Month: July 2022

The transitional phase of a pandemic – Visiting New York, then and now – An attempt to create a viable third political party – Why Americans feel let down by Republican and Democratic parties alike – The Winslow Homer exhibit – Evening statistics

Dr. Fauci has said that we are now in a “transitional” phase and that the full-blown pandemic phase is over.  This, of course, is not an official pronouncement.  I suspect that the CDC has no wish to say anything that would make people behave even more carelessly than they do now.  In my recent experience of public transit (of which more hereafter) hardly anyone wore a mask.  This fearlessness is dangerous.  The newer strains of COVID are certainly less virulent than the old ones, but the threat of long COVID is not to be regarded lightly.

Still, my recent visit to New York, which began on Wednesday and ended today, explains the rationale behind Dr. Fauci’s statement.  I had gone to celebrate my aunt’s birthday, and I cannot help contrasting the ease of this visit with the difficulties I encountered two years ago.

Two years ago I could not even travel to state of New York or indeed to most other states outside of Maryland and West Virginia.  My relatives and I had to content ourselves with setting up a video of each of us sending my aunt our best wishes – well enough in its way, but not the way one would wish to celebrate a 90^th birthday.  The past Wednesday, by way of contrast, I drove to Princeton Junction, took the New Jersey transit to Penn Station, and then took the subway to the Upper East Side neighborhood where my aunt lives.  During my visit I went with my aunt to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and I dined with her in a few restaurants.  All of the rigorous enforcement that characterized my previous visit to New York City has completely disappeared.  Hardly anyone bothered to wear a mask either on the commuter train or the subway; while at the museum the guard at the entrance assured us that wearing a mask was, to use his expression, “optional.”  Occasionally waiters in restaurants will wear masks on their own account, but only occasionally.  And New York was formerly enforcing COVID-related restrictions much more thoroughly than the DC metro area.  Just as with my visits abroad, I ate in restaurants a great deal, to a much greater extent than I do while I’m at home.  And I confess that I do not wear masks in them, since I have to remove masks anyway for the purposes of eating and drinking.  All of which lends credence to Fauci’s contention that we have moved on to a different phase.

The visit was illuminating for another reason that has some bearing on recent events.  A new national political third party, known as Forward, has recently been formed by several dozens of former Republican and Democratic officials.  The initial chairs are former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and Christine Todd Whitman, the former Republican governor of New Jersey. Their hope is that the party will become a viable alternative to the Republican and Democratic parties that dominate US politics.  And we certainly need one.

Women in particular must feel totally abandoned by the Republican party.  I think that even the staunchest pro-lifer among them must be somewhat taken aback by the spate of laws that prohibit women who have been raped from obtaining an abortion unless they manage to do so within six weeks after conception – which is generally much too short a time to detect pregnancy at all.  The Republicans don’t seem to realize that they will eventually be fighting a losing battle with demographics:  the younger a voter is, the more likely he or she will favor a lenient abortion policy. 

Their eventual desuetude would be small loss, one might say, were it not for the fact that the Democrats are proving themselves equally insensitive and inept.  I happened to stop by in one of the shopping areas near Columbus Circle, and at one point I went to its restrooms, where the following notice was prominently displayed:

“Patrons are welcome to use any restroom that matches their gender identity or expression.”

In other words, a biological male can enter a women’s restroom simply by claiming to be transgender, regardless of whether such claims have the slightest validity.

It is simply naïve to believe that sexual predators will not take advantage of such opportunities.  While Republicans are making it as difficult as possible for women who have been raped to overcome the emotional trauma of such an experience, Democrats are striving to create a situation that diminishes their safety in public places and makes them more likely to get raped in the first place.  How can any American woman repose her confidence in either one or the other?

Something similar must be said about the economic policies of the two parties:  the Republicans favor laws that benefit modern robber-barons and the Democrats try to place as many people on welfare as possible, not excluding illegal immigrants.  In the meantime the concerns of the ordinary wage-earner whose income is continually diminished by taxation or by corporation greed fall by the wayside.  It is no wonder that the average white-collar or blue-collar worker has little liking for either.

In the words of Mike Taylor, a former Trump Homeland Security official who denounced Trump in a scathing op-ed article in October, 2020, “The fundamentals have changed.  When other third party movements have emerged in the past, it’s largely been inside a system where the American people aren’t asking for an alternative. The difference here is we are seeing a historic number of Americans saying they do want one.” 

On a more pleasant note, the visit that my aunt and I took to the museum was for the purpose of viewing a special exhibit on Winslow Homer.  Even now, it is startling to see how original an artist he is.  “We frankly confess that we detest his subjects,” Henry James once wrote at the time that the paintings were first seen in public, “he has chosen the least pictorial range of scenery and civilization; he has resolutely treated them as if they were pictorial . . . and, to reward his audacity, he has incontestably succeeded.”  Even if one feels that James has overstated the novelty of the subject matter, it still presents a contrast to the accepted notion of “artistic” subjects.  In his treatment of women, for instance:  Homer would on occasion show women at leisure, but only occasionally.  For the most part the women in his pictures are laborers – and engaged in fairly exhausting labor at that.  Many pictures from his earlier years deal with the Civil War, and he does not glorify either side.  One picture shows a sniper poised in the branches of a tree, and it is a frightening picture.  We don’t see any of his targets, his features are half-concealed by his weapon; but his stance as he steadily holds his rifle has the earnest intensity of someone embarking on a difficult task – the task set before him, of course, being that of killing any soldier from the opposing side who comes within range.  It frightened me, at any rate, because I could easily imagine myself, if I had been trained that way, approaching such an assignment in exactly the same spirit.  The sharpshooter, as he is called, is typical of figures in Homer’s paintings:  he is looking at something that we, the viewers, do not see.  Sailors look away from us towards the ocean; hunters glance about for potential targets; children gaze wistfully in the distance.  Homer prefers to suggest rather than to tell outright; this feature occurs continually and must have been consciously established. 

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide:  581,441,004; # of deaths worldwide: 6,418,666; # of cases U.S.: 93,068,141; # of deaths; U.S.: 1,055,039.

On Robertson Mountain and Stony Man – Trump and Pence back in Washington, but not side by side – COVID and the senators – Evening statistics

The temperatures have fallen in the aftermath of a storm yesterday.  I went with the Vigorous Hikers today to ascend Robertson Mountain and afterwards to go to the summit of Stony Man, which was quite cool.  The view from Robertson was completely enshrouded with mist, but from Stony Man it was only partially concealed, with various peaks projecting through wreaths of cloud cover. 

