Who should get COVID 19 vaccine last!

 

Since during the last four years our country has embraced and seemed to embellish societal divisiveness, which in many cases has culminated in violence and unrest, I would suggest that we continue in that vein with the distribution plan for the COVID 19 vaccine. 

Obviously, there is not going to be enough vaccine to initially vaccinate many in our society.  So decisions need to be made about whom should get it first. This is tough decision.  However, I would like to help in this process by proposing a list of those individuals who should get it last by utilizing the latest schisms in our society. 

Lowest on the vaccine receiving list should be all those individuals who refuse to wear a mask that could potentially slow the spread of COVID 19 and impact the economic lockdown that is occurring nationwide.   And let’s not forget those individuals that hosted and continue to host large gatherings in defiance of federal and state guidelines.  Obviously these individuals must think COVID 19 is no worse than the seasonal flu and certainly doesn’t even deserve the label of ‘pandemic’ when discussing it.  Therefore in keeping with their thought processes, if they’re not concerned, likewise, we shouldn’t be concerned about putting them in the beginning of the vaccine line, no matter what their age or medical condition. 

Others deserving a place at the end of the line should be any congressional or state legislator or official who filed a court case against, or refused to enforce, CDC or state-mandated COVID 19 mandates, or publicly flaunted such guidelines.  This includes Louisiana heavy weights Attorney General Jeff Landry, state House Republicans, and members of Congress like John Kennedy, Steve Scalise, Garret Graves, Mike Johnson, Ralph Abram, and Clay Higgins.  All must be at the end of the vaccine line. 

While I realize that my tongue in cheek suggestion will not fly, one needs to consider  the merits of my case.  Many don’t want to assist others by restricting the spread of COVID 19 and yet are scared enough of COVID 19 to want to be one of the first to be protected from it. Am I missing something?

Trump's Failed Re-election Bid

 

The election is over and I was hoping that the divisive atmosphere that it created in our nation would simply evaporate.  However, I don’t think that Donald Trump is going to allow that to occur.

Throughout Trump’s reign he has consistently demonstrated the personality flaw of never taking responsibility for his actions if the outcomes make him look like he has failed to accomplish his goal.

Whether it was some of his failed attempts to control the national debt, the trade deficit, implement a national health care plan, successfully negotiate reducing the nuclear threat posed by North Korea and Iran, complete his border wall, implement a consistent, structured foreign policy, effectively help alleviate societal unrest, and other missteps, he never internalized or uttered the words, “My approach was wrong and I take responsibility for the poor outcome.”  Read his book, it is very evident this is not acceptable behavior for him. 

In his four years of governing, according to Trump, if some of his endeavors failed, it was always due to nefarious outside causes.  The stage was set for this pattern of behavior from the very beginning as evidenced in an  interview following Donald’s 2016 election when he had begun his “Fake News” campaign.  The newscaster asked him why he was trying to disparage the press.  Trump, without hesitation, answered with a smile that he was doing it so in case “They publish something negative about me, no one will believe them.” 

He never relented in his non-responsibility approach, and has now culminated it in his re-election loss.  Donald Trump has masterfully turned his supporters into enablers to take up the cause that he never really “lost” re-election, but that there was a well organized, state-wide, systematic plot to rig the election that led to his defeat; coupled with individuals' willingness to commit felony, risk federal prosecution and jail time, to accomplish this.  Donald Trump promises his supporters endless law suits to prove his case, knowing that he will not win any to change the election outcome. 

But this is where the genius of Donald Trump’s convoluted behavior really shines.   He will leave office on January 20^th as the president who never really “lost” his re-election bid, because by his account, it was fraudulent.  Evidence will bear this ploy out, because he will continue to Tweet, hold press conferences, and rallies, all focused on keeping the “fraud” notion front and center in the media.  And his minions such as Attorney General Barr, Rudy Giuliani, and several Republican legislators will assist in his endeavor.  Added to this will be the fact that he will never publicly concede, or congratulate the Biden/Harris team. 

All this will serve as the battle cry of “fraud” for his supporters, and sadly, they will take the bait.  They have even gravitated in droves to the new social media app, Parler, where supporters will no longer be restricted in posting non-factual information or all sorts of conspiracy and fraud theories. 

President Trump will leave office on January 20^th no matter what his enablers hope he can do to prevent it, with the irrational resolve among them that their hero never really “lost,” as indicated by popular vote and electoral vote numbers, except for the fact of “systemic fraud.”  To them he is not a “loser,” which in Trump’s mantra is the lowest form of existence there is, but instead an “innocent victim” bearing no responsibility for this election outcome.  With this attitude there really is little hope of “Making America Great Again” for the deep fissures in our society that festered and boiled over during the last four years will continue to erode its very core; this will be Donald Trump’s real legacy.

U.S. Lost Cause

 

“Sisters stab security guard 27 times after being asked to wear face mask;" “Riders push security officer from transit train after he requests they wear masks;” “Fast food employee punched after he refuses to serve customer not donning a mask;” “Walmart employee kicked in groin by customer when told to leave store for failure to wear a mask;” “Store customer is assaulted in store parking lot after he asks fellow customer why he doesn’t wear a mask;” “Woman assaulted and knocked to the ground for asking another Staple’s customer to put on mask;” “Two Trader Joe’s customers attacked employees when asked to put on masks;” etc., etc.  Sadly, these are actual media headlines. 

The list goes on and on as we as a nation have turned a simple request into a justifiable reason to violently, physically, attack others.  And regrettably, I suspect that some reading these headlines will applaud these actions and espouse, “Good, they got what they deserved!”

