Smoove_B wrote: ↑Sun Jan 31, 2021 10:10 pm
Yeah, that's really the issue here. The politicians (local, county, state, federal) aren't acting to look out for the best interests of the people that they serve. They're bowing to pressure and making decisions that might be easier or serve specific interests. In most cases, they're bowing to the lunatics screaming freedom above all. Lets not pretend they're looking out for the average American and certainly not the people working in restaurants.
I would not agree with that...in California the state doesn't have enough money for people to stay home. And telling low wage workers, many of which are supporting double digit numbers of people to stay home is simply not going to happen. When they closed the restaurants those workers just went to construction and other industries that were open. I don't agree that Newsom, governor of CA is listening to the lunatics, but he has realized (like many medical/science people refuse to) that people are not going to stay home if they have no other way to eat. It's really that simple and I don't think you should criticize all of the politicians trying to get people fed. Yes, in a perfect world people could stay home easily and not get sick. But that absolutely was not the world of the US in 2020. People have to eat. In order to eat they have to work. Many of the people here who are part of the spread aren't documented, so they get no help from the state, but still spread Covid.
It took nearly a friggin year for the public health head of LA county to realize that there were many many neighborhoods with 10+ people living in a two bedroom apartment, so she finally said that in crowded home conditions people should wear masks. I'm sorry, but it really feels like the (mostly white) medical science people have no clue how people are actually living.
I probably wrote that sloppily. This is with out question a federal emergency but depending on the state, those officials have not been able to get $ from the federal government for the last year to enact short-term lockdowns and keep people paid while they can't work (for whatever reason) and/or money for unemployment or whatever else is needed in the short term. Instead you still have federal politicians still currently complaining that Biden is trying to do too much by giving Americans another $1400 (or 2k) check. The federal government has provided what like $4 a day in benefits to people since this started? Other countries have provided thousands of dollars a month to their citizens; it's shameful.
I don't fault workers that have no choice. I fault elected officials that aren't getting people the aid and support that's needed so we can actually work towards lowering community spread instead of actively working to help it.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom's $227 billion budget plan released Friday would turn a $15 billion windfall because of surging tax revenues into economic relief as the state confronts the coronavirus pandemic and ensuing deaths.
...
Newsom said his plan addresses five urgent needs: Vaccinating people against coronavirus, reopening schools, supporting small businesses, getting money into people's pockets and preparing for wildfires, for which he includes $1 billion.
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Since California's progressive tax structure relies mostly on wealthy earners, the pandemic has led to a strange contrast in the nation's most populous state: Many people who earn more than $60,000 per year have been able to keep their jobs because they can work from home.
That has led the state to collected $74.4 billion in taxes, or $13.7 billion more than it had anticipated.
...
Newsom already forecast some of his plans. After Congress approved a $600 payment for adults, Newsom said he wants to give an additional $600 to Californians who earn $30,000 or less. If approved, that proposal would cost $2.4 billion.
Newsom also wants to spend more than $4 billion to, he says, create jobs and help small businesses.
...
The state Legislative Analyst had predicted the windfall would be around $26 billion. But Newsom believes the state constitution requires him to set aside $4.5 billion in California's reserve fund. The state's rainy day fund for economic uncertainties will rise to $15.6 billion, while its overall reserves climb to $22 billion.
“When I say ‘experts’ in air quotes, it sounds like I’m saying I don’t really trust the experts,” Mr. Cuomo said at a news conference on Friday, referring to scientific expertise at all levels of government during the pandemic. “Because I don’t. Because I don’t.”
His comments reflected a rift between the state’s top elected official and its career health experts of the sort that has occurred across different levels of government during the pandemic. Former President Donald J. Trump warred publicly with Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, as well as officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Mayor Bill de Blasio forced out the head of New York City’s respected health department over the summer. Around the country, frustrated and overwhelmed public health officials have resigned in large numbers.
We still have our county chief, but IIRC the Los Angeles city chief resigned because the her life and the lives of her family were being threatened daily.
The troubled rollout came after Mr. Cuomo declined to use the longstanding vaccination plans that the State Department of Health had developed in recent years in coordination with local health departments. Mr. Cuomo instead adopted an approach that relied on large hospital systems to coordinate vaccinations not only of their own staffs, but also of much of the population.
