The Infectious Disease Say Cheese!

There was another Open Up rally around the Capitol Square on Friday. It was a big one. Even the president set a two week downward trend guideline

And these were his people

This was his base

They brought out the big guns by invoking the Constitution while taking selfies

And misappropriating religion

As a devout lapsed Catholic I found it offensive

Sister Gertrude, who pelted us with chalkboard erasers and sometimes candy, would not approve

And she'd have straightened out these little pr*cks while getting them ready for First Holy Communion by May

And of course they literally brought out the big guns. But whether you listen to Alex Jones or John Oliver

You should really watch this if you're sick of alphabatizing paper goods and cans of ravioli

Whether you use the words "Safety" and "Nazis" in the same sentence

Or whether you think our governor is being too cautious or not cautious enough

Even if you don't care about your safety

Or the safety of your children

Or the safety of your children's children

 

Or haven't been infected (yet)

Whether you're sitting in your monster SUV while sending your daughters out in this insanity to make a buck

Or hiding behind the flag and wearing it as a cape

Or some kind of harem mask

Calling a global pandemic a conspiracy and thinking you're impervious

While ignoring sane voices of authority and reason

Will not get you back to work or your kids back to school any sooner

And we'll be dancing this dance a lot longer

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Weather

I've been trying to see weather through a dog's eyes and maybe because my best dog pals have been labs

With a few exceptions

Okay, Handsome Bob too

I can't forget my favorite neighbor and the best watchdog I ever met

 It's easy to look at the clouds and rain and wind

You would not believe the wind on Lake Mendota last week

I mean it was crazy

It's easy to look at all that and not want to walk out into it, but I know a dog would.

So be a dog. Stay inside when you should, listen to those smarter than you and get outside whenever you can no matter what the weather.  All weather eventually changes.

The Unavoidably Political Say Cheese!

I remember arguing that not everything is political one smoky day back in the 80s. I was running for Fine Arts Editor of the liberal UW-Madison student newspaper The Daily Cardinal (a shock to some I'm sure). And it was smoky because I was chain smoking.

The scene yesterday at the State Capitol may not have reeked of smoke (there's no smoking in the immediate vicinity), but it did reek of politics. Protestors gathered to ignore common sense and CDC guidelines in response to Governor Evers May 26 extension of the Safer At Home Order.

If your president tells you to get your life back while risking the lives of others, some people "liberate" themselves from empathy and common sense. 

There are 220 COVID-19 deaths in Wisconsin with larger numbers suspected due to lack of testing. The United States has more known cases than anywhere IN THE WORLD and according to a New York Times database, the US is reporting 2,000 deaths a day. That's 2,000 deaths a DAY, you dangerous idiots, #dangerousidiots.

The latest data from Johns Hopkins University has the coronavirus death toll in this country at 40,661.

So on that happy note why not post something funny, smoky, political or seriously stupid and SAY CHEESE!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Birds, Birds, Birds

One of my neighbors was yelling, "birds, birds, birds" in my dorm room on a typical day at UW-LaX in the seventies. I'd show you the Polaroid if my scanner worked or if I had more energy. Yup, I took it with a Polaroid camera.

I know this is a chickadee because Google Image told me so

These weren't taken with a Polaroid, but wouldn't it be cool if I still had my old one and it still worked?

Don't worry, honey, if these morons keep it up we'll have it all to ourselves

I got out my semi-ancient Canon and leave it in the car now, the way I'd do in severe weather or a pending apocalypse. 

Curbside Pick Up

I think of my college friend—who was playing with a Fli-Back paddle ball at the time—when I snap a bird pic and need a title.

The Pre Post Easter Say Cheese! Link Up

How was your Easter? Did it rain, snow or blow?

Stupid, stupid people got our state parks closed, so I did a tour of my favorite towns to see if they missed any.

They did not.

But it was fun looking since gas is so cheap.

It graupled on Good Friday

Because I'm a caregiver for my 94-year-old mother who has some dementia and a lot of mood disorder, I need to get out. Weather is always your interesting, eccentric friend if you think like a dog. These little snowballs that pelted us are called, "graupel." 

I found a county park close to one of my favorite bike trails (which was of course busier than usual), pics to come.

Seen on the way to Easter dinner

The north side of Madison continues to be a hotbed of car thefts and burglaries. So many car thieves seem to be kids.

I had my first good Old Farts Shopping Hour Easter morning when I picked up this "Dinner For Two" from Hy-Vee.

My mother, who keeps telling me she no longer likes sweets, has been complaining that all the Easter candy she gave or threw away is gone. "Half" an apple pie, four cupcakes and a full basket of candy later she was fairly happy (although I heard her say this was the first Easter she didn't have jelly beans. There were three bags of Jelly Belly Jelly Beans in her basket).

Culvers, Sugar Free Jelly Beans & Lysol are so Easter 2020. I think Jelly Beans & Lysol would make a great name for a band 

This was the inside of my car on Holy Saturday. 

Put down the Peeps, wipe down your key board and wash your hands, it's time to SAY CHEESE!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

C-

The local news said Wisconsin got a C- in social distancing. I also found grades B through D for the state and an A for Dane County. We no longer deserve a passing grade.

Our governor tried to delay the election yesterday. He also tried to make sure people had more time to vote by absentee ballot. The republican legislature, state and U.S. Supreme Courts blocked his order to postpone.
If only righteous indignation prevented the transmission of COVID-19.

Deaths in Wisconsin are near or have reached 100 depending on who you listen to or when you read this. Governor Evers issued a Safer At Home order on March 24, the above photo was taken at Devil's Lake Sunday.

The state parks are free for the duration and we're encouraged to get outside, but the birds are doing a better job of social distancing than we are.

Photo by Tom Hill/WireImage 

COVID-19 took John Prine yesterday. The room in this photo looks like the house where my wild child roommate wore a groove in his first album.

Yes, I said, "Album."

One of my cousins posted this video on my timeline this morning and that's where I'd like park my frustration, anger and fear.

Update: They are shutting down the state parks, all the ones I go to, today.