Darwin Awards: Evolution in Action

The Darwin Awards commemorate individuals who protect our gene pool by making the ultimate sacrifice of their own lives, thereby improving our species' chances of long-term survival.   

Charles Darwin meme

Stay at home supporters have concerns that reopen protestors are risking lives, their own as well as others. In an attempt to save limited hospital resources for innocent patients, a medical treatment waiver is circulating online.  

 medical treatment waiver for protestors

ReOpenNC held a second rally Tuesday. Gov Cooper did not attempt to block or shut down the peaceful assembly, though he did urge protestors to maintain safe physical distancing. The News & Observer estimated approximately 1,000 people crowded into downtown Raleigh. A man dressed in scrubs and wearing a mask claimed to be an ER nurse in favor of reopening. A female med tech and veteran named Kristy also wants to reopen. Meanwhile about a dozen counter-protestors wearing scrubs gathered near the state archives building to show their support for front line health care workers and the statewide stay at home order. Search #ReOpenNC for additional photos, videos and testimonials; protestors are more active on Facebook than Twitter.

  

North Carolina is what I consider a politically purple state; a mix of red and blue voters. We have a democratic governor, 2 republican senators, 3 out of 13 democratic congressional representatives, and a republican controlled state general assembly. According to the conservative leaning Civitas Institute, Gov Cooper has an 84% approval rating, only 11% disapproval, for his handling of the coronavirus crisis in NC. 

Recent national surveys indicate there is solid majority support for continued physical distancing, consistently between 60% and 80% across multiple polls. In other words, stay at home safety measures rate significantly higher than Trump’s approval ratings. Soon to be inducted into the irony hall of fame, President Trump – head of the US government – has repeatedly shown support for anti-government reopen protests. Yet Wednesday Trump said parts of GA Gov Kemp’s reopen plan are too soon. 

#BlessTheirHearts, #COVFEFE45, #COVIDIOTS, #FailureInChief, #FloridaMorons, #Floridiots, #ImpeachedTrump, #IMPOTUS, #MAGAcide, #TrumpCoronavirusTestFailure, #TrumpFailedAmerica, #TrumpLiesPeopleDie, #TrumpPandemic, #TrumpVirus, and #VoteBlue2020 have been trending. 

A Washington Post investigation connected the conservative activist Dorr family to some of the reopen protests in a suspected data harvesting scheme. The DeVos family is likely connected to “Operation Gridlock” in Michigan. Also, a Reddit researcher found evidence linking multiple reopen accounts to Florida.

Reopen appears to be a band of fringe groups propped up by astroturfing; not a truly grassroots movement. Looking at protest photos and videos, there is clear overlap with right wing political pressure groups. Some reopen protestors are also NRA supporters asserting second amendment gun rights and some are evangelical Christians promoting pro-life positions.

 Reopen protest hypocrisy memes

Krebs claims a number of sites, including ReOpenNC.com, exist merely to sell t-shirts, decals and yard signs with such slogans as “Know Your Rights,” “Live Free or Die,” and “Facts not Fear.” WHOIS records show the same Florida resident who registered this NC site also registered similar e-commerce sites for other states.

The ReOpenNC Facebook group has disavowed connection to any other group or website, insisting their efforts are truly grassroots and local. Created April 7, there are more than 66,000 members in this group as of April 23. Total NC population is 10.5 million, so the ReOpenNC group represents less than 1% of Tarheels. Most administrators, moderators and organizers are confirmed NC residents: Co-founder Ashley Smith lives in Asheville. Audrey Whitlock is from Gastonia. Bradley Thomas Dixon is in Mebane. Dennis Burgard lives in Jacksonville NC. Tim D’Annunzio  lives in Raeford. Mike Adams is a conservative professor at UNC Wilmington. Dr. Rosemary Fernandez Stein is a pediatrician living in Burlington. Congressman Dan Bishop represents the 9^th district in south central NC from Charlotte to Fayetteville to Lumberton. Kristen Elizabeth, Jennifer Barnes Pierce, and Betsy Ball Clark also are connected with ReOpenNC.  

In the spirit of spreading happy, positive, and/or silly vibes:

• Jordan Klepper learned pandemic survival tips from former special ops soldier.
• Daily Show shared Fox News Special on human sacrifice.
• NYC Karens need unlimited data thanks to Mayor DeBlasio’s new snitch line.

Daily pandemic update:  

As known infections worldwide surpassed 2.5 million, the head of the WHO said there were "worrying upward trends" in early epidemics in parts of Africa and central and South America, warning that the "virus will be with us for a long time".  Australia is trying to build support internationally for an independent review of the origins and spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic is expected to drive carbon dioxide emissions down by six percent this year, the head of the World Meteorological Organization said, in what would be the biggest yearly drop since World War II. Aljazeera.com timeline

23 Apr 2020	Cases		Deaths		Recovered
10:01 GMT*	Yesterday	Today	Yesterday	Today	Yesterday	Today
World	2,575,875	2,653,808	178,669	185,059	704,142	727,844
US	819,175	849,092	45,343	47,681	82,973	84,050
NY	258,589	263,754	19,470	20,248	29,826	29,831
CT	20,360	22,469	1,423	1,544	63	63
NC	7,137	7,547	245	267	1,302	1,302

*Documenting time of day because real time data updates continuously.
Tracking specific states:  NY is US epicenter, son Reid lives in CT, and I live in NC. 
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/     https://www.coronainusa.com/  

A moment of silence for those we’ve lost to coronavirus, including the first 100 in the US.

