Category: Current Events

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Quote of the Day

White privilege doesn't mean that you haven't had a difficult life. It means that you haven't had extra difficulties because of your skin color.

Black Lives Matter doesn't mean that other lives don't matter. It means that the conversation right now is about this message as it is an important and overdue topic. When someone is talking about Breast Cancer Awareness, you don't yell at them, "All Cancer Awareness."

Defund the Police doesn't mean that there will be no police or laws. It doesn't mean that communities are self-policed or that crime will run rampant. It means reallocating some funds for services that are better responded to by departments more in touch with a community. Actual crimes requiring a police presence or investigation would still be handles by law enforcement." ~ JD Scott (the other Scott brother)

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WEAR YOUR FUCKING MASKS!

And then there's this asshole…


Upstanding gentleman spotted at my doctor's office the other day—a doctor's office that, by the way, had clearly posted on the entrance doors that masks must be worn at all times.

And no Felicia, that's not a mask on his face. It's his beard. He was given a mask by staff when he checked in because he didn't have one. He put it on, and then promptly removed it and started coughing the moment he sat down. And—because of course—he was making no effort whatsoever to cover those coughs.

In other People are Fucking Idiots news, it appears that yet another person in my division at work (although in a totally different building) has been exposed to the COVID-19 virus. He was supposedly notified of this late last night, failed to notify his supervisor per policy, and then came into work—in direct violation of not only HR policy but basic common sense. Further, he didn't even mention the call until it came up in conversation with one of my peers (a guy my age who for some reason insists on going into the office at least once a week even though we are cleared to work from home 100%) who had been working in direct contact with him!

Needless to say, the shit hit the socially-distanced fan. My coworker notified everyone in that facility and told them to go home and self-quarantine for the next two weeks per corporate policy. My coworker will now need to self quarantine for two weeks, the building will need to be disinfected, and the guy's supervisor is whining that my peer had no right to send people home—and further was violating employee confidentiality by telling everyone in the facility what had happened. Our supervisor was having none of that drama since the information was voluntarily disclosed by the exposed employee and immediately got our Division HR office involved.

I will be very surprised if that guy is still employed come Monday, because after laying out specific responses to the pandemic, the policy also stated that failure to adhere to the guidelines would result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.

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We never suspected they were the ones holding the fabric of the Universe together.

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Quote of the Day

There's a reason you separate military and the police. One fights the enemies of the state, and the other serves and protects the people. When the military becomes both, then the enemies of the state tend to become the people." ~ Edward James Olmos as Admiral William Adama, Battlestar Galactica

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Pride Was Always a Protest

Here is a list of Black-led LGBTQ community organizations you can donate to, compiled by pfpicardi and RaquelWillis_:

Snapco – Builds power of Black trans and queer people to force systemic divestment from the prison industrial complex and invest in community support.

Black AIDS Institute – Working to end the Black HIV epidemic through policy, advocacy, and high-quality direct HIV services.

Trans Cultural District – The world's first-ever legally recognized trans district, which aims to stabilize and economically empower the trans community.

LGBTQ+ Freedom Fund – Posts bail for LGBTQ+ people held in jail or immigrant detention and raises awareness of the epidemic of LGBTQ overincarceration.

House of GG – Creating safe and transformative spaces for community to heal, and nurturing them into tomorrow's leaders, focusing on trans women of color in the South.

Trans Justice Funding Project – Community-led funding initiative to support grassroots trans justice groups run by and for trans people.

The Okra Project – Collective that seeks to address the global crisis faced by Black trans people by bringing home-cooked meals and resources to the community.

Youth Breakout – Works to end the criminalization of LGBTQ youth in New Orleans to build a safer and more just community.

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I Hate to Say, "I Told You So, But…"

Arizona Reports Highest Single-Day Rise in Coronavirus Cases – State Experts Blame Ending Lockdown

Arizona reported its highest single-day rise in new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus as hospitalizations have also risen, with health experts suggesting the end of lockdown measures has likely led to the increase.

"What we see in the data is pretty predictable," Will Humble, who served as the director of Arizona's Department of Health Services from 2009 to 2015, told KSAZ-TV Fox 10 Phoenix. Humble pointed out that the southwestern state's stay-at-home order ended just over two weeks ago.

"I'd expect to continue to see an increase in cases compared to where we were in the middle of May, because we are not using the same intervention, the-stay-at-home order, the distancing, and people are getting back to work," he said.

