Heroes and Villains

[captainsblog]

Another muddly what-day-is-it day, spent more away from home than most of late. Still waiting on the stimulus payment, but two overdue client accounts got resolved today, one actually landing in hand and the other promised as on its way to me. Those together will get everything paid that's due between now and next week, including May's mortgage and office rent.  I picked up the one check from the attorney who referred the client, and as we caught up on life, the universe and everything for close to an hour, it was my first time actually sitting down in an office other than my own in over a month. 

(Which reminds me: I've seen several references to today being Day 42 of Quarantine- a few short of the way I calculate it, but certainly bringing towels and paranoid androids to mind.)

After that errand, I did a modest grocery run at a Wegmans on the other side of both Eleanor's store and my office; I was in there often after workouts, back when there were such things, but these day's it's pretty rare for me to get even that far from home. It was nice, though, to see the greeting left for their employees, which I was able to pass on to our own hometown hero in photo form:



(We didn't get the bizarre Blue Angel flyover here that was done around- or I suppose over- the country as an alleged "thank you" to frontline personnel; had I heard ahead of time about "Trump flying warplanes over New York," I'd have run to the cellar and assumed the position until I heard an ALL CLEAR.)

I don't know if it's just the dull routine of it settling in or we've run out of material, but the humorous bits I've been sharing seem in shorter supply. There's this, not particularly COVID-related, but I guess it'll do:



Liz Koto and her family have found another way to make us laugh—with some help from their neighbors. They have deemed the sidewalk in front of their house as the “jurisdiction of the Ministry of Silly Walks” and instructed those who pass by their sign to immediately begin “silly walking.” All of the resulting funny footwork is captured on the family’s doorbell cam.

Koto’s quarantine activity is inspired by a Monty Python sketch titled “Ministry of Silly Walks.” In it, a civil servant played by John Cleese moves in a variety of funny ways that include swinging his legs front to back as well as bringing his knees high above his waist. On Koto’s sign, she instructs anyone who has questions about how to walk to refer to that sketch.

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On to the villainy:

When I passed that time with my fellow lawyer outside my office, both of us had our masks on. Presumably this makes us more qualified at following basic directions than the second most powerful man in America:



Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday toured the Mayo Clinic without wearing a mask, despite that renowned medical facility telling him that masks are required for visitors and everyone else there to slow the spread of the coronavirus. At one point during his visit to the Mayo Clinic, video of Pence showed him surrounded by 10 people, including a patient, who unlike him all were wearing masks.

...Pence was asked about why he did not wear a mask in the first question at a news conference at the facility after he completed the tour and discussion. “As vice president of the United States, I’m tested for the coronavirus on a regular basis, and everyone who is around me is tested for the coronavirus,” Pence said.... “And since I don’t have the coronavirus I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to be here to be able to speak to these researchers, these incredible health-care personnel and look them in the eye and say, ‘thank you,’” the vice president said.

To which there can be only one reply from down the chain of command:



First of all, you don't wear the mask over your eyes, and sound comes out even behind the covered mouth. So, no. There is only one plausible explanation. He won't wear one, ever- even if, hope against hope, he caught the virus during this stunt. Which is because if he ever did, then his boss would be asked why He's not wearing one, and THAT's because Cheeto won't do or say anything which makes him "look weak." Like apologizing or empathizing.

Next, today's latest case of schadenfreude:

An organizer of a North Carolina group calling on the state to ease its coronavirus restrictions was unable to attend two rallies because she tested positive for the disease, a report said.

Audrey Whitlock, who administers the Facebook page of ReOpen NC, was under quarantine for two weeks ending Sunday after testing positive for coronavirus, according to news station WFAE.

Later reporting indicates that, boy howdy she is not pleased about her raaaats being violated:

"I have been forced to quarantine in my home for 2 weeks.... I have been told not to participate in public or private accommodations as requested by the government, and therefore denied my 1st amendment right of freedom of religion," Whitlock wrote. "If I were an essential employee, I would be denied access to my job by my employer and the government, though compensated, those with other communicable diseases are afforded the right to work. It has been insinuated by others that if I go out, I could be arrested for denying a quarantine order. However, the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination by employers, places of public accommodation, and state and local government entities. . Where do we draw the line?"

Um, how about at not infecting other people with a highly contagious and oft-fatal disease you've been positively diagnosed as having? The ADA does not confer that protection, nor do any of your precious amendments.

And finally, pure evil from someone I am ashamed to call a  fellow Cornell alum. I was pleased to have helped out one of my attorney co-workers connect with a bank she'd not heard of to get a Small Business Payroll Protection Loan for her office, in which she's kept all three of her employees on payroll while they've been mostly working from home. It was rough going, though, because of all the Not Small At All businesses who bullied their way to the trough before smaller, less connected ones could even apply.  Many of them, including steak and shake restaurant chains, were shamed into giving their money back. But not this dude, Cornell Hotel Class of '89:

In late March, real estate investment firm Ashford Inc. was on the verge of financial ruin. But it had an ace in the hole: a pair of D.C. lobbying firms stacked with Trump fundraisers and White House alumni.

A few weeks later, Ashford is now the top recipient nationwide of coronavirus relief aid from the $350 billion Paycheck Protection Act.

The Dallas-based Ashford does extensive business in the hotel industry through a pair of real estate investment trusts. Its chairman, Monty Bennett, penned an open letter on March 22 detailing just how devastating the virus had been for his company.

“My industry and our businesses are completely crushed,” he wrote “This pandemic’s economic impact on the hotel industry is worse than all of the previous calamities combined.”

Bennett himself is a huge Trump donor. He’s given over $200,000 to the Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee, and a joint fundraising committee supporting both of them since last year, according to Federal Election Commission records. He chipped in even more in support of Trump’s 2016 campaign.

Surprise, surprise, there will be no backsies from Bennett to Paycheck Protection, despite the fact that his trust funds have no actual employees and thus no paychecks to protect.  But then, what do you expect from a man named Montgomery Bennett?



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Back soon. On Whateverhellitisday.

ETA.  This entry cross-posted to my old LJ. The prior one, really nothing other than a test post with a picture of a kitty, still didn't cross-post, but as long as they're good going forward, I don't really care. If you're still reading this through LJ, um, why? 

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