As we head to press Wednesday morning, the Platte County Health Department is busy administering a few hundred doses of a COVID-19 vaccine to folks over the age of 90 as well as local law enforcement officers, other first responders, public works folks, essential workers (by the way, “essential workers” strangely has become a somewhat controversial term, thanks to misguided comments from folks like the county commissioners).
Based off the number of phone calls to our office from interested readers, and the massive amount of inquiries I’m told the health department is receiving, there is a great number of local folks who want to receive the vaccine. And they want it ASAP. Which is fantastic news.
Fortunately most of the population does not seem to agree with the attitude of some of our county commissioners, who have re-posted COVID-19 conspiracy theories on their social media pages and referred to the virus as a “con.”
If you’re frustrated by the seemingly slow pace of the vaccine rollout thus far, join the crowd. But if you’re directing your frustration at the local health department, pause for a deep breath. The federal government recently ranked Missouri dead last among states in COVID-19 vaccinations per resident, so this is not a local health department-created problem.
If you’ve been paying attention to the governor’s attitude and response to COVID since the beginning of the pandemic, you’re probably not surprised by the state’s low ranking.
I bumped into a local law enforcement officer this week and we had a casual conversation about the officer’s bout with COVID-19 in December. “It’s no joke. Some people say it’s like the flu. It wasn’t like the flu. I felt dead,” the officer said, adding he had lingering symptoms for weeks. “You don’t want it.”
Hmm. Seems weird that a virus some of our local electeds have painted as a sham and a con can cause such health problems but here we are.
On the national scene, earlier this week Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell denounced newly elected Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, calling the far-right Georgia Republican’s embrace of conspiracy theories and “loony lies” a “cancer for the Republican Party.”
Not sure but I think Marjorie Taylor Greene is Dagmar Wood on steroids.
Want to hear from another who has been through the COVID fight? We’ll talk to one on Landmark Live Thursday night at 6 when my guest will be Landmark columnist Guy Speckman, who contributes the entertaining Ponder the Thought piece you see each week on page 3.
Speckman will join us for what will be a fun conversation (well, other than the COVID talk) about a variety of topics, including his time in the weekly newspaper business. We’ll also get into his earlier career as a city administrator at Plattsburg, and I’m confident you’ll find his stories from that time period entertaining. These days, his real job is as a licensed real estate appraiser, so we’ll discuss the Platte County real estate market, which in itself is fascinating. I’ll also ask him where he gets the inspiration for his column topics and we’ll see if his answer is Bud Light.
And since this is Super Bowl week, we’ll get Speckman’s prediction on how the Chiefs will fare this weekend. I’ll give you my Super Bowl pick. Feeling pretty confident I’m going to not only be able to tell you the winner but will also nail the exact score.
Watch the show live Thursday at 6 p.m. at Platte County Landmark on Facebook. You can also find it on our web site at plattecountylandmark.com. As always, if you don’t catch it live no worries–the videos always remain posted on our Facebook page for viewing at a time convenient for you.
Here’s some Super Bowl analysis you might not get anywhere else.
It’s Tom Brady vs. Patrick Mahomes. It’s pretty widely known that Brady and Mahomes take vastly different approaches to nutrition. Mahomes splurges with burgers and barbecue while Brady is famous for a strict plant-based diet.
Brady says 80 percent of his diet is plant-based, while the other 20 percent consists of organic, lean protein. His diet includes a lot of nuts, fruits and vegetables. The Brady diet is largely centered around anti-inflammatory foods that enhance athletic performance, recovery, reduce risk of injury, and boost energy. He doesn’t consume dairy, gluten, GMO, MSG, corn, soy, overly processed foods, sugar and artificial sweeteners, coffee, alcohol, and he supposedly drinks 12-25 glasses of water per day. He also reportedly refuses to eat three hours before bed.
Now take Mahomes. The Chiefs QB is vocal about not having a strict diet. He eats everything from Whataburger, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes and steak. He has also talked about eating his favorite sandwich from a KC barbecue restaurant every other week. His first Postmates order included three-piece fried chicken and pan-roasted Scottish salmon. And now I’m really hungry.
Brady may be eating healthier, sure, but Mahomes is the one I’d rather be dining with.
Go Chiefs.
(You can find Ivan Foley searching for the best three-piece fried chicken meal. Email ivan@plattecountylandmark.com)