Police presence on the streets gives the protesters something to confront.
Remove the police from the streets and have them guard the fire stations, the police stations, the hospitals and other essential businesses. Let the protesters freely roam the streets without anything to confront. Make the protest more peaceful.
Nursery & Farm w/ Warehouse & 2 Houses **For Sale:$2,250,000**
● 10 Acre Hydroponic Nursery
● 11,050 SF Metal Packing Shipping Building
● Potentially 147,804 SF of Green Houses
● 9,000 SF of Shade House 24,750 SF of Sun Grow Areas
● 2,464 SF CBS Office Building
● Wood Frame Workers Office/Quality Fresh Building 1,350 SF CBS Maintenance Building
● 2,600 SF 3/2 CBS Managers House
● 1,354 SF 3/2 CBS Guest House
Travel anyone?
426,121 views|01:05pm EDT
Is International Travel Still Banned? Here's What You Should Know
International travel is at a near-standstill this year. The good news is that travel advisories are gradually easing for general tourism. But can (and should) you travel outside the United States yet?
This is a crazy year for traveling anywhere outside your front door. Flights are still helping people get across the United States and the world for essential reasons. But the reopening of international borders is going to be a slow process. Even though you can book a flight abroad, do you have permission to travel? If so, is it worth your time?
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) discourages all unessential travel. This advice doesn't mean you can't travel abroad or even between different U.S. states. But if you travel abroad, you will need to follow the corresponding self-quarantine rules for the nations you visit and the United States re-entry rules.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) discourages all unessential travel. This advice doesn't mean you can't travel abroad or even between different U.S. states. But if you travel abroad, you will need to follow the corresponding self-quarantine rules for the nations you visit and the United States re-entry rules.
For instance, most nations (including Canada) impose a 14-day self-quarantine once you arrive. You will most likely need to self-quarantine for 14 days after returning to the United States. While the CDC travel advisory isn't a ban for U.S. citizens, the self-quarantine rules may not be worth the hassle for a blitz trip.
The CDC advisories have more substantial restrictions for foreign nationals trying to enter the United States. As of May 15, 2020, foreign nations might be banned from entering if they have been in these countries within the last 14 days:
- China
- Iran
- Most European countries
- The United Kingdom and Ireland
Other nations have similar travel restrictions for U.S. citizens who don't have a second passport for the country they are trying to enter. Make sure you check the current travel restrictions from the other nation before booking your travel. Even though you can buy a flight, the customs officer may not let you pass.
State Department Travel Advisories
Whether or not you can travel abroad depends on where you want to go to. The United States may have travel bans for certain countries. These nations may also have reciprocal bans not letting you enter their borders if you come from a specific country.
In 2020, most travel bans are to prevent the potential spread of the coronavirus. Though, there are certain countries that are somewhat difficult to get to such as with North Korea and Iran. Americans can legally travel to both countries but they do need a visa which can be complicated to get. Part of the requirement is that Americans to both countries visit as a part of a tour.
Until a few years ago, Americans couldn't enter Cuba directly from the United States or using a U.S.-based travel provider.
You can track the latest international travel advisories on the U.S. State Department website. The U.S. State Department issues a travel advisory with a rating between 1 (most safe) and 4 (least safe):
- Exercise normal precautions (Level 1)
- Exercise increased caution (Level 2)
- Reconsider travel (Level 3)
- Do not travel (Level 4)
Many nations affected by the coronavirus have had a Level 4 warning since February or March 2020. China, for instance, has been a Level 4 (do not travel) since February 4, 2020. The State Department has listed Italy at level 3 (reconsider travel) since February 29, 2020.
Can You Travel To Canada?
Some say that Canada will be the first nation to ease travel restrictions with the United States back to pre-coronavirus policy. As of May 15, 2020, the U.S.-Canada border is still shut for nonessential travel, including tourism. Reports indicate the border may not open until June 21, 2020.
If you enter Canada for a qualifying reason, you will need to observe a 14-day self-quarantine.
Can You Travel To Mexico?
The U.S.-Mexico border closed on March 20, 2020, to nonessential travel. Mexico is reopening some industries starting May 17, 2020. Tourist hotspot Quintana Roo hopes to reopen beginning June 1, 2020, and will begin accepting most international travel in July. Los Cabos, another tourist hotspot, will be open to international tourists, starting in June. However, they’ll be flying into Terminal 1 versus Terminal 2.
You might be able to scoop up a last-minute travel deal as a nearby international trip can be your best option. It currently appears that Mexico is going to be more receptive to tourists than the Caribbean islands when international travel initially opens. If you want a tropical getaway, Mexico is one of your best options.
