I really need to stop paying attention to the news

We are so, so, SO fucked.

The new Republican talking point is that it’s the CDC recommending for people to start wearing masks again that is causing all the vaccine hesitancy in red states. The Governor of Missouri was on Fox this morning and said the following;

The recently updated CDC guidance regarding mask wearing for fully vaccinated individuals is disappointing and concerning. It’s disappointing because it is inconsistent with the overwhelming evidence surrounding the efficacy of the vaccines and their proven results, and it only serves to disrupt the increases we are seeing in vaccine uptake. This self-inflicted setback encourages skepticism and vaccine hesitancy at a time when the goal is to prevent serious illnesses and deaths from COVID-19 through vaccination. It’s concerning because the nation’s top public health agency appears to be cowering to the political pressures of those who only want to force mandates and shutdowns, which only further prolong the recovery we as a nation are working towards. This decision only promotes fear and further division among our citizens.

How is Missouri fairing with the latest surge in cases? I’m glad you asked!

This pandemic is never ever EVER going to end and all it’s going to take is one unlucky mutation incubated in some ignorant-ass yokel and The Stand will no longer be a work of fiction.

There is nothing that I, personally, can do about any of this and when I think about the fact that I am likely looking at ANOTHER year of wearing isolation gear and shoveling corpses in the ICU it just makes my dissatisfaction with current circumstances in general that much worse.

So this is it. I’m swearing off news media for at least a week. Maybe a couple months. FSM knows I’m not going to have to follow anything too closely to know when the surge hits the Trump-Humper counties in Washington because I’ll be neck deep in it at work.

I’m counting on my friends and family to keep me up to date in anything interesting and non-covid related that happens. Also, if anyone has any suggestions for podcasts with episodes of around 20-30 minutes that I can listen to on my commute I would welcome them.