Category: Life

Politics

Another Lockdown?

Karen

The thought of another lockdown makes me physically sick.

If you haven’t heard, France, Germany and I think Belgium is locking down for a 2nd time. It’s because the number of COVID cases has risen substantially. And hospital admissions have gone up.

Here’s the thing …

So what?

I don’t mean to sound callous, that is not my intention, but COVID is not going away. Neither is the common cold or the flu. It’s something we must live with and thankfully, thank GOD, contracting COVID doesn’t mean a death sentence for most people, in fact 99.9% of people fully recover.

But when the media reports on such-and-such number I think people automatically assume that means deaths. No. That means these people test positive for the illness, it doesn’t mean they have died or are going to die. The numbers are not great. But I’m betting the numbers for cancer, heart disease, pneumonia are not great, either. It’s another sickness that we must learn to adapt to and live with, unfortunately.

I get why these governments are locking down, especially if the hospitals are close to capacity, but instead of shutting everything down, how about we erect temporary units to house the overflow? Because hiding from this thing only prolongs the inevitable – IT’S. NOT. GOING. AWAY.

I even talked to a patient the other day who said he has had COVID twice. Apparently, there are six strands of COVID, so it’s possible to get this thing again. So logically, does it make sense to hide from six different monsters? Eventually, you’re going to be caught. And since it’s not as deadly, overall, as the “experts” first thought it was, how about we go about living our lives and allow this thing to burn off? Why must we disrupt people’s lives again?!

And I want to know who the hell is testing for COVID? It annoys me when I hear on the radio a call to action – “come to the fairgrounds and be tested for COVID – FOR FREE!” What? Why? Are you curious? If you feel sick, stay home. Why must anyone test for COVID? The only time I understand being tested for COVID is if you’re gearing up for surgery, or you’re sick and your doctor recommends it. Who are all of these people getting tested?? To me, it sounds like this: “Come on down and get tested for COVID! Our numbers are down and we must get them up so we can continue scaring the crap out of people and we need to keep this momentum going so that we can more easily control them.”

That’s what I hear whenever I hear announcements about “free” testing. I just don’t get people going to a drive-in testing spot to be tested. I’m not that curious, thanks.

I hope I’ve had it. I want to have had it so that I can go about my business. But unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.

It’s likely a matter of time before someone from our clinic gets COVID. Actually, that’s not true. We’ve already had a few people in my clinic come down with the virus. They stayed home and they are back to work.

As with any sickness, it sucks and no one wants to be down and out but being sick is part of being alive. I don’t understand our unwillingness to just treat COVID like we do the flu. Be careful. Wash your hands. Don’t touch your face when you’re out. Stay away from people who are hacking out a lung or sneezing. We should all be doing these things anyway. COVID is really not that special. Not now. And again, I’m grateful for that. But we need to stop thinking of COVID as a death sentence. It’s no more a death sentence than coming down with the flu. Here is what to look out for:

Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. People with these symptoms may have COVID-19:
Fever or chills
Cough
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
Fatigue
Muscle or body aches
Headache
New loss of taste or smell
Sore throat
Congestion or runny nose
Nausea or vomiting
Diarrhea
Look for emergency warning signs for COVID-19. If someone is showing any of these signs, seek emergency medical care immediately:
Trouble breathing
Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
New confusion
Inability to wake or stay awake
Bluish lips or face

Sound familiar?? That could literally apply to any other disease out there. Now, if it was common to bleed from your eyeballs or you were expected to die within 24 hours of contracting it, we would be having a vastly different conversation, but those are not the symptoms. We are destroying ourselves for THIS??

France has gotten so strict with this new lockdown that you must present a certificate of permission to leave your house.

Dude, what the hell?! Who wants to live like that?? Well actually, most of the French people don’t want to live like that, as a matter of fact. And they were so anxious to leave the city after the announcement that traffic was blocked and backed up for 400 miles. People were rushing around getting their haircut because hair dressers, once again, will be not allowed to operate. And the stores were ransacked because people once again went to the stores in a panic to buy toilet paper. Which sounds stupid on the surface but dude, if you have to have a certificate to present to the police, if stopped and questioned and you want to avoid jail time or a fine, I would be buying toilet paper, too, because who knows when you’ll have permission from the almighty government to go out and get more.

This is madness. I don’t know what else to call it. We have crossed over the threshold and are now living in the Twilight Zone.

And you can bet your bottom dollar if Biden wins, America will be implementing the same Draconian measures as the French have done.

If that doesn’t concern you then IT SHOULD.

Roman Catholic Archbishop Carlo Vigano wrote an open letter to President Trump where he warned of an initiative of the World Economic Forum that has emerged in reaction to COVID-19 for a “Great Reset” of capitalism and a “health dictatorship” to combat the virus, warning the plan threatens the sovereignty of nations and religious freedom.

“Vigano wrote a letter to Trump in May warning that the COVID-19 pandemic was being used to user in a “world government” stripping people of their freedoms. We see heads of nations and religious leaders pandering to this suicide of Western culture and its Christian soul, while the fundamental rights of citizens and believers are denied in the name of a health emergency that is revealing itself more and more fully as instrumental to the establishment of inhuman, faceless tyranny, Vigano wrote.” Source

In other words, Vigano is saying that government leaders, from all over the globe, are using this pandemic as an excuse to get rid of capitalism and to implement a world government. And they are continuing to use fear to manipulate people into submission. It’s sick and wrong and it frustrates me that we the people have been reduced to a rat running a maze waiting for the next buzzer to train us how to react and where to go.

It must stop.

I don’t know the political climate enough to give advice to France but here in America, we have to start putting our foot down. Stand up and say NO MORE. Stop allowing these power-hungry politicians to dictate our lives. COVID is not that bad – again THANK GOD – but we know enough about it now to learn to live with it and combat it if it happens to come knocking on our door. Hiding from it and living in fear does nothing but destroy us. And for what?? The virus remains and will continue to remain for quite some time.<

It’s not going away any time soon.

I don’t say that to frighten anyone but we have to face facts.

And Dr. Fauci says the first vaccine will not kill the virus, it will only prevent symptoms. Again, let’s be realistic about this. The flu vaccine? It doesn’t kill the virus, it simply tricks your body into thinking it’s already had it so if you’re exposed, the symptoms you experience will be minimal.

The same thing with COVID.

And by the way, I know Dr. Fauci is simply doing his job but I’m OVER his continued fear mongering. Give it a rest, Fauci.

The Daily Mail reports: US reports single-day record of 88,500 coronavirus cases with states like Illinois nad North Dakota reporting all-time highs – but one NYC hospital says death rate for severely ill has fallen by 70%.

Again, GOOD NEWS. And that 88,500 record number of cases are CASES, NOT DEATHS. I really think that is what people are seeing when they see headlines like that. And the death rate going down makes sense to me because we know more about the disease and we have medications for treatment.

Let’s take a breath and stop allowing the media to scare the bejeebus out of us.

And if you want to wear a mask, wear a mask. I don’t care. However, again, what’s the objective here?

Control.

Continue reading “Another Lockdown?” →

Politics

Judge Barrett’s Confirmation Hearing

Karen

I’ve been distracted lately….

Have you been watching the confirmation hearings?

If not, why not? I know it’s terribly time consuming. I watched the second day of hearings, (I’d like to make time to watch the first day), and it took me three days to get through it all – it was an eleven-hour YouTube video after all. And I know it’s terribly boring for a lot of people out there  – all of questions, exaggerations, speeches, pleas, disappointment and most of all, legalese that most people don’t understand – myself included. 

And yet, I couldn’t look away. I was transfixed to the hearings. It was utterly fascinating to me. And when I asked myself why I thought it was so interesting, I think it came down to a few things: 1. I’ve always been interested in the law – I think my ideal career would have been a law clerk or a paralegal. I love research, I love language and I love to write. So listening to Judge Amy Barrett speak with precision, confidence and watching her exude utter confidence was fascinating to me. 2. Watching and listening to the various senators ask questions or opine on their hot button topics was eye opening. Watching the two sides alternate speaking and confronting Judge Barrett was an excellent example of how the two sides think and approach their beliefs. 

The right was methodical, kind and understanding that the Judge could not offer a hypothetical opinion on a “what if” scenario. It would have violated an oath that active judges must take when they occupy a bench. They focused more on the laws and asked her to explain the laws, in layman terms, so that the rest of us poor saps could attempt to follow along. They highlighted what a judge’s responsibilities are and the steps she would take to dissect and opine on a case. They wanted to show viewers that the role of judges is not to make or break policies, but to interpret and enforce laws that Congress make. If we want laws changed, then we must appeal to our elected officials – yet another reason it’s important for people to be engaged in politics and/or at least be aware of what is happening with our country. 

