Author: Adrienne

I've been blogging at WP since 2007 as Valentine Bonnaire, but that was a nom de plume. I'm a writer. June is Santa Barbara Writers Conference. You can find me here and in Facebook. That was an old gravatar from my WP blog Valentine Bonnaire - and this is my new one. Really loving the new version of WordPress as Premium. Learning this one first before I move to the Business version. Nice to meet you! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adrienne.d.wilson

CORONAVIRUS DIARIES CALIFORNIA – ANIMAL PHARM. MAY 1st, 2020 SOCAL.

Posted on by Adrienne in Uncategorized

To begin to even talk about what it is like in the United States right now or in my small beachtown? Well let me get you some links.

It’s going to take me quite some time and I have a great deal to say. I spent 20 years working for the local newspaper before my degree in Depth Psychology, or before I became a published writer under various noms de plume for the web. I really appreciate WordPress in this moment. That’s all I can say. I was a child in Junior High here in Santa Barbara when I read Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle.”

I have done some research, using Wikipedia about a couple of the meat packing plants. So, I also read Animal Farm by Aldous Huxley at that time. The film Lord of the Flies as well.

The Guardian had a piece up today mentioning Sinclair, and I shall go further.

But first I want to talk about my dog, because I want to talk about how much our lives have changed in two months. He had to go to the vet. The vet who has been treating all the animals over a thirty year period. I want to talk about the experience, of the day, and all the thoughts, because, LIFE AS WE HAVE KNOWN IT? HAS CHANGED FOREVER. HOW DO I KNOW WHAT IS IN HIS DOG FOOD NOW THAT I HAVE READ ABOUT SMITHFIELD AND TYSON?

As you read the Wikipedia articles on these corporate giants, you are going to get the same sick feeling that I have, so do it. When you see the depth of the food chain they penetrate? My god you will throw up. I had to get something to eat for May first at the market, and for the dog. Imagine my horror walking through the supermarket. I’m not kidding. Most Californians have had a brush with vegetarianism, or veganism, but, we do love a barbecue now and then.

NOW WHAT?

This is my rescue, Odin, and we wanted to walk the beach. After the vet. He’s going to be fine, just an ear infection and skin stuff. It’s what was about to happen though around getting his prescriptions and the things I saw out and about on the streets.

CORONAVIRUS DIARIES

Posted on by Adrienne in Uncategorized

Someone did this. That’s the first thought, in the black dawn, after the drops of rain. All the countries are following the same pattern of shutdown. My dog is beside me, and all I can think about is how I am going to get him a giant bag of kibbles, and his cans, and where I am going to do that, today.

The thought occurs, they hoarded this too.

We are all in some kind of lost landscape now. It’s the same. It’s just after six, and I think of my grandmother saying, “It is always darkest before the dawn.” She’s right. The light will make it easier, writing makes it easier. I spent the morning looking at headlines. I could look at the maps. Looking at the maps only makes it worse. Why some places and not others?

I think about sewing a mask, maybe two or three. I’m not sure what to wear when I go out now. I have gloves from Thailand I was able to find. Latex gloves from an Import store, the one I found the toilet paper in. It is hard to adjust to being unfree, to having to wear certain things. At the market, people in the blue paper masks. I wonder where they got them.

To the south of me a city sprawls for miles.

To the north it is the same.

They have stripped the stores.

There are hundreds of videos on how to sew masks, from all over the world. In a box there is fabric, I could try. The last two times I went out I wore a muffler, that I could wrap around my face. I don’t understand the idea of all the people who order online. I like to go out and about, say hello to the people I know in places. It’s this terrible feeling of missing them, just people who own restaurants, people working. The stores are closed. There is the worry of how any of this will ever be able to come back after a few months. How things will look after that.

There are theories. https://www.vox.com/2020/3/4/21156607/how-did-the-coronavirus-get-started-china-wuhan-lab

There are a million questions. Someone knows the answer.

Dawn has broken over the city. I can still hear the owls and the birds. There is the matter of facing the day, facing the speeches, trying to eat. Trying to think of anything that can make this seem normal. At the store there were flowers. They were all on sale, and they are joy. The wildflowers are up. Maybe it is the smallest things, that can feed the soul in so much silence. The very smallest things.

I planted Sweet Peas.

I can work in the garden. I can try and breathe, through the fear. There are youtubes of others and how they are coping. I can make bread. For now I can make some bread.

