Hail to the [ TBD ]?
July 14, 2020
Good Tuesday Morning.
Yesterday, Washington’s football club announced it would be dropping the Redskins name and logo. The team has not yet announced its new nickname, nor what will become of the team’s long-time fight song. So we’ll talk about that. We’ll also talk about COVID’s impact on your relationships, political donations and drive-in movies & concerts. Finally, we’ll end with a (potentially controversial) pizza topping question. Click on the Let’s Talk button to get started.
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Results from July 13, 2020
Question 1: The City Council of Austin, Texas unanimously passed a resolution last week that any business or job site where workers are not wearing masks could be fined. Additionally, anyone caught violating a rule adopted by a local health authority could be personally fined up to $2,000. Would you support a similar piece of legislation in your community?
While interesting, I marked myself as not supportive - because although I am immunocompromised, super cautious, and trying every day (but not always succeeding) on not judging friends on social media who don’t seem to be masking and distancing, I recognize that black and brown and/or poor communities are disproportionately policed and would be more hurt by that law and fine, and that criminalizing more things is problematic and inequitable. We already saw in my state, when stay at home orders and mask orders started, minority community members were disproportionately targeted. I am all for taking the pandemic and safety measures seriously, but do not support more criminalization and more opportunities for entanglement in our unjust criminal legal system.
I honestly think there should be fines for anyone that doesn't wear masks/observe social distancing in public places, if it's possible to effectively enforce that of course. People are starting to get too lax with the mask-wearing here in southern California.
Supposedly Nashville has the whole fines for not wearing a mask but it hasn't been really enforced. The bars down on Broadway tried to get a restraining order against the local government setting safety rules and to stay fully open too(they lost). I had to stop going to a smoothie place I've gone to every week since April bc of their mask views. Corona is only going to get worse.
Question 2: Have you put off non-COVID related medical or dental care because of COVID?
I said no about not going to the dentist, but not because of covid. I’m not a fan of going to the dentist and always put it off for as long as possible.
Question 3: On Friday evening, President Donald Trump commuted the sentence of his longtime friend and advisor Roger Stone. Stone was convicted of obstruction of justice, witness tampering and lying to Congress. The White House, in its statement announcing the commutation, called the sentence "unjust", while some in Congress called the decision corrupt. Which do you think it is?
Re Q3: Presidential pardons are often corrupt (e.g. Nixon pardoned Jimmy Hoffa, Ford pardoned Nixon, Clinton pardoned Marc Rich), so this is nothing new. And if we’re trying to end mass incarceration of non-violent criminals, who cares if Roger Stone goes to jail? Is he a threat to society?
Question 3: I chose B, but it's really both A and B. By all metrics, Roger Stone's sentence was objectively ridiculous. A normal sentence for similar crimes, aggravating factors, criminal history, etc., would've been 12-24 months, if that. Judge Jackson's comments at sentencing were completely unethical and revealed gross political bias. Still, there are hundreds if not thousands of similarly ludicrous sentences dealt out every year, and I don't see Dear Leader commuting them. Shame on Judge Jackson, and shame on President Trump.
Re: Roger Stone. I'm glad Mitt Romney understands his job as a senator. "Unprecedented." "Corrupt." Yes, obviously. Country over party. Always.
I’m sure the Roger Stone question is going to receive a lot of comments. Let’s remember how many drug dealers Obama pardoned.
Question 4: If schools re-open in person this fall, should teachers receive hazard pay?
I am a teacher and am outraged teachers would demand hazard pay. It seems to me that teachers complain more about pay than any other profession, while we have more time off than any other profession. If you are a teacher and want more money, then do what everyone else has to do and find an extra/different job during Fall Break, Thanksgiving Break, The Break Formerly Known as Christmas Break, Spring Break, or Summer Break. Asking our local communities to contribute more to our pay as many of our neighbors are suffering financially, while most of us have been out of school since March, still collecting a pay check is ridiculous. Hey teachers, let's actually work for our communities in these tough times instead of sucking them dry!
Schools should remain closed indefinitely until a FREE vaccine is available. Corporations should allow parents to work from home when it’s possible, and provide free childcare when it’s not. ISPs should be required to provide free Internet to all low-income households. The federal government MUST increase and extend PUA to individuals so they can put food on the table, rather than continuing to bail out businesses that lay off workers anyway. Anyone who thinks schools can safely reopen has clearly never been a teacher, worked with children, or worked in a school. We cannot and should not expect our underfunded school systems and underpaid teachers to put their lives on the line and shoulder yet another burden while CEOs and billionaires continue to make windfall profits. It’s truly disgusting how little regard we have for human life in what’s supposed to be the Greatest Nation on Earth.
RE: Hazard Pay for teachers - if we pay teachers hazard pay then we had better start paying the same hazard pay to servers, hotel staff, barristas, gym instructors and others who willingly go and interact daily with the rest of the populace as part of their jobs
School boards all over the country have been having meetings to discuss what to do in the Fall. And all of these meetings have been virtual. Doesn’t that tell us something about how serious this is?
Question 5: Which best describes you?
Relating to diet: I have changed my diet to be only chicken and fish. I gave up beef and pork for the environment and health-related reasons.
Not vegetarian but wish I could do better - willful ignorance at times.
A few users suggested a flexitarian option, to account for those who still eat meat but try to limit their intake:
I would have liked flexitarian as an option. I limit the intake of meat; particularly fish, beef, and pork; due to a combination of animal welfare and environmental reasons. Beans and pasture raised eggs are the star of many of our meals.
And one user suggested…
meatatarian should be an option
Oh. Next time.
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