Can a household adapt to the years of COVID-19?

I think there are good-paying jobs open in the health fields. If my memory serves me well, it takes about 8 weeks for a person to learn to be a Certified Nursing Assistant. Once a person is through education there is a certification test to achieve a CNA status and be paid well.

This is an issue for the Community College. An interested person can contact their local community college and find out where the courses are being conducted to obtain the training. So much learning is virtual that I have no idea at what point a person in training then moves to the clinical environment. But, local programs will know all those requirements. I am thinking a lot of the clinical teaching is actually done on the job after a person is certified and hired.

A two-parent household could prioritize each partner's education. Deciding to become a CNA is not an empty job after two months of training. There are disabled persons due to the virus SARS-CoV-2. Their need won't go away for years to come. Even if being a CNA is a temporary measure, for now, there is always the potential to become a nurse. It is not a bad job and it is not a dangerous job if proper PPE is used in caring for patients.

The pay scale for nurses can be very interesting and has many branches to pursue a specialty, including administrative work.

This is just an example to realize the learning can be applied to a future of self-improvement and higher incomes.

At University of Maryland Global Campus, (click here) you can seamlessly transition from your community college to a bachelor's degree program. We were built from the ground up to bring higher education to students like you. One way we do that is with our alliance agreements. We have alliances with more than 90 community and technical colleges nationwide to provide

• Dual enrollment at your community college and UMGC
• No-cost, no-commitment transfer credit evaluations
• Guaranteed admission
• A waiver of the $50 application fee¹

An Associate Degree is a full two-year commitment. So, getting the CNA is a good beginning to move into a health field career.

The point to this is that there are jobs available today that may only require a couple of months of training to bring prosperity to households in the USA where social venue jobs are no longer available. Married folks with children at home to educate can work different shifts if two incomes are needed for the household.

Americans can do this. I know they can. For the folks that want to and can make a commitment to a two-year degree or four-year degree, there are Pell Grants available. Just be careful where one is enrolled for that education. There are many private institutions promising the moon and simply don't deliver real jobs at the end of the education process. It is for that reason, people interested in pursuing these paths it is best to stick to community colleges and state universities. As a rule state universities are less expensive to attend. But, before jumping into a full two year to four-year commitment think about a short term training program that delivers a good-paying job to ensure the household is okay. 

The ad below is from "The Education Connection." Before trusting these private sites talk to a career counselor, virtually, at the community college to apply. I am sure there are people to talk to. Make well-educated decisions. Pell Grants are important money. The grants should not be squandered.

Be careful who one is trusting and keep the kids safe.

For 2020-21 (click here), $6,345 is the maximum Federal Grant amount an individual student may receive based on many qualifying factors.i Don’t put off earning your degree because it seems unaffordable—it may be time to find out if you qualify for any type of financial aid. Here are the popular types of financial aid that may be available to qualified students to help pay for college:

Grants: Schools may award grants to qualified students in addition to those available through the government to those who qualify.
Scholarships: Your grades, heritage, religious affiliation, and other factors may qualify you for these.
Student loans: The advisor you speak to may know if the school you are matched with offers private loans and which federal loans you may be eligible to pursue.
Military options: If you are or were in the military, be sure to ask a representative at the school you plan to attend what your funding options may be.

A virtual reality society is going to need people in IT.

These tech jobs pay around $80,000 annually.

According to estimates by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), (click here) computer and information technology jobs are projected to grow by 12% from 2018 to 2028—much faster than the average for all occupations. Moreover, the median annual wage for these jobs was $86,320 in May 2018, which was higher than the median annual wage for all occupations of $38,640. Surprisingly, you don’t need to have a four-year degree to succeed in this lucrative field. The highest-paying associate degree jobs in technology can earn you around $80,000 per year.

According to PayScale data, these are among the best associate degree jobs you can get in technology.

This is the reason Trump is shutting the CDC out of the loop of COVID-19

July 14, 2020
By Stephanie Soucheray

...Last week, (click here) President Donald Trump tweeted that the CDC's guidelines on school reopening were too expensive and onerous, and said they needed to be revised. He also threatened cutting funding to public schools if they do not open fully in the fall....

