Gonzalez should run as an independent and caucus with the dems if he wins.

""it would be a violation of their deeply held religious beliefs and moral consciences to take any of the available COVID-19 vaccines given their use of abortion-derived fetal cell lines in testing, development, or production."

I wonder if any of the treatments use abortion-derived fetal cell lines in testing, development or production? And, if so, would/should those that got a religious exemption be prevented from receiving treatment.

I would like to see more employers do what Delta Airlines did and boost the cost of an employee's medical insurance if (s)he refused to take the vaccine irrespective unless it was for a documented medical condition.

I would agree, the SCOTUS is not ruled by partisan hacks. To be a partisan hack, you must knowingly and willfully go against principles you hold dear. It just so happens that the principles of too many on the SCOTUS hold dear are further to the right of most Americans.

As in jiu-jitsu, dems need to use Republicans' strength against them. For example, run an ad talking the benefits of Americans exercising their freedom to safely travel, attend restaurants, concerts, schools, etc. and end it by saying "that's why I'm getting vaccinated".

Protecting the 1% from paying their fair share is what republicans and moderate dems like Mancin are all about.

Had the South not fought a battle to keep slaves, slave holders could have made the point that they should have been compensated for their property losses. When they fought and lost, they forfeited their claim for restitution.

Arrest Warrant Issued for Man who Assaulted NBC TV Reporter

Good! Considering his history, maybe he'll spend some time behind bars.

There should be no problem with people putting anything in their bodies as long as they are of sound mind, do it willingly and with full knowledge of the consequences. This is especially appropriate for patients at death's door. If the controversial treatment does not save the patient, loved ones will find some comfort in knowing that they did everything possible.

Great . Get the disease. If you don't die, the likelihood of you catching it again is less than it would be if you only had the vaccine.

Twinpac

I don't think that Biden is intimidated. He and I might be of a similar mindset when it comes to dealing with supposedly intelligent people not seeing the hand writing on the wall and acting accordingly. As a result of their willful, poor decisions, they put the lives and treasure of other Americans at risk. There are plenty of people stateside that make good decisions in spite of life dealing them a bad hand that need help.

After fighting off American power for the last 20 years and forcing America to retreat, I don't think that the Taliban gov't gives a damn about American power. There are enough countries like China and Russia that are willing to give the Taliban government a hand up if for no other reason than to tick off the Americans. Toss in the mineral riches of Afghanistan and eventually other countries will come around.

The Afghan people are the way they are, not because of an accident but because they want to be that way. Our 20 year occupation of Afghanistan may have enticed enough Afghanis to want a different life and if so, they will fight for it. Let the Taliban see how it feels to run a government that is under constant attack from insurrectionists.

Conditions may be wretched but I suspect they are better than being dead.

I think that Biden is taking a bad rap for Americans making bad decisions to stay in Afghanistan until the last minute. What the f... were they thinking? They had to have known that Trump made a deal to get out of Afghanistan on May 1, 2021. They should have left loooo..ng before May 1st. Then Biden wins and stretches the leave date by 4 months; giving the undecided even more time. So what do these dumb asses do? Again they wait until the last --..ing minute.

Biden is right! Aug 31 is the deadline for the US leaving Afghanistan. I would not risk one American life or spend one additional dollar to get Americans that ignored all the previous signs to leave the country. You can't fix stupid.

On the other hand, the US should continue to help Afghanis whose SIV applications were not granted because of processing delays. However, after Aug 31, extraction of these SIV applicants should be via covert actions only. Perhaps the US could fund "mules" (aka guides) to find these people and safely escort them out of the country.

Refugees? Like refugees from any other country, they need to find a way out of Afghanistan on their own and apply for refugee status when they arrive in the new country. No special airlift for them after Aug 31st.

It is now time to see how the Taliban deals with an insurrection.

Excellent for those districts (mostly urban) that contribute prisoners. Not so good for those districts in which prisons reside (mostly rural). For quite some time, districts in which the prisons resided received an outsize contribution of resources and the sending districts were under resourced. And when you consider that Blacks were over represented in prisons relative to their representation in the population, predominantly Black districts were under funded.

Glad to see this change come about.

