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Friday, May 29, 2020
Today in black and white
A few years back I was in a Stew Leonard's food store and proceeded to pay for a few items. Unbeknownst to me I handed the cashier a phony ten dollar bill and she went to another department and a man came back informing me the sawbuck was counterfeit AND THAT WAS IT. The police weren't called and I was simply out of a ten. FF to Minneapolis and another unarmed black man is dead at the hands of the police. The starting point was when Mr. George Floyd walked into a deli and handed the clerk a counterfeit twenty dollar bill and the clerk then called the cops. Things somehow escalated until a thuggish cop kept pressing his knee into the man's neck even after he pleaded "I can't breathe" and he later died at a hospital. Ensuing protests, riots and looting.
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Well... you, as far as I know, ain't black???
ReplyDeleteYep. Ok so just because Mr. Floyd passed a phony bill to the deli clerk doesn't mean he's a master counterfeiter or even a member of a counterfeiting ring. A white grandma might unknowingly have some phony bills in her purse but she'll most likely live to a rope old age.
DeleteSeems to happen with some regularity. I lived in a St. Paul suburb for 12 years with a little contact with blacks in the workplace. None of them seemed like criminals or looters. IMO,
ReplyDeletelooting and burning is not helpful (think Martin Luther King
nonviolence-it was very effective) and down town Mpls-St. Paul
looked sort of like Mogadishu. IMO, this goes way back to the
deep south, where police were most definitely racist. Two steps
forward, one step back. Any ideas?
I agree with you but let's face it anarchy and chaos make for exciting tv.
DeleteIt seems all US racial types consist of a range from awful to
ReplyDeletewonderful. They probably look at other races with opinions based on experience and a bit of 'the other'. Don't know about you, but I tend to categorize Jews, Asians, Blacks and Republicans in my mind, always considering the range of types
within the type, but mostly from personal interaction. Many
whites get killed by police and it's just a footnote, ya know?
IMO, minorities tend clannish. We plain white folk probably are
in our own way as well.
If you tweeted what you just said would there be a flag?
DeleteI see the Prez is furious with Twitter, they labeling some of his more outlandish tweets as deserving of fact checking. He has
ReplyDeletethreatened to shut them down. How then, could he tweet? I can't
imagine a twitterless Trump. Then again, I have never tweeted,
but I can whistle.
I don't like the new censorship trend among the social media giants. I like hearing different rather than homogenized opinion even if I disagree. Put it on the table and hash it out but don't suppress. Twitter is not blameless.
DeleteOpinion is generally useless. I prefer factual information. Like
ReplyDeleteback on May 17, I posted
"Been plotting and tracking national Covid cases and am going to go out on a limb and predict over 100,000 before
the June 1" It is 104,663 today. That's a fact. You got an
opinion? Anarchy etc: I see it has moved to NYC and meanwhile
the MN governor has activated his entire National Guard..and yes
there are 'experts' blaming White Supremicists and Russian NVD
for fueling the fire with 'social media' eg. the violent types
are hiding among the legit protesters..kind of like the Seattle
Antifa bunch. Is anarchy ever peaceful?
Social media platforms are largely devoted to millions of people expressing their opinions. Are you going to police them all? Personally I find reinforced homogeneous opinion to be quite boring and it tends to conformity.
DeleteEarly on Dr. Fauci using a more conservative model predicted or said a minimum of 100,000 American deaths was quite possible. Give credit where credit is due.
Yes, Z-Man, you DO welcome opinion..even mine sometimes. I always try to identify opinion with the ubiquitos
Delete'IMO', avoid goofy conspiracy theories and provide sources when asked. Which, as far as I can tell, is a bit
unique in the 'sphere'. All credit to Dr. Fauci. He had
twelve models operating...I just had a chart. Where is Rudy G. these days? Police social platforms? If they met
rigid rational/logical/reasonable standards they would be
like the New England Journal of Medicine/Chemical Engineering News/Virology..eg. unread. I bow to opinion when necessary, but sometimes not. Sat in a big meeting with executives, engineers and scientists" the CEO pronounced that initiation of explosives required the breaking of crystaline structure. Conforming silence..
then I burst out, "So, how do you explain nitroglycerine,
a liquid that detonates?" Silence. Dunno Z-Man, everybody has an opinion. I avoid twitter, facebook,
instagram..anything that requires a password, so I miss
out a lot.
Meanwhile Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei regularly tweets about the elimination of Israel and his comments aren't even flagged. Meanwhile Dr. Fauci recently said prolonged lockdowns can cause irreparable harm as economically so another point for him.
DeleteNow the two story arcs are intruding on each other. The justice for George Floyd protesters aren't social distancing but more of them are wearing masks compared to the anti-lockdown protesters. What did I say in my other thread the covid one? The other news doesn't stop.
The world has TWO Supreme Leaders who tweet? Jefferson would be amazed. I guess it is better than real shooting
Deleteat each other. Economy vs Covid deaths = Hobson's Choice.
Business vs Healthcare, making a living vs ventilator,
stock market vs funeral expenses. No good answer. But,
with 40 million out of work, how come the stock market is
going up. What do they know? Probably cynical, but I suspect workers will have to come back to lower pay and
benefits..good for market, bad for consumer and two years
later bad for market too. Economics: the Dismal Science.
DeBlasio in NYC is calling on protesters to stay six feet apart but that ain't gonna happen. Some advocates of indefinite lockdowns seem to have a scorched earth policy - destroy the country to save us from a disease. Maybe the virus of racism is worse.
DeleteInfinite lockdown: the thinking behind the s. distancing is that the virus can find no host and dies off..so it is not infinite, but likely just too long. We could end up halfway back to caveman times without a normal economy.
DeleteThe alternate is to put up with a fairly harsh virus, high
transmissibility, high fatality, and an odd thing they find: the more you breathe in the harsher your case. So,
since we usually split 50/50 about everything, IMO some
will continue to be very cautious, others will practice
close contact beach orgies ets. Possibly the law of natural selection could reduce the brave. I truly hope it
is all moot: they come up with a good vaccine (and half of
us will take it and half not). Getting back to normal is
a tough concept, given that normality is never really normal, ya know?
But there's the thing. Unless you're a troglodyte, hermit or recluse social distancing doesn't really exist except in the academic abstractness of the health theorist's head. As an example what BB did you do today? Let's even go back a week. You scrupulously maintained six foot separateness from your fellow citizens at all times? Did you go to the hardware store? What did your wife do? Now they're saying six feet may not be enough. Even social distancing ain't social distancing.
DeleteWe used to eat out about 2-4 times a week. Haven't done that since mid March. Had family down over the weekend.
DeleteSeemed like a healthy bunch from the northwoods. But yeah,
I'm still pretending everyone is a carrier, got two masks
my wife made and remain pretty much behind my moat, not much change from before, really. Haven't joined the looting here, both black people went up north fishing,
watched the space station launce, I like that kind of stuff. The ammo plant has been running 24/7 all through the pandemic, 900 people, 3 shifts..and not a single case
of covid. Must be not much floating around here.
Since the six foot rule is more of an abstraction I think the face covering has more of a practical importance.
DeleteI don't understand the 3rd degree murder charge which if I understand the papers correctly amounts to unintentional murder. Huh?
ReplyDeleteThe policd chief in Minneapolis is
Deleteblack. He was brought in to 'civilize' the department after a black policeman shot a visiting Australian woman.
He panicked and shot from his car. He was charged with
3rd degree murder and is serving a 12 year sentence. No
riots that time, just a dead tourist, ya know? It's crazy on the streets..I'm gonna keep distancing...
Personally I don't know anyone who supports ex-cop Derek Chauvin and this cuts across politics. It's not hard to figure why this is such a big story. Do Australian women have a long history of oppression?
DeleteNo, Australia is very progressive. Collected all the hobby
Deletearmament a few years back. She had to come here to get shot and killed. Maybe cops make mistakes, as in her case and in the Chauvin case it was long pent up premeditated murder. I'm not big on killing, whether its cops or the NRA or covid, whether the victim is black, native American
or a kindergartner. We as a species are a poor example.
