"R" voters are consistently uninformed and fail to do their research before supporting an "R" candidate. PROVE ME WRONG!

 
MASS GOP SUPPORTED DESANTIS - NEVER SCRUTINIZED HIS RECORD, NEVER SCRUTINIZED LADAPO!

MASSACHUSETTS VOTERS ARE WELL EDUCATED & WELL INFORMED. 
DON'T THINK THIS DEBACLE HAS GONE UNNOTICED!

"R" voters are consistently uninformed and fail to do their research before supporting an "R" candidate. PROVE ME WRONG!

 
FLORIDA SCHOOLS CAN'T SHOW A DISNEY MOVIE & MASS GOP DIM WITS supported the FASCIST DESANTIS?

MASSACHUSETTS: Is this what you support?

"R" voters are consistently uninformed and fail to do their research before supporting an "R" candidate. PROVE ME WRONG!


MASS GOP EXTREMISTS are pounding their chests & endorsing DeSantis?

DeSantis failed to regulate the environment, killing MANATEES and destroyed the EVERGLADES with agricultural runoff from SUGAR!

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook:

DESANTISLAND — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis picked up another two backers in the Bay State after this week's debate: Republicans state Sen. Ryan Fattman and state Rep. Kelly Pease .

Previously posted:
The Massachusetts Senate Republican caucus has grown to four with the addition of Peter Durant . | Kelly Garrity/POLITICO
MASS GOP are revelling in the recent election of PETER DURANT....

ADDED:
"R" voters are consistently uninformed and fail to do their research before supporting an "R" candidate.

PETER DURANT ENDORSED DESANTIS!

MASS GOP statement:
And the MassGOP’s ability to help Durant may be limited by its still-dire financial straits — even though a win in this race is exactly what the party needs to start turning its fortunes around.

“If we didn’t have the debt, certainly we would be able to do more in this race,” Carnevale said. “But we certainly are confident in our chances.”

PETER DURANT IS A CLOWN FOR ENDORSING DESANTIS, THE BOOK BANNER, RE-WRITES HISTORY, DON'T SAY GAY DIM WIT!

That's before defining the ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION in FLORIDA or the numerous other issues...homeowners insurance? radioactive roads? DEAD MANATEES?

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook:
DESANTISLAND — One of GOP state Rep. Peter Durant ’s first big actions as state senator-elect: endorsing Ron DeSantis for president, per the Florida governor's campaign.

THIS IS THE CLOWN THAT PETER DURANT ENDORSED:
NOTE: GREAT BARRINGTON DECLARATION is a DIRTY ENERGY KOCH funded think tank - it's a SCAM!

Ron DeSantis' New Surgeon General Appeared in 'Demon Sperm' Doctor's COVID Conspiracy Video

excerpt:
One of the video's main speakers, Dr. Stella Immanuel, is a physician who operates a medical clinic in a Texas strip mall next to her church, Firepower Ministries. In the video, she called hydroxychloroquine a "cure" and said, "You don't need a mask" to prevent the virus' spread.

Immanuel has claimed that ovarian cysts and endometriosis are caused by "demonic seed." Demons insert sperm into sleeping individuals when they have sex in their dreams, Immanuel claimed in articles on her church's website.

Ladapo has also promoted the anti-parasite medication ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19 symptoms. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has advised against using ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment.

In October 2020, Ladapo signed the Great Barrington Declaration, a statement that called for developing societal herd immunity to COVID-19 through natural infection.

RON DESANTIS APPOINTED INCOMPETENT CLOWN!
FLORIDA GOP GENUFLECT WITHOUT QUESTION JEOPARDIZING PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY! 

THIS IS THE COST OF THE GOP FAILURE TO ADDRESS SCIENCE!

Column: As measles spreads, 'herd stupidity' grips Florida's government

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo secured his position as the most dangerous quack in America with his response to a measles outbreak in his state. ((Brendan Farrington / Associated Press))© Provided by LA Times

As of this writing, the measles outbreak in Florida is up to nine cases, including the first one recorded outside the epicenter in Broward County, the vicinity of Fort Lauderdale.

