Starting by reciting a quote from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Fox News hostess (and woman who does a great imitation of a 1971 VW 411 that won’t turnover) Laura Ingraham refuses to hold Aaron Rodgers responsible for his stupid comments on COVID vaccinations.  “‘His utter lack of even the most basic knowledge and logic is shocking.’  Jack, um, I could go through any interview with, y’know, professional athlete, like politicians, and point out really dumb things they’ve said.  Ahhh, Aaron Rodgers’ comments wouldn’t be one of them.”

New York Times:  “Franklin Sherman Elementary School made medical history in 1954, when 114 of its students became the first healthy American children to be vaccinated against polio as part of a nationwide clinical trial. They called themselves ‘polio pioneers.’ On Monday the school again earned a place in the spotlight, by running a coronavirus vaccine clinic for its students that the first lady, Jill Biden, visited with the surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy. Dozens of young children, accompanied by their parents, trooped through its brightly colored gymnasium to get their shots.

“The visit kicked off what White House officials said would be a national push, led by Dr. Biden, to persuade parents and guardians to vaccinate 5- to 11-year-olds now that the shots are available to them. The administration has already shipped 15 million pediatric doses across the country to doctors’ offices, children’s hospitals, community health centers, pharmacies and schools, with the goal of vaccinating all 28 million children in the age group.

“Dr. Biden offered a simple and direct message to parents: ‘This vaccine is the best way to protect your children against Covid-19. It’s been thoroughly reviewed and rigorously tested. It’s safe. It’s free, and it’s available for every child in this country.’  Public health experts view vaccinating young children as a critical step toward bringing the pandemic under control. The Food and Drug Administration authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children 5 to 11 at the end of October, and last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed it.”

NBC News:   “The time you go to bed may affect your risk for heart disease. In fact, researchers say, there is a heart health sweet spot for falling asleep: from 10 to 11 p.m.

“An analysis of data from more than 88,000 adults tracked for around six years revealed a 12 percent greater risk among those who dropped off from 11 to 11:59 p.m. and a 25 percent higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease among people who fell asleep at midnight or later. Falling asleep earlier than 10 p.m. was associated with a 24 percent increase in risk, according to a report published Monday in the European Heart Journal—Digital Health. ‘The body has a 24-hour internal clock, called circadian rhythm, that helps regulate physical and mental functioning,’ a co-author of the study, David Plans, a neuroscientist and experimental psychologist who is a senior lecturer in organizational neuroscience at the University of Exeter in the U.K., said in a statement. ‘While we cannot conclude causation from our study, the results suggest that early or late bedtimes may be more likely to disrupt the body clock, with adverse consequences for cardiovascular health.’

“To explore how different bedtimes might affect heart health, Plans and his colleagues turned to UK Biobank, which maintains information about more than 500,000 volunteers ages 37 to 73 who were recruited from 2006 to 2010 and provided information about their demographics, lifestyles and health. Their physical health was also assessed.”

Florida’s new surgeon general Joseph Ladapo’s resume is coming under scrutiny, the Rachel Maddow Show reports, after claims he treated COVID19 patients at UCLA Medical Center are being dismissed by people who worked at UCLA.

Maddow reports that Ladapo wrote multiple op/eds for newspapers, including one for USA Today on March 24, 2020, at the start of the pandemic, in which he claimed “I spent the past week taking care of patients with COVID-19 at UCLA’s flagship hospital…”  Scheduling records show Ladapo was not part of the team taking care of COVID patients.

“I was part of the team that was taking care of COVID-19 patients at the beginning of he pandemic and Dr. Ladapo was not par of the team.  There were two separate groups–General Medicine and ICU, plus a volunteer program–to take care of COVID-19 patients,” a hospital staffer told the program.  “Ladapo was not part of either.  It was a small group of people, a task force.  Everyone knew everyone.  He wasn’t there.”

A judge in DC federal court dismissed part of a lawsuit brought by the Attorney General for the District of Columbia relating to how funds were used in 2017 by the Trump inaugural committee, the Washington Post reports.

D.C. Superior Court Judge José M. López, an appointee of George H.W. Bush, ruled that the accusation by D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine that the Trump inaugural committee “wasted” one million dollars by booking ballrooms and conference rooms at the Trump International Hotel in downtown Washington when other hotels were offering similar accommodations at lower rates or even free.

López determined that Racine did not meet the steep burden of proof required to prove the money was wasted.  In his opinion, López said that to prove money was wasted, Racine had to prove the expenditures were “so far beyond the bounds of reasonable business judgment that its only explanation was bad faith.”  López stated Racine did not meet that threshold. 

