Corona Log 1/4/21
By jxmartin
Mon, 04 Jan 2021
- 795 reads
4 comments
Corona Log – Monday, January 4, 2021
It is 61 degrees and cloudy this morning, here in SW Florida. We hit the gym early, spent time at NY Bagels for breakfast and then stopped by the Lee County Lbrary for books. At noon today, Lee County, Florida started the beginnings of a “call in for reservations” period, to be eligible for one of the 5,000 doses of Corona Vaccine that are available this week. Mary made several hundred calls to the posted number and left a few messages. We were unsuccessful. The appts were given out in the first three minutes.The last week had seniors in their 80’s, standing in line for hours, trying to get a vaccine shot. It is a “last life boat type of frenzy” created by local officials who didn’t plan for mass vaccinations of the population. It should ease as more people are vaccinated.
We watched a televised special about the 1918 Spanish Flu. Without vaccines or modern antiseptic tools, the death toll was horrendous. 675,000 Americans, from a much smaller population, passed on during that plague. The world-wide death total neared fifty million. It must have been a nightmare, resembling the Black Plague of medieval times.
Nationally, the “post-holiday surge” of Covid-19 infections is expected. Some nine million Americans transited through airports, during the last week of Christmas holidays, spreading across the nation. What they bring with them, as unexpected Christmas presents from their travels, is anyone’s guess.
In California, there are no available hospital beds left to meet the surge. Hospitals and emergency facilities are over whelmed. The National Guard and FEMA are needed to help out, but no one is giving that order. It is criminal to watch this malfeasance.
The Covid related death toll climbs precipitously. Some 355,000 Americans have died from the plague, out of 21 million infected with Covid-19. Worldwide, some two million persons have passed, with 85 million infected. January and February are expected to explode those figures. It is now a race between infections and mass vaccinations.
Financially, the stock market sails along, seemingly unaffected, at the 34,000-pt. level. The price of crude oil is up to $48.52 per BBL. Gold now sits at $1,898 per ounce. It rises, at inverse levels to the dollar’s fall, and is generally indicative of an uneasy population seeking security in the bright metal.
The first $600 checks are arriving in bank accounts this week, from the new federal stimulus package. Federal price supports, for Agriculture, are at record levels for farmers. The unemployment renewal process has been approved, but will take a few weeks to settle out the lapse in coverage.
It will be a long time before the hospitality, tourist and entertainment economies recover enough to put millions of Americans back to work. Congressional staffers, and members of the incoming administration, are talking about an additional stimulus plan that will be needed to aid local and state governments, desperate for money to avoid lay-offs of critical personnel. Deficit hawks are nonexistent in Congress. The “covid parachute” is costly, but necessary. It will take several years to get out from under this amount of debt.
In the back ground, is the Georgia Senate races on Wed. Control of the United States Senate will be determined in these races. The amount of money spent on advertising is staggering, some pundits claiming in excess of $599 million dollars. In an even more bizarre twist, the current President, in a one hour tape recorded message, is portrayed as haranguing the Georgia Secretary of State to “find” some 12,000 more Trump votes, in the last electoral total, to tip the election back to him. Most experts say the action is not only illegal but impeachable, were Trump not scheduled to leave office in a few weeks. No one can figure out what that odd action is all about.
Also, on Wed., 12 Republican Senators and up to 100 House members are scheduled to “object” to the official report, delivered by the Electoral College, on the last election. Any vote they may take has no legal impact and is simply “electoral kabuki theater,” by politicians grand standing for their electoral base. Ten former Secretaries of Defense signed a letter suggesting that the conduct of Trump forces is “a clear and present danger “ to the Republic. The action on Wed. will force a two-hour congressional debate, and a useless vote. Then, a bunch of self-satisfied performers will disappear back into obscurity.
In the late afternoon, the United Kingdom announced a total lockdown to help fight the new mutant virus of Cocid-19. Bless them in their efforts.
We continue on, with our daily activities, one day at a time, waiting for our vaccinations and hoping everyone else gets theirs in a timely fashion.
(49,762 total words)
- Log in to post comments
Comments
There was a docu drama about
There was a docu drama about the Spanish Flu pandemic in the UK recently. I think it was narrated by Christopher Eccleston. Interesting and terrifying in equal measure.
I have friends in the States who are adamant that Trump has been quoted out of context. I dunno really other than he has had his time..
- Log in to post comments
Our new lockdown officially
Our new lockdown officially begins tomorrow, but where I live it's pretty much kicked in already. Obviously we don't like it, but obviously it needs doing!
Awaiting the results of the Georgia elections with interest, to see if Trump's various shenanigans have helped or hindered his party.
- Log in to post comments