Gadolhadorah

He is “innocent” just like the Trumpkopf was “100 percent exonerated” by the Mueller Report and “Chris Christie and his political hacks did not violate the technical terms of the Federal fraud statute in the shutdown of the GW Bridge. Flynn repeatedly lied or misled everyone from the VP to the investigators but the prosecutors failed to obtain their indictment correctly under DOJ guidelines.
“Innocent”, no. “Lucky” yes.
There is a big difference between have a charge thrown out based on technical violations inappropriate behavior by prosecutors as was the case with Flynn That feature of our criminal justice system works to protect those on the fringes of our political system just as it hopefully does to everyday citizens.

Ditto to CTL Lawyer’s comments. There are several remote learning “virtual meeting” classrooms available but I’m guessing 90 percent of the schools (frum and secular) are using Zoom.
However, its really important that the teachers have been trained on using zoom or else it becomes a real circus (which not surprisingly the kids quickly learn to exploit ).
Obviously, its very unlikely that some of the older rebbeim will be able to quickly adopt to the technology (especially if they’ve never used a computer) but the younger generation should be able to pick it up really quickly. The basic options allowing muting and shared screens are very intuitive.
For those families fortunate enough to have a high speed connection, adequate bandwidth should not be a problem. For others with conventional cable connections or cellular-satellite hotspots or those living in high-rise buildings wired with a centralized cable network, I’m hearing that there is brequent buffering and getting disconnected frequently.
Beware of some of the other software being offered. For example, one of the largest and wealthiest school systems in the country had planned to use the Blackbaud system starting several weeks ago. I t has been an unmitigated disaster and the teachers have gone rouge and using their own Zoom accounts for ad hoc instruction while the school system struggles to fix their problems. There are some really top notch systems from MicroSoft and Google but they are more for business use and not as intuitive as zoom.
I’m obviously NOT a fan of “teleconferencing” and really don’t understand why the parents would not recognize that their kids are not getting the benefits of interactive and visual learning they can simply never get over a phoneline.

See the DOJ “interested party” filing in the litigation brought in Virginia by a small church on Smith Island which had been issued a summons for violating the state’s guidelines limiting church gatherings to 10 individuals. In their case, they had 16 attendees in a building that seated over 200 and had taken other steps to follow CDC guidelines. While I’m a big supporter of the guidelines in general, some of their prescriptive rules make no sense, especially when you are dealing with constitutionally protected activities such as shooting ranges and religious services. I’m personally clueless as to why golf courses in many states were initially closed since I cannot think of a sport with greater social distancing when you walk the course (especially since I spend most of the time in the rough). However, golfing and getting a tattoo are not constitutionally protected. A bit more common sense would have made the rules go down a bit easier with most (but not all) those affected.

There is a big difference if you will we using it for business purposes where a more comprehensive and inclusive search is needed versus personal use where you might be willing to forego some sites in the name of shamiras aneiyim. I’ve used adblocik with much success but it does allow through some sites you might be uncomfortable with. I’m guessing that Reb Yosef has vetted the software he referenced and it will be sufficiently limiting for mehadrim.

If we want to be transparent about the public policy choices in “reopening” there should be an explicit statement by each jurisdiction as to how many deaths among our vulnerable populations (aka over 65, weak immune systems, etc.) they are willing to accept in order to save jobs. That metric, (acceptable deaths per 1000 jobs saved) is likely to vary among jurisdictions. For example, the Lt. Governor of Texas last week suggested that some things (e.g. getting your hair done or a confederate flag tattoo on you behind)) “are more important that saving life” . Hopefully, the lives of vulnerable groups have a higher value in other parts of the country.

The Eleventh Amendment generally limits private actions brought against states in federal court. … A state may not be sued in federal court by its own citizen or a citizen of another state, unless the state consents to jurisdiction. However, where the claim relates to denial of a (federal) constitutional right, such claims often are heard in the federal appellate courts and SCOTUS (e.g. Heller decision striking down D.C. weapons law under Second Amendment, Oberefell (Bakers”) decision striking down Colorado civil rights law in the case of baker refusing to provide wedding cake for gay couple etc).

