THE LUCK OF THE IRISH-AMERICAN JOE BIDEN

PROVIDENCE, FORTUNE, DESTINY – AND A PANDEMIC

Mark Halperin

Nov 16, 2020

THE BEST IDEA *EVER*

Bananas sold in a package with a cascading level of ripeness.

THE SECOND-BEST IDEA EVER

Support Wide World of News as a subscriber or contributor.

You can subscribe at the monthly, annual, or Founding Member rates here:

Or make a smaller, one-time voluntary contribution (any amount welcome) to support my work.

Making a donation in a lower amount is easy.

Just please reply to this email to learn how.

****

THE PLEASURE OF YOUR COMPANY IS REQUESTED AT A VIRTUAL TOWN HALL MEETING TONIGHT

An online Town Hall meeting with Mark Halperin
Monday, November 16, 2020
7:00pm Eastern Time

To register for this FREE Zoom session, click here.

Or, if the link isn’t working for you, paste this address into ye olde browser to sign up:

https://walkingduck.com/mh-town-hall-interest-form/

****

Let’s be optimistic that in the last weeks of 2020 and throughout 2021, the people and governments of the United States of America can work together to limit the damage done by this invisible monster of a virus, revive the nation’s decimated economy, and help vulnerable families avoid the worst impact of the pandemic.

Then let’s face the unlucky 13 realities of why this remains and will remain such a challenge.

****

1. EVEN SICK PEOPLE ARE IN DENIAL

Jodi Doering @JodiDoering

I have a night off from the hospital. As I’m on my couch with my dog I can’t help but think of the Covid patients the last few days. The ones that stick out are those who still don’t believe the virus is real. The ones who scream at you for a magic medicine and that Joe Biden is

Jodi Doering @JodiDoering

Going to ruin the USA. All while gasping for breath on 100% Vapotherm. They tell you there must be another reason they are sick. They call you names and ask why you have to wear all that “stuff” because they don’t have COViD because it’s not real. Yes. This really happens. And

Jodi Doering @JodiDoering

I can’t stop thinking about it. These people really think this isn’t going to happen to them. And then they stop yelling at you when they get intubated. It’s like a fucking horror movie that never ends. There’s no credits that roll. You just go back and do it all over again.

Jodi Doering @JodiDoering

Which is what I will do for the next three nights. But tonight. It’s me and Cliff and Oreo ice cream. And how ironic I have on my “home” Hoodie. The South Dakota I love seems far away right now.

****

2. THE REDS SAY THE ELECTION RESULTS VALIDATE THEIR WORLDVIEW

Democrat Joe Biden may have won the presidency pledging a national mask mandate and a science-based approach to controlling the pandemic. But in the states where the virus is spiking highest — particularly in the Upper Midwest — Republicans made substantial gains down-ballot. Often they did so by railing against the very tool that scientists say could best help arrest the virus’s spread…
The victories in state and local races have allowed GOP leaders to claim a mandate for their let-it-be approach to pandemic management, with pleas for “personal responsibility” substituting government intervention. As hospitals fill and deaths climb, it’s a philosophy that public health experts warn could have disastrous consequences this winter….
[T]he election results suggest there is no political penalty in many areas of the country for failing to heed the advice of public health authorities. There may, in fact, be a benefit in not doing so and in arguing that economic interests take precedence. (Washington Post)

****

3. THE RIGHT HAS PLENTY TO WORK WITH REGARDING SHUTDOWNS AND HYPOCRISY

It isn’t just the boating aspirations of Marc Mallory (Mr. Gretchen Whitmer), the hair appointment of Nancy Pelosi, or the French Laundering of Gavin Newsom, as the Wall Street Journal ed board makes clear:

Nobody should begrudge the [California] Governor for celebrating a birthday with friends. The problem is that he and many politicians require the hoi polloi to follow strict virus rules that they don’t abide by themselves. Then they threaten lockdowns as punishment if the little people don’t comply.
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser traveled to Delaware to celebrate Joe Biden’s election victory even as she told her residents not to travel to other states. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is saying that people must “cancel traditional Thanksgiving plans,” and invite no guests, even as she joined a street party celebrating Mr. Biden’s apparent victory and spoke with a bullhorn.
No wonder so many Americans ignore politicians and other elites who lecture them about wearing masks and following Covid-19 rules as a moral duty.

••••

4. TRUMPIAN MACHO OPPOSITION TO RESTRICTIONS RUNS STRONG STILL, EVEN IN DEFEAT

Scott W. Atlas @SWAtlasHoover

The only way this stops is if people rise up. You get what you accept. #FreedomMatters #StepUp

philip lewis @Phil_Lewis_

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has announced an epidemic order for 3 weeks, starting this Wednesday. In-person learning for high schools and colleges are halted. Indoor dining, theaters, stadiums, organized sports (except pros) are no longer open. https://t.co/kLOPFJXHbD

