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You are here: Home / Open Threads / There Ain’t Much to Country Living

There Ain’t Much to Country Living

by $8 blue check mistermix|  July 19, 20209:50 pm| 108 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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I just completed a trip from Rochester, NY to an undisclosed location in the Dakotas to take care of my parents, who are in their 80s. What a difference 3 days makes, 1500 little miles.

In case you were all concerned, let me reassure you that everybody’s freedom here is intact. Very few are wearing masks. Almost none of the clerks in the retail outlets that I’ve visited are wearing masks, and the hardware store doesn’t even have a plexiglas shield between the clerks and the customers. My hometown borders a reservation. The only consistent mask wearers I’ve seen are Native Americans — without exception, young and old, they’re all wearing masks. I guess the smallpox blankets made a deep impression on that culture.

My brother, the main caretaker for my parents, has scoped out the situation here, and he’s figured out the times when the stores are mainly empty. That explains my 7 AM shopping trip today, and he was right — I was almost the only person in the grocery store, and certainly the only mask wearer.

Today, I talked with my aunt (dad’s sister) who lives in Eastern Montana. That’s the very red part of what’s becoming a somewhat purple state. The situation there is similar to the situation here — many covidiots. She’s a retired teacher who’s smarter and tougher than the rest. When she met with her accountant this year to go over her taxes, they were lamenting the local situation, and he said that “people just aren’t very bright around here.” All the Cletus safaris for the past four years have danced around the obvious fact that, if you have some gumption and some smarts, you’re likely to move from a red county to a blue state or at least a blue dot, because the opportunities there are better.

Anyway, I’ve looked at the COVID stats for the Dakotas versus my home county (Monroe, NY) which is approximately the same population. The overall number of positive cases for North and South Dakota are about double Monroe County, but the deaths are about half. This is probably due to deaths being a lagging indicator, and that the medical profession is getting better at treating COVID. Another factor is that the health departments here have capacity to trace 100% of positive cases, so we’re still able to quarantine all those who are positive.

My dad (retired physician) is still on the local hospital board, and he tells me that they have prepared for COVID the same way a hospital in New York would have. They have enough tests to make sure symptomatic patients don’t infect others, they do temperature and symptom checks and require masks for anyone entering the facility, and they have enough PPE for the staff. So while the average dumbshit here is walking around without a mask and engaging in unsafe activities, the hospitals are far more prepared than New York hospitals were in, say, March. So we might get through this despite the worst efforts of Dollar Store Sarah Palin, Kristi Noem, whoever runs North Dakota, and the rest of the morons in charge. Or it might be a bloodbath. Either way, we all know that both states will vote for Trump even though he doesn’t give a shit if we live or die.

Finally, my aunt in Montana said that Steve Bullock is the real deal and that he has a really good chance to win the Senate race there, so give him some money if you have it.

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Reader Interactions

108Comments

  1. 1.

    NotMax

    July 19, 2020 at 9:56 pm

    Eastern Montana

    Luckily, eastern Montana has only around 11 people in it.

    ;)

  2. 2.

    Wag

    July 19, 2020 at 9:57 pm

    I miss Warren

    Sweat, piss, jizz and blood

    Play that dead band’s song

  3. 3.

    Kent

    July 19, 2020 at 10:05 pm

    Speaking of country living. This is what it does to your brain. Below is a word-for-word facebook post from a distant relative who lives in rural TN. This is your brain on Fox News and Baptists:

    Hello there…

    I live in Tennessee and this is why we don’t wear masks here:

    There have been 863 deaths in Tennessee attributed to COVID as of 7/19/2020

    There is a 6,829,124 total population in Tennessee, per Wikipedia.

    This is a 0.012% death rate. Tennesseans are more worried about being eaten by sharks than dying from COVID.

    In Taiwan, the total number of COVID deaths has been 7 people. Tell me why?

    Why is there a low death rate in Tennessee, and Taiwan, but high in New York?

    I understand George Floyd tested positive for COVID, and so would be counted as a COVID death. Perhaps that is a clue.

    Where COVID is “out of control” is also where there is a lot of graft and corruption in the hospital industry. (New York, New Jersey, California, etc.) The hospitals make money off anyone that tests positive for COVID, or that is put on a ventilator for COVID.

    To paraphrase Mark Twain, there are lies, condemned lies, and then there are statistics. And when money is involved, you will find these lies presented as scientific “statistics”. “Science” and “statistics” is how they lie to us. But it is still a lie, even if it is “backed by science”.

    COVID is not a real problem.

    But COVID is not the scary part, either.

    Here is what scares me:

    Bill Gates is pushing the Moderna vaccines. He wants mandatory vaccines to push his “ID2020” scheme where a digital tattoo, or “mark” that shows your vaccination status will be required for anyone to buy or sell, or participate in society. This digital mark will be put under your skin, and can be read by an attachment to a cell phone to show if you are “up” on all of your required vaccines.

    But the ID2020 will also control a payment system. You won’t be able to buy or sell without it. It is already being used by a company called “GAVI” in India and Bangladesh.

