Covid-19 miscellany

[marc]

Seriously, we are WAY fucked because the administration did nothing. Oh, and now someone at my workplace may have spread it there, and now I'm having to quarantine in my own home from my own at-risk husband for fucking Thanksgiving.

I know the feeling. I’m lucky enough to work at home, but my wife is forced to work in person at her school. She loads up with PPE each morning, and decontaminated on getting home, but we have been wearing masks around each other for months, and around her parents downstairs. Thanksgiving is going to be going downstairs to get our food and coming right back up to eat.

 

[marc]

Aaaannd the administration has done worse than nothing. Thanks to packing the Supreme Court with unqualified ideologues the court has ruled that NY can’t put restrictions on religious gatherings

So super spreader events are perfectly fine if done in the name of god.

 

[TSwizzle]

You should be glad that the Supreme Court is upholding constitutional rights.

 

[lpetrich]

High court blocks NY coronavirus limits on houses of worship | WSYR

WASHINGTON (AP) — As coronavirus cases surge again nationwide the Supreme Court late Wednesday barred New York from enforcing certain limits on attendance at churches and synagogues in areas designated as hard hit by the virus.

The justices split 5-4 with new Justice Amy Coney Barrett in the majority. It was the conservative’s first publicly discernible vote as a justice. The court’s three liberal justices and Chief Justice John Roberts dissented.

This reminds me of something. The Freedom From Religion Foundation has a YouTube channel, Freethought Matters, with interviews with various people. One was on the Supreme Court and religion. That one noted that the SC is having a very expansive view of freedom of religion, something that can override just about everything else. That most recent ruling seems to fit that trend.

 

[marc]

I sometimes wonder if we had assholes like this in WWII. You know, when they have air raid drills, everyone was supposed to turn off their lights, pull the shades down, etc. so any potential bombers wouldn’t have any city lights to guide them. Did they have assholes who would turn on their lights instead, ranting about ‘freedom’’?

 

[Keith&Co.]

I sometimes wonder if we had assholes like this in WWII. You know, when they have air raid drills, everyone was supposed to turn off their lights, pull the shades down, etc. so any potential bombers wouldn’t have any city lights to guide them. Did they have assholes who would turn on their lights instead, ranting about ‘freedom’’?

No, the assholes were the ones shouting 'Turn off those lights!' Govt. Guidelines gave them access to govt. authority.

After the war they became powers in Home Owners Associations. Their kids were raised to be the assholes of original authority, not assholes for someone else's suthority.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

You should be glad that the Supreme Court is upholding constitutional rights.

It's not. Religions should be treated the same as everything else. Just because businesses that don't gather crowds aren't restricted like those that do is not evidence that the rules are unacceptable.

 

[crazyfingers]

I sometimes wonder if we had assholes like this in WWII. You know, when they have air raid drills, everyone was supposed to turn off their lights, pull the shades down, etc. so any potential bombers wouldn’t have any city lights to guide them. Did they have assholes who would turn on their lights instead, ranting about ‘freedom’’?

The larger problem was coastal areas that would not shut the lights off and that allowed German U Boats to ravage merchant shipping up and down the US east coast by targeting ships that could be seen against a lighted shoreline. It took a long time and many sunken ships before east coast cities actually blacked out at night. It's what the German U Boat crews called the second "happy time" because sinking US shipping was so easy and relatively risk free.

 

[marc]

I sometimes wonder if we had assholes like this in WWII. You know, when they have air raid drills, everyone was supposed to turn off their lights, pull the shades down, etc. so any potential bombers wouldn’t have any city lights to guide them. Did they have assholes who would turn on their lights instead, ranting about ‘freedom’’?

The larger problem was coastal areas that would not shut the lights off and that allowed German U Boats to ravage merchant shipping up and down the US east coast by targeting ships that could be seen against a lighted shoreline. It took a long time and many sunken ships before east coast cities actually blacked out at night. It's what the German U Boat crews called the second "happy time" because sinking US shipping was so easy and relatively risk free.

Ah, I forgot about that aspect of it.

So I wonder if any ships were lost because of ‘freedom’ assholes back then?

 

[TSwizzle]

I sometimes wonder if we had assholes like this in WWII. You know, when they have air raid drills, everyone was supposed to turn off their lights, pull the shades down, etc. so any potential bombers wouldn’t have any city lights to guide them. Did they have assholes who would turn on their lights instead, ranting about ‘freedom’’?

