To quote the person whose blog post directed me to this: "The South is f**ked, they just don't seem to understand it yet." And the first map in the article makes it look very risky for the Plains states.
I don't understand this thing about "more than 2 miles." Essential workers still need to go to their jobs and almost everyone who wasn't already working at home limes more than 2 miles from their jobs. I assume the article has some sort of explanation, but the link in the header doesn't seem to be clickable.
Thanks, Alan. I see that the actual caption is "When average distance traveled first fell below 2 miles," which makes sense. They're talking average (median), not maximum. With distance traveled measured by cell phone location, although I have not infrequently forgotten to take my cell phone when I leave the house. I rely on my cell phone when traveling out of town but otherwise it is not a significant part of my life.
Sure enough, Modly is a Trump appointee [Click] Sounds like after graduating from Annapolis, he served the absolute minimum time as an officer, then went into big business. Here is the WH announcement of his appointment. [Click] Thomas B. Modly of Maryland to be Under Secretary of the Navy. Mr. Modly is currently a Managing Director in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Global Government and Public Services sector and is the firm’s Global Government Defense Network Leader, where he is responsible for coordinating the development and implementation of solutions for government defense clients worldwide. Prior to this, Mr. Modly served as the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Financial Management and as the first Executive Director of the Defense Business Board. He also has extensive private sector expertise as a corporate development and mergers and acquisition specialist. Mr. Modly is a graduate with distinction from the U.S. Naval Academy, holds a Master’s Degree in Government from Georgetown University, and an M.B.A. with honors from Harvard Business School. He served on active duty in the U.S. Navy as a helicopter pilot.A farking helicopter pilot? He’s the one whom a competent President ought to dismiss for loss of confidence in his ability to lead.
A bean counter. Pshaw! I wonder if he ever so much as landed on a carrier. Alan, I agree completely with your concluding observation.
Also signed the petition. By the time I got to it, the signature count was over eighty-seven thousand, with more coming in all the time. Thanks for the link. It wouldn't have occurred to me to check out Stars and Stripes.
Opinion: The vacant Comfort hospital ship is a symbol of our coronavirus failure [Click] Hard to say if this is a fair assessment or not. The Mercy was immediately slotted into the existing Los Angeles County interhospital transfer system. If that didn’t happen in New York, is it a sign that the NYC hospital system is already ovewhelmed? Or does the Mercy have better PR?
From The Atlantic: An Unhealthy Military Is Struggling to Fight COVID-19 [Click] “Even as it’s called upon to aid the coronavirus response across the country, the military is struggling to contain the disease among its own personnel.” I am reminded of how the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s invasion of Taiwan (1950?) had to be called off because so many soldiers came down with blood fluke infections, and how most of the British regulars at Yorktown (was it 90%?) were disabled by malaria.
If you already love Mary Oliver's poem WILD GEESE, this may resonate:
Mary Oliver for Corona Times (Thoughts after the poem Wild Geese) by Adrie Kusserow
You do not have to become totally zen, You do not have to use this isolation to make your marriage better, your body slimmer, your children more creative. You do not have to “maximize its benefits” By using this time to work even more, write the bestselling Corona Diaries, Or preach the gospel of ZOOM. You only have to let the soft animal of your body unlearn everything capitalism has taught you, (That you are nothing if not productive, That consumption equals happiness, That the most important unit is the single self. That you are at your best when you resemble an efficient machine). Tell me about your fictions, the ones you’ve been sold, the ones you sheepishly sell others, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world as we know it is crumbling. Meanwhile the virus is moving over the hills, suburbs, cities, farms and trailer parks. Meanwhile The News barks at you, harsh and addicting, Until the push of the remote leaves a dead quiet behind, a loneliness that hums as the heart anchors. Meanwhile a new paradigm is composing itself in our minds, Could birth at any moment if we clear some space From the same tired hegemonies. Remember, you are allowed to be still as the white birch, Stunned by what you see, Uselessly shedding your coils of paper skins Because it gives you something to do. Meanwhile, on top of everything else you are facing, Do not let capitalism coopt this moment, laying its whistles and train tracks across your weary heart. Even if your life looks nothing like the Sabbath, Your stress boa-constricting your chest. Know that your ancy kids, your terror, your shifting moods, Your need for a drink have every right to be here, And are no less sacred than a yoga class. Whoever you are, no matter how broken, the world still has a place for you, calls to you over and over announcing your place as legit, as forgiven, even if you fail and fail and fail again. remind yourself over and over, all the swells and storms that run through your long tired body all have their place here, now in this world. It is your birthright to be held deeply, warmly in the family of things, not one cell left in the cold.
As the numbers of dead and unemployed grow, Trump looks and sounds smaller [Click] “Trump was all set to ask the voters the same question that Reagan posed just before his own re-election: are you better off than you were four years ago?” Hmmm….. that just might be a question for the Democratic nominee to ask.
