...and has galled me from the beginning.

We KNOW how to do this — or at least scientists and public health officials most certainly do, even if a segment of the population is pig-ignorant and hostile to science.

My gods, even a 3rd World nation with an intelligent leader could get a grip on an outbreak in their country if they mandated handwashing, masks, physical distancing, contact tracing, and quarantines.

There is no earthly excuse for what is happening in the United States.

Thnks for the post Rhiannon.

They had an article today...


From cloud of Portland tear gas, Naked Athena appears

Please, more reporting on Portland, OR. I watched part of this last night on livestream, and was stunned by what I saw. A line of women proclaiming themselves to be Moms, including at least one heavily pregnant woman, were attacked with gas and smoke by unidentifiable camo-wearing thugs on the streets of an American city.

When I saw the the Naked Athena appear, I realized something profound was happening. She is aptly named for the warrior goddess of ancient Greece. But even more than that, when she took that iconic pose (thank you for printing it) I saw a mortal woman go Full Goddess: life, death, life. And for a moment, the forces of destruction were abashed.

May the Mother of All keep her safe.

...with what actual individuals are doing or are located at the time they misbehave? And why in hell pick a woman’s name and claim (as I have seen here, of all places) that it is “gender neutral”? The hell it is.

Here are a few for everyone’s consideration:

Dog-walkin’ Debby
Costco Cathy
Central Park Carrie
Walmart Wanda
Permit Patty
Lemonade Lucy

We can certainly do better than this lazy meme.

For the males among the throng:

Gun-totin’ Gerald
Concealed Carry Charlie
No-Mask Norbert
‘Roid-rage Randy
Walmart Walter

What would be the ever-loving point of that? Anyone to the left of “moderate” is already going to vote for Biden — and if they aren’t, their head is too far up you know where to hear the screaming.

The audience The Lincoln Project is aiming for is (1) Trump himself, because he is so easy to bait and it throws him off his game. I notice they are using his own trigger-words on him: weak, loser, laughingstock — all the stuff he projects on to others are his own deepest insecurities and fears. Hillary told us, remember? (2) Swing voters who are now sickened by what they see and need to have the way out pointed out to them. (3) Any lifelong Republican who has a remnant of conscience, sense, and/or understanding of the Constitution — but has devolved into voting for the GOP out of mere habit, and is now sickened by what they see and needs a way out.

The cultists and tribalists and white nationalists are a completely lost cause. Hillary was being gentle when she called them “a basket of deplorables.” Dems shouldn’t waste our time and money trying to win them over — The Lincoln Project certainly isn’t bothering.

I see their ads online, and they just get better and better. The one with the doctor who is a SEAL veteran was a punch to the gut for any American appalled by the news of Russia offering a bounty for the Taliban to kill American soldiers. When he named one of his bona fides as being “pro life” — that was not for me or you, that was for any Republican tuning in who needs a reason to listen to someone telling them to vote for Joe.

And if they want to claim some credit if Biden wins? Fine by me.

...or to get a cup of coffee, or stop to pee. The Great God Technology has you on an invisible chain, and it can be yanked.

This observation of mine goes back decades, to when laptop computer manufacturers were running ads showing happy adults taking happy kids fishing or to the beach. Look! You can multitask! Your kid gets precious time with you while at the same time you productively work on your laptop computer. Riiight.

Jobs like my husband’s are really rare. He and his team work remotely and are paid for the finished product or ongoing process, and time is pretty fluid. Thank God this arrangement was grandfathered in.

The latest new boss wants to see people right in front of their supervisor, being physically monitored — or he did until India (where most of the workers who code now are) slammed everything shut because of COVID 19. Now they’re at home for the duration, but I bet he checks their computer logs to make sure they are giving full value as to time.

...is currently on tenure track. After August, she won’t be.

Those were the men who walked over to Nixon's White House and told him it was time to go. For the good of the country.

But that was long ago -- in another country, so to speak, and those men are dead.

Smokers pissed and moaned for years about the infringement on their liberty, but times had changed and it was a matter of public health. Smokers finally got over themselves, didn't they? (Altho tobacco companies came up with a new, even more addictive, device but that's another conversation.)

Our biggest problem right now with facial coverings is the Mad King in the White House. He uses this and everything else as fuel for culture wars, and the fact that it is his cultists who are going to get sick and become super-spreaders in Tulsa bothers him not at all.

We don't have to play his games, we just have to keep our heads on straight. Support or pressure your local government, as needs dictate. Wear your own facial covering. Act like an adult and avoid people who don't. Support businesses that require customers to comply with this new public health measure -- show them you care.

No Shoes
No Shirt
No Mask
No Service