Saturday, November 14, 2020

Testing face masks: Lab tests reveal the safest and most effective (Marketplace)

Elon Musk claims he's tested both positive and negative for COVID-19

Health Department closes schools in Racine

Restaurant owner joins Tucker to speak out on Cuomo's latest COVID restrictions

King: If Trump thinks 2016 was a landslide, 2020 is as well

Day two of bond hearing for father, son charged with killing Ahmaud Arbery

Trump Says COVID-19 Vaccine Will Be Widely Available By April

Nancy Pelosi accuses Republicans of 'refusing to accept reality' of election result

California Issues Travel Advisory Asking Visitors To Quarantine For 2 Weeks

Obama: Trump’s refusal to accept defeat is a ‘dangerous path’ for democracy

China Congratulates President-Elect Biden On Election Win | NBC News NOW

Open Blog - Weekend

 
Have a great weekend.

Friday, November 13, 2020

CDC says face masks can protect wearers, not just others

Racine woman charged for allegedly allowing son to die on bathroom floor of home she thought had 'mad energy'

From The Journal Times.com:

    Caitlin Sievers

    RACINE — A Racine woman was in police custody Thursday after allegedly allowing her adult son to die on the bathroom floor after he appeared to have broken several bones in a fall from his wheelchair days earlier. He was apparently left on the floor for several days prior to his death, according to a criminal complaint.

    Cheryl Christensen, 60, is charged with

    Christensen
    negligently subjecting an at-risk individual to abuse causing death, which is a felony, as well as misdemeanor obstructing an officer and disorderly conduct.

    Police came to Christensen’s home, on the 2600 block of West Crescent Street, on Oct. 28 for a welfare check on her 46-year-old son after other relatives became worried about his well-being. The man had suffered physical and brain injuries when he was struck by a vehicle at age 14; Christensen served as his caregiver.

    After breaching the front door that Christensen was attempting to barricade on Oct. 28, police found her son dead under a blanket on the bathroom floor.

    Christensen later told police that the victim had fallen out of bed several days prior. He was screaming in pain and she believed he had broken bones.

    She couldn’t get him back into his wheelchair, so she dragged him to the bathroom and gave him pills to help ease the pain.

    Christensen told police that she provided the victim with water and juice for around four days before she claimed that he began refusing sustenance. Christensen said that she didn’t call for help because she did not want her son to die in a hospital, that she wanted him to die peacefully.

    Read more: https://journaltimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/racine-woman-charged-for-allegedly-allowing-son-to-die-on-bathroom-floor-of-home-she/article_9da316b4-cdaa-5d4f-922d-b5fadffd861e.html

    North Carolina news crew captures bridge collapse

    Magnitude 5.5 earthquake shakes Nevada, California state line

     A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck western Nevada early Friday, shaking residents of an area stretching hundreds of square miles in two states, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

    Shaking started just after 1:13 a.m. local time and the earthquake's epicenter was located at a depth of 3.9 miles and 20.5 miles southeast of Mina, Nevada, population 105.

    Residents reported feeling the earthquake in the Sierra Nevada mountains, in California's Central Valley and in eastern Nevada's population centers, far from the epicenter in western Nevada.

    Friday morning's magnitude 5.5 quake was followed by many aftershocks, according to the USGS's website.

    Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/magnitude-5-5-earthquake-shakes-nevada-california-state-line-n1247666

    "An embarrassment" - Joe Biden on Donald Trump's refusal to accept defeat - BBC News

    Top GOP senators say Biden should receive classified briefings, as Trump stalls transition

    Vaccine Could Unlock Trillions In Spending, Leading To 'Biden Boom'

    Dr Anthony Fauci warns against violent anti-science feeling in polarised US

    Chicago issues stay-at-home advisory, new restrictions on gatherings as COVID-19 cases surge

    Justice Alito criticizes COVID-19 restrictions and 'rule by experts'

    Sen. Chuck Schumer Says Republicans Need to Accept Election Results

    'Dejected' Trump waffles over waging baseless election fight

    Police stumped by theft of large, rare pine tree from UW Arboretum

     

    A rare, 25-foot-tall Algonquin Pillar Swiss Mountain pine tree was cut down and stolen from the UW Arboretum sometime between Nov. 5 and Monday. Its twin, right, was left unharmed.