The challenge, of course, is to wade through the rhetoric and the muck in order to FIND the core of the issue being debated. 

The left tried, repeatedly, to trick the judge into being inconsistent with her answers and they were terribly frustrated because she wouldn’t commit to being pro-life/choice, to expressing an interest in overturning the American Care Act (Obamacare), or repeal same-sex marriage. They kept emphasizing, “but laws effect people and people are important. Don’t you care that this gay couple could lose their marital benefits? Or what about a woman’s right to do as she wishes with her body? Or what about the MILLIONS of Americans that will lose their health insurance if you take the ACA away? [They won’t, by the way] Don’t you CARE what happens to these individuals? Don’t you CARE about these posters we have presented to you in an attempt to evoke empathy and appeal to your pathos? Are you that cold blooded that you would make these poor people suffer?”

Though I understand where the left is coming from, the laws do affect millions of people, in all walks of life, and when the laws are made, they should absolutely be considered and helped in any way they can, people should also be allowed to live their life however they choose to live it, God granted us free will after all, but, that is NOT the role of a supreme court justice. The role of a supreme court justice is to UPHOLD THE LAW. And let’s not forget, CONGRESS makes those laws. So if CONGRESS wants to change those laws, then CONGRESS will have to make those changes. 

The supreme court justice simply dissects those laws and makes rulings on the expressed meaning of those laws in cases of a dispute. Either the left doesn’t understand that concept and/or, more likely, they understand they just don’t care enough to follow those guidelines and instead, used their uninterrupted time to make an impassioned speech to the American people to try and further push their own agendas. 

It’s not really about the law with the left, it’s about ensuring their agendas are massaged and allowed to grow allowing them the opportunity to control large groups of people to make sure they vote for them the next go around so they can push more agendas and continue manipulating even more groups of people who have neither taken the time, nor have been educated enough, to see through their lies. 

I’m not saying there are not people on the right who do the same thing, but it’s the exception, not the rule, with the right. 

Senators on the committee were allowed thirty minutes to either grandstand their agendas (i.e. the left – because when you watch the Liberal senator sessions they didn’t actually ask Judge Barrett very many questions but spent most of their time quoting the nasty Republicans and putting up posters of gay people), or ask questions. Senator Ted Cruz had one of the more impressive speeches of the bunch. 

Granted, he is not asking Judge Barrett very many questions here, he spends most of his time responding to the idiocy of the Democrat Senators’ claims, and that was par for the course throughout most of the hearings. One senator would make his/her speech, and then the senator on the other side of the aisle would dispute and or “fact check” what previous senators claimed. It was interesting to see them debate THROUGH the hearings. 

At any rate, I was moved by his speech and thought I would share it. 

As far as Judge Barrett herself. I can not imagine the patience and control it must have taken to endure these hearings. She remained completely poised and steadfast in her beliefs and answers. She was impressive to watch. She is clearly highly intelligent and intimately knows the law. She was clearly an excellent law professor as she was very thorough in her explanations of what the law is and how it’s intended to be applied. 

I think Judge Barrett should be what little girls aspire to be when they grow up as opposed to wanting to be Beyonce or Kim K. THIS is an example of feminism at it’s best. 

Politics

Are Republicans Finally Fighting Back?

Karen

I know a lot of people feel like the orange man currently running our country is bad, and though I intend to vote for him, I appreciate the fact that he is willing to be criticized and crucified by the media in order to get things done and make tough decisions. True, Trump is not the most eloquent speaker and he could use a large dose of diplomacy, however, I appreciate his toughness. He’s a New Yorker, so take what he says with a grain of salt. New Yorkers are brusque and sometimes rude in their presentation, but Trump is refreshing in the fact that he doesn’t play politics as usual. This, of course, drives the radical leftists and the media crazy because they are used to the right kowtowing to their thinly veiled hatred for all things constitution and how DARE someone backtalk them and/or display a backbone when they are criticizing Republicans and slashing the “antiquated” Bill of Rights.