Andrew Sullivan: How to Live With COVID-19 [Click] ”…going forward, we should always lean on the side of the preservation of life rather than the maximization of wealth. Every life counts. And if we make that collective pro-life decision — and, mercifully, we are — we are also saying something quite profound about who we are as Americans. We are saying that the lives of the elderly, and the poor, and the vulnerable matter more, when all is said and done, than our GDP. I cannot see how such a society can go forward after such an experience without instituting the kind of universal health care that these values represent.
It’s hard to go through such ordeals without wanting them to mean something. Out of AIDS came marriage equality, a permanent shift in the relationship between gays and society. Out of this plague, let us erect in its memory another fitting monument that will never age, crumble, or pass away: health care for all.” There is a lot more in this rather length essay that is well worth reading. IMO.
To quote the person whose blog post directed me to this: "The South is f**ked, they just don't seem to understand it yet." And the first map in the article makes it look very risky for the Plains states.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand this thing about "more than 2 miles." Essential workers still need to go to their jobs and almost everyone who wasn't already working at home limes more than 2 miles from their jobs. I assume the article has some sort of explanation, but the link in the header doesn't seem to be clickable.
DeleteHere you go, Bill; I hadn’t noticed that the link wasn’t clickable.
DeleteWhere America Didn’t Stay Home Even as the Virus Spread [Click]
Thanks, Alan. I see that the actual caption is "When average distance traveled first fell below 2 miles," which makes sense. They're talking average (median), not maximum. With distance traveled measured by cell phone location, although I have not infrequently forgotten to take my cell phone when I leave the house. I rely on my cell phone when traveling out of town but otherwise it is not a significant part of my life.
DeleteThe Atlantic: The Coronavirus’s Unique Threat to the South [Click] “More young people in the South seem to be dying from COVID-19. Why?”
ReplyDelete'Captain Crozier! Captain Crozier!': Videos show sailors sending off ousted USS Roosevelt commander with cheers [Click] One of my browsers didn’t show the videos, but another did. I am about to sign the Change.org petition. Will have to look up Modley—presumably a Trump appointee.
ReplyDelete'Captain Crozier! Captain Crozier!': Videos show sailors sending off ousted USS Roosevelt commander with cheers [Click] One of my browsers didn’t show the videos, but another did; it’s probably a matter of security settings. I am about to sign the Change.org petition. Will have to look up Modley—presumably a Trump appointee.
DeleteSure enough, Modly is a Trump appointee [Click] Sounds like after graduating from Annapolis, he served the absolute minimum time as an officer, then went into big business.
Here is the WH announcement of his appointment. [Click] Thomas B. Modly of Maryland to be Under Secretary of the Navy. Mr. Modly is currently a Managing Director in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Global Government and Public Services sector and is the firm’s Global Government Defense Network Leader, where he is responsible for coordinating the development and implementation of solutions for government defense clients worldwide. Prior to this, Mr. Modly served as the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Financial Management and as the first Executive Director of the Defense Business Board. He also has extensive private sector expertise as a corporate development and mergers and acquisition specialist. Mr. Modly is a graduate with distinction from the U.S. Naval Academy, holds a Master’s Degree in Government from Georgetown University, and an M.B.A. with honors from Harvard Business School. He served on active duty in the U.S. Navy as a helicopter pilot. A farking helicopter pilot? He’s the one whom a competent President ought to dismiss for loss of confidence in his ability to lead.
A bean counter. Pshaw! I wonder if he ever so much as landed on a carrier. Alan, I agree completely with your concluding observation.
DeleteAlso signed the petition. By the time I got to it, the signature count was over eighty-seven thousand, with more coming in all the time. Thanks for the link. It wouldn't have occurred to me to check out Stars and Stripes.
Here's a related petition, sponsored by Common Defense:
DeleteDEMAND Congress ensure the USS Theodore Roosevelt gets the resources they need to combat COVID-19 while sailors are stuck aboard. - Click
Here are a couple from Mother Jones:
ReplyDeleteSome Governors Have Risen to the Occasion During the Pandemic. These Republicans Aren’t Among Them. [Click] “They’re following Trump’s lead. And it’s a disaster in the making.”
Elizabeth Warren: How John Bolton Blew Off Senators Who Asked About Global Pandemics [Click] “The senator recounts her 2018 effort to get the Trump White House to take the threat seriously.”
How to act like a data scientist 8: Don't use lagging indicators to forecast [Click] A nice analysis of coronavirus projections.
ReplyDeleteLots of interesting items at politicalwire.com [Click] this morning.
ReplyDeleteOhio: 3,312 confirmed COVID cases, 91 deaths.
