Trump
and the Trumpsters are trying to have us believe that the Coronavirus isn't
that big a deal, it's just a bad cold. They are telling themselves that
this is just some kind of evil media campaign to hurt Trump. Good grief!
Japan has closed schools, the World Health Organization has raised the level of
alert to global spread to "very high". People die at ten
times the rate of influenza deaths, and those numbers are assuming that the
totalitarian police state of China is sharing honest statistics about this
disease. I believe the death rate in China is probably higher than they
are admitting.
The
world wide reaction to the coronavirus has absolutely nothing to do with Donald
Trump. But of course Donald Trump is pathologically narcissistic, meaning
he can only view the world in terms of how it affects him. And he is
afraid that since this virus is causing the stock market to drop it is some
kind of evil plot of to hurt his re-election. So, he does what he always
does when he doesn't like the news, he attacks the news-people who report what
is going on in the world.
Very, very sadly, we find out that Trump has stripped the government of
the expertise needed to combat the rapid spread of a dangerous disease by
cutting budgets and forcing scientists out of the government, forcing out those
who have actual knowledge and expertise in handling these kinds of
contagions.
Michael Bloomberg was asked if he would appoint a Czar to address this
kind of outbreak if he were president. He gave the smartest answer I have
heard. He said "no" he would not appoint a Czar, he would have
a Czar and an organization already in place with policies, practices, and
training to be able to respond on a dime to these kinds of events. He
said you can't start from nearly nothing and have an effective response.
Trump appointed VP Pence to
head up the emergency response, and it looks like his primary function will be
to control the messaging of the government - i.e. downplay the news so the
stock market doesn't tank. Lovely.
America and the world have been exceptionally lucky for the three years of the
Trump presidency in that there have been no major emergencies that this
incompetent and ignorant president has had to deal with. He has
devastated nearly every governmental department, especially by driving out
scientists and experts in almost every field - from the Energy Department
dealing with radioactive nuclear weapons and waste, to the Agriculture
Department making us safe with highly sophisticated science forwarning us of
extreme weather events, to health scientists and experts keeping us safe from
outbreaks of diseases.
Well, we now have an emergency coming
at us that was not just one of the many, many, many self made emergencies
created by Trump's bullying, ignorance, and authoritarian violations of law and
the constitution. And Mr. Trump is so far looking like he is incapable of
handling it.
And, also by the way, people seem to be comforted by the notion that “only” 2%
of the people who contract the disease die. Are you kidding? If you
catch the disease you are supposed to feel good that your chances of dying is
“only” one in fifty? People are saying that many thousands die of the flu
worldwide every year and so far only a handful have died from this disease.
Well, it turns out that that chances of dying from the flu is about .2 to .4
percent. That is, your chances of dying from the flu is about one in 500, not
one in 50. And those who die of flu are likely those who are already
compromised, the aged, the very young, those with other health issues.
The coronavirus killed the Chinese doctor who blew the whistle on its danger,
and killed the head of the hospital where the outbreak started. These were
healthy adults, not people at risk.
All you need to know about the seriousness of this disease is to look at the
photos and videos of the Chinese people taking the temperature of people who
might be at risk – they are completely covered in Hazmat garb with taped ankles
and wrists, masks, goggles, etc. Why are they so protected? Because they
know what this disease looks like and they very, very much do not want to catch
it.
I hope that this disease is not as serious as it could be, and that it
fades away and vaccines are developed quickly to combat it. But, the way
the country, and the world, must respond is to prepare for the worst and hope
for the best.
Too bad our Federal Government is run by an idiot, and has surrounded himself
with idiots, and has a right wing media bubble that protects him at all costs –
in this case the costs could become way too many lives lost.
Good grief!