Nine cases may not seem like a lot, but it's enough to alarm epidemiologists. They point out that measles is among the most contagious viruses known to humankind, which means that the cases identified thus far are likely to be the tip of the iceberg.

Who's unconcerned? The chief public health official of the state of Florida, that's who. He's Joseph Ladapo, who I earlier identified as "the most dangerous quack in America."

That was before the measles outbreak, when Ladapo was known chiefly for opposing COVID vaccination despite incontrovertible evidence that it saves lives.

1 in 5 will be hospitalized, 1 in 20 will develop pneumonia (the most common way measles kills young kids), 1 in 1,000 will develop encephalitis (infection of the brain, sometimes causing permanent brain damage), and 1-3 in 1,000 will die.

Epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina on measles

Ladapo has now cemented his position at the top of the list of public officials hazardous to your health. He did so with a letter issued Feb. 20 to parents with children at the elementary school suffering the outbreak.

The letter noted that it is "normally recommended" that children stay home until the end of the infectious period, which he pegged at March 7.

But he added: "Due to the high immunity rate in the community, as well as the burden on families and educational cost of healthy children missing school," his agency would let parents or guardians make their own decisions about sending their kids to school.

The letter was also notable for what it did not say. It did not recommend that parents of nonimmunized children get them vaccinated immediately.

Ladapo was installed as surgeon general by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, largely because he mouthed the same propaganda opposing anti-COVID measures, including the vaccines, as the governor. DeSantis hasn't spoken in public about the measles outbreak, but make no mistake: He deserves equal blame for the consequences.

To say that Ladapo's advisory left physicians and epidemiologists aghast would be a massive understatement. Allowing unimmunized children to go to school where they could be exposed to measles contradicts every responsible recommendation from medical science.

Ladapo tried to justify the decision to let unimmunized children exposed to measles go to school by asserting that the vaccination rate is high enough.

But as epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina observed on her blog, Your Local Epidemiologist, while the vaccination rate in Florida is just over 90%, that's "not high enough — because measles is so contagious, the threshold for herd immunity against measles is 95%. This means there are pockets in the school, other schools, and a community that measles could burn through."

Measles is already on the march in the U.S. in 2024. Case numbers are current to Feb. 22. ((Centers for Disease Control and Prevention))© (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

To put it another way, Ladapo's appeal to the principle of "herd immunity" is outweighed by the herd stupidity of the anti-vaccination movement that he is a part of.

She also points out that "unvaccinated kids can still get protection from a vaccine within 72 hours of exposure." That generally reduces the severity of symptoms. But Ladapo didn't point that out.

Ladapo also minimized the consequences of measles infection. The rate of measles in the U.S. has been so low in recent years that the severity of the disease for the unimmunized can be deadly. Ladapo advised parents to be on the lookout for "a rash that often develops on the face and neck before spreading to the rest of the body as well as "high fever, which can reach 105°F, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes."

Is that sufficient warning? No. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that among the unimmunized, 9 out of 10 people exposed will get infected.

Jetelina adds that among the unimmunized, "1 in 5 will be hospitalized, 1 in 20 will develop pneumonia (the most common way measles kills young kids), 1 in 1,000 will develop encephalitis (infection of the brain, sometimes causing permanent brain damage), and 1-3 in 1,000 will die."

Also, measles can "cause 'immune amnesia,' where the immune system loses its ability to fight other viruses that people were previously immune to."

In other words, measles is not something to view casually. The CDC has identified 35 cases nationwide this year so far. That's more than half the total of cases in all of 2023, registered after less than two months of 2024. This figure is certain to rise as public health officials such as Ladapo fail to do their jobs.

The measles vaccine — MMR, which includes immunity for mumps and rubella — has been a prime target of the anti-vaccination cabal ever since the British physician Andrew Wakefield published a fraudulent and long-debunked report in 1998 linking it to autism. Wakefield lost his medical license in Britain as a result, but his work has remained a blot on public health ever since.

Ladapo has made common cause with the anti-vaccine movement over COVID vaccines. Doubts about the MMR shots may have infected his judgment in the measles outbreak.

