Hello Boomer41! I hear ya! There are a few things one person can do and it feels good. We have to starve the beast. For instance, I don’t own a cell phone - even though I’m an attorney! Why? Because I will not support the telecommunications companies! I don’t subscribe to Direct TV or any cable company, for the same reason. I stopped flying because I didn’t like the TSA. I don’t save in USD because it’s fake money. I refuse to invest in 5G technology because I know it was designed to be a weapon, and it causes a lot of health problems - I don’t care how much money I stand to make, it’s not worth it. I don’t get vaccinated because I hate big pharma and I know how dangerous vaccines are.
If I had a lot of cash, I would not keep it in the bank because I hate the banks.
Get my drift? Not buying their shit helps me feel a little more in control and confident that I’m contributing to a lower market share for these unsavory companies.
Would you talk a bit more about the six loving exchanges, please? Thanx
How safe are federal employee TSP retirement accounts? What are the chances these accounts get raided?
So here’s the latest: cases in our county are still at the cluster stage, probably because we are quite rural and thus there are fewer opportunities to come into contact with large crowds or travel on public transportation. However, we’ve had three deaths. We have a mobile field hospital set up in the largest town to deal with non-COVID patients, leaving the two major hospitals available for people with the virus. Testing is still minimal and strictly controlled – basically you have to be already hospitalized with virus symptoms, a health care worker who has been exposed or someone who is severely ill (and thus needs to be hospitalized). Test kits are back-ordered from Quest and LabCorp. Given the RO, I’m betting we have three to four times the reported numbers, but no testing, so can't confirm it.
In our clinic, we have tested five people, none of whom were positive. Frankly, in two cases I don’t believe the results – those two had pretty much classic symptoms and spent several weeks in a hot spot where community spread was already established. I also suspect that if we were to test our staff, there are three or four who would have antibodies indicating they have had the disease. But they were all sick much earlier in the year, before any testing was even being considered.
I mentioned in an earlier post that we were switching to phone and telemedicine visits as quickly as possible, and we have continued that activity. We now ask patients to come in and register, then wait in their cars. We give them a color-coded, numbered sign to put on the dashboard. A smaller, matching card is kept at the reception desk and the rooming medical assistant uses the small card to find the right patient. The signs are laminated so they can be decontaminated as soon as they come back in the building. We still have chairs in the waiting room but the seats are blocked off and arranged so no one can sit closer than six feet. Instead of doing walk-in labs, we schedule patients for lab appointments, trying to keep at least 15 minutes between visits. I triage patients in their cars if necessary. All of these activities are designed to provide patient services while minimizing the number of people in the clinic and the amount of contact between patients, staff and other community members. Basically the only patients who come in for visits are the rare walk-in triage, people who really must have a physical exam or something like a pap, and the chiropractic patients. Our psychiatrist and behavioral health staff have switched to phone visits only.
Something like a pandemic brings out both the worst and the best in people. It’s been disheartening to find that other primary care offices and clinics have just shut down for the duration of the pandemic. Their patients are coming to us for help. We don’t have their medical records, which makes it tougher. Access to specialty care has always been difficult for our patients, but it’s even more so as many specialists have also closed their offices. I keep wondering what happened to the Hippocratic Oath and the Nightingale Pledge?
Most of our staff have been wonderful – coming to work consistently, being patient with each other (we’re all tired, stressed and a bit cranky). Our food closet has been in high demand – the case manager served 17 people in a week when her normal is two or three. A receptionist spent 30 minutes today listening to a man who just lost his brother (non-COVID-19 issues). He desperately needed to talk and she was his first contact because he’d been in self-quarantine. But another staff member basically abandoned her job – didn’t work from home as we agreed and hasn’t responded to emails or phone calls. Then we have the idiots who are bored with being stuck at home in the city, where most of the cases are, so they go for a drive (we’re talking a string of 30+ cars) and stop at the local store in our area for snacks. These are the same idiots, who – despite the large sign saying counter service only and a barricade across the aisle – try to climb over said barricade to get into the back of the store.
Our admin team is spending anywhere from four to six hours a day on conference calls – updates on the clinical aspects of the pandemic; coordination calls with local public health and other disaster-preparedness folks; calls with the state public health; calls with the state on licensing, regulatory and financial issues; calls with the feds and the national community health center organizations on changes in grant requirements, financing from the stimulus/rescue bills. We’re all on information overload – our heads are so full our brains are running out our ears.
We’re managing. We’re fulfilling our mission and serving our community and we will by-God keep doing it until we can’t stand up any more. Hope you all are also holding on to the important things in life – family, friends and giving back. If we do, we’ll come out of this stronger, with a renewed sense of purpose and hope.
References to digital currencies comes up from time to time in these discussions about what comes next. Have there been solid new developments in blockchain technology that would make their use less humongously energy intensive? Seems to me bitcoin et al have got as far as they have because they’re still a niche currency, more a futurist investment opportunity than something everyone uses every day. My understanding of how much energy is required to keep the chain working properly is that if everyone used it, the electricity grid would crash. Has something changed? If we’re just talking about the current digital banking system and credit debit cards, no change there.
