Iowans Forced To Collect Own Covid-19 Data

Posted on May 27, 2020 by Trish Nelson

Reynolds endures a question by a reporter.

Early on in the pandemic, whenever I watched a Reynolds press conference I was struck by her attitude of arrogance, even contempt, for the press in the room and by association, all Iowans. She looked bored and put out by having to be there. I wondered why she even bothered.

In spite of these things, it still seemed to me like they were doing their best to truthfully report the numbers in the beginning.

Lately it seems like she’s bothering less and less. Now the plan appears to be  (1) deny; (2) obscure;  (3) put on a happy face.

The Reynolds administration appears to have abandoned all pretenses of making a good faith effort. They are moving on.

Trump’s shocking discovery that his poll numbers are tanking, to the point that if they don’t improve he is likely to lose re-election in November, has caused him to decide that the pandemic national strategy should be to pretend it isn’t happening. Tell the country it’s time to go back to work and put up a Mission Accomplished banner. Get as many Republican governors as possible to play along. Reward them for their loyalty. Punish them for wearing a mask.

Reynolds was an easy sell. Hell yes she’s on board with the plan because she didn’t have one beyond the Ashton Kucher recommended 26 million dollar dubious testing plan that she quickly snapped up like she ordered it from Amazon without reading the reviews.  All the PR boxes checked, done!

Except for the testing being outed as a sham by Black Hawk County Sheriff Tony Thompson.

“I feel this whole TestIowa thing is a sham; a $26-million publicity stunt for the Governor’s personal benefit.”

Also potentially a problem for Reynolds is the fact that Covid-19 numbers are surely going to rise in a second surge as Iowans follow her and Trump’s bad advice and abandon social distancing and mitigation practices. Will they still be able to fake it when that happens?

Ever since Reynolds’ private jet flight to the oval office and photo-op resulting in Caitlin Pedati being rewarded with an appointment to the Trump coronavirus task force, Reynolds has obviously gone from sipping to chugging the spiked kool-aid.  Self-promotion, insider favors and  personal grift are the quid pro quo.

Reynolds is no different than every other Republican who has chosen to cope with Trump by ignoring the harm he is doing and trying to get something out of it for herself.  The only members of the Republican party who have not sold their souls are the handful of rebels that make up The Lincoln Project.

This isn’t rocket science. Trump and submissive Republican governors are trying to make it look like the pandemic is over in the hope that Trump’s poll numbers can improve. It’s really that simple.

Now, due to the apparent purposeful obfuscation of the corona virus numbers by the Reynolds administration, citizens are resorting to keeping count on their own. This article in the Gazette is about one such citizen who is achieving a growing following including some elected officials. Scroll down for a link to her FB page and other resources.

https://www.thegazette.com/subject/opinion/staff-columnist/meet-the-rogue-analyst-fact-checking-iowas-pandemic-math-20200523

“When you are being gaslit about reality and safety on a national and state level,” said Willette, “you have to do something.”

“As case counts and deaths from COVID-19 rise and the state reopens, Iowans are desperate for guidance. Iowa’s governor has stopped giving updates on death totals in her daily news conferences and the data on the state’s website is obscure and constantly in flux. At first, the state analyzed COVID-19 cases by region, with a scoring system. But that was tossed aside when one of the regions reached the highest point of the scoring system. County level data disappeared, then it reappeared. First, rates of infection were reported every 24 hours, now the state updates that in real time, which obscures the number of daily cases.

The site does not provide demographic data by county for cases, recoveries and deaths. The state provides those demographic details only in statewide percentages — not raw numbers.

Additionally, epidemiologists at the University of Iowa were asked for a model to predict Iowa’s peak. That model was tossed aside by the governor”

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Follow Sara Ann Willett’s public Facebook page for updates. Link to her public spreadsheet

Rob Hogg is also an excellent source of factual information.

The Iowa Policy Project Facebook page

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The Anti-Trump Conservatives

Posted on May 26, 2020 by Trish Nelson

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Happy Memorial Day From Blog For Iowa

Posted on May 25, 2020 by Trish Nelson

Enjoy a safe and solemn Memorial Day. Please remember to cherish and safeguard the freedoms many have died for by voting in November.

And now for BFIA’s annual posting of the best flag photo ever.

photo credit Paul Deaton

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Pandemic Ushering In The End Of Coal?

