Can Democrats Keep Schools Open During Omicron?

New NYC Mayor Eric Adams quashes a micro-rebellion among some teachers union members, but school closures Monday hit a record for 2021-22.

Sunday night at 6:40 p.m., parents of the Brooklyn public elementary school that I pulled my 6-year-old daughter out of this fall were informed by email that Monday's classes—the first after winter break—would not be taking place in person after all.

"We currently do not have enough staff to open the building safely," P.S. 58 Principal Katie Dello Stritto wrote. "There are many factors that have contributed to this closure. One big factor is that many of our staff members have tested positive for Covid, or are experiencing symptoms and awaiting test results. Also, staff members are home caring for their Covid positive family members. Beyond that, the remainder of our staff is not reporting to the school building tomorrow."

Parents in particular focused on that last sentence, as it hinted at what was really going on here—the teachers, like many throughout the country, staged a January 3 sick-out. "We are demanding the city and our union take these actions to stop the spread," a group of them emailed parents:

UPDATE: Teachers apparently emailed parents their list of demands for the city & union to "stop the spread," including:
* testing-to-return for all students & staff
* universal weekly testing
* "Real ventiliation fixes"
* "Short-term transition to remote learning when needed"

— Matt Welch (@MattWelch) January 3, 2022

The omicron variant is leading to what Reason's Jacob Sullum has characterized as an "explosion" of COVID-19 cases, which, even when comparatively mild in individual impact, place tremendous collective strain on any system that congregates large numbers of people (including some unvaccinated) in the same airspace. While teachers in many places are required to be vaccinated, and the vaccine has been available to them going on one year now, only 15 percent of kids between the ages of 5 and 11 have been fully inoculated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The good news on that front is that the young remain comparatively impervious to serious COVID illness, as do reasonably healthy vaccinated adults.

With schools, like many categories of employers, already facing labor shortages, and with COVID testing capacity still woefully inadequate because of governmental missteps, the omicron surge presents a logistical challenge worthy of respect. So far, it's public schools in Democratic states and cities that—as has been true throughout the pandemic—have been unable to meet the challenge of staying open here in Month 22.

Schoolhouse doors are closed this week in Detroit, Milwaukee, Cleveland; West Chicago, Illinois; Prince George's County, Maryland; about one-third of New Jersey (Newark, Camden, Jersey City, North Bergen, Union City), and elsewhere. The Chicago Teachers Union is scheduled to vote Tuesday on striking as soon as Wednesday. Overall, closures on Monday smashed through previous records for the 2021–22 school year:

These shutdowns in some cases are occurring despite the repeated stay-the-hell-open pleas from Democratic elected officials and appointees, including President Joe Biden and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. "The goal is full-time, in-person learning for our students," Cardona said on Fox News Sunday, pointing to the massive $130 billion the federal government has authorized for K-12 COVID relief. "They've suffered enough."

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot made similar noises Monday. "What we have learned from this pandemic is that schools are the safest place for students to be: we have spent over $100 million to put mitigations in place, most…staff members are vaccinated, and we generally see little transmission in school settings," Lightfoot said in a statement. "Keeping kids safely in school where they can learn and thrive is what we should all be focused on."

But all the pro-opening rhetoric in the world isn't enough to change the reality of American public school governance, which, to a degree unusual in the rich world, is handled locally and subject to heavy influence by teachers unions, particularly in Democratic Party strongholds. The Biden administration may talk tough, but that $130 billion is already out the door, and if fully vaccinated teachers in some cities are too afraid to enter school buildings with unvaccinated students, and some of those systems have too-shallow pools of substitute teachers, then some of those buildings will be closed, regardless of what the mayor, governor, or president might say.

American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten, in between burnishing her false credentials as a champion of reopening (and/or casually implying that Republicans are latent fascists), has been making her usual "everyone wants schools open in person…but" statements, "closely monitoring" the situation in New York City, where the AFT-affiliated union tried and failed to convince new Mayor Eric Adams to delay the return of school.

Adams was emphatic Monday in pushing back against union reluctance with both hands. "The safest place for our children is a school building," the new mayor said in an appearance outside an elementary school in the Bronx, "and we are going to keep our schools open." Physical school closures and hybrid schedules from March 2020 to June 2021, Adams stressed, "traumatized parents that did not have childcare. The remote learning aspect of it was terrible for poorer communities." Conclusion: "We're not sending an unclear message of what is going to happen day to day. I'm going to tell you what's going to happen day to day. We are staying open."

