"In a pandemic, everyone is a socialist."

"In a pandemic, everyone is a socialist." – Big Sister Resister Pagrs

The world is coming together to get through this crisis. And as people unite, the natural tendency is to share. It's wonderful. Those with more are sharing with those with less. That's socialism, folks!

As more and more states declared that citizens should shelter in place, most of us are stuck at home for the foreseeable future. Everything is closed now, except for essential businesses and services. But here come the helpers!

Facebook groups whose mission is to share and swap spontaneously popped up in communities across the land. Here is our local group: Santa Barbara Quarantine Mutual Aid. Ask around your community for yours.

I was in New Mexico recently, and there was a lot of news about school systems throughout the state continuing to provide grab-and-go meals to school children, despite school being cancelled. A local bagel cafe in my hometown was offering, along with their scrumptious menu of bagel treats, a cache of toilet paper rolls, free to anyone who needed one. “We got you covered!”  Thanks Ruby K’s!

Here's a sweet story from Edinburgh. What a lovely way for this store to help its elderly neighbors! They provided care packages to them, complete with "loo rolls" and hand sanitizer! Yessss!

I love when people help people!


Free Performing Arts
Now that we are stuck at home and not able to enjoy the arts in person, a bunch of organizations have made available their performances for free.

The Metropolitan Opera is streaming some of its performances for free. But not for long! Check it out today!

The Paris Opera is also offering many performances for free through the spring.

The Royal Opera House is offering free streaming of past operas and ballets.

Broadway HD has a 7-day free trial. You can stream several Broadway shows!

Free Books and Education
Socialism at its best! Public libraries! The New York Public Library is offering free downloads of thousands of books. You will need to download their e-reader app, but after that you can check out three at a time. Check out your own public library, too. They have lots of digital media to borrow.

If the libraries don't have what you're looking for, Audible has made many titles available for free as well! No account needed. Just go to Audible's page here and start listening!

The Great Courses Plus has a month-long free trial of learning modules. You do have to sign up with a credit card, so be careful to cancel once your month is up. I've enjoyed the courses in my car. You can learn something new!

And if you wanna be able to brag that you aced a class at Yale, enroll in this free class, The Science of Well-Being. It's Yale's most popular class in their 317-year history. We need more happiness and well-being. This course teaches you how to be happier! Go ahead! Enroll at Yale!

Free Information
Free access to information about the pandemic is offered from The Washington Post and The New York Times. There are no paywalls for any news related to the current coronavirus crisis. Stay informed!

Free Nature
The Monterey Bay aquarium has nearly a dozen animal webcams that you can enjoy. Enjoy the soothing jellies or the lively sea otters.

Here's a listing of links from CBS News to many other zoo and aquarium webcams.

Free Sports
And if you are missing your weekly dosage of sports ball, sign up for the NFL Game Pass. It's free through May 31. You can watch past NFL games from the last 10 years.

Mourning the loss of Spring Training? PBS is sharing Ken Burns's epic documentary Baseball for free. Go watch it. You have time!

Free All of the Above
Though it's not new, Open Culture is a rich resource for free cultural and educational materials. From language courses to rock concerts (The Grateful Dead is featured on their home page), to free books and movies, to free lectures and courses, there is much to explore. Dig in!

...And Free Money
And guess what? State-sponsored socialism is on the horizon, too! Right here, right now! From the Republican-led government, no less! Plans are being finalized to put about $1000 in the pockets of most Americans in the coming weeks, based on income. That's right! The gov'ment is gonna help us out of this bind with free money. Watch your mailbox!

Tom Toles

And with all that being said, my neighbors should know that I can go shopping for you, deliver supplies, or share a virtual drink. Let me know. If I have it, I will share it.

And if you know any other streaming performances or accessible art or culture, post it in the comments!

In the meantime, be Baby Bear!

Phil Hands

Be well, friends. 

Calamidipitous

At the end of the week last week, there came a cascade of concern about the coronavirus (or, as my brother-in-law resister calls it, the cabrónavirus [New Mexicans will get it]).

On Wednesday evening, March 12, IMPOTUS gave a 10-minute "presidential" address which alarmed the world. It was completely chaotic, and minute-by-minute as he spoke, Dow futures reversed course from 300 points up to more than 1000 points down during his brief speech. The Dow lost even more during trading the next day.

It confused and upset us. The lack of leadership was once again borne to light.

And also on Thursday, it seemed that we suddenly and collectively woke up to the very real risks, and "social distancing" became the phrase of the day.

