Kevin Ball
@stairway-to-kevin.bsky.social
normalize not normalizing the new normal
the pandemic is now
hypermaskuline energy since 2020
i pity the fools but i do not suffer them Ⓥ 🇨🇦
the pandemic is now
hypermaskuline energy since 2020
i pity the fools but i do not suffer them Ⓥ 🇨🇦
check out some of the other red-hot-poker takes they have on offer:
(never afraid to lazily ask the super-important questions like, “ok, but how many lives did the COVID vaccines actually save?”
their answer: *only* about 2.3 million worldwide 👍🏼)
(never afraid to lazily ask the super-important questions like, “ok, but how many lives did the COVID vaccines actually save?”
their answer: *only* about 2.3 million worldwide 👍🏼)
November 26, 2025 at 6:28 AM
check out some of the other red-hot-poker takes they have on offer:
(never afraid to lazily ask the super-important questions like, “ok, but how many lives did the COVID vaccines actually save?”
their answer: *only* about 2.3 million worldwide 👍🏼)
(never afraid to lazily ask the super-important questions like, “ok, but how many lives did the COVID vaccines actually save?”
their answer: *only* about 2.3 million worldwide 👍🏼)
last on the idiot zickgraf—but you gotta ❤️ the mission statement for the rag hosting his latest screed, “the last covidians”:
UNHERD (get it?) “…is for people who dare to think for themselves. when the herd takes off in one direction, what do you do?”
they re-alived irony just to slay it again
UNHERD (get it?) “…is for people who dare to think for themselves. when the herd takes off in one direction, what do you do?”
they re-alived irony just to slay it again
November 26, 2025 at 6:28 AM
last on the idiot zickgraf—but you gotta ❤️ the mission statement for the rag hosting his latest screed, “the last covidians”:
UNHERD (get it?) “…is for people who dare to think for themselves. when the herd takes off in one direction, what do you do?”
they re-alived irony just to slay it again
UNHERD (get it?) “…is for people who dare to think for themselves. when the herd takes off in one direction, what do you do?”
they re-alived irony just to slay it again
please spare a thought for ryan zickgraf today. apparently shitting on the disabled, medically vulnerable and anyone endeavouring to protect their and others’ health in the face of widespread denial is “a tough one to write for many reasons”—because he might get pushback.
keeeeRYST what an asshole
keeeeRYST what an asshole
November 25, 2025 at 9:25 PM
please spare a thought for ryan zickgraf today. apparently shitting on the disabled, medically vulnerable and anyone endeavouring to protect their and others’ health in the face of widespread denial is “a tough one to write for many reasons”—because he might get pushback.
keeeeRYST what an asshole
keeeeRYST what an asshole
nuzzi couldn’t have said it better herself
(so didn’t)
(so didn’t)
![highlight [mine] from kabas’s article:
“It belies an attitude of ‘maybe if I craft this artfully enough, my mortifying actions will have been worth something.’”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:umlonvwdiqpxeq4nxfzmvrst/bafkreidwn7rrzfvymz2y3iwd2dyn7ggbitucemmurxjbjsajoczwgzob5q@jpeg)
![highlight [mine] from vanity fair’s excerpt of nuzzi’s forthcoming book:
“I mean to tell you that this is more meaningful and more meaningless than you might think.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:umlonvwdiqpxeq4nxfzmvrst/bafkreib72tlpl2xzvimm7y34346b73cex4rtb7d2mcnthhyqr6qhak62pq@jpeg)
November 19, 2025 at 5:49 AM
nuzzi couldn’t have said it better herself
(so didn’t)
(so didn’t)
you don’t get to indulge in whataboutism as an excuse to not do anything.
stop insisting COVID-aware folk want you to shut down the world. we’re asking you to open it up—for everyone.
so be a big boy/girl: wear a mask, and it you want to help disabled people, take a cue from the late alice wong:
stop insisting COVID-aware folk want you to shut down the world. we’re asking you to open it up—for everyone.
so be a big boy/girl: wear a mask, and it you want to help disabled people, take a cue from the late alice wong:
November 15, 2025 at 9:42 PM
you don’t get to indulge in whataboutism as an excuse to not do anything.
stop insisting COVID-aware folk want you to shut down the world. we’re asking you to open it up—for everyone.