So complete was the mayor's rebuke that our rogue local elementary school was quickly brought to heel, with the administration suggesting possible disciplinary action against the principal. "Thank you for continuing to partner with us as we work hard to focus on teaching and learning and ensuring we are doing so in a safe environment," Dello Stritto emailed parents Monday evening. "I am writing to inform you that our school building will be open tomorrow and ready to welcome back all of our students. We will be fully staffed with our own staff members, substitute teachers, and central staff, to support."

New York City being the largest school district in the nation, and Adams being a Democrat openly skeptical of big-city progressivism, there will be many eyes on whether he succeeds in taming unions and keeping schools open. The New York Post loves him, and Nate Silver is making wildly premature predictions about his viability as a presidential candidate, but one of three NYC public school kids did not show up to school Monday, and the city is still at or near the epicenter of omicron.

There are 3,000 other public school districts outside the five boroughs that have closed this week, even as private schools (like the one we moved our first-grader to) remain open. The Chicago vote on Tuesday will be a key moment, and Los Angeles, which has a particularly powerful teachers union, will try to open next week.

There is no doubt that keeping a large and crowded building functional during a pandemic surge is a logistical feat. But especially after the surprise November victory of Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin in Virginia, there is a pressing question on the minds of scores of millions of parents: Can Democrats keep schools open?

Comments

[Chumby]

Probably not. But they will keep charging the taxpayer as if the schools were open.

[damikesc]

Republicans have pulled it off. It did not seem that challenging.

[Tionico]

while the staff and admin are off doing whatever their pleasure might be, knowing their yoonyins will fight hard to extend their overpaid vacations for as long as possible. Which already is a hundred times longer than should have been.

[Liberty Lover]

A better question:
Why don’t Democrats Want to Keep Schools Open During Omicron?
We know closing them is hurting the kids mentally and putting them behind in learning to other years.
We know masked and unmasked classes have the same statistical occurrence of the virus.
We know teachers and the general public have the have the same statistical occurrence of the virus.

[Brandybuck]

For two years we have met every demand of teachers unions. It’s no use. They refuse to work. Fire the lot of them and bring in the scabs. Where is Reagan when you need him?

[sarcasmic]

But, but, but they’re teachers! You’re supposed to swoon when people talk about them. They’re like first responders. They’re angelic agents of the state with no self interest. They’re heroes like cops and firefighters. They are totally above reproach. If you criticize them then you hate the children! Why do you hate the children (besides them being loud, smelly, and expensive)?

[Michael Ejercito]

Teachers have much in common with Catholic priests.

[daveca]

..what, are teachers now screwing children?

Or just generally Sociopaths?

Or with their Leaders Biden and Pelosi being Catholics and espousing abortion, in a Church TWICE consumed with child molestation hypocritical psychopaths?

Today and 1826 (Dowling)

FJB

[daveca]

did you just finish your shift at the abortion clinic, Orgasmic?

[Zeb]

You are really bad at this game.

[daveca]

no, youre just a clueleless idiot

IVE veen doing it 4-6 days a week since 2009 with 2,000,000 likes on Disqus.

You? Pfffft.

[daveca]

get this pathetic comment page format up to my level and then lets play Bash The Troll.

[Zeb]

I’d rather have interesting discussions. But if you are going to go with “Bash the Troll”, I’d suggest studying up a bit more first. You don’t seem to have a very good idea of who is who around here yet.

[Chumby]

Yeah. Like a bot with a virus.

[Nardz]

Teachers are more likely to molest children than priests according to the statistics

[sarcasmic]

Teachers are glorified babysitters and should be treated accordingly.

[Roberta]

If they get substitute teachers to staff the classes in an effort to make it appear like business as usual, it’ll be obvious that’s what they’re about, which suits most parents just fine. They just want a place to park the kids for a few hours. When I was in grade school, “substitute teacher” meant fun and games.

[Roberta]

Fire the lot of them and close the schools permanently.

