#he said the division of household labor should be 50/50
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He's kind of a king actually
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Title: Division of Labor (4/?)
Summary:
“The past years, we have noticed a lot of our fresh high school graduates knew nothing about responsibilities the that awaited them outside high school and even college. Many students do not master budgeting, taxes, household planning, loans and we hope to raise a generation who can navigate the adult world without the consequences of bad decisions they are bound to make going in blindly…”
Paradis High school starts a program incorporating adulting into their curriculum and Hange and Levi are paired together.
Note: From request of @a-golden-hearted-snk-fan. See this link for the request
So here is the next chapter of division of labor. I had intended to drop it today for a long time. I didn't expect it to coincide with leaks so sorry for the slight mood whiplash.
Anyway, thank you to the anons on tumblr for asking about this fic. I still find it pretty surreal that people actually think about my work, let alone send asks about it.
Other Chapters: 1 2 3
Link to cross-postings: AO3
Having lived alone for all of his high school life and some of his middle school life, Levi was sure of one thing.
Cooking is fun. Except when it is graded.
In fact, nothing can be fun when someone is behind them watching their every move telling them their performance in that one activity can determine a grade and that grade can determine their future. As Levi and Hange surveyed the ingredients in front of them, Erwin was behind them. Of all the workstations he had chosen to hang out in, it happened to be theirs.
As Levi looked at the other workstations, he could see Nanaba to his left already cracking two eggs into a bowl next to Mike. Bertholdt who was working in front of them with his pair Reiner was already cutting up what looked like cheese cubes. To his right was his own pair Hange who was shaking the eggs to her ear.
“Just to check if they’re boiled,” she explained. Levi did not even notice he had given her a judgemental look until she avoided his gaze looking a little self conscious.
Of course they wouldn’t be boiled. They were supposed to be doing everything from scratch. Why did he and Hange in particular look the most clueless? Why weren’t they doing anything? Levi looked behind him again to see Erwin still staring at both of them. I’m not clueless. Levi had to remind himself. He preplanned and prepared meals multiple times a week. He could make anything from the ingredients laid out in front of him. Eggs. Cheese. Celery. Instant noodles.
Why the hell is there instant noodles. What am I supposed to be making?
That ordeal only fueled his hatred for surprise tasks. He hated pop quizzes. Particularly because he had the cursed history of not knowing exactly what would be asked during the actual quizzes but having comprehensive knowledge in another facet of whatever topic they discussed in class. At that moment, he could have gladly given an oral exam about why exactly putting a washing machine in the bathroom was a good idea. Hange probably would have been able to do a practical exam or presentation explaining why a rent-to-own scheme was the best option for homeowners.
Both he and Hange though, probably spent at the most ten minutes running through that meal plan which was biting them so painfully in the ass at that moment. On top of that, the restrictions were ridiculous and unnecessary.
“No checking the recipe?” It was Connie that time towards the front of the room who was protesting the ridiculous restriction put on them. “I thought you’re supposed to be simulating adulthood. In real life everyone could just research the recipes? ”
“What if you don’t have wifi but you have eggs and vegetables in front of you and you need to cook breakfast?” Erwin challenged.
“We’ll have recipe books.” Sasha answered.
Erwin raised his eyebrows, looking pointedly at the Connie and Sasha pair. “Will your current financial situation allow that?”
Levi found some solace in Erwin’s comment. Maybe, just maybe that meant that they weren’t the only pair currently burning in hell financially in this little game of adulting. He looked to Hange and the face she made as Erwin had said the words `current financial situation’ and “allow” in the same sentence, Levi guessed that Erwin’s comment probably applied to them as a pair too.
“It is important at least for all of you to know the basics of cooking a nice meal even without the recipe.
Levi sighed. He lived alone and he knew they didn’t need it. Levi had a recipe book for easy recipes at home and almost always had wifi anyway. Nobody actually needed to memorize recipes. He was aware though of the culture of schools to know that schools always made things harder than they were supposed to be.
At least when you’re in the real world, things will be so much easier because you’ve had it hard already. Some teachers would defend. Making things unnecessarily hard though wasn’t at all an effective way to get people good at things. Sometimes, making things unnecessarily hard only left students with chronic unresolved tensions with certain formulas, academic concepts and sometimes even mundane objects they had encountered too many times in an academic setting. In fact, he started to feel the beginnings of it when he encountered washing machines and Japanese style house designs while he went grocery shopping that weekend. A few times he also could have sworn he’d seen Hange recoil at hearing the words ‘debit’ and ‘credit.’
“Maybe we should boil the eggs?” Hange lined up the ingredients on the counter.
“What the hell are you doing?” Levi asked, or more specifically panicked. Around him he could see the others already turning on the stove. Watching Hange observe the ingredients was only a grave reminder of their own incompetence.
“I’m just trying to arrange the ingredients in different ways. Maybe a good idea will come to mind.” She paused for a second. “Scrambled eggs?”
"Hear me out Hange, what if it isn't scrambled eggs." The ingredients all pointed to scrambled eggs or an omelette. In front of them there was a pan, a skillet, eggs, butter and vegetables. That seemed like the most reasonable option. Having taken tests and quizzes for most of his life though, Levi was a master of the art of ‘doubting one’s self’ in high pressure situations where every decision equated to a deduction. “Why is there a pack of instant noodles?” Whether he had intended to or not, Levi had ended up saying his thoughts out loud.
Hange paused for a second, pressing her thumb to her lips in thought, her eyes completely fixed on the pack of instant noodles in front of her. She looked like she was starting to doubt herself too. “You’re right. Levi, why are there instant noodles? Didn’t you make the meal plan?”
“Didn’t you check it?”
“I did check it. If i remember correctly, there was a recipe for scrambled eggs. But there should have been vegetables.” Hange brought the instant noodles pack closer to her and closely read through it. “Wait a minute. This is chow mein? I thought chow mein was a type of vegetable. Why the hell would you put instant noodles in scrambled eggs?”
Instant noodles and scrambled eggs. For some reason, it hadn’t clicked when all he saw were the ingredients in front of him. With Hange bringing up the two key ingredients of eggs and instant noodles, he started to remember what revisions he had made to that particular recipe. “It’s cheaper to make omelette rice with instant noodles than with actual rice.” He admitted lightly.
“Levi! We’re graded for nutritional value. Did you not read the rubrics?”
Levi looked away. In fact he had failed to read the rubrics. “Weren’t you supposed to be checking my work?
“I did check it.”
“Then why did you think chowmein is a type of vegetable? Aren’t you a fan of botany?”
“Levi there are at least one thousand vegetables to think of. You can’t expect me to keep track of all of them.”
Levi then realized that maybe having too much information in one’s brain was a little disadvantageous. Hange may be right that there are thousands of types of vegetables in the world. Levi was sure though that only at least fifty of those types would have been available in an average supermarket. You don’t really go grocery shopping much do you? A part of him had wanted to criticize her and maybe start a little argument.
The clatter of pots and pans around him and the urgent sounding voices was only telling him one thing, time was running. They had to churn something up or risk failing that quiz. He wished at least he could have double checked the rubrics. Alas, their phones were in their bags, all gathered towards the front of the rooms. All they had armed with them then was their procedural memory and the many ingredients in front of them.
Maybe, just maybe though we could do a little improvisation. Levi made eye contact with Hange as he said it. It looked like she had read his mind, Hange reached out for the instant noodles in front of him, ready to slip the pack silently into her pocket.
“If I find out any of you revised any of your recipes or you miss out on one ingredient, expect a 50% deduction for this test,” Erwin announced from behind them.
Within a second, the pack of instant noodles was back on the table and that flash of understanding between Levi and Hange had changed to one of horror and panic. Did he notice?
“Marco, I really cannot remember why the hell I needed so many of these spices in the first place.” Jean said apologetically from his station to their right.
“Maybe we shouldn’t have asked your mom to make the meal plan in the first place then.” Marco sounded surprisingly pissed.
At least they weren’t the only one in hell’s kitchen.
Division of Labor
By some silent agreement, all meetings with his actual friends were cancelled. It was as if everyone in the room had unanimously decided to make up for that disaster of a kitchen quiz by working on the next deliverable days before it was due. It was as if everyone was sure they had failed Erwin’s little pop quiz
Or long test. Erwin though never gave the breakdown of how much of their grade that disaster in the kitchen was. Levi found some assurance at least in the fact that everyone did look as unsure as they were about it. They can’t fail the whole class right?
Either way, a failing grade is still a failing grade. Levi and Hange had gone for the plan of omelette rice having kept the instant noodles revision. And with nutritional value a 60% of their grade for the actual meal plan, their expectations for their grades were low. On the bright side at least, Erwin said that there would be more pop quizzes in the kitchen, so they just had to memorize the recipe of whatever they put in the meal plan the next time around.
It would be painstaking, Levi was sure. But as students he and Hange had been forced to memorize formulas, kingdoms and phyla, vocabulary words, thesis statements, poems and dialogues. That should be nothing. Levi though had a building resentment for the subject, particularly the fact that no one had prepared them for that type of stress at all. None of the seniors ever had to do this type of program and thus, Levi was completely unprepared mentally for ‘adulting.’
Welcome to adulthood. That was what was written on the top of the questionnaire he and Hange were supposed to be submitting by Friday midnight. It was Wednesday afternoon of that week and he was grateful Hange had even suggested they start earlier. Only that morning, Erwin had submitted a new list of deliverables which seemed more comprehensive than the last.
September*
Week 1
Meal Plan
Investment Plan Part I: Disposable Income
Pop quiz
Week 2
Education Plan for Kids
Module 2 (See attached fail)
Pop quiz
Week 3 - 4
TBA
While Hange answered some of the questions on the questionnaire, Levi could only stare at the module in his email. He had promised Hange he would look into it while she filled out her part of the questionnaire. His eyes though were stuck on the little typo
Fail. He was sure Erwin meant file. In that type of module though, he would consider that typo almost fatal since the whole program was already screaming the words ‘failure’ at him.
He had to note at least that Erwin put the words pop quiz there for every week. He couldn’t help but think it was due to the fact that everyone had failed that last cooking exam and that was a sign of some mercy on the teacher’s side.
He clicked the module below the email to find that the file was too large at least for google to open. Oh, I guess it’s too large to open on my phone. It might slow it down after all. A petty excuse but he was just tired and instead decided to entrust the responsibility of opening said document to the Levi of a few hours later who would be in front of an actual computer.
“The file is too big to open on my phone. Sorry, I didn’t think about bringing my laptop today.” Levi’s words weren’t too sincere. A part of him was telling him never to bring his laptop on campus in the first place and was thankful for that bout of irresponsibility. Delaying the inevitable at present is always such a sweet feeling after all.
“It’s fine, it wasn’t too hard to fill out what’s needed. We just needed to assign rooms for Flora and Fauna…” Hange started looking pointedly at the flour babies who were leaning by the window of the diner they started to frequent. “Then break down our budget for other things like furniture, groceries, household necessities…”
She slid the paper over to Levi. As if by magic, his brain just shut down at seeing the numbers out there. A part of him though, a more tenacious part was nagging at him to comment at the computations in front of him.
He focused on the words not the numbers. There were calculations for household necessities like detergent and cleaning wax, groceries, baby stuff, utility bills. Somehow it was only making Levi feel more useless for not even understanding what she was writing.
So you have to comment. Levi willed himself to open his mouth and rack his brain for something reasonable and useful to say. Those thoughts on his end all culminated to two words. “Washing machine... “
“What? You’re still not over that?”
“You really don’t want the washing machine in the bathroom?”
“Levi, we’ve been over this!” Hange said, looking exasperated. Within a split second, her look softened into something else then within a second twisted into what looked like shame or embarrassment. “Yeah, I don’t think we even have the money to pay for that in installments now. But hey, a washing machine isn’t a necessity right? Like handwashing is still a thing.”
Levi didn’t agree. He knew in the back of his mind that anything that made cleaning easier was a necessity. Hange though had made the calculations and as a form of respect for her hardwork and a punishment for himself and his inability to have been of any use with that questionnaire, he kept quiet.
He just had to trust her. Group works were all about trust after all.
Division of Labor
“Your answers were all a fucking mess. If adulting was a war, none of you would make it back alive. All of you will starve with your shitty planning and resource conserving skills.” Shadis waved a wad of papers so magnificently over his head as he slammed them on the table. “I want to hear your justifications for making such idiotic decisions. Maybe that can bring up your grade to a D at least.”
“Blouse Springer!”
“Yes sir!” Sasha stood up instinctively.
“Connie join your partner!”
“We have to sta---?” Connie’s eyes widened as if he realized a second later the disrespect in what he had just said. He stood up a split second after. “Yes sir!”
“Tell me again. What are your jobs?”
Connie looked at the documents and back at him. “Is what we put in the document… wrong… sir?”
“What. Are. Your. Jobs?”
Sasha and Connie exchanged glances and looked back up at him. “I’m a marketing specialist…” Connie started. “And Sasha---”
“Journalist sir.”
“So you have eight to five jobs right?”
“Yes we do,” Connie answered.
“And three kids?”
The two nodded in sync. “Yes sir,” Sasha said. “Or that’s what I remember…” In fact, she shouldn’t have had to recall that. The three flour sacks were on their desk after all. “Did we miss one?”
Shadis ignored them. “Then why did you tick ‘no babysitter’ here?”
“Are we supposed to tick it sir?” Connie asked. A brave question that had everyone in the classroom more silent than they had been a second ago.
“You have eight to five jobs and three children. So are you telling me you will take the kids to work?
“Are we allowed? The fee for a babysitter everyday just seems… extravagant.”
That wasn’t the right word. The right word was exorbitant. As some of the people in the class would have agreed. Many could see though that Connie was shaking at the incessant questions and that should have been the last of his concerns.
Shadis though seemed unpreturbed at the wrong word choice. “Well what if your boss doesn’t allow you to bring three kids to work?”
“Then we leave them at home?”
“And you know that’s illegal?”
The silence in the room had become deafening.
“You can be sued for child neglect,” Shadis expounded
“But how would they know?” It was a bold question from Connie
The room exploded in hesitant mutters only silenced a second later by Shadis’ eerily cold reply. “Social workers are very perceptive people, Connie. I’m surprised you’re even underestimating them. Be ready to pay attorney dues for this.” He wrote something on the paper on his desk which was probably Connie and Sasha’s submission before pushing it to the bottom of the pile.
“Next pair…Ackerman Zoe. Stand up.”
By lunchtime, Levi was in a trance, a very strong strance. He did not even notice the students who had filed out of the classroom for lunch, his eyes completely fixed on the beautiful view of the school courtyard as the leaves started to change color.
That was not what he was admiring though. He wasn’t actually admiring anything. Although his eyes were fixed at such a beautiful view, his brain had done nothing to process it.
“So… You wanna talk about the next output?” That familiar voice sounded like a screech to Levi and it was more than enough to pull him out.
“We are so fucked.” Levi’s words were almost instinctive. It was as if just hearing Hange’s voice sent his whole body into panic mode. Of course he would, having just been grilled by Shadis and having one’s incompetence exposed could do that to anyone.
“There’s an output every week. We’ll be fine,” Hange assured.
Levi could only stare at Hange. He had know idea what kind of face he was making. All he could think then though was the fact that she out of the two of them should have been in a worse state of panic than he was.
And her calm ironically only stressed him out further. Having been reeling from the stress of it for almost four hours, Levi still remembered their exchange perfectly.
"Okay Ackerman… Just a homemaker. And Zoe. You’re working freelance?
"So Levi and I decided that I'll be a scientist and he'll take care of the house," Hange had said so confidently.
"What about taxes?"
“Taxes?”
“I looked at the breakdown of your budget Zoe. You didn’t mention anything about taxes.”
“I’m freelance sir.”
“Zoe, has it ever occured to you that freelancers pay taxes too?”
And their lesson of the day came soon after that exchange. The tasks were detailed and demanded a lot of thought. Through all they had learned over that one painful exchange and maybe through the glimpses of the next few exchanges he had so half heartedly watched, he had learned a lot.
He could have easily summarized it all into one sentence though. Do not take Erwin's tasks with a grain of salt.
Erwin had thought everything through. It could have been by coincidence or it could have also been just a lack of thought on the side of the students but somehow the set up Erwin had was exposing the weaknesses of the students when it came to learning, and possibly their potential weaknesses when it comes to actual adulting.
"I’m deducting the taxes already."
"You heard Shadis, It's too late the hypothetical government is out to get us.” Levi added the word hypothetical to at least help himself bask in the fact that it was still a simulation. “We’re getting penalized.”
Hange smiled wryly. “Fine, we’re kinda financially… going through a rough patch,” She admitted. “But we’re not the only ones going through this type of financial bump. Eren and Mikasa, Sasha and Connie, Reiner and Bertholdt, Petra and Oluo…” Hange trailed off. “I mean okay Armin and Annie looked like they were doing fine but back in the supermarket, they looked kinda confused too.”
“A failing grade is a failing grade.”
“But Levi, they can’t fail the whole class.” Hearing that Hange was somehow very reassuring.
Hange was right. Teachers can’t fail a whole class and Levi was aware of two methods teachers tend to employ when dealing with an underperforming class: employ a curve or give extra credit.
Levi should have known though from his short yet very tumultuous few weeks with that adulting program that a curve would have seemed a little too merciful for their teachers.
With the uncomfortable look Erwin gave the class, Levi was sure at least a majority of the class had fucked up financially. How exactly, he was unsure.
Right after they had finished their own mini oral exam, Levi had fallen into a trance. A trance, trying to think up a back up life just in case he never manages to graduate high school or make it to college.
Misery though loves company. Especially when it’s a whole class failing. Levi was not the type to want to wish misfortune on anyone else. Being as completely idiotic and dense as he and Hange were though, Levi found himself grateful for the unfortunate situation the class found themselves in,
“It looks like a lot of you are struggling financially. Zeke and I had a quick talk about this actually…”
Levi’s blood ran cold at the name, Zeke. At that point, he didn’t know if he hated Zeke or he hated Math. Looking back at Zeke’s unfavorable personality, he was guessing probably both.
“And we realized it would be beneficial if we introduce the possibility of finding other sources of income which would be a good lesson in financial management.”
There were some sighs of disappointment among the class. Levi empathized. In fact, he probably would have joined them as well if he weren’t so jaded by the course of events already. Still, a small part of him had hoped as well that they would just raise their salaries.
That was the equivalent of a curve though and Levi somehow knew, grading on the curve was just not Erwin’s style.
“So I am introducing two options to increase your income. One is through investments which will be taught by Zeke another day and another one is through this ‘new system’ I thought out.” Erwin looked a little too proud of that ‘new system.’
“We will be offering extra tasks you may choose to take around the school, these include cleaning, admin tasks, lab work and anything else the teachers may need help done. Each task will have a corresponding pay which can be added to your income for that month.”
So it’s exploitable free labor. Levi thought to himself. He was sure he wasn’t the only one thinking of that. Everyone in the room was desperate though. In the end, despite the questionable set up, it had come out looking like a gesture of generosity from their teacher. Levi saw that in the way a lot of the students around him looked relieved to hear that announcement.
“Or we can just choose to budget within our means?” Annie spoke up from her place on the front next to Armin. She was notably calmer than a lot of people in the room. Levi had suspected for a while though that Armin and Annie weren’t in as much trouble financially.
“I’m sure though a lot of you would want to earn more money,” Erwin said, a knowing smile on his face. “You can exchange these for this thing I will be introducing called ‘disposable income tokens’ and if you collect enough, you can get a free ticket out of doing one of the modules or the pop quizzes of the week of your choice.”
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Division of Labor
Summary: Creativity was not the first Side to split...
Word Count: 3,673
Relationship(s): Uh...hard to say. None of the characters are fully formed in this.
Warnings: Blood and violence mentions, arguing, proto-Deceit
When Thomas Sanders was very small, he got in trouble for hitting his brother, who was even smaller. They had been playing in the living room on a quiet evening, and Thomas saw movement out of the corner of his eye and looked up to see little Shea shamble over and start messing with the Spider-Man doll—his Spider-Man doll, that he won fair and square from the crane game in the pizza place while everyone cheered—and so he went over and smacked him. Shea dropped the doll, wailing, and Thomas grabbed it.
Dad saw the whole thing, of course. Oops. And Thomas was made to sit in the time-out chair for four whole minutes in a row and then apologize to Shea, and only then did Dad ask him why.
“That's not a good enough reason to hit someone,” Dad said afterward. “You should never hit. Your mom and I never hit you, even when we're angry, because it's not right. We use the time-out chair instead. Do you understand? It's not right to hit, especially someone smaller than you.”
Thomas did understand. The words right and wrong were frequently said in the Sanders household, so he knew they were important. He picked up the Spider-Man doll and handed it to Shea, who was by that point engrossed in some other toddler activity and simply threw it halfway across the room, but it was the thought that counted.
The next day, Thomas had kindergarten, which was the best now that he was used to being away from Mom and the house all morning. There were so many other kids his age to play with, and picture books to look at, and toys they didn't even have at home. And twice a week they had Arts and Crafts, which was, like, the best of the best! Thomas could never keep the grin off his face when the teacher opened the big cabinet and brought out the stacks of paper and six big jugs of finger paint with the pump spigots.
“Today we're going to do something special,” the teacher said. “We're going to learn how to mix colors with paint! I know you can all name these colors...” And she pointed to each of the six jugs in turn, and the children dutifully named the colors with one voice:
“Red! Blue! Green! Yellow! White! Black!”
“But what if we want more colors than that? What if we want orange? Or purple? Or brown? How would we get them?”
Something went ping! in Thomas's head, and he raised his hand so fast that he felt his shoulder pop a little.
“Yes, Thomas?”
“Red and yellow make orange!” Thomas said breathlessly.