On Tuesday, the state reported 1,127 new infections of the novel virus, the highest number reported in a single day since the outbreak began, according to the dashboard updated by the Arizona Department of Health Services. The state also reached a new record of more than 1,000 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 on Monday, suggesting the state is seeing an increase in more serious infections.

Newsweek reached out to the office of Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, a Republican, and the Arizona Department of Health Services for comment, but they had not responded by the time of publication.

Local officials in Arizona's Maricopa County, which has been the hardest hit by the pandemic, suggested in a Tuesday statement that the increase in cases was beyond what would be expected due to an increase in testing, which also would detect asymptomatic and mild cases of the novel coronavirus.

"The total number of positive COVID-19 cases in Maricopa County grew by 615 from yesterday's report. This refers to how many were reported to Public Health yesterday, not how many cases there were in the last 24 hours. We are seeing some indicators that cases in Maricopa County are starting to rise beyond the increase from additional testing," the statement explained.

Overall, Arizona has reported 21,250 infections. The state has conducted more than 330,000 tests for the novel virus and 941 people have died. On Tuesday, the state reported 24 new deaths.

While all 50 states have eased lockdown measures significantly over the past couple weeks, health experts have urged the public to continue following social distancing guidelines and wear masks in public. They have warned that a second wave, or spike, in new infections could take place if Americans do not take adequate precautions.

"We've learned a lot about this virus, but we now need to translate that learning into real change behavior that stays with us so we can continue to drive down the number of cases," Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, said in a May 24 interview with ABC's This Week. "This only works if we all follow the guidelines and protect one another," she cautioned.

Nationwide, the U.S. has seen more than 1.8 million infections and more than 106,000 deaths due to the novel virus, according to a tracker maintained by The New York Times. The number of new daily cases reported has dropped from the peak of more than 36,000 reported on April 24, to 20,74 new cases reported on Tuesday. The number of new daily deaths has also declined, with just over 1,000 reported on Tuesday, a significant decrease from a peak of 2,752 reported on April 15.

Source.

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Burning Down the House

From Blobby, because he quite eloquently verbalized my own feelings far better than I could:

I've been trying to avoid this post.

I have too many words—and on the other hand, I have none.

I am not sure I can coherently put into words how and what I feel. Sure, there is anger, shock, sadness, disbelief, but it usually comes right back to anger.

We had debated going to the Cleveland rally on Saturday. In the first paragraph, it was billed as a peaceful one. In the second, it mentioned writing an emergency contact on your arm; making provisions for work, family, pets, should you be in jail for 2-3 days. At that point, we opted out.

Part of that decision was the volume of folks and the closeness of several thousand people and the potential for covid spread. That said, while looking at the videos of our protests, the majority of folks had on masks—be it to conceal their identify or for infection control.

But like other cities, ours went violent.

And I totally get it.

How else does one get the attention of the white establishment? Break their shit.

Voting hasn't worked. Mediation hasn't worked. Peaceful protests weren't even allowed—not really.

Let's not even talk about justice. Has any white cop actually been convicted of any killing of a black man? Not in Ohio they haven't. How could any specific community continue to take this lying down?

That Minneapolis cop is kind of fucked either way—not that I care. So many of these violations are not caught clearly on camera, if at all. We've all seen what he did. His side will claim he cannot get a fair trial, which may or may not be true. No matter the outcome, there will be protests. Should he be found guilty, the most he can get is 12 years—no one is going to see that as justice. Should he get acquitted, what we saw this last weekend will be a day at the park in comparison.

That said, this week felt like something is about to break. Big time.

Before there have been some upheavals, riots and protests. This feels different. It should. I hope it is.

I do worry. BLOTUS is all but egging on the violence. He needs this discourse to re-re-re-re solidify his base. He needs the country to be in turmoil. Normally, you'd think that would get him voted out, but I don't believe that to be the case. We're already (ALREADY!) getting his 2020 ads playing every single night and multiple times. They are vile—and lies. Total lies.

I don't know what these next few days or weeks will feel like. The riots have taken away from the video being played. That can't happen.

As horrible as that video is, it needs to keep being shown. A distraction of violence will lessen the heinousness of the actual crime.

Odd as it sounds, while my stomach has been in knots for the last week, I am not sure I want that uneasiness to go away. I think it's the hate fire that has to remain to keep change moving forward. It's going to be difficult on every level.