SL 857

12 thoughts on “SL 857”

1. I think this was the point of driving people to their deaths by way of spreading anti-vax and related propaganda. Undercut Biden’s popularity enough that he couldn’t push through something by pressuring senators.

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2. Back in the mid-90s, my husband and I went biking in NJ, first taking the PATH to Hoboken. While my husband was in his glory, taking photos of the station, I noticed that a crew was setting up to film something. It was this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nndb5z7ZAn4
   Alas, that was before Clapton got there. 😦

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   1. Ooh, very cool!

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3. Laura wrote, “We’re going up to Western Massachusetts next Thursday to check out a private school for Ian.”

   Very nice!

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4. Thought this article really highlighted the consequences for the mothers (and it almost always is mothers) of the kids who have been hit the hardest by Covid lockdowns.
   Anxiety, depression, suicidal behaviour, self-harming, anorexia, panic attacks, etc – all need Mum to be on hand to cope with (often 24/7) and that just isn’t compatible with any job (let alone a high-powered career job)

   These women seem to be mostly upper-middle income streams – who have husbands (or ex’s) who can support their family. Lower income families will be on social support – and we all know how that impacts the kids.

   https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-10137355/More-mothers-giving-careers-pull-children-brink.html

   I thought that the women who said that, while there is government support, the paperwork labyrinth to apply for it simply wasn’t worth the time – would really resonate for Laura.

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   1. Thanks!

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5. https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/i-have-been-through-this-before-bauer

   Here’s an article from Ann Bauer talking about some similarities between being a 90s autism parent and COVID–the ever-changing demands for total commitment and tons of blame if what you do doesn’t work.

   Not everybody is going to buy the comparison, but there’s some very interesting stuff in there, especially since Bauer lived initially as a low-income autism parent and she caught the tail-end of the mother-blaming era–which seems to have lingered longer for low-income families. They were threatened with having their kids put in foster care for (essentially) the crime of having an autistic 3-year-old. Some of the Bettelheim stuff was new to me, too.

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   1. It’s an interesting read – though I don’t see any ‘mother-blaming’ going on in the Covid environment. And the issue isn’t *no* science, it’s *too much* science at an early stage, when researchers are still figuring out what’s effective.
      I do see the parallel with state agencies – who glom onto ‘advice’ and then are reluctant to change their policies when the advice changes (our Ministry of Education is *still* recommending surface decontamination as the primary Covid avoidance strategy for ECE – when it’s clear to everyone that ventilation is massively more important)

      My primary take on this, is that the mother is suffering from serious PTSD – and I hope she’s getting treatment for it.

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6. Ann,

   Hometown U. here in Texas keeps advertising a summer 2022 study abroad program in New Zealand.

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   1. Suppose it’s remotely possible. If by summer, you mean July/August 2022.
      The government is signalling loosening up of the borders to fully vaccinated returning Kiwis *sometime* next early year – and possibly to fully vaccinated visitors once the floodgates have cleared (approx 30K NZ citizens currently trying to get back into the country via a lottery — honestly, I couldn’t make this stuff up!)

      However, the Government is chronically unwilling to give any dates for any of this – and is super cautious over any relaxation of the hard borders.
      I get the impression that none of the senior leadership team have any experience working anywhere other than in the public service – they truly just don’t grasp the fact that you can’t turn tourism or hospitality businesses (for example) on and off like a hose.

      They’ll be watching to see what the next Delta variant is – and just how infectious it is against the benchmark of the Pfizer vaccine (all of NZ is vaccinated using the same vaccine).

      I wouldn’t put money on a study abroad program actually going ahead in mid 22. And you almost certainly wouldn’t know that it had been cancelled until the last minute (at which point, you’re unlikely to get back money for airline tickets, etc.). It would be a big gamble!

      But if it does, and you have a student coming – let me know, I’d love to show them around!

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      1. Darn, it, That’s me

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      2. Ann wrote, ” If by summer, you mean July/August 2022.”

         The kids need to be back in class at Hometown U. by the last week of August…

         “approx 30K NZ citizens currently trying to get back into the country via a lottery — honestly, I couldn’t make this stuff up!”

         Oh, wow. That’s huge relative to population.

         “I get the impression that none of the senior leadership team have any experience working anywhere other than in the public service – they truly just don’t grasp the fact that you can’t turn tourism or hospitality businesses (for example) on and off like a hose.”

         Yep. Especially for something like flying to New Zealand, people would need a lot of lead time to put the trip together.

         “I wouldn’t put money on a study abroad program actually going ahead in mid 22. And you almost certainly wouldn’t know that it had been cancelled until the last minute (at which point, you’re unlikely to get back money for airline tickets, etc.). It would be a big gamble!”

         It would!

         “But if it does, and you have a student coming – let me know, I’d love to show them around!”

         Thanks!

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