“That's right!” said the teacher. “Good job, Thomas! Everyone take a little bit of red and a little bit of yellow and mix it on your paper!”
Now something in Thomas's head went whummmmmm, because the teacher had just used the same word Dad had used the previous evening.
Right...
Hitting Shea wasn't right. “Red and yellow make orange” was right. But the two...weren't the same, were they? It wasn't bad to mix other paints, trying to get orange. It just wouldn't work. And while hitting Shea had certainly worked to get Spider-Man away from him, it made Dad angry...it made Shea angry, for that matter, and even the memory of it made Thomas feel bad. It was mean.
Thomas had a lot to learn about right and wrong. What they actually meant, for starters.
*****
Whummmmmmm...
In the depths of Thomas Sanders's mind, someone coalesced from the swirls of thought and emotion. He didn't have a defined form just yet, but if an image is required, use this: a boy just Thomas's age, and looking much like Thomas, even wearing the same royal blue overalls over a charcoal gray tee-shirt that Thomas wore that day, but with the important addition of glasses.
Dad wore glasses. So did the teacher. And so, in time, would this fellow, because as of this moment, the moment of his emergence, all he had was his mission: to guide Thomas in the role of both Dad and the teacher. All he knew was his purpose, which was to know everything else, everything he could find out, so that Thomas could be right as much as possible, so that he could say the right things and do the right things.
It was going to require a great deal of thought, so let's call him Thoughtful. Just for now.
As far as he could tell, he was alone. That too would change, and soon.
*****
The general consensus was that Thoughtful was the leader—after all, he was made of grown-ups. He wanted to be a good leader, since that was Right, but he had a problem.
There wasn't much to be the leader of.
It was mostly just him and Pretend, and things were awkward. Thoughtful liked Pretend—he was good company, most of the time—but he didn't get Pretend. Their worlds were so different!
Thoughtful's world was the real world, with real people and their feelings, and real things, and it was reasonably predictable. If Thomas did this, then that would happen. If he did this again, that should happen again...and if some other thing happened instead, it was probably a sign that the this wasn't quite the same the second time around.
Pretend's world was...everything but the real world, it seemed. Pretend made things up. He made up songs sometimes, and those were nice. He made up nicknames for people, and Thoughtful liked those quite a lot, because they usually played with the sounds of words and that made them funny. Pretend also made up stories, and that was where Thoughtful got confused, because telling a story was sort of like explaining something that happened, but the things in the story weren't real. Sometimes they were impossible, and those were Pretend's favorite kind of stories. Thoughtful knew that hitting people was Wrong, but Pretend could make up a story where hitting someone not only wasn't Wrong, it was actually Right, because the one you were hitting was a monster and you were hitting it with a magic sword, and that was the only way to save the villagers.
Thoughtful could agree that, all right, if the only way to save the villagers was to hit a monster with a magic sword, then that would be Right. But that was also the sort of thing that could never ever actually happen.
But Pretend's way of telling stories was better than some mind-people's. For example, there was Worry, who also made up monsters but forgot to include the magic sword. And there was Sneaky, who made up all kinds of things and said that they weren't made up, which offended Thoughtful so much that he could hardly stand it. Sneaky tried to make Thomas lie to other people, which would make him a bad person, and even worse, he tried to make Thomas lie to himself, which would make him a stupid person. No, Thoughtful didn't like Sneaky one bit, and as the leader, he made Sneaky mostly stay in the shadows around the edges of Thomas's mind. Worry hung out there a lot of the time too.
So it was mostly just him and Pretend, but maybe that was for the best. Thoughtful had a lot to do for Thomas as it was, without also having to do leader things all the time. He was busy, busy, busy all morning at kindergarten, helping Thomas learn his ABC's and how to count numbers (up to 50, and then 100! The teacher was very impressed) and how to share the LEGOs. He was busy after kindergarten too, helping Thomas behave for Mom while she ran errands—and that was hard sometimes, because the store was boring and he couldn't carry more than one or two toys and Shea always got the seat in the shopping basket because he was so little. Thoughtful was even busy on Sunday, helping Thomas learn the Ten Commandments and why they were important, and other things like that.
Sometimes he thought he might be too busy. But there was only one of him, so he figured he was stuck with it.
*****
Time passed, as time is wont to do.
*****
“Whatcha drawing there, kiddo?” asked Dad.
“It's my superhero, Splitman!” Thomas explained, holding up the crayoned paper.
“Oh yeah? What does he do?”
“He can split in two and fight two crimes at once! But each half only gets half his powers, so like if there's a plane crash and a bank robbery at the same time, he can be one guy who can fly and be super-strong, and another guy who can zap people with lightning and doesn't get hurt by bullets, and fix both things.”
“Wow! How creative! I bet he'll have all kinds of adventures!” Dad ruffled Thomas's hair and continued to the garage.
How...what?
“Get the dictionary, Thomas,” said Thoughtful. That was always the first place to look for new words, to see what they meant. “No, not K...it sounds like create, so it's probably in the C-words.”
“Did you hear that?” Pretend bubbled. “Dad likes Splitman! I bet everyone will like Splitman! We're gonna sell comic books and make a million dollars and be famous!”
Thoughtful found that unlikely, but didn't contradict him. Instead he said: “But maybe Splitman shouldn't zap bad guys with lightning. They could die, and a good guy should catch the bad guys alive so the police can take them to jail.”
Pretend pulled a face, but it was his “considering” face, not an unhappy one. “Maybe. What if he freezes the bad guys instead? Not in ice, but just, like, they can't move?”
Thomas found the word he was looking for and skimmed its definition. Then he read it more carefully, tracing the bigger words with his fingertip in order to sound them out syllable by syllable. Yeah, that made sense based on what Dad had said. Almost involuntarily, his gaze fell upon the next two words in the book—creatively and creativity, and he read their definitions as well, even though he had a pretty good idea of what they would mean.
“That's me!” Pretend said. “I'm changing my name! I'm Creativity now!”
Thoughtful frowned. “You can't just change your name.”
“Says who? I picked my name in the first place and I can change it if I want. Besides, we're not five anymore and I can do way more than just pretend. Drawing pictures isn't pretending, it's creative!” He flopped down on the sofa and wiggled around until he was hanging his head upside-down over the cushion. “You could change your name too. I bet you're more than just Thoughtful by now.”
More? Thoughtful recoiled from the very notion. If anything, he wished he could be a little less—Thomas was learning new things every day and it was so much to keep track of! If only someone else would show up in the mindscape to help take the slack! But Thomas was seven now, and there were about as many of them as there were going to be unless something drastic happened: Thoughtful himself, and Pre...Creativity, and Worry, and Sneaky, and one or two other shadow-lurkers.
He wondered what might happen if he did change his name. Creativity had changed his because he was changing and the old one didn't fit anymore. But was it possible for that to work the other way around? Could Thoughtful become less by naming himself something less? If so, what would happen to the other parts? Would someone else show up to be those, or would Thomas lose that part of himself?
Better not risk it. But maybe he could test the idea—change his name just a little, and see if his purpose changed at all, and also see what else happened. Then he would know if it was safe to go further.
Just a small, simple change...
And maybe he could improve the grammar while he was at it.
*****
More time passed.
*****
“Now what?” Thoughtfulness snapped. “I don't have time for this! I need to help Thomas study for his science test!”
“That is exactly my point,” said Dishonesty with a smug smile while Anxiety fumed. “Thomas doesn't need to study for the test. He knows everything that's going to be on it. He can draw more pictures instead.”
“What if Mom and Dad come in and catch him not studying?” Anxiety pointed out. “He'll get in trouble!”
“It will be fine, Anxiety. “He can keep the science book next to him and pick it up if he hears anyone coming. Then we'll all be happy.”
“I won't! What if—what if Ms. Feldman put something on the test that Thoughtfulness doesn't remember? Thomas needs to study for real so he isn't caught off guard!”
“But studying is no fuuuuuunnnnn!” Creativity lamented. “And I have this great idea for a picture! Where the knight is killing the dragon and there's all this blood coming out and it's wilting the flowers and there are unicorns crying and—”
“ENOUGH!” Thoughtfulness barked. “Mom and Dad told Thomas to study for the test, and that's what we're going to do! Creativity, your picture will have to wait! And I don't like some of the things you've been imagining lately! All this blood and guts...Thomas is a good kid, and he needs to stay that way!”
“He won't be a kid forever,” Creativity sulked. “Only babies are afraid of a little blood.”
“I'm surprised you're taking Anxiety's side, of all things,” Dishonesty said. “Not what I would expect after what happened between you two yesterday.”
“Anxiety was wrong yesterday,” Thoughtfulness said, causing Anxiety to flinch a little. “Nothing bad was going to happen to Thomas just for asking the lady in the store where the pens and pencils were.”
“...it might've...” Anxiety mumbled.
“I'm just saying that you're not being very consistent,” Dishonesty said.
“Enough, Dishonesty. Go away. In fact, all of you, go to your rooms. Thomas needs to concentrate.”
And so do I, he didn't add. Maybe it was Dishonesty's lingering presence that prompted that little lie of omission, but...whatever. Disputes like these were becoming more common, and Thoughtfulness was finding both his patience and his problem-solving abilities taxed to their limits...on top of which he was still responsible for everything he had always done for Thomas.
I can't keep doing this. It's too much for one Side to handle...but what can I do?
*****
Later that night, while Thomas slept, as Thoughtfulness sorted through the memories he had accumulated during the day, deciding what to keep long-term and what to chuck into the Subconscious, he found himself with company.
“Hi, Thoughtfulness...” Creativity said, singsong.
Thoughtfulness made a non-committal noise; he was focusing on his task.
“I've been thinking about what you said earlier, about my darker ideas?”
“Oh? And...?”
“And...” Creativity took a deep breath. “...you can keep your big mouth shut about it! Thomas's imagination is my job, not yours!”
Thoughtfulness was so shocked that he dropped the memory he was holding into the “keep” bin without looking at it. (It was just the shape of a stain on page 76 of Thomas's science textbook, so no real harm done, but sloppiness always bothered him.) “How dare you!” he retorted.
“You're always saying you have too much to do!” Creativity pointed out. “Well, here's something you can stop doing! Quit trying to control me! Because I'm busy too, and if you have to check everything I do to make sure it meets your 'standards,' neither of us will ever get any rest! Do you want to see all the ideas I had today?”
“Of course I—”
“Here they are! Have fun!” Creativity manifested a stack of paper the size of a phone book, dropped it at Thoughtfulness's feet, and sank out.
Thoughtfulness steeled himself and resolved not to look at the ideas until he was done sorting the memories, but he found himself on the brink of tears. “Too much...” he muttered under his breath, “too much...”
He didn't have to go through all the ideas. But if he didn't, he would just be letting the increasingly erratic Creativity win. He needed to keep things under control, to make sure Thomas remained good and sensible.
He glanced at the top of the pile. It bore a single line of written text: “Make up a song for Aunt Patty's birthday.” That seemed harmless enough. Thoughtfulness dropped the last few trivial memories into the “Subconscious” bin and turned his attention to Creativity's work.
The second idea was radically different from the first: “Make fart noises when Jimmy Zarnecki gives his book report.” Thoughtfulness tore that one up—he didn't like Jimmy Zarnecki any more than Creativity did, but being disruptive in class was a big no-no.
The third one took up half a dozen pages. Thoughtfulness stared at the top drawing for a moment before he recognized the figure portrayed. “Splitman...” he said. “We haven't thought about Splitman in over a year. I wonder...”
Creativity had redesigned the hero's costume with a column of interesting symbols down the middle of his torso. And as Thoughtfulness went through the other pages, he realized what they meant. Each one stood for one of Splitman's powers, and the papers were covered with drawings showing how he could divide himself into different complementary pairs to accomplish various tasks, with the symbols divvied up between the halves of each pair.
Thoughtfulness couldn't speak for the merit of the idea itself, but he thoroughly approved of the organization. And it got him...well, thinking...
Could he split in two? He had always brushed off the idea of it even being possible, but he realized that he had always framed it in terms of duplicating himself. When he contemplated something more like Splitman, it seemed oddly plausible. The rules inside Thomas's mind weren't the same as the rules outside it. They could shapeshift, materialize and dematerialize objects, even teleport. They had superpowers. What was one more?
He manifested a new, blank sheet of paper and a freshly sharpened pencil and began making two lists.
*****
Okay, time to try this thing...
Focus on just half of my job...focus on just the/h/ot/a/the/l/r/f/half
I don't have to be in charge of all of Thomas's insights, just the rat/emot/ion/al ones.
Which half will get the glasses?
NO! I was getting somewhere! Okay, try again and focus...
Just take one big step to the righ/lef/t.
Concentrate on being object/subject/ive.
Y/w/I/e/ou can do this.
Help Thomas know what's R/R/ig/igh/ht!—
SPLIT
*****
Creativity rose up in the commons and did a double-take. “You changed your look. The lighter blue looks good.”
“You don't know the half of it!” the other Side said, waggling his eyebrows.
“I guess you also changed your attitude.”
“Not exactly. Uh...Logic? Can you come here a sec?”
“Who's Log—ah!”
A second bespectacled figure had risen up beside the first. “Will this take long? I was helping Thomas devise a mnemonic for his science test...oh. I see.”
Creativity had taken several steps back. His eyes darted rapidly between the two of them. “Wait...wait...which one of you is Thoughtfulness and which one is new, and who are you?”
“It's a little complicated,” the one in the light blue overalls said a little sheepishly.
“It may very well be accurate to say that we are both new...but also that we are both Thoughtfulness,” said the other, who was dressed in a crisp black polo shirt and dark blue-violet slacks. He adjusted his glasses as he spoke. “The workload had become untenable and so I...we...he...Thoughtfulness divided into two, in order to specialize for greater efficiency.”
“Divided in two? You—we—can do that?”
“It sure looks that way, doesn't it, kiddo?”
“Going forward, I will handle Thomas's logical thinking and intellectual learning, whereas Morality here will be responsible for his emotional intelligence and moral judgments.”
“Hey!” said Morality. “Morality was my father...you can just call me Dad!”
Creativity grimaced. “That doesn't make any sense.”
“Yyyes...I seem to have received all the sense in the equation,” said Logic. “It was largely by design.”
“Why didn't you tell me you were planning to do this?” said Creativity.
“Because we did not exist until it was done,” said Logic. “Lacking existence, we had no ability to tell you.”
“Oh yeah, you'll have to get used to that,” said Morality. “Logic tends to take things literally. Anyway, Creativity, it was kind of a spur-of-the-moment decision when Thoughtfulness saw your new pictures of Splitman. He made a list of everything he does, sorted it into two lists, and then...willed himself into two parts. And now here we are!”
“So Thoughtfulness is...gone?”
“Not precisely.”
“Everything about him is still here, kiddo, it's just not...all together. But this is really for the best. We'll be able to help Thomas a lot better now that there's two of us. And we'll fight with you less since we'll be less stressed out.”
“So...which one of you is the leader?”
Logic and Morality traded a glance. There was an eerie synchrony to their movements, as if they weren't quite completely separate. “We can work that out a little later,” said Morality. “And Anxiety and Dishonesty should be there too. This concerns everyone.”
“Are we done for now?” asked Logic. “Thomas needs me.” Without even waiting for an answer, he sank back out.
“He seems nice,” Creativity muttered, his voice brimming with sarcasm.
Morality sighed. “We'll work on that. And...Creativity?”
“Hmm?”
“Since it's just you and me right now, we need to have us a little talk about some of your ideas...”
Author's Notes: I wrote this to explore a little idea I had about Logan and Patton having been one at some point. It can't have escaped anyone's notice that their logos match—just as Roman's and Remus's do.
Thomas is five in the first part of the story, seven in the middle part, and about nine in the last part.
My headcanon regarding OG Creativity is that he started out mostly like Roman is today. But as Thomas got older and picked up influences from various less wholesome sources, he started indulging in more violent fantasies, gross-out humor, etc., until Thomas (via Patton and probably Virgil) was horrified enough to lock all that stuff away, resulting in the creation of Remus. That's not, by the way, what's about to happen at the end of the story. It's not that bad yet. Morality is going to try to talk Creativity around first.
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The writings of Luke the physician starting with his version of the gospel - Luke 12:41-53 comments: Who then is that faithful and wise steward
Luke 12:41 ¶ Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all? 42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? 43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 44 Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. 45 But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; 46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. 47 And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. 49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished! 51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: 52 For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. 53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Peter’s question is met by a direct answer from Christ regarding the labors of the apostles and even future ministers of the gospel. Paul referred to the ministers of the gospel as stewards of the mysteries of God.
1Corinthians 4:1 ¶ Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
He moved from covetousness to being watchful to now a warning to the shepherds of His flock. Disobedience to this warning is apparent all through Christian history as it was all through the history of the Jews before Christ. The primary duty of a minister of Christ is to feed the flock of God with His words, not to lord it over the flock as some kind of boss man.
1Peter 5:1 ¶ The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: 2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; 3 Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
Down through the last two thousand years abusers among the so-called clergy have run rampant through the flock of God doing great harm. We hear about Catholic priests today who abuse the most helpless members of their congregations, but we also must consider the thousands of Baptist pastors and youth ministers who have done the same. Jesus talks about how the fowls of the air, used in typology for the Devil himself in Mark, chapter 4, will lodge in the shadow of the tree and in its branches, the tree that grows unnaturally large as the kingdom of God and Heaven in Luke 13:19 and Mark 4:32.
Jesus also warns that there are counterfeits among the brethren in Matthew 13:24 regarding the wheat and the tares. In the Old Testament God has an accusation about the false teachers in Israel. Understand that Biblically defined, with and uniting synonyms in most contexts, a pastor is a teacher as per Ephesians 4:11 and prophets are preachers and teachers as per Nehemiah 6:7 and 2Peter 2:1.
Jeremiah 23:1 ¶ Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD. 2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD. 3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. 4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD. 5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. 7 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 8 But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.
9 ¶ Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness. 10 For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right. 11 For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD. 12 Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD. 13 And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err. 14 I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. 15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land. 16 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the
LORD. 17 They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. 18 For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it? 19 Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. 20 The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. 21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. 22 But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. 23 Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? 24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. 25 I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. 26 How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets
of the deceit of their own heart; 27 Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. 28 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD. 29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? 30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. 32 Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.
33 ¶ And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the LORD? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the LORD. 34 And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD, I will even punish that man and his house. 35 Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the LORD answered? and, What hath the LORD spoken? 36 And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man’s word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God. 37 Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the LORD answered thee? and, What hath the LORD spoken? 38 But since ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD; Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD; 39 Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence: 40 And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.
Peter devotes what has come down to us as a chapter to the damage wrought by Christian false teachers in 2Peter 2.
2Peter 2:1 ¶ But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
3 ¶ And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. 4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;
7 ¶ And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) 9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
10 ¶ But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. 11 Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. 12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; 13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; 14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: 15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet. 17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
Here, in this lesson Jesus is giving it is worse for you to know the truth and to act on it unwisely and disobey than it is for you to not know the truth at all. Perhaps that can be one meaning of Paul’s statement in Romans.
Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 ¶ Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
The truth that Jesus reveals will not produce unity in the world but cause divisions down to the very household and family of believers and those who reject Him. There can be no middle ground with Christ. You either trust Him or you don’t. This fire is already kindled by the work of the dividers and the false teachers and elders who plague the cause of Christ as evidenced by the multitude of Protestant denominations and the three great branches of Christianity that are polluted by leaven, a type of hypocrisy and false doctrine in Matthew 16:12 and here in Luke 12:1.
Matthew 13:33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
Luke 13:20 And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? 21 It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
[The woman of this parable may be a reference to Ashtaroth, the fertility goddess of the Canaanites of the Old Testament, who is basically the same as Ishtar, the goddess of liberty and prostitutes of the Babylonians whose statue sits in New York Harbor as Lady Liberty, and various feminine incarnations of Satan around the world including the Japanese Amateratsu, the Roman Diana, or the Greek Artemis among others. It should not be hard to think of Satan as both masculine and feminine as some of the gods of the ancient world were portrayed as both male and female. For instance, the Egyptian god, Atum, was also called the great he-she.]
It appears that what Jesus is saying here is that His servants must be expectantly awaiting His return at any time and going about the business He has given them of expressing the fruit of the Spirit in the world, loving God and their fellow mankind, particularly the brethren, not abusing or mistreating those who God has placed in their care and, most importantly, feeding the flock of God. Those who know the most have the most expected out of them and will suffer loss in that degree based on their unfaithfulness.
James 3:1 ¶ My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.
As was mentioned earlier in the parable found in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and upcoming in Luke 13 of the mustard seed that grows unnaturally into a great tree, in the Christian church organization there are many unsaved fake tares, false wheat, and these counterfeits are hiding among its branches and in its shadow.
2Corinthians 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
They will find their place in the lake of unquenchable fire when a reckoning is made, with the ignorant unbelievers, though their punishment will be greater.
Matthew 13:40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
Verse 50 appears to be likening the coming crucifixion to a baptism for the man who is also God (see Matthew 20:22.) He is focused on it and it is His mission and His purpose. He must be killed by man, paying the price for man’s sins against Himself as God, and then rise from the dead after 3 days.
Straitened is a synonym of being narrowed or focused, restricted by something, either a thing, person, or circumstance. See the definition of strait in the following in the context.
Matthew 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
The gate and the way are strait and narrow. I hope you can see one way the Bible defines itself here.
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Arplis - News: The coronavirus is here and parents have questions about the threat COVID-19 poses to the health of their children
As of now, answers have not been satisfactory, consistent, or satisfactorily consistent. Early studies out of China suggest that though mortality rates are low — though still highly worrisome at a population level — novel coronavirus does pose a serious risk to children as well as the elderly, specifically some children with pre-existing conditions. That said, all children can be vectors for the disease and scientist have not yet uncovered any patterns in infection that might justify complacency. Outcomes among infants, in particular, have been varied and have many front-line medical workers we’ve spoken to are worried.
