Salem Political Snark

Outrage: Oregon seniors to get Covid vaccine after teachers

If Oregon seniors weren't so justifiably afraid of coming down with COVID-19, they should be marching in the streets after Governor Brown announced yesterday that those 65+ would have to wait in line behind teachers to get vaccinated.

This is a hugely irresponsible decision that is going to cause many old people to die. 

According to the Oregon Health Authority, those 60 and over comprise 17% of Covid cases in the state and a whopping 91% of the Covid deaths.

Yet Brown said at a press conference that I watched via You Tube that children are suffering from distance learning and need to get back into in-person instruction as soon as possible.

Hey, Governor, you know who else has been suffering?

The 1,600 Oregon seniors who have died from Covid, many of them isolated from loved ones in a hospital bed, unable to say goodbye other than, maybe, via an iPad held up by an ICU nurse.

Children have their lives ahead of them. Seniors are nearing the end of their lives. Children can recover from learning problems during this pandemic. Seniors who die from Covid are gone forever, no second chances.

Currently the plan is to start vaccinating most day care, preschool, and K-12 school employees on January 25. Seniors have to wait two weeks, with Oregonians ages 80+ starting to get the vaccine on February 8, followed by ages 75+ on February 15, 70+ on February 22, and 65+ on March 1.

This likely is an optimistic schedule. But even if it holds up, every senior who wants the Covid vaccine won't be able to get both doses until well into April, around three months from now.

Today 41 Oregonians died from Covid. Let's look on the bright side and say that only 20 die on average each day during the next three months, 90 days. That's 1,800 additional deaths. If 91% are seniors 60+, over 1,600 old people will die.

Sure, some seniors will be immunized in time to prevent getting the disease. So let's cut that number in half: 800. Or maybe you think I'm being too pessimistic. OK, cut the number in half again: 400.

Is it worth 400 senior deaths to give Oregon children a few months of in-person instruction?

That's my guess, given that it seems unlikely all school personnel could get their first shot before February 8, with the second shot being given three or four weeks later, which gets us to March 1-8. Full immunity takes a few weeks after the second shot.

So it would be the end of March before school personnel are 95% safe from Covid. Will schools reopen before this happens? I doubt it. Teachers would resist entering classrooms before their second dose has taken effect. 

Thus if summer vacation starts in June, Governor Brown is saying that it is worth hundreds of senior deaths to give children eight weeks or so of in-person instruction this school year.

Here's a not-so-crazy idea.

Ask teachers, parents, and students if they are OK with this? Have a statewide discussion about the morality of condemning the grandparents of school children to die so their grandchildren can sit in a classroom for a few months.

Consider what a learning experience it would be for educators to talk about how putting off in-person instruction until the fall of 2021 is a sacrifice being made so many old people can live.

My wife and I are 71 and 72, respectively. We were fortunate to be able to get a first dose of the Pfizer Covid vaccine last Thursday, though a bit unfairly. 

I'm happy about that. But I'm sad whenever I think about the seniors we know who, like us, have been living in fear for almost a year of coming down with COVID-19.

The Oregon Health Authority statistics show that a bit over 7% of those 60+ with COVID-19 die. That's 1 out of 14. Many or most of the other 13 suffer a lot, since seniors are affected much more than younger people by the Covid virus.

So it isn't irrational for many seniors to stay sheltered at home, unwilling to go out except for groceries, which often are picked up because those old people are wary of going into stores. Governor Brown spoke of the despair of students who can't be in the classroom.

Brown needs to spend more time talking with seniors who have been isolating to a much greater degree than students about their despair, their loneliness, their fear of getting sick and dying alone.

There's still time for Governor Brown and the Oregon Health Authority to rethink their plan to make seniors wait to get the Covid vaccine until school personnel have been immunized. I hope they do.

 

I get a Salem Health Covid shot, a bit unfairly

NEXT DAY UPDATE: BAD NEWS. My wife just spoke with an over 65 friend who, along with her husband, were hoping to get a Covid shot at the Fairgrounds today, Friday. She was told that they were turned away, likely because of what Governor Brown announced this morning about the state not getting additional vaccine doses from the federal government as promised. Looks like another screw-up from the Trump administration, among many others.

It's been an interesting 24 hours, Covid-wise. 

