Author: Celeste Crouch

Deep down, Americans knew all along they had the right stuff. Underneath the piles of resentment and bitter feelings generated by those with nefarious hidden agendas, a fundamental national ethos had become sidetracked.

Charity and a concern for others, true hallmarks of our American ideals, were taking a temporary hit from the forces of racism and greed symbolized by the person in the White House.  But viewed in the context of the historical moment, this dynamic has begun to change. 

Now, with the pandemic creating immediate crises for the disadvantaged  a few Americans have chosen  to light tiny bonfires of kindness and assistance in their communities. They are choosing to discard the prevailing feelings of  us versus them and instead have become mindful of others who need daily assistance.. They see the imperative of our humanity as the  dominant theme irrespective of party allegiances or race. Take note in the Washington Post article below of the restaurateurs working to insure that people aren’t going hungry.

And here is the exciting part. These little fires dotting the national landscape are becoming newsworthy.  They are beginning to compete for space with important but worrisome information about the virus.

 And just like COVID19,  these little fires have the ability to spread and increase in intensity. Others who read about these good works will be inspired to follow suit. And as the fires grow and coalesce, Americans with the wherewithal to assist in the crisis will see the light and step up as well. 

The good news has already begun to appear in the headlines, competing for the mind share of readers. Humans have the capacity to transcend self interest, just like those Chinese doctors who have gone to Italy to help with the crisis there.  Other examples include professional athletes  who are showing their concern  by donating huge sums to help those caught in the economic downturn. One 19 year old NBA superstar is covering the wages for the next 30 days of all of the now unpaid workers at his team’s shuttered arena.. Another NBA star, who initially made fun of the virus, then contracted it,  has donated a half a million dollars as an act of atonement for his foolishness to help those in need. 

And so be comforted in the knowledge that our slowly emerging togetherness, our shared humanity, ultimately will  defeat this virus. And  even more importantly, this surge of goodness will eventually overtake the evil at work currently sowing division and hate in our nation and in the world.

Enjoy the article.

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp/2020/03/17/with-business-slashed-in-the-coronavirus-era-restaurants-use-their-kitchens-to-feed-those-in-need/?itid=hp_hp-more-top-stories-2_restaurants-830a%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans

Susan J. Douglas, Professor of Communications at the University of Michigan has written a book about groups like ours. It is entitled In our Prime: How Older Women are Reinventing the Road  Ahead. In it she recounts how millions of women in the baby boomer demographic have joined hard charging, no holds barred  groups who believe they are playing an indispensable  role in the effort to improve the quality of life for all Americans. 

And that definition fits our group, and the thousands of  other groups both informal and  otherwise which have popped up in recent years. Two things to note. First,  Leelanau Progressive Women is not exclusively a baby boomer group. Some members are older and some younger. We welcome all ages and genders. But a large percentage of our members are baby boomers.  And secondly we cannot overlook the great work done by the League of Women Voters which recruits all ages and genders as well, has lots of members in the baby boomer category and was founded in 1920. It is a role model for all women’s political groups.

The key point in discussing women and age is that some women at a certain age assume the belief that they have become invisible and inconsequential in our society. Leelanau Progressive Women and the other politically active women’s groups take a significantly contrary view. 

Activated first by George W. Bush and exacerbated by the ascendance of Trump, millions of older women have become political activists par excellance. The internet serves to keep them informed and they have become savvy at dishing out retorts and criticism to any politician they deem deserving.

To influence these lawmakers they use  phone calls, emails, snail mail, faxes, letters to the editors, forum pieces, fund raising and marching. And far from feeling voiceless and ignored these  older women’s groups elicit feelings of empowerment for their members.In fact for many of these newcomers to activism, they have transformed their sense of self. Their long  life experiences now shine a brighter light on the status issues which encumbered them when younger. These women now are free to dispense with the fluff and concentrate on engaging in healthy living, nurturing relationships and contributing to society. Most importantly, members work to insure better futures for their own children and grandchildren. And is there a priority which can top that?

