May 1, 2020
Nathan Burtley (click here for audio - thank you)
"I just want to thank the frontline fighters for doing their part,” (click here) Flint’s Mayor Sheldon Neeley said. “Now, we have to do our part and talk about how we resurrect our community in the safest and best way.”
A task force has been created to guide the City of Flint on when and how to re-open. Flint's Mayor said the group of City leaders will work in tandem with the Governor's multi-region plan to relax stay-at-home restrictions across the state.
Neeley explained the more than two-dozen members of the task force were chosen to take the reins of the City's future because they live, work and serve the city already. So, he said, they know best what needs to be done.
“We tried to get every person from every sector of our common day-to-day lives and these are the people who make society move,” Neeley said.
They are leaders from the church, business and medical communities, to name a few.
“We’re going to be looking at possibilities, trying to salvage some of our, our local events that we look forward to -- Back to the Bricks, the Crim Race…. Do we need to cancel or can we do this in a safe way and responsible way moving forward?” Neeley said.
There is no word today about prosecutions, but, there is this.
May 1, 2020
By Zahra Ahmad
Flint - The state (click here) has moved Flint’s $31 million plan to upgrade its wastewater treatment system forward. Soon, the city will decide on whether to accept a state loan to fund the plan.
In a notice posted on April 29, the state waived doing an environmental assessment for the project and is seeking public input on the decision. The state’s review found that no significant environmental impacts would be made by doing the project....
May 1, 2020
By Richard Harris
A COVID-19 antibody testing center is seen at Steve's 9th Street Market in Brooklyn on April 25. Here's a quick guide to sorting out the pluses and minuses to each type of test.
Testing for the coronavirus (click here) has been very much in the news. The first and most urgent focus is on increasing access to tests to diagnose people with current infections. But now other tests are appearing as well. Antibody tests, which can identify people with signs of past infection, are starting to be available. And a third type of test is on the way.
Here's a quick guide to sorting out the pluses and minuses to each type of test.
Diagnostic or PCR test
What it does: Doctors use this test to diagnose people who are currently sick with COVID-19. This is the one we've been hearing so much about.
How it works: This test uses a sample of mucus typically taken from a person's nose or throat. The test may also work on saliva — that's under investigation. It looks for the genetic material of the coronavirus. The test uses a technology called PCR (polymerase chain reaction), which greatly amplifies the viral genetic material if it is present. That material is detectable when a person is actively infected....
Record of COVID-19 cases (click here)
April 30, 2020
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (click here) hosted a virtual town hall meeting to answer questions from the public related to the coronavirus pandemic
There were a wide variety of questions asked during the virtual meeting, ranging from auto plant changes to when we can expect to see and play sports again.
When asked about the possible changes there will be for auto plants to practice social distancing, Governor Whitmer said, "I've been having regular conversations with Rory Gamble, the president of UAW, and they've been working closely to make sure they've got protocols to keep people safe when they return to work whether it is implementing Plexiglas dividers, not having big shift changes, or having one third of the workforce. I believe the Big 3 have a lot of great protocols."...
People are concerned whether it is safe to start reopening and some wonder what that timeline looks like. However, it seems there is no timeline according to Governor Whitmer. "What we know at this point is we are comfortable turning that dial and re-engaging our construction industry," said Governor Whitmer, "There will be additional industries that will come online in the coming days, but we are watching these numbers."...
This is a graph (click here) of the COVID-19 confirmed cases in Michigan. Wikipedia is developing graphs to track the virus. There really isn't enough testing data that provides excellent statistics right now. I think the states and federal officials are trying to find a downward trend to the virus infections, but, part of the problem is the availability of testing for more definitive statistics.
To add to the discussion, I would expect the graph of most states that reopen their economies to look similar to this. There would be a spike in the number of confirmed cases followed by a reduction before another aspect of the economy was opened. The defining factor is the ability of the health care system to respond to additional cases.
I think it is very important for Americans to understand the loosening of stay at home orders is not the end of continued vigilance. The population of people most vulnerable is still going to be vulnerable. It is the lethality of this virus and quite possibly the long-lasting effects of it that should be of most concern to Americans.
May 1, 2020
The rising number of COVID-19 deaths (click here) in Michigan has prompted the state to activate the Michigan Mortuary Response Team (MI-MORT) for the first time in its history.
MI-MORT is a collaborative effort of approximately 40 volunteers from across the state, including medical examiners and investigators, law enforcement, forensic scientists, chaplains and funeral directors....
This is from an article in the New York Times. It is called "COVID Toes."
Chilblains, (click here) the painful red inflammations that are normally associated with exposure to cold air. A similar condition has been showing up in Covid-19 patients.