What an affront to our personal freedom, requesting that we wear a mask to possibly prevent us from infecting someone else; for that’s really what this is all about.   However, many don’t understand this because they operate from a self-centered point of view.   It’s the  me, me, me approach. 

Those who don’t mask and say things like, “I’m young, so I won’t get sick,” or “I am willing to take the risk and I have the right to do so,” completely, selfishly miss the point.  It’s the people who they come in contact with that just might need the virus  protection because of high risks such as their age, or pre-existing conditions.  Unless you can guarantee that before you start your journeys each day without a mask, that you tested negative for COVID-19, you are a potential contributor to the spreading of this disease, and the reason why we have, and will continue to have, economic shutdowns in our country.   Just because you have no overt symptoms, and are categorized as asymptomatic, doesn’t mean you can’t infect others. 

To address this mask issue I was thinking about getting some business cards printed that stated, “Thank you for helping spread COVID-19 and contributing to our economic shutdown by not wearing a mask.”  I was going to give them to everyone not donning a mask, but, then again, I came to the realization that I might get killed. 

Congratulations U.S.A, we have now added yet another divisive wedge to our society, Maskers vs Non-Maskers.  Don’t we have enough societal dissensions already?  What have we become as a nation?  Is this how we “Make America Great Again?”  Think about it the next time you choose not to wear a mask.

Time for Old Folks to Go

 

In full disclosure, I am a 75 year old male.  I state that so that readers won’t think I’m anti old folks.  As I watched the Senate hearings on the latest nominee for the Supreme Court,  I couldn’t help but wonder if I was watching an episode of “The Living Dead.”  Why were there so many old folks?  Heck, Dianne Feinstein, one of the leading interrogators, and senator from California, is 86 years, 10 months old.  I was curious.  Just how many others in their upper senior silver years are calling the shots for a country where the median age of its residents is 38.2? 

After some research I discovered, to my horror, 58 out of a total of 100 senators presently serving in Congress are over the age of 65, 38 are over the age 70, and 12 exceed the age of 80.  In fact, the average age of half of our senators is 73.5.  And none of these elderly folks are bound by the same obstacles as the general public when it comes to societal needs, particularly as related to health care.

They all have a unique health insurance plan, funded by taxpayers’ money which is exclusive to them.  Those 65 and older don’t have to rely on Medicare, Obamacare, or any other Medicare Advantage Plan, and no- out- of- pocket drug plan. They are chauffeured around in tax payer funded automobiles while in Washington, D.C., and on top of that get paid big bucks.  Their salary being $174,000 per  year plus the ability to earn an additional 15% of their annual salary on other “outside” work.  They are also allowed an additional tax deduction of up to $3,000 for living expenses.

Additionally, many hold this job for a long time, some as long as a whopping 45 years. 

Does this sound like someone who identifies with you? 

And let’s not forget about the ages of the current individuals vying for the office of President.   Trump is 74 and Biden is 77.  Just where have all the young folks gone?  And with all this commotion about the mental acuity of Joe Biden, what about all those old folks in the Senate? 

Sadly, there is not enough space to discuss our esteemed members of the House of Representatives, but the oldest champion there is Rep. Don Young, from Alaska, 86 years, 11 months old.   He has been in Congress for 53 years. 

Now I’m not in any way implying that old folks can’t continue to make productive contributions to society, but there is an element of being “in tune” with the society that exists today if you are to serve as a representative for addressing its needs. 

It’s time to step back and let our kids take over even though we might be at odds with them.   This can never occur with the present election system we have, age limits and true term limits need to be implemented.

We already have term limits for the President of the U.S.  He/she can’t serve for more than 8 consecutive years.  So why are our legislators, that supposedly represent our current society, exempt?

We need to stop re-electing folks that truly are not representative of our populace and are for the most part “out of tune.”  Stop relying on name recognition as the major factor influencing your vote.  The younger generation in this country needs to wake up.  It’s time to put the old folks out to pasture.

 

Smart Use of the Tax System? Or a Crook?

 

This headline pretty much sums up what the media buzz will be leading up to the election, “Donald Trump, a bad businessman or a tax cheat-probably both”

Some of the more interesting facts surrounding this statement include the surprise that in the 10 years leading up to his presidency Donald Trump paid no income tax, and only $750 in federal taxes the year he was elected.  Sadly, people working in supermarkets earning $25,000 a year would pay more. 

Now others would claim that this does not indicate any wrong doing, but simply a smart use of our present tax system; and they might be correct.  For Trump simply claimed chronic business losses and wrote off business expenses for years to avoid tax payments.  Heck, he even wrote off $70,000 as a business expense for hair dressing charges while serving on The Apprentice TV show.  Additionally, he received a $72.9 million tax refund which is presently under audit by the IRS. 

However, while all this might be perfectly legal, it does indicate that the persona that Trump puts forth as a successful businessman is a total fabrication, a lie.   He even wrote a best seller book about his success as a businessman, and started a university for students to attend to learn the Trump business model for success.   By the way, the university turned out to be a fraud and cost him over $25 million to settle the case. 

Additionally, it now appears many of Trump’s best known and highly touted businesses are really money losers. These include his golf courses, hotels, and resorts.  And let’s not forget his failed casinos like the one in Atlantic City.  No wonder he continually tries to hold presidential events at and steers visiting foreign diplomates to these places.  Our government has already spent over $1.2 million, since Trump has taken office, in helping to stem his losses by utilizing his facilities. 

But, here’s the real possible fraudulent aspect of President Trump’s finances.  While he continually claimed poverty when it came to paying federal income taxes, he presented a totally different picture during the same timeframe when he was seeking loans from banks totally over $421 million.  To them he provided financial documentation showing successful money making ventures in order to secure these funds. 

