Tomorrow is May Day. That has numerous connotations around the world. At my college it was a day of weird rituals and play including Maypole dancing and flowers along with strawberries and cream for breakfast. It is traditionally a day to celebrate workers around the world both in public displays and in political speeches.
In 2020, May Day will be a day when people will be asked to listen to demagogues rather than doctors, to pay attention to pseudo-science rather than to serious science. Don't get me wrong. I want the economy to restart but I don't want lives to be lost because we didn't do enough. My husband and I are senior citizens and plan to wear masks in public places for the time being and stretching into the future because we cannot know if others are carriers. Masks really only prevent me from infecting you so can I ask you to protect me? Without testing, and testing that is available and reliable, we don't know how safe any public space is. Do you? If you don't, just whose child or whose parent are you willing to sacrifice? Is it my son whose restaurant will end up killing him because someone else is sick?
On a lighter, happier, and more positive note, tomorrow there is a good chance that I will finish the quilting on the star quilt that I am calling Fuss 'N Feathers. Quilting every half inch throughout the quilt by hand means that every six inches is about four hours. I have enjoyed the process as I always do but even I recognize the difference between my previous skills and my current ones. Right now my husband has my recreation of an antique top hanging in a room in our house. He is the one more likely than I to display the quilts but I admit that I am bowled over by some of what I did years ago.
On another more positive note, spring is sort of coming to life here with the viburnum and the azaleas blooming. We planted out some more tomato starts and we have eaten some collard greens. We have birds nesting in our trees and feeding their young. We even found a young garter snake inside our house with no idea how it got there but we put it out in the garden so it could grow and thrive if it is lucky.
Happy May Day! Life goes on.
Thursday, April 30, 2020
Monday, April 27, 2020
What Does It Say?
What does it say about a man who wanted to be in power, who ran for office, but now wants to stop leading in a meaningful way when it counts? Trump liked the idea of having daily briefings from the press office because he couldn't have rallies, but the briefings turned into a political and personal disaster for him because his approval plummeted. His approval plummeted because the emperor showed up without clothes on and he walked off in a pique. His political aides all told him that the daily viewings were a disaster, an idea so distasteful that he said he wouldn't hold briefings anymore.
Then someone told him that if he did that he would look like a spoiled brat who was taking his very expensive ball and walking home so he decided or perhaps he didn't decide to continue briefings.
That's where we are right now. We have a leader who only wants to lead if people kiss his butt and praise him. But that is not what we need now. We need clear direction not just from our state governors but from our federal government. We need leaders who aren't afraid of losing popularity if they know they are doing the right thing but Trump cannot even listen to the medical and scientific experts long enough to understand what the right thing is. First it was hydroxychloroquine, an ongoing treatment for malaria and lupus but untested and unproven for Covid-19 but a drug that was known to cause heart problems. And yes, it is still untested and unproven for Covid-19 because scientific tests need more than anecdotal evidence.
Then of course there were the statements about light and disinfectant. No matter what has been said subsequent to the original statements, Trump was not being sarcastic when he asked Dr. Birx about testing both of those. Just exactly what he wanted tested remains in limbo but it sounded as though he wanted light beams run through people's skin while they were injected with disinfectant directly into their lungs where it could have a "tremendous effect".
Well, yes, I can absolutely guarantee that if you swallow a light bulb and drink bleach you will not die of Covid-19.
I sincerely hope that this is not the leader that anyone wants any more.
Then someone told him that if he did that he would look like a spoiled brat who was taking his very expensive ball and walking home so he decided or perhaps he didn't decide to continue briefings.
That's where we are right now. We have a leader who only wants to lead if people kiss his butt and praise him. But that is not what we need now. We need clear direction not just from our state governors but from our federal government. We need leaders who aren't afraid of losing popularity if they know they are doing the right thing but Trump cannot even listen to the medical and scientific experts long enough to understand what the right thing is. First it was hydroxychloroquine, an ongoing treatment for malaria and lupus but untested and unproven for Covid-19 but a drug that was known to cause heart problems. And yes, it is still untested and unproven for Covid-19 because scientific tests need more than anecdotal evidence.
Then of course there were the statements about light and disinfectant. No matter what has been said subsequent to the original statements, Trump was not being sarcastic when he asked Dr. Birx about testing both of those. Just exactly what he wanted tested remains in limbo but it sounded as though he wanted light beams run through people's skin while they were injected with disinfectant directly into their lungs where it could have a "tremendous effect".
Well, yes, I can absolutely guarantee that if you swallow a light bulb and drink bleach you will not die of Covid-19.
I sincerely hope that this is not the leader that anyone wants any more.
Sunday, April 26, 2020
LOL
"A report from Axios Friday said that the White House is reportedly planning on scaling back virus-related briefings and may no longer appear daily."
Trump is quoted in multiple news outlets today as complaining that the daily briefings were more trouble than they were worth.
The translation into plain speech of both of the statements above is that Trump's ineptitude and utter stupidity caused his poll numbers to fall and made him the butt of multiple jokes. One fellow made a mock bumper sticker--Biden: He Won't Inject You With Bleach and a young woman made a very funny video--https://www.tmz.com/2020/04/25/tiktok-user-recreate-trump-disinfectant-press-conference/
We all need a good laugh and I for one don't mind it being at Trump's expense.
Trump is quoted in multiple news outlets today as complaining that the daily briefings were more trouble than they were worth.
The translation into plain speech of both of the statements above is that Trump's ineptitude and utter stupidity caused his poll numbers to fall and made him the butt of multiple jokes. One fellow made a mock bumper sticker--Biden: He Won't Inject You With Bleach and a young woman made a very funny video--https://www.tmz.com/2020/04/25/tiktok-user-recreate-trump-disinfectant-press-conference/
We all need a good laugh and I for one don't mind it being at Trump's expense.
Saturday, April 25, 2020
Hallelujah!
