Letter to the Editor: Covid-19 Debate

Dear Editor,

I have been hesitant to get into the Covid 19 debate but Vinton Today seems to attract wannabe medical professionals and Trump apologists. No, the President did not cause this pandemic but his dithering and ego has made the situation worse.
I do not believe anything he says and neither should the American public. For two months before the virus starting to get going in the US, I attributed his nonsense including that the virus would just disappear and his unwillingness to understand the severity of the problem as just the ramblings of an ignorant self-absorbed person.
But this week, as the country is facing thousands dying and thousands more ill, Trump now states that in January he knew that it was going to be bad but wanted to be a “cheerleader” by giving Americans a false since of security. I am not sure what is worse, believing he is so ignorant and ego driven that he really believed it was nothing, a hoax, and a Democratic plot to ruin him or that he deliberately misinformed and lied to the American people when he knew better.
Earlier this week before his “come to Jesus” moment publicly admitting that the medical professionals and scientists really do know what they are talking about, he took time from his daily briefings to pat himself on the back for TV ratings of those briefings. Trump is so self-absorbed that he really thinks that they are tuning in to see him instead of wanting to know the most up to the moment information because the public is worried and scared. But it is always about him.
I have watched both Trump’s daily sideshow and the briefings that Governor Cuomo is doing. The difference is stark. Cuomo is providing leadership, information, and the sobering view of the situation while our President picks fights with the media, insults Governors trying to fill the void that the Federal Government should be providing, giving a pillow salesman a national platform to hawk his products, praising his TV ratings, providing medical information that is inaccurate at best and worst of all insinuating that medical professionals are profiteering off of medical supplies by selling them out the back door. That comes from the musing of a con man who believes that everyone is as opportunistic as he is.
Even though the country has paid a lot for the slowness, lies, and blaming others, (“I take no responsibility at all,” as he states), our country deserves a leader who will lead, tell the sobering truth, provide a plan and take responsibility. As the weeks have gone by the ineptness of this administration continues. One could only imagine how this pandemic could have been handled if America had a leader instead of a charlatan in the White House.

Rosemary Schwartz

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TF April 4, 2020, 11:52 pm Some thoughts on Dr. Oz: https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-dr-oz-claims-fact-check-bmj-20141219-story.html

SL April 4, 2020, 5:14 pm I must add that this stimulus bill was voted in by both parties and please verify if Congress gave themselves a raise if you've got the time.

JS April 3, 2020, 3:12 pm To the critics. One does not need a medical degree to listen to Dr. Mehmet Oz. You and your whole crowd are "out to lunch" You are missing an intellect. All you liberals, Parogressives, Communists would rather see the economy in the tank and thousands of Americans sufficating from the Virus that hope and pray the Team the President as assembled is successful. Shame on you all. You have shown your true colors.

NG April 2, 2020, 8:05 pm Tom Boeckmann: You need to do some fact checking before you post such crap because that is total fake news just like the majority of stuff John always complains about. There is absolutely no truth in what you posted, none. There are no raises for the Democrats. Norma Gould

TP April 2, 2020, 7:06 pm Ms Schwartz, I have read through your comments on the Covid-19 crisis and your observations on how our President and his administration is handling the situation. Respectfully, my interpretation of how you see this situation is that you think and feel a former President's administration or former Presidential candidate would have handled this current situation better. I also understand through your editorials that you strongly dislike our current President. Fortunately for you, there will be an election in November. But for now, the crisis is happening NOW. Whether or not you like the delivery of information from the President we have NOW...he has assembled one of the most remarkable teams from all aspects of our government to attend to the current crisis in my memory. And even if you don't feel our President is believable, I do believe all the information from the experts he has assembled and allowed and made them and the facts more transparent everyday more than any other Presidential administration. We here from the frontlines EVERYDAY, from the ones fighting the battle and not just the President. Donald Trump might not be your President.. but he is our country's President. And I am very proud we have someone who could and would assemble the team he has to fight this health crisis. Yes, President Trump might not be your cup of tea.. elections are coming.. but glad I have someone who will get us through it! I know most of you may think he is a NY Bully, carnival barker or whatever.. but right now.. I think right now we need the right person in the right place. For me and my family.. I feel we have the right man to assemble all the right people at just the right time we all need someone!

