April Fools

April begins with the sobering news that the United States is looking at the possibility of between 100,000 and 240,000 deaths from coronavirus if all we’re trying to do doesn’t slow down the spread of the virus. That glorious Easter celebration that a certain someone was predicting, will have to wait until next year. Doctor Fauci and other medical professionals managed to convince Trump that his belief, “We can’t have the cure be worse than the problem” could push the fatality numbers to over a million. Polling data also showed the majority of the American people were willing to stay home longer to make sure we could get a handle on the spreading virus. So a very different Trump told us about the tough couple of weeks ahead as we try to get our arms around the pandemic. He was very sober and serious. This from a guy who a month ago was waving off any concern saying it was like the flu and it will go away when the warm weather comes.

As badly as Trump has handled this crisis, some polls show more Americans are taking a  more favorable view of his leadership. A poll by the Economist/You Gov shows Trump’s approval rating up 8% in March with 49% approval and 44% disapproving. His daily briefings, which sometimes border on the incoherent, give him up to two hours every day where he and his sycophants talk about what a great job he’s doing. Governors  around the country continue to scramble and compete against each other for ventilators and other medical equipment because there is no federal plan. Remember Trump told the governors the federal government is no shipping clerk and they should go out and get the best deal they can. New York’s Cuomo said it’s like the 50 states going on e-bay to compete for life saving equipment. There are some governors like DeSantis in Florida  who still don’t get it and aren’t encouraging people to stay home. DeSantis has the state police stopping people with New York license plates at the border saying they have to shelter in place for 14 days. But he refuses to order shelter in place mandates for his own citizens. Despite what every expert says, he doesn’t think it works. Florida’s cases are continuing to rise. One of the most dramatic images in the last few days were two bordering county beaches in Florida. Because there is no state wide leadership, counties are acting on their own. So the image shows one beach empty next a beach full of people.

Historians are not sure how April Fools Day got started, the day for practical jokes and pranks. Some believe it started in 1582 when France switched over from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as called for by the Catholic Church’s Council of Trent to deal with the Protestant Reformation. Popes had even more power back then, they could even change the calendar. So the year would now start on January 1st, instead of April 1st. People who were slow to accept the change were called April Fools and they became the butt of jokes. On this April Fools Day, only fools don’t see what’s happening, and that’s no joke.