Travel To The Caribbean
Going to your favorite Caribbean island might be a dicey proposal this summer. Some islands, including Jamaica, Bahamas and Turks and Caicos, may start accepting international tourists on June 1, 2020. Other islands are waiting until July 1, 2020, or later.
It also looks like nations are more open to accepting international flights than cruises. The international airport terminals will open first. The first cruise ships may need to wait an additional month to dock.
Travel To Latin America
Argentina has the most restrictive international travel bans for the Americas. Commercial flights to, from, or within Argentina are banned through September 1, 2020. This ban means that American expatriates cannot return to the U.S. as is happening in other countries with airport shutdowns.
Other major tourist destinations in Central America and South America have strict travel measures too. Brazil, Bolivia and Peru might reopen to international tourists at the end of May. However, most Latin American nations are essentially off-limits to foreigners until further notice.
Travel To Europe
A summer trip to Europe is unlikely for most tourists. Greece is one of the most optimistic European countries about welcoming tourists as early as July 1, 2020. This nation has been less-affected by coronavirus than other hard-hit nations like Spain, Italy and France. At this time, the European countries are gradually opening their borders with each other. But if you're not an EU resident, you may not be able to enter.
Travel To Asia
While Asia was the first corner of the world to feel the effects of the pandemic, the current travel restrictions won't appear to end soon. It can very likely be 2021 before countries accept tourism in any meaningful amount.
For instance, American expatriates in Thailand who didn't leave before the travel restrictions began may be able to book a flight as soon as late July. China, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Singapore and South Korea are not permitting tourists at this time. Unlike other continents, most of Asia doesn't have a target reopening date for nonessential reasons.
South Pacific nations like Australia and New Zealand are also closed to tourists for an indefinite period.
Summary
Countries around the globe are developing plans for essential business travel. However, you will likely need to follow a 14-day self-quarantine upon arrival. U.S. residents might be able to visit a handful of places in the Caribbean, Mexico and Canada this summer. However, trips to Asia or Europe must wait until 2021 for most.
FAQs
What Do You Need To Travel Internationally?
You will need a valid passport to travel abroad. Most nonessential travel, including tourism, isn't allowed in most nations during the coronavirus pandemic. Business and humanitarian travel are allowable in many countries. But you may need to provide official paperwork to prove you're traveling for an acceptable reason.
You should see links on the travel booking website for current restrictions in your destination. These restrictions will tell you what documents you need and any quarantine measures you must observe after passing through customs.
What Countries Are Under A Travel Advisory?
Most nations in the world are currently under a travel advisory because of the novel coronavirus. The first travel restrictions may start expiring in June or July of 2020. The countries most likely to lift their travel advisory first can be Mexico, Canada, Greece and some Caribbean nations.
You can view the latest U.S.-issued travel restrictions at the U.S. State Department. More importantly, consider the restrictions that other nations have for foreigners trying to enter their country. Even if the United States doesn't ban you from visiting their nation, you may not be allowed entry from that nation's customs department for nonessential travel.
Is Mexico Considered International Travel?
Yes. Mexico is considered international travel from the United States whether you arrive by car, plane or cruise ship. A valid U.S. passport book is your best way to enter Mexico, and the only way to enter if flying to Mexico. You can use a U.S. passport card (to save a few dollars) if you're traveling by land or sea. Mexico may also have you complete a Forma Migratoria Multiple tourist card if you're going at least 20 kilometers (~12 miles) into the country.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the United States and Mexico border is closed to most nonessential travel. It appears that some restrictions will lift in multiple phases. The first expirations should start in late May or early June. Tourism can be one of the first easements as Mexico's international airports reopen.
Seriously consider moving to Florida
Balmy breezes, clear skies, sunshine, liquid sunshine (rain) to cleanse at times, tropical fruits, white beaches.
Florida can offer you a better lifestyle. It's cheaper to buy a home here, have a great backyard with your own swimming pool. Stay private, away from crowds, grow your own fruit trees.
The keyword is lower density population. When times are good you can dive into South Beach and enjoy the movida and the beautiful crowds. When times are tough, you can retreat in safety.
Did I forget to mention NO STATE TAXES?
Aspettative
Mah, io a capodanno pensavo di voler perdere 5 chili, adesso pero' le mie aspettative sono piu' reali, diventero' la regina del Giappone.
Discorso di Conte
Conte avrebbe dovuto leggere questo discorso ieri sera:
Come entriamo le prossime 3 settimane di blocco questo è un riepilogo delle prime 30 cose è necessario che nessuno non deve, fare, dire o pensare.
