It is Day 59 since Covid-19 was declared a national emergency here in the United States. I have written something most days (sadly, <VoiceoftheNorth.net> only allows you to see a fraction!) and I think it is time you heard voices other than mine: here are a variety of quotable quotes from recent days
“I’m willing to go to jail for this. . . if [the police] come into my club, they’ll have to
drag me out in handcuffs”
That was Shane Harrington, owner of Club Omaha in Omaha, talking about his decision to reopen the Nebraska city’s ‘adult entertainment’ venue. Harrington is okay with COVID-19 precautions, though: his nude dancers will wear face masks and gloves.
‘She hasn’t come into contact with me. She spends some time with the vice president.’
Apparently, and to no one’s real surprise, Donald Trump cannot keep a secret. He spilled the beans on which aide to Vice President Mike Pence tested positive for the coronavirus. According to The New York Times his loose-lips-sink-ships moment came after White House officials asked reporters not to identify the woman as the aide who tested positive.
Trump blew the secret when he identified her publicly during his meeting with the congressional Republicans as ‘Katie’ and ‘the press person’ for Pence.
“‘She [Ms Katie Miller]tested very good for a long period of time. And then all of a sudden, today, she tested positive,’ Trump said.
Doh!
‘If the government were really interested in making sure that hungry people got fed and farmers were supported, they would figure out a way to do it’
Marion Nestle is aptly named: She is professor of food studies at New York University and her outspoken moment came in a NYT interview in which she made two key points.
First, many people without work are going hungry because they lack sufficient cash to buy food; and second, farms and dairies are killing off livestock, ploughing under fields of grain and produce and pouring milk down the drain because restaurants, hotels and schools closed by COVID-19 are not purchasing their production.
‘I never knew of a man who committed a sexual assault only once. It would be a pattern of behaviour, repeated over time’
Tara Reade’s allegation that then-senator Joe Biden sexually assaulted her 30 years ago has left many wondering, ‘ Did he? Is she believable?’ Even if true, does it disqualify him from running for president given Donald Trump’s history of behaviour toward women?
In a letter to the The Times, Susan S. Sigalow opined: “As a female clinical psychologist with 40 years of experience, I can tell you that while it’s true that women who accuse men of sexual harassment should be given the benefit of the doubt, these women don’t always tell the truth.
“Joe Biden has a long history of public service. If he had been committing these kinds of behaviours there would be a trail of complaints, as there is around President Trump. There really are some men who tell the truth and do not commit crimes against women, and they also deserve the benefit of the doubt.”
‘How much is a human life worth?’
New York State governor Andrew Cuomo’s answer: “Priceless,” explaining that “there’s a conversation that is going on [about ending US lockdown] that we are not necessarily explicit about, but which is very important.
“There’s a question that is being debated right under the surface and the decisions we make on reopening are really profound decisions.
“The fundamental question which we’re not articulating is how much do we think a human life is worth?”
Cuomo argued that “the faster we reopen, the lower the economic cost; but the higher the human cost because the more lives lost. That, my friends, is the decision we are really making. What is that balance? What is that trade-off? Because it is very real.”
MURRAY FORSETER BLOGS AT <http://nosocksneededanymore.blogspot.com/>
