The COVID Booster Shot Knocked Me For a Loop

Yesterday, I made an appointment with a local Walgreen's to get my COVID-19 booster shot by Pfizer.  I qualified for the booster because I am over 65 years of age.  It took about 15 minutes of waiting before I got it.  The pharmacist gave me the injection, which was painless.  For the next 10 hours or so, I had no reaction to it except for a sore arm, the same as with the first two shots.  Then during the night, I started having horrible muscle pain as in cramps.  I thought it might be from the run I went on during the day.  However, those cramps got worse, and I didn't get out of bed for good until around 8:30.  That was the easy part.

As the day wore on, I started getting chills and then tremendous fatigue, perhaps a bit like  COVID symptoms.  I felt like I had been hit by a Mack truck and could barely do anything most of the day.  I came to the conclusion that these were the side effects of the Pfizer vaccine, which I confirmed through a google search listing said side effects.  Those should wear off over the next few days.

I have already decided not to come to work tomorrow; I am truly out of it.  Of course, any side effects from the shot are far better than getting the disease.

Because of this, I have decided to put off getting the shingles shot until December.  I have heard that one can be a royal bitch as well.

Good on Biden

 The president is planning to announce mandatory vaccinations for federal employees today (presumably with health and religious exemptions) in order to help stop the spike in COVID-19 cases. I hope all state, local, and private employers follow suit.  Furthermore, let's have insurance companies spike up rates for those who refuse the vaccine.

There is no goddamned excuse for the vast majority of people not to be vaccinated.  People are dying, people are straining medical resources because of their stupidity.

The big problem here is we have three-and-a-half generations in this county who have NEVER lived through a real plague until now. AIDS doesn't really count because it was never that widespread, it targeted specific groups, and it is easily preventable albeit has no cure.  These people have no idea how bad certain diseases can get or would get if it weren't for vaccines.  Anybody under 60 years of age has no clue what it is like.  I am thinking of polio specifically.  I can remember as a little girl how scary it was for millions, especially children, and especially in the southern states, every summer.  They were afraid to go outside for fear of getting polio.  If they did, the vast majority of children and adults made it, but for a significant minority, it was disability, death, or perhaps worst of all, the iron lung (there weren't respirators then as now).  Thanks to the March of Dimes, promoted by FDR (hence his face on the US dime), the Salk and Sabin vaccines were developed, and polio today is all but wiped out from the face of the earth.  

I remember getting the Sabin vaccine, the sugar cube, when I was in first grade.  Everybody got it.  There weren't crackpots going around yapping about their "freedom."  Everybody, young and old, understood it was a citizen's responsibility not to make others sick.

This is lost on too many of the current generations.  It's me, me, me, me, me.

Biden's speech:

As always, it is political posturing with Repubicans:

RNC says it plans to sue the Biden administration after the president issued two sweeping executive orders that will require Covid vaccines for as many as 100M Americans. https://t.co/W22McUOTPn

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 10, 2021

They will lose, but that isn't the point.  I don't want these unvaccinated people in my workplace, in the schools, on trains and airplanes, anywhere in public.  Enough is enough with this "freedom" bullshit.

 

I Live Here

 This kneejerk garbage of people refusing to get vaccinated in hard-hit southern Oregon is a disgrace and an embarrassment.

This area of Oregon is far right in political beliefs and thinks Governor Kate Brown is the devil incarnate.  So many of these people are outright idiots, as racist and as sexist as any area of the United States and with their steady diet of far right media, they cannot be reasoned with.  I work with these people, and I will tell you that when the new mandates come down in October where ALL school personnel will have to have proof of vaccination (with exceptions for religious reasons and health reasons), all hell will break loose.  In my school district there is already a major shortage of job applicants; many employees who are unvaccinated are going to refuse to get the shots and are threatening to quit.

I say insurance companies should refuse to insure any of these holdouts.  I say all employers refuse to hire them.  These people yak constantly about their freedom, but their rights end where mine begins.

