U.S.
Pennsylvania Democrats Claim Republicans Hid A House Member’s Coronavirus Diagnosis
Published
3 years agoon

- State Democrats in Pennsylvania are claiming that Republicans did not inform them that a Representative tested positive for COVID-19, and that others were isolating as a result.
- Many Democrats are outraged and feel their health was put in danger by the news not being shared with them. Some are calling for the Speaker of the House to resign.
- Democratic Rep. Brian Sims posted a viral rant calling Republicans “callous liars” who called for the government to reopen as they were potentially exposing their colleagues to the virus.
- Republicans have defended themselves, saying they notified those who came in contact with the state representative, and that they followed CDC guidelines.
Rep. Lewis Tests Positive
Democrats in Pennsylvania’s state legislature are claiming that Republicans hid the fact that representatives were self-quarantining after one tested positive for the coronavirus.
On Wednesday, Republican state Rep. Andrew Lewis announced that he was diagnosed with COVID-19 on May 20, after getting tested two days prior. His last day in the state’s Capitol was May 14.
“I immediately began self-isolation protocol and contacted the House of Representatives, and our caucus Human Resources department. My last day in the Capitol was Thursday, May 14.” he said.
Lewis said that anyone who was in contact and potentially exposed to the virus was notified and asked to self-quarantine. He said he waited a week to disclose his diagnosis to the public “out of respect” for his family.
However, it allegedly was not just the public that learned of this news on Wednesday. Pennsylvania Democrats say they were also shocked to learn that one of their colleagues tested positive for the coronavirus and had been isolating for over a week.
“While we are pleased to learn that this House member seems to have recovered, it is simply unacceptable that some House Republicans knew about this for more than a week and sat on that knowledge,” Democratic Leader Frank Dermody said in a statement. “Knowing how House members and staff work closely together at the Capitol, we should have been made aware of this much sooner. We should not have learned of it from a media report.”
Dermody says that in the last two weeks, there were six days of voting at the Capitol and more than 15 meetings of House committees, meaning that people who had come to work in person were at risk of possible exposure.
Right now, Democrats are claiming that four members of the Repubican caucus went into self-quarantine as a result of their contact with Lewis. One of those caucus members was Rep. Russ Diamond, who has very openly criticized masks and other social distancing protocols. He has also led charges calling for the state to reopen.
In a statement, he said he canceled in-person meetings and began isolation as soon as he learned he was in contact with someone who was COVID-positive, though he did not know who that was at the time. But, according to Spotlight PA, earlier that day, he spoke before a House Committee without a mask to call for an end to the state of emergency Pennsylvania declared because of the virus.
Diamond says he has experienced no symptoms since he began isolating on May 21 and plans to go back to the capitol as soon as Thursday. He has not been tested for the virus, but claims his doctor told him a test would be unnecessary if he was not ill.
Democrats Say They Were Out of the Loop
Many Democrats were outraged that they were not notified that their colleagues were isolating and felt their health had been jeopardized. Rep. Kevin J. Boyle claimed that not disclosing this kind of information should be considered criminal.
I am Dem Chair of PA House State Government Committee. We’ve met 12 times in the last 2 months. The meetings take place in a smaller room off the House floor. Not informing anyone there is a #Covid_19 positive member with multiple GOP members in quarantine should be criminal.
— Rep. Kevin J. Boyle (@RepKevinBoyle) May 28, 2020
This news also came on the same day the United State’s coronavirus death toll reached 100,000 people. In Pennsylvania alone there are 70,000 cases and over 5,000 deaths.
“Pennsylvanians are suffering greatly from this medical and financial catastrophe, and many of them are being asked to place the health and safety of others ahead of their own well-being,” wrote Rep. Dan Frankel. “I am horrified to learn that members of the General Assembly failed to do the right thing, at a time when so many Pennsylvanians are doing so in much more difficult situations.”
One of the most vibrant reactions came from Rep. Brian Sims, who went on a 12-minute viral rant on Facebook Live. He claimed that his republican colleagues cam to work so that they could “explain that it was safe to go back to work, it was safe to go back to race car driving or dog grooming or getting your haircut.”
