Saturday, July 16, 2022

The Impatient Patient

Sunday, July 10, 2022 
. . .

It seems that the only places where the current breed of radical Republicans want government to govern are bedrooms, libraries, classrooms and bathrooms.
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You know that public high school football coach who ostentatiously kneels in prayer after a game?  Well, I am praying that his team gets the crap kicked out of it.  Amen.
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News from the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave: "The governor of Arizona has signed a measure into law that makes it illegal for people to record videos within eight feet of police activity, limiting efforts to increase transparency around law enforcement operations."
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/09/us/arizona-recording-police-8-feet.html?referringSource=highlightShare

Monday, July 11, 2022
I started the Paxlovid medication for Covid-19 yesterday, two pills taken together twice daily, and am now in my second day of isolation.  I am in full command of our den/second bedroom/office/music room/library/computer room.  I have been catching up with television recorded and magazines that accumulated
in my one-week absence, so forgive me if I cover grounds already familiar to you.
. . .

Make America Hungary Again is the slogan proposed in this chilling article in The New Yorker.  “Hungary has a population comparable to Michigan’s and a G.D.P. close to that of Arkansas, but, in the imagination of the American right, it punches far above its weight.”
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/07/04/does-hungary-offer-a-glimpse-of-our-authoritarian-future
. . .

"Acrisure Re is a full-service (re)insurance intermediary and capital management advisor with a commitment to providing tailored risk transfer solutions for our clients," according to its website.  That doesn't quite have the appeal of ketchup, but it is replacing Heinz as the name on the Pittsburgh Steelers football stadium.  https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/34227342/pittsburgh-steelers-home-venue-become-acrisure-stadium-ending-two-decades-heinz-field

Tuesday, July 12, 2022
Native Americans aside, it's hard for any of us to deny immigrant ancestry, even though many now want the door firmly shut against future arrivals.  This article graphically demonstrates that essentially all opposition to immigration today is based on falsehood. 

Our boisterous border bulwarkers, unwilling to outwork and outthink foreign aspirants, want to keep their hold on a piece of the pie merely by keeping others away from the table.

Wednesday, July 13, 2022
Some time last week, during one of our frequent bus rides around Iceland, our group leader told us about Halldor Laxness, a novelist, Iceland’s only Nobel Prize winner.  Little of what was said stuck with me and probably not with most of my adult traveling companions.  The kids, of course, were chattering among themselves, ever with ear buds stuffed in.  

But the Isn't That a Coincidence Law kicked in.  The New Yorker’s current issue has an essay about Laxness and his works, only now generally available in English.  All of a sudden, I'm an expert.
. . .

A byproduct of Covid-19 for some people is a loss of the sense of smell or taste (although the two are closely related), short term or long term.  For the first couple of days, I had no appetite.  In fact, on the plane ride home on Saturday, when the malady first aggressively asserted itself, I ate only one apple slice and four grapes.   Yesterday, I was back to two bowls of Cream of Wheat, one bowl of Cheerios with strawberries, blueberries and bananas, and a buttered garlic bagel with whitefish salad and egg salad.  Smell and taste seem to be in fine shape.

However, I have developed a strange symptom.  I seem to have lost my appetite for crossword puzzles.  Other than the bathroom and the kitchen, I spend all my time in our den/second bedroom/office/music room/library/computer room.  Reflecting the privilege that I may or may not deserve, I am equipped with a smartyphone, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a television set with a video recorder, Netflix and several streaming services, and a music system with 800 compact discs.  The newspaper is around, along with recent magazines, but the puzzles contained therein are exerting no attraction.  This might be temporary or a permanent sacrifice in exchange for preserving my sense of smell and taste; only time will tell.

Thursday, July 14, 2022
. . .
 
Texas Governor Greg Abbott offered a belated partial explanation of the failure of law enforcement to halt the massacre of schoolchildren in Uvalde, Texas.  An elite squad of Texas Rangers were in Austin, raiding a condom dispensary near the University, he allegedly said.

Friday, July 15, 2022
We have replaced a government of laws with a government of Manchin.
. . .
 
I ended my five-day Paxlovid regimen last night.  This morning, I merely feel like I am getting over a cold.  However, I am still testing positive for Covid, a typical situation that may continue for days. 

I am now allowed to mix and mingle as long as I am securely masked.  Watch out, world!

1 comment:

  1. My son-in-law had Covid the fourth time. After 4 days, he tested negative. What's going on?

    ReplyDelete