Time to Think

Community #182

By Hank Silverberg

There was some hope when Joe Biden took office that the division in the United States which plagued the Trump era might subside a bit. That the community debates and national politics that had consumed many of us for five years would tone down and we could get back to philosophical arguments about baseball or religion or health care.

But it hasn't happened. Trump still lingers in the background and his minions cling to the ridiculous concepts of rigged elections, cancel culture and anti-science.

Nowhere is that more clear than over the resistance of many people towards taking the Covid-19 vaccine.

All the infectious disease scientists and most other medical experts says the vaccines available are safe and effective. And now, with the mutated Delta variant of the virus spreading fast among the unvaccinated, you would think most of the general public would understand the need to get the shot and wear a mask.

But somehow politicians like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have decided there is political gain to resist any suggestion made by the medical community, even though his state now is among the areas with the highest number of new Covid-19 cases.

Amid covid surge, DeSantis lets parents choose if their kids wear masks at school (msn.com)

Florida had more than 21,000 new cases on Friday (7/30) alone.

DeSantis has even signed an executive order allowing parents to ignore mask mandates enacted by local school districts, even though in the last week the state has reported another 21,000 cases of Covid-19 among people under 19.

DeSantis is not alone. Pew Trusts is reporting that Arizona, Iowa, Texas and Utah have similar executive orders banning local officials from imposing mask mandates. The public, of course, is getting more confused by the minute, so confused that AARP has put out a guideline of state-by-state rules similar to what you might find on gun laws.

Does Your State Have a Mask Mandate Due to Coronavirus? (aarp.org)

Vaccination rates did tick up a bit in the past week as word of all those new Delta variant cases got more media coverage, but as of July 28, just 50% of the population of the United States has been fully vaccinated. That is a dangerously low level considering how fast the Delta variant of Covid-19 is spreading among the unvaccinated. You can see the numbers from your state in the link below:

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

Just for comparison: Florida has 49% of the population vaccinated. Connecticut has the highest vaccination rate in the country at 69%. Alabama and Mississippi are tied at the bottom with 34%. The number of new cases is rising in all 50 states, but a key element--those getting ill and dying, are mostly those not vaccinated.

As of August 1st, 613,164 people have died from the virus in the United States. Almost 35 million have become sick from it.

These numbers are scary when you consider our children will be going back to school in less than a month, and many companies are bringing people back into cubicles in crowded offices.

There is also word this week that those of us who got the vaccine early may have to get a third dose after six months. If that's what the science and medical experts say, then I will roll up my sleeve whenever they are ready.

No more of this argument --that "it violates my rights to be forced to wear a mask or get a vaccine." You know why?

It violates EVERYBODY'S rights to expose your community to a deadly infectious disease.

Excuse the language, but GET THE F***ING VACCINE and WEAR THE DAMN MASK or we will never be free of this killer virus.

The Big Sin--Wasted Food

One-third of all food produced in the world is going to waste while millions of people are malnourished or hungry. That is a crime in my book.

The statistic comes from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, and it made my stomach foul just to read about it. Much of the waste ends up

being thrown away. But there are a few ways to take that wasted food and use it to create jobs and improve life for millions of people.

Here are a few examples:

Spanish designer Julia Roca Veri has created a range of cosmetics, cleansers and moisturizers from unwanted fruit left on shelves. The products are sold in reusable ceramic containers.

For those of us who hate chemical-based polyester, there's now an alternative from food waste. A Toronto based company called Alt Tex is producing something called polyactic acid (PLA) from food waste as an alternative to polyester. It's a biodegradable substitute.

Another Toronto company (Genecis), is working with food waste using bacteria that helps convert that waste into a polymer that can be used as an alternative for plastic packaging.

And in Kenya and Uganda, a group of female farmers are using a simple-to-use solar dehydrator that turns perishable fruit into a longer-lasting dry fruit snack food that they are now selling in the U.S. It created 7,000 jobs at seven to ten times the daily wage in Africa.

How food waste is being turned into fashion and cosmetics | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)

Dumbest Quote of The Week:

Another week has passed, so we once again have the dumbest quote from a Republican member of Congress. This time it is New York Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik who tweeted out the quote below:

"Today's Anniversary of Medicare [and] Medicaid reminds us to reflect on the critical role these programs have played to protect the healthcare of millions of families. To safeguard our future, we must reject Socialist healthcare schemes."

Yes, Congresswoman, those programs do indeed work. But guess what? They are run by the government, and for much of their existence--since the 1960's-- Republicans have berated Medicare and Medicaid as "socialist big government programs." You can't have it both ways, Congresswoman.

Some readers have asked, "How come you don't ever have Democrats in your "dumbest quote of the week?" Well, there have been some dumb quotes from Democrats from time to time, but they are just not "the dumbest."

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