A "NEW NORMAL" WILL NEVER BE NORMAL

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     It's time for me to be blunt and to spell it out in plain, easy English.  If you're demonstrating in protest of your state's stay-at-home and social distancing orders because of the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic, then you're a fool.
    

     Each and every governor of our 50 states should have made a blanket pact to keep our country closed for an extended period of time until the coronavirus curve flattened across the board for at least 22 days.  Data from China, which was published in The Lancet medical journal, indicates that for people who died from COVID-19, the average time between the onset of symptoms and their demise was 18.5 days, with a range of 15 to 22 days.  Wuhan, China is where the COVID-19 outbreak began.  According to a report by the World Health Organization, WHO officials first learned of China's coronavirus cases on December 31st, 2019. Reporting by The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal found that the first person diagnosed with the COVID-19 disease was a Chinese patient in Wuhan on December 10th.  Donald Trump and Congress should have fully supported a plan - as I described above - in a unanimous, albeit unofficial response since the U.S. Constitution says the federal government cannot overrule a decision of any state in a health crisis. Instead, some states are now open, while others are not. 

    

     In an effort to protect them, certain governors are doing their jobs by keeping the people of their state safe and, therefore, the state remains closed.  If you're calling your governor every vicious name under the sun then you obviously don't care about your own health or the health of others, especially those who are your friends, co-workers, or members of your own families. Meanwhile, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx - on Monday, May 4th, 2020, called it "devastatingly worrisome" that anti-lockdown protesters are not practicing social distancing.  Dr. Birx is anxious that protesters will "go home and infect their grandmother(s) or their grandfather(s)" and if they die, those rebels "will feel guilty for the rest of (their) lives."

     Dr. Birx is correct.  As people start interacting more, it will cause more sickness and it will result in more COVID-19 deaths.  But without a state lockdown, a state or local emergency curfew, or a declaration of martial law, the U.S. Constitution gives Americans the freedom to come and go as they please, and across state lines.  With outdoor temperatures already reaching 80 degrees or higher in many parts of our nation, people will be traveling to places where beaches and tourist attractions are open.  Returning home to the states where they live - some of which may not yet be permitting any form of social gatherings - will cause individuals to infect others, and the coronavirus pandemic will go on and on and on throughout the remainder of the spring season and throughout the summer.  Come autumn - should a second wave of COVID-19 become a reality, as many doctors believe - the health of every one of us could be in jeopardy, and America as we knew it a few months ago will be a thing of the past.

     Donald Trump's spotlight should be shining on a way to test every single American for the coronavirus.  To date, only about 6-million Americans have been tested, and with an estimated U.S. population of about 330-million people, that's only about 2 percent of our nation.  A report from Harvard University suggests that by the middle of this summer the U.S. should test 20-million people everyday.  The Harvard study says that's the only way to completely "remobilize the economy." Currently, only about 200,000 Americans are tested daily.  So when Trump says - as he often does - that the United States has the greatest testing and the most testing, it's simply not true. On April 28th, Trump was adamant that "We are way ahead on testing.  We are the best in the world on testing.  We've tested much more than anybody else, times two - of every country combined.  We've tested more than every country combined." But The Washington Post fact-checked with the COVID Tracking Project and based on "the number of tests per million people," the U.S. ranks lower in testing than the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Italy, Germany and Russia.  So, as usual, Trump lies through his teeth.  But even when it's proven he's lied, Trump will do it again and again and again.   

     Before we can be certain that the coronavirus is unable to spread throughout our country, a strategy for testing, contact tracing, isolation and quarantine is the only logical path to take. People will need to be regularly tested, over the aforementioned 22-day time frame, to be sure that someone who is negative today doesn't show up positive tomorrow.  But on Wednesday, May 6th, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters at a press briefing that "The notion that everyone needs to be tested is simply nonsensical."  McEnany explained that COVID-19 tests would have to be given over and over again.  Duh!  That's right.  And in addition to tests, hospitals and makeshift medical facilities across America must be properly equipped with surgical masks, gloves and other Personal Protective Equipment so that physicians, nurses and other healthcare and emergency professionals - America's heroic frontline responders - are protected when they help us.
    

