Saturday, March 21. 2020
Taking a drive to a mountain hike is essential travel. Take it from Bird Dog.
 Dalrymple on clothing:
One question on which I have changed my mind is that of dress. In my youth I thought that it mattered not at all, and that to be concerned with it was a sign of egotism and triviality of mind. I cannot point to any conversion experience after which I came to believe the opposite, but I now see my former opinion as shallow in the way that so many youthful opinions are shallow.
First impressions matter
WSJ: This is your brain on a crashing stock market
WSJ: ‘The Consequences of Structural Whiteness are Fatal’. A famous medical journal succumbs to radical politics.
Four Republicans, One Democrat Caught Up in Ballooning Senate Insider Trading Scandal
Crazy thing is, it's legal for them
Open Borders Dems Threaten U.S. Health Care System
Mike Bloomberg pumped nearly $1B into failed presidential bid
Biden’s memory isn’t the only problem; It’s his lies
District tells Philadelphia teachers not to teach online due to ‘equity’ concerns; quickly backtracks
FBI Finds New Clinton Emails, Including Discussion about Benghazi and Additional Classified Material
Trump Says He Doesn't Want Corporations Spending "Millions Of Dollars" On Buybacks While Workers Suffer
National Guard Deploys In Baltimore As City Enforces Restrictive Curfew
Taiwan Says It Warned WHO About Coronavirus In December, But Its Warnings Were Ignored
Schumer Asks Trump To Invoke Act For Emergency Medical Equipment; Trump Immediately Orders It Done
Walmart hiring 150,000 to meet demand from coronavirus, giving bonuses to current employees
Great.
Fox News's Hume rips Alexander over 'gotcha' question to Trump
Stanford Professor: Data Indicates We’re Severely Overreacting To Coronavirus
Cuomo Announces New York On Lockdown
New York Deems Liquor Stores ‘Essential,’ Says They Can Stay Open During Coronavirus Shutdown
Marijuana dispensaries are deemed 'essential' in LA, allowed to stay open during coronavirus order
As Hospitals Prepare for COVID-19, Life-Saving Trans Surgeries Are Delayed. Though medical facilities may soon become overtaxed for everyone, the coronavirus pandemic has shed light on how transgender people's care can be treated as "non-essential."
Sheesh
Hospitals in Mass. told to limit ‘nonessential surgeries’ due to COVID-19, but abortions still a go
'Endless wars' and political warfare
Friday, March 20. 2020
 Poll: Americans View Wuhan Virus As A Bigger Threat To The Economy Than To Their Health
The Double-Barreled Coronavirus Threat: Death by Virus or by Ensuing Economic Disaster
"Wow. Bars, clubs, and gyms all closed...my life is about to be seriously the same."
Does he or she need to "get a life"? I have to admit that this mess seriously disrupts my well-planned life routines - work, exercise, play, and social life. Not to mention my local 24-hr Dunkin now opening at 5 am. That's too late for me.
‘Immediate Use’ — Trump Waives F.D.A. Regulations, Allows Chloroquine And Other Drugs To Be Used For Coronavirus Therapy
Good move
But... Trump touts chloroquine for 'immediate' use treating coronavirus, but FDA wants to see the data first
Is It Time to #CancelChina?
Rep. Michael Cloud: China's coronavirus blunder is the last straw – move past reliance on them
Iran And Italy Are Paying A Hefty Price For Close Ties With Communist China
China Is Avoiding Blame by Trolling the World. Beijing is successfully dodging culpability for its role in spreading the coronavirus.
Biased Press Does China's Bidding on COVID-19
Why?
Gavin Newsom Issues Order For All Of California To Stay Home
How does that work? No hiking allowed? No mail?
Senate Republican proposal rejects grants for U.S. airlines, could get equity
Good move
Senator Kelly Loeffler dumped $3.1m in stock and Senate Intel chairman Richard Burr sold $1.5m while getting classified briefings on coronavirus before market plunged—then she invested in firm that...
In Walmart We Trust During Troubled Times
Politicizing the Pandemic: Will Dems' Dark-Money Ads Work?
Virus builds back borders that European Union demolished
Special Operations: Forgotten Buried Russian Spyware
Wednesday, March 18. 2020
Order take-out or home delivery meals. A grateful tip is also always required.
These workers are suffering.
Some things to consider in the Covid-19 panic. I've always known Covid is real, and that it's slightly more dangerous than the flu. I'm quite aware of how the mortality rate is considerably higher than some other viral outbreaks, especially with the elderly and those suffering health conditions. I've been less than convinced there is anything we could have done to stop it, short of shutting the nation down completely in January and keeping it shut down for about 2 months....which seems to be where we've gone anyway. That said, even extreme measures are unlikely to stop the spread. I've always supported an abundance of caution. But now that we're here with extreme measures, let's think calmly about HOW we got here.
