It's all about winning in November. If a few more thousands of Republican voters die between now and then, it won't matter because the latest voter suppression laws will be in effect to guarantee a Republican victory.
One of my children lived in New Orleans when Katrina hit. It was a loss of innocence for her when she realized that all the systems she thought were in place to protect citizens and the working of government for the good of citizens failed one by one. It feels as if we are now there as a nation (politically) and a world (climate disaster.)
No matter the evidence, no matter the will/desire of the majority of its citizens, democracy is being undermined. No matter that I vote in every election (local and federal,) protest and share my opinions with elected officials, a power-corrupted minority blocks voting rights, gerrymanders to their advantage, and legislates for their big donors. SCOTUS, at this point, is "Supreme" only in its radical patriarchal views.
I don't know what more I can do than speak some loving truth into the world and take care of the people around me and the bit of the planet I "own."
It's discouraging. Can the Democrats turn this around by November, I hope (pray) so! And, the GOP just keeps spreading false information. It's Biden/Cardona that are fighting to keep schools open, not closed. I need a reboot, unplug this weekend. Hoping next week is better and things start to turn around.
I agree with Jac that there should be public health announcements with just the facts about vaccines and masks. Too much misinformation and lies and attacks on science and our leadership.
I was talking with my husband last night about how frustrating our country has become and is there anything we can do. Regardless of living in a blue state I pray there are ways to get back our democracy.
Elections have consequences and our votes DO matter! Just look at what the newly elected Trumpian governor of Virginia is doing! After winning he removed his sheep's clothing to reveal the true snarling wolf beneath!! The same could happen in CT as we are teetering on anarchy across the country!
Boiled down -- and any one can feel free to weigh in and correct this -- the decision about the vaccine mandates for larger businesses rested on whether OSHA had that authority.
It's so frustrating to see that how we are dealing with the pandemic is led by politics. Other countries have their conspiracy theorists, too, but we are doing so uniquely poorly in comparison. We couldn't have faced a public health crisis at a worse time than when Trump was President - the guy who thinks he knows more than and discredits the people who have spent their lifetimes studying these things, the guy who used any means possible to inflate his ego and power regardless of loss of life. The lingering, larger scale vaccine/mask resistence is on him, regardless of what he might say now. The Trump supporter momentum has grown & is in full force, and tied to pandemic response. We know our country is not as well vaccinated as it should/could be. As a country, we are older, more overweight, and have more comorbidities than many others. With a rapidly spreading virus that affects those people most severely, we should be doing more, not less. I am still stunned there isn't more being done on public health messaging. It's been largely left to the media and social media to spread whatever twisted message they wish as responses to a few government guidance announcements. The messaging is everything in the world today. It creates reality for people, fact based or not. Fact based messaging needs to be out there first on big things and it was not two years ago when all of it started. I'm just venting here. I do feel for the healthcare providers who are suffering as well with overflowing patient loads with staff that can't handle it. The Supreme Court did not really protect them.
Nope. Politicians and politically aligned media & groups have no acknowledgement of what we know is evolving. Guidance evolves as we learn more. Guidance at any point in time is based on what is known at that point in time. Evolution of knowledge and guidance is a good thing, not a bad thing to be used as a weapon to discredit the science.
I don't like saying this but, too many people are stupid.
As I understand it the federal government's power to make regulations for health care establishments is based on MEDICARE/MEDICAID contracting by the government and by the legal definitions of the institutions and their contracting.
Thanks. There is a lot of power in that. I don't know specifics on this situation, but if reimbursents are dependent on how things are done in a hospital etc, that is a serious incentive to do what's necessary for reimbursement.
It's all about winning in November. If a few more thousands of Republican voters die between now and then, it won't matter because the latest voter suppression laws will be in effect to guarantee a Republican victory.
God. We’ve come to this.
Yeah.
I disapprove of subsiding into despair, yet here I am.
One of my children lived in New Orleans when Katrina hit. It was a loss of innocence for her when she realized that all the systems she thought were in place to protect citizens and the working of government for the good of citizens failed one by one. It feels as if we are now there as a nation (politically) and a world (climate disaster.)
