Stuff

As a retired military member, I probably have a little better understanding of the “disaster” thing.  That is after all, pretty much the military’s whole reason for being:  creating violent disasters of the most unimaginable kind, and attempting to protect themselves from the same.  With modern medical and airlift technology, evacuating and caring for the wounded was never a really big problem ever since the Korean war.  Messes get cleaned up, life goes on – for the survivors. 

But knowing the potential for unacceptably high levels of disastrous consequences was what kept people trained, supplies stocked, equipment tested and chains of command communicating and working together.  I am quite certain it still does to this day, in the military.  Today, New York sends the National Guard looking to collect ventilators across the state, while administrators bid for them on the open market.  N95’s are going for 10x their normal price.  It’s a fucking travesty.

So nobody in the healthcare industry saw the potential for a disastrous pandemic?  More to the point:  Who is going to accept responsibility for not preparing?  We are talking about paper gowns, masks and rubber gloves.  No storage space?  Not enough in the budget?  Should be interesting reviewing the plans in a few months.  Wonder if they will comply with the subpoenas?

Healthcare suddenly became a scarce commodity when it literally ran out with their fingers buried deeply in the insurance co. cookie jar.  We as a citizenry have paid the highest prices anywhere for the best healthcare available.  Too bad it only comes on a pay-as-you-go basis.  Now we employ questionable re-use sanitizing practices in tents as the price goes up REAL high.  Has penny-wise and pound-foolish ever rang more true?  Healthcare is no longer taken for granted.  It is laid bare for what it is under the weight of the biggest pandemic in modern times:  A ponzi scheme run by the Pharma co.’s and HMO’s. 

Funny thing about this one is you only see how much you’re paying in from the pay stub.  So now we have a new negative economic stimulus to go along with a run on the banks, and a run on the stores:  A run on the hospitals.  Consider the numbers assuming a 2% mortality rate, because numbers really are the the bean counter’s main concern, right?  WTF have we been investing in all these years?  Too bad parts of the problem are extremely lucrative, with practical solutions written out of law and corporate governance.

Just when you thought things in Corporate America couldn’t get any worse, Muilenburg’s deeds or lack thereof, now seem trivial in comparison.

Mostly to quash science, these days.  At least that is what they did in China.  The first Covid-19 case turned up in Wuhan, November 2019.  The Chinese doctor who sounded the alarm not long after was arrested and later died from the disease, or so they said.  Healthcare workers trying to get the word out were also arrested late in 2019.  Those are just a few early-on facts I am afraid have been overlooked.  Many more are unknown, mostly because journalists were expelled.

The multi-dimensional stupidity practiced by authoritarian regimes including current mainland China, is historically self-evident.  I have always observed the adage to not blame malevolence for that which may be explained by stupidity.  In this case, it is not a huge leap to hypothesize a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) plot, sacrificing thousands of human lives to re-orient the hopeless economic disaster they have been flirting with for years.  Might the easiest , fastest and least risky (to them) way to level the economic playing field be a hard reset on the whole goddamn thing?

Most pundits I’ve heard squawking about it in the past few days have pointed to the economic impact as the biggest issue.  Alot of people will die from the virus, but not in Black Plague or Spanish Flu numbers.  It’s easy enough for anyone prepared to simply wait for it to burn out.  It certainly is difficult to fathom a conspiracy like that.  The problem with big conspiracy theories is that too many people get involved.  What if the people involved were just spreading a virus?

Not to take away from our own stupid, slow response, but did China very stupidly fuck it up, or did the CCP let it get very stupidly fucked up on purpose?  This is not a racist rant, by any means.  Stupidity knows no color.  But China is at the top of the blame food chain, and that needs to be dealt with.  Either way.

Oh wait – a dangerous new virus is raging across the planet in an un-unprecedented global pandemic.  Now I get it.  THAT’S why we need things like sick leave and robust disaster preparedness along with decent child care and unemployment programs.

Apparently that stuff was too expensive, complicated or otherwise un-doable a month ago.  WTF happened?  Duh.  Just imagine if we had those things before the virus began spreading uncontrollably.  My hindsight is 20/20.  But we pay the government to have FOREsight – on things other than elections and corporate profiteering.  Once again, somehow it just doesn’t seem like we’re getting our money’s worth.

To hell with conservative dogma.  Those days are over.  Too bad it took fear for their very own lives to get off their rich, fat asses and do the right thing for a change.  Now we will wait to hear the walk-back after things clear up. 

This morning’s FDA press conference was scary.  I remain impressed with Trump’s ability to yammer on continuously without actually saying anything.  The FDA Director’s body language and appearance was telling.  I wondered if maybe we would witness a nationally-broadcast assassination attempt as he stood behind the Chump-in-Chief glaring angrily.

The CoronaVirus stance has transitioned from mitigation to suppression in many places around the world.  That in itself portends very grave consequences in terms of both healthcare and economic viability, the world over.  Remember the old saying “when the U.S. sneezes, Europe catches a cold?”  Buckle up.