Its not a binary decision to open or stay closed. The governors of the tri-state area have already said they will adopt the Trump Task Force guidelines of beginning a phased reopening once there are two weeks of declining infections rates. We are moving in that direction but its silly to think about suddenly waking up one morning and everything will be back to usual (unless we decide to emulate Sweden).

The photos this week of the bodies of those who were niftar from the virus piled into rented box trucks on Brooklyn streets outside funeral homes should help get the message across to those who might be skeptical or who are fortunate to not know anyone struck with the mageafah.
If not, probably nothing will help communicate the scope of this tragedy.

147: Very good question. I believe a good case could be made that the tuition for the period where no instruction was provided could be treated as a donation to a charitable entity. However, I think there will probably have to be some IRS ruling confirming that view. For example, the mosdos may have to go through the motions of “offering refunds, albeit over an extended period of time” or allowing parents to forego their rights to a refund and consent to the treatment of the relevant amounts as “donations” to the school.
Do we have a tax lawyer here to comment?

What is the big deal about either postponing the chassanah until later this summer when its fairly obvious that the most stringent rules on gathering s will be relaxed or simply having a barebones ceremony now under the distancing guidelines with just the chasan/kallah/rav and eidim and then hold the big party later when the Simcha halls reopen.

n0meshorah: A 2:1 mix of chicken soup and Lysol or Bleach followed by 30 minutes in a tanning booth has also been shown to have very promising results.
Zelencko’s claims (along with those of several other practitioners with claims) have been widely reported in the media, including here on YWN, Fox News, OAN, etc.
Problem is that NONE of these claims has been backed by ANY verifiable data or even limited blind case profiles redacted for privacy. I’m sure that each of these individuals truly believes in the efficacy of their regimens. Problem is that we don’t prescribe medications of tens of thousand or even larger numbers of very sick individuals, many with underlying health issues, without some degree of verified data, however limited. If Zelenko or others have such data, then they should make it available. So far its just claims. Hopefully, he can find some way to share his case records with some independent experts for verification.
But don’t worry, the President announced today that HE PERSONALLY has taken charge of having a Corona Virus Vaccine available by the end of December.

Doingyourbest. Possibly….if all those who asked for the drug were supporters of a certain political leader who had been hyping the drug and were willing to give their lives to make a political statement. I think you know how silly you mashal is in the context of a any decision on the public health benefits and efficacy of a drug with potentially deadly side effects. Instead, consider the outcome of drug trrials like that announced today for Redesevir which while very preliminary, was still sufficiently well-designed and statically significant so as to allow even the conservative Dr. Fauci to say, “lets go for it” and allow immediate prescribing under supervision.i

CT Lawyer: W’eve discussed the constitutional age issue previously. Neither I nor any rational person believe that Biden would select AOC or anyone on the far left as a running mate and then expect to have a chance in the key electoral states where he has to win over moderate voters who gave Trump his win in 2016. My point was sarcastic in that I’m not sure there is ANYTHING Biden could do or any “moonshot” would be available to him if Trump is able to successfully navigate the pandemic, both medically and economically. Likewise, nothing that Trump could do if we don’t “reopen” soon without a major uptick in the death rate. The virus has become the singular factor in American politics. for the foreseeable future.

All of the governors want to reopen their states ASAP for the SAME reasons you articulate. Aside from the public health concerns, their state budgets are being decimated by lost revenues and massive new expenses, much of which will not be covered by federal grants. Even the Trumpkopf say that each locality must make this decision based on numerical criteria that some states have met and others may need another few weeks. I”l rely on the expert but I think we all look forward to getting back to some semblance of normal.

If you include an exclamation point after the question mark, your comment will go to the head of the line and the Mods will expedite its review and posting.

