It’s Over

“The pandemic is over,” President Joe Biden stated very clearly on Sunday.

Um. What?

Listen, I am far from a scientist or a medical expert. I have my opinions on the pandemic, on COVID variants, vaccinations, mask mandates, and everything that happened over the last two-plus years. We all do. But, the President of the United States just declared “It’s Over”.

So, that means no more mask mandates, right? No more travel restrictions, right? No more vaccinations? Or business closures? No more payouts?

What about the state governors and legislatures? It isn’t difficult to remember the states that “stayed open” and the shit all those governors took from the media and even from Washington DC. They were vilified for not listening, for not adhering to Federal mandates, for not following “the science”. If the Governor of Michigan, or Illinois, or California decides their state needs to maintain mandates, will the media vilify them with the same vigor? Will they ask if those states are restricting people’s rights? I mean, the President said it was over, right? And the President ALWAYS follows the science.

Clearly President Biden has been advised by the same people who advised him throughout the pandemic, so the information he is getting is above reproach. That condition hasn’t changed, right? Still the same people, right? Anyone who questioned the White House after President Biden took over may as well have been burned at the stake, so we shouldn’t question them now, right?

Less than a month ago, the President cited the ongoing impact of COVID to validate his decision to forgive student loan debt. But, that’s over now, right? Without a pandemic, those people can go back to work, right? I mean, if the pandemic is over, business can be open with no restrictions and people can get back to work and pay back their loans, right? That was less than a month ago, so clearly the President’s advisors didn’t see any end in sight to the pandemic otherwise that wouldn’t have been a reason to forgive student loans, right? Like I said, I’m not a scientist but I would have to assume there were indicators the pandemic was winding down and there would be computer modeling or projections on when he would be able to say “It’s over”. They didn’t see this coming a month ago? Doesn’t sound very scientist-like to me.

Let’s be honest. The pandemic has been over for a while, at least for the vast majority of us. Whether we came to that conclusion ourselves or just got tired of the bullshit that came with it, we stopped complying months ago. So, why would the White House suddenly make an announcement that it is “over”? What value came out of that? Politicians don’t willingly give up power, but by declaring the end of the pandemic the President did just that. He gave up his queen, the ace up his sleeve, or the pole position (pick your metaphor) in one statement. The actual question isn’t “why did he say it?”, the question is “why did he say it NOW?” Timing is everything and I don’t think it was an accident or coincidence in this case.

Student loan forgiveness. Check. Over-inflated gas prices coming down. Check. Unemployment at high but stabilizing rates. Check. Inflation still going up….shit. Not good during an election cycle. Hey, let’s announce the pandemic is over! Everyone will get behind that. We can add that to campaign speeches. We will look like heroes.

Uh huh.

One thing is for sure, and it is very tough to argue. I do believe that we are all much happier now that It’s Over.