Tag Archives: Covid deaths

First Of February Rants …

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Economic issues, Election 2024, Environmental Issues, Political commentary, Rants, Social commentary

I don’t know about you folks, but today is the first of February, one month into this election year with 278 days until the election that has everyone on pins and needles … and I’m already sick of it all.  The news isn’t about the war in Ukraine or the war between Israel & Hamas, or about the very obvious effects of climate change we’ve been warned about for years, or about the humanitarian crisis on our southern border … the news is about the fight between Democrats and Republicans, and all of the aforementioned issues somehow devolve into being right vs left issues.  If ever I wanted a year to be over and done with, this is it.  If ever I considered living a cloistered life in a nunnery somewhere in the Himalayas, this is it.  I alternate between wanting to scream 😱, throw up 🤮, cry 😢, or sleep 😴 until it’s all over!

The result is a combination of uber-snarkiness and mind bounce, so I shall have just a few snippets for you this morning, then I am going to bed to sleep a hopefully dreamless sleep for four hours or so!

If I hear one more person claim that the United States is the “greatest country on earth” I am going to punch them.  I’ll even gladly pay for them to get their teeth put back into their mouth … it would be worth it.  No, friends, the U.S. is far from being the greatest country on earth.  One factual example (I like facts to back up my ideas, don’t you?) …

The United States has approximately 339 million people which accounts for some 4.23% of the world’s population.  Yet, as of January 31st, we account for 17.12% of the deaths from Covid.  That’s right … the U.S. has had 1,194,100 deaths from Covid since the beginning of 2020, compared to the total global deaths of 6,975,205 … 17.12%!  Why?  Um … one word … ignorance.  Well, maybe a few words:  ignorance, Republicans, stubbornness, Republicans.  Refusal to wear a mask, conspiracy theories surrounding the Covid vaccines, and people too damn ignorant and lazy to do the research, to figure out the reality, to protect themselves and their families.  Bah Humbug.

By comparison, India, the world’s most populous nation, has had less than half the number of deaths from Covid than the U.S.  India’s population is 1,428,627,663 – 17.76% of the total world’s population – and they have had only 533,447 deaths, or 7.65% of the worldwide deaths.

Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift … she’s in the news almost as much as he-who-shall-not-be-named (hint, he wears bronzing makeup on his aged face and the hide of an animal on his head, and has an ego the size of the African continent)!  Taylor Swift is a singer who happens to be dating a football player.  She is, from what I understand, a young woman of conscience, a philanthropist of sorts, and has encouraged people to register and vote.  Nothing to see here, folks, move along.  But the conspiracy theory crowd … OH MY!  Failed once-presidential-candidate for a day, Vivek Ramaswamy thinks there is some connection between her, who will win the Super Bowl, and who will win the presidential race.  Others seem to think she is somehow connected to the Pentagon.  And Sean Hannity of Fox so-called-News has “warned” her against supporting President Biden in the upcoming election.  Somebody please slap that smirk off of Hannity’s arrogant countenance?  Leave poor Taylor Swift alone, for Pete’s sake!

Admittedly, I am not well-versed in how these things work and do not understand the fine details, but one term dropped my jaw and made me sit up straight, for I was choking on my coffee.  Elon Musk’s pay package from Tesla in 2018 has been struck down by the courts … his pay package of … wait for it … $56 billion!  That’s billion with a ‘b’!  BILLION!  56 BILLION!!  Who the f*ck needs that kind of money???  Does he even realize that there are people tonight … right now, as I write this … who are begging for $2 to buy a bit of food to keep them alive?  Does he realize, or even care that some children went to bed hungry tonight because there was no food in the house for them to eat?  Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr …

Last, but not least, I urge you to hop over to Nan’s blog and see what one of the Republican representatives in her state has said … guaranteed to blow your mind!

TokyoSand’s Week’s Best Political Cartoons

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, cartoons, Environmental Issues, Humour, Law and justice, Political commentary, Re-blogs, Social commentary

As she always does, TokyoSand has taken the time to scour the media for the best political ‘toons of the week.  Political cartoons are appealing because they sum up a situation using few or no words, whereas the rest of us require hundreds or even thousands of words to try to explain the why, what, when, where and hows of what is happening in our world.  Thank you, TS, for all your hard work in finding these gems!

This is only a sampling, so be sure to check out the rest of the ‘toons at TokyoSand’s Political Charge!!!

Snarky Snippets From The Wee Hours

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, education, Environmental Issues, Global Issues, Law and justice, Personal, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

As I lay in bed in the wee hours, trying to shut my mind down so that I could catch a bit of sleep, a song popped into my head.  No, not the Bee Gees, not Lionel, not even Stevie Wonder.  Ernie.  Yep, Ernie of Sesame Street fame singing … Rubber Ducky!  And so, at 4:34 a.m. I lay in bed singing softly …

And that confirms my suspicions … I am losing my marbles!  Don’t ask how that leads into today’s Snarky Snippets, but somehow it does.

