Show respect, wear a mask

68

To the Editor:
On June 1, a protest of historic proportions occurred at Five Corners. About 400 people showed up to take a knee against police violence.

There were some on the online forum of The MV Times that decried such a gathering during a pandemic, and questioned the wisdom of it.

They, of course, were responding to criticism of protest both here and around the country demanding that the governors and local officials have less restrictive regulations and allow the economy to reopen. Why should businesses suffer, when such irresponsible people were protesting en masse, they argued? I understand the question — it is valid.

But when you really dig into it, and look at the photos and videos of these events, you will see two key points. The great majority of people protesting at Five Corners that day were wearing masks, and they were socially distancing as much as possible.

So now, four weeks after that event, we have seen one new case of coronavirus on the Vineyard. A clear indicator that masks and social distancing work.

Let’s compare that with what is currently happening in many states that have opened their economies, and have not required the wearing of masks, even while indoors in public buildings. Bars are open, social distancing is null, and life is back to normal. Except that in those states that are not requiring masks, the infection rates are soaring. Record numbers of new cases have occurred in these states every day for the past week. The situation has become so dire that the state of Florida stopped issuing information on the number of new hospitalizations (fact), in order to prevent panic (my opinion). 

Arizona has stopped revealing the dwindling number of available ventilators and ICU beds, as some of their hospitals approach maximum capacity. 

We may very well see images of American citizens dying in the hallways of state-of-the-art hospitals in American cities. I am not saying that will happen for certain, but some are getting close to that point now.

Now, of course, there are a number of factors here, and comparing this Island to large cities in Texas, Arizona, California, and Florida is truly comparing apples to oranges. But our local officials require us to wear masks when in public. 

Theirs do not.

Our local officials do not allow large groups of people to interact closely with one another.

Theirs do.

Our local officials are taking this seriously, and are doing everything they can to protect the health and the lives of our citizens and visitors.

Theirs are more concerned with the economy.

My point here, to both residents and visitors, is that while masks may be a bit uncomfortable, and you may think you look silly or your glasses fog up, it’s one hell of a lot better than getting this disease and unknowingly passing it on to a vulnerable loved one.

To our visitors, I ask that you respect our Island community — we were tightly locked down, as was much of the country, last spring, so you could come here and feel safe. The great majority of us are wearing masks for your protection, as well as ours. We welcome you, we respect you; please respect us, and wear a mask when in public or close proximity to anyone, and keep your freaking distance from everyone.

To our residents, please respect our visitors as they would respect you.

We will have plenty of opportunities to hug next year.

Don Keller
Vineyard Haven

68 COMMENTS

  1. I have seen a lot more people wearing masks on the island and doing their best to keep within the distance guidelines.Look at the pictures that are taken of the tourists, that are coming down. Not a lot, or if any, are even wearing masks and forget about social distancing as well.
    That’s fantastic that Massachusetts Covid-19 cases are calming down a bit, but as reiterated before. The world is nearing 11 million Covid-19 cases and the people from all over the world come down to MV.I honestly think the article on FB was correct, Baker is getting pressure into opening things up to early and lifting restrictions too soon.
    Dukes County(MV) and Nantucket have a total of 66 Covid-19 cases according to Johns Hopkins.The virus is growing, apparently there have been a huge spike in Nantucket Covid-19 cases.
    I hope people do abide by the Covid-19 guidelines, a lot of people don’t think it’s that serious, they’re not afraid to get it, or they just don’t care and will do what they want.

  2. Fauci doesnt know what he is talking about. He has been wrong virtually every time. New York and California have many many more Covid cases than Texas for example and they have been on lock down where Texas has not. Also only 25 percent of the ICU has Covid cases, the rest are other illnesses. Also the new Covid cases and milder than ever before. The virus is mutating and getting weaker. The media is misrepresenting the facts. Yes we will get more cases but a disproportionate lower death rate. You cynics on MV have nothing to worry about but you love to worry and blame and wear masks and scurry around talking nonsense. I just came back from a week in Northern Wisconsin to be with the gun people and they are happy, maskless and enjoying life while you folks suffer in your own misery. I now await Jackie who hates everyone and dondondon the uneducated carpenter and immature Mellish for their usual claptrap. You true believers dont respect demographics or geography or intensity of illness or age. You want shutdowns so that Sleepy creepy Joe wins. If and when he wins, the Pandemic will be over.

