Back in the Vietnam war era a draft lottery was
instituted due to the unpopularity of that war and the reality that the draft
was unfairly targeting the less fortunate, those who could not afford to go to
college and get deferred, those who could not move to Canada or afford to get a
doctors note for some type of injury or disability. So, those who did not serve
- such as for heel spurs - perhaps, were spared eventually getting drafted and
perhaps going to the war in southeast Asia. Consequently, to try for fairness, random
numbers were assigned to birthdays arbitrarily drawn and given a ranking. The first day drawn that year was number 258
which matched September 14th and that became number 1.
A certain number of draftees were to be
selected, based on projected troop needs and numbers of selectees and that year
the numbers stopped at 195 so it was considered important for young men to know
their “number” or briefly, their chance at being drafted and they could make
some plans as a result. If the number was higher than 195, they essentially had
a pass. (These changes to the draft were a first step towards what eventually
became what we now know as an all-volunteer military.)
So, once again knowing your numbers has become
an important issue for Americans. How is your state fairing against the
Covid-19 viral pandemic? Do you have high
infection rates or low ones? Are you
living in an urban area with modest numbers or in a more rural area with high
numbers due to meat packing plants, prisons or nursing homes?
Here are some important numbers for today.
US Population 328.2 million - MD - 6.3 million
Total Covid-19 cases in the US: 1.36 million - Maryland (where I live) - totals -29,374
Total recovered patients: 208,000 Maryland
- recovered - 2,029
Total Deaths: 80,562 Maryland – Deaths - 1401
In the United States statistically,
based on previous years data, about eight thousand people a day die from all
causes. In the last flu season
approximately 161 people died from influenza each day. As of May 6, 2020 - 2528 deaths were
attributed on that day alone to the Covid-19 virus, just in the US. According
to studies done by the New York Times there were three times as many deaths
in early April this year in New York, when compared to previous years.
So, one might ask, what is the point here – we know
people are dying from this virus. Well,
what is important to know is that the US is having many more deaths
proportionately than other countries because our response to this pandemic has
been haphazard at best. We did not control the spread and we have not tested enough
or tracked for contacts. Currently the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) indicates
that only eight million tests have been reported to date. The Presidents touts
a number indicating that we have done more testing than any other country, but
when compared to our total population, that number is tiny.
Now, the virus is
even reaching the White House where they are rapid testing each day, yet
members of the Secret Service and White House staffers have tested positive. Yet the word from there is to say, we need to
open up for the economy, so we’ll probably lose a few more patients that way,
but that is the cost of doing business, the country is suffering. Actually, what is suffering is the President’s
re-election bid and he will do everything in his power to get re-elected. The New York Times today indicated that
senior citizens, who are disproportionately afflicted by this virus, are not
looking favorably on this president and his lack of candor on the subject.
But never fear – the reason I suggested that
you pay attention to these numbers and those in your area is this – there is
now a concerted effort by many of those in the right wing media and members of
the blogging world to accuse governors, mayors and scientists of overstating
the numbers of sick and dying patients just to undermine the President. (Personally,
I do not understand just which part of refrigerated trucks full of bodies and
burials in mass graves, that they do not understand about an overwhelmed
system.) There is a reason behind the “open it up movements” protests, and that
is to make it seem that this is much ado about nothing and only scare tactics
of the left, but the same people who tried to undermine the ACA, deny climate
change and who supported the Tea Party are back again – and probably with Putin’s
blessing. Facebook and Twitter both
report removing hundreds of fake accounts touting conspiracy theories on these topics.
The CDC website currently has statistics, which
I suggest you keep an eye on, at least as long as the website is not censored. Apparently the 15-page Guideline it recently
sent out for states to use as they reduced restrictions is being held up from
wide spread distribution by the Task Force which wishes to tweak it a bit. I
wonder about the document that will result. In my opinion we will not, as Jared
Kushner recently stated “be rocking as we head into July”. Is your state
opening up; do you think it should? Personally, as much as I would love to eat
out at a nice restaurant, as long as my state numbers continue to increase, I shall dine at home. There is indeed, much to be afraid of these days, so do stay
informed.
So, what else have I not mentioned – there is
just so much happening now – AG Barr going around the Rule of Law and
attempting to free General Flynn who has pled guilty to a felony – what part of
that is untrue?
A young African American jogger is gunned down
in Georgia with an attempted cover up as a ‘legal citizen’s arrest’ – is this a
Trayvon Martin incident all over again?
Voting by mail – just what tactics will be used
to dilute this widespread effort; how will gerrymandering be used to undermine
the votes of minorities?
How will we, as a country, deal with the 33
million workers who have filed for unemployment? How will we feed these huge numbers of needy
people?
Do let me know your thoughts. If you like what I have to say please share
this site with your friends.
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