Jill Biden to visit Mississippi as COVID-19 vaccination rate sputters

by Will Stribling | Mississippi Today
June 21, 2021

First Lady Jill Biden will visit COVID-19 vaccination sites in Jackson on Tuesday as part of the Biden Administration’s nationwide tour to reach Americans who haven’t been vaccinated and promote vaccine education.

The visit comes as Mississippi continues to rank last in the nation in the share of its population that has been vaccinated. Only 32% of Mississippians have been fully vaccinated despite significant gains made in recent months in vaccinating the most vulnerable and making vaccine access more equitable.

Mississippi is also the state furthest behind in reaching President Joe Biden’s goal of getting at least one COVID-19 shot into the arms of 70% of adults by July 4. Just over 36% of Mississippians are currently vaccinated, providing no hope the state will reach even 50% by Independence Day. If vaccination rates don’t improve significantly, the state wouldn’t reach that 70% threshold for well over a year.

No significant improvement is on the horizon as the state’s vaccination rate continues to tank. The 15,073 shots given last week represent a decrease of over 87% from February’s peak.

As the state's vaccine rate continues to sputter, Gov. Tate Reeves announced last week that the last remnants of COVID-related government policy in Mississippi — the state’s COVID-19 emergency orders — will expire on Aug. 15, more than a year after the orders were first enacted. 

“While a State of Emergency should no longer be necessary after August 15, all Mississippians should remain vigilant, get vaccinated, and follow public health guidance,” Reeves said in a statement.

Even though Mississippi has remained under a state of emergency order due to the pandemic, there have been virtually no safety protocols in effect for months. 

Reeves also announced that emergency COVID-19 operations with the Mississippi National Guard will end on July 15. The guard’s involvement has been an essential component of the state’s vaccine rollout, assisting the Mississippi State Department of Health with the logistical challenges of operating vaccination sites and putting shots in the arms of thousands of Mississippians.

“The governor’s timeline to lift Mississippi’s State of Emergency declaration on August 15, 2021, ensures our over 1,500 service members complete all necessary out-processing requirements and receive the benefits and entitlements they have earned during their dedicated service to our state,” Maj. Gen. Janson Boyles, the adjutant general of the Mississippi National Guard, said in a written statement.

The Mississippi Department of Health reported on Friday that 1,071,623 people in Mississippi — about 36% of the state’s population — have received at least their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Nearly 953,00 people have been fully inoculated since the state began distributing vaccines in December.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Tupelo Automotive Museum to auction unique classics

I learned today the Tupelo Automotive Museum's collection of fabulous vehicles will be auctioned off in April.

If you haven't been to Tupelo, Mississippi, the birthplace of Elvis - the King or Rock and Roll - then it's worth a day trip, cross-country trip, or even an around-the-world trip to see the fine collection of memorable classics. The auction is expected to attract car collectors and antique vehicles enthusiasts from all over the globe.

I was there shortly after it opened 16 years ago and have been back since then for another stroll down a memory lane of dream cars. That's when I came across a 1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser, which I thought had enough chrome to outfit everything else in the museum. I have always been a Jaguar fan and there was no shortage of Jaguars from the 40s and 50s, including a 1948 Jaguar Mark IV, and the most beautiful car I had ever seen - a 1955 Jaguar XK140 - all decked out in what looked like a Pearl White.

I'm sure car buffs from all over the world will convene in Tupelo April 25-27 for the auction of all times. I'll try to be there myself.

It'll be bitter-sweet as the unique vehicles find new owners and homes. I'll miss the cars, but will always have the memories.

Long live the Mercury Turnpike Cruiser.

NASA remembers former President George H.W. Bush

Embed from Getty Images

As the nation and world mourn the passing of former President George Herbert Walker Bush, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine also expressed his thoughts about President Bush’s impact on the Space Exploration initiative.

"NASA and the nation mourn the passing of President George Herbert Walker Bush, a leader who was a passionate advocate for space and the power of hope,” said Bridenstine in a statement. “The President noted it was humanity's destiny to explore, and America's destiny to lead. We salute this great American leader, who challenged us to chart a course for the future to benefit all humanity."

Birdenstine also lauded the president’s long service to our nation as a congressman, ambassador, director of Central Intelligence, and as an aviator in World War II even before assuming his duties as commander in chief, have left a long and enduring legacy.

Other notable contributions by President Bush to the space program included his vision of “a journey into tomorrow, journey to another planet and a manned mission to Mars.

It‘s ironic that NASA’s Insight Mars lander made a successful landing on the Red Planet on Nov. 26, just about a week before President Bush’s death on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. His vision was to help sustain NASA’s early work on the International Space Station and aid efforts to send humans farther into the solar system for extended periods.

