#they got everything together despite the gov literally trying to kill them and they did GREAT

[beaversatemygrandma]

I’m watching an informative thing on the No Child Left Behind Act and whatnot, and I’m now suddenly aware of what exactly those teachers meant when they said that I skewed their test results just enough to save the school from shutting down.

Like, when i was in 3rd grade, i moved from a city with proper school funding to a small farm town in the middle of nowhere with Very Little funding. Like a school with 35 or so kids per grade, and maybe 120 total. Small enough that one kid Could Indeed alter the averages. I passed their standardized tests with flying colors bc most of that 3rd grade stuff was stuff i learned in previous years just now with the addition of multiplication and such. And well, due to the laws related to the No Child Left Behind Act, if the school wasn’t preforming well enough, its funding gets cut and slowly but surely gets to the point where it may have to shut down. (Yes, this is half the reason why schools in the US are awful.) As it turns out, that school was on its last legs and it was getting ready to shut down and transfer all of its kids to the city twenty miles away. Me and two other kids aced the test which skewed the average enough to leave them safe for the next two years. (I got them competitive bc I threatened their top student role tbh, the weird part is I was at most a B-average student when put into a proper school.) 

Anywho. That’s how I kept a town with a population of 800 keep its only elementary school because of an act from the government that was only put in place because America was too low in education averages in comparison to the rest of the world. (It got worse, btw. Shocking I know. /s)

[xxdecipheringgravityfallsxx]

To those STILL saying Ford doesn’t care about his family---

I’ve noticed that some people say that Ford doesn’t care about his family. I don’t know where people get that from but----

UHHHH excuse me---

When Ford and Stan were fighting and after Ford accidentally burned Stan against the machine, he immediately apologized to Stan, with a concerned look on his face and asked him if he was alright. 

Remember, Ford never wanted to fight with Stan in the first place, he just wanted his journal and he wasn’t aiming to hurt Stan. It was just rotten luck that Ford pushed Stan into the hot part of the machinery here. 

Then when Stan finally brought Ford back and after they told their stories and after the issue with the US GOV was taken care of 

The first thing Ford did after that was say a joke with Stan to try and ease the tension between the two of them if only for a little bit.

Stan: Look at us, when did we become old men?

Ford: You look like dad!

Stan: UEGH! Don’t say that!

Ford and Stan: both smile and laugh together

You can see it in Ford’s expression that he cares about Stan. it isn’t until Stan brings up the fact Ford still hasn’t thanked him. Which is a VERY touchy subject between the two of them right now.

 After everything that happened it was NOT a good time for Stan to be asking for a thank you. Yes Stan earned that ‘thank you’ by working 30 yrs of his life to bring Ford back.

 However you can’t force someone to be thankful, otherwise their thank you won’t be sincere. Also Stan did take Ford’s life by taking over his identity and also his house. 

Yes Stan did this to bring Ford back, but you’d probably be pissed if someone took your identity. It’s identity theft, even if the theft was for a good reason. 

The timing wasn’t the right timing. Also as far as we know, Stan never did apologize for breaking Ford’s machine. Even if it was an accident. They were both in the wrong. Stan for not apologizing to Ford, and Ford not thanking Stan.

But forgiveness doesn’t always come easy. If someone ruined my chances at a big opportunity even if it was an accident I know I’d find it hard to forgive them. 

And even thank them if they did rescue me from another dimension, also not to mention Stan was the reason Ford got stuck there in the first place. 

I’d not be too keen on forgiving someone that cost me my dream school or rob me 30 yrs of my life by sending me to another dimension even if it was an accident.

So I can totally understand Ford not thanking Stan in the moment, especially since Ford just got back.

Anyways after that Stan basically tells Ford to stay away from Dipper and Mabel and that they were his only family left.

As you can see Ford appears to somewhat tense up at this statement.

Ford obviously still cares. He’s just taken aback and doesn’t know what to say and is still upset. It would be hard for anyone to say anything under those circumstance - much less reconcile with someone. Especially after they storm off and away from you.

So it’s obvious Ford still cares DEEPLY for Stan. It’s just been so long that they have a hard time reconciling with each other because of all the bitterness they’ve harbored against each other.

Ford also cares deeply for Dipper and Mabel.

Ford dropped all his research just to spend some time with Dipper to have fun with him.

Then when they need to protect the shack from Bill, Ford trusts Mabel enough to give her a crossbow and for her to go get the Unicorn hair.

Then after Mabel comes back with the Unicorn hair, Ford praises her for protecting her family and calls her a good person. And this is heartwarming because through the entire episode the Unicorn was telling Mabel she wasn’t pure of heart and that she was a bad person.

Look at the way Mabel smiles, her eyes glisten and she has tears in them. Ford just brightened the horizon on one of her worst days ever. 

Then when Ford and Dipper go into the alien site to find the adhesive to fix the rift, Ford puts his life on the line for Dipper. Ford didn’t even think about himself in that moment, he jumped in to protect Dipper even if it could have cost him his life.

Then after Ford is taken into the space bubble, he tells Dipper to save the world and that he’ll have to do it without him. Ford wanted Dipper to get to safety and not worry about him. 

Ford wanted Dipper to escape, to save the world, so Dipper -and the rest of his family- and the entire world could continue to exist without fear of “The End Of The World” over their heads. Ford didn’t want Dipper to risk himself for him. Ford would sooner be imprisoned than let his nephew get harmed.

Then in Weirdmaggedon, when Dipper rushes off to find Mabel, instead of Ford letting Dipper run off he stops him. Because he doesn’t want Dipper charging out into Weirdmageddon recklessly because he could get hurt. 

