Crash Course: “Sick disgusting human beings”: Right-wingers use NFL player’s collapse to push anti-vax conspiracy

MAGA conservatives tried to score political points after the Buffalo Bills' Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field. Your daily update from [Salon](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvY2d0ZTN5bWV5di8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2wmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo). “Sick disgusting human beings”: Right-wingers use NFL player’s collapse to push anti-vax conspiracy Right-wing anti-vaxxers pushed a debunked conspiracy blaming COVID shots after NFL player Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field on Monday. Hamlin, a 24-year-old safety for the Buffalo Bills, suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed on the field after a scary hit to his chest during the Monday Night Football matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. Players surrounded Hamlin as he received CPR for about nine minutes before being taken off the field in an ambulance. The game was postponed and Hamlin was taken to a local hospital. some right-wing anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists used the incident to stoke a [widely debunked claim](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMveG45dzBjbTJnZS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2xXA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) that the COVID vaccine is causing young, healthy athletes to suddenly collapse. "This is a tragic and all too familiar sight right now: Athletes dropping suddenly," tweeted Charlie Kirk, the head of the Trump-allied Turning Point USA. "There have been too many recent #diedsuddenly cases to deny it anymore," wrote failed Nevada GOP gubernatorial candidate Joey Gilbert. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., condemned the conspiracy theorists for trying to use the alarming episode to advance their baseless claims. "Sick disgusting human beings. This isn't politics this is straight up heartless, cold, evil," he [wrote on Twitter](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvanRrdWczcGNjbS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2xXA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo). Kinzinger specifically called out Kirk in another tweet, calling him the "biggest piece of human garbage that can possibly exist right now." [Read more from Igor Derysh.](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvMnhsemQ2bTZjeS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2wmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) (Photo via Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) Scene of the crime: Was there a conspiracy to keep Cassidy Hutchinson silent? The September [transcripts](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvbGN2NjhmNmZldS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2xXA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) of star witness Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony before the House Jan. 6 committee read like a script for a sequel to "Goodfellas," Martin Scorsese's legendary crime film. In May 2022, Hutchinson, a former top aide to Mark Meadows, who was Donald Trump's final White House chief of staff, gave the committee some of its most incriminating testimony against Trump. But that damning testimony came in Hutchinson's third interview with the committee, only after she did a complete course correction. In two earlier sessions with the committee, she had apparently adhered to the advice of her then-lawyer, Stefan Passantino, that she answer "I don't recall" to virtually every question the committee asked — advice that led her to deny recalling things she had in fact recalled. Soon after her blockbuster interview in May, she replaced Passantino with new lawyers and gave the committee further interviews in September. [Read more from Laurence Tribe and Denis Aftergut.](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvMnhjbHNldjZlei8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2wmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images) - America's [epidemic of loneliness](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvanlzN2x6d2Rpby8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2wmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo): The raw material for fascism - "This must be stopped": Kevin McCarthy's first move is to ["gut" congressional ethics watchdog](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvdXlieWNjaWpvay8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2wmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) - "The Last of Us" could change how Hollywood does video games, but [hateful gamers make it difficult](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvOTQyd3BubXA4by8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2wmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) - ["They got Daddy"](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvdjhocnp6c2k4cC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2wmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo): Reckoning with my grandfather's kidnapping, racial terror and our family's trauma - What happens when a family [caregiver needs caregiving?](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvYmJuaHF5ZjhyNC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2wmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) - [From "Aquaman" to "Avatar,"](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvY2N5ZWt6MjJ2NS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2wmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) ocean-centric blockbusters are eroding our terrestrial bias - The [scientist who discovered sperm](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvZ21pbmVuMDNxaC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2wmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) was so grossed out he hoped his findings would be repressed - ["Hot girl food"](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMveHd3c3BiNW9zci8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2wmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo): How food porn changed in 2022 - 5 of our [favorite cookbooks](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvZHBzZGV1bzY3My8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2wmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) to carry you into 2023 If you found yourself here without subscribing, sign