tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post8258967947222341804..comments2024-03-28T22:08:48.577-07:00Comments on Chant du Départ: WatershedsOldAFSargehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-45964627825311937582020-03-22T22:13:49.845-07:002020-03-22T22:13:49.845-07:00Not a fan of most stimulus bills. I'd say tha...Not a fan of most stimulus bills. I'd say that for people who can't work, .gov should make unemployment insurance cover this, but not only would they be flooded with claims and take forever to process them, I'm pretty sure it would drain them quicker than the toilet paper supply. So I could be convinced that something extraordinary is needed at the moment, especially if none of the money is going to the big banks, etc. But what <b>needs</b> to happen is a good old-fashioned African machete party on needlessly burdensome business regulation and red tape -- at federal, state, and local levels. Unleash America!Larryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13296988746956477216noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-87012643420417466842020-03-22T22:00:39.510-07:002020-03-22T22:00:39.510-07:00For those with the bucks, get an M50 or M51 gas ma...For those with the bucks, get an M50 or M51 gas mask (not the Airsoft cosplay ones on Amazon!!!) with extra filters. Rated for chemical and biological warfare. Buy the whole MOPP4 suite and impress your co-workers as you march in for the day prepared for the worst they can offer! Larryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13296988746956477216noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-66451637713146813572020-03-22T16:54:11.343-07:002020-03-22T16:54:11.343-07:00(Don McCollor)...Thank you Tuna! It is also good t...(Don McCollor)...Thank you Tuna! It is also good to be grateful to have the simple things we take for granted - like food, water, electric power, heat, communications with friends and family. I was in the 1997 flood in Grand Forks, ND. I remember the account of an interview with a family who had lost their home and everything in it and were sheltering at the GFAFB. The wife said 'My children are safe and warm...everything else was - just stuff"...Don McCollorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18028324869570493102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-12256069331158408742020-03-22T15:43:23.492-07:002020-03-22T15:43:23.492-07:00I think the increase in lung infections is a bit w...I think the increase in lung infections is a bit worse than the usual. With the seasonal flu, the main side effect is a bacterial pneumonia, which is sort-of easily fixed with a butt load of heavy duty antibiotics, lots of oxygen, physical and respiratory therapies. <br /><br />With this covid-19 infection, it was originally "found" by a doc who noticed he was getting a lot of x-ray readings stating interstitial pneumonia, which is not a common diagnosis, as I understand it, and leads to a VERY slow recovery, needing a lot more "supports"--ie lots of oxygen, ventilators for much longer than usual, and the highly skilled nurses and doc to manage these patients. Typically these folks are given large doses of sterods and NSAIDS to help hasten their healing, however the Covid-19 patients get worse when these meds are used. So do not take Motrin or any Ibuprofen or aspirin if you come down with this as it makes it WORSE. Tylenol/acetaminophen only.<br /><br />There have been studies that show that while kids live through the illness, they are left with pulmonary fibrosis, which is basically significant scarring inside the lungs around the air sacks, which decreases how much air you can breath in and get into your blood system.<br /><br />So, basically, you have patients needing far more resources to survive to the point when they can be discharged and the bed can be used for the next guy in line. If you can't turn the beds over quick enough, you exceed capacity pretty quickly. So you come down to exactly what IS the hospital capacity here in the US. Obviously they don't have enough in places like Italy, or Germany or Switzerland compared to places like South Kora, who, thanks to their neighbor to the north have always maintained a LOT of extra capacity as they never know when NK is gonna punch the button and try to invade. Treating wounds from war requires lots of beds and all the staff that goes along to support them.<br /><br />With the seasonal flu, yes, we have a couple of hundred thousand hospitalized every flu season--which ranges from December through end of March across the entire country, so it is fairly well spread out. This Covid-19 virus is hitting hard and very very fast--so instead of getting a slow rise in need for beds, hospital are getting hit with a huge wave. And don't forget--it has really only been on most folks radar for a few weeks now or less. I heard one chick on TV say it had only been 12 days that the MSM has been paying attention. So the curve is pretty well flattened for the flu, not so much for the Covid-19 virus. Yet.