Fear. Just fear. Yes, many of us would've gotten sick. Yes, some people would die. We can talk all we want about flattening the curve to keep hospital facilities from being overrun...while ignoring how herd immunity is being compromised. Furthermore, in shutting down in the manner we did, we basically sent people on 5 days of panic shopping whereby anyone infected and shopping was busy spreading the virus. It seems to me, the 'cure' is just as bad as letting it run its course. By increasing fear and panic, and even potentially the spread.
What's really concerning to me, however, is less the health issue and more the socio-political issue. This is the largest non-partisan event of our lifetime, and it's been heavily politicized. To that point, consider this - Democrats, who only a week ago complained that President Trump was abusing power, now are complaining that he isn't using enough power to 'fix' this.
Continue reading "Some Notes From Home"
10 Insane Hikes Around the World
Middlebury students tear down local bar's American flag, 'vandalize' campus amid national crisis
The 85 Universities that Discriminate on the Basis of Sex
‘This is online education’s moment’ as colleges close during coronavirus pandemic
U.S. Airlines Looking To Pick Your Pockets For $50 Billion
US ‘big 3’ airlines well-positioned to survive possible coronavirus crisis shakeout, analysts say
Amazon Suspends All Shipments Other Than Medical Supplies, Household Staples
Looking to hire 100,000 people
Bartenders and restaurant servers are screwed due to coronavirus
Trump Calls Out NY Times For Missing Half A Quote
Evil
Wow: Stunned CNN Offers Rare Praise for Trump's Leadership After Coronavirus Presser
VA postpones 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration events
Stanford prof: Coronavirus may be less deadly than we think — and too mild to justify these aggressive countermeasures
BIDEN: "Number one, no more subsidies for the fossil fuel industry, no more drilling on federal lands, no more drilling, including offshore, no ability for the oil industry to continue to drill, period, ends, number one."
In other words, dependent on foreign oil
With new technologies and techniques, America’s shale industry will survive this latest crisis—and prove an ever-bigger threat to Saudi Arabian and Russian oil producers.
Clyburn Compares Trump to Hitler, Warns U.S. ‘Could Very Well Go the Way of Germany in the 1930s’
Dems Call for ‘War’ on Coronavirus, But Military Says Help is Limited
Beijing Fears COVID-19 Is Turning Point for China, Globalization:
While the world fights the coronavirus pandemic, China is fighting a propaganda war. Beijing’s war aim is simple: shift away from China all blame for the outbreak, the botched initial response, and its early spread into the broader world. At stake is China’s global reputation, as well as the potential of a fundamental shift away from China for trade and manufacturing. Also at risk is the personal legacy of General Secretary Xi Jinping, who has staked his legitimacy on his technocratic competence. After dealing with the first great global crisis of the 21st century, the world must fundamentally rethink its dependence on China.
Monday, March 16. 2020
As we posted yesterday, they are probably all wrong. A very few people fall seriously ill (mainly but not entirely the frail elderly). The US has been fortunate, thus far. Hospitals are not overtaxed at all. Things could change, but the virus has been here for months.
The Coronavirus Fatality Rate Reported by the Media Is COMPLETELY INACCURATE. The Actual Rate Is LESS THAN THE FLU
Dr. Oz: ‘A Lot of People Had This and Didn’t Realize It. 80% Had Very Subtle Symptoms’
Europe seems to have a special problem with this. I do not know why. Blame their government public health and government medical care, or just bad luck? I go for the latter. Disease humbles humanity and always has.
Do you know how many people were hospitalized in 2009-2010 with the swine flu? Three hundred thousand were hospitalized. So 60 million people infected, 300,000 hospitalized. And nobody even remembers it. And why? Well, because we had a different president. We had a Democrat president by the name of Barack Obama, and the news then was how wonderfully well Obama was handling it, how expertly well Obama was dealing with it.
Unfortunately, there is no scientific formula in existence that answers the question: When is precisely the exact right time to take massive economically and socially disruptive action in dealing with a pandemic?
Whatever you do is wrong. When Trump blocked travel from China, he was zenophobic. When he blocked Europe travel, he was plain stupid. Now the complaint is that he should have done them sooner.
Fauci Favors National Shutdown: ‘You Don’t Want To Be Complacent’
Pelosi Tried To Include Abortion Funding In COVID-19 Spending Bill
Lawsuit Demands USDA Stop Certifying Hydroponic Foods as 'Organic'
Biden did not screw up
Dem Gov Candidate Was With Meth Male Escort Because He Was Depressed Over Losing
Sunday, March 15. 2020
There are four data that the public is interested in for epidemics: Exposure %, mild illness %, truly ill %, and dead %. But % of what? Journalists have no clue about this.
