The US is at high risk as flu season approaches… (5:45 mins)
Protect yourself and others. Wear a mask, sanitize, keep your distance. Be wise, be practical, avoid conspiracy theories and “scamdemics” (see below).
Worldwide (Map)
October 15 – 38,426,375 confirmed infections; 1,091,250 deaths
September 17 – 29,764,000 confirmed infections; 939,450 deaths
US (Map)
October 15 – 7,911,500 confirmed infections; 216,860 deaths
September 17 – 6,631,650 confirmed infections; 196,800 deaths
SA (Coronavirus portal)
October 15 – 696,420 confirmed infections; 18,155 deaths
September 17 – 653,445 confirmed infections; 15,705 deaths
News blues…
Texan Tony Green dismissed Covid-19, contracted it, survived it, and - after hosting an event that led to multiple infections - lives with the knowledge that he was likely responsible for at least 14 members of his family contracting it – of which two died.“I used to call it the ‘scamdemic.’ I thought it was an overblown media hoax. I made fun of people for wearing masks… [Now] The feeling that I have is kind of like what a drunk driver would have if they killed their family.”
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The Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt’s latest email blast:The United States Senate has historically been revered as the world’s greatest deliberative body.Trump TV (1:55 mins)
Indeed, there was once a time that was true.
But today, the Republican Senate Majority has turned it into a clown show, full of grandstanding, self-aggrandizing, indolent, power-hungry cowards who have neglected their duty, evaded accountability, and betrayed their oaths to the Constitution.
Donald Trump is an acute and especially perilous threat to the pillars of our democracy, our national security, and the very fabric of our Republic. But he could not induce so much destruction to our nation and desecration of his office if not for the dereliction of duty by these obsequious enablers.
That is why they must go.
And we have them on the run.
Mitch McConnell is scrambling as he watches his majority crumble before him, with the likes of Lindsey Graham and Joni Ernst nearing defeat.
These Senators made a choice. Instead of affirming their loyalty to the Constitution and to the American people, Mitch, Lindsey, et al. shirked responsibility in lieu of greed and the brazen pursuit of political gain.
The Lincoln Project is working day and night to defeat Trump and Trumpism. Nobody who threatens the survival of our country will be safe hiding in the Senate.
Victory is within reach; the finish line is in sight.
RVAT: Remember when (0:33 mins)
Trump’s Voter Fraud, Sexy Superspreading & Biden-Bashing (13:30 mins)
Healthy planet, anyone?
Leading scientists urge rewilding to mitigate the climate crisis.***
Let’s hear it for voracious goats… The problem, however, is larger than goats. A root problem? Lack of agreement on root causes, even on terminology, along with ideology – including capitalism – hamper any progress.
Since 2019, catastrophic fires have afflicted the Amazon, the Congo basin, Australia, Siberia, Argentina, and countless other places. While some on the political Right were in denial that anything unusual was happening, today the entire political spectrum is in agreement that something is horribly amiss. In the US, the Right offers candidate explanations like poor forest management, while Democratic politicians emphasize climate change. What they both agree on is that the current state of affairs in abnormal, unacceptable, and requires action. This, at least, is progress.Read Charles Eisenstein’s essay World on Fire
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
On a scale of 1 to 10, packing up someone else’s home is a 9. It could be worse, but it’s not easy. Forays into the garden – to weed or simply to appreciate plants, birds, animals – help tamp down the anxiety.I’ll make another trip to the Care Center today – this time to deliver a chair so my mother can more easily access her closet. For a former project manager, an added stress is the lack of attention to what was, briefly, a coherent plan for execution. Instead, we have constant changing of mind about objects needed, not needed, and essential – at least, until tomorrow.
Each morning, I review my litany of stress-related aches and pains – particularly from clenching my jaws while asleep. Then I promise myself that today I’ll find time to relax. Inch by inch, we move forward. But, oh, it hurts!
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Latest news about the drunken son of my mother’s domestic worker (who threatened to kill, abuse, etc., me). He relocated to Mpophemeni, a local township. According to our gardener and remaining live-in domestic worker, the drunk’s abusive antics in the township are raising eyebrows and ire. Residents urge our staff to “call his mother to come get him – or someone will kill him.” Already, he has been beaten and bruised by angry township residents. Alas, his mother’s family do not want him in their township either. A case of chickens coming home to roost?