These idiots embarrassed Medford and the state of Oregon when they protested in front of Asante Regional Hospital a couple of days ago.  Supposedly a thousand or more were there, with more dipshits driving by honking in support.  Very few of the protesters were medical personnel; few are that damned stupid as to support antivaccination ideas.  Meanwhile, inside the hospital, a number of people were dying of COVID in the ICU.

A video of this insanity:

Here is what it is like in the ICU at Asante in Medford:

A Few Thoughts About the Upcoming Election (Reposted)

 I expect Joe Biden to handily win tomorrow's election, but given Trump's insanity and his supporters' even greater insanity, I wouldn't bet against him to pull off an "upset."  Instead of writing a long screed, I will post a video once I have it uploaded I made today about Trump's latest antics to try and undermine the election and some comments about a recent idiotic article in the Atlantic that states the obvious about the poor little baby white dudes having it so "rough" and why they support Trump's deadly non-policies on COVID-19.  It's nothing new at all; it has been known for FIFTY goddamned years beginning with Nixon's "hard hats" how "aggrieved" these white males are.

Some articles to look at:

Trump is building a wall around the White House:  link

Trump plots to announce a victory in the election long before it is even decided:  link

Update, video:

Meanwhile, Barton Gellman is at it again trying to make people paranoid as to what Trump plans to do if he loses.  The most shocking thing he could do is give a graceful concession speech congratulating Biden and stating the importance of peaceful transfer of power.

That would give the world a collective heart attack.

For the record, Biden won Dixville Notch, New Hampshire's vote.  The vote was 5-0.

What the Hell Is Wrong With Him?

 It's like our president is an overgrown child that if you tell him not to do something, he turns around and does it anyway.

Somebody over at the board Democratic Underground dubbed him "Diseasy Rider."

He went for a "joyride" today, not to the WH but to let his supporters know he hasn't died yet.  If he keeps fooling around like this, COVID-19 may have other ideas:

Trump just put his driver and the Secret Service at risk by violating quarantine in order to do a political stunt. https://t.co/xY9yVSyzje

— John Aravosis 🇺🇸🇬🇷🏳️‍🌈 (@aravosis) October 4, 2020

Another view:

 

That’s Trump driving by his supporters outside Walter Reed military hospital. pic.twitter.com/eqA0RGkr6A

— Philip Crowther (@PhilipinDC) October 4, 2020

Trump appreciates their support:

 

I really appreciate all of the fans and supporters outside of the hospital. The fact is, they really love our Country and are seeing how we are MAKING IT GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 4, 2020

He works hard for the American people:

 

Nothing says "I work hard" to America more than signing blank sheets of paper. But the real question is whether it was the same "magical Sharpie" the president uses for his hurricane forecasting.

— Dan Rather (@DanRather) October 4, 2020

It makes one wonder just how many days Trump has actually had the virus.  He is quite short of breath, however.  This was recorded right before his "diseasy rider" stunt, endangering others in the presidential SUV:

 

President Trump earlier: "We're going to pay a little surprise to some of the great patriots that we have out on the street... They've got Trump flags." pic.twitter.com/3PuL774k4K

— The Hill (@thehill) October 4, 2020

Here is the long version of his joyride of today:

 

So, How Sick Is He?

 I have a hard time with the conspiracy theory Trump is faking his illness in order to get out of the debates or to try and incur a sympathy vote.  Roger Stone isn't even that clever to think up something like that.

Besides, how could such a theory explain all the COVID-19 cases which have been linked to the Amy Coney Barrett event of last Saturday at the Rose Garden?  A whole bunch of people who were there have come down with it.  Barrett had the disease late in the summer and is apparently recovered.  However, some rumors had it that perhaps her children, who were there and weren't wearing masks, either, were asymptomatic carriers.

In any case, I doubt Trump is faking it.  Yesterday, he was  in fairly bad shape and was on oxygen.  Today he is reportedly feeling better though earlier he asked people if he was going to die.

In the meantime, just who in fact is running the country?  It should be Pence now that Trump is pretty much incapacitated.

