This week the NY Times published an excellent analysis of US response to the COVID 19 epidemic by compiling data from Johns Hopkins, the World Bank, and the US Census Bureau.  What the data show is a stark picture of just how badly the US responded to the pandemic compared to other developed countries.  The stupidity of the response is well illustrated in just two graphs:

The left graph is cumulative deaths per 100,000 since the pandemic began. The right graph is cumulative deaths from only the Omicron wave.  Notice that the US “wins” the death race over other wealthy countries by a LOT, and that failure stems from stupid public policy that is engrained in the US; the failure is worsened as a result of the stupidity of millions of Americans who chose to believe bullshit and have participated in politicizing science, vilifying of scientists  and doctors, and spreading nonsensical conspiracy theories about vaccines.

At the beginning of the pandemic, most wealthy countries locked down quickly, including the US.  The difference, though, was how the US did that compared to other countries.  Unlike the US, other wealthy countries, especially in Europe, took over the paychecks of their citizens, keeping them financially secure, which encouraged them to stay home and safe.  Characteristically, the US did it wrong.  First the US government stupidly poured a TRILLION dollars into companies with the stated goal of keeping people on the payroll, but the program was botched, and much of that money went into the pockets of the wealthy with little reaching  those who actually needed the money.  Second, GOP lead states like Texas started the misinformation campaign that developed into what is now a death cult among conservatives.  Recall that during this time, Dan Patrick, retired talk show host and bar owner, actually suggested that we should sacrifice the old and weak in favor of saving the economy.

Red states like Texas did extend unemployment benefits for a time, but that support was nowhere near livable, forcing millions of people to choose between risking the lives of themselves and their families and putting food on the table.  We all know how that turned out.  Add that to bullshit coming out of TFG’s mouth, his shutdown of all pandemic response that Bush II and Obama had put in place, and putting PPE response into the hands of that idiot Jared Kushner, and the perfect storm of stupidity flooded the entire country driving the US to the highest case and death rate in the developed world.

And it continues.  Playing to their base in an election year, Republicans all over the country are trying to out crazy one another doubling down on anti-vaxxer fears,  goofy conspiracy theories, and trying to to distract them with wild rhetoric about critical race theory and banning books.  And while they’re doing everything but their damn jobs, people continue to die.

All Texas agencies are run by morons.  In drought conditions, some genius at Texas Parks and Wildlife thought it was a really good idea to light a fire in Bastrop State Park.  The fire rapidly burned out of control, and now homes in the Bastrop area are being evacuated.  Greg Abbott is in Houston lying about the 2020 election and the COVID pandemic, unavailable to do his fucking job.

Welcome to Texas.  Bring your own generator, water supply, and fire extinguishers.

Right now, tennis bad boy, notorious anti-vaxxer and all-round shitty person Novak Djokovic is winging his way from Melbourne Australia to Dubai after being deported for violating Australian immigration laws, lying about it, and then insisting that rules don’t apply to him.  He dragged immigration officials, tournament officials, the tennis world, and indeed the entire population of Australia through almost two weeks of drama just because he doesn’t want to get a simple safe and effective vaccination.

A three federal judge panel ruled on Sunday afternoon that Australia immigration officials were within their rights doing their damn job and enforcing the country’s immigration laws.  Even better, there was no court that would receive an inevitable appeal from Djokovic.  The decision was final. The decision was unanimous and, to add insult to justice, the panel ordered Djoker to pay all of the costs incurred by the government for this sorry chapter of his life that resulted from his own decisions and conduct.

After years of bad guys all over the world getting away with actual murder, from Rodrigo Duterte Wrecking to Philippine government to Vladimir Putin’s murderous rule over Russia, to TFG’s teflon life where he’s never been personally held to account for his entire corrupt existence, wins for good guys are few and far between.  Of the thousands of Deplorables who stormed the US Capitol only about 700 were charged with crimes and most of those are only petty charges.  Less than 20 are charged with serious crimes and only 11 charged with what all were guilty, sedition.  Bad guys get off scott free on a daily basis, especially willfully ignorant anti-vaxxers who are participating in mass illness and death simply because they’re assholes.

Because bad guys win almost all the time, it’s rare when one of them gets theirs, especially famous ones like Djoker.  Like other narcissists, he believes that simply because he’s really good at hitting a tennis ball he can inflict his warped existence on everyone around him with no consequences.  Australia proved him wrong, and that victory is especially sweet.

What’s infuriating, though?  This entire episode was easily avoidable by Djokovic doing the right thing and just getting vaccinated.  Just think of all the lives he could save, especially in his native Serbia where anti-vaxxers have caused the virus to surge again in a population that’s only 47% vaccinated.  That’s the real tragedy of Djokovic’s failure at being a decent human being.

Novac Djokovic is the latest in a long string of bad sports in the tennis world.  I must confess that the only real sport I follow, and indeed still play, is tennis.  It’s a great sport you can play well into…er…uh…maturity, and helps those of us who play stay in shape.  It’s also a brilliant sport to watch in person and even on television, though it is better in person.

All that said, like other professional sports, tennis has its bad guys.  Back in the 70s it was John McEnroe, who raised being an asshole on the court to a fine art form, but players like Jimmy Connors, who on occasion acted out; Ilie Nastase, nicknamed Nasty Nastase; Dennis Ralston in the 60s, and a few others were all close seconds.  There were fewer on the women’s side, but Serena Williams is famous for smashing racquets and screaming during the match to throw off her opponents when she’s behind.  Nick Kyrgios is also well known for being a jerk on the court.

