Poor Shadow Show. Ten days ago, they were on top of the world, headed out on their triumphant tour. Now, limping home from a mere two shows in California — one in Oakland, barely attended, the other in a record store in Fullerton — their van broke down. In rural Utah. Ferron, Utah, to be exact, which is where they limped when it started making an awful noise on the interstate.
Apparently they chose it because it looked like it had a service garage. It did, but it’s been closed for years, which they discovered after sleeping in the van like a trio of hobos.
But the sun rose Tuesday, they found a tow truck to take them to the next-closest, somewhat larger town — Castle Dale — where they were diagnosed with a bad wheel bearing. Alan advised them to have all four replaced, we sent them the money via the miracle of electronic transfer, and they spent the day hanging out in Castle Dale. Everyone was very nice, in rural-Utah fashion. They skated around a local playground in their fancy Moxi skates, and I’m sure they were quite a sight. A rock band! All girls! With a Michigan license plate and a van covered with stickers! And cotton candy-colored roller skates!
They’re really cursed this tour, but then, we all are. We’re working our asses off, all day. I believe Detroit’s alt-weekly is on life support and who knows, maybe Deadline Detroit will be soon, too. We’ll keep working until the bitter end, though. It’s how we do.
How about that stimulus, eh? Those airlines really need the help, so they can hoard the next bailout.
Meanwhile, in the checkout line at Whole Foods…
My friend Deb used to put out these products. I believe they’re called “bookazines,” or something like that. Look at the fear in those eyes. Americans can make a buck off anything.
Meanwhile, enjoy working at home tomorrow. Grocery stores are still stripped here, but we have plenty of food.
Brian stouder said on March 17, 2020 at 9:24 pm
These are strange days, indeed. Michigan’s governor sounds pretty reassuring on msnbc just now. Our IU junior has an extended spring break, and it is very nice having her home, so there’s that. Our high-school junior also has an extended break, but her Driver’s Education class (and driving) continues apace – which means I’m getting old…!
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jcburns said on March 17, 2020 at 9:54 pm
Just avert your eyes, tilt your head up from that scary magazine cover…up a little more…ahh. “Hummus 4 Ways” and “Our best homemade pita!”
MUCH better.
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alex said on March 17, 2020 at 10:41 pm
I prefer Peppa Pig, myself.
Ever see the Peppa Pig jigsaw puzzle meme? Laughed my ass off first time I saw it.
Well, I just took delivery of my new iPhone and I must say this was the most seamless data transfer ever and the nighttime photography capabilities of this thing are simply astounding! It’s better than my dedicated camera, obsolete piece of shit.
All kinds of other new fun stuff to play with. A dash mount. A wireless charging pad.
This is a heavier, much more solid and substantial device than my last one. Supposedly it can last 30 minutes underwater at a fair depth too in case I ever dive into the lake with it in my pocket.
No more fumbling for a thumbprint to turn it on. It turns on with facial recognition, although it hasn’t yet seen my morning face or my resting bitch face.
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BigHank53 said on March 17, 2020 at 11:49 pm
I always thought wireless charging pads were silly tech toys–you know the next step in this story–until I got one. The nicest thing about it that it keeps the phone from locking itself, so when I’m working from home I don’t have to key in its dumb passcode every time I want to make a call.
I’ve never had more than a single wheel bearing go bad on a vehicle, though growing up in the rust belt meant most vehicles never got old enough to have any of them wear out. Best of luck to Shadow Show–what a crappy time to be doing live music.
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LAMary said on March 18, 2020 at 12:47 am
As much as I understand that it’s good to keep communications going, keeping the public informed, I’d really like to go an hour without a radio or television appearance of my mayor, governor or Trump. I’m stuck at home and if I want to watch some crap on TV, I should be able to. Every time I see my governor I wonder what Kimberly Guilfoyle was like before she divorced him and went to Fox News and eventually to Jr. And yes, she’s the same age as Melania but her plastic surgery isn’t as good.
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Sherri said on March 18, 2020 at 1:13 am
Can anyone explain how cruise lines got on the list of suggested bailout targets? They aren’t American companies, they fly foreign flags to avoid US taxes and regulations, and treat their workers poorly.
