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.

What Did We Learn - The Week of 9/25/21?

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

We learned that it's true. Democrats do have a hard time governing. They may be great at organizing, recruiting candidates, campaigning and policy debates but when it comes to bringing it all together and getting things done, it's harder than it looks in that big tent.

We learned as a result of the above, Joe Biden's entire agenda is in real trouble.

We learned a lot about Haitians. Thousands were crossing the boarder from Mexico into Texas. Most had been away from Haiti itself  for 10, 5, 3 years as they searched for a new and better life in various parts of South America. They traveled thousands of miles to seek asylum in the United States. Brave people.

We learned that there are still those in our government who can and will be brutal and inhumane to other human beings, this time riding on horses and using reins to scare and terrorize people of color who need nothing more than help and hope as they were bringing food and supplies to their families.

We learned that Donald Trump lost the election again in Arizona after people spent millions of dollars and months trying to prove otherwise. He wants to repeat finding out about his loss  in a number of other states and in the end he just builds mistrust in the democratic process of voting.

We learned that Joe Biden won't shield the former President from investigation by the Select Committee investigating Jan. 6. and all of his activities leading up to the events of Jan. 6 will be open to some scrutiny.

We learned that a number of Trump's aides received subpoenas to testify at the Select Committee on events before and during the Jan. 6th. insurrection.

We learned that two more people died in the overcrowded and deplorable jails that serve NYC. 

We learned that NY Gov. Kathy Hochul is sticking to her plan to make sure that all health care workers in New York State get vaccinated or start the process by Sept. 27 or face dismissal.

We learned that China intensified a crackdown on cryptocurrencies with a blanket ban on all crypto transactions and mining, hitting bitcoin and other major coins and pressuring crypto and blockchain related stocks.

We learned that some private landowners and local governments are utilizing goats to help reduce the threat of wildfires in the west.

We learned that Beto O'Rourke is seriously considering running for Governor in Texas.

We learned about the difference in being white, blonde and missing and being a person of color and missing in America.

We learned that Facebook continues to be a place where misinformation and disinformation is able to thrive.

Health Care Employees and Personal Choice

There is a pretty awful and in my opinion crazy debate going on in my area of Upstate NY relative to a requirement for all healthcare workers to be vaccinated by the end of September. Gov. Kathy Hochul has put the requirement in place as part of her new administration. There are some medical exemptions but no religious exemption. 

Almost as quickly as the Governor put the requirement in place we began hearing from Hospital CEO's raising concerns about the vacancies this requirement would cause in their facilities. Of course it must be said that these facilities have traditionally had a high vacancy rate due to specific shortages, wage issues and other management decisions made by these CEO's. These folks also know how to muster political support for their issues so no surprise that other parties began to be heard from as well.

Employees themselves began to complain about the requirement and began throwing around the personal choice argument while holding demonstrations at their facilities. Of course burn out, vacancies and threats of quitting were all part of their approach too. Next we heard from 10 or so county leaders, administrators and surprisingly public health officials. These folks weren't so much against vaccinations or vaccines, they just thought the timing was poor and it would, yes, you guessed it, lead to more vacancies. The alternative being pushed was to offer employees weekly or more frequent testing. Personal choice was again the undertone of all of the discussions.

Now I understand that there are probably other things going on here. It's no surprise that most of this political support is coming from the Governor's opposition party. That's the party that says we don't have a legitimate President, that communists, socialists and nazis are lurking around every vineyard and dairy barn.  I'm also sure there are many reasons for the reality of impending resignations and increased vacancies in the health care field and they don't all have to do with anti vaccination feelings by these employees. 

We all need to recognize that these folks have been through hell. They have been short staffed, working overtime and watching people die and others not receiving appropriate care. Their wages have never been great. All of this takes a toll and none of us can really judge people needing to make a decision to leave those conditions. All of that though is very different than an anti vaccine position by an educated and trained health care or public health professional arguing for personal choice. People have gone to school, been educated and trained in issues like disease prevention, infection control and how diseases spread.

The Governor is saying she won't back down and I hope she doesn't. As a person with a serious, life threatening disease and disability, I don't want to receive health care in or from a facility where health care professionals aren't or won't follow the science or the things they were taught to receive their degrees and certifications. I don't want to be provided care by a facility who's top administrators can't figure out what's wrong with their own management. 

It's most disappointing that public health officials and departments have been dragged into this by their county administrators and convinced that a concern about vacancies outweighs their responsibilities for good public health practices. Public health is not local, its not about economic development and job protection.

Of course all health care workers should be vaccinated in a pandemic. Give me a break. The personal choice is still there. Find another job.