I say YES. YOU say NO....Numero Tre! Enjoy!

IllinoisLady

How well the lessons have been learned.

cm2020

ruthbru....Agree with you 1000% about Humankind.

IllinoisLady

Our relationships are our sacred responsibilities, for they are the framework within which life is lived. They show us where we have more learning and loving to do. Our interactions with others call up the disabling beliefs and negative patterns of behavior we need to release—the cynicism, anger, resentment, and jealousy that block love's flow. Our relationships are our mirrors; they reflect where we are in consciousness. And if we are willing to face the truth about ourselves, our relationships offer the lessons that lead to our greatest transformation. -Susan L. Taylor

IllinoisLady

IllinoisLady

IllinoisLady

Simply nothing he won't lie about.

AliceBastable

ruthbru

Amen! I will gladly help them pack their bags!

DivineMrsM

*COVID Is Killing Rural Americans At Twice The Rate Of Urban Residents*

Mary Papenfuss/HuffPost

The COVID-19 death rate in rural America is now more than twice the death rate of urban areas, according to a new study.

The first surge of COVID-19 in the spring of 2020 initially hit urban areas hardest, with high rates of infections and deaths, according to the study for the Rural Policy Research Center published in September. At the time, many rural communities were largely untouched.

But subsequent waves of the pandemic tore through rural areas, where many people are older, in poorer health, unvaccinated, more likely to live in poverty and where medical facilities are often inadequate or overcrowded. Rural rates of infections and deaths began pulling ahead of metropolitan areas at the beginning of summer 2020, the study noted.

Infection and death rates were "higher in nonmetropolitan areas during the third surge until its peak in January 2021," the study said. "Incidence and mortality rates are currently much higher in nonmetropolitan counties than those in metropolitan counties."

Since the pandemic began, about 1 in 434 rural Americans have died from COVID, compared with roughly 1 in 513 urban Americans. But as of mid-September, metropolitan areas were experiencing a seven-day average death rate of 0.41 per 100,000 people, while rural communities had an average death rate of 0.85.

"There is a national disconnect between perception and reality when it comes to Covid in rural America," Alan Morgan, head of the National Rural Health Association, told NBC News.

"We've turned many rural communities into kill boxes," Morgan added. "And there's no movement towards addressing what we're seeing in many of these communities, either among the public, or among governing officials."

>>> COVID incidence rates in September were roughly 54% higher in rural areas than elsewhere, according to Fred Ullrich, a research analyst from the University of Iowa College of Public Health who co-wrote the new study. Rural counties had higher rates of COVID than urban counties In 39 states, he noted.

>>> The Washington Post reported earlier this month that COVID cases and deaths were notably higher in Republican states than in Democratic states.

>>> Of the 23 states that had new per capita case totals higher than the U.S. average, 21 voted for Donald Trump in November, the Post noted. Sixteen of them were among the 17 states with the lowest rates of vaccination.

The newspaper called it an "inescapable overlap of pandemic and politics" as Republicans battle against mask and vaccine mandates.

ruthbru

Sadly a completely accurate article.

Miriandra

When COVID moved through urban areas, it mainly spread because people lived and moved in more crowded conditions. People in more diffuse rural areas had some protection from minimized exposure.

Now that COVID has spread all over, and there aren't any more pockets isolated from exposure, the presence or lack of resources is making a bigger difference. Urban areas have more convenient access to vaccines and more exposure to advertising encouraging people to get the shot and practice safety precautions. On top of less access to the resources listed above, if a rural person does get sick, they are more likely to be farther from medical care (assuming GOP spending cuts haven't already killed the nearest rural hospital) and thus less likely to seek care until they are really, REALLY sick. No wonder they're getting slammed so hard.

blue22

A SHORT QUIZ FOR MY STUDENTS IN LIEU OF ASKING ABOUT THEIR VACCINE STATUS OR REQUESTING THAT THEY WEAR MASKS

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/a-short-quiz-f...

blue22

I keep seeing interviews of dumb shit nurses who refuse to get vaccinated for no legitimate reason. It scares me to think these people are in medicine. Would you want to fly in a plane with a pilot that was also a flat earther?

ruthbru

That's a great quiz, blue. I am baffled when I find that any otherwise intelligent person has refused vaccination. I just don't get it.

