Practicality Must Prevail.

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We are getting to a point in this epidemic where we’re not being practical about it. In life there are risks at everything we do. When we get on the freeway, we are taking a risk. When we get our hair colored or permed, we are taking a risk. When we go skiing, we are taking a risk. When we go on an airplane, we are taking a risk. When we have an elective surgery, we are taking a risk. And so on.

Life has risks. After 9-11 we didn’t shut down our country for fear of another attack sending everyone home from work and schools. During the threat of bombs in the 50s, we didn’t shut down our country. During the AIDs epidemic, we didn’t close restaurants, schools, and businesses. We were taught to be vigilant after 9-11, practiced air raid drills during the 50’s, and encouraged safe sex after AIDs.

At this point in the shutdown, we are bordering on overkill. Trump is giving his scientists a lot of leeway on advice but some advice has been over the top excessive. Schools should reopen. There haven’t been many cases of school age children getting it. There is a higher risk of children getting measles from unvaccinated illegals in school. Non essential businesses and corporations should be allowed to reopen and their employees return that aren’t sick. Put their desks farther apart. Maybe the older ones stay home a little longer. Restaurants should reopen with revised seating inside and bar seating temporarily closed or seated six feet apart. Theatres can reopen with strangers sitting four seats apart on every other row. Common sense solutions. People and companies need to thrive by taking their own precautions not government-ordered.

Restaurants can require masks for their cooks and servers for a while longer. Churches can reopen with required six feet apart seating. We are not a stupid country but are starting to look stupid. The longer this goes on the more we are open to attack from an enemy. Our guard is down now with the military and government focusing 24/7 on the virus. Let’s be practical about this virus and get our country back to work. Everyone be responsible for themselves to wash hands and wear a scarf or mask in public.

I notice everyone that dies from pneumonia, heart attack, diabetes, or some other underlying condition is categorized as a covid death without any tests done. It is the “go to” cause of death that some are using. One man said his wife died from it, but she had been suffering from an immune deficiency for months prior to covid. He lied about her death. How many hospitals are doing the same? We don’t know.

I, for one, am tired of being stuck in the house. I’m doing my own shopping next week with a scarf and plastic gloves and keeping distance from others. I’ve been home for a month and ain’t taking it much longer. We have low number of cases in my county, and I will assess my own risk. The one thing good coming out of this crisis is that California can’t make you pay for shopping bags any longer as the cloth bags are unsanitary. No more being bag-shamed by the clerks when they ask, “Do you need a bag?”

Please, no more stimulus packages right now. Ignore Pelosi. Let’s spend what we already got. It’s just another ploy to get the Green New Deal packed into it.

Trump, open up our country! We’re counting on you! We can’t live like this much longer. We can’t find toilet paper anywhere! You’ll take heat from the left, but they’re always wrong anyway. Notice how Gov. Cuomo let covid patients slip onto the non-covid Red Cross ship? One slip up would be a mistake but not six. What are they up to in New York? I don’t trust them.

The cure can’t be worse than the crisis!

Has New York Mishandled the Crisis?

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New York hospitals seem to be admitting everyone that tests positive for coronavirus rather than having them stay home with homecare. This causes overcrowding, shortage of nurses and doctors, and diminished supplies. The governor won’t approve hydroxychloroquine/azithromycin combo that seems to be working on patients to even be prescribed unless you are admitted to the hospital; therefore, the hospital becomes a magnet for anyone with the symptoms. The hospitals are the belly of the beast when it comes to dying. They have the germ.

After a recent talk with my doctor via video conference she told me there are NO patients hospitalized in my county. They are all doing homecare. There are six tested positive and no deaths. With less patients entering the hospital, less healthcare workers will be exposed allowing for better service once a patient is hospitalized. This makes good sense.

Governor Cuomo has been acting irresponsible from the onset of the virus and his state is now paying the price. It’s almost too late for his state. Everything he has done or approved has been politically motivated. Even though he says it’s not a red or a blue crisis, it’s a red, white, and blue crisis. BS! They should have heeded warnings earlier rather than pooh poohing them. Now it is his intent each day to complain and blame, who else, but Trump.

