1 minute ago, BirdsFanBill said:

What even is that? A bunch of people gather around closely and spit into eachothers mouths?

 

Apparently it's to protest the mandatory mask protocol that's going into place in the next few days. Part of me wants to drive by and see the sideshow for myself, but I can think of a million things I'd rather do on a nice sunny Sunday afternoon in the middle of summer. 

6 minutes ago, BirdsFanBill said:

What even is that? A bunch of people gather around closely and spit into eachothers mouths?

5 minutes ago, EaglesRocker97 said:

Over 1,000 new cases in PA today.

sheet.

any specific counties driving that increase? 

2 hours ago, mr_hunt said:

i've posted several in the past....in really good shape for almost 50.  weird part is she thought she had rona back when it first hit...was hospitalized & everything but it turned out to be some other kind of respiratory thing.  now she's going to f'n beaches.   

stick your wang down her nostril and see if you develop an itch on the tip, if not let her in

37 minutes ago, mr_hunt said:

sheet.

any specific counties driving that increase? 

 

 

Quote

The new-case figure included 35 from the Lehigh Valley: 21 in Lehigh County and 14 in Northampton County.

The counties with the largest number of new coronavirus cases on Friday were Philadelphia with 182; Allegheny, 180; York, 77; Lancaster, 72; Delaware, 48; Washington, 44; Montgomery, 41; and Chester, 36.

The Allegheny figure marked the 11th straight day its new-case tally was greater than 100, following a long stretch where it remained below 100. In four neighboring counties ― Beaver, Butler, Westmoreland and Washington ― the combined 99 new cases on Friday was the highest figure in at least two weeks.

https://www.mcall.com/coronavirus/mc-nws-virus-status-friday-20200710-5rgsvvb4kjb7nbhlkcgto6gsf4-story.html

 

34 minutes ago, DrPhilly said:

stick your wang down her nostril and see if you develop an itch on the tip, if not let her in

Think I just saw that on an ep of Family Therapy.

NY finally got their numbers somewhat under control, but it's like De Blasio wants it to come back.  Liberals, amirite?

6 minutes ago, Kz! said:

NY finally got their numbers somewhat under control, but it's like De Blasio wants it to come back.  Liberals, amirite?

Umm, when asked "What about Protests", he literally said, "This is an historic moment of change, we have to respect that but also say to people the kinds of gatherings we're used to, parades, fairs, we just can't have that right now."

Hearing impaired, amirite?

Imagine anyone publicly banning protests and the first amendment. 

26 minutes ago, Kz! said:

NY finally got their numbers somewhat under control, but it's like De Blasio wants it to come back.  Liberals, amirite?

Well Karen the constitution protects the right of the people to peacefully assemble, getting your hair and nails done...not so much. 

11 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

Imagine anyone publicly banning protests and the first amendment. 

Uhh protests are not allowed by the government all the time in this country. You've never heard of an organization failing to obtain a permit and having their protest shut down by police? What?

13 minutes ago, Kz! said:

Uhh protests are not allowed by the government all the time in this country. You've never heard of an organization failing to obtain a permit and having their protest shut down by police? What?

I gotta say, "stickler for proper paperwork" KZ might be my favorite thing to come out of this whole thing.

29 minutes ago, Kz! said:

Uhh protests are not allowed by the government all the time in this country. You've never heard of an organization failing to obtain a permit and having their protest shut down by police? What?

Not even remotely close to saying "no protests. period."

try again

16 minutes ago, DEagle7 said:

I gotta say, "stickler for proper paperwork" KZ might be my favorite thing to come out of this whole thing.

Total stickler. Or maybe I'm just saying there is an insane amount of precedent in the US for not allowing protests.  

9 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

Not even remotely close to saying "no protests. period."

try again

Sorry, bud, there's just a ton of precedent when it comes to not allowing protest in this country. Particularly protests that often turn unruly.

Quote

Unlawful assembly is a legal term to describe a group of people with the mutual intent of deliberate disturbance of the peace.

 

27 minutes ago, DEagle7 said:

I gotta say, "stickler for proper paperwork" KZ might be my favorite thing to come out of this whole thing.

If only they had the right permits, he'd finally say "Ya know, maybe these guys have a point." 

9 minutes ago, Kz! said:

Sorry, bud, there's just a ton of precedent when it comes to not allowing protest in this country. Particularly protests that often turn unruly.

 

Now we're just moving goal posts

2 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

moving goal posts

 

7 minutes ago, Lloyd said:

If only they had the right permits, he'd finally say "Ya know, maybe these guys have a point." 