Last night I wrote a blog post, Salem Health is allowing people to get "extra doses" of Covid vaccine, where I argued that it was unfair of Salem Health to say on their Covid vaccine web page that only people in the initial 1a group (health care providers and nursing home residents/staff, basically) could be immunized at their Fairgrounds clinic, while allowing people to get shots on a drop-in basis if they showed up at the clinic.

This afternoon my wife and I got our first shot, Pfizer variety, at the clinic. So am I a hypocrite?

Not really. In the morning I perused my Facebook feed and saw that more people were talking about getting immunized at the Salem Health clinic even though they weren't in the 1a group. A few said that appointments can be scheduled through Salem Health's MyChart.

So that got me to thinking that given our age, early 70s, and health status, my wife has asthma and I have a bladder problem that would be tough to deal with if I got a bad case of Covid, it made sense to try to get immunized regardless of how fair it would be. Here's how today went for us. As you can read below, others have had a different experience when they went to the clinic to get the vaccine.

We got to the Fairgrounds site at about 1:50 pm. You enter via Silverton Road. There was a long line of cars in front of us. But the line moved along at a steady slow pace. It took us about half an hour to get to the place where someone talks to you while you're in the car. 

Laurel was driving. The person asked us if we were health care workers. Laurel said, "No, but we have appointments through MyChart; we're over 70 and have pre-existing conditions." Those words earned us an "OK, you're good to go; turn left up ahead." Turning right meant you were leaving the Fairgrounds because you weren't accepted for an immunization.

Now, what's rather strange is that a friend texted me later in the day.

They said that they'd also gone to the clinic in the afternoon today. The couple told the screener that they had MyChart appointments and were over 65. They were turned away. This points to a certain unfairness, since seemingly the only difference between them and us was that we'd mentioned pre-existing conditions.

At any rate, after getting the go-ahead to be immunized we parked and walked into the Jackman Long building housing the clinic after having our temperature checked via a forehead thermometer. 

I was instantly impressed with how efficient, friendly, and professional everybody working there was. 

We were pointed down a MyChart path, since we didn't need to fill out any paperwork, having handled that online. So if you have a MyChart account, click on the Menu with the three bars in the upper left corner, choosing "Covid Vaccination Clinic." The next steps are straightforward.

Laurel and I were given a card that said we got the first Pfizer dose on January 14 and needed to return to get the second dose on February 4. Card in hand, we then joined a line of people waiting to be immunized. Photos were taken to mark the happy occasion.

Laurel Hines

Brian Hines

It didn't take long to reach the end of the line. A staffer apologized for a short delay in the immunization process which lasted less than five minutes. Dr. Ralph Yates, the Chief Medical Officer of Salem Health, was at the head of the line checking cards. Yates saw me a few times early in 2020 about my sciatica problem. 

I told him that I was his sciatica success story, being much improved now. I thanked him for assuring me that I was going to get better, which meant a lot to me when I was despairing that the pain wouldn't go away, Then I thanked him for the marvelous immunization clinic Salem Health was putting on. Yates said that no other county is doing something like this (many more should), and that he was proud no vaccine doses have gone to waste.

We then were directed to tables with an open shot-giver.

Here's a photo of Laurel finishing up with the person who immunized her. The shot was virtually painless, though the needle has to remain in your arm for 10 seconds, which was no big deal.

We then waited in another area for 15 minutes to make sure we didn't have an allergic reaction to the shot. I spent the time texting my daughter and a friend about how we'd just gotten our first Covid immunization. The whole process took shout 90 minutes, including the time in our car.

In case anybody is worried about contacting Covid by going to this immunization clinic, rest assured that the Fairgrounds building is so large, there's plenty of room to socially distance. Naturally everybody wore a mask. 

After we were done, my overwhelming feeling was gratitude for everybody who is working hard to keep the Salem Health clinic going until everybody in Marion County who wants the vaccine can be immunized. This includes the National Guard troops who were much in evidence at the clinic.

I also have been feeling a huge relief that my wife and I got our first shots.

For about eleven months Covid has been an oppressive weight on everybody's mind. There's no escaping the reality of the pandemic, though unfortunately some people try to deny the truth of it. I knew I'd feel good after getting immunized. What I didn't know was how good. 

So I have very little to criticize about the immunization clinic.

