Good morning. Wednesday in Whitewater will be windy with a high of 18. Sunrise is 7:25 AM and sunset 4:36 PM for 9h 10m 45s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 10.6% of its visible disk illuminated. On this day in 1914, the Ford Motor Company announces an eight-hour workday and minimum daily wage…
Covidiocy
Coronavirus, Covidiocy, Health, Public Health
A Private Insurance Response to Vaccine Refusal (Updated)
by JOHN ADAMS • • 1 Comment
Elisabeth Rosenthal and Glenn Kramon write, in Don’t Want a Vaccine? Be Prepared to Pay More for Insurance, about insurance companies rejecting waivers for anti-vax insureds who expect coverage for expensive COVID-19 treatment. Insurance companies should go farther, as Rosenthal and Kramon advocate: Get a Covid-19 shot to protect your wallet. Getting hospitalized with Covid-19…
Bigotry, Conspiracy Theories, Covidiocy, Crackpots, Disinformation, Sen. Ron Johnson, Trumpism, U.S. Senate, Unfit
Sen. Ron Johnson: ‘An all-access purveyor of misinformation’
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Ron Johnson, one of the two United States senators representing Wisconsin, has earned a new epithet: BROOKFIELD, Wis. — Senator Ron Johnson incited widespread outrage when he said recently that he would have been more afraid of the rioters who rampaged the Capitol on Jan. 6 had they been members of Black Lives Matter and…
Conspiracy Theories, Covidiocy, Elections, Fellow Traveler, Law, Never Trump, Presidential race 2020, Sen. Ron Johnson, Wisconsin
Ron Johnson Attracts Attention
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
The Never Trump conservatives at the Lincoln Project aren’t going away: they have lingering Trumpism in their sights. U.S. Senator Ron Johnson – who accepts every conspiracy theory but rejects Wisconsin’s certified electoral votes for president – has caught their attention. https://twitter.com/steveschmidtses/status/1345906690902908931?s=21 One cannot overstate how necessary diligent scrutiny of Johnson is. It’s the one…
Coronavirus, Covidiocy, Culture, Federal Government
Private Meetings in Public Monuments During a Pandemic
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
The Washington Post reports that Interior [Department] shuts Washington Monument after interior secretary tests positive for the coronavirus (‘Park Service staff say they may have been exposed when David Bernhardt led a private, after-hours tour’): Officials have taken the extraordinary step of closing the Washington Monument starting Friday as a precaution after Interior Secretary David Bernhardt —…
Coronavirus, Covidiocy, Crackpots, Trump
Trump Boosting MyPillow® CEO Now Hawks Crackpot Cures for COVID-19 (But of course he does)
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Coronavirus, Covidiocy, Disinformation, Mendacity, Public Health, Trump
Trump’s Excuses as COVID-19 Cases Continued to Rise
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Coronavirus, Covidiocy, Culture, Libertarians, Liberty, Public Health
Individual Responsibility in Conditions of Pandemic
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Economist Robert Samuelson, writing Americans are historically unhappy. But there’s a lesson to learn here, observes that The connecting threads of these pessimistic surveys are the novel coronavirus and its devastating impact on the economy. Nearly everyone is affected in one way or another. There’s a clash between America’s individualistic culture (“You can’t make me wear…
Coronavirus, Covidiocy, Public Health
Brazilian Pres. Bolsonaro defied health guidelines before testing positive for the coronavirus
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
For months, even as the coronavirus pandemic grew into a debilitating national crisis, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro did everything he could to downplay it. He called on people to return to normal. He waded into crowds of supporters. He repeatedly described it as nothing more than a little flu. Now Brazil is experiencing the world’s…
Coronavirus, Covidiocy, Never Trump, Public Health, Trump, Unfit
Ron Brownstein on Trump and His Anti-Mask Base
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
“Ron, there is a retail trade group that has asked President Trump to institute federal, nationwide mask guidelines at stores across the country as the country continues to re-open,” said anchor Alex Marquardt. “Experts are saying that masks could save thousands of lives in the coming months. Do you see a scenario in which —…
Coronavirus, Covidiocy, Mendacity, Public Health, Trump
‘Gaslighting on a massive scale’
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
“This is gaslighting on an enormous scale, and means until people eventually get sick or their family members get sick, the communities hit hard, they won’t believe it, and then it will be too late,” said [Dr. Celine] Grounder. “The problem is there’s a lag period from the time that somebody’s infected and starts to…
Coronavirus, Covidiocy, Public Health, Trump
This is a Mask
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Coronavirus, Covidiocy, Public Health, Trump, Unfit
Trump: Slow the Testing
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Bad Ideas, Coronavirus, Covidiocy, Public Health, Walworth County
How ‘bout a New Slogan for the Walworth County Fair?
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
One reads that not only are organizers planning to hold the Walworth County Fair during a pandemic, but that they hope to entice patrons with beer sales. Candidly, aside from the pig races (always suspenseful), one can be hit-or-miss about the fair. Holding it this year is problematic; looking for ways to attract more people…