This political cartoon is a commentary on the rights people are willing to fight for. A lot of right wing people were willing to protest and fight against social-distance measures and masks. But not willing to fight for the right to live by minority communities.

I like to make collages. I made this one this morning. Masks are our new normal. It is hard to imagine life without them. The Girl With the White Mask was made using digital collage.

This meme sums it up. No one knows what to expect next. Everyone is tired and frustrated. Murder ducks. Enough said.

This pretty much sums up the year 2020. It is the worst. Pandemic, job losses, quarantine, death, murder hornets, isolation, dust clouds from Siberia, protests, police brutality, disruptions of all we know.

This inspirational message is making its way around. Suicide rates are high right now. People are frustrated. This message asks if this is a time of transformation? A chance to start anew.

The drawing depicts Lady Liberty in between a crowd of protesters and a crowd of police. Liberty thinks she somehow is no longer in America. The police are in riot gear, the protesters are wearing masks.

When the early BLM protests during the pandemic led to some instances of looting we saw it on the news and the BLM movement was blamed. However, it is common for rich executives and bankers to get away with much larger crimes. Picture depicts a young masked man stealing a TV, across the street from an older man wearing a suit leaving a bank stealing a large bag of money. The older man says to the younger man, "amateur".

People protest against say at home orders.

There is a lot of mask shaming and mask non-compliance going on right now. This drawing speaks to the sacrifice of rights for the greater good.

Yesterday I found out via Facebook that someone who works in the Leander city offices has test positive for Covid-19. The city sent everyone home and closed the building to deep clean. Later in the evening I learned that the city will be holding their biweekly city council meeting tonight, in person! To make matters worse we are in the early voting period for several runoff elections and the room where the city holds the city council meeting is also the room where we vote. I personally find this infuriating and unconscionable when other options are available. I was already thinking that my husband and I should go to two separate locations to vote thinking that the chances of us both being exposed are less if we go to different locations. This would hopefully leave one of us healthy to take care of our son. While people across the nation have been advocating for mail in voting Texas has taken a firm stand on the issue and said no. The only people that can request a mail in ballot are those over 65 or a person with a disability. While I plan to vote in the general election come hell or high water, I’m not sure if the runoff is worth the risk. No one should have to choose between voting and their health. Here is a local news article that explains the situation. https://www.kxan.com/news/your-local-election-hq/leander-closes-pat-bryson-municipal-hall-after-employee-tests-positive-for-covid-19-early-voting-still-allowed/

Yesterday, late in the afternoon, I received two text messages which appear to come from Austin, Texas officials warning me of the increase spread of coronavirus in the area and encouraging me to take precations. They also encouraged people staying home and enjoying the upcoming fourth of July holiday with only their household members. After receiving these two text messages, in both English and Spanish, I also received a phone call with a recorded message expressing similar things. It should also be noted that I do not live in Austin or Travis County. I'm in the suburb of Leander in Williamson County.

With everyone trying to maintain social distancing to prevent the transmission of covid-19 during the heat of summer one thing has become very expensive, swimming pools. While inflatable back yard kiddie pools like the one pictured usually cost about $25 this one, and numerous others that look the same, are going for five times that on Amazon. Getting a pool isn't only extremely expensive in the inflatable variety, the same is true for larger above ground and inground pools. Our neighbor ordered an above ground pool back in late April or early May. The company delayed shipping for weeks and finally canceled the order because they couldn't fill it. At my house we decided to have an inground pool built. Though we started the process in early May the pool isn't scheduled to be finished until early October because the demand for pools to be built is enormous. Our builder told us they usually get about 120 inquires per month and in May they received over 600.

As covid cases explode across the U.S., especially in the southern and western portions of the country, young people in Tuscaloosa, Alabama are doing something unthinkable. They are hosting covid parties. While authorities thought this was a rumor upon first being notified, further investigation showed it was really happening. Unlike previous generations who held "chicken pox parties" in an effort to expose their children to the disease while they were young and less likely to suffer complications (prior to a vaccine being available) the covid parties do not appear to have any purpose other than entertainment. People are hosting parties and inviting people known to have the disease. Everyone then puts money in a pot and the first person to come down with covid gets the pot.

Austin, the capital of Texas is offering hotel accommodations at no cost to allow people to isolate themselves if they have covid or are waiting on test results.