As noted in my first post, I still hope that Salem Health will be more transparent about who, exactly, can get a shot. There's clearly a difference between the overt policy on the Salem Health Covid Vaccine web page that says only people who live in Marion County and are part of the 1a group can be immunized, and the actual policy of allowing people in the 1b group to get the vaccine.

Maybe there is a good reason for this. Sometimes rules deserve to be broken, because the rule is too rigid. That could be at play in this case.

However, on January 23 the 1b group will join 1a as officially eligible to be immunized in Oregon -- seniors 65+, teachers, other school staff. Will Salem Health then allow people in the next highest priority group, like store clerks or younger people with underlying conditions, to be immunized? I'm worried that this will create confusion and perhaps even some reluctance to be immunized if the process is viewed as unfair.

Unfair or not, I'm really happy that Laurel and I went to the clinic today. 

Salem Health is allowing people to get "extra doses" of Covid vaccine

Salem Health is allowing people to get the Covid vaccine who aren't part of the 1a group that supposedly comprises the only Oregonians eligible to be immunized currently.

This seems unfair to me, though I'm not criticizing those who took advantage of the extra doses that Salem Health has been doling out to those in the know who have shown up at the Fairgrounds vaccination site.

Yes, it is well known that often it is possible to get more shots out of a vial of vaccine than the usual number. That vaccine shouldn't go to waste. However, I don't understand why those extra doses are being given on a first-come, first-served basis to otherwise ineligible people when this opportunity hasn't been communicated to the general public. 

I learned about this from a Facebook post by Tom Andersen, a member of the Salem City Council who was able to be vaccinated today even though he isn't a health care provider or a resident/staff member of a long term care facility. Those are the basic 1a groups; a detailed list of who is currently eligible to get a Covid vaccine is here.

Andersen said: "I got my first COVID shot today. The local hospital has extra doses so opened up at the state fairgrounds on a first come basis. While not one of the first, I was one of around 1000 or more who got shot."

I'm bothered by what Salem Health is doing. Public confidence in what will be a lengthy Covid vaccination process will be undermined if there appears to be favoritism in who gets a shot, whether intentional or unintentional.

Yesterday Governor Brown announced that as of January 23, seniors 65+ will be eligible to get vaccinated, along with teachers and some others . Here's the three tweets from Brown. Note that this next group, which I gather will be 1b, isn't supposed to be vaccinated until January 23, not January 13.

So Governor Brown told Oregonians to be patient "if you are newly eligible."

Hey, I'm 72. I'm newly eligible. 

I'm also a Salem Health member, as my family physician works at their Edgewater Clinic. I didn't call my doctor's office, because Brown said I shouldn't. I figured that when seniors aged 65+ are able to be vaccinated, information about how to get a shot will be widely available.

But obviously a bunch of people learned that if you show up at the Salem Health vaccination site at the Fairgrounds, and there are extra doses available, it's possible to get vaccinated even though you aren't eligible to get a shot.

I went to the Salem Health Covid vaccination web page to see if there was any indication that someone not in the 1a group could be vaccinated. Answer: no, there is nothing about this. In fact, the message is the opposite. 

If you aren't part of the current 1a group, you aren't supposed to go to the Fairgrounds site. This is boldfaced. Here's screenshots.

So anyone who went to the Salem Health Covid Vaccine web page would be met with the words: "You must live or work in Marion County to be vaccinated at this site AND you must fall into Phase 1a (see below)." 

That "below" says that Phase 1a includes health care workers, residents and employees of nursing homes, and first responders. Also, "Anyone who arrives to be vaccinated will be asked to attest to their eligibility as a member of OHA's Phase 1a groups living or working in Marion County."

Yet other people who show up at the Fairgrounds site have gotten vaccinated even though they aren't in the Phase 1a groups. Hopefully Salem Health can explain why this is happening.

It would be understandable that those administering the vaccines would grab anyone within reach if some doses were going to expire for lack of refrigeration, or whatever, and otherwise would need to be thrown away.

But this comment by Tom Andersen says that "extra doses" have been used by Salem Health several times in the past week. How does someone learn that these extra doses are available? Salem Health should be more transparent about why and how they are administering vaccinations to people who aren't currently eligible to get a shot.