Well it depends. If the drill was to be called during the day there wouldn’t be much point turning off the lights and pulling down the shades. And if the vast, VAST majority of any bombs dropped missed, didn’t explode etc and the survival rates of those that did explode was 99.9% I think I could forgive a few assholes for ignoring the bullshit.

 

[Angry Floof]

I sometimes wonder if we had assholes like this in WWII. You know, when they have air raid drills, everyone was supposed to turn off their lights, pull the shades down, etc. so any potential bombers wouldn’t have any city lights to guide them. Did they have assholes who would turn on their lights instead, ranting about ‘freedom’’?

Not likely, but that's probably not only because they didn't have a pervasive right wing media onslaught turning their more ignorant and scared citizens into violent us vs. them morons, but because one bomb falling within your earshot would be a hell of an incentive regardless of your politics.

Unfortunately, our modern right wing morons will have to witness widespread atrocity and/or something that hits home to them personally and painfully, like hearing a bomb drop on their own town. But even then, they'd probably say it was Obama. :/

 

[Bomb#20]

Aaaannd the administration has done worse than nothing. Thanks to packing the Supreme Court with unqualified ideologues the court has ruled that NY can’t put restrictions on religious gatherings

No it didn't. Not only that, the news article you linked doesn't even say it did. You just misread it. The SCOTUS ruled that NY can't enforce the specific restriction it put on religious gatherings until the appellate court rules on the appeal. There is no indication that the court has any general objection to NY putting restrictions on religious gatherings per se. If NY had done a better job writing the restriction in the first place it would probably have passed muster.

So super spreader events are perfectly fine if done in the name of god.

Not according to the SCOTUS. No super spreader events are at issue in this case, and that's not even in dispute.

"... The District Court noted that “there ha[d] not been any
COVID–19 outbreak in any of the Diocese’s churches since they
reopened,” and it praised the Diocese’s record in combatting
the spread of the disease. ... It found that the Diocese had
been constantly “ahead of the curve, enforcing stricter
safety protocols than the State required.” Ibid. Similarly,
Agudath Israel notes that “[t]he Governor does not dispute
that [it] ha rigorously implemented and adhered to all
health protocols and that there has been no outbreak of
COVID–19 in [its] congregations.” ..."​

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/20a87_4g15.pdf

You should be glad that the Supreme Court is upholding constitutional rights.

It's not. Religions should be treated the same as everything else. Just because businesses that don't gather crowds aren't restricted like those that do is not evidence that the rules are unacceptable.

No, but this is:

"... Among other things, the maximum attendance at a religious
service could be tied to the size of the church or synagogue.
Almost all of the 26 Diocese churches immediately affected
by the Executive Order can seat at least 500 people, about
14 can accommodate at least 700, and 2 can seat over 1,000.
Similarly, Agudath Israel of Kew Garden Hills can seat up
to 400. It is hard to believe that admitting more than 10
people to a 1,000–seat church or 400–seat synagogue would
create a more serious health risk than the many other activities
that the State allows. ..."​

High court blocks NY coronavirus limits on houses of worship | WSYR

... The justices split 5-4 with new Justice Amy Coney Barrett in the majority. It was the conservative’s first publicly discernible vote as a justice. The court’s three liberal justices and Chief Justice John Roberts dissented.

This reminds me of something. The Freedom From Religion Foundation has a YouTube channel, Freethought Matters, with interviews with various people. One was on the Supreme Court and religion. That one noted that the SC is having a very expansive view of freedom of religion, something that can override just about everything else. That most recent ruling seems to fit that trend.

Too much is being made of the 5-4 split. This was not a ruling on the constitutionality of the executive order; the justices had a technical disagreement over the procedural matter of whether a temporary injunction should be issued. In the event that NY pursues its original case, and in the event that the appellate court upholds NY's position, then the SCOTUS will eventually rule on the merits and will probably overturn the order 7-2: Roberts and Breyer both telegraphed that. But hopefully NY will simply accept the trivial hand-smacking it got, and make a few minor changes to the order to satisfy the court's concern about whether it's religion-neutral.

