As of this moment there are over 570,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States. 53,000 plus Americans have recovered from the disease. Another 33,460 have died. For those of us in the high risk category it has, from the beginning, felt like some terrible, celestial, sniper has been picking us off. Lately however, since the shelter in place edicts, or in Oklahoma's case, a directive to hunker down, or take your chances, it has been more like hanging on in a bunker during an incessant barrage.
Obviously there aren't any ear shattering sounds of explosions, or dust raining down from the rafters. No, the only real cacophony assaulting us right now comes from our TVs and nearly every politician, health expert, and journalist in the land. Accusations are flying along with forecasts, dire and not so dire, as we are inundated with proclamations peppered with half truths and out right lies.
Indeed, depending on who you listen to, the spread is slowing, the needed supplies have finally arrived, the top of the curve has been reached, and in the most extreme cases, the whole pandemic was a media induced panic we really shouldn't have been worried about.
On the other hand, some point out the sniper hasn't been rooted out, it's just waiting for all of us to emerge from our hideouts to renew the carnage. Those of us who have to be out there--everyone from doctors and nurses to grocery store clerks--are still dropping like flies. Yes, your neighbor may have survived his, or her trip to Italy, but the poor schmuck driving that bus in Detroit didn't.
This chaos has prompted the exalted leader of the republic to say a couple of things which are at best a little fishy during his daily, "Coronavirus" briefings. These appearances--some of which look suspiciously like campaign advertisements--are chock full of not just inconsistencies, contradictory information, and wildly empty promises, but also personal tirades against the media.
All of which should be expected, since Don Trump is more than happy to say inconsistent, contradictory, things while making promises so outlandish they make even people like Bernie Sanders blush. (Just ask the President how that nation wide quick diagnosis COVID web site he promised is doing.)
Of course we're used to his rapid fire bullshit by now, but lately he's begun to cave into his authoritarian side. He's always leaned that way. In the past he has marveled how China's Xi Jinping became president for life. He went so far as to suggest to donors the nation--as in America--should try that experiment someday. He has also openly wondered why he shouldn't be allowed to run for more than two terms. His well known bromance with Vladimir Putin has sometimes reached such levels that many, even in his own political party, have reported acute attacks of queasiness.
The other day The Big Orange Guy stated that he, rather than state Governors, has the "total authority" to lift their shut down orders. That's right, after a century, or so of screaming about state's rights, the republican party has spawned a president who is willing to throw that concept right out of the window. All because he needs a suddenly moribund economy to recover so he can be re-elected.
And make no mistake, Donald John Trump doesn't give a shit about the body count. He is all about re-election and getting people back into his resorts and hotels.
Perhaps more ominously, Mr. Trump has begun threatening to adjourn Congress through an obscure article of the Constitution. The proposed move has nothing to do with the virus. He wants to do so, he says, so he can make recess appointments which don't require Senate approval. Why he needs to do so, since the republicans hold a majority in the Senate, is unclear.
What is clear is the Constitution says he can do it, but only if the House and Senate can't agree on an adjournment date. At this point in 2020, there hasn't been any sort of disagreement on adjournment between the two houses and in truth no one can even remember the last time, if ever, it happened. It is worth noting, no President in the history of the United States has ever invoked this power.
Today Newsweek reported that on March 16 the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region was activated. The secret JTF-NCR's job is to defend Washington D.C. from the air and on the land. It is, in theory, to be used in case of an attack on the homeland, and or to put down civil unrest during a national disaster. Its duties include evacuating high ranking government officials from the city to undisclosed locations. The unit is primarily made up of National Guard troops and helicopter wings from places like Illinois and Mississippi and it numbers over 10,000 members of the military.
I know we all have way too much time on our hands these days and our minds wander toward areas we'd never even consider during, "normal," periods. The problem is this--all of this--isn't normal and we have a President who is a raving narcissistic sociopath with absolutely no regard for the law, or Congress. Not to mention, there are some fairly intelligent people out there who, even before the virus hit, have openly questioned whether he would give up the office if he was to lose the election in November.
Well, it's something to ponder anyway between re-runs of The Big Bang Theory and Law and Order.
In the end, I'm just thankful the liquor stores, even in Oklahoma, have been declared essential businesses. Without them, God only knows how much time I'd spend thinking about what that crazy fuck is up to.
sic vita est
4-16-20
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