Thursday, April 23. 2020
COVID-19 is proving to be a disease of the immune system. This could, in theory, be controlled.
It is not exactly a disease of the immune system, but some supposedly strong immune systems over-react, as I posted yesterday. Cytokine Storm.
It continues to be apparent that the elderly, overweight, or pre-diabetic/diabetic seem to be most likely to face death with this virus. Those people ought to be protected as best we can, but that's difficult. Most people weather it just fine, if miserable for a while. The luckiest ones (most people) get the sniffles and a headache for a few days and then feel fine.
Losing someone you love, particularly a family member, is painful. I can't say I know, nobody in my closest circle of friends or family has died. My brother-in-law died 22 years ago, and while we were friendly I wouldn't say we were close. He was family and that was painful enough. For my in-laws it was much worse, but I was more observer and shoulder to cry on.
I received a message from a fraternity brother on Sunday night that my former roommate (also a fraternity brother) had lost his younger (real) brother in a tragic late night car accident on Saturday. I happen to be friendly with my former roommate's older (real) brother through work, and I was friendly with the deceased as well, though only from a distance. My wife knows my former roommate well, as we played beach volleyball for a summer the year she and I started dating, and we've gone to the Preakness every year as part of a large group.
Mrs. Bulldog, having gone through this experience of family loss, insisted I set up a call with all our fraternity brothers as soon as possible. I wasn't sure this was wise. She was adamant. So I checked with my roommate's older brother (who, obviously, was also hurting) to express my condolences and see if this was a good decision. We are all separated by many miles and the lockdown will prevent any of us traveling for a funeral. His reaction was rapid, emphatically positive, and it didn't take much insistence on my part to assure he join.
For 2 hours Tuesday night we videoconferenced with 8 old college buddies, 1 close friend, and 1 older brother. 10 people just sharing experiences. Mostly, however, my former roommate and his brother were expressing grief, sharing their fondest memories, how they will be there for their niece, and all the thoughts and feelings that pass through peoples' minds at moment like this. The rest of us listened, shared some smiles, casual observations, a joke or two where it was fitting, and it felt good to just soak in their memories and feelings. It may be hard for me to empathize, never having lost anyone very close. But I can sympathize and provide some consolation.
As skeptical as I was, I hoped it would be cathartic and meaningful. It seems to have done some good. The older brother sent me a note this morning of an old Jewish saying that grief shared is grief halved. He is a lay minister, and we began to share our thoughts on the nature of God. We concluded a videoconference may not be an optimal setting, yet the appearance of everybody on that call was evidence of God and God's love.
There is a line in The Big Chill: "a long time ago we knew each other for a short period of time; you don't know anything about me. It was easy back then. No one had a cushier berth than we did. It's not surprising our friendship could survive that. It's only out there in the real world that it gets tough." As I contemplate this movie quote, I realized something. If it wasn't for technology, this quote may have described my relationship with these fellows perfectly. I doubt I would be as close with some of them as I have become. I reconnected with many as a result of the internet. The internet provides a source of communion.
We knew each other well for 2-4 years 37 years ago. Some of us fell off the map for many years. Others maintained relationships. In many cases we've had to renew old friendships. Even now, sometimes, we struggle to maintain these connections. Technology has helped us avoid the loss that comes from no longer living together with few responsibilities. It has, now, helped us lean on each other in times of need and sorrow. It has provided great benefit at a very unusual and difficult period in everybody's life.
The conference ended with an exchange that summed up how useful the videoconference was in restoring humor and good feeling.
My former roommate: "Steve, it's been a while, we need to catch up some. I know when we do, it will be like yesterday."
Steve: "No, not like yesterday. Yesterday was a crappy day. We'll make it like the day before yesterday. That was a pretty good day."
Wednesday, April 22. 2020
In a political year, everything gets politicised. It's good to hear the other side of the discussion: Time to consider possibility that coronavirus lockdown was colossal public policy calamity.
It might very well turn out that way. I tend to feel now that lockdown was extreme, but good hygiene and masks would have been sufficient especially in hot spots.
 If Half the Country's COVID Deaths Were in Montana, Would New York Shut Down?
