Bad news in the age of Covid-19

Aside from palm trees, I hear tell that the country of Oregon is the land of cheese, hazelnuts and honey…the air is also redolent of essential oils, nut butters and alfalfa sprouts, the miasma wafts about everywhere.

Also, babies are clad in cloth diapers, and are happy all the time; parents wear comfortable shoes, i.e. Birkenstock’s and are thusly “chill” - marijuana is legal, but don’t revolt at the gas station, and pump your own fossil fuels, lest you wind up in the pokey! However, no suicide watch in jails! It’s quite possible one could get an end of life advocate while in custody, and go out rather painlessly.

Food is varied and delicious in the big city! Elsewhere, it’s good and extremely generous and plentiful… after eating and partaking liberally of the fruits of the vine, citizens are encouraged to (quite literally) EXPOSE themselves to ART. Google up the famous photograph of the mayor of Portland doing that very thing. A mere 45 years ago or so…:joy_cat::joy:

Totally poking fun in the best way - Oregon is a great state, where most of my friends live…can’t wait to go visit again. Damn Covid!!

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That was actually pretty accurate.
:slight_smile:

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Ha, that’s what I aim for @bbqboy! Ya gotta love Oregon…

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And mostly no sales tax!

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And riots.

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Party pooper! :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

We have cousins in Portland. They sent us some of their hazelnuts. Best we ever had!

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You too, @Auspicious!

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I went to bed at 8, woke about five minutes before midnight and celebrated New Years with my wife before heading back to bed. The bad news is that COVID-19 doesn’t have a calendar. The good news is that vaccines are coming and we may well get in front of this thing if we can get 90% vaccination and continue to practice masking and distance and STFH.

Not impressed with the behavior of the TV personalities (who ARE those people) at the NYC event.

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I woke the hubs at 2 minutes before MN!

But how about the little corrals of “merry makers” in groups of three or four, with “Twitch” going from group to group, encouraging them to whoop it up. What a contrast to the usual NYN ball drop.

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Watching Anderson Cooper get drunk gives me a much-needed sense of continuity. Everything is different, but Anderson Cooper is still a lightweight.

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Albertsons who own Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s , Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen and Carrs are laying off a lot of employees including pickers and delivery drivers and outsourcing delivery and apparently curbside functions to DoorDash. Articles in the Washington Post and a Seattle paper imply the motivation was cost savings and reducing the number of union staff.

I’ve posted this https://www.npr.org/2019/07/30/746600105/1-in-4-food-delivery-drivers-admit-to-eating-your-food before.

Brussels objects to Germany, Scandanavian countries, and others for closing borders to limit COVID, but didn’t say a peep when Italy, France, and Spain opened borders for tourism which led to spikes in infection.

Repairing the European economy is going to be very expensive.

A number of states are opening significantly against health officials advice, including their own health officials. I hope my state of Maryland institutes testing and quarantine requirements on travelers from Texas, Mississippi, Iowa, Montana, New York, and Florida. I hope HOers in opening states stay safe.

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I agree. Our governor made a poor decision. And I can see why MD & NJ should be worried. But what the heck right.

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Texas born and bred, I’m still gonna mask up.

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I don’t know - can the governor be charged with homicide by willful neglect of his duty?

Us too. I am really hoping our fellow Texans step up here but only time will tell.

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Biden today called the Texas decision to end the mask mandate “Neanderthal thinking” - I believe he extended that same sentiment to Mississippi. My husband & I got our first injections today of the Pfizer vaccine. About a 3- hour round trip from our home to the vaccination site. We have appointments to return on 3/25 for the second dose. We will continue to wear masks, social distance and hope for science over fiction.

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He’s giving them far more credit than they deserve. Neanderthal men presumably wouldn’t comprehend the facts. The politicians he’s criticizing do know the facts, and are therefore knowingly and willfully refusing to do their duty, not just stupid.

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