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Dexter Friend said on March 18, 2020 at 4:05 am
25 years ago I and some local men decided to attend the Omaha Veterans Park commemoration. It was early November. Nobody had a big van so we ended up renting vehicles. I rented a Ford Taurus and the other 8 guys crammed into a Chrysler minivan, brand new. I was working crazy overtime hours on 2nd shift; the others took off a day earlier and I left the next day at noon. It started in Iowa, the blizzard. My friends were in a comfortable Council Bluffs Holiday Inn and I was going 8 mph on I-80 and hundreds of vehicles were in the median and off the road. I got gas, wading through a foot of snow to go inside for a cuppa. So, we met up with my old army pal from North Platte, attended the ceremonies, sort of partied in the festival area of downtown Omaha, and left for Ohio a couple days later. The new Chrysler van developed Shadow Show problems, exactly. We were not caravaning, so I heard the story later. The oldest guy was a career US Marine, long retired. He decided that on a Sunday it would be troublesome getting paperwork to get a rental fixed, so he pushed on, and trashed that wheel bearing, making horrible noises for the last like 300 miles. The dealership had a mild shitfit but the old leatherneck talked his way out of paying for any damages. /// My granddaughter called at 9:00 PM , checking on me from Commercial Point/Columbus, worrying if I had food here…I bought a cart full each of the past 2 days…here we only lack TP and hamburger meat, which I only use to mix into the dog’s food. I have a little TP…I am OK. Then daughter Lori the nurse practitioner in Las Vegas, NV called. Holll-eee shit! No hand sanitizer, no rubbing alcohol, no wipes, no meat or chicken, frozen or fresh, no bread, rolls, pastries, not an egg anywhere, no bagged rice, no pasta, and no canned goods except for a can or 2 of shit like canned asparagus…not a fucking can of soup in the entire city. She called in some medical stuff for me and Carla Lee (home from FL Monday) at the local pharmacy…this is stuff she says we will need if we “get it”. Tylenol, some antibiotics and some other stuff, not to be used unless…. Bill De Blasio is a true leader, doing all he can to keep the lid on NYC, and actually finally getting along with Cuomo a little bit. 100 new cases of Covid19 just yesterday in NYC , now over 1,000 confirmed positive. I keep hearing from the scientists we’ll look back on today, in just ten days , how they miss the good old days of S., Paddy’s Day. Dr. Patel said that in just 2 weeks, there will be a “20-fold increase in confirmed cases.” I feel sick. Gaw-aww-day-um. So OK… she says that in mere days, the pharmacies will not be able to serve most customers…she said to tell everyone to get as much of your medicine NOW as possible.
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beb said on March 18, 2020 at 4:39 am
Cruise lines will be bailed out because they’re rich. Laided off and sick workers not so much. Airlines have made such a career of price gouging and cramming people into their planes that I have no sympathy for them. While cruise ships are nothing more than giant petri dishes cultivating any number of diseases. They ought to be banned just out of concern for the public health.
We did our weekly grocery shopping today. It’s interesting what’s not sold out. Extra-crunchy peanut butter does not seem popular, though it is my favorite style. House brand saltines were sold not but not the name-brand saltines. And Ritz crackers were in abundance. I wonder if those had been restocked just this day?
There was no chicken available but beef pork and lamb were still available. Hugh amounts of hamburger were on sale. I wonder if they just ground up anything they couldn’t sell.
All flour was gone, eggs, chicken broth, progresso soups (on sale at the time) wiped out. But Campbells chunky soups were still around. It’s a strange world.
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Connie said on March 18, 2020 at 5:43 am
So my brothers and I each had arguments with our 88 yr old father about going out for his usual breakfast Monday morning. Bill called first and ended up telling him his tombstone would read “too stupid to live.” (You may know Bill as a well known snarky troll at upnorth.com). I was second and ended up telling him his kids wouldn’t, or more likely couldn’t go to his funeral. Brother John called right after he got home and was greeted by an explosion about conspiracies. This was just as the first patient was announced in Holland, with no information about where she went while contagious. So thank you governor for closing restaurants.
So I sent my husband to the store with a well planned list last Thursday morning. The store was normal except for disinfectant and sanitizer products. He bought one large package of tp. By mid afternoon that day tp was wiped out, and by that evening stores were empty.
We are going to run out of bread first. While my yeast is really old I was thinking of getting out my trusty copy of
“Artisan Bread In Five Minutes a Day.” Highly recommended.
So since Friday morning I have only been outside for walks to the end of the street and back. I am working on stamina and have a long way to go. Three plus years of wearing a prosthetic foot and I feel like I am still learning to walk.
What are you doing?
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Dorothy said on March 18, 2020 at 5:50 am
I would have bought at least two of those Peppa Pig coloring books because she’s currently a favorite of my granddaughter. One book for her house, one book for our house. My kids know I’m starting to feel quite fragile about this separation from them so my son FaceTimed with me around 6:30 last night. Within 10 minutes, Olivia wanted to do the Chicken Dance, so of course I moved my iPad up to the taller counter top, and I joined in. She giggled like mad at her crazy Mimi, which made me laugh, too. I know we can’t do that every day but boy it was a mood booster!
I sure hope Sanders is going to do the right think and drop out of the race today. The country could use that this week.
Is anyone else feeling like they’re just going to burst into tears any given hour lately? I’m buoyed by the videos of penguins going on a walkabout at the zoo since the public is not there, or kids holding impromptu concerts on the porch of a neighbor. But then I saw a tweet from a young lady who asked her dad how he’s doing. He’s a 73 year old ER doctor who doesn’t want to retire. He sent her a picture of himself in his full mask and protection gear at work, and she said she burst into tears. I feel like that more and more. I hate that part of this mess. At the same time I keep wondering if there is something I could do as a volunteer somewhere, but now is probably not the time to march into a hospital and say ‘where do ya need me?!’
