Sometimes a tiny minority of complainers get all the press.
Don’t sweat the news about radical cranks screaming at shopkeepers for asking that they wear masks as a Patrick Henry-level infringement on their “Liberty”. New polling from Huff Post and YouGov finds that the vast majority of your neighbors recognize the wisdom of covering your nose and mouth in public and appreciate your effort to protect public health:
Breathing each others’ cooties appears to be the main “highway” by which coronavirus travels from person to person. Block that highway with a mask, especially when you are in confined spaces, and you reduce the chance of making someone else sick.
Oliver Wendell Holmes said “The right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins.” Now your fist is your cootie-laden breath, and you don’t have a right to hit your neighbor’s nose with your cooties.
So let the fringe yahoos shout all they want—outdoors, please. Most of us will keep doing what is smart and necessary to protect everyone’s liberty by helping them not get sick and die.
Republican leaders have made big miscalculations regarding their disrespectful responses to masks, social distancing, safer-at-home orders, etc Whenever Trump and Pence fail to wear a mask, people notice how impolite and downright inconsiderate they are of others’ health.
It also goes to other policy, as well. Whenever Republicans attack vote by mail, it’s like they are breathing COVID in the face of senior voters. Older voters, whether they are Democrats or Republicans, were livid about the Wisconsin Republican efforts to require seniors to go to the polls in the midst of a pandemic spread of COVID-19.
Polls are beginning to show a decrease in support of people over 65 for Republicans. That used to be a major voting block for Republicans, but that is eroding fast.
I suspect the Trump freak out over “Obamagate” and other misdirection efforts are meant to mask his incompetent and irresponsible response and poor “messaging” on coronavirus. Seniors tend to view their imminent health concerns quite a bit above whether some chain store or beach they never visit can open or whether Obama did any of the millions of things Trump manufactures to try to distract the news media. Seniors are well aware that the Grim Reaper looks and acts a lot like Trump.
How is a business requiring patrons wear masks any different from “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service.” Or how is being mask-less a protected class, but homosexuality is not when trying to buy a wedding cake; what if I, as a business owner, require masks for service — not for health reasons, but on religious grounds?
I can wrap my head around a freedom to be endangered; less so a freedom to endanger. But I feel like we have traveled this same road with the Second Amendment.
I heard this line this morning, “The Constitution is not a suicide pact.”
Donald, if the GOP get their way on a payroll tax reduction (code for cutting Social Security funding), then we may see many of the silver GOP faithful turn. Even as I type this, I am mindful of how often the GOP can get the flock to vote against their own interests.
Texas apopealed a mail in ballot decision to right wing 5th circuit court of appeals and stopped the state from allowing people to vote by mail if they are under 65 and afraid of covid-19.
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/05/federal-appeals-court-temporarily-blocks-voting-by-mail-expansion-in-texas/
In Greeley, Colo. apparently packing plant workers are given a questionnaire to fill out and if they answer yes to most of the questions, they are not eligible to get tested. Notice, this story is from Rachel Maddow at Raw Story. I won’t import it because it was from Raw Story, but you can read it there. (Raw Story isn’t the most respectable source of info, although I trust Ms Maddow)
Michigan’s AG made it crystal clear to drumpf if he visits the Ford plant he must wear a mask. drumpf will make it a point not to wear 2 masks to show his disdain for the rule of law.
Evidently, the poll wasn’t done in SD. or to be more specific, west river minus the reservations.
It’s not a matter of freedom. It is a matter of respect for your fellow citizen. It’s apparent who is who.
Tally’s employees test positive, Grudz. Won’t be joining you for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
https://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/state-and-regional/owner-of-tallys-and-delmonico-confirms-three-employees-are-covid-19-positive/article_50f9d81d-87a9-5dd6-98e1-59b319f3ec16.html#utm_source=rapidcityjournal.com&utm_campaign=/newsletter-templates/news-alert&utm_medium=PostUp&utm_content=62a0a53b69143c6819a9e679ad3730db1dc4b0d8
Tally’s is to be commended for their transparency in disclosing the discovery of the Covid in their ranks. Tally’s and Delmonico’s will still offer curbside deliveries so they can keep going. Thanks for their candor, we all have to work together.
The Majority Report podcast is selling face masks with a message why it’s important for everybody to wear them during the pandemic: “My mask protects you. Your mask protects me.”
https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/collections/all-items/products/face-masks
If someone is determined to be a jerk about it and not wear a mask to be “tough” and Trigger The Libs™, then the message won’t matter. But for decent people who actually want to be good neighbors and good citizens, this might help.
You don’t want to be the person who accidentally spreads Covid-19 to Betty White, now do you? Save Betty White! Wear your mask!
Mr. Pay, I saw that. We don’t know if it’s Delmonico or Tally’s. I get my breakfast to go, and delivered to my home. When I go out in public, venturing into the covid-bug ridden world, grudznick does wear a mask. Not because I’m old and frail, but because it hides my hideous visage and results in a more positive reaction from those who behold me.
