I highly recommend this article—The Unraveling of America: Anthropologist Wade Davis on how COVID-19 signals the end of the American era 8/6/20. It is not a short read, but I find it to be devastatingly on point. Count after count, the analysis leaves me reeling. I wish I could argue the conclusions, but they ring true in every case.
From the article:
For the first time, the international community felt compelled to send disaster relief to Washington. For more than two centuries, reported the Irish Times, the United States has stirred a very wide range of feelings in the rest of the world: love and hatred, fear and hope, envy and contempt, awe and anger. But there is one emotion that has never been directed towards the U.S. until now: pity. As American doctors and nurses eagerly awaited emergency airlifts of basic supplies from China, the hinge of history opened to the Asian century.
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COVID-19 didn’t lay America low; it simply revealed what had long been forsaken. As the crisis unfolded, with another American dying every minute of every day, a country that once turned out fighter planes by the hour could not manage to produce the paper masks or cotton swabs essential for tracking the disease. The nation that defeated smallpox and polio, and led the world for generations in medical innovation and discovery, was reduced to a laughing stock as a buffoon of a president advocated the use of household disinfectants as a treatment for a disease that intellectually he could not begin to understand.
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The American cult of the individual denies not just community but the very idea of society. No one owes anything to anyone. All must be prepared to fight for everything: education, shelter, food, medical care. What every prosperous and successful democracy deems to be fundamental rights — universal health care, equal access to quality public education, a social safety net for the weak, elderly, and infirmed — America dismisses as socialist indulgences, as if so many signs of weakness.
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For better or for worse, America has had its time.
Click here to read the entire article–
Well, after that, a lighter read is definitely needed, and this one has very practical info on floor fans, vented masks, gloves, how to sanitize surfaces, and more.
UC Davis experts detail common mistakes about COVID-19 https://health.ucdavis.edu/health-news/newsroom/uc-davis-experts-detail-common-mistakes-about-covid-19/2020/07
As always, my Covid-19 page has links to articles added daily, on all aspects of the pandemic.
In the US
The Democratic presidential ticket will be Joe Biden-Kamala Harris, and decisive steps have already been announced to guide the nation out of the pandemic swamp it has been mired in for months longer than other affluent countries.
Nation-wide, our always inadequate testing has dropped in recent weeks. (That is particularly true in Texas.) There is no good reason for this, and it seems to be due hints/suggestions/orders from the White House to slow down testing in order to hide the true scope of infections. Coming as this does when schools are being ordered to open for in-person learning or face loss of funding, it is clear our children and school staffers are being played as political pawns.
‘We’re Clearly Not Doing Enough’: Drop in Testing Hampers Coronavirus Response 8/15/20 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/15/us/coronavirus-testing-decrease.html
Coronavirus testing in Texas plummets as schools prepare to reopen 8/10/20 https://www.texastribune.org/2020/08/10/coronavirus-testing-texas/
Shamelessly, the White House has mounted a blatant attack on the US Postal Service, stating publicly that reductions in staff, overtime, equipment and overall funding will make it impossible for USPS to deliver mail-in ballots in November. Citizens will be forced to choose between exercising their right to vote and staying safe from COVID-19.
Postal Crisis Ripples Across Nation as Election Looms 8/15/20 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/15/us/post-office-vote-by-mail.html
In Texas
So far, August numbers for cases, hospitalizations and deaths seem better than we suffered through in July. Unfortunately, the operative word is “seem.” The state site has been plagued with glitches, backlogs of data, lost data, suspiciously found data, changed-in-how-it-is-reported data, and overall nonsensical results. For instance, the testing positivity rate rose steadily from a July 30 low of 12% to a high on Aug. 12 of 24%. (Keep in mind that the goal is 2%, and 5% is dangerous.) Then, the state announced it “found” a backlog of 124,000 test results; adding those in, the positivity rate immediately dropped to 16%. Even if ALL those 124,000 mystery tests were somehow negative, the rate would not have dropped that much.
Texas officials blame coding errors and a system update for recent COVID-19 testing data issues 8/14/20 https://www.texastribune.org/2020/08/14/texas-coronavirus-testing-dshs/
At this point, the data is unreliable, whether due to the White House-mandated shift in reporting or other factors. Related to that, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where hospitals suddenly send data now, instead of to the CDC, had its director abruptly resign last week, no reason given. THAT has a familiar stench….
HHS chief information officer abruptly resigns 8/14/20 https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/14/hhs-chief-information-officer-abruptly-resigns-395710
In Lakeway
The Lake Travis Community Library closed last week, due to an employee testing positive for COVID-19. Since re-opening in late May for curbside pick-up only, they were doing a lovely job, with patrons being able to reserve books and DVDs online then pick them up safely. This service helped many people get back a bit of normalcy back, and it is greatly missed.