The CDC plans to issue guidelines within the next week or 10 days regarding summer camp reopening and “best practices” for the Summer 2020 season. While these guidelines will not be mandatory, it is likely that many states including NY, NJ, Connecticut and Pennsylvania will adopt them and perhaps impose even more stringent requirements. Apparently, these guidelines will acknowledge that strict social distancing is impossible in a camp setting but may include many of the items discussed earlier in this thread and include some of the following.
*All campers and staff will have to be tested and show negative results within a short period of arrival
*Start-up dates for camps may be pushed back by several weeks, especially in Southern states where the school-year ends earlier
*The numbers of campers will have to be reduced over ordinary years to allow for some greater degree of social distancing
* The number of campers per bunk will be reduced and bunks reconfigured to maximize distancing
*Meal service and other activities involving large gatherings (minyanim??) will have to be staggered to reduce numbers and allow for more spacing
*cleaning staff will have to be increased substantially will new focus on “wiping down” common surfaces used in group activities
*increased on-site nursing staff to monitor campers and staff health, ability perform immediate testing where any symptoms are suspected
*limits on any offsite activities for campers
*no visiting days for parents and limited on/off property trips for counselors and staff once they arrive
*actions plans for immediate responses in case any campers/staff test positive for virus

Not clear how each state will implement these standards, or in the case of NY/NJ, whether Cuomo and Murphy will even decide to allow camps to reopen under ANY guidelines. If they do, there will be higher costs per camper as a result of fixed costs spread over fewer campers and higher costs to conform to the guidelines.

Good news is that children and teens continue to show lower infection rates and when they contract the virus, fewer complications and quicker recovery. However, most frum camps also have older staff who are at much greater risk so special care will still be needed to protect older rebbeim etc.

Reb Yosef: 78.3 million unique people according to Twitter’s most recent tally of Trump’s followers

JAMA literally just released the results of a clinical study that raises big RED warning flags on variations of this drug (in various formulations) and combinations. Bottom line. No demonstrated efficacy in most patients with Corona 19 with “DEATH” listed as “a primary negative outcome” . JAMA article says it hould be used ONLY in a hospital setting under strict supervision by cardiologists. FDA immediately issued warnings that use by physicians outside of hospitals should be discontinued although they have limited enforcement authority given how much of the drug is now in the hands of doctors and pharmacists.

Again, it MAY be helpful to certain patients under very limited circumstances. but otherwise you might have better outcomes by following Dr. Trumpkopfs other suggestion of pushing the patient in a wheelchair into the hospital parking lot in bright sunlight and injecting him/her with high concentrations of Lysol .
The newly published study can be accessed through the JAMA website and possibly other medical news links.

The OP is a sad manifestation of how stressed many in the tzibur are and in ways that those of us who are fortunate enough not to have economic challenges really don’t comprehend. Sadly, those involved in chinuch at our yeshivas, day-schools, BJs etc. are also among those likely to be economically challenged. Teaching is one of the lowest paid professions and those working in religious schools generally earn even less than the median salary of public school teachers in the same area. They also have families, mortgages and tuition and the same pressures as the OP author. Most, although not all, are still working and find creative ways to continue instruction for families who may not have easy access to broadband and computers or PDAs. Our yeshivos are financially stressed in the best of times and even more so now. Many will have to incur significantly higher costs to address new realities once the schools are allowed to open.
Now is not the time to bash our mosdos for not being more efficient or finding ways to reduce administrative overhead that has been a problem for years.

Yes, if you are serious about each of the multiple criteria you established for such a website. There are some that will satisfy a subset of your criteria, but offhand, I’m not aware of any that will satisfy ALL. of them. It really depends on how flexible you are.

Things I cannot do without: Having the family in the same room for the sedorim…..cannot imagine ever again having to do a seder by ourselves.

FT reporting in the past hour that Gilead terminated its randomized clinical trials of the drug Remdesivir in China since the results did not warrant continuation. This was another one of the drugs touted by the President in his self-proclaimed role of “Good New Donald”. There are still other ongoing studies of this same drug in the U.S. so hopefully they might offer more positive outcomes.
There is a high likelihood that one of these drugs in clinical evaluation will show positive outcomes, but it may take weeks or months. However, promoting individual drugs on the basis of political connections, rumors or “whims” is reckless and dangerous.