7. The demand for racism continues to outpace the supply

• A man who sat in the view of cameras behind the batter at a Colorado Rockies game over the weekend was accused of yelling a racial slur at a black athlete and, of course, this accusation went viral, and the hunt for the man was on. Unfortunately for the race-hustlers on social media and in the media, the man was found to have been yelling for the mascot of the Rockies, “Dinger.”
• Despite the video evidence, an investigation by a woke organization and a plausible explanation, the mob still needed blood. The ballplayer in questions claims, “I personally keep hearing the n-word. It’s not that I want to hear it,” but he clearly wants to hear it because it is not there. Fans now want the name changed because some people might feel that it is racist-adjacent-kind of-sounding.

6. Everyone in the military must have the vaccine by September 15

• All members of the U.S. military will be required to get the coronavirus vaccine by September 15, according to the latest announcement by the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Austin. They’re seeking “the president’s approval to make the vaccines mandatory no later than mid-September.”
• The vaccine could be made mandatory sooner than September 15, though, if it’s approved by the Food and Drug Administration before that date. Austin also added that an order for mandatory vaccines could happen sooner or he could “recommend a different course to the President if I feel the need to do so.”

5. Shelby scuttles cryptocurrency reporting bill over defense spending

• U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) made a power play to get an additional $50 billion in defense spending in exchange for allowing a cryptocurrency transaction reporting agreement to be added to the $1.5 billion infrastructure deal. When U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and other Democrats objected, both items died. How either are regarded as infrastructure is anyone’s guess.
• The cryptocurrency portion was a confusing bipartisan agreement that would redefine who is subject to cryptocurrency regulation requirements. Cryptocurrency miners and developers worry about requiring reporting of information that they are not privy to. U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) believes that the cryptocurrency currently in the bill will “block rapid innovation in cryptocurrencies.” It is unlikely many U.S. Senators have any idea what any of this means.

4. Hospitals start limiting procedures, more government offices and schools have restrictions 

• There are over 2,100 people in Alabama hospitals suffering from the coronavirus as of yesterday, which is still over 1,000 less than the peak of the pandemic, but the growth continues to concern people. According to Alabama State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris, 95% of those in the hospital are unvaccinated. Huntsville Hospital, Governors Medical Tower, Madison Hospital and Women & Children Hospital are stopping elective surgeries due to the increase in coronavirus hospitalizations that have been seen in the area.
• Meanwhile, Athens City Schools, Hoover City Schools and Fort Payne Schools have added a mask mandate, and more schools continue adding mask mandates. Athens City Hall is now closed because of a coronavirus case. Orange Beach limited access to government buildings last week.

3. Expect COVID outbreaks at schools

• The head of the Alabama Hospital Association Dr. Don Williamson has said that he’s expecting there to be outbreaks of the coronavirus as kids return to school across the state. Williamson said that the current pediatric hospitalizations show that the state is going “in a very bad direction.”
• Williamson said that the number of cases in children we’re seeing is a “marker of widespread and ongoing transmission.” He went on to say, “I can’t see anyway, given how infectious Delta variant is, that we’re not going to see school outbreaks.”

2. State superintendent: Students need to consider the mask as part of their daily attire

• While appearing on Alabama Public Television’s “Capitol Journal,” State Superintendent of Education Eric Mackey said that masks at schools are basically the same as a uniform at schools, adding that schools requiring masks are making them “just part of that attire.”
• Mackey explained that it’s viewed the same as a school “dress code,” adding,  “We have schools in the state that have uniforms required. We have schools that don’t have uniforms required. But a local school board definitely has the authority to make those decisions about how students will be attired on campus, and that mask is just part of the attire.”

1. Questions about masks in schools dominate the conversation, efficacy ignored

• There has been speculation that children could suffer negative impacts of wearing masks so regularly, as many schools have started requiring them for this school year. Dr. Anthony Fauci gave a less than confident answer when asked about the issue recently. Other doctors are starting to take to television and question the effectiveness of the masks we are using and call for N95 masks. This included President Joe Biden’s former COVID-19 advisor.
• Fauci explained about mask-wearing for children, “[H]opefully, this will be a temporary thing, temporary enough that it doesn’t have any lasting negative impact on them.” Also, when asked about the editorial piece from The Wall Street Journal, “The Case Against Masks for Children,” that makes the case that mask-wearing can lead to developmental issues with children, Fauci said that the information used in the piece “dates back to the alpha variant, not necessarily all the most recent data on delta.”