As freedoms vanish across the country the ACLU has filed dozens of lawsuits, none protecting the Bill of Rights.
THE BLAZE notes the story about the Governor of Michigan’s
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has instituted some of the harshest and arguably least constitutional stay-at-home orders in the country in response to the coronavirus pandemic, and as such has been the target of some eminently predictable protests. claims on CNN:
[….]
After reviewing hundreds of pictures of the protesters that were posted on social media, and by media photography services like Getty Images, as well as news accounts from other media outlets repeating Whitmer’s claim, it appears that Gov. Whitmer’s claim is partially true, but misleading.
We were able to locate exactly two protesters who displayed swastikas on their signs while protesting. However, as you will see, no reasonable person would conclude that these people were displaying the swastika as a symbol of white supremacy. Rather, they were obviously using the swastika in an admittedly over-the-top criticism of the harshness of Whitmer’s policies.
(Pics via THE BLAZE)
The first one is not even technically a swastika, although it is certainly trying to be [picture to the right]
It should be noted that this picture was NOT taken at the April 30 rally that was the subject of Gov. Whitmer’s Sunday remarks, but rather at the April 15 protests that occurred on the steps of the state capitol. However, in the interest of being as fair as possible to Gov. Whitmer, and including all of the protests against her orders that have occurred, the above photograph should be noted.
The other sign featuring a swastika appears to be the only instance of a swastika being displayed at the April 30 protests. And, as you can see, no reasonable person could interpret the sign as being pro-Nazi or pro-Swastika [picture to the right].
Thus, the claim that swastikas have been on display at the protests against Whitmer is true; however, the claim that the swastikas were used as an expression of racism or white supremacy is clearly false. These protesters were not comparing Whitmer to Hitler because they are huge fans of Hitler and therefore also huge fans of Whitmer. Rather, they are comparing her to Hitler because, in their mind, that is the worst comparison that could be made. If anything, that is an expression opposing racism rather than supporting it.
As far as the claim regarding “nooses,” we were not able to find any pictures taken by any of the many media photographers who covered the event that depicted a noose…..
Why were the experts so off on COVID-19?
To Wit:
Steven exposes the history behind Prof. Neil Ferguson, the man who originally predicted 2.2 million Coronavirus deaths and how wrong he’s been.
…Although these difficulties afflict all modelling, there has been particular criticism in recent days of Professor Ferguson’s track record. He worked on initial estimates for the possible death toll of variant-CJD, aka the “human form of mad cow disease,” in 1996, estimating with others a range from 50 deaths to 50,000. But these were far from the most lurid estimates for a disease that has actually killed just 176 people. During the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in 2001, his estimates led to a far wider cull of animals than previously thought necessary, ultimately costing the economy an estimated £10 billion.
One critic, Michael Thrusfield, professor of veterinary epidemiology at Edinburgh University, has since written two papers that are highly critical of the research led by Ferguson on FMD. One of the papers, from 2006, argues that “the models were not fit for the purpose of predicting the course of the epidemic and the effects of control measures. The models also remain unvalidated. Their use in predicting the effects of control strategies was therefore imprudent.”…
This then may explain why all the field hospital’s the ARMY CORE OF ENGINEERS built are being dismantled without a single bed being used.
The panic and fear among the people who cannot be bothered to read the actual statistics about this pandemic is what should concern most preppers. In fact, this virus has been so overhyped that the Army’s field hospital in Seattle, an “epicenter” of the pandemic has closed after three days without seeing one single COVID-19 patient. According to a report by Military.com, the hastily built field hospital set up by the Army in Seattle’s pro football stadium is shutting down without ever seeing a patient. [….] The decision to close the Seattle field hospital comes amid early signs that the number of new cases could be hitting a plateau in New York, the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic in the U.S., and other states. At a news conference Friday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said, “Overall, New York is flattening the curve.” — ZERO HEDGE (see: MILITARY TIMES | DAILY CALLER)
Unlike the Mercy, the Comfort is treating COVID-19 patients on board as well as patients who do not have the virus. The ship has treated more than 120 people since it arrived March 30, and about 50 of those have been discharged, said Lt. Mary Catherine Walsh. The ship removed half of its 1,000 beds so it could isolate and treat coronavirus patients. [The Mercy has seen 48 patients, all non-Covid related] (THE STAR)
And literally handfulls of patients on the Comfort (New York City) and the Comfort (Los Angeles) — *see comment below. There was never a shortage of respirators (NATIONAL REVIEW), and we may surpass the 2018-to-2019 flu death rate, but come nowhere close to the 2017-to-2018 flu death rate:
(CLICK TO ENLARGE)
And it seems that we are reaching a plateau with The Rona, so there is good news in this regard (POWERLINE).
* Here is a comment from the Military Times article from a few days ago:
So, why did we spend all that Taxpayer’s money to move the Comfort to NYC and all the added Military medical personnel to staff the Javitt’s Center? Because Cuomo was crying WOLF.
“So far, the thousands of beds provided by a converted convention center and a hospital ship have not been needed, but the extra personnel are coming in handy for the city’s civilian hospitals.
About 200 doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists and others are working in New York’s medical centers, where bed space has not been overwhelmed, but where hospital-acquired coronavirus cases have sidelined civilian staff.”
Never in American history have politicians been more powerful than they are now.
Earlier today I posted this in response to a friend:
A friend noted the new FB button by saying,
“They give us a ‘care’ button, BUT THEY STILL NEVER GAVE US A DISLIKE BUTTON!”
