Fiddling the data?

Typically, politicians deliver bad news to Americans late Friday. This, as politicians assume Americans will cool down over the weekend and Monday will bring a new start, fresh thinking, and a dose of amnesia.
Even while Trump’s White House tenure delivers outrageous news thick and fast all day, any day, and every day, the coming weekend promises no cooling down nor amnesia.
Perhaps just the opposite.
Two days ago, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, African-American George Floyd was killed by up to four police officers.
In February, African-American runner Ahmaud Arbery was shot to death in Satilla Shores, Georgia .
In March, African-American Breonna Taylor was shot eight times and killed during a police raid of her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky.
Unlike other similar deaths, these deaths burst into public awareness and stoked outrage.
They’re adding to the stress brought on by an apparently out-of-control pandemic, a controversial election, and what looks very much like the crumbling of a venerated democracy.
This weekend in the US looks be long, hot, and violent.
Instead of steady leadership, Trump, of course, resorted to blaming via Twitter:

“I can’t stand back & watch this happen to a great American City, Minneapolis. A total lack of leadership. Either the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, get his act together and bring the City under control, or I will send in the National Guard & get the job done right.....”

Ironically, it was just two weeks ago that Trump threatened to “terminate” 40,000 National Guardsmen by June 24, one day before thousands would have qualified for key retirement and education benefits. (See post “Distracting the Distractor”)
After an outcry, Trump made a sharp U-turn. The federal government will now keep funding National Guard troops across the country.

“The National Guard remains committed to its service in support of the fight against Covid-19 and will remain in that fight as long as we are needed," a National Guard Bureau spokesperson told POLITICO. "Our nation is looking to the National Guard to help and we will not let them down.” 

News blues…

New week, new numbers
Worldwide: 5,810,335 confirmed cases; 360,335 deaths
US: 1,721,750 confirmed cases; 101,620 deaths
SA: 27,405 confirmed cases; 577 deaths

Several news outlets report federal and state officials across the nation altering or hiding public health data that tracks the spread of Covid-19, and

… hindering the ability to detect a surge of infections as President Donald Trump pushes the nation to reopen rapidly.
In at least a dozen states, health departments have inflated testing numbers or deflated death tallies by changing criteria for who counts as a coronavirus victim and what counts as a coronavirus test according to reports …and states' own admissions. Some states have shifted the metrics for a “safe” reopening; Arizona sought to clamp down on bad news at one point by simply shuttering its pandemic modeling. About a third of the states aren’t even reporting hospital admission data — a big red flag for the resurgence of the virus.
The spotty data flow is particularly worrisome to public health officials trying to help Americans make decisions about safely venturing out. The lack of accurate and consistent Covid-19 data, coupled with the fact that the White House no longer has regular briefings where officials reinforce the need for ongoing social distancing, makes that task even harder.

Nor is our planet out of the woods…or the atmosphere… where the load of carbon dioxide continues an upward trajectory:
23 May 2020: 416.97 ppm
23 May 2019: 414.72 ppm
May 2010: 393.46 ppm
Pre-industrial base: 280
Safe level: 350
Reading from Mauna Loa, Hawaii (part per million). Source: NOAA-ESRL

Scientists have warned for more than a decade that concentrations of more than 450ppm risk triggering extreme weather events and temperature rises as high as 2C, beyond which the effects of global heating are likely to become catastrophic and irreversible.

If that news leaves you blue, consider that Covid-19 at least benefits some animals. In Yosemite and Death Valley, critters appear that have not been seen, “in our lifetimes,” said Kati Schmidt, a spokesperson for the US National Parks Conservation Association.
Deer, bobcats, black bears, pronghorns, coyotes, even wolverines are taking advantage of human-free environments while they can.
According to the Center for Biological Diversity, “only 300 [wolverine] species [are] left in the contiguous US,” and a handful have been spotted in Washington State. One on a beach, another “walking down a road in Naselle, a town east of Long Beach Peninsula.”

***

Use of plastic has soared during the pandemic. Restaurants trying to stay afloat rely on plastic utensils for takeout orders, grocery shoppers have reverted to disposable bags over sanitary concerns, and the CDC says disposable dishes, utensils, napkins and tablecloths should be the default.

"The idea that the CDC recommends that single-use disposable items should be preferred seems a little illogical to me," said Chris Slafter, interim coordinator of Clean Water Action's ReThink Disposable program… Someone still has to handle that item before it goes into a customer's hand."
Before the pandemic, California was leading the way on eliminating single-use plastics in various consumer sectors. While environmentalists have long criticized plastic products for polluting oceans and overwhelming landfills, state and local leaders also have sounded the alarm after China in recent years stopped accepting many U.S. plastics for recycling.
[T]he virus has thwarted efforts to toughen statewide recycling targets.

***

Another Daily Maverick Live Webinar, “School Reopening: The Great Debate”
After weeks of uncertainty, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga confirmed last week that schools will reopen on 1 June – but only for Grades 7 and 12.
Hosted by Judith February, governance specialist, columnist and lawyer. With Dr Nic Spaull, education economist at Stellenbosch University and commentator on education policy in South Africa, and Dr Sara Black, former high school maths teacher who now trains teachers and works in critical education sociology, with a focus on equity and justice in education policy.

***

Comedienne Sara Cooper’s Trump impressions have tickled more than 18 million viewers. MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell recently interviewed her on The Last Word  (5:31 minutes).
We’ve celebrated Sara – “The Trump Whisperer” – on this blog, too. (See post, “Humor might save us”.)
I’m in awe of how many wonderfully talented, funny people out there keep the rest of us sane during crazy times. Thank you!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Following the direction of Category 1b of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, I’m removing invasive cannas from the inside garden. As mentioned in yesterday’s post, cannas – originally from the Caribbean and tropical America - were introduced to South Africa as an ornamental where they have, well, blossomed.
Black jacks, khaki weed, cosmos, cat’s claw – ditto, from South America - have successfully settled into KZN’s fertile soil, too. They are among 775 identified invasive species – that’s about seven new species introduced each year. (List of invasive species in South Africa.)
I’ve written elsewhere about my small success eradicating cat’s claw creeper  and I intend eradicating canna. At least, from the inside garden. I’ve no ambitions to tackle the plant beyond the inside garden where it thrives along roads, in the wetlands, indeed, wherever its hardly seeds germinate.
Frost damages the leaves and stems but does little to discourage its tuber.
Getting rid of tubers requires persistence – and heavy digging.

Read   Week 1 |   Week 2   |  Week 3  |  Week 4 |  Week 5  | Week 6  |  Week 7  |  Week 8  |  Week 9  |  Week 10 

See photos  Spying on Garden Creatures 

Watch  Videos of Garden Creatures