Let's hope the trend of posting about folks passing ends quickly, but in this case, the lessons that go far beyond an individual's life are worth celebrating.
I'm prepared to be annoyed by the results of the Virginia gubernatorial election. And the general drift of society at the moment is disappointing, at best. Maybe dismaying is a better way to say it. But Michael Johnson's dad tells us there's a better way.
"When you step away from your agenda, notice that there are moments you can make someone's life better...", that's Ernie Johnson's message, one that he and a whole of folks in his son Michael's orbit learned from a Romanian orphan with muscular dystrophy.
Michael died yesterday at 33. May we all have as much impact as he did.
And amidst the stuff that will continue to piss me off and challenge my understanding of my fellow man, I hope that I abide Ernie Johnson's message that there's value in everybody.
Love you, too, Gheorghies.
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Agree, Rob. I was once told that we all know that people are the same wherever you go... there is good and bad in everyone. And that we learn to live when we learn to give.
I intentionally avoided anything political last night, except a few check-ins at GTB where updates were coming in. So I'm reading about it today, trying to keep my blood pressure down.
New Virginia Governor-elect (and high school classmate of mine) Glenn Youngkin very intentionally didn't roll up his sleeves and get into the issues that the state actually faces during his campaign. He yelled "No Critical Race Theory" a lot -- though, to hear him talk about it, if he were to need to specifically define CRT right now under penalty of death for a wrong answer, Winsome Sears might be the new Gov-elect.
Here's what I read today:
Youngkin has prioritized education, but specifically, his focus has been on giving parents more control over the curriculum being taught in schools. The key topic of his education platform since this race began was Critical Race Theory (CRT) and ensuring it is never taught in Virginia schools. During his victory speech Wednesday morning, Youngkin promised to introduce school choice options, eliminate the grocery tax, suspend a hike in the gas tax, double the standard deduction, cut taxes on the retirement income of veterans, and replace the entire parole board on day one.
Maybe "school choice options" means having school or not having it, since the grocery tax supports the education fund. Which he didn't realize, when asked. And that there's a whole lotta tax cuts out of the gate. Unsurprising from a wealthy Republican. But when an admitted "political outsider" decides to reduce state revenues that severely right off the bat... well, Virginia, doesn't this reek of Jim Gilmore, the guy who got elected in 1997 solely because he eliminated the car tax... thereby sending Virginia's financials into absolute free-fall for years? Should be interesting.
And this didn't even mention the abortion issue.
the democrats control the senate and the house is 50/50 after last night's results. that, combined with the fact that virginia's governor is a one-term office, means that youngkin's ability to push through certain parts of his agenda is pretty limited - at least until the 2022 election. makes that next cycle really important. based on past performance, i'm fairly confident the dems will find a way to fuck it up.
I had no idea Ernie Johnson had so many adopted kids. The story of his son's passing is tragic (although not unexpected, given his challenges), but it put a spotlight on the enormous compassion Ernie and his family have. I saw a bit of NBA on TNT last night and didn't see him in the booth. I imagine he is taking some time off.
shaq, kenny, and chuck did a really moving tribute to eddie and michael earlier in the week. they respect the shit out of that dude.
The grocery and gas taxes proportionally impact lower income more. This should be something that Democrats support. Gilmore’s car tax cut was a personal property tax cut based on the value of the vehicle. That was a give away to the wealthy as personal property taxes hit people who own expensive shit a lot harder.
Me doth think the lady protests too much.
A touching palate cleanser. It’s dusty in here.
I’m less concerned with who the tax alleviation/elimination helps and more with what gets cut because revenues vanish. Gilmore’s administration basically went bankrupt. Would like to avoid the same pitfall.
Neither a borrower nor a lender be.
Tweet from Virginian-Pilot editorial board guy last night: "Youngkin has been governor-elect for like 10 minutes, and already CRT isn't being taught in Virginia schools. Promises made. Promises kept."
Salute. Now we'll see if Mr. Businessman/Tax Cutter does indeed crater revenue, as Whit wonders.
I replaced all my CRTs with flat screens, they're much cheaper today than when they first came out.
I might argue that the way the car tax was implemented had a lot to do with those budgetary shortfalls. However, given the political environment we are in, I doubt the leaders on either side of the aisle will do much to learn from the mistakes of the past.
jersey's election is also "interesting." maybe i won't have to wear a mask in school in 2022 . . .
I remember my dear departed Gramps having an "Gilmore: Ax the Car Tax" bumper sticker. As a recent government major grad of W&M, I was horrified that a campaign could succeed with such a nothingburger of a platform.
I also remember talking to a buddy of DLC about it, who I think had worked on Gilmore's campaign. I was skeptical that they'd follow through with such a stupid policy, but he was insistent that they had to. He was right. That law still hasn't been fully repealed 24 years later. And thanks to CRT, it will survive until at least 30.
