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| "Boy and Dog in a Johnnypump," by Jean-Michel Basquiat |
No one will ever know how many deaths can be directly attributed to Donald Trump.
Hundreds of thousands perished of COVID needlessly because of his footdragging and minimizing the illness (and yes, he pushed for a vaccine, trying to make up for lost time, which was good. But then he went undercut his own vaccine, blunting its effect).
Plus tens of thousands of deaths in Gaza from the wrong that his buddy, Benjamin Netanyahu, caused by prolonging the war for his own political benefit. Plus more in Ukraine from his pivoting American policy toward his other pal, the butcher Vladimir Putin.
Deaths caused by brutal ICE arrests and deportations, of people kept in horrid conditions, in the United States and abroad, truths that may not become known for years, if ever.
Not to forget the deaths due to making a crazed science denier named Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the secretary of health and human services, an almost perversely destructive act. Pulling the plug on research. Undermining vaccines. When measles begins scything through babies, I wonder if Trump fans will notice? Probably not.
I'm sure there are more I'm forgetting. Feel free to make your own suggestions in the comments.
Because right now I am thinking, hard, about Off. David Rose, of the DeKalb County, Georgia police department. Killed Friday. Not familiar? No reason you should be. There is so much going on, so much news to process. Things get missed.
Deaths caused by brutal ICE arrests and deportations, of people kept in horrid conditions, in the United States and abroad, truths that may not become known for years, if ever.
Not to forget the deaths due to making a crazed science denier named Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the secretary of health and human services, an almost perversely destructive act. Pulling the plug on research. Undermining vaccines. When measles begins scything through babies, I wonder if Trump fans will notice? Probably not.
I'm sure there are more I'm forgetting. Feel free to make your own suggestions in the comments.
Because right now I am thinking, hard, about Off. David Rose, of the DeKalb County, Georgia police department. Killed Friday. Not familiar? No reason you should be. There is so much going on, so much news to process. Things get missed.
Off. Rose was slain by Patrick Joseph White, who opened fire on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta from the second floor of a CVS across the street. He was found shot dead, along with five long guns — because one just wouldn't be enough.
The new barely made a ripple. To me, it seems a big deal.
The New York Times story about the crime didn't name Off. Rose until the 14th paragraph. An odd news choice. He was 33, an ex-Marine, who had two children, a 1-year-old son and 6-year-old from a previous relationship, with a third on the way with his wife.
I suppose you could add White's name to the count. He was fixated on the coronavirus vaccine, blaming it for his own medical woes. So a murderer, but a victim, too, of the poison spewed by Fox News. At the behest of Donald Trump. Another life snuffed out. With more to come. Will we keep tab? The way the Washington Post tallied his lies, for years, until it realized that nobody actually gave a fuck. Not true. Some people do still care. For all the good it does.
That's it. No pithy summary or straining toward hope. I just thought Off. Rose's death should not go unnoticed here. We may never miss him. But his kids certainly will.
I expect we will be hearing about a lot of those illegally imprisoned in his concentration camps dying from lack of medical care soon.
ReplyDeleteEspecially those being run by private companies for the government! Not that much different than the chemical companies that made the Zyklon B for the Nazis to kill Jews with!
Then with vaccines being effectively neutered by that brainworm idiot Kennedy, all we need is a new epidemic or even worse, another pandemic for millions to die. I have a terrible feeling that's the actual plan of that truly vile Stephen Miller, who appallingly is a Jew who appears to think that the one person on Earth he should emulate in Heinrich Himmler!
Looks like we were thinking along the same lines in the wee, small hours, Clark Street. Your thought regarding intentional disregard isn’t without precedent. It’s been my belief (emphasis on belief as I’ve read or found no evidence) that the Reagan administration’s ignoring the emergence and spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic was due to it being confined initially to and spread within the LGBT and hetero non-Caucasian and Hispanic communities, neither of which were consistent or had a place in his “vision” of America.
DeleteAlthough the numbers cannot yet be tallied, with millions set to lose their health insurance due to cuts in Medicaid to offset tax breaks for the oligarch class and to exact retribution against former President Obama, many will perish far too early as a result, especially so if another pandemic occurs with no preparation or vaccine in sight as a result of cuts to medical research funding. All due to the petty vindictiveness of an insecure man-child and the willful ignorance of his supporters and self-interests of his enablers.
ReplyDeleteSeems like they want us all dead so they can divvy up the spoils amongst themselves.
