May 1, 2020

“May Day! May Day! M’aidez! M’aidez! Help me! Help me!

April 28, 2020

The most extreme tidal range occurs during the spring when the gravitational forces of both the moon and the sun are aligned, reinforcing each other in the same direction. It’s spring, it’s a new moon, and the tide is going out on the Trump presidency. In 2016, he lost the popular vote by three million votes. In 2018, Democrats won the off year elections by eight million votes. Now, national polls have Joe Biden leading Trump by ten percentage points, which translates into a thirteen million vote advantage. If there is record turnout, it will be a record low tide for Trump. Maybe Trump should recommend ingesting the Tide. I am sure that would cleanse his campaign.

April 26, 2020

Headline: Former Labradoodle Breeder Tapped to Lead U.S. Pandemic Task Force. Arf. You can’t make this stuff up. The country has literally gone to the dogs. Can there be a silver lining in all of this? Trump is possible the only U.S. President not to have a dog in the White House, which says a lot about either Trump’s lack of warmth or the good sense of dogs. Either way, I think a dog would help Trump and the nation.

Trump would have to walk his dog every day, which is good exercise. He would see what is going on in the real world, and how people are fighting the pandemic. He would not just see what he chooses to see from behind the podium. He might learn how to influence people without yelling at and demeaning them. He would have to learn about socializing, and playing nice with others. He would learn the importance of a healthy diet. He would learn how to get in touch with his emotions.

Sadly, none of this is going to happen. In Trump’s world, it’s dog eat dog. Bad boy.

April 27, 2020

Donald Trump backed-tracked on his comments about injecting and ingesting disinfectants by saying he didn’t mean what he obviously said because he was using the literal device of sarcasm. I guess he thought he was the next coming of Cicero. However, the text book definition of sarcasm per Merriam-Webster says something else. Here is the definition of sarcasm:

: a sharp and often satirical or ironic utterance designed to cut or give pain.
: a mode of satirical wit depending for its effect on bitter and often ironic language that is usually directed against an individual

So, based on Trump’s explanation, he was trying to be bitter and administer pain during a pandemic. Does that make you feel better. As Trump says, everyone knows what he said. Going forward, he should fact check the lies he uses to walk back the lies he has already made. I know it is exhausting, but so is the coronavirus. Maybe the Orator-in-Chief can clean things up with a little Lysol as he addressees 1,000 cadets called back to West Point…unless he was just being sarcastic. That is sarcasm.

April 23, 2020

Despite his incompetence and his misinformation campaign regarding the coronavirus, Trump still has many loyalists, who just won’t give up on the guy. To each their own, but the rationale that people use to justify their support of the person that Rex Tillerson called a (blank)ing moron is that he is doing the best he can. I don’t agree with Trumpists on virtually anything, but this is something I can agree with. Trump is doing the best he can, and there lies the problem.

You elected someone, who has no demonstrable skills. He has no academic training. He has no experience in government. He was a small business guy, who ran a family business he inherited from his father. He became very familiar with the laws governing bankruptcy by using them liberally. He played a tough boss on fake TV. This is a man, who wakes up every morning in the White House when he can’t go on a junket to one of his properties, and thinks he spent the night in a Holiday Inn. He is not a doctor, yet he plays one on TV. He wants you to take hydroxychloroquine. He wants you to inject Lysol. He wants you to sit under a UV lamp as he does every day.

For some people, this is acceptable. For most of us, this is behavior bordering on criminal, which is doing the best he can.

April 21, 2020

It might be my imagination, but, according to the newspapers, Donald Trump usually starts his day with lunch. How nice. Apparently, he spends the mornings in his PJ’s coiffing his hair, and creating a cacophonous Tweet storm. Ironically, that is what I do except for the hair part and the Tweets. I would like to think he is spending his mornings with his nose buried in briefing books, receiving intelligence assessments, and game planning the pandemic and other issues facing the country. However, there is no evidence of this. He probably takes a nap after lunch (I do) to get ready for his two hour press briefings. Maybe he works well into the night. That birdie only flies if you consider watching Fox News as work. It would be work for me. Trump actually believes that Fox News is reality TV. Fox News is to reality as Trump is to the Presidency.

Trump approaches the job the same way he probably approached college. He gets up when he wants to; he doesn’t attend the lectures; and he only reads the crib notes. Mar-a-Lago is his frat house. Just as with college, Trump has an issue with testing. He has threatened to sue his college if they released his test results. Now, he is stalling on coronavirus testing because he doesn’t want to know the real numbers. Mr. President (gag), get up early, have a healthy breakfast, and get to work, which is much better than being out to lunch.

April 20, 2020

Donald Trump says he has total authority, and it isn’t over until the fat man sings. The fat man is singing because he would like it to be over. Fortunately, no one, except for a few right wing nuts, is listening. He is morbidly obese by the way. We have reached the end of his attention span. Trump should have been singing like a canary in a coal mine, and we know how he feels about coal. He should have been the country’s early warning signal that something was wrong. After all, he has a very big brain, and is a very stable genius. As it turned out, he wasn’t the first to warn us, but he is the first to give up. Apparently, President Bone Spurs doesn’t like to fight unless it is against a woman, except for Rhonda Rousey or Brunnhilde, who would kick his fat ass. He aids and abets right wing activists, who want to rush the opening of America. He supports governors, who think the WWE is an essential activity. He attacks governors, who dare ask for cotton swabs. If it goes poorly, he will blame the governors. If it goes well…it won’t. The good news for him is that dead people can’t vote.

April 18, 2020

Trump has set May 1st as the deadline for the orderly reopening of the country. I find the word “deadline” to be sadly ironic? People will assume it is okay to come out and shop, eat, work, pray, and play. As a result, people will die. For too many people, their source of medical information is Donald Trump and Sean Hannity supported by the medical expertise of Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz. Donald Trump wants to LIBERATE the states. Hannity wants to beat the May 1st deadline. Dr. Phil likens the pandemic to auto fatalities. And Dr. Oz said the a 2-3% mortality rate for returning students is acceptable. Kellyanne Conway said this no big deal because this is the 19th coronavirus we have had to deal with.

Fortunately, most Americans (80%) have no intention of relaxing social distancing anytime soon. Many are waiting until there is a vaccine. They are listening to the medical experts and people like Bill Gates, who have spent years thinking about these things. Americans are looking for lifelines, not deadlines.

April 18, 2020

One of the things we have learned from the coronavirus pandemic is that people with preexisting conditions are particularly susceptible to the disease. Many of these conditions, unfortunately, are self-inflicted. Three of the most significant conditions that can be controlled are obesity, diabetes, and smoking. With proper healthcare and education, all three of these issues can be mitigated. Some research, albeit inconclusive, indicates that obesity may be the worst preexisting condition to have if you contact coronavirus. Obesity and diabetes often go hand-in-hand.

Adult obesity has been rising dramatically with approximately 25-30% of adults obese. Mississippi and West Virginia lead with about 40% rates. Similar trends exist with children. There is a dramatic red-blue political divide when you examine the rates. This is probably coincidental with rates of poverty and levels of education. This is also related to the availability of healthcare. Obesity is a national danger by itself. When you add in coronavirus, the dangers are magnified.

When this is all over, here are some of the areas we need to address:

1. Healthcare needs to be available to all. Obese patients need the education, advice, and monitoring that can be provided by health services.

2. We need to address income inequality. Poorer people are literally eating themselves to death with cheap, junk food. We need to tax fast food, and subsidize healthy food.

3. We need to get moving. We need to support in school and after school physical activities for all. Maybe we can make health club memberships and exercise equipment tax deductible or eligible for a tax credit.

I am sure nutritional professionals have many more ideas. The silver lining from sheltering in place is that we are staying home, and eating out less. Hopefully, people will see the health benefits of preparing food at home.