When he decided to open restaurants on Valentine's Day I thought he might have thrown in the towel like Murphy did. You almost can't blame them anymore. It is pretty clear the United States is ungovernable. Too much chaos was injected last year.
Bars and restaurants here reopened for indoor dining/drinking last week.
I got 3 calls over the weekend from friends who have recovered from COVID wanting to go out. They know I got the jab and figure they're good, I'm good, let's go eat and drink. I still have a week until the 14 day optimal coverage from the vaccine but even then, not so sure how I feel about going out.
" Hey OP, listen to my advice alright." -Tha General "No scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer." -Stigler's Law of Eponymy, discovered by Robert K. Merton MYT
Top Trump officials actively lobbied Congress to deny state governments any extra funding for the Covid-19 vaccine rollout last fall — despite frantic warnings from state officials that they didn’t have the money they needed to ramp up a massive vaccination operation.
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Without the extra money, states spent last October and November rationing the small pot of federal dollars they had been given. And when vaccines began shipping in December, states seemed woefully underprepared.
The previously unreported lobbying efforts underscore that even after the Trump administration spent billions helping drug makers develop Covid-19 vaccines, it not only dismissed states’ concerns about the help they would need to roll them out, but actively undermined their efforts to press Congress to get the funding they needed.
LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Mon Feb 01, 2021 12:15 pm
Bars and restaurants here reopened for indoor dining/drinking last week.
At the lesser of 25% capacity or 25 people.
Right, and not everyone opened up because a lot can't make it work at 25%. But still enough that you're not limited to the handful with "outdoor" greenhouses of the like. So people are feeling it's OK to head back out.
" Hey OP, listen to my advice alright." -Tha General "No scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer." -Stigler's Law of Eponymy, discovered by Robert K. Merton MYT
LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Mon Feb 01, 2021 12:15 pm
...not so sure how I feel about going out.
I'll hopefully be in line for my vaccination in a month or so, but even once I have it I'll not be dining indoors for the foreseeable future. If I'm the 1 in 10 that the vaccine doesn't work for I damned well don't want to be in a really risky environment until we have plausible herd immunity.
LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Mon Feb 01, 2021 12:15 pm
...not so sure how I feel about going out.
I'll hopefully be in line for my vaccination in a month or so, but even once I have it I'll not be dining indoors for the foreseeable future. If I'm the 1 in 10 that the vaccine doesn't work for I damned well don't want to be in a really risky environment until we have plausible herd immunity.
I won't even think about dining indoors until next October or November. It's too pandemicky to do anything but takeout right now; by the time the virus ebbs back down to where it was last summer, it should be warm enough to dine outdoors again.While I hope normality will be somewhat restored by then, I'm not counting on it.
Inslee just opened up King County (and surrounding areas) to (the new) Phase 2. while we are indeed doing better than much of the rest of the country (especially for major metropolitan areas), _this is really not the right time to do this!_
“When I say ‘experts’ in air quotes, it sounds like I’m saying I don’t really trust the experts,” Mr. Cuomo said at a news conference on Friday, referring to scientific expertise at all levels of government during the pandemic. “Because I don’t. Because I don’t.”
His comments reflected a rift between the state’s top elected official and its career health experts of the sort that has occurred across different levels of government during the pandemic. Former President Donald J. Trump warred publicly with Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, as well as officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Mayor Bill de Blasio forced out the head of New York City’s respected health department over the summer. Around the country, frustrated and overwhelmed public health officials have resigned in large numbers.
Yeah, those quotes are just bonkers. Like, it would be one thing if he said something like "Look, I respect their expertise, but on matters of public policy I have to weigh a lot of different advice, constituencies, etc., and so while I factored in their advice it wasn't the only input into my decisions" or something. But this kind of "I don't care what the damn eggheads say" stuff is mind boggling.
hitbyambulance wrote: ↑Mon Feb 01, 2021 3:42 pm
Inslee just opened up King County (and surrounding areas) to (the new) Phase 2. while we are indeed doing better than much of the rest of the country (especially for major metropolitan areas), _this is really not the right time to do this!_
Lorini wrote: ↑Mon Feb 01, 2021 8:03 pm
I think he's confused. The experts are there for their expertise, not to make public policy.