Still without federal guidance, state and local governments took action. More and more states declared a state of emergency (including my home state of New Mexico), school districts began suspending classes, the NBA suspended their season, there were calls to cancel large and small events. And so, one by one, things were cancelled. Companies told their workers to stay home. Conferences were cancelled, other sports organizations suspended or delayed their seasons, concerts and plays were cancelled, movie theaters agreed to allow only 100 viewers per screening. Keep 6 feet between you and anyone else, people!

Finally, on Friday, 45 declared a Federal State of Emergency. It came as a sort of relief to many of us, finally having him take this seriously. The declaration frees up billions of dollars and puts FEMA into action.

And then, apocalypse preparation kicked in to high gear. And people began to panic buy. Store shelves were cleared out. People hoarded toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and water.

Well, you know. You were there. It felt like we were facing Armageddon, didn't it?

But it’s not Armageddon, nor the apocalypse. Nor doomsday. It’s a remarkable, unique time in our planet’s history.

Let's pivot to the positives. This may be the world's first major calamadipitous happening.

Calamidipitous (from the LSR Dictionary): (adj.) unexpectedly positive arising from an extremely troubling situation.

We may not see it now, it's horrible, and we are in a bit of a panic (some more than others). But what good can see in this?

Children and young people have not been affected much, if at all. This is a huge positive! Though schools are closing out of an abundance of caution because children may be little germ vectors, they have not been expressing COVID-19 themselves in near the numbers that adults are experiencing it. I can not think of a better silver lining. Can you imagine the tragedy of losing many of our precious babies? And can you imagine trying to keep them from touching, licking, picking, and rubbing? We are sanitizing what we can in their world, but truly we don't have the worry as we do for our chronically ill and elderly friends. And without them getting sick, there are more hospital beds for those who do.

Research into why kids don’t get it may lead to new medical breakthroughs.

This may be the event the U.S. needs to overhaul its healthcare system. We know that our "healthcare" system is in reality an Insurance Company Profit System. The insurance companies are in the business of denying healthcare. With millions potentially becoming seriously ill, this will be The Great Wake-Up. We'll see how other developed countries with socialized medicine come through this.

And our paid time off system. Millions from coast to coast will be off work or on reduced hours. The hardest hit will be hourly workers, mostly in the service industry. We'll see that many will be devastated by this, and we may come out on the other side with real reform in employment laws.

Perhaps this will goad some to quit smoking and reduce smoking-related illnesses and death. Studies in China suggest that men there are afflicted more than women and it’s been theorized that this may be because they smoke more. As more studies are conducted, this may be a huge health finding and may be a huge impetus to stop smoking. (By the way, please if you smoke, try once more to quit today!)

Hotels, cruise ships, and other public places will forever be cleaner places. 'Nuff said.


We know what the enemy is, and we have an inkling of how to battle it. Ok, this may be a stretch as a positive. But thanks to science we know what this is and we're learning more each day. That’s a lot more than many of our other medical and human enemies. A vaccine, though off in the seems-like-forever-from-now future, is on the horizon.

With social isolation, there will be fewer accidents leading to death and major injury. Fewer cars on the road means fewer accidents, period. Fewer people at work, fewer work-related injuries.

With social isolation, there will be fewer deaths from influenza, the other deadly respiratory disease. The other horribly fatal respiratory disease is the flu. By practicing our best hygiene practices and staying away from each other, the end of this year's flu season will go out like a whimper.

There may be positive environmental impacts, as less fossil fuel is burned while we all stay home and nest. Fewer travelers means fewer emissions. It'll be fascinating to see what the studies show during this period. We'll have a treasure trove of data. It's already been evident in China as manufacturing shut down during the early days of the crisis. See the striking satellite images in this article from The Guardian.

There will be fewer mass shootings and terrorist attacks during the period of collective social distancing. Think on that! It's a huge positive. Crime in general will go down. I betcha there will be fewer robberies (unless the bad guy is desperate for some toilet paper), rapes, burglaries, and murders. There will probably be an uptick in domestic violence, though. Eeeep. Again, we'll have a great big bunch o' data to analyze once this is all over.

People will develop or re-discover new hobbies or creative outlets. I like this one! We'll be stuck at home, so maybe we'll start reading more, or we'll dig up our paint kit from the garage, or we'll start our memoir. Human beings are resilient. We'll find something wonderful to do!

As we keep our distance, somehow we are finding ways to come together. People are joking about the empty shelves at the supermarket. Networks of helpers are popping up to help their neighbors. TP hoarders notwithstanding, the best of us is emerging.

