World War II began in September 1939 when Germany's Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler invaded Poland; the U.S. tried to stay neutral, but the attack by Japan at Pearl Harbor in December 1941 dragged us into the fray. The Germans were beaten, and surrendered in May 1945; the U.S dropped two small atomic bombs on Japan in August 1945, and the war was over.
Current worldwide casualty estimates for World War II list about 20 million military personnel and 40 million civilians. At a time when the U.S. population was 131,028,000, military & civilian deaths from the war (all causes) were 419,400 Americans, and the total of Americans wounded was 671,800.
This 'novel' Wuhan 2019-nCoV coronavirus first appeared in China in November 2019; President Trump intentionally fumbled the ball in January and February and March of 2020, and already schools, entertainment venues, restaurants & bars, and retail stores are being shut down, state by state (since federal leadership is absent). The statistics presented by W.H.O. and the C.D.C. are that we should expect 70% to 90% of the U.S. population to be exposed to the disease; their statistics also say that about 3.4% of people who contract the virus will die from it. The estimated U.S. population is currently 332 million; multiply that by 70%, the result is 23¼ million infected, and multiply that by 3.4% and the likely deaths figure comes out to 790,000.
So look at the numbers: 790,000 expected to die from the Wuhan 2019-nCoV coronavirus vs. 419,400 American soldiers & civilians killed in World War II.
Hard to say which of the two fronts is a distraction from the other. The coronavirus now exists in almost 100 countries, we all will be dealing with the health crisis as best we can. American scientists are working to exchange information with other governments, but the American federal government - specifically the fascist Republican Party - is unashamed in their blocking of all funding and aid at the federal level.
So state governments have stepped into that vacuum. Basically, gatherings of fifty or more people must be cancelled or postponed. Bars, restaurants, entertainment venues, and other public spaces are shut down: events also to be cancelled or postponed. K-12 schools are shut down for three weeks or longer; many colleges are converting to online classes only, some are closing their dorms. The games of basketball's March Madness continue, but there is no one in the stands.
We are in a war for our lives and the fascist media continue to convince their kool-aid drinking sheeple that the incompetent Orange Imbecile has everything under control - go ahead and sneeze on your family and friends and co-workers, there is no problem.
At the same time, the fascist Republican Party is building a huge infrastructure on social media that is already skewing voting results. They are being helped by the Russians, and to a smaller extent by the North Koreans, the Saudis, and the Chinese. Journalists report full details in magazines and newspapers and online, and yet the masses are ignorant.
Joe Biden's win in South Carolina was largely caused by deceit: lies from Biden himself, efforts of fascist GOP bots, and hard work from the same foreign actors as were cited for their crimes in the Mueller Report.
Joe Biden lied several times during the debate last night with Bernie Sanders, and none of the so-called journalists (nor the crew of people behind them) called Joe on his avoidance of the truth.
This damage to your right for a fair election is intentional; state legislatures are corrupted by the Koch Brothers-funded A.L.E.C. group. GOP/red states fight for their crooked gerrymandering all the way to the Supreme Court; the majority of justices there are members of the Federalist Society and thus are traitors to the U.S. Constitution, so such cheating of voters repeatedly gets their approval.
The antidote for this debacle is to emulate our only four-term President: ask the question 'What would F.D.R. do ?'
The stock market crashed in Oct-Nov 1929 and hit bottom in July 1932. Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected President of the U.S. in November 1932 and immediately got to work. Glass-Steagal prevented further banking crises, Social Security began a program to alleviate poverty in old age, and many jobs programs gave paychecks and meaning to millions of desparate workers. He also improved working conditions for labor, and created the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. After Pearl Harbor, he built an army that invaded Europe and conquered the Nazis. The war in the Pacific was largely fought by Navy, Marine, and Air Force units.
We won that war because of excellent leadership, including Winston Churchill of Britain. The United States does not today have competent leadership, the fascists intentionally make the worst choice whenever they can.
We are in a war, on two fronts, and some of us may not survive. Small businesses may not survive, BIG businesses may not survive, including banks. The stock market casino has lost trillions of dollars in inflationary value, and the Federal Reserve has 'emptied its quiver', except to hand cash to the banks, which disappears in a day. And if citizens have no jobs, they cannot pay their rent, and the inflated housing market will just crash, taking Goldman Sachs and Wall Street with it. The name of the third crisis will be Trump's Great Depression.
There is a lot of this that none of us can avoid - shortages, closures, job loss, infection - so we need to work together, stay informed, take proper precautions, and not panic. If we can manage that, then F.D.R.'s most famous saying will prevail: "We have nothing to fear but fear itself."
1 comment :
Hey G.E., just wanted to say I really appreciate you're writing, you're passion seeps through every word and phrase; and your insight and perseverance is a boon for all of your readers.
Post a Comment