And if Trump is losing so much money out the door as he claims, he is going to have to sell some of these money losers to pay off these loans which are now coming due.

There are more tax revelations, but as usual all these are labeled “Fake News” by President Trump and his supporters.  If so, there is a simple solution.  He could release his tax returns and put all this to rest. That is, if he truly has nothing to hide.  Strangely, he has refused to do that, reinforcing justifiable suspicions. 

I always thought that President Donald Trump was a fraud regarding his successes as a businessman considering his ‘daddy’ actually gave him most of his fortune, but what I never knew was how he gamed our tax system and our banking system at the same time by divergent themes.   Someday maybe others will come to realize how difficult it is to determine the truth from the fiction about President Donald Trump, the former TV reality star.  Perhaps he’s not the shinning knight on the big white horse that can save us all, as he would like us to believe; for self-promotion is Donald’s forte. 

“Fraud:  a person or thing intended to deceive others, typically by unjustifiably claiming or being credited with accomplishments or qualities.” Oxford Dictionary

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Deserves More

 

The world lost a true person of character this week when Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away.  Few people probably realize the personal obstacles she faced early in her life as she tried to enter the exclusive “boys’ club,” known as the law profession. 

The stage set for what Ginsburg would face during her law career was clearly evident when she entered the prestigious Harvard Law School in 1956 and was asked by the dean to justify why she was taking a seat that would otherwise go to a man.  A Harvard law school employee once told her that women were not permitted to enter a room in the library in which she needed to do research. 

Ginsburg graduated tied for first in her class at Columbia Law School, to which she had transferred when her husband took a job in New York City.  But that wasn’t good enough for Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter who refused to interview her for a clerkship because, as he so arrogantly stated, he was “not ready to hire a woman.”  This belief constantly followed her throughout her law career where she had to over-excel her male counterparts. 

In 1993, she was elevated to icon status by being only the second female Supreme Court justice in American history.  In that role she consistently advocated for the equal rights of women.  Early on she wrote the majority opinion in a case striking down the Virginia Military Institute's men-only admissions policy, and in her career delved into areas where no other Supreme Court justice had ever gone. 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was relentless in her mission as a Supreme Court justice.  This devotion to serve could not have been more evident than her continued service in spite of monumental health issues. 

In 1999, she had surgery for early-stage colon cancer; ten years later, it was surgery for pancreatic cancer, and in 2018 she had surgery to remove cancerous growths from her left lung.  Sadly, these were only a partial list of the health struggles she endured. 

However, through them all she continued the demanding work of a Supreme Court justice without relenting or complaining.  She did not miss an oral argument until her 2018 surgery and even then worked from her hospital bed while recovering.  She seemed unbreakable despite her medical issues. 

But sadly, Friday, her health issues finally broke her and she passed away at her home at age 87. 

However, what followed her death was absolutely shameful behavior by our esteemed legislators in Washington, D.C. 

Forty-nine minutes to the second, after the announcement of Justice Ginsburg’s death, Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, with prodding from the press, began espousing how a replacement for her would be immediately proposed by the President and voted upon by the Senate. 

Likewise, Chuck Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader, started advocating how that would never be allowed to happen. And the public jumped on the bandwagon; social media lit up. 

And the games began, with both party members rallying around their respective leaders. 

Couldn’t all of us, and especially members of Congress, at least have given Justice Ginsburg the weekend to think about her as someone who literally gave her life devoted to serving the country.  Didn’t she deserve that respect? 

How sad we have become as a nation over this thing called ‘politics.’  We have not only elevated it to be more important than family and friends, but now it even supersedes paying respect to those who have earned it. 

Kind of makes one disgusted if one of the reasons this occurred was the very thing that Ruth Ginsburg spent her entire career fighting for, equal respect for women. 

Maybe the “boys’ club” is still very much alive and well, or perhaps maybe it was because she was not only a “female” judge, but also a “liberal” one, and considered of less value as an individual by those presently in power. 

Just think about how the immediate aftermath of her death compared to that of Justice Antonin Scalia and maybe you’ll know the answer; conservative male vs liberal female. 

Just where are we heading as a society when we are no longer capable of showing respect for individuals no matter what their sex, party, or political leanings they hold dear? 

So pathetically sad!

Broken Promises

One of the most dreaded aspects of being a politician is being held accountable for what you espoused you were going to accomplish during your time serving the public.  As November 3^rd approaches its time to examine just how many of President Trump’s major political promises have actually become realities. 

Building a wall on the Mexican/US border:  Trump claimed he would build a NEW border wall that would cost about $22 million, Mexico would pay for it, and as of August 18, 2020, reported that the wall was nearly complete. 

Fact: The latest cost is closer to $70 million, Mexico is not paying for it, and as of May, 2020, only 5 miles of a NEW 30 foot high wall have been built where none existed before.  Most construction has been of patch work design to simply reinforce the existing barriers and fencing. 

Replacement of Obamacare:  In 2016, President Trump promised to replace Obamacare with a new, improved health care plan. 

Fact: Four years later no such health care plan exists as a replacement for Obamacare. 

Reducing drug prices:  During that same year, Trump was passionate about drug prices.  He swore to stand up to the pharmaceutical companies, long revered as among Washington’s most powerful interests. He even told Time magazine in his Person of the Year interview in December, 2016, “I’m going to bring down drug prices. I don’t like what has happened with drug prices.  One of my greatest priorities is to reduce the price of prescription drugs.  In many other countries, these drugs cost far less than what we pay in the United States. That is why I have directed my Administration to make fixing the injustice of high drug prices one of our top priorities.  Prices will come down.” 

