Library books and Covid

Browsing the new rules and guidelines for OSU Libraries for the autumn semester 2020 I see there’s not a lot of agreement on how long the virus lives on books.  The guidelines say a book will be quarantined for 5 days when returned to service.  I’ve checked various websites, and at least in the recent (yet ever changing) rules and research nothing is that draconian. It will push faculty and students even more to on-line use. I know when I was employed there (retired in 2000) the library was absolutely dependent on our student staff; I assume it is still that way and they will have the most face time with the public.  They will be handling the materials. If the lending partners throughout the state have the same quarantine, it will really back up interlibrary and intra-library loans. And no course reserves—those were heavily used in the veterinary library because so many did not own the books for their classes.

https://library.osu.edu/news/university-libraries-service-updates-for-autumn-semester (posted August 7)

“University Libraries is looking forward to providing the services our students, faculty and staff need to meet their education and research goals in a safe and healthy environment. To that end:

• masks are required in all University Libraries facilities.
• the book stacks will remain closed to the public. Materials must be requested through paging. Only University Libraries staff may remove books from shelves. Any books brought to the circulation desk by visitors will have to be quarantined and unavailable for up to five days.
• requests for materials will be made online at library.osu.edu and picked up at the circulation or information desk within the library.
• visitors are asked to maintain a safe physical distance of six feet apart. We have spaced out seating in our common areas and closed our group study rooms to help make this possible.
• eating and drinking are not permitted in the libraries.
• returned materials will be quarantined for five days and will remain on your account until quarantine is complete and they have been checked in.
• due to quarantine, OhioLINK and Interlibrary Loan requests will be delayed.
• physical course reserves will not be available.
• requests for new materials will take longer than normal to process.
• Thompson and 18^th Avenue Libraries will maintain normal hours, departmental libraries and special collection reading rooms will be operating on a modified schedule. Hours are subject to change. Please visit library.osu.edu for current information

This article from WebMD sounds more like the advice from 4-5 months ago when they were trying to sanitize cruise ships, however it’s update stamp is Aug. 21. https://www.webmd.com/lung/how-long-covid-19-lives-on-surfaces

Although I haven’t been in a library for 6 months, I’ve used the free little libraries around town liberally, and I’ve been in a book store and touched and opened the books. https://www.webmd.com/lung/how-long-covid-19-lives-on-surfaces (posted April 3)

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/06/26/heres-how-long-coronavirus-can-live-surfaces-and-air/3256678001/

In all research, it’s what you do AFTER you hold or touch material others have been using that is critical.  Your HANDS and FACE.  Do not touch.  And since masks are so uncomfortable, that’s the hardest advice to follow.

Big Tech is still the winner in this pandemic.  There is no problem getting a new or used book through Amazon, and although the machines may be wrapping and handling, you still have to get the box open and dispose of the trash.

This article is not research, it’s anecdotal, but something to think about because we’ve become so dependent on how some large businesses are staying open when everything we need is closed. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-08-27/covid-pandemic-u-s-businesses-issue-gag-rules-to-stop-workers-from-talking (posted August 27)

The culture of Life--a useful source for life issues

https://cultureoflife.org/

The Culture of Life Foundation is a 501C3 research and educational institute that exists to engage and strengthen public reason, form the moral conscience, and reveal and present the truths about the human person at all stages of life and in all conditions. We believe that true freedom flourishes within a responsible and cohesive society that is respectful of the fundamental dignity of the human individual.

Hurricanes and politicking

Incredible state, local and federal cooperation have kept injuries and death to a minimum during the two storms, Marco and Laura, to hit Louisiana and Texas. There will still be flooding and tornadoes. I heard Biden on TV blaming Trump. For what, I'm not sure. The weather? Wonder if he'll give him credit for FEMA’s prompt readiness. I remember how the media tried to smear Bush for Katrina when it was the governor and mayor who failed the people? Food and ice were stopped at the state borders, by local regulations.