Alabama Doctor Refuses to Treat Unvaccinated Patients

Now that is a bridge to far. I think what he could say is that to treat anyone that hasn't been vaccinated or tested negative for covid within the last 24 hrs, they will be charged an additional, non refundable fee; payable at the time of service. That fee should cover the cost of PPE, disinfecting the waiting/treatment areas, medical equipment and any other charges associated with preventing the spread of covid to other patients and staff. The non vaccinated will eventually get the idea.

Leonard did not disclose the condition of the teacher who was attacked or disciplinary action against the parent accused of assaulting her in his statement.

If you don't want to disclose the name of the parent, at least say whether or not a referral to the police was made. People need to be held accountable for their actions.

Isn't that republican/conservative orthodoxy?

Infowars Host Charged in Jan. 6 Insurrection

Now that he has been named, hopefully some amateur sleuth can review the video and find him engaged in destroying property or a violent act against a LEO(s).

Pompeo is Lying About Afghanistan

Of course he is. His lips are moving.

Their fixation that God and the universe and the rest of us must take care of them regardless of how poorly think or how poorly they do is ingrained.
It's called white privilege. It was bad enough that they had to compete against the Blacks but at least those numbers were constrained by a physical barrier: the Atlantic Ocean. However, with Hispanics, all they have to do is walk across the border. And the supply is endless! Add to that the refusal of White women to be baby making factories despite all of the anti abortion efforts and we have the perfect storm brewing for the poorly educated, under resourced whites. Yes, in a fair society, a merit based society, they may be replaced.

The US needs to use the same tech on Russian diplomats and deny culpability. Once the Russians come under attack, they will either stop attacking US diplomats or assist in finding the real attackers.

You can't force a nation to fight for it's freedom. They either want to fight for freedom or they don't.

After the terrorist camps in Afghanistan were destroyed, our role there should have ended. Period. Full Stop.

If there is a lesson to be learned after 20 years it is that the generals, instead of politicians should have been put in charge of Afghanistan. To hell with trying to establish a civilian government modelled after the USA. Let the generals sort it out.

Red State/Blue City Conflict

This conflict has been raging for awhile as evidenced by the Flint Water Crisis.

Some family members of loved ones lost to the virus are beginning to see the light and get vaccinated themselves. I wonder how their attitudes have changed toward those people that told them that covid-19 was just a hoax and encouraged them not to get the shot.

I'm pretty sure in California that the choices for some in critical professions are getting vaccinated Or get weekly tests.

Workers getting weekly tests should be required to pay for the tests and quarantine (without pay), if they test positive.

MFA

According to the Plain Dealer, On August 2, former Chagrin Falls, Ohio Village Clerk Debbie Bosworth pleaded no contest to 22 counts of theft in office, tampering with records and money laundering after auditors discovered she had embezzled more than $238,000 over the span of 20 years. The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office rejected the 53-year-old Bosworth's plea and asked a judge to sentence her to prison, even though she wrote a check for $100,000 to repay part of her debt when her scheme was uncovered.

But Bosworth is white, as is Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Hollie Gallagher. And in the history of America, there isn't one documented case of a "Hollie" sending a "Debbie" to prison (yes, we actually checked). So, Gallagher, citing the fact that Bosworth paid back some of the money she stole, sentenced her fellow white woman to two years probation, much to the chagrin of Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley, who issued a statement saying he found the sentence "to be unacceptable in that he believes public employees who steal from taxpayers should go to prison."

The very next day, Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor James Gutierrez"the same assistant district attorney who prosecuted Bosworth"recommended a prison sentence for 51-year-old former school secretary Karla Hopkins for stealing $40,000 from Maple Heights High School. Although Hopkins appeared before the exact same court, Hopkins' judge was a white man, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Rick Bell. Unlike Bosworth, Gallagher pleaded guilty. Unlike Bosworth, Hopkins was only charged with one count of theft in office. Unlike Bosworth, Hopkins had already found a new job, completed an in-patient program for her gambling addiction and had promised to repay the money she stole.

Neither judge could comment on their sentences but Cleveland activists immediately decried the disparity in the two sentences. The white woman committed more crimes, over a longer period of time. She stole more money than the Black woman. She had 21 more charges and cost taxpayers six times more money. She was facing 60 years in prison while the Black woman's maximum sentence was three years. Yet the Black woman received more prison time than prosecutors wanted her to spend in jail.

Why should anyone help Texas when they are not doing everything they can to help themselves?