Not So Far Away Vacay: Keeping Your Distance 43

This year, our vacation is not taking us far away.  Indeed, that is a picture of me on the back porch, book in hand, dog in lap.

Like many, summer vacation plans have evaporated.  We had hoped to go to Michigan, but the coronavirus made that impossible.  It would have been a delight to see my sister and Mike, and my niece and nephew, and a whole passel of trend nieces and a grand nephew.  It would have also been grand to visit one of my favorite places on Earth, Traverse City (thanks to Covid-19, the closest I will get to Traverse City is the t-shirt I am wearing).

In a couple weeks, we will be taking Benjamin up to Milledgeville to start his semester at Georgia College & State University.  Yes, as of this moment, that is still on.  The start of public schools, from Kindergarten to University, is fraught with peril, as cases are still peaking in Georgia.

If things settle done by late Fall, Alison and I hope to take a trip to Northern Georgia.  That's a big if, but we're hoping.

And if things REALLY turn around, we hope to reschedule our trip to Michigan.  And later, Alison and I are hoping to make a leisurely trip to New England. 

Until then,  I'm happy on our porch.  I'm currently reading Leadership: In Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin, that highlights the leadership growth in four of our Presidents (more on this in a separate post). But never fear.  I have more than two dozen unread books to follow up with.

Another spoiler - I am not really on vacation, staycation or otherwise.  I'm still going into work, but only a few hours each week.  It's hard to stay entirely away if you're in town.  And Alison is working a full schedule, as they are preparing for the start of school.

We are still very much in crisis in the state of Georgia.  We could have been over the worst weeks ago, had we truly shut down.  We did not.  There was a very partial shut down for a couple of weeks, followed by a full return, and we are now paying the price.

I'm going to be alright.  Nothing is 100% certain about avoiding COVID-19, but we are doing our best.  We wear masks.  We socially distance.  I have my books and my writing, a part-time job where the environment is controlled, my pets, a wonderful family. 

Now, if you will excuse me, please.  I have a stack of books calling my name.

Stay safe.  Vote Biden.  We will see this through.

Georgia By the Numbers 4: Keeping Your Distance 42

Seriously gonna have to rethink this each three-week update in a different color thing.  I'm running out of colors that show up clear enough to read,

People are wondering.

Are we anywhere back to normal?

Honestly, I think only the most delusional are asking that now.  Although, many are acting like this is over, or buying into the conspiracy theories that the death of 150,000 is just overblown.

Update:  Where have we gone in the three weeks since I Posted the third Georgia by the numbers?

People are starting to press.  No one in my area is pressing anymore.  THEY'RE JUST GOING OUT - FEW MASKS, LITTLE TO NO SOCIAL DISATANCING.  Some businesses (e.g., Kroger, Wally World) have gone to masks required status, and in those places, I see many more masks BUT NOT COMPLETE COMPLIANCE.

When can we go to a restaurant?  Based on the crowds I see, people are going NOW.  This remains true.  

When can we be in a play, or attend one?  WACT put on a play in for late June.  I don't know any right now, although one WACT has scheduled in the Fall is one I'd very much like to be in, but won't in the current environment.

 When can we go to church? Some, but not all, have opened up. My church is still closed, but it is now the exception rather than the rule.  We have established extensive guidelines for what we do when we come back. As of now, our standards are in place, and we have prepared for re-opening, but have not gone beyond online services yet.

When can we hold in-person meetings of our favorite clubs and organizations? I'm not sure about this one - I think most people are still doing ZOOM.  Given the scheduled Trump rally Saturday, I'm glad I don't live in Tulsa.  Not to mention his indoor performance in an Arizona mega-church and his race-baiting speech at Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. HOWEVER, we're close to Jacksonville and the scheduled Republican convention.  Oy.  There is now some queasiness bout holding that convention as Florida's numbers have skyrocketed.  At a minimum, masks may be required, and that does not sit well with Captain Bone Spurs.  Stunningly, the narcissist-in-chief has backed down and canceled the Jacksonville portion of the Republican convention.  Do you know how bad things must be for him to do that?  Well, apparently still not bad enough to stop him from pushing schools to re-open.

