So here are just a few items off the news wires in the past thirty-six hours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Donald Trump has \u201cconquered\u201d COVID-19. He demonstrated his victory by triumphantly landing in Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Monday, and marching up a flight of stairs. He then ripped the \u201cugly scar\u201d of COVID, the mask, from his face, and stood (heaving for breath) as he saluted the gallant helicopter crew that he exposed to the disease. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The President then further exposed a video crew and White House personnel to the virus. He made a statement about how remarkable his recovery was, and how we all need to \u201clearn to live with COVID, and not be afraid\u201d. Later, in a tweet from the White House residence, he said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFlu season is coming up! Many people every year, sometimes over 100,000, and despite the Vaccine, die from the Flu. Are we going to close down our Country? No, we have learned to live with it, just like we are learning to live with COVID, in most populations far less lethal!!!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n By the way, other than the Flu Pandemic of 1918 (675,000 deaths) the United States has never had a year close to 100,000 deaths. 2014-15, a bad season for flu, was just over 51,000 (CDC<\/a>). Currently 215,347 have died from COVID-19 in the past seven months (Corona-Virus<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yesterday Vice President Pence, himself in close contact with the infected President last week, objected to having a Plexiglas barrier on his side of the stage in his debate with Senator Kamala Harris tonight in Las Vegas.\u00a0\u00a0He doesn\u2019t seem to want to protect from COVID. Knowing how Pence feels about being on stage with a woman, you might think he\u2019d want the extra barrier?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mother must have had her say. Last night, Pence withdrew his objections to the double protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n White House medical advisor Dr. Scott Atlas anticipates that the President:\u00a0\u201c(he) is a very, very healthy guy, and the overwhelming majority of people, even at his age, do fine with this. He is very healthy, and so I anticipate the same for him\u201d(<\/em>NY Post<\/em><\/a>).\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas has persuaded the Trump team that the best way to deal with COVID is to let everyone get it.\u00a0\u00a0His concept of \u201cherd immunity\u201d (not mentality) horrifies most other scientists in the field.\u00a0\u00a0It depends on whether getting COVID actually confers a long-term immunity (no one knows if that\u2019s true), but absolutely guarantees that there will be many, many more fatalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe White House has decided not to trace the contacts of guests and staff members at the Rose Garden celebration 10 days ago for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, where at least eight people, including the president, may have become infected, according to a White House official familiar with the plans\u201d (<\/em>NYT<\/em><\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Why don\u2019t they want to know? If they find out who got infected there, they must accept responsibility for infecting their own staff and leadership.\u00a0\u00a0And while Dr. Atlas might think culling the \u201cherd\u201d is a good idea, the Trump Administration doesn\u2019t want to take the blame when someone dies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is an old saying: \u201cif all you have is lemons, make lemonade\u201d. The Trump 2020 campaign is doing their best to \u201cmake lemonade\u201d out of the President\u2019s infection. Many Americans hoped that if the most protected man in the nation could get COVID-19, then maybe the entire nation would take the disease more seriously. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But that is the Biden strategy, and would be an unacceptable admission of error by Trump 2020.\u00a0\u00a0So instead they have taken the opposite tack.\u00a0\u00a0Like the boy returning to class from being paddled in the office, they\u2019ve dried their tears and said, \u201cIt wasn\u2019t so bad\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0But of course, they really don\u2019t know yet how bad the beating was, and what the prognosis may be for the President.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So it\u2019s time to \u201croll the dice\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0If the President can make this \u201cmiraculous\u201d recovery, then they will go ahead with their strategy of \u201cherd mentality\u201d (I think he really meant immunity).\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s Dr. Atlas\u2019s plan for everyone to get COVID. Those that don\u2019t make it — well don\u2019t; and the rest might get \u201cimmunity\u201d from the disease.\u00a0\u00a0Meanwhile the economy rolls on, key to the Trump re-election strategy, and hopefully there is a vaccine and a strong therapeutic drug combination in the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n So it\u2019s OK that the President exposed the Secret Service, the Marines on the helicopter and guarding the White House, and the staff both political and domestic, to COVID. They\u2019re just part of the \u201cherd\u201d right? So if a few don\u2019t make it, they just fall back and the good old wolves get \u2018em. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If it sounds heartless, it is.\u00a0\u00a0But isn\u2019t that the Trump definition of \u201cmanhood\u201d?\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s risk others, though the extremes of medical science are used to protect him.\u00a0\u00a0And for those who die; we all know what the President thinks of losers.\u00a0\u00a0He prefers those that \u201cdidn\u2019t die of COVID\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n This allows the Trump campaign to demand that states remain open throughout the election season, even if the COVID infection rates increase. The Dow Jones Industrial Average can stay up, and Trump 2020 keeps \u201cMaking America Great Again\u201d. Their campaign message is that; \u201cBiden wants to tank the economy, and the market, by closing America down. He wants to \u2018give in\u2019 to COVID.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n This even goes farther \u2013 according to the President, the Congress now \u201cshouldn\u2019t\u201d pass a COVID relief package. We are doing just fine \u2013 right? So why do we need relief? Don’t tell the eleven million still out of work because of COVID, or those whose businesses are closed. They aren\u2019t doing all so \u201cfine\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Americans saw through this strategy before the President got infected, and they still understand what it means: many, many more will die. The fact that the President isn\u2019t one of those is lucky for him, assuming that the disease doesn\u2019t rebound. His heavy breathing on the \u201cMussolini Balcony\u201d (sorry Mr. Truman) just underscored how tenuously we understand COVID-19. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A Biden victory doesn\u2019t depend on the President\u2019s health.\u00a0\u00a0And President Trump, now down 15% or more (CNN\/SSRS Oct 1-4<\/a>) is definitely in \u201cHail Mary\u201d mode.\u00a0\u00a0So banking his political comeback on recovery is his last shot.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Besides that, all the President can do is hope that there\u2019s some October surprise tanking Biden.\u00a0\u00a0Trump is looking to his \u201cRoy Cohn”, Attorney General Barr for that. But Barr was doing some hugging and shaking at the super-spreader Barrett event too.\u00a0\u00a0At sixty-eight, he may join the \u201cback of the herd\u201d soon.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The gloves came off a long time ago for the Lincoln Project. If you need a song stuck in your head for a while – Here\u2019s \u201c<\/em>Covita<\/em><\/a>\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"No Protection, Mother<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Stick with the Herd<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
We Don’t Want to Know<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Roll the Dice<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Wolves at the Door<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Reality\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n