No matter the evidence, no matter the will/desire of the majority of its citizens, democracy is being undermined. No matter that I vote in every election (local and federal,) protest and share my opinions with elected officials, a power-corrupted minority blocks voting rights, gerrymanders to their advantage, and legislates for their big donors. SCOTUS, at this point, is "Supreme" only in its radical patriarchal views.
I don't know what more I can do than speak some loving truth into the world and take care of the people around me and the bit of the planet I "own."
Thoughts?
I ask myself this question, as well. What more can I do? What more should I do? I'd be interested in any one's thoughts, as well.
It's discouraging. Can the Democrats turn this around by November, I hope (pray) so! And, the GOP just keeps spreading false information. It's Biden/Cardona that are fighting to keep schools open, not closed. I need a reboot, unplug this weekend. Hoping next week is better and things start to turn around.
I dip my toe in the ugliness of Twitter and I have to tell you, there are some incredibly misinformed, stupid people out there.
Agree! Some of the items in my feed just make my head explode.
I agree with Jac that there should be public health announcements with just the facts about vaccines and masks. Too much misinformation and lies and attacks on science and our leadership.
I was talking with my husband last night about how frustrating our country has become and is there anything we can do. Regardless of living in a blue state I pray there are ways to get back our democracy.
Elections have consequences and our votes DO matter! Just look at what the newly elected Trumpian governor of Virginia is doing! After winning he removed his sheep's clothing to reveal the true snarling wolf beneath!! The same could happen in CT as we are teetering on anarchy across the country!
Another deplorable log on the raging pandemic fire. Sigh.
Do you know how they justify two different judgments on these two groups? (I didn't read the opinions.)
Boiled down -- and any one can feel free to weigh in and correct this -- the decision about the vaccine mandates for larger businesses rested on whether OSHA had that authority.
I read that, too. So, was OSHA not the reasoning used for healthcare workers? (I missed that part.)
All I can surmise is that SCOTUS tried to thread the needle.
It's so frustrating to see that how we are dealing with the pandemic is led by politics. Other countries have their conspiracy theorists, too, but we are doing so uniquely poorly in comparison. We couldn't have faced a public health crisis at a worse time than when Trump was President - the guy who thinks he knows more than and discredits the people who have spent their lifetimes studying these things, the guy who used any means possible to inflate his ego and power regardless of loss of life. The lingering, larger scale vaccine/mask resistence is on him, regardless of what he might say now. The Trump supporter momentum has grown & is in full force, and tied to pandemic response. We know our country is not as well vaccinated as it should/could be. As a country, we are older, more overweight, and have more comorbidities than many others. With a rapidly spreading virus that affects those people most severely, we should be doing more, not less. I am still stunned there isn't more being done on public health messaging. It's been largely left to the media and social media to spread whatever twisted message they wish as responses to a few government guidance announcements. The messaging is everything in the world today. It creates reality for people, fact based or not. Fact based messaging needs to be out there first on big things and it was not two years ago when all of it started. I'm just venting here. I do feel for the healthcare providers who are suffering as well with overflowing patient loads with staff that can't handle it. The Supreme Court did not really protect them.
I have sat through hours of discussions among colleagues who try to define "pure science." This? Isn't pure, at all.
Nope. Politicians and politically aligned media & groups have no acknowledgement of what we know is evolving. Guidance evolves as we learn more. Guidance at any point in time is based on what is known at that point in time. Evolution of knowledge and guidance is a good thing, not a bad thing to be used as a weapon to discredit the science.
I don't like saying this but, too many people are stupid.
As I understand it the federal government's power to make regulations for health care establishments is based on MEDICARE/MEDICAID contracting by the government and by the legal definitions of the institutions and their contracting.
Thanks. There is a lot of power in that. I don't know specifics on this situation, but if reimbursents are dependent on how things are done in a hospital etc, that is a serious incentive to do what's necessary for reimbursement.