Interesting article in Brookings this week about teacher expectations of students.

I think expecting good performance out of students is important, but, no one can deny things have changed in the teaching and learning of students. They are still going to be wearing masks for children under 12.

I think 12 years old is when Junior High School or Middle School begins, yes? So, the Middle Schools should be maskless because I am confident the school systems will require vaccines where they are available.

I will say this, the schools may have a problem enforcing that rule because of the inflammatory response noted in this age group, of 12 - 17. Parents might be apprehensive in having their children in this age group vaccinated. So, if the youngest elementary students still have to wear masks, perhaps that should still be system-wide. No chance of cross-contamination because some teachers such as art and music travel from school to school to teach.

But, the article from Brookings is interesting. I think school systems need to be ready to try different evaluations for students who are not doing well and whether or not they need to repeat a grade or find a better venue for their learning.

July 29, 2021

By Niharika Gupt and Sameer Sampat

In primary school, (click here) we were both lucky to have teachers who thought we were brilliant: Ms. Darrow believed Sameer was an excellent student despite average grades, and Ms. Lewis made Niharika feel like she could survive anything. Looking back, neither of us knows why they thought this way, but we’re certain that they both truly felt this way, and their feelings made us believe it as well. Our time with these teachers made us believe in our ability to take on academic challenges, building a base of confidence that we would draw on throughout our lives.

We experienced firsthand that what a teacher expects from a student can have a powerful effect. But we also know that there are many students who never have a teacher who believes in them. There is a strong perception among teachers and other stakeholders that students from disadvantaged economic and social backgrounds cannot learn as well. These beliefs adversely impact what teachers do in the classroom and in turn how much students learn and grow. It’s precisely these students from disadvantaged backgrounds who have been hit hardest by COVID-19 and who need the most help. To bridge this growing inequality in learning, we must design support for teachers to nurture the belief that all students can learn....

No surprise here, Florida still holds the title of the SuperSpreader State.

August 1, 2021
By John Bacon and Jeanine Santucci

Trump's Super Spreader Rally in Florida (click here)

The U.S. likely won't see the lockdowns (click here) that plagued the nation last year despite surging infections, but "things are going to get worse," Dr. Anthony Fauci warned Sunday.

Fauci, making the rounds on morning news shows, noted that half of Americans have been vaccinated. That, he said, should be enough people to avoid drastic measures. But not enough to crush the outbreak.

"We are looking, not I believe to lockdowns, but to some pain and suffering in the future," Fauci said on ABC’s “This Week."

The U.S. reported more than 1.3 million new infections in July, more than triple the number from June. Fauci acknowledged that some breakthrough infections are occurring among the vaccinated. No vaccine is 100% effective, he noted. But he stressed the Biden administration's recurring theme that vaccinated people who do become infected are far less likely to become seriously ill than unvaccinated people who become infected....

A lot of people sick and dead.

 WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard (click here)

If you look at this blog regularly, I thank you for that, but, you would also recognize the graph to the left. Right now you are scratching your head going, that doesn't look a whole lot different than the beginning of this thing.

That would be correct. However if you scroll to the top of this epage you will see the date the information was updated, 30 July 2021.

Globally, as of 6:30pm CEST, 30 July 2021, there have been 196,553,009 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 4,200,412 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 29 July 2021, a total of 3,839,816,037 vaccine doses have been administered.

There is also the addition of the word vaccine which did not appear in the earlier days of the Global Pandemic. And if you toggle between weekly figures and daily, there is basically no difference between the two. What is high on a daily basis is high on a weekly basis.

The situation by country has the USA still being first in confirmed cases. That is even with President Biden's July 4th goal nearly met. Why? Because the people that are not vaccinated are still getting sick over and over and over again, except for the ones that die for listening to Trump.

India is coming in a close second after it's escalation in cases in May of this year. 

Next is Brazil that is basically out of control. 