"FEMA, other federal agencies and the American Red Cross have also spent the last couple of months preparing to face additional challenges that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic presents. They have modified policies and planning and have taken actions to ensure the federal government can respond to any disaster during the continued COVID-19 response efforts. Actions such as safe distancing in shelters have been taken into consideration when preparing shelter locations. You can read more about how to prepare for disaster during COVID-19 by visiting the Ready.gov website.

Emergency declarations have also been approved for Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Puerto Rico. These declarations help FEMA to rapidly and efficiently respond when states and individuals need aid after a disaster. They authorize FEMA to provide assistance, including reimbursement for mass care, evacuation and shelter support.

Additionally, President Trump approved a major disaster declaration for California. The declaration includes grants to individuals and households, and emergency work in eight counties impacted by wildfires. All areas in the state are also eligible for assistance under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.

To further make sure employees and disaster survivors stay safe from COVID-19, FEMA has added virtual options for meeting needs after disasters. These methods include virtual damage assessments and inspections for FEMA Individual Assistance and Public Assistance programs, as well as for National Flood Insurance Program claims." https://www.fema.gov/blog/fema-prepares-hurricane-laura-california-wildfires

https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-announces-fema-approval-for-federal-emergency-declaration-ahead-of-tropical-storm-laura-marco-landfall

Read the biased, slanted article from Politico side sniping President Trump for the weather and riots in Democrat controlled cities because they happen during RNC convention.  https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/27/hurricane-laura-rnc-trump-speech-402993

Naps

My afternoon naps are coming earlier and earlier.  About 11 a.m.  Of course, I get up early, but then I always have.  When my children would nap in afternoons, I always used that time to nap.  My mother was a napper.  She always said, "I'll just close my eyes for a few minutes." The day before my wedding I napped on the couch with my head in her lap.  She always had a book with her, and as her eyes would get heavy, the book slipped down. When I was about 16 I look a photo of her napping on our burgundy color couch on Hannah Avenue--plaid house dress, an apron, dark brown hair, hose, shoes with little heels. I'll have to look around for it.

The medical news for naps changes from time to time. Some research says an hour nap (my usual length) can help cognition. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/315097

Others say 20-30 minutes is best so you don't get groggy.  https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/napping

Mayo Clinic has some suggestions https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/napping/art-20048319

The lies continue

Democrat media complain that there was no mention of the virus during the RNC. Really? I heard it. In prayer. In stories of first responders. In testimonies of survivors. In news clips of Cuomo and Newsom praising the president for the quick aid he sent their states. Stories of amazing new treatments and advancing technology.

And the governors have sent the "crushing" economic woes, not the president. It was Democrats who fought the president on stopping international air traffic from China. It was Democrats who told tourists to come to their cities even as late as March. The false narratives they invent for any crisis, from children in cages, to what Trump said in Charlottesville, to how this virus spread, are unconscionable. They try to cover up their "defund the police" and "loot the cities" slogans with these whiny, petulant lies.

A tribute to women on Day 3

Day 3 of the RNC convention coincided with the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and women’s constitutional right to vote.  So there were many tributes.  Let me say, I’ve never been that impressed with how women have used that right.  Particularly women in Congress.  They’ve pushed for killing the unborn; many have eschewed marriage; some have denied the importance of fathers and have denigrated men, who they outlive and women enjoy better health outcomes; women in Congress have insisted on affirmative action, yet want outsized government protection using the federal government like a step-father for their children. But the planners of the RNC convention really did give me a more positive view.  With the national right to vote (women were already voting in local and state elections in 1920) some women used it as a psychological boost even if they misused (in my opinion) their powerful vote.

It’s always been my opinion that it was the 19th century when American women were in their glory fighting for the rights of others and themselves.  They moved a nation with the BIG THREE—may American women someday live up to the expectations of those brave, strong women.

• Temperance, the fight to live without the scourge of addiction to alcohol,
• Abolition, the fight to end slavery in the United State, and
• Suffrage, the fight for women to be able to vote in federal elections.

A hymn to our collective mothers—birth, foster, adoptive and mentors

Faith of our  mothers, living yet
in cradle song and bedtime prayer,
In nurs’ry love and fireside love,
Your presence still pervades the air:
Faith of our mothers, living faith,
We will be true to you till death.

