The Evening Blues - 9-22-20



eb1pt12


The day's news roundup + tonight's musical feature: L.C. Good Rockin' Robinson

Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features L.C. Good Rockin' Robinson. Enjoy!

L.C. Good Rockin' Robinson - I've Got To Go

“Two men at Google who do not enjoy the legitimacy of the vote, democratic oversight, or the demands of shareholder governance exercise control over the organization and presentation of the world’s information. One man at Facebook who does not enjoy the legitimacy of the vote, democratic oversight, or the demands of shareholder governance exercises control over an increasingly universal means of social connection along with the information concealed in its networks.”

-- Shoshana Zuboff


News and Opinion

Surveillance in an Era of Pandemic and Protest

As this summer of pandemic and racial justice protests draws to a close, Naomi Klein hosted a landmark conversation between Shoshana Zuboff, author of “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism,” and Simone Browne, author of “Dark Matters: On the Surveillance of Blackness.” The three authors discussed how both governments and tech giants are using our moment of overlapping crises to push through discredited surveillance technologies that threaten privacy, democracy, and any hope of equality.

DoJ labels New York, Portland and Seattle 'anarchist jurisdictions'

The US Department of Justice on Monday designated three cities as “anarchist jurisdictions”, where it says elected officials have allowed property destruction and violence during protests over racism and police brutality. The move is an explicitly political gambit, part of the Trump administration’s “law and order” re-election push. In seeking to withdraw federal funding from the three cities, the DoJ is likely to be stymied in the courts.

Earlier in September, Donald Trump released a memo asking the DoJ to identify cities supposedly “permitting anarchy, violence, and destruction”, and to publish names on its website within two weeks. The DoJ duly did so, outlining its criteria: forbidding police from intervening “to restore order”; defunding police; and withdrawing “law enforcement protection” or refusing federal law enforcement intervention.

In a press release, the department said New York cut $1bn from its police budget, and Portland and Seattle allowed prolonged protests to occur. Officials in the cities have “permitted violence and the destruction of property to persist and refused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract these criminal activities”, the DoJ said. ...

Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York, said Trump was “not a king. He cannot ‘defund’ NYC. It’s an illegal stunt.”

'Sledgehammer to Permanently Silence Opposing Voices': Outrage Over Florida Gov. DeSantis' Proposed Anti-Protest Bill

The American Civil Liberties Union joined Florida Democrats on Monday in condemning a proposed bill by Gov. Ron DeSantis that would newly classify certain forms of protest as felonies and impose harsh penalties on some protesters. Flanked by Republican lawmakers and law enforcement officials at an afternoon press conference in Winter Haven, DeSantis referred to Black Lives Matter protests in Portland, Oregon as he announced the proposed legislation.

"I look at what goes on in Portland. They'll have people, they'll arrest them," DeSantis said. "They're all scraggly-looking Antifa-types. They get their mugshot taken, then they get released. It's like a carousel; on and on it goes."

"That's not going to happen in here in Florida," the governor vowed.

The "Combatting Violence, Disorder, and Looting and Law Enforcement Protection Act" would make it a felony to "obstruct traffic during an unpermitted protest," while absolving motorists of liability for "injury or death caused if fleeing for safety from a mob." It would also make it a felony for anyone gathered in a group of seven or more people "to cause damage to property or injury to other persons," or to "destroy public property" or topple monuments. Jailed protesters will not be granted bail until at least their first court appearance.


The proposed bill levies mandatory minimum prison sentences for striking law enforcement officers, including with projectiles, and contains an enhancement for throwing objects that strike officers or civilians, and for out-of-state protesters who even participate in a demonstration that turns violent.

Furthermore, the measure attaches Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) liability to "anyone who organizes or funds a violent or disorderly assembly." It also contains provisions barring state grants to municipalities that defund police, and terminates state benefits to anyone "convicted of participating in a violent or disorderly assembly."

State Democratic leaders decried the governor's proposed bill. "The governor is attaching himself to [President] Donald Trump's propaganda and manufacturing a non-existent law and order crisis in Florida," said state Senate Democratic Leader Audrey Gibson. "It's political fear-mongering to bolster a president's re-election bid."

"Non-violent protest has been a critical and basic principle of this nation, and has repeatedly changed the course of history for the better," said state Sen. Bobby Powell. "The governor's proposal has nothing to do with safeguarding that right. This crackdown is just that—a government sledgehammer to permanently silence opposing voices."

"The governor could not name a single city, a single town, or a single community in Florida that was the victim of violent protests, because there has been none," said state Sen. Perry Thurston. "The governor is attempting to link calls for justice to calls for anarchy, without any evidence to support such a claim."

"This is using a problem from somewhere else to strip the liberty of people in this state to voice their constitutional right to peacefully dissent," added Thurston. "And it's the latest in a long line of efforts to quash the people's ability to demand change when the government refuses to listen."

