The President Who Cried Wolf

Standard

Before I write anything else, I’d like to first extend my honest warm wishes for a full recovery to President Trump and the First Lady. I’d also extend this to anyone else who is symptomatic or who tests positive for covid-19 who came in contact with them, their staff, and to any of the Senators, Judge Barrett and her family. With a virus so unpredictable once you contract it, it can add to the stress of being sick in the first place. The unknown is often a scary place.

That said, I was on Twitter until the wee hours of the morning, about 3AM, reading, getting updates, laughing at inappropriate jokes, although none were really too bad or personal. I was also not the only one who thought the report of the president and first lady testing positive was another one of his lies, another distraction from her horrifying comments about Christmas and migrant children in cages, a way to ignore the NY Times story of his tax and bank fraud, a way to move beyond his horrendous performance at Tuesday’s debate, or any of the other fifty or so things that hit the news wires yesterday before the news of his positivity became the only story of the night.

After spending six months calling the virus racist nicknames, and clouding his response in what he termed a Democratic hoax and scare tactics, I didn’t think he would claim the virus if he wasn’t actually sick and/or infected.

It also wasn’t a Friday night news dump.

He also skipped out on a phone call with NY’s Governor Andrew Cuomo this afternoon, which I take to mean that he wasn’t up to it.

Sadly, I don’t trust the news that Mike Pence is negative. He, of course, will have to be tested again.

Their constant lying for three and three-quarters years have made any statement they make suspect.

Mitch McConnell continuing his farce of the confirmation of the Supreme Court seat only exacerbates the idea that this is a distraction that they are using to their advantage.

Mitch McConnell is one of many GOP Senators who were at Judge Barrett’s roll out last Saturday, and Senator Mike Lee of Utah, who was there, not wearing a mask, shaking hands, and hugging people tested positive today. The entire Senate needs to quarantine for fourteen days as does Judge Barrett and her family.

And all these people need to wear masks.

All the damn time.

Nancy Pelosi needs to be kept in isolation to keep safe the line of succession.

This is a national security emergency.

According to NBC News the President of Notre Dame, who was at the nominating ceremony at The White House has tested positive for covid-19 and Judge Amy Coney Barrett was diagnosed with covid-19 earlier in the summer, which puts her at greater risk for reinfection according to studies within the WHO.

I’m glad that the President and First Lady have made public their tests and having the coronavirus. We should also be hearing from the White House doctor which twice daily updates on the President’s condition. This is not a time for hiding things; it is a time for transparency. 209,000 Americans have died. Now, maybe the third of the country ignoring this pandemic and this very contagious and very dangerous virus will finally come to their senses and listen to the science – wash your hands, wear a mask, social distance.

Being tested does not prevent you from contracting the virus. The test is a moment in time. You could be negative this morning and the virus then sheds this afternoon and you’re positive and don’t know it. The GOP are being very irresponsible by forcing the Senate to convene, especially in small groups of committees and not requiring masks at all times at the Capitol and the White House is dangerous to the non-political staff including Secret Service, food service, journalists, and guests.
It’s irresponsible and reprehensible.

Meet Dr. Fauci (Updated 4/20/20)

Standard

Dr. Anthony Fauci receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush, 2008. Getty Image. (c)2020

Dr. Anthony Fauci is the director of the NIAID, the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, a part of the NIH, the National Institute of Health for the US Government. He has been in that position since 1984 and has worked as Director successfully with six Presidents, both Democrats and Repulicans. You may have seen him at various press conferences, coronavirus task force updates, and in television interviews. Here are a few more things if you want to read about him and his response and outlook for this unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak. He has been serving in a public health capacity for over fifty years.

The Atlantic

Axios

A Conversation with Dr. Fauci (at Regis HS President’s Dinner)
Facebook Live with Mark Zuckerberg

The Atlantic

Politico

Washington Post

Science Magazine

Interview with comedian, Desus Nice

A Reflection Written by Anthony Fauci (how his faith informs him as a doctor) (Photos on a Twitter timeline)

Interview with Dr. Fauci on MSNBC (aired April 12, 2020)

Vanity Fair: Anthony Fauci on the New Rules of Living with Coronavirus

What to Do in Isolation/Quarantine (Updated 4/29/20)

Standard

We’ve got our milk, bread, toilet paper, and kids home. It’s only been a few days, and we are in it for the long haul: two weeks, four weeks, six. We just don’t know right now. What can we do from the sanctity of our homes without risking our health or the health of others? Here are a few suggestions.

