Doc Retweeted By Trump Says Government is Run by Reptilians

Government Lizard People: seeing is believing.

President Donald Trump retweeted Houston physician Stella Immanuel last week, a fellow fancier of debunked “miracle coronavirus cure” hydroxychloroquine. The good doctor also believes there are Lizard People among us:

“In a 2015 video, Immanuel, who leads a religious group called Fire Power Ministries, said: ‘There are people ruling this nation that are not even human,’ describing them as ‘reptilian spirits’ who are ‘half human, half ET.'”

— “Aliens and ‘reptilians’: US viral video doctor’s odd beliefs,” France 24

That explains why Trump spokes-creatures like Stephen Miller focus our fears on ethnic minorities to distract us from their own space alien invasion.

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Dr. Trump’s Terrifying Timeline of COVID-19 Diagnoses

Have you followed President Trump’s Coronavirus policies over the past six months? The Lincoln Project has:

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Meatpacking Workers Sue OSHA Over COVID-19 Safety

“The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is failing to do its job properly, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by three meatpacking workers, who say the agency’s inaction has left them in danger.

The lawsuit accuses OSHA of leaving the workers in imminent danger due to what they say are hazardous working conditions at the factory where they work, run by Maid-Rite Specialty Foods in Pennsylvania, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.”

— “Meatpacking workers file lawsuit against OSHA, accusing agency of failing to keep them safe,” Eli Rosenberg, Washington Post

More:

“They Warned OSHA They Were in “Imminent Danger” at the Meat Plant. Now They’re Suing the Agency.” Bernice Yeung and Michael Grabell, ProPublica

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In Mid-Pandemic, Trump Challenges Obamacare in Court

On Thursday, in a literal 11th-hour brief, an hour before a midnight deadline, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to invalidate the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, and strip healthcare from 23 million Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thursday also marked the largest single-day increase in diagnosed Coronavirus cases in the U.S. to date, the day when the CDC admitted that coronavirus cases may be 10 times higher than reported.

More:

“Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Strike Down Affordable Care Act,” Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times

“Trump administration asks Supreme Court to strike down Obamacare,” Meagan Flynn and Tim Elfrink, Washington Post

“Trump, Intent on Self-Destruction, Asks Supreme Court to Kill Obamacare,” Ed Kilgore, New York Magazine

Update:

“Obamacare Versus the G.O.P. Zombies,” Paul Krugman, New York Times

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Trump: Less Testing = Less COVID-19

President Trump claims that Coronavirus infections are up due to increased testing, and cutting down on testing will decrease infection numbers. Mr. Trump followed up on his absurd claim by stopping funding of federally-backed testing in Texas, Illinois, New Jersey, Colorado and Pennsylvania. Health officals say Americans are still under-tested, and urge immediate increases.

More:

“Trump again blames testing for high coronavirus numbers during Arizona rally,” Don Jacobson and Daniel Uria, UPI

“Fauci, top health officials warn of covid-19 surge, contradict Trump on testing,”
John Wagner, Felicia Sonmez, Yasmeen Abutaleb, Lena H. Sun and Laurie McGinley Washington Post

“Fauci, other health advisers at odds with President Trump on whether to slow testing,”
Anne Flaherty and Mariam Khan, ABC News

“Dr. Birx Contradicts Trump, Privately Tells Govs to Increase COVID Testing,” Erin Banco and Sam Stein, Daily Beast

Updates:

“No, more testing doesn’t explain the rise of covid-19 cases in the U.S.,” Jennifer B. Nuzzo, Washington Post

“Trump plan to cut federal support for Covid-19 testing sites sparks alarm,” Adam Gabbatt, The Guardian

“Coronavirus: Federal government will end funding for 13 community-based Covid-19 test sites, most in Texas,” Dan Mangan, CNBC

Latest Updates:

“Trump administration restores federal funding for Texas testing sites,” David Lim, Politico

“HHS Forced To Keep Texas COVID Testing Sites Open Following Public Outcry,” Josh Kovensky, Talking Points Memo

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100,000 Americans Die; Trump Plays Golf

On Memorial Day weekend, as the number of Americans dead from COVID-19 approached 100,000, President Donald Trump played golf on one of his private courses. Trump National Golf Club is in Sterling, Virginia, only 30 minutes from Arlington National Cemetery, so it might have been the president’s way of observing the solemn holiday.

