In his clearly scripted “interview” during the Super Bowl (anyone ask if the questions had to be submitted in advance?) Uncle Joe made it absolutely clear that he doesn’t care what the science and data show, he is going to do whatever the teachers’ unions want him to do. The unions gave him directly a paltry $232,000 during the campaign, although that was more than any other candidate for any office received directly, but the unions gave over $37 million to groups that aided his campaign. So however you want to look at it, we can see exactly what a child’s life is worth to him, especially a minority or low-income child. There are 76 million school age children in the US. So Joe is willing to sell their lives for three-tenths of a cent each. Okay, let’s be generous and give him credit for all the money that teachers’ unions spent helping him and the Democrats. Now we are up to 49 cents a child’s life. Makes you feel better doesn’t it, to know that this is how cheaply you can persuade a president to destroy children’s lives because you are too lazy or fearful to go to work, despite all the evidence showing it is safe. I have an idea, how about we organize a crowdfunding campaign and try to raise about $40 million for Uncle Joe to change his mind. China and the Ukraine clearly show the family can be bought.
And let’s be 100% honest. There is no question at all about two things. One is that we are ruining children’s lives, in many cases irreparably. And the burden falls heaviest on minority and low-income children, many of whom have simply given up on school. Not only are educational opportunities being missed (although I have mixed feelings describing what public schools deliver as “education”, seems more like indoctrination) but the critical social interaction for development is foregone as well. We see the toll in mental health issues and most tragically, rising suicides. We have created a stressed, anxious, isolated, depressed and hopeless generation of school children. The second thing we know is that there is absolutely no reason why children should not be in full-time, in-person school. We know this because there are multiple places where they are doing this and have been since the epidemic began. We know this because studies suggest schools are not a hotbed of transmission and students don’t routinely transmit the virus to each other or teachers.
Politicians are supposed to make choices for the greatest welfare of the public as a whole. Children are supposed to hold a special weight in that calculation. Sometimes you have to make a hard choice. This one should be easy. The welfare of our children mandates that every school should be open right now. Any teacher, administrator, school board member or politician who stands in the way of that should lose their position, be fined and subjected to criminal penalties, because what they are doing is a crime.
Oh, and if it makes you feel a little better, our Governor here in Minnesota at least appears to place a somewhat higher value on the children’s lives he sells out. There are around one million school aged children in Minnesota. The teachers’ unions appears to have spent around $2 million helping Democrats in Minnesota in 2020. So little Timmy Walz will require $2 for him to destroy children’s lives.
People that believe in murdering the unborn should not be allowed to govern the living. We have wiped out an entire generation of potential students. Their hearts are hardened and dark places.
The health data is good but I see we’re descending into hard right wacko. Maybe I should start spewing my equally wacked vegan agenda.
Okay, I don’t think it is whacko to point out that 1) children are being seriously harmed by being deprived of an in-person education; 2) schools are not a substantial source of transmission and students and teachers are not at undue risk; 3) teachers unions are the primary impediment to reopening schools and 4) teachers unions give exclusively to one political party. Commentators across the political spectrum are saying schools should be open and teachers unions are the only reason they aren’t. If you have some specific evidence that suggests any of the above points are in error, please share it. And the early signs of a purely ideological and political motive for policy in the new administration will inevitably be seen in the CV-19 response as elsewhere. And as I have said before, I didn’t vote the prior president and I certainly didn’t vote for the senile, corrupt, political hack of a current president.
Going on one year of “two weeks to flatten the curve”- I should create a macro for that phrase.
Here in Western Massachusetts, far from coming to a close, the restrictions and requirements are getting stricter – the UMASS campus is locking down- both hoops teams and the hockey team are on hiatus for at least two weeks- many of us think the next hockey game we see will be in October. I’m guessing no Frozen Four this year.
As a side note- a lot of the college kids have been going to my gym, as the UMASS student athletic facilities have been closed, but yesterday there was a letter from the chancellor that the place was off limits to students, whether they live on campus or not. Apparently getting exercise is bad and promotes the Corona-chan.
I’m surprised Governor Baker didn’t send out his hacks to count avocados to see if people were having Super Bowl parties- after Thanksgiving he had made a comment about the sizes of turkeys being bought that his people observed.
And, I notice the MN Wild are on hiatus- everyone in the organization has tested positive for Covid ( I exaggerate slightly for effect); I read in the Pioneer Press that 3 of the more than dozen ‘cases’ were symptomatic. I’m guessing no one has gone back and checked to see how many games are lost to viral infections in a typical NHL season; I’m guessing that number is NOT zero.
Apparently all this will, as Paul Simon once wrote, “continue to continue”, until there are no cases of anyone, ever, getting sick from a virus.
Underlying all of this is the notion that somehow this virus is Black Death. As someone cleverer than me said- this virus is so serious that you have to get tested to see if you have it.
Kevin, I was referring to the abortion comment, not your post. I just don’t think this is the place to air our grievances which have nothing to do with Covid. I didn’t vote for this numbnut either, nor did I vote for the previous lunatic. I certainly agree with your thoughts about schools and it seems pretty clear to me that the lockdowns are insanity. I really appreciate all your work on this blog but the one criticism I have is that sometimes it’s hard to sift through and make sense of the data when you present it with a heavy dose of sarcasm and politics. I’m concerned about this country and the hatred that so many of us are letting loose, me included. But it’s your blog so do whatever you like.
okay, I misunderstood, sorry for that and yes I would prefer people stick to CV-19
Kevin, please don’t cut out the sarcasm and critiques of our illustrious leaders. They are the high points in an otherwise dismal and frightening story of what is happening to our country.