Tag Archives: Covid 19

political news

Memo to Trumpkins: Voting by mail is secure … period!

I have a number of Trumpkins among my many social media contacts. Some of them are actual friends of mine; others are members of my family; the rest are just, well, folks who take some measure of joy out of blasting my anti-Donald Trump thoughts on this blog.

Let’s try this one: Mail-in voting does not invite voter fraud. It is not corrupt, as Donald Trump his own self has alleged. It works in the states that allow it.

We ought to be able to vote by mail for president of the United States in November.

You know already that voting by mail is not my preferred method. I would rather troop to the polling place, stand in line and then cast my ballot on Election Day.

Circumstances, though, have overtaken that process. We have this thing called the coronavirus pandemic that’s infecting thousands of Americans daily. It has killed more of us than those who died during the Vietnam War and that number of fatalities continues to climb.

So what is the alternative to traditional voting for president this fall? Mail-in balloting works for me. It ought to work for all Americans who are interested in having their voices heard.

Have I mentioned that I want Joe Biden to defeat Donald Trump in that election? I guess I just did.

My concern about the upcoming presidential election is steeped more in the preservation of our fundamental right as citizens. We should be always encourage more citizens to vote, not seek to suppress that participation, which could be one result of declining to allow mail-in balloting and exposing Americans to the threat of a deadly viral infection by requiring them to cast their Election Day votes in polling places.

Texas isn’t exactly clamoring for the chance to vote by mail. We remain behind the electoral reform curve on that issue, just as we have been lagging in testing equipment available to detect the COVID-19 infection among Texans. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, furthermore, said he plans to appeal a judicial ruling handed down recently that paves the way for mail-in voting in Texas.

Trump wants to tamp down voter turnout. He denigrates mail-in balloting by saying it is “corrupt.” He offers no proof. He just makes reckless, ridiculous accusations. Meanwhile, secretaries of states that work in states that do allow mail-in voting tell us that they secure those ballots; they require voters to prove their eligibility; they report the tiniest of fractions of voter fraud. In effect, they tell us that there is no evidence of the voter corruption that Trump and others say exists.

If we want good government, then we need to have more — not fewer — citizens participating in the fundamental right of citizenship. If mail-in voting is the cure for what ails us while we battle a killer infection … then bring it!

State news

Wishing re-opening of Texas can work … but doubts remain

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

I want to wish Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has done his due diligence in determining the time is right to restart the state’s economic machinery.

Oh, man, the doubt persists.

Abbott said he is going to grant permission for restaurants, malls and movie theaters to welcome guests beginning Friday. Yes, it’s a cautious approach, but I remain deeply concerned about whether even this timid approach will cause another spike in the infection rate caused by the COVID-19 virus that has killed more than 700 Texans.

I just don’t know how this is going to work.

My wife and I plan to stay at home. We aren’t going to frequent restaurants; we will stay out of movie theaters; we aren’t going to the mall to mingle with others; we will continue to wear cloth masks when we go to the grocery store or put fuel in our truck. We will maintain social distance.

Abbott said he would rely on the doctors and data to determine his decision. I will take him at his word that he has done as he pledged to do. I just wonder if the time is yet right to start that return to what we used to call “normal” in Texas.

As Ross Ramsey writes in the Texas Tribune:

The protesters and holdouts are interesting, but to see how this is going, watch the people in the middle — the actual mainstream Texans. That big group wants to get things running but also thinks social distancing is a pretty good idea right now.

Their actions will speak louder than anyone’s — even Greg Abbott’s. And they seem to be the group he’s watching, too, as he anxiously opens the door.

I will act as if we’re still under restriction.

State news

Thanks, Gov. Abbott, but no thanks; I’m staying home

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says it’s time to reopen the state. The stay at home order he issued has done its job by reducing the level of infection from COVID-19.

Restaurants, malls, museums, libraries, retail outlets can reopen, he said today, but they have to limit it to 25 percent of capacity.

Governor, you may count me as one Texan who’s going to stay away. My wife and I are going to continue doing what we’ve been doing: We’ll go out only when we must purchase an essential item; we’re going to keep wearing masks; we’re going to wipe door handles, shopping carts and our hands with sanitized wipes.

I want Texas and the nation to get back to business as much as the next guy. However, I am leery of any relaxation at this moment. I keep reading about the potential for spikes in infection. I keep fearing the prospect of testing positive for the virus. I am 70 years of age; my wife is a bit younger, but she, too, is at risk. The good news is that we both enjoy good health but we want to ensure that our health status remains good.

I do endorse the notion that Abbott’s decision doesn’t require businesses to reopen, but that it gives them the permission to do so. They shouldn’t rush to fling open their doors, even to a 25-percent capacity.

With that, I just want to say “thanks, Gov. Abbott, but no thanks.” I am going to stay home and keep doing what I have been doing until we can report an even greater significant decline in the rate of infection.

national news

What is with this so-called ‘leader’ of an entire nation?