I held off buying flour online for any number of reasons. I do prefer to use a local store even if flour isn't a local product. But it has been five weeks since I have seen all purpose wheat flour of any kind at my local grocery store. I had about half of a five pound bag of King Arthur all purpose flour when people started to be nuts. I found a 5 pound bag of Gold Medal bread flour and a 1 pound bag of King Arthur organic all purpose flour that was clearly out of date when I purchased it.
That was five weeks ago and even though my husband and I don't bake that much every small particle of flour began to seem precious. Finally last week, the fifth week of there being no wheat flour at all at the store, I searched online for all purpose flour. Even that was an issue. Lots of sellers wanted to sell 50 pound bags but smaller amounts seemed to be non-existent. I don't know the algorithm for Amazon's search engine but I guess I always assumed that it worked on the "next best guess" idea. But everything was in much larger amounts than I wanted (I feared storing 50 pounds without insect predation), so I kept clicking through until I found a ten pound container of Gold Medal all-purpose flour. Six weeks after I stopped finding flour at the store I got a ten pound bucket of flour on my doorstep.
I understand that I am not the only one in the world who wants flour but having it disappear completely from my local grocery store for five weeks is unheard of. I haven't seen toilet paper or paper towels for five weeks either. If people stocked up on tp early on in this crisis, they might be running out now but even that seems unlikely.
I studied philosophy as an undergraduate so the whole utilitarian idea is quite familiar to me but knowing about what happened subsequent to Hegel and Bentham and John Stuart Mill should put a pause in anyone's consideration of "the greatest good for the greatest number". It prodded all sorts of authoritarian and fascistic governance and even in modern times the lieutenant governor of Texas is encouraging senior citizens like me to sacrifice ourselves so that his grandchildren can have a better life. I want him to inject Lysol or Chlorox in his veins to test Trump's ridiculous statements on Thursday so that his grandchildren can live without a moron for guidance.
It sounds petty and juvenile but my husband and I were so delighted that we finally had flour that he made his very first batch of brownies.
That was five weeks ago and even though my husband and I don't bake that much every small particle of flour began to seem precious. Finally last week, the fifth week of there being no wheat flour at all at the store, I searched online for all purpose flour. Even that was an issue. Lots of sellers wanted to sell 50 pound bags but smaller amounts seemed to be non-existent. I don't know the algorithm for Amazon's search engine but I guess I always assumed that it worked on the "next best guess" idea. But everything was in much larger amounts than I wanted (I feared storing 50 pounds without insect predation), so I kept clicking through until I found a ten pound container of Gold Medal all-purpose flour. Six weeks after I stopped finding flour at the store I got a ten pound bucket of flour on my doorstep.
I understand that I am not the only one in the world who wants flour but having it disappear completely from my local grocery store for five weeks is unheard of. I haven't seen toilet paper or paper towels for five weeks either. If people stocked up on tp early on in this crisis, they might be running out now but even that seems unlikely.
I studied philosophy as an undergraduate so the whole utilitarian idea is quite familiar to me but knowing about what happened subsequent to Hegel and Bentham and John Stuart Mill should put a pause in anyone's consideration of "the greatest good for the greatest number". It prodded all sorts of authoritarian and fascistic governance and even in modern times the lieutenant governor of Texas is encouraging senior citizens like me to sacrifice ourselves so that his grandchildren can have a better life. I want him to inject Lysol or Chlorox in his veins to test Trump's ridiculous statements on Thursday so that his grandchildren can live without a moron for guidance.
It sounds petty and juvenile but my husband and I were so delighted that we finally had flour that he made his very first batch of brownies.
Friday, April 24, 2020
Slaughter on Fifth Avenue
Yesterday, 4/23/, Trump confronted Deborah Birx about using sunshine or ultraviolet light in addition to strong disinfectants such as chlorine or brand names such as Chlorox or Lysol, to combat Covid19 in humans. The footage that is readily available shows Trump looking at Brix, a MD whom Trump insists on calling Deborah, asking her repeatedly to look into investigating his very bizarre claims about using light to fight the virus or injecting some sort of disinfectant into patients. Trump even mentions injecting disinfectant into the lungs and says that it can be very powerful. You don't have to believe me because there are multiple ways to see the video online.
I am not going to go right into Trump's current defense of his ridiculous notions but to point out that Anthony Fauci was nowhere to be seen and to point out that Brix has real medical qualifications, not simply the brain to which Trump alluded in the bizarre episode. Brix swore an oath as a doctor to at least "do no harm" so how she can sit there and say nothing in rebuttal exposes her as a fraud and a poser as well. Someone needs to have the cojones to stand up and say, "Shut up, people will get hurt if you continue talking."
Yes, I understand that Brix and Fauci would be summarily dismissed if they said anything to contradict Trump. But if they don't, then people do get harmed. People have already been harmed because Fauci and Brix have not contradicted Trump forcefully, have not left the stage after contradicting Trump.
Today, 4/24, Trump claims he was being sarcastic to a reporter because he knew his remarks would be misreported and it was all "fake news" anyway. Watch the tape. Watch the tape again.
Do not let this man maintain his position. I am not just imploring you but imploring Fauci and Brix and other medical professionals who demean themselves, their education, their experience and the oath they swore to sit silently while Trump harms our health, our well-being, our families, and our democracy.
I am not going to go right into Trump's current defense of his ridiculous notions but to point out that Anthony Fauci was nowhere to be seen and to point out that Brix has real medical qualifications, not simply the brain to which Trump alluded in the bizarre episode. Brix swore an oath as a doctor to at least "do no harm" so how she can sit there and say nothing in rebuttal exposes her as a fraud and a poser as well. Someone needs to have the cojones to stand up and say, "Shut up, people will get hurt if you continue talking."
Yes, I understand that Brix and Fauci would be summarily dismissed if they said anything to contradict Trump. But if they don't, then people do get harmed. People have already been harmed because Fauci and Brix have not contradicted Trump forcefully, have not left the stage after contradicting Trump.
