Everybody wants to be a comedian

its 05:10 am on Thursday April 2nd, 2020

In recognition of your many years of faithful service we acknowledge your presence, and present you with this wordy and fun filled blog post. Good Morning fellow sufferers, what you just heard ? Well that was the sound of another PING on your device, either a computer but more and more likely it was your phone, and it's an oblique reference to the 2020 equivalent of the 1950's newspaper hitting the front porch. Only this aint a newspaper and I occasionally curse. Usually I mean to, however occasionally it gets sorta out of control and gets carried away with itself and takes on a life of its own. I hope you know what FFS means and if not ask somebody before you read this post.

I remember telling people that I say the "F" word so much that it takes on a staccato rhythm  that it breathes fire into my thought structure, that it no longer exists as a separate element but rather as a complimentary thought. Like "Fuck, that was fine!". It feels natural to me. When someone reacts negatively or says please don't curse, I probably look at them like they have a third eye or something because that's so strange to me. Weird huh? Even I think that has a pressure valve sort of element to it. Full disclosure, in case you didn't know, my real life wife is a Registered Nurse with over 38 years of experience in many disciplines including some where people suffer and die on a regular basis. She's dealt with daily tragedy so often and in so many different waves that the first thing I give her every day is just a hug. Just a good old hug, because I cant make it better but I can help to absorb it , even if just a little. She just recently stopped working in a large hospital ICU department and F word am I happy about that. Just being in a hospital is scary enough FFS.

Facebook always say "What's on your mind, Michael", and then no one reads it because without pretty pictures they don't have the patience. I guess if you made it this far, you can read and probably can spell too, so I'm not in the mood to try to waylay you with nonsense today.

Here's my deep dive.

1. All the talk right now is about how we need to "Flatten the curve", referring to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases and deaths. At this point we have 211,000 confirmed cases with over 4,700 confirmed deaths, from all areas of the USA. This is what they came up with after a quarter of a million infections? Well it seems to be a damn fine brain trust if you ask me. Flatten the curve and wait on Mike Pence to tell you what to do. We need to STOP asking the dumbass politicians what to do if you ask me. The state governors (Left and Right) say there has been no real orders to lockdown anything from the task force of the US, and Mike Pence , the VP, and head of the task force, says they prefer it to be handled individually by the states. #KeystoneCops crap. The Governors of Florida, Georgia (where I live) and Mississippi, have all said until recently that they didn't actually see a need for a stay at home order, Florida and Georgia only issued partial ones yesterday , and The Governor of my state said that he was unaware until yesterday , on April 1st, 2020 that people that were showing no symptoms (asymptomatic)could  infect others.
   
   The Federal response has been grossly mismanaged and their ignorance is going to directly KILL hundreds of people.  I don't know about you, but I am so impressed with all of them, FFS.
2. You remember that National stockpile thing we talked about a couple of days ago? Well it turns out that there is no stockpile, not really. They have emptied it already sending out broken ventilators and equipment to people and places that didnt even request it. It also turns out that American Warehouses in american states, with PPE stocks on their shelves are sending that equipment to other countries (yes things like masks and face shields) because no one told them they shouldn't or couldn't. Let that sink in. Doctors, Nurses and Patients WILL DIE because no one told a warehouse manager he should not just sell to the highest bidder, that he prioritize and should help his own country first.
   
   Allegedly roughly 280 Million masks were shipped to other countries last week and the Governors of Washington State, New York State and 2 others are on every TV show they can get on saying their supplies are limited and they are begging american manufacturers to suspend their own products and start making equipment to get in front of this. FFS I can't understand this. That aint capitalism, that is feckless irresponsible impotent leadership at every single level, Independent, Democrat and Republican. Why not a Defense Production act order?, Why no Federal directives?, Why No Federal Response?, why are we piecemealing this and allowing thousands of real people to die? 
3. I am SICK TO DEATH of the left versus right nonsense and the nonstop Bullshit when it comes to News reporting how people react to it. The invocation of the term "Fake News" when someone reads or hears a story they either do not like or do not agree with is so stupid it makes me brain boil, do these people know how to think critically?
   
   We need a radical change in this country regarding this and I don't care what you think or what this sounds like to you. I do not want the government in control of the News, I'm not talking about the State run media. We do need to Nationalize news coverage is the following ways i think however.
   
   A.) It should be Federal Law that any show labeled as "NEWS" should be immediately 100 % about the facts only.
   B.) There should be no room in the news for Political Opinion of any kind.
   C.) It shouldn't matter what show you watch, the facts are the same. The only distinction they should be able to make is whether to cover a story or not.
   D.) All the talking Heads shows should either comply or they will be clearly labeled as Entertainment with their party designation attached.
   
   People Like Sean Hannity and Rachel Maddow can still have shows, it would be the label that would change. That way you moronic and ignorant one track mind simpletons would not think either one of them are news shows like you do now.
   
   They would be called something  "Rachel Maddow - Democrat Entertainment Show" or "Sean Hannity - Republican Entertainment Show". What we do now is blatant, irresponsible BULLSHIT. Information and public news that serves a profit master and is for sale to a sponsoring ideology is garbage and has to stop and Rupert Murdock can go fornicate himself.
4. I have friends in the Restaurant business and in talking to them , I'm just going to say I am very proud of their creativity and how hard they are working to try to survive this economic tsunami that has hit our economy. They are doing things I'm sure they never imagined they would have to do in order to stay in business. One person has laid off 70% of their workforce (350+ people) , restructured their workflow, pared down their menus to eliminate waste and dozens of other things in order to survive.
   
   They've seen traffic drop 60% from last year (or more) and their guest counts are down as much as 75% . What they have done may not be enough, but at least they didn't give up and tuck tail and run, declare bankruptcy and walk away. Employee and Manager Hours have been slashed, full time is 25 hours a week, management has started working hourly, overtime has been virtually eliminated, the owners have stopped taking a salary and even all of that may not be enough.
   
   It really proves the old saying that the CEO's primary job is to ensure the continuation of the business, beyond everything else. My friend who is a Truck Owner operator says he is staying very busy , but he has had to adjust where he runs, and what he carries in order to keep moving  which is the maxim in that business. A stopped truck is a broke truck. What are you doing to survive? How are you coping?
5. Lastly, several people have expressed to me that in one form or another "They are bored and are tired of being stuck home." I did not say anything mean in response because it seemed wrong to do so given the tough times that are here and the storm that is coming, however in a general sense to everyone and not singling anyone out, WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU?
   
   People are dying, they say 250,000 deaths will probably occur as a result of this thing, that it'll kill you no matter who you are and I am the target audience. We cannot stop this thing. We can only take preventative measures and forestall it until it sorta burns out.  Staying at home, not traveling and not visiting others without good cause seems like a small tiny price to pay to keep from killing Grandma wouldn't you think?

Stay well my friends, get pissed off if you want to but don't throw the phone, you may not have a job next week,

BigMike