Douglas also sends out an urgent call for women in the Baby Boomer demographic who consider themselves powerless and invisible. Instead of feeling voiceless and spending the precious remaining years of their lives feeling left out, Douglas wants to see them thrive with a new sense of purpose. And this would of course include women from all political positions.    She strives to  transform their notion of impotence to one of activism and becoming a change agent, and thus an active and important contributor in the unending task of making society better.  And in the course of that  participation. Douglas suggests they will gain a reinvigorated sense of being needed and making a difference. 

The New York Times includes a review of Douglas’s book today. It is in the link below. And one other note. Who knows if Douglas researched women’s activism in northern Michigan. If she had, she would have discovered vibrant groups of older women activists making a difference. Wouldn’t she have been impressed?
Enjoy the article.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/books/review/in-our-prime-susan-j-douglas.html?action=click& . . module=Editors%20Picks&pgtype=Homepage

Most Americans today finally have come to realize that yes, this surreal pandemic is all true. An unseen enemy, a virus,  has invaded the country for which there is no vaccination and no known cure. This virus is extremely contagious and can be especially deadly for the most at risk populations – the elderly  and those with serious medical conditions. 

Many of the holdouts, the Trump fans who had dismissed the magnitude of the threat as overblown Dem hype, probably became believers today. It happened at  today’s press conference when Trump admitted that the pandemic could hang around, inflicting its damage, all the way into July or August. This admission, perhaps the first time that Trump actually leveled with the American people, left many Republicans gobsmacked. 

Their skepticism about the virus, enhanced by Trump’s statements for the past five weeks and distortions from Fox News had not prepared them for such unvarnished truth. For Trump changed his tone just enough today to suggest that the spread of the virus “really was bad”. 

And as governors ordered “shelter in place” pronouncements, closed schools, bars and restaurants and ordered people to not congregate in large groups, the cascading truth of these orders could no longer be ignored by the Trump faithful. 

And now as people strive to  comply with the CDC protocols, come to grips with how their daily routines have been turned on their heads, they also must condition themselves to stay strong and upbeat in the face of the crisis. To that end, I am happy to provide this website   https://tanksgoodnews.com/ which concentrates on the inspiring  news happening around the world which should be celebrated, rather than go unnoticed. 

This site was shared with me by our youngest daughter, Betsy who believes in the formidable power of good news and that the inspiration derived from the good works of others can help us  transcend the darkest of times. Thank you, Betsy, as always.

Mark this website as one of your favorites and enjoy the wonderful  story in the link below  of Chinese doctors coming to Italy to lend their expertise with the pandemic.

“Italy Is Not Alone”—Chinese Doctors Arrive With Supplies To Help Italy Combat Coronavirus

Well, the old expression,With age comes wisdom only applies if you don’t watch a lot of Fox News.  Here’s a distressing  article from The Washington Post proving once again that Republicans really do  put themselves at a great big  disadvantage relying on Trump’s self serving statements and the skewed comments from  Fox News hosts. However this time, the misinformation campaign emanating from Trump and Fox News has real life and death consequences effecting not just them, but all Americans.

Case in point. The Villages, a huge retirement community in Central Florida,  has 115,000 residents, 2/3rds of  whom identify as Republicans.. And half of those report that  Fox News is their preferred main news source.   
According to the article,  a large number of the residents aligning themselves with what they heard on Fox News, do not recognize the  virus as a major a threat. They are dismissing the CDC’s  recommendations as overblown and thus are out in public socializing. (see accompanying photo.)

And here is the most disturbing part. The incursion of the virus into that densely populated elderly community, with the average age of 69, could happen quickly. The Villages has the potential for becoming a undeniable  hot spot which could then overtake the  regional health system’s ability to handle the numbers.  

Experts have studied how being exposed to propaganda can overwhelm reasonable thinking.  In this case, at the Villages, misinformation from Fox news and Trump has tampered dangerously with people’s ability to use common sense.

