“When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead…” -- White Rabbit, Jefferson Airplane

 

Photo by Alex Motoc on Unsplash

Republicans have lost it.

If you remember the Cold War, you’ll be familiar with the expression “Better dead than red.” Now we have something just as stupid to replace it with: Better dead than blue.

What’s left of the Republican party (which is fortunately dwindling) is so committed to making Democrats wrong, they are willing to toss science, logic, and common sense out the window. Pundits have long puzzled over what would make an electorate vote against their own self-interests, and now we know: When the desire to be right and to prove another wrong is the only thing that matters.

Republicans are still refusing to get the vaccine and none of the arguments for that position make any sense. The longer this resistance lasts, the more illogical their thinking becomes.

They’ll promote treatments but rail against anyone who suggests they get the vaccine.

The vaccine is free and monoclonal antibody treatments are about $2k a pop. Not to mention the price of the hospital visit. Insurers are no longer waiving deductibles and covering Covid treatments like they did before the vaccine was available. Why advocate paying for treatment when you can eliminate the threat for free?

For months those hostile to the vaccine said that they wouldn’t take it because it wasn’t fully approved.

Well, now the Pfizer vaccine has been fully approved, and they still won’t get the shot—but they’re lining up for monoclonal antibody treatment which is still being administered under an “emergency use” authorization.

Republicans are also pushing Ivermectin (a horse de-wormer) and Hydroxychloroquine, neither of which have been approved by the FDA for Covid treatment.

Republicans just don’t trust the vaccine.

But didn’t the Trump administration develop the vaccine? So, Republicans don’t trust it because…the Biden administration is distributing it?

Do they think a Democrat opens every vial and contaminates it before it gets to patients? Or do they believe that since people died under Trump they need to die under Biden too or else it will make Trump look bad? Newsflash: Trump already looks bad. If you’re worried that fewer deaths on Biden’s watch will make Biden look like a better president, well, Biden IS a better president.

Covid isn’t real. People aren’t really dying. It’s a hoax.

Hmm. Then why do they need monoclonal antibodies, horse de-wormer or hydroxychloroquine to treat it?

Masks infringe on their freedom.

Republicans are fully committed to their right to die and to take others down with them. (They think they have that right, but they really don’t. If they did, there would be no law against murder or driving drunk or yelling “fire” in a crowded theater.)

Vaccine mandates are about control, not health and safety.

Yet, Republicans don’t seem to have trouble with other vaccines. One of the highest rates of Covid in the country is in Mississippi—a state with the most stringent vaccine mandates in the country for school kids. The governor of that state is now calling Biden’s vaccine mandate “An attack on hard-working Americans.”

He says Biden is asking them to choose between a jab and a job. Well, when you put it that way, I guess we should all give up employment so we don’t have to get a shot. Heck, we should give up travel too. I seem to recall needing a yellow fever vaccine years ago before a planned trip to Africa. Damn! If I’d know it was really an attack on me, and it was all about taking away my freedom, I’d have thought twice about that trip.

But today, I heard the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard from a Republican.

Biden only implemented a vaccine mandate because he knows that as soon as he tells people to get it, Republicans will refuse and more of them will die.

It’s all a game, you see. A big fat mind-fuck perpetrated by Biden. Isn’t it obvious? Think about it. Biden is trying to wipe out Republicans so Democrats can take over the country.

Of course, for this to be true, the following would also need to be true:

·       Biden knew if he mandated the vaccine, Republicans would automatically refuse.

·       Biden is relying on this refusal to ensure the virus continues to spread.

·       If the virus spreads, it will kill Republicans because everybody else is vaccinated.

Someone in the Republican party is pushing this trifecta of idiocy because it’s just too far-fetched to believe that Biden wants to save lives by getting more people vaccinated.

That killer, Biden. You can’t believe anything he says. Next thing he’ll be pushing vaccines on kids!

Ah, yes, well that’s exactly what’s next. Pfizer has just confirmed the safety and efficacy of a one-third dose vaccine for children ages 5 to 12. Biden must want them dead too.

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There is only one reason for all this nonsense, and it has nothing to do with the vaccine or freedom. Republicans backed a crazy man. To deny that reality, they must deny all reality. The only way they can hang onto their misguided belief that Trump is their savior, is to insist that everyone else is evil.

If the truth comes out, they will all go down in history as fools who believed the crazy man’s lies and let a psychopath into the White House.

I guess we should have realized they’d take this approach with the vaccine. They showed us on January 6^th, they’d rather hang Mike Pence and shoot Nancy Pelosi than admit Trump’s a loser. At this point, nothing should surprise us.

Covid Rant

 

Yesterday, a bunch of Senators announced that they have Covid. All were vaccinated. It was announced by several news organizations, yet none of the commentators bothered to point out that the only reason we know they have Covid is, unlike the rest of us, they get tested constantly.

None are sick, and none are expected to get sick, yet now that this has been announced it’s just providing additional ammunition for vaccine deniers to use when they say “See, vaccines don’t work.”

Would someone please tell these people that vaccines don’t stop Covid from getting into your nose or mouth. How could they? A vaccine doesn’t erect a wall between you and the Covid infected person who might be breathing on you. That’s what the mask is for. This tells us one thing and one thing only: The senators in question have probably not been diligent about wearing masks. And that’s okay because they’ve been vaccinated. But can we please stop confusing what a mask does with what a vaccine does?

Masks prevent the spread; vaccines prevent the dead. Is that easy enough for everybody?

I expected more of Nicolle Wallace and Rachel Maddow. But they’ve done nothing to clarify this issue. Instead, like all the other folks who don’t seem to understand how this works, they’re saying it’s because the new Delta variant is so much more contagious. Maybe. But maybe not. Maybe just not wearing a mask would have been enough to get plain old original Covid-19, too. But we have no way of knowing because most vaccinated people who don’t wear masks are not getting tested.

For all I know, I have Covid! I’m not getting tested because I have no reason to. I have no kids who are unvaccinated, so I’m not putting anyone at risk, and I never leave my apartment because now that I committed to writing every day, I don’t have time to go anywhere.

The point is the failure to be clear about specifics is part of the reason people are still so confused. And confused people make stupid decisions. So, let’s stop confusing them!

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And another thing: a mask that droops below your nose can’t protect you. Unless you are a mouth-breather who never lets a breath enter your nose, you’re wasting the mask by letting it drop down your face. Why do I see this everywhere I go? I’m guessing it’s because people are too lazy to take it off when they don’t need it, so they pull it down under their chins while leaving the elastic straps over their ears. This causes the elastic to S-T-R-E-T-C-H and then it no longer stays secure. How can anybody not know this?

Here’s an idea: take it off and put the straps around your wrist when you are not wearing it. Unless your wrist is the size of King Kong’s, it won’t stretch out and you won’t forget where you put it. We’re talking about potentially life-saving measures here. Is this really too much to ask?

I’d say something directly to the people I see doing this but I’m afraid one of them might decide to kill me. I’m serious. People have been murdered for asking others to wear masks. I can only imagine what fate might await me if I corrected a stranger’s mask etiquette.

Admittedly, I’m cranky right now. But I’ve been fired up about this ever since I saw Nancy Pelosi tugging away at a crooked mask while standing at a podium pontificating about the threat the virus presented. “Great example, Nancy” was what I yelled at the TV. Thankfully, she’s learned to store it around her neck rather than pull it down over her chin, so recently I’ve found other things to focus on. Like yelling at Nicolle Wallace and Rachel Maddow.

TGIF – this is my last blog for the week. I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted.

 

Do parents have the right to risk the lives of their children?

 

In late July of this year, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued an Executive Order protecting the rights of parents to choose whether to require their children to wear masks to school. But what about the rights of their children?

According to the Declaration of Independence, we all have the inalienable right to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” How do we guarantee the right to life if we allow parents to risk their children’s lives by sending them to school, unvaccinated and unmasked?

The latest reports show this Delta variant is both more contagious and potentially more deadly than the original Covid-19. Without the ability to vaccinate children under 12, parents who send their kids to school unmasked are risking their children’s lives. Does a parent have the right to do that? I would argue the answer to that question is an emphatic, “No.”

When Governor DeSantis prioritizes the rights of parents over the safety of their children, he is promoting child abuse. This is according to U.S. law and the 2020 Statues in his home state of Florida, where child abuse is defined as “…An intentional act that could reasonably be expected to result in physical or mental injury to a child; or active encouragement of any person to commit an act that results or could reasonably be expected to result in physical or mental injury to a child.”

The Florida statute goes on to say that “…neglect of a child may be based on repeated conduct or on a single incident or omission that results in, or could reasonably be expected to result in, serious physical or mental injury, or a substantial risk of death (italics, mine), to a child.”

Ron DeSantis’ decision to ban mask mandates and most recently, to punish school officials by withholding pay from any who attempt to implement them, clearly violates the statutes against child abuse/neglect in his own state. The offenses corresponding to child abuse and child neglect are both felonies per the above referenced Florida 2020 Statutes.

DeSantis may just have just ended his political career with his latest move, given that Florida law deprives convicted felons of the right to vote, serve on a jury, or hold public office. In fact, if parents in Florida decide to press charges against DeSantis, and he is convicted, he could lose his Governorship.

DeSantis may have his eye on the White House, but if there is any justice, he’ll be tried and found guilty of both child abuse and child neglect. After that, the only job he may be qualified for in Florida is used car salesman—which sounds about right.

(As of this writing, Florida’s death toll now exceeds DeSantis’ margin of victory.)

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A convicted felon may run for President. The Constitution does not prevent that. If there was ever a time for a quick Constitutional Amendment, this would be it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Covid for Dummies

I worked in biotech for over a decade. Like most industries the jargon is heavy duty. Unlike many industries, the jargon is necessary. It’s the language of science—it consists of words the rest of us don’t know because scientists discuss things the rest of us never discuss—or even need to understand—until now.

Here’s what I’ve learned, in the jargon-free language of the non-scientist.

·       Virus

A virus is a tiny living thing so small it may not even be visible using a microscope. This is how they can be airborne—think of a bunch of weightless teeny tiny particles that can fly up your nose or be breathed into your mouth and lungs without you feeling a thing.

A virus survives by moving into another living being and making copies of itself. Those copies take up space inside the body of the person, animal, or plant the virus has moved into.

Fun fact: You know when you have a cut on your arm that’s red and swollen and a little sore? That’s from a bacterial infection, most likely. Some viruses even live inside bacteria.

·       Covid-19

Covid-19 is a virus that does all kinds of funky things to people who get it. You can get it from breathing air that someone who has Covid has breathed out. This is true even if the person who is breathing Covid on you doesn’t know they have it.

Covid-19 is new, so we know it does a lot of different things to different people, but we don’t really understand it very well. Mostly, but not only, it hurts people’s lungs and hearts…which can kill them.

People who are older and already sick get hurt most—but some young people who aren’t sick and don’t have any of the “underlying conditions” scientists talk about have still become very sick from Covid-19.

There is no way to know if you or someone you love will die from Covid-19.

·       Covid treatments

Some people say you just need to get treatment for Covid and don’t need the vaccine. But so far no one who has had Covid has said that. Only people who haven’t had it and haven’t lost someone to Covid say that. That should tell you that they don’t really know what they’re talking about. *

If treatments worked, why have over 600,000 Americans died of Covid-19 already?

·       Delta Variant

There is a new stronger version of Covid-19 called the Delta variant. It started as Covid-19, but it changed to be even more easily spread and more likely to kill people. How did this happen?

Well, a virus can change (mutate) when people spread it because it has more chances to adapt to different people.

Viruses adapt very fast; way faster than people do. That’s why the Delta variant spreads so much more easily than the old Covid-19. Virus can get in your nose and mouth even if you have been vaccinated. If you have been vaccinated, the vaccine will protect you, so you don’t die. The problem is that it won’t protect people who are not yet vaccinated.

That is why you should protect yourself and the ones you love, so the chances of getting Covid are as small as possible. There are only two ways to do that: wear a mask and get vaccinated. Why do you need to do both? Because they protect in different ways.

·       Masks

Masks reduce the spread of Covid-19 by reducing the amount of the virus that leaves the mask wearer’s face. This helps to prevent the spread of Covid to someone else.

You might think that if you’ve been vaccinated you can’t spread it—but that’s not true. If you have been vaccinated and the virus doesn’t make you sick, but you get some in your nose and mouth, you can still spread it. If you spread it to someone who isn’t vaccinated, it could kill them.

If you don’t want to kill people, wear a mask!

·       Vaccines

Vaccines are usually shots, like the shots you get to keep you from getting measles. Vaccines used to take a really long time to invent, but the scientists who make them now have been able to use ideas they came up with years ago to make things much faster.

Almost nobody who has been vaccinated dies of Covid—even the stronger, Delta variant.

The vaccine is also much, much safer than risking Covid. Only three Americans have died as a result of receiving the Covid vaccine, and over 187 million have been fully vaccinated.

·       Breakthrough Infections

If you’re concerned about “breakthrough infections,” you probably know that’s when someone who is vaccinated tests positive for Covid. Some people say that’s proof the vaccine doesn’t work. No, it’s not!

Vaccines can’t prevent particles from entering your nose and mouth when you breathe. Only a mask can do that. What a vaccine can do is stop the virus from making copies of itself, which prevents you from getting so sick that you end up in the hospital, or dead.

No vaccine of any kind has ever prevented people from being exposed to disease—vaccines just give you a weapon (what scientists call “antibodies”) to prevent the virus from copying itself so many times that it fills up your lungs and kills you because there’s no room for air in there.

Summary:

It’s over a thousand times safer to get the vaccine than to risk dying of Covid. The only time you don’t need to wear a mask is when you are alone or with others who have all been vaccinated.

If you want to live and protect the ones you love, get vaccinated, and wear a mask any time you are around other people unless you know for sure that they have been vaccinated.

If you don’t get vaccinated you could get Covid and die. If you are vaccinated but you don’t wear a mask when you are around other people you could help the virus spread. If it keeps spreading, it will keep adapting. If it keeps adapting, at some point there will be nothing we do can stop it—and we could all die.

The way to prevent that is to wear masks and get vaccinated. This way we kill can kill Covid-19 instead of Covid-19 killing us.

* Since this was published, monoclonal antibodies have become a successful treatment for those who contract Covid. This is the one of the treatments Trump received. It is no longer expensive (the cost is now covered by the government) and instead of putting it directly into a vein (IV or intravenous) they can now put it in a syringe and deliver it under the skin (subcutaneous administration). If you are not fully vaccinated (meaning, you have had one of two vaccine shots, or you’ve not been vaccinated at all) you should be able to get this treatment. It works! So please, if you do get infected, ask for it.