Time to Think

The Plague

By Hank Silverberg

There's a popular meme going around the internet this week.

I am not sure who created it, but it's easy to understand where the message is aimed. All of the people out there who have refused to get the Covid-19 vaccine or follow the mask instructions are guilty of involuntary manslaughter. You are killing people. Okay, now you're asking, "What kind of a self- righteous SOB is this guy for trying to tell me how to live my life?"

Sorry, but I have consistently said that anyone who won't take these necessary steps, a mask and a vaccine, is irresponsible. You are not a model citizen, nor are you patriotic. You are refusing to fight America's biggest enemy right now--a microscopic virus that still threatens us all.

Please don't start sending me all those internet stories you have found about side effects or freedom of choice, or unconstitutional mandates or any other idiotic opinion minus facts, that you can find. I have trusted the science and the scientists on this one right from the start, and I still do.

Covid-19 is a killer. Officially, more than four million people have died worldwide from it, over 600,000 of them in the United States. Those numbers may be under-reported in many countries.

As you assess how to handle the next few months, as offices and schools continue to re-open and the Delta Variant of Covid-19 continues to sicken and possibly kill thousands of people, remember that it was a vaccine that eradicated smallpox, controlled measles outbreaks for decades and totally controlled polio.

Also remember that before you were allowed to go to kindergarten you had to prove to the school district that you were vaccinated for all three of those diseases. That was not a violation of your rights. It was a good medical precaution.

Right now the biggest threat to your children or grandchildren is not Communism or Fascism or nitwit politicians spreading false information. The biggest threat remains Covid-19.

As of July 25, only 49% of the population of the United States has been fully vaccinated.

US COVID-19 Vaccine Progress Tracker | Vaccinations by State | USAFacts

That means more than half of them are unvaccinated, and can easily catch and spread the Delta Variant of Covid-19, which is spreading faster than the original version of the virus.

The best solution is to get more people vaccinated, but the resistance is a nightmare created by right-wing media and the misinformed politicians and special interests that feed them.

Solutions? Well, I thought the NFL, not known for innovation or forward thinking in general, has come up with the best method. The league will require any team which has to cancel a game because of a Covid outbreak to forfeit their next game and take the financial hit for lost revenue. In addition, the players on the team will not be paid for that week.

Many professional athletes have been vaccinated and should talk about it to their teammates and the general public. The NFL as a corporation (which it is), has a right to make its employees comply or leave their job. I wish more companies would do the same with their employees. Don't like the policy? Then quit! We don't want you bringing Covid-19 to the office. (Think of the impact on the economy and your future in terms of health care costs and lost production.)

School districts and universities should also do the same thing with students over 12 who can get the vaccine. If you don't get inoculated you can't come to school and spread it around. It can be expanded to children under 12 when the vaccine is finally approved for them.

Please note: one of the basic human rights of all is the right to live. If you don't take the vaccine you may be killing yourself. But you may also be killing you family and friends and threatening the very existence of your country.

No, naysayers and anti-vaxxers, I am not exaggerating. Just ask the 616,040 Americans (as of 7/25) who have already died from this virus.

Not vaccinated? Then it is YOU who are threatening the American way of life and the future of the country. You don't have the "right" to do that.

The Lobby Game--A Gamble?

This is the kind of thing that makes voter's blood boil no matter which side of the political spectrum they are on.

Some Virginia State lawmakers, three Democrats, and one Republican, took a trip to Illinois with some gambling lobbyists last week. They were checking out some gambling machines like those they are considering in Virginia. Those machines could bring in $70 to $80 million in state revenue each month.

The four legislators, Sen. John Bell (D-Loudoun), Sen. Jeremy McPike (D- Prince William), Sen. Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond), and Del. Will Morefield (R-Tazewell), got a look at the machines where they are made in Effingham, Illinois, and then flew to Chicago and talked to some Illinois lawmakers about how the machines were working out there.

Gambling is not the issue here, though. If people want to waste their money on these machines and the revenue helps the state finance something more constructive that's fine with me.

But the legislations were taken on this trip in a private jet with lobbyists from the Virginia Video Gaming Terminals Coalition. The question that is left unanswered in all the media reports I saw though, was who picked up the tab for the trip which also included an overnight stay? And what kind of influence will those lobbyists now have on the decision? Inquiring minds want to know!

Va. lawmakers join gambling lobbyists on private jet to Illinois to study games | State and Regional News | richmond.com

Another Cicada

Brood X is pretty much gone and won't be back for

(Dog Day Cicada)

another 17 years. But you can expect to see another type of Cicada for the rest of the summer in some parts of the country.

They are called "Dog Day" cicadas. They are much bigger and have big black eyes. They also scream pretty much like their smaller cousins. This type of cicada are bright green and have see-through wings. Like Brood X, they won't hurt people but can do some damage to your plants. Their main predator is called the "cicada killer wasp," which can measure as big as 1 5/8" in length and looks nasty, though researchers say they rarely sting and are not dangerous. These larger cicadas do make a racket; the males sing to find a mate. The "dog day" cicada comes out almost every summer.

Dumbest Quote of The Week:

This week's dumbest quote comes from yet another Republican member of Congress, but on a more serious issue than some others. Ronny Jackson, who represents the 13th District in Texas is the same Ronny Jackson who was the White House Doctor for both Presidents Obama and Trump. He made his comments on "disinformation central," often called Fox News.

His comments came after President Biden made some admittedly off-the-cuff and nonsensical comments during a town hall meeting this past week.

Said Jackson:

"I think he's either going to resign--they're going to convince him to resign from office at some point in the near future for medical issues--or they're going to have to use the 25th Amendment to get rid of this man."

That's somewhat laughable from a man who thought Donald Trump was in great physical shape and declared it so in official documents. For those with no background on this, Mr. Biden has been saying stupid things and verbally stumbling for decades--usually during off-the-cuff remarks. This was just another case, though of course this time Biden IS President.

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