     Doctors, scientists and others who are experts in the field of infectious diseases are recommending that our entire country remains closed while there is no proven COVID-19 cure and no vaccine to prevent people from being infected by the coronavirus. But in a Fox News virtual town hall on Sunday, May 3rd, Donald Trump pledged that a vaccine will be available this year - by the end of 2020 - which contradicts the educated opinions of science and medical gurus in the Trump administration, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who is arguably our nation's top expert in the field of infectious diseases.  Dr. Fauci, on March 3rd, predicted, "It will take at least a year to a year-and-a-half to have a vaccine we can use."  But on April 30th, Dr. Fauci became more optimistic as he now believes a coronavirus vaccine could become widely available by January 2021 if "things fall in to place."  

     The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plus other health officials are urging Americans to stay home and to only go outside when practicing social distancing and while wearing masks.  But Donald Trump has pushed to reopen our nation's economy and he has convinced many governors - most of them Republicans and some of them Democrats - to, at least, allow certain non-essential businesses to open their doors.  As this column is published there are already 23 states that have partially reopened their economies.  More will open between now and next week, and by Sunday, May 10th at least 43 states are expected to fully or partially reopen.  It's mind-boggling to me that any amount of Americans would gamble with their lives when we have an international disease killing thousands of people everyday.  That said, a new poll from The Washington Post and the University of Maryland indicates that the majority of Americans are leery about returning to a normal routine just yet.  Americans fear being infected by the coronavirus, and the poll shows they're against putting a stop to restrictions that doctors and scientists believe will slow the spread of the disease.  A whopping 82 percent of Americans say movie theaters should remain closed, while 78 percent are opposed to re-opening gyms and fitness centers, and 74 percent of people in the United States feel that dine-in restaurants and nail salons should not unlock the doors for patrons.

     So that my readers don't accuse me of being completely partisan, the governors who have given the green light - whether they be Republican or Democrat - are greedy and irrational.  The consensus of opinion by highly trained and educated medical professionals nationwide is that permitting businesses to re-open - even partially - will spread the coronavirus like melting butter on a stack of hot pancakes. I would have thought that our nation's governors - no matter their political party - would be more focused on saving lives than saving money.  But I suppose Donald Trump's irritability is as contagious as the coronavirus itself.  Trump is impatient because of COVID-19's detrimental impact on the state of our economy.  Trump was counting on - what he believed was - "the greatest economy that we've had in our history, the best" to help him get re-elected on November 3rd.  Just because the stock market - specifically the Dow Jones Industrial Average - hit a record high of 29,551.42 on February 12th, 2020, doesn't equate to being the best economy ever. But Trump paints a portrait of false claims that is nothing more than his hyperbole run amok.  Trump lies and those bold falsehoods saturate social media chat rooms, which tend to be filled with his base of brainwashed believers.  
    

     Numerous economic scholars have proven in many different ways that the economy of the late 1990s, under President Bill Clinton, was significantly more successful than at any time under Donald Trump.  One of those economists is Dr. Martin Baily of the Brookings Institution. He is a former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers.  Full disclosure, Dr. Baily is a Democrat who served under President Clinton.  But he 

studied at the prestigious Cambridge University in the 
United Kingdom and it is there that he earned his undergraduate degree.  Dr. Baily also holds a Ph.D. in economics from the distinguished Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  He also taught at MIT and at the renowned Yale University.  Politics aside - with these credentials - the guy knows what he's talking about.  Dr. Baily told Business Insider that under President Clinton, "Growth was faster, productivity growth was much faster.  There was similarly low inflation, and there was a broader improvement in living standards at the time."  As for Trump's claim that because of him, America's economy (pre-pandemic) was the best, his narcissism and egomania would never allow himself to praise anyone but himself, and

certainly never anyone by the name of Clinton. But there's no debating that President Clinton deserves credit for a decade of prosperity throughout his two terms sitting behind The Oval Office desk. Our 42nd President's bed of roses blossoms with even more economic accomplishments. When he left office on January 20th, 2001, unemployment was at 4 percent, and Mr. Clinton was responsible for a historic rate of job creation.  To top it off, when he moved out of The White House, President Clinton provided President George W. Bush and our country with a budget surplus; a feat that, to date, has not been repeated.

