Worldwide COVID Deaths Top 6 Million

This morning, the global death toll for COVID-19 has now topped 6 million. As of this writing, COVID has claimed 6,006,152 people all over the world out of nearly 450 million cases (447,352,722) representing a mortality rate of 1.3%. 

The global mortality rate is slightly higher than the U.S. mortality rate of 1.2%. However, U.S. COVID deaths represent 16% of the worldwide total. This has grown a full percent since the world surpassed 5 million COVID deaths on November 1, 2021. More than 960,000 Americans (960,194) have died of COVID and we are likely to cross the 1 million death toll later this month. The country with the next highest death toll is Brazil with just over 650,000 (652,438) comprising 10.9% of the global total. India (515,102), Russia (349,196) and Mexico (319,859) round out the top five in global COVID death toll. Mexico's mortality rate of 5.7% is fourth in the world, just ahead of Syria (5.6%) and behind Peru (6%). The country with the highest mortality rate is Yemen at 18.2%. However, just over 11,000 cases have been confirmed in the Middle Eastern nation beset by civil war. The rate could be a statistical anomaly or might only scratch the surface.

If there is good news in any of this is that the pace of death is continuing to slow down albeit modestly. After taking 117 days to go from 4 million to 5 million COVID deaths, it took 127 days go from 5 million to 6 million deaths. 

With cases receding and fewer Americans willing to get boosted much less vaccinated, the Biden Administration very much wants to vaccinate the rest of the world but funding is a problem and negotiations with Congress have stalled. Then there is also the not so small detail of Russia's invasion of Ukraine which has put COVID on the backburner. One step forward, two steps back - possibly more.

Pence Called Putin a Stronger Leader Than Obama in 2016

Yesterday, I was skeptical of former Vice-President Mike Pence's stance regarding there being "no room for Putin apologists in the GOP".

Well, it turns out that Pence was something of a Putin apologist himself during the 2016 presidential campaign. During a CNN Townhall in September 2016, Pence said of Putin, "I think it's inarguable that Vladimir Putin has been a stronger leader in his country than Barack Obama has been in this country."

I think that point is very arguable. After all, Russians don't have a say in the matter where it concerns Putin who is cracking down harshly upon those who see fit to protest his war in Ukraine. No American President has or should have the powers Putin possesses.

Now I think it is entirely reasonable to criticize Obama's Russian reset policy up to and including making concessions on ballistic missile defense in Poland and the Czech Republic. Obama's "The 80's called and want their foreign policy" retort to Mitt Romney's assertion that Russia was our number one geopolitical foe looks more and more foolish with each passing day.

Yet it is entirely possible to criticize Obama's Russian foreign policy without heaping praise on Putin. Mike Pence chose that path and in doing so it makes his words about there being no room for Putin apologists in the GOP ring hollow.

Most Americans Probably Wouldn't Accept a Russian Oil Embargo

A bipartisan group of Senators wants the Biden Administration to impose an oil embargo on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelenskyy demanded the same today in a conference call with U.S. Senators.

But absent overwhelming public pressure I cannot see the Biden Administration taking such an action even if it is the right thing to do. The main argument imposing an embargo is because it would send already high gas prices soaring while exacerbating inflation. Of course, there is a political argument. Democrats appear headed for a shellacking in the November mid-terms. The prospect of double digit inflation could lead to the decimation of Democrats in Congress.

This could be a failure of imagination. Is there a way to offset the loss of Russian oil by ramping up domestic oil production, increasing imports from friendlier nations and increasing reliance on other sources of energy? Perhaps, but maybe not in the short term.

With this in mind, I think that even Americans who are appalled by Russia's actions in Ukraine would be disinclined to pay higher prices for food and fuel for any extended period of time. After all, we appear to be coming to the end of the pandemic phase of COVID and I suspect that most Americans who are done with COVID are uninterested in making a sacrifice for the people of Ukraine. I mean if a critical mass of Americans were unwilling to wear a mask to protect their fellow Americans from a deadly disease then how can we expect Americans to sacrifice for a country they cannot be bothered to find on a map. After all, consider the response to actor George Takei when he suggested on Twitter:

Americans: We can endure higher prices for food and gas if it means putting the screws to Putin. Consider it a patriotic donation in the fight for freedom over tyranny.

Much of the backlash against Takei is that he is a millionaire who can withstand increased food and fuel costs while most Americans cannot. Now much of this criticism is coming from right-wing yahoos who couldn't give a flying fuck about the poor. While Twitter commentary isn't necessarily representative of America at large, I do think there would be considerable resistance to an oil embargo on Russia if it hits Americans in their wallets.

Personally, I would favor a Russian oil embargo. The words of President Zelenskyy carry a lot of weight. The question is how long would it be kept in place. A week? A month? A year? Two? Ten? A lot of that depends on Russia itself. Is Putin prepared to play a waiting game? Or will the oligarchs decide they have waited long enough & oust him from power after a couple of months? Of course, the removal of Putin doesn't necessarily mean his successor or successors wouldn't have designs on Ukraine. Perhaps the best we could hope for is a ceasefire that would result in peace talks. But would the embargo remain until the conclusion of peace talks or would it be lifted immediately as a gesture of goodwill?

The long and the short of it is that even the right answer is seldom an easy answer.