And also talked about, though not here, is the expectation that with bringing manufacturing back home (wherever home is) won’t necessarily result in jobs coming back, as the “big guys” are looking at AI and robotics to keep their profits up. So unemployment looks like staying very high. I’m not a fan of MMT, but to keep the pitchforks at bay, either people have to be able to work, or at least be able to eat and be sheltered. Seems to me there are still an awful lot of unsolved mysteries out there.
But a final note, about loss or gain of “liberty”… I’m both old, and somewhat disabled. I can and do write and speak for something better than we have, and contribute to community, but if power centres decide to continue on their present path, I can whistle in the wind. But my inner voice reminds me of that beloved poem, “To Althea, from Prison” (Richard Lovelace, 1642):
Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage:
Minds innocent and quiet take
That for an hermitage.
If I have freedom in my love,
And in my soul am free,
Angels alone, that soar above,
Enjoy such liberty.
Mental, emotional, spiritual resilience, holding relationships first in your heart, really is the best and only freedom. If we don’t relinquish it, it can’t be taken from us. Thank you to PP, for reminding us of this in so many practical ways.
Beth - you’re an inspiration - thank you so much for your updates. Your community is fantastically fortunate to have you!
Hi Berth, thanks for the update. Great idea to implement Telemedicine visits. Having other Primary Care facilities just shut down puts a lot of extra stress on you guys who have chosen to stay open and continue to work. Kudos to you for stepping up! Those who pick up a cross for a cause often travel a lonely path.
Calls and meetings have always amazed me, the loaded labor rate and time invested - makes you wonder if all that time and info couldn’t be condensed somehow.
We’re all on information overload – our heads are so full our brains are running out our ears.Lol, I get it.
We’re managing. We’re fulfilling our mission and serving our community and we will by-God keep doing it until we can’t stand up any more. Hope you all are also holding on to the important things in life – family, friends and giving back. If we do, we’ll come out of this stronger, with a renewed sense of purpose and hope.You nailed it Beth - family, friends and giving back! Being there for your community, you and your team are unrecognized hero's’! Great job my friend, take care of yourself! AKGrannyWGrit
In case anyone else in this gardening and food storage community has had or is having problems with rats, we had an apocalyptic infestation last year, so if you want to trade notes on ways to deal with it, let me know, we can start a forum on it. I ended up writing it up in our local mag. An epic war.
What a lovely poem, and so true imo. Thanks.
Concerning your question about more energy friendly crypto: yes there are developments. Bitcoin and other crypto that need to be mined use “Proof-of-Work”. Apart from using huge amounts of energy, it favors the wealthy. An alternative is the so-called “Proof-of-Stake” (PoS). This does not require expensive, energy consuming computers. Another advantage is that in many cases you get “interest”.
I personally only “invest” small amounts of money because decentralized ledgers interest me (“power to the people” ?). It is a reasonable incentive to spend some time in it. There are basically three problems:
- The technology is new, and it is the wild west. Projects pop up for a fast array of applications (use cases). Few of these will survive.
- Currently it is highly speculative, and the markets unfortunately still linked to the most useless of them all: bitcoin.
- I do not believe that “the powers that be” will allow anything that erodes their power; the crypto markets are still small, but when they gain more traction I expect more “rules and regulations” (that favor the banks and governments).
canterbury.stacy wrote: How safe are federal employee TSP retirement accounts? What are the chances these accounts get raided?stacy, The quick answer is that they are totally safe. The real answer is that they will be used against you. You will get every dollar that is owed; however, those dollars may not purchase as much as you expected. Meanwhile, other expected "benefits" may be put on hold until you've exhausted your retirement accounts. Don't feel special. Anyone with any sort of retirement account - IRA, 401(k), etc. will be in the same boat. Governments punish non-insiders who plan. That may seem outlandish on the surface, but give it some thought. Imagine that you are in charge of the big pile of bills (promises) coming in and a diminishing pile of revenue being collected at the same time. Unless you can borrow to make up the difference, you've got tough choices to make. So far, the government can continue to borrow at reasonable costs (interest rates.) That means we can kick the can down the road a bit longer. So, what happens when TPTB can no longer borrow? Since you're promoted to make the tough decisions, who are you going to screw? The big boyz will get even with you - one way or the other. The low end of the economic spectrum will likely cause much more physical damage if their promised payments are withheld. Besides, there's a humanitarian aspect to consider. Not all of them are there of their own choice. Nonetheless, the pot is shrinking and the demands are growing. You need to find a solution - and preferably one that saves your face. You announce some arcane formula for distributing reduced funds. You promote it as a "fair" alternative since you care for the downtrodden while helping those who provide the jobs and industry. Meanwhile, you promise additional compensation (at a later date) for those who are forced to draw down their retirement accounts in lieu of current promised benefits. Pat yourself on the back. That's a political win for you since you successfully kicked the can down the road. If you're smart, you'll quickly quit "to spend more time with your family" ... before the end of the road arrives. This is just the way I see it playing out. That doesn't mean it will play out that way. You need to determine your own plan and expect to live with the consequences. So, where are the safe places to keep money? One of our national myths is that a man's home is his castle. (Use whatever gender specific pronouns you prefer.) Governments are sensitive to maintaining the myth. Many citizens are rightfully appalled when governments trample property rights. So, I see personal housing/property as a safer place to keep assets. Is it better to own outright or have a large mortgage? I cashed out my retirement accounts when I retired, paid the taxes, and then paid off the mortgage. Was that the smartest thing to do? (I've never had hindsight in time to use it constructively.) It made the most sense to me at the time. It is also a huge relief during these trying times that I don't have a mortgage to worry about. As a result, I'm house rich and cash poor. I can compromise and live with that. That's just one example. Are there other sacred myths to exploit? I'm sure there are. I'm still working on improving my property. Good luck, Grover
What comes next?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mm3KmKRRRo
Draconian travel restrictions controlled via biomarker tagged vaccines of dubious efficacy.