Council had its first true budget meeting on Aug. 2. The mayor was clearly ready to raise taxes, and all the council members followed her lead. Paltry attention was given to budget cutting or pulling from the contingency fund. Instead, a consensus was reached on adding at least 4 new city positions and increasing services in several areas, paid for with a tax increase. They justified this by saying a homeowner’s Lakeway property tax bill would only increase by $50 or so.
But, of course, that is NOT the end of the story—far from it. Lakeway is just 1 of several entities that levy tax on our real property. The biggest share by far of the property taxes we pay goes to the schools/LTISD. Then, Travis County takes a big chunk. Then, the MUD you happen to be in takes a bite. Finally, the health district office and EMS take funds. Just look at your property tax bill to see these entities and their share of your taxes. You can bet that all of these entities are also considering whether to raise the tax rate on us and by how much. The $50 extra Lakeway will slap us with is just the beginning. All told, once each entity hits us up more money, every Lakeway homeowner could get a property tax bill that is several hundreds of dollars higher than last year.
Most of us, whether retirees or young families, are facing extra expenses now, in addition to reduced, uncertain or completely missing income. Even the cost of groceries has increased and will continue to do so due to effects of the pandemic.
So, it be nice if Lakeway officials would decide to be part of the solution, by holding the tax rate or even reducing it during the pandemic as other local cities are doing. Instead, it looks like Lakeway will just be part of the problem, as usual.
Council meets Monday, Aug. 17, at 6:30pm. Another online meeting, this one is primarily dedicated to budget issues. They will likely vote to raise our property taxes at this meeting. In addition, Legends has 3 items (change in preliminary plan, annexation, and zoning) on the agenda; Council will rubber-stamp them as always, and Legends will continue to clear-cut pristine land in Rough Hollow, turning it into hundreds of tract homes as cheaply as possible in accordance with decades-old regulations, per its sweetheart deal with City of Lakeway. Go here to see the Agenda and Meeting Packet for Aug. 17–https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/archive.aspx
If you want to make a public comment, you must arrange it before the meeting. To send written comments to Council and/or request to speak at the meeting, go here and create a Public Comment Form—https://lakeway-tx.civicweb.net/Portal/CitizenEngagement.aspx
Go here to watch the meeting online, live or after the fact— https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/1062/Videos—Meetings-Events
Back to me….
To be candid, I’m feeling pretty negative lately. It isn’t just that the pandemic issues are going on for so long. But, IT DIDN’T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY, and that is what gets to me. Other countries reacted well to the pandemic, took the steps experts suggested to safeguard the populace, and are now enjoying a careful return to society AND recovered economies. Then, there is America, still wallowing in COVID-19, due to it’s own craven stupidity.
Well, over the last couple weeks, I made a trip to Walmart for essentials and was happily surprised to find everyone wearing a mask (correctly, for the most part). I highly recommend timing shopping expeditions for Tuesday mornings—fewer folks are out, and they seem to be the sane ones…. I love HEB’s pharmacy for heartworm pills for my cats (cheapest rate available); a nice bonus now is that they deliver free of charge, as well. Best of all, I made the initial visit to a new dentist, Eaddy Dentistry in Lakeway Commons (new for me—they have been in Lakeway for many years). It felt odd to take my mask off around people, but their scrupulous attention to safety was reassuring, and I was pleased with quick and professional handling of x-rays, exam, and cleaning.
Oops, I lied—best of all was celebrating the 13th anniversary last week with my senior kitty, Maxie. She was born in a shelter on Maui, and every last thing imaginable about our lives has changed since she joined the family in 2007. She loves belly-rubs and being brushed, gives great hugs, dances around like a ballerina, has a very distinctive voice and the wisest eyes, and effortlessly keeps her 2 little sisters in line. She’s a doll….
Also, the deer I see on my early morning walks now are stunning. The herd is grouping together already, the bucks joining up with the does, fawns and yearlings. This seems to happen earlier every year.
Here are some of my favorite recent photos, including a nice showcase for camera-loving bucks. Enjoy!
Perspective is key…..
Worldwide, confirmed cases surged past the 20 million mark on August 9.
In the US, confirmed cases flew past 5 million on August 6. Deaths total over 172,000 and average well over 1,000 Americans per day.
In Texas, the data reliability issue was discussed above. Confirmed cases in Texas surged over the 500,000 mark on Aug. 11. Sadly, Texas is still reporting triple digit deaths every day. 324 deaths on Aug. 12 was a record daily loss, but 200-300 Texans reported dead each day has been the norm in August. As of today, 9,983 Texans have died of COVID-19.