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Joan Ruggles (Young)

Thanks for all the really interesting articles posted. Muareen Dowds was terrific. I too have become a regular, watching Cuomo's daily pressers, since I feel we're being told the real truth about what's going on even though I don't live in New York. This morning he went into a long anecdote about the big Italian  Sunday dinners his family has always had (meatballs and spaghetti and sausages). How that's not possible any more. Actually last night I attended a virtual dinner party with friends on Zoom. It worked very well! I highly recommend the app. 

The ignorant backlash against Dr Fauci was a real surprise to me. Hard to understand how a "just the facts" guy could become vilified for simply saying what he knows to be true.  Jay I too saw the interview with Nancy Pelosi. She's my real hero. I said to my husband "doesn't she look great for 80?" What a life she's had and what a tough lady she is! There's a great piece about her entire career in the Washington Post from 4 days ago.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/25/how-nancy-pelosis-unlikely-rise-turned-her-into-most-powerful-woman-us-history/?arc404=true

Helen, the knitting lady pic you posted reminds me of something I've been predicting. I think there will a bunch of babies being born next December due to the quarantine. But I also predict a rash of divorces too. My cynical son predicts an uptick in abortions. Great cartoons Jack!  And I love the idea of the White House Easter Egg roll! I wish someone would ask DT about the plans for that. 

Jack Mallory

Nice outfit, Steven. Who's your tailor?

Many Maureens! Welcome, Maureen L(G), and thanks for posting the Maureen D piece, Jay. Even if it was in the NYT. The Gray Lady seems to be the paper of choice for many of us, both for the facts and its various opinions. I can understand why there isn't always agreement with the opinions on the part of some Forum members, but I don't see many challenges to the facts. 

The Times reports that Fauci says the US will have millions of Covid-19 cases and as many as 100,000 or more deaths. He also contradicted President "We have it very much under control" Trump and confirmed New York's need for 30,000 respirators. 

Honest stating of facts and conclusions is no protection from vilification, either by Trump or his sycophants. Ask the Vindmans, or Ambassadors Sondland and Yovanovich. My guess is that Fauci won't be working much longer. For his sake, at nearly 80, I almost hope Trump fires him. For the nation's sake, I hope not. 

Jack Mallory

Following up on comments about the NYT, this appeared today in the New Yorker. A look at paywalls, the NYT in particular, and 21st Century media more generally. If you value fact-based journalism you should think about paying for it with a subscription or other form of financial support to legacy media sources like the Times, WaPo, or the New Yorker; and/or non-profits like Pro-Publica or public radio and TV.

https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-communications/the-fate-of-the-news-in-the-age-of-the-coronavirus
 

Stephen Hatchett

YOU HAVE THE TIME.  I really do recommend you watch this.  (and//but then post feedback)

Frederick Krimgold

Draft Cuomo with Warren on the side!

Robert Hall

Jack Mallory

Stephen, that's a great video synthesis of Covid info. Direct, calm, informative. Sending it on to Deb and my kids. Suggestions about mask-wearing very practical, at least as far as a layperson can tell.

As the  Slimeball in Chief makes sleazy, unfounded allegations about health care workers in harm's way selling masks out the back doors of hospitals (https://www.mediaite.com/donald-trump/trump-speculates-hospitals-are-hoarding-ventilators-masks-are-they-going-out-the-back-door/), my mind goes in this direction, as it often does with first responders and medical workers during horrific events. They deserve so much better than Trump's nasty insinuations.

https://www.mediaite.com/donald-trump/trump-speculates-hospitals-are-hoarding-ventilators-masks-are-they-going-out-the-back-door/

Glen Hirose

     Happy Birthday Frederick 

Jay Shackford

Great video Stephen!

Robert Hall

Jack Mallory

Joan sings for John Prine, in critical condition with Covonavirus.  ". . . we lost Davy in the Korean War, still don't know what for . . ."

Hello in There

https://youtu.be/CJPvc5vvKY4

*********

There are times natural selection should just be left to do its work. We'll be a better species in the long run.

https://apple.news/A__GcSHtsRFOoVt7PqQeTwg

Joanie Bender (Grosfeld)

Joan Ruggles (Young)

Thanks for the video Stephen! I feel empowered! I hope he's right and it's all very simple. 

It really ia appaling the idea that DT would evn mention a completely unfounded story suggesting reselling of mask going on.

I wish wish wish all the networks would simply not cover the DT parts of the daily press conference. They can always switch back when Dr Fauci comes on. 