Trump to go ahead with Iran sanctions despite European objections

The US has slapped a raft of new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear weapons programme, claiming it is enforcing a UN arms embargo – and demanded that the European Union follows suit. The Trump administration on Monday named 27 individuals and entities, including officials at the Iranian ministry of defence, nuclear scientists, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and anyone found trading in conventional weapons with Iran.

Announcing the sanctions, the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said the UK, France and Germany would be required not just to comply with the sanctions, but to enforce them. But the UN has asserted that the decision is not up to Washington, and the European powers have warned that the US does not have the legal power to do so.

The State Department declared: “The UN arms embargo on Iran is now re-imposed indefinitely, and we will ensure that it remains in place until Iran changes its behaviour. The new executive order gives us the tools to hold accountable actors who seek to evade the embargo”. ...

Iran, celebrating the US’s diplomatic isolation, believes Trump is trying to raise the profile of the Iranian crisis ahead of the 3 November elections, but is not clear if he is trying to provoke a military clash with Iran, or how far he is prepared to go to confront his European allies, including the UK.

Massive money laundering | Top banks accused of playing part in movement of $2 trillion

US stock markets continue falling amid Covid fears as Dow drops 510 points

US stock markets continued falling on Monday as investors worried Congress would not agree to more stimulus cash before the election and reacted to an uptick in coronavirus infections.

The Dow Jones closed down 510 points, or 1.9% after a late rally. The S&P 500 lost 1.2% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed just 0.1% lower after a late-day surge in tech stocks.

US stock markets are entering a fourth week of selloffs, ending a rally that had driven them to record highs over the summer. Monday was the first time since February that the S&P 500 has posted four straight daily losses.

“Today’s market action reflects investors’ frustration with Congress’s inability to pass additional stimulus,” Jack Ablin, the chief financial officer at Cresset Capital wrote in a note to investors. “Federal Reserve chairman Jay Powell, in a speech last week, stressed ‘more fiscal support is likely to be needed’ to help struggling small businesses and the roughly 11 million out-of-work Americans.”

Krystal Ball: New 'Uber For Evictions' Startup Previews Our HELLISH Future

Flu and Covid-19 at same time significantly increases risk of death

Having flu and Covid-19 together significantly increases your risk of death, say government scientists who are urging all those at risk of getting or transmitting flu to get the vaccine in the coming weeks and months.

The evidence for the double whammy is currently limited and comes mostly from a study with small numbers – 58 people – carried out in the UK during the early phase of the pandemic.

“As I understand it, it’s 43% of those with co-infection died compared with 26.9% of those who tested positive for Covid only,” said England’s deputy chief medical officer, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam. These were people who had been hospitalised and had been tested for both viruses, he said, and so were very ill – but the rate of death from Covid alone in the study between January and April was similar to the known rate of Covid hospital mortality generally of around 25% or 26%.

Whistleblower Nurse in ICE Jail Alleges Forced Sterilization & Neglect Amid 8th COVID Death

'I'm saving her for Ginsburg': who is Amy Coney Barrett, Trump's likely supreme court pick?

Amy Coney Barrett was on Trump’s list of possible nominees in 2018, when he was considering who would replace Anthony Kennedy, a justice who retired. But the president had other plans for Barrett. “I’m saving her for Ginsburg,” Trump said, according to an Axios report last year.

In Barrett, 48, conservatives see a young, strict constructionist who interprets the constitution through what she thinks its writers intended – a jurist in the mold of Antonin Scalia, the conservative justice (and close friend of Ginsburg), who died in February 2016 and for whom Barrett clerked.

That the devout Catholic mother of seven – she and her husband, Jesse M Barrett, have five biological children and adopted two from Haiti – is seen as a potential successor to Ginsburg has raised concerns among progressives. Many fear that if confirmed on the bench, Barrett would vote to overturn Roe v Wade, the 1973 ruling which safeguards the right to abortion. Barrett opposes abortion.

Barbara Lagoa: the Cuban American conservative on Trump’s shortlist

Barbara Lagoa, a 52-year-old Cuban American conservative federal judge from Florida, sits with Amy Coney Barrett of Indiana near the top of Donald Trump’s list of possible picks to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the supreme court.

Lagoa is quite new to her position on the Atlanta-based 11th US circuit court of appeals, one step below the supreme court. She was appointed by Trump in December 2019, having received overwhelming Senate approval. Lagoa was appointed to the Florida state supreme court the previous January, by Ron DeSantis, a close ally of Trump, as his first official act as governor. She was appointed to her previous state role by Governor Jeb Bush, in 2006. ...

Lagoa recently joined a major ruling that struck a blow to voting rights in Florida, reversing a decision that struck down a law requiring people with serious criminal convictions to pay all fines and legal debts before regaining the right to vote. Such laws disproportionately disadvantage Black voters.

Lagoa is a member of Florida’s large, influential and largely conservative Cuban American community, her parents having fled Cuba after Fidel Castro’s communist revolution. She grew up near Miami, graduated from Florida International University and studied law at Columbia University, Ginsburg’s alma mater, in New York, NBC reported.

