G’MORNING. THE PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERTS in the administration have taken their dire warnings about the coronavirus to a new level. They’ve started comparing the next two weeks to a widespread Sept. 11 or Pearl Harbor, and they’re warning against even going to the grocery store to get food and provisions.
— DR. DEBORAH BIRX, in yesterday’s briefing: “So the next two weeks are extraordinarily important, and that’s why I think you’ve heard from Dr. Fauci, from myself, from the president and the vice president, that this is the moment to do everything that you can on the presidential guidelines. This is the moment to not be going to the grocery store and not going to the pharmacy, but doing everything you can to keep your family and your friends safe. That means everybody doing the six feet distancing, washing your hands.”
— SURGEON GENERAL JEROME ADAMS to CHUCK TODD on NBC’s “MEET THE PRESS”: “The next week is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment. It’s going to be our 9/11 moment. It’s going to be the hardest moment for many Americans in their entire lives, and we really need to understand that if we want to flatten that curve and get through to the other side, everyone needs to do their part. Ninety percent of Americans are doing their part, even in the states where, where they haven’t had a shelter in place. But if you can’t give us 30 days, governors, give us, give us a week, give us what you can, so that we don’t overwhelm our healthcare systems over this next week. And then let’s reassess at that point. We want everyone to understand you’ve got to be Rosie The Riveter you’ve got to do your part.”
— ADAMS on “FOX NEWS SUNDAY”: “It’s going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment. Only it’s not gonna be localized. It’s going to be happening all over the country.”
Better late than never, from an administration that regularly assured us that the coronavirus was no problem, was under control, was a Democratic hoax.
Here are the states that have not ordered their citizens to stay at home and avoid gatherings: Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, South Carolina, Utah, and Wyoming.
What will Trump say to the states that continue to refuse to require stay-at-home orders and that continue to allow people to congregate in bars, restaurants, churches, and other settings where the virus may be transmitted? Count on it: Nothing. The order of the day is: Do it yourself. If you want to wear a mask, that’s up to you. If you want to mingle with others who might have the disease, take your chances. We are at war but we have no commander-in-chief, and it is up to each person and family to decide whether to protect themselves and others. In ten states with Republican governors, no one is leading the fight to protect public health.
When will Trump ever be held accountable for the evil that he does? Now, many people are sick and dying, including healthcare workers, because of his delays and denials. My hope is that Trump and Fox get sued for their promoting of lies that have contributed to this country ‘proudly’ having more deaths than any other country on the planet. Well done, Orange Moron.
Chicago Tribune:
As the first alarms sounded in early January that an outbreak of a novel coronavirus in China might ignite a global pandemic, the Trump administration squandered nearly two months that could have been used to bolster the federal stockpile of critically needed medical supplies and equipment.
A review of federal purchasing contracts by The Associated Press shows federal agencies waited until mid-March to begin placing bulk orders of N95 respirator masks, mechanical ventilators and other equipment needed by front-line health care workers.
Under the “Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP) almost everyone engaged in addressing this pandemic has liability protection. “Specifically, liability immunity is afforded
(1) To manufacturers and distributors without regard to whether the countermeasure is used by or administered to this population, and
(2) to program planners and qualified persons when the countermeasure is either used by or administered to this population or the program planner or qualified person reasonably could have believed the recipient was in this population.”
There is a lot more detail in PREP, but it helps to explain Trump’s cavalier performances delivering misinformation to the public, his lavish praise for corporate solutions to the pandemic and the willingness of CEOs to be co-opted, even if only for feeding his ego and some hope of positive “public relations” for themselves.
PREP is easier to read than many federal regulations. See who has legal cover and for what.
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/03/17/2020-05484/declaration-under-the-public-readiness-and-emergency-preparedness-act-for-medical-countermeasures
I also discovered that some delays in response to the epidemic were caused by the effort to rewrite the federal reimbursements for health care, especially Medicare and Medicaid, and to set-up Telemedicine reimbursements.
If you want to see the minutia, including reimbursements based on the “permitted” minutes of time for patient interaction with MDs and others, see the link below. Also realize that medical staffing services have been formed. These intermediaries raiding hospitals of resident staff and create profitable pools of on-call services. The largest markets for these services are the elderly now in assisted living and continuing care facilities, including nursing homes.
