Pre-Pandemic: Subways

Posted on by Thor

This sketch was done during an Urban Sketching Class I was teaching at Elite Animation Academy. The girl seated in front of the soda machine and sketching, was one of my best students. It is always a pleasure to find a student who has laser beam focus and a real desire to learn.

I usually take students here after instructing them in one point perspective. This sketch was done in an ancient sketchbook that was returned to me after being in someone’s attic for 30 years. The paper is brittle and thin but I am happy to finally be filling the book up.

The great part of taking students to Subways to sketch is that I can order a sandwich to eat while there. I always ordered a ham and Swiss with lettuce and tomato and a splash of oil and vinegar with a light sprinkle of salt and pepper. I miss those days of going on location to sketch. For now I am exploring the world virtually to do my rather political illustrations each day.

This last week of 2020 I actually got to instruct two students virtually and I am teaching them how too use photo reference to piece together ideas. Growing up I longed to find a decent painting instructor but never really found one. Perhaps I didn’t ask the right questions. I am trying t give my students the basic and fundamental instruction that I yearned for when I was young. Hopefully they will run with what I give them. I know the student in this sketch soaked in everything I threw her way.

Disneyland Super Vaccination Site

Posted on by Thor

Disneyland in Anaheim, Orange County (O.C.), California is being used as a vaccination super site. Tents have been sett up in one of the iconic theme park parking lots and cars began lining up a 5AM on January 13, 2021. Appointments must be made before hand and many drivers were disappointed to find this out as they waited in line. 10,000 people signed up on the evening of January 12, 2021 for appointments. The website crashing shortly after going live. Across the country people have been having trouble getting signed up for a vaccination.

O.C. firefighters and paramedics  vaccinated 3,000 patients at the super site on the first day. The goal is to be able to do two and a half times that many people next week, if vaccine doses are available. Disneyland will be one of five O.C. vaccine super sites. Dr. Clayton Chau announced that anyone age 65 or older will now be eligible to get vaccinated in O.C. That’s in addition to healthcare workers, emergency responders and residents of skilled nursing and assisted living facilities.

Projected ICU capacity remains below 15% in the Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California regions which remain under the Regional Stay at Home Order. The following areas remain under the stay at home order…

  • Southern California: Remains under order; four-week ICU capacity projections do not meet criteria to exit order.
  • Bay Area: Remains under order; four-week ICU capacity projections do not meet criteria to exit order.

Due to high rates of COVID-19 hospitalizations impacting the health care system, California is also under a Limited Stay at Home Order.

  • California has 2,900,246 confirmed cases to date. Numbers may not represent true day-over-day change as reporting of test results can be delayed.
  • There were 40,622 newly recorded confirmed cases January 15, 2021.
  • The 7-day positivity rate is 11.4% and the 14-day positivity rate is 12.6%.
  • There have been 37,802,255 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 352,719 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.
  • As case numbers continue to rise in California, the total number of individuals who will have serious outcomes will also increase. There have been 32,960 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
  • As of January 15, 2021 providers have reported administering a total of 1,188,703 vaccine doses statewide. Numbers do not represent true day-to-day change as reporting may be delayed. As of January 15, 2021 a total of 3,144,575 vaccine doses, which includes the first and second dose, have been shipped to local health departments and health care systems that have facilities in multiple counties.

Bulletproof Democracy

Posted on by Thor

The Capitol building has heightened security after the domestic terrorist attacks of January 6, 2021. All house members now must go through metal detectors before entering the chambers and they are being told they can purchase bulletproof vests, get security training, and those expenses will be re-reimbursed.

Some republican members grew angry and refused to go through the metal detectors, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced $5,000 fines for a first offense and $10,000 fines for a second offense for any lawmaker that didn’t go through security.

Pelosi in a statement said she expressed her “deepest gratitude to the U.S. Capitol Police for the valor that they showed” during the pro-Trump riot and claimed some Republicans “disrespected our heroes by verbally abusing them and refusing to adhere to basic precautions,” by refused to go through the metal detectors.

