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"Neanderthal" Thinking in Texas

It is beyond head-scratching that Texas announced the end of a mask mandate yesterday and lifted coronavirus restrictions statewide.

America (and even Texas) are not at a safe place. Yes, the numbers are decreasing, but that could change in an instant. Such as by people not wearing masks and congregating outside their personal bubbles.

President Biden today called Texas' move "neanderthal". I agree.

Biden says follow the science. But the goverment is also supportive of expanding in person dining, allowing concerts, and greater capacity at public events. It feels like we are being dressed by two different mothers. [More...]

As for me, I'm staying as isolated as possible. It's been ten days since my second vaccine (and happily I had no reaction to either) but I'm not going anywhere other the grocery store every ten days and my hair salon which is at 25% capacity once a month.

No one knows if the vaccines offer protection from the new variants. (Some experts say they do, just not as much). No one knows how many people have gotten sick with the new variants. Not every positive test is screened for variants. No one knows if people who already had coronavirus can still contract a variant. How many jail admittees in the past month have tested positive for a variant of the virus? Are they even testing for that?

The CDC says cases are on the rise.

My advice (stricter than that presently called for): Wear a clean mask every day; wash your hands every time you touch something some else might have recently touched. Don't attend public events. Cook and eat your own food; Stay home unless you have to go out to work or see the doctor or get groceries. And as always, don't follow leaders and watch your parking meters.

If we keep reopening at the ridiculous rates currently proposed by most states, we will just play yo-yo with the virus forever. Some weeks up, some weeks down, but we will never be free of it. Anyone expecting life to resume to the way it was in 2019 needs to re-adjust their thinking: It's not going to happen in the U.S. unless we do what other countries who have almost eliminated it have done: Close up shop entirely and stay home until enough people have immunity.

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  • Display: Sort:
    There are many residents of these states who agree (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 04, 2021 at 07:54:39 AM EST
    I feel bad for business owners.  At least the ones who want to do the right thing.  They are put in the position of confronting these morons if they want masks in their place of business.

    It's a terrible thing to do to people.  

    I'm constantly amazed by the number of people refusing the vaccine.  If you will pardon my blunt assessment of the one upside, some of them will die.  Works for me.  I've really come to hate these idiots over the last year.  No sympathy.  Zip.

    I finally got a shot scheduled.  Mar 9th.

    Mine is scheduled (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by Zorba on Thu Mar 04, 2021 at 08:33:28 AM EST
    For this Saturday.
    As for the COVID antivaxxers, I have run out of sympathy for them, as well.
    My sympathy for is the people who cannot, for legitimate medical reasons, get this vaccine.  Those people on chemotherapy, on immunosuppressive drugs because of organ transplants, etc.  They are very vulnerable, and dependent upon the rest of us receiving the vaccines.

    Parent
    A possible side effect of the Covid (5.00 / 1) (#14)
    by KeysDan on Thu Mar 04, 2021 at 01:21:43 PM EST
    vaccine is swollen lymph nodes under the arm--lymph nodes are a part of the immune system and are a potential side effect of any vaccine (although the size of the swelling seems to be larger with the Covid vaccines).

    A swollen lymph node may appear a few days after the injection on the same side of the body as the side the shot is given.  The swollen nodes will subside in a few days to a few weeks.

    The worry is the overlap of this side effect with breast cancer moving outside the breast tissue. The lymph nodes under the arms are a natural drainage pattern of lymph fluid inside breast tissue.

    The swollen nodes may cause concern and alarm in breast cancer patients resulting in radiologists to take histories of recent vaccinations. And, to schedule mammograms before the first dose or four to six weeks later. The vaccine can also be injected into the thigh to avoid concerns for cancer patients.

    Parent

    Yes, thank you (none / 0) (#17)
    by Zorba on Thu Mar 04, 2021 at 02:15:41 PM EST
    KeysDan.  One of our friends had also alerted us about this.
    And when I called to schedule my annual mammogram, they said they are scheduling it four weeks after my second (planned) COVID vaccine, before I even said anything.

    Parent
    I got my second shot of Pfizer Saturday (5.00 / 1) (#18)
    by MO Blue on Thu Mar 04, 2021 at 02:47:04 PM EST
    I was more fatigued Saturday night .That was the only possible side effect I experienced. My arm was sorer after my first shot than my second.

    Most of my friends (70+ women) have not experienced any serious side effects but my grandson was sick the day after his second shot.

    Hope you are free from any side effects.

    Parent

    Got (5.00 / 2) (#59)
    by FlJoe on Tue Mar 09, 2021 at 05:39:53 AM EST
    my second Moderna shot yesterday. Arm is a little less sore, but have some very mild chills, fever and body aches. Mentally I feel liberated.

    Parent
    I'm scheduled to receive my 2nd shot ... (none / 0) (#21)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Mar 05, 2021 at 02:23:22 PM EST
    ... of the Moderna vaccine on March 17. The side effects I had from the first shot was like yours, a sore arm. But what was weird about it was the fact that the reaction was so belated.

    I received the shot at 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 17, and I barely felt the needle going into my upper left arm. So I worked all day, with no problems. But by about 5:00 p.m. that afternoon, I began to feel a dull ache in my left shoulder.

