It’s a tired day here in the CatBox, combined with a severe case of Republicitis. I’m late, because I just spent an hour on the throne. It’s a Holy Day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb, and it will be tomorrow too. My Broncos are playing the Bills, and it will be televised here, because it’s a Saturday game, so I shall be meditating this afternoon. May the blessed Orb shine its holy light on your team, unless they dump Buffalo dung on the prairie. Tomorrow is a WWWendy Day, so please expect no more than a Personal Update.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:39 (average 5:12). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Cartoon:
Short Takes:
From The New Yorker: Calling the prospect a “nightmare scenario,” Betsy DeVos warned that President-elect Joe Biden will pick an Education Secretary with a background in education.
The outgoing Education Secretary warned that putting someone with a “pro-education bias” in her job would be like “naming a fox to be Secretary of Hens.”
“For the past four years, I have worked tirelessly to keep our schools free from education,” she said. “It deeply saddens me to think that all of my hard work will go to waste.”
Even more alarming, she said, Biden may name a “knowledgeable person” to replace her, a decision she called “disastrous.”
“In order to be impartial toward education, an Education Secretary must be as ignorant as possible,” she said. “I don’t mean to boast, but I am going to be a tough act to follow in that respect.”
Dang Andy! Is it true that Betsy Blackwater took this to Trump* with the recommendation that he appoint Colonel Sanders as his Secretary of Hens! RESIST!!
From Daily Kos: On Thursday, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel of outside experts voted to approve providing an emergency use authorization (EUA) for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. The agency is expected to complete the creation of the EUA on Friday, which would free up shipments of the vaccine to get on their way across the country this weekend. But they may have to get in line, because the first vaccine that was approved is already failing to reach states in the quantities expected.
Despite months of listening to Donald Trump brag about the incredible military operation he had put together to distribute a vaccine that did not then exist, states are suddenly discovering that the shipments they were expecting have been drastically reduced without explanation. Meanwhile Pfizer seems just as confused—it says there are millions of doses sitting in its warehouse ready to go, but Trump’s team is allowing them to gather dust.
As Bloomberg reports, some states were informed on Wednesday that their supply of Pfizer’s vaccine would be cut drastically. For Oregon, that means a 40% drop in the 74,000 doses they had been expecting. Gov. Kate Brown tweeted that this was a federal decision made through “Operation Warp Speed.” Oregon is not alone. As The Washington Post reports, officials in multiple states were alerted that their shipments of the mRNA vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech would be “drastically cut” for next week.
Notices that they would not be getting what they were earlier told was on the way went out to at least six states. That list includes Illinois, Washington, and Maine, in addition to Oregon. Meanwhile, Florida officials seem to have lost their shipments of vaccine altogether, saying they disappeared from the online shipping system.
I trust that nobody is surprised that Oregon leads the shortage list, since the Republican Reich was unsuccessful attacking us with their Gestapo. I heard nurses in the hospital angrily speculating among themselves that it was intentional sabotage. As for Florida’s shipments, you will find the vaccine at Mar-A-Lago clinic. It may be obtained for $500,000 – $1,000,000 Bankster Bucks per dose. RESIST!!
From YouTube (a blast of Christmas): Low – Some Hearts (at Christmas Time)
I have never heard this tune before, but I consider it particularly appropriate, since this Christmas is such a lonely time for those who have lost loved ones and those separated from loved ones due to Trump* virus. May God grant them peace and relief, and may those of us who can comfort them do so. HUGS!!
31 Days Until the Big FLUSH!!
13 Responses to “Open Thread – 12/19/2020”
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TC…this is new to me too…reminds us how many people are alone and shut in right now. I’m grateful for internet friends, as well as those nearby (although the temptation to see them is strong right now.)
Wouldn’t it be great if Santa could just give us the gift of REMOVING this last year from our lives? SIGH.
Take a nap, Tom…and have happy dreams!
Oh, so sorry about the Republicitis (probably not as bad as Republicosis, but not good.) May the Orb bless your team.
In an actual legal document, a Trump* attorney presented an affidavit “under plenty of perjury.” Srsly. You can’t make this stuff up.
Now this is just hilarious. Hanky alert for tears of laughter.
TNY – Andy doing straight news.
DK – Of course, my concern is addressed in this sentence (which appears in all the news releases): “The only reason to avoid vaccination is a severe allergic reaction to any component of the COVID-19 vaccine.” But, as someone pointed out in a comment (so I didn’t have to), “This boilerplate sentence occurs in every article on the vaccine, but it never tells who what the components are, so it doesn’t do anyone any good as far as whether or not they should get the vaccine. WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS!!!” My experience is that pharmacists may actually know what the components are, but not what the components are made from, which is particularly important for people with food allergies. Only allergy specialists (and their patients, because the specialists tell their patients) know what substances are derived from what. Sure, most people now know that flu vaccine is cultured in eggs (you can get one that isn’t but you have to special order), but when I had my surgery, no one, literally no one, not even the pharmacist (who denied it), knew that all dextrose in the United States, including that routinely used for IVs, is derived from corn. As to the shortage – the nurses are right. It is deliberate sabotage.
