I’ll admit it, I subscribe to the Washington Post and regularly read as much of it as I have time. Today, there was an article – you can access it HERE if you like, where a “Pastor” in a small town close to Nashville, Tennessee told his congregants if they enter his church wearing a mask he will ask them to leave and he was urging NONE of them to get vaccinated for Covid-19, was calling the coronavirus a “democrat hoax” (from the pulpit, no less), calling Joe Biden a “demon possessed sex offender,” (along with other QAnon “theories”), and was refusing to honor ANY public health “suggestions” in a state which, today, had OVER 2200 NEW infections of Covid-19 reported as their hospitals approach their capacities.

This is the kind of stuff which is happening all across the parts of the country where people have made the classic “deal with the devil” – and that, of course, is their fealty to individual 1. The (world) history of the Christian community giving their complete loyalty to a political demagogue is one which, hopefully, won’t be repeated in the U.S. And, I’m talking, of course, about the Third Reich in Germany back in the late 1920’s and through their defeat in WW II. If you’re confused about what I’m referring, please read the biography of Deidrick Bonhoeffer. That’s one of my favorite books of the past five years as I’ve struggled with why “conservative Christians” would align themselves with someone as CORRUPT as individual 1.

Today, according to Worldometer.info (where data about the pandemic – along with other issues is collected), in the U.S. there were almost 62,000 NEW cases of Covid-19 reported – up by OVER three times in just the past few weeks. And, that is without Florida (where the WORST outbreak of the “Delta Variant” is occurring) Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Alaska reporting. I’ll give you three guesses (and, of course, the first two don’t count) on which political party controls EACH of those states. Florida, alone, likely had around 15,000 NEW cases in the past 24 hours, so the national “tally” is likely around 80,000, where it was close to 10,000 (and falling) just about a month ago.

As the rate of vaccinations slowed I listened to one scientist and/or doctor warning after another about the “Delta Variant” for the past couple of months and, well, now it’s here – and multiple states – mostly in the South, but, also mostly “governed” by republicans – are experiencing HUGE spikes in the number of cases, the number of people in their hospitals, and the number of people DYING of this terrible disease. And, it’s a terrible way to “go” – with no one able to be with you and with a tube crammed down your throat – as burned out doctors and nurses do whatever they can to save your life – doctors and nurses who have the RIGHT to be disgusted with you for not getting the vaccine which is FREE and widely AVAILABLE.

According to “Worldometer.info” the number of people in “serious/critical” condition is just under 9000 as of today where just last week it was around 6000 and last month is was down to below 4000. These are the numbers of people likely to DIE from Covid. The numbers are increasing by SEVERAL hundred per day and people like the Pastor in Tennessee referenced above will make things WORSE in the coming days and weeks.

If you have the slightest bit of curiosity you can find out the TRUTH about the reality “we the people” are facing as this virus hits another “spike” – and, this time with a “variant” which is more transmissible and more DEADLY than the original “version,” by a lot! Here’s the real rub: By MILLIONS of Americans CHOOSING not to get vaccinated, despite the availability of the vaccines and the FACT they are FREE, “we the people” are facing the real possibility that NEW strains will emerge due to our FAILURE to get enough Americans vaccinated to stop the spread of the disease. Once “strains” emerge which are resistant to the present vaccines we could be facing what scientists call and “endemic” – meaning, this virus could be around for, well, forever. Endemic is defined as “persisting in a population or region, generally having settled to a relatively constant rate of occurrence: The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 may never disappear, but could become endemic like HIV.“

Should that happen “we the people” will be able to “thank” people like the Pastor referred to above, politicians like Ron DeSantis (Florida has about 20% of the cases right now), Greg Abbot of Texas (today, Texas had almost 8,000 NEW cases reported) and republican governors in numerous other states where CDC guidelines are NOT followed and where the virus is SURGING out of control. I often hear people referring to the “two Americas” and the issue with Covid-19 bears that out as much as any other. (Although the White nationalists cause me even more angst – although, I believe the two issues are virtually interchangeable)

America is being torn apart by misinformation/disinformation which spreads across “social media” like wildfires. It’s coming from some of the “kookiest” of conspiracy theorists (Q ???), from right wing personalities on the TV and the right wing radio “talkers,” and, don’t forget, the Russians are CONTINUING to fuel the division in America with their “active measures” – which is another way of saying they’re also spewing “fake news” on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, etc. There’s virtually too much “stuff” coming at the average American who is working for a living and has little to no interest in politics to keep up with. I was a teacher until I retired in 2014 (although I worked part time for almost three more years) and I asked MANY teachers if they knew what “Citizens United” was – and, I don’t remember ONE who could tell me what it was/is.