ReplyDeleteA family member/doctor has also suggested this: that a count be posted, rather like DOGE's list of supposed savings but of deaths attributable to this administration. Let's add death from lack of AIDS medication and birth control.
ReplyDeleteLet’s definitely add the unknowable numbers of the dead due to reduced access to all health care.
ReplyDeleteAnd when Trump's tariffs intentionally plunge us into a recession so that the stock market tanks so that the wealthy can Buy! Buy! Buy! and the working man's retirement savings disappear and he has to continue working until he drops dead and he gets tossed on the pile with the rest. In the final tally, where do those folks fit in?
ReplyDeleteModels and recent analyses estimate that large-scale withdrawal or major cuts to USAID could cause millions of excess deaths over the next several years — estimates in recent studies range up to ~14 million excess deaths by 2030 (including several million children under five).
ReplyDeleteThe Lancet
I was also going to mention the millions who will die because of the USAID cuts. And a reminder that Anne Frank didn't die in a gas chamber. She died of disease (typhus) in the concentration camp. I'm sure right now there are MAGAites who are saying this isn't fascism because we don't have extermination camps. Yet.
ReplyDeleteThe appointment of RFK Jr to HHS is one of the most bizarre things Trump did, exceeded only by his confirmation by the Senate, including by Senators who really knew better. Not that it’s likely to make much difference I suppose, but please join me in writing outraged letters to Senator Bill Cassidy, MD (R-LA) who asked RFK Jr the right questions and got lied to. He issued a wish-washy criticism of the canceling of mRNA research funds. Maybe he can be shamed into doing more. At least call Jr up for embarrassing questioning.
ReplyDeleteNumbers, numbers, numbers. Left-wing lies and fabrications. All fixable once we fire all those detestable statisticians and nerdy doom sayers.
ReplyDeletejohn or an unreasonable facsimile thereof.
Sad to write but I don’t think Trump or his supporters care about the human cost. They care about their own lives, their own money and their own health and throw in a dose of revenge for others who they don’t care about. They do not care. What’s in it for them is their own care.
ReplyDeleteA sad and frightening state of affairs.
ReplyDeleteWe should include the deaths of hapless fools who went along with the phony assassination attempts… amazing how being shot in the ear left no damage or scars.
ReplyDeleteWork this one into a Sun-Times column.....
ReplyDeleteSo much unnecessary death! I feel especially bad about work-related deaths. No one should have to die doing their job. I agree that not enough attention has been paid to officer David Rose. More attention was paid this week to the attack of Trump devotee "Big Balls" in DC than to officer David Rose. I figured it was because Trump wants to send the military into large cities and instill fear among citizens, but doesn't care for the CDC.
ReplyDeleteMisinformation kills people. The person who killed Officer David Rose blamed covid vaccines for his health issues. Who is fueling that misinformation? RFK, Jr is responsible for a lot of detrimental health misinformation, as others have already pointed out, and the Trump administration encourages it.
Trump foments violence with lies, and promises of pardons to would-be perpetrators. (Then accuses anyone who suggests he bears responsibility for any ensuing violence of being a traitor). His rhetoric begets rising crime statistics and unnecessary death, which supports his move toward a militarized state.
He lies about alternate energy and promotes fossil fuels with lies, and people will die as a result. His decimation of the National Weather Service and the gathering/reporting of climate data will likewise cause unnecessary death.
The list is endless.
He is about to try to "pacify" a blue American city...our capital. There will be blood.
ReplyDeleteHe's never cracked a history book, so he knows next to nothing about WWII.
Chicago will be his Stalingrad. He will never take Chicago intact. He will destroy it.
According to one admiral, he didn't know what happened on December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor!
DeleteYet he knew all about the folks who celebrated in NJ on 9/11.
DeleteYou can't make this shit up! But apparently, he can. And does.
Thank you for calling out the media for their appalling lack of attention to the murder of Officer Rose. As for the rest, the GOP is a death cult.
ReplyDeleteThe thousands dying in Africa and around the world because DOGE ended USAID
ReplyDeleteYes Trump is responsible for a lot of deaths in Gaza. But Biden is responsible for at least half of them or more. A lot of Democratic apologists out there who were ok with Israel. Of course AIPAC owns the majority of Congress.
ReplyDeleteI should have added that for the most part our government had some involvement in what is going on in Ukraine. This goes back to 2014.
ReplyDelete