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Lucian, I sympathize with your desire to move on and leave Covid Delta to the CDC and the talking heads from NPR. But seriously, it is taking pride of place here in the Sacramento region, even displacing all the anxiety over the wildfires that are currently burning in the Western Sierra. Unlike wildfire, which can be attacked through air – ground assault, nobody has yet died despite this environmental catastrophe that is daily taking shape in our forest lands.

Covid, however, is another story. Infection rates, hospitalizations, and result in deaths are on the rise. This past spring, we were breathing sighs of relief, and sort of congratulating ourselves that we Californians pretty much had our act together; and then Delta came on like gangbusters. The various vaccines we have still work, but were dealing with a more virulent isomer, and Delta is a bitch. Worse yet, the Republican hinterland, egged on by Fox News, and the usual suspects on Facebook and Twitter, sowing discord and denial, that have made progress lose momentum.

Finally, finally, some Republican elected officials are starting to get worried that all of this is going to blow back on them. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey came right out and said, and which you quoted, 'it is time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks…" Well! Glory be! Some people are starting to wise up, not always where you wanted to be, but at least it is a start. That is an inflection point worth looking into more closely. People of conservative mien are starting to realize that the real world consequences of their political posturing are having horrific consequences. The evidence is clear, as Governor Ivey so noted, is the unvaccinated folks who are the heavies in this morality tale. That is bound to carry a lot of weight. Suddenly it is not the 'Gov'mint' that is stealing our Rights, and undercutting our manhood, but Jody, and all of his kinfolk. The image that I have in mind comes from Walt Disney's Fantasia, and its animation of Mickey Mouse as the sorcerer's apprentice. Once Mickey cast the magic spell and got the broom to start hauling water from the well, there was no stopping it. Things took on a life of their own, until the sorcerer arrived on scene to reverse the spell. But right now, we are drowning in an ocean of spite, and envy, and ignorance, and willfulness, spawned by the Republican Party and their allies; and what Governor Ivey referred to as 'regular folks' have segued from concern, to dismay, to abject terror. Already there are calls to put hickory stick and muscle into getting those who are noncompliant up to speed with the program. The CDC, intent on doing good science by withholding formal approval of those vaccines and use until every I is dotted and every T is crossed, is compounding the errors they made a year ago with their sloppy messaging. It is like stopping the D-Day Invasion to check to see whether every soldier has a clean mess kit, and a full canteen, all done while the landing craft are pushing towards the beach. I worked in government long enough to know that you can give conditional approval that has the effect of the full Monty, and the CDC should say so. This is not like thalidomide back in 1963, or something that got pulled out of Big Pharma's ass. If there was a time to wield a shillelagh, this would be it. You do not have to literally beat people about the head and shoulders, but you should be able to enforce masking rules, and keep the unvaccinated out of the restaurants and bars, and preferably off the street while they are still not vaccinated. I seem to remember MPs going into restaurants to check military personnel as to whether they had proper authorization to be there. We do not need to go quite that far; but we do need to convey the message that the situation has life-threatening implications, and that it will be handled as such. In my book, it is either mask up or find some other place to be. I am not averse to imposing monetary fines for people who were found to be violating the rules. It has been suggested that those who refuse to become vaccinated should be required to pay financial penalties in the form of higher health insurance premiums, the way it was done with those who could not kick the cigarette habit. As for the broadcast media, I would reinstate the old time Fairness Rule to allow their viewers access to truthful, unbiased information. They have a right to their opinion, but they have no right to amplification, or to dominate the public square using that which belongs to all of us. We saw what happened following the last election when the Trump Campaign and the Republican Party clogged the courts with bogus claims of election fraud. This is a matter of public health, where lives are at risk, and time is of the essence. If all they are doing is gas lighting and spreading this information, we can shut them down. As I mentioned in a previous posting, 'the Constitution is not a suicide pact.'