Fact:  President Trump has done little to nothing to fulfill this promise.  In fact, drug prices are still increasing.  While growth in spending on drugs has slowed in recent years, the total national spending continues to grow.  Americans spend more than anyone else in the world.  Trump’s latest excuse for failing to reign in prices is that he wants to give the drug companies more time to act on their own so that he can broker a deal.  He has had four years to broker that deal. 

Lowering the national debt:  Trump has repeatedly complained about the endless spending of his democratic rivals, and in 2016 he promised to eliminate the national debt. 

Fact:  When Trump took office the national debt was approximately $19.9 trillion; as of July, 2020, it was approximately $26.5 trillion, an increase of approximately $5.6 trillion in four years.  And contrary to what his supporters believe, most of that increase was due to his reduction in taxes plan which was claimed to pay for itself and NOT increase the debt. 

Balance the U.S. trade deficit:  In 2016 Trump bragged about how he would bring the U.S. trade deficit into alignment, eliminating it.  He continually talk about how we should be exporting more than we import and how the Democrats were responsible for the deficient that existed at that time. 

Fact: The US trade deficit jumped to $63.6 billion in July of 2020. It is the highest trade gap since July of 2008.  It is 6.3% higher than Obama’s last year in office, and the U.S. presently has the highest trade deficit in the world.  While President Trump continually brags about the reduction in the trade deficit with China, which is down 22%, his other economic blunders have increased the deficit with other countries; thus leading to the new overall increase. 

Deportation of undocumented immigrants:  President Trump repeatedly told his supporters that every single undocumented immigrant, of which there are estimated to be more than 11.3 million, "has to go."

Fact:  So far, under Trump, a record high of 340,500 were deported in 2019,  a slight rise over the year before, although not as high as during the same length of time for the Obama administration, which deported approximately 410,000.  Sadly for Trump supporters, Obama actually deported more during the same time frame. 

Repairing the nation’s infrastructures:  At the beginning of President Trump’s term he declared that the country's infrastructure "will become, by the way, second to none, and we will put millions of our people back to work as we rebuild it." 

Fact:  Although he has repeatedly vowed to spend $1.5 trillion to improve our country's roads, rail and airports, he has only spent $21 billion so far, during his four years in office, and most still remain untouched. 

So even though President Trump has actually delivered on only a paltry few of his promises, he still enjoys enamored support from his followers because of a robust stock market, his appointment of conservation Supreme Court and federal judges, and his deregulation of government oversite of big businesses, particularly the oil, gas, chemical and coal industries, some of the biggest donors to his election campaign. 

Accordingly, if one objectively judges President Trump based upon his fulfilled promises during his first four years, he probably deserves a ‘C-‘   and not the ‘A’ delusionally bestowed upon him by his supporters and Fox News.  He is not the miracle worker they would like all of us to believe. 

Words are cheap, and President Trump is at no loss for words, but accomplishments are the bottom line and all that really matter.

President Trump has Little Concern for Public Health

 

While President Trump continues to receive praises from his supporters about his successes in regards to creating a robust economy, these same individuals are blissfully unaware of his failing record in protecting the health of those living in the U.S.  Actually, some may be aware, but with all the chaos which always follows Trump, the actual facts regarding this lack of concern for the public’s health is successfully floated under the radar by his supporters, and is seldom reported by the media. 

And I am not talking about his handling of the COVID-19 Pandemic.  This is of far greater importance than that debacle. 

The Trump administration under Trump’s personal guidance has been, for 4 years, systematically undoing the contamination protection of our air and waterways from cancer causing pollutants.

Those efforts have been mainly focused on eliminating restrictions on fossil fuel pollution, which include but are not exclusively restricted to, coal-fired power plants, automobile emissions, methane emissions, asbestos, and chemical hazards. 

President Trump has systematically dismantled the Clean Water Act of 1972, the Clean Water Rule of 2015, and tinkered with the Clean Air Act of 1970. 

Basically the present administration now allows polluters free reign to discharge potentially harmful cancer causing substances into our streams and wetlands without any regulation.  He accomplished this by redefining what is deemed “a waterway in the US;” thus eliminating federal protection of a significant portion of our streams, lakes, bays, lagoons, wetlands, and headways from pollutants.

He has literally put the drinking water for more than 117 million Americans at risk.  Remember the old 1969 story about the Cuyahoga River, in Ohio, actually catching on fire?  Well get ready for the return of that. 

To get a better understanding of what has occurred with regards to protecting our nation’s watercourses, imagine Trump taking  a map of the waterways in the U.S. and using one of his classic Sharpies to place an ‘X’ over a significant portion of them,  and declaring that they shall no longer count as “waters of the U.S.”  These excluded waterways, as they have been defined for decades, are now no longer subject to federal clean-water standards, and nobody will step in to stop polluters from doing things like burying streams with mining debris, or flushing toxic byproducts into a river or bay.

This new policy known affectionately as the “Dirty Water Rule” or “Toxic Water Rule” will negatively impact one in every five streams, more than half of all the wetlands, and many other lakes and ponds. 

Sadly, one would think that residents of the ‘Sportsman’s Paradise’ state would take they heads out of the Trump clouds and become informed about some of the deplorable aspects of the  Trump administration when it comes to protecting this state’s livelihood and the entire country. 

In addition, let’s look at how Trump’s toxic plans regarding air pollution have now hit our state by impacting the folks in St. John the Baptiste Parish. The Denka Performance Elastomer factory in La Place releases chloroprene into the air in manufacturing a synthetic rubber product.  In 2010 EPA determined that this chemical was a likely carcinogen (cancer causing agent), and also determined that the five census tracts with the highest cancer risk were in the vicinity of the Denka plant. 