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/04/06/2020-06990/medicare-and-medicaid-programs-policy-and-regulatory-revisions-in-response-to-the-covid-19-public
The head of Medicaid and Medicare is reportedly a Pence pick, Seema Verma (formerly managed a health related business). Some of her first targets on the job were Medicaid’s poor- efforts to make it harder for them to get care.
Kaiser Health News reported that Seema’s husband is a child psychiatrist in a practice that won’t accept Medicaid. Fewer than 1/2 of child psychiatrists accept Medicaid. The reason usually cited, too little reimbursement.
Interesting info. reported elsewhere, Seema’s parents emigrated from India and are Democrats.
“The head of Medicaid and Medicare is reportedly a Pence pick, Seema Verma (formerly managed a health related business). Some of her first targets on the job were Medicaid’s poor- efforts to make it harder for them to get care.”
Seems Verma worked with Pence when he was governor of Indiana. Indiana adopted a version of Medicaid that had to be approved. it was accepted and now poor people have to have a medical account and pay money each month into that account. Of course, Indiana makes it difficult for poor people to get needed care. Saving taxpayer money on the backs of poor people is a Republican goal.
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Indiana Medicaid Drops 25K From Coverage For Failing To Pay Premiums
Indiana in 2015 implemented some of the most radical changes seen to the state-federal program that covers nearly 1 in 4 poor Americans — including charging some adults a monthly premium and locking out some of those who don’t pay for six months.
During the first two years of the experiment, about 10,000 Indiana Medicaid enrollees were subject to the six-month lockout for failing to pay the premium for two months in a row. The state did not provide lockout data for 2017.
While premiums are required of all adults added under the expansion, the lockouts apply only to those with incomes from 101 to 138 percent of the federal poverty level (about $12,200 to $16,600 for an individual). Those with lower incomes — more than 80 percent of Healthy Indiana enrollees — lose their vision and dental benefits for failing to pay the premium.
Several Republican-controlled states that expanded Medicaid have followed Indiana to adopt premiums. But the Indiana model is also attracting attention from some of the 19 conservative states that are leery of expanding Medicaid. Yet the possibilities of spreading the Indiana model worry Medicaid advocates, who fear that it can lead to poor Americans missing out on care.
Seema’s story reminds me of anti-union Rick Berman. Berman’s son spoke out against his father citing how little respect his Dad had for the life his parents were able to give him because of their union jobs in the garment industry.
Not going to the grocery store or pharmacy?! Huh? Am I supposed to starve or not have needed medications? I would love to not have to go shopping but food and medicine are necessities. What about the shoppers for Instacart and the delivery people for Amazon and the big box stores? I am very disgusted with the games that Amazon plays though I have used it out of desperation and the Instacart people are swamped with requests and can’t guarantee delivery times.
What those ten Republican-controlled states are not doing is a preview of the future if the United States continues to be faux led by a Republican White House, a Republican Congress, and an alt-right, libertarian, theocratic, neo-liberal, neo-conservative controlled U.S. Supreme Court.
I even wrote a post about this back in 2012. A tea party-loving conservative former friend of mine (who voted for Trump in 2016) even sent me an e-mail demanding that I delete that post.
I refused. Our friendship of 60+ years would end after he voted for Trump but his vote was not the reason why.
“Conservative Red versus Liberal Blue – a new way to see politics in America”
FIRST PARAGRAPH: “Tired of the usual political lies and mudslinging, I decided to come up with another method to compare and contrast conservative Republicans with liberal Democrats—a method so different that no one had used it before and it could not be twisted by the usual, expected lies designed to confuse and mislead voters.” …
FAST FORWARD TO THE CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH: “In conclusion: After this report, I may think of the average conservative Republican voter as fat/obese and/or a racist and/or politically and morally corrupt, and/or an Evangelical Fundamentalist Christian, violent and not very smart, while the average liberal Democratic voter is more into healthy living and/or is peace-loving and highly educated—in fact, more of a free thinker instead of a Rush Limbaugh ditto head (Note: I once listened to Limbaugh, and during those years, he called his fans ditto heads. He also said he would do their thinking for them.) …
An update was added a few days later.
https://lloydlofthouse.org/2012/08/22/conservative-red-versus-liberal-blue-a-new-way-to-see-politics-in-america/
Friendships ending over Trump support resonated. Circumstances have forced re-evaluation of the hearts of those who elect the heartless.
A Republican state representative in South Dakota died from Covid- newly reported.