On Tuesday, the United States set a record … we flew past the one-million mark in COVID deaths.  No, I never said it was a record to be proud of … but who didn’t see this one coming?  Initially, scientists predicted we would set this record in late spring or early summer, but by January it was plain to see that it would happen sooner.  Mask mandates?  Gone.  Vaccine mandates?  Gone.  And yet, the pandemic is still very much with us and not likely to leave anytime soon.  The death toll slowed somewhat for a week or two, but it is very much on the rise again and I won’t be surprised to see it go back to an average of 2,000 as it was last year and into the first part of this year.

Today, March 24th, marks one month since Russia first invaded Ukraine.  Since then …

  • Some 3.2 million refugees have fled from Ukraine,
  • 150,000 people are stuck in the northern city of Chernihiv with little hope of aid after Russia cut them off from the capital, Kyiv,
  • 13,000 – 14,000 Ukrainians have been killed,
  • Between 7,000 and 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed,
  • Cities have been nearly leveled, leaving many homeless and without food or water

Putin denies claims of war crimes, saying that civilians were not targeted and civilian deaths and injuries were merely ‘collateral damage’.  Seems to me he doesn’t understand the definition of ‘collateral damage’.  Collateral damage is when you bomb a munitions factory and the night watchmen are killed in the process.  When you intentionally bomb an apartment complex where people live, as Russia has done in Ukraine, that is a war crime.  There is really no grey area here.  Those in this country who support Dictator Putin can never lay claim to being humanitarian!

Last month, two top prosecutors leading the criminal investigation into Donald Trump and his business resigned after the Manhattan district attorney said he was not prepared to authorize an indictment against Trump.  One of the two, Mark F. Pomerantz, was a prominent former federal prosecutor and white-collar defense lawyer who had come out of retirement to work on the case against Trump.

One part in particular of Mr. Pomerantz’ letter of resignation dated February 23rd  stated in no uncertain terms that …

“The team that has been investigating Mr. Trump harbors no doubt about whether he committed crimes — he did.”

So why did Manhattan District Attorney Alan Bragg basically drop the investigation?  I don’t know, but frankly it seems highly suspicious to me.  Bragg claims that the investigation is ongoing, but he damn sure doesn’t appear to be putting the effort into it that his predecessor, Cyrus Vance, did.  Someday, somehow, the truth will be known.  I just hope it isn’t too late to keep a megalomaniacal madman from overtaking the nation in 2024.

Our friend Keith mentioned a John Oliver video about ‘Critical Race Theory’ that he had found particularly interesting.  I found the video, watched it, and I concur fully with Keith … it is a ‘must see’!  It is 28 minutes long and if you’re like me, that’s a big chunk of time that you cannot often afford, but please do take the time to watch this one … John Oliver makes some excellent points and I think you’ll find it noteworthy, but also humorous.  Thanks, Keith, for pointing me in this direction!

Fools Rush In …

Posted on by under education, Environmental Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Social commentary

I have no idea what the numbers are, how many there are, but there are a heck of a lot of damned fools in this nation who have completely misunderstood the concept of ‘individual rights’ or ‘personal freedom’.  These fools have taken those terms to mean they have the right to kill.  Yes, I said kill, for it is certainly killing when a person walks into a store, restaurant or other public venue without being vaccinated and without bothering to wear a mask.

Today at 10:30 a.m., a group of somewhere between 3,000 and 20,000 such fools plan to gather in a march from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.  Their purpose?  To protest against vaccines.  They will waste millions of dollars to travel from as far away as California and are determined to spread Covid wherever they go, sans masks.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

Leading the pack is Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., son of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of former President John F. Kennedy.  This Kennedy, unlike his father and uncle, is a conspiracy theorist who was once a respected environmental lawyer and activist, winning a $289 million jury verdict against Monsanto and winning multiple cases to protect coastlines and waterways.  But of late, he is the leader of the anti-vaxxer movement.

The permit the group filed with the National Park Service said they expect 20,000. They’re bringing in 97 port-a-potties. Even though D.C. police are expecting closer 3,000 people, it may be the biggest super-spreader event yet.

It is because of these fools that the rest of us, those of us with a functioning brain, have been largely confined to our homes for nearly two years now!  It is because of these fools that more than 1,000 people are still dying nearly every day in the U.S.  On Friday, 2,917 people died from Covid in the United States, and we are expected to have recorded a million deaths by the end of spring.  It is because of fools like those planning to march in Washington this morning that children must risk their lives every day to attend school, many in states that have banned mask mandates.  It is because of these fools that many of us have given up any hope of returning to a normal, functioning society.

Washington D.C. is currently under a vaccine mandate and the people of D.C. are concerned, rightly so, for the safety of those who work in restaurants and other businesses in the city.  One of the organizers of this protest has stated that they fully intend to enter ‘hospitality venues’ in order to protest against the D.C. vaccine mandate that went into effect on January 15th.  My hope is that they will not be allowed to do so, even if it means closing all businesses including restaurants for the day.

I simply cannot understand the mentality of these fools.  Do they also drive at 100 miles per hour down the highway in protest of speed limit laws?  Do they dine out nude in protest of dress codes?  Do they refuse to pay taxes in protest of the laws of the land?  What selfish, greedy bastards they are.  I can only hope that their protest is minimal and that there is no violence, but I’m pretty sure there will be a spike in new cases over the next two weeks, and we’ll know, without a doubt, who caused it.