Category: News

  • Coronavirus: Observations in NYC

    I know that earlier today the WHO officially called coronavirus a pandemic, and again, not too surprised nor too worried about it. I am following all the suggestions, and I am washing my hands, keeping sanitizer on me, and trying to limit my exposure to large groups. Also, I am trying to eat healthy, exercise, and get a good night’s sleep as well. Trying to be healthy all around.

    I did have to run some errands today in the City, and I was limited to Harlem and the Upper West Side, but this is what I observed:

    The number of people on the streets in Harlem seemed normal, such as, not smaller than would be expected for the time of day I was out.

    On the subway, I did see people in masks. Now, people have always tried to put as much space between them and others when riding, so again, people looked to be behaving normally.

    I was around the Lincoln Center area, and people looked normal going about their business.

    I stopped off at a Trader Joe’s, and the store was out of toilet paper, paper towels, and ice cream. The ice cream I get; you’re stuck in doors watching, or catching up, on your shows. Binge watching leads to binge eating. I get it. The paper towels and toilet paper thing still blows my mind, as in why hoard that? I first read about these shortages in Seattle on BuzzFeed, and I thought how odd. I had no idea that a run on toilet paper could be the carney in the coal mine for coronavirus.

    Other than that, all seems normal in NYC.

  • Coronavirus and Belief over Facts

    The coronavirus is in New York, and I am not really surprised. Whatever the issue might be, it will eventually show up here. I’m not too worried. A little worried, yes, but more like keeping my guard up, worried.

    I haven’t started hoarding masks, or latex gloves, or toilet paper. We have the normal amount of food that we would have for a Tuesday.

    We have gone to sporting events, parks, museums, and plan on continuing to do that.

    I’m not very confident in the City, State and Federal government working together on this, but if I had to pick a big city to be in when a pandemic hits, I will still go with New York. This town seems to handle disasters rather well.

    The one thing that I started to notice on social media are the anti-vaxxers making statements about how they will not be contracting coronavirus because their kids never received any vaccinations. At least that is what an old high school friend just posted. (Heard immunity, I know, they should look it up…) Somehow, not getting a vaccination is their plan to survive this.

    Selective science people fascinate me. I had a girlfriend once who swore up and down that evolution was fake and the world was only 5,000 years old because the bible said so… but at the same time, she was in college to become a nurse, and that meant medical science was completely real and to be trusted. I would point out that geology and biology and all the sciences used the same scientific method, and also used peer review to verify results. Didn’t matter, God had “told” her and nothing could dissuade her. (Yes, we did break up.)

    That is what makes me nervous about people and this virus; going off of what they believe to be true, and not what the facts are.

  • Coronavirus, Gig Economy, and Deaths of Despair

    To my surprise, when I woke up this morning and started to read the news, Charlie Warzel wrote a piece about how the coronavirus quarantines are affecting people along class lines disproportionally. (I hate to brag, but I pretty much said the same thing a little while ago.) Affluent people will not suffer the same way people who have to work will, and also the gig economy is now structured so that others have to support the ones who stay home.

    And then to make this a really happy Friday, the New York Times also had a story on how working-class Americans, those who do not have a four-year college degree, are dying in higher numbers to “deaths of despair” which is defined by death due to alcohol, drugs or suicide. The data is striking and rather scary. There is a lot to unpack here, and I suggest that you read it.

    All of it is important, but what jumped out at me are two data points about how working-class Americas are less likely to be married and to go to church. The stereotype for as long as I can remember has been the opposite; working class America was the church going and family values people. If that notion is now turned on its head, does that mean that “values voters” are now college educated liberals?

    What all of this reminds me of is what Studs Terkel always said about the importance of solid, reliable, dignified work, and how that is the cornerstone of communities. That a worker needs to know that their job will be there tomorrow, that they will be paid a fair wage, and that they are respected for the work they accomplish.

    Right now, the data is showing that this doesn’t exist anymore for working class Americans, and they are getting pushed into gig economy roles, which is clearly becoming a second-class worker in America.

  • Biden Is Winning, Now Walk the Walk People

    Okay… I have to admit it, and be honest about it; Joe Biden did it. He hasn’t clinched the nomination, but he did the things you need to do to win. Biden had the turn out, grew his supporters, and outperformed everyone’s expectations.

    I am a Bernie supporter, and I do believe that we need to make serious, major changes in this country. The only candidate I see who has the resolve to do that is Bernie. I know he’s not out of it, but all of us in the Sanders camp have to take a very hard look at the fact that the youth vote didn’t show up, which was a huge kick in the crotch. And though in roads were made with the Latino vote coming out, no other demographic voting block grew for Sanders, which makes it look like Bernie has hit a ceiling. It hurts to say that, but those are the facts.

    What I really took away from Biden doing so well is that the idea of beating Trump is more important to Democrats than changing the fundamental structure the country. Basically, when it comes to policy, Biden is saying that he will be a third Obama term with tweaks. I wish that weren’t true, but it’s what happened.

    Now, I will hold out hope for Bernie, but I am fully prepared to do what I had asked moderates to do is Bernie won; I will support Joe, and I will work towards his election.

  • DNC Tries to Stop Bernie: Don’t Deny the People Their Choice

    I never held much stock in the idea that centrist Democrats would actually band together and try to stop Bernie from getting the nomination, but after Pete, Beto, and Amy all showed up for Biden yesterday, I am beginning to think that a fix, though not in, might be in the works.

    When I read Michelle Goldberg this morning, and her take is that Bernie cannot attract new voters to win against Trump, it really started to sink in how much Bernie scares the crap out of mainstream Democrats.

    For this piece, I will do a thought exercise. This is not what I currently believe, but I want to do an experiment.

    Let’s just say that all of the middle of the road Democrats all are right about Bernie; if Sanders gets the nomination, he loses to Trump. Well, how did that happen and what does that mean?

    If the centrists continue down their path of trying to pack the vote against Bernie, and create a contested convention where Sanders loses the nomination, then the centrists have just handed Trump a victory. It plays into the narrative that “elitists” know better than the people, and that’s how democracy dies, they would say. Also, if the Democrats do this, then the majority of Bernie supporters won’t show up. (They did it in 2016, remember?) Finally, it sends the message to the people of this country that incremental to no change is better. Sadly, mainstream Democrats aren’t listening to the rest of this country who are actually hurting, which is why they are looking for a Bernie to shake things up. That was a big reason why people voted for Trump, and the mainstream Republicans tried to do the same thing to derail that nomination. They failed and we got Trump.

    I don’t know for certain what the right answer is. Luckily, no one does, but denying voters their choice is not a solution. It will only make things worse.