Again, I couldn't find any indication on the Salem Health Covid Vaccine web page that it is possible for someone to wait in line for extra doses being given on a first-come first-served basis, yet this is happening.

Jesse Lippold, a school board member, ignores Covid rules

We're used to elected officials doing outrageous stuff, but shouldn't a Salem-Keizer school board member -- Jesse Lippold -- understand that breaking Covid rules Oregonians need to follow so schools can safely reopen isn't a smart thing to do?

Sure seems so. Thus let's give Lippold a "F" for failing to act like a responsible school board member. Hopefully voters will keep this in mind, since Lippold is one of four school board members up for re-election in May 2021.

The image above is from Lippold's Facebook account. It's been shared widely on social media by people who object to Lippold attending a New Year's Eve party where masks weren't worn and social distancing wasn't practiced. 

The Oregon Health Authority has been saying that private parties like the one Lippold attended with his girlfriend are a big reason Covid cases have been markedly increasing in our state. 

A Salem Reporter story, "Salem-Keizer board member criticized for violating state Covid rules with maskless New Year's party," lays out the cluelessness of what Lippold did. Here's how the story starts out.

A Salem-Keizer School Board Director is facing criticism after attending a maskless New Year’s party with about a dozen friends.

Jesse Lippold posted photos on his Instagram page over the weekend showing him, his girlfriend and other friends at a party.

Gov. Kate Brown and public health officials have frowned upon these types of gatherings and said that holding them would delay the reopening of schools and local businesses. Since November, social gatherings of more than six people who do not live together have been prohibited in Marion County under the state's Covid restrictions.

Lippold's post described the event as a “modern speakeasy” and said the group didn’t social distance but “were still less packed than every mall, Walmart or Costco.”

Screenshots of the post have been shared by Salem parents and teachers on Facebook, with many criticizing Lippold’s choice to ignore state rules.

Health officials in Marion County and at Oregon Health Authority have said for months informal social gatherings are a driver of the virus’ spread.

“It’s unacceptable that a public schools official is doing this while the rest of us are desperately abiding by rules in an effort to try and get our kids an opportunity to attend school,” wrote Stephanie Koski, a parent with an 8th grader in the district who has advocated for school reopening.

“While so many cry out for leadership, this isn’t it. Our kids are literally suffering, our community is hurting, and businesses are closing. You have officially lost my respect and vote,” wrote Reid Sund, a former candidate for Salem City Council, on his Facebook page.

Angry Owl's 2021 predictions for Salem, Oregon

It's always a pleasure to be able to share local predictions for the coming year from Salem's most famous life form, Angry Owl. Here are Angry Owl's Twitter tweets -- better termed "hoots," of course. 

They're funny and wise. Since Donald Trump has been permanently banned from Twitter, I'm recommending that his 80 million or so followers migrate over to Angry Owl's account. 

After all, there's way more truth in a single Angry Owl tweet than in the countless tweets Trump inflicted on the nation. Enjoy...

Insurrection at Capitol today caused by the Cult of Trump

This is what happens when people fall under the spell of an authoritarian cult leader.

A woman died today in the Capitol building after a mob incited by Trump stormed the building in an insurrection aimed at stopping Biden from being declared president-elect by Congress.

Who is responsible for her death? Who is responsible for the first invasion of the Capitol since the War of 1812? Easy answers.

-- Donald Trump, of course. He urged his cult members to march to the Capitol today. Trump deserves to be impeached for this act of sedition.

-- Everybody who voted for Trump in 2020 after watching him trash every norm of decency, truth, and patriotism.

-- All the cowardly Republican politicians who stood by as Trump lied about the election being stolen from him.

-- Each of the Senators and Representatives who signed on to the coup attempt that sought to replace the will of the voters with Congress choosing to give Trump a second term.

-- Whoever in law enforcement who did an amazingly crappy job at protecting the Capitol from a totally predictable angry Trump mob.

The only good news out of today's disaster is that maybe, just maybe, it will cause those who have joined the Cult of Trump to find the guts to abandon the worst president in our nation's history.

There's so much blame to pass around for today's horrific insurrection it will take quite a while to sort out who the worst offenders are.

Fortunately, Democrats will control the presidency and both houses of Congress following the highly encouraging wins of Warnock and Ossof in the Georgia Senate runoffs on Tuesday. An investigation by the Justice Department should make sure that this debacle never happens again.