More:

“Trump tees up controversy as he plays golf in a pandemic,” Martin Pengelly, The Guardian

“Trump Plays Golf at His Virginia Club as U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Nears 100,000,” Daniel Politi, Slate

“US nears 100,000 pandemic deaths: Does Trump feel your pain?” Calvin Woodward, Associated Press

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Contact Tracing

Contact tracing can help stem the spread of COVID-19.

More:

“How Do You Do Contact Tracing? Poor Countries Have Plenty Of Advice.” Jason Beaubien, NPR News

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Trump Self-Prescribes Snake Oil

President Donald Trump, dissuaded from mainlining Lysol, has talked his doctor into giving him hydroxychloroquine in an effort to prevent COVID-19. “The hydroxy,” as the president calls it, is an anti-malarial drug with zero proven effect in preventing or treating COVID-19 infection, and the FDA has warned of its cardiovascular risks. As of this writing, we are unaware of any movement to revoke the medical license of Sean Conley, D.O., current Physician to the President, over this matter.

President Trump’s reasons for ignoring prevailing advice on the risks in taking hydroxychloroquine?

1. “You’d be surprised at how many people are taking it….”
2. “I’ve heard a lot of good stories.”
3. “I get a lot of positive calls about it.”
4. “What the hell have you got to lose?”

More:

“Despite FDA Caution, Trump Says He Is Taking Hydroxychloroquine As A Preventive,” Joe Palca, NPR News

“Trump’s stunning claim that he’s taking hydroxychloroquine could trigger a cascade of negative effects,’ Philip Bump, Washington Post

“Trump Takes Hydroxychloroquine, Does Not Understand How Science Works,” Jonathan Chait, New York Magazine

“Trump Says He’s Taking Hydroxychloroquine, But He Also Lies Daily,” Peter Wade, Rolling Stone

Updates:

“Pence says he isn’t taking unproven hydroxychloroquine treatment for coronavirus that Trump takes,” Kevin Breuninger, CNBC

“Trump dismisses hydroxychloroquine study that undermines him as a ‘Trump enemy statement,’” aaron Rupar, Vox

“White House releases doctor’s note on Trump’s purported use of hydroxychloroquine,” Peter Weber, The Week 

“Hydroxychloroquine Isn’t a Joke It’s a Scandal,” Josh Marshall, Talking Points Memo

“Antimalarial drug touted by President Trump is linked to increased risk of death in coronavirus patients, study says,” Ariana Eunjung Cha and Laurie McGinley, Washington Post

“Hydroxychloroquine: Trump’s Covid-19 ‘cure’ increases deaths, global study finds,” Sarah Boseley, The Guardian

 

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Ground Zero: Zabar’s

“I can’t stay at home, because I have two kids,” says Billy Yulfo, assistant manager at New York’s Zabar’s grocery, an essential worker in a pandemic hotspot. an Atlantic video by Daniel Lombroso.

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The Accuracy of Covid-19 Testing

COVID-19 tests are vitally needed to control the pandemic, but even accutate antibody tests can generate false positives.

More:

“‘Breakthrough’ COVID-19 Tests Are Currently Cheap, Fast—and Not Very Accurate,” Jim Daley, Scientific American

“Why even a super-accurate Covid-19 test can fail,” Umair Irfan, Vox

“Understanding COVID-19 False Positives,” Emily Oster, Slate

Related:

“The US has no idea how to manage all the testing data it’s collecting,” Neel V. Patel, MIT Technology Review

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