In 2017, it was mandated that the company reduce this pollutant by 85%.  

However, a new air pollution policy from the Trump administration was clearly spelled out in a letter from EPA this month.  The Denka plant will no longer be required to measure pollutant emissions in and around its site beginning in December. No further federal regulation monitoring will take place at all. Strangely, when the EPA was contacted regarding this change, they responded with, “EPA remains committed to air monitoring near the Denka facility.  EPA also remains committed to keeping the La Place community and the general public thoroughly informed about monitoring results as quickly as possible.” 

Gee,  how can it keep the community ‘thoroughly informed” when there is no more required monitoring?  Guess this is just some more ‘fake news’ from the Trump administration minions. 

Maybe the folks in St John’s Parish should have become more informed about the facts regarding the Trump administration’s policy as it related to protecting the public’s health, and, in particular, how that would impact their parish, when they overwhelmingly supported Trump in 2016. 

President Trump is a master at distraction, and the media and the Democrats play into his hand, but his real, present, ongoing danger, lies in the things that he is secretly dismantling without Congressional approval, or knowledge, to the overall detriment of our quality of life. 

So as some of you folks continue to praise President Trump for all his great accomplishments, please don’t forget about the ‘F’ he earns in protecting your health from poisons.  His changes are going to detrimentally impact our lives and your children’s for years to come. 

I, for one, would rather sacrifice some of the stock market returns, for protection from known air and water carcinogens which could seriously impact my health. 

When you vote November 3^rd at least become informed about each candidate’s broad policies rather than focusing upon the political hypes, stereotypes, and fear monger tactics amassed by social media, your friends, and the press.  Do some factual research!  

Looking into the future of Louisiana, happy fishing in those polluted streams and lakes, and enjoy those poisonous shrimp, oysters, crabs, and craw daddies while sucking in the cancerous air, and please don’t forget who you have to thank.

 

Some Parents Just Don't Care

 

It’s depressing  to know that several parents of parochial school students in Ponchatoula are doing their part to continually spread the COVID-19 virus and contribute to keeping our economy from opening up.  At approximately 7:00 AM Thursday there was a gathering of 20 plus female students and their parents in a neighbor’s yard near the park hugging and socializing without masks. Additionally, their parents were gleefully taking pictures of these girls hugging and posing.  I assume it was some type of back to school celebration because the girls donned their school uniforms. 

It is apparent from this foolish gathering that these parents are confident in their assumption that kids are, as our Commander-in Chief has recently falsely stated, nearly immune from COVID-19. 

As is so often the case with the COVID-19 pandemic, these parents are banking on THEIR assumptions about this virus being correct; ignoring the possible downsides if they are wrong.  If they had practiced protective measures, the only downside would have been not holding the gathering at all.  I’m sure this would not have been some devastating event in their child’s life that would have seriously impacted his/her mental health. 

On the other hand, by holding the event, and assuming it’s safe, the possible downsides to that, if they are wrong, are they have now spawned new carriers of COVID-19 with the additional benefit of their child becoming ill and missing school. 

Fortunately, data suggests that the kids will most likely be asymptomatic and just gleefully go through their daily lives spreading the virus to others. 

This event should also serve as a model for the Tangipahoa School District in their draconian attempts to protect their students from COVID-19.   Apparently they are just wasting their time implementing protective measures such as disinfecting surfaces, social distancing, mask wearing, and offering optional virtual learning, because the bottom line is there may be a whole bunch of parents like those participating in Thursday’s social gathering that couldn’t care less about the safety of their children and others when it involves COVID-19.  So sad!

 

Reply to Local Commentary Regarding Anti-Masking

It’s obvious from Glenda Sharkey’s bizarre commentary entitled “Taking away our rights” that she fails to understand what it means to be a member of a society.

According to the Cambridge dictionary, ‘society’ is defined as the set of rules that a group of individuals lives by known as ‘the social contract.’   In other words, people must play a part in agreeing to abide by certain rules that will benefit the majority of the group members.

Philosopher Thomas Hobbes theorizes that without a society, “Man's natural state would be to preserve only oneself; a man without society would steal another family's food, seduce other men's wives and kill anyone who got in his way.  Of course, the same man would be in constant danger of those things happening to him, his wife and his children. What people needed, therefore, was a society, which would provide protection by subjecting everyone to a set of rules (social contract).” 

The ‘social contract’ not only involves people agreeing to abide by certain rules, but also choosing a leader who may make decisions which benefit the group as a whole.

And therein is where the flaw exists in Ms. Sharkey’s thinking about protecting one’s ‘self-rights’ in resisting the state mask mandate.  It turns into a perfect example of pure selfishness, for she wants to decide, in isolation, what rules she desires to follow to benefit only her.   And if she doesn’t like the rule, she categorizes it as an infringement on her ‘self-rights’; again a rather self-centered point of view showing little regard to the other members of the society of which she has chosen to be a member.

She raises the issue of mandated seat belt wearing while riding in a car as a possible early example of impinging on one’s ‘self-rights’.  Contrary to popular belief, wearing a seat belt not only protects her but also the other societal members riding in her vehicle in the event of an accident.  Its requirement protects her body from becoming a dangerous projectile thrown into another person riding in the car.  It’s in place to protect her and other members of Ms. Sharkey’s society.

Ms. Sharkey, like so many others who have made mask wearing a politicized ‘self-rights’ issue, fails to comprehend that she should wear a mask to help protect others in society from being infected by her.   Ms. Sharkey has no way of knowing whether or not she is an asymptomatic carrier of COVID-19.  Mask wearing should be done out of a cooperative effort to function as a member of the society from which Ms. Sharkey continually benefits.  It is not an issue about ‘self-rights.’

