The Isolation Diaries No. 18

“The calm that is called the calm before the storm, but is in reality the foundation of a human life, waiting there for us between the steps of our march to our mortality, when we are compelled to pause and not act but be.” Moshin Hamid, Exit West

The journalist I.F. Stone famously said, “All governments lie.”

Here’s a case in point, from the head of the United States government, Donald J. Trump, talking about the Coronavirus on January 22, 2020: “We have it totally under control. It’s going to be just fine.”

We cannot forget how badly Trump and his hodgepodge administration handled the Covid-19 pandemic. Trump fought reality for nearly six weeks, and that wasted time has undoubtedly led to death for many people. Trump was warned multiple times, as recent detailed reporting in the New York Times documents, and by multiple agencies within his own government that Covid-19 posed an imminent threat to the health and safety of the US population. 

Trump put his reelection bid ahead of the welfare of the American people. He failed in his sworn duty -- not that he ever meant to uphold his oath of office. He heads a failed administration, marked by chaos, confusion, vacant positions, and a revolving door of personnel. No wonder he can’t do anything right. Trump’s China ban was a joke, full of loopholes that allowed more than 40,000 people to enter the US -- after the ban went into effect.

Six critical weeks lost. Six. Critical. Weeks. 

MAGA-of-the-wrong-kind: the US leads the world in Covid-19 cases and fatalities. And no doubt we still lag behind when it comes to testing on a per capita basis. Tired of winning yet? Tired of the endless lies and self-promotion? Tired of the incompetence? Tired of the grift? 

Trump over-promises and under-delivers; he always has, always will, because he’s a ridiculous excuse for a human being who has neither the capacity to learn or evolve. Don’t forget what he said on February 26, 2020:

“And again, when you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, that’s a pretty good job we’ve done.”

I wonder if Mitch McConnell refers to the Coronavirus as the Chinese virus in front of his wife, Elaine Chao? 

Today we bought 30 rolls of TP at Costco. Hats off to the workers at the Goleta store for the way they have adapted to social distancing; they quickly developed practices that get people in and out with minimal contact. I expected a long wait to get in, but this proved untrue. We walked right in and one of the first things we came across was a giant rectangular stack of toilet paper. Corona Gold. The only item they didn’t have in stock was hand soap. 

I start reading The Plague by Albert Camus.