This story, which will be updated frequently until scientific consensus is reached on the questions posed, is intended to be an up-to-date accounting of what epidemiologists, doctors, and public health workers know so far. All quotes are timestamped because available information is becoming outdated rapidly. Answers should be understood in light of that fact. Just because we believe we know something now does not mean that thing is true. A lot of hypotheses have yet to be tested. In the meantime, the best approach is to maintain social distance and to stay informed.
Will coronavirus kill or hurt my kids?
Dr. John Williams, Chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. April 7, 2020 (12:30PM): Currently, there is not much data on kids and coronavirus. Some respiratory illnesses, such as the seasonal flu (influenza), put children at risk of serious health complications. Each year, the flu causes millions of illnesses, thousands of hospitalizations, and some deaths in children. COVID-19, however, appears to be affecting children at a much lower rate. Less than 1% of all COVID-19 hospitalizations in the US are of children. The biggest concern for kids in our country are those with underlying conditions. All of our children’s hospitals, including mine, are doing what we can to protect these vulnerable kids while we learn whether they truly have increased risk.
Dr. Logan Spector, Division Director and Professor, Pediatric Epidemiology and Clinical Research at University of Minnesota, March 24, 2020 (5PM): When it comes to young children, my biggest takeaway is that most severe cases [of COVID-19 in young children] were suffered by children with very serious conditions. In the New England Journal study, three severe cases had leukemia, hydronephrosis, and intussusception. So my takeaway from that is that even among children, the worst cases require comorbidities to have the worse outcome. My day job is studying pediatric cancer and I can tell you it’s not especially common.
Dr. Neel Shah, Director of the Delivery Decisions Initiative at Ariadne Labs and assistant professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School March 20 (1:30PM): There are some neonatal transmissions, but it doesn’t seem like infants and neonates are severely affected. We think of people who are pregnant and infants as vulnerable. But we mean that in a lot of different ways. Simply because they’re not likely to be severely infected does not mean they aren’t affected.
Strains on the healthcare system mean ambulatory services are shutting down, prenatal and postpartum support is being shut down. Social distancing impacts pregnancies too. It’s simply harder to get labor support — from doulas or even family members. And there’s always been concern about social isolation after having a baby. Even more so now.
Barun Mathema, Assistant Professor Epidemiology Columbia University; March 22 (11AM): The most recent evidence from China that shows that children are vulnerable, or at least more so than previously thought. Younger children being a higher risk for more serious clinical symptoms than older children. It appears that mortality is still somewhat rare among children.
Barun Mathema, March 18 (11AM): I’ll preface this by saying we’re all confused. Initially, it was confusing that kids weren’t hit because we were wondering if the disease would follow the patterning of pandemic influenza where the curve is a beautiful bell with age on the bottom. Seasonal flu is the opposite, a u-shape. And initially, this didn’t fit either scenario. COVID-19 seemed like a geometric curve from low to high in terms of severity, but now that picture is getting muddled. We’re seeing folks under 50 with morbidity. We’re seeing teenagers and younger kids with fairly severe symptoms.
There was a sliver of pediatric cases and a sliver of pediatric deaths in China. Kids get colds a lot so there was a theory that some are caused by coronaviruses and so there’s partial immunity. There was also the thought that the ACE2 receptor might not be well expressed in children so there could be inefficient entry. Arguably we should be seeing a huge surge in cases, but questions remain unresolved. One can simply say that given a large sample size and a small morbidity, we’re still talking about a big number.
Dr. Jan Dumois, Pediatric Infectious Diseases physician at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. March 16, 2020 (4:30PM): “There’s a new article where they review 2100 kids who were suspected to have COVID-19. There was one child who died — teen. Only one. Otherwise, all the other kids survived, but they did have different degrees of severity of illness. Sicker kids tended to be younger and needed more aggressive medical care before they were sent home. … not just showing up to the emergency room and being sent home. Patients who ended up in hospital because they needed oxygen. Or they were found to have pneumonia. Then there were some uncommon cases that needed to be on a respirator. Younger children are more likely to be sicker and require hospitalization. Or to be on a ventilator. Sometimes heart. Or the dysfunction of the kidney. It was more common in children less than one. “
Ryan Demmer, PhD, University of Minnesota Division of Epidemiology and Community Health. March 16, 2020 (11AM): Kids who had preexisting conditions, particularly chronic or complex medical conditions, were more likely to have adverse medical outcomes and more likely to have severe ones at that. The co-morbidities that seemed to be the most troubling are with asthma and cystic fibrosis. Children with upper respiratory disease seem to be at risk.
While the absolute numbers are low in terms of mortality among young people, there’s a .01 percent mortality rate for flu in youth and early numbers in kids with COVID-19 put the figure around .2. That’s not high, but it’s a 20 fold-increase. If I told you a plane was twenty times more likely that other planes to crash, you would not get on that plane.
How can I avoid getting the virus?
Dyan Hes, MD, Medical Director of Gramercy Pediatrics in New York City and Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. April 9, 2020 (12:00PM): Stay at home. If you have to go to work, you should wear a mask or bandana. You have to wash your hands when you come in from outside. Wash your hands repeatedly throughout the day as you have contact with other people. Some people say that washing your hands every 20 minutes is the best way to decrease the spread of the virus. Don’t touch your face. A lot of people choose to wear gloves whenever they’re out in public, but then they don’t take the gloves off immediately. If you use your gloves outside, when you’re commuting to work let’s say, then touch your phone, your phone is now contaminated. But people don’t think about that. Wearing gloves might be useless because you have this false sense of protection. You really have to understand the use of protective wear.
John Williams, April 7, 2020 (12:30PM): Preventing the spread of COVID-19 from one person in the family to others can be challenging but can be accomplished. For families with older adults or people in their households with chronic illnesses, consideration should be given to see if there is a way to have that person stay with another relative while your child with COVID-19 recovers. If that is not possible, you should work to separate your child from as many of the other household members as possible. This could be accomplished by having the child with COVID-19 stay in one part of the home while those with chronic conditions could stay in another part. In addition, keeping your child with COVID-19 more than 6 feet away from the other people in your home combined with frequent handwashing and cleaning of places like door handles and hard surfaces with bleach containing products can be successful. You should also teach your child with COVID-19 to cover their cough with their elbow and to wash their hands frequently, especially if they are going to be in common areas used by others in the home. People who are sick can wear a cloth mask to reduce transmission to others.
Ashlesha Kaushik, MD, FAAP, Pediatric Infectious Disease Physician and Director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at UnityPoint Health St. Luke’s. April 6, 2020 (3:00PM): The CDC has advised people all across the country that everybody out in public places like a mall or a clinic needs to cover their faces now. They don’t need to use medical or surgical masks for that. Those will be reserved for patients that are sick with symptoms or are being seen actively in a healthcare facility. But for the general public, they’re saying that keeping the nose and mouth area covered will halt the spread of the virus from asymptomatic people.
Barun Mathema; March 22 (11AM) I think the basic rule of thumb is keeping the kids in situations where there is very little density — and certainly keeping the hands clean. So this may be easier in peri-urban or rural locales. Personally, having kids run around outside is really important for general physical and mental health (also for the parents) but not having much or any physical contact would be the goal – this includes surfaces that may be contaminated. It’s hard not to be preachy about things but I will try to politely keep my distance and also explain that even if we do not personally feel at risk, our behavior can (without malintent) put members of our community at risk….we may not even know who is at risk.
Barun Mathema; March 18 (11AM): Just because the elderly and folks with preexisting conditions are vulnerable doesn’t leave everyone else off the hook. This is a serious infection. We read about asymptomatic carriers and minor disease and, yes, many people have had it and will without even noticing. That’s true. It’s also true that three to five percent of otherwise healthy individuals will end up with a serious disease that could require ventilation. Many will recover but it will be an uphill battle. Social distancing and flattening the curve are the answer to this, especially given that a middle-age group will wind up responsible for taking care of most people.
Juan Dumois, March 16, 2020 (4:30PM): The biggest study was able to detect some patients that had no symptoms but were infected. Found quite a few of those. Almost 100. The study wasn’t really designed to look for asymptomatic kids. That study hasn’t yet been published.
When should I get my kid tested?
Dyan Hes, April 9, 2020 (12:00PM): Right now, we’re not testing children in New York City. Your child will only be tested at this point, at least in New York City where we’re having more cases than any country around the world, if they’re in severe respiratory distress and need to be hospitalized. We have to assume that 80% of the colds that are going around now are COVID. We’re not testing because the kids’ cases have been very mild. The only children in my practice that have been tested have been newborns whose parents have been positive. So you don’t have to run to get your child tested if you are sick.
Lindsay Thompson, April 7, 2020 (3:00PM): We unfortunately across the country do not yet have enough screening tests to be able to test children who are fairly well-appearing. It’s not usually until they’re so sick that they might have to go to the emergency room that we do the testing. So I think parents sometimes get frustrated that they can’t know for sure but are told they could have COVID-19. If they’re doing okay, you just need to go home and stay there for two weeks in quarantine. That doesn’t feel as rewarding as getting a test, but in some situations, we’re not able to test everybody. The parents may have to trust their pediatrician to assess that their child at that moment is doing okay.
John Williams, April 7, 2020 (12:30PM): The major concern and the reason for a child to be tested, is only if the child had severe symptoms, which would primarily be difficulty breathing. Children may have fever, which makes them feel bad, but fever isn’t dangerous. If a child has a runny nose or cough, but isn’t having trouble breathing and is drinking ok, they don’t need to be tested and are probably best kept at home.
Barun Mathema; March 18 (11AM): Public health is a very socialist approach. It means health for all trumps health for the individual. This is the antithesis of precision medicine. At this point, as a parent and a public health person, I feel that if a kid is exhibiting alarming symptoms — not a runny nose, but maybe a fever or something that looks unlike a regular cold — parents should consider taking the kid in. But, on some level, it’s important to recognize there’s nothing you’d do differently if your kid tested positive. If children are heavily symptomatic, take them in and get them admitted. Otherwise, you’re going home and observing. Still, there’s some virtue in knowing that you likely have it and that other people in your network likely have it as well.
Georges Benjamin, March 18, 2020: That’s up to every doctor right now. They’re not testing very many kids. I think most kids are only being tested when there’s an emergency. Call the number in the community you’re given, usually the local health department, because these guidelines are changing literally every day.
Sophia Thomas, March 18, 2020: If they have a fever, if they have a cough, they should contact their medical provider to see how they want to handle this. A requirement for testing is patients have to have a negative flu test. With children, oftentimes you would want to do a Strep test as well. If those tests are negative, then they may be eligible to have a COVID-19 test. However, because of the relative shortage of tests right now, different medical practices are doing different things. Some are having to prioritize using the test for the most vulnerable or the ones that have most potential for complications.
Dr. Juan Dumois, Pediatric Infectious Diseases physician at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, March 16, 2020 (4:30PM): One of the main things that’s going to be changing the way we deal with the pandemic is the availability of testing. It will become more available as the weeks go on. We have more availability this week than last. And tons more this week… some are doing it in their hospitals. We hope to be able to do that test sometime in the next month. As the ability to rapidly and readily do a test where you get results in a few hours and a few days will change the dynamic of people we aren’t currently testing.
Something that might happen int he next six months would be a doctor in the clinic to swab a patient’s nose and get results the next day. Right now we can’t offer the test to everybody and it’s taking 5 days to get results back.
My child has the virus. Now what?
Lindsay Thompson, April 7, 2020 (3:00PM): Hopefully most parents have identified a primary care provider that they can call. I do recommend calling first. Almost all practices have instituted their own version of social distancing, and a lot of practices now offer telemedicine visits. As a pediatrician, you can learn a lot from what’s going on with the child by talking to the parents and seeing the child through telemedicine, so that can be very helpful. I do not recommend going straight to an emergency room unless you can tell that your child is having severe breathing problems or anything like that because we worry that places like emergency rooms inadvertently are spreading the virus or other illnesses that we wouldn’t want your child to get.
There’s some really good resources on the CDC website about taking care of anybody who lives in your house with COVID-19. But children need their parents. If there are other children, I would recommend that if you live in a two-parent household only one parent takes care of that child and the other parent takes care of the other children to try to minimize exposure. If you have the luxury of being able to put that child in their own room with their own bathroom, that would be what I recommend. Really try to isolate them even within the home. Don’t share any plates, cups, knives and forks. Make sure everything is separate. I might even recommend a different meal time for that child compared to the other children. I know it sounds pretty grim. But you really need to separate these children from the rest of the family if possible.
Ashlesha Kaushik, April 6, 2020 (3:00PM): At this point, when we are in the mode of social distancing, pediatricians don’t want to leave the families alone, so parents should call the pediatrician if they are worried about anything — be it symptoms that they might think are related to COVID-19 or to any other stress they’re feeling. The pediatrician can offer emotional support as well as offer valuable medical advice. If the symptoms are really mild, they can advise parents how to keep the children hydrated by making them drink enough water or using Tylenol for fever control.
Georges Benjamin, MD, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association. March 18, 2020 (2PM): When kids get really sick, they often don’t eat enough and they often don’t drink enough. Usually, you can coax them to take small sips of water throughout the day. The most important thing is making sure the kid isn’t very, very sick and doesn’t need medical care right now. Most kids do just fine with this.
Sophia Thomas, March 18, 2020 (11AM): Certainly children right now are catching COVID-19, but they are less likely to have complications. Those are children who just need to be isolated for 14 days. If you suspect your child has the virus, you can simply just keep them at home and care for them unless they start having serious problems such as breathing difficulties.
Barun Mathema; March 18 (11AM): I have kids. If they got it, as a public health person, I would be more concerned about them giving it to someone else. Let your healthcare provider know and then basically take care of your child and enhance social distancing. If you have a nanny, give them a call. The health department doesn’t have the capacity to do that.
I have coronavirus, now what?
Juan Dumois, March 23, 2020 (3:30PM): I think a lot of physicians in infectious diseases are hopeful about some of the treatments being investigated for the sickest patients with COVID-19. And while the official stance is there are no proven drugs (and this is correct) there are promising drugs that are being tested on patients with COVID-19. Unfortunately, we’ll start seeing shortages of all these drugs if we do find drugs that kill the virus.
Elisa Choi, MD, Internal Medicine & Infectious Disease Specialist at Atrius Health. March 23, 2020 (8:30AM):`If someone is having significant difficulty breathing, they may need to get further assessed, and home treatment may not be appropriate. Likewise, if someone is having very high fevers, it may be important to get them evaluated. But if someone can be safely managed at home, at this point in time the management strategy for someone who is either suspected of COVID-19 or has confirmed COVID-19 is supportive care and symptom management. So, for example, if someone has a mild cough, you can try over-the-counter remedies to manage that cough. If someone is having muscle aches, again it would be over-the-counter remedies to manage all of those symptoms.
Barun Mathema; March 18 (11AM): This is a tough question. If you have coronavirus and kids you get tested and you find out that you’re positive. At that point, you can assume that a fraction if not all household members are positive. It’s different if you’ve flown in or been screened prior to symptoms. So you may want to self-isolate. But those lines are blurring. All the quarantining will be a moot point because we’ll all be there. The question is just how extreme or expansive. It’s a guessing game, but you want to isolate you and probably your family.
How scared should I be for my parents?
Elisa Choi, March 23, 2020 (8:30 AM): COVID-19 might have increased the risk of significant complications in older individuals, including the worst complication, which is death related to COVID-19. It is understandable that many adults may worry about their elderly parents with COVID-19, particularly since we don’t have a vaccine for this illness, and there is, as of today, nothing that has been concretely proven as a successful therapeutic. It’s very reasonable to be worried. That being said, the majority of people who contract COVID-19 do tend to have relatively milder symptoms. However, if an adult has specific concerns about their parent because they may have multiple other chronic illnesses or might be immunocompromised, which are some other risk factors for more severe COVID-19 disease, it’s certainly worth being particularly mindful of the current recommendations for minimizing spread of COVID-19. If an adult has concerns about themselves having COVID-19, they should reach out and seek clinical evaluation sooner rather than later, particularly if they are a caretaker of their older parent or are living in the same household as their older parent.
Dr. Alicia Ines Arbaje M.P.H., Ph.D. Director of Transitional Care Research, Johns Hopkins Medicine, March 19 (5 PM): Generally we should be concerned about how health systems can respond to the surge of people coming in. People who are coming to the hospital should be the sickest. If it so happens that they should be older, that is what it is. People who are having milder symptoms should be managed at home. It’s more level of need and not so much level of aid. ERs are set up to triage people appropriately. My biggest concern is that we don’t have the supplies or staffing to help care for people when they come. We haven’t gotten to that point yet, but it’s a real concern. How are we going to mobilize our resources?
Dr. Mary Tinetti, Professor of Medicine and Public Health and is Chief of Geriatrics at Yale School of Medicine March 19, 2020 (11AM): We should be very worried. Most of the data we are able to look at are coming out of Italy and some modeling epidemiologists are doing in the rest of the world is showing positive testing in all age groups. But who is getting seriously ill? The vast majority are people 60 and older. The key in focusing on 60 and older is for their own good and the good of everyone else. They’re more likely to use healthcare resources. More likely to die. All the care consumed by them may limit care for younger people.
For this population especially, the more social isolation the better. This means if you’re over 60 especially don’t go out in public, don’t be within 6 feet of anyone, get deliveries or get someone else to drop off your groceries and medications, and get tested if you can. If we start looking at the asymptomatic 60 year old we’ll see how serious it is. Once it’s available. All localities are prioritizing. The more we know the better. So get tested.
Sophia Thomas, March 18, 2020 (2PM: This is a virus that knows no social barriers, and we do know that older people and people with comorbid conditions including hypertension, heart disease, COPD and asthma tend to have worse outcomes. So all grandparents — anybody over the age of 60 — should take this very seriously and practice social isolation. My mother was going to come and visit me and I just told her stay where you are. We’ll FaceTime and I’ll see you next month.
Dr. Logan Spector, March 18, 2020 (11AM): Look to Italy. One of the reasons it is hit so hard is that it had one of the oldest populations in Europe. I really doubt that’s going to change at all. There have been nearly 200,000 reports and we can say with pretty good statistical certainty who are impacted and it’s very clear the elderly are hardest hit. It’s still not clear to me how much of that is just reduced immune function versus co-morbidities. The older you are, the more likely you are to have a pulmonary disease that compounds the effect of a respiratory virus. But there is still a risk in older people who don’t have co-morbidities. That points to lower immune function as we age.
Ryan Demmer, March 16, 2020: I think we should move forward with caution because mortality rates aren’t just linked to the properties of the disease. They are often a product of the environment or context of the disease. China is not America. In America, we have varied healthcare access and high rates of asthma. That could portend worse outcomes in this country. I should state clearly that there’s no evidence of that yet, but we should be cautious.
When will things go back to normal?
Dyan Hes, April 9, 2020 (12:00PM): I’m not that optimistic right now because we do not have a federal law in place to stay at home. Big cities that have been hit like Detroit, New York City, Chicago, Miami, those cities have good stay-at-home rules in place, and I think they’re working. Staying at home works. But what’s going to happen is once we conquer this epidemic in New York, it’s going to spread to other states and cities that have not been implementing stay-at-home. I fear that it’s going to spread across the country and it will get to places like Arizona where up until a week ago you could go get a mani-pedi. Those states will have outbreaks, and I fear it’s going to come back because you can travel from state to state. Not all people are that ethical. Not all people are keeping quarantine. I almost had to report a family yesterday to Child Services because they’re not keeping their quarantine. We hope people stay at home, but not everybody is that altruistic. I feel like what’s going to happen is they’re going to find a treatment before we’re able to stop it based on human behavior.
Lindsay Thompson, April 7, 2020 (3:00PM): I wish I knew. There’s no magic formula, and certainly, I think we’ll never be the same. So I’m not quite sure what normal will be. But most importantly, it’s not going to be a one-day event where everything turns back to normal. It’s going to be a little bit of loosening different recommendations in different places. If we suddenly all went back to what we were doing before, there would be another round of severe illness for lots of people. Just take a deep breath. Get ready because this may take a while. But the longer we take, the less people will be hurt. So patience is really really important. And selfless.
Ashlesha Kaushik, April 6, 2020 (3:00PM): What the CDC has been projecting is that it will take at least a few weeks to a few months, but nobody is exactly sure about the timeline. They are waiting for the curve to flatten out. The curve is yet to peak, which is the scary part. We haven’t yet reached the peak in the United States. They were projecting the peak to be sometime this week or the next coming week. The few upcoming weeks will be really tough. The more we practice the social distancing measures, the more we can expect to flatten out the curve. That is still a long way to go.
Dr. Logan Spector March 24, 2020 (5PM):“Once you let your foot off the brake of social distancing, will you have resurgent cases? Almost certainly. If we all stayed in our houses we would squelch this thing. The virus would die with that. If there are still people out and about who are infected, it will be reintroduced. That’s always been acknowledged. The idea is to spread it out enough to make sure we have healthcare capacity and give the medical community some time to manufacture PPE and develop a vaccine. Let’s just say that any politician — really anyone — who thinks he knows better than virologists and epidemiologists at this point doesn’t have his head on straight.”
Juan Dumois, March 23, 2020 (3:30 PM): Over the last several day I’ve been looking at some of our local COVID-19 patients (in the Tampa Bay Area) who tested positive The numbers are still relatively small, and I suspect that may be a benefit of the social distancing we’re doing. That makes me optimistic. We may already be having a positive effect. However, i don’t think anyone should be lulled into complacency or thinking that this will be over soon. We need to bear it out for several more months.