    Unlike the more populated parts of Madison, the UW Arboretum is not blanketed with surveillance cameras, and presumably it doesn’t have its own Lorax to speak for the trees.

    So UW-Madison officials are seeking the public’s help in finding whoever went into the Arboretum between Nov. 5 and Monday, cut down and carted away a rare, 25-foot-tall Algonquin Pillar Swiss Mountain pine tree, and cut off a 12-foot section of a Compact White Fir tree but left it on the ground.

    The curator of the Arboretum’s Longenecker Horticultural Gardens, David Stevens, discovered the damage Monday. He said it’s likely the thieves “shopped around” for their targets during the warm weather over the weekend.

    The Algonquin was “most likely taken for a large Christmas tree display,” he said. “Somebody’s trying to make a buck.”

    Read more: https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/crime-and-courts/watch-now-police-stumped-by-theft-of-large-rare-pine-tree-from-uw-arboretum/article_5daad5ad-55b8-53b9-89bf-44b35493e406.html

    Racine Public Health Department orders schools to close until Jan. 15

    From Racine County Eye:

    RACINE, WI – Schools within the City of Racine Public Health Department, including Racine, Wind Point, and Elmwood Park, have been ordered to close and switch to virtual learning.

    Part of the Safer Racine ordinance, the order takes effect on November 27 and is expected to last through January 15, according to a press release issued by the City of Racine.

    The order applies to public and private schools. Most Racine Unified students have been doing virtual classes since the beginning of the school year, but teachers and some special education students have been in the schools. Racine Unified employs about 1,000 teachers.

    Dottie-Kay Bowersox, the City of Racine Public Health Administrator, said the number of daily cases and positivity rates prompted the order.

    “Outbreaks are linked to family gatherings on private property with people from outside of their household, including sports parties, baby showers, and backyard gatherings.  Also, through retail establishments and employment situations,” she said. 

    The health department jurisdiction includes Elmwood Park, Wind Point, and the City of Racine. It applies to all schools, public and private.

    Read more: https://racinecountyeye.com/racine-public-health-department/

    700 Homicides in Chiraq!

    Current Mayhem and Death totals from Democrat Paradise Chiraq, IL. Courtesy of HEY JACKASS!

    Year to Date

    Shot & Killed: 637
    Shot & Wounded: 3069
    Total Shot: 3706
    Total Homicides: 700

    https://heyjackass.com/

    FoxScam

     Josh Dzieza wins November Sidney for Exposing The Great Foxconn Con

    Josh Dzieza
    The Sidney Hillman Foundation announced today that Josh Dzieza of The Verge has won the November Sidney Award for “The 8th Wonder of the World (*wonder not guaranteed)” which explores how the Trump administration and Republican leaders in Wisconsin wasted at least 400 million taxpayer dollars to create the illusion that Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn would build LCD screens in the state.

    In 2017, Foxconn promised to invest $10 billion to build a 20-million-square-foot LCD manufacturing complex which would employ 13,000 people. Dzieza’s reporting shows that Foxconn defaulted on almost every promise they made in order to secure massive subsidies. Foxconn came to Wisconsin with no viable business model for making LCDs and instead demanded that its employees come up with alternative revenue streams. Suggestions ranged from tree and fish farming to commercial storage, but all the plans fizzled. 

