Wearing a mask to prevent coronavirus

Comments from readers re. the use of face masks...

D.B. believes that a healthy lifestyle is more important than a face mask: "Masks are simply delaying when any of us will get the virus."

Meaning, let's hurry up and catch coronavirus so we can get over it and be free of problems. WRONG! It is proved that long-term lasting effects can be heart trouble, respiratory problems and neurological complications.

In another case, Ron disagrees and says that masks are useless: “Since coronavirus can pass through ANY mask including the N-95, what is the reason for making masks mandatory? They probably are 99.9 % useless.” I question his statement, and masks have been proved to stop COVID-19.

And yet another non-believer, Tom says he is not confused about face masks: “I have worn a mask in total about a half hour since this nonsense started in March. I have been among many people and even in crowds nearing 100, without masking. I have not been sick in any way." Freakin' lucky, but stupid as a rock.

There's more in this article a well-worth a read.

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER, FACEBOOK AND PINTEREST.

Explain today's pandemic deniers

Biggest denier of them all

The most devastating stand of all is their denial of COVID-19, itself, exclaiming that it is only a virus. It doesn't get more stupid than that. Here is how CNN Health describes it...

"With so much information available about the severity of the coronavirus and the need to follow guidelines, some people still refuse to accept reality."

The quick answer to the above is that these people don't believe the scientists, the experts trained to work in these fields. Rather, they look to social media for the answers, with some killing their children with radical, worthless remedies. The problem here is not only do they do harm to their own family, they also put friends and innocent bystanders in harm's way. And that is where I draw the line, most certainly with children, friends and innocent bystanders.

There is a lengthy Q & A between CNN and psychologists Eve and Mark Whitmore that basically attempts to explain denial in its relationship to the coronavirus pandemic. Science/medicine has a tendency to identify a problem like this, then quickly apply a name that is supposed to give it credibility. It may be appropriate here, but I have another name, independence, doing what I please regardless of the outcome, which is a product of the Donald Trump era.

PLEASE LOOK FOR ME ON TWITTER, FACEBOOK AND PINTEREST

How to make sure your November mail-in vote is counted

The U.S. Postal Service, under the control of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, was appointed because he is a big supporter and donor to Donald Trump's campaign. He is single handedly dismantling the Post Office for the sole purpose of preventing the mail-in votes to arrive on time. As an example, DeJoy has started removing sorting machines from several locations, the lifeblood of these facilities to direct mail to the right people on time.

Remember the guy at the New York post office hand-sorting mail when he found the letter to Santa Claus. Without sorting machines all offices revert to this method which drastically slows down the process. In keeping with his changes, DeJoy has notified 46 states that their mail-in ballots may not arrive on time to be counted. Just what Trump ordered. I did a post yesterday with my solution to beating Donald Trump and Republicans on this issue...

"States must send out the mail-in ballots earlier than normal to compensate for slow mail delivery. I would suggest you contact both your Senator and representative, using the following sites:
U.S. SenateU.S. House of Representatives
In keeping with sending ballots out early, states should extend the date for receiving them, again, to compensate for a slowed down postal system. Put this in your note to your Senator and Congress person."

CNN reports that Pennsylvania is already considering extending mail-in ballot receipt by three days. Of course, Pennsylvania's governor, Tom Wolf, is a Democrat, but states with Republican governors can be pressured, or as I said in my earlier post, shamed into doing the right thing. Also, RepresentUS has a site, "How to Vote by Mail this November," with information on each state. Give them your email and they'll keep you updated. BE SURE AND VOTE IN NOV.

LOOK FOR ME ON TWITTER, FACEBOOK AND PINTEREST

How to beat Trump/Moscow Mitch at their own game

Pariah of the Senate Moscow Mitch McConnell

As I indicated, the miscreants we are up against are Donald Trump, who is double-jeopardy right now by fighting the stimulus program along with trying to gut the U.S. Postal Service for the sole purpose of preventing a mail-in vote. The other is Senate leader Moscow Mitch McConnell, who is against everything from the left, plus he has recessed the Senate until September 8. Contrary to this stupid move, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has cancelled the House recess.

The question is what do we do about it. Assuming the American public could be codified to the point of shaming the Trump administration to back off (he has done it before if he thought it would benefit him) the new Postmaster General could be forced to stop his bulldozing of the Post Office. Because Moscow Mitch is running a tight Senate race in Kentucky against Amy McGrath, McConnell could be enticed to cooperate.

In case none of this works, the next move is a huge decision. Should we just vote in person? In view of the COVID-19 situation, that is a tough decision for some, especially the older seniors, particularly the elderly. There is one more option, and it is somewhat simple. States must send out the mail-in ballots earlier than normal to compensate for slow mail delivery. I would suggest you contact both your Senator and representative, using the following sites:

U.S. Senate
U.S. House of Representatives

In keeping with sending ballots out early, states should extend the date for receiving them, again, to compensate for a slowed down postal system. Put this in your note to your Senator and Congress person. And I realize these ideas won't fly with Republican governors, so the pressure on Congress must be the max to get anything done. Donald Trump and Republicans will do anything within their power to thwart this election in their favor. Those on the left must do more.

