THE CDC IS AN INEPT, CORRUPT, TYRANNICAL ORGANIZATION THAT SHOULD BE DISBANDED, NOT GIVEN POWER TO CENSOR: And now the Facebook Files: CDC censored speech, quashed debate on COVID. “Who’s got $100 billion or so to buy out Mark Zuckerberg and get a peek under Meta’s hood? Reason Magazine certainly doesn’t, but it turns out that all Robby Soave needed was a lawsuit and a court order or two. Internal documents show that Facebook essentially allowed the CDC to dictate terms of discussion and debate on its platform relating to COVID-19 as part of its ‘fact-checking’ process.”

Note particularly the desire to shut down discussion of whether Covid-19 was “man made.”

Plus: “After the revelations in the Twitter Files, most of us assumed the worst about Facebook and censorship. Thanks to now-Senator and then-AG Eric Schmitt of Missouri, we now have the evidence that the government’s co-opting of social media platforms to conduct censorship campaigns was not limited to policing tweets. Now we need the Google Files to determine whether the federal government conducted a similar campaign against YouTube users as well, although at this point we can certainly assume it. But we shouldn’t have to assume it. The new Republican majority in the House has the authority to subpoena Google and Meta over any executive-branch activities used to censor free speech and quash debate. They need to use it ASAP to get to the bottom of this unconstitutional and frightening abuse of power and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

GEORGE KORDA: Lack of courtesy from health care workers hurts them – and costs money.

The employee behind the Knoxville pharmacy counter approached. “I’m here to pick up a prescription, please,” I said. The response: “What’s the date of birth?”

Behind the doctor’s office desk, the receptionist spoke while staring into the computer monitor: “I need your insurance card.”

At a local hospital’s surgical waiting area, the room was full of people waiting for their names to be called to complete their registration. A staff member emerged from an office every few minutes to shout out a last name: “James!” “Thompson!” “Clark!” When my name was called, it was with the same bark and tone that revealed what was behind it: “Come on, let’s go, I’ve got a lot of other people to deal with.”

In each instance, I paused, then moved a bit closer, and spoke quietly. I said, “I have a suggestion, for your benefit. I’m not angry, and I’m not going to complain to your boss. It’s to your advantage if you put a ‘please’ on the front or back end of what you just said. Otherwise, it’s a demand, or a command, and you probably really don’t want it to seem that way.”

A surprising number of people in health care who do so much good for so many seem to not recognize a basic fact of life: people wish to be treated with respect, not as a last name yelled out across a room, and not as someone receiving a command or demand to produce their name or insurance card, right now!

Everyone reading this has experienced the same thing, which frequently comes at a bad time for them. Usually, someone goes to a doctor or hospital because they have a health problem. They may be anxious, uncertain, shaken, apprehensive or scared to death. When the moment arrives for them to be seen, they aren’t reassured or uplifted when their last name is shouted as if they are a kid in a classroom being called down by the teacher.

Old sayings are old sayings for a reason, usually because there’s truth in them. An old saying, “You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression,” is true, and throughout Knoxville – and Tennessee and the U.S. – a continuing epidemic of generally unintended discourtesy and disrespect is damaging health care organizations’ relationships with their patients and patients’ families – and costing those organizations money.

The InstaWife tells people that if she doesn’t see the doctor within 15 minutes she’s leaving — which gives them a black mark from the insurance company — and they’re always very nice to her.

RIP: Rock legend David Crosby dies aged 81.

DICTATORSHIP: Strom: ATF’s Pistol Brace Rule Shows That If the Government Wants to Get You, It Can.

PAULA BOLYARD: And Then The Came for Our Cake… “What could be more nanny-state than the government interfering in the free market? Or telling people what they can and cannot eat at work?”

BREAKING: SCOTUS Releases Official Report on Dobbs Leak.

