Trumpanzee News - How QAnon Lured Gullible People Into The Trumpanzee Cult

How people get sucked into misinformation rabbit holes – and how to get them out

From our perspective in Europe, it seems almost incomprehensible how the political situation in the USA has degenerated to such an extent that Donald Trump may be elected as POTUS again, despite the incompetence, buffoonery and criminality that characterised his earlier term.

What was once the 'shining beacon on the hill', which set the rest of the world an example (albeit more than a little idealised) of how democracy operated to produce a prosperous, egalitarian society where aspiration and enterprise were rewarded and the economy worked for all, has degenerated to warring factions, full of mutual hate and fueled by the most ludicrous and lurid conspiracy theories.

A significant number of adult Americans now believe there is a 'deep state' run by senior Democrats, that operates as a Satanic paedophile cult and that the serial adulterer, insurrectionist and crook, Donald Trump, was personally appointed by God as their saviour, because God obviously takes a keen interest in US politics and would pick someone with a narcissistic personality disorder to do his work for him. This god also promised to ensure Trump was reelected 2020, so the fact that he was kicked out of office must have been due to the same deep state/Democrat conspiracy to steal the election - and then hide the evidence where even God can't guide Trump's supporters to it.

And of course, the serious criminal charges Trump is now facing in a number of different US courts, are all part of that conspiracy, as are the judges, prosecutors and prosecution witnesses, so the more damming the evidence and the more charges he faces are evidence of the conspiracy, not evidence of Trump's guilt and unsuitability to hold elected office, let alone be in charge of a nuclear arsenal and the US public finances, and able to appoint senior members of the judiciary.

The only real conspiracy in the USA is that run by the shadowy and rabidly far-right, pro-Trump QAnon, so how did the QAnon cult lure so many people down their particular paranoid rabbit hole to the extent that they are prepared to take up arms against their fellow countrymen and stage an attempted coup d'etat in the name of patriotism?

Cult News - Constantine I - The Not-So-Christian Self-Idolatrous Roman Polytheist

Constantine I, or Constantine the Great.
Roman emperor from 306 to 337 AD.

Cult Mentality: SLU Professor Makes Monumental Discovery in Italy : SLU

Tell me all about Constantine I of Rome. Constantine I, also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman Emperor who ruled from 306 to 337 AD. He is often credited with being the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity and played a crucial role in the history of the Roman Empire, particularly in the transition from paganism to Christianity. Here are some key points about Constantine I:

1. Early Life: Constantine was born on February 27, around 272 AD, in Naissus (present-day Niš, Serbia). He was the son of Constantius Chlorus, who was a Roman army officer, and Helena, who is believed to be of humble origin.
2. Military Career: Constantine began his military career under the rule of Emperor Diocletian. He rose through the ranks and eventually became a military tribune.
3. Tetrarchy: The Roman Empire was divided into four parts (the Tetrarchy) by Emperor Diocletian to make governance more manageable. Constantine's father, Constantius Chlorus, was one of the Tetrarchs.
4. Rise to Power: After the death of his father in 306 AD, Constantine's troops proclaimed him emperor. This led to a series of civil wars as various claimants vied for power.
5. Battle of Milvian Bridge (312 AD): Constantine's most famous victory was at the Battle of Milvian Bridge against Maxentius. According to tradition, Constantine had a vision of a cross in the sky with the words "In hoc signo vinces" ("In this sign, you will conquer"). Constantine adopted the Christian symbol, the Chi-Rho, and won the battle.
6. Edict of Milan (313 AD): Constantine issued the Edict of Milan along with his co-emperor Licinius, granting religious tolerance to all religions in the Roman Empire, effectively ending the persecution of Christians.
7. Foundation of Constantinople: In 330 AD, Constantine inaugurated a new capital for the Roman Empire, which he called Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul). This city played a significant role in the history of the Byzantine Empire.
8. Council of Nicaea (325 AD): Constantine convened the First Council of Nicaea, which aimed to address theological disputes within Christianity. The council produced the Nicene Creed, a statement of Christian faith.
9. Christian Conversion: While Constantine is often considered the first Christian Roman Emperor, the exact nature and timing of his conversion remain debated among historians. Some suggest that he only converted on his deathbed, while others argue for an earlier and more gradual conversion.
10. Death: Constantine I died on May 22, 337 AD. He was baptized shortly before his death.

Constantine's reign marked a turning point in the history of the Roman Empire. His support for Christianity had a profound impact on the development of the religion and its eventual establishment as the dominant faith within the empire.

If he convened the Council of Nicea in 325 AD doesn't this suggest he had already converted to Christianity? Also, what is the connection with York, England?

The relationship between Constantine's conversion to Christianity and the convening of the Council of Nicaea is a matter of historical debate. While some sources suggest that Constantine may have converted to Christianity before the Council, the exact timing and nature of his conversion remain unclear. Some historians argue that his conversion was a gradual process, and he may have fully embraced Christianity closer to the end of his life.

Regarding the connection with York, England, Constantine the Great is associated with the city in the context of his proclaimed father, Constantius Chlorus. Constantius Chlorus, who was a co-emperor and the father of Constantine, died in York (then known as Eboracum) in 306 AD. After his death, Constantine was proclaimed emperor by his troops in York, marking an important point in the series of events that would eventually lead to his rise to power.

The historical records are not entirely clear about whether Constantine was present in York when he was proclaimed emperor. The primary sources that describe his elevation to emperor, such as the "Origo Constantini Imperatoris" and the "Panegyrici Latini," do not explicitly mention Constantine's physical presence in York at the time of his proclamation.

The general narrative is that Constantine was with his father, Constantius Chlorus, in Eboracum (modern-day York) when Constantius died in 306 AD. Following Constantius's death, the troops in York proclaimed Constantine as emperor. However, it's not explicitly stated whether Constantine was physically present in York during this proclamation or if he was elsewhere.