His inadequate response to the outbreak finally has some Floridians and the state's media taking note of the danger his policies represent to the health and well-being of Florida's children and others. But given the virulence of measles, it may be too late.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/column-as-measles-spreads-herd-stupidity-grips-florida-s-government/ar-BB1iZS6u

US Coast Guard seizes more than $143 million worth of cocaine in the Pacific

IMMIGRANTS ARE NOT BRINGING DRUGS INTO THE US!

US Coast Guard seizes more than $143 million worth of cocaine in the Pacific

Crewmembers of the Coast Guard Cutter Alert (WMEC 630) stand behind cocaine bales seized from a drug smuggling vessel in Eastern Pacific waters during the cutter’s last patrol out of its current homeport of Astoria, Oregon, Feb. 7, 2024. The 4,950 kg of cocaine seized is estimated to be valued at more than $143 million. (U.S. Coast Guard courtesy photo) 

U.S. Coast Guard

CNN — 

The US Coast Guard seized nearly 11,000 pounds of cocaine, worth over $143 million, in the eastern Pacific Ocean, according to a statement from the Coast Guard on Monday.

The seizure, performed by the crew of the US Coast Guard Cutter Alert, was a part of a 59-day counter-narcotics patrol of the eastern Pacific Ocean.

During the patrol, the Alert’s crew from the Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron, spotted a suspected “go-fast” vessel. The Drug Enforcement Administration calls this a boat outfitted with high-performance outboard engines.

When calls to halt were ignored, the HITRON helicopter disabled the engines of the “go fast” vessel.

At the same time, bales of cocaine were being jettisoned into the sea by the suspected smugglers. A second small boat team then seized the cocaine from the water.

The crew completed their 59-day patrol on Monday and it was the cutter’s last patrol out of Astoria, Oregon, where it is based.

The USCGC Alert, commissioned in 1969, patrolled the northern Pacific Ocean between Russia and the US through coastal waters of Central and South America.


https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/27/politics/us-coast-guard-seizes-cocaine-pacific-ocean/index.html

 

Walgreens is closing locations in predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods

 

Walgreens is closing yet another pharmacy in the Massachusetts 7th — this time on Warren Street in Roxbury — a community that is 85% Black and Latino.

This is their fourth closure in a Black community in Boston since 2022. And I wanted to know why.

Why was there no community input? No adequate notice to customers? And no transition resources to prevent gaps in health care? Why does Walgreens keep closing locations in predominantly Black, Latino, and low-income communities?

Let me tell you — this closure is not arbitrary or innocent. What we’re witnessing is part of a larger and damning trend of Walgreens abandoning low-income communities that has disruptive, life-threatening impacts. And as a result, residents in Roxbury are left without access to medication and other essentials.

This is unconscionable and unacceptable. So, alongside Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, I sent a letter to the Walgreens CEO demanding answers and urging him to reverse course.

Walgreens claims that it is seeking to expand its efforts to provide health care. But that’s clearly not the case, and their lip service about equity won’t fly. When a Walgreens leaves a neighborhood, there are devastating ripple effects. For the new mother who depends on baby formula and diapers. The student-athlete who needs their asthma inhaler. The grandmother who needs her life-saving insulin. These closures disrupt the entire community.

On top of this, people in Roxbury who use public transportation now run the risk of significantly longer travel times to pharmacies and grocery stores to access the life-saving medication they need. And this could be the difference between life or death.

I am outraged at these closures, and you should be too. As a multi-billion-dollar corporation, Walgreens needs to put their money where their mouth is and stop divesting from Black and brown communities.

Let me make it plain: our communities deserve a health care system that truly works for people and their families. That allows people to easily access the life-saving medication and essentials they need. That addresses the legacy of health care disparities Black and brown communities have historically faced. And that invests in these communities to preserve the health of the people who live there.

I’ll never stop fighting for a just and equitable health care system, Frank. And I hope you won’t either. Because the power of the people has always been greater than the people in power.

Yours in service,

Ayanna

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Thank you for continuing to speak out on this issue! 

We have several WALGREENS MEGA STORES within 
close proximity selling massive amounts of JUNK - impulse 
buying merchandise. 

