There have been updates to the two new resource posts including new educational resources and where you can help from home. I plan to have a religious resource post later this evening.
Here are some shortcuts:
What to Do in Isolation/Quarantine (UPDATED 3/26/20)(NOW WITH EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES)
Where Can I Help? (UPDATED 3/26/20)
Religious and Spiritual Resources (UPDATED 3/26/20)
I hope everyone is keeping their distance and staying well.
My thoughts are with all of you.
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).
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)
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)
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.)
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:
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.
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:
Ronald Klain
Dr. Scott Gottlieb (added 3/9/20)
Dr. Abdul el-Sayed (added 3/13/20)
CDC-Emergency
NIH
WHO (World Health Organization)
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]
Crooked Media is promoting and supporting the 2020 Election. One way they are doing that, in addition to Fair Fight 2020 and Vote Save America is Leave it All on the Field. We know that to win in 2020, we need to be in the field, on the ground, organizing, informing, talking to voters about the future they want to see, and doing everything we can for the Democratic nominee in order to get Trump out of the White House, his cronies out of the Senate and further down ballot, and begin to repair what’s been done to our country.
Leave it All on the Field is starting with Organizing Corps 2020 from the DNC. Their goal is $500,000 and they’re more than halfway there. Let’s get them there!
Voter Registration Deadlines (by date)
For more specific information, visit Vote Save America and check out your state for both the primary and general election. Thanks Crooked Media!
States with Early Voting have an *
First Time voters require ID in states that have +
ID required for states that have #
Beginning next Monday is the first of nineteen voting days to choose the Democratic candidate for President. Voting will take place in fifty-seven primaries and caucuses from the fifty states and seven territories. What follows is all of the primary/caucus dates. Find your state, make sure you’re registered, and vote for the candidate you feel passionate about. Be part of the process; make your voice heard. Then after the Democratic National Convention in July, unify behind the candidate (more on that in later weeks) and return the country to the rule of law and common decency.
Before you review the primary schedule, visit Vote Save America. They have tips on how you can help the candidates, stop gerrymandering, volunteer, donate to the eventual nominee, check your voter registration, and other resources to make your vote count. Check them out.
February 3
Iowa (caucus) 41 delegates
February 11
New Hampshire 24 delegates
February 22
Nevada (caucus) 36 delegates
February 29
South Carolina 54 delegates
March 3 (Super Tuesday) 1344 total delegates
Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, American Samoa (caucus),
Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennesee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia
March 10 365 total delegates
Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota (firehouse caucus), Washington
Democrats Abroad voting period ends
March 14
Northern Mariana Islands (caucus) 6 delegates
March 17 577 total delegates
Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Ohio
March 24
Georgia 105 delegates
March 29
Puerto Rico 51 delegates
April 4 107 total delegates
Alaska, Hawaii, Louisianna, Wyoming
April 7
Wisconsin 84 delegates
April 28 663 total delegates
Connecticutt, Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island
May 2 46 total delegates
Guam (caucus), Kansas
May 5
Indiana 82 delegates
May 12 57 total delegates
Nebraska, West Virginia
May 19 115 total delegates
Kentucky, Oregon
June 2 215 total delegates
District of Columbia, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota
June 6
United States Virgin Islands (caucus) 7 delegates
July 13-16
Democratic National Convention, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Whether you consider yourself a Republican, Democrat, Independent or any other political designation, I hope that you believe, as I do that the impeachment of a President (or Cabinet member or judge) should be considered as a last resort, taken with the seriousness and gravitas that it deserves.Unfortunately, with this President and his Administration flouting the rule of law, ignoring subpoenas, and its blatant public acts of corruption and solicitation of foreign election interference, he, Mr. Trump has given Congress no choice.
And all of that was before this quid pro quo with Ukraine and giving the green light for Turkey to invade the Kurdish territory in Syria.
The G7 at the Doral Resort was just another cherry on the top of the ever growing Trump Corruption Sundae.
It may be hard to wade through the Republican lies and disinformation campaign. Personally, I am disappointed in Republicans who in the past at least pretended to be pro-America. They’ve truly shown their true colors and loyalties especially McConnell, Graham, and Meadows. I’m less surprised by Pompeo, Mulvaney, Jordan, and Nunes. This couldn’t have been proved any better than their deliberate and illegal interruption of impeachment testimony in a secure room in the House just yesterday. The President’s involvement in their stunt is another impeachable offense.
However, my opinion doesn’t mean anything without the facts to back it up.
This post offers sources to read, follow, and listen to as they lay out the impeachment case and continue to offer reasoned perspectives. As new information comes out or readers suggest other sources, I will update this post. I will also add it to my Home page.
Please comment with any of your own recs.
Podcasts (I provide links through Player.FM which is where I listen to my podcasts, but you can listen anywhere you already listen to podcasts.)
Rubicon: The Impeachment of Donald Trump from Crooked Media
Article II: Inside Impeachment from NBC hosted by Steve Kornacki
Impeachment, Explained from Vox hosted by Ezra Klein
Rachel Maddow Presents: Bag Man A series on the corruption of Vice President Spiro Agnew
Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
Richard Engel – on the ground in Syria
or On Assignment with Richard Engel
Your own Senators and Representatives
Books and Other Publications
Neal Katyal is an attorney who served in the Justice Department, was the Acting Solicitor General during the Obama Administration from May 2010 until June 2011, taking over the position after Elena Kagan became Supreme Court Justice. He was born in Chicago, and has argued more Supreme Court cases than any other minority lawyer. He seems to always have cases before the Supreme Court. He drafted the Special Cousel regulations in 1999, and those are in continued use, and used to assign the parameters of the Mueller Investigation. He was one of Al Gore’s co-counsels before the Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore and teaches at Georgetown.
He has written his first book, Impeach: The Case Against President Trump, which is coming out on November 26th, just in time for those family dinner conversations, explaining impeachment to those of us asking the questions. It can be pre-ordered.
It is also helpful to read the following:
Mueller Report (this link will automatically download to your device)
The opening statements of the testimony of Marie Yovanivitch, former Ukraine Ambassador (this link will also automatically download to your device)
The opening statement of testimony by Bill Taylor (this link brings you to google docs)
Griffins and Ginger Snaps 