During the election cycle 8 years ago, a guy a knew was adamant that Obama had to be defeated so we could return to our way of life. I really didn't understand what he meant. His point eluded me. Was it racist? Based on his policy?
So here we are in 2020 and the point has been coming into much sharper focus. In fact, there was a local non-partisan race with three contenders a few weeks ago.
One decided to go full-on maga. She tied herself to trump, to the republicans, and generally made it a partisan position.
She won, and people scratched their heads. How did she do it?
But a high school student who was working on one of the other campaigns astutely said "[she was saying] if you don't vote for me, your way of life will be taken away."
And that's exactly what the guy meant 8 years ago. And what many Trump supporters have decided all of this means.
It was/is a battle for the soul of this country. Braggadocio, American exceptionalism, white privilege (even if it's unstated), and fear are the way he won and why 70-something million people voted for him.
Listen to the words. Socialism=bad. BLM=bad. Foreigners=bad. Anything that strays from whatever form of religion they believe=bad. "Our" way of life has been twisted to mean anything that the wealthy want it to.
I mean, the sad reality is that trump and many of the other so-called leaders don't care about people, they only care about themselves. Think most of the most ardent supporters would ever get an invite to go to mar-a-lago? I suppose only if mar-a-lago was the name of a landscaping company.
And as for caring, gee as the G20 summit (which would have been hosted in DC if not for the pandemic) kicked off, trump was rage tweeting about the election again. And when the leaders met to talk covid, he went off to a tee time. Because he simply can't be bothered to govern or care about real world issues. It is all about him. And after all, that's the way it's been the last 3 11/12 years, so why start now?
Who's way of life? ...And people caught in the cult of personality still can't see it.
Sunday, November 22, 2020
Saturday, November 21, 2020
Spill-over effects show prioritizing education of very poorest improves attainment of all -- ScienceDaily
Illustrating (once again) that education is a great equalizer.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201120091149.htm
Short. Sweet. To the point. That's the beauty Dave's iPhone.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201120091149.htm
Short. Sweet. To the point. That's the beauty Dave's iPhone.
Wednesday, November 18, 2020
Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Stop the spread: wear a mask
I still can't believe that (a) our government sits idly by as the pandemic spreads and it does literally nothing to learn about it, achieve any sort of success in returning to something close to normalcy, and otherwise just promotes stupidity. And (b) that people as a result still refer to it as a hoax and won't wear a mask. One of the easiest things to do, for yourself and the good of the nation, is to mask up. And instead people give all sorts of reasons why they won't.
But here's the thing. Look around and see where things are maybe getting a little closer to normal and ask yourself why that is and why they haven't had any outbreaks attributed to them.
And I'm not talking about stupid things like restaurants opening. I'm talking about examples like these:
1. Air travel. The airlines know they have to fly in order to make money. So they gave it a go. Told everyone they have to wear a mask, and have been trying little things beyond that. They've even kicked people off flights for not wearing them. And no outbreaks directly tied to being on an airplane, as far as we can tell. What does that tell you?
2. TV production has kinda,sorta returned. There are new episodes of some shows and things are moving along. Again, money is the motivating factor. But the crew all wear masks, and as much as they can they have actors social distance, and they do covid screenings on the regular.
3. Disney World reopened in a limited capacity, enforcing 100% mask wearing. There are screenings for temperature. Plus some amount of social distancing makes this successful. There have been no reported outbreaks from cast or guest related to park going.
4. Yesterday, I was reading about a school district in the northeast that reopened. They are enforcing masks, and social distancing as much they can. But they have had some outbreaks. The upshot, though, is that they are rigorous about contact tracing and knowing how the outbreak started. And what did they find? Every outbreak was linked to sports or some situation where students gathered together after school hours - and nearly every case, they weren't wearing masks when around others.
Theres also a reminder that basketball bubble worked in the late summer because they isolated the entire NBA and played through the season. They even used some custom monitoring devices to learn something about possible spreads. Because everyone in direct contact was inside the bubble had been tested and anyone near the bubble wore masks, they avoided a spread. Sure, a bubble is mostly impractical in the real world. But we *learned* something from it that we can apply if we so choose. (The bubble was at disney world, so surely part of disneys success is based on learning).
