Anybody been touched by the virus? I worry about you.
Nan
A mixed bag
All posts in the A mixed bag category
WHY ARE GIRAFFES GAY?
Published March 24, 2020 by Nan MykelWHY ARE GIRAFFES GAY?
Must be for survival.
Heh heh.
The grand scheme of things?
You know better.
Luck?
Luck!!
I mean the random draw of the deck.
Oh, the MYSTERY.
Yeah, like everything else.
nan
From Friend via Facebook
Published March 24, 2020 by Nan MykelFrom FB friend Brent Peeples. So incredibly well-stated. Thank you, Brent.
“Has Trump uttered a single word about those who have died or are sick from the virus? Has he mentioned Americans stranded in other countries?
No, he hasn’t. His singular focus is the economy. Why? Because his electoral fortunes are tied to the economy. As are those of his businesses. And Trumpflakes see nothing wrong with it.
When this nightmare mercifully ends, I never want to hear how we need a businessman to run the show ever again. Even if it’s a successful businessman, unlike this con man.
You’re going to see the country become even more divided over the next few weeks. The change is already apparent on Fox News and Trump’s twitter feed.
Money over people. Social distancing will soon be looked at as a partisan affair to destroy Trump. As the virus spreads, he’ll blame governors and mayors and the media and Democrats.
It’s what he does. It’s all he knows. Tell people whatever he thinks will sell the moment.
The thing I’ve come to realize is that the Republican Party no longer has an identity without Trump. They’ll follow him right off a cliff. The GOP has been subsumed into the Trump Organization.
Last night, the Lt. Gov. of Texas went on Fox News and said that grandparents would rather die of the virus than keep the economy shutdown for much longer. Yes, he really said that. Something something about grandkids and freedom. He said his “heart was lifted after hearing the president speak” [about the cure being worse than the disease].
The World Health Organization just warned that the United States could become next epicenter of global coronavirus crisis, citing ‘very large acceleration’ in U.S. infections. Wonderful. There is a direct correlation between the Trump administration calling COVID-19 a “hoax” and “the flu” and all kinds of other bullshit to the skyrocketing infection numbers.
We’re so far past the point of agreeing to disagree with these lunatics. It’s not just “politics.” It’s life and death. One party wants to err on the side of caution. It wants to do everything possible to prevent human suffering. It listens to experts and uses a scientificaly-based approach to flattening the coronavirus curve.
The other side is filled with ignoramuses who think it’s a fair tradeoff to lose 1-3% of the population in order to push the stock market numbers up.
Ironically, the former is a group that was falsely accused of setting up “death panels” when it helped millions of Americans receive access to healthcare.
The latter calls itself the “pro-life” party but it’s nothing more than a death cult. Choose your fighters wisely. And don’t expect me to agree to disagree when you’re okay with millions of people dying.”
(Thanks, family, for sharing this.)
P.S. Gallia County, where my daughter lives at GDC, just had its first death from novel-C today.
My Memory Is Me
Published March 24, 2020 by Nan MykelI’m not what you see at 83.
I’m so much more, almost
filled to the top–
with a little room to grow.
The touch of velvet is still
alive in me; the fig tree
and the good hard red clay.
Grandmother’s good soft lap and
the fragrance of the land
after the rainfall. And oh my,
the comfortable settling of
coal in the grate in the dark.
Childhood fills one big toe. Yet
as you see, I could go on and
on ’til one of us fell asleep.
Nan 10/19/15
(I must have said 83 to make it rhyme–5 years later I’m now 84
New Thoughts from Friend John
Published March 5, 2020 by Nan MykelIt is a critical time with regard to democracy in this country. I have waffled between supporting Sanders and Warren. It is time to vote for the changes democracy needs and for someone who can possibly win. That is Sanders.
Many voters probably chose Biden over Sanders because they feel Biden has a better chance of winning the general election. Maybe that is true; maybe it isn’t. We thought Hillary was a shoe-in over Trump, but the electorate, through our distorted electoral college system, made an anti-establishment choice. Biden is the establishment candidate for the Democrats this time. To some people he feels safe. He won’t rock the boat. He won’t change things.
But people know that change is what we need. Biden may reverse some of the worst things Trump has done, but things will go as they have in the past over decades – continued environmental degradation, corporate control of government, a healthcare system that fails millions of Americans, continued concentration of wealth and power in fewer and fewer hands, worsening financial and food insecurity, and outright poverty.