Then after failing to get rid of Bill, Ford without any regard for his own safety- instructs Dipper to run and get down so he can be safe from Bill. 

Ford doesn’t CARE what Bill does to him he only cares about what Bill could possibly do to Dipper. And we all know later that Bill doesn’t have ANY issue in killing children.

When Mabel and Dipper use the Shack as a weapon, Ford cheers them on even though they aren’t there.

And then Bill even says: “Wow those kids really care about you...and you really care about THEM DON’T YOU?!!”

We literally see the absolute fear in his eyes when Bill speaks about torturing Dipper and Mabel. Ford is terrified of this and looks as though he’s about to beg Bill not to hurt Dipper and Mabel. 

You can hear it in his voice that he doesn’t want Dipper or Mabel hurt and that he CARES immensely for them and wants to keep them safe.

Then after Dipper and Mabel free everyone, including Ford, Ford is so relieved to see them safe. He scoops them up in his arms and proudly proclaims that they did it. And then he laughs happily and in relief.

Then Ford apologizes for his hand in causing the end of the world. And he begs Stan to help him fix it. Just look at the way he looks at Stan! Ford is obviously flooded with guilt and remorse for everything that’s happened and I’m not just talking about the end of the world either. 

He also appears that he’s apologetic towards Stan as well and when Stan tells him to thank him - Ford finally thanks Stan. He looks annoyed by Stan’s attitude but since it is a dire situation it is understandable- but he finally thanks him.

Also this is just a smaller piece, but look at how proud Ford looks when Mabel literally spraypaints a interdemensional demon in his eye! Look at his huge goofy nerdy grin!

Then when Dipper tells Ford and Stan to run and save themselves, you can see that Ford is like: OH HELL NAH! THAT’S A SUICIDE MISSION! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING! - Ford is as equally terrified for Dipper and Mabel as Stan is in this scene. They know Bill won’t hesitate to hurt the kids.

Then after Dipper and Mabel run away Ford yells out to them: NO IT’S TOO DANGEROUS! Both Stan and Ford are ready to rush after them but get stopped by Bill.

Then when Stan says: 

“I can’t believe this! The kids are gonna die and it’s all my fault. All because I couldn’t shake your stupid hand!”

Look at the way Ford looks over to him. Ford looks so distraught and guilty. Look at the hurt in Ford’s eyes. You can’t tell me Ford doesn’t care about Stan at all. He shares in Stan’s pain and guilt here. 

And then when Stan blames himself, Ford tells him not to. Ford is taking responsibility for his part in Weirdmaggedon and reassuring his distraught brother that it isn’t his fault.

Then Ford is willing to risk the entire world on the chance that Bill will free the kids. He’s willing to give up the secret to the barrier if it means no harm comes to Dipper and Mabel. 

After Stan suggests that Bill goes into his mind, Ford refuses. And flat out tells Stan that he has to do it. Ford knows that there’s nothing Bill wants in Stan’s head and that this deal might be the only way for Ford to save the kids and Stan as well. 

He wants to save not only Dipper and Mabel, but Stan as well. However they come up with a plan and switch clothes to trick Bill.

Now look at Ford, look at how unsteady his hold on the gun is. He obviously doesn’t want to erase Stan’s mind. The very thought of erasing Stan’s mind is causing him pain. 

This scene right here shows how much Ford cares for Stan despite everything and it shows how much Ford doesn’t want to lose Stan. Even if it’s the only way to save the world.

Then after Stan’s mind is erased, Ford is overcome with grief fearing that his brother is gone for good. He calls Stan their hero and he hugs him. 

Look at how broken he is! He’s convinced that Stan’s memories are gone and that he’s lost Stan forever. This is the first time we’ve seen Ford cry in the series. And what brought him to tears was the fact he feared his brother was gone.

 Nothing ELSE has brought Ford to tears except this. You cannot sit here and tell me Ford doesn’t care! LOOK AT HIM! HE’S FUCKING DEVASTATED!

Then when Stan starts to remember, look at that big smile Ford has! And then Ford laughs along with everyone else while Mabel helps Stan to remember! Ford is so happy that not all hope is lost for Stan; and that Stan is going to be able to remember who he is.

Then after Stan remembers and the kids have their party, Ford finally revives their childhood hopes of going on an adventure of a lifetime. Showing that Ford wants to make full amends with Stan. So they can both make up their mistakes towards each other.

And then when Mabel and Dipper are getting ready to leave, and when the Bus driver says animals aren’t allowed - we can see Ford show the driver his gun. Ford was about to throw the fuck down with this man if he didn’t allow Waddles on the bus.

Then at the very end as Dipper and Mabel finally leave on the bus, we see Ford put his hand on Stan’s shoulder. Ford is silently reassuring Stan that he’s still got one family member by his side; and that he’ll always be by his side no matter what.

IN CONCLUSION DON’T YOU EVER DARE AND SAY FORD DOESN’T CARE ABOUT HIS FAMILY! OR I WILL LOOK FOR YOU, I WILL FIND YOU AND I WILL BEAT YOU WITH A FISH!

[uwu-lla]

Aight so here is my lil Ol vent, 90% of it is barely understandable rambling but here it is.

So my hyper fixation atm is what little bit of lore I’ve got from Overwatch fan fiction lol And because I only have little tid bits my brain is all “let’s fill in the gaps! Make up our own plot!” N I’m just like “no! Dumbass, this isn’t good for us! We need to stop trying to think of this and get back in touch with the real world!” But of course that never fucking works, and this one is esp bad and idk y? Like I’ve had hyper fixations before but they’ve never been THIS intense. Haven’t torn me up this bad before.

