Connect with us

Washington

Washington Health Dept. COVID report promotes racism, exclusion

Published

on

Washington Health Dept. COVID report promotes racism, exclusion


The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) released a report sharing what its left-wing community partners learned during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is an aggressively unserious document that includes a virulently racist claim about the evils of white people.

“Don’t forget sometimes white people disengaged on safety when they learned people of color needed help,” the report absurdly claims.

The report paints an entire race with a broad, divisive brush. Or it’s meant to guilt white DOH staffers into giving organizations more money.

It demands WADOH “use COVID as an opportunity to invest in… youth of color… (and) incarcerated youth” by “celebrating their gifts” in ways that “don’t stigmatize or typify them when society fails them.”

Advertisement

The report even suggests that WADOH “get creative” in promoting health crisis materials by using flash mobs or collaborating with “BIPOC artists, trans/queer artists of color, women of color of all gender expressions, incarcerated youth and adult artists.”

More from Jason Rantz: Seattle may close 20 elementary schools due to avoidable problems

What is in this racist Washington Department of Health COVID-19 report?

“A Chorus of COVID – Voices from the Frontlines,” was highlighted in an Aug. 31 DOH post on X. It aims to “help us all reflect on lessons learned” during the pandemic.

DOH says it will use the lessons to help create better plans for supporting future efforts, with an aim towards better serving marginalized communities. It’s part of the department’s efforts to reach “health equity.”

“Poor health is often how communities that dominant society marginalizes know and feel what exclusion really is,” the report claims. “COVID showed several intersecting crises in public health — from the home front to the workforce and practically everywhere else you could imagine.”

Advertisement

Dear White Progressive: Give us more money

The report predictably focuses on funneling resources specifically into “marginalized communities,” with the organizations behind it making clear that they prefer to have direct control over those funds.

They urge the state to “keep lowering the barriers to accessing funds,” but notably fail to provide any details on accountability or oversight—because why would they? This seems to be more about securing power and influence than protecting any community.

When it comes to decision making in how to best help during a pandemic (or other health crises), the reports asks DOH to give marginalized communities “decision-making power and influence.” It does not elaborate.

“Design trainings by and for communities that experience inequities such as mass incarceration, housing and food insecurity, substance use, mental illness, racism, ableism, ageism, xenophobia, sexism, transphobia and other forms of exclusion,” the report continues.

Advertisement

More from Jason Rantz: Seattle deputy mayor says downtown activation plan a ‘roaring success.’ Biz owner says no, it’s not

There’s a lot of demand for “centering” in the report

The report demands that DOH “center” prison inmates and illegal immigrants for agency engagement. It explains that any DOH-produced guides should include photos of people “with dark to fair skin tones, all body types, ages, gender expressions, hair textures, facial features, [and] economic backgrounds.”

But the focus should be around visually representing ” Black, Indigenous, Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latinx, (and) BIPOC faces.”

The report is also drenched in far-left coded language that means absolutely nothing. Take, for example, the demand to “make human-centered frameworks that avoid pathologizing communities that experience disparities due to social exclusion and oppression and ask for better civic and community investment.” This is a jumble of meaningless jargon.

What’s the point of this Washington Department of Health COVID-19 report?

The DOH report is an exercise in fluffery and pandering. It’s the embodiment of a virtue signal: presenting the groups responsible for the report as noble frontliners fighting against imaginary systemic injustices. Based on ideas in the report, the emphasis on these community organizations shows their perspectives are neither more valuable nor more valid than actual professionals who handle health emergencies.

Advertisement

If this were merely a way to engage community organizations so that they won’t protest you in the future, it would be one thing. DOH doesn’t want to deal with a progressive mob when dealing with any health crisis.

But DOH and other government agencies have aggressively pushed left-wing dogma over their actual missions since 2020. During the pandemic, the DOH let providers deny vaccines to white people in the name of inclusion. This document raises concerns that it could serve as a blueprint for further wokify DOH.

The wrong direction

The insistence on “centering” narratives and experiences primarily on the basis of race is what actually ends up marginalizing people. More problematic, it also reinforces a victimhood mentality, suggesting that these communities are perpetually oppressed and incapable of thriving without special recognition or financial assistance.

The Washington State Department of Health report, if its ideas are implemented, would prioritize racial and social narratives over practical solutions, ultimately marginalizing the very people it claims to uplift.

Washingtonians should be deeply worried that DOH might actually follow through on this laundry list of woke demands, putting ideological posturing over effective public health strategies and initiatives. That won’t serve anyone.

Advertisement

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3-7 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason on X, Instagram and Facebook.





Source link

Advertisement

Washington

Brothers shot Park Police officer who arrested one of them the day before, documents say

Published

on

Brothers shot Park Police officer who arrested one of them the day before, documents say


Charging documents reveal the U.S. Park Police officer who was shot Monday in Southeast D.C. had arrested one of the suspects the day before and was following that suspect at the time.

The suspects are brothers, 22-year-old Asheile Foster and 21-year-old Darren Foster, of Southeast. They appeared in federal court Wednesday afternoon.

Court documents state the Park Police officer who was shot had arrested Asheile Foster on Sunday on suspicion of dealing drugs. The officer said he followed Foster after he was released from jail on Monday and came to Park Police headquarters to get his personal belongings.

According to prosecutors, Foster told police he knew he was being followed by a white Tesla, and he confronted the officer on Queens Stroll Place SE, jumping out in front of the Tesla before the officer swerved around him.

Advertisement

Then, dozens of gunshots went off, the officer told police. He said in charging documents he was shot in the shoulder as he kept driving several blocks to the intersection of Benning Road and Southern Avenue SE, where police found him. A helicopter then took him to a hospital. According to charging documents, the officer was treated and released the same night as the shooting.

