What do you think about with current News and Opinions?

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Something to understand what nurses think about re the Current News and their opinions!

Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.

Remember that story that I shared about the Florida professors and their expert testimony about voter suppression? The University is under some fire now because that recent ruling WAS inconsistent with precedent and practice and there is DeSantis political connection in the upper echelons of the institution. 

The Washington Post published a well sourced opinion discussing the situation. 

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This blowup began when the New York Times reported that the university had informed the professors that they could not participate in a lawsuit against the law. The rationale was that assisting a lawsuit against the state is “adverse to U.F.’s interests.”
The lawsuit argues that the voting law’s provisions, such as the ones restricting drop boxes and making it harder to get absentee ballots in various ways, will impose disproportionate burdens on nonwhite voters. The professors — Daniel A. Smith, Michael McDonald and Sharon Wright Austin — were hired by the plaintiffs to testify to this and other matters. 

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The DeSantis angle here is potentially very troubling. DeSantis, it turns out, has top allies at the university, such as Morteza Hosseini, who is both head of the university’s board of trustees and a big GOP donor and close DeSantis adviser.
It’s not clear whether those allies — or DeSantis himself — are behind this decision. But the lawyers for the plaintiffs are seeking to question DeSantis about his potential involvement as part of their litigation, and the Times reports that DeSantis has “resisted questioning.”
The university’s rationale is strange and opaque. It’s not immediately clear why testifying in this lawsuit would be contrary to the university’s “interests.”
When I asked a university spokesman to clarify, he emailed me this:
To your question, the university views the professors’ request as a request to be paid to testify against the state, and the university, as a public institution, is part of the state — therefore, that would be adverse to the university’s interests. However, to be clear, if the professors wish to do so pro bono on their own time without using university resources, they would be free to do so.
But this raises more questions than it answers. First, one of the professors — Smith — has repeatedly testified in previous voting rights cases against the state of Florida. And Smith tells me these were approved by the university and that he was paid for his work on them.
“Quite the contrary, UF has celebrated my involvement in these high-profile cases, as it brings national recognition to the university,” Smith told me. So it’s not clear why getting paid is problematic this time.

Yes. It's not clear why there's a problem this time...or is it?

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Soon Manchin will be international news!

So Manchin shills for the coal industry and scuppers the climate change addendums to Biden’s policy. 

Soon, Greta will know his name and soon after, the world will know who is the Satan in America. Just like trump's spawn are now pariahs, so too will be Manchin's!

Let's see if those companies are going to like when the stone is removed and everyone will know who the cockroaches are? 

Luckily, he's only responsible for West Virginia and is killing his own people. Wonder when they will go all hillbilly on him and make him squeal like a pig? ????

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Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.
16 hours ago, Tweety said:

Seems that the issues that are important to Republicans are the ones that they are good at and visa versa and people can see that.  This is not a surprising poll.

There is no doubt that confidence in Biden and the Democratic Party has eroded the past nine months.  We'll see how this translates into Republican gain but like mid-terms it often does.

In some ways I think Biden, fair or unfair, has to bear the burden of the covid surge, the border situation and inflation, gas prices, the supply chain.   Covid seems to be no longer on people's minds but it was under is watch that there was a really bad surge.  Afghanistan also seems to be fading.  So time to focus on other things.

Other things like the two "moderate" Democrat Senators and the progressive members of the house holding things up have really amounted to a whole lot of nothing happening the last nine months.

Republicans are always quick to blame the media for bad press and now it's Biden's turn.  The press is always hypercritical and analytical about presidential problems. 

https://www.thedailybeast.com/bidens-achievements-are-big-his-press-coverage-is-small

Then there's the things that blow up on social media like Biden appearing to fall asleep during climate speech.  This is fair.

But the idea that Biden is the mainstream media's darling is not true.

I agree with much that you say here except for one point:  budget balancing is no longer the skill set of the Republicans.  10 years of Trump's tax cuts will cost much more than the 1.9 trillion figure for the Covid relief bill.  Even more, people who get back to work because of the Build Back Better funds will be paying taxes.  No one is paying more taxes because of Trump's tax returns for the extremely wealthy.  

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Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.
16 hours ago, chare said:

My question was directed to @subee's comment:

I read this to indicated that she felt that a previous administration was responsible, to some extent, for events that occur early in an administration.  I actually agree with this, to some extent.  However, and at the risk of being accused of diflection or whataboutism, I distinctly recall that many on the left, to include some on this site, held Mr. Bush solely responsible for 9/11, an event that occurred 7.5 months into his administration.  As we are now over 10 months into Mr. Biden's administration, when will he be held responsible for actions occurring during his watch?

