Belated thanks to Alan for yesterday's Flu Mask photos!! I especially like the one on the steps with the kitties. I'm pretty are my cats would never submit to wearing something like that. Wow. Also, apparently no one was told to keep 6 feet apart during the 1918 flu epidemic.
When we went grocery shopping this past Wednesday and Thursday we noticed something that strikes me as rather odd. At the nearest Costco warehouse store, which is not in an upscale part of town (the second nearest is), almost all (I'd estimate roughly 97%) of the customers were wearing masks. At the nearby supermarket, which serves an upscale set of neighborhoods, almost none of the customers were wearing masks--maybe one or two besides us. Odd. The prices there are higher than where we normally do our non-Costco grocery shopping, but the store is closer to our home, smaller and less crowded. Do people who are more economically fortunate think that coronavirus is a disease of the poor? Or do they have less fear of the costs of medical treatment? Or are they just stupid? Or was there a sampling oddity? Beats me.
It is an old chestnut that fashion designers hate women, and for some years now they have directed their hate at men as well. Now at politicians? When I saw the supposedly Bernie-inspired togs being modeled, my first thought was "The things you see when you don't have a gun." Just goes to show how uncultured I am, I suppose.
i was trying to reply to Alan’s shopping comment, but it got misplaced. So, I tried delete and comment again, but that won’t work. So, because we also have lots of affluent people who seem above it all......
They are impractical (stupid), which is why they have to rely on accumulating currency to get others to do for them. They give orders; we give labor. It is a symbiotic relationship. When one of my grandsons was about four years old, he told me he had to tell his mother what to do. I tried to correct his attitude, but after a few years, I realized he had been accurate in his perception. What we missed was that his mother was incapable of following directions. Verbally compliant, but not actually. Women probably have an easier time with this disability, especially if they are young and attractive.
I remember a sad case similar to that in a young woman my wife was tutoring in English. Evidently it was hereditary--her mother was the same way. She was a nice person and functional in all basic living skills, but had a learning disability. She actually needed someone to make up her mind for her, and nudge her along. She fell into the clutches of a "boyfriend" who took advantage of her disability. As memory serves me (it was a long time ago) she ultimately acted on the advice of friends and escaped back to Japan. That guy should have been flogged--a rotten character if ever there was one.
One-way sidewalks would encourage jaywalking to reach the proper side of the street. But if jaywalking is already as common in the Boston area as I think, that wouldn't necessarily be a problem.
The thing that seems truly incredible to me is that Biden became frontrunner WITHOUT CAMPAIGNING. He didn’t even make one appearance in South Carolina, for but one example, and he was almost out of cash. It resembles McKinley’s 1896 front porch campaign; while McKinley was meeting delegations (selected by himself) at his front porch, William Jennings Bryan traveled all over the US, giving 600 speeches. The difference is that Mark Hanna was raising huge amounts of cash for McKinley’s campaign.
And now Biden is pioneering a hybrid of a front porch campaign and Gene Debs’ 1920 campaign from federal prison: the basement campaign. I figure that if Biden becomes the next President it won’t be because he won the election, but rather because Trump lost it.
I believe it originally appeared in the NY Times. A few months ago the Tribune reached an agreement with the Times that let's it reprint things from that newspaper. I see them in the Tribune, of course, and use that link.
From my home town newspaper: Coronavirus made doctors and nurses indispensable. So why are hospitals cutting their pay? [Click] 'Pandemic pay cuts' are making up for lost revenue as they cut non-essential services
ReplyDeleteBelated thanks to Alan for yesterday's Flu Mask photos!! I especially like the one on the steps with the kitties. I'm pretty are my cats would never submit to wearing something like that. Wow. Also, apparently no one was told to keep 6 feet apart during the 1918 flu epidemic.
ReplyDeleteI left a few messages on the last thread, including Good Friday's Vermont stats.
ReplyDeleteWhen we went grocery shopping this past Wednesday and Thursday we noticed something that strikes me as rather odd. At the nearest Costco warehouse store, which is not in an upscale part of town (the second nearest is), almost all (I'd estimate roughly 97%) of the customers were wearing masks. At the nearby supermarket, which serves an upscale set of neighborhoods, almost none of the customers were wearing masks--maybe one or two besides us. Odd. The prices there are higher than where we normally do our non-Costco grocery shopping, but the store is closer to our home, smaller and less crowded. Do people who are more economically fortunate think that coronavirus is a disease of the poor? Or do they have less fear of the costs of medical treatment? Or are they just stupid? Or was there a sampling oddity? Beats me.
ReplyDelete[ABC] News of Intel Reports About COVID-19 Back in November Don’t Add Up [Click]
ReplyDelete'There are two pandemics': Chicago's gun violence persists amid lockdown [Click] Oakland, California has had considerable success in reducing gun violence in recent years. They changed from an aggressive law enforcement approach to a community based educational approach.
