Small Talk: The Polygamous Cul-de-Sac

[crazycatlady58]

35 minutes ago, Kyanight said:

But that doesn't answer the important question here!! 

 How many kitties do you have?

I only have one. My beloved Sarah passed away about a year ago.

[Kyanight]

58 minutes ago, crazycatlady58 said:

I only have one. My beloved Sarah passed away about a year ago.

Well they are like potato chips.  I can't just have one.

And I'm so sorry you lost your Sarah!  Glad you have your other one, though!  : )

P.S.  My poor cats never have "normal", pretty names like Sarah.  Weird owner, poor kitties with weird names....

Edited March 7, 2020 by Kyanight

[suomi]

I wasn't clear on whether or not the apprehension factor was valid because I wondered why "a super flu" was such a threat, and then I learned more than I wanted to know from this article. The particulars of what it does to the body are gruesome. I can now see why the elderly and those with compromised health are at high risk and why people die so quickly. 

Quote

 

The disease can cast a storm over the whole human body.

That helps explain why the COVID-19 epidemic has killed more than 1,800 people, surpassing the SARS death toll in a matter of weeks. While the death rate for COVID-19 appears to be a fifth of SARS, the novel coronavirus has spread faster.*

*This was written 16 days ago and the death rate is already outdated. 3000 have died, not 1800.

Confirmed cases rose to more than 60,000 last Thursday, nearly a 50 percent jump relative to the prior day, and the tally has since increased by another 13,000.**

**Since this was written the confirmed cases have increased to 100,000. 

The Lungs: Ground zero
The Stomach: A shared gateway
Blood storm
Liver: Collateral damage
Kidney: It’s all connected

[Editor's Note: This article has been updated to reflect the death toll and case count as of February 18. It was originally published on February 14.]

 

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/02/here-is-what-coronavirus-does-to-the-body/

[Christina]

Here in Ohio, several school districts closed for the flu this year. I can't say it's common, but when the flu shot is for a strain different than the one acquired, it takes out so many teachers and students that they close the schools, deep clean, and try again the next week. This year there were several schools the same week so it was bigger news than one here and there.

There was a measles outbreak one year, too, but can't remember when or which school district was affected. 

I saw my neurologist last Thursday and he warned me to not get corona, even though there doesn't seem to be any around here, because he wanted me to reconsider if I was planning on traveling anywhere that had known outbreaks. It goes from feeling ill to death too quickly.

[crazycatlady58]

9 hours ago, Kyanight said:

Well they are like potato chips.  I can't just have one.

And I'm so sorry you lost your Sarah!  Glad you have your other one, though!  : )

P.S.  My poor cats never have "normal", pretty names like Sarah.  Weird owner, poor kitties with weird names....

I do not have the imagination to give my cats odd names but I love to hear about the names and the history of the names.

[Teafortwo]

On 3/4/2020 at 5:34 PM, Kohola3 said:

I know we had social media when SARS kicked up but it seems like the conspiracy theorists are more active and people seem to take everything on Facebook as absolute fact when it's just gibberish. 

There's a new book by Roger McNamee entitled "Zucked." McNamee was an early advisor/investor to Mark Zuckerberg. He realized in 2016 that the algorithms Facebook uses are designed to stoke a "fight or flight" reaction - to stir people's basest emotions. His argument is that these algorithms are designed to spread disinformation - reinforcing people's fears and irrational beliefs. (He asserts that they are also used, for example, to track people who have viewed material or groups on FB about Black Lives Matter - this info is then transmitted to police depts.)  He approached Zuck with his concerns in 2016 about these flaws in its algorithms, expecting that the company would recognize the need to self-regulate and address what was going on. He was met with "we are a platform, we don't promote anything." He was astounded, realized that Zuck is motivated solely by greed, and came out of retirement to try to get the gov't to realize that the monopolies like Facebook and Google need to be federally regulated, to prevent them from fomenting toxic emotions. Facebook knows how to reinforce peoples concerns, pushing more and more of something at you based on your activity. So for example, if someone is freaking out about a disruption of the supply chain, that fear will be reinforced by Facebook showing that person links to sites/groups that demonstrate/insist disruption is getting worse.

In short, I agree with you.

[Teafortwo]

On 3/4/2020 at 10:13 PM, Gramto6 said:

Thanks for this discussion. I have to admit to being a bit panicked for a bit, but I realized we have been through so many of these "scares" and they pass, usually with far less devastation than TPTB predicted.