    • George– I posted this earlier and it seems to have been dismissed. I see nothing to warrant that.
      Perhaps I failed to hit “post comment” ?

      Andrew–So I write a letter asking that people respect one another, and you come back with a hate filled rant about all sorts of things. I think Jesus would be ashamed with you if he read what you wrote.
      I am smart enough to know that I can’t fix stupid, especially when stupid refuses to be anything but stupid, so I won’t try. But I will implore readers here to look at what you say, and the lies that you spew.
      I ask them to look  at it for what it is. It is a desperate attempt to re write history in order to avoid having to admit you are wrong.
      The real problem though, is that some will believe your lies, and cling to your words as a rationale to not take even the simplest of steps to safeguard our community and the communities they live in.
      As such Andrew, your lies are encouraging people to risk their lives, and the lives of those around them.
      May god have mercy on your soul.
      But I just want to point out a few things ;
      Trump said the 15 cases we had would go away in a few weeks
      At the same time Fauci was warning of a serious pandemic
      Trump said it would go away in April , just like the flu that it is
      Fauci said he didn’t think so.
      And you, Andrew, CLAIMED  you were willing to risk a thousand dollars because you were certain deaths in the United States would not reach one thousand.
      Fauci said there could be 1 or 2 hundred thousand .
      Now Fauci says we could reach 100,000 new cases a day.
      I am am sure you think otherwise.
      I would be willing to bet you on that , but since you have shown yourself to be a dishonorable person who habitually lies, why would I bother ?
       

      • dondondon. I never lie but I do say things you disagree with. I told you several times I was wrong about the pandemic. I was not wrong that you never answered the bet. Disagreement is not hate but in your looney world it is. Your ilk think disagreement is evil. The majority of people in the US today believe that they pandemic has been misrepresented by the press and other so called experts. Most Americans believe that vandals and thugs and criminals burned down our cities in response to the terrible death of a man in Minneapolis. Most Americans quietly believe that their voices are being shut down and threatened by angry anarchistic mobs and that they are being intimidated to be quiet. Covid cases are not the issue. Deaths are. They are way down. I am optimistic, you love pessimism and cynicism and your party hopes this wont go away. Your rant above is full of errors to numerous to catalog.

        • andrew- Thank you again for telling us all what we think.
          Please tell me which of the facts or quotes in my “rant” is in error.
          you say you never lie.
          Then you say ” Covid cases are not the issue. Deaths are. They are way down.” Yes, they are down from the high’s of April when most of the country was doing nothing to prevent this disease from spreading.

          But here are some recent statistics about deaths from corona in the U.S.
          June 20—-582 deaths in the U.S
          June 21 —271
          June 22—369
          June 23-27— Average of 703 per day
          June 28— 285
          June 29—-366
          June 30—722
          July 1—–676
          July 2—-687
          July 3—-616
          https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/
          I fail to see how these numbers are showing a trend that is dropping.
          Forty four thousand new cases yesterday will turn into some number of deaths next week. 16,000 people are in serious or critical condition at the time of this post. Many of them will die in the next few next weeks.
          The virus is not mutating and getting weaker. Show me that “alternative fact” study on something other than the back of bubble gum wrapper.
          And now you say I “never” answered your bet. That is a lie, Andrew–
          The last time I posted the entire wager and my response, I made sure to include the time stamp.
          How can you continue to utter such a bald faced lie ?
          It was bad enough when you were just lying that I didn’t reply in some imaginary time frame.
          But ” NEVER” ? Really.

          • Mt Pastafarian mature adult dondondon. 330million people in usa. 3 million cases that means 1 percent get the virus. Of that 1 percent 130000 deaths. Divide 130000 by 330 million and you get .00039. I dont need to quote sources just do the math. Now if you tell me those low numbers are due to social distancing I will laugh because only liberals are distancing and your peaceful protesters certainly did not. Answering a bet when it begins to favor you is not a bet. You can rant all you want but you know and I know the terms of the bet and you were off on some island in the Caribbean and didnt take the bet. Normal people are not worried about this virus. Only liberals are.

