Democratic plot?

The Democrats sneakiest plot yet? Are Democrats putting out false information in Right-wing  information outlets making Republicans vaccine skeptics so they don't get the vaccine, and as a result of more of them dying, it will be harder for them to elect Republicans? 

Not funny? Neither is people equating the risk of vaccines with the risks of COVID. Also not funny: the extra deaths from people not getting vaccinated.

In America today-ish:

32 million cases    570,000 deaths.  That's about 1/56 of people who get it die. If our testing is way off (more people actually got it then were tested positive), let's say 1/200.  That's in just over a year. It might go up over time for "lifetime odds".  Or, if you just take the whole population of the US, about 1/580 of us have died from COVID so far. And the portion varies widely by geography and demography in this country. Some communities are hit WAY harder.

211 million doses of vaccines.  7 deaths (maybe) from the J&J vaccine. That's about 1/40,000,000.  That could go up over your lifetime. let's say it goes up by a factor of 10 (exceedingly unlikely). Conservatively, 1/4,000,000

Let's compare with some other lifetime chances of dying....

Heart disease	1 in 6
Cancer	1 in 7
All preventable causes of death	1 in 24
Chronic lower respiratory disease	1 in 27
Suicide	1 in 88
Opioid overdose	1 in 92
Fall	1 in 106
Motor-vehicle crash	1 in 107
Gun assault	1 in 289
Pedestrian incident	1 in 543

But those are just death statistics. We know there are a lot of people who have serious complications and long term debilities with COVID. And we don't know what the longer long-term effects will be, how it will impact long term health and mortality yet.

And, although we also don't know the longer term effects of the vaccine yet, given what we DO know, they are likely to be vanishingly trivial compared to the COVID long-term effects.

Any way you slice it, mathematically, medically, mortally, autopsically (I just made up that word to be morbidly funny -- get it? "slice it." haha), compassionately (for the protection of your fellow humans)... health-wise, the wise health decision is vaccination. Politically, on the other hand, "I'll get the vaccine when they pry the gun from my cold, dead hands.

By the way, the newer strains could be more contagious and more lethal, and not vaccinating will allow them more opportunities to both spread and mutate further, making it all even worse. Please reconsider if you're vaccination shy for whatever reason.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html

https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/all-injuries/preventable-death-overview/odds-of-dying/

https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

The Obvious Reason the Capitalism Needs a Major Adjustment

 There are certain important benefits to free capitalist societies. There are clear existential threats to capitalist societies. How do we keep the capitalism benefits without allowing it to drive itself into certain destruction?

The benefits: innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, freedom to enter. Liabilities: income inequality & poverty (including homelessness, universal access to healthcare, and hunger), environmental destruction, monopolistic effects, worker exploitation.

Are there mechanisms to keep those things under wraps? Yes. Are they used to an appropriate level? No. Why? Greedy plutocracy. How do you solve it? Smart leaders of business recognizing the long-term trends and realizing that if they don't own their responsibilities along with their rights, they will ultimately lose it all, along with the rest of us. Or, enough of the voters understanding the same things and voting in leaders with the political will to enact limitations that can lead to increasing income equality.

Partisanship

 You attribute 30 people coming forward testifying against Trump (knowing the damage it will do to their lives) to a contrived, partisan attack, and you believe any whispered innuendo against someone from the other party. It says a lot about you.

Project ABC: Anti-Bureaucracy Correction

I checked my account. There was an extra $2,400 from the government to help out people suffering from the pandemic financial crisis. There might be more in the future.

Because they needed to get the money out right away to help those who really need it yesterday, they also give a bunch of money to people who are still fully employed. If they had more time, they would have made sure the people who really need it got it (people who need to spend it, not just leave it in savings or put it in the investment account) to provide relief and lubricate the broader economy.

If you know someone who is in dire straits*, or if you know of an organization you trust that is helping those who are struggling to eat or provide shelter, you could hand off your unexpected bonus for its intended purpose! Or half of it? If that seems like a lot, think of the folks who are on the verge of homelessness. You can still remodel your bathroom. Just get the cheaper tile. :)

Not connected to anyone in need or any organizations yet and need some ideas? I recommend somewhere local where you can actually SEE what they're doing or someone you actually know personally. If your company has a program (my school has a process to accept donations to help our students' families in need), this might be an opportunity to contribute a little extra this year!

Here are a few other ideas: 

   https://foodnotbombs.net/new_site/index.php

   https://www.standupforkids.org/

   https://afsp.org/

   Your church's outreach programs

   Or you could head downtown with 100 $10 bills (or 10 $100 bills) and give them to people who look like they need them.