It not only was a good time to be in Shenandoah National Park today; it was a good time to be out of DC.  Trump has again polluted the city with his presence, swerving not a bit from his claims of the election being “stolen” from him; and, with his eyes narrowed to slits, huge open mouth, and fingers curling back into oddly tentative fists, resembling nothing as much as an enormously overgrown infant having a tantrum.  And Mike Pence was present as well, although no longer as a Trump ally.  But although Trump’s faction at one point threatened him with execution and although Trump continues to excoriate him with his typical freedom and candor, Pence still refuses to criticize Trump outright.  The closest he got to saying anything negative about the man whose adherents tried to kill him was:  “I don’t know that the President and I differ on issues, but we may differ on focus,”  On points such as, for example, whether presidents are able to win elections without resorting to manslaughter. 

COVID has been on the increase in the area, this time not sparing numerous politicians.  Biden himself tested positive for COVID last week and has been undergoing self-isolation.  Majority Leader Chuck Schumer tested positive earlier this month, forcing him to wrangle with Senator Joe Manchin from a distance about the latter’s refusal to endorse the Democrats’ social spending bill; and Manchin himself became infected this week, along with Senator Lisa Murkowski, while Senators Tom Carper and Tina Smith became infected the week before.  White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain addressed the issue of the rising incidence of COVID by sharing on Internet an op-ed penned for The Washington Post last week in which physician Leana Wen wrote that COVID “is a manageable disease for almost everyone, so long as they use the tools available to them” and that it’s “crucial to test as soon as someone develops symptoms, and if they’re positive, to isolate right away.” Except that isn’t an option for many people who do not have the luxury of working from home.

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide:  576,757,179; # of deaths worldwide: 6,406,581; # of cases U.S.: 92,427,768; # of deaths; U.S.: 1,052,724.

Mainly hiking-related, although COVID does not fail to obtrude – Evening statistics

I have not written in the journal for several days, partly because I’ve been busy and partly, for reasons that will become evident, because I’ve been discouraged.

I was not inactive during this period.  On the 19^th I went on a there-and-back on the Tuscarora Trail in the Capon Springs region.  It went primarily along the ridgeline, with extensive views in places, and the amount of elevation gain was about 2500’ in all, which is not a great deal for the distance we covered.  The actual distance we covered became a matter of some debate.  EC, who organized the hike, said that it was between 17 and 18 miles total, and that indeed was the amount recorded on his GPS.  But the signs on the trail indicated that our total distance was over 10 miles each way.  It took us over nine hours to complete the hike, and I couldn’t believe that we were going less than 2 miles per hour. Afterwards I looked at the PATC book that describes the trail in detail, and the book agrees with the signs.  It is not clear what could have caused such a discrepancy.

EC has a somewhat pawkish sense of humor that on this occasion led to an amusing interchange during the second half of the hike.  I had gone ahead for a little distance, but at one point I paused to wait for the others.  EC came up, at which point the following dialogue ensued.

EC:  Why are you waiting here?

Me:  There’s a rattlesnake close to the left side of the path, so we need to tell everyone to veer slightly to the right.

EC:  Did you hear him?

Me:  I can see him.

EC:  But are you sure?  Did you actually hear him?  Rattlesnakes generally start rattling and making a lot of noise when people get too close to them.  [At this point the snake started coiling and uncoiling rapidly, with a great deal of hissing for emphasis.]

EC [brightly]:  Yeah.  Something like that.

I was not on the trails Wednesday and Thursday, but I spent some of the time working on maps for the August hikes for both CHC and Wanderbirds, as well as some preliminary planning for the hikes in the fourth quarter for each group.

On Friday (the 22^nd) I went with GS and RR to scout the Neabsco Creek/Leesylvania hike that we were to lead on the following day.  We were delighted with the hike, not only because the scenery provides a vivid contrast to the mountainside views that are more typical of our hikes – the vegetation along the Neabsco Creek in particular would not be out of place in Florida and the views of the Potomac from the main part of Leesylvania are stunning – but also because, in spite of the heat, the abundance of shade and the relatively low humidity made the hike quite comfortable.  It was slightly more humid on Saturday, when we actually led the hike, but it still was much less oppressive than a hike in the open sun would have been.  The hikers all expressed enthusiasm for the route after the hike was completed.

Nonetheless this hike was a major source of the discouragement I mentioned earlier.  We had only 18 hikers on the bus.  It could have been more, but we had nine cancelations that week.  I realize that the weather forecast was not encouraging, but the club has hiked under similar conditions in the past. 

It now has been three weeks since the Wanderbirds resumed bus hikes.  The first one, on July 10^th, had slightly over 30 hikers – not enough for the club not to lose money on the transaction, but at any rate a respectable amount.  The second hike had to be canceled because we had only seven signups by the end of the week.  The hike on Saturday also had a very low number of signups, but we had already contracted for the bus and were obliged to use it no matter how low the turnout might be.

The inroads of COVID have led to a two-and-a-half year hiatus in the usual pattern of the club activities.  I was prepared for something of an uphill process in order to restore our former setup, but the results to date are far worse than I expected.  In the past the club had over 200 members, of whom 30-40 were known as “regulars,” i.e., who generally appeared on the bus nearly every Sunday.  Many of these former regulars have not responded at all to the invitations to the bus hikes.  Then, too, as I’ve indicated in several entries, the club has done its best to keep going in some form or other by organizing trailhead hikes, in which people arrange their own transportation to meet at the trailhead.  And again, many of the hikers who attended these have shown no interest to date in any of the bus hikes. 

There are various reasons for this lack of response, of course.  Many people are on travel during the summer – and this summer in particular, since it is the first one after two previous summers in which travel was actively discouraged.  Then, too, the weather has been quite hot for the past ten days or so.  It was in the high 90s for the better part of this week and today the temperature reached 100 in some areas.

I have to qualify this assessment to some extent.  The newspapers lately have been full of dire warnings about the heat sweeping the nation.  It may be so in other parts of the country, but in this area we certainly have had nothing like the dismal season of 2020, with nineteen days in succession of temperatures over ninety degrees.  Mid-July is normally the hottest time of the year in DC and its environs, and the weather of the year to date is conforming to the usual pattern.  It actually has been better than usual this year, because it has been somewhat less humid.  And in the past the Wanderbirds club members have hiked in such weather without any difficulty, or at any rate have not found the difficulties of hiking in such weather insurmountable.  One cannot get away from the fact that for two-and-a-half years the club has had no new members and that many of the current members have been less active during that time, thereby finding it difficult to resume their former level of activity.   And yesterday morning, when I contemplated the large number of empty seats on the bus, I found myself wondering whether the club has aged beyond repair.