READER FAVORITE: Krosa -10℉ Winter Gloves for Men Women, 10 Touchscreen Fingers.#CommissionEarned

I’VE TESTED A COUPLE OF 5.7 GUNS, AND I LIKE THE LOW RECOIL AND HIGH CAPACITY: First Look: Smith & Wesson M&P 5.7 Pistol.

MATT MARGOLIS: Here Are Over 1,400 Proven Cases of Election Fraud, and That’s Just the Beginning.

IN THE MAIL: From Frank J. Fleming: Hellbender 2: Double Hockey Sticks. Frank J. has come a long way since his “filthy lies about Glenn Reynolds” phase.

THEY DON’T EVEN WISH THEY KNEW HOW TO QUIT HIM: Netflix Promotes Comedy Special with Trump Assassination Jokes. “The comedy special from the Left-leaning comic touches on Climate Change, free speech and his disdain for politicians.”

That’s entertainment?9

JEFF DUNETZ: George Santos Isn’t Lying, He’s Crazy.

IT’S GOING TO BE A TOUGHER SELL THAN PRE-COVID: RSV vaccine for older adults is 84% effective, Moderna says.

FINALLY, SOME GOOD NEWS: Hallelujah! Sony Pitching New Craig Ferguson Late-Night Show.

PLUG-IN HYBRID LACKS THE JUICE: 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe PHEV Tested: Just Get the Regular Hybrid Instead.

IT’S A START: Gaetz introduces ‘Abolish the ATF Act’ after ruling against stabilizing braces.

BRAD POLUMBO: I‘m Gay. Leave Ivan Provorov Alone.

Meanwhile, at America’s Newspaper of Record: NHL Player Says If He Wanted To Support The Gays He’d Be Playing Soccer.

FAKE FOOD: New Research Reveals That Plant-Based Meat Substitutes Often Lack Nutritional Value.

GOODER AND HARDER, SAN FRAN: San Francisco gallery owner who hosed down homeless woman gets arrested, tossed in jail. “Despite her frequently hostile behavior, [Shannon Collier] Gwin said he had a soft spot for the woman and had let her sleep in the entryway of his gallery for multiple days. He had called social services and police in an effort to get her help, but found they let her back out after several days and she returned.”

WELL, BYE: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Will Resign Due to Backlash Over ‘COVID Authoritarian’ Policies.

ZOOM: Boeing’s fuel-efficient aircraft design wins $425 million award from NASA.

THIS IS CNN: CNN’s Entire Primetime Lineup Fails to Equal the Audience of One Fox Program. “The top-rated program was 2022’s overall leader in cable news, ‘The Five.’ That panel show logged 3,469,000 viewers, in line with its average figures. What is the standout statistic is this: That audience figure for the one-hour broadcast surpasses all of CNN’s primetime lineup! Beginning at 5 p.m., with ‘The Lead,’ all the way through the 11pm hour with ‘CNN Tonight,’ the combined audience of those shows did not total as much as Fox drew – for just the 5 p.m. hour.”

SANTA FE DA TO CHARGE BALDWIN, ARMORER IN “RUST” SHOOTING FOR INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER: “Baldwin and [Rust armorer Hannah] Gutierrez-Reed will have to make themselves available for depositions. That’s the last thing either need while prosecutors ready themselves for a criminal trial that could put the defendants in prison for years to come. Will it get that far? I don’t have the video of Abrams’ comments, but he raises a good point: this will first go to a judge for a preliminary hearing. That’s usually a pro forma step in most prosecutions, but we can expect Baldwin to fight the indictment especially hard right from the beginning. He has the financial resources for a full-court press, so expect some fireworks sooner rather than later in the hearing.”

JAY LENO’S GARAGE: 1971 Ferrari Daytona Convertible (Video).

TO BE FAIR, THEY DID JUST WRAP UP SETTLING THE “NOTICE TO AIRMEN” CRISIS: Biden State Department Bans Times New Roman Font. Really.