BR’s COVID-19 Parallel Universe

By Peter Galuszka

Almost every morning, I wake up a little before dawn, make coffee, let the dog out and feed her and start reading the news.

I take The Washington Post in print along with The New York Times, Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Virginian-Pilot, NBC News, various television stations and, of course, Bacon’s Rebellion online.

Later in the morning, I check out Blue Virginia, Virginia Mercury and RVA.

When it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic, every morning I step into two different universes.

One gives me the global and national view that jumps right in and explains where we are with the virus and who and what are at risk.

The other view, that of Bacon’s Rebellion, mostly paints a very different picture. This view insists that the pandemic is exaggerated and overrated, needless regulations are being enacted by a dictatorial governor, our school system and housing trends are at risk and we should open everything up right now.

Coincidentally, these arguments are precisely those made by President Donald Trump, despite overwhelming advice and evidence to the contrary, even by his own science advisers. They are basically the election platform of the Republican Party. I have a close, long-time friend from high school who is a Republican and lives in Montgomery County, Md. He is active in politics and hosts a public television talk show about county and state politics. These are exactly his views as well.

So, I thought it would be interesting to contrast recent headlines from national sources and those from Bacon’s Rebellion.

One of the more disturbing trends is that the European Union might seriously restrict travel to Europe by Americans because of Trump’s failed COVID policies. Having once been a foreign correspondent, that is hard for me to fathom.

I will be getting lots of comments about how BR is a “Virginia” blog and what goes on in places like Texas and Arizona are of no moment here. My response is that BR has a policy of enforced parochialism that is regrettable and insular. I am sure that the coronavirus has the good manners to know that it should not cross Virginia’s borders since it is unwelcome.

Here are the headlines and stories:

E.U. May Bar American Travelers as It Reopens Borders, Citing Failures on Virus

breaking hospitalizations ‘overwhelm’ Arizona, Texas as governors struggle to contain surge

Fauci, top health officials warn of covid-19 surge, contradict Trump on testing

Live updates: Federal government to scale back testing support even as hospitalizations reach new highs

From Bacon’s Rebellion:

Open The Schools

COVID Regs Unclear, Unneeded, Contradictory

Why Hasn’t Northam Acted Yet on the Great COVID News?

From Moon Walking to Slow Walking