The Isolation Diaries No. 15

“Yes, the world’s a cat’s ass, a real driveling disgust, and the sweetest thing is getting away from them, their sounds, their decayed unlaughing laughter & faces as brutal and ugly and impossible as any matter you can dream up...and the eyes, the eyes, no eyes at all. I can well understand men who run into caves and stay there.” Charles Bukowski

I stopped myself from going headfirst down the Facebook rabbit hole. Bernie Sanders is out, possibly for good, though the Vermont senator appeared to leave the door open a crack. The Democratic National Committee got the man it wants to defend the status quo, even if that means losing in November. What’s the next move, Tom Perez, the white flag of total capitulation? Biden may have the DNC infrastructure and the backing of the Democratic old guard, but he’s missing the one thing he needs more than any other to unseat Trump: grassroots energy. Biden had better start wooing the Sanders/Warren wing of the party or Old Joe will get his ass kicked by the worst president, and one of the worst human beings, in American history. 

No surprise that Wall Street reacted with glee to the news of Sanders dropping out. Wall Street knows that if the Biden longshot pans out, they can work with the man who has served their interests with distinction. 

Yesterday it felt like we hit some kind of wall. It wasn’t any one thing, more like an accumulation of hours and days, an unsettled feeling mixed with anxiety, maybe even a shot of fear. What’s going to happen next? How bad will it get? The news that Trump fired the Inspector General tasked with oversight of trillions of taxpayer dollars, first infuriated, and then left me feeling sick. That was Trump raising a giant neon sign over the loot, a big Fuck You to Democrats in Congress, and an act of prime time theft. You know damn well that somehow, some way, some of that lucre will find its way into Trump’s coffers, Ivanka’s purse, or Jared’s wallet. It will be funnelled through one company or wealthy individual, then another and another, and come out the other end without leaving a trace. Trump needs that money to save his failing businesses, pay his enormous debts, and cover his legal expenses. 

If we think self-isolation is hard and ennervating, imagine what prison is like, and then go a step further and imagine what it’s like in solitary confinement.

Biden’s got a Woman problem. Not only does he need Sanders/Warren supporters, he needs women, young and middle-aged, the energetic ones turned on by the possibility of change that Sanders championed and Warren sometimes amplified. The women who get other people to the polls. “Every A-frame had your number on the wall,” sang Steely Dan. Same with Biden. Women have Biden’s number. His problems with sniffing hair and laying on of hands, unwanted, univited hands, will trail him like the stench from a stagnant pond. Even though Trump is a pig and a pervert, with a closet full of sexual indiscretions, he has far less of a Woman problem than Biden because Trump has FOX News to provide cover, distracting fire, close air support. Who remembers Stormy Daniels except Melania? Or that Access Hollywood bit? That shit bounced off Trump like he was protected by a force field. Biden has to face an all-female heavy metal band who sing angry songs about men with wandering hands and Viagara-swollen cocks. Castration is a recurring theme. 

I just re-read No. 14 of this little series. The thing barely had a pulse, no snap, no nada. I posted it anyway, because the idea is to capture what I’m feeling and thinking about in this strange moment. 

In my neighborhood, on the far north end of Milpas, the pandemic and self-isolation has not silenced the weedwackers or the men who wield them. 

I’m thinking about Biden’s campaign. Keep it simple, something along the line of: He’s not Trump. Vote for Joe. Not being Trump is all Biden has to offer. He may be creepy and doddering, but at least he’s only a single-shot liar; his opponent is the AR-15 of lies. Joe may have trouble with the truth, but at least we won’t have to fact check everything that comes out of his mouth. Joe may be dumb but Trump is even dumber. 

Consider this: Trump wants us to forget all about this pandemic, pretend it never happened and get back to playing our roles as cogs in the money machine. Forget the dead. Forget the early warnings. Forget the failed federal response. Forget Trump’s dismissals and lies. Forget Trump’s lethal incompetence. 

Don’t forget. Please. 

The Isolation Diaries No. 9

"I haven't heard about testing in weeks," the president said. "We've tested more now than any nation in the world. We've got these great tests and we come out with another one tomorrow that's, you know, almost instantaneous testing. But I haven't heard about testing being a problem." Donald J. Trump, March 30, 2020

Some days ago, I wrote that Donald Trump’s statements about the Coronavirus pandemic would become more unhinged and batshit as time goes on and the Trump Gang’s incompetence becomes glaringly clear. In the past two days Trump has boasted about ratings for his daily press briefings, comparing them to Monday Night Football, claimed that if only 100,000 Americans die from Covid-19, it should be considered a success for his administration, and, as noted in the quote above from March 30, repeated his dubious claim that the US has tested more people than any nation in the world.  

