Is it Halloween Yet?

This last week hasn’t quite seen witches on broomsticks but there were plenty of eerie happenings. 

First the president deemed himself cured of the coronovirus and was discharged from the Walter Reed Military Hospital, helicoptered back to the White House where he did his best impression of Benito Mussolini – or was it Juan Peron – where he appeared on the Truman balcony, short of breath and unsteady as he snatched off his mask and saluted the helicopter, I guess. Shortly thereafter, he gave a speech from that same balcony touting his wellbeing, again without a mask possibly endangering staff who managed the filming. This week brought the announcement that several more members of the White House staff, both political and career, have tested positive for the coronovirus bringing the totals to more than 30 members as I write. Television showed the White House Press Room being decontaminated by someone in a haz-mat suit while staff entering the Oval Office to see the president were supposed to be wearing full protective gear. All of this in a White House which has long spurned the use of even masks!

The president has been treated with strong steroid medications which are known to cause feelings of euphoria and mania, among other side effects. Later in the week he appeared on the White House lawn channeling his inner pumpkin as he appeared in badly applied orange makeup and spoke in a disorganized manner. Later in the week he ranted bizarrely for an hour or so on both cable TV and the Rush Limbaugh show demanding that his so - called enemies defined as Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and others be arrested. He moaned that the report ordered by AG Barr by from prosecutor Durham would not be ready before the election. He canceled the stimulus talks, which were looking at a second funding, until after the election, sending the stock market into a deep dive. Finally, on Saturday he made brief remarks again from the balcony about law and order to a youthful conservative audience of black and brown attendees who were intermittently masked and who did not socially distance. It is good that the week brought no international conflicts or situations which required reasoned national security decisions.

Following that conference, the White House medical team issued an all clear statement, indicating that the president was no longer “considered a transmission risk “ and his viral load was no longer shedding contagion. The wording was convoluted enough to again leave the impression of continued obfuscation by the medical team which has refused to indicate when he last tested negative. Many believe that he traveled to Minnesota and New Jersey, knowing he was positive, but without test data results, have been unable to prove that. While the president was bragging about the medical regimen he has received, he did not address the reality that these treatments – some of which were given as a compassionate use – are not readily available to the ordinary victim of the coronavirus.  In fact, the Washington Post today carried a letter to the editor from a woman whose father became ill with Covid and, when she requested Remdesivir to help him recover, she was told that it was not available. Her father subsequently died of the illness. Remdesivir was one of the medications that the president received. As the president recovers, he does not speak to the concerns of many patients who indicate that they cannot receive the same medications as he was given. Currently Health and Human Services (HHS) controls all uses of the drug Remdesivir from the manufacturer Gilead; it is allocated to some hospitals for in house use only as determined by HHS. The president stated that he will start a week of campaign rallies beginning Monday in Florida.

On Wednesday the vice-presidential candidate debate was held in Salt Lake City. A plexiglass screen was installed between the debaters despite objections by VP Pence. Neither candidate made any gaffes, which seems to be what viewers look for, but many questions were not answered as each candidate frequently answered instead the question they wanted to address. Kamala Harris started out with a strong opening noting that she considered the administration had demonstrated that it was incapable of handling of the coronovirus that has so devastated the country. Pence retorted that right away  they had closed the borders to visitors from China, even though it has been proven that many thousands of visitors from China came in through other countries. Many times, Pence interrupted Harris and went over his allotted times despite attempts by the moderator to keep the order of the evening as had been settled in debate rules. Several times Harris had to state – “I am speaking here.” However, there was a fly in the ointment, so to speak – (or rather a fly on the head) - which settled on the crown of Pence’s snow-white hair and sat there for more than two minutes – bringing great hilarity to the television audience. So, as the debate was determined to be a draw, the administration was the loser, since Pence lost the chance to win and close. 

The president proclaimed after the event that Kamala was a communist and a monster. Communist – where did that come from? Monster? Absurd – perhaps he was stuck on Halloween again!

The next really strange occurrence of the week, happened in Michigan as the FBI held a press conference and indicated that 13 militia members had been arrested for plotting to kidnap the Governor of Michigan and try her for treason. Others were plotting to storm police facilities and perhaps start a race war or civil war whereby they could separate Michigan from the union. Apparently, postings on line had been noted by the FBI and the team was infiltrated by undercover agents who wore a wire and captured the planning on tape. Some of these men had been among the armed militias who stormed the State Capitol in the spring, demanding that the Governor open the state which was then under coronovirus quarantine. The president also chimed in at the time, supporting the protest and saying “Liberate Michigan”. When the Governor indicated that she had reached out to the President for help earlier, she had been rebuffed; the president again this week refused to condemn these militias, just as he had in the recent debate with VP Biden. The Governor replied in a strong op-ed in the Washington Post. As I said, a really strange week!

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Covid stats from the NY Times:

Total United States Cases: 7,792,000. Total new cases: 51,094. Total deaths 214,500. 

Total new deaths: 592 (as of 10/10)

Maryland Stats: Total cases: 130,159. Total new cases:734. Total deaths: 3,990.  Total new deaths: 11.

This week has seen a 12% uptick in daily case statistics from across the country with North and South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin reporting the highest new tallies. As we approach the fall flu season, the country is getting into perilous territory if we cannot decrease this incidence of new cases. 

Now this is scary!

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In conclusion, this week the debate commission was to have hosted a Town Hall between the two presidential candidates in Florida. Due to the president’s infection, the commission changed the format to a virtual event with both candidates being remote. The president refused to participate, most likely because he could be silenced, with his mike turned off if he would not respect the rules of the debate as he had done previously. There still is one more scheduled debate on the 22^nd of October, which both candidates have said they would attend. The president wanted to set one for the 29^th, but Biden refused, stating that the schedule had been set since the summer. Some political pundits think that since the president is trailing in many polls nationally, and in some key states, that missing the town hall is a bad call. According to some recent polls, he is even with white men with Biden, twenty points behind with suburban women and more than ten points down with seniors in the national data. The election is in 23 days and millions of voters have already cast their ballots, so many minds have already been made up.

So – if you have a chance to vote early, mail in or deliver a ballot in person, please do so asap. The more votes that can be determined by election night, the less chance the Republicans can have to charge election fraud. I cast my vote this week and delivered it to a drop box!

“Til next week – peace.