Easter 2021. Next Year In Jerusalem.

This is Easter on the Latin Rite liturgical calendar for 2021, thereby being the date that almost everyone who observes it will observe it on.  Orthodox Easter this year is nearly a month away, on May 2.

It's a second sad Easter in a row.

For the second time we're facing an Easter in which the gloom of the Coronavirus Pandemic lingers overhead.  Perhaps, in that way, we're looking at an Easter that actually fits historical times, i.e., most of human history, more than our own times, and therefore should give us more to look forward to with the oncoming advance of Spring.

Still, it probably doesn't, and in no small part due to the really odd and unsettled times we're generally in.  

For those in the Diocese of  Cheyenne, such as myself, we still have a dispensation in place if we feel we should use it.  I've noted myself earlier in this blog that I wasn't really happy about Mass's being suspended in the first place, although I'd perhaps now reluctantly concede that it was necessary. As also earlier noted, when they opened back up I resumed going, but when infections started to climb and the vaccine was on the horizon, I dropped back out and made use of the dispensation.

Throughout this entire pandemic, my wife has really been the one who managed our approach to it, being diligent and careful and making me the same.  I take the pandemic very seriously and frankly I'm at the point where those who casually deny its anything anger me.  It truly is.  I've known, as we all do by now, a host of people who have had it and a couple of them are dead.  People who give the flippant "it's no worth than the flu" don't seem to realize that the flu isn't a cold either and that its a real killer.  The reason we tolerate the flu like we do is that we have no choice.  Here we do, but we're rapidly losing out on that choice in part because people who want to believe that it amounts to nothing or wild theories about its original or the vaccine are being slow to get vaccinated.  And in our modern society, in which we've elevated the individual and his rights and beliefs to a near religion we aren't willing to use any form of compulsion in order to make sure the appropriate number of vaccinations are accomplished.

That day may never have been possible in any event. We may have lost out on that opportunity from the very first instance, in which case SARS-CoV-2 will be an endemic disease and go on killing.  

At least one person I know who takes the disease very seriously, but who is younger and therefore able to bear more risks, has just become numb to it.  That is, it's real, they got vaccinated, but they're otherwise too fatigued to observe much in the way of any other precaution.  As noted, some people never took any as they refused to believe it was real.  Others, and I find this approach the oddest, accepted it was real and took some precautions, unless they were personally inconvenient.  

The level of precautions a person took and wear tends to reflect a person's beliefs. The Catholic Church in Wyoming obviously took it very seriously in shutting things down, but I frankly think the Church really dropped the ball in regard to outreach to parishioners.  Even on my end, as a former lector and a former council member, I received very little contact during the pandemic from my diocese.  If I've received this litter, and have been a faithful and loyal Catholic my entire life, I have to think that marginal Catholics are in no better position than I am.  One thing the Church is really going to have to answer for, and I mean in this realm and the next, is the complete and utter failure, it seems to me, to try to reach out during the pandemic.  A parish priest is actually responsible for all of the souls in his diocese.  If the Catholic souls aren't getting any contact. . . well. . . there's going to be questions that will have to be answered.

Anyhow, at Mass I noticed that almost everyone was very observant about wearing masks, which were required, although there's always the few who will pull them down below their nose at which point they're pointless.  Sometimes that's ignorance and in others its a form of protest.  Be that as it may, they were there.

I'm told, but don't know, that in some Protestant churches following the COVID guidelines were simply suspended completely.

In a civil context, in some places I've been too that's very much the case.  One local sporting goods store had signs about wearing masks but few on the staff did. A few men who work in the store do and have, but the huge army of 20 something girls that loiters near the cash registers grossly overmanning them never did.  Sporting goods stores here are almost a center of civil protest/COVID denial.

Circling back around, during the pandemic my wife has lead the charge and we've both been very good about doing what we should. We haven't been to a restaurant in a year, with one noon meal that was a work invitation, and two for out of town depositions, being the exception.  I've been invited to "go get a beer" after work, but I declined, something made easy by the fact I decline that invitation usually anyway.  

Anyhow, I've now had both of my COVID 19 vaccinations.  My wife has had her first.  My kids have both had theirs.  Only my son and my wife are in the window of non protection, as they're either waiting for their second shot or have just had theirs.

I was going to resume Mass attendance last week, but my daughter pointed out that my wife had been so good about her observation of the rules and just had her shot, so we should probably abstain.  She didn't come home for Easter due to school and work and will make Mass where she is.  Here we debated it last night and ultimately decided, for the same reason, to wait one more week.

Locally it turns out that of the three parishes two were requiring reservations, but once again due to the phenomenally bad outreach the Church's have, that wasn't apparent at the one we were going to go to until this morning when I happened to find that was on their video feed.  For goodness sakes, is there any excuse for not getting this out in some other fashion?  So we likely would have been turned away.  That would have lead us to the parish across town which is not requiring reservations, but which was anticipating putting overflow in the poorly ventilated basement so that those there could watch it on television.

Next year, for those of us still in the temporal realm, Mass in the normal fashion will have resumed as life in the normal fashion will have had to.  The country can't keep being shut down forever and the entire population, save for those who really have the resources to do nothing at all, has to get moving again and patience has worn thing.  My guess is that we will not reach the "herd immunity" threshold as there will be those who steadfastly refuse to believe that the disease is serious or who will continue to believe myths about vaccines which are allowed to circulate in the post Cold War scientific age.  Those who are vaccinated will get yearly boosters which will be more or less effective. Some will get sick and some of them will die and for some people that will come as a surprise.  But life will return to normal, with normal in this instance begin an unfortunate blend of the 1970s inflationary era, brought on by profligate government spending, and 2010/20s moral sinkage.

On that latter item, there were those who hoped that the pandemic might refocus society and cause some reflection on where we were going and what we were doing.  Perhaps some of that did occur, but there does not seem to be much evidence of it now. And to the extent it did, a lot of that was swept away by political forces that refused to acknowledge defeat and countervailing ones that accordingly came into power seeking to bring in every "progressive" item on that laundry list that's been thought of since the late 1890s.  Things are really not looking that good, and in a lot of ways.

But next year, at least there will be Mass.

Jews traditionally end the Passover Sedar with "Next Year in Jerusalem", signaling an obvious deep religious hope.

Next year in Jerusalem. ^[1].

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Footnotes:

1.  I don't think this is incapable of being misunderstood, but just in case, and because I'm occasionally asked, this is meant symbolically here.  I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in visiting Jerusalem.  I.e., none.  This isn't mean to be rude, but I know it baffles people, and as I have a friend whose been once and who is planning to return again, I know I'll be asked that along these lines; "I'm going on the church trip to Jerusalem. .  . wouldn't you like to go?" followed by all the things that a person could see in Jerusalem.

That's great for people who want to see it, but I don't.  I don't have any interest in going anywhere in the Holy Land, which may be odd for a Christian, but I don't.  None.  Indeed, if I were to go to anywhere in the Middle East the locations would be limited to certain big desert areas as I like big deserts.  I'm not keen on cities in general, and particularly not large crowded ones.

FWIW, I often give the same reaction to other venues that feature lots of people.  "Wouldn't you like to go to China?".  No, I would not.  "London?".  M'eh.

Cliffnotes of the Zeitgist Part 12. Play Money, Cheyenne to Denver (and beyond) by rail, Prisoners of the State

It's all play money anyway, right?

Joe Biden, backed by the left wing of the Democratic Party, is pondering just wiping out student debt with a stroke of a pen.

The connection between reality and government spending is pretty much completely gone in the present administration. 

This simply can't go on. The government has already spent more money during the Biden Administration on COVID relief than the government spent during the Great Depression, and the economic stimulus/infrastructure bill hasn't even been touched yet.

Cycling back to wiping out student debt, or a portion of it, I can't help but note Elizabeth Warren's support of it. Warren, who went from private practice to law professor, and therefore landed ultimately in academia, is of course for it.  Her earlier specialty, oddly enough, was in bankruptcy, and she should therefore be familiar with the concept of "moral hazard".  Forgiving student debt disrupts moral hazard.

While this is just one topic in the cranking up of the money press going on right now, it ought to be really obvious that there's no real reason for government backed loans for education to exist except where a course of study fulfills a national need. That's it.  Otherwise, it ought to be up to individuals, who will bear the moral and fiscal hazard.  Of course, that would pretty much wipe out most student loans, but it would also stop the tempting of students into areas where there is no work, and therefore no ability to pay back the loans.

On Education the Public. . . 

As noted in our thread on a bill impacting WICHE, the law of unintended consequences visited the legislature this session, as did throwing the doors open to out of staters.  That item appears here:

As a disclaimer, I was a member of the Wyoming National Guard for six years and I'll never regret that.

Having said that, this bill fits into yet another example of how we can foolishly lose money.  The university isn't exactly flush with cash right now, nor are the community colleges, and while the number of people this will apply to is small, ever penny counts.

I don't know how many out of state Guardsmen there are, but there will be some.  The reason is that: 1) some live in Colorado, where they also work, but are in a relatively nearby Wyoming Guard unit and 2) they moved to Wyoming to attend university and were already in their home state's Guard and had to transfer.

I appreciate their Guard service but I frankly don't see why that entitles an out of state resident to in state tuition.  Apparently the legislature does, however.

This is the second bill this session that extends benefits to service members or their families that are poorly thought out. The other one lets licensed professional spouses of service members who move in evade Wyoming licensure laws simply because they're married to a service member.  If being qualified simply by marriage is a real qualification, there are no real qualifications at all.

While we're at it, the legislature passed a bill on WICHE funding which appears to have the results of requiring recipients to return to Wyoming upon the completion of their funding.  

No doubt the legislators, who approved this overwhelmingly, were of the mind that this was good for the state but its bad for the students. The hope was always that most of them would, and they're all holders of professional degrees, but now it means they're essentially slaves to the state. As the state doesn't directly employ many of them, it will mean that those who have received such funding can now look forward to depressed wages as their first employers will know that there's a pool of applicants whose supply will exceed demand, and who have nowhere else to go.

It's really hard to figure out what  the state's current theme on this stuff is.  On one hand, if you are in WICHE and become a dentist, or a doctor,, you have to come back no matter what, and no matter what the job situation is.  On the other hand, if you are a licensed professional who is married to a service member, hey, just come on it.  And of course we've written in the past about the Uniform Bar Exam which threw the doors open to Colorado lawyers en masse.

It's like we're compelling people to come back here to work while we're simultaneously wiping out their ability to get jobs.

Weird.

Green New Deal?

I heard a commentator on Meet the Press or This Week, I can't recall which, comment a couple of weeks ago in response to a query from the moderator about the "green New Deal" if that would be proposed, and the commentator replied that the stimulus package was that.

Shortly after that, I started reading about bridges, which aren't green anything, one way or another, and sort of slightly dismissed that. Then, however, the proposed $80B to Amtrak was announced, and I started to really wonder.  I've posted on that here:

Amtrak Expansion. Cheyenne to Denver, and beyond!?

I have real problems, I'll admit, with the scope of the proposed infrastructure spending proposals that President Biden is looking at, but if they go forward, I really hope we do see rail service restored (and that's what it would be) between Cheyenne and Denver.

The plan proposes to invest $80B in Amtrak.  Yes, $80B.  Most of that will go to repairs, believe it or not, as the Amtrak has never been a favorite of the Republican Party, which in its heard of hearts feels that the quasi public rail line is simply a way of preserving an obsolete mode of transportation at the Government's expense.  But rail has been receiving a lot of attention recently for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that in a now carbon conscious era, it's the greenest mode of transportation taht we have, something the commercial rail lines have been emphasizing.

Indeed, if the American public wasn't afraid of a nuclear power the same way that four year olds are afraid of monsters that live under their beds, it could be greener yet, and there's some talk of now supporting nuclear power among serious informed environmentalists.  A campaign to push that, called the Solutionary Rail, is now active.  We'll deal with that some other time.

Here we're noting that we're hopeful that if this does go through, and as noted we have real reservations about this level of expenditure, that Amtrak does put in a passenger line from Cheyenne to Pueblo.  

A line connecting Ft. Collins to Denver has been a proposal in Colorado for quite a while and has some backing there.  The same line of thought has already included Cheyenne.  This has a lot to do with trying to ease the burgeoning traffic problem this area experiences due to the massive population growth in Colorado.  Wyomingites, I suppose, should therefore approach this with some caution as it would tie us into the Front Range communities in a way that we might not want to be.  Still, it's an interesting idea.

It's one that for some reason I think will fall through, and I also suspect it'll receive no support in Wyoming. Still, it's interesting.

Like this idea or not, railroads are green.  Even the diesel powered ones are. They're so much more efficient than any other means of transportation, it's absurd.

This raises a lot of interesting questions that need to come up in one way or another, most of which deserve an other thread, maybe on Railhead, or maybe here (it'll show up on both no matter what).  Anyhow, no matter what a person things about the topic of climate change, railroad provide a real solution to desires to reduce emissions.  This is true even in the diesel age in the US we're in, but if we went to nuclear power, which there is no reason not to, this would be all the more the case.

That gets into the topic of over the road transportation, which is basically subsidized by state and Federal highway money. . . although we tend not to think of it that way.  The state's expense on the interstates was, however, a topic in this past legislature, which thought about putting in a toll on Interstate 80, but didn't.

This also gets back to the Biden spending frenzy and "pork".  When you are spending zillions, everybody gets something, and it makes the medicine go down easier.  That's part of the problem.  I'm frankly aghast at the level of spending going on right now, but I think Amtrak is cool.  It's a something for everyone a circus tonight, type of situation.^[1].

We have an upcoming thread on the infrastructure bill, which is truly massive, and interesting.

Nuclear!

And it turns out that the Biden Administration is including nuclear power in its clean energy mandate.

As nuclear is the central piece of any "green" energy policy that isn't propaganda or fantasy, that's real progress.

The other side of the gun control debate?

If I were an Uber driver of any kind, I'd want to be carrying a gun.

It probably ain't the guns, or at least not so much.

I thought about doing a new post on the gun control (not gun safety, it's a debate about gun control) debate. And I might do one later.  But for the time being, I'm going to link in an old post I did on this topic and make a few random observations.

Peculiarized violence and American society. Looking at root causes, and not instrumentalities.

And also:

You Heard It Here First: Peculiarized violence and American society. It Wasn't The Guns That Changed, We Changed (a post that does and doesn't go where you think it is)

Maybe the last entry has more to do, overall, with this one.

Some random observations.

As long as we continue to build a society that drops out marginal, for lack of a better way to put it, males from it, so that they aren't participating in meaningful work, and thereby aren't participating in society, this will keep happening and no set of laws is going to fix that.

Not everyone is excited about a career in IT or finance, or whatever. Some busy work best with their hands, even if they aren't master artisans at what they're doing. Some of those guys aren't the sharpest tools in the shed and aren't even mentally okay. But they'll be more okay if they have something to do of value.

When we exported darned near every job in this class overseas, we imported this problem.

A libertine society has no real values, and sooner or later that extends to life.  Our society has become as libertine as can be and we're busy taking off what few guardrails exist, even if those guardrails are natural ones.

In the mind of the radicals, a society without boundaries of any kind is one in which everyone is free to be what they want.  A lot of people don't know what they want, and some of those people need lots of guardrails up or they'll go over the edge.  Values can be instilled at home, but again, not everyone has the same mental makeup, and when people get out on the streets those guardrails can fail.

It's an American bromide that one of "America's strength is its diversity' but that's a statement that's nearly without any evidential backing and contrary to the original concept of the United States as a melting pot.

We no longer use the melting pot analogy as we feel that its insulting to various cultures and we don't want to do that.  That's naïve to start with as the level of tolerance of certain things in various cultures is antithetical to what we'd regard as widely accepted values such as they remain in our society.  I'll skip listing some of the practices and values of various cultures in the past, or even the present, but this is simply the case.

I note this here, however, as while "there's strength in diversity" is a nice thought, there's also violence in it.  That doesn't make it right, but it's such an age old demonstrative human trait that is obviously ingrained in our makeup, unfortunately.  

This is not to say there should be no diversity.  But wholly ignoring the role of mixing and non mixing at a large level isn't necessarily very smart.  Small minorities that come into the country can be targets of violence and helpless due to their small size, and that's bad and even evil.  But causing largescale diversity always causes tensions that tend to slide into violence.  Indeed, while during times of debate we'll frequently be compared to European countries that "have much lower levels of violence", we don't pay too much attention to the fact that even in those fairly homogenous cultures there's been horrific acts of violence on this sort of tribal nature.

This isn't an argument for segregation by any means, but rather an argument to at least acknowledge that this is an aspect of this problem.

That all has a lot to do with massive immigration levels at a time of massive technological and employment change, with a big dose of COVID 19 thrown it.

Easier just to think, however, on what we might ban or spend money on.

It's not about the deer

One final thought on the gun control debate.

I've really decried the militarization of the sporting firearms culture here on these pages, and have done so over a period of years, so this may seem like a surprising entry, but people who say "you don't need an AR15 to hunt deer are ignorant".

Not stupid, ignorant.

Of course you don't need an AR15 to hunt deer.  You don't need a Second Amendment to protect firearms to hunt deer either.  Hunting, which I support on an existential level, has nothing to do with the Second Amendment.

The Second Amendment was entirely about precluding the Federal government from restricting ownership of small arms.  The framers of the bill  of rights were fearful that a future Congress would create a state religion, penalize political speech and seize arms from the people, among other things.  It was a restraint on the government as there was a history of the Crown doing things just like that.

Opposite Directions.

Iowa just passed a bill easing background checks and making concealed carry easier.

This is the theme of the era in some ways.  In Washington D.C. and on the coasts, retractions are getting tighter while states are trying to go in the opposite direction.

Record

Arrests at the Mexican border are at a fifteen year high.

M'eh

A South Korean couple vandalized a piece of alleged graffiti art, created in the US but on display in South Korea, as they thought brushes out in front of it were for spectator use.

It was understandable. And the "art" was a piece of crap anyway, so no harm, no foul.

Banning vaccine passports.

Florida's Governor just signed a bill prohibiting Florida's businesses from requiring proof of vaccination.

That's a mistake, and one that will likely be challenged in court in some fashion.  Requiring workers in places like Disneyland or at Florida's crowded beaches to risk death is not well thought out.

Going forward, vaccine passports are going to be routine.  That's the that's going to be, and sticking an entire state's head in the sand on it won't be changing that.

United Airlines puts out the "Help Wanted" sign.

 United Airlines, looking at rebounding air travel, has put out the news that it's hiring hundreds of pilots.

That's good news for everyone.

Footnotes

1.  We've made dual musical references there, which we should note.  

The first, "When you are spending zillions, everybody gets something, and it makes the medicine go down easier" is to Spoonful of Sugar from Mary Poppins.  A review of the lyrics makes this song particularly applicable here.  The second; "It's a something for everyone a circus tonight, type of situation." is from Something Funny Happened On the Way To The Forum.

More on Societal Scurvy

We linked this in earlier this week, but perhaps we should have saved it for today:

Lex Anteinternet: SOCIETAL SCURVY:   SOCIETAL SCURVY

A series of related items appeared in the news today, and we'd pondered linking this in here.

The them of this entry from Catholic Stuff You Should Know has to deal with the impact of Sunday services in unknown and unseen ways.  It's excellently done, and deals with community, or lack of it, in this Pandemic Era.

We run a series here every Sunday, as the few folks who routinely stop in know, called Sunday Morning Scenes. These are, of course, just pictures from our companion blogs in which we've photographed churches, for the most part, although occasionally they include commentary.

There's no doubt that the pandemic has been hard on community, and that very much includes churches.  In my own region the Bishop of Cheyenne has suspended the obligation to attend Mass that Catholics normally have.  That is, church attendance isn't optional for Catholics, normally.  Right now it is here.

For a time the churches opened back up and when they did, I resumed going to Mass.  I missed it in more ways than one and felt an obligation to do so.  Indeed, I also was critical of the Bishops in the US stopping public Masses in general and felt they should not have.

Now, however, that we are in the thick of the pandemic I've not gone the last few weeks.  I may be in a category that's distinctly different from some others around here, but having watched Coronavirus rip through the legal community, killing at least one local lawyer and disabling, at least temporarily, some others, I'm taking this seriously.  Indeed, I'm in the "avoidance" category of people who isn't going to stores, and isn't going to restaurants, and the like right now.  I'm stilling going into my office as I have to, but for the next few weeks I'm riding this out by minimalizing my contact with people as much as I can.

There's no doubt, however, that this has crossed  over to a point that's having a negative personal impact on the psyche of a lot of people.  In today's news there are reports that alcohol and marihuana abuse are at an all time high.  Pornography use is as well. Both of these are addressed in the Societal Scurvy episode mentioned above.  In Japan suicide deaths for last month exceeded the the number of COVID deaths in that country and are back up at rates last scene in 2015, which of course is not all that long ago.