 

[Shadowy Man]

Unfortunately, our modern right wing morons will have to witness widespread atrocity and/or something that hits home to them personally and painfully, like hearing a bomb drop on their own town.

Unfortunately, this has already been proven wrong by the South Dakotans denying the existence of COVID while dying of it in the hospitals.

 

[Trausti]

Look at all the Nazis upset that they can't close the synagogues.

 

[lpetrich]

 San Francisco plague of 1900–1904 - The Bubonic Plague in... San Francisco? - YouTube

Some of the same things that we see with COVID-19. Politicians trying to cover it up, some people having an attitude of "Why should I care? It's not infecting us honkies.", ...

 

[Ruth Harris]

If everyone would simply wear a mask properly, wash their hands and keep apart, the number of viral cases would be far lower. And, while those who are older or who have preexisting conditions are more vulnerable for complications or death, there have been a fairly high number of younger healthy people dying or having prolonged hospitalizations or complications from this virus. I don't know why that's so hard to understand. There have even been some healthy children who have died of this virus.

And, as a retired RN, I resent the assholes who are being so careless. They have no respect for the doctors and nurses who are literally putting their lives on the line, while treating patients who need intensive care. People who won't follow basic guidelines are putting a tremendous amount of stress on the medical community. Hospitals are overwhelmed. There are increasing problems finding enough qualified staff to care for those infected by this virus. Yet, some who are dying are still in denial, according to a few nurses who I've seen interviewed recently on the news.

Nobody is suggesting that everything needs to be locked down, but we are experiencing a world wide pandemic that is killing or in many cases, causing disabilities or prolonged illness in otherwise healthy people. Some people prefer to live in denial, while others are simply selfish. Hopefully, it will only be another six months before vaccines will be available to the general public, but until then, I'm blaming the selfish pricks for making this viral spread much worse that it should be.

Nurses are taught never to judge their patients, but I can only imagine how hard it is to do that when you're caring for those who haven't taken this virus seriously.

This former LPN says......AMEN! I agree totally. I have several family members and friends who currently work in the medical field, and most people have no idea how stressful this is for them. They keep trying and trying to help and all they get is grief for it. I cannot believe the way people ignore common sense when it comes to something like this. My guess is that there is going to be a long term medical personnel shortage due to this.

Ruth

 

[ZiprHead]

State suspends liquor licenses, fines Michigan restaurants for violating DHHS order

Michigan agencies issued citations to four restaurants and suspended liquor licenses of three restaurants Wednesday for violating the state-mandated temporary ban on indoor service, according to a news release.

The Michigan Liquor Control Commission (MLCC) ordered emergency liquor license suspensions for Jimmy's Roadhouse in Newyago, Brew Works of Fremont, and The Meeting Place in Fenton.

More in the link.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

I sometimes wonder if we had assholes like this in WWII. You know, when they have air raid drills, everyone was supposed to turn off their lights, pull the shades down, etc. so any potential bombers wouldn’t have any city lights to guide them. Did they have assholes who would turn on their lights instead, ranting about ‘freedom’’?

Well it depends. If the drill was to be called during the day there wouldn’t be much point turning off the lights and pulling down the shades. And if the vast, VAST majority of any bombs dropped missed, didn’t explode etc and the survival rates of those that did explode was 99.9% I think I could forgive a few assholes for ignoring the bullshit.

And the vast majority of russian roulette players are unharmed. In fact, a higher percentage that Covid victims are unharmed.

Gonna try it?

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Look at all the Nazis upset that they can't close the synagogues.

The Nazis are more on your side.

Personally, I want all mass gatherings closed, I don't care what the purpose of the gathering is.

 

[Elixir]

I sometimes wonder if we had assholes like this in WWII. You know, when they have air raid drills, everyone was supposed to turn off their lights, pull the shades down, etc. so any potential bombers wouldn’t have any city lights to guide them. Did they have assholes who would turn on their lights instead, ranting about ‘freedom’’?

Well it depends. If the drill was to be called during the day there wouldn’t be much point turning off the lights and pulling down the shades. And if the vast, VAST majority of any bombs dropped missed, didn’t explode etc and the survival rates of those that did explode was 99.9% I think I could forgive a few assholes for ignoring the bullshit.

And the vast majority of russian roulette players are unharmed. In fact, a higher percentage that Covid victims are unharmed.

Gonna try it?

Say "please!"