Christmas 2020

 President Trump doesn't want to sign the painstakingly negotiated pandemic relief bill.  (See https://slate.com/business/2020/12/trump-relief-bill-veto-checks-congress.html.) As of Christmas Eve, no relief is coming.  If you're in need, you're out of luck.  But try to hang on a little longer.  No one--not even a monster, demon, hobgoblin or ghoul--has ever succeeded in stealing Christmas.  It won't happen now.

‘Twas the night before Christmas,

And all through the house,

Not a creature was stirring,

Except a big louse.

 

Orange topped with a sneer,

Fish fillet on his tooth,

He scowled around and asked,

What can I do to be uncouth?

 

Take away their benefits,

Let them be evicted.

Instead, I’ll pardon,

My allies who’ve been convicted.

 

No stimulus payments

‘Cause the pandemic is fake.

If people are hungry,

Let them eat cake.

 

He built a Wall around the tree,

Hiding the presents and then walking,

To the fireplace to put

Lumps of coal in the stockings.

 

“Tell me I’m re-elected,”

He screamed with a harsh snort.

“Or I’ll impose martial law,

Because I’m a bad sport.”

 

But Christmas came anyway,

Bringing joy and good cheer.

Because the ogre lost the vote,

Better days will soon be here.

 

The Pandemic Isn't Caused By A Virus

 The novel coronavirus isn't the cause of the pandemic.  It causes the disease called COVID-19.  But the pandemic is caused by politics.  Science-denying President Trump has been and continues to be a leading cause of the pandemic, claiming that the disease is a hoax and making inaction his top priority in addressing the illness.  Vast numbers of his followers, eschewing masks on political grounds and assembling in close quarters, provide the virus with superhighways to all corners of the nation.  Governors, usually Republican, in many states refuse to mandate mask wearing, thus placing their constituents at risk from the most ignorant and partisan among them.  

Vaccines are likely to be available very soon.  But now we learn that anti-vaxxers are teaming up with zealots of QAnon to thwart effective use of medical science in the post-Trump era.  (See https://www.huffpost.com/entry/qanon-anti-vax-coronavirus_n_5fbeb0c0c5b61d04bfa6921a).  If you expect vaccines to end the pandemic, think again.  There's no cure or vaccine for ignorance or recklessness, and ignorance and recklessness abound, driving the pandemic. 

There is hope.  History tells us that in the long run, vaccines have prevailed over lunacy.  But getting to the long run could take a while.  Expect to wear masks in public indefinitely, stock up on paper towels and toilet paper, and make your home as comfy as possible since you'll be spending a lot of time there.  Try to protect yourself against other medical problems.  As multitudes of COVID-19 patients tie up hospital beds and other medical resources, there will be less for heart disease, cancer, and other patients.  Lots of people in addition to COVID-19 patients could die because of determined idiocy.  Try to enlighten the naysayers.  Some anti-vaxxers, like many Black Americans, may understandably mistrust the White-dominated scientific world, which has in so many ways engaged in harmful racism.  Sadly, the virus will do much of the educating.  As some of the unvaccinated die lonely, intubated deaths, appreciation for vaccines will grow and the benefits of science will once again be achieved.