I feel sad about Facebook, not being able to see my friends. I think right now I am socially isolating even from that, as there is not a way to speak about what we are all going through.

CORONAVIRUS DIARIES

Posted on by Adrienne in California, Coronavirus Diaries

I am writing from Southern California, in the midst of the biggest crisis the world has ever seen. The only way I can get the news is via Google, then Twitter, then Youtube as it breaks. Local news here in America has not reported on other countries for some time. My husband watches the television for his news. He gets it much slower than I do. Maybe because our minds work differently.

I am watching what the president has to say along his Twitter feed. One of the worst aspects of this crisis is to watch all the lesser politicians scramble to get in line for their potential shot at the JOB, because this is what they are doing. Trying to make themselves look good. In this I refer to Cuomo and Newsom along their footage. What the President said yesterday or so is that he is LEAVING IT UP TO THE STATES. The message from both Cuomo and Newsom is that millions will die, so it isn’t very comforting at all.

I think what I will write you now in this diary, is a part of the experience of being “here,” in this region, as the days roll by like waves. From what they released about “flattening the curve” we are all told to stay in. People for the most part have obeyed this. Everyone is very frightened and this panic is not going to subside anytime soon. Before I look at any more news ledes today, or read any more editorials, I just want to take a breath.

We cannot go out for anything except essentials. This means stores that we love and frequented will go out of business. It’s been three weeks of the hoarding. First it was toilet paper and now it is food, so I can tell you about yesterday and going to a small sized chain supermarket. THE SHELVES WERE EMPTY. I wish I had taken my camera out, to document it. Perhaps next time I will. The only way that I can describe it? What we saw in Russia, in the late 80’s on the news. As everything FELL.

We don’t have reportage like that anymore, on TELEVISION. We no longer have a PRESS in America that can do the reporting city to city. It’s all broken. This post will be long, today. I want to talk about yesterday.

I have to go backward in my mind to think about the first time I went to a store, after hearing about this. I was still using my FACEBOOK account, at that time and so I had begun to process news stories that were breaking around the world. I went to what we call a drugstore, or a pharmacy here in California, maybe four weeks ago? It is hard to remember. I was looking for the hand sanitizer as the stories began to break about “WASHING YOUR HANDS” and we were seeing news on China suddenly. There was NO SANITIZER and I asked a store clerk maybe a week later if they had masks, because suddenly on the news everyone seemed to be wearing a mask. This is maybe a month ago. The next time I went to the market, maybe two weeks ago, there was no paper to be had. NONE. I thought I would venture out again, to try and find some and so these are my last FB posts. I did find some in a little import store in a poorer part of the town I live in. For $7.99 I was able to get some toilet paper from Vietnam, and at a Mexican market here I was able to get some chamomile scented Charmin, not the sort you would expect. It was $2.99 for four rolls.

It was when I went back to the store for food, though, perhaps two weeks ago? I was scared. I had begun to see the shelves be emptied. First it was staple things, like rice and beans, potatoes and so forth. They simply were not there, along with the non-existent paper. Yesterday, and the last time I was in that store I spoke with clerks who are working valiantly, and not wearing masks or gloves. What was said to me yesterday? “This will pass by the end of April” the meat and fish counter which has fresh fish was CLOSED. He told me it was a matter of “social distancing” – on the part of the corporation. I said, “In our lifetimes we have never seen anything like this,” and he said, “No, we haven’t.” To see an American store EMPTY? I have.

Yesterday, there were NO EGGS.

THERE IS NO FLOUR.

THERE WAS NO MILK.

Something larger is going on. You can sense it. Here is the headline of the day from NEWSWEEK https://www.newsweek.com/u-s-now-has-third-highest-number-covid-19-cases-after-china-italy-1493618

I’m going to see what the President has tweeted. There was a positive story about the company Hanes on manufacturing the masks here. It would be good to see all the American companies rise to the fore and come home, not just for Economic Nationalism, but because THEY WERE AMERICAN COMPANIES. Most Americans are aware of what has been sold down the river over the last 30 years by very crooked politicians running the country.

Here is that story on Hanes: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/hanes-start-making-masks-health-care-professionals-treating/story?id=69729931 from ABC. Hanes was like this fantastic company that made cotton clothing, T-Shirts and underwear and so forth al my life. Hanes was the sort of thing you could fall back on? I am so glad to see this news. See this COMPANY come to the fore. There will be others I am sure. I think, Americans would like to be known as the ones who produced the things the world needed, at this time. This is a great story, and when the President talks about “it is a beautiful thing to see” this is what he means. He is talking about “the American Spirit” – which is to come to the fore, versus the ‘you didn’t build that spirit” of the previous President.

