Overcast and chilly this early-evening Monday here in California’s Central Valley as the new year plays out in grim fashion from nasty politics to a rampaging pandemic, without much breathing room in between — seemingly insidious civics is putting the kibosh on our health.

One major political interference is in the use of masks. In October, as virus numbers started to rise and it was obvious maskless asshole-superspreaders were leading the surge, Dr. Anthony Fauci proclaimed: ‘“Well, if people are not wearing masks, then maybe we should be mandating it.”‘
Yet there’d still be problems, as it does happen so close to home (per The Fresno Bee): ‘The Trader Joe’s market in Fresno closed early Saturday night after several protesters showed up as part of a campaign against requirements to wear masks inside stores during the global coronavirus pandemic.‘
Fresno is just south of where I’m at, and like all over the San Joaquin Valley, COVID-19 is spreading out of control, with zero ICU beds.

However, one virus victim has great regret — report via Raw Story this afernoon:

“I didn’t wear a mask. I should have…I didn’t.”

My friend didn’t wear a mask because he believed the lies from our leaders. Now, he’s close to being intubated. He asked that I share this.

Wear a mask! pic.twitter.com/S43WWHQDEW

— Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) January 4, 2021

Background: Daniel Uhlfelder is the Florida lawyer who dressed up as the Grim Reaper to walk around Florida beaches and warn people the dangers of refusing to wear masks or social distance.
On Twitter Monday, he announced that a friend of his sent a video that he begged to share with people as a warning.

If you skip the video, the gist:

“I believed this was just the flu. That it was all going to go away,” he said through tears, hooked up to oxygen and with monitors on his chest.
“That it was political.”

“You don’t want to end up like me,” he continued.
“I’ve been having trouble breathing. I may have to be intubated if I get any worse. I will be intubated if I get any worse. It’s so hard to breathe. It affects every person different (sic). But if it affects you like it affected me, you don’t want it.”

“If wearing a mask can reduce your chance of getting this, even by 5 percent, just wear a mask,” he said.

Telling end: ‘“Do it for your children, your loved ones, do it for yourself…”‘

Despite the dramatic, raspy plea, people are getting more hard-dumb, even after knowing people who’ve become infected, with some dying — from WebMD Dec. 22 and a deteriorating use of masks:

Two-thirds (66-percent) of U.S. adults surveyed in a new HealthDay/Harris Poll said they “always” donned a mask when leaving their home and weren’t able to socially distance, compared with 72-percent in a poll conducted in October.
The proportion of Americans who now say they wear a mask outside the home is edging closer to the 61-percent reported in an August survey conducted by The Harris Poll.
…
The decline in mask wearing is surprising, given that the same poll finds the proportion of Americans with a direct connection to COVID-19 is on the rise.

Close to two-thirds of U.S. adults (63-percent) said they or someone they know (including acquaintances) had been hospitalized due to, or passed away from, COVID-19, and half (50-percent) said they had direct experience with COVID-19.

What’s the deal?

Now, the Republiacn and Democratic floor staff are in a screaming match on the floor.

So this Congress is going great already

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 3, 2021

The basics:

And so it goes…and goes…

(Illustration: Vincent van Gogh’s ‘Old Man in Sorrow (On the Threshold of Eternity)‘ found here).