Mike and I just talked about some coping tasks we want to do – maybe this weekend go for a drive, buy something to eat at a drive through and have a picnic in the truck, bake some bread from scratch and make a new recipe for dinner. Those are not really revolutionary but it’s something to look forward to, anyway.
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alex said on March 18, 2020 at 7:28 am
A day brightener for any of you who haven’t already seen it:
https://me.me/i/peppa-pig-jigsaw-puzzle-now-that-is-a-chalenge-374fc9c03cc9405db68e7b4833da6a55
I learned to drive on 1970s cars and remember wheel bearings getting effed up a lot. Not sure if it was my driving or potholes.
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Peter said on March 18, 2020 at 9:01 am
Well, I’m awake again after being an election judge, and thank God for today’s idealistic youth.
After I was told I’d be the only one in my precinct, another former election judge was contacted to help me out. Monday night, we set up the booths in the gym along with three other precincts, and it looked like a normal pre-election night.
Next morning I get to the gym, start getting the equipment out, two young girls from other precincts came to me and asked if I could help them out, I told them that I’m sure the other judges will be around in a few minutes, and one of them said, no, the other judges told them while they were setting up that they’re not coming because of the virus and gave them the keys and wire cutters and good luck with the election. So, instead of the 22 judges and coordinators we would have for a normal election, we had 7, and four of those were teens who were not supposed to do certain tasks. So, each precinct had one teenager, the other judge and I ran between two precincts to answer questions and process ballots, and the one coordinator signed people up to vote after she was able to get the ballot scanners to work – only one of the four fired up without a problem.
I would call up those other judges and bitch them out for being cowards, but with my luck I caught the virus yesterday and they’re going to have the last laugh, so I’m laying low for awhile.
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Mark P said on March 18, 2020 at 9:10 am
For a public health expert’s view I recommend reading this guy’s latest post: http://healthvsmedicine.blogspot.com
Sherri, why would we bail out cruise lines? The answer is the usual: cui bono? I don’t know, but I would bet they are already wealthy beyond our understanding.
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JodiP said on March 18, 2020 at 9:52 am
Connie, great that you are building up stamina–keep going!
I found out yesterday a woman we’d hoped to hire passed her background check to be able to work in the jail. She’ll begin on 3/30/20. We’re both pretty excited–my read on her is that she canuse this position as a stepping stone to other work. It will be challenging given we are all working from home, so she won’t even be able to get oriented to the physical layout of the jail.
It’s interesting being a supervisor during this time. I am having to set an example of calm competance, and I think that is helping me. I wish we had better leadership on a federal level, and don’t get me going on the bailout stuff.
Yesterday I wanted some upbeat music to listen to as I made dinner. I asked Alexa for that, and Another One Bites the Dust was first, and Hotel California the second song. Who knew that tech could be ironic?
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Dorothy said on March 18, 2020 at 10:18 am
Now an earthquake in Utah – 5.7 and not too bad but still. Have you talked with the girls this morning?
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Sherri said on March 18, 2020 at 11:01 am
A great Twitter thread about the economy and where we should go from here, with a tremendous kicker at the end.
https://twitter.com/michaelharriot/status/1240129471165980676
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Deborah said on March 18, 2020 at 11:26 am
I found this website reassuring https://covid-at-home.info if I get it or need to take care of someone who does.
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Julie Robinson said on March 18, 2020 at 11:49 am
One day this tour will be legendary in Shadow Show’s history, and they can only go up from here, right? Bless Mom & Dad for the bailout.
If I didn’t feel like crying yesterday, I kinda did today after my Costco trip. My brilliant idea was to stock up enough for at least two or even three weeks, but they were out of so many staples I’ll have to go to another store.
They are limiting customers to 600 in the store at a time, and announced at the door they were out of toilet paper. No problem, I had bought one of their monster packs a month ago. No onions, no hamburger, no frozen chicken, no tomato sauce, no almond milk, almost no bread, limit two dozen eggs, on and on. They were limiting bottled water to one case, but I never buy that anyway.
This is how panics happen, right?
Anyway, last night I proofed my yeast and it’s good, so I’m ready to bake some bread. The bread machine got left at the house, and it’s been years since I made it any other way, but I still have my big mixer. So, all you who were talking about making bread, share you recipes if you would. I’ve got 20 pounds of flour!
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Heather said on March 18, 2020 at 12:11 pm
I was doing OK until yesterday. It didn’t help that three potential clients I was talking with last week went silent. I did get some kudos passed along from another client, so that was nice. And I try to remember that I am lucky because I have savings to last me for a while. But living alone, it’s hard. I had a video conference with some friends last night and have been talking to family on the phone–I think I need to do more of that.