    And by the time I was getting ready for bed later that night, my whole left arm was experiencing that same dull but still quite pronounced ache; it was enough that I took some aspirin so I could sleep.

    The next day, my arm felt like I had pulled a muscle, as though I had been lifting weights and had really overdone the biceps curls and triceps extensions. But by early afternoon, all that achiness had pretty much subsided and I was fine.

    It was certainly nothing life-threatening, for sure. But still, despite having read all the warnings, I wasn't expecting to feel what was admittedly a rather significant level of discomfort (not pain), never mind that the symptoms only first commenced about nine hours after the injection itself.

    The injection site wasn't bruised in the slightest, so I figured that it was just the surrounding muscle tissue reacting to the potency of the vaccine itself.

    Has anyone else had that experience?

    Parent

    A friend of mine (none / 0) (#23)
    by MO Blue on Fri Mar 05, 2021 at 03:08:50 PM EST
    experienced a lump in her arm a couple of days after receiving her 1st shot. Her doctor said it was related to her lymph nodes. It went away after a couple of days. It is evident that this virus has a mind of its own and randomly decides how to treat each recipient.

    I confirmed that they administer the shot using a very small needle which is why I barely felt the shot.

    Parent

    I (none / 0) (#24)
    by FlJoe on Fri Mar 05, 2021 at 03:23:06 PM EST
    had the same ~8 hour delay before my achiness started and it lasted about 3 days, a bit less than sprained muscle pain, more like the aftermath of a muscle cramp or charlie horse.

    Parent
    Mine was even stranger. (none / 0) (#25)
    by Peter G on Fri Mar 05, 2021 at 06:29:43 PM EST
    First shot (Pfizer-BioNTech) Monday, hardly felt it. No side effects  until Thursday night when there was a bit of stiffness and ache in that arm. Today, all clear again. Second shot set for 3/29.

    Parent
    Yes (none / 0) (#5)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 04, 2021 at 08:41:56 AM EST
    But most of those people are going to be vaccinated.  This is a very effective vaccine.  It won't be long until the only ones they are putting in danger is themselves. I say go for it.  Freedumb is not free.

    My friend who retired from a nursing home here told me yesterday 10 of 12 nurses there refused the vaccine.  nurses

    By the way,  every resident in that facility except one got covid.  Many died.

    Because you know, mind yer sole

    Idaho state Rep. Karey Hanks (R) said she has "done some research" and concluded that face masks can cause injuries to "even our souls," KTVB reports.



    Parent
    My oldest grandson works in healthcare (5.00 / 0) (#6)
    by MO Blue on Thu Mar 04, 2021 at 09:05:23 AM EST
    He says about 40% of people in healthcare are refusing to be vaccinated. The reluctance is not just with people of color.

    Parent
    Amazing (none / 0) (#7)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 04, 2021 at 09:08:19 AM EST
    Just amazing.  The people I personally know in this field are the first to tell you to get a shot and why.

    Hard to imagine.  

    Parent

    I know one healthcare worker (none / 0) (#10)
    by MO Blue on Thu Mar 04, 2021 at 09:17:10 AM EST
    who is refusing the shot. She does not trust the new technology used in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. She has said she might be open to getting the J&J vaccination. She is rather a strange bird and a Republican who believes Antifa was involved with the invasion of the capital.

    Parent
    We have a veterans' home here in Hilo ... (none / 0) (#28)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Mar 06, 2021 at 02:00:27 PM EST
    ... where the COVID infection level in both residents and staff was an astonishing 93 percent. Tragically, 41 people (39 residents and 2 staff members) died as a result of that mass outbreak in mid-October. It accounts for 80 percent of all the Big Island's COVID fatalities, and remains our state's biggest COVID-cluster casualty event.

    But the immediately adjacent Hilo Medical Center, which is literally less than 100 yards away (and only a mile from our house), had no such issues whatsoever, which led me to conclude last fall that the veterans' home fiasco was likely an otherwise-avoidable result of institutional sloppiness, i.e., a lackadaisical adherence by staff and residents alike to COVID-related hygiene and safety protocols.

    We'll know for certain soon enough; both the CDC and OSHA are only now investigating what happened there, after having been initially prevented from doing so by the Trump administration. (And may that evil Blond Creamsicle burn forever in Hell for the needless pain, suffering and damage he willfully and maliciously inflicted upon our country during this pandemic.) The initial reports are scheduled for release in about three weeks.

    Hawaii has only had 28,000+ COVID cases thus far with 443 dead, which is the lowest infection rate per capita in the country. (By comparison, South Dakota - which is just over half our size, population-wise, with no major urban areas to speak of - has had 113,000+ cases and 1,900 fatalities.) That's because we shut everything down very early in the pandemic last March and used the Pacific Ocean and geography to our advantage, which proved to be a pretty effective barrier to possible vectors of transmission from elsewhere.

    I think when future historians analyze what happened in the United States in 2020-21, they will likely conclude that overall general quality of political leadership was a decisive factor in the success or failure of a given locality's response to the pandemic, and its subsequent ability and capacity to manage and mitigate the resultant impact. And in that regard, my heart goes out to those of you who live in states where ideology and personality ultimately trumped science and common sense.

    Stay safe.