He is not capable of being neutral in any of the facts regarding COVID-19 to remove the CDC's authority in this matter.

Let him cut off the federal monies to schools. Governors and mayors are going to have to find the funding needed to continue the "virtual classroom." It is probably less expensive to teach in a virtual classroom. So, it won't be a hardship to continue the virtual classrooms across the USA.

Trump never accepts responsibility for anything. It is always "the other's fault." The direction in Texas, Arizona, Southern California, and Florida is horrible. They opened up their states too soon. If the states important to Trump aren't doing well it was guaranteed he would do something to blame others and show that once he has complete control everything will be better.

The only thing that will be better is the rosy picture Trump will paint through his HHS. 

Once the CDC is out of the picture the Governors will have to rely on each other to guide the country forward. Here again, the regional groups will relieve the pressure to lead within their states and know their borders are secure.

There are only 50 governors. That means a group meeting once a month or so is possible. Regional stability will reduce the movement of the virus. State health officials will never be more important. They can set up a group meeting to talk about virus activity within the state with a report to the governor as frequently as the state authorities believe it is necessary. 

The Governors can do this. They are great people that care.

The Confederate Flag is an icon that inspires hate.

There is no sovereign authority that displays the confederate flag, so what is the purpose of it?

...Courts (click here) have long held that the government cannot silence speech just because it hurts feelings or causes offense. A New York federal court just affirmed this principle last week in holding that police violated the First Amendment when they forced an anti-gay protester to leave a Pride festival. The Court said: “The First Amendment offers sweeping protection that allows all manner of speech to enter the marketplace of ideas. This protection applies to loathsome and unpopular speech with the same force as it does to speech that is celebrated and widely accepted.”...

Freedom of speech is important, but, when it inspires hate that leads to deaths, it has to be regarded as a precursor to death.

The USA has provisions in the law that punish crimes of hate. They are called "Hate Crimes." We know why these crimes happen and Freedom of Speech that inspires hate is a false choice. 

People have died at the hand of White Supremacists, including the protest in Charlottesville, Virginia. The White Supremacists/White Nationalists/Alt Right have lost their right to peacefully demonstrate and have their iconic confederate flag displayed.

There isn't anything else to say. The confederate flag and the confederate military statues come down.

The United States of American cannot wait any longer to address the Climate Crisis.

Look at this mess. Rain in New Hampshire is causing extreme flooding. The people are becoming cut off from their hospitals during a global pandemic because roads are all flooded.

Clean up (click here) continues at Cottage Hospital in Woodsville after flash floods this morning left the OR suite and specialty care area with 3+ inches of water. 12 surgeries were canceled. CEO Maria Ryan says she hopes affected areas will reopen later today. @UnionLeader

Those red carts are the OR's crash carts. The professionals have to wade into floodwaters (contaminated) to get their carts to save the lives of people in the OR. On top of these crash carts are defibrillators. They are the machines that deliver strong shocks to patients to stop heart malfunctions. Those carts are plugged in all the time to maintain full and functioning batteries. Anyone want to make a guess as to how dangerous that hallway is right now? Does anyone believe the professionals will actually wade into that water to UNPLUG the defibrillators to bring them into the OR?

Our infrastructure is failing us because it is outdated for a Climate Crisis that continues without conscience, without anything driving it besides Earth's physics. Enough of this disastrous decision making.

Trump can practice his penmanshhip all he wants, but, he cannot alter LEGISLATED LAW.

He tried to circumvent the law by ordering the Army Corp. to build a pipeline through aquifers and a Native American burial ground. So, because circumventing NEPA didn't work he is going to attempt to rewrite the law. 

HE CAN'T DO THAT!

If he wants to propose legislation to change NEPA for Congress, he can do that. But, he cannot simply change the law.

He won't have success no matter what he tries to BUY HIS CAMPAIGN FUNDS from his friends. We know for a fact the minority communities across the entire country, including Hawaii and Alaska, face higher and dangerous pollution to their neighborhoods. No matter what Trump tries to weaken environmental law, it won't work.

