It is in times like these that people step up and show what they
are made of, and you find it is the little things that matter most.
Today is the eighteenth day of my confinement. Oh, I get out and
walk everyday that it doesn't rain, and even if it isn't a down
pour, I manage 2-3 miles. I meet very few other hardy souls,
but when I do, we exchange nods or brief hellos as we observe
our 'social distancing' etiquette. Yesterday a gentleman actually
left the sidewalk and moved into the street. I don't know whether
he was ill, or he thought I was.
My neighbor in the condo down the hall, stopped by Wednesday
and said she was going to the store and did I need anything. What
a life saver! I was dangerously low on coffee, and I was dreading
going shopping. Even in good times I hate to shop. I considerate
a necessary evil. I usually wait until the very last and then I take
my list and brave the crowds. I divide my list into stores, and the
stores into items by store, and the items by location in the store.
OK, call me anal, I find shopping a huge waste of time. I have
friends who make a day of it, with lunch between shops. They
have learned never to ask me to go along on these excursions
after the first time, as I have a tendency to get whinny. So I will
meet them for lunch then we go our separate ways.
Shoe shopping is the worst. I would rather have a root canal
without anesthesia then go shoe shopping. I will admit I have
a hard-to-fit- foot. I wear a size ten, narrow - very narrow. My
husband used to say I would have been six-foot tall if they hadn't
folded so much of me under at the bottom. Athletic shoes are the
hardest to find in my size. It is as though all women athletes have
feet like Daisy Duck. So, when I find a pair of cross-trainers that
fit, I usually buy two pairs. Consequently, there are nine pairs of
athletic shoes in my closet and one pair of dress shoes - though
one pair of athletic shoes could be considered semi-dressy in a
pinch. Just not to a funeral.
Dear me, how did I go off on such a tangent? I began writing about
the kindness of people in times of crisis, and devolved into shoe
shopping. Let's see if we can get back to the matter at hand. I am
extremely grateful that I have a diverse group of friends. There are
class friends, they are of two separate interests; my writers group
and my religious studies group. And never the twain should meet.
I have been in each class for over eight years.
Then there is my Zumba group, we are no longer active in Zumba,
our leader having retired four years ago. But we still get together
twice a month for lunch and a gab session. And the pickleballers,
we play five days a week and have been known to top off a hard
game with a beer, or two at the local sports bar.
And last but not least, there are the mousekateers, we are an
exceptionally close group, bound by friendship and love. Over
the years we have lost three members, as those of us of that
certain age are wont to do. But we have taken in a new member,
one who needed us as much as we needed her. And the saddest
of all my friends, the ones who had to give up their homes and
move to a new place where the can receive a bit more help
getting on with life. It seems there are more of them every year.
These wretched times have forced all of us to isolate ourselves
for self-preservation. But thanks - and I never thought I would
say this - to the computer, we are still in daily contact with each
other. We check in early and late, counting off who is present
and who has not logged in yet. A late check-in will get you a
phone call. We email about the little things we are doing to
retain our sanity, exchange new photos of grandbabies, and
poems we've written to vent our frustrations, and jokes lots
of jokes. But one thing we are sure of, and that is none of us
are ready to throw in the towel.
Yeah, we have more years behind us than in front of us, but we
also have much to contribute to this world. Some of us remember
rationing after WWII, when you ate what your coupons allowed
and how creative mom got at the end of the month, making
dinner stretch with pasta and a can of soup. Then there were the
times when polio was rampant, we kids could not leave the safety
of our backyard; no playing with others, no park, no swimming
pool, no playground. The tumultuous Viet Nam War years, when
it seemed the country was coming apart at the seams, and the ugly
civil rights demonstrations. Watching in horror as human beings
were beaten like dogs. We lived through those times and came out
on the other side, stronger. And we can do this too.
Of course I want the best for my children and grandchildren. I
would sacrifice anything for them. But giving up is not what I
taught them. Their father and I taught them self-reliance and doing
with what you have and not with what you would like. What we
are going through is new to all of us, but if we learn from it, we
will all be stronger for it. My friends will tell you I am not a
hugger, it is the brunt of many a joke, but today I am reaching
out to all of you to give you a great big virtual hug, and I am
looking forward to the day I can do it face to face.
