I tried to read a thinky post about brain stuff and my brain shut off.

1. Scott Allie - Dark Horse Comics Cuts All Ties With Scott Allie Amid Accusations of Sexual Abuse

Warning, the abuse detailed is rather harrowing. It also read a bit like some of the explicit sex scenes in various "erotic" contemporary romance novels. Mother and I, who have both read a lot of romance novels in our lifetimes, and continue to do so - discussed this at some length today at lunch time. (I call my mother twice a day now - once at lunch, and once after work, sometimes three times a day - it breaks up the day for both of us, and helps me stay sane.)

Mother stated that she prefers historical romances to contemporary in part because they are less sexist. The difference in power - makes more sense. While in the contemporary it feels almost misogynistic. As does some of the sex.

We also agreed that comic book industry is not a good place for women. I hate to say this - but it's made up of people like the Trioka in Buffy, and the gang in Big Bang Theory - run, ladies, run. I know this because I've read comics for over thirty years, and I've interacted with a wide variety of comic book fans. The women are rather cool, and so are some of the men. But there's a lot of sexism and a lot of jerks. It's mainly about power. The film industry, to be fair, is no better. My sisterinlaw gave up on film in college and pursued design instead partly due to that.

In regards to Allie? I did not like him. And stopped reading the Buffy comics for a bit, in part, because of him. I skipped S9 for example. I found him obnoxious and his view of the series did not fit mine. Also, he reminded me a little of Warren Mears.

He stopped editing them sometime around Season 10, when a new creative team took over the comics - possibly due to the events that transpired in 2015. And you could tell the difference. Suddenly it seemed to be less misogynistic, and less sexist, also less male fantasy. There was a definite shift in tone. And the artist was female, so that helped as well. Season 10 and Season 11 were good. But I'd skip S8, 9, and 12.

2. In our continuing saga of the State of New York vs. The Corona Virus

Per the Governor's email: New York is reaching out to offer assistance to states with high infection rates. As states across the nation are seeing spikes in new cases, New York's outlook remains good. NY is contacting Florida, Texas, Arizona and other states with high infection rates to offer our help. In our hour of need we had volunteers from across the country who helped us go from the worst situation in the country to one of the best, and we will repay that help and that kindness in any way we can.

Yes, we are making everyone from your states self-isolate for 14 days upon entry, but we are also willing to send aid in your hour of need. Huzzah!

I explained to project manager today that while our agency was part of a bigger transportation agency, it was really it's own little governing force most of the time. Kind of like the State of New York and the United States.

And..according to the NY Times...A federal judge ruled that houses of worship in New York City can hold indoor services at 50 percent capacity, rather than the 25 percent allowed under the state’s reopening plan.

Gotta love that freedom of religion thing - under the US Constitution, you have the freedom to kill your congregation with a virus! Huzzah!

I don't know about you, but I see this as continuing proof that the US Federal Government and specifically the Republican Party is attempting to kill us. Very glad to be a Unitarian - they are not congregating any time soon.

3. In the continuing saga of the World vs. the Corona Virus (which kind of demonstrates and proves my theory that the human species is not only self-absorbed, with the attention span of a hyper puppy (actually I think the puppy has a longer attention span, I'd say a cat - but I've watched cat's stare at a bug for hours), but also colossally stupid.)

* In Illinois, where Gov. J.B. Pritzker described a “trajectory of relative success,” museums, zoos and bowling alleys reopened today, along with indoor dining at restaurants. (I already knew this via cousin, who likes to lecture her followers on what to do in the coming months. Mother has issues with cousin's father (her brother in law) for his lectures. I told Mother that unfortunately the tendency to lecture people was a family trait.)

*In South Africa — which has over 118,000 cases, the most in Africa — casinos, restaurants and cinemas will be allowed to reopen on Monday. - I think they are competing with Sweden.

*Starting on Saturday in Egypt, restaurants, cafes and mosques will gradually reopen after three months of lockdown. - Apparently Egypt agrees with South Africa.

*During a heat wave in Britain, tens of thousands of people packed beaches, swarmed parks and attacked police officers who tried to break up block parties. -Britain has decided frak this virus, we're going to have fun! Well at least they are all outside? Although Missouri, Arizona, Texas, Florida and California thought that too back on Memorial Day.

Meanwhile... Europe or the EU has decided to allow people back into their borders from other countries - except for the US and Russia, who have not done a good job controlling the virus

I can't say I blame them. New York is trying to keep out the US too. The US and Europe for that matter. So too is Canada - good luck with that. Those pesky Americans are finding a way in. I'm thinking Canada may need to build a wall. So too will New York.

Europe? If I were Europe, I'd include Great Britain to my list of countries not doing a great job of containing the virus.

This is actually hurting Europe...because they depend highly on US Tourism.

Creation of a common list of outsiders who can enter the European Union is part of an effort by the bloc to fully reopen internal borders among its 27 member states. Free travel and trade among members — a core principle akin to the freedom of movement within the United States — has been badly disrupted.

