The Johnson County Community Health Services Board of Trustees held a public meeting today at 2:00 p.m. at their offices in Warrensburg. The agenda included a discussion of a health advisory based on recently released CDC guidelines and the rising number of cases in the county.
A somewhat organized anti-mask group, numbering around thirty individuals, attended the meeting. Several took the opportunity to offer public comment.
Anti-mask
Darlene Buckstead, Johnson County Community Health Services Board of Trustees
Johnson County Community Health Services – Board of Trustees – August 2, 2021 – Opening
The board allocates thirty minutes at the beginning of their meetings for public comment. Just go ahead and listen:
Johnson County Community Health Services – Board of Trustees – August 2, 2021 – Public Comment
“…I’m gonna state straight out, there’s no, nobody got a right to tell me to put a mask on. Nobody. Or anybody else. You just don’t have the right…. I do not accept the premise that any of these vaccines work. I do not accept the premise that the masks work. I do not accept it…”
Megan Jaeger, Johnson County Community Health Services Board of Trustees
Donna Stewart, Johnson County Community Health Services Board of Trustees
Johnson County Community Health Services – Board of Trustees – August 2, 2021 – Meeting
I spent about ninety minutes at the meeting in a closed room with several unmasked members of the board and the approximately thirty or so anti-maskers (and, some, by their comments, anti-vaccine). I wore an N95 mask with a good seal, covered by a cloth mask. I don’t know what upset me more – that I was, in all probability, at risk for exposure to COVID-19 or that my IQ probably dropped forty points after listening to their tiresome luddite anti-science drivel.
Yesterday afternoon around 100 Warrensburg area residents gathered to support their friends and neighbors in the Asian American Pacific Islander community in a march against hate and racism.
Anna Mori.
After the march Anna Mori spoke:
…The first and most important step in solving issues is to show up. And all of you have done that…
…Think about how much potential we lose if we aren’t hiring, electing, promoting, and advocating people because of our assumptions that they are other. And think about the lives lost because of it…
…Find joy in standing up for others. Find joy in learning about other people’s culture and background. Find joy not in helping the oppressed, but helping yourself because we are all the victims of racism from an overall perspective…
Yesterday afternoon around 100 Warrensburg area residents gathered to support their friends and neighbors in the Asian American Pacific Islander community in a march against hate and racism.
State Representative Emily Weber (D-24).
After the march State Representative Emily Weber (D-24) spoke:
…The one serious side effect of this pandemic has been a surge of anti-Asian discrimination here in the United States as a result of racist [inaudible] by people who want to blame others for something outside of their control…
…We have endured dirty looks, sideways glances, we’ve heard the racist, racial slurs. We have witnessed violence against our community. All because of our race…
State Representative Emily Weber (D-24).
…We need your voice. And your voice will be heard by getting involved….Get involved with organizations that stand with your values or issues you’re concerned about. You can also register, if you aren’t already, to vote. Then, go get five other people to vote. Then go vote in every single election. [applause] The last action item you can do is run for office. We need you on school boards, city councils, state reps, senate, U.S. Representative, everything…
This afternoon around 100 Warrensburg area residents gathered to support their friends and neighbors in the Asian American Pacific Islander community in a march against hate and racism. The event was planned and organized by local high school students. The march proceeded through Warrensburg, under a threat of rain, and continued indoors to conclude with remarks by three guest speakers.
“Hate is a Virus” “Listen to AAPI Voices” “Stop AAPI Hate”
“Oh, so you noticed my replacement 4 x 4 after some asshole stole the previous yard sign and wire?”
This showed up in our mailbox today:
Hi! How are you? I am a neighbor of yours in the lake ridge/country view area. I have been pondering lately what I can do to be the change I want to see. This is not a chain letter, nothing bad will happen to you if it stops with you. But it IS an invitation to be a small part of something I hope could be GOOD for our community. I am randomly selecting 5 people who are advertising their support for the opposing political platform and performing a random act of kindness (I wanted to bake cookies but feared in our current political climate you’d worry they were poisoned or something lol). My hope is to demonstrate that it’s possible to have differences of opinion (even pronounced ones) and still go out of our way to be kind. If I’m wrong this will be a very short experiment lol. If I’m right, I’m hoping you will consider paying it forward and selecting a few people you can pass kindness onto. My only request is that they be people you don’t necessarily see eye to eye with; that can be politically, or religiously, or even that neighbor with the obnoxious dog. And you don’t need to spend a lot of money; you can bake cookies, do a gift card, or even just write a letter of encouragement. It’s a small thing but I pray it will be a step towards reminding us that we’re neighbors first. Thanks for reading and enjoy your coffee! – Your neighbor
(You’re welcome to reproduce any part of this letter to use for your random acts or obviously to come up with something all your own!)
