Tom Cotton needs to be quiet

The Trump cult doesn't accept our way of life in terms of constitutional government. They staged an insurrection and tried to overturn a fair election. Republicans like Cotton have no business talking about anyone else.
— Harris Levy (@HarrisL585) September 7, 2021

Mask and vaccination mandates and polls

Right wing Republicans are out of step with the public but insist on imposing their will anyway. Get vaccinated and wear a mask when appropriate.

GALLUP: Majorities of Americans now favor businesses mandating proof of vaccination to travel by plane, stay in a hotel, attended crowded events, eat at restaurants and go to the office.https://t.co/3j4LWqE40Q pic.twitter.com/csMkAhqrku
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) September 7, 2021

BREAKING: 72% of Texans oppose Greg Abbott's ban on mask requirements in schools, according to new poll.
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) August 17, 2021

Mask tracker: State mask mandates are trickling back. https://t.co/0mZHmnuL85
— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 6, 2021

(Reuters) – More than half of U.S. companies are planning to impose COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the workplace by year end, with almost a quarter considering vaccination as a condition for employment, according to a national survey of nearly 1,000 employers.@reuters
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) September 1, 2021

An overwhelming 72%-28% in USA TODAY/ Ipsos poll called mask mandates "a matter of health and safety," not an infringement on personal liberty. By 61%-39%, they endorsed requiring vaccinations except for those with a medical or religious exemption.
https://t.co/TGsVmSgsdq
— Charlie Sykes (@SykesCharlie) August 23, 2021

USA Today-Ipsos poll:

Americans 72%-28% called mask mandates "a matter of health and safety," not an infringement on personal liberty

Americans 61%-39% endorsed requiring vaccinations except for those with a medical or religious exemption
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 23, 2021

Biden's vow to use the Education Department to investigate bans on mask mandates is a key moment. It signals federal power may be deployed to support communities under attack by GOP governors.

"We need the help," a Florida schools superintendent tells me:https://t.co/IBwOKDopuW
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) August 19, 2021

A doctor who testified at the Charleston, SC City Council meeting last night on mask mandates, said she was “spit on, called a whore and a white piece of trash,” after her testimony. Both the Mayor and Police Chief had to repeatedly calm the crowd down. pic.twitter.com/kUjG4SYnqp
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) August 18, 2021

Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee signed an executive order on Tuesday allowing parents to opt their children out of mask mandates at school. The state is one of several where a Republican governor opposes mask mandates that are supported by school officials. https://t.co/v6P14iiAr9
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 16, 2021

A dad at Sutter Creek Elementary School in Amador, CA, irate over mask mandates, beat up a teacher and sent him to the hospital on the first day of school this week. pic.twitter.com/QSYIrcbSrX
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) August 15, 2021

The media won’t tell the truth about Republicans and Covid

They don’t want to look like they’re taking sides. They are cowards. The facts are the Covid situation is generally worse in Republican states because of lower vaccination rates and bad policies by Republican governors.

Republicans have bullied the media into not reporting this. If the media correctly pointed out that Republicans are the biggest problem here, the Trump cult would say they’re biased. https://t.co/CXbJI1TZrD
— Harris Levy (@HarrisL585) September 6, 2021

I don’t think Covid cost Trump the election

I don’t think it’s at all clear that Covid helped Biden on net.

As @davidshor explained on the Weeds, it certainly *appeared* to help him because the most covid-cautious people were also answering surveys more. https://t.co/GB8sHr9b5P
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) September 6, 2021

For example, here's an article from June 2020 that shows that 49% strongly disapproved of Trump's performance. I'm sure that is based on much more than just Covid.https://t.co/5dmtbekX0U
— Harris Levy (@HarrisL585) September 7, 2021

YouTube clips of The Dance Connection TV show

The Dance Connection was a cable tv show featuring dancing. Most were posted by Charlie Lewis who has done a great job posting these clips.

More on Florida’s terrible Covid policies

83% of Florida Republicans still approve of DeSantis. I guess they’re ok with all of the deaths and hospitalizations. They’re willing to die to prevent Biden from looking good by ending the pandemic,

Florida (right) now accounting for about 21 percent of all reported U.S. (left) covid deaths: pic.twitter.com/iVPKOhCE61
— Paul Farhi (@farhip) September 6, 2021

Florida has 6% of country’s population and 25% of country’s daily COVID-19 deaths. @RemoveRon
— Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) September 6, 2021

In Florida, new COVID-19 cases have dipped among adults but not for people under 20 https://t.co/LU2hrsMYNF
— Larry Cooper (@coopah) September 4, 2021

“FIFTEEN staff members in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools District have died from COVID-19 in the past TEN days.”

[emphasis mine because I am yelling]https://t.co/FeCyBJUHAI
— Leta McCollough Seletzky, JD (@LaSeletzky) September 4, 2021

A woman died of Covid, and as her family was planning the funeral, her mother was also struck down. An aunt took over arrangements for the double funeral, only to die of Covid herself 2 weeks afterward.

