Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Last week Ron DeSantis, the fantasy-oriented governor of Florida, said Dr. Anthony Fauci should not be believed or heeded because he was not elected.
Huh? It is still true, I think, that the last people we believe are politicians. You know, the elected ones.
But now DeSantis, one of the most cynical panderers in our political world, says we should believe him, not our most preeminent contagious disease expert, because Fauci wasn’t elected.
I tend to believe scientists like Fauci, Stephen Hawking, and Albert Einstein, even though they never ran even for dog catcher.
DeSantis’ state is now a hotbed of new delta-variant COVID-19 cases, because with his and Fox News’ blessings, too many Floridians believe their constitutional rights will protect them from the virus better than vaccines.
Their rights, they say, are more powerful than the vaccines that have been shown to be up to 90% effective against the disease, and about100% effective at keeping you out of the hospital if you do get the disease.
DeSantis has gone as far as to distribute T-shirts that say, oh so cleverly, “Don’t Fauci my Florida.”
Let’s DeSantis it instead? Let’s pretend viruses can read the Constitution and can tell a Floridian from a resident of any other state, when to a virus, a skin pore is Carlsbad Caverns.
Florida is now the most densely populated state to show new COVID-19 cases from 148 to 235 per 100,000, the highest range recorded, in the week that ended Saturday, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Only Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana share that level of new cases.
That’s what DeSantis-ing your sate instead of listening to our most seasoned contagious disease expert gets you.
Congratulations, Ron. Disney World has nothing on you when it comes to inventing a costly fantasy world.
Lately, I’ve been watching a series on Netflix called, “How to Become a Tyrant,” narrated with dark humor by Peter Dinklage, who played Tyrion, the witty, cynical dwarf in the “Game of Thrones” series.
Do you know who else reinforced their version of reality when it conflicted with fact? Try Joseph Stalin, Idi Amin, and Muammar Gaddafi, who are among the deadliest dictators of the modern world.
Former — yes, former — President Donald Trump has tried, over and over again, to reinforce his utterances instead of fact, and he’s still trying.
That’s why I had to emphasize “former.” He still wants us to believe he’s the president because despite about 60 unsuccessful challenges of election results, it is still inconceivable to him that his glorious self could lose an election.
DeSantis shamelessly walks in Trump’s shadow, even though he might run for his hero’s old job in 2024.
If New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham were a Republican, not a Democrat, I would still be grateful for her willingness to base the state’s actions during the pandemic on scientific advice from the likes of Dr. David Scrase, the medical doctor who heads the state’s Health and Human Services Department.
New Mexico ranked among the states with 42 to 66 new cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 in the week that ended Saturday, about a quarter of the case density in Florida.
Reality saves lives, Gov. DeSantis.
Steve Hansen writes for Clovis Media Inc. Contact him at: