Columnists

Many disabled people have issues that do not shorten life expectancy and often live as many years as those without a disability. On the other hand, many, including those of us with mental illness, have shorter life expectancies. If you have a mental illness, especially schizophrenia, lifespan is often shorter. But this is not always so. To live into our seventies, eighties or nineties, something I haven't done yet as I haven't reached sixty, we probably must take extra good care of our bodies and minds to overcome the life-shortening factors of mental illness. We probably also must have a chosen purpose in life.

The role of purpose must not be underestimated as a factor of how long we live. If we have a good reason that we want to be here, it is a motivator toward taking better care of ourselves, it provides hope of a better life, and it gives us more tenacity to hang on. All the aforesaid contribute to lifespan.

Disabled people with meaningful careers often live longer than they otherwise would. People with family ties live longer. People with enjoyment of a volunteer job may live longer. Merely having a reason to get out of bed every morning contributes to lifespan. -more-

The Power of Nonviolent Resistance

In what may be the largest and most effective action of nonviolent civil disobedience in human history, thousands of men and women have shut down streets in major cities and thoroughfares, bringing a halt to large movements of international commercial shipments and disrupting trade in everything from food supplies to construction and machinery parts.

And what triggered this act of rebellion?
Anger over inflation?
Wealth inequality?
The soaring costs of healthcare?
The lack of affordable housing?
Racial discrimination?
Outbreaks of armed killings?
Out-of-control military spending?

Sorry, it was none of the above. The correct answer is:

Face-masks! -more-

I’ve been wanting to see the film Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America, directed by Emily and Sarah Kunstler. Who We Are wasn’t showing at the Shattuck, the California is closed, so I made my way over to AMC in Emeryville for the Monday matinee. There were only three of us in the theater. The film was outstanding and I will watch it again when it’s available for home viewing. No one checked my vaccine card, but then so few of us were in the building it was hardly going to be a super-spreader event.

Pre-pandemic, I used to love going to the documentary films at the Shattuck Cinemas. And, I wasn’t the only one. When we were petitioning to save the Shattuck Cinemas, much to our surprise 60% of the 275,000 – 300,000 patrons came from out of town, with regular movie goers from Vallejo, Santa Rosa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda, Orinda and closer in Oakland, Emeryville, El Cerrito. The Shattuck Cinemas with its ten theaters used to be the economic engine of the downtown. The future looks to be student housing, coffee shops and eyes fixated on the device in hand. -more-

After two months high case counts, Covid-19 cases may have finally peaked in many parts of the United States. In response to the decline, many states and cities are easing restrictions. For example,

On February 16, California will ease similar restrictions on large events and mostly ditch the statewide indoor face mask mandate. However, for the state’s 6 million school children California’s requirement that they wear masks inside classrooms and other school buildings remains in place for now.

The pandemic, however, is not over. Consider that on December 11, 2020, the FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine. And on December 18, 2020, the FDA issued an EUA for the use of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine. Yet, as of January 28, 2022, only 64% of the U.S. population have been fully vaccinated, and as of January 25, 2022, only 40.3% of those fully vaccinated population have a booster shot, And only 18.8% of children in the 5-to-11 age group are now fully vaccinated. -more-