My impression is you have less of a racial lens than other liberals.
DeleteDunno. I got trifocals.
DeleteWhat's the deal with vote by mail? I've voted at the poles, every election since 1960. But this year, Idaho had vote by
ReplyDeletemail only for the primaries because of covid. Best turnout they
ever had. So, the dentist office called and wants to see me for
my April 26 appointment which they cancelled when they shut down. "Wear a mask when you come". Same way at the clinic and the vet hospital. Those health people are pretty serious.
I have a doctor's appointment coming up soon. Due for the yearly stuff like EKG, blood work and pissing in a cup. Assuming I've have to wear a mask. Kind of not looking forward to it. It'd be nice if they postpone it again.
DeleteLate to the table, but I'll add my 2 cents on opinion. I'm okay with a difference of opinion. But facts are another thing. For instance, the numbers say we have 100,000 dead from Covid. That's a fact. So should someone in authority be permitted to say there are 50,000 without offering any truth?
ReplyDeleteThat's not factual. And it's not opinion. It's stupidity. And for a president to do that, just ain't right.
But what do I know?
Hey but let's not let NY Governor Andrew Cuomo off the hook here. In March his health department issued a directive saying nursing homes HAD TO take covid patients from hospitals. Spread like wildfire after that so New York State officially says upwards of 5,000 nursing home residents died from covid only the real number is much higher because the State didn't include those nursing home residents who got infected with covid and went back to hospitals and died there. The State is only tallying those elderly who died IN the nursing homes. The actual tragic number is actually closer to 12,000 nursing home residents dead from covid all due to Cuomo's policies. Talk about political obfuscation! What were you saying about Trump? Just the facts m'am.
DeleteWe had 25 nursing care homes infected in the state. Elderly with existing problems coop up = target. An
Deleteinfection of C-Dif went through these a few years back
Why? Because . Can't think of any person or agency that
is free from criticism, but clearly urban vs rural is a factor..then the packing plant situation. When a virus is
very catchable and symptoms vary from none to death, even
experts get puzzled. We get guidance, but we are on our own. I still wear a mask in public, but notice that these days it is mostly old people still distancing.
I actually was pretty impressed with Cumomo's response
and going over the daily data.
So now the two big stories of 2020 have become twain. Cuomo and DeBlasio are strongly urging protesters to get tested, Dr. Fauci has expressed his usual concern but here's the thing. The government's corona policies are open-ended and indefinite but life goes on. Are the demonstrators supposed to put their social protests on hold until a vaccine is found? By then people would forget who George Floyd even was. Think of it as a situation where we can judge herd immunity.
DeleteIndeed a voluntary herd immunity experiment. So...
Deletevirus-wise, your a pro-choice guy?
I'm open-minded but would still take precautions put it that way. Ain't going to Vegas anytime soon.
DeleteOh no doubt Cuomo screwed that one up. But I think he owned it and said he screwed up. At least that's what we heard out here in the hinterland. I'm not sure I was talking about Trump perse. I was thinking about everyday people. It gets harder and harder everyday to even have a conversation because there are no longer any commonly accepted facts.
ReplyDeleteBTW... what's up with the Buff PD? They have a good, or a bad reputation in general?
Yeah I hear you. How 'bout that Buffalo police officer pushing that 75 year old to the ground? What gets me about that was the man was on the ground and the other officers just walked right on by. Don't they get good training.
DeleteTrump said the other day that George Floyd is probably looking down happy about the new jobs report. It must be hard being a Trump supporter these days.
Cracked part of my toilet seat today so went to a Bed Bath and Beyond. The sign on the door re curbside pickup was so complicated I drove out of the lot.
ReplyDeleteMy cell phone conversations have become annoying. Two conversations recently with two people and one was clear and the other one I could hardly make out what my friend was saying. Though it might be the reception in my area or my phone settings so I checked them. Maybe my phone is defective or maybe my hearing so I gave myself a casual hearing test and did ok then I remembered seeing many people in public talking on their cells with their masks still on. PLEASE STOP IT.
I had to open a new account at a bank. So I found an ope branch and went in. They told me they are prohibited from sitting down with customers. Wondering why they were even open, I asked about opening an account. They said do it online. So I left and tried. Alas, they could not open the type of account I needed online.
ReplyDeleteNerve wracking...
I'm wondering if these finer restrictions are necessary or if everyone's gone mental. I thought we were in some type of reopening phase.
DeleteAs well wasn't a large rationale for our current social restrictions that the asymptomatic may be spreading the virus? In fact that was a major stated reason for wearing masks and social distancing in the first place. Now the WHO says asymptomatics spreading the Coronavirus is very rare.
DeleteSome cities want to get rid of their police departments. How does that work? Ya call in some crime out front and they say
ReplyDeleteoh, just ignore it? Or do they just change the name to City
Benevolent Assistance..maybe still review the Yonkers cameras
and send a nice card with your notice of a big fine? Who would
ever want to be a cop anymore?
Agreed. I can't believe serious folk are even making this argument. I don't have words.
DeleteHere is a case where ex PO Chauvin needs to go to prison for a long time but the solutions are wildly spinning out of control. Saw a black woman activist on the PBS Newshour last night advocating for the abolition of police departments. When there is a crime or whatever cops would be replaced by a kind of New community response. "Umm umm sir please don't rob that bank."
DeleteIn fairness, most of the folks are sick and tired of funding PDs that are not doing a good job of serving minority communities. I think they are calling for resources for the Urban Warfare groups to be cut and redirected to programs that might help ppl not need the police.
DeleteOne commenter put it in an interesting way... we need more cops like Andy of Mayberry and fewer cops like soldiers in Fallujah.
Redirecting some of the funding is one thing Dave but you have some of these young radicals advocating the complete abolition of police departments. People act like what happened to George Floyd like it's some type of everyday occurrence. Even most conservatives agree Chauvin should go to prison for a long time. Justice doesn't have to mean upending society as we know it.
DeleteRather odd for our little town: we had two protests on Saturday.
ReplyDeleteOne was Black Live Matter at the river park and the other was a 2nd Amendment group downtown. The first was about 1000 with signs and the gun dudes strolled around town in camo, backback,
bandoliers and assault rifles. First was said to be a success,
the soldier/police wannabees were polking their weapons in shoppers faces asking for IDs "We're keeping out the non local
agitators and protecting the stores from burning and looting."
hundreds of shoppers and store owners contacted the City council to protest the 2nd Amendment protesters. Paper said the
BLM folks made their cause look good, the gun guys made their
cause look preposterous..just a show and shine fort their boy
toys. Masks and guns..kind of like the OK Corral, ya know?
Two things about BLM. Most wear masks and a lot of protestors are white. The anti-lockdown protestors a few weeks ago most didn't wear face coverings. Just an observation.
DeleteI'm guessing that in a few weeks, we're gonna see spikes in Covid around the country as a result of these protests.
DeleteIt could be Dave. We're talking HUGE amounts of people. Interesting how the two big stories of 2020 so far have intertwined like we can't talk about one without talking about the other. The way I see it though it was never a moral option for these folks not to protest.
DeleteDentist Covid overkill. Went in after a 3 month delay. They keep the doors looked, staff with special gowns, masks and face shields. No ultrasonic cleaning or any thing that would create
ReplyDeletewater aerosol. After finding out I need $5 grand worth of cavities and a porcelain bridge replaced, it took them qo minutes to find a key to let me out...and I had enough x-rays
to kill a million viruses. Can I start my own protest movement?
Totally agree with you BB. While some precautions are obviously necessary the overkill here has become downright eerie. Here in Westchester County NY we're in Phase 2 which means a limited amount of shoppers can now enter retail stores and browse yet BBB still has only curbside pickup. That's the type of store that you have to enter to shop properly. I need some new curtain rods but I think I'll wait.
DeleteOne think tank expects another 100,000 Covid deaths by September. IMO, these outbreaks vary from local to regional, but
ReplyDeletenot national. We should be doing due diligence where the virus is running amock and loosen up where it is not. Go a bro in law that is a NOAA fisheries exec: for 79 days all their meetings are by computer interface. He says it is beyond boring and ineffective. So often, he claims 'bandwith problem' and shuts down his computer and goes for wilderness walk. Is getting eaten
by a grizzly better than quarantining?
