30 Days

I hope I am wrong… but science says otherwise. I hope that after 30 days of this reopening, the number of Americans dying decreases and new infections are on the decline, making this plan irrelevant. Then we can go on about our lives, and everything can get back to normal…

I hope that I am wrong.

 

 

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“US just reported its deadliest day… as states reopen” CNBC.com (05/02/2020)

 

Some reports say the virus can be spread asymptomatically for 14 days. Recent reports from doctors in the field suggest that number could be 21 days. When cases present as severe, hospitalization and support often become necessary within 3.

Band-Aids and patchwork will not suffice. If we treat this highly contagious pathogen as if it will just BLOW AWAY, then we are accepting our fate.

Tens of thousands will die AND we will have a Great Depression. A worldwide economic slowdown that will bankrupt Baby Boomers and Millennials alike. Generations will be effected… in China, and in the United States.

The next TWENTY YEARS would be consumed with just trying to recover.

 

OR 

 

We can END this crisis in 30 DAYS.

 

In the span of ONE MONTH, we can go from National fear and anxiety to CLARITY and FOCUS. Ready to get back to work rebuilding and RECOVERING.

But we must commit to the endeavor in GOOD FAITH and HONOR our Sacred Duty; for in your hands, rests MY life, and in my hands… I hold YOURS.

 

Putting aside the obvious restlessness and boredom, why do Americans want to return to normal? Because they need to be productive and make a living… so they can have FOOD and SHELTER. The inaction of our government created this crisis, the inaction of our government BLOCKS our path out. Reinforcing misinformation and lies gives Americans a false sense of urgency, to get things back to normal as quickly as possible.

They’ve put us in an awkward position from which we must make our decisions. STEP BACK, and act not out of motivation spurred on by our base instincts, but out of CHARITY. Everyone of us, whether we STAY HEALTHY and survive; or we become SICK, requiring a ventilator in an ICU, we will ALL depend on the charity of others to survive… and we MUST survive.

Institutional memory, like muscle memory… knowledge and experience. That’s what’s on the line right now in our healthcare system. The next generation will not have the learned expertise of a mentor to guide them, jeopardizing the health and safety of us ALL. We must FACE FACTS… this Administration supports BOTH inaction and misinformation.

 

How do you kill a virus? You STARVE IT…

If it cannot SPREAD it dies.

 

In 30 DAYS we can eliminate the virus and return to normalcy if everyone shelters in place, and all essential workers have testing and personal protective equipment. We must apply the lessons we have learned so far and focus our efforts on what works. Because a vaccine will not be available until 2021… in the meantime, we are on our own.

Either 30 days NOW, or 30 days in NOVEMBER. I know what choice Donald Trump would prefer… what do THE PEOPLE want to do?

 

30 DAYS to prepare, then 30 DAYS to END THE QUARANTINE. If the Congress can pass a bill that will ensure FOOD and SHELTER for every American in less than 30 DAYS, then the sooner we can begin. But it must cover EVERYONE, home owners and renters, families and individual citizens, local businesses and major corporations.

If we commit to 30 DAYS and come out on the other side with no significant loss of life, and the virus is contained and traceable, then we can begin to implement our FULL RECOVERY all at once, united and safely.

 

The misinformation and lies fuel our divisions. Instead of doing what’s right, we do what appears to be necessary. The choices have been deliberately LIMITED… none of the shells presented in this “game” contain the “prize” we seek.

 

If we unite in COMMON CAUSE, we can CHANGE the game and put the odds in our favor. Every American Citizen KNOWS how to defeat the virus. All we have to do is STOP FIGHTING and we win… once we UNITE, success is ours.

Let Donald Trump go home and play Chinese Checkers. There’s only ONE WAY to win in this nation… work the fundamentals, keep your EYE on the ball, follow through, and no one wins ALONE. We STAND united.

 

And once we are victorious, we will celebrate in every city across this land, but we will be celebrating in remembrance OF… not in boastful pride of our accomplishments.

 

That day cannot come soon enough.

 

-JC

Let History Be Our Guide

It is becoming increasingly CLEAR… the longer we wait, the more this becomes permanent. The larger the SCAR will become. And on DAY ONE, the Senate Majority Leader sent the United States Senate HOME FOR THE WEEKEND, knowing the spread of the virus was exponential. DAYS. Lost.

In order to SAVE LIVES, the doctors and scientists of the United States tell us we must STAY HOME. We are doing as required by science and by LAW… and the Senate Majority Leader tells the States, if they can’t cut it they should just file for BANKRUPTCY.

The leadership of the Senate GOP wishes to revert to the Articles of Confederation, a system we rejected over 200 years ago! The majority of the Republican Party currently advocates for political de-evolution.

 

… let them.

 

If they choose to fight for a lost cause, let history inform them as to their Party’s fate; cast aside and forgotten along with their political predecessors… Our sight is FUTURE FOCUSED. Let history be our GUIDE.