It seems clear that the insurrectionists who broke into the Capitol were treated much more gently by law enforcement than Black Lives Matter demonstrators who actually had a good moral reason for their protest. Why? This needs to be looked into.

Most importantly, let's try to never forget how fragile our democracy is. A good share of the Republican Party, a majority, seemingly, is OK with Trump trying to steal the election from Biden.

This is scary. The coup attempt by Trump and his cronies will fail. However, there's no guarantee that a smarter, and equally malevolent, president couldn't hatch a similar plot that would succeed. We can't become complacent about our democracy or we'll find one day that it has been taken away from us.

Here's some of the tweets that popped up in my Twitter feed today. They paint a disturbing picture of today's insurrection by Trump cultists. 

Coup attempt by GOP on January 6 is beyond disgusting

If you're a Republican who isn't planning to end your allegiance to the GOP, either you are unaware of the highly unpatriotic coup attempt being planned by your political party in Congress on January 6, or you're OK with this shameful effort to overthrow the lawful result of the 2020 presidential election in favor of a wanna-be authoritarian, Donald Trump.

I'm hoping that the former is the case.

Maybe you've been busy with Christmas and New Year celebrations and haven't paid much attention to the news. In that case, I'm sharing some Twitter tweets and a Washington Post opinion piece that will bring you up to speed on what a dozen Republican Senators and reportedly at least 120 Republican House members are plotting to do next Wednesday.

That's when the usually ceremonial counting of the Electoral College votes will take place. Sure, there's a process laid out in law for what's to be done if a state has two slates of contested electors. But all the states have certified their slate of electors, so there's no decision for Congress to make about who gets each state's electoral votes.

Which isn't stopping the coup attempt. Any Republican who doesn't condemn this disgusting plot to subvert our democracy -- a first in the history of the United States -- has decided that loyalty to Trump is more important than loyalty to our nation. 

Check out a Washington Post opinion piece, "Cruz disrupting the electoral college count won't change anything. It can still hurt democracy."

Sen. Ted Cruz’s 11th-hour effort to derail certification of Joe Biden’s election victory is the wrong solution to a non-problem at the wrong time. Fortunately, it also won’t succeed, but it nonetheless provides one more alarming sign of the perilous state of our democracy.

Cruz (R-Texas) and 10 colleagues announced Saturday that they will vote to challenge electoral college votes in “disputed states” when Congress meets Jan. 6, though it was unclear how many states that will be. In practical effect, the move adds nothing but numbers to the process that Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) had already vowed to set into motion: two hours of debate, in both the House and Senate, on each state the Republicans challenge.

This will greatly slow what should be a straightforward process, but the bottom line is clear: Unless Vice President Pence, in his presiding role as president of the Senate, were to unexpectedly deviate from the procedures established by Congress in 1887 — a truly lawless move that would be swiftly resisted by senators and representatives of both parties — the outcome remains inevitable.

Nonetheless, the fact that a dozen senators and senators-elect, along with apparently more than 100 House members, want to disrupt congressional ratification of the electoral college result is one more horrendous sign of the severity of the disease afflicting the United States’ democratic system. It will make it even harder for Biden to heal this pathology of partisan polarization, as he has promised to do.

As shown below, Chris Hayes points out that the only evidence being put forward by Republicans of serious fraud in the presidential election is the assertion that after months of falsely claiming that this non-existent fraud existed, now the GOP is using the fact that many people in their party believe the lies they were told is reason enough for Congress to hold off on declaring Joe Biden the victor -- which he certainly is.

I've also shared a tweet that shows the names of the disgusting anti-democratic senators who have joined Ted Cruz' Crazy Club, and an assortment of other tweets -- including a series from attorney Max Kennerly debunking the ridiculous claim that fraud enabled Biden to win the election. 

 

If a Salem business isn't requiring masks, report them to OSHA

Remember the saying popularized after the 9/11 attacks: "If you see something, say something." 

That's the patriotic thing to do if you're aware of a danger to your community.

These days it isn't so much terrorism that we have to be worried about. It is people and businesses not complying with public health measures, such as mask-wearing, needed to save lives and prevent illness from COVID-19.

So don't be shy about complaining to the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health division if a business is being lax about requiring that masks be worn by employees and customers, or is failing to enforce rules about physical distancing and how many people can be in the business at one time. 