Russia comes in behind Brazil and for some reason, their Sputnik vaccine doesn't seem to be doing as well with the Delta variant if indeed that is what the problem is as of late.

So, with Brazil out of control and the USA still making a significant showing in confirmed cases, the Americas are still producing the most confirmed cases.

It's Sunday Night

So this is the COVID-19 reaction, right? Oh, my, goodness I really got this thing.

So, the song "Sick" below reminded me of a really good theme song for Trump. "I am so sick of being sick of you." Think about it. Isn't that what his entire theme is, destroying government that invokes taxes and then spends the taxes appallingly on things governments spend taxes on. How dare they.

But, I really do believe that is Trump's Theme Song, "Sick." I also think his loyal followers have that same attitude. It is an attitude. I am so sick of me being sick of you. No wonder he speaks in the Third Person.

This is the stage version. The guitar in this song became quite popular for teaching lessons.

Acoustic version

Sick by Adelitas Way (click here for official website - thank you)

I'm so sick of me, being sick of you

And the way you look, all the things you do
You drive me crazy, drive me crazy
Sick of being broke, can't pay for shit
I'm about to snap, I can't handle this
I'm going crazy, doing crazy (Going crazy)

If you're sick like me
There's no stopping now
Try to break it up
And just let it out
If I was sick like you
I would feed the fire
I would light it up
And watch it all drop down

I'm so sick of my life
It's the same old shit
Try to make it bend
But it never gives
Look what you made me (What you made me)
Well I hate my boss
He's a little bitch
If he keeps it up
I'll make him quit
Or I'll go crazy
I'm going crazy

If you're sick like me
There's no stopping now
Try to break it up
And just let it out
If I was sick like you
I would feed the fire
I would light it up
And watch it all drop down
And watch it all drop down

I'm so sick of me, being sick of you
And the way you look, all the things you do
You drive me crazy, drive me crazy
Yeah!

If you're sick like me
There's no stopping now
Try to break it up
And just let it out
If I was sick like you
I would feed the fire
I would light it up
And watch it all drop down

If you're sick like me
There's no stopping now
There's no stopping now
Watch it all drop down
If you're sick like me
Then you're sick like me

Fish harvested from the oceans will have to be tested for Forever Chemicals.

President Biden has prioritized "Forever Chemicals" be removed from American cities and towns because of the danger they hold to Americans. The "Environmental Justice" movement is being well served by his vigilance. 

These Forever Chemicals entered the air through methods of manufacturing and disposal of them in the way of dumping and/or incineration. Those chemicals in the air were distributed with snowfall that recharges glaciers and ice fields. Now that Antarctica is melting in large amounts the Forever Chemicals that were literally stored in the ice are now becoming part of the Southern Ocean as water runs off Antarctica. 

The oceans are in terrible condition and this is still another reason as to why. These chemicals will enter the food chain for humans through ingestion by fish that is then harvested. There must be a testing regime for all fish harvested from the oceans to ensure a safe food supply to people living on land.

Food safety should be a concern for all countries and their people. Some of the youngest members of our societies will be affected the most if they eat fish sticks or any part of the fish in their diet. We cannot in good conscience simply say, "Oh, well, that's too bad." This is an important discovery and it should not be taken lightly by any country. This should be an additional issue at the upcoming global meeting regarding the climate in November 2021.

July 27, 2021
By Lancaster University

Known as 'forever' chemicals due (click here) to the fact they do not break down in the environment, poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are used in a wide range of products and processes from fire proofing to stain resistant surfaces.

The Lancaster University study has found them in the surface seawater close to melting Arctic ice floes at concentrations of up to two times higher than levels observed in the North Sea, even though the region of the Barents Sea under investigation was thousands of kilometers from populated parts of Europe....

...PFAAs can enter the food chain due to their mobility in the environment and protein-binding characteristics. The longer carbon chain compounds of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) are generally associated with liver damage in mammals, with developmental exposure to PFOA adversely affecting fetal growth in humans and other mammals alike.

