From Covid-19 to Trumpvid-20: Corona … Corona … My Darling

By Abdo Husseiny

Admitting to being a confirmed cynic, the author presents contemporary issues from the perspectives of an old man who has seen it all: from “a world war, regional war, coup d’états, war on organized crime, war on drugs, an endless war on terror, eliminating the threat of al-Qaeda and then ISIS, etc.” to “protection from epidemics, pandemic, including swine flu, avian flu, West Nile virus, Ebola, and different generations of the coronavirus.” Time revealed that many of the world events are associated with slogans such as globalization, world order, the world as one village, and the formation of world organizations such as the World Bank, the IMF, the WTO, and a myriad of W?Os. All those wars and trends are orchestrated by centers of power such as the Bilderberg group, the Carlyle group, the Koch brothers, and George Soros alliance. Those who created ISIS overnight launched the endless war against international terror by a fiery speech that can easily synthesize a killer virus in a few minutes. Pejorative terms are often used to discredit freethinkers who have the guts to see things as they are and develop scenarios to stop destructive trends. A case in point, describing environmentalists as tree huggers, universal healthcare advocates as radicals or socialists, and philosophers who talk about manufacturing public consent as a crazy jihadist and an anarchist. The war against dissent and historians who talk about the history of ordinary people started by burning the writings of famous historians and progressed to launching a defamation campaign against them and a war of deprivation against their livelihood. Fear of the spread of a mere revolutionary ideology, a malicious unfamiliar disease, an unpredictable terrorist attack, a fictitious enemy is enough to control the masses like herds of blind animals. It is enough warning to say “The Russians are coming,” “ISIS is moving its targets to the heart of the USA,” the “Virus is sweeping the land” to exercise control over everyone under lockdown emergencies. No one will no longer be worried about dissent or revolt. The funny thing is that you can arm them in their locked abodes without fear of them fighting to regain their freedom. At the risk of being called a conspiracy theorist, he goes beyond analytics to prescribe vaccines and treatments for the glary infectious financial and freedom maladies that will surely follow the war against the hard to see, hear, or reckon with COVID-19. The author provides perspectives on the vast evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic leading to the TRUMPVID-20 pandemic (not to be confused with a new wave of COVID-19).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 25, 2020
• ISBN: 9781664126749

Abdo Husseiny

Dr. Abdo Husseiny is a nuclear engineer by profession and taught in University of Missouri-Rolla, Carnegie-Mellon University, Iowa State University, and Alexandria University. He conducted research at Los Alamos National Laboratories. He managed R&D projects in SAIC on alternative energy, desalination, and decision-making. At TII-VA, he directed and participated in a whole gamut of projects addressing engineering psychology, ergonomics, reliability, and safety. Dr. Abdo Husseiny is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and had hands-on training on operation and control of nuclear reactors at Queen Mary College, London, UK. Dr. Abdo Husseiny grew up in one of the epicenters of the swinging sixties that witnessed the counterculture and revolution in social norms. That was an unprecedented movement against fear from each other and from others who were different. It was a bold call for security and safety through social closeness and intimacy rather than through social distancing. Dr. Abdo Husseiny got caught amidst the battle for and against nuclear power generation. He witnessed the genuine fear from the unknown fueled by the fossil industry and was exposed to a multitude of conspiracy theories from the far left and the far rights. He also witnessed the containment of the progress of alternative energy by the fossil industry to put the brakes on the move away from fossil to renewable energy and stab the movement straight in the heart until pronounced dead. Now, Dr. Abdo Husseiny finds himself immersed in a new battle of wills, wherein he is targeted for eradication as part of the sixties’ generation and their remnants. At the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, war was declared on the green movement as well as on privacy, freedom, and social justice. The wealthy elite wants to establish their own socialist neo-utopia of fat cats, business tycoons, penny pinchers, and women susceptible to abuse. If you are a member of the neo-utopia, the fewer qualifications you have, the faster you will be in the inner circles. All are a mix of fossil hominids and Homo erectus. In the name of capitalism, they form dystopias to raid and enslave to multiply their illegitimate wealth. They force themselves on dystopias as physicians who have a potion for each ailment, architects who build towers, engineers who pave roads and erect bridges, economists who have the craft of stealing the mascara from the eyelashes. In general, they know better about what is good for the dystopias. As a hobby and past time, they eradicate those Homo sapiens in dystopias, who are in excess of their need.