[Longtobefree]

Yes, they can; but they won’t.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kuckland]

Can yes
Will no
Why work when you get paid to do nothing

[Anteater]

Hardly anyone in school leadership positions knows what he or she is doing in regards to covid. They just want to appear to be doing something to placate the scared parents. Even with private schools.

One Catholic school requires masks in school, but not for church. Another Catholic school does not require masks in school, but does require masks in church.

The school that requires masks just follows what the public schools do so they can appease the vocally loud scared parents. I assume the school that doesn’t require masks wants their students to drop dead?!

[Rev. Arthur L. Kuckland]

Hardly anyone in school leadership positions knows what he or she is doing

The rest of the post is unnecessary

[Roberta]

The masks do nothing so there’s that.

[Roberta]

But schools do nothing either, so there’s also that.

[Tionico]

dintchya read whut the CDC’s head honchess declared the other day? She said that masks never were any good for stopping the spread of anyb virus, particularly the way masks are near-universally “worn” these days. NO ONE has training on proper fit, breaks, frequency of changing them, what types are more effective (but NONE are fully effective… virus are far too small to be controllable via the silly games we pretend to play with them. Besides, masks bring with them many ofher heath dangers, and some psychological detriments that are signficant, particularly amongst children of schoolage. And that does not even mention the adverse health issues wroiught by wearing those idiotic mug nappies everywhere. Hypoxia, confusion, respiratory infections not related to “Da VYEruss” and the psychological harm done to smller children.

[JohnZ]

Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss

[Eeyore]

Except the new boss is a black man who hates black people instead of a white man who hates black people.

[daveca]

Tomato
Tomatoe

Mental cases either way.

” Ya cant fix stupid but you can VOTE for it!”

Interesting how these Leftist memes and plans always backfire on them and like children, they blame others.

[Roberta]

But the white man also hated Jews.

[Eeyore]

Who doesn’t?

Just kidding. Jews be my mostly dark haired cracker brethren.

[Hank Ferrous]

Those demands, as of 3 January 2021, look like the same as those from last year at the same time. In a year, and with a massive amount of money, no improvements to ventilation were made? Were there bonuses paid to teachers? Improvements made to other areas, or additional construction? Accountability for state and federal monies isn’t the (D) way, much less how Congress always goes about business, but fraud, waste, and abuse of federal funds is a crime.

[Ken Shultz]

My understanding is that Infection rates and the absolute number of deaths are about as bad now as they’ve been since the beginning of the pandemic. I can’t help but think that the difference in these Democrats’ orientation now is that Trump isn’t in office. If Trump was in favor of staying open, they wanted to shut things down. That may not have been all there was to it, but that looks like a big part of it. Apparently, there’s a big difference between playing offense against Trump in an election year and playing defense in favor of Biden in an election year–and it shows up in things like whether the schools stay open.

[Ken Shultz]

“The reports pushed the seven-day average of daily reported infections to 480,273, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Johns Hopkins University data. That level is nearly double the peak reached at the height of last winter’s case surge.

Hospitalizations for confirmed or suspected Covid-19 cases reached a seven-day average of 97,855 on Monday, according to data posted by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. That is up 41% in the past two weeks but below both the pandemic peak of 137,510 on Jan. 10, 2021, and the smaller peak of 102,967 on Sept. 4, 2021, during the Delta-variant surge.”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-infections-accelerate-across-asia-11641283016?

Back in 2020, before the Delta variant, major progressives figures were closing the schools down for less.

What’s different now?

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

The difference is we have a highly effective vaccine.

[Don't look at me!]

That would explain the surge in cases.

[Ken Shultz]

We had a highly effective vaccine for the Delta variant, too–and weren’t the schools closed anyway? The Delta variant peaked around the beginning of September 2021. Someone needs to make the progressives speak the truth about the trade offs. The trade offs progressive leaders are wiling to make now were supposedly Republicans callously sentencing people to death–according to progressives–not so long ago. The Virginia and New Jersey elections may have changed things to some extent, and it not being an election year in 2021 may have made a difference, too. The progressive messaging has changed though, for a lot of them, and there are reasons for that.

[Roberta]

First someone’s got to convince me that children come out better from having been schooled than they would have just aging the same amount of time.

[Roberta]

And this experience is providing a cohort for that experiment. I bet that years from now, nobody would be able to tell the difference between people who were shut out of school a few years and those who weren’t.

[ElvisIsReal]

And as long as we continue to count anybody who dies with a tiny piece of coronavirus in them as a corona death, the numbers will obviously rise as the positive rate goes up, even if the virus has nothing to do with why somebody died.

And we’ve been pointing this out since the start.

[Ken Shultz]

But why are they suddenly seeing the light on this?

Now they’re looking at the cute pony instead of the giant pile of pony shit.

What changed?

[ElvisIsReal]

The poll numbers, IMO.

[daveca]

+1,000,000

“Values Wheel”

Its a corporate thing. The Lefts spinning values wheel is lopsided and usually lands on ” do/ say something stupid.”

Biden owns this disaster. Trump got the vax rolled out, they prostrate themselves at the Vaccine Altar but Dagon keeps falling over.

Now they act like a squirrel caught in traffic!

No way to make Biden look good and the #2 choice is magnitudes worse!

[Tionico]

Infection rates (per capita basis) are WAY up, several multiples of what we observed last year, and (interestingly enough) about 85% amongst those who have taken the gummit injections. In sharp contrast to those numbers, deaths have fallen to about a quarter what they were a year ago when earlier strains were afflicting so many. Hospitalisations are about the same as last year but they are less than half as long, need far less severe intervention, and victims recover far more quickly and completely. Overall, this new variant is pretty close to a big fat nothingburger. Last I read, there had been only ONE death in the US, a death WITH the virus, and in a victim who had signficant and serious health issues. OF COURSE no one ordered a full autopsy so they “don’t know” wheter it was “with” ir “because of” the virus in question. No coincidence, that. Any of his co-morbidities could easily have ended his time here on this rock.

[Commenter_XY]

This is just NYC teacher union bullshit. We have the same in the People’s Republic of NJ. Shitcan them, and replace with teachers under 30 with no comorbidities who have almost no risk.

[Unicorn Abattoir]

^This^

Treat it as an illegal strike, which is what it is.

[Commenter_XY]

Gladly, if we could = treat as illegal strike and replace them

[daveca]

Reagan — PATCO

Biden— Drooling while Rome burns

[Tionico]

and preferaby who have not taken the magical injections…….. nor are tney union members.

[Moonrocks]

Sure they can. But they won’t.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

The wife of a good friend of mine works as a school nurse. She’s about to lose her job because within 7 months of being double vaccinated she will soon be considered “unvaccinated” because she’s going to refuse the triple jab. Also, their young kid is going to be forced to vaccinate which they refuse to do, so he’s pulling his kid out of school.

[MT-Man]

It’s quite insane this forced push, is that Seattle or all of Wash?

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Spokane is where he lives, I’m guessing this is all of Wash though. I haven’t kept up because I no longer have small children.

[daveca]

Tri Cities wont put up with it. Thats well to do educated nuke workers.

Thats E WA. The Fruits and Nuts are Ptown and Sea- Tac

They didnt here at Oak Ridge, a similar site.

[soldiermedic76]

Yeah Inslee is a tinpot dictator. The rules are for all of Washington, but based upon my shopping experience last week in Clarkston, while visiting my folks, eastern Washington basically has told Olympia to go fuck itself.

[daveca]

always have. Hanford is THE economic engine for WA State whether the local Media want to believe it or not.

I lived in Richland for 12 years.

A city full of gun nuts! Serious ones…

[Tionico]

you mean they are serious about gun control? Hitting that at which they are aiming?

[soldiermedic76]

BTW we stopped for coffee in your neck of the woods on our trip out to Idaho and I had my son yell “Go Cats, Go” in City Brew in Missoula.

[Mike Laursen]

What’s her reason for refusing a booster? She’s a nurse.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

I don’t know, but I strongly suspect it’s the same reason I won’t be getting the booster.

[Mike Laursen]

Which is?

[Roberta]

No benefit, only risk. The booster is now protecting against your best chance at getting lifetime immunity for minimum sickness.

[Mike Laursen]

Are you referring to omicron. The booster isn’t going to stop you from getting omicron. I had it a couple of weeks ago.

Anyway, wouldn’t your friend’s wife’s benefit being able to keep her job? That seems like much higher risk to her than the extreme long shot of any consequences from getting the booster.

[DWB]

None of your damn business?

