Am I the Only One?

Am I the only one bothered by the fact that the President of the United States told the Vice President of the United States to not call state governors that had been mean to them?

Am I the only one bothered by the fact that the President of the United States is accusing states of requesting more supplies than they need?

Am I the only one bothered by the fact that the President of the United States has implied hospital medical staff have been stealing medical supplies?

Am I the only one bothered by the fact that the President of the United States and others of his ilk have recommended that people return to work knowing they are risking their lives?

Am I the only one bothered by the fact that the only numbers the President of the United States seems to be interested in is the number of viewers who are watching his coronavirus broadcasts?

Am I the only one bothered by the fact that the President of the United States wants to have his signature on all the individual stimulus checks?

Am I the only one who feels shame that one of the richest nations on the planet and a medical mecca has responded so poorly to the virus that we are now number 1 in the world for the number of infected people and the numbers of infections and deaths are growing still?

Am I the only one bothered by the fact that the man who told California they could reduce forest fires by raking the forests, and the man who told the Roman fire department that they should have water bombed Notre Dame, and the man that suggested we drop nukes on hurricanes, and the man that believes a snowstorm is an indicator that we do not have global warming, and the man who announced that the coronavirus was a Democratic hoax, was under control, would be cured by a miracle, and would be gone when the weather turned warm is the President of the United States and responsible for our nation’s response to a health emergency?

If I am the only one I am very sad.

The End of Conservative Philosophy

As a record $1 trillion dollar stimulus package leaves Congress bound for Trump’s signature I am in many ways smugly amused.  Could there be a clearer announcement that conservative theory simply does not work?

Conservatives for years have opposed government “hand-outs.”  They have opposed all the safety nets passed by progressives such as social security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, food stamps, etc.  (I suspect if women’s’ right to vote and own property and African American right to vote was put on the ballot the issues would fail to win a majority vote in most red states.)  Most recently the Trump administration has done all that they can to dismantle a program that provides health care for millions of Americans.  As recently as December Trump proposed massive budget cuts to social security and Medicare despite his promise not to do so.  (Oh well, we are not getting a wall funded by Mexico either.) 

Clearly, the Republican Party has stood for corporations over people, the rights of the wealthy over the poor, the rights of the evangelical Christians over all others, and promotion of economic development via reduced monitoring and restrictions on production that sacrifices consumer protection.  They have wrapped themselves in the flag and thumped the Bible and said conservative philosophy is best.  They have called themselves the party of family values.  They implicitly imply that God is on their side.  That has come to mean that they are the party that is willing to ignore the poor and the unemployed, the sick, the hungry, the homeless, the non-heterosexual, the people of color, women, children and the need for basic necessities like health care and public education.  Yes, business has prospered tremendously under this philosophy.  Until January.

Coronavirus happened.  Pandemic.  Worldwide.  Deadly for about 3.5% of the folks who contract the virus.  From China a virus was quickly spreading around the planet.  Trump had been briefed in 2017 of the risks of a pandemic, then he dismantled the Pandemic Planning Committee who was the group that warned him.  Why?  No one knows other than the fact Obama set it up and Trump was all about undoing everything Obama accomplished.  As the virus began to garner headlines our President said it was likely a Democratic hoax.  Then said it was no big deal.  Then said it would end via a miracle.  Then said it would go away with warmer weather.  Then said people could go to work if they had minor symptoms.  And the number of confirmed cases grew and grew, the death toll grew and grew.  Lacking federal leadership states and cities began to implement strategies to combat the spread of the disease.

Then suddenly in February Trump did an about-face.  He announces that he knows more about pandemics than anyone, he knew this was coming, he knew this was serious and he appointed Pence and Kushner to develop a plan.  No scientists, no infectious disease experts, no one from CDC or WHO.  Just two men with an anti-science perspective.

And the economy began to come to a halt.  The stock market fell more than it did in 2008.  People were laid off.  Stores were closing, restaurants were closing, even bars were hit hard.  The economic slowdown finally got the attention of Republicans.  It would be very difficult to wage a successful campaign in November if the economy looked more like 1929 than in 2019.  And we had what is clearly an admission of the failure of conservative politics.

Suddenly Republicans were talking a stimulus package to save the economy.  Not lives, but the economy.  Trump could have invoked the Defense Production Act and directed industry to produce masks, gloves, ventilators, but he has yet to do even that small measure.  And people are dying because of it.

Now Republicans are rushing to support checks sent directly to citizens, increased unemployment insurance, and bailouts for businesses.  They rushed to endorse classic Democratic Party economic philosophy.  They never mentioned the staggering national debt and how this package would make it even worse thanks to the tax cut for the rich. Nope, nary a word about debt.  But universal Republican support for handouts and safety nets. 