I agree with D’Souza – the game has changed. Republicans can not approach politics the same way anymore. The rules have changed in that, there are no rules anymore. The left will spew and lie about anything and everything they can because they are desperate to regain the mindless control of the people like they had when Obama was in office. Now, people are starting to wake up and realize, the radical left is all smoke and mirrors. There is no substance to their “ideals or beliefs.” This is evidenced by the fact that NO ONE can tell you what they stand for, what policies they want to implement or how they would implement these phantom policies. And that’s primarily because they want a socialist country – they want to control everything and everyone but they haven’t quite figured out how to relay that agenda to the American people without coming right out and saying it. Which they can’t, because there are still enough red/white/blue Americans out there that DON’T want that for our country …. yet. So instead, they focus on pointing out how racist and evil Donald Trump is. The kicker is, they do it without providing evidence of these claims and people, being the sheeple they are, gobble it right up.

If the Republicans want to win and/or take/regain control, they have to fight back. I’m not saying stoop as low as the Democrats but they definitely have to stop allowing the left to walk all over them. They have to stand up and provide examples of the Left’s hypocrisy. Which shouldn’t be too hard to do as most leftists change their stances as often as they chance their underwear. Republicans must be the adults in the room. They must be strong, firm and calm and stop worrying about if they are perceived as “mean.” When you’re dealing with toddlers, SOMEONE has to be the adult in the situation.

Step up, Republicans. Take a lesson from Trump and fight back. He has been doing it for four years and that’s the reason the silent majority backs him, because he’s not afraid to stand up and fight for what’s right . It’s time to take the kid gloves off and give tit-for-tat.

 

Politics

Analyzing Racism – What is Happening?

Karen

“Police officers have become the targets of violent activists who are seeking to upend America as we know it. Heather Mac Donald, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and author of The War on Cops, is in the studio this week to break down the myths behind “systemic racism” and “police brutality.”

By the way, I have a serious girl crush on Candace Owens. Just sayin’.

We HAVE to stop this violence. We HAVE to stop this narrative that is tearing our country apart. There is talk of another Civil War. And for what? Do YOU even know the whole story? Take a listen and decide for yourself. There is ALWAYS two sides to a story. Always.

Life-condensed

The Silence is Deafening

Karen

I have a new night time routine – I listen to rain or beach waves while falling asleep. I’ve also been listening to various YouTube ambiance videos while writing or working at my new desk. It relaxes me. It helps me focus.

But I’ve always been an advocate for silence. Silence is under-rated and rare. When is the last time you stopped and listened to … nothing? Even if the TV is off. No videos are playing on your computer. The room you’re sitting in is quiet … it’s not really silent, is it? For example, I’m by myself, at my desk and I hear the ceiling fan, my typing and the occasional car drive by outside. Even though it’s quiet, I”m comfortable. Because there is SOME sound around me. When you stop, shut off the ceiling fan, stop typing, close your eyes and listen … the silence is almost uncomfortable, because it’s so unusual… unnatural?

I’ve never heard my blood rushing through my veins but when you close your eyes, put in ear plugs and hear nothing but your heartbeat … it’s almost humbling.

I’ve always said our world is way too noisy. I crave silence. I crave quiet. I get overstimulated when there is too much sound, too many things going on at once. Yes. I’m an awesome multi-tasker, but only for a time period. Too much stimulation for long periods of time EXHAUST me. I mean, bone-weary, can’t keep my eyes open, exhaust me. It’s like my body shuts down.

This Ted Talk about silence and what it can teach you about sound is really interesting. I think we all need to learn to be more comfortable with silence. Shut it down, world, we need to recharge.

 

In the News

My COVID-19 Experience and Thoughts

Karen

“In the face of a novel virus threat, China clamped down on its citizens. Academics used faulty information to build faulty models. Leaders relied on these faulty models. Dissenting views were suppressed. The media flamed fears and the world panicked.

The current coronavirus disease has been called a once-in-a-century pandemic. But it may also be a once-in-a-century evidence fiasco.”

Two questions: how did we let it go so far? And what can we do to ensure it doesn’t happen again?

How are you, really? This whole Coronavirus experience has been a bit of a shit storm, wouldn’t you agree? I feel like I’m stuck in a Draconian nightmare and I can’t seem to wake up. There is light at the end of the tunnel, so we’ve been told, but I wonder how getting back to normal is going to actually work. Our government has dug us into a hole, I’m not sure I trust them enough to get us out of it. And the longer we put off opening our country, the harder it’s going to be to dig ourselves out.

