“Why do the republicans get two conventions?”
— Twitter comment, Dem Convention panned for hyping Colin Powell while sidelining Ocasio-Cortez
*****
“My dad was a healthy 65-year-old. His only pre-existing condition was trusting Donald Trump, and for that, he paid with his life.”
— Kristin Urquiza, Kristin Urquiza, who lost father to Covid, condemns Trump in powerful DNC address
*****
“But at least for me, watching the cable TV snippets, the convention speeches and the celebratory Twitter dunks has left me with that feeling you get after eating junk food — full, but not nourished, bloated, tired and vaguely nauseous.”
— David Sirota, You Don’t Have To Be Excited (8/19)
*****
“This has become so political. There should have been a straightforward message from the beginning about wearing masks to protect others. It’s too late now. In the present climate, I think this is unstoppable and a lot more people are going to die than would have if politics didn’t get in the way of health.”
— Midwestern doctor who did not want to be identified because the corporation that owns the hospital he worked at at did not give him permission to speak, ‘This is unstoppable’: America’s midwest braces itself for a Covid-19 surge
*****
“The holy mantra of health professionals was coined about 2,500 years ago by the Greek physician Hippocrates: “Do no harm”. Of course, that was before corporate healthcare took charge and asserted a new guiding ethic: “Jack up profits.”’
— Jim Hightower, Covid-19 Isn’t the Only Virus Killing Americans
*****
“If we don’t have the fortitude and collective will to undertake and sustain the level of shutdown that will be necessary in large parts of the US, as well as the flexibility to react quickly and decisively when and where the virus flares, the number of new cases and deaths could be staggering, far beyond what we have experienced thus far.”
— Michael T Osterholm & Mark Olshaker, We’re thinking about Covid-19 the wrong way. It’s not a ‘wave’ – it’s a wildfire
*****
“So, put your tray-table up in the upright and locked position. It’s going to be a very tough fall, I’m afraid.”
— Dr. Peter Hotez, director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Vaccine Expert Has A Grim Prediction Of What Coronavirus Will Do ‘For Years And Years’
*****
“That we are no longer shocked by his outrageous comments weakens Trump’s ability to control the narrative. It also badly weakens the office of the presidency. Increasingly, he seems to be sidelined from any real decision making, which makes it hard to run for reelection with the argument that he will accomplish anything in a second term.”
— Heather Cox Richardson, Letters From An American (8/11/20)
*****
“We can’t close Pandora’s box. We could acknowledge what’s emerged and find better ways to deal with it. But just like really any time in history when something like this has come out, it’s a process of first having to get past the denial and acknowledge that there is a problem. And then within the context of the culture we’re in now, what better ways are there to deal with it?”
— Dr. David Reiss, How this famous 1971 experiment gave a warning about America’s backslide into authoritarianism
*****
“The people are tired of reason, tired of thought and reflection. They ask, what has reason done in the last few years, what good have insights and knowledge done us.”
— Ernst Toller, German poet, playwright and socialist revolutionary, was forced into exile and stripped of his citizenship when the Nazis took power in 1933.