Lindsey Graham Says GOP HAS THE VOTES To Confirm Trump's SCOTUS Pick

Calls to block DoJ official from court seat over role in Trump’s family separations

Immigrant rights groups are calling on New York senators to oppose the judicial nomination of a top Department of Justice official because of her role in the Trump administration’s child separation policy. A letter to the senators signed by Families Belong Together (FBT), a campaigning group that opposes the Trump administration’s separation policies, said Iris Lan’s “involvement in and facilitation of” the administration’s policy made her unfit to serve on a lifetime seat as a federal judge in the southern district of New York.

Senate rules require district court judges to be informally approved by the state’s two home senators in order to proceed with their confirmation, in a secretive process that is known as giving judicial nominees a “blue slip”. If Lan’s nomination were to be blocked by the two senators – Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand – it would mark the first time that a longtime career official who had knowledge of and involvement in the Trump administration’s separation policy would be blocked from career advancement.

The letter from Families Belong Together follows a report in the Guardian that described how Lan, who serves as an associate deputy attorney general, had played a role in the 2017 removal of a junior prosecutor in Texas after he had raised concerns with his superiors about migrant children who were going missing after their parents had been arrested for allegedly entering the US illegally. The Guardian also reported that Lan was present on a 2018 conference call in which her then boss, the now former deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein, instructed US attorneys in border states that there would be no exception to a “zero tolerance” policy to arrest all migrants who entered the US illegally, including families with children under the age of five.

In effect, the instruction meant that no child was too young to be separated from their parents.

Revealed: evidence shows huge mail slowdowns after Trump ally took over

The United States Postal Service (USPS) saw a severe decline in the rate of on-time delivery of first-class mail after Louis DeJoy took over as postmaster general, according to new data obtained by the Guardian that provides some of the most detailed insight yet into widespread mail delays this summer.

Shortly after taking the helm, DeJoy – a major Republican donor with no prior USPS experience – implemented operational changes he said were intended to make the financially beleaguered agency more efficient. Those changes included an effort to get USPS trucks to run on time and limiting extra trips to transport late mail, with the result that mail was often left behind. ...

Of note, some areas in key swing states saw significant declines in on-time delivery rates of first-class mail. In the postal district for northern Ohio, on-time delivery rates dropped as low as 63.60% in mid August. In the Detroit postal district, on-time delivery fell to 61.01% the same month. ...

Although DeJoy’s changes have been paused until after the election, the new data shows that first class mail continued to be delivered late across the country after his reversal. In the Baltimore postal district, for example, the on-time delivery rate remained at less than 60% at the end of August.



the horse race



Why Milwaukee could determine Joe Biden's fate in November's election

Many Americans were stunned when Donald Trump narrowly defeated Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin in 2016. Greg Lewis was not.

In the months leading up to the election, Lewis, an assistant pastor at St Gabriel’s Church of God in Christ in Milwaukee, the state’s largest city, would drive up and down highways crisscrossing Wisconsin and all he saw were Trump posters. But in the city, where Lewis runs Souls to the Polls, an interfaith effort to get parishioners to vote, no one gave the churches the resources to organize. On election day, turnout in Milwaukee, home to a majority of the state’s African American population, dropped by just over 41,000 votes. Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the state by just under 23,000 votes. He was the first Republican presidential candidate to carry the state since Ronald Reagan in 1984.

There are few cities in the US more important to the 2020 election than Milwaukee, which could play a critical role in deciding who wins the key battleground state of Wisconsin and the presidency. Joe Biden will probably win the vote in the Democratic bastion, but the number of voters who turn out there could dramatically influence his chances of winning statewide.

Lewis, who has snow-white hair and a matching bushy beard, thinks there were enough untapped votes in Milwaukee’s churches alone to change the outcome of the election. “Most of these people don’t believe that the system works for them. They don’t trust the system, they don’t believe in the system. That’s what we have to fight internally,” he said. “Externally, we have to fight disenfranchisement and suppression of our vote.”

Wisconsin voters say their lack of enthusiasm for Democratic candidates stems from feeling forgotten by the party. Milwaukee is one of the most segregated cities in America, and some of the biggest drops in 2016 turnout were in Black neighborhoods of the city, including the 53206 zip code, one of the poorest areas. “Simply put, if Democratic institutions in Wisconsin would have paid attention to Black and brown communities in ways that weren’t superficial, Republicans, Trump in particular, wouldn’t have won,” said Jarette English, 37, a local activist in Milwaukee.

Media Ignores BOMBSHELL Court Decision Which Could Spur Election CHAOS

Despite the Dems war on Greens, apparently the Green presidential ticket is an option for 96% of voters still.


