NOTES, 28 AUGUST 2020
My best wishes to you, blog reader, on this Friday, the 28th day of August 2020.
Our time of crises continues. The Covid-19 pandemic is spreading unabated. Over 30m Americans are out of work. Thousands of businesses have closed. Racial tensions have put the country on edge. Parents are torn between sending their children back to school and keeping them home. Moreover, we are moving into the most divisive and important election of most people's lifetimes. Interesting times indeed.
PANDEMIC. According to the figures in our usual source, Worldometers, there were 1,767,176 new cases of COVID-19 in the world last week (August 21-28) for a total of 24,658,857. This is a rising rate of 8%, the same rate as the previous week (August 14-21). There were 38,633 deaths last week, a rate of 5%, the same as the earlier week. 836,304 people in the world have died of the disease.
The United States continues to be the epicenter of the world in this pandemic. With just 4% of the world's population, it has 25% of the world's cases. Last week, 331,871 Americans came down with the virus. This is a rising rate of 6%, the same as the previous week. 6,048,404 Americans have contracted the virus, nearly 2% of the population. As for deaths, 7,396 Americans died of the disease last week, a rising rate of 4%, the same as the earlier week. In all, 184,834 Americans have died of COVID-19. Thus, last week saw the pandemic spreading in the world and the U.S. at the same rate as the previous week.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of our local states. South Carolina reported 5,278 new cases last week, a rising rate of 5%, the same as the earlier week. The state is now reporting 114,598 cases. As for deaths, 227 people died of COVID-19 in SC last week, a 12% increase. The earlier week had reported 10%. In Alabama, there were 8,574 new cases last week, an 8% increase. The earlier week had reported 7%. AL is now reporting 121,023 cases. Deaths in AL were 102 last week, a 5% rate, up from the 4% of the earlier week. in all, 2,076 Alabamians have died of the coronavirus.
Charleston County continues to show a slowing down of the spread. Last week it reported 441 new cases, for a total of 13,503. This was a 3% rise, the same as the previous week. As for deaths, 14 people died of the disease in the county last week, for a total of 231. This was a 6% rise, up from the 4% of the earlier week. However, the state health department estimates the actual number of cases in Charleston Co. at 91,297, a fifth of the population.
LITIGATION. Three years! Three years this month since the South Carolina Supreme Court recognized 29 of 36 parishes and Camp St. Christopher as property of the Episcopal Church. How much of the property has been returned to the Church? None. The circuit judge who was supposed to implement the SCSC decision decided he could reinterpret it. The Church side is appealing this incredible attempt to nullify a supreme court decision. It is unimaginable that the higher courts will stand for this judge's act. Meanwhile we are still waiting on Judge Dickson to say whether he will order a stay pending appeal and on the SC Court of Appeals to say if they will send the appeal on to the SC Supreme Court. Also, still no news from the U.S. Court of Appeals that is entertaining an appeal of Judge Gergel's order.
POLITICAL CRISIS. The two parties have now had their conventions and named their candidates. The presidential campaign season traditionally begins at Labor Day. That is just 10 days off. All signs indicate an extremely contentious campaign this year.
The two party conventions confirmed my theory of contemporary American history, that is, the clash between the prevailing great democratic revolution and the resistant counter-revolution. In their sessions, the Democrats fully embraced the evolving democratic revolution, particularly as it related to race, and specifically to the relations between law enforcement structures and the black and brown communities among us. On the other hand, the Republicans did little but talk of fear of the revolutionary changes. They did two things this week, 1-declare themselves squarely on the side of the counter-revolution, and 2-declare their party to be an autocracy. For the first time in memory, a Republican convention refused to discuss, let alone adopt, a party platform, thus giving carte blanche to the would-be dictator to make his own policies and procedures at will. The Republican Party has become completely the party of Donald Trump.
We are just over two months before the general election of 3 November. I predict we are in for a wild ride from now until inauguration day, 20 January 2021. President Trump is already rejecting the validity of mail-in ballots. He said explicitly that if he loses the vote, the election will be illegitimate and unacceptable. By whatever means, the Republicans are preparing to overturn their electoral defeat at least in the courts. The president of the United States wields an enormous amount of power. I am bracing for street violence.
In my view, we are approaching the moment of truth, the crossroads of contemporary American history. We are about to have a showdown between the two great opposing forces of revolution, championed by the Democrats, and counter-revolution, championed by the Republicans. What complicates this is that one party is also offering an extra-constitutional autocracy. The Republicans are offering to combine backlash and authoritarian rule. What this says to me is that the counter-revolutionary forces in America (e.g., white working class men, southern whites, evangelicals, Wall Street gang) have given up on stopping democratic reform in the established institutions and have turned to attacking the institutions that created the democratic changes. The reactionaries now see a strong man as their best hope for stopping the hated democratic revolution. They are betting on Trump to be their savior and he is basking in their adoration. This is an alliance: he gives counter-revolutionary rollbacks to his followers, and his followers give authoritarian power to Trump.