1. Non devi uscire di casa per qualsiasi motivo, ma se hai un motivo, puoi uscire di casa.
2. Le maschere sono inutili a proteggerti dal virus, ma potresti doverne indossare una perché può salvare delle vite, ma potrebbero non funzionare, ma possono essere obbligatorie, ma forse no, ma il personale sanitario ne ha assolutamente bisogno, ma probabilmente non tu, ma ci siamo dimenticati di ordinare comunque eventuali maschere.
3. I negozi sono chiusi, ad eccezione di quelli che sono aperti. I negozi aperti possono vendere solo oggetti essenziali, ma anche articoli non essenziali, come i vestiti,ma i negozi di abbigliamento non possono aprire.
4. Non devi andare al lavoro, ma puoi ottenere un altro lavoro e andare a lavorare.
5. Non si dovrebbe andare dai dottori o in ospedale a meno che non si deve andare lì, a meno che non si è troppo malati per andare lì.
6. Questo virus può uccidere la gente, ma non abbiate paura di esso. Può solo uccidere le persone che sono vulnerabili o quelle che non sono persone vulnerabili. È possibile contenerlo e controllarlo, a volte, tranne per il fatto che a volte porta effettivamente a un disastro globale.
7. I guanti non aiutano, ma possono comunque aiutare in modo da indossarli a volte o no. Devi lavarti le mani, ma non devi lavarti i guanti.
8. STAY HOME, ma è importante uscire.
9. Non mancano i generi alimentari nei supermercati, ma mancano molte cose. A volte non avrete bisogno di rotoli di carta igienica, ma se ne’ dovrebbe comprare alcuni nel caso in cui aveste bisogno di alcuni.
10. Il virus non ha alcun effetto sui bambini tranne quei bambini che affetti.
11. Gli animali non sono colpiti, ma c'è ancora un gatto che è risultato positivo in Belgio nel mese di febbraio, quando nessuno era stato testato, più un paio di tigri qua e là ...
12. Restate a 2 metri di distanza dalle tigri (cfr. punto 11).
13. Avrai molti sintomi se prendi il virus, ma puoi anche ottenere sintomi senza prendere il virus, ottenere il virus senza avere sintomi o essere contagioso senza avere sintomi, o essere non contagioso con i sintomi. Ma non abbiamo abbastanza kit di test e quindi nessuno saprà se hai il virus. Si può essere in grado di ottenere il virus di nuovo, ma forse no.
14. Per aiutare a proteggersi si dovrebbe mangiare bene e fare esercizio fisico, ma mangiare tutto ciò che avete a portata di mano siccome è meglio non uscire a fare shopping, ma va bene uscire a fare shopping se necessario.
15. È importante prendere aria fresca ma non andare ai parchi ma fare una passeggiata. Ma non sederti, tranne se sei vecchio, ma non per troppo tempo o se sei incinta o se non sei vecchio o incinta, ma hai bisogno di sederti. Se ti siedi non mangiare il tuo pic-nic, ma puoi mangiare uno snack.
16. Non visitare gli anziani, ma devi prenderti cura degli anziani e portare loro cibo e medicine.
17. Se sei malato, puoi uscire quando stai meglio, ma chiunque altro nella tua famiglia non può uscire quando stanno meglio a meno che non abbiano bisogno di uscire.
18. È possibile ottenere il cibo del ristorante consegnato a casa. Queste consegne sono sicure. Ma generi alimentari che si portano a casa vostra devono essere decontaminati fuori per 3 ore inclusa la Pizza...
19. Non puoi vedere la tua madre o tua nonna più grande, ma possono portare a spasso il loro cane, andare a fare shopping o andare a fare esercizio fisico ed essere vicino ad altre persone, ma non vicino a te.
20. Sei al sicuro se mantieni la distanza sociale sicura quando sei fuori, ma non puoi uscire con amici o sconosciuti a distanza sociale sicura.
21. Il virus rimane attivo su superfici diverse per due ore ... o quattro ore... sei ore... Voglio dire giorni, non ore... Ma ha bisogno di un ambiente umido. O un ambiente freddo che è caldo e asciutto... nell'aria, a patto che l'aria non sia di plastica.
22. Le scuole sono chiuse, quindi devi educare a casa i tuoi figli, a meno che tu non possa mandarli a scuola perché non sei a casa. Se sei a casa puoi educare i tuoi figli utilizzando vari portali e sale di classe virtuale, a meno che tu non abbia poco internet, o più di un bambino e un solo computer, o si lavora da casa. Cuocere torte ed altri cibi possono essere considerati matematica, scienza o arte. Se siete a casa educare è possibile includere le faccende domestiche come l'istruzione. Se sei a casa a educare puoi iniziare a bere gin alle 10 del mattino.