Trump's Twitter message from today:

pic.twitter.com/gvIPuYtTZG

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 3, 2020

He's not faking it. He looks pretty sick there.

And how should we feel about this situation should Trump die?

Here is a handy-dandy tracker of COVID-19 at the White House.

The October Surprise

Famous Last Words:

Here's Trump mocking Biden for wearing a mask at the debate on Tuesday. He traveled to that debate with Hope Hicks, who has tested positive for coronavirus. pic.twitter.com/MvFs3HR2Z3

— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) October 2, 2020

Except for Melania, the rest of the Trump family ignored wearing masks at Tuesday's disastrous debate.

Will he get the sympathy vote?  I doubt it.  Was it his way to get out of further debates since he railed against the new rules for the future debates?  Again, I doubt it.

What the question is is how he managed to dodge being infected for so long.  Many of his associates had been sick with it almost from the beginning.

Teachers Have No Rights in Nevada

The situation is critical in northern Nevada, as WCSD's superintendent insists the schools will open WITH STUDENTS on Monday.  Never  mind the very high infection rate in the county.  I did a vid this morning about it:



Ongoing reports about the situation are available--for free--from the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Another lengthy report is here.

Time to Evict Congress

Again the blame for a lack of legislation on the stimulus goes to the U.S. Senate and that dipshit Mitch McConnell.  Even if there is a deal reached on the stimulus bill today or the next few days, some 20 to 30 GOP assholes supposedly will not back it no matter what.  They don't give a shit at all about people.

Meanwhile, millions and millions of people are not just facing financial ruin, they are facing homelessness.  Members of Congress, however, have more pressing concerns like making sure their vacation plans can be fulfilled on time.  Total idiots.

Up to 40 million Americans could be evicted by the end of this year, according to a new report published Friday by the Aspen Institute.

The report warns that the United States may be facing the most severe housing crisis in history if conditions do not change, with up to 43% of renter households facing eviction this year.

"As the data demonstrates, the gravity of this situation cannot be overstressed," said Emily Benfer, law professor at Wake Forest University School of Law and a co-author of the report. "Unless the federal government invests in eviction prevention, we are not only risking widespread eviction and homelessness, we are guaranteeing negative health outcomes, greater unemployment, educational decline, and long-term harm for renters, property owners and communities."

Congress doesn't care, though. They don't even care enough to put through the aspects of the stimulus bill they agree on as stand-alone legislation. No, they have to fuck it up every single time.

Now they might shock me and actually come to an agreement today, but I am not holding my breath.

Update:  Negotiations have come completely apart.

So Much for the Swedish "Miracle"

Lots of nonsense has been circulating, especially in right-wing circles, about how that socialist country, Sweden, has decided to let the devil take the hindmost with regard to COVID-19 in hopes of "herd immunity."  Well, folks, it hasn't worked worth a damn.  It appears Sweden is the European country with the highest COVID-19 death rate per capita.

It is NOT a success.  It is a failure compared to other countries like nearby Finland which put in strict lockdown measures.

The REASON we have the lockdown in the U.S. is because of what happened with Italy and Spain, countries that were caught blindsided by the ferocity of this virus.  Their healthcare systems couldn't support millions of people being sick.  They put in stringent controls.  The U.S., being far more populous, couldn't support millions of hospitalizations, and remember, the stats for "mild" cases are only for those who bothered to go to the doctor.  The U.S. followed suit even though the dipshit in charge, Trump, was more worried about his re-election chances than whether a few thousand, or hundred thousand, or a few million dropped dead.

Sweden has now overtaken the UK, Italy and Belgium to have the highest coronavirus per capita death rate in the world, throwing its decision to avoid a strict lockdown into further doubt.

According to figures collated by the Our World in Data website, Sweden had 6.08 deaths per million inhabitants per day on a rolling seven-day average between May 13 and May 20.

This is the highest in the world, above the UK, Belgium and the US, which have 5.57, 4.28 and 4.11 respectively.