This is DISGUSTING. The virus is not the President’s fault. https://nypost.com/2020/03/22/de-blasio-blames-trump-for-nyc-hospital-equipment-shortage-people-will-die/ so, the actions of the politicians are something ALL AMERICANS CAN SEE RIGHT NOW.

Frankly there are many questions about this VIRUS and those can be had over in Twitter in terms of who was working on it as far back as 2015, and who is working on the antidote just now. Twitter is pretty admirable that way, and there are some very curious things if you search things like Gates on that right now. The President may be part of the billionaires club in America but he isn’t evil.

This is how I am following the Governor of California: https://twitter.com/search?q=newsom&src=typed_query in Twitter.

LISTENING TO THE REPORTERS and our President at this link: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump it is important to listen to what is said, by the reporters and the President himself. He has just acted as an AMERICAN, in this latest press release. In that, the AMERICAN SPIRIT. So he is talking about himself, he is also talking through the lens that is the AMERICAN spirit in terms of helping other countries as well, because all of them are facing the same thing.

HOT SPOTS: State of Washington, NY, California – President DT

Something I want to say as an American around what the news is calling “racist” – the term CHINESE VIRUS – this is being used because as the President said – “it came from there”meaning it started (as much as any of us know, in a place called Wuhan) – this is what we saw in the news. Now, Americans also say this – “Let’s go get some Chinese Food” – this is true. I’m not sure if in other countries American Food is called this same thing? Here in CA we would say, “Let’s go get Thai Food and so forth. This is a reality, not racist. Where I live in Southern California, we have many cultures all coexisting together. All of my life. So, it’s the same thing for Japanese Food. We would say, let’s go get some Japanese Food. Here in CA, in our markets, there is food from all over the world. Except now the shelves are EMPTY. We would say the same thing about Mexican Food, French Food, and so forth. Here we also have Greek Food and Greek Festivals. Many people live in America from all over the world and from all the different cultures IN THE WORLD. The only thing I haven’t seen is CANADIAN restaurants in Southern California. They might exist but I have never seen them. This is the way Americans SPEAK about things. It would not be different in other countries I am sure, so a matter of Semantics.

BREAKING LEDE – The National Guard. Yesterday in Twitter you could see Army style trucks in a vid somebody posted from Seal Beach on trains. Here is the story from NPR News which is a trustable NEWS SOURCE https://www.npr.org/2020/03/22/817978107/white-house-coronavirus-team-to-hold-briefing-as-death-toll-continues-rising FROM THE STORY:

“President Trump said Sunday he has activated the National Guard to New York, California and Washington, states that so far have been hit hardest by the rapidly spreading coronavirus.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will fund the deployment of the Guard, Trump said.

“This action will give them maximum flexibility to use the Guard against the virus without having to worry about costs and liability,” Trump said. “And [it frees] up state resources to protect the health and safety of the people in their state.”

I have used YOUTUBE to double check that news lede: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svmAqo1Daiw here is the President speaking on that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rVD4p4CY0A

I am watching a video on how New York is coping. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4iZLfiK3rk I have never seen New York, but I know that many many people live there. They are very strong having gone through 9/11. These are New Yorkers speaking.

Like many other Americans we are watching news from Italy. Here from Sky News, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdx4Jo0GCRU It is so tragic. In the rains today, tears cring over the whole world. We had studied things in history, like the Black Plague, but to see this, in terms of the way we are all on the Internet in this era? There is not a way to process what the whole world is going through.

I am watching this news from Italy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWP1_Q065PQ it was from two days ago.

On the local news they are reporting today that the cases are up to 18 in this county. I am grateful that today we had food to eat. I was able to get it the other day. Life as we know it in California has SHUT DOWN. I have no idea what will happen tomorrow. I know that we have enough food, for tomorrow. I have a dog and a cat. I need to feed them too. Tonight the dog had to eat dry cat kibble as he had nothing in the store. I will have to go out to get his food. if I cannot find anything for him, I will feed him meat, if I can find some. This is the TERROR of life shutting down, after the governor has said what he has said. I want to show a picture of my dog and cat and the news has made me feel so nervous I cannot remember the tools I have to use here in WordPress to do that.