ReplyDelete2.7%
DeleteVermont Today =
389 cases /17 deaths
😷
4.4%
The Coronavirus Just Made Joe Biden’s Money Problems Even Worse [Click] “The pandemic has forced Democrats to push back their convention, and that means the nominee will now have to wait longer to tap into general election funds.”
ReplyDelete26 states haven't even voted yet and they're still treating Joe Byedone like the nominee. Disgusting.
DeleteWhat Susan said!
DeleteOpinion: The vacant Comfort hospital ship is a symbol of our coronavirus failure [Click] Hard to say if this is a fair assessment or not. The Mercy was immediately slotted into the existing Los Angeles County interhospital transfer system. If that didn’t happen in New York, is it a sign that the NYC hospital system is already ovewhelmed? Or does the Mercy have better PR?
ReplyDeleteFrom The Atlantic: An Unhealthy Military Is Struggling to Fight COVID-19 [Click] “Even as it’s called upon to aid the coronavirus response across the country, the military is struggling to contain the disease among its own personnel.” I am reminded of how the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s invasion of Taiwan (1950?) had to be called off because so many soldiers came down with blood fluke infections, and how most of the British regulars at Yorktown (was it 90%?) were disabled by malaria.
ReplyDeleteIf you already love Mary Oliver's poem WILD GEESE, this may resonate:
ReplyDeleteMary Oliver for Corona Times
(Thoughts after the poem Wild Geese)
by Adrie Kusserow
You do not have to become totally zen,
You do not have to use this isolation to make your marriage better,
your body slimmer, your children more creative.
You do not have to “maximize its benefits”
By using this time to work even more,
write the bestselling Corona Diaries,
Or preach the gospel of ZOOM.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body unlearn
everything capitalism has taught you,
(That you are nothing if not productive,
That consumption equals happiness,
That the most important unit is the single self.
That you are at your best when you resemble an efficient machine).
Tell me about your fictions, the ones you’ve been sold,
the ones you sheepishly sell others,
and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world as we know it is crumbling.
Meanwhile the virus is moving over the hills,
suburbs, cities, farms and trailer parks.
Meanwhile The News barks at you, harsh and addicting,
Until the push of the remote leaves a dead quiet behind,
a loneliness that hums as the heart anchors.
Meanwhile a new paradigm is composing itself in our minds,
Could birth at any moment if we clear some space
From the same tired hegemonies.
Remember, you are allowed to be still as the white birch,
Stunned by what you see,
Uselessly shedding your coils of paper skins
Because it gives you something to do.
Meanwhile, on top of everything else you are facing,
Do not let capitalism coopt this moment,
laying its whistles and train tracks across your weary heart.
Even if your life looks nothing like the Sabbath,
Your stress boa-constricting your chest.
Know that your ancy kids, your terror, your shifting moods,
Your need for a drink have every right to be here,
And are no less sacred than a yoga class.
Whoever you are, no matter how broken,
the world still has a place for you, calls to you over and over
announcing your place as legit, as forgiven,
even if you fail and fail and fail again.
remind yourself over and over,
all the swells and storms that run through your long tired body
all have their place here, now in this world.
It is your birthright to be held
deeply, warmly in the family of things,
not one cell left in the cold.
- Adrie Kusserow
Spanish flu survivor survives coronavirus too—just in time for his 104th birthday. [Click]
ReplyDeleteCalifornia megachurch linked to spread of more than 70 coronavirus cases [Click]
ReplyDeleteGee, that's a surprise.
DeleteAs the numbers of dead and unemployed grow, Trump looks and sounds smaller [Click] “Trump was all set to ask the voters the same question that Reagan posed just before his own re-election: are you better off than you were four years ago?” Hmmm….. that just might be a question for the Democratic nominee to ask.
ReplyDeleteAndrew Sullivan: How to Live With COVID-19 [Click]
ReplyDelete”…going forward, we should always lean on the side of the preservation of life rather than the maximization of wealth. Every life counts. And if we make that collective pro-life decision — and, mercifully, we are — we are also saying something quite profound about who we are as Americans. We are saying that the lives of the elderly, and the poor, and the vulnerable matter more, when all is said and done, than our GDP. I cannot see how such a society can go forward after such an experience without instituting the kind of universal health care that these values represent.
It’s hard to go through such ordeals without wanting them to mean something. Out of AIDS came marriage equality, a permanent shift in the relationship between gays and society. Out of this plague, let us erect in its memory another fitting monument that will never age, crumble, or pass away: health care for all.” There is a lot more in this rather length essay that is well worth reading. IMO.
DT has fired Intel Community watchdog Atkinson
ReplyDeletehttps://www.cnn.com/2020/04/03/politics/trump-fires-inspector-general-michael-atkinson/index.html
Fresno County nears 100 coronavirus cases; no deaths so far.
ReplyDelete