Members of Congress on January 12, 2021 were also reminded not to carry guns outside of their own offices, including onto the floor of the House, reiterating an existing rule several House Republicans have publicly and privately lobbied against. Freshman Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), who owns a firearm-themed restaurant in Rifle, Colorado. Caused some controversy last week when she vowed in a viral ad to bring her Glock to work. During the January 6 attacks Boebert also tweeted out the movements of Nancy Pelosi which would make it easier for rioters to find the House Speaker.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), said in a Facebook live video that she had a close encounter on the day of the insurrection in which she thought she was going to die. Many members of the house were nearly assassinated. She sensed that something was wrong no only from the crowd violence but from the inside. She did not feel safe going to the extraction point to shelter inn place with other lawmakers, because there were QAnon adherents  and white supremacists sheltering with her. She knew that given an opportunity, they would allow for her to be kidnapped and hurt.

Rep. Peter Meijer (R-Mich.), one of the 10 GOP members of Congress who voted to impeach President Donald Trump, said Thursday he believed his life might be in danger and he was planning to buy body armor to protect himself. Before the vote January 13, 2021, Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) claimed more Republicans would have joined Democrats in impeaching Trump had they not been “paralyzed with fear” about the threats to their lives.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern, stolen by a Florida man in Capitol riot, has been returned. She used the same lectern on January 13, 2021 after the House impeached President Donald Trump,a second time. From behind the lectern, she said the House demonstrated that “no one is above the law. Not even the president of the United States,” while calling Trump “a clear and present danger to the United States.” Before the impeachment, She personally thanked the troops and their families “for protecting the Capitol and our democracy.”

Rep, Mikie Sherrell (D-NJ), revealed that there were suspicious “tours” of the Capitol the day before the insurrection. There had been no tours allowed due to the pandemic. The sight was so unexpected that they called the Sargent at Arms. The only way the ours could have gotten in would be with a lawmaker or his staff. The next day during the insurection, the terrorists had inside information about the layout of the capitol building.

Lawmakers were warned of multiple potential threats between now and inauguration day, January 20, 2021. One alleged plot involved rioters potentially seeking to surround the Supreme Court and the Capitol with weapons, to prevent Democrats from entering Congress and allowing Republicans to control both chambers, the sources said. Members of Congress and their guests will have to go through  through metal detectors for President-elect Joe Biden‘s inauguration next week, because of concerns from Democrats that GOP colleagues may have helped incite the riot or communicated with organizers.

90,000 in Next 3 Weeks

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More than 90,000 Americans might die in the next three weeks the CDC has reported. More than 38,000 Americans have died of Covid-19 in the first two weeks of the new year. Currently, more than 130,300 people are hospitalized with the virus, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project.

New York City is about to open Yankee Stadium as a vaccination site and in California Disney Land is also to become a vaccination site. Disney Land is slated to become the states first super vaccination site, able to vaccinate upwards of 7,000 people each day. California has lagged behind it’s planned vaccination rate, doling out around a third of its doses so far. Fast efficiency distribution of the vaccine has been a problem across the country.

Perhaps Disney World will also become a vaccination site here in Florida but the parks have been packed at the start of the New Year with tourists to profit from people who are stiff crazy from the pandemic.

Besides the 20,000 National Guard now in Washington D.C. there are also National Guard troops helping administer the vaccines in 16 states and territories. CVS Pharmacy has reported that they should be able to administer 25 million vaccinations a month, but that program is not off the ground yet. What is needed is a unified National plan but the POTUS has denied the virus and left it up t each state to figure out ho to distribute vaccines. The result is anarchy. In New Jersey, smoking is considered to be a pre-existing condition and therefor smokers are moved to the front of the line for a vaccine.

I have a sister in South West Florida still struggling to try and get vaccinated. It has become her full time job. She had an appointment set up for January 14, 2021 but got a call back from the health department and was told that they had run out of vaccine. She is now on a list and might be called when more vaccine comes in. Shipments of the virus are not expected for two weeks.

Joe Biden is planning  1.9 Billion dollar COVID Relief plan that includes $1400 stimulus checks and an additional $160 billion for a national vaccine program, including $20 billion for distribution, and an additional $50 billion for expanded testing. The plan also calls on Congress to invest $170 billion in K-12 schools and higher education, including $130 billion for schools to safely reopen. Unfortunately we have six more days to wait before he and Kamila Harris are inaugurated.

