It has been almost six weeks since my post about the looming
COVID-19, written just a few days before the World Health Organization declared
it a pandemic.
Frankly, the Captain has been abiding by the recommendations
of people much smarter than myself to stay at home.
Sure, that should give me plenty of time to write more, but every
time something would strike the Captain’s fancy and I would decide to write
about it, something more absurd would be said and I would scrap the first and
start on the next. And every time I thought we had reached the penultimate in
absurdity, it would get even more ridiculous.
Here’s where we stand as of this writing:
And still no vaccine or cure on the horizon.
Our President, who should be leading us through this
pandemic with a sense of calm assurance, has turned his daily press briefings into
campaign rallies, filled with self-aggrandizement and lies, while insulting
reporters who ask him tough questions, like, “What do you say to those families
who have lost loved ones during this pandemic?”
“You’re a terrible reporter. Next question.” [Yes, this
exchange really did happen.]
Seriously, the POTUS has yet to express any remorse or
condolences to the families of those who have died.
On the other hand, he did express concern at the report that
the dictator of North Korea might be dying.
He is more worried about the Stock Market (which in one month lost all the gains made during the Trump presidency), Oil Prices (which cratered this week), and his TV ratings… which
he proclaims are the best ever!
I shit you not! As the nation – as the whole world! – suffers,
Trumpf is boasting about his TV ratings!
Trillions of dollars of relief aid are being pumped into the
economy as businesses are closed and millions file for unemployment, which will
be a burden we bear for decades to come. As expected, much of the money is being
diverted to line the pockets of the wealthy… again.
Trumpf has yet to take any blame for the spread of the virus
– which he first labeled a hoax, then said he was on top of it, then blamed the
media for blowing it out of proportion, then blamed China (who he had earlier
praised)… he even blamed former President Obama for not preparing a vaccine for
a virus that no one would know about until three years after he left office!
Captain’s Note: The National Security Council under
President Obama did draft a 69-page plan after the 2014-2015 Ebola Crisis, which
the Trumpf administration has completely ignored… because “Obama”…
Captain's Note 2: And if you want to see how a potential virus outbreak should be handled, read up on what the Obama administration did to prevent Ebola from reaching the U.S.
The petulant Trumpf has cut off U.S. funding to the World
Health Organization, blaming that critical organization for colluding with
China, and now turns his sights on the U.S. Center for Disease Control.
After he mistakenly declared he had “total authority” during
this crisis and could/would re-open the states for business whenever he decided
– the metrics are all in his head, he proclaimed – this week the chastened President has pivoted to encouraging
his minions to protest their state’s shelter-at-home orders.
Trumpf’s own words border on sedition.
Naturally, many of these protesters are showing up in their
best right-wing Army Surplus gear, waving their Nazi flags, their Confederate
flags, their “Don’t Tread on Me” flags, and brandishing firearms.
Captain’s Note: Are these the same people who have underground
bunkers filled with enough firepower to arm a small nation and a year’s worth
of Jim Bakker’s 5-gallon "Buckets of Survival Slop"? And yet they can’t survive a six-week
shutdown?
Seriously, a Fox News correspondent whined about women not
being able to get their hair and nails done…
People are dying here, but she can’t get her nails done…
The really funny ones are the protesters wearing facemasks
while insisting the virus threat is a hoax.
There is real evidence that these protests are not
spontaneous, grass-roots protests but rather they are being organized and funded
by wealthy right-wing political organizations.
And then there are the preachers who refuse to shut down
their churches (at least two of these have died from the virus so far) and the
TV preachers who have “prayed away” the virus.
The modern-day form of snake-handling...
And most recently, one took to the airwaves to tell people
to send their government stimulus checks to him...
That measly $1,200 that the Secretary of the Treasury said should last them through 10 weeks of being unemployed...
The preacher wants the whole amount, not just 10%...
So now that the POTUS is pushing for states to re-open for
business, many Republican governors are falling in line.
“Yes, some will get sick and die. Meh.”
The Lt. Governor of Texas yesterday declared there are more
important things than life!
Captain’s Note: Your Captain can’t think of anything
off hand that is more important than life, but okay…
Appropriately (or not), the Mayor of Las Vegas wants to
re-open the casinos and let people take their chances!
Friends, it appears that intelligence, logic and the ability
to reason have left the building.
From this point, you are on your own.
God speed!
