Category — Florida

With almost 21.7K cases today, Florida’s incompetent ungovernor is using the power of his office to block as many measures that have been found helpful that he can think of because he wants to run for reelection next year and the Presidency in 2024 as a Trump clone. School districts in Florida are bared from imposing mask mandates, saying that only parents can mandate masks for their children. He is blocking local governments from doing anything helpful to relieve pressure on our hospital system.

A glance at the COVID-19 Tracker on ABC (US) News shows you that Florida is the destination for sunburn and the Delta variant. If you die here on vacation you won’t be added to Florida’s numbers. You have be a citizen to vote or be recognized by the state health department.

I keep hearing people saying that the vaccines arrived too quickly. Here’s a chart showing that people have been working on messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines for 5 decades:

In China in 2002 there was an outbreak of a Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) caused by a corona virus. It was labeled SARS-CoV. While more deadly than the Covid-19 virus (SARS-COV-2) it was no where near as contagious and disappeared by 2004. Medical authorities began working on vaccines. Because of the threats by disease to the military, in 2010 the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) funded mRNA research at Moderna.

When China made public the genome sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, Moderna and BioNTech were ready to plug it into their individual mRNA carriers and create their Covid-19 vaccinations. Because the mRNA vaccines don’t require the extended production times of traditional virus manufacture, Moderna & Pfizer/BioNTech were able to begin trials very rapidly. After completing the three trails and presenting the data for review at various national health agencies their vaccines were given Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). During the approval process both began manufacturing their vaccines to be ready to ship as soon as they received approval. Traditionally companies don’t begin manufacturing until after they receive approval, and they apply for full permits which take much longer than EUAs.

The gullible fools in Florida who believe their individual “freedom” to make bad decisions is more important that other people should move away from society and die without bothering or infecting people who want the vaccine but can’t get it because of their age or medical condition. You have to surrender some perceived “rights” to enjoy the benefits of society. You can’t have it both ways.

While I’ve been dealing with some weather [including a tree falling on my car]; the insane laws being passed in this state; and the dull and boring bits required to continue life [buying and preparing food, cleaning the house, caring for the cats, etc.]; I’ve been required to repair lawn mowers and my main computer.

I’m not a small engine mechanic, but I know how to find parts and YouTube videos that show you how to fix them [normally, get a new carburetor, fuel line, fuel & air filters, spark plug, and change the oil]. Basically – I have the tools and I can rebuild them….

I was adding memory to my big box, and that went so smoothly I decided to install an SSD as the Boot drive for Windows. After installing the the SSD the system couldn’t see either of the two hard drives. So, I have the new motherboard and the updated memory, and am waiting for the AMD Ryzen 5 3400G to be delivered. I can’t really complain as the machine lasted 9 years.

If I get the last lawn mower up and running, and the computer back together, I finally have all of the bits and pieces to replace the kitchen and bathroom faucets. I’ve had the faucets for months, but designing the transition from the existing plumbing to new faucets took some research.

Meanwhile we have put a helicopter on Mars that is zipping around. In a related vein: Billionaire Elon Musk has offered inventors $US100 million ($129 million) on Earth Day to fight global warming by developing carbon dioxide removal technology for the “largest incentive prize in history”. I think he needs to look at the NASA Mars program: MOXIE device aboard Perseverance rover uses electrolysis to produce oxygen from CO₂. It has been a few years [OK, decades] since my last Chemistry course, but if the oxygen is taken away from carbon dioxide, you are left with carbon. If you scale up MOXIE, you can supply hospitals with oxygen and provide carbon for carbon fiber, graphene, and other uses.

The media was reporting this morning that my whacko Congresscritter, Matt Gaetz, was considering leaving Congress to become a media troll. Then this evening it is being reported that he is under investigation by the Feds for crossing state lines with a 17-year-old female [you’re adults, so you know what I mean].

So, basically I can look forward to the end of his stupid e-mails as he goes either to NewsMax or a SuperMax. 👿

My county does some things correctly, despite being Republican dominated. Our elections are paper-based and readily auditable. Being a non-Republican in a very small precinct it is very easy for my me to see that my vote counted. You can track your absentee ballot on-line from mailing, to returned, to being counted.