    Instead of a state-of-the-art factory, Foxconn built a warehouse 1/20th the size of the promised facility. Wisconsin Republicans cited Foxconn’s lavish promises in their campaign ads and Donald Trump got a public appearance out of the 2018 ground-breaking ceremony, but ordinary Wisconsinites suffered. Some quit good jobs only to discover that they were “ghost workers” whose only duty was to absorb abuse from their superiors while the company hoped their presence on the payroll would boost their “job creation” stats enough to qualify for tax subsidy payments. Others lost their homes through eminent domain in order to clear land that now sits empty. Cash-strapped governments paid to provide infrastructure to support a manufacturing complex that never materialized. 

    “This story illustrates how businesses and politicians collude to subsidize corporations with zero accountability” said Sidney judge Lindsay Beyerstein. “The politicians got campaign appearances and Foxconn got a friendly line to Donald Trump during a trade war, but ordinary people got shafted.” 

    Josh Dzieza is an investigations editor and feature writer for The Verge covering technology, business, and science. His coverage of Amazon was named in Longform’s Best of 2019 Tech Writing and a finalist for the 2019 Deadline Club awards. His story about migratory beekeepers received the 2016 Science in Society Journalism Award from the National Association of Science Writers. 

    Read more: http://www.hillmanfoundation.org/sidney-awards/josh-dzieza-wins-november-sidney-exposing-great-foxconn-con

    Open Blog - Friday

     
    Uh-oh!

    Thursday, November 12, 2020

    My first Christmas song of the season



    It happened yesterday at the Walmart Neighborhood Mart.  Chills ran down my spine.  

    Democrats prepare for Biden despite Trump lawsuits

    US hits record COVID-19 hospitalizations amid virus surge

    Georgia officials announce hand recount of presidential ballots

    Keller @ Large: Group Pressures Biden To Include Warren In Cabinet

    How Trump reacted to losing the US election

    Open Blog - Thursday

     

    I'm having fun.

    Wednesday, November 11, 2020

    Many COVID-19 patients later develop mental illness, study finds | New York Post

    Washington 'cannot afford' COVID-19 spike after Thanksgiving. Here's how to celebrate safely

    COVID-19 infection continue to rise across the nation, CDC says masks protect you as well

    Years in the making, NASA certifies SpaceX’s Dragon ahead of astronaut launch this weekend

    Britney Spears Loses Bid to Remove Father From Conservatorship, Refuses to Perform

    Randee-St. Nicolas/Courtesy of RCA Records

     Pop star Britney Spears’s bid to remove her father James Spears from the conservatorship of her estate has suffered a temporary setback with a Los Angeles court declining the application.

    James Spears has been her co-conservator since 2008, when the singer suffered a very public breakdown. He became sole conservator in 2019 after attorney Andrew Wallet resigned from his co-conservatorship.

    In a hearing on Tuesday, Los Angeles superior court judge Brenda Penny declined to suspend James Spears from his conservatorship, though she did not rule out future petitions for his removal or suspension.

    “My client has informed me that she is afraid of her father,” Britney Spears’ attorney Samuel D. Ingham III told the judge. “She will not perform again if her father is in charge of her career.”

    Read more: https://variety.com/2020/music/news/britney-spears-conservatorship-father-1234828947/

    US tops 10 million COVID cases as hospitalizations increase l GMA

    Santa in a Shoebox

    From Racine County Eye:

     It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Right? Tis the Season for gift giving, cookie baking, and spreading cheer. One particular event is all about making the holidays special for those in need. The local organization Santa in a Shoebox has become a holiday tradition to many families across Southeastern Wisconsin. Boxes are filled with items such as toys and treats as a way to bring holiday cheer to those in need.

    Santa in a Shoebox was founded by Diana Higgenbottom Anagnostopoulos. This is the 12th consecutive year that this event will take place. What started in her basement at filling 80 boxes has turned into distributing thousands of boxes over 3 counties in Wisconsin. These boxes benefit different organizations and shelters.

    Coming Together

    Businesses, families, and community organizations are focusing on spreading holiday cheer with others despite COVID-19 and health concerns. 2020 has been a year full of uncertainty, but what’s certain is that Santa in a Shoebox is bringing people together. In a time where human connection is continually changing, this event aims to unite.