This doctor explains what happens to the body when one gets coronavirus. He explains in simple terms what needs to be known. We are in REALLY bad shape when ventilators are needed and nothing is available.
Creepy stuff.
………
HOW COVID-19 KILLS–I’m a Surgeon–And Why We Can’t Save You
Mar 23, 2020
Dr. Duc Vuong, World’s #1 Weight Loss Surgeon, Author of 13 books, explains how coronavirus kills its victims
Except the ratio of Covid 19 patients who go on to respirators and live, is low.
The video of hospital staff cheering the hospital’s dismissal of a patient who survived after the respirator, brought the point home.
But, without the respirators, even the few that the respirators helped save would die.
In addition to all the lies, this administration has failed to provide an organized, deliberate response to COVID 19. Trump spent far too much critical denying that the pandemic was real. His main concern has been the economy, not the people. At a time when swift, national response was needed, Trump was too busy blaming everyone else and turning states into individual response teams. His mismanagement was further magnified by serious budget cuts and inadequate supplies to combat the virus. Trump has demonstrated willful ignorance and inability to provide empathy and leadership at a time when we need it most.
BTW, I hope Democrats investigate what happens to the stimulus money. Even though Democrats fought for accountability in the plan. As soon as the package was passed, Mnuchin announced that accountability did not fit in to the plans.
cx Democrats fought for accountability in the plan.
So is Trump now asking sycophantic Republicans to start praising his royal hind-ness?
Here is top of the line BS from our great Senator Todd Young!! Tremendous leadership? Definitely since Trump is responsible for delaying and denying any facts about coronavirus for two months. This is two months when vital needed equipment should have been ordered. There is no leadership and each state is bidding for materials. Who can justify Jared or Pence being anywhere involved in this disastrous presidency?
Anyone who is a regular reader of Diane’s blog knows that I’ve written many protest leaders to Todd Young [R-IN].
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[NWI Times] Hoosier senator believes Trump has shown ‘tremendous leadership’ on coronavirus
7 hrs ago
U.S. Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., is not a teacher. So he refuses to grade how President Donald Trump has handled the coronavirus pandemic in the United States.
But in a recent, exclusive interview with The Times, the first-term senator didn’t hesitate to say: “On so many fronts the president has shown tremendous leadership throughout this pandemic.”
“I think it’s notable, for example, that the Trump administration, in the midst of an impeachment trial, closed off flights from China,” Young said.
“That was regarded by some as a nativist and irrational and impulsive decision. It turned out to be the right decision from a public health standpoint, and relatedly, an economic standpoint.”
Young also praised the Republican president last week for loosening regulatory strings at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to make coronavirus testing more widely available, including newly developed tests by Indiana-based companies…
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/hoosier-senator-believes-trump-has-shown-tremendous-leadership-on-coronavirus/article_88e2056a-c46d-517c-83d8-8ef78571322f.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share
Senator Todd Young [R-IN[ expressed praise for how well Trump is doing for the coronavirus and now church goers are adamant to show up to worship. [No wonder Trump won the majority of the votes in Indiana. Gad, I live here.]
NWI Times] Police ticket church leaders after they refuse to disperse Sunday service of more than 30 people
11 min ago
HAMMOND — Police ticketed a church and its elders Sunday for refusing to disperse their congregation to comply with Gov. Eric Holcomb’s “shelter in place” order, Mayor Thomas McDermott said.
More than 30 parishoners were inside The Church of Christ, which occupies a small building at 169th and Leland streets in Hammond, and more were pulling up in the parking lot when officers arrived about 9:50 a.m., he said.
Some of the worshipers wore masks, but others did not, McDermott said.
Two Hammond officers told the church elders of the governor’s order, but the elders refused to disperse the congregation and said the service was “essential,” McDermott said.
The officers asked for the elders’ identifications cards and added their information to a citation for violating the governor’s shelter in place order, he said.
More people continued to walk into the church as officers left, he said…
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/police-ticket-church-leaders-after-they-refuse-to-disperse-sunday-service-of-more-than-30/article_9d26619f-955b-5a69-b87b-f47d01effb38.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share
Daily Beast reported today that Trump friend, Boris Johnson, has been hospitalized. The P.M. reportedly subscribed to the herd immunity plan as policy for England…until he changed his mind too late.
