41 gun salute at the Tower of London pays tribute to the late Prince Philip
You read it correctly. Queen Elizabeth ll’s husband walked behind her and did little else all the years (more than 70) he was married to her. You would have thought Philip would have done something more than supporting charities but that was his life.
Philip, for his part, always seemed a bit mystified about what he was actually supposed to do as the husband of Elizabeth II.
“There was no precedent. If I asked somebody, ‘What do you expect me to do?,’ they all looked blank. They had no idea,” he told the BBC when he turned 90.
Somehow, he managed. When he retired from public life, he told the interviewer, it was high time. “It’s better to get out before you reach the sell-by date.”
His chief contribution in the end was simply to have been there for the queen: a man of keen rationality and wide reading who in some ways intimidated her, who was not legally answerable to anyone and who was available as a voice of reason and dissent when all around had a habit of agreeing with her.
Interestingly, taxpayers in the United Kingdom are paying more money than ever for the Royal Family. The latest Sovereign Grant accounts show that the monarchy cost £69.4 million in 2020. As the British Royal Family continue to receive worldwide media attention, tourism associated with the Royals continues to grow. Income from ticket admissions to the Royal Estate exceeded 48 million British pounds in 2018/19, in addition to over 21 million British pounds in retail sales.
President Joe Biden held a one hour news conference in the White House. It was successful from the standpoint of no gaffs and no off the subject responses. It was beautifully choreographed. The list of questioners were just what he dreamed of. All of them representing news media that is friendly to a Democratic president. The list of questioners were just what he dreamed of. All of them representing news media that is friendly to a Democratic president.
Sadly we learned almost nothing about his plans. Instead he bragged. rightfully so, that 200 million COVID-19 injections will be given in the first 100 days of his presidency.
Zeke Miller of Detroit News
Yamiche Alcindor of NPR
Kristen Welker of NBC
Caitlin Collins of CNN
Justin Sink of Bloomberg News
Newsmax’s Emerald Robinson and Fox News Channel’s Peter Doocy were not called upon to ask a question.
What happened to majority rules? You take a vote on any subject and the majority wins. That is not the way it works in he U.S. Senate.
The U. S. Senate is on its way to ending the filibuster. Rather than doing so in one step they are eating away at the idea of 60 votes to end debate. The intent of this process was to bring about compromise. The rule as created by the senate and is not in the Constitution. This nightmare rule denies the majority the power to pass legislation.
While Senate rules still require just a simple majority to actually pass a bill, several procedural steps along the way require a supermajority of 60 votes to end debate on bills.
The filibuster is an Informal term for any attempt to block or delay Senate action on a bill or other matter by debating it at length, by offering numerous procedural motions, or by any other delaying or obstructive actions.
The most common form of filibuster occurs when one or more senators attempt to delay or block a vote on a bill by extending debate on the measure. Changes in 2013 and 2017 now require only a simple majority to invoke cloture (The cloture rule–Rule 22–is the only formal procedure that Senate rules provide for breaking a filibuster) on nominations, although most legislation still requires 60 votes.
The Senate has a number of options for curtailing the use of the filibuster, including by setting a new precedent, changing the rule itself, or placing restrictions on its use.
For many matters in the Senate, debate can only be cut off if at least 60 senators support doing so.
In 2013 the rules were changed under the leadership of Democratic Senator Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) eliminated the 60-vote requirement to end a filibuster against all executive branch nominees and judicial nominees other than to the Supreme Court.
In 2017 the rules were again changed under the leadership of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) eliminated the 60-vote requirement to end a filibuster for approval of nominations to the Supreme Court formally by lowering the threshold for ending debate on a nomination to 51 votes from 60, paving the way for Neil Gorsuch to win confirmation to the Supreme Court.
Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine is 66% effective in global trial, but 85% effective against severe disease, company says.
Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, said that under normal circumstances, there might not be much of a market for a vaccine that is significantly less effective than two others already on the market. But he added that these are not normal times, with a pandemic raging and shortage of vaccines.
How effective is the flu vaccine?
CDC conducts studies each year to determine how well the influenza (flu) vaccine protects against flu illness. While vaccine effectiveness (VE) can vary, recent studies show that flu vaccination reduces the risk of flu illness by between 40% and 60% among the overall population during seasons when most circulating flu viruses are well-matched to the flu vaccine.
So why is there a discomfort in taking this vaccine? The single-shot vaccine was 66% effective overall at preventing moderate to severe illness and that report makes some people leery of accepting it over the Pfizer or Moderna. That it will keep you out of the hospital or dying may be enough to over come concerns.
How effective is the seasonal flu vaccine? CDC conducts studies each year to determine how well the influenza (flu) vaccine protects against flu illness. While vaccine effectiveness (VE) can vary, recent studies show that flu vaccination reduces the risk of flu illness by between 40% and 60% among the overall population during seasons when most circulating flu viruses are well-matched to the flu vaccine.
Did you watch the CPAC Trump speech? It was broadcast on the Fox News cable channel. Originally advertised to start at 3:40 P.M. eastern time, he appeared one hour and twenty minute later. That was obviously planned to raise CPAC members excitement. If nothing else, Donald Trump is an outstanding motivator of drama and excitement. His Apprentice television show proved that.
It was no surprise that he attacked President Joe Biden and condemned his Republican opponents. And as expected he falsely declared the system was “rigged” against him. Claiming that millions of ballots were created by the Democrats. He condemned the courts for their “lack of courage to do the right thing.” All the “illegal ballots” were those cast against him but just in the states he lost.
Trump’s claim to wanting to uphold the constitution as originally written was his funniest line as the constitution permits each state to set their rules for elections. There is no national set of laws.
