Thoughts of a retired physician

Where does one begin with the sad tale of a Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma? Yesterday, at the BOK Arena, Trump appeared at what was supposed to be an oversubscribed rally with a million tickets distributed and plans for both an indoor event and an outdoor event in front of throngs of his MAGA cult. In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic the idea of an indoor event with thousands of unmasked people, yelling, screaming, and cheering was (and is) an epidemiologist’s nightmare. In the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the overwhelming response that Black Lives do Matter, the added complexities of such an event made its reality even more fraught. So, what did we see? First, the crowd size was gratifyingly much less than the Trump campaign predicted. In an arena that could hold over 19,000 people, only 6,600 people showed up. Photos and videos of the crowd showed the expected: almost all white people, many older, almost everyone costumed in MAGA paraphernalia (hats, shirts, flags, etc.

Trump Must Go - Racism Must Go For the past several days I have been watching closely the results of the horrific conjunction of events that have occurred in my lifetime. As 2020 began, there was at least hope that the United States and the world might emerge at its end a better nation. By that, I mean Trump and his corrupt cult, once known as the Republican Party, were voted out of power and a more reasonable attempt could be made to repair the Hadean mess this man has caused.  Then came COVID-19. With a totally incompetent response to the pandemic at the federal level, the case count today is 1,867,620 with 107,979 dead in the United States -- and rising. The best current hope we have is for either an effective treatment or prophylactic medication to be found (intravenous remdesivir has some activity but is no panacea ) or for a safe, effective vaccine with reasonable durability of immunity. We are all aware of where we are currently: states and cities in varying levels of lockdown