We have seen what occurs in our minority communities because of segregation and really lousy housing options. They are dying more than other Americans when exposed to SARS-Cov-2 and contract COVID-19. These Americans are important people, yet they continue to suffer from negligence on many fronts. It is institutional neglect. We need to find ways of protecting these Americans and making changes to NEPA is not the way forward.

What can be done and should be done are repairs to existing pipelines. The pipelines in the country need attention and quite possibly replacement. A good example of that is Line 5 that crosses a very sensitive area of the Great Lakes.

July 2, 2020
By John Flesher, AP Environmental Writer

Traverse City - A Michigan judge (click here) Wednesday allowed Enbridge to resume pumping oil through a Midwestern pipeline, nearly a week after shutting it down because of damage to a structure that anchors a section of the line running through a Great Lakes channel....

If this pipeline begins to leak it will adversely effect all the Great Lakes. The country has old pipelines and they need attention. That should be the focus on pipelines in the future.

Trump, when issuing directives to damage the environment he is committing human rights abuses. That is not permitted in the USA. It is unfortunate that Trump does not value human life but only views it through the lens of profit and cost. He is definitely not a president that cares about Americans but only the power the presidency brings money to himself and his cronies.

July 14, 2020
By Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis

President Trump (click here) plans this week to overhaul a federal law that poor and minority communities around the country have used for generations to delay or stop projects that threaten to pollute their neighborhoods — a law he says needlessly blocks good jobs, industry and public works.

The president’s plan to streamline the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a bedrock environmental law signed with much fanfare by President Richard M. Nixon in 1970, would make it easier to build highways, pipelines, chemical plants and other projects that pose environmental risks.

If the final version mirrors a proposal from January, it would force agencies to complete even the most exhaustive environmental reviews within two years and restrict the extent to which they could consider a project’s full impact on the climate....

What is this mess? It better not be racism.

July 14, 2020
By Aaron Liebowitz and Joey Flechas

The mayor of Hialeah, the second-largest city in Miami-Dade County, (click here) said Tuesday that he was denied entry to a roundtable that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was holding with several city mayors to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic.

DeSantis announced plans Tuesday morning for the 1 p.m. in-person roundtable at the Stephen P. Clark Government Center in downtown Miami, and members of his staff contacted the mayors of several cities in Miami-Dade County to invite them to the meeting. Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernandez said he didn’t receive an invitation, but Miami Mayor Francis Suarez informed him the roundtable was taking place.

When Hernandez tried to walk in, he told the Miami Herald, a member of the governor’s staff told him he wasn’t invited and couldn’t enter....


Carlos Hernandez (click here)

June 17, 2020
By Layron Livingston

...“I’ve been saying from the beginning, (click here) there’s many many people out there that do have the coronavirus that we don’t know about, and I wish the governor, from the first moment, would have come to Hialeah and help us more. Because he hasn’t done much for the city of Hialeah, to be honest with you,” Mayor Carlos Hernandez told Local 10 News by phone Wednesday.

Hialeah is one of the state’s most populous cities, with more than 230,000 residents densely packed.

Of the 80,676 Florida residents who have tested positive for COVID-19, 3,080 are from Hialeah. That’s the second-most for any city in the state, behind only Miami (13,740)...

It is about time The West stopped China. It is difficult to fight AI and cyber espionage without addressing the Chinese invasion.

14 July 2020
By Paul Sandle and Guy Faulconbridge

Why doesn't the USA have an office of digital secretary?

Digital secretary Oliver Dowden is set to unveil a new digital strategy positioning the tech sector at the heart of the UK’s economic recovery following the coronavirus crisis.

- Buying new Huawei 5G equipment banned after 31 December 2020

- All Huawei equipment to be removed from 5G networks by end of 2027

- Existing ban on Huawei from most sensitive ‘core’ parts of 5G network remains

- Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said in a statement to the House of Commons: “By the time of the next election we will have implemented in law an irreversible path for the complete removal of Huawei equipment from our 5G networks”.