But like, the bits I do get of the lore is that everything in this continent is screwed n my paranoia has gone like “that’s gonna happen soon!” N I just scream internally everytime. I guess I just really hate it when American media people decide to make my country nothing more than an apocalyptic wasteland. Like, they love to focus only on the shitty bland white Australian culture while this place literally has the oldest people n culture in the world???? Like what the koories got is so much better than the white bullshit excuse for a “culture” that Americans seems to be in love be with.

And speaking of American idolisation of white Australians, it really peeves me off that the two Australian characters are basically the Overwatch universe equivalent of racists and when I learned that I was just “fuck, THIS again. Like we needed more examples of ‘casual Aussie racism” and it’s super annoying because they’re shipped together n it’s like my dream come fucking true like they’re BOTH Australian AND gay??? Yes! Finally! Something I can personally relate to! But then I found out they are futuristic robo racists. But like, u know of anything else with gay Australians with a large fan base that updates near constantly? No! So I just have to suck it up ignore it cuz this is as good as it’s gonna get for me. And I’m not saying that the roadrat people are racists in fact they’re the exact opposite n I know they’re in the same boat as me, trying to ignore the maybe metaphorical White Australian Racism so they can enjoy a gay couple with a great dynamic n very different body types.

It just peeves me off that once again, just like with all those shitty mad max movies n crocodile Dundee, white Australia is put in the spotlight in American media and any good culture that this continent has is ignored.

I guess now I’ll talk about the bits of lore my brain has decided to fill in???

Okay, so I know that like, the company or whatever that makes the robots decides everyone who lives in the desert can get fucked n move which is real shitty n happens allot today but I’ll talk about that later. So, desert people r understandably pissed. U can’t just do that, we’re gonna fight u! But instead of getting angry at the company, they get angry at the robots??? I think idk. But anyway, desert people decide robots r bad, n all must die. So they kill a bunch, n end up blowing up the nuclear reactor that makes robots, resulting in killing EVERYONE. Like EVERYTHING, robots people plants animals u name it. So now the desert people r all crazy n sick, and the rich city people n company people don’t want to help cuz it’s they fucking fault since that factory wasn’t supposed to be there. And so yeah, two Australian terrorists, blah blah.

But here’s the thing. Right now, real life right, the desert communities in central Australia are mostly Aboriginal. Cuz it’s they land, n they’re luckily been able to keep it that way cuz they’re so far from the coast n the cities. But the thing that happens all the time? They get pushed off of their land by mining companies. So when I learned that bit of Overwatch lore, I was like “hang on r they referencing this???” N so my brain started to fill in.

I’m guessing, that this lil desert town of 95% Aboriginal people r in the way of Future Robot Company. They want them gone, they wanna dig n make more robots (don’t know y???). BUT, you see, in certain areas of central Australia, the Aboriginal communities have been able to get official land rights recognised by the government. Which means they get to have a say in what happens to their country in the Parliament House (sometimes. It’s def not perfect). So, obviously this future desert town is like “lol no u can’t mine our country dumbass” n the gov gotta go with that. But, mining companies r horrible fucking people, so they find a loophole. They say “but we wanna make this a safe place for our robots! We love them n everyone is trying to kill them” so the gov shittily lets it happen, n the company is cheering cuz yay they get to mine n the robots will get blamed for it! So the desert people r all super pissed, n some decide that it must be taken out on the robots! They’re the ones doing all this! But like I said before, this shit happens irl all the time to desert communities. The Aboriginal community understands it’s this shitty company doing all this n using the already being oppressed (???) as an easy blame.

And this is where the “ALF” come in.

Now when I learned about that, it really squicked me out. Cuz here in Australia, there is this skin head group called “Australian patriots front” n the “ALF” that Mako joins sounds like these nazi scum decided to take advantage of these angry desert people, swapped 'Patriots’ with 'liberation’, n recruited these people to push their own hateful agenda. N mako fucking falls for it, cuz he really thinks the robots r to blame. But, the other part of the desert community sees right through this bullshit n tries to stop this group from doing their robot ethnic cleansing. So, being the reskinned nazis they are, the ALF starts to also attack the Aboriginal community of this town for not wanting to kill robots. Mako just goes along with it, cuz he’s young n stupid n hoo boy does he hate robots. So a big Ol fight breaks out. ALF goes to destroy the factory, despite the koories being like “dumbasses ur gonna kill us all its not the robots it’s the sickos in the cities go kill them” n boom. They kill everyone n everything, n have made everything to ever live in the desert sick for eternity. I’d like to think that 90% of the koories were able to get out of there before it all went to shit, so all the people remaining r mostly white. Which kinda explains y Mr. Scopophobia is a blond white guy. So, he grows up with all these remaining ALF people telling him the reason everything is bad is because robots did it. So he too hates robots for a thing they had no control over, n kills any he sees. He has no idea that at one point everyone who lived in this shell of a town was Aboriginal, and probably doesn’t even know that Koories are even a thing. Then yeah he meets mr pig face n decides to go kill robots n rich people (I’m happy with that) in the outside world, and mr pig just doesn’t tell him about how he was partly responsible for ruining their continent and ensuring a shitty upbringing for Jun Jun. why would he? He doesn’t wanna ruin this relationship! Sooo it’s just best lil stick thin man doesn’t know.

