Month: May 2020

With a Presidential election only five months in the future, folks are donning their political armor, rationalizing excuses that they should re-elect Donald Trump.

I don’t provoke confrontations with friends about politics; I listen when they raise issues, and try to hold my tongue when urban legends and conspiracy theories are advanced to make a point. These people are my friends, and I really don’t want to alienate myself or Charlie from them over matters in which they are invested. I will, however, question stupid pronouncements, as in, “Where did you hear that?” Usually, the friend just “heard it somewhere” (so I guess that makes it true!)

I will vote my way and they will vote theirs. May the best (old) man win!

I do hear quite a bit of “Yeah, but…” rationalization from the Trumpites.

When pressed, many will admit that yes, as a person, Donald Trump is pond scum, but they think he’s better pond scum than whomever will be facing him in November. (I believe that will be ex-Vice President Joe Biden, but who knows what the ballot will look like? Trump may drop out, Biden may croak of Covid-19, Obama could be drafted by the Democrats, etc. Nothing is guaranteed in politics.)

Some of the “Yeah, but…” stuff I’ve been hearing from the MAGA folk along with my observations:

“So much conflicting information out there; you don’t know who to believe” So, on the subject of viral epidemics, you are comfortable believing a hotel developer rather than medical professionals? The conflict/confusion (created by the Administration) is intentional, so that beliefs and opinions can defeat facts. “Fake news” is that information that the propagandist doesn’t want you to hear. The fact that this particular coronavirus is “novel” means that it is a new variant, never before seen by epidemiologists. Therefore, it is taking more time than scientists (or us mortal folks) would wish to figure out how it works and how to defeat it. This does not mean that medical professionals don’t know what they’re doing; instead, they are learning on the fly.

“The Covid-19 death toll is overinflated because everyone dying is presumed to have died from the virus” According to who? Medical authorities worldwide believe the opposite to be true; i.e. that many people who have died at home, or were not tested for the coronavirus, may have succumbed to Covid-19 and were never counted. The actual Covid-19 death toll could be higher but may never be known. Whether 100,000 or 200,000 Americans die from it, the pandemic is serious business and should not be minimized by politicians who want to quibble over absolute numbers. It is a public health catastrophe, pure and simple.

“The cure is worse than the problem” Tell that to the estimated 36,000 people who died (and their relatives) because the Trump Administration wasted January and February denying that the pandemic was a problem. Had Donald Trump taken the early warning seriously, the economic shutdown would have been much briefer and fewer Americans would have lost jobs and businesses.

“My pastor says ‘Don’t watch the news; it’s too depressing’” Religious leaders have always recommended this, because they want you to rely on them for “honest” information (which can’t possibly be biased, right?)

“Twitter is biased against Conservatives” On the contrary, Twitter helped elect Donald Trump. If there is a problem with this social media platform, why does the President use it constantly? By the way, does the management entity of Twitter have “free speech”, too? Why should the Twitter company be limited on its opinions when Twitter customers can say whatever they want to say, even if it is incorrect or an outright lie? Freedom of speech includes telling anyone, even the President of the United States, that they are out of line.

“Voting by mail causes massive fraud” This is a red herring tossed out by the G.O.P. to help suppress voting in elections. There is no proof that voting by mail is any less viable than voting in person. President Trump votes by mail, as I do, along with all military servicemen stationed overseas. All states offer absentee ballots: two-thirds of the states offer them to any voter, and one-third of the states require an excuse (even a lame one) for not voting in person. Voting by mail increases citizen participation in elections, which should be a goal shared by all political parties. Why doesn’t the G.O.P want more citizens to vote?

“The Chinese are responsible for…” When trying to shirk responsibility, blame someone else. Capitalism is responsible for American jobs lost to Chinese industries. Period, end of discussion. The coronavirus started in China, and the latest Atlantic hurricane started in the Azores: so what? We had advanced warning of the hurricane and precautions were taken. Similarly, we were warned of the spreading epidemic in January (like everyone else) and our country chose to ignore the warning for two months. That’s not China’s fault. Now, President Trump’s undies are in a bind over China’s crackdown on Hong Kong’s semi-democracy. Hong Kong is a Chinese city, part of the Chinese nation. It is not entitled to special treatment, even though Western powers want that to be so. America has as much right to demand democracy in Hong Kong as China would have demanding a communist government in San Francisco’s Chinatown. This whole bruhaha is another diversionary tactic by the Trump Administration to rally MAGA fans by appearing to be “tough on China”.