IllinoisLady

Most relate to the world by their emotions, which means they know
only the unreality of illusion--this world of emotion is the world of
duality, of love and hate, of joy and sorrow. All emotions are relative
to themselves, and last only as long as the supporting thought is maintained. -A Spiritual Warrior

IllinoisLady

Great quiz.

IllinoisLady

Keep hoping an indictment with the former guy's name implanted will show up soon.

IllinoisLady

IllinoisLady

IllinoisLady

and:

IllinoisLady

Supreme Court Rocked As Thousands March To Their Steps Demanding Abortion Justice

Not only does the Supreme Court have a record low approval rating, but thousands marched to their steps today.
Read on »

The marches looked quite substantial and will have I think given the SC something to consider when their next case comes up. Un-believable on the one hand that a few are upset -- speaking out. Well, the ones that have their ducks in a row have nothing to speak out about. Barrett, Thomas, Alioto ( sp ) with their shadow docket behaviors realize they are the deer in the headlights. So they are babbling away in foolish fashion trying to un-ring a bell. Too late. Way too late.

IllinoisLady

Treason Evidence Grows As Trump Plotted Pressure Campaign Against Pence

Trump plotted a pressure campaign from inside the White House against his own vice president to get him to overturn the election.
Read on »

We have known a fair amount, and had deep suspicions about other things. Good to see things falling more and more into place. I do wish that the orange thing would get HIT for what he REALLY has done. I know things will happen to him and I've always believed there is NO way he will actually run again. He was never mentally capable (not even close ) and that part is getting worse along with the physical aspects. He says he is going to run so he can keep up the grift. He was used up and over the hill long ago, as a human being and a con man.

IllinoisLady

Real choices now -- now that there is no one in the WH Oval to run interference along with a complicit AG. A whole different ball game out their on the field now.

1/6 Committee Drops The Hammer And Threatens Trump Witnesses With Criminal Referrals

The House Select 1/6 Committee isn't playing games and will make criminal referrals for Trump and other Republican witnesses who refuse to testify.
Read on »

IllinoisLady

October 1, 2021

Heather Cox Richardson

Oct 2

For those of you exhausted by this week's news, you can take a break tonight. Lots of moving pieces are in play, but nothing that would hold a historian to her desk a hundred years from now, so skip this letter with a clean conscience.

For those of you who do want some reflections, I am struck today by the media's breathless recounting of how the ongoing negotiations over the two infrastructure bills shows that the Democrats are in disarray and President Joe Biden's agenda is crashing and burning. The New York Times called a delay in the vote on the measures "a humiliating blow to Mr. Biden and Democrats" and wondered if "Biden's economic agenda could be revived."

Exactly a year ago, the news reported that Trump adviser Hope Hicks had coronavirus and that she had recently traveled with White House personnel on Air Force One. The stock market dropped 400 points on the news. The previous day had been the infamous presidential debate when Trump yelled and snarled at Biden, while his entourage, including Hicks, refused to wear masks despite a mandate that they must do so. We did not know who else might be infected.

Hours later, we learned that the president and First Lady were both sick, and within hours the president would be hospitalized.

The rest of the news provided a snapshot of the Trump presidency:

•A study of more than 38 million English-language articles about the pandemic between January 1 and May 26 showed that Trump was "likely the largest driver of…Covid-19 misinformation."

•Trump's former national security adviser, retired Lt. General H.R. McMaster, told MSNBC that Trump was "aiding and abetting Putin's efforts" to disrupt the November election.

•We learned that Amy Coney Barrett, Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court, had not disclosed that in 2006, she signed an anti-abortion ad in the South Bend Tribune. It appeared near another ad from the same organization that called for putting "an end to the barbaric legacy of Roe v. Wade and restore laws that protect the lives of unborn children."

•A tape leaked of Melania Trump complaining about having to decorate the White House for Christmas—"I'm working… my a** off on the Christmas stuff, that you know, who gives a f*** about the Christmas stuff and decorations?"—and then said of criticism that she was not involved with the children separated from their parents at the southern border: "Give me a f****** break."

•News broke that Donald Trump, Jr.'s girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, had left the Fox News Channel after an employee complained of sexual harassment, saying she required the employee to work at her apartment, where she would sometimes be naked, and where she would share inappropriate photos of men and discuss her sexual activities with them. She denied any misconduct, but FNC settled the case against her for $4 million.