Finally, it is part of our culture to celebrate free speech, and let every voice be heard. That is okay, so long as there is legitimate grounds for debate. From a statistical standpoint, there is nothing to debate; this is not about 'free speech', 'personal rights', or, my favorite, 'personal choice'. The way I see it, someone exercises their 'personal choice' by being out in public among people; and if they are unvaccinated, and unmasked, they are not where they are allowed to be. No excuses. It is not like it was when we were back in college, and a kid did get a fake ID so we could go drinking with his buddies. Getting vaccinated is no big deal in terms of time and effort. It is a big deal, a BFD, as Joe Biden is known to have said, if you HAVE NOT gotten vaccinated, and you are using vaccination as a wedge issue to identify yourself in a particular way. Back in the day, sometime between the year I was 18 years old and the year I turned 30, there was a ballad that played fairly frequently on the radio, titled, "I fought the law, and the law won". This was teenage rebellion, but now we have a full third of our countrymen acting like a couple of teenage sports, with their collars up, hair coiffed in ducktails, and their testosterone pumping, and out to impress a bunch of teenage girls how cool they are. I cannot believe we are a country of 320 million people in thrall to a bunch of teenage delinquents and pubescent morons, whatever their chronological ages might be. This has to stop. The one way to do it is to drop the hammer on those who are spreading the lies and disinformation. This is not about personal rights, per se. It is about reasonable behavior that needs to be encouraged, and if necessary, compelled. Without it, nothing gets done; and people get sick and die for no reason at all except the selfishness of the people whom Governor Ivey identified as blameworthy for the mess that we are in. I would disagree with the governor on probably most issues; but on this one, she is right on the money. What is missing from her statement is her resolve to do something about it. But having connected the dots, and given voice to her conclusion, we need to make that conclusion a reality before more people get sick and die.

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Brilliant! I am applauding! This: "I worked in government long enough to know that you can give conditional approval that has the effect of the full Monty," and so much more! I would love to share this over and over and over.

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Go for it. The adults in the room need to step up and lay down the law to these whackadoodle fantasists and get them to behave like responsible citizens. Enough of this nonsense!

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Wow, Artsilen—a comment longer than the letter! I don’t want to encourage you too much in your verbosity, but I did read every word and found it most interesting. Stay well!

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I go with the flow.

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Well, it makes sense for the Republicans to get all hysterical about COVID-19 for right now because Trump's not making speeches and nobody seems to be listening to their denials about the Jan 6 insurrection, but it's not gonna last long, as you pointed out.

What gets me is the sheer goddamned hypocrisy of Kay Ivey who like most Republicans never met a lie she didn't like to repeat more than once. As I recall, her state is one of the least vaccinated states in the US, and she's on one hand blaming everyone for not getting a shot but on the other hand, "I've done all I could" which is to say nothing.

We're just going to have to live through this horror show for the next 6 months telling everyone "I told you so!" when it comes to vaccinations and by the way, keep your mask on while you're doing it because it's not over by a very long shot.

Take care and peace!

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Forgive me for sharing again something I posted on HCR's LFAA. It's too long to recreate again, but I do believe it is relevant to this conversation:

"I think it is too late for the GOP. I had a personal experience yesterday worth sharing here.

Without going into details of my health issues, suffice it to say that I spent a good part of the day, sitting in my car having a "virtual appointment" with my doctor (because of suspicions of Covid) and then in the ER of a hospital awaiting tests for Covid and pneumonia. Everyone was masked, thank goodness, but the ER was humming and busier than I had ever seen it. When the ER nurse finally came to retrieve me from the waiting room to administer my test and then to await the XRAY, I told her of my concern that this might be a "breakthrough" since I had had Moderna in January and February and that I had been exposed to almost no one and even among those few, no one who had not been vaccinated. At that, she shared the following: 1) She had never been vaccinated; 2) She never wore a mask in public; 3) She "probably" had had Covid twice, but she just stayed home a few days; 3) Breakthroughs were happening in huge numbers; 4) Most people were dying from side effects of vaccines.

I told my companion/friend/driver, who advised me to contact my doctor. I did. He was appalled. I didn't know her name, but he put me on hold, called the ER and then called me back with her name. He asked me to put it in writing and said he would follow through. He was horrified. He had already reported it to the ER Administrator. After hours, he called me back again to say he had further researched the woman and found that she was a "floater" - someone they had hired from a company to augment the staff when they had huge numbers to handle. He again asked me to put it in writing, then told me she had done the unthinkable - not only was she putting lives at risk by not being vaccinated herself, but her unprofessional and unethical sharing could cost lives. His words to me were, "Ellen, we are on a precipice here. We cannot have people like this working with our patients."

So, first step accomplished. The written follow up will be delivered to him on Monday and then will work its way into the massive Ascension system and Ms Marjorie Taylor Green Clone will be separated from vulnerable and ill patients...probably forever.

But this is why I say it's too late. People like her are imbedded in systems all across our red states. They connect with people in intimate ways, such as a Covid test - one on one. No one to hear. And what if she WAS Covid positive and gave it to me? And what of others she met with yesterday? They say that for every one Delta positive, there will be SIX transmissions.

The good news: I'm negative for both Covid and Pneumonia.

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Thank heavens for the good news, because your story is shocking. Your doctor's response and the ER's response are encouraging, but the lack of screening of these "floaters", both by the agency that provides them and the hospital that hires them? OMG.

