The Mailbag: November 1, 2020
I never know what to make of these kinds of comments. If sincere, thanks, but I hardly see myself as "brilliant." I'm a nobody other than someone who is dialed in on specific subjects.
I find it troublesome that there's no real candid conversation about COVID-19. The conversations happening now are primarily political.
I correspond with nurses and ER doctors on a quasi-regular basis—none wish to be named — similarly to teachers, as they're all concerned about potential retribution.
Some of these people are close to retirement, and all of them need their income. Many healthcare workers, who know that staffing in Alaska is always tight, are growing deeply concerned with our skyrocketing COVID-19 cases.
These are the "brilliant" ones.
Q. "Your piece on HHS was spot on. Is there anything else going on with COVID you know (about) that you haven't written?"
A. Yes.
People like you are precisely what's wrong with the political climate in Alaska.
I could not locate any data to support your false claim that 80% of Biden supporters are child molesters. However, I found data supporting the claim that 41% of Trump supporters are uneducated white men.
I see in your comment that you also indicated I should seek a bullet. Maybe the FBI should seek you out, although with all of the fake Facebook accounts the far-right uses these days, would it even be worth it? You're all so tough behind a screen.
Q. "Thanks for what you do. I see many people making the case that Bishop's statements about suicide and self-harm are not factual, but we don't have actual numbers to confirm or deny what she said. People may be missing the bigger picture with these preliminary numbers. Things like attempts, hospitalizations, ideations, calls for help, parent/guardian concerns, mental health treatment, etc. There is so much more to consider when it comes to mental health and suicide prevention. I think several of the teachers you quoted in your article bring some of those to the surface. Once more, I appreciate what you do and enjoy reading your articles."
A. I've been told there have been suicides since March, however, Dr. Bishop has not been forthcoming about that data. Many feel that if she brings them up in a public forum under the auspice of 'these things are happening because children are out of school,' she should be more candid about the data. It's reasonable to infer that tying them to being out of school will be challenging, and I hope there's no effort to contort the vast quantities of data collected on students via Gaggle.
