I can understand why Massachusetts has gotten an “F” rating on their vaccine rollout.

Between the lack of vaccination sites, the inability to be able to find an appointment, confusion, lack of computer-friendly sites and easier ways for the elderly to book an appointment, the rating is what the state deserves. We can also add the fact that the phases are fucked up.

Yes, I agree that healthcare workers, first responders, etc. should’ve been in the first phase. From what I understand, some in this phase are still in the process of getting their vaccinations. What I don’t agree with is putting the 75+ crowd ahead of teachers. For one thing, there are more of the 75+ crowd than there are teachers. In fact, they are part of the largest population. So it’s going to take a while to vaccinate them all. The 75+ crowd, although vulnerable, are not as vulnerable as teachers who place themselves in schools every day with students and other staff.

I can’t speak for the 75+ crowd, but considering the handful of people in this age span that I do know, they don’t go anywhere. Unlike teachers who, for schools that are teaching in-person in some fashion, physically go to school every day. And are in contact with many people every day. That’s why we keep having so many COVID-19 cases every week. At least in my school district.

Wouldn’t it have made sense to get the teachers vaccinated first, before the 75+ crowd?

The big talk today, as it has been for years, is how many want the federal minimum wage raised from $7.25 to $15.00 an hour.

Yes, a raise in the federal minimum wage is long past due. It’s been over a decade. And many are struggling. But if the minimum wage jumps from $7.25 to $15.00, the money has to come from somewhere. And changes will happen.

As I’ve seen in my own state of Massachusetts, where the minimum wage has gradually increased and will eventually reach $15.00 in 2023, we have seen increases in restaurant food prices, as well as decreases in working hours every year since the gradual increase began. Which was quite obviously going to happen. And we haven’t even reached $15.00 yet. But because every year the minimum wage is going to increase, so is everything else. It’s a cycle.

I use the experience of an acquaintance of mine who works for a supermarket as an example. She told me with the increase, all employees at the store saw a decrease in their hours, which nobody is happy about. Yes, they may be making $13.50 an hour now but for many, like the woman who works there and normally gets 20 hours a week, she is now only working 16 hours and has lost her health insurance because of it.

So yes, on one hand $15.00 an hour would be great. But how many would actually be getting ahead?

There’s a vaccine.

But the majority of us can’t get it yet. Because it’s not our turn.

From all I’ve been reading, my turn should start in February, as I’m in the same category as the majority of the population. In fact, more people will be qualified for the vaccine in Phase 2 (for Massachusetts) than any other phase. So come April, we still won’t be done vaccinating Phase 2. Because remember, we need two doses. I know people who had their first dose three weeks ago but weren’t able to get an appointment for their second dose until after Valentine’s day. So that’s cutting into Phase 2.

So today the first people in Phase 2, those over age 75, could start signing up. But the websites weren’t working. Or they were and there were no appointments available. Because there are only so many locations and many of them are only open a few days a week. How many people do you expect to be able to vaccinate at two, maybe three days a week? In my general area, the most days I saw any location open was five. And for how many hours? And if you make an appointment and there’s a snowstorm that day? Then what? Because that happens in February in Massachusetts.

If you want to vaccinate 50 million people within 100 days nationwide, you have to have more than twenty locations statewide and you have to be open more than five days a week. Now I understand that retail locations such as CVS, Walgreens and Big Y are to be doing vaccinations. But I have yet to see any information about them doing them in Massachusetts. Maybe soon. Who knows?

Another thing nobody (or maybe nobody) has taken into consideration are the group of people turning 16 this year who will be qualified for a vaccination. I have one turning 16 in September. Will there be a vaccination for her? What about the children turning 16 in 2022? 2023? 2024? Will there be vaccinations for them? Because if someone is missed, there’s going to still be a problem. Also, we still don’t know if we’re going to need to be vaccinated every single year.

I guess time will tell. But who knows if we’ll be ready.

There’s no law saying you have to like or accept Biden as President. But not liking or accepting him doesn’t give you the right to destroy property, threaten lives and kill people.

We never liked or accepted SHITHOLE as President. Mainly because he wasn’t one. He was a SHITHOLE. And he proved it every day. If he had ever proved himself to be a “president”, maybe more of us would have accepted that and he’d still be one. But it’s difficult to re-elect a “president” who wasn’t even a “president” to begin with.

It’s a free country, as we all know and as you extremist assholes keep touting. You don’t have to like the President. As you can tell, not many like the one who is about to leave office. But although we didn’t accept or like SHITHOLE as President, we didn’t storm the Capitol, destroy property, threaten lives, including the Vice President and kill people like a bunch of banshees from an uncivilized world. Instead we IMPEACHED SHITHOLE and VOTED HIM OUT. Because THAT is what a sane democracy does.

So I’m going to tell all you extremist assholes what you told us four years ago when your precious SHITHOLE won the “presidency”:

GET OVER IT! YOU LOST! GIVE HIM A CHANCE!

And my favorite from SHITHOLE himself: WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO LOSE?

Funny how four years later the tables have been turned. Almost to the day.

On January 27, 2017, seven days after SHITHOLE was inaugurated, he signed an Executive Order that banned foreign nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries from visiting the country for 90 days, suspended entry to the country of all Syrian refugees indefinitely, and prohibited any other refugees from coming into the country for 120 days.

Fast-forward four years to Friday, January 8, 2021. SHITHOLE tweeted encouraging and somewhat congratulatory statements to his SHITHOLE terrorist supporters and then indicated he wasn’t going to attend Joe Biden’s inauguration. These actions, among many others that led up to this, prompted Twitter to do what Twitter should have done four years before: BAN SHITHOLE.

They completely suspended his account.

Many, including SHITHOLE, have bitched that this violates his First Amendment rights. If anything, what he said Friday and many things he has said in the past, including videos and photos he has posted, have continuously violated Twitter’s TOS. This ban was a long time coming.

Being banned from Twitter does not violate your First Amendment rights because as many pointed out, SHITHOLE has the ability to communicate whatever the fuck he wants to right from the White House. He has an entire press pool and press secretary at his beck and call to use whenever he wants, so he can say whatever he wants. But it’s easier for SHITHOLE to be a bully when he’s hiding behind his phone. It’s not so easy, or wise, for SHITHOLE to say to a White House reporter “I want to tell all those great people who did damage to the Capitol, assisted in killing some people, including police officers, stole government property and threatened the lives of the people in Congress, including our own Vice President, that I love them, more than America, but never more than myself, and thank them BIGLY for their efforts to steal back my election and thanks for the votes!”

Being banned from Twitter is just the tip of the justice iceberg. There is plenty more to come.