    Parent

    Very glad to hear (none / 0) (#2)
    by Peter G on Thu Mar 04, 2021 at 08:17:33 AM EST
    that you got your first vaccine appointment.

    Parent
    U &me both (none / 0) (#3)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 04, 2021 at 08:22:54 AM EST
    I was surprised how much better I felt when i got it scheduled.

    I've said before I was not panicked to get a shot and I wasn't but I'm feeling much better about the summer now.

    Also if I'm honest the unevenness of the distribution was starting to pi$$ me off a little.

    Parent

    Not so head-scratching (5.00 / 2) (#12)
    by smott on Thu Mar 04, 2021 at 09:33:22 AM EST
    Abbott took the press focus off his incompetence w the power grid. Smart move.


    Absolutely true (5.00 / 1) (#26)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Mar 06, 2021 at 08:30:23 AM EST
    thanks for that! (5.00 / 2) (#27)
    by leap on Sat Mar 06, 2021 at 10:35:02 AM EST
    Can you imagine putting together that twitter thread? Actually, the original thread is even better because some of the commenters linked to cartoons that weren't included, such as this Mel Blanc tour de force. Holy moly.

    Parent
    Gilligan's Island (5.00 / 1) (#29)
    by MKS on Sat Mar 06, 2021 at 03:52:29 PM EST
    One episode was Hamlet as musical.  A classic--the Gilligan's Island episode. That was my introduction to Shakespeare.  

    Parent
    I guess I missed the boat again.. (5.00 / 1) (#39)
    by desertswine on Sun Mar 07, 2021 at 10:46:36 PM EST
    Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott and her 53 billion dollars, the 22nd richest person in the world by way of her previous marriage to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has remarried.

    Dang. I had plans for that money.

    I get my first shot (5.00 / 4) (#51)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Mar 08, 2021 at 03:06:26 PM EST
    Tomorrow at 6:30 am

    Go Deb... (5.00 / 1) (#78)
    by desertswine on Thu Mar 11, 2021 at 09:18:29 PM EST
    Senate Confirms Progressive Climate and Native Champion Deb Haaland to Interior.

    Source: truthout

    The Senate confirmed President Joe Biden's pick for the secretary of the interior, Rep. Deb Haaland (D-New Mexico) on Thursday with all Democrats and four Republicans voting to advance her confirmation, which will be on Monday.

    Haaland, the first Indigenous person to be appointed to that position, has been celebrated by progressives as "a big deal."

    Dolly Parson's vaccination is a true classic (none / 0) (#8)
    by MO Blue on Thu Mar 04, 2021 at 09:09:18 AM EST
    Dolly is a Goddess (5.00 / 3) (#9)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 04, 2021 at 09:15:14 AM EST
    The best was when she sang "Vaccine" to the tune of Jolene

    Not a note out of place and a joy to hear while just sitting in a chair waiting for a shot.

    The "shot ready" dress was pretty cool too.

    Parent

    Totally agree (5.00 / 1) (#11)
    by MO Blue on Thu Mar 04, 2021 at 09:23:17 AM EST
    Her singing cappella highlighted the quality of her singing. She has maintained that quality even now.

    Parent
    In a previous thread (none / 0) (#13)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 04, 2021 at 11:16:58 AM EST
    I mentioned a freaky looking spike in new cases in this state in the last week.  

    It looks like it was real.   John King just said two states, AR and Mississippi, had infections higher than 50% from the previous week.

    This thing with the governors is bad.  Lots of a-holes were just enabled.

    I did a massive shopping spree yesterday.  I'm not leaving my house except for drive thru till I get shots.

    Relax (none / 0) (#15)
    by FlJoe on Thu Mar 04, 2021 at 01:46:50 PM EST
    As I suspected, it was a one day data dump  
    A data clean-up is reflected in today's reports. Some deaths have been reclassified and duplicates were removed. 288 new cases are added today. The remaining 2,932 additional cases occurred prior to February 14, 2021.
     that made the rolling average look scary.

    Parent
    Thank you (none / 0) (#16)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 04, 2021 at 01:49:05 PM EST
    I think I will still stay home.

    Parent
    There was a big earthquake today near New Zealand.

    Hawaii potentially could get hit by a tsunami today at around 4:30 pm HST.

    Tsunami watch cancelled for HI. (none / 0) (#20)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Mar 04, 2021 at 07:54:22 PM EST
    That was just in time for ... (none / 0) (#22)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Mar 05, 2021 at 02:34:54 PM EST
    ... the 37th anniversary of the beginning of Mauna Loa's last eruption on March 5, 1984. One lava flow from that event reached within five miles of Hilo's western outskirts. If we're not looking to the ocean in front of us, we're staring back at the big mountain behind us.

    Parent
    Myers-Briggs Personality Test (none / 0) (#30)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Mar 06, 2021 at 05:28:27 PM EST
    You might remember a convo we had some time ago about this test that breaks down personalities into 15 Jungian types.

    site

    I'm an INTJ, I think.

    It's a fascinating thing.  Answer the questions and it will nail you.  

    A doc just dropped on HBOMAX about the dark side of this called PERSONA.

    and how it's being used my corporations to screen people in possibly illegal ways.