Today, 4/24, Trump claims he was being sarcastic to a reporter because he knew his remarks would be misreported and it was all "fake news" anyway. Watch the tape. Watch the tape again.
Do not let this man maintain his position. I am not just imploring you but imploring Fauci and Brix and other medical professionals who demean themselves, their education, their experience and the oath they swore to sit silently while Trump harms our health, our well-being, our families, and our democracy.
Thursday, April 23, 2020
Protecting Others
My husband and I have been very careful to wear masks when we go to the grocery store and to sanitize ourselves and our goods when we get home. That's pretty straightforward. But who protects people when places reopen. Our youngest son is a chef, executive chef at a small restaurant in Utah. The governor there is echoing the conservative call to reopen businesses but so far it doesn't seem that much thought has been put into it.
Restaurants are one of the more highly regulated industries in any city or town. The food that comes to the restaurants is watched carefully, the restaurants themselves are inspected carefully and constantly, and that is how it should be. Careless food preparation or careless food service are both responsible for illness and death, as shown by the recent monetary decision punishing Chipotle for spreading the novovirus. Oddly enough, strong employment numbers always exacerbate that issue because fewer people apply for the jobs that are hard, require long hours, and don't necessarily need extensive training. But responsible restaurants and good public health vigilance work together to provide service to customers.
But who protects those workers? It has been an ongoing issue that customers abuse the privilege of eating out, blowing their noses on the napkins and leaving the debris on the plates for others to pick up. But this pandemic raises an entirely different level of complaint and problem. My son's restaurant is an adjunct to an older restaurant, usually ranked as the most popular in the state, and is very small. That means there is a much more personal level of service.
The governor of Utah wants to override city and county restrictions on restaurants but he wants to do so without protecting the chefs, the line cooks, the servers, the busboys, the dishwashers. People are protected from restaurants that flout the rules. People who work in restaurants have to pass tests to get food licenses. Who protects them from their customers?
Clearly you cannot ask patrons at a restaurant to wear a mask which would defeat the purpose of going out to eat. Add to that the problem that most restaurants do not provide any sort of health insurance for their workers as they are and will remain among the worst paid people in the country. Yes, they know that when they take the job or choose the profession as my son did as a teenager. But who protects them from Covid19, an entirely different virus that kills?
How can the state order people back to work without providing testing and care?
Hithery, dithery Don
Tried to run a con.
But Fauci knew
and so do you--
The moron is Don John
Restaurants are one of the more highly regulated industries in any city or town. The food that comes to the restaurants is watched carefully, the restaurants themselves are inspected carefully and constantly, and that is how it should be. Careless food preparation or careless food service are both responsible for illness and death, as shown by the recent monetary decision punishing Chipotle for spreading the novovirus. Oddly enough, strong employment numbers always exacerbate that issue because fewer people apply for the jobs that are hard, require long hours, and don't necessarily need extensive training. But responsible restaurants and good public health vigilance work together to provide service to customers.
But who protects those workers? It has been an ongoing issue that customers abuse the privilege of eating out, blowing their noses on the napkins and leaving the debris on the plates for others to pick up. But this pandemic raises an entirely different level of complaint and problem. My son's restaurant is an adjunct to an older restaurant, usually ranked as the most popular in the state, and is very small. That means there is a much more personal level of service.
The governor of Utah wants to override city and county restrictions on restaurants but he wants to do so without protecting the chefs, the line cooks, the servers, the busboys, the dishwashers. People are protected from restaurants that flout the rules. People who work in restaurants have to pass tests to get food licenses. Who protects them from their customers?
Clearly you cannot ask patrons at a restaurant to wear a mask which would defeat the purpose of going out to eat. Add to that the problem that most restaurants do not provide any sort of health insurance for their workers as they are and will remain among the worst paid people in the country. Yes, they know that when they take the job or choose the profession as my son did as a teenager. But who protects them from Covid19, an entirely different virus that kills?
How can the state order people back to work without providing testing and care?
Hithery, dithery Don
Tried to run a con.
But Fauci knew
and so do you--
The moron is Don John
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Odd Happenstance
As I have written before, I was brought up Roman Catholic but do not consider myself particularly religious. Nevertheless I have a small group of religious art on one of the walls on an interior staircase. These include Russian iconography and an antique crucifix in addition to a Marc Chagall lithograph of Adam and Eve. Last night, about 6 pm my husband I were sitting on a couch looking out the doorway toward that staircase. As I said, it's an interior stair and unless the lights are on it's pretty dark.
You can't see my art in the photo below but you can certainly see why I asked my husband to snap the photo. He didn't use a flash which would have shown the art but wiped out the image shown but it was quite startling occurring between two icons and the crucifix. This is all just natural light from a small area of uncovered window.
I don't mean to mock religion here but it was sort of like seeing the Virgin Mary in a tree knot or something. Fascinating.
You can't see my art in the photo below but you can certainly see why I asked my husband to snap the photo. He didn't use a flash which would have shown the art but wiped out the image shown but it was quite startling occurring between two icons and the crucifix. This is all just natural light from a small area of uncovered window.
Sunday, April 19, 2020
Lovely Day
Unfortunately it was a lovely day here in southeastern Pennsylvania. It brought more people out to the streets and to the parks. Where I live it looked as though most people were maintaining social distancing but all of the data available shows that it won't work to relax too soon. Are we over-reacting? I guess that depends on your political persuasion rather than any evidence.
Political action committees, commonly known as PACs, are encouraging groups to protest against the safeguards put in place by various governments. It is no surprise that these groups, complete with Confederate flags (?), are in states that Trump wants to win in November. So why is some moron with a Confederate flag standing on the statehouse steps in Michigan? What did the Confederacy ever have to do with Michigan which came out strongly for the Union?