Posted on May 24, 2020 by Dave Bradley

Video about 5 1/2 minutes:

As with most things, there may be some silver linings to the pandemic. Here is a short video from Europe discussing the pandemic’s effect on coal use and the long term trend to renewables in Europe.

Have a safe and somber Memorial Day.

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Sunday Funday: Remembering Edition

Posted on May 24, 2020 by Dave Bradley

One of the pleasures of doing the quiz is to add the frills. Often, like this week, that means a new Randy Rainbow satire. Without further delay, take it away Mr. Rainbow!

Memorial Day for decades and decades has meant 2 things. First is the Indy 500. Second is opening of the public pools. This year we get neither. The Indy race is scheduled to run on August 23rd. Not sure I would place a bet on that. As for the pools my guess is that this will be a year without public pools. But we all have memories of great races and fun times at the pool.

Another strange week in the reign of King Donny Corona.

  1. Thursday it was revealed that at least four states were providing an inaccurate picture of new coronavirus cases by doing what?
  1. Donny Corona hands another huge gift to Vladimir Putin when Donny announces the US will withdraw from what arms control treaty?
  1. May 25th, 1787 – delegates gather in Philadelphia to begin to draw up what document?
  1. The Atlantic hurricane season officially starts June 1. However what first named storm of the season was spawned off the coast of Florida last weekend?
  1. A black citizen of Des Moines was attacked and beaten last Saturday in what appears to be a what?
  1. A woman in Wisconsin was diagnosed with Covid-19 last week even though she has been taking what for over 20 years?
  1. Following the firing of the State Department IG last week, what cabinet secretary has come under increasing fire for his misuse of public funds?
  1. Memorial Day evolved after the end of the US Civil War. How many soldiers died in our Civil War?
  1. Once again Donny Corona visits a worksite and refuses to publicly wear a mask. What plant did he visit last week?
  1. Let’s take a stroll. May 27, 1937 – what landmark opens with over 200,000 people walking across it?
  1. Heavy rain and breeched dams created major flooding in what state last week?
  1. Super typhoon Amphan smashed ashore in what highly populated Asian bay area?
  1. The stock market took a big jump Monday when what company announced phase 1 success for its Covid-19 vaccine?
  1. Covid-19 deaths in the US will soon surpass US deaths what 20th century war when they pass 116,000?
  1. The wife of what late astronaut, senator and presidential candidate succumbed to Covid-19 in Ohio at age 100 last week?
  1. What year did Memorial Day become recognized as an official holiday?
  1. Last week a video of Norma McCorvey surfaced where she admitted to changing her public stance on abortion for a bribe. What name was McCorvey much better known by?
  1. What company has withdrawn its iconic baby talc from sale following continuing legal battles?
  1. What politician described Donny Corona as “morbidly obese” during an interview last week?
  1. A family in Virginia went for a ride last week. They stopped to pick up a couple of bags in the road they thought were trash. When they got home and looked in the bags, what did they find?

Here’s a memory we wish we didn’t have. Richard Engel’s prognostication on election night 2016. Don’t let it happen again. (2 minutes)

Answers:

  1. Combining antibody test numbers with initial tests for the virus. This would make the # of tests seem greater while finding fewer new cases.
  1. The “Open Skies “ Treaty
  1. The Constitution
  1. Hurricane Arthur
  1. A hate crime
  1. Hydroxychloroquine – she has been taking it for lupus
  1. SoS Mike Pompeo
  1. 650,000
  1. A Ford plant making ventilators in Michigan
  1. The Golden Gate Bridge
  1. Michigan. The flooding was in a city named Midland which also has a Dow chemicals plant.
  1. The Bay of Bengal
  1. Moderna
  1. World War I
  1. Annie Glenn. She was known in her own right for working with speech disabilities.
  1. 1971
  1. Jane Roe as in Roe v. Wade. 
  1. Johnson and Johnson
  1. Speaker Pelosi
  1. A million dollars in cash.

Keep a solemn Memorial Day.

trump enablers

Thanks to http://all-hat-no-cattle.blogspot.com – Notice Joni Ernst on the bottom?

 

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Pandemic And Other Crises Makes A Person Wonder

Posted on May 23, 2020 by Dave Bradley

videos @ 7 minutes

Don’t know if I agree with George Carlin’s analysis of humanity’s effect on the planet, but we have give some thought to his conclusion that the earth will deal with us at some point.

