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Use An ‘Abundance Of Caution’ To Protect Yourself From Covid-19.

October 4, 2020

mikethegunguy Blogs , , 2 Comments

              Now that everyone is trying to figure out how and when the Commander in Chief has become the Infector in Chief, I have to contribute my two cents to the conversation and tell you what I think went on.

              What we know is that on Wednesday, the day after the debate, Trump flew out to Minnesota for a rally with a crowd of roughly 3,000, even though he stated at the debate that his rallies were drawing 35,000 people or more. On the way back to DC from the rally, Hope Hicks began to experience viral symptoms to the point that she had to be isolated on Air Force One.

              Allegedly, Trump wasn’t tested again until after he returned from a fundraiser at his Bedminster club on Thursday evening, even though he had been in close, unprotected contact to Hope Hicks both before and after the Minnesota event. The Thursday evening test allegedly showed that Trump had contracted the virus at some point in time.

              By Friday morning, Trump was experiencing fever, hoarseness, fatigue and was already receiving ‘supplementary oxygen’ which means he was clearly in harm’s way. He managed to walk from the White House to the helicopter, but this was the last time that he moved under his own steam in full public view.

              On Saturday, the whole made-for-TV drama began to unwind. Trump’s personal physician made a brief statement about his patient’s condition, stating that he was ‘feeling better’ and was ‘doing well.’ Then Trump’s staff chief, Mark Meadows, walked over to the reporters and told them that, contrary to the rosy picture painted by the doctor, Trump’s condition was “concerning’ and the next 48 hours would be “critical’ in terms of evaluating the course and outcome of the disease.

              But the moment which really threw the whole phony script into the wastebasket was when Trump’s doctor, Sean Conley, stated that Trump had tested positive “72 hours” prior to the time when the press conference took place. Which means that Trump was infected on Wednesday but still met with a group of donors at Bedminster the following day.

              Who knows what’s going on? Numerous media reports are now circulating that Trump’s video showing him working at Walter Reed might have been made at the White House before he left. And the fact that more people who attended the White House ceremony introducing Amy Barrett – the count is now at least 9 including 3 Senators – have tested positive only adds to the messaging mess.

              The picture above is how Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) behaved at the White House event. Which is how most of the people who were at Trump’s Minnesota rally were protecting themselves from the virus; i.e., not wearing masks.

              But here’s the real kicker to all this: After the rally in Duluth, a local GOP politician, Jason Lewis, announced that he was going to self-quarantine for 14 days because he had stood next to Trump and shaken his hands during the event. He didn’t have any symptoms, but “out of an abundance of caution” he was going to stay at home.

              I heard the phrase, ‘an abundance of caution’ from four different members of Trump’s staff, including Barbie McEnany who trotted out the phrase when she first announced Trump’s trip to Walter Reed but somehow neglected to mention that he was already finding it difficult to breathe.

              Here’s what I think is going on. We have no idea when Trump first tested positive for Covid-19. But I’m willing to take the short odds that the White House wasn’t going to mention the infection until and unless Trump exhibited symptoms that couldn’t be overlooked.

              Remember – many people test positive and then become active carriers and spreaders of this virus even though they don’t necessarily become ‘ill’ themselves. The whole point of doing a self-quarantine is to make sure that you don’t transmit the germs to someone else even though you feel fine.

              In the interests of full disclosure, I will admit that right around the same time I figured out this scenario, David Axelrod said the same thing last night on CNN. Oh well, sometimes great minds…

              The good news is that a majority of Americans believe that Trump wouldn’t be sitting in Walter Reed today if he had worn a mask. Let’s just hope that all those folks remember to vote.

What Can We Learn From Trump Getting Sick?

October 3, 2020

mikethegunguy Blogs , , 1 Comment

Last night I was watching Fox News  (I always watch/listen to the enemy just to keep them closer than my friends) and the banner message that kept running across the bottom of the screen said, “Liberal media cheers that President Trump is sick.”

So this morning, to check out the extent of the liberal cheers being directed at Trump, I read the op-ed that will be posted in tomorrow’s edition of The (‘failing’) New York Times written by our friend Nick Kristof which says exactly the opposite of what Fox News believes the liberal media is saying about Trump and Covid-19.

Nick’s op-ed begins by telling us that we shouldn’t be nasty or snarky just because President Trump is sick. Instead, “Let’s learn from the president’s infection. Let’s make this a wake-up call that leads to mask-wearing and social distancing, saving lives.”

He then concludes his homily in the following way: “So as the Trumps battle the virus, let’s learn lessons, sharpen our wits — and commit ourselves to a lifesaving norm of social distancing and wearing masks.”

This may come as something of a shock to Nick, but maybe because he’s been sitting on the family farm in Oregon perhaps he’s missed a few things. The truth is that I don’t need to learn anything about the virus from Trump falling ill. The only thing I’ll learn if he recovers is that he will receive a level of medical care which most Americans who contract the illness won’t receive thanks to how one, single person has behaved.

Several months ago I came driving home to find my street being repaved. In order to drive down the street, I had to tell the cop who was standing there that I was a resident. So I stopped next to him and because I was alone in my car my mask was on the seat next to me.

I dropped my window and but before I realized anything the cop was leaning over, not wearing a mask, and his face was about a foot away from me. I yelled at him to back off which he didn’t, by the way. I then shot the window closed and drove towards my house.

This incident occurred just before my state’s Governor, Charlie Baker, imposed social distancing statewide. But I had been wearing a mask and staying away from people for at least three or four previous months. And I knew lots of people who were doing the same thing.

But I also saw a lot of people like this cop who weren’t behaving the way they should have behaved. And the reason they weren’t doing what we all need to do is because one fat, stupid and egregious narcissist sitting in the Oval Office has been telling everyone that they don’t have to behave the way they should behave.

I’m not surprised that Trump’s dwindling collection of media allies are going all out to keep him somehow from taking responsibility for the fact that nearly one thousand Americans are still dying from the virus every day. In the entire history of this country, there has never (read: never) been such irresponsible behavior by the guy who sits behind the Resolute desk.

I think it’s not only disingenuous but somewhat alarming when intelligent and well-meaning liberal editorialists like Nick Kristof imply that ‘we’ are somehow all at fault because ‘we’ need to see this virus as some kind of “wake-up call.”

Since early February I have gotten up every morning knowing that I can’t leave my house without a mask. I have also not visited with any of my children or my grandchildren because I know that such visits represent an unacceptable risk. And I’m hardly the only American who has put off seeing their kids.

Sorry Nick, but I don’t need a wake-up call and neither do any of my friends. What we need is a Chief Executive who should be modest and honest enough to accept the blame for pretending that we can just ignore the ‘Chinese flu’ because it will soon ‘go away.’

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