Milestones in the USA:
Are
There Enough Senate Republican
Votes to Convict T****?
Milestones in the USA:
T**** after
his violent mob attacked
Congress: "What
I said was totally
appropriate." You think
T****ers are done? They aren't
done:
The Attempted Coup that was
also a Superspreader
Event: And 73% of Republicans think
T**** is still "Protecting
American Democracy": T****
approval ratings after mob
attack
Milestones in the USA:
Regarding the armed insurrection January 6 attack on the US Capitol: More Chilling Stories of the Capitol Riot Emerge: Updates. It was much worse than we thought. Fox has been calling this a "spontaneous protest that got a little out of hand" for days now. Oh, and by the way, Fox is blaming it all on Democrats and BLM. It wasn't a protest. It wasn't a riot. It wasn't spontaneous, and it was designed to be violent from the start. It was a planned, organized coup attempt, by way of an armed mob attack, deliberately lead by T**** and tacitly enabled by the Capitol Police, many of whom were pleased to help. Months ahead, T**** gutted the DHS Threat Assessment program. This is extremely serious, and getting more so, as more is learned. More caches of weapons, incendiaries and explosives have been found. The attackers grabbed the first officer blocking the door, pulled him out, and beat him badly with weapons they had brought. Six people have died.
What we need is to impeach T**** and remove him from office immediately, and prosecute him for sedition. Right now. Or else he'll do it again. On Inauguration Day, T**** will announce his bid for the 2024 Presidential Race. T**** supporters, convinced that they can remove Biden and Harris by force, plan to attack the Biden Inauguration. I dislike making such predictions, but if T**** is still President on January 20, I fear there will be a great deal of civil violence, both widespread, and deliberately targeted to achieve a Coup. By the way, the armed militia takeover of the Washington State Capitol building planned for today was cancelled -- after the Governor called up the National Guard.
Milestones in the USA:
Milestones in the USA:
Science: Culture:
Milestones in the USA:
Milestones in the USA:
Culture:
December 11, 2020 update: game change.
Milestones in the USA:
106 GOP House Members try to overturn the election.
Milestones in the USA:
Milestones in the USA:
Dethroned? Newsmax Rises On Resentment Of Trump Fans Toward Fox News Food:
Milestones in the USA:
Milestones in the USA:
Well. It's awful and Trump is still saying "it's fine." And he won't let President Elect Biden's team even start a Pandemic Transition.
The GOP is terrified that if Trump concedes, then MAGA Hat voters will lose heart and think the Party abandoned them. They won't bother to vote in the Georgia Runoff. If the two Democrats win the Georgia Senate seats -- AND THEY COULD -- the GOP Senate Majority is broken.
Thank goodness that GOP Leaders In 4 States Quashed A Dubious Trump Scheme On Electors -- even though that would not have worked. Trump has no chance at an election-stealing coup via the Electoral College. Meanwhile, the damage rolls on:
Milestones in the USA:
SARS-CoV-2:
But some Democrats have thoughts of their own:
Here's one of the best recent articles about her: Who Is AOC: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Her Rise to Political Power. And you may be interested to learn about the very successful model of Democratic Socialism in Scandinavia: A Beginner’s Guide. The Fall Of Herr Drumph:
Milestones in the USA:
After more research, and a kind person sending me some new links, I will edit this to reflect reality. Because that's what reasonable people do: when we learn something new, we change our minds. So then. Joe won, and he won decisively. Joe won.
Milestones in the USA:
The "Blue Wave that didn't happen." With Joe Biden leading by ten to fifteen percent among registered voters, and by twenty percent in approval polls, victory seemed inevitable, and a landslide likely. He did, in fact, win by about 4 million (Final update: over 7 million) votes. But the Electoral Votes are what counts in America, and it was a squeaker. The GOP very nearly won, by using voter suppression. They:
But do not forget; voter suppression works. Iowa directly disenfranchised 260,000 voters with a restrictive ID law. Georgia disenfranchised 100,000 people by forcing early registration cutoffs. North Dakota disenfranchised thousands of Native Americans with a targeted physical address registration requirement. Texas likely disenfranchised millions of voters by limiting ballot drop boxes specifically in urban Democratic areas. Voters in Democratic districts had to stand in line for hours, some in bad weather, all exposed to a dangerous virus. If every eligible voter in America had been allowed to vote unmolested and unhindered, I believe it is likely that Biden would have won by a massive landslide. A few items:
Milestones in the USA:
I must admit to being in a very dark place this morning. I suspect that the massive, sweeping, nationwide voter suppression, disenfranchisement, and election fraud methods used by Trump and his followers will work. And the people that are doing this call themselves Americans.
