Maybe It's Time to Cull the Herd. Could this be why we now have the Covid-19 pandemic?

Image by Shutterbug75 from Pixabay

Okay, I don’t consider myself to be an expert in epidemiology, even though I spent my life working in the medical field. But I think I possess a good measure of intelligence and the common sense that if I don’t know something I will seek out information from experts who do know something. That includes the coronavirus.

I know that if I see someone with a cold, that person is infected by the virus which causes the common cold. I also know that unless I want to cough and sneeze and feel miserable for a week to ten days I should stay away from that person. Of course, we are not always conscious of who around us is suffering from a cold and we don’t always take precautions to prevent getting that cold. Sometimes we throw caution to the wind and don’t take any precautions and are willing to suffer the consequences.

During the autumn and winter months of every year, most of us become a bit more cautious because this time of year is commonly called the flu season. A high number of people receive the flu vaccine in hopes of not contracting the flu or at least getting a less virulent form of the flu. Most of us also are more aware of those around us who are showing symptoms and try to avoid those people. If a person has symptoms of the flu we know they can infect us and we can avoid contact with them. Not this coronavirus though.

Even though the seasonal flu can kill those in high-risk groups, such as the elderly, the immunocompromised and those with chronic respiratory conditions, such as asthma and COPD, the flu virus is not as highly contagious as the coronavirus. A person with the flu can spread the virus during the first day before exhibiting symptoms up to 5–7 days after becoming sick. So generally we know who to avoid to prevent being infected. In most cases, a completely healthy person will not spread the flu virus. If we cover our mouths when we cough and sneeze into our elbows when we sneeze we can help prevent spreading the virus. Of course as always, during cold and flu season and all seasons we should frequently wash our hands.

The coronavirus is deadly different. The CDC estimates it to be twice as contagious as the seasonal flu, which means that for the flu each sick person will affect 1.2 people, whereas the coronavirus will affect 2 to 2,5 people for every person infected. According to the CDC 1 in 1000 people die from the seasonal flu, whereas 10 in 1000 people die from Covid-19, making it 10 times deadlier.

supporting conservatives demonstrated against the stay at home orders given by Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Protesters wearing MAGA hats and waving MAGA flags and other Trump paraphernalia assembled in a tightly packed crowd in defiance of social distancing rules demanding their freedom. The scene was more reminiscent of a scene from the Zombie Apocolypse than a peaceful gathering of intelligent citizens practicing their freedom of speech.

A total of eight GOP governors have refused to issue stay at home orders to protect their citizens from the coronavirus for reasons ranging from self-quarantining being a matter of personal choice to issues of state’s rights. Interestingly these eight states were states that voted heavily in favor of Trump in 2016 and the ones he hopes to carry in 2020. The governors have chosen to please Trump instead of protecting the citizens of their respective states. And those morons are okay with that.

The state in which I live, New York State, has a Democratic Governor, Andrew Cuomo, who has, in my opinion, done a far better job of leading during this pandemic than the Moron-in Chief Trump has done. However, I live in a heavily Republican community where nothing a Democrat does could ever be seen as good. And this situation is no exception. Because these people watch Fox News they think Trump has done a fantastic job, while Cuomo has been trying to take their rights away. There were even rumors spread that Cuomo was sending busloads of dying Covid-19 patients from NYC to upstate New York so they could infect the people there. This is the way Republicans up here think!

For the average somewhat intelligent person it is difficult to understand how some people can be not acting in their best interest. I not only get annoyed and angry at their stupidity, but I also get fearful of their actions. I could give a shit if they become infected and die, but I do care that they could infect me or my loved ones. They’re not only being stupid they are being negligent and are possibly committing assault or even murder. If a person wants to kill himself by jumping off a tall building that’s okay with me, but when they jump and land on me, that’s a different story.

Other than the danger of these fools infecting myself and others there is the ever-present danger that these fools will again vote for Trump, after not realizing that he made the pandemic much worse. If we look at what types of people comprise Trump’s base we may look differently at how we feel about what they are doing in defiance of the know facts and logic regarding this pandemic.

Trump’s supporters include white supremacists, misogynists, religious bigots, homophobes, racists, Nazis, and the miscreants of society. Or as Hilary called them, “deplorables”. All of these people together managed to elect this sorry excuse of a human being. This happened because so many people did not vote, thinking that it would not make a difference. Even though these deplorables are sadly outnumbered their votes counted. And it could happen again.

As this pandemic continues to change the way we live and work, or not work, the same people will resist what is good for themselves and the general population. Those same ignorant fools will gather in large numbers in their Red states without masks in defiance of the experts. They will continue to join their MAGA neighbors in the bars and the churches, while the rest of us continue to social distance. They will continue to scoff at science and belittle the healthcare workers risking their lives to save us all. And then, little by little, or big by big, they will begin to get sick and die off. Trump’s base will be decimated, saving the rest of our society. They will never listen to reason, so maybe they should be left to their fate.

Warning! MAGA hats are not PPEs!

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While New York and California are battling an uphill battle against the coronavirus, led by Governors Cuomo and Newsom, both Democrats, Red state governors are sitting by with their thumbs stuck up their asses and lips firmly planted on Trump’s ass. They are following the lead of their fat bastard leader and rejecting sound medical advice from specialists like Dr. Anthony Fauci, who know what the hell they’re doing.

As the virus was attacking New York City, Chicago, California and Washington state, and other states that happened to be Blue states, those governors ordered stay at home or shelter-in-place rules to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Red state governors, like the asshole in Florida, Gov. DeSantis, welcomed spring break revelers to the beaches of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and other beach resorts. Republican government officials in Kansas scoffed at preparing for the pandemic saying “we don’t have many Chinese people in Kansas”. Hey if Trump said the threat would be over in a few days, what’s the worry?

As Trump ignored warnings about the coronavirus, for fear of it hurting his re-election efforts and his financial holdings, the virus gained a stronghold in New York City and Washington state. For over two months Trump and his cohorts in the administration lied about the seriousness of the virus and downplayed the dangers to the American public. He placed the most incompetent and unqualified people in positions of organizing and directing the government’s response to this deadly disease. The only task he gave them was to kiss his ass at every opportunity and to praise his woefully inadequate handling of this crisis during the daily press briefings.

Now that both the number of cases and the deaths are increasing at an alarming rate, a few of the deplorable Republican governors are starting to wake up. Those who took joy in seeing Gov. Cuomo beg for life-saving supplies now realize that Covid-19 does not discriminate between Republican and Democratic states. Because they put all of their faith in a greedy con-man, who has little use for science and truth, they soon will be overwhelmed by the virus. Their cult-like devotion to Trump will cost the lives of hundreds or thousands of their constituents. But many, still stay silent.

We are finding out that Trump sent millions of dollars worth of supplies, that could have been used here, to China and Thailand. Trump has refused to use the powers of his office to enact the Defense Production Act to force industries to manufacture the supplies and equipment so desperately needed by those on the front lines of this fight. He has refused to recommend a nationwide stay at home order for every state as he arrogantly believes it will not spread from the hot spots to other areas of the country. As the virus ravages states such as New York and California, Trump denies much-needed supplies to them, instead, sending them to states that as yet have not been affected simply because they voted for him.

Yesterday at his campaign rally/Covid-19 update it was announced that 200,000 masks were being sent to New York City. Good news? No. they are being sent to private contractors who will auction them off to the highest bidders, American or foreign! Yesterday Trump’s son in law, Kushner said “our” strategic stockpile of supplies did not belong to the states and that they should get their own supplies. Today we learned that Kushner has directed that millions of dollars of supplies be sent to the states, but only the ones whose governors spoke with Trump. Whatever happened to the “United” States of America?

Today, on NBC, Dr. Anthony Fauci said, “I don’t understand why all states are not under stay-at-home orders”. Only 39 states thus far have issued such orders, while the rest are in denial waiting for the big orange turd to tell them what to do. Not having a nationwide shutdown, as someone anonymously said, “is like having a peeing only section of a public swimming pool”! There are too many Trump supporters, especially in Red states or in rural pockets all over the country who have been brainwashed by Trump and Fox News to believe there is no threat to them. They go on with life, as usual, laughing at the rest of the country, believing Trump will keep them safe.

This pisses me off because they are not only risking their own lives but the lives of everyone in this country. They think they’re immune to the disease and probably Trump is too. I’ve got news for you. You’re not immune and neither is Trump. (He might be though since as far as I know the virus only affects humans.). Trump supporters, of all people, should be scared shitless because they are most likely to be the ones who don’t have health insurance or the money to pay their medical bills. They don’t realize that Trump doesn’t give a shit about them and the Republicans in Congress will not adequately take care of their needs.

If the Trump administration doesn’t admit failure and hand over the response to the experts, instead of his toadies and family members he won’t have to worry about his re-election. There won’t be enough live Trump supporters left to vote for him.

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People Are Dying, It’s time to end Trump’s reality show!

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It’s shocking and depressing to wake up each morning to the news that the numbers of positive cases of the coronavirus and the number of deaths from it are dramatically rising. I can’t help but think that one month ago the leader of our county muttered these words, “and again when you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, that’s a pretty good job we’ve done”. Now thanks to Trump’s inactions and incompetence we have 75,665 positive cases and 11,000, and the numbers are still rising!

Every day the Moron-in-Chief appears for his daily briefings. People expecting to hear about life and death information, and how our government is helping them, hear nothing but lies, misinformation, conspiracy theories, attacks on his enemies and the press and self-aggrandizing pronouncements. We are put through a sickening parade of the sycophants in his administration kissing his ass, in order to keep him happy and keep their jobs. Even when the two medical experts are allowed to speak, Trump contradicts them if they tell the truth, as dire as it may be. Instead, he spouts irresponsible and dangerous information, offering false hope to his supporters.

At a time when the leader of our country should be uniting us and giving honest emotional support he, instead, continues to divide the country with his racist remarks and failing to take responsibility for his failure to meet this emergency head-on. Instead, he blames Obama, China, Europe, Democratic governors, the press, and anyone else he can think of for his disastrous response to the pandemic. He still believes the pandemic is a conspiracy to ruin his chances for re-election.

Americans are suffering and dying because of him and it’s going to get worse. Enough is enough. This is not a Trumpian reality show! It’s not about him. It’s about us and our country. It’s time for this shit show to end. The more he talks, the more people will die. His cabinet will never dare correct or criticize him, so we can’t depend on them to do the right and moral thing. The GOP members of Congress are either terrified of him or are complicit in his reign of terror and will do nothing to remove him.

Take the fat son of a bitch off the briefing stage and put his ass on a golf course with all the KFC and Big Macs he can eat and leave him there until this thing is over. He can’t harm us there. Then put Dr. Fauci in charge of a panel of experts and have them give the daily briefing to the American public. This will save lives.

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