    Moderna is funded by Gates and uses something called “Messenger RNA” for vaccination, which is untested and dangerous. Here is what Wikipedia said about Moderna:

    “The Moderna technology platform is to insert synthetic mRNA into living cells that would reprogram the cells to develop immune responses, rather than being created externally and injected as with conventional medicines. It is a novel technique abandoned by several large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that were unable to overcome the side effects of inserting RNA into cells.[6][7][8] As of May 2020, no mRNA drug has been approved for human use.”
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moderna

    That is, the RNA strand that Moderna will inject into your body will reprogram your cells to produce the vaccine. Now that is scary, or it should be, to you and everyone else. An RNA strand that takes over your cells to create something similar to a corona virus, or perhaps it will create a “monster” that is out of control. I would feel safer in Jurassic Park, at least you could see the monsters they created. And Jurassic Park, the book, was all about genetic engineering by companies, with no real oversight. Just like Moderna.

    So, I will be refusing to take these “mandated vaccines” as they would violate my sincerely held religious convictions. My body is a temple. And I won’t put something in it that God did not create.

    Even Paul will tell you:

    1 Cor 6:(19) What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

    Did you hear that? Your body is not your own. You may think you can do whatever you want with your body, but God thinks otherwise. It is His body you occupy, not yours. He made it, not you. And so I won’t be injecting some RNA strand from a lab into my body, as my body belongs to God.

    And I won’t have a digital ID, or “mark” on my hand or forehead either:

    Rev 13: (16) And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
    (17) And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

    But not everyone will take the mark:

    Rev 20:(4) And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

    I think I would rather lose my head than take the mark. What about you?

    And what about the promises of God? Do we really believe His promises today?

    My God promised me this about my health:

    Exodus 15:(26) And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

    I put trust in God, and not in doctors. Doctors who follow God’s Laws and trust in Him, yes, I will work with them to promote health and healing. But most doctors trust in men, and not God for healing, and almost every doctor today rejects God’s Laws as being important to health.

    When it comes to healing, I find a huge lack of faith among Christians to believe that God really can heal us, and will always be faithful to provide healing to us:

    James 5:(14) Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

    (15) And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

    Do we just not believe this anymore? No anointing with oil in the name of the Lord? Maybe a few prayers, but not getting the church over someone, with laying their hands on them, anointing with oil and praying with them for healing? I have not seen this in many churches.

    So, the reason I don’t go to church is the same reason I do not get sick.

    I don’t find faith in church because no one there will trust that God will deliver them when they are sick. They trust in doctors, not God.

    And I don’t get sick because I don’t accept the medicines of man, but trust in God and His healing. I only associate with people that believe that God can actually heal us, or lead us to find the path to our healing. I have not been sick in years!

    God gave us everything we need to be healthy, right here. The Bible is a book about health, among other things.

    And as far as my avoidance of a dangerous COVID vaccine being the reason that someone else that is vaccinated would then die from COVID – do you not see that there is an error in logic in this argument?

    How could someone that is un-vaccinated harm someone that is vaccinated? That blows my mind. If the vaccine works, then the vaccinated person should not have to worry about being infected by someone that is not vaccinated.

    Rather, the vaccinated person can easily transmit the contents of the vaccine that his body generates to the unvaccinated, and they may get sick. This has happened to me. I stay away from others during the “Flu Shot Season”.

    Have a great day, and I hope my difference in opinion benefits the discussion.

    John

  4. 4.

    Citizen Alan

    July 19, 2020 at 10:09 pm

    @Kent: There was an underappreciated George Romero flick from the 70’s called “The Crazies.” Basically, it was “Night of the Living Dead,” except instead of zombies, the threat was a contagious homicidal insanity. I feel like I’m living that movie.

  5. 5.

    Ryan

    July 19, 2020 at 10:12 pm

    NC will hit 100k tomorrow.  I was told there’d be winning.

  6. 6.

    WaterGirl

    July 19, 2020 at 10:12 pm

    @Kent: Wow.  That is mind boggling.  Really.

    Reality is a cruel teacher.  I suppose at some point, reality will become undeniable, but I have to say, I thought we had already reached that point.  Apparently not.

  7. 7.

    Marcopolo

    July 19, 2020 at 10:13 pm

    Hey, I’ve heard that front pagers have the ability to put links up. If you want to do a fundraising bleg for Bullock you could at least put a link up for giving to his campaign, yes? If you’re reading the comments here are two to choose from: Here’s Balloon Juice’s own Bullock fundraising page; Here is the campaign’s fundraising link. I gave to the latter before the former went up but to each their own.

    Glad to hear your parents are well and that the situation is currently under control. Did you drive all that way to stay through the duration? I take care of an octogenarian here in MO & have committed to serious quarantine protocol until there is a vaccine (this means only leaving the house for essential business like getting food & meds). I figure we are looking at sometime in the 1st Q of 2021. In the meantime, I do have friends, all of whom are pretty careful about social distancing and masks who have thrown a couple impromptu small distanced gatherings (like 8-10 folks outside in a backyard). Wish I could join in but it would mess with my mom’s peace of mind. Ah well, we have good internet and there are lots of books.

    Last but not least, as a graduate of U of R, how have they handled the pandemic. The last time I paid attention to them was for the football player drug dealing scandal and the faculty sexual harassment scandal. So proud to be a graduate.

  8. 8.

    Yutsano

    July 19, 2020 at 10:15 pm

    @Kent: I suppose my response of TL;DR wouldn’t be well received, accurate as that is.

  9. 9.

    WaterGirl

    July 19, 2020 at 10:15 pm

    @Ryan: At 100 degrees, there will certainly be whining.  Is that close enough?

  10. 10.

