This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1386215
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1386215
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Misleading headline. The only ones who “are” (present tense) facing criminal charges are those who are selling fake or falsified vax cards. The article itself distinguishes that no one has been charged for possession or use of a fake vax card.
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Lock. Them. Up.
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unlike the European Union and Australia, which have secure digital proof of vaccination,the United States has not created a systematic way to track vaccinations around the nation.
And when we do that’s when the right will really lose their shit.
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Punishment is 30 days cleaning up a covid ward with no protective gear.
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Some folks have such severe oppositional defiance that they’d rather pay $$$ for a forged card and possible fines and jail rather than get a free and safe vaccination.
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Good. This is the correct response.
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It’s already being done in some places…California has a digital vaccine record that you can put into your phone wallet (I have mine in my iPhone). It appears to do a database search that prints out your vaccine information, so it’s pretty easy to replicate. I’m sure other states will do the same, while the red states will refuse and continue to risk the lives of their citizens.
Honestly, it’s harder to get a fake vaccine card than it is to get the shot at this point, and the penalties for the fake card can be really big if judges choose to use them. You’d figure the people who are proud of their unvaccinated status would broadcast it to everyone…I guess they put doing something they want (like a concert) over their principled stand. As usual, they are just selfish assholes.
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“Schools, businesses, the military and local governments are requiring proof of vaccination. Yet, unlike the European Union and Australia, which have secure digital proof of vaccination, the United States has not created a systematic way to track vaccinations around the nation. Most places in the U.S. instead rely on paper cards with handwritten notes, which can be easily forged.”
Can’t they just check the implanted microchip that comes with the vaccine?
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Counterfeit cards are not like fake cash that victimizes the person who takes it. The buyer solicits the card and so is complicit in the creation of the bogus document.
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Yet, unlike the European Union and Australia, which have secure digital proof of vaccination, the United States has not created a systematic way to track vaccinations around the nation.
I live in California. I was given a card when I got my first shot last March and they added info to it when I received my second one in early April. A couple of months ago I got an email from the website tracking all of that for California government that I could get a digital card. It was simple, click here, enter your name and date of first shot, and they sent me digital confirmation that shows when and where I got both vaccinations and a QR code that can be scanned by anyone I show it to. Maybe this has to be done on a statewide basis, although it would be terrific if the feds had one big database that could compile every state’s info in one place.
Edit to add: It was my name and birthdate required to bring up my vaccination data and get my digital record.
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Yet more proof, not that we needed it, that these anti-COVID-vaxxers care about no one but themselves. Their politics, their privileges, it’s all them. Cheat whenever necessary.
At one time, “patriotism” was strongly based on national unity, responsibilities, and when necessary, personal sacrifice. Today, among the GQP, it’s just the opposite.
They’ve reversed what it means to be an American, just as they’ve reversed what it means to be a Christian.
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I wanted to play off that line for a little joke, but worried that it would start a new fad with conspiracy quacks.
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Show me the lives of your friends, neighbors, and community mean nothing to you without actually saying so.
Read the headline again. It doesn’t distinguish between sellers and users of fake cards. The way it’s worded, it covers either or both possibilities, and I would further suggest that’s by design.
What’s interesting to note - and it appears to be the thrust of the article - is that faking anything like a proof of vaccination document is a crime with a lot of precedents.
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The headline should read either:
People Are Facing Federal Criminal Charges For Selling Forged Vax Cards
or
People Can Face Federal Criminal Charges For Forged Vax Cards
Personally I would like to see some prosecutions for use of a forged vax card, especially when used as a pretext to boarding an airplane, thus my interest in accuracy.
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Some of the relevant laws, such as wire and mail fraud, have penalties of up to $250,000 and 20 years’ imprisonment for each email, website visit, call or package sent as part of the scheme. These charges can add up, so that a person who sent an email requesting the card, used Venmo to pay for it, then received it in the mail could face 60 years of imprisonment and $750,000 in fines.
When they shit their pants, they can blame it on the ivermectin.
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Tie that digital record system to voting rights, and then see how they react. If there is a foolproof system to ensure one person votes only when and where they should…would they be for or against such a system?
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At least their shit will be worm-free, gawd bless 'em.
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