Thank god I live in California.

Not only does California have the lowest covid infection rate in the country: https://wapo.st/3klHYZk starting October 7th you’ve got to be vaccinated or show a negative test to attend an event with 10,000 people or more: https://lat.ms/2VXPeBy That’s another reason Newsom won by such a large margin, COVID!

The story was that by having dinner at the French Laundry he sacrificed not only all credibility, but the ability to govern the state. When did we enter this zero tolerance era? It was beyond stupid that Newsom broke his own covid rules, but last I checked people learn from experience. And if it was about faux pas, wouldn’t Trump have been impeached? Oh, that’s right, he was, twice, but his lackeys wouldn’t allow him to be convicted, because loyalty to the team is everything.

Turns out most people are for vaccination, and they’re sick and tired of the people who won’t get jabbed. If you won’t get jabbed you’re no friend of mine, you’re just a narcissistic self-dealing pariah endangering the rest of the population because… Exactly why? You can’t say the vaccine isn’t safe, then again you do, and we live in a Facebook world where anything goes, but despite the words of Kellyanne Conway, facts do exist, however obfuscated they might be.

So in the wake of Newsom’s victory the Democrats are changing their strategy, kumbaya is out the window, they’re no longer going for unity, they’re now going to run against Trump and the anti-vaxxers: https://wapo.st/3lEB0Ox Turns out that’s a winning strategy, because there are more people on the anti-Trump/pro-vaccine team than the other way around, VASTLY more! It’s just that those who oppose them are very vocal and threatening to the point where people are afraid to speak up. It’s like the woke police in reverse. Say anything supporting vaccines and your inbox will fill up with hate, vitriol that is not only words, physical harm will be threatened. Leaving us in a Northern Ireland situation.

That’s the talk right now. That that’s where we are. And that peace needs to be brokered between the sides.

But all that blathering is by people who’ve never been to Belfast, where not only does the anger still boil, there are walls between Catholics and Protestants. The Berlin Wall? Holds nothing against the walls in Northern Ireland, and they still stand! And sure, you can venture from one side to the other, from one neighborhood to the other, but you’d better be on your guard.

Which is where we’re going to in America.

All bets are off. The Republicans call for Milley’s resignation when they break the Constitution constantly. Thank god someone stood up to Trump, otherwise you end up with an authoritarian akin to his hero Putin. And there are people who still support Putin, did you read the investigation of voters?

“As Russians Vote, Resignation, Anger and Fear of a Post-Putin Unknown”: https://nyti.ms/3znAidA

Turns out many hate Putin but vote for him anyway, remembering what it was like in the nineties with the corruption and endless battle for assets from the soon to be oligarchs. This is the same way many Republicans vote for Trump and his cronies, because a vote for Democrats is a vote for socialism, the “colored” people will take over, they’ll hand you free food in your government housing and the American way of life will cease to exist, even though the vision they cling to hasn’t existed for half a century.

Not that the Democrats are a picnic either:

“Despite AOC’s infamous dress, Democrats are getting cold feet on actually taxing the rich”: https://wapo.st/3AucfuY

This is why so many have given up on the system. The fat cats pay the politicians and they ultimately get their way. The definitive statement is the failure to get rid of the carried interest rule, despite it serving no purpose other than to make financial managers even richer.

As for California, as the screws have been tightened on vaccination the truth has been revealed, so many of the public employees are scoundrels.

There’s that firefighter who’s bitching that he’s got no freedom to abstain while he actually resides in Texas and made $247,000 last year. If that doesn’t spin your head, you aren’t aware that 2,600 members of the LAPD want religious exemptions to getting the vaccine. And we thought the firefighters and the police were on our side, serving and defending the people. Absolutely not! They’re a right wing cabal. But at least L.A. keeps tightening the screws, no overtime from working at events or off-duty security unless you’re vaxxed or show a negative test: https://lat.ms/3nGuSrU You hit them where it hurts, in their pocketbook, that’ll get ’em vaxxed. And overtime is where these public employees keep making all that money, how do you think that firefighter made 247k in a year? And he’s far from the only one.

The rich know to do their lobbying behind closed doors, to ensure plausible deniability. But those still working for a paycheck are too stupid to know how the game is played. Angelenos are flipped-out that you can live outside the city, get paid by the city, and refuse to keep them safe. There will be consequences.

Meanwhile, Texas is a paradise. Florida too. Lands of freedom.

As for California, if you listened to these bloviators you’d think it’s wall to wall homeless people and that houses in the hinterlands cost a million dollars. Homeless come to California because the weather is good, it’s just that simple. And everybody wants to live in the city, that’s why housing is so expensive. Take that you rural nitwits.

And they are nitwits.

For far too long the tail has been wagging the dog, the minority has ruled. Hell, McConnell refusing to raise the debt ceiling? They only believe in government, compromise, forward movement if they’re in power. Larry Elder was bitching that the election was fixed before it even took place. Talk about threats to democracy.

And I’m not writing this for the right. They’ll be the first to react, my inbox will go nuclear, with scathing attacks, false information from unknown websites. No, this is for those of you on the left, who are scared, who think you are losing. YOU’RE NOT! Things are moving in the right direction, now is not the time to be depressed, now is the time to exalt, to push forward. Know that the majority is on your side. That’s a fact, not an opinion. And people are pissed at these anti-vaxxers. So feel free to call these people out.

This is what happens when you push too far. And never forget, what people care about most is the safety of themselves and their loved ones, and when something threatens their family there’s nothing they won’t do to ensure their safety. This has got nothing to do with “freedom,” this has to do with life and death. As for the harmlessness of covid:

“1 in 3 COVID-19 patients suffer from long COVID, a CDC study of Long Beach residents finds”: https://lat.ms/3ksovGN

And if you’re feeling lucky, think the odds are on your side, that you can fight off the virus by being diligent, employing your God-given immune system, I leave you with this:

From: sari leon

Subject: Re: Vaccine Mandates

Hi Bob,

To your loyal fans: GET F’IN VACC’D

My partner did not get vaccinated. He’s a strong healthy guy who has followed all masking  protocols, we never eat indoors, and have gone the zinc, D3, C vitamin cocktail since 12/19.  I’m fully vaccinated.  He got Covid, I got him scheduled for regeneron treatment within 72 hours of diagnosis.  He was fine for 24 hours and then the s__t hit the fan.  It’s day 10 and  I’ve already had 911 here but they thought he was better off at home- as I am a MA – then taking him since there was a 90 minute wait at the closest hospital’s ER.  So now I have an oxygen unit here which he is using 24/7 as his O2 without oxygen hovers around 88%.  Oh, and trying to even obtain the medical equipment?  I reserved one and said we’d be paying cash. He’s on a steroidal inhaler and a steroid dospack, to help his lungs.  I have becomes kinder  Nurse Ratchet and he has become weaker each day.  I can only pray that he turns a corner for the better sooner than later but whenever, his struggle for full recovery will take months.  It’s alarming as he could play tennis for hours 3 x per week and now he can hardly get to the bathroom.

GET F’IN VACC’D

sl

Florida