2021 archive
The Influx 0
There’s no more room at hospital morgues in central Florida, so the hospitals are renting refrigerated trucks.
Meanwhile, Florida Man thinks that President Biden should do as he does . . . .
The stupid.
It burns.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Expose your children to politeness at an early age.
(snip)
Investigators believe the shooting was accidental and do not suspect foul play, authorities said Wednesday. Sheriff John Ballance said the gun involved in the incident had been left at the end of a bed, within the boy’s reach, according to KSLA.
One more time, “accidental” and “negligent” are not synonyms.
The Republican Alternative Reality 0
Seth reminds us that those who are now complaining about the events in Afghanistan are the same persons who made the war, then lied about its progress for two decades.
Afterthought:
I think blogger Vixen Strangely may be onto something.
The full post is at the link.
Vaccine Nation 0
The Charlotte Observer’s Barry Saunders is not happy that he won’t get to see the movie Aretha in the theatre because of pandemic surge fueled by the unvaccinated. Here’s a bit of his rant (emphasis in the original):
Hate to break it to you, homes, but they already know where you are. I knew that even before my recent $15 Reuben episode. That point was driven home three years ago, when one of my writing class students told of a cellphone conversation she’d had with her boyfriend. He’d invited her to a wedding and she told him she would need to buy a dress. Within minutes and for the next several days, she said, she found her phone deluged with ads for wedding dresses and dresses to wear to weddings.
Happy Birthday to Me 0
This blog celebrates its 16th birthday today.
Who woulda thunk?
I started it because someone in one of my training classes (I was training technicians in how to use and maintain my employer’s software at the time) told me I could self-host my website using Linux. As I had a spare computer lying around, thanks to a coworker, I installed Slackware v. 10.x quite by accident (whatever Linux I tried to install first didn’t work) and, after four months, got Apache working and brought the site online with the help of noip.com.
The blog, frankly, was an afterthought. I did it because I could, not because I had a burning desire to blog.
I haven’t self-hosted for more than a decade, the other parts of my old website are long out of date and have been removed from the site, but the blog lives on.
Every time I think of abandoning this–I guess you could all it–avocation, something comes along to re-ignite my outrage at our society of stupid.
Missing the Point 0
Michael in Norfolk delivers himself of an epic rant about how our media is missing the point. A tidbit:
Click the link for the rest.
Maskless Marauders, Data Driven Drivel Dept.
0
In the Des Moines Register, a parent pens a letter to her governor, who has claimed that he hasn’t seen data that masks help protect against COVID-19. A snippet:
Governor, no one is hiding data from you. The data showing masks in schools help reduce COVID-19 transmission is clear and it is not under lock and key. If you need hard copies on your desk, I volunteer to hand-deliver them to you.
She then proceeds to deliver a downpour of said data.
Give it a read.
They Can’t Won’t Handle the Truth
0
Charles M. Blow takes a critical look at the who-shot-john over critical race theory in elementary and secondary schools, where, remember, it is not taught (emphasis added):
Follow the link for the complete piece.
The Truth Is All Around Us 0
In a powerful piece at The Roanoke Times, Mike Ellerbrock recalls the moment when he realized how deeply racism is embedded in American culture and society. At the time, he was on a search committee for a new affirmative action officer at his university.
She said, “I did, too, and guess what? After I called my eight American colleagues, I realized that I called all eight white people! I feel terrible, but that’s who I know.”
I shamefully responded, “Oh my gosh, I did, too! That’s who I went to grad school with, that’s who I’ve kept up with for years.”
It was a sobering moment: the system is unbalanced and self-perpetuating.
Follow the link for his discussion on where that realization led him.
Vaccine Nation 0
Paul Rupert is currently undergoing regular dialysis while awaiting a kidney transplant; his brother has committed to donating a kidney, but he worries that hospital space won’t be available, as hospitals fill with anti-vaxxer COVID patients. Indeed, he is quite fed up. An excerpt (emphasis in the original).
Any euphoria proved short-lived. In a matter of weeks, delta rampaged, along with “vaccine hesitancy” and spiking hospitalizations and deaths. Soon ICU beds filled up and the talk began of postponing “elective surgeries” — as if a transplant were a tummy tuck.
If the rest of us are required to go willingly or unwillingly through protective steps for routine hospital visits, admission for COVID treatment should meet the same standard. Simply put, it is time to declare: No vaccination, no hospitalization. Except for those too young to get shots, the adults among us should show the courage of our convictions, make our choices and live — or die — with them.
Denial Is Not Just a River in Egypt 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Dr. Austin Ratner argues that it’s a major factor in our society’s bumbled response to COVID-19. A nugget (emphasis in the original):
That is denial.