Corona Virus Crisis News, Information, Advice & Help Thread

[Gistok]

Well today another one of my anti-vaxx Facebook friends is being taken off of the ventilator, now that her organs are shutting down. That makes 2 in the last 4 weeks. So sad.

My other 2 Facebook friends who were vaccinated and got the Omicron variant [[both in their 70s) and not requiring a hospital stay, are pretty much fully recovered at home.

[Richard]

This is from one of the Supremes, Judge Thomas himself; it does not agree with what you are saying at all:

Judge Thomas is a United States circuit judge,the post you were quoting was based on a Canadian ruling,so what Judge Thomas rules is irrelevant.

Judge Thomas was only addressing the constitutionality aspects of Covid restrictions under US constitutional law and not anything to actually do with the virus.


Every country has been ruling different,from one extreme to the next,all based on the same virus.

I think it would be hard to argue that the impact of the different variations should fall under one category of response.

Take China for instance,1 case of the new variation and they locked down 13 million no different then they did with Delta or the first more deadly virus.

It boils down to what is the appropriate response according to the severity of the domineering variant.

Do we ban those from flying in the future because of a bad cold or flu,the flu is deadly and can be easily spread in a crowded air plane,but nobody has ever been asked for a proof of flu vaccine in order to fly or forced house arrest quarantine.

The rona is going to be no different then the flu,we will reach an acceptable level of deaths then move on.

Its been like that from the start though,at what point does the reaction to outweigh the results of.

[Zacha341]

Free at-⁠home COVID-⁠19 tests [maximum four tests per household]:

https://www.covidtests.gov/

[Zacha341]

I'm so sorry to hear this G.... this is one of the reasons [per my age group - over 50] I chose to take the vaccination.

My head remains on a swivel to learn what's being updated [or not], and shared [and from where], related to COVID including what new vaccinations and COVID treatments pending.

...My other 2 Facebook friends who were vaccinated and got the Omicron variant [both in their 70s] and not requiring a hospital stay, are pretty much fully recovered at home.

[Rocket]

This is from one of the Supremes, Judge Thomas himself; it does not agree with what you are saying at all:

“These cases are not about the efficacy or importance of Covid-19 vaccines,” he wrote. “They are only about whether” the agency “has the statutory authority to force health care workers, by coercing their employers, to undergo a medical procedure they do not want and cannot undo.”


You may have misinterpreted what I wrote.

I didn't say that the data from 1/2 dozen countries was proven in the SC, and vaccines were somehow proven ineffective, and that every judge accepted it as fact. I only reported that the data was argued before the court.

And that's backed up by the first line, which I highlighted above. Judge Thomas states that he doesn't agree that the case is about vax efficacy, etc, which he wouldn't have written if that topic had not been brought up.

And in fact he didn't even state that he disputed the data, only that he doesn't think that was relevant to the case.

So in essence, that quote above lines up nicely with my earlier report..

[softailrider]

Free at-⁠home COVID-⁠19 tests [maximum four tests per household]:

https://www.covidtests.gov/

Already ordered mine and there was no problem whatsoever. Joe did a great job on that site. Didn't crash, didn't freeze up, it worked good!

[Honky Tonk]

^ Now if only Uncle Joe could get my 2020 taxes processed. Maybe he could get the Chinese to do it?

[Richard]

^ I am guessing you did not read the fine print when you got your “free” shot?

It’s blackmail by the IRS,they were defunded before and now are looking for billions more in funding,there is opposition to that,so hold people’s money until they get frustrated and say ,I want it at any cost,boom IRS gets a pay raise.

Have you seen the new rules,you have to declare revenue now when you shoplift,sell drugs,or profit from any crime and anything over $600 per year through any cash app,eBay,PayPal,
,bank has to have proof of where you got the funds and you will be taxed on it.

So they can catch the millionaire tax cheats of course.

Most people do not realize that those monthly funds that they were receiving during the pandemic,were actually advances on your future tax returns.

No such thing as free money.

It’s going to screw the economy for the summer because there will not be that influx of tax cash that usually boosts it up come tax season,it will be like a winter with no snow.

[Rocket]

Most people do not realize that those monthly funds that they were receiving during the pandemic,were actually advances on your future tax returns.

I got that too. They were illegally depositing money in my bank acct, which number for which I never gave them [always paid by check, never electronic].