A person can’t be faulted these days for wondering if we are nearing the time when the earth has decided to deal with us, to shake us off like so many fleas as Carlin says. As Carlin suggested a virus is a nice starting point for earth to begin to deal with us. I do not know when this video was recorded, but it was certainly sometime during the AIDS crisis. But his suggestion is still true today.

Then of course there are the more – shall we say – traditional methods for Mother Earth to show her wrath. One method that we have to some degree made worse is climate changes. While the ice ages are not currently in the forecast, the opposite end of the spectrum seems to be upon us.

Just looking at the first 5 months of 2020 we see the world in toto apparently heading for yet again one of the hottest on record. The Australian summer gave us some preview of what may be coming with temperatures nearly 2 degrees C above average for the summer. This was Australia’s second hottest summer ever. The hottest was last year.

Who can forget the scenes of forest fires across Australia from their last spring? Animals dying all over the continent and people evacuating to the sea to avoid the wild fires. 

In the Northern Hemisphere with the coming of spring 2020 we have an almost biblical plague of locusts on the Horn of Africa and in the Middle East. This plague appears to be connected to torrential rainfalls during the fall and winter. The excess rainfall caused excess vegetation to spring up. This excess vegetation invited locust populations to go into a breeding frenzy which has lead to the huge amount of the critters.

Flooding has also been a problem across the African continent. So far the coronavirus has yet to become the problem that is has been in North America, Asia and Europe. However, one would think that would be coming. 

Also with the coming of spring in the northern hemisphere we are nigh upon the hurricane and tornado seasons. Mixing wildly violent weather and the displacement it is bound to cause with a pandemic that is extremely contagious will certainly cause major problems.

In case you missed it, one of the most densely populated areas in the world, the Bay of Bengal, was blasted by a super typhoon late in the week. The typhoon and hurricane seasons are just beginning.

This year is almost beginning to feel like humanity in general has ignored Mother Nature’s warnings over the past many decades and she is ready to send a much stronger message. Seems like we had best be paying attention this time.

On the other hand we are getting a small preview that there can be better days ahead. As our economy has taken a major pause, we have seen many big cities that are seeing clearing skies and breathing cleaner air for the first time in decades.

Listen to Mother Nature, folks.

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Remember the U6 unemployment rate?

Posted on May 23, 2020 by Dave Bradley

Remember back when the Republican Recession mess of 2008 moved to the management of the Obama Administration and Republicans started beating Obama up with the U6 unemployment numbers?

The U6 includes those who are capable of working but have become discouraged and have dropped out of looking. At the time republicans claimed this was a truer number than the unemployment number. Yet for some reason as Republicans hold office we never hear the U6 number.

The current official unemployment number is 14.7% which is around 36 million workers.

The current U6 number is 22.4%. A simple mathematical estimation shows that number is another 7.7% higher than the official number. If 14.7% is about 36 million then 22.4% would be about another 18 million or approximately (18 + 36) = 54 million.

It is always nice to compare apples to apples. Looks like more manipulation by the current administration.

There is one job that should be created and staffed quickly if the administration and state governors wanted to really help the economy. That would be contact tracers to followup on those who tested positive for coronavirus. This would be in conjunction with  greatly expanded testing (more jobs) and mandatory protective equipment in public.

How many do we need? Millions is my guess. In order to more safely open society we really need testing, tracing and mandatory protection.

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Numbers And Other Thoughts

Posted on May 23, 2020 by Dave Bradley

Videos from early March of O’hare Airport in Chicago when Americans were trying to return to the US (2 minutes)

As we head into the weekend set aside to honor our war dead, we are nearing and will pass another milestone number of victims of the coronavirus. If we have not reached one hundred thousand dead in the United States from the corona virus as you read this, we will very shortly. That will be a number we will roll over like a speed bump on our way to who knows how many. 

100,000 is a huge number of most everything. This is a number that has been arrived at in a very short time. There seems to be some quibbling about just when the first coronavirus death occurred in the US. It seems that the actually pandemic in the US really started with a death in Seattle on February 29th. That means that in just short of 3 months some 100,000 people have died.

In WWII the US lost about 415,000 soldiers to the war. In 3 months we have lost a quarter of what we lost in WWII. Now that we are going through a major wave of “re-opening” we can surely expect a new wave of infections and deaths.

The administration has very clearly shown that they have no concern for your life or mine. It will be up to you and I to take care of yourselves. Keep covering your face and keep your distances.

And Columbia University says ………

A study by Columbia University says that at least 36,000 of the deaths due to coronavirus could have been stopped, possibly more had social distancing and other measures gone into effect just one week earlier.