    Santa in a Shoebox benefits more than just those receiving boxes. The founder says “to be honest, I thought about maybe not doing it this year, but as far back as July, all three counties we serve expressed a willingness to do this, wanting to give back and spread kindness.”

    Participating in the Event

    Businesses, church groups, and community members participate to build boxes or donate items to go into boxes. You too can collect, donate, and package. Getting involved is a great way to help those in need and give back.

    How to box?

    Before you can wrap the box, you must fill the box. Shoeboxes that are donated should be labeled to fit specific genders and age groups.

    • Age Groups & Genders :
      • Newborns to 2 years old (Female & Male)
      • 3 to 5 years old (Female & Male)
      • 6 to 8 years old (Female & Male)
      • 9 to 12 years old (Female & Male)
      • 13 to 17 years old (Female & Male)
      • Adult (Female & Male)
      • Seniors (Female & Male)

    What goes in a box?

    Every kid wants to open a gift on Christmas. This event allows you the freedom of stuffing boxes with toys, treats, gifts, and toiletries, and these items all make great shoebox stuffers.

    • Stuff the shoebox with:
      • Books, Crayons, Gift Cards, Mittens, Playing Cards, Toothbrushes, Coloring books

    If you do not have a physical shoe box to fill, items are greatly appreciated to donated individually. These donations can be made at the drop off locations

    Read more: https://racinecountyeye.com/santa-in-a-shoebox/

    Hong Kong: More than a dozen legislators resign in protest

    El Paso funeral home says 220 people awaiting burial or cremation, most died of COVID-19

    Staten Island Resident Brian Maiorana Allegedly Threatened To Kill Sen. Chuck Schumer, Biden Support

    Minnesota governor announces new COVID-19 restrictions

    Biden on Affordable Care Act: "This doesn't need to be a partisan issue"

    Mike Tyson scares the hell out of me.

    Vatican report reveals Pope John Paul II knew of sexual abuse allegations | WNT

    Trump Melts Down Over “Stolen" Election

    The Trump campaign 'Four Seasons' saga explained - BBC News

    Joe Biden reacts to Pfizer vaccine study, encourages mask wearing

    'This crisis is urgent': Tony Evers urges Wisconsin to stay home on day of record cases, deaths

    From JSOnline:
    Molly BeckPatrick Marley
    Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

     

    Read more: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2020/11/10/tony-evers-asks-wisconsin-stay-home-day-record-covid-cases/6241313002/

    President Trump refuses to concede

    Open Blog - Wednesday


     Happy Veterans Day.

    Tuesday, November 10, 2020

    Talking Racine Episode 199 Kenosha DA vs Racine DA Who’s Worse?



    Experts say pandemic could lead to fewer flu cases

    Study shows many COVID-19 patients develop mental health issues

    Denmark to cull all 15 million minks on fur farms to contain spread of mutated coronavirus

    Jupiter’s Icy Moon Europa Glows in the Dark

     

    This illustration of Jupiter’s moon Europa shows how the icy surface may glow on its nightside, the side facing away from the Sun. Variations in the glow and the color of the glow itself could reveal information about the composition of ice on Europa’s surface. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

    New lab experiments re-create the environment of Europa and find that the icy moon shines, even on its nightside. The effect is more than just a cool visual.

    As the icy, ocean-filled moon Europa orbits Jupiter, it withstands a relentless pummeling of radiation. Jupiter zaps Europa’s surface night and day with electrons and other particles, bathing it in high-energy radiation. But as these particles pound the moon’s surface, they may also be doing something otherworldly: making Europa glow in the dark.

    New research from scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California details for the first time what the glow would look like, and what it could reveal about the composition of ice on Europa’s surface. Different salty compounds react differently to the radiation and emit their own unique glimmer. To the naked eye, this glow would look sometimes slightly green, sometimes slightly blue or white and with varying degrees of brightness, depending on what material it is.

