US Rep. Liz Cheney never broke the rules while other Republican Representatives and Senators did exactly that in carrying forward anti-American priorities.

11 May 2021

By Martin Pengelly

The only woman in Republican Senate leadership (click here) complained about cancel culture on Monday, regarding the imminent removal of Liz Cheney, the only woman in Republican House leadership, because she opposes Donald Trump’s big lie that the presidential election was stolen.

The Iowa senator Joni Ernst told reporters: “I feel it’s OK to go ahead and express what you feel is right to express and, you know, cancel culture is cancel culture no matter how you look at it.

“Unfortunately, I think there are those that are trying to silence others in the party.”

“Cancel culture” has become a shibboleth of the modern Republican party, repeatedly invoked when public figures become embroiled in controversy regarding opinions or statements deemed to be racist, sexist or otherwise unacceptable....

There can't be two truths. The courts are weighing in on the activities of January 6, 2021 and finding the election of President Joe Biden was factual. There is no other truth. There is no basis to "The Big Lie." The Senators and Representatives that continue to state there was a big lie and/or Trump should be president are anti-American. They should not be holding a seat of power in either the US House or US Senate.

The only truth when spoken by a Republican must be met with complete support and acceptance of their willingness to stand up for the US Consitution. That is what US Rep. Cheney did as others in the US House. It is what US Senator Joni Earnst is doing. They are protecting the USA Constitution and fulfilling their oath of office.

The New Abnormal

May 11, 2021

Bulwark’s editor-in-chief (click here) tells TNA host Molly Jong-Fast why Josh Hawley is the GOP’s own Walter White. Plus! Eric Topol shares when we can get back to “real life.”

Josh Hawley isn’t actually dealing meth out to Trumpers (that we know of!) but he and his fellow GOPers have major Breaking Bad vibes when it comes to supplying the Trump base with BS.

According to Bulwark Editor-in-Chief Charlie Sykes, they have the right amount of intelligence and self-grandeur to pull it off....

"Cancel Culture" is not the reason Baffert was replaced as a trainer. He broke the rules.

Breaking rules is not "Cancel Culture," in horse racing, it is unethical and dangerous to the horses. It is my guess that under a different trainer, Medina Spirit would never have needed corticosteroids. Betamethasone reduces inflammation and suppresses any immune response. The question is did Medina Spirit perform as the fastest horse on the track because he felt no pain?

Inflammation is pain. If a horse has issues that lead to inflammation while running on the track he will not perform well. Secretariat at one time in his career wasn't performing well after a lot of impressive victories. His performance fell off and finally, a veterinarian was called in to examine the champion thoroughbred. He was sound as a dollar. He had no leg problems, but, he wasn't eating well. He was off his feed.

The veterinarian finally diagnosed an abscessed tooth in the back of his mouth. Did he give him painkillers or steroids of any kind to put the horse back on the track? No. The vet treated the abscess and Secretariat was back to running in no time without any injuries or ailments.

When animals for any reason are given drugs to improve their performance it is usually the people involved that have the illness. They see the animal as a commodity. That point of view is what placed the thoroughbred race horse in jeopardy as a viable breed about a decade ago. Most of the horses racing, even the champions, needed a diuretic in order to win. The breed itself was being looked at as more of a detriment to breeding strong and healthy racehorses. The champions weren't really champions as the horses of the past.

What Bob Baffert did was wrong. He is of the "old school" that racehorses need to be handled so they always win, including using medical enhancements. That is not the way champions should perform. Champion racehorses that win prizes like the Triple Crown are supposed to be the best of the best. A drugged-up horse, no matter the drug is not performing in the true spirit of the breed. It was wrong to provide an enhancement to Medina Spirit's performance in the Derby. It isn't cancel culture. 

May9, 2021
By Matt Hegarty

Medina Spirit, (click here) who led from start to finish in the Kentucky Derby on May 1 to post a hard-fought half-length victory, tested positive for betamethasone, a regulated anti-inflammatory, after the race, according to his trainer, Bob Baffert, who acknowledged the test result Sunday morning during a press conference on the backside of Churchill Downs.

Medina Spirit tested positive for “21 picograms” per milliliter of blood serum, according to Baffert, who was accompanied at the press conference by his attorney, Craig Roberston. Baffert said that Medina Spirit had “never” been administered the corticosteroid, and he vowed to fight the positive, which has not yet been confirmed through a split-sample test....

The USA does not lead on gender equality, except, for a few judical precedents. The lack of USA leader shows around the world with less rights for women and girls.

May 7, 2021
By Gabriela Baczynska

Lobbying by Poland and Hungary (click here) has led to the removal of the phrase "gender equality" from a Friday declaration on advancing social cohesion in the European Union as it strives to rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Poland's nationalist ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) and eurosceptic ally Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban promote what they call traditional social values at home and have repeatedly clashed with their more liberal Western peers over the rights of women, gay people and migrants.

The two countries opposed mentioning "gender equality" directly in a statement by the bloc's 27 national leaders, who are meeting in the Portuguese city of Porto on Friday and Saturday to look for ways to reduce social and economic inequalities that widened during the pandemic....

Gender, believe it or not, is still a real political issue in the USA, and women of all ethnicities are disadvantaged.

May 3, 2021

By Pete Williams

Virginia and two other states (click here) filed notice Monday that they intend to appeal a federal judge's ruling that said their votes to ratify the proposed Equal Rights Amendment came too late.

"Throughout the years, efforts to have the Equal Rights Amendment added to the Constitution have met with many impediments, but every single time this movement has overcome those hurdles and come out the other side stronger than ever," said Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford joined in the appeal.

The three states — the most recent to vote for ratification — had asked a federal judge to declare that the amendment was formally adopted after Virginia last year became the 38th state to vote to ratify it. They argued that a deadline for adoption had no force of law, since it was placed only in the amendment's proposing clause, not in the actual text that the states voted on....

The family that test and vaccinates together, stay together.

May 10, 2021
By Carolyn B.Johnson

The Food and Drug Administration (click here) cleared the first coronavirus vaccine for emergency use in children as young as 12 on Monday, expanding access to the Pfizer-BioNTech shot to adolescents ahead of the next school year and marking another milestone in the nation’s battle with the virus.

The decision that the two-shot regimen is safe and effective for younger adolescents had been highly anticipated by many parents and pediatricians, particularly with the growing gap between what vaccinated and unvaccinated people may do safely. Evidence suggests that schools can function at low risk with prevention measures, such as masks and social distancing. But vaccines are poised to increase confidence in resuming in-person activities and are regarded as pivotal to returning to normalcy.

“Adolescents, especially, have suffered tremendously from the covid pandemic. Even though they’re less likely than adults to be hospitalized or have severe illness, their lives really have been curtailed in many parts of the country,” said Kawsar R. Talaat, an assistant professor of international health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “A vaccine gives them an extra layer of protection and allows them to go back to being kids.”...