It was announced today that yesterday (01/20/2021) at abt 12 noon – 12 minutes after our new President was sworn in… that they would be willing/happy to help distribute the COVID-19 vaccine in our country. The same day Amazon also announced that they have BANNED ONE PRIVATE CITIZEN Donald Trump from their service https://www.twitch.tv/

After Amazon – thru their Amazon Web Service (AWS) was going to “pull the plug” on a new competitor of Twitter called www.Parler.com 

Basically “killing” a company that was worth a estimated ONE BILLION DOLLAR value. This was apparently done because both Face Book and Twitter terminated then President Trump’s accounts and many of his followers had opened accounts on Parler.

It has been reported that just about all ancillary internet services that Parler needed to function cancelled their service provided to Parler, supposedly including the law firm that they had engaged to work for the company.

While we do have a FIRST AMENDMENT and FREEDOM OF SPEECH but that only applies to our government restricting speech, but we do have a law Sherman Antitrust Act that makes collusion to harm another business – ILLEGAL.   So far, the DOJ that is in charge of enforcing that law seems to be AWOL.  Of course, it has been reported that 90% of all the political donation for the 2020 election went to the Biden campaign.  You can do the math and come to your own conclusion.

I don’t like businesses that will conclude against other businesses..  especially when a handful or two “gang up” on a particular business…  Those “little boys” in Silicon Valley are nothing more than “school yard bullies”.

Personally, I have cancelled our Amazon Prime account… we are exploring our options with Target and Walmart.  One very enlightening situation, we have a 95 y/o neighbor and Barb had been ordering some things she need thru our Amazon account.  So she order one product thru Walmart.com – same product, same size, same free delivery and it was SIX DOLLARS LESS than what she was being charged via Amazon Prime.

The more troublesome question is how many more people could have received their COVID-19 vaccination if Amazon had stepped up a month ago to help distribution ?  I suspect that no one will hold Amazon responsible.

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Client Alert-Justice Department Releases Data on FY 2020 False Claims Act Recoveries: What to Expect in 2021 and Beyond

https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=33eabeba-d6cb-4633-9cae-1a537c82567b&utm_source=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed&utm_medium=HTML+email+-+Body+-+General+section&utm_campaign=Lexology+subscriber+daily+feed&utm_content=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed+2021-01-21&utm_term=

A copy of this Client Alert can be found HERE .

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Top 8 healthy tips for the New Year

1. Kick start your exercise habits

2. Plan to have one healthy goal

3. Spend some time outside

4. Drink more water

5. Maintain a healthy diet

6. Live tobacco free

7. Take care of your skin

8. Boost your immune system

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Dear Mr. Ariens,        Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding censorship and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (“Section 230”). Understanding your views helps me better represent Florida in the United States Senate, and I appreciate the opportunity to respond.      Section 230 provides internet companies with two avenues of legal immunity. The first ensures that companies are not treated as publishers or speakers for any content provided by their users or others on their platforms. The second protects certain content moderation decisions made in good faith. However, recent actions by social media companies, such as political censorship and the application of editorial decisions to content, call into question whether these legal carve-outs are still appropriate.      The once nascent, scrappy internet startups that benefited from the protections afforded by Section 230 in its early days have become Goliaths intent on twisting and manipulating America’s public square to their liking. While Section 230 can serve an important purpose, it should not protect platforms when they engage in unrelated activities such as political activism or editorial decision-making. It is time to take a fresh look at the statute and enact measures to protect free speech. As private companies, Big Tech can engage in partisan editorializing and politically motivated online speech policing, but they do not deserve special legal protection while they do.      You may be aware that on May 28, 2020, the Trump Administration issued Executive Order 13925 on Preventing Online Censorship directing the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to promulgate regulations that narrow the scope of Section 230’s immunity provisions by defining the statute’s “good faith” requirement and clarify whether protections apply when a service provider restricts access to content in a manner not specifically contemplated under the “good faith” requirement of this subsection.      On June 9, 2020, I led several of my colleagues in a letter to the FCC regarding the Commission’s vital role in Executive Order 13925 and urged the Commission to clarify Section 230 protections for social media companies by defining the criteria for which companies can receive protections under the statute. On October 15, 2020, I wrote again to the FCC, encouraging the Commission to engage proactively in the rulemaking process pursuant to Executive Order 13925 after social media companies actively censored a major news story about the family of a presidential candidate twenty days before the general election.      I am also an original cosponsor of the Limiting Section 230 Immunity to Good Samaritans Act (S.3983). This legislation was introduced on June 17, 2020, by Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) and was referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. This bill would empower Americans to hold Big Tech companies accountable for acting in bad faith by selectively censoring political speech and hiding content created by their competitors.      I will continue to look for ways to engage with my colleagues in the Senate and House of Representatives, as well as the administration, on workable solutions regarding this important matter.      It is an honor and a privilege to serve you as your United States Senator. I will keep your thoughts in mind as I consider these issues and continue working to ensure America remains a safe and prosperous nation.   Sincerely, Marco Rubio U.S. Senator Each week I provide a weekly update on issues in Washington and ways in which my office can assist the people of Florida. Sign up here for updates on my legislative efforts, schedule of events throughout Florida, constituent services and much more.