I am a widowed COL (70), part hermit by nature. I live in MT alone, I have a well and septic tank. The hoarding water thing really puzzles me. I regularly have gallons of water in my storage cubby for when my well freezes (sometimes once a winter-for days). People on city water aren't going to have a problem that I can see. And TP, really?? 

I do admit to being that person that wipes every surface of the shopping cart when I enter the store, have for years, I don't use public restrooms (hermit, don't go out much). I haven't gotten a flu shot in well over 20 years and haven't had the flu either.  I'm naturally OCD and wash my hands a lot, I do touch my face a lot so have to retrain on that. I just don't go out that much...hermit remember?

My worries are for my kids. My DD is a police captain in a major metropolitan city in CA Bay Area. She is regularly exposed to all sorts of people. My son is a Battalion Chief of a major fire dept. in the South Bay Area of CA. Also exposed to all sorts of people. They are late 40's in good health so I shouldn't worry, but I'm the mom and I do...

All said and done, yes it is scary, will that fear rule my life? He!! no! I beat breast cancer, this virus has nothing on that!!

 

 

I love you, Gramto6. This is such a wonderful post. I hope your kids will weather this storm.

I use bottled water because, although the water is generally excellent in my area, the plumbing in my building is old and horrible. It really should have been replaced but it is a multifamily dwelling and although some people have renovated their units, the whole thing is piecemeal and the water definitely has a high sediment rate. I use a Zero water filter to avoid over-buying water bottles, but the tap water often comes out brown and has a metallic taste even after filtering. Yuck!

[Kyanight]

2 hours ago, crazycatlady58 said:

12 hours ago, Kyanight said:

Well they are like potato chips.  I can't just have one.

And I'm so sorry you lost your Sarah!  Glad you have your other one, though!  : )

P.S.  My poor cats never have "normal", pretty names like Sarah.  Weird owner, poor kitties with weird names....

I do not have the imagination to give my cats odd names but I love to hear about the names and the history of the names.

Really?  lol  I WISH imagination had something to do with it so I could claim I am "Muy Creative" - but sadly I just can't remember their names until they've had one for months and months.

   There is Pixel (named by one of my grown twins) because she is a dwarf kitty and much smaller than an adult kitty should be... except it morphed into "Pickle".  So she is a Pickle.  There is Plugmutton because I could never remember her name.  Laserbeams?  Claypole?  Plugmutton?  It just came out and stuck.  Because I'm old.  I have an orange kitty and the shelter called her "Peachy" but she would NOT answer to that name so I changed it to "Mango" - which is cute.  She never answered to it, but it's a cute name.  But being old (see above) I couldn't think of her name when I was calling her to come go "night night" or come eat or whatever, so I would call her "Orange Ball" - and it stuck.  AND she LIKES the name, and answers to it!  Then there is Fish.  I call her Tuna Fish, or Fish Basket, or Fish Sticks - but she's "Fish" and she loves her name.  (Another rescue.)  And last but not least is "Cheerio", because she has a little yellow cheerio on her nose.   I sometimes call her "Oatio", but she doesn't like that name and she DOES like Cheerio... so there you have it.  Boy do I feel dumb writing this, ha ha.

I have four kitties - Plugmutton is shared by the one son who temporarily lives with me.  I recently had a rescue kitty named "Raisin" because she has a raisin on her nose, but another son took her because my other kitties ganged up on her and chased her around the house.  This is Raisin:

Edited March 7, 2020 by Kyanight

[DakotaJustice]

I am the least creative namer of cats. All three are girls.

My big tabby is The Baby because she was just six months old when she adopted me. 

My bossy tuxedo cat is The Girl, she's the one who runs this house. 

And lastly, Sunbun, my Nebelung who loves to chase and tussel the other two! 

[Kyanight]

12 minutes ago, DakotaJustice said:

I am the least creative namer of cats. All three are girls.

My big tabby is The Baby because she was just six months old when she adopted me. 

My bossy tuxedo cat is The Girl, she's the one who runs this house. 

And lastly, Sunbun, my Nebelung who loves to chase and tussel the other two! 

Cute!! lol     Sunbun!

[suomi]

I've been on a Prince and vintage Madonna kick lately to make housecleaning more enjoyable. I blast 1999, Let's Go Crazy, Like A Prayer and Vogue and before I know it most of my daily chores are done. 

