Suppose they gave an opening, and nobody came?

To open/not to open.  It’s the big question of the day.  Amid astounding mortality figures, Trump keeps urging the common people to go back to work, and open the society up.  In a candid admission of what their righty motives are, they urge economics is as important as life and death. They insist that the workers should risk their lives to get the economy going.  First, we need to discuss the polarity here.

Democrats (or liberals), plus the entire scientific community, say we need to keep society closed so that people don’t infect one another and spread the coronavirus.  As I have said repeatedly over the years, Democrats are problem solvers:  They see a problem, they go about fixing it.  Covid-19 is just the next problem.

Republicans (or conservatives), on their other hand, see alternative issues.  They see their investments disappearing as the economy collapses, and they want the beasts-of-burden-workers to get back to work for them to buoy up their assets.  Capitalism divides production into workers and capitalists, who always compete for value, but if they don’t work together the whole thing collapses.  If either one of them takes their ball and goes home, it all collapses.

We are close to that point.  It’s not because of competition between the capitalists and workers, but because of this pandemic.  While the capitalists sit in their antiseptic offices and limousines, the workers must collect together on the factory floor, where diseases spread, and take on the burdens of industry.  The result?  The threat of disease and death is a much greater burden on the workers.

This situation has led to a division of politics, with special interest righty’s wanting the beasts to go back to work, and problem-solving lefty’s saying not until the danger passes.  In this tribal-politics world, the righty’s have no problem recruiting Archie Bunker-types who will demonstrate, essentially, against their own interests.

Remember during the Vietnam war, lefty’s came up with the mantra: suppose they gave a war, and nobody came?  Vietnam was a war where old men were urging young men to go out and die for them.  The young men eventually saw that there was nothing in it for them.  This Covid-19 threat is a dispute where capitalists want the workers to go and die for them.  Hence, the interests of the common people is: just say NO!  The logic was obvious during the Vietnam war, and it is equally obvious during this pandemic.  The only thing that the righty’s want is for their shares not to collapse…while what’s at stake for the workers is death.

There are certain Republican governors who are saying opening too soon will be the wrong thing to do. I know lots of republicans who DO NOT want the stay at home to end. I also know of many Democrats who want everything lifted now.

I have made a decision to stay away from the local social media pages. The dangerous, lunatic crowd is out in force organizing a protest in Phoenix and other places.

The only ones I have seen saying go outside/back to work are the corporate honchos, who don't want to see their investments flattened, and the dupes that are demonstrating in Detroit and Minneapolis, etc.

Those latter are Trumpster tribalists, and would say anything they were told.

(Ok, there might be a few whackos who disregard their own interests, and lives, but they are not a movement.)

There are simply no other dogs in the fight.

From the Onion:

WASHINGTON—In an effort to contain the disastrous financial fallout resulting from the spread of Covid-19, economic advisor Larry Kudlow joined numerous GOP leaders Monday in urging an end of self-quarantine for the lifeless bipedal automatons that make the economy go. “We can’t allow this virus to completely upend American life, so we are recommending that these soulless humanoid contraptions return to powering the country as soon as possible,” said Kudlow, noting that the upright, unthinking facsimiles needed to return to their primary function of lifting GDP and improving the stock market. “We believe this group of insentient golems to be relatively low-risk due to their lack of a respiratory system, and right now, they’re just gathering dust being stuck in their storage containers. Of course, we continue to recommend extreme caution and social distancing for any actual humans who may come into contact with these unthinking, unfeeling entities.” Ludlow added that to be extra cautious, any automatons who felt unwell should power down for the next two to three weeks.

I've spoke to nurses. They have plenty of time right now to talk on Facebook as it's pretty slow around here in the medical field.

They are ready, at least here.

This is really pretty simple. The sheltering in place was never going to defeat this virus. It was designed to give our medical community time to prepare for this. The needed to shift personal. They needed to get equipment. All that has been done.

They are trained, and ready. They know it's going to be tough, but it's time.

I have faith in their ability to handle the job.

The people are listening to the experts. They know Trump has an economic agenda for his reelection, and that he lies. He would gladly murder a few Americans, if it would pick up the economy.

They are not going to listen to him.

Cass wrote:There are certain Republican governors who are saying opening too soon will be the wrong thing to do. I know lots of republicans who DO NOT want the stay at home to end. I also know of many Democrats who want everything lifted now.

I have made a decision to stay away from the local social media pages. The dangerous, lunatic crowd is out in force organizing a protest in Phoenix and other places.

Is your medical community ready?

The day is approaching that they will find out.

It's quite easy to see where the next "hotspots" in the USA will happen...

Just look to where those braindead "protestors" are holding their redneck gatherings..

The fact that they have no unemployment benefits, not even access to those vaunted "food stamps", tells us just how fucked America is..

Trump is giving a $$trillion -plus$$ to his corporate chums --  but his promised $$300 billion for the unemployed and those directly affected, simply isn't getting to where it's needed.

They should turn the police loose on a few of those "lift the restrictions" protestors --  and shoot a few of those selfish bastards. Starting with those holding the 'Trump - Pence' placards..

Ben Reilly wrote:From the Onion:

WASHINGTON—In an effort to contain the disastrous financial fallout resulting from the spread of Covid-19, economic advisor Larry Kudlow joined numerous GOP leaders Monday in urging an end of self-quarantine for the lifeless bipedal automatons that make the economy go. “We can’t allow this virus to completely upend American life, so we are recommending that these soulless humanoid contraptions return to powering the country as soon as possible,” said Kudlow, noting that the upright, unthinking facsimiles needed to return to their primary function of lifting GDP and improving the stock market. “We believe this group of insentient golems to be relatively low-risk due to their lack of a respiratory system, and right now, they’re just gathering dust being stuck in their storage containers. Of course, we continue to recommend extreme caution and social distancing for any actual humans who may come into contact with these unthinking, unfeeling entities.” Ludlow added that to be extra cautious, any automatons who felt unwell should power down for the next two to three weeks.

Precisely the point I am making. Capitalists consider other humans, particularly workers, as cogs in their machine. Workers are beasts-of-burden to make their millstones go around, no more.

A perfect description, and indictment of capitalism.