Trying to find out if rehearsing and performing will kill you: Reducing bio-aerosol emissions and exposures in the performing arts - Colorado State University School of Music, Theatre and Dance I will try for something a little more lighthearted:
As Trump closes in on his grab for the election, a Pandemic disaster encircles the nation and the world. Milestones:
How
banks ripped off Americans,
destroyed HALF of America's Black
wealth, and got away with it: The Steal of the
Century. Dr Sanjay Gupta on Colbert's Late Show: The current SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic is going just as badly as the 1918 pandemic.
Milestones:
Wow, people in Utah are really polite:
Milestones:
Decorate: Herr Drumph:
Milestones:
The list of "Coronavirus Super-spreader Events" continues to grow: the Maine wedding, a Georgia funeral, a Boston conference, a Washing state choir rehearsal, a single dinner at a restaurant, a Miami Beach party, a Trump rally, and the devastating event at Sturgis where 250,00 new cases were caused by a motorcycle rally. The consequences of the Sturgis event are so dire that the wacko MAGA Media is in full propaganda mode, issuing frantic denials of reality from every outlet, echoed back and forth between medical ignoramuses like Rush Limbaugh and the Rat Lickers at Fox News.
Milestones:
Police State:
Why I hate committee meetings:
Of course he was: It's about damn time: It will be interesting to see if
the "automaker for the 1%" will face
the same disastrous fallout from
this as "the people's car" maker
did: Mercedes-Benz
fined $1.5 billion for emissions
cheating.
COVID-19 news:
Cases by date:
With the current air quality in the gutter for large swaths of the country, thanks to massive wild fires, air pollution is a serious problem for millions of Americans with respiratory difficulties. For current fire information: https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/googleearth.php. It has links to fire data for Google Earth. Use the AFM KML Bundle, which you can download and then open in Google Earth. After it is open, save it to your places. These various layers have far more fire information than I have seen elsewhere. Some air quality websites to check: The most accurate local air quality monitoring and forecast I have found is to use the NOAA point forecast for your location, and then click on the Air Quality Forecast link. For example, the NOAA Point Forecast for Denver would be: https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=39.74&lon=-104.992 (for your own location, enter your local zipcode in the search box, upper left.) The Denver Air Quality Forecast (it's just below the Detailed Forecast list): https://airquality.weather.gov/probe_aq_data.php?latitude=39.74&longitude=-104.992 The "1 Hour Surface Smoke (µg/m³) 06Z Model Run" is the most important measurement for wildfire smoke. Low numbers are good, high numbers are bad. Good (0–50)More links:
August 23, 2020 US cases: 5,851,809 -- deaths: 180,304 -- death rate: 3.1%By the time the election rolls around, the USA will likely have over 250,000 deaths, and over 10 million cases. My prediction: unless Joe Biden wins by a remarkable landslide, it will take an act of Congress to remove Trump from the White House. And an even sadder prediction: this election will be so chaotic that it will only be possible to estimate the outcome. Trump will cause and use that chaos to insist that he won, and that Democrats cheated to win. COVID-19:
When I was a young man, I saw a small poster that said, "If voting really made a difference, the Government wouldn't let you do it." And now we know that it must make a big difference because the Government is trying, very hard, to stop you from voting.
You may find this Safety Sign Generator entertaining. It was actually intended for serious use, but silly use is good, too. August 14, 2020 US cases: 5,431,381 -- deaths: 170,782 -- death rate: 3.1%An exceptionally informative article: Asymptomatic people with coronavirus may hold the key to ending the pandemic. Adjuvants: A Key Ingredient For Making A COVID-19 Vaccine Work The timeline itself shows that Trump wasn't much interested in testing or masks -- until Red states started getting hit hard. Was it deliberate?
Other Covid-19 news:
Do you want Trump's face on Mount Rushmore? Well, you're going to get it, unless we stop him. Trump is trying to destroy the US Postal Service in order to suppress votes against himself. We must fight against this, and we must fight now. Call, write donate, get it done. Save the
USPS:
 The world is getting:
A few other oddities:
August 11, 2020 US cases: 5,265,957 -- deaths: 166,763 -- death rate: 3.2% Perspective: comparisons between COVID-19 and the 1918 Influenza Pandemic. Exact numbers for the 1918 Pandemic are not possible; record keeping of the day was not reliable enough, many records were lost, and WWI made any possibility of accuracy impossible. Still, we have estimates: In the USA, the 1918 Flu killed somewhere between 500,000 to 850,000 (0.48 to 0.81 percent of the population). Those numbers, just for the sake of perspective, can be rounded off to 675,000 deaths, at 0.65 % of the population. An estimated 28% of the population of 105 million became infected. 1918 Influenza in America (pop 105,000,000):
Could it get ten times worse? Yes, it could, very easily. The current rate of case increase (doubling every 40 to 50 days) will result in us reaching a 1918-level disaster in 23 to 28 weeks, unless we stop politicizing the science and the response. This needs leadership by word and example and action. Sadly, the next 20 weeks are lost to us, thanks to Trump's blundering, and his loyal GOP Senate. My own prediction is that, by the time Biden takes office in January -- if he takes office -- we will be seeing around 20 million US cases, and between 3 and 6 million deaths. I hope I am wrong, because this will far surpass the deaths from the 1918 Influenza Pandemic -- unless we immediately start paying people, kids included, to stay home, do massively expanded testing and contact tracing, and rebuild the US health care capacity. If Trump's Hail Pharma magically produces a vaccine, good enough, cheap enough, and distributed enough, to make a dent, it will be too late to prevent the losses already suffered due to incompetence. It has been 25 or so weeks since this started. I am not optimistic about the next 20 weeks. In other words, if Biden wins the election, we are currently only about half-way through Donald Trump's handling of the Pandemic. August 9, 2020 US cases: 5,181,399 -- deaths: 165,423 -- death rate: 3.2%COVID-19 news:
Culture:
August 6, 2020 US cases: 5,032,179 -- deaths: 162,804 -- death rate: 3.3%US cases went from 4 million to 5 million in 16 days. Expect 6 million by August 22 -- if not sooner. Us cases have doubled every 41 to 44 days. We may see 8 million cases by Labor day -- or we may get lucky, and not see 8 million until September 23, two weeks later. August 4, 2020 US cases: 4,901,364 -- deaths: 159,853 -- death rate: 3.3%The USA will likely reach 5 million cases in the next two or three days.
An idiotic argument I've heard is, "You're not in any danger unless you have an underlying condition." Those conditions include:
Of the remaining population with no underlying medical conditions, 36% of the US population has Type A blood -- an increased rick factor. That adds up to 74% of the US population being at some risk for COVID 19. A good version of the "masks required" sign: MASK REQUIRED
Do not pout. Do not
whine. Do not argue.
Do not harass employees. Do not throw a temper tantrum. Do not spout conspiracy theories or regurgitate misinformation you read on FaceBook. This is not political, it's basic medical science. "I left it in my car." Go get it. "This is unconstitutional." Not it's not. "This is a hoax." 160,000 dead Americans would disagree, if only they could. A lucid look at expert's estimates on When Will Life Return to Normal? Now, I'm not saying that Trump deliberately decided to let the virus ravage blue states, because red states were doing relatively OK, but he didn't even begin to change his idiotic views until after red states started to look much worse then blue states.  I want to see Nike make facemasks with their swoosh, and the words "Just Wear It." August 2, 2020 US cases: 4,810,332 -- deaths: 158,310 -- death rate: 3.3%In the new GOP plan, you can’t sue your employers for giving you COVID — but they can sue you for requesting safe working conditions. SARS-CoV-2 medical news:
July 29, 2020 US cases: 4,521,761 -- deaths: 152,851 -- death rate: 3.3%National Teachers Union Approves Potential Educator 'Safety Strikes' The USA is currently adding a million cases every two weeks. The world is adding two million cases per week. The mortality rate is falling -- because younger people are getting it. In the USA, the 20 - 30 age group is the highest percentage of cases. People in that age group have been told -- by Trump and by Fox -- that they are "immune" from ill effects of SARS-CoV-2. Sadly, they are not immune; over a thousand of them have died from the virus. And they are spreading it like wildfire. The highest risk activities now are at concerts, sports events, bars, restaurants, and public beaches -- places where people in their twenties congregate. I'm unsure how to proceed with this blog. It has a light readership -- perhaps 20 - 30 per day. It's mostly a way for me to convey articles I find noteworthy to a few people, and to vent a little. But we all know that the virus is out there. We all know the the Trump administration has been criminally negligent -- and actually deliberately obstructive -- in combating the pandemic. We all know that it's getting worse, fast. So I will probably not continue to post articles that state the obvious. Instead, I will try to focus on articles that I especially find informative, or which have a perspective that is not widely disseminated. I will keep pointing out the ongoing police violence, and racial disparities, because those problems fall so quickly from the national media's radar. The new sound of hospitals; people pounding on glass: This American Life: 709: The Reprieve on Apple Podcasts From The Lancet, one of the most respected medical journals in the world: Physical distancing, face masks, and eye protection to prevent person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2
How Long Does COVID-19 Immunity Last After Recovering? 90% of recovering patients had antibody responses that lasted at least three months. "It's reasonable to assume that there will be protection for a time frame of one to three years." SARS-CoV-2 and other health news:
When you stack these graphs up and look at them, you may indeed ask, WTF Happened In 1971? I happen to be old enough to remember exactly what happened in 1971. America had been booming since the end of the war. Europe and Asia had been in a shambles, but in twenty five years, the global economy had recovered pretty well, and the rest of the world started to boom, too. Even South America and Africa had started to boom. The owners of the biggest US corporations gathered together, and decided they wanted that money. They wanted to go global, capture, consolidate, and dominate world markets. July 21, 2020 US cases: 4,018,598 -- deaths: 144,800 -- death rate: 4.1%We went from one million to two million in six weeks. We went from two million to three million in four weeks. We went from three million to four million in 15 days. It's doubling every six weeks. It's too late to sound the alarm, it's too late to level it off, and it's too late to stop it. Just hang on, and stay as safe as you can.
Franklin Veaux's answer to How can a disease with 1% mortality shut down the United States? For every one person who dies:(Editor's note: this amounts to a total of 118 million Americans taken out of the productive workforce -- probably permanently. This is ONE THIRD of the country -- the exact same proportion of people killed by the Black Death. And it will cost additional billions to take care of 112,000,000 newly disabled people.) People are quoting A cluster randomised trial of cloth masks compared with medical masks in healthcare workers and claiming that the study says "cloth masks are worse than nothing." They did not say that. They said that we need medical grade masks, used appropriately, and that the shortage of those has forced people -- including medical professionals -- to use poor substitutes. They said that "standard practice" -- which includes the use of medical grade n-95 or surgical masks, plus gowns, head coverings, face shields, footie coverings and gloves, where appropriate -- is better than wearing only a cloth mask. They also said (in the March 30 addendum, "cloth masks as a last resort") that cloth masks are better than nothing. And right now, in far too many cases, nothing is all many medical professionals have. It's similar to the Soviets fighting Nazi Panzer divisions in WWII with nothing but foot soldiers and small arms. It was rather less than ideal, but those were desperate times. They did the best they could with what they had. It's hitting kids very hard:
For each teacher, for the entire year, one mask, and one glove. Not one pair -- just one single glove: Insulting “support” from the Arkansas Dept of Education. An illuminating COVID-19_Risk_Chart. And more of, sadly, the same:
Trying to lighten up a bit: July 11, 2020 US cases: 3,332,352 -- deaths: 137,211 -- death rate: 4.1%TIPPING POINT:
"Why don’t we let this wash over the country?” asked Trump. I wish I could be hopeful, or optimistic, or encouraging, but at this point, we must all simply do the best we can to protect ourselves, and take care of ourselves -- completely by ourselves. We have been utterly abandoned by the Trump Administration. Not only has all responsibility been completely abdicated, but Trump is trying his hardest to actually make this worse, faster, by forcing schools to reopen under threat of Federal defunding.