Losers at the Gate

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Why all the animal pelts worn by the nut jobs that attempted to overthrow the D.C. Capitol? Does  insurrection attract cos-players?

One arrived at the Capitol wearing what appeared to be a fox-hide hood and a fuzzy cloak, looking much like a Neanderthal, except he wore round Harry Potter glasses, a bulletproof vest and he was carrying a police riot shield. He has been arrested.

Another, a self proclaimed “QAnon Shaman,” wore a a horned Viking headdress and his body was covered in a brick pattern which presumably celebrates Trumps medieval attempts to build a southern border wall. He has been arrested.

Neanderthals believed that by wearing fur pelts they could inherit some of the animals viscous traits. These egg heads didn’t inherit anything but lame conspiracy theories. Viking imagery feeds into the idea of white nationalist  origins. Nazis took the warring viking sea faring culture to promote a white German nation state. German scholars blamed socialism, Jews and class revolutions for the “decline” of a Germanic race they saw descending from this Viking past. The destruction of Thor’s hammer would mark and end to this outdated vision of violent white supremacy. Oddly some had pitchforks as weapons. Of course the riot on the Capitol will be a super spreader event. The COVID-19 virus will offer its own form of justice for any that skirt the law.

The riot was in part a counter response to the Georgia election in which Reverend Raphael Warnock, a black man and a Democrat, was elected to office unseating the long held Republican state. With black voters turning out in record numbers, white supremacists responded with violent insurrection.

Nearly 100 people have been arrested for their roles in the attack. More serious misdemeanors and felony charges related to weapons, conspiracy and assault could result in prison time. In this age where everyone carries a cell phone with a camera the evidence is overwhelming and still being discovered. Many idiots shared photos of themselves online and therefor were very easy to arrest. Most rioters didn’t wear masks so they are easy to identify.

Donald Trump has been impeached a second time, now for “incitement of insurrection”. Ten Republican lawmakers joined in voting for the impeachment. It is quite possible some Republican lawmakers were complicit in inciting this armed insurrection and that evidence will get plenty of airing when the Senate begins the process of holding a trial to determine whether to convict Trump, and potentially bar him from ever running for any federal office again. The Stop the Steal event organizer, Ali Alexander, said that three GOP lawmakers, Paul Gosar (R-Az.), Andy Biggs (R-Az), and Mo Brooks (R-AL) all helped him organize the events of the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol. Mo said at the Rally at the White House, “Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass.” Brooks faces censure from Congress, a disciplinary action for inciting an insurrection.

During the attack freshman congresswoman Lauren Boebert (R-Co), tweeted the location of Nancy Peolci, which would give rioters a better idea of where to find the house speaker. Boeberts Twitter account has been shut down and she is surprised.

Day of Broken Glass: Shelter in Place

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January 6, 2021 was America’s Day of Broken Glass. When the Capitol was breached by rioters, members of the Senate and Congress had to shelter in place in a secure location. That secure location was a committee hearing space. Several of those lawmakers have tested positive or COVID-19 possibly exposing others in the room to the virus.

The Capitol’s attending physician, Brian Monahan, notified all lawmakers Sunday January 10, 2021 of the virus exposure and urged them to be tested. Lawmakers were huddled together in the room for several hours while the Capitol was under siege.

Face coverings are required in House committee hearings and mask-wearing is a requirement on the House floor. Some lawmakers and staff were furious after video surfaced of Republican lawmakers not wearing their masks in the safe room during lockdown.

The clip showed Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) trying to pass out masks to lawmakers without face coverings. Newly elected QAnon conspiracy theorist Marjorie Taylor Green (R-Ga.) was one of the offenders. She grinned as the rioters took control of the Capitol outside the conference room. Now that she is a member of the government, she should realize that she is a satanic pedophile elite who is responsible for all the evil in the world.  Markwayne Mullin (R-Ok.) beside her, joked that he didn’t want to get into politics, but he would not accept a mask being offered to him. He wore a varsity football jacket, possibly thinking he could blend in to the crowd of rioting yahoos should the safe room be overrun. Andy Briggs of (R-Az.), Scott Perry (R-Pa.), Michael Cloud (R-Tx.) and, Doug LaMalfa of California all refused masks.

Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) announced Monday January 11, 2021 that she has tested positive for COVID-19. She believes she was exposed to the virus while sheltering in place with several of her House colleagues, some of whom she said refused to wear masks.  A statement from Watson Coleman’s office indicates she was was in that specific safe room. Coleman is isolating and awaiting the results of PCR testing; she previously received the first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID19 vaccine, which was made available to members of Congress, the Supreme Court, and Executive Branch agencies for the purposes of continuity of government operations. She said, “I received a positive test result for COVID-19, and am home resting at this time. While I am experiencing mild, cold-like symptoms, I remain in good spirits and will continue to work on behalf of my constituents.” Pramila Jayapal, (D-Wash.), said she has also tested positive and criticized Republican members of Congress who declined to wear a mask when it was offered to them.

Also testing positive were, Jake LaTurner of (R-La.) and Charles Fleischmann (R-Tenn.). A spokesmen for both lawmakers told the Post they were not in the lockdown room. The riot was a super-spreader event, said Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. The crowd “wasn’t adhering to what we know are good practices in terms of mask-wearing and other things,” he said on Sunday’s Face the Nation. “I think they deliberately eschewed those things. So, yeah, we’re going to see chains of transmission come out of that kind of a gathering, for sure.”

Breach

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A former 51 year old Capitol Police Chief who was on duty the day of the Capitol riot was reported to have died by suicide. Howard Liebengood was assigned to the Senate division and was with the department since 2005.

The Capitol Police are a 2000 strong force tasked with protecting the capitol complex. They were under staffed and officers didn’t have any riot gear. The huge crowd was able to push right through the flimsy security fencing.

For weeks online sites had been warning of possible violence. Yet the department of homeland security and capitol police ignored the warning signs. There was an intelligent failure. The Pentagon had offered additional National Guard troops but the offer was refused. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser put out signage that “Under federal law, it is illegal to possess firearms on the US Capitol grounds and on National Park Service areas, such as Freedom Plaza, the Ellipse, and the National Mall.”  There were clear indications that January 6, 2021 would be as Trump put it in his invitation, “Wild.” Bullet holes have been found coming from outside the Capitol through windows.

Trump was upset that the mob looked “low class.” Rioters came to the Capitol with lead pipes and pepper spray. One had several hand guns and an assault rifle and ammunition his vehicle. Some rioters had on bullet proof vests and carried zip ties to restrain the limbs of legislators. These more militarized rioters knew the layout of the Capitol building and quickly found the Senate and Congress chambers and the office of Nancy Peloci and others. The plan was to hang Mike Pence and others. An investigation will likely show that these insurrectionists were given inside information. Legislators had to cower behind closed doors hoping for help that didn’t come for hours. Video shows some Capitol police posing for selfies and letting protestors into the building.

The Department of Justice offered federal law enforcement help to the Capitol Police as the situation deteriorated, but the Capitol force was slow to accept the offer. As many as 60 Capitol Police officers were injured, including 15 who were hospitalized and one officer, Brian D. Sicknick, was murdered by a terrorist who struck him with a fire extinguisher.

A former Department of Homeland Security official said that a reserve force should have been staged out of sight, to be able to respond if the situation spiraled out of the police’s control. Once the rioters moved on the building, “They should have had a very visible presence, with cops in riot gear,” the official said. “You use overwhelming force. You declare it an unlawful assembly. And you immediately begin implementing crowd control techniques. None of that was done.  Which stands in stark contrast to how Black Lives Matter Protestors were tear gassed and beaten for a photo op by Trump in front of a church.

One rioter was shot by a Capitol Police officer as she forced her way into the building toward the House Chamber where Members of Congress were sheltering in place. The rioters were close to smashing open a door and she leaped up through an open window and was immediately shot. Three other rioters died. Police identified them as Benjamin Phillips, 50, of Ringtown, Pennsylvania; Kevin Greeson, 55, of Athens, Alabama; and Rosanne Boyland, 34, of Kennesaw, Georgia. There are many ways to get injured in an insurrection.

In America over 4,000 people are now dying every day due to COVID-19. Flags throughout D.C. are at half mast for those lost in the Capitol riot. Only the flag above the White House, where Trump is hiding, is not at half mast. Trump invited the insurrection and needs to be removed from office immediately. Another attack by emboldened rioters is being planned later this week in D.C. Perhaps the treat will be considered seriously this time.