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Jeff Borden said on March 18, 2020 at 12:33 pm
There’s a great column by Frank Bruni is today’s NYT about why this coronavirus reaction feels so different from the empty days after 9/11, especially for urbanites. Where we were called upon to dine out, hit a tavern, go to the movies or take in a live show after the terrorist attack, we’re now called to avoid all of those things.
Cosmo the dog has been my outlet. Yesterday, there were probably 10 or 12 of us out in the park with our pooches playing off leash. (Illegally). One woman stayed 10 feet away because she and her husband were exposed at a benefit event last week. But seeing kids on scooters, skateboards and bikes rolling through the park and parents playing catch and frisbee with their kids was a tonic for the soul. Now, we have rain in the forecast and lots of rain tomorrow, so even that little pleasure will abate.
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Dorothy said on March 18, 2020 at 1:03 pm
Heather my daughter declared on Monday that she wants to FaceTime every day with me, even if just for 5-10 minutes. And my son called to FT last night and I got to do the chicken dance with his 3 yr old daughter. That was fun. But now I can’t get that dang song out of my head. At least it wasn’t Baby Shark.
Hey. How hard would it be for us to have a multi person Skype visit with the Nanciers? How much would be involved? Information we’d have to share? Email addresses? That might be a fun project for next week…what do all of you think? We could limit it to 6 or so at a time so as not to be talking all at the same time.
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Julie Robinson said on March 18, 2020 at 1:05 pm
Trump says we’re at war and he’s a war time President. Watch for civil liberties to be suspended in 3, 2, 1…
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JodiP said on March 18, 2020 at 1:16 pm
I love Dorothy’s idea of a group thing!
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Jakash said on March 18, 2020 at 1:19 pm
It’s annoying to me to see red-state Ohio be one step ahead of true-blue Illinois in implementing measures during this crisis. They were ahead of us on schools closing, restaurants and bars, and then yesterday postponed their primary while we plowed on with ours. I think Pritzker has been doing very well as governor since he’s been in office, but I disagree with him on that one. Also annoying: finding myself largely in agreement with loathed Tribune columnist Jack Kass about holding the primary.
As for the election, Chicago Mayor Lightfoot had this to say in a Tribune article Monday night:
“Asked about the CDC guidelines limiting crowds, Lightfoot said that she had consulted with city health officials and that the short time it takes to vote fits into exceptions on public gatherings and social distancing.
‘It takes about five minutes to vote. What the CDC has consistently said is that social distancing means not being in close proximity to folks for longer than 10 minutes. So, I think we are practicing to the letter the CDC guidance in the way we will be carrying out this election. I don’t have any concerns about that,’ she said.”
I had not heard that “10-minute” idea mentioned before, largely because I’ve not exactly been seeking out lots of information, as it’s too anxiety-producing for me. I saw that it does mention that at the CDC site, though. I’m not a doctor, nor a scientist, but that doesn’t make any sense to me. If true, though, it would make me feel a lot better about our trips to the grocery store… We had made the almost-last-minute (last Wednesday) decision to send for mail-in ballots for yesterday. I’m glad we did.
Julie, I remember when, after 9/11, G. W. Bush said something like “this is going to be the focus of my presidency.” I suspected, even in the midst of the terror at that time, that that would not end up being a good thing. Cadet Bone-spurs going all Curtis LeMay on us is even more suspect…
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Suzanne said on March 18, 2020 at 2:13 pm
The market has fallen below pre-Trump election levels.
So much for the “But how’s your 401(K) doing?” that MAGAs like to say.
Horrible, thanks for asking.
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Scout said on March 18, 2020 at 2:33 pm
Yes, I’m bored. Why do you ask?
https://www.instagram.com/p/B94pQNCnTTK/
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susan said on March 18, 2020 at 2:53 pm
Jakash @24 – That’s like the 5-second rule for when you drop a cookie (or a raisin or bread heel or an M&M, etc.) on the floor. Makes about as much sense. Yah, the 5-second rule was always a joke, that apparently some people took as gospel. Now, that 10-minute rule?
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susan said on March 18, 2020 at 2:56 pm
for an at-home parent, with at-home kids
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Julie Robinson said on March 18, 2020 at 3:00 pm
Five minutes exposure for the voter, maybe, but what about poll workers like Peter and my two offspring? 12 hours of exposure.
Scout, kitty is good at catching! Our niece posted three minutes of her new kitten in a room scattered with approximately 30 toys. She went from toy to toy to toy, spending no more than 10 seconds on any single toy. I watched it twice, then showed it to my mom. Truly, I am not bored, I have plenty to do and lots of boxes to unpack. But everything is so noisy, you see, what with hubby working 10 feet away. My laptop is quiet.
