The day promises to be rather busy, so I probably won’t have the time to produce one of my normal encyclopedia-length tirades. However, I exhort you to read and enjoy this excellent unsigned piece from The New Criterion, which was brought to my attention by Mike Hendrix. The column discusses the three areas of impact from the Wuhan Virus: medical, economic, and cultural-political. Concerning that third impact:
It is hardly surprising that this crisis, like all crises, has presented an opportunity to advance political agendas. Rahm Emanuel, President Obama’s chief of staff, was speaking a home truth when he observed during the economic panic of 2008 that you should “never let a serious crisis go to waste.” That sounds, and it may in fact be, cynical. It is also a truth acted upon by all parties at all times. From this perspective, the coronavirus is not only a deadly pathogen. It is also a political opportunity. It is too soon to say who will be able to make the most of that opportunity. A presidential election looms, which makes our hall of mirrors more fraught and disorienting than ever. The intensity of the scramble is a token of the high stakes involved.
The author also addresses the changes to “the way we live now,” both with regard to the surprising fragility of our sociocultural structures and also “the rude overbearingness of those with the power to direct our lives.” Please read it all.
2 comments:
Why lockdowns are the wrong policy - Swedish expert Prof. Johan Giesecke
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfN2JWifLCY
I'm HIGHLY suspicious of the shutdowns of pork processing plants - coincidentally, owned by Chinese nationals. The supposed C-19 infections that are making that necessary are not hitting the beef plants. Could it be China's sneaky way of forcing pork interests to send the meat to China for processing/consumption?
I know what my spare money is going to buy over the next few months - seeds (for future planting), fertilizer, greenhouse supplies (no use advertising that I'm growing food), and meat/protein - a LOT of it. I figure that we can make meaty spaghetti sauce, chili (meat and sauce only, skip the beans until needed), and beef stew. All of which will be canned. Along with a lot of other things.
Peanut butter, tuna, canned chicken, et al.
Next winter might be a bit rough.
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