Courtesy of Bastrop Advertiser
Oct. 29, 2020
By Joni Ashbrook
President Donald Trump has shown Americans “numerous” ways that he lacks the empathy, competence or character to be president.
545 – That’s the number of migrant children whose parents the Trump administration can’t find after they separated families at the border.
Trump’s cruel “zero tolerance” policy lacked any plan to reunite the families. Trump callously said those children were “so well taken care of.”
Coronavirus pandemic
226,000 – That’s the number of American COVID-19 deaths to date.
Other countries have done much better than Trump at containing the coronavirus.
At the beginning of the pandemic, South Korea had the most cases globally. Ironically, after South Korea followed the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s coronavirus mitigation guidelines, Johns Hopkins reports that South Korea has 0.89 deaths per 100,000 population compared to 69 deaths per 100,000 in the U.S.
Trump dismisses the CDC guidelines, and Republican governors follow his lead like lemmings off a cliff. Tragically, their behavior pulls us all down that deadly cliff.
100,000 – The number of lives that could be saved through February if 95% of Americans wore masks in public.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows admitted “we’re not going to control the pandemic.” That signals their plan is “herd immunity.”
Herd immunity will let coronavirus rip throughout the country, which explains why Trump is still holding superspreader rallies with thousands of maskless supporters.
1 million – That’s the optimistic prediction of U.S. deaths from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation if we use herd immunity.
Climate change
Trump and his fossil-fuel-funded party refuse to acknowledge and address climate change as an existential threat to our planet, arguing that it would be too costly.
11 years – U.N. climate chief says that’s the amount of time we have until carbon emissions reach “a point of no return.”
72 – The number of environmental regulations reversed under Trump. Most of those rollbacks weakened limits on planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions.
$240 billion – The annual cost to the U.S. economy from extreme weather made worse by climate change along with the health impacts of burning fossil fuels.
$649 billion – The International Monetary Fund found that direct and indirect subsidies for fossil fuels in the U.S. reached that amount in 2015. Trump’s rival Joe Biden wants to end those subsidies.
Racial justice
Trump and Republicans try to harm the Black Lives Matter movement by falsely claiming that protesters associated with the group are against all police.
400 years – That’s how long Blacks have been fighting for their freedom, rights and equal justice.
93 percent – A report by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, a nonprofit that researches political violence and protests around the world, found that the BLM protests were 93% peaceful, in spite of Trump portraying them as violent.
It’s impossible to put a number on the unarmed Black people who have died at the hands of some brutal police officers, and the families who are still waiting for justice.
Health care
Republicans never help us get health care. They only try to take it away.
20 million – That’s the number of Americans who could lose coverage during the pandemic if Republicans kill Obamacare through the Supreme Court.
Nearly 54 million – If Obamacare is repealed, that many Americans with preexisting conditions could lose that protection.
2 weeks –That’s when Trump says he will roll out his health care plan. That promise is worth about as much as a Trump University degree.
Economy
Americans and our economy are suffering and the Federal Reserve Chair warned that much more stimulus is greatly needed.
$3.4 trillion – In May, the Democrat-led U.S. House passed a stimulus bill totaling this amount.
$2.2 trillion – This was the House’s second attempt, but neither bill passed the GOP-led Senate. Republicans’ priority is hijacking a seat on the Supreme Court before the election.
Nov. 3 – Election Day. Vote!