Imagineering in a Box – Free online course where you will “go behind the scenes with Disney Imagineers and complete project-based exercises to design a theme park of your very own.” (In collaboration with Khan Academy.)
Good Night with Dolly Dolly Parton will read weekly bedtime stories beginning on April 2 at 7pm ET. The first book will be The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper. The rest of the ten weeks of books will be: There’s a Hole in the Log on the Bottom of the Lake by Loren Long, Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney, I Am a Rainbow by Dolly Parton, Pass It On by Sophy Henn, Stand Tall Molly Lou Mellon by Patty Lovell, Violet the Pilot by Steve Breen, Max & The Tag-Along Moon by Floyd Cooper, Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña, and Coat of Many Colors by Dolly Parton

Children’s Book Authors Read-Aloud

National Aquarium in Baltimore – Livestreams of The Blacktip Reef, Jellies Invasion, Pacific Coral Reef

New York Public Library – (for NYC residents with a library card) (CONTACT YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY ABOUT THEIR E-BOOK PROGRAMS)

NASA makes their entire media library publicly accessible and COPYRIGHT FREE

33 National Park Tours You Can Take Virtually

15 Broadway Plays and Musicals You Can Watch on Stage from Home (best filmed and where to find them)

FREE Coloring Books from 113 Museums

Virtual Field Trips – including San Diego Zoo, Yellowstone National Park, Mars!!!, Animal Cameras, Virtual Farm Tour, US Space and Rocket Museum in Hunsville AL, Discovery Education, The Louvre, The Great Wall of China, Boston’s Children’s Museum

12 Museums Offering Virtual Tours – including British Museum (London), Guggenheim Museum (NY), National Gallery of Art (Washington, DC), Musee d’Orsay (Paris), National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Seoul), Pergamon Museum (Berlin), Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam), Van Gogh Museum (Amsterdam), The J. Paul Getty Museum (L.A.), Uffizi Gallery (Florence), MASP (Sao Paulo), National Museum of Anthropology (Mexico City)

14 Beautiful, Dramatic Waterfalls in North Wales (this is primarily a travel article, but they’re still pretty to look at! And Wales!

Metropolitan Opera offering Nightly Met Opera Streams – see the link for details and limits.

Five Gardens You Can Virtually Visit – Waddesdon Manor (Waddesdon, England), Claude Monet’s Garden (Giverny, France), Chicago Botanic Garden (Chicago, IL), Hawai’i Tropical Botanical Garden (Papaikou, Hawai’i), Kew Gardens (Richmond, England).

Hogwarts Digital Escape Room

Ivy League Courses Online for FREE

How to Be Happier in Your Daily Life (popular Yale University course – ONLINE FREE (Source: Business Insider)

Tour New York State Parks (virtual)

Activities at The Spy Museum

Twitter for Voice Actors Read. There are many voice actors reading books aloud to you and your children.

Tour The Winchester Mystery House (virtual tour)

Tour the Paris Catacombs (virtual tour)

I Love NY Landmark Coloring Pages

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
The Parents’ Guide to Google Classroom

What to Do with your Kids When Schools are Canceled

Harry the Dirty Dog read by Betty White

The Very Hungry Caterpillar read by author, Eric Carle

Outdoor Scavenger Hunts from Buttonwood Park Library

Easy Toilet Paper Roll Crafts (when you use up your stash of toilet paper!)

Outdoor and Indoor Scavenger Hunts from Leicester Library

Home Safari at the Cincinnati Zoo

50 Ways to Keep Kids Engaged at Home During the Coronavirus Shutdown

Miniature Bookshop DIY – cost $36.99

NASA Space Station STEM Activities

Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY (Safe at Home Program)

Virtual Tour of Auschwitz

Blog and Personal Update

Standard

I wanted to update my readers on what’s been happening since my last post.

We’ve been taking this pandemic seriously for some time in our house. I had been forcing my family to wash their hands when they returned from school or shopping or outside of our home for a number of weeks. Our church had eliminated handshaking for the sign of peace, and receiving communion from the chalice. I told my daughter that she couldn’t go to her friend’s birthday party, which I truly hated doing. (The mom ended up postponing.)

Continue reading

COVID-19 – New Information and Resources (March 13, 2020)

Standard

I have been trying to leave politics out of my posts regarding COVID-19 out of an abundance of respect for all readers, but I find that it’s not been as easy as it sounded two weeks ago when my family began our precautions. I did my duty as an American and watched the President’s address live on Wednesday. As I said to a cousin when we disagreed politically, while I have trusted sources that I have already vetted, I still prefer primary sources, and will use them whenever I am able. Watching the President live was one way to do that. He did NOT instill in me a lot of confidence, especially when less than five minutes after he finished, there were no less than three corrections to his “planned”, “well-thought out”, “vetted” speech.

I do not say this lightly, but when getting your information about COVID-19, please do NOT listen to the President and/or the Vice President. I would also include Senator Mitch McConnell, Representative Kevin McCarthy, Representative Tom Cotton, Senator John Kennedy (LA), and the head of the CDC, Dr. Redfield as they have all continued to pass on misinformation and lied about the extent of the virus and where we stand on a vaccine, mitigation, and flattening the curve. I am sad to include the doctor in this list of unreliable people, but they are truly that: unreliable. If they refuse to tell the truth in small things, how can they be trusted to tell the truth in the big, important, controversial ones.