“A trash bin from Myrtle Beach has made its way across the Atlantic Ocean. Keith McGreal, who lives along Ireland’s west coast, said he found the blue bin in Mulranny, Co. Mayo on Sunday. McGreal told WMBF News that he and his family were taking a stroll on the beach when they saw a large object had washed up on the shore. The trash bin became somewhat weathered throughout the journey, but the city of Myrtle Beach’s logo is still clearly seen” – WBMF.

Associated Press:  “COVID-19 vaccinations for 5-to 11-year-olds started at some Hawaii public schools on Monday.  Kalihi Uka Elementary in Honolulu was to hold a vaccination clinic. It got underway at 8:30 a.m. with a group of first graders. About 60 students, or a quarter of the school’s eligible children, signed up.

“Parents need to sign consent forms for their children to be vaccinated. It’s up to individual schools whether parents will be allowed to accompany their child.  Shots are also available at some doctor’s offices, pharmacies and larger vaccination sites.  Parent Elizabeth Lugo was excited to have her child vaccinated.  ‘Like every family, we all have our elderly parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles,” said Lugo. “Getting vaccinated and having my children vaccinated gave us that extra protection.’

“‘When I get sick, I will be protected from the virus.’ added Elizabeth’s daughter, Milena Lugo.

“The clinics come about a week after U.S. health officials gave final approval to Pfizer’s COVID-19 shot for children ages 5 to 11.  State Department of Health spokesman Brooks Baehr said the department hopes most of Hawaii’s 5- to 11-year-olds will get vaccinated in the next three weeks so they can be inoculated before the year-end holidays.  The department said 160 schools have expressed interest in holding clinics.”

On Monday Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, speaking at a White House press conference mentioned how systemic racism is actually built in to some of the nation’s transport infrastructure saying “I’m still surprised that some people were surprised when I pointed to the fact that if a highway was built for the purpose of dividing a white and a black neighborhood or if an underpass was constructed such that a bus carrying mostly Black and Puerto Rican kids to a beach – or it would have been – in New York, was designed too low for it to pass by, that that obviously reflects racism that went into those design choices. I don’t think we have anything to lose by confronting that simple reality” and naturally the anti-anti-racists out there went apeshit.

The roads are racist.

We must get rid of roads. https://t.co/nde3mJHn37

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 8, 2021

WARNING: This is not a skit. https://t.co/iI93oWZaZN

— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) November 8, 2021

“During the AIDS crisis, can you imagine if gay men and intravenous drug users…had they been pariahs the way the non-vaccinated are? But it would’ve been inconceivable,” Dennis Prager claims.  He may want to check in with Anita Bryant, Jerry Falwell, the US military, and health care providers about anti-gay bias.  Or he can ask Pat Buchanan, Ronald Reagan’s communications director, who declared AIDS, “nature’s revenge on gay men.”

In Substack piece titled “We Can’t Wait for Universities to Fix Themselves. So We’re Starting a New One” hosted on the site of New York Times washout Bari Weiss, Pano Kanelos announced he’s leading an effort to launch a new, super non-woke “University of Austin” on which Weis will serve on the founding board of advisors.

The non-accredited institution, which will not offer college credits or degrees, will provide indoctrination into conservative ideals all under the guise of pursuing “truth.”  The university-in-name-only, much like Trump’s ill-fated “university” or Glenn Beck’s “university,” will be seminar based.  It will host a summer program where students at real universities can come to cleanse their conservative palates to complain about how liberals are ruining the world–one anecdotal story at a time.

Citing The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, Kanelos reports that at least 491 disinvitation campaigns since 2000. Roughly half were successful.  Kanelos fails to mention that more than one-quarter of these efforts were undertaken by people on the Right trying to stop someone they considered too liberal.  Also, that’s 491 campaigns–about half of which were unsuccessful–over a 21 year period, or 23 per year, hardly an epidemic of totalitarianism.  And curiously, the efforts from the Right proved far more successful at silencing critics (53%) than those from the Left (42%), but that doesn’t get mentioned by Kanelos. 

https://youtu.be/nyo6ZygY3U8
MAGA Congressman Paul Gosar tweeted a pretty batshit meme video in which he and his fellow extremists Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene’s faces are imposed on to the bodies of the heroes from the popular Japanese anime cartoon Attack on Titan on Sunday night, raising all the usual questions like “What the fuck is wrong with this guy” on the internet. Why the video was made in the first place is anyone’s guess, but the through-line from anime fandom to Trump fandom is not the hardest connection to make, as right wing internet cesspit 4chan was originally founded as a forum for anime and video game fans that evolved (alongside its successors 8chan and 8kun) into its current QAnon-incel-white nationalist shitshow.

USA Today:  “Given a chance to repudiate the lies and misinformation spread last week about COVID-19 vaccines by Green Bay Packers quarterback and company pitchman Aaron Rodgers, State Farm punted.

