Jilly_in_VA
Jilly_in_VA's JournalThe puzzle of America's record Covid hospital rate
Even as the Omicron variant sweeps around the world, public health officials have noted that, in most cases, the number of Covid patients in hospitals remains significantly lower than during previous pandemic surges.
That's not the case in the US, however, where the number of patients with the coronavirus currently in hospital has reached record numbers.
According to data from the Department of Health and Human Services, 145,982 people were in hospital with the virus on 11 January, surpassing a previous record set in January 2021.
On Thursday, US President Joe Biden was expected to announce plans to deploy military medical personnel to help in six of the states hardest hit by the influx of patients.
Similarly, hospitals in large parts of neighbouring Canada have also seen surges, with Quebec reporting a pandemic high last weekend.
So what is going on, and why might North America's experience be different to South Africa and Europe so far?
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59960949
Three ethical issues around pig heart transplants
A US man has become the world's first person to get a heart transplant from a genetically modified pig.
57-year-old David Bennett, who doctors say was too ill to qualify for a human heart, is doing well three days after the experimental seven-hour treatment.
The surgery is being hailed by many as a medical breakthrough that could shorten transplant waiting times and change the lives of patients around the world. But some are questioning if the procedure can be ethically justified.
They have pointed to potential moral trouble spots over patient safety, animal rights and religious concerns.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-59951264
My daughter's best friend was exposed to Covid
Here's how bollixed up things are in TN. She woke up in the night with chills. This morning she had a sore throat. So she figured she needed a test. You have to register for the test online, but there are no questions about whether you have symptoms or for how long. Then you go to the test site. And wait. And wait. Just to check in. After 2 1/2 hours, she was asked if she had symptoms. Yes. For how long? Since last night. "Oh, we can't test you until you've had symptoms for 24 hours. Come back tomorrow." (And expose everyone else while you sit here for another 2 1/2 hours).
Wouldn't it just be simpler to ask that on the website where you register? Jesus, Tennessee.
They bought a blender. Three weeks later, their cats continue to hold it hostage.
On Black Friday, Jessica and Nikii Gerson-Neeves bought a blender. It was a Vitamix blender, a professional-grade splurge, and the couple was looking forward to a winter of smoothies and soups.
It arrived on Dec. 16 at their home on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Jessica put the hefty box down on the floor in the kitchen, just for a second. Her 4-year-old tuxedo cat, Max, otherwise known as the “sentient soccer ball,” jumped up on the box. Jessica thought it was funny and snapped a photo.
Then Max’s 13-year-old feline siblings, George: Destroyer of Worlds (“sentient potato”) and Lando Calrissian (“the questionably sentient dust bunny,”), demanded their turn on the knee-high box.
That was three weeks ago. Since then, the cats have refused to leave the box, fighting over who gets to perch upon it and taking turns standing guard while the others eat or are busy elsewhere. The blender remains ensconced inside.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/home/2022/01/08/cats-took-vitamix-hostage/
THESE LGBTQ AND ANTIRACIST BOOKS ARE BEING REVIEW BOMBED BY BOOK BANNERS
2021 was a banner year for book challenges. Right wing groups organized protests across the country that claimed that porn was in school libraries — with “porn,” of course, being any LGBTQ book. It also brought new legislation and political posturing to “protect” white students from the “discomfort” of learning about racism, including in history. A Texas lawmaker made a list of 850 titles he wanted removed from the state’s school libraries, most of them LGBTQ, and at least one district pulled hundreds of books from the shelves for “review.”
One common response to this increase in censorship attempts is that nothing makes people want to read a book more than it being banned. Also known as the Streisand effect, the idea is that book bans will actually make those book more popular and sell more copies. It’s a comforting thought, but it’s misleading.
For one thing, in a list of 850 titles, no single book is getting a boost in popularity through word of mouth or media coverage: they all blend together. And in a seemingly never-ending wave of book challenges, it’s hard to think any of these titles are getting a lot of traction even if they do get news stories. The more books are challenged, and the more that the frequency makes these stories seem everyday, the less publicity those titles are getting.
More importantly, this effect would only work if people know the book is being banned or challenged. Harder to track is the kind of quiet self-censorship that leads librarians and teachers to leave books off syllabi and shelves because they fear being faced with the wrath of book banners. While the American Library Association and other groups keep track of formal book challenges, these quieter instances are impossible to record, and they can only take books away from readers.
https://bookriot.com/book-banning-review-bombing/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=RR%20Jan%206%2C%202022&utm_term=BookRiot_TheRiotRundown_DormantSuppress
Knoxville Planned Parenthood fire was set intentionally, investigators say
The fire that tore through Knoxville’s Planned Parenthood clinic on New Year's Eve was arson, fire department officials said Thursday, confirming the fears of health care workers and activists alike who thought the blaze was an act of hate.