Stores across San Francisco closed their doors during the city's shelter-in-place orders that begin mid-March. Many chose to board up their storefronts to protect their businesses. Local street artist, fnnch, began painting Honey Bears wearing masks on boarded up storefronts. The response was so positive that he began sending Honey Bear kits to various San Francisco businesses. The street artist is now selling Honey Bear kits for those who wish to participate in the Honey Bear scavenger hunt, alongside other Honey Bear merchandise, such as masks.

This is a photograph of a piece of street art in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley. Stores across San Francisco closed their doors during the city's shelter-in-place orders that begin mid-March. Many stores boarded up their windows in response to shelter-in-place orders and because of looting that took place across Bay Area cities. Artists responded by creating beautiful murals on boarded up storefronts. This art piece was created by an owner of the restaurant Dobbs Ferry Of San Francisco, Lee Ann Frahm. Taken from the restaurant's instagram account, "When she decided to paint this, it was about finding a message that would connect with someone as they walked by... words can heal, they can make us smile, they can make us feel, they can make us laugh or cry, and they are powerful enough to stop us in our tracks and make us take one extra minute to breathe and appreciate who and where we are."

Fear of COVID-19 has kept us from ordering any restaurant food, even take out or delivery, since March. Then, during the second week of June, my kids won a contest at (virtual) Sunday school where the prize was the children’s pastor delivering dinner of the kids’ choice to our house, and my husband’s work gave everyone Grub hub credit for their virtual end of the year party. Worn down by hunger, I relented and we got McDonald’s (for the kids’ prize) and Cali Tacos (from Grubhub). Not having either for so long, we may have gone a little overboard with our orders. It did take 20 minutes before we ate, because I removed all the wrappers wearing gloves, transferred the food to plates, threw all trash outside, and washed vigorously hands before we ate. It’s been two weeks, so I’m hoping it was safe. It’s a strange experience, we were used to having 85 Degrees or Starbucks at least once a week. It’s like when I was a kid and restaurant food was a special treat.

This lovely lady was demonstrating in the recent protests. She was killed by the police's use of teargas on the crowd. One report said that she had asthma, but a later report said that she did not. I looked at her picture, and felt so sad for the loss of a beautiful soul.

This is a humorous account of what many couples felt like when they were "stuck with each other" at home in quarantine. We bug each other, we can't live with each other, yet we can't get away from each other. Add kids to the mix, and you have endless cabin fever and chaos.

This is a Twitter post (social media) illustrating the plight of incarcerated person in the U.S. during the coronavirus pandemic.

This is a Twitter post (social media) and the responses it received about a protest urging California governor Gavin Newsom to give early release to inmates to protect them from contracting covid-19. Here is a link to an article referenced in the thread https://www.orlandomedicalnews.com/article/3545/letter-to-the-editor-why-increasing-number-of-cases-of-covid-19-is-not-bad-news

This is a Twitter post (social media) from an incarcerated person using a contraband cell phone telling about their experience with covid-19. He saw a father die on Father's Day while struggling to breath and waiting for an ambulance. There are numerous news articles exposing similar stories. They say sources tell them inmates are not receiving medical attention either before or after being tested for covid-19.

This is a Twitter post (social media) from a prison reform advocate. In the post he poses the question is the governor of California, Gavin Newsome, committing genocide by transferring inmates from a correctional facility with known covid cases to facilities that have no cases. The Tweet and responses show people's feelings on the subject.

This is a Twitter (social media) post discussing the large outbreaks of covid-19 within U.S. correctional facilities. The Tweet and responses reference a news article and online petition also linked to this.

These images show a Twitter social media post and the replies it received surrounding the transfer of inmates from San Quentin to other facilities introduced the virus to the other facilities. The author of the Tweet also references an article from the Sacramento Bee entitled "Major COVID-19 outbreak at rural California prison. Officials blame state for inmate transfer" Read more here: https://www.sacbee.com/news/coronavirus/article243822702.html#storylink=cpy

This is a Twitter post and replies discussing the risk of people in U.S. prisons and jails of dying from Covid-19. The main argument is whether incarcerated people should be released early or placed on house arrest so they can effectively prevent themselves from being exposed to covid-19 or does this present a public safety risk.

This Twitter screenshot of a graph illustrating the number of people in the nations jails waiting for trial far outweighs the number of people who have been convicted of a crime. The covid crisis has exposed the make up of the jail population and has also brought to light the reason so many people are awaiting trial in jail. They are awaiting trial in jail, more often than not, because they cannot afford to pay bail to be released. While the pandemic, like all disasters, effects people of color and low income disproportionately, it has also shed a light on the inequity of the bail system and caused people to wonder if those in the nation's jails and prisons deserve to risk dying from the virus.