“Democrats want the economy to tank” Amazingly, citizens who vote Democratic have lost jobs and businesses just like Republicans during the pandemic-induced economic meltdown. We’re all in this together, regardless of political party, religious preference, race, or income class. No one “wins” when the Nation experiences a deep recession or depression. In fact, citizens at the lower end of the economic totem pole suffer more in recessions. Minorities and low wage earners typically vote Democratic, so they have the most to lose if the economy suffers: homelessness is a very real prospect for them.

“If we let Covid-19 run its course, we will develop herd immunity” Our Nation didn’t let measles, smallpox, chickenpox, or polio run their course to develop herd immunity. Herd immunity will occur when a large portion of the population (80 percent plus) have been vaccinated. Until that time, the coronavirus will continue to ravage the population in its current or mutated form. No medical professional believes that herd immunity will be accomplished passively (i.e. by letting it run rampant), and that is not advocated by epidemiologists.

“President Trump is treated unfairly by the Press” All Administrations receive scrutiny from the Press, whose job it is to ferret out what is really going on behind the scenes. The Bay of Pigs fiasco, the end of the war in Vietnam, Watergate, Bill Clinton’s sex scandal, etc. were brought to the Nation’s attention by professional journalists. As the Washington Post’s masthead says, “Democracy Dies In Darkness”: citizens need to know what their elected officials are doing or not doing. President Trump is a big target, because he is so outspoken (via Twitter), because he bullies and threatens perceived opponents and the Media, and because his Administration bumbles and fumbles along in incoherent fashion. This is red meat for reporters; Donald Trump is his own worst enemy. If he did a better job, there would be fewer scandals to report. Go, heal thyself, Sir.

“The Chinese haven’t been transparent about Covid-19”  That’s a beauty.  Donald Trump manages the most non-transparent Administration in the history of Presidential administrations. White House visitor logs are unavailable to the Press, inspector generals are fired for investigating corruption and wrongdoing, Administration employees and Cabinet members are ordered to ignore Congressional subpoenas, and Trump appointees are subject to Non-Disclosure Agreements so they can’t blow the whistle on wrongdoing. Actual Federal whistleblowers have been fired or demoted for tattling on Administration officials. Lying to the public has become an art form at the White House: four Press Secretaries who couldn’t lie well enough to satisfy Donald Trump were fired. Bottom line: the inscrutable Chinese could learn a thing or two from our President about (lack of) transparency.

“Black Lives Matter protesters are far-left extremist groups” Actually, they are American citizens who are angry, for the most part, about systematized police misconduct against minorities. The Trump Administration has stoked the fires of class warfare and white-on-black racism for the past three years. The President himself has made numerous offensive comments of a racial nature and has overtly sought the support of white nationalist groups. A week doesn’t go by when an African American’s civil liberties are violated by law enforcement in every State in the Union. When George Floyd, a black man, was murdered (note: we all saw the video on TV) by a Minneapolis policeman this week, the President described rioters as “thugs” and threatened to rain down bullets on them. The applicable moral here (Attention: Mr. Trump) is “You reap what you sow.”

“If we allow the economy to re-open, it will bounce right back” This is the optimistic mantra of President Trump, but it is an opinion not shared by experts at the Federal Reserve, CEO’s of the largest banks in the United States, and the World Trade Organization. Most experts expect a deep recession that will last several years and, possibly, more. Many businesses will not recover, and unemployment will probably not achieve single digits until an effective and safe Covid-19 vaccine is created and a mass immunization program is implemented. This means that modest recovery will probably not occur until 2021, possibly late in the year. The President’s boosterism is obvious “whistling in the graveyard”, designed to make people disbelieve what their senses are detecting: bad times ahead.

“Yeah, but…”

Three incidents in the past month have focused attention, once again, on the Black Lives Matter issue here in the United States.