          • Andrew, do you think that masks cut down on the transmission of diseases.
            Dr. Fauci thinks so.
            Should he be fired?

          • Andrew–your “math” is correct. We all now know that you passed 8th grade and can multiply and divide. You are correct. Only .00039 of Americans have died from this virus. I will use my highly developed math skills to translate that into .039% for some here who prefer to see things as a percentage.
            But you apparently never took a statistics class.
            Any statistician that was not being paid by the Hunt brothers would never juxtapose the numbers the way you did.
            If we are talking about the infection rate vs the mortality rate, an honest statistician would compare the rates of infected people to the death rate. Your number is meaningless.
            On 9/11, 2,997 people died.
            That was only .000009968 of the population.
            Or .0009968 % of the population died.
            Yet we perceived it as the national tragedy it was, went to war over it, and spent trillions of dollars and thousands of brave American military lives to rectify it.
            But you, Andrew, do not seem to care one bit about the approximately 43 times more Americans that have died from this disease ,and rising . You make every effort to down play it so you and your ilk will never have to admit that the man baby in Mara Largo is an incompetent con man that has led the nation into the “pit of despair” (Princess Bride fans take note and use the affectation” 🙂
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBaDcOBoHFk
            Shame on you Andrew, Shame on you —

      • Ha ha! Not surprised you were dismissed by the Times. I never wanted to believe this of a newspaper, but my recent experiences here show that if your post does not align with the editor’s political views, it just doesn’t get printed. Doesn’t matter if what you have to say is fact or fiction. And I’m a liberal Trump hater, but what I see going on here is likely to actually give him a shot in November and it scares me. Of course, this probably won’t get printed either.

        • Jamie and George, could the Times please go over their guidelines for comments again? Thanks.

          I remember when the Times stopped allowing the lies and denials about climate change. Why allow these more immediate life-threatening lies and denials about Covid-19? I know that newspapers have to quote Trump when he lies–as he does about 99% of covid cases being “harmless”, but must we listen to his sycophants who repeat the garbage that spews from the evil, ignorant president who has led this country into where we are today? Does the Times really want people on their platform arguing about whether facts are facts, and whether to ignore or deny these facts can be so deadly? Does any one of the 130,000 dead people and their loved ones think that 99% of cases are harmless? The facts are that 1 in 5 people with covid-19 require hospitalization. Some of those die and some survivors have life-long damage to their organs. That means that 80% of people known to have the disease don’t go in the hospitial. Of the 80%, there are no numbers that tell us how many were deemed “unharmed” but anecdotally, except for the a-symptomtic (and we don’t know how many there are) most peope with symptoms have suffered with high fevers, an exhaustion never experienced before, and chest tightness and difficulty breathing. The time frame for symptoms lasts from days to months, sometimes going away and then coming back. These are the 80% who did not go to the hospital. Why allow those who try to minimize how dibillitating and deadly this disease is for many, many people? How often do a few people on this site have to correct the lies about this disease — and what the experts and health organizations recommend? Otherwise, the junk about Fauci not knowing what he is talking about goes unchallenged? Does the Times want that to stand? I’m no expert, but I do know how to appreciate and listen to the wisdom of health and medical experts who have the necessary experience that no one on this forum has.

        • Don, after months of these repeated discussions, I have indeed been feeling “mostly dead”. ????

    • Actually Andy, I’m not sure I’ve ever responded to you about Covid or masks. All I’ve done is point out that you welched on your bet with done. If that makese immature, so be it it. But in my eyes, and I’m sure many others, the one showing immaturity would be the one who claims the bet was never made because Don didn’t respond in time. Though no time limit for response was given in the original wager. Seems to me the mature thing to do would be to admit you lost and pay up.

