In Case You Missed It (v31)

Here's what you missed last week, if you were too busy trying to learn elementary math, or middle school science, or trying to position your camera to hide your bunny PJs for that all-important teleconference with your boss's boss.

In the Sunday School entry, we heard from Surgeon General Jerome Adams, who did his level best to get people to understand what we're up against with the pandemic when he talked with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday. 

Well, it's tragically fitting that we're talking at the beginning of Holy Week because this is going to be the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans' lives, frankly. This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment, only it's not going to be localized. It's going to be happening all over the country. And I want American to understand that.  

Also in the classroom (via taped interview)? Bill Gates, who got into some of the numbers, including the estimate provided by the administration that we could potentially see between 100,000 and 240,000 deaths over the next couple of months. Gates thinks if we handle the social distancing stuff right, we'll be much better off than that, and he's happy the estimate it out for public consumption

because a lot of people are still thinking hey, "this is like normal," not waking up every day to a completely new reality... You know, Dr. Fauci is doing a very good job here of saying the numbers are what count here.  

And, he also said

But I do think if we get the testing fixed, we get all 50 states involved, we'll be below that. Of course, we'll pay a huge economic price in order to achieve that.

On Monday, after ingesting too much craziness, too much conspiracy theory, too much MAGA, I lost my mind and started Ranting and Raving, and it probably wasn't pretty to some people, but hey - for far too long in my life, I put things in little boxes, out of the way, just setting things aside instead of really letting loose and taking out the trash, as it were. Now that I'm older, and tired of carrying around all those boxes, sometimes I just have to yell. And, when I do, sometimes strange things happen.

So yes, regular readers, at this moment I'm actually siding with the politicians and yes, there's a chance that a little bit of hell might actually have just frozen over, but have no fear - there's more than enough hatred and fear and ill will to thaw it out pretty darn quickly and now I'm going out in my garden and getting the heck away from all this BS and pulling the weeds I can pull, vs. staying inside trying to pull the ones I can't control. (Takes breath and stiff drink).  Have a nice day. And don't forget to wash your hands.

Mid-week, I was Wondering on Wednesday, I shared a mix of good news, cool things people are doing to keep themselves healthy during shelter-in-place or quarantine or social distancing or whatever it's being called where they are, and some political news about those same topics, particularly when the desires of one level of government get in the way of another level of government. Like when a governor overrules what a mayor wants to do, for example.

I compared that to what's happening where I live - my local officials are being more stringent than the governor, and I'm glad they are.

The state has social-distancing orders in place, supposedly with fines although I'm not sure any have been handed out. But our County Executive, with the support of the mayor of our area's largest city, has added another layer, calling on people to stay at home except on designated days based on whether they were born in an odd or even year.

I think it's just fine, and I don't know that I'd want my Sonofa Gov to come in and tell us that we can't do what we need to do here for our own safety. And I'm glad I don't have to wonder what would happen if he did issue a conflicting and less-safe order.

Honestly, if all politics is local, this seems like a good time to let the local people figure out what makes the most sense for their constituents - as long as I agree with the decision, of course. I'm not blind to my own bias here. 

I had two entries for the semi-retired Email of the Week feature. You may recall that series, in which I'd highlight emails from the many Dem candidates - for a long time, only the top ten of them - and as that number dropped down to two, the reasons for continuing the series dropped as well. But, now that we're down to one - Papa Joe Biden - it seemed reasonable to bring you a couple of key emails.

The first is the one sent by That Guy From Vermont, Bernie Sanders, who has suspended his campaign, but kept beating the drum about the evils of corporations and the political establishment, the latter of which was the 'entity' to which he had conceded - because, as we know, he did not lose, he was robbed by a rigged system and whatnot. 

WE HAVE WON THE IDEOLOGICAL BATTLE

As many of you will recall Nelson Mandela, one of the great freedom fighters in modern world history, famously said; "It always seems impossible until it is done." And what he meant by that is that the greatest obstacle to real social change has everything to do with the power of the corporate and political establishment to limit our vision as to what is possible and what we are entitled to as human beings.

In the face of that, how did Papa Joe respond? Honestly, he fell sort of expectations, in my opinion. There wasn't any direct outreach to TGFV's supporters, just a general 'coming together' message that, I think, did nothing to garner support from those folks. 

Bernie has often said that his campaign was not about him. It was about “us.” That goes for me, too. And now more than ever, that rings true. This primary is over -- but this campaign is just beginning. And it’s a campaign bigger than whose name is on the ballot. It’s a campaign about people like us coming together to not only defeat Donald Trump, but to ensure that America lives up to its founding promises once we do.

And two direct requests for money, too. Sigh.

So there you have it - a veritable pastiche, as usual.

I'll be back later with Sunday School.

Email of the Week (v15)

And the second not unexpected email of the week?  The one from Papa Joe to his supporters about Bernie. 

Unfortunately, there's not a lot here about That Guy from Vermont's supporters, who will be critical as things turn towards the general election. I was hoping there would be something to share with friends who are Sanders supporters, to give them a sense of hope or esprit de corps or something, but I don't see it. 

Honestly? I think Biden blew this one. No need to ask me for money - not just once, but twice - in this email when it should have been all about bringing everyone back under the tend.  But anyway - here's the message.

Sue,

I’ve had a chance to get to know Bernie over the years. We were in the Senate together before Barack and I took office, and of course, I had known him from his work in the House. What I liked about Bernie was that he said what he believed, no matter who was in the room. I admired his passion. I liked his convictions. I thought people who failed to take him seriously would prove to be sorely mistaken. And, as it turns out, I was right.

Bernie suspended his campaign today, but while you can suspend a campaign, you can’t suspend a movement. Bernie and his supporters have taken issues which had been given little attention and brought them to the center of the conversation. Bernie gets a lot of credit for his passionate advocacy for the issues he cares about. But he doesn’t get enough credit for being a voice that forces us all to take a hard look in the mirror and ask if we’ve done enough.

Jill and I can’t wait to work with him and Jane on building a more progressive future.

Bernie has often said that his campaign was not about him. It was about “us.” That goes for me, too. And now more than ever, that rings true. This primary is over -- but this campaign is just beginning. And it’s a campaign bigger than whose name is on the ballot. It’s a campaign about people like us coming together to not only defeat Donald Trump, but to ensure that America lives up to its founding promises once we do.

We will not defeat Donald Trump by being like Donald Trump. We won’t win with division, cruelty, or appealing to the worst in us. We’ll win with compassion, humanity, humility, and joy. We’ll win by being a campaign that brings Americans together -- a campaign that shows decency, but also determination. A campaign that shows humanity, but also grit. And in the end: we will show the country that a better future is possible. And we’ll show that it is possible because of people like you. You’ve built this campaign, and believed in us -- always.

So I’m going to ask you, in the spirit of gratitude, at this pivotal moment: can you pitch in $5 to this campaign?

Around this country right now, there are people stepping up to the call of a crisis. Nurses with nothing but garbage bags to protect them -- but they go into work anyway. Environmental Services workers -- like the one Jill spoke to just this morning in Chicago -- keeping our hospitals safe without attention or little appreciation -- but they work around the clock anyway. Teachers leading classes remotely, while balancing their own families at home -- but they teach anyway. There are grocery store workers and food delivery people paid far too little for the work they do - but they do it anyway.

It’s amazing who we are. I have talked a lot in this campaign about the Soul of America. Well -- we are seeing the soul of the nation on display every day in this crisis. Courage. Bravery. Selflessness. A commitment to something bigger than ourselves. That’s who we are. And it makes me so damn proud of America. And those are the things that make me so damn proud to be our party’s nominee.

So, yes: we’re going to defeat Donald Trump. But once we do that, we’re going to tackle the climate crisis head-on. We’re going to make health care accessible and affordable to everyone. We’re going to take on the NRA, and we’re going to relieve a generation of the crushing burden of debt. We will not win just the battle for the soul of our nation. We’ll transform it as well.

We can’t wait to get started on doing it -- together. And I hope you’ll pitch in to get us going.

Thanks for always keeping the faith,
Joe

Email of the Week (v14)

The long-anticipated email ending the campaign of That Guy from Vermont, Bernie Sanders, and how he expects his movement to continue. 

Friends -

I want to express to each of you my deep gratitude for helping to create an unprecedented grassroots political campaign that has had a profound impact in changing our nation.

I want to thank the hundreds of thousands of volunteers who knocked on millions of doors in the freezing winters of Iowa and New Hampshire and in the heat of Nevada and South Carolina – and in states throughout the country.

I want to thank the 2.1 million Americans who have contributed to our campaign and showed the world that we can take on a corrupt campaign finance system and run a major presidential campaign without being dependent upon the wealthy and the powerful. Thank you for your 10 million contributions – averaging $18.50 per donation.

I want to thank those who phone banked for our campaign and those of you who came together to send out millions of texts. I want to thank the many hundreds of thousands of Americans who attended our rallies, town meetings and house parties from New York to Los Angeles. Some of these events had over 25,000 people. Some had a few hundred and some had a dozen. But all were important. Let me thank those who made these many events possible.

I want to thank our surrogates, too many to name. I can't imagine that any candidate has ever been blessed with a stronger and more dedicated group of people who have taken our message to every corner of the country. And I want to thank all those who made music and art an integral part of our campaign.

I want to thank all of you who spoke to your friends and neighbors, posted on social media and worked as hard as you could to make this a better country.

Together, we have transformed American consciousness as to what kind of country we can become, and have taken this country a major step forward in the never-ending struggle for economic justice, social justice, racial justice and environmental justice.

WE HAVE WON THE IDEOLOGICAL BATTLE
As many of you will recall Nelson Mandela, one of the great freedom fighters in modern world history, famously said; "It always seems impossible until it is done." And what he meant by that is that the greatest obstacle to real social change has everything to do with the power of the corporate and political establishment to limit our vision as to what is possible and what we are entitled to as human beings.

If we don't believe that we are entitled to health care as a human right, we will never achieve universal health care.

If we don't believe that we are entitled to decent wages and working conditions, millions of us will continue to live in poverty.

If we don't believe that we are entitled to all of the education we require to fulfill our dreams, many of us will leave school saddled with huge debt, or never get the education we need.

If we don't believe that we are entitled to live in a world that has a clean environment and is not ravaged by climate change, we will continue to see more drought, floods, rising sea levels and an increasingly uninhabitable planet.

If we don't believe that we are entitled to live in a world of justice, democracy and fairness – without racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia or religious bigotry – we will continue to have massive income and wealth inequality, prejudice and hatred, mass incarceration, terrified immigrants and hundreds of thousands of Americans sleeping out on the streets of the richest country on earth.

Focusing on that new vision for America is what our campaign has been about and what, in fact, we have accomplished. Few would deny that over the course of the past 5 years our movement has won the ideological struggle. In so called "red" states, and "blue" states and "purple" states, a majority of the American people now understand that we must raise the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour; that we must guarantee health care as a right to all of our people; that we must transform our energy system away from fossil fuel, and that higher education must be available to all, regardless of income.

It was not long ago that people considered these ideas radical and fringe. Today, they are mainstream ideas – and many of them are already being implemented in cities and states across the country. That's what you accomplished.

In terms of health care, even before the horrific pandemic we are now experiencing, more and more Americans understood that we must move to a Medicare for All, single-payer system. During the primary elections exit polls showed, in state after state, a strong majority of Democratic primary voters supported a single government health insurance program to replace private insurance. That was true even in states where our campaign did not prevail.

And let me just say this: In terms of health care, this horrific crisis that we are now in has exposed how absurd our current employer-based health insurance system is. The current economic downturn we are experiencing has not only led to a massive loss of jobs, but has also resulted in millions of Americans losing their health insurance. While Americans have been told, over and over again, how wonderful our employer-based, private insurance system is, those claims sound very hollow now as a growing number of unemployed workers struggle with how they can afford to go to the doctor, or not go bankrupt with a huge hospital bill. We have always believed that health care must be considered as a human right, not an employee benefit – and we are right.

Please also appreciate that not only are we winning the struggle ideologically, we are also winning it generationally. The future of our country rests with young people and, in state after state, whether we won or whether we lost the Democratic primaries or caucuses, we received a significant majority of the votes, sometimes an overwhelming majority, from people not only 30 or under, but 50 years of age or younger. In other words, the future of this country is with our ideas.

THE CURRENT CRISIS

As we are all painfully aware, we now face an unprecedented crisis. Not only are we dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, which has taken the lives of many thousands of our people, we are also dealing with an economic meltdown that has resulted in the loss of millions of jobs.

Today, families all across the country face financial hardship unimaginable only a few months ago. And because of the unacceptable levels of income and wealth distribution in our economy, many of our friends and neighbors have little or no savings and are desperately trying to pay their rent or their mortgage or even to put food on the table. This reality makes it clear to me that Congress must address this unprecedented crisis in an unprecedented way that protects the health and economic wellbeing of the working families of our country, not just powerful special interests. As a member of the Democratic leadership in the United States Senate, and as a senator from Vermont, this is something that I intend to be intensely involved in, and which will require an enormous amount of work.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

That takes me to the state of our presidential campaign. I wish I could give you better news, but I think you know the truth. And that is that we are now some 300 delegates behind Vice President Biden, and the path toward victory is virtually impossible. So while we are winning the ideological battle, and while we are winning the support of young people and working people throughout the country, I have concluded that this battle for the Democratic nomination will not be successful.

And so today I am announcing the suspension of active campaigning, and congratulate Joe Biden, a very decent man, on his victory.

Please know that I do not make this decision lightly. In fact, it has been a very painful decision. Over the past few weeks Jane and I, in consultation with top staff and many of our prominent supporters, have made an honest assessment of the prospects for victory. If I believed we had a feasible path to the nomination I would certainly continue the campaign. But it's not there.

I know there may be some in our movement who disagree with this decision, who would like us to fight on to the last ballot cast at the Democratic convention. I understand that position. But as I see the crisis gripping the nation – exacerbated by a president unwilling or unable to provide any kind of credible leadership – and the work that needs to be done to protect people in this most desperate hour, I cannot in good conscience continue to mount a campaign that cannot win and which would interfere with the important work required of all of us in this difficult hour.

But let me say this very emphatically: As you all know, we have never been just a campaign. We are a grassroots multi-racial, multi-generational movement which has always believed that real change never comes from the top on down, but always from the bottom on up. We have taken on Wall Street, the insurance companies, the drug companies, the fossil fuel industry, the military industrial complex, the prison industrial complex and the greed of the entire corporate elite. That struggle continues. While this campaign is coming to an end, our movement is not.

Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us that "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." The fight for justice is what our campaign was about. The fight for justice is what our movement remains about.

And, on a practical note, let me also say this: I will stay on the ballot in all remaining states and continue to gather delegates. While Vice President Biden will be the nominee, we should still work to assemble as many delegates as possible at the Democratic convention where we will be able to exert significant influence over the party platform and other functions.

Then, together, standing united, we will go forward to defeat Donald Trump, the most dangerous president in modern American history. And we will fight to elect strong progressives at every level of government – from Congress to the school board.

As I hope all of you know, this race has never been about me. I ran for the presidency because I believed as president I could accelerate and institutionalize the progressive change that we are all building together. And, if we keep organizing and fighting, I have no doubt that our victory is inevitable. While the path may be slower now, we WILL change this country and, with like-minded friends around the globe, the entire world.

On a very personal note, speaking for Jane, myself and our entire family, we will always carry in our hearts the memory of the extraordinary people we have met across the country. We often hear about the beauty of America. And this is an incredibly beautiful country.

But to me the beauty I will remember most is in the faces of the people we have met from one corner of this country to the other. The compassion, love and decency I saw in them makes me so hopeful for our future. It also makes me more determined than ever to work to create a country that reflects those values and lifts up all our people.

Please stay in this fight with me. Let us go forward together. The struggle continues.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

Wondering on Wednesday (v203)

Ready... Set... Wonder!

So, what's going on in wonder-land today? 

Let's take a look, starting in Colorado, where it seems the governor and the state's congressional delegation has been working furiously to get much needed ventilators to help patients with COVID-19 - for weeks. But when they finally got 100 of them, it seems it had nothing to do with anyone other than the state's Republican senator.  Here's the story from Democrat Rep. Diana DeGette, who was not impressed. 

Governor Polis and our Congressional delegation have been working to get more ventilators to Colorado for weeks. In fact, Colorado was set to receive 500 ventilators until FEMA blocked the shipment. Now, President Trump says we will get 100 as a courtesy to Senator Gardner. That means, because the president is playing politics with public health, we're still 400 ventilators short from what we should have received. His mismanagement of this crisis is costing lives and livelihoods.

The governor's press secretary, Conor Cahill, had to take a more conciliatory approach, having seen from the experience of other governors.

The Governor welcomes every piece of equipment that will help save lives in Colorado. He is committed to continuing to work with the federal government, other states, and the private sector to acquire the necessary equipment needed to protect the lives of Coloradans.

So, what's the wondering here? Basically, when will everyone just get the supplies they need, without there being any involvement of the president or anyone outside the distribution wing of the task force? And when will Trump stop requiring people to kiss his ring in order to get what they need for their residents?

In a similar vein, we've got a governor telling a mayor in his state that she has to open the tourist beaches in her city, much to the mayor's dismay. Yep - while there's a state-wide shelter-in-place order for Georgia, Tybee Island is supposed to have their beaches open. Which if you think about it, makes no sense whatsoever, as we saw in Florida and Texas. And again, there's wondering about why there isn't better coordination of these things, and why local officials cannot do what they need to do to protect their residents?

That's what's happening where I live. The state has social-distancing orders in place, supposedly with fines although I'm not sure any have been handed out. But our County Executive, with the support of the mayor of our area's largest city, has added another layer, calling on people to stay at home except on designated days based on whether they were born in an odd or even year. I think it's just fine, and I don't know that I'd want my Sonofa Gov to come in and tell us that we can't do what we need to do here for our own safety. And I'm glad I don't have to wonder what would happen if he did issue a conflicting and less-safe order.

And, of course, the big non-coronavirus news today? That Guy from Vermont, Bernie Sanders, has dropped out of the presidential race. There'll be a lot more about that in other posts, but for now, we have to wonder, how well can Papa Joe Biden corral the Sanders fans, and how much of TGFV's message will be adopted by the Democratic Party when they convene in August?

Now -- on to the good news, the cool stuff that's happening around the world as everyone, and everything, adjusts to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• I wonder what it must have felt like for this man, running a marathon on his balcony? It took nearly seven hours, with encouragement, water and M&Ms from his girlfriend, and "confusion" from onlookers. 

• The only thing I wonder about this couple, from Naples, is how anyone can thank them enough? Looking back into history, they put in place a century's old idea: they lower a basket from their balcony, with a note attached. I won't spoil it for you, but the reaction is heartwarming. 

• And for those who are missing baseball, and one of its most endearing traditions - the 7th inning stretch, there's this 7th Inning Stretch to keep you company. Josh Kantor, the organist for the Boston Red Sox, streams 30 minutes of requests and stories and live chat and charity every day. Fun stuff for a Sox fan like me, and fun in general if you're missing the sound of organ music. I wonder if other organists are tuning in to his show...

• And finally, even Mother Nature is getting in the swing of things. It seems that, with China's manufacturing shut down for weeks, the air has cleared to such an extent that, for the first time in decades, folks can actually see the Himalayas, even from 125 miles away. For some, it's the first time they've been able to see them - ever.  My wondering here? How long will it last, can it last, before we go back to what we were. 

And finally tonight, another one that's sort of close to my heart - we're cat owners, or I guess cat caretakers would be more appropriate. So when I saw a tweet from someone about a friend losing, and then finding his cat, I was thrilled - and then I laughed and laughed. 

I have to wonder, first of all, how he found the missing cat, and second of all,  I wonder how long it'll take for him to find the owner of the one that's not his, once he figures which one is his?

What's got you wondering tonight? 

Ranting and Raving (v5): Pandemic Pandemonium

Boy, don't you love a good pandemic and the pandemonium it causes? I sure do. We've got the quote-unquote #fakenewews reporting actual data and actual news and we've got people who don't know the difference between news reporting and opinion columns conflating the two and losing their minds over the WRONG thing when the right thing is sitting right in front of them, and we've got the president reporting #fakenews and his feelings and his #stablegeniousity and the rumblings in his gut and that's what his supporters are hanging on to and EVERYTHING IS GREAT because there are FACTS when the are none and the are LIES when there is truth and those people (yes, I said 'those people') are now promoting #FireFauci on Twitter because the virus-fighting doc who has served not one, not two, not three, not four, not five but SIX six presidents (and no, the best was not saved for last), is doing doctor-talk and science-speak and truth-telling and mostly because he had the audacity to correct the #fakenewspresident, the #Trumpeters are trumpeting that THE DOC HAS TO GO and there's a chance that he will be fired because as we know, the #celebritypresident likes nothing better than bigly good numbers on social media - he's #1 on Facebook and ratings for his daily failed #socialdistancingexercises are through the ROOF! - he has to do what his Keyboard Kops tell him to do especially if #FauxNews aka #TNN (Trump News Network) picks it up and oh by the way, someone apparently told Trump if he #wenttoJared and dragged him out on the rally stage the heat would be off, which it was, and that allowed Trump cover to fire the ICIG who said that the #whistleblower was telling the truth and provided proof that it was (but I digress) so NOW, we have Pence and Jared and Navarro and Gaynor and Adams and SnittySnittyBillBarr (what the hell was HE doing up there?) and people think the GOVERNORS are being childish because they're complaining about not being able to get straight answers???? Dear Lord, this really low bar administration sure can raise the bar on chaos, can't it? (Takes breath and stiff drink) And SPEAKING of the governors, most of whom (all of the Blue State ones for sure) are doing a better job than the point people and the president, some of them (Red State ones for sure) are getting MORE supplies than they request, and they're getting more, MORE THAN ONCE and meanwhile, the governors and the county execs and town supervisors and mayors ('mares' as the president calls them - time for him to take a 'Bare' aspirin or something) are doing one helluva job trying to keep their people safe and not feeding us a boatload of BS from a rotating cast of characters on a stage where social distancing apparently doesn't apply. They tell us what we need to know, and they explain why they're making decisions and yet - AND YET - there's crap like what a semi-local radio host posted, that our Sonofa Gov Andrew Cuomo (I'm very more often not a fan of his, so don't start with me) is apparently doing everything he can to make sure that the folks who are dying from or with the #coronavirus are people who VOTED FOR HIS OPPONENT - I kid you not - because Cuomo said he was going to sign an executive order and have the National Guard take PPE, supplies and yes, probably 500 or so ventilators, maybe less, that are less likely to be needed upstate, or not needed right now, and deliver them downstate where the people are dying in numbers that are horrifying, that are are mind-numbing, that are stomach-turning and somehow we're supposed to get on board with the radiojerk's theory that he's signing our death certificates and committing EXECUTIVE HOMICIDE by working to figure out where people have things that they don't currently need (and may not need for the pandemic) and moving those to the place of greatest need IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY -- but that's wrong? #WTF is he supposed to do, just let people downstate die? Would that make all of the haters happy? I mean, it's mostly just those immigrants (legal or otherwise) that are getting sick and dying, right? It's not like they're humans who had jobs and families and aspirations and dreams and birthdays and upcoming weddings and family reunions and what not, right? "Those people" that's who they are, right? Because here's the deal (as the radiojerk says all the time), the deal is, the morgues are full, people - FULL - and there are dozens and dozens of refrigerated trucks parked on the streets in NYC stacked high with bodies of the dead and we are anticipating that another 85 TRUCKS are going to be coming to NYC to hold more bodies of the dead and if you think that's happening here where we sit, let's put on our cloth facial coverings and go for a ride and SHOW ME THE BODIES piling up in Buffalo and Syracuse and Rochester and Watertown and Albany and Auburn and Oneonta and Penn Yan and Herkimer and Saratoga and Cortland and Webster and Henderson and Oswego and Cooperstown, show me the trucks full of bodies and convince me that the supplies are better sitting here, just in case, than they are down there where, literally (not just Joe Biden Literally) the bodies are piled high and THEN tell me that if the situation were reversed and it was up here where all those trucks were parked in neighborhoods near our hospitals and the morgues were full and every bed was full and every hallway was full of patients and the parking lots were all full of medical tents, you tell me that you wouldn't want said Homicidal Maniac Executive er, Executioner, sorry to do WHATEVER IT TAKES including sending in the National Guard to get whatever supplies we could get our hands on, for Pete's sake are you even listening to yourselves? And why is it I keep noticing that the same people spitting this stuff, include many Republican politicians,  are the ones echoing the 1,000,000,000% partisan political hack that we have as president telling us we all have to set politics aside and come together and blahdittyblahblahblah because we know he is mentally and morally incapable of doing that - and won't even try, doesn't even care enough for one Pearl Harbor Moment - but because HE says it THEY all say it and wave their flags in our faces? (Takes breath and stiff drink) Could the Sonofa Gov had done this differently? Sure, there's always a better way to do something, and he SHOULD have done it differently, but is he taking every last mask, face shield, pair of gloves and ventilator and wandering through hospitals checking voter registration data on downstate patient bracelets looking to buy one last vote and screw the Republicans who can't find a halfway decent candidate to run for anything in this state - ANYTHING - when he's not up for re-election until 2022? Stop it. Just. Stop. It. Is Cuomo the greatest thing since sliced bread? Of course not: everyone knows that Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are the greatest thing since sliced bread but oh -- by the way-- for the most part, ALL of the governors are doing the same thing, getting supplies from place A in their state and moving them to place B in their state, because what good are the supplies if they're not being used or are likely to not be needed to the same degree as they are needed NOW in other areas? And you know what else? Those other governors are SENDING SUPPLIES TO US and they're sending medical professionals to us, because THEY understand that the place of greatest need is where we need the greatest good, and because they know that New York would do the same for them, under the same circumstances, whether upstate folks like it or not, whether Republicans like it or not and honestly a Republican NY gov (yes we've had them before) would do the same thing, or he'd be called out for not doing the same thing by EXACTLY the same people who are bitching about the Sonofa Gov and you KNOW I'm right. So yes, regular readers, at this moment I'm actually siding with the politicians and yes, there's a chance that a little bit of hell might actually have just frozen over, but have no fear - there's more than enough hatred and fear and ill will to thaw it out pretty darn quickly and now I'm going out in my garden and getting the heck away from all this BS and pulling the weeds I can pull, vs. staying inside trying to pull the ones I can't control. (Takes breath and stiff drink).  Have a nice day. And don't forget to wash your hands.

Sunday School 4/5/20

Today I'm going to devote the whole lesson to the classroom with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday. 

First up? The Surgeon General, Vice Admiral Jerome Adams, who also visited another classroom today. Let's start there, with Wallace asked how bad things are going to get for us, how long the darn epidemic is going to last here. Adams didn't pull any punches.

Well, it's tragically fitting that we're talking at the beginning of Holy Week because this is going to be the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans' lives, frankly. This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment, only it's not going to be localized. It's going to be happening all over the country. And I want American to understand that.  

He also emphasized that we all have the power to change the trajectory, and

...I want Americans to understand that as hard as this week is going to be, there is a light at the end of the tunnel if everyone does their part for the next 30 days...there is hope. But we've got to all do out part. 

They talked about mitigation efforts, with Wallace noting there are still nine states without stay-at-home orders. He shared some of the president's comments, including that "the states we're talking about are not in jeopardy." Is he wrong, Wallace asked? 

Adams said over 90% of the country is under stay-at-home orders, and that they've been balancing states rights and the federal government's role, pointing to the uproar at the suggestion of a quarantine in the NYC area. He reiterated that he'd ask the nine governors to give us whatever they can over the next several days, a week or two, to help us get us to the other side of the peak.

Wallace asked whether Adams is "comfortable with people taking an unproven untested drug, (referring to hydroxychloroquine) even people who don't have the virus?" Adams noted it's all about the desire to help however they can.

And the last question was on masks (you can watch Adams demonstrates how to make one here), including this bizarre comment by the president (there's always one of those isn't there?), about greeting "presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens.... I don't know. Somehow I don't see it for myself." 

Does that statement from Trump send a mixed message, Wallace wondered? It's voluntary, Adams noted, and there are people who are making sure the president is practicing social distancing (even though we watch him ignore the rules daily) but, he said, the mask is not to protect you, it's to protect your neighbor.

And so we shall wear masks when we go out. 

Next up was philanthropist Bill Gates, in a taped interview.  The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation  has pledged $100M to fight the coronavirus. Five years ago, Gates predicted that missiles wouldn't be our biggest threat - microbes would be. Wallace wondered how dangerous, "how fearsome" this virus is and how it'll play out here. 

Calling it a "nightmare scenario" because this kind of respiratory virus can "grow exponentially," Gates noted if we'd kept on doing what we normally do, we'd be in pretty dire straits. But, quarantining like we're doing, the social distancing stuff, 

if we use that well enough, we should towards the end of this month start to see those numbers level off and then if we continue country-wide and we're testing the right people to understand what's going on, which is not the case yet, those numbers will start to go down and then we can look at some degree of opening back up.

Wallace asked if Gates thought the administration's numbers, somewhere between 100,00 - 240,000 deaths over the next two months, sounded right. He said if we do the social distancing right, "we should be able to get out of this with the death number well short of that." And, he said he's glad that the estimate is out in circulation,

because a lot of people are still thinking hey, "this is like normal," not waking up every day to a completely new reality... You know, Dr. Fauci is doing a very good job here of saying the numbers are what count here.  

He said that the various models people are doing all show things could be even worse without the behavior changes from our mitigation efforts.

But I do think if we get the testing fixed, we get all 50 states involved, we'll be below that. Of course, we'll pay a huge economic price in order to achieve that.

Gates said we don't yet know how seasonal this strain is but it would be beneficial if we got a seasonal break with it. That would give us time to get the drugs we need and to advance the vaccine, a high-volume vaccine, that's  could be available world-wide.

Wallace wondered how much the government's slow start cost, in terms of  the spread of the disease. Rather than focusing on what we lost, Gates looked to other countries and what they did and how that helped.

There are countries like Taiwan, who are exemplary: saw the problem and really got the testing, community-wide testing done very well. They prioritized who got tested and so they won't either have the disease burden or the economic effect that other countries will have. China, by late January had taken it seriously - and so, their ability to get the cases down has been dramatic. South Korea has done that.

We're learning from what's happened, Gates said, and he also made it clear that this is a global issue, that "we're all in this together."

We've got to get rid of coronavirus from the entire world. You know, the US, we can see how tough it is here; likely it will be even worse in the developing countries who as yet don't have nearly as many cases. 

He also talked about testing in some detail, and how some folks might be missing the point, although he didn't name names.

...people have gotten confused and think it's just about numbers. the key is that you have to have a response to the test in less than 24 hours. And that you're prioritizing the right people...that allocation, prioritization of testing will be a key tactic for us to get into good shape. 

And, he agreed when Wallace asked if that should be done at the national level not a state level.  He also said that we're having to take more of an ad hoc approach, "because we never did a full-blown simulation."

There were a few things done, but it's not like war where we do war games all the time, we have people standing by, resources standing by in a dramatic level. You know, we're kind of figuring this out as we go...people are rising to the occasion and, you know, it's fantastic to see that, but, you know, every day we can see that case number is still going up.

Gates said that it's hard for people to put money into something that may never happen; we do it for fires, he said, because we've seen over time that we need to. And of course, we do it for war, too, he said - $600B a year's worth. But in the five years since he talked about this

less than 5% of what should have been done was done... people didn't get that this is the biggest single threat that could disrupt our way of life...even having predicted that as a risk. I'm really stunned at how...tough it is to go through this....the medical cost, the economic cost, the psychological cost. Everybody's lives have been completely upended and that's not just the United States, it's almost the entire world.

Before the interview ended, Gates gave us one more pep talk, reminding us that this was not the worst case. The fatality rate here, around 1%, is actually nothing like the 30% it would be if it were, say, smallpox.

This is super, super bad, but, you know, we will eventually get a vaccine. Even before that, if we do the right things, we'll be able to open up significant parts of the economy... I'm sure...once we get past this, we'll look back, understand what we could have done differently, and make sure that we're not letting it happen again... 

That's something we should take to heart.

Stay home as much as possible. If you do go out, practice social distancing, and wear a home-made mask. Wash your hands. Don't touch your face. Safely check on your neighbors. Do what you can to help your favorite small businesses. Be patient. Smile.

See you around campus. 

In Case You Missed it (v30)

How's your social distancing going, everyone still hanging in there?

If you need a distraction from being stared at by your pets, or trying to find something to talk about with your quarantine cellmate, here's a recap of last week's posts. Grab a cuppa and set a spell.

Sunday School brought us a conversation with presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Papa Joe Biden, who appeared in the MTP classroom. Biden had to navigate not only pandemic technological requirements, but also Chuck Todd's questions, which had me thinking they were designed to trip Biden up, rather than to educate people. Among other things, Todd asked Biden to critique Trump's handling of the coronavirus, and then followed up with this. 

You've been around government a long time. And you know there's a fine line between constructive criticism and backseat driving that can be disruptive. What do you believe that line is for you when it comes to critiquing President Trump right now?

And, there was this. 

Your campaign put out -- in a critique of President Trump and says, "If he doesn't do these things he could cost lives." Do you think there’s already -- do you think there is blood on the president's hands considering the slow response? Or is that too harsh of a criticism?

I devoted your Extra Credit to conversations with Dr. Deborah Birx and Superhero Disease Fighter Dr. Anthony Fauci. The latter talked with Jake Tapper on CNN's State of the Union, covering topics like how much longer we'd need the social distancing requirements. Among other things, if someone decides we need to relax those requirements, there better be a specific plan in place first. 

Because if you release the restrictions before you have a good eyeball on what's going on there, you're going to get in trouble. So, I'm not against releasing the restrictions. I'm actually for it in an appropriate place. But I don't recommend it unless we have the tools in place in real time to do the things I just said. 

A bit of quiet, seething bif of Ranting and Raving managed to escape from head. I got tired of seeing people agreeing with and sharing an op-ed about how the poor president was so focused on impeachment that he really couldn't devote the necessary time and attention to the coronavirus situation. He would have done way more better, I guess, if only he weren't so distracted by trying to defend himself.

Henry Olsen, the author of the op-ed that set me off, says that is long past time Dems put country over party and join together and sing Kumbaya or something. But it's not just Dems, it's not just Never Trumpers like me. The 'country over party' mantra

... most assuredly also applies to Republicans. Asking only people on the left to make the "country over party" declaration is as absurd as expecting the president to suddenly start acting like some who was elected leader of the free world. Don't tell me that - tell him that. He acts as if he doesn't believe it to be true, and he still has a laser focus on all who suggest he was undeserving.

And, no, I maintain,  

It's not impeachment that's making it harder for Trump, but I know what is: people like Olsen, who set the bar so much higher for people like me than they do for the president they so adore.

I hadn't done a Sidebar post in a while, but I was compelled to this week, as a companion to the rant about impeachment and making excuses for the president. I did a quick data pull, using search skills that any fifth-grader could have improved upon, to see what was really consuming the president's time and energy during January and February - and it wasn't impeachment that kept him so busy that he barely had time to do anything else, much less focus on saving the lives of Americans. For example, 

Would you be surprised that, as the White House was fighting for its very survival, the president managed to attend 10 rallies - or, on average, one every six days? 

During this very trying time for White House, the president managed to make nine trips to the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, which averages just under one trip every seven days.  

There's more too - his tweets, his fundraisers, and oh yeah - media coverage, which supposedly was 100% about impeachment. That, too, was not the case. 

As is my new plan, my Wondering on Wednesday posts include feel good stories from social-distancing land, as well as a little bit of politics. After all, this is a mostly political blog, and as they say, "no pain, no gain" or something. Because Florida was an early adopter of 'outsiders aren't welcome here", I spent some time looking at recent decisions made by the Sunshine State's friend-of-Trump Governor, Ron DeSantis.

... his executive order identifies religious services as an 'essential activity' and therefore excepted from the stay at home requirement, even though we've seen from around the world and around the country that attending religious activities can be a very risky proposition for many people. I have to wonder about DeSantis' decision, and similar decisions in other states, and I'm hopeful that people will stay safe.

And then it was Friday and time for TGIF. This week's edition included reference to a column by Stephen Moore, a Heritage Foundation/Ayn Rand guy, on government overreach during a time of pandemic, and how those big bad governors who are trying to keep their citizens alive are stepping on people's right to take foolish risks if they want to. That's fine with me.

I'd say we're at the point when allowing people their selfish rights can unnecessarily endanger the rest of us, but maybe that's just me. Like I said, I'm not big on the Bible, but I know about that Golden Rule thing, and since I wouldn't ignorantly infect anyone else with the coronavirus, I don't think anyone should be selfishly giving it to me.

And finally, there was this Trump in Transition post, all about Trump's insultingly childish and embarrassing tantrum, proudly shared by the White House - his playground bully letter to Senator Chuck Schumer, a man who's not averse to grandstanding every now and then himself  (what day is it?). Regardless of what Schumer said to, um, inspire Trump's response, the president was wrong to have responded. Supposedly he knew that, as reports indicated he didn't want the letter to actually go out. I'm not believing a word of it. 

...if he didn't want the letter to go out, it wouldn't be posted on the White House website right now, complete with a link to download a copy of the letter. That last part is important, because when the president sends a letter to Congress, there's no download link, just the text. When he issues a statement? No link. When he issues an Executive Order? No link.

In this case, he's so proud of himself that we can get our own copy of the letter, we can see how big and strong and angry his signature is, we can see how POWERFUL he is.

We can see how big a jerk he is.

Why yes, yes we can. 

So there you have it - the fully veritable pastiche from last week. I'll see you later with this week's Sunday School. 

Trump in Transition (v43)

Taking a break from attacking reporters on an almost daily basis for asking 'nasty' questions and trying to pin him down on what the heck he's talking about, the president sent a letter to NY's Senator Chuck Schumer.

The letter was in response to comments Schumer made in an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, I think, and comes at a time when the president regularly calls on all Americans to set politics aside, to come together for the good of the country, for our own health and safety, for the health and safety of our family, friends, perfect strangers, and yes, even people who do not share our political beliefs.

And once again, he ignores his own request, just as he's been ignoring his own rules of engagement during the pandemic. And once again, he exhibits the temperament of a hormonal teenager told to pick up their room or do their homework.

Senator Charles E. Schumer
United States Senator
Washington, D.C.  20515

Dear Senator Schumer:

Thank you for your Democrat public relations letter and incorrect sound bites, which are wrong in every way.

1. 1. As you are aware, Vice President Pence is in charge of the Task Force. By almost all accounts, he has done a spectacular job.
2. 2. The Defense Production Act (DPA) has been consistently used by my team and me for the purchase of billions of dollars’ worth of equipment, medical supplies, ventilators, and other related items. It has been powerful leverage, so powerful that companies generally do whatever we are asking, without even a formal notice.  They know something is coming, and that’s all they need to know.
3. 3. A “senior military officer” is in charge of purchasing, distributing, etc. His name is Rear Admiral John Polowczyk.  He is working 24 hours a day, and is highly respected by everyone.  If you remember, my team gave you this information, but for public relations purposes, you choose to ignore it.
4. 4. We have given New York many things, including hospitals, medical centers, medical supplies, record numbers of ventilators, and more. You should have had New York much better prepared than you did, and as Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx said yesterday, New York was very late in its fight against the virus.  As you are aware, the Federal Government is merely a back-up for state governments.  Unfortunately, your state needed far more of a back-up than most others.

If you spent less time on your ridiculous impeachment hoax, which went haplessly on forever and ended up going nowhere (except increasing my poll numbers), and instead focused on helping the people of New York, then New York would not have been so completely unprepared for the “invisible enemy.” No wonder AOC and others are thinking about running against you in the primary. If they did, they would likely win.

Fortunately, we have been working with your state and city governments, Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill De Blasio, to get the job done.  You have been missing in action, except when it comes to the “press.”  While you have stated that you don’t like Andrew Cuomo, you ought to start working alongside him for the good of all New Yorkers.

I’ve known you for many years, but I never knew how bad a Senator you are for the state of New York, until I became President.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call.  Or, in the alternative, call Rear Admiral Polowczyk.

Sincerely yours,

Donald J. Trump

In case anyone wants to try defend the president because he was only responding to what Chuck Schumer said, don't bother.

It wouldn't matter if Schumer said that the president was a petulant child who bigly needed a diaper change. It wouldn't matter if he said Ivanka was ugly, or if he said that Melania was a man, or if he said that Trump wasn't born here, he was hatched in giant egg in a carnival sideshow.

It doesn't matter one bit what Schumer said. Because the person elected president of the United States, the ostensible leader of the free world, needs to have skin thicker than the thinnest setting on a pasta maker. The president also needs to have a way to vent in private, and needs to be able to act like an adult, especially when being criticized. This president apparently doesn't have the former (or any inclination of finding one) and doesn't have the ability to do the latter (or any inclination thereof).

I'm also not entertaining the argument that Trump didn't want the letter to go out - because the letter did go out. For that to happen, he had to have the letter drawn up on White House stationery, and he had to scribble his name across the bottom of it. And he had to let someone take it from the Oval Office or wherever he was when he signed it, and mail it to Schumer's office. We know he has no self-control - and if he has so little control over the people who work for him that they sent it even if he didn't want them to, may even more shame rain down upon his head.

Not only that - if he didn't want the letter to go out, it wouldn't be posted on the White House website right now, complete with a link to download a copy of the letter. That last part is important, because when the president sends a letter to Congress, there's no download link, just the text. When he issues a statement? No link. When he issues an Executive Order? No link.

In this case, he's so proud of himself that we can get our own copy of the letter, we can see how big and strong and angry his signature is, we can see how POWERFUL he is.

We can see how big a jerk he is.

I'll leave you with a closing thought, from this Esquire article,

This letter should immediately be put on display at the National Archives as a warning to the nation of the consequences of electing a game-show host and failed casino grifter to the highest political office in the land.

TGIF 4/3/20

A little over a year ago, I joined my husband in retirement.

Before  that, I worked at home for several months, and so my husband and I have had a lot of time to get acclimated to this #AloneTogether stuff that many of my friends, and possibly many of yours, are now being forced to get used to -- and I'm glad that we didn't have to learn how to do this under the pressure of a pandemic, I've got to tell you. I hope you and yours are doing well, and hanging in.

Anyway...What a week, right?

More states have moved to mandatory statewide social distancing, but there are still eleven states where no such requirements are in place, or where only certain regions of the state is under some kind of requirement. Which is confusing to the experts on the White House Task Force, for sure, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, who thinks we should be under a national order.

The tension between federally mandated versus states' rights to do what they want is something I don't want to get into, but if you look at what's going on in this country, I just don't understand why we're not doing that — we really should be.

Now, about the argument about whether the feds or the states should be making the decisions? I stumbled upon this commentary by Stephen Moore, formerly of the Wall Street Journal and now of the Heritage Foundation. Like former House Speaker Paul Ryan, he's an Ayn Rand devotee. He notes in his commentary that, in many surveys, Rand's Atlas Shrugged "rates as the second most influential book of all time, behind the Bible." I'm not well versed enough on either book to comment, but anyway -- here's what he has to say about all of this.

We are living through the Ayn Rand dystopia right now. We have given police-state powers to the government to shut down "nonessential businesses" and tell the people whether they can play golf or go for a hike. Some of these measures may make sense based on public health, but at what point are we degrading the rights of individuals to choose risks for themselves? 

I'd say we're at the point when allowing people their selfish rights can unnecessarily endanger the rest of us, but maybe that's just me. Like I said, I'm not big on the Bible, but I know about that Golden Rule thing, and since I wouldn't ignorantly infect anyone else with the coronavirus, I don't think anyone should be selfishly giving it to me.

Meanwhile, speaking of Dr. Fauci, he's being memorialized with a bobblehead, and at the same time he's getting a security detail, due to threats from, well, from people I don't even know how to describe. The bobblehead, though? For every doll sold, $5 of the purchase price will be donated to the American Hospital Association for their efforts to obtain PPE for healthcare workers.

The pandemic is making a mess of our election processes; 15 states have postponed or changed how they're holding primaries. Not only that, but the DNC has pushed out their convention from mid-July to mid-August. The RNC is still planning on holding theirs as originally scheduled, in late August, although I supposed both of the events are still subject to change. And of course, it makes one wonder whether these are even necessary anyway?

On the Dem side, there's no official indication yet on whether That Guy From Vermont will step aside and endorse Papa Joe Biden, but there is indication that he still gets grumpy whenever people ask him about it. When Whoopi Goldberg demanded to know what his path to victory was, "because this feels a little like it did when you didn't come out when Hillary Clinton was clearly the person folks were going for," he 'sniped'

People have a right, last I heard, people in democracy have the right to vote for the agenda that they think can work for America, especially in this very, very difficult moment. We are assessing our campaign, as a matter of fact, where we want to go forward, but people in a democracy do have a right to vote. 

He also pointed out, or snapped, the article linked above says,

I'm sitting in my home right now. I'm not holding a rally in Wisconsin because of the nature of campaigns right now. 

And speaking of Wisconsin, that's the only state still holding a primary next Tuesday, out of the eleven that were scheduled. A federal judge has declined to delay the primary, but he's not really happy about it, it seems. US District Judge William Conley made clear that he disagreed with the state's decision to go forward with the election, but he explained that he was constrained to consider only the constitutional rights of voters - not public health." In his decision, he noted

Without doubt, the April 7 election day will create unprecedented burdens not just for aspiring voters, but also for poll workers, clerks and indeed the state. As much as the court would prefer that the Wisconsin Legislature and Governor consider the public health ahead of any political considerations, that does not appear in the cards. Nor is it appropriate for a federal district court to act as the state's chief health official by taking that step for them. 

On, Wisconsin, or something.

Back to the presidential race, I will echo the thoughts of many that Papa Joe is in a horrible position here. First of all, he's not good sitting in his basement trying to connect - he's old school, and does better in person. Second of all, he's not in office now, and so can't point to all of the things he's doing to make a difference, like TGFV can do. And third, and maybe most importantly, he's stuck in Delaware while the president is babbling on television for as long he wants, every day. Every. Single. Day.

TGIF, everyone. Be safe.

Wondering on Wednesday (v202)

Ready... Set... Wonder!

So, what's on my mind?  Well, for starters,why do technical difficulties always hit when I'm trying to get out a day-specific post? You know, like my Wondering on Wednesday posts? 

Moving on from whining to more important wondering, let's go to Florida, where it seems Gov. Ron DeSantis has had a change of heart and instead of just requiring people from other states to quarantine for 14 days (or the duration of their trip, if shorter),he's finally issued a state-wide stay at home order. And, it seems, he might be at loggerheads with his good buddy the president about the fate of the two cruise ships currently begging to be allowed to dock in Broward County. 

While Trump recently said he'd be talking to DeSantis about the ships, focusing as he is on the humanity of it all, DeSantis doesn't want them to come in (emphasis added).

I obviously am not in control of the port. that's run by the counties in southern Florida, in this case Broward County. I know they're in consultation with the cruise ships. Clearly we're going to be willing to accept any Floridians on board.

And that made me wonder what the Gov thinks should happen to non-Floridian Americans on those cruise ships? I mean, if you're from Missouri, or Iowa, or Minnesota or Wisconsin or Utah or Colorado or North Dakota or West Virginia or Ohio or Kansas or Arkansas or Oklahoma, how are you supposed to get home, if you can't first get off the darn boat?

Staying with Gov. DeSantis for a moment longer, his executive order identifies religious services as an 'essential activity' and therefore excepted from the stay at home requirement, even though we've seen from around the world and around the country that attending religious activities can be a very risky proposition for many people. I have to wonder about DeSantis' decision, and similar decisions in other states, and I'm hopeful that people will stay safe.

Now - let's get to the fun stuff, shall we? The things about which I can only wonder, is there no limit to our creativity, to our desire to make the best of a bad situation?

• Here's a shout-out to folks in Buffalo, NY, who've got a lot of fun quarantine activities going on. There are family porch portraits and there's Yoga Steve and there's the neighborhood dance party
• I mentioned last week that a teacher had made signs for her students, and other teachers are coming up with ways to stay connected with their students. Yesterday here in Onondaga County, teachers from a local elementary school held a parade (motorcade?) through the neighborhoods where their students live.
• This family, from Kent (UK) performed a parody of One Day More, one of the songs from Les Mis, and it's priceless!
• Chalk art! Remember that from when you were a kid?  Here's a story about the beautiful and hopeful art that folks are making out in Southern California.
• And one more dance party, because this grandfather/granddaughter thing is just so darn cute. 

I wonder, what's happening your neck of the woods? Got any suggestions on how to make the best of social distancing? Drop a note in the comments!

Sidebar: Ranting and Raving (v4): It's not the Impeachment, Stupid

I wanted to share some additional information related to my earlier post on how it's not impeachment that's messing up the president's response to the coronavirus crisis.  

That post was prompted by a Henry Olsen column from about a week ago in the Washington Post. One of Olsen's points was that the impeachment process was slogging along back in January and February, and that was the same time China was in the thick of battle with the virus, and (emphasis added)

Despite the near certainty that Republicans would not vote to convict the president, Democrats and most of the major media were almost entirely focused on impeachment. As a result, the White House was focused on addressing this threat to its survival, not on preparing for a threat from China that might never even materialize.

I wanted to see if what Olsen suggested - that the White House was basically consumed with trying to survive, and so couldn't also focus on the potential COVID-19 threat, so I did a little digging. Here's what I found.

I reviewed the activity just on the president's primary Twitter account (there's also the White House account, the @POTUS account, his campaign account, and others who reliably talk about whatever he wants them to) and found that he tweeted or retweeted 1,834 times in January and February - around 30 times a day. I searched that activity for a few keywords, to see what was on his mind.

In case you were wondering, he mentioned coronavirus/virus 28 times, and COVID-19 once.  When it comes to topics likely related to impeachment, he was much more active: 

• 197 mentions of impeach/impeachment
• 197 mentions of Democrats
•  99 mentions for Adam Schiff
•  65 mentions of some kind of hoax
•  65 mentions of Nancy/Nancy Pelosi
•  60 mentions of Dems
•  49 mentions of fake (most of them fake news)
•  29 mentions of Biden (Joe or Hunter)
•  26 mentions of Russia
•  24 mentions of Ukraine
•  15 mentions of FISA
•  14 mentions of whistleblower
•  12 mentions of Romney

But, it's not like he was slacking on other subjects, including calling Democratic presidential candidates names, endorsing Republicans, and other presidential things:

• 57 mentions of Bernie/Bernie Sanders
• 40 mentions of debate/debates
• 37 mentions of poll/polls/polling
• 35 mentions of Michael Bloomberg (including Mini Mike)
• 25 mentions of China
• 25 mentions of endorsement (my complete and total endorsement, e.g.)
• 11 mentions of Stone/Roger Stone
• 10 mentions of Pocahontas/Warren

As expected, whether he was talking about impeachment things or non-impeachment things, he was definitely focused on himself. But here's the thing: when you have over 57,000,000 legitimate Twitter followers (and another 15,000,000 fake ones) you can push any message you want, and before you know it, what you are talking about becomes what the media is talking about. 

Would you be surprised that, as the White House was fighting for its very survival, the president managed to attend 10 rallies - or, on average, one every six days? 

During this very trying time for White House, the president managed to make nine trips to the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, which averages just under one trip every seven days.  

He also attended four fundraisers, two each month, or one every 15 days, on average. These were important to the president's own survival instincts, and raised tens of millions of dollars. One of them would have cost me and My Sweet Baboo a pretty $580,600 to attend, if we wanted the full treatment. One of the fundraisers was all the way across the country in California, not at all near his beloved Palm Beach. 

And finally, I looked at media coverage, just from Olsen's own paper, the WaPo. Would it surprise you that, in January alone, there were over 200 articles or posts that included the word 'coronavirus', and in February, there were over 600?  Or that the articles and videos were across all categories of the news spectrum? Politics, health, technology, finance, the economy, opinion, travel/leisure, lifestyle, entertainment and more?

That's an average of just over 13 mentions a day, compared to the president's average of around 2 per day.

Olsen can say that the focus was on impeachment, but I'd say that, as always, Trump was focused on his favorite subject: the one he sees in the mirror. The one who likes to golf, who likes to visit his own properties (and charge us dearly for the privilege), who likes to raise money for his own political survival, and who loves to be the center of attention.

And, of course, who loves to make everything bad good again, or at the very least, point the blame fingers in someone else's directions.

Again, it's not impeachment that drags him down. It's him.