Other experts in the middle of April said 90% of the deaths (that means 90,000 people) could have been avoided had avoidance measures gone into effect two weeks earlier. 

Now the message coming from the White House and most state houses are that things are good enough to crank up the economy again. If things happen like they did previously in March and April we will be talking about 200,000 dead on Labor Day.

Memorial Day, 75 Years Ago

Imagine if you will, the feeling in the United States 75 years ago as the country observed its first Memorial Day after the surrender of Germany in Europe. There was still a war being waged in the Pacific, but the war in Europe was finally, thankfully done. The horror of the war was very fresh in the country’s mind. Many families were mourning the loss of family members who paid the ultimate price for their country.

The country was also reeling from the death of the man who had been  the president that pulled the country out of the depths of the Great Depression and then led them against the Axis. Yet with the vanquishing of Germany and Japan appearing to be near defeat there was a reason for great optimism underneath that somber Memorial Day.

And Joni Ernst Says – Trump Has Done Well!

Well, my teeth nearly fell out when I read this statement from our current senator Joni Ernst:    

When asked how President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic might impact her reelection race, Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst was confident his response to the public health crisis will help her secure a second term.

“I think the president has actually handled it quite well, so I think it helps,” Ernst said, according to CNN. “I think he took some really great initial steps … the left was just hammering him on that and it was the right thing to do. And so, I think the president has done quite well.”

If 100,000 dead and no plan leading to fractured chaos across the country is “doing quite well” then what in the hell would your idea of doing bad be? My guess would be how Obama handled the ebola crisis in 2014. Nine cases with two deaths. That was some bad crisis management because it was done by a Democratic president.

Tying your campaign to a lead anchor and then throwing it overboard doesn’t seem like a really brilliant campaign strategy. I can hardly wait to see the debates where I hope we see some real journalists ask you to explain why 100,000 dead when 90% didn’t have to die is “done quite well.”

Don’t Forget The Primary!

From the Secretary of State’s web page:

Returning the Ballot

You can return your voted absentee ballot by mail. Absentee ballots received in the county auditor’s office by the time the polls close on election day are eligible for counting. Absentee ballots received after the polls close on election day must be postmarked by the Monday before election day or earlier and received in the county auditor’s office no later than noon on the Monday following the election.

 Got that? Get that ballot in the mail this week to be sure your vote gets counted!

 

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Senators Joe Bolkcom And Zach Walz Test Iowa Update

Posted on May 22, 2020 by Trish Nelson

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Loebsack, Axne, Finkenauer To Reynolds “Please Reply Within 48 Hours”

Posted on May 21, 2020 by Trish Nelson

Click on the image to go to Iowa Starting Line for more Covid-19 info

In Letter to Gov. Reynolds, Reps. Loebsack, Axne, Finkenauer Urge Expansion of ‘Test Iowa’ Coronavirus Testing Program

“As the funding for Test Iowa was made possible by Congress and as Iowans are contracting and dying from COVID-19 daily, please reply to this request within 48 hours as this is a matter of urgency.”

DES MOINES, IA – Today, Rep. Dave Loebsack (IA-02), Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-03) and Rep. Abby Finkenauer (IA-01) wrote to Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds to express concerns over the capability and expansion plans of the Test Iowa coronavirus (COVID-19) testing program.

As the Test Iowa initiative nears the end of its first month, the Iowa lawmakers pushed for new information on the current daily capacity of testing, what tests are being prioritized for processing at state labs, how much contact tracing is currently under way, and which areas of Iowa would be chosen next for Test Iowa sites.

“We are concerned that Test Iowa still has not yielded 3,000 tests per day several weeks after its launch nor are there Test Iowa locations in ‘hotspot’ areas,” the members wrote. “As our economy has begun to reopen, we know that Iowans will feel safer if they can access a test quickly and within in their communities. We need to ensure that essential workers, nursing homes, and those who believe they have been exposed can get tests right away.”

The letter also cites the need for regions experiencing new outbreaks, like the Council Bluffs metropolitan area, to get a dedicated test site to avoid hours of travel to an alternate testing site or unnecessary state border crossings.

“Pottawattamie County has experienced a 418% increase with 33 cases on April 30 to 171 cases on May 18…[y]et, there is no testing site to serve this large metropolitan area where cases are rising,” the lawmakers wrote. “Without access, these health care workers, first responders, essential workers, and individuals are traveling into other states or spending hours traveling to the closest location in Iowa where they can receive a test.”