I am in a somewhat more cheerful frame of mind today, as a result of having scouted the hike for July 31^st with VH.  We hiked in the Skyland and Hawksbill areas of Shenandoah National Park, which are the park’s highest areas.  The elevation certainly makes a difference.  The temperature never rose above the low 80s where we hiked and the humidity was (by East Coast standards) also on the low side, which made for quite a comfortable hike, as well as a very scenic one.  The hike goes up to the summit of Hawksbill, the highest peak in the park, with its extensive vista of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Massanuttens, and even the Alleghenies; and it also skirts along the Little Stony Man viewpoint, looking over the Shenandoah Valley and the town of Luray, its houses and shops studding the forest floor.  The weather forecast for the following week calls for slightly more moderate temperatures; and I think that that circumstance, along with our stressing the much more comfortable conditions of the higher elevations at this time of year, will result in more signups for next Sunday.

My concerns about the Wanderbirds have, as I believe, a wider implication.  The COVID pandemic has cut across the activities of several clubs – not hiking clubs alone by any means, but clubs devoted to activities such as choir-singing, film viewing, restaurant dining, conversing together in foreign languages, museum touring:  to anything, in fact, that involves a large number of people getting together in close quarters.   Many such organizations are undergoing similar struggles to restore themselves.  Some of them will fail, and the national level of social life will be all the more impoverished as a result.  Numerous articles have been written about how COVID has led to an increase in domestic violence, closures of schools and universities, exacerbation of social inequities, strain on the health care systems of various nations, and so on.  Less emphasis has been laid on the inroads that the pandemic has made on leisure activities and the subsequent increase of isolation of people from their associates; and yet that may come to prove its most detrimental effect in the long run. 

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide:  575,022,722; # of deaths worldwide: 6,402,965; # of cases U.S.: 92,194,722; # of deaths; U.S.: 1,051,996.

Hiking in Shenandoah River State Park – Joyful return to Rappahannock Cellars – The Bannon trial begins – Fauci’s imminent retirement – Evening statistics

It was hot and sultry today, more typical of July than it’s been for the past two weeks.  Nonetheless several of us hiked in Shenandoah River State Park for 6-7 miles.  In the morning the temperature was not as oppressive and for the most part we stayed in the shade, sometimes even getting an occasional breeze from the river.  I actually felt more tired after this relatively brief hike on account of the heat than I did after the adventures of Saturday, which resulted in my hiking well over twice the distance.  And at that, it seems somewhat faint-hearted to complain about the heat, when at this juncture over 20% of Americans are enduring temperatures in the triple digits.  

And afterwards we went to a winery:  none other than Rappahannock Cellars, the same winery where LM, MM, and LH met for our first indoor social occasion together after the beginning of the pandemic.  Already it is nearly two years since that meeting!  Matters are certainly better now.  We are able to meet with people under covered roofs without thinking twice (at least, most of us are), to take journeys on public transit without trepidation, to travel on buses and trains and airplanes, even to take international trips.  Yet COVID is still casting a shadow on us.  Although the term “endemic” is repeatedly slung about, we simply are not at that stage yet.  The virus is still unpredictable:  new variants are continually emerging and, unlike variants of, for instance, influenza, we have no idea as to whether or not any new variant will prove to be as severe as the original virus.  Currently the BA 5 variant is accounting for the majority of the cases and its mortality rate is somewhat higher than its predecessors, although much less than the strains that prevailed a year ago or even last winter.  And a new variant of interest, BA 7, has been detected.  During the hike, LH remarked that a majority of people with whom she is acquainted have come down with the disease in one form or another.  I’m not certain that the same is true in my case, but certainly the proportion of those with whom I meet or correspond who have been infected is much higher than, say, a year ago.

At all events, we enjoyed ourselves as much as we had done that memorable occasion in July, 2020.  Rappahannock Cellars on this afternoon had more customers than it had had during the 2020 visit, but the staff was as pleasant and welcoming as ever, the wines were all of good quality, and the eight of us had the large area upstairs all to ourselves.  And there we sat for two hours, as we had done before, feasting on hummus and prosciutto and gorgonzola and nuts and bread and guacamole and various salty snacks and chocolate and babka and cake, all accompanied by the four bottles of wine (one red, one rosé, and two white) that we shared between us, as we conversed comfortably about past trips and plans for future ones and hiking excursions and simple gossip. 

As before, I felt in no great hurry to read the headlines after so enjoyable a meeting, but in the evening I scanned the Internet to find that there is no dearth of news of interest.  Steve Bannon will be on trial for two criminal charges concerning his failure to comply with the House’s January 6, 2021, investigation 10 months after receiving subpoenas.  Jury selection at the federal courthouse in Washington began today. Twenty-two potential jurors have been found, and the 12 that make up the jury and two alternates will be selected tomorrow.  Opening arguments will begin soon after.  No one knows how extensive Bannon’s defense will be, or whether he will want to take the stand in his own defense. He will not be able to force House members to testify.  Already his defense attorney David Schoen has complained, “What’s the point of going to trial here if there is no defense?”

If convicted, Bannon faces a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year in jail and a fine ranging from $100 to $100,000 for each of the two contempt charges. The fines are negligible for a man of his worth (financial worth, not moral worth – which is a very different criterion), but jail time for this charlatan is a highly desirable outcome.  One year, of course, is grossly insufficient, but if he is found guilty in this instance it may pave the way for more substantial penalties later on, when other, more weighty charges are brought against him.

Anthony Fauci has announced his plans to retire by the end of Biden’s term in office.  In his own words:  “We’re in a pattern now. If somebody says, ‘You’ll leave when we don’t have COVID anymore,’ then I will be 105.  I think we’re going to be living with this.”  He has steered the nation well through an epidemiological crisis, enduring personal attacks of extraordinary virulence in the process.  Already he is 81 years old and I earnestly hope that he gets the opportunity to enjoy some years of quiet retirement.  He has earned them.

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide:  568,155,306; # of deaths worldwide: 6,388,817; # of cases U.S.: 91,359,299; # of deaths; U.S.: 1,049,005.  I wish I could see how the U.S. is faring in comparison to other countries with respect to infection rate and mortality rate.  But for several days running the websites have no longer been publishing these for the U.S.  If my calculations are correct, we rank about 58^th among nations for infection rate and 15^th among the nations for mortality rate.  But these estimates probably need to be adjusted, because the latest population count I could obtain dates back to 2020.

A hiking adventure – Ivana Trump – Long COVID – Evening statistics

Outside of the two international trips, life has been fairly uneventful in these past several days – until yesterday, which abundantly made up for the recent lack of incident.

I was leading a hike with the Capital Hiking Club, which has a somewhat lower age level than that of Wanderbirds or the Vigorous Hikers.  It was a hike with much to recommend it, mainly along the Appalachian Trail between Big Meadows and Skyland, with a side trip to the summit of Hawksbill (it is rather puzzling that the AT does not go to Hawksbill directly, since it is the highest peak in Shenandoah National Park) and, for those who chose the longer hike, a second side trip to Miller’s Rock.  Although it was raining slightly on the way to the trailhead, the rain ceased for the day by the time we began our hike and the temperature was quite comfortable for mid-July.  Indeed the summer season up to this point has presented a welcome contrast to those of previous years, with very few days breaking the 90-degree mark and the nights for the most part cool enough to sleep comfortably with open windows.

We had problems, however, with a few first-time hikers who greatly over-estimated their capabilities.  Something of a warning sign occurred when, during the bus ride to the trailhead while I was describing the route, one hiker asked “What do we do if it starts raining?”  I certainly did not expect such a question but I promptly replied, “We keep on hiking.  There’s nothing else you can do.  I’ve hiked in the rain many times, and, as you see, I’m still on my feet.”  This response, if it did not cause my interlocutor to bask in the light of reason, at any rate reduced her to silence, which answered the purpose just as well. 

However, as the hike progressed, MM, who was sweeping the hikers, noticed that both the person who had questioned me about hiking in the rain and her companion were both having difficulties, slowing down after the first two miles to a pace of less than a mile per hour.  In addition, one of them was swaying from side to side as she walked.  MM was rather alarmed, since such a symptom could have indicated that the hiker was suffering some sort of stroke.  So he lost no time in steering them to the first possible point where they could access Skyline Drive, told them to wait there, and then ran to the bus to instruct the driver to pick them up (a distance of about 7 miles along Skyline Drive; MM is an excellent jogger). 

The hike, as I mentioned, included a side trip to Miller Rock for those who wished for a longer hike.  I had arrived at the bus a little before 2:30 but it was not until about 2:45 that another hiker arrived who wished to do this option.  2:45 was, as I thought, approaching the outside limit as to when people should attempt this side trip if they were to return to the bus by 3:30 – the distance of the round trip is about 2½ miles.  He and I, therefore, went off together and as a result I was not present when MM arrived.  Some other hikers had returned to the bus at this point, but MM explained the situation and they agreed to wait at the hike endpoint and to assure anyone else in the group who arrived while the bus was absent that it would be returning shortly.  After these arrangements were made, the driver drove the bus to the point where the disabled hikers were waiting so that they could board it.  By the time I and the other hiker had completed the side trip to Miller’s Rock, the bus had returned to the hike endpoint. 

But even after this issue was resolved, we were waiting for six other hikers after most of the group had completed the hike.  Eventually three of them appeared.  They told us that one of the remaining three was evidently dehydrated, pausing frequently and continually drinking water, and that the other two had stayed with him to guide him to the end.  We waited for half-an-hour longer, and then three of us, myself included, were dispatched to go back on the AT and try to meet them, carrying water and salt tablets to aid the dehydrated hiker.  (MM was hesitant at first to include me in this venture, since I had already hiked 12-13 miles.  But I thought it best to accompany the other two, since I was familiar with the route and knew of the best bailout points, which the others did not.)  We went more than two miles from our endpoint without encountering our truants, at which juncture I decided that we should stray from the bus no further.  I told one of them to remain on the trail to intercept the missing hikers if they showed up.  Then I and the other bushwhacked a short distance to Skyline Drive, where I told him to go back to the bus and explain that we were unsuccessful and that we needed to be picked up.  I had calculated how long it would take him to get back to the bus and how long the bus would take to drive to our location.  But we waited for much longer than that amount of time.  At last I bushwhacked back to the AT and told the other would-be rescuer that we needed to get back to the bus.  He had questioned every hiker who passed by on the trail, and the answers from all of the people he questioned said the same thing:  they had seen no sign of the hikers missing from our group.  There clearly was no point in waiting any longer.  So we bushwhacked back to Skyline Drive and then walked on the road back to the bus; fortunately the route along the road was shorter than it had been along the AT.  As we went back we wondered what could possibly have happened, where the missing hikers were at the moment, and why the bus had not arrived at our location.

What had happened was this:  the two hikers accompanying the dehydrated hiker had done a very sensible thing – they had gotten off at the first road that cut across the AT and made their way to Skyline Drive, where they had hitched a ride to get him back to the bus.  This occurred about twenty minutes after I and the other two had been sent to intercept them.  So MM rounded everyone up and had them board the bus, all set to pick up me and my companion.  But the bus was parked on a narrow strip of road surrounded by grass on all sides, and in its maneuvering to turn onto Skyline Drive one of its rear tires sank in the soft ground, rendering it nearly immobile. 

It appeared as if we would need the services of a towing company to pull the bus from its location.  A few members of our group had gone to the lodge at Skyland to try to obtain the services of such a company.  (There was no cell phone service anywhere in that area outside of the lodge, which aggravated our difficulties not a little.)  But a couple of people who were experienced in steering vehicles calculated that if the bus could manage to get its front wheels onto the strip of road again, it would be barely possible for it to return to its former position.  The area was full of trees that left hardly any room for the bus to maneuver, but there was a minimal amount of space in which the bus would shift its position by going back and forth numerous times, cutting the wheels at a sharp angle with each cycle.  Eventually, thanks to the skill of the driver and the sharp eyes of those providing steering directions, the bus was extricated and we were able to depart once all of the passengers were rounded up again.  I was not the least thankful of the group to be seated in the bus on its return journey, for I had in the course of my search for the missing hikers gone a considerable distance, both from the hike endpoint and back to the bus again, resulting in an additional four miles to the hike I had already led. 

The hikers in the group accepted these mishaps with good humor and no one was lost or even seriously injured.  So it all ended well, but it was rather a relief when we were able to leave the park.