so be a big boy/girl: wear a mask, and it you want to help disabled people, take a cue from the late alice wong:
stop insisting COVID-aware folk want you to shut down the world. we’re asking you to open it up—for everyone.
so be a big boy/girl: wear a mask, and it you want to help disabled people, take a cue from the late alice wong:
makes me think of this guy
November 8, 2025 at 6:12 PM
makes me think of this guy
2/ anyway, getting vaxxed and not wearing a respirator in public indoor spaces is kinda like smoking low-tar menthols to reduce your risk of cancer—no matter how sexy ol’ prime minister bedroom eyes makes it look
November 8, 2025 at 2:55 PM
2/ anyway, getting vaxxed and not wearing a respirator in public indoor spaces is kinda like smoking low-tar menthols to reduce your risk of cancer—no matter how sexy ol’ prime minister bedroom eyes makes it look
1/ it used to amaze me that smoking was once so approved in our world. my mom told me about sitting in lecture halls as a young doc—built-in ashtrays in every seat & clouds of smoke so thick you couldn’t see clearly.
since COVID, i realize nothing’s really changed—comfort still trumps common sense
since COVID, i realize nothing’s really changed—comfort still trumps common sense
November 8, 2025 at 2:55 PM
1/ it used to amaze me that smoking was once so approved in our world. my mom told me about sitting in lecture halls as a young doc—built-in ashtrays in every seat & clouds of smoke so thick you couldn’t see clearly.
since COVID, i realize nothing’s really changed—comfort still trumps common sense
since COVID, i realize nothing’s really changed—comfort still trumps common sense
scientific consensus: every COVID infection increases the risk of LC and other longterm health issues
everyone:
everyone:
November 6, 2025 at 11:45 PM
scientific consensus: every COVID infection increases the risk of LC and other longterm health issues
everyone:
everyone:
November 6, 2025 at 8:11 PM
what a concept 🤯
November 6, 2025 at 3:35 AM
what a concept 🤯
28
which is why, *despite its mandated role as government watchdog*, the CBC only ever chose to follow government and public health edicts on COVID—even when various governments’ political and economic calculuses clashed with the science that the CBC sometimes (if rarely) chose to properly cover.
which is why, *despite its mandated role as government watchdog*, the CBC only ever chose to follow government and public health edicts on COVID—even when various governments’ political and economic calculuses clashed with the science that the CBC sometimes (if rarely) chose to properly cover.
November 2, 2025 at 2:59 PM
28
which is why, *despite its mandated role as government watchdog*, the CBC only ever chose to follow government and public health edicts on COVID—even when various governments’ political and economic calculuses clashed with the science that the CBC sometimes (if rarely) chose to properly cover.
which is why, *despite its mandated role as government watchdog*, the CBC only ever chose to follow government and public health edicts on COVID—even when various governments’ political and economic calculuses clashed with the science that the CBC sometimes (if rarely) chose to properly cover.
26
this is known science. what is still unknown is the cumulative impact of dozens of COVID infections over a lifetime.
but on most days, that’s not the messaging you hear on CBC or other legacy media. the quirks episode was an exception, not the norm.
for the most part, it’s business as usual.
this is known science. what is still unknown is the cumulative impact of dozens of COVID infections over a lifetime.
but on most days, that’s not the messaging you hear on CBC or other legacy media. the quirks episode was an exception, not the norm.
for the most part, it’s business as usual.
![from CBC NEWS:
Politics
Average number of sick days taken by public servants growing *post-COVID* [emphasis mine], new data shows
After hitting a low of 5.9 days in 2020-21, number rising as people return to offices
CANADIAN PRESS
Catherine Morrison • The Canadian Press • Posted: Aug 31, 2025 7:46 AM PDT
cbc.ca/1.7622222](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:umlonvwdiqpxeq4nxfzmvrst/bafkreicw6bvjq4ddjhevrcol3lcc2yldzlnltmk7tvozywzwx62hmeyy5e@jpeg)
November 2, 2025 at 2:59 PM
26
this is known science. what is still unknown is the cumulative impact of dozens of COVID infections over a lifetime.
but on most days, that’s not the messaging you hear on CBC or other legacy media. the quirks episode was an exception, not the norm.
for the most part, it’s business as usual.
this is known science. what is still unknown is the cumulative impact of dozens of COVID infections over a lifetime.
but on most days, that’s not the messaging you hear on CBC or other legacy media. the quirks episode was an exception, not the norm.
for the most part, it’s business as usual.