RS April 2, 2020, 6:36 pm I am not going to respond to John until I see his medical degree. But Tom, first the Cares Act did not raise Congress' pay. A lie created by conservatives. As Evan Hollander, a communications director for the House Appropriations Committee, explained, these funds were not allocated to provide pay increases to House members: “The $25 million funding is to support the House’s capability to telework, including for the purchase of equipment and improvements to the network,” he said. The allocation also provides money to cover the cost of paying the staff of the House Child Care Center, food service contracts, paying the House sergeant-at-arms. “None of the funds will go to member salaries, which are paid directly from the Treasury pursuant to the Constitution,” Hollander verified. The 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits any law from raising (or lowering) the salaries of members of Congress until after the next national election has taken place, so the House could only raise the pay of representatives elected in the November 2020 election or later (which, naturally, could include current House members who successfully sought reelection). And from The Hill Trump defends $25 million in Kennedy Center funding in coronavirus stimulus By Brett Samuels - 03/25/20 06:55 PM EDT President Trump on Wednesday defended the inclusion of $25 million in funding for the Kennedy Center as part of the massive economic relief bill aimed at boosting small businesses and workers harmed by the fallout of the coronavirus. Trump fashioned himself a supporter of the arts, arguing that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is deserving of assistance given its inability to put on shows as officials ban large gatherings to try to curb the spread of the virus. "I’m a fan of that," Trump said of the funding. "I haven’t spent time there because I’m far too busy. I’d love to go there evenings, but I’m too busy doing things." "The Kennedy Center, they do a beautiful job, an incredible job," he added. The president said an initial draft of the Senate’s roughly $2 trillion economic package called for $35 million in aid for the performing arts center, a figure that was later decreased to $25 million. Many conservatives have cited the funding as an example of unnecessary spending in a bill meant to immediately assist workers and small businesses upended by the coronavirus. The Kennedy Center has a bipartisan board of trustees, which includes first lady Melania Trump." https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/489579-trump-defends-25-million-in-kennedy-center-funding-in-coronavirus

JS April 2, 2020, 3:15 pm Yee Gods! --- All the naysayers – if you have a solution or drug therapy that will work let’s hear it or shut up and hope you do not get infected. I’ve had it with all of you. Do you really believe that Joe Biden could have done a better job? And that all the junk the Speaker Pelosi submitted in the Rescue bill would not heal one COVID-19 patient. We should all hope that the work done by Chinese Doctors, French infectious disease medicals, plus our medical professionals that Hydroxychloroquine with Azithromycin (Z-pack), and or plasma from recovered patients or some other therapy works. Ending this pandemic is in the hands of CDC, HHS, NIH including our own University of Iowa Hospital Research Departments and all other medical researchers; The WHO is ineffective and a Chinese apologist. All your complaining and blaming doesn’t cut it. The Chinese Government hierarchy is responsible for not closing live wild animal markets. They did not prevent travel out of Wuhan which allowed carriers of the virus to travel to Italy, Spain, the U. S. and other countries. They knew they had a pandemic developing and to save face did nothing to prevent travel. No one outside of China saw this coming until the demon was among us. There was nothing left to do but “catch up” as best we could; which all participants are doing as best they can – 3M, Ford, GM other Corporations and researchers from coast to coast. Say something positive for a change! John Stiegelmeyer Vinton

TB April 2, 2020, 1:47 pm And then dems are funding a performance center and giving themselves a raise. Pathetic.

DL April 2, 2020, 12:58 pm And, just this morning, FEMA informed the House Oversight Committee that only 13,000 of the 100,000 ventilators the president has said have been distributed, are available. None of the remaining 87,000 will be available until late June.

Opinion : Letter to the Editor: Covid-19 Debate

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