“Meanwhile, what we’re learning is that during that time period, they were testing positive,” Sims continued. “They were notifying one another and they didn’t notify us. I just spent the better part of the past 11 weeks sitting across the room from people who would eventually test and decided not to tell us.”
He specifically referred to Diamond as being part of this mentality. Sims also claimed that this could have serious consequences. He said that Boyle has young children to go home to, and that he himself is vulnerable because he donated a kidney earlier this year, news he was not initially planning on making public right now.
“I didn’t donate my kidney to save somebody’s life so that I could die at the hands of Republicans who are being callous liars,” Sims said.
“How dare you. How dare you put our lives at risk,” Sims continued. “How dare you put our families at risk and pretend it was about looking out for your own. We know you’re looking out for your own.”
Sims, along with other Democrats, has been calling for Republican Speaker of the House Mike Turzai to resign over this, as well as anyone who knew about it.
RESIGN: Today we learned that House Speaker @MikeTurzai has known that Republican Members have either tested positive, or been quarantined, and withheld this information from Democrats including those of us who serve on the committees with those members!
— Brian Sims (@BrianSimsPA) May 27, 2020
Republicans Defend Protocol
Still, Republicans have defended themselves. Mike Straub, a spokesman for House Republicans, told the Washington Post that they followed CDC guidelines, as well as protocols from Pennsylvania’s Department of Health. They maintained that everyone needed to be notified because of direct contact was.
Lewis also addressed the concerns on a Facebook live stream Wednesday night. He said that in his final day at the Capitol, he was only in for a few hours and saw very few people. He also said he took measures to protect himself and others.
“One, I wore a mask. Two, I did not shake any hands,” Lewis said. “Three, it’s pretty much a ghost town at the capitol right now, the cafeteria is closed, so I only interacted with a handful of folks.”
Lewis also insisted that everyone he interacted with was notified. He said he was not aware of anyone else testing positive for the virus.
See what others are saying: (NBC 10) (Spotlight PA) (Washington Post)
U.S.
Conservatives are Mad at “Woke” Xbox for Minor Climate-Related Updates
Published
5 days agoon
January 25, 2023By
Lili Stenn
The fury comes after Xbox announced it was slightly altering existing consoles to better utilize and save energy.
Same War, New Battlefield
Mere days after M&M canceled their “spokescandies” due to backlash from the right, led largely by Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, conservatives have found a new front for their ongoing culture war: Xbox.
Carlson spent months complaining that small character redesigns were “woke” because they made the animated anthropomorphized M&M’s — in his own words — “less sexy.” His campaign finally proved successful on Monday when the company announced it would be doing away with the spokescandies and replacing them with actress Maya Rudolph.
A message from M&M'S. pic.twitter.com/EMucEBTd9o
— M&M'S (@mmschocolate) January 23, 2023
Conservatives, now facing a sudden dearth of non-issues to complain about, quickly found a new issue to rage against. Xbox announced in a blog post earlier this month that it is making minor updates to lower its environmental impact as part of an effort to reach Microsoft’s goal of being carbon-negative by 2030.
Now, instead of having an Xbox wake up to update games, apps, and software during random times of the night, it will do that at a time of night when a user’s local energy grid is generating the most power it can from renewable sources.
Xbox also said it would automatically update some older consoles to a power-saving mode that aims to reduce electricity consumption when it is turned off — a feature that is already the default on newer consoles.
According to The Verge, the only difference for users is that an Xbox in power-saving mode takes around 15 seconds to boot up instead of doing so immediately as the console does in “sleep” mode. The change is a small price to pay for what the outlet described as “significant” energy savings.
Xbox Under Fire
To many leading conservative voices, the minimal shifts were just another example of “woke” culture.
While discussing M&M’s spokescandies Tuesday morning, “Fox and Friends” co-host Ainsley Earhardt brought up Xbox’s new changes with Fox radio host Jimmy Failla.