Additionally, as far as her statement is concerned, that wearing a mask might be a health risk by trapping exhaled carbon dioxide and causing one to breathe in more CO2, this is categorically false. The WHO listed this as one of the common myths being circulated on social media and states scientific data which indicate that the prolonged use of surgical masks doesn't lead to CO2 intoxication or a lack of oxygen.   I don’t find evidence of any doctors passing out during surgeries.

I hope Ms. Sharkey realizes that if she strictly adhered to her beliefs about societal cooperation (rules) and its infringement on her ‘self-rights’, she would have no alternative but to come to the finale conclusion that she really has very few ‘self-rights.’

If she truly believes that, and that mandating a mask to protect other societal members from prolonged hospitalization and possible death is an infringement on, or a taking away of her ‘self-rights’, I suggest she take up residence in China, for then she will truly understand what taking away “self rights’ really means.

Louisiana Knuckleheads Join Mississippi Group

Well you’ve got to give it to our esteemed Louisiana legislators.  Not only did they serve as puppets for the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) in making auto injury insurance claims more difficult for the average citizen under the unsupported guise that auto premiums will decrease, and increased corporate tax breaks adding to our state’s budget deficient for the next fiscal year, but they also may have contributed to the spread of COVID-19.

Several of our Republican legislators politicized the request from our governor to wear a mask during the most recently concluded legislative session.  They claimed it was an infringement on their “self- rights” and supported our Commander-in-Chief in his refusal to wear one.

Sadly, Mississippi, the state that joins Louisiana in ranking at the bottom in many national polls, also had die hard legislators who decided to flaunt wearing masks to make a political statement.

Thursday, it was reported by the Mississippi State Health Officer, Thomas Dobbs, that 36 people who work at the capital have tested positive for COVID-19, including 26 legislators. That figure means that 1 in 6 legislators have contracted the virus.  Included in these numbers were the leaders of both legislative chambers.

Now some may argue this is no big deal unless these folks get seriously ill. And truthfully some may never experience any symptoms at all.

However, all now serve as virus spreaders, possibly infecting others who may experience serious effects requiring hospitalization and leading to possible death.  They have now exposed their families, friends and any others they have come in contact with to COVID-19.  And continue to blissfully do so.

Wonder how many of our legislators will test positive and how far they will spread it?  I guess we can just add our leaders in Baton Rouge to the other knuckleheads in Mississippi who are the contributors to the shutdown of our economy.  Ironically, our Baton Rouge legislators talk about the necessity of ending this crippling economic shutdown, but some refuse to make a simple lifestyle adjustment to aid in that process, all in the name of “personal freedom.”   Don’t figure, so stupid.

COVID-19 Falsehoods

As we learn more and more about COVID-19 we have discovered that some of the “fake news” being circulated by right wing leaning individuals on social media has now been proven false by data driven statistics.

The first bogus proclamation is that this virus is no big concern, because the chances of contracting it is no greater than contracting the yearly flu.  It really isn’t that contagious.  False, data from China show that each coronavirus case seems to infect about 2 to 2.5 additional people. That's higher than the flu. The average seasonal flu patient spreads it to about 1.3 others.

The second, that the coronavirus will just go away, like the seasonal flu, at the end of the winter months.  It’s still here with no indication that it’s even remotely dissipating.

The third, the final death rate for corona wouldn’t be much greater than that cited yearly from the flu.   False again, the U.S. death rate from last year’s flu season was about 62,000.  At the end of June the five month U.S. corona death rate totaled over 130,000.   Additionally, it is estimated that this figure might be 28% under reported because of people who died at home in small rural communities who never sought a doctor’s care.

An additional falsehood, those wearing a mask and social distancing do little to prevent the spread of COVID-19.  As many states and communities attempt to return to pre-corona times, by opening up venues that make social distancing impossible (bars, restaurants with indoor service, and casinos), and often flaunt the mask requirement, we see the reported number of new cases soaring  as indicated Thursday when the highest single day figure ever reported was announced (55,220).

And the final falsehood, that according to the present administration, the increased number of new cases now being reported is just the result of more testing rather than the beginning of a resurgence of the virus due to the relaxing of precautionary measures.  Dr. Sten Vermund, dean of the Yale School of Public Health pretty much sums up this theory when he states, “Just speaking as an epidemiologist, if I saw rising testing, rising case numbers, and declining hospitalizations and deaths, I would say that Donald Trump and Vice President Pence are correct.  Conversely, if those measures are rising, I would say that they are blowing smoke.”

Sadly the hospitalization rates are rising once again, but fortunately death rates are holding steady due to the discovery of better ways to treat the disease along with drugs that assist in the recovery.  Consequently, both these statistics do not the support the “more testing” theory.

Each of us now has a choice to make.  We can bury our heads in the sand and continue to deny the existence of this health crisis, or we can actively alter our life styles and attempt to mitigate the consequences of COVID-19.   It’s time for a reality check.  It ain’t going away any time soon.  Wear a mask!

COVID-19 Hasn't Left

Thursday, June 18th, the following headlines appeared in the Hammond Daily Star, “Local high schools to host graduation ceremonies” and “PHS parade rolls this weekend.”   The first story reported that seven high schools in Tangipahoa Parish were implementing traditional senior graduation ceremonies involving the gathering of people, while the second reported the holding of a downtown parade in Ponchatoula followed by a social gathering at a local venue.