After lots of stealing n robot related hate crimes, they for some reason??? Join Overwatch (which I’m not really sure what they do???) n they barely avoid not killing the robots that work there. Which brings me to what I learned not too long ago, that the robots were raging against the machine (horf horf) n had decided to revolt against the human race(I for one welcome our new robot overlords) n start killing humans (2 wrongs don’t make a right buddies). So Overwatch decided to not just stop the robots from killing people, but squashing their revolution n making them back into the servants they were made to be (fuckin shitty) That’s what I understood anyway. Idk. If I’m right about that, why, of all fucking times of our history, would blizzard decide to have a story about a government organisation destroying an oppressed race’s revolution. Like, that’s in bad taste.

So yeah my illness riddled brain has decided to cling to all this, making daily life very difficult for me. Having massive disconnections from reality, like, shit that lasts almost a whole day till my rents get home n snap me out of it. I forget to eat, drink, walk Sputnik, etc. cuz I’m just so lost in my own thoughts. I’m seeing a psych today, but she n a bunch of others might decide if I tell them this to not let me have top surgery so I’m scared to tell her. And cuz my brain has clung onto all this crap, it’s always focusing on how the robots r getting abused n so my brains like “help them! Do it! Now!” N I’m just like “fucker they ain’t real u know this so y r u being a dumbass n wasting time on this” so I’m all pent up n frustrated. I’m not really sure on how to go about dealing with this. I can’t exactly set up a ritual n ask Bunjil n Bellin Bellin to give me a cure for my mental illnesses. I think I’ll look up ways to connect with reality when I get home n see what that tells me.

So yeah, I’m real frustrated. Frustrated with my tiny White Suburban Mum town, with the society we live in where I can’t find a place simply because I can’t do certainly n things n therefore useless to the working world. Frustrated that I can’t help the koorie community here cuz I have no useful skills, n all the hard work at school last year has been all for naught.

So yeah, hopefully this will be the end of this big Ol vent. I’m kinda scared about posting this, scared of people deciding I’m a bad person for whatever reasons in here n going after me. Last thing I need is a digital army against me. Aight bye bye.

[gordonwilliamsweb]

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes

The Friday Breeze

Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes, who reads everything on health care to compile our daily Morning Briefing, offers the best and most provocative stories for the weekend.

Hello! It is once again Friday, which means I’m going to attempt to do my very best to give you a snapshot of some (read: a fraction) of the best stories from the week amid a flood of them.

But first! Take yourself on this journey about how the most well-known coronavirus image (that gray blob with stone-like texture and red crowns and colored flecks) was made. Sometimes when the government is creating informational illustrations it focuses on the vector or the symptoms, but for this coronavirus the CDC’s Alissa Eckert and Dan Higgins went with what’s called a “beauty shot.” It’s a very cool read!

All right, here we go:

The confirmed number of confirmed cases globally ticked past a million this week in a grim milestone that experts still say represents only a percentage of the actual cases out there. The U.S. had recorded over 250,000 cases as of press time, with more than 6,500 deaths.

President Donald Trump invoked his wartime powers to help manufacturers secure supplies needed to make ventilators and protective face masks, but is it too little, too late? New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whose state has become the epicenter of the nation’s outbreak, said on Thursday it will use up all available ventilators in less than a week. Meanwhile, FEMA said that most of the ventilators Trump promised to obtain won’t be ready until June.

Governors are distraught over their inability to obtain the needed supplies, likening the process of requesting the equipment to eBay auctions. “You now literally will have a company call you up and say, ‘Well, California just outbid you,’” Cuomo said.

Another roadblock is that 2,000 of the ventilators in the national stockpile are unusable because of a lapse in a contract that left a monthslong gap, during which the machines weren’t being properly maintained.

In the meantime, General Motors has shrugged off Trump’s attacks on the company (he said GM and its chief executive were dragging their feet on the project) and are moving full-throttle ahead at producing the needed equipment. “Every ventilator is a life,” said one GM exec.

With so much focus on ventilators, doctors are being advised on how to ration care and being told that they’ll be supported in their decisions not to perform futile intubations.

One quick note on that front: New York lawmakers are moving on legislation that would grant sweeping civil- and criminal-liability protections to hospitals and health care workers dealing with coronavirus patients.

And even though there’s a ton of attention on ventilators, the survival rate of any patient who requires one is only 20% — meaning that even without a shortage, they can only help a fraction of patients.

In other important news on the preparedness front:

The Washington Post: Inside America’s Mask Crunch: A Slow Government Reaction and an Industry Wary of Liability

The New York Times: Essential Drug Supplies for Virus Patients Are Running Low

The New York Times: The U.S. Tried to Build a New Fleet of Ventilators. The Mission Failed

The Friday Breeze

Want a roundup of the must-read stories this week chosen by KHN Newsletter Editor Brianna Labuskes? Sign up for The Friday Breeze today.

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Trump warned Americans this week that “hard days” lie ahead and that people should be braced for a “bad two weeks,” with the White House projecting that the death toll could be somewhere between 100,000 to 240,000. For what it’s worth, disease forecasters were mystified over where the task force got those numbers, mostly because we don’t yet know enough about the virus.

(What helped change Trump’s mind, considering he’d previously mused that the country could return to normal in time to fill the pews on Easter? Polling numbers.)

To help states deal with the crisis, CMS relaxed safety rules for hospitals, giving them unprecedented flexibility. The changes include what counts as a hospital bed, how closely certain medical professionals need to be supervised and what kinds of health care can be delivered at home.

The administration decided not to follow suit after a handful of states reopened their exchanges, though Trump seemed to hint that the possibility was still on the table “as a matter of fairness.” Also, to note, if people have lost their insurance because of their jobs, that counts as a qualifying event and they have 60 days to enroll in the federal exchanges, regardless of what Trump does with a special session.