Just to clarify, we make policy too - it's part of what we do. Some of those in my field are policy experts, and that's all they do. I have experience in writing local ordinances and I've been part of steering committees to help write state laws, but I'm no expert; it's just part of the job. I am legitimately trying to understand what Cuomo is doing and what changed. My best guess is that his current attitude is because he believes NY is going to be vaccinated significantly by February 14 (somehow) and the wedding allowance (150 people) in March is him betting vaccination will be well underway. Nothing else makes sense - unless he's getting insane pressure by the food, liquor and entertainment industry in NY state. The restaurant industry is no joke.I think I mentioned it before, but when I was part of a committee to change food safety regulations in NJ back in the early 2000s, the restaurant industry had multiple seats at the table and absolutely stopped us from lowering the temperature requirements for refrigeration. More specifically, they lobbied and ultimately delayed the lowering of refrigeration temperature by a decade. We're talking a 4 degree change, recommended by the FDA to keep retail food operations safer, and they delayed it by a decade.
Lorini wrote: ↑Mon Feb 01, 2021 8:03 pm
I think he's confused. The experts are there for their expertise, not to make public policy.
Just to clarify, we make policy too - it's part of what we do. Some of those in my field are policy experts, and that's all they do. I have experience in writing local ordinances and I've been part of steering committees to help write state laws, but I'm no expert; it's just part of the job. I am legitimately trying to understand what Cuomo is doing and what changed. My best guess is that his current attitude is because he believes NY is going to be vaccinated significantly by February 14 (somehow) and the wedding allowance (150 people) in March is him betting vaccination will be well underway. Nothing else makes sense - unless he's getting insane pressure by the food, liquor and entertainment industry in NY state. The restaurant industry is no joke.I think I mentioned it before, but when I was part of a committee to change food safety regulations in NJ back in the early 2000s, the restaurant industry had multiple seats at the table and absolutely stopped us from lowering the temperature requirements for refrigeration. More specifically, they lobbied and ultimately delayed the lowering of refrigeration temperature by a decade. We're talking a 4 degree change, recommended by the FDA to keep retail food operations safer, and they delayed it by a decade.
I’m sorry, I misspoke. Only politicians can turn policy into law is what I meant. Lot of money on the line during this pandemic.
Somehow didn't see this over the weekend -- 20 million doses are missing:
After a week on the job, Biden’s team is still trying to locate upwards of 20 million vaccine doses that have been sent to states — a mystery that has hampered plans to speed up the national vaccination effort. They're searching for new ways to boost production of a vaccine stockpile that they've discovered is mostly empty. And they're nervously eyeing a series of new Covid-19 strains that threaten to derail the response.
That's...interesting.
But people with knowledge of the response detailed fresh concerns that are centered largely on the federal government's vaccine supply. Biden's team is still trying to get a firm grasp on the whereabouts of more than 20 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine that the federal government bought and distributed to states but has yet to record as being administered to patients.
Only a small percentage of those unaccounted for doses — roughly 2 million, two officials said — is due to lags in data reporting, the Biden team believes. That would mean the rest of the crucial supply is boxed away in warehouses, sitting idle in freezers or floating elsewhere in the complex distribution pipeline that runs from the administration to individual states.
I still maintain we're going to eventually learn doses were skimmed and provided to wealthy connections and/or sold to foreign nations by Miller or Kushner.
Press conference happening now to announce expansion of vaccinations to local pharmacies, starting next week. Highly limited at first but ideally expanding as more vaccine becomes available.
Imagine what this all could have been like had it been planned for last fall and actually launched 2 months ago.
Smoove_B wrote: ↑Tue Feb 02, 2021 1:22 pm
Press conference happening now to announce expansion of vaccinations to local pharmacies, starting next week. Highly limited at first but ideally expanding as more vaccine becomes available.
Imagine what this all could have been like had it been planned for last fall and actually launched 2 months ago.
Well we did what we could and at least he's gone. Just imagine had Trump won re-election, we'd be lucky to be alive in six months. California governor is being blamed because he's gone to an age only vaccination eligibility process, which angers any number of advocate groups. I agree with him, the more verification that's needed, the slower the process, this has been shown over the last six weeks or so. And at the end of the day, vaccinated people are safer than non vaccinated people so we need more vaccinated people!