Is our members of Congress really paying attention to the wants/needs of our citizens ?

Is our members of Congress really paying attention to the wants/needs of our citizens ?

I sent the same email to both of my Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio… the above link is to a copy of Rick Scott’s reply and the above is Marco Rubio’s reply…  Rubio’s is DEAD ON…. Scott’s is not even a NEAR MISS.

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Politics not withstanding… the change of administration tomorrow will probably have a serious impact on the community.  Biden was part of the administration when the Decade of pain law expired in 2009 and was not renewed… and the war on pt/drugs accelerated.

A few interesting stats and facts that are coming out:

Executive orders on first day     Bush 43 – ZERO   Obama – ZERO     Trump – ONE    Biden – estimated 10-12

How many times have each of heard/read from a family member/friend state with someone close to them who is a addict or OD’s  “… No other family should go thru this …”

President Biden (Attorney) has a son who is at best a addict in recovery

VP Harris (Attorney) when AG of CALF put 1500 people in jail over MJ use and at the same time video interview saying that she used MJ

The proposed head of HHS is going to be another Attorney  the head of health and human services being an attorney ?

Of course the AG will be an attorney

We have people from Central America heading for our southern border because Biden stated  “in my first 100 days no one will be deported…”…what he didn’t say… was that … that promise would only apply to anyone already in our country BEFORE Jan 1, 2021.

In general attorneys like to make sure our laws are enforced….  and we have the muddled mess of reported use/abuse/OD from opiates from the CDC – It is common knowledge that the vast amount of OD’s involve illegal opiates – mostly illegal fentanyl  and the drug alcohol  – average OD toxicology has 4-7 different substances show up.  In those few hundred of OD’s that has only a opiate that the pt has been legally prescribed would suggest a SUICIDE, but if a suicide note is left behind…. most seem to VANISH and the death is ruled as a accidental overdose.

Some have been discussing creating a “commercial” …  I remember one other advocate tried that with a 15 second commercial on one of the cable channels.. but I have not seen nor heard anything about those commercials for sometime …. maybe they didn’t produce some results or they got too expensive.

Someone who wishes to run a 30 second commercial locally on a single channel one time … ballpark cost is $5000.  Want to put that same commercial on one of the major channels at night… a single slot starts at about $13,000 and goes up dramatically.

I am been blogging for 9 yrs and have not seen the first incident/suggestion of anyone within the healthcare system displaying any fear of any chronic pain or pts dealing with chronic diseases requiring controlled substances. It would appear that the actions against the community by healthcare practitioners has no consequences.  They have no reasons to change the denial of care and discrimination against those in the community.

Imagine what could happen if a pt is told by their prescriber that they are going to experience a forced reduction in their meds.. and all similar pts in the practice will experience the same. What could happen if that first pt contacted a law firm to try to get the names of the other pts and collectively send a letter of complaint to the state medical board and the state AG… filing a complaint of civil rights discrimination, pt abandonment, pt abuse… and … on and on…  The attorney would not have to divulge the pts’ names… attorney/client privilege.  If the physician/practice is owned by a hospital system, maybe all the presribers working for the system is being forced to do the same to all similar pts.. 

successful outcome in one state, could turn into a template for pts/attorneys in other states. A dozen or two pts hiring a law firm to send out a few letters and costing a couple of hundred dollars.

Link below is a post I did a few weeks ago of other ways to “get even” and there is a link in this post to another post, be sure to read both

call their bluff with a letter from attorney ?

