Never forget the words of GW Bush's Defense Secretary (& PNAC member) Donald Rumsfeld on Nov 14, 2002:

Rumsfeld: It Would Be A Short War

"Five days or five weeks or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last any longer than that," he said

[link:https://t.co/NTEvsiH0yV|]

First, I want to say a sincere thank you to everyone who expressed words of condolence & support in response to my previous posts, they mean a lot to me. I feel like DU is my extended family.

Second, good news on my sister. She didn't have a stroke. It was apparently a combination of exhaustion from caring for my dad, low sodium levels, & the onset of pneumonia that caused her to collapse. She hit her head on a hard floor which caused a bit of bleeding that was initially interpreted as a stroke. Now the doctors say the small amount of bleeding was the result of the fall, not a stroke which caused the fall. She's doing much better & was discharged from the hospital today. She's expected to make a full recovery.

Third, my dad. After 100 years & 15 days on this Earth he passed away peacefully last night. He was in such bad shape the last few days, bedridden, unable to move, barely able to swallow anything, we all feel a sense of relief. It was a blessing that after 100 years he only had to endure such suffering for a few days.

Goodbye dad, you'll never know how much you were loved.

I posted here a couple weeks ago that my dad turned 100. He was able to have a pleasant celebration surrounded by family members, while he was still cognizant & in good humor. It was truly a blessing.

A lot can change in 2 weeks. Since then he's rapidly gone downhill, & last night my sister, who he has been living with for the past few months, & who has been his primary caretaker during that time, had a stroke & ended up in the ICU. Today dad was in such bad shape that my niece had to call an ambulance & have him taken to ER, & he will probably go to hospice/palliative care either later tonight or tomorrow. None of us expects him to live more than a few more days. Needless to say, I'm on a plane tomorrow, the cost be damned.

We are a strong family, we stick together, we help each other regardless of the cost, family is family, blood is thicker than water & all that. We will get through this... but... support from friends is always helpful & appreciated...

Not sure if this is appropriate for this forum, this is a cross post from the Lounge & I wanted to share.

We had a nice celebration & he got to see his 1 remaining brother (out of 6 boys), which only happens every 1-2 years. This will probably be the last time they're together.

He's still living with my sister but send good thoughts because the last few months he's gone downhill rapidly & he needs more intensive care than we can provide so we're talking to a hospice facility that we know is good, they have cared for other relatives & they were wonderful.

Today I don't want to focus on the negative, I want to celebrate the fact that my dad lived a long healthy life of 100 years. No heart attacks, no cancer, no other physical ailments, & even today at 100 the only pills he takes are vitamins, Tylenol, & a baby aspirin. I truly think scientists should be studying him, he's an unnatural phenomenon.

Happy 100th Birthday Dad, you did good. You did damn good.

We had a nice celebration & he got to see his 1 remaining brother (out of 6 boys), which only happens every 1-2 years. This will probably be the last time they're together.

He's still living with my sister but send good thoughts because the last few months he's gone downhill rapidly & he needs more intensive care than we can provide so we're talking to a hospice facility that we know is good, they have cared for other relatives & they were wonderful.

Today I don't want to focus on the negative, I want to celebrate the fact that my dad lived a long healthy life of 100 years. No heart attacks, no cancer, no other physical ailments, & even today at 100 the only pills he takes are vitamins, Tylenol, & a baby aspirin. I truly think scientists should be studying him, he's an unnatural phenomenon.

Happy 100th Birthday Dad, you did good. You did damn good.

We had to leave the island & drive about 30 minutes to the country health center on the mainland. (Which made us both realize we hadn't been on the mainland in over a year, since COVID started.) They had 2 lines of drive-through, National Guard directing traffic, roll down the windows, get a shot, park for 15 minutes, & pick up vax cards with the 2nd appointment date & time on the way out.

It was very fast & efficient, I was impressed (& I'm in FL).

Afterward we treated ourselves to double mochas at a coffee shop followed by a yummy lunch at a nearby Indian restaurant. It was a great morning!

It's only been a few hours but I'm not feeling any effects yet, fingers crossed.

I've been eligible for a couple weeks (over 50) & my wife just became eligible yesterday (over 40), & this morning the FL state vaccine folks called & we now have appointments for this Friday morning, 15 minutes apart!

We're in Brevard County, & it's the Moderna vaccine.

WOOOO-HOOOO!!!!!!

It's almost like he was named for it.

"Chauvinism is the irrational belief in the superiority or dominance of one's own group or people, who are seen as strong and virtuous, while others are considered weak or unworthy."

-Wikipedia

MESSAGING!!!

Democrats launch TV ads in Vegas to take credit for new stimulus package, vaccination effort

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is launching a new advertising campaign — including in Las Vegas — aimed at promoting President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill and slamming the Republican lawmakers who opposed the bill.

The ads begin running on Monday, the same day that Vice President Kamala Harris will be coming to Las Vegas — for her first trip to Nevada since taking office — to tout the stimulus bill.

The “Help is Here” campaign is centered around a 60-second television ad that will be run in battleground regions, such as Las Vegas, for a week. The ad features a speech from Biden focused on vaccine distribution and the $1,400 direct payments for Americans approved as part of a bill he signed last week.

-snip-

[link:https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/democrats-launch-tv-ads-in-vegas-to-take-credit-for-new-stimulus-package-vaccination-effort|]

Interesting short Twitter thread. I'll post the first tweet for Twitter users, plus text of the thread:

[link:https://twitter.com/themaxburns/status/1369712902115049474?s=19|]

Man, the 2022 senate map would normally be a rough one for Democrats. AK, FL, ID, IN, KS, LA, ND, OK, SC, SD, UT, not exactly Democratic strongholds.

Far too soon to say what it looks like in 2022, but so much hinges on Biden continuing to deliver a #COVID19 recovery.

It's hard to argue against the effectiveness of the Biden stimulus for both red and blue states nationwide.

In 2021 alone, the Biden stimulus is expected to cut poverty among Black Americans by **42%** and lower the poverty rate overall by at least 5%.

https://t.co/cAh9wDhpsW

The economic benefits of Biden's stimlus plan will be immediate and widespread. It's not just that 42% poverty reduction among Black folks, but a nearly 40% drop among Hispanics and 34% for whites.

Nearly every single American will feel a boost because of this #COVID19 deal.

Now it's up to Democrats to effectively message that victory--and future victories--to red state audiences who will feel that improvement in their lives even as @GOP media outlets try to convince them Biden has made them poorer.

/End

Let me repeat that last bit:

Now it's up to Democrats to effectively message that victory--and future victories--to red state audiences who will feel that improvement in their lives even as @GOP media outlets try to convince them Biden has made them poorer.