know about omicron BA.4.6 https://t.co/jdIbznvcrQ via @medical_xpress
— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) September 17, 2022
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And according to the latest briefing document by @IHME_UW: Total deaths due to COVID-19 in the last week increased to 590 per day on average compared to 570 the week before (Figure 3.1). This makes COVID-19 the number two cause of death in the US this week (9/9/22). 4/ pic.twitter.com/41qafQLrNt
— Gregg Gonsalves (@gregggonsalves) September 17, 2022
Tips, general reading for public:
Ventilate.
Mask.
Vax.
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Want to hear something amazing about crying?
— Benjamin Perry (@FaithfullyBP) September 13, 2022
Emotional tears have higher protein concentration than irritant tears, which makes them fall down your cheeks more slowly—increasing the chance they’ll be seen and solicit care.
In literal ways, your body is built for community.
Politics:
Covid:
The COVID screener @NIHClinicalCntr made me take off my KN95 to wear a flimsy surgical mask. (by "made" I mean she called a security guy over when I told her my mask was better) because that's their protocol. What are we even doing? This is the nation's research hospital.
— Brian Vastag (@brianvastag) September 13, 2022
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Massachusetts is one of eight “donor states” that pays more in federal taxes than it gets back in federal expenditures (ranks third behind NY and NJ).
— Nicholas Grossman (@NGrossman81) September 15, 2022
Florida, by contrast, is the third biggest “taker state” (behind VA and KY), getting over $50B more than it pays in.
Just sayin’.
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https://twitter.com/TRyanGregory/status/1569478277160660993?s=20&t=IQ-hiOYpAt9ityDtsrIZpQ
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Even before #covid, US health rankings were expected to plummet by 2040. So here’s to getting back to normal, you-doing-you, “we have the tools”. Fast trip. Long drop. #weare64th. 1/ https://t.co/Zdb7M3ugFZ
— Gregg Gonsalves (@gregggonsalves) September 16, 2022
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Congress:
Two days ago the NYT posted an investigation into politicians trading stocks
— Chris Josephs (@Chrisjjosephs) September 15, 2022
They found that 81 Democrats & 101 Republicans filed up to 3,700 trades and $100M in possible volume
Many had 100% winners, with some perfectly timed
Here’s examples of just how good they were
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“Wonton Killings, Gazpacho Police, Peach Tree Dishes: Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene Make the Case for Congressional IQ Minimums” https://t.co/AAMLENWb0h
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) September 15, 2022
TFG/Jan 6
Nicely played. https://t.co/eXdTTs0pZE
— Dan Rather (@DanRather) September 14, 2022
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https://twitter.icom/bizmoneysource/status/1570080090251198464?s=20&t=IQ-hiOYpAt9ityDtsrIZpQ
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https://twitter.com/duty2warn/status/1570455877270011904?s=20&t=IQ-hiOYpAt9ityDtsrIZpQ
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NOW: The MAGA insurrectionist who pinned the D.C. police officer in a door frame while storming the Capitol on January 6 has been found GUILTY of 7 felonies.
— Brian J. Karem (@BrianKarem) September 14, 2022
Al Franken:
https://twitter.com/lmresists/status/1568700820262375424?s=20&t=ZJZqIpcqBhwOUB_oUXLARQ
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Biden:
Dark Brandon just caught a body pic.twitter.com/dK4ngwzX3V
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 14, 2022
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9/11:
It’s 9/11 or GOP fundraising day – to those who celebrate
— flexghost. (@flexghost1) September 11, 2022
Your reminder Republicans blocked aid for first responders for years
It took a force of nature named Jon Stewart to get what first responders were promised during countless campaign speeches pic.twitter.com/5MYtKwlN2J
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Abortion/Reproduction/Graham/Rape:
Nothing says limited government like a government-mandated transvaginal ultrasound. https://t.co/KEciYThFLI
— Miranda Yaver, PhD (@mirandayaver) September 14, 2022
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Lindsey Graham began explaining his federal abortion ban legislation by saying: "I picked 15 weeks…"
— Rex Huppke (@RexHuppke) September 13, 2022
Watching a man say "I picked" as it relates to legislation controlling women's reproductive rights was about the most on-brand Republican move I've seen
Vote, folks.
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If Graham's bill is as advertised, we should be clear that this is actually a blue state abortion ban. The vast majority of red states already have bans stricter than this one. So the point here is really only to overrule the laws of blue states that protect abortion rights. https://t.co/MwyNChBTuI
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) September 13, 2022
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Co-chairing a national search for a department chair, got this response from someone who was nominated to apply
— Megan Palmer (@meganmpalmer) September 13, 2022
“… I am unable to consider faculty/chair positions such as this one where I would have to move somewhere where I would not have access to reproductive healthcare.”
