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I Would Like to Hope…

…that my parents did not choose to immediately reincarnate—at least not on this* planet—after their passing, because if they did, their new generation is going to inherit a shit-ton of crap from mine. And for that I am truly sorry.

 

*What? You think we’re the only “intelligent” (and believe me, I question that designation more and more with each passing day) species in the Universe, or that this is the only inhabited planet? Please. Broaden your horizons. Where do you think all the souls of our ever-increasing population are coming from? Is the Judeo-Christian God is just up there crankin’ out fresh new ones, too busy to bother looking in on his creation for the last two thousand years? Or are there no souls at all? (That actually might explain a lot of what we’re seeing in the world right now, come to think of it.) Or is it far more likely that the Universe is teeming with sentient life and as the famous line from Contact goes, “If it is just us… seems like an awful waste of space.”

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Think Ya Reopened a Little Too Soon, Douchebag?

“Teh St00pid, it BURNS!”

From The Independent:

Arizona lockdown: State shuts down again for 30 days amid spike in coronavirus cases

Arizona governor Doug Ducey announced that the state has closed bars, gyms and movie theaters for 30 days, amid a rise in coronavirus cases.

The state has also shut down water parks that reopened in May, and Mr Ducey has imposed a limit of 50 people at gatherings both indoors and outdoors.

Arizona announced a record daily total of coronavirus cases on Sunday, with 3,800 people testing positive for Covid-19.

The daily total has been steadily rising in the state, since non-essential business reopened in mid May, and Sunday was the seventh time in 10 days that cases have totalled more than 3,000, according to NPR.

“Our numbers continue to increase,” the governor said at a press conference in Phoenix on Monday. “Our expectation is that our numbers next week will be worse,” he added.

The reopening of schools has been delayed until 17 August, and the governor has asked residents of the state to wear face masks when they go outside, but has not made it mandatory.

Mr Ducey also asked residents to get any urgent tasks done before the order began on Monday evening and stressed: “Remember you are safer at home. If you do not need to go out, do not go out.”

There has been a rise in coronavirus cases across the US in the past month, since most states reopened non-essential businesses.

Florida, California and Texas have also been forced into implementing stricter social distancing measures, after they recorded record daily totals in the last few weeks.

Mr Ducey told reporters that the planned expiry date of 27 July for the new order is “aspirational” and depends on the number of cases and hospitalizations, as he is keen to keep cases under control and safely move the state out of lockdown.

“In Arizona, they’re going in the wrong direction and we’re going to take some additional action today to contain this virus and get back on track,” Mr Ducey said.

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, there are now more than 2.6 million people who have tested positive for coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached at least 129,544.

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You are Not Seeing Socialism

I searched my mind for something relevant to say about our current pandemic crisis, but the situation continues to be so overwhelming and surreal that I could only sit back and watch the responses, see the battle lines drawn, and wonder where this all leads, with the usual suspects spreading their disinformation of “welcome to socialism.” Then I came across this, no idea of its origin, but it reflects my feelings very well:

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but you need to know how silly you look if you post some variation of, “Welcome to Socialism…”

You are not seeing Socialism. What you are seeing is one of the wealthiest, geographically advantages, productive capitalist societies in the world flounder and fail at its most basic test: taking care of its people.

The crisis is not about the virus.

The crisis is about the massive failure of our “booming economy,” to survive even modest challenges. It is about the market dissonance of shortages in stores, even as farmers/producers destroy unused crops and products. This crisis is about huge corporations needing an emergency bailout within days of the longest Bull Market in our history ending and despite the ability to borrow with zero percent interest rates.

The crisis is about corporatized healthcare systems being unable and ill-equipped to provide basic healthcare, at the same time they post record profits. It is about crisis response depending on antiquated systems nobody remembers how to operate.

But most of all, this crisis is a direct result of the politicization of every aspect of our society of the benefit of the privileged few. This vilification of education, science, media, natural rights, rural lifestyles, urban lifestyles, charity, compassion, and virtually everything else for brief political gain has gutted our society.

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