These  conservatives, sadly for all Americans, have joined up with other Fox News viewers and bought into a con man’s deadly game of fool the American people about the nature of this infectious disease. And these fooled Trump loyalists,  will have unwittingly, (can we give them that?) added to the unfolding crisis. 

And on the contrary, Mr.  President, you are responsible for the magnitude of this calamity.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/14/older-americans-are-more-worried-about-coronavirus-unless-theyre-republican/

For those of you on this post who live in Michigan, you will be comforted by the leaders of  Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.  She has taken the lead in Michigan to try to stay ahead of the virus and  mitigate its spread.  She has closed all Michigan public schools for three weeks and called a  state of emergency.. This state of emergency gives her broad powers to regulate citizens’ activities which if allowed to continue could exacerbate the contagion. 
She has coordinated a Michigan Corona virus website which provides up to date information on the spread in Michigan, how many tests have been given and the test results. It provides citizens with the latest recommendations for self protection and preparedness. 

The site appears to be comprehensive and well organized. It gives a sense of confidence that Whitmer and her team are staying ahead of the curve. (This  idiom also fits a pandemic.). It would behoove all Michigan residents on this post to check out this website each day. If you live in another state, check out both your state and local health departments, to make sure they are operating effectively. 
https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus/0,9753,7-406-98158—,00.html

Am also providing the Benzie/Leelanau District Health Department (BLDHD) and Grand Traverse County Health Department (GTCHD)  websites. Both sites likewise provide good information  about what is happening in their local area.  Compare the two websites to see if one looks more complete than the other.  
http://gtchd.org/2231/COVID-19-Novel-Coronavirus
http://www.bldhd.org/coronavirus-covid-19

If so inclined, there  happens to be a role for residents of the region, to keep their health departments performing on all cylinders. By way of phone calls and emails, citizens can ask probing questions about availability of ICU beds, ventilators and if the health departments have adequately prepared for a hospital intake surge. Are other facilities being prepared?
 To discourage these calls, due to over burdening department staff, health departments could provide answers to the questions on their sites. If they are worried about scaring citizens, they can mention they are working on the issue/s.

For example, the  BLDHD cites their responsibility to track  the health of travelers either returning to the area or visitors. The GTCHD does not include that obligation on their site. Either way, questions are being raised whether or not  passengers arriving at Cherry Capitol Airport are being screened. What about the bus stations in the region? 

In addition,  since Munson is a regional hospital serving northern lower Michigan and the Upper Peninsula, how prepared is the hospital in the event of a surge of patients?  Have they identified overflow facilities? Have they enough ventilators?  Is the Traverse County Health Department on alert for assisting with the hospital’s needs? In what ways?  
Can business leaders play a role?  Yesterday, Trump announced a private sector/government  partnership to assist with mitigation plans. If it is all hands on deck, mayors and health department officials need to think big and recruit business leaders to jump on board. And these questions are not meant to hold any one’s feet to the fire. They are only proposed to insure as comprehensive and compete preparedness as possible because people’s lives are at stake.

Which brings us right to our very own members of Congress and what they can provide in the way of assistance. Let’s all  call Bergman, Stabenow and Peters  to find out what they are doing to facilitate Michigan’s  readiness. Have they been working on securing testing kits? What else have they been doing?. Plan on calling them Monday morning to speak to a staff person.
And don’t forget the Record Eagle to not only register complaints about northern Michigan’s problems with  readiness but also to suggest ideas to keep the region more safe and  people’s morale from ebbing. 
Reaching  out to others lifts one’s s own spirits. There are so many lonely souls in our culture to begin with, this pandemic will isolate them even more. Get creative about ways you can help friends and neighbors via phone calls and emails.

And finally in the interest of full disclosure, I am currently in Scottsdale, Arizona. In the greater Phoenix area, in which Scottsdale abuts, there are 56 hospitals and almost 5 million residents. Like Florida, there are also seasonal retirees who flock to the area in the winter.

