Tonight I had ANOTHER (:o) idea: Considering the ability to get a free Covid-19 vaccine has been widely available for several MONTHS now, I’m thinking if you’re NOT vaccinated against the virus and you contract it, if you have any HONOR, you should NOT go to a hospital for treatment – no matter the level of the virus you have in your system. The reason I’m making this suggestion – and, I would be OK with hospitals refusing to admit these patients, especially in the states where there’s a “CRISIS” level of care due to overrun hospital ICU’s – is because, in many instances, it’s these very people who are leading the “charge” in attempts to threaten and intimidate those who support the mitigating efforts to put a STOP to the pandemic.
Ultimately, the DAMAGE these people (those who are threatening health care workers, etc.) are doing to our Health Care system could take YEARS to “fix.” First, there have been THOUSANDS of doctors, nurses, and others directly involved in providing care for Covid across America who’ve given their own LIVES to this pandemic. Those who are remaining MUST be either on the edge of BURNOUT or nearing it, and these right wing wack jobs aren’t helping matters in a positive way. Like I said above, many are, in one breath, threatening those who would attempt to make things safer for all of us – especially our Health Care workers – and, in the next breath they’re in the Emergency Room expecting the people they’ve been THREATENING to save their lives. Human nature would suggest it’s a miracle the people in the Hospitals continue attempting to save EVERY life. (Except in places like Alaska, Idaho, etc. where they have to decide who has the best chance to LIVE when deciding who gets care in their overrun hospitals.)
And, I know personally, many of the people in the Health Care system have just about had “enough already.” My niece works in one of the University of Washington Hospitals in Seattle in a Covid ICU and, basically, those on their team feel they’re working to save the lives of people who, almost ALL being unvaccinated, SHOULDN’T be there. My youngest daughter is a Registered Nurse in the Kaiser system and just last week the nurses voted OVERWHELMINGLY to go on strike. I’m guessing a large part of the problem for Kaiser has to do with the overwhelmingly HIGH cost of treating people with the more serious cases of Covid – apparently, they don’t feel they can afford to pay their nurses for what they’re dealing with – much of which is caused by Kaiser’s CHOICE to “short staff” these nurses. I told my daughter I would walk the picket line with her if it gets to that.
Like many of her peers, my daughter has mixed emotions regarding the care of the patients who are going to be “left in the lurch” – should it get to a walkout. Apparently, those in administration positions will be back actually working the “front lines” and they’re talking about bringing in “traveling” nurses who will charge Kaiser almost 10 times what their nurses are making who want a reasonable raise (4%) and they want Kaiser to HIRE enough nurses so different areas aren’t “short staffed,” and their nurses aren’t always working on the “edge.”
The VAST majority of those ending up in the Covid ICU’s are unvaccinated and that attitude spills over into many other areas of our communities. I’ve written about the “Proud Boys” causing a “lockdown” of a local area High School because of their support of a young student who wanted to force her way into the School without a mask – despite a clear “mask mandate.” We’re seeing a new level of hypocrisy coming from various levels of the republican party which has been hijacked by individual 1, a party who claimed to be the “party of law enforcement,” where a metastasizing level of civil disobedience is spreading all across this land – from the minimal where this girl refused to wear her mask at school to the absurd level of arrogant law breaking by the supporters of our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president.
You can now quickly identify the hard core supporters of individual 1 around where I live by simply going to the supermarket – for example, the local Kroger’s. When you go there you ALWAYS see at least a few people who are refusing to wear a mask – despite clear directions as you walk through the door stating “face coverings are required.” Not only do ALL these people “get away with it” but, when I asked the store manager why they allow this the response is, well kind of like they don’t want to make a scene. I point out it would be EASY to enforce the mandate and their response is “corporate” won’t allow it. That is, apparently Kroger is telling their customers (and their employees) they are unwilling to follow the law. (It’s a STATE mandate)
This is the kind of attitude I’ve been predicting for years would be the result of democrats FAILING to hold CRIMINAL activity from republicans to account. Ronald Reagan was allowed to go free (along with HW Bush) for their involvement in the Iran/Contra scandal. GW Bush/Dick Cheney/Don Rumsfeld et al were allowed to go “free” after committing WAR CRIMES during the Iraq and Afghanistan FIASCOS. And, of course, individual 1 – a common “mini” organized crime boss – has taken the reluctance of democrats holding republican LAWBREAKERS to account MANY steps forward.
