Science and Truth

Let’s cut away the bullshit.  After listening to yesterday’s Sunday news programs and listening to Donald Trump over the last several weeks spreading his aspirational advice which is not based on any facts, there are some things that I, as an intelligent human being, can deduce for myself.

First, all available data tells us that this pandemic is on an upswing toward an apex that is still weeks away, maybe months.  Metropolitan areas, followed by local areas are all suffering increasing cases of the virus at their individual rates of infection.  Mitigation efforts are appallingly late in being applied by many public officials. 

Second, we must accept the fact that our national government was asleep at the switch after at least two years of warnings that our nation was vulnerable to a respiratory epidemic like Covid-19.  Then, the Trump administration purposely tried to downplay the danger in January and February which has left us 6-8 weeks behind the curve of the virus.  No matter—the task is now to do the best we can to mitigate by continued social distancing and lockdown.  And most importantly, we must allocate our woefully insufficient resources—test kits, PPE, and ventilators—to be supplied to the areas where the curve of infection is ascendant.

Third, we must accept the fact that the Trump's government is incapable or unwilling, or both, to accept responsibility for taking control of national distribution and management of supply chains.  This is leading to confusion, competing imperatives for buying and acquiring supplies and misallocating of resources.  The Defense Production Act is not being utilized to coordinate national production and distribution of critical resources.  Most hospitals are having trouble finding where critical supplies are, and then have to wait while hospital administrators have to figure out how to get access to them.  The federal government needs to take control and devise and then supervise production and distribution based on critical need.   Otherwise our front line health workers  will constantly be behind the curve and our misery will be prolonged.

Fourth, there is an incomprehensible reliance by the President on his own ‘feelings’ and instinct about how to act appropriately in this crisis.  He is not listening to his scientific and public health advisors.  Instead he is attacking science and the press, convinced there is a conspiracy to make him look bad.  Unless he stops this ‘show’ he is putting on every day, we will continue to experience confusion, mixed messages and unnecessary death and misery.  The media should stop broadcasting President Trump’s rambling self-aggrandizing daily press sessions because he is not giving us useful information.  They should instead present summaries during regular news broadcasts.

Fifth, WE must take responsibility for our own survival and health.  That means rigorously following the CDC guidelines for handwashing and social distancing.  In other words, STAY HOME and don’t mix with others until the wave of this infection passes.

When Chuck Todd asked Dr. Birx on Meet the Press what the ‘scientific team’ recommends that all Americans do with regard to extending the pseudo deadline that Trump had set for Tuesday for emerging from mitigation (ludicrous at best), she demurred.  She said she would rather give those recommendations to the President first.  Yet again, insufficient information supplied to the American people.  Apparently, all the scientific advisors are so afraid to speak openly about what the intelligent actions should be for fear of offending the President, that we are forced to remain victims to insufficient and conflicting advice.  However, ultimately, he extended the ‘shelter in place’ directive until the end of April.  The unfolding statistics were just too hard to ignore, even for Trump.  Another example of wasted time and energy not accepting the prima facie facts and truth about the challenge facing us.

Be smart-- we all know what the right thing to do personally is.  Just gird your loins and DO IT!  We will all be better off if we sacrifice now rather than wallow in the indecision being promoted by our public officials, both national, and regional.  Listen to the people who are showing themselves as real leaders—unafraid to speak the truth about what we face and what we must do.


BTW--check this out--my very talented daughter:  https://www.facebook.com/shaunelovesyou/videos/10102819013496225/