COVID-19 Update

World

• New Cases:   673,260 (⬆︎ .85%)
• New Deaths:    11,836 (⬆︎ .68%)

USA

• New Cases:   193,080 (⬆︎ 1.02%)
• New Deaths       2,835 (⬆︎   .85%)

Christmas morning, and the first thing I do is check the numbers at Worldometer - like it's just another shift down at the mill.

I really hate this pandemic shit. And I really hate Qult45. Their completely fucked up response to this monster has ruined lives (purposefully, IMO), and it's ruined this Christmas for millions of Americans, by marking Christmas 2020 as a time of mourning and ill will - turning the season of love to one of despair for many, and hatred of our own neighbors - in some cases, hatred of our friends and family.

I love Christmas. Christmas is my jam. My favorite holiday. I love the idealism of thinking there's such a thing as redemption, and a belief that we can be better people, living better lives.

I guess the thing I can hold onto is that I'm atheist, and so I don't have to feel at all compelled to forgive these assholes for fucking it up for me.

But the hangup is that I don't want to go along with some jerk like 45*, who deliberately foments discord and seems to believe he's well within his rights to make everybody feel like shit just because he's such a shitty person himself.

He wants me to hate, but I don't want to hate, so I won't. I'll never give that prick the satisfaction of thinking he's bent me to his will. Ever.

Hatred is poison. And while I can't say I'll ever be able to bring myself to love people who seem to go out of their way to prove themselves unworthy of anything but contempt and loathing, I can try not to play their game by their rules.

I can reject their notions of divide-n-conquer. I can hold them in very low esteem, and I can voice my disdain for them and their shitty plans to put democracy in chains.

I can stay vigilant and keep my fire stoked - I've got my thesaurus handy, and I can come up with a thousand ways to despise them, and to never ever ever forgive them - I just choose not to hate them. Cuz that's actually what they want, and withholding it from them is what's really gonna piss 'em off.

Today's Today

Merry Christmas, everybody.

Today's Tweet

Speaking of birthdays

In honor of Dr. Fauci's 80th birthday tomorrow, I proclaim Thursday, December 24, 2020, “Dr. Anthony S. Fauci Day” in Washington, DC.

We are incredibly proud to count Dr. Fauci among the many DC residents who are sacrificing so much to keep our communities healthy and safe. pic.twitter.com/UqvS4sebMf

— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) December 23, 2020 

 

250 Years Ago

Beethoven was born in 1770. He's recorded baptized on December 17th, but no one is sure as to the actual date of his birth.

So, I'm a little late, but happy birthday, Ludwig.

COVID-19 Update

World

• New Cases:   638,286 (⬆︎ .87%)
• New Deaths:    13,468 (⬆︎ .78%)

USA

• New Cases:   232,342 (⬆︎ 1.26%)
• New Deaths:      3,401 (⬆︎ 1.04%)

'Tis the season of hope - and hard-ass determination to beat the monster.

WaPo:

An ICU nurse survived an eight-month fight with covid-19 that nearly killed her multiple times: ‘Don’t lose hope’

When Merlin Pambuan awoke in September after four months hooked up to a breathing machine that helped keep her alive, the intensive care unit nurse sickened with the novel coronavirus was comforted knowing her life was in the hands of her colleagues, treated at the same hospital she had worked at for 40 years.

But she still could not feel her extremities following a deep sedation that started in May, shortly after she had contracted the virus while treating covid-19 patients at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach, Calif. As first reported by Reuters, the nurse could not remember anything about a period in which she had come close to dying “multiple times,” according to her doctor.

This week, doctors and nurses who have been pushed to their limits in a part of Southern California ravaged by the pandemic received a rare piece of good news: Pambuan had recovered from covid and was leaving after being hospitalized for eight months fighting the virus.

The 66-year-old was met by dozens of cheering, masked co-workers as she walked down the hallway at St. Mary on Monday, an emotional scene on a day her family and physician were uncertain would come.

“I’m thankful,” Pambuan said to Reuters. “This is my second life.” She added: “Don’t lose hope. Just fight.”

Christmas Pix

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