In the news:  

• Bipartisan Senate report validated 2017 intelligence re: Russia interference in the 2016 election.
• Burlington NC based Labcorp received FDA approval for COVID-19 test kit.
• CDC director attempted to clarify his remarks about potential second wave.
• Charitable nonprofits urged Congress to prioritize front line responders for relief.
• Firefighters cautioned: do NOT put masks in microwave to sanitize; fire hazard.
• HHS official Dr. Rick Bright said he was ousted for political reasons.
• IHME adjusted death toll projections up 10% to 66,000 dead by August.
• KY infections spiked following protests.
• Missouri is attempting to sue China over spread of coronavirus.
• National Association of Realtors anticipates sales to drop 30% - 40% but home value prices to hold steady.  
• Senate leader Mitch McConnell favors allowing state and local governments to go bankrupt rather than pass additional stimulus relief.
• Trump downplayed second wave as embers, contradicting medical expert during daily presser.
• Trump campaign fundraising letter made no mention of pandemic.
• Unexpected COVID-19 symptoms may include blood clots, skin reactions, and inflammation of blood vessels in hands and feet.
• USNS Comfort no longer needed in NYC; preparing for FEMA to determine next mission. 
• #GatesHacked trended briefly due to 4Chan conspiracy theories. 
• Wag the dog also trended following Trump tweet about destroying Iranian gunboats as Iran successfully launched their first military satellite into orbit. 

Following Kenny Beck’s lead to share a few signs of hope:

• Together at Home concert raised $127 million for coronavirus relief.
• Tyson Foods donated food to help feed Wilkes County students.
• Veteran’s recovery gives hope for hard hit VA nursing home.
• WI creamery is offering free milk in their kindness cooler.
• Woman cheered up by smiley face balloons.

In my personal life…

For what it’s worth, I empathize with some of the reopen protestors here in NC. A portion of them may be far right extremists yet others seem like normal, regular people. They are not all wackadoodles. Even though it is not a hardship for me to stay at home indefinitely, many folks can’t afford the same privilege, or simply don’t want to be stuck at home against their will. I think I might be ok with some non-essential business activities resuming sooner than later, IF they could do so responsibly. Minerva is a smelly hound so I’m definitely looking forward to the day the Pfafftown Pet Pawlor reopens!

Theoretically restaurants could remove some of their tables to be compliant with physical distancing guidelines, provide PPE to employees, adopt enhanced cleaning protocols, and carefully manage reservations to prevent clusters of people waiting to sit down. Unfortunately there are flaws in this proposed experiment: How do you eat while wearing a mask? And what about air conditioning systems? Since we don’t have widespread testing or tracing, and asymptomatic spreaders are a valid concern, it would be nearly impossible to ensure the health and safety of wait staff and food workers. Is it worth the risk to try? I don’t think so, not yet. 

We procrastinated shopping after completing our grocery list so Greg placed an online order for delivery. He went to the Food Lion website which utilizes Instacart. Most of the items we wanted appeared to be available through the app though we did get text message notifications about a few substitutions as well as unavailability of grapes and sliced turkey for sandwiches. When the delivery arrived, we were pleased with the results overall. Wish we could have avoided plastic bags but we may end up using them as doggie poo bags eventually, or some other purpose, so no worries. Though we prefer Charmin STRONG toilet paper, Charmin SOFT was substituted. You might not think there is a noticeable difference but there is. Greg thought he put apples on the list but actually only requested a single apple, which is exactly what was delivered, LOL. Tamijah was our shopper and she was awesome; excellent communication via text, fast delivery, professional and courteous from start to finish. She wore a mask and gloves as she moved bags from her car to our patio. Greg also wore a mask and gloves as he brought the bags inside. The app included a 5% tip as a default setting with option to change the amount. Greg opted to give Tamijah a $20 bill as an extra cash tip.

When Greg signed up online to create an Instacart account, he was given a choice to pay $9.99 one month fee or $99 annual fee. He chose the one month fee because he wasn’t sure if we would use the service again. All things considered, I think we probably will. Interestingly, I used Instacart to order a few things for Lauren’s family in CT several weeks ago but don’t remember paying a fee like Greg. I double checked the receipt to confirm I paid $3.99 delivery fee and $2 service fee but no $9.99 or $99 account fee. I added a generous tip as well.

Greg placed our online order around 7pm Tuesday night and the delivery was complete at 8:12am Wednesday morning. When I submitted an order in CT, it took a full week for it to be delivered. Perhaps a lot more people shop for groceries online in CT, and/or fewer shoppers available to meet demand. Of the 5 items I requested, 1 was not available and the other 4 were substituted. None of the items were time sensitive or necessary for survival so the delayed delivery and substitutions did not bother me, except the substituted granola bars were peanut butter which meant Lauren couldn’t have any since she has a peanut allergy. To make up for it, I ordered some chocolate covered blueberries from Amazon, since that was the 1 item unavailable locally. I also ordered some wine and beer through Drizly app which was delivered the next day.

Since the stay at home order went into effect, we’ve picked up dinner from Amazing Thailand once, and ordered Marco’s Pizza delivery once. Greg usually picks up fast food drive thru during his lunch break but I haven’t had a fast food meal in over a month. We eat well at home, no complaints, though I miss date nights out. Red Lobster commercials continue to run but we live too far away for take-out so we’ve jokingly considered tailgating in the farthest corner of the parking lot. I suppose we could try steaming mussels, lobster, and crab legs at home if we could find them at the grocery store. I daydream about the nearest Cousin’s Maine Lobster food truck, or going to Joe’s Crab Shack at the beach, or Scarborough Lobster in Maine. Hopefully those businesses will still exist when the crisis finally ends. Hopefully.

These hard shelled lobsters were just one of many delicious meals
enjoyed at Scarborough Lobster during vacation trips to Maine.

Shout out to Captain Marty and his crew (John, Alex, and Brandon) who nicknamed Greg the Carolina Lebowski.