Some of these and related questions have been answered by Governor Kemp - sure!  Go ahead and do it!  After all, things are getting better here in Georgia!  Kemp has a few common-sense rules, but they are widely ignored.  Lately, Secretary of State who Referee-ed his way to becoming Governor Kemp, has made pro-mask noses. Still, there is no mandate to require them, as the culture war cry continues to howl - I HAVE THE PERSONAL LIBERTY TO RISK MAKING YOU SICK!  MY PERSONAL LIBERTY TRUMPS (!) PUBLIC HEALTH!!!  Nothing's changed here except Kemp suing the Mayor of Atlanta for daring to have a mask-required policy.

Well...

Are they?

Have we had 14 days of declining numbers, as the CDC suggests?

All I can go by is the Georgia Dept of Health numbers, updated three times a day.  Honestly, they may not be the most trustworthy numbers.  There have been press reports that suggest that Georgia and Florida have been manipulating and/or suppressing data to make their states look like they're recovering.

That may be true, but let's just take the Georgia Department of Health numbers and see what the state itself is reporting.

I've looked at seven-day accumulations, starting with May 5th, in two categories, confirmed cases and the number of deaths.  Results are summarized below -


                                                   Confirmed Cases                    Confirmed Deaths

May 5 - 11                                       4,565                                          198

May 12 - 18                                     4,281                                          205

May 19 - 25                                     5,117                                          199

May 26th - June 1st 4,499                                          241

June 2nd - June 8th 4,598                                          119

June 9th - June 15th 5,917                                          286  
             
June 16th - June 22nd 7,514                                          154

June 23rd - June 29th 13,489                                         136

June 30th - July 6th 17,647                                          94

July 7th - July 13th 23,505                                          148

July 14th - July 20th 25,006                                          150

July 21st - July 27th 25,268                                          333 


 The increase in numbers in the most recent week looks very ominous.  The rise everyone feared is here, but everyone around me still acts like it's over.  The numbers keep rising, and some around are beginning to wonder, but many still spout conspiracy theories.

Cases have skyrocketed.  The most recent week is about three times greater than three weeks ago.  Deaths have not.  Why?  We have to be careful not to presume too much.  It could be that hospitals and doctors have learned more and are getting better at mitigating the worst.  It could be that younger people are getting COVID-19 in more significant numbers, and have a better survival rate.  It could just be a lagging indicator- it takes two to three weeks to see the full effect from current cases.  We don't know.  Only time will tell.

I am very sorry to report that time has told.  Deaths are rising.  I wish it was otherwise.  


And then came the Fourth of July Weekend.  A massive nationwide orgy of misbehavior.  What will be the effects of that?

 I'll let you know in two to three weeks.  Tragically, I think the numbers have answered that.

The verdict is in.  Cases are rising in most states, especially in the South and Sunbelt.  And continue to, with Florida leading the deadly parade.

The President has suggested that the way to beat this is to simply stop testing.

So, the major question is...

Why do I still have friends who support Bunker Boy?  For me, this still remains the central question of our times.  I am not comforted by the polls showing Biden with a double-digit lead.  I honestly feel, with all my heart and soul, that there should be no one left supporting Trump.  NO ONE.


Orginal Georgia by the Numbers comments in black.  Georgia by the Numbers #2 comments in red.  Georgia by the Numbers #3 comments in blue.  Georgia by the Numbers #4 in...whatever this color is...brown, purple, I can't tell.

If this keeps up, I'm gonna run out of colors.  Yeah, right now I'm down to the mystery colors.

The Portland Rorschach Test: Saturday Political Soap Box 245

It's the ultimate political Rorshach test.

What the hell is going on in Portland?

What we see may depend on our own biases and media filters.

The above shows a veteran who asks questions of the unidentified federal forces and winds up getting attacked, pepper-sprayed and has hand broken.  He never makes any aggressive moves.  He only questions their constitutional authority.

I don't know what my friends on the other side of the cultural divide see.  Maybe they don't see this at all.  Maybe it is presented to them in an entirely different context.

Some see the federal (?) agents as heroes, preventing a descent into chaos and rioting violence.  They value monuments and buildings more than human lives.

They don't seem concerned that the federal agents are unidentified (some may actually be members of private security forces or militias).  It doesn't bother them that protestors are swooped up in unidentified vehicles and taken to God knows where for God knows what.

