Enough people are writing about the Wuhan virus as a disease that I feel no personal need to expound on it. At any rate, I’m neither an epidemiologist nor a virologist. But I can tell good reasoning from bad. Here’s some good reasoning, complete with supporting data. I exhort my Gentle Readers to absorb it in its entirety, as the arithmetic is both simple and reassuring.
Now, let’s have a look at what politicians and their media handmaidens have been saying and doing about the Wuhan pandemic:
- New Orleans mayor LaToya Cantrell has banned the same of firearms.
- Bill de Blasio wants to shut down NYC commerce entirely.
- Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer is contemplating statewide martial law.
- New York governor Andrew Cuomo has closed all restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues.
- Champaign, IL mayor Deborah Feinen has made herself dictator.
- So has California governor Gavin Newsome.
All the individuals mentioned in the list above are Democrats.
We know, quite as surely as we know that the sun rises in the East, that Democrats prize power above all else. We also know that the path to federal power lies in the American economy. When the economy is doing well, the party ascendant at the federal level tends to receive increased support from the electorate. But when it’s doing poorly – and how much more poorly could it do than a total shutdown – the reverse is the case.
The 2020 election scheduled for November 3 was looking very bad for the Democrats. Emphasis on was. But with the economy being ever more asphyxiated by these panicky, seemingly unjustified Democrat strangleholds, what are the possibilities that they, with the assistance of their boughten allies in the major media, might turn things around despite all?
Time was, no one would even entertain the possibility that an American political party would put power above the well-being of Americans generally. That time is long past.
The possibility that this is an engineered panic – a panic with the full weight of the Left and the media behind it – has been on many minds. As a weapon with which to hobble the American economy, few measures short of a nuclear bombing would have been more effective. But beyond that, a fearful people is a people easily subjugated. The effect is especially powerful when the thing feared is something against which individuals and communities cannot defend themselves.
You cannot see a virus.
You cannot shoot a virus, either.
Virus-caused diseases cannot be cured.
A virus of unknown potentialities is the perfect fear weapon.
But are the potentialities of the Wuhan virus really unknown? Silicon Graybeard’s article suggests otherwise, as do the dramatic differences among infection and fatality rates among the nations afflicted, according to their relative prosperity and whether their governments have socialized medical care. The United States, the most prosperous nation in history, with its free-market medical-care system, is overwhelmingly likely to come out of this “pandemic” almost unaffected, at least in comparison to other widespread diseases such as the common flu. Unaffected, that is, unless we surrender what remains of our freedom in response to political fear-mongering.
We could be doing ourselves immense, long-lasting harm for no good reason – and with Democrat mayors and governors leaping to act on Rahm Emanuel’s “wisdom,” the probability appears greater with every passing day and news cycle.
If the media mania continues much longer, I hope and expect to see lapel buttons, bumper stickers, and T-shirts that bear the legend “Wuhan Virus: Cui Bono?” in many places. Some enterprising manufacturer might want to get started on production right away.
Good morning, Fran.
ReplyDeleteI'm here in So Cal, and the officials in Orange County have just shut down all the bars, breweries, and restaurants, and banned public gatherings. They're loving them some totalitarianism. Feels a lot like, you know-- Power. That's a savagely addictive drug, and all politicians are hard core junkies for it.
I keep my finger on the pulse here with the only things I have, a Facebook account, and a Next Door account.
Many people on both forums are speaking out for calm, and common sense.
Next Door, in particular, is showing a lot of posts from people trying very hard to stem panic, and calm their neighbors. I am putting forth every effort I can to do the same. It may not be much, but I, and many others are working with what we have.
The media is absolutely criminal in their non-stop attempt to fuel the panic. A lot of people are taking the bait.
We can do what we can do. We can encourage common sense, and most of all we can pray for strength and guidance.
JWM
I will be honest and say that I believe that the democrats have a dual reaction to the Coronavirus.
ReplyDeleteOn the one hand I think they see this as an opportunity to grow the power and reach of government permanently.
The second is that I think they are terrified of the prospect of actually coming down with the Coronavirus and that their constituents are at far greater risk for death than the conservative citizens are if only due to the fringe lifestyles that the liberal citizens tend to live.
Add Louisiana's John Bel Edwards to the list of DEMOCRAT governors who have shut down restaurants, bars and banned all public gatherings of more that 250 people.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to pass along that t-shirt idea to my son-in-law, who is a graphic artist.
ReplyDeleteThey may be over-reaching themselves. My husband came home last night, pissed off because he couldn't get a take-out draft at his favorite watering hole. There's a lot of Left-leaning people who don't like it when the draconian rules apply to them.
ReplyDelete