"It was folly to grieve or to think." Today I re-read Poe's "Masque of the Red Death" (linked), which bears an uneasy resemblance to last Saturday's event in the Rose Garden. https://www.poemuseum.org/the-masque-of-the-red-death h/t @tribelaw

"Attendees were so confident that the contagion would not invade their seemingly safe space ... that they were instructed they no longer needed to cover their faces." https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-virus-spread-white-house/2020/10/02/38c5b354-04cc-11eb-b7ed-141dd88560ea_story.html

Poe: "There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. All these and security were within. Without was the 'Red Death.'" (Pictured, Chris Christie, who tested positive today).

Last Saturday: "The no-mask mantra applied indoors as well. Cabinet members, senators, Barrett family members and others mixed unencumbered at tightly packed, indoor receptions in the White House’s Diplomatic Room and Cabinet Room."