Chinese Wuhan update – another massive spike 1970 new deaths. Despite what I hear from the media new cases are also on the rise. There was a rather large dip but it was only a dip. Now the pattern seems to be three days before a spike and not two. The pattern broke and not for the better.
One more thing… thus far this virus is sweeping through highly populated areas. Well, duh, what would anyone expect? I do not think rural areas are going to escape. A “second wave”, so to speak will hit those of us in flyover country. I doubt if this wave will be as bad due to the extraordinary precautions we are taking. My last venture into town revealed most people wearing masks and avoiding contact. How will this affect the outcome?
My thought this morning: Well… there goes our cognitive bias. Much has written about this cognitive bias thing. The actual term is a specific named bias i.e. “normalcy bias” – meaning of course – nothing changes. As someone who tends to resist change at all costs, I know, much to my chagrin, everything changes all the time. Still we like to delude ourselves with the idea of sameness. Well now all of that is out the window. Everything is changing right before our eyes. The question now is – how will we deal with it?
Last night I watched some dodo – I’m sure he is one of the “important” dodos – tell the world this virus thing is going to keep us locked down for 18 – eighteen – months.. Yeah. No. I don’t see that happening. Already we are going stir crazy as a nation. It is not so bad for me as I can write and such. I have more stuff to do than ever before. Too bad none of it seems to pay a nickel.
If it is true this virus is not going away anytime soon, then I think we, as a nation, will make the decision to move on. Already there are calls to get back to work. Already I see stirrings of “let’s get this thing over with!” In my mind’s eye I see a soldier under sniper fire saying “Aw HELL!” and running straight at the threat.
While I’d love to see us stand together in town halls and county seats to tell the controllers to stuff it, I doubt such a thing will happen – not at this time. What I can see is open defiance – for lack of a better term. One story cites what they call a “Rebellion” by a local sheriff who refuses to stop citizens for “disobeying” orders to stay home.
Yesterday I tweeted about AG Barr asking Congress to allow suspension of the Constitution. He should know better. Neither Congress nor anyone else has the authority to suspend the Law of the Land. Such an action has a name and the name is treason. Likewise the controllers have zero authority to order citizens to stay home. They just don’t. They can ask. They can plead. They can beg. They cannot order. No such provision exists in our Constitution, nor should it. The entire idea of self-governing is to leave the final decisions up to us. And this is what I can see happening.
Already, we’ve seen a few who refuse to kneel. It is a trickle. There will be more. Soon it will be a flood. Will the virus spread because of this? Probably it will. Now the “experts” are suggesting there is no stopping this virus. If this is the case we have a choice – live out our days in poverty and fear – something like the second coming of the dark ages or chuck it and move on with our lives. I suspect we will choose the latter.
Taking all of this into consideration, the very things we are doing to prevent or at least mitigate this pandemic may well prolong it. If the bug swept through the nation as it did in parts of Italy and New York, it would surely take a huge toll but then it would be essentially over. Yes, reinfection is a possibility but if it is, then it will be either way. Unless the virus is totally eradicated, then it will continue to plague us. While we can sit and wait for someone to come up with an effective treatment, no one can guarantee if or when this will happen.
God bless,
Andy
This pandemic has devastated ours and the world economies. We can’t spend our way out of this. Trump’s reasoning is pretty simple, at least from what I heard him say. He says that since we are paying almost zero interest on this debt, it is “free money”. I guess nobody told him there is no free lunch. If you know anything about The Donald, you should understand his critics are correct to point out his bankruptcies. How and why does anyone go bankrupt? By borrowing more money than you can pay back.
This same idea works with people infected with the virus only the numbers are worse. Why? Because each “penny” i.e. each person infected can infect as many others as they come in contact with – either directly or indirectly. THIS is the problem! Consider the number of people in the U.S. now infected… over 311,000. Each one of those who now are confirmed as having the virus walked around for up to two weeks potentially infecting others and those “others” are infecting still more people. This does not account for those who have it and are NOT confirmed.
Yesterday I predicted 8,000 deaths by today. Thankfully the numbers came in far short of this to just over 7,000. I’ve never been happier to admit I was wrong in my calculations. Praise God! The bad news is deaths did see the largest increase ever from 969 on April 1 to 1321 – a 36% increase. Yes, I could argue Saturday is just beginning but, full disclosure here, I was thinking and talking about the days the numbers were reported, not the actual day someone died. So I was indeed wrong about this. Chalk that up to my being a lousy statistician. Even at this, the numbers are not promising a downward trend quite yet. If wishes could come true, I’d also wish I was wrong about something else – the controllers penchant for control.
What ever else is happening in the world today – FUD, fear, uncertainty and doubt has to be topping the list. This virus is not only infecting people but every aspect of our lives – even if you never, ever come in contact with the bug itself. Consider my own circumstances, if you will.
Meanwhile the media rages hysterically – pumping out fearful propaganda while refusing to air daily briefings from the White House, citing the plethora of “misinformation” coming from the administration. While even I must admit, the MSM are THE experts on misinformation, their claim is naturally suspect. It reminds me of the old line… “everything you know is wrong, but you know that.”
This morning, the numbers actually show a hint of promise. While the number of deaths tripled in just six days – from 2,000 reported on March 29 to 6,000 as of this morning – April 4, the rate of increase seems to be slowing. Mind you, I am not a statistician. I have not “done the math” so my assessment is approximate. The next day or two should tell. If the trend continues, expect the number of deaths to reach 8,000 by tomorrow – Saturday. If this is less, it could indicate a downward trend instead. While this would be good news, much damage is done already.
Not only is logic on our side but opportunity also. Once the world starts moving again, we should step up and assume control. No, I am not talking about marching on capitols but rather meeting our neighbors locally – at county seats and village halls and sending a strong message to our employees in government – no more! It is time to scale back this monstrosity you call “government”. You WILL either begin to represent US or you CAN and WILL be replaced. The lobbyists, the handlers and the controllers have got to go. We need to replace them with citizens from our own ranks and charge those citizens with the arduous task of dismantling the beast. They cannot be expected to do this alone so we cannot expect to send them off with a pat and turn our backs. We are stewards of our nation and WE must step up!