They much have scanned my acct number off one of the checks and illegally kept it on file.

So now I need to go into a bank, show I.D., and ask the teller before each quarter's tax estimates are due how much money the IRS illegally put in my bank acct, and then increase my quarterly estimates by that amount. Otherwise my tax payments for the year would have been short, and I'd have found out this coming April that I had underpaid and owed the money back, PLUS penalties and interest.

They should have gotten my written permission first.

[jcole]

Oh, so you forgot that you said the following?

Odd that so little has been mentioned in the news about HOW the legal team defeated Pres. Biden's / Osha's vaccine mandate in the Supreme Court.

It was not won by declaring that the Pres and Osha had no authority, but rather by proving that the vaccines don't work on the current variant. In fact the vaccine seems to make it easier to contract. AND easier to spread.

And being that Omicron is 90 some % of new cases, a vax mandate would hurt more than help.

As such, the court ruled against the mandates.

Why isn't the news talking about this non-stop ?

[Johnnny5]

I got that too. They were illegally depositing money in my bank acct, which number for which I never gave them [always paid by check, never electronic].

They much have scanned my acct number off one of the checks and illegally kept it on file.

So now I need to go into a bank, show I.D., and ask the teller before each quarter's tax estimates are due how much money the IRS illegally put in my bank acct, and then increase my quarterly estimates by that amount. Otherwise my tax payments for the year would have been short, and I'd have found out this coming April that I had underpaid and owed the money back, PLUS penalties and interest.

They should have gotten my written permission first.

Rocket, the pandemic related stimulus payments are non-taxable, so you don't have to worry about claiming all that "free" money. If it really worries you, you're welcome to send it to me! Gifts up to 16K per year are also non-taxable.

[Rocket]

Rocket, the pandemic related stimulus payments are non-taxable, so you don't have to worry about claiming all that "free" money.

My bad.

I presumed we were talking about the child tax credit advances.

I didn't get any stimulus money.

[Richard]

^ we were referring to the child tax credit,because it is millions of families that received it as an advance,which translates into billions of dollars that previously fueled the economy as a tax time stimulus of sorts.

Some are going to find if circumstances changed in the last years and they received to much they will owe.

It will also slow the rate of businesses,because they rely on that tax time bump to carry them through the slower summer months,which will carry over to stocks,401k,pension funds etc.

The last 2 years the average family saw a 3% decrease in monthly income with a 7% increase in cost of living,they look like small numbers but they have a huge impact,I think by summertime people are going to be feeling the real financial impact of the corona virus and it is going to put a lot of people in a bad situation.

Most businesses that I know saw a 55% decrease in revenue starting 2 months ago,the ones that have managed to stay in there anyways,I do not think there is a pandemic related labor shortage,people are not hiring because business is not there and most remember the economy cycles and they are cutting back and not stocking inventory because nobody wants to get caught without a chair when the music stops.

[Rocket]

...............I do not think there is a pandemic related labor shortage,people are not hiring because business is not there..........

Some econ analysts are saying that the labor shortage isn't so much people sitting home with stimulus money, but rather people who were nearing retirement taking that retirement early.

Many used to keep working full or part time even after 67, but some 3 million ages 55 and older have simply retired because of the pandemic.

Apparently that accts for the vast majority of the missing work force, and those people are unlikely to return.

What that means is a long slow labor recovery as we have to wait until the 57 year olds are 67 or whatever before we have our normal workforce back.

[Zacha341]

More information is now coming forth regarding the relationship of antibodies and COVID:

Additional antibodies may protect against COVID, study shows...

https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0118104128.htm

Antibodies in blood soon after COVID-19 onset may predict severity

https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-ne...-covid-19.html

[Dumpling]

Thanks for that info Zacha!

It's nice that Stanford researchers
were able to find a clinical marker
based on fucose that should predict
COVID-19 infection severity.
That would be really useful.

There is not a link in my mind between
fucose and other clinical predictors of
severity [age, obesity, gender to a
slight extent]. But it could be true
that those surprising severe cases in
otherwise extremely healthy people
such as distance runners are linked
to those fucose deficient antibodies
that the researchers noted.

[Richard]

Some econ analysts are saying that the labor shortage isn't so much people sitting home with stimulus money, but rather people who were nearing retirement taking that retirement early.