My head is spinning with so much data and thoughts about things I’ve heard and watched that I truly don’t know where to start, so I guess I’ll just start at the beginning. Please note, these are my thoughts and opinions. These thoughts in no way reflect how the hospital I work for, nor the people I work with, think or feel. This is my experience, it’s unique to me, everyone has their own unique experiences. You are free to disagree, it’s okay. We can agree to disagree. In return, I will work hard to remain fair and objective about this whole situation as the goal of this post is to record my thoughts and experience and to hopefully give you another perspective, or, to perhaps confirm thoughts you have but are too scared to admit out loud.

And isn’t that a sad state of affairs when you are afraid to voice your thoughts for fear of being attacked and ostracized?

Here’s how it began for me: This nightmare for me began the week the doctor I normally work with was on vacation with his family. He was out-of-the country. Two days into his vacation, shit hit the fan. The COVID-19 scare began and since none of us knew what it was or how severe it would be, we all freaked out, myself included. But still, I’m the sort of person who tends to downplay something, to not panic, until facts present themselves and the situation truly turns dire. THEN I would panic. But I would lying if other people’s fears didn’t affect me. What exactly are we dealing with? How serious was this virus? The fact that no one had ever seen anything like this before, and it was HIGHLY contagious, was … concerning.

The hospital responded the moment it became a pandemic. Most of the entrances were shut down leaving two main entrances and the ER open. We had to stop and have our temperatures taken and elective surgeries were shut down. The hospital also published travel restrictions stating that if you had traveled outside the country you had to be quarantined for 14 days either using ETO (which is estimated time off) or unpaid time, regardless of whether you tested positive for the virus.

When the cases exploded in New York, the hospital put up a tent outside of the ER and patients had to be screened for the virus in the tent first before they were allowed into the tent. (That tent is still up, by the way). A local business donated money to the hospital and they built a COVID wing in preparation of COVID patients. To my knowledge, they’ve only had a few patients use the wing, thank God.

(Update: that wing is about half full now and has been consistently half full for a few weeks now).

We all started worrying that the hospital wouldn’t allow our doctor back to work since he traveled out of the country. We were super worried when the hospital starting furloughing employees – they gave us the option of either working from home, if we could, or staying home using ETO or unpaid time. The hospital’s response to all of this was to try and protect the employees, which was actually pretty great – they worked very hard to put employees in other departments in order to try and avoid sending anyone home because let’s face it, who can afford to stay home without pay?

Oh right, millions of non-essential workers, that’s who.

I don’t know how, and it’s really none of my business on the details, but the hospital allowed my doctor to come back to work. Never one to be idle, he and his mid-level started coming up with a plan B because when he returned, we were essentially shut down and not seeing patients – at all. God bless my team because they come up with a plan to keep people working: They suggested Telemedicine.

I have worked for this clinic for almost nine years and we have never, not once, ever considered offering Telemedicine visits. It couldn’t be done, we were told. Our doctors needed to examine the patients to determine if surgery was a viable option for them. But now, given the option of either trying it or doing nothing, my team started really breaking down the details and asking questions on how we could make it happen. We were willing to try anything at this point, anything to keep the lights on.

We were especially motivated because we were hearing stories of entire departments being shut down simply because we weren’t seeing patients outside an emergent situation and we were scared we would be the next department to get the ax. We hurriedly came up with a plan and started using a program that worked, but was sort of clunky. But again, at least we were moving forward and not sitting idle. We then quickly shifted to using Microsoft Teams since it was a program that the hospital had purchased a license for and if it wasn’t for my lovely nurse and an administrator figuring out the details, how it worked and how it should all come together, we probably would have been told to stay home sooner.

Patients were reluctant at first. And setting up the visits was pretty stressful at first, but we have since figured it out and have come up with enough troubleshooting solutions that we have a pretty good handle on it now. However, it was slow going and instead of seeing 40 patients a week, we were seeing about twelve. And not all of the doctors were on board with this option at first. A few of them fought the option and refused to participate which ultimately led to management calling an emergency meeting letting us know that they were going to have to ask all of us to stay home at least one day of the week – we could use ETO or just not be paid.

It was a sobering meeting and one I will not soon forget. We all gathered in the main lobby, all standing six feet apart, of course, looking serious and crestfallen knowing what was coming but not sure how it would logistically pan out. Our director had tears in her eyes when she told us and though it was shocking to hear it was happening, none of us were surprised. We all saw it coming, and honestly, we were more surprised it hadn’t happened sooner.