Oktoberfest Cancelled For First Time Since WW2 As German Hop-Growers Warn Of "Beer Shortage"
'Because JESUS and FREEDOM': Maine prof attacks quarantine protesters in expletive-laden rant
Michael Moore Admits He Had No Idea Where the Juice To Power Electric Cars Came From
New studies suggest huge undercount of coronavirus infections — but are they right?
Republicans Were Right about Unemployment’s Perverse Incentives
Here’s Why We Didn’t Have Coronavirus Testing In February
CDC screwed up
So much for entitled millennials – it’s billionaires such as Richard Branson who are begging for loans
Advisers Warn Trump His Push To Reopen Economy Carries Political Risks
Duh - it's risk either way
Conrad Black: Democrats Underestimate Trump at Their Own Peril. The president’s enemies have not figured out how cunning he is, because he doesn’t seem cunning—at first.
Joe Biden Advisor Tries to Blame Republicans for Small Business Loan Money Running out, It Doesn’t Go Well
Biden Attacks Trump Over His Response to the Wuhan Virus, But Gets Tripped Up by the Facts
Dem Senators: GOP Small Business Aid Is ‘Political Stunt’
Newly Declassified Evidence: Russia Didn't Try to Help Elect Trump in 2016
Tuesday, April 21. 2020
That infamous explanation from a Vietnam War incident comes to mind as I read and listen to the debates about lockdowns and shutdowns.
I don't know what to believe anymore. Everybody with an opinion seems to be viewing the situation through their own particular lens, or filter as Scott would say. Of course, that's normal for everything all the time, but everything is exaggerated now to the point that balanced wisdom seems to have left the room. I guess that's normal too.
"When in danger or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout."
I understand that Covid is not the seasonal flu. I also understand that it is neither polio nor the 1918 flu, nor, God forbid, the Black Plague. I understand that it seems to be a highly infectious virus with the power to cut people down and stress medical care in some areas (although less so much right now). I understand that this SARS Covid will be around forever, like all viruses. No escape, ever. Even vaccines are not 100% and it could be 12 months before we have them.
Let's discuss in the comments, in a calm, civil and respectful way. Later, I'll take you on a nice airplane ride.
BD Addenda:
Menton: To Reopen, Or Not To Reopen? That Is The Question
Reynolds:
I'll just add that one thing that has appalled me — in the comments here, on social media, and well, everywhere — is that so many people dealing with a situation full of uncertainty and unreliable data are so dead-certain of their positions and so abusive of people who disagree. And that’s certainly true of both sides in this debate.
Higher Ed: Goodbye Meritocracy, Hello…What?
An all-mail election would be rife with fraud
Adam Schiff’s Dirty Impeachment Tactics Coming to Light
Washington Posts media critic asks if CNN, MSNBC will review coverage of discredited Steele dossier
Whilst escaping the Great Plague, Newton’s enormously productive time at Woolsthorpe is often called the Annus Mirabilis, or the “Year of Wonders’. Read about this period of intellectual endeavour...
Dem Rep. AOC Deletes Tweet Calling For a Communist Revolution, Celebrating Destruction of US Economy
IS IT WRONG TO BE SKEPTICAL ABOUT LOCKDOWNS?
The final tally is in: Former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg (D, Nanny State) donated $1,221,777,405.26 of his own money to fund a quixotic four-month presidential campaign.
Oil below zero: Here's what happened - The day that oil died rocked the most seasoned energy traders
Will the Fitness Industry Survive the COVID-19 Pandemic? Some Important Things to Consider
Regular exercise can help prevent coronavirus complications from worsening, study finds
MSNBC: Protesters Who Want to Open Economy Are Racist, ‘Want To See More Black And Brown People Die’
It is “unconscionable” that Rikers Island inmates who were released due to coronavirus concerns are committing new crimes, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday.
Coronavirus at Smithfield pork plant: The untold story of America's biggest outbreak
Less Than Half Of Adults In Los Angeles Now Have Jobs
Sweden’s Chief Epidemiologist: Our Open Approach To Virus Seems To Be Working
Some US Manufacturers Reopening Amid Fierce Political Heat
Cotton: CCP's Handling Of COVID-19 Could Be "The Biggest, The Costliest, The Most Deadly Cover-up In The History Of Mankind"
Monday, April 20. 2020
Hymowitz: Alone - The decline of the family has unleashed an epidemic of loneliness.