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Mark P said on March 18, 2020 at 3:33 pm
I, along with probably everyone else in the country, have been thinking that testing for the coronavirus would definitely settle whether a person has been infected, but I recently realized that it won’t. There are false positives and false negatives that, as far as I know, haven’t been quantified. Or at least no one is talking about it. That means there is a possibly significant chance that if someone tests positive, they don’t actually have the disease, and if they test negative, the do have the disease. The false positives would be a definite hassle for the person involved, but false negatives are different. Since they are only testing people who they think are positive, that means the number of false negatives could be relatively high. That’s not good. What this means is that a single test might not be as reliable as it needs to be. I’m not sure anyone knows at this point, but I’m pretty sure not many people are talking about it to the public.
I think a lot of people are also a little confused about the result of the current self-isolation and closings. It’s clear from the diagrams (“flattening the curve”) and other things that are being said, but I don’t think it has been made explicit. The effort is directed at making sure people don’t all come down with the disease at one time, but not at really preventing the spread. Ultimately, it looks like around the same number of people will get the disease as would get it if no precautions were taken. That means that until there is a reliable vaccine that everyone can get, it’s all the more important to keep the most vulnerable protected. All you people with frail parents or other relatives should take note: The precautions could last a long, long time.
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Deborah said on March 18, 2020 at 4:17 pm
So what are you all reading? I’m reading “Quichotte” by Salman Rushdie. It’s pretty good, a modern day Quixote, pronounced key-SHOT (French) as Rushdie tells you in the beginning. I’m also reading the Mueller Report, that’s a lot more dry, and a lot more maddening.
What’s going on with testing for the virus? I tried Googling it but not getting anything about today.
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JodiP said on March 18, 2020 at 4:20 pm
Susan, thanks for that little clip. I shared it with one of my team members who’s having a tough time with all this, and he really loved it! He’s also a dad, so it was even better.
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Deborah said on March 18, 2020 at 4:25 pm
I’d also be interested in a group thing, but I’m hopeless at trying to figure out how to do it on my devices. We have video conference condo association meetings and I always end up just phoning in because I can’t figure out the video part. Also I’m going to be traveling for a few days starting Friday. We pick up our rental car at noon on Friday, hope to be in Santa Fe on Sunday.
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ninja3000 said on March 18, 2020 at 4:41 pm
Nancy, if you’ve ever been in a rock band, you’ve been in a broken-down van. Best of luck to the girls.
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Joe Kobiela said on March 18, 2020 at 5:10 pm
Currently in Detroit waiting on my flight to Boston, place is a ghost town, glad I don’t fly for the airlines. Jackash I read Kass today and I believe he said they should have cancelled the election, and was in complete disagreement with Pritzer.
Pilot Joe
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jcburns said on March 18, 2020 at 5:48 pm
Get a really, really stiff drink ready…and watch these fine young people: https://t.co/OlrIT7V8Bp
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Jakash said on March 18, 2020 at 5:50 pm
Yeah, Joe, that was my point. I disagree with Pritzker’s election decision, though I generally like him. I *agree* with Kass about postponing the primary, though I generally find most of what he writes to be terrible, both in his reasoning and his conclusions. His columns about cooking for Greek holidays are all right, I suppose…
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David C. said on March 18, 2020 at 6:07 pm
Just a little hint. Your local Mexican, Asian, or Indian market is probably pretty well stocked. There was no chicken at the large grocery stores. The Asian market downtown had plenty. It was all frozen, but I can thaw it. We picked up canned goods too. They’re not brands that are familiar, but canned tuna is canned tuna. We even got an 8 pack of toilet paper. It looks OK – no wood chunks floating in it anyway.
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Deggjr said on March 18, 2020 at 6:31 pm
John Kass. Find one of his columns that doesn’t read as if he wrote it in his basement in about an hour. He’s smug and lazy.
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alex said on March 18, 2020 at 6:32 pm
Here’s a disturbing but nevertheless riveting read. To take your mind off COVID-19.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/magazine/title-ix-sexual-harassment-accusations.html
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Jakash said on March 18, 2020 at 7:01 pm
Deggjr,
“About an hour” is probably generous, but sometimes he seems to prefer to be surrounded by real Americans in a suburban diner, rather than in his basement. ; )
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Colleen said on March 18, 2020 at 7:06 pm
Watching “The Plot Against America” on HBO. Wondering how applicable to the current day it will be.
We were supposed to go on a floating petri dish vacation next month, but that’s not happening. I guess we will just sit around and look at each other for the next few weeks. All I want to do is stress eat right now, which is not a good plan.
The conspiracy people are coming out of the woodwork on my FB feed. I am snoozing a lot of people right now….
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Suzanne said on March 18, 2020 at 7:38 pm
I’m getting more of the “this coronavirus is just hype from the media” people on FB.
Sure. The heads of the NCAA, the NBA, the NHL, the Kentucky Derby, MLB, Governors, and now GM, Ford, and Chrysler sat down, watched a couple of hours of CNN, thought “Wow, Anderson Cooper says this is bad” and decided they better shut everything down. Right.
Also, Oprah assured her fans on Twitter that contrary to the conspiracy theories, she is not being arrested. So, darn. That means the whole virus thing is not a cover for that either.