[Tionico]

fact is, I’m surprised a nurse actually accepted the first two shots. THEY have, or ought to have, a fullerunderstanding of what these shots are made of, and how they actualy work inside the body (as opposed to the fairytales “they” are spewing at us continually). Further, I just read a few moments ago that the boosters are now only coferring a slight partial immunity tht only lasts less than two months. Then you are back down to what you had before the booster. Not to mentioin the high likelihood of severe dverse reasctions Each new squirt you get increases your likelihood of these dverse events.

If back when the measles vaccine was first being used pubically, they had had deaths hit a total of five nationwide in the first year, they’d have raised up a red flag cautioin.. and beyond 12 in that first year, theyd have instantly ceased distribution of that vaccine. Here we haev tens of tousands of deaths, and millions of severe adverse “events” in less than a year, and they refuse to pull the plug on it.
SOrry, the days that remain to me on this big dirtball are far too precious for ME to stand the risk of cutting them short, or suffering severe physical limitations due to a poorly tested (UNtested?) injection that is openly admitted to be UNABLE to prevent contracting the disease ltselfin those who get the shot, nor does it revent those from transmitting it to others who do not yet have it.

[Mike Laursen]

“high likelihood of severe dverse reasctions”

Cite?

[Mike Laursen]

“Here we haev tens of tousands of deaths, and millions of severe adverse ‘events’ in less than a year”

Cite?

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Also, the Netherlands, which is 85% vaccinated is currently having massive anti-lockdown protests. You’ll NEVER return to normal until you rip “normal” out of the hands of your leaders.

[daveca]

Theyve twisted the definition of normal.

Normal also includes ” majority” and the majority havent been severely affected.

So they adopt the radical Lefts version used by the LGBTQ community of ” majority is a tiny minority” for political purposes.

Nornal has been defined by “The Curve” which demonstrates the ab- normal.

View the Holy Curve from total population of 355 million and there is no curve!

FJB and his Little Dog Fauci.

[Knutsack]

At this point, In starting to realize that the people that actually go to work, like retail, service, and delivery employees are the ones that should be earning teaching salaries, and the teachers should be earning minimum wage.

There’s a reason teachers are “valued” so little.

[Knutsack]

Of course, I don’t mean all teachers. Thankfully, my kids are in a district, that has been open and unmasked since the beginning of the year, and, as of yet, it seems like it will remain that way.

[daveca]

they are producing morons.

If by Union theology ( sarc) Workers own whats produced” then they own this failure.

/ sarc

[soldiermedic76]

This shit wouldn’t happen in my town, hell our school principal’s ring tone is “Let’s Go Brandon”.

[NoVaNick]

1970s/80s definition of a conservative: a democrat who has just been mugged

2020s definition: a democrat whose kids’ school won’t open and/or teaches CRT.

[Union of Concerned Socks]

Can Democrats Keep Schools Open During Omicron Closed Permanently?

That’s a pretty serious typo, Reason. Not even a sensible question the way it was.

[daveca]

Could Democrats:

Get laid in a whorehouse with a fist full of 100$?

Find a nun in a Convent?

Find their asses with both hands?

Find a child molester for President

Expiring minds want to know!

[daveca]

Biden handed his head on a charger…

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/judge-grants-relief-to-navy-seals-who-refused-coronavirus-vaccine-sued-biden-administration/ar-AASoLSm

Truth # 1

NEVER create highly trained killers then fuck them over.

[Joe Friday]

The circuit judge is a well known dumping site for the right wing looking for sympathy. He isn’t the end of the story and his is not the last word on whether the religious have rights the rest of us don’t to avoid laws and regulations.

[soldiermedic76]

Congress shall make no laws… They don’t have rights the rest of us don’t, they have the same rights. You just choose not to utilize them.

[daveca]

did CONgress ” make a law” to authorize Bitemes trillion dollar Covid spending or is he just doing anything he pleases which was NOT OK when they accused Trump of doing it?

FJB

[Joe Friday]

Practice religion all you want. Get out of jail free because Jesus told you, f..k no.

