We are blessed and cursed to live in very interesting times. Some notes from the Pandemic/Protests:
I wear a mask in public and, to be perfectly honest, part of why I do so is that I don’t want anyone to think that I’m a Trump supporter. As I’ve mentioned, I’ve got The Look—old, fat, white, bald, kind of a blank stare. The only things missing are a Hawaiian shirt and an assault weapon.
I don’t enjoy wearing the mask, but I do it. Having suffered multiple broken noses in my completely unexceptional athletic career, I developed into a mouth-breather over time. I am immediately uncomfortable when I put the mask on and, as my breathing becomes more and more irregular, I blow air up into my eyeballs. What keeps me going are the stares of derision I get from people who look like me as they realize that I don’t share in their worship of the would-be dictator.
Two quick mask stories: I went into Sprouts the other day and every single person in the store was wearing a mask. It was cool. But then I got different stares, as in “Why is this obvious Trump guy trying to infiltrate our healthy environment?” I mean, geez, I just wanted to get some strawberries. One thing I learned while I was there was that the aisles off to the side of the vast produce section aren’t really designed for a fat person (and definitely not for two).
The other night, my son and his buddies were going to play Halo or some other video game, so I was dispatched to a wing place to pick up the sustenance for what promised to be a long evening. The place didn’t have curbside service, so I went in to pick up the order. When I walked in, I saw an African-American guy with whom I used to play City League basketball 20 years ago (before time, gravity, and the ravages of a fried-chicken diet took their inevitable toll).
We chatted for a while and then he asked me why I was wearing a mask. I laughed, “I just want to make sure I live long enough to see Trump get his ass beat in November.”
Another guy who was standing off to the side rather clumsily entered the conversation with, “I’m voting for Trump!”
I said, “Well, that’s certainly your right. You and I will cancel each other out, so that leaves it to (my friend) Ray to break the tie.” Ray laughed, anyway.
The guy said, “Well, why wouldn’t you vote for Trump?” (The Look, yet again.)
I said, “Well, I know and get along with black people, so there’s that…”
Kudos to Jim Click. Over the past couple months, he has helped to prop up Arizona Daily Star by taking out full two-page ads almost every day, and (much more importantly) by offering free oil changes to all of the front-line workers. It was a classy move.
The late Emil Franzi used to tell me that Jim Click’s politics were somewhere to the right of Attila The Hun, but I really don’t care. He does many good things for this community. My only regret is that he has never owned a Honda dealership.
Having lived through turbulent times and being secure in my belief that protesting is patriotism played out in public, I’m happy to see young people taking to the streets. Oh, there will always be the handful of knuckleheads who try to ruin it for everybody. They lack common sense and discipline. When I was growing up, they’re the ones about whom we would say, “They ain’t got no mama.” All they do is give the pathetic right-wing talkers some crumbs on which to nibble.
A sad example thereof is the young woman who had a college scholarship to play lacrosse at Marquette. Apparently thinking that she was being cute or bold or something, she posted on social media, “Some ppl think it’s ok to (expletive) kneel during the national anthem so it’s (also) ok to kneel on someone’s head. come at me. y’all brainwashed.”
It did show the magic of the internet, because in an instant, her four-year scholarship vanished into thin air. To its credit, Marquette came at her.
I have always read George Will, even when I vehemently disagreed with his position (which was most of the time). But he’s so good at what he does. He does great research and carefully builds his case. Plus, he’s almost as good at moving words around as Eminem is.
Quite impressively, he refused to renounce his conservative beliefs and quit the Republican Party rather than jump on the Trump Cult Bandwagon. Last week, he wrote a column about how it will not be enough to vote Trump out of office in November. He added, “Voters must dispatch his congressional enablers, especially the senators who still gambol around his ankles with a canine hunger for petting.”
Wow, that’s some serious Slim Shade.
He finished it off with something from T.S. Eliot, who foresaw the silent sycophants who lust for power colors their every move (and lack thereof):
We are the hollow men …
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
or rats’ feet over broken glass..