<br /><br />SO far as the PPE goes, this is a capitalistic society. Our medical products industry (what there is in this country) sells to folks who call up or get on Amazon and say Hey!! Need some XYZ...so it gets made and sent. The problem is most of the companies who make this stuff--masks, gowns, gloves, ventilators, etc are located in CHINA...and wait for it...in Wuhan!!! Which has been closed for business for a few months now. Rumors are they are trying to get back up and running--but they have fewer folks due to the illness, and they need to get their supply lines back up and going. It all takes time to do. In the meantime, folks in other countries are using a HUGE boatload of PPE--more than their usual--simply because that is best medical practice. After all this is the 2020's, not 1865 when no one used gloves, and physicians used a leather apron to keep their clothes clean and were not worried about giving the patient someone else's germs. So it is simple supply and demand. In normal flu season, the flu doesn't hit everywhere all at once, and not this hard. Suzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07117433684554337583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-47278311673309495032020-03-22T10:18:27.968-07:002020-03-22T10:18:27.968-07:00LJ- maybe Suz will see this and have an answer.LJ- maybe Suz will see this and have an answer.Tunahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04930237104692982421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-76653106868209791672020-03-22T10:16:48.667-07:002020-03-22T10:16:48.667-07:00HA! My interest in being a member of politics, vic...HA! My interest in being a member of politics, vice just a pithy part-time political blogger, evaporated many many years ago. Nice analogy about the hammer.Tunahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04930237104692982421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-4935535196878698502020-03-22T10:14:38.872-07:002020-03-22T10:14:38.872-07:00Don, it's Sunday now and I just wrote the same...Don, it's Sunday now and I just wrote the same thing in a response. Great minds I guess.Tunahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04930237104692982421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-51990609618254976182020-03-22T10:13:38.552-07:002020-03-22T10:13:38.552-07:00I'm not sure we'll remember, since we have...I'm not sure we'll remember, since we have such a short-term focus for so much these days. It would be nice to buy USA (and not demand the absolute lowest price possible) to keep Americans at work, but we love a good bargain, and therefore we turn a blind eye to some of what the Chinese do.Tunahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04930237104692982421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-70668043356757619632020-03-22T10:04:23.493-07:002020-03-22T10:04:23.493-07:00I can clearly see reasonable seeds for there being...I can clearly see reasonable seeds for there being a panic/crisis. The Chinese government didn't know when it started if it really had come from their bio weapons lab in Wuhan or not (giving them the benefit of the doubt), so the suppression followed by massive clamp down - to the point of welding people into their apartment buildings and pulling people off the street press gang style - made sense. They were in a panic about the potential that they'd contaminated themselves. And once they'd gone high order there was no way to dial it back. So the world was stuck with the "killer virus" problem we're now dealing with. <br /><br />Second thing that makes me go "Hmmmm....." is how a seemingly small relative increase in lung infections due to CORVID-19 is resulting in a "collapse" of medical systems. Looking at the CDC influenza web site as a proxy for the world, we've had flu seasons in the recent past with more hospitalizations that this year (2017-2018 season was almost double) yet no news to my mind of hospitals failures. How much of what we're seeing today is a result of "hype" leading to problems in logistics, etc, vs. actual increased use of personal protective gear, etc. Inquiring minds want to know :)<br /><br />/<br />L.J.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05046074015910766131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-19612389580438272112020-03-22T09:48:31.850-07:002020-03-22T09:48:31.850-07:00To be fair, very few if any folks in government ar...To be fair, very few if any folks in government are intentionally trying to do bad stuff. They all want very badly to help. It's just that government help is not a precision tool. It's a big hammer and there are thousands of people with their hands on the handle, each trying to hit a slightly different target. Where the hammer will finally strike is unknowable ahead of time, but it'll be a big area and it'' hit with lots of force. That said, there are people in government who do always want to use crises to enhance their own personal power and grow their bureaucratic footprint. It pays to keep an eye on what is happening on and beneath the surface. Sounds like a job for an ASW guy! ;-) PrairieAdventurehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06466447251827774900noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-35898937908129960952020-03-22T02:21:13.418-07:002020-03-22T02:21:13.418-07:00Something else I thought about was the disparity b...Something else I thought about was the disparity between home schooled kids. Some parents will attempt to home school, some districts will send work home. Some may even attempt online classes. When you come back in the fall, how will districts assess the success of these efforts and the differences between the varied home schooling? Tunahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04930237104692982421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-71283245747062567652020-03-22T02:16:52.635-07:002020-03-22T02:16:52.635-07:00Thanks!Thanks!Tunahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04930237104692982421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-26199554078942072652020-03-22T02:16:31.470-07:002020-03-22T02:16:31.470-07:00*Never "let" a crisis go to waste.