Category Archives: medical news

local news, medical news

One county judge peers into a neighbor’s ‘yard’ and offers sound advice

If I were sitting in Collin County Judge Chris Hill’s chair at this moment I might be inclined to tell Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins to mind his own bee’s wax.

Then again, were I occupying Jenkins’ chair, I might respond with, “Hey, Chris, we’re all in this together. I’m looking out for everyone in the region. That includes the residents of Collin County.”

Jenkins took part in a conference call among local county judges and local health officials who were meeting to discuss the coronavirus pandemic; Hill didn’t take part. Jenkins has issued a shelter-in-place order for all Dallas County residents, essentially ordering all non-essential businesses to close; Hill has asked folks to stay at home, too, but has kept businesses open.

Jenkins seems to think that his neighboring county judge hasn’t gone far enough. So that’s why he’s admonishing Collin County residents to stay at home while scientists, doctors, first responders answer the call to battle against the coronavirus.

Hey, I live in Collin County. I am heeding the advice given by Judge Jenkins. As for Judge Hill, well, he ought to rethink his reluctance to order the closure of those businesses.

As the Dallas Morning News has reported: Asked about the call with the hospital executive, Hill said it was accurate that he didn’t participate but that he had participated in two other calls with county judges Thursday that Jenkins didn’t take part in. “We need regional cooperation right now in North Texas,” Hill said. “And I urge Judge Clay Jenkins to reconsider his position.”

I need not remind anyone that the coronavirus cases in North Texas are growing rapidly. Accordingly, as a taxpaying constituent of Chris Hill, I hereby ask him to rethink his position.

We have “regional cooperation” in North Texas, even with Clay Jenkins’ apparent scolding.

local news, medical news, national news

Is this crisis making us a bit nicer to each other?

Maybe it’s just me, but I have this feeling in my gut that the coronavirus pandemic is helping create a society that is just a bit more courteous.

I kind of feel it when I go to the grocery store, or to fill my truck with fuel, or when I meet folks on the street. I find myself smiling a little more broadly at total strangers and they are returning likewise smiles to me. Our neighbors here in Princeton are offering to help us if we need it; we are returning the offer to them.

Is this what’s happening?

Our local TV stations are full of public service announcements that remind us that “we’re all in this together.”

My wife and I went to a supermarket in Farmersville the other day. We ventured about six miles east along U.S. Highway 380 to see for ourselves what we had heard from an acquaintance, that this store was doing an exemplary job of keeping their shelves stocked while so many of us are hoarding certain products.

We were standing near the stand-up freezers, watching store employees rushing to fill them with frozen vegetables. I was struck by the thought: You know, these folks might be performing one of the most valuable jobs in this community. They were hustling with broad smiles on their faces.

No one, as near as I can tell, welcomes the restricted movements we are enduring, or welcomes the rules that governments are imposing on our daily lives.

The medical personnel at our local hospitals, I am absolutely certain, do not welcome the stress they are facing as they perform heroic acts treating those afflicted with the coronavirus. They deserve our gratitude, our thanks and our best wishes as they struggle to keep our community healthy.

I hope I do not have to thank them personally while they treat me or any member of my family. I am more than willing to express my thanks to them all through this forum.

All of this just might be an unintended, but welcome, consequence of this serious crisis. It’s bringing out the best in us.

medical news

Speak for yourself, Lt. Gov. Patrick

I’m not living in fear of Covid-19. What I’m living in fear of is what’s happening to this country. And you know (Fox News host) Tucker (Carlson), no one reached out to me and said, “As a senior citizen, are you willing to take a chance on our survival, in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren?’ And if that’s the exchange, I’m all in.

Those words of idiocy came from Texas Lt. Gov. Dan “The Dipsh**” Patrick, who said in effect that elderly Americans ought to be ready to die in order to preserve our national economic infrastructure.

Well, pardon me for breathing, Dan. But I ain’t willing to make that “exchange.”

Patrick bloviated on Fox News and offered what I believe to be a despicable observation about what is at stake.