Dr. Jack Garnett discovered an unusual phenomenon whereby PFAAs present in the atmosphere are deposited with snowfall onto the surface of ice floes where they can eventually accumulate within the sea ice. Jack made this observation while taking ice and water samples as part of a scientific expedition under the Norwegian Nansen Legacy project.

The Russians could have sent the ISS tumbling into space.

July 30, 2021
By Paul Brinkmann

Orlando - The new Russian Nauka module (click here) for the International Space Station unexpectedly fired thrusters after docking Thursday, temporarily knocking the space station out of its normal position, NASA announced.

The problem was corrected quickly, and the people on board the space station are safe, NASA said....

...The problem prompted NASA to postpone Friday's launch of the Boeing Starliner test flight to the space station.

"It just doesn't make a lot of sense to send another vehicle the station's way, while they had this event and so we're working together and figure out what caused this," Steve Stich, NASA manager for the Commercial Crew Program, said during a press conference Thursday.

By late Thursday afternoon, mission controllers in Moscow had reconfigured the Nauka module to prevent further firing of its thrusters, said NASA's Joel Montalban, program manager for the space station.

"The team operated according to established procedures. It wasn't like we had to come up with procedures or anything. The team knows what to do and how to operate, and that's what they did today," Montalban said in the press conference.

The module had just arrived at the space station Thursday after years of delays and problems on the ground during manufacturing....

An EF3 tornado caues casualties in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

July 31, 2021
By Adriana Navarro & Mark Puleo

One day after a destructive tornado struck eastern Pennsylvania, (click here) causing the partial collapse of a car dealership and injuring several people inside, National Weather Service meteorologists confirmed that an EF3 tornado had torn through the area with peak winds of up to 140 mph.

The most intense damage, the NWS office in Mount Holly, New Jersey, said on Friday, was to a car dealership and an adjacent mobile home park.

Just after 7:10 p.m. EDT Thursday, amid an outburst of severe weather in the mid-Atlantic, the twister struck near the Neshaminy Mall in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, according to the NWS Storm Prediction Center. The town in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, sits about 20 miles northeast of Philadelphia.

Bensalem Public Safety Director Fred Harran said it was the worst damage he had ever seen, comparing the destruction to that of which a viewer might see "on a TV show."

"It just looked like a bomb went off. I mean, it's gone," he told ABC News. "I've been doing this for 34 years. I never saw that kind of devastation from a storm."...

The Governor has a plan to better affordable housing in Flint.

Those effected by the poisoning regardless of where they are living now should register with the Flint Registry.

July 30, 2021

Flint - The Flint Registry is receiving an additional $5 million (click here) to help residents continue recovering from the Flint water crisis.

Congressman Dan Kildee of Flint included the funding in a piece of federal legislation. The money allows the Flint Registry to continue connecting residents to services and programs helping them cope with the effects of the Flint water crisis.

The Flint Registry started in 2016 and received $4.5 million last year to continue operating through 2021. The $5 million appropriation announced Friday will continue the registry’s services into 2022.

The registry has well over 10,000 families signed up to receive advice and referrals for services that combat the effects of lead poisoning suffered during the Flint water crisis....

July 29, 2021

Today, Governor Whitmer visited Flint (click here) for the Flint Affordable Housing Event where she announced a game changing investment to increase affordable housing across the state.

Governor Whitmer was joined by Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley, Acting Executive Director of MSHDA Gary Heidl, and President and CEO of Communities First Glenn Wilson. In the event, Whitmer, Neeley and Wilson said quality housing is a basic human need, and people being without that need results in health problems and a lack stability in other areas, as well....

Let's talk Delta Virus COVID-19 variant

A couple of things that I am reading it beginning to dovetail:

l. The characteristics of the Delta Variant

2. Houseing evicsions in the USA.

First, the characteristics of the Delta Variant. It is highly contagious and for people without underlying conditions, the variant is conquered EXCEPT the CDC has studies that back up the idea the variant is infecting some people that are already vaccinated.

