Tag Archives: pandemic

medical news

Leadership is MIA in the White House

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has done it. It says Americans should wear cloth masks when they venture outside and are forced to mingle with others.

It’s not a directive. It’s a guideline, but CDC sounded as if it is recommending strongly that we follow its advice.

What, then, did Donald Trump do today during his daily clown show/briefing? He undercut CDC’s  recommendation. Way to go, Mr. President … you ignoramus.

I took a break from boycotting these presidential riffs. I watched a good bit of what Trump said. He was, typically, hideous.

He said the CDC guidelines are “voluntary.” Then he said, “I’m choosing not to do it. It’s voluntary.”

Why in the name of absent leadership does Donald Trump open his yapper on matters such as this? The CDC isn’t dictating that we must wear the masks; it is offering only what it considers to be a strong recommendation.

Then the president — in effect — says the CDC’s recommendation isn’t to be taken seriously.

Sigh …

Donald Trump’s daily monologues have become counterproductive in the extreme. This individual simply is ill-equipped to lead a nation that is distressed beyond measure. The coronavirus pandemic has frightened us. It is causing many of us to worry ourselves sick about the direction our economy is taking. We are worried about catching the virus, or our loved ones becoming ill from it.

The CDC is offering a recommendation that medical experts suggest could prevent the spread of this deadly virus. Dr. Anthony Fauci said today that anyone who can wear a cloth mask per the CDC recommendation should do so.

Then the president tells us he won’t bother?

This nitwit in chief is not leading us.

medical news, national news

Trying to connect seemingly disconnected dots

Three issues are swirling about that seem on the surface as though they might be disconnected, but they are hooked up in curious and confusing ways.

They are the coronavirus pandemic, the state of the U.S. economy and the 2020 presidential election.

Let’s see where this brief trip takes us.

The health crisis has erupted across the globe, affecting economies on every inhabited continent on Earth. The United States is not immune from the pain.

Today’s jobs report from the Labor Department showed a shedding of 700,000 non-farm jobs in March. If you think that number hurts, wait’ll the April figures come out in early May.

Americans are hunkering down. States are issuing stay-at-home orders; all but 10 states have done so, I believe. The federal government hasn’t done so. Indeed, the feds at this moment still appear to be playing a supporting role in this national crisis, which leads me to the third issue: the election.

Donald Trump surely didn’t cause the coronavirus outbreak. He is not responsible for the crisis that began in China and then swallowed Planet Earth whole. The president’s responsibility begins with his cavalier initial response to the crisis as it was worsening before our eyes. Therein lies what might become the signature issue of the 2020 presidential campaign.

Is the president doing enough to lead the nation in this fight against the “invisible enemy” known as COVID-19? Has Donald Trump actually donned the mantle of “wartime president” and is he acting like the leader he professes to be? No and … no again!

I’ve wanted this fraud off the nation’s political stage since the moment he rode down that escalator with Melania to announce he was running for president. He has done not a single thing to persuade me he deserves a second term.

On top of that, this buffoon has bluffed, blundered and blathered his way all over the coronavirus crisis. He contradicts the health geniuses with whom he has surrounded himself. He said the virus was not a big deal, then he changed his tone. All the while, Trump keeps congratulating himself for doing a “fantastic job” of coordinating the federal effort. He hasn’t done jack-diddley-squat!

Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign guru James Carville once made famous the quip that “It’s the economy, stupid.” It well might be the economy once again that drives this upcoming election.

To think it all began when the current president once told the nation that “I, alone” can solve the nation’s problems. He’s got his hands full.

medical news

Mitt emerges as major thorn in POTUS’s backside

The more I hear from Sen. Mitt Romney, the more I am liking what I hear.

The Utah Republican was the lone member of his party to vote to convict Donald Trump of abuse of power in his Senate impeachment trial. Trump hates Mitt’s guts for voting his conscience, which tells me far more about Trump than it does about Sen. Romney.

Now we have the junior senator telling Trump he’d better back off and let a bipartisan congressional committee conduct proper oversight of the $2.2 trillion relief package that is coming in response to the collapsing economy … which is a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic that is sweeping the planet.

Romney put his name on a letter he co-wrote with Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., endorsing the notion of the oversight panel.

Do you think Trump will heed the senator’s call? Oh, probably not. I just am enjoying hearing a bona fide Republican politician challenge the fake Republican president on an important issue of government transparency.

military news

Navy sinks a stellar career … because of an officer’s love for his sailors

U.S. Navy Capt. Brett Crozier loved the 5,000 men and women under his command aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt. He loved them so much that when several of them tested positive for the coronavirus, he sent out an alarm to the top brass, which he declared needed to do more to care for the sailors with whom he served.

What did Capt. Crozier get for his demonstration of love and loyalty to his sailors? He got booted off the ship, stripped of his command. Who did the deed? The Navy’s acting secretary, quite possibly on orders from the commander in chief, Donald John Trump.

There’s no nice way to say this: Brett Crozier got hosed by the Navy, which he has served for 30 years.

Acting Secretary Thomas Modly relieved Crozier of his command because he reportedly went outside the chain of command. But why did he do that? Because the chain of command wasn’t responding to his pleas for help in protecting the sailors who serve aboard the nuclear-powered attack aircraft carrier.

So the highly decorated, highly regarded officer took command of the situation.

To be candid, this story gave me a touch of heartburn when it first broke. Then I saw the reaction sailors gave Crozier as he was leaving the ship for the final time. They cheered. They shouted his name. The din was deafening. They expressed their gratitude for the care that Capt. Crozier had displayed in seeking to protect them against the killer virus.

That is what leaders do. They care for the individuals who serve under them. They do not knuckle under to stiff-necked protocol when it puts personnel in dire jeopardy.

Acting Secretary Modly, dare I say it, is behaving like a political appointee/hack.

To be modestly fair, I should note that Crozier will keep his rank. That said, the man once slated to become an admiral likely won’t get the promotion he now deserves more than ever.

His career is probably over. That is a terrible shame.

national news

‘Wartime president’ whiffs yet again

Donald Trump wants to be known as a “wartime president.”

Got that? Then someone has to explain to me how a wartime president can call himself “a backup” to states and local governments that are waging the war against an “invisible enemy” in the form of the coronavirus pandemic.

Wartime presidents don’t cede leadership to governmental underlings. They take charge. They take command. They lead. They inspire. They unify the nation behind a common goal: to defeat the enemy.

Yet there was this president, writing a crappy, whiny letter to U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, telling Schumer that the president is a “backup” to governors demanding more masks, more ventilators, more assistance in the fight against the killer virus.

Trump also called himself a “backup” during his daily White House briefing today, when he complained about governors making too many demands of the federal government.

Wartime president? Really, Mr. President? This individual is nothing of the sort.

medical news

Now it’s Jared Kushner talking about the pandemic?

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Jared Kushner, the young man with no qualifications to do anything constructive, is now taking center stage in the federal government’s non-response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Kushner, who’s married to Donald Trump’s daughter, made his first appearance today at the daily White House briefing from Trump’s pandemic response task force.

What did he say? What does this fellow have to offer the nation?

“This truly is a historic challenge. We have not seen something like this in a very long time, but I am confident that bringing innovative solutions to these hard problems, we will make progress,” Kushner said.

Innovative solutions. That’s it. What innovation does this guy have up his sleeve? Anything?

I find it astonishing in the uber-extreme that Jared Kushner would be standing anywhere near the actual brainiacs who are trying to offer wise counsel to a president who has demonstrated a stubborn reluctance to listen to anything from anyone with actual expertise on any pressing matter.

There he is. Jared Kushner, one of the “best people” Donald Trump promised to put to work to solve the nation’s problems.

Kushner had no business being there.

local news, medical news, State news

Gov. Abbott climbs aboard the stay-at-home wagon

1 Comment

I suppose you could accuse Texas Gov. Greg Abbott of being a bit slow on the uptake in his statewide response to the coronavirus pandemic.

I will not join that chorus.

Gov. Abbott today issued a stay-at-home order for Texans. Don’t leave the house except to purchase essential items, such as food, fuel and assorted necessary household items. We can venture outside, walk around the neighborhood but we just need to keep our distance from our neighbors. Abbott’s order is in effect at least through the end of April.

There likely will be a decision soon on whether public schools will open on May 4, which the governor set as the return date for millions of students and their teachers. I am getting close to being able to bet the farm that Abbott will close the schools for the remainder of the academic year. A May 4 return date — at this moment, with the cases of COVID-19 still skyrocketing — seems far too early.

Only 10 states are left that haven’t issued the kind of order that came from Austin today. Perhaps they, too, will join the rest of the country. It well might be that the federal government will issue a nationwide order, pulling everyone off the street and closeting all Americans in their homes. I’m OK with that order if it comes.

So far the nation’s response has been a bit of a hodge-podge of reaction, depending on the state or the county or the individual community. My wife and I live in a city, Princeton, that doesn’t to my knowledge have any known cases of COVID-19.

However, I did get a chilling response from Farmersville Police Chief Michael Sullivan, who I interviewed for a story I am working on for the Farmersville Times. He said local officials depend on information released by county health officials, which does not account for those who might be carrying the virus but who haven’t yet been tested by public health authorities.

This story is far from showing signs of letting up. I am going to applaud Gov. Abbott for stepping up the state’s response, even if he was a bit slow to take action.

media news

Newspaper industry is changing even more rapidly

To those of you who either have worked in newspapers, known someone who has worked for them, or has had either a passing or passionate interest in the information that newspapers convey … you need to read the article I have attached to this blog post.

A former colleague of mine, a one-time production director for a Texas newspaper, brought it to my attention.

Read the article here.

It’s lengthy, but take my word for it: If you have any interest at any level in a changing — and likely dying — industry, it is worth your time.

I won’t spoil the ending for you, but I will offer this nugget of what the article tells us:

The coronavirus pandemic that has shuttered businesses around the world and probably changed our lives forever and ever has brought about a rapid acceleration in the changes that await the newspaper industry.

Ken Doctor, author of the essay, writes: Make no mistake, though: Many of the decisions being made right now and in the next few weeks will be permanent ones. No newspaper that drops print days of publication will ever add them back. Humpty Dumpty won’t put the 20th-century newspaper back together again. There can be no return to status quo ante; the ante was already vanishing.

The trends that were supposed to occur in, say, 2023 or 2025 are occurring right now.

It ain’t pretty, ladies and gentlemen.

I am a former newspaper guy. I spent nearly four decades practicing a craft that I loved. I am officially saddened by what I fear is coming at us much more rapidly than I ever envisioned.

medical news, national news

Crisis producing a new level of heroism

The coronavirus pandemic is producing an entirely new level of heroism all around the world.

Let’s ponder what we’re witnessing in real time as the coronavirus infection scores new hits every minute.

  • Hospital workers are donning makeshift masks and are wearing garbage bags on their bodies to protect themselves against infected patients. They lack the protective gear they need, but they stay on the job.
  • Police officers and firefighters are falling ill because they lack the appropriate personal protection equipment to stave off infection.
  • Children are singing to patients, seeking to cheer them up as they fight for their lives.
  • Neighbors are helping neighbors cope with their formerly “routine” errands.
  • Teachers are crafting in-home study plans for students who’ve been banned from classrooms because governors are closing schools.
  • Building maintenance crews are working day and night to disinfect structures, exposing themselves to infection.
  • At least one naval officer, the captain of the USS Theodore Roosevelt — a nuclear-powered attack aircraft carrier — has decided to allow most of his crew off the ship to deal with infection; four of his crew members have died.
  • Cruise ship crews are battling infection among passengers.

I hope you understand my point here. This pandemic is producing the very best in many of us. The United States does not lack heroes, people who do extraordinary deeds under great duress. Indeed, nations on every continent on Earth are discovering heroes among their midst as well.

None of this will lessen the pandemic by itself. That lessening will occur over time as we continue to practice “social distancing.” Meanwhile, researchers are working 24/7 in laboratories searching frantically for drugs they can use to inoculate human beings against the ravages of this “invisible enemy.”

Many of us are distressed. Our lives are being disrupted beyond measure. I just want to offer a heartfelt expressing of gratitude for all the heroes out there who are stepping up in this time of dire peril.

national news

Beginning to look past the pandemic

One of the ways I occupy my mind during this coronavirus pandemic is to consider what lies on the other side of this crisis.

Namely, I think about the issues I want to ponder once we are able to push the pandemic a bit toward the back of the shelf. Yeah, I know it sounds more than a little bit nerdy.

A few things come to mind.

  • The presidential election is probably Issue No. 1. I want to see a new president take office next January. It looks like my choice will be Joseph R. Biden Jr. He’s way ahead in the march toward the Democratic Party presidential nomination. He’ll get nominated somehow, even if it’s not in the standard way: going to a convention full of delegates, having them barter and bicker over campaign platform planks. Then I want to focus on ways to encourage Biden to defeat Donald John Trump.
  •  The 2021 Texas Legislature will convene in January. Democrats might be able to wrest control of the House of Reps from Republicans. Not so sure about the Texas Senate. Democrats need to flip just nine of the 150 House seats to become the new majority. Perhaps a new House majority can enact some smart laws that can survive a veto by GOP Gov. Greg Abbott.
  •  Climate change needs our undivided attention. I worry about what’s happening to our polar ice caps and the wildlife they nurture. Polar bears are in dire peril if they cannot hunt for seals on the Arctic ice. I want a robust debate on climate change, but I fear that won’t happen if Donald Trump gets re-elected.

I know there’s a wide range of issues to discuss once we “socially distance” the pandemic to a manageable problem. I don’t believe the virus is going to disappear until we find a vaccine and manufacture enough of it to inoculate every human being on Earth. I’ll say a prayer to the scientists who are working on that matter at this moment.

That would be the way I define “returning to normal.” I hope it’s not a pipe dream.