"The South, Sickest Part of a Sick America, Falls Prey to Virus."

"Lost Cause" means different things to different people.

The South, Sickest Part of a Sick America, Falls Prey to Virus, by Margaret Newkirk and Michelle Fay Cortez (Bloomberg)

A region beset by obesity and diabetes is uniquely vulnerable.

A virus that is particularly lethal for people with underlying health conditions is now spreading into the unhealthiest part of the U.S.: the South.

For decades,­ people in the 11 states that seceded during the Civil War -- America’s poorest region -- have suffered from a scourge of obesity and hypertension, which intensify the danger of the coronavirus and the Covid-19 respiratory disease that it causes. Four of the five states with the highest diabetes rates are in the South. And eight didn’t expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, leaving thousands of families without access to routine care, even as financially troubled rural hospitals wither away.

Those factors give the South a special vulnerability, as did the haphazard response from some governors as the disease began to course through the country. Without clear direction from the Trump administration, they were loath to mandate stay-at-home orders. Beaches were open in Florida, churches held services in rural Tennessee and Mardi Gras went on in Louisiana.

Now Covid-19 has infected 47 long-term care centers in Georgia, overwhelmed hospitals in New Orleans, spread into at least six Alabama nursing homes, forced the evacuation of scores of elderly residents from a Tennessee rehabilitation center and killed a country music star in Nashville.


“Covid-19 is going to be a disaster in the Southeast,” said Aaron Milstone, a Tennessee pulmonologist. “We’ll see higher morbidity, which is getting sick from the virus, and higher mortality, which is dying from the virus” ...

SCOTUS and Obamacare: Erika swings and misses. Again.

Amid the usual misspellings and chronological confusion (is it today or tomorrow, Erika?), his/her/its posting this morning is a helpful reminder that apart from dullards, the term "Obamacare" never was a pejorative, anyway.

The presidential election likely will be unchanged by the Supreme Court's ruling. As before, it will be a contest between white folks like King Larry who fear their packages aren't big enough, and a demographic coalition literally interpreting "all men are created equal."

To paraphrase the Mittster, RomneyFare was vapid yesterday; it's vapid today. But it is very, very buttoned-down. Now, let's return to the latest episode of Chasing Hillary:

THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

DECISION DAY FOR....

Today, at around 10:15am, the Democrat-left-media complex will launch the most aggressive and substained attack on the institution of the Supreme Court in the history of our Republic.

When the Court throws out all or at least some portion of Obamacare. Obama and his partisans on the left and in the media will declare war on the third co-equal branch of government and seek, in every possible way, to undermine the Supreme Court.

Glimpses of these attacks have been around since oral arguments back in March, but when the reality of the Courts rejections of Obama's signature "achievement" becomes clear, the ferociousness of the attacks will be like nothing we've ever seen.

If we've learned anything about Obama in the past three and half years, it's that he doesn't take defeat well!

Remember that when the left yells that tomorrow's action by the court is merely some partisan act. When they shout that the Court is acting on behalf of "corporate interests",remember the sweerheart deals the Democrats cut with the unions, AARP, the drug companys and health insurance industries to win passage of the bill. They bought off and had the support of virtually every corporation involved in healthcare.

But they couldn't buy off us the American public, and tomorrow the Supreme Court will speak for us.

We personally want to thank our fellow Tea Party Patriots (about 1.6 million of you) that help spark a nation wide grass roots movement that led to sweeping losses of Democrats in 2010 and now Obamacare!

Americans deserve better than Obamacare.

Wannabeen birthers aside, there remains hope for the future.

Barack Obama’s historic, precedent-shattering presidential victory in 2008 was attributed to many factors, but one consistent explanation is the voting margins in his favor among young people, minorities and the better educated. In short, he did well with those who represent what we're becoming, not where we've been.

It is telling to consider the primary sources of orchestrated disaffection as the nation attempts to “discuss” health care reform: Not young, not of color, and lesser educated, across the board, excepting of course the money/power lobbies standing to be adversely impacted by fairness.

As numerous commentators have observed, the anger is irrational, but easy to explain. The screamers fear the loss of their own positions of societal primacy. They are old and monotone in a young and multi-hued nation, and it scares them into lashing out.

The Obama constituency is still there, albeit with voices seemingly drowned by the rancor on the right. I don’t recommend that the reasonable scream back. Just make sure everyone knows that in spite of the dunderhead (dittohead?) spite-filled bluster, you’re still out there. As is the case with New Albany’s congenital obstructionists, it’s easier to incite anger against than to patiently explain the merits of “for.”

Back home in New Albany, there is an event coming on August 29: Night on the town in New Albany, by Tara Hettinger (News and Tribune).

When 23-year-old Jala Miller moved to New Albany a few months ago, she invited her friends to visit the city.

They asked why would they come to New Albany.

So, she decided to give them and everyone — 21 and older — a reason to visit downtown and be reintroduced to all the redevelopment that has been taking place: a beer walk/olympics on Aug. 29.

You can visit the newspaper’s web site and read the entire article, but the single most important point made therein is included in the preceding citation.

It is the organizer’s age.

Granted, I’ve no clue what Jala’s political views are, but what I know is that she had an idea, did research, diligently implemented her findings, and if all goes well, a crowd of her peers will be roaming through downtown New Albany on the 29th. Some of them will return, and some may even stay.

2010 is coming, and the generation that ultimately matters, both here and in the country as a whole, does not include Professor Erika, Healthblogger, Larry Kochert or even me. Let’s hope their voices continue to be heard amid the embittered, elder-generated bile.

"Sick Around the World" -- Wednesday, October 15 at the NA-FC Public Library.