    It's very interesting.  The story of how the test came to be and who invented it is great.   The point of the doc is never that it doesn't work.  If anything the point is it works to well.

    I subscribe to the Shopping Cart Theory. (5.00 / 1) (#31)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sun Mar 07, 2021 at 03:20:25 PM EST
    In many respects, what people do with a shopping cart when they're through using it can often be entirely revelatory regarding their general personality and behavior toward others.

    The shopping cart does not belong to us but rather, is provided by the store for our personal convenience while patronizing that establishment.

    To wheel a shopping cart to its designated place of return in a parking lot before we leave is an easily accomplished task, and one which most everyone would agree is the right and appropriate thing to do.

    Further, most everyone would also agree that there is really no legitimate reason or situation, other than a dire and immediate emergency, which would otherwise preclude any of us from returning that cart.

    That said, there is also no reward to be gained for returning the shopping cart. Nor is it illegal to simply leave the shopping cart in the empty parking space next to your vehicle or behind another parked car, prior to getting into your own vehicle and exiting the premises. At most, there is merely a sign asking that you please be courteous and return the cart to its designated collection point when you're done with it.

    Therefore, what you do with that shopping cart can serve as a window to your soul and humanity, because your actions will generally demonstrate whether or not you will do the right thing without specifically being prompted or coerced to do so.

    After all, no one will punish you for leaving the cart in the middle of the parking lot, nor will anybody hail or praise you for returning it. You must do so out of the goodness of your heart, because you know it is the right thing to do even when nobody else is watching.

    I could make a good case that the person who simply abandons the cart on the spot, at the point when it's no longer of any use to him or her, is really no better than an animal. One could further imply that this person is an absolute savage who can only be compelled to do what's right by force of law and threat of consequences.

    So, what someone does with that ubiquitous shopping cart at the grocery store or big box retail establishment can show us who's generally a good and decent person in our society, and who's so self-absorbed and thoughtless that they're the one most likely to suck all the air out of the room at parties, public events and family gatherings.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    I'm guessing (none / 0) (#35)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Mar 07, 2021 at 05:30:14 PM EST
    you recently had to move a shopping cart to park.

    I hate that too.

    Parent

    Not really. (none / 0) (#64)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Wed Mar 10, 2021 at 05:08:37 AM EST
    But last year, pre-pandemic, somebody let one roll into my car, which caused $700 worth of damage to the passenger-side door. Now, I didn't think it was $700 worth of damage, but the guy at the auto body shop begged to differ.

    Parent
    Take the (5.00 / 3) (#36)
    by Zorba on Sun Mar 07, 2021 at 08:09:13 PM EST
    Myers-Briggs results with a huge grain of salt.
    Way back when I was getting my undergraduate degree in psychology, we studied about this.
    The statistics about its reliability are not great.  People who have taken this test a second time after a few weeks often get different results.  And the test should absolutely not be used for employment or job promotion purposes.

    Parent
    I wouldn't think it means a whole lot. (5.00 / 1) (#38)
    by leap on Sun Mar 07, 2021 at 08:46:49 PM EST
    It's a self-reported test, and I bet most people don't really know themselves very well. I could see how one's answers could change from week to week, month to month. It's disturbing that this kind of BS is used for hiring people.

    Parent
    It doesn't (none / 0) (#44)
    by Zorba on Mon Mar 08, 2021 at 01:32:02 PM EST
    Mean a whole lot, leap.

    Parent
    It is being used (none / 0) (#37)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Mar 07, 2021 at 08:33:16 PM EST
    by everyone from the military to every major Corp and everything in between.

    That's the point.

    I was not aware how widely it is used.

    Parent

    Oh my dear (none / 0) (#40)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Mar 08, 2021 at 04:12:05 AM EST
    They are using assessments much more revealing than Myers-Briggs. When they were designing the Army Future Command another Warrant who was a fellow attempted to get my husband to take his assessment, and my husband wouldn't do it.

    It was odd that they were both fellows there. They had known each other for years, competed for some of the same senior slots. And my husband wouldn't take his assessment LOL, it would his competitor too much information.

    Parent

    I honestly had not thought a lot (none / 0) (#32)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Mar 07, 2021 at 04:25:30 PM EST
    About the potential for abuse.

    Our LLC uses types of assessments

    I will watch the doc, you are the same Meyers-Briggs as my husband. Aren't you two one of the rarer ones? I can't believe you are an I, but I don't really see his I either until we are out and about and he hits exhaustion and needs home.

    Parent

    Yeah (none / 0) (#33)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Mar 07, 2021 at 05:00:51 PM EST
    Me either.  It's pretty good. At time it gets a tiny bit hysterical IMO.

    But they make some entirely valid points.  Also while I did know it was invented by two women, a mother and daughter,  there was a lot more stuff here including the racist sexist stuff that I did not know.

    One interesting character is a Asian person.  I honestly don't know the gender of the person but they make some of the clearest arguments and also some borderline hysterical ones.

    There is a line that person has between talking about how bad it is.  The paraphrase is, "while a personality test might be of some value to a person on a quest of self discovery it's wrong to use them against people"

    I pretty much agree with that.

    Parent

    One of the major points is (none / 0) (#34)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Mar 07, 2021 at 05:02:50 PM EST
    nearly everyone uses them in the application process.  And adapting it for this purpose is a very big business.