I have no idea what all this means for a surge of the virus here and so it pays to isolate to stay safe. Unfortunately, due to only 3 identified cases in the entire county, many citizens are disregarding the virus as not affecting them and going about their business as usual.

The good news here is that Dem candidate  Mark Kelly, Gabby Gifford’s spouse, leads Martha McSally by 7 points in the race for the U.S. Senate. Yeah!   

Finally, here is an article from The Record Eagle which discusses the latest status of cases in Michigan and the region.
Stay safe.

https://www.record-eagle.com/collections/first-person-from-northern-michigan-diagnosed-with-covid/article_8ac90a46-653c-11ea-8212-af91dbbcdc9c.html

Getting enough testing kits out to the nation has become the primary challenge for the Trump Administration and health experts. And the importance of these kits cannot be overstated. 

On a macro scale, massive testing reveals where the “hot spots” are and thus where the medical equipment and supplemental  personnel might be needed the most. In addition, the news that an area has become a heightened zone of virus activity importantly alerts the citizenry in those areas to abide by the CDC’s protocols and to use social distancing when out in public. Without the information. people do not take the threat seriously.and stop taking precautions. 

In addition,on a personal scale, with the onset of symptoms individuals need to find out quickly if they in fact have the virus. If the test if positive, the affected person would immediately go into isolation to keep from spreading the disease. If the symptoms are moderate, one can recover at home and be confident when healthy that the virus no longer represents a threat to oneself or others.. (Assuming that having the illness provides immunity which has not been directly announced.)  

Knowledge of one’s positive status also alerts the person that worsening symptoms means contacting a physician and getting advise on where to go for immediate treatment.  It is presumed that hospitals in large urban cities  will have up to the minute status advisories on their websites re bed capacities, respirator and ventilator availability and if they are still taking new patients. Physicians can direct patients then on where to go for treatment.

In small towns and rural areas,  a regional hospital can post the same information. And one would hope that these regional hospitals in particular would have the foresight and funds available to set up makeshift facilities to handle high demand and patient overflow.  And it is this notion of an area getting hit all at once with many patients  that the CDC worries about the most. They describe the situation by saying they want to flatten the curve. What they mean by that is they want to steady the overall pace of the spread. If the numbers of people contracting the disease goes along at a slow and steady pace, then the national health system can effectively manage the in-take. 

However if there is a huge spike (the curve) with more patients than the national system can manage, then the U.S. would perhaps find itself in tho same dire straights as Italy is facing today.  Because their health system is overwhelmed, the Italian medical teams are in triage in which they are having to choose who to treat and who to let die. 

In trump’s press conference today, he announced a a state of National Emergency which frees up billions of dollars and adds additional powers to the Executive Branch  to combat the pandemic. Trump also has created a private/government partnership with the leaders of corporations  who have offered to step in and support the government’s efforts. 

These measures were long in coming and they certainly will help. In the midst of the good news however,Trump also managed to shake hands with some of the business leaders  – a CDC no no. He also cut off several reporters questions in mid sentence who asked too tough questions. He also claimed that he didn’t know  anything about the fact that the pandemic office in the National Security Council had been shuttered and the staff let go. And “No, I don’t take responsibility” for the mistakes in preparedness. Give Trump enough time with the mike……….. …….

The following article from The New York Times does an excellent job in highlighting what  some Americans have experienced trying to get tested. It is an eye opener. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/us/coronavirus-testing-challenges.html

Trump did not do the country any big favors in his speech last evening. Reading the words like someone was holding a gun to his head, he neither reassured or inspired trust that his plans would be enough. His hang dog expression  showcased how thoroughly frustrated he is that this pandemic has shown up on his watch. How inopportune it is for him personally. The virus is messing with his reelection chances. What a bummer, he muses.

