COVID-19 is raging
and so is Donald Trump
By Will Collette
Well, for a while Rhode Island was lauded for its leadership
in fighting the pandemic. No more as we are now the worst
state in the Northeast by most metrics and categorized as in a state of “uncontrolled
spread.” The growth in cases and hospitalizations has been driven by
younger people – 60% of all cases are in patients under age 50.
Case
rates, measured as the number of positive cases per 100,000, are high all over
the state especially in our urban core. Providence’s case rate is 5,176 per
100,000 compared to the state average of 139. 1,118 Rhode Islanders have died
so far.
Charlestown’s
rate is 604 per 100,000, much higher than the state average, but not nearly
as bad as Narragansett at 2,096 likely caused by its beaches and URI off-campus
housing.
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Watch out for fake mail-in ballots such as this one
sent out by the Rhode Island Republican Party
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Ready availability of a safe and effective vaccine is still
months away.
Recovery and re-opening is stalled and we may even see
re-imposition of restrictions. Restaurants and bars, as well as many
close-contact businesses (e.g. gyms, hairdressers) may have to close again or
further tighten their hours and occupancy.
Please note when you vote – if you haven’t already – that the
Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA Party) that controls the town of Charlestown
has done absolutely NOTHING to help struggling Charlestown residents and
businesses – even though they
had options to do so, given our large budget surplus.
If you plan to vote in person, either early or on November
3, your RI
Driver’s License or state-issued ID is still valid as an election ID even if it is expired,
as long as the expiration date is March 1 or later.
If you are still holding a
mail-in ballot, the safest thing to do at this point is to drop it off at the
official drop box just outside the main entrance to Town Hall.
In Charlestown, 2,555 2,723 out of 6,115 active, registered voters
have already cast their ballots. That’s 42% 45% compared to the state average of 25.5%.27%.
We’re pretty much on
our own.
Senate Majority Leader Moscow Mitch McConnell has used his power to
block legislation passed by the House to help the unemployed, small businesses,
state and municipal governments and to help keep people alive and allow the
economy to continue to limp along rather than completely crash.
Donald Trump doesn’t give a shit – “we’re rounding the
corner,” he says – leaving us to wonder what corner that might be and what is
lurking on the other side.
After the election, win or lose, Trump will do nothing to
help stem the pandemic or repair the economy. If he wins, he no longer has any incentive. If he loses, he will be more
interested in looking for ways to punish us all – or escape punishment for
himself. Probably both. Remember, there are 75 days between Election Day and
the Inauguration.
Even if Trump pardons himself and his crime family, his
pardon – if legal and upheld – would only apply to federal crimes. A pardon
would not apply to the slew of crimes the State of New York is ready to prosecute.
Attica! Attica! Attica!
Maybe he will use those 75 days to flee the country. Russia
would be a logical place for him to seek asylum since it has no extradition
treaty with the US. It would be interesting to see if Vladimir Putin treats him
as a returned hero or as a no longer “useful idiot.”
Saudi Arabia is another possibility. He could pick Djibouti but I
think Trump had them on his list of “shithole countries.”
A vaccine cometh
We don’t know when exactly or which one (or two or three) it
will be and whether it will require one shot or two. Or even IF there will be a coronavirus vaccine.
That said, the
state does have a plan to prioritize who gets it.
In the first phase, vaccines will go to high-risk health
care workers and first responders, followed by people with serious illnesses
and seniors in congregate living facilities.
In the second phase, teachers, school staff and child care
workers are first. Then critical workers in high-risk jobs, people with
moderate health conditions, then the homeless, the incarcerated and the rest of
the senior citizen population.
In the third phase, priority goes to young adults, children
and workers in vital industries.
This priority list seem fair and practical to me. I will be
watching Dr. Tony Fauci on this issue, whether or not Trump fires him. He, as
well as ousted vaccine expert Dr.
Rick Bright, are trustworthy sources for vaccine information, especially
which one is best as well as which ones are safe and effective.
We’re all in this together
Though I’m as anxious about the election, the pandemic and
the general state of our country as much as the next person, I am also hopeful that we
can pull out of this if we all work together.
More people than ever seem engaged in today’s multiple
crises and, I hope, in a positive way that will give us the change we need at
the polls next week. Trump and his GOP enablers have got to go. So do our own
local tyrants.
We can only beat the pandemic if we all behave like good
citizens. I ran into my first “mask-hole” at Job Lot last week. I could hear
her coming as she was telling another person who apparently didn’t like her
failure to wear a mask that “it’s all a hoax by that World Health Organization
that’s controlled by Democrats.”
When she rounded that corner and was just about in my face,
I challenged her – “where’s your mask?” I asked.
She said she was exempt under the Americans with
Disabilities Act. She seemed pretty able-bodied and there was nothing wrong
with her lungs which she used loud and long to dismiss the pandemic and denounce anyone who
would dare to challenge her right to go maskless.
After trying to be reasonable, I have to admit that I fell
back on those trusty words that George Carlin said you can never say on TV.
Even her accompanying daughter – who was wearing a face mask – seemed embarrassed.
Eventually, store staff got involved and brought the covidiot a mask which she,
of course, refused to put on.
But this is the first and only time I’ve personally run into a person like this. In my forays for groceries and supplies, I’ve see universal compliance
without complaint to mask wearing and social distancing. This one incident
highlights the fact that we can indeed help ourselves and each other.
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