It is easy to see the connection between the Trump campaign and the demonstrations when the very same day Trump praises those people because they like him.
Please tell me how liking Trump is going to help with any response to this pandemic? Oh, wait, people who kiss his ass are rewarded with the prime example being the Colorado senator who scored some ventilators because he kissed the Trump ring. We are not only now leading the world in infections and death, but also leading the world in ignorance and sycophancy.
To state in opposition to remarks from Trump--Obama did not leave you behind in ability to respond to this pandemic because Covid19 is a brand new virus. There were no tests for the virus so there were no flawed tests left by the previous administration. The flawed tests came from Trump's direction because prior to 2019 the virus did not exist. Turns out that putting your sycophants in charge of agencies is probably not a good solution. There were gaps in equipment in the federal stock pile because Republicans were in charge of appropriations to restock and they refused. Trump had three years to rebuild the federal stockpile but he did not do so. He had prior information that he did not read or respond to beginning just before Christmas of 2019. How the hell does he blame that on Obama?
Trump did not cause this pandemic but he definitely did not respond to it in any fashion that shows him as being effective or knowledgeable, nor does he show compassion or caring. The stable genius is a stable horse's ass.
Although I was an Army brat and a Navy wife I still tell people that I am from Texas when they ask. So what I want to know is, what the hell are y'all going to complain about when your own mother or father or sister or brother die? This administration has completely botched the response which isn't surprising, but blaming someone else will not work given that this strain DID NOT EXIST when Obama was president. All of these deaths and destruction fall on Trump.
Ask for better, expect better, contact your representative and find out how many testing facilities exist where you live. Become engaged in the reaction to this because otherwise we will be in the same position a year from now.
Political action committees, commonly known as PACs, are encouraging groups to protest against the safeguards put in place by various governments. It is no surprise that these groups, complete with Confederate flags (?), are in states that Trump wants to win in November. So why is some moron with a Confederate flag standing on the statehouse steps in Michigan? What did the Confederacy ever have to do with Michigan which came out strongly for the Union?
It is easy to see the connection between the Trump campaign and the demonstrations when the very same day Trump praises those people because they like him.
Please tell me how liking Trump is going to help with any response to this pandemic? Oh, wait, people who kiss his ass are rewarded with the prime example being the Colorado senator who scored some ventilators because he kissed the Trump ring. We are not only now leading the world in infections and death, but also leading the world in ignorance and sycophancy.
To state in opposition to remarks from Trump--Obama did not leave you behind in ability to respond to this pandemic because Covid19 is a brand new virus. There were no tests for the virus so there were no flawed tests left by the previous administration. The flawed tests came from Trump's direction because prior to 2019 the virus did not exist. Turns out that putting your sycophants in charge of agencies is probably not a good solution. There were gaps in equipment in the federal stock pile because Republicans were in charge of appropriations to restock and they refused. Trump had three years to rebuild the federal stockpile but he did not do so. He had prior information that he did not read or respond to beginning just before Christmas of 2019. How the hell does he blame that on Obama?
Trump did not cause this pandemic but he definitely did not respond to it in any fashion that shows him as being effective or knowledgeable, nor does he show compassion or caring. The stable genius is a stable horse's ass.
Although I was an Army brat and a Navy wife I still tell people that I am from Texas when they ask. So what I want to know is, what the hell are y'all going to complain about when your own mother or father or sister or brother die? This administration has completely botched the response which isn't surprising, but blaming someone else will not work given that this strain DID NOT EXIST when Obama was president. All of these deaths and destruction fall on Trump.
Ask for better, expect better, contact your representative and find out how many testing facilities exist where you live. Become engaged in the reaction to this because otherwise we will be in the same position a year from now.
Saturday, April 18, 2020
Incompetent
From The Guardian: "Jeremy Konyndyk, another central figure in the US battle against Ebola,
told the Guardian that the Trump administration’s initial response was 'one of the greatest failures of basic governance and leadership in
modern times'."
Trump is outdoing himself this week. First he said he had total power and someone reminded him that with total power came total responsibility so he reversed course and said that the governors were entirely responsible for their own states. But then he said that Michigan, Virginia, and Minnesota should be liberated from their governors and their governors' orders which sure sounds like encouraging sedition. Then he not only insisted that there are enough tests, he told everyone that if there were problems that they needed to solve them by themselves. Most governors, even Republican governors, are pointing out that there aren't enough tests but beyond that there aren't even enough swabs.
Trump's response: Trump rejected that request at his press briefing later on Thursday, saying: “You got to be able to go out and find [it]. You know, the federal government shouldn’t be forced to go and do everything.”
That's real leadership there, at least in the bizarre world of Donny One Note's mind.
Trump is outdoing himself this week. First he said he had total power and someone reminded him that with total power came total responsibility so he reversed course and said that the governors were entirely responsible for their own states. But then he said that Michigan, Virginia, and Minnesota should be liberated from their governors and their governors' orders which sure sounds like encouraging sedition. Then he not only insisted that there are enough tests, he told everyone that if there were problems that they needed to solve them by themselves. Most governors, even Republican governors, are pointing out that there aren't enough tests but beyond that there aren't even enough swabs.
Trump's response: Trump rejected that request at his press briefing later on Thursday, saying: “You got to be able to go out and find [it]. You know, the federal government shouldn’t be forced to go and do everything.”
That's real leadership there, at least in the bizarre world of Donny One Note's mind.
Friday, April 17, 2020
Funny Coincidence
I really like to cook. This probably started because I really like to eat. I became very fascinated by flavor when I was quite young, under five years old, and living in Germany with my family. We lived in Heidelberg which had not been totally devastated by WWII and my father, as an officer in the US Army, had access to both post commissary food and most of the local markets around our apartment so we had good bread and good cheese along with other goods. We used to have dinners of that bread and cheese along with delicious sardines and I would just stuff myself on blue cheese and sardines. I suppose those were very odd foods for a very young child to adore but they were a sign of things to come in my lifelong food journey.