You could see them in Facebook if you knew me. My dog is named Odin, and my Cat is called Hemingway. They were both rescues from the local shelter.

Today, I heard planes still overhead, and I listen for the sound of the cars. I can hear some cars racing, in the distance. We are self-isolating, because we have been told to. But tomorrow I have to find food for my dog.

Just watched this video on what the California National Guard is doing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onuUGWejKOg&feature=youtu.be in terms of Foodbanks.

Listening to NEWS from NEW YORK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Trar6seIhDw this is about the doctors and the masks they need. FROM ABC NEWS, a trusted source.

CORONAVIRUS DIARIES

Posted on by Adrienne in Uncategorized

The hardest part of this is the waiting, for any little scrap of information. The only thing I can use to check is Google, on the news for the State. It’s as if we are getting an overview in lots of little broken pieces. From this morning – on Los Angeles. This place reports on the movie business, and today: https://deadline.com/2020/03/coronavirus-los-angeles-county-biggest-single-day-jump-in-new-cases-1202889005/

I am trying to set up tags and categories, as this should not fall under uncategorized, and I can’t see how to do that, anymore, easily, WP has changed so much.

One of the things from yesterday, the hospitals are totally unequipped with gowns and masks and the proper equipment for the nurses, down in Los Angeles they talked about that. Our healthcare system has been so broken in America for so many years, how could this happen now? The tragedy for the doctors and the nurses. In Youtube we can see images of Italy and the other countries. That is what I have had to use for breaking news.

Here is Los Angeles: https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/prevention-cures/488660-la-mayor-warns-the-city-is-about-to-be

Here is news on the nurses and the masks they need https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhkUolbaAaU the N95 mask. They are having to sew their own masks. This is one of the saddest stories I have ever seen. My god. It is said that there are 35 million of these masks already made, but to make them work without the proper medical supplies and outfits? Here in our country? It shows how broken things are.

This shows some information on the masks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmdxDsVO7Gc no one has these on the shelves here, or the gloves, r even the hand sanitizers – you cannot find them. The N95 is the one that the nurses need and people probably wish they had them. I do.

From yesterday as the cities decide what to do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDObf2AeAP4

This is the site to watch, coming from the President himself about what is being done to address the crisis. https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/president-trump-actions-to-confront-pandemic/ I feel like there is so much news at this time. Too many talking heads. It is best to listen to the Leader first, and then look to how the news sources are presenting things. This has been the latest tweet on that medicine that was for Malaria, and now to take it with another. I liked that this Medicine had been around for a long time, myself. So here you are: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1241367239900778501?s=20

This is fantastic news – I got this from the President’s tweets on that Malaria drug <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">NEW DATA: A French study has demonstrated evidence that the combination of Hydroxychloroquine &amp; Azithromycin are highly effective in treating Covid-19.<br><br>The patients enrolled in the study showed complete viral eradication around the 5th day of treatment. <a href="https://t.co/WnGs5PKOpn">https://t.co/WnGs5PKOpn</a&gt; <a href="https://t.co/JZzZ66w4rL">pic.twitter.com/JZzZ66w4rL</a></p>&mdash; Michael Coudrey (@MichaelCoudrey) <a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelCoudrey/status/1241354642417577986?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 21, 2020</a></blockquote> https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Watching these maps is the hardest and seeing what is happening. It is the strangest feeling to be so isolated. We can’t go out and so we wait to hear. Only for food and the most basic things, so it feels not like this country. It feels very scary. Three weeks ago, as the news was breaking on this and Wuhan, I asked if the drugstore had the masks? They had been sold out. Then a week later, after seeing the news and seeing people in masks and gloves I asked for the gloves? Sold out. Then we saw the panic. The store shelves emptied of even things like toilet paper. All the paper was gone, and many of the foods that you see were also gone. This has added to the FEAR that people feel.

The news organizations are not reporting the same things, so I am trying to bypass and just find out myself. I do this using Google and Twitter and Youtube and I do a word search on any of these things.

It’s so quiet, only the birds sing.

No one is on the streets, people are inside. We are following the orders. WATCHING THIS now – to see what the President has to say: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4czayodBQ3o from NBC news. Pence “We are now six days into our 15 days” – but this is NOT what NEWSOM is saying.

It’s not clear how we are 6 days into the 15 days makes any sense. If you were to go out and be exposed to it? It takes two weeks on the symptoms, so you would have to start that count all over again, if you went out for groceries. Pence talking all about prayers and so forth.