Lorini wrote: ↑Tue Feb 02, 2021 1:54 pm
Well we did what we could and at least he's gone. Just imagine had Trump won re-election, we'd be lucky to be alive in six months.
It's become pretty clear if he was re-elected there was no plan and it would have been up to each state to try and save their own people, best they could. I agree it would have been grim; I'm still trying to process it, quite frankly - just how little was apparently done and that a lack of any federal plan almost a year later was totally super.
Further proof you couldn't pay me to relocate to Ohio:
When Republican Sens. Rob McColley of Napoleon and Terry Johnson of McDermott first introduced Senate Bill 22 last week with a goal of allowing lawmakers to strike down state health orders, they offered a clear message: This was not legislation designed to target Gov. Mike DeWine and the state health department. McColley and Johnson said the bill is about the broader need for legislative oversight and the importance of checks and balances in government.
...
Almost none of those that crowded into the hearing room wore masks, nor did several of their Republican allies on the committee.
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Face masks are not required at the Ohio Statehouse for either lawmakers or visitors. Democrats have repeatedly called for a mask mandate, or for the legislature to conduct business through digital means. Republicans in the majority have rejected these proposals, including on Wednesday during an Ohio House session.
The hearing, ostensibly to consider a bill regarding executive and legislative authority, provided an open platform for anti-vaccine and anti-mask sentiments.
Among those who testified was Stephanie Stock, president of Ohio Advocates for Medical Freedom, a prominent anti-vaccine group. Stock took the opportunity to preemptively speak out against any future theoretical requirements that Ohioans be vaccinated to participate in society.
What's at stake?
If enacted into law, SB 22 would create a new legislative committee with the power to strike down health department orders by a majority vote.
The entire chamber would also have the ability to rescind executive orders or an emergency declaration issued by the governor.
The bill would limit the executive branch in other ways, such as limiting an emergency declaration to 30 days unless the legislature extends it.
Our anti-maskers/anti vax people say they are not done but at least in LA, the police will be arresting them if they break the law, including the mask mandate.
I did some field work today at and around a military base today and was surprised to find that no one in the office where I first met my contact from the base was wearing a mask. There were like 7 people crowded into a conference room, all maskless. Didn't Biden just sign an EO requiring masks in all federal buildings?
Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Thu Feb 04, 2021 5:35 pm
I did some field work today at and around a military base today and was surprised to find that no one in the office where I first met my contact from the base was wearing a mask. There were like 7 people crowded into a conference room, all maskless. Didn't Biden just sign an EO requiring masks in all federal buildings?
i don't know if the mask requirement would necessarily apply to military installations. The Pentagon probably controls those.
"I would like to ask Senator Paul in front of everybody to start wearing a mask on the Senate floor like the entire staff does all the time, particularly the staff I appreciate now the presiding officer wearing a mask, but I wish Senator Paul would show the respect to his colleagues to wear a mask when he's on the Senate floor walking around and speaking," Brown said.
Paul has said he's immune after contracting COVID-19 last year.
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I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake. http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Thu Feb 04, 2021 7:30 pm
Biden is Commander in Chief.
He is, however military installations are not necessarily subject to regulations that apply to civilians. Their treatment of their personnel is subject to different regulations for example. That being said, here is a link to an army requirement for masks.
So sounds like they were definitely disregarding the policy. What was especially surprising was that these maskless people were part of the environmental resources division of the base and so at least a few of them were scientists.
Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Fri Feb 05, 2021 11:52 am
So sounds like they were definitely disregarding the policy. What was especially surprising was that these maskless people were part of the environmental resources division of the base and so at least a few of them were scientists.
I work with a creationist engineer. Takes all types to make the world go round.
Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Fri Feb 05, 2021 11:52 am
What was especially surprising was that these maskless people were part of the environmental resources division of the base and so at least a few of them were scientists.
I have an aunt that has been a nurse for 40+ years. She refuses to wear a mask ("nothing has killed me yet") and will not be receiving the vaccination ("no way that was tested properly"). Nothing surprises me anymore. Nothing.
Ive actually changed my mind on getting vaccinated myself. I was going to wait until the end of the year and get it with my flu shot. I dont like the rushed testing either. But with these others more transmissible ones around Im no longer willing to simply wait. Ill get one when its available to me . My only stipulation is that its Pfizer and not Moderna.