It's worth noting that Constantine's connection to York is more related to his father's activities and death in the region rather than significant events in Constantine's own life. Nevertheless, York acknowledges this historical connection, and there are some sites and monuments in the city that commemorate Constantine and his father.

The Roman emperor Constantine I, or Constantine the Great, is hailed by Christians as the first Christian emperor and the man who single-handedly converted the Roman Empire to Christianity. But the facts were as usual, different to the narrative promulgated by the Christian Churches.

Certainly, he was instrumental in turning what had been a minority cult into the official religion of the empire but it was Diocletian, some 70 years later who made it official and launched a vicious campaign of repression designed to eradicate all religions and all sects of Christianity which didn't conform to the State Dogma.

Constantine was, however, not so much a devout Christian as a man who liked to hedge his bets. He supported any and all religions of the empire, including the worship of himself as God-Emperor, and only accepted Christian baptism on his death bed. Evidently, he thought he had found favour with all the other gods of the Empire, but just wanted to make sure in case the Christians were right. A form of Pascale's Gambit that includes all the gods, just to be on the safe-side, because, as we all know, gods can easily be fooled by pretending to believe in them, even ones that claim to be the only god.

Now a team of archaeologists led by Professor Douglas Boin, Ph.D, of Saint Louis University, Missouri, USA have unearthed evidence that shows Constantine was as keen to promote non-Christian sects as to promote Christianity. The evidence is in the form of a temple to Constantine and his ancestors, the Flavian family in the hill town of Spello, about 20 miles from Assisi and about two and a half hours from Rome. The inhabitants had applied to be allowed to celebrate a pagan religious fezrival in Spello rather than travel all the way to another festival site. Building the temple was Constantine's condition for granting them their wish.

A St Louis University News release explains the find and its significance:

Conspiracy Loon News - Why Some People Fall For Wackadoodle Conspiracy Theories

They fall more easily for conspiracy theories - Linköping University

In the last 20 years of so, two things have featured in western culture, especially so in the United States, and recent research has shown how these are linked.

1. Democratization of opinion: Conflation of the belief that everyone is entitled to their opinion on every subject under the sun, as guaranteed to Americans by their constitution, and the belief that this means every opinion should carry equal weight in a debate, regardless of the evidence (or lack of it) on which it is based, or the level of expertise in the subject of the person voicing that opinion.
   
   The attractiveness of this belief to the intellectually lazy and to those who feel alienated by the political and economic forces that shape their lives, is that they can tell themselves that they are at least the equal of the experts, and very probably their better.
   
   For example, I was recently castigated in the social media when I disagreed with the claim that "everyone needs Jesus because without Him life is meaningless". I was informed that "This is America (it was actually Facebook!) where we are entitled to our opinions!", as though a constitutional right in one country mandates the rest of the world to respect dogma and regard it as a statement of irrefutable truth, with the implication that no-one has a right to disagree. The constitution guarantees my right to my opinion (but not your right to yours).
   
   Similarly false claims are made by creationists daily in social media, accompanied by indignation when challenged. Creationists who couldn't define the terms 'evolution' or 'kind' and who assiduously maintain their scientific ignorance, will confidently inform the world that the millions of highly qualified working biomedical scientists who have no difficulty with the science, have it all wrong, and should listen to the creationist who knows best, having completed a 15 minute Google University degree in creationism. And they're all part of a gigantic Satanic conspiracy anyway.

The Trumpanzees are Losing it.

US midterms: America appears to have passed 'peak Trump'

This is beginning to look like the end times for Donald Trump and his Trumpanzee cult.

The mid-term elections which were supposed to deliver a 'red wave' of Repugnican candidates as Trumpanzees took control of both houses, failed to materialise and scarcely even resembled a dribble. It looks like the Democrats will retain control of the Senate and very many of the candidates publicly endorsed by Trump either lost or won by slim margins. To make matters worse for Trump personally, his arch rival for both the Repugnican choice for the 2024 presidential election and as leader of white right extremism, Ron DeSantis, won the gubernatorial race in Florida by a landslide, setting him up for a run at the presidency.

Covidiot News - How the Antivaxx Trumpanzees are Risking Your Life For Political Gain

Association of Primary and Booster Vaccination and Prior Infection With SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Severe COVID-19 Outcomes | Infectious Diseases | JAMA | JAMA Network

Estimates of effectiveness are shown by solid curves, and 95% CIs are shown by shaded bands. The steep upward trends seen early in panels A-C, but not in panel D, represent the ramp-up period of vaccination. Each curve is truncated at 15 months or when the number at risk hits 15% of the relevant sample. D, Comparison of prior infection with survival to no prior infection among all participants (vaccinated and not), with 98.6% of all participants surviving the prior infection. Home testing for infection is not included. Further detail can be found in eTable 1 in the Supplement.

Source: Lin D, Gu Y, Xu Y, et al (2022).

More evidence was produces today showing how efficatious the anti-COVID vaccines are at preventing serious illness and death from COVID-19 and, incidentally, how dangerous and reckless has been the pro-Trump campaign to minimise the risks and raise the level of vaccine hesitancy in the US pupulation, led by Trumpanzee far-right loonies, evangelical Chritian preachers and televangelists and politically-motivated conspiracy theorists.

This evidence came in the form of a paper published in JAMA Network reporting on a cohort study of 10.6 million North Carolina Residents between March 2020 and June 2022, which concluded that:

…receipt of a primary COVID-19 vaccine series compared with being unvaccinated, receipt of a booster compared with primary vaccination, and prior SARS-CoV-2 infection compared with no prior infection were all significantly associated with lower risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and resulting hospitalization and death.