Your privilege betrays you.
Your cult of personality betrays you.
Aber der Mond verrät mich.
Chain letters? What serious adult gives a shit about chain letters?
“I am randomly selecting 5 people who are advertising their support for the opposing political platform and performing a random act of kindness (I wanted to bake cookies but feared in our current political climate you’d worry they were poisoned or something lol).”
You think a perky note and a cup of coffee make up for four years of hell? 220,000 deaths? Gross incompetence? Your cult leader knew in February.
Your cult leader spent around $135,000.00 to pay off a porn star [a more honorable profession than anything he’s ever done] for services while he was married to his third wife. Family values.
What ever happened to that giant caravan in 2018? We do have children in cages, separated from their parents. Because they were brown and legally seeking asylum. And now we find out that over 500 children will probably never be reunited with their parents. You okay with that? Because you’re voting for it.
Who paid for the wall? It came out of the Department of Defense budget, not from Mexico.
Access to health care? This one is personal. Why is your cult leader suing in federal court to do away with pre-existing condition requirements for insurance? Speaking of COVID-19. You do realize that close to ten million Americans now have an additional pre-existing condition, right?
[….] Of the 32.5 million workers who are either officially unemployed or otherwise out of work because of the virus, 11.9 million workers, or 7.2% of the workforce, are out of work with no hope of being called back to a prior job; 5.7 million workers, or 3.5% of the workforce, are out of work and expect to get called back to a prior job but likely will not; and 14.8 million workers, or 9.0% of the workforce, are out of work and can reasonably expect to be called back. That means the share of the workforce that is out of work and has no reasonable chance of being called back to a prior job is 10.7% (7.2% + 3.5%).[….]
Merrick Garland. Do some reading. Then tell me that what’s about to happen to our judiciary for the next forty years is justified by your cult of personality. Spare us all the “pro-life” bullshit. It’s not true. It never has been.
Do you think twenty dead elementary school children and six dead adults in Connecticut and hundreds more all over the country is the price we pay for “freedom?” That’s what you’re voting for. And I mean this seriously, fuck you for that one.
Oh, you’re right about the cookies. They would have definitely gone in the trash. Lol.
I don’t associate with people I don’t see “eye to eye” with. You think that sounds harsh? Exercise whatever cognitive ability you have remaining and look up “Overton Window.” I’ll wait. There is no equal opposing views or reasonable dialogue when it comes to the extremes inherent in your cult of personality. That ship sailed decades ago.
“…I pray it will be a step towards reminding us that we’re neighbors first…”
I don’t pray. “Neighbors first?” How about humanity first. Or compassion first? Or charity first? Your obvious political choice is autocratic grifter first. Own it.
If you’re voting for a Fascist, racist, misogynist for President guess what that makes you?
If you ever wondered what you would have done if you were in Germany in the 1930s, you’re doing it now.
The problem for me is you’re the type of good German who might be pleasant to my face, even present me with a gift card for coffee, and then you’d stand around with your hands in your pockets when the Gestapo showed up to take me away.
I don’t drink coffee. I’m burning the card. And you can take your sanctimonious self-righteous hypocritical note and shove it up your ass.
From Johnson County [Missouri] Community Health Services:
826 confirmed cases.
And, from a private [Matthew Holloway] Missouri COVID-19 statistics site:
885 confirmed cases.
The New York Times now [widely cited] places Warrensburg, Missouri as #3 in the nation for municpalities with the highest increase of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population.
And then this, from Johnson County [Missouri] Community Health Services, removing the mandatory mask order at midnight Sunday.
WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Sept. 11, 2020) – With the novel coronavirus disease still prevalent in Johnson County, the Johnson County Public Health Officer and the Johnson County Community Health Services Board of Trustees have issued a county-wide Public Health Advisory, replacing the Face Covering Order at 12:01 a.m. beginning Monday, Sept. 14, 2020.
The Public Health Advisory will stay in place until the state emergency within the State of Missouri is retracted, or until deemed necessary to replace with additional forms of safety precautions.