Elisa Choi, March 23, 2020 (8:30 AM): Where we are now is the infection and the illness is spreading. I’ll speak to Massachusetts because that’s the state I’m in. The number of cases is increasing daily. So we’re in the phase of the illness where there’s still exponential rise in new cases. Now definitely is not a time where we can scale back on measures to mitigate the spread of infection. It’s really hard to give a firm number or a firm timeline of when all of these kinds of measures can be retracted. My sense of how this would play out, though, is once there’s a plateau reached in terms of how many new infections are being detected every day, there may need to be some gradual reduction in some of the current mitigation measures. And it may not be able to be done all at once. It will need to be determined as we get to that plateau point. How long that will be is uncertain. If we reflect on what’s happening in some of the countries in Asia where they have reached that point — China would probably be the best example — it was about two or so months before they got to that point. Things may be different in the U.S. and things may be different moving from state to state in the U.S.
Georges Benjamin, March 18, 2020 (2PM): We don’t know. There are estimates out there that this could go anywhere through a month or two. Those are probably reasonable assumptions. A month or two does not necessarily mean that all of us will be sequestered for a month or two. We just don’t know. We’ve never done this before.
Sophia Thomas, DNP, President of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. March 18, 2020 (2:30PM): I think this is our new normal for a while. I heard something yesterday that the CDC anticipates that the peak of this might be in May. I think for the next six to eight weeks we’re going to be dealing with this. I don’t anticipate a resolution anytime soon. If people really stick to the social distancing and listen to the advice of the CDC, we could actually see this resolved much sooner by limiting people’s exposure.
Logan Spector, March 18, 2020 (11:10AM EST): Obviously this is unprecedented in modern memory. Everyone is talking about the 1918 flu pandemic and there a lot of the same characteristics as most flu, but the problem with COVID-19 is that there seems to be asymptomatic transmission. Isolating people with symptoms is a first response — and it’s a logical one. When SARS and MERS came out, this was done as well. But those did not seem to have asymptomatic transmission. I think everyone is trying to do their part including those working from home, but it will take time.
Ryan Demmer, March 16, 2020:From a population health perspective the main issue remains not infecting others. There’s no evidence kids don’t get infected or transmit, just that they’re less effected by the disease. Our key goal has to be social distancing. The growth curve is still coming.
The question is where the peak will be. Probably May-ish. And I’m not saying it’s going to go away…. After the peak, we’ll start coming down. What I’m interested in from an ecological point of view is what’s happening in South Korea and Wuhan. They’re saying there’s one case in the province which I find dumbfounding. And there was an impressive decline in South Korea. So if that’s true —and there’s no second peak — that would be fantastic news…. If there’s a second peak that could be as bad if not worse. COVID-19 could come back in the Fall only to finish off in the spring of 2021 when we have a vaccine. That’s a harsh but not unrealistic scenario.
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Most industries require significant amount of one's to function along with a large part of this emanates from fossil fuels. These fuels are produced by fossils of plants and animals over 1000's of years. Fossil fuels are non-renewable sources of one's as well as their extraction generates a lot of radioactive wastes.
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Consider the following process: extraction of uranium in the earth, processing from the uranium, use of the processed uranium, recycling, disposal. At every single period of this treatment, nuclear waste elements are produced, radioactive material may contaminate any with the following: equipment,vehicles,land, gear,containers, sea water and in many cases environment. Every single one of toxic item become nuclear waste.
The New York Times says, "Experts hesitate to predict in which the radiation will go. Once harmful radioactive elements are let go in the outdoors, their travel patterns are as mercurial because weather and as complicated because food chains and biochemical pathways along that they move. When and where radioactive contamination gets a problem depends on a vast assortment of factors: the precise element released, which way the wind is blowing, whether rain provides suspended radioactivity to earth, and what kinds of crops and animals have been in an exposed area. Research associated with the 1986 Chernobyl accident makes clear that for decades, scientists are able to detect the presence of radioactive particles released with the crippled Japanese reactors a large number of miles away."
Radon, typically more predominant in mountainous locations where you may well be purchasing a home will have a great deal to do with your selection on if they should test correctly or not during your real estate property transaction. Everyone should investigate the area that they are buying a home for that health conditions of radon. The EPA declares that according to their estimates; radon is definitely the Number 1 reason for lung cancer in Non-smokers.
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Tech Assimilation and Warehousing of Expertise
http://topicsofnote.com/?p=8131&utm_source=SocialAutoPoster&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Tumblr
The other day, I acquired a simply call from a state representative pertaining to the information and facts posted on my internet web site. I was questioned about its content. The woman on the phone was entirely non-communicative, arrogant, and oblivious to the solutions offered in response to her issues.
Having been formally unemployed for extra than a 12 months, the very last thing that I wanted was to jeopardize my UC bennies. The content material of my world wide web web page (s) are not only intended to profoundly convey data to readers, but to display screen my unique competencies and skills. The girl was not obtaining any. The more she spoke, with defiance, the much more it became obvious that she was not an IT Individual. Her telephone cadence finished with her assuring me of forthcoming adhere to-up call from an investigator.
The web page material not only speaks for by itself, but it is pretty crystal clear that it does not generate profits for my particular acquire. Albeit, revenue generation of loved ones, buddies, and acquaintances is the sole reward to the business enterprise and activities pertaining to these certain folks. The posted info is largely intended to support people in instructional, latest and earlier functions, and work connections. The web site also aids my career search and exposure to viewpoint businesses. The intent is to make an perception.
Computer system Science Learners of color are extremely underrepresented in the IT Workforce.
People today of colour with degrees are the the very least represented team ready for IT careers in the facts engineering sector. The implication shows major dissension for larger education and learning as perfectly as with the IT industry. The limited quantity of IT workers is not only limited to folks of shade. The attraction and retainment by employers of a particular group signifies a major deficit to the information and facts technologies workforce. Underrepresented groups, ie, African Americans, Latino Americans, Gals, and More mature employees would profoundly profit the enlargement of facts know-how workforce wants. The 1998 report by Herman D. Hughes, a professor at Michigan Condition College explained, "Scientific studies have revealed that if these underrepresented groups have been thoroughly individuals in the IT workforce, there would be no IT workforce scarcity.
"New Legislation, White Residence policy, and a Cyber Security Czar must help the problem. The absence of centralized management has hindered information sharing on vulnerabilities and uncertainty about authorities stability plan remains to be completed in opening up details silos", in accordance to Mr. J. Nicholas Hoover of TechWeb.com.
Federal agencies reported that many intelligence businesses had items of details about the US attackers of September 9, 2001. This non-communication faux pas aided to gaps in data sharing amid these pertinent organizations. Mr. Hoover also said that no agency had all the items needed for a total facts bundle. On the other hand, "there has been development due to the fact then, from multi company facts sharing agreements with the adoption of wikis and weblogs." Albeit, rifts and gaps stay, terrorism data sharing has turn into a government huge strategy to data sharing.
"Info sharing mandates and coaching programs have been carried out by much less than 50 % of the affected organizations," suggests Hoover. The Markle Foundation finds "aged habits die challenging!" All businesses are necessary to disclose details of their stimulus spending as aspect of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This features all states included and the employment that have been designed. Consistency is sought by the Treasury Division with regard to its economic reports with governing administration large treasury accounts. Advancement in just the White Household Business of Administration and Finances is expected to generate cohesive economical management units in its enhancement attempts, in accordance to Hoovers' report.
The dilemma is why is it that redundant non-interoperable methods remain usual inside of government businesses? Hoover states, "A lot of businesses insist on keeping their independence and people that want to open up up facial area specialized obstacles in sharing facts." He cites the Department of Protection as a scenario in level. Armed forces branches resist utilizing Protection Facts Services Company (DISA) or the Protection Organization Transformation Company (BTA).
Siloed Information has established to be the DOD's most important problem even though slowing in the modernization of the departments business enterprise units as recorded by the Governing administration Accountability Place of work. Far more than 3,000 disparate monetary techniques are replaced and / or related to 12 ERP units (Limited for company useful resource scheduling, a business enterprise administration procedure that integrates all facets of the small business, including organizing, production, sales, and marketing and advertising. As the ERP methodology has become much more well-known, software program programs have emerged to aid enterprise supervisors apply ERP in organization...things to do these as stock command, order tracking, buyer service, finance and human resources.) with a expending allowance of a person billion dollars per year. A great number of interfaces have to have the connectivity of reconciliation glitches in these governmental units.
"It is obvious, the potential of information technologies is inextricably tied to how perfectly underrepresented learners are well prepared," suggests Bob Reed, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion at Cingular Wi-fi Units, as reported by Mr. Fred Environmentally friendly Jr., NNPA Engineering author. "The route to achievement starts lengthy just before a potential personnel completes a work software."
This reporter's collegiate research has spanned additional than 10 several years. Attending Philadelphia Neighborhood College, starting up in the tumble of 1996 with Administration and Technological Reports and Berean Institute School of Company Administration and Pc Science in Philadelphia PA, Accredited By: The Accrediting Commission of Occupation Universities and Faculties of Technology, etcetera. The afterwards institution is an "HBCU" (Historic Black Colleges and Universities).
A obstacle was presented to 3 HBCU Campuses. The three historic colleges have been Southern College in Baton Rouge, LA North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC and Florida University in Tallahassee. The company students of the a few campuses were being billed with the advancement, implementation, and advertising and marketing strategy to achieve their campus peers and college membership. Cingular Wireless Programs made this problem, states Mr. Environmentally friendly. The rewards are scholarships, grants, and enterprise items. Cingular's problem presents an option for the small business pupils to existing their qualities to exhibit able harmony and concept with teamwork ideas as very well as personal creativity. (The problem success are to be declared at a later on day).
Employers are continuously looking for new skills, training, and discovering. Why is it so difficult for IT and BI (Data Technology and Small business Intelligence) learners to receive the sought right after work opportunities and occupation paths that they look for? (Specifically within the federal government companies!) Why are entry-degree positions of employment riddled with crimson tape when it's distinct that applicants have the abilities and abilities to execute IT duties and duties?
An IT Labor Scarcity? You should!
IT skilled laborers have a tendency to not have their expertise on idle structure. They, (we), need to have to keep up with the information and facts trends and variations. We are frequently encouraged to carry on educational pursuits even when the expenditures have risen to unreachable heights for the common person. We are encouraged to establish and sustain on-line profiles and resumes' that will attract employer viewings. We are inspired to display screen our skills and talents on the Online, only to have them scrutinized, ridiculed, disrespected, misinterpret, and misunderstood. Our levels of competition is not of our region and but we are regularly encouraged whilst becoming discouraged from attaining the plans of our govt - "The American Aspiration!"
The opposition continuously nurtures it's home developed (and not home developed - but - returned home) skilled and skilled talents that places their IT productions to higher heights! That specific talent (in most cases) does not endure the pressures of money stress, not to mention medicals, with the understanding that the nurtured expertise is intending to provide the authorities to which it phone calls household ... motherland: for at least a person to two several years. The competitors appears back at us and smiles. The competition grows with the altering technological innovation trends and variations while we sit and scream "IT Workforce Lack!"
The competitiveness goes property with the trophy and we are sixth and seventh area in the planet levels of competition IT and BI platform (s). Just take a look at the Beta Max, VCR, Property Computer system (s), Electronics, and so forth. Is it not time for us to ride high in the saddle, to be first, to direct? We did it with the Presidency, did we? So why can't we locate a way to fill the "IT Workforce Scarcity" and make use of all of our expertise ... in the course of the Land of the Free of charge ... the Dwelling of the Courageous? Inclusion is the only way to complete and utter freedom and release from our technological binds. We do not have to settle for runner-up, both!
Are employers viewing your web site, profile (s)? Are they drawing the erroneous conclusions? Is the utilized contractor / seller adept to the existing problems of the IT World and it's technologies? Is the investigator able of knowing basic IT Language and its meanings and symbols? Or is it after once again "Significant Brother" saying who's truly in manage?
What's on your internet web-site?
Til upcoming time.
Supply by Gregory V. Boulware
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What Henry Kissinger Can Teach John Bolton About Keeping the President Happy
New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/what-henry-kissinger-can-teach-john-bolton-about-keeping-the-president-happy/
What Henry Kissinger Can Teach John Bolton About Keeping the President Happy
John Bolton’s long summer got even longer just before Labor Day weekend.
In May, President Donald Trump publicly and privately distanced himself from his hawkish national security adviser, particularly on Iran and North Korea. Every few weeks since then, the press has documented someone else—a TV personality, a retired general, a senator or two—who has the president’s ear on foreign policy, and wondered about why Trump has kept Bolton around at all. Then, last week, theWashington Postreported that Bolton had been cut out of a briefing on the U.S. plan to end the war in Afghanistan by way of a peace deal he has opposed.
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As a cruel summer turns to autumn, Bolton can take heart that many of his predecessors have spent time in the president‘s harsh glare. Some might be surprised to learn that even Henry Kissinger, who made the title “national security adviser” a household name, was in the doghouse with Richard Nixon 50 years ago.
Kissinger, like Bolton, sought to shake up the national security bureaucracy by doing away with formal processes and developing a close partnership with the president. But when Nixon grew annoyed with Kissinger, the national security adviser struggled to re-find his footing. Unfortunately, as I discovered researching a new history on the National Security Council, the obsequious path Kissinger took on his way to getting back in Nixon’s good graces—indulging the president’s penchant for surveillance and desire to escalate the war in Vietnam—helped lead the United States down a dark and divisive path.
Bolton, who has both a longer government résumé than Kissinger and bigger policy differences with his president, now must decide what, if anything, he can do to earn Trump’s approval again.As he considers his options—and, perhaps more importantly, the fate of the country—Kissinger’s return from the cold is a cautionary tale.
***
In 1968, Kissinger, a Harvardprofessor, did not have much government experience. That did not mean he lacked strong opinions about how government should work, however. In a seminar at the University of California, Los Angeles, that spring, Kissinger suggested that a president must, in his first four months, “give enough of a shake to the bureaucracy to indicate that he wants a new direction, and he must be brutal enough to demonstrate that he means it.”
Despite his inexperience and cold-blooded view of policymaking, Kissinger had his eyes on the White House. He had served as the principal foreign policy adviser to New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller’s Republican primary campaign. When Nixon won the nomination and then the general election, Kissinger (and just about everyone else) was surprised when the president-elect requested a meeting, and promptly offered him the job of national security adviser.
Nixon and Kissinger found that they shared a realist worldview about both protecting America’s interests and managing the government. According to Kissinger’s memoirs, Nixon made clear in their first meetings that he wanted to “run foreign policy from the White House,” an approach Kissinger supported. Nixon worried more about opposition from liberals in the bureaucracy, especially the “impossible fags” at the State Department, as he called them, while Kissinger worried about supposedly lesser thinkers messing with coherent strategy.
Nixon charged Kissinger with establishing a “very exciting new procedure” for managing the bureaucracy. During the transition period, Kissinger devised a plan—what became known as the “coup d’état at the Hotel Pierre,” where the Nixon transition offices were in New York—that called on the national security adviser to replace the secretary of state as chair of key foreign policy meetings. After a few months in office, Nixon and Kissinger started ignoring the formal gatherings altogether, and began working closely with just a handful of aides.
The duo’s primary focus in the administration’s first year was Vietnam. At one session that spring, Nixon told some members of the National Security Council staff that theycould “handle the rest of the world,” according to one staffer’s recollection. The president then turned to Kissinger and said, “And you and I will end the war.”
Nixon was clear, as he said in a call with Kissinger, that the way to end a war that had dragged on for years was to “go hard.” Without involving the secretaries of state and defense (or with them only reluctantly), Nixon and Kissinger tried to do just that. They arranged covert bombings in Cambodia, coordinated back-channel talks with the Soviet Union, and cooked up a secret ultimatum to present to North Vietnam and the military plans to make good on it.
But it was not an easy partnership. Despite sharing a worldview, distrust of the bureaucracy and certain paranoias, Kissinger was not a natural Nixon man. The president and his inner circle, including White House chief of staff H.R. Haldeman, were staunchly conservative. According to recollections from aides and reporting, Kissinger, who was suspected of being more open-minded in his habits, ideas and friendships, worried about appearing too liberal or “soft.”
Kissinger’s government inexperience was also a problem. As one member of his staff indelicately put it, the national security adviser’s office was “like a Moroccan whorehouse, with people queuing up outside his door for hours.” That was partly by design: Kissinger wanted everything to run through him. But he was also “less at home as an administrator,” as one aide later admitted.
As Vietnam dragged on without resolution in 1969, Nixon was demonstrating a “growing intolerance” for Kissinger’s “attitudes and habits,” according to Haldeman’s contemporaneous notes. The national security adviser was “getting heat for his staff inefficiency.” The president and his team also did not like Kissinger’s relationships with perceived liberals on his staff or enemies in the press. And when foreign policy initiatives—like the secret channels to Moscow or the ultimatum to North Vietnam—did not pan out as planned, Kissinger tended to blame others, demand more authority or threaten to quit.
In the face of what Nixon considered the national security adviser’s tendency to overreact, he created a “Henry-Handling Committee,” which included Haldeman and a few others. Their task, according to Kissinger biographer Walter Isaacson, was to keep the national security adviser from blowing his top, or at least to keep the eruption away from Nixon. It was a novel bureaucratic technique, but such redirection tended to just make Kissinger, who was already insecure about access to the president, overreact even more.
On October 27, as Haldeman later wrote, the “problem came to a head.” In a meeting with the president, Kissinger started complaining again about Secretary of State William Rogers, who he feared was interfering and jeopardizing ongoing diplomacy with the Soviet Union. Nixon promptly shut the meeting down, and the president told Haldeman that Kissinger’s obsession was “impairing his usefulness.” Although Haldeman and others in the White House sympathized with Kissinger’s concerns and valued him, they wondered whether he could continue with such outbursts.
Getting back in the president’s good graces was not easy, in part because Kissinger had shaken the government so hard. With little formal process and everything running through the national security adviser, Kissinger needed Nixon for power. In the coming months, Kissinger distanced himself from some staffers and agreed to wiretap others, according to Isaacson and journalist Seymour Hersh. Kissinger also empowered some aides who helped make him a more efficient bureaucratic competitor. And he worked to give Nixon the options to hit Vietnam hard, including the escalations that would come in the years ahead.
By the end of 1969, Kissinger was on better terms with Nixon and a more powerful place in Washington, but he had scars to show for his first full year in government. At a dinner with some colleagues and their wives, the national security adviser, according to Isaacson, reflected on the Nixon experience. “It would have been very different with Rockefeller,” he said wistfully. “So much more normal.”
Of course, the years ahead be anything but normal. Kissinger grew in prestige, becoming the first and only national security adviser to serve simultaneously as secretary of state. Through it all, he abided and occasionally abetted as Nixon took his presidency over the edge; the wiretaps became Watergate, and the escalations in Vietnam proved incredibly destructive, both in Southeast Asia and in the United States.
***
Since Kissinger, plenty ofnational security advisers have been on the outs with the president. Ronald Reagan grew so frustrated with William “The Judge” Clark that he made him secretary of the Interior. James Jones was never a great fit for President Barack Obama. And neither of Trump’s first two advisers—Michael Flynn and H.R. McMaster—hung on long.
In some ways, Bolton tried to avoid his predecessor’s fates with bureaucratic expertise. Compared with his predecessors in the Trump White House and even with Kissinger in 1969, Bolton is a seasoned Washington player, one who considers himself a “good bureaucrat,” who knows the traps and how to lay them. Even if Bolton never shared all of Trump’s policy preferences, he was well positioned to give the government a shake.
Within a year of becoming national security adviser, Bolton got rid of much of the regular order of meetings and memoranda that had become the Washington norm in the 50 years since Kissinger put the national security adviser at the center of the government. Bolton has preferred informal sessions, consulted with fewer players and, for a time, took advantage of his proximity to the president’s office. Bolton’s approach appeared to work well enough at first.
Yet afterhe repeatedly pushed a harder line this spring on North Korea, Iran and other issues, Trump made clear that the national security adviser did not always speak for him . In late June, Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson accompanied the president to the Korean Demilitarized Zone; Bolton traveled separately to Mongolia. By now, the break between Trump and Bolton has gone on so long—longer than Nixon and Kissinger’s—and so publicly, that the reports about the Afghanistan meeting were shocking but not surprising.
As good a bureaucrat as Bolton claims to be, he seems to have been hurt by breaking the process. He had few outlets or allies to turn to when Trump stopped listening to him. After Bolton made the NSC far less inclusive, someone got away with doing the same to him on Afghanistan. The savvy insider has learned one of the town’s oldest lessons, a lesson Kissinger learned the hard way, too: Once you break a process, it won’t be there to save you.
Now that Bolton has been sidelined, the question is not only what he can do to regain power, but also whether he has the stomach for it. The lesson in Kissinger’s comeback is that power comes with a cost. For now, Bolton appears to be staying true to his own beliefs, a path that might be more comfortable but is certainly not sustainable.