And although Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, along with Vice President Mike Pence, have emerged as the leading voices of the administration’s pandemic response, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has taken charge behind the scenes. Critics say its adding confusion to an already chaotic situation.

And reports continue to emerge that the Trump administration was cutting pandemic detection positions in China just months before the outbreak.

In other news on the administration:

Politico: FEMA Braces for a Multi-Front War As Hurricane Season Looms

Politico: Inside The National Security Council, a Rising Sense of Dread

The New York Times: C.I.A. Hunts for Authentic Virus Totals in China, Dismissing Government Tallies

The New York Times: Trump Administration Officials Weigh How Far to Go on Recommending Masks

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be creating a special committee to oversee the implementation of the $2.2 trillion stimulus package and any other coronavirus legislation coming down the pike. “Where there’s money there’s also frequently mischief,” Pelosi said, in perhaps one of my favorite quotes of the week. Meanwhile, House Democrats may be raring to get started on a fourth stimulus package, but Republicans are pumping the brakes. At the very least, they say, they want to see how the current stimulus package plays out.

The news came the same day as it was reported that 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits. That eye-popping number blows past all previous records. And experts say it represents only a sliver of the economic devastation the virus is wreaking on the country. There are many affected Americans who remain uncounted — some have lost jobs or income and did not initially qualify for benefits, and others, encountering state unemployment offices that were overwhelmed by the deluge of claimants, were unsuccessful in filing.

In other news about Congress and the economic damage from the outbreak:

NBC News: U.S. Economy Lost a Total of 701,000 Jobs in March

NBC News: Record Number of Unemployed Americans Will Stress State Medicaid Programs

The New York Times: Loeffler’s Wealth Becomes a Risk As Rivals Charge She Profited on the Coronavirus

The New York Times: ‘Never Thought I Would Need It’: Americans Put Pride Aside to Seek Aid

The New York Times: Why the Global Recession Could Last a Long Time

The Democratic National Convention, expected to draw as many as 50,000 visitors, was postponed from July to August in one of the largest disruptions to the 2020 elections so far. On the other hand, Wisconsin is going ahead with its primary on Tuesday, which is causing mixed reactions … including apoplectic rage.

More stories on elections:

Coronavirus Puts Governors Back in Presidential Pipeline

Politico: Pandemic Threatens Monster Turnout in November

Much focus this week was on serology tests that serve the dual purpose of finding Americans who can safely return to some normalcy and helping researchers find treatments for COVID-19. Experts are fairly unified on the fact that to get the country back into operation, we need a way to identify those who are now immune to the disease. And using plasma collected from recovered patients is a century-old practice (which, to be clear, has had mixed results in past diseases).

Beyond studies on actually treating the coronavirus illness (a small study out this week showed a much-touted malaria drug combo had positive results), doctors are also trying to figure out how to treat the phenomenon known as “cytokine storm,” in which the body’s own immune system attacks its organs. This is thought to be the cause of some of the severe cases seen in younger patients.

On a side note, the Food and Drug Administration on Sunday issued an emergency-use authorization for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, despite scant evidence that they work against COVID-19.

With Florida (and three other states who had been hesitating) finally caving into pressure to issue the stay-at-home order, the vast majority of Americans are now huddled at home. The good news is that the extreme measures seem to be working in California, which was an earlier disciple of flattening the curve.

Google, meanwhile, is offering the government a report on “mobility data” to help states recognize where social-distancing measures are failing, with a specific focus on how foot traffic has increased or declined to six categories of destinations: homes; workplaces; retail and recreation establishments; parks; grocery stores and pharmacies; and transit stations.

Although things might seem a bit grim right now because of these measures, a look at data from the 1918 flu pandemic shows cities that locked down emerged from the crisis stronger economically than those that didn’t. One caveat, though: Because working-age people were harder hit by the 1918 flu (and the coronavirus strikes worse among older generations), any comparisons might not hold.

So, onto some of the stories I find most fascinating … aka the science behind all of this.

The New York Times: Covid-19 Changed How the World Does Science, Together

Politico: Why America Is Scared and Confused: Even the Experts Are Getting It Wrong

The Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus Seems To Be Infecting And Killing More Men Than Women

The Washington Post: Chronic Health Conditions in Coronavirus Patients: New CDC Data

Stat: What Explains Covid-19’s Lethality for the Elderly?

The Washington Post: Three Months Into the Pandemic, Here’s How Likely the Coronavirus Is to Infect People

I’m going to cut this off here, or else this will no longer be able to be called the Breeze. If you want a more comprehensive roundup, please check out the Morning Briefings from the week, which are chock-full of more stories than you could ever finish reading. Including ones on workers’ protests and the supply chain; the gun store debate; how jails are “ticking time bombs;” autocrats’ power grab; snapshots from a New York in crisis; health disparities; and a call to arms for medical workers that doesn’t guarantee coverage of potential hospital bills.

Please have a safe and restful weekend, if possible!

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes published first on https://nootropicspowdersupplier.tumblr.com/

[stephenmccull]

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes

The Friday Breeze

Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes, who reads everything on health care to compile our daily Morning Briefing, offers the best and most provocative stories for the weekend.

Hello! It is once again Friday, which means I’m going to attempt to do my very best to give you a snapshot of some (read: a fraction) of the best stories from the week amid a flood of them.

But first! Take yourself on this journey about how the most well-known coronavirus image (that gray blob with stone-like texture and red crowns and colored flecks) was made. Sometimes when the government is creating informational illustrations it focuses on the vector or the symptoms, but for this coronavirus the CDC’s Alissa Eckert and Dan Higgins went with what’s called a “beauty shot.” It’s a very cool read!