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Full story here: https://t.co/QnjkBbSW4P https://t.co/IvFE5WpQmW
— Men4Choice (@Men_4_Choice) September 11, 2022
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Please don’t say @DorothyERoberts didn’t warn us all. https://t.co/0HMYRcw46m
— Dahlia Lithwick (@Dahlialithwick) September 14, 2022
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https://twitter.com/charles_gaba/status/1570198354050809859?s=20&t=IQ-hiOYpAt9ityDtsrIZpQ
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NEW AUDIO: Brian Kemp says he is open to banning contraceptionhttps://t.co/8SVPoL2uT0
— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) September 15, 2022
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Thanks @voxdotcom for covering our @NEJM study on medical bills sent to victims of sexual assault seen in ERs. Fear of bills discourages victims from seeking care that could prevent life-changing complications like HIV, other STDs, or unwanted pregnancy. https://t.co/JJ8vWt8nVI
— Steffie Woolhandler (@swoolhandler) September 16, 2022
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The San Francisco police used DNA from this woman’s rape kit to arrest her for an unrelated property crime. What does that tell you about police and about genetic surveillance? https://t.co/9pbVwiTosh
— Dorothy Roberts (@DorothyERoberts) September 13, 2022
Greed:
“It should not be controversial to say it, but: People should have sick leave so they do not have to come to work when they get sick.
— Julia Raifman (@JuliaRaifman) September 16, 2022
They should be able to take leave to attend doctors’ appointments or deal w family emergencies w/o risking their jobs”https://t.co/cEXgpYxpTT
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"American exceptionalism." https://t.co/AOfDYWKbeX
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) September 15, 2022
BREAKING: Patagonia founder gives away the $3 billion company to a pair of trusts, with a mandate to give all profits (~$100 million/year) to fight the climate crisis.
— Tristan Snell (@TristanSnell) September 14, 2022
This is a real game-changer, raising the bar on what a socially conscious business can look like.
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https://twitter.com/adamconover/status/1570532502028308481?s=20&t=IQ-hiOYpAt9ityDtsrIZpQ
Guns:
Elton John dedicated "Tiny Dancer" to Jaime, saying, "It upset me to think someone so beautiful and so young could be taken away so quickly.” https://t.co/8pYFwnT1sb
— Scott Mervis (@scottmervis_pg) September 17, 2022
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School Administration Reminds Female Students Bulletproof Vests Must Cover Midriff https://t.co/YKh1cMr0iu pic.twitter.com/CJ6pqp0diG
— The Onion (@TheOnion) September 15, 2022
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Imagine bragging that you’ll work to prevent solutions to the gun violence killing your constituents.
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) September 12, 2022
Gun deaths increased 23% from 2011 to 2020 in Pennsylvania, compared to a 33% nationwide, and gun homicides increased 60%, compared to a 70% increase nationwide. #paleg https://t.co/j7CYwOajcW
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LGBTQ:
Why did Democrats postpone the same-sex marriage vote? https://t.co/t6gyAFMXiT
— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) September 16, 2022
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Last week, a federal district court held that a Christian employer is entitled to an exemption from the requirement that all insurance plans must cover pre-exposure prophylaxis (PreP) drugs that prevent the spread of HIV https://t.co/nOCk2QEpl6
— Bloomberg Opinion (@opinion) September 14, 2022
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"I told you, my fellow Cuban Americans, that the censors would get around to us. And they have. The day after @MDCPS Board voted to suspend recognition of LGBTQ History Month, officials quietly rejected the work of one of the most prominent Cuban Americans in US cultural life."
— Billy Corben (@BillyCorben) September 13, 2022
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Quarterbacks:
Another tale of 3 QB’s
— Bishop Talbert Swan (@TalbertSwan) September 16, 2022
Tom Brady took a $1M PPP loan. He made $83M that year and purchased a multi million dollar boat days after the loan
Brett Favre took $5M earmarked for people in MS living beneath the poverty level
Colin Kaepernick took a knee
Who lost their NFL career? pic.twitter.com/aqvPskOvLX
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Prisons:
In prison nothing is free. Not even toothpaste. The cost of hygiene products increased again today. Toothpaste used to be $3.85 and now it's $6.10. That's over 14 hours working a prison job to afford one tube of toothpaste.