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How I learned to read -- and trade stocks -- in prison | Curtis "Wall Street" Carroll
New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/how-i-learned-to-read-and-trade-stocks-in-prison-curtis-wall-street-carroll/
How I learned to read -- and trade stocks -- in prison | Curtis "Wall Street" Carroll
I was once 14 years historic inside a bowling alley, burglarizing an arcade game, and upon exiting the building a security preserve grabbed my arm, so I ran. I ran down the avenue, and that i jumped on high of a fence. And after I obtained to the top, the burden of 3,000 quarters in my ebook bag pulled me back down to the ground. So after I came to, the protection guard was standing on high of me, and he stated, "subsequent time you little punks steal some thing that you may carry." (Laughter) I used to be taken to juvenile hall and once I used to be launched into the custody of my mom, the first words my uncle mentioned used to be, "How’d you get caught?" I mentioned, "Man, the e-book bag used to be too heavy." He stated, "Man, you were not supposed to take the entire quarters." I said, "Man, they had been small. What am I supposed to do?" And 10 minutes later, he took me to burglarize another arcade game.We needed gas cash to get dwelling. That was once my life. I grew up in Oakland, California, with my mom and members of my instant family hooked on crack cocaine. My atmosphere consisted of living with household, buddies, and homeless shelters. Sometimes, dinner was served in breadlines and soup kitchens. The large homey advised me this: cash ideas the sector and the whole lot in it. And in these streets, cash is king. And for those who comply with the money, it should lead you to the unhealthy guy or the good man. Soon after, I committed my first crime, and it was once the first time that I was once advised that I had talents and felt like anyone believed in me. No one ever instructed me that I could be a legal professional, medical professional or engineer.I imply, how used to be I supposed to do this? I could not learn, write or spell. I was illiterate. So I invariably proposal crime was my approach to go. After which one day I used to be speaking to someone and he used to be telling me about this theft that we would do. And we did it. The truth used to be that I was once developing up within the strongest financial nation on the planet, the us of the us, whilst I watched my mother stand in line at a blood bank to promote her blood for forty bucks simply to check out to feed her children. She still has the needle marks on her arms to day to show for that. So I certainly not cared about my neighborhood. They did not care about my existence. Everybody there used to be doing what they had been doing to take what they desired, the drug purchasers, the robbers, the blood financial institution. Everyone was once taking blood money. So I bought mine by any means necessary. I received mine. Financial literacy really did rule the world, and i was once a baby slave to it following the bad man. At 17 years historic, I used to be arrested for robbery and murder and that i quickly discovered that finances in jail rule more than they did on the streets, so I desired in.Sooner or later, I rushed to seize the sporting activities web page of the newspaper so my cellie could read it to me, and that i unintentionally picked up the industry section. And this old man stated, "hey youngster, you select shares?" and i stated, "What’s that?" He mentioned, "that is the situation the place white people maintain all their money." (Laughter) And it was once the primary time that I saw a glimpse of hope, a future. He gave me this temporary description of what stocks had been, however it was once only a glimpse.I mean, how was I alleged to do it? I could not read, write or spell. The knowledge that I had developed to hide my illiteracy now not worked on this environment. I used to be trapped in a cage, prey amongst predators, combating for freedom I under no circumstances had. I was misplaced, tired, and i was once out of choices. So at twenty years historic, I did the hardest factor i’d ever executed in my life. I picked up a publication, and it was probably the most agonizing time of my existence, looking to be trained the best way to read, the ostracizing from my family, the homeys. It used to be tough, man. It was a battle. However little did i do know I was receiving the finest gifts I had ever dreamed of: self-valued at, advantage, discipline.I used to be so excited to be reading that I learn the whole lot I might get my palms on: sweet wrappers, clothing emblems, street signs, everything. I was just reading stuff! (Applause) just studying stuff. I was once so excited to grasp how to read and understand learn how to spell. The homey got here up, mentioned, "Man, what you eating?" I stated, "C-A-N-D-Y, candy." (Laughter) He said, "Let me get some." I mentioned, "N-O. No." (Laughter) It was exceptional. I mean, i can really now for the primary time in my existence learn. The feeling that I acquired from it was once potent. After which at 22, feeling myself, feeling optimistic, I remembered what the OG advised me. So I picked up the business element of the newspaper. I wanted to find these wealthy white folks. (Laughter) So I seemed for that glimpse. As I furthered my profession in educating others tips on how to financially manage cash and make investments, I quickly realized that I needed to take responsibility for my own movements. True, I grew up in an extraordinarily intricate environment, however I selected to commit crimes, and that i had to own as much as that.I needed to take accountability for that, and i did. I was once building a curriculum that could train incarcerated guys how one can control cash by means of jail employments. Effectively managing our lifestyle would provide transferrable instruments that we can use to manage cash when we reenter society, like the vast majority of persons did who failed to commit crimes. Then I discovered that according to MarketWatch, over 60 percent of the American population has below 1,000 dollars in financial savings. Physical games Illustrated said that over 60 percent of NBA players and NFL gamers go broke.40 percentage of marital issues derive from financial disorders. What the hell? (Laughter) You imply to inform me that men and women labored their entire lives, shopping cars, garments, houses and fabric stuff however have been living assess to determine? How on the planet were members of society going to help incarcerated members again into society if they could not manage they possess stuff? We screwed. (Laughter) I needed a better plan. This is not going to see too well. So … I notion. I now had an responsibility to meet those on the path and aid, and it used to be crazy due to the fact that I now cared about my group. Wow, suppose that. I cared about my group. Fiscal illiteracy is a disease that has crippled minorities and the lessen type in our society for generations and generations, and we must be furious about that. Ask yourselves this: How can 50 percent of the American population be financially illiterate in a nation driven by monetary prosperity? Our entry to justice, our social popularity, living conditions, transportation and food are all elegant on money that the majority people are not able to manipulate.It is crazy! It’s an endemic and a higher risk to public protection than another obstacle. In step with the California division of Corrections, over 70 percentage of those incarcerated have committed or were charged with cash-associated crimes: robberies, burglaries, fraud, larceny, extortion — and the list goes on. Examine this out: a typical incarcerated individual would enter the California jail process and not using a fiscal schooling, earn 30 cents an hour, over 800 dollars a yr, with out a real costs and store no money. Upon his parole, he’s going to accept 200 dollars gate money and advised, "hi there, excellent luck, stay out of situation. Don’t come again to jail." with no significant practise or lengthy-time period monetary plan, what does he do … ? At 60? Get a good job, or return to the very crook conduct that led him to jail in the first position? You taxpayers, you opt for.Well, his schooling already selected for him, quite often. So how will we therapy this disease? I cofounded a application that we name financial Empowerment Emotional Literacy. We name it feel, and it teaches how do you separate your emotional selections from your economic selections, and the 4 timeless principles to private finance: the right way to save, control your cost of residing, borrow cash without problems and diversify your price range by using enabling your cash to work for you rather of you working for it. Incarcerated men and women want these lifestyles abilities earlier than we reenter society. You are not able to have full rehabilitation with out these existence potential. This notion that handiest authorities can invest and manipulate cash is definitely ridiculous, and whoever instructed you that’s lying. (Applause) A authentic is a character who is aware of his craft better than most, and no person is aware of how much money you want, have or want better than you, which means that you’re the legitimate. Monetary literacy will not be a skill, women and gents. It is a culture. Monetary stability is a byproduct of a suitable tradition. A financially sound incarcerated character can grow to be a taxpaying citizen, and a financially sound taxpaying citizen can remain one.This allows us to create a bridge between those men and women who we have an effect on: loved ones, acquaintances and those younger folks who nonetheless feel that crime and money are related. So let’s lose the worry and anxiety of all of the gigantic economic phrases and all that other nonsense that you’ve got been out there hearing. And let’s get to the center of what’s been crippling our society from caring for your responsibility to be better life managers. And let’s furnish a simple and effortless to use curriculum that gets to the heart, the heart of what fiscal empowerment and emotional literacy fairly is. Now, if you’re sitting out here in the audience and also you stated, "Oh yeah, well, that ain’t me and i do not purchase it," then come take my type — (Laughter) so i will be able to show you what quantity of money it fees you whenever you get emotional. (Applause) thank you very a lot.Thank you. (Applause) .
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How I learned to read -- and trade stocks -- in prison | Curtis "Wall Street" Carroll
New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/how-i-learned-to-read-and-trade-stocks-in-prison-curtis-wall-street-carroll/
How I learned to read -- and trade stocks -- in prison | Curtis "Wall Street" Carroll
I was once 14 years historic inside a bowling alley, burglarizing an arcade game, and upon exiting the building a security preserve grabbed my arm, so I ran. I ran down the avenue, and that i jumped on high of a fence. And after I obtained to the top, the burden of 3,000 quarters in my ebook bag pulled me back down to the ground. So after I came to, the protection guard was standing on high of me, and he stated, "subsequent time you little punks steal some thing that you may carry." (Laughter) I used to be taken to juvenile hall and once I used to be launched into the custody of my mom, the first words my uncle mentioned used to be, "How’d you get caught?" I mentioned, "Man, the e-book bag used to be too heavy." He stated, "Man, you were not supposed to take the entire quarters." I said, "Man, they had been small. What am I supposed to do?" And 10 minutes later, he took me to burglarize another arcade game.We needed gas cash to get dwelling. That was once my life. I grew up in Oakland, California, with my mom and members of my instant family hooked on crack cocaine. My atmosphere consisted of living with household, buddies, and homeless shelters. Sometimes, dinner was served in breadlines and soup kitchens. The large homey advised me this: cash ideas the sector and the whole lot in it. And in these streets, cash is king. And for those who comply with the money, it should lead you to the unhealthy guy or the good man. Soon after, I committed my first crime, and it was once the first time that I was once advised that I had talents and felt like anyone believed in me. No one ever instructed me that I could be a legal professional, medical professional or engineer.I imply, how used to be I supposed to do this? I could not learn, write or spell. I was illiterate. So I invariably proposal crime was my approach to go. After which one day I used to be speaking to someone and he used to be telling me about this theft that we would do. And we did it. The truth used to be that I was once developing up within the strongest financial nation on the planet, the us of the us, whilst I watched my mother stand in line at a blood bank to promote her blood for forty bucks simply to check out to feed her children. She still has the needle marks on her arms to day to show for that. So I certainly not cared about my neighborhood. They did not care about my existence. Everybody there used to be doing what they had been doing to take what they desired, the drug purchasers, the robbers, the blood financial institution. Everyone was once taking blood money. So I bought mine by any means necessary. I received mine. Financial literacy really did rule the world, and i was once a baby slave to it following the bad man. At 17 years historic, I used to be arrested for robbery and murder and that i quickly discovered that finances in jail rule more than they did on the streets, so I desired in.Sooner or later, I rushed to seize the sporting activities web page of the newspaper so my cellie could read it to me, and that i unintentionally picked up the industry section. And this old man stated, "hey youngster, you select shares?" and i stated, "What’s that?" He mentioned, "that is the situation the place white people maintain all their money." (Laughter) And it was once the primary time that I saw a glimpse of hope, a future. He gave me this temporary description of what stocks had been, however it was once only a glimpse.I mean, how was I alleged to do it? I could not read, write or spell. The knowledge that I had developed to hide my illiteracy now not worked on this environment. I used to be trapped in a cage, prey amongst predators, combating for freedom I under no circumstances had. I was misplaced, tired, and i was once out of choices. So at twenty years historic, I did the hardest factor i’d ever executed in my life. I picked up a publication, and it was probably the most agonizing time of my existence, looking to be trained the best way to read, the ostracizing from my family, the homeys. It used to be tough, man. It was a battle. However little did i do know I was receiving the finest gifts I had ever dreamed of: self-valued at, advantage, discipline.I used to be so excited to be reading that I learn the whole lot I might get my palms on: sweet wrappers, clothing emblems, street signs, everything. I was just reading stuff! (Applause) just studying stuff. I was once so excited to grasp how to read and understand learn how to spell. The homey got here up, mentioned, "Man, what you eating?" I stated, "C-A-N-D-Y, candy." (Laughter) He said, "Let me get some." I mentioned, "N-O. No." (Laughter) It was exceptional. I mean, i can really now for the primary time in my existence learn. The feeling that I acquired from it was once potent. After which at 22, feeling myself, feeling optimistic, I remembered what the OG advised me. So I picked up the business element of the newspaper. I wanted to find these wealthy white folks. (Laughter) So I seemed for that glimpse. As I furthered my profession in educating others tips on how to financially manage cash and make investments, I quickly realized that I needed to take responsibility for my own movements. True, I grew up in an extraordinarily intricate environment, however I selected to commit crimes, and that i had to own as much as that.I needed to take accountability for that, and i did. I was once building a curriculum that could train incarcerated guys how one can control cash by means of jail employments. Effectively managing our lifestyle would provide transferrable instruments that we can use to manage cash when we reenter society, like the vast majority of persons did who failed to commit crimes. Then I discovered that according to MarketWatch, over 60 percent of the American population has below 1,000 dollars in financial savings. Physical games Illustrated said that over 60 percent of NBA players and NFL gamers go broke.40 percentage of marital issues derive from financial disorders. What the hell? (Laughter) You imply to inform me that men and women labored their entire lives, shopping cars, garments, houses and fabric stuff however have been living assess to determine? How on the planet were members of society going to help incarcerated members again into society if they could not manage they possess stuff? We screwed. (Laughter) I needed a better plan. This is not going to see too well. So … I notion. I now had an responsibility to meet those on the path and aid, and it used to be crazy due to the fact that I now cared about my group. Wow, suppose that. I cared about my group. Fiscal illiteracy is a disease that has crippled minorities and the lessen type in our society for generations and generations, and we must be furious about that. Ask yourselves this: How can 50 percent of the American population be financially illiterate in a nation driven by monetary prosperity? Our entry to justice, our social popularity, living conditions, transportation and food are all elegant on money that the majority people are not able to manipulate.It is crazy! It’s an endemic and a higher risk to public protection than another obstacle. In step with the California division of Corrections, over 70 percentage of those incarcerated have committed or were charged with cash-associated crimes: robberies, burglaries, fraud, larceny, extortion — and the list goes on. Examine this out: a typical incarcerated individual would enter the California jail process and not using a fiscal schooling, earn 30 cents an hour, over 800 dollars a yr, with out a real costs and store no money. Upon his parole, he’s going to accept 200 dollars gate money and advised, "hi there, excellent luck, stay out of situation. Don’t come again to jail." with no significant practise or lengthy-time period monetary plan, what does he do … ? At 60? Get a good job, or return to the very crook conduct that led him to jail in the first position? You taxpayers, you opt for.Well, his schooling already selected for him, quite often. So how will we therapy this disease? I cofounded a application that we name financial Empowerment Emotional Literacy. We name it feel, and it teaches how do you separate your emotional selections from your economic selections, and the 4 timeless principles to private finance: the right way to save, control your cost of residing, borrow cash without problems and diversify your price range by using enabling your cash to work for you rather of you working for it. Incarcerated men and women want these lifestyles abilities earlier than we reenter society. You are not able to have full rehabilitation with out these existence potential. This notion that handiest authorities can invest and manipulate cash is definitely ridiculous, and whoever instructed you that’s lying. (Applause) A authentic is a character who is aware of his craft better than most, and no person is aware of how much money you want, have or want better than you, which means that you’re the legitimate. Monetary literacy will not be a skill, women and gents. It is a culture. Monetary stability is a byproduct of a suitable tradition. A financially sound incarcerated character can grow to be a taxpaying citizen, and a financially sound taxpaying citizen can remain one.This allows us to create a bridge between those men and women who we have an effect on: loved ones, acquaintances and those younger folks who nonetheless feel that crime and money are related. So let’s lose the worry and anxiety of all of the gigantic economic phrases and all that other nonsense that you’ve got been out there hearing. And let’s get to the center of what’s been crippling our society from caring for your responsibility to be better life managers. And let’s furnish a simple and effortless to use curriculum that gets to the heart, the heart of what fiscal empowerment and emotional literacy fairly is. Now, if you’re sitting out here in the audience and also you stated, "Oh yeah, well, that ain’t me and i do not purchase it," then come take my type — (Laughter) so i will be able to show you what quantity of money it fees you whenever you get emotional. (Applause) thank you very a lot.Thank you. (Applause) .
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12:41 ¶ Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all? 42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? 43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 44 Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. 45 But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; 46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. 47 And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. 49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished! 51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: 52 For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. 53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Peter’s question is met by a direct answer from Christ regarding the labors of the apostles and even future ministers of the gospel. Paul referred to the ministers of the gospel as stewards of the mysteries of God.
1Corinthians 4:1 ¶ Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
He moved from covetousness to being watchful to now a warning to the shepherds of His flock. Disobedience to this warning is apparent all through Christian history as it was all through the history of the Jews before Christ. The primary duty of a minister of Christ is to feed the flock of God with His words, not to lord it over the flock as some kind of boss man.
1Peter 5:1 ¶ The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: 2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; 3 Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
Down through the last two thousand years abusers among the so-called clergy have run rampant through the flock of God doing great harm. We hear about Catholic priests today who abuse the most helpless members of their congregations but we also must consider the thousands of Baptist pastors and youth ministers who have done the same. Jesus talks about how the fowls of the air, used in typology for the Devil himself in Mark, chapter 4, will lodge in the shadow of the tree and in its branches, the tree that grows unnaturally large as the kingdom of God and Heaven in Luke 13:19 and Mark 4:32.
Jesus also warns that there are counterfeits among the brethren in Matthew 13:24 regarding the wheat and the tares. In the Old Testament God has an accusation about the false teachers in Israel. Understand that Biblically defined, with and uniting synonyms in most contexts, a pastor is a teacher as per Ephesians 4:11 and prophets are preachers and teachers as per Nehemiah 6:7 and 2Peter 2:1.
Jeremiah 23:1 ¶ Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD. 2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD. 3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. 4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD. 5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. 7 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 8 But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.
9 ¶ Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness. 10 For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right. 11 For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD. 12 Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD. 13 And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err. 14 I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. 15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land. 16 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the
LORD. 17 They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. 18 For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it? 19 Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. 20 The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. 21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. 22 But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. 23 Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? 24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. 25 I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. 26 How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets
of the deceit of their own heart; 27 Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. 28 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD. 29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? 30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. 32 Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.
33 ¶ And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the LORD? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the LORD. 34 And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD, I will even punish that man and his house. 35 Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the LORD answered? and, What hath the LORD spoken? 36 And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man’s word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God. 37 Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the LORD answered thee? and, What hath the LORD spoken? 38 But since ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD; Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD; 39 Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence: 40 And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.
Peter devotes what has come down to us as a chapter to the damage wrought by Christian false teachers in 2Peter 2.
2Peter 2:1 ¶ But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
3 ¶ And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. 4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;
7 ¶ And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) 9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
10 ¶ But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. 11 Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. 12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; 13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; 14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: 15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet. 17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
Here, in this lesson Jesus is giving it is worse for you to know the truth and to act on it unwisely and disobey than it is for you to not know the truth at all. Perhaps that can be one meaning of Paul’s statement in Romans.
Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 ¶ Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
The truth that Jesus reveals will not produce unity in the world but cause divisions down to the very household and family of believers and those who reject Him. There can be no middle ground with Christ. You either trust Him or you don’t. This fire is already kindled by the work of the dividers and the false teachers and elders who plague the cause of Christ as evidenced by the multitude of Protestant denominations and the three great branches of Christianity that are polluted by leaven, a type of hypocrisy and false doctrine in Matthew 16:12 and here in Luke 12:1.
Matthew 13:33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
Luke 13:20 And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? 21 It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
[The woman of this parable may be a reference to Ashtaroth, the fertility goddess of the Canaanites of the Old Testament, who is basically the same as Ishtar, the goddess of liberty and prostitutes of the Babylonians whose statue sits in New York Harbor as Lady Liberty, and various feminine incarnations of Satan around the world including the Japanese Amateratsu, the Roman Diana, or the Greek Artemis among others. It should not be hard to think of Satan as both masculine and feminine as some of the gods of the ancient world were portrayed as both male and female.For instance, the Egyptian god, Atum, was also called the great he-she.]
It appears that what Jesus is saying here is that His servants must be expectantly awaiting His return at any time and going about the business He has given them of expressing the fruit of the Spirit in the world, loving God and their fellow mankind, particularly the brethren, not abusing or mistreating those who God has placed in their care and, most importantly, feeding the flock of God. Those who know the most have the most expected out of them and will suffer loss in that degree based on their unfaithfulness.
James 3:1 ¶ My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.
As was mentioned earlier in the parable of the mustard seed that grows unnaturally into a great tree, in the Christian church there are many fake tares, false wheat, and these counterfeits are hiding among its branches and in its shadow.
2Corinthians 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
They will find their place in the lake of unquenchable fire when a reckoning is made, with the ignorant unbelievers, though their punishment will be greater.
Matthew 13:40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
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Arplis - News: The coronavirus is here and parents have questions about the threat COVID-19 poses to the health of their children
As of now, answers have not been satisfactory, consistent, or satisfactorily consistent. Early studies out of China suggest that though mortality rates are low — though still highly worrisome at a population level — novel coronavirus does pose a serious risk to children as well as the elderly, specifically some children with pre-existing conditions. That said, all children can be vectors for the disease and scientist have not yet uncovered any patterns in infection that might justify complacency. Outcomes among infants, in particular, have been varied and have many front-line medical workers we’ve spoken to are worried.
This story, which will be updated frequently until scientific consensus is reached on the questions posed, is intended to be an up-to-date accounting of what epidemiologists, doctors, and public health workers know so far. All quotes are timestamped because available information is becoming outdated rapidly. Answers should be understood in light of that fact. Just because we believe we know something now does not mean that thing is true. A lot of hypotheses have yet to be tested. In the meantime, the best approach is to maintain social distance and to stay informed.
Will coronavirus kill or hurt my kids?
Dr. John Williams, Chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. April 7, 2020 (12:30PM): Currently, there is not much data on kids and coronavirus. Some respiratory illnesses, such as the seasonal flu (influenza), put children at risk of serious health complications. Each year, the flu causes millions of illnesses, thousands of hospitalizations, and some deaths in children. COVID-19, however, appears to be affecting children at a much lower rate. Less than 1% of all COVID-19 hospitalizations in the US are of children. The biggest concern for kids in our country are those with underlying conditions. All of our children’s hospitals, including mine, are doing what we can to protect these vulnerable kids while we learn whether they truly have increased risk.
Dr. Logan Spector, Division Director and Professor, Pediatric Epidemiology and Clinical Research at University of Minnesota, March 24, 2020 (5PM): When it comes to young children, my biggest takeaway is that most severe cases [of COVID-19 in young children] were suffered by children with very serious conditions. In the New England Journal study, three severe cases had leukemia, hydronephrosis, and intussusception. So my takeaway from that is that even among children, the worst cases require comorbidities to have the worse outcome. My day job is studying pediatric cancer and I can tell you it’s not especially common.