In an editorial in JAMA Network accompanying publication of the paper the editor said:

The authors report that as of June 3, 2022, a total of 67% of the study population had been vaccinated and 2 771 364 SARS-CoV-2 infections were reported, with a hospitalization rate of 6.3% and mortality rate of 1.4%. Based on the analysis and findings, there are several important takeaways from this study. First, the results reinforced that first-generation COVID-19 vaccines were highly and durably effective against severe disease as measured by hospitalizations and deaths, but did not protect against milder infections beyond a few months, even with booster vaccinations. Emerging new variants, including Omicron, are associated with less protection against infection. However, even modest protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection may provide important benefits by reducing surges that can overwhelm health care systems, keeping schools and workplaces open, and protecting vulnerable populations at risk for severe outcomes following infection, including older adults and those with underlying medical conditions.

Second, prior infection was associated with a reduction in risk of infection and severe outcomes among those with or without prior vaccination. Additionally, among people with prior documented infection who had completed a primary vaccine series, booster vaccination was associated with additional protection, including 39.3% vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization after 3 months. Although prior infection alone is associated with lower risk of reinfection, vaccination also provides protection against ongoing transmission and has additional benefits, including attenuating severity of disease and reducing the risk of disabling postacute sequelae of COVID-19.^9,14

Third, this study reinforced the growing complexities of COVID-19 and the strengths and limitations of routine surveillance systems. State-based surveillance systems have large sample sizes that allow detection of uncommon events and multiple subgroup analyses. However, they often lack granular details on underlying medical conditions or other factors that allow for better control of confounding or effect modification. Lin et al found that waning of booster dose vaccine effectiveness occurred over 4 to 6 months, but this may be partially due to patients with certain high-risk conditions, such as those who are significantly immunocompromised, getting third doses earlier than the general population. Among individuals who received a primary mRNA vaccine series, understanding comparability between those who received homologous and heterologous mRNA boosters would also be helpful to strengthen inference around benefits of receiving mixed vaccine products that was observed in this study.

In the abstrct to their paper, the authors state:

Key Points

Question How does the association of COVID-19 vaccination and prior SARS-CoV-2 infection with subsequent SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 outcomes change over time?

Findings In a cohort study of 10.6 million North Carolina residents from March 2020 to June 2022, receipt of a primary COVID-19 vaccine series compared with being unvaccinated, receipt of a booster compared with primary vaccination, and prior SARS-CoV-2 infection compared with no prior infection were all significantly associated with lower risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and resulting hospitalization and death. The estimates for the associated protection decreased over time, especially for the outcome of infection, and varied by type of circulating variant.

Meaning Receipt of COVID-19 vaccines and boosters, as well as prior SARS-CoV-2 infection, were associated with protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection (including Omicron) and severe COVID-19 outcomes, although the associated protection waned over time.

Abstract

Importance Data about the association of COVID-19 vaccination and prior SARS-CoV-2 infection with risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 outcomes may guide prevention strategies.

Objective To estimate the time-varying association of primary and booster COVID-19 vaccination and prior SARS-CoV-2 infection with subsequent SARS-CoV-2 infection, hospitalization, and death.

Design, Setting, and Participants Cohort study of 10.6 million residents in North Carolina from March 2, 2020, through June 3, 2022.

Exposures COVID-19 primary vaccine series and boosters and prior SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Main Outcomes and Measures Rate ratio (RR) of SARS-CoV-2 infection and hazard ratio (HR) of COVID-19–related hospitalization and death.

Results The median age among the 10.6 million participants was 39 years; 51.3% were female, 71.5% were White, and 9.9% were Hispanic. As of June 3, 2022, 67% of participants had been vaccinated. There were 2 771 364 SARS-CoV-2 infections, with a hospitalization rate of 6.3% and mortality rate of 1.4%. The adjusted RR of the primary vaccine series compared with being unvaccinated against infection became 0.53 (95% CI, 0.52-0.53) for BNT162b2, 0.52 (95% CI, 0.51-0.53) for mRNA-1273, and 0.51 (95% CI, 0.50-0.53) for Ad26.COV2.S 10 months after the first dose, but the adjusted HR for hospitalization remained at 0.29 (95% CI, 0.24-0.35) for BNT162b2, 0.27 (95% CI, 0.23-0.32) for mRNA-1273, and 0.35 (95% CI, 0.29-0.42) for Ad26.COV2.S and the adjusted HR of death remained at 0.23 (95% CI, 0.17-0.29) for BNT162b2, 0.15 (95% CI, 0.11-0.20) for mRNA-1273, and 0.24 (95% CI, 0.19-0.31) for Ad26.COV2.S. For the BNT162b2 primary series, boosting in December 2021 with BNT162b2 had the adjusted RR relative to primary series of 0.39 (95% CI, 0.38-0.40) and boosting with mRNA-1273 had the adjusted RR of 0.32 (95% CI, 0.30-0.34) against infection after 1 month and boosting with BNT162b2 had the adjusted RR of 0.84 (95% CI, 0.82-0.86) and boosting with mRNA-1273 had the adjusted RR of 0.60 (95% CI, 0.57-0.62) after 3 months. Among all participants, the adjusted RR of Omicron infection compared with no prior infection was estimated at 0.23 (95% CI, 0.22-0.24) against infection, and the adjusted HRs were 0.10 (95% CI, 0.07-0.14) against hospitalization and 0.11 (95% CI, 0.08-0.15) against death after 4 months.

Conclusions and Relevance Receipt of primary COVID-19 vaccine series compared with being unvaccinated, receipt of boosters compared with primary vaccination, and prior infection compared with no prior infection were all significantly associated with lower risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection (including Omicron) and resulting hospitalization and death. The associated protection waned over time, especially against infection.

Lin D, Gu Y, Xu Y, et al.
Association of Primary and Booster Vaccination and Prior Infection With SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Severe COVID-19 Outcomes.
JAMA. 2022;328(14):1415–1426. doi:10.1001/jama.2022.17876

© 2022 American Medical Association.
Reprinted under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, s60.