In turning to the news, I find that Ivana Trump, the first wife of our ex-President, is dead.  I would not find this cause for much comment, were it not for one circumstance:  she is probably the only person, living or dead, who ever got the better of Donald Trump in financial negotiations.  When she divorced her husband after the disclosure of his entanglement with Marla Maples, she demanded, and received, one of the largest settlements on record.  She brushed aside Donald’s plea that his businesses were on the verge of bankruptcy, doubtless aware that that was their normal condition.  She must have possessed some unusual personal qualities; for strange to say, Donald Trump, who is so quick to be roused to anger and so retentive in holding grudges, appears to have borne her no resentment for having acquired a disproportionately large amount of his wealth.  The two were on civil terms with one another after the divorce was finalized; and he even hosted her costly wedding to her fourth husband, while his sister, who is a federal judge, officiated.  She appears, also, to have been an attentive parent, solicitous for her children’s welfare, and in her business dealings she displayed none of the chicanery that characterized the murky financial history of her ex-husband.  Perhaps the effect of her passing is best summed up by one anonymous Internet commentator:  “RIP, the wrong one died.”

As the pandemic continues we are finding out more about “long COVID,” as it is called, and the data are not encouraging.  Nearly a quarter of those who test positive eventually come down with symptoms that last 12 weeks or longer.  The most troubling of these is fatigue – but extreme fatigue that makes the simplest of exertions, such as brewing a cup of coffee or walking from one end of the room to the other, a source of exhaustion.  Researchers have found a correlation between long COVID and obesity; and that is troublesome as well, for the U.S. obesity rate was up to 41.9% in March 2020.

Worse still, it is possible to come down with long COVID despite not getting a positive COVID test result.  The data are scanty and few detailed studies on the subject have been completed, although there are numerous personal accounts by people who have been disabled for months with COVID-like symptoms despite consistently negative COVID test results.  These, of course, are anecdotal and since COVID is still a fairly new disease, it will take some time for firm data on this issue to materialize.  A few physicians are starting to track patients with long COVID symptoms, whether or not they have tested positive for the disease.  For example, Dr. Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez, a rehabilitation and physical medicine doctor who leads University Health’s Post-COVID Recovery program in San Antonio, said about 12% of the patients she’s seen never had a positive COVID test.

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide:  567,583,273; # of deaths worldwide: 6,387,495; # of cases U.S.: 91,265,296; # of deaths; U.S.: 1,048,834.

Vagaries of the WHO – “Revelations” of the Congressional investigative committee – Our deteriorating political process – An “unfortunate incident” in  Ohio – Evening statistics

The WHO seems determined to blacken its own reputation.  Yesterday it declared that “sex is not limited to male or female.”  It is currently working on new guidance that updates “’key concepts around gender,’ as well as expanding on the concept of intersectionality, which examines how ‘gender power dynamics’ interact with other hierarchies of privilege or disadvantage, leading to differing health outcomes among those individuals.”  The turgidity of the prose alone would be enough to inspire profound mistrust of any guidance the authors could provide; but even the least fastidious stylist must be astounded by an organization that exists for the purpose of monitoring international health declaring its determination to ignore some elementary facts of biology.  “Not being clear about basic biology opens the door to a range of problems, including very poor health communication but also distorted data,” said Jenny Gamble, a professor in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health at Coventry University.  “The wording regarding there being more than male and female sexes is concerning,” Dr. Karleen Gribble, another expert in nursing and midwifery at Western Sydney University.  “The website says that the handbook is being updated in light of new scientific evidence and conceptual progress on gender, health and development.”  As she pointed out, of course no such evidence exists. “The idea that there are more than two sexes, is a postmodern, unscientific understanding.”

There are many stories emerging from the activities of the committee investigating the attack on the Capitol:  for instance, the meeting of December 18, 2020, during which outside advisers to Donald Trump screamed insults at presidential aides; a verbal agreement by Donald Trump to grant Sidney Powell a security clearance and to make her special counsel with oversight for seizing voting machines for the purpose of overturning the election; the testimony of former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson  that Trump that knew some of his supporters at the Jan. 6^th rally were armed and that he desperately wanted to join them as they marched to the Capitol; and so on.  It may be wondered how it is, after I have fulminated at some length in this journal when the attack on the Capitol occurred, that I am paying so little attention to these disclosures now. 

The answer is that just as many people say that they are undergoing COVID fatigue, I myself have long been afflicted with “Trump fatigue.”  None of these stories have told me anything new, at least anything substantive.  From the first I have regarded the attack on the Capitol as an act of treason by Trump, and I see no reason now to alter that opinion.  And unfortunately, I do not see that we are one whit further in obtaining any sort of penalty for Trump after his seditious assault eighteen months ago (I say his assault with intention, for he is unquestionably the ringleader in the matter) and after his disruption of our national electoral process.  I realize that indicting a former president is not an undertaking to be done lightly.  But, after all, England in the 17^th century and France in the 18^th managed to indict a monarch or two, thereby ridding themselves from such encumbrances; so why are we unable to simulate such spirit and enterprise in the 21^st?

The damage that Trump has inflicted on our country’s political process is incalculable.  From this point onward, the results of any contest, national or state-wide or even county-wide, are easier to invalidate than they formerly were as a result of Trump’s response to the 2020 national election.  The losing candidate has merely to clog our judicial system with lawsuits and to marshal up some of his supporters to make violent demonstrations, just as Trump did, in order to intimidate officials tallying the votes and to nullify the results of the polls. 

Even the investigation led by Fani Willis in Fulton County, while it has issued subpoenas to many prominent Trump supporters, has not issued any to Trump himself.  The man seems untouched by the crimes he has committed, and no one, it appears, is willing to call him to account for them.  This Fulton County investigation, incidentally, appears to be the most likely avenue of any charges being directly leveled against Trump at all; the investigative committee in Washington is composed of legislators and has no direct judicial authority to indict him.

Themis, goddess of Justice, has shown herself to be hobbled, broken-gaited, and strabismic in yet another instance.  A ten-year old girl in Ohio who was twice raped by an adult male was forced to be transported to another state to have an abortion after this horrifying experience.  Ohio now forbids abortions after fetal cardiac activity is detected, which usually occurs about six weeks into pregnancy.  Her mother had requested Franklin County, where the family resides, to obtain an abortion for her victimized child, only to be told that it was too late to do anything about it; hence the hasty journey to Indiana, where, for the moment, such operations are still permitted.  That sort of remedy may not be long available:  Indiana has scheduled a special legislative session later this month, during which its abortion restrictions may become every bit as restrictive as Ohio’s.  Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost initially attempted to downplay the story, saying that it was a fabrication.  He abruptly changed his tune when Gershon Fuentes, the rapist, confessed to his crimes after being arrested and interrogated.  “My heart aches for the pain suffered by this young child,” Yost tweeted.  Why do politicians believe that the “pain” they profess to suffer on behalf of those they have wronged amount to any sort of tangible compensation?  Yost and his judicial confederates are accomplices after the fact of this disgusting child molester, and no amount of exegesis can alter the situation.