Since the outbreak, the bloc has succumbed to piecemeal national policies that have produced an incoherent patchwork of open and closed borders.

While the new list is not legally binding, member states that open up to excluded countries face the risk that their E.U. partners will close their borders to them — reinforcing the disjointed response to the pandemic that the bloc has been striving to overcome.

Several European Union countries, particularly those in the south that benefit from American tourism, had pushed to make the common list dependent on both scientific and economic criteria. Seven million Americans visited Europe between June and August last year, according to U.S. government data.

Greece, for example, depends on tourism for one-fifth of its economy. In the scramble to salvage part of the summer tourism season, Greece has ignored the European Union’s current recommended ban, permitting visitors and committing resources to testing and quarantining them upon arrival.


* India plans to test all 29 million residents of New Delhi, the capital, as nationwide infections near 500,000. - good luck with that. New York is trying to do the same thing, right now they've managed to test 3.68 million, California finally beat New York with 3.7 million tested. NY needs to up its game.

* Meanwhile The US continues to lead the world in number of cases and deaths, it also reported 40,000 new cases as of today. A record high

* And ...the New York Times in a rather innovative style of reporting details How the Virus Won in the US.

But it's not all dire, apparently donations and giving hit an all time high, there's more giving and donations to charitable causes this year than any previous one, including 9/11. Something tells me that 9/11 will be kind of a footnote in history after this.

4. Black Lives Matter vs. Latin Lives Matter..

I think people (meaning our ever fickle and somewhat lacking in attention span news media) have begun to get tired of the Black Lives Matter Movement and there's a slow shift to Latin Lives Matter now.

The NY Times reported on two stories - one where a Latino man in Tuscon, Texas also was killed by an illegal choke-hold and the video was finally released, with all three men fired. and two, that the number of Latino deaths and infections out number most other deaths across the US.


But the inexorable rise since Easter in infections among Latinos — both here and in Latin American countries — has alarmed health officials and Latino organizations, who are calling for more targeted testing, more comprehensive data collection and better workplace protections as the economy reopens.

And it has become a political flash point in red states, where infections are also rising. Latino Democratic and civil rights leaders demanded an apology this week from Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, who attributed the steep increase in positive coronavirus tests in his state to “overwhelmingly Hispanic farmworkers.” Mr. DeSantis’s critics say his administration is scapegoating immigrant workers after ignoring pleas on their behalf for more testing and protection.

In California, where Latinos make up 39 percent of the population and nearly 57 percent of new cases, the spikes have been particularly confounding. The state was the nation’s first to shelter in place, and cellphone data indicated that its residents were among the most committed to limiting their movement, and with it the spread of the disease.

Infection rates have remained relatively low in affluent neighborhoods, including those occupied by the state’s wealthy Latinos. But sheltering in place never happened for many Latino families with members who work in industries that never shut down, making them especially vulnerable to the virus.

During the lockdown, millions of Latino workers kept a bare-bones economy running: at the cutting tables of food-processing plants, as farmhands, as hospital orderlies, food preparers, supermarket workers and in many other jobs deemed essential. And they brought the virus home to often cramped living quarters, compounding the spread.

“This was totally a blind spot,” said Dr. Alicia Fernandez, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, who specializes in Latino and immigrant health. “Much, much more needs to be done in workplace protection.”

Now the virus is stalking Latinos from the south to the north in California. Imperial County, a predominantly Latino farming region east of San Diego, has the state’s highest infection rate — twice the rate of Los Angeles, and higher than that of hard-hit New York State. In San Francisco, Latinos make up 15 percent of the population but account for half of the coronavirus cases.

Many San Francisco streets were all but deserted during the lockdown. But it was a different picture among the Bay Area’s Latino households, where the daily routine of commutes to far-flung workplaces continued.

“Sheltering is a luxury,” said Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, the vice dean for population health and health equity at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine. “In wealthier parts of town, people sheltered earlier and longer, because it takes resources. Not every community has the luxury to do that.”


This is going to get worse. Apparently our evil federal government has urged the Supreme Court to invalidate the Affordable Healthcare Act Again or Obamacare. This is worrying for me, because my brother and his family are on Obamacare, as are my cousins. Without it - they can't afford medical care or are in trouble.

I hope and pray that the US Supreme Court does the right thing and votes with their conscience, not their greed, and tells Trump to go fuck himself.

Ugh. Painful. Hence the news break. John Scalzi stated he was taking one for a bit, after waking up in the middle of the night with a stomach ache.

It's why I'm reading "The Widow of Rose Hill" - a funny little mystery/paranormal ghost story/historical romance. And watching Black Sails, Artemis Fowl, and whatever else I can find that is fun and fluffy this weekend and has zip to do with current events.

The pic below kind of expresses how I'm feeling at the moment about all of the above..