19 thoughts on “Monday Open Thread”

1. Today is VCR Day

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2. It’s time to Think (and act) Anew:

   Rural-Urban Gap in U.S. Death Rates Tripled Even Before Pandemic

   “What we’re seeing is a ripple effect from the economic downturn in rural areas that’s now being manifested as a public-health crisis,” said senior author Haider Warraich, a physician and researcher at the Boston Veterans Administration.

    

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   1. The OVERALL trend is the same — but rural health is improving MUCH less rapidly. The article MichaelBowman linked to ends with the 20 year comparison:

      From 1999 to 2019 the gap between rural and urban death rates grew from 62 per 100,000 to 169.5.

      In urban areas, the total rate went from 861.5 to 664.5. In rural areas it went from 923.8 to 834.

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3. A glimmer of sanity.  U.S. Supreme Court has refused to review a case challenging the all-male draft law.

   Women already have the right– and it’s a dubious one — to serve in the military in combat roles.  Thankfully, the Court shied away from the final barbarity of drafting them.

   As for the wimps whining that’s it’s discriminatory to draft them and not women, take note that over history more women have died in childbirth than men have died in combat. 

   So when men have half the pregnancies, women can be drafted as half the cannon fodder. 

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   1. That went pretty much as expected. A federal trial judge held that male-only registration was unconstitutional. The Fifth Circuit reversed, basically saying, “What do you want from us? SCOTUS has already decided this issue, and we’re bound by that decision regardless of how many goddamn circumstances have changed.”

      A statement from Sotomayor, Breyer and Kegs accompanied today’s cert denial. They noted that Congress is (sort of) looking into male-only registration, and “the Court’s longstanding deference to Congress on matters of national defense and military affairs cautions against granting review while Congress actively weighs the issue.”

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      1. You mistakenly wrote the district judge ruled male-only drafts were “constitutional.”  I’m sure you meant unconstitutional, which the Fifth Circuit reversed.

         I’m sure Whining Wimps Who Want to Draft Women Rather than Risk their Precious Arses will get a sympathetic hearing in Congress. 

         Tee hee.

         I am okay, however, with drafting transgender men. If they want all those male privileges, They can have ’em.

          

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         1. I’m sure Whining Wimps Who Want to Draft Women Rather than Risk their Precious Arses will get a sympathetic hearing in Congress. 

            

            The plaintiff in this one is some piece of shit "men's rights" organization, but they got support from all over the place. Cases like this are what ultimately got me to stop donating to the ACLU.

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            1. There was a fine piece in the New York Times today about the ACLU declining from a true civil liberties group into just another left activist group.

                

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4. I bet our own Lauren Boebert understands how many days in a month. You know the "30 days hath September, April, June, and November". Bet she knows it.

   The brilliant MTG in her insane June 4, 2021 letter to President Biden states:

   "We urge your administration to act to provide us with these answers by                   June 31, 2021."

    

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   1. I doubt either one of them know, skeptical. I think what's up for evaluation here is the quality of their staff.

       

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5. Borowitz with some sunflower 🌻 (my second-favorite crop) levity today: 

   US Troops Accidentally Storm Bulgarian Sunflower Oil Factory
    

   

    

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   1. Over the past 10 to 15 years, during my travels back and forth between my home and Hometown USA, I’ve often noticed and remarked about the lack of dryland puckerbrush acres that once had sunflower crops, now reverted back again to dryland puckerbrush and almost no sunflower crops — why is that, Michael?  Markets, price supports, politics, shell spitting now mostly frowned upon among urban elitists, lowering birthrates among sunflower seed eating socialists, the iron grip of the all-powerful porkrind lobby, Monsanto’s near-monopoly on GMO cornnuts, what?

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      1. I’d say in part, over the 30 years since that picture was taken, Monsanto and DuPont have dramatically improved the (drought resistant) genetics for dry land corn.  That has driven most farmers to displace the sunflower 🌻 with maize. With it they get the price supports and subsidized, multi-peril crop insurance that irrigators have enjoyed for decades. 
          

         I took a trip across South Dakota, North Dakota snd western Minnesota last October and I drove by literally tens of thousand of acres of flower ready to harvest. 
          