I will continue to get my information from Dr. Anthony Fauci of NIH. He has said in his Congressional testimony that this virus (COVID-19) is ten times more lethal than the flu. It is nothing like the flu, and people should stop downplaying it. I will also be checking in on Ron Klain and Dr. Celine Gounder’s podcast, Epidemic where they talk to experts. I have a few new resources to add to my main Coronavirus post that is included below.

There may be up to 1.4 million new tests next week, and 5 million by the end of the month, according to reporting from NBC News. The President declared a national emergency this afternoon which frees up about $50 billion for states and the federal government to get a handle on this pandemic. It is expected that there will be widespread drive-thru testing with results coming within 36 hours. There will be a Google form to fill out if you have symptoms and you will be directed to a testing place. THIS IS INCORRECT. I DON’T KNOW IF THE PRESIDENT LIED AGAIN OR IF IT WAS JUST WISHFUL THINKING. We’ll see how that works out. I am hoping that it does.

Information:

Rachel Maddow’s show transcript from March 11, 2020 or listen to the same on her podcast

Rachel Maddow’s show from March 12, 2020

Cancel Everything (Social Distancing) from The Atlantic

Flattening the Curve, Isolation, Quarantine (from Vox)

How Fox News Misled Viewers about Coronavirus – important to keep up with and recognize the misinformation (CNN Business)

How Trump Set Up his White House to Fail (relates to information access) (The Atlantic)

9 Charts that Explain the Coronavirus Pandemic (from Vox)

Podcast:

America Dissected: Coronavirus with Dr. Abdul el-Sayed. New pods will be broadcast on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Twitter:

Dr. Abdul el-Sayed

COVID-19 Update

Standard

(This will also be added to original Coronavirus post that is linked at the top of my home page)

I recommend you follow Dr. Scott Gottlieb on Twitter. He is not currently a part of this Administration, but is the former head of the FDA and Harvard professor and offers good, thoughtful advice on dealing with this epidemic.

His USA Today op-ed: Take Smart Steps to Slow the Spread of the coronavirus

This is a transcript of his interview on CBS’ Face the Nation

Coronavirus Resources Update

Standard

Talking Point Memo’s Josh Marshall has compiled a list of Twitter accounts giving real time updates and accurate information. If you’re on Twitter, check the tweet here, or go directly to the Epidemic Science & Health link, and follow these folks.

There is also a Coronavirus Live Update Website from Worldometer (h/t to actor Jim Beaver for the link) with statistics and numbers. However, please be aware that the number of cases is based only on those tested. Here in the United States, we are well behind the testing, so our numbers may be higher than reported. This also doesn’t include people who are carrying the virus but are asymptomatic.

I received an email from my health insurance company with their current policy on coronavirus testing. Check with your own health insurance provider to find out when and if you should get tested and how that procedure would work for your specific situation.

I will add this to my original post (link is at the top of my home page) which will continue to receive updated information as I discover it.

COVID-19 INFORMATION HUB (UPDATED: 3/20/20)

Standard

Here’s the first update for the new Coronavirus Information Hub. The whole post will change over the next week. Judging by today’s publishing fun, it will take at least two hours to get these posts set up by categories. As they are published, they will be easily found through the COVID-19 category tag.

What to Do in Isolation/Quarantine (UPDATED 3/21/20)(NOW WITH EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES)
Where Can I Help? (UPDATED 3/21/20)

THIS POST WILL CONTINUE TO RECEIVE UPDATES AS INFORMATION CHANGES.

SARS-CoV-2 is the official name of this strain of the coronavirus. The respiratory disease the virus causes is abbreviated COVID-19. My intention in this post is to be apolitical, but after watching the press conference naming Vice President Pence as the coronavirus response coordinator and then their blocking the doctor (Dr. Anthony Fauci) from appearing on news programs this weekend, I’m not sure that this Administration is taking this epidemic seriously.

For one thing, according to a HHS whistleblower and reports in The New York Times and elsewhere, DHS employees were instructed to interact with repatriated quarantined Americans without protocols or protective gear. In one case, a DHS employee was forced to return to work before their 14-day quarantine was over, which they did. Another employee stayed at a hotel, and then took a commercial flight home with no precautions. There are currently three community based coronavirus transmissions in California and Oregon. There are reported positive tests also in Utah and Texas.

For those of us who are legitimately worried about contracting the coronavirus, we need to dispel the misinformation and out and out lies coming from this Administration, and get actual facts from experts and medical professionals.

