What Did We Learn this Week - 10/16/21?

Well I'm a bit behind schedule this week. My internet service has been down for a bit. This morning I and many other New Yorkers in the Finger Lakes were awakened by a Tornado Warning instructing everyone to take shelter immediately. It was at that point that I realized I really don't have any central rooms other than a hallway and I'm tethered to a heavy oxygen concentrator that would probably wrap plastic tubing around my neck as we (the machine and I) flew out across Seneca Lake. That said, I got myself disoriented for a bit but everything is back to normal if there is such a thing in 2021. So, down to business. What did we learn this week?

We learned Steve Bannon has no respect for Congress or the rule of law. We also learned that Democrats in Congress can't get out of their own way when it comes to communicating and acting on holding people accountable. They talked for two weeks about how tough and swift they would be and now we find out that tough and swift isn't really something they know how to be.

We learned some related things about the Democrats. Their base is far ahead of their leadership on many issues. After months and months of time to put a plan together, it turns out there is no real plan on getting voting rights passed. Voting rights, the most basic rights of a democracy will have a test vote next week. This while states are passing more and more restrictive laws on voting. Perhaps they will learn that when marchers in a parade or demonstration overtake the leaders, new leaders appear. More and more it looks like that time has come.

We learned that the Moderna and J&J vaccines will be approved for a booster shot within the next week or so.

We learned about the supply chain this week, something we probably should have known about for some time. We also learned that ports in California will start operating 24/7. Interesting because many people thought they were alreadyoperating 24/7 for years. Some are saying Christmas and the holidays will be ruined but let's be clear, Christmas will be fine. Perhaps a little less materialistic. Wonderful!

We also learned that the tractors that pull those trailers full of goods that we're all dying for, get about 6 to 7 miles per gallon of diesel fuel, that we had a truck driver shortage before the pandemic, that DMV office closings caused problems related to new drivers getting CDL licenses. Too bad all of those railroad tracks were pulled up and removed.

We learned that the media just can't get enough of Donald Trump. They know it and he knows it. He doesn't need Twitter or Facebook. He just says something outrageous and every news outlet has a story on it. Free advertising and promotion and then they'll act shocked and outraged when he does so well in some poll somewhere.

We learned that Jeff Bezos and William Schatner are two peas in a pod. Two marketers who pretend for the cameras. Their sincerity and emotions are pretty phony if you ask me. It looked to me like weightlessness didn't seem to kick in for Shatner. I just wish that a guy who can afford all of these space shots could pay his fair share of taxes.

We learned, not just this week but over time,  that the conservative GOP that exists today is unbridled and power hungry. The people who make it up are interested in controlling abortions, creating voting barriers, gerrymandering. controlling academics and banning books. These are all part of goals that have been worked on and planned over a long period of time. What we see happening in Texas is an example of white power and the desire to control what happens when people of color take the majority. This game plan is exactly what we saw in South Africa. We should not turn our heads or avert our eyes to any of this. We should speak out wherever and whenever we can.

What Did We Learn The Week of 10/9/21?

There's always a lot to lear and here's some of what we learned this week.

We learned that a new study estimates that 140,000 children have experienced the death of a primary caregiver due to Covid or other causes in excess of what occurs in a typical year.

We learned that Elon Musk will move his Tesla headquarters from California to Texas.

We learned that Louis DeJoy is still in charge of the Postal Service and that he is successfully slowing down the mail.

We learned that Joe Biden will not support the use of Executive Privilege for former President Trump's documents related to the events of January 6th.

We learned that Steve Bannon will defy a subpoena  related to Jan. 6th planning, following directions from Donald Trump.

 
We learned that Trump directly asked the Justice Department nine times to undermine the election results.

We learned that the US Mint will recognize the achievements of poet Maya Angelou; astronaut Sally Ride; actress Anna May Wong; suffragist and politician Nina Otero-Warren; and Wilma Mankiller, the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation on new quarters to be issued in 2022 through 2025.