Ryan Grim: RBG Nomination Fight Could Spell Doom For These Candidates



the evening greens


Rising temperatures shrink Arctic sea ice to second-lowest level on record

Rising temperatures in the Arctic shrank the ice covering the polar ocean this year to its second-lowest extent in four decades, scientists have announced, in yet another sign of how the climate crisis is rapidly transforming the region. Satellites recorded this year’s sea ice minimum at 3.74m sq km on 15 September, only the second time the ice has been measured below 4m sq km in 40 years of record keeping, said researchers at the National Snow and Ice Data Center. ...

The record low of 3.41m sq km, reached in 2012 after a late-season cyclonic storm broke up the remaining ice, is not much below what researchers see today.

This year’s decline was especially fast between 31 August and 5 September, thanks to pulses of warm air coming off a heatwave in Siberia, according to the NSIDC. The rate of ice loss during those six days was faster than during any other year on record. Another team of scientists found in July that the Siberian heatwave would have been all but impossible without human-caused climate change.

As the Arctic sea ice vanishes, it leaves patches of dark water open. Those dark waters absorb solar radiation rather than reflecting it back out of the atmosphere, a process that amplifies warming and helps to explain why Arctic temperatures have risen more than twice as fast as the rest of the world over the last 30 years.


Botswana says it has solved mystery of mass elephant die-off

Hundreds of elephants died in Botswana earlier this year from ingesting toxins produced by cyanobacteria, according to government officials who say they will be testing waterholes for algal blooms next rainy season to reduce the risk of another mass die-off.

The mysterious death of 350 elephants in the Okavango delta between May and June baffled conservationists, with leading theories suggesting they were killed by a rodent virus known as EMC (encephalomyocarditis) or toxins from algal blooms.

“Our latest tests have detected cyanobacterial neurotoxins to be the cause of deaths. These are bacteria found in water,” Mmadi Reuben, principal veterinary officer at the Botswana department of wildlife and national parks, said in a news conference on Monday. “However we have many questions still to be answered such as why the elephants only and why that area only. We have a number of hypotheses we are investigating.”

Local sources suggest 70% of elephants died near water holes containing algal blooms, which can produce toxic microscopic organisms called cyanobacteria. Toxins were initially ruled out because no other species died – except for one horse – but scientists now think elephants could be particularly susceptible because they spend a lot of time bathing and drinking large quantities of water.

Tasmania whales: Rescuers race to save 180 stranded mammals in Australia

Bobcat fire becomes one of the largest in Los Angeles county history

The Bobcat fire has become one of the largest in Los Angeles county history, scorching structures, homes and a nature center in a famed southern California wildlife sanctuary in foothill desert communities. The wind-driven wildfire in the mountains north-east of Los Angeles approached 165 sq miles (404 sq km) Monday and is 15% contained.

But officials said calmer winds could help crews corral the flames. “It’s slightly cooler too, so hopefully that will be a help to firefighters,” said US Forest Service fire spokesman Larry Smith.

Thousands of residents in the foothill communities of the Antelope Valley were ordered to evacuate Saturday as winds pushed the flames into Juniper Hills, and additional evacuation warnings were issued Sunday afternoon. Firefighters were, however, able to defend Mount Wilson this weekend, which overlooks greater Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Mountains and has a historic observatory founded more than a century ago and numerous broadcast antennas serving southern California.

The Bobcat fire started 6 September and has already doubled in size over the last week, becoming one of Los Angeles county’s largest wildfires in history, according to the Los Angeles Times. The cause of the fire is under investigation. ...

Across California, nearly 19,000 firefighters continue to fight more than two dozen major wildfires. More than 7,900 wildfires have burned more than 5,468 sq miles (14,164 sq km) in California this year, including many since a mid-August barrage of dry lightning ignited parched vegetation.


Also of Interest

Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.

ASSANGE HEARING DAY TEN—Fairbanks Testifies Trump Ordered Assange Arrest; US Concedes WikiLeaks Not First to Publish Cables; But Says it Had Widest Reach

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva: The extradition of Julian Assange would undermine freedom of speech

Calls for Major Reforms After Leaked Docs Detail How Big Banks Help Criminals and Oligarchs Launder Their 'Dirty Cash'

3-Count Felon, JPMorgan Chase, Caught Laundering More Dirty Money

‘Confirmed’ Has Become A Meaningless Word In Mainstream News Reporting

A Ukrainian/CIA Plot To Incite Belarus Against Russia Unraveled - The NYT Story Thereof Is Hiding The Failure

NYPD officer charged with spying on Tibetan immigrants for China

‘Green’ billionaires behind professional activist network that led suppression of ‘Planet of the Humans’ documentary

Highlighting 'Extreme Carbon Inequality,' Oxfam Study Shows World's Richest 1% Emit More Than Twice as Much CO2 as Poorest 50%

Israel fish deaths linked to rapid warming of seas

Jimmy Dore: Bob Woodward SILENT About Julian Assange and the Attack On A Free Press!


