PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE:  This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon, as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

There is a lot of material for such a post as this as the coronavirus pandemic goes on – and on and on.

No one knows when the virus will end, or how it will end.  It could be that the end will not be in sight until a vaccine is available, which is quite a ways down the road.

So, I open The Department of Just Saying again.  It is one of three I run with a free hand to manage as I – and I alone – see fit.

MASKS YES OR NO:  The debate about the use of face masks goes on, with little consensus about whether those not yet infected with virus – or at least do not know whether they have been infected – should wear masks.

Here’s the way The Atlantic magazine put it this week:

“In the beginning, the guidance was clear:  Unless you have COVID-19 or are caring for someone who does, you probably don’t need to wear a mask in public.  Now, that’s all in flux.  The CDC has issued new guidelines advising Americans to wear cloth masks in public (and, in fact, my wife followed up yesterday by making a few cloth masks for us.  Better safe than sorry, so why now follow the guidance).”

Further, here’s what Atlantic’s science writer reported about the efficacy of masks:

“A few studies suggest that homemade cloth masks are less effective than proper medical ones, but are still better than nothing. I n one experiment, a surgical mask filtered 89 percent of viral particles from the air, a tea towel blocked 72 percent, and a cotton T-shirt blocked 50 percent. … If people use makeshift masks, they should thoroughly wash them afterward.  And most of all, they should remember that homemade masks are not fully protective.

“Underpinning the mask debate is another about how this new coronavirus travels—specifically, whether it is airborne. (Airborne, in the public health sense, doesn’t just mean “travels by air;” it refers to a specific state, in which the virus moves as “aerosols.”)  Early studies offer preliminary answers, but many questions remain.

“We’re trying to build the plane while we’re flying it,” one expert told Ed. “We’re having to make decisions with quite massive consequences in the absence of secure data.  It’s a nightmare for your average cautious public-health professional.”

Comment:  Good image – building an airplane while we’re trying to fly it.  Just saying that, given all of the competing evidence, a conclusion seems fairly easy – wear a mask.  Can’t hurt.

WHAT IS JAROD KUSHNER DOING:  President Donald Trump’s son-in-law has just taken a new role – being a spokesman for the Administration’s effort to get medical supplies distributed around the country to respond to the virus.

It would be difficult to find someone less qualified for the job.

Here’s what the New York Times wrote:

“Reporting on the White House’s herky-jerky coronavirus response, Vanity Fair’s Gabriel Sherman has a quotation from Jared Kushner that should make all Americans, and particularly all New Yorkers, dizzy with terror.

“According to Sherman, when New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, said that the state would need 30,000 ventilators at the apex of the coronavirus outbreak, Kushner decided that Cuomo was being alarmist.  ‘I have all this data about I.C.U. capacity,’ Kushner reportedly said.

“I’m doing my own projections, and I’ve gotten a lot smarter about this. New York doesn’t need all the ventilators.” (Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top expert on infectious diseases, has said he trusts Cuomo’s estimate.)

“Even now, it’s hard to believe that someone with as little expertise as Kushner could be so arrogant, but he said something similar on Thursday, when he made his debut at the White House’s daily coronavirus briefing:  ‘People who have requests for different products and supplies, a lot of them are doing it based on projections which are not the realistic projections.’

“Kushner has succeeded at exactly three things in his life.  He was born to the right parents, married well and learned how to influence his father-in-law.  Most of his other endeavors — his biggest real estate deal, his foray into newspaper ownership, his attempt to broker a peace deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians — have been failures.”

Comment:  Just saying that Kushner seems to be following in the footsteps of his father-in-law who has zero ability to utter an understandable sentence, much less an ability to perform effectively, especially in the face of a national crisis.

Kushner has shown that he cannot manage his way out of paper bag.’

FINDING GOOD NEWS AMIDST THE BAD:  During the coronavirus pandemic, there is so much news around – and some of it could even be accurate.  You have to work hard not to drown in the news.

It is taxing to live within the “stay at home” orders of the coronavirus, though they make sense, as indicated, if not by anything else, that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis finally bowed to the pressure by enacting, finally, an order there.  The problem, of course, was that the virus had gone wild due to his inaction.

For us, we are well, as are, thankfully, our families.  But my wife put it very well the other day when she said, “What I don’t like is not having options.”

One of the ways to try to maintain my equilibrium is to look intentionally for good news to get past all of bad.  Two examples of the good.

FEEDING SALEM:  Our church here in Salem, Oregon, Salem Alliance Church, has made a special effort to organize the donation and delivery of food to needy families in and around the church in the Grant School neighborhood, on a per capita basis, one of the poorest neighborhoods in the state.

Numbers on how much food was delivered don’t tell all of the story.  The good news rests on the goodwill of church members, as well as on the gratitude from those who receive food — which shows how it is possible for people to work together for the common good.

The fact is that, earlier this month, more than 150 families receive needed food.  And another food drive is scheduled week.  It also would be possible to donate the food to the church at the same time as church members donate blood in a special drive organized by the Red Cross.

CHECKING UP ON THOSE IN TOUGH SPOTS:  I have seen various stories where our neighbors check up on friends to make sure those alone are doing okay.  Without mentioning specifics, there is one specific case in our neighborhood where folks have banded to get beyond their own, personal situations, to look out for others.

Comment:  Just saying that, without avoiding the reality of the virus situation, if you look hard for good news amidst the bad, you’ll find it.