244 die in Florida over Covid every day on average. https://t.co/STiBipkpwM
— Mahir Zeynalov (@MahirZeynalov) September 4, 2021

A Floridian is dying every 4 minutes from COVID-19
— Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) September 4, 2021

What has gone so terribly wrong in Florida? pic.twitter.com/2J2itvWXUA
— G. Elliott Morris (@gelliottmorris) September 4, 2021

This week saw even some “conservative [Florida] counties that backed … Trump … defying DeSantis and instituting their own [school mask] mandates.” 1/ #FlaPol #DeathSantis ⁦@RonDeSantisFL⁩ 1/ https://t.co/HF1sPYkxTo
— Jennifer Cohn ✍🏻 📢 (@jennycohn1) September 4, 2021

COVID continues to rage in Florida and @GovRonDeSantis is on the casehttps://t.co/fsmFdjE9zu pic.twitter.com/maUiHEq4g4
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) September 4, 2021

https://t.co/whZ3bE9RqH
— Nikki Fried (@NikkiFried) September 3, 2021

Florida withholds funds from two school districts requiring masks — despite court decision against state ban on mandates https://t.co/2sxcLb2zGK
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 31, 2021

⚠️BREAKING—Pediatric #COVID19 hospitalizations surging in Florida, now ~4x previous levels. New analysis from our team of HHS hospitalization data shows that as pediatric hospitalizations surge, adult hospitalizations are slowing, but remain at record high. Figure by @wkdragon88 pic.twitter.com/tg8xBVbh6U
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) September 2, 2021

Florida changed its COVID-19 death data just as surge began | Miami Herald https://t.co/BktOrHLhD6
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) August 31, 2021

An average of 11 people in FL have died of covid every single hour for the past two weeks. https://t.co/nwI6oJtWJ2
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) August 30, 2021

“@GovRonDeSantis is willing to subject his constituents to this life and death gauntlet… He’s willing to watch the deaths mount and morgues fill past capacity for his own personal and political gain.” — LP co-founder @ReedGalen https://t.co/D9nw8vDYg0
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) August 29, 2021

Horror in Florida:

14 portable refrigerated morgues are headed to Central Florida to help beleaguered hospitals store bodies.

"The number of deaths right now is unprecedented."

COVID is unquestionably the "precipitating event."https://t.co/rqGOzf9eOe
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 29, 2021

A radiation oncologist in Florida says his hospital is so overwhelmed with COVID patients that he was forced to turn away a cancer patient who needed to be transferred there — something he has never had to do in 60 years of treating patients.
https://t.co/oJca71OjVK
— Caroline Orr Bueno, Ph.D (@RVAwonk) August 28, 2021

The uneducated and unvaccinated led by the unethical and the uncaring…and it leads to a lonely, miserable death.

COVID unit at Tallahassee hospital: The curtain between life, death https://t.co/6cidIo5qCR
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) August 28, 2021

The unexpected and unwelcome coronavirus surge now unfolding in the United States has hit hardest in states that were slow to embrace vaccines.

So what's going on in Florida? https://t.co/rUDYzFphgg
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 28, 2021

Covers: You Can Make It If You Try

“You Can Make It If You Try” is a great 1957 record by Gene Allison. It was covered by the Rolling Stones and others.

More on schools and Covid

Bad Republican policies are making it worse.

Carroll County Public Schools reported Friday that 803 close contact individuals are in quarantine because of possible COVID-19 exposure. @CCPSk12 @CarrollHealthMD https://t.co/FkjO3ntoIp
— Carroll County Times (@CCTNews) September 17, 2021

Texas district closes schools after covid kills two teachers in one week https://t.co/9sEiHyRehw
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 1, 2021

Folks, this is appalling. A school board in rural Adrian, Oregon, fires the superintendent of schools — a 37-year educator — because he follows state law and implements a mask mandate as he is required to do to protect students and the community. https://t.co/lsEHzLkhnd
— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) September 1, 2021

An Aiken County Public Schools spokesman confirmed that a fourth-grader with coronavirus died this week. https://t.co/wvZN0irh38
— WIS News 10 (@wis10) September 3, 2021

And then 3 men stormed her office with zip ties prepared to make a “citizen’s arrest” because she required that a child exposed to COVID wear a mask. And the local police only arrested one of them men and charged him with….trespass. https://t.co/ELl12u839Q
— Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sifill_LDF) September 4, 2021

HOUSTON PUBLIC MEDIA: Texas schools have amassed more than 50,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in students in just a couple of weeks. More than a dozen school districts have closed, and Texas is a leader in CHILD deaths from COVID-19 with 59 as of Sept. 3. https://t.co/dnENbILnQH
— Eric Lipton (@EricLiptonNYT) September 4, 2021

NYC kids outpace all other age groups in Covid positivity rates; the three leading age groups in NYC last week were:

➡️ 5-12: 5.78%
➡️ 0-4: 4.88%
➡️ 13-17: 4.67%

Since the city isn't leading the way, families can help by getting their kids tested before school starts. pic.twitter.com/CdrpJDv14j
— Jen Jennings (@eduwonkette_jen) September 4, 2021

Muppet Wicker Man

The Wicker Man is a fine 1973 horror film starring Christopher Lee. Thanks to Multiversal+, I found out about a fake Muppet trailer

MUPPET WICKER MAN (Brian Henson, 1993)

Police Sergeant Kermie travels to the isolated town of Summerisle in search of a missing girl. He finds the locals to be a surly and suspicious lot, rustic practitioners of crude bawdiness and Celtic neo-paganism. Music by Paul Williams. pic.twitter.com/Ce0SJdNqVh
— Multiversal+ (@MpvStreaming) September 5, 2021

A comic version

Covers: Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)

“Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)” was a 1979 hit for Robert Palmer. The song’s author, Moon Martin, had recorded it in 1978. Martin is not remembered much now but if you like this, try “Rolene” which I also posted below.