Category Archives: America

03/16/20

The Cost of Panic

Hey, America, you don’t look good in panic. Let me see if I can reason with you and get you back off that ledge.

“Hi, Mom. You look great. I’m here for you.”

The Wutang Flu is a real thing, but it is something we have met before. We met it — meaning a virus for which we had no vaccine — last in 2009 when the Swine Flu (H1N1 flu) arrived. It, too, was a national emergency.

We ended up with:

60,000,000 people infected,

265,000 hospital stays, and,

12,500 deaths.

Those deaths, like the current situation, were aggregated amongst the elderly and the immune system compromised.

Back in 2009, we did not panic.

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03/15/20

Deborah L Birx, MD — Groupies

I am admitting that I am a Dr Deborah L Birx groupie. She is the tall, well-coiffed woman with the Hermes scarves on her shoulders who is Mike Pence’s right arm on the Wutang Flu Task Force.

She has the confident voice of a retired Army Colonel and an Ambassador who has been on the front lines of the fight against HIV/AIDS for more than three decades.

White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx shows how coronavirus testing will be streamlined at the press conference.

She is considered a legend in the international fight against HIV/AIDS.

Technically, she is Ambassador-at-Large, Coordinator of the United States Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS and U.S. Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy.

But, you can just call her a badass public health warrior.

You want an example for a young woman to follow as a role model? Here she is.

There is an interesting anecdote about her.

She was having a baby and required a blood transfusion, but she had been working on HIV/AIDS and knew there was a risk that the blood might be contaminated.

She refused to take the transformation.

The blood was contaminated.

Keep an eye on this woman. She is the best of all of us and we are in good hands. Well played, Dr Deborah L Birx. I am glad you are on the team.

So, yeah, I’m a groupie. Who wants to make something of it?

car

 

 

03/13/20

Why Not To Panic For Dummies –Wutang Flu

Peggy Noonan wrote a column today that is the piece-de-resistance of the intellectual panic in America today. As I read it, I laughed at her hyperbole and silliness.

Peggy Noonan Column ‘Don’t Panic Is Rotten Advice’

I suspect having been in the Army and having seen some really crazy stuff has anesthetized me a bit, but this is not the time to even use the word P A N I C.

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03/10/20

The American Craftsman

One of the singular pleasures of my life has been building stuff. Since I was 8 years old and built a dam across a creek at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey thereby flooding the adjacent parking lot for the NCO’s housing (three feet deep), I have built things.

For the record, I got a full grown adult ass chewing, but my Dad was very interested in how I formed the local kids into a work force, stole the cinder blocks from the Post Engineers who were working on a culvert and crossover on the creek, and my design — which worked just fine. [My first startup?]

Later, when a combat engineer in Korea, I would build a series of gabion dams down a watercourse that flooded a village across from our base. It was a very similar design. That village never flooded again.

Anyway, there are those in life who are builders. They like to build things. I think I wanted to be one from an early age and I got to do it. I am addicted to the smell of sawdust.

I built a lot of things including high rise office buildings, land development, and renovating old office buildings, apartments, shopping centers. It always takes a team.

One American Center, Austin, Texas

One American Center at Sixth and Congress in the ATX. I oversaw its creation. It was a lot of fun.

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02/28/20

Cut The Crap — Corona Virus

Every so often, it is useful to cut the crap and make damn sure we all know the FACTS about a situation. Today, we cut the crap pertaining to the Corona Virus. [I refuse to call it COVID-19 as it gives dignity to this shitty little bit of Chinese crap.]

Here’s what we know.

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02/27/20

1942 — The Year That Tested the United States

It is good for us Americans to remember who we are when we face difficult challenges — for the record, the entire Corona Virus thing is a huge head fake and will turn out just fine, but we are unable to be calm these days, so it may be useful to revisit exactly who we are.

In 1942, we were reeling from the Japs destroying the American fleet at Pearl Harbor — 2,403 Americans KIA, 1,143 WIA, 18 ships sunk, 5 battleships sunk. We were now at war with Japan and Germany and our Army had been 189,000 men in 1939 when the Germans invaded Poland. By the end of 1939, the Germans would have 6,000,000 men under arms.

By the end of World War II, the US military would number more than 12,000,000 (more than 17,000,000 would serve), but it would take three and a half years to get there.

We would suffer 407,000 KIA and 671,000 WIA plus another 6,000 Merchant Marine KIAs. We would accept the unconditional surrender of every one of the Axis countries — Germany and Japan chief amongst them.

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02/17/20

Regional Stupidity Award — New York

The United States is a large country with distinct regions defined by geography — coastal, mountains, plains, lakes (talking to you, Great Lakes), regional dialect, the nature of their favored BBQ and their sauce (beef, pork, chicken, tomato, mustard, vinegar with or without slaw), and, apparently their basic intelligence.

Let me propose for the example of an inferior native intelligence the entire State of New York, but with a special shout out to the capital in Albany.

The NY Legislature — as corrupt a legislature as there is in the United States though Illinois seems to be the front runner — in their infinite wisdom decided to do away with bail for entire classes of criminals. These are criminals for whom a “get out on bail” card most recently would have been a very tough sell.

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02/15/20

Rejected, Dejected

As my faithful readers are aware, I applied for a job with Queen Elizabeth on 25 January 2020. I showed y’all a copy of the application follow up letter here:

New Job Application

So, I’ve received an answer. I was very excited.

7 February 2020

Mr. Car, Big Red, Esq.

Dear Mr. Car, 

The Queen has asked me to reply to your lovely letter of 25 January. She told me to specifically mention how touched she was with your sincere and heartfelt interest in serving in Her household.

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