“So Xbox has also announced that they’re going woke too, you know, because of climate change,” Earhardt said.
“I mean, it’s crazy what they’re doing, but we understand what this is. It’s not that it’s actually going to offset emissions, okay — the level of reduction is infinitesimal,” Failla claimed, without evidence. “But they’re trying to recruit your kids into climate politics at an earlier age; make them climate conscious now.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think of that — you’re right, they’re going after the children,” Earhardt agreed, despite the fact that internal data from Microsoft shows just around 10% of Xbox owners are under the age of 18.
Other prominent conservatives also did their part to bait Americans into anger on social media, including America’s Foundation, which posted a tweet stating that “the woke brigade is after video games.”
Lol now the woke brigade is after video games all in the name of climate change.
— YAF (@yaf) January 24, 2023
Xbox will force gamers to power down to fight climate change, touting the first 'carbon aware console' https://t.co/wIwbCTh2Zy
The post linked an article from the right-wing website TheBlaze, which asserted that “Xbox will force gamers to power down to fight climate change.” That, however, is false — Xbox has said users can switch back and change the settings any time they want
Still, top lawmakers continued to share the article and spread its false claims, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tx.).
“First gas stoves, then your coffee, now they’re gunning for your Xbox,” he wrote in the post, which was flagged by Twitter and given an “added context” warning.
First gas stoves, then your coffee, now they're gunning for your Xbox. https://t.co/MpaH2ntWAz
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 23, 2023
The same warning, however, was not placed in a very similar post by Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Tx.), who also shared the article.
“They want to take your guns. They want to take your gas stoves. And now they want to take your Xbox. What’s next?” he wrote.
— Congressman Troy Nehls (@RepTroyNehls) January 23, 2023
See what others are saying: (The Washington Post) (The Daily Beast) (VICE)
U.S.
Washington State Launches Investigation Into Abuse at Private Special Ed. Schools
Published
5 days agoon
January 25, 2023By
Star Pralle
Allegations include staff kicking a fourth-grader and dragging a child with autism around by his leg.
Abuse Allegations
Washington State’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has launched an investigation into a system of private schools for kids with disabilities after ProPublica and the Seattle Times reported on allegations of abuse.
The series of articles focused on Northwest School of Innovative Learning (NWSOIL). NWSOIL is a set of private schools that serve 500 Washington public school students with serious disabilities. ProPublica and the Seattle Times found years of complaints from parents and school districts against NWSOIL alleging abuse, overuse of isolation rooms, and unqualified aides teaching instead of certified professionals.
One district claimed NWSOIL staff kicked a fourth-grader. Another alleged that a child with autism was dragged around by his thigh.
Many former NWSOIL employees also claim that they were pressured by their parent company to to enroll more students and skimp on basic resources, like staffing.
Investigation Launched
In a seven-page letter, OSPI reminded NWSOIL of its authority to revoke or suspend a school’s approval, meaning that it could shut NWSOIL down.
“Given the serious nature of the allegations made in the articles, OSPI is examining what, if any, actions need to be taken with respect to Northwest SOIL’s approval to contract with Washington school districts,” Tania May, assistant superintendent for special education at OSPI, wrote in the letter.
OSPI has demanded any records of mistreatment, maltreatment, abuse, or neglect as well as documents pertaining to restraint or isolation of students and calls to the police. They are also seeking information about the student-to-teacher ratio and staff qualifications.
In the letter, OSPI claims that all of this was previously unknown to them as well as to police, Child Protective Services, and local school districts. They are asking NWSOIL for an explanation as to why the allegations were not reported.
NWSOIL defended itself in a public statement.
“Use of restraints and seclusion are always used as a last response when a student is at imminent risk of hurting themselves or others,“ it said. “We strongly deny any allegation that we understaff and/or pressure staff to increase admissions in order to maximize profits.”
Washington state representatives are considering a reform bill that will give them more oversight on the publicly funded system of private special education schools.
In this legislation, OSPI and at least one district that sends students to this program would be required to visit before approving the contract. It would also standardize district agreements with programs like NWSOIL, including financial safeguards to make sure funds are being used appropriately.