 

The NOISE… in this moment, the noise becomes deafening. Deflect and distract, not to our benefit, but to our detriment. It’s hard to find a TRUE bearing within all this chaos. The polarity shift within our political spheres has pushed this nation to its extremes. Divided us on things as basic as TRUTH and FACTS… at a time when we should be UNITED.

LIVES are in the balance, yet elected officials in the Senate unite behind a President, asking in GOOD FAITH, if we should investigate using cleaning supplies as a treatment for COVID-19.

Hey! You know… if it had never been investigated before NOW, in all those years of use on kitchen countertops and in toilet bowls… he might have a strong point.

 

With every passing day, with every insanity uttered. With every life LOST, the agenda of the Senate Majority Leader is laid BARE before his constituents and the American People. Continuing his lust for political power and electoral supremacy in this moment transforms his actions; from something simply unseemly or distasteful, into something historically adjudicated as being complicit.

 

But these agendas are NOT OURS. These agendas and ill-informed opinions are not those held by the MAJORITY. And, once again… this fall the people must choose the lesser of two evils:

 

Damned if you DO or Damned if you DON’T.

 

It’s time for the SYSTEM to change… it’s time for the system to represent the PEOPLE from whom it receives its POWER.

 

The vaccine is in human trials. May they proceed safely… then let us be on our way. This quarantine cannot end until either TESTING for the virus and it’s antibodies is widespread, OR a vaccine is mass-produced. Until then, we must proceed with CAUTION. The choice is CLEAR when cast in this light, yet the Governor of Georgia wants everybody in his State to go out and get a HAIRCUT… while the infection rate continues to GROW.

 

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“Georgia starts to reopen but nervous mayors warn that coronavirus crisis isn’t over.” CNN.com (04/25/2020)

 

It is not a failure of science. It is not a failure of the PEOPLE. In fact… it’s not a failure of the system. The system has been designed to work this way. It is a government empowered by the people who put those elected officials into office… THE DONORS.

 

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“Bush signs bank bailout, Oct. 3, 2008.” Politico.com (10/03/2013)

 

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 “McConnell signals interest in protecting employers from  coronavirus  litigation.”  Market Watch (04/24/2020)

 

We have the ability to SAVE LIVES, simply by STAYING HOME. The only reason people want to go back to work, is because the United States Government has FAILED to take care of the PEOPLE first… the CORE of our economic engine. Instead of ensuring FOOD and SHELTER for EVERY AMERICAN until this pandemic is over, The United States Senate has focused on business owners… hoping their kindness and generosity would trickle down.

 

To that I say, let HISTORY be their guide.

 

 

 

Once again, every American Citizen knows better than Donald J. Trump what the best course of action is to SAVE LIVES… yet he does not act. He goes to great lengths to do the opposite of what is necessary. Just like his businesses, all the risk is on someone ELSE. When things go south… he’ll just WALK AWAY.

 

 

 

Our laws have been set up to enable people like him to be successful. Donald Trump is the shining example of what the GOP wants this nation to BE… and to that end is how they LEGISLATE.

 

 

To my ears, a call for a return to normal just rings hollow. I would not send my children to school next week… or next month. I would not go and get a haircut right now. I fear putting the life of my stylist in jeopardy more than anything else… because he is a black man. Even though I have Type 1 diabetes and am at higher risk, I know I have better health insurance than he does.

How would I justify a decision like that to his FAMILY?

 

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“African Americans struggle with disproportionate COVID death toll.” National Geographic (04/24/2020)

 

 

 

When faced with a CHOICE, the Senate Majority Leader chose INACTION and IGNORANCE, over PREPAREDNESS and SCIENCE. Briefed in NOVEMBER by the United States Military, on the potential threat posed to U.S. Forces in Asia, the Gang of Eight could have started preparing THEN.

 

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“Intelligence report warned of coronavirus crisis as early as November.” ABCNews.com (04/08/2020)

 

NOVEMBER 2019.

4 DEMOCRATS and 4 REPUBLICANS.

Who has acted in the interest of THE PEOPLE?

 

… who has NOT.

 

They knew in November. Now 50,000 Americans have died. And that number will only continue to rise. Plans EXIST… plans have been implemented across the GLOBE, successfully, and countries have started their RECOVERY…

INACTION in the UNITED STATES SENATE

 

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“McConnell slams brakes on next round of coronavirus aid.” Politico.com (04/21/2020)

 

Tests were available IN JANUARY. South Korea was testing hundreds of thousands every day at the peak of their crisis.

 

Millions of Americans remain in the dark.

 

Eddie Glaude Jr. said it best this week: “This is an invitation to the grave.” If not for ourselves, then for those around us who are more susceptible, more vulnerable… for those who are less fortunate than ME.

Because any success we realize by surviving this crisis would not be as sweet, if there was something we could have done… if only we had known.

 

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“In New York Nursing Homes, Death Comes to Facilities With More People of Color.” NPR (04/22/2020)

 

They’ve known since November. It didn’t have to be like this.

Let us ensure it can never happen again.

End the Electoral College.

 

-JC