Someone needs to explain to me how a U.S. president who declares himself to be a “wartime” leader, who vows to “unify” the nation, can get away with saying this about other elected officials in this great nation.

He put this ditty out on Twitter this morning:

Why should the people and taxpayers of America be bailing out poorly run states (like Illinois, as example) and cities, in all cases Democrat run and managed, when most of the other states are not looking for bailout help? I am open to discussing anything, but just asking?

What in the world is our “Dipsh** in Chief,” Donald Trump, saying here? Is he suggesting that if these “poorly run states … and cities” were run by Republicans that they would be getting all they help they sought from the feds? Or is he saying that party identity is the sole reason they are suffering so badly by the coronavirus pandemic?

Good grief, man! I didn’t think Trump could sound more idiotic than when he ran for the presidency, but he has delivered the goods in spades since taking office. His response to the pandemic is offering proof damn near hourly of his unfitness for the office to which he was elected.

A “wartime president” is obligated to speak to all Americans, to offer care and compassion to all of us, to seek common ground in the fight against a common enemy. This enemy, the viral infection called COVID-19, is killing Republicans and Democrats without a single regard to its victims’ party affiliation.

There is no limit to the depths Donald John Trump will plunge as he continues to disgrace this country.

medical news

If he was being ‘sarcastic,’ what does that say about POTUS?

Let’s assume for the sake of discussion that Donald John “Knee Slapper in Chief” Trump was being “sarcastic” when he mused aloud about the possible benefits of injecting or ingesting cleaning fluid as a way to fight the COVID-19 virus.

He said such a hideous thing this week at one of those White press room rants. Trump has been ridiculed — with justification — for saying such a thing.

He then tried to take it back by suggesting he was, well, joking. He didn’t mean it. He mentioned that he sought to employ a little sarcasm while responding  to a question from a “reporter like you.” He said he wanted to see what kind of reaction he would receive. What a crock!

If that’s true — and I do not believe it to be so — then that begs another question about Donald Trump’s ghastly lack of presidential temperament. What kind of individual — faced with a viral infection that has killed more than 50,000 Americans in the span of two months — would make a “sarcastic” statement dealing with a matter of life and agonizing death.

I will stand by my assertion that Trump made that ridiculous suggestion without a hint of sarcasm. What kind of individual, then, would use that dodge to bob-and-weave his way out of the criticism that has been leveled at him?

Donald Trump is a kook.

local news

COVID crisis creates confusion

I am full of contradictory emotions at this moment in light of the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic.

Although I miss doing many of things I cannot do at the moment, I am in no rush to return to doing them. I fear contamination. I don’t want to get sick. Nor do I want my family members and others I love to become sickened by the virus.

I miss going to the gym each morning. I miss the occasional meal in a restaurant where the waiter/waitress serves us at a table. I miss shaking hands with friends I encounter. I miss being able to hug my granddaughter.

You get my drift, right?

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott reportedly is going to issue an executive order this coming week that begins to loosen the restrictions he has placed on us. He reportedly also is getting pushback from his conservative political allies who want him to move more quickly; they want a more aggressive reopening of the economy than I think — or at least I hope — the governor favors.

Don’t listen to ’em, Gov. Abbott. For that matter, I wouldn’t object if the governor were to delay the reopening for another couple of weeks, or maybe a month, or even longer. I want to see more progress made in the stemming of the infection and death rates. I want there to be more testing available for Texans; hey, we rank near the bottom of the states in the testing for the viral infection.

I damn sure don’t want Abbott to act on any hint he might be getting from Donald J. “The Waffler in Chief” Trump, who said he liked Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s strategy of reopening his state and then the very next day said Kemp was moving too rapidly.

This virus is still killing and sickening too many of us. If Abbott is going to reopen the state’s economy, I want him to do it ever so slowly … and I still might wait a while longer before I am ready to return to the way it used to be.

medical news

Trump says he ‘never heard’ of reassigned COVID aide? C’mon!

Rick Bright is spilling the beans on the inner workings of Donald Trump’s coronavirus pandemic response team.

He says he was reassigned because he wouldn’t buy into Trump’s pitching of a drug he says works “miracles” in getting rid of the COVID-19 virus. Bright happened to be the president’s go-to man on the virus vaccine research effort. Trump has been singing the praises of hydroxychloroquine, contending that it does miraculous work on snuffing out the deadly infectious virus.

Bright wasn’t buying it. He said hydroxychloroquine isn’t sufficiently tested and that its results were spotty at best.

Trump reportedly got rid of him.

The president’s reaction to Bright’s sudden dismissal, though, is utterly priceless. He told reporters this week that he had “never heard” of Rick Bright. Is that for real? How does the president of the United States form a task force, put someone in charge of researching a possible vaccine for a killer disease and not know who he is?

OK, I will venture out on that limb and say that Trump is lying — once again! — about a key virus response aide. Imagine that, if you can.

