In the midst of the pandemic, with the death toll rising, there are insistent calls to reopen the economy and get back to work, to reopen schools so parents can leave home to go to work, to return to business as usual. The president himself has encouraged his supporters to “liberate” their states (but only in states with Democratic governors) from restrictions meant to save lives. Recently a large number of armed men, many carrying not only guns but Trump insignia, barged into the Michigan State Capitol to demand an end to the emergency restrictions whose purpose is to slow the transmission of the virus. These are the same people who oppose abortion and noisily claim to be pro-life.
Our reader GregB. explored this paradox in his comment:
The quote that has most impacted me and that I hold sacred does not come from a theological text, it comes from the most profound writer of whom I am aware, Friedrich Dürrenmatt: “The fate of humanity depends upon if Politics finally becomes comfortable to take every life as sacred, or if the whore decides to continue to go on the street to service anything that is not sacred. The lady must decide.” (“Der Schiksal der Menschen wird davon abhängen, ob sich die Politik endlich bequemt, das Leben eines jeden heilig zu nehmen, oder ob die Hure weiterhin für jene auf die Straße geht, denen nichts heilig ist. Die Dame muß sich entscheiden.”)
Do we, as liberals, equivocate? Are we as people who value the education of each individual, no matter their exceptional, individual skills, talents or potential, no matter their disabilities, no matter anything, ready to equivocate and rationalize according to our fears, prejudices or misconceptions? If we are, then how is that better or different from the Nazi T4 program that forcibly took children and adults with developmental disabilities from their families to be executed? If we are willing to rationalize and accept this pandemic with willful ignorance to consign children, or at the very least, children who will never suffer the effects of disease but may still transmit it to others, most likely elderly persons or those with systemic immunodeficiencies; is that the acceptable trade-off to “restart the economy?” If yes, then we are truly whores of the worst kind, willing to let anyone die if it alleviates our short-term economic pain, even if it means our economic livelihoods? Are we pro-humanity or pro-life in the literal sense that our societal obligations end with births carried to term?
Or do we ask fundamental questions about why those who have great wealth continue, who live only on capital and dividends, who don’t work or make the effort, however it may manifest itself, to avoid contributing effectively to the greater good with taxes (like public school teachers) with progressive taxation, actually defines and reflects the times, or off of well-paying clients with narrow, selfish hoarding interests continue paying apparatchiks of the status quo to work in their favor? It seems to me, the American lady must decide. In my opinion, she is and always will be a whore who will continue to serve lazy capital and authoritarian power. The most discouraging thing is that few, if any, understand this, which is why they continue to devalue life, which, for them are only political pawns they call fetuses. The glacial reality of now informs me that scapegoating and rationalizing death is as strong as it has ever been in any age of fascist ascendancy. Is the life of each living being sacred or not? Persons, not fetuses for fertilized eggs. It is we who live who pay the economic price, like it or not.
Bravo, GregB! And Diane. Both of you. So perfectly and accurately observed. Thank you. Here we are in the midst of the tragi-farce. And hearing someone speak the truth, in such circumstances, is rare and wonderful.
Thanks, Bob. Writing in a sleep-deprived state tends to lower inhibitions.
Sometimes one must simply tell it as it is.
Roughly:
5 million killed in Korean War
3.5 million killed in Vietnam War
1 million killed in Iraq War
Uncountable millions killed in Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, etc.
And we’re asking if we care about life?
Trump and his base are zealously pro-life, right up to the minute the baby is born. After the baby is born, they no longer care about his or her life.
Diane,
So true. It’s weird when you really think about it.
Some people would say if we cared about life, we would have just let Hitler exterminate every single Jewish man, woman and child, instead of stopping him at “only” six million. After all, they say, war causes death, so how dare anyone lose their lives just to stop someone else from dying.
America ALSO killed countless people in Hiroshima. I think if Truman had just surrendered to Japan and Germany, think of all the deaths that could have been prevented.
The Civl War caused countless deaths. How dare anyone stop slavery because that meant that people died and those people who died are far more important than slaves, say the people who are certain they know but who should live and die.
I can’t imagine what purpose is served by bringing up war deaths when the horrible COVID response of Trump and his encouraging armed protesters is brought up. I do realize that white people aren’t dying as much from COVID as African-Americans and others, so does that have something to do with an attempt to draw a false equivalency?
To equate needless deaths from a virus to the deaths caused by wars both good and bad is all about privilege. White privilege.
It is notable that almost every anti-stay at home protester you see carrying those massive killing guns is white. And so are most of their apologists who seem much angrier at Democrats and Bernie Sanders for not demanding that lock down ceases than they are at their white fellow Trump defenders.
Harry S. Truman may have made a horrible choice to drop the atomic bomb, but to try to equate that with Trump and his supporters’ harmful actions in order to NORMALIZE a president and his supporters is truly beyond my understanding.
Just, why??
I LOVE the above. What IS the purpose of life? Why are we here etc.
I have spent this morning sharing ideas and pictures with a young woman, actually my dentist. We are both interested in photography. I mentioned that when I have a camera in my hands I look for, and therefore see and find beauty where I never would have before. How important is THAT in life?
Our society has become fixated on THINGS, not on beauty, love of the world we live in, the people important in our lives and by extension all peoples.
This has been forgotten in the rush for “wealth”, transmuting our real wealth, the things essential for life into “fools gold”, money which has no value in itself. Its value can be lost overnight as history has shown us over and over and I fear is happening yet again. Society now seemingly worships false gods.
“Primitive” cultures have at least to a large extent not lost that sense of wonder and awe, even worship, of nature, the world as it has been created for our benefit or now for our lust to destroy it searching for vanity.
The president and his followers have shown a disrespect for life and for others.
Those shouting for liberty now, to focus on the economy where people are secondary have forgotten I believe that with liberty comes responsibility. Chaos ensues when every person grabs that which is what THEY want, disregarding the needs of others.
We are I fear fast approaching that chaos.
Thanks, Gordon. You may be interested in another quote that is dear to me. Isaiah Berlin, the founder of the discipline of the history of ideas, wrote this in an essay about the world view of 19th century Russian intellectual Alexander Herzen:
“Why does a singer sing? Merely in order that, when he has stopped singing, his song might be remembered, so that the pleasure that his song has given may awaken a longing for that which cannot be recovered? No. This is a false and purblind and shallow view of life. The purpose of the singer is to sing. And the purpose of life is to live it.”
Nice quote. The first time I saw this post, it really caught my eye. I started to write a comment then got distracted (as is par for the course these days.) Take care!
Thanks so very much Greg. I wonder some times if anyone even reads what I write. It IS heartening to hear from someone who understands and goes on from where I left off.
GragB, this resonates with me as the parent of two musicians/ singer-songwriters. The younger simply shares his talents on the platform provided [covid era] by the music school where he still gives piano lessons online. The school sponsors free-form broadcasts where he ad-libs covers per live requests, demonstrating how to do that. Now he is using the platform in a series showing students the elements of songwriting. Students as well as followers of his band tune in. My elder son has taken to hosting a weekly instagram show where he interviews another singer-songwriter he’s met through touring. They talk about how the songwriting is going in the covid era, share tech details & classic questions like which comes first lyrics or melody or chord progressions, & play newest songs for each other; fan-followers of both bands tune in & comment. Both represent “The purpose of the singer is to sing,” and the theme of their broadcasts is “the purpose of life is to live it.”
Thank you for sharing that, Bethree. Sounds like you’ve got some good, self-motivated kids. Isn’t that all we can hope for? What kind of music do they like? My tastes are fairly eclectic, I can go from Haydn to Lou Reed to John Adams to Guy Clark on the same day. Guy’s probably my favorite songwriter.
I love that song, thanks for that.
The elder was pretty much straight line punk to Irish union tunes to country-flavored indy. The younger’s taste followed his transition from percussion to piano: metal to hip-hop to piano-driven pop. A great thing is, for some years now they play in each other’s bands, perform and tour together. Here they are:
https://brewster.bandcamp.com/album/live-on-spice-radio-in-huntsville-al
https://charlesloren.bandcamp.com/album/pulse
Thanks for those links! Will definitely check out. Make sure your older son studies Guy Clark. I read his biography last year and it’s a wonderful study about confident learning. You know the proverbial question about what your last meal would be? Well, Dublin Blues would be the last song I would want to hear.
One of the best things about self-isolation has been my discovery of My Analog Journal on YouTube. Amazing musical journeys around the world and time in half hour segments. Lots and lots of new musical ideas! Here’s an example:
That is our dirty little secret behind the facade of The Great America – capitalism is a system of winners and losers with a few haves at the top on the backs of the have nots who do all the grunt work.
That the deaths of the elderly and minorities is insignificant compared to the status of the economy is just a symptom. If a “few” die, well it’s worth the sacrifice.