25
it’s not just the risk of long COVID, but of immune dysregulation that leaves you more vulnerable to other diseases.
without additional non-vax protections, a child born in year 1 of the pandemic could easily be infected with COVID a dozen times or more by the time they graduate high school.
it’s not just the risk of long COVID, but of immune dysregulation that leaves you more vulnerable to other diseases.
without additional non-vax protections, a child born in year 1 of the pandemic could easily be infected with COVID a dozen times or more by the time they graduate high school.
![Opinion: Treating kids as invulnerable is treating them as disposable
by Blake Murdoch, senior research associate with the University of Alberta’s Health Law Institute.
Calgary Herald
Published Feb 14, 2023
[photo of a child receiving his vaccine. He and the vaccine administrator are wearing medical masks as she injects the needle into his arm.]
photo caption: COVID vaccines have been proven to be beneficial, but are just one part of what is needed to protect children for long-term effects of the disease.
photo by Leah Hennel /Postmedia Network
https://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-treating-kids-as-invulnerable-is-treating-them-as-disposable](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:umlonvwdiqpxeq4nxfzmvrst/bafkreifol7axz27gt3gtvu6y5crxc4jq4nun6arwfh6fqy6smoivungyqq@jpeg)
November 2, 2025 at 2:50 PM
25
it’s not just the risk of long COVID, but of immune dysregulation that leaves you more vulnerable to other diseases.
without additional non-vax protections, a child born in year 1 of the pandemic could easily be infected with COVID a dozen times or more by the time they graduate high school.
it’s not just the risk of long COVID, but of immune dysregulation that leaves you more vulnerable to other diseases.
without additional non-vax protections, a child born in year 1 of the pandemic could easily be infected with COVID a dozen times or more by the time they graduate high school.
24
and the list of potential health issues is long—because COVID is a vascular disease that can attack every organ of the body, including the heart and brain.
vaccinations, while important, are not enough—they don’t prevent infection, and even a ‘mild’ case of COVID can lead to severe outcomes.
and the list of potential health issues is long—because COVID is a vascular disease that can attack every organ of the body, including the heart and brain.
vaccinations, while important, are not enough—they don’t prevent infection, and even a ‘mild’ case of COVID can lead to severe outcomes.
November 2, 2025 at 2:50 PM
24
and the list of potential health issues is long—because COVID is a vascular disease that can attack every organ of the body, including the heart and brain.
vaccinations, while important, are not enough—they don’t prevent infection, and even a ‘mild’ case of COVID can lead to severe outcomes.
and the list of potential health issues is long—because COVID is a vascular disease that can attack every organ of the body, including the heart and brain.
vaccinations, while important, are not enough—they don’t prevent infection, and even a ‘mild’ case of COVID can lead to severe outcomes.
23
if you’ve read this far, you likely get why all of this matters—not just for me and my family, but for you and yours.
but in case you think this is all much ado about nothing, consider this:
for kids and adults alike, the risk of long-term health issues increases with every COVID infection.
if you’ve read this far, you likely get why all of this matters—not just for me and my family, but for you and yours.
but in case you think this is all much ado about nothing, consider this:
for kids and adults alike, the risk of long-term health issues increases with every COVID infection.
November 2, 2025 at 2:50 PM
23
if you’ve read this far, you likely get why all of this matters—not just for me and my family, but for you and yours.
but in case you think this is all much ado about nothing, consider this:
for kids and adults alike, the risk of long-term health issues increases with every COVID infection.
if you’ve read this far, you likely get why all of this matters—not just for me and my family, but for you and yours.
but in case you think this is all much ado about nothing, consider this:
for kids and adults alike, the risk of long-term health issues increases with every COVID infection.