[soldiermedic76]

You can’t compel people to do anything that contravenes their religious beliefs. How fucking hard is that for you to understand? If they have religious opposition to the vaccines or components of the vaccines then you can’t force them to take it. It is long standing juris prudence. You can’t force a Jehova Witness to take a blood transfusion, and you can’t force a Muslim or a Jew to take a treatment derived from pork (and there are a number of them). The USSC has ruled on this multiple times. You can’t force people to undergo treatments that are prohibited by their religious beliefs. Live with it fuckhead wannabe dictator.

[Nardz]

Live-and-let-live
Kill-or-be-killed

Those are the only 2 environments that exist, and they are mutually exclusive. If some in an environment reject live-and-let-live, you, through no choice of your own, exist in a kill-or-be-killed state.

[Joe Friday]

So soldier, if your religion says you can’t work on Thursday, you can’t force them to. I agree, but don’t expect to keep your f..king job. In this case this religious behavior puts others in danger. They are not compelled and no one is getting hogtied and shot in the butt. They are being dismissed from the service – too bad for them and for us for paying to train them.

[Joe Friday]

PS Soldier – I agree that the courts – largely all believers themselves – have largely upheld preferential treatment for the religious which is a confusion of the meaning of the 1st amendment. No one’s ability to worship or believe is questioned or challenged, but behavior is a different issue and in fact is not allowed in all and every instance as you imply.

[soldiermedic76]

So you are okay with punishing Muslims and Jews who refuse insulin derived from pork products? Or forcing Jehova Witnesses to take blood transfusions?

[Joe Friday]

No, I’m not in favor of forcing anyone to do something which violates their religious beliefs, but if that belief means they can’t comply with our laws – i.e, driver license photo while wearing a face veil for a recent example – they have to choose.

[soldiermedic76]

Actually look it up, employers are required to make reasonable accommodation to allow people to take off holy days/sabbath. God you are fucking stupid.

[Joe Friday]

Reasonable accommodations are fine and as an employer I would be among the 1st to seek them. But in cases where there is no reasonable compromise available – not getting vaccinated endangers others – the religious should not be exempt from laws and rules where the non-religious have no such advantage. If one opposes war because their religion tells them to they can become a conscientious objector. If one is opposed to war because of considered facts and logic, they cannot. How is that equal protection before the law?

I’ll take your insult as an admission of an inferior argument.

[Zeb]

I agree that the religious shouldn’t have special privileges. So no one should be forced to do anything that violates anyone’s religious convictions.

[Tionico]

you hve the same rights as they do, you just didn’t choose to insist upon having them respected.

Fact is, NO ONE should have to take these shots. They are STILL not “approved” by the FDA and thus CANNOT be forced upon anyone. Further, these “mandates” are not law enacted by our elected representatives, thus are not universally binding. The Nürenberg COnvention, to which the US is a signatory party, prohibits any medical treatment, particularly those that are “experimental” (which is ALL the current covid injections) being forced or coerced upon anyone. NO ONE cah be forced to ccept them per that COnvention. NO medical treatment can be administered anyone wihtout their “fully informed consent”. And since THEY dont even know what this new mRNA gene theraoy actual DOES no one can be “fully informed” and thus forcing these on people by coercion, false claims, unproven claims, etc, is criminal per Nürenberg. Other similar protections are in place per Federal laws, all of which are being ignored.

[Joe Friday]

Tionico, no one has to “take these shots”, but if that is the choice some make, they must bear the consequences, not the rest of us.

[NoVaNick]

Back in 2017, the public schools here closed unannounced for “A day without women”, there was some grumbling but most parents I knew didn’t complain. Now they are all searching desperately for private schools. This BS has been brewing for a long time.

[daveca]

“Creating Relevancy”

1918 = 2022?

https://www.chron.com/opinion/article/The-1918-flu-is-even-more-relevant-in-2022-thanks-16746114.php

Not a chance.

1918, 2% death rate ( a PhD in Genetics- friend)

This…0 2% or so.

No connection.

1918. Chillicothe Oh.

Blood Alley behind the Majestic Theater.

Bodies piled up in the alley.

[daveca]

Corr. “this 0.2% or so.”

