Notes From the Plague – Ode to a Dumb-Shit Nation

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.”
Attributed to Albert Einstein

I can’t believe it. Last year I had so much to say about our Covid pandemic. At the time, we were led by an incompetent, narcissist ignoramus who should be blamed for many of the 600,000 who have perished. I will repeat what I said 16 months ago. The Exceptional, Greatest Nation that God Ever Created U. S. of A. had everything we needed to defeat Covid. We should not be in this situation sixteen damn months later.

Summer will soon become Autumn. School will be back in session. Football season will return and the fans in the Confederacy Conference expect to return to their full stadium, partying ways.Then the weather will cool and people will spend more time indoors…which we know is the best place to spread respiratory infections.

This is exactly what happened LAST YEAR. That it will happen again is a testament to that glorious, stubborn, arrogant ignorance that characterizes contemporary conservatism in America. Bill Buckley is spinning in his grave right now.

By Drew Sheneman, Newark Star-Ledger

When Did We Enter the ‘Twilight Zone’? – We took a 17-day road trip in July. Since the time away was going to be a total news blackout, I set the DVR to record one daily news program so I might catch up on current events. I was shocked upon our return to see the headlines after the vacation were exactly the same as they were before we left. This miserable nation continues to be stuck on [1] rising Covid numbers [2] determined vaccine resistance [3] Congressional inaction and [4] partisan political nonsense. We didn’t miss a thing. It’s almost three weeks later and the headlines are still the same.

By Michael Ramirez, Las Vegas Review-Journal

Déjà Vu Redux…Again - It was all predictable and preventable, but apparently, we actually ARE that stupid. Our memories are that bad, our attention spans are that short and our priorities are that screwed-up. What a waste of these big brains and powers of reason that we have evolved so successfully.

Speaking of ‘Evolution’ - One of the current concerns is that if the population of unvaccinated people is large enough, there will be enough genetic activity to spawn a new variant. I know ‘Evolutionism’ is one of our ‘conservative’ brethren’s primary stalking horses. That entire field of science is really bogus because the Bible tells us so.

How do you think this Delta variant came to be? The bug has probably evolved a half dozen times since we discovered it. Millions of the unvaccinated in India gave it all the material it needed and now it is responsible for over 90% of new cases in America. It may not happen but the point is, the larger the palette we provide for the virus, the better the odds it will evolve into something different…something that can be even more successful at spreading and resisting treatment.

By John Darkow, Columbia Missourian

Amazing What it Takes - The experts told us what would happen LAST YEAR. But we don’t like experts anymore. We don’t believe in science anymore. Our dumb-ass former president, Fox News and Facebook trolls lied and deflected and made public health responsibility a political issue…a matter of individual FREEDOM. Now we get regular reports of yet another prominent ‘conservative’ who realized the folly of his denials right before Covid killed him. It seems that just might be enough to move the needle…or move TO the needle, so to speak.

Well, well - As I write this, we see more GOP leaders (finally) urging their followers to get vaccinated. Better late than never, I guess. In the face of overwhelming evidence and headlines like “Pandemic of the Unvaccinated,” McConnell, Scalise and their fellow travelers are realizing Covid is taking out their peeps. All that voter suppression success is being offset by greater dumb-shit mortality. Oh well.

By Mike Lukovich, Atlanta Journal Constitution

While We’re on the Subject - Vaccination should be a work requirement. If you are too selfish to think about protecting your fellow workers, customers and yourself, go work somewhere else.

Vaccination should be required for teachers. Kids belong in the classroom. If teachers want their careers to end based on this issue, go work somewhere else.

And I don’t want to hear about religious exemptions. We have this wonderful First Amendment that guarantees your right to practice your faith. If your faith actually requires you to act in ways that endanger others, authorities need to intervene…because their job is to protect public health.

Calling a Spade a Spade - Remember one of the Depression era agencies that put people to work constructing parks, trails and other natural preservation features that still exist today? The Civilian Conservation Corps or ‘CCC’ had a lasting effect and kept thousands employed. When I am King, there will be a new ‘CCC.’ The Confederate Covid Colony will honor the Southern governors who are so determined to keep Covid thriving. These guys need to own what they have wrought.

As I write this, numbers in their states are spiking. If past surges are any guide, we are nowhere near the peak of the curve. It’s ALL on them. We can name the next mutation the ‘Abbott-DeSantis Variant.’ See how that plays when they run for president.

Problem Solved - I’m guessing the health insurance industry is taking it in the shorts right now. Million-dollar hospital bills for low-income people is not a great business model. Unless they can get their lackeys in Congress to cut them a bigger piece of the pie, it might be wise to consider ways to prevent something like this from getting this bad in the first place.

Politicians, the media, celebrities, scientists and other experts can’t seem to get through to us but I bet I know who can. The business community can change the equation overnight. ‘Conservatives’ get all exercised when government tells them what to do. The GOP and their business patrons want business to be unrestrained. It’s called ‘Free Enterprise’ for a reason. Republicans are the party of ‘market-based solutions’ after all.

The insurance business has put its foot down before. Life insurance won’t pay for suicides or other self-inflicted injuries. The health insurance industry should declare that since we have a vaccine that works and is FREE, a policy holder’s decision to refuse vaccination is a willful decision that voids coverage for this disease. Insurance should only continue to cover Covid-related costs for vaccinated people and not cover any medical costs for patients who refuse to get vaccinated.

Watch what happens then.