Coronavirus - Andrew Cuomo and nursing homes deaths

Last year tyrannical Dem. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued as executive order forcing nursing homes to admit people known to have been infected by the coronavirus. The following stories show the consequences. His action caused far more people to become infected and die as a result.

Morning Dispatch: Cuomo Under Fire for Undercounting Nursing Home Deaths

New York Post: COVID-19 deaths in NY nursing homes were 50 percent higher than claimed

Update Jan. 30: Cuomo won't apologize (link).

"Attorney General Letitia James found that [Cuomo's] administration had drastically undercounted nursing-home deaths."

"Residents who died of COVID-19 in the facilities themselves were listed as nursing home deaths, while residents who died after being transported to a hospital were not included in that tally."

Cuomo added, “If you look at New York State, we have a lower percentage of deaths in nursing homes than other states. A third of all deaths in this nation are from nursing homes. New York State, we’re…about 28 percent, but we’re below the national average in number of deaths in nursing homes. But who cares — 33, 28, died in a hospital, died in a nursing home — they died.”

If 28%*1.5 = 42%, which is higher than other, maybe all, states.

Coronavirus - new drug

New, more effective drug to treat COVID-19

Aplidin, also known as Plitidepsin, has gone through a Phase II clinical trial against COVID-19 and is now awaiting the start of Phase III testing. It comes from sea squirts, marine creatures that look like plants and have tubular openings allowing them to draw in and expel water. Their only known habitat is around the Spanish island of Ibaza east of Spain in the Mediterranean Sea.  

Filing income taxes for free

Many Americans can file their taxes for free. Here’s how to do it.

This is a good and comprehensive article about filing for free.

One of the larger VITA/TCE organizations is AARP Tax Aide. Before and part of and last year, operations were always in-person. This year not near as many sites are available and it is mostly virtual. The filer gets help on line or by phone.  

Journalists and free speech

Journalists celebrate the destruction of others' free speech

"Last year [ ] police were lambasted for trying to control violence at Black Lives Matter and Antifa protests. Journalists disdained tear gas and arrests in favor of addressing the "systemic racism" supposedly responsible for the disorder. After the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, some raised questions about police failure to stop the mayhem, but once again, progressive journalists are focusing elsewhere. They've identified a new root cause of mob violence: free speech."

"They've cheered the social-media purge of conservatives and urged further censorship of "violent rhetoric" and "disinformation." It's a remarkably self-destructive move for a profession dependent on freedom of speech, but the journalists now dominating newsrooms aren't thinking long-term — and can't imagine being censored themselves. The traditional liberal devotion to the First Amendment seems hopelessly antiquated to young progressives convinced that they're on the right side of history." 

To which I add, "And feeling morally superior!"

"It wasn't enough to ban Donald Trump from Facebook and Twitter if he and his followers could move to Parler — so Parler had to be shut down, too. Big Tech obliged, succumbing to pressure from the media and their Democratic allies in Congress. (Google and Apple removed Parler from their app stores, and Amazon forced Parler offline by booting it off its web servers.) This unprecedented suppression was denounced by conservative and libertarian publications like the Wall Street Journal and Reason, and by a few independent journalists like Glenn Greenwald, but the usual solidarity among the press against censorship was missing."  

Democratic bullies

Dems Urged Not to ‘Waste a Second’ Negotiating 

This is the preferred way of far too many Democrats. Throw money at it. Bullying. Authoritarian. A reasonable compromise is off limits. Bernie Sanders and his ilk epitomize their attitude.

American Thinker: Democrats’ Version of Unity Means ‘Us against Them’

Janet Yellen on cryptocurrency

Nominee Secretary of State Yellen on bitcoin

"Incoming Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has revealed some reservations about cryptocurrency, especially as it could relate to crime and terrorism." 

Is the ex-Chairman of the Federal Reserve really worried about criminals using cryptocurrency? If yes, she needs to look more closely at the $US. Suitcases of $US are used by drug dealers!!

Hank Aaron, RIP

Sadly, Henry Louis "Hammerin' Hank" Aaron died today. Wikipedia. 😢 Aaron died in his sleep at the age of 86, two weeks shy of his 87th birthday. He was my baseball hero from 1955 until he retired. I didn't have another one until Greg Maddux circa 1993.

Hank Aaron is one of the greatest baseball players of all time. He is 5th all-time in WAR for position players (non-pitchers). His 755 career home runs stood as the MLB record for 33 years, surpassed only by Barry Bonds' 762 attained in 2007. The most homers Aaron hit in one season was 47. He hit 44, his uniform number, four times. Three of those times he led the league in HRs and RBIs. Bonds hit 50 or more homers in a season only once, with 73. Aaron led the league in batting average twice. (Bonds also did). He was NL MVP in 1957. The Braves won the World Series in 1957. He led the Braves in hitting during the World Series -- 11 hits, 3 HR, 7 RBI, .393 BA. However, fidgety Lew Burdette was MVP of the World Series by pitching and winning 3 complete games, 2 shutouts, against hitters like Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Hank Bauer, and Elston Howard. Burdette gave up only 2 earned runs, making his ERA 0.67.

Hank Aaron has the most career RBIs and total bases. He is 3rd in career hits with 3771, behind only Pete Rose and Ty Cobb. He was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame when first eligible in 1982 with 97.8% of the vote.

Hammerin' Hank wasn't a flashy player, and the Milwaukee Braves was a small market team. So he didn't get the level of attention that his peers such as Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle did. He was very consistent. His highest number of strikeouts in a season was 97. He was an excellent fielder and baserunner. He was quiet and dignified. After his playing career he was an executive with the Braves and a successful businessman. 

My favorite baseball story about him involved Yogi Berra, the talkative Hall of Fame Yankee catcher who could get in the minds of hitters. Berra said, “Hey kid, you're holding your bat wrong. It's suppose to be with the label up.” Without bothering to check the positioning of his bat, Hank replied, “I didn’t come here to read.” Link.