      • Fielding– PC police here– “welched” is widely considered to be an ethnic slur.
        https://www.etymologynerd.com/blog/welshing-on-a-bet
        Just sayin.
        I would think it better to say andrew is “trumping” with his unwillingness to honor his word, or even admit the truth. Even though he claims to be a multi millionaire, he is unwilling to cough up what is in effect a one thousand dollar donation to the M.V. hospital. Chump change for him.
        He blows that flying to Michigan to hang out with people with guns.

    • Andrew, specifically what has Fauci been wrong about?
      Do you think that he is wrong in telling people that wearing masks will cut down on transmission?

      • ajay. Too numerous to mention. If you dont think he was ever wrong then you are not listening or watching other people who speak on this issue.

        • Name 3 things Fauci got wrong about the virus. Now name one thing the evil idiot Trump got right. This weekend he said 99% of Covid cases are harmless. Trump lies. It is a lie to say Fauci doesn’t know what he is talking about.

        • So once again Andy, you claim the experts are wrong, yet when asked what they are wrong about, your only response is “to numerous to mention”
          So I’ll ask you, give us just one thing Fauci is wrong about. And give some type of credible evidence as to why he’s wrong. Keep in mind that Fox News and your word are not considered credible sources.

        • andrew– typical trumptonian response to a direct question.. I am sure Ajay, and the rest of the rational people here do not think Fauci was “never wrong”. You spout out lies and make biased nonfactual statements that are dangerous as there are plenty of idiots who will believe your BS and think the virus is behind us.

        • Andy, since Fauci has been proven to be wrong time and time again why has his boss man failed to fire him?
          It would hurt his reelections chances?

    • Fauci thinks the second wave will have started by election time.
      Does Andrew think that Fauci is wrong.
      Yet again.
      Will he be wrong yet again.
      Because Andrew knows more about how the flue works?

  3. Andrew, you are a man without honor, and thus your words deserve to be thrown in the trash. Sadly, the moderators are a bit lax here in terms of filtering out the garbage. Why do I call you a man without honor? Because you made a bet and then have attempted to weasel out of it by making a lame excuse about a statute of limitations defined by you that was never agreed upon at the outset by both parties. The price of admission to be taken seriously again is honoring the bet. How ironic that you call Don an “uneducated carpenter” at a time in which people who got a C- in biology 20 years ago feel qualified to question the judgment of MDs on the front line of the health care industry. I have no problem allowing facts to speak for themselves, provided they’re cited by reputable sources. Feel free to provide credible sources for the assertions you make above. Many people, myself included, care less about politics and political parties and more about health and safety. We now have more daily cases being reported in the USA than Wuhan had in total. That’s documented fact. https://www.newsweek.com/us-coronavirus-cases-per-day-higher-wuhan-total-infections-1515246 You can do the cliched approach of discrediting Newsweek, or you can provide hard facts that they’re wrong. I don’t have a crystal ball, but it’s pretty obvious which is more likely……

    • While I agree with most of what you said, if you believe China accurately reported corona numbers, I have a bridge to sell to you.

    • Mr Jenskinsen. You know nothing about me or the bet or my honor or lack thereof. You are simply mirroring the distasteful cacophony of other posters on this site who not only disagree with me on most things but want me removed as perhaps you do. I would not line my birdcage with Newsweek magazine. If you read facts carefully you will see that the virus is very hard to get–1 percent and the deaths are declining. You can read Newsweek and I will continue to read WSJ and National Review. I dont care about Wuhan or cases. I care about deaths and I care about who is doing the dying and if 80 percent are over 65 years old I am not worried even though I am 76. Keep sprouting left wing rags but I will think for myself.

      • If 80% of people over 65 die of Covid – 19 would you be worried, even though you are 76?
        What is your Covid – 19 death elasticity for massk use?

        • ajay you indulge in run on sentences. It is correct to say 80 percent of covid deaths are in people over 65. Not as you say above that 80 percent of people over 65 die of Covid. Get it right please. I dont wear masks and am not subject to mask shaming and am immune to catastrophizing and virtue signalling

          • Let me rephrase that.
            If 80% of people over 65 die of Covid – 19 would you be concerned?
            Seeing as how you are 76 (95% death rate of those who get it?).
            Would it concern you?
            Does that cure your false run sentence on claim?

