In Case You Missed it (v45)

Got your cuppa? It's time for last week in review.

Here's how I opened my Sunday School post:

What's better than spending time in the Sunday School classrooms with the Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos? 

In the draft I listed several things, including eating rare liver with a succotash garnish, but I thought that might turn people off, so I edited that part out. Would that I could have edited out DeVos herself. She's not good at interviews, really - she can only repeat, over and over and over, her talking points - at least until she gets to the voucher stuff - she can probably talk for hours on that. 

Anyway,  in her discussion with Dana Bash on CNN's SOTU, here's how we're going to keep kids from spreading the virus, which even the CDC admits can happen:

So, it really is a matter of paying attention to good hygiene, following the guidelines around making sure we're washing hands, wearing masks when appropriate, staying apart at a bit of a distance socially, and doing the things that are common sense approaches to ensuring that kids can go back to the classroom and can go back to learning.

(We have a president who can't even commit to wearing a mask but we're gonna have first graders do that?)

To counter the DeVos interviews, I offered up some Extra Credit from others - school officials, politicians, and medical experts - on what could or should happen. One of those experts was Dr. Tom Inglesby from Johns Hopkins, who talked with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday. Among other things, he shared his thoughts on cutting funding for schools that don't fully reopen as five-days-a-week in-person learning.

Yeah, no.

I think issuing an ultimatum for schools opening is the wrong approach. I think guiding schools and helping schools with financial support and encouraging schools to follow CDC guidance and state health department guidance is the right way to go. I think our incentives are all aligned in the sense that everyone really does want schools to open safely, but mandating it under a very tight timeline such as what happens in Florida this week where they're required to open schools five days a week in 30 days, before the state has really even had a chance to review school plans, seems really like the wrong approach to me.

But what does he know, right?

Tuesday was a blur of unfulfilled good intentions, and then it was time for Wondering on Wednesday. There was quite a mix of stuff in the post, ranging from political primaries to political attacks on the good Dr. Fauci, and  the feds rebooting executions, and finally, we learned that the Rose Bowl Parade has been canceled.

Here's an excerpt from a statement making the announcement.

While the parade itself is more than five months from now, the preparation for such a large event typically begins in February. “In addition to the advance planning required by our band and equestrian units, the construction of our floats takes many months and typically requires thousands of volunteers to gather in ways that aren’t in compliance with safety recommendations and won’t be safe in the coming months,” said David Eads, Executive Director/CEO. “While we are extremely disappointed that we are unable to host the parade, we believe that not doing so will prevent the spread of COVID-19, as well as protect the legacy of the Rose Parade for generations to come.”

I had to scratch my head on that one, certainly, given the timing vis a vis all of the back-to-school conversations.

I was inspired to reboot the Email of the Week series, which highlighted Dem presidential candidate emails. It's been a while, but when the president decided to use the Rose Garden for a political rally, full of lies, I felt I didn't have much of a choice.

... the "these newfangled lightbulbs make me look orange" guy suggested that Joe Biden would eliminate windows from buildings if he gets elected. Take a look.

Mandate net-zero carbon emissions for homes, offices, and all new buildings by 2030.  That basically means no windows, no nothing.  It’s very hard to do.  I tell people when they want to go into some of these buildings, “How are your eyes?  Because they won’t be good in five years.  And I hope you don’t mind cold office space in the winter and warm office space in the summer, because your air conditioning is not the same as the good old days.”

OK, so we know that's ridiculous, right? I mean, everyone knows that there will still be windows, and people will be able to see, just as we can see that the president is a particularly unnatural shade of orange whether he's inside under LED, fluorescent or incandescent bulbs, outside in the Rose Garden, or in the White House bunker. He is orange, and he's bound to be lying, of that we can be sure.

When Friday rolled around, there was more than enough stuff for the TGIF post, way more than I could fit. Highlights? A couple of mayors responded to stupidity. One threw policy ideas,  the other simply threw shade. I liked both of the responses, even though the second one wasn't really necessary.

There was also this.

Staying in the south, let's go to Kentucky, where 87 protesters were arrested and charged with multiple misdemeanors - and a felony for sitting on the lawn at the Attorney General's house, wearing matching masks and t-shirts, chanting "Breonna Taylor, say her name!" and refusing to leave when asked. According to a police spokesman,  in addition to the misdemeanor charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct,

Due to their refusal to leave the property and their attempts to influence the decision of the Attorney General with their actions, each person was charged with Intimidating a Participant in a Legal Process.

That's right: intimidating a participant (the Attorney General) by trying to influence him into making a decision (about the murder of Breonna Taylor).  What's also in the post are references to two other protests, one about the 2nd Amendment, one about COVID, where no one was charged, with anything - including beating on the windows of the governor's mansion or hanging the governor in effigy.  Apparently those acts are less threatening than a bunch of people sitting on the lawn...

So, that's it - your full and veritable pastiche for last week. I'll be back later with Sunday School.