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Copyright © 2020 by Abdo Husseiny.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Rev. date: 08/25/2020

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

1 A Prelude To A Love Affair

2 TRUMPVID-20 And COVID-19

3 A Love Affair

4 Fearmongering

5 The Value Of Human Life

6 Conspiracy Theories

7 Tribulations And Confessions

About The Author

To my beloved father, Ahmed, who taught me as a little boy not to give a hoot about someone or something as long as I fear God, the most merciful and the most compassionate.

To my heroic mother, Fahima, who successfully eradicated from my subconscious, my heart, and my mind any inklings to fear anyone or anything. She had ingrained in me, by example, the precious traits of being a go-getter and a free soul.

I dedicate this mental creation to my brother Ayman, my compassionate and brave companion who tolerated, with unsurpassed patience, being locked up with me alone amidst the social distancing, handwashing, surface cleansing, and hand sanitization ordeals throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, in absence of any glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel.

Last but not the least, this book is dedicated in memory of Dr. Ali El-Nashar, my officemate and roommate in London; my pal in the USA; a professional collaborator in the nuclear engineering, renewable energy and desalination circles; and closest lifetime friend. Ali left behind a rich legacy of love, passion, and compassion as he passed the torch to his cherished life companion, Aida El-Messiri, a legacy of her own.

Finally, to Lawrence Anderson, who cautiously bridged the gap between us and the rest of the stressed community.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My random discussions with my youngest brother, Ayman, a notable internal medicine specialist with comprehensive knowledge in the vast field of medicine, enticed me to jot on papers my thoughts, reflections, and impressions regarding the spread of COVID-19 and the subsequent repercussions.

My brother’s strong suit is in his reliance on his wits and tacit and explicit knowledge and deductions in diagnosis and prognosis of individual cases. Laboratory analysis and exploratory procedures to him are merely guiding tools.

Case in point, one day late at night I rushed to the bathroom, as anyone in my age does, when he gets a bad case of diarrhea. A stream of clear red blood gushed out with the stool. By dawn, I was rushed to the emergency room of the hospital, which seemed to me to be at the other end of the planet. After they reviewed my medications, there were couple of suspicious body snatchers that may have caused a bleeding ulcer or damaged the tissue of my intestines. One of the specialists who monitored my heart stated, There is no risk-free medicine; whether off-the-shelf or by prescription. With no end in sight to the bleeding, I was admitted to the hospital to explore the source of blood and arrest the flow.

My beloved sister-in-law, Heba, rushed from Los Angeles to hold my hand throughout the peak of my afflictions and to see me through the way to recovery.

In the hospital I was surrounded by the warmth of my great family of kindred and friends, including a younger brother, Mohammed, and his wife, Enayat, who were on a visit to my family friend, Abdallahi Ould Abderrahmane, and his wife, Jameela.

My circle of friends who became part of my life encompassed three, whom I have virtually adopted as daughters: Kristy Falterman, Lindsay Millet, and Hend Fares, in the order of the adoption date. My psychological well-being is owed to Dr. Naglaa Shourbaji, Dr. Mona Bakeer, and Nadia Metwally, whose care gave me the will to survive the worst days of my life.

I went through a period of no intake except from some intestine-cleansing liquid concoction that tasted like a blend of witch’s brew and devil’s piss. I have undergone three procedures within four days with two that required general anesthesia. The procedures started with small bowel enteroscopy. With no lead to the cause of bleeding, I have to undergo colonoscopy (which I went through before several times without full anesthesia; in fact, at one time I was invited to watch on a monitor the exciting world inside my intestines). The procedure showed nothing except for a couple of undesirable minute polyps. The final procedure was a video capsule endoscopy. It was fun to swallow the camera, and I am sure someone was watching its eight-hour trip. With no show of the source of bleeding and with no more blood in the stool, I was released in the custody of Heba to recover at home. Being an old man living alone—barring a cat who may be older than me in cat years—I got monitored and convalesced by a capable home health team of nurses, nurse aides, physical therapists, and physical rehabilitation specialists.

Ayman arrived, according to a pre-planned visit, shortly following my release. In spite of a long tiresome trip across the globe and a delay in his arrival to my home, it did not take him any time at all to question the necessity of performing procedures other than the colonoscopy, given that the blood in the stool was bright red. Couple of decades earlier, I got a bleeding stomach ulcer, which made the stool pitch-black. The ulcer was caused by a harsh arthritis medicine. That did not cost me than one night in the emergency room.