A Little Night Music

L. C. Good Rockin' Robinson - Things' So Bad In California

L.C. 'Good Rockin' Robinson - Stop and Jump

L.C. 'Good Rockin' Robinson - Ups And Downs'

L. C. "Good Rockin'" Robinson - Separation blues

L.C. "Good Rockin'" Robinson - Bringin' My Baby Back Home

L.C. "Good Rockin'" Robinson - Dust My Broom

L.C. "Good Rockin'" Robinson - Train Time Blues

L.C. "Good Rockin'" Robinson - Pinetop's Boogie Woogie

L C Good Rockin' Robinson - House Cleanin' Blues


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Comments

ggersh's picture

the war comes home to ameriKKa

Here’s your “Who said that?” quiz of the day:

1. He called on the president, should he lose to Joe Biden, to declare martial law by invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807, arrest Bill and Hillary Clinton (of course), Mark Zuckerberg, and other prominent figures and simply take control of the country.

2. Of Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old Trump fan who shot three people at a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, killing two of them, she said, “I want him as my president,” while he insisted that the teenager had merely sought to “maintain order when no one else would.”

3. And this official claimed that “when Donald Trump refuses to stand down at the inauguration, the shooting will begin... The drills that you've seen are nothing. If you carry guns, buy ammunition, ladies and gentlemen, because it's going to be hard to get."

And here are the answers for you: (1) Roger Stone, the former Trump associate and dirty trickster who was sentenced to 40 months in prison for lying to Congress and then had that sentence commuted by the president; (2) right-wing political commentator Ann Coulter and Fox News host Tucker Carlson; (3) Michael Caputo, the top communications official at the Department of Health and Human Services, a major Trump supporter, and the man who, as the New York Times put it, “accused the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of harboring a ‘resistance unit’ determined to undermine President Trump, even if that opposition bolsters the Covid-19 death toll.”

Talk about an increasingly sectarian and riven America -- and that’s just to start down an endless list in the Trump era as we all-too-ominously approach election 2020. No wonder TomDispatch regular, co-founder of Brown University’s the Costs of War Project, and military spouse Andrea Mazzarino is worried. I am, too. Tom

The above was on Tom, one needs to read the rest of the article below

http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176752/tomgram%3A_andrea_mazzarino%2C_%2...

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10 users have voted.

I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

ggersh's picture

@ggersh [video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiqDZlAZygU]

up
8 users have voted.

I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

Azazello's picture

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7 users have voted.

We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

lotlizard's picture

@Azazello  
That’s where I stand too — with J.K. Rowling and, hey, the mark of civilization called free speech.

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5 users have voted.
joe shikspack's picture

@ggersh

there certainly seem to be a lot of folks just itching for a fight these days. sadly, it looks like they will probably find an excuse to have at it soon.

heh, i always liked rowan atkinson. now i like him more.

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5 users have voted.

Putin's Apprentice - [video:https://youtu.be/AoaT9jmpfPo]

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7 users have voted.
joe shikspack's picture

@Marie

thanks, that was really good.

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5 users have voted.
usefewersyllables's picture

I finally managed to convince my primary care doctor that getting me a Covid antibody test would not cause the world to end or the supply of tests to suddenly dry up for the politicians, pro athletes, and rich people. Went in and got stuck today. So I guess that in something between 2 days and 10 weeks I'll know... something.

Just took 7 months. Doctor refused to refill my prescriptions without "routine blood work", so I refused to get stuck and pay all the associated copays *without* that test being included in the order. Can't wait to see what it costs. What an ungodly crock.

So I'll probably find out my "something" just in time to walk out my front door and be gunned down by the cops for frightening them. Funny ol' world, innit?

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8 users have voted.

Twice bitten, permanently shy.

@usefewersyllables
Required for colonoscopy. Of course, I could have got it in three intervening days, hmmm?

Totally negative BTW.

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6 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

usefewersyllables's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness

will tell you if you have the active virus in your system and are actively shedding it (with or without symptoms- unless the test is wrong, of course). The antibody test will tell if you had the virus at some point and recovered (with or without symptoms- unless the test is wrong, of course). So if they are going to be drawing blood from me for any other reason, such as getting their office visit copay and upbilling for their cut of the testing and all the other things that doctors routinely do, they might just as well run that test as well.

I'd said quite a while back that what was needed was an antibody test so that people could know if they had any limited form of immunity that might result from exposure and recovery (even asymptomatic). So I'm interested in seeing if there's anything there. My wife has to do the same thing, as they are holding her hostage for her meds as well, so we'll compare results. They should either come back both negative or both positive, because there's essentially no chance that one of us had it and one didn't.

Unless the test is wrong, of course. We'll see...

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6 users have voted.

Twice bitten, permanently shy.

@usefewersyllables
I still think we had COVID in late January, especially since the first cases in Illinois lived about three or so miles from us. Only the town was announced so a minimum of three miles, but we regularly shopped in that town.

