On Thursday, Fox News meteorologist Janice Dean, whose unrelenting pursuit of former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was finally rewarded when he resigned from his position, published a photo she had been sent of a New York license plate that read “NomoQomo” delightedly tweeting, “A friend sent me this picture of an awesome New York license plate. #NOMOQOMO.”
A friend sent me this picture of an awesome New York license plate. #NOMOQOMO pic.twitter.com/Bx6PirS9oc
— Janice Dean (@JaniceDean) September 23, 2021
Apparently, the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, which supervises vanity license plates and has certain rules for them, did not find the license plate derogatory or offensive. They state on their website, “You can use personalized plates on passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, motorcycles and trailers,” but add, “Your requested plate combination is subject to review. The DMV is not required to issue your requested plate.”
The NY state DMV asks the rhetorical question, “What plate combinations are restricted?” by answering, “Personalized plates that give the appearance of an official plate or the configuration of special registration classes. Combinations that are considered obscene, derogatory or offensive.”
Cuomo announced he would resign in August following a slew of sexual harassment allegations, but long before that Dean had pursued him over his COVID-19 polices. Dean’s husband tragically lost both his parents to COVID-19; they were residents of assisted living facilities or nursing homes in New York.
As Fox News noted, over 6,200 elderly residents may have died from COVID-19 in New York nursing homes, according to state health department statistics. On March 25, the New York Department of Health issued an advisory that stated nursing homes had to accept residents returning from hospitals whether or not they had a diagnosis of COVID-19. The advisory stated:
During this global health emergency, all NHs must comply with the expedited receipt of residents returning from hospitals to NHs. Residents are deemed appropriate for return to a NH upon a determination by the hospital physician or designee that the resident is medically stable for return. Hospital discharge planners must confirm to the NH, by telephone, that the resident is medically stable for discharge. Comprehensive discharge instructions must be provided by the hospital prior to the transport of a resident to the NH. No resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the NH solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19. NHs are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested for COVID-19 prior to admission or readmission.
In June 2020, Dean slammed CNN for a nine-minute interview with Andrew Cuomo in which they never asked him about the state’s prior policy on returning nursing home residents to their homes even if they had the virus. Dean tweeted, “@CNN doesn’t ask @NYGovCuomo about nursing home deaths. Shame on @PoppyHarlowCNN and @jimsciutto. Bravo to @SRuhle on @MSNBC for being a journalist.”
In October 2020, appearing on NBC’s “Today” show, Cuomo discussed his new book, “American Crisis,” that spoke of his “hard-won lessons in leadership and his vision for the path forward.” During the interview, Cuomo likened the COVID pandemic to a sporting event, claiming, “The game isn’t over.”
Dean fired back on Twitter: “Profiting on the deaths of over 30,000 New Yorkers. … Also, the governor refers to the pandemic and the deaths of our loved ones (as) ‘a game.’”
In November, Cuomo stated, “The key is to be strong and secure enough to admit your mistakes and admit your shortcomings — don’t get defensive. Denying the mistake only assures repeating the mistake. We have made mistakes during COVID; I wrote a book on the lessons to be learned from the COVID crisis.” Seeing Cuomo’s new statement, Dean fired back, “This guy is a real piece of work.”