I included my thoughts adding to her statement:
Tolerance used to mean a confirmation of disagreement. Now tolerance means “to celebrate.” It is a sort of forced unitarian thinking. Or, “total thought,” e.g., totalitarianism — by a mix of Brave New World and 1984
You see, by itself this is no big deal… but combined with the myriad of small and large ruminations (videos removed to “micro-aggressions”), it all adds up to people telling me that each of the single acts I can tell them about are “no big deal.” Never seeing the forest. But a better point comes from Dennis Prager’s article titled, “Our Dress Rehearsal for a Police State“
All my life, I have dismissed paranoids on the right (“America is headed to communism”) and the left (“It can happen here” — referring to fascism). It’s not that I’ve ever believed liberty was guaranteed. Being familiar with history and a pessimist regarding the human condition, I never believed that.
But the ease with which police state tactics have been employed and the equal ease with which most Americans have accepted them have been breathtaking.
People will argue that a temporary police state has been justified because of the allegedly unique threat to life posed by the new coronavirus. I do not believe the data will bear that out. Regardless, let us at least agree that we are closer to a police state than ever in American history.
“Police state” does not mean totalitarian state. America is not a totalitarian state; we still have many freedoms. In a totalitarian state, this article could not be legally published, and if it were illegally published, I would be imprisoned and/or executed. But we are presently living with all four of the key hallmarks of a police state:
No. 1: Draconian laws depriving citizens of elementary civil rights.
The federal, state, county and city governments are now restricting almost every freedom except those of travel and speech. Americans have been banned from going to work (and thereby earning a living), meeting in groups (both indoors and outdoors), meeting in their cars in church parking lots to pray and entering state-owned properties such as beaches and parks — among many other prohibitions.
No. 2: A mass media supportive of the state’s messaging and deprivation of rights.
The New York Times, CNN and every other mainstream mass medium — except Fox News, The Wall Street Journal (editorial and opinion pages only) and talk radio — have served the cause of state control over individual Americans’ lives just as Pravda served the Soviet government. In fact, there is almost no more dissent in The New York Times than there was in Pravda. And the Big Tech platforms are removing posts about the virus and potential treatments they deem “misinformation.”
No. 3: Use of police.
Police departments throughout America have agreed to enforce these laws and edicts with what can only be described as frightening alacrity. After hearing me describe police giving summonses to, or even arresting, people for playing baseball with their children on a beach, jogging alone without a mask, or worshipping on Easter while sitting isolated in their cars in a church parking lot, a police officer called my show. He explained that the police have no choice. They must respond to every dispatch they receive.
“And why are they dispatched to a person jogging on a beach or sitting alone in a park?” I asked.
Because the department was informed about these lawbreakers.
“And who told the police about these lawbreakers?” I asked.
His answer brings us to the fourth characteristic of a police state:
No. 4: Snitches.
How do the police dispatchers learn of lawbreakers such as families playing softball in a public park, lone joggers without face masks, etc.? From their fellow citizens snitching on them. The mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, set up a “snitch line,” whereby New Yorkers were told to send authorities photos of fellow New Yorkers violating any of the quarantine laws. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti similarly encouraged snitching, unabashedly using the term.
It is said that about 1 in every 100 East German citizens were informers for the Stasi, the East German secret police, as superbly portrayed in the film “The Lives of Others.” It would be interesting, and, I think, important, to know what percentage of New Yorkers informed on their fellow citizens. Now, again, you may think such a comparison is not morally valid, that de Blasio’s call to New Yorkers to serve a Stasi-like role was morally justified given the coronavirus pandemic. But you cannot deny it is Stasi-like or that, other than identifying spies during World War II, this is unprecedented in American history at anywhere near this level….
Dennis Prager concentrates on our Governor thinking he has the right to halt California’s beauty and prosperity! For pseudo science. (This is the last portion of the first hour today, and the beginning of the second hour.) Not only that, but it is turning into a Constitutional battle!
Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom has lost the consent of the governed.A county in Northern California announced it will be reopening its schools, hair salons and restaurants on Friday. Modoc County, a small county of about 9,000 people located in northeastern California will be reopening because it has zero Coronavirus cases. Ned Coe, a cattle rancher and county supervisor said the mental health and economic health of his county is very important and after consulting with health officials, the Board of Supervisors voted to reopen…. (GATEWAY PUNDIT)
The Orange County Sheriff said his department’s intention “is to not take enforcement action on this order. But again, I haven’t seen it yet.” WATCH: ([Twitter]: https://tinyurl.com/ya8n4y99) Other California Sheriffs also announced they will not be enforcing Newsom’s unconstitutional order. “As Sheriff, I am the protector of constitutional rights in Humboldt County,” Sheriff William Honsal said, “and if an order is issued that I believe violates our constitutional rights, I will not enforce it.”…. (GATEWAY PUNDIT)
Dr. Deborah Birx corrects a Yahoo reporters claim that the U.S. is lagging behind South Korea in coronavirus testing. (RIGHT SCOOP hat-tip):
…The Yahoo reporter didn’t even seem to care that he’d gotten it wrong. Incredulous to the end!
On a side note, it is funny to see the dichotomy between how combative Trump is versus how delicate Dr. Birx is saying “just check it again.” I’m not blaming Trump, just noting the stark difference. Trump is clearly tired of the fake news from reporters, especially when they obstinate like this guy.
Predicting the future. And how they always get it wrong. The simple truth is that the doomsayers always get it wrong. Way wrong. Check out Jason’s take.
I noticed some of the viral videos by Drs. Daniel Erickson and Artin Massihi are being removed from YouTube. As it turns out, YouTube apparently are using the World Health Organizations proclamations as their guiding light to censor people free speech/thought. Here Laura Ingraham notes the issue:
Basically the Doctors in their original video (can be seen HERE, HERE, Channel 23 Bakersfield has it HERE, see also HERE) were basically saying it is time to open up California. The video has been removed from YouTube — hard to find. 23ABC BAKERSFIELD has the FULL video on their Facebook still:
Similarly, another doctor in the heart of the battle in New York says it is time to open back up, via the NEW YORK POST:
I’m an emergency physician at St. Barnabas Hospital in The Bronx. I have been in the ER every day these last few weeks, either supervising or providing direct care. I contracted a COVID-19 infection very early in the outbreak, as did two of my daughters, one of whom is a nurse. We are all well, thank God.
COVID-19 has been the worst health care disaster of my 30-year career, because of its intensity, duration and potential for lasting impact. The lasting impact is what worries me the most. And it’s why I now believe we should end the lockdown and rapidly get back to work.
[….]
It is precisely what I have witnessed that now tells me that it’s time to ease the lockdown. Here’s why.
First, the wave has crested. At 1 p.m. April 7, the COVID-19 arrivals slowed down. It was a discrete, noticeable event. Stretchers became available by 5 p.m., and the number of arriving COVID-19 patients dropped below the number discharged, transferred or deceased.
This was striking, because the community I serve is poor. Some are homeless. Most work in “essential,” low-paying jobs, where distancing isn’t easy. Nevertheless, the wave passed over us, peaked and subsided. The way this transpired tells me the ebb and flow had more to do with the natural course of the outbreak than it did with the lockdown.
Second, I worry about non-coronavirus care. While the inpatient units remain busy with sick COVID-19 patients, our ER has been quiet for more than a week. We usually average 240 patients a day. For the last week, we averaged fewer than 100. That means our patients in this diverse, low-income community are afraid to come to the ER for non-COVID care.
Gotham-wide, the number of 911 ambulance runs declined to 3,320 on April 18, down from a peak of 6,527 on March 30, according to New York Fire Department data. The current nadir is significantly below the average.
A large share of those staying home surely have emergency medical and surgical conditions not related to the novel coronavirus. The growing numbers dying at home during this crisis must include fatal myocardial infarctions, asthma exacerbations, bacterial infections and strokes.
Meanwhile, our pediatric volume in the ER has practically disappeared. Visits to primary-care pediatricians are also down, with vaccine schedules falling behind. Everyone seems to be avoiding the health system — an important and unfortunate consequence of the stay-at-home strategy.
Third, inordinate fear misguides the public response. While COVID-19 is serious, fear of it is being over-amplified. The public needs to understand that the vast majority of infected people do quite well.
Finally, COVID-19 is more prevalent than we think. Many New Yorkers already have the COVID-19 infection, whether they are aware of it or not. As of today, over 43 percent of those tested are positive in The Bronx. We are developing a significant degree of natural herd immunity. Distancing works, but I am skeptical that it is playing as predominant a role as many think.
More testing will better establish the numbers among those with mild illnesses and no symptoms. My professional experience tells me the number of infected people will be high. Testing is important work, but it should happen in parallel to the immediate resuscitation of the economy and getting people back to work.
At present, the testing is imperfect. We can’t wait months. We must protect the vulnerable and mitigate without destroying the economy…..
All of these doctors are in agreement that Covid-19 is serious. But they are also in agreement on two things, that is:
California is not New York;
The economy is an important monetary and healthy factor.
To Wit…
Armstrong & Getty discuss Brett Stephens New York Times article where it seems the rest of America is being asked to respond to The Rona just like New York City is. In an excellent article Brett notes:
As of Friday, there have been more Covid-19 fatalities on Long Island’s Nassau County (population 1.4 million) than in all of California (population 40 million). There have been more fatalities in Westchester County (989) than in Texas (611). The number of Covid deaths per 100,000 residents in New York City (132) is more than 16 times what is in America’s next largest city, Los Angeles (8). If New York City proper were a state, it would have suffered more fatalities than 41 other states combined… (NEW YORK TIMES)
THE FEDERALIST likewise uses Brett’s article as a launch pad, noting:
The claim that New York is not responsible for the severe lockdowns we see across the country is the kind of revisionist history that we will all be drowned in over the coming weeks. Through late March and early April, Drs. Deborah Birx and Anthony Fauci made clear time and again that their recommendations were based mostly on data from New York, where the most cases and testing existed.
Now there is a debunking of sorts making the rounds…
FACEBOOK CONVOS
…the first I was made aware of it was by a friend in the health industry. He sent me a link to this statement by the The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and the American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM):
The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and the American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) jointly and emphatically condemn the recent opinions released by Dr. Daniel Erickson and Dr. Artin Massihi. These reckless and untested musings do not speak for medical societies and are inconsistent with current science and epidemiology regarding COVID-19. As owners of local urgent care clinics, it appears these two individuals are releasing biased, non-peer reviewed data to advance their personal financial interests without regard for the public’s health.
COVID-19 misinformation is widespread and dangerous. Members of ACEP and AAEM are first-hand witnesses to the human toll that COVID-19 is taking on our communities. ACEP and AAEM strongly advise against using any statements of Drs. Erickson and Massihi as a basis for policy and decision making.
Then a couple other friends who disagree with a video by Drs. Daniel Erickson and Artin Massihi or just Dr. Erickson, noted both the above, and one was kind enough to post an article that specifically noted where the doctors “got it wrong.” And please do not get me wrong, I love friends that disagree with me. Why? Because it hones my knowledge of a topic. For instance, a friend posted this article from CALMATTERS “debunking” Dr. Erickson’s first video. But he wasn’t aware of another video that already responds to the charges he makes! I will post my shorter version of IT following the dialogue:
JIM G. In a rare statement late today, the American College of Emergency Physicians and the American Academy of Emergency Medicine declared they “emphatically condemn the recent opinions released by Dr. Daniel Erickson and Dr. Artin Messihi. These reckless and untested musings do not speak for medical societies and are inconsistent with current science and epidemiology regarding COVID-19. As owners of local urgent care clinics, it appears these two individuals are releasing biased, non-peer reviewed data to advance their personal financial interests without regard for the public’s health.” [then he linked the CALMATTERS article]
After I noted my post on my site… JIM G. said:
the article points out the very basic methodological flaw. It’s flaw in their study is so elementary, it’s ridiculous.
