Those of us living in FL probably can't really appreciate just how stultifying being under Covid dictates must have been, even with the many explanations from out of state writers such as yourself. Early on there was a period when I wore a mask but really wondered if I should bother - but accepted a certain amount of social pressure to conform until we had had our "miracle" shots in Dec. 2020 and Mar. 2021. After that there should not have been any point - or less than before the shots, anyway.
I do remember one time early in the pandemic we were returning from out of state on I-95 and were supposed to queue up in some long line for a check of our FL citizenship or an assessment of where nonFloridians might be staying (ie., quarantining). Somehow we managed to miss the sign to queue up and then just sailed on by the long backed up line of cars, waved ahead by some construction guy in an orange vest. [We did have FL plates, but only on the rear of the car.]
Then again, after over 30 years here, we are wusses who can't stand weather any cooler than 68 degrees, so we applaud you hardy Northerners for your stamina and fortitude - physical, social, and political.
Thank you. It was maddening for a lot of people, literally, and not in a positive way. As that one headine suggests, 40% of the state was physically broken by it, and the state that perpetrated that damage continues to lie to them. Probably not a few of them continue to blame those who did not take the jab, as if we had all taken it we could have stopped the virus….I don't know if they will ever recover.
People who were cut off by Covidian family or (once) friends should refuse to let them back into their lives without an apology. If they try to say Hi, they should just say, "We are no longer communicating as you requested," and turn their backs on them. Order them off your property if needed.
They are not sorry for all the harm they have done. They would do it again. Never trust them.
Thankfully I had no one in my life who acted like an authoritarian, except my fiance, who began to treat me inexplicably like I was an amalgam of the worst behavior of men in the history of the world. That relationship did not survive the lockdowns.
And you probably know in the ‘scheme of things’, that your ‘relationship’ with your fiancé “meeting it’s fate” was a good thing in the bigger picture of things. She showed you her true colors, and hopefully you are now in a ‘place of gratitude’ for what happened between you two.
I think somehow they just managed to change the definition of what a vaccine was or did (or at least the perception about that). Based on experience with polio and small pox, etc., we thought vaccines were more cure all than this situation found to be the case. If we had been reminded about the net efficacy and effectiveness of flu shots we might have moderated our expectations.
Plus we had the image of Trump riding herd or rough shod over the "overly timid" and slow FDA/CDC bureacracy, getting them to move faster than normal, perhaps without realizing just how necessary some of their regulatory caution was. Restricting initial vaccines to the elderly/compromised population [and maybe the teachers? selected medical staffers?] while further evaluation for side effects on the other less impacted groups could and should have continued.
Our next pandemic may not be so accommodating as to what subgroups are at greatest risk.
Shasha Latapova and Katherine Watt on substack have done a lot of good work on this. Trump aside, the "warp speed" thing was already in the pipeline, they were already prepared to fast track it as they wanted mRNA to be the new trillion dollar market, and of course test run the HHS martial law protocols and mandates.
It was a DoD operation from the start. Moderna is a CIA cutout. Phizer and FDA answered and took direction from DoD. There was never any evidence for efficacy, every single thing about it's performance they lied about. They had to change the def of vaccine in order to get the Emergency Use Authorization and immunity on liability.
There is abundant evidence not, the lipid nano particles they wrapped the mRNA in, migrate all over the body and accumulate. They carry rogue DNA.
There would be hell to pay, except the whole Health Care system engaged in iatrogenocide, and tens of millions of parents potentially damaged their kids. Hardly anyone wants to admit any of that.
The next "pandemic" will surely be as BS as Covid. They are desperately trying to drum up one for Bird Flu, except to many people are on to their tactics.
I agree with you about the Covid 2020 situation, that it appeared (and fairly early) that only the older and at risk folks were (well) at risk.
What I mean is that sometime there very well may be another pandemic that is much more severe, not caused by mankind's hubris or technical mucking around, and we will have a much more difficult time dealing with it.