You've said this a few times and I agree it's the more rational approach. Dunno about those dire prognostications. They could be accurate but the media seems to push fear and sadness. By September - it's like they don't want you to enjoy the summer. We should be aiming for at least a semblance of normality at this point and my cigar store should let me in to browse. I promise to be good.
Delete55th Anniversary today. No restaurants open yet, so take out pizza instead of fine dining. The plan is for the state to go
ReplyDeleteto the next phase, so since we have had a lot of practice, the
celebratory dinner will have to wait until next week. Will distancing mean I'm in one corner and she in another? BTW, I
saw Cuomo on a couple days back including grocery workers along
with first responders and healthcare workers in the list of heroes who stayed on in critical jobs at self risk. Pretty impressive, and kept people from having food as another critical worry. Your store leadership owes you a huge pat on the back.
According to the UFCW quite a few grocery store workers across the country have died from covid. I personally in my own job have had contact with workers who later came down with covid or who have probably had it. Just a couple. One was a confirmed case and the other was probably asymptomatic. Had a doctor's appointment yesterday which was already postponed twice. Waited in the hot car for 45 minutes as a few old people went in one at a time. Discussed my work environment with a doctor there but since that stuff all happened some time ago I may have had it and didn't know. The lab people weren't there so we both agreed to postpone my blood work until the next time. A tiring day.
DeleteMy Dad passed away a couple of weeks ago of non-covid related causes. At 98 you'd call that old age or natural causes. I helped him a lot at the end so was there when he died at home. Upsetting but quite brief the way he succumbed and better this way so we could personally say goodbye. No funeral mass of course just a brief service at the cemetery with a Navy flair since he served in WW2. Didn't quite hit 100 but close.
ReplyDeleteCondolences on your loss. Passing of a parent is inevitable but still hard and leaves a gap in life.
DeleteGreatest Generation is dwindling. Did your Dad go abroad
with the Navy? How's your Mom and rest of family doing?
Yes. He was on ships in the Pacific. Saw a Japanese torpedo go right under his ship once. Another time met Bobby Feller.
DeleteWhen someone's there and then not there it takes some time to process. Likewise certain times remain your head like 10 PM he went to bed. His passing was sad but not shocking being 98. Whenever somebody passes even though this is inevitable I always feel they had a little more time and they were cut short but all in all we're doing ok family and all.
Town 40 miles to the north has a cougar wandering around, several sightings over a couple of nights. Closed an elementary school and Fish & Game advises 'do not approach the animal or
ReplyDeleteverbalize with it" WTF? Who is going to walk up to a mountain
lion and say 'here, kitty kitty? Odd stat: If you multiply the
population f Idaho by 11 it would be a bit less than NYC. Strange lady led the recent 2nd amendment rally that had 26
wannabee navy seals wandering downtown with enough firepower to
win the Battle of Gettysburg: she was arrested last Spring for
emptying her ruger pistol into the air at a house party. Cop
report was lengthy and somewhat vague, since every witness was
pie-faced drunk. Now she is really mad, wants the city council
recalled and has asked Amon Bundy to come and straighten out or
little town. Me, I'm pondering to move up north with the cougar,
probably a lot safer....
What's up with Idaho lately. Watching Court TV and they keep talking about some cult Mom in trial in Eastern Idaho. Missing kids, human remains found on property. The usual "Dateline" stuff.
DeleteWhat I am about to say may be a stretch or it may be the shocking truth. Having imbibed the news the last few months and just from pondering it may be that most of us or many at least have already been exposed to somebody with covid. You me Dave and unless you're the most monastic reclusive hermit it's not a reach imo.
ReplyDeleteOn to Point 2. What some food stores do when a worker gets the virus is they mandate all workers in the infected worker's department undergo a 14 day quarantine but that makes limited sense. It's as if management thinks departments don't interact with each other. Also some companies become less transparent over time. For example you learn of the latest victims of covid through the grapevine and not through management. By then it's after the fact maybe well after the fact so you have less information to work with early on to decide whether you want to take a leave of absence. Irresponsible socially and medically imo.
ReplyDeleteLooking at Covid herd immunity, a conservative estimate would be
ReplyDeleteabout 220 million cases and 12.34 million deaths. No wonder they
are working hard on a vaccine. The alternative would be to shelter etc for years. IMO, either option (herd or shelter) would greatly effect economic activity.
Early models here predicted say 2 million deaths and while 110,000 + deaths is tragic if you notice we never even come close to the more apocalyptic models and that has held so far. Even when authorities say X million are now infected that can simply mean a majority of moderate or manageable cases (or maybe not). My issue is this and you've heard me carping on this for some time now. WHY throw this huge blanket of mass unemployment over the country as THE way to stop the virus? Contain the hotspots instead.
DeleteAlso this concept of social distancing. Thing is that's purely a mathematical abstraction. Someone came up with the idea that if people space themselves apart six feet at all times the virus won't find a host and die off. Sure in theory but in everyday life you find yourself within six feet of other people quite often even when you're trying. You're in the hardware store and somebody is coming around the corner. Do you just freeze in your tracks and then quickly back up in fear?
DeleteNot much on TV, but I will watch shows about veterinarians. They
ReplyDeleteseem to like their patients better than human doctors and have a
superior bedside manner. One of them said, "I'm afraid we will have to put her down. She is in great pain and an awful death
awaits her. It is the last kind thing I can do. How do we square that with Dr. Kervorkian?
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DeleteI've always preferred going to the vet over the doctor. Also the loss of a beloved pet can affect me more emotionally than the passing of an aunt or an uncle. It's true what they say pets are family.
DeleteLaw enforcement is sure taking a beating lately. Couple years back a local guy was pulled over for speeding, pulled out a gun
ReplyDeleteand sped off. Shot up whole neighborhoods, a school, a church,
couple of fastfood places..and shooting back at the police cars.
He just missed a kid on a bike and a pastor in front of a church and ran into a power pole. Came out still shooting. Cops
returned fire and killed him. The thing is-his pregnant girlfriend sued the cops for over-reacting. She lost. Out here
it's best to surrender quietly, ya know? Last week, a childporn
task force cornered a suspect in a cabin. He came out firing and they shot him..its almost like suicide by cops. No doubt
blacks get stopped more than whites, but why do they fight or
flee? Thoughts?
I take each of these cases of unarmed blacks being killed by cops on an individual basis and don't use a broad brush. BLM paints with a very broad brush. What's unique about the George Floyd case is Chauvin just strikes me as a monster who needs to spend most of the rest of life in prison. Maybe it's true what one person said that white supremacists have infiltrated police departments. I believe ex-cop Chauvin to be evil but after that I tend to part ways with BLM.
DeleteBB... maybe fear? Few criminals want to be caught, so they try to escape. But why shoot them in the back like what just happened in ATL? The dude was drunk and running away. You think a white man in the south would have been shot like that under the same circumstances? I guess maybe, but I doubt it.
ReplyDeleteI think you Dave see more of a racial problem with police than BB does. I lean more towards your pov but still think for myself.
DeleteI'm a law and order person. Ever notice that the court system takes months-years even to set up and decide a case? We expect, on the other hand, a police officer to make a decision in less than a second. Given that there are bad cops, and criminals of
ReplyDeleteall races, the problem of decision making quickly is pretty crucial. IMO, there are underlying cultural, economic and rural
vs urban factors which are far from simple. If someone across the street is setting fire to a cat, I don't need to talk to
a social worker: if there is a rape going on, I don't need a
community organizer. Not being black, my take is based on blacks that I worked with or met along the way-not extensive,
but enough to understand the awful history..more awful than
current times. Being of a progressive bent, I cannot consider them as 'the other', but just people like me and probably you.
I served in the military in the south in the early sixties and
the racism was unbelievable. Unfortunately, it takes time..sort of like the sluggish judicial system that irritates the heck out
of me. IMO, being a policeman is the most difficult job there is, harder than running a huge corporation, much less pay. Do
they need a PhD? Should they be better than an astronaut? Should they be unarmed, like British Bobbies? You tell me.
Getting up to speed on the Rayshard Brooks case in Atlanta. TOTALLY UNJUSTIFIED. Here was a black man who fell asleep at a Wendy's drive thru and made a problem blocking traffic. Don't get me wrong I'd be annoyed as hell if I was waiting for my burger. Cops were called and he apparently had some alcohol in his system. A confrontation ensued and they tased him but he continued to run away so one officer fired him in the back this black man who had no weapon and was running away bearing in mind this is a drive thru and a kid in a car could've been hit. What kind of split second decision had to be made here? He was unarmed and at no time brandished a weapon. If he ran into the woods so be it. Speechless.
DeleteWhat makes this even more shocking is it came in the wake of the George Floyd killing. Maybe some white cops see black men as animals. Black man runs away and their deer instinct seems to kick in gotta shoot! Adrenaline is one thing but where I sit the man shouldn't be dead just sitting in a holding cell somewhere awaiting disorderly conduct charges and maybe a DUI.
DeleteAgreed on the Atlanta case. Videos show Brooks admitting
Deletedrinking, offering to park his car and go to his sisters house, either walking, or in the squad car. Those were
legitimate alternatives that the officers rejected. Tragic
mistake, he by all accounts was a fine man.
It used to be these cases of unarmed black men had a murkiness to them. Was the person threatening? Did the person reach for the officer's gun? Did he have a pipe or knife in his hand? Was he crazed on drugs? Now these tragic situations don't have these elements and we're left with the puzzlement why weren't the alternatives to the situation operative?
DeleteThe cops had his address. He was not driving when the found him. He was sleeping it off. Had he been driving? I'm sure he was, but they did not see it. So why was he being arrested at all?
DeleteAgain, a white guy would not be dead. He would have had the Otis from Mayberry option. Go somewhere, sleep it off, and tomorrow come back for the car.
Whether he was a fine man or not, I don't know. But today that doesn't matter. Cause he's as dead as Breonna Taylor, as dead as George Floyd.
In todays climate, what were those cops thinking? It was either race or stupidity. Either way, he shouldn't be a cop.
My mother has often said a lot of people are in the wrong jobs. Some chefs don't know how to cook, some priests shouldn't be priests and some cops shouldn't be cops. Only thing is people in the wrong jobs don't think they're in the wrong jobs. Cops are obviously psychologically screened when they become cops but obviously this isn't enough. At its most basic a lot of people are in the wrong jobs and don't know it.
DeletePandemic wise there's now an issue with the continuation of hazard pay for food store essential workers. Some companies want to end it apparently seeing that we're in the tail end of the pandemic which was supposed to be a cooler weather/seasonal virus situation. The unions want hazard pay continued seeing things as we're still in the middle of a pandemic. Labor and management not on the same page.
ReplyDeleteThousands out at rallies and protests, flocking to beaches and
ReplyDeletecasinos, many getting rid of masks: you would think there would
be a virus uptick. IMO, all herd immunity is local: problem is
we aren't. It's like the elderly places needed to be particularly careful early on, but visitors and rotating staff
could be carriers: once in a place like that it spreads like
wildfire. You might be right-we may turn into the United States
of Hermits.
If government went too far in one direction the social reaction seems to be too far in the other direction. I've always steered clear of crowds even when times were good.
DeleteAs for the pandemic... what the heck is Trump thinking? A big rally, in an arena that is officially closed for June and July. In a place where the health care officials are saying no.
ReplyDeleteAnd he's making attenders sign a waiver of liability.
What kind of example is he and his admin setting in an area where the cases of Covid 19 are increasing?
Skip the politics. You guys know I've been critical of Obama and Clinton too in the past.
This just doesn't make sense, and can't possibly be in the best interests of the American people.
Speaking of which what is Joe Biden planning on doing? Is he gonna hold any rallies and hit the hinterlands? Are we gonna see him at the beach with a mask on? Looking at my choices I sat out Trump vs. Hillary and I'm liable to sit out this one too. I'm not all that jazzed up. It's like a bad dream.
DeleteOne day while in college, I went to the assembly hall to sit through some speech. Some guy from back east, talked funny, like
ReplyDeletea Boston don. Went through the line afterwards and shook his hand. And voted for him. JFK was the guy..pretty much filled my
bucket list.
That's good. You never went out with Ann Margaret or anything?
DeleteOh, Ann Margaret! First date with my wife was at a movie with Ann Margaret and Pat Boone-State Fair, a musical. I met my new girlfriend in Zoology lab: hectic, as I also was taking a Botany Lab, Plant Physiology lab, Physical Chemistry Lab and Organic Chemistry analytical lab. I digress. She was sitting next to me and we were peering into microscopes at a prokaryotic unicellular organism
Deletecalled a Euglena: half plant, half animal, primitive with
a flagellum and a 'red eye spot' that was sensitive to light. Our assignment was to view and sketch. I'm a pretty fair sketcher and it went along fine, until I noticed that she kept looking at my sketch and back at
her microscope, almost copying mine. That is sort of flattering and sort of annoying. So, I made a set of nice
eyelashes on the 'red eye spot'. Which broke her up.
I was a junior and she was a freshman psych major: she thought me an older sophisticated type of guy (psych majors can make mistakes), we hit it off and today she still laughs at me. Ann Margaret, the Madonna/Beyoncé
of the early sixties....
The hoarding seems to have petered out. It no longer takes 30-40 minutes to get a box of Yodels and a Pepsi.
ReplyDeleteSome non essential workers resent the phrase "essential workers" like oh you just work in a comic book store.
Did my shopping rounds today. Not many masks, not much traffic, but when I went down the hill to the drug store, I ran into a traffic jam and the shopping center was full of cars. A favorite
ReplyDeletelocal restaurant must have been full open, all kinds of people
walkin in and out. I think it was a rally. A beer rally.
There doesn't seem to be many waiting lines outside Target these days either. Your bowels could be percolating and you can now just trot into the restroom. Bought one bottle of 70% isopropyl alcohol at a Walmart today one being the limit. Rubbing alcohol! like spotting a rare snake or a rare plant. Will we ever reach Phase 5 COMPLETE NORMALCY? You know when you went to the cinema and the only thing you had to worry about was bed bugs.
DeleteDave brings up a good point about political rallies. Will Biden hold rallies of only ten people and wear a bandana?
ReplyDeleteProbably. ..and no red hats. It's like he is on the ballot under 'anybody but'. Trump runs against himself and Biden dozes.
DeleteI hope he does Z-man... Biden should do everything he can to limit exposure and chances for a another of his world famous gaffes...
DeleteOh the gaffes are coming. It's as natural as breathing for him.
DeleteI'm hearing a lot about virtual doctor visits and telemedicine. So how do they check your prostate?
ReplyDeleteAccording to the instructions on the Handy Telemedicine
DeleteProtrate Exam App, it involves sticking your smartphone
up your.....
Last week had to wait 45 minutes in my hot car to see my doctor. Told me to walk more. I pressed him on this once. For how long? What distance? How many times a week? My doctor is big on walking. If you were crippled or lame he'd want you to walk.
DeleteHad a grandpa that walked everywhere. When he was younger,
Deletethe brakes went out on his Model T. He zipped down a long
hill, almost got hit by a train when he bounced across the tracks, then flew down more hill. Totaled his car on
the side of a downtown café. Got PTSD for cars. He walked all over town and even out to their country cabin. Folks said "there goes that walking guy". He lived to 97 and could still go up and down the stairs lickity-cut. No question walking is good for a person, but it takes a lot of time and is boring. Would a Segway Ninebot S Smart Self Balancing Transporter work?
It's hard to cram walking into a packed day planner and it's boring as you say. Dieting is also boring. I like water but sometimes I prefer a Snapple. Drinking water can be boring when there's a Mug Root Beer on hand. Doctors want you to do more boring things.
DeleteZ-man... I'm thinking virtual dentistry. They send the torture tools to your house and using your IPhone, direct you in how to scrape your own teeth.
DeleteBut prostrate exams take that to another level.