Of course, if you’re reading this post you likely KNOW it was the Supreme Court decision which declared, as Mitt Romney put it, “Corporations are people, my friend.” Citizens United was the catalos for the BILLIONS in “secret, Dark money” which has POLLUTED our political “scene” since the day it was decided. It opened the door for foreign “investors” to, in essence, through their lobbyists, buy off members of our Congress. That decision overturned about 75 years of attempts to control the flow of MONEY into political campaign “coffers.” I say that because, the people I questioned about “Citizens United” were all “educated” with at least a Master’s Degree and were teaching Middle School students – yet, were ill informed on one of the more critical Supreme Court decisions in generations. So, why would we expect others in our society to be aware of critical issues like this if it’s not part of the focus of our national media?

I’m not sure what the answer to that question is, (maybe Senate Bill one) but there are so many other “realities” I discover in my obsession with reading books which almost no one I know is aware that I really worry for our country. Of course, there are MANY Americans aware of the dire situation going on as I’m writing this, all across the country, with voter SUPPRESSION legislation being passed in many states. That’s the republican solution to not having a platform – other than fealty to individual 1 – make it harder for people who might vote for democrats to actually exercise their franchise. The “fewer people who vote, the better our chances” – words I’ve heard from more than one republican “leader.”

I’ve harped on this one regularly here and, so far, I’ve not heard one public commentator mention anything more than individual 1’s claims he actually “won” the 2020 election is the “Big Lie.” What they fail to say to America via their platform of TV, print media, or ????, is that “The Big Lie theory” was the work of none other than Adolf Hitler. Yes, I get, in America we’re NOT supposed to even bring up his name. But, the TRUTH is the theory behind the republicans LYING over and over about things people like me understand are not true comes from Hitler and his head of propaganda, Joseph Goebbels. “Tell a LIE over and over until people believe it must be ‘true.'” That’s what the republicans are doing regarding the 2020 election – individual 1 began “grooming” his faithful followers MONTHS before the election about how it was going to be “rigged” – republicans are saying the “Big Lie” over and over again, and it’s “working” with their “base.”

Something like 30% of republicans actually believe individual 1 is going to be re-instated as our president – albeit, a TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING one – come August – which is just a few days away. (In fact, it’s possible I don’t manage to post this rant until early August) In fact, the Pastor I referred to above has seen the “numbers” in his church increase during the Covid pandemic as he’s been defiant in refusing to follow any recommended guidelines designed to protect his “flock” from Covid-19. Hopefully, none of those in his church will contract the “Delta Variant,” but considering he’s in Tennessee my guess is that’s unlikely. What will they all say if/when an outbreak occurs among the members of his church? What will they say when individual 1 is not re-installed as president come August 13? (I predict they’ll simply latch on to another STUPID conspiracy theory – my bigger question is what will they say/do when he gets INDICTED? Should be interesting.)

Final Thought: It’s now August 3rd and I’m FINALLY finishing this post. Today’s total on Worldometer.info regarding the numbers of NEW Covid infections in the U.S. is over 104,000 (Yep, that’s just today) with OVER 500 MORE Americans DEAD from this pandemic. And, you guessed it, those states I mentioned above (last week) are STILL leading the way. Florida with almost 18,000 NEW cases, just in the past 24 hours, Texas with OVER 14,000, Louisiana with almost 5,000, Missouri almost 3,000 NEW cases, Tennessee almost 3,000 new cases and on and on. This Delta Variant, by my observation, first got “going” in Florida and NOW it’s spread ALL across America. It makes me a bit angry thinking about what all those who refused the vaccines are causing for the rest of us. This DIDN’T have to happen. And, sure as “shootin” republicans will nominate one of these “deplorable” governors to run for president in 2024 (Because, there’s a good chance individual 1 will be a convicted felon by then)

I live in a state (Washington) where the goal of 70% vaccinated has finally been reached, but the problem is the “Delta variant” has “invaded” our state and there are significant pockets of citizens who’ve refused to be vaccinated and, so, there are places where the “numbers” are going up and the hospitals are FILLING up. I’m guessing there will be another “mask mandate” (something else for the right wingers to complain about) on the horizon. The county I live in is predominantly republican and, sure enough, the numbers here are going up. The “Delta Varian” is over 5 times as transmissible, from what I’ve read and, as I said above, much more deadly. I reported above about the numbers in America of people in “serious/critical” condition as per “Worldometer.info” and it’s NOW over 12,000. About four times what it was in June. Yikes! Stay tuned!!!