Watching the Snow

It can be difficult to know where to start when the country has devolved into a bad skit for SNL. Once we stop laughing, I suppose we start crying.

As I sift through numerous news feeds, as I always do, I'm struck by the sheer scope of the super-spreader event that was the introduction of Trump's Supreme Court nominee at a White House event ten days ago.

One by one, the people attending that event have been falling ill, now including reporters and Trump's press secretary herself.

Maybe that's where I will focus today.

Like the secret service agents sworn to guard the President, the White House reporters are told to stay as close to the Commander-in-Chief at all times as is possible. Their duty is to report to us what they can find out free from the "spin" all administrations employ to make their guy look good.

The press secretary occupies the opposite position. Her job is to spin, spin, spin, while pretending to tell the truth.

Now both sides are testing positive for Covid-19.

It used to be considered an honor to join the White House press pool, not a potential death sentence. But now it is easy to imagine that the national press outlets may begin finding it difficult to identify anyone who wants the job.

Maybe some sort of cruel Darwinian twist has appeared to curl our fate. One by one, everyone well enough known to appear on TV may get weeded out, so only the viewers remain.

Soon, we may return to my early boyhood, just after World War II, when we all gathered around my uncle's new gadget, a tiny TV. There wasn't any programming yet, so we just sat there mesmerized, watching the snow.

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• The West Wing of the White House is effectively shut down (CNN)
• An unusual confluence of weather conditions sent nearly 14,000 bolts of lightning into the dry, hot forests of Northern California in August. But that was only the beginning of a record fire season. [The New York Times]
• National security experts describe a distracted and potentially vulnerable country (WashPo)
• The Glass Fire, which has damaged or destroyed 17 wineries, is the most destructive wildfire America’s most famous wine region has ever faced. [San Francisco Chronicle]
• At Walter Reed, a loud vigil has the cultish fervor and masklessness of Trump’s rallies (WashPo)
• Protesters in Los Angeles supporting Armenia in its conflict with Azerbaijan temporarily blocked the 101 Freeway in both directions on Saturday night. [Los Angeles Times]
• Secret Service agents, doctors aghast at Trump’s drive outside hospital (WashPo)
• EXPERTS SUSPICIOUS: TRUMP'S CASE SEVERE? Doctors not involved in treating President Donald Trump for COVID-19 said the fact that he has been started on dexamethasone -- a generic steroid used to reduce inflammation -- is evidence his case is severe. (Reuters)
• GAY MEN HIJACK 'PROUD BOYS' HASHTAG Gay men launched a savvy campaign over the weekend to appropriate the hashtag of the white supremacist “Proud Boys” with a tsunami of touching images and messages on social media. (HuffPost)
• TRUMP'S PRESIDENCY WILL IMPACT REFUGEES LONG AFTER HE LEAVES OFFICE Trump has spent years dismantling the refugee system and on Wednesday proposed cutting the already record-low admissions cap to 15,000 for the next fiscal year. Joe Biden has pledged to raise the maximum number of refugee admissions to 125,000 a year if he wins. While he could change the target number for admissions with comparative ease if he becomes president, Biden would face a series of challenges, including restoring a resettlement infrastructure that has faced layoffs and closures due to cuts forced by the Trump administration. [HuffPost]
• White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany and Two Aides Tested Positive For Coronavirus (Drudge Report, CNN)

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A personal update:

I'm sorry to say these daily personal essays may have to come to an end soon. That is because, like many people, I'm dealing with a mounting pile of medical bills that are going to be challenging to pay. They have simply overwhelmed my reserves, so as much as I hate it, for the first time in 15 years, I will have to carry a substantial amount of credit card debt going forward.

That, combined with my feelings of restlessness and boredom, has convinced me that it is time to *un*-retire. Accordingly, I have started to apply for jobs, both full-time and part-time.

If I succeed in gaining employment in a media company, I will presumably have to stop posting daily essays here, where my opinions could be mistaken for those of my employer. Being unemployed for the past year has been a form of liberation in that regard, as I have been able to assume personal responsibility without worrying about what anyone else thinks.

Even though that may soon be coming an end, I will try to continue to provide the daily aggregation of news headlines as has become my custom. That is a neutral service that I know many have come to depend on.

Plus I will post essays as long as I can.

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In case you missed it, here was SNL on the Presidential debate: "It was pretty fun to watch as long as you don't live in America."

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