I see they retired Aunt Jemima. Are the Quakers upset about being oats? Land-O-Lakes took Princess Minnehahah off their butter, and sports teams are pondering Redskins, Warriers and
ReplyDeleteSeminoles. So far the Orofino HS remain the Maniacs and Pittsburg State in KS are still the Gorillas (neither of who
complain) and of course the Spartans, Vandals and Trojans are
mostly extinct. Its a trend, Z-Man: what's next French fries,
English muffins, Danish pastry and Swedish meatballs?
It's hard to keep track of it all. You need a pc score sheet.
DeleteBB... we axed french fries years ago... renaming them Freedom Fries...
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Aunt Jemima... the company says they have now become aware that this is a problem. Same for Uncle Ben's Rice and probably Cream of Wheat.
DeleteWhat I want to ask them is this...
What do you now know that you didn't know, or were not aware of three months ago?
What's the deal with Uncle Ben? They were saying on the radio this morning the picture simply honored some chef from Chicago. Aunt Jemima what's the deal with her? Some UK politician woman has a problem with Rice Krispies or Cocoa Puffs. Have folks been complaining about this?
DeleteChef Boyardee
ReplyDeleteMrs. Butterworth is also supposed to get a do over.
ReplyDeleteCan it be true? Some professional association want to change the name of Crazy Woman Creek to Formerly Bipolar, but Cured Generic Female
ReplyDeleteCreek?
Kind of a dichotomy. BLM protests are laudatory but Trump shouldn't hold a rally in Tulsa and what's up with FL being the new corona epicenter?
ReplyDeleteAunt Jemima Uncle Ben and Mrs. Butterworth had nothing to do with the killing of George Floyd. When black people walk down the syrup and rice aisles does it ruin their day? Can we please get off this?
Could it be that next year Nike will have to rename their
ReplyDeleteoverpriced tennis?
That's crazy.
DeleteEver been to Tulsa?
ReplyDeleteNo you? Look a virus is a virus and is apolitical. Doesn't care if you're a Trump supporter or part of BLM.
DeleteTrue. It does like people without masks and crowded together. Been through Tulsa-didn't stop. Had an Okie
Deleteworking for me one time. Illiterate, but arrogant. Odd
state: arid plains in the west, Ozarks in the east. I
liked the musical Oklahoma, though. Local lady in the home
turned 90, Her large family is holding a big gathering at
the park. She would rather not go, but....
People are attracted to teeming swarms of humanity for what reason?
DeleteMy son is selling 10 acres between 4 National Forests south of
ReplyDeleteCoeur D'Alene. If you want to retire to wilderness, let me know.
Kind of interesting: grizzlies are moving east out of the mountains into the western great plains, their original homeland. I figure they should get to Yonkers about the time of
the Rapture. Or the Singularity, not sure.
There was a recent black bear sighting in White Plains.
DeletePretty close to Yonkers. Maybe it will show up on a traffic cam. Guard your chickens!
DeleteAny news on how quantum computers have figured out the covid-economy-environment-robotics-race relations-stock market-employment-dating site-infrastructure conundrum? I read somewhere that the cubit concept (eg atomic spin reversal) is
ReplyDeletetricky to handle. No temperature, no pressure, no vibration and short viability negates the algorithm despite the $20 million
price tage. Probably have a wristwatch version in a couple of years.
sweetheart of the troops died today, age 103.
ReplyDeleteWe silent generation that followed the Great Generation, recall
her fondly. A Jehovah Witness guy that stops by to chat and discuss their version of the bible, even older than me said that
he had all her albums. For a Witness, he has an interesting background, sports writer, danced with Betty Grable once and married an Austrian after the war. So I thought about your Dad,
of that generation that face far worse than we, and surely he
would be familiar with Vera Lynn too. The Pacific in those days,
Guadalcanal, Bouganville, Vella Lavella, Kalumbagara, Munda Point, Espirito Santo, Rendova- are more familiar to me than Yonkers or Buffalo. I can think of nothing more rewarding than to have bought your Dad a few beers and listened to his experiences in that part of the war. I hope he passed that
on down to you and family members. Our problems are minor,
Z-Man.
I'm sorry I was thinking about the John Bolton book.
ReplyDeleteWhat were you thinking: good, bad, movie script style,
Deletetoo pricey?
You get an instinct about these things. Saw him last night in an interview by ABC News and I would say most of it is probably true.
DeleteZ... I'd agree, probably true. But I don't care. We've heard it all before. From Tillerson, Mooch, Mattis, Kelly and more. If these guys, who in their own words, won't step up when they are in office, when, like in Bolton's case, they could've made a real difference, then they should stay quiet.
DeleteThey've all lost the power of their words by remaining silent as a man they believed, was unfit for office, proceeded unchecked.
Bolton saw a book deal.
DeleteLast time we ate out was March 10, so we decided to try the local Applebees. Went early at 4PM to avoid the crowd. Staff had
ReplyDeletemasks and only about a dozen customers. Blackened salmon and
a draft of Stella Artois. About time. My kid sold his land
up north, had people calling from all over the US. Are they that desperate to escape to the wilderness?
Tis the season to topple statues and rename things. But Eskimo Pie? Was this demanded by the Inuits of BaffinLand? What will the new name be? Tru-Value? Icecream Stick & Beyond? Change the
ReplyDeletenames of military bases? Ft. Hood to Kamp Kookamonga? Ft. Bragg to Happy Days Training Center? JFK and Reagan airports,
will they be called Musk Rocket Orbit Trips and Lily's Launchpad in the distant future? IMO it started at the dawn of time: topple the neighboring tribe's totem pole. The Egyptians wrecked all trace of Pharaoh Akenaton,,,but now its the new
rage, a weird hobby. What's next Mt. Rushmore? The times, they are a blur, Z-Man.
To me pc is too much work.
DeleteCovid cases going up in about 22 states. Is this the BLM surge?
ReplyDeleteHaven't seen the demographics. It seems the bulk of the new cases are those under 50. We elderly wear masks and often forget take them off. A lot of covid among baseball
Deleteplayers-can it be caused by spitting sunflower seeds?
Originally they were telling us we would get a kind of respite during the summer months as viruses generally don't do good during the hot weather now Covid seems to be going straight on through and the media is still talking about it. Color me confused.
DeleteBig tent evangelical event here next weekend. Right next to the golf course. Glad I don't golf, ya know? Kind of a dichotomy, folks ignoring virus and others cowering. For now, I'm betting
ReplyDeleteon the cowards. and to your point, yes the corona virus doesn't seem to be bothered by weather. You would think it would, being
structurally related to the corona viruses that cause the common cold. I had to laugh at the black NASCA racer Bubba somebody. Reported a noose hanging in his garage: place flooded
with FBI agents. Turns out he bought the place a week ago, and the former owner was using it to raise and lower the garage door. All's well that ends....
Yes I found the story a little fishy from the get go. You can almost see it going in this kind of direction.
DeleteHere this weekend, a big tent revival, a fast pitch softball
ReplyDeletetournament and a beerfest. We would think different if each
virus capsule was a grizzly bear. The local churches have options, some full open, some full closed and the eating places
are 40% capacity. Only the clinic, hospital and vets are in
full defense-take your temperature and only one person can go
in. No herd immunity when you are trying to herd cats.
As a kind of rough guidance I'd think the best thing you can do is avoid crowds for the time being. I don't think we need to get neurotic/ocd'ish about 6 feet, wearing a mask while driving alone and all that just the one thing AVOID CROWDS. Not asking a lot is it so why is this so hard? Are weiner eating contests somehow holding the social fabric together?
DeleteHow 'bout those covid sales BB and Dave? Around a week ago I got two good curtain rods at Bed Bath and Beyond for only ten bucks.
ReplyDeleteThat is a good buy. Did you have a trade-in? Last few days around here places have been opening up, then shutting down. Groceries today: estimate about 15% customers still wearing masks. Waited in long line at
Deletethe donut section. Guy in front of me picked out all sorts
of things, two dozen in all. Asked him if that was for
his morning break, what was for lunch? Seems he had a
construction crew and needed to keep them happy. Must admit, we haven't purchased curtain rods for a couple decades..they seem to wear well.