23. Se non sei a casa educando i bambini, puoi anche iniziare a bere gin alle 10 del mattino.
24. Il numero di decessi corona correlati sarà annunciato ogni giorno, ma non sappiamo quante persone sono infettate in quanto stanno solo testando coloro che sono quasi morti per scoprire se questo è ciò che moriranno di... le persone che muoiono di corona che non sono conteggiate non saranno conteggiate. Annunceremo solo alcune delle persone che muoiono di virus corona, e nessuno sa se muoiono con il virus, o a causa del virus, ma non preoccuparti, abbiamo tutto sotto controllo.
25. Si dovrebbe rimanere rinchiusi fino a quando il virus smette di infettare le persone, ma smetterà solo di infettare le persone se tutti noi saremo infettati quindi è importante infettarci e alcuni non si infettano.
26. Puoi unirti ai tuoi vicini per una festa di strada e alzare la tua musica per una discoteca esterna e i tuoi vicini non chiameranno la polizia. Le persone in un'altra strada sono autorizzati a chiamare la polizia per la tua musica
27. Nessun business allira’ a causa di Coronavirus tranne quelle aziende che alliranno a causa di Coronavirus. Ci sono prestiti disponibili per le aziende che hanno bisogno di prestiti, ma le aziende non possono ottenere i prestiti di cui hanno bisogno.
28. Non avevamo bisogno di ordinare ventilatori extra dall'Europa e hanno mandato un'email alla persona sbagliata in ogni caso, ma ora abbiamo disperatamente bisogno di aziende britanniche per farci molti più ventilatori, ma avevamo tutto sotto controllo, fidati di noi sappiamo esattamente cosa stiamo facendo.
29. Non dobbiamo politicizzare la questione, ma fare mezz'ora di trasmissione politica ogni giorno alle 17, il che non è politico con solo politici di un partito che non è strettamente politico.
30. Seguiremo i consigli scientifici e faremo la cosa giusta al momento giusto, ma a nessuno è permesso sapere quando è il momento giusto o quali sono le cose giuste. E non abbiamo seguito i consigli scientifici per cominciare, ma devi seguirli ora, ma non ti diremo davvero di cosa si tratta ora, ma ecco un grafico che mostra quanti viaggi in auto non hai fatto oggi e questo renderà tutto migliore.
Spero che sia completamente chiaro!
1. Non devi uscire di casa per qualsiasi motivo, ma se hai un motivo, puoi uscire di casa.
2. Le maschere sono inutili a proteggerti dal virus, ma potresti doverne indossare una perché può salvare delle vite, ma potrebbero non funzionare, ma possono essere obbligatorie, ma forse no, ma il personale sanitario ne ha assolutamente bisogno, ma probabilmente non tu, ma ci siamo dimenticati di ordinare comunque eventuali maschere.
3. I negozi sono chiusi, ad eccezione di quelli che sono aperti. I negozi aperti possono vendere solo oggetti essenziali, ma anche articoli non essenziali, come i vestiti,ma i negozi di abbigliamento non possono aprire.
4. Non devi andare al lavoro, ma puoi ottenere un altro lavoro e andare a lavorare.
5. Non si dovrebbe andare dai dottori o in ospedale a meno che non si deve andare lì, a meno che non si è troppo malati per andare lì.
6. Questo virus può uccidere la gente, ma non abbiate paura di esso. Può solo uccidere le persone che sono vulnerabili o quelle che non sono persone vulnerabili. È possibile contenerlo e controllarlo, a volte, tranne per il fatto che a volte porta effettivamente a un disastro globale.
7. I guanti non aiutano, ma possono comunque aiutare in modo da indossarli a volte o no. Devi lavarti le mani, ma non devi lavarti i guanti.
8. STAY HOME, ma è importante uscire.
9. Non mancano i generi alimentari nei supermercati, ma mancano molte cose. A volte non avrete bisogno di rotoli di carta igienica, ma se ne’ dovrebbe comprare alcuni nel caso in cui aveste bisogno di alcuni.
10. Il virus non ha alcun effetto sui bambini tranne quei bambini che affetti.
11. Gli animali non sono colpiti, ma c'è ancora un gatto che è risultato positivo in Belgio nel mese di febbraio, quando nessuno era stato testato, più un paio di tigri qua e là ...
12. Restate a 2 metri di distanza dalle tigri (cfr. punto 11).
13. Avrai molti sintomi se prendi il virus, ma puoi anche ottenere sintomi senza prendere il virus, ottenere il virus senza avere sintomi o essere contagioso senza avere sintomi, o essere non contagioso con i sintomi. Ma non abbiamo abbastanza kit di test e quindi nessuno saprà se hai il virus. Si può essere in grado di ottenere il virus di nuovo, ma forse no.