[Joe Friday]

Written as if parents were overwhelmingly for schools opening or teachers not, and as if the problem with our education system is teachers and not the social dysfunction – including too many parents – we expect them to solve. Yes, the goal is keeping schools open and that can be a good idea or a bad idea at any given time depending on the school, the government, and the parents. The better part of wisdom right now would be to distance learn in most places until the omicron strain peaks, which is generally predicted to be the end of January. By the way, the problem will almost certainly head south from the northern hot bed where – as with the original strain – it hit first. Keep in mind however that even in blue NY, the numbers of unvaccinated cases and hospitalizations are about 5-6 times that of the vaccinated. Florida is already suffering high numbers along with a willfully ignorant and malignant governor and his hand picked quack surgeon general. He has within the week claimed vaccinations were not working while touting monoclonal antibody treatments which have not been shown effective against Omicron while costing on average $2100 a dose compared to the vaccines cost to the government (free to us) of $24.

[Mother's Lament]

Ka-ching! Fifty cents.

Just for copy pasting from an ActBlue pdf too. Life is good for Shrike and Jeff’s sockpuppets.

[daveca]

50 cents for a Nickel Troll Post is shorting someone 45 cents…

At least the Trolls were half way intelligent back in 2010 when they admitted that
I-bama was paying them..and they got slaughtered anyway.

[Mother's Lament]

“Can Democrats Keep Schools Open During Omicron?”

Can they? Absolutely.
Will they? Fuck no.

[raspberrydinners]

I love how the question is posed of Democrats when the current issue is the overwhelming amount of dumbasses on the Republican side that are responsible for the ongoing spread.

Ie. witness Trump being booed when saying to get the vaccine.

[Joe Friday]

Given the data on cases, hospitalizations, and deaths by unvaxxed vs vaxxed Rasberry, it takes some real magical thinking to put down vaccines – as Florida’s governor and his surgeon general are now doing – or is it just manipulation of a really stupid GOP base, busily thinning their own herd.

[ElvisIsReal]

Yes those red states seeing the worst outcomes…..

https://protect-public.hhs.gov/pages/hospital-utilization

[daveca]

Red States- private insurance
Blue States- Obozo Care.

Nuff said.

No rationing my ass

[Joe Friday]

As I already noted above Elvis, in blue NY – a cold state with large urban populations during winter – both cases and hospitalizations in late December were largely unvaxxed, with them outnumbering vaxxed 5 or 6 to 1. Look it up. This will head south soon and is already swelling in Florida.

[ElvisIsReal]

The hospitals weren’t overrun last year when nobody was vaxxed. They won’t be overrun this year unless the vax makes things worse.

Everybody else figured this out last winter.

[Joe Friday]

“Overrun” is a subjective term Elvis, but my 2 experts – both docs, one the head of a large teaching hospital ER and the other an ICU doc at 2 private hospitals in the region – both said their beds and resources – including personnel – were stretched to the limits with added patients who mostly didn’t need to be there if they had been vaccinated.

[BillyG]

Yes…which is why the Republican strongholds of California & New York are having such terrible record setting cases right now.

[Joe Friday]

As I already noted above Billy, in blue NY – a cold state with large urban populations during winter – both cases and hospitalizations in late December were largely unvaxxed, with them outnumbering vaxxed 5 or 6 to 1. Look it up. This will head south soon and is already swelling in Florida.

[Zeb]

You are retarded if you think the divide over vaccines is partisan political. Literally everyone I know who refuses vaccination is a political lefty of some sort. That shit gets seriously tiresome. Are the large numbers of blacks and other minorities skeptical of the vaccines all Republican dumbasses? Dumb ass.

[Chumby]

Raspberry is a racist that hates UBAs (unvaccinated African Americans).

[Joe Friday]

Republicans by percentage are the least vaccinated group in America, but you are correct in implying that except for those very few with medical conditions precluding vaccinations, anyone who isn’t vaccinated at this point is an idiot, regardless of race or religion.

[Tionico]

I am refusing that injection and I am most certainy NOT lefty nor any sort of radical. I simly have done sufficient research to understand how the virus works to infect a body, what that injection soup really is, and how THAT works once it gets squirted into your arm.
I am not “vaccine hesitant” I am intractably opposed to taking ANY of the covid shots availble today because I have fully informed myself on the risks and benefits. The former far outweigh the latter.