21
after the broadcast, my partner emailed a group of CBC managers and union reps to ask—in light of the quirks & quarks coverage—why it was OK to force us back to the office with no mitigations, especially when our son was too young to be vaccinated.
several months later, she received this reply:
after the broadcast, my partner emailed a group of CBC managers and union reps to ask—in light of the quirks & quarks coverage—why it was OK to force us back to the office with no mitigations, especially when our son was too young to be vaccinated.
several months later, she received this reply:
November 2, 2025 at 2:50 PM
21
after the broadcast, my partner emailed a group of CBC managers and union reps to ask—in light of the quirks & quarks coverage—why it was OK to force us back to the office with no mitigations, especially when our son was too young to be vaccinated.
several months later, she received this reply:
after the broadcast, my partner emailed a group of CBC managers and union reps to ask—in light of the quirks & quarks coverage—why it was OK to force us back to the office with no mitigations, especially when our son was too young to be vaccinated.
several months later, she received this reply:
20
in march of this year, CBC radio’s signature science show, quirks & quarks, featured an interview about the silent organ damage COVID may be wreaking on our bodies.
no new information was presented—it was simply timed to coincide with the pandemic’s 5th anniversary.
www.cbc.ca/1.7485888
in march of this year, CBC radio’s signature science show, quirks & quarks, featured an interview about the silent organ damage COVID may be wreaking on our bodies.
no new information was presented—it was simply timed to coincide with the pandemic’s 5th anniversary.
www.cbc.ca/1.7485888
![Quirks and Quarks·Q&A
Beyond long COVID — how reinfections could be causing silent long-term organ damage
Even if you think you're done with COVID, COVID might not be done with you
Sonya Buyting · CBC Radio · Posted: Mar 20, 2025
[photo of a group of nurses in full PPE huddled around a table in a nursing station through an open door, on which a sign reads, in all-caps: “COVID ZONE”]
photo caption: The long-term impacts of COVID infections are increasingly becoming a significant health concern. (Yves Herman/Reuters)](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:umlonvwdiqpxeq4nxfzmvrst/bafkreibxr2iihiafelcnd552rluoywcpw3ciu2mqfozvjrwgqmd4en3jky@jpeg)
November 2, 2025 at 2:50 PM
20
in march of this year, CBC radio’s signature science show, quirks & quarks, featured an interview about the silent organ damage COVID may be wreaking on our bodies.
no new information was presented—it was simply timed to coincide with the pandemic’s 5th anniversary.
www.cbc.ca/1.7485888
in march of this year, CBC radio’s signature science show, quirks & quarks, featured an interview about the silent organ damage COVID may be wreaking on our bodies.
no new information was presented—it was simply timed to coincide with the pandemic’s 5th anniversary.
www.cbc.ca/1.7485888
19
after several heated back-and-forths between me and management, the day arrived. i did not show up for work in toronto. as far as CBC was concerned, i had resigned.
i soon applied for employment insurance. my application was summarily denied.
the stated reason: i had left my job voluntarily.
after several heated back-and-forths between me and management, the day arrived. i did not show up for work in toronto. as far as CBC was concerned, i had resigned.
i soon applied for employment insurance. my application was summarily denied.
the stated reason: i had left my job voluntarily.
![[excerpt from a redacted Service Canada form:]
REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION of an Employment Insurance (El) decision (*DENIED)
Name of Claimant or Other Person
KEVIN BALL
Name of Employer
CBC
Personal information on this form is collected under the authority of the Employment insurance Act. This information will be used to assess your request for a reconsideration of an Employment Insurance decision. The information you provide on this form will be retained in a Personal Information Bank titled the *E.I.
Your personal information is protected and accessible under the Privacy Act and the Access to information Act.
DECISION(S) TO BE RECONSIDERED
1. Which Employment insurance decision or decisions would you like to have reconsidered ?
A: Decision that I voluntary left my employment with Canadian Broadcasting on Sept 13th, 2022,
"without just cause."
2. Date the decision was verbally communicated to you, if applicable:
2022-11-18
REASON FOR REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION
Explain why you disagree with the decision or decisions. It is important you include any additional information which you may not have provided to
Service Canada at the time the original decision was made (attach additional pages if required).
A: I did not quit my job. I was put on a year of unpaid leave for refusing to comply with an
unsafe work order, i.e. to return to the office three days a week after all Covid mitigations had been needlessly dropped. I have a vulnerable toddler son at home.
I hereby give notice that I disagree with an Employment Insurance decision regarding my claim for benefits (or regarding a former employee's claim for benefits if you are an employer) and wish to exercise my right to request a reconsideration of this decision. I declare that the information on this form is true and accurate and that I have disclosed all information and attached all relevant documents.