    Parent
    Yes yes (5.00 / 1) (#42)
    by jondee on Mon Mar 08, 2021 at 11:44:57 AM EST
    And very soon another industry will spring up in which other 'experts' give seminars to prepare people to get the most career-advancing result possible in the Myers Briggs test - like preparing for the SAT.

    Parent
    We studied this (none / 0) (#43)
    by Zorba on Mon Mar 08, 2021 at 01:30:43 PM EST
    Test when I was in college.  I could probably give a seminar on how to skew your answers to please the prospective employer.
    I am just not in favor of this test.  For anything.

    Parent
    Think it might have been refined (5.00 / 1) (#46)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Mar 08, 2021 at 02:12:11 PM EST
    since then?

    Pretty much anyone could look at these questions and figure out what an employer wants to hear.  That's kind of the point of the doc.

    This is fine except for people who are challenged in some way.  Whether on the spectrum or dealing with some other set of mental or social problems.   People who are not able to predict what they want to hear.  These people are being weeded out.  The entire point is how this is at least unfair and possibly illegal.

    As far as the worth or validity of the test I think you can assume that virtually every corporation large and small are using these tests because they do what they are expected to do.  We can discuss if that good or bad but but giant corporations don't generally spend this much money and time on things that don't work as they expect.

    Parent

    Weeding them out by the way (none / 0) (#48)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Mar 08, 2021 at 02:17:08 PM EST
    is exactly what it is supposed to do.

    Parent
    Which cripples innovation (5.00 / 1) (#50)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Mar 08, 2021 at 03:06:14 PM EST
    Employer working with us does not see assessments with names on them. You don't put your name on ours ♥️, because we are hired to address the work culture. And the bedrock of successful innovative work spaces and teams and accomplishments is work relationships and trust.

    I don't see how in the end weeding assessments lead to greatness, just toxicity because you start your relationship with your employees by first dehumanizing them.


    Parent

    Not only that (5.00 / 1) (#52)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Mar 08, 2021 at 03:12:51 PM EST
    you are likely weeding out some brilliant people.  Which again was the point.

    I hate this development in HR.  and it started before, probably well before, I left the workplace.   I hated the idea my resume was being culled by a computer program.  AI has gotten much better at it.

    The bottom line is it's creating an unemployable class of people.  Ever see GATTACA?  Hard to watch this and not think of Gattaca

    Parent

    Absolutely!!!! (none / 0) (#53)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Mar 08, 2021 at 03:20:00 PM EST
    My husband loves Gattaca, you guys a couple of Gattaca geeks.

    Parent
    And HR hates us (none / 0) (#54)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Mar 08, 2021 at 03:23:16 PM EST
    They watch everything we do like we are going to steal the pens. I don't understand what happened to HR in the 20+ yrs since I last held a real job.

    Parent
    When it was happening to me (5.00 / 1) (#55)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Mar 08, 2021 at 03:28:25 PM EST
    IMO it was largely one number.  Age.  It's gotten a lot more complicated.

    But the idea I could be culled like a dead letter at the PO, boom, really burned me.  I can only imagine the hopelessness of encountering this same effect in your 20s.

    Parent

    Yep (5.00 / 1) (#57)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Mar 08, 2021 at 05:00:56 PM EST
    figuring out how to get your resume to a real person is an actual marketplace skill these days. A friend of mine is always trying to figure out the keywords that will get your resume removed immediately and the words that will get your resume to a living person.

    I am glad I am at the end of my working career because it was bad enough back in the 80's when they did all this. I can't imagine how bad it is these days.

    Parent

    I can't even believe (none / 0) (#58)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Mar 08, 2021 at 05:54:45 PM EST
    We have a client in this economy

    Parent
    My God (none / 0) (#56)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Mar 08, 2021 at 03:29:25 PM EST
    I am so sorry

    Parent
    Myers-Briggs is a simple assessment (none / 0) (#45)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Mar 08, 2021 at 02:04:59 PM EST
    I have not watched the documentary yet, but the assessments I have seen being pushed out there right now and being used by folks like McKinsey are extensive and reveal much more than Jungian archetypes. They are testing for very specific behaviors.

    Parent
    You should see it (5.00 / 1) (#47)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Mar 08, 2021 at 02:12:54 PM EST
    See above.

    Parent
    Interesting (none / 0) (#41)
    by MO Blue on Mon Mar 08, 2021 at 10:18:18 AM EST
    Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), a member of GOP leadership, announced on Monday that he won't run for reelection in 2022 -- marking the latest high-profile retirement for Senate Republicans.

    Not sure if this a good thing or if MO will get a Hawley or Anon clone in his place..

    It's good (5.00 / 1) (#49)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Mar 08, 2021 at 02:22:17 PM EST
    every republican retirement is good.  There will be more.

    Parent
    AP (none / 0) (#60)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Mar 09, 2021 at 07:47:11 AM EST
    "This is not the way Republicans wanted to begin the year," the AP reports.

    "Missouri's Roy Blunt on Monday became the fifth Republican senator to announce he will not seek reelection, a retirement wave that portends an ugly campaign season next year and gives Democrats fresh hope in preserving their razor-thin Senate majority."