A Very Dangerous Game

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The world, especially countries like the United States, is playing a “very dangerous game” with the novel coronavirus, giving it more chances to mutate as the virus spreads, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said.

“We’re playing a very dangerous game with this virus right now,” Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead for the coronavirus response, told CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. “What worries us is that the longer this spreads the more opportunities it has to change.”

She pointed out that some countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, have done a better job controlling the virus. “It’s completely up to us to be able to bring the virus under control,” she said. “The virus is controllable, including these variants.”

The B117 variant of the COVID-19 virus was first seen in the UK. Scientists in the U.K. estimate that the new variant is 40-70% more infectious based on analysis of affected populations in Britain. It has since been found in the United states. This variation of the virus has become more contagious. A new study ha found that 60% of cases are spread by people who show no symptoms. The new strain has been found so far in 8 states and 33 counties. Florida reported its first case Dec. 31 in a Martin County man in his 20s with no travel history. That means the virus had been spreading freely by community transmission. The CDC said it expects the variant is already spreading among communities in multiple states, according to a report from The Washington Post. Currently, there is no evidence that this variant causes more severe illness or increased risk of death. However with more people being infected the hospital systems could become overrun. In California EMTs are being told not to transport patients in the ambulance if they don’t think patients can survive.

First Come First Served

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Florida Governor Ron DeathSantis said “In the state of Florida, our priority is our senior citizens,” Anyone 65 years or older was told they could get a COVID -19 vaccine shot. However the demand is high and the supply short.

My sister in south Florida has been trying to get the vaccine ever since it was announced that it was available for senior 65 and older. She called CVS and they had no clue what was going on. She called the local hospital and was told that once front line workers and the Vets got shots it would become available for seniors. She continued her quest calling another hospital. She then called the health department and got a recording and left a message.

She then found out that the shots would be available at a local park but then discovered that appointment slots needed to be filled out online. So many people went to the online appointment site that it crashed. She found out she needed a consent form and then found out the distribution was paused until January 6, 2021. Another city had phone appointments available but the appointments filled up in minutes. She is now considering driving to another county to try and get the shot. This has become her full time job to try and find a way to get vaccinated.

Some seniors have been waiting in long lines overnight in an attempt to get the vaccine. This is now week four of the roll out of the vaccine in Florida. Though the governor claims his priority is to vaccinate Florida seniors, he has left the distribution up to each individual hospital, creating chaos and inefficiency. He seems to have learned from Trump how to take no responsibility for distribution. Assisted living facilities are still waiting for vaccines. Rather than answer reporter questions he just barks loudly.

The Capitol Under Siege

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American Democracy is under siege. January 6, 20201 the Potus called on his mask less minions to descend on Washington D.C. for a “Wild” rally. He got on stage and proceeded to claim the election had been stolen from him. He then told the crowd to go to the Capitol building.

At the Capitol, the police were unprepared for the thousands of rioters who broke through barricades and and shattered glass to get inside the building. The police had to retreat from the crowds that pressed inside. Months before peaceful protestors were tear gassed by national guard troops. There were no National Guard troops on hand to handle the ratification day rioters.

A joint session of Congress was assembled to ratify the electoral college results of the presidential election. This is a largely ceremonial session but some republican senators were contesting the results. Mitch McConnell condemned GOP efforts to overturn the electoral college results. He said, “If this election were overturned by mere allegations from the losing side, our democracy would enter a death spiral.” In the middle of the session the chamber had to be evacuated. Legislators were told to grab gas masks from under their seats.

The entrance to the chamber was barricaded from inside and policy tried to keep protestors out with their guns drawn. Rioters entered the chamber from the upper balcony and they jumped down to the chamber floor. Legislative staff had to hide behind chairs hoping not to get shot. On female protestor tried t lunge through a broken window and she was shot by a security officer. She was pronounced dead at the hospital.

After dusk the protestors were driven from the capitol building and Nancy Pelosi said that the ratification process will continue well into the night. Trump made a video addressing his “very special” rioters and suggested they should go home. Facebook and Twitter had to remove the video because he then went on to make make false and misleading statements.

3963 people died from COVID-19 in America on the day of the siege. The highest single day death toll since the start of the pandemic.