My 16-year-old calico Isabella Monkita stays glued to the TV for all four songs, she is a little tripper. Yesterday I was wishing I had two new girl kitties and I decided I would name them Wendy and Lisa.

[xwordfanatik]

I love creative fur baby names.  My daughter's friend named her little dog Fuzzbutt.  My hair stylist's daughter named her cat D-Con.  If I ever get other pets, I'm using those names!

[Sofa Sloth]

My mother had a cat whose name everyone figured to be ‘William’,  except it was actually Woolyum because he just loved wool. He loved to knead, unravel and play with all her knitting and would chase the balls around the room attacking them with his hind legs and biting them, when he was tired he’d snuggle up in her wool balls basket to sleep 😆
 

Edited March 7, 2020 by Sofa Sloth

[Natalie68]

18 hours ago, suomi said:

I wasn't clear on whether or not the apprehension factor was valid because I wondered why "a super flu" was such a threat, and then I learned more than I wanted to know from this article. The particulars of what it does to the body are gruesome. I can now see why the elderly and those with compromised health are at high risk and why people die so quickly. 

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/02/here-is-what-coronavirus-does-to-the-body/

I am starting to get pretty freaked about it.  Compromised immunity, work at a university, work at events (inside) where there is not a 6 foot space between people, and Spring Break is happening in 2 weeks.  I am livid when people come to work sick.

[Kohola3]

5 minutes ago, Natalie68 said:

 I am livid when people come to work sick.

Absolutely.

And it doesn't help when a certain elected official states on TV:   “thousands or hundreds of thousands of people” can “get better just by sitting around and even going to work. Some of ‘em go to work.”

[Teafortwo]

I love the cat and cat names discussion. As I've posted, I recently had to say goodbye to my beloved, very old kitty. I am thinking about new cat names and I like Delilah, Dahlia, or simply Lila. I like naming cats after flowers. I love the names above, especially Cheerio, Orange Ball, Raisin and Fish! Sunbun is very cute also. Please everyone add more pix! The one of Raisin is great!

[DakotaJustice]

6 hours ago, Kyanight said:

Cute!! lol     Sunbun!

Thank you! That's what I call her but her given name is Sunny. 

I always think of that Paul Simon song "The Obvious Child" specifically this verse

We had a lot of fun
Had a lot of money
We had a little cat and we thought we'd call her Sunny
Sunny gets married and moves away
Sunny has a baby and bills to pay
Sunny gets sunnier
Day by day by day by day

(ok I admit that I changed the lyrics a touch but that's how *I* sing it 🤔🤣and she really does get sunnier day by day!)

[xwordfanatik]

1 hour ago, Teafortwo said:

I love the cat and cat names discussion. As I've posted, I recently had to say goodbye to my beloved, very old kitty. I am thinking about new cat names and I like Delilah, Dahlia, or simply Lila. I like naming cats after flowers. I love the names above, especially Cheerio, Orange Ball, Raisin and Fish! Sunbun is very cute also. Please everyone add more pix! The one of Raisin is great!

Delilah was Mr. Xword's mother's cat, back when we met, almost 50 years ago.  She lived to a ripe old age, 20-something.  She was a purebred blue point Siamese cat.  

My mother grew dahlias when I was a toddler and preschool age.  So I like that name, too.

 

[suomi]

I had dogs for the first 35 years of my life and cats for the last 35 years, with a little bit of overlap. Convention says that dogs have the intelligence of a 6-year-old child and cats have the intelligence of a 2-year-old so I never "expected" much from my cats. After I retired I had a lot more time to spend with them and I was surprised to learn how smart they are. I've realized that it comes down to the time you spend and the enrichment you provide. When I look back on all the missed opportunity ... sigh. 

Have you noticed that you can get your cat's attention, or even wake them up, by sending thought waves? Send them a silent version of your croon and watch what happens. 

My Isabel is 16-years-old and both of her housemates lived to be 16. I have observed more about her and interacted more than I did with any of the others. I used to get a kick out of taking MoMo to PetSmart where he would sneer at the dogs in obedience class. As if. He was wicked smart but this little gal, wowzer.

She goes bye-bye enough to know that when she gets in the car she's going to surf a luggage cart down a hotel hallway or she's going to see the fish and birds and reptiles at PetSmart ... or someone's going to stick a thermometer in her butt. 