Exposure can be tested, whether ill or not. However, very few people will be tested for exposure if they feel fine or have the sniffles, and it would be absurd (except for a limited study of the general population) to randomly test people. I'd be interested in those results but it's academic.
One epidemiologist said yesterday that the majority of people in the NYC metro area (NY, NJ, CT) and in MA have been exposed. A guess, though. Exposed but not ill is good. You get herd immunity. It is happening now, for sure. Probably in CA too. Most viral spread is probably by people without symptoms who assume they are clear.
My point is that, without a number for people exposed and unexposed within a given general population, you have no denominators. If the only data you have is dead people (not many thus far) divided by sick people getting tested, you have minimally-useful information from a public health standpoint. From a doctor's standpoint, it's useful to know risk of sick to dead even though there is no treatment, other than supportive, for viral pneumonia.
So what is a "death rate" based on in the absence of relevant data, ie deaths/exposed? So the danger of this virus, right now, can not be determined or even estimated. That might be knowable in a few months.
I am not an ID doc, so I'll just tell you what I am doing. I am hoarding nothing. I am taking walks or hikes daily in the sunshine. I wash my hands, but I always did. I am going to the gym and working out (improves immune response). I am not going to church (because it's closed at the moment.) Small meals are my normal anyway (improves immune response and generally healthier).
If you've been exposed (probably) and feel entirely well, you are still infectious but if you aren't coughing or sneezing, it's sort-of ok.
We'll all be fine, unless frail, with preexisting serious ailments, or elderly. Those things apply also to the ordinary seasonal flu. However, there is really no way to insulate them because staff help, family help, etc. can be exposed but without any symptoms. There have been a few cases of otherwise healthy people becoming ill enough to need hospital care, but not many.
Please correct my thinking if I am in error.
This makes sense to me: Coronavirus going to hit its peak and start falling sooner than you think.
As we have said before, the goal is to try to flatten the exposure curve (speed of exposure), not to prevent exposure because that really cannot be done unless you isolate on an island somewhere for 6 months.
Addendum: Flattening the curve of an infection slows the rate of exposure. But how is a "case" defined?
Saturday, March 14. 2020
 Photo from a reader on Long Island Sound this week. These birds have become common nesters. Cool. They catch outdoor cats too, which is great.
'Dead Sea Scrolls' at the Museum of the Bible are all forgeries
I’ve prescribed opioids to patients. And I’m not a villain.
THE GREAT TOILET PAPER PANDEMIC OF 2020 (AND TWIP PREVIEW)
"We must seize the means of toilet paper production"
A Tale Of Two Pandemics: Media Downplayed Swine Flu Outbreak Under Obama
Fauci: No Seriously, The Travel Restrictions Are Exactly What We Need To Flatten The COVID-19 Curve; WHO Confirms Europe As New “Epicenter”
Dem Rep. Pressley Blames Americans ‘Racism And Xenophobia’ For Drop In Business At Chinese Restaurants…
Thus far: 222,000 Flu Cases and 22,000 Flu Deaths in US this Season … AND– 1,864 COVID-19 Cases and 41 Deaths in US This Season
Panic and Paid Leave
Dr. Fauci Cautions Against a Hyped-Up 75-150 Million Coronavirus Case Estimate
The NY Times Issues A Long-Overdue Correction To The 1619 Project
UCLA caves to striking students, only to be met with more backlash
Give an inch and they'll take a mile
Higher education’s mandatory political participation
Police ‘Not Pursuing Criminal Charges’ Against Andrew Gillum After He Was Found in Miami Hotel Room with Bags of Crystal Meth
State climate lawsuits are all about ignoring legislature to get cash stream
"The Biden 2020 campaign isn’t about following its nominal leader, or even listening to him; it’s about the party pushing him over the line collectively..."
No it is not. It's about trying to save the House.
Biden goes all in on corona virus
Biden’s Coronavirus Adviser Wants to Die at 75
But 75 is the new 60, right?
CNN: In speech, Biden shows how a normal president responds in crisis
UK's Coronavirus Strategy: Just Let It Happen And Hope For Herd Immunity
Makes sense, but not political sense
Mayor Of Florence Encouraged Italians To "Hug A Chinese" Before Pandemic Hit
What???
Thursday, March 12. 2020
 From Most Important Coronavirus Question: Will I Get Sick And Die?, this is Dr. Fauci:
“If one assumes that the number of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic cases is several times as high as the number of reported cases, the case fatality rate may be considerably less than 1%. This suggests that the overall clinical consequences of Covid-19 may ultimately be more akin to those of a severe seasonal influenza (which has a case fatality rate of approximately 0.1%) or a pandemic influenza (similar to those in 1957 and 1968) rather than a disease similar to SARS or MERS, which have had case fatality rates of 9 to 10% and 36%, respectively."