Faith of our mothers, lavish faith,
The fount of childhood’s trust and grace,
O may your consecration prove
The wellspring of a nobler race:
Faith of our mothers, lavish faith,
We will be true to you till death.

(A. B. Patton, public domain)

What else should Trump have done?

We spent a lot of time the 3rd week in February in ICU with our son, and there were no Covid19 protections then and visitors wandered in and out with no problem. The only hint there was a problem was a sign in the waiting area that if one had traveled to China recently, to wear an (optional) mask. There were visitors in his room almost around the clock--none of us wore masks. Even for normal infections, it was terribly casual. This was 3 weeks after Trump announced closing travel to China. And now the Democrat Mafia want to make it about his leadership (constitutional authority he doesn't have). Any excuse to cover for their duplicity and bigotry.

The voter drive among medical professions

The Ohio State College of Medicine's Department of Family and Community Medicine and the medical center’s Anti-Racism Action Plan Policy and Advocacy Action Group are partnering with VoteHealth2020 for a workshop on raising voter awareness to increase participation in the election. This is naive and manipulative.

The Trump Administration has probably been the most proactive in assisting minorities, and has actually accomplished something in areas long neglected (but incessantly talked about) by other administrations in the areas of employment opportunity, prison reform, and education. Because Trump is an outsider to both parties, when the businessman accustomed to achieving looked around and said--"this hasn't been working for 50 years, let's do something, let's fast track something, let's get rid of the dead wood of socialist promises," he's been called a racist.

Will an event planned by an entity called an Anti-Racism Action Plan Policy and Advocacy Action Group even welcome Trump supporters? Will they want more Trump supporters to vote? Are there any conservatives or Republicans in this group, or is diversity just another word for skin color? I wanted to know.

So I looked up the VoteHealth2020 board composition, for ethnicity, education, experience in medicine, political sensitivities and how it could relate to the voting public. Based on the photos and surnames, and a brief bio of each one, I'd say 9 members of the team are Asian Indian, [the wealthiest and most educated minority group in the U.S]. The one black female was born in Ghana, one other female appears to be Japanese ancestry, and one white male might be of Spanish ethnicity. In popular jargon, these are POC, people of color, because they are certainly not African American or that jumble of nationalities we refer to as Hispanic. Only one person on the board has a little gray in his fashionable stubble.

The publicity/marketing for this group does point out that Americans have a lower voter turn out than Western Europe and that doctors have an even lower turn out than other privileged, wealthy Americans. Yet, they don't seem to know our American history--even that of the last 2 decades. Blacks had an incredible turnout for the 2008 and 2012 elections--higher than whites in 2008, and much higher in 2012. And almost double that of Asian Americans, the people organizing the "get out the vote" group.

The Pew Research Center found that the economy (84% of respondents), terrorism (80%) and foreign policy (75%) were the top three issues on voters’ minds in 2016. That's why Trump won. Now in 2020, because of Covid19, health care has moved up, especially for Democrats who also think Trump is an important issue, but in 2016, it didn't even make the list.

Will the medical profession vote for Biden and will it be more likely to convince minorities to change their life style to reduce the problems of smoking, alcohol/drug abuse, domestic abuse, sexual promiscuity and obesity? Just like other groups, life style changes will improve many health problems. If I would lose 30 pounds, I'm sure my exercise routine would benefit. How will the doctors' or patients' voting record change their health? It won't. But they might be able to keep Trump out of the White House and get more federal money for their profession.

It’s not about change, or even revolution

If you thought BLM and ANTIFA wanted change, you are wrong. They want chaos. And here's the proof. Their riots were preceded by unprecedented change, with record low unemployment, increased college enrollment and the highest opportunity ever for minorities. That had to be destroyed.

In 2018, the combined state and federal imprisonment rate (431 sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents) was the lowest since 1996.

The total imprisonment rate fell 15% from 2008 to 2018.

From 2008 to 2018, the imprisonment rate dropped 28% among black residents, 21% among Hispanic residents, and 13% among white residents.

