The older I get, the more I understand that it’s okay to live a life others don’t understand. – Unknown

Welcome to “Caught My Eye” (CME)!

CME is coming to you, STILL coronavirus free, from deep inside an underground bunker in Montana. The bunker also serves as the worldwide headquarters for The Western Word blog!

CME is the once a week column that is posted here every Friday morning. This is when I take a look at some of the stories I did not have time to write about during the week. There may be some sarcasm and pointed independent commentary so be warned!

Here are the topics that “Caught My Eye” this week:

• June 2020 Election
• USA, USA, USA
• Unemployment Claims
• Governors/President
• One More Thing

JUNE 2020 ELECTION:

On March 25, Montana Governor Steve Bullock issued a Directive to ensure all eligible Montanans can safely vote in the 2020 June primary by allowing counties to expand voting by mail and early voting.

One thing that was not publicized very much was this part of Bullock’s Directive:

Additionally, voters will not be required to pay postage to return their ballots by mail.

This is a good thing. I am always concerned if I have placed the right postage on my ballot return envelope.

It’s not clear if voters not being required to pay postage includes the school elections across Montana on May 5, which is done via mail. This needs to be addressed.

USA, USA, USA:

The number of U.S. coronavirus infections climbed above 82,000 on Thursday, surpassing the national tallies of China and Italy, as New York, New Orleans and other hot spots faced a surge in hospitalizations and looming shortages of supplies, staff, and sick beds. (Reuters)

Congratulations to President Donald Trump – your leadership has made the USA the leader!

If Trump can take credit for the good stuff, then it is very appropriate to give him credit for the bad stuff. Whether Trump likes it or not, the buck does stop with him, not Chi-na, and certainly not with what he calls the “fake” media.

UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS:

The Western Word was one of the first to post the information about the 3.3 million Americans who applied for unemployment benefits last week.

The Washington Post reported that last week saw the biggest jump in new jobless claims in history, surpassing the record of 695,000 set in 1982. Many economists say this is the beginning of a massive spike in unemployment that could result in over 40 million Americans losing their jobs by April.

Congratulations to President Donald Trump – his administration just set another record!

Again, if Trump can take credit for the good stuff, then it is very appropriate to give him credit for the bad stuff. Whether Trump likes it or not, the buck does stop with him, not Chi-na, and certainly not with what he calls the “fake” media.

GOVERNORS/PRESIDENT:

I have been watching coverage of the COVID-19 and see how the state governors are responding as well as President Trump.

It is very apparent that Trump wants businesses to open quickly although many more people may become infected.

The many governors that I have heard from are more concerned about their citizens getting their healthcare needs addressed and being protected from the coronavirus.

In the Wednesday briefing, Trump says with a straight face that, “America continues to gain ground in the war against the virus.” He then basically says it is the previous administration’s fault, saying “We had very little product when we came.”

One person on Twitter compared President Trump to “Baghdad Bob.” People may remember “Baghdad Bob” as Minister of Information for Saddam Hussein in 2003 during the United States invasion of Iraq. Here is an excerpt from his bio in Wikipedia:

His pronouncements included claims that American soldiers were committing suicide “by the hundreds” outside the city, and denial that there were any American tanks in Baghdad, when in fact they were only several hundred meters away from the press conference where he was speaking and the combat sounds of the nearing American troops could already be heard in the background of the broadcast.

Trump then brags about the size of the coronavirus relief bill saying, “this $2.2 trillion legislative package is bigger than anything, I believe, ever passed in Congress.”

Donald is always concerned about size.

Trump is also concerned about his reelection saying that people and the press want to see him do badly. Here is how he answered a question about it:

I think there are certain people that would like it (businesses) not to open so quickly. I think there are certain people that would like it to do financially poorly because they think that would be very good as far as defeating me at the polls. And I don’t know if that’s so, but I do think it’s so that a lot of — that there are people in your profession that would like that to happen.

I have to salute Montana Governor Steve Bullock for his forward-thinking in trying to slow down the spread of the virus. On Thursday, Bullock issued a shelter-in-place order to help slow the spread of the coronavirus in Montana. The Helena IR has information regarding the order and what to expect HERE. The order goes into effect Saturday at 12:01 am and is scheduled to end on April 10, but that could change.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is standing out in his fight for the citizens of New York. His daily press briefings are must-see. Some are wondering why he isn’t running for President.

ONE MORE THING:

I enjoy following model and television personality Chrissy Teigen on Twitter and Instagram. She is funny and often gets her point across in a way that only she can do!

Recently, President Donald Trump talked about there being “nothing pleasant” about taking the coronavirus test like it was a major surgical procedure. It was like he sacrificed for us.

As the Huffington Post reported Teigen is having none of Donald Trump’s complaints about the coronavirus test. Teigen trumped his experience with one of hers: childbirth. And everything that comes with it.

You can read the whole story HERE.

Have a great weekend!

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