I know Taibbi's column was covered previously, here's a take:

Rolling Stone Editor's Key Observation About the George Floyd Unrest Will Probably Infuriate the Left

I'd never thought that some liberals would actually take a stand and call out their colleagues for being totally unspooled for caving to the progressive mob. For some, the liberal agenda they grew up with is now considered right-wing in some circles. Why? Well, it doesn't go far enough. It has to be far-left and quasi-Marxist. The woke clowns we used to mock on The College Fix and Campus Reform have graduated. And now, their toxic agenda is spreading like a brush fire. No dissent is permitted. Just one slip-up or differing opinion from that of the far-left mob could get you canceled. These are the hordes of Mordor, an apt description by conservative commentator Erick Erickson. They will make you care. In one way or the other, the left-wing mob will find a way to get you. They also don't want apologies; they want the destruction of those they view as enemies to their unhinged worldview.

Matt Taibbi is no conservative. He's a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, but he's commented on the hysteria that has engulfed the Left, especially with the Trump-Russia collusion nonsense. In a lengthy post, Taibbi torched the media for being afraid to confront the terror campaign that's engulfed the nation's newsrooms. He also said if anything that's been exposed during the unrest over the officer-involved fatality of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25 that sparked nationwide riots, it's that the American Left has gone totally insane and the liberal media is destroying itself.

For starters, Taibbi probably disagrees with virtually everything Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) stands for but was his op-ed, which sent The New York Times' woke reporters into a Chernobyl-like meltdown, really a threat to black lives? Was it even inaccurate? He notes that a lot of what Cotton said was backed up by a majority of the American public. Also, it seems clear that these leftist clowns didn't even read the column. The Philadelphia Inquirer sent their longtime editor, Stan Wischowski, packing for green-lighting the headline "Buildings Matter, Too." Again, another view that's supported by a healthy majority of voters; people value the protection of what they own. It's not that hard. For the woke, this is problematic. Wischowski helped diversify the newsroom and helped the paper get a Pulitzer for their series on Philly school violence in his two-decade career at the paper, but screw him, right?

Taibbi is surgical in highlighting all of the nonsense, all of the weird acts of contrition being exhibited by white liberals that he rightfully describes as activities that are more in line with cult behavior. Of course, he calls Trump a clown but directs most of his criticism at the media industry that is collapsing under the infection of wokeness and political correctness that are terrorizing newsrooms. Moreover, the pervasive "moral mania," as he calls it, has generated a list of the "Most Important Thing Ever" within the liberal media that is often met with the same fate: it's either forgotten or dropped, leaving the public feeling empty as to why they should be outraged besides the ongoing war cry of "orange man…bad"

more: https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2020/06/13/rolling-stone-editor-the-american-left-has-lost-its-mind-n2570592

Original Taibbi post: https://taibbi.substack.com/p/the-news-media-is-destroying-itself

And That's Why the COVID Experts’ Credibility Is in Smoldering Ruins

The unrest that engulfed the nation following the officer-involved death of George Floyd in Minneapolis is pretty much dying down, so that means we have to worry about the coronavirus again, right? Nope. The so-called experts and the media didn’t say squat about the virus or social distancing when cities, where pathogens could spread like a brushfire, were engaging in mass protests or rioting. Nope. Not a single word. Why? Well, it was an event that could make the Trump White House look bad, so magnify at all costs, forget that there’s a pandemic going on. For months, these philosopher kings said that we needed to stay home, save lives, and flatten the curve. Well, the curve was already flattened, but that’s beside the point.

People were shamed for going outside. They were selfish, right? People wanting to re-open their businesses were going to get people killed. The overreaction was already apparent by mid-May. And now, with how the medical community has responded to the Floyd demonstrations, it’s now quite clear we’ve been had. Is it still contagious? Yes, but why the blasé attitude towards the Floyd rioters? Where was their public shaming which was shared ad nauseum on social media? The medical experts have been exposed as being no better than CNN, MSNBC, or the entire Democratic operative class. For the millions who lost their jobs to see a narrative reverse overnight because “orange man…bad,” I would be furious. To those who lost their businesses, couldn’t attend graduations, or even funerals—I would be livid as well. In general, we all know that racism isn’t as deadly as a virus. You don’t need to be a doctor to know that, but these clowns think so. We had medical workers clapping and kneeling with protesters. That’s the kill shot to this entire lockdown narrative. We were told to stay home and help not overwhelm the hospitals—and this is the end result.

The liberal media, Democrats, and the medical expert community, who are now no better than DNC operatives, are trying to weaponize the virus to trash the markets in order to hurt Trump again. They want us back inside. Don’t go back inside, folks. Go outside, go shopping, go to the lakes, go to the beach, and do whatever. The experts have no authority, no high ground—nothing. You cannot sit there and make the argument that protesting in the streets in support of liberal causes is fine, but any other activity is going to spread the virus. You look like a total clown if you do. The experts are finished. So, they can peddle the panic porn all they want. People should do whatever they want because they have zero credibility.