Let’s talk a bit about testing, one of the most important elements of a containment strategy. In the county where I live this is what’s happening, as reported by Tyler Hayden of the Santa Barbara Independent: “Of the 88 known COVID-19 cases in Santa Barbara on Monday ― a dramatic jump from 47 just three days earlier ― 14 people are hospitalized, with 10 in the Intensive Care Unit. Nationwide testing shortages continue to minimize the true scope of the regional outbreak, as only 726 Santa Barbara residents ― or just over 0.15 percent of the county’s population ― have been screened.” 

In the midst of a devastating pandemic, the President of the United States uses a daily briefing -- not to reassure or comfort the nation -- but to brag about his TV ratings. Viewers tune in to the briefings because they want information about the virus and the federal government’s response, not because they love Trump or believe his bullshit. Human beings are fascinated by trainwrecks, car accidents, magicians and carnival barkers. Most of us would stop and watch if we happened across a Great Dane fornicating with a chihuahua simply because that’s not something one sees everyday. As always, Trump draws the conclusion that makes him feel good about his pathetic self.

Sweet Jesus. 

Is the choice between saving lives or saving the economy? Is it that black and white? Can the country have a functioning economy with millions of sick citizens? For business as usual to return isn’t the first order of business to control the virus? 

We walk to Ralphs on Carrillo Street. Traffic is light. An MTD bus rolls down Figueroa Street carrying one passenger. Today we don’t have to wait in line. The shelves are well-stocked, the meat section looks like it would on a normal day, almond milk is available, and we even score a 9-pack of toilet paper. It’s sitting right there for the taking. I almost can’t believe it. Up by the check-out counters the blue tape on the floor has been replaced with real signs that say, “Wait here,” and now between the customers and the checker there’s a sheet of plexiglass. Goes to show how the abnormal becomes a whole lot less strange in just a few weeks. 

What will the new normal be when we come out the other side of this pandemic? When the danger passes and we emerge from our homes (if we’re fortunate enough to have a home), will we be like residents in a neighborhood or city that has been under aerial bombardment, curious to see what’s destroyed and gone forever, what can be salvaged, rebuilt, dusted off and restarted? 

On the walk home I call my brother in Tillamook, Oregon. He tells me its windy and damp, temperature in the mid-40’s at three in the afternoon. Eight weeks ago my brother stopped watching all TV news and tells me the effect on his nerves has been dramatic, like shedding a water-logged coat. Is Trump still in power, he asks. Yes, I say, but this virus has him by the balls and every last one of his deficiencies is exposed. Will that matter in November? asks my brother. I’m not sure, I say. It’s all upside down. In the end I suppose it depends on the good judgment and commonsense of the American people, and by that I mean the decent people who voted for Trump in 2016 out of desperation and disgust, who felt abandoned and neglected by both political parties. These people don’t attend Trump’s creepy rallies, wear MAGA caps, or believe everything Trump says. They tossed Molotov cocktail votes in 2016 because they were fed up with being run over and left for dead by the economic wheels. They rolled the dice once with Trump, but I’m betting they will not be fooled again. I hope you’re right my brother says. Hey, do you have enough TP?

My family remains healthy. My daughter had two online classes today. My son is experimenting with Julia Child recipes and claims to have added a pound to his 127 pound frame. Gabriel is surviving forced isolation much better than we thought he would. 

100,000 dead Americans is acceptable to Donald Trump. The projected figure of as many as 2.2 million dead was that high because the Trump Gang dithered for nearly six weeks, ignoring advice from inside the administration that Covid-19 was coming. Trump brushed aside the warning, said we were ready, that Covid-19 would pass the great and powerful and exceptional USA by. Trump was blase until the cases multiplied and the stock market nosedived. 

The rent’s paid, the power’s on, the water runs clear from the tap, and we have enough food and drink. We have enough money -- for now. We’re fortunate, incredibly fortunate. 

