Masks Are Important-- And Something You Can Do To Protect Yourself... And Everyone Else

Don't ask me why, but politicians seem to be afraid of being photographed wearing masks. Andy Levin (D-MI), a real leader is not afraid-- and he's leading by example. Today was his first day heading out in public wearing a mask like the CDC now suggests. "I'm going to do a curbside grocery pick-up in my Chevy Bolt EV right now," he told me. "America, world, we've got this! (Even if we have to work around a few clueless leaders.)"

Remember when the government said don't buy a mask because they don't work and hospital workers need them? And remember realizing there was a disconnect there? Friday we posted Chris Martsenson's podcast on why everyone should wear a mask. If you didn't watch it yesterday, do yourself a favor and watch it now. A few hours later, the Trump government-- if not Señor Trumpanzee himself-- is now recommending everyone wear a mask. Trump, who suddenly sidelined the most trusted pandemic expert in the country-- Dr. Anthony Fauci-- said this about wearing a mask: "You can do it. You don’t have to do it. I’m choosing not to do it. It’s only a recommendation." Everyone who comes near him is tested so it's safer for him than it is for you.

Lena Sun and Josh Dawsey reported for the Washington Post yesterday that the CDC had Trump announce the mask recommendation-- which will be ineffective until it's mandatory-- even though they should have guessed he would immediately undermine their work. "But Trump immediately undermined the announcement," they wrote, "by noting it was voluntary and he would not choose to do it, even though 'it may be good,' reflecting a sharp debate that has been going on in recent days between the White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over the wearing of such cloth face masks."

White House coronavirus task force officials had been considering whether to recommend universal use of face coverings such as cloth masks when people go out in public or making the guidance narrowly targeted to areas with high community transmission of the virus that causes covid-19.

Some senior administration officials pushed to focus on people living in the hardest-hit areas because they worried that wide community use of masks is unnecessary and could cause panic. The president has repeatedly said that he fears widespread use of masks will scare Americans, and that he believes it is unnecessary, according to one senior administration official.

But federal health officials, including experts at the CDC, say the guidance only makes sense if it is recommended broadly because it would be an additional way to contain the virus and prevent communities with low transmission from becoming areas with explosive spread. The CDC has been recommending widespread community use since late last week.

White House officials had been privately contradicting CDC proposals for everyone to wear face coverings. The topic was part of spirited debate in the coronavirus task force meetings this week, and in Oval Office discussions with the president, according to senior administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the proposed guidance.

One of the main proponents for wider mask use has been Scott Gottlieb, a former Food and Drug Administration commissioner in the Trump administration who has been acting as an informal adviser to the White House and sometimes talks to Trump and regularly speaks with administration officials.

Earlier Friday, the draft guidance the CDC had been directed to publish only focused on recommendations for people in the hardest hit areas, according to a federal official involved in the response. But the guidance was changed to the broader version, urging all Americans to wear face coverings, at the coronavirus task force meeting Friday, according to two administration sources.

Trump’s remarks at Friday’s daily briefing also made clear the guidance was for broad community use, with a special emphasis for those in the most affected areas. The guidance posted on the CDC website states:

“CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies) especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.”

The guidance makes clear that wearing face coverings or cloth masks is an additional public health measure to prevent the spread of the virus, not a substitute for social distancing. Social distancing of at least six feet is still recommended even when wearing a mask. Guidance and internal memos from CDC emphasize that a cloth facial mask is intended not so much to protect the wearer but to help prevent people who do not know they are infected from spreading of the virus to others.

Recommendations for people to wear face coverings in public represents a major change in CDC guidance that healthy people don’t need masks or face coverings. Internal memos and guidance had previously made clear the coverings are not medical masks, such as N95 respirators or surgical face masks, which are needed by front-line health-care workers and are in extremely short supply. Those must continue to be reserved, they say.

Separately, U.S. officials are weighing a plan to distribute reusable cloth face masks-- not medical masks-- to U.S. households, starting with locations hardest hit by covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, according to a federal official involved in the response and documents shared with The Post.

The new CDC guidance was drafted in recent days and was prompted by increasing evidence that infected people without symptoms can spread the coronavirus. Simple cloth masks that cover the mouth and nose can prevent virus transmission from such individuals when they are out buying groceries, when people may come into closer contact, for example.

“We now know from recent studies that a significant portion of individuals with coronavirus lack symptoms (“asymptomatic”) and that even those who eventually develop symptoms (“pre-symptomatic”) can transmit the virus to others before showing symptoms,” the published guidance states. “This means that the virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity-- for example, speaking, coughing, or sneezing-- even if those people are not exhibiting symptoms.”

