Day 302...Tired
Jan. 15th, 2021 07:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatPossibly due to not sleeping well. Gee, wonder why?
No walks today or pictures - it was gloomy and cold. I kept thinking it would rain. Planned on doing one at 4PM, but niece called, so decided to talk to her instead.
Talked to lots of folks today. Niece. Mother. Project Manager. Planned Parenthood. Yes, they called asking for money. I told them I couldn't give them any - they thanked me profusely for my previous support (I started giving to them in 2016 - in reaction to that election. ) We had a twenty minute chat about idiotic Pro-Lifers. Pro-Life once called me and asked if I was Pro-Life, and I said, no, Planned Parenthood.
Some good news? Mother has anescape leave plan in place from occupational therapy. Debbie Peebles (that's her real name - it's too good as it is to make one up), came up with a plan. They are going to provide mother with transportation home, home health care aids, and as much assistance as required.
Whew. Now, maybe I can sleep?
She told this to bro and Aunt K as well. Also..
Mother: Ask your brother about Turkish Oligathries.
Me: Turkish what?
Mother Turkish Real Estate.
Me: Why?
Mother: He had me in ribbons of laughter. Just text and ask.
So I do.
Me: Mom told me to ask you about Turkish Real Estate?
Bro: You'd love Istanbul. (then under it) Own Puppeteer Jim Henson's 137 Acre Hudson River Farm and Mansion for $12M.
I try to call. Give up, no answer.
Bro: Sorry, we're watching a movie.
Me: Okay. Get back to me. I'm not getting the joke. I've been to Istanbul and I didn't know John Henson had died. (John Henson had done Farscape - I thought.)
The Vaccine Chaos
I've decided that the US has no clue how to effectively distribute a vaccine. It's become a free-for-all.
New York? According to the Governor, we only have roughly 1-2 million doses, and have distributed to date roughly a third of that. The good news isn 96% of the nursing homes got vaccinated. The bad news, is only 30% of the health care workers have been. And it's uneven across the state. Apparently there are hospitals distributing to the general public but haven't covered all their health care workers and staff.
On FB, people keep posting about appointment availabilities. When the Mayor is simultaneously reporting that they've run out of doses or are about to.
Meanwhile, Moscow Co-worker sends an email alerting everyone that there is one appointment available at Jacobs Javits Center tomorrow. I'm thinking there's one appointment - you posted this to thirty some people...it's not open any longer. Also, it was supposed to go to a front-line worker, not anyone.
According to co-worker you can sign up and just say you are an employee of the agency and provide ID. In short, first come first serve. Meanwhile Brookdale Hospital in Brooklyn is offering free vaccines on first come first serve basis, walk ins.
As a result of this chaos - we have people swarming the institutions for vaccines, or spending hours on sites trying to arrange an appointment.
Florida, according to my Aunt K, is even worse. She got an appointment for this weekend. But their crazy Governor is handing them out to anyone who wants one, foreigners, non-citizens, doesn't matter. He's going so far as to advertise Covid Vaccine Tours. Anything to keep the economy open. According to Aunt K - he puts the economy above everything else.
Mother told me in this scenario, I needed to put my own health first and not worry about others. I would, but my gut tells me the right thing to do is wait. That's what it told me to do last year in regards to travel and it's been right.
Per the NY Times..
President-elect Joe Biden announced a Covid-19 vaccination blitz that is intended to expand access while emphasizing equity in distribution.
His administration plans to open federal mass vaccination sites and reimburse states for the use of National Guard troops to administer vaccines. It will also set up mobile vaccination clinics to boost access to the vaccine in underserved urban and rural communities. Above, a vaccine line in Dallas this week.
But his plan is colliding with a sobering reality: Supplies will be scarce for the next several months. Trump administration officials clarified that the existing stockpile would go only toward giving second doses to people who had already received the vaccine, and not to new groups of people.
“The honest truth is this, things will get worse before they get better,” Mr. Biden said. “And the policy changes we are going to be making, they’re going to take time to show up in the Covid statistics.”
The shortage is already bearing down on New York City, once the center of the epidemic. Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city would run out of doses by next week.
Regarding the variants? Even though NY has only traced 12, as niece put it, there's more they haven't.
t is the same virus, but several variants that are believed to be more contagious are now circulating around the world. One of the variants is stretching Britain’s hospital system to the brink, and the death toll there is soaring.
That same variant is projected to become the dominant source of infection in the U.S. by March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Only 76 cases of the variant have been identified so far in the U.S., but the actual number is believed to be much higher and it is expected to spiral upward in the next few weeks, officials said.
The Attempted Coup
Per the NY Times Briefing...
Law enforcement officials have opened multiple investigations into the riot last week on Capitol Hill.
The Capitol Police are investigating whether members of Congress inappropriately gave visitors access to the Capitol ahead of the storming of the building by a mob, and the F.B.I. has conducted dozens of interviews in the killing of a Capitol Police officer who was struck with a fire extinguisher during the rampage.
Inspectors general from a range of federal agencies also opened a coordinated investigation into the catastrophic failures that led to the riot, amid reports that officials ignored, downplayed and responded sluggishly to the deadly assault.
Officials are preparing for more unrest at state Capitols in the days leading up to President-elect Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday.
Separately, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House managers appointed to prosecute Mr. Trump’s impeachment case over charges of insurrection were preparing for a Senate trial, but she refused to offer a timeline for when they would proceed.
I.e - the FBI is pissed off. They've been investigating the Russian bit and this, sounded the alarm, and the current administration blatantly ignored it as did Congress. So guess what - now heads are going to roll.
Expect a lot of people in the Defense Department, National Security Council, Department of Homeland Security, and Capitol Police to find themselves either arrested for treason, fired, or censured.
Also, as John Scalzi wrote in his blog recently - it's ironic because these idiots along with Trump would have been able to hold onto their power if Trump had conceded in November and played by the rules. Now? He's been digitially removed from Home Alone 2...I mean you know you've hit rock bottom when they went to all the trouble to digitally remove you from Home Alone 2. Basically, they destroyed themselves. And Universe is laughing its head off. The Universe has a wicked sense of humor.
Vice President Mike Pence called Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to congratulate her and offer his belated assistance ahead of next week’s swearing-in.
His move fills a leadership role all but abdicated by President Trump, who is planning to fly out of the capital shortly before Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris are sworn in on Wednesday. The conversation was described as gracious and pleasant, and it was the first time Mr. Pence and Ms. Harris had spoken since they debated each other last fall.
While plans are in flux, Mr. Trump, who has kept a low profile since a mob of his supporters attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, hopes to depart to the blare of a military band, with a red carpet and military honors, those briefed on the planning said.
Yeah, good luck with that. My guess is he'll be taken under military arrest and brought to New York State to be indicted. Or maybe Georgia. Or possibly to a Federal jail.
I honestly don't care any longer - I just want him and his horrible family gone. To never ever return.
Talked to mother about it today. Most of her Republican friends have informed her that they'll never vote in another election as long as they live. (They are in their 80s during a pandemic, somehow, I doubt it will be that long.)
The ones who supported the thing. Claim he's been horribly bullied by the media and undeservedly so. Honestly, can these people be any more hypocritical and racist? Trump bullied and racially slurred the Obamas throughout their term. He is the walking embodiment of bullying. If you were to look for the word Bully in the dictionary - his name would be there.
They are also in their 70s and 80s.
The National Rifle Association is declaring bankruptcy and plans to reincorporate in Texas instead of New York, where it is under investigation.
The plan immediately raised questions from Letitia James, the New York attorney general, who is seeking to dissolve the N.R.A. She has been conducting an investigation into corruption within the gun group since 2019. The N.R.A. is a chartered nonprofit in New York and such groups are typically prohibited from relocating amid an investigation.
Ms. James said her office would not let the N.R.A. “use this or any other tactic to evade accountability.”
Hee Hee Hee.
More fallout from the Pandemic..
*The International Olympic Committee is facing the very real possibility of completely canceling the Games for the first time since World War II.
Organizers postponed the Tokyo Olympic Games for one year last March. But as coronavirus cases rise throughout Japan and around the world, officials both in Tokyo and with the I.O.C. have begun to acknowledge that holding a safe Games might not be possible.
* Devastated by the pandemic, the tourism industry has become part of an ad hoc relief effort. In California, Disneyland is now a vaccination site and the Monterey Bay Aquarium lent one of its ultracold freezers to a nearby hospital for vaccine storage. More than a dozen U.S. airports now double as virus testing sites.
But fear not.. Business for Fortune Tellers is Booming.
Meanwhile Crazy Company informed me via email:
"The New York Rangers invite you to attend a virtual Essential Workers pre-game appreciation event."
[I'm really not an Essential Worker - I find it gratifying and amusing that they think I am.]
I've a headache - most likely due to wine, clenching my jaw, and the weather. People are doing a Drynaury. I was going to...but then well, mother fractured her hip on January 5, and I thought - frak that.
Oh well, in the time honored words of Edward R. Murrow (at least I think it was him) - Good night and Good Luck. (I was ending Clocked Out emails to bosses this week with those words, I doubt any of them picked up on it.)
No walks today or pictures - it was gloomy and cold. I kept thinking it would rain. Planned on doing one at 4PM, but niece called, so decided to talk to her instead.
Talked to lots of folks today. Niece. Mother. Project Manager. Planned Parenthood. Yes, they called asking for money. I told them I couldn't give them any - they thanked me profusely for my previous support (I started giving to them in 2016 - in reaction to that election. ) We had a twenty minute chat about idiotic Pro-Lifers. Pro-Life once called me and asked if I was Pro-Life, and I said, no, Planned Parenthood.
Some good news? Mother has an
Whew. Now, maybe I can sleep?
She told this to bro and Aunt K as well. Also..
Mother: Ask your brother about Turkish Oligathries.
Me: Turkish what?
Mother Turkish Real Estate.
Me: Why?
Mother: He had me in ribbons of laughter. Just text and ask.
So I do.
Me: Mom told me to ask you about Turkish Real Estate?
Bro: You'd love Istanbul. (then under it) Own Puppeteer Jim Henson's 137 Acre Hudson River Farm and Mansion for $12M.
I try to call. Give up, no answer.
Bro: Sorry, we're watching a movie.
Me: Okay. Get back to me. I'm not getting the joke. I've been to Istanbul and I didn't know John Henson had died. (John Henson had done Farscape - I thought.)
The Vaccine Chaos
I've decided that the US has no clue how to effectively distribute a vaccine. It's become a free-for-all.
New York? According to the Governor, we only have roughly 1-2 million doses, and have distributed to date roughly a third of that. The good news isn 96% of the nursing homes got vaccinated. The bad news, is only 30% of the health care workers have been. And it's uneven across the state. Apparently there are hospitals distributing to the general public but haven't covered all their health care workers and staff.
On FB, people keep posting about appointment availabilities. When the Mayor is simultaneously reporting that they've run out of doses or are about to.
Meanwhile, Moscow Co-worker sends an email alerting everyone that there is one appointment available at Jacobs Javits Center tomorrow. I'm thinking there's one appointment - you posted this to thirty some people...it's not open any longer. Also, it was supposed to go to a front-line worker, not anyone.
According to co-worker you can sign up and just say you are an employee of the agency and provide ID. In short, first come first serve. Meanwhile Brookdale Hospital in Brooklyn is offering free vaccines on first come first serve basis, walk ins.
As a result of this chaos - we have people swarming the institutions for vaccines, or spending hours on sites trying to arrange an appointment.
Florida, according to my Aunt K, is even worse. She got an appointment for this weekend. But their crazy Governor is handing them out to anyone who wants one, foreigners, non-citizens, doesn't matter. He's going so far as to advertise Covid Vaccine Tours. Anything to keep the economy open. According to Aunt K - he puts the economy above everything else.
Mother told me in this scenario, I needed to put my own health first and not worry about others. I would, but my gut tells me the right thing to do is wait. That's what it told me to do last year in regards to travel and it's been right.
Per the NY Times..
President-elect Joe Biden announced a Covid-19 vaccination blitz that is intended to expand access while emphasizing equity in distribution.
His administration plans to open federal mass vaccination sites and reimburse states for the use of National Guard troops to administer vaccines. It will also set up mobile vaccination clinics to boost access to the vaccine in underserved urban and rural communities. Above, a vaccine line in Dallas this week.
But his plan is colliding with a sobering reality: Supplies will be scarce for the next several months. Trump administration officials clarified that the existing stockpile would go only toward giving second doses to people who had already received the vaccine, and not to new groups of people.
“The honest truth is this, things will get worse before they get better,” Mr. Biden said. “And the policy changes we are going to be making, they’re going to take time to show up in the Covid statistics.”
The shortage is already bearing down on New York City, once the center of the epidemic. Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city would run out of doses by next week.
Regarding the variants? Even though NY has only traced 12, as niece put it, there's more they haven't.
t is the same virus, but several variants that are believed to be more contagious are now circulating around the world. One of the variants is stretching Britain’s hospital system to the brink, and the death toll there is soaring.
That same variant is projected to become the dominant source of infection in the U.S. by March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Only 76 cases of the variant have been identified so far in the U.S., but the actual number is believed to be much higher and it is expected to spiral upward in the next few weeks, officials said.
The Attempted Coup
Per the NY Times Briefing...
Law enforcement officials have opened multiple investigations into the riot last week on Capitol Hill.
The Capitol Police are investigating whether members of Congress inappropriately gave visitors access to the Capitol ahead of the storming of the building by a mob, and the F.B.I. has conducted dozens of interviews in the killing of a Capitol Police officer who was struck with a fire extinguisher during the rampage.
Inspectors general from a range of federal agencies also opened a coordinated investigation into the catastrophic failures that led to the riot, amid reports that officials ignored, downplayed and responded sluggishly to the deadly assault.
Officials are preparing for more unrest at state Capitols in the days leading up to President-elect Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday.
Separately, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House managers appointed to prosecute Mr. Trump’s impeachment case over charges of insurrection were preparing for a Senate trial, but she refused to offer a timeline for when they would proceed.
I.e - the FBI is pissed off. They've been investigating the Russian bit and this, sounded the alarm, and the current administration blatantly ignored it as did Congress. So guess what - now heads are going to roll.
Expect a lot of people in the Defense Department, National Security Council, Department of Homeland Security, and Capitol Police to find themselves either arrested for treason, fired, or censured.
Also, as John Scalzi wrote in his blog recently - it's ironic because these idiots along with Trump would have been able to hold onto their power if Trump had conceded in November and played by the rules. Now? He's been digitially removed from Home Alone 2...I mean you know you've hit rock bottom when they went to all the trouble to digitally remove you from Home Alone 2. Basically, they destroyed themselves. And Universe is laughing its head off. The Universe has a wicked sense of humor.
Vice President Mike Pence called Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to congratulate her and offer his belated assistance ahead of next week’s swearing-in.
His move fills a leadership role all but abdicated by President Trump, who is planning to fly out of the capital shortly before Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris are sworn in on Wednesday. The conversation was described as gracious and pleasant, and it was the first time Mr. Pence and Ms. Harris had spoken since they debated each other last fall.
While plans are in flux, Mr. Trump, who has kept a low profile since a mob of his supporters attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, hopes to depart to the blare of a military band, with a red carpet and military honors, those briefed on the planning said.
Yeah, good luck with that. My guess is he'll be taken under military arrest and brought to New York State to be indicted. Or maybe Georgia. Or possibly to a Federal jail.
I honestly don't care any longer - I just want him and his horrible family gone. To never ever return.
Talked to mother about it today. Most of her Republican friends have informed her that they'll never vote in another election as long as they live. (They are in their 80s during a pandemic, somehow, I doubt it will be that long.)
The ones who supported the thing. Claim he's been horribly bullied by the media and undeservedly so. Honestly, can these people be any more hypocritical and racist? Trump bullied and racially slurred the Obamas throughout their term. He is the walking embodiment of bullying. If you were to look for the word Bully in the dictionary - his name would be there.
They are also in their 70s and 80s.
The National Rifle Association is declaring bankruptcy and plans to reincorporate in Texas instead of New York, where it is under investigation.
The plan immediately raised questions from Letitia James, the New York attorney general, who is seeking to dissolve the N.R.A. She has been conducting an investigation into corruption within the gun group since 2019. The N.R.A. is a chartered nonprofit in New York and such groups are typically prohibited from relocating amid an investigation.
Ms. James said her office would not let the N.R.A. “use this or any other tactic to evade accountability.”
Hee Hee Hee.
More fallout from the Pandemic..
*The International Olympic Committee is facing the very real possibility of completely canceling the Games for the first time since World War II.
Organizers postponed the Tokyo Olympic Games for one year last March. But as coronavirus cases rise throughout Japan and around the world, officials both in Tokyo and with the I.O.C. have begun to acknowledge that holding a safe Games might not be possible.
* Devastated by the pandemic, the tourism industry has become part of an ad hoc relief effort. In California, Disneyland is now a vaccination site and the Monterey Bay Aquarium lent one of its ultracold freezers to a nearby hospital for vaccine storage. More than a dozen U.S. airports now double as virus testing sites.
But fear not.. Business for Fortune Tellers is Booming.
Meanwhile Crazy Company informed me via email:
"The New York Rangers invite you to attend a virtual Essential Workers pre-game appreciation event."
[I'm really not an Essential Worker - I find it gratifying and amusing that they think I am.]
I've a headache - most likely due to wine, clenching my jaw, and the weather. People are doing a Drynaury. I was going to...but then well, mother fractured her hip on January 5, and I thought - frak that.
Oh well, in the time honored words of Edward R. Murrow (at least I think it was him) - Good night and Good Luck. (I was ending Clocked Out emails to bosses this week with those words, I doubt any of them picked up on it.)
no subject
Date: 2021-01-16 02:56 pm (UTC)Trump's last act as Commander in Chief is to have a military band play his favorites and have some service people assemble so he can give a speech about how great he was at his job and maybe publicly pretend, again, he didn't really lose. Sigh.
no subject
Date: 2021-01-16 03:23 pm (UTC)I just read Heather Cox Richardson's email summing up the news of the week, along with the Governor's email..
"There are around 7 million New Yorkers who are eligible for the vaccine but New York only receives 300,000 doses per week, and the next weekly allocation from the federal government will be even less: just 250,000 doses. Due to this limited allocation, appointments have filled up quickly, which I recognize is frustrating for so many New Yorkers who want to get the vaccine as soon as they can. If you are currently eligible for the vaccine, I urge you to call your local health department, pharmacy, doctor or hospital for additional information and to schedule appointments. To determine eligibility and schedule an appointment at a State-run vaccination site, use the "Am I Eligible" tool. I appreciate everyone's patience as we wait for more federal supply. "
And here's the other one...from Cox Richardson:
And yet another story emerged today that reflects badly on the administration. Its vaccination rollout is far behind where officials had promised it would be by now, and three days ago, on January 12, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar announced the government would no longer hold back second doses of the vaccine, expecting that pharmaceutical companies could keep pace and produce enough vaccines for the second dose as it was needed. The popular understanding was that they had held back half the available doses for that second necessary shot.
But today we learned that when Azar made that announcement, there was no reserve; the available vaccines had already been distributed. State health officials are outraged that vaccines they had counted on are not available, another sign of just how chaotic the vaccine rollout has been. Chicago Public Health Commissioner Allison Arwady told Washington Post reporters Isaac Stanley-Becker and Lena H. Sun, “I have stopped paying a whole lot of attention to what is being said verbally at the federal level right now.”
Tonight, Azar handed his resignation to Trump, effective at noon on January 20, the minute Trump leaves office. His resignation letter touts the administration’s “remarkable response to the pandemic” and insists that “our early, aggressive, and comprehensive efforts saved hundreds of thousands or even millions of American lives.” It goes on to list what he considers the many triumphs of the administration in health care. Azar appears to suggest that he is resigning because of “the actions and rhetoric following the election,” although he never identifies Trump as being behind those actions and rhetoric.
So yep, that narcissist - didn't care who he hurt, as long as he looks good and gets his military send-off.
Except, I think NY, Georgia, and the FBI are standing by to arrest him. The moment he leaves office - he's no longer protected from prosecution. The UN is also standing by to arrest him. It's just a question of who grabs custody of him first. Texas and Florida can't protect him from Federal, State or International prosecution.
no subject
Date: 2021-01-17 01:07 am (UTC)I was just discussing the Olympics with someone this week. The idea that the event will take place this summer either seems very unlikely given how the pandemic is not going to be under control in any country yet by then, much less virtually all of them.
no subject
Date: 2021-01-17 05:51 pm (UTC)Agreed on the Olympics. When I saw the ads that they planned to hold it this summer, I thought, yeah right, good luck with that. I believe that when I see it.
(The Olympis was scheduled for last summer, but 20 countries among them the US and Canada, advised they weren't coming, because hello, pandemic!)
I feel sorry for them in a way - they worked hard to get the Olympics. They built stuff for it. Prepared. Planned. And were looking forward to the economic boost - which they desperately need at the moment. But they can't figure out how to do it during a pandemic.
What's been fascinating is watching how people handle the pandemic and navigate around it. We all do it in different ways and are willing to take different levels of risk in the process.
no subject
Date: 2021-01-17 06:12 pm (UTC)Mike pointed out that there is precedent for holding Olympics in quick succession -- when the Winter Olympics was changed to be held in the two years before/after the summer games. And it does seem possible that 2022 could work out, so it's unlikely the games will get missed entirely. But just like the pandemic has hastened the demise of businesses already on the decline, I do wonder how much longer the games at this level will go on. There are fewer countries and cities that are interested in hosting, because the expenses are rarely recouped, much less is a profit made. I think the awareness of how easily such long-range planning could get disrupted again is going to make anyone not already contracted to host really rethink bidding.
no subject
Date: 2021-01-17 10:34 pm (UTC)