All right, here we go:

The confirmed number of confirmed cases globally ticked past a million this week in a grim milestone that experts still say represents only a percentage of the actual cases out there. The U.S. had recorded over 250,000 cases as of press time, with more than 6,500 deaths.

President Donald Trump invoked his wartime powers to help manufacturers secure supplies needed to make ventilators and protective face masks, but is it too little, too late? New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whose state has become the epicenter of the nation’s outbreak, said on Thursday it will use up all available ventilators in less than a week. Meanwhile, FEMA said that most of the ventilators Trump promised to obtain won’t be ready until June.

Governors are distraught over their inability to obtain the needed supplies, likening the process of requesting the equipment to eBay auctions. “You now literally will have a company call you up and say, ‘Well, California just outbid you,’” Cuomo said.

Another roadblock is that 2,000 of the ventilators in the national stockpile are unusable because of a lapse in a contract that left a monthslong gap, during which the machines weren’t being properly maintained.

In the meantime, General Motors has shrugged off Trump’s attacks on the company (he said GM and its chief executive were dragging their feet on the project) and are moving full-throttle ahead at producing the needed equipment. “Every ventilator is a life,” said one GM exec.

With so much focus on ventilators, doctors are being advised on how to ration care and being told that they’ll be supported in their decisions not to perform futile intubations.

One quick note on that front: New York lawmakers are moving on legislation that would grant sweeping civil- and criminal-liability protections to hospitals and health care workers dealing with coronavirus patients.

And even though there’s a ton of attention on ventilators, the survival rate of any patient who requires one is only 20% — meaning that even without a shortage, they can only help a fraction of patients.

In other important news on the preparedness front:

The Washington Post: Inside America’s Mask Crunch: A Slow Government Reaction and an Industry Wary of Liability

The New York Times: Essential Drug Supplies for Virus Patients Are Running Low

The New York Times: The U.S. Tried to Build a New Fleet of Ventilators. The Mission Failed

The Friday Breeze

Want a roundup of the must-read stories this week chosen by KHN Newsletter Editor Brianna Labuskes? Sign up for The Friday Breeze today.

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Trump warned Americans this week that “hard days” lie ahead and that people should be braced for a “bad two weeks,” with the White House projecting that the death toll could be somewhere between 100,000 to 240,000. For what it’s worth, disease forecasters were mystified over where the task force got those numbers, mostly because we don’t yet know enough about the virus.

(What helped change Trump’s mind, considering he’d previously mused that the country could return to normal in time to fill the pews on Easter? Polling numbers.)

To help states deal with the crisis, CMS relaxed safety rules for hospitals, giving them unprecedented flexibility. The changes include what counts as a hospital bed, how closely certain medical professionals need to be supervised and what kinds of health care can be delivered at home.

The administration decided not to follow suit after a handful of states reopened their exchanges, though Trump seemed to hint that the possibility was still on the table “as a matter of fairness.” Also, to note, if people have lost their insurance because of their jobs, that counts as a qualifying event and they have 60 days to enroll in the federal exchanges, regardless of what Trump does with a special session.

And although Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, along with Vice President Mike Pence, have emerged as the leading voices of the administration’s pandemic response, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has taken charge behind the scenes. Critics say its adding confusion to an already chaotic situation.

And reports continue to emerge that the Trump administration was cutting pandemic detection positions in China just months before the outbreak.

In other news on the administration:

Politico: FEMA Braces for a Multi-Front War As Hurricane Season Looms

Politico: Inside The National Security Council, a Rising Sense of Dread

The New York Times: C.I.A. Hunts for Authentic Virus Totals in China, Dismissing Government Tallies

The New York Times: Trump Administration Officials Weigh How Far to Go on Recommending Masks

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be creating a special committee to oversee the implementation of the $2.2 trillion stimulus package and any other coronavirus legislation coming down the pike. “Where there’s money there’s also frequently mischief,” Pelosi said, in perhaps one of my favorite quotes of the week. Meanwhile, House Democrats may be raring to get started on a fourth stimulus package, but Republicans are pumping the brakes. At the very least, they say, they want to see how the current stimulus package plays out.

The news came the same day as it was reported that 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits. That eye-popping number blows past all previous records. And experts say it represents only a sliver of the economic devastation the virus is wreaking on the country. There are many affected Americans who remain uncounted — some have lost jobs or income and did not initially qualify for benefits, and others, encountering state unemployment offices that were overwhelmed by the deluge of claimants, were unsuccessful in filing.

In other news about Congress and the economic damage from the outbreak:

NBC News: U.S. Economy Lost a Total of 701,000 Jobs in March

NBC News: Record Number of Unemployed Americans Will Stress State Medicaid Programs

The New York Times: Loeffler’s Wealth Becomes a Risk As Rivals Charge She Profited on the Coronavirus

The New York Times: ‘Never Thought I Would Need It’: Americans Put Pride Aside to Seek Aid

The New York Times: Why the Global Recession Could Last a Long Time

The Democratic National Convention, expected to draw as many as 50,000 visitors, was postponed from July to August in one of the largest disruptions to the 2020 elections so far. On the other hand, Wisconsin is going ahead with its primary on Tuesday, which is causing mixed reactions … including apoplectic rage.

More stories on elections:

Coronavirus Puts Governors Back in Presidential Pipeline

Politico: Pandemic Threatens Monster Turnout in November

Much focus this week was on serology tests that serve the dual purpose of finding Americans who can safely return to some normalcy and helping researchers find treatments for COVID-19. Experts are fairly unified on the fact that to get the country back into operation, we need a way to identify those who are now immune to the disease. And using plasma collected from recovered patients is a century-old practice (which, to be clear, has had mixed results in past diseases).

