The Plague in the Age of the GIANT EGO
Today’s story: Trump cancels research on the spread of bat viruses to humans. Probably to back the right wing theory that the Coronavirus plague originated in a lab in Wuhan. This does not really put the blame on China. A US inspection of the lab last year found security lacking, and the lab applied for US funding to increase security. The Trump administration denied it. The point is, they were doing research on the passage of viruses from bats to people, something important to people all over the world. At one news conference, Trump blamed the lab saying that the kind of bat in the Coronavirus genes weren’t present in Wuhan, but were thirty miles away. As if bat sellers don’t have cars or trucks.
Every mainstream publication has run articles about Trump’s administration ignoring warnings of pandemics, and about the particular Coronavirus, during his entire administration, and in December, January, and February. This started with Trump dismissing the World Health part of the Security Counsil in 2018. Then skipping many security briefings in January, and never reading the daily briefings.
Last night, GIIANT-EGO fired the deputy Inspector General of Health and Human Services for issuing an honest report of shortages of testing and equipment at hospitals. So much for honest assessments even within the Administration.
A week ago, Trump fired the experienced leader of the effort to find a vaccine for the virus, Dr. Bright. Yesterday, Trump claimed he was now in charge of finding the vaccine. There goes the game. He will back the unchecked two month one, rather than the conventionally tested yearlong ones. If and when that fails or turns out to have low probability side effects, not visible in small tests, it will scare people from taking any vaccine developed under Trump. Trump also backed the anti-vaxers during his first election campaign in one of the debates.
The anti-vaccine groups are especially important now, since people are shunning medical offices, and children are going without their standard vaccinations. This could lead to other epidemics when in-person schools start in several states in the fall.
The GIANT EGO had to have his name put on all of the checks mailed out by the government in the rescue bills. Then, the EGO had to have his signature on all of the letters sent out recipients telling them that the checks were being deposited into their accounts. Since Trump is not paying for these $2.5 trillion aid, but us taxpayers will, he didn’t deserve this recognition. The funding is given by vote of the Congress, not by him.
This article was precipitated by the one mailing of a card that I got on the Coronavirus. The front side was mostly covered by the following in GIANT Font:
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S CORONAVIRUS GUIDELINES FOR AMERICA
If I had to pick one person in the US who has publicly flaunted the guidelines and given the most high level encouragement of the Gun-Trump groups protesting guidelines, it would be the GIANT EGO. None of the soon to be 40 states reopening have even matched the first Gateway requirement to reach Phase I. Having taken up the entire front side of the card, the actual instructions were printed on the backside in the tiniest font. It would have been much more appropriate to title the rules: America’s Coronavirus Guidelines. Only 35% of people trust Trump on the Coronavirus. The advice fails to mention wearing masks. It also fails to mention a six foot separation. It doesn’t mention the protocol of calling your doctor before going to an office or an emergency room if you have symptoms. It doesn’t mention what the symptoms are.
Yesterday, the GIANT EGO barred the US House from getting a presentation by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. What is the GIANT EGO hiding? What isn’t he hiding? Dr. Fauci has talked live to all of the standard networks, and protected his answers about the failures of the Administration, in order to keep some real science input into the Administration. Same for Dr. Deborah Birx, the Coronavirus Response Coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force.
The announcement of the success of Remdesivir in shortening hospital stays for the Coronavirus was not done by the doctors involved, or by the company involved, where all the credit belongs. It was done in a public meeting with the GIANT EGO, so he could get credit for it.
The daily Task Force briefings was carried on CSPAN and the cable news channels, simply because the GIANT EGO was self praising, when he wasn’t lining up the other speakers to praise him. This is how the GIANT EGO won the 2016 election as well.
The scandal in the Meat Plants of over 5,000 infected, is because the Administration declined inspections, leaving the plants to self regulate. They don’t practice any of the protections that are common elsewhere. The don’t have PPE supplied to their workers. The GIANT EGO has forced these poor workers back on the job using the Defense Production Act, without adding adoption of the protective practices and inspections.
The GIANT EGO ordered the graduating class of West Point to return to their graduation, so that he can speak and get the photo op of speaking to them. For most, this will involve airplane flights and hotels and restaurants for them and their families, putting them at increased risk. Then, they fly back to every state in the country, magnifying any infection.
There are only two people in the country who, along with their families, are guarded by the vast Secret Service to be protected from infection by the Coronavirus. They flaunt that, by not wearing masks. They also flaunt it by arranging these photo-ops which put others in danger.
I don’t have news references to verity, but I strongly suspect that the US response was handicapped by Administration’s Buy American, or America First manufacturing policies. I think that in all things needed, they refused to buy from abroad, especially China, which was two months ahead of us in manufacturing PPE, ventilators, swabs, medicines, and in testing medicines. They will back and focus only on American products as medicines and vaccines. This is especially crucial with respect to China, where many of our medicines or chemicals for medicines are made. The evidence for this is partly that Peter Navarro, the China paranoid, has a key roll in this Coronavirus battle as the Director of Trade and Manufacturing, and the Defense Production Act coordinator.
We can’t leave China, without excoriating the GIANT EGO for his abandonment of the World Health Organization. This is when WHO needs our yearly half billion to fight the spread of the Coronavirus into Africa, which has no medical defenses. This is no only a humanitarian issue for our consciences in the US, but the delayed African infections will come back to haunt us in a further wave. Why did G-EGO do this? He himself gave us five explanations, lacking one good one. He wants to blame WHO for us not responding in time, because they did not give us a warning. G-EGO has a compulsive retaliation against the WHO head for criticizing his shutting off air travel from China. He is upset that China does not give much to WHO, like we do, which should be totally irrelevant. He claims that China dominates the WHO. After Congress puts $2.5 trillion into the Coronavirus fund, he claims that the half-billion to WHO could be better spent elsewhere. This is all the GIANT-EGO’s ego, and embedded anti-China policy.
It is hard enough to fight the virus war, than to have to fight the misdirections of the GIANT EGO and his Obsequions at the same time.
