This installment of The David Pakman Show newsletter is free for everyone. I send these emails daily. If you would also like to receive it, join the newsletter today.
Note: This is totally separate from website Membership and does not affect your website Membership in any way.
BREAKING: Tucker Carlson Hasn't Heard of Google
Tucker Carlson played right into the hands of vaccine skeptics on his Fox News show last night. While Tucker isn’t exactly an anti-vaxxer, he was willing to float anti-vax conspiracy theories under the guise of “I’m just asking questions and people are getting in trouble for asking these questions.” Carlson asked on his show, “how effective is this coronavirus vaccine?” and “how necessary is it to take the vaccine?” He then acted as though public health officials aren’t willing to answer these questions and that the information isn’t readily available. Tucker pointed out that it’s important not to dismiss people who question vaccine safety or efficacy. He then called upon health experts to “answer the questions!”
Carlson’s commentary was supposed to come across as tough-talk from the only guy brave enough to hold people accountable. But these questions are not “gotchas” and the answers to them have been known and available for a long time. The Moderna vaccine is 94% effective after two doses at preventing illness and virtually 100% effective at preventing severe COVID-19. The Pfizer vaccine is 95% effective at preventing illness and 89% effective at preventing a serious coronavirus case. The single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine is 72% effective (but was tested on variants) and is 100% effective at preventing serious COVID-19. Guidelines for who should take the vaccine and when are also publicly available with a simple Google search. It’s unclear whether Tucker was genuinely ignorant of these findings or if he just wanted to fearmonger on his primetime right-wing propaganda show.
Republicans Taking Credit for Stimulus They Voted AGAINST
Last week, the American Rescue Plan Act was passed through Congress and signed into law by President Biden. The $1.9 trillion stimulus package includes things like $1,400 checks for most Americans, a $3,600 child tax credit, and an extra $300 per week in unemployment benefits. While the first two coronavirus stimulus plans were bipartisan, this one was made law exclusively by Democrats; not a single Republican in the House or Senate voted for the bill. But now as the benefits start getting delivered to people and the legislation remains highly popular, some Republicans are trying to take credit for the relief package they voted against.
Republican Congresswoman Maria Salazar tweeted over the weekend, “so proud to announce that the Biden Administration has just implemented my bipartisan COVID relief bill as part of @SBAgov policy!” GOP Senator from Mississippi Roger Wicker tweeted how glad he is that "independent restaurant operators have won $28.6 billion worth of targeted relief.” Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger put out a statement recently saying, “Today, I’m glad to know my constituents will be receiving an additional relief payment and funding to help improve their access to vaccines, PPE, and unemployment insurance.” If Republicans wanted to be able to take credit for this rescue plan, they should have made a good-faith effort to negotiate the terms and then ultimately voted for the bill. Every GOP member of Congress passed on that opportunity and now they are panicking trying to pretend that they helped make it happen.
From yesterday’s show:
SHOCK: Record 8.8 Million Vaccines in 3 Days
Vaccination rates in the United States have continued to accelerate with a record 8.8 million vaccines getting administered over a three-day period. The country is now averaging 2.4 million vaccines being put into people’s arms every day. Right now, the states with the highest percentage of fully vaccinated people are Alaska with 18%, New Mexico with 17%, and South Dakota and West Virginia at 15%. The states doing the worst so far include, Utah at only 8%, followed by places like Washington DC, Tennessee, California, Georgia, and Texas which are all at around 10%. The vaccine rollout has somewhat to do with the drop in cases in the United States, with the average new daily infection rate at under 50,000 and just under 1,000 deaths.
--More on the show:
--Bill Scher, Contributing Editor to Politico Magazine and contributor to Real Clear Politics, joins David to discuss the Joe Biden presidency so far, including the COVID stimulus package, the situation at the US-Mexico border, COVID handling, vaccination, foreign policy, and more
--COVID cases are now down 76% from their peak, with deaths down 63% and vaccinations reaching almost 2.5 million per day
--A new report says the Joe Biden administration is planning to move onto tax reform as its next major legislative priority
--Former Trump adviser Steven Bannon claims that COVID vaccines are not really vaccines, an already widely-debunked anti-vaccine talking point
--Fox News experiences a 24-hour period of absolutely rancid propaganda
--Voicemail calls weigh in on the new David Pakman Show podcast music
--On the Bonus Show: Coca-Cola & Home Depot oppose Georgia push to restrict voting, the future of "vaccine passports," judge authorizes power shutoff to California restaurant, much more...
--Become a Supporter: http://www.davidpakman.com/membership