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 563,765,059; # of deaths worldwide: 6,378,844; # of cases U.S.: 90,855,685; # of deaths; U.S.: 1,047,495.

The first post-pandemic bus hike for Wanderbirds – A winery hike – The thrilling chase of Dusty Mobley – Lake Mead – Evening statistics

The Wanderbirds completed a bus hike yesterday, the first one some two-and-a-half years since the pandemic began.  We hiked in Caledonia State Park in Pennsylvania.  In the past, we have generally hiked in this area during the first or second week of July, when the rhododendrons are in bloom.  They were somewhat less prolific this year than usual, but there were several in evidence nonetheless.  The various club members who attended the hike expressed great pleasure at seeing the bus hikes resumed.  Not every seat was taken, but it was reasonably full and there were several new members among the participants.  I lost no time in recruiting new hike leaders from this group, for we have had no new members join the club once the pandemic began, and our pool of potential leaders has greatly shrunk as a result.  After the hike we snacked and chatted as we waited beside the bus for the hikers to straggle in, and the result was something like the atmosphere of old times.

Today I went with LM and a few others on a winery hike, doing a loop from Ashby Gap that went south on the Appalachian Trail, then turned on the Old Appalachian Trail until it joined the AT again, and returned on the AT.  On both this hike and yesterday’s the weather was lovely, sunny and warm but not overly hot for this time of year and not especially humid.  Many wineberry and blackberry bushes line the trail in this area.  The blackberries are still ripening, but the wineberries are at their peak, and we eagerly sampled many along the way.  Afterwards we went to Delaplane Cellars, on Rte. 17 just a couple of miles away from the Sky Meadows entrance.  Like many of the Virginia wineries, it is in a wonderful physical location, perched on Lost Mountain and overlooking the Ashby Gap area.  As is usual on such hikes, we brought in various provisions for lunch and enjoyed ourselves eating outside, sipping wine (although I am not especially fond of rosé wines, theirs was quite good), and leisurely conversing on various matters, some political and some personal.  SW had been among the group with whom I went to Iceland.  She and her husband had stayed in that country for several additional days in the Westfjords region, and she shared many lovely photographs from her travels there.

Car chases occur frequently in movies and, happily, somewhat less frequently in real life; but the chase of the Okaloosa police after Dusty Mobley would have made quite a curious cinematic experience had it been captured on film.  The deputies had pursued him because earlier in the year he had stolen a boat and, when the police tried to arrest him, dove from the boat into a swamp, after which he eluded capture.  He certainly has a predilection for unorthodox methods of escape, but this time, when the police obtained information of his whereabouts, his methods met with less success.  Mobley made a somewhat unusual choice of getaway vehicle:  a lawn-mower.  Despite his valiant attempts to kick his John Deere mower into “high gear,” the chase ended in about 17 seconds, when deputies shot Mobley with stun guns.  When taken into custody Mobley had a revolver and a handcuff key in his possession, along with a pipe with methamphetamine residue.  He faces more than a dozen potential charges, including resisting an officer, obstructing police, possession of a weapon or ammo by a convicted felon, drug equipment possession, and grand theft of a motor vehicle.

Lake Mead is now 30% below capacity.  Its level has dropped 170 feet since reaching a high-water mark in 1983.  One episode illustrates how quickly the water is diminishing.  Craig Miller was motoring on his houseboat last month when the engine died and he floated to shore. Within days, the knee-deep water where his boat came to a rest was gone.  “It’s amazing how fast the water went down,” Miller said. “I was landlocked.”  Eventually he was rescued by a sympathetic social media personality< Dave Sparks, who saw a video about Miller’s plight, and showed up with a crew to pull the boat from the shore and to tow it to a marina.

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 561,381,360; # of deaths worldwide: 6,374,297; # of cases U.S.: 90,479,793; # of deaths; U.S.: 1,046,196.

Hiking with CHC – Doggedly clinging to facemasks – Long COVID – Evening statistics

I went today with the Capital Hiking Club to go up to Mary’s Rock and from there to descend to the Hazel River Trail and eventually, by means of the Hannah Run Trail, to ascend to the Pinnacles Overlook.  It is one of the more strenuous hikes in the CHC repertoire, no so much in distance (the long and moderate hikes are 9½ and 8 miles respectively) as in elevation gain.  The ascent along Hannah Run to the Pinnacles in particular is long, rocky, and, in some places, very steep; and the total elevation gain for the long hike is nearly 3000 feet.

I always seem to have bad luck in scheduling hikes to Mary’s Rock.  The weather never seems to cooperate when I set one up.  It rained a good deal, especially during the morning, when we were ascending to Mary’s Rock, and the air was so laden with clouds that we could see nothing when we reached the overlook, which under better circumstances provides one of the best views in the entirety of Shenandoah National Park. 

Come to think of it, although it is not exactly the same thing, those who signed up for the hike in expectation of seeing one of the celebrated features of the park had a little reverse in fortune as well.

Not many braved the forebodings that the weather forecast naturally evoked, and something under a third of the seats of the bus were occupied.  But the hikers who did show up took all of the adverse conditions in stride, both figuratively and literally.  The average age level was fairly young and I believe that I was the only person over 60 among them.  However, I held my own.  I was the sweep for the long hikers on this occasion, and one of them, who had been on the long hike the previous week and who thus knew something of my capabilities, commented upon my “patience” in slowing my pace down to accommodate the less swift-moving members of this group. 

In one respect, perhaps, my age made a difference:  outside of the bus driver, I was the only one who wore a facemask during the bus rides to and from the trailheads.  I am more likely to be badly affected by COVID than persons twenty and thirty years younger.

 In case it may be thought I am obsessing in this matter, it may be observed that at this point one out of 13 Americans have reported symptoms of so-called “long COVID”:  i.e., symptoms not present prior to COVID-19 infection and lasting three or more months after first contracting the virus.  The symptoms can be severe, such as a decrease of oxygen capacity in the lungs that could preclude any possibility of vigorous exercise – which, for me at any rate, would be little short of a catastrophe.  So I prefer to minimize the risks of contracting it.