She picks up a lot from Animal Planet and PetSmart and she goes along when we feed apples to horses. She enjoys the movie Black Hawk Down, we watched it today. She likes the helicopters, the gunfire, the closeups of the men's faces, the running, the yelling, the music, the whole experience. She's also a big Walking Dead fan, somehow she "gets" the zombie-killing scenes and (my hand to Universe) Rick and Daryl are her favorites. But she also watches ET and Love It Or List It all the way through and those are light years away from Black Hawk or TWD. Go figure. 

Her vocabulary includes: good, nice, kisses, hungry, treats, water (for splashing), warm water (which she prefers to drink), rain water (endlessly fascinating), bye-bye, birds, fish (we had an aquarium), dogs, bugs, kids, outside, jump, and hotel. She recognizes what each of those is about. When I say "rain water," even if she's asleep, she gets up and stretches and heads for the screen door. She's not Einstein, so bugs also includes lizards and butterflies and dogs includes horses, giraffes and rhinos. But there's no denying that she gets the basic concepts. 

My dad died 6 years ago and he lived with us for the last 2 years of his life. She still recognizes his scent on his wallet and his face and voice on his vacation in Finland DVD. When I say "Where is Dad?" she looks down the hallway. I got a baby monitor because his room was downstairs. He used an oxygen concentrator at night and that sound is very distinctive and she cracked me up the first few nights I used the monitor. We were upstairs but could hear the concentrator loud and clear and she knew it was downstairs, and we could hear his voice when he talked to himself or sang and she knew he was downstairs. I could practically hear the gears turning in her head and the look on her little face was "How this happens?"

[Meowwww]

My kitties are Moo and Betty Lou.  Betty Lou was from a hoarder house, she didn’t really have a name.  She took to Betty Lou like it was her name from the beginning...and maybe it was.  I firmly believe they tell us their names. 💜

Moo is my one eyed 18 lb Babycat.  Sassy, bossy, bites and swipes.  And is the biggest love ever. Here she is, all crabby.  I adore her. 

[Kyanight]

22 minutes ago, Meowwww said:

My kitties are Moo and Betty Lou.  Betty Lou was from a hoarder house, she didn’t really have a name.  She took to Betty Lou like it was her name from the beginning...and maybe it was.  I firmly believe they tell us their names. 💜

Moo is my one eyed 18 lb Babycat.  Sassy, bossy, bites and swipes.  And is the biggest love ever. Here she is, all crabby.  I adore her. 

Awwww!!   So pretty and sweet! 

 

 

Edited March 8, 2020 by Kyanight

[Meowwww]

31 minutes ago, Kyanight said:

Awwww!!   So pretty and sweet! 

 

 

Lol thanks.  She’s pretty but NOT sweet.  You know how they say if housecats were tiger-sized, they’d eat you?  I’d have been murdered and eaten long ago. 😜

[Gramto6]

Quote

14 hours ago, Teafortwo said:

I love you, Gramto6. This is such a wonderful post. I hope your kids will weather this storm.

I use bottled water because, although the water is generally excellent in my area, the plumbing in my building is old and horrible. It really should have been replaced but it is a multifamily dwelling and although some people have renovated their units, the whole thing is piecemeal and the water definitely has a high sediment rate. I use a Zero water filter to avoid over-buying water bottles, but the tap water often comes out brown and has a metallic taste even after filtering. Yuck!

Thank you, that is so sweet! I am sure they will be fine, but it is the mom's dna to worry about her kids.

I also lost my sweet kitty just before Christmas 2019. His name was Baby Boo a tuxedo kitty, a rescue who was so insecure he only trusted me even after 12 years he would hide under a chair even at the sound of a vehicle outside.

[Sofa Sloth]

 

This is my lovely Gordon. Gordy loves to sloth out with me at home while we watch terrible reality shows like Sister Wives. 

[Kohola3]

OK, I feel compelled to jump into the cat conversation to introduce the latest in my lifetime of owning Special Blend shelter dogs.  Lottie, about 2 when got her is almost 4 now and is adorable to the max.

She apparently had never seen a TV when I got her.  To this day she is fascinated by any animal or bird she sees on the screen!

 

[Kyanight]

Lottie is adorable!!!  And I love hearing about people dogs just as much I love hearing about the kitties!

[Galloway Cave]

Duchesne, a feral cat who adopted me when he was around 2. Taffy, an abandoned dog who roamed the streets, adopted me when she was 8. In the first pic, Duchesne is questioning the new creature in his sofa spot.

[Meowwww]

I love the furbaby pics!   Soooo cute, all of them!   Keep them coming!