Portland protests were centered into a two-block area.  They might have been disturbing to some, but they were relatively controlled, and as much a celebration as a protest.

But that is not what my Trumpeteer friends are seeing.  They see toppled statues and burned buildings.  They see groups who are bent on the destruction of America, and who plan on marching out to the suburbs and doing...Ok, I lose it there.  I don't know what they think is going to happen.  That's too far down the irrational rabbit hole for me.

Their media is flooded with images, and it seems that they are the opposite of what I see.  Notice in the one above that the question asked is heavily loaded.  They assume the protests are violent enough to demand federal intervention.

Referring back to last Saturday's Political Soap Box, conservatives no longer believe in small government.  They only believe in power.  They have no qualms about bypassing local authorities and state government,  The only parts of the government that matter are those controlled by Trumpeteers.

Unlike the 50s and 60s, the federal government is not coming to defend the civil rights of citizens within a state or community.  They are not trying to get anyone into a school where they have been barred because of the color of their skin.  They are not investigating the murders of civil rights advocated.  

They are coming in, against the wishes of the local and state authorities, WITHOUT IDENTIFICATION, and sowing chaos and violence in one of our great American cities.  A fresh, vibrant, friendly city that my family visited just a few years ago.  A city that my son, Benjamin, is in love with and may want to move to someday.

And I don't care what Rorschach test you go through.  I don't care how your news is filtered.

This is never right.

NEVER

Story Time With Mr. Tom #4

The Days of Comfy Chairs: Keeping Your Distance 41

I kvetch a lot.

What can I do?  We're living in a time of many catastrophes.  The coronavirus rages out of control, particularly in the United States, even more particularly in the area where I live. Portland is under siege from unidentified federal forces who sweep people away in unmarked cars.  Climate change looms over the planet, and I'm not sure how we are going to handle it or mitigate it.  Political norms and democracy (our democratic republic, for those who snot off about calling America a democracy) are under constant challenge and stress.  We have many underlying systematic problems, racial and economic, that make progress towards greater equality of opportunity difficult.

But there are things to be grateful for.

On a personal level, I have comfy chairs, loving pets (the cat shown above, Skitty, may not be genuinely loving, but once in a while, she does deign to recognize my presence, especially around mealtime), and a loving and supportive family.  I have pretty good health for my age, enabling me to do modest excise, contribute to my household and career, enjoy reading and watching TV and movies, and when I get a chance, to perform, in plays and/or audio. 

I can't quit my accounting career, but I can take time away from it to pursue the hobbies and interests I want to, lucrative or not. 

I'm am introvert, so the slight rise in social isolation does not bother me as much as it does others.

On a community level, I know that we have many mask resisters and Trumpeteers where I live.  But there are many, many people that are responsible and care about others.  Most of the people I know are that way - even some of the conservatives.  Some businesses here are beginning to require masks, and there seems to be a growing recognition that we are in crisis.  Yes, I still hear conspiracy theories and lunacy, but I also witness a lot of people discovering the virtues of science and common sense.

Our church has not started in-person services yet, but many of our hard-working vestry members have constructed a careful and well thought out plan to make things as safe a possible when we do come back.  It gives me great confidence that, when new case numbers decline significantly, our church will be doing re-opening right.

We have many local people putting in the extra work to make things better for all.  I hope to do a separate blog entry highlighting the extraordinary contributions of some of those people.


On a national level,  I am heartened by the Black Lives Matter people and those supporting the needed police reform efforts to help make this a safer country for ALL OF US.  I am encouraged by the polls that indicate a solid lead for Biden, and that America seems to be ready for a change in leadership.

Biden was not my first choice.  He has his flaws.  But in these grave times, I see his empathy and experience as being what our country is crying out for RIGHT NOW.  And I am, of course, extremely gratified that he will be picking a woman for Vice President.  And it's not like he has to sacrifice anything in choosing a female candidate - all the contenders I have heard mentioned are first-rate, and will make excellent leaders, and will contribute positively to this country.

The next few months are going to be tough.  COVID-19 is still in its first wave.  As bad as it is right now, it might get worse in the Fall and Winter, even more so if we can't figure out how to behave.  The political season we are headed into promises to be the nastiest in our history (and that's saying a lot).  Climate change continues to gnaw away at our sustainability.

