Steve Jonas: A Day in the Life and Death of the US : From The New York Times
July 15th 2020
The New York Times Building - Manhattan - New York City (Adam Jones)
By Steven Jonas, MD, MPH
Most mornings when I wake up, I turn on my phone and take a look at the headlines, from The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, or The Guardian (UK). This morning (July 14, 2020, at about 7:00 AM EDT) it was the turn of The Times. Here at the headlines that I found to be the most notable, with short comments added.
1. “U.S. States Swamped by the Virus Look at Returning to Lockdown.” Leaders in California, Florida, Texas, considering return to stricter measures. On Monday there was recorded at least 30,000 new cases, 18 % of global total. Comment: a common factor? They all “re-opened too soon,” without requiring very simple protective measures, like masks and “social distancing.”
2. “NY confronts 2nd Wave Risk: Visitors from FL and Texas.” Unfortunately for we New Yorkers, unlike with the European Union, our borders cannot be simply closed to those coming from states that have not practiced the simplest of precautions.
3. “DeVos Now Calls for Classrooms to Reopen.” She was formerly a champion of “local and parental control.” That policy was of course designed to speed the flow of public money to private and parochial schools. All of a sudden, the President’s school policy has changed, and so has she.
4. “The Stunning Sweep of the Coronavirus Through the Rio Grande Valley.” And no, Mr. Trump, viruses don’t know from walls.
5. “Why We're Losing the Battle with Covid-19.” (From the article): “Escalating crisis in Texas shows how the chronic under funding of public health has put America on track for the worst response in the developed world.” My comment: Of course if the President had even the foggiest notion of what a virus is and how viral diseases are spread (he doesn’t) he could early on have authorized a program to severely control its spread and then would have been on a glide path to re-election.
6. “More Than 5 Million Workers U.S. Workers lost health. ins. during pandemic, a new study estimates.” My comment: Remember, in the debate over universal health insurance how wonderful private job-related health insurance was?
7. “The QAnon Candidates are Here: Trump Has Paved Their Way.” My comment: Please note that it's the Deep State Pedophile Satanists who are out to get Trump who are THE problem facing the nation. Among other things, QAnon can include anti-Semitic anti-vaxers who hold that that pandemic, as well as Russian interference in the 2016 elections, is also a hoax. There are Republican candidates running on a QAnon platform and many echt Republicans are supporting them, quietly (shhh).
8. “More Republicans, wary of the virus, are saying that they will not attend the FL convention.” No comment necessary.
And then on the Opinion pages:
1. Michelle Goldberg: “In Some Countries Normal Life is Back. Not Here.”
2. Andrew Weisman: “We Can Still Get the Truth From Roger Stone.” (On The Daily Social-Distancing Show with Trevor Noah, 7-13-20, he remarked that Mr. Stone was “genetically-designed to look guilty.”)
3. Paul Krugman: “America Drank Away its Children's Future.” By, among other things, opening bars and other places for mass, close-in, gatherings way too early and cementing the spread into many communities across the country.
And finally: “New York City's Wave of Gun Violence Continues with 3 Drive-by Shootings.” Of course, the “law and order” folks (led on by the “law and order” [ho, ho, ho] President) attribute this to various restrictions laid onto or proposed for police. A) the chances that a cop would be around when a drive-by shooting occurs are next to nil and what could he/she do in that split second anyway. B) New York City’s no-bail release program has nothing to do with it, as was found in a study sponsored by The New York Post. C) Can’t have drive-by shootings (or shootings of any kind) without having lots of guns around. D) It is highly likely that it is the pandemic itself, and the terrible insecurities that it is imposing upon folks, especially those with limited funds, that is the cause of the increased violence being observed in many cities. One can be sure that this is a subject that will be studied by more than one criminologist.
Steven Jonas, MD, MPH, MS is a Professor Emeritus of Preventive Medicine at StonyBrookMedicine (NY) and author/co-author/editor/co-editor of over 35 books. He is an occasional contributor to BuzzFlash (reborn) (after having been along-time contributor to the Original). In addition, he is a “Trusted Author” for Op-Ed News. a contributor to Reader Supported News/Writing for Godot; a contributor to From The G-Man; a Contributor for American Politics to The Planetary Movement; and a Deputy Editor, Politics, and a “Witness to History,” and an occasional contributor for The Greanville Post; He is also a triathlete (36 seasons, 256 multi-sport races).
He has a distribution list for his columns. If you would like to be added to it, please send him an email at sjtpj@aol.com.