I’m trying to imagine a meeting of the governor of Georgia and his staff earlier this week as they decided to allow some companies to re-open, despite not having 14 consecutive days of a downswing in COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations. At what point did someone say, “If we’re making a list of important businesses that should be a part of this, we have to include tattoo parlors.” At that moment, somewhere, a smirk crossed the face of someone whose parents told them there was no chance of making a career as a lobbyist for skin inkers.
Meanwhile, other business sectors are appealing to federal legislators to give them immunity protection against lawsuits from workers and customers who might become infected with the coronavirus once the doors have been flung open again. But I’m sure that members of Congress and this administration will continue to give worker safety a higher priority than profits. Right?
Remember when Trump was hyping hydroxychloroquine as a cure for COVID-19, even before it had been tested and approved by actual scientists? Well, yesterday, a study of hundreds of patients at VA medical centers was released, and it shows that patients who took hydroxychloroquine were no less likely to need ventilation and had higher death rates than those who didn’t take the drug. The pertinent quote to remember from Trump was, “Take it. What do you have to lose?” What he left out: “Besides your life.”
Don’t hold your breath waiting for the Liar In Chief to offer an apology. Nor will there be one forthcoming from the Fox News loudmouths whose relentless plugging of the drug — nearly 300 times between March 23 and April 6, according to Media Matters — is what led to Trump’s proclamation in the first place. You see, none of these people are ever wrong about anything. They just move on to the next line of bullshit without regard for accountability or consequences.