*Never "let" a crisis go to waste.Tunahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04930237104692982421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-20575330993739415172020-03-21T22:57:56.748-07:002020-03-21T22:57:56.748-07:00My Word, that tank is clean!My Word, that tank is clean!SCOTTtheBADGERhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12859188068159799373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-45873077825114676712020-03-21T22:57:24.069-07:002020-03-21T22:57:24.069-07:00A Very Proper Post, Tuna! Well Done, That Man. A Very Proper Post, Tuna! Well Done, That Man. SCOTTtheBADGERhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12859188068159799373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-55235360018027265592020-03-21T20:09:32.918-07:002020-03-21T20:09:32.918-07:00Definitely the fear is the worst part of this. I s...Definitely the fear is the worst part of this. I shouldn't be surprised but I guess I sort of am that they continue to attack Trump during such a major crisis. Never write a crisis go to waste!Tunahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04930237104692982421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-70504557429609355562020-03-21T19:15:37.790-07:002020-03-21T19:15:37.790-07:00Thanks Beans, but the blogger with the Greek handl...Thanks Beans, but the blogger with the Greek handle is directly on the front lines, and I can tell you to read his stuff closely, think about it, discard all the pissing contest stuff on there, and take his advice for the solid gold it is. He is very direct, and definitely not PG rated all the time, but I find that I can toss the language and learn at lot from someone who has been there, is doing it daily/weekly. I would add that if you had to go to an ER--his is the ER ya want to be in as that is where you will get quality care. ER nurses are like LEO's and old firemen--blunt, crusty, honest to a fault and they do not sugar-coat the important stuff. And all of his posts on this virus have been very important. <br />One a topic about something that is changing the world as we know it, blunt honesty, with the links to back his premise up is needed as well as refreshing.Suzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07117433684554337583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-67885493233646975062020-03-21T18:12:06.602-07:002020-03-21T18:12:06.602-07:00On the upside, my Mom no longer believes the news....On the upside, my Mom no longer believes the news. Ain't news after all, is it?OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-9367098695159564332020-03-21T17:04:48.079-07:002020-03-21T17:04:48.079-07:00Anybody remember the hyper-hyper-inflation of the ...Anybody remember the hyper-hyper-inflation of the Weimar Republic? I know what the experten say on the teevee. I'm just not convinced that "printing" digital money for the "too big to fail" sector is sound fiscal policy. What will people who have their "wealth" tied up in retirement schemes and mortgages do when paper/digital wealth is devalued by several orders of magnitude? What did all those Germans do when their personal wealth evaporated?<br /><br />The virus isn't much of a threat. Yeah, it's a novel virus. Nature makes novel viruses all day every day. If this was an actual wildfire event you'd be seeing bodies on the street and we'd all know a lot of folks who had actually been boomer removed.<br /><br />The bigger threat is the self-inflicted wounds driven by the panic of those who've completely outsourced their sapience to the teevee and assorted experts.<br /><br />Finally, variation is not change. The world is not, in fact, a different place today.<br /><br />Finally-finally, FDR said, "We have nothing to fear butt fear itself." He then proceeded to leverage all that luscious fear into more power for him and his in exchange for diminished liberty for all the deplorables.<br /><br />Just sayin'.PrairieAdventurehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06466447251827774900noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-48593706454386599352020-03-21T17:02:34.801-07:002020-03-21T17:02:34.801-07:00(Don McCollor)...It will be interesting to see if ...(Don McCollor)...It will be interesting to see if American society shifts to a new paradigm as a result. More tendency to stay/purchase locally, a large increase in distance schooling and working, greater closeness within families and with immediate neighbors, and less complacency and high expectations...Don McCollorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18028324869570493102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-31115343110215221842020-03-21T16:54:17.007-07:002020-03-21T16:54:17.007-07:00It doesn't help when most of the information c...It doesn't help when most of the information coming out of Communist China AND Italy is... filtered. Mangled. Folded. Spindled. Mutilated. And that's just the stuff they're lying about.