Doing the Wave

I'm pushing aside the Democratic convention for the moment, even with President Barack Obama's magnificent speech and Kamala Harris's historic speech and all the rest, because I track the coronavirus every day.  And while everyone knows how disturbing this is -- and by "everyone" I mean if you're sane, understand that science is real, and aren't a Trump cultist who believes in taking bleach and following potentially-toxic medical advice from a guy who sells pillows or from a crank pushing alien DNA and demon sperm -- I have decided to vent today.

We're in August, the hottest month of the year.  This is the time when Trump (after first having said in February that COVID-19 would be gone like a miracle, though, no, it didn't) later said it would drop to nothing in hot weather. And by all rights, a virus should drop to nothing in hot weather. But because Trump pushed to open business, and the highly-infectious coronavirus got all out of control, we've now been getting over 1,000 deaths a day, almost every day, in the LOW season.

The other day, crack government emergency operative Jared Kusher, whose credentials are as a slumlord and son-in-law with contacts being murderous despots, was interviewed by Wolf Blitzer on CNN.  The anchor had asked Kushner if he felt there was any way he could be pleased by the number of days, and when Kushner did a tap dance and how even one death is a tragedy, Blitzer -- to his credit -- wasn't having it and asked the question again.  Kushner gave an answer along the lines of how there used to be 2,500 deaths a day, but now it was 1,000 and that was a big improvement.  Unfortunately, the conversation moved on and Blitzer missed the opportunity to say, "Wait, no, the word to describe 1,000 deaths every day is "horrible", not "better."  And the reason the deaths are lower is because this is the summer, the hottest time of the year, when all virus infections and deaths plummet, often so much that they appear to disappear, except that there is always a second wave which often is even worse.  And further, you yourself said that American business would be "rocking" by July -- and not only is it not "rocking," unless you mean sinking like a rock, but it was the very push to open businesses that allowed this highly infectious virus to spread out of control and put us where we are now, a pariah to the rest of the world, blocked from traveling to their countries, while they slowly re-open because they followed science."

As I said, I track all this on a site every day, and while the number of deaths in total, but especially every day are horrible and truly tragic -- not Jared Kushner "Even one death is tragic" tragic -- it's critical for people to remember that these horrific numbers are during the LOW season, when viruses usually drop to next to nothing, because the second wave.  Which means these numbers are not just horrific and tragic, but ghastly because it pretty much means that the fall and winter will be hell.

And not just hell because it won't be hot weather than keeps infections lower than otherwise, or because the second wave is often worse than the original wave, or because the psychology of closing businesses, and once more sheltering at home and taking full-protective care yet again is probably going to be very hard on people -- but hell because in the fall and especially the winter...most people are not going to be able to even socially distance at the beach or go bike riding or go out to the park or even just have barbecues in the backyard.  Indeed, in most of the country, people will be living in freezing temperature and snow.  And even if not that bad in some parts of the country, there's another name for it everywhere -- flu season.

There are now 176,548 dead, so far. That we know of.

Not meaning to be bleak, but -- well, seriously folks.  This is what's ahead.  Hopefully, reality will set in for many, and so almost all people will readily take protective health measures to lessen the damage.  And hopefully too a successful vaccine will be developed and be able to be administered sometime by at least the early part of next year.  And also, the one positive thing to keep in mind is that when hot weather ends in September, that is well before the General Election and hopefully any false comforts that some people have created in their minds from the "We're doing better!" summer months will have disappeared by the time they vote.  In which case there could be a third wave -- though very different, a Blue one.

Yeah, okay, a lot of this is about Trump.  And so is screwing up the Postal Service.

But it only exists because the elected members of the Republican Party have allowed it to.  This is about them.  Because they enabled it and are totally, lock-step complicit.

It will be gone soon like a "miracle."

Feb. 25

-- Trump 

Now, I'm hearing 50,000

April 20

-- Trump

It will be over by Memorial Day.

April 23

-- Mike Pence

A cause for celebration.

June 16

-- Mike Pence

July will be rocking.

June

-- Jared Kushner

Yes, it will just go away.  It always does.

August

-- Trump

By the way, Trump is right about one thing:  even the Black Plague did just go away.  Though that's because there were no such things as vaccines yet to stop it.  And it didn't just go away like a miracle before killing 50 million people in Europe and wiping out 60% of the population on the continent.

As for COVID-19 -- 176,548 dead.  That we know about.  So far.