Covid times Turn Darker

September 19

It's been 23 hours since I heard about the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The thing we feared most - and it happened 45 days before election day. When Daryl broke the news to me I screamed hysterically. For 3 minutes I cried with my head buried in my hands. I became lightheaded from lack of oxygen and walked around a bit, drank some water and then felt that awful despair blanketing me. Can 2020 get any worse I wondered? Silly question since the November elections could be a disaster.

Minutes after RBG's death was announced Mitch McConnell and Trump began making noises about filling her seat in the Supreme Court. Obviously, the Merrick Garland fiasco was ignored as you'd expect from the world's biggest hypocrites. We just may escape a 3rd Trump appointee if the few Republican senators with some heart decide not to vote. Watching our democracy crumble is heartbreaking. Why didn't RBG resign under Obama before 2016? Every answer I've read when the question had been posed to her is feeble. Points at remarkable naivety. She told Gail Collins of the New York Times, "Oh, I'm sure we'll have a fine next president." Seriously?

September 22

I've been waking up with a sinking feeling each morning since Friday's news. Of course the Republicans are going to fill RBG's seat. School kids decades from now are surely going to be horrified at this period of US history. Trump, Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham, the most corrupt creatures, were voted into power by an electorate manipulated by Fox news and who hold irrational views on guns and abortion. Driven by money, greed and power, Trump and his clan don't give a crap about anyone. A sobering lesson on how much power the president wields and how dangerous a corrupt politician can be. And now we'll have to live with permanent damage for decades.

The pandemic has been overshadowed by the earthshaking events of the week. Europe's surge is becoming a concern. The UK's Covid numbers are predicted to grow exponentially in the next weeks. Boris Johnson has imposed laughable restrictions such as pubs and bars closing by 10:00 PM. Locally, Santa Barbara and California are continuing to make progress. Good to see that even though it's taking us a while to get to low numbers, the current safety measures are working. It's very unlikely we'll ever go into a complete lockdown again. The worst really is over. South Africa is also continuing to show declining new cases and daily deaths. They've dropped to 9th place on Worldometers.

At this point we may have another 6 months of this unstable, restricted situation. Experts assure us that a successful vaccine may become available by December, but will need months for wide distribution. By summer life may be back to normal. New treatments may soon be available too as well as better testing capabilities. I'm just happy that it's no longer a challenge to access food supplies. In the spring and early summer we missed out on seasonal produce. Now I make a weekly trip to Sprouts early morning when it's quiet and I grab fruit, milk, tofu, etc.

September 27

I awoke to the dreadful news of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's replacement, a devout Catholic, anti-abortion conservative. Thankfully, our Sunday morning beach walk provided distraction and therapy. Due to high tide and heavy surf, we saw more surfers than we'd ever seen this early. Dolphins close to shore and Canada geese flying in formation delighted us too. But after we returned home and went about our usual activities, my spirits fell again. It's staggering how fragile our democracy is. Watching the Republicans abusing their power with no one to stop them is jaw dropping. The Senate will always have a Republican majority with brief periods of Democrats in the majority. And now the Supreme Court is decidedly conservative too. Can nothing be done?

More bad news - another destructive fire broke out today in Napa Valley. A day of evacuations and structural damage. What despair! 

The day ended with bombshell news about Trump's tax records which the New York Times has published in detail. No taxes paid for several years and in 2016 he paid just $750. The report exposed shady business shenanigans and debt of over $400 million. Who does he owe this money to? Is this news going to have any impact on the elections?

September 28

Covid News: A million people have died from the disease. In the USA more than half the number of states are trending upward with over 40,000 new daily cases. Santa Barbara County has shown satisfactory declines and will be moving to the less restrictive red tier this week. With UCSB students moving into Isla Vista we're anticipating possible surges. Though classes are all online some students hope to experience some of that "moving away from home" excitement.

September 30

I feel restless, discombobulated, depressed. I can't wait for Trump to be booted out. Election Day is 5 weeks away but I'm bracing for ugliness for a while after while Trump attempts to pull out all stops to stay in power. How I wish he'd be dragged away, handcuffed and humiliated.

Last night at the first presidential debate Trump seized the opportunity to shout, bully, lie, interrupt and belittle Biden. Too bad Biden went on the defensive. Though he was mostly dignified he needs more practice fielding attacks from a reviled creature. All media outlets are headlining with the appalling shouting match that the debate turned into.

On this last day of the month, the end of summer, the start of fall, the Covid situation continues to dictate how we conduct our daily lives. Our county is holding steady with a low transmission rate and retail and personal services are opening up. Los Angeles has improved tremendously and statewide things are looking good. A 14 day average of 3,400 new daily cases and 84 daily deaths shows a promising decline from a month ago.