Covid-19: Should We Die to Save Wall Street?

For a stable genius, President Trump seems mighty confused about our latest national crisis. He started out saying the 15 people who were sick would soon recover and we could all wag our tails and go home. He kept putting off thinking about the pandemic, and of course, he did even less to keep COVID-19 from spreading.

Now, we are facing a situation that is much more dangerous than it had to be, and the King is still as confused about the situation as ever.

Not only has he done nothing to protect us since he was made aware of the potential danger of COVID-19 in early January, 2020, He is determined that things must go back to normal no later than the day after Easter, despite his advisors insistence that many people will sicken and die if quarantine restrictions are lifted too soon.

We still don't have any idea who has COVID-19. Some people have had tests. However, most of us have not had access to any diagnosis. Why not, you might ask.

Dr. Trump was so sure that he knew better than his medical advisers about the spread of the virus that he took no action to have tests made available. He also neglected to provide the funds to hospitals, doctors, and nurses for the masks, gloves, medicines, and ventilators they would need to treat the victims of Corona.

He had the power to do these things. No one, including us, die-hard never-Trumpers would have questioned a well-placed executive order, even from a president who has consistently abused the privilege. Trump had the power to make this order according to the "Defense Production Act."

The "Defense Production Act", empowers our chief executive to order manufacturers to produce needed supplies during times of national peril. Trump didn't want Wall Street to panic, so he did not order factories to make the masks, gloves, gowns, and ventilators that are now in woefully short supply.

At first, Trump said he was invoking the act. Then, for reasons known only to him, he declared that the federal government was "not a shipping clerk" and that the states were responsible for their own darn citizens.

He willingly gambled our lives on his ill-founded opinion that the virus was no worse than the common cold. He chose not to act, even though he had daily intelligence reports that warned him about the coming pandemic. Sources close to him (possibly less than 6 feet away) said he rarely listens to or reads reports. So, we now know that many more people have become sick and died because of the King's self-obsession and laziness.

Greed is an unfortunate aspect of human nature. We all want the best money can buy. It isn't the desire to have things that's bad. It's what length people go to fulfill their wants that is hurtful to the rest of us.

Our representatives are in a unique position to learn things before the public does. Morality, not to mention federal law, dictates that they would not profit from that knowledge at the expense of other Americans. However, to a few of our representatives, self-interest trumps public service.

Donald J. Trump dished out campaign contributions to anyone who voted to acquit him in his impeachment "trial." Now, we are in the middle of an international pandemic, and greed again is rearing its ugly head.

At least four senators sold their stock holdings after being briefed on COVID-19's probable effect on the stock market. All swore they didn't take advantage of insider information. If they're telling the truth, they were a hell of a lot luckier than most American investors. It's hard to believe that they just happened to sell off their stocks in the usual course of business at such an advantageous moment.

Selfishness is also a problem in the COVID-19 pandemic. Maybe the spring breakers who were willing to take the risk and continue partying can be forgiven their stupidity. After all, if there is one thing the young have in common, it's the certainty that tragedy is reserved for the other guy.

But should a fully grown senator be excused from intentionally exposing others to the virus? Rand Paul, Republican from Kentucky, didn't care who he infected. Although he suspected that he had been exposed to COVID-19, he continued to attend meetings and luncheons for six days before his positive test came back. He doesn't have symptoms as of this writing, but that doesn't mean he won't get sick. More to the point, the people who have shared space with him may not be so lucky. There are a lot of older folks in the senate, and thanks to Rand's generosity, they soon could be battling for their lives.

Of course, no survey of the stupid things our public officials have done since the coronavirus disaster would be complete without Dan Patrick's contribution to the public discussion. It seems that the Lt. Governor of Texas thinks we people over 65 should be willing to take our chances with the virus to save the economy. Well, Dan, thanks for asking, but I don't feel any obligation to give my life for Wall Street.

If the King's stupidity about COVID-19 isn't enough, just look at what Pumpkin Head, Jr. offered to the dialogue. It was his opinion that Democrats wanted to see a million or so people die of the virus because they are so anxious to end Daddy's winning streak.

I have two responses to this idiocy. First of all, Donny, Jr. your daddy's winning streak is a figment of his imagination. He is a xenophobic bully, and the sooner he stops "winning" the better off we'll all be.

Second: your daddy, your sister, brother-in-law, you and your brother, Eric, are the only ones who are obsessed with the Trump brand. The rest of us actually care about our fellow humans, be they Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Communists, Socialists, Green Peacers or just too young to vote. Except for your family and friends, we’re all in this together.