And, happiest of all, it's likely the end of 45's reign of terror. His crown jewel has always been the stock market. It tanked in record amounts as a direct result of his mishandling this crisis. In fact, the biggest one-day drop in the history of the Dow was last week. The winning doesn't stop, does it?

SCROTUS's main mechanism crisis after crisis has been to lie and misconstrue and hope <whatever it is> goes away. And much of the time that has worked, since <whatever it is> was always closely followed by <another shit show>. This time, his tactic of see no evil, hear no evil put Americans directly in harm's way. He can't gaslight a virus. "Those" Americans are finally waking up to the fact that this deeply flawed man is destroying us. As the Peter Wehner in The Atlantic writes, the TЯUMP presidency is over.

Let us hope, as we face November when this horrible event is over, that this is borne out.

And until then, I remain,
Yours very truly in good health,
Little Sister Optimister

Prepare; Don't Share

By now we've stocked up on toilet paper (so much toilet paper!), hand sanitizer, and canned soup. We've learned which songs to sing while we wash our hands, and we're trying mighty hard to keep our hands away from our faces. We've made sure our Netflix subscription is up to date and we have a stash of girl scout cookies.

We brace for the worst, while we don't really know what the worst will be.

I touched upon 45's response to the COVID-19 global crisis in my post about the virus scare on February 29: COVID-19, A Primer.

In the past few weeks, Sniffles of course was able make a bad situation worse. True to form, his utter ignorance and ineptitude was on full display. In summary, he has been a "walking, talking, tweeting disaster," as CNN's Samantha Vinograd writes. It's hard to enumerate all the missteps from this wart, but let us try.

There has not only been misinformation, there has been disinformation coming from the Whitewash House. Just. Shut. Up.

Dave Whammond 

He doesn't get it, and if he does, it's the usual 🙈🙊🙉. He has perfected the tactic well over the last 3½ years. But likely it's deeper than that. He wants to spin criticism about his handling of the crisis a "Dem Hoax."

There has been increased fear and confusion because of the incomplete, or misleading, information. Here are AP fact-checks of many of his misleading and false statements.

The scariest mouthpoop he has squirted was saying that people can go to work while sick. That's just downright dangerous. If you feel sick, stay home! Let me say it again. If you feel sick, stay home!

But maybe the most frustrating aspect of the government's bumbled response surrounds testing kits. There has been mega confusion. We can not know how the disease is spreading without knowing who has it. Knowing how the disease is spreading can help us stop it from spreading. Science!!

The Orange Scourge has said that "anyone who needs a test gets one," but health officials across the nation report test kits are in woefully short supply. For example, in California, where there has been one death, where travelers from abroad are being quarantined, where thousands are being monitored, where the governor has declared a freaking state of emergency, only 516 people had been tested as of last Thursday.

And he has blamed Obama for the delays in testing. Ummmmm. This virus appeared four months ago. Gah! <LSR bangs head into the ever-growing dent in the wall>

The good news is that the private sector is stepping in, and thanks to the Gates Foundation, home test kits are on their way, at least for residents of Washington, our hardest-hit state so far. Thank you, Bill and Melinda Gates!

He has been characteristically bizarre, such as while he was visiting the CDC a few days ago:




Tell me, if you were going to go in front of cameras broadcasting to the entire world, would you read up a little on the topic so that you didn't look like an abject idiot? I think I would.

And yet......

There have been so many other instances of his downplaying the crisis, it's mind-boggling. Thanks to the Washington Post, who made this compilation.




Huh? A hunch?




He has also, of course, been is shrugging about the risk at his rallies. This, too, is dangerous. He recently spoke at a CPAC rally. Later, a person attending that event tested positive. And guess what? 45 shook hands with someone who had direct contact with that patient.

And at the same event he does this:



It reminds me of this:

Image found on Reddit

Two members of Congress had direct contact with that individual, and yesterday both Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) decided to self-quarantine. And as I go to press, Rep Matt Gaetz (R- FL) (along with a couple others) also decided to self-quarantine after exposure at CPAC. Gaetz's announcement came an hour after he was on Air Force One with The Chosen One.

I really don't wish harm to come to any of my fellow earth travelers, but yanno? I'm bringing out the world's tiniest violin for this one. This is the same Matt Gaetz who mocked the impending crisis by wearing a gas mask to the House. The same Matt Gaetz who presides over the congressional district where Florida's first COVID-19 death occurred. The Germophobe-in-Chief and one of the most odious members of Congress? The schadenfreude is strong in this one.