New York Times published false claim on America's founding. This history professor called its bluff.
Amity Shlaes’ ‘Great Society:’ How Poverty Won America’s War on Poverty
Colleges Must Cut Administrative Costs to Survive This Crisis
Harvard Getting $9 Million in Coronavirus Aid, While Sitting on $40 Billion Endowment
Lessons in Death and Life from the Diaries of Samuel Pepys
Coronavirus lockdown: Lessons from Hokkaido's second wave of infections
Lockdowns just extend the course of infections
Coronavirus report: Massachusetts may not be ready to reopen until June
Sweden Is Right - The Economy Should Be Left Open
Ace:
This situation is intolerable. It cannot go on. It must not go on. It's getting to the point where it must not be allowed to go on. Infer from that what you will. That said, my fear is that we have crossed a Rubicon, insofar as the Left now sees how easy it is to grab total control. Had any other Republican from the 2016 field been President, I think this would have been lights out for America. That said, Trump will not be President forever, despite the Left's insane fever dreams to the contrary. This situation, though it may not seem so right now, still is only temporary and we'll come out of it. But long term, unless the Democrat-Media Complex, the unelected, unaccountable Deep State bureaucracy and the brainwashing mills of academia are somehow brought to heel, we are not going to be voting our way out of the inevitable showdown.
Apocalypse Not #8 South Texas Lockdown
Cuomo Praises Trump's Response to the Wuhan Coronavirus: 'Phenomenal Accomplishment'
Chris Wallace CALLS OUT a Stunned Pelosi for Pushing Tourism to Chinatown in Late February
Research Projects Reveal Coronavirus Has Lethality Rate in Same Ballpark as Seasonal Influenza
Trump Rewrites the Book on Emergencies: For the first time in U.S. history, an administration is responding to a crisis with deregulation and decentralization.
END THE SHUTDOWNS! DO IT FOR THE CHILDREN. The United Nations warns that hundreds of thousands of children worldwide may die because of governments’ overreaction to the COVID-19 virus
Hoyt:
LET ME TRANSLATE THIS FOR LEFTISTS AND THOSE ON THE RIGHT WHO MIGHT HAVE FORGOTTEN. MONEY IS NOT JUST MONEY. NONE OF US IS PILING MONEY IN TO SWIM IN, LIKE UNCLE SCROOGE. MONEY IS LIFE. YOU TRADE YOUR LIFE FOR MONEY WITH WHICH YOU BUY THINGS TO SUSTAIN AND ENHANCE THAT LIFE. THIS IS GOING TO DESTROY LIVES. IS ALREADY DESTROYING LIVES. AND IT WILL COST US LIVES: IN POVERTY, DESPAIR AND OUTRIGHT SUICIDE
“Funny how all those bible clinging, gun toting deplorables are keeping this country functioning! I guess they decided not to stay in bed crying!”
Driving trucks, making deliveries, stocking shelves, farming farms, building things, fixing your plumbing, etc etc
People make 'mad dash' to Florida beach after reopening
Maher Says Media’s ‘Panic Porn’ Coronavirus Coverage Could Create Trump Reelection Path
With China’s economy on life support, it’s time to turn off the ventilator
The European Union Is Dead But Does Not Yet Know It
Sunday, April 19. 2020
Bulldog's post earlier today suggests what many of us have imagined but had no hard data about: this corona virus may be about as lethal as seasonal influenza. That means it kills 0.1 to 0.15% of infected people and, in this case, mostly frail and elderly.
That would make it comparable to the H1N1 virus pandemic of 2009 which had little media or political hysteria.
Read the post, and listen. It's a random sample from California, but it makes sense to me because it gives us an inkling of a denominator. No denominator, no data. More probably similar data will be trickling in over the next weeks. Many people have had this bug and barely noticed it, much less got tested for it.