    Scientists use a spectrometer to separate the light into wavelengths and connect the distinct “signatures,” or spectra, to different compositions of ice. Most observations using a spectrometer on a moon like Europa are taken using reflected sunlight on the moon’s dayside, but these new results illuminate what Europa would look like in the dark.

    Read more: https://scitechdaily.com/jupiters-icy-moon-europa-glows-in-the-dark/

    Brain Scientists Explore the How of When

    A new study offers the strongest evidence yet of “time cells” in the brain.



    Merriam-Webster’s defines a time warp as a “discontinuity, suspension or anomaly” in the otherwise normal passage of time; this year all three terms could apply. It seems like March happened 10 years ago; everyday may as well be Wednesday, and still, somehow, here come the holidays — fast, just like every year.

    Some bard or novelist may yet come forth to help explain the paradoxes of pandemic time, both its Groundhog Days and the blurs of stress and fear for those on the front lines, or who had infectious people in their household. But brain science also has something to say about the relationship between perceived time and the Greenwich Mean variety, and why the two may slip out of sync.

    In a new study, a research team based in Dallas reported the first strong evidence to date of so-called “time cells” in the human brain. The finding, posted by the journal PNAS, was not unexpected: In recent years, several research groups have isolated neurons in rodents that track time intervals. It’s where the scientists look for these cells, and how they identified them, that provide some insight into the subjective experiences of time.

    “The first thing to say is that, strictly speaking, there is no such thing as ‘time cells’ in the brain,” said Gyorgy Buzsaki, a neuroscientist at New York University who was not involved in the new research. “There is no neural clock. What happens in the brain is neurons change in response to other neurons.”


    Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/10/science/brain-time-neuroscience.html

    Vatican report finds that John Paul II knew of allegations against ex-Cardinal McCarrick

    Manhunt Underway For Suspect Who Shot, Killed Houston Police Officer

    Friend who bought rifle Kyle Rittenhouse used in Kenosha shooting charged

     Bruce Vielmetti

    Milwaukee Journal Sentinel




    MILWAUKEE — A 19-year-old Kenosha man has been charged with illegally giving a rifle to Kyle Rittenhouse, which the 17-year-old used to kill two people and wound a third during unrest in Kenosha in August.

    Dominick Black faces two counts of intentionally giving a dangerous weapon to someone under 18, resulting in death. The counts relate to Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, the men Rittenhouse killed. Rittenhouse's attorneys say he was acting in self-defense.

    According to records obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel after litigation, Black told investigators he had purchased the Smith & Wesson M&P 15 rifle for Rittenhouse last summer while they were both in Ladysmith, Wisconsin, with money Rittenhouse supplied. Someone under 18 cannot legally purchase a firearm, but Black signed paperwork indicating he was buying the rifle for himself.

    Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/11/10/kyle-rittenhouse-friend-charged-bought-him-gun-kenosha-shooting/6231407002/

    Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's reaction to Trump losing the election

    Barr tells federal prosecutors to look into unsupported allegations of voting irregularities

    How Trump is creating toadblocks in Biden's transition process

    Open Blog - Tuesday

     All day.

    Monday, November 9, 2020

    COVID is OVER! Dem's celebrate!

    Must be - otherwise this wouldn't be happening: Must not be that serious.

    New virus similar to Covid-19 found in Japan

    Scientists have discovered a new type of virus, similar to the strain that causes Covid-19, in the dung of cave-dwelling bats in Japan.This was reported by Japanese television, which published data from a group of researchers from the University of Tokyo.

    The researchers found the pathogen in the feces of little horseshoe bats in the wilds of Japan seven years ago. A new investigation has found it is strikingly similar to SARS-CoV-2 – the strain of Covid-19.

    The genetic make-up of the new virus is 81.5 % consistent with SARS-CoV-2 and the experts say it is the first time that a pathogen similar to the one responsible for the current pandemic has been found in Japan.