It’s tough between having to choose death by virus versus death by loss of income, yet many are being forced into that choice by politics of the worst kind.
I can’t wait to see how many of those protesters succumb to the disease due to their ill advised protests. I’ll refrain from saying “serves you right” and instead lament their belief in a philosophy which is against their better interests.
Taking into consideration “incubation” period, Covi-19 infections took a huge spike after Spring Break and after Easter.
How can anyone deny this data?
I would like to know how many of those protestors end up getting Covid-19.
Me too. I’m waiting for the stats.
I am furious at the protestors who believe that freedom is much more important than government regulations.
We are ALL connected. We currently have more deaths and infections per capita than any other country in the world. Republican states, fueled by the rhetoric of Trump, are now creating situations that bring rising numbers of deaths and infections.
Our Governor Holcomb [[R-IN] is hoping to have Indiana completely opened up by July 4. Holcomb does say that if the virus surges again his plan could be paused or reverted back. [Better to kill people than be cautious.] Democratic leaders say the numbers keep climbing.
Even Gov. Pritzker [D-IL] has been forced to give religious people freedom to meet. IL was sued by a church who believed in religious freedom. “Freedom” comes at what cost? Can’t people pray at home?
The party of abortion, cannot, with a straight face, talk about life. Not having it.
The people who vote for politicians who believe “we’d rather have a mom die and leave her 3 young children motherless than allow her to make a choice for herself because we have more money than she does and only the women we have affairs with and pay to have abortions should be allowed to have abortions” should never post about caring about life.
The people who vote for men who cheat on their wives and pay srippers and have multiple relationships because they pretend to support abortion restrictions to have the mother die (except for their own girlfriends) should not post about caring about life.
The people who hate Canada and Justin Trudeau because he is banning the assault weapons that they feel they need to be able to mow down as many people they hate as they want to should not post about caring about life.
Let’s play your game. Let’s accept your point of view. Now let’s see if you are willing to be intellectually consistent.
If the State, writ large, is going to force women to carry their pregnancies to full term regardless of the circumstances by which they became pregnant, will you agree that the State has an obligation to support the mothers and children born because of these circumstances?
Will you lobby your state and federal representative to pass legislation to pay for the medical and psychological needs of mothers who have to bring pregnancies conceived through rape, incest, or sexual assault to term? Will you lobby to make sure they are insured and provide safe housing should they need it?
Will you vigorously support wrap-around services for the children born to ensure they are fed, educated and socially equipped to lead productive, content lives in their adulthood?
If your answer is yes, then let’s have a constructive dialogue. If it’s no, then you must admit the so-called single issue pro-life “movement” cares nothing about life. In that case, you only care about the right to birth and could care less what happens after. That way you can languish in the comfort of doing nothing while blaming the “party of abortion” as you piously cry, “but…the economy!”
I agree, but the dissenters will say these moms with unwanted pregnancies should put them up for adoption.
For them it’s always somebody else’s fault/problem.
The pro-life party cannot advocate to dismiss restrictions necessary to protect life.
Face it: Trump has probably paid for dozens of abortions. The GOP doesn’t give a damn about children’s lives after they are born.
“The party of abortion, cannot, with a straight face, talk about life. Not having it..” So you are clearly calling for anti-abortion legislation– even going so far as to call Democrats “the party of abortion” – which disqualifies them, in your mind, from taking a pro-life position on any other issue, such as pro-social-distancing/ anti-reopening biz before science suggests safety to do so.
You need to recognize abortion is not a binary, black-white, yes-no issue– nor is it the fulcrum for deciding all life-death issues.
This is a difficult issue for me, which I remember debating vigorously with potential partners since I was 19. Abortion is something I could never have contemplated for myself even if I knew through testing that the child would be retarded or otherwise handicapped – and I say that as a mother who has gone through the excruciating experience of watching helplessly as her afflicted child sickened and died. But I always understood I was privileged to have the emotional strength and family support to see that situation through. Even as a teen I knew I had what it took to bring a pregnancy to term & give it up for adoption if I had to. But I came to terms with the equal understanding that many were not so privileged,& I couldn’t in good conscience support legislation that they be be required by the govt to bring their babies to term no matter what.
Big picture, I see it as an issue of separating church from state. I do not really belong to any church, but my leanings are Catholic & anti-abortion. Yet I recognize that a third of US citizens are unaffiliated with any religion, & there are major world religions that are OK w/abortion at up to 4mos gestationi. The point is: there is no major consensus that abortion is equivalent to murder.
The paradox is why there are people who are anti-abortion and pro-capital punishment.
Who are anti-abortion and favor personal ownership of assault weapons whose only purpose is killing people.
Who are anti-abortion and refuse to fund programs for universal healthcare.
Here is how the Catholic church addresses this paradox.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, in paragraph 2267, states,
“Assuming that the guilty party’s identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.
If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people’s safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity to the dignity of the human person.
Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm – without definitely taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself – the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity ‘are very rare, if not practically nonexistent.’”
“Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person – among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life. […] Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law…”
Thank you Greg. Pointed talk about moral values is needed and too easily dismissed as if pretentious, intended to pick a fight, or just about the “identity wars.” This is a no-nonsense post. Thank you.
I also highly recommend to readers of this blog, Greg’s collection of quotes at https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/list/26552534-greg-brozeit
This post also prompted me to learn more about Friedrich Dürrenmatt. He was a perpetual student of the arts, literature, and politically charged bafflements.
This is one of many biographies.
https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/miscellaneous-european-literature-biographies/friedrich-durrenmatt
Thanks, Laura. You’re blowing my cover! 😇
These are also the same people who were outraged by NFL players peacefully kneeling. Imagine if those same players, or other people of color, brought arms to a protest. Different reaction then. But when it’s the white guys, they’re the good ol’ boys.
Dürrenmatt also had a quote that sums up your comment: For one who wants to hide a big scandal, it’s best to stage a small one. (“Wer einen großen Skandal verheimlichen will, inszeniert am besten einen kleinen.” from Romulus the Great) That’s basically the GOP playbook. And another one from The Marriage of Mr. Mississippi also fits: The party know exactly that if only has to fear those who take its ideals seriously, who try to realize them.” (“Die Partei weiß genau, daß sie nur jene zu fürchten hat, welche die Ideale ernst nehmen, die sie zu verkörpern vorgibt.”)
“The party knows exactly that it only has to fear those who take its ideals seriously…”
“The party know exactly that if only has to fear those who take its ideals seriously, who try to realize them.”
Now that’s a serious item to ponder: much truth in that. Al Franken comes to mind… And Sanders, and Ocasio-Cortez…
A disturbing new study suggests Sean Hannity’s show helped spread the coronavirus
Apr 22, 2020,
Research links Hannity’s coronavirus misinformation to “a greater number of Covid-19 cases and deaths.”
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, media critics have warned that the decision from leading Fox News hosts to downplay the outbreak could cost lives. A new study provides statistical evidence that, in the case of Sean Hannity, that’s exactly what happened.
The paper — from economists Leonardo Bursztyn, Aakaash Rao, Christopher Roth, and David Yanagizawa-Drott — focused on Fox news programming in February and early March.
At the time, Hannity’s show was downplaying or ignoring the virus, while fellow Fox host Tucker Carlson was warning viewers about the disease’s risks.
Using both a poll of Fox News viewers over age 55 and publicly available data on television-watching patterns, they calculate that Fox viewers who watched Hannity rather than Carlson were less likely to adhere to social distancing rules, and that areas where more people watched Hannity relative to Carlson had higher local rates of infection and death…
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/4/22/21229360/coronavirus-covid-19-fox-news-sean-hannity-misinformation-death
Lawsuit, maybe? Love to see it.
This is what real leadership looks like. Imagine a country that takes immediate action instead of being told that this whole thing is a Democratic hoax to make our dear leader look bad.
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NEW ZEALAND’S PRIME MINISTER MAY BE THE MOST EFFECTIVE LEADER ON THE PLANET
By Uri Friedman
Jacinda Ardern’s leadership style, focused on empathy, isn’t just resonating with her people; it’s putting the country on track for success against the coronavirus.
Since March, New Zealand has been unique in staking out a national goal of not just flattening the curve of coronavirus cases, as most other countries have aimed to do, but eliminating the virusaltogether. And it is on track to do it. COVID-19 testing is widespread. The health system has not been overloaded. New cases peaked in early April. Twelve people have died as of this writing, out of a population of nearly 5 million.
As a collection of relatively isolated islands at the bottom of the South Pacific, New Zealand was in a favorable position to snuff out the virus. “Because we had very few cases wash up here, we could actually” work toward an elimination strategy, Clark said. “It is undoubtedly an advantage to be sitting down on the periphery [of the world], because you have a chance to see what’s circulating from abroad.”