I take it you don't have to wear masks in Idaho like in New York State? The big retail stores here have 50% discounts on everything, deals on top of deals because they want to get rid of their inventory since they were closed so long.
DeleteIf you're traveling from Florida to New York once you get here Cuomo says you have to quarantine yourself for fourteen days. So where do you hole up and who brings you your food?
All our big retail stores are gone. K-Mart, JC Penny, Shopko, Macy's, Sears-just in the last couple of years.
DeleteNo places left for clothing, let alone trying stuff on.
The shoe store left and both hobby stores closed. We have
way too many banks and sporting goods places. If you're
traveling here from Florida, just pass on by. No mandatory
masks here, but most retail staffs wear them as well as those of us that were born before WWII. Big weekend coming up with several outdoor crowds: suspect that will not be helpful. Our hospital was bought by a big medical
outfit a couple years back. 50% of the nurses were laid off or left, citing horrible management. I worry that the
colonoscopy guy might leave the camera in, ya know? Could have my own TV series, I guess.
Have the ass docs gone back to doing their thing yet? Like at least one a day?
DeleteSaw some gray haired lady weeping at a community meeting that her constitutional rights were explicit: they could not make her
ReplyDeletewear a mask. I tried that when I was a kid, about having to eat my peas, ya know? Then that odd WI riot- police apprehended some
black guy that had a bullhorn and baseball bat, terrorizing some
café. Took 5 cops (presumably being as gentle as they could) to
control him. Other demonstrators let out their rage on two old
Madison statues, neither of which were objectionable..one was a
Civil War abolitionist who was killed at the battle of Chicagauga, the other representing WI progress in the form of
a woman. To top it off the arrested guy had a violent crime
record as long as my arm. Whatever happened to sanity? My next door neighbor is throwing a big yard party, even put in porta
potties from the rental place, 24 softball teams in town for a
tournament and the tent revival has been going 24-7 (they set up here because neighboring WA and OR are still in some recovery
phase (maybe phase 2-B(3). Can I borrow Cuomo for a couple of days?
Look wearing a mask all day isn't by any stretch an ideal situation. Too many have those ear loops that hurt your ears over long periods of time. I see joggers wearing them in 90 degree weather even when there's nobody around which raises other health problems. Having said that I get ones that are as comfortable as possible and obey the law here. Then like my brother says you have that weird small subgroup of people who are really into all of this. It's like they don't want the pandemic to end. It's like the preppers now see their lifestyle as justified.
DeleteIt's a crummy lifestyle, no question. Had to go back to the dentist this morning-the impressions they made for a triple
ReplyDeletecrown bridge were rejected by the place that makes them. Had to wear a mask, had to answer 15 covid related questions: then they unlocked the door. Dentist even had a surgical hat on. Since I stay home mostly, wearing a mask is quite temporary.
Back to Mexican take out tonight, just when things were beginning to progress: now another outbreak. I guess we are
a bit more modern than the old Black Plague people, who didn't have a clue, other than God was mad at them. Even back then, though, the peasants that lived way out in the boonies had a
better survival rate..and the kings and dukes left town and
headed for the relative wilderness. How come we are so much smarter than a simple virus, but it gives us such a hard time?
World military worked on supervirus for years and never came close to the current natural phenom. I'd like to get back to
normal, whatever that was. I think your brother was referring to
Dr. Faucci, right?
Oh no he was talking about a couple of people at work on the extreme edges of panic. That's all they ever talked about. The kind of people who if things returned to complete normalcy they'd miss wearing the mask. Dr. Fauci is into it no question and he looks like he aged the last couple of weeks. He always struck me as maybe having a negative element to his mindset re diseases in general but maybe that's his job. Not part of the weird subset just maybe after this is over call it a career no?
DeleteLook many people see the law as a great moral teacher and are waiting for guidance. To them whatever the law says is the moral thing to do so if the law in your state says you don't have to wear a mask then to many people it can't be that important so don't be too hard on your fellow Idahoans. I must admit that before the law in NYS said you have to wear a mask many times I didn't. Doesn't make you a granny killer. I started to feel like an oddball though when I went to Key Food so I started wearing the mask. Silent peer pressure.
DeleteIt's interesting how people react to things and there is probably a psychological aspect to pandemics. Like the med experts know more than Joe Average about how viruses operate,
ReplyDeleteand several I've seen on the news said that forcing people to
do things doesn't work well: better to explain what should be done and why. Like child psychology-tell a kid what not to do
and they will do it. I had 3 kids, 2 girls, then a boy. The girls pretty much followed the rules. The boy around age 2 discovered electrical outlets (only interesting feature at eye
level, ya know), peeked into them, had a fascination. "You stay
away from that-it is very dangerous" "I knows dat" almost
every day, until BANG! all the lights go out, kit is sitting in
the hallway, smoking bobby pin in hand, hair all frizzed out.
"I told you not to do that-it is very dangerous" "waa waaa..I
knows dat!" Mental motivation: "I can't get the pickle jar cover off-I need a strong man" "Don't eat the peas, they are
very rare and expensive". I am pretty confident with the masks.
Surely they stop some, maybe most aerosol-both coming and going
and I'm altruistic enough to not only not want to catch it, but
if I unknowingly have it I don't want to spread it. What's up with Obamacare? Only 35% of people don't like it: now with sick
people all over, they want to dump it? "You don't need health
insurance-that's for sissies" Psychology-I don't have a clue,
Z-Man.
New Yorkers seem pretty docile. If Cuomo told them to wear polka dot ties to combat the virus they might do it.
DeleteDoes Cuomo have something against libraries? They're like last on the list to reopen. Did Cuomo have a bad experience? Did he have some overdue books? Brothels will open sooner than the libraries.
OMG! The brothels were closed!?
DeleteBB... you're close to Nevada... you should know the brothels here were closed. Also, here's the saddest tale...
DeleteCostco is no longer selling their 20 buck great tasting sheetcake.
Because it promotes big parties in a social distance era.
Hmmm...some supermarkets are taking not huge but fairly big catering orders like fried chicken. Nothing about it attracting large social gatherings. I guess if someone put in a huge catering order a food store could question it but the sheet cake thing strikes me as an overreach.
DeleteI haven't been around the right wing blogosphere for ages. What are they saying about corona? Are they happy with wearing masks? What about police brutality? On the left side I can only imagine what Shaw is saying. Has she had an aneurysm yet?
ReplyDeleteZ... there's a story about a woman in San Diego, a Karen as they are called, who objected to wearing a mask in Starbucks and went ballistic. Someone filmed it, it went viral and now the barista has over 65K in a Go Fund Me acct people started in his name.
ReplyDeleteThe right wing side seems to be totally agin masks. For freedom's sake.
I get the libertarian argument about masks but I think it's the wrong issue to hang your freedom hat on and that's because it's not hard at all to make the case that masks make sense for the time being. I had a wise old manager once who said choose your battles. In other words don't fight EVERYTHING. There could be freedom issues in some of the government's covid policies but if you're only going to wear a mask for 30 minutes in a supermarket what's the big deal? You have the right to have an opinion about masks but sometimes following the path of least resistance is the wiser path to follow.
DeleteKind of a joke about the brothels BB. I'm not a client just that everybody else seems to be opening except libraries. Guy at work said just suppose some people like the unemployment with the $600 bonus attached. I just want to go in with my wifi tablet, sit in the corner and not bother anyone.
ReplyDeleteMedia bias again. As we all know infections have surged in several states but the media is blaming states reopening too soon instead of BLM protests which were more recent and maybe fit the infection timeline better. Also infections are up especially younger Americans but deaths are down. Some might call that a herd immunity pattern.
ReplyDeleteThough apparently officially not the case but since this Coronavirus isn't being degraded by the hotter summer weather as other viruses are is it a bioweapon of some sort? Of course officially that's never the case but some are still asking.
You ever consider taking your chef skills up north to the Adirondacks? Seems like a more relaxed area than NYC. Pros-cons? (like better bass fishing vs too much snow)
ReplyDeleteGuy I work with comes from Monticello. Recently showed me his own personal video of a mother bear walking with her cubs. The Eastern Coyote is supposed to be 1/4 gray wolf and they're bigger than their Western counterparts.
