Back from a week's vacation and nothing much seems to have improved. Some observations during this last week of de facto summer before Labor Day:
- The Republican Convention was well done. I loved the statements from Americans from all backgrounds and colors. Many of their stories were truly moving and it came through loud and clear that these were people who loved freedom after experiencing a horrendous lack of it in their countries of birth. I also loved the stories of people coming slavery, severe handicaps, and other extremely difficult situations, who persevered and ultimately triumphed. I want all of them on my team!
- And the corollary - Why do so many people in this country crave living in a dictatorship? I propose that we simply cut to the chase and have Congress pass the "Don't let the Door Hit You in the Butt" Act that buys these folks a one way airfare to whatever s#@thole country they want to go and a $2,500 stipend. They have to renounce their American citizenship on the way out and their passports will be automatically void upon entry into the other country. Go live in a communist "paradise" and enjoy every minute of it. Please.
- I keep reading this statement from mayors and police chiefs of cities where rioters are running amok, "We did not order our police officers to engage the situation for fear of aggravating it." Hell's bells - Rome has been burning for 90 days and you don't think the fire department should be called? Are all officials in these cities stoners?
- People are starting to get killed. This is not a surprise. It is not an accident that gun and ammunition sales have been setting records these last few months. The word "vigilante" will come back into vogue and pretty soon, everyone will be walking around with a .45 on their hip. As H.P. Lovecraft said, "An armed society is a polite society." We'll see if we get to test the accuracy of his observation.
- Am I the only one noticing what a colossal failure Gov. Kate Brown is as a manager of the state? The governor is the CEO of the executive branch of government and in one agency after another, it's one failure after another. The largest, of course, is the inability of the state to pay unemployment compensation to those qualified. Allegedly this is due to a computer failure. The Feds, however, gave Oregon $300M in 2013 to fix this and it still sits undone. Then there is DMV. Tried to get you Real ID driver's license yet? Good luck. My wife tried to, as hers had expired in April and the offices haven't been open much since then. She dutifully went in and despite the website saying you didn't need an appointment, and despite the fact that there were 4 people total in line, and despite the fact that she had all the requisite documents in hand, she was sent home to - wait for it - make an appointment. Of course, Do you know who I am Mr. Vidal?! When are Oregonians going to demand even a mediocre level of competence from government?
- The CDC has quietly announced that only 9,700 of the deaths attributed to Covid-19 were solely the result of the virus. This is 6% of all U.S. Covid-19 deaths; the other 94% had an average of 2.6 other underlying conditions. We have shut down pretty much everything for 9,700 deaths, While these deaths are sad, of course, they need to be seen in perspective. For example, 38,800 lost their lives in auto accidents last year, 17,000 from slips and falls, and an estimated 606,880 deaths from cancer for 2019. The NY Times also dropped this weekend that as many as 90% of all supposedly positive Covid-19 tests were false positives. Arrggh!
It's a strange, strange world we live in Gunga Din.
No comments:
Post a Comment