'…a major destabilizing influence'
The US is hurtling into uncharted waters as a polity, with the two likely candidates for president this November both clearly suffering from significant cognitive impairment and evidence of continuing mental decline. Back in 1980, the American voters elected a man, Ronald Reagan, who unbeknownst to them already had the beginnings of Alzheimer’s dementia. …
Continue reading “Two Mentally Challenged Candidates to Choose Between for US President?”
Two hugely important people were taken down by COVID-19 this past week. Both have left a legacy, the importance of which cannot be ignored. John Prine The first struck down last week is one of the greatest modern songwriters of my lifetime, John Prine. One of my favorite musicians, Prine was a humble, funny …
Continue reading “Honoring Two Men Just Brought Down by the Coronavirus Pandemic”
I’m feeling a little weird these days. No, don’t worry! I’m not coming down with suspicious flu-like symptoms. So far fortunately, I’m managing to stay healthy despite my 71 years and a lung condition that makes me particularly at risk of any respiratory illness that comes along — much the worse if it’s a …
Continue reading “It’s Spring and I’ve Turned 71 in a Pandemic-Induced Recession”
On Thursday, April 2, the bottom fell out of the US economy, as the US Department of Labor reported that an unprecedented 6.6 million more workers in the US had been laid off and had filed claims for unemployment compensation payments with their state Unemployment Offices last week. That stunning news followed the already …
Continue reading “Neither Pandemic Nor Economic Collapse is Going to Be a Short-Lived Crisis”
4/3 Update: By the time the sacked captain left his ship on orders from a miffed Pentagon brass because of his leaked letter pleading with the Navy to allow his threatened 5000 crewmembers leave the ship for quarters in hotels in Guam where they could be quarantined and separated to prevent further spread of the …
Continue reading “We Have Met the Enemy and It’s a Tiny Virus”
(This article was written for and initially published at RT.com) The Senate and the White House have finally managed to negotiate a record $2-trillion stimulus aid package to ease the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak. But the money may well be too little too late. Once approved, the bill will go to the …
Continue reading “Facing Two Epidemics, Covid-19 and Soaring Joblessness”
I’m sitting here self-quarantined with my family in our 1738 stone farmhouse just north of Philadelphia. It’s an ancient building that I’m sure has known its share of epidemics over the centuries, including typhus and the deadly 1918 Spanish Flu. Right now I’m thinking about hospital triage. According to the New York Times, hospitals …
Continue reading “A Triage Crisis is Coming, and It’s Personal”
In a country with such poor health care access, poor labor laws and poor national leadership, simply hoping for the best is a recipe for disaster This article is being jointly published by Tarbell.org and ThisCantBeHappening.net. For the full article, please go to: https://tarbell.org/2020/03/hoping-for-the-best-is-a-recipe-for-disaster/ The World Health Organization last than a week ago finally …
Continue reading “No Time for Half Measures as Coronavirus Pandemic Worsens Dramatically”
It’s hard to take President Trump seriously. Not too long ago he was calling the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic a “democratic hoax” or a “Chinese hoax.” Last week he foolishly hosted a party at Mar-a-Lago for son Donald Jr.’s girlfriend at which numerous foreign and local politicians were infecting each other and maybe himself. Now, in …
Maple Glen, PA — I’m writing this article from my home in Montgomery County, PA, a large suburban, exurban and rural county of 900,000 people which is kind of wrapped around three sides of the city of Philadelphia. At the moment, we are in “lock down,” after PA Gov. Tom Wolf announced that MontCo …
Continue reading “We Have Met the Enemy, But It May Turn Out to Be Not a Virus But Us”