“’Aaron Rodgers has been a great ambassador for our company for much of the past decade,’ a company spokeswoman said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports Monday morning.  ‘We don’t support some of the statements that he has made, but we respect his right to have his own personal point of view. We recognize our customers, employees, agents and brand ambassadors come from all walks of life, with differing viewpoints on many issues. Our mission at State Farm is to support safer, stronger communities. To that end, we encourage vaccinations, but respect everyone’s right to make a choice based on their personal circumstances.’

“Nonetheless, Apex Marketing Group reported that only 1.5% of State Farm ads had Rodgers in them Sunday, down from 25% of State Farm ads the two previous Sundays.  State Farm’s tepid reaction was far different from the reaction of another Rodgers’ sponsor, Prevea Health, a healthcare company in Wisconsin, which ended its partnership with Rodgers Saturday.”

“New: The Jan. 6 Select Committee has issued subpoenas to six Trump advisers: Michael Flynn, John Eastman, Jason Miller, Bill Stepien, Angela McCallum, and Bernie Kerik” – Jan Wolfe of Reuters

The fanboys are upset over iconic Sesame Street character Big Bird getting “all political” and tweeting that he got vaccinated because public health and disease prevention is now political for whatever reason (we know exactly why and who did it, but roll with it). That Sesame Street wading into thorny real life issues to ease young children into them shouldn’t come as a shock to MAGAmericans – they’ve been doing it for decades now – but it shows that they probably didn’t watch the widely loved educational program themselves when growing up.

“Jordan, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee and one of Donald Trump’s closest allies in Congress, is urging Republicans against a ‘reflex’ impeachment of President Joe Biden if the GOP retakes the House next year. Jordan has been relatively quiet on the prospect of a Biden impeachment come 2023, even as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) tries to turn the matter into a GOP rallying cry. Now we know why. And Jordan used a notable forum – a podcast with Gaetz, another Trump pal on Judiciary – to reveal his thinking. The Floridian teed up his question by warning against ‘impeachment fever,’ saying impeachment should only be based on ‘purposeful wrongdoing’ by a POTUS. Otherwise, Gaetz said, ‘any time you have a president and a Congress that are in different parties, part of the ceremonial exchange of power will be an impeachment.’ Gaetz then asked Jordan if he shares that concern. ‘I do, and I have not called for that. There may be a time for that. You don’t want it just to flip back and forth'” – Politico.

“It’s a totally made up and fabricated story, it’s Fake News. Jonathan Karl is a third-rate reporter working for ABC Non-News. ABC Non-News and 3rd rate reporter Jonathan Karl have been writing Fake News about me from the beginning of my political career. Just look at what has now been revealed about the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax. It was a made up and totally fabricated scam and the lamestream media knew it. It just never ends!” the fat bastard squealed on Monday.

Trump’s America > Biden’s America

— Madison Cawthorn (@CawthornforNC) November 8, 2021

Vice: “A group of QAnon believers who gathered in Dallas last week to see the late President John F. Kennedy and his late son reappear, remained in the city and over the weekend, and began discussing establishing a permanent base there where they could all live. The group, led by the antisemitic QAnon influencer Michael Brian Protzman, who’s known to his followers as Negative48, has maintained a presence in Dallas since JFK failed to appear last Tuesday. And over the weekend, the group gathered once again in Dealey Plaza, the site of JFK’s 1963 assassination.”

“Images from the event on Saturday show Protzman talking to his followers one at a time, with a bird that looks like a parrot perched on his shoulder. According to a video posted by one of his followers, Protzman was pointing out the tip of a skyscraper that was visible behind the Texas School Book Depository, from where Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK. The tip of the skyscraper is shaped like a pyramid, which Protzman told his followers, without a shred of evidence to back it up, that it is a sign of the Illuminati, who supposedly place pyramids wherever they kill people. Protzman has built a huge and deeply loyal following of over 100,000 people on his Telegram channel, where he makes predictions using a bastardized version of gematria, the Jewish numerology system that assigns a numerical value to a name, word, or phrase based on the letters used and inferring some sort of spiritual or mystical meaning behind the phrase.”

A white paper speculating on the possible outcomes of the 2020 election jointly authored by Claremont Institute and Texas Public Policy Foundation white nationalist “intellectuals”, coup-plotting piece of shit John Eastman, among them, of course, which circulated quietly in October 2020 but on Monday surfaced in its entirety by The Bulwark, reveals some pretty depraved fantasies on the part of Trump fanboys, written apparently in direct response to the center-left wargaming in Summer 2020 by the Transition Integrity Project, including Atlantic writer David Frum and Al Gore 2000 campaign chairwoman Donna Brazile, among others. Some lowlights:

…Riot control efforts continue throughout the country. There are rumors that several sheriffs in conservative counties throughout the country are hinting that they may deputize regular citizens into posses should the lawlessness come to their counties. Social media is ablaze with volunteers from Proud Boys, 3%ers, and Oath Keepers and other Posse Comitatus groups…