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from the who-feels-safe-in-Florida-now? dept.
Armed police raid home of Florida scientist fired over Covid-19 data
Rebekah Jones, the Florida data scientist embroiled in a dispute with the state's Republican governor over the handling of coronavirus figures, had her home raided on Monday by armed police who confiscated her computers.
In a stream of posts on Twitter, Jones posted a video of the raid that showed state police carrying handguns escorting her out of her Tallahassee home. She can be heard saying: "He just pointed a gun at my children," with her husband and two children apparently upstairs at the time.
Jones claimed in her tweets that the raid was the work of Ron DeSantis, the governor with whom she has clashed repeatedly since she was fired by the state's department of health in May in a row over Covid-19 data. She compared the incident to sending "the gestapo", adding: "This is what happens to scientists who do their job honestly. This is what happens to people who speak truth to power."
The Florida department of law enforcement confirmed they had entered Jones's house on a search warrant. But in a statement the department said the action was related to a recent computer hack of the health department website, in which emergency response coordinators were sent an unauthorised message.
Also at CNN, The Verge, and The Hill.
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday December 09 2020, @04:55AM (21 children)
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/index.htm [cdc.gov]
You might find that table informative. The CDC says that the TOTAL number of fatalities for the year stands at 111% of "Expected Deaths". You can scroll down, and look at column 4, and see how that "expected deaths" has gone up, and down. At 111%, I see cause for concern, but not for alarm. If the table said 150%, or 175%, or 200%, then I might see cause for alarm. Fact is, we are only 11% over the number or deaths that the CDC expected for the year 2020.
Do I believe that politicians would use a nice emergency to grab more power for themselves? OF COURSE I DO!! Some are more prone to commit such offenses, others less prone to do so. Dems are notorious for wanting to infringe on people's rights - starting with the 2nd Amendment. Dems talk a big story about protecting rights, but Dems need to feel like they are in control. Give them a pandemic, and they'll make excuses to take control of everything.
Do you wear a mask during sex? Dems want you to!
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Mykl on Wednesday December 09 2020, @05:38AM (7 children)
Percentages can be deceptive things.
Yes, the death rate is 111% (actually 110.63%) above the expected number. And 11% extra sounds small. But 11% of a really big number is still a big number.
Applying your logic against 9/11 - the death rate that year would've only gone up by 0.1%. Hardly worth worrying about, much less creating the TSA, Patriot Act, 2 wars and other abuses which have been far more costly and rights-infringing than wearing a mask!
Come to think of it, why do Republicans consent to taking their shoes off and being full body scanned at the airport, but refuse to wear a mask? Perhaps the COVID response would've been different if we had told them that the disease was a bio-weapon engineered by Chinese nationalist terrorists who "Hated our freedom"!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 09 2020, @06:30AM
Runaway don't do math. This is why his log books in his trucker days always got pulled, and cited. Not that he meant to be a criminal, just too stupid to do otherwise.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 09 2020, @06:45AM (4 children)
Are you trying to say that if some of our rights were successfully stolen under a laughable pretext two decades ago, then it is all well and good to steal all that remained, with an equally contrived excuse?
Yes, politicians should have been stopped then, and thrown out of office for trying. Yes, people were stupid and complacent, PR blitz worked, democracy had failed. Yes, naturally they decided to repeat the trick that worked, now on a grander scale. No, two wrongs do not make a right.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 09 2020, @05:04PM (3 children)
I think he is saying, that what we are dealing with now is basically a 9/11 each day.
20 years ago conservatives said that if we didn't take drastic measures to deal with the threat put forth by terrorists, we'd lose all our freedoms. As such they made flying a pain, and started a pair of wars.
Now, we are dealing with something that is killing that many people each day, and is swamping our hospital system to the point where soon it will not be able to treat all the people because there just isn't space or doctors/nurses to go around. The conservative response is, "how dare you tell me that I might need to wear a mask when out in public!" Since the science wont bend their way, they instead go after the facts, so "3 thousand people can't be dying each day, that would imply we are stupid!"
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 09 2020, @05:24PM
4000 people are dying daily from heart disease.
9/11 was a criminal act perpetrated by people. Covid is just a disease, like all the others we always had to live with.
Hospitals are not swamped. No hospital will want to keep ICU occupancy lower than 85%, and they are required to be able to expand to at least 125%. Idaho hospitals have 15% in for covid, 54% of beds are occupied and 74% of ICU beds are. Pennsylvania: 17%, 73%, 82%. Texas: 15%, 73%, 82%. Sources: https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/its-panic-porn-clickbait-media-scare-stories-about-hospitals-are-misleading [zerohedge.com] and https://protect-public.hhs.gov/pages/hospital-capacity [hhs.gov]
Nurses are still being sent home because overall business is depressed in hospitals.
You champagne leftists can be Chicken Littles as long as you want, but your co-religionists in political power are killing this country, rich, poor, old and young, and eventually you too.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 09 2020, @06:07PM (1 child)
Let us not rewrite history. The stupidity that happened following 9/11 was 100% bipartisan. There is always token opposition to things like this, so as to pretend we don't have a uniparty, but it's always only token. For instance when Obama wanted to push the TPP through in an overtly undemocratic fashion, republicans claimed to oppose but then lined up to ensure he always had just enough for a majority when it came vote time. What the uniparty wants, the uniparty gets.
The invasion [wikipedia.org] went 296-133 in the house, with the democrats having had just enough pull to stop the invasion if they came together to vote against it. It went 77-23 in the senate. As the democrats held a majority in the senate they could have also stopped it there.
Where the government really got a hardon though was the Patriot Act [wikipedia.org], though. Taking away civil rights, further bloating the government, and enhancing domestic surveillance? Oh yeah baby, neither party can resist that sort of dirty talk. It went 357-66 in the house, and a whopping 98-1 in the senate.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday December 09 2020, @10:04PM
In the runup to the invasion of Iraq, I was the sole voice of opposition in the community I was part of. Everyone wanted to invade it seemed. I was mocked by left, and by right, as well as many Independents. "Gotta make Saddam Hussein pay!" Except, Hussein and Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. "You're either with us, or against us, you TRAITOR!!"
Ditto with the Patriot Act, ditto with the whole Department of Homeland Security, ditto with the freak brigade making life miserable at the airports today. There was near unanimous support for all that idiocy. It was one of the few times in history when Ds and Rs were all kissy-face with each other.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 09 2020, @09:48AM
I think this is a good example of why political types, on both sides, have difficulty every coming to any sort of an agreement - instead just ending up in ad hominem and other nonsense. You're saying here that percents don't matter. Imagine now somebody said that BLM is kind of bizarre since more white people, than black, are killed by police. Would you now resort to 'raw numbers don't matter, only percents' without skipping a beat, probably while simultaneously telling the other guy he was being disingenuous? In that case I'd actually agree with you, because it would be disingenuous. But in this case you're taking your turn there. Percents are all that matter - raw numbers are generally just used to mislead.
And yes, you are also absolutely right that our response to 9/11 was beyond retarded. It was politicians manipulating the *emotions* of the public to seize more power for themselves which has still not, and probably never will be, fully relinquished. And guess what's happening exactly again with COVID? A decade from now we're going to look back at all of the liberties we sacrificed, and wonder what in the world we were thinking. Do you think the "travel permits" we're creating today, will go away as COVID does? Passports, as a requirement for travel, were a "temporary war measure". So too will these travel permits be. Gradually your "travel permit" will come to be the equivalent of a domestic passport, necessary to participate in an ever widening range of activities. Oh, you smoked a joint, maybe downloaded a movie or song? Your permit is now revoked for a month - no need to even involve the courts since it's not even going to be an official government requirement, just something corporations will all voluntarily adopt. Fun times.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 09 2020, @05:45AM (4 children)
If you want to rely on individual responsibility instead of regulation, individuals need to be aware of and accept the facts. If you want people to voluntarily wear masks instead of relying on mask mandates, people must accept that masks are a useful and necessary measure to limit the spread of COVID-19. Misinformation undermines these efforts, so you end up with the regulation that you don't want.
The CDC data are incomplete, so the excess death rate is actually higher than 11%. It takes several weeks before the CDC has a complete count of how many people died in a particular week and the causes of death. COVID-19 death rates are at their highest ever in the US, but this isn't yet reflected in the CDC's data. In the first wave of the pandemic, the excess death rate was 42%. There was a second peak during the summer. When final data are in for the past few weeks, we'll likely see that the excess death rate was actually higher than 42% at this point in time. Were it not for the lockdowns in the spring, the excess death rate would likely have peaked well above 42%. At least one study suggests that the excess death rate in New York City this spring was similar to the 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic [jamanetwork.com]. It arises from the combination of deaths directly from COVID-19 and from people who aren't receiving care for other treatable conditions because hospitals are overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 09 2020, @06:32AM (2 children)
"In the Research Letter, “Comparison of Estimated Excess Deaths in New York City During the COVID-19 and 1918 Influenza Pandemics,”1 published on August 13, 2020, in the Figure, A and B, the y-axis label should have been all-cause deaths per 100 000 person-months, not person-weeks. This article has been corrected."
Some quality research you are demonstrating here, indeed.
Now to the content:
"Deaths, all cause (New York City, 1918 H1N1 peak and corresponding periods, 1914-1917)"
"Deaths, all cause (New York City, COVID-19 outbreak and corresponding periods, 2017-2019)"
Why not compare both to 2018 flu peak? To peaks of other flu pandemics in the intervening century?
Comparing peaks to troughs is a well known method of lying with facts and production of FUD. But it is not science, it is a mockery of it.
The more such "research" is produced and promoted, the more suspicion will arise. Even legitimate studies done in good faith, will increasingly be met as more of the same. The people doing these jobs for a quick buck, are busy digging the grave for the whole scientific establishment; once "scientist" and "conman" become total synonyms, what will be the Plan B?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 09 2020, @08:15AM (1 child)
You compleat idiot!