    Kent

    July 19, 2020 at 10:16 pm

    @WaterGirl: I know…right?

    You couldn’t even fake that shit if you tried.  The corrupt Jews stealing PPE in NYC.  The Bill Gates mark of Caine vaccine?  The bible verses about faith healing.  He nails every conspiracy.

    Anyone of us tried to write that we’d tone it way down to avoid being too ridiculous.

  11. 11.

    trollhattan

    July 19, 2020 at 10:16 pm

    @Kent:

    Hmm. Clue you have a confirmation bias problem: when you’re digging twenty tons of coal to fire the evidence boilers. Either that or he’s Gumby.

  12. 12.

    Ryan

    July 19, 2020 at 10:17 pm

    @Kent:

    ”

    There have been 863 deaths in Tennessee attributed to COVID as of 7/19/2020

    There is a 6,829,124 total population in Tennessee, per Wikipedia.

    This is a 0.012% death rate.”

     

    That assumes every Tennessean was infected.  Or is the concept of a rate unclear?

  13. 13.

    WaterGirl

    July 19, 2020 at 10:18 pm

    @Yutsano: You only have to read the first few lines, then it’s Jesus blah blah blah.  Then read the second to the last paragraph about how

    the vaccinated person can easily transmit the contents of the vaccine that his body generates to the unvaccinated, and they may get sick. This has happened to me.  I stay away from others during the “flu shot season.”

    Holy fuck-ski.

  14. 14.

    Ryan

    July 19, 2020 at 10:18 pm

    @WaterGirl: 100 degrees.  Same as last week.  Same as next week.  I can whine plenty.

  15. 15.

    Searcher

    July 19, 2020 at 10:19 pm

    Also too, with deaths being a lagging indicator, hospitals not yet being overwhelmed, and doctors learning to treat COVID-19 on the fly, also keep in mind the MASSIVE testing failures early on in the east coast pandemic.  10x+ people likely had the disease as were confirmed, and while we’re probably not testing enough still, with those 25%+ positive rates, it’s still probably less of an undercount than New England experienced.

  16. 16.

    WaterGirl

    July 19, 2020 at 10:19 pm

    @Ryan: We were in the 90s the past few days, with the adjusted “feels like” temp over 100.  I feel you.

  17. 17.

    Benw

    July 19, 2020 at 10:21 pm

    I’m heading out for a comet viewing!!

  18. 18.

    WaterGirl

    July 19, 2020 at 10:21 pm

    @Benw: Get photos!

  19. 19.

    John Revolta

    July 19, 2020 at 10:25 pm

    @Kent:  Killer screed. My favorite part is “lies, condemned lies, and statistics”. Even in Twain’s early days, a very careful person would have written “d—-d” lies; but Uncle(?) John here is even more carefuller than that.

  20. 20.

    Marcopolo

    July 19, 2020 at 10:25 pm

    @Kent:  That’s depressing but what I’d expect.  There are different ways to show Covid infections in states.  Most of the maps show actual numbers of cases per county which, of course, makes the places with higher populations look much much worse than anywhere else.  But here in MO if you look at a map with cases per 1000 population there are rural counties that are just as bad as the metro areas.  They might only have 5-10 cases but only 5-10K people live there.  Anyway, over the course of the next year or two I imagine the virus will work its way around most places.  Your cousin is a covidiot but maybe s/he will dodge the bullet.

  21. 21.

    FlyingToaster

    July 19, 2020 at 10:25 pm

    @Ryan:

    I’ve been watching my fair state (The People’s Republic Commonwealth of Massachusetts) as it slides down the rows of the spreadsheet over at Worldometers.  I have been predicting that North Carolina will pass us for total number of cases in two weeks; I’m now thinking it will be faster.

    I’m still reeling from the idea that even our relatively sane corner of the country has opened Casinos (the Fuck‽) and will not be able to safely open all the schools in September.  Plus, BU and Northeastern sound like they’re bringing back the majority of their undergrads who will kill us all.  Social Distancing is not a skill generally associated with humans ages 18-22…

  22. 22.

    Kent

    July 19, 2020 at 10:25 pm

    @Ryan: The point is that you can’t argue with these people.   Go ahead.  I dare you.  Point out his statistical illiteracy and he will be off and running about black helicopters, the Tri-lateral commission and how Fauci is an anti-Trump puppet being controlled by George Soros.

    Dems who think they can take city kids and go to places like rural Tennessee to knock on doors and tell people about Medicare for All?   This is what they are going to find.

  23. 23.

    MagdaInBlack

    July 19, 2020 at 10:26 pm

    @Kent:

    I just can’t even. WTF?

  24. 24.

    terry chay

    July 19, 2020 at 10:28 pm

    @Searcher: I doubt that 10x had the disease that were unconfirmed, When a hospital system gets overwhelmed the death rate goes up by a factor of 10x. Same thing WILL happen in other parts of the country.

  25. 25.

    Searcher

    July 19, 2020 at 10:29 pm

    @Ryan: 

    There have been 863 deaths in Tennessee attributed to COVID as of 7/19/2020

    There is a 6,829,124 total population in Tennessee, per Wikipedia.

    This is a 0.012% death rate.

    That assumes every Tennessean was infected. Or is the concept of a rate unclear?

    Hell, do they not understand the concept of preventing a disaster?

    “Well, the horse may be out of its stall and wandering around the barn, but I see no reason to shut the barn door, since it hasn’t actually gotten out yet.”

