Certification from the City of Chicago that I was no longer radioactive after a week in the hospital and three nights at Hotel Covid.
Back in April, while I was still hospitalized for COVID, Chicago Tribune columnist Heidi Stevens wrote a piece about Beth’s plight, and my own. Back then it took three tries for me to get a test, and I only got the result the day I checked into the emergency room.
I just reread it, and here’s the money shot:
Knezovich said it’s frustrating to watch the news from his hospital bed and hear President Donald Trump deny that the United States lacks sufficient tests.
“Setting aside partisanship,” he said, “That’s really insulting. It’s insulting to be lying here and hearing that. It’s insulting to me, but also to all the people working here so hard and having to figure out who to give tests to and who not to, because they don’t have enough of them.”
Since then, some things have improved. Testing is more available, we know more about the spread, and masks work. Vaccines are in the works.
But man, some things haven’t gotten any better. As in leadership at the top. As in there is none. That Rose Garden debacle is a fresh insult. Leadership isn’t barking at people. It’s leading by example. What lousy examples we have in the White House. And I mean literally, after that Rose Garden event for the SCOTUS nominee, they went INSIDE. Check out the pictures. (BTW, giving a lifetime appointment to a person who apparently can’t make even simple judgments correctly seems like a very bad idea.)
But no. And so we have a rogue’s gallery of infected high mucketty mucks, including the President of Notre Dame, Fr. John Jenkins.
We all have heart-wrenching stories. Not being able to visit our parents. Our children. Friends hospitalized without the benefit of outside visits. People dying with no funeral or memorial service.
But these selfish, self-important ass wipes had to have a party. And many of them flew from other states to attend.
I mean.
Heidi Stevens put it better than I can in a social media post she made today:
I see the photos and videos from that Rose Garden ceremony and think about the dozens of people I’ve interviewed since March who’ve canceled their weddings, forgone funerals, said final goodbyes to loved ones over FaceTime, missed out on graduations and otherwise sacrificed joy, comfort or ritual to help slow the spread of this virus and I’m just filled with sorrow and rage.
Argh.
Total frustration
Having decided the laws of the land are optional the President appears to have discovered that the laws of science are less negotiable.
You’ve expressed my feelings perfectly. I am filled with rage constantly!
AMEN.
Infuriating.
I share your rage. Thanks for expressing it. Good luck to you both.
Tell us what you really think, Mike. 🙂 I’m with you all the way.
Mike, add me to that rage list IN ALL CAPS.
Amen!
Amen!
Completely selfish behavior. And none of these people recognize it as such. The rage continues.
As usual, spot on, Mike! I’m especially appalled by the bad judgment of Rev. Jenkins, who expects students at Notre Dame to practice safe social distancing and wear masks but doesn’t practice what he preaches. And it’s not the first time he has had to apologize for failing to use common sense COVID precautions. These so-called leaders are nothing but hypocrites, and it’s our duty to see that lose their jobs in November.
You always have the right words, Mike. I am just speechless!
So. Much. Rage.
I feel like I’m losing my marbles. I just can’t absorb what “they” are doing. It’s like I’m a different species. Thanks for expressing this so well. Love you.
more rage and disgust
An interesting story in the WSJ has some interesting details. Of course, the current White House isn’t one for details.
The WH “relied on Abbott Labs’ ID Now rapid test at the…event for Judge Barrett. After guests tested negative, they were ushered to the Rose Garden….Public-health experts say the White House isn’t using the test appropriately, and that such tests aren’t meant to be used as one-time screeners.”
“What seems to have been fundamentally misunderstood in all this was that they were using it almost like you would implement a metal detector,” said Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health.” The test, “which can produce a result in minutes, has around a 91% sensitivity—meaning 9% of tests can produce false negatives. “A metal detector that misses 10% of weapons—you’d never, ever say that’s our only layer of protection for the president,” said Dr. Jha.
“Such rapid tests trade some accuracy for speed, and need to be administered multiple times to a person over a period of days or weeks to be useful for screening, he said. The idea is that if the test misses the virus one day for whatever reason, it will be more likely to catch it on another.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/use-of-coronavirus-rapid-tests-may-have-fueled-white-house-covid-19-cluster-experts-say-11601855665
Oh goodness Mike. I followed your advice and read Heidi Stevens report and then checked her Twitter account @heidistevens13 only to find that she is now a Covid patient at Northwestern Hospital. She will have plenty more justified rage regarding leaders who thumb their nose at science and sacrifice. Her care will be excellent and hopefully a short stay and full recovery.
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