Beyond studies on actually treating the coronavirus illness (a small study out this week showed a much-touted malaria drug combo had positive results), doctors are also trying to figure out how to treat the phenomenon known as “cytokine storm,” in which the body’s own immune system attacks its organs. This is thought to be the cause of some of the severe cases seen in younger patients.

On a side note, the Food and Drug Administration on Sunday issued an emergency-use authorization for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, despite scant evidence that they work against COVID-19.

With Florida (and three other states who had been hesitating) finally caving into pressure to issue the stay-at-home order, the vast majority of Americans are now huddled at home. The good news is that the extreme measures seem to be working in California, which was an earlier disciple of flattening the curve.

Google, meanwhile, is offering the government a report on “mobility data” to help states recognize where social-distancing measures are failing, with a specific focus on how foot traffic has increased or declined to six categories of destinations: homes; workplaces; retail and recreation establishments; parks; grocery stores and pharmacies; and transit stations.

Although things might seem a bit grim right now because of these measures, a look at data from the 1918 flu pandemic shows cities that locked down emerged from the crisis stronger economically than those that didn’t. One caveat, though: Because working-age people were harder hit by the 1918 flu (and the coronavirus strikes worse among older generations), any comparisons might not hold.

So, onto some of the stories I find most fascinating … aka the science behind all of this.

The New York Times: Covid-19 Changed How the World Does Science, Together

Politico: Why America Is Scared and Confused: Even the Experts Are Getting It Wrong

The Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus Seems To Be Infecting And Killing More Men Than Women

The Washington Post: Chronic Health Conditions in Coronavirus Patients: New CDC Data

Stat: What Explains Covid-19’s Lethality for the Elderly?

The Washington Post: Three Months Into the Pandemic, Here’s How Likely the Coronavirus Is to Infect People

I’m going to cut this off here, or else this will no longer be able to be called the Breeze. If you want a more comprehensive roundup, please check out the Morning Briefings from the week, which are chock-full of more stories than you could ever finish reading. Including ones on workers’ protests and the supply chain; the gun store debate; how jails are “ticking time bombs;” autocrats’ power grab; snapshots from a New York in crisis; health disparities; and a call to arms for medical workers that doesn’t guarantee coverage of potential hospital bills.

Please have a safe and restful weekend, if possible!

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes published first on https://smartdrinkingweb.weebly.com/

[dinafbrownil]

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes

The Friday Breeze

Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes, who reads everything on health care to compile our daily Morning Briefing, offers the best and most provocative stories for the weekend.

Hello! It is once again Friday, which means I’m going to attempt to do my very best to give you a snapshot of some (read: a fraction) of the best stories from the week amid a flood of them.

But first! Take yourself on this journey about how the most well-known coronavirus image (that gray blob with stone-like texture and red crowns and colored flecks) was made. Sometimes when the government is creating informational illustrations it focuses on the vector or the symptoms, but for this coronavirus the CDC’s Alissa Eckert and Dan Higgins went with what’s called a “beauty shot.” It’s a very cool read!

All right, here we go:

The confirmed number of confirmed cases globally ticked past a million this week in a grim milestone that experts still say represents only a percentage of the actual cases out there. The U.S. had recorded over 250,000 cases as of press time, with more than 6,500 deaths.

President Donald Trump invoked his wartime powers to help manufacturers secure supplies needed to make ventilators and protective face masks, but is it too little, too late? New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whose state has become the epicenter of the nation’s outbreak, said on Thursday it will use up all available ventilators in less than a week. Meanwhile, FEMA said that most of the ventilators Trump promised to obtain won’t be ready until June.

Governors are distraught over their inability to obtain the needed supplies, likening the process of requesting the equipment to eBay auctions. “You now literally will have a company call you up and say, ‘Well, California just outbid you,’” Cuomo said.

Another roadblock is that 2,000 of the ventilators in the national stockpile are unusable because of a lapse in a contract that left a monthslong gap, during which the machines weren’t being properly maintained.

In the meantime, General Motors has shrugged off Trump’s attacks on the company (he said GM and its chief executive were dragging their feet on the project) and are moving full-throttle ahead at producing the needed equipment. “Every ventilator is a life,” said one GM exec.

With so much focus on ventilators, doctors are being advised on how to ration care and being told that they’ll be supported in their decisions not to perform futile intubations.

One quick note on that front: New York lawmakers are moving on legislation that would grant sweeping civil- and criminal-liability protections to hospitals and health care workers dealing with coronavirus patients.

And even though there���s a ton of attention on ventilators, the survival rate of any patient who requires one is only 20% — meaning that even without a shortage, they can only help a fraction of patients.

In other important news on the preparedness front:

The Washington Post: Inside America’s Mask Crunch: A Slow Government Reaction and an Industry Wary of Liability

The New York Times: Essential Drug Supplies for Virus Patients Are Running Low

The New York Times: The U.S. Tried to Build a New Fleet of Ventilators. The Mission Failed

The Friday Breeze

Want a roundup of the must-read stories this week chosen by KHN Newsletter Editor Brianna Labuskes? Sign up for The Friday Breeze today.

Sign Up

Please confirm your email address below:

Sign Up

Trump warned Americans this week that “hard days” lie ahead and that people should be braced for a “bad two weeks,” with the White House projecting that the death toll could be somewhere between 100,000 to 240,000. For what it’s worth, disease forecasters were mystified over where the task force got those numbers, mostly because we don’t yet know enough about the virus.

(What helped change Trump’s mind, considering he’d previously mused that the country could return to normal in time to fill the pews on Easter? Polling numbers.)

