Theater of the Absurd

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Theater of the Absurd, Trump

For the last month or so, I’ve been trying to stay away from the insanity known as the White House Daily Briefings, at least on this blog anyway. My husband on the other hand has been patiently putting up with my rants. Something happened yesterday however that I simply must address or I will spontaneously combust. After a presentation from scientist Bill Bryan on the effectiveness of sunlight and disinfectants on surfaces, Trump took things a step farther:

I see disinfectant, where it knocks [the coronavirus] out in one minute—one minute—and is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside, or almost a cleaning. Because you see it gets in the lungs, and does a tremendous job on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that. So you’re going to have to use medical doctors, but it sounds interesting to me.

For anyone thinking: “Kim. You must have misheard.” Here’s the video.

I totally relate to Dr. Birx’s body language. While most of us know not to take in dangerous household chemicals into our bodies, there are those who faithfully follow everything that comes out of Mr. Trump’s mouth. Maryland’s Emergency Management Agency had to issue an official warning not to use disinfectants to treat coronavirus after their hotline received more than 100 calls. And this morning, Dettol, Reckitt Benckiser Plc., the maker of Lysol, felt the need to warn “under no circumstances” should its disinfectants be introduced in the human body through injection, ingestion, or any other method.

Even a group of four-year-olds released this warning:

By now, many of you have heard Donald Trump making medical recommendations from the White House,” the statement read. “It’s important for you to know that these recommendations have no basis in medical or scientific fact.”

“Right now, millions of you are stuck at home with nothing to do,” the statement continued. “Still, that’s no excuse to do anything that Donald Trump tells you to do.”

The four-year-olds’ communiqué ended with a general advisory for the future: “Whenever Donald Trump tells you to do something, ask yourself: If Donald Trump jumped off a bridge, would you jump off a bridge? Of course not.”

Okay, that last bit was satire courtesy of The New Yorker’s Andy Borowitz, but I hope you get the picture. I can’t even believe I had to write this.

 

Family Fridays #5

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Family Fridays

Hi Everyone! It’s the 5th week of Family Fridays, and I hope you and yours continue to be well. Here’s how things are in Alabama as of last evening. There are 5,832 confirmed cases of coronavirus with 197 deaths. From last week that’s an increase of 1,453 cases and 61 deaths. While the state’s stay-at-home order is in place, it’s believed that sometime today, Governor Ivey will be announcing her plans on reopening, which I’m a little nervous about. Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth shared a few possible details during an interview yesterday. Retailers will be required to post signs telling people that if they have a fever or other symptoms, they cannot enter. I’m unclear as to how that’s going to stop the spread of coronavirus by those who are asymptomatic, but maybe that’s just me. There’s also to be a limit of eight people per every 1,000 feet, and use of face masks and hand sanitizer will be “highly recommended.” In addition to retailers, hair & nail salons, massage & tattoo parlors, restaurants, fitness centers, casinos, and beaches will also be allowed to reopen as long as “health precautions” are followed. I’m assuming parks, movie theaters and other entertainment venues will also be given the green light. I’ve got to be honest and say I’m highly skeptical. There’s been a couple of protests against the lockdown, but I’m happy to say that there hasn’t been the craziness seen in other parts of the country. I’ve been wary about wading into this debate, but here are my thoughts. My husband and I are fortunate in that we are retired. We make a small, but steady income and while we have to worry about things like health insurance, at least we don’t have the extra burden of being out of work. My heart breaks when I see the unemployment numbers and miles-long lines outside of food banks. However, as of today there are over 47,000 people who have died from Covid-19 nationwide and that’s with most states being under lockdowns since the end of March. Nothing has changed. We still have no herd immunity. No real effective treatment (No, Mr. Trump’s ideas of people combating Covid-19 by exposing themselves to massive amounts of UV light or injecting themselves with disinfectants will NOT work!) And of course, there’s no vaccine in our immediate future. Our testing capacity isn’t where it should be, despite Mr. Trump’s attempts to reassure us. What’s going to happen as businesses start to open up and social distancing guidelines start to grow lax? Well, with Georgia reopening today with gusto, and Governor Kemp ignoring the phased reopening guidelines set forth by the federal government, it won’t be long before we see exactly what the ramifications of reopening will be while we’re still in the middle of a pandemic. I have a really bad feeling about this and I hope to God I’m wrong.

On a more uplifting note, I’d like to tell you about a couple who we are blessed to have as neighbors. The wife, knowing my husband and I have health issues and are trying to avoid stores, has on numerous occasions asked if we need anything on her trips to the grocery store. Her husband, who spends long hours on the road and has connections to the food industry, generously shares fresh produce and other delicious edibles when he’s able to come home. They are the very definition of Southern Hospitality! So, that’s how things are in the Cotton State. How are all of you?

~ Poster by Baldwin, NY teacher Chris Fahey ~

For this week’s positivity I’d like to share the following video which is a tribute to the many cases of “Corona Kindness” that have occurred during this crisis.