But Ardern’s government also took decisive action right away. New Zealand imposed a national lockdown much earlier in its outbreak than other countries did in theirs, and banned travelers from China in early February, before New Zealand had registered a single case of the virus. It closed its borders to all nonresidents in mid-March, when it had only a handful of cases.
I have been going to the store real early in the morning. I have seen all sorts of behavior, some of it dripping with social promiscuity, other cautious and deliberate. One check-out lady at a hardware store stays in my mind. I was buying a wide assortment of things, and took special pains to keep her from having to touch them, holding them up so she would not have to come out from behind the sneeze guard that is now a ubiquitous presence.
She was too old to be working anywhere. She should have been one of those country ladies you used to see going to the barn with a pail to milk the one cow that gave the family milk. The one that kept a garden until she was 95 and then apologized for not having the garden neat enough. But there she was, behind that counter with a look of fear she could not hide in her voice when she thanked me for going out of my way to protect her from me. She said it quiet, almost inaudible in the din of the store, and her eyes said “I am afraid and thanks for understanding.”
I am not sure what this has to do with your contemplation of American woe, but it came to mind when I read your piece. there are a lot of people around here behaving a lot of different ways. It is hard to wrap my mind around it all.
Despite all the tragedy of which we have become aware, I have only cried uncontrollably once during the past two months, when Cuomo read the letter he got from the Kansas farmer who sent NY one of his five N95 masks. This comment prompted the second time. Apologize for any typos, having a hard time reading right now.
Here’s a comic counterpoint. I get my wine at a huge place that only lets in 5 customers in at a time, & everybody wears masks & gloves. Today one of the folks in [6-ft-spaced] line outside couldn’t contain himself: clearly angry, started spouting off to anyone who would listen, as tho all would be in agreement: “this is what we get for voting Democrat all these years… Expletive deleted… Immigrants…. Expletive deleted sanctuary cities..” My only conclusion was that even the most out-there data input [like covid-19 reality] just gets chucked into a priori pigeonholes in some people’s minds…
Reprinting here my original reaction to Greg’s post on the other thread [just yesterday!], plus an addendum from today:
Great post, GregB. Sounds a lot like the conversation my husband and I had this morning. We were discussing it in terms of laissez-faire vs regulated capitalism, using our memories of 50 yrs’ working, plus parents’ & grandparents’ experiences back to 1920’s. I have often lazily thought that US was a kinder gentler place, thanks to New Deal (& prior antitrust legislation), from 1945-1979-ish. & blame downward spiral on the long slow workings of a cabal of anti-New-Deal ultra-conservatives (supported by private sector), which came to fruition with the election of Reagan.
But it’s more realistic to look on that halcyon era as a time when the private sector– thanks to WWII removal of competition– was making $$ hand over fist & OK w/sharing peanuts to the peanut gallery. We helped resurrect our competitors cuz we needed healthy economies to trade with. But when they grew into our equals & began to surpass us, our piece of the world shrank. And the US private sector refused to shrink with it (says hubby). Which to my lights reflects what we/our govt made/ helped happen. He says you can’t separate the two [private sector already had that influence over govt]. I say you can, & those ’80’s decisions, piled onto for decades, reflect who we are as a people.
What worries me is looking to Europe, seeing how they turned to more equitable wealth-sharing forms of govt at WWII’s end, & realizing we didn’t. They made the connection between the Depression and fascism, we didn’t. Now look what’s coming.
AND: Tacking on here this morning’s continuation of the same conversation, sparked by the details of NYT article on remdesivir approved for covid treatment, which led us swiftly to how/why Big Pharma/ inequitable access to drug treatments/ how inequitable access to spiraling healthcare costs started at least a decade before Reagan. My answer: it’s because “they” [govt/ industry/ social paradigm, i.e. “Us!”] don’t give a crap who dies.
I remember having a conversation with a retired German general a few years ago; he lives in The Villages during the winter. He said the people are nice, but he won’t talk politics with them. He summed it up this way: after the war, Americans taught us about federal democracy and we took them seriously and internalized them, yet too many Americans, I see them all the time in Florida, seem to have forgotten or never knew about those lessons in the first place.
Governor Holcomb [R-IN] wants Indiana to be totally opened up by July 4th. He claims the state number has leveled and gone down for 14 days. A leading Democrat said the state numbers are rising.
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More than 650 Indiana residents were newly diagnosed with the novel coronavirus Saturday, and 53 additional Hoosiers have died from COVID-19, the Indiana State Department of Health said. A total of 676 people tested positive Saturday, bringing the number of state residents with confirmed cases to 19,295 after corrections to the previous day’s total, the health department said in a statement.
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May 4 to 10 – Stage 2
Senior citizens and those with health conditions are encouraged to stay at home as much as possible. Masks are encouraged in public and social distancing and proper hygiene should continue.
Retail and commercial businesses can operate at 50% capacity; indoor common areas at malls will be limited to 25%.
Social gatherings, currently capped at 10 people, will be increased to 25 people.
Essential travel restrictions will be lifted but people are still encouraged to work from home when possible.
Manufacturers, industrial operations and other infrastructure that has been closed can reopen.
Public libraries can reopen.
The first place I’m going to visit when the restrictions in Erie County, NY are lifted (our numbers are still rising while the rest of NYS’ are falling) – is not a restaurant or the movies or even a cut and color (which I desperately need), but the library. I’m trying to picture how social distancing will work, but I’m willing to wait my turn if it comes to that.. Maybe by appointment? I have a whole armful + of books to return but all the Book Drops are closed. It will be great to get that obligation off my back. They’ll need to disinfect all those books or keep them in quarantine for two or more weeks.
It’s the little things that keep you up at night, The life and death issues need to keep until morning,
flos56: “They’ll need to disinfect all those books or keep them in quarantine for two or more weeks.”
I’d like to hear from a librarian. Are they really going to disinfect every book in the place every day after the library is closed? Libraries now have computers. Who is going to disinfect after every usage?
I think this is opening up a whole new can of worms. Why take a chance of infecting people?
They could wipe down the covers with Lysol (just the book returns) and have a policy that once a book is taken from the shelf it is to be placed on a table to be disinfected before being reshelved.
The computers will have to be wiped down after each patron, plus hand sanitizer would need to be available throughout the library.
But you are right, going to a library would probably be comparable to going to a gym – risky.
So it looks like I’ll continue to do my reading via ebooks, either downloaded from the. Public Library or from other online sources.
I heard that some public libraries are offering curbside service. You pre-select/reserve your book and come and pick it up. They are considering this for the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library System which wants to start hiring librarians to take care of the backlog, for example, there are 10,000 magazines which need to be checked in. Like the schools, there was no notice of a shut down. One day they were at work, the next day they were told to stay home. (I missed my chance to return my library books – waited a day too long – but all outstanding books aren’t due until June 29th). Right now I’m downloading ebooks or audiobooks, although I have a pile of books next to my bed waiting to be read.
McConnell is putting not only the Senators at risk [may the Republicans enjoy shaking hands with each other], but the other workers such as cooks, cleaners and police officers. All of this is being done to make Trump look good and promote going back to work for EVERYONE. The US can’t afford another stimulus that might help people…so go back to work NOW!! Why not give workers a choice between starving or working and infecting their families?
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Sunday, May 03, 2020 1:00 am
Senators prepare for risky return to DC
Associated Press
WASHINGTON – Weighing the risks, the Senate will reopen Monday as the coronavirus crisis rages and the House stays shuttered, an approach that leaves Congress as divided as the nation.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s decision to convene 100 senators at the Capitol during a pandemic gives President Donald Trump the imagery he wants of America getting back to work, despite health worries and a lack of testing.
Yet, the Washington region remains under stay-at-home orders as a virus hot spot. Gathering senators for the first time since March risks lawmakers as well the cooks, cleaners, police officers and other workers who keep the lights on at the Capitol complex.
“We will continue to stand together for the American people – even as we stand 6 feet apart,” McConnell said ahead of the opening.
Trump himself offered Congress access to the instant virus test system used to screen visitors to the White House. But in an extraordinary rebuff, McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement Saturday that they would “respectfully decline” the offer and instead direct resources to the front lines “where they can do the most good.”
For Senate Republicans, returning to session is an attempt to set the terms of debate as Democrats push for another pricey coronavirus relief bill.
Frustrated after Pelosi boosted Democratic priorities in earlier aid packages, an unprecedented $3 trillion in emergency spending, they are resisting more. Republicans are counting on the country’s reopening and an economic rebound as their best hope to limit a new round of big spending on virus aid…
https://journalgazette.net/news/us/20200503/senators-prepare-for-risky-return-to-dc
WaPo:
Trump says there’s ‘tremendous’ testing capacity for returning senators
By J. Edward Moreno
President Trump on Saturday insisted that there is “tremendous” coronavirus testing capacity for senators returning to Washington, D.C., after Capitol physician Brian Monahan had said earlier in the week that his office did not have the capacity to screen all 100 senators.
