US was warned of threat from anti-vaxxers in event of pandemic | US news | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/27/us-warning-pandemic-anti-vaxxers

Well, here’s a heck of an opening. Makes me realize the strategy of making a population more vulnerable to a toxin than everybody else and then applying the toxin universally (or waiting for it to just happen by itself) might also be a viable strategy.

«America’s “anti-vaxxer movement” would pose a threat to national security in the event of a “pandemic with a novel organism”, an FBI-connected non-profit research group warned last year, just months before the global coronavirus pandemic began.

In a research paper put out by the little-known in-house journal of InfraGard – a national security group affiliated with the FBI – experts warned the US anti-vaccine movement would also be connected with “social media misinformation and propaganda campaigns” orchestrated by the Russian government.

Since the virus hit America, anti-vaccination activists and some sympathetic legislators around the country have led or participated in protests against stay-at-home orders designed to slow the spread of the deadly virus. More than 50,000 people have died in the US.»

 

Tweet from Alby Not on the Payroll 🐰🐰🐰 (@albyselkie)

Alby Not on the Payroll 🐰🐰🐰 (@albyselkie) Tweeted: So long-term respiratory issues, heart problems, neurological damage, clots & strokes are already some of the outcomes for #COVID19 *survivors* & we are not even a YEAR in. Does anyone else worry what we will know in 5, 10, 25 years?

https://twitter.com/albyselkie/status/1253500000321056770?s=20

Apart from the sheer horror, I’m guessing this will represent another drag on the economy and/or provide more incentive for a better healthcare system in the U.S.

“At the start of every disaster movie there’s a scientist being ignored”

https://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1253318915926618112?s=20

This is correct, but also: this is a well-known trope, which means pretty much everybody is already on board with the “the technical experts are actually correct” meme, which is something I hadn’t really thought about.

«Three years ago, the first March for Science was held as an international series of rallies and marches in more than 600 other cities across the world. This is one of the most eloquen pictures of that day and possibly still eloquent today https://buff.ly/2S36NuF»

Barr Threatens Legal Action Against Governors Over Lockdowns – Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-21/barr-says-doj-may-act-against-governors-with-strict-virus-limits

The Republican Party, the party that supports states’ rights. Except when….

«The Justice Department will consider taking legal action against governors who continue to impose stringent rules for dealing with the coronavirus that infringe on constitutional rights even after the crisis subsides in their states, Attorney General William Barr said.»