"Now That We Have Passed The Peak In New Cases..." ~ DJT

Our "genius" President apparently has no clue as to how to read data; and, it looks as though his advisors don't either.  Or perhaps they informed him otherwise and, as usual, he's not listening.

Mr. President:  as a country, we aren't even close to the peak in new cases.  Why?  Because we have no idea how many people have been exposed to, and are carriers of, covid-19.  Why?  Because the paltry amount of testing you keep bragging about is nowhere near the amount needed.  We don't have to test every person in our Land, but the less than one percent of the population tested thus far is inadequate for making the statement you made regarding the peak of new cases.  "Peak" means the highest possible number, Mr. Pres.  In case you're ignoring it, the number of cases goes up every single day.  Hello.

On top of that, and again, in case you're ignoring it, the number of deaths in a 24-hour period (not total deaths) went from 2,400--- 100 per hour--- to over 4,500.  Nothing has peaked yet.  It's a fairly safe bet that at least hundreds of thousands of people that we don't know about are infected with this virus.  My best guess:  that number is in the millions.  Very shortly, the total number of known cases in the USA will be over one million.  That number will continue to increase.  We have no natural immunity to this new virus, and so far, no vaccine either.

Just because the increase in cases has become arithmetical (rather than exponential/ geometric) in 2 or 3 cities does not mean that's what will happen countrywide tomorrow, next week, or next month.  Plus, when we consider the gross lack of following precautionary measures (social distancing, masks, disinfection, etc.) that's going on outside those few cities mentioned above, the whole situation gets very bleak.  Before too long, the chance of another exponential surge in new cases is extremely high.  Such a surge will be due primarily to our Leaders' poor response to (and attitude toward) the pandemic.  Too many people (including our "Leaders" in DC) still are taking this whole thing way too lightly.  That pretty much guarantees another exponential increase in both cases and deaths... soon... very soon.  If everyone doesn't start taking this pandemic seriously, that exponential/geometric increase will continue.

Wake up... or, stop lying.

Not only my opinion.  Everyone Be Well

The Absurd Gaslighter Trump Falls Flat AGAIN

Kudos to Paula Reid (CBS reporter) and to The Intercept, an alternative News organization---  https://theintercept.com/2020/04/14/trump-pr-stunt-falls-flat-white-house-video-exposes-failure-prepare-pandemic/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=The%20Intercept%20Newsletter
At least watch the embedded video clips in the piece at the link above.

The above article clearly shows the absurdity of Donald John Trump.  His egomaniacal antics at the Press Briefing demonstrate not only his ongoing psychological gaslighting, but also his utter incompetence.  Apparently, Trump thinks not only his remaining base supporters are stupid and uneducated, but the entire country as well.

When pressed by Reid about the glaring gaps in his self-promotional video, Trump's primary response was:  "You're so disgraceful... you know you're a fake".  Launching personal attacks is one way that gaslighters handle legitimate criticism.  Another way is to completely ignore verifiable instances of failure... key instances.  Too bad for Trump, though--- this time all his efforts fell flat.

It's incredible and baffling how this man believes he can sell the idea that his handling of the covid-19 crisis was spot-on from the very beginning.  Even a drugged chimpanzee [😊] could see through that outright lie.  Unfortunately, if a lie is repeated by a cult leader enough times, then some people (especially cult followers) come to believe it.  Despite that, I don't see how that's possible in this particular case.  Trump finally made a claim that is so absurd not even his die-hard supporters will believe it.  At least, if there's any reasonableness at all left in this Land--- any critical thinking skills still remaining--- that's how it should play out.  If it doesn't, that will be one more reason why many Plutocrats and Oligarchs have (for the last 50 or so years) suppressed & poo-pooed the idea of a Liberal Arts education.  They didn't want any critical thinkers graduating from colleges and universities, and in general, the broader one's education, the more one possesses critical thinking skills.

Having critical thinkers would not be favorable for the implementation of propaganda... which now reigns supreme.  It wasn't any kind of "conspiracy"; it was right out in the open for all to see.  Basically, the whole process was people with mutual interests working (primarily independent of each other) toward a common goal.  In large part, the goal was reached.  Mostly due to a lack of sufficient critical thinking skills on our part, we now have a President who is the King of Elected Gaslighters, makes outrageous claims and contradictory statements, spews out lies as though there's no tomorrow, can't handle the slightest bit of legitimate criticism, usurps unconstitutional power on an unprecedented scale, has totally alienated all our key Allies, launches personal attacks and smears as though he's a spoiled eighth-grader, is a crass bully, and is an Autocrat Wannabe.  On top of all that, he may have a 50-50 chance of being re-elected... when his chances in any rational society would be ZERO.  I find it all tragic, sad, revealing, and darkly hilarious.  It's Bizarro World... again... and eerily Orwellian.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well
p.s.  I'm not a Biden supporter, either.

COVID-19 Has a Message for the Politicians in the Current Administration

STAY OUT of the realm of Science.  Why?  Because you don't know a damned thing about it...and you don't pay any heed to experts in the health field who know quite a bit about Science.

March 7, 2020 in the USA---
Confirmed cases:  401... and 19 deaths.

April 2, 2020 in the USA---
Confirmed cases:  over 239,000... and over 5,800 deaths.

April 13, 2020 in the USA---
Confirmed cases:  over 500,000... and over 21,000 deaths.

Meanwhile and presently, Trump is ramping up his psychological gaslighting.  He blames the Democrats and the Media for not taking the virus seriously.  This is what gaslighters do:  they accuse others of the very thing for which they, themselves, are to blame.  Then they repeat it over and over.  He's now saying he took bold action by banning China travel.  He ignores:  his shipment in March of tons of PPE to Asia; prior to that, his utterly dismissive statements re covid-19; his failure to take Executive action early on re the manufacture of ventilators; his complete--- & ongoing--- failure to facilitate testing for the virus; his total disregard for the wearing of masks; his complete lack of understanding as to how this virus spreads; etc.  He also ignores the fact that evidence suggests the virus entered the U.S. from Europe, not China.

Pence is just as (or perhaps, almost as) bad as Trump re covid-19.  The last recent statement I saw on the News from him was:  "No one [on Main Street] needs to wear a mask.".  Mr. V.P., here's what the scientists say:  everyone needs to wear a mask.  That includes you.  Do us a favor and put a gag inside yours, and Trump's, too.  Keeping the two of you from talking would be far better than anything either of you have done so far in office.  😊

Given the exponential progression of the numbers above, it should be painfully obvious that Trump, Pence, Larry Kudlow, Mike Pompeo, etc. are light years behind on the covid-19 learning curve.  They don't have a clue, and none of them appear to have any respect for Science or scientists.  That's probably because they all (except for Trump) seem to be fundamentalist, religious nutcakes... but most importantly, they all (including Trump) appear to worship the idols of Business, Money, and Power.  From all appearances, nothing is more important to them... especially the health of those who (in their eyes) are below their station in life.

To make matters worse, Trump & Crew now are working on a plan that in all likelihood will spread covid-19 even more.  Luckily, re-opening the economy is not within their power; however, they can promote the idea with great vigor.  Of course we need to get people back to work; that's a given.  But if we do it too soon, it will be disastrous.  What's needed now is much more of a direct infusion of cash to the American public.  Better yet, a Guaranteed Basic Income.  We can't afford that, you say?  It will make people lazy, you say?  The work (for 20 years) of the economist, Guy Standing, says otherwise on both counts.  People work harder when they have some minimal, basic economic security.  It really is time to think out-of-the-box.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well
p.s.  Again, for any new visitors here (& a reminder to everyone else), I'm not a Democrat or a Republican.  Plus, I have a Science background... both in the field and academically.

Trump HAD TO do a 180 Turn, Plus the Coming Depression

Preface
For any new readers here, I'm not a Republican or a Democrat.  I, however, have been a keen observer of American politics since 1956.  I'm a strong believer in Capitalism, but not the Crony-Casino-Derivative Capitalism we have today... which is nothing but a racket, and promulgated by the public and private Plutocrats who run this country.
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For the past two+ months, the Administration's lies (or at best, completely ignorant statements) about covid-19 continued on, and on.  Finally, Trump and Crew were forced by reality to do a 180 degree turn on their view of the subject.  No one any longer believed what they had been saying.

Examples of previous statements---
1.  The virus is "tightly contained" in the U.S.
2.  It will be "gone by April".
3.  One day soon, it will "just disappear".
4.  Unemployment will be "nowhere near 20%".
5.  "We're doing very good [in handling the crisis], very, very good.".  ~ DJT  I assume he meant, "very well".  No, Mr. President, you're not doing well in handling much of anything... not even presently.

Now, Trump has jumped onto the bandwagon... with too little, too late.

Here's the current situation for the USA---
1.  COVID-19 confirmed cases:  over 239,000.  Total number of cases:  unknown.
2.  Deaths:  over 5,800 (which far surpasses those of the 9-11 attacks).
[Numbers above were updated at 8:30 PM, Mountain Time.]
3.  Testing still lagging behind.
4.  PPE for med facilities and First Responders still inadequate.
5.  Unemployment projected/predicted to be about 30% in June.  [It was 25% in the 1930's Great Depression.]
6.  The probability is high that, if we're not already in one, by this summer we'll be in a full-blown economic Depression.  The metrics are all there.

Trump called covid-19 the "Chinese virus".  I guess that makes H1N1 (swine flu) the "American virus".  It, too, was a pandemic; it lasted a bit over a year & a half.  By Trump's reasoning, arguably we could refer to the current situation with covid-19 in the USA as Trump's Epidemic.  His treatment of most of the crisis thus far has been dismissive, inadequate, and ignorant.  Had he taken things seriously in the past 2 - 3 months, we would be in much better shape at the present time.  Until just recently, his main concern has been for Wall Street, not Main Street.

March 7th the U.S. had 401 confirmed cases and 19 deaths.  Compare that to the numbers above.  Because of a slow initial response by the Fed Gov't, this is only going to get worse... much worse.

We can't blame only Trump & Crew, though, for this public health disaster.  For decades, public health funding has been cut again and again and again.  Neoliberal policies promulgated by the Oligarchs and Plutocrats (both public & private) have been the reason.  The cuts started out years ago in the mental health field, but quickly moved to include physical health as well.  Why?  I only can speculate, but consider the following.

1.  The Super Rich live in a different universe than do the rest of us.  I doubt many of them care much about people who have to use public health facilities.  They probably consider such people leeches of some sort.  As long as the Rich can get private health care for themselves, they don't care about public health care.  I mean, in general.

2.  Plus, the Plutocrats most likely don't see any benefit to themselves in having public money spent on such facilities.  They would rather have it spent on something that allows them to get a piece of the pie... such as war machines, highways, or subsidies for the fossil fuel industry... just to name a few items.

3.  In general, Plutocrats/Oligarchs are Neoliberals, and Neoliberalism greatly favors privatization.  The goal is to privatize the whole world, and that goal is well on its way to being met.

Then we have the non-resilient, weak, and generally poor condition of our economy... headed for a Depression.  That can't all be blamed on Trump & Crew, either.  For decades, both public and private Oligarchs have been (in general) converting our economy to one of just-in-time production--- in whatever factories that haven't moved South or overseas--- and to one of suppressed wages & salaries (which means people cannot save for a rainy day), and financialization, and part-time jobs, and reduced benefits, and deregulation (especially regarding Banking), and job insecurity.  As a result, we simply cannot weather much of any type of economic and/or financial storm.  The condition of our economy is almost always extremely precarious, and that's been true for years.  All it takes is one Black Swan to bring it down.

So, what are the general solutions to all of the above?  Specific solutions would have to be proposed by people with specific expertise in several fields.  In general, though, it seems to me the following would be helpful.  First (and I've said it many times here), we must stop drinking the Edward Bernays style Propaganda Kool Aid coming from Oligarchs (public & private) in both major political Parties.  Second, we must get rid of Neoliberalism; it benefits only the Rich and Powerful.  The rest of us get austerity.  Incidentally, in practical terms, there's very little difference between NeoCons and NeoLibs.  Third, we must recognize that our economy has been almost always a Mixed Economy, meaning a mixture of both capitalism and democratic socialism.  [See *** footnote below.]  In that system, unlike Crony-Casino-Derivative Capitalism or Totalitarian Socialism, we can have--- among other benefits--- both a strong economy and a well-prepared and strong public health complex.  It's all possible, but not without ignoring plutocratic propaganda.

*** For any who disagree with the contention that we have some socialism in our system, I offer this---  what do think public roads, public water systems, the VA Health Care System, Social Security, etc. are?  They are socialism in action. I would not prefer to have all roads/highways as private toll roads, maintained by a gazillion different private companies with a gazillion different prices/fees for use.  Would you?  Some utilities must be publicly maintained and operated or else the public, sooner or later, will wind up getting shafted.  Plus, for some things it's virtually impossible to have "competition" play any role at all.  For example, interstate highways--- do you believe that we could have a dozen or more roads--- side by side--- with different fees competing for your dollar, roads running from, say, L.A. to Chicago?  I don't think so.  That's why we have public roads, and that's democratic socialism.  Please get over any distaste for the word, "socialism".  It has been in our system for decades and decades.  Even in the 1800's, we had socialism for the Rich.  Railroads were given vast tracts of lands (on both sides of the tracks, extending way beyond what they needed just for construction) by the Fed Gov't because the politicians wanted to encourage such construction... they knew the value of the railroad system to the country.  Hence, a massive "Handout".  That's socialism.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

President Trump Has Earned a New Title

King Donald the Ignorant
He had some tough competition for the title, but beat 'em all out.  A close second was the Texas Lieutenant Governor.  He basically stated that we should all go back to work.  Even though old people would be put at risk of dying from covid-19's increased spread, they should be willing to do that for the sake of the economy.  Really, Lt. Governor?  You really said that?  You, an elected public official.  Good grief.
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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Mnuchin is Wrong About Both COVID-19 & the Recession

He recently claimed---
1.  The economy should rebound once the new virus is "contained".  [There are two assumptions in that view:  the bug will be contained; and our economy will or should rebound.]
2.  The designation, Recession, is not "terribly relevant" because it's the gov't that is effectively shutting down large parts of the economy.  The downturn is not due to underlying economic conditions.  Instead, it's due to measures necessary to slow down the spread of the virus.
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All the above sounds reasonable, but is it?  Consider the following.

1.  Containment does not mean eradication.  It means limiting the virus to a smaller number of areas.  The way things are looking, it's too late for that.  [Nevertheless, "flattening the curve" is important.]  This virus, officially designated by WHO as SARS CoV-2 or SARS 2, spreads easily and rapidly.  [SARS = Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.]  Too many younger people (in particular) appear to be spreading it all over...because, since most cases of infection are mild to moderate, the younger crowd seems to think it's no big deal.  The fact is, covid-19 (SARS CoV-2) is spreading like wildfire both here and globally.  Containment is not likely.  The best we can hope for is slowing the spread and rate of infection (flattening the curve), thus giving the medical establishment time to get caught up, so to speak.  That means rapid testing, isolation, and more PPE (Personal Protective Equipment...for health care staff).

2.  The slow initial response re testing, and the continued slowness of testing, means that this virus is now in all 50 States here...and in people who currently are showing no symptoms whatsoever.  Add to that the instances where people simply are not practicing social distancing at all.  Except for the three cities with large numbers of known infections, I'm mostly convinced that too many people (everywhere else) are not taking proper precautions.  I know for sure they're not in this little valley where I live.

3.  An unknown number of people infected with this bug are going to work.  They're showing no symptoms yet.  Some people with symptoms are going to work anyway; they have little financial choice.

4.  Bottom line re covid-19 in the USA:  it already has become widely spread, and continues to do so.

5.  The Administration is reluctant to use the word, Recession (which we're already in); arguably, we're rapidly approaching a full-blown, economic Depression.  [The 1930's Great Depression, which lasted about ten years, was not so named until halfway through it.]  There are at least two economies in the USA:  one for the top 20% (or so) of income earners; and one for the bottom 80%.  When Trump & Crew refer to "our great economy, the greatest in our history", they're referencing the economy of the top tier, not that of the overwhelming majority of Americans.  Even then, they're inaccurate.  Our greatest economy was during the Golden Age of American Capitalism, from about 1946 to the "Nixon Shock" in 1971.  The Trump years aren't even in the same universe, never mind ballpark, as that economic boom.  By the way, mega biz was taxed at up to 90% then... and they still prospered.

6.  In several fairly recent past posts, I've detailed the reasons for the contention immediately above.  No time or energy to repeat all that, but here's a partial, truncated list of those reasons.

a.  Record national/public, corporate, and personal DEBT...and it's all coming home to roost.  U.S. TOTAL Debt is now over $76.8 trillion.

b.  50% of workers in the USA make less than $33,882 per year.  The Middle Class continues to shrink.  (See:  usdebtclock.org)

c.  The Gov't Jobs Report fails to identify how many jobs are part-time, temporary, or both.  Too many people are struggling with two or more jobs.

d.  The unemployment stats put out by the Feds are always way too low.  See this post:  http://individualsovereignty.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-real-state-of-union-rather-than.html

e.  Many countries are dumping Dollars, forming their own currency exchange agreements, and their own Trade agreements.  Trump has so alienated them that they are by-passing the USA.  Even prior to The Don, the same thing was going on in order to oppose American hegemony.  We are becoming isolated in the world economy.  Other countries are tired of our Govt's bullying.

In addition---

7.  Mega Banks and other Mega Corporations do little to nothing to help increase the number of good-paying jobs and manufacturing in this country.  Despite the current Admin's rhetoric, factories & jobs continue to flow South or overseas.

8.  Bizarre financial Derivatives continue to threaten our Financial Sector and/or our economy and the world's, as well.  Essentially nothing is being done to correct that situation.

9.  Mega monopolization in the Business world is stifling small businesses in the USA.

10.  Rampant Financialization (since the 1970's) continues to destroy jobs and manufacturing, suck up Middle and Lower Class income, and cause an exponential rise in income inequality.

11.  Bottom line re Recession:  even without the covid-19 trigger, we were right on the cusp of the overdue Recession.  The virus wasn't the cause of the Recession we're in now; it was merely the trigger.  The causes I just listed above.  Our economy is not resilient.  Even the workers are always in a precarious situation--- insecure jobs, poor benefits, essentially flat wages, low wages, obscene health care costs, etc.  The economist, Guy Standing, refers to them being in the Precariat Class.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnYhZCUYOxs
Even people who are doing okay, living paycheck to paycheck, have little to no way of saving for a rainy day.  The Establishment doesn't want them to save.  It wants them to spend, spend, spend... and to increase their debt... so that the consumer society can expand, expand, expand.  Debt will be our downfall.

12.  Finally, on both the disease and economic fronts, this is not about only the USA.  It's worldwide.  On the economic front, most of the "Developed" countries (not only here in the U.S.) are on the cusp of--- or already in ---a Recession.  We in the USA cannot be unaffected by that.  The next Depression, like the last, will be worldwide.
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p.s.  The reason the Dems in Congress haven't yet (as of about 7 AM) agreed to pass the COVID-19 Relief Bill--- or whatever it's called ---is because the money going to corporations has too few to zero conditions on it.  Remember the last Bailout Congress passed re the Mega Banks?  No restrictions as to use of that money.  Did they loan it out to stimulate the economy?  Answer:  very little of it.
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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

COVID-19 Has Dealt the Trumpian World a Mighty Blow

Preface
Like other posts here, this one is an essay.  It's not an academic thesis.  Essays usually contain both facts and speculation/opinion/analysis.  So, when you read below (for example) Trump & Crew are rolling back environmental-health-safety (EHS) regulations on a massive scale, don't look for footnotes verifying that.  I don't have the time or energy to do a bibliography on commonly known facts.  If you have doubts about the veracity of some statement, you'll have to do your own research.
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In regard to covid-19, Trump tried his usual (now boring) gaslighting--- lies, contradictory statements, outrageous claims, etc.  That didn't work, so here lately, he had to get off his butt and actually do something.  About 90% of his public statements now are totally scripted (to keep him from sounding like a gaslighting idiot)... and he sounds bored to death reading them.  Every so often, he briefly goes off script and returns to gaslighting; but anyone with any sense at all sees through it.  The Trumpian World is starting to collapse.  A tiny virus is bringing it down.

In the Trumpian World, phenomena such as Nature, ecosystems, conservation of natural resources, biodiversity, and the like count for little to nothing.  At the highest levels, the Trumpistas appear in general to care only about finance, economics, and corporatism.  [I imagine they care about their families, as well.]  I suspect that is why they know little to nothing about Natural Science.  Trump & Crew are rolling back environmental-health-safety (EHS) regulations on a massive scale.  As do many to most Corporatists, they believe forms of pollution are externalities... in other words, pollution need not be considered in the manufacturing, distribution, and pricing of consumer goods.  It's someone else's problem.

The elected and appointed Trumpistas say they represent the common people, but the EHS regulations and standards they're eliminating protect the health and safety of all of us.  In some cases, the health of the planet is being protected as well.  Unfortunately and necessarily, EHS regs usually increase the cost of doing business.  That's why they're being eliminated.  Never mind the health & safety of the common people.  According to the Powers-That-Be, the solution to pollution is to ignore it and/or let it dilute in Nature.  Wow, what genius thinking by ignoramuses in the Executive Branch (and a large portion of Corporate America).

Then along came covid-19.  At the highest levels, the main concern in the Trumpian World was not health, but rather the impact on Business... especially the Financial Sector.  So, the initial response was slow.  The next response was poo-pooing the disease.  The next response was a lack of test kits.  After all, we don't want people to know how widespread the bug is... that wouldn't be good for Wall Street.  [Incidentally, only about 14% (not counting 401k or Pension accounts) of Americans are invested in the Stock Market as individuals.]  All during this whole scenario, Trump is saying it's no big deal, "Relax, it will all pass.".  Off script, he's still saying that.  Meanwhile, in my opinion, the overdue Recession has begun.

Yes, Mr. Pres, just as with the Spanish Flu and the Swine Flu, this too shall pass.  But at what cost in human suffering?  Hopefully, Mr. Trump has learned the following lessons.
1.  Viruses aren't affected by childish gaslighting.
2.  Inept handling of a disease outbreak can have a severe economic impact.
3.  It's not really possible to ignore a pandemic.
4.  It's not really possible to ignore an economic and/or financial downturn.
5.  Business and Wall Street aren't the only things that matter.
6.  Lying about a situation is not usually the best way forward.
7.  Mother Nature is in charge of this planet, not Corporatists.  [By the way, Adam Smith denigrated Corporatists who thought they were "Masters of the Universe".  Some in the Trumpian World think he praised them.  He did not.]
8.  Don't try to ignore Mother Nature, or treat her badly.  You'll regret it.
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Not only my opinion.  Be Well