Dr. Neel Shah, Director of the Delivery Decisions Initiative at Ariadne Labs and assistant professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School March 20 (1:30PM): There are some neonatal transmissions, but it doesn’t seem like infants and neonates are severely affected. We think of people who are pregnant and infants as vulnerable. But we mean that in a lot of different ways. Simply because they’re not likely to be severely infected does not mean they aren’t affected.
Strains on the healthcare system mean ambulatory services are shutting down, prenatal and postpartum support is being shut down. Social distancing impacts pregnancies too. It’s simply harder to get labor support — from doulas or even family members. And there’s always been concern about social isolation after having a baby. Even more so now.
Barun Mathema, Assistant Professor Epidemiology Columbia University; March 22 (11AM): The most recent evidence from China that shows that children are vulnerable, or at least more so than previously thought. Younger children being a higher risk for more serious clinical symptoms than older children. It appears that mortality is still somewhat rare among children.
Barun Mathema, March 18 (11AM): I’ll preface this by saying we’re all confused. Initially, it was confusing that kids weren’t hit because we were wondering if the disease would follow the patterning of pandemic influenza where the curve is a beautiful bell with age on the bottom. Seasonal flu is the opposite, a u-shape. And initially, this didn’t fit either scenario. COVID-19 seemed like a geometric curve from low to high in terms of severity, but now that picture is getting muddled. We’re seeing folks under 50 with morbidity. We’re seeing teenagers and younger kids with fairly severe symptoms.
There was a sliver of pediatric cases and a sliver of pediatric deaths in China. Kids get colds a lot so there was a theory that some are caused by coronaviruses and so there’s partial immunity. There was also the thought that the ACE2 receptor might not be well expressed in children so there could be inefficient entry. Arguably we should be seeing a huge surge in cases, but questions remain unresolved. One can simply say that given a large sample size and a small morbidity, we’re still talking about a big number.
Dr. Jan Dumois, Pediatric Infectious Diseases physician at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. March 16, 2020 (4:30PM): “There’s a new article where they review 2100 kids who were suspected to have COVID-19. There was one child who died — teen. Only one. Otherwise, all the other kids survived, but they did have different degrees of severity of illness. Sicker kids tended to be younger and needed more aggressive medical care before they were sent home. … not just showing up to the emergency room and being sent home. Patients who ended up in hospital because they needed oxygen. Or they were found to have pneumonia. Then there were some uncommon cases that needed to be on a respirator. Younger children are more likely to be sicker and require hospitalization. Or to be on a ventilator. Sometimes heart. Or the dysfunction of the kidney. It was more common in children less than one. “
Ryan Demmer, PhD, University of Minnesota Division of Epidemiology and Community Health. March 16, 2020 (11AM): Kids who had preexisting conditions, particularly chronic or complex medical conditions, were more likely to have adverse medical outcomes and more likely to have severe ones at that. The co-morbidities that seemed to be the most troubling are with asthma and cystic fibrosis. Children with upper respiratory disease seem to be at risk.
While the absolute numbers are low in terms of mortality among young people, there’s a .01 percent mortality rate for flu in youth and early numbers in kids with COVID-19 put the figure around .2. That’s not high, but it’s a 20 fold-increase. If I told you a plane was twenty times more likely that other planes to crash, you would not get on that plane.
How can I avoid getting the virus?
Dyan Hes, MD, Medical Director of Gramercy Pediatrics in New York City and Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. April 9, 2020 (12:00PM): Stay at home. If you have to go to work, you should wear a mask or bandana. You have to wash your hands when you come in from outside. Wash your hands repeatedly throughout the day as you have contact with other people. Some people say that washing your hands every 20 minutes is the best way to decrease the spread of the virus. Don’t touch your face. A lot of people choose to wear gloves whenever they’re out in public, but then they don’t take the gloves off immediately. If you use your gloves outside, when you’re commuting to work let’s say, then touch your phone, your phone is now contaminated. But people don’t think about that. Wearing gloves might be useless because you have this false sense of protection. You really have to understand the use of protective wear.
John Williams, April 7, 2020 (12:30PM): Preventing the spread of COVID-19 from one person in the family to others can be challenging but can be accomplished. For families with older adults or people in their households with chronic illnesses, consideration should be given to see if there is a way to have that person stay with another relative while your child with COVID-19 recovers. If that is not possible, you should work to separate your child from as many of the other household members as possible. This could be accomplished by having the child with COVID-19 stay in one part of the home while those with chronic conditions could stay in another part. In addition, keeping your child with COVID-19 more than 6 feet away from the other people in your home combined with frequent handwashing and cleaning of places like door handles and hard surfaces with bleach containing products can be successful. You should also teach your child with COVID-19 to cover their cough with their elbow and to wash their hands frequently, especially if they are going to be in common areas used by others in the home. People who are sick can wear a cloth mask to reduce transmission to others.
Ashlesha Kaushik, MD, FAAP, Pediatric Infectious Disease Physician and Director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at UnityPoint Health St. Luke’s. April 6, 2020 (3:00PM): The CDC has advised people all across the country that everybody out in public places like a mall or a clinic needs to cover their faces now. They don’t need to use medical or surgical masks for that. Those will be reserved for patients that are sick with symptoms or are being seen actively in a healthcare facility. But for the general public, they’re saying that keeping the nose and mouth area covered will halt the spread of the virus from asymptomatic people.
Barun Mathema; March 22 (11AM) I think the basic rule of thumb is keeping the kids in situations where there is very little density — and certainly keeping the hands clean. So this may be easier in peri-urban or rural locales. Personally, having kids run around outside is really important for general physical and mental health (also for the parents) but not having much or any physical contact would be the goal – this includes surfaces that may be contaminated. It’s hard not to be preachy about things but I will try to politely keep my distance and also explain that even if we do not personally feel at risk, our behavior can (without malintent) put members of our community at risk….we may not even know who is at risk.
Barun Mathema; March 18 (11AM): Just because the elderly and folks with preexisting conditions are vulnerable doesn’t leave everyone else off the hook. This is a serious infection. We read about asymptomatic carriers and minor disease and, yes, many people have had it and will without even noticing. That’s true. It’s also true that three to five percent of otherwise healthy individuals will end up with a serious disease that could require ventilation. Many will recover but it will be an uphill battle. Social distancing and flattening the curve are the answer to this, especially given that a middle-age group will wind up responsible for taking care of most people.
Juan Dumois, March 16, 2020 (4:30PM): The biggest study was able to detect some patients that had no symptoms but were infected. Found quite a few of those. Almost 100. The study wasn’t really designed to look for asymptomatic kids. That study hasn’t yet been published.
When should I get my kid tested?
Dyan Hes, April 9, 2020 (12:00PM): Right now, we’re not testing children in New York City. Your child will only be tested at this point, at least in New York City where we’re having more cases than any country around the world, if they’re in severe respiratory distress and need to be hospitalized. We have to assume that 80% of the colds that are going around now are COVID. We’re not testing because the kids’ cases have been very mild. The only children in my practice that have been tested have been newborns whose parents have been positive. So you don’t have to run to get your child tested if you are sick.
Lindsay Thompson, April 7, 2020 (3:00PM): We unfortunately across the country do not yet have enough screening tests to be able to test children who are fairly well-appearing. It’s not usually until they’re so sick that they might have to go to the emergency room that we do the testing. So I think parents sometimes get frustrated that they can’t know for sure but are told they could have COVID-19. If they’re doing okay, you just need to go home and stay there for two weeks in quarantine. That doesn’t feel as rewarding as getting a test, but in some situations, we’re not able to test everybody. The parents may have to trust their pediatrician to assess that their child at that moment is doing okay.
John Williams, April 7, 2020 (12:30PM): The major concern and the reason for a child to be tested, is only if the child had severe symptoms, which would primarily be difficulty breathing. Children may have fever, which makes them feel bad, but fever isn’t dangerous. If a child has a runny nose or cough, but isn’t having trouble breathing and is drinking ok, they don’t need to be tested and are probably best kept at home.
Barun Mathema; March 18 (11AM): Public health is a very socialist approach. It means health for all trumps health for the individual. This is the antithesis of precision medicine. At this point, as a parent and a public health person, I feel that if a kid is exhibiting alarming symptoms — not a runny nose, but maybe a fever or something that looks unlike a regular cold — parents should consider taking the kid in. But, on some level, it’s important to recognize there’s nothing you’d do differently if your kid tested positive. If children are heavily symptomatic, take them in and get them admitted. Otherwise, you’re going home and observing. Still, there’s some virtue in knowing that you likely have it and that other people in your network likely have it as well.
Georges Benjamin, March 18, 2020: That’s up to every doctor right now. They’re not testing very many kids. I think most kids are only being tested when there’s an emergency. Call the number in the community you’re given, usually the local health department, because these guidelines are changing literally every day.
Sophia Thomas, March 18, 2020: If they have a fever, if they have a cough, they should contact their medical provider to see how they want to handle this. A requirement for testing is patients have to have a negative flu test. With children, oftentimes you would want to do a Strep test as well. If those tests are negative, then they may be eligible to have a COVID-19 test. However, because of the relative shortage of tests right now, different medical practices are doing different things. Some are having to prioritize using the test for the most vulnerable or the ones that have most potential for complications.
Dr. Juan Dumois, Pediatric Infectious Diseases physician at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, March 16, 2020 (4:30PM): One of the main things that’s going to be changing the way we deal with the pandemic is the availability of testing. It will become more available as the weeks go on. We have more availability this week than last. And tons more this week… some are doing it in their hospitals. We hope to be able to do that test sometime in the next month. As the ability to rapidly and readily do a test where you get results in a few hours and a few days will change the dynamic of people we aren’t currently testing.
Something that might happen int he next six months would be a doctor in the clinic to swab a patient’s nose and get results the next day. Right now we can’t offer the test to everybody and it’s taking 5 days to get results back.
My child has the virus. Now what?
Lindsay Thompson, April 7, 2020 (3:00PM): Hopefully most parents have identified a primary care provider that they can call. I do recommend calling first. Almost all practices have instituted their own version of social distancing, and a lot of practices now offer telemedicine visits. As a pediatrician, you can learn a lot from what’s going on with the child by talking to the parents and seeing the child through telemedicine, so that can be very helpful. I do not recommend going straight to an emergency room unless you can tell that your child is having severe breathing problems or anything like that because we worry that places like emergency rooms inadvertently are spreading the virus or other illnesses that we wouldn’t want your child to get.
There’s some really good resources on the CDC website about taking care of anybody who lives in your house with COVID-19. But children need their parents. If there are other children, I would recommend that if you live in a two-parent household only one parent takes care of that child and the other parent takes care of the other children to try to minimize exposure. If you have the luxury of being able to put that child in their own room with their own bathroom, that would be what I recommend. Really try to isolate them even within the home. Don’t share any plates, cups, knives and forks. Make sure everything is separate. I might even recommend a different meal time for that child compared to the other children. I know it sounds pretty grim. But you really need to separate these children from the rest of the family if possible.
Ashlesha Kaushik, April 6, 2020 (3:00PM): At this point, when we are in the mode of social distancing, pediatricians don’t want to leave the families alone, so parents should call the pediatrician if they are worried about anything — be it symptoms that they might think are related to COVID-19 or to any other stress they’re feeling. The pediatrician can offer emotional support as well as offer valuable medical advice. If the symptoms are really mild, they can advise parents how to keep the children hydrated by making them drink enough water or using Tylenol for fever control.
Georges Benjamin, MD, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association. March 18, 2020 (2PM): When kids get really sick, they often don’t eat enough and they often don’t drink enough. Usually, you can coax them to take small sips of water throughout the day. The most important thing is making sure the kid isn’t very, very sick and doesn’t need medical care right now. Most kids do just fine with this.
Sophia Thomas, March 18, 2020 (11AM): Certainly children right now are catching COVID-19, but they are less likely to have complications. Those are children who just need to be isolated for 14 days. If you suspect your child has the virus, you can simply just keep them at home and care for them unless they start having serious problems such as breathing difficulties.
Barun Mathema; March 18 (11AM): I have kids. If they got it, as a public health person, I would be more concerned about them giving it to someone else. Let your healthcare provider know and then basically take care of your child and enhance social distancing. If you have a nanny, give them a call. The health department doesn’t have the capacity to do that.
I have coronavirus, now what?
Juan Dumois, March 23, 2020 (3:30PM): I think a lot of physicians in infectious diseases are hopeful about some of the treatments being investigated for the sickest patients with COVID-19. And while the official stance is there are no proven drugs (and this is correct) there are promising drugs that are being tested on patients with COVID-19. Unfortunately, we’ll start seeing shortages of all these drugs if we do find drugs that kill the virus.
Elisa Choi, MD, Internal Medicine & Infectious Disease Specialist at Atrius Health. March 23, 2020 (8:30AM):`If someone is having significant difficulty breathing, they may need to get further assessed, and home treatment may not be appropriate. Likewise, if someone is having very high fevers, it may be important to get them evaluated. But if someone can be safely managed at home, at this point in time the management strategy for someone who is either suspected of COVID-19 or has confirmed COVID-19 is supportive care and symptom management. So, for example, if someone has a mild cough, you can try over-the-counter remedies to manage that cough. If someone is having muscle aches, again it would be over-the-counter remedies to manage all of those symptoms.
Barun Mathema; March 18 (11AM): This is a tough question. If you have coronavirus and kids you get tested and you find out that you’re positive. At that point, you can assume that a fraction if not all household members are positive. It’s different if you’ve flown in or been screened prior to symptoms. So you may want to self-isolate. But those lines are blurring. All the quarantining will be a moot point because we’ll all be there. The question is just how extreme or expansive. It’s a guessing game, but you want to isolate you and probably your family.
How scared should I be for my parents?
Elisa Choi, March 23, 2020 (8:30 AM): COVID-19 might have increased the risk of significant complications in older individuals, including the worst complication, which is death related to COVID-19. It is understandable that many adults may worry about their elderly parents with COVID-19, particularly since we don’t have a vaccine for this illness, and there is, as of today, nothing that has been concretely proven as a successful therapeutic. It’s very reasonable to be worried. That being said, the majority of people who contract COVID-19 do tend to have relatively milder symptoms. However, if an adult has specific concerns about their parent because they may have multiple other chronic illnesses or might be immunocompromised, which are some other risk factors for more severe COVID-19 disease, it’s certainly worth being particularly mindful of the current recommendations for minimizing spread of COVID-19. If an adult has concerns about themselves having COVID-19, they should reach out and seek clinical evaluation sooner rather than later, particularly if they are a caretaker of their older parent or are living in the same household as their older parent.
Dr. Alicia Ines Arbaje M.P.H., Ph.D. Director of Transitional Care Research, Johns Hopkins Medicine, March 19 (5 PM): Generally we should be concerned about how health systems can respond to the surge of people coming in. People who are coming to the hospital should be the sickest. If it so happens that they should be older, that is what it is. People who are having milder symptoms should be managed at home. It’s more level of need and not so much level of aid. ERs are set up to triage people appropriately. My biggest concern is that we don’t have the supplies or staffing to help care for people when they come. We haven’t gotten to that point yet, but it’s a real concern. How are we going to mobilize our resources?
Dr. Mary Tinetti, Professor of Medicine and Public Health and is Chief of Geriatrics at Yale School of Medicine March 19, 2020 (11AM): We should be very worried. Most of the data we are able to look at are coming out of Italy and some modeling epidemiologists are doing in the rest of the world is showing positive testing in all age groups. But who is getting seriously ill? The vast majority are people 60 and older. The key in focusing on 60 and older is for their own good and the good of everyone else. They’re more likely to use healthcare resources. More likely to die. All the care consumed by them may limit care for younger people.
For this population especially, the more social isolation the better. This means if you’re over 60 especially don’t go out in public, don’t be within 6 feet of anyone, get deliveries or get someone else to drop off your groceries and medications, and get tested if you can. If we start looking at the asymptomatic 60 year old we’ll see how serious it is. Once it’s available. All localities are prioritizing. The more we know the better. So get tested.
Sophia Thomas, March 18, 2020 (2PM: This is a virus that knows no social barriers, and we do know that older people and people with comorbid conditions including hypertension, heart disease, COPD and asthma tend to have worse outcomes. So all grandparents — anybody over the age of 60 — should take this very seriously and practice social isolation. My mother was going to come and visit me and I just told her stay where you are. We’ll FaceTime and I’ll see you next month.
Dr. Logan Spector, March 18, 2020 (11AM): Look to Italy. One of the reasons it is hit so hard is that it had one of the oldest populations in Europe. I really doubt that’s going to change at all. There have been nearly 200,000 reports and we can say with pretty good statistical certainty who are impacted and it’s very clear the elderly are hardest hit. It’s still not clear to me how much of that is just reduced immune function versus co-morbidities. The older you are, the more likely you are to have a pulmonary disease that compounds the effect of a respiratory virus. But there is still a risk in older people who don’t have co-morbidities. That points to lower immune function as we age.
Ryan Demmer, March 16, 2020: I think we should move forward with caution because mortality rates aren’t just linked to the properties of the disease. They are often a product of the environment or context of the disease. China is not America. In America, we have varied healthcare access and high rates of asthma. That could portend worse outcomes in this country. I should state clearly that there’s no evidence of that yet, but we should be cautious.
When will things go back to normal?
Dyan Hes, April 9, 2020 (12:00PM): I’m not that optimistic right now because we do not have a federal law in place to stay at home. Big cities that have been hit like Detroit, New York City, Chicago, Miami, those cities have good stay-at-home rules in place, and I think they’re working. Staying at home works. But what’s going to happen is once we conquer this epidemic in New York, it’s going to spread to other states and cities that have not been implementing stay-at-home. I fear that it’s going to spread across the country and it will get to places like Arizona where up until a week ago you could go get a mani-pedi. Those states will have outbreaks, and I fear it’s going to come back because you can travel from state to state. Not all people are that ethical. Not all people are keeping quarantine. I almost had to report a family yesterday to Child Services because they’re not keeping their quarantine. We hope people stay at home, but not everybody is that altruistic. I feel like what’s going to happen is they’re going to find a treatment before we’re able to stop it based on human behavior.
Lindsay Thompson, April 7, 2020 (3:00PM): I wish I knew. There’s no magic formula, and certainly, I think we’ll never be the same. So I’m not quite sure what normal will be. But most importantly, it’s not going to be a one-day event where everything turns back to normal. It’s going to be a little bit of loosening different recommendations in different places. If we suddenly all went back to what we were doing before, there would be another round of severe illness for lots of people. Just take a deep breath. Get ready because this may take a while. But the longer we take, the less people will be hurt. So patience is really really important. And selfless.
Ashlesha Kaushik, April 6, 2020 (3:00PM): What the CDC has been projecting is that it will take at least a few weeks to a few months, but nobody is exactly sure about the timeline. They are waiting for the curve to flatten out. The curve is yet to peak, which is the scary part. We haven’t yet reached the peak in the United States. They were projecting the peak to be sometime this week or the next coming week. The few upcoming weeks will be really tough. The more we practice the social distancing measures, the more we can expect to flatten out the curve. That is still a long way to go.
Dr. Logan Spector March 24, 2020 (5PM):“Once you let your foot off the brake of social distancing, will you have resurgent cases? Almost certainly. If we all stayed in our houses we would squelch this thing. The virus would die with that. If there are still people out and about who are infected, it will be reintroduced. That’s always been acknowledged. The idea is to spread it out enough to make sure we have healthcare capacity and give the medical community some time to manufacture PPE and develop a vaccine. Let’s just say that any politician — really anyone — who thinks he knows better than virologists and epidemiologists at this point doesn’t have his head on straight.”
Juan Dumois, March 23, 2020 (3:30 PM): Over the last several day I’ve been looking at some of our local COVID-19 patients (in the Tampa Bay Area) who tested positive The numbers are still relatively small, and I suspect that may be a benefit of the social distancing we’re doing. That makes me optimistic. We may already be having a positive effect. However, i don’t think anyone should be lulled into complacency or thinking that this will be over soon. We need to bear it out for several more months.
Elisa Choi, March 23, 2020 (8:30 AM): Where we are now is the infection and the illness is spreading. I’ll speak to Massachusetts because that’s the state I’m in. The number of cases is increasing daily. So we’re in the phase of the illness where there’s still exponential rise in new cases. Now definitely is not a time where we can scale back on measures to mitigate the spread of infection. It’s really hard to give a firm number or a firm timeline of when all of these kinds of measures can be retracted. My sense of how this would play out, though, is once there’s a plateau reached in terms of how many new infections are being detected every day, there may need to be some gradual reduction in some of the current mitigation measures. And it may not be able to be done all at once. It will need to be determined as we get to that plateau point. How long that will be is uncertain. If we reflect on what’s happening in some of the countries in Asia where they have reached that point — China would probably be the best example — it was about two or so months before they got to that point. Things may be different in the U.S. and things may be different moving from state to state in the U.S.
Georges Benjamin, March 18, 2020 (2PM): We don’t know. There are estimates out there that this could go anywhere through a month or two. Those are probably reasonable assumptions. A month or two does not necessarily mean that all of us will be sequestered for a month or two. We just don’t know. We’ve never done this before.
Sophia Thomas, DNP, President of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. March 18, 2020 (2:30PM): I think this is our new normal for a while. I heard something yesterday that the CDC anticipates that the peak of this might be in May. I think for the next six to eight weeks we’re going to be dealing with this. I don’t anticipate a resolution anytime soon. If people really stick to the social distancing and listen to the advice of the CDC, we could actually see this resolved much sooner by limiting people’s exposure.