I wondered when they said they didn’t have enough testing for the Senate, but then I realized that it’s not just the 100 Senators but also their staff plus all the behind the scenes people you mentioned. I wonder if the cafeteria in the Library of Congress will be open or even if the Library of Congress is being staffed at this point. They do a lot of work for Congress including all the carts and graphs which are displayed from time to time.
The upshot is that it’s not the 100 Senators, but all the little people necessary to make the Senate Sessions run smoothly. How many of them will contract or spread) the virus in a community whose numbers are still rising? We will have to wait a couple of weeks to see.
So three weeks ago, Sunday, april 12, the number of new infections in the US was 31606 and the number of deaths was 1920.
Yesterday, the number of new infections was 31774 and the number of deaths was 2069.
If we open businesses now, I ask why didn’t we open them 3 weeks ago? What’s changed?
The protest has been heavily promoted by the Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF), which counts among its donors “dark money” funds linked to the Koch brothers such as Donors Capital Fund, and Castle Rock, a foundation seeded with part of the fortune of Adolph Coors, the rightwing beer magnate.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/17/far-right-coronavirus-protests-restrictions
The protesters believe this is about their individual liberties.
https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/266ec3f00238475270b8c92b6ae12e79c3423c10/0_0_3500_2556/master/3500.jpg?width=1920&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=c38c5560eac525bea7cf5a8ef551466b
On the other hand, there are some things worse than death. If we don’t get our economy going soon, there will be so many people out of work and starving. I remember my mom talking about the Depression when I was little. The wealthy will be ok as always, the the majority will be struggling. It is not an easy decision when to open the economies and many issues are not black and white, Democrat and Republican.
Another possibility is that during the pandemic Americans get much more help from their rich government—similarly to what governments all over Europe give out to their people.
Nobody has to starve in the richest country on Earth.
And what happens when we “reopen the economy” and a bunch of workers die? That will make the economy worse than if we had just waited a little longer, not to mention the staggering human toll.
And all of the people “worried” about the poor starving didn’t seem to give a flying fig about those same people three months ago. False pity.
Threatened Out West: I wish people knew that the Republicans, led by McConnell, want people to go back to work BUT if they get sick from coronavirus they will have no legal protections to sue. How is this a party that helps workers? Family values? BS.
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Obstacles mount for deal on next coronavirus bill
05/03/20
McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) are warning that Republicans will not support another bill without increased liability protections for employers as they begin to reopen.
The business community is pressuring the White House and Congress to help shield them from a wide range of lawsuits legal experts say they could face related to the coronavirus.
“Senate and House Republicans agree these protections will be absolutely essential to future discussions surrounding recovery legislation,” they said in a joint statement.
Democrats have appeared lukewarm to the idea, warning that they will not support any language that would weaken protections for workers, who they worry could be pushed into unsafe working conditions if their employers feel they are protected from lawsuits…
ttps://thehill.com/homenews/senate/495760-obstacles-mount-for-deal-on-next-coronavirus-bill
I almost flipped out of my chair watching a news report about a gym in Georgia that was touting its procedures. The owner was going through the steps people had to take, and I did a spit take after, “and when they sign the release forms.” Too funny. And sad. And scary.
I believe the quote from Durrenmatt is from his play “The Visit of the Old Lady” (if not, then it could easily be). I played Toby, the guitar playing gangster in that production. To say that it had a profound impact on me would be an understatement.
I’ve mentioned that play and it’s towns’ caving to a few of my friends. Even more often, lately, now that the concept of sacrificing the old/weak/impoverished for the public economic “good” is gaining traction.
Big money wants to get the engines churning again. Gotta keep up payments on that 6th estate in the Hamptons. Yes, it was nice to see the Himalayas from Punjab for the first time in decades…but let’s get back to work (and be sure to keep those photos…you won’t see it again).
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.
“ The most discouraging thing is that few, if any, understand this, which is why they continue to devalue life, which, for them are only political pawns they call fetuses.”
And to know that it’s been going on for thousands and thousands of years. The odds are against us…but we must fight on.
Very cool to have actually been in the play! This quote is from an essay he wrote about politics. Here’s my take on The Visit:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/789786723
“ The last was the role of the press in the climax of the play. As Rüedi rightly observes, their behavior is grotesque in that they only feel vindicated if they heighten the fear of the villagers. They do not report, they are active participants in a macabre spectacle“
Spot on and an excellent review, Greg.
“The Visit” is modern day Shakespeare and one of the greatest (and most prescient) plays I’ve ever read.
The scene where Claire confronts Ill became a problem between me and my director when we premiered the piece (college production…and a very very good and well reviewed one).
During all the rehearsals, when Claire tells me (Toby) to play something at the beginning of that scene, I would just launch into playing a nice touching piece. Simple cue. But during the first public performance, I took the liberty of a bit of improv. After Claire’s “request”, I cracked my knuckles. All eight of them. You could hear it to the last row; it was so loud. Then I went into playing the piece.
Totally spontaneous. The classic “…thought it was a good idea at the moment”.
The director was furious with me. And I mean: in a RAGE. For him, that scene was as touching and sensitive as the death scene in Romeo and Juliet. For me, it was the prelude to murder.
Needless to say; I never cracked my knuckles in my director’s presence again. Anywhere. And he was right to let me know how angry he was. It was an important lesson in humility and responsibility that I never forgot, as a performer.
Ever.
Can you post a link to the text of the play?
I just found this. The Physicists has also been translated, not much of his other stuff. There was a movie made in the early 60s with Anthony Quinn and Ingrid Bergman. Avoid it like the plague, it has nothing to do with the play. There was also a musical version on Broadway a few years ago. Haven’t seen it, but a friend of mine who did said only people who hadn’t previously read or seen the play would like it. He advised me against it.
Click to access the_visit.pdf
I don’t think you’ll be able to get a link to text, Diane. I did a search with no luck. It’s fairly recent which may mean it’s still covered by copyright law and not yet in the public domain.
Greg may know of a better translation, but I’ve heard that this is a very good one:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/317764.The_Visit
It’s a masterpiece and if you ever get the chance to see a production, it’s fantastic for the stage. Thrust staging is best for this one, imho.
I found a link, but it’s currently in moderation.
Loosening Public-Health Restrictions Too Early Can Cost Lives. Just Look What Happened During the 1918 Flu Pandemic
BY NANCY BRISTOW MAY 1, 2020
…Though it took place more than a century ago, this scene is highly resonant with events around the United States in recent days. Last Friday, some 2,000 people turned out at the Wisconsin State Capitol to demand that the Governor end the state’s stay-at-home order, which he recently extended to May 26. Protestors, many without masks, condemned the public health measures designed to save their lives. The beliefs that brought them there varied. Some, already facing layoffs, were legitimately worried about their economic wellbeing. Others claimed the orders were the result of an “evil cabal” or a ruse by the government to take away their freedoms. This was only the largest of what have become commonplace protests around the country. From Sacramento to Sarasota, Boise to Baton Rouge, Americans are defying public health restrictions to voice opposition to stay-at-home orders. But the story of San Francisco’s struggles a century ago—against the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic and against the public health measures designed to combat it—should give such protestors pause. Inadequate protective efforts, or their removal too early, can cost lives….
By the time the epidemic came to an end that spring, 45,000 San Franciscans were sickened and 3,000 died over the course of these two waves of the influenza pandemic, resulting in one of the highest death rates in the country….
Research conducted by historians and scientists at the University of Michigan and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention makes clear that what happened in San Francisco is not an isolated case. Comparative analysis of data from a number of American cities during the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic provide incontrovertible evidence of the effectiveness of the kind of restrictions we are living with today. Cities that imposed expansive closure orders early and maintained them for the duration of pandemic conditions suffered significantly lower death rates than those like San Francisco that did not. While protestors in 1918 fought against the hated mask, their act of gathering, which was at the time entirely legal, was helping to spread the disease…
We need our political leadership to listen carefully to the medical and public health experts—and to history. They owe it to us to mandate the responsible measures that have proved, time and again, to save lives.
Nancy Bristow is the author of American Pandemic: The Lost Worlds of the 1918 Influenza Epidemic.
https://time.com/5830265/1918-flu-reopening-coronavirus/?utm_source=emailshare&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email-share-article&utm_content=20200503
There is an interesting video of Chris Wallace interviewing Dr. Birx on Fox. Fauci also makes a comment. What Trump and some governors are doing is WRONG and is putting people’s lives at risk.
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Dr. Birx Says What Trump Would Not About Protesters
May. 03, 2020
Birx’s admonishment comes days after Trump lauded armed demonstrators who crowded inside the Michigan state capitol without masks.
