October 6, 2020

I am so appalled and disgusted, once again, by the absolutely irresponsible and selfish behavior of our president, and of the Republican Party who are trying to force the Supreme Court nominee through come hell or high water, that I’m not sure I can even find the words to write.  I keep asking myself – how did we get here?  This is not the United States of America that I thought I knew.  This is not patriotism and ‘love of country.’  These are nothing more than selfish actions to stroke personal egos, fulfill personal agendas, and retain power by whatever means required.  We are looking more and more like just another third world dictatorship each and every day.

Does anyone really think that Trump will remain in quarantine at the White House?  I would bet huge sums of money that he will not.  The question is how many more people will he infect with his recklessness?    He doesn’t care.  Everyone around him is expendable except for perhaps his family and sometimes I wonder how quickly he would throw any of them under the bus to save his own ass.

And the Senate, under Mitch McConnell’s leadership and with Lindsey Graham heading up the judiciary committee, is willing to actually put peoples lives at risk to force through this confirmation vote for Amy Coney Barrett.   The Senate vote cannot be done virtually or by proxy so all of the senators will have to be present for this vote.  And three Republican senators (that we know of so far) have tested positive for COVID.  Keep in mind that many senators are well up in years and now they are going to be forced to go into a room with people who have been infected.   This is all about Mitch McConnell’s personal ambition to confirm as many conservative judges as possible and this Supreme Court nominee is the cherry on top of the sundae.   If people get sick or worse, die, I guess McConnell and Trump think its worth it.   Just more collateral damage.  Oh, well.

Of course, no one should be worried because before returning to the White House, Trump tweeted that people shouldn’t be afraid of COVID!  That should really help persuade people to follow the CDC guidelines about wearing masks, social distancing, not attending crowded events, etc.  I wonder if the 210,000 dead Americans and their families would agree that COVID is not something to be afraid of.  The irresponsibility is staggering.

It’s easy for Trump to say things like ‘don’t be afraid of COVID’ because he has immediate access to a world class hospital, Walter Reed, and a team of doctors looking after him.  Not to mention the fact that there are extensive medical capabilities within the White House itself.  Let’s see a show of hands – how many of you have significant medical capabilities at your home and have a team of doctors available 24/7?  No one? Now there’s a surprise.  Most of us have a first aid kit, a few Band-Aids, some Tylenol and our doctors work regular hours so if things go south for any of us, it’s off to the emergency room with countless other poor souls.  And with COVID cases rising in a majority of states, the prospect of some hospitals getting overwhelmed is a reality.  So, tell you what, Mr. Trump, you provide me with the same kind of access to medical care you have, I will be happy to turn down the fear factor. 

How is it that the United States of America, the most powerful and richest country on the planet, can have 4% of the world’s population and more than 20% of the COVID deaths?  More people have died of COVID in the USA than in any other country in the world.   I reiterate, more people have died of COVID in the USA than in any other country in the world.   There is zero excuse for this.  We have the resources to mount a full-fledged war against this virus.  What we don’t have is any leadership and that was demonstrated in spades over the last few days.  Trump has not taken this virus seriously since the very beginning and his behavior over the last few days shows that he is still not taking it seriously. 

One can only hope that this Trump nightmare will be over in a few weeks and even if its not over, we can at least see the light at the end of the tunnel in January.  Anyone or anything would be better as president.   I changed my mind from what I said yesterday – Mr. Ed is back in the running!  At least then we’d get the front end of the horse.