If the world has hysterically overreacted to this germ for lack of data (thanks a lot, China) - what then?
Since I am always a skeptic, I was always skeptical about the hysteria around me. Skepticism is my default setting, and it usually works out.
Saturday, April 18. 2020
It is not an exclusive club. Funny how people enjoy having things to hate. As they say, haters gotta hate. Hatred is recreational for people, or at least for some people.
Feel free to explain the psychology of that.
Speaking of clubs, Trump was one of the first guys to make an exclusive club in Florida open to Jews and blacks.
 My world, like all of yours probably, shrank dramatically 36 days ago. It shrank even more 2 weeks after that when I tested positive for Covid. I'm now a full 10 days since my last symptoms, but I'm not healthy yet, for a variety of reasons. I'd say I'm 95%. So let's pick through what's been going on.
To begin with, there's 'reinfection' taking place, although at very low levels. I'm skeptical of these stories. My guess is these are relapses. I almost experienced a relapse, as did other people I know, when I thought I was healthy enough to rake leaves for one hour. ONE HOUR. That was 4 days after the last symptoms. Nope. Wound up in bed the whole next day. Another person (who had scolded me telling me to be more careful) thought it wise to try and cut his lawn the day after I tried to rake. 6 days out, he wound up in bed for a day after only pushing the mower for 10 minutes. Still another, crazier, friend went for a 3 mile run a week after. He finished a mile and had to struggle to walk home, spending 2 days in bed. My feeling is people recover, feel good, try to do too much, and relapse. Since my raking adventure, I've only gone on walks. None longer than an hour, once a day. I'm still winded, but feeling stronger. As the linked article points out, "For now, the most likely explanation of why people are retesting positive seems to be that the test is picking up remnants of the virus." I'm sure if I was tested again, I'd likely be positive.
So I'm taking it easy, not pushing it. I'll try to push a little a week from now, when I'll (hopefully) feel much better. I've regained 3 of the 8 pounds I lost, so my appetite is back, and that was likely water weight, due to how dehydrated I was.
At this point, I have learned quite a bit more about the nature of what I had. I'm still not overwhelmed by its dangers. I know 10 people who tested positive. I know 10 more who definitely had it, but their doctors told them not to get tested because 'tests are for those in real need'. I have a friend at FEMA, instrumental in doing work in NYC, who told me the scare stories are just scare stories. They saw what was really going on, handling resource procurement and (now) distribution to other states. I know people who lost relatives, and we do believe (as we found out today) a relative who was in a home may have contracted it and died. So I have not said (nor would I say) this is not a dangerous virus. Certainly it requires an abundance of caution and respect. I don't believe in 'solutions' only trade offs, when politics is involved. You have to hurt someone to help someone with a political solution. It is inevitable. As a result, I believe this 'solution' was overkill of the worst kind. The trade offs are starting to be apparent...and will become more stark as they extend this.
Continue reading "Update on Status and Other Things Going On"
Yeah, the world has gone crazy. What else is new? Get out there and buy a coffee and a donut - and don't worry, be happy.
An appreciation of Weird Al Yankovic
BBC Sports Broadcaster Gives Colorful Commentary Of His Dogs Fighting Over A Chew Toy
This university is offering credit for learning to play Dungeons and Dragons
More Than 400 News Outlets Partner With A Project Seeking Media To Beef Up Climate Coverage Amid Pandemic
The Limits of Clean Energy - If the world isn’t careful, renewable energy could become as destructive as fossil fuels.
Joe Scarborough's Bowing, Scraping Question to Biden: Can You Talk About People's Pain?
Joe Biden’s Double Standard - Confronting a sexual-harassment allegation, will the former vice president demand the due-process protections that he previously denied to others?
For three years, the left has been peddling the story that the Russians interfered in the 2016 election in collaboration with the Trump campaign, with the ridiculous Steele Dossier cited as the proof.Now, the Party Line has shifted. The Russians still did it, says the new line, possibly working with the Clinton campaign, only they fed disinformation to the gullible...
Was Trump the Only One in Washington Innocent of Russian Collusion?