Mask Mandate Ended Today in Boston & Somerville; Cambridge on March 14th

Today, both Boston and Somerville ended their indoor mask mandates. Meanwhile, Cambridge will end its mask mandate on March 14th - 9 days from now. Boston and Somerville had their indoor mask mandate in place since late August while Cambridge implemented theirs after Labor Day.

On most days, I am in all three cities and today was no exception. Indeed, I live on a street which is split by the Cambridge-Somerville line. It could be said that it is a matter of a few feet where one is required to wear mask and where one is not. However, businesses are free to continue mask mandates for their establishments if they so choose.

In which case, I think there will be quite a bit mask wearing in indoor settings in all three cities. Some people will choose to do out of caution while others will do so out of habit. Of course, it is entirely possible that a new COVID variant could be responsible for yet another surge prompting municipalities to reintroduce their mask mandates. At least municipalities have that option in Massachusetts. The same cannot be said for places like Florida and Texas. 

Even if I am not required to wear a mask in most settings, I will not leave home without one for the foreseeable future. Masks are still required on public transportation and in health care facilities. I use the T just about everyday and you never know when you're going to need a doctor.

John Belushi Died 40 Years Ago Today & I Thought The World Was Going to End

There are certain dates which stand out in the collective mind and usually for less than joyous reasons. January 6th, September 11th, November 22nd and December 7th spring immediately to mind. I would also add December 8th to that list.

Then there is March 5th. I shall always associate this day with the death of comedian John Belushi. He was only 33 when he died of a drug overdose 40 years ago today in 1982. 

I was 9-years old when Belushi passed. He was a larger than life figure whom once you saw, even from a distance, you could not forget. An original cast member of Saturday Night Live, a breakout movie star in Animal House and his iconic collaboration with fellow SNL alum Dan Aykroyd in The Blues Brothers made a lasting impression. 

His death also made a very lasting impression. While I was alive when Elvis Presley died, but I was a bit too young to have a full appreciation of the magnitude of his passing. The first death that hit me hard was the assassination of John Lennon followed by the death of Terry Fox (something shared mostly by Canadians), the assassination of Anwar Sadat and then Belushi's passing. 

Belushi died just over two months after the release of his last film Neighbors with Dan Aykroyd in which Belushi was cast against type as a meek, passive suburban husband. Alhough Neighbors was badly received and performed poorly at the box office, there was a lot of advertising for the movie and seem to remember Belushi on just about every magazine cover. And then he was gone.

What I also remember about that time was that a few days after Belushi's death came the alignment of the planets on one side of the sun. A couple of renowned astronomers had predicted this would mean the end of the world. When this was mentioned on ABC News, I actually thought the world was going to end. I don't why I believed it so fervently except for the fact that we were only a few days removed from Belushi's death which I had a difficult time processing. 

Not knowing what else to do, I asked my Dad to make some popcorn since I figured it would be the last time I would have a chance to enjoy it. Dad made popcorn and the world did not come to an end. 

With Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it is possible the world might come to an end within my lifetime. If I have learned anything over the past 40 years is that the end of the world is beyond my control and that I can buy popcorn just about anywhere. 

As for Belushi, perhaps the greatest tribute which could be made is a viewing of Tom Schiller's "Don't Look Back in Anger". Occasionally, SNL would air short films made by Schiller and his best was a scene imagining Belushi as the last surviving cast member of the original SNL. John Belushi might have been the first SNL cast member to leave this world but he was a dancer. R.I.P.

Pence: Right Message, Wrong Messenger on "Putin Apologists" in GOP

Yesterday, while speaking before a group of RNC donors, former Vice-President Mike Pence said, "There is no room in this party for apologists for Putin. There is only room for champions of freedom."

This is the classic case of right message, wrong messenger.

Pence is saying the right thing, but he has no credibility in saying it.

After all, he spent four years serving under the President of the Vladimir Putin Fan Club, a man who sided with Putin over our own intelligence services.

Defeated former President Donald Trump was and remains the biggest Putin apologist of them all and Pence had nothing to say when it mattered the most in July 2018. 

The only way for Pence to have a modicum of credibility in this regard is for him to have admitted he was wrong to stay silent regarding Trump's prostration before Putin. But I do not see Pence repenting for his sins and transgressions. 

It Is DeSantis Who is Engaging in Political Theater Over Masks

Moments before he was to give a speech at the University of South Florida's Tampa campus, Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis saw fit to berate high school students standing behind a lectern wearing masks. DeSantis told the students:

You do not have to wear those masks. Please take them off. Honestly, it's not doing anything. We've gotta stop with this Covid theater. So if you wanna wear it, fine, but this is ridiculous.

The only person who was engaging in theatrics, political or otherwise, is Governor DeSantis. After all, he has presidential ambitions and among the CPAC crowd he is the only viable competition for defeated former President Trump. DeSantis wants to enhance his CPAC cred by out-Trumping Trump and if this means trying to bullying high school students then so be it. The cruelty and the "owning the libs" is all that matters. 

Now it is true that COVID cases have been declining and the CDC has eased guidelines. However, according to Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Florida's testing positivity rate is just under 6% (5.98%) which is above the 5% community spread threshold. But if DeSantis is incapable of showing compassion for the 70,000 plus Floridians who have died of COVID then why would he give a moment's thought of bullying high school students?