If you've been "Doom Scrolling" late at night, and losing sleep as a result, consider getting this: The Ocushield is more than a screen protector, it’s a blue light smashing medical device An important article regarding reducing the spread of SARS-CoV-2, AKA COVID-19, AKA Coronavirus: From Science Magazine, 26 June, 2020.
The article begins on page 1422 of this issue (page 22 of the PDF document.) July 8, 2020 US cases: 3,143,691 -- deaths: 134,677 -- death rate: 4.3%  Depraved
indifference, gross stupidity:
Trump administration moves to formally withdraw US from World Health Organization As the testing increases worldwide, the apparent death rate is slowly dropping, from a worldwide high of 7% and a US high of 5.9%. Learning that the virus is somewhat less lethal than early cases indicated is good news, but the uncontrolled spread is bad news. Trump asked over and over "Why can't we just let this 'wash over' the country?" He was told, "Millions of people would die." And at this point, it looks like Trump has delayed, obstructed, and trivialized long enough, and interfered with PPE long enough, that he will get his wish. Without intervention, COVID-19 will indeed "Wash Over" America, leaving somewhere around 5 to 10 million Americans dead. If we have a 100% infection rate and the current 4.3% mortality, it will be over 14 million dead. If we have a 70% infection rate and a much lower 3% mortality, it will be a "mere" 7 million. And Republicans Want To Make Sure You Can't Sue Your Boss If You Get Sick. How the actual experts are doing it: How Fauci and other experts deal with coronavirus risks in their everyday lives. At a shockingly high rate, Brain problems are linked to even mild virus infections. Well, duh: WHO says 'evidence emerging' airborne COVID-19 spread may be a threat indoors. From a culture where face coverings are part of daily life: No mask? No problem. No sanitation, either: Freedom Cafe... Where all the rules apply, or don't.
July 1, 2020 US cases: 2,751,119 -- deaths: 130,390 -- death rate: 4.7% Where Are Coronavirus Cases Getting Worse? Explore Risk Levels County By County New sources of important information (now added to the sidebar):
An emerging Influenza with very dangerous potential: A Swine Flu Strain With ‘Pandemic Potential’ Found in China This is what happens when a country is ruled by medical ignorance, during a Global Pandemic:
Trump did nothing when he was briefed that Russia paid Bounties to Kill U.S. Troops - NYT
Wise words from a funny, shocking, infuriating guy: International Leadership Award Presented to Sacha Baron Cohen (video, worth watching) June 26, 2020 US cases: 2,530,449 -- deaths: 127,118 -- death rate: 5.0%Just as every single medical professional in the entire world predicted, the premature abandonment of precautions against COVID-19 in the USA has unleashed a fresh wave of infection, breaking all previous records for new cases and deaths. Stay safe, stay home -- as much as possible -- and stay alive. And in the midst of this: Obamacare Must 'Fall,' Trump Administration Tells Supreme Court How to manage a pandemic, compared to how not to manage a pandemic:7-day average cases, EU vs US Some science on why face masks work:
However, if this is true, the Bad News is that COVID-19 may be far more contagious than previously thought -- and it's already somewhere between R0 3.0 and R0 6.0. Some more science, from the exceptional mind of David Brin: CONTRARY BRIN
On the protests against inequality:
Some fun items:
June 19,2020 US cases: 2,291,145 -- deaths: 121,308 -- death rate: 5.3%I was looking up the cases about black men "found hanging" recently, and only one site had all three of them: Three Black Men Found Hanging Spark Calls for Lynching Investigations They also had an article entitled: Not Just Tulsa: Five Other Race Massacres That Devastated Black America Since then, the numbers have gotten even worse: 6 people of color have died in sudden string of hangings across nation. That led me to look up websites that are considered to be "Black News" sources, and I found a world that is completely hidden from view, as far as the standard US media is concerned. Here are some sources of news and perspective that we should all be looking at, and reading, to see what it being left out of the "regular" news:
More Trumpish mayhem:
June 14, 2020 US cases: 2,150,487 -- deaths: 117,591 -- death rate: 5.5%In the fight for our lives, against the most deadly pandemic of this generation, some states are doing better than others:  COVID-19 news:
An Important Article: Confessions of a Former Bastard Cop "Understand: Police officers are part of the state monopoly on violence, and all police training reinforces this monopoly as a cornerstone of police work, a source of honor and pride. Many cops fantasize about getting to kill someone in the line of duty, egged on by others that have. One of my training officers told me about the time he shot and killed a mentally ill homeless man wielding a big stick. He bragged that he 'slept like a baby' that night. Official training teaches you how to be violent effectively and when you’re legally allowed to deploy that violence, but 'unofficial training' teaches you to desire violence, to expand the breadth of your violence without getting caught, and to erode your own compassion for desperate people so you can justify punitive violence against them." So far there are over 323 reported incidents:
Protect yourself from the police and prosecutors who habitually lie:
Trump conned him, and he owns up to it, like a man: Modern Life:
June 9, 2020 US cases: 2,034,482 -- deaths: 113,567 -- death rate: 5.6%
Overwhelmed in the crisis, medical professionals experienced exhaustion, loss and grief. And they showed compassion, and adaptability. Looking back at the "first wave" in one of New York's busy hospitals:In The News:
The history of America's Military, um, "Excellence": June 6, 2020 US cases:1,981,044 -- deaths: 111,878 -- death rate: 5.6%Is 2020 over yet? Science:
See
the "Archives" for previous posts
-- here's the most
recent)
|
If your
employer is not keeping you safe, ask them
why they are not following CDC guidelines.
Here's the complete document in PDF
format:
CDC:
Reopening Guidance Note,
this the full version that the Trump
Administration said "will never see the light of
day."
A glossary of COVID-19 terms Symptoms: Think you may have had it? Report it here: https://covidnearyou.org/#!/ Check daily: The most reliable source of daily news: Research Wikipedia: CDC says that
mail and delivered packages are "probably safe" --
but to be 100% sure, let them sit for 72 hours
before opening and handling.
Bake bread at home: Make face masks: My favorite one: cloth.with pegs: surgical face mask Adjust this for American size (see the article 4/4/2020) Check your local hospital to
see what they need. Consider one for yourself to
ease the hoarding of N95 masks.
Other
good options for civilians:
How to go
to the grocery store:
Think clearly:
Papa Vox Archives: 2020, January through May 2017 through 2019 2016 -- 2015 -- 2014 -- 2013 -- 2012 Sept through Dec, 2011 April through Aug, 2011 Sept through March 2011 Old and somewhat interesting posts, stripped of their former political grousing: 2010 -- 2009 -- 2008 -- 2007 -- 2006 David Brin's Blog One of
today's greatest SciFi authors. A rational,
scientific approach to modern life and
governmental policy -- what a radical concept!
An experiment
in the supposition that shoes
are bad for you, with some reviews of
various nearly-barefoot alternatives, known as
"minimalist" shoes.
Educate yourself: Dump Windows. Get LINUX / Ubuntu   READ CAREFULLY.
The Earth is Spherical. 5G doesn’t affect viruses. Wear a Mask. Q-Anon is a Russian Troll. Vaccines Work. Contrails are just water vapor. You can’t Pray Away the Gay. The Moon Landings were real. Global Warming is real. SARS-CoV-2 is real. Lizard People are not real. |
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The contents of this web page
are merely opinion. Harmless words.
Nothing more.
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