Herbert Hoover, Republican, overwhelmingly won the 1928 Presidential election.  He argued that what was good for business was good for the USA and business was thriving, the stock market was soaring.  And then in 1929 the market crashed and so did our economy.  Republicans were not as savvy then as they are now and Hoover insisted that the government cut spending as tax revenues declined.  Deadly dumb.  In 1932 FDR was overwhelming elected and began to implement the New Deal, massive government spending helping people, putting people to work.  The economy bottomed-out and turned around.  The economy really took off after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941.  Now truly massive government spending began to resurrect the American economy.

But our wisdom is a victim of short-term memory.  It took progressive economics to stabilize the economy.  Once stabilized, folks returned to supporting conservative philosophies in the 1950s.  Likely the time Trump refers to as when America was great.  In 2008 the economy crashed again and the nation turned to progressive economic theory again.  Once bottomed-out and then recovering conservatives began to make a philosophical come-back.  The economy was improving in every variable from 2009 until 2016.  In 2016 Trump was elected and from the get-go took credit for the booming economy.  But, he has been nibbling at the source of our improvement ever since.  Tariffs, cuts to government programs that support people, eliminating the protections put in place after 2009 and generally undermining the economy.  The Obama boom was coming to an end courtesy of a return to conservative thinking.  The national debt sky-rocketed.  The disparity between rich and poor grew larger.  The safety nets were attacked.

Now, suddenly, another crisis and what do the conservatives do?  They implemented classic progressive Democratic economic theory in terms of a huge stimulus bill.  FDR would be proud.

Well, as of now, he would.  Conservatives could not help themselves even as they drafted a stimulus bill.  The money that would be distributed to every citizen was placed on a scale so that those making the least money would receive the least money and those making the most money would receive the most money.  The money that was targeted for business support was to be delivered to producers with no strings attached.  We witnessed what corporations did with the tax cut, laying off workers and increasing the pay of CEO’s, buying their own stock to increase dividends for shareholders, etc.  Fortunately, the progressives pointed out that the idea of a stimulus was right on target, but those making the least money should get the most and those making the most money should get the least, and that the money to businesses must be monitored so that the money is used to maintain the workforce and production.  Sadly, the Republicans did not include the Democrats in the development of the bill, but Democrats held firm that without those two changes they could not in good conscience support such a bill.  Republicans caved because they had to.  A failing economy will get all the Republicans kicked out of Washington so they used Democratic theory to stabilize the economy.  Funny that they began to blame Democrats for being a roadblock to the stimulus when Democrats were taking a moral stand for citizens and the workforce.  That point was not covered in conservative media.

Now we have a whole new twist in conservative philosophy.  A twist endorsed by the Lt. Governor of Texas, an uneducated former radio talk show host, by the President who claims he knows more science than the scientists and yet proves that remark to be false every day, and other conservatives as well.  The twist is, send people back to work even though they may get sick and die.  Unbelievable.

The conservatives have no answer to the economic dilemma other than the progressive answer.  Worse, they are hanging all their hopes on a strong economy in November, so much so they are willing to risk lives and spread the virus to accomplish that goal.

This is not a party of family values anymore.  From denial of the pandemic threat, to no real federal leadership regarding strategies to stop the spread, to abandoning the argument that the government should stay out of the market place to endorsing the notion that some Americans should be willing to die to improve the economy it is clear that the conservative philosophy is now corrupt, without moral foundation and without a coherent conservative response to the pandemic.  Worse, they continue to support a man who represents the antithesis of family values and who takes pride in his lack of support of science in a time of huge challenges that only science can answer.

I find it amusing that Trump’s approval rating has soared to 49% and there is celebration in the red hinterland.  What a hoot.  The man did not have majority support on the day he was elected or on the day he was inaugurated and now as he approaches 50% he does so because he is taking credit for no plan and a stimulus.  I believe Americans will eventually see through this bozo and toss him out.  If Republicans had real integrity they would have done so when the impeachment proceedings moved to the Senate.  But they caved for the sake of political expediency and power abandoning their values.

There has always been philosophical tension in our country between the “all men are created equal and have unalienable rights,” and the market economy which guarantees that wealth and rights are not equal.  In times of crisis when lives are at stake, we have always turned to the people protection clauses rather than the market economy.  This crisis is no different.  Why we have such a hard time continuing that foundation in times of prosperity remains a great mystery to me as the only rationale for such a foundation I can see is selfish greed.

The conservative philosophy has morphed into an amoral, ineffective belief system that is hurting Americans.  It is time to stick a fork in it.  After you wash the fork and your hands.

