HE WENT TO JARED-LOOK OUT FOR THE LOW BAR

OR PONTUS PILATE WASHES HIS HANDS IN AN ELECTION YEAR

Donald Trump went to his most trusted advisor, a graduate from the Trump University cum laude with PhDs in Medicine, Virology, Epidemiology, Middle East Peace, and Horse Whispering. He has other lesser bachelor degrees in Drug Crisis Management, Revisionist History, and Milking Stallions. His successes are…um…uh…marrying in? And this makes him qualified?

This extraordinary individual is Jared Kushner. Who else the trusted son-in-law of NERO. It’s amazing that with all that obvious education, and with his experience in real estate he would be the best choice for the federal government’s response to the pandemic.

 Wednesday afternoon Jarod came out of his from under the Trump bubble and escaped from his cocoon to talk about the pandemic.  His response to a question by a reporter as to how he felt about the administration’s response to the crisis was self-congratulatory, in that he stated he “felt the government response rose to the challenge and was a great success story”.  He trotted out an 8-point plan, no one had seen before, with check marks showing he had met the all the milestones the administration had made and made all their goals to date.  Does this mean the administration is washing their hands to the remainder of the recovery? He said that by end of May we will have begun returning and by June we will be in transition, and by July we will be clear and back to almost normal.  This comes as Mr.Ed in Jan. Feb. and Mar. he said it would just go away and disappear. 

  This has been “a great success story”, said Jared, and his milk stallion father-in-law called him a genius. I guess his measure of success is the highest death rate and most schizophrenic and delayed responses to pandemic warnings of any country. 

When someone in the administration inquired about the toll on the elderly, of re-opening early (I think it was Mr. Ed) said, “the 80 year olds are on their last legs anyway.”  When defending the statement, a Trumpian said, ”simple men tell the truth”. Yes you can be assured what you see is what you get.

All of the above shows, was an attempt for Pilate to wash his hands of the response and turn it entirely over to the governors.  Could this be due to his ability to put politics over public health and human life?  An election should not be a motivation for a leader to offload his responsibility knowing any decision is potentially the wrong one, so let someone else take the heat.  He declared a national emergency and is acting like it’s a state-by-state emergency. Mr. Ed keeps picking the states to reward, if they become sycophants and smite the others.

TO THE GAS SHOWERS

Mr.Ed invoked Defense Production Act to force meat packers in the mid-west to re-open and stay open.  The CDC guidelines, concerning coronavirus safety was issued.  The guidelines for PPE, distancing, partitions, and spacing for factories to open, had also included meat packers, for their safety.  These, as well as and other safety guidelines, were issued to OSHA. OSHA took these safety guideline issues and turned them into recommendations and did not make any of them mandatory, allowing the meat packers to comply or not comply, their choice. The DPA also gave meat packers immunity from prosecution for negligence.  These packers had licenses to kill hogs, chickens, beef cows, and now humans. 

There is a current problem with the meat supply, however, added shifts, spacing and PPE should be mandatory, not optional, for the safety and health of these workers that are now considered as essential and heroes, for complying under the conditions meat packing workers have to endure.  If workers quit, they won’t get unemployment.  Most of these packing plants are the only large employer in some of these towns.  These employees are having part of a Patrick Henry moment- it’s the “…or give me death” part.  Does Trump values his Kentucky Fried Chicken over human life?

A STREETCAR NAMED EFFICACY

“Operation Warp Speed” Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.  The Dean of the Trump University has made his desires known.  To hell with science, safety, and potential of things like the memory of Thalidomide fast track ignoring protocols, testing regimens, and sound scientific advice.  Mr. Ed is going to rush any promising vaccine, which leads one to think that his ignorance, coupled with power has the potential to produce the greatest of human tragedies.   Mr. Ed thinks in monetary and self-political terms.  In wanting to open prematurely, he is thinking in those terms and is risking the lives of those 70 and on.  The America First mantra by this administration, has become “America alone”.  The motto “united we stand” only applies to the Trumpisms’.  This pandemic is a world problem, which can only be solved with world leadership.  Authoritarian leaders make very poor respondents to any crisis as a result of the style being limited to division and not a uniting.  There must always be an enemy.

MOSCOW MITCH’S GREED

I recently wrote about the selfishness of Moscow Mitch.  He basically told governors to go f**k themselves when it came to a bailout and told them to use bankruptcy as a means of solving the problem of excess expenses, laid on as a result of the virus.  He also said he did not want to burden future taxpayers with the payback (Yeah! After he gives away $9,000/person in the U.S. to his friends.  Note: $3 trillion divided by 330 million people is $9,000/person of taxpayer money.  The simple fact is, Kentucky and Florida are the most greedy of the states.  Kentucky and Moscow Mitch receives $37 billion per year more than it pays to the Federal Government in taxes.  Florida receives $30 billion more per year.

 Florida and Texas also have the largest disaster relief bills for floods and hurricanes and residents pays no income tax.  Both of these states are dependent on sales taxes, which have fallen with retail sales down 7.5%.   Perhaps Texans, Floridians and Kentuckians should pay more taxes Moscow Mitch?   They will ultimately need the money as well.

THE NEW GOING POSTAL

It amazes me, the petulance of the man-child’s attempt to get even with Jeff Bezos of Amazon CEO fame. Bezos owns the Washington Post too and is a pain in the Butt for Donald.  The Donald has put the Postal Service in a bind, due to funding shortfalls.  Amazon, Fed-Ex, UPS all use the Postal Service in rural areas and where it has no delivery presence.  The guarantee is they must charge the same rate for anyone.  This is done at a discount, as a result of the volume Amazon uses.  The shortfall comes as a result of the government’s insistence that the Postal Service pay projected up-front costs for medical expenses, for all current and retired employees, unlike all other federal agencies which is pay as you go.  Mr. Ed and the Republican party has attempted to privatize the Postal Service for years, even though they are consistently ranking as the most respected of all federal agencies.