I’m still trying to make heads or tails of the rather insane political season in which we all find ourselves. And people wonder why I’m in no hurry to revive Politically Incorrect Cabaret. How on earth do you write political satire that can in any way compete with current political reality? It’s just not possible. Especially when you need a month or so to write, cast, rehearse, and otherwise prep a show. I can only imagine where we might be a month from now and it’s likely several light years beyond what I could possibly dream up and place upon a stage.
The last piece I wrote was on gerontocracy. No sooner do I finish that and get it out there for discussion when wham bam alakazam the 81 year old White male Democratic candidate has been replaced by a 59 year old Black/Indian candidate leaving the Republican candidate as the old guy all of a sudden and removing one of that side’s most effective campaign strategies. I cannot say I disagree with the decision. I’ve never thought that Biden at his age should run for a second term. I always felt he should satisfy himself with being a one term president and to use that term to correct the errors of the previous administration without one eye on how it might look in the next election cycle while at the same time grooming and presenting a successor. The speed with which this is all taking place and the closeness to the election if not necessarily the wisest choice as it gives the optics of desperation or closed door party maneuverings but it is what it is. It has taken all the wind out of the Republicans’ sails coming out of their convention and stolen the control of the news cycle away from Trump. He’s not fond of that so expect something to get him back on top of the headlines in the near future.
I cannot in good conscience support a party who are so blatantly anti-healthcare, anti-LGBTQ, anti-woman, and anti-pluralistic society as the current Republican party so my vote will be on the side of the Democrats. Am I fond of Kamala Harris, I can’t say I really know that much about her and that is, I think a major dilemma. Very little has been done to highlight her as a leader during the last four years. The bona fides may be there, but they are not widely known. I will have to do some poking around to see what all she has been up to. The veepstakes will also be interesting as the party attempts a balanced ticket that will appeal to swing voters. Whether we like it or not, there are very strong strains of both misogyny and racism in American politics and that will be part of the calculus.
In terms of thinking about the upcoming election, it is wise to remember that it’s not a popularity contest and that the plebiscite does not determine the victor. There are only 538 votes that count, those in the Electoral College. As the majority of states are fairly solidly red or blue at this point, it all comes down to six states that could tip either way: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Whomever captures the swing voters in those states will win.
There are a few other things that could happen. The Republicans are likely to try all sorts of novel legal maneuvers regarding the change in Democratic candidate and make arguments that she should not appear on the ballot for one technical reason or another. And they may make inroads with certain conservative judges. There are also all sorts of disenfranchisement schemes afoot. Check your registration so you’re not caught out on election day. If the race is too close to call in some of the swing states and neither candidate captures the required 270 electoral votes to win, per constitutional procedures the election is tipped to the House of Representatives in which each state gets a single vote. That would produce a Trump presidency as there are more states controlled by Republican delegations than Democratic ones. Such an outcome has never happened in US history and it would lead to even further polarization as it would be tough to see such a victory as the will of the people.
But then, the American political system, when it comes to presidential elections, has been broken for a quarter century. It ran off the rails in 2000 when the Supreme Court handed the victory to Bush despite his loss of the popular vote (and the Electoral Vote once all of the ballots in Florida were fully counted). Perhaps our current way of doing things, invented for an 18th century Enlightenment society is just no longer valid for a 21st century multicultural society that the founders could not have foreseen. Do we fix the system (difficult as it would require several constitutional amendments and we could never get the ERA passed). Do we replace the system with something else? Do we just coast along getting angrier and angrier with each other? I wish I knew.
Switching subjects, people have been inquiring about the current status of Covid. It’s still out there. Numbers are up in terms of diagnosed cases and hospitalizations. They are a bit higher currently than last summer, but nowhere near as high as they were a few years ago during the height of the pandemic. They appear to be highest in the Western states currently. It’s not quite so high here in the Southeast. It’s tough to tell, though, as there is no longer any systematic gathering of data in the way there once was. The circulating strains remain omicron variants and do not appear to be more infectious or more virulent than other omicron variants which have been bopping around for the last few years. The numbers are probably up because the various heat waves of the last month or so have been pushing people indoors together into airconditioned space.
What to do? Stay home if you’re symptomatically ill with any respiratory symptoms. If you test positive for Covid, quarantine until at least 24 hours afebrile and then wear a mask in public for at least an additional five days. Paxlovid is not of much benefit unless you’re over 65 or have significant chronic illness. If you’re healthy, treat symptomatically. Stay up to date with vaccines (the next one should be out in September). Healthy people should be fine with an annual booster in the fall. The very aged, the chronically ill, or those living in health facilities should probably receive an additional booster in the spring. Vaccines do not necessarily prevent you from catching covid but they definitely help keep you out of the hospital. They also significantly decrease your chances of long covid symptoms (10.5% for the unvaccinated compared to less than 3% for the vaccinated). Wash and sanitize your hands. It’s all pretty basic common sense stuff.
I am doing a reading Saturday evening from all three volumes of The Accidental Plague Diaries at 7:30 PM at Steeple Arts in Crestline Village. It’s a benefit for Central Alabama Theater and for one low price you get some wine, some snacks, some entertainment from me (including an update on new writing projects), and a copy of book of choice personally inscribed. I hope somebody shows up.
Life, The Universe, and Everything 