All The News Fit To Review...

 Don't worry.  I'm not going to go through every top news story.

I mean, yes, I am horrified and disgusted that yet another hurricane is hitting Louisiana.  I can state, with absolute honesty, that while I am certain that New Orleans is a beautiful city with remarkable history, I shall never set foot in that state, or in New Orleans.  Why not?  I am generally opposed to humidity, I've seen the Mississippi where I care to see it, and I've come to know and love it's upper reaches.  You know, the part that's considered non-navigable.  

And as to the news from Afghanistan, horrible, yes.  Unexpected?  Not really.  The Afghans are a people that are apparently too apathetic to rule themselves.  Anyone with a particular collective, view, and the ability to attract and mobilize idiots can certainly run that country.  Which is unfortunate.  But clearly, nearly a generation of occupation managed to accomplish absolutely nothing in that land.  Twenty years ago we suffered a horrific series of consequences thanks to the Afghani overlords failing to insure that their fellow inhabitants (I won't use the term "citizens" because in order to be a fellow citizen you really need to share a belief in the same system of command, control, legality, and justice.  And the only thing the Afghani population understands is force), and they suffered the punishment we needed to deliver.  And while we eventually did cut off the head of the snake and kill it, the snake lives.  And in many other forms.  

So I'll go on the thin part of the branch and suggest that in the future, should a nation-state be found to harbor thugs, terrorists, or others who choose to live outside the accepted rules of civilization, please understand that it is highly unlikely that this nation or any other will show the level of restraint and investment which we did in Afghanistan.  I fully expect the next nation that succeeds, if any do, in harboring terrorists to commit successful acts of terrorism of such a scale as we saw 20 years ago, that nation's tombstone will be marked with a mushroom cloud and three inverted triangles, surrounded by a circle.

And speaking of those who chose to live beyond the pale, let's take a look at the vaccine-resistant.  We need to be honest here.  The truth about science when it comes to the spread of diseases is the longer the disease spreads, and the more people it infects, the higher the likelihood is that the disease will learn new ways to change, that is, mutate, and in doing so, it becomes even more dangerous.  

And while I understand people having a level of fear when it comes to a needle, there's something that needs to be said very clearly.  Vaccines are almost 100% safe.  And unless you have a known, diagnosed, physiology-based reason that you are unable to receive the vaccine, failure to do so puts you outside that of civilized society.  And therefore, I'd like to propose the following:

First, all insurance companies should verify the vaccinated status with regards to COVID-19 and all other vaccines of every single person that pays them for coverage.  If individuals are found needing boosters, they should be notified that they have one full year to obtain that booster shot, or have a licensed doctor - not some health-professional sort, but a full doctor, with a specialization in infectious diseases, state on the letterhead of the practice for whom they work that you cannot obtain such a vaccine for specific issues.  

And please note that there is neither a constitutional right to refuse a vaccine, nor is there any intellectually-based reason that would relieve the obligation.  If the person chooses not to accept the vaccine, that person loses their coverage.  Their most recent premium should be refunded, but they should be placed on a list which states that the individual chose for invalid reasons to refuse the vaccine.  And those names should be released to local law enforcement and any such owner/manager of a public place, including banks and other financial institutions.  And if the individual has been found to leave their home and interact outside that home with others, that individual should be jailed in a special isolation unit so they may not infect others, and any such business which knowingly interacted with that individual who was not vaccinated should be required to inform all such patrons of that business which were physically present when the individual was, that they are in danger of a health consequence because they interacted with an unvaccinated individual. 

And if, for whatever reason, someone has been found to fall sick after interacting with the unvacinated individual, that unvaccinated individual's assets should be forfeit to the person who was sick to assist in covering any expenses the inflicted individual incurred which insurance does not cover, including co-pays, lost wages, or any other expense.

Look, I understand some people are allergic to things.  But we're in a literally deadly pandemic.  Every person, every day, that walks around unvaccinated means another day, another chance at mutation, and another thousand, if not million, deaths.

I'm all in favor of personal freedom and responsibility.  I'm also in favor of treating others with respect.  If you do not respect or love your self or your family enough to prevent the spread of disease with a vaccine which is both known and certified to be safe, then you can please keep walking until you've reached a point where the water is well and truly above your head - then please breathe deeply - face down, preferably.

If you think that means I'm suggesting the unvaccinated should kill themselves, yes, it's true.  I'd much rather they take one life than seven, or seven million.  If you choose not to be vaccinated because you don't like being told you have to do something, then please, allow me to command you to continue to live, daily.  That should clear things up.

And the other news story which caught my eye, and ... broke another piece of my heart, was the death of Ed Asner.  I know he wasn't, but to me, Mr. Asner's Lou Grant character became a whole lot about the Twin Cities metro area.  There have been few successful broadcast TV shows which celebrated life here, and The Mary Tyler Moore show was one.  And Mr. Grant, the station manager, was a wonderful character.  As was the same fellow he played on The Lou Grant show.

And countless other roles.  Maybe it was thanks to that emotional sequence that opened the movie, but when his voice became Carl Fredricksen in Up, I really fell in love all over again.

That leaves only what I hope is the immortal Betty White left from that cast, but I fear I could be wrong.  But to me, Saturday nights will always have the excitement to see a new Mary Tyler Moore show, a new Bob Newhart Show, Emergency, and then, a bath.  Hey.  Those were happy, exciting times when I could sit sideways in a tub and have plenty of room for bath toys that weren't supposed to be bath toys - many many Hot Wheels toys, my beloved, and now long-gone Hot Wings toys, and others.  

And the warm memories of home, of family, of my parents, of safety, of the potential of the future, and the expectation that this will all get better.  And the innocence to expect that all of the others on this planet shared a goal to live as long and as disease-free as possible, not having their doubts fed and encouraged by whackadoodle nutjobs and genuine enemies of this nation.  I wonder how much vaccine disinformation has been pumped into the internet by Russian agents and others who wish to see us swoon and fail.  And I wonder how many of these confused idiots will scream that it's not that reason they're hesitant, it's because Dr. Oz, or some other whackjob said this wasn't good.  

Follow the money.  Where there's no money, follow your common sense.  Anyone who tells you that a vaccine for a disease is ineffective or dangerous is either peddling another vaccine, or seeking your assets after you're gone.  And if it's neither of those, maybe they're just looking to destroy your good name.  And once gone, you do not get that back.