The two campaigns are playing to draw the votes of moderate, or middle of the road, Americans who are not ideological and not really aligned with either side. The Republicans very cleverly won enough of these people in certain states to give Trump the victory in the Electoral College in 2016 even though he lost the popular vote by 3m. What the Democrats are offering to these people are two things, continuation of the democratic reforms, especially to improve race relations, and the preservation of our constitutional governing system. What the Republicans are offering these people is "law and order," that is, security based on old racial orders. This will come through authoritarian-driven force of arms. So, how the middle votes will depend on whether they see their future more in terms of social reform or of social rigidity. I have a feeling the majority of these people want to continue the ongoing democratic reforms. The huge street demonstrations of the Black Lives Matter movement over the last few months are strong evidence of this. Moreover, I also believe the moderates blame Trump, and his party, for the disastrous mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. has by far the most cases and deaths in the world. Trump and his administration have been grossly incompetent at handling this public health crisis. If anything, this shows that the Trump style of government can lead to destructive outcomes for society. It may well be that the virus is Trump's Waterloo. This is how it appears to me at the moment. So, the big issue on which this election will be decided is whether the mood of the country is for more reform or more reaction. The Democrats are for reform, the Republicans for reaction. The side that wins will dominate the field and steer the direction of the country in the foreseeable future. There is a big difference between the two sides; and that makes this election the most important at least since that of 1968.
Now, on a lighter note, a couple of pictures from my garden. Life goes on, and does so wonderfully and beautifully in my garden. It is late summer now and many plants are putting out their last, full displays of growth and color as if making a defiant stand before winter's cold arrives and they go to sleep for months.
Our time of crises continues. The Covid-19 pandemic is spreading unabated. Over 30m Americans are out of work. Thousands of businesses have closed. Racial tensions have put the country on edge. Parents are torn between sending their children back to school and keeping them home. Moreover, we are moving into the most divisive and important election of most people's lifetimes. Interesting times indeed.
PANDEMIC. According to the figures in our usual source, Worldometers, there were 1,767,176 new cases of COVID-19 in the world last week (August 21-28) for a total of 24,658,857. This is a rising rate of 8%, the same rate as the previous week (August 14-21). There were 38,633 deaths last week, a rate of 5%, the same as the earlier week. 836,304 people in the world have died of the disease.
The United States continues to be the epicenter of the world in this pandemic. With just 4% of the world's population, it has 25% of the world's cases. Last week, 331,871 Americans came down with the virus. This is a rising rate of 6%, the same as the previous week. 6,048,404 Americans have contracted the virus, nearly 2% of the population. As for deaths, 7,396 Americans died of the disease last week, a rising rate of 4%, the same as the earlier week. In all, 184,834 Americans have died of COVID-19. Thus, last week saw the pandemic spreading in the world and the U.S. at the same rate as the previous week.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of our local states. South Carolina reported 5,278 new cases last week, a rising rate of 5%, the same as the earlier week. The state is now reporting 114,598 cases. As for deaths, 227 people died of COVID-19 in SC last week, a 12% increase. The earlier week had reported 10%. In Alabama, there were 8,574 new cases last week, an 8% increase. The earlier week had reported 7%. AL is now reporting 121,023 cases. Deaths in AL were 102 last week, a 5% rate, up from the 4% of the earlier week. in all, 2,076 Alabamians have died of the coronavirus.
Charleston County continues to show a slowing down of the spread. Last week it reported 441 new cases, for a total of 13,503. This was a 3% rise, the same as the previous week. As for deaths, 14 people died of the disease in the county last week, for a total of 231. This was a 6% rise, up from the 4% of the earlier week. However, the state health department estimates the actual number of cases in Charleston Co. at 91,297, a fifth of the population.
LITIGATION. Three years! Three years this month since the South Carolina Supreme Court recognized 29 of 36 parishes and Camp St. Christopher as property of the Episcopal Church. How much of the property has been returned to the Church? None. The circuit judge who was supposed to implement the SCSC decision decided he could reinterpret it. The Church side is appealing this incredible attempt to nullify a supreme court decision. It is unimaginable that the higher courts will stand for this judge's act. Meanwhile we are still waiting on Judge Dickson to say whether he will order a stay pending appeal and on the SC Court of Appeals to say if they will send the appeal on to the SC Supreme Court. Also, still no news from the U.S. Court of Appeals that is entertaining an appeal of Judge Gergel's order.
POLITICAL CRISIS. The two parties have now had their conventions and named their candidates. The presidential campaign season traditionally begins at Labor Day. That is just 10 days off. All signs indicate an extremely contentious campaign this year.