The benefits of vaccination and the risk of not being vaccinated is now unarguable, but the final sentence emphasises the importance of regular boosters as and when they become available, especially of those which have been updated to protect against the latest variants and subvarients. Pending a definitive vaccine against all SARS-C0V-2 virus strains, there is no real alternative but the keep our defences high with these regular boosters, much like we are currently doing with the influenza viruses where anual vaccination is needed because the virus readily mutates to form new varieties which can evade the immunity in the pupulation from the last wave of infections.

In the North Carolina cohort, only 67% of the cohort had been vaccinated. This means that one in three North Carolinans have no protection unless they have survived an earlier infection, which will provide some protection for a few months. These people can act as breeding grounds for new variants and as repositories for the virus ready to infect anyone with waning antibody levels.

The only way to reduce the effects of the pandemic on society is thus to keep the general level of protection in the population as high as possible and to reduce the number of people acting as these breeding grounds through better education to reduce the antisocial effect of the right-wing, Trumpanzee cult antivaxx disinformation campaigns.

Covidiot News - Stunning Sucess for the Trumpanzee Antivaxx Self-Genocide Campaign as US Life Expectancy Falls

Lowest US Life Expectancy Since 1996 Linked to COVID-19 | Population Health | JAMA | JAMA Network

A new report a few days ago from the US National Center for Health Statistics shows that life expectancy dropped by 3 years to about 73 for US men and 2.3 years to about 79 years for US women between 2019 and 2021. These are the lowest figures since 1996 after years of steadily increasing life expectancy for new-born babies.

Over the same period, the gap in life expectancy between men and women in the USA, which had been closing, widened again from 4.8 years in 2010 (the smallest recorded) to 6 years in 2021.

Despite the desperate claims of Trump-supporting evangelical preachers, far right extremists and conspiracy loons that COVID-19 was variously a hoax, a mild infection no worse than flu and could easily be prevented or cured with readily available drugs, without the need for 'dangerous' vaccines, three-quarters of over-all life expectancy lost during this period was attributed to COVID-19 deaths, according to a CDC statement.
Possibly due to the measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 such as wearing face covering, social distancing and lockdowns, deaths from influenza and other, non-COVID respiratory infections fell during the period, helping to offset some of the declining life expectancy.

There were also significant racial/ethnic and gender difference in the fall in life expectancy. According to the CDC report:

Unintelligent Designer News - Another Design Without a Purpose

Two life stages of 'amphibious fungi'　Outside gut: on host excrement (left), Inside gut: yeast-like growth (right)

It Takes Guts: Fungus Living inside Cave Crickets Reveals Fungal Evolution Steps - University of Tsukuba

Design is what links creativity and innovation. It shapes ideas to become practical and attractive propositions for users or customers. Design may be described as creativity deployed to a specific end.

Sir George Cox - What is Design and Why It Matters

Complexity versus simplicity is a common design tradeoff. Complexity always has a cost. As such, complexity is ideally minimized for equivalent functionality and quality… Adding complexity without adding functionality or quality is known as needless complexity. Complexity can be exciting and it is possible to get involved in making technologies, communications or ideas complex for the sake of complexity. Generally, this is a mistake as complexity costs more to develop, support and use

John Spacy, Design Expert - Design: Complexity vs Simplicity.

It's clear from these definitions of good design that good, intelligent, design is practical and has to suit the specific needs of the user or client. In other words, the thing being designed must have a clear purpose. It should also be minimally complex and maximally simple.

But what of purpose in the design of living organisms?

Creationism In Crisis - Modern Humans Were Cleverer Than Neanderthals Because of a Small Mutation in a Single Gene

Microscopy picture of a dividing basal radial glial cell, a progenitor cell type that generates neurons during brain development. Modern human TKTL1, but not Neandertal TKTL1, increases basal radial glia and neuron abundance.

© Pinson et al., Science 2022 / MPI-CBG

Modern humans generate more brain neurons than Neandertals: MPI-CBG

The scientifically nonsensical claim, often parroted by Creationists, is that all mutations are deleterious, therefore mutations can't be the basis for evolution. Although still pretending Creationism is science, following the repeated failure to convince a court of that, the reason Creationists give for that idiotic view of mutations is because, so their favourite myths say, all life was created magically and perfect by a perfect creator, so any change from that initial perfection must be imperfect in some way, and this was only possible because of 'The Fall'.

In other words, the dogma is barely disguised fundamentalist religion, plain and simple, and ignores the fact that many mutations are demonstrably advantageous and came to predominate in the species gene pool for that reason. There is of course, no mechanism by which a deleterious mutation can accumulate in the gene pool, let alone become fixed in the species, unless it rides on the back of a much more advantageous mutation in an associated gene.

And now a team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany, have discovered that a single mutation in a single gene could have given modern humans the intellectual edge over Neanderthals, and probably other archaic hominins. It will take considerable mental gymnastics for the frauds to present that as supporting Creationism to their cult.

The mutation was a single nucleotide change in the gene which changed a codon from that for the amino acid, lysine in Neanderthals, to that for arginine in modern humans. The research team have shown that this small change in the resulting protein, means modern humans have many more neurones in their brain, especially in the frontal region, which is responsible for cognition. This may have meant moderns were quicker to learn and generally more intelligent than Neanderthals.

The news release from the Max Planck Institute explains the research and the significance of this discovery:

Covidiot News - Massive Success for the Pro-Trump, Self-Genocide Campaign

Covid-19: U.S. Life Expectancy Continued to Decrease in 2021, Study Finds - USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology

More evidence of the astonishingly stupid, but highly successful pro-Trump antivaxx campaign against the COVID-19 vaccinations was produced today in the form of evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic death rate in the USA produced a significant fall in life-expectancy in 2021, continuing a sharp fall in 2020. It also showed how there were persistent disparities in life expectancy by race and ethnicity.

The antivaxx campaign came about in support of the then president, Donald Trump, who, realising he was out of his depth with the science, but due to his narcissistic personality disorder, was incapable of admitting it, panicked and set about politicizing the pandemic, threatening and vilifying scientists who tried to advise him and pressurizing officials to supress bad news and provide disinformation.