up for [Crash Course](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvcGczbWhpbGI1cC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2wmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo), so you don't miss anything! The GOP is about to go wild with phony Biden investigations. The media must not take the bait Republicans have been drooling openly for weeks now over the small House majority they will have in the new year, and not because they have plans for legislation that will improve the lives of Americans. Nah, the blueprint for 2023 is all revenge on Democrats, all the time. Republicans are still salty over House Democrats investigating Donald Trump for minor transgressions like attempting to overthrow democracy and sending a murderous mob after Congress and his own vice president. The main form this revenge will take will be endless, stupid "investigations" into the various conspiracy theories about President Joe Biden that have been dredged up from the bowels of right wing media. Republicans understand all too well the Achilles heel of the mainstream media: The cavernous longing for "balance." Journalists want desperately to be seen as objective and the cheapest way to achieve that is to present "both sides" as equally corrupt. The problem, of course, is that simply isn't true. Democrats, like all political parties, have their problems, and when they mess up or engage in corruption they should be held accountable. But their issues at the moment are a pittance compared to the endemic lying and corruption of the party of Donald Trump. One way for the press to achieve "balance" is to make mountains out of Democratic molehills — or worse, to cover flat-out fake or unimportant stories as if they were for-real scandals. [Read more from Amanda Marcotte.](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvN2FwODZtdDB5ZC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2wmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) (Photo via Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) - "The Privatization of Policing," [Compact Magazine](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvZmExd3o5M3RwMC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2xXA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) - "How Southwest Airlines Melted Down," [The Wall Street Journal](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvN2RvMmRrcTRuay8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2xXA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) - "The Strangely Beautiful Experience of Google Reviews," [Longreads](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvZG43b2NjZTloZy8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2xXA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) - "The Childish Drama of Elon Musk," [The Atlantic](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvaHp3NzdpMDQ3dy8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2xXA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) - "The Law That Brought Down Mob Bosses Is Being Turned Against the Oil Industry," [Slate](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvNGNjOW9kbnIxdy8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2xXA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) - "What It’s Like to Have a Paralysing Fear of Falling Asleep," [Vice](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMveno4bDlxNTY3eS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2xXA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) Meet the new MAGA generation: These newly-elected Republicans set to join Team MTG Trumpist election deniers were soundly defeated in competitive midterm races this year, for the most part. But there's no shortage of far-right MAGA diehards who are joining Congress this week, mostly elected from safe Republican districts and states. While the midterm elections served as a sweeping repudiation of fringe Trump-backed candidates in many swing states and purple districts, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's 21-point re-election victory in her rural district in northwestern Georgia makes clear that Trumpism is still alive and well in deep-red areas. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy predicted a "red wave" that never reached shore — and it's still not entirely clear that McCarthy can get himself elected speaker on Tuesday. Even so, there are 48 new Republicans entering Congress, at least half of whom count as [election deniers](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvOGx1c2R0eWZ0Zi8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2xXA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo). Republicans have already vowed to put far-right lawmakers like Greene and Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona [back on key committees](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvOGhuZGQxd2JqbC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2wmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) and to launch aggressive investigations into the [Biden administration and his family](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMveWJtZnFxazJpMC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2wmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo). McCarthy will need the most extreme Republican members in order to pass any legislation, and given the GOP's slim margin, his speakership (assuming he gets there) will be subject to their whims. Here are six new Republicans to watch in 2023. [Read more from Igor Derysh.](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0RoaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvZzVpenU5ZWMzNC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXN2dnh4emh1N2wmbGhfZW09dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODUlNDBnbWFpbC5jb21XA3NwY0IKY6JOarVjGcPVGlIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images) [Unsubscribe from this list](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0RCaHR0cHM6Ly9yZWFkLmxldHRlcmhlYWQuZW1haWwvY3Jhc2gtY291cnNlL3Vuc3Vic2NyaWJlP2lkPUAzNTQzOTUyVwNzcGNCCmOiTmq1YxnD1RpSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAKA~~) Copyright © 2023 Crash Course, All rights reserved. 1000 N. West Street, Suite 1200, Wilmington, DE 19801 [Made with Letterhead [Letterhead logo]](~/AASU4wA~/RgRll-9NP0QiaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvbmVwbm83czh5c1cDc3BjQgpjok5qtWMZw9UaUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW44NUBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAACg~)