            I got it right the first time.
            I never said anything like 80% of people over 65 die of Covid 19.
            I posed it as a what if, wondering about your death rate elasticity.
            Are you good with 1%
            5%?
            10%?
            50%?
            Is 80% to many?

          • If you woke one morning with a very high fever the chills and a bad cough, you felt like you going to die and called 911 would you refuse to don a mask when told to do so by EMTs?
            Are you that smart……

      • Andrew- the saddest thing I can say about you is that you’ve become boring, tedious and predictable, as well as unwilling or incapable of backing up your absurd assertions with verifiable facts. The former might be forgivable if the latter were honored. As it is, you’re remarks are soporific.

        • The Wall Street Journal and National Review are fine publications in that they practice a standard of journalistic integrity based on research and facts. Ironically, you’ve yet to cite them, or a single other credible source, to back up your assertions. This would be comic if the consequences weren’t serious in terms of lives damaged nationwide by the kind of arrogant ignorance you spout. Are you going to lecture the widow of Nick Cordero about how the virus is relatively harmless? He was 41. The Wall Street Journal published this 4 days ago: https://www.wsj.com/articles/experts-worry-latest-covid-19-surge-will-shift-from-healthier-to-at-risk-people-11593682201 How does this square with your argument that you are informed because you read this publication, even though this headline flies in the face of your nonsensical statements
          ?

      • “If you read facts carefully you will see that the virus is very hard to get” ~Andrew

        Wrong, Andrew. Dangerously so. More than 36 states are seeing increases in cases. And the death rate is going up as hospitals and ICUs are coming to capacity in the surging states.

        https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-contagious-r-naught-average-patient-spread-2020-3
        “The coronavirus has an R0 of roughly 2 to 2.5, meaning that each new person spreads the disease to about 2.2 people on average.
        That makes COVID-19 more contagious than the seasonal flu.
        But a disease’s R0 isn’t fixed — it can decrease with the right preventive measures. Bringing it below 1 would end the pandemic.”

        It’s also wrong that people want Andrew removed from posting here. People want Andrew to stop lying. I don’t know if Andrew reads the Wall Street Journal or National Review, but I do know he does not cite these sources when he makes outrageous statements as he does just now by stating that it’s hard to catch this disease. I do also know he plagiarized on here from a Salvation Army Christian magazine, a far cry from WSJ. He also misquotes from a bible, (hardly the National Review) and he used a misleading Fox newstory (where he seems to get most of the garbage that he repeats here) to comment falsely about deaths.

        As to the continued untruths about losing his bet, Andrew initiated the bet very publicly without any stipulation of time, and when Don accepted the bet a few days later, there were fewer than 50 covid deaths. So the latest claim from Andrew that Don accepted the bet when he knew he’d “win” is another lie. Anddrew makes it up as he goes along. Andrew can deny the truth forever, and he will forever be a very dishonorable person.

        • Re: the bet on numbers of US deaths, it should be noted that when the numbers surpassed 1000 deaths and Andrew was called on to pay up, his first reaction (his first lie on the matter) was to deny it was a serious wager. He said the bet was “metaphor”, not a serious wager. When he was confronted with that lie, he came up with the next lie on his list, that it was a bet but Don waited to long to accept it. Then Andrew disappeared from these pages. Now that he’s back, he’s expounded on his lie by telling every witness to the entire saga that we don’t have the facts. Andrew remains a man without honor.

  4. Andrew: There are times and topics for which you should hold your tongue. Does COVID-19 kill? Yes, I lost a friend to it in May. She was 56. Don’t respond, I’ll extract any sympathy you might have from other statements you’ve made about the virus here.

  5. Andrew, I have to refrain from tackling the idea that people who are 65+ are expendable because I don’t know what to say. This will never be settled with numbers or science. It’s a matter of clashing ethics and philosophies.

