First off and foremost a salute to all those that have served our Country. To those that gave the ultimate sacrifice, and the families that also felt the loss, my humble and heartfelt appreciation. It's is also wise to remember on this solemn day the importance of carefully and wisely exercise our military power.
2nd wave now assured.
Well Trump's message is getting though perfectly to the sheep that insist LOUDLY that "we are not sheep!" Having listened to a college educated man enjoy a few beverages over the weekend I found out the following.
1) They don't need to wear a mask, it's a hoax. If they feel sick they will wear a mask. - So they don't know the very basics of why this virus is more dangerous, BECAUSE of asymptomatic transmission by people that "don't feel sick." This lack of basic knowledge by watching Fox and listening to Rush is staggering to a science based and informed person like myself.
2) The media won't even cover the virus once Biden is elected! The news coverage will just disappear and so well the virus.
3) Bill Gates has a patent (or trademark it was confusing) on the vaccine! When I pointed out that there were dozens upon dozens of different entities trying to develop a vaccine, they simply is NOT a vaccine to patent. Just false shit that was fed to the Fox/Rush herd. But this college educated father honestly believes these falsehoods.
4) We are grossly over counting the virus. People are being classified as dying form the virus when they had cirrhosis of the liver! I counter we are grossly undercounting the virus, specifically in states with Republican Governors where the numbers are being purposefully deflated. Again giving specific examples. The "I don't like your facts begins to arise."
5) It would be great if he could buy into Medicare early, because retirement young is so expensive because of the $18K a year cost for insurance coverage his retired buddy pays. It's a fairly legitimate number for a non-group family plan. This is the fault of... wait for it... Obamacare! It was supposed to fix all this!
6) We have to get the economy back open! It was stupid to shut it down and it's the Dems fault. I retort, "Well when you do the dumbest fucking things possible you aren't left with any good choices because of the dumb fucking choices you already made. I never wanted to shut down the economy, but shitting the bed on testing was the problem and lack of pushing for PPE in January was malpractice." Mumble, mumble response, to which I sarcastically respond. "I am a fucking genius! I was smarter than anyone in the Trump administration! I saw this coming off news reports back in early January the SECOND I heard anything out of China I knew it was bad." I think the reply was Obama... something cop board bare.
7) "I don't know anyone who has had the virus." To which I respond, you will. Especially if people are not careful. I state that this will spread through rural communities, even though they live a normal life of self-isolation. The older age and need for the occasional central gathering in these rural areas will provide the opportunity for a concentrated spread. In other words, it will be Republican areas next. I think that visually it may potentially be worse in the rural areas, where reductions in medicare reimbursements have shuttered and removed so many hospital beds. The young kids leave the rural areas so the populations are older and the hospital beds fewer. I point out the "good news" that a lot of those folks may die at home, and not be counted as coronavirus deaths, so that's good GOP news.
So we are going to have exactly the outcome we tried to avoid by shutting down the damn economy. A monster second wave. Folks are watching and emulating our Presidents example of 'no mask, no worries." Fox News and the talk radio hosts also hide safely and encourage that the masks are silliness. So the Trump plan is to get everyone back to normal. Just do what you would normally do, and a mask is for pussy Democrats. Not going to a crowded church is for pussy Dems (snd the Trump family as a whole) we need folks to get out there and get the economy going. So expect all the glimmers of college football to disappear by August 1st. Sucks that we had to go right back to the dumbest thing possible. But when the President of the United States makes all his decisions without facts or knowledge, you get a lot of fucking stupid decisions. I was hoping that I would lose some money on my shorting the market and buy back into a Bull Market and enjoy college football this Fall.
Instead I am going to risk a hair more going short as 40% of our population believe the 7 things I listed above. So we are going to act exactly as our President did during January and February, we are going to pretend that there is nothing wrong. We could open up much more safely if everyone wore masks to PROTECT OTHERS. But the message from the President is a mask is a form of political protest. SO find a hobby, there won't be college football this fall. Unless you think parents letting their kids risk infection and infecting their families is a risk they are going to take? The reason? Is too many people view NOT wearing a mask as some sort of a "non-sheep badge of honor" BECAUSE they (like our President) do not grasp the simple fact that they are gong to be a big part of the future spread. The saddest thing is that if our President would simply lead with a good mask wearing example this terrible isolation and economic damage might have been worth it, and we could truly start to mend. We might have even been able to have college football (slim tough it may have been). Instead we are gonna see a lot of Facebook confessions from our right leaning friends as they do indeed "know somebody" touched by the virus. Basically the virus is going to start touching white people, and white men in particular more broadly as we reopen. Don't be surprised to see even Trump donning a mask after it's too late to set a good example. Sucks that it could have been so different.