It doesn't take long to fill out the online complaint form. If you don't want your name made public, indicate that you want your identity to be confidential. 

Remember: you could save a life by filing a complaint. No business has a right to endanger their employees and customers by ignoring the public health orders put forth by Governor Brown and the Oregon Health Authority.

If masks aren't being required, or next-to-useless face shields are being allowed instead, OSHA should be informed. 

A few days ago rob the bartender, tweeting as RobDrinkenstein, shared his outrage at how Lowes and Home Depot were failing to require mask-wearing in their Salem stores.

The next day, he tweeted an update.

Someone on Facebook left this comment on my Strange Up Salem Facebook page after I posted Rob's initial tweets.

I have reported both the Lowes and Home Depot in south Salem to Oregon OSHA -- got correspondence back saying there were open investigations. I just stopped going there, decided Ace Hardware (higher prices) was worth the extra money.

lt's great to see people holding irresponsible businesses accountable for not doing what they're required to do to help stop the spread of COVID-19. If those businesses get fined, they deserve it.

It isn't fair to responsible businesses to let their competitors get away with irresponsible Covid behavior without some serous consequences.

This has been important since the start of the pandemic. But it is especially vital now, given the skyrocketing Covid cases and deaths across the country just when Covid vaccines are becoming available. If everybody does their part to slow the spread of the virus, tens of thousands of lives can be saved, maybe hundreds of thousands.

Are you listening, managers of Lowes and Home Depot? If not, hopefully OSHA can spur your hearing with some hefty fines.

Homelessness and other big problems always should shock us

Today the Statesman Journal had a front page story about homeless campers being flooded out of Cascades Gateway Park following the recent heavy rains. 

This story didn't shock me, because I recall the same thing happening at Wallace Marine Park not too long ago, seemingly last year or the year before. Yet I should have been shocked by the very idea of people in the United States having to sleep outdoors because they lack a home.

There's an old saying, familiarity breeds contempt. It also appears to lead to complacency. 

This is dangerous when it comes to problems facing our society. If we get used to bad situations, they can come to seem acceptable to us, since we tend to forget what life was like before the problem became so serious.

The March 9, 2019 issue of New Scientist, which I'm just getting around to reading, has an article called "Not such a hot topic: Bizarre weather is soon viewed as normal and that is troubling news." It talks about people getting used to climate change, but the boiling frog analogy pertains broadly.

We measured the literal remarkability of temperatures by seeing how much comment they generated on Twitter. Hot and cold conditions resulted in lots of posts, particularly if they were unusual for the time of year.

But temperatures quickly became unremarkable: after just a couple of years of strange temperatures, people stopped tweeting about them. Our best estimate is that people base their idea of normal weather on what happened in just the past two to eight years.

...The tale of the boiling frog has long been used to describe the dangers posed by change that happens slowly relative to people's perception and memory. The apocryphal story compares a frog dropped into a pot of boiling water, who jumps out right away, to another placed in a pot of cold water that is gradually heated up.

This frog never recognises the danger it is in and eventually boils to death.

Our findings suggest that we may be at risk of becoming boiling frogs -- but we can still determine our fate. There are plenty of records we can use to provide the longer-term context critical for understanding climate change.

Normally, keeping things in perspective makes problems seem smaller, but the opposite is true regarding climate change.

For sure.

I've lived in Oregon since 1971, forty-nine years. Global warming has increased a lot during that period. In the old days, storm after storm would hit Oregon. Sometimes it would rain almost constantly for weeks. Usually the Willamette Valley would get snow during winter. Ice storms were quite common, bringing scary freezing rain.

Now it's rare that I need the winter tires that I put on our cars in November. I'm pretty sure that not a flake of snow has fallen the past three years. Many fir trees in our rural south Salem neighborhood are dying, at least partly because of hot summers and below normal rainfall. 

Yet it's tempting to say "We're having a mild dry winter" as if this is something good, or at least nothing to be worried about. In truth, global warming is worth worrying a lot about, because it threatens the habitability of Planet Earth for us humans. 

Most people know this. However, only those of us old enough to remember when the climate was considerably different have a lived experience of global warming -- a powerful way to be continually shocked by how the world's climate is changing.

