I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Linkee-poo Wednesday

"Hurricane Laura is expected to be an 'extremely powerful Category 4 hurricane' with 'unsurvivable storm surge' when it reaches the Gulf Coast on Wednesday night and early Thursday, the hurricane center said in its 10 a.m. CDT update."

About that convalescent plasma EUA… "On Monday night, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn acknowledged that he had made a significant error in presenting the benefits of the treatment, and he followed that statement with an apology on Tuesday. But Hahn pushed back against indications that the approval of the treatment on the eve of the Republican National Convention was motivated by political pressure." The article talks about what the numbers actually meant and how statistics work in reality. While they come to the conclusion the EUA had enough to be authorized and released (the opposition to it's release from was outside the FDA by people asking to see randomized blind placebo testing done first), it's obvious this was a political move, not a healthcare move. (Grokked from John)

"The unflappable health care heroes of the current crisis are beginning to crack under the strain. Doctors, nurses and other professionals are not only fighting an intractable virus day after day, they're also coping with isolation, shifting official guidelines and limited ways to recharge." Unflappable, yeah, my Aunt Fanny. Not included here is the stress of constantly shifting guidelines and procedures handed down by hospital management which (IMHO) embodies and models the worst of management behavior. Sure, nice people, but I wouldn't want them in management and making those personnel and policy decisions (because, day-um).

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is no longer recommending testing for everyone who’s been exposed to Covid-19, saying people who don’t have symptoms 'do not necessarily need a test.'… The agency quietly revised its testing guidance for asymptomatic individuals Monday, advising people who are vulnerable to the virus to get tested if they have been within 6 feet of an infected individual for at least 15 minutes." In case you want to know why the numbers are going down (whispers, we're doing less testing). Also, as a healthcare worker if I'm exposed (without full PPE), I'm to self-report any symptoms and if I do have symptoms to self-isolate for 14 days. There is no testing for us. Not surprising the numbers of infected healthcare workers continue to rise. "The CDC’s updated guidance still acknowledges that people can carry and spread the virus, even if they don’t have symptoms and feel healthy. In the CDC’s pandemic planning scenarios, the agency says its 'current best estimate' is that up to 50% of spread of the virus occurs before patients begin to experience symptoms." But we're not going to test those people or mandate mask wearing.

"The current guidance for safe social distancing may not be enough to stop the spread of COVID-19, a new analysis suggests… In the report, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Oxford say other factors, such as ventilation, crowd size, exposure time and whether face coverings are worn, need to be considered, as well." Ta-da!

On the shooting last night… "Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth told The New York Times his office is investigating whether the shooting resulted from a conflict between demonstrators and a group of men with weapons who were protecting businesses."

On Bullshit Mountain… they have a video. Note how the police drive right by the guy carrying a gun, whom others where shouting "that dude just shot them…" While it's hard to tell, the guy looks white. Then Fox goes on to talk about all the violence the protestors are involved in. I'm sure they didn't mean to blame the victims here (side-eye).

"There’s good news for married people whose coronavirus stimulus payments were wrongly garnished to pay their spouse’s back child support… About 50,000 people whose payments were garnished will be getting their money after all."

"More than half of U.S. states have been approved for President Donald Trump's extra $300 in weekly jobless benefits. The aid is geared toward helping the 28.2 million workers who are currently collecting their states' regular unemployment benefits, which typically replaces only a fraction of a worker's regular income… The latest state to receive approval was Connecticut, which received the green light from FEMA on Monday. Another 29 states have also been given the nod from the federal agency. The aid is funded by $44 billion in funds allocated for natural disaster relief." Note news about hurricane season getting a little rougher and the ongoing fires in California. This $44 billion is the money set aside for those disasters.

Meanwhile, on Bullshit Mountain… "Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi went on offense in her Republican Convention address, focusing on the Biden family and the political ties she says they benefited from… 'But, when you look at (Biden's) 47-year career in politics, the people who benefited are his family members, not the American people,' the Florida prosecutor continued." You may remember Bondi as the Florida AG who dropped her investigation of Trump University after a sizable donation to her re-election campaign came from the Trump Organization. Again, what they claim others have done is exactly what they themselves have done (and not in a "both sides" as in they project their crimes onto other innocent people). Also, for the GOP and specifically Trump's campaign to make this claims against others is just fucking hilarious.

"Mary Ann Mendoza was removed from her speaking slot just hours before she was set to appear at Tuesday night's Republican National Convention after she was found to have promoted a series of tweets positing anti-Semitic conspiracy theories… Mendoza is on the advisory board of President Trump's re-election campaign. She has been an outspoken advocate for Trump's immigration policies. Her son was killed in 2014 by a drunk driver who was an undocumented immigrant." The only vetting going on is how well they shout they love the president. Note she is also a raging Islamaphobic and a QAnon supporter. But I guess those weren't enough to get her kicked off the stage. Also note, she still has her job on the president's re-election campaign.

"'Whether it's defunding the police, ending cash bail so criminals can be released back out on the streets the same day to riot again, or encouraging anarchy on our streets,' Mark McCloskey said, 'it seems as if Democrats no longer view the government's job as protecting honest citizens from criminals, but rather protecting criminals from honest citizens.'… He added that "radicals" who marched outside of his home also want to 'walk the halls of Congress,' stating, 'This is Joe Biden's party. These are the people who will be in charge.'" You may remember Mark McCloskey as the raging lunatic waving an AR-15 at BLM protestors marching in front of his home.

The onslaught of bots posting about how they used to be Democrats, but became disillusioned (OMG we're Marxists now!) and switched to Republicanism has already started with hundreds of identical posts (word for word) from different accounts.

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