A black man, taking his regular morning jog through his neighborhood in Georgia, was stalked by two (and, possibly three) white men who blocked his path with their vehicle (s), assaulted the jogger, and then shot him three times with a shotgun and left him dead in the street. Police originally released the perpetrators because they claimed that they were conducting a “citizen’s arrest”, the alleged wrongdoer resisted arrest, and one of the perps was a former law enforcement officer. However, when the video of the incident was publicly released, the hue-and-cry from outraged citizens prompted the city to arrest the perpetrators, a father and son. The man in a trailing car, who shot the video, was also arrested, as it appears that the three individuals were working in concert.

Evidently, JWB (Jogging While Black) is now a capital crime in Georgia.

A few days ago, a black man was apprehended by police on the streets of Minneapolis, Minnesota for suspected forgery. He was placed in handcuffs, behind his back. Video of the event shows the police leading him down the sidewalk, in cuffs, and everything seems normal. Then, the video shows the black man, still in cuffs, on his stomach, a policeman on top of him with his knee on the black man’s neck, restraining him. The black man repeatedly cries out that he can’t breathe while the policeman continues to apply pressure on the man’s neck. A crowd forms and they plead with the policeman to allow the black man to breathe. This goes on for at least five minutes when, finally, the black man loses consciousness. He is taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Apparently, in Minnesota, suspected forgery is a capital crime…if you’re Black.

Today, the Mayor of Minneapolis announced that the four police officers involved in the incident have been fired. That, of course, doesn’t bring the Black man back to life. Nor will the millions of dollars that the City of Minneapolis will have to pay the family of the deceased. Nor will the conviction of murder on the White officer who felt enabled to do something like this in broad daylight.

Also, yesterday in Central Park, New York City, a White woman who was playing with her dog off-leash in a portion of Central Park where such activity is prohibited (it’s a bird sanctuary) was asked by a Black man to leash her dog. She blew him off. The man, a birdwatcher who frequents the area, began videotaping her with his cell phone, again asking her to leash the dog. The woman then told the man to turn off his camera, he kept filming, and she threatened to call the cops on him. He said, “Please do so”. She then called 9-1-1 and claimed that a Black man was “threatening her life”.

The incident went viral, the lady apologized to the Black man, and she was fired from her management position at a major Wall Street brokerage. Duh.

I am sure African Americans all over this Nation witness or experience incidents like this regularly; it is why the Black Lives Matter movement exists. As an American, I am ashamed when I see stuff like this on the evening news. It makes me want to vomit.

Not one peep.

That has been President Trump’s response to these three horrific incidents in recent weeks. No expression of outrage, exasperation, sorrow, regret, or determination to see justice done. Not even a lame “Thoughts and Prayers” message for the victims’ families. No statement that “Racism is not acceptable” or the like. Nothing. Just absolute silence about the monstrous behavior of several White idiots.

The President was active on Twitter, however. While the public was absorbing the horror of the racist terrorism, Mr. Trump chose to (a) accuse an MSN reporter whom he dislikes of murder, (b) continue the “Obamagate” farce, (c) double-down on the Hydroxychloroquine hoax that he is perpetrating, (d) make fun of Joe Biden for wearing a mask outdoors at a Memorial Day ceremony, (e) claim that absentee/vote-by-mail will result in massive fraud, and (f)  threaten to shut down Twitter because it censored some of the obvious lies that he was introducing via his Twitter account.

(Interestingly, re: item (e) above, the President votes by mail, as does his Press Secretary and every military serviceman stationed overseas. If there’s fraud, then all of them are part of it!)

Normally, a politician in an election year would break his butt to publicly pander to grieving Americans. But, of course, Donald Trump is not normal. And the very people who perpetrate or condone white on black racism just happen to be members of President Trump’s political base of support. They don’t consider Black people to be real Americans, subject to the same treatment by law enforcement that they enjoy.

When was the last time a White guy died in a police chokehold? Or was gunned down by Black vigilantes in his own neighborhood?

Why did the White woman who was being videotaped in Central Park mention the man’s race and allege that he was threatening her with bodily harm? Could it be that she expected a very aggressive response from the police on her behalf?

This kind of behavior is still happening in our country 150 years after the Civil War. When are people going to grow up and respect each other?