Nevertheless, I see brighter things on the horizon. I see where we may get through this and come out a better people and planet on the other side.

Maybe it's just my comfy chairs.  Maybe it's just my faith in Christ, and that the Holy Spirit will move more and more of us to act as his hands and feet, and help bring the Kingdom of Heaven closer to Earth.  Maybe it's my belief in the saying Martin Luther King, Jr. made famous - "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice."

I am so ready for us to come around that bend. 

What Does Conservative Mean Anymore? Saturday Political Soap Box 244

I don't know.

I don't know what it means.

I don't know what the word conservative means anymore.

I thought one of the most fundamental principles of conservatism was SMALL Government.  I thought they were for LOCAL control.

I did not know that the supreme form of government was state government, hat it had the right to supersede local governments.

Local governments cannot decide when it's safe to open schools, businesses, to mandate masks as a measure of public safety? 

This is not the first instance of this madness.  Michigan, under Republican state control, would take control of whole local governments, dismantling and replacing locally elected leaders and state officials taking control of local decisions.

Like Michigan, Kemp's decision is mainly directed at minority communities.  Which city did Kemp decide to target with court action?  Why, the black mayor of Atlanta,  of course!

Local public schools are under siege by the sabotaging of state moneys to be directed to private schools.  In my home county, public schools are awesome, and a source of pride, joy, and employment.  And yet, they have to fight for support from the state.  And now President Trump and Secretary of State DeVos are threatening to withhold federal funding unless the local governments are willing to put their children's lives ar risk (not to mention all those the children may infect).

When did conservatives decide that local control was wrong?

Maybe I'm wrong.  Maybe it's not the size and authority of government, at any level, that's the issue.

Maybe it's not conservativism.

Maybe it's power.

Raw, unaldurated power.

Whatever level of government Trumpists control - that is the one that should reign supreme.


It's got nothing to do with conservatism.  Although it is not a philosophy I adhere to, it's one I respect.  It's one that has a rightful position in the marketplace of ideas.  It's one that deserves to be listened to, and sometimes, it's ideas blending in and shaping legislation.

For those of you who are truly conservative, I feel for you.  Your ideology has mainly been taken over by a group that has only one clear principle -

MIGHT MAKES RIGHT.

Lowering the Draft Age

The Longest Break: Keeping Your Distance 40

Hello.

I've been away for a while.  I've taken about my longest break in several years from posting a new blog entry or even posting blog entries to social media.  The only breaks that have been longer were when I was on vacation. 

I've been involved in a min-tax season that concluded yesterday.  It's not like the old days, but it did require me to get up early and get going instead of writing something.    I find I write best in the mornings.  As the day wears on, so does my cognitive attention.

When I go to write, I am so often filled with rage about Trump, I find it hard to concentrate on something else.  I had an excellent idea for a funny, nostalgic story, but I lost it when I failed to note anything about it, and the crush of other concerns evaporated it from my noggin.  If I ever get it back, I will note it on my magic phone device, and then wax nostalgic about it on what I am sure will be an award-winning blog post.

---------------------------

I had my vitals recorded in a wellness check last Friday.  Given my wandering away from a strict diet regiment that I was doing the first three months of the year, my numbers were pleasantly better than I was expecting.  I am hoping that when Benjamin goes back to school, my diet will improve, and Alison and I can support each other in our efforts.  We'll see.  I do love me some cookies.

--------------------------

COVID-19 is coming closer and closer.  Two people at my work had to test because they were exposed to positive relatives.  One had the results come back negative, and the other is still waiting for results, and it's been almost TWO WEEKS. 

We know of four people in the last few weeks of massive heart attacks, at least two of which were COVID-19 related.  Our beloved Reverand Kit lost her brother to the virus.  A man who lives two doors down from us is in ICU.

All this is happening while I have to listen to people tell me this is no worse than the common cold, and we go to the grocery store where only about a quarter of the people are wearing masks.

---------------------------------

How am I doing?  Okay.  My diet has relaxed, but I have kept up with exercise.  My health has been pretty good, and any depression has been short-lived and not too deep. 

I am an introvert.  That has had its pluses and minuses.  I don't miss other people as much as some of y'all do.  I miss that we were not able to go to Michigan and that I have not been able to visit with Doug and Paige.  But honestly, I don't miss meetings of organizations, and I have not had the craving to be in a play as much as I thought I might.