Luckily I married a man who likes to eat as well and is adventurous in his food choices too. So we eat all cuisines at our house from American to Japanese to Chinese, German, Irish--you name it we have probably eaten it and made it at home. Clearly there are some problems in making some cuisines simply because of the difficulties in getting the ingredients but in our modern lives those ingredients can be found online. These days it is easier for me to get fresh turmeric at our local store than to get King Arthur flour or really any flour.
Anyway, tonight we are having kimchi jiigae, a sort of pork and kimchi stew from Korea. The funny coincidence is that we had already planned to have our kimchi jiigae even before I read the newspaper this morning where I found an article about five foods that people should eat to improve their health and their mental outlook during this stressful time. Lo and behold kimchi was one of the foods. We had planned the meal because today is supposed to be one of the last cold days of the season with the morning low right around 30F and kimchi jiigae is a great cold weather meal. But now I can eat it knowing I am doing the right thing (in theory anyway) for my mental and physical health.
Luckily I married a man who likes to eat as well and is adventurous in his food choices too. So we eat all cuisines at our house from American to Japanese to Chinese, German, Irish--you name it we have probably eaten it and made it at home. Clearly there are some problems in making some cuisines simply because of the difficulties in getting the ingredients but in our modern lives those ingredients can be found online. These days it is easier for me to get fresh turmeric at our local store than to get King Arthur flour or really any flour.
Anyway, tonight we are having kimchi jiigae, a sort of pork and kimchi stew from Korea. The funny coincidence is that we had already planned to have our kimchi jiigae even before I read the newspaper this morning where I found an article about five foods that people should eat to improve their health and their mental outlook during this stressful time. Lo and behold kimchi was one of the foods. We had planned the meal because today is supposed to be one of the last cold days of the season with the morning low right around 30F and kimchi jiigae is a great cold weather meal. But now I can eat it knowing I am doing the right thing (in theory anyway) for my mental and physical health.
Thursday, April 16, 2020
Mission Impossible
Trump made a speech today about reopening the country. The gist of the speech was a pass the buck thrust because even Trump realized that he couldn't order any governor, not even those who are predisposed to kowtow, to reopen their states to normal business or even abnormal business. But in that speech Trump said that governors are responsible for testing their citizens. Yes, testing needs to happen to reopen but Trump thinks governors can produce uniform testing that is trustworthy out of thin air.
How the heck is that supposed to even be true? The CDC initially controlled the production of the tests and failed miserably. The tests that the WHO initially described to countries were very good but the US refused to use those protocols. The tests that the US made were flawed from the start which meant we fell further behind other countries. This meant we had to go back to the drawing board but it also meant that procuring the chemicals for the tests was harder because all other countries were ahead of us in ordering those chemicals including the reagents necessary. We did such a poor job that the FDA granted emergency permission to outside private labs to make tests, many without any kind of supervision or testing. But on top of that debacle, everyone ended up competing to purchase whatever tests were available. This ended up with municipal governments, state governments, local hospitals and other entities bidding against each other for whatever tests were available without any guarantee that those tests would be accurate or reliable.
Apparently Trump thinks that is a reasonable way to do business while he also points the finger at governors who already have the burden of running their states while their money is running out. If you are my age you remember Reagan saying that the worst words anyone can hear are "I am from the government and I am here to help you," but without government supervision, control, and oversight of testing which includes the productions of the tests themselves, there will not be an exit from this virus at any time in the near future.
We need tests, we need testing sites, we need labs to read the results, we need oversight of all of those components. The federal government is the only entity that can do all of that but Trump wants each individual state government to be culpable for failures so that he can point fingers and call names. He is deliberately setting up states to fail so he can point fingers while at the same time disclaiming responsibility.
If you want life to return to any semblance of normality, you need to contact your representatives and demand an overarching narrative so that every single state, every single county, every single city has the tests and the capacity to test plus the ability for labs to analyze those results. What we don't need is for some yahoo in Nowhere, USA, to say he has a test as long as we send him money and our bank routing numbers. What we don't need is a leader who clearly doesn't want to lead.
How the heck is that supposed to even be true? The CDC initially controlled the production of the tests and failed miserably. The tests that the WHO initially described to countries were very good but the US refused to use those protocols. The tests that the US made were flawed from the start which meant we fell further behind other countries. This meant we had to go back to the drawing board but it also meant that procuring the chemicals for the tests was harder because all other countries were ahead of us in ordering those chemicals including the reagents necessary. We did such a poor job that the FDA granted emergency permission to outside private labs to make tests, many without any kind of supervision or testing. But on top of that debacle, everyone ended up competing to purchase whatever tests were available. This ended up with municipal governments, state governments, local hospitals and other entities bidding against each other for whatever tests were available without any guarantee that those tests would be accurate or reliable.
Apparently Trump thinks that is a reasonable way to do business while he also points the finger at governors who already have the burden of running their states while their money is running out. If you are my age you remember Reagan saying that the worst words anyone can hear are "I am from the government and I am here to help you," but without government supervision, control, and oversight of testing which includes the productions of the tests themselves, there will not be an exit from this virus at any time in the near future.
We need tests, we need testing sites, we need labs to read the results, we need oversight of all of those components. The federal government is the only entity that can do all of that but Trump wants each individual state government to be culpable for failures so that he can point fingers and call names. He is deliberately setting up states to fail so he can point fingers while at the same time disclaiming responsibility.
If you want life to return to any semblance of normality, you need to contact your representatives and demand an overarching narrative so that every single state, every single county, every single city has the tests and the capacity to test plus the ability for labs to analyze those results. What we don't need is for some yahoo in Nowhere, USA, to say he has a test as long as we send him money and our bank routing numbers. What we don't need is a leader who clearly doesn't want to lead.
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
And By The Way
I just watched the PBS News Hour that finished with a segment on how artists around the world are trying to lift people's spirits and encourage support for society through art. Well quilters are famous for that, but unfortunately most quilt projects take too long to complete to show more immediate support. But that doesn't mean that we can't make our work move faster.
Quilters could make small banners to hang on their windows, their doors, their mailboxes (as long as they don't impede mail delivery), that express support for others, for each other. Having seen the News Hour presentation I plan to make two small banners--one for my front facade and one for my side facade. For me the message will be "Hope". Choose your own and show the world that quilters join in expectation and in engagement.
Quilters could make small banners to hang on their windows, their doors, their mailboxes (as long as they don't impede mail delivery), that express support for others, for each other. Having seen the News Hour presentation I plan to make two small banners--one for my front facade and one for my side facade. For me the message will be "Hope". Choose your own and show the world that quilters join in expectation and in engagement.
Social Distancing
We live in a pretty quiet neighborhood here which is a little different from Utah and from our first Pennsylvania house. Many of the houses are owned by older people like us but about half seem to have school age children in them. I can only say "seem" because even before the shelter at home orders were given in Pennsylvania we didn't see much of them. We did see people's dogs but usually not their children, even our adjacent neighbor children who seem to range in age from about two to seven or eight. I don't really know as I haven't met them yet. They moved in right after we did which was right before Thanksgiving and it was cold if not snowy. The yard is always filled with a jumble of bikes, trikes, slides, etc. but they don't move much since the kids don't play outside much. I don't know for sure what they are doing indoors all the time--even with home schooling children need playtime but these children don't go out much.
Most people are very good about the whole social distancing thing but today a man and woman ran right up behind us on a park trail as we were walking, then practically knocked us over pushing by us, and then turned around to say, "Sorry," while huffing and puffing by. I was pretty annoyed as it was very unnecessary as the park and the trail are quite large and they certainly could have avoided any contact. I had read recently that even being in the stream of air coming from someone's breath is a risk if they carry the virus so I made my husband move off the path completely so we weren't behind the couple anymore and I took a shower as did my husband as soon as we got back home. Most weeks our only outdoor excursions except short trips to the very same park are to the grocery store and I have always been organized about limiting grocery shopping anyway so these days that is down to one time a week. My husband had to go the hospital lab yesterday to get blood drawn as a follow up to his prostate cancer treatment and once again I made him shower when he got home and I have made several home made masks so he wore one to get the blood draw.
Being so isolated doesn't feel that strange to us. We are retired, we are older, we have indoor hobbies and we both read quite a bit. So I am not getting cabin fever at all though the change of seasons does mean I have the urge to grow stuff. But I don't think I am doing any more quilting than I would under other circumstances. Still the new project has some pretty dense stitching on it. I made the background a half inch grid and did some smaller scale feathered accents and some fiddly bits.
I am about 1/4 of the way around the double outside border. The cherry bough design is one I got in Dijon, France several years ago and had never used but the scale is just right for this quilt. Keep in mind that the grid is half inch so that gives you an idea of the size of the small branch. The density of the quilting makes it take longer, but of course time indoors is what most of us have right now regardless of how we fill it.
Most people are very good about the whole social distancing thing but today a man and woman ran right up behind us on a park trail as we were walking, then practically knocked us over pushing by us, and then turned around to say, "Sorry," while huffing and puffing by. I was pretty annoyed as it was very unnecessary as the park and the trail are quite large and they certainly could have avoided any contact. I had read recently that even being in the stream of air coming from someone's breath is a risk if they carry the virus so I made my husband move off the path completely so we weren't behind the couple anymore and I took a shower as did my husband as soon as we got back home. Most weeks our only outdoor excursions except short trips to the very same park are to the grocery store and I have always been organized about limiting grocery shopping anyway so these days that is down to one time a week. My husband had to go the hospital lab yesterday to get blood drawn as a follow up to his prostate cancer treatment and once again I made him shower when he got home and I have made several home made masks so he wore one to get the blood draw.
Being so isolated doesn't feel that strange to us. We are retired, we are older, we have indoor hobbies and we both read quite a bit. So I am not getting cabin fever at all though the change of seasons does mean I have the urge to grow stuff. But I don't think I am doing any more quilting than I would under other circumstances. Still the new project has some pretty dense stitching on it. I made the background a half inch grid and did some smaller scale feathered accents and some fiddly bits.
Monday, April 13, 2020
Flim Flam Man
Trump is now claiming that the constitution, that he says he reveres, gives him the authority to order states to reopen. Well, no, it doesn't. Besides that pretty obvious fact (has the CIC even read the constitution--can he even read?), listening to Trump for any rational person is a futile exercise in trying to emulate the young girl in The Exorcist. Can you make your head spin 360 degrees?
"I don't take any responsibility." "States can do their own testing. States are supposed to be doing testing. ... We're the federal government. We're not supposed to stand on street corners doing testing." Or, the government is not your savior. "The government is not supposed to be out there buying vast amounts of items and then shipping. You know, we're not a shipping clerk." These are all real quotes from Trump during this disaster.
Trump has always had a pretty cushy job. He was the son who didn't die and so inherited the business. He certainly wasn't beloved by his parents who sent him to a military academy because he had threatened someone with a knife. Not exactly the behavior his aspiring father wanted from any of his children but at least they got rid of him during his high school years. Not to one of the more highly regarded academic prep schools like Phillips Exeter or St. Paul's but to a mediocre military academy, probably from an ad in the back of the NYT Sunday magazine. They wanted him gone and they wanted him disciplined. He ended up at Fordham where he was a day student so his parents got him back. They should have asked him if he had learned anything at all.
But now Trump declares that he has the power to tell all the states to go back to their regular business. He definitely does not have that power. He did have the power to make this virus less of a problem, he did have the power to make our emergency systems work better, he did have the power to help states when they needed help but he did not use any of those powers. He absolutely does not have the power to override any state's governor's decision to open or close. Even Trump's hound dog Supreme Court cannot find that power in the constitution.