At Long Last John Solomon Says Indictments May Be Coming This Week in Obama’s Spygate Scandal
Waiting for the truth
CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK MAY HAVE STARTED AS EARLY AS SEPTEMBER, SCIENTISTS SAY
David Warren: The world cannot be fixed
What Is The Proof That This Covid-19 Thing Really Is A "Crisis," Or That Economic Suppression Is The Solution?
Beef processors are closing U.S. plants, warn of beef shortages and hoarding
Are You Wearing Sweatpants While Working At Home During Bat Soup Virus? The LA Times Is Not Happy With You
Why coronavirus jobs crisis isn’t as bad as it may seem
Dr. Ronny Jackson to Newsmax TV: Time to Open Texas
SICHEL: Either We Wait For A Vaccine, Or We Turn The Lights On Now
That is too rational
Tammy Duckworth Falsely Accuses President Trump of Killing Americans in Coronavirus Crisis by Withholding Ventilators
Such trash talk. There are too many ventilators, plus they don't work well for covid oneumonia anyway
Influential COVID-19 Model Uses Flawed Methods And Shouldn’t Guide U.S. Policies, Critics Say
2.9 Million Americans Already Delinquent on Home Loans Thanks to Fauci Lockdown – Open The Economy!
“THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING” IS NOW “THE BUCK PASSER IN CHIEF”
Whatever he does is wrong cuz he is retarded orangeman
Why Epidemiologists Still Don’t Know The Death Rate From COVID-19
Lower than anyone thinks
COVID-19 Is A Man-Made Virus: HIV-Discoverer Says "Could Only Have Been Created In A Lab"
Internal memos reveal Chinese leaders delayed warning public of coronavirus pandemic
Duh. Lying is an Asian thing. Multicultural understanding, you know?
China Is Bargain Hunting—and Western Security Is at Risk. Beijing could use the coronavirus-induced economic crisis to go on a buying spree. The U.S. and European governments must restrict the purchasing of distressed companies in sensitive sectors.
WaPo: WHO Has A China Problem — But It’s Waaaay Worse Than That
Washington Post: Anti-Israel Activist Spews More Gaza Coronavirus Agitprop
Lying is a middle-eastern thing too. Ever been to a middle-eastern market?
Friday, April 17. 2020
Re Sullivan's: How to Live With COVID-19
The opening up of work and life is not a black and white choice between health and wealth. If it were, that would be an easy choice. We're not talking about wealth here. We're talking about a functional life, working, being useful and social, paying bills, not losing shelter, staying solvent.
This Chinese virus is not ever going away. It's here to stay like all viruses, and many if not most people will be exposed to it before 2021. However, viruses tend to run rapidly through a population over about two months and then just stick around more quietly forever, waiting for opportunity. Some people will get sick and die, regardless.
The trick now is how to balance illness and death risks with destroyed lives, careers, futures, families, and businesses. I still feel that the lockdowns and stay at home programs were extreme responses, but I understand that they were issued in the absence of data and in an atmosphere of panic (eg, 2 million Americans dead!). Lockdowns do not really save lives, and that is not what they are for anyway.
The Trump administration's plan makes good sense to me, with calm guidelines but leaving local decisions local without a one-size-fits-all for this giant country. After all, the federal officials and world experts weren't omniscient, were they? They never are. Nobody is.
I do appreciate that Dr. Fauci now says I can go back onto Tinder, but where will I go to meet that special girl in person? Maybe for a 6-foot distanced walk up and down 5th Ave...with masks? That would be a memorable way to meet your true love, masked and anonymous. It might work.
One question for readers: Do those with secure cash flows have different ideas from those who do not?
Parallels Between COVID-19 Alarm and Global Warming Alarm
Hinderaker: WE ARE NEEDLESSLY DEVASTATING OUR COUNTRY
THE END OF NEW YORK: Mayor deBlasio Says New York City Will Not Reopen Until July or August AT THE EARLIEST!
Subways were the culprit
Masks, hand-washing, and gloves might have prevented a lot of that
Vanderleun: Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are
The entire country has cabin fever
Fauci Says Tinder Hookups Okay During Coronavirus Lockdowns: “Your Choice Regarding a Risk”
Trump Says Guidelines Would Allow Some States To Reopen "Tomorrow"
Leaves it up to states and cities. Good
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine Says State Will Reopen May 1
Why politicians can't just restart the economy
Only people can do that.