Mike Pence, who supposedly is in charge of the response, hasn't been anywhere. I haven't seen him address the issue with the American people. I wonder if SCROTUS put Mikey in charge so that when the crisis spins out of control – which it inevitably will – he can put the blame on Mike and nominate a new VP.

The government's crisis response been bungled at many levels. And the bungling is costing us time. The alarm was sounded months ago, but the See No Evil mechanism was promptly put into place, causing confusion and distrust. He's simply not telling the truth, and we can't trust what the government is doing, sadly.

We want facts. We need facts. Facts can allay fears and point the direction to solutions. Getting the facts engenders trust. We need to focus on the facts, and we need to demand facts. Science is not a deep state conspiracy.

This essay isn't meant to stoke more fears. It's just lamenting the bad information. Good information is helpful; bad information is downright dangerous.

So, back to factual information. The Centers for Disease Control is the best source. Here is prevention advice from the CDC. And here is the CDC's advice for what to do if you get sick.

Go. Read. Do.

The long and short of the advice is: prepare your home and your family. Have a little extra food and medications on hand; keep your hands and your belongings clean; don't share your germs! Don't share your personal items or air space if you get sick.

LSR's motto: Prepare; don't share. 

Except: Let's share our hoards of TP with friends and neighbors. Stay in touch. If you feel sick and can't get to the store, ask for help. It's easy to leave stuff on each other's porches. Friends, if you need cough medicine, TP, or homemade cookies, call me!

Stay informed and prepare. Besides the CDC, consult reputable medical and media sites. Here is the World Health Organization's information. Here is a great bunch of information, including a set of data  and an interactive map, from Johns Hopkins. WaPo is keeping their pulse on the crisis with live updates.

Remember, you aren't just protecting yourself, but more importantly you are protecting the most vulnerable among us, the elderly and the chronically ill. Do your part.

Don't panic. And keep a sense of humor.

And to that end:

March Fourth!

I have another project in mind for 2021, so I don't really intend to continue this blog once we elect a new president, but with the urge to write after the Super Tuesday primary, I may end up chiming in. The political virus bit me hard! 

Now that Super Tuesday is over, March Fourth! 

First, I want to say how great it was that California was part of Super Tuesday for the first time. Finally we got to be part of the conversation, instead of waiting until June to vote, when everyone had gone home. 

I found the Super Tuesday results really exciting! I was saddened and disappointed that Elizabeth Warren didn't do better. It's a whole 'nother topic to discuss: the culture of sexism that we suffer. I’m relieved Bloomberg didn’t do better spectacularly went down in flames (you can’t buy our votes, Bub!). But in the end, I’m excited that the field has been winnowed.

I watched the returns on ABC News, and they reported some exit polls which were particularly cool. First, many folks decided last-minute who to vote for. This is partly due to the field being reduced last minute, with Steyer, Klobuchar, and Buttigieg dropping out, but I also believe that this is a sign of the party becoming united. We have no use for tribalism.

Furthermore, exit polls indicated that upwards of 80%-90% of people will vote for the ultimate candidate, even if that candidate is not their first or second choice. This is great stuff! 

I'm also excited about Biden's momentum. 

Hear me out.

I am as progressive as many of my sister and brother resisters. Put me in the "very liberal" column if you poll me. I love the idea of Medicare for All, and I think it can be done. Medicare for Many of Us works really well! I want to erase student debt; I want to expand public education and make college and trade schools accessible to all. I want government to help the less fortunate. I love the progressive agenda. I am a bleeding-heart lib'ral and have been for most of my life. The progressive train has been chugging since FDR, and I'm confident it will continue to chug, even when there are big hills to climb. I am enamored with Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie has great ideas! 

But despite his faults – and he has a few – Biden is a good choice. In the end, we need someone who can get us out of this mess. Biden can do it. 

Here are a few points from this article: So Biden wasn't your top choice. Want to hear the good news?

He can bring the progressive wing along with his choice of VP. 

"Joe Biden will almost certainly name Stacey Abrams as his VP. The right-wing will claim that he is appointing her based on the fact-that she is a woman of color, as opposed to accepting her for her merit on one very important subject: Gerrymandering. The office of the VP doesn’t have a lot of power but overseeing a national reform of our elections is a project perfectly suited for the office, and Abrams, regardless of race or gender, is perfectly suited to address that issue. That she is a woman of color is a just a bonus."