Likewise, homeless advocates here in Salem have a broader perspective on this problem than those of us who have only become fully aware of it in the past few years. It's easy to look upon the flooding of homeless camps as simply something that happens every year, like geese flying south for the winter.

Again, we should be perpetually shocked by the sight of a homeless person, because homelessness should be very rare in a rich country like ours.

On a shorter time frame, it bothers me that over 325,000 people have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic hit the United States early this year, and a good share of Americans look upon this death toll with a yawn. Do they not care about their fellow citizens, or have they become used to the Covid frog being boiled so steadily, the demise of so many fails to shock any more? 

Probably a bit of both.

Today 3,379 Covid deaths were reported. By comparison, the 9/11 attacks in 2001 killed 2,977, and the United States embarked on a decades long effort to punish those responsible and learn how the tragedy happened. Now COVID-19 is killing a 9/11 worth of people each day with regularity, yet our country just wants to get health clubs, restaurants, and schools open as soon as possible.

Naturally other examples can be given of how outrage either is lacking, or has a short memory -- the Black Lives Matter movement, for example.

Some improvements have been made to policing practices, but by and large, new questionable killings of Blacks aren't met with the same outpouring of support for the victims as was the case after the George Floyd murder.

Obviously it isn't possible for us to be in a constant state of shock at all of the crappy things happening in the world. That way lies madness, or at least an unhealthy degree of stress. We need to pick and choose where our sense of outrage is directed. I'm simply saying that we all should look upon societal problems clearly, compassionately, and continually.

Closing our mind to a problem because it has become familiar to us doesn't make the problem go away. It merely assures that when it pops up in our awareness again, likely the problem will be worse.

Armed right-wing protesters look foolish at Capitol today

There was a successful one-day special session of the Oregon Legislature today, where several Covid relief bills were passed. There also was a farcical protest by Patriot Prayer members and other right-wingers who were outraged about... something or other.

Being asked to wear a mask? Not being allowed into the Capitol building, even though no members of the public were able to go inside during the special session? Angry that their Beloved Leader, Donald Trump, lost to Joe Biden?

Who knows. These days it doesn't make sense to ask what right-wing wackos are protesting about, because even when they give an answer, it doesn't make much sense. 

I suspect that those who showed up at the Capitol had finished their Christmas shopping, needed something to do, figured that Salem is a great place to do something, and wanted another opportunity to play toy soldier -- since some of those protesting were armed, as shown in a Daily Beast photo accompanying a story, "Heavily Armed Far-Right Mob Floods Oregon Capitol."

Wow, that would have been a funny Halloween costume, but today was December 21, not October 31. I wonder if this person with the scads of extra ammo attached to their waist realizes how foolish they look. 

Probably not, since self-awareness isn't much in evidence at these sorts of right-wing protest costume parties. 

These jerks also came with pepper spray. Which they used on police, according to a Statesman Journal story, "Arrests made after protesters attempt to enter Oregon State Capitol during session."

Oregon State Police said at about 8:30 a.m. protestors entered the building and at least one used "chemical agents" on officers. 

Two hours later, state police and Salem police started to push people out of the Capitol. Bear spray was used against police. 

“At one point we used pepper balls. I don’t know what else," said Lt. Treven Upkes of Salem Police. "When people attempted to come into the building they actually used pepper spray and other things on officers. In return, we used those to separate ourselves and get them to hold that spot. So I don’t know what all was used but I know at least pepper ball was used.

The Salem Reporter also has a story, "As lawmakers meet, protestors attempt to storm Capitol building." It includes some of the ridiculous things protesters were saying.

The crowd of protesters that arrived Monday morning was mostly maskless. Many were decked out in Donald Trump hats and waved flags from the president’s campaign. Some carried long rifles and sported body armor. One man wore a shirt calling for the imprisonment of Gov. Kate Brown.

Many yelled angrily at lawmakers gathered inside.

“Cowards!”

“What they are doing in that building right now is illegal!”

“The Chinese have taken over!”

“Vaccines are not effective!”

“I do not consent to a new world order!”

Well, my advice to these protesters is that what you're yelling should have at least a tenuous connection to reality. Otherwise you sound like a mentally ill person standing on a street corner shouting crazy stuff. Which likely would make more sense than "The Chinese have taken over!" 

Here's some tweets that came across my Twitter feed today.