14. Per aiutare a proteggersi si dovrebbe mangiare bene e fare esercizio fisico, ma mangiare tutto ciò che avete a portata di mano siccome è meglio non uscire a fare shopping, ma va bene uscire a fare shopping se necessario.
15. È importante prendere aria fresca ma non andare ai parchi ma fare una passeggiata. Ma non sederti, tranne se sei vecchio, ma non per troppo tempo o se sei incinta o se non sei vecchio o incinta, ma hai bisogno di sederti. Se ti siedi non mangiare il tuo pic-nic, ma puoi mangiare uno snack.
16. Non visitare gli anziani, ma devi prenderti cura degli anziani e portare loro cibo e medicine.
17. Se sei malato, puoi uscire quando stai meglio, ma chiunque altro nella tua famiglia non può uscire quando stanno meglio a meno che non abbiano bisogno di uscire.
18. È possibile ottenere il cibo del ristorante consegnato a casa. Queste consegne sono sicure. Ma generi alimentari che si portano a casa vostra devono essere decontaminati fuori per 3 ore inclusa la Pizza...
19. Non puoi vedere la tua madre o tua nonna più grande, ma possono portare a spasso il loro cane, andare a fare shopping o andare a fare esercizio fisico ed essere vicino ad altre persone, ma non vicino a te.
20. Sei al sicuro se mantieni la distanza sociale sicura quando sei fuori, ma non puoi uscire con amici o sconosciuti a distanza sociale sicura.
21. Il virus rimane attivo su superfici diverse per due ore ... o quattro ore... sei ore... Voglio dire giorni, non ore... Ma ha bisogno di un ambiente umido. O un ambiente freddo che è caldo e asciutto... nell'aria, a patto che l'aria non sia di plastica.
22. Le scuole sono chiuse, quindi devi educare a casa i tuoi figli, a meno che tu non possa mandarli a scuola perché non sei a casa. Se sei a casa puoi educare i tuoi figli utilizzando vari portali e sale di classe virtuale, a meno che tu non abbia poco internet, o più di un bambino e un solo computer, o si lavora da casa. Cuocere torte ed altri cibi possono essere considerati matematica, scienza o arte. Se siete a casa educare è possibile includere le faccende domestiche come l'istruzione. Se sei a casa a educare puoi iniziare a bere gin alle 10 del mattino.
23. Se non sei a casa educando i bambini, puoi anche iniziare a bere gin alle 10 del mattino.
24. Il numero di decessi corona correlati sarà annunciato ogni giorno, ma non sappiamo quante persone sono infettate in quanto stanno solo testando coloro che sono quasi morti per scoprire se questo è ciò che moriranno di... le persone che muoiono di corona che non sono conteggiate non saranno conteggiate. Annunceremo solo alcune delle persone che muoiono di virus corona, e nessuno sa se muoiono con il virus, o a causa del virus, ma non preoccuparti, abbiamo tutto sotto controllo.
25. Si dovrebbe rimanere rinchiusi fino a quando il virus smette di infettare le persone, ma smetterà solo di infettare le persone se tutti noi saremo infettati quindi è importante infettarci e alcuni non si infettano.
26. Puoi unirti ai tuoi vicini per una festa di strada e alzare la tua musica per una discoteca esterna e i tuoi vicini non chiameranno la polizia. Le persone in un'altra strada sono autorizzati a chiamare la polizia per la tua musica
27. Nessun business allira’ a causa di Coronavirus tranne quelle aziende che alliranno a causa di Coronavirus. Ci sono prestiti disponibili per le aziende che hanno bisogno di prestiti, ma le aziende non possono ottenere i prestiti di cui hanno bisogno.
28. Non avevamo bisogno di ordinare ventilatori extra dall'Europa e hanno mandato un'email alla persona sbagliata in ogni caso, ma ora abbiamo disperatamente bisogno di aziende britanniche per farci molti più ventilatori, ma avevamo tutto sotto controllo, fidati di noi sappiamo esattamente cosa stiamo facendo.
29. Non dobbiamo politicizzare la questione, ma fare mezz'ora di trasmissione politica ogni giorno alle 17, il che non è politico con solo politici di un partito che non è strettamente politico.
30. Seguiremo i consigli scientifici e faremo la cosa giusta al momento giusto, ma a nessuno è permesso sapere quando è il momento giusto o quali sono le cose giuste. E non abbiamo seguito i consigli scientifici per cominciare, ma devi seguirli ora, ma non ti diremo davvero di cosa si tratta ora, ma ecco un grafico che mostra quanti viaggi in auto non hai fatto oggi e questo renderà tutto migliore.