Midnight Meme Of The Day!

by Noah

Many, many years ago, recording artist Iggy Pop was asked how he came to name his band The Psychedelic Stooges. Being a professional, once he had chosen a name for his band, he knew he should, if only out of professional courtesy, track down Moe Howard of The Three Stooges and ask if it was OK. He got Moe's phone number and called and called and called. Finally, one day, a gruff Moe Howard picked up the phone and Iggy got to ask. The answer was quick: "Kid, I don't care what you call your band. You can call them any kind of stooges you like, but, just remember, there's only one (emphasis one) Three (emphasis Three) Stooges." And then he hung up before Iggy could even say thank you.

Pictures of The Three Stooges have been used for political memes for years; Bush, Obama, and now, Trumpanzee. That later goes 100% without saying of course. Trump has made being a stooge an unintentional art, and so have his co-traitors and co-conspirators Ryan and McConnell. Moe Howard was right, though. These three men should not be named The Three Stooges. The better name would be Putin's Stooges.

In 1941, The Three Stooges film short "I'll Never Heil Again," This time with Moe as the Adolf Hitler character gave a prescient look into today's White House. Even the name of the country where the movie takes place, the Kingdom of Moronica, seems aptly named.

The Men Who Live As Dogs

-by Noah

I’ve heard of women who think all men are dogs. Even Hillary Clinton famously once said that her husband was a “hard dog to keep on the porch.” So, when my wife sent me this article from England’s Guardian newspaper today about men dressing up as dogs and going about their day, naturally, my ears perked up.

It seems that in England, there are more than a few men who like to take being a good little doggie to bold new dimensions; literally donning rubber doggie suits and plastic dog face masks to dress up as dogs-- big, life size human dogs or “Human Pups,” to use the proper terminology. Read the article. Better yet, if you are extra curious, there will soon be the release of a documentary on the subject called “The Secret Life Of The Human Pups.”. To quote the Guardian’s article-

Secret Life Of The Human Pups is a sympathetic look at the world of pup play movement that grew out of the BDSM community and has exploded in the last 15 years as the internet made it easier to reach likeminded people. While the pup community is a broad church, human pups tend to be male, gay, have an interest in dressing in leather, wear dog-like hoods, enjoy tactile interactions like stomach rubbing or ear tickling, play with chew toys, eat out of bowls and are often in a relationship with their human ‘handlers’.

Far be it from me to be judgmental. After all, there are far, far worse things to be. I don’t have to name them but, having worked for four major corporations, I can tell you that the halls of our glass towers are rife with much dog-like activity, complete with an alpha male or (once in a while) alpha female in the corner office. There is lots of panting, eager to please lapping, rolling over, begging for treats, and most of all butt sniffing, lots and lots of butt sniffing; and don’t forget the quizzical, ear-twitching blank stares or those who just don’t get it, whatever it is. So, at least these Englishmen who dress up as dogs are being a little more honest about who they really are.

In fact, although this activity seems quintessentially English-quirky to me, it’s just another form of happiness-inducing escapism from one’s office job or the other tedious or mundane aspects of one’s life. One man, Tom, a theatre engineer who was interviewed for the article says as much when he says of his puppy time, ”You’re not worrying about money, or food, or work.”

For Kaz, another pup in the article, being a pup is more than just a fun mask. It’s how he identifies. It’s who he see himself as.

Even when I worked in PC World, I would sometimes walk up to people and nip at their shirt. I got in trouble once. Someone walked into the PC repair centre and I had part of their dad’s computer in my mouth. But other staff knew I was like that to everyone. They didn’t find it weird.

Of course, they didn’t find it weird. It happened in England! England is where weird was invented! I’m a big fan of Monty Python and I’ve always said that those genius Monty Python guys were just writing about what they saw every day, all day. Two of the companies I worked for were English. I know this first hand.

I can’t imagine nipping at your co-worker’s shirt would go over at a PC World computer place in America, and, certainly, ol’ Kaz the dog should not bother applying for a job at Chick-fil-A or volunteer for a Republican Party job any time soon.

But, being a natural born Snark, I do have some questions to pose. These questions came to my mind as I read the Guardian’s article. The first three are especially relevant given the current Republican obsession with all things urination. Here goes:

1) Where do people who self-identify as dogs pee?

2) Can they use human rest rooms, or must they pee on fire hydrants?

3) If they can use human rest rooms, which ones?

4) When traveling, are they restricted to flying only in the cargo compartment?

5) Would Mitt Romney tie them to the roof of the family car?

6) Eating: Do they live on Alpo and, if so, are they getting proper nutrition?

7) Has their sense of smell vastly improved?

8) If they shit on the sidewalk, must their “masters” pick up after them?

9) Are the British Queen’s famous corgis real dogs or just royal relatives in puppy costumes?

10) How long before there is a restaurant in some posh London suburb that caters to human pups?

I may not wear dog-like hoods or masks but I myself often eat from a bowl. I play with my toys. I have more than a few leather jackets and, I’m certainly in a relationship with a human handler. At least, I’m sure that’s how she looks at it. So, live and let live; dog years or human years.