  26. 26.

    Ken

    July 19, 2020 at 10:29 pm

    @Ryan: Or is the concept of a rate unclear?

    You’re surprised? “Incubation period” is apparently still a great mystery to many.

  27. 27.

    FlyingToaster

    July 19, 2020 at 10:30 pm

    @Searcher: Everything you said, but especially this:

    it’s still probably less of an undercount than New England experienced.

    MA is now running about 1K antibody tests per day.  About a third of our daily reported “new cases” are actually negative swab, positive antbody tests.  We’re trying to backtrack and get that data so that we can see where the hotspots we’re now experiencing (Chelsea, Everett, Marlborough, etc.) originated from.  And see if we can plug the dike now.

  28. 28.

    Gin & Tonic

    July 19, 2020 at 10:32 pm

    @Benw: I went out, but the entire northwest horizon is cloud-covered. Can’t even see the Big Dipper’s bowl. Oh well, saw it pretty well last night. Ended up with a souvenir which I found on my thigh this morning.

  29. 29.

    Searcher

    July 19, 2020 at 10:32 pm

    @terry chay: Early serum tests roughly lined up with the ~10x number in NYS, but I admit I haven’t followed the later studies as closely.

    Nowadays I’d wager it’s somewhere between 3-5x.

  30. 30.

    lgerard

    July 19, 2020 at 10:35 pm

    @Kent:

     

    He left out the part about 5G transmissions spreading the virus.  You might point that out to him.

     

    It’s funny how Gates has become the new Soros.  He must be muttering WTF to himself quite frequently.

  31. 31.

    Redshift

    July 19, 2020 at 10:38 pm

    @Benw: I saw it last night! It was pretty cool; I’ve never seen an actual comet before. It was only visible with binoculars here, though it might be naked-eye visible if I drive out to Skyline Drive.

    No pics, because my little zoom lens for my phone camera was nowhere near powerful enough.

  32. 32.

    mrmoshpotato

    July 19, 2020 at 10:41 pm

    @Kent: Crackpotica, TN

  33. 33.

    Redshift

    July 19, 2020 at 10:42 pm

    @lgerard:

    It’s funny how Gates has become the new Soros.  He must be muttering WTF to himself quite frequently. 

    Yeah, from what I picked up from my acquaintance who’s gone conspiracy nut, what’s “suspicious” is that he’s a tech guy with no background in vaccines who’s now out there talking about them. Apparently the concept that he’s been running a public health charity for years and he can do interviews anywhere because he’s famous but the scientists who do the work can’t is too difficult to grasp.

  34. 34.

    Ryan

    July 19, 2020 at 10:44 pm

    @FlyingToaster:

    My college plans to reopen to basically the entire undergrad population.  This will end in tears, at best.

  35. 35.

    Redshift

    July 19, 2020 at 10:46 pm

    @Kent: In addition, I’d be willing to bet most of that screed is cut and pasted.

  36. 36.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    July 19, 2020 at 10:49 pm

    @Benw: Good luck, happy viewing.

  37. 37.

    Major Major Major Major

    July 19, 2020 at 10:49 pm

    @Searcher: I feel like I read 8x somewhere the other day. Super helpful I know. The trouble is that it changes based on the composition of the population tested. The higher percent positive, the more cases are going uncaught. Roughly.

  38. 38.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    July 19, 2020 at 10:50 pm

    @WaterGirl: Like this?

  39. 39.

    Major Major Major Major

    July 19, 2020 at 10:54 pm

    Have we talked about this finding that was popular on Twitter today?

    darker-skinned Whites—measured via a light-reflectance spectrophotometer—identify more strongly with their White racial identity & are more likely to hold conservative political views on racialized issues & support Trump#SocSciResearchhttps://t.co/g0hHbcO7M3 pic.twitter.com/v2oQGWoyLE

    — Matt Grossmann (@MattGrossmann) July 19, 2020

  40. 40.

    Marcopolo

    July 19, 2020 at 10:59 pm

    This is really not good breaking news out of NJ:

    Son of federal judge slain, husband in critical condition

    The judge was the first Latina appointed to the NJ federal bench; appointment was by Obama.

    The husband and son of U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas were shot this evening after a gunman dressed as a Federal Express delivery driver entered their North Brunswick home, the New Jersey Globe has learned.

    Daniel Anderl , the judge’s 20-year-old son, is dead. He was a student at Catholic University in Washington, D.C.

    Her husband, Mark Anderl, 63, a criminal defense attorney and former Assistant Essex County Prosecutor, is in critical but stable condition after undergoing surgery at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick.

    Salas in unharmed, the Globe was told.

    No jumping to conclusions here, but JFC it looks like a targeted attack.

  41. 41.

    Frankensteinbeck

    July 19, 2020 at 11:00 pm

    @Marcopolo:

    Your cousin is a covidiot but maybe s/he will dodge the bullet.

    If they’re serious about avoiding man’s medicine, it doesn’t matter.  There will be some other bullet they don’t dodge.

    However, odds are this screed is really all just about COVID, and contains little or no actual truth.  Anyone who loudly defies science is already deeply into the kind of thinking where even the facts of how they have lived and still live their lives is irrelevant.  What they believe is the story they’ve made up about their own righteousness.