When will the Republicans be held responsible for every action they have obstructed?  Have they promoted a single bill that would make America better again?  This ball can get passed back and forth eternally.  I can't remember believe people blaming Bush but I do believe you because people are stupid and shortsighted.  I only blamed the people who allowed someone to take flight lessons for take-offs only.  But I lived in NYC in 1993 and remember the first terrorist bombing and knew they would be back in the future.  Most people are naive.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

West Virginia is the 2nd largest coal producer in the country after Wyoming so it really doesn't bother me that Machin is pro-coal.  It means he's representing the interests of this state.  It's what politicians do.

Also it has long been known that the United States the 2nd largest polluter and has the 2nd largest carbon footprint in the world.  We are also the 2nd largest consumer of fossil fuels.  We are #1 in the use of oil.  We have a small percentage of the world's population but our carbon imprint is huge. 

The world has long known this prior to Machin and while he may come to the attention of climate change activists, he's not really a big player on the world stage.  People tend to look at countries as a whole.

While Thurnberg is the darling of the left, she's widely mocked and ridiculed as a tool and a fool by the right. 

you-have-stolen-my-dreams-and-my-childhood-getting-that-cobalt-for-your-electric-cars-fast-as-i-can-greta-thunberg.thumb.jpeg.b11b2c35c0b2c0490e0b1fa36d3877f6.jpeg

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
2 hours ago, Tweety said:

While Thurnberg is the darling of the left, she's widely mocked and ridiculed as a tool and a fool by the right. 

American republicans are skilled at mocking and ridiculing teenagers who are seeking a better future for themselves and their voting base is accustomed to that behavior. It's easier than talking facts, evidence or policy...especially when the young people are talking climate or guns. 

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Specializes in Med-Surg.
1 hour ago, toomuchbaloney said:

American republicans are skilled at mocking and ridiculing teenagers who are seeking a better future for themselves and their voting base is accustomed to that behavior. It's easier than talking facts, evidence or policy...especially when the young people are talking climate or guns. 

Yes.   This meme was a little tame compared to some of the others I've seen.  But I've also seen comments written by real people about her...how she's a tool in the left wing conspiracy to take over, on and on.  

I remember how they treated the Parkland Kids once they got political.  

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/marjorie-taylor-greene-mocked-parkland-survivor-unearthed-video-idiot-who-n1256516

 

On another topic in this thread. (AN merged my two posts)

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The body that sets the accreditation for the University of Florida said Monday it will be investigating the state’s flagship university over its decision to bar a trio of faculty members from offering expert testimony in a legal case against the state, to determine whether “academic freedom” and “undue political influence” standards were violated.

According to one of my professor friends this body is akin to the Joint Commission and violations are a serious matter.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2021/11/01/ufs-ban-on-professors-testifying-against-state-to-be-investigated-says-accreditor/

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
48 minutes ago, Tweety said:
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According to one of my professor friends this body is akin to the Joint Commission and violations are a serious matter

Yeah. This is a big deal from the political ideology that frequently complains that their opinions are silenced.  How ironic.

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Specializes in MSN, FNP-C, PMHNP, CEN, CCRN, TCRN, EMT-P.

Florida leading the country in lowest covid rates.   Great news for the state that encourages freedom.

 

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Specializes in Med-Surg.
27 minutes ago, GordonGekko said:

Florida leading the country in lowest covid rates.   Great news for the state that encourages freedom.

 

Yes it is good news after having a huge surge and the highest covid rates in the country.  

 

It burned through us here and we are on the other side.  But the cost was tremendous, but people have a short memory and are just glad to be out of it.  The percent of positivity where I live is about 2.5%.  I appreciate everything being voluntary, including businesses that of their own freedom require a mask or a vaccine.  

https://nypost.com/2021/10/28/florida-gov-ron-desantis-has-shown-how-to-handle-covid-19/

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Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.
2 hours ago, GordonGekko said:

Florida leading the country in lowest covid rates.   Great news for the state that encourages freedom.

 

Well, that makes total sense since you were so infected.  I'm sure this temporary natural immunity came at a depressingly huge human and financial cost.  Vaccination is such an easier way to get antibodies over getting or spreading infection....the much easier way.  A lot of people lost their freedom forever and someone has to pay for the medical costs.   Hope your ability to feel free to go to bars was worth it.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.
1 hour ago, subee said:

Well, that makes total sense since you were so infected.  I'm sure this temporary natural immunity came at a depressingly huge human and financial cost.  Vaccination is such an easier way to get antibodies over getting or spreading infection....the much easier way.  A lot of people lost their freedom forever and someone has to pay for the medical costs.   Hope your ability to feel free to go to bars was worth it.

That's not really fair.  During this last surge all states were in a fully opened status and Florida was no different except there were no laws like New York about showing vaccination cards prior to going to bars for the most part.  Theaters here however are still requiring vaccinations in some places, but not all.  It's a mixed bag, but you can't single out Florida for doing something uniquely reckless.

Florida did have probably the worst surge in numbers, but I'm not sure in per capita how we fared because states like Alabama and even Idaho had a rough surge, but it was a rough surge for Florida for sure.

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