I suppose a few states have revisited their respective emergency preparation plans for medical situations and the amount and kind of power they will grant to their governmental authorities, with some form of periodic review to minimize excessive authoritarian action.
But I know of no efforts to do this at the national level, and even the relatively mild situation around Covid showed we need almost everyone out there helping to keep the economy going via their respective contribution, whether at the working or management levels. The news media and college professors, perhaps not so much!! :-)
I was traveling in and out of my formerly home state of MN for large chunks of time during Covid. It was like everyone was under a dark spell. Now, they just seem resigned.
I thought MN might shift in the last election. Hardly anything changed. Walz does not have triumvirate power anymore, but Repubs are not set up well to challenge him. It looks like two years of acrimony and stasis, which frankly is much better than Dems doing everything they want. The energy in the cities when I go down there always feels hostile and drab. By contrast, my small rural town and county voted about 70% Trump, and things feel a good deal more vibrant here.
While conservatives are busy yelling for Trump and won't shut up about how bad and evil everyone is, they should be packing local governments (city councils, school boards, voter boards, etc.) with conservatives. And electing conservative judges.
Hermes is the Patron of Thieves *because* he is the God of Understanding. When you understand something, you make it (intellectually) your own. This author says it better than I can: https://sacred-texts.com/eso/vow/vow05.htm (scroll down to page xxv)
“HERMES was regarded as the Messenger or Angel of the Gods, descending alike to the depths of the Hadean world, to bring up souls from thence, and ascending up beyond all heavens that he might fill all things. For the Understanding must search alike the deeps and the heights; there can be nothing hidden from it, nor can it attain the fulness of supernal and secret knowledge unless it first explore the phenomenal and terrestrial. "For that he ascended, what is it but because he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?"
Those of us living in FL probably can't really appreciate just how stultifying being under Covid dictates must have been, even with the many explanations from out of state writers such as yourself. Early on there was a period when I wore a mask but really wondered if I should bother - but accepted a certain amount of social pressure to conform until we had had our "miracle" shots in Dec. 2020 and Mar. 2021. After that there should not have been any point - or less than before the shots, anyway.
I do remember one time early in the pandemic we were returning from out of state on I-95 and were supposed to queue up in some long line for a check of our FL citizenship or an assessment of where nonFloridians might be staying (ie., quarantining). Somehow we managed to miss the sign to queue up and then just sailed on by the long backed up line of cars, waved ahead by some construction guy in an orange vest. [We did have FL plates, but only on the rear of the car.]
Then again, after over 30 years here, we are wusses who can't stand weather any cooler than 68 degrees, so we applaud you hardy Northerners for your stamina and fortitude - physical, social, and political.
Thank you. It was maddening for a lot of people, literally, and not in a positive way. As that one headine suggests, 40% of the state was physically broken by it, and the state that perpetrated that damage continues to lie to them. Probably not a few of them continue to blame those who did not take the jab, as if we had all taken it we could have stopped the virus….I don't know if they will ever recover.
People who were cut off by Covidian family or (once) friends should refuse to let them back into their lives without an apology. If they try to say Hi, they should just say, "We are no longer communicating as you requested," and turn their backs on them. Order them off your property if needed.
They are not sorry for all the harm they have done. They would do it again. Never trust them.
Thankfully I had no one in my life who acted like an authoritarian, except my fiance, who began to treat me inexplicably like I was an amalgam of the worst behavior of men in the history of the world. That relationship did not survive the lockdowns.
And you probably know in the ‘scheme of things’, that your ‘relationship’ with your fiancé “meeting it’s fate” was a good thing in the bigger picture of things. She showed you her true colors, and hopefully you are now in a ‘place of gratitude’ for what happened between you two.
Thank you, and yes, it worked out well in the end. I have no regrets, and I do not wish any different. I am in a good place.
I think somehow they just managed to change the definition of what a vaccine was or did (or at least the perception about that). Based on experience with polio and small pox, etc., we thought vaccines were more cure all than this situation found to be the case. If we had been reminded about the net efficacy and effectiveness of flu shots we might have moderated our expectations.