At some point, something has to be done, but what?  Will we break through this and be back out in January?  

On being cautious, while I rarely mention it I had a childhood asthma condition and after having talked to several people who have had it, and survived it, I'm pretty sure that the common views in some quarters that its not as bad as people claim don't hold up, at least for some people.  So, yes, I'm now worried.  Not panicked, but worried.

And I'm worried about society too.  People holed up and not getting out at all, some people naively fleeting to rural areas in the belief that it can't get to them there.  Things are not good right now.

I wonder if people dealt with this better in 1917-18?  I'm not convinced we are dealing with this well right now.  Indeed, in a lot of ways, I think we're less well situated to deal with it now, than we were then.

Pandemic, Part 3.

July 25, 2020

And on to part 3 of our Pandemic series.  Perhaps its surprising that there aren't more.

At this point, as we post this new chapter, it's really hard to tell where this is all going.  Careful observers have the feeling that we may be headed back into quarantines, and in some states we have, but nobody can really tell for sure just now.  There's an eerie feeling about all of it, with the unknown being a big part of that.

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July 27, 2020

A new model suggest that Coronavirus deaths could be cut by 2/3s if people universally wore masks.

COVID 19 is now in North Korea.  Interestingly early information suggests that it may have entered the country by way of a defector to South Korea who recently returned to North Korea.  The country has entered a state of emergency.

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July 29, 2020

Italy, whose infection rate is now way down, extended its Coronavirus Emergency yesterday.

The World Health Organization stated yesterday that rather than a spring wave and a fall wave, the disease was likely to have one big wave which we are still in.

U.S. infection rates continue to be at record or near record rates.

A major promising vaccine has gone into a large trial.

Wyoming extended its existing disease orders.  In doing so the Governor urged wearing masks, stating that people who wanted the economy to fail should refuse to do so.  On the same day, Wyoming had a record number of reported new cases.

A pending bill in Congress on relief for the pandemic included $8B for military weapons.  Both major recent relief packages have featured favored policies or, in this case material, depending upon the party.

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July 30, 2020

Michigan has imposed restrictions in the form of closing bars and limiting indoor gatherings to ten people.

The Speaker of the House has mandated masks in the US House of Representatives.

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July 31, 2020

Jury trials were announced as resuming next week in Wyoming.

Casper College announced that it would have all live classes for the fall, but mask wearing would be mandatory.

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August 4, 2020

The Laramie Brewfest is the latest casualty of the pandemic, having just been cancelled.

The huge motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, is not however. While it expects to draw 250,000 attendees, and while the local community wished for it to be cancelled this year, it's going forward for its 75th anniversary.

As progress occurs on a vaccine, experts are warning that the pandemic will continue to be with us for months, if not years, and that things will not immediately return to normal.

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August 5, 2020

August 5

On the same day, the Goshen County Commissioners passed a resolution calling the state's Coronavirus restrictions as "overblown".

Mississippi mandated masks at public gatherings and schools.

Canadian pastor David Lah was arrested for defying a large gathering prohibition in Myanmar. 

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August 7, 2020

Schools on the Wind River Indian Reservation are starting this school year off with virtual learning and have postponed school sports.

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August 9, 2020

Yesterday the President issued a series of executive orders that are aimed at economic relief due to the recession caused by COVID 19.  This came after negotiations in Congress failed to yield a deal on the competing provisions aimed at the same topic.

The legality of this move is very questionable and undoubtedly will be challenged in court.

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August 11, 2020

The Mountain West Athletic Conference, which includes the University of Wyoming, cancelled football for the fall.

I don't really follow sports, but it's my understanding that this is also true of other fall sports this year.

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August 12, 2020

Trini Lopez, folk singer and actor of the 1960s and 1970s, died at age 83 of the disease.

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August 18, 2020

Wuhan China, where the disease first broke out, hosted a huge party yesterday.

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August 21, 2020

Cineplex theaters in Canada are reopening nationwide.

The first reports of infections of SARS-CoV-2 stemming from attendance at the Sturgis motorcycle rally are coming in, all attributable so far to attendance at a large party.

Delta Airlines has banned retired Navy Seal Robert O'Neill from its flights.  O'Neill photographed himself not wearing a mask on a Delta flight, with a comment about himself, and an older man wearing a mask and a Marine Corps hat in the background.

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August 24, 2020

Kentucky Fried Chicken suspended the use of its "finger licking good" slogan for the duration of the pandemic.

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August 25, 2020

The University of Hong Kong has identified a man who has had COVID-19 twice, neither time seriously.  His infections were with two different strains over time.  This is significant in that it demonstrates that having had one strain doesn't prevent you from getting infected with another, but how you manifest it the second time isn't clear. The individual in question was asymptomatic the second time.

August 25, 2020, part two

And now two more individuals, both in the Netherlands, have exhibited the same thing.

It's worth remembering that some have theorized that the 1918 Flu it the world in two waves and then dissipated as it continued to evolve.  That's not proven, it's merely a theory, but it does suggest that we may be looking at a more complicated scenario than we were hoping for.

Additionally, it may mean that COVID-19 behaves much like the common cold, to which it is closely related, and it will mutate itself out of our being able to be absolutely immune to it. That doesn't mean that a type of immunity won't develop, but it'll be sort of a weak one leaving us still vulnerable to catching it, but our bodies will be able to handle it relatively quickly, much like colds.  If that's the case, it'll be around for years and years.

