David Rasmussen, aka Rasamoto @Bertrecords@qoto.org

So, I'm just going to be sure I have this straight.

Back in 2019-2020, when #covid19 first burst onto the scene, nobody had any idea what we were dealing with. Out of an abundance of caution people were urged to stay at home, and keep away from other people.

In the almost-four years since then, we have learned exactly what we are dealing with - a disease never dealt with before on this level, that attacks and destroys multiple systems of the body, leaves many people disabled/bedridden, or with any of a huge number of chronic conditions.

It attacks the heart and brains of everyone infected (to varying degrees), and confers no long lasting immunity against future infections (which tend to get worse each time).

But with all that knowledge, we've now dropped any semblance of protection, and actively discourage masking, isolation and cleaning the air.

... Do I have this right?

Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of all freedom. But not all speech is the same, and not all speech qualifies as “free speech.”

As the indictments pile up against Trump and his co-conspirators for their efforts to overturn the 2020 election, we have seen a concerted effort by Trump to claim a ridiculous defense based on “freedom of speech.”

Free speech, according to his cockamamie theory, means he can say whatever he wants to say, regardless of the consequences. He falsely equates his leadership of the criminal conspiracy to destroy American democracy with the act of having a mere opinion or belief.

This defense is unlikely to hold up in a court of law — and it doesn’t hold up in the field of cognitive linguistics, either. Cognitive linguists have long understood that there are different kinds of speech, and that some kinds of speech constitute “speech acts.”

More at FrameLab:
https://framelab.substack.com/p/trumps-criminal-speech-acts-vs-free

⚾ #MLB #Baseball @baseball@a.gup.pe @baseball@chirp.social

Via Jay Cuda @JayCuda
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1m
Division leaders on the 28th of each month this season

Things every reporter knows but none will mention:

—Congress has no constitutional authority over a state prosecutor.
—Jim Jordan has no factual basis for any of his nasty insinuations.

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4169099-jim-jordan-launches-probe-into-georgia-trump-prosecution/

@jaykuo explains the whole thing: https://statuskuo.substack.com/p/free-lawyers-but-big-strings-attached?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Do you ever come up with advice for your enemies, that you would absolutely withhold if you thought there was any chance they'd hear it

Just published
When a nasal vaccine provides superior immune response compared with a shot (2 doses of each). Results from a randomized clinical trial, including vs Omicron, and with less local and systemic adverse effects
https://nature.com/articles/s41541-023-00717-8

39 years ago today

Hüsker Dü at the junkyard photo shoot for Zen Arcade, July 31, 1984

Photo by Mark Peterson

#punk #punks #punkrock #hardcorepunk #hüskerdü #huskerdu #history #punkrockhistory #otd

“The imperial Supreme Court is something new and dangerous … [W]e must consider more radical options to protect the American form of government.”

https://harvardlawreview.org/forum/vol-136/the-imperial-supreme-court/
#SCOTUS

I agree 100 percent with ICE-T regarding Sinead O’Connor when contrasted with people in general: most people in the world do not stand for anything at all. The vast majority of us stand for our own existence and survival, and not too much else. This is the painful, human truth. If we could see outside and beyond ourselves more often…🙏🏿

#Mastodon #BlackMastodon #SineadOConnor #Sinead

Two hotels, two sets of conspirators, all working toward the same goal: overturning the 2020 election. Jack Smith’s team has pierced the silence around the Willard Hotel and possibly the Trump International Hotel. And that has far reaching consequences. I delve into the deets in today’s piece. https://statuskuo.substack.com/p/conspiracy-to-obstruct-a-tale-of?sd=pf

Has anyone looked into possible Cambridge Analytica-style skulduggery in spreading covid disinfo and propaganda among public institutions? "Let's make every school board in the U.S. believe and behave as though covid is no big deal," that sort of thing?

#Covid #Covid19 #LongCovid @longcovid @novid

No lies detected.

Kudos to all the librarians holding the line against fascism. 👏🏾

NYT:
They Checked Out Pride Books in Protest. It Backfired.

Ms. Peterson … was taken aback when she read an email last month from two neighborhood residents. They informed her that they had checked out nearly all of the books in the Pride display and would not return them unless the library permanently removed what they considered “inappropriate content.”

#LGBTQ #BlackMastodon

Gift link: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/22/us/pride-books-library-protest.html?unlocked_article_code=PQwurFdsftNUGRxrNq6R8T9PYl7P11oSeIxIJFGy1mVFMjBY10nk7jV0XL6ChE5lQUsVWujPZV8mTJK-tBU_PenW9zpPV4gmZYTFltiPQsxQwMshfeyFczA_hhMZWhMt1-AWuHYT1mHYag_Tr0zItZFQm76fquhgpNwhx3DByPZYPlu17UPkzpxZDkSifDyCcW26Lbt45OFnKY7B96F5xio41j5Xy_wvVccik_3O1AxRgYu877LL6JHUrHWuB62HhHd8sOEMoNge9K5TiC11Yh7owdvfl8meOvb9O-5sN_fZn6daEng6nqfxJUFTNUxu8NJ3uVXj5Eut16v34wjLpQ&smid=url-share

45 years ago today
Can't Stand the Rezillos is the debut studio album by Edinburgh-based punk band the Rezillos, released on this day in 1978.

#punk #punks #punkrock #Rezillos #history #punkrockhistory #otd

@historyofpunkrock This is a really fun album. I learned about The Rezillos from a blog post mention by @rudytheelder several years ago.
I usually describe them as if the B-52s had been a Scottish guitar band.

We had a grifter and fraud as president for four years. This is the kind of thing that happens. What’s crazy is that he’s still at large. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-took-israeli-artifacts-mar-a-lago-1234790136/

No, Covid is not an ordinary illness.
https://nytimes.com/2023/07/17/briefing/covid.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
For *accurate* information, see Katelyn Jetelina's newsletter today
https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/covid-19-catch-up-quick

Where we're at.

Where we're going.

Why it's happening?

Understanding it all -> https://hubris.jimcarroll.com

If an effect of covid on the whole human race is that we lost say 20% of our ability to smell, do colognes and perfumes sell less because they "aren't as good as they used to be," or sell more because the users have to slather on a bigger dose just to smell anything?