As anyone who has been following the “proceedings” since the coronavirus struck America and our IMPEACHED so-called president chose to LIE about the severity of the incoming pandemic as a STUPID and FUTILE way to save his treasured “stock market” which he viewed as his pathway to “four more years” knows, the crisis caused by the disease emanating from the coronavirus, referred to as Covid-19, is now responsible for the DEATHS of OVER 200,000 Americans (almost 210,000 as I’m writing this and predicted to double by the end of the year based on the lack of a “plan” coming from the federal government). The “battle” to fight this disease, sadly and thanks to individual 1, has become political. And, to me, maybe the worst part of all this is the sycophancy of the republicans in Congress.
Republicans deciding to “sink” with individual 1 is my major miscalculation as I’ve been following closely the administration of our IMPEACHED so-called president and his response to this once in a century (hopefully) pandemic, Covid-19. One of the really STUPID, in my view, ways individual 1 has politicized the pandemic is his refusal to wear a mask or to encourage others to wear masks – when virtually ALL the REPUTABLE scientists are pointing out if everyone was wearing masks in public TENS of thousands, maybe HUNDREDS of thousands of lives would be saved and getting back to something resembling “normal” would be accelerated – by a LOT! There have been some examples of what the scientists are talking about which are the result of the inability of our IMPEACHED so-called president to formulate ANY plan to combat the virus – even something as easy as encouraging people to wear masks in public.
The first example was the “rally” individual 1 held in Tulsa, Oklahoma a few months ago (June 20th – I remember the date because the rally was conspicuously planned for “Juneteenth” until individual 1’s advisers convinced him that bit of racism was too overt – even for him). Herman Cain was sitting right in the middle of a small group of “Blacks for individual 1” (They, of course, used his surname, which I’m unable to make my fingers type) at the rally with no mask on, surrounded by people with no masks on, and three weeks later he was DEAD – from, you guessed it, Covid-19. Did he get the virus there? Or, did he have it and take it there with him – transmitting it to who knows how many others? We’ll likely never know – what we do know is he looked healthy in the photos of him at the rally and three weeks later he was DEAD from the virus. I’ll let you figure that one out.
Of course, as there always is with individual 1, there’s more. At the time of the rally the reported cases of Covid-19 in Oklahoma were, from what I remember, hovering around 200 (or less) each day. Today, Oklahoma reported 1083 NEW cases and, from what I’ve been able to tell since the rally, that’s about normal. Oklahoma has approximately half the population of the state I live in, Washington state, and, of course, we were the original “hot spot” for the virus. Someone returned from China to the Seattle area and soon Seattle was the most infected place in America – until being “passed up” by New York and the states surrounding New York. Our governor, Jay Inslee, who’s been denigrated by individual 1 (is that a badge of honor for a democrat?), has fought the virus aggressively according to the scientists and, soon, Oklahoma (with, as I said, half our population) will pass Washington in the total number of cases reported.
I point this out because there are several states (including Oklahoma) with republican governors who just can’t seem to bring themselves to believe the scientists – even with something as simple as ordering people to wear face coverings in public. In our state it’s required and today, as I’m writing this, Washington state has reported 148 cases today – with double the population of Oklahoma. But, let’s take a quick look at South Dakota and her surrounding states. South Dakota has a population which is just above one tenth of Washington state’s population and, today, reported 463 newly reported cases of Covid-19, North Dakota reported 470 (ND has 1/10 Washington’s population), Montana 330, and Nebraska almost 500 yesterday and hadn’t reported by the time I’m writing today. These statistics are standard since the “biker” rally in South Dakota which drew in a quarter of a MILLION bikers who weren’t wearing masks at the encouragement of South Dakota’s (strange) governor. Those bikers spread all over America once this rally was over and we don’t know the extent of how they’ve spread the virus – but, this is the epitome of a “super spreader” event.
Prior to the biker rally these states had extremely low numbers of new cases each day and it will be interesting as we go forward because South Dakota’s governor is adamant in refusing to follow science. Each day the number of infections seems to go up. And, this is happening in many other states where the governors are republicans. In Missouri, not only is the governor and his wife infected – a governor who’s balked at taking action against this virus – but Missouri is not one of the “hot spots” in America. Today, over 2500 Missouri residents were reported with Covid-19. The list of these states which seem to be simply letting the virus run its course is growing – and, unfortunately, because people in the country travel from place to place, this affects all of us.
I started this post several days ago and got somewhat sidetracked trying to keep up with the “scandal a day” IMPEACHED so-called president who, just a couple days ago, was mocking Joe Biden, at the (what was supposed to be a) debate where individual 1 was spewing his bile all over the stage – toward both Joe Biden and the moderator Chris Wallace – while potentially being infected by the coronavirus. It was ANNOUNCED tonight that both individual 1 and his wife Melania are now INFECTED with the virus he had, earlier in the evening in a recorded message for the so-called “Al Smith” dinner, suggested the virus was nearing an end. I MUST add, he had better hope that statement is not true – because the rest of us will be dealing with this virus for the next couple of years – at least.