She had awakened during the night saying she couldn't breathe. As we prepared to go to the ER she said, "I don't think I can make it to the ER. I can't breathe!" So I gave her two shots of my Albuterol over her protests at taking someone else's prescription medicine. Then she could breathe. Later, in the proper morning, her chest was tight again and I gave her some more then we went to our doctor's office for an emergency visit. Doctor diagnosed "unknown virus" and prescribe Symbicort which I take also for asthma/COPD. That got her through in a week or so.
Around that time I felt abnormally bad and took Albuterol in addition to Symbicort.
News of COVID came out, what? About three weeks later? Unknown virus. Uh-huh. So I was surprised that my test showed nothing at all. Per your post, I'd like to take the other test. IF they aren't going to throw me on a ventilator and abandon me as an anonymous nurse said on TV. She said the hospital faked Do Not Resuscitate orders too. The hospital had "no comment" instead of a denial.

For those not familiar, Symbicort is a dual medicine intended for extended control of asthma/COPD.
Albuterol (patent expired but still prescription) is a fast acting bronchiodilater for quick control of acute symptoms.

It may seem that I was cool in a crisis. No. I kept my head, but frantically threw stuff around the bathroom looking for my Albuterol. I've been sleeping with her over half a century and never considered that I might not die first. There is a reason that widowers die younger than married men but there is no difference between wives and widows. We need them. They do not need us.

up
6 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

joe shikspack's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness

they give you a nose swab for a colonoscopy? are you sure that they know one end from the other? Smile

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7 users have voted.

@joe shikspack

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4 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

joe shikspack's picture

@usefewersyllables

glad to hear that you were able to get the test. i still haven't had one. ms shikspack has been tested a couple of times and come up negative. given the proximity we live in, it would be unlikely for one of us to have it and the other not, i guess, so i'm not currently worried about it.

i hope that everything works out well for you.

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4 users have voted.
Unabashed Liberal's picture

[Edited: Corrected typos (3)--whoah! Smile ; rewrote two sentences, for clarity.]

Anymore, I only follow a handful of writers on Twitter--Greenwald, A Mate, and M Tracey. Gonna drop Sirota--he's too much of a DP shill, IMO. Not sure about Stoller--he's a bit of a DP loyalist, as well, but, he sometimes brings something worthwhile to the table. Still luv Chris Hedges, but, never see his Tweets.

BTW, just this afternoon (on CNN Newsroom program) a 'talking head,'--I believe a former 'O' Administration national security advisor, but, I didn't catch her name--accused OM of "aiding and abetting" some Russian dude (doing something, not sure what). IOW, I got in on the tail-end of the convo. Gonna check out the transcript for the segment, late evening or tomorrow, and, possibly post it, tomorrow, or Friday. (tied up with Medicare workshop stuff all day Thursday) My point being, it's another example of the MSM/Deep State narrative that OM is some kind of Russian operative, and, one reason that I've come to conclude that Dems and Never-Trumpers 'may' stop at nothing to take over the government post election (regardless of the actual results).

Right now, we're not too worried about civil unrest, unless, obtaining the official election results were to drag on for more than several days, or, for more than a week or two. Now, that's a situation that we don't even want to entertain. Again, we're smack dab in a sea of OM supporters--phew! Smile

Good news, for a change - going to activate my "Uruguay" phone this evening, or tomorrow. Got to follow up about their US travel ban--now, I'll have a plan that should allow much more cross-country airtime, so to speak.

Uruguay appears to have COVID very much under control, from what I've read. Suppose that could work either way regarding the travel ban--could make them more leery of US citizens, or, could make them less concerned, since they seem to have a handle on it. We'll see.

Another nice day--actually got down to the high 40's last night. Luv'd it. That's the only thing I don't like a lot about Uruguay--very moderate climate, year round. (I like colder weather--one reason I luv'd Alaska so much!) But, they do have '4' seasons. Bottom line, it's not a tropical/hot climate--so, I can learn to adapt! Biggrin

Everyone have a nice evening. Stay safe--especially our west coast Buds; be well.

Bye Pleasantry

Mollie

"The leaders of this new movement are replacing traditional liberal beliefs about tolerance, free inquiry, and even racial harmony with ideas so toxic and unattractive that they eschew debate, moving straight to shaming, threats, and intimidation."
~~Matt Taibbi, The American Press Is Destroying Itself, June 12, 2020

"I know, I know. All passion; no street smarts."
~~Captain West, 1992 Rob Reiner/Aaron Sorkin Movie, A Few Good Men

“If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went.”
~~Will Rogers, Actor & Social Commentator (1856-1950)

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7 users have voted.

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

joe shikspack's picture

@Unabashed Liberal

i read an article about uruguay a day or so ago. they do apparently have covid very much under control. they are also encouraging migrants (wealthy ones in particular).

you might get in touch with their embassy to clarify any travel bans/restrictions. they might have some sort of quarantine requirements if there's not a ban on usians.

the weather here is getting kinda chilly at night, last night down to the low 40's. i had to turn on the heat early this year.

have a good one!