No suspects are in custody, and the Knoxville Fire Department urged community members to share information that could help investigators by calling 800-762-3017 or emailing KFDArson@knoxvilletn.gov. People who provide tips can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward up to $10,000 for information that leads to the prosecution of anyone responsible.
Planned Parenthood officials pledged to rebuild the facility, which is the organization's only branch in East Tennessee.
"We are heartbroken at the loss of our beautiful new building, but I'm here to tell you that we are committed to Knoxville and East Tennessee, and we are determined to rebuild. Knoxville wants Planned Parenthood, our patients need us to be here and we are going to be here," Ashley Coffield, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi, said at a Thursday press conference at the site of the burned-down clinic.
https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2022/01/06/knoxville-planned-parenthood-fire-set-intentionally-investigators-say/9088394002/
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Because of course it was, and nobody is surprised.
Crisis, what crisis? Florida Republicans deny Omicron is straining hospitals
While Florida has experienced a record number of Covid-19 cases and sharp increase in hospitalizations in recent weeks, there is disagreement between Republicans and Democrats over whether the Omicron surge has actually overwhelmed the state’s healthcare system.
For example, Florida Republican senator Marco Rubio posted on Twitter that there “is no Omicron hospital ‘surge’ in Florida. People admitted for non-Covid reasons get tested. If they test positive they get counted as a ‘Covid patient.’”
Infectious disease experts and Florida hospital leaders say that – while there is some validity to the assessment that data showing an increase in Covid hospitalizations and cases can in part be attributed to increased testing – the state’s hospitals still face potentially serious staffing shortages. One hospital in the state had to close its maternity ward because of a Covid outbreak among staff.
But in short, Florida has become a focal point of the often politicized debate over whether the Omicron variant is dangerous enough to overwhelm hospital systems and requires precautions taken earlier in the pandemic.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/06/florida-republicans-omicron-hospitals
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Dipshits down there are still getting Delta!
Seattle police faked Proud Boys threat during race protests, says watchdog
Seattle police exchanged detailed fake radio transmissions about a nonexistent group of menacing right-wing extremists at a crucial moment during the 2020 racial justice protests, an investigation by the city’s police watchdog group shows.
The radio chatter about members of the Proud Boys marching around downtown Seattle, some possibly carrying guns and then heading to confront protesters on Capitol Hill was an improper “ruse”, or dishonest ploy, that exacerbated a volatile situation, the Seattle Times reported. That’s according to findings released Wednesday by the city’s Office of Police Accountability (OPA).
The Proud Boys is a far-right extremist group with a reputation for street violence with several members, including one from a Seattle suburb, charged with terrorism over alleged actions related to the 6 January attack on the US Capitol.
The ruse happened 8 June 2020, hours after the police department abandoned its East Precinct and as protesters were starting to set up the temporary zone that was later called the Capitol Hill Organized Protest or CHOP.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/05/seattle-police-fake-radio-chatter-proud-boys-2020
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Raise your hand if you're surprised
Top GOP lawmaker attempted to pants referee during basketball game
A top Republican state lawmaker yelled at a game official and attempted to pull his pants down during a high school basketball match Tuesday night, an incident he later called "completely stupid" in a statement.
Rep. Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby, acknowledged he was "bad wrong" and hoped to apologize to the official for losing his temper. The game was recorded live on Facebook by Johnson City's Providence Academy, which was hosting Lakeway Christian Academy.
"For years I thought how wrong it is when a parent loses their temper at a sporting event. It’s not Christian and it’s not mature and it’s embarrassing to the child have always been my thoughts," Faison, the state House Republican Caucus chair, wrote on his official Twitter and Facebook accounts.
"Unfortunately, I acted the fool tonight and lost my temper on a ref. I was wanting him to fight me. Totally lost my junk and got booted from the from the gym. I’ve never really lost my temper for all to see, but I did tonight and it was completely stupid of me. Emotions getting in the way of rational thoughts are never good. I hope to be able to find the ref and ask for his forgiveness. I was bad wrong."
https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/2022/01/05/top-gop-lawmaker-jeremy-faison-attempted-pants-referee-during-basketball-game-seeks-forgiveness/9107209002/
Former Trump press secretary Stephanie Grisham to meet with Jan. 6 committee
Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham is expected to meet with the House Jan. 6 committee Wednesday evening, the eve of the anniversary of the attack on the Capitol.
The meeting came about after Grisham and Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., a member of the panel, spoke by phone about her knowledge of what happened inside the White House on the day of the riot. The news about the meeting was first reported by CNN.
Members of the committee have said they are trying to collect evidence about what exactly then-President Donald Trump was doing inside the White House as the attack on the Capitol unfolded.
Grisham has distanced herself from Trump’s orbit since Jan. 6, the day she resigned from the White House in response to the riot. She published a memoir in October titled “I’ll Take Your Questions Now: What I Saw at the Trump White House.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/former-trump-press-secretary-stephanie-grisham-meet-jan-6-committee-n1287000
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Bet she will have some sh*t to spill
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