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August 26, 2020

New infection rates in the United States have fallen 20% since the beginning of the month.

High school athletics locally have been restricted to 1,000 viewers.

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August 27, 2020

Public Health Orders Extended Without Changes

 

CHEYENNE, Wyo. –  An extension to Wyoming’s current public health orders released today by the Wyoming Department of Health contain no changes.

The orders, which remain in effect through September 15, continue to allow outdoor gatherings of no more than 50% of venue capacity, with a maximum of 1,000 people as long as social distancing and increased sanitization measures are in place. Indoor gatherings in a confined space remain limited to 50 persons without restrictions and 250 persons if social distancing and sanitization measures are incorporated.

The public health restrictions that apply to restaurants, bars, gyms, performance spaces and personal care services also remain unchanged, as does a requirement that students in schools wear face coverings in situations where 6 feet of separation cannot be maintained. Specific exemptions are listed in the orders.

Over the past 14 days, Wyoming has averaged 35 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 per day, compared to an average of 27 cases per day for the period of July 30-August 12. More than 104,000 tests have been completed by the Wyoming Public Health Laboratory and private reference laboratories as of August 27.

The Wyoming Department of Health and Governor Gordon continue to strongly recommend the use of face coverings in public settings where it is not possible or reasonable to stay physically apart. On Wyoming’s COVID-19 dashboard the categories of number of new cases and new hospitalizations continue to be rated, “Concerning.”

As of August 27, Wyoming has recorded 3,166 lab-confirmed positive cases of COVID-19, 556 probable cases and 37 deaths.

The updated orders are attached and can be found online at https://covid19.wyo.gov/governors-orders

-END-

• Eleventh Continuation of Order 2.pdf
• Eleventh Continuation of Order 1.pdf
• Eleventh Continuation of Order 3.pdf

__________________________________________________________________________________

September 4, 2020

Brazil has now had 4,000,000 cases of the disease.

Parties at the University of Wyoming have resulted in a spike of infections which in turn are delaying the reopening of in person classes at the university.  Classes are presently being conducted remotely.

290 cases of the disease have been attributed to the motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota.

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September 9, 2020

AstraZeneca Oxford halted its vaccine trial due to one of the subjects having a severe reaction.  In fairness, it is not known if the reaction was to the vaccine.

A report claims that the Sturgis motorcycle rally can be traced to 250,000 new infections, although it is disputed.

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September 10, 2020

The British government is hoping for mass testing of vaccinations in the UK by the Spring.

US deaths from COVID-19 are now at approximately 190,000.  Iowa and South Dakota have emerged as hot spots.  South Dakota was otherwise in the news for using CARES funds for tourism advertising.

Global deaths are reported as having reached 900,000, although the accuracy of those figures could be questioned  India is experiencing a surge of cases.

Indiana's Bradley University declared a complete student quarantine.

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September 12, 2020

Readers of the Star Tribune today will be treated to the oddity of a headline noting that UW has decided to resume in person classes next week and an editorial from a disgruntled transfer student who is upset that UW hasn't resumed in person classes.

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September 15, 2020

The University of Wyoming announced it was resuming in person classes.

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September 17, 2020

The Big 10 has decided it will host a football season this year.

The Southern hemisphere is reporting record low flu cases this year as a byproduct of the Coronavirus lockdowns.

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September 18, 2020

Van Morrison, the Northern Ireland born British singer, is releasing an album of protest songs related to the Coronavirus pandemic. Specifically, it protests the British government's lockdown policies.

In India the pandemic is now being associated with a rise in child marriages and child labor in that country.

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September 19, 2020

Casper College is testing all of its dorm residents due to positive testing in some athletes.

The College of Law is going on a temporary shut down/remote learning period due to six of its students coming down with the virus.

Utah, which never really imposed any measures, is now considering doing so due to an increase in infections following the opening of the schools.

Coreleone Sicily went into a limited lockdown following a spat of infections following a wedding.

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September 20, 2020

Studies have shown that among the "severe" risks for COVID 19, i.e., those conditions that create a severe risk for those who acquire COVID 19, is obesity.

Upwards of 40% of Americans are regarded as obese and there's no doubt that Americans carry, even in this health conscious age, considerably more weight than they did even a couple of decades ago.  The story has become oddly controversial as at the same time that this has occurred, and more Americans have acquired extra pounds, both "fat shaming" and a movement to simply accept overweight as normal has occurred, and both have oddly found voice in the fashion industry.  As examples, Kate Upton, who is a very tall and well endowed model, was asked at one point to lose weight, which she refused to do (she's tall. . . and well endowed, not overweight), whereas just a couple of years later fashion models who are clearly morbidly obese hit the scene. A movement to stop the shaming commenced with fair success, which is a good development in the context that shaming is brutal and brutally juvenile, but that has morphed a bit into a movement ignoring the risks of the condition.

All the while Americans continue to be prime consumers of diet fads.  Indeed, one of my email address is bombarded constantly with spam about ice cream and the like you can eat and supposedly grown thin with.

Anyhow, the health dangers of being overweight are very well known in general, but the degree to which it impacts all sorts of other conditions is now well understood.  A World War Two vintage medical study, for example, found underweight wounded German POWs recovered from their wounds quicker than American soldiers.  Something to do with weight, and that during an era when carrying a little extra weight was thought to be a good thing as a hinge against disease.  