Heba passed the banner to Ayman to be my caregiver. When he reviewed my medications, it did not take him long to suspect a medicine I had just recently been using for Type 2 diabetes, instead of the more traditional medicines I was taking before. One of the less likely side effects of the new medicine was pancreatitis, which could have not been detected and can be easily missed by the video capsule endoscopy.

My brother’s assessment was accepted by my care providers, and I stopped all medications, except from two basic medicines for the diabetes, which I have taken for long time without a problem. In fact, I was ready to drop using medications altogether. I would rather suffer from a headache or an allergic reaction than go through what I went through. Old folks’ herbal medicine can still do miracles.

Ayman got worried about the polyps discovered during the colonoscopy, which were not there in earlier procedures. The polyps were not removed in the hype of searching for the bleeding source. He was scheduled to leave just a few days before a follow-up visit with the gastroenterologist. Being sure that I am in good hands, he deferred his travel plans to be around if I needed to go through a procedure to remove the polyps.

Within a couple of days, all hell broke loose, and the coronavirus sprung out from China to invade Italy and then the USA. Airline trips were interrupted and subsequently cancelled. With COVID-19 turning into a pandemic, with no one sure where it will hit next, my scheduled follow-up visits were cancelled. Nothing in the near or intermediate future was certain. In short, Ayman got stuck with me in a stay-home sequence of events under threat of getting infected by the nasty virus, which can sneak on from anywhere and from anything he touches. Being trapped with an old man who is more vulnerable to the virus is more alarming. His wife, who was expected to join him, is thousands of miles away. There was no way to predict what is next. Uncertainty wrapped in a cloak of worries about what the future holds is as viscous and as infectious as the killer virus.

Rejoicing for being spared the possibility of bleeding and being forced to go to the emergency room, during the outbreak of the epidemic, I kept wondering what could have been my fate.

On the emotional and psychological side, Lawrence could have not helped me inside the emergency room. No one close to me would have been able to visit, give me moral support, or see me through my malady. Heba would not have been able to fly to straighten my affairs or care for me through recovery.

As of the physical health, my procedures were cancelled because of being exploratory and not mandatory or essential life-and-death operations.

As of the convalescence and regaining my mobility, I could not have gotten the help of the health homecare nurses or staff.

On the physical existence side, I would have been probably dumped in the closest ditch as a person of no value. Being over seventy, I am one of those who were labeled as one of those useless eaters by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and should take care of themselves or die by the virus as a sacrifice for younger people to return to their normal routines and feed the economy. At a softer tone, I am one of those whose family ought to say farewell to them and let the virus feed on them, according to the Honorable Prime Minister of the UK, Mr. Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, who tested positive after his call upon the British people to forget about their elderly.

Nursing homes being the epicenter of the pandemic in some states, including Louisiana, enticed President Donald Trump to allude to the need to sacrifice old citizens like me (not much younger than me) if it became an option for the economy to revive. Although President Trump is no longer a spring chicken, there is an exception to every rule in the Trumpoid doctrine. Despite him passing the age of being disposable, the country needs him if there is any hope to revive the economy at all. Furthermore, as the idol for the MAGA movement, he is tough, resilient, and invincible. Great patriots like him would not yield to such a tiny weak critter like a coronavirus. As a symbol of patriotism, he does not toil for a bite to eat. He does not cost the country Medicare or social security. He does not burden the private enterprise with matching retirement funds such as the 401K. He does not bring shame to the society and most notably he plays golf—a game, which I hate with a passion.

However, I am grateful to President Donald Trump for his intentional delayed action to combat the pandemic in time; otherwise I probably would not have survived the bleeding to write this book. For sure, Heba could not have flown to hold my hand, my brother Ayman would have been held in Heathrow Airport, and my care providers would have social-distanced themselves from me.

Gratitude is due to my niece, Dr. Maha Eladwi, who bridged the gap between my culture and the culture of my roots.

The acknowledgment would be incomplete without due recognition of those who have been a source of inspiration to me and many others, including:

Patriots and creative minds, such as Benjamin Franklin, who once said, Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. Treason is a charge invented by winners as an excuse for hanging the losers. We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.

Dissidents and scholars of the caliber of Noam Chomsky, whose speeches and writings, especially Manufacturing Consent, Requiem for the American Dream and Who Rules the World? and Internationalism or Extinction (Universalizing Resistance).

The Great American historian Howard Zinn, the author of the best-selling and influential book, A People’s History of the United States. Unlike most historians, he chose not to write about kings, queens, presidents, tzars, Caesars, and emperors but preferred to write about ordinary people who made a difference.

People with political insight, such as Naomi