Yesterday was Thanksgiving in the US. If you were among the many that were able to stuff themselves with more food than ever should be consumed in one sitting and still have leftovers, congratulations. But, many more aren’t that fortunate. As temperatures drop, those less fortunate more desperately need some assistance. If you have the … More Giving Season
The current SCOTUS term ended 30 June, and they will be on break until 3 October. Thank goodness; we could use some mental rest before they finally fully destroy our representative democracy. And yes, the complete destruction is coming if we don’t take action to stop it. This term culminated in nearly two full weeks … More Quick Thoughts: Thank Goodness SCOTUS is Taking a Break
Most of the masking requirements are being reduced or dropped across the US now. It seems appropriate given that we are lower than when we began our most recent omicron/delta surge, but the current low is still higher than most of the first year of COVID in terms of new cases. Deaths remain fairly well … More Dropping the Masks
Spotify’s CEO recently gave a speech to employees regarding Spotify’s position on hosting the Joe Rogan Experience, especially given that many employees feel personally offended by Joe Rogan’s comments in his podcasts. Here is a link to the full text. I feel like covering a couple of elements. Selected quotes and my thoughts follow: “It … More Spotify’s Values?
There are some loud voices crying out against remote schooling again, now that many K-12 schools and universities are moving back that direction in the face of Omicron. I am moved to write a little bit after reading Universities Need to Catch Up to the Post-vaccine Reality (Remote learning hurts students) by Emily Oster, published … More COVID and College
I saw this story yesterday: Judge blocks Navy vaccine policy for legal challengers citing religious objections The gist is that a federal judge (in Texas, of course) is keeping the Navy from enforcing its vaccination policy with a group of service members (all SEALs), citing the fact that the Navy hasn’t approved any religious exemptions. … More Military Religious Exemptions to COVID Vaccine
The Omicron variant is highly transmissible, even among the vaccinated. Vaccinated folks are far less likely to experience serious illness. Unvaccinated folks are not going to fare as well. As we approach 850k deaths in the US, it’s a good idea to get vaccinated if you aren’t already. Between Delta and Omicron, new case rates … More COVID Metrics
Congrats to Omicron for very quickly becoming the dominant strain of SARS-COV-2 in the US. Of course, Omicron has to thank all the people in the US who insist on behaving as if there is no pandemic during the pandemic for making it all possible. COVID in all its forms has a high mortality rate … More COVID: Omicron
I’m behind, as usual. On 1 DEC, the SCOTUS signaled that it may uphold a Mississippi law than bans abortions after 15 weeks, which is before viability of the fetus. This would have the effect of overturning Roe v. Wade without directly overturning Roe v. Wade, allowing conservative states to ban abortions. The most notably … More Bye-Bye Roe
Isn’t is great living in a post-COVID world? LOL/JK!!! COVID is still a pandemic, and it’s still killing people around the world. Here’s some global trends: And I’ll bet you’ll never guess who is leading the world in new cases per day. Give up? See below… That’s right, it’s the US! We’re always saying we’re … More COVID – 27 AUG 2021
The View from the Armchair 