I have to attend a monthly meeting on ZOOM for our church vestry.  I'm the Treasurer, and they're hard for me to miss.  I don't connect in a way where they can see me, so they all think I'm naked or something.  I don't like to talk, except for the Treasurer's Report.

The big problem is that this plays into my introversion too much.  The more I am away from people, the shyer I get, and the less I like to talk.  It takes me a long time to get comfortable with people.  That's why I like to be in plays - after a few weeks, I start to open up and feel like I fit in.  Most of the time, I don't feel like I'm worthy - that most people are superior to me.

Anyways, that withdrawn nature I have is amplified by what is going on.  Plus, I'm 65 now, and I've found I really like being at home.

It's hard to say what I'm going to be like when this is over (don't hold your breath).  I may be less participatory than I was before.  I might be more.  Hard to say.

-----------------------

I have a lot more thoughts, as disjointed as they may be.  But I'll save those for another post.

Hopefully, the break between them won't be as long.

President Bone Spurs Crushes Norms: Saturday Political Soap Box 243

Breaking News!

President Lex Luthor has just exonerated The Riddler!

Thank goodness!  Our streets are once again free for crime and corruption!

Yes, this is indeed what it feels like to have President Trump to commute the sentence of the dirty Trickster Supreme, Roger Stone.

As a lifelong DC Comic reader, it is true the there was a time in the DC Universe where Lex Luthor was President of the United States.   Yes, Lex Luthor is a REAL billionaire as opposed to the pretend one we have.  And it's also true that Lex Luthor is a scientific genius as opposed to the moronic anti-science idiot we have now.

But I believe that even Lex Luthor would be impressed with the complete lack of morals and utter contempt for norms and values the Captain Bone Spurs demonstrates. 

Think the commutation of  Roger Stone's sentence is meaningless?  Check out this tweet from Howard Fineman, prominent journalist -

Just had a long talk with #RogerStone. He says he doesn’t want a pardon (which implies guilt) but a commutation, and says he thinks #Trump will give it to him. “He knows I was under enormous pressure to turn on him. It would have eased my situation considerably. But I didn’t.”

4:06 PM · Jul 10, 2020·Twitter for iPhone

Did Roger Stone have information that could hurt Trump, and because he kept quiet, Trump commuted his sentence?

Well, look at Roger Stone's own statement.

I think the riddle has been solved.


I had meant to cover other presidential destruction of norms - there are too many to track!  And I'm already too long here with this one.  Most don't read past - hey, why is Tom posting a picture of Lex Luthor and The Riddler?  Oh, I see from the first line and LOOK, someone posted a picture of a puppy...AWWW!

And so...if you've made it this far...

My friend, Benita Vierke Collins' new puppy!

A Hamilton Weekend

A Hamilton weekend!  

I had requested this book from the library more than a month ago, and it came in about two weeks ago.* At the time that I requested it, I did not know that Disney Plus was going to premiere Hamilton on their streaming service.

This is fantastic!

Except...we did not have Disney Plus.

We weighed the costs.

$6.99 versus the $1200 plus it would have cost for the three of us to see it in Jacksonville.  Do I like live theater?  Seriously?  You're asking that question to Mr. Community Theater?  

But you cannot ignore the cost savings.  Plus..live theater is gone, for now, especially Broadway.

So we watched it.  Did we enjoy it?

YES!!!

The songs were spirited, and it was a very creative sweep through our early national history.  The lyrics were rapid-fire, so I did not catch everything that everyone said, but what I did catch seem accurate and insightful.  All were excellent, but Daveed Diggs was the most exceptional standout to me, with his enthusiastic portrayals of Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson.  I had no idea that the guy I knew from Blackish and Snowpiercer was such a consummate musical performer.

On the downside, I am not a fan of what I call operatic musicals, one where the story is only conveyed through songs, with no spoken dialogue.  Nevertheless, the whole thing was so good I didn't notice it as much as I did in Les Miserables or Jesus Christ Superstar.

Yes, there was some washing over of history, but less than I thought there would be.  Hamilton was an important figure, but not an unblemished one.  He had associations and tolerances of slave owners, including his marriage to a woman from a slave-owning family.  He was a Federalist, not my favorite party, one that was a bit more central power-oriented, and a little less for state and local control.  The party was also more closely identified with wealthy interests at that time.