And NO ONE has yet to tell me WHY the medical “proffession” here in the US are absolutely silent on any foms of preventative or early intervention care to avoid getting it or to quickly recover from it if yuo DO get it.
their standard of “care” is, once the test comes back positive, ‘go home ,isolate yourself, stay indoors, and come back when you think your are dieing so we can quickly fisnishthe jog to coollect our $50K for another Covid death, hopsital care, intubation, super costly useless drugs that are the only ones “approved’ for use agaisnt covid.

[Joe Friday]

Good luck Tionico, and try to not spread it if you get it.

As to your wonders about the “medical proffession here in the US”, the obvious answer to your question is that they are all corrupt monsters or you are wrong. I might also mention that the treatments available – monoclonal antibodies – are currently ineffective with omicron and cost $2100 a dose vs $24 for vaccines (that’s the cost to the govt, both free to us).

[I, Woodchipper]

.. that are responsible for the ongoing spread.

The vaccine doesn’t stop the spread and even fucking Fauci has said so.

[Joe Friday]

Nothing “stops the spread” Wood, slowing it is the best we can hope for and in fact vaccines and masks accomplish that realistic goal.

[I, Woodchipper]

We all know what the answer is. Get rid of public schools. All the controversies go away including this one.

[I, Woodchipper]

The public school system is digging its own grave here.

[daveca]

Yay. Couldnt happen to a better bunch of Marxists.

Id suggest ” mass wood chippers” but whatever works.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kuckland]

Only if we stop paying school employees while they are not working

[A Cynical Asshole]

Can Democrats Keep Schools Open During Omicron?

Haven’t read the article yet, but I’m guessing the answer depends entirely on whether the teacher’s unions will allow them to.

[daveca]

Note the lack of mention of what the Owners of the system want…

.The Parents.

[Enjoy Every Sandwich]

It’s not just Omicron. Does anybody believe that Omicron will be the last ever variant of Covid? So we’re supposed to just keep going through this shit–shit that doesn’t work–over and over again, ad infinitum?

[Mike Laursen]

Exactly what shit doesn’t work?

[MT-Man]

Mike what stuff do you think works?

[Nardz]

Obedience to feudal lords and totalitarianism

[ElvisIsReal]

We just need to comply harder!

[Mike Laursen]

Not doing something that is beneficial to your health just because someone you consider a political enemy wants you to do it is childish and foolish. You are letting that opponent control your decision making.

[Mike Laursen]

The COVID-19 vaccines are proven highly effective in preventing serious illness, hospitalization, or death from the “wild” and delta variants.

The “shit” works really well. It’s not like delta has disappeared.

Early data seems to show that the vaccines help prevent serious illness from omicron.

[daveca]

alpha-alpha

Itll end at Omega Mu…

God forbid it reaches Lambda Lambda Lambda!!

[Joe Friday]

Yeah, poor, poor us. Those lucky bastards in 14th century Europe didn’t have to put up with this aggravation.

[JohnGalt]

If only school choice wasn’t blocked by the dummycrats… all these school districts closing their doors would be digging their own graves.

[MT-Man]

I guess by Biden’s latest rant he doesn’t read Reason.

[ElvisIsReal]

It was the same rant as last week. Basically a 15-minute commercial for Big Pharma.

[Mike Laursen]

So odd that right wingers have adopted the Left’s “making profits is evil” thinking.

[ElvisIsReal]

Well, Biden says it’s safe to keep the schools open so I expect they will be shut down any day.

[americanstalker]

More like “Do they *want* to?”

[Ken Shultz]

They’re all forced to capitulate to the unions in the end.

See Rahm Emanuel’s stint as the mayor of Chicago and his relationship with the teachers there.

And that was before the pandemic. In these Democrat machine cities, the unions aren’t the lackeys. The mayor and the city council are a front for the unions.

[Sometimes a Great Notion]

Adding to your example, Michele Rhee as DC school chancellor. She did a lot of good work trying to reign in unions and improve student performance. For that they ran her and Andrian Fenty out of office.

https://www.usnews.com/opinion/knowledge-bank/articles/2017-04-20/michelle-rhee-set-national-example-of-education-reform-in-washington-dc

[daveca]

Adams can end up part of a “Public Works Program” screwing with Unions.

(Jimmy Hoffa reference)

[Zeb]

“rein” not “reign”

[Roberta]

Perpetual no-show jobs?

[Tionico]

Y Y Y y y yoo meeen day gots a pair a cement overchoos in just his size, ready for him to try on?