The Real World Ramifications of the COVID-19 Situation

First, we had "It's no big deal!" and "It'll blow over!". Then we get "Hunker down and stay inside, practice Social Distancing and we will be okay!". We hear that Sports will not be in session until sometime in May at the earliest. Businesses and schools, out until the first of April (like I believe THAT one!). Celebrities and athletes test positive and preach "This is real! Stay home and isolate yourself!" even as they say "But we have no symptoms." and luxuriate in the privacy of their mansions, waited on hand and foot by others less fortunate while the boss twitter themselves to death telling the masses of their hardships.

I am getting sick and tired of this passing for "Updates" and Headline News"! How about telling us about the regular people who have the all the symptoms yet cannot find a test to verify if they have this virus or not? How about making the tests available to the Common Man at little or no cost so we can stem the tide of this apparent killer before it gets out of control even more?

Or how about just telling us the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth for a change? Might be nice, considering...

So now we are not testing people unless it can make a difference in their health care? Why this, why now? Is it because the affluent have taken up all the tests available already? The Rich and Powerful in the state of California took or bought at exorbitant prices off the Black Market and verified that while some might truly have the virus, they are not exhibiting any symptoms whatsoever? Is that the reason for no more testing? Now, it's not like they are mingling with us po' folk, walking the streets together and visiting our homes, thus making them a Typhoid Mary or something; no it was because they had the money and power to get what We the People cannot afford: safety in testing.

Or is it because California has admitted to themselves that they cannot hope to contain the virus? They are giving up and saying "Just deal with it people".

Two brothers drove over a thousand miles in Kentucky and Tennessee, buying up huge supplies of hand sanitizer (over 17,000) and masks (2,000), then reselling them on Amazon for huge profits. They were caught, and forced to donate the remainder of their illicit items to charity but only after they made an untold amount of money. They might get fined, or put into jail for the profiteering but only time will tell if they are held accountable. Who knows how many people they might have negatively affected by purchasing these supplies in areas where "they didn't think was a problem and redistributing them" to people who "need" them more (read: will panic and pay through the nose to have them).

Then we have our illustrious leaders in Washington. God bless them every one. At least four Senators have been accused of selling stock before the market crash, using information gathered in a closed door meeting before the pandemic was officially announced. At least one of them also warned well-connected donors to "dump" stocks also, thus allowing them to save their money rather than allow it to go down with the ship, as happened to an untold amount of Americans as the stock market crumbled amid the crisis.

Meanwhile, in an attempt to whitewash her dealing, the Senator from Georgia relays that she had no idea of the stock selloffs, none at all. One can almost hear the syrupy sweet southern accent from Georgia saying "What? Sweet lil' ol' me do somethin' as despicable as that? Surely you jest!" A spokesman for her confirms that she had no idea whatsoever; however, the spokesman goes on to say it was her husband, chairman and CEO of the New York City Stock Exchange (how convenient!), who sold the stocks. Oh, now its the old "It Wasn't Me It Was My Husband!" defense. We all know husbands and wives don't talk to one another when it comes to money in the household, (cough cough).

By the way, evidently saving millions of dollars wasn't enough for them (him?) as they (he?) "also reportedly bought shares in the tech firm Oracle and Citrix, which provides teleworking software" (direct quote from the New York Post). And she didn't know, nor tell him what might be coming down the pike? Hmmm.

Isn't this what Martha Stewart went to prison for? Having prior knowledge a stock was going to drop and selling off her investments before it fell?

The professional athletes, celebrities and such who have access to tests which We the People do not have. Across the country, there is an evident shortage of tests for those who are actually ill, possibly from the coronavirus; and yet, they cannot get tested to confirm it because there just are not enough tests to go around. Every day, another Somebody is detailing how they have been tested and have it, even though they are not exhibiting any symptoms!

How they hell did they get tested if there aren't enough tests to go around? And why the hell are they being tested if they do not show any signs of being ill?! Am I missing something here?