Spero che sia completamente chiaro!
Aston Martin Residences
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Ouch. Here is how the rest of the world sees us. 💔
Ouch. Here is how the rest of the world sees us. I hear it every day from my Canadian family members. 💔
AMERICA IS WORTH READING THIS.
All Americans should read this. It is sobering. It should be a wake up call. It speaks the truth. This article hit home hard and I need to share it. I'm sure friends of mine with different political ideas may disagree and some, strongly, but some folks have asked what the rest of the world thinks of us. Here is proof of what I've said in the past by a writer for the Irish times. You might think - why worry about what other countries think of us, well... remember many of them should be allies, friends and supporters...and if this is what our friends think of us 😞
All Americans should read this. It is sobering. It should be a wake up call. It speaks the truth. This article hit home hard and I need to share it. I'm sure friends of mine with different political ideas may disagree and some, strongly, but some folks have asked what the rest of the world thinks of us. Here is proof of what I've said in the past by a writer for the Irish times. You might think - why worry about what other countries think of us, well... remember many of them should be allies, friends and supporters...and if this is what our friends think of us 😞
Irish Times
April 25, 2020
By Fintan O’Toole
THE WORLD HAS LOVED, HATED AND ENVIED THE U.S. NOW, FOR THE FIRST TIME, WE PITY IT
Over more than two centuries, the United States has stirred a very wide range of feelings in the rest of the world: love and hatred, fear and hope, envy and contempt, awe and anger. But there is one emotion that has never been directed towards the US until now: pity.
However bad things are for most other rich democracies, it is hard not to feel sorry for Americans. Most of them did not vote for Donald Trump in 2016. Yet they are locked down with a malignant narcissist who, instead of protecting his people from Covid-19, has amplified its lethality. The country Trump promised to make great again has never in its history seemed so pitiful.
Will American prestige ever recover from this shameful episode? The US went into the coronavirus crisis with immense advantages: precious weeks of warning about what was coming, the world’s best concentration of medical and scientific expertise, effectively limitless financial resources, a military complex with stunning logistical capacity and most of the world’s leading technology corporations. Yet it managed to make itself the global epicentre of the pandemic.
As the American writer George Packer puts it in the current edition of the Atlantic, “The United States reacted ... like Pakistan or Belarus – like a country with shoddy infrastructure and a dysfunctional government whose leaders were too corrupt or stupid to head off mass suffering.”
It is one thing to be powerless in the face of a natural disaster, quite another to watch vast power being squandered in real time – wilfully, malevolently, vindictively. It is one thing for governments to fail (as, in one degree or another, most governments did), quite another to watch a ruler and his supporters actively spread a deadly virus. Trump, his party and Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News became vectors of the pestilence.
The grotesque spectacle of the president openly inciting people (some of them armed) to take to the streets to oppose the restrictions that save lives is the manifestation of a political death wish. What are supposed to be daily briefings on the crisis, demonstrative of national unity in the face of a shared challenge, have been used by Trump merely to sow confusion and division. They provide a recurring horror show in which all the neuroses that haunt the American subconscious dance naked on live TV.
If the plague is a test, its ruling political nexus ensured that the US would fail it at a terrible cost in human lives. In the process, the idea of the US as the world’s leading nation – an idea that has shaped the past century – has all but evaporated.
Other than the Trump impersonator Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, who is now looking to the US as the exemplar of anything other than what not to do? How many people in Düsseldorf or Dublin are wishing they lived in Detroit or Dallas?
It is hard to remember now but, even in 2017, when Trump took office, the conventional wisdom in the US was that the Republican Party and the broader framework of US political institutions would prevent him from doing too much damage. This was always a delusion, but the pandemic has exposed it in the most savage ways.
Abject surrender
What used to be called mainstream conservatism has not absorbed Trump – he has absorbed it. Almost the entire right-wing half of American politics has surrendered abjectly to him. It has sacrificed on the altar of wanton stupidity the most basic ideas of responsibility, care and even safety.
Thus, even at the very end of March, 15 Republican governors had failed to order people to stay at home or to close non-essential businesses. In Alabama, for example, it was not until April 3rd that governor Kay Ivey finally issued a stay-at-home order.
In Florida, the state with the highest concentration of elderly people with underlying conditions, governor Ron DeSantis, a Trump mini-me, kept the beach resorts open to students travelling from all over the US for spring break parties. Even on April 1st, when he issued restrictions, DeSantis exempted religious services and “recreational activities”.
Georgia governor Brian Kemp, when he finally issued a stay-at-home order on April 1st, explained: “We didn’t know that [the virus can be spread by people without symptoms] until the last 24 hours.”