Here is a template for how to protect a vulnerable population. (And why the tribal checkpoints are important.)
https://www.sdnewswatch.org/stories/beyond-the-checkpoints-how-a-s-d-native-american-tribe-is-protecting-its-people-from-covid-19/
Mr. grudznick, I see that you like one of the best films ever made, The Princess Bride. Good for you. Now take care of yourself, for you are the Wildebeest of the Dakota Free Press’s Serengeti Plain. You must beware of the beast called Covid…oh, and watch those river crossings, they could be a doozy.
“It’s because the people stepped up and really did the right thing,” Noem said.
Fact is, the vast majority of people have no idea what “the right thing” to do is.
That why education exists, something Noem and her office would better be doing, rather than pontificating.
I like the masks Chris.
It’s nice to see the poll results affirm the basic decency of people. It looks like Big Greedy’s astroturf protests aren’t working.
15 new positives in Penn Cty this AM. 1 moar death.
BBC reports 200k deaths worldwide 4.25.20, today 327k.
Being a fan of the scientific process, I would like to see the poll have at least 1,500 randomized participants (which is the standard for coming up with a decent population sample), rather than 1,000 people who opted-in for surveys…but I still think the results are promising.
The fact is, it feels odd wearing a mask to me because it’s a new thing, and people don’t like change. Some of it is stupid, stubborn pride I think. We have seen folks across Asia wear masks for a while now, and our american egos make us feel superior for not being so vulnerable. The new need for masks reveals a vulnerability that I think makes people scared of their own mortality. It’s classic psychology for people who are scared to pretend they aren’t by ignoring common sense precautions. Every single time I walk into a store with a mask on, I feel absurd. I do it anyway, but that’s the absolute truth. I don’t care about the judgment of others, and I don’t think it is a sign of weakness, but I am not surprised that those opinions are somewhat common.
I think the most important thing this poll shows us, despite its faults, is that democrats and republicans are more alike than different (at least on this topic, but probably on many others). I sure wish we could get to a place of civil discourse and respectful disagreement about political issues rather than this hyper polarized modern day tribal ideology thing we’ve got going on now. We might be able to stave off the dry rot of our country’s moral fiber just a little longer if we all focused on solving problems rather than casting blame for the problems.
A side benefit of wearing my n95 at the store is that I can talk to myself as I select my fruits and veggies without people assuming I’m crazy. There’s a great comedian named Anthony Jeselnik, and his quote about his beard is how I feel about the mask (when I don’t feel silly): “It’s like sunglasses for the bottom of my face.”
Some people, I think, misunderstand the recommendations of the CDC and other health organizations. Cloth or surgical masks are recommended not as a replacement for social distancing, hand washing and other measures. Masks are meant particularly for social spaces in which social distancing can’t be assured or maintained, such as busy city sidewalks, subways, etc. You don’t have to wear a mask if you are out in nature, in your yard, etc., but it’s fine if you do.
Your mask doesn’t protect you from disease. It helps reduce the spread of respiratory droplets from you out into the surrounding environment. Particularly if you are sick or might be carrying the virus, it helps to reduce spread, particularly in close urban settings, in doctors’ offices, etc. Since you really can’t tell if you have the disease initially, this reduces spread during the early phase of COVID.
A minority of health care professionals think mask wearing encourages people to engage in riskier behavior. I haven’t found that to be true. The one’s not wearing masks are the ones engaging in going to crowded beaches and bars.
Mask wearing is done routinely in Asia, particularly in urban areas. It’s become a matter of etiquette when someone has a cold or other illness to wear a mask. And as any such matter of hygiene etiquette, like washing your hands after peeing, there is a social cost, as well as a potential health cost, to not following these rules,
Here is our scientific reports, not accurate by half, at least. Into the valley of death, ride the American scapegoats, led by the most completely corrupted government in the history of the world.
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has acknowledged that it is mixing the results of two different kinds of tests in the agency’s tally of testing for the coronavirus, raising concerns among some scientists that it could be creating an inaccurate picture of the state of the pandemic in the United States.
The CDC combines the results of genetic tests that spot people who are actively infected, mostly by using a process known as polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, with results from another, known as serology testing, which looks for antibodies in people’s blood. Antibody testing is used to identify people who were previously infected.
The CDC’s practice was first reported by Miami public radio station WLRN on Wednesday and was confirmed by the agency in a subsequent email to NPR.” https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/05/21/860480756/scientists-warn-cdc-testing-data-could-create-misleading-picture-of-pandemic
So then, we still don’t have tests here in South Dakota for our citizens. We were told that the nursing homes and the assisted living facilities would be tested immediately, and then, nothing. Whatever the tests that were done so far in the state, are really half of the number they claim, at best. What a country!
