Tag Archives: pandemic

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.

national news

Public health vs. the economy

It’s worth wondering out loud what I think can become a serious conflict among state and local leaders and the president of the United States.

Donald Trump says he is considering lifting the lid on Americans’ activity, to “reopen the economy” while a coronavirus pandemic is killing human beings all around the world.

In the meantime, governors and county officials across the land have imposed shelter in place rules, or have shut down their states and counties. Why? They are motivated by a desire to keep people apart, to enforce “social distancing.”

The governors and other local folks are placing the public health at the top of their priority list. Donald Trump appears to be placing the economy at the top of his list. The president said that a floundering economy will cost even more lives than the pandemic, that people will “commit suicide” by “the thousands” as their nest eggs are smashed to smithereens. Really, Mr. President? That is what passes for your “logic” on this matter?

My goodness. The president, to borrow a phrase my late mother used to say, is “nuttier than a fruitcake.” 

He’s also dangerous.

My hope would be that governors that have shut their states down would ignore the president’s idiotic rant about the economy. That they would listen to their own medical advisers. That they would continue to place the public health ahead of the economy.

My strongest hope yet, indeed, would be that those governors who are well-known supporters of Donald Trump would stand firm against the moronic rants of the president.

That would be you, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

national news

Turning my back on POTUS

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I made a decision today that I intend to follow for as long as the coronavirus pandemic is dominating our news cycles.

It is that I will no longer listen to Donald John Trump’s incoherent riffs when he stages those White House “briefings” alongside his coronavirus response team.

I’ll turn the TV channel. Or I’ll turn the TV off. I might indulge in a Netflix show or some other production showing on the plethora of channels I have available.

You see, I have reached the saturation point of Trump’s idiocy. I do not believe a single word that flies out of POTUS’s pie hole. Nor can I stomach the sound of his voice when he says things that are ridiculous on their face. Yes, I’ve seen the viral video of Dr. Anthony Fauci grimacing and wiping his forehead while Trump referred to the “Deep State Department.”

I want to hear only from medical or emergency response experts when the subject deals with the pandemic. I also want to hear from local leaders — state and county government executives, mayors and law enforcement and medical officials — who are doing battle on the front lines of this response.

I do not want to hear from an ignorant politician who is wholly untrustworthy at every level I can imagine.

I feel liberated.

local news

Cities in our county are going to take action

I asked in an earlier blog post for Collin County Judge Chris Hill to issue a shelter in place order for the county where I now reside.

It looks as though he won’t do that. However, it appears we’re going to get the next best thing, which is more or less like the real thing. The cities within Collin County are going to issue shelter in place guidelines for their residents.

My wife and I live in Princeton; our younger son and his family live in Allen. Our daughter-in-law’s parents live in Plano. I am going to presume for a moment that our respective cities are going to act on a conference call that mayors participated in today.

That means individual cities will be initiating policies aimed at reducing person-to-person contact as a way to stem the coronavirus outbreak that has been termed a worldwide pandemic.

I’m good with what appears to be coming.

Governments have a responsibility to act. It has been argued — and I agree with the complaint — that the federal government hasn’t been doing enough to coordinate a national response. The states are stepping up; Texas has stepped up. Counties within our state have answered the call.

In this particular county that we now call home, cities are going to invoke a shelter in place policy.

I want to stipulate once again that shelter in place does not resemble a form of house arrest. As it has been invoked so far, residents are able to travel to the store to purchase essential items. Residents are able to step outside, to walk around the neighborhood … something my wife and I do daily with Toby the Puppy.

We merely are being asked to adhere to “social distancing” guidelines. We need to do our part to stem this pandemic.

Collin County’s communities appear set to answer the call.

national news

No doubt about it, these are bizarre and frightening times

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I have seen a lot in my 70 years on this Earth, but to be candid, nothing so far in my life experience has equipped me for what we’re going through at this moment.

I am not frightened for my own health, although I do harbor plenty of dread for my family. This coronavirus pandemic is getting closer and closer with each passing hour.

