Their goal is life, not death

I’m pleased Joe Biden did what the nasty guy has so far refused to do. Biden tweeted a video commemorating the 100,000 Americans who have died from the coronavirus. It is good to have someone in leadership acknowledge losing a loved one is painful and that there have been a huge number of families that are facing that loss. He also noted that such a huge death toll affects the entire nation even if we don’t personally know anyone who has died. Thank you, sir.



Yesterday I marked that 100,000 had died and wrote there are surely many more not in that count. Here is one instance of how we know that count is low. Mark Sumner of Daily Kos reported that the scientist that published the tally of the dead was fired because she wouldn’t alter the numbers as she was told.

There is more evidence something is wrong. Florida has about the same number of COVID-19 cases as Michigan, yet less than half as many deaths. This is strange in a state with more seniors than Michigan. GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis is crowing that his policies (based on refusing to enforce distancing) are the right ones.

Though the COVID deaths remain low Florida newspapers are warning of a spike in pneumonia deaths. A big spike. As in nearly 4,300 in six months compared to the typical 2,900 a year. Sumner computes that about 1,400 of those pneumonia deaths are from COVID. You really think you’re ready to reopen?



Another Thursday, another bad report of the number of new applications for unemployment. For the week ending May 23, there are another 2.1 million, for a total of 40.5 million in ten weeks.



Meteor Blades is one of a few who does a pundit roundup for Kos. In today’s list of what pundits have to say he quotes two of them who say it is wrong for the nasty guy to declare he is a “wartime president” and that we’re at war with the virus.

Blades first quotes Virginia Hefferman of *Wired*. She talked to Scott Knowles of the history department at Drexel Univeristy and an expert in disasters. Knowles wrote (and Hefferman summarizes):

if we're at war, we expect command-and-control rather than the spontaneous volunteerism we've seen with self-isolation and self-quarantine. War rhetoric also suggests that sacrificial casualties ought to be sustained in the name of patriotism. And, finally, it allows for bad or even inhumane decisions excused as a consequence of the “fog of war.”

And directly from Knowles:

We have another set of metaphors at hand. They're tailor-made for our moment: the metaphors of science and medicine. Doctors, nurses, and support staff work with urgency, but their goal is life, not death. Their mandate is not to save the nation but rather to support humanity.

The second quoted article is by Harry Boyte and Trygve Trhontveit of *Yes!* magazine.

Metaphors do not just describe reality; they help create it. For years we have seen the casual employment of “war” language in addressing domestic social challenges: the “War on Poverty,” the “War on Drugs,” the “War on Crime.” In every case, the war metaphor diverted attention and resources from the activation of Americans’ diverse talents and energies to the concentration of power and the search for enemies.

We need a different way to name the type of partnership among self-governing citizens, and between them and their governments, that this crisis—and democracy itself—demands: a “we-the-people” partnership for strong, inclusive communities that must take the form of work.

A quote from Tina Fey

To say I’m an overrated troll, when you have never even seen me guard a bridge, is patently unfair.

Another gay icon has died. This one was Larry Kramer.

Joe Jervis of the blog Joe My God summed up Kramer’s impact:

If you or anybody in your life is living with HIV, they are LIVING with it in no small part because of Larry Kramer.

sfbob of Kos summarized Kramer with the help of Jervis and a New York Times article. Some highlights:

* He received an Oscar nomination for his 1969 movie “Women in Love.”

* His 1978 novel “Faggots” was for a while the best-selling gay-themed novel. For many gay men it was wonderful to know there were others like them. Others felt it portrayed the worst aspects of gay men in New York.

* Then the AIDS epidemic began. Kramer helped found Gay Mens Health Crisis, in which gay men helped take care of gay men because many times no one else would. Kramer also founded ACT-UP to express his outrage through protest and how little the Reagan administration was doing for gay men. Kramer was eventually booted out of both organizations because of his disruptive and combative style. Even so, people recognized his commitment and purpose.

* His best work was the play “The Normal Heart,” among the first to tackle AIDS.

sfbob ends by saying:

I’ve been HIV positive for over 39 years. In truth I owe my life in part to Larry Kramer.