Cuomo has been predicting that his state is ground zero and the rest of us are doomed for the same. This is fear mongering. Cuomo is running to replace Biden as president and needs bad news to run against Trump. What better way to have bad news than to create it? He’s done a good job of that even having his mother visit his brother during the shelter in place orders. He’s now claiming his brother will be the poster child for coronavirus. I think more like poster child for arrogance to think he wouldn’t contract it or give it to others. Cuomo held a birthday party for a family member! Really? While we are all avoiding our family? Who does he think they are? Special? Hypocrite.

The Democrats have embraced this governor as the voice of reason. I guess if you’re desperate to find someone other than bumbling Biden to represent you. I guess if you need to be talked down to everyday like a third grader. I guess if you didn’t know what a facemask or a gown looks like. I guess if you want someone who wasn’t prepared for the next 9-11. I guess if you want someone who ignores the shelter in place orders.

So before the Dems puts all their chips on a do nothing, wasteful spending governor, you better examine the guy a little better. And why wouldn’t he allow the latest medicine to be prescribed to patients with the symptoms other than wanting more patients to be hospitalized to receive it? This runs the numbers up on his lame graph. His graph went way down today and he had the gall to downplay it calling it a blip in the graph. What a pessimist. This proves he’s looking for bad news each day. He is doom and gloom. I wonder if his brother is allowed to receive the forbidden hydroxychloroquine/azithromycin combo? Most likely. I don’t trust the guy.

With Dr. Fauci warning that there could be 100,000 to 200,000 U.S. deaths and that we can’t cancel the shelter in place until there are NO new cases our economy will never come back. Trump has to take the bull by the horns and dismiss this doctor’s and Cuomo’s dire warnings despite what the press and Dems will cry. The sooner the better. Trump needs to use his good intuition at this point. The cure is now becoming worse than the virus.

The left are doomsayers and have an ulterior motive to ruin America as we know it by, once again, trying to steal the presidency from Trump. Can you imagine if Trump caught this virus and then Pence? Pelosi would be biting at the bit to slip right in. Ugh! Worst nightmare ever. We now hear that Biden approves of the travel ban with China. A little late for that revelation, Biden. Cuomo is overly thanking and praising Oregon’s Democrat governor for sending him ventilators. Did he ever thank Trump? Not so much.

This is all politics from this point on. The Dems are circling the wagons around their new leader of their party, Cuomo. It’s too obvious and almost nauseating. Nothing new here. The parties are not working together and the Dems are already trying to re-impeach Trump again. Same ol’ same ol’.

Stay tuned.

LISTEN TO TRUMP. HE KNOWS STUFF.

Hollywood Celebs: What Are They Good For? Absolutely Nothing.

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When we have to see celebrities in their homes without hair and makeup pleading for us to “stay home” it makes me want to throw up. Who do they think they are to make a public service announcement on television? Who is their target audience? And why haven’t they learned to do their own makeup yet? Do they think so little of us that we need them to tell us how to behave? I guess so. Do they think they’re on a level above the rest of us and we can’t do anything until a celebrity tells us what to do? I guess so. It is very reminiscent of when they used to tell us to vote “I’m With Her.” Look how that would have turned out. They’re not a group of people we need to be taking advice from. What a bunch of poor, attention-starved actors.

Let’s face it. Without a good story, scriptwriter, director, cinematographer, and editors actors aren’t what they’re cracked up to be. They’re told what to do and how to look in every second of a scene throughout a movie. What other job has such supervision and overlook? No other job. Sure some are better at dramatic or comedic scenes than others but half of America could probably fill in for them as a stand in without any acting classes.

These same celebrities haven’t appeared in a decent movie in twenty years and yet they have the gall to tell us we should stay home from our jobs? They need to stay home from their jobs. Movies were so much better in the 70s, 80s, even the 90s but now they are far and few between. Now if movies don’t have some social justice message in them, they don’t get made. They either have to have a Black, a gay, a transgender, a Hispanic, an anti-cop, anti-bullying, anti-drug, anti-war, women empowerment message or heavy sex just to get approval to be filmed. Then to get any nominations, they should have all of the above boxes checked. This is the new Hollywood. No more Play Misty for Me, Uncle Buck, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, Splendor in the Grass, Marty, Tootsie, The Graduate, Broadcast News, Rainman, Vertigo, or The Birds. Now we get crap from them. It’s like the award shows of the Best of the Crap. I can’t even think of a movie in the last ten years anyone has raved about.

