The View from the Hermitage, Day 341

Ted Cruz went to Cancun with his family while his neighbors in Texas lacked power, water, and a very basic quality of life. When he saw the bad press his trip had engendered, he went back to Texas several days early. The explanation he gave should lead to more bad press. Since school had been cancelled, his daughters decided they wanted to go to Cancun with friends. As their dad, he figured he should take them down there. I gather that his wife is on the board of Goldman Sachs or another Wall Street firm, making the cost of this escapade a non-factor. I wonder how many of the folks who voted for him could just pop off to a resort at the drop of a school day. 

At the same time, there are three governors in how water over matters related to the novel coronavirus. Andrew Cuomo of New York continues to wade through the controversy over covid-19 nursing home deaths and how they were counted or reported. I'm not sure if that's better or worse than Ron Desantis of Florida who allowed a popup vaccination site that served affluent zip codes. And in California, we have Gavin Newsom, who attended a party at a fancy restaurant while his restrictive stay-at-home orders were still in effect. Just to be fair about this, Cuomo and Newsom are Democrats, while Desantis is a Republican. So is Ted Cruz, so I guess the parties are tied at "Really? Come on! Really?" behavior.

Of course, the question of haves and have nots applies to countries as well as individuals. Ten countries have given 75 percent of the world's available covid vaccine supply. At the same time, over 130 countries have yet to get their first doses. I read a series of posts today on one of the local nextdoor groups that started with someone complaining about vaccine availability. One of the people responding said that she, too, had been upset until it made her realize that she was and always had been a "have." She had a good family, education, opportunities that many other people did not. The fact that she is finally experiencing being a "have not" had been enlightening. She would transform back into a "have" after being vaccinated but so many other people would continue to be "have nots." Philosophical food for thought there.

While I'm on the topic of vaccine availability, two women in Florida, ages 34 and 44, dressed as elderly women to get vaccinated. Their disguises worked for the first shot, but not for the second. No mention was given of whether they were given the shot anyway or if they were going to have to wait. I would have made them wait., but not so long that the first vaccine was wasted by the second's not coming soo enough after.

A couple of interesting items I saw while trolling the news this morning. Dolly Parton declined the offer to put a statue of her in the Tennessee capitol. Tim Tebow is retiring from professional baseball. And promotions for two female generals in the Army were delayed over fears that Xpot would bypass them effectively ending their military careers. Recommendations for their promotions are not going to the White House. Better late than never, and a sign that the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Army had some sense even as they served under Xpot. Finally, six US Capitol Police officers have been suspended with pay and 29 others are under investigation over their actions in the January 6 insurrection.

I could have made Son #2 a new quilt in the time and frustration it is taking to repair his decades-old one. But the extent of the repairs I am making is evidence of how much has has loved this quilt for those decades. This was one of the first quilts I made after taking a class from the adult education division of the local school system. I knew nothing about anything quilt-related then and did not purchase the highest quality fabric. One in particular starts to tear and disappear if I look at it wrong. I am going to have to add some new, similar fabric to fix some pieces of that fabric. I can't wait to see his reaction when he gets it back as a birthday present.