Cartoon

Thought Crime

Written by SK Ashby

(Cartoonist - Stuart Carlson)

In other news, the Justice Department filed a separate lawsuit challenging the ban on most abortions in Texas. Attorney General Merrick Garland says the law is "clearly unconstitutional."

Meanwhile, up to 6 capitol police officers could be disciplined for their conduct during the attack on the capitol in January.

The disciplinary actions include three for conduct unbecoming and one each for failure to comply with directives, improper remarks and improper dissemination of information. No names or other details were released. It was not immediately clear whether all the disciplinary actions involved different officers, and no details on the discipline they face were revealed.

Another case about an official who is accused of unsatisfactory performance and conduct unbecoming is still pending, police said.

Finally, while the Biden administration moves forward with coronavirus booster plans, some scientists say they shouldn't.

An expert review of scientific evidence to date has concluded that Covid-19 vaccine booster shots are not needed at this time for the general public, a group of leading U.S. and international scientists said Monday in the peer-reviewed journal The Lancet.

The conclusion by scientists, including two senior Food and Drug Administration officials and the World Health Organization, came as studies continue to show the authorized Covid vaccines in the U.S. remain highly effective against severe disease and hospitalization caused by the fast-spreading delta variant.

"Current evidence does not, therefore, appear to show a need for boosting in the general population, in which efficacy against severe disease remains high," the scientists wrote, adding the wide distribution of boosters is "not appropriate at this stage in the pandemic."

I'm not sure what to think of this, but if a booster becomes available to me I will almost certainly get one. I've worked too hard to get where I am now to take any chances with my health. If a booster only increases my protection by a modest percentage, it's still worth taking it.

These scientists are saying vaccine supplies should be distributed to the unvaccinated first and that's understandable, but that's not under my control. I can only look out for myself.