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Brattleboro and VT COVID-19 Regional Dashboard Summary – November 2022

by cgrotke | Health

It is time for the November 2022 dashboard summary. We continue semi-regular COVID-19 dashboard numbers from the Vermont Department of Health, and MA and NH counties that surround Brattleboro, as long as they continue providing them.  Scroll down the new comments for the latest.

Vermont and MA have very limited looks at what are going on these days, with weekly snapshots. NH attempt daily updates but doesn’t always give new totals. We continue to try…. : )

The American Model of Democracy Is Beyond Repair

by RDavis | Activism

It is frustrating to watch the political process play out in this country and hold out hope that things will improve. Lies, corruption and every imaginable form of deceit rule the day. Some might say that this is the way it has always has been and they point to scandals and scoundrels that have ruled the day since the birth of the republic.

One can give up on the political process completely and not vote and not engage in any activity of a political nature and try to ignore the mess of the current political state. Others may work to change things and look to a brighter future where common sense and decency prevail. I don’t see a lot of hope for optimism when it comes to politics.

On the other hand, an argument might be made that politics has always been a messy business and that all of the bad that comes of political work is the price we have to pay in order to accomplish the work of government. If we buy that argument then we give a pass to a lot of bad people doing bad things and I just can’t accept that kind of thinking because it only makes it harder for many of us to engage in the world.

Assassinations of Leaders

by tomaidh | Questions & Answers

I just finished watching a long 4-part documentary entitled “Bobby Kennedy for President” (Worth watching). Bobby was murdered. His brother JFK was murdered. Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King was also murdered. 

It causes me to wonder: what kind of America would we be living in today if these leaders were allowed to live?

The Truth No Longer Matters

by RDavis | Activism

We live in a time in which the truth has less and less bearing on how the world operates. This is something that has evolved over a long period of time but it feels like we are, more acutely, feeling the effects of allowing ourselves to be influenced by those who are willing to lie to get whatever they want.

It may seem like this is something new, but the world of politics has witnessed this phenomenon for as long as the political game has been played.

The difference today is that the years of not stopping the lies forcefully enough have finally caught up with us and there are now millions of people around the world who are easily convinced that lies have somehow been magically converted into the truth because someone in power has told them to believe them.

Wild Animals Disappearing

by tomaidh | Nature

“A vast new study finds there are 70 percent fewer wild animals sharing the earth with us than there were in 1970. Read that again. And again.”

Courtesy: Bill McKibben via Tim Stevenson

‘Tarot as a Metaphysical Tool for Personal Development Not a Parlor Game’

by SilverMoon | Spiritual

For many of us our initial exposure to Tarot Cards and Tarot Readings is one of fortune tellers and carnivals; mysterious, shadowy foretelling of things to come be they pleasant or unpleasant. Those who read Tarot Cards are portrayed in the movies as the person who predicts the future or events that haven’t happened yet.

It is rare to experience Tarot as a metaphysical tool for understanding our life path more deeply, a navigational map for moving forward or the sacred sciences it embraces i.e. numerology, sacred geometry, karmic patterns, 5 element principles and a guide to our Higher or Lower roads of Consciousness and personal development.

The Yearly Medicare Advertising Blitz

by RDavis | Health

It’s bad enough that we are being subjected to a barrage of political ads as the mid-term election approaches. Those of us in the Medicare eligibility pool are also experiencing the yearly lust to enroll by private insurance companies hoping you will switch to a Medicare Advantage plan. Medicare pays them extremely well when people sign up for Advantage plans.

My simple advice is that if you are enrolled in traditional Medicare stay there. Consider switching back to traditional Medicare if you are in an Advantage plan. From October 15 until January 15, 2023 Medicare beneficiaries can switch Medicare plans.

Understanding all of the implications of types of Medicare plans can be difficult. If you look at some of the most important issues, such as cost, then decisions can be easier. Medicare Part A has no cost for most people. In 2023 the standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B will be $164.90 and the annual deductible will be $226.

Brattleboro and VT COVID-19 Regional Dashboard Summary – October 2022

by cgrotke | Health

It is time for the October 2022 dashboard summary. We continue semi-regular COVID-19 dashboard numbers from the Vermont Department of Health, and MA and NH counties that surround Brattleboro, as long as they continue providing them.  Scroll down the new comments for the latest.

Vermont and MA have very limited looks at what are going on these days, with weekly snapshots. NH attempt daily updates but doesn’t always give new totals. We try…. : )

The Pandemic is Not Over

by RDavis | Health

The pandemic is not over. Sorry to burst your bubble, but if you think that COVID is not still in the air and infecting and killing people you are not accepting reality. According to the CDC there 49,808 new cases a day, 353 deaths every day and 3737 hospitalizations every day.

Nearly 96 million Americans (an underestimate) have been infected with COVID, 1,051,389 Americans have died and there are currently 20,033 people now being treated in U.S. hospitals for severe cases of COVID. Those numbers have slowed over recent months but the disease is still very much with us and will most likely become something we have to deal with for a long time.

My wife and I have been extremely careful about respecting the power of COVID and up until two weeks ago we thought we would be able to avoid becoming infected. We have had two boosters and also the Omicron protective (third) booster. We wear masks in all indoor public places and try to avoid crowds.

If The Names On The Ballot Aren’t Printed The Same Size, Is That Ballot Fraud?

by CrisEricson2016 | Questions & Answers

To Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos:

There appears to be a serious question of ballot fraud in the printing of the Nov. 8, 2022 general election ballot in Vermont. See attached Burlington sample ballot.

The names of candidates, including myself, Ms. Cris Ericson, for U.S. Senator are printed smaller than names of candidates for other offices even though there are three empty spaces in the bottom of the
middle column so there is no reason to print those names smaller.

Rabbi Weiss Was Not Billy Graham

by SK-B | Living

The Rabbi was our synagogue’s spiritual leader for a decade or more. Since it was my childhood, it seemed like forever. For me, Rabbi Weiss will always be The Rabbi.

When my family arrived in the newly-minted post WWII lower-middle class community, the Jewish center consisted of Rabbi Weiss working from a desk in the back of a real estate office, with Hebrew School classes in members’ basements. There was a building fund for the future synagogue, which at the time was Rabbi Weiss’ impossible dream.

The rabbi was fired a few years after the shul was built. Suddenly, it seems, the governing board replaced Rabbi Weiss with a younger guy, who wore a United States Air Force Reserve uniform to his very first public appearance at the Jewish Community Center of Bayside Hills. My mother disapproved. She felt it was flamboyant, not fitting for a Rabbi. “They got rid of Rabbi Weiss” my mother said, “because they want Billy Graham!”

It’s Time To End The British Monarchy

by RDavis | Activism

If you want to see an institution out of step with the world in 2022 then look to the British monarchy. It was created in the 10th century when Anglo Saxon England moved from an elective monarchy to a primogeniture system after England was conquered by the Normans in 1066.

That means that British citizens have accepted this family business over the centuries and they have done little to stop one family from accumulating massive wealth while strutting around like peacocks. The royal family has had some power to alter history over the years but in 2022 they do little but bolster some of their pet causes and promulgate a lifestyle of pomp and circumstance.