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CDC: Anaphylaxis Rate With COVID Vax 10 Times Greater Than for Flu Shots

https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/90556

But events still rare and nonfatal, and benefits outweigh risks, officials say

While rare, the rate of anaphylaxis following COVID-19 mRNA vaccines appeared about 10 times that documented for flu shots, CDC officials said on Wednesday.

Overall, 21 cases of anaphylaxis following COVID vaccination were reported out of about 1.9 million doses given as of Dec. 23, according to an early Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report release. That amounts to 11.1 cases per million versus an estimated 1.3 cases per million following inactivated influenza vaccine, agency officials said on a call with the media.

They noted that, as of now, 29 confirmed cases of anaphylaxis are reported with the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. In addition, the officials said, the MMWR report from Dec. 14-23 focuses on the Pfizer vaccine, since the Moderna vaccine was not available until Dec. 21. Still, there is not enough data to see a difference in risk between vaccines.

No deaths from anaphylaxis have been seen to date.

Nancy Messonnier, MD, director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, emphasized that these events were rare and that the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweighed the risks. Moreover, comparing these to the numbers for flu “misses the point” when there are over 2,000 deaths from COVID-19 every day in the U.S.

“It’s still a good value proposition,” she said. “Even if the rate is higher than what we see after routine immunizations, anaphylaxis still remains rare.”

Of the 21 cases reviewed in MMWR, 18 had documented allergies or allergic reactions to drugs, medical products, food, or insect stings, and seven had experienced anaphylaxis in the past, including one following a rabies vaccine and one following an influenza A (H1N1) vaccine.

Messonnier acknowledged the millions of people who have allergies to food or insect stings, and stressed the difference between “someone who had a mild allergic reaction in their childhood versus someone with a severe allergic reaction next week.”

“A lot of people have some history of allergy to bee sting or food and the fact that people in this group had anaphylaxis … may not mean allergic reactions put them at higher risk, but it might,” she added.

Messonnier noted that CDC guidance indicates that anyone with a history of anaphylaxis for any reason should talk to their healthcare provider prior to vaccination and clinicians should exercise their judgment.

CDC officials said anyone with a history of anaphylaxis who gets the vaccine should be observed for 30 minutes afterwards, as people who previously had anaphylaxis are at risk of having it again.

The agency recently updated its interim guidance for clinicians about contraindications to the vaccine, adding that those with an immediate allergic reaction to the first vaccine should not receive a second dose.

Seventeen of the 21 cases were among those with a history of anaphylaxis, and median time from vaccination to symptom onset was 13 minutes, although around 70% of patients had symptom onset within 15 minutes. The median age of patients was 40, and 19 were women.

The MMWR report noted that female predominance had been seen earlier for immediate hypersensitivity reactions to influenza A (H1N1) vaccine. But the disproportion with COVID vaccination could simply be due to more women than men receiving the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, the authors said.

Nineteen patients were treated with epinephrine, 17 were treated in the emergency department, and four were hospitalized, including three in intensive care. Among 20 with available information, all were discharged home.

Also, Messonnier briefly addressed reports of healthcare workers electing not to get vaccinated, saying she was “definitely concerned” about it.

“It makes it exceedingly important that we get the correct information to healthcare workers and we quickly dispense with misinformation,” she said. “We need them not only to protect themselves, but to educate their patients so everyone understands these vaccines … have a good safety profile, they are working, and they … can help us end this pandemic.”

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Norway Warns Against Vaccinating Frail and Terminally Ill People After Reported Deaths

https://www.theepochtimes.com/mkt_app/norway-warns-against-vaccinating-frail-and-terminally-ill-people-after-reported-deaths_3661390.html

Officials in Norway said they are investigating the deaths of about two dozen elderly patients who received the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and are looking into the prospect that adverse reactions to the vaccine “may have contributed to a fatal outcome in some frail patients.”

Reports of adverse reactions with a fatal outcome “suggest that common adverse reactions to mRNA vaccines, such as fever and nausea, may have contributed to a fatal outcome in some frail patients,” said Sigurd Hortemo, chief physician at the Norwegian Medicines Agency, in a statement on Monday.

A spokesperson for the agency told CBS News that the “patients died from their underlying disease.” Of 13 cases analyzed so far, “they are people of advanced age, are frail, and have serious illnesses, all of them,” said Camilla Stoltenberg, the director of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, according to CBS News.

“It is important to remember that on average about 45 people die every day at nursing homes in Norway, so it’s not given that this represents any excess mortality or that they are related to the vaccines,” she said.

