Covidiots

The Daily Beast reports: Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner on Thursday teed up a segment on the Canadian “Freedom Convoy” by seemingly criticizing the notion that such anti-vaccine activists are “fringe,” instead claiming their beliefs have gone “mainstream.” Moments later, the program rolled footage of such demonstrators waving flags and signs boosting the crazed far-right QAnon conspiracy theory, which centers …

MSNBC reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ handpicked state surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, is currently doing the job, but he still needs to be formally confirmed by the Republican-led state Senate. To that end, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement did a routine background investigation. It apparently didn’t go especially well. The Tallahassee Democrat newspaper reports that Ladapo’s former supervisor …

Courthouse News reports: Federal prosecutors have reached a plea deal with a homeopathic doctor accused of peddling unapproved Covid-19 “immunization pellets” and selling phony vaccination cards she falsely claimed would satisfy immunization requirements for California schools. Juli Mazi appeared by video link before U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler on Thursday where she entered an initial plea of not guilty. Assistant …

The CBC reports: RCMP say a second blockade on a highway leading to the main United States border crossing in Alberta has choked off traffic. “Protesters have stopped traffic from going southbound on Highway 4,” RCMP Cpl. Curtis Peters said Thursday. “There’s a crowd there. We are advising the public to avoid the area again.” The new blockade is about …

The Associated Press reports: Italy’s Catholic military chaplain has pushed back strongly against calls by a former Vatican ambassador for the armed forces to resist COVID-19 vaccine mandates, saying the ambassador’s “conspiracy theories” were a source of confusion and disinformation. Archbishop Santo Marcianò penned a letter to Italian law enforcement personnel in response to the latest missive from Archbishop Carlo …

The Daily Beast reports: An Italian priest who shunned COVID-19 vaccines over the false belief that they contain “aborted embryos” has died at the age of 51 after battling coronavirus for several weeks. Don Paolo Romeo had resisted pleas to get vaccinated from friends and colleagues who tried to talk sense into him, according to the L’Unione Sarda newspaper. Romeo, …

The New York Post reports: His biggest haul came from the anti-vax organization Children’s Health Defense, which paid him $345,561 as chairman in 2020. But those figures could be dwarfed from the massive earnings of “The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health,” in which Kennedy slams the infectious disease expert …

Media Matters has the transcript: Road rage — look, everybody’s on edge. I’m afraid in the supermarket anymore. You never know who’s going to flip their lid, take that carriage, and beat you over the head. But you look at this, and you realize that people are — they’ve lost it. More people have guns now, okay, people are buying …

First, a reminder about this guy: A group of Ontario doctors accused of dispensing vaccine exemptions like candy to the anti-vax crowd are fighting for their “right” not to co-operate with an investigation by their regulatory body. But one of the lawyers usually by their side was conspicuously absent in Superior Court Friday. Constitutional lawyer Rocco Galati, who represents Dr. …

The Washingtonian reports: The DC health department officially shut down H Street bar and burger joint the Big Board Tuesday night, days after its liquor license was suspended for repeated violations of DC’s indoor mask and vaccine mandates. Stripped of its ability to sell alcohol, the business had continued operating with only food. Four Republican members of Congress—Rand Paul, Thomas …

Nashville Scene reports: HatWRKS, the Nashville headwear distributor previously famous mostly for various MAGA-adjacent messaging on the side of its Eighth Avenue store, found itself in a bit of a pickle last year. Its owner, Gigi Gaskins, posted a picture of a woman wearing a yellow Star of David, similar to the ones the Nazis made Jewish people wear, with …

Via press release from the US Army:  The United States Army announced today that it will immediately begin separating Soldiers from the service who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Under a directive issued by Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth, commanders are to initiate involuntary administrative separation proceedings against any Soldier who has refused the COVID-19 vaccination order and …

The National Post reports: A trucker blockade in southern Alberta at the United States border turned violent Tuesday after some protesters breached police barriers to join the demonstration and Mounties backed off out of concern for safety. Premier Jason Kenney called for demonstrators to voice their condemnation of COVID-19 safety measures peacefully and to stop blocking a crucial commerce route. …

Media Matters has the transcript: And here’s the thing, alright? So, before we had breakthrough cases, meaning fully vaccinated people getting COVID. Okay, you could make a different argument that unvaccinated people posed a risk, although originally they said if you got the vaccine, you’d never get COVID. So, they’ve gotten — they’ve screwed everything up and gotten everything wrong. …

CTV News reports: Protesters have been bringing in fuel and supplies to those who are hunkered down in their vehicles Tuesday, while others have been seen playing street hockey throughout the day. Buttons and badges that were offered for sale at the convoy Tuesday included those with “mask exemption” messaging, offensive imagery and other anti-mandate language. Some child care centres …

The Independent reports: Fox News is facing backlash for not reporting on the Covid-related death of a former Washington state trooper, as the man had previously appeared on the network to critique vaccine mandates. Robert LeMay was interviewed on several Fox shows back in October of last year, where he explained why he resigned from his position after refusing the …

The Hill reports: Unvaccinated adults were 23 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 during the omicron wave than adults who were vaccinated and boosted, according to a new study that further highlights the importance of coronavirus vaccination and booster shots. The study, released Tuesday, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found by far the highest …

The Press Progress reports: Benjamin Dichter, a failed candidate for both the Conservative Party and People’s Party, participated in a Twitter Space discussion with a pair of highly controversial former Rebel Media personalities – Keean Bexte and Lauren Southern. During a Twitter Space chat, Dichter was asked about photos circulating of hate symbols at the convoy, including multiple Confederate flags …

Reuters reports: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday said Canadians were disgusted by the behavior of some people protesting against COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Ottawa and said he would not be intimidated. Police said most demonstrators have been peaceful but local residents complained about blaring truck horns and some demonstrators using the streets as a toilet. Some also harassed a …

The Associated Press reports: Police in Canada’s capital said Sunday they are investigating possible criminal charges after anti-vaccine protesters urinated on the National War Memorial, danced on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and used the statue of Canadian hero Terry Fox to display an anti-vaccine statement. Ottawa Police said officers are also investigating threatening behavior to police and others. …