Many used to keep working full or part time even after 67, but some 3 million ages 55 and older have simply retired because of the pandemic.

Apparently that accts for the vast majority of the missing work force, and those people are unlikely to return.

What that means is a long slow labor recovery as we have to wait until the 57 year olds are 67 or whatever before we have our normal workforce back.

I think they are not taking into account the Internet,influencers marketing products,Onlyfans,Instagram people pulling in $10k a month with follow me stuff.

Grab a van and tour the country while filming it and get paid.

The 16 year old kid that was into exotic sports cars,never owned one at the start,made 4 million in 2 years.

The Russian that used to do the pranks,dress up as an Arab and set a box by somebody and run,he was pulling in over 10 million a year.

Why sell coffee at Starbucks when you can put on a pair of short shorts and do a 30 minute yoga workout on onlyfans or YouTube and pull in 10k a month.

That is a massive uncounted market,so are people really leaving the workforce or is the workforce as we know it in transition,like it is still there but we are not physically in contact with it,if that makes sense.


Our restaurants do not have a labor shortage,but when I deal with others they are or say they are,my analysis is based on what I see happening in the street,my suppliers are still making the same amount of money with 1/2 the labor force or like I posted business has crashed in the last few months and are just not hiring or thinning staff to survive.

I would post a piece of commercial equipment for sale 6 months ago,300 views and usually sold within minutes,now I have stuff lingering over 60 days,20 views at half the price.

What we are being told and what is actually happening is two different things.

I personally have not met anybody that is no longer in the workforce or retired early,outside of myself with semi retirement,it is just the usual turnover of personal.

On social media it is also the usual,I quit my job and now getting evicted please go to my go fund me,because employers are greedy.

I agree though with the part of us baby boomers leaving the market drops the demand,because the younger generation seems to be lacking in the child production department,it is not clear yet what the actual demand will be according to population.

I have been in the trades all my life and there has always been a shortage of skilled trades workers,nurses,truck drivers etc,5 years ago the average age of a machine shop worker was 58 years,I know many that have shuttered in the last 10 years because of the lack of skilled tradesmen.


A lot of that started when they said everybody needs to be really smart and fix computers and now you have a bunch of really smart people that cannot do anything outside of being smart with no options or abilities to generate income.

My total monthly basic expenses are $800,because everything I have is paid for including my house.

There is no way everybody is leaving the work force voluntarily and still being able to survive on Covid relief,or even the monthly child tax credit advance and unemployment.

The basic 1 bedroom rental here is $1200,now add food,car payment and insurance and gas and maintenance,electricity,internet,cell phones etc.no way people are surviving.

If it was as they say it is,you would have 3/4 of the country living in the streets.

You see how they clear up the backlog at the ports,moved the ships 2 miles out so you do not see them anymore,the backlog was not because of lack of trucks or increased demand,they had been filling the demand for the last 7 years even more during the pandemic without a problem,the demand fell off of the cliff and people pulled their orders before production had a chance to slow down and adjust.

Those ships were filled with pre sold orders,not speculation,ships came in,people canceled the orders by refusing delivery,they took the deposit losses verses being stuck with the inventory.

What would you do,cost of shipping a container goes from $5 -$13,000 to $30,000 overnight and you know there is no way you can recoup those costs because the market will not bear it?

All of this labor shortage and supply chain issues is a smoke screen in order to provide a false facade and a lot of people that are not ready for it are going to get hurt.

The only thing fueling the economy in Florida right now is the snow birds and the real estate market from everybody fleeing from up north,outside of that it is a recession,I went to Home Depot the past couple of days,in and out in less then 10 minutes,6 months ago it would have been 30 minutes just standing in the check out line.

They got mid terms coming up and nothing kills a party like the word recession,it’s just like with Covid they gotta keep playing politics with it instead of just being honest with people so they can adjust accordingly,but instead they wait until people fall off of the cliff and it is to late, so they can jump in to save the day.

[Brock7]

Got the Moderna booster to my full Pfizer vax this morning. I made sure to ask the nurse to aspirate, which she did.

[Zacha341]

^ Good for you Brock7 [the aspiration vaccination option that is - where available]. It's been discussed abroad, and offered as an option over the standard vaccine injection procedures.

