Like the virus, Trump has no conscience

Grandma used to say, “Get an education, son. They can’t take that away from you.”

The Great Depression had prompted her advice, but “they” are trying to do just that today. Faced with an assault on human existence, we mobilize scientists and doctors to fight the enemy, only to watch talking heads and hotel keepers undermine the credibility and belittle the expertise of the very people who can protect us. And they fly the banner of the Republican Party/Fox News.

What kind of a leader has to be flattered into doing his job? He says one thing, the doctors step up and gently correct him, then he denies later what we heard him say. The GOP must have a collective death wish. The Base has let its Pie- eyed Piper of Mara-lago lead them to the abyss, and he brags about the “ratings” he’s getting for his press conferences. As the old song goes, “We’re neck- deep in the Big Muddy and the damn fool says push on.”

We can only hope that this virus will change the “them and us” divide that has plagued this nation since 45 took office. Bugs don’t care about golf courses, gated communities, coal miners or politicians. Look at the global death list. If we rely on thoughts and prayers, or the Treasury Department, to bail us out, the country becomes another Columbine. The dithering in the Oval Office when this started was unconscionable, but that’s what 45 has in common with the virus: No conscience.

— Phillip Hemenway, Chico