Trump Pandemic — Susan Corso's Blog

Day 22 Hidden, Revealed, Hidden, Revealed; or, Peeling the Hype to its Essence

Of stockpiled ventilators a New York Times headline this morning screeched, “Thousands Do Not Work.” Of Senator Kelly Loeffler’s possible insider stock trading, an article said, “Can a person who is this wealthy represent your concerns, as, say, a family that has lost its job because of this pandemic?” Of health care professionals attempting to protect themselves, another headline said, “‘I Do Fear for My Staff,’ a Doctor Said. He Lost His Job.” We are in the midst of a pandemic, but what’s going on here really?

Day 18 Noli Me Tangere; or, We Cannot Be Over the Rainbow

As languages go, I don’t mind the language of numbers. I do, however, think we’ve fetishized numbers as some sort of be-all and end-all that is dangerously illusory. Despite the universal historical practice of myriad forms of numerology, numbers a.k.a. data, aren’t the bottom line. The numbers for coronavirus have been startlingly bleak, haven’t they? So imagine my delight when a member of my household read that “113,000 people have recovered from COVID-19.”

Day 10: Virus Economics & How to Stay Generous

Two U. S. senators, privy to closed-door briefings, profited by selling off stock in industries that would be affected by the virus. One of them invested in a technology that allows people to work from home. As Mr. Leonhardt wrote, “They could have made a difference, but they made a profit.” Okay, that’s enough. That’s enough. We get it. The coronavirus will have an effect on the world economy; we’re already seeing it at home in the U.S. Okay. I am afraid, but I’m not. Every single client I have has either cancelled or postponed their appointment. No one knows what’s going to happen.