While the headline on this article seems extremely alarming it is less so after reading the article but still concerning. This prison offers a sexual predator rehab program and explains why only sex offenders are being housed here. Except that there were still a small number of prisoners that were serving time for other offenses and these people were transferred to other facilities. At this point 80% of the prison inmates have tested positive for Covid-19. While small numbers of inmates have been released early from prison to aid in slowing the spread of covid within the correctional facilities no one from this prison has been released early because sex offenders are specifically exempt from the option for early release due to the public safety risk they pose.

My daughter was having the gymnastics season of her life in 2020, placing in every event at every meet, and even reaching #19 on America’s Top 100 for vault for her level. One of the last places we went before quarantine in March was a gymnastics competition and I remember being uneasy at the crowds and the fact that the girls used the same apparatuses and equipment throughout the day. No one else seemed concerned, and when I asked if State Championships were still happening, everyone looked at me like I was insane. Of course, two weeks later, everything shut down. She has now been away from gym for over three months - the longest she’s been without her coaches since she was 3 - and both State Championships and Regionals were cancelled. No word on whether there will even be a 2021 season. To keep up the morale of the team, her gym sent information about a virtual State Championship, where gymnastics could submit videos from previous meets and judges would watch and score. I submitted without telling her, because I wasn’t sure what to expect. When she received medals and a champion t-shirt in the mail because she scored 1st All Around for her level (first in every event) she looked happier than she has since quarantine began. It’s not USA Gymnastics sanctioned, so it doesn’t “count,” but to my daughter, it is as real as any in person meet and was exactly what she needed to have closure to what had been an amazing season. We don’t know when she’ll go back - her gym opened three weeks ago, but with numbers rising dramatically in our area, the risk isn’t worth it for us. Competitions are fun, and my daughter loves her sport and is extremely dedicated, but a healthy and alive daughter is way more important to us than medals in a coffin.

Stores across San Francisco closed their doors during the city's shelter-in-place orders that begin mid-March. Many stores boarded up their windows in response to shelter-in-place orders and because of looting that took place in across Bay Area cities. Artists responded by creating beautiful murals across many Bay Area cities. This piece of art features a bear sitting in front of what appear to be white birch trees, making a mask at a Singer style sewing machine.

During California's shelter-in-place orders, a trumpeter serenades local residents on an empty lawn in front of San Francisco's Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park. Musicians throughout the city are gracing their communities with the sound of music during the challenging presence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During quarantine, all sports were canceled. ESPN was playing games from the Eighties, Nineties, and early 2000s. This was a big gap in our lives, and sports-lovers sured did miss their sporting events. This is a humorous video using a Rooma vacuum and a Swiffer mop to simulate the sport of curling.

Adley describes herself as a Grammy-awarded entertainer, comedic influencer, self-proclaimed wine connoisseur, and country singer. She seems to be surviving the quarantine and the COVID time with pranks recorded on her daily videos on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. This particular video perfectly sums up how confusing all of our instructions and medical directives were during this period.

During the Coronavirus period, people worked from their homes. Meetings were held via video chat which had its own set of problems--things such as getting the software to work, positioning the camera, looking presentable, keeping the kids and the pets under control, etc. Remote school had the same problems with the additional challenge of keeping the kids involved and learning. This is a funny look at those meetings. Youtube user MrAndrewCotter holds a business meeting with his two dogs, Mable and Olive.

This is a sonnet written by Susan Drennan Gabriel Bunn. She a native New Yorker and wrote this on location in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Susan is a musician, writer, and fine artist. This is her poetry about the Corona time.

Wilton is a small town in Connecticut where I grew up. Due to the Coronavirus, their traditional graduation was canceled. Instead, they got together and had a graduation parade on the school grounds. I also included a column from a graduating senior

My English professor, Jo Kaplan, pen name for Joanna Parypinski, wrote a lovely collection of poetry while in quarantine in April 2020. The poems are beautiful in their simplicity and accessibility. The language is sometimes surprising, but always profound and universal. I think they have captured the feelings of all of us during this difficult time.

This is a picture of my daughter doing her speech therapy during Covid-19.Normally it is done in person but due to the stay at home order zoom meetings were instead utilized.These meetings although better than nothing were not as effective since my child is so young and cannot sit still for a 30 minute meeting.It's important to show how the coronavirus has impacted children with learning disabilities or delays.