Patrick is 69 years of age. For the record, I am 70. So this fellow is offering a bit of moronic logic that doesn’t make a lick of sense.

Let’s play that idiocy out just a bit.

If an old man like me or Lt. Gov. Patrick wants to resume normal living, interacting with other human beings as if nothing is wrong, then we are endangering not just ourselves, but we could be putting other Americans at risk, too. Yep, that would be young folks. Hmm. Maybe children. Are they to be sacrificed, too, in the of restoring the “America we all love”?

I do fear the coronavirus, Dan Patrick. I fear for my health and for the health of my family.

To hear that kind of tripe coming from a supposedly responsible leader of a great state such as Texas is sickening in the extreme.

medical news

Shelter in place: Do it now and save lives

I want to call on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to do what he was elected to do, which is protect Texans against some of their more careless impulses.

The world is being attacked by an “invisible enemy,” the coronavirus. Local governments in the United States are issuing shelter in place orders. Many nations have done the same thing. Donald Trump is now reportedly considering going in the opposite direction; he is pondering whether to lift some of the restrictions businesses are facing in this time of peril.

Gov. Abbott ought to declare a statewide shelter in place mandate. Only a fool would want to put endanger himself or herself or put others in peril by exposing them to the virus. Yet we have too many fools among us.

Counties have imposed shelter in place edicts. The order limits Texans’ movement from their homes to stores to purchase food and other essential items. Dallas County invoked a shelter in place order over the weekend. Others have done so, too. Others are likely to issue similar orders.

Meanwhile, the state can simply override all 254 counties and make that declaration. Gov. Abbott can make that call.

My wife and I are prepared to follow such an order to the letter. We know it won’t last forever.

It’s time to step up, Gov. Abbott.

local news, medical news

Hey, Judge Hill, it’s time to invoke ‘shelter in place’

This note is directed at Collin County Judge Chris Hill: They have done it in next-door Dallas County, so it’s time for Collin County to follow suit and invoke a shelter in place mandate.

I want my county to become even more proactive in fighting the spread of the coronavirus. One measure is to order residents to stay at home and leave the shelter of their dwellings only to purchase food and other essential supplies; you know, things like fuel for our vehicles and medicine for those who need it.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins issued the order over the weekend. The county of some 2.4 million residents is facing some serious hassle and heartache stemming from the pandemic. Jenkins saw the need to act and, so … he did.

Collin County is home to about 1.1 million Texans. My wife and I, along with our son, daughter-in-law and two of our grandkids, are among them. We want added protection orders invoked immediately.

I don’t know if Chris Hill will see this message. I intend to email it to his office. My concern is not unlike many others around the nation and the world. I am fearful that this pandemic can get totally out of control. Indeed, it might already be at that point.

However, if our local government can take measures to stem the tide where we live, then I am all in.

Shelter in place isn’t a case of being under house arrest. We can leave our homes to, oh, walk around the block, or simply get some fresh air. And, yes, we can make purchases at the store.

There isn’t any entertainment opportunities available now as it is, with restaurants, bars and other such venues closed for the short- and perhaps medium-term.

Issue the order, Judge Hill. I know of several of your constituents who will comply.

medical news, Uncategorized

Always known it’s a pandemic? Really, Mr. POTUS?

Donald Trump thinks he is president of a nation of rubes.

He said this the other day when asked why his tone about the coronavirus pandemic had changed: “I have always known. This is a real pandemic. I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic … I’ve always viewed it as very serious.”

No. He hasn’t. He lied again. Just as he has done over and over and over. The president couldn’t tell the truth — and please pardon the reference — if someone held a gun to his head.

As The Atlantic has reported, Trump has said the virus could disappear in a miracle. He has said it has been “contained.” He has declared that he knows more about medical matters than anyone in the world, that he has a “gift” of this knowledge.

Now he wants us to believe that he’s known all along that the pandemic is serious?

Please. Stop. Shut up.

medical news, national news

Step aside, Mr. POTUS

This is far from all I want regarding the coronavirus pandemic crisis, but it’s up there … near the top of my wish list.