The Isolation Diaries No. 7

“Are they a symptom or a new social illness? Are they the mirror of our fate or the hammer that will shatter mirror and fate together?” Roberto Bolano, 2666

March 26, 2020: "I don't believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators. You know, you go into major hospitals, sometimes they'll have two ventilators," Trump said. "And now, all of a sudden they're saying can we order 30,000 ventilators. So, look, it's a very bad situation, we haven't seen anything like it, but the end result is we gotta get back to work, and I think we can start by opening up certain parts of the country."

Around midmorning today (March 27), I read that the total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the US was 86,158. 

Five hours later, the number had surpassed 100,000. 

This morning the Santa Barbara Independent reported 32 cases in Santa Barbara County. 

As we go through this public health crisis, it’s important to keep reality in view and not let our thinking or emotions be swayed by propaganda. I try to read reliable news sources, meaning more independent than corporate sources, and watch or listen as widely as I can to as many sensible voices as possible. I want critique of the system, analysis, a search for root causes. OK, I’m weird, but this stuff matters, the truth matters, and in the midst of a pandemic, competence matters most of all.

This is what Donald J. Trump said on February 19, 2020: “I think it’s going to work out fine. I think when we get into April, in the warmer weather, that has a very negative effect on that and that type of a virus.”

Here’s a thought: when we emerge on the other side of this pandemic, and we will, don’t be surprised if America soon thereafter has three, and only three, retailers: Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Costco. 

The complete dysfunction of the American political system has been on display all week, leading to Trump earlier today signing a gargantuan economic stimulus package. Let’s think about this for a moment. As I wrote a day ago (or is it two days, three?), the country is only in the early stages of the pandemic, but look how quickly Congress -- which in routine times cannot accomplish much of anything except increasing defense spending or cutting taxes for the wealthiest citizens and corporations or making life more precarious for the working class -- found the energy to write a massive economic stimulus bill that heavily favors the wealthy and corporations. 

Note that the bill passed with bipartisan support; corporate welfare always passes with bipartisan support. Financial assistance for working people, the suddenly unemployed, those without medical insurance, is dwarfed by the giveaway to the financial and political elite. And how much assistance was earmarked for states like New York, California, Washington and Illinois, to name just a few, that will blow massive holes in their budgets as they battle this pandemic? Some, probably, but not enough. 

And speaking of governors. If you want help from the federal government, you first must kiss Donald Trump’s ass. You must bow and say, “My King, you are great and merciful, and your leadership in this time of darkness is like a klieg light. May I please have 30,000 ventilators?”

Please don’t ignore this, dear reader. In the midst of a pandemic, the President of the United States has time -- makes time -- to verbally attack governors who fail to display requisite subservience to him, calling Jay Inslee of Washington a complainer and failed presidential candidate, and asking if the governor of Michigan (Gretchen Whitmer), whose name he couldn’t recall, if she knows what’s going on. In a pandemic, Donald Trump demands flattery. 

Stable genius, huh? The only stable thing about Trump is his sociopathy. 

Congress has screwed the people again, just as it did in 2008-2009. Debate on the bill was limited. Public input was unnecessary. The political elites decided what was best for the lower classes. The size of the package didn’t cause endless hand-wringing about deficits and frenzied calls for the nation to live within its means. That only happens when the proposal on the table is Medicare-for-All, student loan forgiveness, or the Green New Deal. 

Will the stimulus bill mark the beginning of the corporate coup? Or has the corporate coup already happened?

When Donald Trump says, “the real people want to go back to work”, who is he talking about? Who are the “real” people? Where do they reside? 

When Trump says he wants to reopen parts of the country, does he mean places like West Virginia and Wyoming? 

Trump and his gang of looters has treated a humanitarian crisis as an economic crisis. Trump’s entire frame of reference is Money. He starts with money and ends with money, and his primary concern is his money. 

Trump urged GM to convert its Lordstown, Ohio plant to manufacture ventilators. GM sold Lordstown in 2019. Trump also made this bizarre claim: “I’m bringing back many, many car factories to Michigan…” Did anyone tell the United Auto Workers about these factories? Are they like the phantom steel mills Trump brought back to Pennsylvania? 

Donald Trump’s theory of governance: “I have a feeling.”

People in America are dying and Donald J. Trump is running from his failure, backtracking, zigzagging, dodging, blaming, boasting, deflecting, making bogus comparisons between a pandemic and automobile fatalities, lying, flat out lying. Even in a pandemic, Trump cannot put his pettiness aside.