This theme has been camped out in my head, lately.
Has our all-consuming coronavirus scare finally taught us how vulnerable, how fragile, how uncertain our current global civilization is? And how truly freakin’ stupid are The Smartest People In The World?
If we hadn’t listened to them, we wouldn’t be in this mess today.
The poor devils in the Late Bronze Age couldn’t avoid what happened to them.
What’s our excuse?
“Ooh, we’re all gonna die!”
You’ve got to read this column by Michael Brown: “Is the Media Engaging in a Form of Psychological Warfare Against America?”
For the past two months there’s been essentially just one story in the nooze, night and day–the coronavirus. And we get bad news and alarming statistics 24/7.
Fear sells. Fear gets ratings.
Worse, the bulk of our nooze media has a political agenda: victory for Democrats, no matter what it costs the country.
Military history tells us that psychological warfare works. It demoralizes armies and saps the soldiers’ will to fight. It can do the same to civilians. Mr. Brown wonders if it is doing the same to us. Ya mean it isn’t?
We have endless repetition of bad news, scary stats, all day and all night. You can get people to believe almost anything if you repeat it often enough.
Where governors and mayors have indulged in what Mr. Brown and others call “police state tactics,” the media has cheered them on. This is America, and we’re supposed to debate public policy–not just ram it down the public’s throat.
And on top of all this, Big Tech has been censoring dissent in the social media. Critics’ voices are not heard.
Our country’s founders deemed a free press indispensable to the maintenance of our republic. They never envisioned that virtually the whole media would transform itself into a propaganda apparatus for one political party. They knew the press would sometimes lie, sometimes conceal the truth, sometimes get hysterical. But they never dreamed the press would do those things, on purpose, as the means of achieving a desired political objective.
We still need a free press. But more and more… we don’t have one.
Before I take the afternoon off and smoke a cigar and watch Crab Monsters or something, I’ve just got to tell you about my latest grocery-shopping safari.
I don’t know if you can see it in the illustration, but right under the Federal Reserve seal is the unambiguous statement, “This note is legal tender for all debts public and private.”
Except in Whole Foods!
Hey, everybody–join me in playing “I woke up in Venezuela this morning!” After the cashier rang me up, she suddenly remembered she’s not allowed anymore to take any of that legal tender. Credit only! So there was a big fap-a-thon over that. “It’s for your own protection,” explained the manager.
Ah, fooey! What is this–back to junior high school? Russia in the 1970s? I know they’re a chi-chi oh-so-precious bunch in Whole Foods, but they should go soak their heads.
“Don’t you see? We have it posted?”
“Oh? And that makes it right? That makes my legal tender not legal anymore? You can just decide that, can you?” But I might as well have been talking to a fire hydrant.
Once this virus schiff is over, there are a lot of little tin gods who need to be taken out to the woodshed.
She forgot to clap
The following is just about the creepiest news story that I ever heard. It’s hard to believe, but true.
Someone–we are not told whom–started this custom in Britain: at 8:00 every Tuesday night, everybody–and they do mean everybody–is supposed to come outside and “clap for the carers.” National Health Service workers fighting off the epidemic, and all that.
Recently a woman, tending her sick child, was unable to get out the door to join the neighborhood clap. (Yes, I know it sounds icky.) Her neighbors promptly “named and shamed” her on Facebook (https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/tired-mum-named-shamed-facebook-18143150), going so far as to say that since she didn’t come out and join the–ritual? can we call it a ritual?–she and her family “don’t deserve” health care if any of them catch the Chinese Wuhan Communist Death Virus From China. That’ll learn her, they said on Facebook, “for showing the street up.”
Hello! Hello? Did we just blunder into The Hunger Games? Or into one of Ray Bradbury’s cautionary tales? I mean, whoa! This is conformity with a vengeance! You’d almost think you were in North Korea.
Maybe the woman was lucky they didn’t bash her door in and drag her outside.
Magna Carta. A country that cherishes eccentrics. P.G. Wodehouse. Rumpole of the Bailey. Alice in Wonderland. None of that great stuff seems to fit in Britain anymore. Suddenly That Hideous Strength, by C.S. Lewis, doesn’t seem far out at all.