  42. 42.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 19, 2020 at 11:02 pm

    Chandler Scout, First Nations

  43. 43.

    opiejeanne

    July 19, 2020 at 11:04 pm

    @NotMax: and they’re probably all my cousins, the residue of my great grandfather’s decision to homestead there and bankrupt himself and all of his adult children who he convinced to move there too, to a land with no trees or water because Free Land!

    A bunch of them still live there, and they are idiots politically. They understand little of the world around them, and they don’t trust science except when they need doctoring. The last time I talked to any of them online they were bemoaning the lack of forest rangers these days. The area they were talking about has gone to aerial surveillance and a sophisticated system of watching for smoke. Drones? I don’t remember, it was 5 years ago, and I gave up halfway through my comment that would have enlightened them. Turns out it was all Obama’s fault.

    Anyway, there’s not much to burn where they live, at the edge of a reservation. Heck, they may be on reservation land from the way the map looks.

  44. 44.

    hueyplong

    July 19, 2020 at 11:05 pm

    No doubt John from Tennessee becomes irritated when denied his free sweet tea refill when libz less familiar with the Epistles shut down restaurants instead of focusing on hillbilly fears of mountain shark attacks.

  45. 45.

    Bridgier

    July 19, 2020 at 11:07 pm

    @NotMax: it had 12, but then I left…

  46. 46.

    satby

    July 19, 2020 at 11:10 pm

    “All the Cletus safaris for the past four years have danced around the obvious fact that, if you have some gumption and some smarts, you’re likely to move from a red county to a blue state or at least a blue dot, because the opportunities there are better.”

    From what I experienced in western Michigan, that’s true. And it leaves behind a resentful population, even if it’s their choice to stay in their stagnating areas. That whole “city people looking down on them” is all projection too.

  47. 47.

    MagdaInBlack

    July 19, 2020 at 11:10 pm

    @Marcopolo:

    I have a little voice in my head reminding me that Adam, in one of his posts, mentioned Federal Judges as targets. Anyone else recall?

  48. 48.

    Marcopolo

    July 19, 2020 at 11:13 pm

    @HumboldtBlue:   That was awesome.  And his regalia is so gorgeous/fabulous.  I bet a lot of love, devotion, and energy went into crafting it.  A long time ago I worked at a Native organization in Fairbanks, AK.  This takes me back to going to the annual World Eskimo-Indian Olympics & tribal potlatches.  Fun fact, I once threw out my back serving as a puller for the blanket toss contest :).  Haven’t thought about that in years, thanks!

  49. 49.

    Origuy

    July 19, 2020 at 11:16 pm

    @Marcopolo: Judge Salas was just assigned Karimi v Deutsche Bank. The case has ties to Jeffrey Epstein. 

  50. 50.

    Marcopolo

    July 19, 2020 at 11:17 pm

    @Origuy:   Just saw that cross twitter:

    This is very disturbing and has the earmarks of a professional hit. Judge Salas was handling some high profile cases, including one involving Jeffrey Epstein and Deutsche Bank. https://t.co/xYyj9CFohj— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) July 20, 2020

  51. 51.

    Kent

    July 19, 2020 at 11:20 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Is that like how the most vicious Nazis from Hitler on down were the worst specimens of Aryan racial ideals?  You look at any photo of top Nazi leadership and not one tall blonde Nordic type among them. 

  52. 52.

    MoCA Ace

    July 19, 2020 at 11:23 pm

    Two weeks ago almost nobody was wearing masks here (like 5 or 10% max) except in Menards, a Midwest hardware store that required and enforced it.  Two weeks ago some local douchebag rented out a local hall to throw a party, free for all the local high school kids, and stick his finger in they eye of the local school district who robbed his precious spawn of her prom and graduation.  Of course he is the owner of a local pizzeria (WTF is the correlation between pizzeria owners and RWNJ leanings?).

    It became, as you might have guessed, a local super-spreader event… responsible for more than 20 COVID cases (first wave, more to come).  A co-worker forbid his daughter from attending and last week five of her friends tested positive.

    Fast forward two weeks and suddenly mask wearing is up to 75% in just about every local establishment, bars excluded… so progress????  The 25% have doubled down and I have noticed a significant uptick in trucks flying Trump flags.

    I have absolutely no fucks left to give.  I’m cutting off Trump supporting friends and family alike.  I hope they all die suffer greatly on a ventilator.

  53. 53.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 19, 2020 at 11:24 pm

    @Marcopolo:

    That was awesome.

    Yeah, that’s stunningly gorgeous.

    The Salas shooting is doubly disturbing.

  54. 54.

    Marcopolo

    July 19, 2020 at 11:24 pm

    @Marcopolo:   Apparently Judge Salas was only assigned the Deutsche bank case last Wednesday:

    Judge Esther Salas was assigned this case in the District of New Jersey this past Wednesday – now her son is dead and her husband shot. pic.twitter.com/YvQnnuYdPU— Eric Garland (@ericgarland) July 20, 2020

  55. 55.

    Elizabelle

    July 19, 2020 at 11:27 pm

    Wow.  Horrifying.

    Investigators say someone dressed as a FedEx driver arrived at the family home around 5 p.m. Sunday, according to law enforcement sources. Salas’ son opened the door and was immediately shot. Her husband was then shot multiple times.

    Mayor Womack said Salas was home at the time of the shooting, but was in another area of the house.

    The investigation is being led by the FBI. The New Jersey State Police, North Brunswick Police and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office are also involved.

  56. 56.