It is important to note that I am NOT a doctor. I do NOT work in the health care field. I have carefully researched and vetted the links that follow, and in the case of podcasts have personally listened to them in order to be able to recommend them to you. Any advice I give further down the post is “mom-advice” that I am giving my own family, and following myself. It is not medical advice. IF you are an immuno-compromised individual, contact your doctor for the steps to keep yourself healthy and safe from this outbreak. Obviously, washing your hands, etc. is something you can do, but it’s best if you check on your individual situations with a medical professional who knows your specific circumstances.

I can’t believe that I have to debunk this, but you will not get COVID-19 from drinking Corona beer or eating Chinese food. In fact, we’re eating Chinese take-out tonight for dinner. Another point of necessary debunking is that coronavirus “is just like the flu”. It is not. At the lowest level of the range, deaths from the regular flu (influenza) is .02%. Deaths from Coronavirus is 2%. That makes the coronavirus 100 times more deadly than seasonal flu.

While there are fifteen confirmed cases in the US (origin to the US), there are over fifty including those repatriated from Japan and the cruise ship as well as the new unknown origin transmissions that I mentioned above. Despite assertions to the contrary, this virus will spread. It is already spreading.

In 2014, President Obama appointed Ronald Klain as the coordinator for the Ebola response. One thing I will say is that under Obama and Klain, I did not miss one night’s sleep. I did not give Ebola a second thought; I knew it was being handled. Mr. Klain was and is not a medical professional, but he was able to hear from all the various departments and disseminate the appropriate information to the appropriate agencies. He never restricted what the CDC and the NIH told the public. He also had briefings twice a day from the CIA and national intelligence agencies. As with ebola, coronavirus is a global problem. I mention all of this because this does not appear to be the procedure the Trump Administration is following. In fact, in 2018, President Trump eliminated the pandemic team which leaves us starting practically from scratch today.

Mom-Advice:

If you are able, get a flu shot. This will keep you from getting the flu and lowering your immune system. It will NOT prevent the coronavirus.

Wash your hands with soap and warm water several times throughout the day. After using the bathroom, before and after eating, arriving at work and returning home.

Equally important is to dry your hands thoroughly. This is something I learned as an Early Childhood Teacher/Specialist. (added 3/9/20)

Do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands. I know, I know, you’re doing it now. I understand.

When coughing or sneezing, cover your nose AND mouth. Even if covering with a tissue or fabric, wash your hands after with soap and warm water.

Do not share food or drinks with anyone. ANYONE. Do not share straws also.

Resources for you:

First and foremost is the new podcast, Epidemic. It is hosted by Dr. Celine Gounder and former Ebola response Coordinator, Ronald Klain. The first episode is out now, and is incredibly informative. They will be releasing new episodes every Friday.

NEW PODCAST: America Dissected: Coronavirus with Dr. Abdul el-Sayed. New pods will be broadcast on Tuesdays and Fridays. (added 3/13/20)

The Rachel Maddow Show from February 27, 2020. The first 45 minutes focuses exclusively on the coronavirus.

Rachel Maddow’s show transcript from March 11, 2020 or listen to the same on her podcast (added 3/13/20)

Rachel Maddow’s show from March 12, 2020 (added 3/13/20)

Transcript of Dr. Scott Gottlieb’s interview on CBS’ Face the Nation (added 3/9/20)

CDC (Center for Disease Control)

CDC-Coronavirus 2019
NIH (National Institute of Health)

Scientific American: Preparing for the Coronavirus to Strike the US
Coronavirus Symptoms

Wash Your Damn Hands (from Vox)

Take Smart Steps to Slow the Spread of the coronavirus (added 3/9/20)

Preparing for an Outbreak (Coronavirus) (from Vox)

Explainer: Coronavirus reappears in discharged patients, raising questions in containment fight

Cancel Everything (Social Distancing) from The Atlantic (added 3/13/20)

Flattening the Curve, Isolation, Quarantine (from Vox) (added 3/13/20)

How Fox News Misled Viewers about Coronavirus – important to keep up with and recognize the misinformation (CNN Business) (added 3/13/20)

How Trump Set Up his White House to Fail (relates to information access) (The Atlantic) (added 3/13/20)

9 Charts that Explain the Coronavirus Pandemic (from Vox) (added 3/13/20)

Coronavirus Live Update Website (added 3/5/20)

Follow on Twitter:

Dr. Celine Gounder

Ronald Klain
Dr. Scott Gottlieb (added 3/9/20)

Dr. Abdul el-Sayed (added 3/13/20)

CDC

CDC-Emergency
NIH
WHO (World Health Organization)

Richard Engel

Epidemic Science & Health list on Twitter compiled by Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo (added 3/5/20)

As more information comes to light, I expect to either add to this post or create new ones. I will put a link on my home page so the information can be easily found.
[Originally titled: Coronavirus – SARS-CoV2-COVID-19 with latest update 3/13/20]