Couch Tomato

Perhaps I have way too much time on my hands and in such a case spend way too much time listening and thinking.  This morning I awake amazed at the mental gymnastics Trump supporters are able to accomplish.  I’m a plodder and a linear thinker.  I observe something askew and seek to discover answers to explain such.  Trump supporters, however, are fully capable of rationalizing everything and I stand amazed.  For instance:

Trump supporters have somehow been able to forgive Trump for dismantling the Pandemic Planning committee in 2017 after he was fully briefed on the risks of a new pandemic and the need for advanced planning.  The problem, of course, was that Obama set that planning committee in place with leading experts from the science community.  Obama did not use relatives to head it up, or people who publicly have an aversion to science. Nope.  This was a real planning committee.  Since Trump abhors all things Obama and has little respect for science he dismantled the committee leaving us without a good plan should a pandemic occur.  Forgiving his bigotry and lack of foresight is a major mental accomplishment for Trump supporters.

Trump supporters have somehow been able to forgive Trump for taking the pandemic lightly in the early days.  Trump called it a Democratic hoax, no big deal, announced that he had it under control, that it would go away with warm weather, that a miracle would make it go away, etc.  All stupid, anti-science statements.  So as the pandemic really began to hurt Americans he had to do an about-face, much like Fox news.  Now we have thousands of cases and hundreds of deaths and it will get worse.  But Trump’s lack of respect for science encouraged him to view the spread of the virus as a PR issue, not a medical issue, so while he postured falsely the virus spread.  Had he jumped on it from the beginning we would be much better off.  People who have died from the virus would still be alive.  Forgiving his mismanagement of the pandemic and mismanagement of the response and planning for the pandemic is a major mental accomplishment for Trump supporters.

Trump supporters have somehow been able to forgive Trump for the out and out lies he has told regarding our preparation and response to the pandemic.  Trump announced we had plenty of test kits available.  We do not.  He announced we would likely have a vaccine in 3 or 4 months.  It has been 3 months and we do not have a vaccine.  He announced that Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin were effective combatting the virus despite experts’ advice to not take the over-the counter malaria-fighting drugs.  Nigeria now reports multiple cases of chloroquine poisoning due to Trump’s recommendations.  Trump continues to announce he has a plan, a strong plan, a good plan, and yet every state and local jurisdiction is following the CDC guidelines, states and cities are all over the place with their response to the virus and we await Pence and Kushner’s plan.  Forgiving Trump for lack of planning, misleading information, outright lies and the loss of life as a result of such behavior is a major mental accomplishment for Trump supporters.

Trump supporters have somehow been able to forgive Trump for not enacting the Defense Production Act to produce much needed medical supplies to serve the sick and protect the caregivers.  Trump finally did so on Friday, March 20 with 35,000 cases and 460 deaths.  The number of American deaths is doubling every day.  But today Trump announced that even though he has invoked the DPA he is not likely to use the power bestowed in the act to tell industry to produce needed supplies.  Forgiving Trump for not taking action to provide the resources caregivers desperately need is a major mental accomplishment for Trump supporters.

Trump supporters have somehow been able to forgive Trump for his lack of positive messaging to America.  For Trump, everything is about him, how he saw this coming, how we are prepared, that he is tired of the naysayers, that he attacks reporters for asking if he has a message of hope for America, etc., etc.  As is always true with Trump all this is someone else’s fault, the Chinese, Obama, Hillary, etc., etc.  This is Trump’s first real crisis as President and he is revealing his inability to respond appropriately.  There are 320,000,000 Americans.  If 70% of us get the virus that is 224,000,000 sick folks.  If 3% of all sick folks die from the virus that is 6,720,000 deaths.  It will be worse than that because our medical facilities lack the number of beds to house the severely ill, and we lack the number of ventilators to support the life of those who are seriously ill and most at-risk.  Let’s just call it 7 million deaths.  Somehow Trump supporters can forgive the President for not ordering the immediate production of ventilators, test kits, masks, etc.  Trump is relying on the private sector and states and cities to make plans to deal with this.  Forgiving Trump for lack of action that will cost American lives is a major mental accomplishment for Trump supporters.

So, I am self-isolating.  I am 70.  I have heart disease.  I am diabetic.  I have had COPD.  If I get the virus I will die.  Some doctor somewhere will have to decide whether I get a ventilator or someone else who is younger, stronger, with fewer health issues, and I totally support giving the ventilator to the younger person.  This pandemic is a major crisis and until those who support Trump begin to communicate to him that it is time to put on his big boy britches and lead the country things will get worse. 

I clearly lack the ability to forgive Trump for his shortcomings in this crisis.  I continue to be amazed that his supporters think he is doing great.  It may take millions of deaths for those supporters to wake up and see how we could have mitigated the entire crisis with leadership, real leadership.  No more self-serving press conferences.  Tell us the truth.  Tell us the plan and do not use hyperbole regarding the plan.  Save as many as you can. 

I sit on my couch knowing that isolation is the best I can do for my neighbors, my family, and my country.  But I am not a couch potato.  Potatoes are so dumb they do not even respond to light. (I have since learned that potatoes do respond to light by sprouting!)  I am a couch tomato.  I at least respond to light and truth.  I strongly encourage Trump supporters to become couch tomatoes too.