HuaweI will be completely removed (click here) from the UK’s 5G networks by the end of 2027, the government has announced, following new advice produced by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) on the impact of US sanctions against the telecommunications vendor.

Ahead of this there will be a total ban on the purchase of any new 5G kit after 31 December 2020.

The decision was taken today in a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) chaired by the Prime Minister, in response to new US sanctions. These were imposed on Huawei in May, after the UK’s initial decision on high risk vendors, and are the first of their kind removing the firm’s access to products which have been built based on US semiconductor technology.

Technical experts at the NCSC reviewed the consequences of the sanctions and concluded the company will need to do a major reconfiguration of its supply chain as it will no longer have access to the technology on which it currently relies and there are no alternatives which we have sufficient confidence in. They found the new restrictions make it impossible to continue to guarantee the security of Huawei equipment in the future....

Why does this make sense?

July 14, 2020
By Sanchita Sharma

The inexpensive and widely-used Bacillus Calmette–Guerin (BCG) vaccine (click here) that protects against childhood tuberculosis also prevents severe infection and death from coronavirus disease (Covid-19), concluded two peer-reviewed studies released last week, including one led by Indian researchers from the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Delhi.

The JNU study from India found that the quality of protection depends on the BCG strain used to make the vaccine, with Mixed, Pasteur and Japan strains being superior to the three other strains which together account for more than 90% of the BCG vaccines being used in the world. The peer-reviewed study was published in Cell Death and Disease, which part of the Nature group of journals. The second study from the US, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also linked BCG vaccination with reduced Covid-19 deaths....

A vaccine that actually already exists that has an effect on COVID-19. BUT, the incidence of COVID-19 is high in India. How many people  are vaccineated wtih BCG?

BCG, or bacille Calmette-Guerin, (click here) is a vaccine for tuberculosis (TB) disease. Many foreign-born persons have been BCG-vaccinated. BCG is used in many countries with a high prevalence of TB to prevent childhood tuberculous meningitis and miliary disease. However, BCG is not generally recommended for use in the United States because of the low risk of infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the variable effectiveness of the vaccine against adult pulmonary TB, and the vaccine’s potential interference with tuberculin skin test reactivity. The BCG vaccine should be considered only for very select persons who meet specific criteria and in consultation with a TB expert....

The statistic of COVID-19 is incomplete. The death rate is different in India than in The West. The death rate is far lower. It the death rate lower because of a vaccine or because of bad reporting of statistics.

India is densely populated and yet is not leading the world in cases. India is fourth in the number of incidences.

25 June 2020
By Priyanka Pulla

...Even as India struggles, (click here) the true scale of the epidemic there might not be apparent. The country has an incomplete death-registration system, which means that not all deaths are recorded and the documented cause is often incorrect.

This raises questions about India’s COVID-19 mortality rate, which is officially 11 deaths per million people in the population — among the lowest in the world. By comparison, the United Kingdom has seen 635 deaths per million people, and the United States has seen 376....

The US Navy needs to rethink dockside security.

July 13, 2020
By John Wilkens

For as long (click here) as the Navy has had ships, there have been fires, and some have been deadly. That the Bonhomme Richard appears to have escaped without fatalities also explains why the fire has been so hard to put out.

Hardly anyone was on board when it started.

“As counter-intuitive as this sounds, I would much rather fight a fire at sea with a whole crew than fight it dockside,” said Bryan McGrath, a retired Navy commander. “The ability to act quickly with a massive response and inhibit the spread is aided when you have all your people.”

Some military experts believe the Bonhomme Richard can’t be saved, and if that’s the case, the mini-aircraft carrier — it was being retrofitted to deploy the latest-generation fighter jets — would be among the largest Navy ships ever lost....

What is burning? Oil fires burn black smoke. I think this fire is strange. The fire onboard a ship being fitted with USA's latest aircraft is burning while two US nuclear powered aircraft carriers - Nimitz and Ronald Reagan - with 120 fighters are exercising in South China Sea. This fire is very curious to me.

I also question the wisdom of having two nuclear powered aircraft carriers in the same place at the same time. This isn't a war, it is practice. I just don't see the prudent use of the ships in that dynamic.