People are afraid of change, but change happens. Without major changes in policy, the changes we will see are continued degradation of society and the environment. That is where unchecked greed, concern only for the present, and only for ourselves, will take us.
I know some people find Sanders scary. It is too bad that people, especially older people, are scared of the label, “socialist.” Would they like to get rid of the socialist things we already have in place, such as Social Security and Medicare? And what about the socialist protection that Wall Street banks have against failure? Perhaps it can be said that capitalism survives because socialism is there to bail it out.
People are understandably afraid that change might mean they lose what little they have. Might “Medicare for All” mean higher taxes? Will it mean I’ll lose my present insurance? These questions linger despite the fact that “Medicare for All” will provide health insurance for all and better healthcare at lower overall costs. Other countries find ways to pay for it; we can too.
When we are determined to do something, we can find ways to pay. No one objects to the development of a new weapon system for military use because it will increase their taxes. There is no reason to hesitate about doing what needs to be done now.
Economic and monetary systems should facilitate what we as a people want to do. Physical and social resources impose real limits, but money, which is created everyday by keystrokes on computers, should not be limiting.
A changed money system, in which government creates money instead of private banks, would open up possibilities. Where new money is spent increasing goods and services, through improvement of infrastructure, healthcare and education, there is little inflationary pressure. Inflation comes from increased costs, not from government spending.
Our current socialist system benefits the wealthy and the old folks who hold the wealth. What is needed now is some socialist policies to benefit the young and those who haven’t inherited wealth. It is time for us to seize the opportunity in this election and get Bernie nominated so the voters are offered a real choice. Unfortunately, at this point support for Warren amounts to supporting Biden.
As Supreme Court Justice said, “We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.”
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Harry Truman Quote
Published February 27, 2020 by Nan Mykel
NOT the FIRST TIME
Published February 6, 2020 by Nan MykelWritten by Alex Henderson February 3, 2020 Alter Net
President Donald Trump has not been shy about berating anyone who doesn’t “stand proudly” when the United States’ national anthem is playing at sports events. But a video posted on Instagram shows Trump moving around quite a bit when “The Star-Spangled Banner” was playing during the Super Bowl on Sunday.
The Miami Herald’s Sarah Blaskey notes that the video “shows Trump greeting guests, adjusting his chair, and straightening his suit jacket as other attendees — including First Lady Melania Trump and their teenage son — stand with their hands over their hearts. As ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ crescendos, Trump raises both of his hands in the air, and twirls them around as if conducting the music.”
Blaskey notes that the brief video, which has also been posted on the Miami Herald’s website, was “included in an Instagram story by a real estate agent for a Russian-American firm who frequents Mar-a-Lago and other Trump properties and events.”
Trump has been especially critical of African-American football stars who have opted to “take a knee” during “The Star Spangled Banner” as a way of protesting racial injustice. Above: Much earlier post of nonchalant Trump.
Anodyne – poetry reblog
Published February 2, 2020 by Nan MykelExquisite. I can’t think of another word.
Pro-Life?
Published February 1, 2020 by Nan Mykel**Alternet reports:
“We command all satanic pregnancies to miscarry right now” — Special Adviser to the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative Paula White
Maybe it’s just me, but commanding someone to miscarry doesn’t seem very pro-life in my book… https://t.co/bvmgNgjfQI
— Libertarian-In-Chief (@ToddHagopian) January 26, 2020
**As prayed for by Trump’s Spiritual advisor
Thinking about something else…
Published February 1, 2020 by Nan MykelAuthor Unknown
DEAR ANCESTOR
Your tombstone stands among the rest;
Neglected and alone.
The name and date are chiseled out
On polished, marbled stone.
It reaches out to all who care
It is too late to mourn.
You did not know that I exist
You died ere I was born.
Yet each of us are cells of you
In flesh, in blood, in bone.
Our blood contracts and beats a pulse
Entirely not our own.
Dear ancestor, the place you filled
One hundred years ago
Spreads out among the ones you left
Who would have loved you so.
I wonder if you lived and loved.
I wonder if you knew
That someday I would find this spot,
And come to visit you.
Image: goldenhummingbird.com
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