However, Sweden has only had the highest death rate over the past week, with Belgium, Spain, Italy, the UK and France, still ahead over the entire course of the pandemic.

Give it time, folks, just give it time.

Good News Out of Oregon

Good news in Oregon as Governor Kate Brown has given the green light to 28 counties, including mine, to reopen businesses, including some small businesses and restaurants for eat-in.

link

It was always going to be like this.  Oregon has a low rate of infections overall, and here in Jackson County, the number of coronavirus cases total continues to stay at 49.

Snip:

Regardless of those county-by-county decisions, the Governor's office clarified earlier this week that nearly all retail stores throughout the state can reopen on May 15, with physical distancing and sanitation caveats. The only exception is for retail stores within shopping malls, which have to receive the countywide greenlight first.

Also beginning Friday, emergency child care will be expanded with new safety guidelines, reportedly giving more flexibility to families that are returning to work in order to access child care options.

"Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Oregon child care providers have continued to operate by applying with the Early Learning Division to provide emergency child care –– with priority given to the families of first responders, emergency workers, health care professionals, and other essential personnel working outside the home," Brown's office said. "The new guidance also applies to other early learning programs, such as respite care and kindergarten transition."

Now I am hoping California will be open enough  I can go on my trip to the Redwoods in July.

Another Day, Another Meltdown

I don't know why reporters even bother with Trump anymore.  I guess they can further expose him for the incompetent and unfit president he really is:



The last minute of his briefing, with no commentary or analysis:

The final minute of Trump's news conference this evening pic.twitter.com/m6oGh1q9VF

— Axios (@axios) May 11, 2020

Along those lines, 45 percent should not be approving of him at all. It just goes to show how much of the public still are still sexist, racist, and xenophobic. Those are the only reasons explaining Trump's support.

How in the HELL Was It "Taken Out of Context"?

Donald Trump said it at his daily COVID-19 briefing, aka his daily rally without the crowds.  It is on video.  There is no way around it.

It really was that bad.

Of course, he never mentioned any brand of disinfectant.  He didn't have to because the remarks were completely off-his-rocker.

Nothing was taken out of context:



Lysol has made a statement:




NOW he is claiming he was being "sarcastic."

I doubt many people are buying the latest excuse.

The UK's Piers Morgan, once a Trump cheerleader, these days can't avoid the utter batshittery of the president.

In Case You Missed It,

Frontline last night had a very good episode regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.  It centered on the first known cases in Seattle, and the ass dragging by the federal government to try and contain it.

It was like Washington v. Washington.

Here is the link, since there is no embed:

Coronavirus Pandemic

Picture of the Day

What I saw today at a now-closed restaurant, which closed months before the pandemic:

The Case for Invoking the 25th Amendment

Trump displays his complete batshittery today if it weren't evident a thousand times before:



And this:

Time to Ask the Rude Question

The rude question has to be asked as to why it is way more men die of the coronavirus than women?  Early on, smoking was thought to be the culprit, especially in countries like China where 53 percent of men but only 2 percent of women smoke.  Italy and France also have high smoking rates among men.    However, as the virus spread across countries and continents, including the U.S. with a very low smoking population, men were still two-thirds of the fatalities.

This is one thing the "gender identity" crowd can't explain away because SEX matters.

The theory about the deaths is that when it comes to diseases, males are the weaker sex, according to this article.

I do not like the crap of using redundant language like "genetic males" and "genetic females."  Sex is genetic--no need to be redundant.  This pandering to the trans crowd needs to stop.

Despite this linguistic horseshit, the author does have an argument:

But we’re only just now beginning to understand the full advantage that this extra X chromosome confers: It’s not just that women have a spare X chromosome to swap in. Rather, the more than 2,000 genes that, combined, make up two X chromosomes, are used by cells that actually interact and cooperate within a woman’s body. Each cell predominantly uses one X chromosome over the other — so if one X chromosome has genes that are better at recognizing invading viruses like Covid-19, for instance, immune cells using that X can focus on that task, while immune cells using the other X chromosome focus on, say, killing cells infected with Covid-19 instead, making the fight against the virus more efficient.