    Even if you are only concerned for the younger generations, consider that there are a few million grandparents in America raising their grandchildren. Every person is connected somehow. We can’t delete portions of society without heartbreaking consequences. Losing older folks can tear apart some families, leaving vulnerable kids alone.

    https://amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/561527/

    Virtue signaling exists, but I don’t think that’s what we are seeing from most where coronavirus is concerned. It’s okay to worry about health and take precautions. It’s okay to want to keep our loved ones safe or protect our neighbors.

    • When you wear a mask you are disrespecting the greatest President this nation has ever known.
      Mask wearers are just trying to embarrass Trump.
      It’s impossible to embarrass Trump.

    • Aquinnah. Respectfully I am a grandfather. 2.6 million people die in the US every year from something. I am merely suggesting that most people dont have to worry about the virus. I know you dont agree with me but the statistics agree with me. I am all for taking precautions. I am all for isolating the vulnerable. I am all for testing. However I am also optimistic that we will have a vaccine. We have isolated my son in laws mother who is 85 and has underlying conditions. I support it. But the virus is a big time discriminator and we should recognize that as we go about our lives.

      • Which way is it, Andrew? You’re all for taking precautions in one comment, but in another you say you don’t wear a mask. If you don’t wear a mask, you don’t take precautions. You spout so much garbage and untruths, you can’t keep up with your lies.

        • Also Andrew, hanging out with gun people in Wisconsin, none of whom were wearing masks, is not the behavior of a responsible, honorable person who is “all for taking precautions”.

        • He already said he does not wear a mask, Ajay. He will either ignore his contradicting remarks (“all for taking precautions” vs admitting he does not wear a mask and hangs out with others who also do not) or he will fall back on trying to weasel his way out of being caught being untruthful.

      • I feel everyone is valuable for their own intrinsic reasons, not just due to age or their relationship to others. Someone who is 65 isn’t elderly in my eyes. They could have several decades left and don’t deserve to see that cut short if we can help it. Someone who is 85 or 95 has already contributed in countless ways and should never be discounted, either. As it is, being sick or elderly — or both — can be very isolating, depressing experiences that make one feel like the world doesn’t care. The current societal message floating around about being less worthwhile is only going to further that sense of loneliness. It has to stop. Meanwhile, I keep hearing that those who argue for caution are pushing negativity. I disagree. Caution is a sign of hope and respect.

        What I was trying to say before is that even if we must narrow it down to how children are affected, the loss of anyone older can have an incredibly negative impact on their lives and the future. Nothing happens without a ripple effect. If the 2.6 million grandparents who are raising little ones are at a significantly increased risk from COVID-19, then millions of kids are in danger of losing their only loving homes, and potentially their ability to stay with siblings. The foster care system is already a disaster. To divide the number of deaths by the total population is to dilute the real degree of risk plaguing a group that is still very much valued and needed. Not to mention the loss of wisdom, culture, experience. Not all older people are wise, but most wise people are older. Yes, deaths occur every day, but that doesn’t mean we should carelessly hasten the process.

        Ten percent of grandparents live within a family household that has young children. That’s just one example of why sequestering the vulnerable is often not possible. If the public does little or nothing to contain the virus when out and about, those who have no choice but to interact for work, school, etc. will bring it home. So we have to be careful. Not panicked, but meticulously careful. The shutdowns were not sustainable. They came with their own set of horrors. But I will never understand the shunning of practices that have allowed us to open up with some degree of protection vs. none. This is not an either-or scenario. We have to balance our collective needs. That’s hard enough even when we work together. It will be impossible to get the best result if we continue to fight each other. We don’t have to agree on the size of the risk, I suppose, to admit there is a risk worth acting upon.

        This is a my-brain-at-2:00-am post. Please ignore if I am making no sense.