Maybe it really is a very bad virus.
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Deborah said on March 18, 2020 at 7:45 pm
Alex, thanks for the link to that story. Horrible to have to live through that.
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Dorothy said on March 18, 2020 at 7:51 pm
Oh Alex @40 – riveting is right. Thank you for sharing the link.
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basset said on March 18, 2020 at 7:54 pm
Basset Jr. works at a big downtown hotel in Nashville and got the call this morning, he and other hourlies are being “furloughed” till further notice… wasn’t two hours before he had caught on with a grocery store for early morning stocking, fewer hours but it’s something. And he scored the last packet of TP off the shelves before leaving…
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basset said on March 18, 2020 at 8:41 pm
and even the Beatles had problems on their first tour.
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Joe Kobiela said on March 18, 2020 at 8:52 pm
Jackash,
Sorry I misunderstood I thought you were saying Kass and Spritzer were in agreement.
My flight to Boston was in a Airbus that holds around 200 there were less than 30 people on board,but I did get first class.
Pilot Joe
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Sherri said on March 18, 2020 at 9:13 pm
The timeline of what happened at Life Care.
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/times-watchdog/coronavirus-spread-in-a-kirkland-nursing-home-for-weeks-while-response-stalled/
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Sherri said on March 18, 2020 at 9:21 pm
Ron Johnson demonstrates his well-earned reputation as the stupidest Senator. Only the presence of Louis Gohmert saves him from being the dumbest member of Congress.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/03/gop-senator-no-more-than-3-4-of-our-population-may-die.html
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David C. said on March 18, 2020 at 9:47 pm
RoJo is only the second most stupid politician in Wisconsin. Glenn Grothman (Louis Gohmert with hair), my idiot congressman, is a smidge worse.
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LAMary said on March 18, 2020 at 10:50 pm
Julie, the website The Kitchn, has had a lot of bread recipes posted on facebook today. No knead bread, slow cooker bread all sorts of easy recipes.
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Dexter Friend said on March 18, 2020 at 11:00 pm
90-8 was the vote, April 6 is the date, now comes the debate on who gets it and how much they get. Second payment goes out May 20. And you thought these people hated Bernie because he was a socialist. Socialism comes in handy when the rent’s due and your child is hungry and you are broke and the church pantry is empty. ~ Bryan, Ohio is a small city technically, but it’s just a town on the map. Still, Wednesday evening sees many cars on the streets, it being church night and junior high athletics night and so forth. I drove to a drive-through for a sandwich , 2 miles away, and on our 4-lane 127 Main Street, I could see a mile and a half north, and zero vehicles. Every fast food drive-through lane was empty. People are serious. Walmart was raided here today, as was Chief supermarket…picked clean, damned vultures anyway.
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Jakash said on March 19, 2020 at 12:11 am
To be honest, despite the years and years of lying and backpedaling, this concise, but brilliant, 1 minute, 22 second compilation is all you really need to know about our Maximum Leader. You know, the stable genius who now claims “I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.”
Breathtakingly appalling.
“As Trump pivots to coronavirus crisis mode, let’s not forget the months of downplaying and denial.”
https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1240043597434687489
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Deborah said on March 19, 2020 at 9:10 am
Today is officially the first day of spring, a day or two earlier than usual. I’m looking forward to being in NM where LB says there are leaf buds on the trees. It’s foggy and rainy in Chicago but a high expected in the upper 50s. I have a lot to do today getting ready for our road trip.
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Suzanne said on March 19, 2020 at 9:32 am
So this lovely essay from our friends at the Federalist. It’s ok to let Grandma die, apparently, to save the economy.
I keep wondering what the reaction would be if the virus only affected pregnant women.
https://thefederalist.com/2020/03/19/will-the-costs-of-a-great-depression-outweigh-the-risks-of-coronavirus/
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nancy said on March 19, 2020 at 10:06 am
Isn’t this the woman who lives in Fort Wayne?
Yep. She’s the one. We discussed her here last year.
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Deborah said on March 19, 2020 at 10:15 am
Suzanne, or better yet, just execute the olds. I mean think how much they’d save, no social security or Medicare. The rich could lower their taxes to near zero then. Get those ovens ready, kill the disabled while you’re at it.
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bb said on March 19, 2020 at 10:57 am
Re: the whole OH v. IL, hold/ don’t hold primaries question. My first-blush thought is that postponing them is the proper, “err on the side of caution” response. But the counter argument that stops me short is–postpone till when? Are we sure the worst will be over in 3 weeks? 6 weeks? 9? The headline on CNN.com right now reads, “US gov is preparing for a pandemic that could last up to 18 months.” Considering how swell our responses to all things pandemic have gone so far with Don John in the Oval Office, now seems like a bad time to be hitting the pause button on democracy.
