Is “Normal” Gone for Good?

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

Chinese Wuhan Virus – Is God Judging Us?

Where is God in all of this?

Some will undoubtedly say God is judging us. Others will insist God has abandoned us. There are those who will point to this pandemic as evidence God does not exist. Some will stay faithful. As I speak of God often, you may wonder about my perspective. Wonder no more.

Of course, God is here. This is not judgment. How can I be so certain? I firmly believe if God was going to judge us – He would make both the judgment and the reasons for it plain for all to see. Rather He is allowing all this to occur, but one way or another, this is man’s doing.

Is there a spiritual battle going on? I’d say constantly and, yes, a good portion of current events is spiritual. We have the controllers, working for the adversary, attempting to foment panic, chaos and fear. My question is, where are the children of faith? Maybe they are speaking out. I don’t know. Certainly some pastors have openly defied “authority” by holding services. Good for them – if they were led by God to do so.

A recent story says a large number of worshipers were infected. This is blamed on church services. True or not, I do not believe God Almighty told anyone to toss prudent behavior out the door. Allow me to be clear on this: you need not be in a church or among brethren to seek God. You can do this right where you are, right now or anytime. God does not care one way or another. The important thing is to seek Him… always.

Rest assured everything happening today is no surprise to the Master of the Universe. Nobody is going to die before their time. Nothing will happen beyond His Will.

The most important thing you can do now is pray. Pray for this nation. Pray for the World. Pray for those you know and for those you don’t. Pray especially for those who don’t know God.

Mike Lindell of “MyPillow” fame was derided for publicly advocating turning to God during this time of crises. He did so while in the national spotlight next to President Trump! When I first head of this I thought he read one of my favorite verses:

Apparently, this is not the case. He merely encouraged those listening to read the bible and pray. How awful! You should see some of the media headlines I saw as researched this. From The Guardian: “Trump uses White House cororanvirus briefing to promote corporate allies”. Lindell said nothing about MyPillow. He was there because he converted his factory to produce 50,000 masks per day to help alleviate part of this crisis.

Unlike Lindell, you are not likely to have a national platform available to encourage others to pray. You will not get national disparagement either. Be content with your neighbors thinking you are weird. At times you may feel you are speaking to a brick wall. Do no be fooled – scripture says God’s Word never returns void:

Isaiah 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

This is what keeps me going. I am no prophet. I am not a teacher. I am a simple believer who tries from time to time to share what I’ve learned. As much of what I understand seems to go not only against the world but established doctrine, I tend to feel my voice goes unheard. Deep down I understand as long as I speak the truth, it will not be lost in the wind.

God bless,

Andy

World Domination – Or NOT!

A couple of different perspectives from around the interweb.

First up is from Gold, Goats N Guns “No, Mr. Boomer We’ve Run Out of God Pills“(h/t zerohedge.com) telling the globalists “no dice” on their move to leverage this pandemic into a one-world government.

The author echos a lot of folks around the ‘net.  Bunches of us are saying this is exactly why globalism cannot work. My personal caveat is such: do not think logic will stop the controllers from trying to control. It never has and never will.” We must remain diligent and push back!

Next up is John Whitehead of The Rutherford Institute. He continues to illuminate the efforts of our government to sidestep our constitution every way they can. He sees a totalitarian police state in our present AND future. He may be mistaken but he’s  not wrong. By this I mean, his observations are correct – they are backed up by actual facts and events. I cannot even disagree with his assessment. That said, I do not, will not, can not accept the idea that our constitution can be deemed null and void by mere men.

The danger lies within ourselves. Will WE abdicate our stewardship? Are we going to hand over our sovereignty to wicked controllers who have zero authority? Almighty God WILL allow this but ONLY if WE let it!

Here is John’s latest via TheMintPress:

The Attack on Civil Liberties in the Age of COVID-19

God bless,

Andy

Is This The End?

As the pandemic rages, speculation abounds!

In recent posts, I’ve offered articles and observations about controllers doing what comes naturally… exerting control. For the most I’m pointing out how they’ve abandoned their facades, showing their true colors.

My own hope is we citizens can seize this moment ourselves and reclaim our birthright, our liberty and restore our nation to the limited government intended by the founding fathers.

Not so fast, Bucko. In case you haven’t noticed our “champion” President Trump not only signed the last abominable pandemic act but is now proposing a new one. At the risk of ticking everybody off, I am neither Anti-Trump nor Pro-Trump. He is one man. Even if he is or will become the BEST PRESIDENT EVER, he can only serve one more term.  Trust me on this one, the deep state can survive President Trump. That said, throwing another few trillion into the fire is not going to fix our nation. What it WILL do is enrich and entrench more deep state swamp creatures.  How do I know this? Every dollar spent filters through one or more creature lair. They are everywhere. Think cockroach infestation on steroids.

