Month: March 2020

Why Toilet Paper?

Closing Thought–Mar20

There have been lots of interesting stories surrounding this virus outbreak….like ISIS telling its people to not travel for now…..and attempts at authoritarian rule……to include the empty shelves in most stores these days.

3 of the main products that are missing from stores and hand sanitizer (understandable) and paper towels (sort of understandable) and toilet paper (working on that)……none of the main symptoms of this virus has anything that massive amounts of TP will be needed……then why are we hording TP?

There’s nothing quite like the behavior of panicky humans—especially when it comes to hoarding. Let a blizzard approach or a hurricane churn toward shore, and we descend on stores, buying up more batteries, bottled water and canned foods than we could use in a lifetime. We’re seeing the same thing again as America hunkers down against the novel coronavirus, and of all of the products that are being snatched up the fastest, there’s one that’s in special demand: toilet paper.

The Washington Post reports a run on the rolls, with both Costco and the Giant supermarket chain stripped all but clean. Even Amazon’s physical stores “appeared to be down to single rolls of novelty toilet paper in some places Friday,” the Post said. The New York Times similarly reports from a Whole Foods supermarket in Somerville, Mass., where shoppers had to be limited to two packages of toilet paper each, lest they strip the store bare.

https://time.com/5803273/hoarding-toilet-paper/

Like I said in the beginning…..this one is a bit a head scratcher….

A thought from Australia……

We’ve had to deal with drought, bushfires and a killer virus.

And now we’re having to cope with a toilet paper famine entirely of our own making.

Yep, the hoarders are getting the last laugh because while their panic buying has meant they can merrily wipe their way through the winter and beyond, the rest of us are having to find alternatives.

The trouble is, our toilet paper shortage is not real. It’s an artificial famine caused by the selfish who think their bum is the only one that matters. Toilet paper is made in Australia and if we all buy responsibly there’s enough to go round. Or, rather, down.

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/coronavirus-turns-out-toilet-paper-hoarders-were-right/news-story/eb7fccbca18806573f6d89f5b164645d

But why is TP a hot item?  Really, why?

It’s a scene that’s become familiar around the world from the United States to France to Australia: Rows of empty supermarket shelves where toilet paper used to be, the result of coronavirus-induced panic buying.

What exactly is it about the rolls of tissue that has caused mayhem across cultures, including, at times, violent clashes that have reverberated on social media?

At its most basic, say experts, the answer lies in game theory: If everyone buys only what they need, there will be no shortages. If some people start panic buying, the optimal strategy will be for you to follow suit, to make certain you have enough squares to spare.

https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/why-toilet-paper-the-psychology-behind-the-coronavirus-induced-panic

I realize these days we are focused on our butts….we have products that keep you from smelling up the bath with a BM…..

Any Thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

2020 Latest Abbreviated Primary

In these days of virus panic and we are still exercising our right to vote (while we still have it)…..3 more 2020 primaries were settled yesterday.

The MSM can be proud of their efforts to make the corporate stooge Biden the nominee…..Florida, Illinois and Arizona…..

Polls have closed in the three states that went ahead with their primaries Tuesday, and the result is another dominating night for Joe Biden. The former VP cemented his lead over Bernie Sanders in the delegate race by sweeping all three contests—Florida, Illinois, and Arizona, as called by the AP. Despite Ohio’s decision to postpone its own primary Tuesday, the night still has a large number of delegates at stake, 441, and margins of victory will be important. In incomplete results, Biden led 61% to 22% in Florida, 59% to 36% in Illinois, and 42% to 29% in Arizona. Tulsi Gabbard was registering at less than 1% in all three states. Florida was the biggest prize of the night, with 219 delegates up for grabs.

Generally speaking, missing poll workers, reshuffled voting locations, and a lack of disinfectant supplies made for a “chaotic” day of voting, notes the Washington Post. On Tuesday night, both candidates addressed the COVID-19 crisis. “You know, it’s in moments like these we realize we need to put politics aside and work together as Americans,” Biden said. “The coronavirus doesn’t care if you’re a Democrat or Republican.” Sanders, for his part, said “this is an unprecedented moment that will require an unprecedented amount of money,” via livestream from DC, per CNN. He estimated it would take “$2 trillion to prevent deaths, job losses and to avoid an economic catastrophe.”

The countdown to the convention has started and Biden is looking like the nominee….