[MargeGunderson]

Sophie and Parker, both about a year old. We adopted them yesterday. They were never together until we brought them home but have become fast friends. After about half an hour of exploring, both cats wanted to cuddle and be petted. We were concerned that they would be nervous and not get along at first, but clearly we had no reason to worry!

Sophie is the gray tabby and Parker is the calico.

Edited March 8, 2020 by MargeGunderson

[AZChristian]

I'm so jealous.  I developed allergies a few years ago - including animal dander - so our days of being owned by pets are over.  Loving the pictures.

[suomi]

This case has been going on for 5 years and has been interesting to follow. The Kingstons are a polygamous crime family. I'm posting the links in reverse chronological order and there are so many paragraphs that it's easier to use italics instead of quote boxes.

The second link explains how Jacob Kingston's crimes (involving half a billion dollars) resulted in his testimony in Lev Dermen's trial. Overall, there are more questions than answers about who protects polygamy in Utah, and why. (Plymouth is a bum fuck town in Northern Utah, population 500, about 10 miles below Idaho's southern border). 

 

Published: 9 hours ago (March 8, 2020)
Updated: 7 hours ago (March 8, 2020)

The Washakie trial — featuring polygamy, fraud, corruption and all-star lawyers — is one of the strangest Utah has seen.

Has the most surreal moment of the Lev Aslan Dermen trial been the Utah polygamist who was on the witness stand for a week, the texts with the Belize government minister who resigned midtrial, or when a man who owed $32 million walked into the Salt Lake City courtroom?

U.S. Department of Justice prosecutor Leslie Goemaat asked Parrish to limit the questions defense attorney Mark Geragos could ask about the polygamous Davis County Cooperative Society, also known as the Kingston Group or The Order.

Geragos and the defense team — Dermen has had at least four lawyers in the courtroom at all times; so has the prosecution — have been arguing the conspiracy to defraud the government of biofuel tax credits and launder the proceeds was conceived and driven by The Order, particularly Jacob Kingston — Dermen’s former business partner.

Kingston has pleaded guilty to a slew of charges and agreed to testify against Dermen in exchange for a prison sentence of no more than 30 years. Kingston spent six days on the witness stand in February. Geragos’ cross-examination included questions about Kingstons’ gigantic family, including his 100-plus siblings and his three wives.

https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2020/03/08/polygamy-fraud-corruption/

 

Published: July 19, 2019
Updated: July 30, 2019

The owners of Washakie Renewable Energy pleaded guilty to charges Thursday in what the government has called a $511 million biofuel fraud, and the pleas could have repercussions for the polygamous sect to which they belong.

Jacob O. Kingston, the company’s CEO, pleaded guilty Thursday to 41 charges including money laundering, fraud, conspiracy and witness tampering and obstruction of justice, according to a court docket. His brother and the chief financial officer, Isaiah E. Kingston, pleaded guilty to 17 counts.

Their mother, Rachel Ann Kingston, 64, also pleaded guilty to five counts. Jacob Kingston’s legal wife, Sally, pleaded guilty to two counts.

Before a 2016 federal raid on Washakie Renewable Energy offices and other businesses associated with the Kingston Group, the energy company was one of the highest-profile businesses in Utah. It advertised on television during Utah Jazz games, in movie theaters and gave engineering scholarships to University of Utah students.

Jacob and Sally Kingston, 42, also gave money to Utah politicians, including Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes. After that 2016 raid, his campaign put $50,985 from the company or people associated with it in escrow, pending the outcome of the federal investigation and any criminal charges.

Washakie Renewable Energy was supposed to be making biofuel from used cooking grease, agricultural products and other biological products at its plant in Plymouth, not far from the Utah-Idaho state line. The IRS paid the company 50 cents or $1 per gallon, depending on the quality of the fuel.

Prosecutors have alleged the company didn’t manufacture much fuel and say instead the company was buying and selling biofuel and passing the commodities off as their own product. The federal government paid Washakie $511 million, according to court documents.

In court, prosecutors have accused Jacob Kingston of sending some of the money to his church and using other proceeds to buy homes, sports cars and sending $134 million to Turkey for properties and business ventures. Jacob Kingston also has been accused of using money to buy political influence in that country, and prosecutors resisted efforts to have him released pending trial for fear he would flee there.

Isaiah Kingston was the chief financial officer at Washakie and is accused of wiring funds from the fraud. Rachel and Sally Kingston, who were officers at the company, were accused of helping forge documents or launder money, too.

