Keeping the bad days at bay ...
May. 28th, 2020 10:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatWhile reading an interview with the editor of the X-men comics, the editor stated that he had been listening to all of R.E.M. And this song stuck at for him...a song he'd heard before, but never quite listened to.
It's Been a Bad Day by REM
New York vs. the Corona Virus (and the Federal Government and the idiots who don't want to wear masks)
I got to give New York credit - it's a tough little state. And of the states in which I've lived, it's the only one that feels like home. I understand its no-nonsense, in your face, tell you like it is, aggressive attitude, while at the same time avoiding conflict at all costs and being insanely kind to strangers. It's a state filled with a diverse group of people who all chose to find a way to live harmoniously, for the most part, together. I have a love/hate relationship with it - but this crisis has, if anything, renewed my love for the state. It is my state. I chose to live here. I moved here on my own. No one moved me here. The only other state I chose to live in may have been Colorado - and I loved that one too, just not quite as much as New York. I Heart New York. My tough little state. It's been bloodied and bruised but it keeps getting up and fighting.
In an effort to convince people to wear masks, Governor Cuomo has now enlisted the services of Chris Rock and Rosie Perez - to speak to the Brooklyn Community. Rock was quite informative - stating that about 40% of the people wore the masks in these communities and it was mostly the kids (meaning the millenials and twenty-somethings, on down, that didn't because they didn't think it was cool). This in part, Cuomo admitted, was the fault of misinformation coming down from the CDC and WHO, who had initially thought the virus didn't really affect the young. This is completely wrong, or we've discovered. The reason it didn't affect or kill as many people under the age of 50 in China is because most of the Chinese population is OVER fifty. These little details kind of matter in regards to statistical analysis. Numbers may not lie but they can be misinterpreted.
Rock also praised Cuomo - basically stating what I've been stating - the man is keeping me calm. Everyone else scares the hell out of me, but not Cuomo.
Rock also stated something worth repeating - and that is very important - "I thought I was living in the United States of America - that this was my country. I didn't realize that I was in living in one country within fifty different countries, all doing their own thing. And I just happen to be living in the country of New York at the moment." That's important. That's what we've seen. That's what has been shown to the world. There is NO United States of America - that doesn't exist. What we have is fifty nation states all fending on their own, all fighting each other for supplies. And governors trying to build coalitions to reopen and protect their citizens.
No federal government support at all.
And what's really aggravating, is people don't appear to understand basic economics. Socialism by the way is when a government funds private businesses and gives money to private business and corporations. When it bails out corporations = socialism. When it bails out banks = socialism. Capitalism is when you let the corporations and businesses fail or survive on their own. Neither work if you do not fund infrastructure - and provide basic needs - like healthcare/hospitals, housing, police, firemen, emergency services, water, transportation, education, training, environmental regulation, ports, airports, roads, bridges, tunnels, waterways, military, and people who can put in place an organizational structure and laws to govern. Otherwise you have chaos. And no, we can't trust individuals to govern themselves - people, let's face it, when left to their own devices, are kind of dumb. Actually, people are really dumb because they can't figure out any of the above on their own. Honestly - it's not rocket science, folks. It's common sense. If people would just get over themselves for ten seconds, they'd get it.
The US federal government (specifically the Republicans) are stupid. They keep spending billions in stimulous packages, but can't figure out why the US has the highest unemployment rate in the world. Hmm, let me think. What is Europe and China and other countries doing that we aren't? Oh that's right - funding their infrastructure and only giving enough to businesses to fund payroll with the caveat that the businesses do NOT lay people off.
What did the US do? It gave money to the big businesses as bank loans, without any caveats. ARRGH!
Our governor rants about this in detail on a daily basis. But people refuse to listen. Mainly because you can't bully people into listening to you. Hence the reason his daughters keep critiquing his communication skills. They are probably telling him he can't yell and rant at people and tell people they are wrong - they won't listen. People like to be stroked. And told how great they are. How smart they are. That they are right. And good. And cool. People are stupid egotistical assholes.
Eh. Back to Masks.