Page 1 of 2
2022-11-21
Canada](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:umlonvwdiqpxeq4nxfzmvrst/bafkreiaxz2rgxkm6k2xea5nkoo66qmuodntfqlyyzamopns45j56duhr44@jpeg)
November 2, 2025 at 2:50 PM
19
after several heated back-and-forths between me and management, the day arrived. i did not show up for work in toronto. as far as CBC was concerned, i had resigned.
i soon applied for employment insurance. my application was summarily denied.
the stated reason: i had left my job voluntarily.
after several heated back-and-forths between me and management, the day arrived. i did not show up for work in toronto. as far as CBC was concerned, i had resigned.
i soon applied for employment insurance. my application was summarily denied.
the stated reason: i had left my job voluntarily.
15
i met with my supervisor over video conference *as they recovered from COVID* to discuss our move. they said it was not possible to keep working remotely. my only option to hold on to my job was to apply for a one-year unpaid leave of absence. so i did. immediately.
and then we hightailed west.
i met with my supervisor over video conference *as they recovered from COVID* to discuss our move. they said it was not possible to keep working remotely. my only option to hold on to my job was to apply for a one-year unpaid leave of absence. so i did. immediately.
and then we hightailed west.
November 2, 2025 at 2:50 PM
15
i met with my supervisor over video conference *as they recovered from COVID* to discuss our move. they said it was not possible to keep working remotely. my only option to hold on to my job was to apply for a one-year unpaid leave of absence. so i did. immediately.
and then we hightailed west.
i met with my supervisor over video conference *as they recovered from COVID* to discuss our move. they said it was not possible to keep working remotely. my only option to hold on to my job was to apply for a one-year unpaid leave of absence. so i did. immediately.
and then we hightailed west.
14
to apply for telework, mgmt required us to watch a series of video modules. i was struck by the rubric below. it reads: “The Right to Refuse means that you have the right to refuse work which you reasonably believe is dangerous.”
*this right does not apply to unmitigated COVID in the workplace.
to apply for telework, mgmt required us to watch a series of video modules. i was struck by the rubric below. it reads: “The Right to Refuse means that you have the right to refuse work which you reasonably believe is dangerous.”
*this right does not apply to unmitigated COVID in the workplace.
![screenshot of CBC telework module showing dropdown menus reading “the right to participate”, “the right to know” and “the right to refuse”. the last is open and circled in red [mine], and the text underneath reads: “ “The right to refuse means that you have the right to refuse work which you reasonably believe is dangerous.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:umlonvwdiqpxeq4nxfzmvrst/bafkreibdzd4hvopq47jy2xvs6mtnxneeysjdajcs7eo4ssjcbny2ayr7ry@jpeg)
November 2, 2025 at 2:50 PM
14
to apply for telework, mgmt required us to watch a series of video modules. i was struck by the rubric below. it reads: “The Right to Refuse means that you have the right to refuse work which you reasonably believe is dangerous.”
*this right does not apply to unmitigated COVID in the workplace.
to apply for telework, mgmt required us to watch a series of video modules. i was struck by the rubric below. it reads: “The Right to Refuse means that you have the right to refuse work which you reasonably believe is dangerous.”
*this right does not apply to unmitigated COVID in the workplace.
8
we upped our masking game as we grew more educated on how best to protect ourselves, and by extension our son. as his sole caregivers we could little afford to get sick ourselves. but passing COVID to him preoccupied us more. that meant no unmasked indoor visits with anyone—extended fam included.
we upped our masking game as we grew more educated on how best to protect ourselves, and by extension our son. as his sole caregivers we could little afford to get sick ourselves. but passing COVID to him preoccupied us more. that meant no unmasked indoor visits with anyone—extended fam included.
November 2, 2025 at 2:50 PM
8
we upped our masking game as we grew more educated on how best to protect ourselves, and by extension our son. as his sole caregivers we could little afford to get sick ourselves. but passing COVID to him preoccupied us more. that meant no unmasked indoor visits with anyone—extended fam included.
we upped our masking game as we grew more educated on how best to protect ourselves, and by extension our son. as his sole caregivers we could little afford to get sick ourselves. but passing COVID to him preoccupied us more. that meant no unmasked indoor visits with anyone—extended fam included.