There is a growing library of knowledge that points to the attack by the virus to all systems of the human body. Looking at that picture, one has to wonder if this is permanent damage to tissue that can lead to other more unfavorable outcomes, or will it heal? Whoever expected this level of disturbance of the human body by a virus?
May 1, 2020
By Roni Caryn Rabin
Before the coronavirus outbreak, Dr. Lindy Fox, a dermatologist in San Francisco, used to see four or five patients a year with chilblains — painful red or purple lesions that typically emerge on fingers or toes in the winter.
Over the past few weeks, she has seen dozens.
“All of a sudden, we are inundated with toes,” said Dr. Fox, who practices at the University of California, San Francisco. “I’ve got clinics filled with people coming in with new toe lesions. And it’s not people who had chilblains before — they’ve never had anything like this.”
It’s also not the time of year for chilblains, which are caused by inflammation in small blood vessels in reaction to cold or damp conditions. “Usually, we see it in the dead of winter,” Dr. Fox said....
The release of the first drug (click here) found to actually have an effect on SARS-CoV-2 is wonderful. I think some of the dialogue regarding this virus that is not engaged yet is the permanence of any damage the virus might have caused. This is not the flu. My concern is that Americans may come away with permanent damage and quite possibly handicapped because of their injuries from this virus. Basically, are the patients showing disorientation because of brain involvement, either cellular damage or brain swelling, continue to suffer from these deficits after they no longer test positive for the virus?
April 15, 2020
By Amy Norton
...But those severe infections (click here) are not only damaging people's lungs. Doctors are also seeing injuries to the heart -- from heart attack to inflammation of the heart muscle, to potentially fatal heart arrhythmias....
Here again, the issue is nervous system tissue. The heart has its own nervous system that innervates the heartbeat. So, we know there are red eyes, brain involvement, severe insult to the skin at the extremities, and heart impairments.
Where is this lousy virus getting a foothold? What mechanism of the cell does it find success with an invasion of it's RNA? Perhaps the first therapeutic for patients is to provide an IV of Normal Saline with potassium supplement to help the cells if they are being disturbed by the virus. It might soothe the inflammation and power the cell to mitigate any damage.
The sodium/potassium pump (click here) also known as the Na+/K+ pump or Na+/K+-ATPase, this is a protein pump found in the cell membrane of neurons (and other animal cells). It acts to transport sodium and potassium ions across the cell membrane in a ratio of 3 sodium ions out for every 2 potassium ions brought in. In the process, the pump helps to stabilize membrane potential, and thus is essential in creating the conditions necessary for the firing of action potentials.
No one should be taking the virus or the return of economic dynamics lightly. Testing is essential to avoidance of furthering it's advance through the society of the USA.
Journalism standard. Who reminds FOX News daily there is something called a journalism standard? Whatever is said today by Joe Biden will be dissected and served up very differently than any journalism standard. Where was the journalism standard when sports figures are accused of sexual assault. There are different standards for women and men.
A former Senate staffer (click here) for Joe Biden claims that he sexually assaulted her in 1993. Biden on Friday said "unequivocally, it never, never happened...
I can't' find a description of Ms. Reade's job at the Biden office? I am trying to find a reference to her job description. Besides carrying a gym bag to the place where Biden was waiting for it, what did she do?
Joe Biden (click here) denied a former Senate staffer's allegation of sexual assault on Friday, saying “this never happened.”
Another thing I observed that occurred as Joe Biden stated his denial of any allegations is the rapid release of that by the media. The media already had their articles ready to publish as soon as he uttered his first sentence. Literally, I was looking at my phone while he spoke and as soon as the period at the end of the sentence of denial occurred NPR released the headline stating Biden denied any allegations. I thought to myself, "Gee, the media certainly types fast."
Shame on any media outlet that composed their article OF FACT before the appearance of the former Vice President.
But, what is lacking in Ms. Reade's complaint is context. She is placed on the day of her complaint carrying a gym bag to then Senator Biden. The entire complaint is sterile as to the context in which she worked including her job description. What I find offensive is that this is 1993 and women working in an office are still FETCHING things for their boss. I thought by 1993 the coffee pot was everyone's responsibility. Did Ms. Reade regularly handle menial tasks for the Senator and why? I find the idea she fetched his gym bag to his location is offensive. At the coffee pot these days, everyone gets their own. If I was asked to bring my boss a cup of coffee or his gym bag I'd tell him to get his own and firmly stand that being a handmaiden was not in the job description.
Always believe the woman. That is the new rule. They are to be believed when they report about Trump and they are to be believed when they report about Joe Biden.