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.

While I agree on the need for roads, bridges and things like high-speed internet at my rural door, this is not the way to go about it. Let’s face it: our employees on both the state and federal levels oversee annual massive budgets. My point is, they’ve had money to spend, OUR money, all along and yet the infrastructure suffers from neglect. As so many have pointed out before, our governments do not have a revenue problem, they have a spending problem. It has got to stop.

What’s the alternative? It is simple but not at all easy. We need to shut government down. Make them get out of our way. It cannot happen all at once – or at least it should not. For example suddenly shuttering Social Security would destroy those who depend upon it. The same goes for Medicare.

That said, I can give you an example near and dear to my heart. Hemp.

Here in Virginia, the hemp industry is getting underway again. Last year was the first year when farmers could openly grow it – with the express permission of state. This year, they’ve been handed ten more pages of regulations further impeding what they can do.

I have a friend who is a farmer. He’s grown tobacco all his life. Now that the government has almost entirely destroyed his livelihood, he’s trying hemp.  Last year was not great for him but promising. Instead of expanding on his success, he is facing more issues. It is bad enough he has to wrestle with the problems facing him from learning a new crop but he is forced to work around state officials whose sole purpose is to impede his progress. What is their concern? Why, he might grow marijuana instead! Oy.

For years, I’ve heard  many say, legalize it and tax it! Some states have done just so. Bluntly put, screw that. Let’s say we get the government out of the pot business entirely. In other words… stop – just STOP! Yes, I realize this means a pretty good hit on government revenue. What will law enforcement do if they cannot stop citizens in the streets and search them because the “smell marijuana”? What will they do if they have to forgo no-knock raids and stop killing dogs and citizens in the process? The HORROR! Get over it. The price we pay as a society is not worth the results. Drugs have not been eradicated. Quite the contrary, they are widely available. Get real. Get over it and drop it.

This is just one area where government needs to go. Other cottage industries need to flourish. Many do not because of… you guessed it – government regulations. Let’s start with income taxes. Shutter the IRS. You heard me. Close the doors. Lock them and melt the freaking key!

From there we can start the shut down by attrition plan. No new hires. If someone retires, either their job is eliminated or filled from within. Once we get started we should be able to identify all sorts of government agencies we can do without.

Okay so maybe I’m dreaming. Is it so bad to fantasize about putting government where it belongs – UNDER us? Is it so wrong to want to reclaim my birthright and take my rightful place in a nation of self-governing citizens? I don’t think so. It appears I am not alone.

The article below speculates this pandemic could actually help accomplish my dream.

Are the Globalists Finished? 

God bless,

Andy

Chinese Wuhan Virus Update – Tuesday April 7

Wrong again – big time.  There was no update yesterday as I was working on other things. Even without my day job, I cannot seem to gain enough time!

Sunday I displayed the daily death chart and wrote about patterns. The problem is I cannot seem to count to four. My bad. All I can say is blindspots are like that – at least for me. I am glad to see I can still root them out from time to time. Meanwhile…

Anyone looking at the graph and my so-called analysis might easily see the run up to a peak was four days, not three as I was saying. Now that pattern is broken as the last run up before the decline actually was three days. Is this a big deal? Probably not. In fact, I very well could be looking at the wrong thing or even obsessing over numbers that will mean nothing in the long run. So be it.

What really got me started and startled was the relatively massive jump from March 30 to 31. The daily toll went from 558 to 912 or close to doubling. This is what got me on the penny roll. Okay, bad pun. Thank fully the doubling has not occurred again. Hopefully it will not.

If you look at daily new cases – there was a marked decline from April 4th to April 5th of nearly 9,000 cases. April 6th was up almost 5,000 cases from the 5th but still below the high on Saturday. Could this be the start of a decline in new cases? If so this could be either good or bad news depending on how you look at it. For me, the jury is still out. How could a decline of cases be bad?

What do you think will happen once we confirm we are over the hump? Won’t we all breathe a sigh of relief? Won’t we all relax and think about getting back to “normal”? Seems reasonable to me. And that could be a problem if we all relax to the point of rebooting the infectious cycle. Hence my own consternation.

As a nation, we NEED to get back to work. We NEED to move forward economically. How long can we live like we are now? Already the circumstantial factors of this virus has taken a much larger toll than the virus itself.

The way things stand now, we’ve dug ourselves a massive hole. Unemployment is raging. Our economy is suffering. We’ve allowed our employees to run wild with the national credit card. Now they want to max out one or two new ones. Already, the controllers have mortgaged our future. We cannot stand for this.