NASA shares the notion it was the President’s will for humanity’s destiny to explore and America’s destiny to lead.

As the 41st President, who died at the age of 94, is remembered during a funeral service at Washington National Cathedral Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2018, NASA salutes “this great American leader, who challenged us to chart a course for the future to benefit all humanity."

NASA planning humans in Low-Earth Orbit spaceflight

NASA is beginning to think about how humans can participate in future space opportunities in Low-Earth Orbit, or LEO.

The National Space Council, along with the Department of State and Commerce, are working reports that examine the challenges of human spaceflight and the potential economic contributions.

NASA and its collaboration interagency partners have four lofty goals in mind that include:

1. To achieve a continuous U.S. presence in LEO – both NASA astronauts and private citizens – in order to support the use of space by U.S. citizens, companies, academia, and international partners and to maintain a permanent American foothold on the nearest part of the space frontier.
2. To create a regulatory environment in LEO that enables American commercial activities to thrive.
3. To conduct human spaceflight research in LEO that will advance the technology and systems required for long-duration spaceflight systems, including systems for interplanetary travel and permanent space habitation.
4. To expand and extend commercial opportunity though international partnerships and engagement.

NASA will be focused on these exploration plans for the coming years as they work toward plans for commercial crews and long-duration human spaceflight systems.

More information can be found here. Let’s start the countdown to launch.

Ukraine savors independence, focus on economic revival

Ukraine is the second largest county in eastern Europe and is about the size of Texas when comparing to the United States, or about twice the size of Italy.

If you’re looking for it on a map, the bordering countries include Russia, Belarus, Poland and Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova. After having been under Russian rule for years, Ukraine gained independence in 1991 and has been seeking democracy, prosperity and economic stability going forward for the past 27 years.

Although the Crimean Autonomous Republic, or the Crimea peninsula, is a part of the Ukraine, the Russian Federation returned in 2014, we’ll have to say this southern peninsula, along with about one-third of Luhans’k and Donets’k oblasts, is currently occupied by Russia. You can’t reflect on Ukraine for long and not think about the Chernobyl nuclear power station explosion in 1986 in the town of Pripyat, where a radioactive plume spread across Europe. Around 30,000 people were evacuated, and a little over 32 years later, the site remains inhabitable to this day, except for limited amounts of time.

Although not in a current conflict, Ukraine maintains the second-largest military in Europe and has the world’s third largest nuclear weapons arsenal. According to the Central Intelligence Agency World Fact Book, the military is composed of ground forces, high mobility assault troops, naval forces and air forces. There is a compulsory military service requirement of 20-27 years of age.

The Verkhovna Rada (Supreme Council) building in Kyiv is home to Ukraine's
450-member parliament. Photo credit: Central Intelligence Agency

Ukraine has a Semi-presidential republic form of government, with the current leader of state being Petro Poroshenko, who has been in power since 2014, with his term ending in 2019. This form of government calls for the leadership of the state and government to be separate. Therefore, Volodymyr Groysman, the prime minister elected in 2016, serves as head of government.

Ukraine by the numbers

Category	Statistics
Population	44.1 million
Capital City (Kiev)	2.96 million
Area in square miles	375,028
Achieved independence	1991
Government	semi-presidential republic
Currency	Hryvnia
Birth rate	10.3/1,000 population
Death rate	14.4/1,000 population
Language	Ukrainian 67.5%; Russian 29.6%
Dominant religion	Orthodox Christianity
Ethnic Groups	Ukrainian 77.8%; Russian 17.3%
Median age	40.6 years
Gross domestic Product (GDP)	$368.8 billion
Labor force	17.99 million
Unemployment	9.5 %
Telephone land lines	7.1 million
Telephone mobile subscribers	55.7 million
Internet users	23.2 million
Registered air carriers	17
Airports	187

Source: Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook

Approaching the Mariinsky Palace in Kyiv, the official ceremonial residence of the president of Ukraine. The palace is one of two magnificent Baroque buildings in Ukraine designed by the renowned architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli (the other is Saint Andrew's Church, in Kyiv).
Photo credit: Central Intelligence Agency

The capital city of Kiev, or Kyiv for the traditional spelling, with a population of around 2.96 million, is the seventh-largest city in Europe and has a time difference of seven hours ahead of Washington, DC. Since gaining their independence, the Ukraine has been striving for a better economy and it seems that U.S. investors are taking notice. With an abundance of natural resources, such as coal, metals and fossil fuels, along with an emerging hi-tech industry, Ukraine is moving forward to improve its business environment. The American Chamber, founded in 1992 and with offices in 44 European countries, is currently playing an important in promoting the Ukrainian economy.