Looks like another “hold your nose and vote” election.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Those Pre-Existing Conditions

With all the “news” about the world and its struggle with the newest virus to invade…..I got to wondering since the GOP is still trying every way possible to kill what little remains of Obamacare….what would happen with pre-existing conditions when it is totally destroyed?

In a headspinning week with President Trump making misleading claims as the nation wrestles with the outbreak of coronavirus, he also weighed in on an issue that could upend the lives of nearly 54 million Americans.

At a recent town hall organized by Fox News, anchor Martha MacCallum asked Trump how he would protect people with pre-existing conditions, which are guaranteed under the Affordable Care Act. President Obama signed it into law in March 2010 and it’s his signature legislative achievement.

Now, it’s a case; it’s called Texas vs. — you understand — it’s Texas who is suing.  They want to terminate it.  But everybody there is also saying, and everybody — we have our great senator from Pennsylvania.  Thank you very much, Pat, for being here.  (Applause.)  And Pat Toomey.

And — but, very important — and our — by the way, our great congressmen, I have to say, they were warriors.  Right?   Real warriors, in terms of the fake impeachment.  I will tell you that.  (Applause.)

But, so Texas is trying — and it’s Texas and many states — they’re trying to terminate, but they want to put something that’s much better.  They’re terminating it to put much better.  And they’ve all pledged that preexisting conditions, 100 percent taken care of.

(Market Insider)

A rambling, bambling, answer…..so will we be protected or is it just Texas will be protected…..I am not sure anymore.

A closing thought on Medicare For All……and the economics…..

It appears that 20 top economists think it will save money……

By eliminating insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses, and lowering overall healthcare costs, Medicare for All will result in enormous savings for almost all households, all except the richest households who will pay more in taxes.

Rejecting “loose talk” from corporate Democrats, the media, and insurance industry that a single-payer system would be unaffordable, twenty leading U.S. economists on Tuesday released an open letter endorsing Medicare for All as the best way to reduce soaring national healthcare costs, significantly cut expenses for most U.S. households, and save countless lives.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/03/11/20-top-economists-endorse-medicare-all-best-plan-cut-costs-save-tens-thousands-lives

Just saying!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Syria: 10 Year Anniversary

Ten years ago this month, 15 March, to be exact….Syrians took to the streets as part of what the media entitled the Arab Spring….Syrians were protesting for a better nation….little did the know that they had stared down a path that would bring about the destruction of “norm” for the nation.

Syria’s brutal conflict enters its 10th year Sunday with President Bashar al-Assad’s regime consolidating its hold over a war-wracked country with a decimated economy where foreign powers flex their muscle.

When Syrians took to the streets on March 15, 2011, they could scarcely have imagined their anti-government protests would turn into a complex war entangling rebels, jihadists and outside forces.

At least 384,000 people have since died, including more than 116,000 civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said Saturday.

The conflict has displaced more than 11 million people internally and abroad.

https://www.afp.com/en/news/3954/syrias-brutal-war-enters-10th-year-doc-1pw2w46

When I worked in the Middle East I was stationed in Aleppo….an old city where the concept of the “coffeehouse” began…..today there is very little left to the city….nothing I could recognize.

A sad anniversary for Syria.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–17Mar20

52 years ago yesterday one of the first massacres in American war history happened…..I am talking about the deaths of about 500 Vietnamese men, women and children at the hands of US soldiers.

Fifty-two years ago today, in one of the most heinous and grisly acts against civilians during wartime, as many as 500 unarmed men, women, children, and the elderly — nearly the entire population of the South Vietnamese hamlet of My Lai — were slaughtered, raped, and brutally tortured by United States troops.

As the U.S. military continues to deploy boots on the ground in additional nations — and as specters of totalitarianism and even greater militarism materialize as if pulled from a century ago — the lessons of My Lai should not be relegated to history’s ignominious dust bin.

History, after all, doesn’t repeat itself — ill-fated actions are carried out like déjà vu, by those who refuse to examine past mistakes as if they are sleepwalking through life.

“The My Lai hamlet, part of the village of Son My, was located in Quang Ngai province, which was believed to be a stronghold of the National Liberation Front (NLF) or Viet Cong (VC) and was a frequent target of U.S. and South Vietnamese bombing attacks,” History.com explains. “In March 1968, Charlie Company [or, C Company] of the Americal Division’s 11th Infantry Brigade received word that VC guerrillas had taken control of Son My. Led by Lieutenant William L. Calley, the unit was sent to the village on a search-and-destroy mission on March 16.”