•The House of Representatives, controlled by Democrats, passed a $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief measure. No Republicans voted for it.

•Right-wing conspiracy theorists Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman were charged with four felonies in Michigan for intimidating voters, conspiring to violate election laws, and using a computer to commit a crime.

•Claiming he wanted to prevent "voter fraud," Republican governor Greg Abbott of Texas limited the number of locations for dropping off mail-in ballots to one site per county. While Republican counties tended to have just one location already, Democratic Harris County, the third largest county in the country, with a population of more than 4.7 million and an area larger than the state of Rhode Island, had previously used 12. Democratic Travis County, which includes Austin, previously had four.

That was one single day in the Trump presidency.

In contrast, today, the Democrats are trying to pass an extremely complicated package, consisting of two major infrastructure bills, backed by different constituencies, that will alter the direction of our country by investing in ordinary Americans and revising the tax code to claw back some of the 2017 tax cuts the Republican Congress gave to corporations and the very wealthy. Although there is no guarantee they will pass, the bills are currently still on track, and all the relevant parties are still at work discussing them, exactly as one would expect.

What is the unusual piece in this process is that the other major American political party—the Republicans—is refusing to participate in the crafting of a major bill that is extremely popular.

This infrastructure package is huge, but it is hardly the only item in Biden's agenda. In March 2021, the Democrats passed the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion economic rescue package that has helped the administration produce more jobs in its first six months than any other administration in American history.

Not a single Republican voted for that bill; it passed while they were focusing on the ungendered Potato Head kin and the decision of the Dr. Seuss estate to stop the publication of some of Theodor Geisel's less popular books.

The economy has recovered in large part because of the Biden administration's enormous success at distributing the coronavirus vaccines to every American who wanted one.

Republican lawmakers have worked against this process, and today we crossed the unthinkable line of 700,000 officially counted deaths from Covid-19.

Now, the administration has begun to put vaccine mandates into effect, and they are working. Those who insisted they would never get vaccines changed their minds when employers and public venues required them. Today, California governor Gavin Newsom announced that the state will require coronavirus vaccines for school children, along with the ten others it already requires, as soon as the Food and Drug Administration fully approves them for use in children.

Meanwhile, Republican-dominated state legislatures are following through on the voter suppression noted a year ago, passing measures to cut down Democratic voting and install Republican operatives in key election posts before the 2022 election.

As political scientist and foreign relations expert David Rothkopf tweeted: "Are the Dems the ones in disarray when they are crafting specific programs while the GOP offers up only cynical Tweets & obstruction? The only GOP agenda items are voter suppression, defending the worst president in history & when they have power, pushing tax cuts for the rich."

For my part, I'm not sure what is driving the stories that seem to paint Biden's work as a lost cause: The recent position that Democrats are hapless? That it's safer to be negative than positive? That our news cycle demands drama?

Whatever it is, I continue to maintain that the issue right now is not Democrats' negotiations over the infrastructure bills—regardless of how they turn out—but that Republican lawmakers are actively working to undermine our democracy.

DivineMrsM

The last two paragraphs from HSR say a lot:

“For my part, I'm not sure what is driving the stories that seem to paint Biden's work as a lost cause: The recent position that Democrats are hapless? That it's safer to be negative than positive? That our news cycle demands drama?

Whatever it is, I continue to maintain that the issue right now is not Democrats' negotiations over the infrastructure bills—regardless of how they turn out—but that Republican lawmakers are actively working to undermine our democracy."

In some ways, I think the news cycle does try to actively create political drama. They got the country addicted to dysfunction and maybe even the reporters themselves.

IllinoisLady

I am still learning--how to take joy in all the people I am, how to use all my selves in the service of what I believe, how to accept when I fail and rejoice when I succeed. Audre Lord

IllinoisLady

Divine, that is a lot of what struck me as well. I've been reading ( we all have I think ) for a while how we get undermined by the way the media is reporting on things. Of course, it is always said they do it because of the need to grab attention ( readership or viewership ) for ratings. I have always thought that if you do your best to present the truth, in the long run, you would gain respect and in that way have a solid viewership. I think that is why people like Rachel Maddow do so well. This ratings grab in my view is lazy as well. I find it hard to imagine a job where you always have to have a gimmick.

IllinoisLady

OR:

IllinoisLady

IllinoisLady