Since I like to get people to commit to a premise they want to defend, I simply asked: “what flaw Jim”
JIM G. simple lack of random sampling and suggesting that their findings can be extrapolated to a larger population.
//… But public health experts were quick to debunk the doctors’ findings as misguided and riddled with statistical errors — and an example of the kind of misleading information they are forced to waste precious time disputing.
The doctors should never have assumed that the patients they tested — who came for walk-in COVID-19 tests or who sought urgent care for symptoms they experienced in the middle of a pandemic — are representative of the general population, said Dr. Carl Bergstrom, a University of Washington biologist who specializes in infectious disease modeling. He likened their extrapolations to “estimating the average height of Americans from the players on an NBA court.” And most credible studies of COVID-19 death rates in reality are far higher than the ones the doctors presented.//
ME JIM G. in this video he said it cannot be extrapolated to another population? (YOUTUBE), and they started to test everyone who asked?
This has to be the worst example of flaws since the Dr. refuted them even before he was rebuked? The only flaws I see have been the gargantuan numbers thrown around by the modelers themselves. California is no where near the deaths near the flu.
VIDEO ISOLATED
Likewise, another friend focused on the same issue. What was different however is that he posted under the previous video my other friend was not aware of. And may I say, I doubt this friend, JEREMY J, watched the video he commented under — just assuming it was the original video. Likewise though, the above video is great for his response as well:
JEREMY J. I recently posted this elsewhere.
For those of you who have watched the video of Bakersfield California doctors Dan Erickson and Artin Massihi, owners of Accelerated Urgent Care with multiple office locations including Kern County, you should know that their core message “Millions of cases, small amount of death” is based on very bad data analytics.
For most of the presentation, Dr. Erickson does most of the talking. When I use “they” or “their” please understand that I am usually referring to Dr. Erickson.
They took the number of tests they had done in their own clinics (5213) and the number of positive results they had from those tests (340, or 6.5%), and “extrapolated” (their words) that data to the entire state. That is how they arrived at 4.4 million Californians already infected.
But in order to extrapolate, you must be comparing similar groups. The group of people who have been tested is unlikely to have the same rate of infection as the general population, and there is no evidence offered that they do. The doctors simply assume that Californians as a whole would have positive tests at the same rate as symptomatic people who come in for testing. This is a basic failing on their part and by itself makes the claim “Millions of cases, small amount of death” invalid.
They then cite the California statewide numbers (280,900 tests, 33,865, or 12%). Based on these numbers, Dr. Erickson then says “so the more you test, the more positives you get, the prevalence number goes up, and the death rate stays the same, so it gets smaller and smaller and smaller.”
This is such confused thinking that it’s hard to know where to start, especially for an audience unversed in statistical and epidemiological terminology. OF COURSE you will get more positive results if you test more people, but that isn’t what he is trying to say. Dr. Erickson appears to be saying that if more tests are done, the *percent* of positive results goes up. That is magical thinking. It certainly isn’t science. More likely, the difference between their local numbers and the statewide numbers is a manifestation of either different testing criteria, or Kern County simply has fewer cases than California as a whole (infection rates would not be expected to be uniform across the state).
Far from being based on facts, data, and science, their core message that there are “Millions of cases, small amount of death” is based on assumption, conjecture, speculation, and magical thinking.
I’ve watched the entire hour long news conference. It is obvious to me that they do not understand some basic things about microbiology and immunology. They use “incidence” and “prevalence” interchangeably, even though they are very different concepts. They misunderstand the concept of “herd immunity”. And they tout their real world, on the ground experience as more valid than that of an academician, even though they haven’t worked in a hospital setting for several years and haven’t cared for seriously ill COVID-19 patients. Wise physicians understand that both perspectives are valid.
To be sure, they make some good points, and I think they are generally well intentioned. But their overall message is fundamentally weakened by some seriously sloppy data analysis as well as sloppy use of terms.
Note he makes it clear their intentions are good. That is nice, but these are my responses:
ME No, he says in the video you cannot extrapolate his work to the state. He says that specifically. But then notes another California study. And as they test this way (random testing), other states are finding the same issue.
Just as one example, at a homeless shelter in Boston, out of the nearly 400 guests tested, 146 tested positive for Covid-19… all were asymptomatic.
…the other study mentioned by Dr. Erickson was this one mentioned in theREASON.COMarticle. These studies are all proving my early work (mid to late March), which I speak about here:RPT
In a humorous short discussion via email with A CLEARER PICTURE, a neat play on the word Fascism was noted by him that I wish to highlight here. It is a simple joining of two words:
Dr. Fauci + fascism = Faucism
Here is his short prose using the term:
[That] Statement you sent me from College of Physicians is unbelievable. This is getting serious. Fauscism is as contemptuous of our rights to share information and make up our own minds as they are of our rights to earn a living and freely assemble.”
On my Facebook, a friend said this: “I posted this as well. These [doctors] absolutely nail it. I’m tellin’ y’all, I’m feelin’ the ‘1984’ thing right now!” What this will do and is doing is the false modeling and the covering up of tracks by saying on the death certificate’s of people told they have a month to live because of cancer… and then this breakout appears on the scene, and while they are in the hospital dying, they catch The Rona. Their death cert doesn’t say “died of cancer, it says “died of Covid-19.”