Well, it would help if they got the proper permits, but the ideas of defunding the police, dismantling the nuclear family, and dismantling cisgender privilege just don't appeal to me, permit or not.

1 minute ago, Kz! said:

Well, it would help if they got the proper permits, but the ideas of defunding the police, dismantling the nuclear family, and dismantling cisgender privilege just don't appeal to me, permit or not.

I heard them chanting about forced gender reassignment surgery funded by Soros and Bill Gates!  They've gone too far! 

22 hours ago, Bwestbrook36 said:

We get threatened at work daily to get the sheet kicked out of us or refusing to ever shop in our stores again. Also being told they are gonna sue us and also threatening to get us fired for harassment by simply asking them to please put on a mask

Imagine if they were required to wear shoes, a shirt and pants

1 hour ago, Kz! said:

Well, it would help if they got the proper permits, but the ideas of defunding the police, dismantling the nuclear family, and dismantling cisgender privilege just don't appeal to me, permit or not.

Good to see Repugs now switching on gun control. I mean since we need permits, etc. to protest I guess it isn't against the constitution to have regulations on guns

 

Boy oh boy.... I’m not a doctor or a teacher but this is a bad look and a bad take. 

A much more nuanced take on how hard it can be, from a teacher.  
Look, I can’t get anything done for work with my kids home so I really want school to open but this seems very very difficult:
 

Everyone has an opinion about how and if schools should reopen for this coming school year. We’ve heard from the governors, the pediatricians, the parents, the education secretary, and the president. Everyone has a "study” and "research” to back up their claims, but unfortunately (as always with decisions made in education) they do not have one very important thing- experience in a classroom. In classrooms filled to max capacity with five year olds who don’t even know how to blow their own noses, where the teacher:student ratio is 1:28 or in some cases even higher. Classrooms where the teachers are already begging parents for tissues, hand sanitizer and antibacterial wipes, even in a pre-Covid world. Classrooms and hallways and bathrooms filled with teenagers who think they are invincible. School buildings with no extra rooms, without central air, where there are 4 sinks for over 200 students to use. As a teacher, I do have this experience, so I have many questions about how it will be possible and safe for schools to reopen. Nobody asked me- but since many other professions are giving their opinions about reopening, I thought maybe, just maybe, (it’s a little crazy but hear me out) we should hear from a teacher.

Let’s discuss hand washing. If an average class size of kindergartners is 25, then it would take 8.3 minutes for them each to wash their hands for 20 seconds- not too bad you might think.  That’s doable- let’s reopen! Unfortunately that does not account for transition time between students at the sink, the student who plays in the bubbles, or splashes another student, or cuts in line, or has to be provided moral support to flush the toilet, because they are scared. It doesn’t account for the fact that only a few students will be allowed in the bathroom at a time and the teacher must monitor whose turn it is to enter and exit the bathroom, and control the hallway behavior, and send the student who just coughed to the "quarantine room” that doesn’t exist BECAUSE THERE ARE NO EXTRA ROOMS. Where are the students in hallway waiting? In line? All together? Six feet apart? No wait, three feet is okay now. Either way, 25 children standing three feet apart is a line over 75 feet long. Who is monitoring this line? Keeping them quiet, reminding them to keep their hands to themselves? 

Another thing about social distancing. Even people who are not teachers have already figured out that there is not enough room in classrooms for all students to be six feet apart.  No problem, we’ll just change the guideline to three feet. But what about all of the classrooms around the country that don’t even have room to put all of their student desks three feet apart? What about the classrooms that do not have desks and have tables where students sit in groups instead? Who is providing these classrooms with new socially distant furniture? Is there a budget for this or are schools getting increased funding? LOL NO, they are getting LESS funding.  Oh okay, well maybe teachers will just buy it themselves out of their own pockets, as they do so many other supplies. Well I have bought A LOT for my classroom and students over the years, but I can not personally afford to buy them all individual desks. Even if the kids do have individual desk spaces, do they have to stay there all day? Do the kindergartners ever get to come to the carpet area for a story (spoiler alert- it is not big enough for 25 kids to sit three feet apart). Do they ever get to do centers? Sit next to a friend and read together? Can they even share books? I think before anyone gets to answer these questions, or more likely brush them aside, they should have to try to teach 25 five year olds how to sit in a chair on the first day of school.. and then get them to stay there all day every day.