Remember the saying “I’d rather die on my feet than live on my knees”? This is the very real danger we face. It is much worse than any virus. We must all ask ourselves – what is the true price of this pandemic? I am not willing to sacrifice my freedom for “safety”.

God bless,

Andy

 

 

Wuhan Update – Sunday April 5

I never intended to do much, if anything on the Chinese Wuhan Corona Covid19 virus pandemic, though I DO think we could probably come with with a few more names for it. Sheeesh! However, I started the other day with a dire prediction to explain why I and my wife decided to stay home for a while. Was this a good decision? I don’t know. It was based on the numbers I’m seeing and a whole bunch of different factors.

One thought struck me as I watched one of President Trump’s daily briefings. While I am not one to glue myself to the television, nor do I adamantly watch, follow or seek out any politician, I have caught a few of these, at least in part. Anyway, Trump stated he expected the virus to peak in about 2 weeks. Granted I take all such statements with a grain of salt. That said, I got to thinking. With an incubation period of 10-14 days, this suggests those who should know as much about this virus as anyone, think it is now as widespread as it is going to get. This being the case, NOW is the time to step back and hunker down. So we did. Now I watch.

So far I’ve been following the numbers. My first attempt at extrapolating these – drawing them out to see how the current trend might evolve was amateurish at best. While I may be improving, I doubt if I’ll ever be great at it. That said, I can share what I’m seeing.

To begin with I followed the numbers on the Fox News Home page. They have a graphic using Johns Hopkins materials. Then I went to the Johns Hopkins map page detailing this stuff. Better yet but they do not graph the daily death increase. As morbid as this sounds, I’m thinking it is more pertinent than other figures. Either way, I came across another page keeping count: Worldmeters. This one is nowhere near as fancy as Johns Hopkins but the numbers seem to be closer to real time – plus they have the all important (to me) daily death increase metric.

Here is the U.S. total as of Sunday Morning April 5, 2020: 8,454 deaths

We had 1331 total deaths April 4th, up from 1045 April 3rd – April 2nd saw a total of 974. So far this is a startling increase in the number of people dying from this. Please note, I’ve seen some say not all of these deaths attributed to Wuhan, are actually Wuhan. Another grain of salt.

While the incremental increase is larger each day, the increase as a percentage has declined slightly. This is somewhat encouraging. However I am not sure if it actually means anything. So what happens tomorrow? If the pattern hold out, we should see a decline. Look again at the graph:

The numbers go up, up, up and then down before rising again. This pattern is pretty consistent. Not only that but the day after the numbers will rise again and again. On the third day we should see a spike. This has mostly been the pattern so far. Will it continue? Yes and no.

As with any pattern, it could break at any time. As those in financial circles like to say “past performance does not guarantee future results”. As a matter of fact, at some point the pattern WILL break. It has to as the only other possibility is for it to continue until the human race is extinct. Oh, wait a minute, the pattern would still have to break… wouldn’t it?  The bottom line is, it is not a question of IF it will break but when. Why is this important?

A break in the pattern will indicate a change.

Right now, my biggest concern is whether we will see an exponential rise in cases and deaths. Why be concerned about this? Look, I know some people hate to think of math – especially when it come to more advanced ideas like “exponential” stuff. One easy way of looking at this is the “double a penny a day” concept. If you had a penny and could double that every day for 30 days… how much would you end up with? Over $5 Million dollars. Look at the chart below.
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.

Please understand, I am not putting this out to cause you to fear but to share the bigger picture I see. Already we are mitigating this with frequent hand-washing, masks and keeping distance. All of this slows the potential spread. As I said before, closing the schools could be the BEST thing anyone could have done. Not because schools are bad or the kids are rotten – okay, maybe we can get back to that 😉 but because parents have to work and schools hate to miss their cash flow from attendance so the trend is to send sick kids to school anyway. I cannot count the number of times my own kids brought home bugs from school. Early on, we kept our kids home if they were questionable, but after so many times we just shrugged and sent them to school. Due to the trend, all we were doing was keeping our kids from getting credit from being at school, er, getting an “education”.

The bottom line is while some howl in protest, I would still rather take a few days off from work and keep an eye on things. Hopefully, I can accomplish a few things I can’t while at my day job. The economy is already in a shambles. My actions will not even register on the economic scale. We can thankfully withstand a bit of wage loss. As such our decision is intensely personal and is by no means a recommendation one way or the other. I can only suggest you evaluate your circumstances and make the best decision for you and your family. You may find an entirely different set of metrics to base your decisions on. Hopefully, my reasoning, such as it is, will at least provide something useful to you.

God bless,

Andy

Wuhan Update – The Good News Is – I Was Wrong

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.