Fast forward to Tuesday, June 23th, and the following headline appeared in the New Orleans Advocate, “Grad soiree, DJ party cited as outbreak catalyst.”    That story reported that a June 8th graduation party for Isidore Newman School students and their parents was identified as a source of the COVID-19 spread.  The state health officials reported that dozens of the private school college prep school’s parents and students have been infected.

In disbelief one of the parents of a Newman student who attended the party stated he would be “shocked” if it had sparked an outbreak, but did acknowledge that there “wasn’t a whole lot of mask wearing.”  Only 50 people attended the gathering.  Sadly, he was wrong in his disbelief for both his wife and child tested positive for the virus along with others.

And to make matters worse, many of those with positive results have subsequently visited other relatives and friends, in addition to perspective colleges for possible attendance this fall.  God only knows how many others they’ve now infected.

While we continue to ignore the presence of the COVID-19 and push the envelope of returning to pre-virus normalcy, COVID-19 remains undeterred, and isn’t magically disappearing into the great unknown anytime soon.

Just keep poking the rattle snake with a stick and see what happens.

While it is not necessary to become obsessed with COVID-19 and completely drop out of daily living, it is necessary to stop being stupid by ignoring that some aspects of your life style must change or the virus will continue to spread unimpeded.

The damage done from the graduation ceremonies and the Ponchatoula parade, followed by the social gathering is set in motion and we won’t see the results for possibly two weeks.  Hopefully they are minimal.

 

However one has to wonder about the question posed by Dr. Jennifer Avegno,  Health Director of New Orleans.  She asked the following, “Is the joy of a graduation celebration worth the guilt of infecting others?”  Apparently some city leaders, Tangipahoa parents, and the Tangipahoa School District administrators have decided selfishly that the answer is a resounding ‘yes’.

Hopefully our behavior will change or we can instead continue to pretend that everything regarding COVID-19 has mysteriously vaporized and follow the advice from Dr. Avegno, “ If you decide to throw a gathering of 100 or more, look around and decide which seven of them you would be comfortable with sentencing to death.”  The number is even greater if elderly are in attendance.

Just how much are you willing to risk regarding your loved ones and others?  Only time will tell!

Mask Time

I have noticed that our local media are now filled with pictures of selfish and uncaring individuals when it comes to protecting others from COVID-19 by wearing a mask;  particularly, pictured senior citizens, the most vulnerable group for contracting the disease.

While wearing a mask other than N95 has limited results in protecting you from contracting the virus from an infected, non-masked individual, its assistance in preventing an infected individual from transmitting COVID-19 to others is soundly supported by the CDC. 

If you don’t trust the CDC how about the Mayo Clinic?  The following statement appears on the Mayo Clinic’s website, “Asking everyone to wear cloth masks can help reduce the spread of the coronavirus by people who have COVID-19 but don't realize it.”

And therein is where the selfishness and uncaring come into play in our surrounding communities.  Unless all those individuals who choose not to wear a mask got tested and received negative results immediately before interacting with others, they have no idea of whether or not they are a carrier.  And I suspect they go blissfully about in their daily lives uncaring about possibly infecting others in their day to day activities. 

Those who selfishly wish to not wear a mask based upon whatever principle they choose to adhere to, or make up, should at least have the common decency to be more concerned about the others they interact with; particularly those in high risk categories.

It’s not just about you choosing to take a personal risk, but instead also about the others who don’t wish to take that risk.

And for those, who think this was “all a left wing hoax,” tell that to the husband and kids of the front line ER doctor who committed suicide over all the COVID-19 deaths and suffering she encountered, or those front line health care workers who tearfully provided first hand testimony on our news outlets of the horrific events they have and are still witnessing.

Such a minor inconvenience, wearing a mask to protect others.  So simple.

The demise of recycling

Getting people to recycle is a tough enough battle without individuals creating road blocks which limit its success.  The recent decision by Tangipahoa Parish President, Robby Miller, to close recycle drop off sites in Roseland and Hammond will seriously impede recycling efforts in the areas surrounding those closed sites.

By his order a large portion of Tangipahoa recyclers will now have to travel some 25 or more miles to drop off their recycle waste.  That will probably mean that many will no longer recycle.  While it was bad enough that rural parish residents were never afforded the luxury of curbside recycling services, at a minimum of once per month, at least we had the ability of a short drive twice per month at convenient drop off auxiliary locations.

After first trying to convince residents that the closures would benefit them by claiming better access due to extended drop off hours, Mr. Miller retreated and stated that the closures save the parish money.  This is due to the fact that now the parish won’t have to cover the cost of transporting the recyclables from the Hammond and Roseland drop off sites to the Independence land fill site.  However, no supporting cost saving data was presented as to how much this action saved.

Furthermore, the cost of running these satellite locations was already included as part of the parish’s operating budget for the present fiscal year, so it wasn’t necessary to close these locations at this point in time.

The 2020 Tangipahoa Operating budget lists $13 million as the departmental expenditures from the General  Fund.   I am sure the cost of transporting the recyclables from the Hammond and Roseland auxiliary sites to Independence doesn’t cost any more than one percent of that amount, if even that much.  But since no figures were presented to the public with the closure decision no one knows exactly how much we are saving vs sacrificing the environment.

Sadly, Tangipahoa Parish joins others, nationwide, in the notion that recycling is no longer a priority or worth the effort.  The parish president should have been upfront with his support of that belief from the very beginning instead of initiating an end around game which will result the curtailment of parish recycling services all together after the auxiliary sites closures result in reduced use of the inconvenient Independence landfill facility.  He will then be finally able to blame it on the public and curtail the entire recycling service “due to a lack of recycling interest by the public.”

It's Not All About Football

While LSU athletes continue their superiority in the SEC in their athletic skills, when it comes to academics they are dead last according to the recently released NCAA data.

