Covidiots

The Hill reports: Arnold Schwarzenegger has a message for Americans who argue that face masks encroach on their rights: “Screw your freedom.” “Because with freedom comes obligations and responsibilities,” the Republican former California governor said in a YouTube video released Wednesday. “We cannot just say, ‘I have the right to do X, Y and Z.’ When you affect other people, …

The Pensacola News-Journal reports: A man yelled about “abuse of power” before he struck a flight attendant on a plane to Pensacola after he was asked to properly wear his face mask, according to a recently released arrest report. John Loucky, 70, of Canyonville, Oregon, was arrested on charges of battery and resisting arrest after his flight landed Thursday at …

Nashville’s ABC News affiliate reports: Hundreds of parents attended the Williamson County School Board meeting Tuesday night where a roughly four-hour debate took place over the district’s mask policy. The board voted 7-to-3 to pass a temporary mask mandate for elementary school students, staff, and visitors. Hundreds of parents who didn’t fit inside the auditorium stayed outside the board meeting …

“Democrats are desperately trying to convince you that somehow Florida governor Ron DeSantis is leading his state into an abyss because he’s come out against mandates. No masks for kids. No vaccine mandates for state workers, of course. DeSantis is right. These non-pharmaceutical interventions have never been shown to work as used in real life outside the surgical setting, vis-a-vis …

The Springfield News-Leader reports: Despite a packed and rowdy crowd opposed to the measure, the Springfield city council Monday night passed a nonbinding resolution encouraging vaccination against COVID-19. The proposal was purely symbolic, but opposition to the measure was fierce over the five-hour council meeting — and included misinformation, jeers, and allusions to the Holocaust. But Councilwoman Angela Romine does …

The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports: Longtime radio talk-show host Marc Bernier has been hospitalized with COVID-19, according to a top official at WNDB (1150 AM, 93.5 FM). “I don’t have an update on him at this point, other than he has been hospitalized,” said Mark McKinney, the station’s operations director. While he did not have specific knowledge of Bernier’s vaccination …

ESPN reports: Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was noncommittal on whether he would get vaccinated after getting infected with COVID-19 twice in the past eight months, saying it was a “personal decision.” “I just got off the COVID list,” Jackson said after Monday’s practice when asked if he would get the vaccine. “I got to talk to my team about …

Religion News Service reports: The three-day Christian nationalist event being held at the Frisco Convention Center, north of Dallas, was part tent revival, part megachurch extravaganza and part political rally. It began with a video promoting a conservative online pharmacy and a word from the head of a pro-Trump conservative Christian insurance company who said he refuses to wear a …

“People should not have to die so some politicians can own the libs. They’re not owning anybody. They may end up owning the pandemic because they’re prolonging it. Perhaps it may be time to start naming these new variants after them. “Why not call it the DeSantis variant instead of the Delta variant? We could sell beer koozies that say …

West Palm Beach’s NBC News affiliate reports: South Florida talk show host Dick Farrel, known and beloved by fans for his over-the-top right-wing opinions, has died from complications from COVID-19. On Facebook, Farrel advocated against getting the coronavirus vaccine and was skeptical of Dr. Anthony Fauci and his recommendations concerning the coronavirus. Friends said after contracting the virus he changed …

The Evening Standard reports: An anti-vaxxer who filmed himself downplaying Covid-19 before posting it on Facebook has died of the virus. Solicitor Leslie Lawrenson, 58, died at his home in Bournemouth, Dorset, nine days after he published a video on why coronavirus was “nothing to be afraid of.” Mr Lawrenson, who reportedly had no underlying health conditions, had previously refused …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas school districts will not be required to conduct contact tracing this year if a student contracts COVID-19, according to new guidelines issued by the Texas Education Agency this week. The TEA announced its rules in a public health guidance issued Thursday. While districts must report positive cases to the local health department and the state, …

USA Today reports: Eight college students challenging Indiana University’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement filed an appeal with the Supreme Court on Friday, asking the justices to consider immunization mandates for the first time since the pandemic began. Indiana’s public university said in May that students and faculty would be required to take the vaccine to attend classes in person with exceptions …

British tabloid The Sun reports: The heartbroken family of an anti-vaxxer nightclub boss who died of Covid have urged the public to get vaccinated. David Parker, 56, posted scores of Facebook comments mocking the vaccine. He dismissed it as “experimental” but just weeks later fell ill with the virus and died in hospital. David had posted hundreds of messages criticising …

Earlier this week the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra fired Emily Skala, its principal flute player, for her “controversial” social media posts and for an apparently internal dispute conducted over email. Yesterday the classical music site Slipped Disc posted a response from Skala and hoo boy: SARS-CoV-2 has been proven not to exist. The CDC has no sample to offer any lab …

St. Louis’s CBS News affiliate reports: A new policy required by a St. Louis-area transportation company is garnering strong opinions both within the community and online. Charlie Bullington owns Yo Transportation services, a business he started 16 years ago. Recently, he has made it a requirement that he will only transport passengers who aren’t wearing masks and have not gotten …

Jackson’s ABC News affiliate reports: A Florence woman says she regrets a Fourth of July get-together that became a “mini-pandemic” party. More than 20 people tested positive for COVID-19 and some were hospitalized. Hannah Frith said it changed her perspective on the virus and vaccinations. For Frith, it started as exhaustion, then a headache. A few days later, a friend …

The East Bay Times reports: Just one month ago, Jonathan Weltsch thought COVID-19 was only as severe as the run-of-the-mill flu. Believing the vaccine had not received adequate testing, Weltsch actively convinced people not to get vaccinated claiming “it would do more harm than good.” Then he got sick. When Jonathan and his family contracted COVID-19 earlier this month, they …

NBC News reports: Two airline passengers entering Canada from the United States were fined nearly $16,000 each for submitting fake vaccination cards and Covid-19 test results, officials said. The passengers also failed to stay at government-authorized accommodations, as is also required by the country’s government, Canada’s public health agency said Friday. The passengers, who were not identified in a news …

The Kansas City Star reports: Macon County Coroner Brian Hayes handles the death certificates for this cattle, corn and soybean region of 15,000 in north-central Missouri, near Kirksville — roughly 130 to 140 deaths each year. That includes certifying the deaths of the few dozen residents who have succumbed to the coronavirus. And in some cases, it has meant excluding …