James McMurtry – Wasteland Bait & Tackle
As I write, there are sixteen ICU beds available in the 11 county Trauma Service Region O(TSA*O) which includes Austin Texas, and provides service to over 2.3 million residents. Again, sixteen beds, two point three million residents. We’re back to square one, if not further back. I’m older than my father was when he had to have a quadruple bypass. I’ll have to put off any major illnesses or injuries for a while I guess, not that I mind all that much. Our Governor will not allow even a mask mandate.
My girlfriend/life partner/ whatever you want to call us after twenty one years tends bar in Austin. She was glad to get back to work in May. The other night, a door man walked her to her car and she gave him a ride to his car. They were both fully vaccinated and masked. He felt bad the next day and has since tested positive for covid. She tested negative today and will take another test tomorrow. Maybe masks work. There has been a rash of breakthrough infections in the Austin music scene. Singers and drummers, those with the most aerobic jobs seem to be particularly hard hit. Makes sense. They have to breathe down to their toenails just to maintain. if there is a viral load to be had, they’re gonna have it. I was supposed to restart my weekly residency next week, but I have opted out. Today I heard that Travis County, County Seat Austin, has gone to stage five “precautions”. Stage Five Precautions means there would be a mask mandate if our governor was a Democrat.
But no, our governor is not Democrat, but rather a douche bag who prefers to keep his shrinking base focused on the southern border, to keep them fearing brown people more than they fear covid.
There is method to his madness. Abbott doesn’t care that his anti health policies are killing mostly Republican anti-vaxers. Republicans need chaos. The more death, the more blame to assign, the more economic ruin for which to assign more blame. They will try to spin the carnage and blame it on Biden and their base will support them. To take hold, fascism doesn’t require the absolute breakdown of society, but such a breakdown would speed the fascist agenda along. Think how much easier Trump would have had it if, when he rose to office, we had been reduced to the economic level of Weimar Germany, rolling wheelbarrows full of cash to the grocery store, rather than coasting on the Obama economy, eight years after the Bush crash. Trump did his best to tear down the economy with his trade wars and trade deal pull outs, but he didn’t quite tear it down enough to keep himself in office. Americans still aren’t hurting bad enough to really hate, most of us anyway. But Republicans are not quitting. They are ready to start the civil war if that’s their only play. And it pretty much is their only remaining play.
Sixteen Beds. Thanks Gov.
Find James McMurtry information here: http://www.jamesmcmurtry.com
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Thank you for the well-written article.
Sad and true. Seems to me Obama embraced the Bush/Clinton/Bush playbook and ran with it. I was not surprised in the least — like Biden and Trump, he worked in the service of evil. We are so far from working toward the Common Good we cannot see it in the rear view mirror.
Perhaps the change we need must re-start with Unions. There is power in a Union.
Alternately, your guitar work should be rated among the best. I suppose some day it will be.