Even More Things Which Make me go "Huh?"

 

And Even More Things That Make Me Go, “Huh?”

        Amidst indignant screams from the far Right that stimulus checks (only the Biden ones, mind you) have enabled shiftless Americans to rely on unemployment and remain idle rather than go back to work, we find this AP news item: “US Jobless claims drop to 385,000 - A low for the pandemic” the article goes on to point out that this is actually the FIFTH STRAIGHT WEEK that such claims have dropped. What, you ask, could Republicans have been lying to us? Bet on it.

        Closer to home, but reflective of the same GOP venality, we have this tidbit from the same (Friday, June 4) daily rag: I shall reorganize for clarity. The governor of Florida miserably failed in most areas related to dealing with of Covid and is responsible for the South Florida spike because, like his idol, Donald Trump, he minimized the severity of Covid until so many Floridians began dying that he could no longer ignore it. Ron DeSantis whose nose gets hurt every time Trump stops abruptly, has now decided that CDC recommendations aimed at allowing cruise lines to resume operations are “too restrictive”. This is just one more case of a politician deciding that the health care professionals at the nation’s highest level are dunces.

        The CDC has already allowed cruising to restart on the Alaska /Northwest route but has laid out reasonable precautions to avoid another “plague ship” fiasco. These precautions include: The conditional sail order requires ships to make arrangements with ports for medical services in the event of a coronavirus outbreak as well as enact a long list of COVID-19 protections on board. The industry did not receive guidance on how to move forward to prove out ships’ safety protocols until May, and the CDC has adjusted its guidance on a near-weekly basis since then. That includes simulated sailings unless a ship sails with mostly vaccinated crew and passengers.

        These precautions are apparently too restrictive for the Gov, who has had his Attorney General/consigliere, Ashley Moody, file suit claiming that the CDC, by exercising/requiring reasonable precautions to allow the cruise industry to resume operations, has “overstepped its authority”. If the Florida suit gains traction in the federal courts, it could overturn the current Alaska restart or enable a rebirth of Covid because of relaxation of vaccination requirements, which is the real target of this suit.

        One thing we can count on with DeSantis; commerce and profit will always trump common sense and public safety. Claims of Florida having “done well” in the face of Covid are specious at best. In truth Florida had a higher death rate per 100,000 than California, largely due to a cavalier attitude exhibited at the top regarding beaches and masks. Even with a far larger undocumented population which was discouraged from seeking vaccination or treatment, California fared better than Florida.  The death rates in most of Florida’s major population centers resemble that of Los Angeles: Miami-Dade, the largest, has a rate of 210 deaths per 100,000, Palm Beach 173, Pinellas County (St. Petersburg) 156. If Disney and other tourist meccas had not issued mandatory mask requirements and, in some cases, shut down, ignoring DeSantis’ urgings to be open for business as usual, imagine what “super spreaders” they could have become!

        Finally, the supremely partisan and ignorant Stacey Dash, in an op-ed, claims that the Biden administration is “hurting Black families” by attempting to remove the current provision of the Hyde amendment the Hyde Amendment (a legislative provision barring the use of federal funds to pay for abortion except to save the life of the woman, or if the pregnancy arises from incest or rape.) The Hyde Amendment isn’t actually federal statute; the policy is not a permanent law, but rather has been attached as a temporary “rider” to the Congressional appropriations bill for the Department of Health and Human Services and has been renewed annually by Congress.

        Thwarted in attempts to enact a national abortion ban, legislators opted, instead to enact a discriminatory bar. Discriminatory because in America, despite the news that unintended pregnancy and abortion rates have fallen in the general population, abortions have becoming increasingly concentrated among poor women and black women. Women of color are more likely than white women to be insured by Medicaid and have higher rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion. In 2014, 75% of abortions were among low-income patients, and 64% were among black or Latina women.  Young adults and teens, who are less likely to have a steady source of income, make up the majority (72%) of abortion patients.

        Clearly, Ms. Dash has a stunted logic lobe in her brain, if she thinks the Hyde Amendment “protects” any sentient being. In fact, 16 states already allow state Medicare/Medicaid funds to pay for abortion. Understand that persons of means are relatively unaffected by the Hyde Amendment since they can afford to pay the cost of a procedure. Is essence, the Hyde Amendments’ provisions and prohibitions discriminate only against minorities and the poor in direct contravention of her claims.

        The fact is that Stacey Dash is opposed to abortion, as is her right. While I diametrically disagree, and, having no uterus, would never be directly affected, it is certainly her right to refuse to have a termination. It is, however an intensely personal and emotional issue from which the government would be better advised to remain aloof, and Ms. Dash’s opinion is valid only for her. Attempting to spin Biden’s efforts to lose the Hyde Amendment as “aimed at disadvantaging minorities” is rather more worthy of professional career liars such as Sean Hannity or Tucker Carlson.