VDH:
Whether people return to work and restart the economy in time to prevent a depression depends not entirely on what President Trump or, in California, Gov. Newsom decide.
It ultimately hinges on whether the people who have been shut in their homes for a month listening to mostly doomsday modeling (e.g., the March 19 governor’s warning that without his draconian measures 25.5 million Californians could be infected within 8 weeks [a number at fluctuating fatality percentages could imply that over 800,000 state residents will be dead mid-May]) and media sensationalism, decide what to do. The people, not the politicians, will decide.
Media sensationalism has scared the heck out of otherwise rational people, and scared the crap out of those who are fearful people anyway
Now Is Exactly the Time to Investigate the WHO’s Catastrophic Public Failures and Internal Rot.
China’s incredible coronavirus counts
Hillary Bought Russian Disinformation - The latest revelations about the Steele dossier reveal who the real colluders were.
Big surprise
Steele Source Voiced ‘Strong Support’ For Hillary Clinton, Had Ties To Kremlin
Duh. Follow the money.
Thursday, April 16. 2020
From I&!, Media Hope In COVID-19 They Finally Have The Event That Will Destroy Trump
Unable to chase Trump from office through Russia, Russia, Russia; impeachment; and incessant whining about the Electoral College, the media are now riding the coronavirus panic. If they could just convince the public the president is responsible for every COVID-19 death, that he acted too soon, and acted too slowly, that he’s wielded too much power, and not enough, that he hasn’t said enough, but now he’s said too much, they could get their man elected in November. It’s almost as if the press was working from a list of Get Trump bullet points.
Wednesday, April 15. 2020
 TARGETED: Christian Baker Sued AGAIN, This Time Over Transgender Cake
"Pour encourager les autres"
Harvard to Hold Anti-Homeschooling Summit
Sheesh
“How Am I Violating Social Distancing When I Go Fishing, by Myself, on My Boat"
Chaos by the Bay - San Francisco responds to the coronavirus with an experiment in lawlessness.
Hedge Fund Managers Quietly Apply For Bailouts As Small Businesses
That's called hutzpah
BB: Trump Installs Ejection Seats Throughout Press Briefing Room
Zero New Coronavirus Cases In New York, NBC News Says
Wow
Reports: These Places Will Be Re-opened First Under Trump's Post-Wuhan Coronavirus Roadmap
Coronavirus, and the Media's Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics
Press Corp Which Demanded Trump Has Authority To Close Everything Upset Trump Says He Has Power To Reopen Everything
In another 4 weeks of closure, the US economy will be destroyed for years, meaning lives and careers destroyed, despair, desperation
Fauci v. Fauci: How America’s infectious disease chief evolved his pandemic advice - Before he embraced social distancing, Fauci recommended cruises, and dismissed a ban on restaurants as ‘overkill,’ review of comments shows.
The experts were wrong, especially the British study that predicted that 2 million Americans could die :
A large swath of the "expert" community cloaked itself with unscientific certitude, beginning on March 16, with a model from the Imperial College London -- the source governments relied upon for the decision to ruin their economies -- which projected about 2.2 million Americans and half a million Brits would die.
Almost every national leader, politician and media outlet in the world believed that model. As I explained in my last column, modern men and women have substituted "experts" for prophets and priests. Science is the secular religion, and "experts" are its prophets and priests. In fact, they have greater authority among the secular, especially those left of center, than the pope of the Catholic Church has among Catholics. Whereas popes have invoked the doctrine of "infallibility" twice in the history of the Catholic Church, "experts" invoke it every day among the secular faithful.
Coronavirus case and death counts in U.S. ridiculously low
The Logic of the Lockdown
Is social distancing intended to slow the spread and develop herd immunity, as a month of “flatten the curve” messaging claimed, or is it actually intended to minimize total infections? The former implies that we are probably ready to loosen restrictions; the latter implies a far longer and more painful quarantine.