And now it appears that obesity is one of the conditions that puts a person at a higher risk for a COVID 19 infection being severe.

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September 24, 2020

In a bizarre story a South Korean fisheries official who as attempting to defect to North Korea (why on Earth would anyone do that?) was shot and killed by North Korean troops who subsequently burned his body to prevent the spread of the virus.

Israel is closing its open air markets and all non essential businesses in order to address the second wave of infections in that country.

Belgium is suspending the mandatory wearing of face masks.

The Governor of Missouri and his wife have tested positive for the disease.

Justin Trudeau has stated that Canada has entered the second wave of infections.

Recent infection reports in Wyoming are at a record high.

The University of Wyoming's forty member cheer squad is in isolation following three of its members coming down with COVID 19.

_________________________________________________________________________________

September 25, 2020

The Mountain West Athletic Division will be playing football this year, according to an announcement made yesterday.

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September 26, 2020

Casper College put its residence hall students on quarantine due to an infection outbreak among students living in them.

UW is moving to its third phase of its COVID plan with a resumption of many in person classes.  

At the same time, a UW upperclassmen published an op ed in the Tribune today complaining about the slowness to open up there and noting that an associate professor at the College of Health had participated in recent protests in Laramie, an obvious public gathering.

_________________________________________________________________________________

September 29, 2020

The global death toll of the virus is now 1,000,000, of which 200,000 are Americans.

The World Health Organization marked the number with noted sadness, but added this comment:

The one positive thing about this virus is it is suppressable, it is not the flu.

An epidemiologist would probably be required to really explain what that meant.

Florida has removed its pandemic rules for restaurants.

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October 1, 2020

A physician in Jackson is participating in a vaccine trial, and hence that means Teton County residents can be part of that.

In a controversial move that is being contested by the city, Spain has ordered Madrid locked down.

A gene associated with severe cases of the Coronavirus has been found to be one of the ones inherited from Neanderthals.  50% of South Asians carry the gene and 16% of Europeans, which is interesting in part because I was unaware that any human population other than Europeans carried Neanderthal genes until just recently.

__________________________________________________________________________________

October 2, 2020

President Trump and Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID 19.  

This followed news that the President's close advisor, Hope Nicks, had tested positive for the disease.  The President and First Lady were accordingly tested and found to be infected.  This followed with one of the Presidents archetypal tweets, which stated:

Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump

·

6h

Tonight,

@FLOTUS

and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!

Wyoming has over 1,000 active cases for the first time, and with 27 hospitalizations, it also has a record number in the hospital.

Mississippi has lifted its mask mandate.

Movie theaters in India will reopen on October 15.

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October 3, 2020

President Trump was hospitalized in Walter Reed hospital where he is undergoing an experimental treatment for the virus.

Republican members of Congress, including some on the Judiciary Committee, and members of the White House Press Corps, are now also reporting positive with the disease.

Eleven University of Wyoming freshman football players have tested positive.

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October 5, 2020

New York City is closing some schools and bars in certain areas of the city that have been experiencing an increased number of infections.

Paris has closed its bars.

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October 6, 2020

Governor Gordon held a press conference yesterday, Monday October 5, on the increase of COVID 19 cases in the state.  He declared that things were  headed in "the wrong direction".  The National Guard has been partially activated to participate in contact tracing efforts.

Free home tests for the disease will soon be available in Wyoming.

President Trump returned to the White House.

Masks are now mandatory in the Bundestag.

The World Health Organization estimates that 10% of the world's population has been infected with COVID 19 during the pandemic. Herd immunity, fwiw, would require between 60% to 80%.

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October 7, 2020

Anthony Fauci, in an address to American University, warned that there could be 300,000 to 400,000 deaths due to the pandemic if precautions are not enacted.  The University of Washington has already issued a prognostication that deaths could reach 300,000 by December 1.

Deaths are already as follows according to the CDC:

Updated October 7, 2020

Week ending date in which the death occurred	All Deaths involving COVID-19 (U07.1)1	Deaths from All Causes	Percent of Expected Deaths2	Deaths involving Pneumonia, with or without COVID-19, excluding Influenza deaths (J12.0–J18.9)3	Deaths involving COVID-19 and Pneumonia, excluding Influenza (U07.1 and J12.0–J18.9)3	All Deaths involving Influenza, with or without COVID-19 or Pneumonia (J09–J11), includes COVID-19 or Pneumonia4	Deaths involving Pneumonia, Influenza, or COVID-19 (U07.1 or J09–J18.9)5
Total Deaths	198,809	2,150,188	111	203,068	89,981	6,713	317,608

While the CDC has the figures at 198,809, its generally accepted that the totals are over 200,000 for COVID 19.  The interesting aspect of these figures, which I haven't seen actually discussed, is the added the added element of influenza.

Given the way this generally works, and the current rate of infection, while it is just my guess, I'd find it difficult to believe that the death toll won't reach 300,000, and I'll decline from making predictions after that.  This isn't a comment on anything other than the attack rate of the disease and what we currently seeing going on, with increases in many parts of the United States and around the globe.

FWIW, India now has a death toll of 100,000.

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October 8, 2020

Italy has ordered that face masks be worn outdoors.

Hasidic Orthodox Jews protested in Brooklyn over new restrictions in parts of that city which restrict, among other things, the number of people that can be in houses of worship.

Brazil has surpassed 5,000,000 cases of the disease.