In New York City, the chair of the health committee said if there is a COVID spike in the Big Apple, blame racism not the rioters.

Now, on MSNBC, we have a pro-George Floyd protest medical expert warning about COVID spread after President Trump said his rallies will resume. Enter Dr. Vin Gupta

Dr. VIN GUPTA: I don't think this is ever going to happen at this point. We need the president and the vice president to not undermine the adversaries of the public health world. We have the president about to have a super-spreader event in Tulsa. The fact he's asking for informed consent of his supporters before a rally where there's no social distancing or masking is egregious. That's what I do before I do a procedure in the ICU because there might be potential harm but there's benefit. What’s the benefit to these supporters? Other that giving applause to the president. It makes no sense. We need to stop that. We need to ban political rallies. We need to encourage masking, frankly making it mandatory, I’ve been saying that for weeks.

But on Monday afternoon, Dr. Vin had a different take. He had been out in the streets of Seattle in protests, and this was somehow not a crazy "super-spreader event." Nudged by Nicolle Wallace on Deadline White House, he said "I was out with other physicians and nurses in Seattle over the weekend, where we had a Doctors for Justice March. And what were we doing? We were passing out masks. We were making sure if you didn't have a mask, you had a megaphone, you were protected. Some of my colleagues were handing out Purell. We want as much as anything for social justice to take center stage, because poverty, racism, they have actually [been] bigger killers than coronavirus by the statistics, so this is the right thing to do, but to do it safely."

…

Yep, shut up and go straight to hell, doc. The lockdowns are over. Your overzealousness to bash Trump helped make that happen. That’s the real diagnosis. Now, go away, we all have Fourth of July plans to revamp.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2020/06/13/and-this-is-why-the-covid-experts-credibility-is-in-smoldering-ruins-n2570597

Northern California supervisor compares masks to wearing AIDS ribbon in COVID-19 fight

A member of Placer County’s Board of Supervisors broke with messaging from California and local health officials in a recent social media post that criticized the use of face masks as a legitimate form of protection against COVID-19.

Kirk Uhler, who represents Granite Bay and portions of Roseville, compared coronavirus face masks to AIDS awareness ribbons popularized at the height of the epidemic as a symbol of support for survivors.

In a video uploaded to his Facebook page on Wednesday, Uhler suggested that most masks are merely a social tool, used to signal the virtue of the wearer to onlookers.

“You see, the face mask is today’s sign that you care,” Uhler says in the video, before pausing to rip off the bandanna he had wrapped around his own head for demonstration. “Sorry, I can’t have that stupid thing on. More importantly, if you don’t have one on it means you don’t care.”

The mask phenomenon, he said, could be chalked up mostly to politics — and, unless using an N95, little protection could be offered.

“If you’re concerned about your health, you need to be wearing something like this,” he said while holding a box of 3M-branded N95 masks. “If you’re walking around wearing something like this”— now Uhler held up the bandanna he had previously discarded — “you might as well be walking around wearing one of these,” he concluded, with a red AIDS awareness ribbon in hand.

Although Uhler seemed to receive mostly positive responses from Placer County residents in his comments section, his video posed a stark contrast with recommendations made by the county’s public health department.

The department specifically recommends that cloth coverings, including the bandannas Uhler mocked in his video, be used when out in public.

“Cloth face coverings — such as a bandanna, scarf or homemade cloth cover — are recommended when leaving the house for essential activities to further slow the spread of COVID-19,” the department wrote in its official COVID-19 FAQ. “Face coverings can help prevent transmission of COVID-19 by catching respiratory droplets that can be expelled not just in coughs or sneezes but also through activities like talking or singing.”

Placer County health officials, however, did suggest that N95 masks be used for those who must maintain close contact with others, such as health care workers or people who care for someone else in a home setting.

But Uhler’s essential argument is not without merit. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledges that cloth masks are not as effective as N95 masks, yet remain useful in curbing the spread of coronavirus by limiting the wearer’s ability to transmit the virus to others.

“CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies) especially in areas of significant community-based transmission,” the CDC says. “Cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost can be used as an additional, voluntary public health measure.”

The CDC also says that the N95 masks — which Uhler told those concerned about the pandemic to wear — should be reserved for health care workers and first responders instead of being depleted by the general public.

Uhler’s video emerged as counties across California have been reporting significant spikes in coronavirus cases.

In recent days, Placer County has seen record-high infection rates. Despite remaining mostly flat for much of April and May, this month has produced an uptick in infections surpassing even the infection rates at the onset of the pandemic. June 4 saw 19 new cases, the highest daily increase so far. On Friday, 17 more cases were added.

Although the mortality rate in Placer County has been relatively low, with just nine deaths reported in total, the number of infections has quickly risen to 344. As of Friday, seven people were hospitalized with COVID-19 and one person was in an intensive care unit.

Uhler has a history of speaking out about pandemic and its effects on life in the mostly conservative, suburban Sacramento area he represents. He threatened legal action against California Gov. Gavin Newsom last month over economic restrictions imposed on Placer County.

https://www.sacbee.com/news/coronavirus/article243515817.html