Peril from Yonkers, or Deathraceway 2020

I don't usually link to the New York Post, because it's a Rupert Murdoch rag, but I haven't seen this local interest story elsewhere... a COVID-19 outbreak in New Jersey has been traced to Yonkers Raceway, which is about a third of a mile from Casa di Bastard. Oh, poking around the t00bz, I found coverage of this story on a New Jersey news website... one of the trainers at Yonkers Raceway became Jersey's first recorded death from COVID-19. I hope this doesn't harm our standing in the 'safe cities' report. I don't want to see my beloved City of Hills (Where Nothing is on the Level) become known as the City of Peril.

In hyperlocal news, I spoke with my next door neighbor while I was putting the recycling out, and he told me that his brother was sick with COVID-19, but was well on the way to recovery. Since his case wasn't life-threatening, there really wasn't any treatment, it was just a matter of letting his immune system cope with the virus. He himself is essential personnel at work, being on the maintenance crew of a hospital, but it's masks and gloves at all time for him. My upstairs neighbors are doing well, throwing an impromptu one-on-one half-court basketball tourney, with the kids trying to best mom, with little success. I think the tables will be turned by summer's end, when they end up with a height advantage.

The neighborhood abides, with local merchants collecting donations for out of work bar and restaurant staff. I imagine that, when this thing finally runs its course and the stay-at-home order is lifted, there will be a bacchanal that makes the Solemn Feast of St Patrick look like an ice cream social. Goodness knows everybody is a little stir crazy.

Secondary title cribbed from this classic bit of B-Movie sleaze

Discord Among Pals

I’m not a big online gamer, but with the new social distancing normal, a bunch of us have decided to start an online game every week. I set up accounts with platforms such as Steam and Discord. The chat functions are fun, and I’m now currently playing a cutthroat card game with people I’ve known since high school. Sure, it would be more fun to hang out in person, but one does what one can.

Next up, I set up Zoom on another device so I can have two running conversations while gaming and blogging. I am in a new, golden age of multitasking, though all of the tasks are frivolous.

Facepalm Sunday

There's an old adage that warns us that religion is the last refuge of a scoundrel, so one has to question the sincerity of a Mammon-worshiper trying to act in pious fashion:

Palm Sunday is the beginning of a Holy week for many people of Faith and a great day to lift our voices in Prayer. I will be tuning into Pastor @greglaurie at @harvestorg Church in Riverside, California tomorrow at 11:00 A.M. Eastern. https://t.co/2eTaKsZVT4

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 4, 2020

I bet he had a tab open to a porn site while he was streaming the service...

The real surprise was Trump's post COVID-19 task force meeting presser. In a 'greatest hits' callback, regarding the antibiotic erythromycin, he once again asks, "What have you got to lose?"

Dr. Trump touts unproven and potentially dangerous drugs: "Erythromycin, which will kill certain things that you don't want living within your body. It's a powerful drug ... what do you have to lose?" pic.twitter.com/UDQovyhbGx

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 5, 2020

What have you got to lose with this medicine which doesn't affect viruses? Well, for one thing, your beneficial bacterial symbionts.

Trump, predictably, also touted the wonders of the poorly tested (for COVID-19) hydroxychloroquine:

Trump on why he's giving medical advice even though he's not a doctor: "What really do we have to lose? ... we don't have time to go and say, 'gee, let's take a couple of years and test it out' ... it doesn't kill people." (This last point re: hydroxychloroquine is not true.) pic.twitter.com/zE0aN4iSFW

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 5, 2020

Then he tried to muzzle Dr Anthony Fauci, questioned about the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine:

"I answered this 15 times. You don't have to answer." -- Trump prevents Dr Fauci from answering a question about hydroxychloroquine pic.twitter.com/8R1K1hDsaX

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 6, 2020

Yeah, this Palm Sunday is more like a Facepalm Sunday:

via GIPHY

Can some enterprising reporter throw a shoe at Trump? I'd pony up for a defense fund. and unlike Trump, I'm not a liar.

Can't Respond to a Crisis Without Dipping Into the Till

One of the most infuriating developments of this week was the revelation that taxpayer purchased medical supplies are being sent to the private sector for sale to the highest bidder. We hard-working Americans are buying supplies twice, the second time at a steep markup. I have no doubt that Trump and his horrible family are taking their vigorish from connected distributors.

The one individual in the country who knows the importance of honest, competent disaster relief is General Russel Honoré, the hero of the otherwise incompetent response to Hurricane Katrina, and the man is livid at the Trump Maladministration's handling of the COVID-19 crisis. The man's last name says it all, and he seems to have no tolerance for the dishonorable.

I can't see this situation remaining sustainable any longer. NATO allies are accusing the US of diverting medical supplies. The supplies sent to US hospitals are sometimes non-functional due to a lack of maintenance sparked by a dispute over a contract. The pandemic hasn't even crested in the hotspots, and it's going to hit the elderly-skewing populations of Florida and Arizona like a two-ton heavy thing.

Who's Zooming Whom?

Catastrophes bring out both the best and worst in people. For every story of noble medical personnel and doughty grocery employees, there are stories of hoarders and grifters and just plain shitty people. Now, with a lot of business being conducted over teleconferencing platforms, the trolls are out in force. In particular, the anime Nazi crowd is waging coordinated campaigns to bombard Jewish schools with antisemitic threats. Flooding conferences with violent porn and racist content is seen by the 3edG5U crowd as a prank, never mind the trauma it can cause the victims, including children at 'learn from home' sessions and individuals in recovery.

I go in to work every day, I receive my briefing in person from the gentleman working the shift before me, and I end my shift by disinfecting the company cell phone and placing it on the desk for the hand-off. I haven't used this teleconferencing software at all. Hell, I don't even Skype or FaceTime, preferring audio phone calls so my attention isn't divided. The poor security protocols for these teleconferencing apps makes me disinclined to start using them. There are a lot of disaffected people out there with poor socialization, and they are bored... that's not a recipe for good outcomes.

Attacking the Responders

Perhaps the surest sign of the rot infecting our society is the fact that threats against Dr Fauci, the individual best equipped to handle the COVID-19 outbreak, have necessitated additional security. The fringiest of the right-wing fringe is convinced that Dr Fauci, a technocrat who has served under Republican and Democratic administrations since the Reagan Era, is a Hillary Clinton supporter who is trying to undermine Trump. The true dead-enders actually believe that Dr Fauci created the coronavirus as a bioweapon... these out-of-work lunatics and Russian trolls are doing their level best to make Dr Fauci a victim of stochastic terrorism.

I see a parallel between the demonization of Dr Fauci and the demonization of climate scientists- these are people who tell 'inconvenient truths', and the cult members who are wed to the right-wing narrative would like to see them silenced, even if that silence is through violence. Ignorance and partisanship just might doom this country.

No Stomach for April Fools' Day

Ah, yes, April Fools' Day, a day on which pranks and jocular hoaxes are pulled... I just can't play along this year, there's just too much foolishness and duplicity at a time when intelligence and candor is needed more than ever. What good is a day for japery when truth has pretty much gone on an extended vacation? We live in grotesque times, times in which great suffering is taking place in our very communities, yet whackjobs insist that it's all a sham. Sure, there are jokes, but they are appalling and horrific.

There's room for a certain grim humor these days, it's one of the few things that allows us to cope. With a whole lot of snarky people being stuck at home with little to do, it's a banner time for gallows humor:





So, now that every day is a 'fools' day', I'm not going to single out this one particular day.