FEMA on the testing, he is calm and very clear on this. He is giving a rundown on who should be tested first. No he is talking about STATE MANAGED testing sites. They are saying that the supplies can be gotten THROUGH FEMA for the doctors and nurses and tha these can be ordered from overseas. They have allocated a hundred million to help the states?

Dr. Carson speaking now on HOMES.

We are so broken as a country after 2008. We really were. So many lost everything they had and now are homeless all over the streets in California. There are fears that this virus will travel very fast “on the streets” in this population.

One of the hard things to watch right now is the people losing their jobs. They will lose everything. So we worry that there will be more homeless people. The news on unemployment claims has gone up overnight.

Now the Press Pool is asking questions.

DT “Doing a package, the likes we have never done before.” “I want $$$$ to be used for workers”

DT on masks. PENCE 1/2 billion dollar order on masks, coordinating through FEMA. N95 masks greatly increased in the country. N95 masks will work but did not have liability protection. Industrial N95 can be purchased. Bi-Partisan accomplishment.

DT on sanitizing masks, Fauci on reusing them.

PPE is what they call all the masks and gowns and things that are needed by the doctors. Pence asking people to donate masks, and dentists give the masks to hospitals…

DT the malaria drug, NY is getting it. I have much more faith in DT at this time. Give people something. “We have very sick people” – malaria drug will go to NY and other places. DT wishes China had told us earlier, given advance warning. He is talking about how we saw the problem via the news. That is the truth. How I saw about the problem was on the news via Google and I think that was only about ONE MONTH AGO.

What is so hard is to see the news from all over the world, and the only way to see what is going on? Is to use WORD SEARCHES by country in GOOGLE NEWS. For this story I used Google news on California. https://www.sacbee.com/news/coronavirus/article241383646.html – that is off the Sacramento Bee a well respected newspaper. Seeing a headline like this? Pure fear.

I think we would need to see Newsom speak about THAT? People would rather know, but at the same time see ACTION. I have much respect for President Trump right now.

PENCE “heed your own local government” – why does this make me scared? it is as if all of American is not on one page. That? Is the most frightening thing. This conference is almost over but, what Pence is saying is NO COMFORT. None.

Sharing the LOCAL NEWS from SB Independent https://www.independent.com/2020/03/20/santa-barbara-health-officer-we-now-have-widespread-community-infection/

CORONAVIRUS DIARIES CALIFORNIA

Posted on by Adrienne in Uncategorized

I am watching the Press Release from the President on Twitter, this morning. At this link: https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump Before the rest of the news breaks today, the SHOCK to the State of California about what NEWSOM has said last night? That 56% of California will contract the virus?

The stark terror of what might happen next?

It’s impossible to even contemplate.

How many will be unemployed as a result of all stores shutting.

I am listening to the President talk about the millions of masks that have been ordered that will be shipped to the states.

As a Californian, and an American I have never been more terrified in my life as this moment.

I took some screenshots and have looked at local news.

I am listening to the President talk about people who will be paid to stay home from work. Except what does this mean for the businesses that will shutter? Half this town has vacancies as it is. Small business in Santa Barbara? Will they be ruined?

This is unprecedented and while we are all worried and staying in now, what will the FUTURE HOLD?

Really glad to hear Pompeo, and truthfully, Pompeo and Trump are the two I feel I can get the straightest info from. Pompeo “listen to what we say and report it actually” – this is SO important and I say this because I spent 20 years working for a Newspaper here in town. One of the problems right now is that people are NOT GETTING the same information. This is because we no longer really have a Press in the USA.

It’s also good to see Spicer in that Press Pool. I always really liked him during the 2016 years and I didn’t like how he was made fun of on SNL. I am sick of the comics frankly, I mean this is not even funny right now. This Fauci guy? It’s not the same as trust I have in the President and Pompeo.

Reporters asking “checks to Americans” – DT wants to protect workers and also the businesses.

Reporters asking now about $1000 check, DT responds “we are doing phases.” You can see that he really cares for the country and the workers.

DT speaking about the supply chains that have broken down. Around the world. 141 countries. Azar speaking about supplies, talking about what he has provided to governors. Pence now speaking 90% of Americans do not test positive for the coronavirus…

Pence – “Every governor needs to reach out to FEMA for the supplies – Regional administrators for FEMA have information. Have Pence and NEWSOM spoken? Maybe need to coordinate CALIFORNIA on the numbers because telling people that 56% of California will get the virus in next 8 weeks?