WALGREENS did much the same in CALIFORNIA - closing 
stores in poorer neighborhoods. 


Last year, I had several appointments with an attorney in a 
poor neighborhood in BOSTON and was HORROFIED! 

Only FAST FOOD/JUNK FOOD available, 

I arrived early and browsed through several local stores. 
Readily available items were grossly overpriced from
what I could purchase ON LINE. 

In addition, there was a CHECK CASHING business, 
and PAY DAY LOAN. 

It was a stark reminder of how we penaize the poor. 


Thank you for all you do! 

Six years ago

 

Six years ago when I announced my candidacy to represent the Massachusetts 7th in Congress, it was because I knew change couldn’t wait.

I stood before you, with a vision to center the lived experiences of our communities and fight for justice and equity for all. To fight for bold legislation that matches the scale of the crises we face. And to address the hate, hurt, and harm that was being codified into law. Because if Republicans could legislate harm, then we could legislate equity, justice, and healing. And that’s exactly what your support has helped accomplish. We’ve built a movement that broke barriers and defied the odds. And I couldn’t be more grateful.

Side-by-side, we’ve centered the needs of the people in our policymaking by introducing legislation to restore abortion rights, end felony disenfranchisement, and so much more. And we’ve made real progress on some of the most important issues — like student debt cancellation and economic justice.

To put it plainly, you’ve had an instrumental role in every success we’ve celebrated in this movement for equity and justice. But with endless threats from the far-right to our most fundamental freedoms, our work is far from over. So I'm asking if you can chip in today to keep up the fight.

If you’re able, please make your next donation before our February 29 fundraising deadline. $10 or whatever you can contribute would go a long way to help make our movement even stronger as we fight for the change people need to not only survive, but thrive.

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The urgency of this moment is clear, and my commitment to legislating justice remains strong. I know your commitment to this movement is too.

Please make a donation today to help us hit our February fundraising goal and power our fight for progress.

I’m grateful to have you as a partner in this work.

Yours in service,

Ayanna

DONATE

Paid for by the Committee to Elect Ayanna Pressley

Email is the most important way we keep in touch with our supporters.  To contribute via check, please address to the Committee to Elect Ayanna Pressley, PO Box 240912, 554 Washington Street, Dorchester Center, MA 02124. © 2024 Ayanna Pressley For Congress

Email us: info@ayannapressley.com

Separated migrant families stuck in "legal limbo"

 

February 27, 2024 Donald Trump's “zero tolerance” immigration policy may be dead and gone, but the nightmare isn't over for thousands of migrants separated from their loved ones. Before its end three years ago, the stringent 2018 policy resulted in the separation of at least 5,000 children from their families, with no plan to aid the reunification process.  Six years later, families are still struggling to reunite while fighting to gain asylum and stay in the United States. As my colleague Isabela Dias wrote: In 2021, President Joe Biden took office, formally rescinded “zero tolerance,” and installed a reunification task force under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Since then, a number of impacted parents and families separated between 2017 and January 20, 2021, have been temporarily allowed to return to the United States for three years through a discretionary program known as parole.  But the months and, in some cases, years of separation have taken a toll. “A lot of children who were separated felt abandoned by their parents and so there was resentment when they reunited,” says Nan Schivone, the legal director of Justice in Motion. “We worked on cases where children didn’t recognize their parents when they were returned to them.” And to make matters worse, Trump has promised that if he gains the presidency, he’ll implement an even harsher version of his anti-immigration policy, reportedly giving this quote in a November Univision appearance: "It stopped people from coming by the hundreds of thousands because when they hear 'family separation,' they say, 'Well, we better not go.' And they didn't go.” Time will tell who wins the upcoming presidential election, but we already know who Trump is. —Arianna Coghill

The Migrant Families Separated Under Trump Are Still in Legal Limbo No longer in front-page headlines, thousands impacted by the “zero tolerance” policy have a long road ahead to stay in the United States. BY ISABELA DIAS

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She’s a prophet. She’s a theocrat. She’s the most powerful lobbyist you’ve never heard of. The Christian far right has a road map—and one woman’s at the wheel. BY EMILY HOFSTAEDTER

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