Logan Spector, March 18, 2020 (11:10AM EST): Obviously this is unprecedented in modern memory. Everyone is talking about the 1918 flu pandemic and there a lot of the same characteristics as most flu, but the problem with COVID-19 is that there seems to be asymptomatic transmission. Isolating people with symptoms is a first response — and it’s a logical one. When SARS and MERS came out, this was done as well. But those did not seem to have asymptomatic transmission. I think everyone is trying to do their part including those working from home, but it will take time.
Ryan Demmer, March 16, 2020:From a population health perspective the main issue remains not infecting others. There’s no evidence kids don’t get infected or transmit, just that they’re less effected by the disease. Our key goal has to be social distancing. The growth curve is still coming.
The question is where the peak will be. Probably May-ish. And I’m not saying it’s going to go away…. After the peak, we’ll start coming down. What I’m interested in from an ecological point of view is what’s happening in South Korea and Wuhan. They’re saying there’s one case in the province which I find dumbfounding. And there was an impressive decline in South Korea. So if that’s true —and there’s no second peak — that would be fantastic news…. If there’s a second peak that could be as bad if not worse. COVID-19 could come back in the Fall only to finish off in the spring of 2021 when we have a vaccine. That’s a harsh but not unrealistic scenario.
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Quick Question Friday: China Law Answers, Part 72
Because of this blog, our China lawyers get a fairly steady stream of China law questions from readers, mostly via emails but occasionally via blog comments or phone calls as well. If we were to conduct research on all the questions we get asked and then comprehensively answer them, we would become overwhelmed. So what we usually do is provide a quick general answer and, when it is easy to do so, a link or two to a blog post that provides some additional guidance. We figure we might as well post some of these on here as well. On Fridays, like today.
One of the most common questions our lawyers have been getting lately is “what should I do.” Mores specifically, we are getting this classic question from our clients that are making their products in China, either in their own facilities in China (that they own via their own China WFOE) or via third party contract manufacturers. They want to do what to do in light of the tariffs the United States is imposing on incoming China goods. More particularly, they want to know what more about non-China options.
I today read one of the best articles on what is happening out there with respect to US companies leaving China to manufacture elsewhere. The article is by CNN and its titled The trade war is pushing business out of China, but not into America and I like it so much because it 100% correlates with exactly what my law firm’s international lawyers are seeing and hearing, mostly from our own clients.
The article starts with the following:
US tariffs are prompting companies to move some production out of China, but it’s not going where President Donald Trump would prefer.
The trade war has made more than $250 billion of Chinese exports more expensive for Americans — from leather belts to refrigerators to motorcycles. The disruption to the world’s biggest trading relationship has electronics manufacturers, industrial machinery makers and fashion brands working on shifting some of their assembly lines.
“We are flooded by inquiries,” said William Ma, group managing director of Kerry Logistics, a Hong Kong-based firm that helps companies around the world manage their supply chains. “It all happens after the trade war.”
Many firms are keeping much of their operations in China, which offers a giant domestic market and advantages that businesses struggle to find elsewhere. But those that are moving aren’t flocking to the United States. Instead, they’re looking to transfer work to other Asian countries.
This is exactly what we are seeing. Many of our clients are moving their manufacturing elsewhere in Asia, many of our clients are “stuck” in China, and none of them have resourced their manufacturing to the United States, at least not yet.
The article then notes how “the tariffs have accelerated the shift of manufacturing from China to countries in Southeast Asia, where labor is cheaper.” and it uses the Steve Madden Company as an example of this:
Steve Madden (SHOO), whose handbags have been hit by a 10% tariff, says it’s moving a significant chunk of its production to Cambodia and other countries. The company currently makes about 85% of its handbags in China, a figure that could drop to 50% or 60% next year.
“The shift is almost entirely due to the US-China trade conflict,” Steve Madden CEO Ed Rosenfeld told CNN’s Alison Kosik. “We have to prepare as though tariffs will be the new normal, but we are hopeful that cooler heads will prevail.”
Again, this is exactly the sort of thing we are seeing from our clients whose products can relatively easily be made outside China; they are having some of their products made outside China. Only some because it just isn’t that easy or even possible to move all your production at once.
The article essentially says consumer tech brands are desperate to manufacture outside China and we are seeing the same thing:
Consumer tech brands are also looking to Southeast Asia. Hugh Lo, vice president of the consumer division at Taiwan’s New Kinpo Group, which makes electronics for clients such as Toshiba (TOSBF) and Samsung (SSNLF), says he has been inundated with inquiries from companies keen to transfer manufacturing out of China.
A year ago, his team got about one inquiry a week, he said. Now, it’s “maybe 30 times more.”
Lo said that TV and gaming device makers have been particularly interested in relocating. He declined to name individual companies.
Here’s the thing though; there just isn’t sufficient capacity for this outside China. Yet.
To what countries are manufacturers moving? The article nails this as well:
Nathan Resnick, whose San Diego-based startup Sourcify helps thousands of businesses place orders with manufacturers across Asia, has also noticed a clear shift away from China this year.
In January, Chinese factories supplied as much as 90% of the orders his company helped place in industries like textiles and household appliances. Now, he estimates that figure has plummeted to about 50%, with the focus moving to countries like Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.
“It’s really just been recently,” Resnick told CNN. “I didn’t go to any of those countries last year.”
Again, this is exactly what our international lawyers have been seeing as well. I estimate that among my law firm’s clients well over 50% of the production that is moving outside China is going to Vietnam and Thailand and the Philipines comes in third. Our clients looking to outsource their manufacturing are mostly favoring Vietnam and our clients looking to build their own manufacturing facilities are mostly favoring Thailand and the Philipines. We will see…
The article also rightly notes that leaving China is not easy and many cannot:
A lot of companies are unwilling to leave China, which has a range of advantages for manufacturing industries that are spread across Asia.
Many of the products US firms export from China have to fit exact requirements, necessitating specialized equipment and highly trained workers, according to Harley Seyedin, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in South China.
“Their supply chains cannot be adjusted in short order,” Seyedin told CNN.
China also boasts better roads, ports and power grids than most Southeast Asian countries. “China just has such a great infrastructure,” Resnick said. “You go to some of these areas in the Philippines or Vietnam, and the ground surrounding the factory is not developed whatsoever.”
Starting from scratch in another country is a major step.
Executives estimate it could take up to two years to build a new factory. Then there are the challenges of navigating the local bureaucracy and training new staff to meet the company’s standards.
One more big problem: many (most?) factories in countries like Vietnam and Thailand are bursting at the seams: “Businesses that want to move their orders outside China face another problem: finding factories in the region that can accept them.” Our firm works extremely closely with well-qualified people in both these countries and so we know this problem is very real.
What are you seeing out there?
Quick Question Friday: China Law Answers, Part 72 syndicated from https://immigrationattorneyto.wordpress.com/
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Peace in the Bible (2 of 2)
Ezek 13:9-11
9 “My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who utter lying divinations. They will not be in the council of my people, neither will they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither will they enter into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.”
10 “ ‘Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, “Peace;” and there is no peace. When one builds up a wall, behold, they plaster it with whitewash. 11 Tell those who plaster it with whitewash that it will fall. There will be an overflowing shower; and you, great hailstones, will fall. A stormy wind will tear it.
Ezek 13:16
to wit, the prophets of Israel who prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and who see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace,’ ” says the Lord Yahweh.’ ”
Ezek 34:24-26
24 I, Yahweh, will be their God, and my servant David prince among them. I, Yahweh, have spoken it.
25 “ ‘I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause evil animals to cease out of the land. They will dwell securely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. 26 I will make them and the places around my hill a blessing. I will cause the shower to come down in its season. There will be showers of blessing.
Ezek 37:26
Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them. It will be an everlasting covenant with them. I will place them, multiply them, and will set my sanctuary among them forever more.
Hag 2:9
‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says Yahweh of Armies; ‘and in this place I will give peace,’ says Yahweh of Armies.”
Mal 2:4-7
4 You will know that I have sent this commandment to you, that my covenant may be with Levi,” says Yahweh of Armies. 5 “My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him that he might be reverent toward me; and he was reverent toward me, and stood in awe of my name. 6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found in his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many away from iniquity. 7 For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of Yahweh of Armies.
Matt 5:9
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God.
Matt 10:34-36
“Don’t think that I came to send peace on the earth. I didn’t come to send peace, but a sword. 35 For I came to set a man at odds against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 A man’s foes will be those of his own household.
Mark 9:50
Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, with what will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
Luke 1:79
to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death;
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Luke 2:13-14
13 Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army praising God, and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
on earth peace, good will toward men.”
Luke 12:51-53
51 Do you think that I have come to give peace in the earth? I tell you, no, but rather division. 52 For from now on, there will be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son, and son against father; mother against daughter, and daughter against her mother; mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”
John 14:27
Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, I give to you. Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.
John 16:33
I have told you these things, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble; but cheer up! I have overcome the world.”
John 20:21
Jesus therefore said to them again, “Peace be to you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.”
Acts 9:31
So the assemblies throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace, and were built up. They were multiplied, walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 10:36
The word which he sent to the children of Israel, preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all—
Rom 1:7
to all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Rom 2:5-10
5 But according to your hardness and unrepentant heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath, revelation, and of the righteous judgment of God; 6 who “will pay back to everyone according to their works:” 7 to those who by perseverance in well-doing seek for glory, honor, and incorruptibility, eternal life; 8 but to those who are self-seeking, and don’t obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, will be wrath, indignation, 9 oppression, and anguish on every soul of man who does evil, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
10 But glory, honor, and peace go to every man who does good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Rom 3:17-18
17 The way of peace, they haven’t known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Rom 5:1
Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;
Rom 8:6
For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace;
Rom 10:15
And how will they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:
“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Good News of peace,
who bring glad tidings of good things!”
Rom 12:18
If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with all men.
Rom 14:19
So then, let’s follow after things which make for peace, and things by which we may build one another up.
Rom 15:13
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Rom 15:33
Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
Rom 16:20
And the God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
1Cor 1:3
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1Cor 7:15
Yet if the unbeliever departs, let there be separation. The brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us in peace.
2Cor 1:2
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2Cor 13:11
Finally, brothers, rejoice! Be perfected. Be comforted. Be of the same mind. Live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.
Gal 1:3
Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,
Gal 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith [or, faithfulness], 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Eph 1:2
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Eph 2:17
He came and preached peace to you who were far off and to those who were near.
Eph 4:1-3
1 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and humility, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Eph 6:15
and having fitted your feet with the preparation of the Good News of peace,
Eph 6:23
Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Phil 1:2
Grace to you, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Phil 4:6-7
6 In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.
Phil 4:9
The things which you learned, received, heard, and saw in me: do these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Col 1:2
to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Col 1:20
and through him to reconcile all things to himself by him, whether things on the earth or things in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of his cross.
Col 3:15
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body, and be thankful.
1Thess 1:1
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the assembly of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1Thess 5:3-4
3 For when they are saying, “Peace and safety,” then sudden destruction will come on them, like birth pains on a pregnant woman. Then they will in no way escape. 4 But you, brothers, aren’t in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief.
1Thess 5:12-13
12 But we beg you, brothers, to know those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you, 13 and to respect and honor them in love for their work’s sake.
Be at peace among yourselves.
1Thess 5:23
May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Thess 1:2
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2Thess 3:16
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with you all.
1Tim 1:2
to Timothy, my true child in faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
2Tim 1:2
to Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
2Tim 2:22
Flee from youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
Titus 1:4
to Titus, my true child according to a common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.
Phlm 1:3
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Heb 7:1-2
1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 to whom also Abraham divided a tenth part of all (being first, by interpretation, “king of righteousness”, and then also “king of Salem”, which means “king of peace”,
Heb 12:11
All chastening seems for the present to be not joyous but grievous; yet afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Heb 12:14
Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man will see the Lord,
Heb 13:20-21
20 Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus, 21 make you complete in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Jas 3:17-18
17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. 18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
1Pet 1:1-2
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the chosen ones who are living as foreigners in the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.
1Pet 3:11
Let him turn away from evil and do good.
Let him seek peace and pursue it.
1Pet 5:14
Greet one another with a kiss of love.
Peace be to all of you who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.
2Pet 1:2
Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
2Pet 3:14
Therefore, beloved, seeing that you look for these things, be diligent to be found in peace, without defect and blameless in his sight.
2John 1:3
Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
Rev 1:4-6
4 John, to the seven assemblies that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from God, who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits who are before his throne; 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and washed us from our sins by his blood— 6 and he made us to be a Kingdom, priests to his God and Father—to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Rev 6:4
Another came out: a red horse. To him who sat on it was given power to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another. There was given to him a great sword.
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Daily Office Readings March 17, 2020
Psalm 78
Psalm 78
God’s Goodness and Israel’s Ingratitude
A Maskil of Asaph.
1 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
3 things that we have heard and known,
that our ancestors have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children;
we will tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.
5 He established a decree in Jacob,
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to teach to their children;
6 that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and rise up and tell them to their children,
7 so that they should set their hope in God,
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments;
8 and that they should not be like their ancestors,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9 The Ephraimites, armed with[a] the bow,
turned back on the day of battle.
10 They did not keep God’s covenant,
but refused to walk according to his law.
11 They forgot what he had done,
and the miracles that he had shown them.
12 In the sight of their ancestors he worked marvels
in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.
13 He divided the sea and let them pass through it,
and made the waters stand like a heap.
14 In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
and all night long with a fiery light.
15 He split rocks open in the wilderness,
and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
16 He made streams come out of the rock,
and caused waters to flow down like rivers.
17 Yet they sinned still more against him,
rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18 They tested God in their heart
by demanding the food they craved.
19 They spoke against God, saying,
“Can God spread a table in the wilderness?
20 Even though he struck the rock so that water gushed out
and torrents overflowed,
can he also give bread,
or provide meat for his people?”
21 Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of rage;
a fire was kindled against Jacob,
his anger mounted against Israel,
22 because they had no faith in God,
and did not trust his saving power.
23 Yet he commanded the skies above,
and opened the doors of heaven;
24 he rained down on them manna to eat,
and gave them the grain of heaven.
25 Mortals ate of the bread of angels;
he sent them food in abundance.
26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
and by his power he led out the south wind;
27 he rained flesh upon them like dust,
winged birds like the sand of the seas;
28 he let them fall within their camp,
all around their dwellings.
29 And they ate and were well filled,
for he gave them what they craved.
30 But before they had satisfied their craving,
while the food was still in their mouths,
31 the anger of God rose against them
and he killed the strongest of them,
and laid low the flower of Israel.
32 In spite of all this they still sinned;
they did not believe in his wonders.
33 So he made their days vanish like a breath,
and their years in terror.
34 When he killed them, they sought for him;
they repented and sought God earnestly.
35 They remembered that God was their rock,
the Most High God their redeemer.
36 But they flattered him with their mouths;
they lied to him with their tongues.
37 Their heart was not steadfast toward him;
they were not true to his covenant.
38 Yet he, being compassionate,
forgave their iniquity,
and did not destroy them;
often he restrained his anger,
and did not stir up all his wrath.
39 He remembered that they were but flesh,
a wind that passes and does not come again.
40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
and grieved him in the desert!
41 They tested God again and again,
and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
42 They did not keep in mind his power,
or the day when he redeemed them from the foe;
43 when he displayed his signs in Egypt,
and his miracles in the fields of Zoan.
44 He turned their rivers to blood,
so that they could not drink of their streams.
45 He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them,
and frogs, which destroyed them.
46 He gave their crops to the caterpillar,
and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47 He destroyed their vines with hail,
and their sycamores with frost.
48 He gave over their cattle to the hail,
and their flocks to thunderbolts.
49 He let loose on them his fierce anger,
wrath, indignation, and distress,
a company of destroying angels.
50 He made a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death,
but gave their lives over to the plague.
51 He struck all the firstborn in Egypt,
the first issue of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52 Then he led out his people like sheep,
and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
53 He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid;
but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54 And he brought them to his holy hill,
to the mountain that his right hand had won.
55 He drove out nations before them;
he apportioned them for a possession
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
56 Yet they tested the Most High God,
and rebelled against him.
They did not observe his decrees,
57 but turned away and were faithless like their ancestors;
they twisted like a treacherous bow.
58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places;
they moved him to jealousy with their idols.
59 When God heard, he was full of wrath,
and he utterly rejected Israel.
60 He abandoned his dwelling at Shiloh,
the tent where he dwelt among mortals,
61 and delivered his power to captivity,
his glory to the hand of the foe.
62 He gave his people to the sword,
and vented his wrath on his heritage.
63 Fire devoured their young men,
and their girls had no marriage song.
64 Their priests fell by the sword,
and their widows made no lamentation.
65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
like a warrior shouting because of wine.
66 He put his adversaries to rout;
he put them to everlasting disgrace.
67 He rejected the tent of Joseph,
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;
68 but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loves.
69 He built his sanctuary like the high heavens,
like the earth, which he has founded forever.
70 He chose his servant David,
and took him from the sheepfolds;
71 from tending the nursing ewes he brought him
to be the shepherd of his people Jacob,
of Israel, his inheritance.
72 With upright heart he tended them,
and guided them with skillful hand.
Footnotes:
Psalm 78:9 Heb armed with shooting
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Genesis 45:1-15
Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers
45 Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Send everyone away from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. 3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.
4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9 Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. 10 You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11 I will provide for you there—since there are five more years of famine to come—so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.’ 12 And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you. 13 You must tell my father how greatly I am honored in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.” 14 Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
1 Corinthians 7:32-40
32 I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; 33 but the married man is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin are anxious about the affairs of the Lord, so that they may be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please her husband. 35 I say this for your own benefit, not to put any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and unhindered devotion to the Lord.
36 If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his fiancée,[a] if his passions are strong, and so it has to be, let him marry as he wishes; it is no sin. Let them marry. 37 But if someone stands firm in his resolve, being under no necessity but having his own desire under control, and has determined in his own mind to keep her as his fiancée,[b] he will do well. 38 So then, he who marries his fiancée[c] does well; and he who refrains from marriage will do better.
39 A wife is bound as long as her husband lives. But if the husband dies,[d] she is free to marry anyone she wishes, only in the Lord. 40 But in my judgment she is more blessed if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.
Footnotes:
1 Corinthians 7:36 Gk virgin
1 Corinthians 7:37 Gk virgin
1 Corinthians 7:38 Gk virgin
1 Corinthians 7:39 Gk falls asleep
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Mark 6:1-13
The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth
6 He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary[a] and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense[b] at him. 4 Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.” 5 And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. 6 And he was amazed at their unbelief.
The Mission of the Twelve
Then he went about among the villages teaching. 7 He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; 9 but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. 10 He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. 11 If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. 13 They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
Footnotes:
Mark 6:3 Other ancient authorities read son of the carpenter and of Mary
Mark 6:3 Or stumbled
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Arplis - News: Coronavirus and Kids: Doctors Answer Parents’ COVID-19 Questions
The coronavirus is here and parents have questions about the threat COVID-19 poses to the health of their children. As of now, answers have not been satisfactory, consistent, or satisfactorily consistent. Early studies out of China suggest that though mortality rates are low — though still highly worrisome at a population level — novel coronavirus does pose a serious risk to children as well as the elderly, specifically some children with pre-existing conditions. That said, all children can be vectors for the disease and scientist have not yet uncovered any patterns in infection that might justify complacency. Outcomes among infants, in particular, have been varied and have many front-line medical workers we’ve spoken to are worried.
This story, which will be updated frequently until scientific consensus is reached on the questions posed, is intended to be an up-to-date accounting of what epidemiologists, doctors, and public health workers know so far. All quotes are timestamped because available information is becoming outdated rapidly. Answers should be understood in light of that fact. Just because we believe we know something now does not mean that thing is true. A lot of hypotheses have yet to be tested. In the meantime, the best approach is to maintain social distance and to stay informed.
Will coronavirus kill or hurt my kids?
Dr. John Williams, Chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. April 7, 2020 (12:30PM): Currently, there is not much data on kids and coronavirus. Some respiratory illnesses, such as the seasonal flu (influenza), put children at risk of serious health complications. Each year, the flu causes millions of illnesses, thousands of hospitalizations, and some deaths in children. COVID-19, however, appears to be affecting children at a much lower rate. Less than 1% of all COVID-19 hospitalizations in the US are of children. The biggest concern for kids in our country are those with underlying conditions. All of our children’s hospitals, including mine, are doing what we can to protect these vulnerable kids while we learn whether they truly have increased risk.
Dr. Logan Spector, Division Director and Professor, Pediatric Epidemiology and Clinical Research at University of Minnesota, March 24, 2020 (5PM): When it comes to young children, my biggest takeaway is that most severe cases [of COVID-19 in young children] were suffered by children with very serious conditions. In the New England Journal study, three severe cases had leukemia, hydronephrosis, and intussusception. So my takeaway from that is that even among children, the worst cases require comorbidities to have the worse outcome. My day job is studying pediatric cancer and I can tell you it’s not especially common.
Dr. Neel Shah, Director of the Delivery Decisions Initiative at Ariadne Labs and assistant professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School March 20 (1:30PM): There are some neonatal transmissions, but it doesn’t seem like infants and neonates are severely affected. We think of people who are pregnant and infants as vulnerable. But we mean that in a lot of different ways. Simply because they’re not likely to be severely infected does not mean they aren’t affected.
Strains on the healthcare system mean ambulatory services are shutting down, prenatal and postpartum support is being shut down. Social distancing impacts pregnancies too. It’s simply harder to get labor support — from doulas or even family members. And there’s always been concern about social isolation after having a baby. Even more so now.
Barun Mathema, Assistant Professor Epidemiology Columbia University; March 22 (11AM): The most recent evidence from China that shows that children are vulnerable, or at least more so than previously thought. Younger children being a higher risk for more serious clinical symptoms than older children. It appears that mortality is still somewhat rare among children.