  6. Mr Jenkinson you can be sad if you wish. No one has facts. No one. Every media piece I have read or listened to never give us the facts, never gives us the statistics and your posting above is another assertion and another ad hominem.: Try this one link and see if it contradicts much of what is said here. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

    • Andrew- Thank you for posting a factual link. This may surprise you, but I am far more conservative than Jackie and Don. I respect their rights to their points of view, but I don’t agree with them carbon-copy. I believe the media has done a terrible job overall with the corona virus, creating an exhausting sense of panic that has obscured legitimate fact. There has been a tremendous amount of overreaction, from the Javits Center and the floating hospital ship being sequestered in NYC for phantom cases to computer models of mortality predictions that were nowhere near the actual figure. I didn’t fall to pieces emotionally when I heard that Covid-19 claimed more American lives than the Vietnam War, only because mortal existence claims more lives than Vietnam every 9 days in America according to actuarial statistics. Tobacco claims 480,000 American lives a year, yet it trades on the stock exchange. I do believe in economic vitality and limiting shutdown to the absolute minimum necessary for safety and health, otherwise the cost of the shutdown begins to outweigh the safety benefits. Beyond coronavirus, I don’t believe statues of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Christopher Columbus should be torn down, nor do I believe police departments should be defunded. Nevertheless, I defer to MDs and public health experts when they say that coronavirus is a serious health threat that should be taken seriously, and that masks will reduce the spread. I’m not interested in taking health advice from people without medical degrees, any more than I’m interested in taking electrical wiring advice from someone who’s not a licensed electrician. My issue with your statements is that they are infrequently backed up by any evidence, which is why the link you provided was a welcome change. Saying that “nobody has facts “is a bit much. This is a novel virus and new information is coming in daily. Complaining about ad hominem attacks on you is also ridiculous. I question your contrarian intellectual positions absent documentation, as well as your lack of moral integrity in avoiding a publicly-made bet. Do you take responsibility for ad hominem antics for calling Don an “uneducated carpenter?” Do you know his educational background? Many people in the manual trades on the island are formally educated.

      • Wesley, the worst did not come to pass because people listened. NYC in particular heard the experts and heeded the advice. NYC was a ghost town in March and when people went out for food or medicine, everyone wore masks and social distanced. That is why the Javits Center was not needed. No one here is falling to pieces. Paying attention to the experts, and recognizing them as such, and providing links to expert opinion are what people do in response to people like Andrew who, like Trump, spreads false and damaging news. In case you don’t know, because people in other states did not pay attention and heed warnings of Fauci, younger people are being hospitalized and put on ventilators at record numbers in the surging states. None of it was meant for hysteria but rather for sensible precautions. Andrew bragged that he spent a week with gun lovers, all of whom, he bragged, did not wear masks. Personal recklessness, like smoking, is one thing. Not wearing a mask around other people is profoundly selfish… and stupidly ignores the expert scientific advice that has never been instituted or adhered to on a nationwide basis. Simply look to other countries who have contained the virus. The whole country did it at the same time. Then ask yourself why the European Union will not allow travelers from the U.S.

      • Mr Jenskinsen. Thank you for your thoughtful posting to me. I have just a few comments: There is no conservatism in Dondondon or Jackie–none.
        My attacks on them came much later after they attacked me personally for being a Christian believer and almost on every post I made. I should not have countered with the attack on Dondondon. I dont cite sources because I dont trust most of them. I dont trust most of the media. print or TV and they skew the facts to push their agenda. Furthermore when I say BLM is a marxist communist organization funded by dark money with anarchy on its mind, and has little to do with black lives, I dont cite or need a source for it and if you need to source for it then you are less aware than your post above indicates. I also dont trust the so called scientists or medical experts many of whom are spouting politics rather than medicine. Medicine and science doesnt say anything—people do. Fauci is one of those. You may not agree with most of what I say but if you knew my background you would understand that I didnt fall off a turnip truck. I have lived in 11 countries, managed companies in 20 countries, attended University of SanFrancisco, NYU Graduate School of Politics and Harvard Business School and speak 4 languages. I was also two years in the Peace corps in Iran 67-69. I also lived amongst the hippie generation 62-66 in the Haight Ashbury district and know all about disorded thinking. You are also not aware that dondondon for years has advocated bets with me as a matter of dialogue–it became a figure of speech in his private emails to me and public ones.He wanted to bet with me on all manner of things. It became part of his lexicon. I countered once on the virus thing. and the bet was not agreed to no matter how many times he misrepresents.

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