In 2018, the imprisonment rate of black residents was the lowest since 1989.

https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p18.pdf

They are Marxists and crooks. If you believe them, you don't know history and you deserve a vacation in Venezuela and real estate in down town Portland.

The first night of RNC convention

The biggest threat to the moldy, dank and dark Democrat party platform and candidates last week is a bright light and fresh air. Watch the August 24 first night of hope, greatness and health. Our neighbor, an 88 year old widow, came across the street to watch, and we were enthralled with the pride and hope the speakers conveyed.

https://www.facebook.com/dralvedaking/videos/342998723741407/

Now its Climate Change, not a virus

So now Covid19 is about Climate Change, according to WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus And things will never go back to the way they were in 2019. No one benefits when more old people die of influenza or falls, but Covid19? Can make a lot of headway with that one.

No wonder no one complains when rioters don't wear masks. "This is where the the dot-connecting by the WHO, the United Nations, and other fanatical climate-crisis pushers comes into play. The solution to the “climate change crisis,” as they see it, can be summed up in two words: wealth redistribution. Even better in four words: massive worldwide wealth redistribution."

The more we're kept in fear and distrusting each other, the more control these power hungry people have.

https://www.redstate.com/mike_miller/2020/08/22/and-there-it-is-who-director-uses-covid-to-push-worldwide-climate-change-agenda/?

Joe Biden has saved many Black lives.

A total of 194 shooting incidents involving black victims occurred in New York City in June, a 177% increase from the 70 recorded in June 2019, according to the New York Police Department. The BLM movement and its liberal apologists in white suburbia are taking black lives, particularly young people, at an alarming rate. It sounds terrible, but the violence is still lower than in the early 1990s when the 1994 omnibus crime bill cracked down on violence, giving the states federal money for more police and equipment, and the streets of the major cities became safer by half. Violent crime rate was 757.7 per 100,000 in 1992, and 368.9 per 100,000 in 2018. That was an uptick from 361.6 in 2014.

Many people, both parties (and especially Harris and DeBlasio), have blamed Biden, who advocated for the crime bill. They don't give him credit for the thousands of black lives saved over a 30 year period, because the crime rate for blacks is about 6x higher than whites, therefore, the criminals incarcerated during those years, where not killing other black men. Also, the incarceration rate had been going up for many years before the crime bill. And "experts" (sort of like "scientists") don't agree on why the crime rate was halved. "Restorative justice" (i.e., ignore the crime based on race like the Parkland school shooting) people want to blame the law for high rates of black criminals in jail, but they don't want to credit it for saving black lives.

As Senate Judiciary chairman, Biden was a prime mover of the 1994 law, promising that "there will be fewer people murdered," and "fewer children will be turning to crime." (Politico) And he was. His efforts saved lives. But times have changed. His legacy must be denied to get him elected.

This is not to say that Joe Biden should be president for something that harmed/helped Blacks in 1994, only to say his party is a bunch of hypocrites who have so much hate for President Trump they will continue to lie, cheat and steal to get him out of office.

Why Kamala Harris?

The wealthiest ethnic groups of Americans are Asian, specifically, Indian Americans (household income $123,453). After that it's Taiwanese Americans (household income $102,328). Just for comparison, English and German American household income (my ethnicity who were here before the Revolution) is under $50,000. Even the Chickasaw and Choctaw tribal nation members have a household income higher than English and German Americans. But most whites (as Europeans are called) are not even close to Indian or Taiwanese. Indian Americans used to be grouped with "white" in these divisions until the government needed to slice and dice our ethnicities for political purposes. Whites took a "cut in pay" so to speak when the Indians were lumped with Asians.

So in a party obsessed with identity politics, why isn't Kamala Harris called an Indian American? Tamils, or Indians, the people of her mother, have a population of around 76 million and with a documented history stretching back over 2,000 years. They are one of the largest and oldest extant ethnolinguistic groups in the modern world according to Wikipedia (it's not always the best source, but it's the fastest).