While talk of such was initially poo-poo'd/ dismissed as right-winged 'anti-vaxxer' conspiracy stuff, more are now aware as they choose where to get their vaccinations. I learned of Karl Warner's issue with Pericarditis last month. Good update to know he is doing better.

[Jimaz]

People Explained Why They Resigned During The Great Resignation, And Their Points Are Sooo Valid

For months, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics has been reporting record high numbers of Americans quitting their jobs. In November alone, a whopping 4.5 million people left their work.

[Richard]

^ what did they do search the world over for all of the whiners and stick them into one article?

I quit because I wanted to WFH and my mean employer said no.

I was in a costumer service role and people were so mean I quit

Welcome to America where if you do not like your job - quit and go find another one.

I had a neighbor,BC [[before Covid) he was a smart cookie,GE sent him, all expenses paid to go to Wind turbine repair school,when he finished the company paid him $500 a week to stay home and when a job came up it was $900 per day all expenses paid.

He had a 60 day wait until the next job,it comes up and they fly him to it,as soon as he arrives he asked for some personal time off,his boss gets livid,because he just had 90 days paid off and should have handled personal business at that time.

He did not like it that the boss was upset,so he quit.

GE turns right around and sends him back to school,all expenses paid once again but this time to Gas turbine school,a year latter he finishes that school,then quit again saying he needed time to find himself.

You have to figure GE invested a good $500k in his education and future and he walked,employees have little loyalty to the employers but expect the employers to be loyal to them.

I remember times when there were no jobs,you could not buy a job,and on the slim chance that you found one,anything,you did your job and were grateful just to have one.

I could write in to that survey,I am 14 years old,bussing tables at chain restaurant,3rd shift,I quit because the waitresses were always hitting on me and the manager did not say thank you at the end of each shift and got a job at a hardware store.

Everybody that has had a job that that they did not like,so they quit and got another one,raise their hand.

The simple route is to learn a skill,pay your dues,and start your own business and stop whining.

Most of the jobs people are referring to had high turnover rates before even Covid,but nobody ever did a quit your job survey or made a ruckus over nothing about it before,wonder why it all of the sudden gains relevance ?

I wonder how many of those workers were perpetual whiners and their employers created a situation so they quit and the company did not have to pay unemployment, because the worker quit.

How many of those were as new to the workforce as they sound,were able to get a better job because they had some experience under their belt from the job that they hated so bad ?

They did not quit and leave the workforce,they moved on to other jobs,but the unemployment numbers are steadily rising by the month.

157 million people in the workforce,stands to reason that you are going to find 5 million that are unhappy,but in context it does not amount to anything really.

Take this job and shove it,has been around a lot longer then Covid,people were singing songs about it before most of those interviewed were even born.

I am surprised a stripper did not write in saying she quit because every time she went to work all the men would stare at her chest all day.

Covid and WFH - things change,what happens to all of these people who moved states over or way out in the sticks in order to take advantage of WFH and all of the sudden it falls out of favor?

Then the headlines will read - I WFH and now it no longer exists and I am stuck out in Timbuktu ,with no job and no possibility of one ,while I lose everything I worked for all my life.

[Gistok]

Richard... whenever someone quits a job... there's usually at least some whining going on. Sometimes the reason is lame, sometimes it's not.

And what do you add to the discussion? More whining, but from an employers perspective. There's 2 sides to every story... we get that.

[jcole]

Did you service the costumes for movies or Halloween?\

^ what did they do search the world over for all of the whiners and stick them into one article?

I quit because I wanted to WFH and my mean employer said no.

I was in a costumer service role and people were so mean I quit

[Zacha341]

Resource for Michigan COVID information - Probably posted by others before yet remains useful:

https://www.michigan.gov/Coronavirus

[Jimaz]

I see an irony in the Great Resignation/general strike.

Before the '80s, some radical labor theorists accused unions of secretly being a tool of business to create the illusion that workers had power. Their "wildcat" strikes without union leadership's approval were as much a snub against these union leaders as they were against management.

Since the '80s, business has been largely successful in eradicating unions. So now there's no middleman organization through which to negotiate with the wildcatters. Business now has to deal with an immense number of unpredictable, uncontrollable strikers individually — a process far more costly than dealing with/through unions.

Be careful what you wish for. Your wishes might come true. <DING!>