Wednesday, February 26, 2020

 Gonna knock out a quick one today because last's nights piece wore me slap out. Putting that much effort and research into a piece raises my blood pressure and gives a mess of a headache. I thought it was just hardcore political writing that was whipping me like a mean dog, but no, it's just that much work wears me down, whether it's intensely political or not. Don't know quite how to take that.

 And since someone finally poked the Blind Idiot God this morning, Trump gave a speech this evening after spending the morning blaming the Democrats and the media for stirring everyone else in order to "get him" somehow. Undoubtedly, he got this from Medal Of Freedom winner Rush Limbaugh, who spent all day yesterday railing on this and all day today claiming that Trump proved him right. You'd think instead of staying a professional butthole he'd be trying to stay healthy himself - most of the deaths from CORVID-19 have occurred in people with weakened immune systems and he has lung cancer, mind - and spend his more time with his loved ones while he can, but there you go.

 Of course, this has trickled down to the lesser wingnut goons, blaming the Democrats while simultaneously moaning that everyone was blaming Lord Trump. Congress got in on the fun, too, with Marco Rubio, The Man With The Liquid Spine And Cushioned Kneecaps, bemoaning China's influence on our medical supply, despite that being the result of conservative policies and Rubio's dumb as a stump. Health And Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, in answering questions, couldn't guarantee that when discovered, affordable vaccine would be available because free market and fuck you. Hey, if nothing else, the masks are being ripped off in the Trump era.

 Perhaps the single dumbest thing being taken as gospel by the drooling millions in the Trump cult is that the Center For Disease Control can't be trusted because the doctor in charge of figuring this all out is related to someone who made the fanbase mad. No, really. Dr. Nancy Messonnier is the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases is very well respected in her field, award winning with an impressive bio.

 She's also Rod Rosenstein's sister. Remember him? He was the Deputy Attorney General who was a faith assistant lackey of Trump's consigliere Bill "The Pope" Barr until Fox News decided he was responsible for the Mueller Report and the mean ol' Democrats not taking Barr's Cliff Notes version as enough. So, of course, all this is "Deep State" trying to bring down the Chosen One because the world actually works like a third-rate political thriller. Apparently this developed from one of those Q weirdos fever-dream threads and metastasized by Limbaugh and Fox's pet racist pee-paw Lou Dobbs, among others. If Trump isn't tweeting this out by Friday, I for one will be shocked.

 In any event, budget hearings to tackle CORVID-19 are being planned by Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi, and Trump's mulling appointing a "coronavirus czar". I seem to remember czars being a bad thing when Obama was in office, but what the hell, nothing matters anymore. In the meantime, he's put Vice-President Mike "Remember Me? Anyone?" Pence "in charge" of the CORVID-19 response, though you're guess is as good as mine what that means or what that weird bastard will do with that mandate.

 So, there's that there, then. If you're less than confident and that the dippy bastard in the White House and his coterie of criminal, thugs and outright morons will handle this potentially hellacious event with anything coming close to competency, intelligence or compassion, take heart the rest of the world is on the case. Sometime this morning, more new cases of CORVID-19 were reported outside China than there were in country. Something like 10 cases in China but 2,790 in the rest of the world. Interestingly, the vast majority of cases were reported in South Korea with 1,261.

 That fills me with a little more confidence, I don't know about you. South Korea doesn't screw around when it comes to technological advancement. If nothing else, the future of the human race isn't as shaky as all that. Some comfort, I suppose.

EDIT: After I finished this and while I was eating supper, the CDC confirmed the first case of CORVID-19 in the United States that has a "community spread" unknown origin. That is, the first case where the infected hadn't traveled to China recently. Buckle up, it's going to get bumpier.

 Lastly, there was another mass shooting today, this time in Milwaukee. Six people just trying to make a living were killed at the Molson Coors plant. So far, not much is known about who or why except the gunman died of a self-inflicted head shot. This was the 51st mass shooting this year.

 I have nothing at all flip or clever to say about that.