White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx expressed concern on Sunday about the numerous anti-shutdown protests flaring up across the country, saying it was “devastatingly worrisome” that the protesters weren’t practicing social distancing or wearing masks.
Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Birx was first pressed by anchor Chris Wallaceto react to states quickly moving to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic despite not meeting the guidelines set by the White House coronavirus task force…
https://www.thedailybeast.com/dr-birx-says-its-devastatingly-worrisome-that-anti-lockdown-protesters-arent-wearing-masks?source=email&via=desktop
Donald Trump’s Four-Step Plan to Reopen the US Economy – and Why It Will Be Lethal
By Robert Reich, Guardian UK
03 May 20
The president and his allies are hiding the facts and pretending ‘freedom’ conquers all. As a result, more Americans will die
Donald Trump is getting nervous. Internal polls show him losing in November unless the economy comes roaring back.
But much of the economy remains closed because of the pandemic. The number of infections and deaths continue to climb.
So what is Trump’s re-election strategy? Reopen the economy anyway, despite the risks…
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/03/donald-trump-reopen-us-economy-lethal-robert-reich?CMP=share_btn_link
Ironically, he might lose the election because so many of his supporters will be either hospitalized or dead due to unprotected protests which continued to spread the virus.
That’s one of the worst parts of this, for me. I don’t want these people to get sick. I really don’t. But if enough of them don’t get sick, they’ll be singing “fake news” all the way to the polls, with Trump saying, “I knew all along that it wasn’t a real pandemic”.
gitapik: I just tried to post a comment on what was happening in Indiana and was blatantly told, “This comment cannot be posted.” It gave statistics on how many in Indiana had contacted COVID-19 on Sunday and how many had died. I also had an article on Indiana is opening today. [WTF?] My summary of what is happening was, “People are being used as guinea pigs.”
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This is a quote from what is happening in Indiana:
As we lift restrictions and more people return to work, visit a store or restaurant, and participate in more activities, the number of COVID-19 cases will increase. If we cannot meet these principles, all or portions of the state may need to pause on moving forward, or we may return to an earlier stage of the governor’s stay-at-home order.
Here is my experience: if I access this blog through wordpress and not dianeravitch.net, then I do not get these kinds of “this cannot be posted” obstacles.
It’s tough. I have a bunch of people I care about who are Trump supporters (cringe) and I definitely don’t wish them ill. I just hope they are smart enough to follow the guidelines and listen to Trump from a distance.
Total U.S. coronavirus deaths reported each morning this week: Monday, 67,682.
How sad that too many states are blindly following the desires of Trump.
Yesterday, 5,000 people died in the US of Corona, according to WHO. Almost double of the previous record of 2900.
The president is a fool. His ignorance is killing people. But, my Trump loving friend insists that main stream media is making the number of infected higher than what really is happening because it is earning them money. She has her own sites that give facts.
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The Rest of the World Is Laughing at Trump
The president created a leadership vacuum. China intends to fill it.
…The tone of news headlines ranges from straight-faced in Kompas, a major Indonesian news outlet—Trump Usulkan Suntik Disinfektan dan Sinar UV untuk Obati Covid-19, or “Trump Proposes Disinfectant Injection and UV Rays to Treat COVID-19”—to snide, from Le Monde in France—Les élucubrations du « docteur » Trump, or “The Rantings of ‘Doctor’ Trump.” The incredulous first paragraph of an article in Sowetan, from South Africa, declares that “US President Donald Trump has again left people stunned and confused with his bizarre suggestion that disinfectant and ultraviolet light could possibly be used to treat Covid-19.” El Comercio, a distinguished Peruvian newspaper, treated its readers to photographs of Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus-response coordinator, grimacing as the president asked her whether the injection of disinfectant might be a cure.
Quotations from the president’s astonishing April 23 press conference have appeared on every continent, via countless television channels, radio stations, magazines, and websites, in hundreds of thousands of variations and dozens of languages—often accompanied by warnings, in case someone was fooled, not to drink disinfectant or bleach…
Read More:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/05/time-americans-are-doing-nothing/611056/?utm_source=atl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=share
Carol, ironically, I personally believe the numbers are way low. They are probably double if not triple or more, not even counting people who die at home and aren’t counted. Luckily many people don’t have any symptoms – imagine if everyone infected got deathly ill!
Trump is proving his dementia. He’s still touting hydroxychloroquine and believes he is a victim of a hostile press and has been treated worse than Lincoln. “Everyone wants the rallies.’
😩
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Trump’s commentary on Sunday touched on his reelection bid, including his message to voters that Democratic candidates should be defeated in November.
“The Democrats, the radical left, would rather see people — I’m gonna be very nice. I’m not gonna say ‘die.’ I’m gonna say would rather see people not get well because they think I’m going to get credit if hydroxychloroquine works,” Trump said.
The president complained to Fox about news coverage he receives, asserting that he is uniquely victimized in U.S. history. “I am greeted with a hostile press, the likes of which no president has ever seen,” Trump said. “The closest would be that gentleman right up there. They always said Lincoln, nobody got treated worse than Lincoln. I believe I am treated worse” (The Hill).
The president also mentioned he does not expect to hold any of his trademark campaign rallies until the final months before Election Day. He hasn’t held a campaign rally since March 2 in North Carolina.
“Everyone wants the rallies. … I don’t think we can have a rally with an empty stadium,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to do the rallies in the last couple months.”
Trump definitely should hold packed rallies. He will no doubt tout his favorite remedies to his adoring throngs. I hope he hugs every one of them. You can be sure none will wear a face mask. That’s a sign of weakness in his eyes.
One effective way to bond closely is to kiss each other on the mouth. That’s what all the communist leaders used to do due to Soviet influence.
The most beautiful display of this lovely practice occurred when Brezhnev was lying on his bier on Red Square.
I am not the first suggesting the implementation of ths beautiful expression of fraternity love to politicians who are too manly for COVID-19
Study to determine incidence of novel coronavirus infection in U.S. children begins
National Institutes of Health
5/4/2020
A study to help determine the rate of novel coronavirus infection in children and their family members in the United States has begun enrolling participants. The study, called Human Epidemiology and Response to SARS-CoV-2 (HEROS), also will help determine what percentage of children infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, develop symptoms of the disease. In addition, the HEROS study will examine whether rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection differ between children who have asthma or other allergic conditions and children who do not.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, is sponsoring and funding the HEROS study.“One interesting feature of this novel coronavirus pandemic is that very few children have become sick with COVID-19 compared to adults,” said NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. “Is this because children are resistant to infection with SARS-CoV-2, or because they are infected but do not develop symptoms?
The HEROS study will help us begin to answer these and other key questions.”The HEROS study team will rapidly enroll 6,000 people from 2,000 U.S. families already participating in NIH-funded pediatric research studies in 11 cities. Study participants will include both healthy children and children with asthma or other allergic conditions. The study team will prospectively follow these children and their families for six months to determine who gets infected with SARS-CoV-2, whether the virus is transmitted to other family members, and which family members with the virus develop COVID-19…
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/study-determine-incidence-novel-coronavirus-infection-us-children-begins#.XrAdGG1H2X4.gmail
“Hostility toward journalists and news outlets in the United States deepened and intensified, and few attacks were as vitriolic as those that came from the president,” notes the international press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in its annual Press Freedom Index, published last month.
Although it was another abysmal year for reporters covering the Trump administration, the United States actually climbed three spots to No. 45 on the RSF index. Yes, you read that right: There are currently 44 other countries in the world that have better press-freedom records than ours. This puts the United States in the category of countries where the situation for journalists is considered merely “satisfactory” — rather than simply “free.” The small boost in our ranking is no reason for Americans to rejoice; it probably owes just as much to the deterioration of conditions elsewhere as it does to any positive changes at home.
Data and modeling from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that the federal government is expecting the number of cases and deaths associated with the pandemic to continue mounting, even as President Trump and other officials push for states to lift restrictions meant to slow the spread of the virus in favor of reopening businesses.
1600 Daily
The White House • May 4, 2020
Top 10 moments from President Trump’s Town Hall
With the Lincoln Memorial as a backdrop, President Trump took questions from Americans for 2 hours last night as part of a Fox News Virtual Town Hall.
“We never had a more beautiful set than this,” the President said.
Together, Americans are beating this Coronavirus. After months of slowing the spread of disease, our country is prepared for the next stage in this fight. Last night, President Trump explained why safely reopening is the right thing to do for our people:
🎬 America leads the world in testing. When the virus struck, President Trump quickly revolutionized our nation’s testing system, clearing regulatory hurdles to get the private sector involved. The United States has now conducted more than 6.5 million tests—far greater than any other country on Earth.