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3 users have voted.
Unabashed Liberal's picture

@joe shikspack

time I did, there was no flat-out travel ban, since, as I recall, COVID was a pretty new phenomenon.

Here's what I found at the US Embassy website (in Uruguay):

Entry and Exit Requirements:

Are U.S. citizens permitted to enter? Yes

Uruguayan borders are currently closed, although exceptions in the following areas may be made.

For more detail, please check with the Ministry of Tourism.

Family reunification between parents and minor single children or adult children with disabilities, or between spouses or common-law spouses.

Drivers for international transportation

Airplane pilots

Seamen

Entrance may be authorized for humanitarian reasons or for labor, economic, business or judicial purposes, as managed by the National Migration Directorate or by the Ministry corresponding to the area of activity involved and based on reasons of urgent need.

Is a negative COVID-19 test (PCR and/or serology) required for entry? Yes

Are health screening procedures in place at airports and other ports of entry? Yes

Sanitary requirements for entry into Uruguay, per the Ministry of Tourism:

Negative PCR coronavirus results, carried out up to 72 hours before the start of the trip conducted by a laboratory in the country of origin or another country in transit .

An affidavit stating the absence of symptoms and contact with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases in the 14 days prior to admission.

Proof of medical insurance with specific coverage for COVID-19.

Contact information (phone number) in Uruguay for traceability.

All immigration regulations in Uruguay remain under the purview of the National Directorate of Migration. Please adhere to all visa laws when visiting Uruguay. For questions regarding your specific situation or visa, please contact the National Directorate of Migration directly for the most accurate information:

Dirección Nacional de Migración Uruguay
Email: dnm-secertaria@minterior.gub.uy
Tel: 00 (598) 2030 1833

Now, when I called about airline flight schedules about 2-3 months ago (for late October)--airlines were willing to book. But, of course, it's up to the passenger to clear whether he's eligible to actually enter a country. Smile

Anyhoo, gonna have to contact them, and get the skinny--straight from the horse's mouth.

I'm 'guessing' that we could travel there with less delay, if we were to apply for citizenship right off the bat. But, that's not what we have in mind. (initially, plan to visit as 'tourists') The process appears to be relatively convoluted, and, I'm not interested in going to that much trouble, until/unless we're certain that we would enjoy living there.

Knew about Canada's entrepreneurial citizenship category, but, not Uruguay's. May let one of my cousins know about it, since he's too young to apply for citizenship as a retiree.

Take care.

Mollie

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3 users have voted.

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

lotlizard's picture

@Unabashed Liberal  
like they set up Salvador Allende with all the talk about using military to drag him out of the Moneda…

I am the Walrus, coup coup ga joob.

Right, left, or “populist,” every deviation from the secret cabals’ consensus can, and will, be smeared, infiltrated, and sabotaged.

After four years of watching this, I find myself, oddly, rooting for Trump. Because, in all my seventy-odd years, the Deep State and its insider cabals have always been a network of murderous liars and have certainly never been loyal friend and ally to any one or anything I would recognize as good.

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6 users have voted.
Unabashed Liberal's picture

@lotlizard

as they say.

It is a bit mind-boggling, what we've just witnessed for the past several years. OM is certainly no favorite of mine--I readily acknowledge that he's totally obnoxious, incompetent, and worse. But, to my knowledge, he actually did win the last election. Clearly, the Washington Consensus was that it did not matter. And, it's my impression that come hell and high water, they will not allow him to serve another term. Period.

Heh, you're super lucky that you're not in the contiguous Lower 48. Honestly, wish we didn't have to be here on election day, or, thereafter. But. we're probably stuck here for a while longer.

Saw an article just a couple days ago about the dangers of air plane travel--especially, long trips. So, uncertain as to whether or not we'd be willing to take the risk to travel out of the country--at least, until next Spring, or early summer. (with flu season just around the corner)

Anyhoo, our master plan is to stock up on everything, so we don't need to leave for anything (from last week of October) until at least late January or February.

Thankfully, we bought ourselves the complete "Columbo" series (DVDs) not long ago, so, along with Netflix streaming, we think we're set for the long haul.

Take good care. Stay safe and well.

Mollie

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5 users have voted.

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Unabashed Liberal's picture

endorsed him! (no surprise, eh?)

Seriously, Wolf says that Biden announced it during a fundraiser. McCain was piped in on a video to address the attendees. Mostly Republicans, I presume. Biggrin

Also, Nancy and Mnuchin just reached a budget agreement. Sure it's a real winner.

Mollie

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3 users have voted.

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Pricknick's picture

@Unabashed Liberal
cindy needs a much deserved rest with her hubby.

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6 users have voted.

Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

snoopydawg's picture

@Unabashed Liberal

is because of how Trump derided John McCain and both of their sons. I didn’t know that McCain had any more kids besides My Father and the one he adopted? Apparently he has 5 more kids. They could be Tom Cruise's brothers. Or maybe he’s his kid? Oh...same thing. It’s a day.

