Trump's Legacy: The Pandemic

 

Confirmed new COVID-19 infections in the U.S. on Wednesday (144,391) and Thursday (162,226) were higher than the next three-worst countries combined. Today there were 183,527 more cases, bringing the U.S. total above the 11 million mark. There are 33,427 cases for every million Americans. That's significantly worse than comparable countries, even though most of them are also suffering disastrous new waves on contagion. These are the dozen countries with the biggest economies in the world-- measured by gross domestic product (GDP)-- along with how many cases per million residents they have reported as of today:

• U.S.- 33,427 cases per million residents
• China- 60
• Japan- 897
• Germany- 9,213
• India- 6,334
• U.K.- 19,370
• France- 29,429
• Italy- 18,324
• Brazil- 27,306
• Canada- 7,588
• Russia- 12,884
• South Korea- 549

This might be a good time to point out that the 3 contiguous Trumpistani states, still reveling in their devotion to Trump and in their COVIDity, probably should a wall built around them to save the rest of the country:

• North Dakota- 79,524 cases per million residents
• South Dakota- 70,453
• Iowa- 56,008

How do we get out of this? I hate to sound like a broken record, but everyone should wear a mask and practice social distancing, the way they do in China, Japan and South Korea (see numbers above). But a self-serving Trump, without an iota of concern for the people who elected him, let alone the rest of us, politicized and distorted simple public health protocols so that it's now practically impossible for majorities in Trumpistann to don a mask without being suspect... a socialist? a Muslim? a Black Lives Matters activist? a secret agent for AOC? Republican governors are already saying they will reject Biden's appeal for mask mandates in their states, including mass murderers Kristi Noem (R-SD) and Kim Reynolds (R-IA).

Because of Trump and zombie partisan governors like Noem and Reynolds, it will probably take between a million and two million deaths in the U.S. before there is anything serious that can happen with stopping the pandemic. And I don't even generally advocate shooting non-mask-wears in the streets. But even people as partisan as Charles Koch are rethinking their lockstep support for the Republican Death Cult and its welcoming posture towards the pandemic.

Q-Anon is now in Congress

Allow me to put a twitter thread by Rachel Bitecofer into narrative form, since she sees it differently. Where I think the problem is partisan, she thinks it's generational and that our situation isn't being made worse by Republicans so much as by people under 40 (most of whom are not Trump supporters):

She began by asserting that "The only way to make the under 40 crowd change behaviors (absent coercion via gov action like a mask mandate-- given Trump and the GOP have set a careless tone in concrete in the U.S.) is to start featuring the deaths of young people on local news, social media, and ads on TV. These ads would need to present only young people and highlight their deaths in ways that admittedly take their representation in the data out of proper context. Because right now, the under-40 crowd are driving the infection spread and they are doing it because they believe that if they get it-- they'll likely get the asymptomatic or low-symptom kind. It ironic, because a population that has a demonstrably shitty capability of assessing risk is suddenly really good at assessing it correctly. Because the Under-40 crowd have very, very good odds of the above, espically if they are perfectly healthy still (the bastards!) . But, no reporters even hit them back with what I'd hit them back with, which is whether they've thought through if they can live with the guilt. 'The guilt of what?' they invariably ask. 'The guilt of accidentally killing someone! Because I would be terrified of becoming an asymptotic carrier and killing someone-- like my friend, or my mom, or grandma, or sister, tots by accident!! This virus is weird. I mean you're right. The odds of anyone of us getting a deadly version of it is so small yet the obituaries are filled with people who got sick via a friend or relative that didn't know they were sick and went to dinner with them, or came to their house or something and they were just like you or me and now they're DEAD. No one can predict who it'll be. It could be any of us!' Maybe it helps."

Maybe. But I think after a million Americans are dead-- we're "just" at a quarter million right now-- Americans will finally get it through their collective skull that no masks = sickness and death. Or, if we don't, a government will must the courage to step in with mandatory measures, like serious escalating fines leading, if ignored, to prison. I hope we don't have to wait for two million deaths before that happens!

Only 7 U.S. states-- Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and West Virginia-- have fewer than 20,000 cases per million residents. Anything above 20,000 is considered an out-of-control pandemic. 16 states have over 40,000 cases per million residents. I recommend... XLear (pronounced "clear"). I'll explain why next week but go get some now and start using it.