After reading A CLEARER PICTURE’S latest post about the censorship, I remembered it was Tuesday, and boogied on over toTOWNHALL.COMto see Prager’s latest column. Here is a large excerpt from it:
…“Police state” does not mean totalitarian state. America is not a totalitarian state; we still have many freedoms. In a totalitarian state, this article could not be legally published, and if it were illegally published, I would be imprisoned and/or executed. But we are presently living with all four of the key hallmarks of a police state:
No. 1: Draconian laws depriving citizens of elementary civil rights.
The federal, state, county and city governments are now restricting almost every freedom except those of travel and speech. Americans have been banned from going to work (and thereby earning a living), meeting in groups (both indoors and outdoors), meeting in their cars in church parking lots to pray and entering state-owned properties such as beaches and parks — among many other prohibitions.
No. 2: A mass media supportive of the state’s messaging and deprivation of rights.
The New York Times, CNN and every other mainstream mass medium — except Fox News, The Wall Street Journal (editorial and opinion pages only) and talk radio — have served the cause of state control over individual Americans’ lives just as Pravda served the Soviet government. In fact, there is almost no more dissent in The New York Times than there was in Pravda. And the Big Tech platforms are removing posts about the virus and potential treatments they deem “misinformation.”
No. 3: Use of police.
Police departments throughout America have agreed to enforce these laws and edicts with what can only be described as frightening alacrity. After hearing me describe police giving summonses to, or even arresting, people for playing baseball with their children on a beach, jogging alone without a mask, or worshipping on Easter while sitting isolated in their cars in a church parking lot, a police officer called my show. He explained that the police have no choice. They must respond to every dispatch they receive.
“And why are they dispatched to a person jogging on a beach or sitting alone in a park?” I asked.
Because the department was informed about these lawbreakers.
“And who told the police about these lawbreakers?” I asked.
His answer brings us to the fourth characteristic of a police state:
No. 4: Snitches.
How do the police dispatchers learn of lawbreakers such as families playing softball in a public park, lone joggers without face masks, etc.? From their fellow citizens snitching on them. The mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, set up a “snitch line,” whereby New Yorkers were told to send authorities photos of fellow New Yorkers violating any of the quarantine laws. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti similarly encouraged snitching, unabashedly using the term.
It is said that about 1 in every 100 East German citizens were informers for the Stasi, the East German secret police, as superbly portrayed in the film “The Lives of Others.” It would be interesting, and, I think, important, to know what percentage of New Yorkers informed on their fellow citizens. Now, again, you may think such a comparison is not morally valid, that de Blasio’s call to New Yorkers to serve a Stasi-like role was morally justified given the coronavirus pandemic. But you cannot deny it is Stasi-like or that, other than identifying spies during World War II, this is unprecedented in American history at anywhere near this level…..
This coincides with my post on a friends Facebook last night, where I said after mentioning the removal of Drs. Daniel Erickson and Artin Massihi video:
Certain books and videos removed from Amazon for not being politically-correct. Posts removed from Facebook for not marching in step. YouTube removing or “doxing” videos that they say do not meet their guidelines (just think of Prager U’s fight). Twitter, etc.
You know, many years ago I wrote the Koch Brothers and tried to get a letter to them (being big libertarians) about starting a server for people to compete with YouTube and other blog hosting sites. Because I know at some point hosting sites will limit my speech to fit the prevailing PC winds.
The owner of the blog “A Clearer Picture” mentioned to me the following after seeing the above statement: “[That] Statement you sent me from College of Physicians is unbelievable. This is getting serious. Fauscism is as contemptuous of our rights to share information and make up our own minds as they are of our rights to earn a living and freely assemble.”
“Fauscism” what a great “medical” play on words. (Based on Dr. Fauci)
And yes, giving up our rights to modelers and to the World Health Organization (scientism) is a form of FAUCISM. Speaking to one of the models that led to what should have been a two or three week shut down was this one noted at TOWNHALL.COM (on April 5th):
While the reporting data from some states are lagging, others have provided information that calls into question the validity of the whole model, and with it, all the actions taken by government.
On April 4th, for example, the IHME model predicted there would be between 120,963 and 203,436 Americans requiring hospitalization, with the average of that range being 164,745. In reality, there were 18,998…..
Sick, and because of the hatred for Trump from the Left and #NeverTrumpers… this is only the beginning of the emboldening of what they think they can do to us. As CNN and other’s say this is a trial run for:
The World Is Coming Together To Fight Coronavirus. It Can Do The Same For The Climate Crisis (CNN)
Coronavirus And Climate Change: The Pandemic Is A Fire Drill For Our Planet’S Future (NBC NEWS – BIG THINK)
I just happened along a new [to me] site. The posts are pretty good as far as COVID-19 goes. I am going to highlight three posts A CLEARER PICTURE. I like the site’s look at THE RONA (Covid-19).
Every day, the media makes sure you hear the latest official “death toll.” Some days you’re even hit with an ever-more-frightening update two or three times.
But most of us know that the number incessantly being drummed into our heads isn’t a “death toll” at all.
It’s really a death CERTIFICATE toll; and they are most definitely NOT the same thing.
Even under normal circumstances, those dying of other deadly illnesses who passed on a few days or even minutes earlier because of COVID-19 would be included. But circumstances aren’t even close to normal.
Doctors Fauci and Birx have both explicitly said that anyone dying with the virus is getting counted among its fatalities regardless of whether it played any role in their death. Given that 4/5 of infections cause only mild symptoms and 1/2 none at all, the intentional conflation of dying WITH COVID-19 and dying FROM it is no small thing.
Nor is it anywhere close to the only inflating factor.
The CDC has explicitly instructed physicians to cite COVID-19 on death certificates even without a confirming test so long as they’ve “assumed” it was a contributing factor. The assumption can be for any reason they like, and that includes no reason at all. Hospitals have also been given enormous financial incentives to diagnose patients with COVID-19.
