CONFIRMED: Diagnosis Stupid, with complications from Dishonesty
I have received a great deal of feedback and emails about guamblog’s latest post regarding the epidemic of stupid that is ravaging Adelup, relative to the mishandling of the coronavirus threat to Guam. Mostly positive and appreciative feedback; but, some very critical of me, thinking I was being condescending or too harsh in my opinion of the governor’s leadership. I think not. Here’s proof…
Tonight, PNC News has a story, wherein the Governor reaffirms my diagnosis of the ghastly malaise she, and much of her appointees, are suffering from. That, coupled with a severe affliction of dishonesty. Gov. Lou has doubled down, and in a contemptuous spin effort, mistakenly identified the real pandemic facing Guam as “fear”. That cretinous faux pas was not enough, however; she goes on to peddle two more very misleading, and wholly uniformed statements.
The first, that $8 billion dollars in federal emergency funding is on its way. This is patently false. What Guam will see by way of that emergency measure remains unclear. Furthermore, she has not provided any proof that her administration has even attempted to clarify how much Guam will actually receive initially. But, one this is certain, at this point; it will not be more than the $4 million outlined to go to the 50 states, 30 days AFTER the measure is signed into law. And, as of the time Gov. Lou made that statement, Trump still has not signed that measure. Vice president Mike Pence said only a few hours ago, that Trump plans to sign the measure - tomorrow.
Secondly, the governor points to the SARS death rate, to allay fears of the impact of the Covid-19 virus, saying it is less fatal than SARS. To begin with, the SARS analogy is a false analogy. Coronavirus is more properly compared to the flu virus. AND - if the coronavirus ever reached the level of infection of the common flu, the death rate would dwarf that of the influenza-related deaths in the US, which averge between 35,000 -40,000 annual deaths; though for the 2018-2019 year, the number of flu-related deaths had surged to more than 60,000 victims.
If the coronavirus reaches the level of infection rate as the flu, the number of deaths would be in the range of 350,000 to 600,000. THAT is why world health organizations are in a near-panic as they struggle to control and/or prevent the spread of this virus. THAT is why island residents should be very concerned about the lack of transparency, competency, and intelligence in the handling of this growing crisis.
Guam’s governor, who is fond of reminding people that she is a nurse, is trying to silence, and edit, valid criticism from doctors and clinics who rightly understand the risk her leadership poses to an effective pandemic management strategy. Today’s PNC story underscores the point I was trying to make in my last guamblog post: This public health crisis is being overseen by stupid - and now clearly - dishonest people. Starting at the top!
I stand by my diagnosis: Stupid in the first degree.