The Governor also, in an act of desperation, has... signed an Executive Order that permits store owners to deny entry to people who refuse to wear masks. Many stores have already implemented policies to this effect, and this order clarifies that they are within their rights to do so. People may choose to put themselves at risk but they don't have the right to jeopardize the health of others. And business owners need the authority to protect themselves and their customers. Widespread mask-wearing is an effective tool against Coronavirus, and I continue to remind all New Yorkers that the law requires each of us to wear a mask in public. New York is one family, and we all have to look out for each other.
Go New York. I'm betting if a store owner refused to service people who did wear masks, the Governor and Mayor would have him arrested and his store closed. The Governor keeps stating that we do not have the right to put each other at risk.
Oh he's not done..
New York State will distribute 1 million masks to NYC's hardest-hit neighborhoods today. The state has already distributed more than 8 million masks across New York City, including NYCHA developments, food banks, churches and homeless shelters. - See what I mean about the NY Governor pulling out all the stops on the mask thing? The idiot bar owner in Texas who said he wouldn't let people wearing a mask into his bar - would NOT get away with that in New York State. I'm not sure he'd be arrested, but he would be tarred and feathered verbally on television.
He's also still "test happy" - which is frigging confusing.
Chris Rock and Rosie Perez joined me in Brooklyn today to encourage New Yorkers to get tested. They also highlighted why wearing a mask in public is important for all of us. These iconic Brooklynites have signed on to help us get the word out to all: If you have symptoms, have had contact with a COVID-positive person or are an essential employee, get a test and find out if you have COVID-19. There are over 225 testing sites in NYC alone — find one near you here.
At least he clarified when you have to get a test. A Reporter asked him to clarify it - because people are confused. Do we all need to get a test or just a scant few of us? Apparently only those who have symptoms, or are an essential employee, work in retail establishment or in a capacity in which they are interfacing with the public. I just walk around Greenwood Cemetery, do laundry by myself in a basement, pick up packages, and get stuff from delivery people. My person to person contact is VERY limited. Also I don't tend to talk to anyone.
New York tested a record of 65,245 people yesterday. That is the most people we have tested in a single day since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Of those tested, only 1,768 were positive for COVID — great news compared to where we were just a few weeks ago.
Like, I said, above, TEST HAPPY! New York has gone insane regarding testing. I think they've out-tested China and South Korea - which is saying something. There is a VERY good reason why they went nuts with testing - what happened in March. We lost almost 30,000 people, 20,000 in New York City because we didn't know we had any cases until March. I will never as long as I live forget looking at the COVID MAPS of DOOM in Mid-February, watching Italy take off, and seeing both Washington and California have cases and wondering aloud at my desk - "Why doesn't New York have any cases? New York should have cases, this makes no sense." That's when I started washing my hands constantly, trying to get as much space as possible from people, not touching hard surfaces, and being very careful. It's also when I began to notice some people from the Air Train wearing masks.
Over the next few weeks, the Department of Environmental Conservation is hosting a virtual series called Adventure at Home, designed to help New Yorkers find ways to take advantage of outdoor recreational activities in their own communities. This week, Fish NY staff offered tips and tricks on how to get started fishing from anywhere in the state. State parks, trails and beaches remain open for safe and socially distanced walking, hiking, biking and more.
I've been using Greenwood Cemetery. I may try Prospect Park and just go further up. I can't travel anywhere further than that. If I can get a hold of a bike - I will. But it's not possible at the moment.
To spread the joy of art to children in shelters and foster care, Chelsea Phaire, a 10 year-old in Connecticut, has given away 1,500 art kits during the pandemic. Chelsea's philanthropy began last summer, when she asked her guests to bring art supplies instead of gifts to her birthday. She evenly distributed the crayons, markers, paper and colored pencils into 40 kits, which she hand-delivered to a NY homeless shelter. The kits have been sent to children in 12 states so far.
New York is giving me hope. I'm worried about my parents in South Carolina. They are venturing out for Doctors appointments and the bank. With their buffer masks. I'm concerned.
If anything happens to them - I'm blaming the idiotic family members who can sew and forgot to send them masks.
It's Been a Bad Day by REM
New York vs. the Corona Virus (and the Federal Government and the idiots who don't want to wear masks)
I got to give New York credit - it's a tough little state. And of the states in which I've lived, it's the only one that feels like home. I understand its no-nonsense, in your face, tell you like it is, aggressive attitude, while at the same time avoiding conflict at all costs and being insanely kind to strangers. It's a state filled with a diverse group of people who all chose to find a way to live harmoniously, for the most part, together. I have a love/hate relationship with it - but this crisis has, if anything, renewed my love for the state. It is my state. I chose to live here. I moved here on my own. No one moved me here. The only other state I chose to live in may have been Colorado - and I loved that one too, just not quite as much as New York. I Heart New York. My tough little state. It's been bloodied and bruised but it keeps getting up and fighting.
In an effort to convince people to wear masks, Governor Cuomo has now enlisted the services of Chris Rock and Rosie Perez - to speak to the Brooklyn Community. Rock was quite informative - stating that about 40% of the people wore the masks in these communities and it was mostly the kids (meaning the millenials and twenty-somethings, on down, that didn't because they didn't think it was cool). This in part, Cuomo admitted, was the fault of misinformation coming down from the CDC and WHO, who had initially thought the virus didn't really affect the young. This is completely wrong, or we've discovered. The reason it didn't affect or kill as many people under the age of 50 in China is because most of the Chinese population is OVER fifty. These little details kind of matter in regards to statistical analysis. Numbers may not lie but they can be misinterpreted.
Rock also praised Cuomo - basically stating what I've been stating - the man is keeping me calm. Everyone else scares the hell out of me, but not Cuomo.
Rock also stated something worth repeating - and that is very important - "I thought I was living in the United States of America - that this was my country. I didn't realize that I was in living in one country within fifty different countries, all doing their own thing. And I just happen to be living in the country of New York at the moment." That's important. That's what we've seen. That's what has been shown to the world. There is NO United States of America - that doesn't exist. What we have is fifty nation states all fending on their own, all fighting each other for supplies. And governors trying to build coalitions to reopen and protect their citizens.
No federal government support at all.
And what's really aggravating, is people don't appear to understand basic economics. Socialism by the way is when a government funds private businesses and gives money to private business and corporations. When it bails out corporations = socialism. When it bails out banks = socialism. Capitalism is when you let the corporations and businesses fail or survive on their own. Neither work if you do not fund infrastructure - and provide basic needs - like healthcare/hospitals, housing, police, firemen, emergency services, water, transportation, education, training, environmental regulation, ports, airports, roads, bridges, tunnels, waterways, military, and people who can put in place an organizational structure and laws to govern. Otherwise you have chaos. And no, we can't trust individuals to govern themselves - people, let's face it, when left to their own devices, are kind of dumb. Actually, people are really dumb because they can't figure out any of the above on their own. Honestly - it's not rocket science, folks. It's common sense. If people would just get over themselves for ten seconds, they'd get it.
The US federal government (specifically the Republicans) are stupid. They keep spending billions in stimulous packages, but can't figure out why the US has the highest unemployment rate in the world. Hmm, let me think. What is Europe and China and other countries doing that we aren't? Oh that's right - funding their infrastructure and only giving enough to businesses to fund payroll with the caveat that the businesses do NOT lay people off.
What did the US do? It gave money to the big businesses as bank loans, without any caveats. ARRGH!
Our governor rants about this in detail on a daily basis. But people refuse to listen. Mainly because you can't bully people into listening to you. Hence the reason his daughters keep critiquing his communication skills. They are probably telling him he can't yell and rant at people and tell people they are wrong - they won't listen. People like to be stroked. And told how great they are. How smart they are. That they are right. And good. And cool. People are stupid egotistical assholes.
Eh. Back to Masks.
The Governor also, in an act of desperation, has... signed an Executive Order that permits store owners to deny entry to people who refuse to wear masks. Many stores have already implemented policies to this effect, and this order clarifies that they are within their rights to do so. People may choose to put themselves at risk but they don't have the right to jeopardize the health of others. And business owners need the authority to protect themselves and their customers. Widespread mask-wearing is an effective tool against Coronavirus, and I continue to remind all New Yorkers that the law requires each of us to wear a mask in public. New York is one family, and we all have to look out for each other.
Go New York. I'm betting if a store owner refused to service people who did wear masks, the Governor and Mayor would have him arrested and his store closed. The Governor keeps stating that we do not have the right to put each other at risk.
Oh he's not done..
New York State will distribute 1 million masks to NYC's hardest-hit neighborhoods today. The state has already distributed more than 8 million masks across New York City, including NYCHA developments, food banks, churches and homeless shelters. - See what I mean about the NY Governor pulling out all the stops on the mask thing? The idiot bar owner in Texas who said he wouldn't let people wearing a mask into his bar - would NOT get away with that in New York State. I'm not sure he'd be arrested, but he would be tarred and feathered verbally on television.
He's also still "test happy" - which is frigging confusing.
Chris Rock and Rosie Perez joined me in Brooklyn today to encourage New Yorkers to get tested. They also highlighted why wearing a mask in public is important for all of us. These iconic Brooklynites have signed on to help us get the word out to all: If you have symptoms, have had contact with a COVID-positive person or are an essential employee, get a test and find out if you have COVID-19. There are over 225 testing sites in NYC alone — find one near you here.
At least he clarified when you have to get a test. A Reporter asked him to clarify it - because people are confused. Do we all need to get a test or just a scant few of us? Apparently only those who have symptoms, or are an essential employee, work in retail establishment or in a capacity in which they are interfacing with the public. I just walk around Greenwood Cemetery, do laundry by myself in a basement, pick up packages, and get stuff from delivery people. My person to person contact is VERY limited. Also I don't tend to talk to anyone.
New York tested a record of 65,245 people yesterday. That is the most people we have tested in a single day since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Of those tested, only 1,768 were positive for COVID — great news compared to where we were just a few weeks ago.
Like, I said, above, TEST HAPPY! New York has gone insane regarding testing. I think they've out-tested China and South Korea - which is saying something. There is a VERY good reason why they went nuts with testing - what happened in March. We lost almost 30,000 people, 20,000 in New York City because we didn't know we had any cases until March. I will never as long as I live forget looking at the COVID MAPS of DOOM in Mid-February, watching Italy take off, and seeing both Washington and California have cases and wondering aloud at my desk - "Why doesn't New York have any cases? New York should have cases, this makes no sense." That's when I started washing my hands constantly, trying to get as much space as possible from people, not touching hard surfaces, and being very careful. It's also when I began to notice some people from the Air Train wearing masks.
Over the next few weeks, the Department of Environmental Conservation is hosting a virtual series called Adventure at Home, designed to help New Yorkers find ways to take advantage of outdoor recreational activities in their own communities. This week, Fish NY staff offered tips and tricks on how to get started fishing from anywhere in the state. State parks, trails and beaches remain open for safe and socially distanced walking, hiking, biking and more.
I've been using Greenwood Cemetery. I may try Prospect Park and just go further up. I can't travel anywhere further than that. If I can get a hold of a bike - I will. But it's not possible at the moment.
To spread the joy of art to children in shelters and foster care, Chelsea Phaire, a 10 year-old in Connecticut, has given away 1,500 art kits during the pandemic. Chelsea's philanthropy began last summer, when she asked her guests to bring art supplies instead of gifts to her birthday. She evenly distributed the crayons, markers, paper and colored pencils into 40 kits, which she hand-delivered to a NY homeless shelter. The kits have been sent to children in 12 states so far.
New York is giving me hope. I'm worried about my parents in South Carolina. They are venturing out for Doctors appointments and the bank. With their buffer masks. I'm concerned.
If anything happens to them - I'm blaming the idiotic family members who can sew and forgot to send them masks.
no subject
Date: 2020-05-29 05:16 pm (UTC)Your worry is understandable. For what it's worth, Dr. Fauci thinks they've been doing a good job down there.
How coronavirus contact tracing works in a state Dr. Fauci praised as a model to follow.
The doctor's office may provide them with better masks. According to Kyle, who has had to go in to have his blood drawn twice, Kaiser has been handing them out, even to people who arrive wearing their own. I admit I'm surprised about the in person visits. Medicare is reimbursing for telephone appointments now. And why would they ever need to go to the bank? I haven't been in a bank in years. Can't someone set up online banking for them?
Just wanted to add: I love New York, too, especially New York City.
no subject
Date: 2020-05-29 10:13 pm (UTC)Also they apparently don't have as many cases as we do. Although cases have been increasing since they opened up - they really aren't the epicenter. Except with the tourists back - who knows?