That daily number being crammed down your throat is being blown up from a perfect storm of conditions that have to be massively inflating the real number of Americans that would still be alive if not for COVID-19
The only question is: How much?
Given the environment of encouragement and incentives that, whether intentionally or not, has been created; it wouldn’t be at all shocking if 1/3 of the death certificates citing COVID-19 belong to people who would have passed away from other causes regardless.
It wouldn’t be too shocking if 1/2 did.
It wouldn’t even be all that shocking if 3/4 of COVID-19 death certificates turned out to be false positives.
But now, data is coming out of New York City that’s raising a possibility that really is shocking.
On Friday, the former chief of neuroradiology at Stanford University Medical Center published an article with a wealth of data showing that we need to “stop the panic and end the total isolation” because COVID-19 isn’t any more lethal than the seasonal flu.
But some of the data indicates that it may actually be far less lethal.
In New York City, around 12,000 people have supposedly died from COVID-19 at the time of this writing. That’s 22% of all alleged U.S. deaths.
Around 7,000 of the NYC deaths attributed to COVID-19 have been thoroughly investigated to determine if there was another serious life-threatening illness present
Take a deep breath if doing so hasn’t been outlawed where you live.
99.2% of those 7,000 New Yorkers who supposedly died from the virus had another antecedent life-threatening illness. For all intents and purposes, that’s all of them.
How is it even remotely possible that 7,000 NYC deaths attributed to COVID-19 were investigated and virtually every single one of them found to have involved at least one other life-threatening illness if the virus is in and of itself deadly?………
A friend sent this interview to me:
RPT RANT
ALL-IN-ALL I recommend the site’s outlook on Covid-19 (The Rona) There isn’t a single hospital in these United States overrun with The Rona as I type. As I have been pointing out on my site since mid-March, the numbers are like the flu (or less). And there is NO POSSIBLE WAY that ALL DEATHS out of NYC are from The Rona. None.
With the Comfort hospital ship leaving New York City after treating very few people, and other field hospitals being dismantled after built by the ARMY Core of Engineers without a single occupancy, and some governors being caught red-handed adding Covid deaths to the tally that never were (200 per FOX NEWS | 269 per CITADEL POLITICS) — ALL THIS AND MORE adds up to — for all intent and purpose (even if this is not the case, but in the mind of many voters it will be) this is a: We Hate The ORANGE MAN In Office
Viva Le Trump, 2020
POST-SCRIPT
The videos by these guys are starting to disappear off of YouTube. And any misstep from the accepted line seems to be censored on Amazon, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and the like. So nor the College Physicians has come out against them publicly:
The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and the American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) jointly and emphatically condemn the recent opinions released by Dr. Daniel Erickson and Dr. Artin Messihi. These reckless and untested musings do not speak for medical societies and are inconsistent with current science and epidemiology regarding COVID-19. As owners of local urgent care clinics, it appears these two individuals are releasing biased, non-peer reviewed data to advance their personal financial interests without regard for the public’s health.
COVID-19 misinformation is widespread and dangerous. Members of ACEP and AAEM are first-hand witnesses to the human toll that COVID-19 is taking on our communities. ACEP and AAEM strongly advise against using any statements of Drs. Erickson and Messihi as a basis for policy and decision making.
I am sure YouTube will use this as the reason to remove stuff like this. More surely is to come…
Ezekiel Emanuel, adviser to presidential candidate Joe Biden and Obamacare architect, just called for a 12-to-18-month lock-down to battle COVID-19, asking us to abandon our livelihoods, religious services, and “contact with friends and extended family.” He claims we have “no choice” and that the alternative is hundreds of thousands of deaths. He has also said that COVID-19 is a “great argument for universal health care coverage.” His plan is politically motivated — and deadly.
BONUS:“The more sophisticated leftists almost certainly imagine a collapse of the American economy. They don’t fear this, they embrace it, à la the Cloward-Piven strategy: destroy the social welfare system to force America into a socialized mode. Having the economy collapse, with the governing remaining as the only source of funds and food, will only speed that outcome. (AMERICAN THINKER)
Dennis Prager brings up a challenge about deaths made about the U.S. compared to the rest of the world. Then he challenges his guest Dr. Joel Hay (BIO) regarding Sweden. Good stuff to memorize and have ready to respond to people who think this stuff is accurate. See my post on this: “Infectious Thoughts On ‘The RONA’”.
(A quick note, I am not saying we should have done nothing, please do not infer that from what is below. However, I am saying that pushing the shutting down of our infrastructure for anything past two or three weeks ~ is ~ dubious at best.)
As An Aside, this is one of the most important article I believe regarding this whole “pandemic” issue we are dealing with. While it focuses on New York City, this is multiplied ad infinitum around our nation and globe. I would highly recommend this article at CITY JOURNAL:
My computer is down, and its a brand new build (something I did surely found out it is a bad motherboard). But my phone is allowing me opportunity to expand on some thinking. In a conversation about reopening Minnesota I had the other morning. I will include the conversations end below the raw numbers and pics. Take note I start with my old numbers of THE RONA’S estimated infection rates, with newer studies, as well as some HERD IMMUNITY stats/commentary. Enjoy number crunchers. I will add some other Faceboook posts as well.
INFECTION RATES
This portion was the earliest idea to how widespread the virus was. People would continuously mention the KNOWN infection rate of Covid-19 to the KNOWN death rate from Covid. And then in the same breath compare those stats to the ESTIMATED flu infection rate to the SOMEWHAT KNOWN flu death rate. And then they would say “see, Covid-19 is more deadly.” But I wanted to compare the same stats… so this was my way of referenced “estimations” to the infection rate of Covid-19. These were the two referenced numbers:
There are probably 25 to 50 people who have the virus for every one person who is confirmed. (Dr. Makary BIO|YAHOO)
Now, as the testing for antibodies is getting under way, we are finding confirmation for the above numbers. Here are some articles to make the point (as well as some media) HERE ARE SOME IMPORTANT THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND regarding the Santa Clara County information….