If you missed President Joe Biden’s Town Hall event on CNN Here is your chance to see it all thanks to Youtube. The take-away for me is the man is a mensch. It was a startling alternative to Biden’s predecessor. A clear calm leader who does not have all the answers but connected to those who asked questions and told of their particular issues. More of these town hall events would be a welcome occurrence similar to FDR Fireside Chats.
I’m scheduled to be vaccinated on this coming Saturday. I have an appointment. The new vaccine will probably prevent me from getting sick with Covid. No one knows yet whether that will keep me from spreading the virus to others.
It may seem counterintuitive, but health officials say that even after you get vaccinated against COVID-19, you still need to practice the usual pandemic precautions, at least for a while. That means steering clear of crowds, continuing to wear a good mask in public, maintaining 6 feet or more of distance from people outside your household and frequently washing your hands.
The new Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna seem to be remarkably good at preventing serious illness. But it’s unclear how well they will curb the spread of the coronavirus.
That’s because the Pfizer and Moderna trials tracked only how many vaccinated people became sick with Covid-19. That leaves open the possibility that some vaccinated people get infected without developing symptoms, and could then silently transmit the virus — especially if they come in close contact with others or stop wearing masks.
Before approving the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, the FDA asked the vaccine manufacturers only whether their products protect people from COVID-19 symptoms. They didn’t ask if the vaccines stop people who’ve been vaccinated from nevertheless spreading the virus to others. The emergency authorizations by the FDA that have allowed distribution of the two new vaccines cite only their ability to keep you — the person vaccinated — from becoming severely sick with COVID-19.
The Washington Post daily tracker indicates a very slow vaccination rate of less than 1% new recipients daily. That sends the message that unless there is a consequential increase in available vaccine we will be waring masks for all of 2021.
The Trump campaign announced in early December that the president’s fundraising operation raised $207.5 million since Election Day.
The majority of that money is likely not going to any sort of legal account. Trump’s fundraising operation is instead sending it to a new political organization created by the president: a leadership PAC called Save America PAC, a type of vehicle popular with both parties on Capitol Hill but long derided by watchdogs as essentially a type of slush fund, with few restrictions on how the money they raise can be spent.
Trump’s Save America PACstarted 2021 with more than $31M, filings show.
“The more money [Trump] stacks up in his committee, the greater his grip will remain on many elected Republicans who will fear those resources could be turned against them,” Rob Stutzman, a Republican consultant, told Politico.
Trump is motivated by his popularity among the Republican party membership and the devotion of so many GOP members of congress.
As recently as January 6 Texas Senator Ted Cruz said “39% of Americans … 31% of independents … 17% of Democrats believe the election was rigged.”
Would Republicans in Washington stand by Donald Trump’s “big lie” if they knew it could cost the party a fifth of its voters?
A nationally representative Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in the days following the Capitol insurrection confirmed the large number of Republicans who believe Trump’s false assertion that the 2020 election was the result of illegal voting or rigging: 62% of the GOP, plus 17% who are “not sure” about the election’s legitimacy. However, the poll also shows how the remaining 21% of Republicans who believe the results were accurate and legitimate may be poised to vote for Democrats in the future.
We will be seeing Trump running for office in 2024. Even if he doesn’t win the nomination it will be an entertaining four years. The media, like a moth attracted to light, will not stay away.
Donald Trump did not merely lie to exaggerate his accomplishments, or smear his opponents. For Trump and the Republican Party, lies were a loyalty test. To reject Trump’s lies or exaggerations, even if they contradicted prior assertions by the now-ex-president, was to express disloyalty, the only Trump-era sin that was unforgivable by his faithful. This allowed the president to fashion for his supporters alternate realities whose tenets could not be questioned, such as his false allegations of voter fraud.
The Biden era presages a return to typical presidential dishonesty, without the cult of personality that defined the Trump era. But presidential lies were destructive long before Trump appeared, so the press and the public should resist the temptation to assume that the Biden administration will always be on the level, or that its dishonesties can be forgiven because Biden’s predecessor wielded falsehood with such abandon. There will be moments when the public interest conflicts with the political interest of the White House, and during some of these moments, the president will lie.
Sometimes they lie to cover up their own misdeeds. Sometimes they lie to conceal friction between themselves and their political allies, or even their political adversaries. Sometimes they are simply bluffing; other times they will lie by omission, misdirection, or understatement. We are unlikely to be treated to the spectacle of obsequious Cabinet members publicly licking Biden’s boots on camera, but that is not the standard upon which presidents should be judged.
Already, Biden has sought to mislead the public by setting expectations for vaccinations that experts have said are too modest—which will allow the president to declare his approach a great success if the goal is exceeded. On Thursday, Biden insisted that 100 million vaccinations in 100 days was an ambitious goal that the press had declared impossible
I found it fascinating—yesterday the press asked the question: Is, you know, 100 million enough? A week before, they were saying, “Biden, are you crazy? You can’t do 100 million in 100 days.” Well, we’re going to, God willing, not only do 100 million, we’re going to do more than that. But this is—we have to do this. We have to move.
This was, in fact, false—the Trump administration had nearly reached that pace by the time Biden took office, despite its mishandling of both the pandemic itself and vaccine supply. Speaking to TheWashington Post, the vaccine scientist Peter Hotez said that “1 million vaccinations per day is not nearly enough if the aim is to halt virus transmission in six months.” The Biden administration has since claimed that the 100 million target was “a floor, not a ceiling.” On Monday Biden announced a new target of 150 million vaccines over the next hundred days, a tacit acknowledgment that the original goal was not as ambitious as he had claimed.
Biden’s remarks are nowhere near as egregious as Trump’s insistence that the virus would “disappear,” but Trumpian lies should be neither floor nor ceiling. The standard should be the plain truth, even though the Biden administration will, at times, inevitably fail to meet it. Biden will lie. All presidents do.
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