Axios:
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been admitted to the hospital for tests as a “precautionary step” as his coronavirus symptoms have continued to persist 10 days after testing positive, according to a Downing Street spokesperson.
Why it matters: Johnson was the first major elected leader to test positive for the coronavirus. He was admitted to the hospital on the same day that Queen Elizabeth II gave a rare televised address to the nation, urging the British people to confront the pandemic with the same “self-discipline” and “resolve” that has defined the country in times of crisis.
A spokesperson said this was not an “emergency admission” and that Johnson remains in charge of the government. His ongoing coronavirus symptoms include a fever.
What they’re saying:
“On the advice of his doctor, the Prime Minister has tonight been admitted to hospital for tests.
This is a precautionary step, as the Prime Minister continues to have persistent symptoms of coronavirus ten days after testing positive for the virus.
The Prime Minister thanks NHS staff for all of their incredible hard work and urges the public to continue to follow the Government’s advice to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.”
— Downing Street spokesperson
I live in a rural area of NY. Many city folks own vacation homes in our area. Despite stay at home orders many of them are fleeing the cities for our areas. The mayor of NYC and the governor of NY have done nothing to prevent this exodus.
Avoid them. They are probably bringing the virus with them.
Well, I am sure that there are some fleeing the city for their country homes. However the story of NYC residents infecting the Nation, is Trumpian BS. It is meant to deflect from his inept dealings with the Pandemic.
Suffolk county publishes a daily updated map of Corona cases. The East end of the Island, the beach resort communities have under 500 cases. The largest portion of which are in Riverhead the County seat and not a resort community of second homes.
The other 12,000 cases or whatever the number is now, are in Nassau and Western Suffolk which are bedroom commuter communities.
So here is the story of NYC and the virus. More than likely it came from travelers returning from Italy or the EU to the Metro NYC area. It may have even arrived by passengers on connecting flights in NYC, infecting employees at NYC Airports . Totally irrelevant the virus knows no borders. Also irrelevant is the first NYS case and cluster being in New Rochelle. That layer caught it somewhere and it was not from a bat. We don’t know where there were other clusters in the City or the region. How many negative Flu cases were actually Corona. How many Pneumonia deaths were from Corona. That Lawyer sat in a regular hospital room of the Presbyterian system for 5 days. Sat in the room with Pneumonia not -diagnosed. All while the virus was in the news daily. Of interest the Presbyterian Hospital in Texas treated some of the few Ebola victims.
The virus spread from the mass transit system to the offices to the commuter rails to the Port Authority buses and back and forth in any sequence you pick.
That is how the Cities Suburbs in NY , Jersey and Conn. got infected. Nobody moved from Park Avenue to Hempstead. The cases on the East End more likely to come from from contacts of people in River Head both going West and East in normal commerce .
But hell the story about fleeing New Yorker’s would make a great screen plot.
If they hadn’t used it in a 1981 movie.
Correction 12,000 cases are in Western to central Suffolk. An additional 14000 are in Nassau even closer to NYC. I haven’t seen a moving Truck.
So out of 26,000 cases Under 500 of them are on the east end under 300 in the summer resort communities. Does anyone still believe the fairy tale.
Sorry to contradict you, but when you see a licence plate with a Bronx holder, you know they aren’t local. When you see people in the grocery store who don’t know where to find things, they aren’t local. It doesn’t take many for this to be a problem. My county has one hospital with 14 beds.
great summation 🙂
The excerpt from Chuck Todd’s interview omitted Jerome Adams’ announcement during the session that he, Adams, is Catholic. Dr. Adams made the odd disclosure in an effort to support national policy. Adams’ implication was that he, from among the most holy of religions, supported church lock down for Covid 19.
Evangelical Mike Pence brought Adams to D.C. from Indiana. Worth a read, Politico, 5-20-2019. “How Mike Pence… took over health care policy”. Reuters (5-30-2019) elaborates on the conservative agenda. Included in the article, “E-mails and memos from US officials at the UN obtained by Reuters, show the influence of C-Fam, a private US research institute formed to affect policy….to align with conservative Catholic views…”
Trump’s appointees are wrong for a democratic nation that separates church and state.
Also reported by Reuters- C-Fam’s President said, “Sexual orientation and gender identity is code for odious sexual behavior and gender lunacy”.
Pearl Harbor, refresh my memory was that the start of the war or the end of the war? If this moron encourages us to open up the economy before we eliminate almost all traces of the virus. Enabling us to test and contact trace to keep it at bay. The Battle at Midway will not end well.
