The people who stand behind Donald Trump at press conferences/mini rallies and keep a straight face, or give the slightest of head nods- are they not hearing what everyone else is hearing? Or are they afraid of stepping out of line? Maybe this is why Mike Pence always looks ashen faced and ghost-like.

It’s outrageous that they don’t step in and grab the mic away from him. How can they stand there and say and do nothing while he spews his constant stream of sewage? Are they really that loyal? Do they agree with what he’s saying? Do any of them feel like they are on the horns of a moral dilemma by serving in his administration?  

Or do they actually think he’s a stable genius and just terribly misunderstood?  Seems like that ship sailed a long time ago.

The juxtaposition of bird songs and Springtime and a world besieged by covid-19.

The prospect of restricted movement not just until May, but maybe September, or a year from now. Without widespread testing and contact tracing and a vaccine, all our trips to the grocery store or back to work are second-guessed, calculated, risky and potentially harmful. But how risky? We need to know!

Will the sentiment be to return to church, sitting six feet apart and wearing masks? Sounds ridiculous to me. Or is cyber worship where we’re at for the foreseeable future?

How long can we behave like a nation of boorish old men and perennially rebellious two-year olds? It’s time to get our collective act together and stop playing games with peoples’ lives.

The logic is irrefutable– we start things up too quickly and we’ll be right back in the middle of the mess we’re only beginning to emerge from. The federal government has to grow a pair and do its part to relieve some of the anxiety over needing to work and put food on the table. Grassroots efforts are great and heartwarming, but more is needed.

Everyone seems to have an opinion on the best way to handle this. Just emulate South Korea, or Massachusetts, and be done with it. And dispense with the concern over “Draconian” measures. I think people just like saying the word “Draconian.” In typical media-hype fashion, it’s an over-reaction and an unhelpful choice of words. There are no free societies when a lethal pandemic arrives in your own back yard. And front yard. And your kitchen and living room. Are we really willing to pay the price for staying “free?” Coronavirus isn’t Pearl Harbor, yet the same whole-hearted, unified response to the threat is called for.

It’s actually a starkly simple choice: either attack the virus with all the means we have at our disposal (or will have, hopefully), including seemingly oppressive and invasive measures like social distancing, testing, and contact tracing. OR we put our precious “rights” on a pedestal and watch as many more die unnecessarily and society shudders with the fallout anyway. All because we’re Americans and nobody or no microscopic thing is going to get the best of us? Or because a heartless slug really wants to get re-elected and keep “winning”?

What means more to us– flesh and blood people, or some ideal that has often looked good on paper? Perhaps we need a mindset shift from individual rights to societal responsibilities. Or obligations. Coronavirus is forcing us to decide.

As with other things, maybe there is a workable middle road. But this would mean having faith that those in positions of authority have a clear-headed, unbiased understanding of the way forward. I don’t think that’s possible at the moment, given the current toxic, partisan climate.

It sucks when you’re wondering who to trust.

I officiated a funeral service a while back for a relatively young man who had died in a motorcycle accident. As I recall, this guy had a need for speed and a rebel streak a mile wide, sort of a James Dean wannabe. He may have had a death wish, too. No one could tell him what to do. His family loved him but were concerned for him. His demise came as no surprise, in a way.

Certain details of the accident are etched on my brain, though the passage of time has dulled some of it. What I do remember being told is that he was traveling at a high rate of speed, lost control of the bike, and lost multiple limbs as well. A responder at the scene did their best to comfort him while life ebbed away.

But hey, let it never be said that he didn’t live life on his terms. He went out in dramatic fashion, his loved ones and the rest of the world be damned.

I mention all this because it seems there are too many people embracing a similar attitude when it comes to the coronavirus. Cavalier and dismissive, self-centered, tinged with an irrational defiance born of… what? A suspicion of reasonable people? A distrust of facts? A certain fatalism that just says, “Oh, what the hell?”

Or is it just that old mainstay: “No one is going to tell me how to live my life”? I’ll agree that there are times when that attitude serves us well. The current situation isn’t one of them.

There’s a difference between stubbornness and dogged determination. Stubbornness is often stupid on the face of it. Stupidity wears stubbornness on its sleeve like a badge of honor. The “hold my beer” crowd often get their 15 minutes of fame because they think dancing on a wobbly table is funny, or skateboarding on a hand rail is impressive, or sliding down a set of stairs in a laundry basket will always end well.

Impaired judgment aside, people like to show off, respond to a dare, flirt with disaster and tempt fate, willing to risk embarrassment and bodily harm for a laugh or the opportunity to say “I told you so.” They revel in the “challenge.” Fine. Knock yourselves out.

Just don’t confuse your YouTube shenanigans with actual life and death decisions. Like in the coming days when the temptation will be to ignore continued warnings about gathering in crowds and underestimating the staying power of this virus.

Don’t fall for the lame and misplaced concern over infringement of constitutional rights. We aren’t free to do whatever we damn well please, especially now.

With apologies for the dated reference, do you remember the scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind when Roy Neary dares to take off his gas mask and discovers that (spoiler alert), yes, the air is indeed ok to breathe? This isn’t that.

To all you naysayers and strict constructionists out there– no one has anointed you judge, jury, and executioner. And don’t listen to the man behind the curtain, the one with the lifeless eyes. Or the one currently occupying the White House. Neither one could care less about you. Well, except as potential votes and stooges who have no problem telling them how great they are at their jobs.

It’s telling, especially of late, when one watches Trump stand at a podium and read the words of a prepared statement. He makes it look like a tedious chore, for one thing, like he’d rather be golfing or anywhere but where he is. And the words themselves create a certain dissonance, like he didn’t have much to do with their creation.

I know– all Presidents have speech writers, and sometimes it seems like they’re just going through the motions. But Trump is different, and not in a good way. He’s a mouthpiece for Stephen Miller and his ilk. If one listens to Trump close enough, one can often get an earful of the twisted and hateful word stew that only the likes of Miller could conjure from his stash of spider larvae and eye of newt mixed with a dash of his spectacularly dark world view.

Stop funding for the WHO, in the middle of a pandemic? Sounds like something Stephen Miller could recommend. With a smile.

No, not a smile. A shit-eating grin.

I’m growing weary of the sob stories, the apocalyptic headlines, and the incessant coverage of the hardships our health workers are facing. Yes, we know all too well of their trials and tribulations: they’re working long hours, seeing way too much suffering and death, living in hotel rooms, separated from their families, dealing with shortages of PPE. We’re well aware of their sacrifices and challenges, and gratitude is in order. But there is no need to cover it all day every day. Hear that, NBC, ABC, CBS, and the rest? Focus instead on the idiot in the White House and his unwillingness to actually lead.

And it is beyond irritating to hear people complaining about infringement of their civil rights. Does this seem like a normal situation to anyone? This isn’t Business As Usual, and the maddening insistence on getting back to it shouldn’t make it happen any quicker. It’s true what Dr. Fauci and others are saying- the virus dictates when we get back to whatever there is to get back to. Unless we just want to ignore the likelihood of multiple waves of infection, let the chips fall where they may regarding who lives and dies, and settle for herd immunity. Is this what people really want?

This is the USA, dammit. Get the testing up to speed!!

And if I hear or read “We’ll get through this together” one more time, I’m gonna puke. There is no other way to get through something like this. And we are not together at the moment, despite what the auto makers, insurance companies, investment firms, big pharma, law offices, mega banks, and fast food restaurants are selling in their latest ads.

The President tweets something incendiary and stupid, then his aids have to come to the rescue with that damned follow-up spin. His comments are recast in such a way that all is “explained,” that he didn’t say what he said.

I wonder if they ever feel like someone who has a puppy that can’t get the hang of going outside– tired of having to clean up the messes.

Health or wealth?

That was the bold headline of an article I saw the other day. Do we open things back up and let the chips fall where they may, with regard to a relapse and a second round of infections? Or do we show restraint and `err’ on the side of patience, hopefully minimizing the suffering and loss?

I guess one could argue that there will be suffering and loss either way. Where’s Solomon when you need him? Certainly nowhere to be found in the present administration. Except maybe Dr. Fauci, though Trump seems to have been able to put a muzzle on him, too.

It’s an administrative black hole.

I vote for health.

You can’t have it both ways, Donald, though your whole life reflects somehow being able to get away with that.

You can’t wash your hands of oversight when it comes to testing and material procurement in the middle of a pandemic, but then claim you have the power to set a date and dictate when everyone will go back to work.

You really don’t care about people, do you? You and Stephen Miller and the rest- you all really have no affinity for wise and compassionate governance. It’s all about some sick fixation on power and getting your way. And winning. Always winning. Plenty of winning. My, such winning.

My, you’re awful. The whole lot of you.

Donald Trump. The mere mention of the name gives me a sinking feeling. His new mantra is “open things up in early May,” or some such nonsense, even if doing so would most likely spur an uptick in covid cases, a relapse if you will. Trump and the rest of his black hats are too willing to sacrifice more human life so his only claim to fame, his baby, can get back on its feet. Without a robust economy, Trump can claim nothing. So ramp it up, right Donald? What’s a few thousand more deaths in the bigger scheme of things? Gotta think about re-election.

The right thing for Trump to do at this point is to declare that he will not be seeking a second term. He needs to walk away before he has a chance to inflict any more damage. I’ll wait for folks to stop laughing…

He blew the response to the virus but he will never, ever admit that. He downplayed the gravity of it, and of course the result of such magical thinking was inaction, confusion, woeful unpreparedness, and avoidable suffering and death. Instead of spearheading a robust federal response, he left it to the states and local municipalities to fend for themselves. Though if everyone does get up to speed, he’ll sit back and take credit for that, somehow.

People listen to him. I don’t know why, but people listen to him. He doesn’t say anything, but people hang on his every word like he’s some sort of seer or oracle or something. Fascinating, in a morbid sort of way.

We have to stop stroking his damned ego, stop feeding the beast.