LOOK FOR ME ON TWITTER, FACEBOOK AND PINTEREST

Jonathan Karl: "Front Row at the Trump Show"

I just finished "Front Row at the Trump Show," and like a good mystery novel, you just can't put it down. Jonathan Karl has known Donald Trump for over twenty-five years beginning the book with his first trip to New Hampshire just before becoming a declared candidate. As he presses on, there is the Trump real estate con man including all the outrageous activities that went along with this and his exploiting of women.

Karl had a reasonably close relationship with Trump during the 2016 campaign, reporting on the man perhaps being the most guilty ever of unpredictability. The author is quoted re. his first contact with Donald Trump...

"I was a cub reporter for a New York tabloid. He was a flamboyant real estate developer with a scandalous personal life." (To quote Avril Lavigne, "Can I make it any more obvious?")

In one instance during the 2016 debates, Meghan Kelly of Fox News asked him about calling women he didn't like things like "pigs," "dogs," "slobs" and "disgusting animals" on his Twitter account. Trump's reply was, "Only Rosie O'Donnell," which engendered some laughter. Karl is privy to a lot of Donald Trump's relationships either directly or indirectly, so it is clear from his book who he likes or dislikes.

There are twenty-four chapters and each one is packed with a new expose of the man he claims is redefining the U.S. presidency. It's up to the reader to determine just how bad the new profile is. A MUST READ at Amazon.

LOOK FOR ME ON TWITTER, FACEBOOK AND PINTEREST

Donald Trump knows he's had it

Here's the scenario from salon's Amanda Marcotte...

"The parallels between the situation of many abuse victims and the nation’s dilemma when it comes to removing Donald Trump from power have not been lost on feminists. As sex educator Twanna Hines noted on Twitter on Friday, Trump “knows his time is up.' She predicted that he will lash out the way that abusers do “when the relationship is ending.'”

He's hard at work trying to sabotage the stimulus programs presented by both sides, and he gave up long ago in the fight against COVID-19. Now he is doing his best to destroy the U.S. Postal Service making his crony, supporter and large donor Louis DeJoy Postmaster. According to Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)...

"he's worried that 'the postmaster general is working with the president to make it a problem so he can argue he doesn't like vote by mail.'"

In a major move, DeJoy has started removing mail sorting machines out of postal facilities, for what reason no one knows, except to delay the mail-in voting in November. From my experience in the junk mail business, there is nothing more important to the USPS than mail sorting machines that speed up the process while making it more accurate. Somehow this kind of action must be halted immediately and what's been done reversed. This can't wait until November!

LOOK FOR ME ON TWITTER, FACEBOOK AND PINTEREST 

Noam Chomsky: 2020 election tampering for real

Noam Chomsky

Vote for Joe Biden, Noam Chomsky is telling Progressives. We cannot afford another four years of Donald Trump, nor can we afford to let down our guard now because Trump and other Republicans cannot be trusted until the last vote is counted. They're corrupt, all of them, and will do anything to thwart the election from Joe Biden. Chomsky wants Biden to stay on track to support Progressive issues and hopefully Kamala Harris will help insure that.

Chomsky cautions...

"despite all the polls showing Biden ahead, a Biden victory is 'anything but a sure thing.'”

And...

“Election tampering is a huge industry. Massive campaign funding in the last days can have a major effect, as seems to have happened in 2016. The leading specialist on campaign funding, Tom Ferguson, found that a ‘dual wave of money’ for both president and Senate had a substantial and probably decisive impact in the final days of the ’16 campaign.”

Already Trump has been fighting the mail-in vote since it has a tendency to include more Democrats. I have heard figures that at least 75% of the country is eligible to vote by mail, which could produce 80 million ballots to count. And another example of Trump's dirty hands meddling in the 2020 vote, his new Postmaster General, Louis Dejoy, is purposely slowing down the mail. Add to that the regular GOP voter suppression of the left to round off their efforts.

Here's a shocker for me, Noam Chomsky warned that...

“'popular support for autocracy runs disturbingly high.'” in the U.S., and he made his point by citing an Ipsos poll that was released last week and addressed 'Americans’ views on the media.'”

The latter would explain at least some of those poor souls that support Donald Trump with his autocratic power hold on the U.S. government. It would seem that these misfits are just begging for a 1984 society, welcoming Big Brother into their homes. These are the same double-digits who scream about too much government control, refusing to vaccinate their children and wear face masks and socially distance in the COVID-19 pandemic. Pathetic!