From pariah state and nation to "Semper Ficus"

I generally rise up early each morning and at least browse via digital subscriptions "my" three newspapers, The Des Moines Register, The New York Times and The Washington Post.

It's been an interesting week so far in these United States as the corona virus accelerates its rampage in what surely must be at the moment one of the world's most poorly led, most primitive cultures.

The European Union, where member states have reduced the virus to what it is hoped will be manageable levels, has banned U.S. citizens from travel there for the time being; three of the United States --- New York, New Jersey and Connecticut --- have imposed 14-day quarantines on Iowans and those from other states where the virus is spiking. 

Curious that, to be a resident of a pariah state within a pariah nation once considered to be a world leader.

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Elsewhere, this week has brought the news that our president is, among his other attributes, a traitor --- countenancing by ignoring his own intelligence service reports that Russia has put bounties on the corpses of dead U.S. and allied troops in Afghanistan.

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And down in Mississippi, hell froze over (metaphorically speaking) when the Republican-led Legislature voted overwhelmingly to rid the state of the Confederate symbol embedded in its state banner. It may be more of a symbolic gesture than anything else, but certainly demonstrates the power that the Black Lives Matter movement has.

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But The Times front page also included a little levity, including my favorite headline of the day, "Semper Ficus."