DT – “VENTILATORS” – now speaking about Carnival Cruises – “if we need ships for helping people, they would be willing. The big hospital ships in CA…. and NY harbor.

REPORTER ASKS “Could everyone be tested, and then those who don’t have it go back to work?” Concept is “Universal Testing” – DT “Not important that everybody be tested, if you feel great.”

END of Press Conference.

Okay so, now we have to wait on Newsom, and read the ledes? Because last night was the most frightening night as a Californian I have ever known, with what he said on 56% – Not kidding. Trump needs to assure California FIRST and NY in tandem that things will be okay. One look at the maps on this thing in Twitter? People are looking at those numbers go up and so scary not possible to even think? REALLY.

Following NOOZHAWK for LOCAL NEWS. This is Bill’s opinion piece: https://www.noozhawk.com/article/bill_macfadyen_coronavirus_crisis_running_roughshod_over_us_20200320

It’s hard not being on Facebook at this time. I think seeing Bill’s face would help in there. So the way I am getting the local headlines is by using Google news, and then Local News. Pretty much we have the Daily Nexus (UCSB) Student Paper, EdHat and the Santa Barbara Independent. But I think all the California papers are important at this time. From Bill’s editorial – “

But as government at all levels — municipal, state and federal — increasingly embraces mandatory lockdowns instead of voluntary isolation, or precise restrictions on those most at risk, we the people will soon be faced with a choice none of us truly wants to make.

As a nation, we Americans are resilient and optimistic, and I put entrepreneurs and small business owners at the tip of that spear. We’ll power through a week, or even two weeks, of hardship because we don’t back down from a challenge.

But our country is nearing the point of no return with the coronavirus’ intersection with the economy and, so far, the government response — at all levels — seems to be one of acceptance.

Wrong answer.

With businesses slashing their operations or shuttering altogether, the unemployment rate skyrocketing and all-too-typical stimulus proposals missing the point, America simply cannot abide or afford a self-inflicted recession, let alone a depression.

The human cost of job losses is about to flip the concern over the health risks of the coronavirus, and reconciling those seemingly incompatible choices must be a prime factor in how we recover as a nation. I don’t know where we go from there, but it’s going to be a perilous trek and there’s no roadmap.”

Coronavirus Dairies

Posted on by Adrienne in California, Coronavirus Diaries, President Trump

There has been something really wonderful to see. It’s this ship called Mercy, coming to California. https://news.usni.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/180224-N-RM689-0555.jpg

I tend to watch the Press Pool daily now, and I can watch this over in Twitter as well as see the tweets, here https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump if I do not watch on a regular news channel. I really think at this time it is important to actually hear what the people on the task forces are saying to the public.

“Progress at FDA, slashing red tape, to get important things to the market – “medical.” DT

“The therapies are something we can move on much faster” – DT.

I am really glad he said this, because yesterday there was news out of Japan, that they have something in a pill form. The Hill reported on that: https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/prevention-cures/488321-japanese-flu-drug-reportedly-shows-promise

The President has been speaking about RIGHT TO TRY and now he is talking about how in his administration will be going to other countries. He is talking about the malaria drug, and he likes that it has been around a long time. FANTASTIC on the Malaria drug, it was just approved by FDA. Cuomo wants to be first on line. By prescription, individual states will handle it. – DT

FDA speaking now – “10,000 Scientists, doctors and others working around the clock.” – SH – PROVIDE HOPE and not FALSE HOPE. “In the sea of new treatments, the right drug, in the right dosage, at the right time.” – really glad he said this.

COMPASSIONATE USE – “experimental”

I’m really glad he is using the malaria drug, because I have a lot of concerns as regards something else and I’ll talk about that later.

PENCE: on the MASKS and companies like HONEYWELL stepping up on the ones the hospitals will need. ALSO, all the construction companies across AMERICA sharing the masks. Also they seem to have progress on the ventilators.

Encouraging millenials to donate blood.

The Press Pool is sitting apart from each other. It’s really good to see them. ❤

PENCE on the masks, N95 MASKS – Honeywell repurposing factory here in US to create them Private sector companies.

DT asks when they will be ready, they make 35 million per month. 3M and Honeywell – the reporter has asked if okay to repurpose masks or bandanas. 35 million can now be sold to hospitals. – Pence. Making it clear to governors than can get the MASKS NOW – 35 million. They will be talking to governors about this.

Reporter asks when Americans can have their lives go back to normal.