    Major Major Major Major

    July 19, 2020 at 11:31 pm

    @Kent: who knows. Looks like they controlled for a heck of a lot (graph caption)

  57. 57.

    Marcopolo

    July 19, 2020 at 11:33 pm

    In other news, the process to fill John Lewis’ ballot line for the election for his house seat is moving forward. I will give credit to the GA Dems for making it possible for any/everyone who was interested to submit an application but since the nominee will be chosen by an executive committee comprised of folks who’ve been working together for a while I’d be shocked, shocked I tell you, if they haven’t already settled on a nominee (or at least a very small pool) even prior to all the online applications.

    INBOX: Per the GA Democratic Party, 131 candidates have applied to succeed John LEWIS as the party’s nominee for his House seat. pic.twitter.com/1r5GimSPWK— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) July 20, 2020

    I just hope, and looking at the names on the committee I am encouraged, they pick a great candidate.

    Btw, one of the election twitter nerds tweeted out a photo of the Politics Almanac’s page of Lewis’ first election. He won a runoff against Julian Bond after coming in second in the original election. Pretty cool stuff historically.

    Rep. John Lewis’ first appearance in the Almanac, for the 1988 edition. They noted he “comes to Congress already as an important maker of American history.” So glad this country had him. #GoodTrouble pic.twitter.com/O2dMj0kdg6— J. Miles Coleman (@JMilesColeman) July 18, 2020

  58. 58.

    MoCA Ace

    July 19, 2020 at 11:33 pm

    All the Cletus safaris for the past four years have danced around the obvious fact that, if you have some gumption and some smarts, you’re likely to move from a red county to a blue state or at least a blue dot, because the opportunities there are better

    I actually moved to the red county to take a job in environmental protection.  I have seldom regretted the move since I work primarily with “shackers” from other blue areas.  My children have moved back to the blue dots,  a move I have wholeheartedly supported.

  59. 59.

    Elizabelle

    July 19, 2020 at 11:35 pm

    A magazine profile of Judge Esther Salas.  NJ Mag.  

    Her son would have been about 19.  Tragic.  No other children mentioned.

  60. 60.

    Yutsano

    July 19, 2020 at 11:36 pm

    @Elizabelle: They weren’t aiming for her. If they were they would have found her and shot her too. This was a message.

  61. 61.

    Benw

    July 19, 2020 at 11:39 pm

    @WaterGirl: @Gin & Tonic: @Redshift: @?BillinGlendaleCA: no comet luck. :(

    We could see the whole dipper, but everything under that was cloudy. We DID get a good view through the telescope of Jupiter to the south with it’s four primary moons aligned, so that was pretty cool!

  62. 62.

    Yutsano

    July 19, 2020 at 11:41 pm

    @Benw: Speaking of space, I had no idea the UAE had a space program until about an hour or so ago.

  63. 63.

    Redshift

    July 19, 2020 at 11:41 pm

    @satby: There was a great essay a while back (on Kos, maybe) from one who had made the move from rural red to urban blue, explaining that actual natives of blue areas don’t look down on them because they rarely think about them at all. The people who look down on them are the people like him, the ones who got out.

  64. 64.

    Elizabelle

    July 19, 2020 at 11:44 pm

    @Yutsano:   Taking her son.  No words.  He was 20.

  65. 65.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 19, 2020 at 11:44 pm

    Who the fuck uses calumniate other than a self-righteous right-wing-so-sorry-about-Trump-it’s-not-my-fault ballbag like Max Boot.

    Calumniate, get the fuck outta here.

    He insulted and slandered Sen. Duckworth you prevaricating calumnious clown.

  66. 66.

    Kent

    July 19, 2020 at 11:45 pm

    @MoCA Ace:I actually moved to the red county to take a job in environmental protection.  I have seldom regretted the move since I work primarily with “shackers” from other blue areas.  My children have moved back to the blue dots,  a move I have wholeheartedly supported.

    We also moved to a red county for professional reasons.  Waco TX.  Although a fast growing and fast urbanizing one as it was TX not KS.  Even in deep red areas you still run into plenty of progressives.  You are just out-voted.  I remember being impressed and awed by how many progressives literally came out of the woodwork during the 2008 Dem Caucuses which were hard fought between Clinton and Obama.  I previously had no idea my exhurban/rural area had so many.

    I’m also glad as hell we finally moved back to blue America.  Always being on the losing end of every vote and issue gets really old.  And the politics will eventually make you insane unless you are a Don Quixote type who likes to endlessly fight uphill losing battles for things like bike paths and sidewalks that are taken for granted elsewhere.

  67. 67.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    July 19, 2020 at 11:46 pm

    @Benw: Try another day, it’s worth it.

  68. 68.

    Marcopolo

    July 19, 2020 at 11:48 pm

    One last schadenfreude filled news item (man sometimes you just fall down the twitter hole, what can I say). Judge Amy Berman Jackson wants a good hard look taken at Trump’s Stone pardon to see if there might be some legal issues with it. May the force be with you ABJ! I would so like to see Stone serve time, but I’ll take him continuing to sweat and squirm a little bit in the meantime:

    ROGER STONE CASE UPDATE: Judge Amy Berman Jackson grants leave to file a motion to consider an amicus brief on the issue of president pardons. https://t.co/A96iavGG4O pic.twitter.com/Cg8LnKyiFC— Eric Garland (@ericgarland) July 20, 202

    Now to bed with me.