Joe Biden has flip flopped on every race and sex issue in the last 40 years. He didn't need to choose Kamala Harris to satisfy Blacks--he's already announced that he owns them. He needed a "black" female to satisfy his white base, particularly women and the younger demographic. And it looks like a wealthy, privileged Indian American would have filled the bill, even if not very accurate for identity politicking. Democrats will just ignore that they have 2 of the most notorious law and order candidates (in their former lives) in recent history.

The Obama legacy

Larry Elder writes, and I agree, that in 2008, Barack Obama "got a higher % of the white vote than did Kerry in '04. Obama won with 52%, but by the time he entered office Obama's ratings stood at 67%. To show his gratitude, Obama spent his presidency and post presidency telling whites how racist they are.‬"

And his legacy of bigotry, racism, division and turmoil lives on in all the major Democrat run cities experiencing rioting, in academe, in churches, in "woke" corporations," in entertainment, and the Democrats in Congress today.

Reparations in the 21st century

How would reparations work?

First, it's imperative that it has to be about more than slavery, which is the mistake most white and black middle class Christians make when supporting that idea. If it were just slavery, that would leave out Barack Obama, Kamala Harris, Megan Markle, the adoptive children of movie stars and the millions like Ilhan Omar who have immigrated from Africa and the Caribbean in the past 3-4 decades. And I do mean millions. Only 350,000 blacks came during slavery days--you can see more need to be added to the roster of the downtrodden and abused.

Second, it will start with something recent that most people will remember. Maybe it will even be "affirmative action" since it failed to set things right and caused blacks undo hardship with debts they couldn't pay off. Maybe it will be "fair housing" initiatives since the concept caused so much "white flight" and pulled middle class blacks out of neighborhoods that needed them.

Third, it will include obviously bad and racist people, and we'll be asked to provide compensation for those hurt by those who consciously worked against blacks, like maybe a (Democrat) senator, former member of the KKK.

Fourth, it will include legal (at the time) business practices, either defined or redefined. Like red-lining of banks to stall mortgages. And if you've invested in that bank, or its parent company, or even if you use its savings and checking account services, you'll be part of the system, and therefore, guilty. You'll need to pay up.

Fifth, it will include local government services, like schools, parks, transportation. Did the schools in your community fail black children at higher rates than whites? Law suits coming right up. Maybe even the families of the board members and teachers will be held responsible. There goes that nice pension teachers get.

Sixth, it will include nutrition and health. We will be asked to overlook lifestyle causes of health problems, at least as far as reparations are concerned. If McDonald's is deemed to have too many stores in black neighborhoods (black because of redlining by banks) and black children have more obesity related health problems, then Mickey D will have to pay up, and if you've invested, sorry. That McDonald's has provided more top level management jobs for blacks since the early 1980s and been more environmentally responsible than most corporations will not balance the ledger.

And there will be more. There are currently national, state and local task forces for each of these. Keep your eyes and ears open. Non-profits are extremely lucrative for those at the top getting donations from foundations and gullible church mission boards. It's sort of a reparation payment all by itself.

The electoral college whine

Hillary Clinton opined again this past week at the vaudeville virtual convention that she won. She wasn't defeated in 2016, she was defeated in the Democrat primaries in 2008, by Barack Obama. She had more votes, in those days feminism won out over color, but Obama got the winner take all, electoral style system Democrats use in their primaries. After 8 years she was too old, too exhausted and too ill to pull it off. By the same token, Sanders won, but Joe Biden walked off with the prize. Bernie's no dummy, however, and has most of the power over the Biden message and campaign. You could call it the Harris-Sanders ticket.

Females that won’t reproduce

Does 2020 need any more disasters? Genetically engineered 750 million mosquitoes are about to be released in Florida in 2021. Females that can't reproduce. Hey, we're doing that with teen-agers and getting slammed by the LGBTQ agenda groups if we object. But that's another disaster for down the road.

I don't like mosquitoes, but after Science in the 19th century first developed DDT as the answer to control malaria, typhus, body lice, and bubonic plague and bringing malaria cases to almost zero, that same Science then declared it an evil for Mother Earth when a non-scientist, Rachel Carson, published a book. I'm a little nervous about what else Science has in store for us. I suspect no one really knows why God designed the mosquito, nor do they remember how we got so many rogue plants, animals and fish (hint: someone brought them here to benefit or control something else).