Adding to the confusion is our inability to answer a fundamental question — namely, how useful has the lockdown been in the first place?
Re the former, I believe the purpose is to reduce pressure on medical care, because there is no way to indefinitely avoid exposure, illness, death. This germ is out there forever and a vaccine is a year away. Re the latter question, we'll never know. The US is not Sweden.
Hinderaker: WE NEVER NEEDED TO FLATTEN THE CURVE
Time Approaches For Trump To Act To Open Economy, Even If Democrats Hope for Lengthy Recession
Graham: ‘This Effort to Destroy Trump No Matter the Cost of the Country Is Getting a Bit Old’ — ‘It’s Pissing a Lot of People Off’
‘Action Will Be Taken’: Georgia Democrats Vow Revenge On Lawmaker Who Endorsed Trump
WHO Official Says She Suspected Human-To-Human COVID-19 Transmission ‘Right From The Start’ — But The WHO Echoed Misleading Chinese Claims To The Contrary For Weeks
Nunes: More Criminal Referrals Against Dems Involved in the Russia Scam May Be Coming
AG Barr just signaled that things are about to get ugly for the Russia collusion team
Tuesday, April 14. 2020
Geraghty's Powerful Americans Were Catastrophically Wrong about China:
You have to give Vox a few molecules of credit for recognizing that while they rage against disinformation, some of their earliest pieces about COVID-19 included information that just wasn’t accurate — in part because it was coming from well-credentialed experts who flat-out misjudged the danger from the virus.
Nobody had the data, so nobody was alarmed. Even in February, 6 or 7 weeks ago, Dr. Fauci was reassuringly saying "just a flu, go to restaurants, etc." Our experts were consistently wrong in their guesses, jumping from sanguine to reckless panic, not just because of China but because they were all flying blind - VFR into IMC.
I was speaking with a friend, prior to the lockdown, about Covid and the political repercussions. His view was the politicians would overreact/overreach for one reason - demographics. He believed, and this is now proving to be correct, that the black population would be disproportionately hit. There are higher incidences of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, smoking, alcoholism - all at-risk traits. As a result, there'd be a need to try to 'protect' these people and manage the data. They did a good job with the data, but as usual, you can't hide the truth all the time.
These at-risk traits are the natural result of bondage to the state. As the US moved heavily to institutionalize all kinds of state aid to 'lift up' a downtrodden people, the government created a permanent underclass that is in thrall to the state, and engaging more irresponsible behaviors as a result (please note, I'm not saying black people are irresponsible - this is true of people of many ethnicities who have become multi-generational recipients of state aid). Taking responsibility for one's life is hard, and it's hard work. The state can step in and solve all that for you, though. Free health care, free food, free homes. It's good stuff, if you can get it. You can even become a 'Covid Patriot' full time by just going along with state aid.
So it's no surprise to see calls for 'reparations' for Covid hitting the black population so hard. Yes, they have suffered more. I'm not sure the survivors deserve 'reparations' though. After all, it's hit men disproportionately, too. Perhaps we can have calls for Covid reparations for men?
I'll sit and wait for my reparations check. Pass the chips and bourbon, please.
Monday, April 13. 2020
Let's not take advantage of the self-employed tradesmen and workers: electricians, carpenters, pavers, landscape people, roofers, delivery restaurants, plumbers, painters, fitness trainers, hairdressers, etc. etc. during hard times.
Right now, they are desperate for work and offering bids which are almost 50% of what they would have done 6 months ago. So my feeling is this is the time to get a lot of jobs off your checklist in affordable and prompt ways, but don't be a schnorrer. They are all under-bidding eachother just to stay busy and to keep their helpers working. A minor profit is better than nothing.
These people have families to feed, and times are tough. If you can, put these people to work and don't give them a hard time about it. Do it for America.
 Maggie's HQ Easter Report: Went out early to do some outdoor chores after a morning run. Repairing and painting birdhouses, planting some herbs, shed-cleaning, shrub pruning. Almost stepped on (photo) a Robin's egg in the grass. Sheesh, like a perfect Easter Egg. Then I saw a baby Cottontail bunny hopping away. That is called an Easter Blessing.
