Fighting World War III against a virus

Malvern’s Cletis Overton survived the Bataan Death March and years of imprisonment.

April 2, 2020

By Steve Brawner
© 2020 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

We’re possibly engaged in World War III, so this might be a good time to recall World War II, and what was required to win it from people like Malvern’s Cletis Overton.

Cletis was serving as a U.S. Army aircraft mechanic in the Philippines in December 1941 when Japan attacked that country along with Pearl Harbor. For months, he and his fellow soldiers retreated until there was nowhere to go, and they were captured and forced to walk 60 miles in what became known as the Bataan Death March. From there he endured a series of prison camps marked by forced labor, limited food, malaria and dysentery.

Eventually the tide of the war reversed. As American forces closed in on the weakening Japanese strongholds, he and his 750 fellow prisoners were herded into the sweltering hold of a cargo ship, where they survived on a cupful of rice and a few swallows of water twice a day. Two five-gallon barrels served as toilet facilities. They were transferred to another ship, the Shinyo Maru, for transport to Japan, but near the coast of the Philippines the ship was sunk by an American submarine that was unaware of its cargo. That torpedo resulted in the deaths of 668 Americans. Cletis swam to shore and eventually made it home. When his mother, Virgie, saw him approach, she prayed a beautiful thanksgiving prayer and then cooked him fried chicken, his favorite meal. Continue reading →

Virus is messing with this election, too

March 31, 2020

By Steve Brawner
© 2020 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

We’re experiencing first and foremost a public health crisis and also very much an economic one. Secondarily, but not irrelevantly, the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic is also messing up this election year, as Daniel Whitfield and others know too well.

Whitfield, 33, is trying to mount an independent U.S. Senate campaign, which is never easy under any circumstance but is nearly impossible under the present one.

Independent Senate candidates have between Feb. 1 and noon May 1 to submit at least 10,000 valid registered voter signatures. Because so many of those will be disqualified, he must collect many more. His initial goal was 17,500.

Whitfield last year laid the campaign’s groundwork and amassed volunteers. Two months into his three-month signature collection effort, he says he has about 4,500 signatures in hand.

But, married to a wife with asthma, he’s self-quarantined at home and unable to attend the events that would help him collect more. Continue reading →

Hutchinson, Cotton attack virus threat the same

March 26, 2020

By Steve Brawner
© 2020 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Arkansas’ two most prominent elected officials have backgrounds in threat assessment and response, so it’s not surprising that they wouldn’t hesitate to go to war against the COVID-19 coronavirus – and use every weapon at their disposal to do it.

Those two officials would be Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former under secretary for border and transportation security at the Department of Homeland Security, and Sen. Tom Cotton, veteran of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

Let’s start with Cotton, who recognized the coronavirus threat back when everyone in Washington was obsessed with impeachment. In late January, he was skipping parts of the trial to advise President Trump on the virus while it was still localized in China. On Jan. 28, Cotton sent a letter to members of Trump’s cabinet urging a ban on commercial flights between the United States and China. On Jan. 29, he was tweeting urgently about the threat. On Jan. 30, he called for a “Manhattan Project-level effort” to develop a vaccine, referring to the World War II effort to develop the atomic bomb. He also called the coronavirus “the biggest and most important story in the world,” saying it “could result in a global pandemic.”

Called that one right, didn’t he? Continue reading →

Legislators will meet, but not too close

March 24, 2020

By Steve Brawner
© 2020 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Georgia legislators have been self-quarantining since a senator showed up at their Capitol feeling sick and then tested positive for the coronavirus. Arkansas legislators would like to avoid the same fate when they convene twice in the next few weeks.

To do so, they’ll creatively balance lawmaking and social distancing. For example, the House of Representatives will meet at a basketball arena rather than the Capitol.

Legislators will meet twice in the coming weeks. First, Gov. Asa Hutchinson will call them into special session, probably this week, because the coronavirus epidemic is creating a $353 million state budget hole by the end of this fiscal year June 30. As a result, the state general revenue budget now will be $5.38 billion.

The shortfall is caused by two factors. One is the loss of tax revenues caused by businesses closing and people losing their jobs. The other is the governor’s plan to push the individual income tax filing deadline from April 15 to July 15, which is after the fiscal year ends. Continue reading →

Time not on side of just-in-time nation

March 19, 2020

By Steve Brawner
© 2020 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

You know how personal financial planners are always telling us to save six months of living expenses in case we face hard times?

Turns out that’s good advice for a nation as well.

No one knows what the future will hold, but a Department of Health and Human Services plan, as reported by the New York Times, anticipates an 18-month coronavirus pandemic that “could include multiple waves of illness” with “significant shortages for government, private sector, and individual U.S. consumers.” Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Republican senators the unemployment rate could reach 20%.

To cushion the blow, Congress and the Trump administration are hatching plans that would exceed the bailouts of a decade ago. The number $2 trillion is being reported. Both of Arkansas’ senators, Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton, are willing to go big. Cotton on Jan. 30 called for a “Manhattan Project-level effort” to develop a vaccine – the Manhattan Project being the World War II effort to develop the atomic bomb. He gave a chilling speech Monday urging “extraordinary measures,” saying, “(O)ur hour of great national testing has arrived.” He’s introduced four bills that would provide money to individuals and businesses, including $1,000 checks to individuals making less than $100,000 annually plus $500 for dependents.

That would pay the mortgage. Meanwhile, utilities in Arkansas are saying they won’t shut off power and water for those who can’t pay their bills. Continue reading →