He first declared the pandemic to be a hoax, then to be a mild illness that would be over by April (2020) and which could be prevented with wackadoodle, untested 'preventative' chloramphenicol. This subsequently turned out to not only be ineffective in preventing infection or minimising the symptoms but was positively dangerous.

At one point, in a comical pretence of medical expertise that would have been funny if it hadn’t been so seriously stupid, the fool even suggested drinking surface disinfectants or inserting a UV light source into the body to cure the disease. Soon, wearing face-covering and social distancing became political acts, as did getting vaccinated when the vaccines were produced. Evangelical preachers preached against face-masks and for the right to continue to hold super-spreader events in their churches, and Trump's election rallies in which face-coverings were discouraged, became serious super-spreader events in their own right.

Consequently, when the Omicron wave hit, the death toll became overwhelmingly of unvaccinated people in Republican-leading areas of America, to the extent that some commentators referred to it as a self-inflicted genocide of the most gullible, as the Republicans Party became possibly the first political party in history with policies seemingly designed to kill their own supporters and with supporters who believed that risking the lives of themselves, their families and society at large was the patriotic thing to do.

All to save the orange buffoon’s face.

Covidiot News - Trump's Legacy: More Americans Now Think it is Right to Harass and Threaten Public Health Officials and Scientists

May 17 2020 Donald Trump praised protesters who harassed a journalist on Long Island this week at a rally where one man called for the execution of Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Source: The Intercept

US Adults’ Beliefs About Harassing or Threatening Public Health Officials During the COVID-19 Pandemic | Violence | JAMA Network Open | JAMA Network

One of the more enduring and insidious legacies of the disastrous single-term US president, Donald J. Trump, is that distrusting public Health Officials who tried to explain the science behind the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures to mitigate it, and by extension, all scientists, to the extent of harassing them, attacking them, and even making death threats against them when they deliver unwelcome news, has now become acceptable to a significant proportion of American adults.

That proportion appears to be growing according to an investigation by scientists from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, the University of Colorado, Aurora, Colorado, USA, the Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA and the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, Ithaca, New York, USA. Their findings are published open access in the online Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Open Network.

Their key findings were:

Key Points

Question What factors shape US adults’ beliefs regarding whether threatening or harassing public health officials was justified during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Findings In this survey study of 1086 US adults, the share who believed that harassing or threatening public health officials because of business closures was justified rose from 20% to 25% and 15% to 21%, respectively, from November 2020 to July and August 2021. There were increases in negative views over time among higher earners, political independents, those with more education, and those most trusting of science.

Meaning These findings suggest that restoring trust in public health officials will require strategies tailored to engage diverse viewpoints.

They give more detail in the abstract to their paper:

Cult News - Religious Lies, Conmen and Coercive Control

With fundamentalist religions operating as cults, especially, but not exclusively, in the USA and parts of Africa, they represent a danger to democratic society by handing control over to the cult leaders. Cults are invariably highly autocratic and usually male-dominated, with female members often having an inferior, subordinate and submissive role.

A single leader, such as a charismatic head of a megachurch or shadowy leaders of cults such as QAnon, can manipulate and control their followers to behave in wildly antisocial ways and advocate extreme fringe policies, such as we are seeing in the USA today with white supremacism and Christian Nationalism emerging from under the rocks to influence mainstream politicians, the judiciary and the Republican Party.

Cults are parasitic on democratic society where it is difficult to strike a balance between freedom of religion and measures to protect the young and vulnerable from the predation of extremist cults. Ironically, they thrive in liberal democracies which, if they ever had the power they crave, they would immediately abolish. It is a basic law of religion that fundamentalists support freedom of religion until they acquire the power to abolish it.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Reformatted for stylistic consistency. Read the original article. It was written from an Australian perspective but has wider applications.

Fake News - Why People Believe False Stories and Disinformation

Why We Fall for Disinformation | Psychology Today

In a report published recently by the US Center for Naval Analysis (CNA) a team of psychologists analysed the reasons why so many people are falling for disinformation. The problem us due to the way we have evolved to deal with information and the fact that this has ill-prepared us to deal with the vast amount of information now being directed at us by modern technology.

In fact, some of the time-tested tools make us dangerously vulnerable to disinformation, especially disinformation designed to mislead and garner support for extremist groups for whom the truth would be toxic. We see this today in the form of disinformation about, for example, COVID-19, the measures to reduce its spread and the vaccines designed to protect us from it. We also see it in relation to politics, political movements and parties, international affairs, religious fundamentalism and anti-science propaganda, such as climate change and evolution, and especially conspiracy theories such as those promulgated by QAnon and former President, Donald Trump's supporters, intended to radicalise, undermine confidence in institutions, and garner support for extreme solutions to non-existent problems.

In other words, disinformation campaigns are designed to benefit those whom the report calls 'malign actors', for whom the truth would be dangerous and who know they need their target marks to believe falsehoods and mistrust the evidence.

In the abstract to their report, the psychologists, Heather Wolters, Kasey Stricklin, Neil Carey, and Megan K. McBride, say:

Religious Abuse News - Leader of La Luz del Mundo Cult Sentenced to 16 Years and 8 Month in Jail for Abusing Minors

Naasón Joaquín García
16 years and 8 months in jail for sex abuse of underage girls

Leader of La Luz del Mundo Megachurch Sentenced to 16 Years for Sex Crimes - The New York Times

Readers with good memories might remember the case of Naasón Joaquín García, founder and head of the Mexico-based cult megachurch, La Luz del Mundo (the Light of the World), who was charged with multiple sex abuse crimes against minors in California in June 2019, when he faced counts of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation of a minor, human trafficking and possession of child pornography. La Luz del Mundo claims to have about 1 million members worldwide

That case has finally reached a conclusion with Garcia suddenly changing his plea to guilty. He was sentenced to 16 years and 8 months in prison. According to this report in the New York Times:

[Naasón Joaquín García, 53] pleaded guilty to two counts of forcible oral copulation involving minors and one count of a lewd act upon a child who was 15 years old, California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, said in a statement last week. Mr. García will be required to register as a sex offender for life.