  69. 69.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 19, 2020 at 11:53 pm

    @Marcopolo:

    Now that’s a solid TIL.

    Thanks.

  70. 70.

    theturtlemoves

    July 19, 2020 at 11:54 pm

    Just returned from a road trip to South Dakota myself.  Black Hills, but thankfully after Trump left.  His bus was still there, though, selling MAGA swag.  Mask wearing or really any precautions of any kind got progressively worse moving east from Oregon to the Hills.  Idaho, Montana, and freaking Wyoming were surprisingly good about precautions.  SD just sucked.  No social distancing in restaurants so ate outside with my mother in her 80s.  They are going forward with the Sturgis Rally so that’s just going to be the super-spreader event of doom.  All in all, it made me glad I don’t live there anymore.

  71. 71.

    Benw

    July 19, 2020 at 11:56 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: def going out tomorrow!

  72. 72.

    rikyrah

    July 19, 2020 at 11:57 pm

    We just got banned from the Bahamas.
    Don’t blame them.
    Protect yourself ??

    New: Bahamas closes borders to U.S. tourists after COVID-19 cases spike; Others still welcomed https://t.co/SVqw4cAFFn via @Jacquiecharles— Rob Wile (@rjwile) July 19, 2020

  73. 73.

    rikyrah

    July 19, 2020 at 11:58 pm

    @Yutsano:

    Definitely a message

  74. 74.

    rikyrah

    July 20, 2020 at 12:01 am

    @Ryan:

    ??????

  75. 75.

    SiubhanDuinne

    July 20, 2020 at 12:17 am

    @Elizabelle:

    Her son would have been about 19. Tragic. No other children mentioned.

    The CNN story says that a “child” opened the door with his father right behind him, and were met with a hail of gunfire. FWIW. Beyond tragic no matter how old the son was, and scary as hell if, as I can’t help thinking, this has high-level fingerprints all over it.

  76. 76.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 20, 2020 at 12:18 am

    Some words on the Electoral College and its legacy of white supremacy is worth a read.

  77. 77.

    Elizabelle

    July 20, 2020 at 12:36 am

    @SiubhanDuinne:   CNN does say “child”, but NJ Mag story mentions one son, period, Daniel, who was not a minor.  He was 20.  Student at Catholic U in DC.  Also interested in a career in law.

    So sad.  I think the son may have been shot directly through the heart, but stories change so much in the immediate aftermath.  That was from the NY Post (via the town’s mayor).

  78. 78.

    Danielx

    July 20, 2020 at 12:40 am

    @lgerard:

    Well, it’s true that after dealing with early versions of Windows there was a sect that believed Bill Gates was the devil incarnate….

  79. 79.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 20, 2020 at 12:47 am

    Sports, athletics, competition, the race, the bout, the face-off.

    It’s theater of the physical. It’s the drama of every day wrapped up in a frenetic hour, or mile, or 100 meters.

    Leeds United are managed by the sporting equivalent of a Bernstein a seemingly mad compulsive and odd man who has influenced scores of players, coaches and who is cossetted, loved, adored and revered in a manner few other prominent coaches or managers are.

    El Loco.

    Loved by the scum, and welcomed in the estates (he turned down the five-star hotel accommodations for a rental in the neighborhood) he professes a sporting philosophy of relentless attack, always moving forward always advancing.

    It’s led to an odd career, but those who praise him don’t look at this trophy haul, they look at his impact on the pitch.

  80. 80.

    Kelly

    July 20, 2020 at 12:52 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:
    https://photos.app.goo.gl/5stTkoaaS7FXRyoXA

    Last night was my first attempt at astrophotography and I have an image I like. Shooting Panasonic GX85 micro 4/3 with 25 mm f1.7  Getting started in the dark was a bit of a fumble but most my shots came out. I shot wide open f1.7 with 2,4,6,8 second exposures. Used the shutter delay timer to avoid camera wiggle. I used the manual focus but couldn’t check because image on the screen went dark whenever I turned the focus ring. I had to trust focus distance display on the screen which worked. I like the 4 second exposures the best. The longer exposures didn’t show much more comet and picked up a lot of glare from ground lights.

  81. 81.

    Gaffa

    July 20, 2020 at 12:56 am

    As a native North Dakotan, welcome back to the most corruptly Republican yet oddly most socialistic farm policy state in the Union!

  82. 82.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    July 20, 2020 at 1:01 am

    @Kelly: Good color on the comet, if you lighten it a bit you should be able to see the second tail.  Focusing at night can be a problem.  What I do is point at a bright star and focus on that, if there are dimmer stars around it you’ll start to see them appear as you get to perfect focus.

    ETA: Once you think you have focus, take a test shot and check(shot at a high ISO for framing and the test shot).

  83. 83.

    SiubhanDuinne

    July 20, 2020 at 1:06 am

    @Elizabelle: Yes, CNN is the only outlet I’ve seen that says “child.” Every other site I’ve seen lists him as 20.

    My heart is just sick for the judge. It does sound as though her husband will recover, but what a horror for both of them. Gunman escaped and is still at large, I assume. Sure hope they take him alive and that he’ll answer some of the questions we’re all asking.

  84. 84.

    Kelly

    July 20, 2020 at 1:17 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Thanks!

  85. 85.

    The Moar You Know

    July 20, 2020 at 1:20 am

    Federal judges, especially at that level, are supposed to have 24/7 security.

    where was that security?