 Following the speech, newscasters interviewed epidemiologists who stated their disappointment in all that Trump did not say. Then they proceed to point what measures should have been included. As a signal that the speech failed to instill confidence in Trump’s leadership, the Dow Jones immediately dropped another 9.4%.

Now we get an inkling of how important a leader can be in a crisis.This is exactly  what Winston Churchill  understood about leadership. At the 11th hour, during WWII,  he rallied the Brits with his soaring calls for unity and a measure of sacrifice from each citizen, all for the welfare of the nation. And the nation rose to meet his calls..

All Trump can elicit is a self serving insistence that he would still hold his political rallies because “It doesn’t bother me at all, and it doesn’t bother them at all.” And so, Americans are faced with a dangerous reality. We have a man/child sitting in the Oval Office who cannot think beyond his own psychological needs.

For that  reckless remark, he conveyed to the world that this pandemic is  overblown and that he is not going to take the precautions his own  health experts are advising. And worse he will jolly well jeopardize his followers’ health to keep them excited about his re-election campaign. And increase the spread  and kill more people to boot.

Because at this stage, the nation cannot expect inspirational or effective leadership from the  White House, some state Governors are stepping in to fill the void. They are showing a willingness to make tough decisions despite the economic hardship and backlash it will cause. They are providing a measure of hope that there  are still competent leaders who will protect us, without a hint of partisanship involved.

Let’s look to Joe Bide in his national speech this afternoon to allay some of the fears of an obviously rattled nation.  Maybe he will be eloquent enough to elicit a measure of calm and a we can do this together mentality.  And because Trump has injected a note of doubt about the risks of this virus, Biden will need to  reiterate that  COVID 19 is ten times more contagious and lethal than than of the flu.

Right now, I yearn for Barak Obama’s magnificent voice and eloquent words of encouragement. 

Here is the Washington Post’s article discussing how often Dr. Anthony Fauci had to correct Trump’s misleading statements about the virus.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/11/anthony-fauci-undercuts-trump-flu-other-coronavirus-assertions/

In some ways, underscoring Trump’s unfitness for office in general and for this virus in particular conjures up worries that this merely restates the obvious. The choir has been so thoroughly preached to that talking about Trump’s ineptitude is akin to saying When it rains, things get wet. 

Yet amazingly this notion has not reached everyone in the country. Yesterday, I was sitting next to a table of five men who were all agreeing that the media and the Dems are over blowing the virus threat to make Trump look bad. To them, Trump’s fitness is not in question.They have concluded that this whole mess somehow is the media’s  and those darn Dem’s fault.

Well, for all the Americans who have kept their logic caps on throughout the  debacle of Trump’s tenure, this article from The New York Times  (NYT) President Trump is Unfit for this Crisis. Period. validates that this  pandemic is another in a series of issues for which Trump has been  ill equipped. The bad news is that COVID 19 likely is the one of the greatest magnitude.

Writer Jennifer  Senior has collected much of her evidence of Trump’s missteps from his statements. She lets his own words indict him. His narcissistic needs overwhelm and distort  all of the other words which come out of his mouth.. ..

In the White House press conference yesterday, incredibly both he and Pence led off with statements about the stock market. Their lead story becomes  Exhibit A  in how they still are screwing up their priorities. Did they think they were speaking to only Americans who owned stocks? They were speaking to ALL Americans.  Our very own Abbot and Costello heading the Executive Branch, don’t even understand that the LEAD story should have been COVID 19. 

Here is a t-shirt that would be well worth creating and selling. “Keep calm and trust Dr. Fauci”Underneath in smaller print – Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. .And then follow it up with support for the following idea sent in by CJ from Westchester County as a  letter to the editor to the NYT:

“The time has come to ignore Trump. Don’t cover him. Don’t ask him questions. Don’t let him be part of the story. There’s a job to be done. So ignore the toddler in the middle of the room saying Me, Me, Me and talk to the people who matter.” Amen.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/09/opinion/trump-corona-cdc.html

Now….. finally, it is beginning to dawn on our GOP lawmakers that having 20 million uninsured Americans without healthcare and 33% of all employees working without paid sick leave, that these large numbers reflect a serious problem for our nation. It only took a pandemic to jolt the Congress into action to deal with these  deficiencies. 