If it's awkward to give it to someone you know who needs it... Maybe something like this: 

You: "Hey, the government gave me this money for the COVID relief but, like, I'm still working and that's wack. It's supposed to be for people who could really use it. Do you mind if I Venmo you some of it? It'd make me feel better. I mean, damn, it's not fair and I'd feel like an asshole spending it." 

Hey, look, I know the multi-millionaires and billionaires could fix the whole "people in need" problem in short order, but seriously, if they were the type of people who thought like that, they wouldn't be uber-rich, now, would they, and we wouldn't have a homelessness problem**, or food deserts, and everyone would get basic healthcare. If millionaires and billionaires felt like fixing it, it would be done by now, and it isn't, so they won't. 

If you don't want to give handouts, maybe you could find a "getting people back to work" like the workforce.org, or supporting PPE for all, or any other things that will stop the pandemic, get kids in school, get people vaccinated. Or be creative and find a cause worthy of your excess bounty!

* Mark Knopfler notwithstanding

** I didn't say there wouldn't be homeless people. But it wouldn't be a big problem. It would be a lifestyle choice which, now, it overwhelmingly isn't.

Reporting Vs. Opinion Text Markers

 Is there a way for news organizations to visually tag their reporting different from opinions, ads, everything else. I'm thinking green? So when people reading can get a feel for facts versus analysis. I know the veracity of what should be GreenPrint and other still depends on the integrity of the organization, but at least it would force the readers, writers, editors to give it another thought. And readers would get in the habit of being critical of their consumption.

In the same article, reporters could even differentiate specifically on what are pure facts and what are assumptions, analysis, rhetoric, etc. In the current quasi-truth word we live in, some efforts to find a way to call it out might be in the best interest of the less-discerning public.

An Honest Reckoning of the Year

 Don't let others define your experience. Face it with unadulterated honesty, evaluate it on your own terms.

This may have been a nasty year for you. If you were sick, if you lost a loved one, or your livelihood, or your home, or your relationship -- like in any year, those should be grieved in your way as your psychology dictates. Get help if you need it and if you can!

This may have been merely an inconvenient year for you personally, and it should be given its due. Your working from home may have been a mildly traumatic change, with its partial isolation. You may have had to forego your favorite outings and events, change a vacation plan, missed a wedding or funeral. Not fun, but not a tragedy.

Some of you may have had a better year than normal, depending on your work or industry, or your home situation. Depending on your need for solitude or introversion, and your resources, and you might even feel a little "survivor's guilt" because you didn't suffer. You can deal with it, and if you did and need some assuaging, try giving until it hurts to an organization that helps those who did suffer greatly. Acknowledge that much of the country (world) has had an excruciating time, and allow them to grieve as they need to. Be a rock for others if you can, be an ear, a helping hand, an angel. Give blood if they let you.

But don't wail and gnash your teeth just because others are. That's their experience, and may not be yours. If you can feel some joy and share it with others, you bring them up a little. Seeing the universal irony and even humor in this crazy predicament is not a sin. Taking your life in stride is a viable defense against the dark forces. But for Pete's sake, feel your own authentic feelings and deal with your own reality.

Note to Colleagues about The Pandemic

 Hola, Amigos. It's Friday night and I'm catching up on my news. I read this article in The Atlantic. It made me feel better about the struggles we've been working through as educators, but it makes me feel a little sick thinking about what our healthcare workers are going through right now. 

I've been through some long military exercises in a previous life, when I was young and full of energy, and that was tough in a lot of ways, but it was also relatively finite. This prolonged campaign treating Covid, and the surge that's very possibly lurking around the corner looks pretty miserable for us, but utterly horrendous for the doctors and nurses who are facing workloads that make ours pale by comparison. I know I'm spending way more time prepping and trying to connect with students online. And I presume most of us are in the same boat, but the 24 and 36(!) hour shifts of these medical professionals is humbling. My sister is a family practitioner in North Dakota and they are sinking.

I'm not sure exactly why I felt the need to share this...just that it feels really important. It makes me a little grateful that I'm able to continue working and serving students the best I can without the existential crisis facing the healthcare workers. It reminds me my students may have doctors and nurses in their homes and they're going to be feeling it in their families (not as bad in San Diego as some places, but potentially here, and certainly more than me!). And it makes me understand the need to not become part of this growing problem by opening too early or being careless myself.

I'll be moving on to some escapist literature and/or TV later in the weekend, but for now, I owe it to those who might have to treat me one day to understand and appreciate the scope of what they're dealing with.