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide:  560,185,538; # of deaths worldwide: 6,372,297; # of cases U.S.: 90,313,843; # of deaths; U.S.: 1,045,780.

Mainly related to the demise of Roe vs. Wade – A mysterious hiking death – Evening statistics

Biden has signed an executive order to try to protect access to abortion and has, moreover, condemned the Supreme Court decision of June 24^th in an impassioned speech.  I am bound to say that his fervor on this point is a great deal more rational than the emotional intensity he invested in transgenderism.  I can only hope that his advocacy for abortion rights will not be tainted by association with the latter.  That vigorous measures are required, there can be no doubt.  More than a dozen states now have strict limits or ban abortion entirely, and a dozen more states are poised to enact similar restrictions.  Soon women in half of the states in the country will be required to travel great distances to terminate a pregnancy, even if the pregnancy endangers her life or has come about as a consequence of rape. 

Incidentally, if religious laws are invoked in support of the new measures, it may be observed in passing that Jewish religious practice states explicitly that when a mother’s life is endangered by a pregnancy, the mother’s life takes precedence over that of the unborn child.  It will be a curious development, but by no means an impossible one, if some future court case ensues in which an Orthodox Jewish couple, denied an abortion when the mother is dangerously ill, becomes a plaintiff versus one of the states for violating their religious rights.

I have always felt a kind of grudging admiration for AOC, despite her extreme left-wing views, on account of her “don’t tread on me” attitude; and this sentiment has been reinforced by her comments upon an incident in which Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh abruptly quitted a DC steakhouse on Wednesday night amid pro-abortion protests outside – he having, of course, consistently been determined to overturn the Roe vs. Wade ruling ever since his nomination to the position four years ago.  “Poor guy.  He left before his soufflé because he decided half the country should risk death if they have an ectopic pregnancy within the wrong state lines,” she wrote on Twitter. “It’s all very unfair to him. The least they could do is let him eat cake.”

Whatever may be said about the Republicans, at least they understand what their candidates’ stances are.  The same cannot be said of Democrats, at any rate those in Alabama.  In June, Yolanda Flowers defeated state Senator Malika Sanders-Fortier to lead the Democratic ticket.  She is now set to run against Governor Kay Ivey, who does not appear overly concerned.  After reading some of Flowers’ tweets, it is easy to see why.  (As an aside, how is it that Twitter has become a major political tool?)   “Roe v. Wade: Pro-life/Whole-life, what’s the difference? Pro-choice/Real-choice, what’s the difference? Our choice/God’s choice, what’s the difference? #Deuteronomy3019 #AlabamaHealth #VoteBlueIn2022 #Yolandaforgov”  The Biblical verse that she cites runs as follows:  ““I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.” 

That’s right:  the Alabama Democrats, quite unwittingly, have nominated a determined anti-abortionist.  No matter who wins Alabama’s gubernatorial election, Alabaman women are out of luck. 

On a different note:  because I do so much hiking, reports of hiking accidents tend to arrest my attention – such as the one about Brad Utegaar, a 27-year old hiker whose body was found today in the White Sands desert of New Mexico.  White Sands has seen several fatalities, since its trails are subject to extreme temperatures and are completely devoid of shade and water.  But Utegaar’s backpack was well-equipped with both water and food.  There was no evidence of foul play.  The Alkali Flats Trail is only five miles in length.  It is, however, easy to go astray on the sand dunes; his body was found two miles from the trail itself.  It sounds like an episode similar to that of Geraldine Largay, the hiker on the portion of the Appalachian Trail that runs through Maine, when she went some yards from the trail to relieve herself and then was unable to find her way back to it.

Today’s statistics as of 9:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 559,521,942; # of deaths worldwide: 6,371,118; # of cases U.S.: 90,233,460; # of deaths; U.S.: 1,045,609.

The resignation of Boris Johnson – The new variant – Facemasks falling into disuse – The upcoming return to bus hikes – Evening statistics

Boris Johnson has resigned.  It seems that the most appropriately named Chris Pincher had groped two men at a private club, but that Johnson chose to overlook such peccadilloes when appointing him as  both as a junior minister and a deputy party whip.  This was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back, apparently; the ensuing uproar was so frenetic that Johnson’s own party has been calling for his resignation. 

British politics has recently undergone several scandals of this nature.   Last month, Conservatives lost two special parliamentary elections that had been triggered by the resignation of a pair of Tory MPs, one of whom quit after admitting to watching porn in the Commons chambers, while another was convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in 2008.  It makes one wonder whether the Tory party, which purports to uphold the fine old British traditions of yesteryear, might consider importing a few foreigners for breeding purposes.

Yet another new variant, BA.5, has emerged and is swiftly accounting for the majority of the newest cases:  about 53.6% of new cases nationwide for the weeklong period that ended Saturday.  Vaccinations and booster shots remain key factors in keeping hospitalizations relatively modest.  The anti-vaxxers are obtaining less credence at this point than formerly.  Nearly 77% of all Americans 18 years of age and older are fully vaccinated. 

As I noted earlier, people are becoming more and more careless about masking.  Face coverings continue to be recommended for public interior settings such as stores, restaurants, theaters, and family entertainment centers, but the mask mandates are largely forgotten.  As one epidemiologist friend expressed it, “CDC is a wussy.”  A few localities still require face coverings on public transit, but only a few.  From my own observation, many personnel in stores have abandoned face coverings, despite coming in contact with several strangers every day, while the majority of passengers on the Metro also n wear masks no longer.  And I live in an area that has been one of the less resistant to COVID-related restrictions of the past.  In the rural areas of Virginia that I have visited of late, no face coverings are to be seen.

My own level of resistance will be undergoing an interesting test during the next several months.  The Capital Hiking Club has resumed bus hikes on a regular basis, and Wanderbirds will begin to do the same as of this coming Sunday.  That means that I will be taking long bus trips (they generally run between one and two hours) at least once and perhaps twice every week, in close quarters with several dozen other people.  The bus company that provides services to both groups has a policy that all passengers wear facemasks.  But this policy is rather loosely enforced, as I found upon leading a hike this past Saturday.  The driver wore no mask herself and, although she made several safety announcements before the drive began, did not mention this facemask policy at all.  The only course I could take was to don a facemask myself and urge others to do the same, but I was in no position to enforce this policy on my own.  We shall see how matters shape up in this respect during the weeks to come.