How did Trump spend Easter Sunday? Well he didn't go to church although there are several churches that support him that would have welcomed his presence. He didn't show any penitence or remorse for his own actions, he didn't even mourn for the Americans who have died because he delayed effective response. Instead he made fun of Chris Wallace of Fox News, he mocked Chuck Todd of Meet the Press, he retweeted a conservative supporter who demanded Fauci's firing--but nowhere did he mourn, regret, offer prayers, offer condolence. Typical Easter Sunday for Trump.
If you still support Trump, you need to consider why you do so.
"I don't take any responsibility." "States can do their own testing. States are supposed to be doing testing. ... We're the federal government. We're not supposed to stand on street corners doing testing." Or, the government is not your savior. "The government is not supposed to be out there buying vast amounts of items and then shipping. You know, we're not a shipping clerk." These are all real quotes from Trump during this disaster.
Trump has always had a pretty cushy job. He was the son who didn't die and so inherited the business. He certainly wasn't beloved by his parents who sent him to a military academy because he had threatened someone with a knife. Not exactly the behavior his aspiring father wanted from any of his children but at least they got rid of him during his high school years. Not to one of the more highly regarded academic prep schools like Phillips Exeter or St. Paul's but to a mediocre military academy, probably from an ad in the back of the NYT Sunday magazine. They wanted him gone and they wanted him disciplined. He ended up at Fordham where he was a day student so his parents got him back. They should have asked him if he had learned anything at all.
But now Trump declares that he has the power to tell all the states to go back to their regular business. He definitely does not have that power. He did have the power to make this virus less of a problem, he did have the power to make our emergency systems work better, he did have the power to help states when they needed help but he did not use any of those powers. He absolutely does not have the power to override any state's governor's decision to open or close. Even Trump's hound dog Supreme Court cannot find that power in the constitution.
How did Trump spend Easter Sunday? Well he didn't go to church although there are several churches that support him that would have welcomed his presence. He didn't show any penitence or remorse for his own actions, he didn't even mourn for the Americans who have died because he delayed effective response. Instead he made fun of Chris Wallace of Fox News, he mocked Chuck Todd of Meet the Press, he retweeted a conservative supporter who demanded Fauci's firing--but nowhere did he mourn, regret, offer prayers, offer condolence. Typical Easter Sunday for Trump.
If you still support Trump, you need to consider why you do so.
Friday, April 10, 2020
Ron DeSantis is Wrong
There are all sorts of wacky and wack-job ideas out there. Folks who say they want to go outside because the only way they can develop immunity to the virus is to be exposed to the virus are sort of half right. Yes, if you get the virus and recover, the current thinking is that you won't get it a second time, at least not in the current virus season. But Covid19 is a virus so it is constantly mutating, shape shifting into a different version of itself so being immune to the virus you fall prey to today in no way makes you immune to the virus it becomes when it mutates tomorrow. As an example, just because you had the flu last year doesn't mean that you cannot get the flu this year because that shape shifting flu virus has already changed which is why flu vaccines are constantly being updated to address the new variety. In some but not all cases, having had a virus can make your next encounter less difficult to overcome but it won't mean that you don't get sick at all.
To top that off, this virus, Covid19, is a new virus so there is very little information about it. Obviously that complicates matters because most of what is "known" about the virus is anecdotal rather than scientific, further complicated by a fair amount of distrust about the anecdotes that are available. Some reports out of China indicate that some people who definitely had the virus back in January have already been reinfected in the spring. That may be true or it may be that the virus has already mutated into a different version or it may all be rumor rather than fact. "It is clear that immune responses are being mounted against Covid-19 in infected people,” says virologist Mike Skinner of Imperial College London. “And the antibodies created by that response will provide protection against future infections – but we should note that it is unlikely this protection will be for life.” Instead, most virologists believe that immunity against Covid-19 will last only a year or two. “That is in line with other coronaviruses that infect humans,” says Skinner."
Ron DeSantis said that children should go back to school. His stated reason for this alarming idea is that children don't die from this disease, rarely get the disease, and even if they do get sick they recover and are therefore immune for the future. Well as I attempted to explain above, an immunity to a virus is pretty short-lived because the virus changes pretty quickly. One of the other major flaws in DeSantis' argument is that even if it were true that children do not get sick and do not die from the Covid19 virus (which it is demonstrably not), if they go to school, get covered with the virus through exposure to a carrier, then they obviously bring the virus home to their families, their neighborhood, their bus driver, their crossing guard, etc.
Now Florida is one state that would absolutely be devastated by widespread contagion of this virus simply because it has a much higher than average age for residents. While DeSantis is entirely wrong that children are immune, old people are not just more susceptible but more likely to suffer greater consequences and die. The demographic shift that a large scale die off of Florida's elderly population would cause would certainly upend any political predictions or plans.
There will always be snake oil salesmen and hucksters. Most politicians are both.
To top that off, this virus, Covid19, is a new virus so there is very little information about it. Obviously that complicates matters because most of what is "known" about the virus is anecdotal rather than scientific, further complicated by a fair amount of distrust about the anecdotes that are available. Some reports out of China indicate that some people who definitely had the virus back in January have already been reinfected in the spring. That may be true or it may be that the virus has already mutated into a different version or it may all be rumor rather than fact. "It is clear that immune responses are being mounted against Covid-19 in infected people,” says virologist Mike Skinner of Imperial College London. “And the antibodies created by that response will provide protection against future infections – but we should note that it is unlikely this protection will be for life.” Instead, most virologists believe that immunity against Covid-19 will last only a year or two. “That is in line with other coronaviruses that infect humans,” says Skinner."