Never Forget, 52 Years Ago the US Slaughtered 500 Unarmed Men, Women, & Children

A Horrible chapter in the history of Americans at war….but that is NO reason to write it out of our conflict histories….

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Just How Serious Is This Virus?

This is not me trying to downplay the seriousness of this rapid moving virus…..

I know you have been watching the news and reading the reports….and yes it is very very serious.

So damn serious that a group that orders is members to kill themselves have issued a warning not to travel to avoid contamination and death………..

After years of urging its terrorists to attack major European cities, ISIS is now telling them to steer clear due to the coronavirus.

Any sick jihadists already in Europe, however, should stay there — presumably to sicken infidels, according to a “sharia” directive printed in the group’s al-Naba newsletter, the Sunday Times of London reported.

The “healthy should not enter the land of the epidemic and the afflicted should not exit from it,” the newsletter advised.

The newsletter instructs jihadists that the “plague” is a “torment sent by God on whomsoever He wills.”

Iraq, where most of the surviving fragments of the group remain, had 110 reported coronavirus cases on Sunday morning, 10 of them fatal, according to Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking the contagion.

(nypost.com)

And that is just how serious this virus has become.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Cash Scramble!

Just like the crash of ’08 businesses are scrambling to preserve their profits by getting the government to give them money……and now that the markets have slid another 3000 points the screams are growing louder by the day….

These daily slides have wiped out about 96% of the profits it created in the Trump years so far.  If this continues then Trump has lost his best re-election weapon.

How about those businesses like the airlines……seems everyone is scrambling to get a piece of the government’s pie.

“We’re going to be in a position to help the airlines very much,” President Trump said Monday when asked about possible government aid in the wake of the huge drop in passenger bookings. The airlines have now put an amount on that promise: $50 billion. That’s more than three times as much as they received after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Wall Street Journal reports; the tab for the auto industry bailout was $80 billion. Cash payments, loans and tax help could be part of the deal being discussed by the airlines with Trump administration officials and members of Congress. United Airlines said it plans to cut service in half for April and May because of the coronavirus outbreak and figures the flights it keeps running will only be one-fourth full. “We have to back the airlines,” Trump said. “It’s not their fault.”

The airlines also made a plea for urgency. “We cannot afford to wait long for assistance,” the A4A trade group said. “This is a today problem, not a tomorrow problem,” the group’s CEO said, per the Washington Post. Airports could ask for federal aid, too. “Airlines may be the most visible part of our aviation system,” a House GOP spokesman said, “but we have to ensure that a stabilization package addresses the needs of airports, regional and charter airlines, cargo airlines, manufacturers, and general aviation business.” An industry analyst called the plan “an aggressive request” but cautioned that it could be just a starting point. “You have to remember the A4A’s job is to shoot for the universe in hopes of getting the moon,” he said.

I say give the greedy bastards the money….but take it out of the Pentagon’s budget for it is pretty bloated.

My feelings are…”F*ck ’em”!

How much have they used to buy back their own stocks?  Maybe they should say screw short term gains and look to the future.

Just saying…….

And the games being played in the Congress is so typical of the gutless wonders we elect…..

With an urgency unseen since the Great Recession, Congress is rushing to develop a sweeping economic lifeline for American households and businesses capsized by the coronavirus outbreak. Democrats said at least $750 billion would be needed, the AP reports. “We will need big, bold, urgent federal action to deal with this crisis,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Monday. Republicans did not object, as a roster of America’s big and small industries lined up for aid. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he wants a comprehensive approach with “significant steps” for the economy, particularly Main Street businesses. Senators had returned to an emptied-out US Capitol, clear of tourists or House members, to confront an even more dire situation than the one they left for a long weekend, before Trump declared a national emergency.

Stuck in the Senate is the aid package approved Saturday by the House, with sick pay, free testing and emergency food. Some Republicans want changes, and the House has technical corrections to make. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who negotiated the package with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, arrived late Monday on Capitol Hill to confer with Senate GOP leaders, saying they were trying to fix the hangup and turn to next steps. The House, Senate and White House agree the pending bill is not nearly enough. The Chamber of Commerce called Monday for legislation including a three-month cancellation of the taxes companies pay to support Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance, for example. The Democrats’ plan would boost hospital capacity, unemployment insurance and other direct aid for households, businesses and the health care industry.

Not to worry the Senate will go on a three day hiatus just when we need their worthless asses to get things done…..so typical.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Women’s History #2–Patty And The SLA

Long before ISIS or Al-Qaeda…there was the SLA…

SLA?

Symbionese Liberation Army!