#PressRelease

We publicly manifest our support for the Apostle of Jesus Christ Naasón Joaquín García; our confidence in him remains intact with full knowledge of his integrity, his conduct and his work.#AlwaysUnited pic.twitter.com/GizHsnHnfT

— The Light of the World (@tlotwchurch) June 8, 2022

The case illustrates the hold the leaders of a cult can exercise over the members. Garcia is regarded as an 'Apostle of Jesus Christ' and is referred to by cult members a "The Apostle" and "The Light". His word was law within the cult. For example, one of his victims told the court how Garcia had told her he was giving her a 'blessing' as he raped her and told her to keep her lips sealed to keep in the blessing - which she did because she believed him. Others told how they were told by the women who assisted Garcia in his abuses, that to go against his desires was to go against God. They were told that an 'apostle of God' can never be judged for his actions.

In an extraordinarily defiant statement, considering the hideous crimes their leader has pleaded guilty to, La Luz del Mundo church put a statement on Twitter, which said:

We publicly manifest our support for the Apostle of Jesus Christ Naasón Joaquín García; our confidence in him remains intact with full knowledge of his integrity, his conduct and his work.

Apparently, they regard his behaviour as perfectly acceptable.

The tweet contained an image of a press release which continued in the same defiant tone and confirmed that Garcia will remain a minister in the church. It also claimed that the evidence was “suppressed, withheld, doctored and altered”, that the trial was unfair and Garci had only pleaded guilty to protect the church and his family. There were no expressions of regret or signs of any concern for the young victims of their cult and its leader, so we can expect abuses of this nature to continue, assisted by cult members and using God as their excuse:

Press Release
June 8, 2022, Los Angeles, CA.

The Office Of Public Relations Of the Light Of the World informs that, in the case Of the Apostle Naason Joaquin Garcia, the decision has been made to accept an agreement with the Attorney General's office to minimize his prison sentence in order to regain his freedom.

Since his arrest in 2019, the Apostle has been subjected to a prosecution in which evidence was suppressed, withheld, doctored and altered. After the defense finally obtained this evidence, the Court ruled that the defense would not be permitted to use the materials at trial, preventing the defense from effectively cross-examining the complaining witnesses and challenging their allegations.

Without a right to use the evidence, there is no right of defense.
Without a right to use the evidence, there can be no fair trial.
The Apostle of Jesus Christ has had no choice but to accept with much pain that the agreement presented is the best way forward to protect the church and his family. While he respects the law, and the community, he does not believe that the trial he would receive under these conditions would be fair and just. He wishes to spare the church and his family from weeks of unfounded public accusations, including threats to their physical well-being. We publicly manifest our support for the Apostle Of Jesus Christ; our confidence in him remains intact in the full knowledge Of his integrity, his conduct and his work. We will continue to practice the works of Jesus Christ, which the Apostle has taught us, always seeking to help Our neighbor. The Apostle will continue ministering to the church. This is a path that God has placed in front Of him for a reason, as he did for Apostle Paul. The Apostle will work this path with his faith in God and continue fulfilling the mission Of Jesus Christ: to be the Light Of the World.

God bless you.

And if you believe that, you'll believe anything and should probably be a member of Garcia's cult.

Again, we see religion being used for what it was probably originally designed for - the exercise of power over others and obtaining unquestioning obedience while the leaders abused their positions and the hold the cult gave them over others. Their power is absolute and their corruption is likewise.

Religions provide excuses for people who need excuses.

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Christianity Faces Extinction in the UK Within 40 Years

Church of England ‘R number’ suggests bleak future, says mathematician

The Church of England (CofE) faces extinction within 40 years, according to the calculations of Dr John Hayward, a mathematician at the University of South Wales.

He arrived at this date by applying a technique normally used for assessing the increase or decrease in the spread of a pandemic such as COVID-19, which calculates at 'R' number. The 'R' number calculates how many people someone with the virus passes it on to on average. An 'R' number of one means the number of cases in the population remains constant; above 1 means it is increasing and below 1 means it is decreasing.

Interestingly, this view of religion and how it is spread is almost identical to the view expresed by Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene that religions behave like a parasitic virus in the human memepool.

The 'problem' the CofE and other Christian denominations face is that they are not infectious enough. Dr Hayward has calculated the CofE's 'R' number at 0.9, the same as that for the Catholic Church and an 'R' number that a COVID-19 epidemiologist would have welcomed at the height of the Pandemic. This means their congregations could disappear by 2062. The Methodists, with an 'R' number of about 0.85 could be extinct by 2040, lingering on little longer than the United Reformed Church with an 'R' number of about 0.8.

Other Christian denominations in the UK fare even worse and only a handful have 'R' numbers about 1 - the Elim Pentecostal Church and the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches.

Source: Heyward, J. Growth, Decline and Extinction of UK Churches

Source: Heyward, J. Growth, Decline and Extinction of UK Churches

Several churches in Wales and Scotland face extinction before 2050 (i.e., within the next generation). They are the Welsh Presbyterians, the Church in Wales, the Welsh Independents, the Church of Scotland and the Scottish Episcopal Church.

Source: Heyward, J. Church of England 2001–2019

The scale of the catastrophe facing the CofE can be seen from the change in membership since 1800, when 17% of the population were registered as members on the electoral role. That figure is now just 1.7%, i.e., a 99% decline in membership which fell below 1 million for the first time in 2019, at a time of population growth.

Given that rate of decline and the fact that the CofE now represents only a tiny minority of the population, the time is now well overdue for a review of its role in public life and especially its right to insert bishops into the UK's legislative upper chamber, the House of Lords.

