The recent weeks have revealed a failure to engage in constructive dialogue, especially in regard to the meaning of data. Governors locked down entire states. Media has largely been accepting of the premises supporting the lockdown. Institutional actors who consider themselves guardians of the existing order have largely supported this policy and denounced those who would like to have a discussion about the facts.
Consider that the recent video [ 1] from Drs. Erickson and Massihi in Bakersfield, CA was quickly denounced by the American College of Emergency Physicians and the American College of Emergency Medicine without any consideration of the arguments presented in the video. You don’t have to agree with everything these doctors present in order to support their right to question the effectiveness of the shutdown.
Meanwhile, the Imperial College Study, which grossly overestimated the worst case scenario, has received little in the way of question from the medical establishment. Researchers used the Imperial College model for a study that suggests that with no shut down in Sweden the country would face many tens of thousands of deaths from COVID-19. And even in the best case, this model predicted that by May 1st Sweden would experience 12,000 to 13,000 deaths.
Without lockdown, Sweden has experienced less than 3,000 deaths. On a per capita basis, Sweden is faring much better than the UK given the progress of the spread counted from the first day that .001% of the population had died from COVID-19. The studies were wrong. After being regarded with suspicion by many in the press, Sweden has now received praise from the World Health Organization for its approach. Only time will tell how the media integrates the statement from the WHO into a narrative that has until now opposed it. And still, I leave out the impressive results of containment in South Korea and Japan, both of which led the free world in terms of their successful slowing of the spread absent draconian measures and both of which have been largely ignored by the American media.
In observing the national media and public response, I notice an attitude among many that we need not only to “flatten the curve,” but eradicate it. We are to submit to directives without question. Internalize the lockdown ethos without concern for its actual effectiveness. For weeks much of the nation has been locked down, putting off the spread throughout most of the U.S. In the background we hear the continual humming of major media outlets telling us how terrible COVID-19 is. Reminding us that the virus has increased its spread from thousands to hundreds of thousands, and now millions across the U.S.
And despite this continual bombardment by media outlets, interpretation of the data is lacking. Deaths have surpassed Fauci’s lower estimate of 60,000, though no one seems certain what levels of spread would represent success or failure. Should we be concerned about a virus that is twice as deadly as the seasonal flu? Five times as deadly? Where is the limit? The upper limit for annual flu deaths presented by the CDC is 62,000. And about 3 million people die each year in the U.S., averaging around 8,000 per day. So would 100,000 deaths be bad, but not terrible? Or are we mostly concerned to avoid overloading capacities of medical systems in metro areas? Full Story - James L. Caton - AIER
The Pretense of Knowledge' has Cost America Dearly
Lockdown, as opposed to the more moderate mitigation efforts is a colossal public policy calamity
Recently, Brit Hume, the sober and understated Fox News commentator, voiced the thoughts of millions when he said, “I think its time to consider the possibility… that this lockdown, as opposed to the more moderate mitigation efforts… is a colossal public policy calamity.”
The financial extent of the calamity was quantified by economist Scott Grannis when he observed that “almost overnight, we have wiped out all the net job gains of the past 14 years.” He made that comment on April 12 and the losses aren’t over yet. Grannis bluntly concluded that, “The shutdown of the U.S. economy will prove to be the most expensive self-inflicted injury in the history of mankind.” Read More
California Covid doctors may start revolution with calm, science data-based questioning of extreme measures
These doctors have taken a heroic risk - especially in Commie California
Two California emergency room doctors may have started a revolution against the Wuhan flu extreme mitigation policies with their calm, very sincere, caring, scientific-based and statistics-emphasizing presentation in a press conference two days ago. Dr. Artin Masihi Dr. dan Erikson are with Accelerated Urgent Care in Bakersfield California.
I have constantly felt, from the beginning of this pandemic, that there are many things that do not add up about the extreme, unprecedented and devastating measures that have been put in place to try to stop this novel flu from causing the high numbers of model-estimated deaths that have clearly all proven to be dramatically wrong.
The doctors note that the scientific and statistical evidence does not at all justify the public becoming as terrified of this virus as they are and as the media continues to make them feel every day. Read More
America’s Super-Rich See Their Wealth Rise by $282 Billion in Three Weeks of Pandemic
America’s billionaires have accrued more wealth in the past three weeks alone than they made in total prior to 1980
A new report from the Institute for Policy Studies found that, while tens of millions of Americans have lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic, America’s ultra-wealthy elite have seen their net worth surge by $282 billion in just 23 days. This is despite the fact that the economy is expected to contract by 40 percent this quarter. The report also noted that between 1980 and 2020 the tax obligations of America’s billionaires, measured as a percentage of their wealth, decreased by 79 percent. . . Read More
Americans Persevere amid Coronavirus Crisis Despite Left’s Efforts to Remake America
Now Is the Time to Fundamentally Transform America Leftists Cheer
For weeks, the American people have faced daily orders, graphs, tables, news stories, and press conferences detailing the coronavirus’s devastating impact on the country, from thousands of deaths to a 21-trillion-dollar economy brought to its knees.
It seems hard to believe that just a few months ago, the world watched a Swedish teen sail across the Atlantic from Europe to New York to send a message that the threat from climate change meant society had to drastically change how it operates, including bringing planes down from the skies, plugging oil and gas wells and pipelines, getting vehicles off the roads, and halting agriculture’s life-sustaining production of meat, dairy, and other food products. Read More