     Our country is in chaos.  The U.S. Department of Labor reported on Thursday, May 7th that more than 33-million Americans have lost their jobs.  But Donald Trump hasn't got an ounce of compassion or empathy in his bones, so don't ever expect him to be warm and fuzzy with people who are hungry or cannot pay the rent, as we suffer the worst economy in decades.  The J.P. Morgan company expects the U.S.

gross domestic product to take a sharp dive in the second quarter of 2020.  They're forecasting that the GDP will shrink a shocking 40 percent, and the unemployment rate will soar to 20 percent, which will come close to The Great Depression of the 1930s.  But Donald Trump loyalists - who are recklessly 
determined to keep the "incompetent-in-chief" on his pedestal of perversion - continue to worship the deceitful Trump when he is leading them in to mental

error and distorted judgment. With some sort of mysterious power, Trump has influenced his base for nearly five years since he became a Republican presidential candidate, and he has misguided them and corrupted their thinking throughout his presidency. Trump's dishonest behavior and his lack of integrity have polluted the minds of Americans who - prior to him - were still politically opposite of my views, but at least they were not accepting to be escorted down a pathway to death.  The two Republican nominees for President before Donald Trump - the now late U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona in 2008, and the then former governor of Massachusetts and now U.S. Senator Mitt Romney of Utah in 2012 - were, and are, honorable gentlemen whose concern was always for the betterment of the people and the safety and security of the United States.  But Trump's concentration is only on his own self-interest, his own bank account, and whatever he has to do to get re-elected for a second term; even if it means lying to Americans or trying to publicly smear his opponent with blatant untruths so that voters might be swayed to not cast their ballots for his Democratic Party challenger.  After all, Trump cares about nobody but himself.  His negligence and his apathetic response to the outbreak of the coronavirus months ago have caused people to die who should be alive today.
    

     As a lifelong ultra-progressive liberal Democrat who supports Joe Biden for President, I applaud The Lincoln Project, a group of prominent conservative "Never Trump" Republicans. The following words are part of an ad that was released on Monday, May 4th, which was produced and paid for by The Lincoln Project. "There's mourning in America.  And under the leadership of Donald Trump, our country's weaker, and sicker, and poorer.  And now, Americans are asking, 'If we have another four years like this, will there even be an America?'"  Our country is better than this.  Our country is better than having Donald Trump in The White House.  Americans need to not even think about who they should vote for on November 3rd.  It's a no-brainer.  Americans need to elect Joe Biden on that Tuesday this fall so that on January 20th, 2021 the former Vice President Biden will take the oath of office as the 46th President of the United States. 
    

     Back to the pandemic, Trump on March 22nd tweeted - and in uppercase letters - "WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF."  The problem, though, is not only the coronavirus, but that the man in charge is leadership deficient.  Trump insists on ignoring health authorities who are practically pleading with people to stay away from others, and that it may be weeks, perhaps months, before we should hang out together.  But Trump voters are so ironclad with their zeal for him that their adoration and allegiance for Trump is tantamount to cult-like.  Should Trump request them to do so, many "Trumpers" very well might follow their leader off a 10,000-foot cliff while drinking Kool-Aid laced with cyanide.  Trump, of course, would make sure his beverage was only spiked with vodka from a gift bottle given to him by his Russian pal, President Vladimir Putin, and hidden under Trump's coat would be a specially made parachute that could not be seen by his self-proclaimed disciples.  After all, he'll get his devotees to go off the edge, but Trump would never sacrifice himself for any cause.

     To help reduce the spread of the coronavirus, about 95 percent of Americans were under state-ordered lockdowns in April.  But as the clock struck midnight from last Thursday, April 30th in to Friday, May 1st, Donald Trump's social distancing guidelines expired.  The premature decision by Trump and those governors who support his warped thinking have given Americans the go-ahead to be irresponsible, despite an ongoing lethal pandemic.  As to the specifics of their re-openings, Trump and his West Wing accomplices have shrugged their shoulders and have thrown those governors to the wolves, and it doesn't matter to Trump who gets hurt along the way by restarting the economy.  He has come to the conclusion that for life to move forward for most Americans, some more have to die.  "Hopefully that won't be the case, but it could very well be the case," Trump told reporters on Wednesday, May 6th when he was asked if the nation should just accept the idea that by re-opening the country there will be more deaths from the coronavirus.  Trump added, "We can't keep our country closed down for years.  We have to get our country open again."  All Trump cares about is getting people back to work so our nation's economy can grow, which he thinks will help him get re-elected.  But if a person is dead, they can't spend any money.  By the way, nobody has even hinted to keeping America closed for years. 
   

     "Uncle Sam" says "I Want You" to cover your faces, but some states say it's okay to go bowling and to the movies, to get a tattoo or a massage, to get a haircut or a manicure, to eat in restaurants, to go to the beaches, to gyms, to fitness centers, to summer camps, and to socialize in groups of less than ten people - as if it would take eleven people or more to give someone the coronavirus.  All it takes is one person to infect another.  Other activities are being condoned, as well as more forms of business, including at least one state - Florida - which has approved the re-opening of shopping malls.  The Trump administration, at present, does, however, still endorse the wearing of masks in public; although we've not yet seen Trump himself wearing one.   
   

