To jest or not to jest…

So, is Trump kidding or not kidding when he said he’d had directed his administration to slow coronavirus testing in the United States?
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump was “speaking only in jest”…
Trump later said he was “semi-joking”….

Anyone looking for guidance from the White House on avoiding the coronavirus is on her or his own. Good luck out there and, y’know, all that stuff….

MeidasTouch (“because truth is golden”) presents their view: “Trump kills US.”

News blues…

Things are not going well in South Africa – and we don’t even have a Trump confusing issues.

Eastern Cape “Premier Oscar Mabuyane said on Monday 22 June that 15,751 people in the Eastern Cape had tested positive for the coronavirus. With 8,035 people having recovered that left 7,716 active cases and 285 deaths.
The province’s biggest metro, Nelson Mandela Bay, had 4,706 positive cases, of whom 2,116 had recovered and 86 deaths.
…“The current doubling rate is 10 days and this will get shorter. Hospitals are already turning people away because there are no beds.”
Eastern Cape Department of Health spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said the main driver of infections in the metro remains poor adherence to precautionary measures like washing hands, wearing a mask in public and maintaining personal distance.
He said they had managed to reduce the testing backlog in the province and now had a turnaround time of between 48 and 72 hours. Last month it was between 14 and 21 days.

***
Daily Maverick webinar, “Two Minutes to Midnight: Will Cyril Ramaphosa's ANC survive?”
Host Ferial Haffajee in discussion with author Dr Oscar Van Heerden

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

My daily walk around the neighborhood is circumscribed by reality.
Since a woman walking alone is a target for mugging, I repeatedly walk the same circular route away from main thoroughfares. I also carry an impressive wooden knobkerrie walking stick and pepper spray.
Walking the same way, the same routine, in the same fashion each day quickly becomes tedious.
The same dogs bark.
I greet the dogs the same way: “Hello, Curly Tail”… “Woof, woof, woof, doglets” … “Oh, what a big barks you have!” ….
One section of this repetitive walk passes a yard with two boxers. The alpha dog works himself into a frenzy as I pass his territory. When his companion boxer joins in the fun, the alpha attacks it. Yesterday’s attack was particularly vicious: the younger dog was savaged as long as I remained in sight.
The message came across loud and clear: dastardly human, watch me savage my pal and pretend it’s you!
An experience not for the faint hearted.
Today, instead of walking the neighborhood, I returned to loping around the garden: around the pond (no goldfish), up and down one set of stairs, down and up another set of stairs, around the apple tree, past the compost pile… and repeat – for forty minutes.
After that, I returned to revamping the section of garden where I’d recently removed the canna plants.
I recycled bearded iris tubers and replanted them in what I hope will be another small garden with purple bearded iris.
I also recycled several logs that have been beautifully hollowed out by ants. I’ll fill the logs’ nooks and crannies with soil and create organic planters perfect for small succulents.
It’s essential, during Lockdown, to keep busy, plan, implement, exercise. And remind yourself that, this, too, shall pass.
But, oh. When?

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