I want Donald John Trump to stop talking to us about what the national response team is doing to fight this conflict.

I want the president of the United States to hand the microphone over to the experts he has enlisted to do the heavy lifting, to wage the fight. You see, the president cannot — or will not — deliver a truthful assessment of where we stand, where we are going and how we intend to accomplish this important mission.

Trump stands before the world at those briefings and manages to mangle the message. He tells us testing equipment is available, when it isn’t; he berates the media, which are trying to report to the public what the government is trying to do; he talks about vaccines being nearly available, then gets contradicted by medical experts who tell us that they are far from being deployed.

If the president would merely stand down, step aside and let the pros talk to the nation, many millions of us just might feel more secure in our self-quarantined conditions.

Donald Trump is unable to lead.

medical news

Can a ‘snake’ get a presidential disaster declaration?

I am getting this sick feeling in my gut about how Donald Trump might react to a request from a governor he recently called a “snake.”

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is asking the president to issue a federal disaster declaration for the state that once was known as Ground Zero for the coronavirus pandemic that has wrapped itself around the world. Ground Zero in this country has shifted to New York City; the worldwide location is in Italy.

Inslee also was a Democratic candidate for president and said some unkind things about Donald Trump. I guess the president holds a grudge. Vice President Mike Pence took a trip out west to see the pandemic damage for himself and made some supportive statements about the job Inslee is doing to lead his state in its fight against the coronavirus.

Trump’s reaction? Pence can say those nice things, Trump said. “I don’t have to.” He called Inslee a “snake” and a “terrible governor.”

Now Inslee is asking the president for help. My gut is telling me that Trump is going to allow his anger at Inslee to keep him from doing the right thing and making the declaration, which would expedite federal assistance to one of our 50 states that is in dire need of it.

Say it ain’t so, Mr. POTUS.

medical news

Pandemic fatigue sets in

I don’t have the stick-to-itiveness that I used to have. I could stay glued to media outlets incessantly, seemingly forever, to get all the info I could soak in about an ongoing story.

These days I find myself coming down with a form of fatigue. I am sorry to admit that the coronavirus pandemic has triggered it in me.

I find myself watching some of the TV streaming services I get at home rather than watching the news. Every single item reported these days has some connection to the pandemic.

I understand fully how important the story is to the whole world. It’s a gigantic story. The United States of America could go into a total lockdown. For all I know they might declare martial law … but that’s not likely. At least that’s my hope.

States can act on their own. I don’t know what Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is inclined to do. I am confident that when he makes such a decision that we’ll all be made aware of it.

Absent a declaration such as that, or a declaration that the coast is clear and we can resume our normal lives, I am going to look elsewhere for my TV-viewing pleasure.

I know about the risks. I know what to do to minimize my exposure to the virus. I know about “social distancing.” We have plenty of food in the house. We also have plenty of the necessary paper products … if you know what I mean. We have soap and running water.

We are hunkered down. I’m going to seek to relieve myself of pandemic fatigue. Wish me luck. I’ll do the same for you.

medical news

Witnessing a heartwarming reaction to pandemic crisis

My heart is filling up with good feelings as I watch the news … all of which is dealing these days with the coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having on human beings around the globe.

I am sure you all have noticed the same thing that has not escaped my attention, which is the huge number of public service announcements from corporate sponsors declaring the same thing: If you’re in trouble and you cannot cope with the crisis, we’re hear to help.

Now, to be sure I fully understand that these messages aren’t entirely altruistic. Automakers are offering “interest free” financing for seven years if you buy one of their products, for example. Still, one of the underlying messages is that the pandemic affects everyone and that we all should draw strength from our neighbors and our family members, all of whom are being forced to make changes in their lives.

By all means I hope this won’t be a long-term disruption of people’s routines. I am not even sure how I would define “long-term,” whether it’s weeks or months or — God forbid — even years.

However, the PSAs and the messages of comfort from Corporate America do fill me with hope as well as a good measure of resolve to do my part to stem the outbreak.

As the saying goes: We’re all in this together.