Typical males, by contrast, are forced to get by in life with just the one X chromosome. What if a male’s particular genes aren’t able to competently recognize or kill off cells

Women, since they are the part of the species which gestates and gives birth, of course will have an advantage in this regard in order to protect the fetus from harm.

When the Rich and Celebrities Get COVID-19,

that is when the media gives a shit.  The latest victims include Prince Charles and Prince Albert (of Monaco):

The Prince of Wales, 71, has a 'mild' form of the illness and is with his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, who has tested negative and is without any symptoms of the virus, which has killed 435 and infected 8,200 more in the UK so far.

A royal source said Charles' doctor's most conservative estimate was that the prince was contagious on March 13 - 24 hours after 'briefly' meeting his 93-year-old mother the Queen.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman has said: 'Her Majesty remains in good health. The Queen is following all the appropriate advice with regard to her welfare'.

Charles has fallen ill after meeting coronavirus-stricken Prince Albert of Monaco, who tested positive five days ago, after he sat opposite the Prince of Wales at a WaterAid event in London on March 10.

A Clarence House spokesman said: 'The Prince of Wales has tested positive for Coronavirus. He has been displaying mild symptoms but otherwise remains in good health and has been working from home throughout the last few days as usual.

And then the rest of us here in the U.S. who aren't among the powerful and rich might get a pittance of $1,200 from Uncle Sam.

What a fucking travesty.

From Aqua Buddha to "Typhoid" Randy

There are consequences to having "libertarian" notions about "freedom" and "government" when other people are involved.  This is why libertarianism is a bunch of bullshit by and for sociopaths and crackpots.  Actions always have consequences to others.

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, a nepotism if there ever was one to be elected to Congress, decided he was perfectly immune to things that happen to his lessers, so he went around after he had testing for whether he was COVID-19 positive and used the congressional gym and swimming pool, thus exposing everybody else to his germs.   He also ate with colleagues, helping to further the spread.  Despite being a physician by trade, or maybe because he is, he arrogantly displayed the righteousness of being a libertarian:  I've got mine and to hell with you.

Paul then admitted he was COVID-19 positive and is now in quarantine.  He and his father, former Texas representative and presidential candidate Ron Paul, are now having to eat crow because they proclaimed the pandemic was a "hoax" created to curb more personal freedoms.

I believe the pandemic is overhyped, even now, but it sure as fuck isn't a "hoax."

This story exposes the problem with the Pauls:

Prior to Paul's diagnosis, a recent article titled "The Coronavirus Hoax," by his father Ron Paul was published on March 16. In the piece, Ron Paul said that "governments love crises because when the people are fearful they are more willing to give up freedoms for promises that the government will take care of them."

He also called Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, the "chief fearmonger" who "did his best to further damage an already tanking economy," when Fauci appeared on the TV program Face the Nation.

"Over what? A virus that has thus far killed just over 5,000 worldwide and less than 100 in the United States?" Ron Paul wrote.

Rand is considered high risk because he had part of his lung removed as a result of being assaulted by a neighbor back in 2017.


The latest figures from Worldometer re USA are 41,569 cases and 504 deaths.  Roughly half of the cases total are in New York.

Speaking of Rand Paul, it is time for somebody to send him down to Texas to meet this dimwit politician:

Tx Lt Gov Dan Patrick says grandparents would be willing to die to save the economy for their grandchildren pic.twitter.com/wC3Ngvtsbj

— Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew_lawrence) March 24, 2020

Coronavirus Notes

I can't help but think of Naomi Klein regarding this pandemic.  It is the perfect opportunity for disaster capitalism, assuming capitalism survives this disaster.

I hope this will be over in a matter of weeks.

The latest figures are 10, 816 total cases and 161 deaths.  The cases are spiking because of wider testing.  The total figures will continue to shoot up although the deaths are relatively small.


Dr. Fauci was missing during this morning's briefing.
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Mitch McConnell is sounding like Andrew Yang, too.
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