"[T]here are 38,210 confirmed cases of the virus in the United States. Just over 59% of those cases are in New York."

NYC is now the world capital of Covid-19.

It's been one week since DeBlasio went to the Y.

Masks are important.

Consequentially important.

Perhaps you're the sort of person who believes only the best & perfect 100% solution to a problem is worth your attention. If so, may God have mercy on your soul, and the souls you pass on the street.

Others might want to consider things with a little more nuance:

What Are The Best Materials for Making DIY Masks?

"Taiwan alone makes 10 MILLION masks per day."

The United States really bungled this.

Because the trash collectors just take the bags, they don't empty the trash completely, so the poop bag just sits at the bottom where the homeowner has to deal with them.

Also, I think Amy's wrong about other people's dog poop in your trash can. We keep the cans by our back doors five days a week. When dog owners think the poop is our problem to solve, it sits in the summer sun and stinks up the place.

It's the dog owners who are being precious, like Los Feliz Day Care moms who put their baby's diaper buts on the Starbucks counter while paying for espresso.

My garbage can sits in my garage when not out by the curb. The last thing I want in my garage is your smelly dog poop.

Does the USofA make masks? remember: Taiwan can not offshore any necessary products to China. Or any other country. Sea lanes are the first to be contested in a hot shooting war.

We should have remembered that not all nations in the world are willing to sit in a drum circle and sing kumbaya as brothers. Or sisters. Or questioning. We are now paying a price for that lack of insight, be it from naivety, or simple avarice.

I take that back. Not a lack of insight, a heaping helping dose of hubris.

As others have pointed out, Amy, you missed the mark big time.

First, the person you're quoting has just pointed out that these cans they're complaining about have just been emptied. Then some entitled asshole comes by, before the owner has had a chance to put their trashcans away, and just drops off their dog poop in the owner's trashcans.

Some people, because they're responsible, like to hose out their trashcans once in a while, so they have to deal with someone else's dog poop bags resting at the bottom of their trashcan before they can do this.

And even if they didn't, the dog poop still has to sit there until the next time the garbage collector comes.

And even if none of this was a consideration, the simple fact of the matter is the trash can is someone else's property! Is that much clear?

The disposal of your dog's droppings are your responsibility, not someone else's. You don't get to pawn it off on someone else. How hard is this to understand?

Would it be okay if they just decided to throw it in the back of someone else's pick up truck? Or someone else's bushes? Because that happens, too.

Think of it as an extra layer of filtering for that face mask:

https://twitter.com/usedwifi/status/1240054256494768129

Hail Satin:

https://twitter.com/Spilling_The_T/status/1240697894627192832

Remember: It's not sexist if she's the one posting the lecherous comments:

https://twitter.com/JillFilipovic/status/1241857598778900481

In case you missed the warning signs, most of the UN agencies are corrupt.

https://newsthud.com/who-tweeted-in-january-no-clear-evidence-of-human-to-human-transmission-for-coronavirus/

It's enraging to have strangers use my cans for their poop-bags. We keep our own (large dog!) used poop bags in an out-of-the-way spot on the side of the house and then enclose them in whatever strong trash bag I'm leaving out ON TRASH DAY. Never do I throw bags of poop directly into our large outdoor trash totes. It smells awful, is unsanitary, and most importantly, it would sit there until the end of time because the trash-workers do not overturn our large toters--they reach inside and remove the filled trash bags. They don't reach down and lift out a little poop bag at the bottom. Guess who has to do that? I can't even reach it because my arms aren't 6 feet long, I have to overturn the can and keep thumping until the gross smelly bag falls out. Bonus points if trash day was rainy because then there's poopy-smelling water that comes out when I overturn the tote.

The suspects were questioned and released under investigation.

The force called for anyone with information to contact them and asked people not to post details of those they believe are involved or share footage on social media as it could hamper the investigation.

No names, no ethnicity and not pictures of the adult ones. Those Middle-eastern Amish with fabulous tans strike again!

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-52003543

Perhaps engrave this on the twit's headstone? "If you are staying away, you are missing out!"

https://twitter.com/razibkhan/status/1241841767877492736

Parts suppliers for General Motors Co. are preparing to manufacture parts for at least 200,000 ventilators in an effort to stave off a projected shortage of the machines in the fight against the deadly respiratory illness COVID-19.

And Fiat Chrysler Automobiles plans to help with the production of masks during the coronavirus emergency, according to media reports.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/manufacturing/arsenal-health-gm-suppliers-preparing-manufacture-parts-200000-ventilators

Listen, we've all had a number of disagreements over the years... Some of them really personal, pointed and emotional. Through all of these issues, the dialectic has been illuminating, instructive, and sometimes even pleasant.

We can all agree that with this dog poo thing, Amy has obviously become overwhelmed, and can no longer lead the discussion with the moral authority it deserves.