I’ve noticed lately that a lot of conservatives are saying that wearing masks is dangerous to your health, and you’re healthier without one. I wondered where that came from, and checked Snopes. It started with an article in the Nigerian newspaper, Vanguard, by a “Dr. Dennis A Castro B”. People really will believe anything:
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/masks-dangerous-health/
Eve Fisher, remember the run up to Iraq? All the lies and all the distortion and manipulation, well, here we are again. This time instead of blaming Sadam and Iraq for 9/11, we are blaming China for the virus that we don’t seriously want to stop here. See the more death and mayhem caused, the more the drums are banged for China hate and to provide cover for the corruption of the Covid King and yes, Queen NOem.
It has been exposed in Europe that the reason the use of masks was first discounted was the fact that their governments had failed to have any kind of supplies for exactly the pandemic we all knew was coming one day. After the supply chains got slowly on it’s feat, then they announced that not only masks work, but now it’s mandatory you wear one.
BTW, 10 days are counting down from 3 months or 90 days since the announcement of the new mask factory additions in Aberdeen completion date. I’m assuming that the all the concrete has been poured and the walls are going up now, correct? 80 days and counting until production time…
This is America, here you go, from a Navajo teen telling it like it is. This is not only true on the Navajo Reservation, but without safeguards, like checkpoints, it’s true here on the reservations as well. As this pandemic is showing, America is not for all Americans . If you are poor, disabled and non-white, you are more likely to be hospitalized longer with likely more fatal results. If you are of the same category and older, white or other, your chances of making it for a longer term are next to impossible. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/22/navajo-teenager-tiktok-reporting-coronavirus
And still the bodies stack up. drumpf obviously wants more death to save the economy which is not going to happen.
Deaths:
97,610
Should hit 99k tomorrow afternoon. Some hoax.
Multiply by 2 to 30 and your getting close to the actual number.
“The Coronavirus’ Hidden Death Toll in America’s Counties
Our examination of 366 counties across the United States finds that COVID-19 deaths were two to 30 times higher than reported COVID-19 death rates.
May 20 · 7 min read
“At Surgo Foundation, we’ve analyzed county-level mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to paint a more granular picture, highlighting disparities in death reporting that were previously unavailable. Now, for the first time since the pandemic began, we’re able to study excess death counts at the county level in the United States.
And what we’ve learned is disconcerting. Our data suggest that we may be especially undercounting COVID-19 deaths in Southern parts of the US. In more than 200 of the counties we examined, excess death rates were between two times to 30 times higher than reported COVID-19 death rates.” https://medium.com/@surgofoundation/the-coronaviruss-hidden-death-toll-in-america-s-counties-5ddee8fac9b9
😳 Two to 30 times higher?
THIRTY TIMES?!?!? That’s horrific. 😳😥🤬
That’s how Death Dealing Donny and his GOP eunuchs are gaming the numbers. They prioritize political power and greed over American lives. We have got to vote those bastards out by an enormous tsunami. Lives truly depend on it.
It’s all about the money. Amazon in Wisconsin, shows their arse. Whatever you get from these clowns, you better Clorox it (don’t inject it) and let it set for a few days. Handle with gloves… seriously, they don’t care. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/may/22/amazon-coronavirus-wisconsin-campus-closure-threat
The VA treats 1300 vets with drumpf juice for covid and 7500 others for different ailments. Then they announce they plan a study to determine effectiveness of Hydroxy-hoax hamperer after the fact.
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/499166-va-gave-hydroxychloroquine-for-covid-19-to-1300-veterans
Dr Nancy Babbit MD interviewed encouraged mulitplying state virus stats 5xs-10xs for better accuracy. Defunding, withdrawing Pandemic Plans, and muzzeling CDC reporting by the TRUMP/NOEM administrations is criminally malicous. Thus the right wing political takeover of DOJ and the courts. Many worried how Trump would function in crisis. In fact, the CRISIS began by his electoral college victory. After Nov 2020 we must change everything about our democracy subverted by this “vast right wing conspiracy. We need to take the Senate too! Wanna bet the election will be put off?
Last updated: May 24, 2020, 18:05 GMT
United States
Coronavirus Cases:
1,675,880
Deaths:
99,003
Half a day sooner than even I predicted. Sundays usually are slow for reporting deaths. I m confident that as early as Monday and as late as Tuesday afternoon, the count will surpass the August level of 100k.
Turns out that a great deal of the dissent is fueled by bots on social media. Mental Moron’s and Moscow Mitch’s Russian pals?
“Carnegie Mellon University researchers have discovered that much of the discussion around the pandemic and stay-at-home orders is being fueled by misinformation campaigns that use convincing bots.
“To analyze bot activity around the pandemic, CMU researchers since January have collected more than 200 million tweets discussing coronavirus or COVID-19. Of the top 50 influential retweeters, 82% are bots, they found. Of the top 1,000 retweeters, 62% are bots.”
That’s why there seems to be so much dissent, yet polls repeatedly show 65-75% of the public supports social distancing, shutdowns and masks. The protests only involve a paltry couple hundred people.