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| Jim Carrey's painting of Jared Kushner, "The Self-Unmade Man" |
It is hard to believe that so many of us can still be in denial. We sense a prevailing notion that you have a positive outlook if you want to see kids back in school. And, that you're some sort of 'fraidy cat or defeatist if you do not.
Or, you buy the outrageously shallow Trump rhetoric that you just seek to "harm him politically" if you wish to see schools closed. The time is long past to pay any attention to what he says. Impressionable people dragged their feet on acknowledging the health crisis. Mask-wearing was made into a point of contention.
Why are we taking any chances at all, considering the prospect of a worsening virus outbreak? The "second wave" may be looming. It has already surprised us.
A couple weeks ago there was a headline on the Drudge Report on new dangers in Idaho. The stereotype of that state is that it presents itself as about the most anti-"woke" place. But when the welfare of kids enters the picture, it sweeps aside any mere political "fashion." I read some of the Idaho coverage and learned that Boise schools would make an announcement on August 3.
An op-ed headline this morning from the Idaho Statesman reads: "In high-spread areas in Idaho, keep schools closed, start the fall semester online-only."
Does any serious person think this suggestion is based on any sort of political judgment re. Donald Trump? The Statesman piece reads: "What may seem like an insurmountable and unreasonable ask today will one day be recognized as a wise and necessary step during extraordinary times."
The piece notes that "some schools are pushing to open now, with the possibility of going online later in the fall. It's almost as if we are expecting a disaster." The piece suggests a reversal, that schools should start off online, and weigh the possibility of bringing the students back later once conditions improve.
Maybe some people sense there is a stigma in being conservative (holding back with in-person), and why for that matter should we use the term "conservative?" Is it possible that we're unduly influenced by the many people who make their living or are connected to our many-tentacled public school system, a beast that needs to be fed? It's an intimidating power, perhaps one that gains traction with the suggestion that you're "positive" if you want the doors to open, "negative" if not.
That considerable power is countered by the fear of dying we must weigh, both for ourselves and our children. The latter can obviously transfer the virus to the former.
As time goes on, we will feel less and less security as a result of just feeling healthy on a particular day. We are all vulnerable, especially those up in years or with pre-existing conditions. We are fools if we become influenced by Trump's rhetoric. Major League Baseball tried moving forward with the best of intentions. Ah, the best-laid plans. . .
We saw Herman Cain show a carefree attitude going to Tulsa OK to simply be present for a Trump rally. He was photographed smiling and looking quite content, surrounded in close proximity by others. He got the virus and is now deceased.
The Kushner problem
There is a strong belief making the rounds this weekend, that Jared Kushner's task force believed at one point the pandemic would affect Democratic areas worse. The politically-oriented people closest to the boyish-looking son-in-law of the president thought a coordinated nationwide response was a bad political move. Outbreaks appeared for a time particularly bad in states inclined to vote Democratic.
And of course, why the heck should that matter? Even a "Democrat" state has many people who voted Republican and for Trump.
A strategy developed, to "hold back" and then blame the Democratic governors. At the cost or sacrifice of lives lost? Well, apparently. So I'm wondering, where is the overwhelming outcry from all over re. this? The demand for expedited action, to perhaps set up a panel to charge Kushner and others of a "crime against humanity."
Maybe there is a chance of this happening if Democrats seize enough power in November. That is not guaranteed. The Trump machine of power is doing all it can to wreck the U.S. Postal Service to try to make sure mail-in voting doesn't work, or will end up looking so suspect there would be lawsuits to gum up the gears, resulting in chaos. I depend on the P.O. for my bank correspondence.
You would think enough responsible people walk the corridors of power in Washington D.C. to ensure that such a sinister thing does not come about. Through most of my life I would have assumed the presence of enough people motivated by wisdom and goodness. "America is just like that." But that model is under considerable threat now.
So, it appears there is a totally plausible suggestion that Trump and his people were willing to see lives lost so certain political aims could be realized. And on this very day, August 2, I still have to drive up toward the soils lab in Morris and see a sign off to the right, on property I assume is owned by Superior Industries, promoting "Trump-Pence." Surely I must be in some sort of alternate universe. The considerable Trump-oriented crowd of the Morris area was fed raw meet from the Trump right wing for so long, it's like trying to turn a barge around in a river to deal with it. Such incredible stubbornness. Mask-denial. Finger-pointing at Dr. Fauci.
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| Dr. Birx |
This morning it appears the Democrats are making some belated jabs at Dr. Birx who has become a fool, Trump's fool. History is written by the winners. If Trump cannot be overcome, Birx will skate to a degree, but what price will this country pay? If the pushback vs. Trump succeeds, the likes of Birx and other "enablers" would be in for a world of punishment. Jared Kushner up for "crime against humanity?" It almost seems like a no-brainer. The wheels should start turning immediately.
Here's a totally damning headline from "Business Insider": "Trump was 'bored' with the pandemic until he was told it was hurting 'our people': fellow Republicans." I mean, what hath God wrought? It has come to this? Right before our very eyes? In the year 2020? Aren't you concerned how God will pass judgment?
The Business Insider article reported "senior advisers tried a new approach: they told the president the coronavirus wasn't just killing liberals in blue states but was hurting Republicans and could spread in swing states."
The term "our people" lands like a lead balloon. We are not two species of humans in our U.S. of America: blue and red, liberals and conservatives, Democrat and Republican. And if we are allowing our society to degenerate into this, it's what might be called an "existential crisis."
Nobody wants to die. No one wants friends and family to die, not even the many religious diehards of our Stevens County who will retreat from Trump only when it has been determined that hell has frozen over. I encounter these people. One used to forward me his tea party-flavored stuff and I read some of it with amusement until I just couldn't take it anymore. I asked him to stop forwarding.
Morris connection in Idaho
Boise, Idaho, is where our former Morris library director Melissa Yauk lives today. I gave her an emailed heads-up about what the news was saying, and advised her to please be careful. She responded: "We'll get through this. We just have to act responsibly."
America has survived crises in the past. But we must not assume we'll always have the grit to do it. The current situation is incredibly scary. Herman Cain took a cavalier attitude and look how he ended up. Don't you feel scared now? There's nothing "macho" about defying fear. And certainly we must embrace fear or concern on behalf of our kids.
What is it that Superior Industries people think is so darn important about keeping Trump/Pence in power? It's so ludicrous. I am a mere grain of sand with the power I might wish to exercise. I can write and write and write. So what?
Whither our Morris public school?
So, what about our Morris MN school system? Are we on edge like in Idaho? Here's an email I received from a friend on July 31:
It looks like Morris Schools will open live with kids – sort of – if things stay the way they are now, even tho not said in so many words by the supt yet. It depends on the percentage of COVID diagnoses per 1000 people or something like that, and Steven County fits under the suggested bar line (as of today). But families will have the option of holding kids out to do remote learning, so will be interesting to see how that plays out if in fact that’s what they do. I heard where Hancock schools are for sure opening up on time, fully kid-present. Nothing has been said about the teachers that don’t want to come in and teach those little super spreaders. It sounds like all fall sports have been suspended around here, and UMM has “postponed” their fall sports schedules, as if they think they might run them in the spring. Silly rabbits. MLB is having trouble already – it wouldn’t surprise me if they canned the season completely. And will pro football even start? I kinda think not, but who knows? And the pro basketball and hockey leagues restarting (continuing) their seasons - it just doesn’t feel right. I do get a kick out of the televised baseball games with the crowd noise artificially piped into the broadcast, and “fake” people in the seats, be they digitally inserted or cardboard cutouts.
We must resist undue pressure to "open the doors" and think it's good news if the kids simply stream in. It could be a disastrous thing. Lives could be lost. There are conservative churches in the Morris area that are hopeless for trying to persuade re. Trump. It's "Alice Through the Looking Glass." Forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do.
My podcast entry for August 2: please visit
My "Morris Mojo" podcast for the second day of August reminds of how close we're getting to key decisions. Also, to remind how special this time of year is. I mean, before fall descends on us. So I invite you to click on permalink below:
https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/Second-day-of-August-ehjb7n
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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