So, celebrities, stay in your home and watch your old reruns on DVR. We’ll use our OWN judgement on whether to stay home or not. We don’t need advice from you. Most of you celebrities have never even attended any college unless it was an acting class. You know who you are. You’re not one to be giving us practical advice or political advice either. And don’t waste your money on anymore public announcements, please. They’re annoying. We aren’t missing you.

We’re missing our favorite store, restaurant, nursery, and our families and friends, not you. Save your advice for your twitter account or facebook where they belong. When you enter my living room uninvited that’s when I object. I guess they feel they’re adored by America and that we have to see them in our living rooms. Not so.

Stay Out of My Living Room, Hollywood.

Journalists Are Next. What Are They Good For?

This is NOT the “New Normal” Like the Democrats Want Us to Believe!

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They have tried this tactic before. Obama used that phrase over and over when his economy basically sucked. “This is the new normal. We can’t bring jobs back with a magic wand.” So now Cuomo and his band of doomsayers are using the same old page from Obama’s Playbook when he tried to sell us his failing economy. They use it to scare voters. Only last time it was to scare voters into voting Democrat by accepting what can’t be changed. This time they are using it to scare voters into accepting that our country has changed permanently because Trump dropped the football on the coronavirus and, therefore, we have to vote Democrat as a punishment. Before “the new normal” was used for acceptance, now it is being used for a punishment. It didn’t work for Obama, and it won’t work this time, Cuomo.

We know better and hope the rest of America does too. They see through this. They’re not stupid. Cuomo and his ilk are slowly but surely trying to bring us to a socialist footing and figure what better way than using the “shelter in place” with no vehicles, overcrowded hospitals, food rationing, isolation, closed gun shops, reduction in law enforcement, prisoners released, no one working, closed churches, and living off government checks to effect their final goal: Socialism. Total chaos right? This is what they wanted. Remember Cuomo recently said before this outbreak that “America was never great.” It was an attack on Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan. So Cuomo has a personal agenda and using it. Boy, oh boy, is he ever.

Some of what we are experiencing is how they live in socialist countries even to the point of a shortage of toilet paper. We are getting a taste of it right now and it tastes bad. Living this way is NOT the new normal because we are a country of freedoms and we will continue to want those freedoms. We won’t stand for it.

I think they are also saying this to prolong the shelter in place to tank the economy even more. Some restaurants won’t be able to survive this shut down and may have to file bankruptcy when this is all over. They have a high overhead and even with a government loan may not be able to survive an extended period. This is the left’s goal.

Notice how the Democrats are coming out in lockstep saying Trump waited too long to react to the virus? This is another one of their ploys to get the voters to vote him out. Remember Schiff and Pelosi lied through their teeth during the impeachment trial. This is what they do. Trump and the Republicans were sounding the coronavirus alarms while the Democrats were encouraging folks to continue on with their normal activities. “Go to Chinatown,” Pelosi cried. I heard the alarms March 1st and stopped public settings from that day on. Others not so much. Some of us were late to the party and hopefully did not pick up the germ to spread it to others. But now that we are all in the same boat, so to speak, we want to get out. It is NOT the new normal.

America needs to get back to work and keep their distance from others at work. Older folks maybe should stay home for a while longer but the younger folks need to go back. We have some effective medicines to fight the disease which should help younger folks if they get it. Some say these meds are a Game Changer. This is positive news that the left is ignoring. Staying home in isolation has a negative effect on our mental health which should not be ignored. Mental health could lead to alcoholism, domestic flare ups, drugs, and even divorces. None of which we want.

So while Trump and Pence are trying to give America hope, the Democrats are spreading doom and gloom, especially Cuomo. And if anyone thinks Cuomo is not running for president, get your eyes and ears checked. He’s running. He is playing the blame game everyday for his failed handling of the virus. He was the one that allowed his citizens to ignore the early warnings, not Trump. He is the one stockpiling ventilators then complaining he has none. He is the one spreading the “this is the new normal” bullsh-t so he can tank Trump’s popularity all the while trying to win with us being miserable. He is the one saying that private hospitals are a problem. He is the one who practices “do as I say, not as I do” daily.

