Daily Archives: April 9, 2021

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The Disconnected

CRAIN'S COMMENTS

The estimate at the end of 2018 was that 86.4% of US households were connected to the Internet.(1) We also believe, based on surveys, that some proportion of the disconnected either borrow access from friends, have access via cell phones, or use public libraries to access the Net.

That leaves a reported 7%, per a recent Pew Foundation survey, who aren’t connected at all.(2)

My suspicion is that the number of disconnected is higher, for several reasons:

  1. Participation bias in surveys. I suspect that the disconnected tend not to respond, and they certainly don’t respond to web-based surveys. The only way to reach them is by mail or phone. While Pew uses the best methods to reach people, there’s only so much you can do to reach people who don’t want to cooperate.
  2. There are 19,502 municipalities of all sizes in the US and approximately 9,000 public libraries. While some…

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Damn the pencils, full shovels ahead!

The Chatty Introvert

I never thought I could get this much done in a day again, but that weather was back and a nice breeze keeping it decent most of the day. And so I spent the time afterward with throbbing feet, kicking back with some cheap red and Hot Pockets.

I’m sure I could’ve done better for dinner, but I was too tired.

I was out the door a bit later than planned with the dogs, but they were loving it. I figured I’d get to work on the pollinator garden and started hauling some more wheelbarrow loads of dirt in the space.

IMG_0478

I mainly was trying to cover the grass and potholes and smooth things out, and it took probably 10 more loads before it was good. I also had some bags of garden soil I ripped up and put in the space to improve the topsoil a bit. But I…

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Myanmar Junta Kills Scores of Protesters in Bago, Decrees Death Penalty for 19 in Yangon — Radio Free Asia

Myanmar security forces mowed down more than 60 people with rifle grenades and machine guns as they cleared barricades built by anti-junta protesters in the central Myanmar city of Bago on Friday, leaving piles of bodies in pagodas and on school grounds of the ancient city, witnesses said.

Police and soldiers rained bullets and grenades on the streets of the Otthar Thiri ward of Bago, a city of 250,000 people and capital of the region of the same name, starting before dawn. The barricades were built by protesters who reject the Feb. 1 military overthrow of the country’s elected government.

“Our people in the ward knew they would be coming and had been waiting the whole night,” one resident who declined to give his name told RFA. “The soldiers used heavy weapons. We even found a mortar shell. There was a lot of machine-gun fire.”

Source: Myanmar Junta Kills Scores of Protesters in Bago, Decrees Death Penalty for 19 in Yangon — Radio Free Asia

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You may see door closed for you! — My experience

You may see every door closed for you, but you must keep your doors open. The scope should be maintained to make it easier for others to reach you. Some should keep doing this so that others can see you welcoming them. You should see, hear, make others feel special, love and be ready to […]

You may see door closed for you! — My experience
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Montana Governor Who Rescinded Mask Mandate Now Has COVID

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, who rescinded the state’s mask mandate weeks after taking office, has tested positive for COVID-19. The 59-year-old Republican got the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine last Thursday, but since full protection doesn’t kick in until after the second dose, he would have still been vulnerable to infection. The Billings Gazette reports that he developed symptoms on Sunday after attending Easter services, tested positive on Monday, and will now quarantine for 10 days. It’s not clear how he contracted the virus or if he has infected others, but six members of the state legislature have also tested positive since January. Source: Montana Governor Who Rescinded Mask Mandate Now Has COVID

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Anti-Defamation League calls for Tucker Carlson to be fired | TheHill

“Carlson’s full-on embrace of the white supremacist replacement theory on yesterday’s show and his repeated allusions to racist themes in past segments are a bridge too far,” the group wrote. “Given his long record of race-baiting, we believe it is time for Carlson to go.” Source: Anti-Defamation League calls for Tucker Carlson to be fired | TheHill

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Reports detail high COVID-19 burden in Native Americans | CIDRAP

A separate MMWR report looked at COVID-19 cases and response on a 10,000-member tribal reservation in Montana, while a third detailed control efforts taken on a North Dakota reservation.

All three research teams suggest that Native American populations are disproportionately vulnerable during the pandemic and benefit from COVID-19 mitigations.

Source: Reports detail high COVID-19 burden in Native Americans | CIDRAP