This particular variant is taking on an interesting characteristic. It is topping out and the rates of infection are dropping in The West. A couple of thoughts about this, The West is well-rehearsed in virus prevention by social distancing, mask-wearing, and hand hygiene ESPECIALLY if touching the face. Therefore, when the call goes out to the public about the new and unexpected danger, they react accordingly and end prevent the spread. 

There is another aspect to the virus abruptly ending. It is a bit about physics, but, there is a way to talk about it so everyone will understand.

The dynamic is similar to Wall Street or better yet a herd of domestic animals and a watering source. With Wall Street, there are just so many stocks to a company and hence the reason there is a chronic increase in stock values. That is expected for a stock that is a viable company. The more people that want to purchase the stocks the price increases and in the long run only those able to overcome the expensive price are able to receive the benefit of quarterly stock dividends.

In a pasture with domestic animals of one kind or another, excluding camels, there is a high demand for water. For some reason. the water trough is empty and only filled with a fourth of the usual volume. Which animals are going to be satisfied their need? The ones that reach the water trough first, yes?

The Delta Variant is similar in that it is predatory and very fast to replicate and spread itself among available human beings. Starting to get the picture?

So, the Delta Variant is being met with certain containment issues, first the smarter the people are about preventing infection, including vaccination, the less chance it has. Second, there are only so many people in an area where the virus is viable. That in and of itself is limiting. Then considering there are few numbers of people compared to the HIGH NUMBER of viruses, there will be a population of viruses that will never find a victim.

So, with Delta's speed of transmission it is ending its own existence in The West because of all those issues, but, the primary driver is the fact there are not enough victims for the number of viruses and when the new generation of virus arrive to infect there simply aren't any more people to infect. It is that I believe is why The West is seeing a sudden drop off of new infections. That is NOT A REASON to not get vaccinated. There is always the potential danger to a Level Three virus that will kill anyone no matter the prevention patterns. GET VACCINATED.

Now, why does this dovetail with evictions from housing? Simple, PREVENTING movement of people possibly infected with or is a carrier of any form of the virus will INCREASE THE SPREAD. That has been true since the beginning. So, the eviction moratorium should continue since many Americans lost their ability to perform work for gainful employment. A good way to end it is to open up the least affected areas and that may be Chicago as a  candidate.

There are requirements to ending eviction moratoriums:

1. Infection rates of any variant are way, way down. REMEMBER, the longer a virus has contact with human beings the more likely a Level Three will result. We are at that precipice with Delta and COVID-19. 

2. Employment for the SKILLS ABILITY of the population is good. Don't dump people on the street because the AREA is having good employment. The employment has to meet ALL the skill ability of those being evicted. So this is JOB AVAILABILITY.

     AND, a wage per hour that provides a living wage.

3. THERE IS HOUSING if evicted. If the area has a poor housing market by the number of available apartments or houses and/or AFFORDABLE housing numbers then the eviction moratorium should continue with active problem-solving.

The US House has tasked itself to solve the housing problem, especially with a focus on ending homelessness. So, all these factors are currently IN THE AGENDA of the federal government. No one is being abandoned to CHANCE anymore. I understand there is still funding available for the continuation of the moratorium.

Put the masks back on !!! The GOP will fight this because they opened their states too quickly.

This should be no surprise to anyone. These are the states and areas of the country that opened up too soon or didn't bother to have real policies to end the spread of COVID-19. Florida is still in play as the SUPER SPREADER STATE.

Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida are all guilty of having the lowest vaccinations rates in the country. Below is a map of the states illustrating the low rates of vaccination (click here).

These state governors are a problem. They do not care about the people so much as their POPULOUS seats of power. It is time to hold them accountable for the human pain and suffering that occurred under their administrations and THE DANGER they present in allowing the spread of the virus and it's variants that could lead to a Level Three Virus that will ultimately destroy life.