Dermen, also known as Levon Termendzhyan, is not a member of the Kingston Group. He has been accused of leading a California criminal organization that had business dealings with Jacob and Isaiah Kingston. And he’s been accused of assisting in moving money to Turkey and threatening witnesses.

Two of the written plea agreements added some intrigue.

Besides admitting to a variety of frauds, Jacob Kingston said he agreed to share proceeds with Dermen in exchange for protection from his “umbrella” of federal law enforcement contacts. Rachel Kingston, in her plea agreement, admitted to being tipped off about the 2016 raid.

There was no indication in the documents of the true identities of those with the pseudonyms.

https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2019/07/19/feds-move-seize-homes/

 

February 12, 2016 11:49 am

Federal agents on Wednesday raided Utah offices of businesses associated with the Kingston Group, the polygamous family known for its fundamentalist Mormon beliefs and forced marriages.

There were no arrests reported. Federal agencies who participated Wednesday, including the IRS, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Homeland Security, did not offer comment.

Law enforcement apparently did not raid the Washakie plant itself, located in Plymouth, 100 miles north of Salt Lake City. Box Elder County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Dale Ward said that office had been told search warrants would be served, then received a call Tuesday saying the warrants had fallen through.

Kingston sons Jacob and Isaiah built the Washakie plant in 2008 to turn oilseed such as canola and soy into biodiesel. Washakie has become a frequent advertiser during Utah Jazz broadcasts and before movies shown at Megaplex Theatres.

But according to court records, the plant did not reliably produce. Apparently it was more successful at collecting federal subsidies intended to promote production of alternative fuels, even when it wasn't producing these products.

Between January and October 2010, a period when the plant failed to produce any biofuels, it reaped $2 million in credits based on 7.2 million gallons that someone else produced, according to a notice of violation filed by federal regulators in 2011.

https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=3523346&itype=CMSID

[lindalouwho]

These are the looney tunes featured on Escaping Polygamy. If you remember the episode where Logan, Maddie and Aspyn went to help people escaping polygamy, the blonde  girl who was so distrustful of Kootie was a Kingston.  She was also on that panel discussion show with Christine’s aunt. Lots of uncles marrying nieces and brothers marrying half sisters.  Wives and  kids living in horrible poverty conditions. 

[suomi]

Among the comments about articles on the trial(s), someone posted about driving past some of the Kingston hovels every day during their commute and wondering about porches full of neglected-looking kids.

The Kingstons believe their bloodline is divinely blessed yet most of their families live in horrible conditions. And Utah turns a blind eye. The exploitation and the criminal lifestyle are commonly acknowledged yet are allowed.

There aren't any widely known gentile "counterfeiting families" or "bootlegging families" or "auto theft families" or "insurance fraud families." Those wouldn't be allowed to exist. But hey, if you're a polygamous criminal enterprise, come on down, no questions asked. 

[suomi]

This is so true. We are ready to think about the health aspect but much less ready to think about the social aspect. 

Quote

The coronavirus - and the measures enacted to stop it - could quickly change the rhythms of Americans’ daily lives. The United States is seeing its first deaths, first emergency declarations, first school closings, first mandatory work-at-home policies. If the number of COVID-19 cases spikes quickly, hospitals could soon be deluged with patients seeking care. This is a predictable consequence of any epidemic, but few Americans’ personal experience gives them any reason to understand how disruptive these changes could be if the epidemic continues to worsen.

Ironically, the officials now urging citizens to keep calm understand far more acutely than the general public how much else can go wrong. A municipal police chief in the Boston area recently urged me to imagine that a school district closed for even three weeks. Take just one child, raised by a single parent who is a police officer. The child is home, so the parent must stay home. Other officers in the same patrol will be affected even if they don’t have kids in school. Shifts will change, nonessential functions will be put off, and the department will have less flexibility to respond to problems unrelated to the epidemic - even as, with more teens unsupervised, rates of car accidents and certain crimes could well increase.

Emergency-response officials are hesitant to play out these dangers in public. This police chief asked me not to identify him because, like so many others in positions of responsibility, he worries that misgivings like his will become self-fulfilling prophecies - that citizens will panic if their local authorities give voice to their own doubts.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/us-isnt-ready-whats-about-happen/607636/

Edited March 9, 2020 by suomi

[Kyanight]

4 hours ago, suomi said:

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/us-isnt-ready-whats-about-happen/607636/

Thank you for posting this.  A very interesting, and thoughtful read.   I've been wondering all along about this virus and why everyone (governments) seemed to be over-reacting about it.  It didn't make sense if it was just a flu-type bug.