  86. 86.

    John Cole

    July 20, 2020 at 1:25 am

    cletus safari

  87. 87.

    ema

    July 20, 2020 at 1:28 am

    @Elizabelle:

    At first glance this looks professional enough to suspect a foreign hit op.

    Between this and the federal law enforcement official in Portland frenziedly hitting the peacefully protesting Navy vet, it’s hard to contemplate how far we, as a country, have fallen.

  88. 88.

    NotMax

    July 20, 2020 at 1:33 am

    @ema

    I may be out of date but as soon as saw New Jersey the first thing to flitter across the brain pan was “mob hit.”

  89. 89.

    trollhattan

    July 20, 2020 at 1:35 am

    Got to give it up to the Lincoln Project folks, their work rate is phenomenal. I lose count but think this could be the fourth posted in the last day.

    Back from the comet search to no avail. I think some fog is pushing in from the coast because it’s cooled nicely and the only thing I can spot in the sky is…Jupiter? Some damn bright planet. Plus airplanes.

  90. 90.

    ema

    July 20, 2020 at 1:37 am

    @NotMax:

    On a federal judge? Maybe, but I don’t think that’s their usual M.O.

  91. 91.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    July 20, 2020 at 1:53 am

    @trollhattan: Ah, the delta breeze…

    If you can see Jupiter, you probably should be able to see Saturn close by.  I think you’ll need to head towards the hills to see the comet.

  92. 92.

    trollhattan

    July 20, 2020 at 2:12 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Yup, if I don’t come up with a plan soon it’s on to the next comet. And who can guess when that happens?

    Fond memories of Hale-Bopp. That, my friends was some comet.

  93. 93.

    NotMax

    July 20, 2020 at 2:20 am

    @trollhattan – @BillinGlendaleCA

    Like totally gnarly, dude.

    :)

  94. 94.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 20, 2020 at 2:23 am

    I always remember comet as an abrasive cleaner.

    Been watching clips of Neowise.

  95. 95.

    NotMax

    July 20, 2020 at 2:26 am

    @HumboldtBlue

    Josephine!

  96. 96.

    trollhattan

    July 20, 2020 at 2:30 am

    @NotMax:

    “There, be zombies!”

    Can I assume this one warranted MST3K treatment? [Oh please, oh please.]

  97. 97.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 20, 2020 at 2:33 am

    @NotMax:

    Michael Oliver!

  98. 98.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 20, 2020 at 2:43 am

    @HumboldtBlue:

    I just realized that Michael Oliver is a referee in the Premier League and John Oliver is a Liverpool supporting comedian and show host.

  99. 99.

    NotMax

    July 20, 2020 at 2:56 am

    @NotMax

    Was sorely tempted to go with “Jo the plumber” but figured that was pushing it a wee bit too far.

    ;)

  100. 100.

    rikyrah

    July 20, 2020 at 4:12 am

    @ema: 
    She was just assigned to case involving Epstein and Deutsche bank

  101. 101.

    J R in WV

    July 20, 2020 at 4:22 am

    @Kent:

    Wow, that’s weird to the MAX –as weird as Qanon, really. A jumble of nativist religious beliefs all distorted and with a blend of racism and false ideas about medicine. I doubt there’s any evidence that can help him either!

    Thanks for sharing it with us, we need to know what’s happening to the people out there.

    ETA Sorry some in your family are caught up in this! I had a cousin who fell into that years ago,  he died at least partially because of it.

  102. 102.

    J R in WV

    July 20, 2020 at 4:49 am

    @rikyrah:

    Seems to be a lot of deaths related to the Epstein case!

    Wonder how Ms Maxwell will last in this situation?

    Does anyone believe Epstein actually committed suicide?

  103. 103.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    July 20, 2020 at 8:19 am

    I always like to hear these local scouting reports. The contrast between the Native American mask-wearers and the white idiots has me in despair. What is wrong with white people? Yeah, I know. Loss of racial privilege. Worship of the imbecile in the White House.

  104. 104.

    Nancy

    July 20, 2020 at 8:43 am

    @Marcopolo:

    RE: UR  I will be an adjunct in the Warner School of Education Counseling and Human Development Program, teaching one class. All of Warner’s classes will be remote for the fall semester. Training for those of us who don’t know how to teach on-line is being offered. Some departments are offering in-person classes and various protocols are included in the information on the link below.

    The Medical Center and Stong Hospital (URMC) are frequently in the news but I’ve taken a moratorium for the moment so can’t claim to be up-to-date.

    There has been an effort to improve so perhaps you can feel a bit better about the name on your degree.

    https://www.rochester.edu/coronavirus-update/restart-and-recovery/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=rochester-restart&utm_campaign=restart-recovery

  105. 105.

    Betty

    July 20, 2020 at 9:46 am

    @Kent: Yep, and it isn’t just Tennessee. Facebook enables a lot of this craziness.

  106. 106.

    Uncle Cosmo

    July 20, 2020 at 1:14 pm

    @Redshift: The opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference.

  107. 107.

    ema

    July 20, 2020 at 2:03 pm

    @rikyrah:

    A data point in favor of the foreign hit theory.

  108. 108.

    Jane2

    July 20, 2020 at 2:36 pm

    I live due north of eastern Montana, and the mask-wearing percentage is about the same in urban SK. I’m glad the border is closed.

    And Bullock is the real deal.

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