This is a news article about how europeans have reacted to the United States opening back up amidst rising coronavirus numbers.Many Americans are still concerned with the virus but are being forced to return to work or be fired.Others take this as a sign that the coronavirus is either not as dangerous or not as much of a problem. Everywhere in the United States there is a spike in cases and it seems that the more than 100,000 lost lives doesn't matter more than money.

This post on Facebook demonstrates the existence of pandemic skeptics in the San Francisco Bay Area. The creator of the post questions the validity of COVID-19 testing and claims that positive test results are falsified.

Today I stopped by a community rock garden that popped up at the start of shelter-in-place orders in March. Over time, the rock garden has grown. The result is a beautiful myriad of rocks with diverse messaging. It is clear that some rocks were created by adults and others by children. Some rocks have cartoon characters, like Lilo and Stitch, painted on them. Others have a rainbow, the viral icon of hope during this pandemic. Many rocks contain uplifting and encouraging messages. There were 2 groups of rocks that really caught my eye. The first was a cluster of rocks that read "BLM" and "Defund the Police." There is so much more our community is experiencing in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic. The second was a beautiful painting of a nurse. She is wearing a mask and half of her clothes are her nurses uniform while she is dressed as Wonder Woman on the other half. This simple rock is such a beautiful tribute to medical professionals who are on the front lines of this pandemic.

The Reutlinger is a senior living community, specializing in assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing, nearby my home. About a week into our shelter-in-place orders, this sign appeared near the main entrance to the facility. The sign reads "Heroes Work Here." Senior care facilities have been hit the hardest during the COVID-19 pandemic. When an outbreak of the virus occurs within these facilities, it spreads quickly and typically results in a large number of fatalities. Those working at the Reutlinger during this pandemic are working on the front lines and are heroes as they risk their safety to care for some of the most vulnerable members of our community.

A small child plays on an empty lawn in front of San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts. A favorite place to relax for local residents, as well as a event and tourist hot spot, the Palace of Fine Arts is typically a spectacle. On any given day, groups gather for picnics, bridal parties pose for photographs, and tourists zoom by on Segways. The emptiness of the Palace of Fine Arts during the early days of California's shelter-in-place orders is definitely a moment in time.

A friend visited San Francisco with her family as shelter-in-place order begin to reverse. This photograph shows the very light traffic on San Francisco streets during this time. Most cars in the photograph are parked along the street. The skyline of downtown San Francisco is seen in the distance.

We consider our nanny to be part of our family and she was part of our quaran-team. Her April 22 birthday posed a particular challenge for a cake. We would normally visit Ambrosia Bakery, but with more time, we decided to bake it instead. With extra raspberries on hand and some Valentine’s candy about to go out the window, we threw together the SARS-CoV-2 cake to celebrate the unusual times of celebrating in quarantine.

As of June 22, 2020, the Boise, Idaho metro was rolled back to stage 3 of reopening. After new cases of COVID-19 soared, the governor decided to close bars, night clubs, and various restaurants. While some school districts have already decided to go online for the summer, my school district decided to return to in-person classes for summer school in June. While we have been rolled back to stage 3, our summer school session is still a go. Today, June 29, 2020, teachers received an email from our principal outlining the procedures for returning to school. As of now, students will not be served meals while at school and will instead take lunch and breakfast for the next morning home with them at the end of each school day. Additionally, teachers are required to wear facemasks while interacting with students. I think this session of summer school is acting as a trial run for the district to understand better what the upcoming school year may bring.

As the San Francisco Bay Area's shelter-in-place orders began to relax, a friend ventured into the city for a drive. She took this video of the light traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge. The Golden Gate Bridge is typically packed with cars. This is the lightest amount of traffic I have personally ever seen on the bridge.

A friend that lives in San Francisco sent me this photograph she took on a recent run. The image is of a path that runs alongside Crissy Field. It is one of the most popular walking/running paths for locals and tourists alike as it includes an incredibly picturesque view of the Golden Gate Bridge. This path is typically full of people. During shelter-in-place orders, however, hardly anyone was on the trail. There are 2-3 figures on the pier in the distance. And the rooftop of just 2 cars is visible on the Golden Gate Bridge.

Excerpt from article: "Let them do whatever they have to do. Right now I want to focus on lives. Lives over shops. I understand the hurt. Sometimes we gotta go to war for it to be a better day."

Excerpt from article: The question I am asking myself is: How do I best serve humanity when social distancing and protesting seem at odds with one another, yet are both so necessary? Is there a way to reconcile the two and face both tragedies at once?