Day: March 18, 2020

20200318: Dear CoronaVirus/ COVID-19/ WuFlu, Daily Thread

For the time being, given our national emergency, we are switching to DAILY COVID-19 threads instead of weekly threads. Your comments and updates are most welcome. PLEASE continue to include your valuable information, hard source links, and local observations on these COVID Daily Threads. Additionally, within these Daily Threads, we will try to include links to government and official pressers, so those who no longer have cable can remain informed.

We’ll get through this crisis, together. As a group, there is probably no one better prepared than we are.

For our newcomers: The Q Tree community has been diligent in covering the threat of Coronavirus, COVID19, Wuhan FLU. We started accumulating information about this virus in mid-late January, in what became almost weekly threads. We’ve been weeks, if not months, ahead of MSM outlets to vet rumors and other medical papers, etc.

Primary Update Links:

In our past weekly threads, we assembled information on the following:

  • Primary update links. The dashboard from Johns Hopkins which counts “official” cases all over the world, the CDC, and WHO, and includes the links for our past threads.
  • Hard Data Medical Information- Explanation about testing, reliance on China for drugs, analysis of NE Journal of Medicine results and other published papers.
  • Vaccine and theraputics (new/old drugs to alleviate symptoms) news and updates 
  • Trump Administration response (the timeline and links to various agencies)
  • China Responses, timelines, research, attempt to cover actions, or secrecy in results discovered.
  • An aggregate of info/responses from other countries, listed by country.
  • Economic impact from around the world. A change in economic activity will indicate a “return to normal”.
  • Speculation/debunking on how the virus started
  • Media Bias, political response, and debunking section, like the article from AP News, overt bias from Politico, inflammatory headlines, etc.  
  • Other medical info to boost immune system, herbal remedies, ways to keep your house clean and NOT spread the virus to others. Excellent information to incorporate into daily lifestyle.
  • Hard links for OTHER valuable sources/blogs and a brief sentence or two about what they provide
  • Other news items

Our weekly updates. timelines, collection of valuable information, can be found here:

Please try to keep your sense of humor during this National Emergency, and remember, patience is a virtue.

Love to all!

Trump meeting with tourism industry from yesterday: Transcript found here = https://publicpool.kinja.com/subject-remarks-by-president-trump-in-meeting-with-tou-1842384687

3-18-20 Midweek Musings

3 rd Sunday of Lent
March 15, 2020

“Complaints, or Trust?”

Exodus 17:3-7
Romans 5:1…8
John 4:5…42

My Brothers and Sisters in the Lord –

One of the things we can say about most of us in the Western World is that we are seldom, if ever, truly satisfied. We always seem to want more. We want things to be better. We are always seeking the new, the different, the more desirable. Often, we confuse wants with needs – and spend money on the wrong things.

When things don’t go our way, we begin to complain. We complain to friends, to those who are close to us – and, often, we even complain to God!

However, in all of our wanting and complaining, we usually forget how fortunate we are in so many ways. There are always others who have much less than we have – others who are far worse off than ourselves, whether physically, emotionally, or economically. We also forget the many blessings that we, sadly, take for granted!

So, how do we extricate ourselves from this downward spiral of negativity? How do we become grateful – and more accepting of our lot in life or of our particular place in the world today? Fortunately, the scriptures for this Sunday give us a great deal of direction in this regard.

When the Chosen People, in the desert, grumbled and complained against Moses, they were really angry with God. Although they were believers, they really had no personal relationship with God. They were seriously lacking in faith and trust. They did not truly know God at all in any personal way. They were too absorbed in their daily lives and with the challenges of living to pay much attention to God.

They had forgotten all the blessings that were theirs – all that God had done for them – Deliverance from slavery in Egypt – Salvation from Pharaoh’s army – The Manna, the quail, the preservation in the desert! Consequently, when faced with a new hardship, they grumbled and complained – instead of trusting in God and offering prayers based on faith and trust!

In the Gospel selection, the Samaritan woman came to the well in the heat of the day, when no one, usually, was around because she was ashamed of who and what she had become. No doubt, she couldn’t believe her ears when Jesus asked her for a drink. However, she must have kept her relationship with God alive, despite her sinful situation. Although she resisted Jesus at first, she, gradually, opened herself to all that he had to say.

Jesus had a spiritual, life-giving water! This water would completely transform the hearts and souls of anyone who entered into a relationship with him. What Jesus had to share was grace – freedom and deliverance from all the wants and desires that distract us from who we really are and what God wants each of us to become. Jesus offers a new way of living here in this life. This new way leads to an eternal life with him and with the Godhead after this life is over!

As Jesus reached out to the Samaritans, so, too, does he reach out to us. He wants a relationship with each of us despite all of our mistakes, failings, and sins. He asks us to trust in him and in God’s unfolding plan for us.

This is the reason St. Paul writes that we can have peace with God through all that Jesus has done for us. We even have God’s love poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us!

So, Brothers and Sisters, far from complaining, we should look deeper into our hearts and lives to discover, once again, all that God has done and continues to do for us. It doesn’t matter if our wants go unfulfilled – It doesn’t matter that we suffer because of others and because of the hardships of life. It doesn’t matter that our life here ends in death! What really matters is our faith and trust in God’s ultimate plan for us. What really matters is that we grow in faith – in our relationship with God through Jesus. What really matters is that we remain faithful to God even in our darkest hours and when others no longer hope!

So, let us praise God and give thanks to Him who has done so much for us and given us salvation in and through His Son, Jesus!

Amen.

March 15, 2020 Msgr. Russell G. Terra
Saint Joseph Roman Catholic Church, Redding, CA
*http://www.stjosephredding.org/parish-homilies.html

Dear KAG: 20200318 Open Thread

Well, withe things the way they are…may as well go with the big guns for a theme song.

And now for the obligatory message from our sponsors:

Here at the Q tree we believe in the concept of CIVIL open free speech and the discussion that fleshes out ideas. When commenting and participating in the OPEN discussion on this thread all comments MUST NOT CONTAIN personal threats, baiting, name calling, or other anti-social words fomenting hate, violence or destruction. Our host Wolfm00n has strict rules about that.

Fellow tree dweller Wheatie gave us some good reminders on the basics of civility in political discourse:

  1. No food fights.
  2. No running with scissors.
  3. If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.

In addition, it is requested that there be no swinging from the chandeliers, celebratory gunfire, messing around with the nuclear weapons, and, please, everyone wash your hands.

And, please, what ever you do, do not walk barefoot across San Francisco.

Those who have things to say that do not fit the generally accepted limits of “civil” discussion, Wolf has provided a venue known as the UTree. Please, venture over there for any such thoughts and comments. This sort of thing is always a possibility on that site:

A few other vital notes:

Please, review these rules that our host Wolfm00n outlined toward the beginning of the growth of the tree itself. it won’t take long.

Ridiculing the other side, on the other hand…well….

__________________________________________________


MT 1:16, 18-21, 24A

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.

Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.

As always, prayers for the fight against that which seeks to enslave us are welcome.

We ready for more “As the Swamp Turns”?