When this was asked of us, the providers that weren’t on board with Telemedicine were suddenly on board. I think they felt bad for us, quite frankly. Even though it was in no way their fault, I think they felt a bit responsible for us because let’s face it, our jobs are solely dependent on how many patients and surgeries they do.

Fortunately, this new “normal” only lasted two weeks. Since we were one of the last departments to make any staff changes, it happened shortly before the hospital started allowing elective surgeries again, which was the first part of May. In the meantime, patients started being more receptive to the whole Telemedicine thing and we were “seeing” more patients at one time. In fact, in some ways, it’s been working out better than actually seeing patients in the office because it’s allowed us to really focus on the patients that truly need to be seen for various problems. I know my doctor has been getting quite a few surgeries and he’s been very happy with the process so far. And to be fair, I think the patients have been happy with it as well. My doctor has the ability to share his screen with his patients and he’s able to pull up their images and go over them with the patients so the patients can see what is going on with their spines. Our mid-level has thought of creative ways to do exams over web cam and except for being able to do vitals on the patients, honestly, our process hasn’t changed all that much. I mean, it has, but we have just found a new way to treat patients.

As of this post, the tent is still out in front of ER, we are still only seeing patients via Telemedicine but the city and the hospital are getting ready to implement phase 2 of this process starting June 1st, which means we can see a handful of patients in our clinic but everyone has to wear a mask and we have to space the patients out in the waiting rooms and/or put them in an exam room as soon as possible.

Though we’ve been given the green light to do so, my doctor doesn’t want to see patients in the office yet. He would prefer to only still do Telemedicine which … is fine with me, it means I have a job and it keeps the lights on, but it is a lot of extra work on my part to get it set up because it’s not a quick get them on the schedule and be done with it, a two minute phone call turns into ten minutes, then I have to put them on the Teams schedule, then the normal schedule. Then I’m on the phone with them on the day of their appointment for 15 minutes updating their chart and talking them through establishing a connection. Our doctor doesn’t want to start seeing patients in the office until we have a vaccine, but let’s be honest, that could be 18 months from now, or never, quite frankly. I’m sure he’ll cave once he sees his partners allowing patients back in the office. But who knows, I’ve gotten so good going with the flow lately that I’m sure I’ll deal with whatever new challenge is thrown at me next.

Now on to my thoughts about this mess …

Continue reading “My COVID-19 Experience and Thoughts” →

In the News

Don’t Trust the Media

Karen

Gah. It’s raining here. I’m ready for warm weather and sunshine, 1. because I’m sick of the doom/gloom as I’m sure you all are, and 2. so that the warmer weather will start burning off this virus.

Just a quick word out there about the news media; DON’T TRUST THEM. Assume that whatever you’re being told, on whatever network you’re watching, that it’s cut and edited to push their own agenda.

I’ve been watching President Trump’s DAILY news conferences. He’s answering media questions for HOURS just to prove to us that he’s being transparent. He doesn’t have to do this, but he’s doing this to effectively communicate with the American people what is being done and what the future holds. He’s doing this because he CAN’T trust the media to accurately report anything because Trump does not represent their agenda – chaos and control.

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about:

What part of Trump’s narrative was bad? He was talking about potential drugs that are looking promising for combating this virus. What part of that is bad? It shows the administration is making strides toward a solution and that can’t be anything BUT hopeful. And hope is EXACTLY what we need right now.

This reporter is disgusting in that he’s trying very hard to hang on to the fear. He’s trying very hard to inject another dose of fear into people when quite honestly, fear is exactly why we’re in the state we’re in now. The media has worked the people up into such a frenzy reason and critical thinking have gone out the window. It’s evil and wrong.

I watched this particular news conference and the reporter deserved what he got. Stop being an asshole. We don’t need politics right now, we need to pull together and combat this thing. And I really hope we learn some valuable lessons and prepare for the next virus – because there will be another one, it’s just a question of when it happens. (Hopefully, not for a very long time).

Anyway, I just wanted to encourage you to pick and choose your “news” sources carefully. Go to the source. Watch President Trump’s conferences. Check the CDC website. Forget these news outlets and “opinions” because let’s face it, these “news” outlets are reporting very little “news”, it’s all about sensationalizing what’s going on and continuing to scare people. How is that helping? Do you think organizations with that agenda exist to HELP you?

Seriously, think about that.

Stay healthy, friends.