****

5. THE OVERWHELMED REDLANDS STILL ARE RESISTENT TO RESTRICT

Texas became the first state to surpass 1 million COVID-19 cases this week (followed by California), matching peak levels reached this summer and alarming public health experts ahead of the winter holidays, when infections are expected to soar.
Despite exhausted doctors and steady funeral processions, many Texans refused to wear masks or avoid crowded public places….
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other state leaders have resisted pandemic shutdowns and restrictions, even in places such as El Paso. Texas’ attorney general joined local businesses suing to overturn the El Paso stay-home order.
Unlike California’s governor, Abbott hasn’t issued a coronavirus-related travel advisory ahead of the holidays or warned residents who travel out of state to quarantine when they return, even though Texas colleges have more infected students than any other state. On Friday, Dallas County's chief executive sent a letter to the governor requesting added pandemic restrictions. (Los Angeles Times)

****

6. AND/BUT, DESPITE WHAT THEY SAY AT ZABAR’S, THE PROBLEM IS NOT JUST IN THE REDLANDS

More than 200 people stood shoulder to shoulder shouting as two men sparred at the center of a Bronx warehouse. Some people hung over the barricades, social media showed, craning their necks for a better view. When one man knocked out the other, the crowd erupted in a thunderous roar.
The amateur fight would have been illegal before the pandemic, but with coronavirus cases spiking in the city, it risked being a dangerous underground event.
Sheriff’s deputies broke up the unlicensed fight club, known as “Rumble in the Bronx,” around 11:15 p.m. Saturday. Many of those crowding inside were drinking, smoking hookah and not wearing masks, the authorities said….
Hours before breaking up the fight club, sheriff’s deputies had also disbanded a party in Brooklyn with nearly 200 guests and another in Manhattan with over 200 people.
Kevin O’Hanlon, owner of Rogue Space, which hosted the event in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, expressed regret in a phone interview on Sunday.
“We’re about being a positive influence in the community, and this is not something I’m proud of at all,” he said. (New York Times)

****

7. DAYS ARE WASTING

Public health officials, members of Joe Biden’s transition team, and elected Democrats and Republicans urged President Donald Trump on Sunday to begin the transfer of power to President-elect Joe Biden, warning that continuing to waylay the process amid a spiking pandemic could endanger American lives. (Politico)

****

8. IT’S EVERYWHERE….

With a third surge of the Covid-19 pandemic hitting the U.S., many public-health authorities are warning the coronavirus is now so widespread that it will take pervasive new measures to contain it….
In earlier surges, infections were concentrated in cities such as New York and Chicago, or populous states like Florida and Texas. Many of the outbreaks then were linked to travelers returning from overseas or so-called superspreading events such as conferences, weddings and rallies.
Now, it is everywhere. People are becoming infected not just at big gatherings, but when they let their guard down, such as by not wearing a mask, while going about their daily routines or in smaller social settings that they thought of as safe—often among their own families or trusted friends. (Wall Street Journal)

****

9. …AND “EVERYWHERE” INCLUDES WHERE THE MOST VULNERABLE LIVE

Covid-19 deaths among vulnerable nursing-home residents are surging again, with the virus increasingly spreading to rural facilities that are struggling with staff shortages and other challenges….
This time, the virus is infiltrating a far-flung range of facilities, with a growing share of the deaths occurring in rural and small-town communities in states such as Wisconsin, North Dakota and Montana, where case counts have climbed rapidly. The pattern tracks how the virus is spreading more broadly throughout the U.S., hitting regions that had been largely spared earlier in the pandemic. (Wall Street Journal)

****

10. AND YET WE STILL DON’T REALLY UNDERSTAND HOW/WHEN/WHY IT SPREADS

Jay Varma, senior adviser for public health in the New York City mayor’s office, said 10% of the city’s infections are due to travel, 5% from gatherings, and another 5% from institutional settings such as nursing homes.
“The vast majority of the remainder—somewhere probably around 50% or more—we don’t have a way to directly attribute their source of infection,” Mr. Varma said. “And that’s a concern.” (Wall Street Journal)

Arne Duncan @arneduncan

Our family been battling COVID for 10 days now. We were all in shape. We have what is considered “mild” cases. And, it has absolutely flattened us. I’m pleading w you to please rethink your Thanksgiving plans. You wouldn’t wish this on your worst enemy. Let alone those you love.

Arne Duncan @arneduncan

I so appreciate everyone’s good wishers! How did we catch it? I don’t know We wore masks We socially distanced We avoided crowds We haven’t had people in our house And, I’m sure whoever gave it to us felt they did the same COVID is in the air now- in almost every room you enter

****

11. AND THERE ARE FEWER ON THE FRONTLINES TO TREAT IT

Thousands of medical practices are closing in the United States, as doctors and nurses opt for early retirement or job changes after struggling with the stresses of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a survey of 3,500 doctors this summer by the Physicians Foundation, a nonprofit group, about 8 percent of the respondents reported closing their offices in recent months, which the foundation estimated could equal some 16,000 practices. Another 4 percent said they planned to close within the coming year.
Some doctors and nurses worry about their own health because of age or a medical condition that puts them at high risk. Others stopped practicing during the worst of the outbreaks and don’t have the energy to start again. Some simply need a break from the toll that the pandemic has taken among their peers and patients. (New York Times)

****

12. WE ARE SO DIVIDED THAT THE LOS ANGELES TIMES GETS MOBBED FOR DECIDING TO LISTEN TO TRUMP VOTERS