It has been quite awhile since I have been back to visit with you.
I seems as though the world is spinning out of control. News has
been coming at us from every direction and none of it good. But
I will humbly try to make some sense of it, at least as I see.
I am in a state of quarantine, not self-imposed, but my senior
classes have been canceled for the unforeseeable future. And
the facility where I play in a senior sports league, has asked
persons of a 'certain age' to evaluate whether to continue
participating. Since I fall into that certain age, I now find
myself with more time on my hands than I know what to do
with. Too late to take up a hobby, so I shall bore you with
some of my musing and brain droppings.
The WHO, World Health Organization, has declared the
Covid-19 outbreak a world-wide pandemic. And that has
finally got the attention of the Trump administration. It
seems for weeks that the president and the Republican
Party were more concerned with the effects of the virus
on the November elections rather than the health of the
nation. Trump equated the Coronavirus with a cold or the
flu, saying that most people get better on their own by
resting or even going to work. The callousness of his
concern was mind-bending. And his cohorts in the U.S.
Congress were saying the virus was just a hoax by the
Democratic Party to undermine confidence in the Trump
administration. Going so far as to mock the seriousness
of the illness by wearing a gasmask on the floor of the
Senate.
But try as they may they could not wish away the bad news
coming from the rest of the world. The stock market was
reacting erratically, wild swings down one day and up the next,
that uncertainly would never do. If there was one thing that
Trump counted on for his re-election, it was the healthy economy
and the booming stock market. In response to the market's
downward slide, the president took to the airwaves last night to
present his plan to the American people and to the World. In
his usual emotionless monotone, with dead fisheyes, he read
from the teleprompter.
Trump's speech was so erratic and non-specific that his staff had
to issue clarifications within fifteen minutes of its conclusion.
The plan called for a travel ban from the EU to the United States,
not from the country with the greatest number of cases outside
of China, North Korea, nor from the UK, which has more cases
than most of the countries in the EU. nope just Europe. The
announcement came as a gut punch to the Europeans who had
no advance warning that it was coming; but that behavior is
typical Trump. At first, he said that the ban would include all
goods and trade, that was immediately walked back after the
speech. Perhaps he lost his place on the teleprompter, or it
might just be he has trouble with the English language.
Americans in Europe began to panic, until clarification came
that American citizens and permanent aliens were exempt.
Airline stock fell thru the floor. And how did the big plan
work out for the administration? Markets around the world
tanked, and the futures market in the U.S. followed.
The striking omissions in Trump's speech were what the
administration was going to do to quell the spread of the
virus; where were the testing kits, how were they preparing
for the influx of new patients into hospitals, what should
someone do if they were showing signs of illness? The only
concern seemed to be monetary; tax holidays, insurance co-pays,
small business loans. Are we talking about the health of
Americans or the stock market? The medical professionals
are saying the situation will get worse before it gets worse.
So here we sit with no clear leadership, no plan of action. The
total incompetence of this administration borders on the criminal.
Trump had decimated the agencies that were responsible for
acting in cases of an emergency such as we are facing now,
his budget cut funding for the CDC despite Coronavirus being
on the horizon. over 1600 health professionals have left their
jobs in the administration since Trump became president.
Some say the Covid-19 is Trump's Katrina moment. I am not
so worried for his downfall as I am for mine; for his survival
as for mine and my friend's survival, we are all of that 'certain
age'.
It is too late at this point to change the outcome, but this should
be a wake-up call to everyone who thought putting a businessman
in the White House would bring about reform, and better their lives.
Just ask yourself how are you better? Your health is in danger and
so is your 401.
I'm just sayin'
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