62 Comments
User's avatar
Josh Slocum's avatar

I forgot that I have to include the following disclaimer any time I talk about Vermont. It's the only way to deal with the common response: "Why don't you move?"

Why I don't move: There are practical and financial considerations that are real, but private to me, that make that difficult or impossible in the foreseeable future. I am not unaware that I have the ability to decide to move; I promise I'm a smart guy who understands the concept, "moving house." Readers will need to accept that I have considered this, and that I have good, solid reasons that would make sense to them, too, but that these reasons are my private business.

Expand full comment
Suzann's avatar

Actually, I believe that Vermont needs you now more than ever.

Expand full comment
User's avatar
Comment deleted
Sep 6
Comment deleted
Expand full comment
Cary Cotterman's avatar

True. There's a certain kind of person who enjoys the excitement and takes great pride in conspicuous compliance. They're sorry to see it all fade away, and always hoping for it to come back.

Expand full comment
Just plain Rivka's avatar

I got an email from Pottery Barn Kids that this is Baby Safety Month. One thing I know- we do not need baby safety month. There is too much of that already.

Expand full comment
Josh Slocum's avatar

My God. When is this fever going to crest?

Expand full comment
erin's avatar

Bullies bully until you stand up to them. Then they go pick on someone easier.

Expand full comment
Cary Cotterman's avatar

Have you seen the safety helmets that are sold for toddlers, to be worn all day as they toddle around the house?

Expand full comment
Alyson's avatar

SAFE

Expand full comment
Longstreet's avatar

What is really twisted is that the people who rule over us ignore the big problems. Over 100k people die from drug ODs/year. Never mind people who end up living on the streets, prostituting themselves, etc. as the by-product of doing drugs. Then you have big aggrava and big pharma pushing unhealthy non-sense. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Expand full comment
Jennifer Terry's avatar

EEEeeeeeeee!

I love the weasel-y wording, too:

"can be fatal in about one-third of people who develop severe EEE disease." They know people will read that as "Fatal in One Third of Cases!! My God!!!"

Even though that is actually 1/3 of the very few severe cases that develop, and those are doubtless in the usual already severely compromised people.

Expand full comment
Dee Cartier-Johnson's avatar

That is exactly what many people will take from that sentence.

Expand full comment
Daniel Junas's avatar

I live in Oaxaca, Mexico, where mosquitos carry dengue every summer. Every summer there are countless public events. Nothing ever gets cancelled. People live their lives.

Expand full comment
carol meschter's avatar

Veterinarian here. There are excellent vaccines for these diseases for horses as they are very susceptible; most horses are vaccinated for all 5 of these diseases annually and have been for over 50 years. I have seen unvaccinated horses suffering and dying from encephalitis and it is truly horrible and devastating. However, over the past 50 yrs, no vaccines have been developed for humans. Getting the human population to do good mosquito control is problematic too, this involves draining swamps, discarding standing water where mosquitos breed and spraying with insecticides. Probably staying in at night, wearing long sleeve shirts and using DEET is helpful but not curative.

Expand full comment
Karen Keener's avatar

Why would we need a vaccine for something less prevalent and deadly than a lightning strike.

Expand full comment
carol meschter's avatar

Well, a lot of horses are protected by the vaccines. A number of these encephalitides have birds as co-hosts, so wild and domestic birds both spread it and die from it. Infected humans have a variety of presentations ranging from minimal, to quite sick, to dead. So it's not like a random lightening strike. But of course people are supposed to protect themselves and livestock during lightening storms.

Expand full comment
Gregory S's avatar

This has nothing to do with keeping anyone safe. It's fear mongering. If people were genuinely concerned about getting sick they wouldn't attend. Or ever leave their houses again.

Expand full comment
Connecting The Dots's avatar

My how quickly and well that indoctrination took (well it's been decades in the making, but that last nail was the scamdemic).

All it took was the "authorities" to suggest that people stay in doors at night - because there may be a chance that people could be bitten by a mosquito, that might, could maybe be carrying the latest apocalypses in their guts.

There is now no risk, that people will tolerate, if the regime says one person died from it, yesterday or 100 years ago yesterday.

Expand full comment
Suzann's avatar

🎯 🎯🎯

Expand full comment
Mark In Houston's avatar

It seems like Vermont and Burlington in particular are on the leading edge of this societal fear mongering and self flagellation. I know it’s home Josh and you are invested there - but have you considered moving?

Expand full comment
Suzann's avatar

Sounds like Josh is entering the “last straw” territory.

Expand full comment
Suzann's avatar

The collective dumb-assery is truly unbelievable. It’s not easy being sane these days.

Expand full comment
Rosalind McGill's avatar

I want to cry when I think about how lockdown and cancellations robbed our youth. Now they think it’s the new normal.

Expand full comment
Holly MathNerd's avatar

Now I wonder how much of the increase in masking that I’ve seen lately was about this. 🤔

Expand full comment
Mcc's avatar

I had the same thought. I woke up this am from a nightmare in which we were all told to mask again.

Expand full comment
Brian Roberts's avatar

Funny how we’re not canceling things over here in purple New Hampshire 🤷‍♀️. I almost relocated from Massachusetts to Vermont in 2017. Thank you Covid for waking me up. Thank you, Josh, for your work. Appreciating your posts.

Expand full comment
Randolph Carter's avatar

They have moved a few football games, but no cancellations as far as I know. And we know how to spray for mosquitos here 🤷‍♂️

Expand full comment
Brian Roberts's avatar

Oh Jesus are they spraying here?? More poisons. Just what our biology needs. 🤦‍♂️

Expand full comment
Antonia's avatar

I’d love to tell a joke about “horse paste” and this new ridiculousness but it’s 6:30am and coffee has not kicked in yet.

Expand full comment