Wednesday, March 11. 2020
Billionaire Elon Musk: 'You don't need college....you can learn everything for free'
Widow of Steve Jobs preaches it's 'wrong' to accumulate wealth
CA Gov. Newsom has Praise for Trump Over Handling of Coronavirus
Dr. Drew Pinsky Slams Media For Inciting Coronavirus ‘Panic’
'No Copays, No Surprise Charges': Pence Declares Insurers Have Agreed To Cover Coronavirus Costs
Crushing the Coronavirus Curve
Dr. Oz Argues Coronavirus Numbers from Korea Show Lower Death Rate – May Be No Worse than Common Flu
FACT CHECK: Hillary Clinton Falsely Claims Credit for Defeating SARS Epidemic
She wasn't even there
The progressive narrative on homelessness has always been wrong—and new data undermine it further.
Inside the FBI's 218 days that changed Trump's political world
Choosing Not to Vote
Krauthammer:
“President Obama, in his messianic period, declared that choosing between security and liberty was a false choice,” Krauthammer wrote. “On the contrary. It is the eternal dilemma of every free society. Politics is the very process of finding some equilibrium between these two competing values.”
" Democrats such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez aren’t opposed to school choice. They’re opposed to school choice for other people’s children."
Yale Psychiatrist Who Has Repeatedly Called Trump Mentally Unfit Refuses to Diagnose Biden
Three reasons Joe Biden will never be president
WaPo, MSNBC Give Biden New Instructions on How to Address Burisma
On the team
GOP approval rises, Democrats fall post-impeachment in Gallup poll
Italy Suspends Mortgage Payments, Businesses Dying As Panicked Residents Hoard Food
Europe Under Siege - Barbarians are storming the gates, but Europeans still won’t pull in the welcome mat.
Monday, March 9. 2020
Here.
This is not the first time. I miss Charles Krauthammer.
Sunday, March 8. 2020
Have you noticed people avoiding public spaces this week? I have noticed fewer people on the subways (Which is great. Probably Ubering, or, God forbid, "working from home".)
Word is that the theater/movie biz is having a drop in attendance. Restaurants and pubs as busy as ever. People vary in their vulnerability to fearfulness. I refuse to be among the fearful. It's just not my way.
My church this morning was packed, as always. No more sipping the wine from the same cup, though. I never liked that idea anyway.
My gym is as busy as usual. They claim they do a special cleaning every three days. Whatever.
What about travel plans? Cruise lines are dead for a while, and northern Italy is shut down. I feel bad for their businesses. It's a Black Swan event. If you plan for Black Swans, you go nuts.
Saturday, March 7. 2020
New study shows sea level rise has been slow and a constant, pre-dating industrialization
That's what happens during interglaciations. The reverse happens during glaciations. People once lived where the English Channel is now.
Note to readers: The CDC has certified that Maggie's Farm has installed effective protections against sending COVID-19 through the internet. It's a very high-tech filter made of baling wire, duct tape, and organic, non-GMO fresh, damp cow manure which is stuffed into our internet access portal (we use a PVC pipe). We do it to keep you safe here.
'Rosie the Riveter' dies at 95: New York woman who first inspired the iconic character while working on a fighter plane assembly line during WWII passes away
Girl Scouts are tough salespeople
She inherited millions, and nobody knows
Smart girl
Quillette: A Closer Look at ‘White Fragility’ Theory
Historian: I Warned The 1619 Project’s Author She Was Wrong About The Revolutionary War
LI: Look for the Union Label Week in Higher Education
California's Government Has Turned Homelessness Into Big Business
Blockbuster Jobs Report: Feb Payrolls Soar By 273,000, Smashing Expectations, As Unemployment Rate Drops... But Does Anyone Care?
Anyone Notice That Trump’s Economy Keeps Beating Expectations?
MSM will not mention
Schumer’s SCOTUS threat was truly unprecedented, then he made it worse
Maddow Tells Warren Her Exit From Race Was ‘Death Knell’ For ‘Woman President In Our Lifetimes’
I doubt it, but is that really so important? Dem women preferred Biden.
Are you suffering from Elizabeth Warren Denial Syndrome? Symptoms include seeing sexism everywhere and forgetting Tulsi is still in the race
Biden Keeps Forgetting Obama’s Name While Campaigning
MSM will not discuss
'It's pandemonium': virus panic-buying hits Los Angeles
The Age of Mass Hysteria
All of Italy’s Regions Infected with Coronavirus
Insty's Corona update
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