Then, in respect for my father-in-law (quarantining sort-of, here) we streamed Cardinal Dolan's Easter mass at St. Patrick's. What a fine fellow he is.
Later, I watched a squirrel enjoying that egg.
New York without New Yorkers: The city at its emptiest:
New Yorkers are not easily cowed. We are not ones to be contained. We live here because we are extremely social and curious creatures. We tolerate cramped apartments because they are merely places to shower and sleep. The city is the draw, the prize, the home.
Now we see what New York is like without her people. The Statue of Liberty welcomes no one. Times Square and Grand Central Station, places and names that serve as national expressions of overcrowded chaos, host lonely commuters. Part of Central Park is now, incredibly, a field hospital — as is the Javits Center and the US Open tennis complex. Santiago Calatrava’s World Trade Center Oculus, the winged symbol of our rebirth after 9/11, sits hollow and tomblike.
Progressive Destruction: The Pandemic is the Perfect Time to Abolish the Family. There's no nightmare the Left won't pursue to achieve its earthly paradise
Coronavirus: At least two NHS hospitals trialling anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine hailed by Trump
The Post-Quarantine City - What New York can do to ensure a sturdy recovery from Covid-19
REPORT: 30%-50% Of Patients In Chicago Tested For COVID-19 Already Have Antibodies In System
JPMorgan Predicts GDP Will Completely Crater, Forecasts a Staggering 40 Percent Second Quarter Drop
U.S. government gave $3.7million grant to Wuhan lab at center of coronavirus leak scrutiny that was performing experiments on bats from the caves where the disease is believed to have originated
THE EXPERTS HAVE BEEN WRONG OVER AND OVER AGAIN ON THIS PANDEMIC
WHAT WOULD WE DO WITHOUT EXPERTS?
How Long has the Chinese Coronavirus Really Been in America?
Sunday Talks – Dr. Fauci Plays The Hindsight Game With Furrowed Brow Tapper…
From somewhere:
Fauci is now saying that had Trump listened to the medical experts earlier he could've saved more lives. Fauci was telling people on February 29th that there was nothing to worry about and it posed no threat to the US public at large.
Dr. Fauci is a slippery one, a CYA guy like most people in government
Why Are We So Scared?
Trump Uses Persuasion, Not Force, in Coronavirus Crisis. So of course that’s not acceptable either.
Liberals Panicked by Virus Are Trying to Buy Guns, and Are Shocked and Outraged About All the Hoops They Have to Jump Through
‘Crossed the line’: Ban-happy Michigan governor blasted for ‘insane’ overreach in response to coronavirus outbreak (here are several examples)
The WHO Lied and Created a Global Panic: Second Extensive Study Finds Coronavirus Mortality Rate Is 0.4% Not 3.4% — Similar to Seasonal Flu
New Data Shows U.S. Companies Are Definitely Leaving China
Good
‘China Was Not Truthful’: Ex-FDA Chief Scott Gottlieb Explains How Beijing Misled The World About Coronavirus
Dr. Fauci: Coronavirus Erupted in December While China Lied About Human-to-Human Spread
China lied? That's a dog bites man story
China Seals Border with Russia as Imported Virus Cases Surge
China’s desperate attempt to erase its connection to the Wuhan coronavirus is not going well
How Weird Could The 2020 Campaign Get? You Have No Idea
New York Times edits Biden sexual assault coverage, deletes references to past inappropriate 'hugs, kisses and touching'
America Must Have a 'Regime Collapse' Strategic Goal for Iran
Really? Leave it up to their people.
Saturday, April 11. 2020
COVID's graph in NY is beginning to resemble a particularly bad flu season, a dangerous flu season (although COVID is not a flu virus - Corona viruses are best known to be the viruses of the common cold): Look At How Ridiculously Wrong All The COVID-19 Models Were.
As Scott Adams says every day, models are not information. Models are for persuasion. He knows, because he once had a job making them.
Did the shutdowns help prevent mass catastrophe? We will never really know. I suspect that it did help hospitals manage their flow of difficult cases, which was the purpose. They seem to be managing fairly well. Stress is their job.
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A 64-year-old man