The Daily Briefings

Those Trump briefings have become a daily staple.  Used to be that Pence, as the hypothetical head of the anti-corona forces did them. Pence is a dimwit, and somewhat of an opportunist, but compared to Trump he is an outstanding statesman.  And I guess, having gotten used to routine lying and bragging and very unpleasant manners, that if a guy just talks calmly and politely, he seems like a sage.

Pence is as loyal as the day is long, until he isn't.  That last part is maybe my mind working overtime, he seems so loyal, so stand up and true to his master, that I cannot help but see the dagger concealed in his toga.  Possibly Trump does also, or more likely he just hates seeing anybody get credit for anything, so now he has inserted himself into the briefings.

He assembles about five of his toadies, he changes the assembly each time adding a guy or taking a guy out so that nobody appears all the time, except Trump of course.  He gives a little speech, mostly about how everything is going tip top and there are no shortages of equipment, then he calls his toadies forth and they give shorter speeches about how they are achieving great things, always inserting, under the perfect leadership of Chairman Trump, and the whole thing is kind of silly like an assembly of sixth graders, but then comes the time when Trump asks for questions.

Trump can no longer stage his monster truck rallies, which is really a bummer for him, so now he makes do with the questions and answers at the briefings.  Typically the reporters ask him something like Mr President, isn't it true that everything you are saying he is a lie?  Which typically it is, mainly about supplies and the prez sitting on his hands while corona was creeping into our lives, and you can almost hear the satisfied sigh as Trump launches into an attack on the press and the democrats, and nothing is his fault and everything he has done is perfect with a perfection never seen in the world before, many people have said so.  And so it goes until he is sated and he slinks off to watch tv until the next day when he can again tread the boards.

There is this guy Fauci who was not onstage last night,whose star is rising.  I'm not sure what his official position is, but all positions are the same under Trump, but I think he is an actual doctor and somebody who really knows something and astonishingly does not repeat lies and actually stands up to Trump, particularly on the issue of a couple drugs which Trump is convinced are miracle drugs, but Fauci just politely says that there is no evidence of that. 

He does it very politely, almost meekly, and in this tone like he is adding something to what Trump said, but what he is actually saying is Trump is full of shit.  It's a remarkable thing that he has not been fired.  Is it possible that Trump realizes this is some serious shit, and that he is going to have to allow people who actually know something to fight corona?  Oh probably not.


A couple of Kipling poems have been set to music?  I can't say I have ever heard either of them sung, not exactly top 40 material.  Was it original music or just some tune they found that they could fit the words into?