Bad sportsmanship is one thing.  Being a shitty person is a whole other thing, and that’s the spot Djoker occupies.  He’s famous for smashing racquets, screaming at crowds who don’t worship him, and was booted from the US Open in 2020 after he hit a line judge in the throat with a ball he had slapped during one of his rages.  On top of all that, he’s a notorious anti-vaxxer.  At the height of the pandemic in 2020, Djoker held a private tournament in Serbia that turned into a super spreader event and where he himself contracted the virus.  It got so bad that the final match was cancelled.

Learning nothing from that disaster, Djoker has flouted public health rules in many countries; he did it again in Australia last week, but this time got caught by a functioning government not star struck by the world’s number one player.  First, he refused to get vaccinated, and then refused to disclose that fact to the public.  Then he lied on his immigration form saying that he had not traveled internationally in the last 2 weeks when, in fact, had traveled to Spain for an event the previous week.  Worse yet, he appeared in person for an interview the day after he had tested positive for COVID.  Appropriately, Australia cancelled his visa and ordered him to leave the country.  He refused, of course, and was then isolated in a quarantine hotel while his lawyers appealed the ruling.  The judge in the case restored his visa based on a narrow ruling that he was not given sufficient time to respond to the government’s decision.

What did Djoker do then?  He immediately started practicing for the tournament exposing who knows how many people to possible infection.  Wisely, the minister of immigration for Australia cancelled his visa again today, but rather than just getting on a plane and leaving, Djoker then immediately appealed the ruling again; another hearing is scheduled for Sunday.  It’s expected that he’ll lose this appeal.

Australia has some of the most strict COVID policies of any country in the world, and has had relatively low infections as a result.  Melbourne was especially strict, with almost 300 days of lockdown over the last 2 years.  Djoker’s flouting of Australia’s health policy and wanton self-interest has turned the Australian Open into a circus where everyone is talking about Djoker, and actual tennis has taken a back seat to his malignant narcissism.  In fact, he has become TFG of tennis with all the bad traits that label carries with it.  He couldn’t care less about other people; rules don’t apply to him; he ignores science and good public policy; he’s simply a shitty person.

Fingers crossed that he gets his on Sunday and is sent packing back to Serbia so he can fume and watch great players not him compete for the first Grand Slam win of the year.  I’ll be celebrating his deportation.

Remember back in 2008 when Sarah Palin’s lie about “death panels” in the proposed Obamacare legislation took on a life of its own?  How the entire red state noise machine took it and ran with it?  Well, irony kicked in this weekend when Palin, talking at the Turning Point USA convention brainwashing, said she’d get a vaccine “…over my dead body“.  The crowd of young conservatives fascists cheered, completely missing the irony of her statement.  Dana Milbank hit the nail on the head pointing out that Palin was an active participant in what can now only be called a death cult.

The death cult also showed its ugly head when the few people who actually paid for seats to the  Traveling Bullshit Tour stop in Dallas booed their Dear Leader, none other than TFG, when he told Bill O’Reilly that he got the booster to protect himself.  The Trumpified GOP is now actually getting people killed as the death rate from COVID in Trump counties is 5 times that of the death rate in blue counties.

The Darwin Club is actually a thing.

Dr. Jeannie Stone recently resigned her position as Superintendent of Richardson ISD. Richardson, Texas is an urban school district just North of Dallas. Stone was voted 2019 Superintendent of the year, and for good reason. Richardson ISD a majority-minority school district, and 56.9% of its students are economically disadvantaged, yet Richardson ISD graduates 91% of its kids.

Dr. Stone first drew the attention of the angry crowd when she stepped up in 2018 and met with student activists who shared tales of racism and discrimination throughout their experience with Richardson ISD. In response, she released a video listing their demands and vowed to keep the list posted on her office door until these demands were met. This alerted some parents who oppose any discussion on race to begin actively opposing her ideas to protect her students of color and focus on providing them the best possible education.

Cue COVID-19. The nationwide trend of angry parents shouting ugly personal attacks at school boards and administrators did not overlook Richardson ISD. Karen Clardy, the RISD board President, abruptly resigned in September. Richardson ISD was one of the first Texas school districts to defy Governor Abbott’s prohibition of mask mandates.

While a majority of parents agreed with the mandate, a loud minority of parents (20%) began a campaign of threats and harassment that led to the resignation of Dr. Stone and Mrs. Clardy. The losers in this situation will be the students, long after the worst of the pandemic is over.

My children attend school in a neighboring district and we have had the same issues at our school board meetings. A student stood to testify that his grandmother had a pre-existing condition and he wanted to protect her from COVID-19. Anti-mask parents stood behind him and laughed, mocking the child for his compassion.

These anti-mask parents haven’t stopped there. Emboldened by their surging numbers and media attention, they’ve now gone after Critical Race Theory. Next, they’re demanding to ban books with any references to sexual activity or transgender individuals being presented in a positive light.

The saying goes “give them an inch, and they’ll take a mile.” The 24/7 right-wing outrage media has expanded its local operation, folks, and Texas is in the thick of it. As an active, engaged, mom – I can tell you that very few people oppose masks, racially accurate curriculum, or support banning books. Those of us that desire reason over manufactured outrage have to start showing up in numbers that rival the angry crowd.