Barun Mathema, March 18 (11AM): I’ll preface this by saying we’re all confused. Initially, it was confusing that kids weren’t hit because we were wondering if the disease would follow the patterning of pandemic influenza where the curve is a beautiful bell with age on the bottom. Seasonal flu is the opposite, a u-shape. And initially, this didn’t fit either scenario. COVID-19 seemed like a geometric curve from low to high in terms of severity, but now that picture is getting muddled. We’re seeing folks under 50 with morbidity. We’re seeing teenagers and younger kids with fairly severe symptoms.
There was a sliver of pediatric cases and a sliver of pediatric deaths in China. Kids get colds a lot so there was a theory that some are caused by coronaviruses and so there’s partial immunity. There was also the thought that the ACE2 receptor might not be well expressed in children so there could be inefficient entry. Arguably we should be seeing a huge surge in cases, but questions remain unresolved. One can simply say that given a large sample size and a small morbidity, we’re still talking about a big number.
Dr. Jan Dumois, Pediatric Infectious Diseases physician at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. March 16, 2020 (4:30PM): “There’s a new article where they review 2100 kids who were suspected to have COVID-19. There was one child who died — teen. Only one. Otherwise, all the other kids survived, but they did have different degrees of severity of illness. Sicker kids tended to be younger and needed more aggressive medical care before they were sent home. … not just showing up to the emergency room and being sent home. Patients who ended up in hospital because they needed oxygen. Or they were found to have pneumonia. Then there were some uncommon cases that needed to be on a respirator. Younger children are more likely to be sicker and require hospitalization. Or to be on a ventilator. Sometimes heart. Or the dysfunction of the kidney. It was more common in children less than one. “
Ryan Demmer, PhD, University of Minnesota Division of Epidemiology and Community Health. March 16, 2020 (11AM): Kids who had preexisting conditions, particularly chronic or complex medical conditions, were more likely to have adverse medical outcomes and more likely to have severe ones at that. The co-morbidities that seemed to be the most troubling are with asthma and cystic fibrosis. Children with upper respiratory disease seem to be at risk.
While the absolute numbers are low in terms of mortality among young people, there’s a .01 percent mortality rate for flu in youth and early numbers in kids with COVID-19 put the figure around .2. That’s not high, but it’s a 20 fold-increase. If I told you a plane was twenty times more likely that other planes to crash, you would not get on that plane.
How can I avoid getting the virus?
Dyan Hes, MD, Medical Director of Gramercy Pediatrics in New York City and Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. April 9, 2020 (12:00PM): Stay at home. If you have to go to work, you should wear a mask or bandana. You have to wash your hands when you come in from outside. Wash your hands repeatedly throughout the day as you have contact with other people. Some people say that washing your hands every 20 minutes is the best way to decrease the spread of the virus. Don’t touch your face. A lot of people choose to wear gloves whenever they’re out in public, but then they don’t take the gloves off immediately. If you use your gloves outside, when you’re commuting to work let’s say, then touch your phone, your phone is now contaminated. But people don’t think about that. Wearing gloves might be useless because you have this false sense of protection. You really have to understand the use of protective wear.
John Williams, April 7, 2020 (12:30PM): Preventing the spread of COVID-19 from one person in the family to others can be challenging but can be accomplished. For families with older adults or people in their households with chronic illnesses, consideration should be given to see if there is a way to have that person stay with another relative while your child with COVID-19 recovers. If that is not possible, you should work to separate your child from as many of the other household members as possible. This could be accomplished by having the child with COVID-19 stay in one part of the home while those with chronic conditions could stay in another part. In addition, keeping your child with COVID-19 more than 6 feet away from the other people in your home combined with frequent handwashing and cleaning of places like door handles and hard surfaces with bleach containing products can be successful. You should also teach your child with COVID-19 to cover their cough with their elbow and to wash their hands frequently, especially if they are going to be in common areas used by others in the home. People who are sick can wear a cloth mask to reduce transmission to others.
Ashlesha Kaushik, MD, FAAP, Pediatric Infectious Disease Physician and Director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at UnityPoint Health St. Luke’s. April 6, 2020 (3:00PM): The CDC has advised people all across the country that everybody out in public places like a mall or a clinic needs to cover their faces now. They don’t need to use medical or surgical masks for that. Those will be reserved for patients that are sick with symptoms or are being seen actively in a healthcare facility. But for the general public, they’re saying that keeping the nose and mouth area covered will halt the spread of the virus from asymptomatic people.
Barun Mathema; March 22 (11AM) I think the basic rule of thumb is keeping the kids in situations where there is very little density — and certainly keeping the hands clean. So this may be easier in peri-urban or rural locales. Personally, having kids run around outside is really important for general physical and mental health (also for the parents) but not having much or any physical contact would be the goal – this includes surfaces that may be contaminated. It’s hard not to be preachy about things but I will try to politely keep my distance and also explain that even if we do not personally feel at risk, our behavior can (without malintent) put members of our community at risk….we may not even know who is at risk.
Barun Mathema; March 18 (11AM): Just because the elderly and folks with preexisting conditions are vulnerable doesn’t leave everyone else off the hook. This is a serious infection. We read about asymptomatic carriers and minor disease and, yes, many people have had it and will without even noticing. That’s true. It’s also true that three to five percent of otherwise healthy individuals will end up with a serious disease that could require ventilation. Many will recover but it will be an uphill battle. Social distancing and flattening the curve are the answer to this, especially given that a middle-age group will wind up responsible for taking care of most people.
Juan Dumois, March 16, 2020 (4:30PM): The biggest study was able to detect some patients that had no symptoms but were infected. Found quite a few of those. Almost 100. The study wasn’t really designed to look for asymptomatic kids. That study hasn’t yet been published.
When should I get my kid tested?
Dyan Hes, April 9, 2020 (12:00PM): Right now, we’re not testing children in New York City. Your child will only be tested at this point, at least in New York City where we’re having more cases than any country around the world, if they’re in severe respiratory distress and need to be hospitalized. We have to assume that 80% of the colds that are going around now are COVID. We’re not testing because the kids’ cases have been very mild. The only children in my practice that have been tested have been newborns whose parents have been positive. So you don’t have to run to get your child tested if you are sick.
Lindsay Thompson, April 7, 2020 (3:00PM): We unfortunately across the country do not yet have enough screening tests to be able to test children who are fairly well-appearing. It’s not usually until they’re so sick that they might have to go to the emergency room that we do the testing. So I think parents sometimes get frustrated that they can’t know for sure but are told they could have COVID-19. If they’re doing okay, you just need to go home and stay there for two weeks in quarantine. That doesn’t feel as rewarding as getting a test, but in some situations, we’re not able to test everybody. The parents may have to trust their pediatrician to assess that their child at that moment is doing okay.
John Williams, April 7, 2020 (12:30PM): The major concern and the reason for a child to be tested, is only if the child had severe symptoms, which would primarily be difficulty breathing. Children may have fever, which makes them feel bad, but fever isn’t dangerous. If a child has a runny nose or cough, but isn’t having trouble breathing and is drinking ok, they don’t need to be tested and are probably best kept at home.
Barun Mathema; March 18 (11AM): Public health is a very socialist approach. It means health for all trumps health for the individual. This is the antithesis of precision medicine. At this point, as a parent and a public health person, I feel that if a kid is exhibiting alarming symptoms — not a runny nose, but maybe a fever or something that looks unlike a regular cold — parents should consider taking the kid in. But, on some level, it’s important to recognize there’s nothing you’d do differently if your kid tested positive. If children are heavily symptomatic, take them in and get them admitted. Otherwise, you’re going home and observing. Still, there’s some virtue in knowing that you likely have it and that other people in your network likely have it as well.
Georges Benjamin, March 18, 2020: That’s up to every doctor right now. They’re not testing very many kids. I think most kids are only being tested when there’s an emergency. Call the number in the community you’re given, usually the local health department, because these guidelines are changing literally every day.
Sophia Thomas, March 18, 2020: If they have a fever, if they have a cough, they should contact their medical provider to see how they want to handle this. A requirement for testing is patients have to have a negative flu test. With children, oftentimes you would want to do a Strep test as well. If those tests are negative, then they may be eligible to have a COVID-19 test. However, because of the relative shortage of tests right now, different medical practices are doing different things. Some are having to prioritize using the test for the most vulnerable or the ones that have most potential for complications.
Dr. Juan Dumois, Pediatric Infectious Diseases physician at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, March 16, 2020 (4:30PM): One of the main things that’s going to be changing the way we deal with the pandemic is the availability of testing. It will become more available as the weeks go on. We have more availability this week than last. And tons more this week… some are doing it in their hospitals. We hope to be able to do that test sometime in the next month. As the ability to rapidly and readily do a test where you get results in a few hours and a few days will change the dynamic of people we aren’t currently testing.
Something that might happen int he next six months would be a doctor in the clinic to swab a patient’s nose and get results the next day. Right now we can’t offer the test to everybody and it’s taking 5 days to get results back.
My child has the virus. Now what?
Lindsay Thompson, April 7, 2020 (3:00PM): Hopefully most parents have identified a primary care provider that they can call. I do recommend calling first. Almost all practices have instituted their own version of social distancing, and a lot of practices now offer telemedicine visits. As a pediatrician, you can learn a lot from what’s going on with the child by talking to the parents and seeing the child through telemedicine, so that can be very helpful. I do not recommend going straight to an emergency room unless you can tell that your child is having severe breathing problems or anything like that because we worry that places like emergency rooms inadvertently are spreading the virus or other illnesses that we wouldn’t want your child to get.
There’s some really good resources on the CDC website about taking care of anybody who lives in your house with COVID-19. But children need their parents. If there are other children, I would recommend that if you live in a two-parent household only one parent takes care of that child and the other parent takes care of the other children to try to minimize exposure. If you have the luxury of being able to put that child in their own room with their own bathroom, that would be what I recommend. Really try to isolate them even within the home. Don’t share any plates, cups, knives and forks. Make sure everything is separate. I might even recommend a different meal time for that child compared to the other children. I know it sounds pretty grim. But you really need to separate these children from the rest of the family if possible.
Ashlesha Kaushik, April 6, 2020 (3:00PM): At this point, when we are in the mode of social distancing, pediatricians don’t want to leave the families alone, so parents should call the pediatrician if they are worried about anything — be it symptoms that they might think are related to COVID-19 or to any other stress they’re feeling. The pediatrician can offer emotional support as well as offer valuable medical advice. If the symptoms are really mild, they can advise parents how to keep the children hydrated by making them drink enough water or using Tylenol for fever control.
Georges Benjamin, MD, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association. March 18, 2020 (2PM): When kids get really sick, they often don’t eat enough and they often don’t drink enough. Usually, you can coax them to take small sips of water throughout the day. The most important thing is making sure the kid isn’t very, very sick and doesn’t need medical care right now. Most kids do just fine with this.
Sophia Thomas, March 18, 2020 (11AM): Certainly children right now are catching COVID-19, but they are less likely to have complications. Those are children who just need to be isolated for 14 days. If you suspect your child has the virus, you can simply just keep them at home and care for them unless they start having serious problems such as breathing difficulties.
Barun Mathema; March 18 (11AM): I have kids. If they got it, as a public health person, I would be more concerned about them giving it to someone else. Let your healthcare provider know and then basically take care of your child and enhance social distancing. If you have a nanny, give them a call. The health department doesn’t have the capacity to do that.
I have coronavirus, now what?
Juan Dumois, March 23, 2020 (3:30PM): I think a lot of physicians in infectious diseases are hopeful about some of the treatments being investigated for the sickest patients with COVID-19. And while the official stance is there are no proven drugs (and this is correct) there are promising drugs that are being tested on patients with COVID-19. Unfortunately, we’ll start seeing shortages of all these drugs if we do find drugs that kill the virus.
Elisa Choi, MD, Internal Medicine & Infectious Disease Specialist at Atrius Health. March 23, 2020 (8:30AM):`If someone is having significant difficulty breathing, they may need to get further assessed, and home treatment may not be appropriate. Likewise, if someone is having very high fevers, it may be important to get them evaluated. But if someone can be safely managed at home, at this point in time the management strategy for someone who is either suspected of COVID-19 or has confirmed COVID-19 is supportive care and symptom management. So, for example, if someone has a mild cough, you can try over-the-counter remedies to manage that cough. If someone is having muscle aches, again it would be over-the-counter remedies to manage all of those symptoms.
Barun Mathema; March 18 (11AM): This is a tough question. If you have coronavirus and kids you get tested and you find out that you’re positive. At that point, you can assume that a fraction if not all household members are positive. It’s different if you’ve flown in or been screened prior to symptoms. So you may want to self-isolate. But those lines are blurring. All the quarantining will be a moot point because we’ll all be there. The question is just how extreme or expansive. It’s a guessing game, but you want to isolate you and probably your family.
How scared should I be for my parents?
Elisa Choi, March 23, 2020 (8:30 AM): COVID-19 might have increased the risk of significant complications in older individuals, including the worst complication, which is death related to COVID-19. It is understandable that many adults may worry about their elderly parents with COVID-19, particularly since we don’t have a vaccine for this illness, and there is, as of today, nothing that has been concretely proven as a successful therapeutic. It’s very reasonable to be worried. That being said, the majority of people who contract COVID-19 do tend to have relatively milder symptoms. However, if an adult has specific concerns about their parent because they may have multiple other chronic illnesses or might be immunocompromised, which are some other risk factors for more severe COVID-19 disease, it’s certainly worth being particularly mindful of the current recommendations for minimizing spread of COVID-19. If an adult has concerns about themselves having COVID-19, they should reach out and seek clinical evaluation sooner rather than later, particularly if they are a caretaker of their older parent or are living in the same household as their older parent.
Dr. Alicia Ines Arbaje M.P.H., Ph.D. Director of Transitional Care Research, Johns Hopkins Medicine, March 19 (5 PM): Generally we should be concerned about how health systems can respond to the surge of people coming in. People who are coming to the hospital should be the sickest. If it so happens that they should be older, that is what it is. People who are having milder symptoms should be managed at home. It’s more level of need and not so much level of aid. ERs are set up to triage people appropriately. My biggest concern is that we don’t have the supplies or staffing to help care for people when they come. We haven’t gotten to that point yet, but it’s a real concern. How are we going to mobilize our resources?
Dr. Mary Tinetti, Professor of Medicine and Public Health and is Chief of Geriatrics at Yale School of Medicine March 19, 2020 (11AM): We should be very worried. Most of the data we are able to look at are coming out of Italy and some modeling epidemiologists are doing in the rest of the world is showing positive testing in all age groups. But who is getting seriously ill? The vast majority are people 60 and older. The key in focusing on 60 and older is for their own good and the good of everyone else. They’re more likely to use healthcare resources. More likely to die. All the care consumed by them may limit care for younger people.
For this population especially, the more social isolation the better. This means if you’re over 60 especially don’t go out in public, don’t be within 6 feet of anyone, get deliveries or get someone else to drop off your groceries and medications, and get tested if you can. If we start looking at the asymptomatic 60 year old we’ll see how serious it is. Once it’s available. All localities are prioritizing. The more we know the better. So get tested.
Sophia Thomas, March 18, 2020 (2PM: This is a virus that knows no social barriers, and we do know that older people and people with comorbid conditions including hypertension, heart disease, COPD and asthma tend to have worse outcomes. So all grandparents — anybody over the age of 60 — should take this very seriously and practice social isolation. My mother was going to come and visit me and I just told her stay where you are. We’ll FaceTime and I’ll see you next month.
Dr. Logan Spector, March 18, 2020 (11AM): Look to Italy. One of the reasons it is hit so hard is that it had one of the oldest populations in Europe. I really doubt that’s going to change at all. There have been nearly 200,000 reports and we can say with pretty good statistical certainty who are impacted and it’s very clear the elderly are hardest hit. It’s still not clear to me how much of that is just reduced immune function versus co-morbidities. The older you are, the more likely you are to have a pulmonary disease that compounds the effect of a respiratory virus. But there is still a risk in older people who don’t have co-morbidities. That points to lower immune function as we age.
Ryan Demmer, March 16, 2020: I think we should move forward with caution because mortality rates aren’t just linked to the properties of the disease. They are often a product of the environment or context of the disease. China is not America. In America, we have varied healthcare access and high rates of asthma. That could portend worse outcomes in this country. I should state clearly that there’s no evidence of that yet, but we should be cautious.
When will things go back to normal?
Dyan Hes, April 9, 2020 (12:00PM): I’m not that optimistic right now because we do not have a federal law in place to stay at home. Big cities that have been hit like Detroit, New York City, Chicago, Miami, those cities have good stay-at-home rules in place, and I think they’re working. Staying at home works. But what’s going to happen is once we conquer this epidemic in New York, it’s going to spread to other states and cities that have not been implementing stay-at-home. I fear that it’s going to spread across the country and it will get to places like Arizona where up until a week ago you could go get a mani-pedi. Those states will have outbreaks, and I fear it’s going to come back because you can travel from state to state. Not all people are that ethical. Not all people are keeping quarantine. I almost had to report a family yesterday to Child Services because they’re not keeping their quarantine. We hope people stay at home, but not everybody is that altruistic. I feel like what’s going to happen is they’re going to find a treatment before we’re able to stop it based on human behavior.
Lindsay Thompson, April 7, 2020 (3:00PM): I wish I knew. There’s no magic formula, and certainly, I think we’ll never be the same. So I’m not quite sure what normal will be. But most importantly, it’s not going to be a one-day event where everything turns back to normal. It’s going to be a little bit of loosening different recommendations in different places. If we suddenly all went back to what we were doing before, there would be another round of severe illness for lots of people. Just take a deep breath. Get ready because this may take a while. But the longer we take, the less people will be hurt. So patience is really really important. And selfless.
Ashlesha Kaushik, April 6, 2020 (3:00PM): What the CDC has been projecting is that it will take at least a few weeks to a few months, but nobody is exactly sure about the timeline. They are waiting for the curve to flatten out. The curve is yet to peak, which is the scary part. We haven’t yet reached the peak in the United States. They were projecting the peak to be sometime this week or the next coming week. The few upcoming weeks will be really tough. The more we practice the social distancing measures, the more we can expect to flatten out the curve. That is still a long way to go.
Dr. Logan Spector March 24, 2020 (5PM):“Once you let your foot off the brake of social distancing, will you have resurgent cases? Almost certainly. If we all stayed in our houses we would squelch this thing. The virus would die with that. If there are still people out and about who are infected, it will be reintroduced. That’s always been acknowledged. The idea is to spread it out enough to make sure we have healthcare capacity and give the medical community some time to manufacture PPE and develop a vaccine. Let’s just say that any politician — really anyone — who thinks he knows better than virologists and epidemiologists at this point doesn’t have his head on straight.”
Juan Dumois, March 23, 2020 (3:30 PM): Over the last several day I’ve been looking at some of our local COVID-19 patients (in the Tampa Bay Area) who tested positive The numbers are still relatively small, and I suspect that may be a benefit of the social distancing we’re doing. That makes me optimistic. We may already be having a positive effect. However, i don’t think anyone should be lulled into complacency or thinking that this will be over soon. We need to bear it out for several more months.
Elisa Choi, March 23, 2020 (8:30 AM): Where we are now is the infection and the illness is spreading. I’ll speak to Massachusetts because that’s the state I’m in. The number of cases is increasing daily. So we’re in the phase of the illness where there’s still exponential rise in new cases. Now definitely is not a time where we can scale back on measures to mitigate the spread of infection. It’s really hard to give a firm number or a firm timeline of when all of these kinds of measures can be retracted. My sense of how this would play out, though, is once there’s a plateau reached in terms of how many new infections are being detected every day, there may need to be some gradual reduction in some of the current mitigation measures. And it may not be able to be done all at once. It will need to be determined as we get to that plateau point. How long that will be is uncertain. If we reflect on what’s happening in some of the countries in Asia where they have reached that point — China would probably be the best example — it was about two or so months before they got to that point. Things may be different in the U.S. and things may be different moving from state to state in the U.S.
Georges Benjamin, March 18, 2020 (2PM): We don’t know. There are estimates out there that this could go anywhere through a month or two. Those are probably reasonable assumptions. A month or two does not necessarily mean that all of us will be sequestered for a month or two. We just don’t know. We’ve never done this before.
Sophia Thomas, DNP, President of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. March 18, 2020 (2:30PM): I think this is our new normal for a while. I heard something yesterday that the CDC anticipates that the peak of this might be in May. I think for the next six to eight weeks we’re going to be dealing with this. I don’t anticipate a resolution anytime soon. If people really stick to the social distancing and listen to the advice of the CDC, we could actually see this resolved much sooner by limiting people’s exposure.
Logan Spector, March 18, 2020 (11:10AM EST): Obviously this is unprecedented in modern memory. Everyone is talking about the 1918 flu pandemic and there a lot of the same characteristics as most flu, but the problem with COVID-19 is that there seems to be asymptomatic transmission. Isolating people with symptoms is a first response — and it’s a logical one. When SARS and MERS came out, this was done as well. But those did not seem to have asymptomatic transmission. I think everyone is trying to do their part including those working from home, but it will take time.
Ryan Demmer, March 16, 2020:From a population health perspective the main issue remains not infecting others. There’s no evidence kids don’t get infected or transmit, just that they’re less effected by the disease. Our key goal has to be social distancing. The growth curve is still coming.
The question is where the peak will be. Probably May-ish. And I’m not saying it’s going to go away…. After the peak, we’ll start coming down. What I’m interested in from an ecological point of view is what’s happening in South Korea and Wuhan. They’re saying there’s one case in the province which I find dumbfounding. And there was an impressive decline in South Korea. So if that’s true —and there’s no second peak — that would be fantastic news…. If there’s a second peak that could be as bad if not worse. COVID-19 could come back in the Fall only to finish off in the spring of 2021 when we have a vaccine. That’s a harsh but not unrealistic scenario.
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