Sunday, March 22, 2020

Sunday fun day?



22 Mar 2020: Global death toll rose above 13,000 while infection count surpassed 311,000. Governments around the world continued to lock down cities and countries. Latest curfew coming into effect in India. Besieged Palestinian territory of Gaza registered its first two cases.

Word of the day trending on Twitter...


AP News reported congress is still negotiating relief bill. Bless their hearts.  https://apnews.com/c32bc143d362d684cb1cd7cf33a5ea44
Associated Press (AP) is rated borderline Left-Center Biased due to left leaning editorializing, but Least Biased on the whole due to balanced story selection. We also rate them Very-High for factual reporting due to proper sourcing and a clean fact check record. https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/associated-press/
https://apnews.com/APFactCheck
https://apnews.com/DonaldTrump 

Rand Paul was the first senator to test positive. Interestingly, he earned a medical degree from Duke University and practiced opthalmology for 18 years before becoming a senator. He recently voted against pandemic relief. Currently asymptomatic, he was tested and quarantined as a precaution. Many have questioned why he was tested since he had no symptoms, especially considering some people with symptoms reported being unable to get a test. After Paul was tested, but before he knew the results, he was seen in the senate gym, swimming in the senate pool, and having lunch with other GOP senators. Shortly after his diagnosis was made public, several senators announced their own quarantine plans, thus complicating congressional efforts to pass pandemic relief bills.  https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/488943-rand-pauls-coronavirus-diagnosis-sends-shockwaves-through-senate
The Hill is rated Right-Center Biased based on editorial positions that moderately favor the right, however basic news reporting is generally balanced in story selection and reported in a straightforward manner. Also rated Mostly Factual in reporting, rather than High, due to previous opinion columns promoting unproven claims. https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/the-hill/

VP Pence and his wife received their test results within hours; both negative.

I no longer watch Trump daily press propaganda briefings because I find them more confusing and upsetting than helpful. CSpan has recordings and additional updates for anyone wanting a deeper dive:  https://www.c-span.org

In kinda sorta local news, Hanes Brands (which is based in Winston Salem) has negotiated to make surgical masks, utilizing US grown cotton, at their factories in Latin America. I commend their efforts, though I think it would be ideal if they could make N95 respirator masks instead of simple surgical masks. Here are links for more information.



Austin’s test results FINALLY came back – NEGATIVE!!!!! Hip hip hooray! After SIX DAYS of waiting and worrying, it is a tremendous relief knowing he does not have the virus.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Hindsight 2020

November 2020 After assisting the Forsyth County Board of Elections with a few post election tasks, I finally took time to rest and rechar...