— ChristopherBlackwell (@ChrisWBlackwell) September 16, 2022
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An insurer asked a 60-officer police department to "enact more than a dozen changes focused on reducing violent encounters with the public. When police failed to do so, the risk pool pulled its coverage, and the department disbanded." https://t.co/i8aCgJld5j
— Jesse Walker (@notjessewalker) September 15, 2022
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Racism:
In the 1990’s police in Saskatchewan, Canada would arrest Native men and drive them to remote locations in sub-zero temperatures. They would then abandon them to freeze to death. This deadly practice was known as a Starlight Tour — No police were ever convicted for their deaths. pic.twitter.com/nuDpKMPzMo
— Lakota Man (@LakotaMan1) September 16, 2022
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https://twitter.com/iamalmostlegend/status/1570591373954527233?s=20&t=IQ-hiOYpAt9ityDtsrIZpQ
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A teenage human trafficking victim who was initially charged with first-degree murder after she stabbed her accused rapist to death has been sentenced to five years' probation and ordered to pay $150,000 restitution to the man's family. https://t.co/ZF8G8MuFSh
— The Associated Press (@AP) September 14, 2022
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Florida/DeSantis/Immigration/Martha's Vineyard:
Rachel Self, a Boston immigration attorney tells you everything you need to know about immigrants sent to Martha’s Vineyard.
— Skyleigh Heinen (@Sky_Lee_1) September 16, 2022
They’d been given falsified U.S. addresses by immigration officials, perhaps ensuring that they’d be deemed in the country illegally. pic.twitter.com/mBp7AqBow1
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NEWS: The little-known aviation company awarded the migrant "relocation" contract by the DeSantis administration purchased 6 helicopters from the Russian government in 2018 for $42 million. Other significant business with Kremlin-adjacent companies. https://t.co/YFjdncOU26
— Scott Stedman (@ScottMStedman) September 17, 2022
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Ron won’t answer questions so we looked ourselves: FL paid Vertol Systems $615,000 on Sept 8th out of the $12m deportation fund.
— Charlie Crist (@CharlieCrist) September 16, 2022
So Floridians paid $12,300 for each refugee DeSantis trafficked for his own political purposes.
More to come. pic.twitter.com/4IqxD82whf
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Apparently, Governor Abbott denies any involvement in this human trafficking stunt. So, how does a Governor from a different state (DeSantis) have authority to transport these individuals from another state across the country?
— Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) September 15, 2022
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BTW, DeSantis is using COVID-19 federal relief money he opposed for his human trafficking stunt.
— Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) September 15, 2022
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I feel like this part of DeSantis' migrant stunt has been under-explored. How did Fox News get first dibbs on video of the migrants disembarking in Martha's Vineyard? It sure looks like it came from DeSantis' staff. https://t.co/S0GgXYk0RM
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) September 17, 2022
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Almost 40% of the population of NYC is foreign-born. More than 1/3 of the populations of LA County and San Francisco are foreign-born. Almost 30% of Boston's population is foreign-born. The idea that blue cities are untouched by immigration is bizarrely out of touch with reality. https://t.co/bXx6LLBYFB
— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) September 16, 2022
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Ron DeSantis announced $1,000 bonus checks for first responders, but forgot to mention that the money he is using comes from President Biden's American Rescue Plan.
— Aaron Parnas (@AaronParnas) September 13, 2022
Floridians should thank President Biden, not Ron DeSantis.
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The Kennedy White House received mail from leaders in the targeted states, asking the federal government to intervene in the “cruel merciless hoax” and “their traffic in human lives and misery.”https://t.co/MORNrZoqmW pic.twitter.com/HZy0CJl3OO
— JFK Library (@JFKLibrary) September 15, 2022
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Martha's Vineyard resident with some words pic.twitter.com/eMaZFjCbG0
— Julie S (@jaxcarys) September 15, 2022
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Florida is ranked 48th in teacher pay, but Ron DeSantis allocates 12 million dollars to ship migrants out of our state instead. Shameful.
— Aaron Parnas (@AaronParnas) September 15, 2022
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Stop and watch this video.
— John Scott-Railton (@jsrailton) September 16, 2022
Whatever you thought about the governors' stunt... it turns out it was worse.pic.twitter.com/GASpsChOzl
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Kentucky:
In 1985, Mitch McConnell’s own paperwork reflecting his net worth when he ran for office, was $97,442.
— YS (@ReallyActivist) September 13, 2022
Today, Mitch McConnell’s own paperwork reflecting his net worth when ran for office in 2020, was $21 Million.