He was doing appearances today after KNOWING his close aid Hope Hicks was infected with the virus at least one day prior to visiting a couple small rallies. When you think about the confined spaces on aircraft and helicopters which is how the presidential “inner circle” travels, you have to wonder how many others have been exposed. I certainly don’t wish for individual 1 to be one of the people who get infected with this virus and end up intubated, but I think we’ll all be better off if he has to go through some serious flu like symptoms. Just so he doesn’t come out on the other side of this and claim “this was nothing.” He’s 74 years old, he’s obese, and it appears he’s got other issues which make him vulnerable to the serious side of this virus. Maybe a small dose of that “vulnerable” possibility will benefit us all.
Individual 1 has continued to hold rallies in violation of state regulations in one state after another as if he was immune from this disease – in my mind, showing a lack of concern for his own supporters – we don’t know how many of them have DIED because they attended one of his rallies – other than Herman Cain as I mentioned above – where he DIED within three weeks of attending one of individual 1’s rallies. (Oklahoma continues to have totals in excess of 1000 new cases PER DAY since our IMPEACHED so-called president’s rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Right now, I’m wondering if he’s, right now, thinking of Mr. Cain. Three weeks????
It will be interesting to find out how many of the president’s sycophants have been infected with this virus – we’re about to see how “contact tracing” actually works. Just as us “normal people” are unable to get tested unless we are experiencing symptoms there doesn’t appear to be enough money budgeted for contact tracers in most places around the nation. People close to our IMPEACHED so-called president will be on the edge of their seats if they’ve been close to individual 1, his wife, Hope Hicks, and others who have been close to those infected. I have to wonder how close he got to the people at his rallies and MORE important – how close did he get to Joe Biden. What if he infected Biden? Yikes!!!
Maybe we’ll all be spared from another one of individual 1’s debate fiascos!
One more thing I have to add: I really get tired of listening to reporters giving individual 1’s talking points for him which are, to me, absurd. Tonight I was listening to Jonathon Lamier of the AP – who I, basically, like – repeating individual 1’s claim “I grew the economy once and I can do it again” as if the claim was true. I really wish, for example, every time individual 1 makes claims about how he “grew” the economy the reporters would put up a graph SHOWING the GROWTH of the economy from the time President Obama took office and any way it changed once he took office. I believe, if they would do that, you’d see a graph which, basically, continued in the same trajectory once he was in office. To me, that means he was able to keep from destroying what he “inherited” until he tried to ignore the virus he’s now dealing with! In other words, don’t give credit where it is unwarranted!
Final Thought: (Now I have to add I wrote this “final thought” yesterday) I always have to wonder about why do Americans continue to support individual 1 as his true motives become more public. Just yesterday he said the only way he would support a “peaceful transition of power” after the elections was, well, basically if he “wins.” He said, and I’m not kidding, “Get rid of the ballots and then I’ll support a peaceful trans – there won’t be a transition it will be a continuation.” Get rid of the ballots? Is he really suggesting we actually become like Russia? We know he admires Vladimir Putin – are there really MILLIONS of Americans who want to “go there?” Sadly, I believe there are :o(
I know some of them and they’ll say “judges” when I question how can you support this. They will tell you they’re “pro life” as they support a person who’s willing to lose MILLIONS of our citizens to the coronavirus because, well, most of them had something else wrong anyway – as if that means it doesn’t count. In fact, I believe that’s exactly how some of the republican governors are CHEATING with the death counts of Covid-19, as bad as they are. They order their health departments, for example, to place the “cause of death” as “pneumonia” despite the reality the pneumonia resulted from Covid-19. Still, the death count is 200,00 after 8 months and projected to double in the next four months.
I’m 73 and had my annual physical today and my doctor reminded me I’m in the “vulnerable category” to this disease because I have a compromised immune system. I only point that out because individual 1 isn’t the only republican I’ve heard suggest people like me SHOULD be willing to sacrifice ourselves for the stock market – as if the market being “up” at the time of the election is more important than all the lives lost to get it there. Thankfully, from my perspective anyway, I have a good chance to witness the results of what I consider the MOST important election of my lifetime and I don’t believe for a moment Biden has it in the “bag,” despite the polls suggesting that. Everyone remembers 2016 when this nightmare began but there’s still MANY Americans who don’t understand the CHEATING which played into that outcome.
And the CHEATING continues and very likely much worse – because individual 1 now has the “power” of the federal government behind his CHEATING – thanks to the republicans in Congress who have been totally OK with enabling it. It appears to me they are almost in awe of someone willing to BRAZENLY LIE as our IMPEACHED so-called president is so willing to do – right to the faces of HIS own supporters – and, they suck it up. I think back to how he treated people like Ted Cruz, Marko Rubio, Mitch McConnell and others and his disparagement simply caused them to “fall in line” – and, form the foundation of the firewall which is protecting his fascist attack on our democracy. (Actually, it’s a democratic republic – with the “checks and balances” individual 1 would like to get rid of)
This is all why we can’t even find four republicans who have the gravitas to BLOCK what will be considered ANOTHER illegitimate Supreme Court Justice. And, of course, potential judge Barrett could care less about the circumstances under which she has been nominated. Both her AND the republican enablers of individual 1 are headed for the ugly place reserved in our history books for individual 1.