Ron DeSantis said that children should go back to school. His stated reason for this alarming idea is that children don't die from this disease, rarely get the disease, and even if they do get sick they recover and are therefore immune for the future. Well as I attempted to explain above, an immunity to a virus is pretty short-lived because the virus changes pretty quickly. One of the other major flaws in DeSantis' argument is that even if it were true that children do not get sick and do not die from the Covid19 virus (which it is demonstrably not), if they go to school, get covered with the virus through exposure to a carrier, then they obviously bring the virus home to their families, their neighborhood, their bus driver, their crossing guard, etc.
Now Florida is one state that would absolutely be devastated by widespread contagion of this virus simply because it has a much higher than average age for residents. While DeSantis is entirely wrong that children are immune, old people are not just more susceptible but more likely to suffer greater consequences and die. The demographic shift that a large scale die off of Florida's elderly population would cause would certainly upend any political predictions or plans.
There will always be snake oil salesmen and hucksters. Most politicians are both.
Thursday, April 9, 2020
Big Brother
If any of you are on LinkedIn you understand how it works. They send you job opportunities to look at, they tell you if any of your links is doing something new or different, they ask you if you know a particular person if that person also has links with your links, and they tell you if you have appeared in any searches. Now I am not on LinkedIn because I am looking for a job nor is that why I joined in the first place. Years and years ago I was asked by one of the young people that I mentored to be a link so that when he began his own job search after college it wouldn't look as though he didn't know anyone. Over the years I have used LinkedIn to find people for whom I had no contact information or to get in touch with someone with whom I have lost contact. As an example, an old girlfriend of my youngest son works for Apple, or at least she did at the time I looked for her. I had gotten a very cool old photographic proof of the first day the Golden Gate Bridge was open that showed pedestrians walking on the bridge in celebration of its completion. So I looked the young woman up on LinkedIn, got the address for her, and sent her the photograph.
Anyway, LinkedIn has different levels of contact depending on how you subscribe and I have always kept mine at the lowest level because I am really not looking for a job. But I do get an email when my profile is searched. Today I received notification that the legislative office of the US House of Representatives looked at my profile twice. It's easy to develop a low degree of paranoia in the current political environment and my bells just started ringing. Could be entirely innocent, could be my blog entries set someone off. If I get visited by any government officials, I will broadcast that as well.
Anyway, LinkedIn has different levels of contact depending on how you subscribe and I have always kept mine at the lowest level because I am really not looking for a job. But I do get an email when my profile is searched. Today I received notification that the legislative office of the US House of Representatives looked at my profile twice. It's easy to develop a low degree of paranoia in the current political environment and my bells just started ringing. Could be entirely innocent, could be my blog entries set someone off. If I get visited by any government officials, I will broadcast that as well.
Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Nice Work If You Can Get It
Stephanie Grisham has been let go from her job as press secretary for the White House. Despite serving in that position for nine months, she never gave a press conference--not one. Nevertheless she was still being paid a six figure yearly salary.
So Grisham was paid a lot for doing nothing and Jared Kushner is paid nothing for doing a lot. Sort of balances out especially given their mutual lack of competence.
Edit: The new press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, cheered on Trump's response to the Covid19 pandemic in February 2020, ""We will not see diseases like the coronavirus come here, we will not see terrorism come here and isn’t it refreshing when contrasting it with the awful presidency of President Obama.”
Sounds like she is a perfect fit for Trump.
In the real world, Covid19 is still raging and there are conflicting reports about changes in projection of duration and morbidity with one model showing fewer than previously predicted but still around 82000 deaths and with real time news showing NY with the largest single increase in deaths in daily deaths yesterday at 731. Who is the awful president now?
So Grisham was paid a lot for doing nothing and Jared Kushner is paid nothing for doing a lot. Sort of balances out especially given their mutual lack of competence.
Edit: The new press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, cheered on Trump's response to the Covid19 pandemic in February 2020, ""We will not see diseases like the coronavirus come here, we will not see terrorism come here and isn’t it refreshing when contrasting it with the awful presidency of President Obama.”
Sounds like she is a perfect fit for Trump.
In the real world, Covid19 is still raging and there are conflicting reports about changes in projection of duration and morbidity with one model showing fewer than previously predicted but still around 82000 deaths and with real time news showing NY with the largest single increase in deaths in daily deaths yesterday at 731. Who is the awful president now?
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Wag The Dog
In the middle of the pandemic, despite desperate need for assistance, Trump is diverting US resources to do drug interdiction on the high seas. That's literally the high seas because Trump is sending large US Navy ships to stop what are claimed to be massive amounts of drugs from coming in to the country from Venezuela--no other information provided. This is all happening when the commander of a US air craft carrier is pleading for help to download 5000 service people from his ship because if they aren't taken off the ship, all of them will come down with Covid19.
My husband was in the US Navy. He served during the VietNam war. He went to VietNam on an MSO (minesweeper oceangoing) to take part in operation MarketTime. Large navy ships are of very little use in stopping drug trafficking because they cannot be moved quickly enough to have an impact. It's like the Titanic trying to avoid the iceberg to move even a destroyer which is relatively small compared to a carrier. My husband's MSO, comparatively small and maneuverable, had a top speed of 14 knots. They couldn't stop the gunboats in VietNam because they were too slow.
If you believe that this interdiction can be effective, you should probably go out and shop and eat because the Easter bunny is coming for you with a very special Easter basket. Perhaps your dog can wag his tail.
My husband was in the US Navy. He served during the VietNam war. He went to VietNam on an MSO (minesweeper oceangoing) to take part in operation MarketTime. Large navy ships are of very little use in stopping drug trafficking because they cannot be moved quickly enough to have an impact. It's like the Titanic trying to avoid the iceberg to move even a destroyer which is relatively small compared to a carrier. My husband's MSO, comparatively small and maneuverable, had a top speed of 14 knots. They couldn't stop the gunboats in VietNam because they were too slow.
If you believe that this interdiction can be effective, you should probably go out and shop and eat because the Easter bunny is coming for you with a very special Easter basket. Perhaps your dog can wag his tail.
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