Oh yeah, they are Famous! They have Money, Power, Prestige! They matter to the World, or so we have told them, allowed them to think. They count, we don't; simple as that.

All our precautions will not matter one iota. COVID-19 is here, is everywhere already. Big cities, small towns, across the country. You will get it, and you might suffer symptoms. Some will get more ill than others, and some will die. Much as the flu and the cold will morph into pneumonia for some whose health allows it, the people who get COVID-19 and have underlying health problems which are severe enough to allow it to navigate to their lungs and progress into pneumonia, will possibly die.

Where I live, a rumor is circulating that there is more than one person in quarantine in our local hospital which is ill with what could possibly be COVID-19. We live in the middle of the country, far from either shore. We are a small community, but have access to larger cities less than an hour away. People commute daily to and from for work on a normal basis. Additionally, a major interstate runs through the larger city less than an hour away. In this city there are any number of places to eat, sight see, and visit, some world famous. In our little town there are also world famous locales, places to eat and such, which draw people from literally around the world on an annual basis.

Why don't they verify these are actually COVID-19? I think you can guess without my having to say it.

Fear. Fear of what will be, of what will happen to the area if they are verified. Do I know this for a fact? No, not at all. This might be simply a rumor, or there might not be any tests to give. It could be an honest decision, or there could be nothing to the rumor.

We do not know. And THAT is the truth I am wishing we had, the truth we could be told right now. No more delaying the timelines, no more putting off, no more dangling money and the possibilities of saving us in our hour of need.

HELP US!

If this is truly worse than the flu, so be it. If these draconian measures of Martial Law which are being bandied about are truly needed, then shut up and put them in place! But know we still have needs which will have to be met in one manner or another. Food, shelter, water. If we need a nationwide food stamp program and a maximum amount of items purchased, then get on with it. If we are going to receive some form of assistance to purchase this food, get it done. If we are going to use unemployment to supplement families, why are we waiting? A massive amount of America is already out of work, and the number is only going to continue to grow; there is no time for wringing our hands and fighting because of being either red or blue, conservative or liberal, because of your actions we are already a nation out of work.

Ignore the illness and put us back to work. Let those who are going to die, die. Let those who are going to get ill, get ill. But let the rest of America get on with its life! We cannot sit in our houses, not making money, fearing the worst, and trying to prepare for a different kind of zombie apocalypse as best we can.

**NEWS FLASH** And in Springfield, Missouri today, a response which makes no sense to me at all. Evidently, the Springfield School District is preparing to welcome children of first responders and health care workers into their schools as a daycare. That's right, in this "no more than ten" people together at a time semi-mandate, the school district of Springfield is opening its doors to the children of a certain segment of the public which might be the most affected group there is, and welcoming them together in an environment which will be rich for the possible (probable) spread of COVID-19. Not only amongst themselves, but to the paraprofessionals who will be expected to watch over and care for them. Not teachers, not upper level staff, but the paras, the lowest on the totem pole employees. This will no doubt lead to them carrying the illness back home to their families, thus infecting THEM! Does that seem right? Fair? Just? Smart?

"Let's get all of the children of the group most likely to catch the virus together in one room and bring in someone not remotely involved with them to care for them, wipe their noses and watch over them! Then those people will go home to their families and bring the virus to their children!"

What can go wrong with that plan? Hell, why not just hang a bloody steak around their neck and push them into shark infested waters? Or put six bullets into a revolver and play Russian Roulette? If Springfield believes this is a good idea, then they must also believe that we should all go back to work and ignore the illness. You cannot have it both ways, we cannot sit on our hands and wait for the inevitable collapse of our society.

Or we will wait, and watch people get sick and die anyway. This "will we won't we" has got to stop and a decision made which will allow us to proceed on a course that will allow us to save as much of the civilization as we can. No half measures, no limp handshakes, no more guesses. As it has been said, a leader can be wrong, but that leader can never be seen as unsure.

All we have right now is people who are unsure leading us. We need a leader. We need a decision. We need action. Now.