Sunday, July 18, 2021

Franklin TV - E Pluribus Unum–?

by Pete Fasciano, Executive Director   07/18/2019

These days it feels a bit more like E Unibus Plurum. Out of one nation’s goal to achieve heard immunity and protection for all. There are many divisive opinions. So many opinions are sadly conflated by so much misinformation and myth. Yes, we are all entitled to our own opinions, but not to our own facts. Facts are facts.

Fact: The vaccines work – remarkably well.
Fact: They are up to 100 times safer than risking infection.

These next few weeks are mission critical for those who have yet to be vaccinated. Note that it takes 2 shots and 5 to 6 weeks to achieve full immunity. That puts any protection for the unvaccinated into late August – when health experts fear the rising worst wave through September and on. If you are not yet vaccinated, this should be tops on your to-do list.

It also means that masks will likely return as the new fall fashion.

Conversely, for those who still don’t wish to be vaccinated, if at the least, you wear a mask then you are doing the right thing for others while you exercise your right. Thank you.

E Pluribus Unum–?
E Pluribus Unum–?

However,

in our collective fight against the virus,

are you choosing to die on the field of battle?

Fight for yourself, your family, your friends. Take up arms (the left or right one) against the invisible enemy – the real enemy – the virus, and give it your best shot – or two.

I pledge allegiance to the mask and the United Safety of America.
And to the protection for which it stands.
One nation, invincible
with immunity and vaccines for all.

And –  as always –
Thank you for listening to wfpr●fm. 
And, thank you for watching. 

 

Get this week's program guide for Franklin TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online


"we need to reach a new level of public understanding about health, disease, risk and probability"

We’re soon going to have to make our own choices about social distancing, wearing masks and travel. When the legal enforcement of rules is lifted, the way in which each of us deals with the risk of Covid-19 will be down to personal judgment. But how well equipped are we to make these decisions?

Graphs and data can help explain things, but what’s also needed is a deep understanding of how science works, and, perhaps most important of all, a sense of how to weigh up the odds of coming down with the disease and how it might affect us. Not in an abstract way, but in our day-to-day lives. And what many people don’t realise is that COVID-19 is just the start. 
.... 
To equip us for all this, we need to reach a new level of public understanding about health, disease, risk and probability. Some of this should be taught in schools, colleges and universities, of course, but there needs to be more. During the pandemic, we have seen a huge increase in the number of scientists discussing their work in public. Now, as the UK government formally lifts restrictions, we must not retreat from this exposure. Rather, we must embrace science as a vital part of our culture even more than we do now. At stake is not just our health and wellbeing, but our sense of what it means to be human.
Continue reading the article online (subscription maybe required)
Progress in human biology is accelerating at an unprecedented rate, and there’s no sign of it slowing down.’ Photograph: Yuri_Arcurs/Getty Images
Progress in human biology is accelerating at an unprecedented rate, and there’s no sign of it slowing down.’ Photograph: Yuri_Arcurs/Getty Images

The Guardian: "the dozen are responsible for 73% of all anti-vaccine content"

"The vast majority of COVID-19 anti-vaccine misinformation and conspiracy theories originated from just 12 people, a report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) cited by the White House this week found.

CCDH, a UK/US non-profit and non-governmental organization, found in March that these 12 online personalities they dubbed the “disinformation dozen” have a combined following of 59 million people across multiple social media platforms, with Facebook having the largest impact. CCDH analyzed 812,000 Facebook posts and tweets and found 65% came from the disinformation dozen. Vivek Murthy, US surgeon general, and Joe Biden focused on misinformation around vaccines this week as a driving force of the virus spreading.

On Facebook alone, the dozen are responsible for 73% of all anti-vaccine content, though the vaccines have been deemed safe and effective by the US government and its regulatory agencies. And 95% of the COVID misinformation reported on these platforms were not removed."
Continue reading the article online (subscription maybe required) 
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/17/covid-misinformation-conspiracy-theories-ccdh-report

On Facebook alone, the dozen are responsible for 73% of all anti-vaccine content, though the vaccines have been deemed safe and effective by the US government and its regulatory agencies. Photograph: Science Photo Library/Alamy Stock Photo
On Facebook alone, the dozen are responsible for 73% of all anti-vaccine content, though the vaccines have been deemed safe and effective by the US government and its regulatory agencies. Photograph: Science Photo Library/Alamy Stock Photo


Movie night rescheduled for Friday, July 23

Movie Night, put on by Concerts on the Common, was rained out this past Friday and is now rescheduled for Friday, July 23

Spider Man into the Spider-Verse   8-10 PM    https://t.co/luWvNC2mVo
Shared from Twitter:  https://twitter.com/FranklinRec/status/1414950813710098444

Movie night rescheduled for Friday, July 23
Movie night rescheduled for Friday, July 23


Saturday, July 17, 2021

CommonWealth Magazine: "Baker signs budget, takes different tack on tax policy"

"GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Friday signed into law a $47.6 billion state budget for fiscal 2022, which began two weeks ago. 

While he let most of the budget become law, Baker, who has line-item veto power, had multiple disagreements with lawmakers over tax policy. He vetoed a delay in the implementation of a state tax deduction for charitable giving. He also vetoed lawmakers’ attempts to eliminate two tax credits aimed at specific types of businesses and haggled with them over the details of a new corporate tax benefit. "


Boston Globe coverage


The full budget summary details  https://budget.digital.mass.gov/summary/fy22/

CommonWealth Magazine: "Baker signs budget, takes different tack on tax policy"
https://budget.digital.mass.gov/summary/fy22/




Library Book sale - 9 AM to noon; bag sale 1 to 4 PM today

The Franklin Public Library book sale has changed to a monthly format. Friday's from 1 - 5 PM, Saturday's from 9 - noon, and then the bag sale from 1 - 4 PM also on Saturday.


Visit the Franklin Public Library virtually for additional info
https://www.franklinma.gov/franklin-public-library


Library Book sale - 9 AM to noon; bag sale 1 to 4 PM today
Library Book sale - 9 AM to noon; bag sale 1 to 4 PM today



"The total health and climate consequences of the American food system cost three times as much as the food itself"

"The true cost of food is even higher than you think, a new report out Thursday says.

The U.S. spends $1.1 trillion a year on food. But when the impacts of the food system on different parts of our society — including rising health care costs, climate change and biodiversity loss — are factored in, the bill is around three times that, according to a report by the Rockefeller Foundation, a private charity that funds medical and agricultural research.

Using government statistics, scientific literature and insights from experts across the food system, the researchers quantified things like the share of direct medical costs attributable to diet and food, as well as the productivity loss associated with those health problems. They also looked at how crop cultivation and ranching, and other aspects of U.S. food production impacted the environment. Focusing on the production, processing, distribution, retail and consumption stages of the food system (not including food service), they evaluated what it would cost to restore people’s health, wealth or environment back to an undamaged state, as well as the cost of preventing a recurrence of the problems."
Continue reading the article online (subscription maybe required)
The Rockefeller Foundation report can be downloaded 

The Rockefeller Foundation report
The Rockefeller Foundation report