Regarding the latter mention of technology, the Ukraine has gotten a reputation throughout Europe for being a haven for IT skills, with scores of programmers, engineers and outsourcing centers. Among U.S. firms utilizing Ukraine’s pool of IT talent, estimated to be around 90,000, Google and Oracle are leading the way. The founders of WhatsApp and PayPal have roots in the Ukraine, as well as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

Even with the presence of Russia in the Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine seems determined to move forward toward economic revival by using its natural resources and strong IT presence to secure its place in world markets.

The #MeToo move sparked high-profile sexual assault cases

As I write this, it has been 27 days since acclaimed actor and comedian Bill Cosby started a three to 10-year prison sentence for sexual assault. About a year earlier, Harvey Weinstein, a film producer, was also in the news regarding sexual assault allegations. Most recently, Brett Kavanaugh, now a confirmed U.S. Supreme Court Justice, faced a dramatic hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee for allegations of sexual assault against three women.

It might can be said Weinstein’s allegations sparked the #MeToo movement involving high-profile figures. The Temin and Company, a boutique management consultancy firm, has created a database of 810 people accused of #MeToo related conduct, using the arrest of Cosby in December 2015 as a benchmark. According to Temin’s “#MeToo Index” research, the accusations range from the arts and entertainment sector and businesses to media and broadcasting, as well as colleges and universities.

Weinstein revelations spurred increase in public accusations

Month	Year	Accusations
June	2017	10
July	2017	10
August	2017	9
September	2017	11
October	2017	78
November	2017	119
December	2017	10

While the nation was focused on the Cosby sentencing and then the Kavanaugh hearings, October 5 rolled around as being one year since Weinstein’s allegations of decades of sexual misconduct. The Temin research shows sexual assault allegations increased following his public revelations.

Increase in accusations grow monthly after Weinstein

Month	Year	Accusations
April	2018	28
May	2018	39
June	2018	24
July	2018	39
August	2018	41
September	2018	35

As the allegations dominated the news cycles, various organizations and corporate boards were caught up in the shockwaves and consequences, forcing many to pay serious attention to the allegations and take some action against those being accused of sexual misconduct. The Temin report said it simply as “no one wants to be a #MeToo company.”

Most accusations from entertainment, politics, business

Month	Accusations
Arts & Entertainment	234
Politics and Government	192
Business	(including 40+in finance)159
Media and Broadcasting	114
Colleges and Universities	63

The #MeToo movement has grown into a powerhouse very quickly, and Temin believes narrative of victims sharing their stories and metrics, such as the data in this report, will help expose “long-hidden truths” of sexual assault. Temin also believes more and more organizations will investigate their corporate cultures and more incidents will be exposed.

Final resolutions of cases not still pending

Month	Accusations
Arrested (some before or after being fired)	75
Deceased (3 committed suicide)	18
Fired	146
Resigned	18
Retired	18
Suspended, or are on leave	55
Lost work (including entertainers or sports figures)/others	104
No repercussions	221

The Temin company, who also specializes in crisis, reputation, and culture management, concluded from their study that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Emeli Sande': Lincoln Motor Co. profiles inspiring pianist

British singer and songwriter Emeli Sande' take a break from the piano for a playful moment during the filming of the Lincoln Journey series. (Photo courtesy of The Lincoln Motor Company)

The Lincoln Motor Company is more than about manufacturing fine automobiles. Here of late, the luxury brand of Ford Motor Company has been showcasing inspiring African-Americans who have big dreams of being successful.

Through their "The Journey" campaign, Lincoln seeks out entrepreneurs, artists and others who have followed their dreams in the African-American community.

One such person is Emeli Sande', a British award-winning singer and songwriter who loves creating music on the piano as she shared her "Journey of Unconditional Love" while being featured as the first artist in the program.

Sande' does not see her music as being commercial; she draws inspiration from the people around her and finds the experience incredible and humbling.

"When my fingers tough the keys, I can speak 10 more languages," said Sande'. "I hope the music will last longer than my life will."

The campaign will consist of seven videos and also include award-winning filmmaker Nelson George; award-winning director Kenny Leon; award-winning artist Danny Simmons; artist Afua Richardson; photographer Terrence A. Reese; and acclaimed couture designer Bobby Joseph.

Their stories will be chronicled on the "Lincoln Now" storytelling platform, which will also take an insiders look at artisans and craftspeople in the fields of art, design, fashion, cuisine, engineering and more.

The series will also be available on Lincoln's social median channels, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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