Nora Skinker (Morton)

Jack Mallory

Joanie--I'm no concert photographer, but Deb and I saw her in a small venue here in NH four years ago. Close seats, good lighting . . . How could anybody take a bad picture of Joan Baez?

Joanie Bender (Grosfeld)

Jack Mallory

I just started reading this, although I bought it months ago when it was just published. It was written well before Coronavirus even existed as a human disease. Military history, Churchill, leadership, all life-long interests of mine. I had no idea that it would be of contemporary relevance.



But the first few pages suggest it may be apropos of our lives today. The story of the first year of WWII in Great Britain: a society faced with an existential threat in the form of the Blitz.

Starts off with a quote from Churchill, "It is not given to human beings—happily for them, for otherwise life would be intolerable—to foresee or to predict to any large extent the unfolding course of events." Certainly rings true today.

And a photograph of Brits keeping cool and carrying on, as things come literally tumbling down around them:

The citizens of London experienced 57 consecutive nights of German bombing, followed by another 6 months of even more intensive attacks. Some combination of their own characteristics and Churchill's courage and leadership allowed them to both survive and cohere.

I look forward to Larson's account of a people pulled together by a firm and articulate leader, who spoke to them honestly and appealed to their finest qualities. History teaches us the possibles of human behavior, for better or for worse, and the circumstances which encourage or discourage those possibles. It's time in this country, and the world, to look to the possibles we desire and the circumstances, particularly leadership, that enable them. 

Helen Lambie (Goldstein)

Let's remember the 80s--sorta https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmUXntGlqFI

Jack Mallory

Remember the 80s? Had no idea where that was going to go, but what a hoot! Thanks, Helen! Although I hated the original!

******

More on Cuomo possibilities and other topics in the weekly left/right tussle between Gail Collins and Bret Stephens.

"You can fault George W. Bush in any number of ways, but he did not spend the months before 9/11 repeatedly telling the public that there was absolutely no threat of a terrorist attack on our soil or boasting that he had it all under control, or claiming Osama bin Laden was a liberal hoax to delegitimize his presidency and wreck the economy." 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/opinion/coronavirus-trump-cuomo-biden.html?referringSource=articleShare

******

I'm not the only therapeutic bread baker. Although as the article notes, bread baking supplies are very scarce. Even caraway seeds are out of stock at my market. Amazon, King Arthur down to next-to-nothing.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/style/bread-baking-coronavirus.html?referringSource=articleShare

Nora Skinker (Morton)

Luckily my 'firm & articulate' leader is not a mere man or woman. He is my God. My permanent roommate. My savior. There is no storm large enough to harm me. Rock me? Yes. Harm me, no. 
Fear is crumbling & being overshadowed by the people who are setting examples of selflessness, love & sacrifice all around us. And I am filled with reverence & deep admiration. As Andrew Cuomo assures us, "politics has no place now".  I take these observations as signs of faith that we are winning this war. And will ultimately be the better for it. What the final test score will be is looking better & better.

Thanks to those who have quietly touched base with me. It's interesting how, in this hibernation mode, we are looking back so much. Perhaps it's because we cannot look forward, as our future hangs in limbo. My calendar (usually packed, scribbled & doodled upon) shows zero for April, except for a couple of birthday reminders. I find myself wondering how my mom & dad would deal with the isolation. They would no doubt be cleaning out nooks & crannies in their house. Repairing things. Baking. Washing things. Reading, writing. I, on the other hand, am away from home. It strikes me that just about every vacation I ever took ended with my wishing it could continue. Looks like this time I got my wish. 


 

Nora Skinker (Morton)

Btw, Jay: I always thought you had the most wonderful face. Why can't we see it? 

Glen Hirose

    Too much work involved in creating this one; I would rather order it out.

Jack Mallory

If the Coronavirus wasn't causing enough anxiety, I hadn't seen the kids for a couple of weeks. Was starting to worry, but went by the nest today.

One (on the left) was sitting mid-nest, got up and flew down river. The other quickly replaced it mid-nest, sitting, I hope, on the eggs.

Glen Hirose

Maybe Jay was staring at his Titleist pro v1 balanced delicately on the cup lip at the 18th flag...If that ball falls in on it's own Jay will have set the Seniors' Club Record...I can see the suspense in his face just a few seconds left ...

   The winds been 10-25 mph all day...Now a dead calm?

Jack Mallory

It's a shame that this career Naval officer must have written an honest request for help for his crew, knowing that his Commander in Chief was likely to conclude that he was part of an imaginary conspiracy to delegitimize his administration. And that some Americans were likely to agree based on no evidence at all.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Exclusive-Captain-of-aircraft-carrier-with-15167883.php?referringSource=articleShare#