Essentials

The earth stands
In the middle of nowhere

Suspended in suspension

The fragile tango with the moon

Keeping alive the breath

That utters scripture

Bread.

The vast universe

Extending beyond where light goes

Something out of nothing.

The span of time

But who is measuring

Time that stands still

And time that moves

God's artwork.

The beauty of delight

Of simple gestures of kindness

And love

That capture

The essence. 

Coronavirus News (255)

Trevor Noah: Trump Is Immune to Factual Information “You would think that somewhere along that journey Trump would pick up a tiny, tiny bit of knowledge. But, hey, maybe he’s immune to that, too,” the “Daily Show” host said of the president’s infection with the coronavirus. ...........  ‘Sick man leaves hospital to continue to get round-the-clock medical attention at home’ is not exactly a flattering story, but ‘Sick man kicks virus’s ass and can never get sick again’? Now that’s a good story.” — TREVOR NOAH .........  “What the hell kind of a thing is that to say? ‘Maybe I’m immune, I don’t know’? It sounds like the last thing a frat bro says right before he drinks the toilet water for 20 bucks.” — TREVOR NOAH ............ “It feels like that part of the movie where Trump was bitten by a werewolf and plays it off like it’s no big deal. He’s like, ‘Totally fine, never better. Sure, I howl at the moon and have a taste for humans, but mostly A-OK.’” — JIMMY FALLON ............ “Typhoid Donny made a Trumpumphant return to the White House last night, with a dramatic balcony scene that only an egomaniac on massive amounts of drugs would ever even think to stage.” — JIMMY KIMMEL ........... An infectious president on powerful steroids and experimental drugs walking around with a potentially deadly virus, making a big show of leaving the hospital, flying back to the White House at sunset, and just before Joe Biden’s town hall, taking his mask off in front of the cameras and visibly gasping for air, like he’s been guarding LeBron James all night.” — SETH MEYERS ............. “I haven’t been this confused by a masked man on a balcony since Michael Jackson dangled that baby off one.” — JIMMY KIMMEL ............   “Seriously, I’m not sure it was safe for him to climb 22 steps before Covid .............   “That’s the craziest thing he’s ever done on that balcony — and that’s the same place where he looked straight into an eclipse.” — JIMMY FALLON ............. “Trump wanted this to be a show of strength, but moments after taking off his mask, he was clearly struggling to breathe. Still, it’s a strong look, because nothing bad ever happens to people who are famous for their balconies: Your Mussolini, your Saddam, your Juliets.” — STEPHEN COLBERT .................. Yo, this wasn’t a photo op; it was a biological attack on the White House.” — TREVOR NOAH .............. “Once on the balcony, Kim Jong Don removed his mask. [as Trump] ‘I’m back from the hospital, and just to put any lingering doubts to rest, I’ve learned nothing. Kneel before me, you weak and withered, and inhale my precious droplets!’” — STEPHEN COLBERT ..............  “By the way, the only reason we could even tell that he was gasping for air was that the highly infectious president who is actively symptomatic with a potential deadly virus took his mask off once he got back to the White House. Wow, so the villain is unmasked at the end of the episode. The only thing missing was Scooby and the gang.” — SETH MEYERS 

The 10 Bellwether Counties That Show How Trump Is in Serious Trouble Each one is in a battleground state. Votes from people there will matter a lot — and offer Joe Biden several paths to victory. .......  Polls now show Joe Biden with a surprising opportunity to capture Sun Belt suburbs that have voted reliably Republican for decades. .......... Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Florida, Arizona, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Texas and Iowa. .......... Trump is in serious trouble. ..........  Philadelphia and Pittsburgh hog the spotlight, but Pennsylvania’s electoral ground zero might be its far northwest corner. ............ A February Mercyhurst University poll showed Mr. Biden leading Mr. Trump 48 percent to 44 percent in Erie County, and that was before Covid-19 made headlines. ............ Everything is bigger in Texas — including the suburban backlash against Mr. Trump — and the political metamorphosis underway in Dallas’s white-collar northern suburbs is happening at a dizzying pace. ......... Despite Texas’s old Wild West stereotype, the state now has one of the most metropolitan and diverse electorates in the country — and Mr. Trump’s erosion in its sprawling suburbs explains Mr. Biden’s surprising opportunity. .......... Perhaps the most widely cited bellwether in the country, Vigo, which includes Terre Haute, is the only county in America that has voted for the winner of every presidential race since 1956. But it may lose that status in 2020: In 2016, it broke for Mr. Trump by a whopping 15 points, and it’s easy to see him carrying it again this fall, even if he loses the presidency.