M A N D A T O R Y
Physical cash destroyed due to scaremongering on virus spread – all citizens forced onto digital transactions only.
M A N D A T O R Y
Your social/digital/healthcare score rates what you can/can’t do – penalities include immediate digital rights shutdown rendering your life non-functional. Resistacnce will be quashed by para-military police forces.
M A N D A T O R Y
Depopulation - A systematic culling of non-useful drones…. Through carfeul mashalling of what foods work revenue streams and social profiling will be available for you.
M A N D A T O R Y
This future was displayed for all to see back in 2013, by Neill Blomkamp – the difference being the 1% will go to island enclaves with max security to keep the infected riff-raff out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXwBcHGpjm4
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/pandemic-power-grabs-all-over-world/
You will accept the biomarker tagging…
Now repeat after me:
“I’m a fully woke, fellow approved citizen aware helper. I’m very grateful for my full-time job on the mega farm, owned and controlled by Amazon. I no longer need free-spirited social engagement. All evils of the pre Dec 2019 world have been cleansed and erased. I am also very grateful for the monthly safety vaccine shot I receive via the approved Gates Foundation format - without which my right to work is rightfully rescinded…”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronavirus_Act_2020
Commentator Ian Dunt labelled the Act the “most extensive encroachment on British civil liberties … ever seen outside of wartime”
Why are they taking from us? Simple human nature I believe… nobody wants “less.” Do you or I want less money, wealth, power, health, friends, or stuff? “They” are simple humans just like us, even if “they” think differently. Few people or strata give up their stuff willingly. Just like nobody wants to give up his/her car and house in homage to some vague “global warming crisis.”
Many top 5% people like to say we in teh US have been living as kings compared to the $1-2/day people in the rest of the world for the past 100 years. And they’re not totally wrong… because that was true into the 1970s, even 1990s, 2000s… but the US quality of life is reducing here as our population grows (more people sharing smaller slices of economic pie), while rest-of-world (2nd-3rd world) have developed into something resembling functional 1st-2nd world countries… lifting billions out of the dirt, muck, and general poverty relative to 1950s-60s US income levels.
I believe the “elitez” shared socio-economic power and benefits with the rest of us plebes in the 1900s solely because they COULD - fossil fuels = energy slaves. Coal & oil provided the means to get rid of slavery in the US… because those fuels = energy slaves.
Now that we’ve passed peak oil production (or have we yet), there is less economic pie to share amongst everyone - while global population continues growing, to Bill Gates’ chagrin.
Hi V, interested in learning. A friend suggests to me to use round paint buckets since rats can’t get their mouths around them. And have some cats…
Farmers suffering, can they hold on to their businesses?
https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20200409/coronavirus-florida-vegetables-unexpected-victim-of-covid-19
We’ve got to take the economy back - and our freedoms.
Here is France our President Macron has announced he will extend the confinement on Monday. I can say that in certain areas of France there are less than 10 patients in reanimation; the young in general don’t get sick enough to go to the hospital; the people who have been sick and recovered are kept in confinement; HCQ+ is not available through your GP; people are just starting to wear masks - realizing that we were lied to.
Austria has announced that it will end the confinement next week.
This will be like Ghandi’s movement once it gets going.
Happy Easter weekend to all!
Here is a map of France, scroll down and you will see a map of the “departements” where they list the number of cases under hospital care and intensive care.
How can you shut the whole country down when you have a whole bunch of departements with less than 10 patients in reanimation?
https://www.lanouvellerepublique.fr/actu/carte-coronavirus-en-france-30-375-hospitalisations-et-82-048-cas-le-point-par-departement?fbclid=IwAR33fUtRuktJoZQ4HLf8IfrX9xTcOunabJbTd7bdnVGGANv_pIzkESWJfWk
Clay pots were developed by the early agrarian humans who created the first cities to store their grains and protect them from rats
Rail against the rich for taking it all, blame the poor for having nothing, vent because we’re caught in the middle envying the rich and desperately afraid of becoming the poor. Anyone else see that as an exercise in futility.