Covid-19 has not yet peaked. It will get much worse, thanks to an incompetent Republican Administration. Many more will die, while you are trying to fudge figures, and lie. Perhaps you could get Covid-19, and die, as a service to your country? We would all appreciate it.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 09 2020, @01:10PM
France, Italy, Germany, Denmark, The Netherlands, and many other places are also seeing a resurgence. Do you also want to attribute juvenile political explanations to all of them too? And your political explanation doesn't even make any sense. In the US how areas handle the virus is almost exclusively a state responsibility. Federal response mostly comes down to providing funding + closing the borders. Both of which we did.
The reality is that we're going through a plague and, for all of our technological bravado, don't really have any especially amazing solutions that were not previously available. It basically comes down to waiting it out. Oh right, we have vaccinations - brewed up in less than a year, using completely untested technology, for a coronavirus (of which there have been numerous attempts but 0 successful vaccines created), under a major commercial motivation with 0 consequences for side effects - literally, governments are agreeing to immunity waivers. Well my friend, you first. If both you and the virus are alive and well in a year or two, I'll happily join in!
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday December 09 2020, @10:09PM
To paraphrase you, you're perfectly happy allowing people to decide for themselves, but only if you agree with their decisions.
Are you a parent?
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by helel on Wednesday December 09 2020, @03:10PM (5 children)
It's a little off topic, but remind me which famous democrat said "Take the guns first, go through due process second."? Oh, right, it was President Trump.
It is now, and for the past twenty years always has been, the republicans who are trying to erode the second amendment. They are the ones passing anti-gun laws (such as Trumps bump stock ban) and the democrats who role those restrictions back (Obama removed some of Bushes firearms restrictions).
If you care about your right to bear arms it is imperative you vote democrat - republicans DO NOT want you to have guns.
Republican Patriotism [youtube.com]
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday December 09 2020, @03:30PM (4 children)
Republicans are coming for the guns now? Imagine that. Tell me, who was it that authored the "Federal Assault Weapons Ban" of 1994? Which party held the White House then? The Senate? The House?
Remember the rhetoric during this election's primary races? Some wormy Dem in Texas promised that he WOULD come after the guns, and various Dem potential candidates cheered him on. Joe Biden has told us that no one needs anything more than a double barrel shotgun - walk out on the balcony and fire two blasts into the air.
I'll put my faith in the present justices of the Supreme Court, thank you. I want to see a few more cases like Heller, where the Supreme Court basically told the officials of Washington D.C. to go fuck themselves.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by helel on Wednesday December 09 2020, @04:58PM (3 children)
I don't know if you're aware but 1994 was more than twenty years ago. Since 2000 Bush has taken guns away, Obama returned them, and Trump took gun (accessories) away.
Politicians lie all the time. Judge them by their actions, not their words.
Republican Patriotism [youtube.com]
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday December 09 2020, @06:04PM (2 children)
2020 was less than a year ago, and many of the potential D candidates were running at their mouths about gun control, as late as June, when the field started getting small.
The one thing that I credit with silencing the Dem anti-gun mob, are the gun sales statistics. Even good Democrats stood in line for the opportunity to buy their own self defense weapon. Women, Blacks, Asians, Latinos, people of all political persuasions, people of all religions, people of all colors, pretty much everyone was represented in those lines. In uncertain times, NO ONE wants gubbermint to restrict his options.
The best metric for probable private gun sales is the FBI's NICS numbers, found here:
https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/nics_firearm_checks_-_month_year.pdf/view [fbi.gov]
Note, that there is no reliable metric for sales. Those numbers only indicate how many background checks have been run, they do not indicate completed sales. Possible reasons for non-completion are, failed background check, customer ran short of money, customer simply changed his mind, the desired firearm was not in stock and/or never delivered, customer deceased before sale completed, customer arrested before sale completed, and the list goes on. Still, an average of more than 3 million background checks for the last 12 or 13 months is a helluva an indicator that people demand their own self defense weapons.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 10 2020, @12:34AM (1 child)
I'm just wondering when you 2A idiots are going to finally realize that that you have been played by the gun manufacturers and the NRA. Yep, all of you 2A types are lining the pockets of the gun manufacturers each time you panic and buy yet more guns.
NB: you might want to stock up on ammo too. I gather that is getting more expensive with each passing week. Hurry before supplies run out!
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday December 10 2020, @04:08AM
No worries. Reloads. You save your brass casing, resize it, press out and press in a primer, pour in a bit of powder, press in a bullet that you made yourself from a chunk of lead. It's all good. Brother in law probably has 50,000 rounds ready to go, mostly in 30-30, .308, and 30-06, but he keeps the nephews stocked in more modern rounds as well. When we can't find lead or powder, we'll know that the shit has hit the fan.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday December 09 2020, @09:20PM (1 child)
Here are some of the deadliest days in American history:
Galveston Hurricane – 8,000
Battle of Antietam – 3,675
Battle of Gettysburg – 3,155
September 11 – 2,977
Last Thursday – 2,879
Last Wednesday – 2,804
Last Friday – 2,607
Last Tuesday – 2,597
Pearl Harbor – 2,403
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 10 2020, @12:37AM
C'mon, everybody! We can do better than this! Let's get the COVID death rates above 8k per day!
USA! USA! USA! America, fuck yeah!!!