The advisory, in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), strongly recommends each individual within Johnson County take safety precautions, specifically wearing face coverings in public to mitigate the risk and slow the spread of COVID-19.
Individual Recommendations:
Individuals are strongly encouraged to wear a face covering when in a public setting (including but not limited to grocery stores, pharmacies, businesses/organizations, place of worship, gym, community centers, libraries, schools, taxis, buses); and
Wear a face covering anytime when social distancing measures are difficult to maintain; and
Maintain a safe distance of at least 6-feet from others; and
Avoid parties and social gatherings involving anyone from outside the immediate household; and
Other measure such as hand washing and cleaning/disinfecting frequently touched surfaces.
Business/Organizations Recommendations: All public locations are encouraged to implement specific safety precautions to continue mitigating the risk to employees and visitors.
Strongly encourage all employees to wear face coverings; and
Strongly encourage visitors to wear face coverings upon entry; and
Encourage face coverings to continue to be worn, especially when social distancing cannot be maintained; and
Allow for social distancing; and
Limit group gatherings as is possible.
The goal is to reduce the positive COVID-19 cases in Johnson County.
Best practice recommendations state that individuals should wear face coverings in public settings when around people outside of their household, especially when social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.
Face coverings help prevent individuals who have COVID-19 from spreading the virus to others, and are most likely to reduce the spread of COVID-19 when they are widely used by individuals in public settings. A face covering should not replace social distancing, but used as an additional layer of protection.
[….]
###
WTF?
A few of the comments on the JCCHS social media page:
Thinking a mask is going to save your life is insane. Masks don’t save lives God does.
Supplicant: “God, why did you not protect me from this pandemic?” God: “What are you talking about? I gave you math, science, logic, statistics, and medical expertise and you still didn’t wear a mask?”
Nobody believes a mask is going to save their life.
Would you believe in a Level 4 biohazard suit?
So do we HAVE to wear masks or only if we want to or if the business requires it?
Or, if you want to protect others in the community. Sociopaths and people who lack any empathy for others need not bother.
The virus is never going away folks. It’s a virus. If we do not resume a more normal way of life, everyone who has worn a mask long term now has weakened lungs anyway. So, if they do contract this virus that is hard on the lungs, they are that much worse off.
If we encourage healthy living and building strong immune systems, we are better off.
We should always put the elderly and those with low immune systems first, if they need to stay home and get curbside pickup and let others do errands for them so be it. But, healthy strong citizens who have been working throughout this whole year (without a mask for most of it I might add) should be able to make their own decisions.
Consistently fell asleep in class in high school.
Haven’t any of you noticed how the number of cases went up after the mandate ?? People are wearing masks and still getting it but then again there are false positives so the numbers aren’t accurate anyway. Wash your hands, each healthy and take your vitamins. That will work better than a mask.
Has difficulty with concepts like large numbers, exponential growth, and science.
What could possibly go wrong?
Wear a damn mask. And while you’re at it, wear some damn gloves.
Stay Home. Wash your hands. Don’t touch your face. Stay away from stupid people. Good luck to us all. We’re gonna need it, there are a lot of stupid people.
#FlattenTheCurve
The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, granting women the right to vote, was ratified on August 18, 1920.
Yesterday, on the Johnson County Courthouse lawn in downtown Warrensburg, area Democrats held a rally to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the amendment.
Approximately twenty-five individuals attended, wearing masks and keeping social distance.
Lindsey Simmons, the Democratic Party candidate in the 4th Congressional District.
Throughout the rally occasional passersby, clued in by the large banners, would rev their vehicle engine, shout occasionally audible 19th century sentiments, and in one case, peeled out down the street. Welcome to Missouri in the 21st century.
“Donald Trump!” – the hand holding a cigarette out the passenger side window is a nice touch.
Lindsey Simmons, the Democratic Party candidate in the 4th Congressional District.
At today’s farmers’ market on the courthouse square in Warrensburg:
Picking up yard signs.
On Saturday mornings a Democratic Party volunteer volunteers his time to attend and distribute yard signs, assist voters with ballot requests, and notarize absentee ballots.
This morning the volunteer and a few visitors, masked up and conversing at a social distance, encountered a not young couple, not wearing masks, who walked through the conversation. The man made what he thought was a disparaging remark about [Speaker Nancy] “Pelosi” and smirked as he passed through. The Democratic Party volunteer answered, “She’s a grandmother who believes that all people should have health care and something to eat.”