See the full series: (ProPublica) (The Seattle Times)
U.S.
Mass Shootings in Half Moon Bay, Oakland Rock California
Published
6 days agoon
January 24, 2023By
Lili Stenn
Just since Saturday, at least 19 people have been killed and 17 have been injured in mass shootings in California.
California Sees Third Attack in Under a Week
Two California localities experienced separate mass shootings Monday, just days after an attacker killed 11 and injured nine others in a suburb of Los Angeles.
The first of the most recent shootings took place in Half Moon Bay, a small coastal town about 30 miles outside of San Francisco, where a gunman killed seven and critically injured an eighth at two different locations.
According to authorities, police were dispatched to the first location around 2:20 pm and found four people shot to death and a fifth victim also suffering gunshot wounds. Shortly after, three more people were found dead at another site nearby.
About two hours later, police discovered the suspect in his car in the parking lot of a San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office substation with a semiautomatic handgun in the vehicle that officials later confirmed he had purchased legally.
Sheriff Christina Corpus said the man was taken into custody “without incident” and is “fully cooperating.” He has been identified as a 66-year-old Half Moon Bay resident of Asian descent.
Currently, the gunman’s motive is unknown, but the Sheriff told reporters Monday that both of the locations he targeted were nurseries, and it has since been reported that they were mushroom farms.
“All evidence we have points to this being an instance of workplace violence. The Mountain Mushroom Farm, the first location, is where the subject was employed,” Corpus said in a press conference Tuesday, though she added that, so far, the “only known connection between the victims and the suspect is that they may have been coworkers.”
As of writing, it remains unclear why he targeted the second location. A mushroom farm called Concord Farms has told reporters that it was the site of the second shooting — which a law enforcement official confirmed to The Washington Post.
In a statement to the media, a spokesperson said the farm had “no past knowledge” of the alleged gunman or his possible motives. Little has been released about the victims, though Corpus said Tuesday they were all adults and a “mixture of Asian and Hispanic descent,” some of whom were migrants.
Authorities had previously stated that, because people both live and work on the farms, children were among those who witnessed the shooting. However, on Tuesday, one official walked that back and said while children were indeed in the vicinity, police do not have information about specific witnesses.
Just hours after the violence in Half Moon Bay, seven people were injured, and one other was killed during a shooting at a gas station in Oakland. Very little has been reported about the incident, but police have said that the shooting was “between several individuals.”
Renewed Calls for Gun Control
Californians continue to reel from the rapid succession of mass shootings in a state known for its strict gun control laws.
According to Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit that advocates against gun violence, the state ranks No. 1 in the country for gun law strength. An analysis led by the organization found that California has the sixth-lowest rate of gun ownership and the eighth-lowest gun death rate.
Many of California’s top lawmakers have argued that the state’s relatively low gun violence statistics emphasize the need for more federal regulations.
“The Second Amendment’s becoming a suicide pact,” Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) told CBS News in an interview.
“We’ll continue to find whatever loopholes we can and continue to lead the national conversation on gun safety reform. And the data bares out. It works. It saves lives,” he continued. “California’s 37% lower than the death rate of the rest of the nation, and yet, with all that evidence, no one on the other side seems to give a damn. I can’t get anything done in Congress.”
Following the Monterey Park shooting, U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Ca.), alongside other Democratic colleagues, introduced two gun control bills in the upper chamber. The first would ban assault weapons, while the second aims to raise the minimum age to purchase assault weapons from 18 to 21.
President Joe Biden quickly threw his support behind the measures, urging Congress to pass them.
“The majority of the American people agree with this commonsense action,” he said in a statement Monday. “There can be no greater responsibility than to do all we can to ensure the safety of our children, our communities and our nation.”
Editor’s Note: At Rogue Rocket, we make it a point to not include the names and pictures of mass murders, suspected mass murderers, or those accused of committing violent crimes who may have been seeking attention or infamy. Therefore, we will not be linking to other sources, as they may contain these details.

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