It's time for her readers to take command of the blog.



I nominate Conan the Grammerian as blog chairman. A long-time presence here, Coney's been masculine but never arrogant; centrist but not wishy-washy; level-headed yet responsive to the emotional tempests which so often moisten our discourse.

All in favor, say Aye.

(Sorry, Red.  It happens to everyone eventually.
Even the greats… Have you heard about Brady?
Tampa!)

The rabid animals on this blog's comment section will find it amusing.

But the intellectual elite will find this enchanting.

I will second that motion, not bc Amy needs to be replaced, but bc I believe that is a fair assessment of Conan. I always enjoy his posts.

Crid:

I nominate Conan the Grammerian as blog chairman.

I'd be banned tomorrow if that happened.

Crid:

I nominate Conan the Grammerian as blog chairman.
I'd be banned tomorrow if that happened.

Patrick at March 23, 2020 10:29 AM

If Conan promises to ban Orion/Artemis, I’ll plead with him to let you stay. :-)

> I'd be banned tomorrow if
> that happened.

He's a reasoned, proportional, dispassionate thinker: You see what I'm getting at.

Your daily commie lesson.

https://babalublog.com/2020/03/23/the-only-thing-youll-ever-get-from-chinese-communists-and-all-communists/

How long is this #socialdistancing supposed to last?
My kids keep trying to get in the house.

https://twitter.com/DrGeorgeBurdell/status/1241477268209205249

A crabby octogenarian squirrel, the favorite cartoon character of a crabby octogenarian human. Slappy is not slated to be in the 2020 Animaniac show. Bummer.

https://vimeo.com/15706809

Sadly, the article is paywalled, but a question is asked:

How come the homeless aren’t dying in droves?

https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/362405/

Someone should introduce Pepe Le Pew to Slappy.

Not me, tho. I plan to be on the other side of the planet, or perhaps in low earth orbit.

Darth, I would guess they aren't dying for the same reason George Carlin never caught polio. (Neither did his friends, he said. You can hear it on YouTube.)

Here's to a good strong immune system! (I miss George).

Social distancing also works well with the homeless, few care to get within six feet at any time.

As to the poop bags, First World Problem. Also I'd much rather have it bagged in my can (where it has company) than fresh on the yard.

> rather have it bagged in my
> can (where it has company)
> than fresh on the yard

Fortunately, those aren't our two choices: Dog owners can be behave responsibly and literally take care of their shit.

The Big Thinkers

https://twitter.com/SeanTrende/status/1241855374224957443?s=20&mod=article_inline

I nominate Conan the Grammerian as blog chairman. A long-time presence here, Coney's been masculine but never arrogant; centrist but not wishy-washy; level-headed yet responsive to the emotional tempests which so often moisten our discourse.~ Crid at March 23, 2020 9:46 AM

I will second that motion, not bc Amy needs to be replaced, but bc I believe that is a fair assessment of Conan. I always enjoy his posts. ~ Sheep Mom at March 23, 2020 10:28 AM

Guys, I'm flattered, really, but this is and always will be Amy's blog.

Besides, I'd look terrible in a yellow evening gown.

==================================================

I'd be banned tomorrow if that happened. ~ Patrick at March 23, 2020 10:29 AM

Nah. I'd give you a week to straighten up.

Just kidding. Patrick, I would not ban you. You're like the know-it-all nephew at the holidays. I don't always agree with you and am sometimes annoyed (and often insulted) by you, but the place wouldn't be the same without you.

Nor would I ban Artie. Although this is a privately-owned forum and not subject to Constitutional safeguards, an appreciation for free speech dictates that even the Arties of the world get a turn at the microphone. We're free to ignore him, and most of us do.

The :-) emoticon tells me Isab is joking, but the disdain shown for Artie's expostulations and attitude is well understood.

==================================================

Slappy is not slated to be in the 2020 Animaniac show. Bummer. ~ Granny Elizabeth at March 23, 2020 12:33 PM

Any modern update won't be the same. The casual irreverence that was a hallmark of the show seems to be beyond the sensibilities of today's writers; and today's viewers.

==================================================

Coronavirus Thoughts

Right now, I'm watching a CBS news report on children using laptops to continue school and wondering about the long-term effects this will have on our education system.

On the one hand, no more billion dollar bond issues to build another high school issuing diplomas to unprepared students in an effort to get more federal dollars to spend on schools that graduate unprepared students. On the other, self-directed remote learning may not improve our failing education system for those most affected by that failure.

The obsession with Fed control of interest rates is just as disappointing as those interest rates are ineffectual.

https://twitter.com/erikbryn/status/1242089012434788354

Conan, as someone going through that remote learning it isn't as significant as you think. There is a whole lot of salesmanship going on but the actual product really isn't that special.

Not that it can't be significant. Just that what is being rolled out really isn't.