ReplyDeleteSo merch for all that: how Bernie Sanders became politics’ least likely style icon [Click] “Never has one man in inexpensive rumpled suits been so loved by the style set - but Sanders’ clothes signal an authenticity other politicians can only dream of.”
ReplyDeleteTruthfully, it's not about his clothes. It's him.
DeleteIt is an old chestnut that fashion designers hate women, and for some years now they have directed their hate at men as well. Now at politicians? When I saw the supposedly Bernie-inspired togs being modeled, my first thought was "The things you see when you don't have a gun." Just goes to show how uncultured I am, I suppose.
Deletei was trying to reply to Alan’s shopping comment, but it got misplaced. So, I tried delete and comment again, but that won’t work. So, because we also have lots of affluent people who seem above it all......
ReplyDeleteThey are impractical (stupid), which is why they have to rely on accumulating currency to get others to do for them. They give orders; we give labor. It is a symbiotic relationship.
When one of my grandsons was about four years old, he told me he had to tell his mother what to do. I tried to correct his attitude, but after a few years, I realized he had been accurate in his perception. What we missed was that his mother was incapable of following directions. Verbally compliant, but not actually.
Women probably have an easier time with this disability, especially if they are young and attractive.
I remember a sad case similar to that in a young woman my wife was tutoring in English. Evidently it was hereditary--her mother was the same way. She was a nice person and functional in all basic living skills, but had a learning disability. She actually needed someone to make up her mind for her, and nudge her along. She fell into the clutches of a "boyfriend" who took advantage of her disability. As memory serves me (it was a long time ago) she ultimately acted on the advice of friends and escaped back to Japan. That guy should have been flogged--a rotten character if ever there was one.
DeleteDemocrats Have Tremendous Leverage in the Next Stimulus Bill [Click] But are they willing to use it? So far they haven’t.
ReplyDeleteU.S. Leads World In Coronavirus Deaths [Click] I don’t know about anybody else, but I’m getting pretty tired of all this winning.
Boston suburb implements one-way sidewalks to encourage social distancing efforts [Click] That’s an interesting idea!
The 2020 Battleground States Already Have Vote by Mail [Click]
One-way sidewalks would encourage jaywalking to reach the proper side of the street. But if jaywalking is already as common in the Boston area as I think, that wouldn't necessarily be a problem.
DeleteWith most everybody holed up inside, there shouldn't be many cars to watch out for. But I see your point, Bill.
DeleteOur supermarkets now have one way aisles and I think that's brilliant!
DeleteFrom the baggage train files: A sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden has ignited a firestorm of controversy [Click] “Still time to vote for the non-creepy, non-harassing Presidential candidate.”
ReplyDeleteColumn: Bernie didn’t lie and has been right about almost everything. It wasn’t enough.
ReplyDeleteabove is clickable
DeleteSUCH a good article!! Thank you for posting it!!
DeleteDefinitely a couple of cuts above average for the NYT. Thanks, Bill
DeleteThe thing that seems truly incredible to me is that Biden became frontrunner WITHOUT CAMPAIGNING. He didn’t even make one appearance in South Carolina, for but one example, and he was almost out of cash. It resembles McKinley’s 1896 front porch campaign; while McKinley was meeting delegations (selected by himself) at his front porch, William Jennings Bryan traveled all over the US, giving 600 speeches. The difference is that Mark Hanna was raising huge amounts of cash for McKinley’s campaign.
DeleteAnd now Biden is pioneering a hybrid of a front porch campaign and Gene Debs’ 1920 campaign from federal prison: the basement campaign. I figure that if Biden becomes the next President it won’t be because he won the election, but rather because Trump lost it.
Good column. Thanks, Bill.
DeleteIt was high quality for the NYTimes, because it wasn't the NYTimes, it was the Chicago Tribune (also not to be confused with the Sun Times. ;-) )
DeleteI believe it originally appeared in the NY Times. A few months ago the Tribune reached an agreement with the Times that let's it reprint things from that newspaper. I see them in the Tribune, of course, and use that link.
DeleteVermont today:
ReplyDelete711/25
+32/+1
3.5%
Susan, I miss you.
Government projections indicate a summer spike in US coronavirus infections if stay-at-home orders are lifted. Is this what Alan was talking about last thread? The end of summer could be considered "a few months from the election."
ReplyDeleteI should have said "several" instead of "a few."
DeleteHow can we save black and brown lives during a pandemic? Data from past studies can point the way. I hope there is no paywall here. If you have a problem, let me know.
ReplyDeleteSomething seems amiss with the link, Bill; I think this ought to be OK:
DeleteHow can we save black and brown lives during a pandemic? Data from past studies can point the way [Click]