This is not mere ignorance – it is deliberate and homicidal stupidity. There is, as the demonstrations this week in US cities have shown, plenty of political mileage in denying the reality of the pandemic. It is fuelled by Fox News and far-right internet sites, and it reaps for these politicians millions of dollars in donations, mostly (in an ugly irony) from older people who are most vulnerable to the coronavirus.
It draws on a concoction of conspiracy theories, hatred of science, paranoia about the “deep state” and religious providentialism (God will protect the good folks) that is now very deeply infused in the mindset of the American right.
Trump embodies and enacts this mindset, but he did not invent it. The US response to the coronavirus crisis has been paralysed by a contradiction that the Republicans have inserted into the heart of US democracy. On the one hand, they want to control all the levers of governmental power. On the other they have created a popular base by playing on the notion that government is innately evil and must not be trusted.
The contradiction was made manifest in two of Trump’s statements on the pandemic: on the one hand that he has “total authority”, and on the other that “I don’t take responsibility at all”. Caught between authoritarian and anarchic impulses, he is incapable of coherence.
Fertile ground
But this is not just Donald Trump. The crisis has shown definitively that Trump’s presidency is not an aberration. It has grown on soil long prepared to receive it. The monstrous blossoming of misrule has structure and purpose and strategy behind it.
There are very powerful interests who demand “freedom” in order to do as they like with the environment, society and the economy. They have infused a very large part of American culture with the belief that “freedom” is literally more important than life. My freedom to own assault weapons trumps your right not to get shot at school. Now, my freedom to go to the barber (“I Need a Haircut” read one banner this week in St Paul, Minnesota) trumps your need to avoid infection.
Usually when this kind of outlandish idiocy is displaying itself, there is the comforting thought that, if things were really serious, it would all stop. People would sober up. Instead, a large part of the US has hit the bottle even harder.
And the president, his party and their media allies keep supplying the drinks. There has been no moment of truth, no shock of realisation that the antics have to end. No one of any substance on the US right has stepped in to say: get a grip, people are dying here.
That is the mark of how deep the trouble is for the US – it is not just that Trump has treated the crisis merely as a way to feed tribal hatreds but that this behaviour has become normalised. When the freak show is live on TV every evening, and the star is boasting about his ratings, it is not really a freak show any more. For a very large and solid bloc of Americans, it is reality.
And this will get worse before it gets better. Trump has at least eight more months in power. In his inaugural address in 2017, he evoked “American carnage” and promised to make it stop. But now that the real carnage has arrived, he is revelling in it. He is in his element.
As things get worse, he will pump more hatred and falsehood, more death-wish defiance of reason and decency, into the groundwater. If a new administration succeeds him in 2021, it will have to clean up the toxic dump he leaves behind. If he is re-elected, toxicity will have become the lifeblood of American politics.
Either way, it will be a long time before the rest of the world can imagine America being great again.
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April 25, 2020
By Fintan O’Toole
THE WORLD HAS LOVED, HATED AND ENVIED THE U.S. NOW, FOR THE FIRST TIME, WE PITY IT
Over more than two centuries, the United States has stirred a very wide range of feelings in the rest of the world: love and hatred, fear and hope, envy and contempt, awe and anger. But there is one emotion that has never been directed towards the US until now: pity.
However bad things are for most other rich democracies, it is hard not to feel sorry for Americans. Most of them did not vote for Donald Trump in 2016. Yet they are locked down with a malignant narcissist who, instead of protecting his people from Covid-19, has amplified its lethality. The country Trump promised to make great again has never in its history seemed so pitiful.
Will American prestige ever recover from this shameful episode? The US went into the coronavirus crisis with immense advantages: precious weeks of warning about what was coming, the world’s best concentration of medical and scientific expertise, effectively limitless financial resources, a military complex with stunning logistical capacity and most of the world’s leading technology corporations. Yet it managed to make itself the global epicentre of the pandemic.
As the American writer George Packer puts it in the current edition of the Atlantic, “The United States reacted ... like Pakistan or Belarus – like a country with shoddy infrastructure and a dysfunctional government whose leaders were too corrupt or stupid to head off mass suffering.”
It is one thing to be powerless in the face of a natural disaster, quite another to watch vast power being squandered in real time – wilfully, malevolently, vindictively. It is one thing for governments to fail (as, in one degree or another, most governments did), quite another to watch a ruler and his supporters actively spread a deadly virus. Trump, his party and Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News became vectors of the pestilence.