DT “uncharted territory” 141 countries. “It could have been stopped in its tracks.”

DT CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES making ships available. In addition to the Navy ships and they will be docked off NY and CA.

Reporter on Gilead Remdesivir as clinical trials – this is the one they have pushed through as Compassionate Care. So this one is a trial drug.

I hope our President uses his alliance with JAPAN, in addition to that Malaria drug, so again the link from THE HILL https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/prevention-cures/488321-japanese-flu-drug-reportedly-shows-promise – the reporter was GUZMAN. From the piece ”

A Japanese drug used to treat new strains of the flu has shown promise in being effective against the coronavirus in clinical trials, Japanese media reported on Wednesday. 

Medical authorities in China said the antiviral drug favipiravir, developed by a subsidiary of Fujifilm, has produced encouraging results in clinical trials in Wuhan and Shenzhen involving 340 patients, according to The Guardian.

Infected patients who were given the drug in Wuhan and Shenzhen tested negative for the coronavirus after a median of four days, compared with a median of 11 days for those who were not treated with the drug, The Guardian reported, citing public broadcaster NHK. 

REFERENCE ON CHLOROQUINE the Malaria DRUG https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chloroquine

REFERENCE ON FAVIPIRAVIR the Japanese DRUG https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Favipiravir

End of the Press Conference.

This is what I see when I try to see my FACEBOOK PAGE:

I cannot even begin to tell you how irritating that is. I really can’t.

Sharing a story from Noozhawk on the food supply and how local markets here in Santa Barbara are faring on the food supply chain. They have modified their hours. https://www.noozhawk.com/article/gelsons_market_others_offer_senior_hours_in_response_to_coronavirus

This is a breaking NEWS LEDE for CALIFORNIA https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/19/coronavirus-california-estimates-25point5-million-residents-56percent-of-the-state-will-get-virus-in-next-8-weeks.html

And one of the reasons why we are very scared here. That is basically half the state, and as we are one of the most populous states, WE HAVE TO TAKE EVERY PRECAUTION. That the PRESIDENT is giving us right now. I cannot remember a more frightening time. So what I suggest for EACH PERSON is that we watch the breaking news off the TWITTER FEEDS daily. Then watching OUR GOVERNORS, in our case this is NEWSOM and you can catch the feeds in YOUTUBE on him, by using the FILTERING SYSTEMS they have.

THEN LOCAL NEWS AS BEST YOU CAN GET IT.

This is breaking lede from the MAYOR of Santa Barbara https://www.edhat.com/news/santa-barbara-mayor-addresses-community-about-covid-19 you can hear her speak about what our city is doing in a youtube video

Sharing from CNET an article on Vaccines https://www.cnet.com/how-to/coronavirus-vaccines-treatments-and-chloroquine-everything-you-need-to-know/

Sharing this link on what Newsom has said about California and also the Mercy will be docked in Los Angeles. You can watch this in youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDgwiMek4zk

It looks like the CA GOV has a website with UPDATES: That is here: https://covid19.ca.gov/

Coronavirus Diaries

Posted on by Adrienne in Coronavirus Diaries

Without one doubt this is the most terrible thing we have ever gone through as human beings on this planet.

I’m in California, and I’m scared, just like everyone is very scared right now. So, how I handled that, was to look at news ledes from around the world.

The way they are disseminating information about this thing, and what is going to happen next is beyond most of us. Beyond comprehension. So I am clear on the concept of “flattening the curve” and I am doing that.

How I am coping is to watch what the President says, DAILY, and then I want to see what our Governor says, DAILY, because, well, I am a Californian. I can get local news on TV but, looking at news all over the world is much faster, and so, as I make these diaries, it’s like leaving a trail of what is happening. I put those things in FB so my friends overseas could see how America was handling things, and FB didn’t like that.

The first sign was the hoarding. I have never seen shelves emptied in markets in my lifetime. I did. There are no masks to be found, and no sanitizers either. Sold and gone. But then, to visit other sites around the world and see that this was reality for them as well? My god. So the global supply chain. They aren’t talking about it, but how many of those products are actually even made here anymore? Maybe they aren’t.