[Kyanight]

[Kbo]

Jumping on the kitty train (funny how so many of us have cats), here’s our rescue named Lucas. That was the name the shelter gave him and it stuck because my boys like Star Wars, George Lucas, etc. He’s my baby, he sleeps in my office while I’m working and hangs out with me at night while I watch bad TV 🙂

 

[suomi]

So. Who shaves their face? Anyone? 

I've been doing it for awhile and I love the result. It's solved nearly all of my complaints about my constantly congested complexion. I haven't had pores this small since I was a teenager and my skin is silky smooth.  

[crazycatlady58]

8 hours ago, suomi said:

So. Who shaves their face? Anyone? 

I've been doing it for awhile and I love the result. It's solved nearly all of my complaints about my constantly congested complexion. I haven't had pores this small since I was a teenager and my skin is silky smooth.  

Do you use a razor? I have gotten To be a ' certain age' and have unwanted hairs so I will take care of those areas but nowhere else. You just get a razor and shave you're entire face?

 

 

[MargeGunderson]

13 hours ago, suomi said:

So. Who shaves their face? Anyone? 

I've been doing it for awhile and I love the result. It's solved nearly all of my complaints about my constantly congested complexion. I haven't had pores this small since I was a teenager and my skin is silky smooth.  

Me too! I've been doing it for a few years now. I had a lot of peach fuzz, so it's a game changer for me. Lotion and foundation go on so much better now. I use this Panasonic trimmer (they used to be $12.99, so the higher price makes me wonder if they are being discontinued). 

[suomi]

10 hours ago, crazycatlady58 said:

Do you use a razor? I have gotten To be a ' certain age' and have unwanted hairs so I will take care of those areas but nowhere else. You just get a razor and shave you're entire face?

I have lots of blonde peach fuzz in the area where sideburns would be, continuing down to my jawline. Lots of blonde peach fuzz where a mustache would be. Random chin strays that are Not Blonde and a fuzzy blonde soul patch! Yay! So, yeah, I've been shaving my cheeks, chin and upper lip once a week. 

I've seen mini-scalpels that you scrape with but I figured, klutz that I am, there might be too many variables in consistently finding the correct angle. So I just use a disposable razor and any thick, rich women's shaving cream/gel. 

If there are 50 pores in a square inch of my face, 40 are congested: a permanent white dot sits in each of those 40  pores, usually not raised but still quite visible. The longer the dots hang around the bigger chance they will enlarge further and turn into something big and ugly. Every white pore contains a little worm or spaghetti strand. After I steam, use a mask or express manually my skin looks and feels wonderful for 24-36 hours but the pores clog up again within 48 hours - with or without Retinol, with or without moisturizer, with or without serum. Gah!

Shaving has made things 90% better. An esthetician told me that my congestion occurs because each hair acts as a wick for bacteria and the wick also causes the pore to hang onto the oil, so she advised shaving (to remove the roof on the pore) and using gel moisturizer instead of cream moisturizer. She said (and I read online) that Marilyn Monroe and Liz Taylor shaved -Marilyn was fuzzy and Liz was furry - so I was like alrighty then, sign me up. 

MargeGunderson is so right, lotion and foundation go on much easier. Shaving is a big damn deal lately so that's why I wondered how many here might also be indulging.

What do we want? Shaving!

When do we want it? Now!

[Kyanight]

So what's new in the virus world for you ladies?  Anyone here from N.Y.?  We have 17 people here (in Colorado) which doesn't sound too bad... except ONE of the people who has the virus spent THREE hours in the DMV the other day.  You would have to see our DMVs to believe it.  I kid you not - a hundred people crammed shoulder to shoulder waiting FOREVER to get your driver's license (or plates which is at a different facility.)  There are 12 windows/clerks at each one, too.  You would think you could get in and out a little faster, but it almost always takes hours.  So she could possibly have infected all those folks who will now spread out and infect everyone in THEIR circle of life.  

I am teetering on the tightrope of thinking this will fizzle out and be no big deal... to thinking it could BE a big deal (like catching it) or else having to stay in the house for a couple of weeks.  Which would be doable.. but weird.  I DID buy toilet paper and other various items.

On a lighter note - we just ordered pizza with extra cheese and some Mug root beer (can't drink caffeine at night) so that's a plus!  😄      Just call me Janelle..........

