Prince Hal

My Sunday movie yesterday was My Own Private Idaho, a 1991 movie starring River Phoenix as Mike and Keanu Reeves as Scott and directed by Gus Van Sant. Mike and Scott are part of a group of young men who work as hustlers – sex for money. Some of them talk about getting caught in bad situations. Their clients are mostly men. Mike has narcolepsy, meaning he passes out in stressful situations. Scott is the son of the city’s mayor, one that is highly connected. Dad is annoyed that Son appears to be squandering his life. For now, Son is rejecting all that Dad offers. Mike and Scott have been friends for a few years when the story opens. Though Scott frequently quoted Shakespeare, it was only towards the end that I realized Scott’s character is modeled on Prince Hal of Henry IV and V. There is even a Falstaff character. Reading about the movie later confirmed my guess. For part of the movie Mike and Scott head out together trying to find Mike’s mother. Part of that trip is to Idaho. Another part is to Italy, which made me wonder: How did Mike get a passport so fast? I though this one was a bit eccentric. I enjoyed it. I checked Michigan’s COVID data from Friday: The peaks in cases per day for the last three weeks were 2283, 2903, and 3296. This is a steady rise, not one that jumps up quickly. Deaths per day during the last three weeks hit 31 once, 29 twice, and 27 once. This isn’t over. Greg Dworkin, in his pundit roundup for Daily Kos included a couple quotes of interest. In response to a tweet saying that Idaho has issued a universal DNR order, Dr. Noor Bari wrote:

Every adult diagnosed with COVID-19 in Idaho is on a universal do not resuscitate order. Every adult. Don’t try to live with the virus. Get vaccinated if you can. Wear a respirator or well fitted mask, good seal, and ventilate your workspaces/schools.

The second quote is one Dr. Bari added to the one above.

It’s also important to note that the state plan is a framework. It is meant to help hospitals make an impossible choice: decide who gets life-saving care when they don’t have enough for everyone. It is not an order for hospitals or medical workers to withhold medical care when they can adequately provide it.