We need to ignore these liberal politicians from now on. They’re lying to us. They may have been honest at the final realization of this outbreak but not now. It has become politicized. Big time. Now they are leading the pack to change America as we know it. Even the adored Dr. Fauci has been playing fast and loose with the facts in order to scare us–predicting 100,000 deaths! He is using worst case Democrat-run studies and models to scare us–much like climate change models. But the Democrats put him on a pedestal. Why is that? Maybe because he’s helping to tank the economy and behaving much like a Democrat does going on liberal talk shows. He also once said that the government “failed” with testing. That hurt Trump, and he knows it. Not to be trusted in my eyes. Take him with large portions of seasalt. Warning: Beware of anyone the Democrats put on a pedestal like they did Avenati and Dr. Christine Ford. Learned from the past. They love the title of “Doctor.”

Remember we are in the middle of a perfect storm: an election year and a deadly virus combined with the remnants of Obamacare which was failing from the onset. (Thanks McCain.) When CEO’s of a hospital are facebooking to refuse ventilators to Trump supporters and telling them to pack the churches and wait it out, it has shades of Strzok and Page texting you can smell the Republicans in Walmart. Politics is alive and well even at the hospitals. Don’t wear your Trump hat or Republican pin when entering a hospital, you may be refused service but they’ll take in illegals. Maybe this is why one newsperson said recently, more Republicans will die from coronavirus. Maybe this is another conspiracy much like in the movie Hollywood produced about hunting down Republicans as sport. Life imitating art? Or wishful thinking.

We’re not out of the woods yet on this outbreak and Trump has his work cut out for him with cruise ships begging for help and navy ships too. When it rains, it pours. But don’t believe what you hear from the left especially Biden and Cuomo as they are both running for president. They have an agenda and it’s loud and clear: THIS IS THE NEW NORMAL is their mantra. Don’t believe it or allow it to happen. If you vote Democrat, it WILL become our normal.

LET’S GET BACK TO “REAL” NORMAL.

VOTE TRUMP/PENCE TO BRING US BACK TO NORMAL: Strongest Economy and America First!

To Mask or Not to Mask? That is the Question.

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I say, “mask away.” Common sense has to take over here. If the germ can remain in the air when we are walking through a grocery store, I’m going to wear a mask. Some say the mask won’t prevent the germ from entering your body. How so? It’s better than breathing it in. Some say you’ll be adjusting the mask and accidentally touch your eyes and contract the germ. I say balderdash! Better to have a mask covering your nose and mouth than not to have a mask covering your nose and mouth. Anything that can stop the little bugger from getting near our orifices (never wrote that word before), I will wear.

If we have a mask we will wear it when in public places. If we are allowed to go to a grocery store and pharmacy, hell yes, I’m wearing a mask. There could be someone breathing and spreading the germ without knowing it or showing symptoms. I don’t think we need the POTUS to tell us what to do. We have a logic and we need to use it.

Wear a mask when in a store but not on an empty street or park. It’s common sense. Common sense is not so common anymore if we have to wait for a proclamation to know what to do.

To mask or not to mask? Depends on the situation. Use your noggin. Don’t wait for the CDC or president to tell you what to do. The next thing we’ll hear is someone suing the government for contracting the germ because they followed the government’s guidelines and it didn’t work. It’s almost as though people are looking for someone to blame. The only person we have to blame is ourselves and China.

And for Nancy Pelosi to say that Trump was fiddling around when the virus first took place and that she’ll have to find out what he knew and when he knew it, is the height of hypocrisy as the Dems ridiculed him for banning flights early on during the time he was getting impeached by the House. It was the Dems who scoffed at the virus, not Trump. When will these liars ever stop lying?

And for the reporters to dictate what Trump had said in the past out of context is also despicable. Trump made it clear that he wanted the virus to hopefully be gone by Easter. It was aspirational. He also said the hoax was the media trying to blame him for the virus, not the virus was a hoax. Another distorted claim they are making. Trump also said that viruses tend to go away during warmer months, this is still TBD. Nothing to dispute right now. Trump is trying to instill hope not fear, like the governors of some states are. We all need a little hope and unity right now, not partisanship.

Pray for health, hope, and unity of our nation. And wear a mask when appropriate.

A Little Levity for Your Day.

A Twisted Tune: You Gotta Wash Your Hands! ( bobrivers.com/you-gotta-wash-your-hands )…

Heard this parody this morning and wanted to share it. Guaranteed to bring a smile to your face if you are of baby boomer age or at least a memory of the first time this song was released–maybe when you were in high school, college, or even grade school. Maybe when you had a crush on Paul McCartney or George Harrison. Maybe when you had your first kiss or dance with the opposite sex. Maybe when your dad finally bought you that transistor radio you had been begging him for. Maybe when you purchased the 45 vinyl of the song with your 50 cents/hour babysitting money at the local five and dime store.

My memory is of my bedroom in high school where I played this song incessantly on my record player much to my parents’ annoyance also when my neighbor hired me to babysit his kids at the Cow Palace during the first Beatles Concert. That was a good gig.

Whatever the memory, it will be of easier times, simpler times, safer times, and innocent times. A time before fears of a virus, time before political correctness, time before computers, social media, and cell phones, time before the sexual revolution and harassment, time before women’s liberation movement, and a time before the gay movement. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, it just wasn’t pointed out so much back then. A simpler, innocent, safer, and easier time. Now we have to live in a world where everything we do or say will offend someone. Never used to be that way.

This song will definitely bring one back and also has a good message of today as long as you are of baby boomer age.

What are your memories of this song, where were you when you heard it, etc.?

Is God Testing All of Us?

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Is He tired of years of terrorism, atheism, wars, corruption, Godlessness, and divisiveness amongst Americans and across the globe? Are we at a tipping point? What our country has been getting away with for years and escalating lately with no repercussions maybe has inspired a worldwide wake up call for us all to just get along. He does work in mysterious ways, and this virus is about as mysterious as one can imagine.

It has hit just about every country in the world and every state in our nation. It has hit every age group, nationality, and gender. It has hit the rich and the poor. It has hit the good and the bad. It has hit the powerful and the powerless. And it doesn’t care what political party or religion you are with. It is an equal opportunity virus. We have no idea when it will stop, but it sure has changed the way we live.

With all the divisiveness we are still experiencing among Democrats and Republicans, I’m surprised they didn’t get the wake up call to all come together and get along for the sake of the country. Not everything Trump says in a tweet or in public is cause for alarm and ridicule. Trump is saying the same as others have said or suggested; but when he says it, the media goes bonkers. “When all else fails, blame Trump”, is getting tiresome. Trump has remained calm under pressure and has been spot on in his daily briefings, taking questions from biased reporters without losing his cool.

First the left tried to spy on him and it all started at the top–Obama. Then they set him up for some stupid Russian Collusion sham. They then claimed he was colluding with Ukraine to take out Biden. All lies. Now they can’t seem to get onboard that he is doing a good job on preventing the coronavirus from spreading across the nation–much better than his predecessors did for the Swine Flu.

When will the Democrats like Pelosi and Hillary wake up? When will Hollywood like Alec Baldwin wake up? When will the media like MSNBC and New York Times wake up? This is the Wake Up Call. It’s now. They need to stop ignoring it and wake up and smell the coffee or we’ll be in for a long haul of virus spreading. God wants us to change. He’s sending us a message, “Snap out of it!” We need to start being appreciative rather than critical. Start being kind to others rather than cruel. Start reporting the truth rather than lies. Start wishing for success rather than failure of our country. Start being nonpartisan rather than partisan. They need to start thinking positive rather than negative. The country will be a better place to live in if they did. The world will be a better place to live in if they did.

If God is testing us, some of us are failing. Here’s who’s passing the test: volunteers, the military, national guard, healthcare workers, doctors, nurses, firemen, police, first responders, grocery stores, pharmacies, food delivery services, companies who have foregone profits to help with production of supplies, hospitals, cooperative citizens, the Trump Administration, and those who are following the shelter in place and social distancing guidelines. Here’s who’s failing the test: Democrats in power that are criticizing, the mainstream media, those ignoring the shelter in place and the social distancing, critical citizens, candidates running for president, and disorderly youth defying food sanitation.

The Democrats, who added crap into an emergency bill to help the workers across America, should be ashamed of themselves. How do they look themselves in the mirror each night? Do they even have consciences? The mainstream media that is reporting outright lies and criticizing during this crisis should be ashamed of themselves. Past and present candidates for president that are criticizing Trump need to shut the hell up. And the sick individuals who are coughing on produce, licking toilet seats and food in stores all for a Youtube video should be arrested.

It’s times like this that brings the best out of people. The ones failing the test need to take a long look at themselves and change. God may be testing us, and they are failing the test. They need to change their ways for the sake of the health of the nation.

Pray for “Unity and Change” to Stop the Coronavirus.

Are the Cuomo Bros Double-Teaming Against Trump?

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EMPTY STREETS OF MANHATTAN.

I, for one, am getting tired of seeing Governor Cuomo appear daily with his morning “opinions,” not facts, on everything from how WE feel, his mother feels, to what the empty streets of Manhattan feel like. We get it. He’s planning on replacing Biden with the help of his CNN brother, both picking on Trump: Andrew with his veiled insults and his brother with outright CNN Fake News lies.

Andrew got caught in a lie. He said he had no ventilators but there were thousands in storage recently delivered so then he backpedaled and said he didn’t need them yet. He is not on top of his game so he double-talked or BS’d which Bernie and Warren were infamous for. Obviously, running for president and trying to run your state have some conflicting narratives. One day he praises; then the next, he whines. He’s giving me whiplash. We see through you, Andrew. It’s clear you won’t give credit where credit is due, but you sure won’t hesitate to criticize when it’s not due. In fact, you’re looking for failure each day so you can point it out and you have the media’s adoring attention.

Who does Cuomo think he is, president? He talks to us like we’re third graders. He’d make a good third grade teacher but that’s the extent of it–not qualified enough to run our country. Look what he’s done to New York: He allowed the hospitals to be unprepared for the next 9-11. He allowed DeBlasio to let thugs attack the police without any arrests. He allowed violent prisoners to be released out of prison during this epidemic. He allowed New York City to become a sanctuary city defying ICE. He allowed billions of taxpayer dollars to be wasted on failed green companies much like Obama did. It’s dereliction of duty. If he thinks these are qualifications to run for president, have at it. Trump will be sure to bring this up. Cuomo may be a better speaker than Biden, but at this point a homeless guy could speak better than Biden.

Trump’s business and construction background are really paying off right now. He knows how to get around government regulations “red tape” to speed things up. He knows how to use the Art of the Deal to get companies on board and help produce the needed supplies, foregoing their usual profits–except for GM who is loyal to Obama. He had the intuition to foresee that the medicine called hydroxychloroquine together with Zpack would be successful in curing the coronavirus despite the media and Democrats’ outrage. Again, they have egg on their faces as it is proving to be true. He also knows how to shut down a reporter who got cute with him during a presser. Trump said, “Don’t be a cutie pie.” Love it. Trust in Trump, he knows stuff.

So we’ll continue to hear this governor give his morning chats each day trying to get the Democrats to rally around him as the “voice of the Democrat party”, not Biden. And behind the scenes, we’ll continue to hear from Obama and Hillary et al going after Trump in their own way with snide remarks of disapproval of Trump’s handling of the crisis.

There is no election right now. It has been put on the back burner. In the meantime, the Democrats are using this lull in election news to rally around their replacement candidate. Hillary wanted it to be herself, as usual, as she posted a horrible tweet saying Trump wanted America First. We are First in coronavirus cases. She’s sick. She left out that we lag behind in deaths. She’s really sick.

It’s the Democrat mantra: Never let a crisis go to waste. The coronavirus is the crisis the double-teaming brothers are using to go against Trump and ultimately replace Biden; in case The People haven’t figured it out yet.

TRUST IN TRUMP, HE KNOWS STUFF.

Swine Flu of 2009 Killed 12,500 Americans, Yet There Was No Media Panic. Why?

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I was around during 2009. We had the internet during 2009. I watched the news daily in 2009. Where was the outrage, the fear, the concern? Where was the streaming body count on cable news? I barely heard mention by the media of the Swine Flu H1N1 which originated in Mexico. Not even FOX News covered it. I wonder why?

Who was president then? Oh…Obama right after they passed Obamacare. Hmm. No wonder the press didn’t cover it. No wonder Democrat governors weren’t demanding hospital equipment and beds on national pressers. No wonder we weren’t told to wash our hands. No wonder Dr. Fauci was nonchalant about it at the time. No wonder there was no shelter in place which would have tanked the already weak economy. No wonder they didn’t close schools. No wonder we didn’t ban incoming flights from hotbed countries. The economy couldn’t go any lower at that point. Plus, Obama was the most non-transparent president in modern history. And the media was and still is the most protective of a president that I’ve ever seen. Yet Susan Rice is asking for Trump to resign? Really? Trump has been transparent about this virus from day one even while he was being impeached under false premises.

The 2009 flu pandemic was the second H1N1 pandemic the world had seen — the first being the 1918 Spanish flu, still the most deadly pandemic in history. The 2009 pandemic was caused by a new strain of H1N1 that originated in Mexico in the spring of 2009 before spreading to the rest of the world. By June of that year, there were enough cases that the World Health Organization declared the swine flu outbreak a pandemic.

In the U.S., between April 2009 and April 2010, the CDC estimates there were 60.8 million cases of swine flu, with over 274,000 hospitalizations and nearly 12,500 deaths. Live Science

The American public has been aware of this outbreak in China since February and knew about the citizens returning that were in quarantine across the country, yet people still crowded the subways of New York, still attended Mardi Gras in New Orleans, still visited contagious rest homes, still packed bars and restaurants, still went on cruises, still crowded beaches for spring break, still went on European vacations, still attended concerts and conventions, and still took ubers and taxis, i.e. they ignored warnings and common sense. They behaved like a surfer ignoring the risk of an undertow. An undertow is invisible, much like this virus, and deadly.

If we had done nothing about this outbreak in the U.S. and the media never reported it like during the Obama Administration, the death toll would probably be at 10,000 by now and the media would be foaming at the mouth claiming it’s Trump’s fault. But we did try to contain and starve it by closing down businesses across the country at the risk of job losses. No telling how many lives were saved so far. And the media is still claiming it’s Trump’s fault. He’s damned if he does anything and damned if he does nothing.

The 2009 flu pandemic primarily affected children and young adults, and 80% of the deaths were in people younger than 65, the CDC reported. That was unusual, considering that most strains of flu viruses, including those that cause seasonal flu, cause the highest percentage of deaths in people ages 65 and older. But in the case of the swine flu, older people seemed to have already built up enough immunity to the group of viruses that H1N1 belongs to, so weren’t affected as much. Live Science

Another difference between the two pandemics was testing.

The most commonly used test for H1N1 is called a rapid influenza diagnostic test, which looks for substances (antigens) on a swab sample from the nose or back of the throat. These tests can provide results in about 15 minutes. Mayo Clinic

A test with results in 15 minutes is a huge difference between the two epidemics. Obviously with such a quick test, patients would know within minutes if they were contagious and possibly stop the spread. There was no need to have test kits manufactured. No need to send them somewhere awaiting results for days. But even with this convenience, there were 60 million cases of the Swine Flu in the U.S. under the Obama Administration.

What’s the main difference between the Coronavirus and the Swine Flu other than the politics:

— Coronavirus is far deadlier than the flu. Thus far, the mortality rate for coronavirus (the number of reported cases divided by the number of deaths) is around 3% to 4%, although it’s likely to be lower because many cases have not yet been reported. The flu’s rate is 0.1%. MIT Technology Report

Maybe the moral of this tale of two epidemics is that Trump took it more seriously. He didn’t want one person to die. Trump has more compassion. He had instincts to ban flights from China early on at the ridicule of “I-did-that” Biden and the biased hateful media, possibly saving thousands of lives. He recommended isolation of people at the risk of his great economy that he was running on. So he cared more about the people than his reelection which ironically may get him re-elected. Because when you do something selfless rather than selfish, you are a better leader.

One thing we have learned so far is that Pelosi cares little about “the workers of America.” She held up a perfectly perfect stimulus bill that was ready on Sunday by adding a lot of liberal pork to it and claiming it was all for corporations before and now for the workers. The woman is a pathological liar. She should be removed from her position immediately. The bill has still not been passed as more and more workers are getting laid off (probably her intent) from suffering companies and more and more suffering patients are dying in hospitals awaiting needed supplies. She has unemployment and blood on her hands. She wants nothing more than to tank Trump’s economy at all costs. Thanks a lot selfish, heartless, greedy Nancy.

The Cure vs. Health of our Country. Physical Health vs. Mental Health.

man in black suit standing beside the yellow car — Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

WHEN IS THE RIGHT TIME TO GO BACK TO WORK?

This is the big dilemma right now. Should we continue to shut down the country to starve the virus or allow some of our younger folks to return to the workplace in certain businesses? So far the shutting down hasn’t really worked that well. Some of the new cases have not followed the guidelines, obviously. They’ve continued have get togethers, babysit grandchildren, shake hands, gone to bars, gone to movies, shopped without precautions, used public transportation, gone to crowded beaches, etc, and now we are paying the price for those that were irresponsible.

As a senior that is highly responsible for myself, I’d rather see the country flourishing with a strong economy than everyone sitting home in the off chance that a senior citizen like myself may catch the virus. We are the responsible generation. We are the baby boomers. We survived the polio disease, the “love generation,” and the Vietnam War. I think we can avoid being sneezed on or touching a contaminated surface. Give us some credit. Why would we want to see our country and children suffering and grandkids too all cooped up in their homes in their bathrobes? We can’t stand it. It has us mentally stressed.

Who are all these people getting the virus? Where have they been and who have they been around? Didn’t they get the message to isolate themself? If they had, they should be alive. I know it’s highly contagious but those that have gotten it have either continued to go to work, take cruises, flights, subways, elevators, shopping, babysitting, visiting family, and other inadvisable activities. Don’t be a “close talker” like in Seinfeld.

So once the stay in place is over, let some of the young, healthy folk get back to work already. If they happen to get the virus, we have some medicines that seem to be helping with the cure. If they continue to follow the guidelines while at work like social distancing, they probably won’t get it. But if they stay home for weeks on end feeling worthless that will damage their mental health, psyche, and confidence. I can already see their affect changing after two weeks of this isolation.

I know grandparents who are crying from this shutdown because their grown children got laid off. That alone will affect their health more than some droplet floating in the air. Seniors are very capable to wear the masks and rubber gloves when going out and washing when home again. We got the message three weeks ago when we first heard of China’s outbreak and Americans coming home to our hospitals. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out there will be breaches in containment. We’re not shy or embarrassed. We’ll be careful. Don’t ruin a generation of hardworking young folks for the sake of us. We can handle it.

I think the young folks should serve their country and get back to work. We send young men to war don’t we? This is just a different kind of war. A war to save our country from going under. It will be a skeleton crew at best but at least it will bring back the strength of the nation. Nothing worse than a damaged soul of our nation and people. People want to work, love to work; let them work. Of course, some areas are hotbeds for this virus and that would have to be determined. Maybe allow certain cities to reopen for business and others have to wait. Restaurants will have to redesign their seating until complete eradication. Tables at least six feet apart and no bar seating. Maybe no waiters until the virus is completely gone. Just a means to order via a table computer then walk up and pick it up when ready. We are a very creative country. Let’s use some of that technology.

This shutting down the country for one man’s mother, who is probably a shut in anyway, is getting ridiculous. Let’s get real. We love our seniors but they aren’t babies. Some survived the depression and three wars. They can take care of themselves unless they are in a rest home. Rest homes have their own challenges with cleanliness before this virus epidemic.

And to able-bodied seniors, help your country by not wandering around in shopping malls ordering coffee up close to others. Follow the goddamn guidelines or you will be the next victim. Show America that we aren’t a careless, helpless, clueless, irresponsible generation. Wait for this virus to be contained and eradicated before you venture out and about again. It’s because of our vulnerability that the country is shut down. We have to be smart and not rely on others to care for us. Save your card club, coffee klatches, or lunch with the ladies for another time. Stay home to save America. We are at war. The country needs you to follow the guidelines.

I’m a tough love kinda gal. Similar to Trump’s approach. Must be my construction background. We aren’t snowflake seniors.

StillbetteroffwithTrump