So after we return to school without the equipment and ability to stay healthy and safe and a teacher or student gets symptoms, what then? The teacher or student should stay home to avoid infecting others, right? Well, a few things to consider: 1. Many times the kids are asymptomatic so they will be spreading germs unknowingly. 2. Many kids already come to school sick, sometimes dosed with medicine to mask fevers and symptoms, because parents have to get to work. How do we monitor this? 3. The symptoms of COVID are very similar to the symptoms that young children exhibit throughout the fall, winter, and spring due to common cold or allergies. And if teachers and students really stayed home every time they had a cough or symptom, they would probably be absent more than present. So do we have to ignore certain symptoms? Please clarify which symptoms are okay. 4. Staff are likely to have increased absences due to self-monitoring symptoms. Are they going to have substitutes for their classes? Substitutes can already be extremely hard to find. If we do find a sub- what germs are they bringing in? Where have they been? If they test positive do all schools they have been subbing at have to quarantine? 5. If a teacher or student tests positive for COVID, who quarantines? The entire class? The school building? Do we use sick days for this or is it unpaid? Do we switch to remote learning during the quarantine? Who is teaching the remote learning if the teacher is unable to work due to HAVING THE COVID THAT HE/SHE CAUGHT AT SCHOOL BECAUSE WE CHANGED ALL THE HEALTH AND SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS JUST TO ACCOMMODATE PUSHING SCHOOLS TO REOPEN WITHOUT THE EQUIPMENT, SPACE, OR ABILITY TO KEEP STAFF AND STUDENTS SAFE? 

Yeah, but students need to be in school for socialization! You are 100% correct there. Students need to interact and have human connection and learn social skills. Helping students learn to make friends, share, be kind, love learning, and become good citizens is one of the most important parts of my job. However it’s going to be hard to interact when students have to stay apart and impossible to learn to share if they can’t touch the same supplies. And guess what? That REALLY stinks. Everyone can agree this whole Covid situation bites the big one. Teachers WANT to get back to school- WHEN IT IS SAFE. We want to get back to seeing "our kids” in person everyday- WHEN THE CASES STOP RISING. Teaching remotely is not easy or fun. We want to get back in our classrooms- WHEN WE NO LONGER HAVE TO FEEL LIKE WE ARE RISKING OUR LIVES AND OUR FAMILIES LIVES TO DO SO.

We hear you, parents: Kids like school. They miss school. They learn more at school. They are annoying you at home. Teachers miss school too. We miss the kids (even though, off the record, they annoy us sometimes too)! But our top concern right now is that everyone is healthy and safe. Remote learning isn’t most people’s first choice, but it is a safer solution in the meantime, while we figure out this global health crisis. It is also hard to imagine how much learning would be taking place in the classroom anyway after they wait in their 75 foot long lines to wash their hands for 20 seconds multiple times a day. School days are already crammed full and now we will be adding in disinfecting constantly, monitoring for symptoms, sending kids to "quarantine”, trying to get ahold of parents, dealing with masks, giving "mask breaks”, etc. We were flying by the seat of our pants to make remote learning work last spring and I think teachers across the country did a pretty darn good job! But if we would decide now to make the safe decision for teachers and students and open with remote learning in the fall, teachers could be training and preparing and planning for online education, (instead of trying to open schools and then flying by the seat of our pants AGAIN to go online when it doesn’t work!)

We hear you pediatricians: Kids don’t usually get severe symptoms. They are usually asymptomatic. That is all well and good, but kids can still spread the virus to each other. They might not get sick, but they can take those germs home to their families. They can give those germs to their teachers, who can take it home to their families. Yes, we, as teachers, are used to being the sacrificial lambs. Yes, we protect our students and would take a bullet for them if necessary. We would give our lives to keep them safe when they are in our care. But I am not willing to expose myself to COVID and take COVID home to my family for the sake of having school in-person when that is completely preventable.

We hear you, governors: wE aRe hAVinG a haRd tiMe mAkiNg dEcisiONs.  Yes, this is an ever-changing situation and we have all been keeping our fingers crossed, but COVID is not going away, cases are on the rise, the school year is approaching, and we need answers. 

We hear you, Secretary of Education ("the first secretary of education with zero experience in public schools”😞 Blah, blah, blah.  Please sit down.

We hear you, President: These CDC guidelines are too safe. Make them less safe and easier and cheaper to follow. Open the schools or I will cut your funding. The health and safety of this country’s children and teachers is more important than the economy. That should be obvious and not a political issue to be debated.

But what do I know? I’m just a teacher. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

They have no good reasons safety wise to open schools. That’s why you are hearing generic statements like "just do it.” "If Home Depot can be open schools can be open.” "Kids aren’t at risk anyway.” The last statement they don’t want to push too hard because while It does seem children aren’t high risk, they are still at risk. There more than likely be some children deaths when school reopen.