Closer to the publishing date of the information garnered from the 3,300 volunteers getting the antibody test in Santa Clara County, there were 32-deaths attributed to the Coronavirus, or, THE RONA. So what we can assume is that as the death toll rises over a time-line, so does the infection rate. Here is what the REASON.COM ARTICLE notes closer to the studies publishing date:
Between 48,000 and 81,000 residents of Santa Clara County, California are likely to have already been infected by the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, suggests a new study by researchers associated with Stanford University Medical School. The researchers tested a sample of 3,330 residents of the county using blood tests to detect antibodies to determine whether or not they had been exposed to the coronavirus. If the researchers’ calculations are correct, that’s really good news. Why? Because that data will help public health officials to get a better handle on just how lethal the coronavirus is, and if researchers are right it’s a lot less lethal than many have feared it to be.
Currently, the U.S. case fatality rate, that is, the percent of people with confirmed diagnoses of COVID-19 who die, is running at 5.2 percent. But epidemiologists have known that a significant proportion of people who are infected are going undetected by the medical system because either they don’t feel sick enough to seek help or are asymptomatic. For example, recent research in Iceland suggests that about 50 percent of people infected with the virus have no symptoms.
In the new study, the researchers sought residents through Facebook to whom they could administer the antibody tests. The results were an unadjusted prevalence of coronavirus antibodies of 1.5 percent. After making various statistical and demographic adjustments, researchers calculated the likely prevalence ranged from 2.49 to 4.16 percent. At the time that these tests were administered, there were about 1,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 32* deaths from the disease in Santa Clara County. The upshot is that “these prevalence estimates represent a range between 48,000 and 81,000 people infected in Santa Clara County by early April, 50- 85-fold more than the number of confirmed cases.”
Using these data, the researchers calculated the infection fatality rate, that is, the percent of people infected with the disease who die: “A hundred deaths out of 48,000-81,000 infections corresponds to an infection fatality rate of 0.12-0.2%,” they report.* That’s about the same infection fatality rate the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates for seasonal influenza…..
COVID-19 Lethality Not Much Different Than Flu, Says New Study: Possible really good news from a population screening antibody test study in Santa Clara County, California (REASON | ABC NEWS)
Why A Study Showing That Covid-19 Is Everywhere Is Good News: If millions of people were infected weeks ago without dying, the virus must be less deadly than official data suggest (ECONOMIST)
Medical Experts Appear on ‘Life, Liberty, and Levin’ to Urge Leaders to Reopen America (PJ-MEDIA)
LA Study: Virus May Be More Widespread, Less Deadly Than Thought (NEWSMAX)
TWITTER: Andrew Bostom
@AlexBerenson “We find strong evidence that COVID-19 is widespread (>28 million) in the US but don’t panic.”
Yes. Reduces case-fatality ratio to ~0.1% https://t.co/DgmM1wDdqx
I mention to people that with all the precautions many states are forcing on its population they are retarding the rate of HERD IMMUNITY… which is important.
HERD IMMUNITY
Important because Dr. Fauci mentioned during one of his briefings that this is coming back in the winter season. But because we have chosen as a nation to not allow for normal contact that nature demands of us, we will be dealing with this at a higher rate than say Sweden.
Our governor, Gavin Newsom, thinks he “sounds” scientific — but has no idea [apparently] what or how to achieve “herd immunity.” Here is a MERCURY NEWS article discussing the issue statements by our “fearless” governor:
“The prospect of mass gatherings is negligible at best until we get to herd immunity and we get to a vaccine,” Newsom said. “So large-scale events that bring in hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of strangers altogether across every conceivable difference, health and otherwise, is not in the cards based upon our current guidelines and current expectations.”
The article mentions no large gatherings until Thanksgiving… but then the flu and Covid-19 season starts again. Are we shutting down our economy (bars, restaurants, small businesses, etc) and flights, beaches, etc., in the 2020-2021 season? (THANKFULLY “Attorney General William Barr warned that states could find themselves in hot water from the Justice Department if their coronavirus lockdowns go ‘too far’.” | BREITBART)
Why Simply Waiting For Herd Immunity To Covid-19 Isn’t An Option: Waiting for enough people to catch the coronavirus could take a very long time (MIT TECH REVIEW)
Sweden Resisted A Lockdown, And Its Capital Stockholm Is Expected To Reach ‘Herd Immunity’ In Weeks (CNBC)
Sweden has allowed nature to provide a natural defense to future Covid-19 outbreaks. By doing so, the next time this comes around (2020-2021) Sweden will be the most prepared out of the Western Nations. Bravo Sweden, and they took the idea that destroying their economy was not the wisest of choices.
JOHN STOSSEL
UNCOMMON KNOWLEDGE BONUS
March 27th
April 17th
Steve and I agree on a lot, I do not wish to put Steve here in a bad light… he is a guy that I would probably enjoy conversation with over a beer or two (or three):
EXCERPT FROM FACEBOOK CONVO
(ME)
Steve W — you do know Steve that the same amount of death from and infection due to Covid-19 exists under the trend line of doing nothing and the most strict quarentine rules…. right? In other words, we are not saving lives. And, in fact, we have made it worse for our economy next fall/winter because it is coming back as it makes its rounds around the world.
(STEVE W)
Sean Giordano I have heard that said but not seen it from a credible source. So I think that is false.
(ME)
Steve W what is false?
(STEVE W)
Sean Giordano “the same amount of death from and infection due to Covid-19 exists under the trend line of doing nothing”
(ME)
Steve Wallace now you are saying don’t listen to Dr. Fauci?