    Key worry: "Their departures will leave a void likely to be filled by a new generation of Republicans more willing to embrace Trumpism -- or by Democrats."

    That 5 does not include Grassley or Johnson who are both considering leaving publicly.

    Parent

    My key worry (5.00 / 1) (#61)
    by MO Blue on Tue Mar 09, 2021 at 10:06:59 AM EST
    Missouri has become more insane in the last decade. Trump is sucking up a lot of the campaign money and he will back candidates like Hawley, Greene and Tubberville.

    Not sure that there is any hope for MO in the near future. The possible best outcome of so many Republican retirements is that they may need to spend more money to defend those seats and less money to defeat Democrats that are up for re-election.

    Parent

    Another way to look at this (none / 0) (#62)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Mar 09, 2021 at 01:04:41 PM EST
    might be that Blunt, Portman, Toomey, Shelby and Burr are all senators that might vote for an infrastructure bill.  Especially if they don't care about reelection.

    Parent
    You know (none / 0) (#63)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Mar 09, 2021 at 02:16:42 PM EST
    it's hard to say. A year ago I would have told you that two D senators from GA was unlikely or even impossible. I'm sure you know MO better than I but it could be like here in GA where the GOP primary gets so nasty that plenty of them just sit home.

    Parent
    The Devil is for voting rights (none / 0) (#65)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 10, 2021 at 08:45:08 AM EST
    I personally find this a comforting thought.

    Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee said Wednesday that Democrats are seeking long-term power by pushing their H.R.1 voting bill, legislation he says was "written in hell by the Devil himself."



    The (none / 0) (#66)
    by FlJoe on Wed Mar 10, 2021 at 08:56:26 AM EST
    devil went down to Georgia, looking for a vote to steal...

    Parent
    Imagine that (none / 0) (#67)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 10, 2021 at 10:24:31 AM EST
    "We had tremendous efforts in terms of the ground game. We had about 1,000 people on the ground, thousands more volunteers, and we worked every single day. But what we saw on the other side of the ballot was even more. They had thousands more staffers, thousands more volunteers."

    -Former Senator Kelly Loefller (R-GA), quoted by WABE, on why she's funding a group to mobilize Republican voters in Georgia.

    No idea what the context of this is or if she went on to talk about a stolen election but if not this is a surprising thing to hear from a defeated republican in 2021.

     

    Parent

    She did not have (none / 0) (#69)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Mar 10, 2021 at 02:26:26 PM EST
    a ground game. None of her people came to my neighborhood. Nary a Republican came to my neighborhood regarding the runoff. Plenty came for the presidential election. I did have Ossoff and Warnock campaigners come. So while she may have been outnumbered it wasn't like she had a good ground game at all.

    Parent
    ... where all the wingbats would go to watch Fox News and listen to Radio Crackpot. I kid you not, that's often the GOP's idea of a "ground game." They set up shop and then expect the voters to come to them.

    Parent
    Be best participation trophy (none / 0) (#68)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 10, 2021 at 02:19:29 PM EST

    "I'm not saying every woman can be the epic -- the epic - trophy wife of all time like Melania Trump. Most women can't be trophy wives, but you know... maybe you're a participation trophy."

    Pastor Stewart-Allen Clark
    on leave from his church and seeking professional counseling after giving a sermon that chastised married women who `let themselves go'

    link

    Did you see (none / 0) (#70)
    by Zorba on Wed Mar 10, 2021 at 02:30:04 PM EST
    A picture of him?  It's not like he's some kind of hunk.  He could use a diet and some exercise, himself.
    Not exactly a trophy husband.

    Parent
    Who? (none / 0) (#71)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 10, 2021 at 03:05:10 PM EST
    me?

    I think it only qualifies as a trophy wife if the husband looks like him, right?

    A former college professor of mine who married one of my college classmates sometimes referred to her as his "intellectual trophy wife".

    Which was actually funny, even to her, because she was not what would generally be described as a great beauty.  But she was very smart and a very talented artist.

    Parent

    More a chunk (none / 0) (#72)
    by MO Blue on Wed Mar 10, 2021 at 03:16:55 PM EST
    than a hunk.

    Kinda pillsbury dough boy.

    Parent

    Texas Governor Matthew McConaughey (none / 0) (#73)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 10, 2021 at 05:58:58 PM EST
    Actor Matthew McConaughey told The Balanced Voice podcast that a long-rumored run for Texas governor is "a true consideration."



    Is he going to (none / 0) (#74)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Mar 10, 2021 at 06:43:24 PM EST
    be challenging Greg Abbott in the GOP primary? I really do not know his political affiliation though but it seems lately the GOP has been on him like white on rice.

    Parent
    No idea till I looked (none / 0) (#75)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 10, 2021 at 06:49:19 PM EST
    Is it weird (none / 0) (#76)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Mar 11, 2021 at 04:39:05 PM EST
    yes (none / 0) (#77)
    by leap on Thu Mar 11, 2021 at 08:01:52 PM EST
    n/t

    Parent
    Btw my new progressive glasses don't work, (none / 0) (#79)
    by fishcamp on Thu Mar 11, 2021 at 09:41:15 PM EST
    and the cortisone shot I got today, and  get every three months isn't working anymore either.  Hope I don't get a bad haircut at my appointment tomorrow.