Blast – So very true. Sadly. Though it’s true every Christmas, it just isn’t in the news as it is this year.
All I’ve seen is that Moderna and Pfitzer use different fats…sigh
At least that gives me one intelligent question to ask, which helps. Thanks.
‘Toon: Of course!
New Yorker: Of course! Betsy DeVoid of anything like humanity must be a big fan of Hannity! One does not “clean the swamp” by bringing in a viper! Good Damned Riddance!
DK: Dumpshit knows no bottom!
Thank TC. Hope the symptoms stay away for your full enjoyment of your Broncos. Also thanks for the AB dose!
Betsy had a whole lot more serious opposition to her nomination than other nominees at that point–and never earned herself more fans.
I, like so many, will not be traveling this year (should help us all) as quarantines for those from outside an area (San Francisco) or outside the State (Los Angeles) have begun as areas have zero ICU availability and empty places being used, like Sacramento’s former arena for the Kings, to treat patients. Friends that did blend with one other family for Thanksgiving first shrunk the size for Xmas and last I heard were cancelling with how bad it is here.
May all here find things to enjoy and be grateful about even if the celebrations you do feel less or different than in years past.
Cartoon: Yep!
DK: Drunk Betsy w/continue her charade, but what’s she gonna do next? Buh-Bye!!
BoC: Well done, and sung!
Best to you and your team, we play the Colts tomorrow. Get your rest, and hope that your Republicitis goes away too. Take good care, and Thanks, Tom.
*This just in: Re: Jimmy Carter: “A society flourishes when Old Men plant trees whose shade they know they will never sit in.” ~ Jack Durkin ~
2. “I wish the people so invested in Dr. Jill Biden’s dissertation had some interest in Donald Trump’s hidden grades and the guy who took his SAT’s for him.” ~ Preet Bharara ~
3. “In this battle for the soul of America, Democracy prevailed.” ~ Joe Biden ~
4. “I’ve spent my career in Public Health: As a clinician, researcher, and military officer. I’ve had several failures and some wins. And..yet.. Ted Cruz, Laura Ingraham, and Tucker Carlson repeatedly attack me in the last 24 hours is perhaps the clearest sign of real impact.” ~ Dr. Vin Gupta ~
5. “Until Biden is sworn in as President of the United States, Obama is the last president of the United States.”
~ Nicole B. ~
TJI #2 – They won’t, because Trump* has a penis. That’s IMO an offensive way to put it, but it’s such an offensive attitude to have I consider offensive appropriate.
TJI #4 – Isn’t that the truth!
Cartoon: Yep.
TNY: Tough act to follow?? Where the heck is this idiot coming from?? She’s not done one thing for the schools or kids.
DK: Shameful that so many more people could of been vaccinated. But like tRump mentioned, “That after the elections he wasn’t going to speak about Covid-19 ever again.” He’s done exactly that. I feel that with him not keeping on top of it, he should be prosecuted one way or another.
Sorry to hear that you were suffering with another case of Republicitis. Hope it got better.
Enjoy watching your Broncos. May it be a good game for them.
Tell Wendy “Hello” tomorrow. Hope you both accomplish your tasks.
Take care. Thanks TomCat
Hope recovery is in your sights!
It was refreshing and encouraging that the person in-charge WRT the shortage took responsibility. You typically do NOT see that in Donnie’s administration!
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/942965
Your infusions always seem to harm your bowel movement, TomCat. I hope this will clear itself sooner than last time.
3:00 Cute.
Cartoon: They no longer want to resist, they want to push and push hard.
TNY: Sigh. Implying that Betty DeVos isn’t knowledgable is about the nicest thing one can say about her. Finding someone not only knowledgable in the field of education but also capable of undoing four years of damage DeVos has done to especially public schooling and pluck all the money back from private schools for the entitled talibangelists, is a hard job for Biden.
DK: I do hope those millions of doses of vaccination waiting for goodness knows what in warehouses are all stored at -70 degrees Celcius (-94 F) or below. If not, they will deteriorate and become ineffective. I hate to start a new conspiracy, but perhaps these vaccines are not reaching their destination because they got too hot or because they have no idea how to ship these enormous amounts refrigerated to that temperature?
BOXmas: Thank you. I’ll be thinking of you, dear friend.
As I write this, just 11 days to go in this annus mirabilis that has been mirabilis for a lot of wrong reasons (though a few right ones, too) and just one more month of tRump.
TNY: Are you sure that was from The New Yorker and not from The Onion? Then again, many right wingers spew crud so ridiculous it’s impossible to tell from satire.
Thanks and Hurry Hugs to all!