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I agree. I think whatever that agency might be, Ascension will flag it and it very well may be out of business soon in Texas thanks to people like her. I don't think they have a way of knowing unless a patient speaks out - these moments are so personal and "private" and many patients are somewhat in awe of and fearful of those who are caring for them when they are so vulnerable.

And I'm not feeling particularly guilty at the fact that she will lose her job; maybe lives will be saved as a result. She can return to her biker bars and Trump rallies and enjoy her "freedom" - such as it is...for however long she survives. And BTW, I "almost" described her as a MJT look alike to my doctor, since I didn't recall her name! I restrained myself, saying only "She had blonde hair." It was easy for him to find out who she was, since he knew the time I was there and the Administrator knew who the ER nurse was at that time with "blonde hair." It was obvious she didn't know how to wear a mask, as it kept slipping down throughout the test, and she kept dragging it back in place. That, the tats, the ultra tight blue scrubs, the loose swinging blonde hair (which she also kept adjusting), and her general appearance of uncleanliness, just underlined my feeling of disgust with the entire experience. All she needed to complete the image was a wad of chewing gum!

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How frustrating, horrifying and unacceptable her actions are/were. So thankful that you had the courage to speak up and your Doctor took action! That made all the difference. I do think this type of person is embedded in our communities. I see both sides of mandates, but feel we’re being left with no choice. If people cannot be trusted to protect public health, then they should lose the ability to participate in public life.

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The sad part is that these people were here all along. They just needed a Trump like figure to show them how to come out of the woodwork. Sad.

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And Tennessee reversed its bullshit “no vaccinations for you kids” insanity. They don’t know whether to shit or go blind.

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Yes! Ignoring all the "s--t" talk, I am relieved that Tennessee finally demonstrated some sanity.

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I believe too many Tennesseans were embarrassed by the GOP’s actions and said so publicly. The governor is an idiot.

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Linda: Just curious. Do you live in Tennessee?

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I was born and brought up there. I graduated from high school in Memphis and graduated fron university of Memphis. I left in 1975. My sister and her husband still live in Memphis. I now live in northern Virginia just outside of DC.

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If it were a movie, I would be laughing. But it’s not. The saddest part is that Republicans won’t bat an eye as they flip flop.

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This resurgence gives the coronavirus countless more opportunities to mutate until it hits the jackpot. For corona virus, hitting the jackpot is mutating into a form that renders current vaccines ineffective. Then it will be January 2020 for us all over again. Get vaccinated. Save the world.

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Gov. Ivey's turnabout is such typical Republican BS: blame *the unvaccinated* when you've been undermining the vaccines from the get-go? Take some responsibility, you rotten, rotten people.

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One anti vax person I saw interviewed said she would never give permission for a substance to be placed into her body. Let's hope the virus doesn't come into her vicinity via another unvaccinated person as I feel it unlikely the virus will ask for permission to enter her body.

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On a personal level, my doctor daughter treated several Covid variant patients this past week. I thought 2020 was my year of worry and looked forward to a time out in 202 of relative motherly bliss and pride in what she accomplished without incurring threat to her personal health. I was wrong.

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2021

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I just read about a young guy posing on social media that he;d never get the vaccine, and then even in the hospital seriously ill with the virus said he would't get it when he got out, Well he never got out, More from another hospital about patients begging for the vaccine.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/too-doctor-says-dying-covid-014317137.html

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These folks seem to be looking for a way to appear "heroic." For what? For whom? No one is especially impressed with a young guy whose ignorance led him to basically commit suicide, proudly, as if it were a badge of some kind of courage. He'll be remembered, not as a "hero" but as a pathetic fool. And one less vote in 2020.

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Republicans…flip-flopping like caught fish dying in the bottom of a hot boat. Pretty soon they rot and stink to high heaven.

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They'll do it again minus any serious prosecutions of the January 6th Insurrectionists!

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“Your eyeballs watching my daily shit show puts money in my pocket. I’m sorry I didn’t meet your expectations Monday”…Sean Hannity

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Jabberwocky...

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Thank you, LKTIV, for putting in words what many of us think or feel.

I, for one, now am back to double masking. And where before I would say that I was wearing my mask to protect others I now say I'm protecting myself and my loved ones from all the selfish and stupid unmasked and unvaxxed people around me.

I have read that too about the viral load from Delta being one thousand times higher than alpha strain. More, I have read that the covid virus replicates itself about ten times in about eleven days..say once a day, and that a viable mutation will appear about every ten generations (not every mutation lives or replicates, or is more dangerous).

I certainly am not a virologist - just a napkin doodler - but I fear, with Delta's thousandfold viral load advantage and a population of receptive hosts, that sooner than later another, more deadly, variant will emerge.

Shoot..now I'm gonna triple mask.

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