Coronavirus Response

OK.  I am really confused.  I think it is because we have a stupid President, or I guess it could be because I am stupid.  No one really thinks they are stupid, so I guess that applies to me and DT, but I do not claim to be a genius, much less a stable one.  I think I am a bright person with issues.

Meanwhile, at least DT has moved from saying this is a Democratic hoax concocted to make him look bad.  Wow.  That preposterous claim clearly stupid as the virus came from China where, as far as I know, Nancy Pelosi is not powerful enough to make thousands ill via biological warfare.

Then he told us it would go away.  In fact, he expected a miracle to make it go away.  Really?  DT is strongly supported by Evangelical Christians and one of the major tenets of those groups is that the Bible is inerrant, is holy, and every word is literally true.  If that is what they believe must it not also be true that God must have created the coronavirus?  Just like he must have created cancer, heart disease, menopause, ED, bad backs, etc.  If God created the virus why would he create a miracle to end his creation?  Or, did God just set things in motion and the virus just happened?  Well, if that is the case then expecting God to intervene is equally crazy.  He has not ended cancer.  He has not cured heart disease.  He is not cured erectile dysfunction.  So, it seems we really cannot turn to God for help on this issue.

I know there are rich evangelical Christians who have banished the virus in the name of God and declared that the virus is illegal.  I do not get that at all.  Who made the virus?  Who at the least is allowing the virus to spread?  Why, that would be God.  It seems to me we should declare evangelical millionaires illegal.

Back to the virus.  Those people who have spent their adult lives studying viruses, immunology, pandemics, etc. know what is going on.  They now know the symptoms and they are working on a vaccine.  But DT won’t listen to them.  He has a hunch that the virus will disappear when it gets hot and that we will have a vaccine in 3-4 months, and that his shoot-from-the-hip hunch is better information than a host of scientists who in fact really know what is going on.  Only a moron would take such a position, especially in the face of a world-wide biological challenge.  Nope.  Old DT thinks his hunch means more than the studied and expert opinion of scientists.  If that does not scare the crap out of you I do not know what will.  To make matters worse, he has asked his son-in-law Jared to get to the bottom of all this.  Jared?  Jared’s only claim to fame is to marry Ivanka and in so doing he has become a part of the nepotistic inbreeding of adamant Trump supporters the President keeps around him.  This is so stupid it is going to get people killed.  However, I must admit it is likely a step up intellectually from Pence.

And then we hear Trump’s plan.  America is tough, America is great, and this silly virus is not going to slow us down at all.  Nero fiddled while Rome burned.  Trump postulates while people die and the market crashes and every thinking organization on the planet seeks ways to contain the virus and treat the virus.  Trump’s solution is to pick some countries on the planet and not allow people, even American citizens, to come here just in case they have or are carrying the virus.  Right.  Would someone please tell our stable genius that the virus is world-wide?  That is what pandemic means.  One nation cannot take steps to solve this problem.  It will take global collaboration on a grand scale.  Sadly, our current President is unable to think globally much less collaboratively.  For Trump, his thoughts and hunches mean more than logic, more than science, more than public safety.

So, what would I do?  First, if the President asked me to take charge I would decline because I lack the knowledge and expertise to be in charge.  I think thinking people would encourage the appointment of someone who knows something and is not impressed by ill-founded hunches.  But if forced to develop a plan I would start with a three-pronged approach. 

The first approach would be to make all our first responders safe from contracting the virus.  Police, fire, ambulance drivers, hospitals and doctors, and nurses must be safe.  Who are we going to call if everyone gets sick?

Second, I would make safe as best we could all those folks who are most likely to die from exposure to the virus.  School kids, the elderly, those already with health challenges, etc.

And third, a full-fledged funding from whatever deep pockets remain in DC to the scientists to develop a vaccine.  If each billionaire in America contributed a billion dollars toward finding a cure we would find a cure and they would all still be billionaires.  And this cannot be just an American approach.  We need our best brains working with the best brains from around the world to stop this thing and for now, I do not care if those brains are in China, Russia, England or a "shit hole country.".  We are much more likely to survive with that kind of collaboration than blocking Italian tourists from coming to the US.

Further, I would encourage our citizens to show thoughtful care and restraint.  Anywhere from self-quarantines for those in high risk areas to avoiding large public gatherings.  Most Americans and American organizations are already doing that.  Those organizations and individuals deserve support and understanding rather than waiting for Jared to make some kind of pronouncement.

And finally, we should take care of each other as best we can in whatever ways we can.  We should morn those who die from this virus, not parade survivors and promote the notion that this is no big deal.  This is a big deal.  I fear our President will not understand that this is serious and not just a PR opportunity until someone he knows and loves gets sick and dies.  By then it will be too late.