To help states deal with the crisis, CMS relaxed safety rules for hospitals, giving them unprecedented flexibility. The changes include what counts as a hospital bed, how closely certain medical professionals need to be supervised and what kinds of health care can be delivered at home.

The administration decided not to follow suit after a handful of states reopened their exchanges, though Trump seemed to hint that the possibility was still on the table “as a matter of fairness.” Also, to note, if people have lost their insurance because of their jobs, that counts as a qualifying event and they have 60 days to enroll in the federal exchanges, regardless of what Trump does with a special session.

And although Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, along with Vice President Mike Pence, have emerged as the leading voices of the administration’s pandemic response, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has taken charge behind the scenes. Critics say its adding confusion to an already chaotic situation.

And reports continue to emerge that the Trump administration was cutting pandemic detection positions in China just months before the outbreak.

In other news on the administration:

Politico: FEMA Braces for a Multi-Front War As Hurricane Season Looms

Politico: Inside The National Security Council, a Rising Sense of Dread

The New York Times: C.I.A. Hunts for Authentic Virus Totals in China, Dismissing Government Tallies

The New York Times: Trump Administration Officials Weigh How Far to Go on Recommending Masks

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be creating a special committee to oversee the implementation of the $2.2 trillion stimulus package and any other coronavirus legislation coming down the pike. “Where there’s money there’s also frequently mischief,” Pelosi said, in perhaps one of my favorite quotes of the week. Meanwhile, House Democrats may be raring to get started on a fourth stimulus package, but Republicans are pumping the brakes. At the very least, they say, they want to see how the current stimulus package plays out.

The news came the same day as it was reported that 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits. That eye-popping number blows past all previous records. And experts say it represents only a sliver of the economic devastation the virus is wreaking on the country. There are many affected Americans who remain uncounted — some have lost jobs or income and did not initially qualify for benefits, and others, encountering state unemployment offices that were overwhelmed by the deluge of claimants, were unsuccessful in filing.

In other news about Congress and the economic damage from the outbreak:

NBC News: U.S. Economy Lost a Total of 701,000 Jobs in March

NBC News: Record Number of Unemployed Americans Will Stress State Medicaid Programs

The New York Times: Loeffler’s Wealth Becomes a Risk As Rivals Charge She Profited on the Coronavirus

The New York Times: ‘Never Thought I Would Need It’: Americans Put Pride Aside to Seek Aid

The New York Times: Why the Global Recession Could Last a Long Time

The Democratic National Convention, expected to draw as many as 50,000 visitors, was postponed from July to August in one of the largest disruptions to the 2020 elections so far. On the other hand, Wisconsin is going ahead with its primary on Tuesday, which is causing mixed reactions … including apoplectic rage.

More stories on elections:

Coronavirus Puts Governors Back in Presidential Pipeline

Politico: Pandemic Threatens Monster Turnout in November

Much focus this week was on serology tests that serve the dual purpose of finding Americans who can safely return to some normalcy and helping researchers find treatments for COVID-19. Experts are fairly unified on the fact that to get the country back into operation, we need a way to identify those who are now immune to the disease. And using plasma collected from recovered patients is a century-old practice (which, to be clear, has had mixed results in past diseases).

Beyond studies on actually treating the coronavirus illness (a small study out this week showed a much-touted malaria drug combo had positive results), doctors are also trying to figure out how to treat the phenomenon known as “cytokine storm,” in which the body’s own immune system attacks its organs. This is thought to be the cause of some of the severe cases seen in younger patients.

On a side note, the Food and Drug Administration on Sunday issued an emergency-use authorization for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, despite scant evidence that they work against COVID-19.

With Florida (and three other states who had been hesitating) finally caving into pressure to issue the stay-at-home order, the vast majority of Americans are now huddled at home. The good news is that the extreme measures seem to be working in California, which was an earlier disciple of flattening the curve.

Google, meanwhile, is offering the government a report on “mobility data” to help states recognize where social-distancing measures are failing, with a specific focus on how foot traffic has increased or declined to six categories of destinations: homes; workplaces; retail and recreation establishments; parks; grocery stores and pharmacies; and transit stations.

Although things might seem a bit grim right now because of these measures, a look at data from the 1918 flu pandemic shows cities that locked down emerged from the crisis stronger economically than those that didn’t. One caveat, though: Because working-age people were harder hit by the 1918 flu (and the coronavirus strikes worse among older generations), any comparisons might not hold.

So, onto some of the stories I find most fascinating … aka the science behind all of this.

The New York Times: Covid-19 Changed How the World Does Science, Together

Politico: Why America Is Scared and Confused: Even the Experts Are Getting It Wrong

The Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus Seems To Be Infecting And Killing More Men Than Women

The Washington Post: Chronic Health Conditions in Coronavirus Patients: New CDC Data

Stat: What Explains Covid-19’s Lethality for the Elderly?

The Washington Post: Three Months Into the Pandemic, Here’s How Likely the Coronavirus Is to Infect People

I’m going to cut this off here, or else this will no longer be able to be called the Breeze. If you want a more comprehensive roundup, please check out the Morning Briefings from the week, which are chock-full of more stories than you could ever finish reading. Including ones on workers’ protests and the supply chain; the gun store debate; how jails are “ticking time bombs;” autocrats’ power grab; snapshots from a New York in crisis; health disparities; and a call to arms for medical workers that doesn’t guarantee coverage of potential hospital bills.

Please have a safe and restful weekend, if possible!

from Updates By Dina https://khn.org/news/friday-breeze-must-reads-of-the-week-from-brianna-labuskes-april-3-2020/