WILL THE ECONOMY REBOUND OR NOT? IT DEPENDS ON WHO YOU ASK And I'm going to ask Stephen Moore, economic adviser to President Trump, today at 1. I've seen several articles about how Americans don't understand why the economic recovery is going to take a year or more. I'll ask Stephen today.
CHUCK TODD APOLOGIZED FOR BLASTING AG BILL BARR But even in his apology, he demonstrated his bias. Why? Because he didn't show ANY intellectual interest in finding out the context BEFORE he put Barr on blast. But he was very willing to believe that the Attorney General just gave a flippant answer to a serious question because he believes that is who Bill Barr is. Watch the apology for yourself.
ABSTINENCE ONLY DOESN'T WORK, EVEN WITH SOCIAL DISTANCING And this article in The Atlantic spoke to me so clearly this morning. We can't expect people to abstain from contact with other humans for much longer. What we need are strong guidelines of how to move about the country safely. From the article:
Public-health campaigns that promote the total elimination of risk, such as abstinence-only sex education, are a missed opportunity to support lower-risk behaviors that are more sustainable in the long term. Abstinence-only education is not just ineffective, but it’s been associated withworsehealth outcomes, in part because it deprives people of an understanding of how to reduce their risk if they do choose to have sex. And without a nuanced approach to risk, abstinence-only messaging can inadvertently stigmatize anything less than 100 percent risk reduction. Americans have seen this unfold in real time over the past two months aspandemic shaming—the invective, online and in person, directed at those perceived as violating social-distancing rules—has become a national pastime.
The anger behind shaming is understandable. Photos ofcrowded beachesor videos of people at a large indoor party may make viewers feel as if they’re watching coronavirus transmission in action. Calling out seemingly dangerous behavior can also provide an illusion of control at a time when it’s particularly hard to come by. But, as years of research on HIV prevention have shown, shaming doesn’t eliminate risky behavior—it just drives it underground. Even today, many gay men hesitate to disclose their sexual history to health-care providers because of the stigma that they anticipate. Shaming people for their behavior can backfire.
So stop calling the cops on people having a picnic and figure out a way to have a picnic safely BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE PICNICS, DAMMIT.
THE FIRST GERMAN CONCERT USING CORONA RULES HAS OCCURRED And this is what it looked like when the orchestra observed the social distancing rules suggested by the German authorities.
NEED A JOB? ALL THESE COMPANIES ARE HIRING RIGHT NOW And it's a pretty comprehensive list.
LA COUNTY WILL BE LOCKED DOWN UNTIL AUGUST...OR IT WON'T And I truly don't know which is true. After the head of the Health Department told the Board of Supervisors yesterday, and this is a quote, "with all certainty, the stay-at home order set to expire on May 15 will be expanded all the way to August” the Mayor tried to calm people freaking out down and he did a terrible job. First he tried to say her very clear message was somehow taken out of context. Mmmkay. Then he added this bit of gobbledy gook,
“While the City’s Safer at Home order will remain in place beyond May 15, we will also continue to adjust the order gradually — to safely allow more activities, more businesses to operate, and more Angelenos to get back to work,” his Honor revealed in yet another statement put out at 5:51 PM PT. “We’re not moving past COVID-19, we’re learning to live with it — and we will keep taking measured steps toward a new, safer reality in the days and weeks ahead,” Garcetti stressed with language he has partially used before.
Sooooo, what does that mean? No one seems to know and I'm just glad I don't live in LA County.
RICH PEOPLE WILL HAVE THEIR MEAT AND EAT IT TOO I TOLD you guys to go stock up on beef and pork a few weeks ago. I did. Now beef and pork are harder to find, with many stores limiting how much of their meat you can buy. And the meat that is left is the fancy heritage pork or Amish chickens (do they wear the little hats?) that are more than double the price of conventionally farmed meat. The problem is covid outbreaks at processing plants. The big players like Tyson can't get their stuff to market. So if you want meat, get ready to pay.
WE ARE DIGGING THE WORK AT HOME LIFESTYLE At least according to this survey of people working in this new coronavirus world. These two answers caught my eye though:
- 66% of workers believe that their skills are up to date
- 57% of workers wish they had more up-to-date skill set
How are both of these answers possible? It will be interesting to see which companies permanently allow their workers more flexibility when it comes to WHERE they are working. I do think it would be nice if this allowed people to move out of urban areas but keep their good paying jobs. I know I would love to live somewhere with a lower cost of living. Most workers say they are more productive at home. I wonder what their bosses say.
WANT TO EAT IN A RESTAURANT? THEY NEED YOUR NAME AND PHONE NUMBER This is what's happening in Washington state as they prepare to let some restaurants open up again. In addition to only allowing 50% capacity, they are requiring restaurants to maintain a 30 day log of EVERY customer's name and phone number so they can track them down if someone gets the Rona in the restaurant. Are we okay with this?
HOW ABOUT IF YOU STOP BY THE STORE? DO THEY GET YOUR NAME AND NUMBER TOO? Because that's what is being demanded in Kansas right now. And it's lead to a federal lawsuit.
THIS IS ONE TOUGH DAME A Spanish woman who is 113 has recovered from Coronavirus. I'll have what she's having.
THE TINY FACE CHALLENGE ISN'T FOR ME Because it requires mad skills with makeup I simply do not possess. They should ball it the Disney Princess Face challenge because that's what everyone looks like to me. Check it out here.
THOSE STATES WHO ALREADY RE OPENED? THEY HAVEN'T SEEN A SPIKE IN CASES And though Axios reminds us that it hasn't happened YET, it still hasn't happened. Read about it here.
MORE PROOF THAT MEN ARE NOT NORMAL I present "Skarping" without comment. Except to say women would not have thought of this.
AND NOW, A HORSE AND A RUBBER CHICKEN
HOLD THE PICKLES PLEASE
WE MIGHT ALL BE HEADED TOWARDS SWEDEN'S MODEL ANYWAY As Sweden believes they will hit herd immunity in the capital city by mid-June and now other nations are beginning to incorporate the same strategies Sweden has been using when it comes to schools and allowing businesses to remain open. Read this comprehensive overview of how things are going so far.
GOD BLESS BRIT HUME FOR CALLING OUT JOURNALISM