>Besides, I'd look terrible in a yellow evening >gown.

Yellow is a hard color to wear. Would you be willing to try our green evening gown?

Yellow is a hard color to wear. Would you be willing to try our green evening gown? ~ Ken McE at March 23, 2020 5:08 PM

Got anything in a bright red, perhaps with a thigh-high slit? How about a basic black?

• Sincere props to Ben for the comma. You think I'm kidding.

• Economics link via Kaus: If you want to see Larry Summers flayed like a piece of sushi, read the comments under this one.

The only defense here, and it's the weakest of tea, is that for the last X years we've been saving money on masks by having them manufactured more cheaply overseas.

This arrangement presents difficulties in certain contexts.

• I found a box of these masks in my toolbox from some forgotten painting project. They're not medical-grade... Hell, small children could crawl through the fabric, let alone a submicron virus.

But they'll be good for social intimidation when maintaining physical distance.

> self-directed remote learning may
> not improve our failing education
> system for those most affected by
> that failure.

True enough.

But on this day when savagely corrupt liberals are slamming TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS PER STUDENT of debt forgiveness through the Senate without even a fig leaf of respect for the deadly crisis crippling our economy, I think we might consider another perspective.

Maybe the education system is designed to do two things:

1. Pass candy and "merit" to the students already equipped (intellectuallyP to do well in our culture no matter where they start.
   
   
2. Pass a bunch of other money to middling and lesser academics & administrators to keep their Democratic votes on the ballot.

The problem is the students. Anyone with an IQ of about 90 is growing to struggle or fail in college. We'll, that's about 25% of the country. (And they'll benefit from this giveaway to the best-educated kids not at all.)

America has no idea what to do for people who aren't smart, already rich, or well-connected. The entire culture is built on the premise of helping those who need it least… And no matter what college grants or tuition loans were offered to you back in the day (or not), you are not exempt from this principle.

90 or under, that shoulda said

Sadly, the article is paywalled, but a question is asked:

Disable JavaScript and the pesky nag window never appears.

I thought Artemis was a she not a he.

I thought Artemis was a she not a he.

NicoleK at March 23, 2020 9:45 PM

The prodigious level of Aspergery word vomit and pedantic goal post moving along with the claimed doctorate in STEM, makes that bet unlikely.

*Grammarian.

(How do you know that’s dog poop? You’re in California, right?)

"He's a reasoned, proportional, dispassionate thinker: You see what I'm getting at."

Ditto. Signal/noise VERY high.

I'm with Amy on the poo-disposal issue. I used to dispose of it in whatever trash can was nearest. One day, someone taped a sign on their trash can angry about it. I thought "Really?" and started either bringing it home or using one of 2 municipal cans in my neighborhood. Yesterday I did a very long "get me the hell out of the house!" dog walk, and had to carry the bag a looooooooong way.

BTW, we have the semi-automated trash pickup where the truck picks up the can and dumps the whole shebang.

I'm still mystified by it -- trash cans are for, you know, trash, and aren't the most pristine things in the world -- but I stopped.

I didn't used to care... Then folks started leaving poop bags in my trash can. Poorly tied black bags. If I didn't see them (and in winter, I often bring the bins in after dark), by the next trash day, poop had been smooshed out from the trash tossed on top. It attracted flies and other bugs. They manually empty, so it sat there bag and all until I hosed it and THEN I had to pick up this gross bag and properly toss it.

Also

> truck picks up the can and
> dumps the whole shebang.

If you promise that you will personally, in the two minutes after the 'semi-automation' is complete, inspect the bin and affirm that it's empty (removing the dogshit by your own hand if it's not), then I think we can come to an arrangement.

…Specifically, if you don't, I'm going to return it to your doorstep.

A woman in my neighborhood has been put on notice.

1) I am amazed that there are still places in the USA where men are paid to lift trash bags out of bins, rather than having an arm on the truck that picks up the bin and dumps it. But even with modern equipment, someone tossing a poop bag into your empty bin can pose a couple of problems. One is that the bag might burst or leak when you drop a full trash bag on top, leaving a sticky mess that doesn't fall out when the bin is inverted. And the other problem is that someone else put a stinky deposit in _a freshly emptied bin_ that is not going to be picked up for a week.

2) What was that about brown or green bins? It doesn't match the color code around here, but I think that meant that people, who are far less well socialized than their dogs, are leaving poop bags in both trash and recycling bins. Those sorting the recycling will have to clean up burst poop bags, sort out the poop smeared paper and plastic, and send it to the landfill. And that's assuming the recycling wasn't shipped to China for sorting so the poop has "aged" for a few weeks before they find it. Maybe that's why China canceled the contract to take our recycling last fall. Recycling is at best marginal economically, but workers who have to deal with poop will justifiably expect a much larger paycheck.

It does give me an idea of what the community service sentence ought to be for these people...