In my dogged attempt to remain with the glass-half-full folks, I’m trying to focus on what positive long-term changes might come from our current travails. One thing I hope we realize is that early voting and vote by mail options have several advantages that could come in real handy right now. Here’s another: I bet people won’t mind a bit if US tax dollars pay for them to get tested for the virus. Fox News viewers, you know what it’s called when tax dollars pay for your medical treatment, right?
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on March 19, 2020 at 11:31 am
FYI: after a trauma, including a bereavement, you should be very careful about everyday tasks such as (no, I’m not kidding) using sharp implements, power tools, or driving. It’s a confirmed fact that after a trauma, you actually lose reaction time, have slower reflexes, and your peripheral vision is reduced. And when you think a few days later “I’m fine now, fit as a fiddle,” that’s just when the slight restrictions of your normal awareness or reactions hide in plain sight. So take it easy, and be careful of your own vulnerabilities.
I’ve told people this for years as funerals end and as I take my leave of families, many of which aren’t my parishioners but came from elsewhere to have services in our church for a member here, often a parent or grandparent, and are now almost immediately having to travel home or even go back to work. So I caution them.
And of course my sister and I totaled my late dad’s van here in south Texas trying to drive around taking care of matters for my nearly blind and 84 year old mother. The bright side is the rental van we got has power seats and satellite radio. And no one was hurt. It was just a stupid accident by a fast jeep and my sister merging incautiously . . . who has never had an accident in her life.
She’s heard today from five friends and coworkers to tell her they had an accident in the week after their fathers’ deaths.
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Deborah said on March 19, 2020 at 11:46 am
Oh my Jeff tmmo, thank goodness no one was hurt. I hadn’t heard that before about grieving.
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Jeff Borden said on March 19, 2020 at 12:23 pm
Suzanne,
If you threw a bag of king cobras into the Federalist Society, the snakes wouldn’t survive. That’s how evil that group is. And dog help us, there are hundreds of their twisted judicial followers embedded in our federal court system, just biding their time before they smash whatever new ideas Millennials or Gen Zers may embrace. It’s Moscow Mitch McTreason’s crowing achievement.
Re: John Kass. Years ago, the Chicago Reader looked at the editorial boards of the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times. All but one at the Trib were suburbanites. All but one at the S-T were Chicago residents. Kass, who sadly still has a seat on the Trib board, is your go-to guy if you’re seeking commentary from an angry, old, white ethnic suburbanite “conservative with libertarian leanings.” Otherwise, he’s generally not worth reading.
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Sherri said on March 19, 2020 at 12:43 pm
Stupidly malicious or maliciously stupid? You make the call.
https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1240672509579726853
If only Trump Org had a manufacturing arm and there was a way for the Grifter-in-Chief to make money on the production of ventilators, then we’d see him grasp the power of the DPA to flood states with ventilators. The best ventilators! The most beautiful ventilators!
Maybe if we tell him that all the masks will have TRUMP on them in beautiful gold letters, he’ll do something about getting more masks.
Or maybe Inslee should just call up Bill Gates and get him to bribe Trump. That’s how things work in a banana republic, right?
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bb said on March 19, 2020 at 1:11 pm
Another long-term positive that could come of all this: after weeks or maybe months of families across the US having to dabble in home schooling, there will be a great public reconsideration of just how valuable teachers and public schools really are. Local school boards take note. This fall would be a brilliant time to float a generous new school tax levy. Moms and dads all over the map will be ready to pony up whatever it costs to get little Johnny and Susie back to school and out of the damn house.
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Deborah said on March 19, 2020 at 1:22 pm
Jeff B, I thought of you when I read this https://www.npr.org/2020/03/19/817885991/panic-gogy-teaching-online-classes-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic
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Deborah said on March 19, 2020 at 1:43 pm
This is good https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/18/elections-have-consequences-slow-response-virus-is-one-them/#click=https://t.co/hZMHCZKRr0. I don’t understand why every single Republican doesn’t see it this way now.
Obviously I have more time on my hands than I thought I was going to have today. I decided I’d rather chance getting what I need to buy in places like Kansas on our way to NM than run around Chicago trying to find it.
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TGF said on March 19, 2020 at 2:37 pm
I’m behind on the comments, but if you want to listen to Gov. DeWine’s daily presser, you can stream here — https://www.wvxu.org/listen
Again, I’ve never been a fan of his, but he’s listening to the science. And her name is Amy Acton, MD, MPH.
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Jeff Borden said on March 19, 2020 at 2:58 pm
Deborah,
Man, that story is right on the button. We are being asked to offer the highest possible level of instruction online, but for my class, it is a very tough haul. I’m listening more to other instructors than to the dean’s office and they are making the same point as the NPR story: Do the best you can, be adaptable, be generous in grading and expect multiple glitches and problems. Thus, my efforts to figure out a way for my students to collaborate online for a group project –which is usually the capstone of my class and mimics “Shark Tank” as students create a product or service and how to market them– was simply too grandiose. I’m now looking at perhaps having them deliver an extended speech on inventions/inventors/businesspeople who changed the world.