DeleteIllegal fireworks a big problem here. It's out of control. A bottle rocket landed in the top of my hedge the other day. This is the year of controversy.
They say coyotes migrated into the upper east coast in the last century or two, having been a creature of the prairies. I guess
ReplyDeletethe Easter version is one of twenty subspecies . Dunno, they all look alike to me. NY: been through twice, once on the way to
the Worlds Fair in Montreal (1967-when traffic was reasonable) and once around 2006 when we visited daughter that was teaching at West Point. They lived on some lake between Vails Gate and
Newburgh-New Windsor-a passenger train line rain north of the lake, and it would likely take me two weeks to find the place
now. They took us to eat in some revolutionary war tavern that
was built of 12 x 12" planks. Didn't see any Hessians.
New Windsor. I like that area. Washington had a headquarters there.
DeleteIdaho has seen a spike in Covid and is backing out of whatever phase it is we are supposed to be in. But the crazy camper Rainbow People are coming anyway. I think they are
ReplyDeleteleftover aging hippies. probably less harmful than the thugs that tookover part of Seattle. We know humans are drawn to each other, being a gregarious species, but have you noticed, the big
groupings are always of type: black people, armed people, gay
people, statue destroying people (remember Black Panthers and
Pink Ladies? So our visiting campers in their 1964 Volkswagon
busses painted with flowers will be making a minor Woodstock in
the boonies..what is that strange smell in the smoke?
As the cases of Covid start to climb here in Nevada, a group has sued the governor saying he has no authority to issue a mandatory mask order. They are calling for his removal from office and asking that Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman be installed instead.
DeleteSlightly related BB... what's our favorite son Ammon Bundy doing up your way? Isn't he "leading" another "I hate government" rally of some sort?
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThere is a point though when state governors begin to act like little autocrats and start to dictate things like how we can dine out and what kind of services churches can hold. I get the mask thing Dave but there's a fine line.
DeleteYeah BB here in New York there will be no Broadway shows for the rest of the year but they just had some massive gay pride rally with corporate sponsors.
DeleteThe medical experts recognize that a percent of people will not
ReplyDeletefollow advice, nor will they be forced to. I didn't know that many people flunked basic science in high school. Like my sister
said, when she got an F, "I don't believe in germs-you can't see
them..same with atoms- no one has ever seen an atom: Of course these days with neutron augers/molecular microscopes etc, they
CAN be seen. Like Buckskin Jones said, :Ya kin leed a horse ta
water, but ya shures hell can't make em drink". My question is,
how do these people keep a job? Like, Schartz, move that pallet"
"Nah, you can't make me..its in the constitution. Color me
baffled.
The anti authority sentiment doesn't resonate with you and Dave. You do need authority for any functioning orderly society but there is also the thing about the consent of the governed. Having said that does any part of you ever ever any issue with authority? I recognize that executives have extra powers during times of crises but I think the fact that they don't have to go through the normal legislative process during such a time makes them feel a little like monarchs and they become rather whimsical during their temporary autocracy. A Governor saying even five people at a time can't dine inside a restaurant just strikes me as weirdly out of bounds.
DeleteI might add BLM and now Gay Pride haven't been following medical advice but the narrative always seems to be about the uber right wing.
DeleteEver notice how occupations are sometimes carried on father to son? Consider TV evangelists: Billy Graham's empire is in the hands of son Franklin: Jimmy Swaggart (whose remarkable comeback
ReplyDeleteafter found whoring as a hobby astounds me) has a son Donnie, who is a chip of the old block: Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker's son
remembers visiting his dad in prison in MN and is starting his
own peculiar ministry there: Pat Robertson's boy Gordon, who
looks and thinks like his Pops, is taking over (his other boy,
Tim, shows up once in awhile, not sure which was the first who
was born 10 weeks after old Holy Pat was married): ..got me to
pondering the sense of being a Catholic. Otherwise we might have
Pope Peter the 266th in the Vatican. On the authority thing,
do you separate government from the teacher (Maybe Sister Mary Frederick)?. Your parents who made the rules? Bosses who tell you what to do all day? What if the majority of US voters who
voted for Hillary decided not to pay their taxes? The guys who
prefer to fight with the cops rather than be booked? Authority
is all over the place, some good, some lousy. It reminds of the
military code: you can refuse an order if it is illegal..Corporal Smith thinks it is, private Jones thinks it
isn't. It isn't settled until the Courts Martial. I haven't done an in depth study, but there doesn't seem to be jail time
for not wearing a mask. Still, there are people going into stores where the store requires one, and they get all huffy
and cause a meaningless fuss. Gotta go with the flow sometimes.
what to do?
with the ruler?)
Ignore last two lines. I didn't type them, know not what they mean and am going to blame Kanye West or the Artist
DeleteFormerly Known As Prince, or else Microsoft. As for the
gathering of the various stripes of masses-let them sort it out while they lie in their ventilators.
C'mon BB. Back in the day people questioned authority all over the place by protesting the Vietnam War. One of the lasting effects of Watergate was to always question authority. Bill Kurtis on Decades said this was one of Watergate's main legacy. MLK questioned and protested a racist government system and that led to civil rights. There was Iran/Contra and later the Iraq War which many people questioned. The msm used to question governmental authority all the time. What happened? I'm not saying go out and cause a ruckus BB but why so docile?
DeleteI got the same writing problem lately. It's like Google is writing my thoughts for me. It's mainly spell check that's causing my problems. I'll type a word or phrase in, somehow Google completes it, I'll hit Publish read it again and go folks will think I've been drinking. Happens on texts too which is unfortunate.
DeleteSure we are a protesting country, but is wearing a mask akin to
ReplyDeleteWatergate? Today, the Washington governor was booed away from his microphone while trying to explain why the people in that county (where the rate was up 300%) needed to wear masks. Ever
heard of no shirt, no shoes, no service? I guess if a store does it, you can't complain about government. Yeah, I had a
Eugene McCarthy sticker on my bumper when I was working 60 hour weeks at an Army arsenal (he was a peacenik). I was fine with the dichotomy of helping soldiers while against why they were
even there-still am. My 'docility' is simple in this case-the
rationale for masking and distancing makes sense to me- check
the curve in the US vs all the European nations. Neighbors next
store had a big party over the weekend, about 75 people-no masks
no distancing. The wind from there came right at us. Didn't complain, but called daughter the virus expert. She figures the
aerosols break up rapidly in wind-say vs if you were at an indoor big gathering. So, it may be that all these groups are
not in grave danger...but wow, the rate is shooting up in some
places. Maybe I'm like the guy that made an underground bunker
across the river, loaded up with years of supplies and enough
ammo wipe out the original buffalo and awaits civil war, nuclear
war or the rapture? But what's the really big dislike of masks..
some say it's political..dunno.
The practical sense in wearing masks is compelling so no argument from me but the government's corona policies are so open-ended and indefinite some folks are wondering if we have to wear them for a whole year. Social distancing on the other hand is purely a mathematical abstraction. As a kind of rough guidance to follow everyday it's ok but there are countless times during the course of an average day when you're within six feet of another person. Again as a kind of rough guidance I'm not against it but admit it it's weird.
DeleteAgain though TD Bank was just one of many corporate sponsors of a recent and big Gay Pride rally in NYC. What's the difference between that and your neighbor's shindig. These double standards send a message to the average person that maybe covid ain't that serious.
DeleteBasically it is an epidemiological issue, IMO. But there are
ReplyDeletepolitico-social views that add to the stew. A typical rebellious stance is stated as a socialist conspiracy arguing that
it is a conspiratorial plot of some sort and that it is just
another germ like the common cold. I sort of get that point of
view, but find little medical evidence to support it. One might
point out that these same people spent years harassing H. Clinton over 4 deaths at Benghazi, but are unaware of 126,000
people right here. Apples to Oranges? I think not-dying is dying. But socialist conspiracy, confused scientists or scheming viruses, I don't argue, just try to protect people.
Is that so bad?