Today’s statistics as of 9:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 558,432,703; # of deaths worldwide: 6,368,768; # of cases U.S.: 90,064,306; # of deaths; U.S.: 1,045,078.  The rates of increase continue to be much lower than previously.  But we are still accounting for a disproportionate amount of new cases and of COVID-related deaths.  Today, for instance, Americans comprised 11.2% of the new COVID cases and for 20.0% of deaths globally.

Hiatus in journal entries – Overturning of Roe vs. Wade – Weekend hiking – The July 4^th festivities – The Fulton County investigation – COVID still to be reckoned with – Evening statistics

After my return from the trip to Iceland I was immediately engrossed in private and personal concerns, allowing me little time to follow the news – including making preparations for leading two hikes this past weekend.  In my defense, little appears to have changed during my absence.  The war in Ukraine continues to wreak havoc in Eastern Europe; Donald Trump’s violations of the law during the events that led up to the attack on the Capitol are repeatedly exposed, but never seem to lead to any sort of penalty being imposed on him; COVID continues to wane in severity but still falls short of the endemic phase because we cannot predict with any degree of certainty whether new variants will be more virulent than the current ones. 

One significant development, of course, occurred during my stay in Iceland.  I refer, of course, to the over-turning of Roe vs. Wade by the Supreme Court on June 24^th.  The effects of this development are too complicated to be summed up in a single entry or indeed in a series of entries.  For the present it may be sufficient to observe that the maternal mortality rate in the United States is one of the highest of those of all developed countries, and that the overturning of Roe vs. Wade will make this rate even higher, perhaps exponentially so.  Whatever the adherents of the so-called pro-life party might say, preservation of human life is not high on their list of priorities.

My weekend was very much filled up with leading a hike for the Capital Hiking Club on Saturday at Sugarloaf Mountain and a second hike for Wanderbirds at Elkwallow Wayside in Shenandoah National Park.  Both hikes went well.  The weather on Saturday was very sultry and it was not a surprise when, after polling the hikers before the moderate and long hikers diverged, that only four hikers wished to take the long hike.  But we stuck together and went at a brisk pace, and arrived at the bus before several of those taking the less strenuous hike returned. 

I had expected the hike on Sunday to be something of a fiasco.  Originally the scheduled hike had been designed as the first bus hike for the Wanderbirds.  But there was a delay in setting up the contract with the bus company and as a result we had no bus available that day.  I was forced to fall back on a round trip hike along the Appalachian Trail, which seemed to me an inadequate substitute.  But it went over quite well, and the weather in the higher elevations was blissfully cooler and far less humid than that of the day before.  Elkwallow Wayside is a very pleasant place to terminate a hike:  it contains many places for sitting in the shade, sheltered restrooms, and a store that sells various snacks and also some very good ice cream. 

Yesterday, as well, struck a note of cheerfulness:  it was the Fourth of July, and the celebrations this year presented a great contrast to those of the past two years.  In 2020 there were no celebrations at all.  In 2021, there was an attempt to set up the celebrations of previous years, but they were so half-hearted and so restricted that it would have been wiser to have left the matter alone.  But this year we had fireworks and a street fair and the traditional parade, with numerous floats and groups of celebrants representing various civic and professional organizations.  To my surprise, and that of many others, the governor made an appearance.  I do not know why he elected to come to Fairfax instead of remaining in Richmond for the Fourth of July festivities.  Fairfax, however, is – despite being an incorporated city, one that is independent of county government – is also the county seat of Fairfax County (an odd arrangement, but by no means unique in Virginia, which has more incorporated cities than any other state), and Fairfax County is the most populous county in the state.  That is the only explanation I could devise, but perhaps he may have other motives.  I do not pretend to understand him, but it must be admitted that Governor Youngkin has managed to steer clear of the extreme partisans of Donald Trump without openly defying the ex-President and thereby alienating his devotees.  I pay my respects to his shrewdness and powers of judgment, though I like him not.

A rather promising development occurred today:  various key figures of the attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election have been subpoenaed by the investigation in Atlanta led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.  I had long believed this effort to be dead or at least moribund, but it has sprung to life at last.  The persons involved include Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, devisors of the plan to assemble alternate slates of electors, as well various other figures drunk upon the Kool-Aid with which Donald Trump so liberally supplies his followers, such as Lindsay Graham.  The investigation is following up claims, among other things, from election workers in Georgia who were threatened by Trump’s and Giuliani’s thugs – no, no (begging their pardon), officials.  “Do you know how it feels to have the president of the United States target you?” said Ruby Freeman, one of the election workers. “The president of the United States is supposed to represent every American, not to target one. But he targeted me.”

This is all to the good, and no one will be delighted than I if Willis succeeds in obtaining some jail time for these gentlemen.  But it still raises the issue:  when is some form of retribution going to overtake Donald Trump himself?  Time is running out; he is expected to make an announcement of running for President in the 2024 election within the next month or so, which would complicate any attempt to bring criminal charges against him.

Although COVID may appear to have taken a back seat amongst the various headlines of more recent months, it remains the third-leading cause of death in the United States, at any rate up to October, 2021.  Only heart disease and cancer exceeded it in mortality.  It should be borne in mind that both “heart disease” and “cancer” are somewhat vague terms that in fact each describe a multiplicity of different diseases, whereas COVID is a single disease.  At all events, COVID accounted for one of every eight deaths in the U.S. in the period between March, 2020 and October, 2021. 

Undoubtedly the lack of emphasis upon the disease has led people to become complacent.  I myself am guilty of this.  I am less meticulous about donning masks when entering stores than I have been in the past.  I still wear them continually whenever I use public transit, although I see many passengers who do not.  I do not use them in restaurants, because I would have to remove them in any case when I begin eating.  And I have been attending restaurants much more frequently in recent weeks than I have previously, chiefly on account of being on travel and thus unable to prepare my own food.  Stores, hotels, indoor malls, trains, buses, planes – in all of these facemasks are becoming the exception, not the norm.  This change is not limited to the U.S.  In Iceland facemasks are rarely worn at all.  It needs to be emphasized that COVID is still a threat.  The death toll may be declining, but it is still significant, and the long-term effects of the virus still remain to be gauged. Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide:  556,136,401; # of deaths worldwide: 6,364,008; # of cases U.S.: 89,663,336; # of deaths; U.S.: 1,043,694.  It’s been another long interval since I’ve tracked COVID statistics:  more than three weeks.  One encouraging factor that is steadily emerging:  the mortality rate continues to decline.  The U.S. aggregate mortality rate is 1.2%; today’s rate is 0.04%.