The grotesque spectacle of the president openly inciting people (some of them armed) to take to the streets to oppose the restrictions that save lives is the manifestation of a political death wish. What are supposed to be daily briefings on the crisis, demonstrative of national unity in the face of a shared challenge, have been used by Trump merely to sow confusion and division. They provide a recurring horror show in which all the neuroses that haunt the American subconscious dance naked on live TV.
If the plague is a test, its ruling political nexus ensured that the US would fail it at a terrible cost in human lives. In the process, the idea of the US as the world’s leading nation – an idea that has shaped the past century – has all but evaporated.
Other than the Trump impersonator Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, who is now looking to the US as the exemplar of anything other than what not to do? How many people in Düsseldorf or Dublin are wishing they lived in Detroit or Dallas?
It is hard to remember now but, even in 2017, when Trump took office, the conventional wisdom in the US was that the Republican Party and the broader framework of US political institutions would prevent him from doing too much damage. This was always a delusion, but the pandemic has exposed it in the most savage ways.
Abject surrender
What used to be called mainstream conservatism has not absorbed Trump – he has absorbed it. Almost the entire right-wing half of American politics has surrendered abjectly to him. It has sacrificed on the altar of wanton stupidity the most basic ideas of responsibility, care and even safety.
Thus, even at the very end of March, 15 Republican governors had failed to order people to stay at home or to close non-essential businesses. In Alabama, for example, it was not until April 3rd that governor Kay Ivey finally issued a stay-at-home order.
In Florida, the state with the highest concentration of elderly people with underlying conditions, governor Ron DeSantis, a Trump mini-me, kept the beach resorts open to students travelling from all over the US for spring break parties. Even on April 1st, when he issued restrictions, DeSantis exempted religious services and “recreational activities”.
Georgia governor Brian Kemp, when he finally issued a stay-at-home order on April 1st, explained: “We didn’t know that [the virus can be spread by people without symptoms] until the last 24 hours.”
This is not mere ignorance – it is deliberate and homicidal stupidity. There is, as the demonstrations this week in US cities have shown, plenty of political mileage in denying the reality of the pandemic. It is fuelled by Fox News and far-right internet sites, and it reaps for these politicians millions of dollars in donations, mostly (in an ugly irony) from older people who are most vulnerable to the coronavirus.
It draws on a concoction of conspiracy theories, hatred of science, paranoia about the “deep state” and religious providentialism (God will protect the good folks) that is now very deeply infused in the mindset of the American right.
Trump embodies and enacts this mindset, but he did not invent it. The US response to the coronavirus crisis has been paralysed by a contradiction that the Republicans have inserted into the heart of US democracy. On the one hand, they want to control all the levers of governmental power. On the other they have created a popular base by playing on the notion that government is innately evil and must not be trusted.
The contradiction was made manifest in two of Trump’s statements on the pandemic: on the one hand that he has “total authority”, and on the other that “I don’t take responsibility at all”. Caught between authoritarian and anarchic impulses, he is incapable of coherence.
Fertile ground
But this is not just Donald Trump. The crisis has shown definitively that Trump’s presidency is not an aberration. It has grown on soil long prepared to receive it. The monstrous blossoming of misrule has structure and purpose and strategy behind it.
There are very powerful interests who demand “freedom” in order to do as they like with the environment, society and the economy. They have infused a very large part of American culture with the belief that “freedom” is literally more important than life. My freedom to own assault weapons trumps your right not to get shot at school. Now, my freedom to go to the barber (“I Need a Haircut” read one banner this week in St Paul, Minnesota) trumps your need to avoid infection.
Usually when this kind of outlandish idiocy is displaying itself, there is the comforting thought that, if things were really serious, it would all stop. People would sober up. Instead, a large part of the US has hit the bottle even harder.
And the president, his party and their media allies keep supplying the drinks. There has been no moment of truth, no shock of realisation that the antics have to end. No one of any substance on the US right has stepped in to say: get a grip, people are dying here.
That is the mark of how deep the trouble is for the US – it is not just that Trump has treated the crisis merely as a way to feed tribal hatreds but that this behaviour has become normalised. When the freak show is live on TV every evening, and the star is boasting about his ratings, it is not really a freak show any more. For a very large and solid bloc of Americans, it is reality.
And this will get worse before it gets better. Trump has at least eight more months in power. In his inaugural address in 2017, he evoked “American carnage” and promised to make it stop. But now that the real carnage has arrived, he is revelling in it. He is in his element.
As things get worse, he will pump more hatred and falsehood, more death-wish defiance of reason and decency, into the groundwater. If a new administration succeeds him in 2021, it will have to clean up the toxic dump he leaves behind. If he is re-elected, toxicity will have become the lifeblood of American politics.
Either way, it will be a long time before the rest of the world can imagine America being great again.
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