We Learned that Pope Francis found an ally in anti-poverty crusader Rev. Dr. William Barber at a conference on ending poverty held in Rome this past week. "Systemic poverty is not the cumulative result of individual failures. People in power have made choices and written those choices into tax policy, war policy, and government budgets," Rev. Dr. Barber said at the conference. Please listen Joe Manchin and many others.

We learned a lot about Facebook this past Sunday when a former Facebook data scientist went on "60 Minutes" to accuse the company of defrauding its advertising customers and deliberately engineering social division and ethnic strife. Then on Monday, the entire Facebook product family went offline for six hours: Instagram, WhatsApp and of course Facebook itself. Later on in the week, the same whistleblower testified before Congress about Facebook's algorithms and how they influence all of us but children specifically.

We learned that Journalists Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitri A. Muratov of Russia were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression something necessary for ongoing peace throughout the world.

We learned that Mitch McConnell blinks on the debt ceiling but that Manchin, Sinima, Schumer and Biden just can't stop themselves from messing up Biden's Build Back Better agenda. Their failure will most likely result in failures in the midterms.

We Learned that children as young as eight may have Covid vaccine availability by the end of October.

What Did We Learn -The Week of 10/2/21?

So what did we learn this past week, around the world and from sea to shining sea? Here are a few things.

We learned the grim fact that 700,000 people have died of Covid-19 in the US. Imagine, 700,000 lives that we most likely didn't have to lose. And we're on track to continue losing lives as many refuse to get vaccinated.

We learned that a jury found R. Kelly guilty on all counts of his sex trafficking case in New York. He faces 100 years in prison.

We learned that Joe Manchin doesn't trust poor people, or at least people who are poorer than him, which includes a lot of us. He hates entitlements. Thinks they make people lazy and soft. He wants to see things means tested. We also learned he's one of the most entitled people in his home state of West Virginia where his constituents struggle with poverty, hunger, medical care, broadband, drug use, and jobs. 

We learned that what the media has been calling Joe Manchin's 'houseboat' on the Potomac is actually a $700,000 yacht (although he paid $200,000 for it, it is insured and valued at $700,000). Oh yes, he hates entitlements.

We learned that vaccine mandates seem to work. Yes some people quit their jobs in various places but as they learned, that's their choice. Employers, healthcare facilities and consumers will all be better off knowing that people providing services are safe.

We learned that California will require vaccines for all eligible children.

We learned that more subpoenas went out related to the Jan. 6th insurrection. This time to people involved in the organizing and planning of the 'Stop the Steal' event.

We learned that progressives in Congress have figured out how to hold strong on issues that are important to them and their constituents.

We learned that no one seems to know what Republicans are in favor of - not the right to vote, not paying our debts, not creating jobs, etc.

We learned that more and more Republicans are switching their name calling of Democrats from socialists to Marxists because they've worn out the socialist critique. Nazis and Marxists are the new attacks.

We learned through a hack of the Oathkeepers data base that over 200 law enforcement officials, currently employed or retired, have links to the organization and involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection.

We learned that conservatorships like any other law or system can be abused and that Brittany Spears' father is no longer in control of her conservatorship.

We learned that we should all give our heating systems a test drive before temperatures dive quickly.

Positively Chrystie Street

Positively Chrystie Street is a chapter from my memoir and autobiography that will be published in 2022. The chapter was published as an article in Today's American Catholic. The article appears here. Take some time and give it a read. It tells the story of a dedicated group of young people who worked and volunteered at the Catholic Worker in NYC in the mid-sixties. It provides some insight into life at the Catholic Worker and who these young people were in 1965.

The title of the article gives a nod to Bob Dylan and his song Positively 4th Street. That song expressed frustration and anger at someone who had wronged Dylan along the way.

The article had to be edited to meet the word count requirements of Today's American Catholic so it is in fact a bit shorter than the original chapter. Anyway as I said, take a look, give it a read and enjoy.