No Culpability, No Accountability for 70,000 Americans Killed in 60 Days
by John Stanton
“We
present the narrative of
this report and
the recommendations that flow
from it to
the President of
the United States, the
United States Congress, and
the American people
for their consideration. Ten Commissioners—five Republicans
and five Democrats
chosen by elected leaders from our nation’s capital at
a time of great partisan division—have come together to present this report
without dissent.We have come
together with a
unity of purpose
because our nation demands it. [The US Pandemic of 2020],
was a [time] of unprecedented shock and suffering in the history of the United
States.The nation was unprepared. How did this happen, and how can we avoid
such tragedy again?…Our aim has not been to assign individual blame. Our aim
has been to provide the fullest possible account of the events surrounding [The US Pandemic of 2020] and to identify
lessons learned. We have listened
to scores of
overwhelming personal tragedies
and astounding acts of
heroism and bravery. We
have examined the
staggering impact of the
events of [The US Pandemic of 2020] on the American
people and their
amazing resilience and courage as they fought back “ 911 Commission Report
There will likely be a US Commission on the Pandemic of 2020,
the verbiage of which will mirror the 911 Commission Report. Fault will be
placed on a lack of federal, state and local coordination and sharing of
medical intelligence among the three levels of American government. The US
federal administration will be admonished with a few tough words and that, as
they say, will be that.
In the meantime Wall Street, big
corporations and banks will have
fattened themselves at the $7 trillion
trough provided by the Federal Reserve and the US Congress. Such an opportunistic
robbery in the midst of a national tragedy could not have been planned any
better. The 5 percent seized the day, for sure. Now they have 30 plus million
unemployed by the proverbial throat.
Ignore those deaths down the hall, they say, work or die. Another victory for
the creative destruction inherent in the world’s number one capitalist society.
Lunatics
At the time of this writing there are just
over 68,000 American deaths, the result of COVID-19’s
rampage through the United States exacerbated by the US federal government’s chaotic and disastrous leadership. The President of the
United States and Commander in Chief Donald J. Trump certainly has blood on his
hands, this time American blood right at home. Trump waffled, denied, self
promoted, lied and, like a snake oil salesman of old, suggested lunatic remedies like anti-malaria drugs and, at
one point, implying that the use of ingested bleach/disinfectant might offer a
cure for COVID-19.
Such were the ravings of a batshit crazy
and self promoting lunatic who happens to hold the highest office in the land
while he also commands the toughest military force on the planet. And therein
lies the rub: the ring kissers who surround and advise the president are just
as culpable for the 70,000 deaths as Trump is, or should be. And what to say
about those who put him in office in the first place or those who do his
bidding hiding behind a “he’s the
president” veil?
The saddest part of all this is that
federal, state and local emergency plans were in place to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Deaths might have been reduced if the available planning
guidance was consulted and put into place at first blush of the COVID-19’s presence in the United States.
Now, Trump is attempting to blame China
for America’s woes. Russia will probably be next
in line to take the fall for the staggering incompetence of the Trump
Administration.
The United States has now been
exposed—though many surmised prior to the US pandemic—that the country is on
many levels, no better than Russia or China when it comes to medical care. The
ruthless privatizing of the US healthcare system, ostensibly the best in the
world for all Americans, was exposed as a poorly resourced and staffed system
damaged by Trump and the privatization efforts of presidential administrations
dating back to Ronald Reagan’s term in
the 1980s.
Upper Tier Third World Country with
Nukes
So, the US has a bunch of nuclear weapons
and hundreds of thousands of military personnel. Yeah, so what? Russia and
China have the same type of forces. Their military personnel are not as
competent, you might argue; but then
again, what are we still doing in Afghanistan after all these years. What
happened in Iraq, that broken country? Besides, nukes are the great leveler. So
the US was supposed to have the best military in the world and yet we are still
stuck fighting losing battles in foreign lands. And just as the US had the best
military in the world the United States was supposed to have had the best
medical care in the world. I don’t know
whether to laugh or cry about it all.
I have always been for a strong,
well-funded military. I enjoyed watching the US Air Force Thunderbirds and the
Navy’s Blue Angel performing
a flight over the DC Metropolitan area on 2 May 2020 in honor of health care
workers who have put their lives on the line to treat COVID-19 patients. But as
I watched the air show I thought the event made for a great propaganda move by
the Pentagon, a reminder that the military has exclusive rights to the title
“hero,” not some civilian nurse, doctor, emergency medical technician,
firefighter or police officer. Besides, the Pentagon has a new budget to get
through the US Congress and it can’t, so
military officials say, afford any diminution of funding might go to improving
the healthcare system, or even providing basic health insurance for all
Americans.
Same Old Song and Dance: 1918-1919
When the arguments are trotted out by
government officials saying they were not sure how to respond and that the
pandemic was unprecedented in American history, send them to the reports
analyzing Minneapolis and St. Paul’s response
to the 1918–1919 influenza. The issues are nearly the same. According to a 2007
report at PubMed Central:
“As influenza was beginning to take hold in the civilian
population, there was disagreement between the Minneapolis
and St. Paul health commissioners, Dr. Guilford and Dr.
Simon, respectively. Their approaches varied; Dr. Guilford tended to be broadly
proactive to prevent cases, whereas Dr. Simon tended toward initiating
activities in response to individual cases. Dr. Guilford believed that closing
public places was the best course of action and that isolation of individual
cases was useless. Dr. Simon asserted that isolation of influenza cases would
be more effective in preventing the spread of disease.
The St. Paul Health Department and the Minnesota State Board of
Health met Dr. Guilford's strong advocacy with opposition. Dr. Bracken, siding
with St. Paul, questioned, “If you begin to close, where are you going to stop?
When are you going to reopen, and what do you accomplish by opening?…Debate
between the two cities on the merits of closing schools caused further
strain…The measures used to contain influenza greatly affected the day-to-day
lives of citizens. While some accepted the changes imposed on them, others
protested regulations that they considered unfair. Some called for more
stringent methods, while others blatantly broke the new rules that were
intended to protect them…The use of gauze masks, more stringent sanitation
laws, and vaccination campaigns were deployed in this effort…Clear authority
and management by public health officials were generally lacking at the federal
and state levels.”
Stupid Country
Americans will never learn. We, I, are
just too stupid and lazy to change the system. What can be done? The elite of
the country, those 5 percenters who control the strings of we puppet citizens
will become bolder by the day. “Don’t want to
work? Fine, there are 29 million people in line waiting for a job. Go pound
sand!
“Persisting social crisis, the emergence of a charismatic
personality, and the exploitation of mass media to obtain public confidence
would be the stepping stones in the piecemeal transformation of the United
States into a highly controlled society…I am very worried that most Americans
are close to total ignorance about the world. They are ignorant. That is an
unhealthy condition…We have a large public that is very ignorant about public
affairs and very susceptible to simplistic slogans by candidates who appear out
of nowhere, have no track record, but mouth appealing slogans.”
John Stanton can be reached at
jstantonarchangel@gmail.com.
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