I have wanted to approach this case for about a week or so after reading Ms. Reade's accounting of a sexual assault by then Senator Joe Biden. The reason I haven't approached this up to now is that this is not a blatantly obvious case as many in the past have been. In the morning Former Vice President Joe Biden will be interviewed about this, so I wanted to put my thoughts here and now rather than to appear to be influenced otherwise. I have been giving this issue some thought and there is no real path that is straight forward. A lot of this case relies on the reporting of one woman having been sexually assaulted. I am not going to apologize for my views, which may be harsh, and I also believe Ms. Reade has the right to validate her experience.
It appears to me there is no criminal case against Joe Biden and here is why. There is no corroborating evidence. The "touching" that women state occurred was not criminal. I will get to Ms. Reade in a minute. When hearing the reporting from the women about their feelings in regard to their episodes with Joe Biden, none rose to any level of criminal. They didn't like it, but, it was not a crime. It was up to them to approach the former Vice President about the discomfort they felt at the time he touched them.
From the reporting in Fortune magazine I have included below, by several credible newspapers of Ms. Reade's claim, none have turned up any information to support Ms. Reade's reporting of sexual assault.
To begin, in this particular case, the politics of the day will not be effected by any revelations about Joe Biden. Currently, the only reason Donald John Trump is not up on charges related to "the other women" in his life is that he is in office. His payoffs of the women he was involved with is well documented.
Let's just say Ms. Meade is correct. Her reporting about Biden along with the other women reporting about Donald John Trump negates each other politically. As a matter of fact, between the two candidates, women, minorities, and the Middle Class have received more benefits from Joe Biden than they ever did Donald John Trump. So, when it comes to the politics of infidelity and the presidency, Joe Biden has proven to act in favor of women for decades and Trump has not.
The Violence Against Women Act was written and passed three years before the reported incident by Ms. Meade. So, no one can say this was done in anticipation of a woman assaulted calling him out on it. This was written and passed into law because Former Senator and Vice President Biden actually wanted to protect people that could not protect themselves. We all know the resistance this law receives from the political right in the USA.
On June 20, 1990, (click here) then-Senator Joe Biden introduced the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in the United States Congress. This act was a landmark piece of legislation that changed the way our country responded to domestic violence and sexual assault. VAWA changed law enforcement practices, improved the criminal justice system, and created a network of services for victims. The bill established new federal crimes of interstate domestic violence and stalking, doubled penalties for repeat sex offenders, and sparked the passage of laws at the state level to protect victims. Since the passage of the Violence Against Women Act in 1994, rates of domestic violence have decreased by over 50%....
Additionally, when it comes to the politics of China, if the stories of Hunter and Joe Biden are true, then Trump has nothing to point to in relation to any business with China. Trump is as guilty of patronizing China to enhance his wealth as his opponent.
But, as to Ms. Meade. She has a difficult case to prove. Other women have been seeking to prove their cases against Trump as well. They are doing it through the courts. If Ms. Meade wants to mark her experience as valid then she needs to file her case in the civil courts. She should seek proper mitigation in the way of monies for any damage to her career, embarrassment within her life, and any lingering pain over a once fond relationship with Joe Biden. She is important and her case should be pursued. These issues have been pursued before with presidential candidates even after they were elected.
Her reporting is also not the monster of Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, or Jeffery Epstein of modern times. These three men had many accusers that repeated the same stories validating common facts. That does not exist in Ms. Meade's case. The trauma she states she experienced is not repeated by other women. Her recollection is of sexual assault and she stands alone in that reality.
I am sorry she has had such a difficult time working with the former Senator Biden. I hope she can find the strength and will to find a legal path for the offenses against her conscience. I am confident she is a wonderful person that has suffered. She needs to be validated in some way and relieved of the burden all this has placed upon her. Such memories are a weight on women and do effect their best outcomes to their careers, life, and love.
Personally, I am disappointed. I always thought of Joe Biden as a person without marks against him. Ms. Meade changes the way I think about Joe Biden, but, it does not effect my political views. In all honesty, I sincerely wanted Senator Elizabeth Warren or Senator Kamala Harris to be the Democratic nomination for president. I sincerely believe for women to finally be treated as equals we need to elect a woman to the presidency. But, there have been several highly qualified women over the past half-decade and they were all pushed aside.
I look forward to Former Vice President Biden's interview and I sincerely wish Ms. Meade peace and resolution to any scars still remaining.
April 29, 2020
By Jack Brewster
April 3, 2019: Reade became one of eight women (click here) who accused Biden of inappropriate touching last year, telling her local California newspaper, The Union, that while Biden “used to put his hand on my shoulder and run his finger up my neck,” she didn’t feel she was a victim of sexualization, instead comparing it to being treated like an inanimate object, like a lamp. "It’s pretty. Set it over there," she told the paper. "Then when it’s too bright, you throw it away." Reade said her responsibilities in Biden’s office were reduced after she refused to serve drinks at an event....