We’re all taking necessary precaution. We’re practicing the “social distancing” that’s become so common at this time. Our local governments are telling us to “shelter in place.” We’ll do what we’re told.

I don’t know what the immediate future holds. However, I take considerable comfort and solace with this knowledge: This crisis won’t last forever.

Moreover, I also take comfort in understanding that what we’re all going through now pales in comparison to what others over the arc of history have experienced. My wife reminded me of something we saw during a trip we took to Europe in 2016.

We rode the train from Nuremberg, Germany to Amsterdam, The Netherlands. A friend greeted us at the train station and took us to his home near The Hague. The next day we returned to Amsterdam to tour a museum.

It was the home where Anne Frank once lived. It was there that we learned in detail about the pure and unadulterated horror Anne Frank and her family experienced during World War II. Shelter in place? Hah! They were hostages in their own home. Nazi occupiers were looking for Jewish citizens. When they found them they took them into captivity and hauled them off to death camps.

Anne Frank and her family were outed eventually. The SS broke in, they took the young girl and her family into custody. Anne Frank died at age 15, after chronicling the horror she endured.

We’re living a bit uncomfortably. The coronavirus pandemic will pass eventually. Our government is asking us to do certain things. It is asking to avoid doing other certain things.

I’ve never lived through anything quite like this. The feel-good phrase of the day is “We’re in this together.” Yes. We are.

We also will pass through it together.

national news

Trump doesn’t seek former POTUS advice? No-o-o-o!

No surprise here: Donald Trump says he hasn’t asked any of his predecessors for guidance, counsel or advice on how to handle the coronavirus outbreak that’s infecting tens of thousands of Americans.

Indeed, he said over the weekend that he’s doing a fabulous job. Besides, Trump said he likely wouldn’t “learn much” from any of the former presidents.

What is a bit surprising, though, is his phony magnanimity when he said he doesn’t want to “disturb” any of them.

What a fu**ing joke!

All the former presidents have expertise to share. Barack Obama went through a couple of health scares on his watch; George W. Bush was thrust into war against terrorists and he had to deal with natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina; Bill Clinton had to undergo trauma caused by the Oklahoma City bombing; Jimmy Carter had that 444-day hostage crisis in Iran.

President Bush sought help from his father — another former president — and from President Clinton in helping victims of Katrina; President Carter has engaged in many worldwide missions to promote human rights and free elections in the years since he left office.

Trump won’t reach out. To do so — in what passes for his mind — would be tantamount to admitting failure. Why, we can’t have that, not from this “stable genius,” the guy who knows “the best words” and surrounds himself with “the best people.”

Preposterous.

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.

local news

County judge asking us to counsel total strangers?

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins has been a man under the glare of publicity of late, right along with local officials at all levels who are dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

It is taking a toll on the county he governs, with incidents of disease rising hourly, let alone daily. Today he issued a “shelter in place” order for Dallas County. If you live in Dallas County, stay home unless you’ve got some necessary errands to run.

He actually went on the air today to ask us all to do something that is going to make a lot of Americans uncomfortable. I am going to take him seriously.

Jenkins asks us that if we’re out and about running “essential” errands to counsel folks we might see who aren’t practicing “social distancing.” He asked us, in the event we see individuals who are standing or walking too closely to each other, to “politely remind” them about the social distancing requirement. Just say, “six feet,” he said.

Got it? So, if you’re going to the grocery store and you see folks standing within the six-foot minimum, you’re being asked to tell ’em to spread out.

My wife and I have been quite careful. We’re holed up in our house in next-door Collin County. We don’t go out much at all. I went to the hardware store briefly this weekend to purchase something for my lawnmower; I also went to the grocery store to purchase a package of toilet tissue (hooray!) and some antiseptic wipes.

We are following the guidelines handed out by Gov. Greg Abbott and also by the federal response team working with Donald Trump to manage the crisis.

It’s going to take some nerve that I’ll need to muster if I see someone not following the rules. I’ll give it a shot and see what happens … whenever I decide to leave the house.