As I’ve said here several times by now “we the people” are depending on Merrick Garland to hold individual 1 and his ring of lawbreakers to account for their ARROGANT lawbreaking. Along the lines of what I just said this ARROGANCE has filtered its way down to “Main Street” via those people you see without their masks, attacking School Boards and Health Care workers with their anti-mask and anti-vaxx insanity along with THREATS to those who are public servants, all the way up to the CRIMINALS who breached the Capitol on January 6th, 2021 and the CRIMINALS who INCITED their sedition. Sadly, I have to say there are already reports finding their way to various media outlets that Mr. Garland has a “weak stomach” (my characterization) for forcefully dealing with all these LAWBREAKERS.
The reports would suggest Mr. Garland is concerned with turning more of, for example, those who entered the Capitol on January 6th, 2021 into even MORE radical members of society. All I could think of was “tell that to all the African Americans who are sitting in prison for petty drug offenses.” Here’s the deal: In my view, Mr. Garland MUST start thinking in the exact OPPOSITE direction. Throw the “book” at the people who planned to “Hang Mike Pense,” who planned to overthrow the “will of the people” – and, by the way, still do – in fact, due to the lack of accountability for those who INCITED the INSURRECTION the republican base feels even more enabled. It’s almost as if “we’re white” how can you hold us accountable to the laws?
The THREAT to our republic (usually referred to as our “democracy”) is part of the public dialogue each and every day since the attempted INSURRECTION. The reticence of AG Garland and the Justice Department to fully ENFORCE our laws is becoming more concerning by the day. It’s been NINE months since the INSURRECTION and there hasn’t been a “peep” about holding individual 1 to account for OBVIOUSLY planning and INCITING the assault on our Capitol. As I’ve said here before, despite me not being a lawyer I believe I could argue for his GUILT in INCITING this INSURRECTION myself based simply on public knowledge. It appears Mr. Garland is NOT pursuing the actions of individual 1, his “number one” son, Mo Brooks, Rudy Giuliani, the lawyer who was encouraging individual 1 to “go for it” in regard to overturning the “will of the people” – John Eastman, and several members of Congress who were likely involved in various ways to this egregious attack on our NATION!
The DAMAGE being done to our nation due to individual 1’s CRIMINAL behavior has manifested itself in many ways – some of the worst I’ve laid out above. The reality there are STILL around 2000 Americans dying of Covid-19 EACH day at this point in time can be placed entirely at his feet – even though, on occasion he’s admitted he was vaccinated. He undermined the integrity of the republican party long before the pandemic, but his incompetence in dealing with it resulted in HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of unnecessary DEATHS while he was focused on his re-election – after he LOST the election he ignored the pandemic ENTIRELY – and, well, it just continues. Of course, he’s no longer in office (despite what he claims), but, indirectly, I believe the “anti-vaxxers” DYING in droves are the result of his persona.
With the (continuing) help of Vladimir Putin individual 1 has managed to turn America into two nations with the WORST of his “base” calling for “civil war.” In reality, what they’re trying to do is start a race war – as if they don’t understand the VAST majority of people who voted for Joe Biden are WHITE. Yes, Biden received MOST of the votes coming from the African American communities around the country, but, after all, he did receive over 81 MILLION votes – about 7 MILLION more than our IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president.
Final Thought: In regard to my concerns listed above regarding our Attorney General Merrick Garland, today the House Select Committee investigating January 6th, 2021 announced next Tuesday will be the committee vote on CRIMINAL contempt charges against Steve Bannon for failing to appear to answer an subpoena from the committee. Bennie Thompson, the chair of the committee, said, today, he’s expecting Mr. Garland will act expeditiously to put the committee’s CONTEMPT referral quickly to a Grand Jury resulting in Bannon’s INDICTMENT and arrest. Personally, I hope this happens “forthwith” and sends a message to EVERY other person who is subpoenaed to appear before their committee or for records sought by the committee. “We the people” need to FULLY understand EVERYTHING which led up to the ASSAULT on the Capitol, including who funded it, who planned it, and the INTENT of everyone involved – including individual 1 – who apparently watched it play out on live TV and STOKED it as opposed to attempting to stop if. Please Merrick Garland do your job! Enforce the LAWS to the fullest extent when it comes to saving our republic!
I believe Merrick Garland is more critical to saving America’s republic than the Congress which can’t get beyond a couple recalcitrant democratic Senators who are basking in the limelight which, up until this year, had escaped them. Having the “hammer” regarding the democrats progressive agenda have allowed them to face a “gaggle” of reporters every time they walk the halls of Congress. I’m sad to say that I believe Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema are willing to undermine Joe Biden despite the desperate NEED of so many of their own constituents for the investments in our people the “Build Back Better” agenda would provide for them. This is the classical example of what’s wrong in our Congress. The MONEY of lobbyists can derail even the MOST popular of government programs and, over and over again, they – and the politicians they buy off – prosper! It’s an ugly TRUTH about America. (One of many)