A Level Three Variant and/or initial virus anywhere in the world must be contained for its ability to kill anyone it infests regardless of vaccination.

If anyone needs to understand excellence in governance in a pandemic look to Chicago's Mayor Lori Lightfoot. 

July 27, 2021

By Dan Petrella

To the left, Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

Illinois will follow federal recommendations (click here) that even fully vaccinated people should once again wear masks indoors in areas where the coronavirus is surging — which currently does not include most of the Chicago area, state public health officials said Tuesday.

The updated mask guidelines issued Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said masks should be worn indoors by everybody, including the fully inoculated, in areas of “substantial” or “high” transmission....

It is extremely difficult to control the spread of any bacteria and/or virus in any city because of population density. Yet, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has done it. Hopefully, that track record will continue and Chicago will remain open with minimal incidents of COVID-19 and/or its variants.

Her ability to work with the community and bring a common understanding for a common purpose to end the spread of a lethal virus is remarkable.

IT CAN BE DONE!!!!!!

July 27, 2021

By Hilary Brueck

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (click here) is now recommending that fully vaccinated people put their masks back on when indoors in public, at least in the areas of the country where COVID-19 is spreading fastest.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Tuesday that "the Delta variant behaves uniquely differently" compared to other versions of the virus, and that vaccinated people "may be contagious and spread the virus to others."

But the CDC isn't recommending that everyone mask up again.

The agency's new guidance is limited to places where COVID-19 transmission is deemed "substantial" or "high," meaning that there are either more than 50 cases per 100,000 people in the area, over a seven-day period, or that the COVID-19 test positivity rate is higher than 5%...

So much for Trump's non-disclosure agreements.

Non-disclosure agreements might work well for patent holders, but, it isn't going to work for secrets to overthrow the government.

July 8, 2021
By Bill Bostock

The Justice Department (click here) has told former Trump administration officials they can answer questions from congressional committees about the Capitol riot and the former president's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, according to reports.

A letter from the DOJ, obtained by The New York Times, Politico, and NBC News, said a select number of officials can offer "unrestricted testimony" to investigations led by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and the Senate Judiciary Committee.

A number of former officials have already been asked by the Senate and House committees to detail the pressure they came under to investigate the legitimacy of the election, the Times said, but they were unable to take part until now.

Both committees are examining how Trump pressured officials to question the election result and how pro-Trump supporters were able to storm the Capitol on January 6....

COVID Fog

There are only so many ways the central nervous system and the brain can react to trauma or damage. COVID-19 is proving to cause long-term and permanent damage to people that have suffered through the virus infection. I congratulate Illinois Governor Pritzker for recognizing this syndrome and setting up funds for treatment and research. He is one of the firsts, if not the first, to take such action.

But, I was reflecting on the syndrome that is among the most disabling, COVID Fog. It is when people are having cognitive problems of varying degrees with memory and concentration. There is another syndrome similar to COVID Fog with some treatments that already give relief. The syndrome is called "fibro fog." It manifests sometimes in cases of fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is not widely understood, but, there are treatments that help.

The treatments for fibromyalgia include:

- OTC nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and naproxen. (Long-term use of any high levels of Ibuprofen can cause kidney damage. (click here). Ibuprofen blocks prostaglandins. Prostaglandins dilate blood vessels that lead to the kidneys. Long-term use of high amounts of Ibuprofen can cause a reduction in blood flow to the kidneys.)

- Prescription medications including antidepressants and antipsychotics. There are also sleep medications, both non-narcotic and narcotic, that assist with a good eight-hour sleep time that helps reset the nervous system. Many times these pain suffers need sleep. Lack of sleep increases pain and when fibromyalgia sufferers receive a good night's sleep their pain goes away or is very diminished that gets them through a major part of the day without disabling pain.

- Regular exercise helps in strengthening muscles and can reduce the pain in supporting the skeletal system.

- Medication and yoga to reduce stress and increase relaxation works well with some people

- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is another avenue of treatment that helps some people.

Part of the problem in nailing down these types of syndromes is that even though there are symptoms common to the chronic condition, there are also individual effects simply because people have different genetic make-up, lifestyles including workplace and types of work, and methods of living such as married, with or without children, etc. I can't believe that some suffers from these conditions can benefit from having a pet and the distraction of caring for the pet and receiving unconditional love in return. Love and intimacy have been known to be therapy all itself.

This entry is not about diagnosis or treatment, but, simply a comparison to another chronic condition of the human nervous system that may have similar symptoms with treatments known to work.

Any kind of chronic condition can lead to severe depression and self-prescribed solutions that end the suffer's life. There have been COVID Fog suffers that have gone down that path to self-hurt and death. The symptoms must be treated.

I can't help but wonder if vaccination of known suffers from COVID Fog would help as well. I think clinical trials should at least be tried.

Thank you for your interest.

Americans are not ready for the climate crisis because corrupt politicians that favored Big Oil over human life LIED!

This is directly the fault of all the politicians since the 1960s who believe the climate crisis was a bad campaign issue and nothing changed ENOUGH to end it or reverse it. This is exactly what the scientific community that I am familiar with said, "There are species that have gone into extinction, who said humans were ever going to be able to control their social and political nonsense long enough to be truthful and reasonable to save their own lives?"

Four children including a 15-year-old and the entire family succumbed to a dust storm that nobody bothered to expect or educate the public about and how to survive such an event. This is the direct responsibility of every person in power that looked the other way for campaign cash from Big Oil.

UHP has identified the victims killed (click here) in a massive pileup on I-15 Sunday as: 30-year-old Kortni Sawyer from St. George 6-year-old Riggins Sawyer from St. George 2-year-old Franki Sawyer from St. George 37-year-old Race Sawyer from Lehi (Driver) 12-year-old Ryder Sawyer from Lehi 51-year-old Robert Lorenzon from Salt Lake City 47-year-old Maricela Lorenzon from Salt Lake City 15-year-old Cameron Valentine from Yuma, Arizona Article/GoFundMe campaign.

Fantastic. Applause, applause, applause.

As a protester standing up for very, very important causes; this is the way ya do it. You have to be disruptive and make it known that what is being said is wrong. The protesters did it exactly correctly.

This isn't funny. Congresspersons standing at a podium to declare the process on January 6th was corrupt and full of lies. They are the ones lying. So, how do you get the public to pay attention? You become a disruptor. I have been and proudly disrupted meetings and dialogue exactly as corrupt as this.

I stood and called the person at the podium a liar and a cheat for causing hardship to people and their property because of incompetent engineering and decisions made to benefit the people that were incompetent to cause such destruction. Every time the slimy engineer stood up at a meeting in Grand Traverse County, MI; I stood up, too. I verbally called him what he was and I would not sit down until he left the podium. I was never removed from the room or asked to shut up. Why? Because what I was saying was the truth. It made the newspapers and I was proud of it.

It involved a lot of federal money coming into Grand Traverse County to remove dams and the entire process from beginning to end was corrupt as the day is long. No one along the way could stop it. Why? Because there were millions if not billions at stake. After the cofferdam collapse, there were excuses left and right. Even the Record-Eagle never told the truth. It wasn't until about a year or so later that the Army Corp. of Engineers was in town to do some work that the truth was finally spoken. It was incompetence in the private sector, but, they got their money and moved on while homeowners and property owners and insurance companies and lawyers battled it out.

The entire process was disgustingly corrupt, no different than this. These legislators want to bring an end to the USA Democracy and they will lie and cheat and banter ANYTHING to bring about their goals.

No violence. No extremism. Just citizens finding a way to let the rest of America know these corrupt politicians are wrong and they will stop at nothing.

 

In case anyone has the absolutely wrong view of Mario Savio, he was a great leader and a great scholar.