To Comfort The Afflicted
And Afflict The Comfortable

To Comfort The Afflicted And Afflict The Comfortable

Friday, March 29, 2024

Observercast

Merry Christmas To 61.8% Of You

on

OK, 100% of you, but damn it, 38.2% are still not fully vaccinated and that means you folks continue to be a danger medically to the rest of us.

I also know it won’t do much good for me to nag the nearly 40% who have been just too busy to take the life-saving shots but perhaps the following current statistics may finally get your attention: New York set a new single day record of 44,000 more infections yesterday; nationally just yesterday 176,000-plus more folks became sick with COVID-19, a 40% increase from the week before; 1,481 died Christmas Eve, a 20% jump; hospitalizations hit 70,000 up 3% in a week; and nationally we still are at only 61.7% fully vaccinated.

That last number means, of course, nearly four in 10 are walking time bombs among the rest of us with several variants of the pandemic hot on their trail … Delta, Omicron plus who knows what will follow.

So let me pose a question to you, the shotless: If and when a shot or shots were created that would protect you from developing cancer, would you take it/them? Of course, you would.

And for my fellow men and women in uniform, you guys and gals have signed up since Valley Forge and taken shots to protect you from a plethora of diseases ranging from measles to mumps to yellow fever to the plague to anthrax, so why throw a combat boot over being protected now from the worst worldwide killer since the Spanish Flu in 1918?

Except for a handful of you, the reason is a certain self-identified leader named Trump caused all this crap by refusing to be vaccinated which was just pandering to many in his anti-government base but now, after almost dying when he became sick with COVID, he’s had all his shots plus the booster and was booed for it by an audience during a televised interview.

Does that really mean that many of his followers could possibly be that stupid?

Uh … yes is the short answer.

Look, nobody I know likes the inconveniences and worse this once-in-a-century nightmare COVID has created. Can’t shop easily; can’t often go to work; can’t see loved ones as frequently as we like; going to restaurants and shows are not worth the challenges in doing so; medical bills are through the roof; all this and much more. But the good news is we now have three miracle products that are up to 95% effective against COVID and they are all free for the taking, are mostly painless with only very mild side effects if any.

For me and my family members, ranging in age from five to 95, that seems like a pretty good deal when the alternative is something far more unpleasant and often the last thing you or your loved ones will do here during your stay on God’s mostly green earth.

And that, of course, is to die too early, very unnecessarily and mostly miserably and often alone except for caregivers who quietly wonder why in the world you didn’t get your shots.

Look … Even if you are registered as a Republican and always voted against me, in the Christmas Spirit today on Christmas Day, I forgive you. Now, go get your first shot on Monday, change your registration to Democrat on Tuesday and then, through those two simple steps, you will both live longer and be happier.

I guarantee it.

Cal Hobson
Cal Hobson
Cal Hobson, a Lexington Democrat, served in the Oklahoma Legislature from 1978-2006, including one term as Senate President Pro Tempore.
Mark Krawczyk
Mark Krawczyk
March 9, 2023
Exceptional reporting about goings on in my home state as well as informative opinion pieces that makes people think about issues of the day...........get a SUBSCRIPTION FOLKS!!!!!!!
Brette Pruitt
Brette Pruitt
September 5, 2022
The Observer carries on the "give 'em hell" tradition of its founder, the late Frosty Troy. I read it from cover to cover. A progressive wouldn't be able to live in a red state without it.