Goldman Sachs: A Democratic sweep would mean faster economic recovery  polls "suggest a 'blue wave' in which Democrats gain unified control of Washington is becoming more likely" ............ Moody's Analytics found that Biden's economic proposals, if enacted, would create 7.4 million more jobs than would Trump's. The economy would return to full employment in the second half of 2022, nearly two years earlier than under Trump's plan, Moody's said. 

Cuomo Imposes Tight Virus Rules on Areas Hit by Spikes Across State The plan was intended to curb the outbreak in areas, many with large populations of Orthodox Jews, that have had sharp increases in cases.

Covid-19 could be the start of a better era for women who work The pandemic has been tough on female workers but it presents a chance to fix long-ignored problems ........ He wanted to persuade married women (and, crucially, their husbands) that they could go to work without threatening the natural order of things. ............  Take Japan. Although known for its patriarchal society of “salarymen” and housewives, Japan’s female employment rate had been rising before the pandemic. But like the “white glove girls”, many Japanese women were not admitted into the heart of corporate Japan. The majority had “non-regular” contracts with less security and fewer benefits. These jobs were the first to be shed when the pandemic hit. Many mothers, especially in Japan where regular jobs are characterised by long hours and presenteeism, have had to trade pay and security for flexibility. .......... Yet the pandemic has also brought hope. Forced to experiment with remote working, Japanese companies from Fujitsu to Hitachi have realised workers can be just as productive, probably more so, without long hours in the office. Japanese parents, in particular, are likely to become less tolerant of employers who cling to the past. ........ “Old habits die hard, but I hope Covid will mark a watershed moment for Japan’s work culture, which is a far more insidious killer” ......... a redesign of traditional jobs — more trust, less presenteeism — is likely to benefit parents everywhere. ..........    the fragile attachment of American women to the labour market is the consequence of the country’s woeful caregiving infrastructure. “Just like we need roads to drive down to get to work or deliver our goods to market, we need a childcare and caregiving infrastructure that allows people to . . . go to work.” The US does not provide statutory paid parental leave to all employees, unlike almost every other country, while affordable childcare is in short supply ........... a majority of both Democratic and Republican voters now support the idea of higher congressional funding for childcare. Whoever wins next month’s US presidential election, improving childcare should be a political and economic no-brainer. ...... Women aren’t just working for “second car” money these days — the fate of the economy depends on them.

Donald Trump is risking a Covid election blowout If the race stays focused on the pandemic, polls suggest Joe Biden will win .........  It follows that Mr Trump must change the subject or take radical steps to make Americans trust his pandemic-management skills. He has instead chosen to do something solipsistic — tell Americans the pathogen can be defeated by sheer force of will. This is a rash mix. It is further depressing his poll ratings on coronavirus while making it harder for him to change the subject. Mr Trump’s decision to pull out of next week’s presidential debate after organisers said it would be held remotely because of Covid concerns only reinforces that. ..........  Joe Biden’s poll lead over Mr Trump has hit double digits in Florida where a lot of retirees live ............. His averaged overall national lead is now near double digits. Even if those margins were halved, Mr Trump would be facing a heavy defeat. ..........  So why is he pushing on a failing strategy? Much has been made of the fact that Mr Trump is taking a steroid, dexamethasone, which can cause wild mood swings. Doubtless, the drug can induce euphoria. But there is little to differentiate Mr Trump’s post-hospital and pre-hospital behaviour. He did not suddenly chance on the notion of issuing torrents of capitalised tweets after checking out of Walter Reed. Nor did the idea of publicly stripping off his mask come in the wake of his drug treatment. He has been taunting social distancers all year. The only seeming effect of Mr Trump’s treatment is that he became even more like himself. ............   America’s much-promised V-shaped recovery floundered on the failure to flatten the coronavirus curve. Mr Trump did not help matters this week when he pulled out of talks for another coronavirus relief bill. That dealt a heavy blow to the prospect of more relief for ordinary Americans before the election. ......  Mr Trump has thus built himself a maze. He wants Americans to be afraid of something that does not seem particularly lethal — the radical left — yet be unafraid of a disease that has so far claimed more than 200,000 American lives. It does not feel like a winning strategy.