a paternalistic government

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/3548/text#toc-idC62A2A4676F44E44B6A0D677C490FD17

the above is a link to the CARE legislation ( courtesy of my future daughter-in-law...thanks Jess! ) for economic relief for you and me..and much more for the corporate world ( see today's "a fugitive from polite society" post for a more ruthless examination )...

this is the most pertinent one of the ninety-eight sections ( i have not had the patience to count the sub-sections yet...there are probably thousands )..it is fabricated in obtuse language with, i am sure, obfuscation as the intent...making an accurate accounting less likely...this is not the thrust of today's installment however...my state reports 168 more cases of covid-19 today with 31 in my county which is a jump of 12... and 17 deaths...an increase of 3...the cdc reports 68,440 cases which is up 13,978..and 994 deaths...an increase of 243...not to worry however..in the face of these numbers ( and, frankly, i still have difficulty squaring them with the paranoid hoarding which is still in evidence here ) the postal worker delivered this:

a reassuring ( and, given media attention, profoundly tautological ) gem of advice straight from the white house to my mailbox..it is dated ten days ago...a quick federal response as far as these things go ( a relief bill still is not passed the house or signed...and that has been going on at least a week..who knows how much longer that will be a subject of partisan contention )...that i have been aware of and practicing most of these ( the bars and restaurants are closed here for all but "take-out" [" you want that scotch over ice or neat?"] rendering the presidential advice of not "eating or drinking in bars or restaurants" moot and i don't eat food i don't cook [often] and i quit drinking in the 80s ) for more than ten days and i have mostly been home since the governor told me, in an offhand and not terribly serious way, to say here..so i am being a good citizen despite my view that these people couldn't find their asses with both hands and a flashlight..the element of farce is never far from the surface here...camus' absurdity surely fits the situation...so we wait because the government and media have made the polity unhinged with fear...there must have been a more thoughtful and timely way to have addressed this...it was not...basically because leadership does not know much of anything you or i do not..mom drummed the hand washing business into me long ago..thanks anyway don..she had you covered in the 1950s.