We have noticed in recent years that even the most tepid criticism of the National Health ignites a wildfire of near-hysterical wrath. It’s not really that great, you know. Just socialized medicine. There’s a reason why they sell do-it-yourself tooth-pulling kits over there (https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/399032/Now-we-pull-out-our-own-teeth-Boom-in-DIY-dental-kits-as-patients-cannot-afford-NHS-fees).
But fail to turn out for the weekly cheering fest, and see what happens to you. Go ahead, I dare you: say “The National Health could use some improvement.” Walk into any British pub and say that.
This, by the way, is one of the chief reasons why our country’s founders were so against trying to create a democracy. In a democracy, the majority devours the minority. That’s why they created a republic instead.
Some of you reading this must be in Britain. Please tell us–what’s up with Britain? Is your country going full-throttle Fahrenheit 451? Are they going to start eating people who won’t clap for the National Health? Has Political Correctness gobbled up all your liberties? I only ask that because I’m an American and we might be next.
God help us.
We has helded a Emergintsy Meating tooday of our Stoodint ((see! i rememmber how to spel it!!)) Soviet to maik Up “new” Roules for fiting The Corny Vyrus hear at Collidge!!! Hear “are” sumb of our Smartist New roules!!!
*Masques yiu Must ware themb “at” al Tymes,, evin wen yor’e Eeting!!!!! No moar taiking “the” masques off Ever!!!!!!!!!!
*Frumb nhow On yiu has got to “stay” at Leests Siks Feeet Aprat wile hasing Sex!!!
*No moar Tawking alloud,, Unlest yiu are tawking aboot Socile Jutstus!!
*Yiu Cant “go” no-ware Annymoar!!!!
*Manditorry Play-Doh it is man-daited!!
*Frumb nhow On yiu has to ware At Leest twoo (2!) Shurts and threee (3!) shoos at Al Tymes!!!
Thare “are” “a” Lot moar of themb but i has fourgot waht thay “are”!!! My pen it runned oaut of Inc wile i was “trying” to rite themb daown and i cuddnt rite “a” Noat to no boddy to borro thare Pen!!!!
Theeze hear Meshures thay wil Keeep us Saife fromb the Vyris!!!!!!!!!!
A Washington Post reporter recently “reported” that isopropyl rubbing alcohol costs $2,375 on amazon.com (https://www.bizpacreview.com/2020/04/24/nice-try-journo-wapo-reporter-deletes-deceptive-tweet-that-tried-to-pin-price-spike-on-trump-912471)–which, of course, is Donald Trump’s fault, boo, hiss.
She forgot to mention that that’s the price of a 55-gallon drum of alcohol. She deleted her alarmist tweet after somebody pointed that out.
We buy it by the pint, when we can get it. At our local newsstand, we pay $2 and change. That’s only a little higher than the price we pay at the supermarket, when they have it. They had some yesterday, but I missed it (*sigh*).
At a time like this, the public has a critical need for accurate information–and that’s precisely what our nooze media refuse to give us. This renders them useless as a source of information.
And 40% of the people still trust these bozos not to lie?
Governors’ over-the-top executive orders may be a new thing in America, but the rest of the world, I am sorry to say, is used to it. Here’s a sample from 1971, from the comedy, Bananas. The new El Presidente is New Jersey’s own Jacopo Morales.
See? Just like Blue State governors today! “From now on underwear must be changed every half-hour…”
Tell me they’re not thinking along those lines.
Where was Merlin when we needed him?
New York Mayor “Bill DeBlasio” (real name, Warren Wilhelm Jr.: I don’t know why he uses an alias) expressed “shock” and disappointment that some of the convicted felons recently let out of jail… have already gone back to committing crimes (https://legalinsurrection.com/2020/04/nyc-mayor-bill-de-blasio-shocked-that-inmates-freed-early-are-committing-crimes-again/).
Wow. You coulda knocked him over with a feather. I mean, really, who would’ve thought it–criminals committing crimes? You show them mercy, laments the mayor, and they just go out and do it again. At least 50 out of the first 1,500 released have already been arrested for more crimes–and some of them have already been released again.
