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| A NYC hospital (courtesy of the website) |
I live in the borough of Queens, the epicenter of the epicenter of the COVID 19 Pandemic. Queens and Brooklyn have the highest number of positive cases and the highest number of deaths. Dealing with a gender breakdown of deaths, 44% of women die and 55 % of men die in reporting from NY data. There are so many variables that go into the determination of why more men die than women. These include the severity of underlying conditions, the age and more. But the 11% difference is rather stark. Judging from what I saw this morning when I went to the Post Office, I have a laywoman's opinion, for what it's worth.
Dressed in face mask, gloves and a coat, I drove to my area post office. Walking along the street were men in their 50-60s, some without face-masks, some without gloves. Scientists have identified that men in their 50s with underlying conditions (coronary heart disease, diabetes, asthma, COPD, etc) have among the highest death rates. Every woman I saw with the exception of two overweight women wore a face-mask. Clearly, more women were apprised of the seriousness of the situation and wanted to guard against giving the disease to someone else; a mask protects the other individual and reminds one this pandemic is not a joke. It kills; perhaps not you, but it will kill the older man with the cane who walks into your aerosol breath as you shed the coronavirus all over him.
When I arrived at the Post Office and went in, there were seven people inside a very small area. There were five men and perhaps two women. I left immediately. I waited in my nearby car until a few people came out, but more went in and none of them was upset with the small area that didn't really afford the six foot spacing in the fetid, stale air that perhaps harbored microscopic molecules of the virus. It is thought that the "asymptomatics" most probably convey it through aerosoling and of course, those particles linger in the air for some hours.
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| Kew Gardens Post Office before Covid 19 (courtesy of the website) |
Clearly, the room where the men and women were attempting to "social distance" was a place of infection, an atmospheric miasma. They weren't even making a feeble attempt to be responsible. They were just putting up with the motions.You could see the nostalgia on their faces as they remembered what the old line to wait for service used to be like and were caught in that lovely memory unable to adjust to Trump's reality, the COVID 19 terror. That they were their own national security threat, that the American standing next to them was their potential disease and cause of death was an incredible and ironic shock!
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| The old days-a rare non busy time (website) |
Trump's reality? Say what? Indeed, today, to step outside one's home you are fraught with debilitation and uncertainty. The danger in crowds is enormous. It is anathema: bumping against one another, breathing another's deadly molecules if they are infected, touching them, sweating on them while playing basketball, getting spewed with corona droplets. Professional basketball players infected each other and the popular professional sport and the Final Four games had to be shut down. What is the future for contact sports? Will professional tennis be closed down for the entire year?
Even an exhalation, a song projected with volume or a shout could mean death. What about that choir practice that should have been cancelled where 60 members took precaution with hand sanitizers and didn't touch, hug and kept a 6 foot distance? Forty-five came down with Covid and two died. The volume of their voice projection to sing loudly to God spread the infected molecules in the air.
Today, we look at each other with a proper suspicion; we are each other's potential enemy. Is that person on line a vector of "it?" The coronavirus is tasteless, odorless, sightless, deaf, dumb, blind, robotic, non-partisan, an equal opportunity death dealer. It is programmed for one mission:, to latch onto lung cells and multiply with luxury, drowning its victims in their own mucus/liquid immune system response.
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| The invisible terrorist programmed to eliminate unwitting, vulnerable human beings (CDC website) |
Back to the Post Office. I waited and checked the interior through the glass door a few more times. No one came out, more went in. Exasperated, I stood in front of the door outside and waited. It was up to me to declare "ENOUGH!" A sixty-something walked up toward the post office without a mask. He saw me and took a bandana out of his pocket, stopped and put it on. I eyed him with intent. He placed himself 6 feet behind me. We waited. A younger guy in jeans with a mask walked up excited. "What, it's not open?" I put my hand up and said to him, "Queens has the highest death rate in the city."
A petulant boy (mind you he was around fifty) sporting an accent that sounded Russian, he said at the annoyance like it was a buzzing fly to be swatted away, "I know." I chopped him off where he stood 3 feet away. I said, "Don't speak." You're breathing out particles." He shut up. Then there were three of us waiting. Another man came out. He had a mask and gloves on, thankfully protecting us. We waited.
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| Diabetes kit: Diabetes is a co-morbidity of the terrorist COVID 19 (courtesy of the website) |
A man of about fifty, who looked like a smoker, came from behind and cut in front of me. Again, I put up my hand. He stood two feet away, without benefit of gloves or mask. He opened the door. I pointed to the line behind me. He said, "I know. I just want to see how many people are in there." I told him, "Five." He peeked in and left.
Obviously, TO HIM, this line outside was a MAGA inconvenience. He was living in the past, when one could just walk up to the old, brick building, enter without thought and cue up joining the ten people crammed inside, fifteen in the overflow to wait up to a half an hour. To have to stand outside in a more spacious, safer line didn't cut it for him.
