Zika Preparedness: Another G-NO-P Casualty June 1, 2016June 1, 2016 IRRATIONAL FEAR From Onion TV: Millions Irrationally Feared Dead In Minor Train Accident! In the decade following 9/11, there were 33 deaths in the US at the hands of Muslim terrorists; 150,000 murders generally. It may not be rational to buy guns to protect your family against terrorists. Not to say we needn’t explore every sensible means to keep those numbers infinitesimally small. But, per Think Progress: . . . a small band of so-called “experts” speak at conferences, appear on TV and radio, and write on various websites to “rail against Islam and cast suspicion on American Muslims,” all with the intention of hyping the threats emanating from the Muslim American community. Reacting to the agenda of the Islamophobia network, Kurzman told us: “I think that our goal should be to increase cooperation with non-radical Muslims — in other words to increase a sense of inclusion, collaboration — rather than to blow up our fears of this small group into suspicion of a much wider group that isn’t involved at all.” A RATIONAL FEAR: ZIKA Did you see Paul Abrams’ Huffington post? Reminder: The Right-Wing Owes Us $25 Billion . . . With the havoc that could be wreaked by the Zika virus, the right-wing feel they must “find” money in the budget to offset the research and development necessary to be ready for it. . . . Republicans owe the country $25 billion from a shutdown so absurd that their own Speaker, John Boehner (R-OH) lashed out at it, and the architects said they they knew in advance it would fail. $25 billion. U.S. taxpayers will, thank you very much, take the first $1.9 billion of that back to protect unborn children and mothers from the Zika virus. (Unborn children? Who, pray tell, pontificates their love for them?) . . . Abrams faults Democrats for not shouting loudly and concertedly to force the Republicans to get this done — and, while they’re at it, highlight the contrast between our approach to government (make it work) and theirs (shut it down). Given adequate support, government can often be effective in protecting us — whether from disease (the U.S., death toll from Ebola contracted here remains zero), unsafe food, air, and water, consumer fraud (the CFPB has already returned billions to 15 million consumers), environmental hazards (we’re restoring the ozone layer that protects us from skin cancer and cataracts) . . . and more. (When was the last time you lost someone in a U.S. commercial plane crash?) Republicans are fond of saying government is the problem. Bad government is a problem, but Zika is problem, too. Maybe the Republican Congress should allow government to minimize it. ANOTHER RATIONAL FEAR: TRUMP Did you see Bob Garfield’s post? It mainly condemns the media for not putting Trump into sharper focus. . . . He is racist. He is misogynistic. He is a xenophobe in the nation of immigrants. He has repeatedly incited violence. He shows neither understanding nor respect for the balance of powers, or any other aspect of the Constitution. To protect his personally thin skin, he has promised to weaken the First Amendment. He shows no appreciation for the role of government, but embraces a dictatorial vision of executive power, threatening to unilaterally scuttle international agreements, repeal legislation and default on the national debt. He supports torture and war crimes against civilians. He has played footsie with and failed to disown some of his most extreme supporters, including avowed racists and anti-Semites. He has ridiculed the disabled. He has disparaged the heroism of POW John McCain. He has defended the size of his junk on national television. Oh, and he’s a pathological liar. . . . AND YET ONE MORE And now that I have you (or at least me) entirely frazzled, here’s one more. Did you know we not so long ago came within a week of a modern-day Carrington Event? Or what a Carrington Event is? (There’s been just one: in 1859.) I didn’t either. Just to keep you on your toes.