So why is it now July and we're still talking covid? It's the social distancing purists I have an issue with. Ever see those news anchors spaced six feet apart while giving the news? Is that just for show or do they literally avoid each other in the hallways.
DeleteIs a large progressive social gathering of some sort somehow less disturbing than your neighbor's yard party? Until there's some consistency across-the-board people can't take the arguments seriously.
The only consistency I've seen is that older people seem to be a higher percentage of mask wearers. Wife went to a
Deletebirthday party for a 85 yr old lady at the river park. Family hauled her out of the home. Wife was the only one with a mask..not sure of the distribution poltics-wise,
but the Mrs. was uncomfortable and left after half an hour. Heading to tobacco shop and will wear my mask in a bit. Your skepticism is admirable: need to set up 10,000
volunteers, half with masks and half without, then spray
them with a zillion Covid, see how many get sick. Hard
data, the hard way..and unethical. But whatever it showed
would be unarguable. I used to avoid people in the hallway. Always hated the Marketing Department, ya know?
Probably my question was why is covid still killing people in July? The other point is the msm extols BLM and Gay Pride rallies (definite lack of social distancing and inconsistent mask usage) but some guy walks into Starbucks without a mask and it's a big deal. Either Covid is serious or it ain't and the double standards here (BLM protests good, Trump rallies bad) send mixed messaging to the public. I think you're reading things into my words that aren't there.
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DeleteI will say this. Some of these stories about dragging the elderly out to big parties and whatnot...this would be such a new and burgeoning field legally but should the elderly person get infected and die from covid as a result would there be any criminal liability involved? Putting on my Columbo hat I can even think of rare scenarios where this might be done with malice aforethought. A murky and disturbing area.
Delete'extols' - I like that. I understand your point about the media, its all protest, protest etc...and damaging stuff.
DeleteObviously, I have nothing nice to say about Trump and I
have never been to a rally for either side. Extols is one of those words like juxtapose, parenthetical, asymptotic, parametric and cryptorchidism that need more use, but are
hard to find a place for. I extol their use. Picked up some lighter flints with a can of tobacco. Says to the lady, "you know they are not flint, but the pyrophoric
metal Cerium?" She says, "Spare me another one of your
scientific lectures, I gotta refill the beer cooler".
She is so blatantly vexatious....
Probably six years working in a library words rub off on you. I like the words that sound like what they are like "puke" as in "the baby puked." No need to consult the Merriam-Webster you just know what it means.
DeleteThe term for those is onomontopoeia. The Batman series years ago lit up the screen with whack! Wham! Pow! You may be an onomontopoeic. Had a Jr High band instructor that favored, "Let's play 'return of the swallow, by Belch" and they say that authors and poets find them
Deleteuseful and creative, so you are in good company. Aske the
Mrs. is she saw Columbo hanging around the geezer party.
She said Peter Falk died some year back. Now there was a
cop that never put a knee on anyone's neck. So NYC is cutting a billion from the police budget. Sounds iffy,
what ya think?
Puke- daughter that teaches virology says that when she
Deletedescribes salmonella food poisoning as exhibiting projectile vomiting, the kids all cheer and laugh. We
presume they are familiar with the common hangover. Worked
with a woman some years back who was a serial drinker.
She said she got hooked on pina coladas until one night
her nose got clogged with coconut chunks when she 'puked'.
Me, I have a large hiatal hernia: if I eat too fast or
overeat, I get an esophageal backup, very painful..and can only be cured by 'puking' in the laundry sink. Never
tried pina colada....
It is too bad that the wife makes all our
ReplyDeletefacemasks.
Watching the news last night and Joe Biden said yet again that Trump should wear a face mask but while Biden was saying this where was his mask?
DeleteAt a rally?
DeleteC'mon man he should lead by example. Stop defending the nincompoop.
DeleteYou have a bunker mentality. You just go with whoever the Democrat is. I have a friend like this but only in the opposite direction.
DeleteThis is a sorry race Trump vs. Biden. I read somewhere they're both accusing each other of senility.
Well, they are younger than me. If bunker mentality is studying the candidates long records, rather than listening to talking heads, tv shots, twitters and expensive ads, you got me. NYC used up all their fireworks
Deleteyet?
Yeah ok. So by your calculations somehow it never comes back that maybe Biden's a dope not worth voting for. Same thing with my friend but he's on the R side.
DeleteI've voted every election since JFK. Sometimes the choices are good, sometimes bad. I've even voted third
Deleteparty. vs Trump, I'd go so far as to vote for Steven Colbert, a nameless person with a paper sack on their
head, Z-Man, Trump's wife, Stormy Daniels, Mitt Romney,
etc & etc. Like in the last election-there were a lot of
anti-Hillary votes..so I guess it's OK to have an against vote? Last local election, one guy-a particularly poor
choice ran unopposed. I wrote in 'Anybody Butt'.
Biden strikes me as oily like making points off the pandemic saying Trump's early response was too slow. Probably true but I don't think that's a Trump thing alone. Maybe a President Hillary or a President Biden would have been slow to respond too. Easy to be a Monday morning QB.
DeleteNever agreed with the attitude it's my moral and civic duty to hold my nose and vote for somebody. If you have to hold your nose you should stay home.
We have a local Covid outbreak. Came from some bunch in a bar.
ReplyDeleteEven our weather has been odd: twice normal rain for June and
alternating weeks of either 55 or 95 degrees. My lawn can't figure it out and neither can I. Some guy over at the airport
rebuilt a P-51 Mustang-been blank strafing the place, kind of
interesting. They have a funny moaning scream when they come
down at 300 mph. Mikey the Cat hates it.
Going back to these people dragging elderly people to big birthday bashes I can't get over that. Such people bear watching. Skating on the edge of a possible criminal area if the birthday person dies of covid. Covid crime maybe a new thing.
DeleteThat particular family is large, the old lady came from
DeleteIowa and they all grew up in the high timber country. Old
man was wilderness guide. Colombo might be suspcicious, as
the old gal in her life got lost in the back roads twice,
survived a plane crash with a bush pilot, wrote a book,
drove back to Iowa when 80, had a heart attack and quadruple bypass at Mayo in MN. She has had dozens of late life colonoscopies due to an intestinal ailment, hated to leave her condo and her kids live scattered across the Pacific northwest. I think the home won't let
them all in, even in normal times, so they pick her up
every couple of months and eat out. Colombo probably knows families like that..not sure if all the attention
is good or bad for the old lady, but with the sudden big
outburst in this area, it seems like a poor idea. (then,
again, maybe staying in the home is bad. So far the only
CovidCrimes here have been arguments about masks in stores and a bar up river that refused to close in the
first shut down. Chased the state patrol off, but last week they decided to pay the $5000 fine rather than lose
their license. The times they are peculiar.
I'm overhearing conversations at work and all these different covid attitudes are causing issues in families now. Some family members for some reason think we got the all clear on covid and want to visit grandma or take her out. Other family members object. I'm hearing more of this. People are acting normal when times ain't normal. Nobody's on the same page.
DeleteCovid panic and covid denial. Meanwhile the EU has banned American travelers citing among other things those vids of maskless shoppers going haywire in stores. The ugly American. Gringos.
ReplyDeleteCan't blame them. Free wheeling travel with virus is almost as good a mosquito vectors for Yellow Fever/W Nile
Deletevirus etc. NYC is cautious about Floridians for the same
reason. I wonder if it will get to the point that counties
and communities will stop outsiders at the gate. You might
not be able to get to Poughkeepsie for months.
You see the Covid parties among the teen crowd down in Alabama?
ReplyDeleteFirst party goer to catch the virus gets $1000. I'm intrigued
with the Bible Belt Bunch teenyboppers..who is putting up the prize money...and why?
This brings up a point I was trying to make to Dave once. Can someone spread Covid on purpose and with malice? Can multiple people with malice do this? Covid crime.
DeleteYou wonder why we're now banned from traveling to EU countries.
I originally thought come July and the onset of summer we'd be talking about something else now but here we are.
I would think it might be a crime. Few years back they got
Deletea guy with HIV, whose hobby was spreading it among the university coeds. Don't remember the charge, but he is still behind bars. It's like personal germ warfare.