1/ Andrew Sullivan with a must read column......the first part is a powerful analysis of Trump and the second is
something you can do immediately - take vitamin D.....
Photo: Getty Images
It’s perfectly clear by now that the United States does not have a functioning president or administration. It also seems clear that this does not matter to a sizable chunk of the population. They just don’t care — even when it could lead them to lose their lives and their livelihoods. A year ago precisely, Trump’s approval rating was, in FiveThirtyEight’s poll of polls, 53.8 percent disapprove, 41.1 percent approve. This week, the spread was 53.1 percent disapprove and 43 percent approve. Almost identical. None of the events of the last year — impeachment, plague, economic collapse — have had anything but a trivial impact on public opinion.
2/ This is the plan folks....open the economy, and let the dead fall where they may. Republicans really, really don't care about the elderly, sick, prisoners, the poor forced to work in terrible conditions and especially immigrants. This is from the Party of every fetus is sacred and abortion is a sin.....
President Donald Trump launched headlong into his push to reopen the country on Tuesday, saying Americans should begin returning to their everyday lives even if it leads to more sickness and death from the pandemic.
Trump, speaking in Phoenix during his first trip outside Washington in more than a month, said he’s preparing for “phase two” of the U.S. response to the coronavirus. That will include disbanding the White House task force of public health experts, including Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, that have steered the government response to the outbreak so far.
3/ A genuine photo from Dr. Fauci
4/ Over 65? Are you feeling it yet from younger people? Resentment, I mean....
Interesting story from Rolling Stone about how anyone over 65 is lumped together in a "High Risk" category regardless of your actual health, and certainly in cases where choices had to be made [ventilators] about who to treat the older person was left to die.Yes that's extreme, but there may be an attitude coming that if you're over 80, you're expendable.
Thanks to advancements in medicine, skin care, and elective cosmetic treatments, our picture of aging has changed radically over the past several decades. More people are dyeing their hair when it turns gray, and we now have a better understanding of the impact of exercise and nutrition on both physical appearance and longevity than ever before. Between 1959 and 2014, life expectancy in the U.S. rose from 69.9 years to 78.9 years (though it has since plateaued and decreased slightly). In other words, being 70 in 2020 looks and feels a lot different than being the same age even just one generation ago.
And then came COVID-19. All of a sudden, people aged 65 and older were collectively labeled as “high risk” — regardless of their actual health status — and instructed to stay home and take extra precautions.
5/ Completely fascinating look at the creatures of the sea by depth....very well done....
6/ Paul Krugman with an excellent column - "Die For The Dow"....
In mid-March, after weeks in denial, Donald Trump finally admitted that Covid-19 was a serious threat and called on Americans to practice social distancing.
The delayed acknowledgment of reality — reportedly driven by concerns that admitting that the coronavirus posed a threat would hurt the stock market — had deadly consequences. Epidemiological modelers believe that tens of thousands of deaths might have been avoided if America had started lockdowns even a week earlier.
7/ Ad from the Lincoln Project about Brad Pasquale, Trump's campaign manager....I think this one is designed to get under the madman's skin
by saying he's stealing from his campaign funds....or he's as rich as Trump...or whatever....
8/ Good article from Raw Story about Kushnerville, housing complexes owned by the son-in-law
Jared Kushner....what evil bastards they are.....
But the pandemic has now thrust Kushnerville, which consists of nine complexes in inner-suburban Baltimore County, some with as many as 1,000 units each, into unfamiliar territory. For years, tenants have learned to dread the aggressive tactics of their landlord: late-payment notices and court summons slapped on their doors, late fees and “court costs” and attorney fees added to bills, and, in some cases, even threats of jail time. Disclosure of those tactics led to a class-action lawsuit and a lawsuit by the state attorney general. The Kushner entities have denied wrongdoing.
9/ Trump's health plan....
10/ A persuasive story from the Times on how our obsession with meat is destroying the planet.....lots of good points in this one...
Is any panic more primitive than the one prompted by the thought of empty grocery store shelves? Is any relief more primitive than the one provided by comfort food?
Most everyone has been doing more cooking these days, more documenting of the cooking, and more thinking about food in general. The combination of meat shortages and President Trump’s decision to order slaughterhouses open despite the protestations of endangered workers has inspired many Americans to consider just how essential meat is.
11/ John Oliver explains why sports might take a while to come back... 21 minutes of excellent comedic reporting....
Very informative....
12/ The Snake....a clever video of Trump reciting his favorite poem with cuts away to his BS....two minutes....
13/ Not my favorite columnist, but this is a good one from Thomas Friedman....
Trump is challenging Mother Nature to a duel! Guess who'll win?
On Easter, as the coronavirus was rapidly spreading, NPR’s “Weekend All Things Considered” carried excerpts from sermons from across the country. I was particularly touched by the way Presiding Bishop Michael Curry ended his talk at Washington National Cathedral, singing, “He’s got the whole world in his hands, he’s got the whole world in his hands. …”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/0
14/ 60 Minutes did an interview with Dr. Rick Bright, former head of Virus response and now a whistleblower.
This of course drew multiple rage-tweets from the sociopath....Thirteen good minutes....
15/ Thoughtful story about how this crisis will cause the birth rate to plummet further....
Lita Danlag, 29, an ICU nurse from Fort Walton Beach, Florida, had spent more than a year trying to get pregnant. In the winter of 2019, she and her husband suffered a devastating blow when they lost a pregnancy, but they continued trying to the point that it became a singular focus, buying a fertility-tracking smart bracelet to raise the odds.
Then the coronavirus pandemic hit, and everything changed. In the absence of reliable data about how the virus affects newborns, Danlag grew concerned about the prospect of conceiving during the pandemic, and she knew her risk of exposure was high due to her line of work.
Todays video - an interesting 90 second commercial that will make you think a little.....don't judge by appearances!
Todays lovely story.....very nice.....
Gate A-4 By Naomi Shihab Nye:
Wandering around the Albuquerque Airport Terminal, after learning my flight had been delayed four hours, I heard an announcement: “If anyone in the vicinity of Gate A-4 understands any Arabic, please come to the gate immediately.” Well— one pauses these days. Gate A-4 was my own gate. I went there.
An older woman in full traditional Palestinian embroidered dress, just like my grandma wore, was crumpled to the floor, wailing. “Help,” said the flight agent. “Talk to her . What is her problem? We told her the flight was going to be late and she did this.”
I stooped to put my arm around the woman and spoke haltingly. “Shu-dow-a, shu-bid-uck, habibti? Stani schway, min fadlick, shu-bit-se-wee?” The minute she heard any words she knew, however poorly used, she stopped crying. She thought the flight had been cancelled entirely. She needed to be in El Paso for major medical treatment the next day. I said, “No, we’re fine, you’ll get there, just late, who is picking you up? Let’s call him.”
We called her son, I spoke with him in English. I told him I would stay with his mother till we got on the plane. She talked to him. Then we called her other sons just for the fun of it. Then we called my dad and he and she spoke for a while in Arabic and found out of course they had ten shared friends. Then I thought just for the heck of it why not call some Palestinian poets I know and let them chat with her? This all took up two hours.
She was laughing a lot by then. Telling about her life, patting my knee, answering questions. She had pulled a sack of homemade mamool cookies— little powdered sugar crumbly mounds stuffed with dates and nuts— from her bag and was offering them to all the women at the gate. To my amazement, not a single traveler declined one. It was like a sacrament. The traveler from Argentina, the mom from California, the lovely woman from Laredo— we were all covered with the same powdered sugar. And smiling. There is no better cookie.
Then the airline broke out free apple juice and two little girls from our flight ran around serving it and they were covered with powdered sugar too. And I noticed my new best friend— by now we were holding hands— had a potted plant poking out of her bag, some medicinal thing, with green furry leaves. Such an old country traveling tradition. Always carry a plant. Always stay rooted to somewhere.
And I looked around that gate of late and weary ones and thought, This is the world I want to live in. The shared world. Not a single person in that gate— once the crying of confusion stopped— seemed apprehensive about any other person. They took the cookies. I wanted to hug all those other women too.
This can still happen anywhere. Not everything is lost.
Todays Stephen Wright jokes
Don't get too excited, but today is the deadpan comedian's 59th birthday.
1. It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it.
2. I almost broke both my arms trying to hold open a revolving door for a woman.
3. I got a new dog. He’s a paranoid retriever. He brings back everything because he’s not sure what I threw him.
4. Every morning I get up and make instant coffee and I drink it so I have the energy to make real coffee.
5. Woke up this morning and folded my bed back into a couch. Almost broke both my arms cause it’s not that kind of bed.
6. I’m going to get a tattoo over my whole body of me but taller.
7. I went to a tourist information booth and said "tell me about some people who were here last year."
8. I’ve been getting into astronomy so I installed a skylight. The people who live above me are furious.
9. Why is it a penny for your thoughts but you have to put your two cents in? Somebody’s making a penny.
10. I broke a mirror in my house and I’m supposed to get seven years bad luck, but my lawyer thinks he can get me five.
11. When I get real real bored I like to drive downtown and get a great parking spot then sit in my car and count how many people ask me if I’m leaving.
12. I spilled spot remover on my dog and now he’s gone.
13. I’m writing a book. I have the page numbers done; now I just have to fill in the rest.
14. When we were driving over the border back into the United States, they asked me if I had any firearms. I said what do you need?
15. I've written several children's books ... Not on purpose.
16. I called the wrong number today. I said “Hello, is Joey there?” A woman answered and she said “yes he is.” And I said ‘can I speak to him please?’ She said ‘no, he can’t talk right now, he’s only two months old.” I said “alright, I’ll wait.”
17. I went to a place to eat. It said "breakfast at any time." So I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance.
18. We lived in a house that ran on static electricity. If we wanted to cook something, we had to take a sweater off real quick. If we wanted to run a blender we had to rub balloons on our heads.
19. I stayed up one night playing poker with Tarot cards. I got a full house and four people died.
20. I was Caesarean born. Can’t really tell, although whenever I leave a house I go through the window.
Todays positive thinking joke
Late in the night, he finally regained consciousness.
He was in the hospital, in terrible pain.
He found himself in the ICU with tubes in his mouth, needles and IV drips in
both arms, a breathing mask, wires monitoring every function, and a nurse
hovering over him. He realized that he was obviously in a life-threatening
situation.
both arms, a breathing mask, wires monitoring every function, and a nurse
hovering over him. He realized that he was obviously in a life-threatening
situation.
The nurse gave him a serious, deep look, straight into his eyes, then spoke
to him slowly and clearly, enunciating each word and syllable, "You may not
feel anything from the waist down."
to him slowly and clearly, enunciating each word and syllable, "You may not
feel anything from the waist down."
Somehow he managed to mumble in reply, "Can I feel your boobs, then?"
AND THAT, MY FRIEND, IS A POSITIVE ATTITUDE!!!
Todays one liners
When one door closes and another door opens, you are probably in prison.
To me, “drink responsibly” means don’t spill it.
When I say, “The other day,” I could be referring to any time between yesterday and 15 years ago.
Interviewer: “So, tell me about yourself.”
Me: “I’d rather not. I kinda want this job.”
Me: “I’d rather not. I kinda want this job.”
Cop: “Please step out of the car.”
Me: “I’m too drunk. You get in.”
Me: “I’m too drunk. You get in.”
I had my patience tested. I’m negative.
If you’re sitting in public and a stranger takes the seat next to you, just stare straight ahead and say “Did you bring the money?”
When you ask me what I am doing today, and I say “nothing,” it does not mean I am free. It means I am doing nothing.
Age 60 might be the new 40, but 9:00 is new midnight.
I finally got eight hours of sleep. It took me three days, but whatever.
I run like the winded.
I hate when a couple argues in public, and I missed the beginning and don’t know whose side I’m on.
When someone asks what I did over the weekend, I squint and ask, “Why, what did you hear?”
I don’t remember much from last night, but the fact that I needed sunglasses to open the fridge this morning tells me it was awesome.
When you do squats, are your knees supposed to sound like a goat chewing on an aluminum can stuffed with celery?
I don’t mean to interrupt people. I just randomly remember things and get really excited.
When I ask for directions, please don’t use words like “east.”
It’s the start of a brand new day, and I’m off like a herd of turtles.
Don’t bother walking a mile in my shoes. That would be boring. Spend 30 seconds in my head. That’ll freak you right out.
That moment when you walk into a spider web suddenly turns you into a karate master.
S
S
ometimes, someone unexpected comes into your life outta nowhere, makes your heart race, and changes you forever. We call those people cops.
The older I get, the earlier it gets late.
My luck is like a bald guy who just won a comb
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