President Joe Biden has warned of the threat to US democracy from Trumpists and extremists, portraying a “battle for the soul of this nation”.
Speaking in Philadelphia’s Independence Hall near the Liberty Bell on Thursday. Biden described a movement of election deniers and people seeking political violence:
Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic.
There’s no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans. And that is a threat to this country….History tells us a blind loyalty to a single leader and a willingness to engage in political violence is fatal to democracy.
Reaching out to other Republicans, he called on them to defend democracy by rejecting Trump and his ideology in November’s mid-term elections.
Drawing from the location, Biden set his call in the context of US history:
This is where the United States Constitution was written and debated. This is where we set in motion the most extraordinary experiment of self-government the world has ever known.
With three simple words: we, the people; we, the people. These two documents and their ideas they embody — equality and democracy — are the rock upon which this nation is built….
But as I stand here tonight, equality and democracy are under assault. We do ourselves no favor to pretend otherwise.
He continued, “We must be honest with each other and with ourselves. Too much of what’s happening in our country today is not normal.”
With Trump still refusing to accept the 2020 election and facing multiple civil and criminal investigations — while Trumpists pursue power within a divided Republican Party — Biden has toughened his rhetoric this summer. Last week, he said the philosophy of Trump and extremists is “semi-fascist“.
Buoyed by legislative success, including passage of a $750 billion plan for social and climate programs, Biden called out the “Make America Great Again” Trumpists:
MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of law. They do not recognize the will of the people. They refuse to accept the results of a free election, and they’re working right now as I speak in state after state to give power to decide elections in America to partisans and cronies, empowering election deniers to undermine democracy itself.
MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards, backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love. They promote authoritarian leaders, and they fanned the flames of political violence that are a threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit of justice, to the rule of law, to the very soul of this country.
They look at the mob that stormed the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, brutally attacking law enforcement, not as insurrectionists who placed a dagger at the throat of our democracy, but they look at them as patriots. And they see their MAGA failure to stop a peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election as preparation for the 2022 and 2024 elections.
The President summarized, “America is at an inflection point, one of those moments that determine the shape of everything that’s to come after. And now, America must choose to move forward or to move backwards, to build a future or obsess about the past, to be a nation of hope and unity and optimism or a nation of fear, division and of darkness.”
Vaccine injury compensation programs overwhelmed as congressional reform languishes: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/01/vaccine-injury-compensation-programs-overwhelmed-as-congressional-reform-languishes-00033064
“Covid-19 shots have proven to be safe for the overwhelming majority of people, but injuries do occur, as they do for all vaccines. Allergic reactions are possible, and some specific adverse events have been associated with the shots, such as myocarditis and pericarditis after messenger RNA vaccination, and thrombosis with thrombocytopenia after receiving the Johnson & Johnson shot………the Covid vaccine injuries are still rare, but there are some very significant injuries that have destroyed lives,” Gentry said. “It’s frustrating to tell those people who did everything right … that they get nothing for that.”
Japan records over 300 COVID-19 deaths for 3rd consecutive day: https://english.news.cn/20220901/e7a1d0f7b0454e098ec46abf7970c9cd/c.html
Japan has one of the highest levels of vaccination, including booster shots in the world: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1239927/japan-covid-19-vaccination-rate/
60% of the Japanese population has been boosted in the past six months.
Researchers concerned by waning immunity of Covid vaccines: https://www.news-medical.net/news/20220902/What-is-currently-known-about-immune-responses-to-COVID-19-vaccines-and-cellular-immune-responses-against-SARS-CoV-2.aspx
“Based on the findings, booster vaccinations are beneficial, but updated COVID-19 vaccines need to be developed for durable immune protection against the emerging SARS-CoV-2 VOCs, especially for immunosuppressed individuals. The goal of SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations must be the provision of long-term immune protection against COVID-19 severity outcomes.”
U.S. health officials brace for another fall Covid surge, but with fewer deaths: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/01/us-health-officials-brace-for-another-fall-covid-surge-but-with-fewer-deaths.html
“Many people haven’t had a vaccine dose in months, which means their immune protection against the virus is waning off with some studies showing three shots of the original vaccines were just 19% effective at preventing Covid infection after five months.”