The Beast

What will it be this time?

Greg, why do you write in third person occasionally? I’m not sure I want to listen to a Fox commentator and would like a news story instead.

Greg, the sky isn’t falling and you are not out of options! Look!

It is mostly people from DuPage county that always b**** about Illinois that are mad. They seem to want to go from 0 to 60 without many precautions taken.

Alright Illinoisans, I’ve seen a lot of posts with people pissed off about this: Are people more pissed about “their rights” being trimmed, not having things to do or about their economic situations? I have seen lots of posts but no such solutions from those whining. Please keep in mind I am open to different ideas and approaches but am annoyed with whining without solutions on social media, even though the problem might be that social media is the platform.

It isn’t going to be Warren or Obama. Biden will only serve one term, if that. So the person filling his shoes needs to be a leader for the Democratic Party in 2024 and beyond. Harris and Abrams fit that bill more than Warren or Obama do.

For all of his faults, he at least seems to be more about service than self. I can’t say the same about the man who says he is treated more unfairly than Lincoln.

If only the current occupant of the White House could be as compassionate and uniting.

So, how does everyone feel about them declining the 5th year option on Trubisky? It seems like they don’t want to pay that price tag and want Trubisky to prove it this year. If he performs well and Foles flounders, maybe they renegotiate a new deal with Trubisky.

I understand, I have an aunt that lives alone so I go shopping from her and do wellness checks on her. Maybe doing something for those in need may help you. Maybe you could keep a journal to help you cope, that has helped me before. Also, would you be willing to open the economy in phases or do things have to open up rapidly and go back to normal just like that?

In Illinois, people are supposed to be wearing masks in public places, including the grocery stores. Not everyone is doing it and people sure as hell ignore social distancing guidelines when shopping or passing other people. Also, I don’t care for meetings and can’t stand video conferences!

Okay, if you live alone I can understand how you would go crazy. Lots of what you said could happen, but should be done in phases. I don’t know that we can go back to doing everything at once, which is what people I know seem to be hinting at.

Quin does have a point about healthcare workers though.

Greg. Here are some legitimate questions. Do you live alone? What phases would you suggest to re-open everything? Have you tried alternatives to Starbucks coffee, going for a walk or run to get exercise? Have you thought of getting clippers and giving it a go with a haircut? I am trying to understand your circumstances.

Numbers are numbers but I don’t have to agree with them. I don’t necessarily like staying home but I also don’t have to worry about my older relatives getting sick or a pregnant wife with asthma getting impacted. I just see a bunch of conservative folks saying Coronavirus isn’t a big deal on Facebook and pointing to Sweden instead of showing how to solve the problem in phases, which is what I think re-opening will take.

It’s an argument I acknowledge, but one I don’t necessarily agree with. Who could the Democrats possibly come up with to rise to the occasion, appease the wide party and beat Trump? No question on McConnell, he’s garbage. There’s a podcast series on him. People forget about how obstructionist he was when the GOP wasn’t in power, one of my counter points to Trump supporters blaming Democrats.

There’s way too much whining about not being able to get haircuts, meat from the store, Starbucks coffee and then there is anger about layoffs, protests and the divide of those who want to open the economy and those who want to re-open after the orders end. There’s a lot of fearmongering out there. It’s annoying how people don’t consider alternatives like cutting their own hair, making meatless meals, making their own meals and getting a walk or run in if there’s a shelter in place in their state. I can understand the argument about Sweden’s way of combating the virus, but I am concerned about the elderly, people in their 60s, and a second wave of the virus with another lockdown, giving people more to b**** about. There needs to be a gradual reopening rather than some politicians in southern Illinois trying to re-open the state based on technicalities. Both parties could work together on a fair reopening strategy in phases than opening everything up at once. There’s too many variables in play and too much not known to go back to how things were, which some people seem to want to do immediately.

I fully anticipate paying higher taxes to live in Illinois because of the fallout from COVID-19 and the looming pension crisis. I’m glad I refinanced because it is going to get ugly.

I can’t find it, can you please share?

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/29/us/rural-broadband-access-coronavirus-trnd/index.html We are one of the most developed companies in the world. We should really push for fiber cables to create stronger broadband networks and the internet should be treated like a utility instead of a cable company product. Rural America shouldn’t have to work like this in a pandemic. I wonder if either side of the aisle proposed plans for this or if it was just part of infrastructure week.

The sky isn’t falling. Eat plants.

And spending $2.4 trillion to combat issues. This is what gridlock gets you, mediocre legislation without much oversight. Go outside for walks and do what you need to do, Starbucks might not be open though. Make your own coffee for a change?

Some of those value added skills take quite a bit of mathematical knowledge and need to be practiced to keep them up. I have found that the data analysis and algorithms are hard to grasp without much background in statistics or calculus, but I have found coding to be more intuitive. It’s tough to retrain and be a unicorn of sorts to do everything amazingly. I have talked to an Andrew Yang supporter about the concept of older blue collar workers retraining for positions useful to employers and for new employers. It could be a challenge for the demographic you describe. This is one of the challenges I found with coal miners since they may not be able to transition to white collar work that pays what they earned previously, but could transition to an alternative form of blue collar labor. What do you do for said company? I’m interested in applying my skills to health care in some capacity even if it isn’t patient care (yet, I have thought about retraining as a nurse or something else in the future). I am very sorry to hear that about raises, bonuses and benefits being frozen, I have a feeling that could happen to insurance companies soon.

So far, my job hasn’t been impacted, but I have seen those in health care professions have to take a temporary pay cut and a 401(k) match slash. I am currently finishing a master’s degree and was planning on leaving my employer unless a job became available at the company. I have to stay until the end of July so I don’t owe them anything and I’m in my last grad class now. My wife and I save quite a bit and probably don’t spend like most millennials do. We cook at home every day of the week except for Saturday so we can contribute something to local businesses. I would say that automation and AI could potentially put people out of work, but I think that those will more likely serve as tools to the workforce to make jobs easier. I definitely would like to go back to school when my kid(s) are grown for something in demand, but it’s difficult to know what will be in demand many years from now. I’ll definitely try to place an emphasis on my kids majoring in an actual position instead of something general, but even then not everyone has the skills to get into STEM careers and jobs should fit people well.