It turns out that the local county Department of Health is just as professional. The problems with the local system are the lack of a predictable supply of vaccines from the state, and the lack of personnel. When they get the vaccines, they put them in arms, not storage.

Appointments are scheduled for half-hour blocks and large parking lots are used as the procedure is drive-through. Each vehicle can have up to four people in it. As you move through the parking lot people check your paperwork and tape a paper to your windshield indicating who is getting shot in the vehicle. There were four stations actually giving shots. One person gave the shot (with a needle so thin that it wasn’t as noticeable as a mosquito bite). Another collected your paperwork, and wrote the time you could leave the observation lot. I had to wait 30 minutes, while others only had to wait 15. After your time was up an EMT gave you your CDC immunization card indicating the vaccine used (Pfizer) and the lot number. You also receive your appointment for the second dose. If you had a bad reaction, there was an ambulance standing by.

After I got home I checked my temperature and it was up one degree. I had an “almost headache”, i.e. it wasn’t enough to get a Tylenol. I was tired, but not enough to take a nap. After a good night’s sleep the only effect was a stiff upper arm that was the site of the injection.

Trump pushed the real work off to governors, and Florida’s governor dumped the vaccine distribution onto the counties – Florida’s first-come, first-serve Covid-19 vaccination plan for the elderly leads to scramble:

(CNN)Florida’s county-by-county plan to vaccinate its elderly population has created a mass scramble for a limited number of doses, leading to hours-long lines at vaccination sites and overwhelmed county hotlines and websites.

In southwest Florida, the Lee County Department of Health encouraged anyone 65 and older and high-risk frontline health care workers to come to one of seven vaccination sites. Each site had just 300 vaccine doses, and “no appointment is necessary,” the county said.

The first-come, first-serve plan led to huge lines forming overnight Tuesday as people camped out on lawn chairs and waited for hours.

After seeing this I checked on my county. In my county they are requiring appointments for the vaccination, but the appointments for the four-hours they have scheduled for January 6th have already been taken, so I’ll have to check back later to see when and if the county will schedule another vaccination time and place. The procedure is drive thru, which enforces social distancing, but it might be a problem if someone has an adverse reaction. It also ignores the number of senior citizens who lack cars and/or drivers’ licenses.

National Weather Service warns of falling iguanas

The graphic is from January but it is applicable today for South Florida as we are having a cold snap. January, 2020 to December, 2020 – no drop bears, just drop lizards.

My county mailed me my absentee ballot on 09/24/2020 as First Class Pre-sorted election material and I didn’t get it until 09/30/2020. Understand that it was given to the post office already barcoded and in carrier route order in trays, but it took a week to get here.

I immediately filled it out and then put it in the mail yesterday morning at the main post office in town. I will check on the Supervisor of Elections web site to see when it is received. The envelope was pre-addressed and barcoded and marked as election material. With a month to go I have high hopes that it will reach the election office prior to November 3rd.

ABC (US) has some background on 2018 Amendment 4 and the Republican effort to get around it.

Now Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody is asking federal and state law enforcement to investigate Michael Bloomberg’s donations to pay off the fines and fees of felons in Florida:

Florida with the help of Republican judges is preventing ex-felons in the state from voting without paying their fines and court costs.

And Mike Bloomberg is donating money to the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, which will pay fines for ex-felons who want to vote.
…
Moody may be walking into a trap.

As we reported earlier, Florida does not have a statewide database of court fines and discovering what an ex-felon actually owes has proven to take literally years.

Florida’s maximum statute of limitations on debt collection is five years. And there are federal and state laws regarding debt collection that can be brought up by Bloomberg’s army of attorneys, as well.

To get your civil rights restored after serving your sentence for a felony in Florida prior to Amendment 4 meant getting your application before a committee composed of the elected cabinet of the state. They didn’t meet very often and didn’t approve a lot of rights restorations annually. Amendment 4 made the restoration automatic if you finished your sentence and parole. The amendment by law required the votes of a minimum of 60% of the votes in a given election. It passed and the governor and legislature immediately began looking for a way to get around it. They came up with what amounts to a poll tax, requiring the former felons to have paid all of the fines, costs, and restitution that was part of their sentence. Bloomberg’s move to help pay those costs could add thousands to the voting roll who have no reason to like the Republican Party after the way they have been treated.

I would like to hear the justification by the government of Florida for attempting to stop all of that money from being paid to the state. With all of the sales tax and bed tax revenue lost due to COVID-19, the state needs Bloomberg’s money.

Tomorrow is Florida’s primary election. If you haven’t already voted, grab your mask and head to the polls which are open from 7AM to 7PM local.

I may not agree with your choices, but I have put it all on the line to give you the opportunity to express your opinion. It’s a duty.

The Florida Primary is scheduled for Tuesday, August 18^th, but the early voting period is established by the county Supervisor of Elections.

In Okaloosa County it starts on Saturday, August 8^th:

Early Voting for the August 18 Primary Election will be held August 8 – August 15, 2020, 9:00 am – 6:00 pm all days, including Sunday.

Check the web site of your county to find out when it happens and where to vote.

I have already voted by mail as soon as I received my ballot. When I receive my ballot for the general election, I will complete it and return it immediately so if I get hit by a truck, I will still have voted against Trump. If there is a heaven, voting for Trump will certainly get you banned.

[Note: I messed up earlier and had the wrong date on a header graphic – I apologize.]

In order to generate “local excitement” [sell stuff] the chamber of commerce was once again hoping to annoy people with the Billy Bowlegs Festival.

After moving the event from the first weekend in June to Friday, August 31^st they have decided they can’t hold the festival under current conditions. I’m a bit shocked that they have acted like adults instead of like Trump or DeSantis, but credit where credit is due.

“Does every disaster movie start with a scientist being ignored?”

“Still, a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest” – Paul Simon The Boxer

The current wife of my former Congresscritter reports on the mess that is the Desantis response to the pandemic in Florida.

According to the US Census Bureau 19.7% of Florida’s population is under 18. That works out to approximately 4,231,000 children. The Florida Department of Health has a Pediatric Report on testing of this group. There have been 54,022 tests of members of the under 18 group and 16,797, 31.1%, tested positive for COVID-19.

The primary justification for reopening schools is that school-aged children aren’t “really” affected by the virus. It would appear that they have the virus in significant numbers and would be infecting the teachers and staff. The results would be schools closing in a couple of weeks because there wouldn’t be enough adults left to teach or maintain the schools.

It isn’t just the schools. Six weeks into the hurricane season the Miami Herald reports that Florida has closed the emergency operations center after 12 people on staff tested positive for COVID. If we can’t keep the EOC open why would anyone believe we can manage schools?

Thanks to the incompetence of the governor and the ignorance of too many of our citizens, Florida has managed to demolish the former record for the number of new COVID cases in a single day:

According to state Department of Health statistics, 15,299 people tested positive, for a total of 269,811 cases, and 45 deaths were recorded.

California had the previous record of daily positive cases — 11,694, set on Wednesday. New York had 11,571 on April 15.

The numbers come at the end of a grim, record-breaking week as Florida reported 514 fatalities — an average of 73 per day. Three weeks ago, the state was averaging 30 deaths per day. Since the pandemic began in March, 4,346 people have died in Florida of COVID-19, the state says.

The good news is that many of the people contracting the virus are Republicans, so there will be fewer people to vote for Trump this November, and DeSantis in two years. Unfortunately they are murdering innocent people with their lack of concern.

That’s according to Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor.

According to Rebekah Jones’s site Florida COVID Action: today the Florida Department of Health is reporting that Florida had:

• 11,433 new cases today
• 65,837 new cases this week
• 244,151 cases since March 1^st
• 93 new deaths today
• 4203 deaths since March 1^st

So we shouldn’t be concerned that more than a quarter of all cases occurred this week? Florida is the location of a sixth of the daily count of new COVID cases for the entire US, but we shouldn’t worry 😈

There are a lot of out of state plates on the local roads, which means that cases are probably being exported to other states. This is a good thing because Florida only has 918 available ICU beds, that’s Key West to Pensacola less than a thousand beds.