As we all recognize, the Republicans in Congress did everything they could to stop the Affordable Care Act (AFA) from passing. And Trump has consistently been chipping away at its offerings and viability in various states since he took office.  Now in light of of this deadly virus. the Republican efforts to thwart the AFA appears increasingly  shortsighted and ill-advised. 

And the irony is that the virus makes no distinction between Dems and Republicans. Those in the Resistance who shouted from the rooftops that universal healthcare would benefit all Americans will be as vulnerable to the virus as the GOP who rejected the idea. We are all in this boat together.

So now Congress is desperately scrambling to come up with measures to   slow down the spread of Covid 19. And one of the ideas the Dems are proposing is to provide funds to employers to pay for the sick leave for workers who currently do not receive that benefit. If passed, this offering would theoretically allow sick workers to choose to stay home because they would still receive their pay. 

And so at the onset of this pandemic in the U.S, one can sense that there may a significant shift in how people look at issues like universal health care and paid sick leave. If Americans start to realize  – that as a nation, we are only as safe as our fellow Americans are healthy, they may recognize the benefits of  universal healthcare and paid sick leave.

The Congress will sense this as well. In the Senate, 25% of the Senators are over 70. These elderly Senators are more vulnerable to the contagion, shouldn’t fly on planes or gather in large groups. The entire Congress as a result are discussing the possibility of  calling a Congressional recess for a couple of weeks.

Before they make their escape, let’s let our members of Congress know that we demand that Congress should pass funds to cover sick leave for American workers. And they should, in addition, look at ways to fund medical care for those Americans who are uninsured or require costs for the patients who are being treated be kept at a bare bones minimum.  Costly, yes. Might it bring the pandemic under control? It certainly won’t hurt.

Here is a Washington Post article discussing the current measures the Congress is considering. 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/03/09/trump-coronavirus-paid-sick-leave/

The misguided actions  of brother and sister duo, Erik Prince and Betsy Prince DeVos never cease to amaze.  They grew up in the state of Michigan immersed in ultra conservative Christianity and wealth. And they were steeped in the doctrine that  to protect Americans from all  sources of evil and  insure salvation, the nation had to be transformed into a Christian kingdom. And somehow, some way that belief transferred over to their mutual  decision to support the Trump Administration in various and sometimes devious ways.  Go figure. 

Their  respective fortunes have bought them access to the Oval Office, a Cabinet position for DeVos,  and connections with other rich and powerful elites. These elites  view the ultra conservative brother and sister duo as partners in preserving the ascendancy of the wealthy in all facets of our government.  

The Princes’ missionary laced Christianity and Erik’s wealth enhancing zeal combine to make them a true danger to our constitutional freedoms. In a diverse society such as ours,  these freedoms must be protected from zealots like them.    Betsy DeVos seems to still adhere to the  all or nothing doctrinaire religion she learned as a child which carries over to her policies at the Department of Education. But Erik Prince seems to have  incredibly let his faith slide into a more pernicious anything goes mentality to gain influence and enhance his already considerable wealth.

According to this New York Times article, Erik Prince has now become Michigan’s home grown conservative spymaster. He has joined Project Veritas a group formed to conduct covert operations on Dem campaigns, unions and news organizations considered hostile to the Trump agenda.   And he has taken on the task of managing the infiltration of spies he has recruited to dig up any questionable practices (or dirt)  on these organizations that they can dig up.  

Erik Prince must consider himself the dashing 007 to the other oligarchs in this country who will 1) fund any group which wants to block the truth about their illegal manipulations of government policy or 2)undermine any organization  striving to create a better world for all Americans.
So much for the Christian principle of love for all mankind. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/07/us/politics/erik-prince-project-veritas.html