Also in today’s news is the fully disturbing story of facial recognition companies rolling out thermal imaging capabilities with their products. These cannot only detect people with ease but also determine if they are “running hot” i.e. have a fever – not to mention what weapons they may be carrying. This last effectively negates any guise of “concealed carry”. Yes, certainly concealed from the public’s eye but any “official” thug with the right hardware can make it difficult for any citizen at will. Maybe this is a good thing. How?

Just as this current pandemic has stripped away any pretense of the controllers lust for absolute control, this technology draws back the curtain on what it all really means. It hands over to anyone “in authority” near complete control of citizens. In other words, this is the ultimate demonstration of where our society is headed if WE, the CITIZENS, allow it. In addition it focuses attention on the real issue here: What any law-abiding citizen carries is NOBODY’S BUSINESS! It is just not. You can whine and cry about all the “what-ifs” you want but until someone DOES SOMETHING ILLEGAL, there is no crime. The fact is if a badged thug stops a citizen because s/he carries something “suspicious” – THAT is a crime against the citizen. Can you see this? “Carrying something suspicious” is NOT a crime! Detaining a citizen without a reasonable articulable suspicion the citizen committed an actual crime – IS a crime!

Let’s set aside all the arguments about citizens carrying in “prohibited” areas for the moment because this is NOT where things are going. Where things ARE going is complete and total surveillance of as many citizens as technology will allow. Already some companies are proposing mounting this technology on drones – as if this already hasn’t been done. What is to stop “authorities” from mounting equipment on vehicles to scan homes as they drive down the streets? How long will it take for “authorities” to begin raiding homes one by one until all threats to their power are eradicated? My question is not “how far will they go” but rather “when will WE say enough!”.

Will we citizens take the lessons this pandemic offers and force the changes necessary to right this nation or will we succumb to further destruction of our Constitutional Republic? If we refuse to learn from this, what will it take? It seems the next step down the road we are headed crosses the line into to total subservience. WE have to authority, the ONLY authority to stop this cold. For this to happen, WE have to step up, take up our stewardship and assert our God-given authority to self-govern.

It is up to us.

God bless,

Andy

Wuhan Virus FUD – (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt)

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.

My wife and I decided to pack it in and stay home as of Wednesday. While we have our concerns and, yes, even fears – as our eldest son, 23, was potentially exposed. His bride works in the health care field. Neither tested positive. While he is young and relatively healthy, he has lung issues already so we do have cause for concern. As I am now past 60, my age alone needs to be taken into consideration, though I am a fairly healthy over 60 by the grace of God. Even so, after reviewing the data, we decided the risk of infection is greater than the reward of a couple weeks pay.

Overall, I tend to ignore the media and the horror parade. These days we are bombarded with so much negative news, a recent story predicting a rise in suicides is not surprising. The economy all over the world has tanked. Unemployment is hitting historical levels. Food and other supplies are unstable. Guns and ammunition is vanishing from the shelve. Many governors have ordered or at least implored citizens to stay home. Congress finally acted only to extract an unprecedented sum from citizens while promising to throw us all a bone. 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.”

Most of those I’ve talked to express doubts. The biggest doubt is whether this Wuhan, Corona, Covid19, Chinese virus is a “thing” or not. Is it real? Is it made up? I’m pointing out that this does not matter any more. This entire pandemic has taken on a life of its own. Now the virus is secondary, even as the numbers of infected and dead rise, the aftermath promises to be devastating. In other words, the crud is now overwhelmed by the FUD. The only thing we can do at this point is take whatever precautions we can and ride it out.
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.

Now is the time to put aside our fears and shore up our resolve. Take precautions for sure. The actions we are taking here are more for the sake of prudence. I see no need to go out and mingle. While I abhor social distancing “orders” in themselves, I will not allow my pride or my personal objection to the tone of those in government to overcome common sense. The fact is, when the commonwealth closed down schools a couple of weeks ago, I was rather disgusted at their apparent knee-jerk reaction. Thought and hindsight brought me to the realization that closing down the petri dish network aka the public school system was actually the very best thing they could do.

Who knows how long this siege will last? All we know for sure is the longer this goes on the farther we will sink economically. For now our priority will be to continue to prepare to weather this storm. Continue? You say. Yes. We are awful at gardening but, we will try once again. We will look for other chinks in our preparations and fill those in as we can. As of now there are still some things we can do so whatever we can do we will.

Understand, the globalists will continue to try to leverage this to usurp more power. Do not think they will allow the logical argument this pandemic demonstrates for decentralization. Their solution is always, always, always more government, more control in their hands. We cannot allow this. 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!

God bless,

Andy