Pelosi is only working with the Munchkin on the federal budget? Or aa new stimulus? If it’s the budget doesn’t the whole house work on it or do they just show up to vote? Should I know that?

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4 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

@snoopydawg Three kids with the first one who he left for Cindy, and four with the second one.

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7 users have voted.
Unabashed Liberal's picture

@snoopydawg

have a government shut-down, now.

He didn't elaborate.

(my impression from what I've read, is that they're separating those two budgets, though--meaning, one which addresses more 'stimulus,' and the one which simply keeps the doors open. but, I could be wrong)

Mollie

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2 users have voted.

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

snoopydawg's picture

@Unabashed Liberal

My husband John lived by a code: country first. We are Republicans, yes, but Americans foremost. There's only one candidate in this race who stands up for our values as a nation, and that is @JoeBiden.

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4 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

@snoopydawg
The values he stands for are rotten.
Does he stand for the dignity of labor?
Does he stand for freedom from religion?
Does he stand for a color-blind world?

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4 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

joe shikspack's picture

@Unabashed Liberal

i've always thought that biden would make a great republican.

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snoopydawg's picture

make it a felony to "obstruct traffic during an unpermitted protest," while absolving motorists of liability for "injury or death caused if fleeing for safety from a mob."

Reminds me of the only person that went to prison for torture was the person that spilled the beans on it. Kinda like the only person being prosecuted for war crimes and crimes against humanity is the person who exposed them. Of course the anti government folks will not have any problem with their government taking away their rights. If they don’t think that will come to haunt them some day they are being very naive.

I shan’t dare hold my breath to see the outcome of this dilemma for Chuck and Kirsten:

If Lan’s nomination were to be blocked by the two senators – Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand – it would mark the first time that a longtime career official who had knowledge of and involvement in the Trump administration’s separation policy would be blocked from career advancement.

It’d be the 1st time eh? Guess that means that there are other Nazi-lite folks who they did vote to place. Sigh...I’m not surprised. Okay a little because my mind just doesn’t comprehend evil very well. And there is so much evil being done by government officials.

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7 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

joe shikspack's picture

@snoopydawg

i have little interest in visiting florida. a state whose government encourages vehicular homicide is probably best avoided.

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4 users have voted.
usefewersyllables's picture

@joe shikspack

it seems. Been there in the past, not going back.

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3 users have voted.

Twice bitten, permanently shy.

Bollox Ref's picture

Is a complete and utter nutter. She belongs to some sect that engages in various psuedo pentecostal 'rites'. A sect that helped inspire Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale". I'm not quite sure how that sits within mainstream catholicism.

And so we continue to spiral downwards.........

(Let me off)

(Edited)

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10 users have voted.

Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

joe shikspack's picture

@Bollox Ref

thanks for the tip. interesting stuff:

As U.S. Supreme Court nomination looms, a religious community draws fresh interest

People of Praise, a self-described charismatic Christian community, has faced renewed interest since U.S. President Donald Trump put one of its purported members, Judge Amy Coney Barrett of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, on his short list of candidates for elevation to the Supreme Court.

The group describes itself as an ultraconservative group with a mixture of Roman Catholic and Pentecostal traditions. Until 2018, it used the term ‘handmaid’ for its female leaders.

The group has declined to confirm or deny whether Barrett was a member since a New York Times article in 2017 said she was in the group, citing unnamed current and former members. ...

Coral Anika Theill, a former People of Praise member, has been strongly critical of the group, calling it a “cult” and saying in an interview women are expected to be completely obedient to men and independent thinkers are “humiliated, interrogated, shamed and shunned.”

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8 users have voted.
Unabashed Liberal's picture

in pitch to Wisconsin voters.

(Mr M saw headline on Google News Feed--reported by Fox.)

Don't think ol' Joe will sway many progressive activists to vote for him (saying that).

Phew!

Mollie

Postscript: From what I've read, right now, he's on a tour to win over white working class voters, per his campaign.

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5 users have voted.

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

@Unabashed Liberal [video:https://youtu.be/VIl-657Kbps]

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7 users have voted.
Unabashed Liberal's picture

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1 user has voted.

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

mimi's picture

@Marie
may be someone picks this up and writes a cliff note of it.
[video:https://youtu.be/m_SL7-JPc54]

"Fishy as Hell." Graham questions crazy money being raised by Sleepy Joe Biden

Seems that the US has a lot of very rich unemployed people or something like that. I am still too tired to even try to understand it, all I know is that I know a lot of very poor employed people.

Good MOrning from Germany.

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3 users have voted.
Unabashed Liberal's picture

is 'personally' directing Russian election "malign activities" to get OM re-elected.

Per FBI Director Robert Wrey. (and, maybe the CIA--didn't quite catch what she said about them)

Where are my "hip waders" when I need them! Biggrin

Mollie

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4 users have voted.

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.