C’mon, Man!

The Trump re-election machine has been hard at work for the past few weeks.

The campaign strategy is a multi-faceted effort to bring together several special interest groups as was successfully accomplished in 2016.

Target audiences include:

• Xenophobes/Racists
• Science disbelievers
• Trump cultists
• Deep State conspiracy theorists
• Patriotic Manly Men
• Liberal haters
• Evangelicals

Many of those in the President’s political base share several of the listed characterizations. It would not surprise me if most, if not all, of these potential voters were Fox News devotees, America’s pre-eminent source of fake news.

Although the Covid-19 pandemic is not yet contained, President Trump has essentially claimed victory against the viral scourge. Last week, he proclaimed, “We’ve prevailed”, and asserted that the coronavirus will be gone by Summer.

These claims are not shared by his Coronavirus Task Force experts (i.e. medical professionals), who express concern that most states have relaxed stay-at-home restrictions and are now allowing some businesses to re-open. Dr. Anthony Fauci, who most Americans have come to trust on the subject, points to the fact that only a few of the states that are re-opening their economies have met the Federal recommendations for doing so.

Testing, which the President is now bragging about, has indeed ramped-up from several months ago, but is still at a level which is about one-tenth of that recommended by CDC experts. And is being accomplished by state, not Federal, agents.

The National death toll, now above 90,000 and expected to top 100,000 by June 1, was accomplished with restrictions in place. Now that they are being relaxed, epidemiologists are fearful that the pandemic could, once again, go full tilt.

President Trump does not seem to be worried about that, and has spent some effort in the past week scolding Dr. Fauci for his “doom and gloom” predictions, planting seeds of doubt about scientific projections re: the pandemic, and continuing to say, publicly, that Covid-19 will simply “go away”.

In any event, the Trump Administration has proclaimed “mission accomplished” with regard to the coronavirus. The President and his handlers have bragged that the initial mortality estimate for the United States was around 200,000 and “it will be considerably less than that”, so the Administration “has done a very good job” in its own opinion.

Lost in the hyperbole, however, are the facts that: (a) the 200,000 plus initial estimate assumed no mitigation (i.e. stay-at-home, social distancing, business closures), and (b) the various State governments instituted effective mitigation, not the Federal government, which cut the mortality in half.

Along with his dismissive attitude about the concerns of Task Force members, the President continues to blame the World Health Organization and the government of China for the whole pandemic mess, alleging that important facts were withheld from the United States back in December and January.

These allegations are patently false, as CDC and NIH staff (American scientists) were imbedded in the W.H.O. teams that investigated the coronavirus early on and informed their superiors (in Washington D.C.) what was happening way back in January. The Trump Administration elected to ignore warnings and “contain” the story. In January and February, President Trump acknowledged the early warnings but confidently proclaimed that it was “no big deal” and “we’ve got it under control”.

He was wrong, of course. His Administration essentially wasted two months vertical staring while the coronavirus built up steam. Now, with the catastrophe evident, Trump and his gang are attempting to shift the blame to the Chi Coms and their supposed lackeys at the World Health Organization.

The political problem is that American voters observed President Trump on TV in January and February acknowledging the coronavirus threat and minimizing it.

To now allege that he and his team were kept in the dark by the bad folks in China and at the W.H.O. defies public observation. In addition, many other nations, which found out what we did when we did, have done much better in containing the virus and minimizing fatalities. Taiwan, with a population of 25 million has experienced 7 deaths (i.e. 1 per 3.5 million) while the U.S. death toll is approaching 100,000 (1 per 3,500). Our mortality rate is one thousand times as high.

Vietnam, which has a population of 97 million people, has experienced 328 Covid-19 infections and zero deaths. Their government took the facts that everyone had in January and mobilized. The Vietnamese were “at war” with the coronavirus in late January, squelched it in February, and were lifting restrictions…by the time the United States decided that the pandemic was real. That’s real leadership.

Why couldn’t we do that? We’re the Greatest Nation on Earth, for God’s sake.

In March, he proclaimed his support for a miracle cure, the malaria drug Hydroxychloroquine, that was “doing great things” and would be a “game changer”.

That effort to cheer up Americans and the New York Stock Exchange worked, momentarily. But, in April and May, scientific studies of the drug revealed that it had no impact on curing or ameliorating Covid-19 and could be detrimental to those who might take it prophylactically for the coronavirus.

Yesterday, despite the scientific evidence, President Trump announced that he has been taking Hydroxychloroquine for the past week or so. As in, “I know more about medicine than my doctors!”

Speaking of medicine, researchers around the globe are frantically and furiously working to perfect a vaccine that will protect populations from Covid-19. Several candidates show promise, one American and one British, and will be going to expanded human trial next month. Most medical professionals who are familiar with vaccines are projecting the availability of a Covid-19 vaccine (perfected and produced in mass quantity) in 2021.

Then will come the logistics and politics of how the vaccine is distributed. If there is a “second wave” of infection this coming Fall and Winter, it is possible, if not likely, that the miracle vaccine will arrive too late for mass immunization to be effective.

If a vaccine is rushed into production, is hastily approved by the FDA, and then has serious side effects, the legal and political consequences could be massive.

Thus, if the pandemic regains momentum later in the year, containment options will be limited to (a) re-instituting the unpopular restrictions, or (b) recommending that our citizens defend themselves as best they can while the economy stays “open”. Whomever is President at that time will dread that decision.

Commander-in-Chief Trump, while ostensibly heading up the Federal coronavirus “war” against the “invisible enemy” (as he calls it), has publicly minimized the recommendations of his Task Force and the CDC, and has, instead, publicly sided with the “Re-Open The Economy” rebellion throughout the country.

This is not surprising, as those involved in the protests appear to be (on TV) card-carrying Patriotic Manly Men, Science disbelievers, Deep State conspiracy theorists, Trump cultists, anti-Democrats, and Fox News fans.

The President, who refuses to wear a face mask as recommended by his task force, and continues to act as a shill for Hydroxychloroquine, against the advice of medical experts, seems to be attempting to solidify his credentials with the Science disbelievers and Patriotic Manly Men cohorts.

He reminds me of a reckless teenager, who is behind the wheel for the first time, saying “Look how fast I can go in this car!” But, from a political standpoint, that kind of in-your-face behavior appeals to a certain demographic (i.e. beer swilling Rednecks and contrarians). He had them at “Hello”.

This past week, President Trump burnished his flimsy religious credentials with the Evangelical community. Against the advice of his Task Force and many of the Nation’s governors who are actually attempting to curtail the spread of Covid-19, the President threatened the governors that if they did not rescind their orders to limit in-church attendance, he would force them to do it.

Mr. Trump, who has attended church three times in his adult life to exchange wedding vows in God’s presence, and each time subsequently violated those vows, announced “America needs more prayer, not less!” on Saturday. He spent Sunday not in church but, instead, playing golf at a Trump resort.

This does not seem to bother Evangelicals, whose leaders have given the President a very public Mulligan on character issues.

Another thrust of the campaign appears to be the tried-and-true Trumpian blame-throwing barrage.

Lately, the President, his Congressional enablers, and the Trump for President campaign staff over at Fox News have begun harping about “crimes” that were committed by former President Obama and the “total injustice” that was done to Michael Flynn, the President’s one-time National Security Advisor. The concocted flap is being called “Obamagate” by the G.O.P.

No crime has been identified by any of the parties, and the only wrongdoer involved in “Obamagate” is Michael Flynn, who was caught up in the Russiagate investigation and plead guilty to lying to the F.B.I. about his involvement.

It is apparent that the Republican Party is not satisfied with its whitewash of the Mueller Investigation into the 2016 election (which did find evidence of Russian interference of the Presidential election and did not render an opinion, yea or nay, on Trump’s possible collusion), and is now attempting to further obscure what actually happened by diverting attention to alleged crimes by a former President.

It is a profoundly lame political stunt, but it will probably find favor with the G.O.P. political base that got charged up in 2016 with “lock her up!” chants at Trump rallies.

The aim of the various campaign strategies is to divert attention from the reality that voters will be facing in November 2020:

• A deep economic Recession (if not a Depression);
• An unemployment rate of 20 to 25 percent;
• A pandemic that has not been contained;
• Out-of-control Federal deficit spending;
• A worsened split between the Haves and Have Nots in American society;
• Alienation of traditional “allies” and global relationships;
• Zero transparency in Federal government;
• An expanded, corrupted “swamp” in Washington D.C.
• An Administration which does not believe in democracy or our Constitutional form of government; and
• A narcissistic, immature President who embarrasses himself on a daily basis.

It has been said that “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel”. Have you ever noticed the American flag lapel pins which adorn many of our elected officials in Washington D.C.? These folks haven’t done an honest day’s work in years but would have you believe that they love America. They are scoundrels, and the lapel pins are their badges of dishonor. Deeds, not pins, demonstrate love of country.

President Trump, who prominently displays an American flag lapel pin, has another “tell” which reveals his true character: name calling.

Name calling is a technique to promote propaganda. Donald Trump cannot seem to go one day without using this propaganda technique on a political opponent, a journalist, a foreign leader, an ex-government official, one of his own employees, a well-known celebrity, or an entire country.

The President, a salesman by trade, is “always closing” to steal a phrase from Glengarry Glen Ross. Now a politician, Trump is always working to establish (in those who are listening to him) a negative opinion about, or fear of, the target of his attack. Name calling is a juvenile, but effective, way of establishing cognitive bias. Bullies are fond of belittling individuals and organizations they perceive to be antagonistic to their intentions.

What can we expect in the coming months heading up to the 2020 Election?

An increased level of lying, blame-throwing, and name-calling.

Problem solving? Not so much.

Maybe some more golf.

 

Charlie announced this week that we are going to get a Boston Terrier puppy to groom as Booger’s replacement when the time comes.

Booger is 12-1/2 years young and probably has another year or two of treadwear left on her tires. Healthwise, she is in good shape, only suffering from arthritis as far as we can tell. Booger has been a great dog and we hope that her remaining life is mostly quality time. We are in no hurry for her to go to heaven.

Baby, who is now 2-1/2 years old, has really benefitted from Booger’s teaching. She is a wonderful little dog and the two of them really enjoy each other’s company. They spend a portion of each day hassling each other over toys, wrestling on the grass, and racing each other to the door when someone rings the bell. It is so much fun watching the two of them interact; they really love each other.

And, so, we have begun to dread the inevitable, when Booger passes over the Rainbow Bridge and Baby is left alone without her BFF. We both think that Baby will be miserable when that happens. And of course, so will we; Booger has been part of our lives since The Great Recession.

Yesterday we bought, sight unseen, a 9-week old Boston Terrier puppy from a breeder in San Diego. We planned to drive to Barstow on tomorrow to pick up our new dog “Bella” and bring her back home to her adoptive Momma (Booger) and older sister (Baby). We anticipated lots of sniffs being exchanged and curious investigation of each other.

The cost was only $400 for Bella, which is a fraction of the amount that most breeders are asking. Charlie cut the deal over the phone and I asked, “How many legs does it have?” It sounded too good to be true.

Two days ago Charlie and I were researching Boston Terrier puppies for sale on the Internet. There were few available in the West, and that skimpy number all came with expensive price tags, i.e. from $2,400 to $4,000!!! We could not believe it; we paid $800 for Booger and $900 for Baby years ago. Prices have skyrocketed due to the pandemic. People are staying home more, are probably bored stiff, and are taking on more pets. Animal shelters in many cities have been emptied, which is a good thing, and prices for backyard-bred puppies are high.

Our good friends, Dan and Peggy Quinn, referred us to Bookoo.com, a site where they found their Boston Terrier puppy “Katie” last year. Katie is a little pistol, and can tire out Baby, which is quite a feat. So, if Bella has the same genes as Katie, it’s going to be a circus at our house.

I figure that we have four solid months to get Bella in shape before I have my right hip replacement surgery (on Oct 5^th). By that time, she should be mostly housebroken and trained to stay in the backyard with her two buddies. I do not want to be chasing her down the street on crutches or cane.

Call us idiots, but here we go again!!

UPDATE:

We are idiots; the $400 Boston Terrier sale was a scam. We forwarded a $200 deposit to the seller …and then the games began. By the time we had wasted a number of hours jousting with “James” it finally became apparent that he was a phony, that there would be no Boston Terrier puppy, and our $200 was in the wind with James, who was probably laughing his ass off in a café shop in Lagos, Nigeria.

“If it seems to good to be true, it probably is!”

Needless to say, Charlie was crushed. I haven’t seen her this disappointed since our wedding night.

So, Prince Charming got on the Internet this morning, hooked up with a legitimate breeder’s rep, and we found a 6-week-old Boston Terrier hatchling in Ohio named “Lisa”. The price tag was quite a bit higher than that of “Scammy”, but that’s what you get when purchasing an AKC-registered dog in a pandemic.

Charlie paid for this little cutie from her tax prep and Covid-19 bailout funding work on behalf of clients, so it was her money to do with as she pleased. Evidently, she really wanted a lifetime companion for Baby, and now she’s as happy as can be.

Little “Lisa”, a name that will be changed to something beginning with a B, will be delivered to us in early June. For some reason, the the name “Bella” leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Maybe “Belle” would work?

Booger, Baby, Charlie and I can hardly wait to house train our new guest.

My neighbor “Joe” committed suicide by gunshot on Sunday morning while his wife was out walking.

Gee, I just talked to him last week about his upcoming hip surgery. He seemed to be his usual self, except that he was non-ambulatory due to the hip pain. Maybe there were other health-related issues that were bugging him, or some personal stuff that was depressing him?

You never know what is going on in someone else’s head.

UPDATE: Charlie and I heard a neighborhood rumor today that Joe had recently been diagnosed as Covid-19 infected. That would bum out just about any old man in our community.)

How about the guy who pushed a park ranger into a lake when he was asked to wear a facemask at a park? Or the guy who shot a Dollar Store employee to death when that poor fellow reminded a patron that facemasks were required in the store?

What were those aggressive Bozos thinking?

I realize that lots of people are upset at the pandemic-related economic shutdown and the public health measures being utilized to reduce the spread of Covid-19. There is frustration and anger, for sure. However, the park ranger and the Dollar Store employee weren’t the ones setting policy; they were merely informing people of the policy. “Don’t kill the messenger!” goes the saying.

If you have a problem with public authority, go to the polls; if you have a problem with a merchant, shop elsewhere.

No doubt about it, the coronavirus pandemic and the economic collapse are the double-whammy from Hell. It’s never happened before in my lifetime, and everyone, from working stiffs to scientists to politicians, is struggling to find the answer. People are scared, worried, and frustrated. Government has, frankly, not done a good job with this crisis. Anger toward whomever is “in charge” is palpable.

There is a great public demand to “get back to normal”, although pretty much everyone knows deep down in their soul that “normal” will never be the same again. Lots of angry Trump people are agitating in the streets for “re-opening the economy” ASAP, while opinion polls show that a healthy majority of Americans are leery of doing that before the pandemic ebbs.

The Trump Administration has gone into hyper-drive in the past week, urging folks to revolt against “stay-at-home” guidelines (that the Trump Administration’s Task Force itself recommended), declaring victory over Covid-19 (because the death toll is projected to be less than 100,000 people!), and buck-passing the blame for the carnage on the Chinese government (because the coronavirus started there).

President Trump himself has quickly shifted his attention from the Administration’s lame pandemic response to his 2020 reelection campaign.

Professor Trump has basically awarded himself a solid A for pandemic leadership, an A for his initiatives to address the economic nose-dive, and an A-plus for his detective work in finding those who are to blame for the mess (i.e. the Chinese, the Democrats, scientists, journalists who don’t work for Fox News, the World Health Organization, ex-President Obama, James Comey, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, investor George Soros, Joe Biden’s son, and Hillary Clinton’s e-mail server).

The daily pep talks by the President at his Coronavirus Task Force briefings have diminished, as the President’s political handlers finally convinced him that he was digging his own grave by making outlandish and foolish statements each day. The Task Force will reportedly be dissolved by the end of May, at about the time that the pandemic is expected to be claiming 3,000 lives per day.

The chief epidemiologist for the Task Force, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who was asked by the House of Representatives (Democratic majority) to testify on the pandemic, has been ordered by the President to stand down. However, Dr. Fauci will be testifying before a Senate subcommittee because the Republicans control that chamber. It’s politics as usual, as each political party tries to make itself look smarter than the opposition.

Out in America, people are also taking sides: it is evident in who opts to wear a facemask in public and who declines to do so. The irony in this pandemic world where the economy has collapsed is that there is very clearly a divide in who feels threatened and by what.

Old folks, let’s say age 65 plus, are the most at-risk from Covid-19, so it is common to see a good portion of this group wearing facemasks in public. The disease represents a mortal threat to them and their loved ones. According to scientists, wearing a facemask provides a 45 percent increased protection from catching or passing on Covid-19. They’re doing their patriotic part.

This age group is, financially speaking, probably less at risk from the economic collapse, as most receive Social Security and Medicare benefits and many have savings and/or pensions to supplement their income. Their costs are less and they don’t have children at home to support. So, the present catastrophe is chiefly a medical issue with them.

Younger folks, under 65, are less threatened from the coronavirus: approximately 95 percent of them will recover if they become infected, and the ones who succumb will likely be those with pre-existing medical problems. So, with this large age group, the mortal health threat is minimal.

Currently, facemask wearing by kids, young people, and mature adults under 65 is spotty, at best.

Unfortunately, though, this group, particularly in the 18 to 64 age range, is the most hard-hit economically. Some 30 million workers have lost their jobs in the past month, and it could get worse as we move forward. They desperately need to get back to work, as most Americans in this range live paycheck-to-paycheck with little savings to fall back on. Many of them also depend upon their job to provide health insurance for themselves and their families. Both the income and their health insurance are now gone, at least temporarily. The mortal threat to this group is the condition of the economy, not Covid-19.

President Trump is in a bind, politically. The pandemic is ravaging the country, the death toll is mounting, and his Administration seems to be powerless to do anything about it. The economy, the President’s own yardstick by which he measures his success, has collapsed, and its recovery will be many months, if not years, in the making. What to do?

Trump’s only options at this time are to project optimism and cast blame.

His hardcore political base will probably buy what he’s selling, but he’s got an uphill battle ahead with the Independent and Democratic voters who sided with him back in 2016. Let’s face it: he’s alienated a lot of people in the past three years, and that was before the pandemic and the economic collapse. Trump had pretty much pushed all of his chips into the pot before all Hell broke loose.

A big problem he has is that old people are fearful of Covid-19 and they turn out at the polls. The President can’t appear to be too nonchalant about the health crisis, lest he turn these voters off. On the other hand, the young folks who most need the economy to rebound don’t vote as religiously or don’t vote at all. What kind of a campaign will appeal to both segments of the population?

If things get worse, I think he will find a reason to withdraw his candidacy. They guy hates to lose, and he does not want to be labeled a “loser” or a “failure” as President.

Trump’s only possible salvation from the pickle he finds himself in right now is a Covid-19 vaccine. Teams of scientists are working day and night all over the world to develop this miracle solution. Most medical researchers feel that a properly vetted, effective vaccine will not be available until 2021.

If the Prez works hard to convince America to “re-open”, and gets lucky with a vaccine, his candidacy might be salvaged.

In order for the miracle vaccine to help Donald Trump (i.e. his re-election), the vaccine will have to be developed prior to November 2020. So, his Administration is helping the research and testing effort by reducing the “red tape”: his brain trust is calling it “Operation Warp Speed”.

Let’s hope it succeeds, sooner rather than later.

However, my cynical mind anticipates some political gamesmanship on the horizon. Just like the phony Hydroxychloroquine “game changer” that Mr. Trump publicly championed last month to quell American’s panic over Covid-19, it is highly probable that the Administration will announce a miracle vaccine in the weeks prior to Election Day…whether one has been developed or not.

Just like he announced Covid-19 testing was available to anyone who wanted it way back in March, when it wasn’t, the Administration will probably feel no compunction about promising the instant availability of a vaccine that has yet to be proven effective.

It will be the President’s “Hail Mary” effort to swing the election in his favor.

It could work… because there are a lot of gullible people out there, most of them not currently wearing facemasks in public.

And, you never know what is going on in someone else’s head.