I'm just sayin'.
Saturday, March 28, 2020
Thursday, March 26, 2020
Fiddling Around Whilst We Crash and Burn
I pride myself on one thing in writing my opinions on this
blog, and that is I try not to devolve into hysteria, no hair on
fire rants. There is enough of that, and you can find it on
hundreds of other blogs, both from the conservative side
and the liberal left. But I have been isolated at home for
fifteen days as of today. I do go outside and walk everyday
it doesn't rain. I am in constant contact with friends and
family thru the computer and phone. But I miss the social
interaction that come with face to face meetings. So, you
will excuse me if I go off on a tangent, I ask your forbearance
in advance.
Sociopath - a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme
antisocial attitudes and behavior, and lack of conscience.
This is a clinical definition, I am not a clinical psychiatrist,
I have not dabbled in psychiatry, ever, even a little bit. But
I am not a medical doctor and yet I could tell when my child
was ill enough to require the services of one. I am not a mechanic,
but I know when my car is not running as it should, I have to
take it to the shop to be repaired. If my roof is leaking, if my
furnace won't go on, if I burst a pipe and water is everywhere,
I know enough to diagnose the problem and call on someone
with the expertise to fix the problem. We are in desperate need
of intervention here.
In 1990, in an interview with Playboy Magazine, Donald Trump
told an interviewer, "Life is what you do while you are waiting
to die. You know, it is all a rather sad situation," Trump was
speaking of a pending bankruptcy he was facing; he was
$3.4 billion in debt.
The interviewer asked, "Life or death?"
Trump replied, "Both. We're here and we live our 60, 70, or 80
years and we're gone. You win, you win and in the end, it doesn't
matter a hell of a lot. But it's something to do - to keep you
interested."
These are the words of a man who cares for nothing or nobody,
a self-described fatalist. His remark after the 9/11 Trade Center
attack was that he now had the tallest building in Manhattan. It
was a lie of course but, it gave us a look into Trump's personality
even then. His reaction to the 2008 economic collapse, was one of
joy, thinking of its potential profit to him. He told Barbara Walters,
"When bad things come, then I'll get whatever I want."
In an interview with Fox news, as late as 2014, Trump was asked
about how America was doing in the recovery, he was ebullient.
He said, "You know what solves it?" speaking of the economy,
"When the economy crashes, when the country goes to total hell
and everything is a disaster. Then you'll have a, you know you'll
have riots to go back to where we used to be when we were great."
he said laughingly.
Donald Trump has no feeling for the everyman who is hurting.
He appears to be totally ignorant of suffering of any kind that
does not affect him personally. It is not that he doesn't care, it
is that he is incapable of caring. He has a striking disassociation
with the truth, he lies as easily as he breathes. He doesn't know what
is true because the truth has no value to him. In the face of over-
whelming contradicting facts, he continues to insist he, and only
he, is right.
Trump's Self-aggrandizement knows no limits, and he demands adulation
from those around him. He surrounds himself with sycophants who bow
and scrape or face dismissal. It is as though he needs this constant
idolization or he will begin to doubt himself. And this is the man who is
now in charge of the greatest test our country has ever faced. Greater
indeed than all the wars, save the Civil War, because we are fighting this
enemy on our own soil.
And we, as Americans, are facing this enemy without a general, because
our supposed leader is fighting another enemy. The president is more
concerned with the state of the stock market then the state of the virus
attacking us. Trump was told in January that there was a danger of the
virus - which was rampant in China - spreading world-wide and eventually
reaching America. He was told that as a country, we were woefully
unprepared for that eventuality. He dismissed that notion.
For months Trump did little to prepare, and in fact, played down the idea
that America could be affected by a 'Chinese Flu'. While the number of
cases increased exponentially and the death rates rose, Trump re-tweeted a
photo of himself playing the violin. This is who trump is, and who he has
always been. In times of crisis, we can rely on his apathy to human suffering.
Only when aides told him his cavalier attitude to the pandemic, might cost
him dearly in November, did he finally appear to take charge.