In its update on Monday, the Norwegian Medicines Agency said that all deaths that occur within days of the vaccination will be investigated.

“We cannot rule out that adverse reactions to the vaccine occurring within the first days following vaccination (such as fever and nausea) may contribute to more serious course and fatal outcome in patients with severe underlying disease,” the statement read.

“We have now repeated our existing advice not to give the vaccine to terminally ill patients,” a spokeswoman for the agency told the Wall Street Journal.

The spokeswoman attempted to allay fears of links between the deaths and the vaccine, saying that there is no evidence the shot is unsafe.

On Jan. 14, Norwegian officials changed the country’s CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus vaccination guide and said “very frail” people should not receive the shot.

“If you are very frail, you should probably not be vaccinated,” Steinar Madsen at the Norwegian Medicines Agency told reporters last week.

As of Jan. 14, more than 42,000 people in Norway received the CCP virus vaccine. Authorities have reported 23 cases of elderly recipients suffering from serious medical conditions dying after receiving the vaccine.

Pfizer and BioNTech told news outlets on Monday that the two firms are now “working with the Norwegian Medicines Agency to gather all the relevant information” following the deaths. “Our immediate thoughts are with the bereaved families,” Pfizer said.

Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Iceland have all reported post-vaccination deaths. Fifty-five people in the United States have died post-vaccination, according to reports filed to a passive system.

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Florida Lawmakers Introduce Bills Seeking To Stop Censorship By Big Tech

https://policetribune.com/florida-lawmakers-introduce-bills-seeking-to-stop-censorship-by-big-tech/

Tallahassee, FL – The state of Florida has introduced bills that would allow the state to sue technology companies for censorship while Republican leadership is also discussing divesting from Big Tech.

Florida State Representative Randy Fine sent a letter to Governor Ron DeSantis on Tuesday asking that the state divest from Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Apple and Google since they suspended President Donald Trump’s social media accounts, according to Florida Today.

“Well, I think these companies get to choose who they want to do business with, so do we in the state of Florida,” Fine said on Fox News. “I don’t a like a world in which these big technology companies are seeking to literally silence the views of half of the country,”

“Those are my constituents who are using these sites,” Fine said. “And so I don’t think they should be forced to invest in companies that simply don’t want them. … When you tell half your customers to pound sand, it typically doesn’t work well for you.”

Fine and DeSantis are both Republicans.

Fine said he also will introduce legislation that would “forbid any state or local government from conducting any business with these companies,” effective July 1, according to Florida Today.

That would mean no government entity could do advertising on Facebook, Twitter or Google or use Amazon and could not purchase Apple or Android devices, according to Florida Today.

Due to the monopoly that these tech companies hold on advertising and smartphones, such action could create significant problems for the state.

Florida has also introduced legislation that would address Big Tech’s censorship of individual accounts.

Senate Bill 520 was filed Jan. 11 and would require social media websites to provide individual and business users of the site with a specified timeframe and must explain what the website has suspended or disabled that user’s account.

In December, Florida state representative Anthony Sabatini introduced House Bill 33 authorizes the state to file legal against on behalf of website users against Big Tech companies that censor content.

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What I have been watching what is reported on TV…. members of Black Lives Matter (BLM) and central American people heading for our southern borders… are already calling out our soon to be new President and VP to do what they promised… a statement by a BLM representative state that “… brown and black people got you elected… we want our demands met …”…  people coming toward our southern border are expecting our border to be OPEN the first day of President Biden’s administration.

I am sure that there are other groups that are expecting promises made to be met toward the end of this week… Many may have expectation but have not come forward and publicly stated what their expectations/demands are.

As I remember, there was a universal agreement among the democratic candidates that HEALTH CARE WAS A HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUE…  why isn’t the community out there asking for that promise to be met ?

Here is a recent post about HHS HHS Loosens Reins on Buprenorphine Prescribing

Apparently those substance abusers are apparently getting easier access to a C-III medication to treat their health issues.  It is a common belief that substance abuse is a MENTAL HEALTH DISEASE… so we have a mental health crisis that is worth treating ?

Most/majority/all of chronic pain pts with under/untreated pain typically are dealing with depression, anxiety, suicidal idealization…  all mental health issues…. not to mention having to live/exist in a torturous level of pain intentionally induced – failed to treat – by their prescriber.

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