--------------------------------------------
I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake. http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
Daehawk wrote: ↑Fri Feb 05, 2021 12:15 pm
Ive actually changed my mind on getting vaccinated myself. I was going to wait until the end of the year and get it with my flu shot. I dont like the rushed testing either. But with these others more transmissible ones around Im no longer willing to simply wait. Ill get one when its available to me . My only stipulation is that its Pfizer and not Moderna.
I've received both Moderna shots, and neither of my heads know what you're talking about.
Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Fri Feb 05, 2021 11:52 am
What was especially surprising was that these maskless people were part of the environmental resources division of the base and so at least a few of them were scientists.
I have an aunt that has been a nurse for 40+ years. She refuses to wear a mask ("nothing has killed me yet") and will not be receiving the vaccination ("no way that was tested properly"). Nothing surprises me anymore. Nothing.
According to the NIH (I may have said this before, if so apologies) a 2016 study showed that 40% of medical workers believe that Black people don't need pain medication because of their slave history. Just a great example of how relying on education as a sanitized version of reality is failing us.
Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Fri Feb 05, 2021 11:52 am
What was especially surprising was that these maskless people were part of the environmental resources division of the base and so at least a few of them were scientists.
I have an aunt that has been a nurse for 40+ years. She refuses to wear a mask ("nothing has killed me yet") and will not be receiving the vaccination ("no way that was tested properly"). Nothing surprises me anymore. Nothing.
According to the NIH (I may have said this before, if so apologies) a 2016 study showed that 40% of medical workers believe that Black people don't need pain medication because of their slave history. Just a great example of how relying on education as a sanitized version of reality is failing us.
A friend of my wife’s who is an older African American woman was asking her about the Covid vaccines, since my wife is pretty qualified to answer due to her medical and immunology background. Her friend mentioned her distrust of the medical establishment and told her the story about how at 8 years old her dentist said she didn’t need pain killers because black people feel pain differently.
Racism not only demeans people and denies opportunity but it erodes the fabric of trust in institutions. Why should a Latino person trust authority when the only white faces they encounter are ICE or a boss who’s exploiting them? Why should a black person trust the medical establishment if all they got was 2nd tier medical attention or inattention due to being black? White anti vaxxers really piss me off because I don’t think they don’t have access to good care or were experimented on.
Black lives matter!
Wise words of warning from Smoove B: Oh, how you all laughed when I warned you about the semen. Well, who's laughing now?
Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Fri Feb 05, 2021 11:52 am
What was especially surprising was that these maskless people were part of the environmental resources division of the base and so at least a few of them were scientists.
I have an aunt that has been a nurse for 40+ years. She refuses to wear a mask ("nothing has killed me yet") and will not be receiving the vaccination ("no way that was tested properly"). Nothing surprises me anymore. Nothing.
According to the NIH (I may have said this before, if so apologies) a 2016 study showed that 40% of medical workers believe that Black people don't need pain medication because of their slave history. Just a great example of how relying on education as a sanitized version of reality is failing us.
And Black women suffer even greater bias by the medical industry.
Lorini wrote: ↑Fri Feb 05, 2021 1:08 pmAccording to the NIH (I may have said this before, if so apologies) a 2016 study showed that 40% of medical workers believe that Black people don't need pain medication because of their slave history. Just a great example of how relying on education as a sanitized version of reality is failing us.
If you did, I hadn't seen it. I also didn't see this study you're referring to - that's downright frightening.
More than 1,200 doses of the coronavirus vaccine have gone to waste in Massachusetts, the state told the WBZ-TV I-Team. As of Friday, 1,096 Moderna doses and 176 Pfizer doses have been reported as wasted, for a total of 1,272 doses.
More than 1,200 doses of the coronavirus vaccine have gone to waste in Massachusetts, the state told the WBZ-TV I-Team. As of Friday, 1,096 Moderna doses and 176 Pfizer doses have been reported as wasted, for a total of 1,272 doses.
The vaccine rollout has been poorly managed from the get-go, which is surprising because (a) our governor's strongest suit is management, and (b) we're a biomedical Mecca. Baker has admitted that it's a clown show and is working to fix it, but his popularity (73% as of last week) is poised to take a big hit.