     The worldwide coronavirus crisis is far from over.  But we must never forget that Donald Trump ignored this deadly disease after he was warned by no fewer than two Cabinet-level advisers. Allow me to refresh your memories.  On January 29th, Trump was undoubtedly informed by the first of two troubling memos that were reportedly distributed among White House officials and written by the Director of the National Trade Council Peter Navarro, 
who in that initial correspondence wrote to the National Security Council that a pandemic could kill more than one-half-million Americans and cost the United States close to 6-trillion dollars.  Navarro cautioned that "The risk of a worst-case pandemic scenario should not be overlooked."  In his second disturbing memo - which was directed to Trump himself on February 23rd - Navarro's words were even more alarming as he alerted Trump that up to two-million Americans could succumb to the

disease.  "There is an increasing probability of a full-blown COVID-19 pandemic that could infect as many as 100-million Americans, with a loss of life of as many as one-to-two-million souls."  But Trump did nothing, and five days later is when he labeled the coronavirus a "hoax" that was created by the Democrats.  The day after Navarro's first memo, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar on January 30th reportedly urged Trump in a telephone conversation to be concerned of a possible pandemic.  The New York Times says Trump's attitude was that "Azar was being an alarmist." 

     As a two-time cancer survivor, my mantra has always been that "tomorrow will be better."  Therefore, it's sad and painful for this writer - a person who is generally so very optimistic about life - to envision such long-range doom and gloom, but Donald Trump and some government officials throughout the United States are discarding scientific knowledge.  Whether it be fact or theory, we need to trust and accept proficient prognostication and philosophies over political pressure and punditry.

     Americans are frightened.  We are worried about our loved ones.  We are worried about ourselves.  We are scared that if we do get infected, will we die?  As this column is published, Worldometer reports that 74,881 Americans have, in fact, died from COVID-19 while there are 1,264,939 people in the United States who have been diagnosed with the coronavirus infection.  But on Tuesday, May 5th, a story in The Washington Post says "a draft government report" projects that COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. will skyrocket "to more than 3,000 a day by June 1st, with new confirmed cases surging to about 200,000 daily."  However, in that virtual town hall on Sunday, May 3rd, Trump told Fox News that "We're going to lose anywhere from 75, 80 to 100,000 people.  That's a horrible thing.  We shouldn't lose one person out of this." Well, we wouldn't have if Trump had listened to Secretary Azar and Director Navarro in January.  Meanwhile, the global death rate is 265,760 with a total of confirmed cases numbering 3,839,101.  Currently - according to data obtained by Business Insider - there are more Americans dying from complications of the coronavirus than any other cause of death.  It makes me wonder why anyone would avoid the recommendations of doctors and scientists.  Therefore, as I prepare to bring this editorial to a close, I will repeat what I wrote at the outset.  At the beginning of this column I was as clear as a mountain stream when I stated that if you're protesting your governor's stay-at-home and social distancing orders, then you're a fool.  No, not just a fool...you're stupid.

     The "new normal" has become a common phrase of late.  I don't want to hear about the "new normal."  America needs to return to what life was like before the pandemic in order for life to once again be normal in any sense of the word.  None of us should ever accept a "new normal"...because that will never be normal.

     And that's The Controversy for today.

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.

     "We'll talk again."

The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions.  Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.

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Photo credits:

1 - Alex Brandon/The Associated Press (Donald Trump)

2 - Alex Brandon/The Associated Press (Dr. Deborah Birx M.D., White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator)

3 - Alex Brandon/The Associated Press (Kayleigh McEnany, White House Press Secretary)

4 - NBC News/MSNBC Screenshot (Dr. Anthony Fauci M.D., Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

5 - Reuters (Former President Bill Clinton)

6 - Brookings Institution (Dr. Martin Baily, Ph.D., Former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers)

7 - AFP (Former President George W. Bush)

8 - Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images (Former Senator John McCain)

9 - George Frey/Getty Images (Senator Mitt Romney)

10 - Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU/Photo Bank/Getty Images (Former Vice President Joe Biden)

11 - Michael Svetlov/Getty Images (President of Russia Vladimir Putin)

12 - James Montgomery Flagg, Artist ("Uncle Sam")

13 - Getty Images (Peter Navarro, Director of the National Trade Council)

14 - C-SPAN Screenshot (Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar)

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