“Oklakoma” Republicans and Resurgence of the H. stupidus virus
I can remember back in 2008 when California Republicans, afflicted with the dreaded Herpeticus stupidus virus proposed “Proposition 8,” asking voters to deprive gays of the right to marry. Unlike Democrats, as Republicans almost always do, they did not seek a court opinion regarding the wording of the measure before placing it on the ballot. My opinion on gay marriage aside, I’m fairly certain that I was not the only person predicting that the measure alone would be enough to assure that gay marriage would become the law of the land. The bill, designed by recurrently comatose Republicans, of course, simply admitted that gays already had the right to marry and that the state should take that right away! It surely seemed to save gay rights activists an awful lot of heavy lifting. Pretty stupid, eh? Well, not quite as stupid as their Oklakoma Republican counterparts who, after seeing the court’s decision in the California case, still put the same measure on their ballot, obviously with the same result. Apparently, however, the Oklakoma strain of the H. stupidus virus must have been even more virulent than the California strain, because in retaliation to the court’s decision, Republicans responded with a bill banning all marriage!
My guess is that this ought to answer the question on so many people’s lips as to why President Trump and his cohorts would choose an indoor venue in Tulsa, Oklahoma as the site for his viral incubation rally? It can only be due to the recurrence of a new strain of H. stupidus which prefers to “feed” on Republican brain tissue. Seriously, in hindsight, it surely looks like the virtually complete shutdown of the economy might have been averted by the wearing of masks together with even “half assed” social distancing, all of which President Trump and the vast majority of his intellectually and morally comatose toadies mysteriously disdained. I can think of only two reasons for their refusal to act responsibly and sincerely hope the two are not related. The first, of course, is obvious, the resurgence of the H. stupidus brain eroding virus to which right wing extremists are even more susceptible than are left wing nuts. The second is that President Trump is not only afflicted with the most virulent of H. stupidus strains, but that he has been compromised by the Russians and is purposely following Putin’s plan to destroy our way of life. Whichever is the reason, it’s pretty hard to deny that the president is certainly following Putin’s plan!
As a physician for nearly forty years, I am dumbfounded by the number of nitwits entering public places without masks and interacting with other people, especially the elderly. I am even more disappointed in the blatant stupidity of so many of our public officials in such a hurry to reopen the economy, but so slow to demand the simple wearing of masks and even minimal social distancing, the two things most necessary to keep the damned economy open! Is it a coincidence that virtually every one of these schmucks is a Trump Republican as opposed to a “real” Republican? And, what kind of freaking sociopath would encourage, in fact, purposely try to force reporters at his news conference to not wear masks and sit far closer together than his own CDC recommends?
Visualizing “the glass half full,” I can see a vaccine for COVID-19 in the next 1-2 years, possibly, and eventually beneficial changes to our lifestyles and economic health. What I cannot see is finding a cure for the never ending brain eroding effects of the H. stupidus virus. As for the intellectual and moral “deplorables” attending the Trump viral incubation rally in Oklakoma, if they have to thoughtlessly infect someone else, would anyone be asking for it more than Bloviator in Chief Trump?
Al Finkelstein, D.O. 6/20/20