To portray this as a battle that will be over in the next few weeks is absurd we are at the start of the war that ends with effective treatments and vaccines. It only takes a matter of weeks for the virus to surge anew. I have full faith that we will neither go down the road of China or South Korea .
Depends on which version of history you read, especially when you give revisionists storylines for free! Let us not forget Commerce Sec. (let that one sink in) Wibur Ross’s comment on the opportunity of COVID!
I am sure Trump will run on it. Which does not mean that there is not a good argument for having some manufacturing here. The fact that their vision doesn’t include good wages for the jobs they would bring home, is a different story
The past few weeks have been a lesson in the theory of relativity and time itself [Emit Flesti, anyone?]. It compresses, stands still, speeds up, and is throwing off our collective body clocks. As an example, the clip below was less than a month ago and it seems almost as dated as Ozzie and Harriet.
The Gates Foundation’s CEO resigned 4 months ago (Dec. 5, 2019). I speculate that she, as a medical doctor (specialized in AIDS related cancer), likely played a part in the Gates Foundation’s visibility at the NIH site. Dr. Desmond-Hellman was credited with overseeing the Gates Medical Research Institute and the Economic Mobility and Opportunity investment strategy. Before employment with Gates she was President of a biotech company, Genetech. BTW- Axios recently listed the Gates Foundation as one of the groups that had Covid 19 tests.
Dr. Desmond- Hellman’s replacement, before his promotion, developed and measured strategic priorities…oversaw government relations, philanthropic partnerships and strategic communications. His doctorate is in international relations. A former job was as correspondent for the Financial Times-
the preceding as reported at the Gates Foundation site.
Notes Toward a Rap Song: “My Corona”
He’s got tiny hands
And tiny feet
And a tiny brain
That goes tweet, tweet, tweet.
First the “China flu”
Was goin’ away.
Now throughout the land
There’s hell to pay.
Beginning to look
Like Judgment Day.
With all Trump’s denials
And all his delay,
It’s beginning to look
Like Judgment Day.
Enjoyed your poem.
One suggestion: add a line or two about how Trumpty Dumpty is scheming with Steve Bannon and his re-election mafia to come up with a con where they use the pandemic to justify canceling the 2020 election and extend Trump’s presidency for a few more years while they figure out how to stretch it for the rest of his life ending elections for decades with help from Moscow Mitch so he can also stay in the Senate for life and keep the GOP majority in that House.
“Do it yourself. If you want to wear a mask, that’s up to you. If you want to mingle with others who might have the disease, take your chances.”
Yeah, according to the wellknown principle, if you pursue your own selfinterest, it will magically benefit others as well, “it trickles down to them”.
My Trump/Fox loving friend was outraged that China made billions of masks and kept them.
She said that we didn’t know that this coronavirus was coming. I didn’t have the balls to tell her that Trump had been warned and refused to do anything until the economy was going to be affected.
He worked to be sure that the US wasn’t doing anything until 2 months into the pandemic. How sweet that Trump knew it was a pandemic before it was called a pandemic.
The zuS government learned about the pandemic on Jan 3.
Trump was briefed.
He doesn’t believe in intelligence of any kind.
He went golfing.
He trusts his gut, and his gut told him that this was a hoax.
Reportedly, Chinese officials knew about the virus as early as Nov. 17. (South China Morning Post) Intelligence gathering by the government doesn’t preclude business info. gathering that may have info. before the President receives his briefing. Corporations are multinational.
Being aware of the virus in its alleged early stages doesn’t mean that China’s medical experts were aware that it could be this dangerous. Even today, months later, medical experts around the world are still learning about COVID-19.
You will have to fact check, but I also think China offered some medical supplies and Trump turned the offer down.
On Dec. 30, there were prohibitions in China about the release of info. relating to the new disease.
Rush Limbaugh, the fake journalist/entertainer who worships Trump is guilty of spreading lies that have hurt this country. Communist China invented this virus, which is just a cold, and the media is hyping it to destroy Trump.
My brother wanted me to listen to Rush L. When I visited where he lives a number of years ago, I was walking around the city and I saw a large billboard with the picture of Rush L on it. It was an advertisement to listen to Rush.
Too many people are now endangered because of the lies from both Trump and Rush.