🎬 We’re safely getting back to work. “We did the right thing,” President Trump says when asked about his aggressive actions to slow the spread of COVID-19. “We saved millions of lives, but now we have to get [our economy] back open, and we have to get it back open safely but as quickly as possible.”
🎬 The best economy in history will be back! Before Coronavirus, America saw rising wages and its lowest unemployment rate in half a century. “We built the greatest economy in the world,” President Trump said. Once this invisible enemy passes, the American people—with this President’s help—will do it again.
🎬 Relief is already here. The Trump Administration wasted no time steering $3 trillion into our economy, protecting American workers and businesses with direct deposit checks, forgivable small business loans, and more. “We’re talking 30 million jobs that we’ve saved. Thirty million jobs,” President Trump said.
🎬 Early, strong action worked. In January, President Trump restricted travel from China and announced a White House Coronavirus Task Force. Democrat leaders called the response “xenophobic.” Facts proved them wrong.
🎬 China’s propaganda won’t work. This virus started in China, and it should’ve been stopped long before it spread rapidly across the globe. The Chinese Communist government has tried to blame everyone from the U.S. military to our European allies for the pandemic—everyone but themselves.
🎬 We need products made in America. Past presidents did nothing while American jobs went to China. Coronavirus has exposed the danger of relying on foreign supply chains. “We’re bringing that whole supply chain back. Nobody has to tell me to do it. I’ve been talking about that for years,” President Trump says.
🎬 Schools should reopen—soon. This fall, American schools and colleges should reopen as planned, the President said. “We have to get our schools back.”
🎬 America is the “king of ventilators.” Around-the-clock coordination between the federal government and states has produced incredible results.
🎬 “We have to get our people back to church.” Faith and prayer have helped many Americans during this tough time. “It’s wonderful to watch people over a laptop, but it’s not like being at a church,” President Trump says. “And we have to get our people back to churches, and we’re going to start doing it soon.”
Read the full transcript from President Trump’s Fox News Town Hall here.
This is unbelievable. ALL houses of worship are now going to be able to resume normal services on Friday. They are the guinea pigs who will infect others. Holcomb [R-IN] is failing the people of this state.
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[NWI Times] Governor selects houses of worship as test case for relaxing Indiana coronavirus restrictions
Dan Carden 12 min ago
While some businesses and retailers in Porter and LaPorte counties opened on a limited basis Monday, the first entities due to restart operations in Lake County under the state’s relaxed coronavirus guidelines will be religious institutions.
Gov. Eric Holcomb last week announced that all houses of worship may resume normal services, statewide, beginning Friday, even though the reopening of most other places likely to attract a crowd is gradually being rolled out about every three weeks through July 4.
The Republican governor said Monday he deliberately chose places of worship to go first because Holcomb believes leaders of religious entities will be most likely to look after their flock, and carefully follow the state’s reopening and COVID-19 safety guidance.
“What we’re going to do is learn from these steps that we’re taking. We just thought a good place to start, or a good place to have a test or a control group, would be houses of worship,” Holcomb said…
The state also suggests people over age 65, and those with an underlying health condition, avoid in-person attendance at houses of worship, and instead continue to watch services online for the foreseeable future.
“When it came down to making the ultimate decision on places of worship, we said going forward that we would recommend allowing this now to see, as we look back 14 days or 21 days in terms of houses of worship, what effect it might have,” Holcomb said…
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/governor-selects-houses-of-worship-as-test-case-for-relaxing-indiana-coronavirus-restrictions/article_9c3a7256-7839-5c64-af8f-1e4223cf2cf1.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share
Interesting theory to use church worshippers as guinea pigs to determine how many get infected, how many die.
Here in Tennessee we have a governor who is a great champion of scientific experiments: When the mayor of Shelby county (Memphis) wanted to put control on this human experiment, governor Lee overruled it.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s Tuesday executive order blocked local governments from regulating places of worship as an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19.
His move came shortly after Memphis and Shelby County announced a phased reopening plan that would have limited places of worship to 25% capacity for at least two weeks, also requiring adherence to social distancing.
Now, churches, synagogues and mosques in Shelby, Davidson and other Tennessee counties can decide for themselves whether to worship in small numbers or return to regular services.
https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2020/05/01/tennessee-gov-bill-lee-order-overrules-shelby-county-coronavirus-church-restrictions/3060772001/
As usual, due to the nature of everything connected with the spread of the virus, the experiment automatically extends to everybody since churchgoers are allowed to go everywhere, endangering even those who are more timid in practicing their religious freedom or they try to practice their non-religious freedom.
Máté Wierdl: Let’s all hail to the Magnificent Trump and the church goers who are guinea pigs.
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3,000 DEATHS A DAY BY JUNE A startling new projection presented by the Federal Emergency Management Agency shows a possible COVID-19 toll surge to 200,000 cases and 3,000 deaths daily by June 1. The predicted death toll increase — a 70% jump from the current daily average of 1,750 — comes as dozens of states begin to drop strict social distancing requirements and open businesses to workers and customers at Trump’s urging. [HuffPost]
Máté Wierdl: Quotes from Holcomb, Governor of Indiana. Unbelievable.
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“We just thought a good place to start or have a control group, would be places of worship … ,” Gov. Eric Holcomb said. “But I did say we needed those church leaders to be responsible for their congregations. We can prove we can do this, and I think we’ll see just that.”
Holcomb said state health officials will be able to learn from churches over the next 14 to 21 days on whether infections spread.
“If we can manage this, it gives us a lot of confidence in some other arenas as well,” he said. “What we’re going to do is learn from these steps that we’re taking.”
Indiana should start with Trump supporters.
This is nuts. They really think, they are authorized (and qualified) to conduct a human experiment. Their congregation should suit them.
Btw, even experts could make terrible mistakes. It’s not unreasonable that the current virus was created in a lab, and then accidentally escaped. Even if this hypothesis turns out to be untrue, these experiments probably need to stop.
Fauci has said repeatedly that the virus was not created in a lab
The video is based on an article that appeared a week ago in Newsweek and is titled “DR. FAUCI BACKED CONTROVERSIAL WUHAN LAB WITH MILLIONS OF U.S. DOLLARS FOR RISKY CORONAVIRUS RESEARCH”
But just last year, the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the organization led by Dr. Fauci, funded scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and other institutions for work on gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses.
In 2019, with the backing of NIAID, the National Institutes of Health committed $3.7 million over six years for research that included some gain-of-function work. The program followed another $3.7 million, 5-year project for collecting and studying bat coronaviruses, which ended in 2019, bringing the total to $7.4 million.
Many scientists have criticized gain of function research, which involves manipulating viruses in the lab to explore their potential for infecting humans, because it creates a risk of starting a pandemic from accidental release.
It’s a serious article (not pro-Trump in any way) and so was the video I posted.
https://www.newsweek.com/dr-fauci-dismisses-wuhan-lab-source-coronavirus-contradicting-trump-pompeo-1501924
Máté Wierdl: I got this from a Canadian friend:
Japan’s Nobel prize winning Professor of Medicine, Professor Dr Tasuku Honjo, created a sensation today by saying that the Coronavirus is not natural.
“If it is natural, it wouldn’t have adversely affected the entire world like this. Because, as per nature, temperature is different in different countries. If it is natural, it would adversely affect only those countries having the same temperature as China. Instead, it is spreading in a country like Switzerland, in the same way it is spreading in the desert areas. Whereas if it were natural, it would have spread in cold places, but died in hot places.
I have done 40 years of research on animals and viruses. It is not natural. It is manufactured and the virus is completely artificial. I have worked for 4 years in the Wuhan laboratory in China. I am fully acquainted with all the staff of that laboratory. I have been phoning them all, after the Coronavirus surfaced. But all their phones are dead for the last 3 months. It is now understood that all these lab technicians have died.
Based on all my knowledge and research till date, I can say this with 100% confidence – That the Coronavirus is not natural. It did not come from bats. China manufactured it. If what I am saying today is proved false now or even after my death, the government can withdraw my Nobel Prize. China is lying and this truth will one day be revealed to everyone”.
Carol:
These are very trying times. And the machines are running full tilt to sway and confuse our opinions and stances.
https://fullfact.org/online/tasuku-honjo-coronavirus/
Hm, saying anything certain about this virus is suspicious. “It’s for sure manmade” is suspicious “It’s for sure not manmade” is suspicious.
Diane: A Trump loving friend just emailed me back that she is playing the piano for her church service. [No comment back to her on the stupidity of churches meeting.]
Valparaiso is about a half hour from where I live. [Indiana] I think this is all due to the influence of Trump who doesn’t believe in medical advise. After all, his wondrous gut has amazing intuitive abilities.
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[NWI Times] Businesses start to reopen in Valparaiso, across Porter County and state
Joseph S. Pete May 4, 2020 Updated 31 min ago
People roamed around the streets of downtown Valparaiso on a sunny, slightly chilly day Monday, some with masks and gloves but many without.