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| A healthy red lung, a sickly smoker's black lung a co-morbidity of Covid 19 (courtesy of the website) |
I could surmise since he wore no mask or gloves, he was nonplussed by the death rates, refrigerator trucks, Elmhurst Hospital's dead, sirens, absence of live late night programming, absence of live sports, closed shops, etc. How bully for him. He didn't even imagine the virus would infect him. His forty-something bravado served him well to become infected. Unfortunately, my concern for his life and the jeopardy to his family's lives was white noise, my problem, not his. He was privileged in his oblivious contempt and disregard for my life, the lives of those behind me in the growing line and the lives of his family at home. He was like Boris Johnson insisting on shaking hands. He was like Trump oblivious to the inadequate social distancing as he and others crowd next to one another to get the TV shot, standing behind the podium for the press briefing PR moment.
The officials get A PASS; one would think they have tested negative so they might stand next to one another. The guy from Queens does not..
Didn't he know or care about asymptomatics: the invisible carriers who are immune, who show no symptoms but let the disease fly to others in what is referred to as "shedding" in great abundance? The Georgia governor didn't know about asymptomatics. Why should this Queens guy? Maybe the microbiology of a killer threatening his and his family's lives didn't filter into his imagination. Maybe he was a Fox watcher. Maybe he was a COVID 19 Truther who believes the deaths and positive cases are overblown. Or maybe he's convinced that the flu is worse, accepting Trump's hoax message cheered on in February rallies. Maybe this Queens guy didn't hear Dr. Anthony Fauci's extensive explanation that it is NOT the flu. COVID 19 is 10 X worse.
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| Healthy lungs help in the fight against COVID19; time to stop smoking (courtesy of the website) |
A few more people came out and I peeked through the glass doors, again, not wanting to pollute my gloves with the Queen's guy's happy extrudings on the metal Post Office door. There were only two people. I was the third. At this point we could adequately distance six feet apart, though the air within the space surely was not pure. But everyone inside including the two civil service workers behind the counter wore a mask and gloves. The other two individuals inside were women.
Behind the counter, federal employees who serve the public are guarded by bullet proof plexiglass. However, my mask and the employee's mask was the only thing guarding us from each other and minimally at that. With our luck, we could be carriers, shedding Covid 19 at an incredible rate. Covid 19 molecules are resilient in the human body, invisible super entities: faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to scale tall buildings lodged on elevator buttons and in human vectors.
The Post Office employees and we customers are the dangerous unknown, the COVID 19 irradiated. Anyone who walks the streets or enters an establishment wears the letter X. Is he/she or isn't he/she? All of us are disabled by our own humanity. We are liable, accountable to our susceptibility for transmitting this inimitable communicable virus. COVID 19 is only tested for if one has many symptoms and underlying conditions, one of which is age (over 60). Citizens are NOT being tested for being asymptomatic and we are not being tested for antibodies showing that we had it and have some immunity. Only those who have had it can be tested for antibodies. Clearly, this is a mistake because the asymptomatics may have powerful antibodies. More needs to be known about this disease. We are failing at understanding the world of corona.
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| The Plague Doctor circa Edinburgh, UK. The outfit is the equivalent of our hazmat suit today (Carole Di Tosti) |
Tests aren't widely, massively being administered, though they should be. In fact, the entire populace should be tested for all three: 1) a COVID 19 diagnostic, 2) for antibodies, 3) for being asymptomatic. The Defense Production Act isn't being used to scale up production of supplies and vents and tests, antibody tests, COVID 19 tests, asymptomatic tests, plasma therapy, all of it.
Too bad. If the military, the pentagon headed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff appointing generals to take charge in this time of THE PANDEMIC WAR, the production could be ramped up like it was during WWII. Of course that would entail Trump's being presidential, Trump's taking leadership to the place where it belongs, abiding by the rule of law and fulfilling the constitution and his oath of office.
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Is Trump aiding and abetting the terrorist's spread with disinformation and negligence? |
But his track record, his lies, his dilatory behavior in response to this crisis, his impeachment, the Mueller Report spelling out his conspiracy with Russia to overthrow the electoral process DICTATES he will not involve the military who could and should remove him.Thus, he is incapable of abiding by his oath to adhere to the constitution and protect the people of the United States. Trump would have to take a back seat and give free reign to military advisement. Since he was a thirteen-year-old, he took orders from no one, not even when he was sent to straighten out in a military school. Why should we think he will take instruction, wisdom and direction now?
Trump would have to get out of his own way and let someone actually lead while he agreed to take responsibility for such actions. If this occurred, we could get the culture up and running more quickly. It would all hinge on each citizen sheltering when necessary and meeting their responsibility of adhering to the social contract. Citizens as collaborators in this war would be on the front lines: they would identify their immunity to COVID 19 or susceptibility; they would undergo massive
testing taking the three types of tests. Then, the X factor could be filled with
information and facts that are worth our economy's
weight in gold.
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| For a war, you have a military response: (courtesy of the website) |
The generals would have to set up a three or four prong attack.
- They would have to execute Trump's order for massive production of all the supplies we need including the three types of tests and a sufficient quantity of n95 masks and gloves for the general populace, civil service workers and essential workers to be worn outside the homes and on the job.
- Hundreds of labs would have to be set up to handle the three tests with rapid turn around time with a database to identify the fingerprint status of Covid 19 in every American.