Michigan:
Find out more: https://t.co/TukOtbze0F
— Republicans against Trumpism (@RpsAgainstTrump) September 12, 2022
Mississippi:
The newly released texts show that Gov. Bryant, Brett Favre, and others worked together to channel at least $5 million of the state’s welfare funds to build a new volleyball stadium at University of S. Mississippi, where Favre’s daughter played the sport https://t.co/V4gmAFPN7Q
— Devlin Barrett (@DevlinBarrett) September 13, 2022
Nebraska/Fracking
https://twitter.com/BenGoldsmith/status/1569314085828689922?s=20&t=IQ-hiOYpAt9ityDtsrIZpQ
Pennsylvania:
Doug Mastriano, the GOP candidate for governor of Pennsylvania, was registered to vote in New Jersey until 2021.
— David Wildstein (@wildstein) September 16, 2022
https://t.co/HSCs7Je1aY
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https://twitter.com/KylaInTheBurgh/status/1569356152294543362?s=20&t=IQ-hiOYpAt9ityDtsrIZpQ
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Texas:
BREAKING: Texas has added 300,000 new voters since SCOTUS overturned Roe - and they are YOUNGER and more DEMOCRATIC than before the June ruling.
— Antonio Arellano (@AntonioArellano) September 11, 2022
Democrats in TEXAS now have a 10% advantage among new registrants. This is BIG.
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https://twitter.com/0liviajulianna/status/1569860679619821568?s=20&t=IQ-hiOYpAt9ityDtsrIZpQ
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Gov. Greg Abbott sent two buses of migrants to Kamala Harris’ DC residence Thursday. Abbott’s migrant busing policy is catching on GOP governors like Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis, who chartered two planes of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard Wednesday. https://t.co/nOzxLexPS7
— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) September 15, 2022
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Virginia:
Virginia just released its 2022 model policies and says schools must comply.
— Erin Reed (@ErinInTheMorn) September 16, 2022
It bans all transgender students in Virginia from bathrooms matching their gender.
It makes teachers deadname and misgender trans students unless they have parental consent.
This is horrifying. pic.twitter.com/rtj63cQXPr
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UK
The UK is spending millions on the queens funeral, while:
— AJ+ (@ajplus) September 13, 2022
▪️ 1 in 7 adults in the UK report skipping/cutting back on meals
▪️ 800,000 lower-income children unable to access free school meals (which cost $2.85 per child) because of caps that disqualify 30% of children in poverty pic.twitter.com/Mwy7cIhHo7
Feel good du jour:
A dog saw his owner picking up trash and then went and brought him a discarded plastic bottle, earning him a treat. Next thing he knew, his dog was cleaning up the whole neighborhood. pic.twitter.com/GHLGXSoBfO
— jonathan slater☮️ (@jonslater37) September 16, 2022
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https://twitter.com/annalapwood/status/1568998632074145792?s=20&t=IQ-hiOYpAt9ityDtsrIZpQ
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https://twitter.com/pups_Puppies1/status/1569424655575908353?s=20&t=IQ-hiOYpAt9ityDtsrIZpQ
Comic relief:
— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) September 11, 2022
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https://twitter.com/buitengebieden/status/1569396826364694528?s=20&t=IQ-hiOYpAt9ityDtsrIZpQ
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May you live life like a dog. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Z4CK5l3POg
— Bunsen and BEAKER (@bunsenbernerbmd) September 16, 2022
Perspective/Poem
Today, I made a student cry. On a panel for first generation and low income students, we were asked to give advice we wish someone had told us. The rest of my panel said great stuff: explore, be adventure, take chances. So I went in a different direction: try to lose your guilt.
— Samantha Muka (@aquariumglass) September 14, 2022
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https://twitter.com/AngieMChurch/status/1570583378436718593?s=20&t=IQ-hiOYpAt9ityDtsrIZpQ
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Zelensky tonight after Russian attacks on Ukrainian power stations: pic.twitter.com/kSALjFlGpU
— Jack Detsch (@JackDetsch) September 11, 2022
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Ah, Wendy Cope! pic.twitter.com/X5D8r1f2W1
— Nikita Gill (@nktgill) September 12, 2022
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This poem always makes me feel grateful no matter what sort of day I go through https://t.co/R9lgTOWNjp
— Madhusree⚕️ Singh, MD (@thinkalot) September 9, 2022
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It took 10 years for the photographer, Marcella Giulla Pace, to capture these 48 colors of the Moon pic.twitter.com/4jr5BC1tUW
— jonathan slater☮️ (@jonslater37) September 13, 2022
Bits of beauty:
