Big V Update

The picture is of the President of Slovakia (Melania Trump is from Slovenia) showing, with some style (like Muslim women wearing colorful at times a bit form fitting coverings that are sometimes a bit counterproductive) how to be responsible in these times.  Joe Biden also said he will follow CDC (and my own local mayor's) advice and wear a mask in public.  Trump has said he thinks he will not, sending a different message.

I myself have only went out a bit (mostly to the bakery around the corner and nearby stores to pick up a few food items) and will admit to not wearing a mask.  The corner discount store recently started to sell them and did purchase one today ($2.50).  Figure they should find a means to distribute non-medical masks for free.  Blue side out.  Take off using the string, not touching the mask.  A majority of people I see around seem to be wearing them, especially when I went to the supermarket.  Only the side door is open now and there is a blue line to wait behind at the counter.  The bakery now has a sign on it that only three customers should be inside at once.  More signs of the time, literally and otherwise.

The Washington Post has an article that is damning as to the U.S. response to the Big V as shown by the headline: "The U.S. was beset by denial and dysfunction as the coronavirus raged: From the Oval Office to the CDC, political and institutional failures cascaded through the system and opportunities to mitigate the pandemic were lost."  No matter who is in power here, it would have be problematic.  New York made questionable moves and as noted my represenatives passionately denounced some aspects of the budget that they argue will cause suffering in ways directly connected to this pandemic. But, Trump being in power signficanlty worsened the situation.  We knew this in principle in 2016.

The article provides a damning look at the first ninety or so days and it is not just you know all the asshole's fault.  China didn't help, for one thing.  The perils of a closed society heightened the situation.  But, even within the range of danger there, Trump and his team worsened the situation, again things flagged in the past coming out again. For instance, Trump's continual praise of dictators:

There is no indication that officials sought to escalate the matter or enlist Trump to intervene. In fact, Trump has consistently praised Chinese President Xi Jinping despite warnings from U.S. intelligence and health officials that Beijing was concealing the true scale of the outbreak and impeding cooperation on key fronts.

Trump continuously downgraded the importance of the whole thing. The HHS Secretary would seem to be an important player here?  Not so much. When he brought the problems of the virus to Trump's attention, Trump was more concerned with vaping.  Eventually, Azar (who leaves something to be desired, but has shades of a credible Cabinet member) was pushed aside for the likes of Pence and Jared "Ken Doll" Kushner.  To pull together various things referened in the article (without ellipses):

But even as Fauci, Azar and others sought to assert themselves, Trump was behind the scenes turning to others with no credentials, experience or discernible insight in navigating a pandemic.

Foremost among them was his adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner. A team reporting to Kushner commandeered space on the seventh floor of the HHS building to pursue a series of inchoate initiatives.

So far, the plans have failed to come close to delivering on the promises made when they were touted in White House news conferences. The Kushner initiatives have, however, often interrupted the work of those under immense pressure to manage the U.S. response.

Current and former officials said that Kadlec, Fauci, Redfield and others have repeatedly had to divert their attentions from core operations to contend with ill-conceived requests from the White House they don’t believe they can ignore. And Azar, who once ran the response, has since been sidelined, with his agency disempowered in decision-making and his performance pilloried by a range of White House officials, including Kushner.

Weeks were "squandered."  Responses were limited, following standard scripts such as:

“The genesis of this group was around border control and repatriation,” said a senior official involved in the meetings. “It wasn’t a comprehensive, whole-of-government group to run everything.”

So far there have been an on record in the U.S. (and lack of tests suggest this is woefully an undercount) eight thousand deaths, over three hundred thousand confirmed cases and  we probably have a ways to go.  Loads of people probably have or had (unclear if one is safe once you had it) the virus without being counted. Many do not have symptoms or they are minor.  These people can still be carriers, spreading the disease.  Thus, even though the numbers might suggest this is off, it has a ring of truth:

It may never be known how many thousands of deaths, or millions of infections, might have been prevented with a response that was more coherent, urgent and effective. But even now, there are many indications that the administration’s handling of the crisis had potentially devastating consequences.

Millions.  Some fraction of that is the statistical result of an incompetent criminal being in power.  We need to be clear about what the upcoming elections need to do.  And, we need not simply go back to old normal, if with somewhat less people around.  We need to learn, adapt and do better.

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There have been a wide range of responses to dealing with the new normal from late night hosts (and John Oliver) doing shows from home, teachers with remote learning, the charming use of Skype type platforms so that we see video of people who usually only stop by or call in talk shows like Stephanie Miller and so on.  The times allow more of this sort of thing than even would have been the case ten/twenty years back. 

One thing that I used yesterday was Stage It, a means for various performers to give mini-live concerts for a low price (at least $5 though you can "hitch a ride" with someone if they pick you), Alicia Witt performing.  One thing that seems to be a key thing when celebrities come remotely is that they are causal. She said that she had makeup on though it was a bit hard to tell.  She is so pale normally.  Witt is charming, usually chipper though her music can be rather somber at times.