Storefront windows were filled with hearts thanking individual health care workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. Restaurants continued to drop off curbside orders to waiting cars on Lincolnway, and the line often stretched out the door for Star Wars-themed cupcakes on May the Fourth at Designer Desserts, which allowed no more than four customers inside at a time.
For the first time in weeks, chalkboard signs littered the sidewalks advertising spring sales and inviting customers to “come on in.” Many retail stores across Porter County, LaPorte County and the rest of Indiana reopened Monday for the first time since the state imposed a stay-at-home order aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus.
Restaurant owners in downtown Valparaiso were getting ready to reopen dining rooms at half capacity as soon it’s allowed on May 11. Lake County is a week after that because of a higher concentration of coronavirus cases, with retail shops allowed to reopen on May 11 and restaurant dining rooms a week later on May 18…
https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/businesses-start-to-reopen-in-valparaiso-across-porter-county-and-state/article_ad83cf34-d541-5bf7-b995-3ecc023ff752.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share
Tuesday, May 05, 2020 1:00 am
Coronavirus roundup
College students sue to get tuition refunds
Associated Press
They wanted the campus experience, but their colleges sent them home to learn online during the coronavirus pandemic. Now, students at more than 25 U.S. universities are filing lawsuits against their schools demanding partial refunds on tuition and campus fees, saying they’re not getting the caliber of education they were promised.
The suits reflect students’ growing frustration with online classes that schools scrambled to create as the coronavirus forced campuses across the nation to close last month. The suits say students should pay lower rates for the portion of the term that was offered online, arguing that the quality of instruction is far below the classroom experience.
Colleges, though, reject the idea that refunds are in order. Students are learning from the same professors who teach on campus, officials have said, and they’re still earning credits toward their degrees. Schools insist that, after being forced to close by their states, they’re still offering students a quality education…
https://journalgazette.net/news/20200505/college-students-sue-to-get-tuition-refunds
Mourning in America
May 4, 2020
The Lincoln Project
Donald Trump’s failed presidency has left the nation weaker, sicker, and teetering on the verge of a new Great Depression.
Canada is doing MUCH better in helping their people. I sent this to my two Trump supporters, hoping they’d see what happens when a leader cares about the people.
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Trudeau’s daily coronavirus update: $252 million fund to help the agri-food industry (Full transcript)
In his May 5 briefing to Canadians, the PM announced funds to help farmers and food producers deal with market changes and surpluses during the COVID-19 pandemic
By Maclean’s
May 5, 2020
…[Translated from French] These days, everyone working in the food industry is working harder than ever to fill the shelves of our grocery stores. They continue to work long hours to feed us and the pandemic is making things more complicated for them. Workers must take additional measures to protect themselves. They must change the way they work and respect physical distancing. And since hotels and restaurants are closed, many producers are now dealing with significant surpluses of certain goods. From the outset we have said we would be there for people who need a hand. So today we are announcing a new investment of more than $252 million to help the agri-food industry and help it get through this crisis. Of that amount, we will be allocating more than $77 million dollars to food processors in order to protect the safety of their workers. This is money that they will be able to use to buy more personal protective equipment or adjust their hygiene protocols or other measures such as physical distancing. It will also allow processors to adapt their plants so that they can produce more goods in Canada. [end of translation]
Today, we are announcing more than $77 million to support food processors during this crisis. This is money that they can use to purchase personal protective equipment for workers, adapt to health protocols and support other social distancing measures. It will also help expand or adapt our processing capacity to increase the amount of Canadian products we make domestically.
To help cattle and hog producers we will launch $125 million National Agri-Recovery Initiative. Farms and processing plants are raising more animals than the system can process into things like steak and bacon because of COVID-19. For many farmers, this crisis means that they have to keep animals for longer periods of time and that can be expensive. So with this funding, we’re giving extra help to beef and pork producers so that they can adapt to this crisis. This is an initial investment and if we need to add more, we will.
[Translated from French] With respect to dairy farmers, we intend to work with all the parties in the House to increase by $200 million the credit line of the Canadian Dairy Commission. The commission already has a program in place to store dairy products. It stores butter and cheese and has been since the beginning of this crisis and hopes and expects to reach its maximum capacity soon by increasing its credit line. We will not waste of fresh products and dairy producers will be more able to deal with the consequences of this crisis. [end of translation]
With hotels and restaurants closed too much of certain types of food like milk, butter and potatoes is being produced. While some donations have been made to food banks, we don’t have the capacity right now to redistribute such large quantities of food and some producers have no choice but to throw out their product. It’s a waste of food and a loss of revenue for the people who worked so hard to produce it. To avoid this, we’re launching a surplus food purchase program, starting with a $50 million fund. The government will buy large quantities of certain products at risk of going waste like, say, potatoes or poultry and redistribute them to organizations addressing food insecurity….
https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/trudeaus-daily-coronavirus-update-252-million-fund-to-help-the-agri-food-industry-full-transcript/
In case this gets lost in all the replies here:
The Japanese scientist never made the claim that the virus was man made. We are being manipulated;
https://fullfact.org/online/tasuku-honjo-coronavirus/
Thank you for this information. How is one supposed to know the truth from fiction when so many ‘facts’ are floating around on the internet?
I will send this to my friend in Canada who gave me the ‘testimony’ from the Japanese scientist. [I’m certainly not qualified to know what is the right answer to the start of COVID-19.]
“How is one supposed to know the truth from fiction when so many ‘facts’ are floating around on the internet?”
It’s not only the Internet. What we start finding out is that not everything we have been calling science is as reliable as the natural sciences. I think it really is time to reevaluate what we call science or, if we are not willing to do that, how much we want to trust the reliability of science.
Do you guys want to see and hear a real Nobel Prize winner really giving a reasoned opinion against strict stay at home measures?
Here is the guy on wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Levitt
and here is the interview with him.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/nobel-prize-winner-lauds-countries-that-didnt-enforce-strict-lockdowns-and-slams-those-that-damaged-their-economies
Things really are not black and white even in “science”.
In any case, when scientists give an opinion, they really should state that this is only an opinion and not the description of a peer reviewed research. What these people fail to understand is that what’s very useful in science, namely throwing untested ideas around, can have completely unpredictable consequences in the real world.
Thanks for the links and info, Mate.
Don’t know what to say. Yes: he’s a brilliant man. And I’ve also read from very reputable sources that herd immunity only applies to scenarios involving diseases that are below a certain transmission threshold. COVID-19 falls outside of that category, according to the data/metrics that are known to date.
And to this…:
“What these people fail to understand is that what’s very useful in science, namely throwing untested ideas around, can have completely unpredictable consequences in the real world”
…a resounding “YES”!
Snopes says it was false:
Nobel laureate Dr. Tasuku Honjo said that COVID-19 was “man-made” at a lab in Wuhan, China.
Rating
False
About this rating
I’d be interested in getting comments from people who see this video.
https://plandemicmovie.com/
COMING SUMMER 2020
Prior to the completion of the full-length documentary we’ll be releasing a series of vignettes. The first installment features renowned scientist, Judy Mikovits PHD.
Humanity is imprisoned by a killer pandemic. People are being arrested for surfing in the ocean and meditating in nature. Nations are collapsing. Hungry citizens are rioting for food. The media has generated so much confusion and fear that people are begging for salvation in a syringe. Billionaire patent owners are pushing for globally mandated vaccines. Anyone who refuses to be injected with experimental poisons will be prohibited from travel, education and work. No, this is not a synopsis for a new horror movie. This is our current reality.
They named it COVID19. Our leaders of world health predicted millions would die. The National Guard was deployed. Makeshift hospitals were erected to care for a massive overflow of patients. Mass graves were dug. Terrifying news reports had people everywhere seeking shelter to avoid contact. The plan was unfolding with diabolical precision, but the masters of the Pandemic underestimated one thing… the people. Medical professionals and every-day citizens are sharing critical information online. The overlords of big tech have ordered all dissenting voices to be silenced and banned, but they are too late. The slumbering masses are awake and aware that something is not right. Quarantine has provided the missing element: time. Suddenly, our overworked citizenry has ample time to research and investigate for themselves. Once you see, you can’t unsee.
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PLANDEMIC Part 1 (Dr. Judy Mikovits)
May 4, 2020
Dear gatekeepers of truth and free speech, before removing this video, please read these words:
The world is watching you. We understand the pressure you’re under to censor any information that contradicts the popular narrative. We know the risk that comes with defying the orders of those who pull the strings. We realize even the biggest of tech giants are under the command of powerful forces that wield the ability to destroy your empire with the click of a key. But due to the critical condition of our world, “I was just doing my job” is no longer an acceptable excuse.
This is no time to play politics. Our future is your future. Your family’s future. Your children’s future. Your grandchildren’s future. This is a plea to the human in you. Preventing this information from reaching the people is taking a firm stance on the wrong side of history. A choice you will certainly live to regret as truth exponentially emerges. There is nothing, no billionaire, no politician, no media, no level of censorship that can slow this awakening. It is here. It is happening. Who’s side are you on?
I guess the control group of Trump’s church goers will soon find out whether this plan, approved by coronavirus czar Pence, is something to be emulated. Playing with people’s lives is not acceptable.
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Indiana has lost 18 residents per 100,000, compared with 6 for Kentucky and 10 for Ohio. Those states are not reopening. Three states that are reopening are West Virginia, Iowa and Missouri, which have rates of 3, 7 and 6 deaths per 100,000 residents, respectively.
Wednesday, May 06, 2020 1:00 am
Holcomb defends reopening plan
Touts Pence’s support despite per capita rate
NIKI KELLY | The Journal Gazette
INDIANAPOLIS – Gov. Eric Holcomb defended his reopening of the Indiana economy Tuesday even as a new national model dramatically increased the state’s expected death toll.
He said Vice President Mike Pence praised the five-stage plan to open back up.
“He said he had seen a lot of plans to reopen throughout the country and he had seen none better than ours,” Holcomb said. “He commented on how thorough it was, how thoughtful … how we are able to adapt to the facts on the ground. He held it up actually as a model.”
The governor continued to say the north star guiding his administration is the measure of resources to care for those who get sick, rather than the measure of positive cases or deaths.
But Holcomb didn’t address a reporter’s question pointing out Indiana’s high per capita death rate – or that the state’s plan doesn’t follow President Donald Trump’s guidance concerning a downward trajectory on cases.
Indiana has lost 18 residents per 100,000, compared with 6 for Kentucky and 10 for Ohio. Those states are not reopening. Three states that are reopening are West Virginia, Iowa and Missouri, which have rates of 3, 7 and 6 deaths per 100,000 residents, respectively.
“Did I hear right that the governor said Vice President Pence commended Indiana’s plan to reopen as the best in the country? How can Indiana have the best plan to reopen when this so-called plan doesn’t even meet the standards set up by the president and vice president themselves?” Senate Democrat Leader Tim Lanane asked.
“It was reported today that Indiana has the highest number of COVID-19 cases per capita out of all the states moving to reopen. It is irresponsible that our state and federal leadership seems to be all over the board on this and is succumbing to the emotional demands of a distinct minority to rush to reopen, instead of following a true safety-first approach.”
Pence’s office released a statement applauding Holcomb’s plan. “Vice President Pence fully supports Governor Holcomb’s decision and is grateful for the tremendous work being done by the Governor and state health director to open up Indiana and get the economy growing again in a responsible way,” it reads.
Holcomb and his administration stuck to the same statistics they have been pushing – a drop in hospitalization numbers, and a sufficient count of open ventilator and ICU beds.
Those might come in handy, according to the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which updated its projections Monday. It doubled the death toll for the U.S. and increased Indiana’s estimate more than six times to 6,248. The projections run through August, and the institute’s leader told CNN the change was made because earlier projections assumed lockdowns would continue through May; as well as because of outbreaks in meatpacking plans and unreported deaths.
nkelly@jg.net
I’m glad I live in New York State, even though our numbers are the highest. At least our Governor values human life. I live in Western New York in a suburban zip code that has the second highest rate of infection in the area (the highest is 14215 which is in Buffalo). I assume the city number is high because a lot of them are health care providers, such as nurses aides and maintenance staff, with a high exposure. My neighborhood would have the doctors and individuals/families who travel to Europe and Asia for work or play. My estimate is that about one in ten people in my area is infected – with or without symptoms,
I am also lucky since I am retired on a pension/social security so I have the luxury of staying at home without financial risk. In places like Indiana, people won’t have much of a choice. When they are called back they will have the choice of risking their lives or starving, not just for themselves but for their families. I feel for them. Nobody should have to make that choice.
However, we all have to choose when and how to re-enter our lives. My daughter, a nutritionist, has been working at the hospital remotely (both onsite and at home), but next week she has to start physically seeing the patients again. It’s a concern.
I want to get out there, too, and do something to help. We have a food pantry with fresh fruit, vegetables, and dairy, offering at my church once a month which serves up to 100 families, mainly seniors. We cancelled last month, but reconfigured a “take out” situation for this month – delivered to their cars or to their carts (many walk over). I usually register everyone. Should I do it wearing a mask and gloves? Or should I stay safe at home? I can’t ask my children because they were angry when I did the food bank in March (a day before everything closed up). What do you think?
flos56: I received a survey this morning from state Representative Trey Hollingsworth. I’m not in his district but I receive his emails.
This morning he sent out a survey wanting to know if I was in favor of having businesses have a shield against lawsuits by workers if they get sick. I had several choices. I chose “Other” so that I could express my outrage at Governor Holcomb’s wanting people to go back to work and have no recourse if they get sick and die.
Need I say that Representative Try Hollingsworth also is a Republican?
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Indiana updates: Hollingsworth says comment about choosing economy over lives was ‘hyperbolic’
IndyStar staff, Indianapolis Star
4/15/2020
Indiana Republican Rep. Trey Hollingsworth said in an interview with WIBC that sending Americans back to work at the risk of falling ill from coronavirus is the “lesser of these two evils” compared with the tanking economy.
“It is policymakers’ decision to put on our big boy and big girl pants and say it is the lesser of these two evils,” Hollingsworth said of re-opening the economy…’
http://a.msn.com/01/en-us/BB12GOSj?ocid=se2
I would consider suing the Governor if my loved one died because of his callous decisions.
I’m wondering whether “Live and Let Die” was a protest on the part of the workers or an underlying political suggestion:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.businessinsider.com/trump-tours-coronavirus-mask-factory-live-and-let-die-soundtrack-2020-5%3famp
TIME:
Trump has said he would not wear a mask in public, even after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the practice prevent transmission of the deadly virus from people who have COVID-19 but aren’t showing symptoms.
Medicare for All…and stop this nonsense. Poor people need medical care just as much as the wealthy. How many people who were satisfied with their employer funded healthcare are now stranded? Maybe this is a wake up call.
— In Ohio, GOP Gov. Mike DeWine announced $210 million in cuts on Tuesday to his state’s Medicaid program over the next two months.
— Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, also a Republican, cut $31 million in Medicaid spending last month, contending that the temporary 6 percent federal boost Congress passed in March would make up the difference.
— And in Colorado, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis’ $229 million spending cut came largely from Medicaid, though new federal funds will also forestall an immediate reduction in benefits or payments to providers.
Here is Trump’s magnificent ability to summarize what is happening.
AMY GOODMAN: President Trump made the remarks during a trip to Arizona, where he toured a Honeywell Aerospace plant that’s now producing N95 face masks. Trump wore safety glasses but no mask during the tour, ignoring a sign in the factory ordering everyone inside to wear a facial covering. A reporter asked him why he was winding down the task force now, despite an expected spike of deaths into the fall.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Well, because we can’t keep our country closed for the next five years. You know, you could say there might be a recurrence, and there might be. And, you know, most doctors or some doctors say that it will happen. And it’ll be a flame, and we’re going to put the flame out. We’ve learned a lot. You know, we’ve learned a lot about the coronavirus. We’ve learned a lot about this hidden enemy. It’s a dangerous enemy. It’s a bad enemy. … And we’re saying that people that are over 60, 65, but over 60 — we’re even saying, sort of, “Stay back for a while. We recommend you staying back for a while.” At the same time, with young children and children, we’d like to see the schools open early next season and on time.
https://www.democracynow.org/2020/5/6/laurie_garrett_coronavirus_prediction_36_months
I retired from teaching as of 1/2/2020. Did a little subbing until the shut down.
Evidence is beginning to suggest that kids might be carriers of the virus.
Don’t think I’ll be subbing come the fall unless I hear differently. I know my colleagues who are still working are concerned.
gitapik;I just read on Democracy Now that its possible this pandemic could last for 36+ months.
I feel sorry for any teachers who have to go back to school before it is safe for them and the children. Children can be carriers and some are also getting sick.
Millions are out of jobs but going back to ‘normal’ too soon will cause more illness and deaths. I read that currently we are having close to 1,000 a day die but that the numbers could go up to 3,000 or even possibly 4,000 due to the lack of unity, leadership or the discontinuing of safety measures.
Trump is a ‘leader’ in opening up the country too soon. All he cares about is getting economy booming so he can be re-elected. 2-3% dying is a small matter.
“Trump is a ‘leader’ in opening up the country too soon. All he cares about is getting economy booming so he can be re-elected. 2-3% dying is a small matter.”
Plus; he and his buddies are losing a lot of money due to this pandemic. I guess that and getting re-elected go hand and hand.