A U.S. Park Police officer who was shot in Southeast D.C. on Monday is recovering from what authorities say was likely a targeted attack. Multiple law enforcement sources tell News4’s Mark Segraves that when the officer was shot, he was investigating a shooting that occurred in Anacostia Park on Friday.

Photos in the charging documents show the brothers firing at the officer’s Tesla, according to prosecutors.

The shooting drew a massive police presence to the Southeast neighborhood near the D.C-Maryland border Monday night.

Shell casings littered the middle of the street. Police said they recovered two weapons: a Glock 9 with an extended magazine and an AR-15.

Advertisement

Prosecutors said that when the officer was shot, he was investigating a shooting that occurred in Anacostia Park on Friday. No one was injured in that shooting.

Darren Foster was located and stopped shortly after the shooting, D.C. police said. Asheile Foster was found on Tuesday.

The brothers were charged with assault on a federal officer, assault with intent to kill and weapons charges. They could face up to 60 years in prison if they’re convicted.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Washington

Washington passes new AI laws to crack down on misinformation, protect minors

Published

on

Washington passes new AI laws to crack down on misinformation, protect minors


Washington just became the latest state to regulate artificial intelligence.

Under a pair of bills signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson Tuesday, companies like OpenAI and Anthropic will have to include new disclosures in their popular chatbots for Washington users.

Ferguson asked legislators to craft House Bill 1170 to crack down on AI-generated misinformation. When content is substantially modified using generative AI, that information will now have to be traceable using watermarks or metadata. The new law applies to large AI companies more than 1 million monthly subscribers.

Advertisement

“ I’m confident I’m not the only Washingtonian who often sees something on my phone and wondering to myself, ‘Is that AI or is it real?’ And I feel like I’m a reasonably discerning person,” Ferguson said during the bill signing. “It is virtually impossible these days.”

RELATED: WA Gov. Bob Ferguson calls for regulations on AI chatbot companions

House Bill 2225 establishes new guard rails for AI chatbots that act like friends or companions. It applies to services like ChatGPT and Claude, but excludes more narrowly tailored chatbots, like the customer service windows that pop up when visiting a corporate website.

Chatbots that fit the bill will have to disclose to users that they are not human at the start of every conversation, and every three hours in an ongoing chat. The tools will also be barred from pretending to be human in conversation with users.

Advertisement

The rules go further if the user is a minor. Companies that operate chatbots will have to disclose that the tools are not human every hour, rather than every three hours, if the user is under 18. The bill forbids AI companions from having sexually explicit conversations with underage users. It also bans “manipulative engagement techniques.” For example, a chatbot is not allowed to guilt or pressure a minor into staying in a conversation or keeping information from parents.

“AI has incredible potential to transform society,” Ferguson said. “At the same time, of course, there are risks that we must mitigate as a state, especially to young people. So I speak partly as a governor, but also as the father of teenage twins who grapple with this as a lot of parents do every single day.”

Under the law, AI chatbots will not be allowed to encourage or provide information on suicide or self-harm, including eating disorders. The companies behind these tools will be required to come up with a protocol for flagging conversations that reference self-harm and connecting users with mental health services.

The regulations come in the wake of several high-profile instances of teenage suicide following prolonged interactions with AI companions that showed warning signs. Many more AI users of all ages have reported mental health issues and psychosis after heavy use of the technology.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Washington

Washington faces Utah, aims to stop 16-game skid

Published

on

Washington faces Utah, aims to stop 16-game skid


Washington Wizards (16-55, 14th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Utah Jazz (21-51, 14th in the Western Conference)

Salt Lake City; Wednesday, 9 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Washington heads into the matchup with Utah after losing 16 in a row.

Advertisement

The Jazz have gone 13-24 in home games. Utah ranks second in the Western Conference with 16.6 fast break points per game led by Lauri Markkanen averaging 3.3.

The Wizards are 5-29 in road games. Washington is 9-10 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents and averages 15.3 turnovers per game.

The Jazz score 117.4 points per game, 6.7 fewer points than the 124.1 the Wizards give up. The Wizards’ 46.1% shooting percentage from the field this season is 2.9 percentage points lower than the Jazz have allowed to their opponents (49.0%).

The teams square off for the second time this season. The Jazz won the last meeting 122-112 on March 6, with Ace Bailey scoring 32 points in the victory.

TOP PERFORMERS: Kyle Filipowski is averaging 10.5 points and 6.9 rebounds for the Jazz. Brice Sensabaugh is averaging 19.9 points over the last 10 games.

Advertisement

Alex Sarr is averaging 16.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and two blocks for the Wizards. Will Riley is averaging 14.4 points over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Jazz: 3-7, averaging 116.4 points, 43.3 rebounds, 27.7 assists, 9.9 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 45.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 122.7 points per game.

Wizards: 0-10, averaging 114.3 points, 37.4 rebounds, 24.5 assists, 6.9 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 47.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 130.6 points.

INJURIES: Jazz: Lauri Markkanen: out (hip), Isaiah Collier: out (hamstring), Keyonte George: out (leg), Cody Williams: out (shoulder), Walker Kessler: out for season (shoulder), Jusuf Nurkic: out for season (nose), Jaren Jackson Jr.: out for season (knee).

Wizards: Anthony Davis: out (finger), Tristan Vukcevic: day to day (back), Cam Whitmore: out for season (shoulder), Alex Sarr: day to day (toe), Tre Johnson: day to day (foot), Kyshawn George: out (elbow), D’Angelo Russell: out (not injury related), Trae Young: out (quad).

Advertisement

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending