His overwhelming selfishness
Julian Borger spells out why Trump is – as we already know – the worst possible person to be in charge during a pandemic.
Trump in a time of coronavirus is a lethal combination. Everything about the president – his reliance on his gut instincts in place of expertise, his overwhelming selfishness, and his unfailing tendency to lash out at others when things go wrong – make him the worst person imaginable to hold the world’s most powerful job in the face of pandemic.
Also his ravenous ego, his sadistic bullying, his frivolity, his stupidity, his recklessness, his indifference to anything and anyone but himself, his conceit, his ignorance, his fucking stubbornness…it’s hard to draw up a complete list.
The president has dealt with coronavirus the same way he approached every other challenge in his administration, first trying denial – and when that failed, blaming outsiders. The disease has slid from a Democratic “hoax” to the “foreign virus”. It came as little surprise that his speech had been written by Stephen Miller, the author of the administration’s cruellest anti-immigration policies.
…
The lack of tests means that the country is stumbling blindfolded into the worst health crisis in decades. Despite warnings from his own experts, the president reportedly clings to the relatively low number of confirmed cases as a sign that the US might be spared the worst.
The numbers are low BECAUSE WE’RE NOT TESTING. It’s like saying the house is not on fire because you’ve closed and locked the door to the room that is engulfed in flames.
The CDC database updates the number of tests conducted daily. For the most recent date logged, the number is 8.
Eight tests conducted for the entire United States.
Nobody’s ever going to say this was our finest hour.
The historical analogue has to be the Roman Emperor Nero.
Another Nero – my boss just sent out an email that basically said we are to continue as normal. Almost every other college in our area has moved to distance, or is planning to move to distance, and we just received an email that said, basically, carry on. Oh, we are to develop distance alternatives, but all labs and classes are going to remain as normal unless the government (local, state, or regional, he said) declares otherwise.
I am in a high risk group, being an asthmatic who currently is fighting bronchitis, and the figures are terrifying. Our state went from one case to 10 in about 2 days. I can’t believe this shit. We are so f***ing Trumpian around here that we will just say “wash your hands” and go about our merry way.
And I’m too old to quit and find another job. No one will hire a 59 year old woman for much of anything. I can’t survive on the salary of a WalMart greeter.
James Buchanan defended the Dred Scott decision, tried to get Kansas admitted as a slave state, blamed secession on northerners and tried to get an amendment recognizing slavery passed, and did effectively nothing when South Carolina took over Fort Sumter. As a result of his actions, at least 620,000 soldiers died in the Civil War (and probably more). That’s just soldiers, and it was about two percent of the population.
He’s probably the most comparable president we’ve had to Trump.
Hard and dangerous. A comprehensive list would require the expenditure of untold, vast quantities of electrons currently needed for the vital work of keeping the universe in operation.
I hope your boss sees sanity iknklast. Sooner rather than later. I hope you stay safe and healthy.
Update: My immediate supervisor has instructed me to begin working from home. Just so no one worries.
Oh good. That’s very good news. I was about to utter a loud screech and ask if you could get a union rep involved. (But I suppose the union was driven out of the state by mobs carrying torches long ago…)
No, we still have a union. The administration has been trying to bust the union here for at least two decades, but the faculty are firm in our commitment to the union, and NEA has been firm in their resolve.
Good. Fist-bump.
Second fist bump.
Fist bumps all around. Everyone stay safe.
Elbow bump here.
About to fly home from Madison. Today’s the first day of spring break, so the airport is fairly crowded. Like iknklast, I’m asthmatic.
Trying not to breathe.
Urgh. Good luck.