The two party conventions confirmed my theory of contemporary American history, that is, the clash between the prevailing great democratic revolution and the resistant counter-revolution. In their sessions, the Democrats fully embraced the evolving democratic revolution, particularly as it related to race, and specifically to the relations between law enforcement structures and the black and brown communities among us. On the other hand, the Republicans did little but talk of fear of the revolutionary changes. They did two things this week, 1-declare themselves squarely on the side of the counter-revolution, and 2-declare their party to be an autocracy. For the first time in memory, a Republican convention refused to discuss, let alone adopt, a party platform, thus giving carte blanche to the would-be dictator to make his own policies and procedures at will. The Republican Party has become completely the party of Donald Trump.
We are just over two months before the general election of 3 November. I predict we are in for a wild ride from now until inauguration day, 20 January 2021. President Trump is already rejecting the validity of mail-in ballots. He said explicitly that if he loses the vote, the election will be illegitimate and unacceptable. By whatever means, the Republicans are preparing to overturn their electoral defeat at least in the courts. The president of the United States wields an enormous amount of power. I am bracing for street violence.
In my view, we are approaching the moment of truth, the crossroads of contemporary American history. We are about to have a showdown between the two great opposing forces of revolution, championed by the Democrats, and counter-revolution, championed by the Republicans. What complicates this is that one party is also offering an extra-constitutional autocracy. The Republicans are offering to combine backlash and authoritarian rule. What this says to me is that the counter-revolutionary forces in America (e.g., white working class men, southern whites, evangelicals, Wall Street gang) have given up on stopping democratic reform in the established institutions and have turned to attacking the institutions that created the democratic changes. The reactionaries now see a strong man as their best hope for stopping the hated democratic revolution. They are betting on Trump to be their savior and he is basking in their adoration. This is an alliance: he gives counter-revolutionary rollbacks to his followers, and his followers give authoritarian power to Trump.
The two campaigns are playing to draw the votes of moderate, or middle of the road, Americans who are not ideological and not really aligned with either side. The Republicans very cleverly won enough of these people in certain states to give Trump the victory in the Electoral College in 2016 even though he lost the popular vote by 3m. What the Democrats are offering to these people are two things, continuation of the democratic reforms, especially to improve race relations, and the preservation of our constitutional governing system. What the Republicans are offering these people is "law and order," that is, security based on old racial orders. This will come through authoritarian-driven force of arms. So, how the middle votes will depend on whether they see their future more in terms of social reform or of social rigidity. I have a feeling the majority of these people want to continue the ongoing democratic reforms. The huge street demonstrations of the Black Lives Matter movement over the last few months are strong evidence of this. Moreover, I also believe the moderates blame Trump, and his party, for the disastrous mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. has by far the most cases and deaths in the world. Trump and his administration have been grossly incompetent at handling this public health crisis. If anything, this shows that the Trump style of government can lead to destructive outcomes for society. It may well be that the virus is Trump's Waterloo. This is how it appears to me at the moment. So, the big issue on which this election will be decided is whether the mood of the country is for more reform or more reaction. The Democrats are for reform, the Republicans for reaction. The side that wins will dominate the field and steer the direction of the country in the foreseeable future. There is a big difference between the two sides; and that makes this election the most important at least since that of 1968.
Now, on a lighter note, a couple of pictures from my garden. Life goes on, and does so wonderfully and beautifully in my garden. It is late summer now and many plants are putting out their last, full displays of growth and color as if making a defiant stand before winter's cold arrives and they go to sleep for months.
Japanese Pea Shrub (Lespedeza thunbergii). One of my favorite perennial shrubs. Produces a profusion of small purple flowers from frost to frost. If you have a sunny spot and need some color from a low-maintenance shrub, choose this one.
To me, there is nothing more beautiful in a garden than the butterfly, one of the most glorious little creatures God created. I believe this one to be a male monarch. He is feeding on one of his favorite plants, lantana. According to the experts, monarchs have suffered a severe decline in numbers in recent years. Nevertheless, one can attract butterflies to the yard/garden by giving them plants they like, as lantana and "butterfly bush," and a water source low on the ground. Monarchs migrate southward starting in late summer. I do not know if this one is in migration but I am delighted he is in my garden. Did you know that monarchs may travel 3,000 miles in migration? Amazing. My other favorite garden residents: hummingbirds, mockingbirds, bluebirds, cardinals, and hawks (keep down rodents).
My best wishes to you, blog reader. We are in a dark hour with crisis on crisis upending our lives. It is easy to feel that everything is out of control. None of us wanted this. But, that choice was not ours to make. We are here for the living of this hour. May we all find the strength and courage to push ahead faithfully. Peace.
My best wishes to you, blog reader. We are in a dark hour with crisis on crisis upending our lives. It is easy to feel that everything is out of control. None of us wanted this. But, that choice was not ours to make. We are here for the living of this hour. May we all find the strength and courage to push ahead faithfully. Peace.