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October 10, 2020

The White House organization making recommendations on the virus recommended mask be worn in several Wyoming counties in September but not in October according to a report in the Tribune.  The report goes to the Governor whose recommendations were not as extensive as those recommended by the report.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi questioned certifying a British vaccine which has been certified, stating her concern that British standards for certification may be lower than American ones.

The US government has ordered 1,000,000+ of a Lilly COVID 19 antibody treatment and expects delivery prior to 2021.

India's infection rate is set to outpace the total number of US cases. 

__________________________________________________________________________________

October 13, 2020

An American in his 20s is the first confirmed case in the US of a person getting COVID 19 twice.  In that instance, the second infection was determined to be a slightly different strain and was the more serious of the two infections.

Necessarily this complicates coming up with an effective vaccine and it also suggest that the disease is evolving.

The Michigan Supreme Court struck down that state's governor's emergency executive orders.

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October 15, 2020

Europe is now reporting twice the daily infection rate that the United States is, which of course isn't a completely fair comparison in that Europe is a continent, not a country.

France has imposed a night time curfew on major cities. 

London will return to a strict lockdown this weekend.  Such restrictions have been very widely ignored in London recently.

Casper's Wyoming Medical Center opened a new wing to handle a surge in cases.  At a press conference it presented dire warnings and urged individuals to observe strict mask wearing protocols.

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October 16, 2020

Seven cases were reported in one of the University of Wyoming sororities.

A chief Irish health minister stated that the disease is "not in control" in that country.  The press has been clamoring for Ireland to go to Level 4 or 5, the two highest states of response in Ireland, but the Irish PM has resisted and indicates that he won't do so unless there's an exist strategy such as was the case for Germany.

___________________________________________________________________________________

October 17, 2020

Wyomingites going to Connecticut, Kentucky, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island or Washington D.C. must quarantine for fourteen days upon arrival in those locations.

Wyoming hit an all time high infection number yesterday.

__________________________________________________________________________________

October 23, 2020

Casper College is going to mostly online classes following its fall break.

Wyoming has now had 10,000 confirmed cases, a large number but far less than the suspected national infection rate, which would require five times that number.  Having said that, there may well have been many undetected infections.

There's some current speculation on the regional infection rate and its relationship to the recent Sturgis motorcycle rally, although the upswing in cases in Wyoming most likely cannot be fairly attributed to that but to other factors.

___________________________________________________________________________________

October 27, 2020

Laramie County is getting ready to impose an indoor public mask requirement.

The Tribune has closed its lobby.

___________________________________________________________________________________

October 30, 2020

Governor Gordon, Department of Health Take Actions to Address Statewide COVID-19 Surge

 

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – With the alarming rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations around the state, Governor Mark Gordon and the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) are stepping up their efforts to protect vulnerable populations, enhance contact tracing efforts and expand testing availability to all residents. 

Governor Gordon is also concerned that Wyoming’s economy will be affected by this rise in cases. While the state remains open, the impacts of the surge in cases affect all Wyomingites. Wyoming has averaged more than 200 new cases of COVID-19 per day over the past 14 days, and more than 100 Wyomingites with the virus are hospitalized around the state as of October 30.

“This surge in cases in our communities is directly impacting Wyoming’s healthcare system, our businesses and industries, and straining our healthcare workforce,” Governor Gordon said. “This is the time to recognize that our actions impact others, their lives and livelihoods. All of us have a role to play in ensuring that our hospitals can continue to care for all patients, not just those suffering from COVID-19.”

To protect vulnerable citizens, Wyoming continues to provide enhanced testing at nursing homes and assisted living facilities, including testing all residents and staff at facilities where COVID-19 outbreaks or clusters have been detected. At other facilities that are not experiencing outbreaks the state continues its surveillance testing program, where a percentage of residents are tested regularly. 

WDH is supplementing its contact tracing efforts by bringing on a Wyoming-based company, Waller Hall Research, to provide assistance. The Wyoming National Guard will step down its help with contact tracing support next week. Contact tracing is one of the state’s most effective strategies in isolating the virus and preventing its spread.

“I want to thank our citizen soldiers for being ready and willing to serve their communities when counties requested assistance with this vital service,” the Governor said. 

The state is supporting health facilities, correctional facilities, counties, and other entities through testing available at the Wyoming Public Health Laboratory and through the 175,000 tests Wyoming purchased with CARES Act funds. Additional rapid testing utilizing the limited number of BinaxNOW platforms provided by the federal government is also being integrated into the state’s strategy.

A free, at-home saliva testing program remains available to residents, and WDH is launching a program to support businesses and employers across the state with free COVID-19 testing as well. By making regular and frequent surveillance testing available, Wyoming businesses will have an additional way to keep their staff and their customers as safe as possible, preventing future impacts to their operations due to illness. Wyoming’s school surveillance testing program is underway, with 27 districts currently participating. 

Wyoming is also in the process of exploring a program that would offer incentives to businesses that voluntarily make changes to operations that enhance the safety of employees, customers, and the general public. 

Wyoming’s public health orders have been extended an additional two weeks through November 15. The orders are attached and can be found on the state’s COVID-19 website. 

--END--

 

• Order1_FifteenthContinuation_Oct302020.pdf
• Order3_FifteenthContinuation_Oct302020.pdf

Order2_FifteenthContinuation_Oct302020.pdf

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