Maybe one of their famous members might help you understand……Patty Hearst…..does that ring a bell?

(At the sound of the horn sprint to Google and learn)

The older you are the more that name will mean to you….

First Patty Hearst…….

Around 9 o’clock in the evening on February 4, 1974, there was a knock on the door of apartment #4 at 2603 Benvenue Street in Berkeley, California. In burst a group of men and women with their guns drawn. They grabbed a surprised 19-year-old college student named Patty Hearst, beat up her fiancé, threw her in the trunk of their car and drove off.

Thus began one of the strangest cases in FBI history.

Hearst, it was soon discovered, had been kidnapped by a group of armed radicals that billed themselves as the Symbionese Liberation Army, or SLA. Led by a hardened criminal named Donald DeFreeze, the SLA wanted nothing less than to incite a guerrilla war against the U.S. government and destroy what they called the “capitalist state.” Their ranks included women and men, blacks and whites, and anarchists and extremists from various walks in life.

https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/patty-hearst

The group that took then converted Patty Hearst was the Symbionese Liberation Army…..

In 1974 a little-known but wealthy Berkeley undergraduate, Patricia Hearst, became a media celebrity after being kidnapped by a group of revolutionaries calling themselves the Symbionese Liberation Army. The kidnap victim transformed into a seemingly willing accomplice; over the months of her kidnapping, she participated in crimes, claimed allegiance to the S.L.A., and defended her captors as valiant heroes. From tape recordings, her trial testimony and own telling of the story years later, several different versions of events emerge, but there seems to be no resolution to the questions about her transformation. Her parents thought that she had been brainwashed; experts suggested that she was a victim of the Stockholm Syndrome, mistakenly identifying with her captors in an effort at self-preservation. Yet it is also possible that Hearst repudiated her upbringing to flirt with radical terrorism.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/guerrilla-rise-and-fall-symbionese-liberation-army/

The 1970s was a fascinating time in history….without Patty Hearst this group would have been just a minor footnote in history….if that….

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

China Has A Sinking Feeling

If you think this post is about the virus then you have to have another thought because it has little to0 do with the pandemic racing across the globe.

I am NO expert on China but I have been watching their movements in the South China Sea…..https://lobotero.com/2016/07/14/south-china-sea-bingo/

The US is concerned with the build-up of the Chinese military on the islands in the region especially those special built man made islands.

But maybe there is a chance that that situation could solve itself…….

Bejing quickly built human-made artificial islands to seize disputed territories. But now it looks like their greed and speed are coming back to haunt them.

Since 2013 the Chinese government has dredged and mostly destroyed ecologically delicate reefs in disputed waters in order to build seven major military bases complete with ports, airstrips and radar and missile installations.

This first appeared in 2019 and is being reposted due to reader interest.

The islands function as unsinkable aircraft carriers and help to cement Beijing’s claims on waters rich with fish and minerals, waters that neighboring countries also claim.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/sunk-how-chinas-man-made-islands-are-falling-apart-and-sinking-ocean-132047

Shoddy construction plus climate change equals unstable islands.

Wait!  Climate Change?

No need to say any more than that.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–16Mar20

The response to the virus has been an interesting story in itself…..but I think there are some extreme decisions that are a violation of some basic rights……take Champaign, Illinois…….

Champaign Mayor Deborah Frank Feinen has issued an executive order declaring an emergency in the city. 

City officials said the emergency is related to the COVID-19, which is anticipated to cause an impact on the health of community members. Champaign Municipal Code allows the mayor to declare an emergency for a limited time. 

Included in the executive order are ordinances that would give the city extraordinary powers to the Mayor. 

  • Violating parts of the Open Meetings Act
  • Ban sale of firearms and ammunition
  • Ban sale of any alcohol
  • Closing of all bars, taverns, liquor stores, etc
  • Ban sale or giving away of gasoline or other liquid flammable or combustible products in any container other than a gasoline tank permanently fixed to a motor vehicle
  • Direct the shutoff of power, water, gas, etc
  • Take possession of private property and obtain full title to same
  • Prohibit or restrict ingress and egress to and from the City

“The executive order allows the city to be flexible to properly respond to the emergency needs of our community. None of the options will necessarily will be implemented but are available in order to protect the welfare and safety of our community if needed,” Jeff Hamilton the City of Champaign’s Communications Manger told WAND-TV. 

(wandtv.com)

Someone explain how the confiscation of private property will help this response to a pandemic….

Any thoughts on your side?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”