No matter which one takes the nomination, the pick of VP is hugely important for invigorating the party. He should choose someone with two or more qualities: woman (probably this should be a given); younger; opposite philosophy (Biden should choose a progressive; Bernie should choose a moderate); person of color. Stacey Abrams, Kamala Harris fit those qualifications well. Warren would do that for Biden. ♥️

Like it or not, there is a faction of the left that isn’t ready for far-left ideals. Biden can pull them in, and this will be good for down-ticket races. 

"The American people will be FAR more likely to give Democrats control of Senate with Biden vs. other candidates. We on the left all love positions and various attributes of Sanders, Warren, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Bloomberg, etc. but let’s face it – some key demographics of this country aren’t ready for it. The 2016 elections were decided by around 3 points. Independents, Christians, Senior Citizens, the South, etc. Swing elections. Biden appeals to all of these demographics, while other candidates were very polarizing among them."

Biden is committed to preserving and improving Obama’s hat pin, the Affordable Care Act.

"Biden will fortify ACA and perhaps even get us a Public Option.
Both Biden and Abrams are strong supporters of fortifying ACA and getting rid of elements of the plan that could make it even more beneficial than M4A. Particularly, a strong public option could give us the best of both worlds on healthcare issues." 

I’m confident that Medicare for All will happen eventually. The conversation has started in a real way. People are coalescing behind the idea. The idea isn’t going away. And again, we need to vote in progressive Members of Congress. THOSE are the people who will make Medicare for All a reality.

And Joe is a good choice for working with an obstructive Congress if it doesn’t move left. 

"Joe Biden is the best chance at getting an obstructionist GOP Senate to work with him. He knows every Senator with any tenure in the halls of congress, and most of the Representatives. He doesn’t need to build political capital with them, as he has spent decades as one of them doing exactly that. While a Sanders or Warren presidency would have brought about key, necessary systemic changes, it would have been a fight to do so every step of the way. With Biden, actual progress is possible as out of all the candidates, he has the best chance of getting both sides of the aisle working together."

He’ll get a rousing endorsement from Obama and we WILL defeat 45 in the general election. 

"Obama and his coalition will activate to defeat Trump. We will see it as soon as today, the Obama machine (which is considerable) will activate for Joe. Prior to Super Tuesday, this would have been a bad idea and risky, as it was important to Obama (based on statements) that the primaries be fair and unencumbered with bias. Despite outcry, Tom Perez has done a fairly decent job of this, and Obama has done a great job staying out of the fray. That will change today."

He’ll work to bring competent people, and hopefully some progressive voices, to the cabinet. 

"It’s not about Biden as president, it is appointing who he appoints.
The biggest swaths of damage that Trump is responsible for isn’t just in his actions, it is in who he appoints. Gorsuch and Kavanaugh to SCOTUS, Pruitt to EPA, DeVos to education, Zinke and Bernhardt to the interior, and any magnate or lobbyist who could gain from sacking their department as appointment to every department. The damage that three years of this has done to our country will be felt for decades. Biden already has a mechanism in place to restore these agencies by choosing people he knows, has worked with, and understands how to reverse that damage in place."

He’s a good man. He’s a good politician. He will lead well.

"He’s actually a good person, with a genuine history of doing the right thing. Has he had missteps in DACA votes, SCOTUS controversy, and some votes he was involved in decades and an entire generation ago? Yes, who hasn’t. Line up his controversies next to Trump, and we quickly see that 4 bad decisions in 40+ years of government service is actually pretty phenomenal."

Stephen Colbert does a great impression of him (ok, Colbert also does a great Bernie).

And Jill Biden though! Sign her up for the Secret Service! That woman will defend Joe with her life! 

Let's concentrate on removing 45! We have no use for tribalism. Bernie supporters, keep supporting him! We need loud progressive voices! Biden supporters, you too! Promote him well! But to all of you, I implore: As we go forward, as you keep promoting your candidate, don't disparage the other. Keep talking about your candidate’s ideas. We want them and we need them! We also need to get out of this mess, and we can only do that if EVERYONE shows up to the polls on November 3. No matter who gets the nomination, we will need to also focus on progressive tickets in the House and Senate. Those races are of vital importance if we are going to make change. The president can't do it by himself.

I hope, and I'm confident, that by the time a candidate is gelled, all of the others who have run will strongly and unequivocally endorse him. And you, too, no matter who you backed. It's important that we coalesce. Keep talking about ideas, but let's stay positive. No trash talkin'! We have to stick together! We need every. Single. Voter.

And until then.... #Resist!