    Parent
    Not sure I know what you mean by saying (none / 0) (#80)
    by Peter G on Thu Mar 11, 2021 at 10:12:17 PM EST
    the glasses "don't work," but I do recall that when I got mine, many years ago, it took a few days of practice to learn to make the small adjustments of head angle that were needed to take advantage of them. But once I got it, they were a major game-changer.

    Parent
    Agreed (none / 0) (#83)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Mar 12, 2021 at 07:33:49 AM EST
    Been wearing them fir decades

    Parent
    When I first got my progressive glasses (none / 0) (#81)
    by desertswine on Thu Mar 11, 2021 at 10:38:44 PM EST
    every time I looked down at my feet, it looked like I was floating.  It took a bit to get used to them.

    Parent
    Gave up on them (none / 0) (#82)
    by jmacWA on Fri Mar 12, 2021 at 05:01:08 AM EST
    because to see my entire screen I had to swivel my head from side to side... Had a pair of glasses made for 22" which is the distance from my computer to my eyes, and have distance glasses for driving

    Parent
    Good idea. (none / 0) (#84)
    by fishcamp on Fri Mar 12, 2021 at 08:23:13 AM EST
    When I said the new glasses don't work, that's exactly what I meant.  I know I'm not in tune with the head shifts of the three different versions for long, mid and closeup.  However they just don't seem right for computer work.  They have eliminated the slight double vision for that area which is good, but the focus isn't right since I can see the computer better without them.  The mid vision is very good for ball scores on TV when my eyes are tired.  My distance vision is better, but it was always good enough.  I can see boats more clearly offshore.  I equate distance vision with binoculars and long camera lenses.  

    Parent
    I don't wear bifocals (none / 0) (#85)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Mar 12, 2021 at 10:24:19 AM EST
    I used to wear trifocals when I worked, when I do yard work or house work.  Or pretty much anything that involves seeing the ground.

    But Im constantly looking at both the tv which is as much as 20 feet away and my tablet and/or a book. Bifocals required.

    Parent

    Seems (none / 0) (#86)
    by jmacWA on Fri Mar 12, 2021 at 03:02:35 PM EST
    like we had the exact same issues Fish.  I am very happy with my 'computer' glasses.  Generally I only where them looking at the computer... occasionally I will go to the computer with my regular distance glasses on and cannot see it at all, but if I go from my computer to say watch TV, they work good enough that it generally takes me 15 mins or so before I realize I should switch.

    Parent
    Check your account (none / 0) (#87)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Mar 13, 2021 at 06:50:41 AM EST
    My 1400 arrived this morning.  

    Pending until next wed but it's there.

    Did you file your (none / 0) (#88)
    by MO Blue on Sat Mar 13, 2021 at 08:20:30 AM EST
    2020 tax?

    Parent
    My friend got it today (5.00 / 2) (#96)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Mar 13, 2021 at 02:32:39 PM EST
    Who did not file taxes yet for this year.

    Parent
    Checked Get My Paymeny Tool (none / 0) (#99)
    by MO Blue on Mon Mar 15, 2021 at 08:44:44 AM EST
    They will deposit it to my bank account on Wednesday.

    HuffPost noted that the banks said in individual statements last week that they will not be processing and releasing the payments until March 17.

    The article references Wells Fargo and Chase but evidently BofA is playing the same game of using the float on our checks for their advantage.

    Parent

    I received a notice saying the same (none / 0) (#101)
    by Peter G on Mon Mar 15, 2021 at 07:09:38 PM EST
    from Santander Bank. Happy St. Patrick's Day.

    Parent
    Green is the correct (none / 0) (#102)
    by MO Blue on Mon Mar 15, 2021 at 10:23:31 PM EST
    color for St. Patrick's Day. 😉

    Parent
    And sure enough, this morning (none / 0) (#105)
    by Peter G on Wed Mar 17, 2021 at 08:19:25 AM EST
    there is a deposit from the Treasury of $2800 in our personal checking account.

    Parent
    Top 'o the morning.... (5.00 / 4) (#107)
    by desertswine on Wed Mar 17, 2021 at 11:11:01 AM EST
    Not only did I get my Uncle Joe money this morning, but I got my first Covid shot as well.

    It pays to be Irish one day a year!

    Parent

    No money, (none / 0) (#108)
    by KeysDan on Wed Mar 17, 2021 at 12:22:58 PM EST
    but enjoying, too, St. Patrick's Day.

    Parent
    I did (none / 0) (#90)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Mar 13, 2021 at 08:54:50 AM EST
    That might make (none / 0) (#92)
    by MO Blue on Sat Mar 13, 2021 at 09:01:10 AM EST
    a difference and put you first in line. I haven't filed 2020 yet. No deposit in my account today. Will look at Get My Payment tool on Monday.

    Parent
    If you have not yet gotten (none / 0) (#93)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Mar 13, 2021 at 09:07:30 AM EST
    The second check you have to file your taxes to get it.  No more are being sent out.

    When I learned that I filed my taxes the day I got the documents.  The 600 came a week or so later.