So, no, although I don't vilify him, I wouldn't say I was Team Hamilton.

But am I Team Hamilton the Musical?

Oh, yes!  Count me on board that one!

*This book, by Ron Chernow, is specifically mentioned in the end credits of Hamilton.

Georgia By the Numbers 3: Keeping Your Distance 39

People are starting to think.


We go to a restaurant!

Update:  Where have we gone in the three weeks since I Posted the second Georgia by the numbers?

People are starting to press.  No one in my area is pressing anymore.  THEY'RE JUST GOING OUT - FEW MASKS, LITTLE TO NO SOCIAL DISATANCING.

When can we go to a restaurant?  Based on the crowds I see, people are going NOW.

When can we be in a play, or attend one?  WACT put on a play in for late June.

 When can we go to church? Some, but not all, have opened up. My church is still closed, but it is now the exception rather than the rule.  We have established extensive guidelines for what we do when we come back.

When can we hold in-person meetings of our favorite clubs and organizations? I'm not sure about this one - I think most people are still doing ZOOM.  Given the scheduled Trump rally Saturday, I'm glad I don't live in Tulsa.  Not to mention his indoor performance in an Arizona mega-church and his race-baiting speech at Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. HOWEVER, we're close to Jacksonville and the scheduled Republican convention.  Oy.  There is now some queasiness bout holding that convention as Florida's numbers have skyrocketed.  At a minimum, masks may be required, and that does not sit well with Captain Bone Spurs.

Some of these and related questions have been answered by Governor Kemp - sure!  Go ahead and do it!  After all, things are getting better here in Georgia!  Kemp has a few common-sense rules, but they are widely ignored.  Lately, Secretary of State who Referee-ed his way to becoming Governor Kemp, has made pro-mask noses, but there is no mandate to require them, as the culture war cry continues to howl - I HAVE THE PERSONAL LIBERTY TO RISK MAKING YOU SICK!  MY PERSONAL LIBERTY TRUMPS (!) PUBLIC HEALTH!!!

Well...

Are they?

Have we had 14 days of declining numbers, as the CDC suggests?

All I can go by is the Georgia Dept of Health numbers, updated three times a day.  Honestly, they may not be the most trustworthy numbers.  There have been press reports that suggest that Georgia and Florida have been manipulating and/or suppressing data to make their states look like they're recovering.

That may be true, but let's just take the Georgia Department of Health numbers and see what the state itself is reporting.

I've looked at seven-day accumulations, starting with May 5th, in two categories, confirmed cases and the number of deaths.  Results are summarized below -


                                                   Confirmed Cases                    Confirmed Deaths

May 5 - 11                                       4,565                                          198

May 12 - 18                                     4,281                                          205

May 19 - 25                                     5,117                                          199

May 26 - June 1                              4,499                                          241

June 2 - June 8                                4,598                                          119

June 9 - June 15                              5,917                                          286  
             
June 16 - June 22                               7,514                                          154

June 23 - June 29                              13,489                                         136

June 30 - July 6                                 17,647                                          94



 The increase in numbers in the most recent week looks very ominous.  The rise everyone feared is here, but everyone around me still acts like it's over.

Cases have skyrocketed.  The most recent week is about three times greater than three weeks ago.  Deaths have not.  Why?  We have to be careful not to presume too much.  It could be that hospitals and doctors have learned more and are getting better at mitigating the worst.  It could be that younger people are getting COVID-19 in larger numbers, and have a better survival rate.  It could just be a lagging indicator- it takes two to three weeks to see the full effect from current cases.  We don't know.  Only time will tell.
And then came the Fourth of July Weekend.  A massive nationwide orgy of misbehavior.  What will be the effects of that?

 I'll let you know in two to three weeks.

The verdict is in.  Cases are rising in most states, especially in the South and Sunbelt.  

The President has suggested that the way to beat this is to simply stop testing.

So, the major question is...

Why do I still have friends who support Bunker Boy?  For me, this still remains the central question of our times.


Orginal Georgia by the Numbers comments in black.  Georgia by the Numbers #2 comments in red.  Georgia by the Numbers #3 comments in blue.

If this keeps up, I'm gonna run out of colors.