Murph will keep you masked forever, Dave! He knows better than you what's in your best interest.
Colorado is experiencing the delta variant wave right now. Big spike in cases. Gov Polis (super liberal, first openly gay married Gov in the country) is getting pushed by the far left to institute a mask mandate. His response was that he hasn't seen a big difference in results from states with mask mandates versus those w/o them. Was a very logical conclusion. He is leaving it to the counties to set their own policies. The far left is pearl-clutching at his reluctance to decide for people what is best for them, 20 mos into COVID.
The problem with letting people decide what is best for them is that people make bad decisions, like going to an indoor Trump rally with thousands of other bare-faced unvaccinated people yelling and hooting and exchanging each other's respiration. People rail against the nanny state, but if they didn't act like children we wouldn't need nannies.
People should wear masks to protect other people more than to protect themselves. When you wear a mask, all the tiny aerosol droplets of saliva that normally float out of your mouth remain trapped in the mask, so other people don't have to breathe your germs. If I'm wearing a mask and you're not, your aerosol droplets get stuck on the outside of my mask. It's better than nothing, but I'm not sure it provides a significant benefit, and it wouldn't surprise me if someday we determine that the mask mandates "failed" for this reason. Simply put, you're strapping the other guy's breath to your face when the other guy isn't masked but you are.
I also think people should wear the medical grade blue masks and throw them out every few days. I think the reusable fabric masks are not very useful after a few washes unless they have those filter inserts or something similar. We buy individually wrapped disposable masks for zkids.
I don't see why wearing a mask is such a hardship. I used to wear one every day when I worked in a lab, along with a hairnet, shoe covers, gloves, and a tyvek lab coat. It isn't as comfortable as, say, working from home in sweatpants, but that's what was required of me so I did it. It's like wearing a seatbelt or a condom or sunblock or earplugs or goggles or any other form of protective equipment. You get used to it.
More importantly, if everyone just wore a goddam mask and avoided big indoor gatherings starting in March 2020 and got the shot in March 2021, we might not be in this mess anymore.
I agree that wearing a mask outside is unnecessary. I also agree that it's silly when people drive in their car alone with their mask on. Some of that is just virtue signaling.
I was told to get vaccinated. I did. I was told to get a booster. I will.
After all that, when I'm told that I still need a mask, that the country has no timeline/guidelines for when that might end, and that the country has no timeline/guideline for when my kids can go to school w/o a mask, I just need to be cool with all of that? Just trust the dildos at the CDC?
i mean, yeah. they know a lot more than we do. if more of us had listened to them earlier, we’d be a lot closer to done with this shit.
CDC has been a clown show. Even the NYT agrees.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/16/magazine/cdc-covid-response.html
fuckton of people were caught short trying to figure this thing out. i’m still inclined to trust experts over laymen. except when it comes to air flight. fuck those pilots.
In theory vaccinated people don't need to wear a mask because they allegedly don't transmit the virus, but you can't tell who is or isn't vaccinated without a vaccine passport and we know that's a tyrannical infringement upon capital-L Liberty. So we still have mask mandates.
Is there any place on the planet that has a great covid protocol? Isn't pretty much everywhere getting hammered? New Zealand is probably the most successful but they had the strictest lockdown--they prohibited picnics involving more than one family as recently as October. Two families can picnic together now so long as there are not more than 10 people at the picnic. No one wants to deal with that.
People don't go into public health for fame or fortune, they do it to improve people's lives. I don't think you can expect the CDC to throw their hands up and say "I know you're tired of all this so fuck it, I don't care any more, go get sick if you want to." They're trying to save lives in a situation where some people refuse a free, safe and effective vaccine without going full New Zealand-style on us. So they recommend that you strap a napkin across your face.
A sanitary one. And then you walk a lot. With molasses in your britches. CDC and Pi Lam - We’ve got the same grip.
wishing a joyous diwali to all of you who celebrate
Indeed. Did anyone ever figure out why Marls went to class smelling like mustard?
The article that TR posted is a good one. It points out the tough position the CDC is in and how their job is hindered by bureaucracy and the various political leaders that have influence over what they do. It also highlights how smaller more nimble groups like the Harvard Rapid Response Working Group can offer better targeted, more nuanced recommendations. The problem being that our politicians and most Americans don’t do nuance very well.
That was everyday Rootsy, not just during initiation.
Speaking of making bad decisions, how about Aaron Rodgers (at least his decisions outside the pocket).
Another bad decision: the other town in my regional school district elected a guy to their town council despite the fact that he showed up at a Board of Ed meeting and read prepared remarks analogizing the district's mask requirement to the suffering brought about by the Holocaust.
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