<br /><br />After this is over, in a civilized world, all the rest of the nations would gather together, take Communist China behind the world's woodshed, and beat said ChiCom senseless with a little 'Frontier Justice' combined with a little 'Street Justice' and a touch of 'Jungle Justice' with a smattering of 'Machete Justice.'<br /><br />Seriously. The people in Italy need to, afterwards, pimp slap their leaders and policy makers.<br /><br />But, worldwide? ChiCom needs to feel... some payback. <br /><br />Denying the world critical information on a bug generated in your nation and released upon the world by your people? In previous, less civilized times, that would be reason for war. In modern times, treating them like the leper colony they have become is a start.<br /><br />And, yes, Suz, thank you for laying out and guest-hosting a response. What you said is much more sensible and, in some ways, alarming than what some blogger using a Greek handle is saying.Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-43323819745920332142020-03-21T16:16:51.057-07:002020-03-21T16:16:51.057-07:00Wow, great explanation Suz, thanks so much. You sh...Wow, great explanation Suz, thanks so much. You should blog here about it!Tunahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04930237104692982421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-15046935807517835142020-03-21T13:35:36.777-07:002020-03-21T13:35:36.777-07:00Vaccines are important because they contribute to ...Vaccines are important because they contribute to "herd immunity". Which is because folks who do go get their flu shot are beefing up their own private immune (security) system to fight off those evil invaders who are wandering around out there knocking on each individual moat/castle walls to see if there is someone who hasn't done their annual castle maintenance and gotten a shot to boost up (wake up the slackers from last year, or a few years ago) their immune military cells--usually called white blood cells, and other cells in the body (ya don't want me to go deep into the weeds about what our immune systems all involve). Folks that do get an annual flu shot, and have gotten a pneumonia shot, help to protect those who, for a variety of reasons, CAN'T get the seasonal flu shot. For example, if you are allergic to eggs, I am not giving you a flu shot. If you have had Guillian Barre Syndrome, same deal. If you choose not to get a flu shot because the last time you got one you"got very sick", it because of 1 of two reasons: you have a robust, hyperactive immune system that over-reacted to the stimulus of the DEAD virus, or (waaay more likely) within the previous 2 weeks you were exposed to someone else who had the flu and they gave it to you. Because when you get the flu shot, it is like taking an aspirin or a Tylenol, it takes about 2 weeks to get your system fully ramped up and at full battle readiness to fend off that particular type of seasonal flu. <br /><br />If lots of folks get the vaccine, that helps to protect folks who can't get it because of allergies, or they are too young, or they are getting chemo, or have some other immune system compromise. Those are the folks to whom all the other actions are more important.<br /><br />Currently, there is no vaccine for Covid-19, so ALL of us have to practice the "good hygene habits" that the immune compromised folks have to use every flu season. They include avoiding crowds, washing hands, keeping hands away from face/nose/eyes/mouth. Not touching surfaces that everyone else has touched. Covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze with a tissue, and then throwing the tissue away, and WASHING YOUR HANDS. Not getting all huggy/kissy with other folks, especially little kids--potent little petrie dishes that they are--because THEIR immune systems are developing and they are busy fighting off all those virus germs that are wandering around looking for a place to cause havoc. <br /><br />Viruses do not stay the same, they continue to evolve and change. Like the seasonal flu, and the common cold. Every year they are a bit different. Which is why there is no one time flu shot. And why we haven't been able to cure the common cold yet. But there is lots of researchers working on it. And the big pharma company that comes up with THAT medication will be bigger than Amazon or Google.<br /><br />So, although the death rate of the Covid-19 is currently small, relative to the 22,000 deaths of the seasonal flu so far this year, medical folks are looking at everything we DO NOT know about this new virus and going "Crap!! Our ventilators are all in use with folks who have flu, what are we going do when we get folks in here with this new virus?!?!?!!! We need for folks to start doing actions we know work to keep contagious germs under (sorta) control. (wash hands, etc, etc)<br />So we go back to the early 20th century and previous years/decades/centuries when folks were quarantined to prevent/slow down the spread of (pick your favorite pestilence) smallpox, polio, measles, mumps, bubonic plague, etc. So channel your inner Clara Barton and Florence Nightingale, clean surfaces, wash your hands, eat right, get enough rest, yada yada yada so you do not get this latest virus that is wandering around out there knocking on lots of castle walls. <br /><br />At least now, we still have power, the internet, water, and take-out!! <br /><br /><br /><br />Suzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07117433684554337583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-35260201927853787192020-03-21T13:27:10.441-07:002020-03-21T13:27:10.441-07:00This Covid-19 is different from the seasonal flu i...This Covid-19 is different from the seasonal flu in several different ways. The biggest way is this is a new virus. Which means total completely unknown. So, we didn't really know, for sure, how it spread, how long it will stick around, what does it do in the body--for example Chicken pox and hepatitis are both viruses, and we know that when you get them you get sick for about 2 weeks, you are contagious before you are showing symptoms, and once you are well again, you still have the virus hiding deep in the body someplace. To pop back out again, maybe years in the future as shingles (in the case of chicken pox) or as a relapse in the case of hepatitis.<br /><br />The kicker here with Covid-19 is what we DON'T KNOW. We, as a country, hate, absolutely hate NOT knowing something...the end of the movie, the end of the book, does the Bachelor ask the girl to marry him, who is taking home the mirror ball, who is going to win the Super Bowl, the Olympics, WHO SHOT J. R.????????<br /><br />We do not know if this virus will die down with warmer weather--seasonal flu does--And currently, we don't know what kind of medications to give you if you get sick with this new virus. Are there some meds out there that look promising? Yes. There are. They do. BUT, and it is a big but, while chloriquin is effective against malaria, the only uses of cloriquin against Covid-19 has been a doctor who is throwing everything except the kitchen sink at this virus in an attempt to stop his patients from dying. Docs get REALLY annoyed when they have folks who come in with cold symptoms and a few days later are being rolled out in body bags. Pisses them right off. Big time.<br /><br />One of the good things to come out of the AIDS/HIV epidemic was the explosion of investigation into the immune system, and development of medicines that work in a different way than antibiotics. After all, don't forget, Penicillin has only been around since 1928 when Sir Alexander Fleming discovered it while working with (wait for it) influenza viruses. Mapping the human genome took a while (about 20 years I think), but once it was mapped, then researchers have been able to take that knowledge, and are now able to take giant steps forward into researching, and developing new meds/therapies to fight different types of cancers, diabetes, autoimmune disorders such as lupus, arthritis, and so on. <br /><br />So, this Covid-19 is different because it is a new virus, we don't know what we don't know, we are not sure how it will act in warmer weather (because it is in Australia and New Zealand just like it is in New York and California), and, unlike the seasonal flu, we do not, yet, have a vaccine against it. Suzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07117433684554337583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-25536753760164083622020-03-21T11:16:04.312-07:002020-03-21T11:16:04.312-07:00Well, in defense of us, very few places in the US ...Well, in defense of us, very few places in the US of A are as bad, physically, or as concentrated in poor oldness as the affected and hardest hit areas of Italy.<br /><br />The magic combination of 2 packs or more of unfiltered cigarettes and air pollution levels that would freak the LA Basin out, and the same type of terrain as the LA Basin holding all the wonderful air pollution in, and old buildings that are decidedly not-modern (and would be condemned in the USA, but they are quaint and Italian and...,) and an advances socialized medical system and a huge percentage of old people in less than stellar health living off of government pensions and stupid government policies that allowed shadow-immigration of Chinese from Wuhan (it's okay as long as government officials get paid under the table) and other stupid government policies that did not address quarantining, restriction of travel, closing borders, actively taking measures to not stop the spread, well, Deaths.<br /><br />On the other hand, we have... South Korea. With many of the same issues as Italy, but a functioning government that acted promptly to the flu.<br /><br />And we have the Flu Cruise as to what can happen amongst old people confined in a closed environment where proper precautions can be taken.<br /><br />Will the Flu devastate parts of the USA? Most likely, especially places that are like rural Italy in terms of cleanliness, medical service, a class of illegals, government bungling... Like the LA Basin, or certain places in Appalachia.Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.com