Doug's Darkworld

Finally, the first real rain in a month or more. .6 Inches (1.5 cm) of rain, so I got to use my rain gauge for the first time. I saw several of the neighbors wander over to check it as well. There’s not much to do during quarantine. At least those of us quarantining. Huge numbers of Americans, whole states really, more or less pretending it will all go away. Trump’s been saying that from the beginning, “It will all just go away!” Still saying it last I hurt. And if one’s house is on fire, yes, eventually the fire will go away. If it’s my house though, I think we should fight the fire, not wait until it goes out.

In local news there’s been a noticeable uptick in property crimes. Burglaries, car break ins, shoplifting. The only thing surprising about it is that so many locals can’t understand why this is suddenly happening now in our sleepy almost crime free town. Let’s think. Millions of people around the country have lost their jobs. A lot of them need money desperately and have fewer scruples than most. We live in an isolated little affluent resort town, nobody locks their stuff up, and there’s easy freeway access. This is one of the sorts of things I was talking about the other day. As massive change sweeps the land, there will be cascading changes triggered by all the changes. More property crime is pretty foreseeable, it will just get worse as people get desperate.

And desperate they will get. Trump and company are talking about a “V” shaped recession. IE yes the economy is in free fall, but it will hit bottom and bounce right back. Yeah, pretty much like thinking the Titanic was going to only sink so far. So lots of benefits are ending soon, Congress has been unable to come up with anything except blaming the other party. Great political strategy during peacetime, catastrophic fail during a national and global crisis. (And actually it’s a pretty crappy strategy during peacetime, it’s just crappier when the nation faces a fight for its life.) Trump signed a few executive orders, but they don’t seem to be much more than empty gestures.

Seeing in some quarters the idea that “We shouldn’t be paying people not to work!” There are a number of problems with this statement. Millions of people don’t have jobs to return to for one. Huge numbers of small businesses have gone under already. The amount of money we are talking about is trivial on a large and small scale. Lastly, what the hell do people think will happen to the money given to unemployed/poor/sick people? They run out and spend it! Consumer spending, the thing that drives the economy, right? Well, the poor have just been cut off in the US. I can’t imagine it will turn out well.

People sometimes say: “If you’re not offering a solution, you have no right to complain.” Yeah, no. I don’t know how to resolve the split between left and right in the US. For decades too many on the left have assumed a supercilious smarmy superiority over the right. The right has decided anyone not on their side is a liberal bent on destroying America. These are not positions conducive to debate and compromise. I’m still open to debate with Trump supporters. Fifteen years ago when I started this blog conservatives and liberals debated in numerous online forums. Now they almost never do.

I saw an amazing sight in the sky tonight. I got a few pictures. I’ll post them tomorrow. A shorter than usual post, but it’s Sunday. I can take it a little easy on a Sunday. “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Stay safe readers. The world you grew up in is dead. Enjoy.

#StaytheFHome #WearaDamnMask

Copyright © 2020 Doug Stych. All rights reserved.

(Image: Random Facebook image, claimed as Fair Use under US copyright law.)