    Viruses that transfer from animals to humans have been responsible for a range of illnesses, including Covid-19, SARS, MERS, and some versions of the common cold. Thankfully, the scientists say the new virus doesn’t infect humans, although further investigation is needed.

    "It is thought that only a small number of coronaviruses are dangerous, but it is undeniable that there are species that infect humans in Japan," Associate Professor Shin Murakami explained. "We will investigate wild animals and promptly investigate the actual situation. We need to figure it out."

    This is not the first time that a coronavirus similar to SARS-CoV-2 has been found. Disease-hunting scientists in China have found coronaviruses that are a 95 percent genetic match with the strain that has caused over 1.2 million deaths around the world, according to official statistics.

    As we reported earlier, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has asked world leaders to prepare for the next pandemic.

    "We must prepare for the next pandemic now," WHO stated in a news release.

    "We've seen this past year that countries with robust health emergency preparedness infrastructure have been able to act quickly to contain and control the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus." 

    From: https://112.international/society/new-virus-similar-to-covid-19-found-in-japan-56301.html

    STEVE-O Worried New Oregon Drug Law Will Make Minors Addicts

    Racine Forced To Prioritize Positive COVID-19 Test Notifications

    Due to an influx of COVID-19 cases, Racine has been forced to prioritize the groups of people who’ll be notified if they test positive.
    AL BELLO / GETTY IMAGES

    Coronavirus numbers have been exploding across Wisconsin. Racine is one area seeing a particularly large number of cases.

    Public Health Administrator Dottie-Kay Bowersox says nearly 500 COVID-19 cases have been reported over the past week, an average of 71 per day. She says as a result, her office has been swamped — and that’s forced the decision to prioritize the groups of people who’ll be notified if they test positive.

    “Yes, we’ll be taking a look at those individuals, their circumstances and which are critical. So, those that are 65 and older, children who are 18 years old and younger, those who reside in congregate living environments,  and then we will be contacting all others after that,” she says.

    Bowersox calls the move a “significant disappointment” and says the rising number of cases are an indication that people are not taking the spread of the coronavirus seriously. She urges residents to wear a mask, practice social distancing and stay home if ill. 

    From: https://www.wuwm.com/post/racine-forced-prioritize-positive-covid-19-test-notifications#stream/0

    Ascension E.R. seeing rise in people sick with COVID return after being sent home

    From The Journal Times.com:

    In this April photo, staff at Ascension All Saints Hospital celebrate the discharge of one of its patients who had recovered from COVID-19: Darcell Belcher, 62, of Racine. In recent weeks, the hospital has seen an increase of COVID patients returning with resurging symptoms: people who felt like they were getting better then took a turn for the worse.


    RACINE — Of late, many of the patients coming into the emergency room at Ascension All Saints were diagnosed with COVID-19 more than a week ago.

    As has been known since the beginning of the pandemic, the worst symptoms caused by the coronavirus have a tendency to flare up twice: when they first arise, and then again around 10 days later.

    Dr. Beth Griffin, the emergency medical director at Ascension All Saints Hospital

    Griffin

    “We’re seeing a lot of patients coming back on Day 10 (after exhibiting symptoms) feeling worse,” Dr. Beth Griffin, the head of All Saints’ emergency department, said. “Seeing more COVID activity (since mid-summer) … that is a change.”

    That’s why quarantines are supposed to last past when symptoms go away, since someone can keep spreading the virus even if they don’t feel sick, and then they might get sick again too, placing them back in the hospital. That would mean not only are taking up limited hospital space and resources, but they also might have gotten more people sick too.

    “Even if you might start feeling better” after testing positive, “you should be staying at home,” Griffin said. “The quarantines and guidelines are in place for good reason.”

    Read more: https://journaltimes.com/news/local/ascension-e-r-seeing-rise-in-people-sick-with-covid-return-after-being-sent-home/article_72ecfe60-7f54-598b-b79d-fc3a23bfd6f8.html