Overall academic rankings for each school were compiled by tracking every student-athlete on scholarship in terms of eligibility, retention and graduation.  Every scholarship student-athlete received a semester academic rating score based upon remaining in school and continuance of academic eligibility.  In the words of athletic director, Scott Woodward, it requires that athletes demonstrate “extraordinary drive and commitment to excel in the classroom and to be elite on the field.”

Several LSU teams excelled in the survey with perfect scores. These included:  gymnastics, women’s golf, softball, women’s cross country, beach volley ball, women’s tennis, men’s track and field, men’s golf, men’s tennis, and men’s cross country.

However, the LSU football team ranked last in the SEC for the third year in a row, which contributed to last place for the school’s academic total ranking, while LSU’s nemesis, Alabama, was second only to Vanderbilt in the overall school academic rankings.

Some might argue that the relevance of such a ranking is irrelevant because, as long as the LSU Tigers keep performing in an elitist fashion on the football field, that’s all that really matters.  But one must not lose sight of the mission of LSU, “As the Flagship institution of the state, the vision of Louisiana State University is to be a leading research-extensive university, challenging undergraduate and graduate students to achieve the highest levels of intellectual and personal development. Designated as a Land, Sea, and Space Grant institution, the mission of Louisiana State University is the generation, preservation, dissemination, and application of knowledge and cultivation of the arts.”

Thanks to yearly draconian academic funding cuts by our esteemed Republican legislators, LSU is finding it more and more difficult to fulfil this mission, and by its continual over emphasis on its athletic successes, particularly regarding football, it further relegates academia to obsolescence.  Additionally, this contributes to people losing sight of why LSU actually exists, which is evidenced by these rankings. It’s not exclusively for football.

As other SEC schools, such as the top four, Vanderbilt, Alabama, Auburn and Ole Miss have shown, academics and athletics can co-exist on equal footing in terms of successfulness.  Athletes are students first and athletes second and supporters of the LSU Tigers need to understand and support that fact.

LSU alumni and fans of Tiger football also need to remember that they presently rank last in the SEC in the financial support for the school whose football team they adore.

Maybe the next time they purchase an LSU football ticket, season pass, beer at the game, or a pay-for-view game on their TVs, they should consider giving an equal amount to the university foundation or the academic department of their choosing.  That is, if they truly love them LSU Tigers

No Shirt, No Shoes, No Mask, No Service

Hard to believe all the pushback businesses are getting when they request that customers wear face masks for COVID-19 protection.  We are seeing demonstrations and even physical altercations over this.  Some individuals have even been shot.  People claim it is an infringement on their freedom.

Funny thing is businesses for years have had signs in their windows that read “No shirt, no shoes, no service.”  I don’t recall any protests or claims of restricted freedom over that.  People just comply.

I got to thinking maybe it wasn’t really about one’s freedom after all.  The people of the U.S. have always had the worldwide image as being a very vain population when it comes to their appearance.

Maybe that’s the key to all this foolishness, vanity.  When we cover our faces others can’t see how attractive or handsome we are.  They can’t see our expensive makeup or our expensive plastic surgery nose, cheek, or lip modifications.  They can no longer grasp our natural beauty.  Gee, maybe that’s why Donald doesn’t wear one.

Sadly, these damn masks sometimes make us look similar to each other except for our eye and hair color.  They may even hide that perfectly manicured beard or mustache.  Maybe it’s the perceived loss of our individuality and uniqueness and not our freedom that are the real driving forces behind all this resistance.

If we go along with this temporary request, we will no longer be able to categorize people according to their attractiveness.  Just think if all those online dating sites only included masked individuals.  What a dent that would put in the dating game.  And what about all those bar pickups?

Maybe I’ve carried this a little too far, but then again how do we explain “No shirt, no shoes, no service” is ok, but “No shirt, no shoes, no mask, no service” is an affront to our freedom and serves as the catalyst for protests and refusals to comply.

Give me vanity or give me illness, that is the question!

Trump paved the way for sexual misconduct

As Tara Reade becomes a household name for accusing Joe Biden, the person most likely to be chosen to challenge Donald Trump for the presidency, of sexual misconduct,  it’s shameful that very few of Trump’s supporters could name even one of the more than two dozen women who have accused him of sexual assault and misconduct.

The list of public accusers of President Donald Trump include: Kristin Anderson, Lisa Boyne, Cathy Heller, Temple McDowell, Karena Virginia, Bridget Sullivan, Tasha Dixon, Mindy McGillivray, Rachel Crooks, Natasha Stoynoff, Jennifer Murphy, Jessica Drake, Ninni Laaksonen, Summer Zervos, Samantha Holvey, Mariah Billado, Victoria Hughes, Juliet Huddy, Alva Johnson, Karen Johnson, Cassandra Searles, Jill Harth, E. Jean Carroll, Jessica Leeds, and Ivana Trump.

However, all these Trump accusers have become forgotten souls in the coverage of Joe Biden and Tara Reade.

As was the case with Donald, Joe claims “It never happened.”  We shall see how this plays out and whether or not it becomes a major nasty political ad campaign talking point by the Republicans.  How hypocritical will that be?  But when it comes to both Democrats and Republicans, there’s no shortage of hypocrisy.  It’s known as politics.

Fortunately,  for Joe Biden, the President has set the bar very low for sexual misconduct, and has brilliantly molded the voters’  mindset to simply brush off such aberrant behavior as “no big deal.”  Consequently, there should be little backlash for Mr. Biden.

So now we have two upstanding individuals running for president, Donald and Joe.  That is if Joe wins the Democratic nomination.  Is this the best we have to offer? Sadly, yes.