Stewart Myrent

I am very happy to report that I was able to return the book, "Mobituaries: Great Lives Worth Reliving", by Mo Rocca, to the local library today, after completing it over 2 mos. ago.  I also picked up 2 new books, which shall remain nameless, as, once again, I do not want to violate any strictures against political speech on our Message Forum. I'm so happy to have new reading material.  I returned the Rocca book at the drive-thru book return, then drove to the front of the library, where they had 3 parking spaces for pick-up, called the library to tell them I was there & waited for a library employee to put the books in my open trunk & then closed the trunk, as they do not allow employees to close the trunk.

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Kennedy Mitchum is "super happy" - her efforts feel like a "step in a good direction for a lot of positive change for a lot of different positive conversations that can really help change the world and helps change how people view things."

After being told, "that's not what the dictionary says,"
Kennedy Mitchum wrote to the publishers of Merriam-Webster to tell them "racism is more than just disliking someone because of their race."  
Much to her surprise, she received a response the very next morning.
She kept explaining that the "way racism occurs in real life is not just prejudice; it's the systemic racism that is happening for a lot of Black Americans."
After a few more exchanges, Merriam-Webster's editorial staff agreed that "because people often turn to the dictionary to gain a more nuanced view of the way a word is being used in a particular context a revision to the entry for racism is now being drafted."

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

It's inevitable that the meaning we give words changes and develops over time.  
The dictionary story about the definition of racism helps me realize how important honest and open conversation is to come to grips with inherent systemic racism. If even the dictionary definition of racism is recognized to be inadequate, think how far-reaching change need be to make equality a reality in America.

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

"We report,
          you decide."  
Why not re-open AND wear masks?  
Testing and contact tracing are difficult, but essential - decision makers need the data to guide informed decisions.  
Why is the media being blamed for peddling a false narrative?  
Why is the pandemic a political issue?  
The coronavirus does not pay attention to policy or rhetoric.
The pandemic is not fading away,
people are dying, not the coronavirus.

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Where is our sense of urgency?

The numbers don't lie. People are dying.  
If we aren't listening to public health officials,
who are we listening to?

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

June 19, 1865, Juneteenth

Cellphones have forced us to see truth in real time.   
We have seen a reality we would not accept for ourselves.

Everybody wins in a just society.

I studied American history in high school and college. I have read books about our history.  
This is the first time I have heard about the terror in Tulsa in 1921 - an unprovoked attack by white people on a community of accomplished blacks.  
More than 300 black people were killed, thousands were displaced, and their community was looted and burned to the ground.  
Was anyone apprehended and punished?
Police were part of the mob that destroyed the black neighborhood.
Imagine if a white neighborhood had suffered such violence.

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Who are we listening to?

We should be listening to doctors first & last,

listening to medical facts during a pandemic.

Why are we praising politicians who repeat what doctors tell us?

No way politicians should silence doctors about covid-19.

Doctors have 1st amendment rights too.

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Happy Father's Day to all dads.

Stewart Myrent

On behalf of all the Dads & Grandpas - thanks for the Father's Day wishes.

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

To the powers that be:
Speed up the testing!  
We need 10 times more testing!  
Listen to the public health officials.  
We need thoughtful management of the coronavirus.  
We must stay the course:
washing hands, wearing a mask, and social distancing.

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Peace is the presence of justice.

Jack Edmund Bookwalter

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

"Que sera, sera" - "whatever will be, will be" seems to be the attitude in America in regard to COVID-19. The denial advanced by our CIC is the coronavirus' best friend. Federal funding is being pulled from testing sites.

We all want a cure but in the meantime we have to care.  
It is no surprise that COVID-19 is spiraling out of control in America.

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Baseball is back!

teams are working to figure out how to deal with covid-19 - as covid-19 is surging and infecting our youth.

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

There are Americans fighting to protect Confederate monuments and statues.

Last night two progressive statues were torn down from their pedestals in Madison, Wisconsin.

Statues are objects... why are we clinging to replicas of white icons, Confederate or progressive?

Black people are being killed. They are not replicas. They are human beings their families and friends are not able to replace.

There are people who seem more concerned about inanimate objects - whether they be Confederate or progressive monuments and statues - than they are about human life.

The sense of superiority on either side does nothing to advance race relations in the U.S. 

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Denial is NOT a strategy.

We are living in a humanitarian tragedy.

Today is the highest single day of new covid-19 cases in the U.S.

Why are we not meeting this challenge?

It's not  hot  spots popping up needing attention,

we're facing a raging pandemic.

Is now the time for the return of professional sports?

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

"Something's not working."

The spread of covid-19 is way worse than we imagined.

We are in an unmitigated public health disaster.

Covid-19 is not being contained, it's accelerating.

How are we going to move forward?

Testing reveals cases of covid-19; there are NOT more cases because of testing.  
Testing does NOT generate cases of covid-19.

With covid-19 surging, how can we possibly have enough contact tracers to follow up to stop the spread?

We can be part of the problem, or part of the solution. Our focus should be on saving lives.

Despite our different attitudes, it is imperative that we recognize we are interconnected and part of a process with societal responsibility.

We need to extinguish the spread.

Stewart Myrent

I don't know if what we've been doing relative to social distancing & wearing masks is having much of an effect on the Covid response, but the death rate from the Covid-19 pandemic here in the U.S., based on the latest statistics, was about 5.25%, as opposed to the 5.5% to 6.0% that we were experiencing only a month or so ago.  However, I have to say, that the 125,000+ Americans who have lost their lives to the pandemic, so far, could care less what the death rate is.  And I don't think that the 125,000+ deaths is a statistic that we can be happy with, or proud of.  I thought this pandemic was supposed to be over by April.  I'm pretty sure it's late June - almost July.  Yikes!

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

Will more advertisers walk away from Facebook?

Is Facebook doing enough to enforce its own rules about reliable information?

to rid Facebook of threats and attacks on American democracy  ?  ?  ?

What are we doing to protect ourselves from disinformation?

Janis Kliphardt (Emery)

the wheels are off...

EU is likely to ban U.S. travelers.

Marvin Irving Blusteln

Good thing I live only ninety minutes from Canada.

Stewart Myrent

Marv, I heard a couple of years ago that the #1 question asked on Google, was, "How do I move to Canada?"  It takes me about 6 hrs. to get to the U.P. of MI, going thru WI, so Canada can not be that much further.

Jack Edmund Bookwalter

Marvin Irving Blusteln

Jack it's simple.  Go for a vacation and don't leave.  Canada must have illegals as we do.  As long as you have sufficient income to live on,  shouldn't be to hard to stay off the grid.

Scott Mermel

Welcome Back to the Message Forum -- Looking forward to seeing your posts!