Meanwhile, I also need to be aware that while Loyola is an expensive school to attend, not all students are well-off and many receive financial assistance. They may not have the latest generation of smartphone or a good laptop or fast internet service.
And, in fairness, Loyola has made every effort to help even non-techies like me make the move. The website is chock-a-block with tutorials on how to use various online tools effectively.
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Little Bird said on March 19, 2020 at 3:21 pm
Dorothy! The tp has arrived! Thank you so very very much, the relief is palpable!
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Dorothy said on March 19, 2020 at 4:04 pm
Oh I’m so glad. That makes me happy. Two days early – they said Saturday it should be there.
Friends I am feeling so very sad this afternoon. I woke at 4:06 today so I knew I needed a nap. The news is just overwhelming these days and I’m really trying to keep things in perspective. But just before I lay down my daughter sent me a text that just said “Oh my god!” With a screen shot from Instagram. A knitter celebrity (she teaches and has written several books about knitting, mostly humor) who we both follow on IG posted an announcement that her 2 day old granddaughter died yesterday morning. No details – asked for privacy for her family. This has devastated me.
She’d been posting pictures of gorgeous items she has knitted for this new baby. A tremendous large white blanket that she designed herself; a tiny onesie in neutral grey; a gorgeous white sweater with pink rosebuds and green stems and leaves embroidered on it; a hat and matching booties. She posted two pictures of her Tuesday wearing the onesie, and wearing the hat, dubbing her the world’s next great knitwear model. And this wee girl has died suddenly.
This baby girl has an older brother who is nearly 3, which makes him the same age as my granddaughter. The knitter’s mother died on my birthday, which was five days before my mom did in 2017. I feel a sort of bond with her despite the fact I’ve never met her. My daughter DID meet her at a book signing about 8 or 9 years ago in Virginia.
Please keep this family in your hearts today and hug your loved ones extra tight if you have them nearby. I had a good cry as I fell asleep, thinking of Stefanie and her broken hearted family. And thinking of how much I really, really miss my mom lately.
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Julie Robinson said on March 19, 2020 at 4:21 pm
Dorothy, I’m so sorry. Losing a newborn, they must be inconsolable.
A dear member of our church died on Monday, was in the hospital for a minor heart procedure, and had a massive heart attack in the hospital. They have decided to bury her with just family present, then have a memorial in August. And church is cancelled right now too, so we can’t gather around her husband of 60 years on Sunday mornings.
After not being able to buy what we needed at Costco, I thought I’d go to Meijer first thing and knock off the rest of the list. Hah. For the first time I have a glimmer of what shopping was like in the old Soviet Union. It’s gray and cold and that contributes to it. At least I didn’t have to stand in line for hours.
But I will count my blessings as we have a paycheck coming in, and I know so many who don’t. And we bought toilet paper before this all started!
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Deborah said on March 19, 2020 at 5:09 pm
Oh how sad, Dorothy. It certainly is a trying time, imagine going through that on top of everything else. I’m overly emotional these days, I’m looking forward to seeing LB, hopefully Sunday. And also Dorothy, you made LB feel so much better after getting the TP. Thanks so much, she’s been pretty emotional lately too.
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Dorothy said on March 19, 2020 at 5:22 pm
I was happy to do it, Deborah and LB. Truly it was more about the act of mailing something to her rather than what was in the box! No one should be stressed out about something like needing TP these days and I have more than I need. Julie – remember to consider smaller kinds of stores for some essentials. Not sure if you have a Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods or Fresh Thyme near you but those stores are around here and I’ve been to Fresh Thyme once since last weekend. In Dayton they have the very expensive Dorothy Lane Market (bastards won’t give me a name discount!!!) and I went to one of them yesterday. They had LOTS of things other stores were lacking. Someone on here mentioned yesterday Asian or Hispanic grocery stores as a possible source, too. If we had to stay put indefinitely at our house, I think we’d be fine and dandy for maybe two weeks if we had to ration the two gallons of milk and two dozen eggs currently in our fridge. We drink a lot of milk at our house. My freezer is full and my pantry is full and what more can you ask for?
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Deborah said on March 19, 2020 at 6:13 pm
We go to a little Italian market near us that had plenty of milk for sale when Whole Foods didn’t have a drop. We mainly go there for their frozen ravioli which they make there. It’s fantastic. There used to be one even closer to us but that one went out of business. It will just be a matter of time before the one we go to now will go out of business. Sigh.
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Scout said on March 19, 2020 at 6:35 pm
If Burr was a Democrat this would be illegal. Just saying.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/senator-dumped-stock-coronavirus-preparedness-970069/amp/
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Carter Cleland said on March 19, 2020 at 7:28 pm
Hey David C. @ 51. I own a second home in Wild Rose, WI, and recall that Dan Kohl ran against Grothman back in 2018. Lost by about two-thirds, I believe. Do you know if anyone is challenging the man who pronounces racist, “rash-ist”, this time around?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa8_pFJVXpg
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