Coronavirus President Trump Infected

President Trump tested positive for Covid-19 last Thursday. By Friday he was in the hospital. And by Monday he was back at the White House.

Leaders around the world have tested positive since the beginning of the pandemic from UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to the former President of India Pranab Mukherjee.

These cases that even though many of us have coronavirus fatigue, we have to remain vigilant in wearing our masks and social distancing. 

The aspect of Trump's infection that I found most interesting was the care that he received. First, he received supplemental oxygen within 24 hours of showing symptoms. This is a treatment most people would not receive until they felt sick enough to go to the hospital which could be days after the initial onset of symptoms. How many times have you decided to try and wait out a cold or flu before going to a hospital? I have many times. And many times I have gotten better. Even when I didn't, when I call my doctor, the usual response is, Don't come in, we will send you a prescription to your local pharmacy. Come in if the symptoms get worse." I am thinking, I wouldn't be calling you if the symptoms have not been worsening.

Second, even with the quick provision of supplemental oxygen, President Trump still went to the hospital where, according to the New York Times, he took an experimental cocktail of drugs, the drug remdesivir, the steroid dexamethasone, and other drugs to aggressively fight the virus.

Thank goodness our President survived catching covid-19.

With none of the major world leaders dying from coronavirus, it goes to show that early detection and aggressive treatment are keys to keeping people alive. My concern is that these leaders who have recovered may be left with an impression that the virus is not something to be as feared as it should be. They hopefully realize that the treatments and the rapidity in which medical care was provided to them are not luxuries available to the vast majority of people. 

I think that if the leader of your country catches the virus, it should be a wake up call that the virus should be even more feared as it proves no one is immune. Everyday I am seeing more people on the street without masks. I don't understand. Who wants to be sick?

Wear your mask and keep your distance.

Take care and be safe.

New posts Tuesdays

First Lady Hairstyles

I'm not one with a superb sense of fashion, but what is up with the Hilary Clinton look alikes. The White House must have a strict regulation on a first lady's hairstyle. I mean look at Hilary Clinton and Laura Bush and the latest photos of Michelle Obama. At least Michelle hasn't lopped off the back of her hair yet, only pinned it up and styled the front to be a Clinton-a-like. If she lops off the back, then we'll know there is indeed a Stepford regulation in the White House.

Here's Michelle's latest picture:

http://www.stylelist.com/celebrity-style/style-evolution/michelle-obama

New Year - Final note on Bush (Hopefully)

Hi all,

An email was forwarded to me, blaming all Americans for being complacent and allowing Bush to get away with so much. So I had to respond and have included my email below (ending with a musing on the Israeli Massacre in Gaza):

"Perhaps for most Americans who never had experienced so totally a corrupt President,they didn't know how to respond. Anyone in their 30s has only really known four presidents - Reagan, Bush I, and Clinton. Not one of them did anything as contemptible that Bush Jr. has done that we know of. Come on, Lewinsky? And unfortunately our elected officials in Washington, excluding the President, were so concerned about holding onto their posts, they couldn't even think of impeaching, let alone crossing, the president and his henchmen.
The biggest mistake, (and I said this as soon as the 2000 election was over), by Americans politically over the last 8 years was putting one party in charge of every branch of government. That was the real travesty. (Notice I didn't say Republicans specifically.) It took six years for the majority of Americans to finally get it back into there head to restore the balance of power.

And of course now we have the opposite effect and this worries me about the Obama presidency. Again, one party has been given all the power. But this is about Bush, so I won't digress.

How could people vote for Bush, reelect him, be complacent, or even support him.
Comments I've heard from three different people.

America can survive a president. How much damage can he do?
I voted to reelect him so he can clean up his mess.
He's against abortion so I have to vote for him.

And I still see Bush bumper stickers - fewer now, but they are still out there. And that's in California. I can only imagine the Midwest.

Since Bush's policies favored industry, the rich and those with influence, they didn't vocalize dissenting voices while promoting the White House message.

Remember the whole, "if you question the president, you're dividing our country in our time of need," and all that rhetoric that so many people believed. (And still do.) While there is some truth to the if you question it, you make us look weaker and indecisive in front of the enemy and encourage them. Look how easily it quashes dissent, alternative ideas or opposing voices..

Remember the Dixie Chicks being ostracized by the media and declared un-American because they spoke out against the war? Isn't that what being American is? Being able to question our leaders?

I really wonder if all of those people who vote for Bush and voted to reelect Bush and put those bumper stickers on their cars or gave him an insane 80%-90% approval rating when the Iraqi War started feel any remorse whatsoever.

I could go on and on.

Did you see the lame tiny story in the LA Times today that two rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel. Hezbollah denied they did it. Which says something considering they usually own up to it. Some analyst said it could be a small Palestinian group trying to pull Hezbollah into the conflict. The Israeli papers were quick to blame Hezbollah. I wouldn't put it past a group of Israelis on the border of Lebanon launching the mortars themselves at Israel to provoke a fight. If the US can do it with Iraq and Russia with Chechnya, why not Israel with Lebanon. My prediction. If Israel keeps getting pressured from the outside world about their unrestrained killing of civilians in Gaza - which violates the Geneva Convention and goes against the Security Council resolutions - they'll create a new threat to shift attention away from Gaza and show their "precarious situation" in the Middle East.

Watch and see."

Paris Hilton for President

How could someone not vote for her after this speech:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/05/paris-hilton-responds-to_n_117137.html

It was one of the most intelligent comments on energy policy I've heard a politician give this year. Her being photogenic doesn't hurt either. But don't worry McCainanites and Obamasans, unfortunately she's under the legal age limit so I have to vote for one of your candidates.

Real Democracy? Part 1

Super Tuesday is on its way, so I thought I'd do some research about our democratic process. Did you realize the popular vote for President didn't exist prior to 1824? Also, our vote for the President of the United States is an indirect vote? That means Americans vote for Presidential Electors (ie the Electoral College) whose votes don't always reflect their constituents' preferences.
As stated on Wikipedia, "The constitutional theory is that the Congress is elected by the people, while the President and Vice President are elected by the states."
To say the least, I was very surprised.