This article appears in Jun 11-17, 2020.
Tom’s Back!
Where have you gone Tommy Danehy
A lonely city turns its eyes to you.
Woo, woo, woo.
Thanks for confirming what I have thought for weeks. The Dems are using the stay at home/use masks as a political statement. There is no limit to their idiocy!!!!
Tucson(b)ass:
Thanks for confirming what I have known everytime I read your comments. Your post is evidence that there is no limit to your idiocy!!!!
I wear a Trump 2020 mask so I don’t catch socialism from these destructive criminal democrats.
A tRump 2020 mask!? Hah! Does that mean the mask was soaked in a solution of hydroxychloroquine, bleach and disinfectants? No wonder your posts are so off kilter.
Masks are not a political statement. The virus doesn’t give a shit whether you are conservative, liberal or just apathetic. It just wants to sicken or kill you. Being a fool and not taking sensible precautions makes it easier for it to do so. Wear a mask to protect others. And encourage them to do the same to protect you. It’s a no-brainer.
Tom’s back, yes, but where’s CW13? In these tumultuous times it would certainly behoove us all to take refuge in his rigorous insight and sober analysis.
When I get queries or grief about wearing a mask, I ask two questions: Do you know why operating room staff wear masks? And, do you have the same issue with “No shirt, no shoes, no service”?
If only. He was criticized off this site by the same couple of bullies that are always here. Have you noticed they never offer solutions. just personal attacks? Real back of the pack leaders that TW puts up with.
Who are these ruffians, Alma? Please name them. I’d like to pop them in the nose. Some nerve they have!
One of them is # Trump 2020. I can’t remember the other one.
Gosh darn, Alma. Well, keep on trying. Maybe you’ll come up with it.
Tony Fauci, March 8 on Sixty minutes: “…don’t wear masks…”
March 8 is a full two months after Hong Kong completely masked up.
The case for masks:
1. A hospital director in Wuhan did a random control test of masking very early in the disease progression: the group wearing N95 masks suffered zero infections despite working intensively with infected patients.
2. Informed by that study, the staff surging into Wuhan from other provinces, 42,000 in all, wore N95 masks. Outcome? No infections among those 42,000.
3. If any city on earth was doomed, it was Hong Kong. With a population of 7.5 million and population density comparable to NewYork, Hong Kong, traumatized by SARS in 2003, was prepared for Covid19 despite being on a direct high speed rail line from Wuhan. They masked up 100% in early January. Result? Hong Kong has 1,027 active infections, only 4 deaths and a case fatality rate of 0.4%. By comparison, NYC has 92,400 active infections, over 22,000 deaths and a case fatality rate of 11%.
masks).
4. South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore, largely open economies, all have death rates below 5 by masking up over 95% of their populations.
March 8, Fauci “people should not wear masks, wearing a mask makes people feel better and might even block a droplet but it’s not providing perfect protection
The research coming out of WHO, HHS, CDC and IDC is killing us.
It doesn’t matter what they say now. Few trust or believe them. They make statements for political effect, science is of no concern to them.
This is Mrs. CW 13. Several weeks ago he woke up and couldn’t see out of his left eye. Turns out he had a detached retina. He had it operated on and the surgeon said he should make a full recovery. It’s just going to take a while until he gets his full vision back. This is why I’m doing his typing for him.
Get well soon CW. We miss your brilliance and the way you attack Mr Danehy.
And here’s to you, CW 13
Jesus loves you more than you will know
Whoa, whoa, whoa
Thanks for the health update, Mrs. 13. From the photo Mr. 13 is definitely looking much better.
This is Tom. I miss him, too. Get well soon.
Thanks, Tom. He misses you too. You sound like a class act, Homeboy. He was offended by your sober comment !!
Missed you Tom D.
I hate wearing a mask too but it does prevent spreading germs, so I’m happy to wear one to protect others.
I’d rather someone wore a mask for political reasons than refused to wear a mask for political reasons.
Please, people, wear a mask!