Many bemoan Trump for not listening to him (even though he has), and some I meet do not support Fauci in the idea that this was to elongate the process as to not put any undue stress on our health care system. Even though he clearly announced multiple times this was the reason to do so
WORLD ECONOMIC FORUMmentions the following, and all the graphs of the United States shown by Doctors Fauci and Birx have all used this idea as well (graph below from CDC and WEF)
CHRIS WALLACE: All right. You talk about slowing the virus down. You talk a lot, and I’ve very used to this now, you can either have a bump like this of cases or you could make it maybe the same total cases, but it’s a much more gradual and slower and longer curve. I want to put up some numbers. We have in this country about 950,000 hospital beds, and about 45,000 beds in Intensive Care Unit. How worried are you that this virus is going to overwhelm hospitals, not just beds, but ventilators? We only have 160,000 ventilators. And could we be in a situation where you have to ration who gets the bed, who gets the ventilator?
DR. FAUCI: OK. So let me put it in a way that it doesn’t get taken out of context. When people talk about modeling where outbreaks are going, the modeling is only as good as the assumptions you put into the model. And what they do, they have a worst-case scenario, a best-case scenario, and likely where it’s going to be. If we have a worst-case scenario, we’ve got to admit it, we could be overwhelmed. Are we going to have a worst-case scenario? I don’t think so. I hope not.
What are we doing to not have that worst-case scenario? That’s when you get into the things that we’re doing. We’re preventing infections from going in with some rather stringent travel restrictions. And we’re doing containment and mitigation from within. So, at a worst-case scenario, anywhere in the world, no matter what country you are, you won’t be prepared. So our job is to not let that worst-case scenario happen.
(…. STILL ME….)
STEVE W for you not to understand the goal of all this, and then get on here sharing insights is itself insightful. I am not blaming you STEVE… I just see this fundamental misunderstanding of the underlying factors and goals of this whole endeavor of bending the curve as applicable to MANY A PERSON in these discussions here and elsewhere on social media. I am giving you, in fact, the most respectful benefit of a doubt, but am merely in conversation with you at this moment. This conversation is just multiplied (others are having) across social media many fold. Blessings to you and yours friend. Yet, this foundational view is not known well by others… that is, the reason behind flattening the curve as well as the data underneath the trend line.
(CLICK TO ENLARGE)
Here I wish to switch gears a bit and start to discuss another “info graphic” post from MY SITES FACEBOOK I shared with my readers. And since the entire idea behind “flattening the curve” was to keep the health and hospital system working well by not getting inundated all at once, this should have lasted two or three weeks. Not as long as it has — our economy is important too! Damnit!
CAPACITY OF THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
The following was compiled after a conversation I had on Facebook. It touches on some of the issues above. Enjoy
I note the bell curve because many are under the false impression we are doing this to “save lives.” This was never the case.
The quarantine was to lessen the apex of the bell curve as to not put pressure on the hospital/health system. The same amount of people in the elongated “quarantine bell curve” (the trend-line) would die and get sick. In other words, the same statistics exist below the line (POWERLINE). Here is a site cataloging the hospitalizations for the rona that POWERLINE used – US CORONAVIRUS HOSPITALIZATIONS …they used both the CDC site and this one, but the CDC site has lower hospitalizations, so they opted for the most updated numbers. WHICH AS OF APRIL 21ST STAND AT 84,292 HOSPITALIZATIONS FROM JANUARY TILL NOW. This is important, because, the flu season of 2017-2018 we saw 810,000 hospitalization, and our health system didn’t collapse. Nor did the Swine Flu of 2009-to-2010, which saw 60-million American infected and 300,000 hospitalizations.
This then may explain why all the field hospital’s the ARMY CORE OF ENGINEERS built are being dismantled without a single bed being used.
The panic and fear among the people who cannot be bothered to read the actual statistics about this pandemic is what should concern most preppers. In fact, this virus has been so overhyped that the Army’s field hospital in Seattle, an “epicenter” of the pandemic has closed after three days without seeing one single COVID-19 patient. According to a report by Military.com, the hastily built field hospital set up by the Army in Seattle’s pro football stadium is shutting down without ever seeing a patient. [….] The decision to close the Seattle field hospital comes amid early signs that the number of new cases could be hitting a plateau in New York, the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic in the U.S., and other states. At a news conference Friday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said, “Overall, New York is flattening the curve.” — ZERO HEDGE (see: MILITARY TIMES | DAILY CALLER)
Unlike the Mercy, the Comfort is treating COVID-19 patients on board as well as patients who do not have the virus. The ship has treated more than 120 people since it arrived March 30, and about 50 of those have been discharged, said Lt. Mary Catherine Walsh. The ship removed half of its 1,000 beds so it could isolate and treat coronavirus patients. [The Mercy has seen 48 patients, all non-Covid related] (THE STAR)
And literally handfulls of patients on the Comfort (New York City) and the Comfort (Los Angeles) — *see comment below. There was never a shortage of respirators (NATIONAL REVIEW), and we may surpass the 2018-to-2019 flu death rate, but come nowhere close to the 2017-to-2018 flu death rate:
(CLICK TO ENLARGE)
And it seems that we are reaching a plateau with The Rona, so there is good news in this regard (POWERLINE).
* Here is a comment from the Military Times article from a few days ago:
So, why did we spend all that Taxpayer’s money to move the Comfort to NYC and all the added Military medical personnel to staff the Javitt’s Center? Because Cuomo was crying WOLF.
“So far, the thousands of beds provided by a converted convention center and a hospital ship have not been needed, but the extra personnel are coming in handy for the city’s civilian hospitals.
About 200 doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists and others are working in New York’s medical centers, where bed space has not been overwhelmed, but where hospital-acquired coronavirus cases have sidelined civilian staff.”