Anyway the key is to try things to figure this out; to learn along the way. To in many cases let the money guide you. These are all industries where $$ are at stake, so they are finding a way.
Some smarts, maybe a little tech, some government investment, and a mask mandate would speed all of this up.
And for Pete's sake, take it seriously!
And in the meantime: wear a mask people!
But here's the thing. Look around and see where things are maybe getting a little closer to normal and ask yourself why that is and why they haven't had any outbreaks attributed to them.
And I'm not talking about stupid things like restaurants opening. I'm talking about examples like these:
1. Air travel. The airlines know they have to fly in order to make money. So they gave it a go. Told everyone they have to wear a mask, and have been trying little things beyond that. They've even kicked people off flights for not wearing them. And no outbreaks directly tied to being on an airplane, as far as we can tell. What does that tell you?
2. TV production has kinda,sorta returned. There are new episodes of some shows and things are moving along. Again, money is the motivating factor. But the crew all wear masks, and as much as they can they have actors social distance, and they do covid screenings on the regular.
3. Disney World reopened in a limited capacity, enforcing 100% mask wearing. There are screenings for temperature. Plus some amount of social distancing makes this successful. There have been no reported outbreaks from cast or guest related to park going.
4. Yesterday, I was reading about a school district in the northeast that reopened. They are enforcing masks, and social distancing as much they can. But they have had some outbreaks. The upshot, though, is that they are rigorous about contact tracing and knowing how the outbreak started. And what did they find? Every outbreak was linked to sports or some situation where students gathered together after school hours - and nearly every case, they weren't wearing masks when around others.
Theres also a reminder that basketball bubble worked in the late summer because they isolated the entire NBA and played through the season. They even used some custom monitoring devices to learn something about possible spreads. Because everyone in direct contact was inside the bubble had been tested and anyone near the bubble wore masks, they avoided a spread. Sure, a bubble is mostly impractical in the real world. But we *learned* something from it that we can apply if we so choose. (The bubble was at disney world, so surely part of disneys success is based on learning).
Anyway the key is to try things to figure this out; to learn along the way. To in many cases let the money guide you. These are all industries where $$ are at stake, so they are finding a way.
Some smarts, maybe a little tech, some government investment, and a mask mandate would speed all of this up.
And for Pete's sake, take it seriously!
And in the meantime: wear a mask people!
Sunday, November 15, 2020
In case you wondered about this “hoax”
Should we be concerned (hint: the answer is yes!)
Maybe it’s just me, but...
I find it kind of amusing that team Trump is replacing key positions in government with "loyalists"
Look, it's concerning in many ways that he's replacing key people, as though he's preparing to stage a coupe of sorts.
But it's the term they're using that amuses me. The term Loyalist comes from the revolutionary war. At the time, people still loyal to the British monarchy ("the crown" in common terms) were referred to as loyalists.
The term has evolved a little and generically means loyal to the ruling party. But here, in our form of government, which specifically fought against the British, the term still resonates.
Especially when the person in power throws it around as though he's a wanna-be king.
And BTW, about 30% of the population around the time of the revolution were loyalists. Much as about 30% of our population is all-in on maga.
And guess what? 240 years ago, the loyalists lost and we grew as a nation.
This chapter is still being written....
Look, it's concerning in many ways that he's replacing key people, as though he's preparing to stage a coupe of sorts.
But it's the term they're using that amuses me. The term Loyalist comes from the revolutionary war. At the time, people still loyal to the British monarchy ("the crown" in common terms) were referred to as loyalists.
The term has evolved a little and generically means loyal to the ruling party. But here, in our form of government, which specifically fought against the British, the term still resonates.
Especially when the person in power throws it around as though he's a wanna-be king.
And BTW, about 30% of the population around the time of the revolution were loyalists. Much as about 30% of our population is all-in on maga.
And guess what? 240 years ago, the loyalists lost and we grew as a nation.
This chapter is still being written....
Thursday, November 12, 2020
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