Plus we had the image of Trump riding herd or rough shod over the "overly timid" and slow FDA/CDC bureacracy, getting them to move faster than normal, perhaps without realizing just how necessary some of their regulatory caution was. Restricting initial vaccines to the elderly/compromised population [and maybe the teachers? selected medical staffers?] while further evaluation for side effects on the other less impacted groups could and should have continued.
Our next pandemic may not be so accommodating as to what subgroups are at greatest risk.
Shasha Latapova and Katherine Watt on substack have done a lot of good work on this. Trump aside, the "warp speed" thing was already in the pipeline, they were already prepared to fast track it as they wanted mRNA to be the new trillion dollar market, and of course test run the HHS martial law protocols and mandates.
It was a DoD operation from the start. Moderna is a CIA cutout. Phizer and FDA answered and took direction from DoD. There was never any evidence for efficacy, every single thing about it's performance they lied about. They had to change the def of vaccine in order to get the Emergency Use Authorization and immunity on liability.
There is abundant evidence not, the lipid nano particles they wrapped the mRNA in, migrate all over the body and accumulate. They carry rogue DNA.
There would be hell to pay, except the whole Health Care system engaged in iatrogenocide, and tens of millions of parents potentially damaged their kids. Hardly anyone wants to admit any of that.
The next "pandemic" will surely be as BS as Covid. They are desperately trying to drum up one for Bird Flu, except to many people are on to their tactics.
DO NOT COMPLY…there will be no “next Fake Pandemic” if we don’t comply.
DO NOT COMPLY…there will be no “next Fake Pandemic” if we don’t comply.
Only the old and sick were “at risk”, during the Plandemic. No one else was “at risk”. You might want to seriously re-think your thinking on this one!
I agree with you about the Covid 2020 situation, that it appeared (and fairly early) that only the older and at risk folks were (well) at risk.
What I mean is that sometime there very well may be another pandemic that is much more severe, not caused by mankind's hubris or technical mucking around, and we will have a much more difficult time dealing with it.
I suppose a few states have revisited their respective emergency preparation plans for medical situations and the amount and kind of power they will grant to their governmental authorities, with some form of periodic review to minimize excessive authoritarian action.
But I know of no efforts to do this at the national level, and even the relatively mild situation around Covid showed we need almost everyone out there helping to keep the economy going via their respective contribution, whether at the working or management levels. The news media and college professors, perhaps not so much!! :-)
It was equally or perhaps worse on a many levels out here in Commifornia during the Scamdemic.
I was traveling in and out of my formerly home state of MN for large chunks of time during Covid. It was like everyone was under a dark spell. Now, they just seem resigned.
I thought MN might shift in the last election. Hardly anything changed. Walz does not have triumvirate power anymore, but Repubs are not set up well to challenge him. It looks like two years of acrimony and stasis, which frankly is much better than Dems doing everything they want. The energy in the cities when I go down there always feels hostile and drab. By contrast, my small rural town and county voted about 70% Trump, and things feel a good deal more vibrant here.
While conservatives are busy yelling for Trump and won't shut up about how bad and evil everyone is, they should be packing local governments (city councils, school boards, voter boards, etc.) with conservatives. And electing conservative judges.
Local, local, local. It all starts there.
Hermes is the Patron of Thieves *because* he is the God of Understanding. When you understand something, you make it (intellectually) your own. This author says it better than I can: https://sacred-texts.com/eso/vow/vow05.htm (scroll down to page xxv)
Yes. He says it more clearly perhaps than I did.
“HERMES was regarded as the Messenger or Angel of the Gods, descending alike to the depths of the Hadean world, to bring up souls from thence, and ascending up beyond all heavens that he might fill all things. For the Understanding must search alike the deeps and the heights; there can be nothing hidden from it, nor can it attain the fulness of supernal and secret knowledge unless it first explore the phenomenal and terrestrial. "For that he ascended, what is it but because he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?"