 In the letter, the lawmakers request a reply from the Governor within 48 hours.

The Test Iowa program is funded in part by federal block grant dollars allocated by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which passed the House unanimously in March.

The full letter can be found below:

Dear Governor Reynolds,

On April 21, 2020, you announced the launch of Test Iowa, an initiative that promised to increase testing capacity in our state by 3,000 tests per day. The program, with a price tag of $26 million, was made possible with federal block grant money Iowa received from the CARES Act along with state funding and private hospital investment. We appreciate your focus on and investment in COVID-19 testing. As members of Congress who are invested in both expanded testing and wise use of taxpayer dollars, we write to request information on when Test Iowa will achieve full capacity and reach an expanded number of sites across our state.

We are concerned that Test Iowa still has not yielded 3,000 tests per day several weeks after its launch nor are there Test Iowa locations in “hotspot” areas. The fact that positive cases are increasing while our testing capabilities remain limited is deeply concerning. As our economy has begun to reopen, we know that Iowans will feel safer if they can access a test quickly and within their communities. We need to ensure that essential workers, nursing homes, and those who believe they have been exposed can get tests right away.

As you know, Iowa is seeing increased coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreaks. Nationally, Iowa has some of the top cities for new outbreaks and new positive COVID-19 cases. The number of cases doubled from 5,000 to over 10,000 in less than two weeks and continues to increase each day.

Pottawattamie County has experienced a 418% increase with 33 cases on April 30 to 171 cases on May 18. The Council Bluffs – Omaha, Nebraska greater metro area represents nearly one million people, many of who travel across county and state lines each day as part of their daily commutes. Yet, there is no testing site to serve this large metropolitan area where cases are rising. This also hurts the counties surrounding it which are among the most rural in the state and rely on the Council Bluffs-Omaha metro area for health care access. Without access, these health care workers, first responders, essential workers, and individuals are traveling into other states or spending hours traveling to the closest location in Iowa where they can receive a test.

This is just one of the many areas severely impacted by COVID-19 that are without a testing site. While we understand that your team is making decisions on the data you have available, there is a clear geographic disparity.

While we understand that case numbers will go up as our testing capacity increases, the fact is that testing remains low. We have heard too many stories about Iowans who have gone to Illinois, Minnesota, and Nebraska to get a test – and those tests have come back positive. We have spoken with our health care workers and first responders who must travel hours to and from a testing site. For Test Iowa to be a worthwhile investment of federal dollars, we need to be sure that the initiative can achieve its intended volume of testing.

Additionally, we have heard from constituents who are waiting for days and even weeks to get their test results back. We are alarmed that some Iowans will never get their test results back because their Test Iowa tests were recently damaged. We have heard that the State Labs are prioritizing Test Iowa tests over tests coming in from hospitals, resulting in more delays. We want assurance that these issues are being addressed so that we have confidence in our testing and ensure it can expand.

We are asking for your written response about when Test Iowa will achieve 3,000 tests per day and your plans for expanded testing locations into large population centers and hotspots. We also request additional information about how you are continuing to address the implementation issues that have arisen with Test Iowa. Data should drive statewide decisions that impact Iowans’ lives and health, but we need much more testing to get a full picture of that data. As our state reopens, testing is going to be essential to keep Iowans safe, and we look forward to working with you to ensure Test Iowa meets its objectives for the benefit of all our constituents.

We also ask that you provide an update on current contact tracing efforts in the state. With Iowa moving toward more re-openings statewide, individual contacts and exposure will increase, and it is more important than ever that Iowa have the capacity to track the contacts of those with a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19. How many contact tracers are currently active in Iowa, and what is the capacity of positive cases for Iowa’s health department to effectively track? Has your administration been in contact with the Trump administration regarding resources to do contact tracing?

With positive cases today at 15,337 in Iowa, it is important that we have the infrastructure and ability to track positive cases and properly inform people about what to do if they test positive. Widespread testing and contact tracing are key to bringing the rate of positive cases down, and many public health experts have stressed the importance of increasing contact tracing to stop the spread of the virus and safely reopen America’s communities and economy. Thank you for your ongoing commitment to our state during this time of crisis and we look forward to your reply.

As the funding for Test Iowa was made possible by Congress and as Iowan are contracting and dying from COVID-19 daily, please reply to this request within 48 hours as this is a matter of urgency.

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