Starting out with a point of personal privilege: As Rod Emmerson notes, Covid is becoming a greater problem in rural areas than in urban centers, and I’ve been concerned about the old home town. This report from Kaiser Health News lays it on the line: Rural Americans are dying of covid at more than twice […]
Reality Check (AMS) serves a heapin’ helpin’ of “Tom Swifties,” based on cartoon characters, Tom Swifties being a fad of the early 60s. This Wikipedia article explains the phenomenon, which drew from a foible of the syndicated authors of the Tom Swift adventure series, who avoided the simple “said,” and gives examples both of the […]
Clay Bennett (CTFP) starts our discussion of health issues. We’re awash in misinformation and disinformation, and this was quite the week, even for poor Baby Tuckoo, who specializes in purposefully spreading it. Not only did he get called a bad human being, but one of the few people willing to advertise on his show no […]
Mike Smith (KFS) echoes my current thoughts. Social media in general, and Facebook for sure, was bad enough during the elections, when lies and complaints about politics dominated things. Now that that’s over, what comes to the surface is people bitching and moaning and complaining and kvetching about trivia. Conversational phrases they don’t like. Foods […]
Joel Pett (Trib) has it pegged: Conviction is not the only goal in this impeachment, and that’s a good thing because it ain’t gonna happen. And part of the historical record is not simply Trump’s actions as president but who and how many in the Senate are willing, in the name of blind party loyalty, […]
The question of whether or not to take the vaccine is loaded. Both Biden and Harris (as well as Pence) have taken the shots in order to promote the idea that the vaccine is safe and effective, but, as noted here before, the Queen was going to take it for the same reason only […]
I don’t normally begin a post with a Tweet — much less two — but the other day Ann Telnaes said on social media that we should come to an agreement about the difference between a meme and a political cartoon. It’s easy, until you think it over. Memes are amateur and political cartoons are […]
Alex adds a caution to the cheerful notion of leaving the city to telecommute from rural splendor. Which isn’t happening. But, then again, is. That first article is based on the logic that just because people are looking at houses on realtor.com and Zillow, it doesn’t mean they’re actually bidding and buying and serious. The […]
I’m leading off today with this Ann Telnaes piece for two reasons. One is that I like it and that she’s right: The president’s claims that he didn’t know have been further undermined by facts, specifically a revelation that he ignores his Presidential Daily Briefings. The PDBs warned of the virus and tracked its spread […]