    Parent

    I got the second check (none / 0) (#95)
    by MO Blue on Sat Mar 13, 2021 at 09:57:04 AM EST
    just fine. I had to take some additional steps to get the first check since I hadn't filed my 2019 taxes when it was first sent. I was scheduled to have AARP do my taxes but they canceled that service due to COVID just days before my appointment. Once I completed online info with the IRS, I got my first check DD and my second one was DD right away as well. Of course, by then I had filed my 2019 taxes.

     Nothing is pending at the moment.

    Parent

    By the way (none / 0) (#94)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Mar 13, 2021 at 09:11:42 AM EST
    Don't just check the balance.  Mine does not show in the balance yet.

    It is pending till next week.

    Parent

    Probably for that very reason (none / 0) (#89)
    by fishcamp on Sat Mar 13, 2021 at 08:22:43 AM EST
    I can't get online to my bank to check.  It's a small bank with a not very good website.  Mail down here takes a couple of days longer, but the bank is electronic.  My last check came in the mail, but the first one was direct deposit, so who knows.  Good to know you received your check Howdy.

    Parent
    I also got the first one DD (none / 0) (#91)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Mar 13, 2021 at 08:56:21 AM EST
    And I got it , like, the first day.  Like this.

    I think the 2nd checks were screwed up because Trump had to put his name on them.

    Parent

    In other Neanderthal happenings, ... (none / 0) (#98)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Mar 15, 2021 at 01:00:40 AM EST
    ... the good news for California's beleaguered Republican Party is that having gathered 1.9 million signatures, their attempt to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom from office appears likely to qualify for the ballot. Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Falconer, who had been expected to declare his candidacy for governor in the regularly scheduled 2022 election, has already signed up as the GOP's primary standard-bearer for the recall.

    The bad news for California Republicans is that the recall election will probably be scheduled for late summer or early fall when the pandemic may be receding and things are likely to be returning to normal. Further, only 36% of state voters presently support the recall effort. It also appears that Trump might turn this into a proxy campaign, in a state where he won just 34% of a record-turnout vote in 2020.  

    And in perhaps the most ominous sign for Republicans, 52% of Orange County voters are opposed to the recall. Also, Gov. Newsom's 2022 reelection committee has more than $20 million cash on hand, and once the recall qualifies, state law allows him to open a separate recall election campaign account in which he could amass cash with no contribution limits.

    So, the CA GOP's efforts in targeting Gov. Newsom early hold rich potential to backfire spectacularly. If Newsom seizes the moment as an opportunity to demolish Falconer in this year's recall election, it will probably inoculate the former in next year's regular election by rendering the Republican's 2022 candidacy moot.

    Name a new Play, and he's the Poet's Friend,
    Nay show'd his Faults -- but when wou'd Poets mend?
    No Place so Sacred from such Fops is barr'd,
    Nor is Paul's Church more safe than Paul's Church-yard:
    Nay, fly to Altars; there they'll talk you dead;
    For Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread.
    -- Alexander Pope (1688-1744), An Essay on Criticism (1711)

    ;-D

    I lived in CA (none / 0) (#100)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Mar 15, 2021 at 08:59:26 AM EST
    for the last recall.  I remember watching the debate with Ariana, Arnold, the dwarf, the Nazi and whoever I forgot and thinking politics could never possibly get more stupid and embarrassing

    Pffft

    Parent

    CA residents got what they voted for in '03. (none / 0) (#103)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Tue Mar 16, 2021 at 09:46:38 PM EST
    Hopefully, they learned a lesson from that experience.
    It is irresponsible to convey to the public that government and public policy can be conducted by soundbite and bullet point.

    While Arnold Schwarzenegger probably meant well in seeking the governorship, subsequent performance proved that he was way over his head in Sacramento. He ended his tenure with the state's operating budget annually running nearly $27 billion in the red, with the balance of the shortfall being funded by bond issue.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    Holy (none / 0) (#104)
    by FlJoe on Wed Mar 17, 2021 at 06:04:03 AM EST
    crap, 135 candidates on the ballot!

    Parent
    Hide the wallet (none / 0) (#109)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 17, 2021 at 04:00:05 PM EST
    "Limitless money, a slew of candidates and undivided national attention are about to converge in a battle for California's future," Politico reports.

    "An effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom is highly likely to qualify after supporters submit their last signatures this week. The ensuing campaign will be a melee free from the constraints that inhibit other statewide contests in California. Donation caps don't apply. Hundreds of millions of dollars are likely to inundate the state as the full might of California's Democratic establishment vies with a concerted Republican effort to oust a humbled blue state leader."



    Parent
    I really hope it's historic spending (none / 0) (#110)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 17, 2021 at 04:00:49 PM EST
    and it fails.

    Parent
    This morning I was awakened (none / 0) (#106)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Mar 17, 2021 at 10:47:24 AM EST
    by marble sized hail on a metal roof.

    GOOD MORNING!

    SITE VIOLATOR (none / 0) (#112)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Mar 25, 2021 at 06:49:24 PM EST
    This troll must not know much about this site if he's shopping baby girl dresses.

    Thanks that person (none / 0) (#113)
    by Jeralyn on Thu Mar 25, 2021 at 08:47:51 PM EST
    posted 22 comments. I have no idea how s/he got through the filters

    Parent