The role of the monarch as titular head of this unrepresentative minority cult now needs to be abolished on the succession.

It's time to disestablish the Church of England

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Covidiot News - Why Vaccinated People are Doing Better Against the Delta Variant

Daily New Cases, (USA) [18-08-2021]

Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center

Antibodies elicited by COVID-19 vaccination effective against delta variant – Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

A paper published in the journal Immunity a couple of days ago shows what we've pretty much known for several weeks now - that the surge in the δ variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus now being seen in America, Europe and elsewhere, is being facilitated by having a large population of, as yet, unvaccinated people to exploit, and not because it can evade the antibodies in those who are fully vaccinated.

This is why the current surge in the USA looks like a deliberate, self-induced genocide of supporters of the GOP and it's covidiot allies in the evangelical Christian churches, the Trumpanzee cult and the victims of the shadowy, pro-Trump QAnon organization behind much of the disinformation and lies in the antivaxxer movement.

Just as we would expect, and as this paper confirms, the δ variant is not able to make much headway in the vaccinated population because it can't evade their antibodies, hence the proportion of new cases coming from the red states and counties in the USA vastly outnumbers those coming from the blue states and counties. At the start of this recent surge, 40% of all new cases were coming from just three red states, Florida, Georgia and Louisiana, all of which have had a low take-up of the vaccines.

QAnon Nut Job News - A Man "Enlightened by QAnon" Killed His Children "Because They Had Serpent DNA"

Matthew Taylor Coleman
Killed his two children "because they had serpent DNA".

Surf School Owner Kills His Children After Being "Enlightened" by QAnon | Daily Beast

A surf school owner who had been suckered in by the pro-Trump, neo-Nazi QAnon conspiracy theories ended up so paranoid that he killed his children, believing that was the only way to save the world from evil.

According to this report in the Daily Beast, he told FBI agents:

... that he was enlightened by the QAnon and Illuminati conspiracy theories and was receiving visions and signs revealing that his wife...possessed serpent DNA and had passed it onto his children [so he was] saving the world from monsters.

Coleman Complaint by J Rohrlich

Coleman was arrested when he attempted to re-enter the USA from Mexico, the day after the bodies of his two children, a 3 year-old boy and a 1 year-old girl, were found at a ranch near Rosarito, Baha California, Mexico, to where Coleman had taken them a day earlier without telling his wife where he was taking them. The girl had 17 stab wounds and the boy, 12.

Coleman and his wife, Abby, ran the Lovewater Surfing School at Santa Barbara, California, offering 'surfing therapy' to child victims of sex trafficking.

In a (now deleted) Facebook post last November, Coleman told his followers about his Christian faith, speculating that:

...there is a type of Great American Renaissance following the years of Covid, censorship, and political divisiveness... that will empower each person’s heart to come alive and explode with innovative ideas, new business models, new music sounds and never seen ways to build an amazing community?

Last October, celebrating his daughter's birthday, in a post suffused with the 'coming battle' imagery of QAnon conspiracists, he posted about his 'visions' on Instagram:

While waiting for her to come, I kept feeling this sense that she was going to be born at a very pivotal time in history and that she would represent a dawn, or even awakening, to years of great blessing for our family and nation. Another picture that came to me was of God reaching down into a river bed and picking up a small stone (rock), examining it intently. Just as David had done before slaying Goliath, God examined the stone and was confident that it was just the perfect one for the battle. Although it was small, smooth and somewhat harmless looking, he knew that it would become great when placed into the palm of a skilled hand. My declaration over Roxy Rain is that she has been hand picked by God to slay the giants in the land.

Clearly, Coleman, who appears to have been suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, began imagining visions and messages telling him something far more sinister, and more in line with the sort of paranoia being deliberately inculcated into their followers' minds by whoever is behind the QAnon conspiracy theories.

As Karim Zidan of Right Wing Watch pointed out:

QAnon adherents believe in a myriad of far-right conspiracy theories, including the false belief that a cabal of Satanic pedophiles comprised of global elites, Hollywood actors, and Democratic politicians operate a global child sex-trafficking ring, and that former president Donald Trump was working to bring down the cabal. In the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, which led to the election of Democratic nominee Joe Biden, QAnon adherents began spreading disproven election fraud narratives while also contributing to the spread of COVID-19 disinformation and anti-vaccine conspiracy theories. The QAnon conspiracy theories have consumed relationships and marriages across the United States, with thousands of people sharing their stories on support groups such as Reddit’s r/QAnonCasualties subreddit. Countless spouses and family members shared stories about their “losing” their loved ones to QAnon. Recently, a student who survived the Parkland shooting in 2018 revealed in the subreddit that QAnon convinced his own father that the tragic shooting was nothing more than a hoax.

Clearly there is nothign the Trumpanzee cult and their allies in white supremacist evangelical Christianity, won't stoop to. No price is too high for them to pay in terms of damage to the mental health of individuals and destruction of families, to try to get the former head of the White House crime syndicate, Donald J Trump, back into the White House in 2024.

Talibangelical False Prophet News - Loopy Jeff Jansen Still Can't Accept Reality

Jeff Jensen, former Co-Senior leader, Global Fire Ministries International, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA

'Prophet' Jeff Jansen Declares, 'It's Revolution Time,' Says Trump Will Be Back in Office in June | Right Wing Watch

Even his fellow Talibangelical Christians at Global Fire Ministries International in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA, are embarrassed by false prophet and fanatical Trumpanzee, Jeff Jansen, it seems. Not surprisingly, either, given Jansen's increasingly bizarre behaviour as he tries to justify his false prophesies throughout 2020 that Donald Trump would win in November, although, it's probably not his unswerving devotion to the worship of Donald Trump and his blatant false prophesies that seem to concern them most.

Jansen's first attempt to make his false prophesies look like true ones was to simply declare that Trump did win really, then he announced that God had told him he would restore Trump to the White House by March 2021, apparently having been powerless to stop the 'Satanic padophile cnnibals' stealing the election. When March 2021 came and went, he decided that God had meant May, but in May he announced it would now be June.