- The military would have to be deployed to assist health care workers on the front lines as they are overworked and need respite. The war front is at home. The military must be massively used to fight it at home.
- The permanent construction of pandemic units must be built in every hospital to isolate the regular hospital from pandemic patients. Covid 19 will not be the only world wide pandemic coming up on the horizon in the future. We must be prepared.
- Quarantine spaces must be designated near hospitals to house those coming into and leaving during the period designated to consider whether the person is coming off the disease or going in for treatment.
- The nation must be locked down. Foreign and domestic air traffic must be grounded for a week. Every state impacts every other state. Combating it in one state works for a time, but not forever. Italy tried that. I didn't work. People move around by any means necessary hating isolation and claustrophobia. Either we work together or this doesn't work and we have continuous deadly outbreaks.
- Grounding air traffic must be coupled with stopping for two weeks rail and interstate automobile traffic This must occur with enough advance notice so that only essential interstate travel (trucks carrying food, medical equipment and supplies and household items) would be allowed.
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| Most Americans trust Dr. Fauci over Trump (courtesy of The Daily Show) |
This can be done easily. All it takes is leadership, like that demonstrated by Dr. Fauci, and Governor Cuomo and his team. And it takes the will to do it.
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| Gov. Cuomo leadership Americans trust |
But Trump has no will for others. He is only concerned for himself. He uses the power of the Executive Branch solely to perpetuate and cover up his crimes, as evidenced during the 2016 campaign that conspired with Russian intelligence to overthrow our election processes, a conspiracy that continues today with Russian Intel trolls spreading like COVID 19 to infect/pollute/support Trump on our Social Media platforms, media (Sputnik, Breitbart,, RT, Russian Media, Daily Stormer, etc.) and radio podcasts. Trump does not intend to benefit the American people's health, financial resources and national security. In this he is fulfilling Putin's intent to destroy this nation. He is the perfect tool of Putin's revenge. He autocratically insists that he is the genius leading the charge, though he refuses to take responsibility for his mistakes. He is the opposite of great leaders during WWII (Eisenhower, FDR, Churchill) who admitted fault and stirred the allies with heartfelt encouragement.
The antithesis of the a true leader, he cheer leads with lies and disinformation. In February COVID 19 was a "democratic hoax" the great lie promulgated by Fox News' criminally negligent reporting. In March he demeaned COVID 19's danger relegating it merely to "the flu." He did this, despite Dr. Fauci's warnings it is 10X more lethal.
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| Daily briefings full of inaccuracy and politics by Trump |
Such infirm, cowardly leadership is why Governor Andrew Cuomo is a stand out in this war. He takes responsibility and does everything in his power to marshal the supplies, resources and personnel to deal with the economic fallout and health care debacles as they occur. He has been widely credited and praised for telling New Yorkers honestly what they are up against. Trump merely lies, seeks self-aggrandizement, displays incredible insecurity and fails hourly wracking up deaths as I write this.
Trump and GOP behaviors demonstrate criminal, willful negligence which has continued from early on when Trump first learned of the horrors of the virus in January. And congress has done nothing to stop Trump's dilatory actions because the senate leadership Mitch McConnell has nullified the power and force of censure by refusing to call down the president. McConnell has no power ultimately except what billionaires give him. His influence appears to be crashing on a downhill slide as the pandemic increases and incompetence in the senate and executive ramp up like the virus to eat themselves alive.
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| Three of these supplies in the COVID 19 weapons kit are unobtainable or price gauged (Carole Di Tosti) |
Trump will never forge a full front attack against this domestic terrorist. He has made mistake after mistake and the only functional branches of the democracy to call him down on it are the House and the press both of which he beats down by calling the media fake and the democrats partisan hoax drivers. Only last week did he come out and support Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx by stating a potential number of deaths from the virus (100,000-240,000) unless we practice social distancing and do not reopen for Easter. Even if he ordered opening the country "safely" before Easter, Covid deaths are assured. The governors upholding national security would not obey such a criminal order. With his refusal to man up the federal powers he has for the security of the nation, the states have become their own nations, using states rights to keep their state citizens alive with the knowledge that by doing this, they protect every citizen in the country. The responsible, patriotic governors oppose Trump's terrorist negligence which has surely killed thousands with incompetence and dilatoriness.
Trump refuses to account for his abject failure in handling this pandemic. Fortunately, Governor Cuomo, Dr. Fauci and the collaboration and alliance of responsible governors have managed to negotiate Trump's personality issues for the sake of the country and the sake of the lives to be saved, not only New York lives, but global lives. For at the end of the social responsibility continuum we manifest to each other in the US, we are responsible to the rest of the citizens on our planet.
There must be no confusion. Others who come to our shores must not bring COVID 19 here. Nor must they carry it back to their countries in a senseless replication cycle of infection, sickness, recovery or death. After this is all said and done, shouldn't we examine the crimes against humanity here? And we are not done; the war declared by Trump has not even won its first battle: Trump's humility to order the DPA to scale up testing every American. When will this terrorism end? When will Americans say enough is enough?