The Democrat Convention to elect Joe Biden

So what are we to make of the virtual vaudeville virtue signaling we witnessed this week called the Democrat Convention?

American flags, the Constitution, the Star Spangled banner, singing children, and a motherly chat from a former FLOTUS who not too long ago admitted she didn't like us much while her husband reminded us that we didn't build that (hint: slaves did according to BLM whom he won't condemn). That sweet cotton candy side show was to convince the moderates and independents that they really hadn't seen two months of rioting in Democrat plantation cities; they really hadn't witnessed their elected leaders voting to kill the oppressed and helpless babies not yet born.

The race to fantasy land started with a speech by their most prominent Socialist Bernie Sanders claiming that we are experiencing the most serious health crisis in 100 years, the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression, a climate disaster, and a weak, directionless leader at the helm. He then accused that weak leader of being an "authoritarian and a bigot," and that's code for Hitler in Dem-Speak. Well, which is it Bern? Is he a sniveling weakling getting sand kicked in his face or is he Hitler?

Do we have an "authoritarian" in the White House who demanded every Democrat be masked and silent as the 50 governors have done, one who will usurp all power of the states and shut down businesses and churches? I think not. Democrats would have really raged if that had happened. Oh yes, and he warned of an oligarchy--Bernie said the power is there. That sent everyone to the dictionary. That's a small clutch of power brokers. But that describes Big Tech and woke corporations, the ones who've bought into the "systemic racism" chant of the rioters and academics, who approve of NFL revolting (peacefully) against the national anthem, painting BLM on the streets of NYC, and forced pronouns in the work place.

Or do you, Bernie, want a president who is cozy (with his son Hunter) with the Communist Party of China, the country of origin of the virus that struck down the most powerful economy the world has ever seen? Team Biden loves authoritarian China that requires everyone with a cell phone have an APP for Xi Jinping so all citizens can be reeducated in the glorious words and philosophy of the president for life. That's the president you're seeking to install in the White House?

Will you get the vaccine?

"Less than half of American adults say they would get a government-approved [rushed, deadly] coronavirus vaccine if one becomes widely available, new data from the NBC News|SurveyMonkey Weekly Tracking Poll show, with the majority unsure about getting the vaccine or saying they're ruling it out entirely. Forty-four percent of American adults say they would get the vaccine, with 22 percent saying they wouldn't and 32 percent saying they aren't sure... Among Republicans and those who lean Republican, 31 percent say they aren't sure whether they would get a vaccine, while 36 percent say they would and 33 percent say they wouldn't. While a majority of Democrats and those who lean

Democratic -- 58 percent -- say they would get a vaccine, 30 percent say they're unsure and just 12 percent say they wouldn't get vaccinated. Independents align more closely with the Republican groups. Thirty-seven percent say they and their families would get vaccinated, 25 percent say they wouldn't and 38 percent say they aren't sure."

Are NBC news survey Monkeys that reliable, or do they get primarily Democrats? And look at the numbers, the vast majority say yes, or unsure (probably waiting on the "science" to settle a little instead of changing week to week).

I will get a vaccine eventually--but like a first year model of a car, I'd want the bugs worked out.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/poll-less-than-half-of-americans-say-theyll-get-a-coronavirus-vaccine/ar-BB185CwG

An old photo of Phil

Today I received a nice photo of our son Phil who died in April. My cousin Sharon who lives in Canada sent it in a letter. It was taken in 1981 at a gathering at my mother's farm in Franklin Grove for the funeral of my cousin, Sharon's brother, Richard Weybright who died when he was 43. Phil was 13. Phil loved our vacations at the farm. I remember being there, but didn't remember who else was there except for Richard's parents. Richard had died in November 1980, so apparently the ashes were brought "home" from Arizona for burial in Ashton, Illinois where my grandparents and their son Clare who died in WWII are buried.

From left: Phil, Aunt Muriel, Chris Corbett, Bob, Dale Jasper