So we are supposed to flatten the curve by staying inside, and only going out for things like necessities. It’s so strange, in the silence. I see very few people out, and I felt like I wanted to drive around and see what things were looking like. Some people in the little market I found some toilet paper in were wearing masks and gloves. It was comforting to see the signs “two packs only” to the customer in there. I only took one. I think what is most frightening is that, the panic scares me the most. What people might do. This is the news this morning from the BBC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKW7l-u0OKA

Listening to President Trump speak this morning, off NBC, the actual Press Pool. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhNOuDYKkzM

“Surface Contamination” – this is a new term. BBC had been reporting on that the other day. I think this is the panic deal, because the virus not only lives in the air for three hours, but it lives on surfaces like plastic and cardboard. This is so frightening it is impossible to comprehend? Because what will this mean for the supply chain?

Listening to what is going on in Canada https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gylWNsZDhF0

The border it seemed from the headlines is going to close except for necessary supply chain things going back and forth.

Politico has a tracker up, here https://www.politico.com/interactives/2020/coronavirus-testing-by-state-chart-of-new-cases/?covid_m

It’s very scary to look at the numbers, especially the ones in the state of Georgia.

Keeping all in my thoughts, and prayers. None of us can fathom how this thing could have started and hurt so many all around the world. It’s just horror.

It looks as if our Governor has put the national Guard on alert for California, https://www.fox5ny.com/news/california-preparing-for-worst-case-scenarios

The whole thing is so scary, it’s hard to even breathe. I still can. The point is not to panic. It’s hard staying in, and not going out for anything, but I am trying to, especailly for the flatten the curve part, there are two cases in my county, but I think we might se more of those as the weeks roll on.

I’m going to try and pass the time by gardening.

Things can go on hold, just try and be quiet, there are still airplanes in the air overhead? I had thought they closed them down. There was one this morning and another just now that sounded like a jet.

Something happened yesterday that made me more grateful for WordPress than I have ever been so I plan to talk about that today.

Posted on by Adrienne in censorship, Uncategorized

I’m not kidding. It was something Facebook did to me. We seem to be in what Dickens called the best and worst of times, and Facebook was a place where I actually knew real live people from not only my education, but old colleagues that I used to work with in the newspaper industry and I was sharing NEWS ledes, and also talking about my worries in general about what I was seeing happen as regards the terrible time the world is going through. Maybe I just needed to start writing again, because, extroverted and very worried right now just like everyone else is. I had friends I met in Europe too, that I have never really met in life, but would have loved to and since none of us can travel anymore, or? The fact that FB did this to me? I’m putting my thoughts here in WordPress. Also something I saw that Firefox did, I rebooted and now I have that thing where FB can’t track you for advertising purposes. So anyway here is the last post I made in there. Because I did screenshots? Of things that were concerning me I was seeing in the news. Here is the good news on that. If that was my last ever post I can make? Well on my page in there is a link to my old blog and this permanent one, so all that writing isn’t lost. I guess they might be able to click through and find me this way if they wanted. Thank heavens.

WordPress is a place I can TALK, on the page.

That’s the thing I have loved most about it since 2007 when I first found it.

I took a screenshot of this:

Censorship at Facebook on Saint Patrick's Day of all things.

I’m not sure if I will ever even go back in there, because, if you look at my last posts it was all news. The way I have been coping with what is happening is to try and share NEWS and I don’t think FB liked it.

The thing is, Facebook has NO IDEA that I used to work for a newspaper, and no idea that I have a Master’s in Depth Psychology. So not only was I looking at the news, but I was making observations based on what I am seeing, as a trained THERAPIST (because I know how) and maybe whatever their little censor is? It was dumber than me.

At any rate. Here in WordPress, I am able to write and to link to the news stories and things in Youtube, and do screenshots or any other old thing I feel like.

I have loved WordPress since the day I found it, by total accident. I think my first post was New Year’s Day 2007? At my old blog Valentine Bonnaire. I should go back and look.

I had thought to myself, that perhaps it might be FB’s finest hour? Because with all these people having to self isolate, my god there was a tool for people to talk to each other. Because it was real. In fact I think I might have even learned about FB because of WP because I don’t think I entered over there until 2009 or something, and at the time I had Twitter too. Well it has been a long haul seeing what censorship looks like for Americans. A very sad thing.

What I can do here?

Is do exactly what I was doing – which is sifting through the news as it breaks daily and trying to help others. So I am grateful, like you cannot believe. Yes, I am. In a way, Bless WordPress. Okay so now for the news ledes. I look at the whole world, and much of what I look at right now is “directions” to stay safe in this time.

I don’t know how we will ever get through this time. I don’t.

I just know I have Saint Patrick and I have my WordPress blog.