You’d almost think they were trying to get back into jail! Well, sorry, guys, but we’re gonna need those cells for crimes that bother liberals–Climate Change denial, mis-gendering, failing to affirm gay marriage, cultural appropriation, and showing insufficient deference to liberals. We can’t be bothered with silly little things like armed robbery, attempted murder, or running someone over with your car on purpose.
Still… Heck, you’d have needed Merlin and Nostradamus together to predict a thing like this: criminals committing crimes.
This is supposed to be a sure-fire technique to protect jailbirds from getting the coronavirus. But in fact, Democrats were already talking about emptying out the prisons months before anyone ever heard of coronavirus. Leftids have a natural affinity for criminals: go ahead, tell me I’m wrong.
Well, you can’t blame an honest Sandinista wannabe like “Bill DeBlasio” for failing to foresee something as far beyond the bounds of likelihood as this. We’re sure that, once the crisis is past, they’ll all come tamely back to finish their interrupted prison sentences.
Michigan citizens protest their governor’s actions
I didn’t want to write about the coronavirus panic today, but this is too important to let pass: left-wing governors and mayors going way too far in enforcing “social distancing” et cetera.
Front Page Magazine has an article that addresses this: “Americans Protest Abuse of Coronavirus Emergency Powers.”
https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/04/american-protest-joseph-klein/
We Americans have consented to government measures that fight the disease by restricting our personal freedoms and shutting down our economy; but we do not consent to allowing these measures to continue indefinitely, becoming a damaging “new normal” from which our country might be hard put to recover.
“The mission [of ‘flattening the curve’] seems to have changed,” an attorney comments. “Now the mission seems to be that nobody gets infected.”
Frankly, that’s impossible. And trying to do impossible things doesn’t work out well. The only way nobody gets sick is if everybody dies. Not an option, really.
“The Left is weaponizing the coronavirus crisis with a narrative intended to demonize President Trump and his supporters,” writes the author of the piece. For “narrative” read “lies.” Democrats see this as their last and best opportunity to destroy the Trump presidency–and they don’t care who gets hurt, as long as they can do it.
There has to be a point where we have done all that we can do to fight the virus without permanently wrecking our economy and erasing our civil liberties. We do not want to reach that point, but that’s where we’re headed.
We cannot trust the motives of the Left. To get back into power, they’ll do just about anything. And I do mean “anything.”
Soon we’ll have to re-open the country and re-start the economy, taking our chances with whatever is left of the disease. We can’t go on like this indefinitely. And leftids with a public track record of appeasing communist China, making excuses for China, and openly admiring their authoritarian way of doing things must never again be allowed to take power in America.
Communism is an evil relic of that calamitous 20th century and needs to be pushed into extinction.
The Democrat Party needs to be put out of business, once and for all, in this year’s national elections.
You’d better not look sick!
(Thanks to Phoebe for the nooze tip. She asks, “Since when did illness become a felony?” That question needs an answer.)
The coronavirus panic has moved a Michigan judge to rule that individuals can be arrested and held–without medication!–for up to 72 hours if police or “health officials” suspect him or her of being infected with the virus (https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/michigan-judge-authorizes-arresting-people-on-suspicion-of-covid-19-illness).
The “suspect”–is this crazy, or what?–may be “held for at least three days to confirm he or she is without a fever of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 72 consecutive hours (without the use of fever-reducing medication)…”
Probable cause? We don’t need no stinking probable cause.
So they not only arrest you and “forcibly isolate” you for three days because some pipsqueak “suspects” you of having the virus; but if you really are sick, they’re not going to give you any medicine!
What’s with Michigan? The governor has been slapped with two federal lawsuits (so far!) for her heavy-handed “orders” imposed upon the populace. And there’s a recall petition against her with a couple hundred thousand signatures already.
Are our state and local governments becoming a more serious threat to our country than any disease? Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has become the poster gal for Mussolini wannabes. When they start forbidding you to plant your garden, as Whitmer has done, you know they’ve gone overboard.
Can Americans’ liberties really be lost so swiftly? Is it really that easy for a mayor or a governor to become a dictator?
They need taking down a peg, but good.