Edited March 11, 2020 by Kyanight

[AZChristian]

It seems like every day I get an e-mail from a hotel chain or an airline where we are frequent guests.  They all want to reassure us that they are doing everything they can to ensure the safety of their guests.

Doesn't faze me.  For years, I've walked into a hotel room with a Clorox wipe in my hand, and I immediately go over all surfaces that I'm going to touch - TV remote, light switches, phone, etc.

I think that a lot of this is overreaction.  As I saw on one webpage, "The pandemic is not coronavirus.  It's fear."  

We have deposits down on three different cruises.  If those ships leave the dock with passengers, I'll be on them.

[Kyanight]

1 minute ago, AZChristian said:

It seems like every day I get an e-mail from a hotel chain or an airline where we are frequent guests.  They all want to reassure us that they are doing everything they can to ensure the safety of their guests.

Doesn't faze me.  For years, I've walked into a hotel room with a Clorox wipe in my hand, and I immediately go over all surfaces that I'm going to touch - TV remote, light switches, phone, etc.

I think that a lot of this is overreaction.  As I saw on one webpage, "The pandemic is not coronavirus.  It's fear."  

We have deposits down on three different cruises.  If those ships leave the dock with passengers, I'll be on them.

I got emails from both Target and Best Buy today, saying what all they are doing to keep their stores clean for customers.  It was kind of weird.

THREE cruises????  I am SOOOOOOO jealous!  I've never been on one before.  I'll bet they are fabulous - I've heard they are.

 

[AZChristian]

Just now, Kyanight said:

THREE cruises????  I am SOOOOOOO jealous!  I've never been on one before.  I'll bet they are fabulous - I've heard they are.

We didn't get to start cruising until we were in our 60s.  It's a vacation that works well for us.  We don't have to worry about getting lost while driving around strange places, and it feel safer to be with a group in a foreign country.

This year:  Alaska (7th time) and Panama Canal (2nd time)

Next year:  Autumn leaves on the East Coast from Baltimore to Halifax (1st time - can't wait!)

[suomi]

Quote

 

Ricky has often posted Instagram images of Ollie over the years, truly showing his admiration for his cat. Ollie even had her own Twitter handle under the name My Left Fang. She had more than 62,000 followers.

"Just had to say goodbye to the sweetest little soul I've ever known. RIP Ollie," Ricky captioned the post. "July 9th 2003 - March 10th 2020."

Ricky has long been an animal rights supporter and has said that he will leave his fortune to animal charities when he dies.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/celebrity/ricky-gervais-beloved-cat-passes-away-see-his-tribute/ar-BB110jDr

[Kohola3]

6 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

Autumn leaves on the East Coast from Baltimore to Halifax

The Maritimes of Canada are the absolute best.   Nicest people on the planet.

I am flying at Easter, I figure you have to die of something.  No cases yet in Michigan but it's only a matter of time.  I agree it's the fear factor that is worse than the disease but for a certain age group (mine) it's understandable. 

However, I refuse to alter my life for something that probably won't happen.  After all, there are 327 million people in the US and only around 1000 are confirmed as having contracted it.  There are probably more but still....

And I think it's kind of comical that everyone is going ballistic with the hand washing thing only to come out drying their hands and immediately picking up their phones that have probably never been sanitized and have been touching all kinds of dirty surfaces.

[LilWharveyGal]

14 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

Next year:  Autumn leaves on the East Coast from Baltimore to Halifax (1st time - can't wait!)

I'm so jealous AZ, I've always wanted to cruise Boston to Montreal. Maybe when the tot is bigger. Please tell us about it when you go!

[Teafortwo]

Loving all the animal pix! I was allergic to cats and dogs for many years, but after adopting my dear girl (her circumstances were dire and I thought I'd find her a permanent home - which I did: mine) I began getting shots. It's been life-changing!

[dreadfulLeigh]

21 hours ago, suomi said:

So. Who shaves their face? Anyone? 

I've been doing it for awhile and I love the result. It's solved nearly all of my complaints about my constantly congested complexion. I haven't had pores this small since I was a teenager and my skin is silky smooth.  

I just watched a YouTube video this week (I think it was Kayley Melissa??) try a bunch of face/beauty devices. The face shaving one was really cool. I’m tempted. Although my luck, it’ll just enrage my rosacea more. 
 

eta: it was a derma-planer. 

Edited March 11, 2020 by dreadfulLeigh