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News & Commentary
Marion County denied! (Sort of)
County fails to meet state’s already lax criteria, gets turned down. Not a great look for the commissioners.
Today’s Oregon COVID-19 report
One of these things is not like the other.
Marion County cases surging
But no, really, go ahead and re-open.
Marion County tries to re-open
As Marion County appeals to the Oregon State government to re-open, there are several things to keep in mind: We do not have the virus contained. If you remove NY/NJ, the number of cases in actually increasing in the US. In fact, outside of NYC, it’s increasing in all the Top 10 metro areas of the country. (The 10 top hotspots are all rural, though, so...
A victory would be pyrrhic
Salem-based Peoples Church and nine other churches across Oregon have sued Gov. Kate Brown to force her to remove state restrictions on religious services and other activities.The complaint was filed in Baker County Circuit Court on Wednesday by the Pacific Justice Institute, a California-based legal group focused on religious liberty issues. In addition...
Convalescent plasma case failure
Notable: convalescent plasma unable to save patient. First published failure I'm aware of. Patient was making progress post-treatment but was felled by series of strokes stemming from blood clots.
Another OHA eye-roller
This is no surprise whatsoever to anyone who's been paying attention to the OHA. I will only excerpt the lede, but the entire article lays out the case. The chief medical officer of the Oregon Health Authority recently made a surprising remark about the spread of the new coronavirus that defies growing evidence from scientific studies and even the director...
OHA failure in data distribution
That COVID-19 disproportionally affects minorities should come as no surprise to anyone. Those populations are disadvantaged in a number of ways ranging from income to health to political representation. Why should the results of a pandemic be any different? In fact, if anything, COVID-19 throws these disparities into stark relief. Here's a CNN story:...
Salem-area backlash
Assuming that the governor is acting within her lawful authority—I would think she is, but I'm not an attorney—it's hard to see how this business owner isn't in legal trouble. That's to say nothing of the public relations nightmare. You'll have some—it sounds and looks like dozens turned up—who are supportive, but polling shows a substantial...
Early May
The move to convalescent plasma as a frontline treatment has been frustratingly slow. This was an obvious treatment choice (to me at least) back in March. On the brighter side, we continue to see success stories that involve convalescent plasma. We're also starting to get other antibody-based treatments that will likely scale a lot better. In the short-run...
Essays
College Notebook: Television and Food: Breakfast Cereal Commercials Aimed at Kids
Yes, I turned this in. I was on a deadline. Another "masterpiece" from the late '80s. It really goes without saying that if, as is the clear implication, the younger sibling could beat his or her elder at the competition of the day just because he or she took the time to munch down a bowl of Tony's Frosted Flakes ("They're great!"), not only would media watchdogs be much less concerned about the impact of breakfast cereal commercials aimed at kids, but the sales of Frosted...
College Notebook: Eat My Cornflakes
I wrote this back in college circa 1988 during my younger and dumber days. Well, younger anyway. I wouldn't publish these now except that my friend Dave thinks they're all right. I think Dave might have been "younger" then, too. Regardless, Cornflakes is about the steady decline of the country from the perspective of someone who remembers how it used to be. Clearly, that's not me, but lack of experience has never stopped me before, and it sure didn't here either. Once upon...
The Celestine Prophecy: The Mayans Did What?!?
Sure, it's an I-Can-Read book for the suspect and rather baffling Christian New Age movement. That doesn't mean there isn't some truth here, and let's face it, lots of people need I-Can-Read spiritual help. Of course that doesn't mean this incredibly dumb narrative is it. WARNING: This review may include spoilers! The Celestine Prophecy sports on its beautiful dust jacket one of the more compelling ideas for a story that has come down the pike in recent times: In the rain...
The Matrix: Jesus Christ, It’s Keanu Reeves!
I'm sure I'll be accused of blasphemy, but I call 'em as I see 'em. Reeves, a horrible actor if there ever was one, achieved "passable" status in Chain Reaction and Speed. Does Reeves ascend to new heights in The Matrix? As his legion of fans (hullo, girls!) will attest, the answer is a definitive "yes." WARNING: This review may include spoilers! You've probably read the Book, so why not go see the science fiction version of the story? I dare say that the origins of The...