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Rush Limbaugh on coronavirus: ‘The common cold’ that’s being ‘weaponized’ against Trump
Feb. 25, 2020
Just hours after World Health Organization officials said they are preparing for a “potential pandemic” as coronavirus cases increase worldwide, conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh told his listeners Monday that he would try to put the concerning news about the novel virus “in perspective” for them.
“It looks like the coronavirus is being weaponized as yet another element to bring down Donald Trump,” Limbaugh said during his Monday show. “Now, I want to tell you the truth about the coronavirus. … Yeah, I’m dead right on this. The coronavirus is the common cold, folks.”
Live updates: Coronavirus cases surge as financial costs mount; South Korea nears 1,000 infections
In a roughly 10-minute segment, Limbaugh criticized the media for overhyping the virus in “an effort to get Trump,” repeated a debunked fringe theory linking the outbreak to Chinese biological weapons research and found time to attack Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/02/25/limbaugh-coronavirus-trump/
Rush Limbaugh has an estimated weekly audience of 15.5 million (the largest audience in talk radio). Not that much, less than 5% of the population.
However, when we add up all the listeners for conservative talk radio programs, the numbers soar. By himself, if there were no other conservative talk shows, Limbaugh would be a pimple. Hannity has 15 million. Glenn Beck has 10.5 million, and there are others.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-listened-to_radio_programs
Why in the world are we receiving this information in APRIL!!! Funding for CDC was cut. Is that why they are stupid? Make your own mask? Right.
……………………………………….
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
CDC on Homemade Cloth Face Coverings
CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.CDC also advises the use of simple cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others. Cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost can be used as an additional, voluntary public health measure.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html?deliveryName=USCDC_2067-DM25135
Read about the private, independent organization, the CDC Foundation, created by Congress, that is the CDC’s “strategic implementation partner” so that CDC experts can “focus on science”. The Foundation’s purpose is derived from the “government’s limitations”. A former CDC Foundation board chair also happened to be the board chair and CEO of the Koch’s Georgia Pacific.
I find this to be revolting. How many kids are going to ‘study’ online when their parents are stressed out? How many have the attention span necessary to do this work? Why should teachers, who are as stressed as anyone else, be working from home to write up this nonsense. How many kids don’t have computers or parents who know anything about how to help? How many parents don’t want to help because of worrying?
Teachers are also stressed out about getting food, prescriptions, gas, etc. in a hostile environment.
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“Providing our students with access to high-quality and evidence-based materials is critical during this extended time of out-of-school learning,”…
[NWI Times] Indiana Department of Education, PBS teaming up to offer remote learning resources
Apr 6, 2020 Updated 5 min ago
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Department of Education is bringing new resources for remote learning into students’ homes through a new Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations partnership.
The PBS LearningMedia program will offer free, online education resources aligned to Indiana standards as students complete the rest of the school year in home isolation in light of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Gov. Eric Holcomb signed an executive order last week extending statewide school building closures through the end of the 2019-20 academic year. Educators will be responsible for creating continuous learning plans ensuring students still receive instruction during their time away from physical school buildings.
“Providing our students with access to high-quality and evidence-based materials is critical during this extended time of out-of-school learning,” Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Jennifer McCormick said in an IDOE news release. “I am grateful for IPBS and their local television affiliates for partnering with us to create engaging educational experiences for Indiana’s children.”
The IPBS resources were developed with educators’ input and feature grab-and-go activities, lesson plans and support materials drawing from programs like the PBS KIDS 24/7 channel, the WORLD Channel, NOVA and Into the Outdoors.
All eight Indiana PBS networks, including Lakeshore Public Media, are sharing broadcasting schedules with corresponding subject matter paired with additional information including learning objectives and subject-matter appropriateness…
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/education/indiana-department-of-education-pbs-teaming-up-to-offer-remote-learning-resources/article_021a69af-a95e-55e6-a88e-89c49e020f6a.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share
If you were a teacher and you wanted to be paid for the rest of the school year and to do that you had to teach through the internet during the COVID-19 shut down, would you say no to that paycheck?
Lloyd Lofthouse: I’m saying that it is the elites in the education departments who are saying this work online needs to be done. I don’t think these leaders are thinking about the teachers or the children.
Of course, one does what is required. I’m saying it shouldn’t be required.
I agree. I think the students should have been sent home for a spring and summer break and the teachers paid for the lost time.