I have mentioned already on this blog that Donald Trump is the most untrustworthy man ever elected president of the United States. For that matter, he might be the most bald-faced liar ever elected to any office, maybe at any level of government.

Dr. Bright, a well-educated immunologist, isn’t taking his reassignment quietly. He issued a scathing statement that blasts the Health and Human Services Department, saying he was ordered to direct funds toward hydroxychloroquine by those who were close to Trump.

The president isn’t being quite so vocal about hydroxychloroquine these days. Maybe he got the message that his pitching of the drug was putting to many Americans at risk. “What do you have to lose?” he asked during his one of riffs in the White House press room. Well, some reports suggest that patients who take hydroxychloroquine are losing their life.

So now, Dr. Rick Bright is emerging as the latest in a growing list of fall guys who get the axe for, um, telling the truth.

medical news

Get tested, Mr. President!

Readers of this blog, Mr. President — and I wish you were one of them — are likely to be surprised to learn that I do not wish ill health on you while you are in office.

Therefore, I believe it is incumbent on you to take the test to determine whether your body is infected with the coronavirus that is infecting so many others around the world.

You have shaken hands with attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference who have tested positive for the virus; you have rubbed shoulders with foreign dignitaries. You are about to declare a national emergency as we all seek to cope with this pandemic. Have you failed to hear the warning issued by Dr. Anthony Fauci? He said you need to take the test. Listen to the man. He’s the world’s pre-eminent expert on this stuff!

So, there you have it. You need to test yourself and you need to determine whether you and your family should isolate yourself from others with whom you are doing the work on our behalf.

May I remind you, Mr. President, that you are part of an “at-risk” group of Americans. You are a good bit north of 70 years of age (and, hey, I am not that far behind you). Those around you tell us that you don’t get enough sleep and that you’re too busy working on the nation’s problems. It makes me say, “Hello? Sleep is essential to good presidential health … especially now that this deadly virus is striking us all across the land.”

Get the damn test, Mr. President! I am sure your position would allow your doctor to expedite delivery of the test kit, unlike what many millions of other Americans are facing if they want to be tested. But, what the heck. That’s another story for another time.

I want to know if the president of the United States is in danger of getting quite sick.

medical news

Waiting for the current president to lead

I am having difficulty watching and listening to the president discuss the medical pandemic that is sweeping around the world.

He portrays an image of toughness when it’s easy to do so. When the time presents itself for Donald Trump to actually perform as a leader, he chokes. As The New York Times reported today:

While he presents himself as the nation’s commanding figure, Mr. Trump has essentially become a bystander as school superintendents, sports commissioners, college presidents, governors and business owners across the country take it upon themselves to shut down much of American life without clear guidance from the president.

He has contradicted medical experts’ analysis of the coronavirus crisis. The president spoke to the nation from the Oval Office on Wednesday about a travel ban he was imposing on Europe, only to have the White House “clarify” Trump’s remarks two or three minutes after he signed off. Trump acts more like a man desperate to ignite a Wall Street rally if only to help his re-election chances.

Donald Trump cannot get it right. He cannot lend an air of competence at a time when the nation desperately needs it from the center of executive power.

I have to arc back to a point I have sought to make on this blog since Donald Trump began seeking the presidency in the summer of 2015. It is simply that this man’s background has taught him nothing about the complexities of the federal government and the nuance of public service leadership.

It is absent as this individual flails and flutters while wishing for a medical “miracle” that will not occur.

medical news

March Madness now becomes March Slumber

You can rest assured that I am not a college basketball fanatic who lives, dies, eats and sleeps according to the bracket I might fill out for the men’s college basketball tournament.

However, the cancellation of March Madness — the men’s and women’s tournaments — is a big, big deal.

The coronavirus pandemic has claimed a gigantic “victim” in the form of these two major sports and entertainment events.

Disneyland has closed its park in Anaheim, Calif., the NBA and the NHL have suspended their seasons until further notice; Major League Baseball has delayed its opening day for two weeks (but I’ll bet real American money it’ll last longer than that); colleges and universities are canceling “face to face” classes; school districts are closing for two weeks.

Major disruption anyone? Hmm?

Meanwhile, the Trump administration seeks to restore some semblance of order to the chaos that has enveloped the nation. Its strategy ain’t working. Donald Trump’s speech last night from the Oval Office was meant to quell the stock market turmoil, but it made matters worse; what’s more, the White House issued a “correction” two minutes after Trump’s speech to “clarify” what he had just said in announcing the travel ban from some or most of Europe … whatever the case may be.

So, lots of public institutions that rely on men’s and women’s basketball teams to make money for them are going to do without. Professional team owners that rake in millions every day when their teams performing against each other are watching the turnstiles remain quiet. Same for the Disney Corp.

Oh, how I wish this wasn’t happening. Wishing it, though, won’t solve this problem or end this crisis. Patience and prudence are the rule of the day … and likely beyond the foreseeable future.