He takes to the airwaves almost daily now - surrounded by the nodding heads
of his closest allies who then take the mic to echo his sentiments - and gives forth
with exaggerations and misinformation, which must then be recanted by scientists
and medical professionals. But the damage has been done, those ardent Trump
believers discount any advice but that which was expressed by their dear leader.
And now, in the most dangerous of all pronouncements, Donald Trump has told
the nation it is time to get back to normal. Go to work, go to church, get out again!
The medical community, as a whole, has said this is the worst thing that we can do
at this time. The number of new cases of Covid-19 reflect the infection rate from
7 to 10 days ago. Assuming the rate of infection can double, triple or worse we are
looking at a ten-fold increases of new cases. Enough to cripple our ability to care
for those who are the sickest. And what about the other reasons for hospitalization?
Heart attacks, strokes, accidents, all of these need hospital care also. Who will do the
triage necessary to decide who lives and who dies?
Trump, who is a notorious germaphobe, who eschews human contact of any sort, is
unperturbed about the coronavirus, even though he is in the age group that is
considered more likely to die if infected. But then he considers himself untouchable,
he laughs this off the same way he laughed off his impeachment. One thing for certain
if the United States is to survive this attack, we need more than medical and economic
intervention, we need to get rid of the reason for the collapse in the first place.
I'm just sayin'.
blog, and that is I try not to devolve into hysteria, no hair on
fire rants. There is enough of that, and you can find it on
hundreds of other blogs, both from the conservative side
and the liberal left. But I have been isolated at home for
fifteen days as of today. I do go outside and walk everyday
it doesn't rain. I am in constant contact with friends and
family thru the computer and phone. But I miss the social
interaction that come with face to face meetings. So, you
will excuse me if I go off on a tangent, I ask your forbearance
in advance.
Sociopath - a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme
antisocial attitudes and behavior, and lack of conscience.
This is a clinical definition, I am not a clinical psychiatrist,
I have not dabbled in psychiatry, ever, even a little bit. But
I am not a medical doctor and yet I could tell when my child
was ill enough to require the services of one. I am not a mechanic,
but I know when my car is not running as it should, I have to
take it to the shop to be repaired. If my roof is leaking, if my
furnace won't go on, if I burst a pipe and water is everywhere,
I know enough to diagnose the problem and call on someone
with the expertise to fix the problem. We are in desperate need
of intervention here.
In 1990, in an interview with Playboy Magazine, Donald Trump
told an interviewer, "Life is what you do while you are waiting
to die. You know, it is all a rather sad situation," Trump was
speaking of a pending bankruptcy he was facing; he was
$3.4 billion in debt.
The interviewer asked, "Life or death?"
Trump replied, "Both. We're here and we live our 60, 70, or 80
years and we're gone. You win, you win and in the end, it doesn't
matter a hell of a lot. But it's something to do - to keep you
interested."
These are the words of a man who cares for nothing or nobody,
a self-described fatalist. His remark after the 9/11 Trade Center
attack was that he now had the tallest building in Manhattan. It
was a lie of course but, it gave us a look into Trump's personality
even then. His reaction to the 2008 economic collapse, was one of
joy, thinking of its potential profit to him. He told Barbara Walters,
"When bad things come, then I'll get whatever I want."
In an interview with Fox news, as late as 2014, Trump was asked
about how America was doing in the recovery, he was ebullient.
He said, "You know what solves it?" speaking of the economy,
"When the economy crashes, when the country goes to total hell
and everything is a disaster. Then you'll have a, you know you'll
have riots to go back to where we used to be when we were great."
he said laughingly.
Donald Trump has no feeling for the everyman who is hurting.
He appears to be totally ignorant of suffering of any kind that
does not affect him personally. It is not that he doesn't care, it
is that he is incapable of caring. He has a striking disassociation
with the truth, he lies as easily as he breathes. He doesn't know what
is true because the truth has no value to him. In the face of over-
whelming contradicting facts, he continues to insist he, and only
he, is right.
Trump's Self-aggrandizement knows no limits, and he demands adulation
from those around him. He surrounds himself with sycophants who bow
and scrape or face dismissal. It is as though he needs this constant
idolization or he will begin to doubt himself. And this is the man who is
now in charge of the greatest test our country has ever faced. Greater
indeed than all the wars, save the Civil War, because we are fighting this
enemy on our own soil.
And we, as Americans, are facing this enemy without a general, because
our supposed leader is fighting another enemy. The president is more
concerned with the state of the stock market then the state of the virus
attacking us. Trump was told in January that there was a danger of the
virus - which was rampant in China - spreading world-wide and eventually
reaching America. He was told that as a country, we were woefully
unprepared for that eventuality. He dismissed that notion.
For months Trump did little to prepare, and in fact, played down the idea
that America could be affected by a 'Chinese Flu'. While the number of
cases increased exponentially and the death rates rose, Trump re-tweeted a
photo of himself playing the violin. This is who trump is, and who he has
always been. In times of crisis, we can rely on his apathy to human suffering.
Only when aides told him his cavalier attitude to the pandemic, might cost
him dearly in November, did he finally appear to take charge.
He takes to the airwaves almost daily now - surrounded by the nodding heads
of his closest allies who then take the mic to echo his sentiments - and gives forth
with exaggerations and misinformation, which must then be recanted by scientists
and medical professionals. But the damage has been done, those ardent Trump
believers discount any advice but that which was expressed by their dear leader.
And now, in the most dangerous of all pronouncements, Donald Trump has told
the nation it is time to get back to normal. Go to work, go to church, get out again!
The medical community, as a whole, has said this is the worst thing that we can do
at this time. The number of new cases of Covid-19 reflect the infection rate from
7 to 10 days ago. Assuming the rate of infection can double, triple or worse we are
looking at a ten-fold increases of new cases. Enough to cripple our ability to care
for those who are the sickest. And what about the other reasons for hospitalization?
Heart attacks, strokes, accidents, all of these need hospital care also. Who will do the
triage necessary to decide who lives and who dies?
Trump, who is a notorious germaphobe, who eschews human contact of any sort, is
unperturbed about the coronavirus, even though he is in the age group that is
considered more likely to die if infected. But then he considers himself untouchable,
he laughs this off the same way he laughed off his impeachment. One thing for certain
if the United States is to survive this attack, we need more than medical and economic
intervention, we need to get rid of the reason for the collapse in the first place.
I'm just sayin'.
Monday, March 23, 2020
IsThis What it Takes?
This morning from the White House at the break of dawn,
our dear leader sent a tweet, as usual, but this one was frightening.
He said that the cure for this situation is worse that disease. By the
disease he means the financial collapse. He is flummoxed by the
fact that no matter what he proposes, the economy is still in a
free fall. The numbers have far surpassed the Great Recession.
This morning the President has said that the 'shelter in place' orders
are too draconian and we need to resume our lives.
To our north, the Toronto Globe and Mail Newspaper reports that
PM Justin Trudeau has told the Canadian people to 'go home and
stay home' and if they don't they will be subjected to fines and/or
arrest. Gee, what does he know that Trump doesn't? In addition,
Canada has said they will not send their athletes to the summer
Olympics. Both the Globe and Mail and The London Times, are
reporting that this is the new normal until August at the earliest.
During the Great Depression the Federal Reserve was accused of
not acting fast enough, or doing enough to stem the economic down
turn. During the Great Recession the Fed did act, it began a QE
program that saw it's holdings rise from $1 trillion to $4 trillion,
and it has remained there though the economy was going thru one
of the greatest booms in history.
Once again, the Federal Reserve is stepping up to try and stem the
economic collapse. Last week it announced an influx of $700billion
to buy safe securities and bonds. That temporarily gave the market
a boost. It didn't last. This week, the Fed has said it will buy
$375 billion in Treasury securities and $250 billion of mortgage
based securities. And in the future they intend to also buy corporate
mortgage based securities. To free up liquid assets, they have been
buying money market accounts from the banks to allow banks to be
able to make personal and small business loans.
This is a great stopgap measure. But what will happen when this
pandemic begins to wind down? When will the Fed stop QE? And
if they don't, what tools would they have left if the virus comes back?
The Congress is working on a financial bailout also, to the tune of
$2 trillion. Right now the government is running almost a $1 trillion
deficit yearly. Let's add another $2 trillion to that.
Now let us consider the damage to the economy due to Covid-19. The
GDP is expected to drop to -24% in the second quarter. That is three
times worse than the 2008 recession. Unemployment claims reached
2,250,000 and the unemployment rate is estimated to reach 30%.
The earn-spend-earn cycle is unraveling. Consumer spending accounts
for two thirds of the U. S. economic output, and people who shelter in
place don't spend money. Like ripples in a pond, the problem grows.
Someday the pandemic will end. What will be the new normal? The
Covid-19 is a RNA virus and as such it is significantly more prone to
mutation. If so, it will return again, most probably in the fall, as a
different strain for which our vaccines will have no effect. Will we
be ready?
Our government has put into place, a plan for Martial Law should the
pandemic get any worse, or if there is wide-spread disruption, or
disorder. Think about a scenario where Joe Biden is elected in a close
contest, marred by people staying home in fear of a virus. Could that
or would that cause wide-spread disorder? Could the present administration
invoke Martial Law and throw out the election? Something out of a
Sci-fi movie? Don't bet on it....
I'm just sayin'.
our dear leader sent a tweet, as usual, but this one was frightening.
He said that the cure for this situation is worse that disease. By the
disease he means the financial collapse. He is flummoxed by the
fact that no matter what he proposes, the economy is still in a
free fall. The numbers have far surpassed the Great Recession.
This morning the President has said that the 'shelter in place' orders
are too draconian and we need to resume our lives.
To our north, the Toronto Globe and Mail Newspaper reports that
PM Justin Trudeau has told the Canadian people to 'go home and
stay home' and if they don't they will be subjected to fines and/or
arrest. Gee, what does he know that Trump doesn't? In addition,
Canada has said they will not send their athletes to the summer
Olympics. Both the Globe and Mail and The London Times, are
reporting that this is the new normal until August at the earliest.
During the Great Depression the Federal Reserve was accused of
not acting fast enough, or doing enough to stem the economic down
turn. During the Great Recession the Fed did act, it began a QE
program that saw it's holdings rise from $1 trillion to $4 trillion,
and it has remained there though the economy was going thru one
of the greatest booms in history.
Once again, the Federal Reserve is stepping up to try and stem the
economic collapse. Last week it announced an influx of $700billion
to buy safe securities and bonds. That temporarily gave the market
a boost. It didn't last. This week, the Fed has said it will buy
$375 billion in Treasury securities and $250 billion of mortgage
based securities. And in the future they intend to also buy corporate
mortgage based securities. To free up liquid assets, they have been
buying money market accounts from the banks to allow banks to be
able to make personal and small business loans.
This is a great stopgap measure. But what will happen when this
pandemic begins to wind down? When will the Fed stop QE? And
if they don't, what tools would they have left if the virus comes back?
The Congress is working on a financial bailout also, to the tune of
$2 trillion. Right now the government is running almost a $1 trillion
deficit yearly. Let's add another $2 trillion to that.
Now let us consider the damage to the economy due to Covid-19. The
GDP is expected to drop to -24% in the second quarter. That is three
times worse than the 2008 recession. Unemployment claims reached
2,250,000 and the unemployment rate is estimated to reach 30%.
The earn-spend-earn cycle is unraveling. Consumer spending accounts
for two thirds of the U. S. economic output, and people who shelter in
place don't spend money. Like ripples in a pond, the problem grows.
Someday the pandemic will end. What will be the new normal? The
Covid-19 is a RNA virus and as such it is significantly more prone to
mutation. If so, it will return again, most probably in the fall, as a
different strain for which our vaccines will have no effect. Will we
be ready?
Our government has put into place, a plan for Martial Law should the
pandemic get any worse, or if there is wide-spread disruption, or
disorder. Think about a scenario where Joe Biden is elected in a close
contest, marred by people staying home in fear of a virus. Could that
or would that cause wide-spread disorder? Could the present administration
invoke Martial Law and throw out the election? Something out of a
Sci-fi movie? Don't bet on it....
I'm just sayin'.
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