Trumpanzee Fruitloop News - Lying for Trump

Dr. Laurie Roth, Ph.D.

Are the Military and Trump in control? – News With Views

Dr. Laurie Roth, Ph.D, is a failed singer-song writer who is now a shock-jock radio talk-show host. She is so unswervingly pro-Trump and pro-QAnon conspiracy theories that one might be forgiven for thinking she is actually behind the QAnon hoax. Like Trump, she was a leading light in the 'Birther' movement that tried to prove Barak Obama was born outside the USA, despite his authenticated birth certificate showing otherwise.

She now writes lurid tales to please Trumpanzee cultists of how the military and Donald Trump are covertly running America under the 'Insurrection Act' and planning to arrest those who 'stole the election'. Her Facebook page, which strangely has not been taken down for containing disinformation (presumably they haven't had enough complaints yet!), is full of wackadoodle nonsense lifted straight out of QAnon sources.

Curiously, the date for this 'coming storm' appears to be forever sometime in the future, but real soon, any day now... you'll see!

Only a few days ago she wrote:

Are the Military and Trump in control? I just got off the phone with a high up and trusted, military source I know. He...

Posted by Dr. Laurie Roth on Thursday, 27 May 2021

I just got off the phone with a high up and trusted, military source I know. He comfirmed a few things for me.

Regarding, the speculation/confusion as to whether President Trump signed the Insurrection Act or not, he did. He signed it on Jan 14th, 2021. The act of signing it immediately gave him 2 more months as President according to the very directives of the Act itself. I was then told that the military gave him 2 more months as President. The second extension was over on May 20th and most likely extended again by the military who is now in control per the signed Insurrection Act.

Now, with Manhattan Attorney Cy Vance convening a Grand Jury against President Trump, regarding his taxes and business practices, the Trump which hunt continues. The only problem they may have is that they cannot arrest a sitting President and I am assured that he still is President. Once again, the liberal, legal crazies are desperately trying all they can to stop Trump.

It was confirmed today that many Generals approached Trump to run for office to take out the deep state, criminal cabal. They have been making arrests since the Biden – fake inauguration. The military support is all around Trump and continues under the Insurrection Act.

I was told that the military goes through the FISA court and already did their own investigation, determining that there was international and domestic voter fraud They have long known the real election and voting numbers and have acted accordingly.

Our military is bound by the constitution, their duty and the signed insurrection act to be in control, do what they have to do, make arrests and make things right. They are supporting a new election in August and the return of President Trump . I am told he will be returning very soon...

And more in that vein.

So, Trump signed the 'Insurrection Act' 8 days after leaving office when he had no powers to do so and is now plotting a military takeover and a coup d’état with senior military officials who have taken an oath of allegiance to their commander in chief, President Biden! Isn't that an act of Treason in itself? [correction: he did not formally leave office until 20th Jan on Biden's innauguration. I had confused it with the House confirmation hearing on 6th Jan. However, if as Roth alleges, he is in secret talks with senior military figures and plotting a de facto coup d’état, that would be treason, since Biden is the legal POTUS.]

And all will be revealed 'very soon' when he returns to power. Then there will be a new election in August!

Anyone prepared to lay a small bet that none of this comes to pass, but Dr Laurie Roth, Ph.D. will continue to write about how it's had to be postponed for one reason or another but it's gonna happen any day now... you'll see?

I'll wager a £50 donation to Oxfam that Trump is still President Reject Trump come September 2021, if anyone is prepared to match me.

Talibangelist News - And Right Round The Twist Goes Another Trumpanzee Loon

Ricky Skaggs, Talibangelical Trumpanzee

Famous Musician Ricky Skaggs Says the Election Was 'A Crime' and God Will Return Trump to Office | Right Wing Watch

The country singer, Ricky Skaggs appears to be the latest Talibangelical Trumpanzee to follow fruitloops like Robin Bullock, Steve Quayle, Rick Joyner, Jonny Enlow, Hank Kunneman, and Kat Kerr, round the twist into psychotic delusion. He is now claiming God talks to him and gives him important messages for the rest of us. This is a common phenomenon in the excessively religious and shows how the line between excessive religiosity and psychosis is so fine as to be invisible on occasion.

So, when Skaggs appeared on the "Elijah Streams" Talibangelical YouTube program last Tuesday, his audience heard him say:

Religious Abuse News - The Mexican Cult With a Paedophile Leader - Allegedly

Naasón Joaquín García
Alondra Ocampo	Susanna Medina Oaxaca

Trial date set in sexual abuse case against La Luz del Mundo leader Naasón Joaquín García

On Monday, a Superior Court Judge reversed the April 8th decision of an Appeal Court that the case against alleged Paedophile, Garcia, be dropped because of procedural delays in bringing the case to court. The trial will now be held on September 27 and Garcia remains in detention in lieu of a $90 million bail.

Also to appear in court on the same day, is Susana Medina Oaxaca. The third defendant in the case, Alondra Ocampo, has pleaded guilty to four counts, include three counts of contact with a minor for a sexual offense, involving three Jane Does, and one count of forcible sexual penetration, involving a fourth Jane Doe. She is believed to have struck a deal with the prosecution, the details of which are not disclosed.

Garcia is leader of the Mexican fundamentalist Christian La Luz del Mundo (The Light of the World) church and is known to the sect as "The Apostle". He faces counts of forcible rape and forcible oral copulation of a minor, human trafficking and possession of child pornography.

According to court documents, Ocampo took photos of minor girls “touching each other sexually at her direction” to send the photographs to García. Ocampo directed one of the victims, along with other minors, to perform “flirty” dances for García while wearing as little clothing as possible.

After the dance, García “gave them a speech about a king having mistresses and stated that an apostle of god can never be judged for his actions,” according to the court papers.

According to this report in the Los Angeles Times: