I’m sharing this from a cousin (Facebook). He’s a lawyer and a smart man.
I shared this from a friend. Excellent read:
Chicken pox is a virus. Lots of people have had it, and probably don’t think about it much once the initial illness has passed. But it stays in your body and lives there forever, and maybe when you’re older, you have debilitatingly painful outbreaks of shingles. You don’t just get over this virus in a few weeks, never to have another health effect. We know this because it’s been around for years, and has been studied medically for years.
Herpes is also a virus. And once someone has it, it stays in your body and lives there forever, and anytime they get a little run down or stressed-out they’re going to have an outbreak. Maybe every time you have a big event coming up (school pictures, job interview, big date) you’re going to get a cold sore. For the rest of your life. You don’t just get over it in a few weeks. We know this because it’s been around for years, and been studied medically for years.
HIV is a virus. It attacks the immune system, and makes the carrier far more vulnerable to other illnesses. It has a list of symptoms and negative health impacts that goes on and on. It was decades before viable treatments were developed that allowed people to live with a reasonable quality of life. Once you have it, it lives in your body forever and there is no cure. Over time, that takes a toll on the body, putting people living with HIV at greater risk for health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, diabetes, bone disease, liver disease, cognitive disorders, and some types of cancer. We know this because it has been around for years, and had been studied medically for years.
Now with COVID-19, we have a novel virus that spreads rapidly and easily. The full spectrum of symptoms and health effects is only just beginning to be cataloged, much less understood.
So far the symptoms may include:
Fever
Fatigue
Coughing
Pneumonia
Chills/Trembling
Acute respiratory distress
Lung damage (potentially permanent)
Loss of taste (a neurological symptom)
Sore throat
Headaches
Difficulty breathing
Mental confusion
Diarrhea
Nausea or vomiting
Loss of appetite
Strokes have been reported in some people who have COVID-19 (even in the relatively young)
Swollen eyes
Blood clots
Seizures
Liver damage
Kidney damage
Rash
COVID toes (weird, right?)
People testing positive for COVID-19 have been documented to be sick even after 60 days. Many people are sick for weeks, get better, and then experience a rapid and sudden flare up and get sick all over again. A man in Seattle was hospitalized for 62 days, and while well enough to be released, still has a long road of recovery ahead of him. Not to mention a $1.1 million medical bill.
Then there is MIS-C. Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children is a condition where different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs. Children with MIS-C may have a fever and various symptoms, including abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, neck pain, rash, bloodshot eyes, or feeling extra tired. While rare, it has caused deaths.
This disease has not been around for years. It has basically been 6 months. No one knows yet the long-term health effects, or how it may present itself years down the road for people who have been exposed. We literally do not know what we do not know.
For those in our society who suggest that people being cautious are cowards, for people who refuse to take even the simplest of precautions to protect themselves and those around them, I want to ask, without hyperbole and in all sincerity: How dare you?
How dare you risk the lives of others so cavalierly. How dare you decide for others that they should welcome exposure as “getting it over with”, when literally no one knows who will be the lucky “mild symptoms” case, and who may fall ill and die. Because while we know that some people are more susceptible to suffering a more serious case, we also know that 20 and 30 year olds have died, marathon runners and fitness nuts have died, children and infants have died.
How dare you behave as though you know more than medical experts, when those same experts acknowledge that there is so much we don’t yet know, but with what we DO know, are smart enough to be scared of how easily this is spread, and recommend baseline precautions such as:
Frequent hand-washing
Physical distancing
Reduced social/public contact or interaction
Mask wearing
Covering your cough or sneeze
Avoiding touching your face
Sanitizing frequently touched surfaces
The more things we can all do to mitigate our risk of exposure, the better off we all are, in my opinion. Not only does it flatten the curve and allow health care providers to maintain levels of service that aren’t immediately and catastrophically overwhelmed; it also reduces unnecessary suffering and deaths, and buys time for the scientific community to study the virus in order to come to a more full understanding of the breadth of its impacts in both the short and long term.
I reject the notion that it’s “just a virus” and we’ll all get it eventually. What a careless, lazy, heartless stance.
What’s going on and how did we get here? Violent protests have been raging across the country for a week after George Floyd, a black man, 46, was killed (murdered) by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on Monday, May 25, while Chauvin was trying to subdue Floyd with his knee on Floyd’s neck.
It’s Memorial Day weekend once again, and it’s time to make bbq ribs. This year is unique. It’s been 10 years since I started this tradition (yay), and we are in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic (boo). Last year, you may recall, I made some good ribs. This year, the rain forecast for Sunday and Monday is threatening to wash out the smoker portion of our rib day so I’m cooking them on Saturday.
Ingredients
(Meat) 2 slabs (~6 lbs) of baby back ribs 2 Shiner Smokehouse sausages
(Rub) 4 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar 4 tablespoons white sugar 2 tablespoons paprika 2 tablespoons garlic powder 2 tablespoons ground black pepper 2 tablespoons onion powder 2 teaspoons cumin powder
(Sides) Potato Salad Corn on the cob
(Condiments) Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey Barbecue Sauce 3 A.M. Bobby Que Original barbecue sauce [my local favorite] Sliced pickles Sliced white onion Sliced cheddar cheese
Cook
After 10 years I’m getting better at this part. Start with thawed (refrigerator temperature) ribs. Take the membrane off the bone and cover in a rub 1-2 hours before cooking. Cook uncovered ribs (bone side down) on a cooking sheet in the oven at 250° F for 2 hours. Wrap them with heavy duty aluminum foil, and cook for another 2 hours. Finish them uncovered with bbq sauce (in the oven or in a 250° F smokey grill) for up to 30 minutes; check them every few minutes.
Corn on the cob is easy: shuck, boil for 6 minutes, plate with butter and salt.
It’s Barbie’s tradition to cook the potato salad, and she’s not divulging any secrets today. She said it has potatoes, boiled eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, relish, and onion.
I didn’t cook the sausage – 4 lbs of ribs seemed like enough – and it was.
Results
The potato salad had perfectly sized pieces of potato, and it was delicious. The corn on the cob was sweet, crisp and good. The ribs were tender and yummy (a little over cooked). Since I got the ribs on different days in May I got two brands: Indiana Kitchen (2.36 lbs) and Kroger Natural Ribs (2.47 lbs); couldn’t tell the difference when cooked.
With ever mounting deaths, scientists have been under pressure to develop a COVID-19 vaccine.
Moderna, Inc., reported that they have developed a COVID-19 vaccine that is safe. Phase I testing (45 subjects) appears to elicit the kind of immune response capable of preventing the disease. There were no no serious side-effects after the first trial. Source: NPR
Phase II can start right away, and the company hopes to start phase III in early July.
The predictions for the 2020 hurricane season were for an above-average hurricane season. Philip Klotzbach predicted 16 named storms, 8 hurricanes, and 4 major (Cat 3+) hurricanes this year; updated to 24 named storms, 12 hurricanes, and 5 major hurricanes. Hurricane season usually runs from June 1 through November 30 – although given the predictions it may extend beyond those boundaries.
This year, Philip Klotzbach, hurricane researcher at Colorado State University, tweeted we should expect an above-average season because of the lack of #ElNino. They predict 16 named storms, 8 hurricanes and 4 major (Cat 3+) hurricanes; 69% chance at least one major hurricane will hit the US.
UPDATE 8/5/2020
Researchers from Colorado State University issued an update to the 2020 hurricane season forecast and now indicate it will be one of the most active on record. Now they predict 24 named storms, 12 hurricanes, and 5 major hurricanes.
This new virus is called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, or Sars-CoV-2. The disease it causes is called Covid-19. Source: Wall Street Journal. This is a serious disease – “a potential pandemic.” They think it originated in a (animal/seafood) market in Wuhan, China, on December 1, 2019. As of March 3, 2020, the WHO reports that there are 92,315 confirmed cases – 3,131 deaths; 60 cases in the US and 6 deaths.
The schedule for Democratic and Republican primaries and caucuses is very confusing and convoluted. A good place to start is with Frontloading HQ.
Coronavirus Updates
Starting March 15, 2020, the United States did something unprecedented (in modern times) – every non-essential worker was told/ordered to stay-at-home and/or work-from-home. This included primary workers. So, as a result, many states’ primaries were rescheduled.
Republican presidential primaries were rescheduled:
The Ohio primary was rescheduled from March 17, 2020, to June 2, 2020. It was later rescheduled again from June 2 to April 28.
The Georgia primary was rescheduled from March 24, 2020, to May 19, 2020. It was later rescheduled again from May 19 to June 9.
The Louisiana primary was rescheduled from April 4, 2020, to June 20, 2020.
The Connecticut primary was rescheduled from April 28 to June 2.
The Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island primaries were rescheduled from April 28, 2020, to June 2, 2020.
The Indiana primary was rescheduled from May 5, 2020, to June 2, 2020.
The West Virginia primary was rescheduled from May 12, 2020, to June 9, 2020.
The Kentucky primary was rescheduled from May 19, 2020, to June 23, 2020.
The New Jersey primary was rescheduled from June 2, 2020 to July 7, 2020.
The Ohio primary was rescheduled from March 17, 2020, to June 2, 2020. was later rescheduled again from June 2 to April 28.
The Georgia primary was rescheduled from March 24, 2020, to May 19, 2020.[228] It was later rescheduled again from May 19 to June 9.
The Louisiana primary was rescheduled from April 4, 2020, to June 20, 2020.[237] It was later rescheduled again from June 20 to July 11.[209]
The Connecticut primary was rescheduled from April 28 to June 2.[205] It was later rescheduled a second time to August 11.[210]
The Delaware, Maryland,[238] Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island primaries were rescheduled from April 28, 2020, to June 2, 2020.
The Indiana primary was rescheduled from May 5, 2020, to June 2, 2020.
The West Virginia primary was rescheduled from May 12, 2020, to June 9, 2020.
The Kentucky primary was rescheduled from May 19, 2020, to June 23, 2020.[239]
The New Jersey primary was rescheduled from June 2, 2020 to July 7, 2020.[240]
The Democratic candidates are Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, Tom Steyer, Amy Klobuchar, Tulsi Gabbard, Michael Bennet, John Delaney, Deval Patrick and Andrew Yang.
The Republican candidates are Donald Trump, Bill Weld, Rocky De La Fuente, Mark Sanford and Joe Walsh.
February 3
Iowa caucuses took place on February 3, 2020, but there wasn’t a clear Democratic winner because a new application (mobile app) failed to tally and report the votes correctly.
Monday night’s Iowa caucuses dragged on into the early hours of Tuesday with no clear Democratic winner declared, and the New York Times reported that a brand-new, untested mobile app designed in just two months was at least partially to blame for the holdup in results.
The Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) – the folks who commissioned the app – promised to have the majority of results published by 5 PM (ET) today.
On February 9, 2020, Iowa finally allotted Pete 14 delegates, Bernie 12, Elizabeth 8, Joe 6, and Amy 1, out of 41 for the Democratic caucus. For the Republican caucus, Donald got 39 and Bill got 1, out of 40.
Both Pete and Bernie requested a recount, which (completed Feb. 27) didn’t change the results, and it was finally certified by the IDP on February 29.
Withdrawals Before the Primaries
Democratic candidates who withdrew before the Primaries started: Beto O’Rourke, Bill de Blasio, Cory Booker, Eric Swalwell, Jay Inslee, Joe Sestak, John Delaney, John Hickenlooper, Julián Castro, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Marianne Williamson, Mike Gravel, Richard Ojeda, Seth Moulton, Steve Bullock, Tim Ryan, Wayne Messam. Source: Wikipedia.
Republican candidates who withdrew before (or shortly after) the Primaries started: Joe Walsh, Mark Sanford. Source: Wikipedia.
February 11
New Hampshire primary results: Bernie 9, Pete 9, Amy 6, out of 24 total. For Republicans, Donald 22, out of 22 total.
Today, after the NH primary, Michael Bennet and Andrew Yang dropped out. On February 12, Deval Patrick suspended his campaign.
February 22
Nevada caucus results: Bernie 24, Joe 9, Pete 3, out of 36 available. For Republicans, they cancelled their caucus so Donald presumably gets all 25 delegates.
Side note: Michael Bloomberg (billionaire, former mayor of New York) qualified for the debate in Nevada (Feb. 19), but he was not on the ballot. He’s trying to buy his way in.
February 29
Happy Leap Day! South Carolina (D) primary results: Joe 39, Bernie 15 out of 54 delegates.
On March 1, Pete dropped out and gave his support to Joe.
On March 2, Amy dropped out and gave her support to Joe. Beto also gave his support to Joe.
March 3
“Super Tuesday” is primary/caucus day for Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia (D), and American Samoa (D).
If you’re keeping count, going into Super Tuesday, Bernie 60, Joe 54, Elizabeth 8, and Michael 0.
In Texas early voting starts February 18. If needed, the primary election runoff day will be May 26, 2020.
Texas has 228 Democratic delegates and 155 Republican delegates. 1283 The results for Texas are Joe 111, Bernie 102, Michael 10, Elizabeth 5 out of 228 Democratic delegates. For Republicans, Donald 117 of 155 total.
Nationally, the totals so far are Joe 596, Bernie 531, Elizabeth 65, Michael 58, Pete 26, Amy 7, and Tulsi 1.
After spending $500+ million Michael Bloomberg dropped out on March 4. Bernie announced on March 4 that he will drop out if “Biden gets plurality” going into Democratic convention. On March 5, Elizabeth Warren withdrew from the race. This leaves Joe, Bernie, and Tulsi is still running.
UPDATE: It looks like Texas is headed for primary runoff elections on July 14.
Here are the races in Texas as of July 1. President Democratic candidate: Joe Biden President Republican candidate: Donald Trump US Senate Democratic candidates: Mary Jennings Hegar Royce West US Senate Republican candidate: John Cornyn (incumbent) U.S. House of Representatives (District 17) Democratic candidates: Rick Kennedy David Jaramillo U.S. House of Representatives (District 17) Republican candidates: Pete Sessions Renee Swann Texas House of Representatives (District 14) Democratic candidate: Janet Dudding Texas House of Representatives (District 14) Republican candidate: John Raney (incumbent) Railroad Commissioner Democratic candidates: Chrysta Castañeda Roberto “Beto” Alonzo Railroad Commissioner Democratic candidate: James “Jim” Wright
Texas Candidates
U.S. Senate (Texas) Democratic Party candidates Chris Bell Michael Cooper Amanda Edwards Jack Daniel Foster Jr. Annie Garcia Victor Harris Mary Jennings Hegar Sema Hernandez D. R. Hunter Adrian Ocegueda Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez Royce West
Republican Party candidates John Cornyn (incumbent) Virgil Bierschwale John Castro Dwayne Stovall Mark Yancey
Independent candidates Ricardo Turullols-Bonilla
U.S. House of Representatives (District 17 Texas)* Democratic Party candidates William Foster III David Jaramillo Rick Kennedy
Republican Party candidates Ahmad Adnan Scott Bland Laurie Godfrey McReynolds George Hindman Todd Kent Kristen Alamo Rowin David Saucedo Pete Sessions Trent Sutton Renee Swann Elianor Vessali
Libertarian candidates Ted Brown
*Bill Flores (R) is stepping down
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) – Next election is 2022
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (R) – Next election is 2022
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) – Next election is 2022
Texas Senate (District 5) Charles Schwertner (R) – Next election is 2022
Texas House of Representatives (District 14) Democratic Party candidates Janet Dudding Raza Rahman
Republican Party candidates John Raney (incumbent)
Comptroller of Public Accounts Glenn Hegar (R) – Next election 2022
Commissioner of the General Land Office George P. Bush (R) – Next election 2022
Commissioner of Agriculture Sid Miller (R) – Next election 2022
Railroad Commissioner Democratic Party candidates Chrysta Castañeda Roberto “Beto” Alonzo Kelly Stone Mark Watson
Republican Party candidates Ryan Sitton (incumbent) James Wright
Libertarian Party candidates Matt Sterett Charlie Stevens
Democrats Abroad (D), Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota (D), and Washington primary results: Joe 177+, Bernie 111+ out of 352 delegates; Washington was still counting as of Wednesday at noon.
March 14
Northern Mariana Islands (D), and Guam (R)
March 15
Northern Mariana Islands (R)
March 17
Arizona (D), Florida, Illinois, and Ohio.
March 18
American Samoa (R)
One March 19, 2020, Tulsi dropped out and endorsed Joe Biden.
March 24
Georgia (postponed to May 19)
March 29
Puerto Rico (D) and North Dakota (R) primary results: ND Republicans cancelled election, Trump got 29 out of 29 delegates; PR is TBD.
April 4
Alaska, Hawaii (D), Louisiana, and Wyoming (D)
April 7
Democrats warn people will die as courts rule Wisconsin’s election on for Tuesday Source: NBC News
Wisconsin results: Joe 58, Bernie 13, out of 84 Democratic delegates. Donald 52 out of 52 Republican delegates.
On April 8, Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign.
April 28
Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.
May 2
Guam (D), Kansas (D), Virginia (R), and South Carolina (R)
May 5
Indiana
May 9
Arizona (R), and Wyoming (R)
May 12
Nebraska, and West Virginia
May 19
Georgia, Kentucky, and Oregon
May 30
United States Virgin Islands (R)
June 2
District of Columbia, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, and South Dakota
Britain’s exit from the European Union is finally here. At the stroke of midnight, Brussels time, 5 PM Central US, on Friday, January 31, 2020, the deed is done.
Britain formally exits the European Union on Friday night, casting off from the Continent after nearly half a century and ending a debate that had convulsed the country for more than three years.
Source: New York Times: Britain’s Brexit Shrug: Let’s Just Get On With It
By the sounds of it – and going by how long it has dragged on – Britons are tired of it all and just want to get on with life. Not so fast. For all this time – time supposedly used to negotiate trade deals and legal separation agreements – it seems like very little was done: for the next 11 months they’ll work out trade relations.
