Monday, July 20, 2020

The Pachyderm in the Room


The big news out of Washington this weekend was that the President of the United States was able to identify an elephant. Mr. Trump himself celebrated his accomplishment by claiming that he had “aced” a test. One is glad that he has earned his merit badge in animal naming, and that he announced his feat in—what was for him—a minimal over-the-top fashion. One suspects that if Junior, who likes to kill beasts that can’t shoot back at him, had conquered an elephant, he would have dragged the carcass onto the stage in front of cameras.

In truth, though, it must be admitted that not all Capital observers were buying the Trump story, for it has been whispered that Mr. Trump may have a slight penchant for telling porkies.*

Still, one might be inclined on this occasion to believe him. After all, the elephant is the symbol of the Republican party, so how could he fail to recognize one? 

And one ventures the guess that Mr. Trump also would have had no trouble identifying the symbol of the Democratic party—the donkey. Indeed, he is probably more familiar with its features than that of the elephant. For every morning, when he looks into the mirror to construct the yellow edifice on the top of his head, he sees an ass.

*

Incidentally, at this point in time, there has been no word on what other mammals or marsupials Mr. Trump is an ace at identifying.

***

* Cockney rhyming slang: “lies” = “pork pies,” or “porkies” for short. 

Sunday, July 19, 2020

On The Road


I have just finished reading—back-to-back—two articles on the New Yorker website. The first is a report from Munich, Germany on the steps taken by the authorities to fight the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The second is a chronicle of an automobile trip from California to New York during the virus crisis in the United States. I recommend reading both pieces, especially back-to back.

The first article, “How Munich Turned Its Coronavirus Outbreak Into a Scientific Study” by Elisabeth Zerofsky,* details how scientists and medical professionals, having received a million euros from the government implemented a wide-spread testing and tracing program. Scientists established a protocol for home visits:
careful precautions [were] taken to establish public trust: after the initial knock, the team members explained who they were and what they would be doing. Residents don’t have to immediately agree to participate, as a separate team would return to take the first blood samples. The study also attracted a great deal of press attention, so residents often already knew about it.
The program was welcomed. Someone exclaimed, “I was hoping so much that you guys would come to my door!” 

*

On June 23, Michael Specter, a scientist, professor, and writer, hustled his dog into his car for his biannual trip back to the east coast from Palo Alto, California. He recorded his journey in an article entitled “Driving Cross-Country: A Coronavirus Diary.”**

Considering the great number of virus-deniers, non-maskwearers, and crowds he encountered, it would have been astonishing if Specter would have been able to report that people across the country were welcoming PPE-clad testers into their homes. Even Specter’s mask was off-putting to people: “Oh, honey . . .You don’t have to wear that thing in here. It’s a bit much, don’t you think?” said a motel clerk to Specter, who, besides masks and gloves, had brought along on his journey “enough hand sanitizer to disinfect the nation.”

In Las Vegas, Specter “counted a hundred and thirty-seven people during my thirty-minute stroll, and only seventeen wore masks.” Not a very effective way to confront the pandemic. “[W]e were not born with masks on,” a woman accurately and stupidly informed him.

In Utah, Specter read in the newspaper that the state epidemiologist was quoted as saying, 
For three straight weeks now, our cases have been increasing at a rate that isn’t sustainable . . . .We are at risk for overwhelming our hospital capacity. 
And how did the politicians hop to it to see that the populace would be safe? 
Victor Iverson, the Washington County commissioner and a candidate for lieutenant governor at the time, declared that he “will never wear a mask.” He had had it with the pandemic talk. “I think it’s time to get back to normal,” he said. “Our citizens want to be free. And we’re done.”
Things did get better; Specter notes that as he drove east, “rules, in general, are stricter and compliance seemingly better.” But, overall, a very discouraging journey.

As part of his summing up, he says, 
I don’t know what I expected from this trip, but I was surprised at how little attention people seemed to pay to the virus. I once wrote a book called “Denialism,” but I could never have imagined that so many people could be so committed to ignoring reality. 

*

Bavaria is historically a conservative German state. But its efforts to use scientific and medical knowledge to prevent the spread of COVID-19 proves that to be politically conservative does not mean you have to be a flaming loonie.

Then again, there’s yesterday’s headline:
Trump administration seeking to block funding for CDC, contact tracing and testing in new relief bill: report***
*

Americans like to proclaim that they are living in the greatest country in the world. Our deluded northern neighbors, the Canadians, with their much lower per-capita coronavirus death toll and their free health care system, think that they are. Their dollar coin is called the “loonie.”

You don’t have to flip one to determine who’s right.

***



Friday, July 10, 2020

It Ain't Me, Babe

This blog post draws upon the following article for the facts of the case:

https://news.yahoo.com/still-unclear-who-ordered-action-against-protesters-at-lafayette-park-defense-secretary-says-222356838.html

*

Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee was incredulous:
I find that hard to believe. I’m sorry, but it’s like a pretty big decision, a lot of people there, everyone’s there, and it just sort of happened? 
Smith was reacting to testimony by Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who told Congress on Thursday that he did not know 
who gave the widely denounced order to clear peaceful antiracism protesters from Lafayette Park, across the White House, early last month.
       “It’s still unclear to me who gave the direction to clear the park at       that moment in time” . . .
Esper acknowledged to the House Armed Services Committee that the National Guard was present on the scene, but said that it played only “a static role” and did not take part in the controversial clearing. "The Guard did not advance on the crowd,” he told lawmakers.  
But under questioning, Esper could not say who had given the order for the National Guard to take even that limited role. 
Maybe it was Attorney General William Barr (who is so far up Trump’s ass that he won’t see daylight for at least ten years) who was the instigator of the riotous clearance of peaceful protestors from Lafayette Square. “I’m not involved in giving tactical commands like that,” claimed Barr. 

Well then, perhaps it was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, who trooped in his combat fatigues behind Trump to St. John’s church, where the narcissicist-in-chief posed with a Bible (as he pointed out, not “his” Bible, just “a” Bible). Milley said, “I don’t know with certainty,” who did what, claiming that there had been a planning session earlier in the day at FBI headquarters at which “they divided up who was gonna do what to whom.” 

But who were the “they?” Milley “seemed to suggest, as Barr did to the AP, that a commander of the Park Police was responsible.”

One somehow doubts that a Park policeman could deploy National Guard troops and helicopters.

Of course, this whole denial business fits the MO of the Trump administration, led as it is by Mr. “I-Take-No-Responsibility” himself. 

Speaking of whom, did Trump play no role in wanting the plaza cleared of peaceful demonstrators so that he could have his photo op?

And an even better question: what efficacy could 
And Attai begat Nathan, and Nathan begat Zabad,
And Zabad begat Ephlal, and Ephlal begat Obed,
And Obed begat Jehu, and Jehu begat Azariah,
And Azariah begat Helez, and Helez begat Eleasah,
And Eleasah begat Sisamai, and Sisamai begat Shallum,
And Shallum begat Jekamiah, and Jekamiah begat Elishama.
have as a riposte to “Black Lives Matter”?

*

No one was driving, officer. We were all in the back seat.

Peter Lind Hayes

*

No, no, no, it ain't me, babe,
It ain't me you're lookin' for, babe.

Bob Dylan

*

And the theme of the day: "I know nothing."