         I used the sunflower to break the weed cycle of jointed goat grass in our (then) wheat-fallow-wheat rotation. There were no chemicals at the time that could exterminate the grass so we were thrilled. I was the first one on the eastern plains to do this rotation and we sponsored annual test plots with CSU for about 10 years. Those were fun times. 

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         1. Thanks MB!

            Corn corn corn corn corn — shoulda' guessed . . .

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            1. "Corn corn corn corn" – that's what my South Dakota ex-mother-in-law told her grandkids was the secret to growing acres and acres of tall corn to hide in and break off a sweet ear to nibble on. They believed it, and chanted it while riding in the tractors with grandparents. They wanted to help!

               Good times.

                

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6. Mike, you and other survivors of rural America might like this review from the bulwark.

   https://thebulwark.com/something-to-write-home-about/

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   1. Thanks for that link, V! I just ordered the book.  I'm on The Bulwark email list but I missed that one.  

      There is a really great Twitter account by a progressive farmer in Indiana that I can't get enough of… if you have an account follow this guy.  He's a glimpse into the future: 

      Ma Natures beggs us everyday to be freeloaders of Photosynthesis.

      All you can collect. pic.twitter.com/qPpzcxUhPH

      — Jason Mauck (@jasonmauck1) June 7, 2021

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   2. Yes, V., thanks for this. The book review reminds me so much of many "red" rural counties in Colorado that elect only right-wingers at the local level, but never see the connection between their politics and the economic withering away of their communities.

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7. Jeffco Schools are dropping the mask and screening requirements for children 11 and under, starting tomorrow, Wednesday June 9. ( in the District’s Summer School programs). DPS is still requiring masking and screening for staff and students.
    

   I’m working for Jeffco Schools this summer, and will be delighted to ditch the mask, and let the kiddos breathe freer, too.

   Students and adults 12 and over still need to mask up if they are not fully vaccinated. This is all in line with the CDC’s latest guidance. Children’s Hospital and other sites are providing free vaccinations for kids 12 and over, and will pilot vaccinations for younger children  this summer. 

   From the latest Jeffco School Messenger newsletter:

   .
   An Update on District COVID-Related Health Protocols
   For June 2021 Summer Programming and the 2021-22 School Year

   Dear Jeffco Community,

   Thanks to the resolve of our entire community, we are pleased to share changes to COVID-related health protocols in Jeffco Public Schools facilities, effective Wednesday, June 9. These changes apply to our summer program operations, and going forward including the 2021-22 school year. These changes align with current public health guidelines.

   • Temperature and health screenings are no longer required at the entrance of Jeffco Public Schools buildings. In lieu of screenings, we ask staff and families to utilize this home-screening review and guidance from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE).

   • Masks are no longer required at school, indoors or outdoors, for children age 11 and younger and for adults and students 12 and older who are fully vaccinated. “Fully vaccinated” is defined as having received both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine plus two weeks, or having received the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine plus two weeks. Wearing a mask is optional and will be supported for those who wish to continue to wear masks in this group; however, masks are still required for individuals over the age of 12 who are not fully vaccinated.

   • We encourage our community to consider receiving a vaccine. People who are fully vaccinated are not subject to quarantine should they be exposed to a COVID case in schools. 

   • Staff are encouraged to upload their vaccine information into the ESS PeopleSoft system. Instructions for employees are here. Anyone who is fully vaccinated will not be subject to quarantine protocols.

   • If a student needs accommodations due to a health condition that prevents them from wearing a mask or receiving the vaccine, the student’s parent/guardian should reach out to the school principal or school nurse to initiate the accommodation process.

   • If a staff member is unable to receive the COVID vaccine due to a health condition, please connect with your direct supervisor or Employee Relations for assistance with the accommodations process. Staff accommodations may result in customized protocols for others working with or learning from the staff member.

   • Jeffco Public Schools is continuing to advocate with Jefferson County Public Health and CDPHE for removing current quarantine restrictions. The quarantine process will continue to follow CDPHE Guidance for Schools until new guidelines are determined by CDPHE. 

   It is wonderful to be able to share these changes in our protocols! We did this together. The hard work and dedication of our community has paid off, and we are pleased to return to more “normal” environments in our schools and district facilities. While there may be developments related to COVID over the summer, and we will continue to monitor the pandemic conditions within our community, there is a bright light shining on the coming school year.

    

    

   

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